FINAL PROJECT

I decided to make a unit and upload it to a wiki for my final project. Click here to check it out!

Using Film to Teach Literature

I have to be honest; I’m not a fan of showing film adaptations of novels merely because they exist. As an undergrad, I remember having a film adaptation assignment for my Shakespeare class in which we had to analyze a film that was based on one of Shakespeare’s plays. I was assigned The Tempest, and I only wish that Helen Mirren’s new version was around back then. Instead, I had to look at a 1982 film called Tempest that completely bastardized the play. While I know that “quality” is a relative term, my Shakespeare class made me realize that some film adaptations are not worth seeing the light of day. Still, I’m all about using films alongside literature if they are well-made productions. I think they can be useful for during and post-reading activities, especially with the comprehension of difficult texts. Films would be particularly beneficial for English language learners who cannot access literature in their native language. For texts that are open to multiple interpretations, I think films might offer alternative analyses of readings, especially if a classroom is homogenous. When this is the case, I think it would be fun to have students storyboard scenes as they read and compare their storyboard to the film adaptation. I would then create a class VoiceThread in which students could discuss what parts of the film’s interpretation were unexpected. I could also envision creating a VoiceThread where students would discuss which parts of a book were left out of a film adaptation and the implications of leaving out parts of the original narrative. Overall, I only believe in teaching film and literature together if the film will enhance students’ experience interacting with a text. I’m not someone who uses media and technology simply because it exists.

Music Prezi

Please Don't Stop the Music on Prezi

Born Free, by M.I.A.

M.I.A.’s music video for “Born Free” is quite possibly the best music video of 2010. While violent, shocking, and graphic, the video is still poignant in illustrating the effects of genocides being carried out by the United States on a daily basis without protest by U.S. citizens. Romain Gavras, the video’s director, clearly addresses the video to the United States specifically – his militants wear S.W.A.T. team regalia. What is not expressly stated, though, is which particular holocaustic measures Gavras is addressing. Could he be pointing to the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison? Is he addressing immigration conflicts in the United States, specifically in places like Arizona? Is the video calling into question American stereotyping of individuals who appear to be Arab? Or, more universally, could Gavras be pointing to the way large governments chastise minorities worldwide? Because the video is so jolting, albeit obvious in its message, I think it is extremely effective in promoting M.I.A.’s values and world beliefs. (She has stated that she does not believe in violence as a result of her upbringing during the Sri Lankan Civil War). Does her message make her sell more albums? Not necessarily. It does, however, raise a few eyebrows that wouldn’t normally look in her direction otherwise.

My Kind of Music

When it comes to music, I love indie pop-rock. Bands like The Magnetic Fields, Fleet Foxes, The Bird and the Bee, Beach House, Grizzly Bear, and Florence and the Machine are constantly playing on my iTunes. That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy different artists and genres. I like other indie artists like Robyn, Yelle, Andrew Bird, and Janelle Monae; local groups like P.O.S., Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, Atmosphere, Solid Gold, and Cloud Cult; and more mainstream female artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Janet Jackson. If I had to pick one band that captured the type of music I frequently listen to these days, it would be, hands down, the Canadian indie rock group Metric. The single “Sick Muse,” from their 2009 release, Fantasies, captures my love for indie pop-rock the best:

The main component of indie music has nothing to do with sound; rather, it signifies independence from major record labels in the recording and publishing of albums. However, that freedom allows artists to experiment with beats, melodies, and sounds that are not necessarily found in mainstream music. “Sick Muse” was written by the band’s lead singer, Emily Haines, which gives the song its indie credibility. While its edgy guitar riffs and hard drum beat make the song obviously rock, Haines’ vocals give the single a melodic, catchy, pop vibe. For me, the allure of “Sick Muse” is how easy it is to dance to. I’m a sucker for a good beat that I can groove with, and Metric typically does a good job of making it easy to move to their music, even though they are a rock band. On a personal level, I also think that the song, and the Fantasies album in general, helped me through a breakup and spoke to a time in my life when I was hating love and relationships.

