DigitalPenny

When life takes hold and you are grounded in the rudiments of rational objective thinking, you become responsible. You have bills, raise your children, work to support your family (and not yourself), and if you are lucky, you wed a supportive spouse.

Some of us, whole heartedly give up some of the little things in life to work in an environment that takes more than forty hours a week in addition to the twenty or so, which are non-paid, but expected. Some of us, whole heartedly commit to doing things where we have to "watch our backs" every twenty or so yards. And Some of us, whole heartedly just give up...we don't give a damn; we let them fend for themselves, or we shovel them off to someone else.

But for those of us who try to make an honest living according to the unofficial rules demanded by this society of which we are a part, we work whole heartedly because we decided to embark on a new phase, a new chapter of our lives: finding a means to survive, when someone else's life depends on what you do to help them maintain balance. And with every page we turn, there's something new and exciting on the next page.

Yea, you get frustrated sometimes. You might even want to take your hands and grip their little necks, causing them to asphyxiate. But you in your love for them, you decide that its not worth it because you'll miss them when they are gone.

Love sometimes can be an unconditional oversight.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

How do I become a postaholic? Anyone knows?

Posted by Digitalpenny at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It was exactly 11:15 p.m. when the phone rang. This was just last night. The kids were in bed, and M was giging at the Lucky Moon Cafe (downtown Syracuse).

Me: Hello
M: Can you drive down here to bring me your key?
Me: Key to what? What are you talking about?
M: I just broke my key in the door of the car. Are the kids sleep?
Me: (Thinking...It's 11:15, they've been sleep since 9:00)

Yes, I'm guilty. I left my kids home alone for about twenty minutes--in the middle of the night. What was I supposed to do? M could have called the police, but what good would that have done?

When I arrived at the scene, M had a coat hanger in the window and was attempting to unlock either the door or the trunk. I walked over and offered my key. He jams it into the trunk of his car, turns it, and the key breaks. What the f*&^%$#k was going on? Those were the only two keys we had. So he walked to the cafe, got his things, and we left. Boy, the silence in the car could be cut with a knife!

So we get home, try and relax (drining a cup of earl grey and watching part of some movie??), and commence discussing a plan for getting the car home. T- coughed and wheezed practically all night despite the medication. I think rubbing her chest with eucalyptus oil helped to calm her breathing. So, finally, around 2:30 or 3:00, I fall asleep.

5:00 am, the coughing begins again. More meds. I look at the clock and it's 7:00. I neglect to wake M-jr because I forgot that today was a school day. Luckly, M had gotten out of bed to wake M-jr; other wise, he'd have missed his bus. Now, it's 8:00. I must have fallen asleep. D's bus rolls around at 8:15. Can I make her pull it together in 15 minutes? I run to wake her? I run back to my dresser to pull a pair of socks for her (that's where they live). I run to the fridge to pull waffles, into the toaster they go. It's 8:08. She's almost dressed. At 8:10 I cut the waffles, pour a tablespoon of applesauce, and call D to the table. She's done at 8:15, the bus is late. So, I say, "Go brush your teeth! I didn't hear you do that. I'll watch for your bus." So I stand at the window watching while she brushes. Just as she walks out of the bathroom, the bus is pulling up. I'm relieved because I don't have to take her to school.

T is still asleep, so I brew a cup of coffee. The house was too quiet; so, I opened the garage door to see whether my car was gone. The truck was missing. I call M on his cell. He's at the site with his car.... Good news, he's removed one of the broken key fragments from the door of the car. He comes home.

Then he leaves again for more meds for T. I shower and dress, and can't seem to muster enough energy to dress T. So, M walks in, dresses T, medicates her, feeds her. We take her to school, hoping she will endure the day without coughing her lungs up. Then we are off to the locksmith.

