AFK -- "Away From Keyboard"

Flying out to San Francisco to visit my family and friends for 10 days. Be back in Grinnell on January 4th ... or 5th ... something like that.

Cheers!

Grades Are Done!

Final grades were submitted and I am officially done for the semester. I had about four rounds of grading and adjustments for my second class. It wasn't easy, but I think it's fair for everyone.

Now I can take the rest of the day day to clean up the house, do the laundry, pack my bags because tomorrow, Wednesday, we'll be flying out to San Francisco for ten days to see my family and friends.

It just occurred to me that I have a section to write for the departmental review ...

... two articles to revise for publications ...

... four more applications to send out ...

... two conference papers to write ...

... three syllabi to develop ...

... a department website to revamp ...

... and a list of Asian American books to write up for the students.

Did I forget anything else?

UPDATE (10:42pm):
It just occurred to me how different the grading system is at Grinnell College. At GMU, there was a pull down menu that lists all our options from "A+" to "F" to even some specialized ones such as "SA" which is short for "Stopped Attending." I vaguely remember over a dozen choices. Grinnell's system does not have a drop down menu. In fact, it's just a fill-in box. So it made me wonder what else could I put there? How about the letter "Q"? Or numbers like "6" or the ever popular "7"? How about a combination of letters and numbers like "L33t"? They all seem perfectly acceptable. I just find it hilarious when thinking about who'll be reading it like the Registrar's Office and, of course, the students themselves. They might collectively think, "WTH was this guy smoking?!?" And I would say, "I wish I was! But I just wanted to know what would happen."

Conundrum

CONUNDRUM: co * nun * drum [kuh-nuhn-druh-m]

1. A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma.

So how can you tell the difference between an "A" paper from a "B" when a significant majority of my students wrote exceptional papers?

At other schools, it was easy. You can easily tell who prepared their papers, edited them, and submitted them in a polished format versus papers that were hastily and haphazardly written at 3am. The gulf between an "A" paper from everything else was wide and easy to navigate. With my students, however, it is not that simple or clear cut. On the one hand, they are all "A" papers -- polished, creative, and coherent. On the other hand, I can't possibly give everyone an "A" on their paper and for their final grade.

Can I?

I know my grading standard is based upon past experiences at other institutions and it is fairly straightforward. But at a college where excellence is the standard, I am faced with the reality that I have to be more precise than ever before, that is, not only widening the gulf between an "A" and a "B" paper, but also the pluses and minuses in between.


UPDATE (5:39pm): One class down and one more to go.

UPDATE (6:20pm): Note to self: never grade papers on an empty stomach.

Somebody Was Going to Do It

It was one thing to see President Bush get assaulted by a flying shoe. That was already funny. In fact, it was too surreal, like a scene from a Monty Python episode or slapstick comedy from The Three Stooges.

But I was wondering if President Bush was going to include this moment in his Presidential Library? I guess it wouldn't matter to him anyway since the clip will be housed forever on the internet.

I'm also guessing that the Secret Service didn't want to have these news headlines the next day: "AGENT TAKES SHOE FOR PRESIDENT"? It just doesn't work, does it?

But wait! I have evidence that the person who threw the shoe wasn't an Iraqi TV reporter as the news indicated. It was THIS MAN from an Austin Powers movie! (Thanks to Poplicks.com for this one).

I Didn't Want This Day To Come

In the past when I was teaching at other schools, I would count the days till the end of the semester when I would be finally free of my professional obligations as a teacher. I would breathe a sigh of relief and jump for joy when that day came. I would praise the few students who worked their hardest for me, and piss off the ones who disrespected me. I would pick up my mail in the department office that's been accumulating over the semester and quickly disappear back into the nameless faceless crowd of other adjuncts and professors.

That didn't happen this time around. In fact, I didn't realize today was the last day of the semester. I know I'll see my students in the future and that I'll definitely stay in touch with all of them. But more than anything else, I realize that I didn't want this day to come because I was genuinely enjoying my time and work with the students of Grinnell College.

I have nothing but praise for all of my students!

Damn, I can't believe it's the last day.

Hogwarts and Grinnell College

After a prolonged and careful deliberation from personal and anecdotal observations, I have come to the conclusion that if I had to compare Grinnell students to the four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they would be HUFFLEPUFF!

Maybe Ravenclaw, but that would be a very long stretch.

Why, you might ask?

Hufflepuff is the most inclusive of the four houses. They value diligence, loyalty, tolerance, and fair play that are attributes that both Grinnell and Hufflepuff share in abundance. Ravenclaw was also a serious contender since they value intelligence, creativity, wit, and wisdom. I would've gladly selected Ravenclaw had wisdom not been a trait but oh well. Besides, out of the four houses, only Hufflepuff had the poorest performance in quidditch matches which seems to be a record comparable to Grinnell's football season for the past several years (this year was promising since they won 3 games).

Some might be offended but I assure you there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff.

I have many friends who are Hufflepuffs and they do just fine.

PostSecret

From this week's posting on PostSecret ...

So what do you call someone who is "terrified of Chinese people" but is not a racist?


A. Paranoid.

B. Dumbass.

C. Idiot.

D. Racist.

E. All of the above.

Winter Cometh

So the moment that I've been dreading has arrived. It's snowing quite steadily, not heavily but it's a kind of slush for now. It snowed last Saturday but it didn't stay long enough. This downfall may become ice over night and so my girlfriend parked her car into the garage, while my truck is left to fend for itself outside.

Ice? You mean that's different from snow?!?

I shall find out soon enough.

Luckily, it's college football all day featuring some historical rivals such as Alabama v. Auburn, Georgia Tech v. Georgia, and so on.

Back Already?

Yep. Came back yesterday evening and the first thought on my mind was, "Where's our leftovers?" Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce, seafood tofu soup, and dozens of dim sum. Yes, it was a great weekend getaway indeed!

A Much Needed Departure

And off we go to Minneapolis, MN for a much needed getaway from work for the weekend. It's going to be colder but at least I'll be able to enjoy city life even if it is for a few days.

A Change Is Gonna Come

In this corner, we have Sam Cooke's original "A Change Is Gonna Come" in 1964 ...



And in this corner, we have Seal's just released remake ...



This was tough, but sorry Seal. I went with Sam Cooke. Seal's got the smooth voice and a range in power, but the experiences of growing up under Jim Crow and segregation just isn't there. My vote's for Sam Cooke.

Shameless Promotion

Bah ... another attempt ...

49er Faithful

I waited a couple of days before posting this thought, but watching my hometown favorites, the SF 49ers, lose their match against the Cardinals in the last 2 seconds of the game on the 2 yard line from a game winning touchdown, was unbearable to endure. To have a win come so close and then to watch it fall apart ... well ... no words can capture my utter disbelief. And not to mention the fact that I do not receive 49er game coverage because I'm in Iowa so it makes following their season a bit more difficult.

I still have very high hopes for the new interim coach Mike Singletary and offensive coach Mike Mart. I think their championship experience is the start of a new era for a return of 49er supremacy in the NFL.

But not yet.

I do like Singletary's offensive philosophy: a hard hitting aggressive strategy that the 49ers haven't had in a very long time. Under the late Bill Walsh, the "West Coast" offense of finesse was the strategy that propelled the 49ers into victory with Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Roger Craig leading the way. Likewise, we had a powerful defense with the likes of Ronnie Lott and the infamous Bill Romanowski as the hardest hitters around.

But that time is over. It's Singletary's time and he introduces what the 49ers have sorely needed since those championship days: fearlessness.

The remaining season will still be a tough time, but like the 49er Faithful, we're optimistic that the good times will come again.

Who's House? OUR HOUSE!!!

It's been a very long time since I felt like I was a part of something genuine, just, and true. The last time I felt moved in this was was Jesse Jackson's presidential bid back in the '80s. But I quickly learned what disappointment meant and how frustrating it was to change anything. There were so many years when I thought that change would not, and could not, be possible.

Too many promises broken, and too many battles lost. Too many friends who left, and too many times when I said, "I give up."

