Duly Noted

Doling out presents acquired from weeks for perusing African markets, Christmas in Milwaukee was as gray as a shock to the system can be gray. My stomach still can't handle my mother's fiber filled menu, nor the buttery cookies that my dad, sister, and I secretly stock up on to counter brusselsprouts, root vegetable casserole, and fish. I love my mom's cooking, don't get me wrong, but my white bread and wine diet in south western Africa didn't prepare me for a quick reunion with mom's food pyramid. Enough about food, I feel sick thinking about it. I guess I should mention I'm lightly hung-over as I write this; well worth it, still... I knew, flying home from Jo-burg, adjusting would be tough and I certainly didn't want to sink back into the miserable routine of waking up at four in the morning to open up City Market Bakery and then the day sort of teetered away after that... I still haven't figured out how exactly I'm going to make it to San...

 I hadn't showered in two days (or was it three?) so I decided that I might as well wait to shower until I had the chance to go for a run.  It was Sunday, Mike was at church for his Sunday morning church gig, and Grandpa could keep Sula company.  Misha was out sledding.   So I went for a run with Rachel the dog.

To our surprise, our schools decided to call it last night due to the expected forecast.  I was pleased to wake up this morning with no snow on the ground.  It is now almost four and the snow is just beginning to flurry.  Eager to make the most of a gifted day off, I knew that I needed to shift my energy from the Sunday blues that I was feeling yesterday.  Two things are instant mood lifters for me: exercise and updating the house!  I am going to pause for a second and give a lil affirmation to the man that has my back every day- Michael My Dream Man Vasich.  He accepts me as I am and he helps me to return to center when I go off course.   

Over the last two years or so, I have discovered Gretchen Rubin and hopped onto her happiness train.  When her first book, The Happiness Project ,  caught my eye a number of years ago, I resisted reading it because I worried that her happiness experiments would end up being another thing on my "should do" list.  At that time, my expectations of myself were high enough.  I needed to work on accepting myself. That season of my life passed, and now, in my thirties, I have a solid foundation.  I know myself better- my strengths and my flaws- and I have settled into my identity and my life.  From this place, Gretchen (yes, I'm going to refer to her by her first name- I am that kind of fan) speaks to me, encouraging me to be more self-aware, test out new behaviors, and challenge myself to keep growing while being true to Molly.  Her first personal commandment, after all, is "Be Gretchen."   Over the last year or so, as I read "Better Than Be...

Summertime is the ultimate time of year for me.  I have always been a summer girl.  Summertime girl, if you will (thank you, LFO).  I love the sun, the water, bare feet, and the fresh produce. This summer is the first one in which Mike and I are both on a total teacher schedule- meaning no schedule.  In summers past, one of us or both of us were either working, teaching, or in school (or all three).  This summer, we are free agents with parenthood as our only duty. So what to do with all this free time?  No worries, my friends, we can fill it.  Hours pass quickly with a newborn.  It's all treats and snoozing, snoozing and treats.  Passing time with a three year old is a different story, but a BUSY one.  I should put a pedometer on Misha.  I know he doubles my steps-a-day.  In need of social interaction and movement, staying home all day is out of the question.  Morning is the time for adventures, when the sun isn't too...

Musings: The Art of Globalization: an exhibit that demonstrates how meaning depends on both the HOW  (the choices the artist makes in terms of materials and construction process) and the WHAT (the content of the work). The Art Of The Sacred: What is sacred?  How do we know?  What does it mean to be sacred in a certain space?  How does context influence interpretation?  Can an object be sacred or does it symbolize something sacred?  How important is the process to a work's sacredness?

