Also
I'd never be where I am in life if I didn't have such a strong network of friends and family connecting and supporting me. The next logical step of "Here's who I am and what I do" is "Here's who others are and what they do." Thus I'd also like to include some of my best resources, inspirations, and collaborations.
Collaboration and Connection
I happen to have many talented friends. Some of them are even talented enough to have a presence on the web. Okay, kidding, but I would like to share some of the art and intellect of my friends and colleagues.
- Dave Ellington
- Laura Wickesberg
- Alex Herder
- Megan Delaney
- Ashley Bradarich
- Kristin Ginger
- Robin Davis
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This is Dave
Dave is a rather overly talented young chap who's far too modest to write himself a bio. Thus in my good tradition of being entirely too loud and obtrusive I though I ought to compliment him to death so that he'll cease showing me up with everything artistic and technical and merely stop being my friend. Which leads to my next point, Dave is talent in pure concentrate form. Much like that orange juice you squeeze in the morning, only probably more fashionable. The story these days seems to go a little bit like this. Jeff gives Dave a tool or toy, gives him a few ideas of how to use it, and then Dave makes something better than anyone else can. Luckily Jeff is louder than Dave so people still sometimes think he's formidable.
In all seriousness, Dave is an excedingly gifted individual who does much more than I link to here. It's a little difficult posting that time he did a triple lutz on rollerblades on the internet. For the time being you'll have to suffice with Dave's internet transmissible (sounds a bit like an STI doesn't it?) material, which can be found in any given artistic and 3D content found in the videos at the Duke and the Duck.
Laura Wickesberg
Adventurer, inventor, musician, artist and architect: http://www.laurawesome.com/
Alex Herder
A dear friend who runs the Duke and the Duck, a freelance video creation and storytelling team, Alex is an animation producer, writer and entrepreneur.
Megan Delaney
A graduate of graphic design and art education at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Megan is a long-time friend and comrade. Candid and unafraid to accurately size up artwork Megan ensures her insights are heard in the best of ways. She's migrated much of her portfolio to the web, I invite you to take a look.
Ashley Bradarich
A magnificently talented graphic designer Ashley's artistic abilities may yet only be rivaled by her astounding compassion for friends and family. Her modesty will keep me from saying too much here, but don't be fooled by her initial smiles, she's all too real, passionate and driven. Find her portfolio here.
She's also become something of a celebrity, as she was crowned Miss Illinois in 2010! Holy crap I had better take this moment to pretend I'm famous by posting a picture of us together!! (after considerable debate it was decided I shouldn't put up anything embarrassing)
No but seriously she is amazing and this is a little unreal. Ashley challenges many of the expectations people might have of a typical pageant winner. Beneath the taking of breaths she's a badass athlete, computer geek, aspiring musician, engaged writer and thinker with her own take on feminism.
Kristin Ginger
Creative writer-artist-musician-intellectual. Also, sister extraordinaire.
Robin Davis
The 2010-11 revolution in GSLIS not only turned the tide of the clique-wars but yielded a crop of some of the brightest and most outstandingly talented individuals I've ever met. The most internet savvvvy (yes, extra v's for extra valiance) is Robin. She likes/does many things, including art, wit, party games, wine, dancing, literature, code, internets and compassion. Drop in on her, before it's too late.
Book Recommendations
Books I've liked - by semester, in brief.
Spring 2011
- Gauntlet, David. (2011). Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0.
People not only learn more by creating, but forge essential ties with one another in the process. In a sense, this book is on community building, but for our internet age. I also find it helpful in its reference to Tools of Conviviality by Ivan Illich, which serves as the basis for my pitch that the best way to become literate is by creating. - Buschman, John E. (2003). Dismantling the Public Sphere: Situating and Sustaining Librarianship in the Age of the New Public Philosophy.
The modern counter to Leigh's original vision of the public library. Bushman makes a bid for us to return the library as an institution to the public sphere, lest we spiral deeper into the unfortunate world dominated by the Regan-era discourse of technicratic digital capitalism. - Alinsky, Saul D. (1989). Rules for Radicals.
More interesting than it is good, Alinsky makes a very fierce argument for spurring social change via community organizing. I'm not sure how much of it holds today, but it's good to know our roots.
Fall 2010
- Lankshear, Colin and Michele Knobel. (2006). Digital Literacies.
An academically rigorous take on the many understandings of digital literacy. A superb array of research and theory. - Robinson, Ken. (2011). Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative.
I can't help but be sucked in by his compelling storytelling. This book gets us started thinking about the right aspects of public education (cultivating creativity and critical perspectives), but stays away from immersion in academic literature.
Summer 2010
- Lee, Robert D. (1950). The Public Library in the United States: The General Report of the Public Library Inquiry.
The public library as a constituent (essential) component of mass/public communication is a really neat idea. Besides this the work is very forward thinking in its unfolding of the mission of the library.
