Recently, Time Magazine published a listicle of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Admittedly, I have not read all 100, I would estimate I’ve read maybe a quarter. I also am not sure that I agree with some that I’ve read that are listed, but I’m not a famous author so they didn’t ask me my opinion. (The panelists included Tomi Adeyemi, Diana Gabaldon, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, and George R. R. Martin, to name a few). The oldest…
November. No not the song Andy Dwyer wrote for April Ludgate. If you haven’t noticed from my signature, I’m kind of a huge fan of the tv show Parks and Recreation. Speaking of Parks and Rec, I’ve been thinking about this show a lot in recent times. You might have seen the meme where Leslie Knope meets then-Vice-President Biden. But now that the election is over, we can focus on the other things that November is known for: Veterans Day,…
The COVID-19 Pandemic has made some changes to our gallery schedule and we’ve missed hosting a few of our traditional exhibits. We are excited to share some new discoveries as we explore opportunities to showcase the amazing creativity of our Islanders! Our most recent pop-up exhibition includes sculpture pieces from the foundations courses taught by Leticia Bajuyo and David Hill. Each assignment had unique requirements that lead to the pieces we saw in the show. Students in Professor Bajuyo’s course…
The month of November is designated as National Native American Heritage Month. We honor the rich and diverse traditions of Native groups and recognize their significant contributions to the history, culture, and growth of our country. While it is important to acknowledge their accomplishments, it is also equally important to raise awareness about the unique challenges they have faced and continue to face. One way that Native Americans have voiced their experiences and disparities is through writing and film. …
Last Tuesday we held our Outstanding Faculty Speaker Event with Dr. Lon Seiger in the University Center! Although Dr. Seiger was our nomination for Spring 2020, due to COVID-19, we had to reschedule (and reimagine) this event. We decided to continue the event in-person with the required social distancing measures and contact tracing. This event was unique in comparison to our other Outstanding Speaker events not only because it was delayed, but also because participants got to create and take…
With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop, he's out lookin' for a top to chop, so don't stop to figure out a plan, you can't reason with a headless man. – “The Headless Horseman”, Bing Crosby It’s Halloween!!! Or at least it’s about to be. To kick your spooky weekend off right, let’s take a moment to appreciate a Halloween tale that pops up every year (for me at least). I began today’s post with song lyrics from Bing Crosby’s “The…
Ok, so this year is a bit different than most…you know, just a bit…but the calendar days keep ticking by and for the most part we keep moving along with them. We’re now fast approaching what I consider to be the holiday season. While I know “holiday season” tends to be synonymous with winter-centric celebrations, to me it starts October 31st and continues until January 1st. We have our Halloween fun, before we know it it’s turkey time (aka Thanksgiving), then…
A night at the Dragon Grill was top entertainment for the people of Corpus Christi from the 1930s through the 1950s. The luxury, splendor, and glitz one expects to find in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or New York City could be found first on North Beach then later in the heart of the city. It was “Doc” Linn’s Dragon Grill. There were three Dragon Grills over the years as Doc continued to upgrade the establishment. It was known as the…
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! It’s Banned Books Week!! For those not familiar, this is the time of year when we celebrate our freedom to read. We also use this time to recognize that this particular freedom hasn’t always been observed. While there’s plenty to discuss in terms of the historical practice of censorship, we don’t have to go that far into history to touch on this topic. As a matter of fact, censorship efforts are still taking place today. In last year’s…
This year, September 21-25, 2020 is Peer Review Week and this year, the theme is “Trust in Peer Review.” Before we talk about this year’s theme, let’s address the obvious: what do we mean when we say, “peer review?” Peer Review, as defined in Black’s Medical Dictionary, 43rd Edition: The procedures used by journal editors, researchers and scientists to review the work, decisions and writings of their professional colleagues – peer groups. Reviewers of scientific papers are commonly called referees, and…