Ten questions... 1. Do you have a morning routine? On the weekdays, yes. I like to hit sleep a few times before climbing out of bed. Water on, coffee on. Stretches and sit-ups. Oatmeal and checking my email. Wash, brush, and clothe. Take out Rachel and feed her breakfast. Kiss Mike and I'm out the door. Weekends, I play it by ear. Lately, I've been getting up earlier still. 2. How do you judge if its been a "good day?" Often its as simple as if I have had time to get outside and run. The fresh air fulfills me. And then, equal positive with others and myself. 3. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to live more fully? Know what you want and make it happen. Plan ahead and live in the moment. It's hard to do, but you know when it is working! 4. What do you take with you when you leave the house? Too much! My purse which contains, but is not limited to, my journal, my calendar, my uncouthly huge wallet (due to access of receipts a...

Lifetime Bucket List: Hike the Appalachian trail (or a comparable trail) Bike across  a cross country bike trip Win my age group in a triathlon or running race Join a master's swim team Create a documentary film Knit a sweater Run in a 50k trail race Attend a spiritual retreat Own a VW van or some other impractical form of transport (like a vespa) Live in another country for a year (with children!) Write and submit an editorial Coach a running team (again!) Establish and maintain a consistent yoga practice (could be once a week for a year, could be every day for 30 days...just variety of consistency)

I checked out a handful of books from the ol' local library that seem inspiring and suited reading a random page when I get a free moment. Rainn Wilson's SoulPancake" is one of these books, recommended by one of my eleventh grade students.  Basically, Wilson's thesis is that spirituality and creativity go together.  Or, in his own words, "I believe art and its expression are the same as faith and its expression.  Science, too, for that matter.  And quite frankly, everything that urges us to create, to love, to think deeply, to breathe in the moment, to be of service, to be human..." (x).   SoulPancake is basically a workbook that provokes its reader with essential questions, writing prompts, and creative challenges. His first creative challenge is "sum up your personal philosophy of life" and then he instructs us to write it with chalk on the pavement. Molly's Personal Philosophy of Life: Every day is a new day with an opportunity to make...

Girls In Disguise Feminine & Feminist Perspectives In Sofia Coppola Films A feminist approach to film analysis often considers the historical, political, and social contexts surrounding the production of the said film. However, sometimes, I feel it is critical to examine an artistic creation on its own terms. I feel this is particularly the case when the artist herself is entrenched in an inescapable back-story, alà Sofia Coppola. Older viewers tend to frame the younger Coppola’s films within the context of her father’s work, the prophetic, Francis Ford Coppola. Best known for the Godfather series and Apocalypse Now, his films were often heavily masculine- dark, heavy, and disturbing; the tone set through the visual effects as well as the plot. Comparatively, Sofia Coppola’s films could be easily construed as deeply feminine- pink underwear, macaroons, and puffy clouds. Yet, beneath the artifice of, well, pink, her films are real psychological dramas with less than perky hero...

May Day. One of the top two days to be a twin cities resident, if you ask me. If you haven't witnessed the May Day parade, you are in for a real adventure. All of Twin Cities' creative and fun-filled brains are out in full color. what is your motto? Love Loud! Kindness first. Sing and dance whenever, wherever. When in doubt, eat a carrot. Toodle. Sometimes, its better not to think about it. Trust yourself/myself.

As someone with a wide range of musical tastes and a musician boyfriend, I found the prospects for this music artifact assignment overwhelming. However, my experience with our second subject option- graphic novels- is rather limited (okay, "French Milk," a graphic novel written by a twenty-something art student about her trip to Paris with her mom is the only graphic novel I've finished to date). Thus, writing about music as a cultural piece is ultimately more accessible for me. This past weekend, I attended my first bachelorette party. It was the real deal (though, no male strippers, thank god). Out on the town (specifically, Minneap downtown), one song dominated the clubs and bars. We danced to it at least three times. I was later informed that the coinciding bachelor party also heard the song twice during their own bar-hopping adventures in Northeast. You, dear reader, must wonder, what is this wondrous tune? Well, if you didn't pick up on the reference in ...

