New Arrival

Dearest friends!

We would like to announce the arrival of Serafina Persephone Greco, born on April 29th at 11:12 pm Central at the St Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces at birth and was 21 inches long. Both baby and mommy (and daddy) are doing fine.

We came home last night around 7pm and we are proud to say that we made it through our first night at home alone - all three of us are exhausted. She is a patient little thing - you should see us trying to take care of her in the middle of the night!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Here are some hospital pics you may not have seen yet (unless you're on facebook).

Thanks for all the love and support!
Antonella, Nicholas and baby Serafina Persephone

so-so day

Things are moving along in my life. Work is okay - busy. I find that I can get upset easily, and, for sure, I am beginning to really tire (I'm sure my students are also feeling it at this point in the semester).

I was happy to hear from an old friend recently. I often wonder about where people have ended up after all this time, people that I used to invest a whole lot of myself into. I'm happy that they are doing well.

More people are seemingly interested in a course on Joss Whedon's Firefly. I'm hoping to have it on the books in 2010. I wish it could be offered more quickly, but I can only do what I can do.

That is all for now.

I apologize

I'm sorry for not posting for months and months. There are no excuses (in fact, I'm doing this right now instead of working on a lecture for tomorrow).

I should tell you that a lot has happened here in sunny Winnipeg. So you know, my wife and I are expecting a little one to arrive by the end of April. I sent another review to be published in Popular Music. I'll be presenting a paper on Barthes and "cruising" the voice of one Leslie Feist at the 2009 IASPM Canada conference in Halifax. And, this summer, I'll be preparing some book proposals, to see if anyone might want to publish my PhD dissertation as a book.

I'm also a Founding Fellow in the Canadian Institute for the Study of Pop Culture & Religion. You can find out more about the Institute by going to http://popculturecanada.ca.

So, that is all for today. Feel free to follow my Twitter stream - you can see it on the left of this screen. Hopefully I will post there more that I post here. Watch for more updates to come.

My very own work of Abstract Impressionism

This is me working out my frustrations that no one was listening to me during my class today.

Of course, this isn't really true. Most were listening to me during my class today.

Another publication

For those of you keeping track, I have had another review published in the primary journal for popular music studies, Popular Music. You can find my review of David Pattie's book, Rock Music in Performance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) in Popular Music 27:3 (October 2008), pp. 515-516.

Disney

I have often been fascinated (especially when I've visited the Parks) with the power of Disney. What always go me was (is) their park in Florida. I've been there many times in the last seven years (oh, to have that money back; alternately, oh, to be there again) and I really like the fact that the Disney parks in Florida cover an area the size of Boston, they have their own transportation infrastructure, and police, too (well, security guards really).

It's about POWER. It's not the cuteness or the imagery, although I like that too. It's not the sanitization of the global experience (although that is an element of their power). It's the sheer control that the corporation holds.

I don't think this is a negative (although it might very well be). It is certainly fascinating.

The Apostle Paul's Movie Guide

Peter Kerr, in a vignette article in the book, Understanding Evangelical Media (edited by Schultze and Wood), writes about how Evangelicals filter which mainstream movies should be watched. "WWJD" is often an acronym that comes up in oonversation: what would Jesus do? Well, in a way, I think that is a bit of a loaded question. Would he go to a movie in the first place? Not sure - they didn't have movies when He was on the planet, so we don't know. We know that He ate with sinners, which I suspect might be similar to going to bars and so forth. He drank real-life wine - most would agree with that. Would he engage with modern media and entertainment? Well, if He was truly human (and most would agree with that), then he would have engaged with whatever mainstream media there was then.

I wonder if people would consider what Jesus would do when they get into a car. Would He drive? Not sure. He didn't drive while He was on the planet (most would agree with that). So should we drive now?

But that's maybe not a moral issue. Or is it?

