UVM Blogs

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Phoenix: “Lisztomania” (original video)

Phoenix: “Lisztomania” (Brat Pack mashup video)

Phoenix: “Lisztomania” (Brooklyn tribute video)

Phoenix: “Lisztomania” (San Francisco tribute video)

Wizard People, Dear Reader, chapter 1: “Power Baby”

“Ouroboros,” by Austin Underwood

(insert amount of time here) in the life of Payson

Choice of the Dragon

New Scientist magazine is running a flash fiction contest — and they want YOU to enter. The rules are simple: set your story 100 years in the future, and tell your story in no more than 350 words. Then send it to New Scientist and await your sure-to-arrive-soon fame and fortune. And, if you need help generating ideas, [...]

Hello, again! It’s been a long (but not long enough!), busy, but productive summer, and now the hallways of UVM’s campus are thronged with iPods and cellphones, each being transported regally by its very own student/porter! To get back into the bloggy swing of things, here’s a bunch of stuff you should know. ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ [...]

It’s been a cruel, cruel summer, leaving me here on my own. It’s been a cruel, cruel summer, now you’re gone. Wait, that’s not right. That’s Bananarama. What I meant was that it’s been a busy summer, and I’ve been leaving this blog all alone. But no more. Here’s a video about Monica Rankin’s Twitter Experiment . Rankin is a history professor at [...]

Okay, first things first — GAY MARRIAGE IS NOW LEGAL IN THE STATE OF VERMONT!!!! Republican Governor Jim Douglas vetoed the bill as soon as it hit his desk (probably afraid of getting the gay cooties), and the Legislature overrode the veto. The Senate vote wasn’t close, but the House needed 100 votes to override, and [...]

A few items of multimodal, multiliterate interest. First, my laptops are having problems. Ugh. The Mac PowerBook G4 has decided that Firefox is no longer interested in playing embedded YouTube videos. Other videos (mostly) work. But YouTube? Nope. There’s a URL-by-URL fix out there, but that doesn’t help with embedded videos. And yes, I’ve tried all [...]

In our hustle-and-bustle world, it’s hard to stop and enjoy the not-so-simple pleasures. Heck, it’s hard enough to stop and enjoy the simple and mindless ones. So it’s not surprising to me that as a culture and as individuals we rarely pause to enjoy the craft and artistry of a well-turned phrase, sentence, or passage. Well, no [...]

Sometimes when looking at LOLCats and LOLDogs, I get the feeling that there’s more to the story than the single image contains. So, as an experiment in interactive LOL-storytelling, here are three (I think) particularly evocative LOL-images. Rearrange them as you will, and tell a story with them. See what you can come up with. And don’t forget to [...]

I like cool stuff. That should come as no surprise. And so when BoingBoing points me to a dual-Tesla-coil synthesizer playing the Dr. Who theme, I’m ready to be excited. If: A — Tesla coils = Giant Lightning Generators = Very Cool and B — Dr. Who theme = Very Cool then A + B = Super awesome! From the BoingBoing [...]

So, the times they are a changing. All television is going to be digital. The Kindle will now read your books to you. What’s next? Now, wait a minute, I hear you saying, as your Kindle finishes reading that last paragraph to you. I’m not sure my televisual box-device is ready for the Great Digital Arrival. Here’s [...]

This week in the 21st Century Literacy seminar we started discussing a tremendous book, Sven Lindqvist’s A History of Bombing : We’re reading it because of the way Lindqvist presents his history — the book is written in 399 short passages arranged chronologically. He groups the sections into 22 different “chapter-like” facets of the history of…[Read more]

And neither one is making me happy right now! HULK SMASH!!! Thing #1: Cold. Not as in: “For a Vermont day in February, 20 degrees isn’t very cold.” As in: toothpastefordinner.com Thing #2: Coraline. Neil Gaiman’s book rocked my world when it came out, and now there’s a movie of it and I’ve wanted to see the movie now for months [...]

I’ve posted TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks here before, mostly because I find them absolutely fascinating. If only every conference were this consistently enlightening and entertaining! Today’s bit of TEDey goodness is Understanding Comics author (he also wrote the graphic announcement for Google’s Chrome browser ), Scott McCloud.…[Read more]

Sound the horns and alert the angel chorus: I’ve got a chapter (and a very smart one, at that) out now in an edited collection! The Hand of the Interpreter: Essays on Meaning After Theory brings together scholars from around the world to discuss how we read — both from a hermeneutical perspective (how we make sense [...]

Holy crap last weekend was full of literacy-related stuff! Here’s a quick run-down. In the comics we had Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman’s Zits talking about childrens’ books. Here’s the first two cells: And Bunny Hoest and John Reiner’s Lockhorns discussing reading skill and its inverse relationship to TV watching: And then in the New York…[Read more]

What does your music library say about you? It’s an age-old question, and one that shall not soon be retired, I think. Over on Facebook there’s a meme floating around (no! really?) that once again asks members to reveal things about themselves. This is a little different, because it reveals on two levels. The first is the most [...]

