That kid in the gray shirt was totally paying attention. He was taking notes. Seriously.
So last week, armed with a bottle of Mountain Dew, I gave two guest talks at University of the Arts, speaking to students about social media, blogging, and the importance of maintaining an online identity in today’s briskly moving world of new media. It was a lot of fun, I spent more time answering questions than I did actually lecturing, so that was nice.
It wasn’t enough to just use personal examples, like Uwishunu or Geekadelphia with these students. After-all, these kids are artists.
I brought up other blogs, like Philadelphia’s Artblog, the Autumn Society artist collective, and even my good friend Jordan Griska’s personal website. I was stunned at how many students had actually heard of Jordan. Several recognized his sculptures. I suppose he’s an even bigger deal than I thought.
We talked about social media tools, how blogs can help you reach a bigger audience, and how an online portfolio can give some permanence to art that, in the case of installations or experimental work, is only temporary. In the end, I walked away happy that these students were fortunate enough to have a teacher like John Freeborn. It’s imperative to have an online identity these days, and I think these UArts students are going to be prepared.
Looking forward to giving future talks. Thanks for inviting me out, John.
University of the Arts
www.uarts.edu
Last week I attended a fancy art opening at The Galleries at Moore over at Moore College, where my good friend Jordan Griska had his latest piece on display. Simply entitled Gas Pump, his newest sculpture is a kinetic piece that crumbles into itself over time, and was actually created using an old, 1930’s gas pump. It was pretty damn cool, and clearly spoke to our country’s reliance on gas.
I’m not going to lie to you, Internet. Sometimes I really don’t ‘get’ art. I can appreciate a pretty painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art or some fancy bronze sculpture in the local park, but when it comes to a deeper understanding of the work, I’m almost always at a loss. Literature, of course I get that. Post modern experimental performance art… not so much.
However, Jordan’s works are always easy to understand, comfortable to grasp. He somehow manages to create sculptures that speak to the more common (ie: me) folk. Their meaning doesn’t evade the non-art connoisseur. His pieces aren’t condescending. They’re fun, crazy. They move and are interactive. He creates them on a grand scale and sometimes, they are dangerous. He was working on his piece Sisyphus when we first met two years ago. A wild kinetic beast of a sculpture, he fell off and broke a disc in his spine.
Ad Infinitum is another great piece, massive tubes painted with electric paint, lit up by thousands of LEDs. Check it out. Seriously.
Keep it up, J. I’m proud of you.
Jordan Griska
www.jordangriska.com
Today at work, I was pleased to find a large box of Quirk Books’ upcoming release, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, waiting for me at my desk. The book doesn’t come out til the end of March. Awesome.
My lovely blog, Geekadelphia, is hosting a Zombieland movie night at The Trocadero here in Philadelphia next Monday, and Quirk was kind enough to donate these books as giveaways / prizes. I’m keeping a copy for myself to review on the blog, of course.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a goal of mine to one day pitch a book to Quirk. I just need to think of that killer, uber-creative idea. I mean, I’m an English professor! This should be easy. Let’s see…
- Oedipus The Bling: A Hip Hop Greek Opera
- Spamlet: A Hamlet Adaptation in the Vein of Monty Python
- Beo-wolf: The Untold Story of Beowulf vs. The Wolfman
- Oliver’s Fist: Oliver Seeks Revenge on Those Who Wronged Him
- The Waist Band: T.S. Eliot’s Guide to Losing Weight & Staying in Shape
Quirk, if you’re interested in these, I have about a dozen more. Let’s talk. I will totally accept hugs, high fives, and a value meal from Wendy’s as my advance.
Ever wonder, during the course of a semester, what your professor is looking at while he’s teaching? Up there at the podium, looking down at notes, flipping through papers? Well, here’s a look behind-the-scenes, at what my podium looks like on a typical day. The necessary supplies for teaching.
1. Mountain Dew – When you’re in front of a classroom, leading a discussion and lecturing for nearly three hours, you will need some energy. You could eat a proper meal before class, maybe bring in a salad or an apple… but that would be foolish. Foolish I say! Mountain Dew. All the way.