My news log dated last Sunday, March 29th, tracked Fox local news at 5:30pm. To me, perhaps the most interesting aspect of my log was the amount of time spent on different news stories. The second longest news story (2 minutes exactly) was the first one: the impact of the Red River Flooding on Fargo schools. Following this story, the rest of the thirty minutes was broken into 90 to 10 seconds. Each of these brief stories were interspersed with the reminder, "Weather...coming up!" It was embarrassingly clear that the station recognized that most people watch local news for...THE WEATHER REPORT!!! Let's make a comparison: The weather report=3 minutes and 30 seconds Clip on local shooting=10 seconds Clip on North Carolina nursing home shooting=10 seconds Duplex Fire=10 seconds Greenhouse that can grow crops on the moon=40 seconds In this way, I find that the imbalance of time spent on the weather vs. the rest of the stories is more of a reflection of audience viewing ...

Facebook. During the course of my ethnographic research, I've come to discover perhaps what I always knew: Facebook is MASSIVE. This site affords an immense supply of juicy research. Today, I simply tasted the depth of facebook flavor. Although in his chapter on "Media Ethnography," Beach writes, "Increasingly, adolescent audiences...participate in virtual communal experiences of interactive media in virtual communities...adolescents can experiment with different roles and stances without concern for the constraints of gender, class, race, age, or disability markers that inhibit their participation in lived-world, face to face interaction," this certainly isn't the case for the biggest virtual, interactive community on the web- namely, facebook. In this community, we often know our community members, or friends . Further, gender, race, class, age, and disability/ability are thoroughly explored and enacted. However, I'd argue (as an ethnographer and...

I struggled with this assignment because I feel like I don't watch enough TV to make a holistic argument about media representation on any given topic. However, after talking with some friends, I feel like I can discuss the few representations of queerness that I've witnessed over the past couple of years. As a quick disclaimer, this post is based on my personal observations and perceptions; I am very open to all opinions as anyone reading this is likely to be more versed in television/movies than yours truly. First of all, I've noticed that the media seems to place gays and lesbians in two separate and distinct categories. Further, it seems that the gay community or at least gay relationships are more heavily represented in mainstream media. However, my perception regarding the gay vs. lesbian representation binary is based on the number of shows in which gays are portrayed as opposed to lesbians. That said, several question remain: is the portrayal of gay men accur...

It's been a slow and cloudy morning so far...I think I'll wear my bright blue raincoat today!

In this essay, it is my intention to capture the essence of international travel. To be brutally honest, a few of these photos make me very uncomfortable. As viewer, I see myself as a complete outcast- a total nerd! I just previewed this post and I nearly took some of these photos down. Yet, I can't recall feeling awkward at the time these pictures were taken. Traveling is odd to me. The desire to leave all things known and venture into a land that is physically and culturally different than mine can be terrifying. Still, I remember feeling fulfilled and peaceful when they were taken. For instance, the shot of my boyfriend, Mike, in the shower wasn't taken in despair (though it may appear so). Rather, both of us were admiring the Nicaraguan spirit in spite of the lack of natural resources. This essay was an attempt to juxtapose real happiness with the moments of humiliation and reflection associated with travel. In her article, Selfe writes, "one goal is to help s...

Playing with gizmoz...my mother thinks i look like sarah palin. god help me. http://www.gizmoz.com/video/12451169_coffee_in_nicaragua

In the article, “When sex, drugs, and violence enter the classroom: conversations between adolescents and a female pedagogical agent,” the authors express surprise regarding the students’ abuse of the conversational agent. However, personally, I am not surprised in the slightest! Drawing from my experiences with pre-teens and teens, I’d argue that adolescent misuse of technological tools is rampant. For instance, recently, my friend told me that her thirteen year-old niece had been receiving sexually abusive text messages from a number of boys in her classroom. Afraid or embarrassed to tell her parents, the niece asked her aunt for advice. When my friend told me this story, we both remarked on the tendency for digital communication devices to lessen human inhibition (regardless of the person’s age). Why do typed, satellite-fueled messages seem to encourage regular dismissal of social norms? The Sex, Drugs, and Violence article predicts that the abuse/misuse of conversational age...