But no more! What an incredible night! What a historic victory! On a magnitude and scale that goes far beyond one's hopes, it felt as though the country -- the America that I know -- we drew one collective breath together and exhaled with relief, joy, and then jubilation.

For once I wish I was back in Arlington, VA. I wish I could take the Metro to the McPherson Square exit and run up to the front of the White House to join with hundreds of others who have gathered there for the celebration. And with all my might, I would've yelled at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear, "You're in OUR House now!!!"

UPDATE: Bloody hell. Proposition 8, the California ballot to ban same-sex marriage, is going to win. And the exit polls are revealing that the minority electorate voted in favor of the ban which means once again supporters of same-sex marriage are still unable to take race, the language of marriage, and the historical specificity of immigrant, bicultural experiences as factors.

Mr. President

By way of O.W. at Poplicks.com,

"First Asian Boy"

By way of Angry Asian Man ...

I laughed out so loud that I think my colleagues next door were startled. The tune is catchy, good rhymes, and it's just plain fun.

Settling It Old School

It was bound to happen (by way of Poplicks.com) ...

Meet Joe the Plumber

So last night's final presidential debate was exciting as it was irritating. Exciting in the sense that it's over and according to several polls Obama won it easily. Even McCain's jab at Obama for not running against Bush in 2004 was pretty good. But it was irritating not because of McCain's huff 'n gruff demeanor, but at Joe the Plumber.

Who the hell is Joe the Plumber anyway???

Well apparently the NY Times found out and frankly, I'm not surprised. See the article here.

Joe in the Spotlight
by Larry Rohter and Liz Robbins

One week ago, Joe Wurzelbacher was just another working man living in a modest ranch house near Toledo thinking about how to expand his plumbing business. But when he stopped Senator Barack Obama during a visit to his block this weekend to ask about his taxes, he set himself on a path to being the newest media celebrity — and, like other celebrities, found himself under scrutiny.

Turns out that “Joe the Plumber,” as he became nationally known when Senator John McCain made him a theme at Wednesday night’s third and final presidential debate, may run a plumbing business but he is not a licensed plumber. His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes a bit in back taxes.

W...T...F???

What the hell is wrong with these people?!?!?

COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!

Pioneers 21, Knox 14

Finally! Pioneers win their first home game since the season started. With an overall 3-3 record, the team looks pretty good this year considering they only won one game all season last year. Though I love a winning record, I'm more happy to be at an actual football game with fans, friends, and families cheering the team. It also helps that I have several of my students on the team so there's an added incentive to watch them play. I've made it to every home game and while the loss to Monmouth was devastating (0-69), this win more than makes up the past two losses.

On a side note, I've never tried my hand at sport photography. I purchased a Sigma 70-300mm lens a few weeks ago and it's got a pretty good range, but it lacks automatic focus so I lose a few shots. It's definitely not shooting flowers or landscape.

Did I Just Hear That?

"That one"???

The VP Debates

I watched the VP debates last night with eager anticipation and a measured sense of foreboding. On the one hand, I knew Senator Joseph Biden had a streak of remarks that would get him into some hot water. His comments several months ago that Obama was an "articulate" man was a thinly veiled discourse about race and intelligence. I was worried that he could've become a liability. On the other hand, I was not looking forward to Governor Sarah Palin especially after viewing her interview with Katie Couric. Goodness what a train wreck that was! But I certainly did not want to see it on national stage not because it would've revealed that she was as a political lightweight, or that it would be a huge embarassment on the national stage. It's the fact that if she did perform in the way she bumbled like she did with Katie Couric, then it would've sounded like someone's fingernails scratching on a chalkboard. The excrutiating piercing pain would've been unbearable for me to endure for 90 minutes. In all honesty, I really didn't want to see the debates at all precisley for that reason. But I did, and I'm glad I did for this stellar, and moving, moment of the night ...

One of my dissertation chapters was on the Violence Against Women Act (1994) which was lead and sponsored by Senator Joe Biden. After the failure of including gender in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (1990), Senator Biden took it upon himself to address this glaring omission to a national epidemic of violence against women which was, in his words, "a national tragedy." His office lead and developed a series of reports on the nature and scope of violence against women, and within four years, his Violence Against Women Act was passed, a comprehensive anti-violence legislation that he mentioned in the clip. My chapter on the legislation and his role was a different argument that don't want to reiterate. Let's just say that after last night, and particularly with this moment, I'm rereading Senator Biden and the Violence Against Women Act in a totally different light. Simply put, this moment was Biden's "personal is the political" -- a cornerstone of feminist politics -- and that was a phenomenal step forward and ultimately the highlight of the debate. Now, of course, someone will rightly point out that politics is a spectacle and that every response is a strategic calculation.

But can anyone deny the genuine power and sincerity of Biden's words? Especially if you know his biography and his legislative history?

I do not. And that is what makes Senator Biden such an interesting figure for my research, and as a political figure.

WTF???

This was forwarded by one of my students in my American Studies class. I nearly had a heart attack.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/proudamerican/

http://www.proudamericanfilm.com/pages/PAtrailer.html

All Things Considered

So the $700 billion bail out plan failed yesterday, world markets plunged dramatically, Wall Street today is fighting back, McCain didn't have the knock-out debate, the vice-presidential debates are coming up, and I got to tell ya' ... I'm loving Tina Fey's performance as Governor Sarah Palin on SNL.

David Letterman

A clip from the David Letterman Show where McCain who was scheduled to appear canceled at the last minute to fly back to Washington, DC, to address the economic fallout. Letterman then finds out that McCain didn't quite exactly do what he said and instead showed up at an interview with Katie Couric at the same time of Letterman's show. You just have to love how Letterman handles the whole thing.

For No Other Reason But to Laugh

http://view.break.com/572207 - Watch more free videos

Seriously?!

My advisor sent me a link to an online poll conducted by PBS that asked if Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President of the United States. Without hesitation, I checked my response, which was a "NO" in case you're wondering, and the results popped up. I was flabbergasted. At the time of my vote, 51% said she was qualified, and 47% said she wasn't.

WTH???

Pure Water and Our Two Sense

Ronnie 2¢ is an ingenius photo essay about two people living thousands of miles apart but doing very similar things. His artistry is his ability to blend two different shots as one. But more importantly, it's his commentary about place and space that's so appealing.

http://ourtwosense.aminus3.com/

Faon's photography is superb! His/her stop-motion captures on water droplets are the most creative that I've seen in a long time. It's definitely a must see.

http://purewater.aminus3.com/

Cylon Rights Now!

A really funny post about the evolution of the cylon in Battlestar Galactica.  The follow-up discussion about bias and rights was just too funny.

http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2008/09/evolution-of-cylon.html

Those Funny Asian Canadians

I came across this vid by way of Angry Asian Man and apparently an Asian student social club at University of British Columbia is in trouble for a recruitment ad video between a no accent Asian female student with a heavy accented "Hong Kong" boy. It's a parody of the popular Mac/PC commercials, which are funny, but the humor here and the intent of promoting "diversity" just doesn't work for me. In fact, it really does conjure up a lot of the old "ABC" v. "FOB" nonsense.

UPDATE: Apparently, CVC took down the video recently.

CVC vs. THC from CVC on Vimeo.

Too Funny!

I Feel Legit Now

OK, I have to admit that this is actually very cool.  =D

http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/sociology/faculty/leung/

Is This It?

So I got my diploma today.

I opened the package which included my official transcripts, a description of the alumni association, a thank you memo, and of course my diploma.

My name is in big bold letters and underneath it reads, "awarded the Doctorate of Philosophy in Cultural Studies."

*sarcasm hat on*

Wow. I am soooooooo excited at my accomplishment.

Wow. Three extra letters after my name.

Wow. Over ten years of heartache for a friggin' piece of paper.

Wow. Student loans up the ying yang that I will have to start paying off soon.

*sarcasm hat off*

I did have the best dissertation committee that anyone could ever ask for.

I have met a number of colleagues and friends who are very supportive.

