General | A Memorable Fancy

Academic, tech and media podcasts

By erik, on January 26th, 2011%

Here are some podcasts I’ve been listening to lately. If you know of any that I should be listening to, let me know. For those uninitiated into podcasts, I have some thoughts below the list.

Digital Campus Site | RSS

This roundtable-style discussion with Dan Cohen, Amanda French, Tom Scheinfeldt and Mills Kelly is a . . . → Read More: Academic, tech and media podcasts

Internet Down

By erik, on January 19th, 2011%

photo credit kirk lau http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirklau/

The internet is off at home, due to nonpayment, but I keep instinctively trying to click on Tweetdeck or Firefox to look something up. It reminds me of how much I rely on the internet for information, for soothing escape from loneliness, to waste time. It’s lonely here in . . . → Read More: Internet Down

The opposite of writer’s block

By erik, on January 17th, 2011%

I am one of those writers who worries a lot about writing. What do I want to write and why, how should I write, how do other people write, both in style and in their practice, what should I make my students write, and why?1

First of all, I need to invent a waterproof contraption . . . → Read More: The opposite of writer’s block

Thoughts and links

By erik, on December 28th, 2010%

Here are some things that have caught my attention in the last week or two:

This is from a few weeks ago, but still worthwhile. The Economist has an article entitled “The disposable academic: Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time,” which argues that a Ph.D. takes too long and carries too . . . → Read More: Thoughts and links

2010 in review

By erik, on December 22nd, 2010%

Here is a look back at the year, with a few highlights. These lists will be incomplete, in no small part due to my bad memory, and also because I’m sure I’ve missed a lot interesting things this year. Also, some of the things I list were likely released/published in 2009, but I didn’t get . . . → Read More: 2010 in review

Teaching Film Censorship

By erik, on November 9th, 2010%

In the last few weeks, I have given a few lectures on the Hays Code to film classes, and in one class we watched This Film Is Not Yet Rated, a film revealing the secrecy and inconsistencies of the MPAA rating system. After reading the “General Principles” of the Hays Code, I ask students what they . . . → Read More: Teaching Film Censorship

New blog post

By erik, on November 3rd, 2010%

As you can no doubt tell, I have not been blogging lately. You might think it is because I have nothing to say. That has largely been true, I admit, but it also true that, when I do have something to say, I am not near the blog, or in a position to sit and . . . → Read More: New blog post

Writing practices

By erik, on September 30th, 2010%

I have, over the past years, had trouble finding time to write and keeping up momentum, especially at the beginning of the semester, but I have found some practices that work for me. Here are examples of how some successful authors write, followed by some of my suggestions:

Jonathan Franzen removed the wireless card from . . . → Read More: Writing practices

Inception and spectatorship

By erik, on August 10th, 2010%

Inception, a brilliant and entertaining film, continues a trajectory begun by many others of the past decade or so (Nolan’s own Memento, Dark City, The Matrix, Strange Days, etc.). These films blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginary, the (mis)remembered, or the purely mediated, and Inception is no exception, which makes it, frankly, not . . . → Read More: Inception and spectatorship

Reflections at 300

By erik, on August 4th, 2010%

According to WordPress this will be my 300th post.1 Considering that I have been doing this since May 2004, that’s not really a lot. About 4 posts/month. Many blogs reach 300 in less than a year. I am not really that concerned about volume, though. Sure, there have been times I thought I should blog . . . → Read More: Reflections at 300

A Memorable Fancy