I’m not so sure that I would teach “Sick Muse” to my students, but I find a lot of use in teaching the indie genre. I think it affords opportunities to teach music production and, therefore, the dissemination of ideologies through branding musicians. A lot of people think that because indie music is not commercially produced, it should be hailed as a product free from capitalist ambitions. In reality, though, many indie artists, Metric included, still use the same producers as more commercial artists, even if they are not subject to large recording labels. Many indie artists also rely on the same mediums as their well-known counterparts to get their music across. In the Twin Cities, most indie artists are played on 89.3 The Current, a subsidiary station of Minnesota Public Radio, which, in and of itself, says something about the individuals who listen to indie music. In essence, indie listeners often like to see themselves as outside of society’s socio-cultural strongholds when, in fact, they too are part of the system.

More on Documentaries

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s 1996 documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, is a chilling critique of the American judicial system and how societal norms too easily shape law in the United States. The film, which follows the court cases of Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin as they are tried for the murder and mutilation of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, presents an interesting and abnormal case in documentary standards as HBO, who produced the piece, become pivotal in the story that is being told. While the documentary begins by evenly presenting the various perspectives of those taking part in Misskelley, Echols, and Baldwin’s trials (the defendants, victim’s families, lawyers, etc), the film takes a sudden shift when one victim’s father leads a film producer to reasonably believe that he had actually killed the three boys, and not Misskelley, Echols, or Baldwin. From that point on, the documentary notably shifts in focus and presents the trial from the perspective of the teens being tried. Because the film uses a fair amount of unedited footage from the trial, one still gets the sense of authenticity behind the images they are shown. However, “behind-the-scenes” footage of the case, like shots of legal teams discussing how to go about the trial, muddy the narrative’s absolute truthfulness. Thus, one is genuinely perplexed as to whether or not Misskelley, Echols, and Baldwin are guilty or innocent.

Teaching Activity:

In the spirit of examining television news and who funnels funds into the production of news broadcasts, I think it is equally important to examine who is funding documentary productions. After all, documentaries, even more unabashedly than traditional Hollywood films, push an agenda of some sort. Thus, I envision having my students picking a documentary, screening the film, and then researching who produced the film and the ideologies of said producer – looking at trends in the films they make, what audiences they bring in, what they do with their money, etc. Then, using VoiceThread, I would have each student discuss the implications of having the producer of their chosen documentary tell their film’s story.

Looking at the News

KSTP 5 Eyewitness News at 4:30PM

0:10 Introduction

• Credits

0:36 Local Headlines

• Pedestrian killed on Grand Avenue
• Deadly shooting in St. Paul alley

0:25 Weather Check

5:20 Local Stories

• Republican legislature and gambling
• Decision to keep North High School open
• Man cited for drunk driving
• Improvements to Target Field slated

0:18 Coming Up Next

3:45 Commercials

3:54 National News

• Wall Street closing bell update
• FCC cell phone bill changes
• Cruise ship stranded
• Cheating students in Florida college

0:50 Local Interest Stories

• 400 year-old map visits U of M campus
• 35^th anniversary of Edmund Fitzgerald sinking

2:46 Weather

2:53 Health Story

• Effects of new cigarette labels

3:36 Commercials

0:57 Wrap Up

• Coming up on 5 Eyewitness News at 5:00PM
• Weather Recap

I’m a fairly avid watcher of the nightly news. It’s one of the only television programs I regularly watch. One of the interesting aspects of news, in my opinion, is the way most viewers are conditioned to watch specific stations from an early age and tend to not question their viewing habits as they get older. For instance, in my childhood home, we watched ABC for all of our news. My parents trusted Peter Jennings’ style during the national news, and our local affiliate, WISN Channel 12 News, is consistently ranked as one of the best ABC affiliates in the nation. So, when I came to the Twin Cities, I continued to watch ABC for my news, even though KSTP is not one of the better news teams in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Plus, they are known for their donations to conservative organizations. I’d bet that most people are the same way with their viewing habits. Whether ABC, NBC, or CBS, I think that we tend to view whatever news station we remember growing up.

Even though I usually watch the 4:30PM broadcast of 5 Eyewitness News, looking at the newscast more closely shed light on the fact that the entire 4:30 show is a preview of the 5:00PM broadcast – basically begging viewers to keep tuning in. With the exception of the weather and their health story on cigarette advertisements changing, all of the news stories were brief headlines for what was coming up at 5:00. Most of the stories ended with a call to watch the coming broadcast for more, in-depth information.

