By Any Other Nerd

And we're done.  No more June sessions (at least required ones).  While I can believe it's done, I'm still awed by the fact that it's done.  The June sessions are hard.  They get easier in some ways (you know what to expect, you know what you can get away with, you know that it will be over soon).  But yeah, they are substantially challenging.   This June was harder than the first June in some ways but also easier.  It was easier because there was an ease within the cohort, we're all familiar and comfortable now.  This extended to the faculty as well as we could more easily joke and be at ease with things we could not complete on time or challenges and obstacles we ran into.  It was harder because it demanded more from us in original thought.  That is, in the first June session, you're delving into the foundations of higher education as a discipline; you're trying to understand the 30,000-foot view and how it all works (or doesn't). I...

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder My rating: 4 of 5 stars Snyder's book is short and sweet. It's kinda like a TED-Talk or highlights real. However, the book is straight and to the point, providing specific details, historical examples, and things to consider about tyranny in the 21st century, with particular attention to the US President Trump and the tenuous and problematic elements of his election and administration. I found there was practical advice about being involved and active but equally important was the smaller stuff that on some level people might disregard but are also central to keeping society a community. For instance, his advice to make eye contact and be friendly with others is something that we don't realize its prominence and importance until it's gone and by that time, we are in serious trouble. In total, it's a solid short read that helps the budding activist or reminds the experienced one...

So we come to the final in this series.  These are what I call the “peripherals.”  These are books that I recommend in general but within the context of exploring race, identity, and privilege, I recommend that you first read at least one book from each of the previous lists.  The reason being is that with the context of those books, I think you will find additional value in these, particularly in thinking about the interplay of white supremacy, identity, and other facets that these books cover while maybe only superficially or partially covering racism, identity, and privilege.   Again, there are so many to choose from so recommending just one to dive into is a bit of a challenge but if I had to choose, I would go with: Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech by Sara Wachter-Boettcher .  If you have read other books from my previous lists, then what I think this book will do is help you better understand that in...

I recently took advantage of an opportunity to write a blog post for The Brattle Theater ' s blog, Film Notes . It was a rewarding process to pitch a particular take about a film and then write about it.  In this case, I decided to take a look at the role of cars in Hitchcock's Vertigo and I was delighted by what I found.   The idea of cars in Hitchcock's films came to me several years ago when either watching this film for the first time or another of his film and I wondered about how Hitchcock used car scenes for meaning.  So, enjoy this piece.  Like other publications I've reposted on this blog, I give the first few bits and t hen pass you along to the full piece .  Be sure to let me know your thoughts--either here or on the Brattle's blog! " Vertigo (1958) remains the top contender for the best film of Hitchcock’s impressive oeuvre. In the film, John “Scottie” Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) suffers from vertigo after pursuing a robber over rooftops an...

So a friend of mine who reads this blog reached out to me recently in response to one of my posts about books and asked this great question:  "You go through so many books! How do you hear about new books and do you get most from, the library or you have an audio subscription? Maybe that would be a good blog post to say how you learn about books and how you access them, and if you've already done that - nevermind!" Twilight Zone Episode: Time Enough At Last Featuring Burgess Meredith And well, I don't think I have actually done a post about this, so I am thankful for the idea (Sidebar:  I am always interested in recommendations for blog posts; I'm always looking for new ideas).   Where do you get your books and audiobooks? I'll deal with this question first because it's easy (that is, to answer).  Audiobooks always come from three places. My editors for Audiofile Magazine and Publisher's Weekly send me some each month. I regularly get th...

So my usual readers will know that I certainly do some level of paying attention to numbers.  I keep track of books read , goals achieved , and other types of accomplishments --many of which are the accumulation of daily-efforts or things that I have managed to turn into habits, thereby increasing my chance to actually complete the goals that I have.  In 2017, I set and achieved a goal of 15,000 steps a day for every day for the whole year .  I achieved this goal despite running into occasional sickness and injury.  As I turned to 2018, I continued with 10,000 steps minimum a day, which was much easier since that's often covered just by my workouts (running or the elliptical).   Here it is at the last day of the streak. I had continued on this progression throughout 2018 until June, when after 536 days (a numerical anagram of 365 days, interesting enough), I had to reset the clock.  I had made it a year and a half streak and it all had to stop....

It's been a while but we're back with The Weekly Pop!   You can catch up on previous episodes below or on YouTube.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!   Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 You can watch  this episode on YouTube  and  all the other episodes  as well.  (Also, feel free to subscribe to my channel on YouTube as well). Episode 9:  The Trojan (Race) War So, it’s been awhile since my last episode.  Life got in the way and well, that’s all I got.  But I’ve had a couple episodes in that I’ve been thinking about so we’re getting down to this first one! So I want to talk about Troy: Fall of a City today because it gave me all the feels and also, a lot of frustration.  This was a BBC production that dropped on Netflix in April of 2018. Tales of The Iliad and The Odyssey always fascinate and excite me.  I enjoy these stories a...