Dave Gibbons. Captain America, Vol.4: Cap Lives. New York: Marvel, 2003. 07851-1318-5.
This was a good tale. Imagine what would happen if Captain America, instead of returning from his deep freeze slumber in our America, awoke in a world where the Nazis won World War II, and their capital of New Berlin was in what was known previously as New York City. That is exactly what happens in this alternate history tale. The Red Skull has become the new Fuhrer. Marvel heroes have joined a resistance movement in various ways. We see familiar faces in different roles. Tony Stark has been forced to create iron men for the Reich. Is he a collaborator or a covert spy? Ben Grimm is a resistance fighter, and so on. The action was fast on this story, and it features good art as well. Will Captain America be able to defeat the Red Skull and put time back on the right track? You have to read it to find out, but it will be a good ride. This compilation is part of the Marvel Knight series.
Various authors. Captain America: To Serve and Protect. New York: Marvel Comics, 2002. ISBN: 0-7851-0838-6.
Captain America finds himself in an alternate universe where "Capmania" has seized the nation. As if excessive fandom was not bad enough, he has to fight the forces of HYDRA who threaten the nation. And just when Cap thinks things could not be worse, he loses his true shield, and Skrulls arrive with a plot to take over the nation and ruin Cap's good name and reputation. The challenges are numerous, but Captain America faces them. He is given a new shield, and though it is not as familiar as the original one, he manages to face the Skrull and inspire the people. This volume offers a good amount of fast paced action, and even a little reflection on leadership and idols. A good and entertaining read.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Booknote: The Ghost Brigades
Scalzi, John. The Ghost Brigades. New York: TOR Books, 2006. ISBN: 0-765-31502-5
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Science fiction, military science fiction
This is the sequel to the novel Old Man's War (see my note on that book here). It takes a deeper look at the Colonial Defense Forces' Special Forces units known as the Ghost Brigades, which were introduced in the first book. This time, the Colonial Union and the CDF face the threat of various races forming an alliance against them. To complicate matters, a prominent scientist, a specialist in consciousness transfers, betrays the CU and joins the enemy. The CDF manages to clone the scientist in hopes of tapping into his memories. However, when the memories fail to surface right away, the clone is given over to the Ghost Brigades to be another special forces soldier. Over time, Jared Dirac, that soldier, begins to intuit why the scientist betrayed his own people.
The premise of the book is great, and one would think this would be another good military scifi reading. However, unlike the previous book, this one has a couple of problems. Its pacing is extremely slow. It is plagued by extensive explanations that, while interesting at some points, significantly slow down the story. I wanted to get into this book given that I enjoyed the previous one, but it became a matter of reading a few pages, leaving it a while, then coming back to it. The only reason I kept at it is because I wanted to find out the characters' fate. Therein lies the other problem. Scalzi's ending for the novel went for what I can only describe as some maudlin moment interspersed with some conspiracy element. The conspiracy part was alright, but the maudlin stuff I could have done without. The "happy" ending somehow seemed contrived. It is a pity really because the book gives a great look at the Special Forces characters mentioned in the first book. However, even though the book seemed to be about one character, it really ends up being about another. I didn't quite appreciate the apparent switch. If you ask me, I would have handled the ending differently. I probably would have treated Jane Sagan in a way similar to the way Festina Ramos was treated at the end of the novel Expendable. But that is just me, and no one is asking. If you have not read James Alan Gardner's Expendable, it may be a good novel to consider.
Overall, if you enjoyed the first book, you might pick up the second one out of curiosity. However, I am not recommending it unless you are really curious and willing to plod through a pretty slow plot. There is action, but you have to dig to get to it. Otherwise, you may be better off skipping this sequel. A pity in my view since the first one was really good.
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Science fiction, military science fiction
This is the sequel to the novel Old Man's War (see my note on that book here). It takes a deeper look at the Colonial Defense Forces' Special Forces units known as the Ghost Brigades, which were introduced in the first book. This time, the Colonial Union and the CDF face the threat of various races forming an alliance against them. To complicate matters, a prominent scientist, a specialist in consciousness transfers, betrays the CU and joins the enemy. The CDF manages to clone the scientist in hopes of tapping into his memories. However, when the memories fail to surface right away, the clone is given over to the Ghost Brigades to be another special forces soldier. Over time, Jared Dirac, that soldier, begins to intuit why the scientist betrayed his own people.
