Outside our classroom, we could hear faint unison chanting from another part of the campus. After telling us about his own protest experience, our baby-boomer professor announced that he was cancelling that afternoon’s lecture to support the strike. And he encouraged us undergraduates to do so too.
“You need to fight against the establishment,” he said.
“Dude, you are the establishment!” I wanted to reply.
But I didn’t. I was a timid homeschooled girl who desperately wanted an A in the course. So, I picked up my books and headed past the throng of students. This dispute between the university and the teaching assistants’ union had nothing to do with me, so I didn’t see any reason to get involved…especially if it meant holding a dorky-looking sign in public in broad daylight.
This senior-year moment was indicative of what I noticed throughout my college years. Instructors at every level wanted to relive their youth, but they couldn’t get the student body motivated, even when there was strong sympathy towards the cause of social justice. Why march when you could be browsing on your laptop? (This was before the iPhone, you know.)
So I could identify with Ashley Thorne’s “Beating the Apple Tree: How the University Coerces Activism” (Academic Questions, Summer 2010). Promoting activism (just like conducting research) takes precedence over teaching for many faculty members. But passionate speeches, designed to rally the students into action, fall flat when students respond with bored stares. Activism has become a stale course requirement.
Someone must have forgotten that these people aren’t even registered to vote, unless doing so involves free pizza.
Monday, August 2, 2010
New and Shiney!!!
So here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our new website {I am giddy and blushing just saying it outloud!} OUR.NEW.WEBSITE! Ohhhhh.Mmmmm.Geeeeee!!!!
So with this new and shiney website comes some minor announcements. Okay, not minor. MAJOR!
MasterPiece Weddings is proud to announce that we now have an office in Jacksonville, Florida and are excited to be planning weddings in Jacksonville/Orange Park/ and Ponte Vedra Florida.
MasterPiece Weddings will also officially be planning weddings and events in Destin, Pensacola, Rosemary Beach and all of The Panhandle of Florida!
So, for all of your North Florida Wedding Planning needs, contact MasterPiece Weddings, we gottcha covered.
Rebecca Writes Again
After a dry spell, my sister has finally posted her latest short story about early Christian Britain, "The Finding of Cinuit." The events are contemporary with those in her upcoming book Son of the Burning Rowen, a fictitious account of the third Pendragon that she's been working on since 2002. Enjoy!
Uniforme de “casaca vermelha” com acentos em dourado - ”Red coat” uniform and golden accents
(Scroll down for English)
Nunca fui menina de usar dourados, toda a minha bijutaria sempre foi de prata ou prateada. No entanto há algum tempo comecei a adquirir o gosto por peças douradas. Este colar foi uma dessas peças, amor à primeira vista.
Outra componente especial deste “outfit” é o casaco de malha inspirado nos “Casacas vermelhas”, que comprei online nos saldos. Os feitios de inspiração militar são feitos com fita cosida e não seriam difíceis de reproduzir se quiserem dar nova vida a alguma peça de malha esquecida que tenham lá por casa.
As far as I can remember I always passed on golden jewelry (my jewelry collection used to be mainly sterling silver and/or silver plated); however, in the past months I started to develop a taste for bold golden jewelry and when I saw this chain necklace it was love at first sight.
Another special component of this outfit is the “Redcoat ” inspired cardigan that I bought on sale online. The military inspired embellishments are made of commonly found ribbon and could easily be reproduced to enhance some old forgotten plain cardigan tossed away in your closets.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh
If there’s historical fiction that has been a bit confusing to place in history, it’s the story of Zorro from Johnston McCulley’s serial The Curse of Capistrano. Yesterday, I attended a lecture titled “The Legend of Zorro: Myth or History?” hosted at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Sandra Curtis, author of Zorro Unmasked: The Official History
, explained how McCulley borrowed the Mexican era setting of rancheros, caballeros, and corrupt governors and military to set his Spanish era superhero, thus confusing old movie fans like myself who could never quite make historical sense of the various plots.
This summer, the Mission’s special exhibit Zorro Unmasked centers around the history of the tales of Zorro, displaying the old magazines and comic books along with costumes and props from old and recent movies and television shows. I thought it was a clever alternative to the usual fare of mission and restoration history, and – dare I say it? – actually more relevant than their recent California Gold Rush exhibit.
, explained how McCulley borrowed the Mexican era setting of rancheros, caballeros, and corrupt governors and military to set his Spanish era superhero, thus confusing old movie fans like myself who could never quite make historical sense of the various plots.This summer, the Mission’s special exhibit Zorro Unmasked centers around the history of the tales of Zorro, displaying the old magazines and comic books along with costumes and props from old and recent movies and television shows. I thought it was a clever alternative to the usual fare of mission and restoration history, and – dare I say it? – actually more relevant than their recent California Gold Rush exhibit.
farmer's market
i'm off to the farmer's market!
i have always loved strolling thought the booths at the local farmer's markets looking for fabulous handmade goodies to bring home and now i'll get my chance to fill one of those up!! so, my plan... is i'll be spending the next few weeks making some limited edition items for my booth ;) i'm hoping to infuse my urban style with some of the more traditional local colors of summer... this market quilt reminds me of a big o'le bowl of yummy local ripe raspberries... sometimes life isn't any tastier then in the pacific northwest!
{ love the look... you can grab it up at Hawthorne Threads! }hope ya all had a fab weekend!!
XO, Heather
WWII Political Leaders Opinion Survey
Since activating my WWII Political Leaders Opinion Survey, I’ve received questions about what I’m actually planning on doing with the data. Explaining will introduce biased results from informed participants, but I’ll humor those of you who are so kind to help me.
Earlier this year, a conversation with some politically like-minded acquaintances alerted me to something I hadn’t realized before: When pressed for firm statements, people seem rather inconsistent in their views about the relative evilness of politicians and dictators. A ranking system is definitely being used, but the microeconomist in me (an alter ego that rarely gets any airtime) identified it as violating the property of transitivity. So, I decided to post this little survey (the first of three) to see what sort of trends I could find.
A number of people have brought to my attention additional research directions I could take. I just might do that. Or I’ll let them do so. The data will be publically available, and I’ll announce how to obtain the set after I close collection, clean the data, and report on my own findings.
Do I allow other people to advertize my survey? By all means, yes! I’m already using non-random collection methods that compromise the integrity of the sample. The priority right now is to get as many (completed) responses as possible, and everyone will just have to accept the data limitations.
I’ll continue to provide progress reports and answer questions over the next few months. Thanks to everyone who has participated thus far. And please spread the word.
Earlier this year, a conversation with some politically like-minded acquaintances alerted me to something I hadn’t realized before: When pressed for firm statements, people seem rather inconsistent in their views about the relative evilness of politicians and dictators. A ranking system is definitely being used, but the microeconomist in me (an alter ego that rarely gets any airtime) identified it as violating the property of transitivity. So, I decided to post this little survey (the first of three) to see what sort of trends I could find.
A number of people have brought to my attention additional research directions I could take. I just might do that. Or I’ll let them do so. The data will be publically available, and I’ll announce how to obtain the set after I close collection, clean the data, and report on my own findings.
Do I allow other people to advertize my survey? By all means, yes! I’m already using non-random collection methods that compromise the integrity of the sample. The priority right now is to get as many (completed) responses as possible, and everyone will just have to accept the data limitations.
I’ll continue to provide progress reports and answer questions over the next few months. Thanks to everyone who has participated thus far. And please spread the word.
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