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#lake michigan #morning meditation #Qi

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#lake michigan #morning meditation #Qi

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Sometimes there is a big lemon on top of a tree trunk.

#lincoln park zoo #oldtown

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Acrylic on reggae, mon--#yaymaker

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Red wolf pups at play #LincolnParkZooChicago

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Next it will be C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and T.S. Eliot.

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Fleet Feet Inaugural Chicago Women's Half Marathon

Thousands of women gathered to engage in athletic achievement. Opening remarks reminded us of Title IX that allowed for women to compete in marathons. Apparently prior to Title IX women couldn’t complete in marathons because it was thought that the uterus would be damaged. To that, the emcee remarked “I haven’t lost mine, and I’m still competing!” This was the Inaugural Fleet Feet Chicago Women’s Half Marathon on June 24, 2012. The choice to run south along the lakeshore from Roosevelt to 57th and back was ideal. There were shaded areas, and in the searing heat any shade was welcome. The press of 3300-some women was truly a sight to see. The beginning was a little like cattle-herding; there really wasn’t anywhere to go, so regardless of your pace, you had to fall in. As we progressed on the course there were opportunities to gain a little space here, a little space there. All the while I told myself, “pace yourself,” “conserve,” “you want to finish.” There were several aid stations with water and Gator-aid; although the first station was not available to us and to hear, “no water, ladies; on the way back,” was unexpected, but we women are polite and made no complaint. Men stood at the sidelines, coaching us on. At each station there was music playing. Nearing the first, I could hear Pat Benatar cry, “We’re running with the shadows of the night!” At the next water station I heard Roger Daltry belting out, “Teenage Wasteland! It’s only teenage wasteland—they’re all wasted!” That really got me going! Conversation at all-women runs is sweet: “What recipe is that?” Or, “Some women have the short shorts on… I’m always concerned, but nobody really cares… it’s a reflection of personal taste.” LOL. When I saw the Museum of Science and Industry, I knew that we were close to the turnaround. On the back half Gwen Stefani’s voice floated over the air currents, “Ain’ no holla back, girl, there ain’t no holla back!” No kidding. After mile 8, there was no turning back. At mile 9 a miracle happened; the sun went behind the clouds—for 3 miles—and I was beginning to overheat at that point and starting to wonder if I would finish. This was the pivotal point of my race. I knew that I could make it with a little help from Mother Nature, which allowed me to step up my pace a bit. At mile 10 a man shouted, “Only a 5K left! That’s nothing!” He was right. 5K—only 3.2 miles. I can do this! Then the sun made its steamy return. McCormick Place was approaching. Then I could see Soldier Field. I knew that we had to round Shedd Aquarium, and then we were close. At that point it was do or die. With 1.1 miles remaining, on approach to the final aid station a volunteer shouted, “Stay hydrated! Listen to your bodies! We’re now at a Red Alert!” which means conditions were now unsafe. “A half-mile left, ladies! Looking good! You look like you just started! Finish strong!” I had a huge smile on my face because I knew that I was almost there. That last half-mile was hell though. Winding through the park, and then up a huge ¼ mile hill… then home stretch. I could see the finish line. I sped up—full throttle—long legs, finish strong! 2 hours, 8 minutes, seven seconds. 9:47 minute miles, 47 years old. After the finish line, a commemorative medal, a yoga mat, and plenty of bananas awaited. There was more memorable conversation waiting in the line to have a photo op. The woman behind me remarked, “Some of these women look so good! Look at her!” Admittedly, the woman to whom she pointed looked like she had never broken a sweat. A little while later I was approached by one of the Fleet Feet Officials. He asked me about the race. As I gave him a play-by-play it dawned on me that I had taken part in an historical event. The emcee announced that a young woman had traveled all the way from Singapore to take part in this first-ever women’s half-marathon. What I have written here is to remember and share some precious details of a day that is forever emblazoned in my memory.

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Where's the Beef?

Advertising becomes more sophisticated, but there is one thing about advertisement that remains the same; the goal is to persuade. Whether the ad's purpose is to persuade you to buy a product or to persuade ideas or philosophies, persuasion as a goal is ubiquitous. Honestly, I am a product of the '80s. My favorite ad series is the Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" campaign featuring Chicago native Clara Peller, whose acting career began at age 80. This ad campaign was hugely successful for Wendy's. The premise is that the other hamburger chains don't have as much beef in the burger as Wendy's. The sassy li'l grandma utters one simple line in a series of different vignettes. When she sees the faulty burger she vociferously demands, "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" This ad campaign doesn't fit neatly into one of the Five Phases of Consumer Culture and Advertising, as delineated by Leiss et. al (2005). It certainly doesn't represent toteism (1970-1990); however, some of the more detailed explanations of Stage 4 are Demographics and Psychographics, categories into which the "little old lady" approach fits more readily. These strategies are concerned with things like age, values, interests, and activities of certain segments of the population and the rationale behind choices made by those groups. In this case the little old lady likes burgers, she is interested in economy (getting her money's worth). If your grandma was alive in the 1980s she was more than likely a survivor of the Great Depression, and she would be unique in how she approached every aspect of the allocation of her money. The slogan is an iconic one that could be heard frequently on the street, not limited to hamburger restaurants but anywhere that the customer was receiving the short end of the stick, so to speak. The slogan took on a kind of an urban legend connotation and remains in the minds of viewers today. Clara Peller died in 1987.

