Hyperreal Blogging

I was perusing Digg.com and ran across this story on www.biggovernment.com: “Barack Obama Ignores D-Day Anniversary – Goes to Theatre Party.” Curious, I clicked through and read the story. I knew it would be an anti-Obama editorial, but what got me were the 200+ comments on the story. The more I read, the more I started feeling repulsed and sick to my stomach. Here are a few of the more “colorful” ones:

• No, it’s not too bad at all. I’d rather he missed the D-Day Anniversary than desecrate the memory by his presence. The occasion of D-Day can only truly be appreciated by Americans.
• We have a saying down our way for the likes of Michelle Obama: Mutton dressed as lamb. Still, she’s no better than she ought to be I suppose.
• Another slap in the face of the American people and all those who died and are still paying the ultimate price for the beautiful GOD given country. he and that thing he is married to are lower then the lowest and the people that support this lying, arrogant, egotistical, socialistic bastard are just exactly like him. I am still wondering how in the world there were enough IGNORANT Americans to put this clown in.
• I see that Oilbama is still singularly focused on the disaster going on in the Gulf of Mexico. Can you imagine if this had been Bush attending 2 gala affairs during Katrina? The hypocrisy is staggering. [author's note: uhm, Bush didn't do anything]
• That our fair-weather leader and his overgrown pet chinchilla have thrown two parties in one week, greeted the soccer team (err futbol team) and we find out that bambi has not spoken to the CEO of BP since the damn thing exploded.
• Well at least Michelles nips are proud.
• Remember Tutu (not Rahm, the other Tutu) is a raging anti-Semite socialist/communist (like Mandela) and wants the United States relegated a world afterthought (in no doubt in favor of the psuedo-capitalist/communist Chinese, a growing power/problem in Africa).
• This phony and his wife may have to leave the White House at the end of the barrel of a gun in 2 1/2 more years. He sure isn’t going to give up his taxpayer funded royal lifestyle lawfully. Thats for sure!
• Obama….? Fords theatre…?
• The less I see or hear our anal orifice in cheif, the better.

To me, these comments are vile and malicious. Would you say this face-to-face to your neighbor? To your family? To your friends? To your boss? The fact that these were made in an on-line forum shouldn’t protect it from basic decorums of what it means to respect another person for being a person. I may not agree with the Tea Party’s positions, but I would never think to disparage a member for their views. My father would kick my ass if I did; it’s not polite and that’s not how people act. Period.

Are we to the point where decorum no longer matters?

When I came home today I found a local politician’s (let’s call her Jane Doe) “Legislative Report” flyer in my mailbox. Not an admitted fan of Representative Doe, I nonetheless opened it up to peruse the words I knew were being abused by that poor piece of glossy paper. I couldn’t believe the linguistic abuse I saw.

The flyer was presented in newsletter format, complete with bolded headlines and (mostly) relevant stock images. Goodie. I’m hooked. The first “story” I read was entitled “Protecting the Right to Bear Arms.” Naturally it had a picture above it: a handgun with several bullets strewn strategically around the handle. And here’s the first sentence for that topic:

“I voted for legislation that I believe will help Hoosiers to protect themselves on the commute to and from work.”

Apparently my 2 mile drive to and from work is in need of some self-protection? Are questionable characters after my 7-11 blueberry coffee and cinnamon roll? Could they be wanting the answer key to yesterday’s exam? Or do they just want to wreak havoc by using up my highlighters all up. It doesn’t really matter because now I can protect myself from those nefarious characters, thanks to Representative Doe. Okay, onto the last sentence of that same story:

“Additionally, I voted to keep certain personal information about Hoosiers with licenses to carry a handgun confidential.”

Jane, Jane, Jane. This sentence is an absolute bear to read. Let me see…since I carry a license you protected my rights to…oh wait, if I carried a handgun license you protected my rights to keep some information private. Gotcha. Whew. Glad we cleared up that mess.

Giving Representative Doe the benefit of the doubt, I went onto another story: “Cracking Down on Meth.” This seems like a good topic, and a timely one at that:

“Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as ‘meth,’ is a debilitating drug that has affected many Hoosier communities. The number of meth related arrests has increased nearly 40% since 2008. This year, I supported a law to strengthen Indiana’s meth laws. The law puts additional limitations on the amount of commonly used products used to produce meth that an individual can purchase.”