Back to media, and the article at hand, Kerr suggests that Paul might have something to say about watching movies. Kerr quotes 1 Corinthians 6:12 and comments:

He refuses to become a slave to things that are merely permissible and not really beneficial. He captures the middle ground between outright rejection and mindless acceptance. (p.63)

I suspect that Paul liked entertainment a lot. He was a scholar after all, and probably liked to think about how things, thoughts, metanarratives, work. He did flesh out much of the theology of the Christian Church (most would agree with that).

And I think most of us like entertainment. That's why many of us find it hard to just stop watching everything; you know, Jesus didn't own a television (most would agree with that).

My final question, though, is how do you know if some kind of media object (film television broadcast, popular song) is ultimately beneficial. Who is the judge of such things? What is the answer? Who knows (and most would agree with that).

How to blog (from Merlin Mann)

Blogging as a waste of time

In a short piece that is inserted in the first chapter of Schultze’s Understanding Evangelical Media, the author suggests that Evangelicals might spend more time doing nothing in the activity of blogging, and reading blogs, than being productive. I wonder, though, what the difference might be between wasting time blogging (or reading blogs) or wasting time going to church.

While I’m not suggesting that one shouldn’t go to church, I’m thinking that it is not much of a stretch to suggest that there are times in each of our lives when attending a church service is an activity of shutting down. We do not want to be there and we spend that precious time with a black cloud over our head, as if it was raining and everything. We wish we were elsewhere and we spend all of that time thinking of other things when we should be thinking about God and allowing Christ to change our lives.

I wonder if the author decided that blogs were apparently the real “time stealers” of society, one of the most terrible ills brought to us by the satanic members of the New Media cadre. Now, perhaps I’m going too far; after all, the short segment appears in a chapter of a book that is, in part, encouraging Evangelical media makers to make Evangelical media better. But why all of the negativity regarding blogging? Can not the same criticisms (that we waste time) be levied against all text-based media that ends up not imparting much wisdom to the reader?


I bet you’ve wasted all kinds of time reading this little rant. Go to church!!

At the intersection of society and media

I had an interesting talk with a local newspaper journalist about the advent of new media and its implications on society. She mentioned that she has progrssive lenses, where the top of her lens is for seeing far, the middle of the lens is for mid-distance looking, and the bottom of her lens is for reading.

She mentioned that, for reading things online, she required mid-distance lenses, but because the style of glasses a few years ago were too thin from top to bottom, this would cause problems with her reading of a computer screen. She claims that it is better with the wider (or taller) styles of glasses now. There is more room for that mid-range section in the middle of the progressive lens.

This just might be a case of new media (newspapers online, for instance) beginning to dictate style.

Or not. But it is something very interesting that I never ever thought about.

Update

Things are being repaired at our place at a quick pace - at least in terms of foundation work. I suppose that when you pay lots for something do be done, it is, and it's done quickly.

We will still have to wait until September for the bathroom and, I suppose, the other plumbing work to be done. We are hoping that there isn't a problem with the main sewer drain, but there might be.

As for work, things are moving along. I'm continuing to finalize the syllabi and they are just about done. I am looking forward to teaching these courses.

That's all for now.

Believe me, no news from this end could very well be good news.

Terrible

Foundation problems with the new house. $15k.

There are plumbers here

We have plumbers ripping up concrete in our basement to install a sump pump and pit right now. I'm content that they are doing work but not so happy that the work needs to be done in any case. I'm glad that we are getting increased flood protection, and the fellows were also going to redo the pipes that are coming down from up above (because they are completely illegal), but the wall hasn't been moved yet (we were not told that this was going to be done today). In any case, it will be rescheduled. That means that the wall needs to be moved soon, as early as early next week.

I'm continuing to plan courses and that is going well. Two syllabi are well on their way, one is in development with a lot of supporting documentation from the publishers (which should be a great help). There is a 3rd year course on New Media which will be supported by a coursepack (actually, articles on reserve in the library). It will be extremely interesting. I have a great idea for a large-scale project, one which, while large, could be interesting for all involved.

The other night I drove from Niverville in the dark (maybe a 25 minute drive) - it went well. I am becoming more confident, although I don't like it so much.

