Discourse Chronicle

April 15, 2008

4 C's 2008 Recap (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here is a recap with lessons learned from when Elizabeth and I attended the C's with four other colleagues:

Day 0

• People with a controlling personality often hurt other people's feelings without thinking about it.

• Driving through stormy weather adds stress to fatigue.

• Planning solves many problems, but cannot account for everything, such as being delayed by Interstate accidents.

Day 1

• Adjusting to weather down south is more difficult for some than others.

• People with a controlling personality make bad team players.

• I caught up with Dr. Jan Swearingen (a graduate mentor of mine) at a Hayden-McNeil publisher party.

Day 2

• I met Dr. Cynthia Selfe at a newcomer's breakfast and we talked about my current research on Second Life, which led to a request for a copy of a paper I am revising about avatar creation, and encouraged submission to the academic journal Computers and Composition.

• I requested many examination copies from publishers that the "Book Fairy" will leave for me later.

• I missed many interesting panels due to grading student papers and working on my own seminar papers.

Day 3

• I listened to presentations about Second Life in the composition classroom and understandably noticed minimal attention being given to theory and application.

• Elizabeth and I caught up with Dr. Dennis G. Jerz (an undergrad mentor of mine) and we snapped a picture of us in front of Preservation Hall to send to our mutual friend Dr. Joel Pace (another undergrad mentor of mine).

After spending a total of 30 hours in a van on a road trip with five other personalities, I admit the trip is definitely a learning experience, but with all due respect toward my colleagues - I prefer traveling with Elizabeth or alone. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:46 AM | Comments (3)

April 07, 2008

Acceptance [International Journal of Comic Art] (Discourse Chronicle)

[Today I received my copy of the Internaional Journal of Comic Art (Vol. 10, No. 1, Spring 2008) which contains my exhibit review of The Golden Age of American Political Cartooning at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, OH! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2008

4 C's 2008 (Discourse Chronicle)

[No blog this week. I am attending the C's conference as a workshop techie with some colleagues in New Orleans. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:12 PM | Comments (2)

March 25, 2008

National PCA 2008 Recap (Discourse Chronicle)

[Elizabeth and I returned from presenting in San Francisco on Saturday. Both of us presented well and I am always pleased with how National PCA keeps getting better every year as I celebrate my fifth consecutive year presenting at that conference. Here is a recap about our trip:

Day 0

• Our friends David McClure and Suzan Aiken provided a ride to the airport despite learning about us flying out of Cleveland two days beforehand

• Continental Airlines kindly served a small breakfast with cereal, milk, and fresh fruit along with a snack

Day 1

• Elizabeth and I caught up with my comic scholar colleagues Area Chair Nicole Freim, her husband Jason Tondro, and Amy Nyberg at dinner

• I attended and supported fellow BGSU PhD student Jeff Geers as he panel chaired for the first time

• I caught up with other comic scholar colleagues such as Gene Kannenberg, Jr. and his wife K.A. Laity (author of Jane Quiet)

Day 4

• Elizabeth and I attended each other's presentations and believe we did well

• My keyring with laminated sheets using "15 min.," "10 min.," "5 min.," and a giant "STOP" sign received good praise as a timekeeping device

• I briefly caught up with Rey Valdez, a PhD student colleague from Texas A&M, who presented on Saturday

• I caught up with John Shelton Lawrence and he asked me to comment on an article he is submitting to a magazine about comics

• I also caught up with Erica Benson, an English professor from UW-Eau Claire, who knows Patrick Day (a professor-mentor of mine from undergraduate work)

• I won "The Korvie" from The Institute for Korvac Studies (a parody panel poking fun at academia and comic scholarship by comic scholars)

One conference down and one more to go. Elizabeth and some of our colleagues are presenting at the 4 C's conference and facilitating a half-day workshop for college writing programs next week. I am going with them as moral and tech support since videotaping is involved with the workshop. I look forward to it because the 4 C's is a major conference in the field of Rhetoric and Composition and being there will also give me a chance to catch up with professor-mentors I have not seen in years such as Dennis G. Jerz. I do remember, though, that techies dress in black! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2008

National PCA 2008 (Discourse Chronicle)

[No blog this week. I am presenting "Community, Rhetoric, and Poetics in Superman: Birthright" at the National Popular Culture Association conference. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 02:55 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2008

National PCA 2008 Updated (Discourse Chronicle)

[Elizabeth's presentation moved again due to a conflict with our flight leaving San Francisco. Here is her presentation as printed now in the program:

Friday, March 21, 2008, 8:00am - 9:30am
Golden Gate Hall Salon C2
406 Gender Studies VI: The Monstrous Feminine in Popular Fictions
Chair: Kirsten T. Saxton, Mills College

