tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123674562011-07-28T15:05:45.711-05:00This blog embraces my inner lemming. Lemmings do not commit suicide, collectively, altruistically, metaphorically or otherwise. Filmmakers chased the independent-minded little buggers over the cliff for entertainment and profit. In short, the lemmings were pushed. For the lemmings' story, see my first post.dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.comBlogger1361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-89730648600987732112007-01-14T12:07:00.000-06:002007-01-14T12:08:52.990-06:00

A comment only smokers or former smokers understand: "I don't like the smell of cigarette smoke, I just like smoking."

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-17382809704715923952007-01-07T18:38:00.000-06:002007-01-07T19:09:35.149-06:00

This weekend we traveled further into the provincial areas of our state of residence than we have done previously. A phrase comes to mind, offered by Alfred Sully (1864): "hell with the fires out."Two other things.1) Up until this weekend I'd never seen exits signs that had this warning attached: No Services. I'm pretty the region should have more of these signs, even for exits which presumably

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-83263770974624760472007-01-04T22:32:00.000-06:002007-01-04T22:49:27.585-06:00

Observational wisdom offered over the family holidays:"The reason she likes three-buck Chuck (a cheap wine from Trader Joe's) so much is that she uses wine mostly for medicinal purposes."Ahhhh, family....It's good to be blogging again, hopefully regularly. This semester has got to be better than last. Plus, my expectations are heightened because I've heard so much wonderful news in the past week

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1165905140345723242006-12-12T00:19:00.000-06:002006-12-12T01:20:56.373-06:00

The New Yorker's "Critic at Large" article this week, written by film critic Anthony Lane, is on Walt Disney and the shifts in public and critical perception. It is, in part, a reaction to Neal Gabler's new biography, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.It's well worth reading, especially to chew on Lane's assertions about the critical turn in Disney Studies. I post it in

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1158725071226369082006-09-19T23:03:00.000-05:002006-09-19T23:04:31.243-05:00

One Gallon of Gas: $2.17(political capital gained during election season: Priceless)

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1158514528234883072006-09-17T12:32:00.000-05:002006-09-17T12:35:28.246-05:00

"I not only have issues, I have lifetime subscriptions."Oh, and "Don't be such a Negative Nancy, bitch." (One male to another.) I've never heard "Negative Nancy." I assume the term Nancy has the 19th-century connotations...can anyone confirm?

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1158388774834908102006-09-16T01:33:00.000-05:002006-09-16T01:39:35.040-05:00

Why? Because they amuse me. From my Disneyland trip.See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1156016305767342722006-08-19T14:09:00.000-05:002006-08-19T15:33:43.023-05:00

Random thoughts as I prepare for the new semester...--Why does the phone never ring when I actually want the distraction?--Pirates of the Carribean, the themed attraction at the Disney parks, might have been improved with the new additions, which were intended to create a closer aesethetic and narrative relationship beween the ride and the Johnny Depp films. But the effect of any themed

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1154304433009272622006-07-30T17:19:00.000-05:002006-07-30T19:07:13.486-05:00

I just got back late this week from my California trip, which included time spent in safari tour-guide mode at Disneyland and seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at El Capitan Theatre. I'll post more on these things later, but for now I wanted to draw your attention to a couple of blogs: both the Epcot Central blog and Re-Imagineered are well worth visiting for those interested in

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1153156937719699422006-07-17T11:47:00.000-05:002006-07-18T09:59:11.103-05:00

My theory on this show...Wicked is musical theatre for people who don't attend musical theatre regularly.Having just seen it, I'm dumbstruck by the over-the-top response of the audience. The show is mediocre at best: no striking numbers, unsophisticated characterization, and a weak and saccharine plot. And for those hoping for an adaptation that incorporated the most compelling ideas of Gregory

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1152810701102765992006-07-13T11:53:00.000-05:002006-07-13T12:32:50.180-05:00

I haven't been posting as regularly as I'd like recently, as I'm busy prepping for a research trip. Still, I couldn't resist telling you about the work of Michael Paulus. Paulus, a micromedia artist working out of Portland, has created a series called "Skeletal Systems" which features anatomical sketches of cartoon and comic characters.Included in his series of 22 are renderings of Charlie Brown

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1152475765454821702006-07-09T15:05:00.000-05:002006-07-09T15:33:11.320-05:00

Lawrence of Arabia (Limited Edition)Bold cinematography makes Lawrence of Arabia (1962) worth watching. Although its plot and characters are riveting, it is the film’s cinematography that stays with you. Director David Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young use the desert landscape to provide a sense of scope in this epic. Briefly, the film centers on the actions of T.E. Lawrence, a WWI British

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151948312530586992006-07-03T12:34:00.000-05:002006-07-03T12:38:32.536-05:00

This Michael and Francis Higgins piece, a gift from my aunt, comes from my late uncle’s art studio. I spent time working side-by-side with him as a child, and it was only much later that I realized how significant it was that I was allowed in his studio. My uncle and his artist friends would often trade their “seconds” with each other, and this is one such example.See more progress on: Take more

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151947615512721072006-07-03T12:23:00.000-05:002006-07-03T12:26:55.513-05:00

One lesson I’ve learned from my cats: sometimes all you need to make your day better is a good stretch!See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151947171289844732006-07-03T12:15:00.000-05:002006-07-03T12:19:31.296-05:00

Not as tasty as an apple a day, but…See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151691676924188182006-06-30T13:17:00.000-05:002006-06-30T13:21:17.010-05:00

My (mal)contented roommates.See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151537167275637972006-06-28T18:11:00.000-05:002006-06-28T18:30:18.496-05:00

For those of you interested in Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly, you may enjoy reading Josh Glenn's article in Slate. Here's an excerpt:"So, will Linklater's new, rotoscoped adaptation of A Scanner Darkly, starring Keanu Reeves as Arctor, reveal once and for all which side of Linklater's brain is the dominant one? That is, will Keanu and his drug buddies, played

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151518654330642992006-06-28T13:13:00.000-05:002006-06-28T13:17:34.823-05:00

I love boxes and containers of all sorts. I love books. This was a perfect gift for me.See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151447214449851582006-06-27T17:05:00.000-05:002006-06-27T17:29:24.786-05:00

Interested in learning more about animation as a process and as a business? Now that I've gotten back into my animation grove, I've been lucky enough to run across a few new sites. I've just started reading Mark Mayerson's blog, and highly recommend starting with his three-part series on Animators and Acting: part 1, part 2, and part 3. I'm not sure if there's more to come, but the series is well

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151435025913633412006-06-27T14:00:00.000-05:002006-06-27T14:03:45.930-05:00

A daily commitment to my health and sanity.See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151357866285287622006-06-26T16:34:00.000-05:002006-06-26T16:39:49.533-05:00

Watched two more noir films recently:Murder, My Sweet (1944) is an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Farwewell, My Lovely. Directed by Edward Dmytryk, the film’s plot loosely centers on detective Phillip Marlowe (Dick Powell, not Humphrey Bogart) reluctantly working for ex-con Moose (Mike Mazurki), a big lug who’s looking for his missing tomato.The film is a quintessential noir, marked by dark

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151345970589230582006-06-26T13:15:00.000-05:002006-06-26T13:24:07.123-05:00

In an effort to motivate myself to take more pictures, I’ve committed to posting a month-long series of bio-photos documenting the small moments of my everyday life. (What other kind of life would I have?)The first image captures the Sunday afternoon ritual that staves off the Sunday Night Blues.See more progress on: Take more pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151214660382503932006-06-24T23:50:00.000-05:002006-06-26T17:58:12.376-05:00

Update: Cast member reviews of the refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean have started to come in and, predictably, are pretty laudatory. Interestingly, they are also pretty conciliatory in terms of addressing guest concerns. I suspect the changes to the ride pretty much a non-issue with most of the general public, as well, and even many hard-core Disney fans. You can read the review, with spoilers

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151188100699461112006-06-24T17:23:00.000-05:002006-06-24T17:29:52.216-05:00

All information, including links, from The Disney Blog:"The Lost Girls" by graphic novelist Alan Moore ruffling some feathers"Graphic novelist Alan Moore (wikipedia), known for his 'Watchmen' and 'V for Vendetta' series, has published a series of graphic novels called "Lost Girls" featuring Wendy from Peter Pan, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, in erotic trysts

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151185823204356112006-06-24T16:44:00.000-05:002006-06-24T16:59:50.026-05:00

Anyone feel like sharing their warm and fuzzy memories? (Tom the Dancing Bug brought to you courtesy of Salon.com.)

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151111769204681372006-06-23T19:59:00.000-05:002006-06-23T20:31:47.143-05:00

From Playbill, just in case you haven't heard, yet another Beowulf-from the point-of-view of the Other: "The world-premiere production of Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor's Grendel, a new opera based on the John Gardner novel, opened [8 June 2006] at Los Angeles Opera. "The three-hour long show, which experienced several delayed openings due to technical difficulties, ran in LA until 17 June.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151105176361039702006-06-23T17:06:00.000-05:002006-06-23T18:27:31.926-05:00

If you read my last post on Disney, The Disney Difference, you'll realize my critique of the corporation's move to CGI is two-fold. 1) The shift to CGI is based on the false premise that 2-D animation is passe and 2) Disney is responding to other studio's successes, rather than actively offering new animated films on Disney's own terms.First, the false premise. One needs only look at the pictures

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151099612608915732006-06-23T16:52:00.000-05:002006-06-23T16:53:32.630-05:00

Sometime's it's the little things that bring me joy...like the return of Matt Groening's Futurama, an animated show I always thought was underappreciated as some sort of red-headed stepchild of The Simpsons. According to this NYPost article, Comedy Central will air 13 new episodes by 2008, starring the original voice cast. (Thanks to Boing Boing for keeping me up to date! URL: Woohoo, Futurama

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151083201754975292006-06-23T12:16:00.001-05:002006-06-23T12:20:01.766-05:00