2. Neon Star Stickers - I give these out to students who make outstanding points in class. Sure, some students might find this a little strange, considering they are in college and not 3rd grade, but I took this out of the book of Dr. Bill Meiers, one of my favorite professors at Arcadia. You’d be surprised at how happy getting a star makes a student. Not pictured: Scratch & Sniff stickers. I was out.
3. Fudge Stripe Chocolate Cookies – A must for when the students go on break. Because really, nothing lightens up the mood like snack-time. Especially when your professor gets top-of-the-line cookies for break.
4. iPhone – For playing Canabalt during break.
5. Best American Non-Required Reading – Since the sample essays given in the textbook tend to be flat out dull, I choose to dish out exciting, humorous essays and activities, courtesy the Best American Series. From the Essays to the Non-Required Reading books, I always tend to find hilarious and moving pieces to share with the students.
6. Glasses – Because if I actually wore them in class, I wouldn’t look cool.
7. High Fidelity – I encourage my students to bring in examples of ‘good writing’ to share every week. I broke the ice with a passage from my favorite novel. “What came first, the music or the misery?” Sigh. Oh Nick Hornby. You are the man.
8. Lecture – Oh, and let’s not forget the actual lesson. It’s there somewhere, buried under the neon star stickers, cookies, Mountain Dew, and books.
In related news, this semester has been awesome so far.
Photo lovingly stolen from Google
Yesterday was the first day of the Spring semester at Peirce College. I did my usual sit-with-the-class-and-pretend-I’m-a-student shtick on the first day. I walked out of the class on my phone and came back in, immediately launching into a lecture, enjoying all the surprised looks.
Despite how comfortable I may seem in front of my students, playing these small jokes on them, I’m always incredibly nervous on my first day of the semester. My heart races as I show my ID at the door and as I walk up the stairs to the classroom. It continues to pound up until I start to lecture, a number of thoughts bouncing around in my head.
Will my students like me? Will I make a good first impression? What if no one shows up? What if they think I’m boring? What if they all fall alseep?
Often times, it feels akin to the way I felt during college as a theater major. But I guess that’s no surprise. Teaching is really like a good, theatrical performance.
You memorize the script (lecture), know the stage directions (walk around the class), draw the audience in (be passionate), give them a decent intermission (break), and send them home with something (homework / knowledge). I love it.
Sadly, I’m not teaching at MC3 this semester due to other engagements (a book!), but I’m looking forward to a fun Spring semester at Peirce. My students were active and engaged on the very first day of class, and many told me how their peers recommended me. That’s always a good sign. Must be doing something right.
Recently, the Philadelphia based ‘ist blog, Phillyist, ranked me as one of Philadelphia’s Top 10 Not-So-Secret Superheroes. It’s a fun list that include Kevin Bacon, Steve Ward, Cliff Lee (from the Phillies), my buddy Anna Goldfarb, some other cool folks, and well… me! Awesome! Happily, I wasn’t on the most hated Philadelphians list.
Blogger Allison Krumm talked about my work with Geekadelphia, and this seriously made me smile. Tim, Dan, and I have put a lot of work into the Geek this year, and it’s always nice to catch a little recognition for it.
We threw a rather large scale party back in November to celebrate our third year online, and this year is already shaping up to be even crazier.
Thanks Allison!
Omg! Professor Smith brought us pizza! Yay!
During my years as a student, I always dreaded the final exam, and dreamed that one day, I’d be in a situation where the professor would do something really cool. Like, give me an A for refusing to write a final paper.
Me: Here’s what I think of your test, Professor! *RIPS*
Teacher: You stood up to me… that was the test.
Cue bad 1980’s synth-pop music, possibly Phil Collins
But alas, these sort of things never happened, and I was always handed one of those dreadful blue books. I loathed those, and as a result, I’ve never dished out a final exam in any of my courses. A final paper that my students can write at home… yes. That way there’s no pressure, and I get creative, well written, critical papers.
I do enjoy psyching my students out though.
Read More Post a comment (0)
Caught this while driving home from Ikea with my friends Michelle and Tess.
So. Awesome. Wish I had my DSLR with me, but alas, all I had with my small point and shoot. Took several dozen photos, managed to get a few.
Larger size snap here. Another one after the jump.
Read More Post a comment (0)
My debut novel comes out this Fall. You'll be able to download free audiobook podcasts 