I read that last sentence twice. At first I thought she was saying our local grocery stores would now have a Meth aisle where one can go buy their drug of choice. Could you imagine the sales they’d have? “Crack, two-for $20″ or “buy one get one free.” It would be a coupon-lover’s delight. Besides, this explains why it’s up 40%.

Putting Representative Doe aside for a moment, my real concern is for the words she employed in this Legislative Report. I feel bad for them, i really do. I think words get no respect from anyone. We just use them without thinking. An “a” here, a “the” there. We just pick and choose without even considering their feelings.

I think words should unionize and picket major media outlets in order to get more respect from us symbol-using, gun toting, meth buying, individuals. We’ve taken them for granted long enough. Words have feelings too, you know!

Think before you type. That’s all I’m asking.

When I first taught a course in New Media studies, I borrowed readings from what others had done prior. The second time I felt more confident and knowledgeable, so I integrated a few other types of readings I came across from the first time. So for those of you who are interested in planning your own new media course, or just wanting to read more about this intriguing field of study, here are some handy recommendations from yours truly that you can add to your Amazon wish list.

• Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World by Naomi S. Baron
• Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte
• Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser
• Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
• Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the Information Millennium by Paul Levinson
• Eloquent Images: Word and Image in the Age of New Media by Mary E. Hocks and Michelle R. Kendrick
• Get Real: Philosophical Adventures in Virtual Reality by Phillip Zhai
• Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate by Steven Johnson
• iPod and Philosophy: icon of An Epoc by D. E. Wittkower
• New Media: An Introduction by Terry Flew
• New Media Cultures by P.David Marshall
• New New Media by Paul Levinson
• Remediation: Understanding New Media by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin
• Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman
• The Economics of Attention: Style and Substance in the Age of Information by Richard A. Lanham
• The Language of New Media by Lev Manovich
• The Making of Second Life by Wagner James Au
• The New Media Reader by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort

Didn’t see your favorite book on this list? Drop me an e-mail and I’ll add it to the list.

Before I begin, I must admit that I resist political labels, however if you were to classify me I would moreover be a moderate Independent.

I’ve been hearing the term “liberal professors” for a few months now. I finally did a quick google search on the term and a Fox News story comes up. It discusses the University of Toledo’s College Republicans effort to compile and publish a list of liberal professors at their institution (here’s a link to the story). A few more stories of interest appear, but the one that intrigued me is a wiki called Conservapedia.

Convervapedia outlines the following criteria for being a liberal professor:

• they were never approved by peer review that is customary for the position of “professor”
• they exaggerate or outright lie about their credentials, research or background
• they received an appointment due to affirmative action rather than merit
• they received an appointment due to an unusual gift of the professorship for his benefit
• they have never written or achieved anything of scholarly value
• they use their position to claim expertise in areas beyond their training

Here’s my sarcastic interpretation of their definition: By Conservapedia’s standards, “liberal professors” are professors in name only. These insidious rogue agents have infiltrated the ivory tower of the Academy through deceptive practices or by bribing all levels of the administration and hiring process (which means they’re independently wealthy). They’re research is done in a vacuum and does not have any value whatsoever; it’s self-serving. Once in the classroom, they espouse expertise on anything and everything but what they were hired to do because they can. Do I have it right?

Putting sarcasm aside (which is rather difficult for me to do), here is a more serious commentary. Anyone entering college should realize that the university experience is about being exposed to ideas that might go against your personal beliefs. This is what makes the intellectual experience a unique one – something that allows us to learn new things or ideas, solidify what it is we believe, or expand our own curiosity about a variety of subjects. Education is not indoctrination folks. Education is exercise for our brains.

To be fair, there are some professors in the system that do use their power for self-serving reasons. They might give lower grades to students who dare argue with them in class or write something contradictory to what they believe. But please know that there is a difference between being exposed to beliefs that go against your own, and being graded inappropriately because the professor doesn’t like your answer. The former is about expanding our intellectual horizons, the latter is something inappropriate.

Let me now declare that I am a liberal professor. Not politically or religiously – but academically. Here’s why. Apart from the common denotations, liberal also means “free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.” In all of my classes, I challenge students to think critically about issues that are both acceptable and controversial. Doing this makes them better citizens overall, regardless of political ideology or religious affiliation. I encourage this because what occurs is an appreciation and respect for that which is different. We may not agree politically (or the like), but I can understand and accept the other person’s point of view. That’s what it means to be a so-called liberal professor – that is education to me. So call me a liberal professor if you’d like. Shoot – I’ll go one step further: register me on Liberal Education’s website. I really don’t mind.