I do have a job at a great college with the most wonderful students.

I am making the most of what I got.

So it's all good in the end. ^.^

My Students

Not a day goes by when I am truly amazed and in awe of my students. They are simply the best students that I have ever worked with and it's only the second week.

Two of my students in my Contemporary Asian American class identified themselves as student leaders in two Asian American student organizations. We're going to meet again and talk about their plans for the year and how I can best contribute. One of them, a biology major, said that she had arranged her entire class schedule around my course so that she can take it. She even said that she'll do whatever she can to take my course next semester as well. Another student, a senior, told me that he's been waiting three years to take a course like mine and he's loving everything about it. I can't remember the last time anyone was this genuine and sincere about the class and how engaged they are with social justice in a long long time. They're passion is infectious! And I am truly humbled by them.

But it made me sad to think about how many students who wanted to enroll this semester but could not. Then I thought about how many years of APA students graduated from the college without ever having just the choice to take a course in Asian American history, politics, and culture. It was even sadder to think that when I leave, this course may not be offered again until who knows when.

And so it begins ...

Just finished tweaking my syllabus for both classes. It's been a major update and it's rather ambitious but I think it'll work. I just hope the students will enjoy it and find the materials compelling.

I'll find out tomorrow.

UPDATE: The Day After
Friday was a seriously busy day! Taught my two classes in the early morning, then J and I and a few of my colleagues went to see the Shimomura gallery opening, grabbed a quick dinner, and finally ended at the new faculty get-together at the Faculty House and socialized with a number of people for several hours late in the evening. I came home and tried to watch the latest Harold and Kumar movie but it was so stupid and I was so tired that I fell asleep. I went to bed at 11:45pm and woke up at 10am!!!

Both of my classes went well; it is after all the first day so there's really nothing to get worked up about anyways. So I'll see in about two weeks but I do think I have a great set of students who are genuine, supportive, and very engaging.

Signs of Life

About 4 more days until the semester officially begins and I'm sitting in my office working on my second syllabus. I already had two students visit to talk to me about my classes; another student emailed me later today and I still have registration on Wednesday as well.

Running out of time!!!

Shameless

Yep, shameless self-promotion. I submitted a photography of mine to be considered for submission for JPG Magazine. =D

One Week Left

One week left before the new semester starts and I'm already behind in everything. My trip to San Francisco was great. My younger brother's engagement party was a wonderful get-together and my parents looked extremely happy. There was a hitch with my other brother who threw a hissy fit about one thing or another. Whatever. That's his problem. But my trip, as short as it was, comes with a price and I'm feeling the pain in my head as I'm trying to get things in order.

Speaking of pain, I've never heard of Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE) but they came out with two public service announcements about voting. They both made my head turn and say "WTF?" is up with the ninjas, martial arts, and Asian Americans with pointed ears? It makes me wonder if we're elves or Vulcans. But seriously, can we actually have "normal" Asian Americans voting? I know this sci-fi/fantasy theme is a way to appeal to that age group but it seems very gimmicky and superficial.

Bah. Whatever.

My Head Hurts

New faculty orientation finished yesterday and I am still exhausted! There was a ton of information; lots of great stuff about resources, policies, guidelines, teaching, syllabi making, and most importantly of all, the students and their lives at the college. J remarked that this orientation was tons better and more detailed than the one she received at GMU. The difference clearly showed that Grinnell was extremely invested in seeing their faculty succeed.

I'm off to San Francisco for the next few days for my youngest brother's engagement party tomorrow night. I am excited to see the new couple. I'm also planning to take them on a photo shoot somewhere in The City. Maybe Palace of Fine Arts if the weather is right. I still have to figure out where. I'm not a pro but I'm hoping for a pretty good selection of candids that they can keep for themselves. There's also quite a few friends that J and I will be visiting and of course plenty of restaurants to hit up.

I am not, however, looking forward to seeing my parents. I think that's why my head hurts.

Whoa!

Only got a short minute to post an article from The Chronicle for Higher Education about an altercation between two professors at a debate competition. I've included the clip at the end.

A Professor Is in the Hot Seat After Mooning Debate Judges

By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

A debate coach for Fort Hays State University, in Kansas, is under review by the institution after he swore at officials and mooned judges at a tournament earlier this year, in an incident that was recorded and uploaded to YouTube.

The coach, William Shanahan III, a professor of communication, got into a shouting match with a judge—and at one point briefly dropped his pants—during the national tournament of the Cross Examination Debate Association, which was held in Kansas this spring. A video recording of the incident was posted to YouTube last week, drawing thousands of views, attention from the national news media, and calls to the university from alumni and others demanding that it fire the professor for his behavior.

Can It Get Any Worse?

This has been such a sad weekend despite all the Olympic excitement and achievements.

Isaac Hayes, the singer and songwriter whose luxurious, strutting funk arrangements in songs like “Theme From ‘Shaft’ ” defined the glories and excesses of soul music in the early 1970s, died on Sunday in East Memphis, Tenn. He was 65 (NY Times article).

This is so sad ...

Bernie Mac, a stand-up comic who played evil-tongued but lovable rogues in films like “Bad Santa” and “Mr. 3000” and combined menace and sentiment as a reluctant foster father on “The Bernie Mac Show” on Fox, died on Saturday in Evanston, Ill. He was 50 and lived near Chicago (NY Times article).

From What You Are ...

... to what you did. I'm diggin' this clip.

STOOPID!

OMFG ... (by way of Angry Asian Man ) ... OMFG ... WTF asshattery is this??? OMFG ...

2 + 2 = 5

I'm switching from DSL to cable internet. The DSL line that I have now is suffering from frequent bouts of lag and it's driving me nuts. I can't upload my photos, download documents, or play Warcraft because it'll drop the connection. And the tech folks can't seem to figure out what and where the problem is so I'm switching to cable internet to see how it fares. When I do get back to normalcy, I can start posting regularly and upload my photos of Grinnell.

On a side note, it just occurred to me that out of all the books and articles that I slated for my summer reading, I only finished two books.

OMG I suck. =(

I Learned Something Today ...

By way of Angry Asian Man, Congress passed a resolution honoring the contributions of Asian Pacific American soldiers who served in the US Civil War sponsored by Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA). Two soldiers were especially acknowledged for their historic participation: Edward Day Cohota and Joseph L. Pierce.

It is discoveries like these that makes history so alive.

I Missed Yesterday's Earthquake

If there's one thing I miss about California it would be earthquakes. Or if I had my choice of natural disasters from tornadoes to hurricanes, I think earthquakes would top the list. Why? Because even in a really bad earthquake, you can stand and watch other people run and scream in terror. You can't do that in a tornado or a hurricane because, well, you'll be blown away. And it's worse to be in a shelter because, well, remember Katrina? Earthquakes are extremely short events and its devastation can last beyond the mere seconds it occurred, but it is also a spectacle that I as a native San Franciscan endured and, to a certain extent, miss.

Yes, that's very sadistic and heartless of me, but I grew up with a series of tremors that ran for almost a decade in my youth. The City experienced a number of quakes and shocks ranging from 3.0 to 4.5 and some "experts" were predicting that these quakes were leading up to the "big one" sometime in the next thirty years. Incidentally, someone said the same thing on CNN today about yesterday's earthquake in Chino Hills, CA. Yesterday's earthquake could potentially unleash a devastating one in the region. Whatever. I grew up with daily earthquake and fire drills at my grammar school. I learned safety procedures and basic emergency first aid. Later in college, I experienced the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. A 6.9-7.1 earthquake that stopped the World Series, destroyed the Nimitz Freeway, collapsed a section of the Bay Bridge, heavily damaged and destroyed homes and apartments in the Marina district, and killed over 50 people and injured 3,000.

