“To take people from the music world and give them the same kind of credibility that you give me, Morgan Freeman, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker—that’s like an aberration. I know there’s some young actor sitting in New York or L.A. who’s spent half of his life learning how to act and sacrificing to learn his craft but isn’t going to get his opportunity because of some ‘actor’ who’s been created.” Who said it? Full story »

by Shelley Jack

Mamasita! Mamasita! Psst! Psst! Psst!

Taunting, yet playful faces of men passed me by on uneven sidewalks, working diligently to make eye contact. I was lost, again, on a street in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, walking quickly, head down. Only a few months in to my year-long stay as a business English teacher in the country, the unpredictability of the road and transportation systems continued to challenge even my most adventurous side. When I finally arrived at my destination, three hours into what should have been a 30-minute walk, I sat down and cried one of those long, cleansing cries. I felt dirty from a steady stream of what we North Americans might refer to as aggressive cat-calling or ogling. I was drenched in sweat and tears, and I was painfully conscious of my light skin, blue eyes. Worst of all, I was immersed in a kind of fear that most of my countrywomen never have to face here on the streets of America. Full story »

My students have expectations of me that I display like banners.

This semester, on the first day of classes, I asked them, “What do you expect of me?” I had them all get out a sheet of paper and write those expectations down.

We had already talked about their expectations for the class. As it happens, I’m teaching six classes at the moment—a double-overload—and each one is different. That means six different sets of expectations. Each class focuses on writing skills, and each class contains a strong media ethics component, but each class offers unique things, as well: radio, internet, multimedia, rhetoric, speechwriting, public relations, events management, literary journalism.

Students can expect to get a lot of different things out of all those different classes.

But it’s important to know, too, what they expect of me. “Tell me what you expect of me, as a professor, as a person, as a communications professional—however you approach it,” I told them.

I invited them to keep their answers anonymous if it would help them be more honest. Most of the students put their names on the papers anyway. No shame in expecting something from your professor, after all.

When the students finished, I collected the papers and read them aloud: Full story »

THE DEPROLIFERATOR –

“Nuclear war must be the most carefully avoided topic of general significance in the contemporary world. People are not curious about the details. … almost everyone seems to feel adequately informed by reading one book about nuclear war.”
– Paul Brians, chronicler of nuclear imagery in literature and pop culture

Some of us are oblivious to the threat of nuclear war; others shrink from it in fear. Many operate under the assumption that there’s no longer anything to worry about because we survived the Cold War intact. Besides, there’s always deterrence. Like a trusty old shotgun in the corner, we try to reassure ourselves, it’s served us well for 50 years. Full story »