It is no secret that Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation, who owns KSTP, is a conservative, right-wing company. Still, in my opinion, most news organizations, whether transparently conservative or liberal, report news in a conservative manner. For instance, when a crime is committed, more often than not, the story is reported from the authorities’ point of view. Despite minor political hiccups and missteps, government and the law is usually seen as a good thing. In terms of race, crimes involving minorities, and those in urban settings more specifically, are overrepresented. Minorities are seen as either delinquents or charity cases. Finally, when a story involves some sort of ethical decision, traditional and conformist beliefs are usually depicted as the “right thing.” Fitting in with the status quo is shown as a desirable thing.

Teaching Activity

Bring the class to a computer lab or have a set of laptops available for use in the classroom. Break the class into groups according to the number of local news stations in your area and assign each group to one of those stations. Typically, this will mean a total of three groups for affiliates of national stations – one for ABC, NBC, and CBS. Then have each group research the ownership of their station or affiliate and the implications of that ownership on how the station broadcasts. Have them look at story choices, slants in coverage, commercial choices, etc. Next, have each group create a mind map, using MindMeister, that illustrates the chain of ownership for their assigned station or affiliate and the implications of that ownership. Finally, have each group present their findings to the class.

Documentary Prezi

Everything is Political - Documentary Film

My favorite type of film/television genre is documentary. What I find most fascinating about documentaries is the fact that they purport themselves to be fact; yet, directors must answer to no one, so strict adherence to truths is completely unnecessary. Any framing of an image, whether for television, cinema, or even an art gallery, is inherently a political act. In my opinion, the representation of reality and the investment viewers have in the truthfulness of what they see is unmatched to viewer expectations of any other genre. If an action film fails to live up to the number of explosions one might like, for example, the film is typically shrugged off as a poor example of an action film. A documentary that contains even the slightest misrepresentation of truth, however, ceases the work from being documentary altogether. In fact, it may be classified any number of ways but documentary.

The same repercussions can be said for literary works deemed memoir or biography, which is why I see teaching documentary as a vital component to the traditional language arts classroom. Take the firestorm surrounding James Frey’s novel, A Million Little Pieces, for instance. After it was discovered that many of Frey’s accounts were fictional, readers, and most notably Oprah Winfrey, were outraged that they had been duped. Their indignation had everything to do with genre. If Frey’s novel were packaged as fiction, would it have changed the literary merit of the text? It’s doubtful. Would it have made his story any less poignant? Probably not. The point is, genre matters, and so does whether or not something is purported to be true. It is my hope to get students asking: Why do we care whether or not a film, television show, or piece of writing is truthful when it is presented to audiences as entertainment? This would be my way of presenting the notion that entertainment is never just entertainment – that everything is political, has meaning.

The main feature of documentary films is that they represent truth in some way. This doesn’t mean that they represent universal truths, but rather that the filmmaker can take facts and organize them in such a way to present a semblance of truth. Though there are a multitude of subgenres to documentary, each of which contains their own specifications, voice-overs, interviews, and archival footage are three of the most prevalent characteristics of modern documentaries.

Voice-overs are typical in today’s documentaries for the purposes of narration. Such narrations not only facilitate the message of a documentary piece, they also lend a sense of credibility to the images one sees on-screen. Here is an example of narration by both director (Werner Herzog) and filmmaker (Timothy Treadwell) in the film Grizzly Man:

Interviews are also popular in modern documentaries. “Talking-head” sequences, as they are called, often validate the filmmaker’s message by providing first-person narratives and/or expert opinions. Director Spike Lee relies heavily on interviews in his documentary film, When the Levees Broke:

Archival footage is typically used in documentaries to justify arguments without using narration or voice-overs. The archived footage, in essence, can speak for itself. Though stock footage is typically used in documentaries of a historic nature, it can also be employed to comment on issues that persist beyond a set historical period. Sam Green and Bill Siegel’s film, The Weather Underground, is riddled with stock footage to comment on historic events and to illustrate themes that span beyond just the 60s, 70s, and 80s:

