By Any Other Nerd

This is part of a new series of posts in which I will discuss certain creators that I find intriguing, interesting, and relevant or just want to talk about.  The series will be called “AMR” for “authors on my radar,” since I like the acronym better than CMR (creators on my radar).  Jeff Lemire  On my radar right now is Jeff Lemire .  He’s’ a comic creator who I’m leaning to put on my “Must Read” list of comic creators (which includes Steve Niles, Robert Kirkman, and Bill Willingham).  I first came across his work in Essex County:  Tales From The Farm .  I thought it was an enjoyable and moving tale about a young boy lost to the world.  Lemire went off my radar for a while until 2 months ago when I picked up The Essex County Complete which included additional volumes.  It had been over a year since I read the first volume, so I read through the whole thing and I was flabbergasted. Lemire has a powerfully subtle way of telling stories, ...

In my last entry, I discussed the first of seven books I happened to read on my recent vacation.  In this entry, I’ll discuss the next two books I read (can’t promise the other entries will be in chronological order of reading, but hey, who’s to say there needs to be some sense of order). Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift Many people recognize the name Jonathan Swift and some of us probably suffered through his “A Modest Proposal” at one point in our education.  I say “suffer” mostly in jest because I know that’s what I did when I first came across him; mostly because he was mandatory reading and my engagement with reading was quite different then.  I go back now and can certainly appreciate “ A Modest Proposal ” (and one can even find an a free reading at Librivox ).  So when Gulliver’s Travels came into my hands, I decided I should read it and found it rewarding.   Here’s a book written just under 300 years ago and I was impressed how accessib...

During a recent trip to the Netherlands, in addition to seeing a great many sights and enjoying the company of my host, his friends, and others I interacted with over the two weeks I was there, I also had a large chunk of free time that I could devote to reading.  Upon reflection, I’ve realized I was sucked into the delicious vortex of mental stimulation that I so often crave but can never seem to devote myself fully to.  It was a delightful reminder of the power of reading.  I love all forms of storytelling from books to comics to televisual to video games; however, this trip brought me back to my summers of lifeguarding empty pools (nevermind that they were 5 feet deep in the deep end!) where I pretty much read endlessly for months.  I think my best record for one summer (marked by open pool season as from Memorial Day to Labor Day), I read some 42 books.  Those days are long gone at least in terms of the range of demands on my time preventing me from reading...

For those who grew up middle of the 20th century, Wertham is a name for some that sends cold chills down their spines in a way that the horror tales never could.  While zombies, vampires, and ghouls excited young imaginations; Wertham looked to censor such ideas.  He played a pivotal role in the demise of comic sales in the 1950s (as did television; but so the story goes, Wertham seemed to be a harbinger of a different sort).  Two good examinations of these events are covered in the documentary Tales from the Crypt Volume 1 and David Hadju’s The Ten-Cent Plague and since this is the internet age, even accessing the transcript to the Senate Subcommittee hearings with Gaines, Wertham and the whole lot can be accessed.   To see the length of his publications, this site offers up a good deal and for those interested in a copy of Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent, contact me.    The summation of who Wertham is and what he did can also be found h...

I find this particular post at CollegeHumor.com quite amusing and impressive.  It's one of those jokes that also has some great insight and reveals ways of delivering information in unique and different formats.  I imagine that this kind of work would actually make it easier for students of the "Facebook" generation to visualize (and eventually conceptualize) the events and the stakes of World War II.  Now that may sound silly; how could it invoke the stakes of World War II; after all, one is considered the most significant event of the last hundred years and the other is World War II.  Ooops, I mean, the other is Facebook.  But in truth, Facebook does have a much more clear and central role in people's lives in the early 21st century than WWII does.  And before the eyes rolls and people start saying "Well, that says a lot about the people of the early 21st century," realize that we are compelled by things that are dynamic and can be engaged with;  Wo...

