Discourse Chronicle

[Teaching my freshman composition students proved especially difficult for me this week because I noticed many of them are unable to remain interested during a full 50-minute period. Many students lose interest, fall asleep, or show visible signs of boredom about halfway through a period. Looking at such a situation as an instructor who is […]

category: Life, Pedagogy, Rhetoric and Poetics    

“If Superman must be classified, then he is best aligned with the Democratic Party,” said Bobby Kuechenmeister of the English department at Texas A&M University. “In ‘Vote Lex 2000’ [the storyline in which Lex Luthor is elected president], Superman reacts negatively after placing his faith in voters.” Kuechenmeister notes that Superman’s reaction to Luthor’s unexpected […]

category: Comics, Life, Popular Culture    

Jim Carrey has been cast as Horton and Steve Carrell has been cast as the mayor of Who-Ville in Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, the new CG animated feature from 20th Century Fox Animation. Carrey, who previously inhabited the world of Dr. Seuss as the title character in Universal Pictures’ hit Dr. Seuss’ How […]

category: Popular Culture    

[I trekked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase a memory foam mattress topper for my bed yesterday. I hoped Rebecca’s suggestion would finally solve my lower back pain problem when I sleep. I awoke this morning after at least 8 hours of sleep and realized I slept comfortably for the first time in […]

category: Health, Life    

The pressure is therefore on Microsoft to put the hard sell on Vista to convince consumers to buy a new machine. Jupiter Research reckons 52 per cent of American households own at least one PC, leaving plenty of room for a second. Microsoft faces an uphill task, though, as Vista is due in January, when […]

category: Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics, Technology    

School Nurse Marianne Vogt decided to make contact. “I’ve found it’s pretty easy to get a response if you just ask for it.” So she did. What she received was a surprise to both Marianne and Theresa who said, “Steve sent him a hat with a croc on it, a toy croc, and venomous snake. […]

category: Popular Culture    

Bob Dylan has reached the top of pop charts around the world with his new album, becoming the oldest living person to launch a new disc at number 1 in the US. The 65-year-old rock poet’s latest album, Modern Times, sold 192,000 copies in the US in the week ended September 3, his best sales […]

category: Popular Culture    

It’s no wonder girls don’t read comics books. The comic book store is teeming with unwashed, testosterone drenched males, who generally all turn their head at the first sign of a female in the store. Even if the girl is willing to brave the perils of the comic shop, they’re treated to a large selection […]

category: Comics, Literacy, Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics    

Sept. 11, though, was no fantasy, and thus I approached “The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation,” a graphic novel, with a certain appalled fascination. I love comic books — the “graphic novel” designation is a nice upgrade in nomenclature for the genre, but changes nothing — and I received a great deal of my early […]

category: Comics, Politics, Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics    

Some Christians question whether comics are appropriate for religious content. Some apparently shy away from the books because they think “graphic novel” means adult material. Some mainstream stores are reluctant to carry books appealing to what they view as a small niche. -Tonya Caldwell [Why do people automatically assume that “graphic” means “adult”? I remember […]

category: Comics, Literacy, Pedagogy, Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics