April 03, 2005

MEME: Book meme123.5

I almost never participate in memes, and maybe this is why... when I came across this book meme, I thought, well, it looks a bit more interesting than most... why not give it a try for an easy way to post?

Here are the instructions:

  1. Grab the nearest book.
  2. Open the book to page 123.
  3. Find the fifth sentence.
  4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
  5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

So I did.... the nearest book to my chair is Edward R. Tufte's Envisioning Information, which I admit I haven't picked up in quite some time.

Unfortunately, page 123 happens to be the first page of the index. (For what it's worth, the fifth entry is "aerial photograph"). I suppose that's not so bad after all .... the next closest book is the Chicago Manual of Style...

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2005

OFFLINE: Sustaining

sustaining.gif Shout out to my husband, whose charming play Sustaining has its last workshop performance tonight.

If you can't make the performance, you can still read about it on George's blog, or the blogs of director Isaac Butler and fellow playwright Mac Rogers

Sustaining
Manhattantheatresource
177 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10011
Sunday-Tuesday, January 16-18, 2005, at 8:00pm
For reservations call (212) 501-4751
All tickets $12.00

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2004

MISCELLANY: Blank Blog Syndrome

I finally had a need to surf to my own blog page yesterday, and there it was *shudder*, that big, blank blog screen staring back at me accusingly.

If you're spread as thin as I am in the online world there's always something left undone each week... feeds I haven't read, blog entries I keep meaning to post, discussion boards and listservs I mean to reply to, software I haven't gotten around to trying out, classroom materials I mean to post... and sometimes it seems like they're all jumping around on my desktop competing for the few spare minutes I have each day, each screaming "Look at me! Look at me!"

And unfortunately, the blog is pretty low on the list since, hey, I've gotta pay the bills first, and it's not like I'm really interested in getting to the top of the Blogging Hit Parade anyhow.

I have started a new collaborative blogging project with one of my classes that's pretty exciting and sure involves less pressure than solo blogging, but I do hope to get back to regular posting as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I've got homework to grade and clients to meet with and urgent paperwork to do....

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)

October 25, 2004

OFFLINE: Abraham and Isaac

Although it's short notice, I never like to miss an opportunity to plug Howard Stokar's excellent CooperArts series (unfortunately, I'm teaching tonight, so I'll miss this).

Tonight's program includes biblical scholar Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg's talk "Abraham Bound and Unbound," a cantillation by Cantor Joseph Ness, and a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Canticle II (Abraham and Isaac) by William Ferguson and Robert Isaacs, accompanied by Ken Noda on piano.

What: The Binding of Isaac
When: Monday, October 25, 2004, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Great Hall (7 East 7th Street at 3rd Avenue), NYC
Price: $20, general admission, $15 students/seniors (at the door only one hour before show)
Tickets: Available via phone at (212) 279-4200.

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2004

OFFLINE: John Ashbery & Speculum Musicae

An off-topic post for New Yorkers who need to unplug for an evening....

This may well be the last year for Howard Stokar's always excellent CooperArts series of rarely seen performing and literary arts events at Cooper Union's Great Hall.

The season kicks off next Friday with a celebration of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Ashbery. Ashbery will read from his work, and acclaimed ensemble Speculum Musicae will perform musical settings of his work by leading American composers.

When: Friday, October 8, 2004, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Great Hall (7 East 7th Street at 3rd Avenue).
Price: $20, general admission, $15 students/seniors (at the door only one hour before show).
Tickets: Available via phone at (212) 279-4200 or online here. (Reserve early - the show is likely to sell out.)

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2004

Administrivia: Before the Fall

After a brief blogger's holiday (if you can call meeting deadlines on half a dozen consulting projects a holiday), it's time to start gearing up for the fall semester...

I'll be doing a lot of blog housekeeping over the next few weeks, tweaking the interface and posting the items I've been collecting during the semester break, as well as getting back to a more regular posting schedule.

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2004

FAKE DEGREES

diploma.gifOne of the threats to the acceptance of degrees from legitimate distance learning programs is the proliferation of "diploma mills" - fake degrees from bogus institutions.

Check out this fascinating slide-PDF presentation Unconventional University Diplomas from Online Vendors: Buying a Ph.D. from a University That Doesn't Exist by George Gollin of the University of Illinois, which illustrates how some of these degree mills work.

Thanks to elearnspace for the link

Posted by Joanne Tzanis at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)