Archive | Travel RSS feed for this section
End of May

End of May

I haven’t written on my blog during the whole month of May as should be obvious. I’d like to say that I’ve been writing elsewhere, but that would be a lie. I have been on break — a much needed break. Alas, May is at an end, and so is my break. I begin teaching this week, and I’ll begin writing again, too. What have I been doing?

I celebrated my anniversary this month with my lovely wife. It’s been four years. We rented a condo on St. Armand’s Key in Sarasota; we ate, drank, lounged, and exercised. What a great time. Happy anniversary again, A.

I have been using my iPad. It goes with me everywhere except to run and to shower. I’m even reluctant to put it down when I sleep. My favorite applications are the reading ones: iBooks, Wired, GoodReader, and NewsRack. In fact, I think the iPad will mark a return to true reading, especially for me.

Nicholas Carr argues that the Internet is rewiring our brains and making us all multitaskers. This means that we lose concentration and focus more easily, that our attention is more fragmented, and that we exchange depth for breadth. We are, in many respects, teaching our brains to think less deeply and pay more attention to crap. Bruce Sterling made a similar case in his futurist study Tomorrow Now. He argues that our activities on the Internet accumulate fragments of information in blogs, tweets, and social networks, but there’s not real learning going on. Carr suggests that these new skills are not necessarily all bad, and Sterling emphasizes a return to canon building as a way to focus these disperate voices. I think the iPad can help.

Like I wrote above: my favorite apps are the reading apps. IBooks is Apple’s free book reader, and it is slick. Not only can change the fonts and their sizes, but I can double-tap on a word, and click “Dictionary” to look up its meaning. So simple, and so useful. I can insert bookmarks, but I wish I could annotate those. (Are you listening, Apple?) I have purchased a few books, namely Dan Simmons’ Ilium and Octavia Butler’s Kindred, and I have also downloaded many freebies. I’m also excited about making my own. Can you say “self-publishing”?

The coolest app I’ve purchased (so far) is Wired (pictured above right). Man, is this slick; it’s what a magazine on the iPad should be. The pages are gorgeous and the navigation is intuitive and spot-on. When they discuss music, there are samples to be played. When a movie makes sense, one’s provided. They even have a slick, three-page ad for HBO’s True Blood and other animated and interactive goodies. Now the app is $5, and it’s worth every penny. However, I think this will eventually go down. I’d gladly pay $30 a year for this awesome periodical. The rest of you magazine publishers out there should take note: you want to save your industry? Look to Wired‘s example. I could see The New Yorker, Asimov’s, National Geographic, etc. all on my iPad.

GoodReader is another great app. Essentially, it allows me to load up my PDFs and read them on the iPad’s gorgeous screen. I have many PDFs, and this is very slick. They look great, and the program is pretty responsive. But that’s not even the coolest part: it’s all the options I have for getting PDFs onto the iPad. GoodReader links to Box.net and my Dropbox. I can browse the contents of both, and then download whatever I need. Very nice. I’m loading up all my lecture notes; I plan to use the iPad in the classroom. Oh, the educational possibilities are so tantalizing, but I’ll save that for another entry.

NewsRack is my RSS reader. I like that it syncs my Google Reader account. It also looks good and functions well. ‘Nuff said.

Not only have I been spending time with my iPad, but I’ve been wasting time on the computer. Most of that is the fault of Tumblr. Well, tomorrow, my time on Tumblr is going to be limited by necessity.

I’m teaching two class this summer: a first-session World Literature 1, and a full-session World Literature 2, online. I like this schedule for summer, as it will give me some flexibility in July. Several of my friends and colleagues aren’t teaching this summer. I wish that was an option for me, but I need a paycheck. Maybe some day.

That’s really about it. May’s been great. It might be my favorite month of the year.

Read full storyComments Off
Mailer Conference

Mailer Conference

Holy moly. What a busy couple of weeks. As you can see by the dearth of posts to this blog, I have been occupied elsewhere, including a wedding, a conference, and several other things.

The wedding was great. I was the official photog, but I was also a guest. Autumn and I had a fabulous time in Vegas. I took over 1500 photographs, including our visit to Hoover Dam and plenty on the Vegas Strip, not to mention the hundreds of the wedding and events surrounding it. Thanks, again, to Heather and Chris for letting be a part of their nuptials.

The Norman Mailer Society Conference was held in D.C. this year, the first time (for me) our of Provincetown. While it was a good conference, attendance was down, and Mike Lennon stepped down as president in order to focus on his biography of Mailer. While I think our new prez, Mark Olshaker, will do a good job, I get the feeling the Society will change. I think we’re back in P-town next year. I’ll be publishing my paper here soon. It’s really just a thought piece, as my original idea for a part two to last year’s film was not possible. Still, I like the connections I make in the essay. Stay tuned for that.

Here is a slideshow of my photos from the conference and from around the capitol.

