JRS Personal Blog

"The Media" does it AGAIN!

2009-06-15T18:48:00.005-05:00

*sigh*

So apparently Captain America is coming back from the dead. And though I am a subscriber (and suspected the return in July for reasons I won't go into here), I am somehwat irritated that CNN broke the story today.

I learned about his death from the New York Times. Now I receive confirmation of his rebirth from CNN. Can't "the Media" just let me enjoy my subscription?

Inscription from John Shelton Lawrence

2009-04-25T16:17:00.002-05:00

Last night, I received an amazing surprise.

John Shelton Lawrence had sent me a copy of The Myth of the American Superhero, which he had co-written with Robert Jewett.

When I opened it, there was an inscription:

To Rick Stevens, with admiration for your penetrating scholarship.

John Sheldon Lawrence
Berkeley, CA 4/17/09

And did I mention that I have an appointment to meet Robert Jewett for dinner to talk shop next month?

An unexpected compliment

2009-04-21T16:01:00.003-05:00

I recently met with one of the potential PhD candidates the school was trying to recruit. Normally, I steer clear of the process, as I'm trying to establish my own research agenda before I start building a base around it.

But this one was different. During the meeting in which the selection committee set our list, this person had jumped out at me. The perfect combination of coding skills and cultural understanding, I placed him at the top of my list.

When he visited I met with him at length. We talked for three hours in my office and when I found out the school hadn't made dinner arrangements for him, I took him to the Sink for dinner.

During that afternoon/evening, our conversation wandered from systems theory, to journalism business approaches, to popular culture, to topics better unmentioned.

I received a card from the student the other day in which he informed me of his choice to attend another university.

But in the note, he included a surprising compliment:

"You were one of the main people I met on my visit who made it a difficult decision between Colorado and [other university]. I think it would have been fun and invigorating to work with you, and I hope we can collaborate in the future. Personally, I also enjoyed talking with you and would like to continue correspondence regardless. It is rare that I find someone smart enough that I can genuinely enjoy talking with them at length about a range of topics, and enjoy them as a person, too."

Wow. Coming from the person in question, this is high praise indeed.

Every once in a while, I'm surprised by the words of others. I don't often assess my capabilities or efforts, more content to just "get things done."

But this compliment certainly put a spring in my step I hadn't had in a while.

Photos of the Storm Aftermath

2009-04-19T18:08:00.001-05:00

I just posted a photo gallery of the snowstorm aftermath:

http://jrichardstevens.com/rickpix/20090419Snowstorm/

The Return V2

2009-04-19T17:45:00.005-05:00

More YouTube videos

A look at the front deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exe5jWaA2-g):

A look at the side deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=887q7YqULI4):

A look at the back deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ByqM7BnlU):

A panoramic view from upstairs (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVgQUhuS1kM):

Home at last

2009-04-19T16:43:00.003-05:00

Home at last.

After a couple of days in Boulder, Austin and I returned to Nederland to see how bad the conditions were.

I stopped off for groceries and gas on the way up (who knows how long we'll be cut off from the world). It looked like the majority of people who didn't have electricity were still without.

The drive up was harrowing. The weather was warm (relatively, "warm" was 26) and sunny, but the canyon highways was covered with slush and black ice. One turn almost cost us as I skidded across both lanes to the oncoming shoulder. I managed to regain control (and avoided the instinct to hit the brake, which would have put us in the canyon).

We arrived at our house about 9 a.m. The snow had built up a few more inches, and I could tell that the brilliant sun was beginning to harden the top layer.

Austin and I trudged in to the house. Austin made it most of the way on his own, but once again I had to rescue him when his little legs stiffened up.

The garage door was still open, but no snow was inside, nor was there any evidence of creature invasion. And thankfully, the power was restored.

I took Austin upstairs and dropped him off, stripped off my wet clothes and started looking the house over. Nothing was out of place.

After resting for a few moments, I drank some water, bundled up and headed back out.

Grabbing the snow shovel, I began to create a path back out to Caribou. Foot by foot, I cleared a trench 18 inches across and from 2-4 feet deep. It's easily 100 years, and it took me 2 1/2 hours to clear.

Here's the YouTube video featuring the trench (I originally shot the video in HD, but reduced it in quality before uploading, Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpyv5TzoC8Q):

Of course, I was extremely hot during this activity, despite the 34 degree weather. The sun makes a huge difference, and I definitely have a sun burn from the snow reflection.

When I finally reached the road, I cleared enough room to park the jeep at the mouth of the driveway.