Unforgiveably late, but here are my film lists for 2005: Best Films, 20051) Capote: compelling character study; a worthy companion to Capote’s In Cold Blood2) Corpse Bride: perhaps not the overall strongest animated film, but contained the most vivid scenes3) Everything is Illuminated: family, history, memory, wit.4) Good Night, and Good Luck: ideologically committed film, bonus

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1151026230725308142006-06-22T19:38:00.000-05:002006-06-23T17:06:00.833-05:00

Disney, how the mighty have fallen. You used to dominate the animation game. Remember Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Remember Cinderella? Remember The Little Mermaid? Of course you do.In those films, Disney set its standard and embraced an aesthetic, for better for for worse, that set it apart from other studios. Disney took on full-length animated features when people thought it wasn't viable

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1150812124379149702006-06-20T08:23:00.000-05:002006-06-20T09:11:23.263-05:00

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot, Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. A nostalgic post. I groove on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, primarily because a few years back I went to Walt Disney World during an academic conference. (Gotta love some organizations, they know where to hold

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1150675442633023972006-06-18T18:25:00.000-05:002006-06-22T20:47:33.496-05:00

I finally convinced MPiC to see this movie with me, now that it's arrived at the dollar theater. I didn't have particularly high expectations for the show, and so I wasn't disappointed. It was an enjoyable 1 1/2 hours, especially since it was an air-conditioned theater and the price was right.I don't have the time or inclination to offer fully developed reviews of the films I've been seeing, but

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1150641253409700412006-06-18T09:29:00.000-05:002006-06-18T09:34:13.436-05:00

Living a provincial life means… televised World Cup Soccer games on ABC are pre-empted by Sunday morning church programs. Yes, we live in a place where we can't watch (international) soccer but we can watch (local) people praying and singing hymns off-key. It's good for the soul.The provincial life also means prime-time television is regularly pre-empted by local high-school sports events and by

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1149859884072612612006-06-09T08:25:00.000-05:002006-06-09T08:33:21.746-05:00

I find them annoying."If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one book with you, what would it be?" "...what beauty product would you bring?" "...what one food would you bring?" "...who's the one person you would you want as company?" And my favorite, "...what one tool would you bring to help you survive?"If I were stranded on a desert island, I'm pretty sure I'd have bigger

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1149543007992213172006-06-05T16:13:00.000-05:002006-06-05T16:30:08.056-05:00

Living a provincial life means… I can't get my leather coat cleaned at the local dry-cleaners; they'll accept it and ship it out to the nearest specialist in the "big city. " (I suppose I should take this as a sign to stop wearing leather.)When I walk into the region's lone tailor shop, they assume I'm dropping off suits for my husband to be altered. As if that isn't insulting enough, when I

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1149197512014966372006-06-01T16:25:00.000-05:002006-06-01T16:31:52.036-05:00

1) How does my sock drawer revert to its natural state, chaos, despite my efforts to contain its exuberant existence?2) Whatever happened to the Bermuda shorts/black socks aesthetic? Surely young hipsters should have resurrected it by now?3) How did I manage to get a tan that gave me the little white sox markings that remind me of my cat? Am I becoming one of those pet owners, the ones who look

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1149112004856513712006-05-31T16:21:00.001-05:002006-05-31T16:50:01.663-05:00

I haven't seen the remake of The Poseiden Adventure yet (and don't know if I will), but it's gotten me thinking about the genre. For fun, I tried a little taxonomy of its variants, and this is what I've come up with. I'm sure I've overlooked a couple of categories, so I'm hoping some of you can help me out with examples or taxonomies.Nature Goes Wild. Your standard nature as uncontollable.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1148756565698323402006-05-27T13:25:00.000-05:002006-05-27T14:02:45.716-05:00

Oddly, I admire them, even when they're directed toward me. Coming up with them takes real skill.Anyway, here are a couple of selections from the recent in-law visit and that inspired the earlier post, Advice to In-Laws. What I particularly admire is the way the comments were strewn out over a period of time, with the choice barbs being uttered when only I would hear them. On seeing the artwork

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1148662352513690092006-05-26T11:45:00.000-05:002006-05-26T11:53:30.396-05:00

A brief comment on The Da Vinci Code, which is more than it's worth.I saw The Da Vinci Code, sadly, even thought I didn't like the book and had few hopes for the film. Luckily, I like the film better than the novel. As I said to my movie-going companions, my in-laws among them and fans of Dan Brown, everything that was annoying about the book was still present in the movie but presented in a

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1148595954614395172006-05-25T16:55:00.000-05:002006-05-25T17:41:14.000-05:00

I never aspired to have the stereotypical relationship with my in-laws. But then again, I generally don’t have a lot of aspirations…..Anyway, despite my once-rosy view of extended family [hah!], I’m living the stereotype. Sure, my family is dysfunctional, but it’s my family and so I have the coping skills to survive their assaults on my sanity. MPiC’s family? Just plain old dysfunctional. So,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1147269533768198322006-05-10T08:46:00.000-05:002006-05-10T09:05:00.326-05:00

I just read this article from Credit Bloggers, which was sent to me as a response to one of my lemming rants about money, Suze Orman and our guilt/shame culture. It does a nice job of exploring the vested interest that financial celebrities--versus experts--have in promoting themselves by repackaging common sense and treating the rest of us as irresponsible idiots. Although a serious post, there

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1147213625199812292006-05-09T17:08:00.000-05:002006-05-09T17:31:48.346-05:00

Okay, so MPiC and I went to see Mission Impossible 3. Why? It doesn't really matter, as the motivation for seeing a movie is peripheral to the movie-going experience itself. And so let me tell you what's important about MI3. And no, this isn't a review. There's really nothing to say about the movie. Utterly forgettable as a flick, despite one of my favorite actors being in it. (You can guess who.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1146437587658233692006-04-30T17:51:00.000-05:002006-04-30T17:53:07.673-05:00

Today's randomness: I found myself saying to MPiC, "Darn it all. I have a hole in my favorite pair of socks." I didn't know I had a favorite pair of socks until then. Heck, I didn't know it was possible to have a favorite pair of socks.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1146350749056967882006-04-29T17:05:00.000-05:002006-04-29T19:01:16.930-05:00

Just a brief rant about television shows. Comfort entertainment at its best? No matter how temporary, we each can be king of our own castle, so long as the television's on to remind us how much better we are than what's on the boob tube. Now, I'll be the first to admit that there's a certain appeal in watching television just because it makes you feel more intelligent than you actually are or

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1145891816291909842006-04-24T09:49:00.000-05:002006-04-24T15:27:41.680-05:00

As part of a theater-going weekend in the big city, MPiC and I went out to eat at a local diner which has been touted for its authenticity and for its ability to attract hipsters and locals alike. Now, MPiC and I normally can't resist a diner but the opportunities to see these two species together, in their natural habitats, was irresistable.Once seated, we, like many couples do, immediately set

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1145632868080359242006-04-21T10:13:00.000-05:002006-04-21T10:21:08.103-05:00

Living a provincial life means… people often park their cars in the right-hand lane of secondary (but still busy during "rush hour") roads. The reason drivers do so, rather than pulling into a parking space? To chat with their pedestrian friends. Oh, fancy meeting you here. What a small world! How are Uncle Henry and Auntie Em? Meanwhile, their friends, who stand on the driver's side of the

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1145576700914431842006-04-20T18:30:00.000-05:002006-04-20T18:45:00.930-05:00

It's been so long since I've posted that I have performance anxiety.... That said, you won't hear the sordid stories why, because 1) they're not-so-sordid; 2) they're kind of lame; and/or 3) they're depressing. Take your pick.Now for the randomness. When I went window shopping a couple of weeks ago I stumbled across my dopplegangers. First, there's an extremely comfortable, but not

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1137377631791600592006-01-15T20:07:00.000-06:002006-01-15T20:21:41.223-06:00

Today's randomness: "I want some kind of snack, like a Cinnabon. You know, something warm and sweet and that will lower my IQ."

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1137322514984823812006-01-15T04:52:00.000-06:002006-01-15T04:55:15.276-06:00

In our makeover-obsessed culture, any time of the year is open season for seeking out new identities. But this is especially true in January, seemingly the perfect time for all of us self-improvement lemmings to confess our flaws, embrace our insecurities, and commit to creating a “new you” to match the new year. In fact, there’s quite a bit of pressure to do so—especially in America, which

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1137217610138900552006-01-13T23:45:00.000-06:002006-01-15T02:24:49.376-06:00

As some of you know, my single annual New Year’s resolution is to “laugh with life.” Well, 2006 certainly has put that to the test. Without going into too many details, here are some anecdotes:1) For the first time in my professional life, I forget to show up on the first day of class. One of my students came to my office to collect me. Although the oversight wasn’t entirely my fault, and occured

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1137216713590441222006-01-13T23:30:00.000-06:002006-01-13T23:56:57.156-06:00

I received an official journal as a gift over the holidays from MPiC; it was unexpected because of our “no gifts” agreement, but sweet in its own, non-chocolate-y way.The journal is called, appropriately enough, the Chocolate Lovers Journal and its design is attributed to Lora Brody, the author of Chocolate American Style. The journal is divided into three sections: Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1135294345425279312005-12-22T17:32:00.000-06:002005-12-22T17:32:25.480-06:00

Cool title, wacky plot, kinetic action. I’d say more (and perhaps will later), but this is great little film to see. Some people compare it to Tarantino, negatively, and many critics have lambasted the film because it’s not coherent. I admit, the plot is a little weak—especially for those who feel film’s all about narrative—but director Katsuhito Ishii is a talent to watch. Just let this film’s

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1133294073878261632005-11-29T13:52:00.000-06:002005-11-29T14:20:00.456-06:00

There a lot of reasons to love the holidays from a secular perspective, let alone for any other reason. For me, it’s the spicy smell of this time of year—I love cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. I love baking things and giving it away. Such things make me happy.What doesn’t is the holiday shopping season—I’m one of many people who celebrated Buy Nothing Day.Beyond that, I try to be really conscious