The premise of the book is great, and one would think this would be another good military scifi reading. However, unlike the previous book, this one has a couple of problems. Its pacing is extremely slow. It is plagued by extensive explanations that, while interesting at some points, significantly slow down the story. I wanted to get into this book given that I enjoyed the previous one, but it became a matter of reading a few pages, leaving it a while, then coming back to it. The only reason I kept at it is because I wanted to find out the characters' fate. Therein lies the other problem. Scalzi's ending for the novel went for what I can only describe as some maudlin moment interspersed with some conspiracy element. The conspiracy part was alright, but the maudlin stuff I could have done without. The "happy" ending somehow seemed contrived. It is a pity really because the book gives a great look at the Special Forces characters mentioned in the first book. However, even though the book seemed to be about one character, it really ends up being about another. I didn't quite appreciate the apparent switch. If you ask me, I would have handled the ending differently. I probably would have treated Jane Sagan in a way similar to the way Festina Ramos was treated at the end of the novel Expendable. But that is just me, and no one is asking. If you have not read James Alan Gardner's Expendable, it may be a good novel to consider.
Overall, if you enjoyed the first book, you might pick up the second one out of curiosity. However, I am not recommending it unless you are really curious and willing to plod through a pretty slow plot. There is action, but you have to dig to get to it. Otherwise, you may be better off skipping this sequel. A pity in my view since the first one was really good.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Couple of campus events
Instruction has started to slow down for the spring semester it seems. This allows me then to gradually catch my breath. Here are a couple of campus events I attended recently, but that, due to a tight teaching schedule, I have not been able to post until now.
On Monday, February 5th, 2007, I participated in our campus's read-in event as part of the 18th National African American Read-In. It was one of the events for Black History Month that UHD participated in. Our campus event was sponsored by UHD's Black Student Alliance, the Department of English, and the Cultural Enrichment Center. It was led by Dr. Vida Robertson. The event lasted from 1:00p to 5:00p. I attended between teaching classes. I arrived a little after 1:00p, and there were about 23 people there already. A good number were students that the professor sent them there for extra credit, but over time, the crowd would change as people would leave and others would come in. Some like me left and then came back. The idea of a read-in is to make literacy a part of the community. In our case, it was a way for people to come together and share their favorite pieces of literature. Readers performed poetry, prose, nonfiction, song lyrics, etc. Authors featured included Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, Desmond Tutu and Tupac Shakur. We went all over the place. As for me, when I finally got a little bravery to share something, I shared Dr. King's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. Like Dr. King, "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits." I went to the read-in to get my food for the mind and soul, and I came out satisfied for the moment. That, and I wanted to hear what others would read and perform. And as I sat there, I thought of old days in graduate school, when in a previous life, Dr. Maude Jennings taught me in an African-American Literature class to appreciate the beauty, passion, and power of what I was listening to. Wherever you are, Dr. Jennings, thank you for showing me the path to new books and ideas. It was professors like you who inspired me to continue my studies in ethnic literatures.
For readers interested, I used the following text for my reading:
The speech I used starts on page 105.
On Wednesday, February 21, 2007, I attended a lecture by Professor Larry Sabato. Professor Sabato is a political analyst and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. For most of our students, he may better known as the coauthor of their textbook American Government: Continuity and Change. Professor Sabato spoke about political analysis and predictions. He also gave an overview of American politics that was interesting, engaging, and with some humor along the way. He discussed the concept of the 6 year itch, and how President Bush is having his now. Sabato then summarized other instances of this political cycle. He suggested that midterm elections are not national. What you get instead is a picture of which states are competitive in their own elections. He argues that in spite of low standards (i.e., the interest in Anna Nicole Smith's death), Americans still want change in their government. This is why we get "tidal" elections; however, people often fail to look at state legislatures. He also says there is a positive light on the gridlock resulting from the 2006 midterm election: the people won't get hurt (much) because nothing will get done. So, this means there will be very little government (and this may be a good thing indeed). Other things to worry about, according to Professor Sabato: science teaching, language teaching, competition from places like China and India. These are all issues to consider other than the war.
On Monday, February 5th, 2007, I participated in our campus's read-in event as part of the 18th National African American Read-In. It was one of the events for Black History Month that UHD participated in. Our campus event was sponsored by UHD's Black Student Alliance, the Department of English, and the Cultural Enrichment Center. It was led by Dr. Vida Robertson. The event lasted from 1:00p to 5:00p. I attended between teaching classes. I arrived a little after 1:00p, and there were about 23 people there already. A good number were students that the professor sent them there for extra credit, but over time, the crowd would change as people would leave and others would come in. Some like me left and then came back. The idea of a read-in is to make literacy a part of the community. In our case, it was a way for people to come together and share their favorite pieces of literature. Readers performed poetry, prose, nonfiction, song lyrics, etc. Authors featured included Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, Desmond Tutu and Tupac Shakur. We went all over the place. As for me, when I finally got a little bravery to share something, I shared Dr. King's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. Like Dr. King, "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits." I went to the read-in to get my food for the mind and soul, and I came out satisfied for the moment. That, and I wanted to hear what others would read and perform. And as I sat there, I thought of old days in graduate school, when in a previous life, Dr. Maude Jennings taught me in an African-American Literature class to appreciate the beauty, passion, and power of what I was listening to. Wherever you are, Dr. Jennings, thank you for showing me the path to new books and ideas. It was professors like you who inspired me to continue my studies in ethnic literatures.