Refugees 'R Us

2009-04-18T16:31:00.004-05:00

Austin and I are currently refugees. We were forced to evacuate Nederland yesterday because of the snow.

This was a pretty big storm (UPI reportage). On Friday, about 36 inches of snow fell between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. By the next evening, Ned had about 48 inches, and Rollinsville (7 miles west) has about 54 inches. That makes this the biggest storm in five years, bt not bigger than the 2003 storm that dropped more than 60 inches in 24 hours all over the region.

Austin and I were in Boulder early on Friday (I teach from 8 to 10:20 on Fridays). Boulder got the weather, but the snow was mixed with rain, resulting in a slushy mix about 4-6 inches deep. I had a couple of meetings in the afternoon and then about 4 p.m., Austin and I set off for home.

The drive up through the canyon was very treacherous. I was in four-wheel drive the whole way, and still almost lost control a couple of times. We arrived in Ned about 4:45 and managed to get up Caribou ok (they were still plowing then). But then we got to the house, we were confronted with a 3-foot pack on our driveway, with a five foot buildup near the road (courtesy of the snow plow).

Austin and I picked our way to the house (Austin made it about half-way before he couldn't make it any further). The trip was exhausting, blazing a trail through thigh-high snow is extremely difficult for a few feet, much less the 100 yards separating the road from the house. But we made it. I deposited Austin, grabbed a couple of shovels, and trudged back to the Jeep.

I spent a couple of hours digging out the first 15 feet of the driveway, just enough to pull my Jeep off the road (I was worried about the snowplow coming along and hitting it, though I didn't know at the time that the snowplows had already given up on keeping Caribou clear).

When I finished (around 6:30 or so), I trudged back to the house and collapsed in the garage, exhausted. Then I started to go upstairs when I realized the garage door wasn't coming down. The power was out.

That sent a chill down my spine. We lost power once before for a couple of hours and discovered that when the electric pump that pulls water from our well loses power, we lose water.

Suddenly I realized that we had not heat, lights or water, and about an hour of daylight left. I hurriedly stripped (my clothes were soaked), pulled together a suitcase and started trying to gather resources. I knew I couldn't make more than two trips to the Jeep, and one of those would probably be carrying Austin.

So I packed some supplies and everything I might need for a an extended trip, and made the first trip. Each time down and back cost me about half an hour. On the second trip, I planned to carry Austin, but he proved to be a trooper and he scampered about 3/4 of the distance before his back legs froze and I had to rescue him.

Once in the Jeep, I thought we were safe, but I didn't know the half of the challenges ahead of us.

The storm finally unleashed its fury, and I experienced my first whiteout. The snow fell so fast that when I tried to clear the windows of the Jeep, the first one I cleared would be caked by the time I rounded the Jeep. We were taking on about an inch a minute. And it was only a matter of time before I was going to have to dig the Jeep out.

So I set off, even though visibility was poor.

The problem with driving in heavy snow is that as the snow falls faster and faster, one can't distinguish between the foreground and the background of the view. I couldn't tell the difference between the road and the sky, much less the road and the snow banks on either side.

Adding to this challenge is the fact that you cannot clear the vapor from the inside of a vehicle. I opened the back windows completely and ran the defroster on full blast, but only the middle third of the windshield was clear (and it never improved, not even hours later).

But I knew if I waited, the conditions would only deteriorate. So I pushed on, trying to use the trees as memory markers for where the road was.

I did ok until I reached the turn at the Caribou ridge. This isn't a terribly difficult turn, but it's where the treeline drops away. If you drive off the ridge, it's a good 100-foot drop to the base of the canyon.

There are guard rails and reflective signs, and I eased around the corner.

Right on the other side of the turn, I encountered another vehicle. Caribou is dual lane, but the snowplows usually don't clear a full path. So I moved closer and closer to the edge of the ridge and barely passed the vehicle. At this point, I had rounded the bend and entered the main crosswinds. Visibility was zero. I couldn't see the road, I couldn't the edge of the ridge, everything was pure white.

Nervous not knowing how close I was to the edge (falling off the mountain is not a good image), I tried to get to the center of the road I couldn't see. Then I saw the outline of a cross that marked the death of a local woman who had slid off the ridge years before. I decided I didn't want to be close to that, and slightly overcorrected. Fifty yards later, I had buried the jeep in a snowbank on the left.

At first I didn't know what had happened. Everything was still white, but I couldn't move.. I tried to open the driver side door, but it was held shut.