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1132372404427646842005-11-18T21:17:00.000-06:002005-11-18T22:36:24.993-06:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the ten films that have been submitted to compete for, and hopefully win, the coveted Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, 2005. Of these films, three will make Oscar's final list on 31 January 2006. The films (drumroll, please):Chicken Little (Disney)Guilliver's Travels (Pentamedia/Weinstein Co. LLC)Hoodwinked! (Blue Yonder,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1132240928020015582005-11-17T09:09:00.000-06:002005-11-18T22:30:43.356-06:00

Very seldom do I have anything to complain about with regards to MPiC, but there is this exception. A certain frostiness has crept into my relationship to MPiC recently. In fact, it happens around this time every year. You see, I enjoy a nice, toasty home environment of around 68 degrees. MPiC enjoys a brisk 60. You would think there would be room to compromise. There is. I get to enjoy a warm

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1131234373776880992005-11-05T17:31:00.000-06:002005-11-05T17:46:13.793-06:00

This last weekend I visited the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota as part of my road trip to Minneapoloise. Yes, it was a deliberate destination! After all, there’s so much going for Spam to justify a trip.1) There’s the kitsch value. C’mon, the place gets a write-up in Roadside America! 2) I kinda like the packaging. Very colorful.3) Hormel has a sense of humor—how can they not, after Spam got

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1129938802702276932005-10-21T17:25:00.000-05:002005-10-21T18:59:15.660-05:00

Just a couple of brief items to note, broadly related to cheese.This week, I received a Zingerman's Catalog in the mail. For those of you who don't know, Zingerman's is a foodie's dream destination, a small-ish but always-busy deli and store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They're the people behind Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, a book I find myself frequently referring to when I shop. I find myself

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1129763663206008332005-10-19T18:08:00.000-05:002005-10-19T18:14:56.430-05:00

Candy, candy, candy…that’s one of biggies of Halloween, so of course I want to observe it! But it’s more than that. Now, Miss Manners has dismissed Halloween as simply an indulgent (self and otherwise) holiday. I beg to differ, there’s nothing simple about indulgence at all. I have fond memories of Halloween as a time when my imagination was allowed its wildest flights of fancy. I could be anyone

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1129447764462826482005-10-15T23:28:00.000-05:002005-10-21T19:31:33.916-05:00

Wow. I just got to see Phantom of the Opera as the feature of my area's Annual Silent Movie Night. The film print, which admittedly wasn’t in great shape, was accompanied by live music played on a Wurlitzer organ. The film was shown in a historic theater, to a sold-out crowd which ranged in age from around eight to eighty.It’s really a masterpiece, still engaging as both a melodrama and a horror

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1129128904075831182005-10-12T21:54:00.000-05:002005-10-12T10:21:55.100-05:00

Living a provincial life in terms of travel means…• October means Halloween, Halloween means corn mazes for folks in my area (as I assume it does for much of the country.) I love them. In the past, I’ve had to drive anywhere from ½ hour to an hour to reach one. Now, I only need to drive 10 minutes to get to one.• My local airport is also convenient, another example of a 10-15 minute drive. I can

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1128718580980316762005-10-07T15:53:00.000-05:002005-10-08T15:54:26.183-05:00

Oooooh, I could go on about the food issues and family. (I’m just a big cannoli tube of issues.)Have you ever noticed when big groups of family (and sometimes even friends) get together to go out to eat spontaneously—like when choosing restaurants outside your hometown—everyone’s too paralyzed to make decisions? The indecisiveness isn’t explained as stemming from a group’s lack of planning or

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1128389878548209802005-10-07T07:22:00.000-05:002005-10-08T16:25:01.133-05:00

One of the things I'm loving about films right now is the competition in the animated film market. Driven partially by the onslaught of family-friendly, holiday entertainment, partially by the attempt to generate Oscar buzz, and partially by an interest in working with CGI/digital animation's potential when combined with traditional animation techniques, studios are releasing a fair number of

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1128390489145439732005-10-06T10:38:00.000-05:002005-10-08T15:38:20.443-05:00

A brief tidbit: in limited release right now is a Sony production named MirrorMask. This is a film directed by Dave McKean, written by Neil Gaiman and McKean, and featuring the work of Henson's Creature Shop. I don't happen to live near any area where it is or will be playing, but it's been get some good buzz. It's probably worth a look.For those who want more information about the film, I've

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1128382671219934972005-10-04T00:56:00.000-05:002005-10-04T11:36:00.656-05:00

I saw Corpse Bride with MPiC when it opened nationally a little over a week ago. We both enjoyed it quite a bit, particularly for the creation of the underworld. MPiC has never seen Nightmare Before Christmas (or Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood) and is relatively unaware of Burton's whimsical visuals. Me, I've seen all those films, plus some, and I'll see pretty much watch anything

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1128378796863130342005-10-03T17:13:00.000-05:002005-10-03T21:26:14.120-05:00

I received feedback from my college's Curriculum Committee on my proposal for a new film course. There were no major comments, and the committee is quite supportive of the class. But there was some confusion about the inclusion of prerequisites: English xxxx, English xxxx, or Theatre xxxx. Apparently, some members didn't understand whether students will need to take all or one of the listed