While documentaries attempt to depict truths, they are also limited by those truths. After all, once a director fabricates any aspect of his or her show or film, all credibility is lost. The problem with documentary is that it is held in such high regard that it often supersedes reality itself. Because documentary is seen as factual, one all too easily forgets to question the images they are presented with. Again, every time an image is framed, the author’s intention must be called into question. This notion of realness is one of the many facets of documentary (and real life) that Jennie Livingston tackles in her documentary, Paris is Burning:

What does it mean to be real? Livingston suggests that authenticity is the ability to pass as reality without anyone questioning otherwise. This, in my opinion, is the backbone of documentary form. Documentary films are those cinematic and televised works that make audiences unquestionably think they are witnessing reality. After all, anyone who has seen Luis Bunuel’s world renowned documentary, Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan, knows that images can lie. Everything is political.

Teaching Activity:

Because Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan only runs approximately 30 minutes, I would hold a screening of the film. After, I’d pass out copies of Vivian Sobchack’s article, “Synthetic Vision: The Dialectical Imperative of Luis Bunuel’s Las Hurdes,” have the students discuss the article in pairs, and assign them the task of shoot their own ethnographic documentary in the form of Bunuel.

Twitter

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Brief Look at Manhunt.net

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Facebook and Me

I’ve had a Facebook since I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. In order to be part of Facebook in those days, one had to have a university or college email account to sign-up. In the five years since then, Facebook has opened up to millions of users of all ages and has become a central part of many identities. In the first couple of years I used the site, I thought of it as a fad. I planned on deleting my account once I was finished with school in order to maintain a professional appearance and make friends outside of the virtual realm. Now that Facebook’s user base has grown to include almost everyone I know, I’m not so sure I will be deleting my account any time soon. Facebook allows me to stay connected with family and friends, network for school and work, and pass the time when I get bored. That being said, since 2006, Facebook has lost its simplistic, intuitive, exclusive, and user-friendly charm. In many ways, it maintains a paper trail on users’ lives that the virtual age had at one time promised to erase.

When it comes to Facebook, I’m fairly open about the information I share. I post my phone number, my address, my email address, pictures, and interests. I’ve never considered myself a private individual, so I feel comfortable about disclosing aspects of my life for others. After all, if I was born thirty years earlier, my address and phone number would have been published in a phone book anyway, right? If someone cares to know what my favorite movies are, my political affiliations, or where I work, those are pieces of information I would be comfortable sharing in face-to-face interactions, even with strangers. However, choosing which interests and pictures I want to include on my Facebook does affect how others will perceive me, and it creates an identity that may or may not be realistic to my true self. For instance, I’m gay, but I do not explicitly publish that I am interested to men on my main profile. Someone may be able to discern my sexuality by looking at other pages on my Facebook, but by not saying that I am interested in men, I am not including myself in the imagined gay community of Facebook users. In this respect, I think Facebook highlights the fluid and arbitrary membership of imagined communities.

Nowadays, I’m not so sure that there are many definitive norms to using Facebook. One probably makes sure that his or her boss doesn’t have access to pictures, especially embarrassing ones, or censors what is posted on walls, depending on who one is friends with, but Facebook is not a particularly well defined space. It could be formal and strictly for business, but it could also be for finding a potential mate. In my teaching, I could see myself creating a Facebook group for each class I teach in order to give students a central space where they can post questions or concerns with a specific class. If that is the case, though, I would have to create a more professional Facebook profile for myself.

VoiceThread - FINALLY

I'm having trouble embedding my VoiceThread, but click here to view it publicly.

Media Representation Teaching Activity

This activity gets students thinking about the reality of the images they see in advertising and questioning what altering an advertisement does to one's interpretation of what an advertisement is "saying."

Ensure that each student has computer and Internet access and have them log on to Glenn Feron's portfolio website: http://www.glennferon.com/portfolio1/ . When one clicks on any of the images presented, they are shown a larger picture of the image. If one then scrolls his or her cursor over the larger picture, one sees the unaltered image in its original form. Have the students write a paragraph appraisal for three images presented on Glenn Feron's website (one paragraph per image) in which they discuss what altering the photograph for an advertisement does to the viewer's interpretation of the advertisement, what the picture is trying to sell, and what ideology is being sold.