I was in the Student Union on the campus of San Francisco State University when the earthquake occurred. If anyone went to or is familiar with the Student Union it is a structure entirely made of concrete and steel. The design of the building is "unique" which means it sucks. A famous SF columnist, Herb Caen, once described the building looking like two ships sinking in the horizon. And it does. But it was supposedly the safest building on campus since it was built with improved earthquake codes. After the building was evacuated, I met up with my friends outside who saw the "two ships" of the Student Union bounce in the course of the earthquake. That's several thousand tons of concrete and steel bouncing up-and-down on top of several thousand more tons of concrete and steel with *me* inside watching the concrete columns swaying back-and-forth. Two of my best friends (both native San Franciscans) and I sat in our club's office when the quake hit. We paused for a moment to confirm that it was indeed an earthquake, and then casually walked over to the entrance of the door for safety. We knew this quake was SERIOUS. It was not your average tremor. We knew that the damage will be bad, but we didn't know how devastating it was until much later.

So when I saw the news reports and footage of yesterday's earthquake, and with all those people running around in a panicked state, I shook my head and laughed. I couldn't believe how many people cried over a 5.4 earthquake. The drama kings and queens were in full force, but of course, that's Los Angeles for you. Everyone and everything is a spectacle. For me, anything less than a 6.0 earthquake is still a walk in the park. Of course there will be damage but yesterday's quake was nothing compared to the 1989 Loma Prieta (6.9-7.1) or the disastrous 1994 Northridge quake (6.7). The running joke among my friends is that you can tell who the native San Franciscan was, or at the least a Californian, when they acted calmly or went about their business. We knew when an earthquake was serious, but whenever we saw anyone who panicked, we also knew that they were often more dangerous than the quake itself.

Not really "normal"

Still having trouble with my home internet connection. Too many thunderstorms left the lines in a tattered state. Grrrrrrr.

Back to Normal

This is one of the reasons why I love and miss San Francisco.

George W. Bush Sewage Plant Plan is on ballot

(07-17) 14:57 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco voters will be asked to decide whether to name a city sewage plant in honor of President Bush, after a satiric measure qualified for the November ballot Thursday.

Backers of the measure, who for several months circulated a petition to place the measure on the ballot, turned in more than 12,000 signatures on July 7, said organizer Brian McConnell. The Department of Elections on Thursday informed those supporters, the self-proclaimed Presidential Memorial Commission, that they had enough valid signatures - a minimum of 7,168 registered San Francisco voters - to qualify for the November ballot.

McConnell, who came up with the idea over beers with friends, often donned an Uncle Sam outfit to drum up support for the petition. The all-volunteer group of signature gatherers often carried around an American flag and blasted patriotic music from a boom box to attract attention. He said the campaign to pass the measure will be an equally grassroots effort.

The measure, if passed, would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. McConnell said the intent is to remember the Bush administration and what the group sees as the president's mistakes, including the war in Iraq.

Some people aren't laughing, including the San Francisco Republican Party, which sees the measure as an embarrassment, even to this famously liberal city. Chairman Howard Epstein has vowed to fight the measure with all means available to him.

A White House spokeswoman, when asked about the measure several weeks ago, refused to comment.

E-mail Marisa Lagos at mlagos@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MADE IT!!!

After arriving last Monday evening, I'm finally back online and writing my first post from the comfort of my new home in Grinnell, Iowa. The packing, moving, and driving over 1000 miles will always test one's patience and it certainly did. I hate having my life upended. I also hate not being connected to my friends via the internet, but there's always an end and J and I are finally feeling like we're at home. I think this weekend we'll have our first real chance to check out the town and the surrounding cities like Des Moines and Iowa City. Here's a few quick highlights ...

• Grinnell is really a small town ... population of 9000 people and you can drive to the boundaries of the town in a few minutes.
• Wild rabbits scampering through our yard!!!
• Dragonflies and other bugs.
• The tomatoes grown here are absolutely delicious!!!
• Lots of thunder and lightning storms. Our power went out for a few hours once.
• We have a toilet and semi-repaired shower in our basement. It was really weird but my colleague informed me that is there in the event of a tornado in case we become trapped. It's more prevalent in older homes like the one we have when Grinnell was seriously damaged by a tornado. Obviously, my new home is one of the older ones in town.
• Our basement is hella' musty.
• We met our new neighbors within 10 minutes of arriving. Everyone is incredibly friendly. As a matter of fact, everywhere I went people talked to me and said hello. My colleague in sociology lives next door and I found out my other neighbor is a native San Franciscan. He's a classic '60s liberal who has a beautiful garden. Awesome!
• Lots of cornfields. Seriously. Corn is everywhere and is the state's main product along with soybean.
• Lots of farm equipment like tractors.
• We saw a truck load of pigs being transported through Grinnell.
• Walmart is the local store that is the only establishment open for 24 hours. I really hate that store but there were a number of things that I needed to fix my place up.
• Unpacking is about 90% done. I checked in with my department and will get settled in as soon as possible. I have an OFFICE with my name on it. J has a more beautiful office in the Center for the Humanities with a window.
• J and I scored on our first trip to Des Moines by finding a really good Asian market. We came home with over $200 of dumplings, noodles, tofu, meats, bean sprouts, bean curd, seasonings, snow pea shoots, BBQ pork buns, preserved mangos, pickled cucumbers, and daikon. To hell with junk food!

That's about it for now. Will check in again and post pictures as soon as I can. Thanks to everyone for sending me your emails of support!

And Mr. Smith Leaves Washington, DC

Today is my last day in Arlington, VA Washington, DC.

Movers came yesterday and picked up everything that we packed.

J and I had one great and last dinner with a very dear friend/colleague from her department -- Korean BBQ! We had one last toast together and to our friend.

We vacuumed, washed, scrubbed, and dusted (not necessarily in that order) our apartment.

We threw away tons of goodies and foods from Trader Joe's, the Korean market, etc.

We slept on the floor last night because the movers took our bed.

I hit my head on the side view mirror of the mover's truck leaving a 2-inch cut that bled for some time. Yeah, that was stupid of me.

I have no cable TV, but I still have internet access.

Our 80-year-old next door neighbor was sad to see us go, but insisted that J and I finally get married.

We have a few more things to do, final packing, and some more trash to throw away this morning.

We'll have our last lunch here, maybe at the local diner -- the same one that we went to the first night J arrived for her job at "that school" in Fairfax. It's seems fitting that we begin and end there.

After lunch, we'll hit the road driving for about 2-3 days to our first stop at Wichita, KS to see J's family. Her mom's cooking is to die for! And I'll get to shoot pool with her father who is pretty good opponent. After 2-3 days of resting and recuperating, we'll make our way for 6.5 hours to our final destination at Grinnell, IA.

That's it. =D

Follow Up

It's down to the wire as the last bits and pieces and random items need to be collected, cleaned, and either packed or thrown away. Here's a few more quick thoughts from these past few days:

• shrink wrap is a lifesaver!
• my girlfriend has skills in spatial reasoning!
• I found my kuffiyeh that my best friend gave to me twenty years ago.
• discarded some seriously old videotapes of The Last Starfighter, Robotech, and TRON.
• aching back muscles hurt a lot; in fact, everything hurts more when you're older.
• changing the addresses of your bank, cable TV, internet, telephone, wireless, and electric account is a pain in the ass.
• having no dishware is like camping; we're using plastic plates, cups, and utensils now.
• donating used books and CDs to the public library is better than throwing it into the trash ... except if it's a Milli Vanilli CD.
• if something doesn't fit in the box, go buy a bigger one.
• eating fast food all the time is a little gross ... except Arby's. =D
• found an old jury summons from ten years ago.
• found an audiotape of Beatles' songs that I made in 1986.
• also found a 24 cent stamp when postage was 24 cents.
• getting ready for the 2-3 day road trip by storing 2 gallons of water in the trunk.
• will have one last dinner with a great friend and colleague; it'll be sad.

That's it for now. I hope to post one last time before I leave on Tuesday.

Some Quick Thoughts ...