We get three keys made for the car. There's nothing like being prepared. At the site, M tries the first key in the driver's door. Nothing happens. He tries the other two, nothing happens. He moves to the trunk, places one of the keys in the trunk, turns it. It breaks. Then he tries the hanger again; this time he aims specifically for the trunk button, which is on the floor of the vehicle. Slide, pull, slide pull, slide, pull, we hear a pop. Trunk is open. He crawls from the back extends over the seats and unlocks the door. Hooray, the car is open! Now for the ultimate test...trying the key in the ignition. It goes in, he turns it, it works!!! Now we can never lock the doors, ever again.

I was so freaking exhausted by 3:00, I just threw myself on my bed and crashed. I didn't sleep too long. Everytime I felt myself dozing, I would feel one of the kids get into the bed and lie next to me. So I'm still tired. Those freaking keys!

Posted by Digitalpenny at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This was my original proposal for my CCR 690 course (Fall 2005). I wrote this and turned it in sometime during mid-May 2005.

Title:
Cartooning: A Study of the Culture of Visual Rhetoric and Persuasion

Objectives of Study or Experience:
The purpose of this independent study is twofold: first, since the academic community is looking to diversify its portfolio, and is open to new research alternatives, I would like to assist in making that leap possible by taking up the study of cartooning and visual rhetoric. This independent study will look critically at building a framework for addressing serious and complex issues associated with audience, language, style, and difference. I believe that the study of visual rhetoric in composition and rhetoric is being taken up whole heartedly by scholars who are studying the effects of persuasion in image production—from movies to paintings to advertisements—but they do not seem to be taking up the study of image production and language in cartooning. This is an area where academic and non-academic communities traverse via writer, text, reader, and image.

Second, in order that I might pursue a larger project, which will include the theoretical nature of visual design, language, and cultural spaces of the works of African American cartoonists, I want to examine, closely, the perception of image and text, and its relationship to the art of persuasion. This study will authorize me to take up discussions of visual rhetoric as it relates to the diverse study of how the philosophical notion of writer/text/reader becomes non-resistant to the practice of juxtaposing the writer/text/reader/image. Readings for this course will offer insight and access to the practically unknown space of African American cartoonists, to the genre of cartooning, to an examination of the rhetoric of graphic novels, and to technologically savvy cyberspace zones being created by African American cartoonist.

Procedures of Study or Nature of Experience:
This study will proceed largely through reading, and my creating from these readings, brief one-page summaries, which will include my responses to the readings. In addition, I would like to read Shadow Rock, a graphic novel, which is being written and illustrated by an African American cartoonist, and then draft an in-depth analysis about the novel using my newfound understanding of the theory of cartooning, visual rhetoric, and the art of persuasion.

Nature of Contact with Faculty Sponsor or Supervisor:
Contact with Rebecca Moore Howard will include weekly one-to-one meetings, whether by email, face-to-face, or phone calls. In these meetings, we will discuss the readings and the connectedness of how I am negotiating the academic theory of visual rhetoric to the non-academic theory of cartooning.

Criteria for Assessing Student Performance:
Criteria for assessing my performance would be that I rewrite and polish a final analysis of the novel as a CCCC presentation.

Reading list for book-length texts include:

• Barry, Ann Marie Seward. Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image, and Manipulation in Visual Communication. Albany: SUNY Press, 1997.


• Handa, Carolyn. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. Bedford/St. Martins. SIU Press. (2004).


• Kress, Gunther and Theo van Leeuwen. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge (1996)


• Love, Jeremy. Shadow Rock. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Comics, Aug. 2005.


• Mirzoeff, Nicholas. An Introduction to Visual Culture. London: Routledge, 1999.


• Mitchell, W.J.T. Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. University of Chicago Pr. (Aug. 1995).


• McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Perennial Currents Reprint edition (April 27, 1994)


• McCloud, Scott. Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form. Perennial Currents (August 1, 2000)


• Eisner, Will. Comics & Sequential Art. Poorhouse Press (November 1, 1985)


• Carrier, David. The Aesthetics of Comics. Pennsylvania State University Press (December 1, 2001)


• Varnum, Robin and Christina T. Gibbons. The Language of Comics: Word and Image. University Press of Mississippi (January 1, 2002)

Reading list for journals and essays include:

Posted by Digitalpenny at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was looking for a book, but found myself searching links related to African American anything. I kept reading and selecting link after interesting link, until I stumbled upon the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior's website titled, "Our Shared History: African American Heritage".