Beyonce and the Hair Dye

L’Oreal’s 2002 television advertisement featuring Beyonce for Feria poses several problems in how it perpetuates the hegemonic construction of gender and the way it promotes an unrealistic image of Black beauty.

The advertisement takes a clear stance on how the desirable, feminine woman is supposed to appear and act. The product itself, a hair dye that promises “pure color,” highlights (pun intended) the fact that to be a woman is to be inherently inadequate. Beauty is not natural; it is something to be achieved superficially – more specifically, through consumption of chemical concoctions. L’Oreal pushes their consumer agenda masterfully by having Beyonce, one of the most glamorized celebrities of our time, speak to the synthetic sisterhood of women as a knowing participant in their quest for beauty. She too needs Feria to achieve perfection, the advertisement points out; never mind that she actually serves as a pawn in L’Oreal’s capitalist quest to make other women feel inferior. Furthermore, the image of the modern woman is one of sex appeal. Beyonce and her fellow models wear low cut dresses, tank tops, and skin-tight jeans that showoff their bodies’ curves, accentuate their breasts, elongate their legs, and compliment their highly airbrushed faces. In essence, these women become an assemblage of body parts and makeup instead of real, personable human beings. With a multitude of medium long shots, one is invited to look at figures and bodies rather than what the advertisement is actually selling: hair dye. L’Oreal is, in short, trying to sell an idea of womanhood, not just perfection in a tube.

The 2002 Feria commercial also promotes an image of Black femininity that is particularly troubling in terms of race politics. When it comes to Black beauty, hair matters; and Beyonce, depending on how one sees her, is either lauded or demonized for hers. In the case of L’Oreal’s commercial, color isn’t the issue, authenticity is. While Feria promises to contain “super hydrating conditioners,” Beyonce’s straight, feathery, and, quite frankly, White hair, points to an epidemic of Black women being told that thick, black, kinked hair is undesirable. Their Blackness, in other words, must be exorcised in some way. In fact, the sole Black woman in the commercial who appears to have kept a natural, close cut afro is only featured on a box of dye, and even her hair is bleached to a shockingly abnormal color. Finally, it should be no surprise that even Beyonce’s skin is lit in such a way that her race becomes ambiguous. She could easily pass for a White woman. It begs the question, then, is Black really beautiful when it looks just like White?

To get my students thinking about how feminism and race politics work in advertising, I would first pick out several beauty advertisements for the class to screen and have them discuss who the advertisements are made for and the reason why a company would want to make that particular advertisement. In groups of three or four, I would them have them storyboard their own advertisement for a beauty product to have them see how images and concepts are broken down to make meaning. Finally, I would have them shoot the advertisements and screen them to the class alongside a re-screening of the original, real advertisements I had shown earlier. Then, the class could vote on which group had the most convincing advertisement, and I would have them discuss what made their choice so believable, particularly in terms of feminist and race politics.

My FIrst iMovie Experience

Click here to check out my first time playing with iMovie

Film Teaching Activity

This activity is meant to spawn discussion about the representation of reality in documentary film after already having shown Nanette Burstein’s documentary American Teen in a previous class. Burstein’s film is widely criticized for its “constructedness.” She inserts animated scenes seamlessly into the plot, happens to be around at the right place and time when important phone calls and unplanned illicit activities occur, and subjects are typecast to fit personas and scenes one would already be familiar with from previous teenage films.

Begin the class by breaking the students into six groups. Each of these six groups will be assigned the task of seeing how well Burstein’s film adheres to the six modes of documentary film that Bill Nichols lays out in his book, Introduction to Documentary. The six modes are: poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative. After everyone gets situated in their groups, hand each group a slip of paper that explains their mode, and ask them to write down how well American Teen fits their mode using examples from the film.

POETIC MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of noting any emphasis on visual associations not explicitly pointed out by the director, whether there is a rhythmical quality to the film, and if the film is formally organized.

EXPOSITORY MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of noting any verbal commentary and/or argumentative logic within the film. Commentary and argumentative logic do not necessarily have to be explicit though. This mode deals with how people identify with the documentary in general.

OBSERVATONAL MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of noting any emphasis on the everyday life of the subjects as observed by an unobtrusive camera.