“Good Hair and Bad Girls: Depictions of Female Depravity in Popular Literature”
Kathryn Stull, Mills College

“Gods and Models: Chuck Palahniuk’s Feminized Revision of the Ubermensch in Invisible Monsters”
Adrienne Cacitti, Mills College

“Of Smug Marrieds (ugh) and Singletons (v.v.g.): Bridget Jones’s Subversive Grammar and the Constraints of Discourse”
Elizabeth Fleitz, Bowling Green State University

“Mommie’s Bloodlusting and Vamping: Dracula as the Autogamous Mother in Bram Stoker’s Dracula”
Joe McDermott, Mills College

I feel bad about setbacks Elizabeth experienced due to her Area Chair because I plug National PCA hard since I always have a great time with it. I know things happen without warning, but like bad customers in retail, people talk and negative feedback makes everyone working on popular culture suffer. Unfortunately, most presenters do not return after having a bad experience with PCA. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2008

Rejection [BGSU Graduate Student Senate] (Discourse Chronicle)

Due to the large number of applications that were received, the FPD Review Committee developed a specific set of criteria and guidelines that applications had to fulfill for acceptance. Due to the nature of the selection process, these criteria and guidelines were created to ensure the quality and fairness for all applicants. Unfortunately, your application was denied for the following reason: Transportation expenses not justified.

[I attempted this small grant opportunity at BGSU as assistance toward my upcoming trip to San Francisco for National PCA this March, but I neglected explaining purchasing two plane tickets covers both Elizabeth and I since we split costs. I am not hurt badly because I expected a rejection. The amount awarded for successful proposals is split evenly among all winning applicants regardless of need or importance.

However, I used this letter as a teachable moment with my freshmen students today. I allowed a student to open and read it aloud in class. All of them pulled for me and hoped for an acceptance, but since I failed, I drove home the point that no matter how good we are as writers we may always become better. I believe my students understand that and we continued having a good class. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:48 PM | Comments (2)

February 07, 2008

National PCA 2008 Update (Discourse Chronicle)

[Elizabeth is presenting with me in March at the National Popular Culture Association conference here:

Saturday, March 22, 8:00am - 9:30am
Golden Gate Hall Salon B1
341 Gender Studies VIII: Resistance and Subversion of Gender Identity in Contemporary Popular Novels
Chair: Catherine S. Cox, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Of Smug Marrieds (ugh) and Singletons (v.v.g.): Bridget Jones's Subversive Grammar and the Constraints of Discourse
Elizabeth Fleitz, Bowling Green State University

“Not only what society has made them”: Re-inscribing Hegemonic White Masculinity in Contemporary Women’s Chick Lit
Katie O’Donnell Arosteguy, Washington State University

A Tension in Contemporary Femininity: Psychoanalysis and Phoebe Gloeckner’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Allison Lakomski, Simmons College

Signatures of Gendered Subjectivity in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home”
Catherine S. Cox, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2008

National PCA 2008 Comics Panel Chair (Discourse Chronicle)

[I noticed today that National Popular Culture Association placed its tentative program online and my request to be a panel chair in the Comics area again passed. The conference is being held in San Francisco this March and both Elizabeth and I will be presenting. Here is my session:

Friday, March 21, 2:30-4:00pm
Golden Gate Hall Salon B2
292 Comic Art & Comics XIV: Comics and Community
Chair: Bobby Kuechenmeister

“Critiquing Racism, Homophobia, and Homogeneity: How the X-Men Comics Reflected and Advocated Social Change for American Society”
Tim Rodenberger, University of North Dakota

“American Comic as a Global Ideological Container: Hegemony, Imperialism, and Hybridization in Superhero Stories”
Estefanía Martínez, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale,

“The Sandman: World Citizen, Global Text”
Manuel-Julian R Montoya, Emory University

“Community, Rhetoric, and Poetics in Superman: Birthright”
Bobby Kuechenmeister, Bowling Green State University

I look forward to panel chairing again because last year I performed my duties and presented with a cold. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2008

End of the Semester - Fall 2007 (Discourse Chronicle)

[Soundtrack: James Bond Theme. I successfully finished my first semester as a PhD student at mid-December and things ended splendidly. As I reflect on fall semester, an environmental change from Texas to Ohio worked miracles, but graduate school now seems much like a James Bond movie in some ways.

For example, Bond is always confident in any situation and remains cool under pressure, which is not a bad model for teaching and professionalism. However, overconfidence is a potential pitfall to Bond's cavalier attitude toward life. Nevertheless, Bond's wit is admirable and helps him out of any situation resulting from self-confidence. A restoration of confidence is what I needed and definitely received from this term.

During this semester, I found myself participating in class again, communicating my ideas clearer, and making stronger connections between new and old knowledge. I became more ambitious with my research interests while learning how to trust myself again after losing numerous sessions as an MA student. I also made significant improvements in my teaching style while maintaining my integrity as an instructor.

