thewritingprofessor55

Hello from the corner of my study on a Saturday evening,

Today I had the opportunity and honor of being at a wedding of one of my former students. Ranee and Ben had been going out for 6 years today and this was their wedding day also. It was a very nice wedding, not elaborate, but tasteful; not crazy with unneeded things, but carefully planned and managed. It was fun to put names and faces to some of the people about whom I had heard so much over the past couple of years. Along with that, I got some work done and I hope to get more done tomorrow. It is that time of the semester. We have a week until spring break and it is going to be a bit of a crazy week. I guess that has been par for the course the entire semester, or more accurately, the year. 

One of the things I most respected about the wedding today was the calm and careful way Ranee and Ben went about things. They are both so level-headed and they are planners. It was a really fun wedding to be part of. They planned it all on their own. As I watched the dynamics of the families (which is always interesting), I learned a lot. I remember when I was a pastor, I remembered that you learned the most interesting things during baptisms (hatch), weddings (match), and funerals (dispatch). Many of the things I had heard were illustrated today, so there was no real surprises in what I saw. That is not a value statement nor a judgment, it is merely putting faces to names and, having heard some of the family history, it was easier to imagine how people would act or react at the wedding. 

The other thing I have been thinking about is that piece of advice I have noted that my grandmother gave me. When I was about 8 or 9, I was at the bakery on a Saturday, which got to happen from time to time. Well, I remember sitting in the den (this little like television room in my grandmother’s house). I am not sure what brought this topic or need to say this up, but my grandmother looked at me with her loving eyes and beautiful smile and said very kindly, and simply: “Michael, always be a gentleman.” I did not really understand all of that. I figured it had to do with minding my manners and saying “please” or “thank you”. I am not sure at the age of 8 or 9 I knew exactly what such behavior entailed. Now 50 years later, I have a very clear idea of what that meant and why it was such good advice. 

In my Foundations classes right now, the students are working on their visual argument papers. I note regularly that art reflects the culture in which is it created. The number of videos that have some relationship violence in them is disturbing to me. I know that people get into situations that are not healthy. I know that emotions are not rational. I know that things can build up, but I also know that those are excuses and not reasons for violence. I listen to lyrics by Pink, Maroon 5, Eminem and Rhianna, or It’s Britney Bitch . . . and the same theme comes through loud and clear. When I get angry (and this is for either gender), I am going to scream, punch, hit or something else worse. It comes off like it is a reasonable thing because one is angry. While I think anger is an important emotion, and one that needs to be expressed, it does not have to be in that manner. I have learned, the hard way I might add, to walk away. That does not mean I do not express it, but I take that energy and focus it into something positive: like cleaning. When I was in college, if my dorm room got seriously remodeled, the likely cause was some significant consternation about something. 

More importantly, it gets me back to the issue of being a gentleman (or being a lady for that matter), when you objectify the other person, when he or she fails to be an entity, but rather something you see as merely something you have, it is easy to forget they have emotions, needs, likes, or dislikes; it is easier yet to become self-centered or unaware of how what we do affects the other. However, it seems that my grandmother was on to something, and something important. If we behave as a gentleman or a lady, then what we do has a positive affect on the other. It values them; it tells them that they matter and what they think matters. What I have realized is that words like manners, decorum, appropriateness, or selflessness still have a valued place in our society, in our relationships, in our classrooms, or in any place that people must encounter one another. What I am realizing is that words that I heard long before I ever studied rhetoric were important to me. My grandmother distilled it down to one simple (and amazingly complex) phrase: “Michael, be a gentleman.” While I must admit, there have been moments in my life where I have failed miserably at attempting to do this, and if you were on the receiving end of that failure, please forgive me. 

I think about some of the struggles I see people have, and to or with some of them I am quite close. I hope I can somehow demonstrate in a positive way that being a gentleman has not gone, and never will be, out of style. I hope that I can illustrate that what my amazing and kind grandmother shared with me that long ago is not only valuable, it is essential. If we are going to be a civil society, at any level, merely treating others with respect and tolerance, with openness and genuine honesty, with kindness and grace, will lead us to a better world. In the meanwhile, I will continue my mission in trying to pay attention to my grandmother’s words. I should note that I am looking for an appropriate picture.