PARTICIPATORY MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of noting any interaction between the filmmaker and the subject. This includes interviews, having the director in a shot, or even including archival footage to examine issues.

REFLEXTIVE MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of paying attention to assumptions and conventions that govern documentary filmmaking. In essence, they are to point out the constructedness of the film’s representation of reality.

PERFORMATIVE MODE GROUP

This group will be in charge of addressing the director’s engagement with the subject or filmmaking process itself to assess his or her objectivity during filming.

After the groups have assessed how well Burstein’s film addresses these modes of documentary films, have them report their findings back to the class as a whole. Discussion should be lively if groups have thought hard about their modes. For instance, the observational mode group will probably assert that Burstein’s film is unequivocally a documentary because it shows the everyday life of teens. However, the reflexive group will probably counter by pointing to the fact that Burstein uses a fair amount of animation, which disrupts the reality she is depicting.

** If discussion seems to be going nowhere, or students are not doing well with analyzing the film according the modes of documentary film, have the class view the first 15 or 20 minutes (just enough to establish the personalities of each character) of The Breakfast Club, by John Hughes, and explain to them that while Burstein’s film is classified as a documentary, Hughes’ film is considered a fictional teen drama. Keeping the students in their six groups, have them discuss and write down any similarities between the two films or any ideas that Burstein may have taken from Hughes. Then, come together as a class to discuss whether or not Burstein could have manipulated reality in order to create a teen film similar to those that came before hers.

Analyzing MODERN FAMILY

This particular scene, from ABC's Modern Family, relies heavily on camera techniques to underscore the episode's storyline. Though the scene's opening medium long shot initially places Claire (Julie Bowen) in an equally authoritative position as Haley's (Sarah Hyland) boyfriend, the situation quickly changes as Dylan enters the Dunphy home. Not only is Dylan (Reid Ewing) physically situated higher on the Dunphy staircase after being stopped by Claire on his way to Haley's room, the camera's low-angle shot underscores his psychological hold on the Dunphy household, and Haley more specifically. Although he is oblivious to the family's dynamics, Dylan's authority over the home's rule-makers is apparent. In essence, even though Claire wants to slow down the pace of Haley and Dylan's relationship, Dylan is clearly calling the shots. Phil (Ty Burrell), the father, tries to step in and stop the young couple from whatever activities are inevitably about to take place, but as the camera shows from its bird's eye angle, Phil is as powerless as his wife, Claire.

Because the show is a mockumentary, camera techniques are also essential in making what viewers see appear authentic. Hand-held shots and jerking of the camera make scenes seem unscripted. The show also utilizes more zooms, pans, and tracks rather than reaction shots to capture expressions and actions. This disregard for cutting room editing gives viewers a greater intimacy and familiarity with the situations they are witnessing. Of course, anything other than direct sound would ruin the overall effect. Having medium close-up "confessionals" for characters, like Phil in this scene, fosters an even greater intimacy with characters also. We learn their innermost thoughts while viewing them much in the same way as they would be seen in real life. The lack of flashy effects is what makes this scene, and the show overall, effective.

My First Vlog Post

To access my first vlog post, click HERE.

Some Thoughts on Karen Alloy

Being new to the vlogging scene, I have to say that I appreciate the clarity of Karen Alloy's vlog posts. Her image is of pristine quality, she is situated in a space that is free of audio distractions from outside of her shots, she can be heard clearly, and her white background places the viewer's focus directly on her. There are few bells and whistles to her posts, though she does employ jump shots and alters the speed/sound in several vlog entries to emphasize different voices, characterizations, and viewpoints.

Alloy's post on how she quit her job was particularly interesting to me because, like us, she decided to talk about herself in front of the camera for several minutes - as opposed to her other posts about various trivialities in life. Her posture, willingness to open up about such a personal matter, and tendency to make silly voices illustrate her obvious comfort in front of the screen. She addresses her audience similar to how one would chat with friends at a social event. She's candid, relaxed, and collected, though she is a bit passionate about how she went about quitting.

Up and Running

Well, I think I got this thing up and running how it should be. I have to admit, I feel really shaky when it comes to using blogs, nings, and wikis, but that's why I'm here. Bear with me in the meantime, folks!