These past two weeks has been extraordinarily stressful. I've been cleaning, packing, and getting ready for my long awaited departure from Washington, DC to Grinnell, IA. We already packed fifty boxes that are just our books only! And we just started with everything else: clothes, dishes, CDs, DVDs, research files, and a bunch of knick knacks. Hiring movers can be a trying experience especially when arranging a schedule is complicated by tornadoes and floods in Iowa. Fortunately, Grinnell was founded on high ground and away from the river. Getting there is the big problem. But for now, if all goes well, the movers will arrive this Tuesday to pack everything up. By Wednesday, I'll be on the road first to stop by my girlfriend's family in Wichita, KS, for a few days and then off to Grinnell. All of which means that this may very well be my last post until I get set up in my new home.

In the meantime, I've got a few quick highlights and thoughts:

1) saw the amazing Body Worlds exhibition in Baltimore, MD.
2) eating Maryland blue crabs at Obricky's is yummy.
3) I give a grade of A+ for Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy in Wanted.
4) I give another A+ for Wall-E.
5) thunderstorms suck in the summer.
6) lightning strikes are cool ... when they're far away.
7) dust is dirty.
8) cleaning grime from the cooking fan is disgusting.
9) Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, MD, was cool.
10) finding old episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on video tape from 1992 brings back memories.
11) I found a $100 Australian bill. I have no idea how I came to acquire that.
12) Being poor still sucks especially when a chunk of change is going to pay the movers.
13) Throwing out my old Milli Vanilli CD.
14) Keeping my memorabilia from my senior high school retreat. It's a Catholic thing. I can't figure out why I still have it but oh well.
15) Threw out over 50 video cassettes of old TV shows and movies.

And finally, I am happy to announce that one of my former students will be transferring to Northeastern University in Boston, MA, in the Fall, and another student will be studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Congratulations for their successes!

George Carlin (1937-2008)

It's such a sad day. I'm a big big fan of George Carlin as far as I could remember and it's a sad day to see him depart right before he was to be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (although, I can see that he might make a scathing critique out of that award as well). Carlin is what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert wish they could be: entertainer, comedian, satirist, political agitator, and master of language whose work became the basis for the 1978 US Supreme Court case of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation where Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" was aired at a radio station in New York City. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that limited civil sanctions can be levied against a radio broadcast of "patently offensive words."

I loved Carlin's political and cultural critique but unlike Stewart or Colbert, his work was not about innuendos or linguistic slights, that is, implied critiques. His comedy was open, in your face, dark, and punchy on topics that included Christianity, surveillance, politics, elections, excesses of American culture, materialism, and many other social issues and taboo subjects. It had a working-class roughness and his comedy was not for everyone. But that's what I liked about him and why I always thought of him as a political and cultural agitator of the best kind where his intents and motivations were clear cut and out in the open.

I last saw Carlin at a sold-out performance when I was vacationing in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. I can't believe that's the end of another wonderful man with a truly historic career.

Uh ...

... seriously?!?

Tagged!

I was tagged by Ortho who maintains his very cool blog Baudrillard's Bastard.

The Rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


"The Facts"
1. I am an avid billiards player who once considered going pro some years ago right when I started graduate school. In my undergraduate days I was ranked fourth in the western region and I competed regularly in tournaments. I once made $1000 in one week from winning several tournaments. That was a lot of work by the way.

2. I play World of Warcraft, well, for the moment anyways until something better comes along. The fascination of the game has since worn off and I only logon for pvp or chat with my Aussie and Kiwi friends. And in case you're wondering my main is a mage ... and a paladin ... and a priest ... and a hunter ... and ...

3. I'm still trying to quit smoking.

4. My favorite fantasy book is Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004). It's a wonderful read about the art of magic and war in 19th century England. And it reads like an academic book complete with footnotes and references to "magical scholarship."

5. My partner accuses me of being a Francophile. I will not deny it. But I will not admit it either. By the way, she speaks fluent French.

6. I was arrested in San Francisco in a citywide protest against the Rodney King decision ... and I had to appear in trial with sixty others who were arrested with me.

7. I just bought a brand spanking new Nikon D60 for my graduation present. I'm not a professional photographer but I love to go on photowalks whenever I can. I don't have a particular specialty; I guess I'm exploring different styles at the moment. If I had to choose one genre it would be night photography. The technical aspects of it fascinate me as well as the spectacular visual effect.

Hmmmm ... who do I tag? So many to choose ...

Quick Thought

What the hell is this war of words that pits racism and sexism against each other? As if one was worse than the other so therefore it deserves more attention and import than the other? Or that sexism was the cause of Hillary's downfall? Or that Obama needs to win because racism is worse than sexism?

Decaffeinated anyone?

How odd. I feel fine. But maybe it's about time to cut back, yes?


OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Off and away ...

With the final revisions done, I made two copies of my dissertation and mailed it off to CGU along with my check for processing.

I checked and double-checked my pagination, margins, titles, footnotes, and bibliographic format and all seems to be in order. If there's no major problem -- and there better not be -- I will be officially done with my degree by June 2008.

And now I have to take care of consolidating my pesky student loans. *grrrrr*

Quotation for the Day

If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

TCM's Asians in Film

Turner Classic Movies is hosting a month long retrospective called Race and Hollywood: Asian Images in Film for the month of June. Every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 8pm and ending in the wee hours of the early morning, thirty-seven films will be aired representing historically significant and stereotypical images of Asians in cinema. It's an impressive selection from early films such as The Cheat (1915), Broken Blossoms (1915), Shanghai Express (1932) to recent films such as Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Joy Luck Club (1993). Although some of the choices for these recent films are totally random like Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Mr. Baseball (1992). It features some of the first Asian American actors and actresses like Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American movie star in the 1920s, James Shigeta who is considered to the first Asian American leading male in the 1960s, Nancy Kwan and her debut role as an exotic prostitute in The World of Suzie Wong (1960), and of course, the martial artistry of Bruce Lee and many others. It also covers the politically charged and problematic practice of "yellow face" with actors such as Peter Ustinov as Charlie Chan and Christopher Lee (yes, Count Dooku himself) as Fu Manchu.

I would totally give this an "A" but I'm not. It gets a "B" grade not because of a lack of content or bad selections, but who TCM hired as their "expert" on the subject of Asian American representation in film. I don't know how the hiring process works or what the mechanics that drove this retrospective, but the choice made me wonder if someone in TCM was on crack or just didn't know. I think the latter. There are numerous other scholars who have studied and researched this subject for decades, but I guess he's the one to represent all of that work. Whatever.

DNC Compromise?

I watched the Rules Committee meeting for as much as I could all day. I saw the drama, the heartaches, the passions, and the pleas and at the end of the day, I am still dumbfounded. I know Michigan and Florida violated the rules regarding primary elections to which Obama and Clinton honored the DNC by not campaigning in either state. Yet this "compromise" seems very bizarre. The delegates from Florida and Michigan will only count as 1/2 vote. I suddenly cringed at that thought because it harkened back to the days of the early republic when blacks only counted as 3/5ths of a vote. Now Florida's and Michigan's votes regardless of race only counts as 1/2 vote? That's the compromise? How is 1/2 different from 3/5ths? This compromise had the overall effect that weakened Clinton's possibility for a huge gain and increased Obama's chances to secure the nomination. But here's the kicker, some "reasonable" proportion of Michigan's "uncommitted" votes will go to Obama that is included in the compromise (???). That I do not understand. One person, one vote. How can votes be reappropriated to mean something else? I guess that's what the Rules Committee did, but I'm having a fairly difficult time accepting the rationale for it.

This discourse about "family" and "unity" is quite intriguing. The comments made by Mona Pasquil is an excellent example. If "family" is going to be used then I suggest a multicultural, immigrant, working class family with lots of extended family members. Watching the meeting televised on C-SPAN reminded me of the complicated and heavily politicized big family dinners back in my youth (I think 30-50 core members). There was a lot of posturing and politicking. There were people talking to, by, and past each other; there were some talking in words that no one knew. There was the patriarch of the family demanding order; there were numerous kids making a ruckus over everything (myself included). There were arguments, fights, and bickering and yet despite all the mess we still, for the most part, stuck together. There were the appeals to reason and compassionate pleas for unity. But I wonder about the extent of the fallout to the DNC and in particularly voters? How have they been alienated, ostracized, or left to fend for themselves without any help? I also wonder how mad will people be at the family and what are they capable of if they are angry enough especially when some feel as though the process was "hijacked" by less than transparent intentions? Despite these questions, the most basic and quintessential question remains and that is what is keeping this "family" together in the first place and is "it" -- whatever "it" may be -- strong enough to hold us together?