Regardless of the topic, there's much I wish for my students to take from my course and it's in reflecting through my own instructors that I realized where these urges originate.  I have had a great deal of fantastic instructors, mentors, and colleagues (some of whom were instructors and mentors at one point) that have taught me so many things beyond the specific content of their course and so many of those lessons I hope in some way to instill with my students in whatever way I can (and preferably relevant to course material).  Here are some of those that come to mind. Be active; not passive with life    It's the "Carpe Diem" approach that remains so present in my mind from my sophomore year of high school when Mr. Marshall showed us Dead Poet's Society.  Life moves quickly and there is so much one can do with it.  Don't waste it.  Like I say in a great deal of my courses; if you have made it to the college, you have surpassed the education and opp...

There are some things that come bittersweet; no matter how many times you experience them.  For me, that is the end of the semester.  Each semester, we start off in a slow shuffle as students and instructor figure out the rhythms of each other and decide if to stick it through and finish this dance or part ways somewhere along the way (sometimes willingly and sometimes reluctantly).  But somewhere after midterms (and in particular in the Spring, after Spring Break), we shift gears are find ourselves hurtling towards the end of the semester; want it to "be over with" and finally have time to breath.  Instructors feel it too.  Remember that when your semester ends by taking or passing in that final; the instructor switches from wrapping up the class into an overdrive marathon of grading finals and calculating grades with often very short turnover to submit grades.  It's a flustering time and many instructors like myself run through their minds to figure out...

LJ audio reviewer Lance Eaton, who has previously interviewed narrators Alan Sklar (LJ 3/1/09) and Scott Brick (LJ 10/15/09), talks to the multiple Audie Award winner By Lance Eaton -- Library Journal, 5/1/2010 Actress/singer Barbara Rosenblat, described by one audio reviewer as "a boundless vocal changeling" ( LJ  2/15/06), is an enthusiastic narrator whose performances continue to impress listeners. She's won six Audie Awards to date—more than any other female narrator—and was nominated for several more this year. Her reading of Miep Gies's  Anne Frank Remembered  (Springwater: Oasis Audio) was an  LJ  Best Audio of 2009. Among her latest recordings are Muriel Barbery's  The Elegance of the Hedgehog  (HighBridge Audio, Mar.) and Elizabeth Peters's  A River in the Sky  (Recorded Bks./HarperAudio, Apr.). You've recorded over 400 audiobooks. What appeals to you about the medium? It's the most wonderful, intimate, primal medium out there...

 Letter: Don't blame school for kids' misbehavior Letter to the editor published in the Salem News on May 10, 2010 . To the editor: Regarding the Friday, May 7, letter headlined "Crackdown needed at Higgins Middle School": John Haight's concern about cyberbullying is well felt, but his blame seems misdirected. While the school represents the focus and source for cyberbullying to take place; a good deal of it takes place at home or really anywhere with cell phones. Removing cell phones from school may be an option, but it's a Band-Aid solution. Also, schools have no grounds for forbidding online profiles; that's a parent's concern and rightly so. It's clear Haight is troubled by the lack of communication — though it's often hard to decide what is a clear matter of cyberbulling and, more importantly, since these are minors, who gets told what. Publishing their names as far as I know is illegal, since they are minors. Click through to ...

Humans by and large love to play.  We have a fondness to play with those things that interest us, particularly from narratives that grab our attention.  So much of my childhood was spent playing away with large epic battles among my G. I. Joes (which at one point were numerous enough, especially with the different vehicles) to fill a standard laundry basket).  We enjoy playing an active part in our story making but also just to gain access to “more” of our stories and characters.  Thus, we’re quick to see the movie of the comic we love or the book we’ve read faster than anything assigned in school.  It gives a deep sense of enjoyment with our particular interest.  And let’s not forget as Spaceballs reminds us, that from the producer’s end, there’s something to be had from capitalizing on this desire: But Spaceballs also show us there’s something more than just merchandizing to be had.  Or rather it provides keen insight as to what merchandizi...