I climbed over the console and exited the passenger door, and then saw that I was, indeed, deeply buried in the drift. So deep, the light from my left headlight was not visible. I climbed back in and tried to back up, but had no traction. I downshifted into low 4-wheel drive and tried to pull forward, and didn't budge.

Thankfully, I had been too tired to carry the blade shovel back to the house and had thrown it into the back of the Jeep. I began to try and dig the Jeep out, which was up to the roof in the drift.

Over the next hour, alternated digging and climbing back in to move. I finally got the Jeep to rock, and eventually demolished enough of the drift in front of me to pull free.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, I cautiously pulled forward. The snow that had accumulated in my hair began to melt and rivers of cold water ran down my face and down the back of my neck. But I didn't dare kill my inertia, so I slowly picked my way down Caribou.

When I finally reached Highway 72 (Peak-to-Peak), I thought I was golden. But it hadn't been plowed either, and had about 3 inches on snow.

I slowly worked my way toward town. I couldn't see much, and everything looked unfamiliar. The circle was invisible.

I simply trusted that the signs were accurate and turned out the circle just to the left of the sign for Hwy 119. I saw two vehicles get stuck ON THE HIGHWAY, so I made sure not to allow my inertia to fall below 10 mph. When I reached the reservoir, visibility improved a little. Or at least, I could see the dark void to my right that I knew I wanted to avoid.

Once I passed the dam, visibility again deteriorated. I finally caught up to someone and used the dull red eyes of their taillights to aim the jeep. Every turn was a nightmare, twice I lost control and had to fight it back. The Outback in front of me lost control once, and I thought they were headed into the canyon ravine, but they corrected just in time.

It took an hour to get to Boulder. But we made it. And I'm glad. I saw the Associated Press reports later that night. One person had already died and hundreds were stranded in their vehicles. The national guard was mobilized to get people to shelters and deliver cots and blankets to those stuck between communities.

So, Austin and I spent the next 48 hours in Boulder. The snow continued to fall in Nederland, and I later found out that 9,600 people had lost power (including 4,600 in the Nederland area), and it didn't come back all night.

Note from John Shelton Lawrence

2009-04-16T21:10:00.001-05:00

Wow. About five days after I returned from the PCA conference in New Orleans, I received a note from John Shelton Lawrence.

My paper had considered the historic portrayals of violence and considering the American Monomyth, and two of the scholars I cited at length (of course) were John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett.

Lawrence was asking me to send Jewett a copy of the paper, and he had high praise for the work.

I was somewhat surprised and humbled. And, of course, I complied.

I even was able to ask both authors some follow-up questions to inform my book project.

2009-02-23T18:32:00.000-06:00

I've just been asked to serve on the publications board of the CUIndependent. This student-run news outlet has been controversial in recent years and is in the process of being separated from the SJMC program's oversight.

The board's duties? To select the editor-in chief for each upcoming semester, and to provide journalistic accountability for the CUI.

So, I guess I should start reading it more consistently. I should probably also keep some notes in my Media, Technology and Society blog about what I see.

Driveway Snow

2009-02-07T16:58:00.001-06:00

Why the Jeep got stuck. This was about where the rear axle was when the back tires hit gravel.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Art Spiegleman @ CU

2009-01-25T17:46:00.001-06:00

Spiegleman begins his lecture
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

How Austin spends most of his days these days

2009-01-20T17:20:00.002-06:00

With Mommy in France, Austin gets to come to school with Daddy. And by "gets to," I mean "has to."

Posted via Pixelpipe.

test4

2009-01-20T16:36:00.001-06:00

test4
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Frozen Dingleberries

2009-01-17T15:24:00.002-06:00

Poor Austin. He misses his Mommy so much (who is in France at the wedding of her brother).

Daddy works all day and only takes Austin out to play in the snow twice.

Which means, each time he goes out, relief is a major priority.

But sometimes, crouching to get a good spot has unintended consequences. Sometimes Austin Boston picks up unwanted hitchhikers.

Daddy was so kind to only make Austin Boston wait 5 minutes before heading to the bathroom to unhitch his snowy mementos.

You can also see the whole gory archive.

Austin Vid

2009-01-09T18:27:00.003-06:00

Just a video I made for a faculty video workshop. Video clips shot entirely with the new Pure Digital flip HD Camcorder (NYTimes review).

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T21:02:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Christmas.

Because we celebrated Christmas a day early, Christmas Day became a day of rest and relaxation. Buddy and Bethany drove out to Estes Park to see the sights (and ran into a herd of elk), while Starr and I stayed in, ate and talked.