Thanks for reading,

Michael (aka: Dr./Mr./Pastor Martin)

Hello on a Friday evening,

I had the opportunity to see the punk musical American Idiot this evening on campus. It was quite astounding. The music and the vocals were outstanding, but the choreography was simply stunning to me. The energy and the set were infectious and the Mitrani Center was sold out I believe. It was a great production and the prices are so reasonable for the quality of what is being offered. I need to do more to support it than I have. Before hand, I had dinner at a newer restaurant in town called “Seasons”. This is the second time I have been there. The menu is quite nice and the preparation is among the best in the area. Prices are a bit pricey for Bloomsburg, but reasonable for what you are receiving. Tonight I went there before the musical. It was a very nice dinner. Because it is a BYOB, I took the only bottle of Miraflores Petit Sirah (2004) I have in my cellar. It was a triple gold medal wine at the Orange Country Fair. I think it is the only triple goal Miraflores has had there. They have had many medal winning wines, but I think that was their first big one. The wine was decanted and it opened up very nicely. Had a very silky, but full-bodied texture. The taste was subtle with some notes of almost a black cherry. It had a great finish. I do not think it would have lasted much longer, however. The decanting was certainly the right decision. 

It was a busy, but productive week this week. The program revision is in. I have to work on the revision to Bible as Literature a bit more because of the General Education requirements and grading and writing has been much of the rule of the day. Monday and Tuesday I am doing student conferences for my Foundations students again. I am hoping this will help them. I have actually been quite pleased generally with their work. Some of the peer reviews are the best I think I have seen in my 5 years here at Bloom. Likewise, while there are some issues with citation, which I do not find surprising, the papers in general, once again, are strong. I want to have all the grades in by Monday. This past week I was actually in my office until after 1:00 a.m. twice, but it was productive.

This past week I have been fortunate to have conversations about ones’ perceptions of Americans. This has been enlightening to me. The last time I really thought about this was when I was in the service. It was when I was in the Marines that I felt a bit embarrassed to be an American, and before you accuse me of not being patriotic, hear me out. When I was in other countries that had another language, there was little attempt by those of us in the service to use their language even though we were in their country. I remember being uncomfortable with that. More than the language issue was the arrogance of some of my fellow Marines. There was a condescension that made local people unhappy and, appropriately so, because it was disrespectful. It was then and the meeting of a family back in my hometown that had spent the year in Germany that made me want to learn another language. Now I want to learn at least two more. I want to become fluent in Spanish. I have a former student who lives in Spain for whom, to this day, I have the greatest admiration. Then there is Fernando out in Placerville and many of the workers out there. It would also be fun to speak Spanish with Marco. Then there are the students here that are bilingual and bring such an amazing understanding of this culture we call the United States. 

I have been fortunate to listen to their perspective of Americans. I have also listened to a student from China this semester. We take our lifestyle for granted and much like English is the lingua franca of much of the world (which is an entirely different blog entry) we think much the same of our culture. Again, while I am profoundly patriotic because of my time in the United States Marines, I am also open minded enough to realize that many other places have a much longer historical presence than we do. For instance, my Chinese student spoke about a culture of 2,500 years. That is amazing. It is also impressive. I was researching some of the Carribean this evening and their history goes back to the 7th century with Indian people. We all too often disregard the various indigent people that were here long before the “white” people were. Again, we can learn so much from merely listening and observing other cultures. The importance of attempting to learn their language cannot be underestimated. Language is one of the most importance elements of one’s culture, of their identity. It is my goal to be at least competent in Spanish by the fall. 

This past week I have done a lot of thinking about how much more amazing so many students are than I was at that age. I was pretty clueless as I look back at things. I thought I had it pretty well figured out. Honestly, that is certainly not that case. I do think I began to figure it out when I started my time at Dana, but I still wandered and struggled. My junior year at University of Iowa was important, but I still struggled. Most of it was because of my own insecurities and believing that I still could do better than I was. I think I got a 4.0 at Iowa, but I still felt that there were so many around me who were much more together than I was. I have been forced (more accurately prompted) to reflect on my existence again. I think that is a good thing, but it can be both a blessing and a curse. Because of my predisposition to think I can always do better, I have a propensity for seeing things in a more negative light than I probably should. Even though I can write this,  demonstrating a forward-thinking and and introspective side to me ( I do think it is a sort of rebellion if you will), I find it hard to overcome. 

While I do believe my time here has been the best five years of my life (both personally and professionally), I am reminded of what I wrote in a paper once “I have this sense of melancholy that can serve to undermine my progress” (A River Runs Through It -an unpublished paper). Sin embargo, los dos mencionados en blog más temprano han proporcionado un sentido de alegría. Jordan me hace sonreír y reírse, y aún considerar y considerar que elegante él es… y que bueno él realmente es. Melissa me hace mirarme francamente e introspectivamente, y mientras puede ser desconcertante, por último, es probablemente provechoso. La capacidad intuitiva profunda y asombrosa que ella posee es ciertamente atípica. Juntos ellos han proporcionado un sentido de objetivo por el cual estoy agradecido.They have also pulled me out of what is generally a later winter sadness, a sort of seasonal affect issue. 