Both Beach and White support the explicit incorporation of media literacies and media studies in the classroom. Personally, I feel the "transparency problem" is their strongest defense. White defines the transparency problem as "the challenges young people face in learning to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world" (3). Certainly, I see the value in analyzing the relationship between media, consumerism, and self-esteem/desire/identity. However, I am having trouble rationalizing how teens are " actively involved in what we are calling a participatory culture" when participating in this culture is far from active! All right, one could argue that the authors intend "active" to refer to the ability to interactively respond to media via media, but I am worried that the emphasis on media literacies will distract students from creative play- the kind of play that results in grass stains, dirty fingernails...oh heck, even a...

A link to teen information, programs, and resources at Minneapolis Public Libraries: http://www.hclib.org/teens/ Actually, as your local "what's hot" expert, hanging out at the library is the new soda parlor. Check it: Hot=libraries Not=soda parlor In all serious though, the East Lake library is hoppin' after school. But ya know why, right? Free internet!

Often, students are "fantastically over-evaluated, with teachers piling up grades like squirrels gathering nuts" (Dornan, 182). This image intrigues me because it demonstrates a number of assessment paradoxes in our educational system. For one, we are forced to consider the significance of many graded assignments as opposed to a few graded assignments over the course of a semester. The more-the-merrier camp might argue that a larger selection of grades would render a student's progress and evaluation more reliable. On the other hand, the-quality-over-quantity camp might respond that grading less work but higher quality work (thanks to revisions) is a more reliable measure of student progress. To some degree, both approaches make sense. The image of the squirrel gathering nuts also conjures up questions regarding high stakes testing and the teacher's responsibility in preparing students for this assessment. What is the teacher's motivation in his/her assessm...

Lecture on documenting culture at the Walker/it's free!: http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=4922 Talk about identity and portraits with Wing Young Huie (for those who missed out!)/also free!: http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=4923

If you don't already know it, life is cyclic. Decay turns into grass, grass returns to decay. The patterns of the moon, the tides, all cyclic. Thought, and therefore, art is cyclic too. When we create something, the piece is never finished. Published writers (or, in my case, published writers thanks to underfunded college lit magazines) struggle between the pleasure of seeing their work in print and anxiety because their piece could use a tweak or two. Truly, no work is ever complete, even after it is sold and framed. Viewers and readers apply what they already know and the piece transforms over and over again (so pomo). However, my point here isn't to argue that nothing is ever done so why keep doing it. No, I am definitely of the-more-you-stare-at-it-the-better-it-gets-camp. And, speaking of, Fulwiler definitely gets it. Off the bat, Fulwiler identifies one of my greatest pet peeves- when people write what they are going to do in a paper before doing it. Editing m...

Key points for said approaches (Beach, 2007): 1. Rhetorical/audience approach (34) -Focuses on "identification" or "how texts position audiences" (34) -socialization as consumers (adhering/believing the concepts media portrays) -Asks, "Who is this text being written for?" -Audience can be active or passive participants depending on the media form used. 2. Semiotic -Approach focuses on metaphor, schemas, signs, and symbols. -Argues that cultures give meaning to certain images so therefore members of that culture can read more into a text than what is actually said. Members can predict what will happen based on what they know about the set of images. 3. Poststructuralist Analysis -"Examines the limitations of binary oppositions as reflecting an overly simplistic categorization of the character's actions" (37). 4. Critical Discourse Analysis: -"reflecting on hegemonic, dominant modes of thinking that permeate a worl...