For readers interested, I used the following text for my reading:
Carson, Clayborne, and Kris Shepard, eds., A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Time Warner, 2001.
The speech I used starts on page 105.
On Wednesday, February 21, 2007, I attended a lecture by Professor Larry Sabato. Professor Sabato is a political analyst and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. For most of our students, he may better known as the coauthor of their textbook American Government: Continuity and Change. Professor Sabato spoke about political analysis and predictions. He also gave an overview of American politics that was interesting, engaging, and with some humor along the way. He discussed the concept of the 6 year itch, and how President Bush is having his now. Sabato then summarized other instances of this political cycle. He suggested that midterm elections are not national. What you get instead is a picture of which states are competitive in their own elections. He argues that in spite of low standards (i.e., the interest in Anna Nicole Smith's death), Americans still want change in their government. This is why we get "tidal" elections; however, people often fail to look at state legislatures. He also says there is a positive light on the gridlock resulting from the 2006 midterm election: the people won't get hurt (much) because nothing will get done. So, this means there will be very little government (and this may be a good thing indeed). Other things to worry about, according to Professor Sabato: science teaching, language teaching, competition from places like China and India. These are all issues to consider other than the war.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Thinking a bit more about self-disclosure
This is kind of a follow-up to my note on the article about self-disclosure online. I wanted to think about some of the student suggestions related to Facebook mentioned in the article.
First, the students suggested that teachers should display professionalism in Facebook. I think one has to strike a combination between professional and what I will label as being seen as a normal person. Any school teacher may have a tale or two of encountering kids at the grocery store amazed that the teacher actually shops too. For some reason, some students think teachers are kept locked up in the school after hours. I am sure there are one or two people out there who think something similar about librarians. I have striven to make my FB profile into a blend of professional with a bit playful, or at least, add a bit of good humor to it. While I mostly use the notes feature as a supplement to my resource blog, I have filled out the profile with information about TV shows I like, movies and so on. However, I still strive to keep it professional. So, as I tell my students when I advertise the site, "sorry, but you won't see any pictures of a drunken librarian on my profile." It gets a smile out of them.
Next, they mention the appropriateness of the content. For instance, they suggest not putting anything about politics. On the Facebook, that is pretty easy for me, as I usually tend to leave politics out. I consider politics one of those things not discussed in polite company. It is not that I lack political ideas or opinions; it is just I don't believe in inflicting them on others, and I don't want others inflicting them on me. The fact that a lot of political discussion, if one can call it that, seems so incendiary, simply turns me off, so I would rather avoid it. In the cases I get an urge to express that, I let the unruly cousin do it. That's the easy part. On the other hand, since I import my posts from the resource blog over to the FB notes, and I choose links to items from various sources, I wonder at times if some choices may be interpreted one way or another. For instance, if I see a study from a particular think tank that seems relevant to some students' work, I may link to it, write a short note about it, and let them find it. Think tanks are known to usually have a political agenda, so I try to go around the spectrum as I can. I don't do it systematically, i.e. "I picked a conservative resource, so the next one has to be liberal or libertarian or (insert affiliation here)." But I do try to give more than one side when I can. Maybe I do it because I try to model what I was taught when I was learning about research: that one should look at various points of view, that one should raise questions, and do so in an informed way. Anyways, it's what I try to do.
As for being cautious on what people put on my wall, I have not had any wall writings yet. But on my blogs, like this one, I have comments. Usually, as long as something is not spam, offensive (as in deliberately rude), flaming, or hateful, I usually leave comments. I have never felt the need to moderate, and I hope I don't have to anytime soon. I suppose it is a risk, but one has to take risks in learning.
On the students showing concern about what a teacher may see on their profile. Here is my philosophy, pure and simple. I am not actively looking for student profiles. If a student does an add request, I would take a look to see who is adding, but otherwise, what someone has on their profile, it's their affair. I am in no position to grade anyone, and if I were, using it to spy would not be fair. What happens out of the classroom is exactly that. If I find something nice or interesting in a profile, I may leave a comment, but otherwise, I just pass on through. I guess what I am saying is that I am pretty easy going.