As vibrant and powerful as my extended family was, there were some wounds that were too deep to heal, some grudges too painful to let go, and an endless fountain of deep seated resentment. The last time the family got together en masse was over sixteen years ago at the funeral of my great grandmother. She was one of the main and last reasons that kept everyone together. Despite this loss, we generally still keep in contact with each other, albeit at a comfortable distance, but never totally out of touch. Like any family, the gossip was a good enough reason for any get together. But I can't call this extended family of mine as a perfect example of a strong union. Instead, our antagonisms continue to imperfectly and awkwardly form the reason on why we stick together. It's too easy for me to say "we're family" and that's why we stay together. But if "family" is about the day-to-day struggle of making it through then I can find the simplicity of it an apt fit.

Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse

57%

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

I found this link by way of The Other Dark Meat blog.

Yes, I have a 55% chance to survive a zombie apocalypse. There were some questions that I couldn't fudge like living in a metropolitan city and not owning a gun. My chances severely diminished because of that and I think for the right reasons ... somewhat. Being in a large city will probably yield a greater number of zombies roaming/running about while a small town will have less assuming it has any at all. But all you need is one zombie to start it all, that is, if you believe zombies are from passing a genetically engineered virus through some fluid transmission like saliva in biting, drooling, splattering blood, etc. Anyways ... so being in a small town can be just as bad as being in a large city if everyone in it was turned into a zombie. You can escape by leaving town, assuming the zombies are the slow lumbering kinds, but how long can you survive in the middle of nowhere? I'm thinking of Grinnell and it really is in the middle of nowhere. Now it is feasible that you could survive in a large city because of certain available resources that are no longer constrained by the rule of law. So choosing which building is important. Personally, I think the Pentagon might be the safest spot assuming that no one has been infected. But if you choose the wrong building, like a hospital, or you run out of supplies, then you're essentially trapped and your chances of surviving diminishes dramatically. That would be just as bad as being out in the middle of nowhere fleeing from a small town of zombies. It's just a different conception of being trapped.

I think not owning a gun lowers my chances to defend myself, but there are other weapons, strategies, and tactics that I can use. I do remember a question about my knowledge in making molotov cocktails, blunt weapons, and the like ... which incidentally increased my chances. But I think being in a large city might provide more resources to defend yourself if you have the opportunity to exploit them (i.e., food, weapons, shelter, etc.). Being in a small town, however, might diminish my chances especially if there are other survivors which will put a strain on limited resources.

Oddly enough, being holed up in a mall was somehow better than being at Walmart. I couldn't figure that one out unless it was some movie reference where some did actually survive in a mall. At any rate, I tried several times and my chances seem to hover anywhere from 54%-57%.

I can't believe I dedicated a whole post to my chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse.

In this corner, weighing in at ...

197 pages
56,723 words
1,164 paragraphs
5,371 lines
370, 433 characters

... is my final dissertation, complete with my committee's suggested revisions. I printed it out, ran to Kinko's to make a copy, and mailed it off to my dissertation advisor for her final say. If she gives the thumbs up -- in which I sure as hell hope she does -- then it's off to Kinko's again to print out two more copies to be mailed to Claremont with a check for printing, binding, and copyrighting. And then it shall be all done.

Perpetually Reading

I finally removed the link to my old photo blog and replaced it with a brand new page called "Perpetually Reading" which is all about my never-ending reading list. It'll feature what I currently and plan to read, recent acquisitions, and maybe some reviews and commentaries. I'm still tweaking with the design, but like many things in my life, it is a work in progress.

In re Marriage Cases

After quickly viewing the case on overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage, I came across this passage:

" ... we conclude that strict scrutiny nonetheless is applicable here because (1) the statutes in question properly must be understood as classifying or discriminating on the basis of sexual
orientation, a characteristic that we conclude represents — like gender, race, and religion — a constitutionally suspect basis upon which to impose differential treatment, and (2) the differential treatment at issue impinges upon a same-sex couple’s fundamental interest in having their family relationship accorded the same respect and dignity enjoyed by an opposite-sex couple" (9-10).

Am I reading this right? Sexual orientation in the state of California is now a protected classification? The California State Supreme Court adopted strict scrutiny in its approach? It's taken me a couple of days for this to sink in but this is HUGE!!! By the way, my attention was putting on the final touches to my dissertation for the past several days. Anyways ... In a rational basis approach, the plaintiffs assume the responsibility to demonstrate to the courts that whatever law that was passed or a state action was undertaken was unconstitutional. However, strict scrutiny, which is historically applied to race, gender, and religion, assumes that the laws and actions of the state are unconstitutional and that the state has the burden of proof to demonstrate it has a compelling interest to regulate. So strict scrutiny shifts the focus of the case and its analytical approach on the government's purpose than the actual majoritarian interests of the people. This decision ROCKS!!!

It made me wonder about the upcoming heterosexual marriage only amendment vote in California's constitution this November. This vote is not only going to be about prohibiting same-sex marriage, but also about adopting a strict scrutiny standard for sexual orientation in the state of California. Holy crap this is amazing!!!

"Dublin Psychiatric Answering Machine"

Courtesy of my good friend Jessica.  Always hilarious!!!

From "Awesome!" to "GROSS!"

Just a quick post about two movies that I highly recommend watching.

The latest Marvel-to-movie adaptation of Iron Man is not only the best comic book movie but also the most enjoyable movie to watch in a very long time. It has a really tight narrative that isn't over-the-top or dumbed down, and it has the strongest cast of actors with Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Robert Downey, Jr., who plays Tony Stark/Iron Man. My girlfriend and I were extremely impressed with Downey's performance; he played the role of Tony Stark perfectly as the arrogant, super-intelligent industrialist. The visual effects were aesthetically beautiful and creative especially when Tony Stark was designing the suit on a visually stunning holographic/interactive computer interface. It was very clear to me that the use of cgi was there to strengthen the narrative instead of supplanting it.

And the suits rocked!

We also watched Super Size Me on dvd last night. I wasn't sure what was more difficult: the fact that a high fat/fast food diet has the same damaging effects on the liver as alcoholism, or watching Morgan Spurlock (the director, producer, writer, and star himself) endure an intense weight gain of 20 pounds, severe body illness, nausea, vomiting, depression, and a whole host of physical and psychological effects that come from eating 30 days of McDonald's foods. It was seriously gross but very critical of the fast food industry and the state of obesity, health, nutrition, and diet in this country. We also watched the dvd extra called "The Smoking Fry" which was a simple experiment on how fast McDonald's foods "deteriorated" compared to made-fresh burgers from a local vendor. Obviously, the real burgers took a week to begin to decompose. The other burgers took longer. But what was truly disturbing were the McDonald's french fries. They showed no signs of decomposition after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and even as long as two months! Everything else had molds, fungi, oozing liquids, or what he called "mossy goodness," and the collective foul stench of rot. But the McD fries still remained the same. It made me think about how difficult losing weight was compared to how easy it is to gain it. If artificial ingredients and preservatives can maintain McD fries for weeks on end, then imagine what that does in your body? How long would it take to get rid of it?

UPDATE: The Washington Post has an excellent series on children and obesity.  Definitely one to check out.

Just when I think I'm out ...

... I get pulled back in.

This student just doesn't give up.