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1127090176914628462005-09-18T19:31:00.000-05:002005-09-18T20:12:50.680-05:00

I’ve just finished watching Umberto D (1952) by director Vittorio De Sica, who also made The Bicycle Thief. It’s a truly touching film, a description I don’t offer lightly, and a stunning example of Italian Neo-Realist cinema.From the DVD blurb: Shot on location with a cast of nonprofessional actors (this is one attribute of neorealism), Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist masterpiece follows Umberto D

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1126985212763978972005-09-17T13:34:00.000-05:002005-09-17T14:48:51.796-05:00

Childhood Games I Liked*• Pit (A card game with a bell and shouting! Uno, with its sneaky reversals and in-your-face attempts to foil the would-be winner, comes close.)• Lawn Jarts (Throwing big, pointy objects at targets, some of them moving! Why did they stop producing this game? It’s just not the same with darts.)• Tri-onimos (I recognized this as the adult world’s attempt to teach me to add

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1126488723858419432005-09-11T20:13:00.000-05:002005-09-13T11:14:07.433-05:00

Living a provincial life means… within a five-block radius of my apartment, which is near the heart of downtown, there are at least ten churches (but not ten denominations), thirteen bars, and five fraternal organizations/service clubs (American Legion, VFW, AmVet, Elks and Sons of Norway...not sure if the Moose Lodge is still up-and-running). There are two SRO (transient) buildings; one other

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1126394413481874702005-09-10T17:51:00.000-05:002005-09-10T18:20:13.493-05:00

For various reasons I tend to keep my eye on the Disney corporation, and so I was interested to see what their response to Hurricane Katrina would be. In one PR move, Walt Disney World is offering to take--or I should say interview--displaced university students for their Disney Theme Parks & Resorts College Program. In the College Program, university students spend a few months working at WDW,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1126293448046054362005-09-09T13:38:00.000-05:002005-09-09T16:44:42.333-05:00

Okay, a post of little importance and some silliness:MPiC and I liberated a young rabbit from our apartment complex's underground garage the other day. Our garage door malfunctioned over the Labor Day weekend and had been open for several days. Apparently, the rabbit had hippity-hopped its way in and gotten trapped in the garage after the door was fixed. MPiC noticed the rabbit cowering in a

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125881288087440032005-09-04T18:54:00.000-05:002005-09-19T18:30:41.156-05:00

For all you folks out there who tend to clump animated films into either two camps, traditional cel animation/"old" Disney or CGI/Pixar, please remember the alternatives! Tim Burton's Corpse Bride will be released nationally on 23 September, and I'm telling you right now it will be gorgeous. The film is Burton's long-awaited follow-up (but not truly a sequel) to 1993's The Nightmare Before

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125873145854382762005-09-04T17:15:00.000-05:002005-09-07T12:54:20.663-05:00

I'm pleased to say that a number of universities across the nation are offering educational opportunities and various forms of financial assistance (housing, tuition, jobs) to college students whose studies have been interrupted because of Katrina. For a large, but incomplete list, check out The Katrina Relief Database at elearners.com. Unlocked Wordhoard notes that Troy University in Alabama has

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125691456832229962005-09-02T14:56:00.000-05:002005-09-04T17:42:22.756-05:00

In addition to pressings concerns involving food, health-care and clean-up needs, Katrina has left the region with the challenge of relocating its displaced and homeless citizens. Here are two different suggestions coming from blogs I've run across. Unlocked Wordhoard writes about the possible relocation of students, a natural concern given his professorial nature. Frank over at Pirate Journal

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125690650902809882005-09-02T14:36:00.000-05:002005-09-02T14:53:55.993-05:00

As promised, here's more information on how Alabamans are offering relief for those people displaced by Katrina. Dr. Richard Nokes of Unlocked Wordhoard notes that the fair-but-small-city of Troy, where he lives and works, may have opened its doors to 300 or so victims. Do you live, know someone who lives in Troy? Are you a former Trojan? Perhaps you attended Troy's New Orleans campus? Think

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125689492947911672005-09-02T14:18:00.000-05:002005-09-02T14:31:32.953-05:00

For those folks who, like me, live far away from the disaster sites and don't necessarily have local connections with the areas hit, please consider donating money to the reputable organization of your choice. Dollars donated to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army will be put to good and immediate use.If you're interested in helping in other ways, you might want to check out the KatrinaHelpWiki,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125687876947884032005-09-02T13:54:00.000-05:002005-09-02T14:09:28.746-05:00

Even in my neck of the Midwest woods, the topic du jour is Katrina and the aftermath. We're horrified and sympathetic. In fact, everyone I know of has been trying to find ways to contribute to the relief efforts. On his blog Unlocked Wordhoard, Dr. Richard Nokes has been doing a great job of keeping his readers informed of local needs & various opportunities to offer aid and assistance. In an

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125282250330709972005-08-30T16:23:00.000-05:002005-08-30T16:47:11.936-05:00