Oh, and Austin got a bath (much needed!). He looks like a wet rat when he's wet, and I really feel sorry for him, particularly when it's so cold outside.

Christmas Eve is Christmas Day

2008-12-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

Because Bethany's sister Joanna was flying to Houston on Christmas Day to be with her ... well, the father of her daughter (long story), we had to have Christmas Day on Christmas Eve.

We had Christmas dinner, opened a few presents and posed for a series of Christmas photos.

Austin was forced to wear the Santa suit that we know he hates (Merry Christmas!).

A Day in Boulder

2008-12-23T20:47:00.001-06:00

The third day of occupied Christmas, my loved ones said to me ... "Let's go to Boulder!"

The day began with a trip to Lucille's Creole Cafe, one of my favorite Boulder restaurants.

We had a serving of beignets and a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, we swung by my office on campus and had a virtual visit with my family in Fairfield via iChat.

After that concluded, we dropped Bethany off at work and went shopping at the Pearl Street outdoor mall for a couple of hours.

Finally, we took two HUGE trips to Whole Foods and a more traditional grocery store to buy the supplies needed for the organic Christmas Dinner.

Then, we came home and played in the snow until dinner (and I cooked Bethany's gourmet chili and corn casserole).

Getting around town

2008-12-21T20:33:00.002-06:00

Day two of the family Christmas was our "active Ned day."

Nederland is such a funky town, and I thought the Hawkins needed to see it and get their bearings.

We began by driving into down to the Barker Reservoir (wikipedia), which was frozen over.

This is a favorite place of mine, because the ice is constantly cracking, melting and refreezing, leaving interesting formations.

We also went by Barker Dam to look at the snow-covered portions of the reservoir.

We then drove down the canyon a ways and looked at some of the ice formations there.

After a brief tour of the town, we drove up to Eldora to see the sites. Just before we reached the ski resort, we paused to look around. I found my way into a snow drift in which I sunk nearly to my crotch, while Austin ran alongside me without sinking at all.

I guess his skinny rear comes in handy ...

The first night of Christmas

2008-12-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

Wow what a day.

Bethany's parents showed up about 3:30, but it took us about an hour to get Buddy's truck up the driveway. He has four-wheel drive, but his truck is MUCH heavier than my Jeep, and his wheels seem to cut through the snow to the slick, densely packed layer underneath.

He managed to get his chains on, and things seem better now.

We spent the evening indoors. Bethany got home from work about an hour after her folks arrives.

Buddy took a lot of photos.

And I invented a new children's song tonight with Cedar June. It's called the "Clapping Cheerleader Song." Buddy shot a video of it the third time we ran through it.

The Christmas Occupation Begins

2008-12-17T23:23:00.000-06:00

And so it begins.

We drove to the airport tonight to pick up Joanna, Bethany's sister.

Bethany's parents are due in sometime tomorrow. We're going to have a houseful of people for about a week.

And I'm giving a final at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Yuk.

A (Re)New(ed) Beginning ...

2008-11-05T07:43:00.000-06:00

This morning I sit with my coffee and watch a new snow fall. It is our third snow, this one much lighter than the previous two (so far). And somehow, it seems more innocent, more pure.

My heart is soaring this morning. After we got home from the Democratic Headquarters party last night, I was more tired than I've been in a long time.

This morning, it's beginning to sink in: our country has been proven to be a healthier place than I've believed in recent years.

I spent the early part of my morning reading through past emails and blogs. From 2001 until the present, I've apparently been through the gamut. Arguments, please for fairness, the promotion of compassion ... I just can't put it into words.

These sentiments are not about politics. They are about truth and justice and fairness.

Until last night, I had come to believe that our nation was a dark place. A place where (politics aside), arguments were dominated by one group's perspective and controlled though fear.

I am sure the Democrats will make mistakes. Perhaps even as many as the Republicans over the last 16 years.

But we showed last night that we as Americans CAN have debates and discussions and listen to one another (though we still have a long ways to go). We CAN choose to see that the world is a complex place, where demonizing our enemies is seen to be the intellectual fraud that it is. We CAN choose to change, even elect a minority to serve in the highest office in the land.

We CAN listen to each other. We CAN rebuild the bridges of angry division and stop calling each other "traitors" when we disagree. We CAN end our political disputes with warm words instead of rancor. We CAN celebrate our democracy, instead of feeling disenfranchised.

We CAN choose the path of love and forgiveness, and leave behind the ways of force and revenge.