I'm sure you are sorry to hear from me again. I just figured I would try to ask you to reconsider your decision. I only do this because it is my belief that you have entered an incorrect grade. I have in my Microsoft Word 7 documents pertaining to the online assignments which were due weekly. To only have received credit for 5 of them is obviously in no small way my fault, but I think perhaps a small percentage of the fault lies with you as well. I mean you never posted a midterm grade for me and I never received my midterm back. There was never any official paper issued stating how we were doing in the class. I know I should have come and asked how I was doing, but I figured as long as I did well on the test i should be fine for the class. The fact that the online assignments count for so much I feel is kind of ridiculous. I don't want you to do anything you feel is underhanded or undeserved on my part, but I do ask that at least you consider the possibility that perhaps there are two assignments that somehow got lost in the shuffle. Thanks once again for any consideration you have put into this matter. Have a great summer.

I knew I should've just squashed this earlier like my instincts told me I should have. But now I can take my gloves off. Here's how I responded:

It's no bother at all but let me answer your central question from the start and that is I am not going to reconsider my decision.

In fact, rereading your emails raised additional questions that were quite puzzling. First, if you say there are missing assignments, then how come you did not bring that up when I sent out the weekly digests? The digest is there for you to not only read everyone's responses, but to confirm receipt of your submission. Did you not check? There were a few students who I indeed missed their assignments but only after they brought it to my attention. I do not recall any from you. Second, I understand the pressures of working on a job while still going to school and the reasons for taking one up mid-semester is none of my concern, but why did you not inform either your employer or me when it conflicted with the class schedule? Third, transferring to another institution requires some preparation and planning, but at what point did you find out you needed a better grade? This was equally puzzling. Fourth, I find the timing of your complaint about the weight of the online assignments rather suspicious. My syllabus describes the grading requirements that I covered on the first day of the semester. The online written assignments were the most easiest to accomplish and now you have a problem with the weight of it? I find this really amusing.

There was ample time after the midterm to check in with me, describe your goals and concerns, and I could've offered different solutions. There were quite a few students who were in some really difficult personal, professional, and academic situations. Two of them had close family members pass away suddenly. But they all took the initiative to inform me of their situations. I advised them, gave them options, and they were able to not only complete the course requirements but also did well for their final grade. In other words, all of this really boils down to a question of your personal responsibility. As a result, I fail to understand how your lack of initiative involves me.

For emphasis, I cannot and will not reconsider my final grade. But if you wish to continue to protest this then I suggest contacting the chair of PIA, Prof. Robert Dudley, to see if there are any additional options. Officially I have no further obligation in my capacity as an employee for GMU. But I'll be sure to forward our email exchanges to him for his record. Good luck!

A MILESTONE!!!

The Republican-dominated California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in In re Marriage Cases (2008) that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, making it the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex marriage (NY Time article).

I am overjoyed to have and know friends who wanted to get married but couldn't, can now do so in California. It's about damn time.

On the Warpath

My partner is on the warpath today. She was reading her last paper from her technology and contemporary culture course when she noticed a rather peculiar writing style. From her experience, she decided to google the first sentence of the student's paper and the results indicated that it was the first sentence from an abstract of a journal article about digital media. She read the abstract and the student's first paragraph and the similarities in structure, style, and order were irrefutable. This student copied the first paragraph. Now the question was how much of this student's paper was plagiarized from this article. It can mean the difference between a drop in a full letter grade or a direct action from the honor code committee that oversees cases of student plagiarism. Obviously, the drop in grade is more preferable than an action from the honor code committee which will maintain a record of this incident.

How do we know when a student's paper is plagiarized? There were a couple of signs that I picked up when I first read the paper. First, the sentence spacing was set to 1.5 instead of double-spaced. It's rare that a student will have too much to say in a research paper. Usually it's the opposite. Students will generally find ways to artificially expand the paper length instead of adding substance such as adding an extra break to a paragraph, increasing the margin size, adding 0.5 point to the font size, increasing the leading, etc. It helps to be a former graphic designer to know these particular tricks. In this case, it was a 12 page paper with tightly packed paragraphs, sentences, and spaces. Visually it stands out compared to other papers.

Second, word choice was another major indicator. Every discipline and field of study has their own indigenous vocabulary that we have to master. In common parlance, it's called professionalization. Every word is a specific reference to a theory, concept, or body of knowledge. Of course, the usage has to be contextualized with the field and the course. So for example, if I use the word "policing" or "surveillance" in a class such as global terrorism, it's going to have a specific reference to law enforcement, rights and protections of individuals, etc. However, in a class on , for example, "Postmodern Theories of Culture and Society," the words will mean something totally different that is about practices of regulation, knowledge/power relationships, etc. which are specific references to Michel Foucault. We use these words, concepts, and theories to discuss our research with other colleagues in the field as a kind of shorthand. As you can imagine, we don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time explaining basic ideas when we could use these shortcuts to get to our main points and move our conversations forward and quickly. Anyways ...

So when the student uses words like "film apparatus," "ideological apparatus," "consumer interactivity," or concepts and methods in political economic critique, those are specific references in film theory, production, and criticism. Now in a class about film theory, it will be acceptable because the course would survey those concepts. But the class is on technology and culture and although the emphasis was on film, she didn't cover anything in regards to ideological "apparatus" or advanced readings in political economy that the student was using. So already, my partner was alarmed at this very specific usage of this theoretical language.

Third, writing is like your signature. It has a particular cadence, style, structure, and pattern that is easily distinguishable from one student to another especially when you have multiple writing assignments. My partner is in the English Department and so correcting papers is her main preoccupation and she knows by virtue of reading them that she can tell when a student is writing excellently or poorly, when it's a first draft or a well-thought out paper, and so on. As a matter of fact, anyone who assigns frequent writing assignments will see these patterns emerge. In this case, when a student has been writing at a decent level throughout the semester, uses a predictable sentence structure, remains at a general level of argumentation, and then all of a sudden writes a well-constructed, theoretically rich, and structurally coherent argument on par with a graduate paper, then something is definitely way off.

Fourth, your word choice and construction are your fingerprints. Like writing, words are another way of identifying your unique character, and by extension, declaring ownership of your work. I don't mean any word but specifically some authors develop their own terminology or combination thereof to describe a different usage of a concept or theory. For example, "governmentality" or "governmentalization" will automatically reference Michel Foucault. The concept is not only his, but also he created the damn word. The same with "simulation," or "simulacra/simulacrum" that automatically points to Jean Baudrillard and it is his creation. So when I read a student's use of those concepts there had better be a citation.

So taking all these factors, and I'm sure there are many techniques that other professors use, my partner felt that this paper could not have been written by the student. Her suspicions were confirmed when we found the original article which was published in the Atlantic Journal of Communication, printed it out, and lo' and behold not only was the abstract copied, but almost the entire article was taken by the student that included similar word phrases, theoretical concepts, sentence structure, argument structure, market data, etc. Some passages were substituted with different vocabulary words, but left the basic structure intact. Some were taken straight out from the article word for word! Even the student's bibliography was taken from the author's list! What's more is that the original author coined the term "consumer evangelist" in which she took for her own!! And the student never once gave credit to the author who she was stealing his research!!! At least footnote the original author somewhere! It might give us room to maneuver to say that you ought to properly cite the material and rewrite the essay. But to not acknowledge him and to take almost all of his article and concept verbatim is too intentional and, in the end, unforgivable.

This same student sent an email right before finals (which is always somehow a dead giveaway) saying how much she enjoyed my partner's course and that she was simply amazed at how much effort my partner put into her lectures and her working with the students (By the way, this same student had a quite a few absences which is why her email was met with some suspicion. Wouldn't you?). This very student who praised my partner is doing the most dishonorable thing by stealing another person's hard work for their own, and to lie to her face. It's a very disingenuous and dangerous game to play with our good will like that.

But that's not the worst of it ... My partner's course was offered in the Honors Program where enrollment is strictly limited to honors student. THIS STUDENT WHO PLAGIARIZED IS AN HONORS STUDENT!!!

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING GODDAMN MIND?!?!? DO YOU REALIZE HOW BAD THIS LOOKS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE?????