The opening scene of the movie "Broken English" follows our anti-heroine, Norah Wilder, as she prepares for an evening party. Each shot is usually followed by a credit, making shot transitions rather straight forward. In an essence, then, each shot is like an intimate still-life. We see several close-ups: Norah smoking a cigarette, Norah drinking wine, Norah putting in earrings, Norah playing with her hair. The more interesting shots in regards to form seem to be motivated by important content details. For instance, a close-up of Norah looking in the mirror then pans to the inside of the medicine cabinet as she opens the mirror. The shot then zooms in to focus on a prescription bottle. As Norah places the bottle back on the shelf, the camera zooms out and pans back to Norah. At this point, the audience (or the camera) suddenly takes the perspective the mirror. By mimicking Norah's panic, I think this rapid camera movement alerts the audience to Norah's anxiety...

As I don't yet have a class to call my own, I am imagining a situation where I need to defend my reasoning for teaching film and media literacy in a junior high classroom. My defense would read something like the following: Addressed to school board member, parent, or whomever is concerned, Like you, I see the value in reading and writing traditional texts and essays. Traditional reading and writing instruction is necessary in a world where communication is crucial to professional success. However, I would also like to defend the value of media literacy and film studies in the classroom. Let me ask you, do your children spend more time watching television after school or reading books? Of course, I'm sure you'd prefer for them to be reading, but TV is a huge part of our culture. With that in mind, don't you think that students would benefit from exploring the biases, discrimination, and consumerism involved in television shows and advertisements? Research shows t...

Although Freire's writing is mainly about critical pedagogy, I feel he is a good place to start as we consider what content and questions are important to consider as we think about teaching writing. It turns out that much of Freire's research is archived at McGill University. The following website has lots of great resources for Freire fans. http://freire.mcgill.ca/ And, for kicks, another Paulo Freire.... http://www.naic.edu/~pfreire/

See rubric for one assignment of my Literary Critic's Circle unit. The rubric is posted on my class wiki so students can access it, and I can update it if need be! In terms of giving feedback to my student, I would give informal feedback via the wiki response page. I would also consider holding an "editing" conference with my students via online chat. I think it would be interesting to split students into "editing" groups. These groups will set up their own online conference, go over each other's work, and then send me the saved chat. This kind of informal feedback is geared toward writing improvement rather than judging a final product. In terms of formal feedback, I would simply write up my final response and email/give to student. This is a more summative assessment. Students are required to give each other feedback via the wiki as part of their literary critical review grade. Before reviewing their peers, we will be reviewing what is seen as ...

It appears some educators are at odds. Are multigenre projects it ? Or, are traditional essays and research papers still top dog? Personally, I believe we can gather some invaluable tenets of writing if we compare traditional and alternative papers. I found a few characteristics of writing that cross genres: 1. Process is more important than product. Supporters of both multigenre and research papers argue in defense of the discovery and revision process. The best work is the result of multiple drafts, conferences, and peer reviews. 2. "Perfunctory 'for the teacher writing' to committed writing" (Gillespie, 678). Regardless of the paper's objective, thesis, or audience, student writing needs to focus on a theme, idea, or question that inspires them. Too often, students are content with completing the minimum amount of work. Educators argue that students will make an effort if they are passionate about the subject. 3. Form relies on content. Although this not...

One place that I go for inspiration to write is my collection of writer memoir and biographies. A long time favorite is Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones (isn't that title fantastic?). A converted Buddhist, Natalie applies Buddhist tenets to her writing process. She emphasizes looking into matter deeply...and letting yourself make mistakes. She also writes about where to find inspiration (everywhere...but more specifically, inspiration within your personal daily experiences). She writes, "When you tell friends stories, you want them to listen, so you make the stories colorful...It is good to talk. Do not be ashamed of it. Talk is the exercise ground for writing. It is a way we learn about communication- what makes people interested and what makes them bored" (77). I think my struggle with the internet is grounded in this idea. Using media in the English classroom stifles living and colorful human conversation and interaction. Case in point: I hosted ...