Yep, I’m an idealist. Send complaints to ahosterman@yahoo.com.

Murphy is our 7 year old kid. He’s a black DSH cat with a little white mark on his chest and on his belly. I’ve never been one for cats, but grew into them when Heather and I were married.

Ever try photographing a black cat? Not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

We found Murphy at the local animal shelter. I bent down to scratch another cat and he came up and introduced himself by licking my hat. He has personality, to say the least – a perfect addition to our family. And he’s laid back. Not much phases the cat, not even when he had his temp taken for the first time at the vet’s. He simply fell asleep with it up there.

Murphy’s original name was Prince. So for a short time he was known as “the cat formerly known as Prince,” or just by the paw print. That soon passed. Murphy is more dog than cat sometimes, chasing his stuffed mice and bringing them to us to throw (his version of fetch). Early on he had a ribbon he would carry in his mouth all across the house, hoping someone would play with him. He still does that but now with milk rings. The ribbon must have been a phase. Murphy sleeps on us, wakes us up, and is an outstanding conversationalist when he wants to be. In all ways, he really is a part of the family.

So as you might have read through my Twitter and Facebook postings, Murphy is going through some unknown health problems right now. He’s lost quite a bit of weight, is not eating with regularity, and lethargic. He’s our kid and so we’re naturally worried and doing all we can to help him get back to normal. Here’s the story to date…

About a month or so ago, I took Murphy to the vet to see about the hair loss around his tail and on his ankles. The doctor weighed him, asking me how much I thought he was. I guessed 16 lbs.; he was always a fit cat for his size. The doc told me Murphy weighed 14 lbs, which was odd. Over the next few weeks we saw him lose more weight, so I brought him back in. On this visit he was 12 lbs. and his eating habits were sporadic, to say the least.

Like any cat, Murphy loves a good ball of yarn.

At this stage, the vet did blood work on Murphy which turned out to be negative. Next, he did X-Rays which came back negative for blockages, growths or something adversely affecting his eating habits (like an abscess in his mouth). However, the doc did notice that his intestinal tract was a inflamed some. He gave him prescription food and a B12 shot to stimulate his appetite. This seemed to work that night (pretty much eating everything we put in front of him) but after a day or so he went back to his sporadic eating habits: tuna some day, wet food another.

Murphy’s lack of appetite (which is called feline anorexia) has been one of the major issues surrounding his weight loss. Sometimes he eats tuna, other times Pounce (a common cat treat). He won’t eat his dry food yet he nibbles on the dog’s food once in awhile. He eats some wet cat food, but doesn’t care for the venison or duck flavored prescription food (we don’t even that good). He always goes nuts whenever we eat yogurt, although he is a bit finicky over flavors. Peach is his favorite, followed up by strawberry and blueberry. He’s not a fan of key lime pie or other tart ones. We’ve forgiven him for that.

The latest weigh-in for Murphy is 9.5 lbs. He’s skin and bones, literally. He’s lethargic and doesn’t eat with any regularity. The doc has drawn some more blood to run specialized tests on his liver, pancreas, etc. We’re also giving him pills to stimulate his appetite but it hasn’t kicked in yet.

Murphy loves sitting in the window, looking at the neighbor cats.

To make sure there’s some sort of sustenance in his system, we’re letting him drink water from the tub’s faucet. He usually comes out looking like a drowned rat. We’re also having to force feed him watered-down food with a syringe. It’s not exactly a fun experience for any of us, but it’s necessary.

I’ve heard from quite a few friends about different conditions that I might ask the vet about, and I am very grateful for those suggestions. I’ve mentioned some to him already and I’m planning on doing it when the test results come back, hopefully Monday.

Murphy is our kid. He’s our boy. He gives us love and attention and keeps us safe by pointing the way to an occasional mouse, fly or other household intruder. So if we need to run more tests, we will. And if we have to take him to a cat expert, we will. We are committed to getting him back to a healthy state.

Please make sure to keep your paws crossed and think about Murphy when you can. Good wishes are welcomed and will be returned in kind.

The other day I received a FWD from a family member that stressed the importance of saying Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays this year, because “don’t forget that Jesus is the reason for the season.” Usually I just delete these e-mails and move on. To each their own, right? Today, though, I decided to respond with a Reply All message. Some members on the list I’m related to by marriage, others were just there from the previous FWD. I don’t know how it will be taken but I felt I needed to be heard on this issue. I feel much better now.