Well, it is midnight and I am still writing, but I want to be up early as there is a lot on my plate. I am performing a wedding tomorrow for a former student. The two of them so love each other and while they will struggle with managing like most newlyweds, they too are amazingly capable for being the age they are. I might be one of those weddings that I will look back and say, I am glad I was there on that day. Otherwise the weekend will consist of grading, managing documents, and trying to get my next set of ducks in a row. Discipline and working steadily.

Gracias por lectura.

Dr. Martin

Good afternoon from my office,

Just when I thought the workload might decrease, we are back to the drawing board on a task here in the department. So, Tuesday we will regroup and see what the next options are. I am glad I have such amazing committee members. The reference to “pink paper” will be understood by those for whom the title is meant. . . . it is actually two days later and I have been working on other things simply managing the daily things that are necessary. I am actually sitting in my office, where it seems I have getting more and more accomplished. That is good thing. This last couple weeks I got a book review accepted and later today (and maybe yet tonight depending on my stamina and the weather) I hope to have the majority of an article written, and certainly to have it done by Tuesday evening. This semester, I have a very long Monday. Actually it is so packed I get little done outside of merely running from one thing to the next.

The thing that I believe is dragging all down is the weather. I am one of those few, who, perhaps, might even go as far as to say I enjoy the winter. However, I am tired of it also. I had to smile because the other day I wrote a letter to “winter” asking it to go away (note, I did not use a gender specific pronoun here and that was intentional). I am not sure my letter was valued as we are supposed to get yet another wintery mix of &%*!~(^ yet this afternoon and evening. One of my geo-sciences colleagues has been keeping the latest models updated on his facebook. I can only hope that whatever comes is short-lived and a hint of Spring might soon be here.

During the past few weeks, I have been provided with a sense of hope for this world around us. While there are so many things that might cause a person to lament, become disillusioned, cease caring, or adopt a living-style that includes Hermitage (hmmmm – that might be an idea and I actually have some I think), there have been some phenomenal gifts I have been fortunate enough to witness. All too often, when I am merely observing the goings-on around me or listening to comments from a variety of people about those others from whom they should care, or reading even papers or blogs or other postings, the vitriolic comnments, disapproving looks, and disenchanted attitudes seem to spew, laser-beam, or create an affect that generates much more hate than care. In the midst of this, I have had the chance to see something quite the contrary. I have been fortunate enough to be allowed into the lives of a brother and sister from whom we could learn a great deal. They have, perhaps, the most amusing, loving, and respectful relationship I think I have ever observed. They are profoundly different and yet alarmingly the same. They can read each others’ minds. They speak without speaking, and that is not only when they are in the same space, it is while they are on the planet together. Little as far as chronology, but larger in physicality, the brother is smart, witty and a prankster. The sister, with the opposite pre-noted attributes, has a more serious demeanor, but is wise well beyond the time she has spent here. Together, they are formidable, but still accessible. I am reminded of the biblical text about “many will try, but few will [find them]”.

Watching them has prompted me, pushed me, required me, to consider my own existence in ways I have not for a while. The persons I have known to be most like this would be my grandmother, Louise (I have mentioned her before), and her elder sister, Helen. While I am not sure I ever really thought about their relationship in this way until I began to work on this blog, I know that their individual homes were the two places I felt safe and loved when I was a child. While I did not know it as a small child, my grandmother had some issues that created chaos in her life (she did get those issues managed), but during that chaos, it was her older sister (who was quite tiny), and my Great-aunt Helen, who took care of her in a number of ways. What I know looking back is her care was given unconditionally, it was given lovingly, it was given unabashedly. They lived 70 miles away from each other, but I am going to assume that they spoke regularly. It would be interesting to see what they might have been like in today’s world with technology. After thinking about them, I did some searching and found out when my Aunt Helen and Uncle Melvin were married. I know it was a second marriage for him. She was married in the chapel of a college in Kentucky. Wow!! My Great-uncle, Clement was a pastor. I did know that. Amazing what I have dug up in a few minutes. This is something I can use in my classes too.