Spring 2010
- Zittrain, Jonathan. (2008). The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It.
Why we need critical and creative literacy folks, seriously! Also why I jailbroke my iPhone the day I got it. - Gladwell, Malcolm. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success.
What Sociology has told us for years, but important, nevertheless.
Fall 2009
- Michaels, David. (2008). Doubt is Their Product.
This book was filled with countless examples of what is so elloquently demonstrated in the movie Thank You For Smoking: how casting doubt on (or even creating) 'the other side' of an argument is key to winning debates. The work takes the strong position that instutition of science has been assaulted by corporations and contends that we can return to regulatory systems that keep our heads pointed in the right direction: full disclosure of sponsors and involvements in scientific studies, the complete testing of materials prior to their exposure to the public (not reactively), requring that manufacturers must be open about everything they know about the effects of their products, ending rigged data reanalysis, holding real individuals accountable for screw-ups, treating public and private science equally, protecting the independence of Federal scientists, regulation by public shaming of organizations, requiring corporations to both make plans and actually stick to them, embracing ALARA, integrating the control of environmental and workplace toxic exposures, and making the States Public Health Protection "Laboratories." Though the book was a bit repetitive this was in many ways just a way of showing just how pervasive the practice and industry of manufacturing false science (to cast doubt) really truly is. I especially appreciate that the book provides solutions to problems it points out!
Spring 2009
- Mitroff, Ian and Ralph H. Kilmann. (1978). Methodological Approaches to Social Science.
What I felt was a brilliant overview of the various takes on social science research methods. The book emphasizes issues like the assumptions and purposes of scientific knowledge as well as the social norms and preferred logics of various traditions and places them within an interesting and contentious typology mapped to a pyschology chart. The book inspires a great deal of debate and interesting discussions of philosophy and epistemology and advocates what I think well-describes my preferred approach to social science methods.
Fall 2008
- Palfrey, John and Urs Gasser. (2008). Born Digital.
A book about some of the interesting and occasionally drastic differences between technology-connected youth and older disconnected generations. Brings to light issues of information sharing, creation of knowledge and more. - Surowiecki, James. (2005). The Wisdom of Crowds
A remarkably insightful book on the decision-making power of groups. The author looks into distributed knowledge and decentralization as well as factors of communication and emotions and cognitive diversity, all of which play into the way groups and institutions make decisions.
Spring 2008
- Haraway, Donna. (2003) The Haraway Reader.
A good introduction to her many works. Her writing is a sort of poetry, layered with many meanings and applications. - Banks, Adam. (2005) Race, Rhetoric, and Technology.
A very forward thinking work on bridging the digital divide today. - Diamond, Timothy. (1992) Making Gray Gold.
An institutional ethnography on nursing homes and nursing assistants in America. Moving, to say the least. - Bogdan, Robert and Steven Taylor. (1998) Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods.
I can't believe I'm putting a methods book up here, but this one is incredibly easy to read and well organized. Out of date but still good.
Fall 2007
- Nakamura, Lisa. (2002) Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet.
An adventurous exploratory work on the contemporary digital divide. - Gladwell, Malcolm. (2005) Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking.
Rapid cognition and thin slicing - an incredibly cool exploration into the supercomputers in our minds. Largely psychology based.
Spring 2007
- Waters, Mary. (1990) Ethnic Options.
The contemporary fabrication that is White ethnicity in America...
Fall 2006
- Durkheim, Emile. (1897) Suicide.
I liked this book the best of all of those I read in classic theory. Durkheim got a whole lot wrong but it's monumental for its time! - Gladwell, Malcolm. (2002) The Tipping Point.
Social Epidemics and social archetypes. Very cool for both sociologists and marketers.
Spring 2006
- Kitwana, Bakari. (2002) The Hip Hop Generation.
The plight of the African-American youth community of the 80's and 90's.
Blog, Blog, Bloggy Blog
Yeah, so once upon a time I vehemently hated blogs because they're all too often used by youths who whine about the real-world and wish to live double-lives. They are, after all, idiot-proof message boards. Then I grew up and realized that they can really be an incredibly effective form of new media. I've thus become more tolerant of the rascals, and have employed a few for personal use. Unfortunately these days I don't make a lot of time to write on any of them but JAG-wire. You can find archived portions of the past below:
- Google Shared Items Feed - This is much like a blog, only not one that I write - I add material to it pretty frequently!
- Duenos.net - For a time I wrote for my friend's eclectic news blog, Duenos.net. It's still entertaining, even if inactive.
- AIM Snippets - funny catches from my AIM conversations - updated infrequently but still amusing!
- Web Interactivity - article responses for my Web Interactivity course, no longer active.
- Race and Ethnicity Intergroup Dialogue - effectively a course website from a few semesters ago.