On other thoughts, I have seen some literature on self-disclosure for teachers and perceptions of teachers by students. But I am wondering how much of this has been done, or considered, for academic librarians. I get the impression there is quite a bit on public librarians and MySpace, but for academic librarians, not as much. Given that academic librarians come in different stripes (tenure/professional, teaching for-credit courses/BI instruction, etc.), it may be interesting to look at some ways in which academic librarians put themselves online for students. Brian Matthews, the Ubiquitous Librarian, has been exploring some of this, but there are many more academic librarians out there in various settings. I am just curious.
An update note: Some items which may be of interest and help me towards an answer, from the "Five Weeks to a Social Library Program: Week 4 Highlights," as provided by Meredith Farkas. I was interested on Jahn's note about MySpace boundaries. The Five Weeks course page can be found here. I have been meaning to look over the materials, but this semester has just been packed with work for me. Oh well, we'll get to it eventually.
First, the students suggested that teachers should display professionalism in Facebook. I think one has to strike a combination between professional and what I will label as being seen as a normal person. Any school teacher may have a tale or two of encountering kids at the grocery store amazed that the teacher actually shops too. For some reason, some students think teachers are kept locked up in the school after hours. I am sure there are one or two people out there who think something similar about librarians. I have striven to make my FB profile into a blend of professional with a bit playful, or at least, add a bit of good humor to it. While I mostly use the notes feature as a supplement to my resource blog, I have filled out the profile with information about TV shows I like, movies and so on. However, I still strive to keep it professional. So, as I tell my students when I advertise the site, "sorry, but you won't see any pictures of a drunken librarian on my profile." It gets a smile out of them.
Next, they mention the appropriateness of the content. For instance, they suggest not putting anything about politics. On the Facebook, that is pretty easy for me, as I usually tend to leave politics out. I consider politics one of those things not discussed in polite company. It is not that I lack political ideas or opinions; it is just I don't believe in inflicting them on others, and I don't want others inflicting them on me. The fact that a lot of political discussion, if one can call it that, seems so incendiary, simply turns me off, so I would rather avoid it. In the cases I get an urge to express that, I let the unruly cousin do it. That's the easy part. On the other hand, since I import my posts from the resource blog over to the FB notes, and I choose links to items from various sources, I wonder at times if some choices may be interpreted one way or another. For instance, if I see a study from a particular think tank that seems relevant to some students' work, I may link to it, write a short note about it, and let them find it. Think tanks are known to usually have a political agenda, so I try to go around the spectrum as I can. I don't do it systematically, i.e. "I picked a conservative resource, so the next one has to be liberal or libertarian or (insert affiliation here)." But I do try to give more than one side when I can. Maybe I do it because I try to model what I was taught when I was learning about research: that one should look at various points of view, that one should raise questions, and do so in an informed way. Anyways, it's what I try to do.
As for being cautious on what people put on my wall, I have not had any wall writings yet. But on my blogs, like this one, I have comments. Usually, as long as something is not spam, offensive (as in deliberately rude), flaming, or hateful, I usually leave comments. I have never felt the need to moderate, and I hope I don't have to anytime soon. I suppose it is a risk, but one has to take risks in learning.
On the students showing concern about what a teacher may see on their profile. Here is my philosophy, pure and simple. I am not actively looking for student profiles. If a student does an add request, I would take a look to see who is adding, but otherwise, what someone has on their profile, it's their affair. I am in no position to grade anyone, and if I were, using it to spy would not be fair. What happens out of the classroom is exactly that. If I find something nice or interesting in a profile, I may leave a comment, but otherwise, I just pass on through. I guess what I am saying is that I am pretty easy going.
On other thoughts, I have seen some literature on self-disclosure for teachers and perceptions of teachers by students. But I am wondering how much of this has been done, or considered, for academic librarians. I get the impression there is quite a bit on public librarians and MySpace, but for academic librarians, not as much. Given that academic librarians come in different stripes (tenure/professional, teaching for-credit courses/BI instruction, etc.), it may be interesting to look at some ways in which academic librarians put themselves online for students. Brian Matthews, the Ubiquitous Librarian, has been exploring some of this, but there are many more academic librarians out there in various settings. I am just curious.
An update note: Some items which may be of interest and help me towards an answer, from the "Five Weeks to a Social Library Program: Week 4 Highlights," as provided by Meredith Farkas. I was interested on Jahn's note about MySpace boundaries. The Five Weeks course page can be found here. I have been meaning to look over the materials, but this semester has just been packed with work for me. Oh well, we'll get to it eventually.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Why we should appreciate ILL more
The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article written by Susanna Ashton, entitled "What Goes Around," on the use of Interlibrary Loan. ILL is a service that most faculty pretty much take for granted; they don't even think about the costs, which the libraries usually absorb on their behalf. Personally, I know I am glad when the nice ladies that work ILL here find me a particular article I may want to read now and then. Anyhow, this should probably be mandatory reading for certain professors.
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