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Where's the Beef (by hmnsn1627)

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TV Cultural "posts"--ZHON192

Most of my students are surprised when I tell them that I don't watch television. It's true. I rarely turn on the TV, and if I do, it's to watch an occasional episode of Fringe. This show is a mind-bender, and it certainly falls under the purview of our discussion of TV cultural posts. In the first place, the viewer really doesn't know what this show is about. The premise revolves around a scientist, Dr. Walter Bishop, who somehow altered reality to save his son's life. In doing so he created an alternate reality that contains a double of each of the characters. The show is billed as "science run amok."

Yet there is no real plot to the show. Characters go back and forth, time-travel, if you will, but nothing ever really happens. Once in a while Dr. Bishop will meet up with the double of his dead wife, or the double of his son, who when confronted by his father either tells him that he wishes that he had been left to die, or that he longs to return to his other reality. There is an occasional non-climactic standoff of FBI Fringe agents with their doubles. One keeps expecting something to happen in this show that resembles a plot, but plot never develops. The viewer isn't even given the opportunity to guess whether the characters are in the alternate reality or not or whether it is the double that we see or the actual agent; that information is clearly provided in the dialogue.

So why has this show received accolades? Even more so, why do I keep tuning in? The makeup and special effects are notable. The gruesome, colorful and monstrous science experiments where severed limbs ooze a combination of puss, blood, and radioactive goo are status quo. Some of the doubles are shapeshifters and show themselves as half-mutants, which is pretty cool. In addition, the acting, especially John Noble (Dr. Walter Bishop/Walternate) is at times superb. How can acting be superb with no plot? This is truly a postmodern question. Ultimately, and as pointed out by our text's editors Nealon and Giroux, postmodernism is not without romance; characters can and do express deep human emotion. What is postmodern about them is that they are always troubled--by death, by confronting an alter-ego, by an inability to produce a perfect science experiment. Duality is also postmodern, as well as the fact that in spite of attempts to connect with the dual self, ultimately each character is individual, and ultimately, alone.

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Great rhetorical moves, here, Edgar... full of metacommentary that drives the point

Approximately 2,267,233,742 people have the power of the internet available to them. With this tool at hand, people can access a seemingly unlimited amount of online information. In effect, the power to access this information by so many people allows them to become entrenched in their beliefs....

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Great metaphor, Maria, and an excellent example to prove your point.

Online information is to beliefs as gasoline is to an already blazing fire. When a person believes in something they put their faith into that person, thing, that idea. And as most people know, when faith is backing something, it becomes powerful. When you throw in the internet, with an infinite...

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Why Learn Academic English?

In America we learn to speak, read, write, and understand Standard English, but the discourse surrounding the question of academic English is controversial. Two decades or so ago the buzz word was Ebonics. The lexicon (words accepted into the American English dictionary) did not accept Ebonics as Standard English, and so there is an Ebonics dictionary. The urban dictionary provides meaning for vernacular terms like "hipster." In the academic world this challenge is defined in terms of "code meshing" versus "code switching." Code meshing argues for allowing a student's version of English into academic essays. The international student studying at university, for example, may be an intelligent individual with a language barrier prohibiting suitable intellectual expression. Code meshing allows for discrepancies and overlooks errors in pronoun use, subject-verb agreement, or run-on sentences, for example. Code switching, on the other hand, argues that proficiency in the use of Standard English is absolutely necessary in order to write superior academic essays, and that ALL students need to learn standard grammar conventions and apply them accordingly. This tension can create cognitive dissonance (102 students, take note) for university teachers of English. To add to the debate, Spanglish, Chinglish, Frenglish, etc., are now recognized as valid forms of "English." So why bother learning academic English at all if the trend is to accept variations of the English language?

A few years ago at the Symposium of Second Language Conference in Phoenix, AZ, I witnessed a heated argument develop between two professors at polar opposites on the issue of code meshing and code switching. If a student is not held up to standards of academic English, argues one, then a disservice is done to the international student with the language barrier and to the grammatically challenged student from an impoverished city ghetto. Yet, if such strict standards are enforced, then learning is restricted for the grammatically challenged, argues the other. I personally believe that there is a happy medium between the two. When I read and grade academic essays, other factors fit into the equation such as effort. This involves recognizing the difference between a student who knows rules of proper English grammar and won't or does not apply them, and the student who does not know or is learning the standards of English grammar and tries hard to apply.