I’m teaching an undergraduate film-noir course this semester. I started out with a sweet little B-movie film directed by Edward Ulmer, Detour (1945). Only 67 minutes long, Detour includes many of the elements associated with noir: an extensive use of voiceover; flashbacks that contribute to a non-chronological narrative; Al Roberts, the loner protagonist (Tom Neal); a strong sense of fatalism,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125347585568859522005-08-29T15:32:00.000-05:002005-08-29T15:38:01.316-05:00

A patient has filed a complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney General's office, complaining that Dr. Terry Bennett told her she was obese and needed to lose weight. She claimed his advice was hurtful, not helpful. The state investigated and has proposed Dr. Bennett enroll in a medical education course and acknowledge his mistake. (Instead, he claims to have written an apology letter.) Bennett

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125347475573510082005-08-29T14:45:00.000-05:002005-11-05T18:00:25.096-06:00

A patient has filed a complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney General's office, complaining that Dr. Terry Bennett told her she was obese and needed to lose weight. She claimed his advice was hurtful, not helpful. The state investigated and has proposed Dr. Bennett enroll in a medical education course and acknowledge his mistake. (Instead, he claims to have written an apology letter.) Bennett

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125279590373314262005-08-29T01:38:00.000-05:002005-08-29T15:34:47.683-05:00

Living a provincial life means…included in the dozen-or-so daily comics in the town newspaper, which is also has the largest circulation in the state, are the following: Gasoline Alley, Mary Worth, Rex Morgan, Mallard Filmore, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, and The Lockhorns.To give the paper fair credit, it does run Doonesbury and Get Fuzzy on Sundays. Then again, it also carries Family Circle,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125277557340401472005-08-28T16:03:00.000-05:002005-08-28T20:05:57.343-05:00

When I started this series, I had no idea I’d have so much to say, even though I realized I had become interested in the savvy construction of the books. Anyway, these are some other things that keep the Harry Potter (HP) series churning along. Rather than develop these ideas at length, I’m just going to default to bulleted lists. Call this post, “Things I Meant to Get Around to Really Talking

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1125276999248132792005-08-27T19:55:00.000-05:002005-08-28T19:59:35.213-05:00

Why Harry Harry Potter: Part III, Plotting the Evils(Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted; I’ve been having problems with my home wireless connection for the last week or so; I only post to my blog at home, so I’ve had to go cold turkey.)After talking about Harry Potter’s characters and world, what more can be said about what makes J.K. Rowling’s books so marketable? I’d like to turn to the

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124497303615310922005-08-19T18:01:00.000-05:002005-08-19T19:21:43.646-05:00

No, I'm not offering go give mine up, not just yet anyway. (Talk to me in a few months....) I'm passing along this information for those folks who may be going on the job market in the next couple of years and are looking at smaller to mid-size insitutions where teaching and service are considered to be equal to if not more important than research and publication. Here's the kind of candidate

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124562075850044182005-08-19T13:20:00.000-05:002005-08-20T13:48:52.530-05:00

I'm posting this in response to comment left by Frank, and I'm delighted to see he is interested in an academic life. Maybe we're not a dying breed. My response got quite lengthy, so I'm making it a separate post. (Forgive the informality...I originally wrote this as an email before deciding to make it public.) As someone who hopes to become a humanities academic at some point, I have a question:

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124418253369902242005-08-18T21:10:00.000-05:002005-08-18T21:29:50.753-05:00

In addition to being terminally cute, this lamp from DisneyDirect, along with with 9 other products, may cause cancer. Seriously. Here's the warning, straight from the online catalogue: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Sorry, no gift boxing available. Hmmm. Disney Direct Marketing don't appear to be

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124399829244492732005-08-18T16:08:00.000-05:002005-08-20T13:51:13.633-05:00

The post title is fairly self-explanatory. Why the gallows humor? I wrote these notes during another interminable department meeting. • Was this trip really necessary?• My grave is not a tourist hotspot. No flash photos.• The funeral? $15,000. The afterlife? Priceless.• And then dkp realized that not only had the party ended, she had long overstayed her welcome. • Life? Been there, done that.•

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124215777466651002005-08-17T12:25:00.000-05:002005-08-29T00:10:01.860-05:00

One of the genres of writing I'm alternately fascinated and repelled by is the self-help genre. If you're like me, you find something deeply troubling about the oversimplification, crassness and insipid optimism found in most of these books. They pacify lemmings by invoking a tired "Horatio Alger" rhetoric, a rhetoric which is mind-bogglingly powerful. So I recommend "Who Moved My Ability to

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124237357960165062005-08-16T17:44:00.000-05:002005-08-17T17:31:31.313-05:00

For those of you who are interested, Neil Gaiman is soon to become the pop-culture expert on Beowulf. In case you don't know, Gaiman's a writer for the upcoming Zemeckis film of Beowulf currently in pre-production and slated for a 2007 release. Gaiman's 15 August journal entry, on his website, takes on two burning questions about the film: 1) Helmets, with or without horns? and 2) What about the

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124209583616318952005-08-16T12:03:00.000-05:002005-08-16T13:21:09.076-05:00