A student in my senior seminar sent this to me. I have now pre-ordered it. You should, too. From the Chronicle Books website:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague…

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As I was prepping to teach my senior seminar on The Illustrated Novel, I came across this. And since we’re talking about Gunther Kress’ article on “Literacy and Multimodality,” it seemed a natural fit. Now, I know, I know, you guys are going to think that I’m Dr. All-PETA-All-The-Time, but I’m not. Really. It’s just that [...]

Welcome back! It’s now the spring semester, and I have two new seminars I’m teaching — The Illustrated Novel and Literacy in the 21st Century . This post originated on the Illustrated Novel course blog , but since its topic and theme fit so well here, I thought I’d bring it over. Enjoy! Behold Spike, the makeup-wearing punk sea kitten: But…[Read more]

As everyone knows, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas… on hidden-camera surveillance footage to be unearthed and used for future (or present) blackmailing purposes. Duh. And I’ve mentioned before that everything you put online stays online in one form or another. Forever. Right, Monica? And I always make it a point to talk with my classes…[Read more]

Nothing much to say about this. I like this song, though. And I like the video, which combines clips of the band wearing all-white outfits with mini-wings and old video clips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN3GbzR_32k&hl=en&fs=1 More coming soon. I’ve been thinking about the blog, and what it does(n’t), and what it should do. I’ll announce that…[Read more]

I’ve been buried under multiple stacks of papers from both classes (note to self: plan paper turn-in schedule more carefully next semester!), but I’m digging my way out, slowly. In the meantime, here’s something to distract entertain and inform you. I posted earlier about a great satirical video purporting to show the “Petticoat 5,” the first…[Read more]

With a title like this, how can you not be dying to read this post?! First up is a video from the early 2002-5 BBC satire Look Around You , which was designed to look like an early-1980s educational program. Step in: the world’s first computer for women, the Petticoat 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qptvCqtMg_o&hl=en&fs=1 I’m really torn. How…[Read more]

Here are two recent videos that use rhetoric to encourage (or do they?) people to vote in the upcoming election. The first is another celebrity-infused compilation reminiscent of will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” song & video (and will.i.am is in this video, too). Here’s “Don’t Vote”: …[Read more]

Sometimes, as one bounces around the Web, one comes across something particularly interesting and/or surprising and/or pleasing. (Something that isn’t even being hyped on another blog!) Just such a serendipitous event occurred on Sunday, when I got bored with the Patriots game. I came across this video by alt-rock-pop mainstays The Lemonheads…[Read more]

This is tremendous fun. Kitty Burns Florey , the author of Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog (the best, and possibly only, book about diagramming sentences), has noticed Sarah Palin’s special relationship with the English language. In an article for Slate , Florey takes a crack at sentences from Palin’s interviews with Katie Couric and Charlie…[Read more]

There should probably be a comma in that title… somewhere. I’ll let you decide where. (Remember: Grammar isn’t just a set of arcane rules, it’s also about making choices that affect your meaning.) Following last Friday’s Talk Like a Pirate Day debauchery, you’re probably just now staggering out of the house, tavern, or inn, and hopefully a quick [...]

It be TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY ! Aye, ev’ry year round this time scallywags and scullery maids alike celebrate the highest o’ high holy days in the Pastafarian persuasion. Yer timbers’ll shiver from all the piratey goodness on display in this, ARRRRguably the finest pirate machinima ever made in World of WARRRRRRRcraft. But be warned: it’s…[Read more]

As you may have heard, Google surprised a heck of a lot of people earlier this week when they announced that they had created a new Web browser: Chrome. Right now, Chrome is PC-only, and it is pretty sincerely still in beta. It’s incredibly fast at rendering large amounts of data, once you’ve downloaded that data. (Which means that no [...]

I like fonts. I’ve got lots and lots and lots of fonts on my laptop and I spend an inordinate amount of time playing with them, trying to pick just the right one to convey exactly the right mood, tone, and connotations. This is a problem every year at syllabus-writing time. Which is right now. So, while [...]

The semester is almost upon us, once again, and so my thoughts turn, as they do twice (at least) each year, to the question of student blogging. Yes, I am just that weird. And yes, I torment my students unmercifully. It’s a perk of the job. What I’m trying to say is that as I contemplate each new semester, [...]