On a similar note: we published our third volume of The Mailer Review. While I’m listed still as the Deputy Editor, I really didn’t do much. All the work should be credited to Phil Sipiora and his awesome team of graduate students, including the indefatigable Constance Holmes. The issue is gorgeous and chock full of Mailer goodness. Get your copy today.

So, now I’m getting caught up. This includes grading. Lots of grading. Hopefully the semester will begin to quiet down in November.

Read full storyComments { 1 }
London 2010!

London 2010!

The new European Council London Study Abroad brochure is out, and it features my photography. Unfortunately, I’m not going next summer, but my colleague and friend Heather is. So, you should sign up! Check out the European Council web site for more information.

Seriously, this is one of the best experiences I have ever had as a college professor, and I’m sure many of the students who went over the summer would say something similar about their experiences. I encourage you to sign up for this program. Do it. I promise you will not regret it. If you’re a Macon State student, join their study abroad group on Facebook: The Macon State Twelve.

I plan to apply for the 2011 program…

Read full storyComments Off
Oxford

Oxford

Last Friday, Dan and I took about forty students to Oxford and Christ Church. It was a beautiful day (again!), and Oxford was very photogenic. Between the architecture, the people, and the landscapes, I’m not sure my camera had much rest that day. Out of 316 photos, I marked (and posted) 178 — over half. That’s a damn good average for me.

Dan took us on a whirlwind tour, starting with several colleges. I had lunch with Kristin, Emily, and Dan, while the other students ate on their own. After dining on a sandwich and a Coke, we took in Christ Church — the best and worst part of the trip. It was the best because, well it was gorgeous — both it and the surrounding landscapes. Stunning. It was the worst because they didn’t want us there. Seriously: Christ Church seems to hate visitors, yet they willing took our £5!

There was even one old dude (standing here like a soldier) who got offended if you rested for a minute in the courtyard. He walked up behind this one dark-skinned kid and said “Hey, José, move along.” The kid was Chinese. His head would have probably exploded if we touched the grass. To top it off, the cathedral was closed right as Dan and I were purchasing our tickets. If Oxford and Christ Church were so beautiful, those guys might have ruined my day. Seriously: if you guys hate visitors so much, don’t allow them to come in. Oh, but I guess you need our money, huh?

Check out the gallery. I have also made two collections: one for student portraits and one for faculty.

Read full storyComments Off
London Day 21: Thames Cruise to Greenwich

London Day 21: Thames Cruise to Greenwich

My World Literature field trip was screwed up today. Not the one we actually took, but the one I had planned. We were studying the Enlightenment this week, with examples from Molière and Pope. Therefore, I decided to go to Marble Hill House, an 18th-century mansion on the Thames, west of London. Well, apparently the house is only open on the weekends and the Thames cruise I wanted does not even go there. So, I decided to reroute the cruise to Greenwich and visit the Royal Observatory, the 17th-century structure built by Wren to figure out time and space — applicable to the Enlightenment, no?

Our first stop was the National Gallery for a look at Hogarth’s Marriage à la Mode series. What was the only room closed that day, do you think? I just laughed and my students and I went to catch our boat to Greenwich from the Westminster pier. Fortunately, the rest of the day  was free of disappointment.

The cruise to Greenwich was under cloudy skies and the students seemed unenthusiastic. I think even a couple of them slept. No biggie, I thought, we’d sit on the top of the boat on the way back to Westminster. Greenwich was cool — home of the aforementioned observatory, another of the Queen’s houses, and the Maritime Museum. We had lunch at a local pub, then climbed the hill to the observatory and the Prime Meridian. All had pictures and a leisurely walk around the museum and the planetarium. We even got a class picture before departing.

As I expected, we were the first to queue for the return boat, so we all got excellent seats on the top of the boat. I put the 70-200mm lens on, too, so I was able to get student shots as well as details of the views from the Thames.

Check out both the Thames Cruise and the Greenwich galleries.

Read full storyComments Off
London Day 19: The Tower and the Church

London Day 19: The Tower and the Church

Our field trip for this day took us to the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral for examples of English crime and punishment throughout history. I asked my students to take the Beefeater‘s Tour of the tower, something that’s always entertaining. I’ve visited the tower several times over the last 15 years, and I always have the same thought: was anyone who was imprisoned or executed here really guilty of anything? Still, it’s a great palimpsest of London politics and government.

St. Paul’s might be my favorite cathedral of those I’ve ever visited. When I first visited in the early nineties, they allowed photography. They don’t now, but they still charge. Wonder why? (I suppose strobes and clicks would disrupt the Jesusy stuff going on. I did remember to take my hat off this time. I know how hats offend God.) Still, I did climb the stairs all the way to the top to photograph a mean London sky. I also sat for a time meditating under Wren’s golden dome that separates us from heaven. I also gave my respects to the memorials of Blake, Wren, and Donne.

Check out my Tower and St. Paul’s galleries.

Read full storyComments Off
Paris Weekend

Paris Weekend

I posted some photos of my Paris weekend on my photography web site. Check ‘em out.

Read full storyComments Off
Page 1 of 812345...Last »