Posts

Posted on

Christmas in Florida (part 1)




Christmas in Florida

Originally uploaded by steven_d_krause.

Christmas in Florida is always a somewhat odd time because, well, it’s Florida (southern Florida at that), so seeing Christmas-y type stuff is always a little out of place. Like seeing ornaments hanging from a palm tree, for example.

Still, I’ll take this over the snow and/or rain and/or general ickiness that is going on in Ypsi right now.

Anyway, I have created a flickr set for the trip I am sure I’ll be adding to periodically. The link to it is right here.

Right now, most of what is there are photos from our trip to the Billie Swamp Safari, which is on the Seminole Reservation and run by (guess who!) the Seminole Indians. I must say it was quite the hoot of good ol’ boy Florida redneck fun. We went on an airboat ride (earplugs required), a swamp buggy ride (which was this bus-like thing about 10 feet off the ground), and saw a “critter show” that included Will holding a baby alligator. Ironically enough, after the show, we went to the cafe they have on sight and sampled some deep fried alligator nuggets, which Will in particular found to be excellent.

Oh, and Will and I visited with the swamp version of Santa. All in the pictures. Go and check ’em out.

Posted on

Horny Manatees (and other Florida Phenomenon)

I am dead DED tired right now, but while on the first night of visiting the in-laws, I came across the Conan O’Brian inspired web site hornymanatee.com, which includes this work of fan art. Since we’re actually in Florida right now, this seemed like a perfectly appropriate way to begin posting about our trip. I am sure more will soon follow. In the mean-time, enjoy the hornymanatee site and read this boing-boing article about how the site came to be.

Posted on

Now that the semester is over, enjoy some cartoons

Actually, I am posting this here because I can imagine including a link to this for 516 in a section of the class on “viral video” that is still very much in the loose development stages. But really, it’s also because everyone deserves some cartoons.

Via boing-boing comes this list from the NYC cityrag of the 50 greatest cartoons of all time, all (or just most?) of which are available online.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going back to “What’s Opera Doc?”

Posted on

Podcasting the Byzantines (and beyond)

According to this post on Open Culture, one of the most (the most?) podcast courses posted in iTunes is one called “Twelve Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire” (here’s a link to the web site for the course). Not exactly the sort of thing that you’d expect; and yet, at the same time, it is one of those kinds of topics that strike me as kind of pleasant to listen to on my iPod while at the gym.

Podcasting– both the audio and video varieties– have been on my mind lately as I think about next semester. There’s the ways I want to include audio comments and podcasts in my online teaching, which will be all of my teaching in the winter term, but I also am trying to figure out ways to make podcasting a topic of conversation in my graduate course. And then there’s also a program sponsored by EMU Faculty Development Center on teaching faculty to podcast. On the one hand, I kind of feel like this is “faculty development support” I don’t need– actually, I think I’m reasonably well-equipped to provide support. On the other hand, signing up for this program would allow me access to a little bit of grant money. Hmmm….

Posted on

Pooping with your iPod

Pooping with your iPod If I hadn’t seen this in the local Ann Arbor paper and then on Amazon.com, I would have thought this was some kind of odd joke. Here’s how amazon.com describes it: “Be it a space for personal grooming and thinking, the bathroom is one of the most important (and used) rooms of your home. So much so, that people add radios to a bathroom shelf or at their bath. Why just settle for a radio? iCarta now lets you bring and enjoy your iPod into your private sanctuary.”

Ah yes, when I am taking a dump, I want musical toiliet paper.

Posted on

The World Premiere of "The Celebration of Student Writing: The Movie"

I’m pleased to announce my first entry into “film making,” this eight and a half minute flick, “The Celebration of Student Writing: The Movie.” This was a ton of fun to make, and I think it’s ultimately going to be useful too. I’m obviously biased, but I think it does a pretty good job of showing what the CSW is all about.

Anyway, watch and enjoy:

Posted on

Hey, I'm a published photographer!

Here’s one of those “build it on the web and they will come” kinda stories:

Buried in the mountain of email I’ve received at the end of the semester from all quarters was a message from the web site editor of Preservation Online, which part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She was requesting a photograph I took of the University of Michigan football stadium, aka, “The Big House.” My first thought was “what is she talking about?” My second thought– and I emailed her about this– was she must be referring to this picture:


Steve and Spongebob

My wife took this picture of me when we went to see an Iowa/Michigan football game back in 2004, which I wrote about on my unofficial blog here, and this was the only picture I remember from that adventure. So I was a little confused as to why Preservation Online would want a picture of me showing off my Spongebob Squarepants shirt.

Well, it turns out that I did take a couple of other pictures, including this one inside the stadium:


Michigan Stadium

Besides being a pretty good picture, I assume these folks asked me for it because they could use it for free. I have no idea how they found this photo, though I assume it was through some kind of Google search. Again, the magic of the Internet: build it, and eventually, they will come.

Anyway, the link to the Preservation Online article that features my photo is here. As long as “published” doesn’t mean “paid,” I’ve got another credit to add to my name.

Hmm, maybe on my CV?