I'm loving this site! It provides a wealth of information about the Afro-American history in America from slavery covering the slave trade, the underground railroad, right up through Brown v. Board, the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. They also offer free publications, there's a list of internships (across the country), ideas for teaching, lesson plans and much more.

Whenever I've thought about national parks, I've never thought that a website created to discuss national parks would even contemplate rewriting history this way. This website offers a conscientious and practical approach to learning, teaching, and community, rewriting American History as it should have been written years ago. It's just too bad we had to wait this long. But as some would say, "Better late than not at all." I think this is only the beginning of what's to come.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Is there no justice?

Posted by Digitalpenny at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1264)

This afternoon I took M-jr to the grocery store with me. He had a homework assignment to complete, and I had to do the regular shopping, which I never, hardly ever do. I must say that it's a good thing that grocery isles have hanging lists so that you have some idea of where to go to find something.

Anyhow, M-jr and I had gotten to the check-out, and I was yelling at him because he kept placing his homework folder on the rolling counter where I was placing the grocery. Well, at the edge of the rolling counter, there's a trash can. As I piled the counter with more than the cashier could move away, M-jr's folder fell into that trash can. He yelled, I yelled, and the cashier was bewildered because he didn't know what was going on.

M-jr: "Ugh! Ew! You pushed my folder into the garbage. Nasty!"
Mom: "Well, I didn't know it was there!" (yes, I did, but I told him to hold it. I never saw the trash can.)
M-jr: "Whose going to recover it!"
Mom: "Stick your hand in there and get it!"
M-jr: "I'm not sticking my hand in there!"
(Cashier still confused, but looking.)
Mom: "Go ahead."
M-jr: Reaching into the trash. "Nasty, pizza! It's on my folder!"
Mom: "Just pull it out!"
M-jr: "Ugh, I can not believe you made me do that!"
Mom: "Oh well. You can go wash your hands now."
(Cashier laughing.)

That was fun!

Posted by Digitalpenny at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I learned that M-jr is writing a story about himself as a computer game genius. I started reading it, and as always I looked to correct his sentences and grammar. Well, I didn't have to do that this time. I saw only a few spelling mistakes (like I can spell). Anyhow, it's a wonderful story.

Once he completes it, he would like to get it published. I asked if I could blog it, he hesitated. Instead, he wanted to know whether we could send it to a children's book publisher to try our luck. My fear, and I haven't told him this, is that it might get rejected. But then again, children's publishers are always looking for great children's stories. We'll see what happens when it's complete.

Does anyone personally or through some acquaintance know of any children's book editor, publisher, or illustrator?

Posted by Digitalpenny at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

OMG, an online kind of cliff notes! It's Sparknotes! They are supported by Barnes & Nobel.

About them:

SparkNotes books and SparkNotes.com exist to help students learn and practice basic skills, write a paper, study for a test and achieve their academic goals. We believe that doing well in school and learning is its own reward, and that learning is more than just getting a diploma from a brand name college.

Created by Harvard students for students everywhere and geared to what today's students need to know, SparkNotes study guides are the perfect aid for studying and writing papers. Each guide contains thorough summaries and insightful critical analysis of a nearly endless range of subjects including English literature, Shakespeare, History and Math and Science. We offer hundreds of study guides for free to read on the web, and many SparkNotes and SparkCharts as downloadable, printable PDFs.

And it doesn't stop there. We built our name with literature guides, but SparkNotes has even more to offer high school and college kids. No matter what the subject—The SAT, English Grammar, Spanish, Chemistry—SparkNotes will help you figure it out fast, and have fun doing it. Check out our boutique at Barnes & Noble.com.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

HGTV and DIY network. Since being in Syracuse, I haven't had time to watch, but this morning, I took a moment to watch HGTV. They were showing Landscaper's Challenge. It amazes me how they take backyards, which sometimes look cramped for space, and produce these amazing, colorful, exciting landscapes. I so wish that someone could come by and fix my backyard. It is definitely looking like a landscaper's challenge right now.