Every time I meet a new group of fresh-faced, 18-year-old, born-in-freaking-1990-this-year! students, I’m reminded that I’m old. Seriously, unimaginably, fossil-ish-ly… old. I’m bracing myself for that harsh, harsh jolt of reality coming at me again at the end of August, but I was surprised to feel it today. BoingBoing Gadgets posted a…[Read more]

As I mentioned in a previous post or two, I’m on the leadership team for the National Writing Project in Vermont’s Invitational Summer Institute. As part of the Institute, everyone is required to present a demonstration of a teaching practice they find particularly useful. It probably won’t surprise any of you to read that mine is on blogging in [...]

With the web launch of the new project from Joss Whedon ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel, Firefly, Serenity… that guy) — Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog !!!! Starring Neil Patrick Harris (our favorite — and out — former child-doctor), Felicia Day (she most recently of the awesome web series The Guild , and Nathan Fillion (… dreamy). The…[Read more]

While freewrites can be powerful and productive ways to get the composerly juices flowing, they don’t always go according to plan. Or at all. This morning, for instance, we were given the luxury of choosing from two different prompts: “Where were you last night?” and “The earth rumbled…” Here’s what I came up with:

The earth rumbled… Where…

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The National Writing Project in Vermont’s Invitational Summer Institute started last week, and continues for the next three. I’m on the leadership team, and it’s exciting, exhausting work. The NWP brings together K-12 teachers from across Vermont, and across the spectrum of academic disciplines, to intensively focus on how, when, and why we teach…[Read more]

I wasn’t going to post this… but I think it’s screamingly funny. So you’re getting it. It is most definitely NOT safe for work. So find someplace you can listen and watch without getting fired. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcQ7RkyBoBc&hl=en&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6 It comes to us from the seriously messed-up fine folks at the…[Read more]

I’ve been working on some thoughts about YouTube, and while this wasn’t the place I had anticipated starting, I just spent the last 45 minutes with it, which is one of the usual indicators that I should say something about this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lFfNDFDUuA&hl=en This is Cory “Mr. Safety” Williams’ Choose-Your-Own-Adventure film in…[Read more]

Post coming soon. In the meantime, know that DD has been thinking, deeply, and possibly a little creepily, while you’ve been sleeping.

And snoring.

Taking a break from most things digital today, here’s something completely different. Gardening. The mere word can strike fear into the hearts of even the strongest and bravest among us. I don’t like gardening. I suspect it has a lot to do with my parents’ technique of using yardwork as punishment for me and my brothers. In a [...]

Well, Movable Type just ate the relatively amusing entry I was about to post. So now you’re stuck with this. It’s a three-parter, and you really do need to click through and read the link targets. First, this charming story of a much-beloved sadistic science teacher in Ohio. Then, read this charming entry in the Conservapedia , the Wikipedia…[Read more]

Hey everybody! I Am Cheerios 1 — And I Am Aware of All Internet Traditions 2!!! Like other Cheerios eaters, you want to be a responsible adult. But you can’t help but still be a kid at heart! You try to make good decisions. You’re a clean cut, conscientious person. You’re the type of person who would never skip breakfast. Part of [...]

A while back, I included Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia” video in a post about neo-retro-Westernism (I’m thinking of trademarking the term, or copyrighting it, or something… I’m sure The Spouse will be happy to explain the difference to me yet again ). I asked you then to watch the video and pick out all of the allusions you could [...]

This post was going to be about new “outrageous” cars, the cars that auto makers either produce one of, show off at auto shows, and then never put into production because they’re just too cool, or that cost so much money that you and I and everyone we know will never ever see them? Yes, those. [...]

Okay, I’ll admit it — I like Coldplay. Sigh. I know . My not-so-secret shame has been getting a real workout with the all-Coldplay-all-the-time media blitz surrounding their new album. We were in England Outer Space when the first single, “Violet Hill” launched, and we got to hear it nonstop on BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, and Cymru. And it wasn’t [...]

As they say in my homeland, “Howdy!” The downtime has been lovely, but as part of the new workplan I’m going to be posting something short each and every day to keep the writing mojo flowing. So, to kick things off, a veritable potpourri of interesting, thought-provoking, and wiinsome (sic) stuff. And, as the title indicates, it’s not a random [...]

… that today is Peace Officers Memorial Day ? And that every year on May 15th, flags are to be flown at half-staff to mourn their losses and memorialize their service? Neither did I. But as I was walking to my office this morning I noticed that the flags were at half-staff. So, I asked the helpful information desk [...]

As the Vermont Summer kicks in and temperatures soar into the upper 70s (swoon, swelter, I know ), here are some things to think about on and around the topic of cool. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Our friend Attic Man sent us this news report , which is a little late now, but it was timely when he sent it. [...]

And just in time for my birthday! Yes, today is my 37th birthday, and thanks to the relativistic effects of traveling close to the speed of light, I have it on the highest authority that I don’t look a day over 37! I know you want to know all about my recent trip to outer space, and [...]