Author Archives: insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Jonathan Swift

Working with Ulmer’s Internet Invention this summer, I’ve had a number of projects exploring students’ crises of faith. Responding to these projects got me thinking of Swift’s later poem “Day of Judgment,” written near the end of a career as … Continue reading

Posted in poetry, religion, Swift | Comments Off on Jonathan Swift

Every Once in Awhile…

I read something and hear in my brain a voice: That can’t be fucking true. No way. It is usually triggered by an internet news story with dubious sources. I heard the voice this morning while scrolling through my slash.dot … Continue reading

Posted in carlin, trast, voice-in-my-head, wtf | Comments Off on Every Once in Awhile…

Some Good Web Comics

The web comic “Stuff No One Told Me” has become my daily little moment of Zen. He’s on vacation for awhile, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a stroll through the archives. And there’s always a quick visit to … Continue reading

Posted in comic, webcomic | Comments Off on Some Good Web Comics

Ulmer Riff: Recipe

My class is progressing with our mystories. In an effort to help them grasp Ulmer’s approach to relay and imitation, I crafted what I call the recipe assignment. Its inspired by a visit from poet Robert Pinsky this past Spring; … Continue reading

Posted in pinsky, recipe, remix, ulmer | Comments Off on Ulmer Riff: Recipe

Ulmer Exercise: Term Extensions

Today in class we are working on two exercises from Ulmer’s Internet Invention; the first of which is his Term Extensions exercise. Using the history of the term “culture” as a model, select a different craft (other than agriculture) and … Continue reading

Posted in Arnold, culture, education, oed, term-extension, ulmer | Comments Off on Ulmer Exercise: Term Extensions

Rosenbaum on the New Agnosticism

Ron Rosenbaum has an article up on Slate.com that speaks to the possibility of a New Agnosticism (as a response to the New Atheism). Pretty much speaks to how I read Levinas, and why I was interested in his metaphysics. … Continue reading

Posted in agnosticism, consciousness, levinas, rosenbaum, slate | Comments Off on Rosenbaum on the New Agnosticism

Penny Arcade, Technology, and My Life

The following appeared on Penny Arcade today. Yup. It is always dangerous to make assumptions about people’s basic philosophies, and those assumptions tend to (quite conveniently) track with the way you, yourself see the world, so maybe I should limit … Continue reading

Posted in ong, penny-arcade, technology | Comments Off on Penny Arcade, Technology, and My Life

Levinas, Ethics and Infinity

I’m currently reading through Levinas’s Ethics and Infinity, one of my summer reading books. I’ve still got a few chapters to go, but so far I appreciate Levinas’s concision. I like this book for the same reason that I like … Continue reading

Posted in cohen, ethics, levinas | Comments Off on Levinas, Ethics and Infinity

An Insignificant MyStory (Part 3)

In between posts with Casey today, I did manage to get some work done. Particularly, I’m working on prepping for my summer course. I will be teaching a 6 week upper-division expository writing course. Usually, I teach expository writing as … Continue reading

Posted in electracy, levinas, ulmer, x-men | Comments Off on An Insignificant MyStory (Part 3)

Harman on Latour, Socrates, and Sophistry

The first of my summer reading books have arrived from Amazon. Last night I read the first few chapters to Brooke’s Lingua Fracta and the Pandora’s Hope chapter of Harman’s Bruno Latour: Prince of Networks. Both are really good, although … Continue reading

Posted in callicles, harman, latour | Comments Off on Harman on Latour, Socrates, and Sophistry