For my Digital Writing podcast, Kristin and I decided we will interview each other about the benefits, disadvantages, and engaging details/experiences of using technology in everyday life as well as in the classroom. A recent home internet collapse sparked this discussion topic. As our dependence on technology as a communication and information tool grows, the danger of a collapse/problems is a potential disaster. Further, the age of instant access (okay, the information age as it is called) has instigated momentous lifestyle changes. For instance, most Americans acknowledge the felt need for cell phones. People NEED to be connected. This creates an interesting overlap of work and home, public and private. As we learn about integrating technology in classrooms, it is vital to examine need vs. want. As teachers, we have the opportunity to influence the lives and learning of our students. Do we want to promote instant access and technology dependence? What has our nation lost i...

Reading Romano's "Blending Genre, Altering Style" moved me to set down the text and pick up a pen. Except for a creative writing class or two in college, I was never encouraged as a student to stray from literary analysis or research papers in my English classes. It was so refreshing to read, "the quality of writing that I get to read is often much truer...the power of the multigenre form makes the information real" (p. 5). Looking back at my own experiences, I feel like we spent so much time exploring the writing and ideas of published authors and theorists. Clearly, there is value in that discussion, however, I think the danger is that we lose the opportunity to develop our own voices as writers and thinkers. The concept of a multigenre paper is so exciting because it encourages students to think outside of traditional boxes. Further, students are more likely to enjoy writing as it becomes a more personal art. Romano also explores the relationship betwee...

The selections from Media That Matters illuminate Richard Beach's varied justifications of teaching media literacy. Beach (2007) writes, "As future citizens whose votes will influence public policies, students should be able to critically examine how media representations reflect the influence of ideological and economic forces" (p. 8). The video, "The News is What We Make Of It," highlights this point as it considers the manipulation of a local story, a new school uniform policy, to suit the agenda of the powerful (in this case, parents, faculty and staff, school board members) as opposed to actual student opinion. The short's argument was driven home when the misinterpreted student openly protests media monopolies. She argues that media awareness and critical literacy is crucial for preventing further capitalist exploitation and journalistic hegemony. Another video, "Battleground Minnesota," exemplifies Beach's emphasis on "helping ...

As I review the blog posts I composed during the course of the semester, I realize the extent of reflection I've done in regards to 1) using technology in an English classroom and schools in general, 2) the affordability and efficiency of various digital software,and 3) using technology as teaching vs. learning tools. Certain conclusions have been reiterated: 1) Simple is better; students are able to focus on content if the process is straightforward. 2) It's crucial to rehearse the programs and software BEFORE incorporating it into your classroom! 3) A teacher needs to consider copyright violations, etc. An English teacher, in particular, must model using the Internet for research. As students visit the library less and less, they must be able to sort out reliable sources, how to access academic sites, and how to cite their sources in papers. Although we didn't work on this much during Teaching Digital Writing, I think teaching students how to find information in the ...

This is a digital poem that grieves for another time. A time of landlines. What sparked this mourning? Home sick, I watched Howard's End . I was reintroduced to a proper cup of British tea. Living in a time of immediate gratification and life-altering technology, I wondered if I will ever participate in such a lovely routine. The film inspired my digital poem. How ironic, yes.

I was introduced to wikis in undergrad (moodle in particular), but wikis did not become a major part of course content until graduate school. Several of my professors have emphasized and assigned collaborative wiki work in their courses. For the most part, I found wikis to be an efficient tool in terms of accessibility, group work, and connecting information/research/ideas through hyperlinks. As a communication device for group work, I have no complaints. In terms of presentation, however, wikis appear, in my humble perspective, as more of a draft than a final project. Appearance-wise, I prefer reading websites and blogs. That said, I cannot participate in the collaboration of private sites, so clearly, wikis are more interactive in a group, and in particular, classroom, setting. I am working on wiki for my final lesson plan idea, Critics' Circle . This wiki is incomplete in terms of the introductory content pages, but it does provide a framework for my idea. Basically, I a...