Monthly Archives: February 2007

Civil War #7 Sucked

I really can’t add much more to four really great critiques I read of it: 1) Jim Roeg, “Civil War #7: RIP Marvel” 2) Brian Cronin at Comics Should Be Good 3) Dave Campbell, “Civil Waaaah” 4) Chris Sims, “Civil … Continue reading

Posted in Popular Culture | 6 Comments

Why Centralization Isn’t the Answer

I continue to be frustrated by the folks criticizing American universities and academic culture who imply (or outright say) that tight central control over public and maybe even private institutions is the solution. My mind especially reels when this comes … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Africa, Politics | 8 Comments

Bathtub Debates

I participated in a very non-serious, amusing debate between the divisions last week at Swarthmore. A couple of people off-campus who have somehow heard about this quirkily local event have asked me for a transcript or recording. You can watch … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Miscellany | 4 Comments

Bad Daddy

When I was 6, watching George Pal’s The Time Machine on TV provided the fuel for a nightmare or two, populated by Morlocks. When my daughter was 6, watching Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy led her to remark that a hideous … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life, Popular Culture | 1 Comment

The Bait the Fish Refuses

I mostly buy books from Amazon, but I was looking at the SF and fantasy section today in the local Borders. I confess I find some new SF and fantasy by its packaging. Is the title interesting? The spine design … Continue reading

Posted in Books | 22 Comments

Arizona’s Experiment: Just How Bad Is The Academic Job Market, Anyway?

Take a look at what the Arizona legislature is considering doing. Professors at state institutions would not be allowed to publically advocate for any political candidate, give expert testimony in trials, or have a public opinion on any issue considered … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 13 Comments

Beware of What You Wish For

I get the sense occasionally that some of my colleagues see me as an evangelist for the use of new technologies in the classroom and in academic research. If I’m a technological missionary, though, my faith and more importantly my … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Information Technology and Information Literacy | 4 Comments

Not a Sandbox

I’ve been struggling to figure out what to say, or whether to say anything, about the issue of blogging in the Edwards campaign. Outside of a few comments threads, I decided to not say anything while the issue was hot, … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging | 10 Comments

Media Non-Literacy and Representational Authoritarianism

Following some links from a discussion of the visual imagery in some computer games, I ended up at the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, as well as a short BBC news item on the study. … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Popular Culture | 3 Comments

Compromise

I joke that when they’re presented with two or more diametrically opposed ways of interpreting knowledge or evidence, Swarthmore students habitually say, “Both are right, to some degree”. But who am I to talk? That’s my schtick too. So in … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellany | 3 Comments