Crux of the Matter http://blog.cruxmatter.net Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:09:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU en hourly 1 Messing around with iWeb http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/22/messing-around-with-iweb/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/22/messing-around-with-iweb/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:09:06 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/messing-around-with-iweb/

I’ve been playing around with iWeb this evening, and having fun creating a new site. The trick was to figure out how to integrate this blog with the site.

I’ve figured it out, and it works pretty well. I’d like it a little better if I could figure out how to make the blog link from the site open in a new tab, but I guess I can’t have everything.

Posted in Tech       ]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/22/messing-around-with-iweb/feed/ acavender Anti-intellectualism http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/07/anti-intellectualism/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/07/anti-intellectualism/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:39:16 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/anti-intellectualism/

Both of our current presidential tickets trouble me, though for different reasons. I’ve been hard pressed to articulate my discomfort with the Republican ticket, but Rob Vischer over at Mirror of Justice sums it up well in this post.

Posted in Politics, Religion       ]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/10/07/anti-intellectualism/feed/ acavender Humor for the day (we’re being recolonized!) http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/26/humor-for-the-day-were-being-recolonized/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/26/humor-for-the-day-were-being-recolonized/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:53:44 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/humor-for-the-day-were-being-recolonized/

This is hilarious. Thanks to the folks at The Monkey Cage for posting it.

(Oops..should I have spelled the word in the title “recolonised”?)

Posted in Humor       ]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/26/humor-for-the-day-were-being-recolonized/feed/ acavender iBlogger http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/23/iblogger/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/23/iblogger/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:45:12 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/iblogger/

Sometimes I need (if it’s a class blog) or want (if it’s this one) to post something when I don’t have my computer handy.

Most of the mobile solutions I’ve tried have too many limitations (such as the inability to assign a category to a post).

So, I’m trying iBlogger, which just became available at the App Store today. If it works as well as I hope it will, I’ll be able to post from the Touch anywhere there’s a wi-fi connection.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod]

Posted in Blogs, Tech       ]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/23/iblogger/feed/ acavender Generational differences, with humor http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/16/generational-differences-with-humor/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/16/generational-differences-with-humor/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:21:13 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/generational-differences-with-humor/

In prepping for class today, I was looking at a survey done in 2005. One of the things I want my students to be able to do is ask good questions about the classifications a survey uses and the questions it asks.

One of the classifications in the survey is Gen X, which the survey defines as those aged 18-40 at the time of the survey. I don’t think I buy that classification; most definitions I’ve seen use 1980 or 1981 as the cut-off birth year for the younger end of Gen X. Someone who was 18 in 2005 wouldn’t fit that definition.

Besides, the survey’s classification would put a few of my upper-level students in Gen X, but I don’t think they could identify with very many of these cultural markers of the generation.*

*Remembering Battlestar Galactica, in this case, means remembering Lorne Greene in the role of Commander Adama.

]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/16/generational-differences-with-humor/feed/ acavender “You can do anything if you don’t have to lie about it.” http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/01/you-can-do-anything-if-you-dont-have-to-lie-about-it/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/01/you-can-do-anything-if-you-dont-have-to-lie-about-it/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:45:00 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/you-can-do-anything-if-you-dont-have-to-lie-about-it/

That’s an incredibly simple statement, but there’s a lot of meat there. To see what I mean, take a look at Fr. Ron Rolheiser’s current column, “Honesty as Sobriety.”

]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/09/01/you-can-do-anything-if-you-dont-have-to-lie-about-it/feed/ acavender Finally, an update http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/08/14/finally-an-update/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/08/14/finally-an-update/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:41:48 +0000 acavender http://acavender.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/finally-an-update/

Yes, I know–it’s been a very long time since I’ve updated this blog. What can I say? It’s been a very busy summer, during which I’ve:

  • Made my annual retreat
  • Made the Holy Cross History and Spirituality session in Le Mans, France
  • Participated in the annual meeting of my congregation’s justice committee
  • Spent time with my family, which included getting acquainted with its newest member, my niece, Samantha

I’m hoping to be a bit more regular about posting once the new semester is underway.

If you look to the right, you’ll notice several changes to the sidebar. I’ve removed outdated links, and added several new ones, including links to the various congregations and offices within the Family of Holy Cross.

Yesterday, I learned that two of my brothers in Holy Cross–Fr. Michael Wurtz, CSC and Fr. Stephen Koeth, CSC–have blogs. I’ve created a category for Holy Cross bloggers and added them to the sidebar. If anyone reading this is aware of any other CSC/MSC bloggers out there, please let me know so I can add them.

]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/08/14/finally-an-update/feed/ acavender Humor for the day http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/21/humor-for-the-day/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/21/humor-for-the-day/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 13:19:29 +0000 acavender http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/21/humor-for-the-day/
I got these from a post by Lee Sigelman, over at The Monkey Cage. These were my favorites from his longer post. Ah, graduate school!

You just might be a graduate student if…

  • you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
  • you have ever brought a scholarly article to a bar.
  • you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
  • everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
  • you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
  • you look forward to summers because you’re more productive without the distraction of classes.
  • you consider all papers to be works in progress.
  • professors don’t really care when you turn in work anymore.
  • you find the bibliographies of books more interesting than the actual text.
  • you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
  • you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
  • you find yourself explaining to children that you are in “20th grade.”
  • you start refering to stories like “Snow White et al.”
  • you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/21/humor-for-the-day/feed/ acavender Good listening http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/15/good-listening/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/15/good-listening/#comments Fri, 16 May 2008 00:57:24 +0000 acavender http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/15/good-listening/

Even though the semester just finished–Commencement is Saturday!–I’m already thinking about next fall, when I’ll be teaching a course in Politics and Religion. I’ve been looking for ways to help students become more literate about religion and the role it plays in modern life.

So, while out for a run today, I tuned in to a (relatively) recent episode of American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith (yes, it’s available as a podcast). My intent was to get a sense of the program (which I’d never listened to before) to see whether it would be worth my while to use it with my students.

I’ll have to check out a few more episodes before I make that call. But the episode I listened to today, The Beauty and Challenge of Being Catholic: Hearing the Faithful, is definitely worth listening to.

]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/15/good-listening/feed/ acavender My philosophy of blog comments… http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/14/my-philosophy-of-blog-comments/ http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/14/my-philosophy-of-blog-comments/#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 10:30:55 +0000 acavender http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/14/my-philosophy-of-blog-comments/

…is that they should be in some way related to the post they’re attached to. I delete comments that have no relation to the post, especially if they’re advertising something (even if what’s being advertised is worthwhile).

That’s why I recently deleted a comment that was awaiting moderation. It had nothing to do with the post it was attached to.

Nonetheless, it pointed to a YouTube clip (in Spanish, with English subtitles) that I enjoyed, so I’ll provide the link myself:

]]> http://blog.cruxmatter.net/2008/05/14/my-philosophy-of-blog-comments/feed/ acavender