Here is what I wrote…

“I would just like to point out that there is more than just one celebration going on throughout the months of December and into early January. A few of these are typically what what we think of as the “holiday season,” but some are not:

Dec. 1st – World AIDS Day
Dec. 7th – St. Nicholas’ Day
Dec. 8th – Rohatsu (Buddhist celebration of the enlightenment)
Dec. 10th – Human Rights Day
Dec. 11th – Hannukah begins
Dec. 18th – Islamic new year
Dec. 25th – Christmas
Dec. 26th – Kwanzaa begins
Dec. 27th – Ashura (Islamic holy day celebrating Noah leaving the ark and Moses being saved by Egyptians)
Dec. 31st – New Year’s Eve

As you can see, December is not a Christian month per se.

Fact: Ramadan is not celebrated in December. Rather, it was August 21st through September 19th. Ramadan is a 30 day holiday of purifying the soul to refocus their attention on God and practice self-sacrifice.

Fact: Kwanzaa focuses on the faith and the family, community, and nation in which people live.

Finally, to those friends who are atheists or believe in traditions that are found in other cultures – celebrating mother Earth or the like – the winter solstice is celebrated in the month of December. This was the pagan holiday that inevitably became Christmas.

We are a multi-cultural society. There is no denying this fact. Rather than isolating ourselves isn’t it best to embrace these differences? To say “Happy Holidays” to my students is not an offense against them or their religion, nor is it a PC term coined by the political pundits or politicians du jour. “Happy Holidays” is simply a term that encompasses all of those celebrations we engage in during the months of December and January. I am wishing the best for all of the celebrations. Therefore…

To my Christian friends, I will say Merry Christmas.
To my Jewish friends, I will say Happy Hannukah.
To my African American friends, I will say Happy Kwanzaa.
And to everyone, I will say Happy Holidays – wether they are Jewish or Christian, Atheist or Buddhist – for it ’tis the season to celebrate that which you cherish the most: your faith in that which is greater than you.

So please remember what your faith says about embracing and respecting others as they would embrace and respect you.

Alec”

*I was originally going to write this for a commentary piece but they found someone else. Here is the unfinished piece. Someday I’ll finish it up…

On October 2, 1950, a new cartoon strip from United Features Syndicate debuted in eight regional newspapers. It wasn’t a Batman, a Steve Canyon, or even a Li’l Abner. Its main characters were neighborhood children and a little dog and the strip’s title was a common legume. But almost 60 years later that same strip has made such a profound impact on American culture that anyone age 8 to 80 knows its one-word title. Peanuts.

Charles M. Schultz’s iconic comic strip has made an indelible impression on anyone who remembers reading it in the daily newspapers or Sunday funnies. The characters are icons of an innocent generation that never seems to grow old: Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, and Pigpen. Even their pets invoke a smile or two, depending on whom you liked better: Snoopy and Woodstock. Each strip was a self-contained story, not bound by the next day’s installment. Peanuts’ goal was simple: make the reader laugh. But it did much more than that.

Growing up, I remember identifying with Charlie Brown more than any other character. I was the outcast, the one who was picked on, and was not the least bit athletic. I even called myself Charlie Brown at times. He was part of my identity – someone I could identify with in a way. But I also knew the smart ones who were the Linuses, the talented ones who were the Schroeders, and even the not-so-clean-smelling ones like the Pigpens. As I looked around, each character seemed to be attending my school. I saw myself in Charlie Brown – similar identities and similar outcomes. I wonder how many other people thought the same thing?

But Peanuts wasn’t all about identifying with characters. The strip itself broke barriers and talked about issues ahead of its time. Lucy dared to dream about being a Psychologist and fall in love with a musical virtuoso. Charlie’s pal Linus, was a philosopher-in-training, doling out advice at his wall of knowledge. Peanuts broke racial barriers with the inclusion of Franklin, an African-American character, in the 1960s.

Schultz was not afraid to challenge gender roles of the time, going against the traditions shown on Ozzy & Harriet or Father Knows Best. He gave girls a pivotal role in the action or reactions of the strip, as leaders and as followers. Lucy was a force to be reckoned with and Peppermint Patty was a tomboy to the Nth degree.

Mark Twain is one of my favorite authors. He spoke about things that others were afraid to – and he did it tongue in cheek. Naturally, he even had an opinion about golf: “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” I used to think that too. Boring game, and even more dull to watch on TV. Not anymore.