It would be too easy for me to say, these honors students are just like every other student who is under pressure to succeed, to get the good grade, and so on. My answer is "NO." They are not like any other student. They are exceptional students. They have earned the distinction of "honors student" suggesting not only an academic caliber above and beyond everyone else, but more importantly, a higher standard of conduct as a result. Admittedly, and in a very bad way, I kind of expect other students to pull a stunt like this because I've seen it happen all the time. I'm not kidding myself about that notion. But an honors student? Either you're desperate and you had no other option (which I find problematic) or you're just an idiot and don't care for the consequences. Either way, this student is screwed and thanks for fucking it up for everyone else.

I think my partner will send the student's paper to the honor code committee. She's reading and comparing the paper and the journal article line-by-line, paragraph-by-paragraph and the similarities are undeniable.

What a terrible way to end the semester.

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UPDATE: I came home and my partner was dropping F-bombs like crazy. She showed me a comparison of the student paper with the journal article and more than 95% of the paper is plagiarized. One of the things my partner can do is to recommend to the committee a failing grade for the course and to have her be kicked out of the honors program. She also made this interesting observation about plagiarism. The average student will use Wikipedia to copy. The honors student will use academic articles instead.

Also, check this out. Compare the original paragraph ...

Cinema began as a 19th century, industrial age diversion, an illusion created by mechanical means. Even as it matured into an art form, it remained tethered to the manufactured tools that made its existence possible, and to the cumbersome distribution and presentation apparatus that brought it to huge worldwide audiences. Every piece of the cinema process required capital investment: the manufacture and purchase of cameras, projectors, and film stock; the services provided by photographic labs, and the exhibition mechanism contained in theater houses.
-- James R. Irwin, "On Digital Media As a Potential Alternative Cinema Apparatus: A Marketplace Analysis" (2004).

... with her paragraph and the bolded sections indicating her "original" changes ...

Cinema began as a 19th century, industrial age entertainment, a fantasy created by mechanical means. Even as it matured into an art form, it remained closely connected to the standardized manufactured tools that made its existence possible in the first place. The distribution and presentation apparatuses that brought it to huge worldwide audiences remained the same as well. Every part of the cinema process required capital investment: the manufacture and purchase of cameras, projectors, and film stock; the services provided by photographic labs; and the exhibition mechanism contained in theaters. There were also significant labor costs and marketing expenses involved. It is not surprise, then, that the creation of the feature films - cinema's most popular, influential, and codified form - quickly became almost exclusively a corporate enterprise.

... and what do you get? PLAGIARISM!!! LIAR!!! CHEATER!!!

And get this, she's a criminal justice major. Un-friggin'-believable.

Videos of Grinnell

Here's three videos about the college and Grinnell, IA, that I found on YouTube. I keep seeing references to squirrels or "Grinnell Squirrel" as the bottom two videos will show. It must be something local or maybe it's just coincidence. I dunno'.

I remember at LMU the Hawai'i students always got excited whenever they saw squirrels roaming on campus. Why? Because there are no squirrels in Hawai'i.


Video Tour of Grinnell, IA (Grinnell Chamber of Commerce)


Picture Tour of Grinnell College


Grinnell International Students Movie (This one's really cute!)

More Grinnell News!

I am truly overjoyed that my partner accepted the position of Visiting Professor of Visual Culture for the Center for the Humanities at Grinnell College. She literally had her interview yesterday and she was contacted just moments ago today that the committee decided to offer her the position. WOOT! We're both going to Grinnell with our own jobs and it's going to be one exciting year!

And there's another one ...

I still have two outstanding items that are specific with GMU that I have to finish ASAP so that I can get on with finishing up my other commitments. It's two letters of recommendation for two students for the PIA Honors Program. But I got sidetracked with another student's plea for an extremely last minute grade change. Just like clockwork, there's always at least one student who thinks they deserve a better grade. I gave this student his grade breakdown. He scored an "A" for his midterm, but missed several online assignments, missed several class sessions, received average quiz scores, and scored a "B" for his final. His missing online assignments hurt him the most. I gave him a "C+" even though the numbers added up to a "C" for his final grade. He responded with this appeal ...

Thank you for the quick response. I really do have an issue in that I thought I only missed three of the online assisgments. I do concur that my attendence could be qualified as spotty, but I would maintain that I was only absent three times. As you can probably see in your attendence sheets i never missed a class before the midterm and the only reason why i missed so many after the midterm was that I got a job that has me working on Wednesdays sometimes. I avoided work as much as possible because I hated to miss class because, to be honest, your style of teaching works very well with the way I learn information the best. I hate to be petty, but if indeed somehow two of the online assignments were lost in the shuffle it does make a big difference. If would help at all I could resend them, assuming your even willing to consider it. Thank you again for your time. I would like you also to know that normally I would let bygones be bygones with this especially since you are very s
trong in the belief that I deserve a C+, but I'm trying to transfer and if there is anyway I possibly could've earned a B I'd like to explore that option.

Thanks Again

I knew my response would not be the end of it. I wasn't sure if I was aggravated with the fact that this was dragging on unnecessarily or that I had to place my other commitments on the backburner so that I can address his concerns. I think it was both. I immediately wrote an initial response ...

I'm really puzzled about one thing and that is why is this issue coming up now?

You had several weeks after the midterm to check in with me, describe your goals and concerns, and I could've offered different solutions. There were quite a few students who were in some really difficult personal, family, and academic situations, but they took the initiative to check in with me. I advised them, gave them options, and they all did well. In other words, there were all kinds of possibilities in the semester but it's your responsibility to come to me. Going to college is like a job.

I also have additional questions that were raised after reading your email. First, if you say there are missing assignments, then how come you didn't bring that up when I sent out the weekly digests? The digest is there for you to not only read everyone's responses, but to confirm receipt of your submission. Did you not check? Second, I understand the pressures of working on a job, but why did you not inform either your employer or me that it conflicted with the class schedule? Third, transferring to another school requires some planning and preparation, but when did you know you needed a better grade?

I appreciate you enjoying my course, but I have to be absolutely firm on this issue. My final grades are non-negotiable at this point. There is no time at the end of the semester. Furthermore, according to university policy, I can only change a grade if I made a mistake on the math, or I entered an incorrect grade (see pdf link). Neither of those conditions are applicable in your case. Therefore, I cannot accommodate your request for a change of grade. Nor can you send in assignments this late in the semester. My grades are non-negotiable.

I talked with my partner about this. She's in the midst of grading her student papers and she's mildly irritated with some of them though not as agitated as me. She basically pointed out that my response was too intense which might give the student the impression that I am attacking him.

I said, "What's your point?"

"Well he might go to the chair and complain about it, saying that this is evidence of a personal attack."

"And that concerns me how? Since neither of us are coming back what's the point? Who's problem is it anyway?"

She laughed and I thought she rolled her eyes again as she usually does whenever I become ... righteous. For a moment I imagined myself as Stewie from Family Guy screaming, "VICTORY IS MINE!!!" She said, "You should just make it short and simple and to the point. Just say no. Don't provoke him."

I kinda' sorta' wanted to. But she was right to say that it wasn't about the student. I remember something my advisor told me many times under his tutelage: "Be the good academic citizen." Simply put, don't create problems for your colleagues that they have to fix ... especially when you're about to leave. You don't want them to return the misery back to you years later. Better to be nice and leave on positive terms then to risk damaging your future. He was right. My partner was right. The academy may be a large place, but the politics of the academy can be very contentious and petty ... unless you're someone with a great deal of weight and power in which I do not have ... at least ... not yet ... There must be a line from Stewie about the chance for world domination but my memory fails me.

So I rewrote and shortened my official response a great deal ...

I appreciate you enjoying my course, but I have to be absolutely firm on this issue. My final grades are non-negotiable at this point. Furthermore, according to university policy, I can only change a grade if I made a mistake on the math, or I entered an incorrect grade (see pdf link). Neither of those conditions are applicable in your case. I know this is not what you want to hear and I am truly sorry. But there's nothing more that can be done. There is no more time at the end of the semester. Thank you and I do wish you luck on your future studies.

In hindsight, it does look and read better. Less provocative, conciliatory, yet resolute on my position without him taking it personally. I received an email in response saying that he understood my position and thanked me.

The end.