We CAN debate and discuss and not fear derisive snorts. We CAN all now admit, whether we win or lose in our cultural struggles, that we are proud to live in America, where anything is possible and where the color of our skin and the nature of our politics is less important that the judgment of truths we hold to be self-evident.

We CAN rebuild our damaged democracy. We CAN listen to each other without hatred or scorn. We CAN civilly disagree without physical or social consequence.

Yes We Can.

Turning purple with anticipation

2008-10-29T19:32:00.003-05:00

Well, it's far from official, but it's looking more and more like Bethany and I live in a purple state.

CNN is reporting that Barack Obama has doubled his lead in Colorado, leading John McCain 53-45 as of this writing.

There's still a long way to go (but only a few more days), but I just wanted it on the record that when WE moved here, it was a red state (infer from that what you will).

Marxism on the rise?

2008-10-29T10:38:00.002-05:00

I already wrote an MTS blog about the recent charges of “Marxism” brought against Barack Obama by citizens who seem not to know what Marxism is. After tracking back the claims through my social network, I discovered the charge originated with Tom DeLay, passed along as talking points to a group of conservative bloggers.

The smear campaign appears to be working, not necessarily in hurting Obama’s chances of winning the election, but at least in leading at least some Americans to express fear about a word that appears new to their personal lexicon.

But I thought I’d go ahead and write a blog post about the recent rise in discourse about Marxism and socialism (which are paradoxically used interchangeably, as if they are the same value system).

A few ironies:

Many conservative friends and colleagues I’ve spoken with have pointed to the $700 billion bailout of our market (really a $850 billion bailout, but why quibble over a paltry $150 billion?) as one indicator of Obama’s “socialistic views”. And yet, while G.O.P. candidate John McCain suspended his presidential campaign to oversee the crafting this monstrous act, Obama was largely criticized for not appearing enthusiastic. Why is Obama to blame for this bill when McCain seems to escape criticism from the remaining base?
The bailout doesn’t appear to be a good example of “socialism.” Having the Commerce Department goad the president and Congress into bailing out an industry full of private corporations is technically not socialism, but fascism (“a political system in which economy is collectively managed by employers, workers and state officials by formal mechanisms at national level.”, Davies, p. 143)
Fascism is hardly compatible with socialism, communism, liberalism or even conservatism. And yet, others have argued that America has become increasingly fascist since George W. Bush took office (and just Google “fascist” and “America” for quite a few more sources on this topic).
Whether you view the $700 billion bailout as fascism or socialism (which seems to have an amazing number of new meanings these days), neither view would be compatible with Marxism, since absolutely none of this money is directly delivered to workers.

And yet, somehow, Barack Obama is both a “socialist” and a “Marxist”? (Again, never mind the contradiction between these two claims).

How can someone running for public office in a democracy be charged with demonstrating Marxist views? By definition, wouldn't that individual be calling for a worker's revolution or a military coup?

We apparently need a new emphasis on civics education in this country if our democracy is to function. Or at least (read: AT THE VERY LEAST) teach our citizenry how to use Google and Wikipedia BEFORE its members engage in whisper campaigns.

Voted.

2008-10-22T16:28:00.002-05:00

Well, I voted today.

Navigating through all the changes in culture between Colorado and Texas was a pain, but I'm good for a couple of years.

I actually was confused for a moment when I didn't see John Cornyn's name on the ballot. I had already voted for president and spent a few moments perplexed before I realized "Duh, I'm not in Texas anymore."

Who did I vote for? Let's just say that I've now voted in five presidential elections: three times for one party's candidate and two times for the other party's candidate. If my politics follow their current course, I'll probably break even in 2012.

JRS Personal Blog

"The Media" does it AGAIN!

Inscription from John Shelton Lawrence

An unexpected compliment

Photos of the Storm Aftermath

The Return V2

Home at last

Refugees 'R Us

Note from John Shelton Lawrence

Driveway Snow

Why the Jeep got stuck. This was about where the rear axle was when the back tires hit gravel.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Art Spiegleman @ CU

Spiegleman begins his lecturePosted via Pixelpipe.The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

How Austin spends most of his days these days

Posted via Pixelpipe.

test4

test4Posted via Pixelpipe.The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Frozen Dingleberries

Austin Vid

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve is Christmas Day

A Day in Boulder

Getting around town

The first night of Christmas

The Christmas Occupation Begins

A (Re)New(ed) Beginning ...

Turning purple with anticipation

Marxism on the rise?

Voted.

Spiegleman begins his lecture
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

test4
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.