Just watched a movie from 1999 or so, made in and about China, called Not One Less (see also wikipedia). It won several awards, including Best Picture for 1999 Venice International Film Festival, and the Audience Award for the 1999…
On Tone: warning – image NSFW
I don’t find sarcasm as funny as I did as an adolescent. Too many frosh think it’s clever and edgy, but it seems so predictable. There’s a meme online that points out an interesting aspect to this. Are people not…
Book review: The Hunger Games
A colleague offered me a copy of the Hunger Games a few months ago, and I put it on a shelf to get to after I finished up my dissertation. I have to admit that the title and much of…
Rough Drafts: it’s not about the bike
Remember learning how to ride a bike? Did you start with training wheels or a hobby horse? When the training wheels came off did you start on grass or go straight to the pavement? Did anyone go straight into traffic?…
Home Schooling?
The majority of home-schooled students I’ve had have had exceptionally solid backgrounds in composition – but there has been some notable exceptions. I overheard a student in the hall last fall telling a friend, “I was homeschooled all through high…
On finishing my dissertation and writing.
I have learned some lessons about writing, getting things done and managing multiple responsibilities over the last couple years. I just finished peer review, wrote my dissertation, proposed, defended and all, on top of regular work teaching, committee work at…
Chinese New Year
The 22nd is Chinese New Year’s Eve this year. Because Chinese New Year is governed by the lunar calendar, the date can be different every year for those of us who use the solar calendar – which is everyone. Even…
ANGEL Orientation
Because Comp 1 is a gateway class (that is, success in Comp 1 correlates highly with success in college), and for many students it is a class they take their first semester in class – we cover some topics, skills…
American Born Chinese: graphic novel review
American Born Chinese provides an easily accessible introduction to the immigrant experience in a graphic novel format. It is an award winning book that even my 4 year old was drawn into, but the subtle allegory can be brilliant at…
Red Mandarin Dress: an Inspector Chen Mystery.
I really enjoyed The Red Mandarin Dress (again, available cheap on Amazon and in kindle), though irreconcilable confusion and contradictions seem to be a deliberate theme. The title, and most of the book, insists on using term “mandarin dress” though …