DIY is good to watch if you are the fix it yourself or the I can do it myself type. Some of the shows they produce, I would think that you'd have to have some knowledge about, for example, plumbing...or a strong stomach.

I find these shows exciting at times because I'm always fantasizing about how I would like my house to look (someday) both inside and outside. When we sold our house back in Aurora, we were able to accomplish a lot of the house work ourselves because we had watched a few of these shows. I think the one show that was on HGTV at the time was something about home inspections. After watching it a few times, I knew that we should never, never buy a house without having it inspected first. And that the inspector should be board certified. I also learned how to inspect some things without having an inspector on site, especially when we were thinking about purchasing a home here.

The only thing that I don’t like about these shows is that they assume everyone has the money to make these things happen. But if you are looking to remodel, brighten your home with color, change things around just a bit, or even to fix repair, or purchase something new for your home, these shows are a visual showing of the latest trends. Another thing that I don't always like is the fact that they remove pretty much all of the messiness associated with tearing down, moving, installing, and fixing anything.

Every now and then, they tell you that someone went over budget, but they never reveal the actual cost of a project, nor do they reveal how much out of pocket expense the owners had to fork out because they went over budget. I'm not talking about those shows where the owners spend $1000 or $2000. I'm talking about the others where they remodel bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, or whole houses. That information would be nice to know.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is my last entry in "Writing on Spring" unless something odd reveals itself.

I must say that I enjoyed teaching WRT 205 this semester, and despite the many absences from several students, the class as a whole was relaxing. My WRT 205 students were a great group, and I am glad to have had the privilege and experience of assisting them with their writing.

So, I just finished grading papers from this last unit, and like many instructors, I hate grading. But it's just one of those things that an instructor has to do.

With this last Unit, I asked the students to research a topic--of their choice--then in groups, to present their research in the form of a visual argument. Many of my students moaned and groaned about doing group work, but a few of the same students who complained, found group work to be less exhausting than writing an 8-10 page essay. I think it was due to the fact that within each group, someone took a lead role and divvied the tasks; thus, each student was responsible for pieces or parts and not the entire project. Yea, each group had its problems.

One group decided to debate, which turned out great, but the two opposing group members often argued or exchanged verbal hatred of each other--while in class--leading up to debate day. As an instructor, I didn't really know how to handle this except to allow each person to have their say, and then continue with class. I thought it was funny, and so did some of the other students. Anyhow their bashing in class, lead to a fantastic debate. We voted too.

Another group discussed yoga. During our class meetings, I wasn't sure that they would pull it together, but they created a magazine with contributing articles (from other group members) along with the history, product reviews, news for expecting mothers, and much much more. I was extremely impressed.

What I remember most about the group that researched steroids were the pictures that they showed of people who had taken steroids and become deformed (that's exaggerated) from prolonged exposure. And although they were short one member, they pulled it (the presentation) off without a hiccup.

One more group, then I'm done. The Freshman Guide to First Year Campus advice brochure. Oh, I so loved the final product. It was colorful, brilliantly put together, and it showed the hard work of each student. Although their presentation was extremely long (and I had to cut them off), I was extremely impressed by the amount of research they had done. I think that the university should take their document and pass it along to all incoming freshmen.

My hat goes off to each group! Wonderful presentations and resulting products!

There is something to be said about collaborative writing. Rebecca Moore Howard puts it best when she says, "Students who work together learn more and retain more." I saw this fact revealing itself as each student stood before the class to present. Not only were they able to regurgitate their research, but they depended on their group members to cheer them on, to listen, to assist them in revealing their presentation via PowerPoint, posters, or music, or to make sure that the presentation overall flowed. I think that I'll design and assign more collaborative projects in the future.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)