That's all. I will update the work going on downstairs soon.

Still alive

Things are crazy. We are still alive. I'm driving a Yaris. I have cut the lawn 3 times already. I cleaned the eaves troughs. I ordered textbooks for the classes. My wife and I (and a colleague) have gutted the basement (what was a finished basement is now unfinished - we had water upon entry).

My sister had a baby boy on the 2nd of July. I haven't gotten paid yet, but I haven't had to fill the gas tank yet either.

We are getting the bathroom renovated. We need to have a sump pump installed. We are getting the plumbing fixed.

I've been outside more in the last 2 weeks than in the last 7 years. I have arm muscles now (although I can stand to lose a few more pounds - I'm not big by any means, but I should be a little leaner).

That's all. I will update as things progress.

Moving soon

I'm just getting ready to pack up the computer (although I just got a Macbook, so I won't be out of computer range) so I thought I would type a little note before ... um ... packing up the computer.

We're moving. The apartment is a mess of boxes. Almost everything is done except for some larger items, and I'm trying to get most everything of the rest in boxes before tomorrow. The truck is supposed to come, although I have yet to hear confirmation that they will in fact be coming tomorrow, and at what time.

In any case, the wireless network will come down tonight, and that'll be it for internet until next Friday (although we'll have access in Hamilton, on our way to Winnipeg).

As some might know, my sister is due to deliver her new baby boy any time now, so we are all excited for that.

I am entering another phase of my life. I never thought that I would get a job. I am anxious about it, although I know deep down that I can do it and things will turn out. I'm just very very very very scared. And, I think, when I'm scared, I freeze and things don't get done. So that'll be a thing to work on when we arrive in Winnipeg. This coming week will be a forced "relaxing" time before the busy-ness of home improvement and course preparation.

I will check in again when we arrive in Winnipeg. Thanks for reading, and for those who feel so inclined, please consider praying for us.

New Moz album

True to You, Morrissey's mouthpiece to the outside world (run by the super-fan Julia Riley) announces that a new album, entitled Years of Refusal, will be released in September. Also, a remastered version of Southpaw Grammar will be released in July, with 3 unreleased bonus tracks (probably just live).

[Photo from here.]

Just checking in

Yes, I am still alive. The last few weeks have been hectic. I finished the revisions to a chapter on Feist for a book that will appear in 2009. I presented a new paper at the IASPM Canada conference at Brock. And my wife, father and I went to Winnipeg, signed papers and got possession of the house. There might be a bit of work at the house - nothing major, really - although the large yard needs some work.

So, in short (too late), I'm still alive, trying to clean things up here in Montreal to get ready for a move in 3 weeks.

By the way, while in Ottawa, I was able to secure myself a fully working iMac DV SE (graphite) for $5. Retail in 1999, $1499 USD.

Not that it matters

I got preliminary results from FQRSC (the provincial funding body for postdoctoral fellowships). Confusing at best, but not confusing enough to give me hope that I got the fellowship. I didn't get it, but I don't know why yet. Something must have been wrong with my application.

The results are as follows:

Cote attribuée par le comité d'évaluation à votre demande: Z [apparently because I didn't receive a passing grade in one or more of the sections]
Rang attribué par le comité d'évaluation à votre demande: 40
Nombre de bourses offertes actuellement dans votre comité: 44

So, this would lead me to believe that I would have gotten a fellowship, as I am ranked 40, and 44 got the fellowship. But what is this "Z" all about? Last time I got a "C."

They must not have received one of my letters (see all about that here), although I would think that that would have been reflected in my ranking.

As I say, not that it matters. But it still makes me sad.

OUR NEW HOUSE!!

(as seen from space! - More info soon.)

For those who might be interested...

New single by Nine Inch Nails. You can legally download it by going here (the link brings you to NIN's website). I like it a lot. The mp3 tags of the song encourage the listener to visit nin.com on May 5th. A new album perhaps, with the same distribution and payment model as Ghosts I-IV? I can only hope.

Did I mention that I like the song a lot?