Today I went out and played 18 holes with a friend of mine – we’ll call him Arnold Nicklaus for this post. I’ve been going to the driving range for about a month now but that’s a static environment: it doesn’t change and I don’t move around much. I wanted the thrill of a course and the challenge of picking the right clubs for the distance to the hole. I thought that I was ready. But as Arnold tweeted, “the course is another beast – it’s not a driving range.” So truer words were never spoken…ehh, I mean written.

We went to a good local public course today, nothing too difficult. I was averaging around 8 shots per hole (definitely not something to brag about folks) but when I hit 6 and then  a 5 on two different holes, I thought “oh wow – I’m actually getting the hang of this.” And hearing the hollow ping of the ball hitting the neck of the club face resonated in me, as if to say “damn that felt good.” Don’t get me wrong – there were plenty of “did I do that?” and “oh crap, oh crap, oh crap” shots. But I didn’t care. Those were still fun too. In class I would call that a “teachable moment.” Alas, Sunday gave me more than my fair share of teachable moments.

So Mr. Twain, I have to say that you were wrong about golf. It wasn’t a good walk spoiled because we happened to ride in the cart. What I did realize was that I had been wrong about golf oh this past 25 years – it’s hard work, frustrating, quite athletic, and personally challenging. It’s just what I need to work out my dissertation frustrations – not that I have any of those.

Thanks Arnold for walking this newbie through 18 holes and giving me advice and pointers. I’ll be back to the golf course with a better Pitching Wedge in hand. That I promise.

Now, where did I put the Advil and heating pad?

I recently graded the final exams for my Visual Communication class. The first section requires students to identify something specific about an image – whether it be artist, stylistic device, or equipment. On one answer, a student wrote the following:

Really…what’s up with all these name questions? How am I supposed to remember that kind of stuff? I have a hard time remembering the names of my teachers, much less random photographers that have no relevance to my life besides some test.

Alas, I cannot address this student’s concern in person so I thought it might be advantageous to put a quick posting up and explain why names matter. Perhaps this may be helpful for other students that happen to read this blog in the near future.

Here are some reasons why names matter:

1. Names give ownership. One sounds far more intelligent when saying “Arnold Newman photographed Marilyn Monroe” than “That old dude with a beard photographed Marilyn Monroe.”
2. Names can give you a point of reference. Let’s say you want to recreate a style or image from a particular artist. Identifying that artist provides you (and them) with ethos.
3. Without names, we would not know key points in our history. Knowing names allows you to converse and engage your friends and the rest of society with a level of confidence and intelligence that shows you are willing to learn and respect those that came prior.
4. Part of a humanities education includes that which may not be applicable to a technical trade but rather to one’s humanistic growth.

While we’re at it, allow me to dispel some myths about why instructors ask for names on exams:

1. It’s not because I need to put in extra questions for the test.
2. It’s not because I want to trip you up.
3. It’s not because everyone else does it so I do too.
4. It’s not because the test bank told me to do so.

An exam is merely one way I can assess your ability to recall, identify, and apply the information you work with throughout the semester. One way we do this is by asking students to name significant people in the field. The “real world” is a myth. Students are in the real world when they enter college, for if you don’t believe that then why is there such a concern over grades and GPAs?

I hope this helps explain why I ask students to identify names on exams. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

I have to admit, I don’t remember much of seeing Walter Cronkite anchoring the CBS Evening News. He left in 1980 and I was only 8 then. I think I had other things on my mind then, Star Wars figures being one of them. It was in his post-CBS efforts that I remember seeing him and hearing that voice. That unforgettable voice telling us how it was.

Did you know Walter trained himself to talk at a rate of 124 words per minute so people could understand him clearly?* Most people talk around 160 or so, topping out around 200 with “high talkers.” Amazing. And even today he is still part of the CBS family as the voice introducing Katie Couric for the CBS Evening News. He gives her an implied ethos of sorts.

Walter was one of the greats. Ethical. Honest. Always put the story first and considered his audience as intelligent receivers worthy of the news. He was there for it all: JFK assassination, Watergate, Apollo 11 Moon landing and so much more. If he was there, we were there. Very few people today rank up there with Walter, or even have a School of Journalism named after him.

If there’s anything we can learn from Cronkite’s brand of journalism it is to honor the story. Today’s journalists – on the left and the right – have seemed to forego that ideal for ratings or political points. In the end, was Walter a Republican or Democrat? Did it even matter? Not really.

Thanks Walter, for teaching us that.

*And thanks to Wikipedia for that bit of trivia.