Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Grammar got ya down?
This week, I started working in CSU's Writing Center, a cozy little classroom deep within the bowels of Eddy hall. The Writing Center helps students with every aspect of their papers -- from brainstorming to revision. One thing I'm a little worried about is my own inability to articulate grammar rules for students needing help with editing. Since "Don't look at me, I just play by feel," probably isn't an acceptable answer, I have a couple of resources that I can fall back on. In addition to the Writing Center site, I've also discovered a great resource from Purdue University that's full of helpful grammatical information that my brain refuses to learn.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
California Stars
A good friend and I are live music fiends. Back in the not-too-distant past (when I wasn't an impoverished graduate student) we'd make a point of going to shows whenever we could. Wilco has always been one of my favorite live bands. They do a fine job of exploring a lot of musical territory, and aren't afraid to venture into feedback-driven experimentation, either.
I found the above video on YouTube, and thought it provided a good example of a potential new literacy. The author has videotaped himself doing an interesting marker drawing, and he's synched it up to a Wilco song called California Stars. The video has an accelerated frame rate, so the picture is finished at the exact moment the song closes. As a nerdy side-note, the song is from an album called Mermaid Avenue, an album that Wilco collaborated on with Billy Bragg, a British folk singer. The album was "commissioned" by descendants of Woody Guthrie, who apparently left behind over a thousand sets of completed lyrics that hadn't had any music placed with them yet. The collaboration between Bragg and Wilco created a pretty solid album that gave Guthrie a renewed voice that may not have otherwise been heard.
Sorry. I have a tendency to wax nerdily when it comes to rock and roll. Hope that you enjoy the video!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)