Living the Provincial Life... means eating out offers me a choice of 8 mom-and-pop diners, 5 steakhouses, and 3 donut shops. I'm not quite sure how many taverns/restaurants there are which specialize in huge cuts of various meats to complement the beer--but I can think of at least 4. There are 0 vegetarian restaurants. I'm a vegetarian, so this is a bit of a deal-breaker. There's also no Thai,

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124210431961360222005-08-16T11:36:00.000-05:002005-08-16T11:50:35.116-05:00

In response to this post about PDA, let me just add...I do have to note that half the reason I'm posting this is to test Trackback; I've finally gotten the motivation to do so thanks to Erik and R. Scott Nokes. The other reason, though, is both karmabot's post and this comic made me laugh. I'm shallow sometimes.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124076983031867452005-08-15T15:25:00.000-05:002005-08-16T13:11:50.693-05:00

Fair warning: a venting storm approaches. I recently had a meeting for instructors who will participate in a special learning program during the upcoming academic year. We were to receive hard and CD copies of the program information, future meeting dates, and other miscellaneous information. Because of everyone’s summer schedule, the meeting was scheduled for an evening night and was supposed to

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124077160954057162005-08-15T15:20:00.000-05:002005-08-16T21:33:09.580-05:00

So about halfway through this meeting, I started to make a list of tips for attending and running meetings:If you’re attending meetings:• Be on time, maybe even a few minutes early. I’m not your date, so I don’t want to wait for you to make yourself presentable. If you must be late, please keep questions about information the organizer has obviously already covered to a minimum.• Meetings are a

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1124065002932898742005-08-14T18:41:00.000-05:002005-08-14T19:36:28.116-05:00

Today, MPiC and I celebrated our 7th anniversary as a couple. I'm planning on the seven-year itch kicking in tomorrow, just on schedule, but today I'm deeply touched to see how much we're in sync. We gave each two different Gretchen Kramp tiles.Kramp is one of our favorite artists--she's the Detroit tilemaker who designed the murals for the Detroit Zoo's amphibian and polar bear houses. We got

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123970384007127792005-08-13T16:51:00.000-05:002005-08-15T13:50:27.053-05:00

Living the Provincial Life... means the local parks and recreation department offers quite the range of possibilities for my leisure-time pleasure. Not only can I sign up for hockey and curling leagues or take skating lessons, I can take classes in bow hunting, ice fishing, duck calling and fly tying.

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123885273835765282005-08-12T17:00:00.000-05:002005-08-12T17:23:29.166-05:00

I caught a segment on tipping shown on MSNBC’s "Connected Coast to Coast." It featured restaurant-industry guests discussing the merits of tipping vs. a flat service fee. (I caught the talk in progress, but I believe its entry point was Per Se's decision to institute a service fee in place of tipping; Steven Shaw offers his opinion on the policy change in his NYTimes essay, "Tipped Off."

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123732940449355912005-08-10T22:28:00.000-05:002005-08-10T23:34:55.906-05:00

These are my musings on the success of the Harry Potter (HP) series. This is Part II: HP's World. As mentioned in Part I, I believe J.K. Rowling’s world to be essential to the success of the series. Generally, Rowling's setting appeals because it constructs a very everyday, yet magical, world. It is exotically familiar.HP as Speculative Fiction. Rowling's setting demonstrates she is participating

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123455629036528552005-08-07T16:45:00.000-05:002005-08-16T17:26:54.136-05:00

A friend of mine recently asked why I describe myself as "leading a provincial life," as I do on this blog. It's a good question. Rest assured, living the provincial life is not voluntary but the result of where & how I'm living. For those who didn't immediately recognize the allusion--and there's no reason you necessarily would--I was referencing a line from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. In the

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123370950697657562005-08-06T16:56:00.000-05:002005-08-06T18:40:00.693-05:00

Because I'm in academe, August is when I plan my fiscal year. Beyond revisiting my budget, one goal I have is to get my charitible donations organized and under control. Not that giving away money is a bad habit. It's just that, if I'm honest, I don't know what I'm doing when I give money away. I don't know why I've chosen the charities I currently give money to. And I'd like to.How did I start

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123105231942076152005-08-03T15:44:00.000-05:002005-08-10T23:36:00.656-05:00

These are my musings on the success of the Harry Potter (HP) series. This is Part I: Major Characters. I use the recent review written by Liesel Schillinger and published in Sunday’s The New York Times Book Review (31 August) as my inspiration for starting with the books' major characters. (In her generally positive review, Shillinger observes that “Rowling’s gift is not so much for language as

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12367456.post-1123101476296659972005-08-02T23:11:00.000-05:002005-08-03T15:41:18.270-05:00

I’ve been meaning to post on Harry Potter (HP) series, but not a review of the newest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Although I enjoyed the book as a quick, escapist read, it’s nothing I feel compelled to review. Plus, you can find tons of reviews out here in the blogosphere and beyond.But what I am interested in is why the series is so successful, why it has such a following. Not

dkphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614090600684878856noreply@blogger.com0