I would like to remind everyone about the upcoming A&S Distinguished Professor Lecture on Thursday, April 12. This year’s lecture, “Seeking the Good Life in America: Lessons From the Appalachian Past,” will be given by Ronald Eller from the Department of History. The lecture will begin at 7:30pm at the W.T. Young Auditorium with a reception immediately following in the W.T. Young Gallery. 

Please join us in honoring our 2011-2012 Distinguished Professor Ron Eller.

Recently I sat down with Professor Eller to discuss his newest book, Uneven Ground: Appalachian Since 1945 and his ties to the Appalachian region. 

It seems that social media never sleeps. Everyday, something is being re-hashed, overturned, or invented to better connect users online. New applications like Tumblr and Pintrest are flooding the scene, while websites like Zinch and Kickstarter are social media appealing to niche audiences. It’s almost too much to keep up with!

Recently, I have been developing advertisements via Google and Facebook, something that is completely new to me. I’m learning fast, though! It seems that social media, as much as it benefits individuals, also can serve businesses, as well as academic institutions like A&S. This new avenue of advertising helps drive the cost of marketing campaigns down, especially when you compare to traditional print media methods AND you get to target a very specific audience.

I’d be really interested to hear what other social media sites people visit and use. Social media are developed now for a variety of interests and purposes. Any niche social media sites that I have yet to hear about? Let me know!

The Third Coast International Audio Festival is taking place this October! I am hoping to go, network, and learn. A bunch of workshops and sessions have been recorded from their last conference in 2010, which I've been listening to. From looking around the page, I've been picking up new blogs to follow, tips and tricks from professional audio producers, and hearing a lot of awesome podcasts in the process. 

Greetings! UK basketball fever has hit campus and everyone is looking forward to the Final Four games. I was in China visiting Jilin University and Shanghai University and missed the first couple games of the NCAA tournament but managed to link my portable computer to my desktop in Lexington so I could watch them online. The computer kept me connected but for the Final Four games, I’m heading to NOLA to catch them live.

To get an idea of the excitement on campus, aside from the sea of blue and white shirts, check out a new UK Army ROTC video. They have their weekend set – how do you plan to cheer on the Cats?

My Spring Break came a week after the University of Kentucky's. On Saturday I returned from a 6 day trip to the island of Okinawa. For the first 3 days we stayed in a beach front resort and finished the trip staying in a hostel near the main city of Naha. Unfortunately the trip to the resort took us a total of 10 hour travel time. We flew out of the Kobe airport into Naha and then were forced to take two buses and a taxi from the south of the island up to the north. Needless to say it was quite an uncomfortable journey trying to keep track of all 15 people and their luggage, while navigating an unknown place. When we finally made it to the resort we were greeted by lovely ocean views and warm weather. Since it is still technically off season for the beach we shared the resort with very few other guests. During the days at the resort I mainly found myself relaxing and trying to recover from the past two months of school work. The resort was quite far from any sort of large civilization but it was nice to be removed from city life. Okinawa is home to the second largest aquarium in the world, and several members of our group decided to visit. I however opted to stay behind and relax.

Hey all! I stumbled across this really cool website that uses a game-like interface to teach you Javascript! It's really easy and fun! I'm already about 50% through the Introduction section, but there's several other lessons as well.  Time will tell to see if what I learn here can actually transition to using Javascript in my sites, but for now I feel like I'm learning quickly and having fun.  Check it out!

http://www.codecademy.com/languages/javascript/topics/introduction

          Remember Crocodile Dundee? He was the Australian guy who visited America and looked goofy. He wielded a large bowie knife to fight crime. He wore a coat made of Crocodile skin instead of cow hide. And in one of his odder moments Down Under, he dressed up as a kangaroo and shot at kangaroo hunters. As I wrap up my last night in Australia, I reflect on what I’ve learned from my time here – and how I’ve stuck out like a sore thumb.

          To stick out isn’t a big deal. It happens all the time. When I open my mouth, I stick out because others know I’m not Australian. Then there are my frequent questions about all things Australian. “When was the Opera House Built?” (Answer: 1960s) “What does kangaroo taste like?” (Answer: Gamy if it’s anything but rare). “How do you avoid getting knocked on your back by the waves when you’re swimming in the ocean? (Answer: Dive under the swell instead of trying to jump over it) No big deal. Definitely not as cool as Crocodile Dundee.

          Take seven people and put them in a line. They can be from anywhere. One is from Papua New Guinea, another is from Kentucky, a third person is from Australia, and so on. What will these seven people have in common? One of the people will have a connection to another person in the line. Every person in the world is connected to each other within six degrees of separation. It isn’t just Kevin Bacon who is connected to others. You are too.

          What television shows remind you of your early childhood? I grew up in the 1980s, which makes reruns of The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Cheers all qualify as nostalgic programming. As I left the office today, I felt as if I was living part of the theme song from Cheers: “You want to go where everybody knows your name.”              

     Today began my long goodbye to Australia. Although I’ll be here another two full days, it was my last day at the office. It’s been a terrific time. When I arrived, I had three work-related objectives. First, I needed to give a research talk and a writing workshop. I got them out of the way last week, and they were a blast. Second, I wanted to build a stronger collaborative relationship with my host, Tom. Check! We have one new paper ready to be written and two more in the wor

          Have you ever had your heart set on something, only to have your hopes crumble before your eyes? Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, we all experience setbacks. When I went to college, I was convinced that I would become a famous musician. One difficult, and highly unsuccessful, semester later, I was confronted with the fact that I didn’t have what it took to major in music. I found another love – psychology – and have spent the better part of the past 14 years trying to uncover the mysteries of the mind.

          Today brought another opportunity for resiliency my way. Since I arrived in Sydney, my host Tom said we had to eat a famous dish served at a nice local restaurant. The famous dish is a pig’s head. I’ve never eaten pig head before, nor had I thought about it. But A&S Wired co-Directors Cristina Alcalde and Jeff Rice keep encouraging me to have a more adventurous diet. So when Tom asked if I wanted to eat pig head, I channeled my inner Cristina and Jeff: “Sure, I’ll try it,” I said. I was in.