More importantly, what this is really about is asking a simple question: how does one exhibit the love that demonstrates a honest sense of valuing that other person, not merely being infatuated or selfish in what one gives (supposedly gives)? Can we be altruistic in our care and love? I think I am beginning to believe it is possible, but mostly because I can reflect on an example in my own family and then see it in two amazing people I have been blessed to have come into my own life at this point . . . gracias por su ejemplo asombroso y vivificante.

Thank you for reading.

Dr. Martin (aka: an older student as I am always learning)

Hello from my office on a Sunday evening,

The past week felt like I was hanging on by a thread and the single strand will be stretched and possibly frayed before the end of the coming week. I thought the fall was the busiest of the semesters I have had here at Bloom, but it seems like this semester has already outpaced that one. I have not really added a single thing to my list, and, in fact, I have lost some things in the process, but that will be for a different time and posting. I am wondering if some of it has to do with the fact that this winter is certainly a winter of one’s discontent . . .  and it has decided to stay for an extended period. Saturday it was a day with actual sunshine and reasonable temperatures. More importantly, it was understandable to me (as I know myself) that I felt energized, but it also caused me to realize how depressed I was by the continuous winter. I do not dislike the snow; in fact, I find it quite beautiful, but as I look at my house and the green of the yard, I am realizing the early summer is more appreciated by me than I might have given it credit.

My Foundations students are working on their Visual Argument papers and I am pleased by the seriousness that many of them are working to find primary source material. They are required to work on contacting a number of people who have some specific roles in the creation of the video. I am continually astonished by the ever-increasing integration of sound, image, and language. It is nothing new and I understand that, but our realization and subsequent development of it as a important art form is really interesting to me. 

This past week I got a copy of a new book, which I cannot find at the moment (the moment is past, and I have found it. It was right in front of me). It is titled Writer/Designer and is authored by three of my graduate colleagues. I need to dig through it because I think I am going to employ it, but I have to figure out to get it digested in a day or two. I think there are some things that can be really interactive and might work to help both students and me accomplish what I have laid out in my Writing for Multiple Media class. I am continually caught a bit off guard at how quickly things seem to add up. I hear my students say it, but it is not really any different on this side. I think part of that is because I am never satisfied with how things are going. I always want them to be better. Yet, I must note, and I am quite pleased, I might add, that the great majority of my Foundations students have seemed to have turned a corner. Their memoir packets come in tomorrow and that will give me a lot of work over the next couple weeks. I cannot even get to their papers until Wednesday to start. I have other things I have to manage for the program, for my department, and for the committees I am on. There is something wrong with that statement because we are here first for the students, but I have that much on my plate at the moment.

That being said, I did get some significant things done over the past three weeks, so I am in better shape on some things. However, I need to keep the little nose to the grindstone as they say. I am afraid at the rate I am going I will not have much of a nose left. Maybe I should put some of my more extensive flabby parts to that grindstone. Of course, that is an entirely different issue that I need to get back to managing more effectively. Perhaps I need another significant bout with my “Crohn’s Diet” as I call those times. My weight is not where it was, but I feel as out of shape as I ever have. It is depressing. However, I know too well that bemoaning it, will not change it; it requires something more substantial.

That being said, I need to sit at my desk a while longer and get more done here first. So . . .  I am listening to music, reading about music, considering image in a number of different genres, and working away. At the same time, not far from my thoughts is Lydia, whose picture graces this entry.

Thanks for reading as always,

Dr. Martin (aka: Miguelito)

Good morning from the @Fog_and_Flame,

I came in early this morning to get my ducks-in-a-row and try to get ahead of the game a bit. As we are already a third of the way through the semester this week, I am realizing how quickly some things are coming. It is a bit disconcerting at best, and down-right scary at worst . . .  or maybe there is something even worse, but I do not want to know. Today we were supposed to get another 2-4, 3-5, 4-6 (you pick) inches of snow, but it ended up being a dusting. This place is not used to that amount of snow and I think people are pretty shellshocked. What I do know is the area retailers had (and have) no clue. Over the weekend, I went to get salt, ice melt, or some product that will help me manage the ice that has built up on my sidewalks. I know that there has been a run on such items, but there was none to be had. No big deal, but it is only the middle of February and there is a good 2 feet of snow on the ground. Both Lowe’s and Home Depot told me they do not plan to get anymore. Really?? So I resorted to ingenuity. I used a large container of Sea Salt from my kitchen and I seasoned my sidewalk. Holy Buckets! More importantly, it worked. 

