Footenotes

Hello Commons,

First up – Oh come on NY Jets…you lost to a pirate?

I thought I was going to be able to open with something from the State of the Union but, you know, not much happened.  No uncouth shouting from the Republicans, no fireworks at the end, we didn’t declare war on anyone.  All in all it was pretty much ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ from the president.  So, uh, I got nothing.  I wonder what Keith Olbermann would have said about it? Alas, we’ll never know.

The New York Times is reporting that this year’s crop of college freshman are facing their worst emotional health in 25 years.  Maybe this explains the news from last week that college students aren’t learning much in their first couple of years at school.  Could be.  It’s also just as likely that the shift from a manufacturing to service economy produces a shortage of decent paying jobs whilst creating a glut of college educated American’s fighting for a limited number of positions, constantly upping the education ante and stressing everyone the hell out.  Well, them and the professors who slowly watch their class sizes balloon from 15 to 20 to 35…ah spring semester.

Blogs!

We’ve been on a roll the past few weeks but things slowed down a little here.  Maybe it was the Jets losing?  We, the defeated, couldn’t bring ourselves to type a single word.  “Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun…” Maybe not though, I doubt any of us were quoting W.H. Auden for the Jets.  All the same there were a few posts you might have missed.

The Electronic Resources Advisory Committee has started a blog, ERAC.  There was a short post this week about some new resources for psychology and social work students, but what got my attention was the look of the blog.  That image for the header is incredible!  Tell us more!

Suzanne Tamang @stamang posted a couple of short fun blogs this week.  The first was about her classroom with sensors and motors.  I hope CUNY isn’t sticking professors and students in boiler rooms now.  The second struck a chord with our own Boone Gorges.  Boone’s a little fussy about portmanteaus and cutsey software names and apparently this is a thing now (I blame Apple).  The revolution has begun.  After you guys trash all of the dumb software names can we start getting rid of logos that have a “sheen” to them.  I’m looking at you Office Depot and UPS.

David Shapiro @DShapiro32 had a couple of movie reviews up for the Commons.  I’m with you on Black Swan but how did you get talked into seeing No Strings Attached?  Again, I blame Apple.

Finally, Joseph Ugoretz @Jugoretz over at Prestidigitation put up a post on Smarthistory.org .  It’s a great resource for art students, educators and art lovers everywhere and hopefully a real contender for “textbook killer.”  Check out the post and contribute if you can.  The trees and legion of art students everywhere will thank you.  Plus maybe it’ll inspire some killer art and then you get to start calling yourself a benefactor.  I think you get a top hat and a monocle in the mail.

There you have it folks, the week that was.  Let’s pick ourselves up off the floor and get back to blogging!