During the past few days as I have worked with my Foundations students on their memoir papers, either through conferences or by questions in class, and not surprisingly, much of their reflection on the world is related to technology. What I have realized as I look at effect of technology in a more analytic way, is that it has (or more accurately we have with it) created a world of paradox. I think I might have mentioned this in my last blog, but my memory fails me yet again. I am quite sure that if Lydia were here, we would be fighting over her medication soon. 😦 However, I digress . . .  The point is to consider what I think about the phenomenon of paradox. I believe paradox, in theological terms, is quite an accurate systematic schema of who we are as human beings most of the time. I think we are most always struggling with those seeming opposite options or polarizing choices. All too often we are not sure why we are confronted with such a dilemma. Even as I write this, I try to imagine what it is that causes this seeming sense of struggle . . .  maybe it is just me and my overactive synapses. I am reminded of a line in the movie On Golden Pond. It occurred when Norman was having a discussion about whether or not Bill and Chelsea could sleep together. At some point, Bill asks, what the bottom line is regarding the “illicit sex” question. Norman responds in his cantankerous way, “So you are a bottom line person?” What is the bottom line? I often approach things that way. I like knowing what I can expect. Even if I do not like the answer, I would much rather know than be surprised.

Well, today is a day of meetings and managing. I have a meeting with a local radio person at 1:00 and then we have a departmental meeting at 3:30. It will be an important meeting. In the meanwhile, I will keep working on things that need to be accomplished. I do have to go to my office at some point because I have left things there that I need to get home. I also want to get a couple more things off my plate. If I can get more things off my list versus things added to the list, it will be a successful day.

Thanks for reading, as always.

Dr. Martin (aka: Michael)

Good afternoon from the Fog and Flame,

I think I need a vacation. Many might say you just had one, but what I think I need is a working vacation, one where I can focus, in an uninterrupted manner. What might I do with such a “respite” of sorts? The first thing I would do is spend two or three days bringing my tech skills back up to date. I need a seminar where I can work with someone who understands things like Camtasia, Media Stream, Vision Thread, or Diigo really well and then work with them creating one artifact after another so it becomes second nature for me. I want to do some much more with the idea of a flipped class and having the various pieces that I can put into the course delivery tool will help my students. Then I would try to merely write. I need to write for a number of reasons. I have noted this in my blog posting before this, but the hammer is down and there are no excuses.

Today, as I have been in the Fog and Flame, I have run into current students, former students, graduated students, graduate students and colleagues. That has been interesting to see the cross-germination that is in that little space. Then there is the issue of paying for your drinks. I have turned to using Square Wallet. Amazing how many things I can do from my phone. As I sit here I have my Mac updating, which is taking significant time because I am on WiFi and I had not updated things for about 6 weeks. Amazing how many things that get out of day and quickly. I have been downloading OS X Mavericks for about three hours, or more.

What I started to write about earlier is my writing. I am working on a book review and it will be done by the end of the weekend. Then I need to do some additional reading about the “rhetoric of place” article that I am working on. My colleague has given me some things to manage and then I have to come up with an outline. I did some work on that article this summer and then it sat the entire fall semester. The third article is a programmatic review article and that should not be that difficult. What I need to do is manage the free time I have and then use that for writing and not random time wasting. It is the very think I tell my students all the time. Now I need to employ it too.

What I have learned more and more about myself is I get overwhelmed and then I shut down. Very little gets accomplished. I think I had too much on my plate and that is still an issue, but I am trying to make changes. Yet some of those changes have been painful and sad. Then there is the fact that I have not even managed all of that as well as I should or must. That will be part of the next week or two. I wish there was an easier way to manage my life. Then again, I should not be surprised because this time of year is difficult for me. While I have never been technically diagnosed with SAD, I am quite sure I am a person who is affected by it.

One of the things I have been really good at, at least thus far into the semester, and I am well aware that we are only two weeks into the process, is to stay ahead of the game a bit more in my classes. I have spent some long evenings in my office, but I think it is beginning to pay off. Organization is a difficult thing, particularly when it is hard to see how it all fits together, but perhaps that is the impetus for my title. Can we actually organize our randomness? Or are they merely oxymoronic and therefore, it is an exercise in futility? I think it is better to be more optimistic and work under the guise that it is possible. In fact, most everything has such a possibility, if one only take the time and puts in the effort.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and I had the chance to get a ticket. That would have been quite an experience, but when the Packers are not playing, it is hard for me to be excited. If the Packers were playing . . . it is a no-brainer, I would be there. It will be interesting that it is outside. It is also interesting because two Bloomsburg students (one is actually an alum) have a central role in the PR and management of the PR for the game. That is very cool.

Well, it is time to get back to another task. So, as always, thank you for reading. I hope your life is more than organized chaos. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Dr. Martin