As a result, I love both teaching and coursework again, which I know will see me through until the end and beyond. Once again I became someone confident enough to know how to read a situation and apply inherent strengths, but also use technology as an appropriate helpmate in my career, much like Bond. I also found an amazing woman who I love and who loves me in Elizabeth, so not only did I manage to save my world, but I also got the girl. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:17 PM | Comments (2)

November 26, 2007

Rejection [Rhetoric Society of America] (Discourse Chronicle)

Dear colleague,

I am sorry to report that our program committee has been unable to offer your proposal, "Superman Blue: Convention, Innovation, and Longevity", reference 0203, a place on the RSA 2008 program.

Competition for program space was unusually fierce because this year’s RSA conference has attracted unusual interest. You should know that only in exceptional cases will people who proposed more than one paper be permitted to present multiple times.

[I know taking rejections personally is a trap because those are based on fit, not quality, nor subject matter. However, I believe in myself a little less when it happens. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:44 PM | Comments (2)

November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving in Bowling Green (Discourse Chronicle)

[Thanksgiving is always a bittersweet holiday for me. I am always away from my family because travel is expensive and how much time finishing a semester requires from me. Luckily, my parents value education and understands about its demands, but I feel a little bad because family is important to me and I cannot be there with them.

However, thanks to Elizabeth and her family, I found myself with people who either cared about me or ones who were willing to open their doors to me. I spent Thanksgiving with Elizabeth and her grandparents for dinner and then her Dad and Stepmom afterwards. I am glad her family extended their hospitality and I made sure I showed my appreciation in kindness, but I am most thankful for Elizabeth doing the nicest thing anyone ever did for me.

Elizabeth knows I own no Christmas decorations, so she bought me a small artificial tree (about two feet high) and decorated it with lights along with small ornaments! I love it because the idea of decorating a tree for someone else is extremely thoughtful and charitable. I also know how much love is behind the act and that makes it more special. I definitely had the best Thanksgiving I remember. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:20 PM | Comments (1)

October 09, 2007

Mr. Kuechenmeister Action Figure (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here is something Elizabeth and I imagined as a product: Mr. Kuechenmeister as an action figure! How awesome might I be as a talking 6" toy? We pictured a figure wearing dress clothes with a pull string that said one of three authentic sarcastic phrases such as: "Suck it up!" (motivational for 8:00am sections), "Deal with it!" (counters complaints), and "Quit yer bitchin'!" (effective against whining). Fortunately, my students understand my dry sense of humor because I could never say those things in a classroom and actually mean them. However, a Mr. Kuechenmeister action figure is still a hilarious concept. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:38 PM | Comments (4)

October 08, 2007

Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference 2007 (Discourse Chronicle)

[Elizabeth and I returned from our first trip together last night and we both agreed that traveling together is best. We witnessed an unusually high number of vagrants or scammers in Little Rock, AR, but nevertheless, we still experienced a great vacation. Here are some highlights from our trip:

Day 0

• Elizabeth drove my 2000 Chevy Monte Carlo SS (Nobody else ever drove my car before)

• We learned how geographically challenged I am (Elizabeth asked me to find Indiana on an Ohio-West Virginia map)

Day 1

• Elizabeth and I showed support toward our BGSU colleagues Ann-Gee Lee and Kang Sun along with my Texas A&M University MA committee chair Dr. C. Jan Swearingen at an early morning session

• I learned that some universities and other smaller institutions are unaware about the Human Studies Review Board

Day 2

• I watched Elizabeth become an impromptu panel chair and present her paper

• I asked a good question to a fellow presenter on Elizabeth's panel

• I attended a reception at the Clinton Presidential Center with Elizabeth

Day 3

• I participated in an interesting open-ended discussion about comics and graphic novel love scenes

• I received some insight on potential new projects from listening to unrelated presentations

• Elizabeth and I found a Harley-Davidson store for us to pick up a T-shirt for my Dad, but it was closed once we arrived

Our vacation may be over for now, but travels are only beginning for Elizabeth and I. Our next trip will hopefully be San Francisco, CA for the National Popular Culture Association Conference 2008 and then New Orleans, LA for the CCCC Conference 2008 in March. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:27 AM | Comments (4)

September 27, 2007

Teaching Mr. Kuechenmeister (Discourse Chronicle)

[Today I taught my section of Introductory Writing with Elizabeth as an observer and I realized how far I come with my teaching. The lesson focused on giving my students practice with integrating sources using a handout showing small sample passages without quotes and then quotes alongside them. Students needed to copy the passage and insert the quote where appropriate with proper formatting. I originally planned on covering MLA style and giving students an opportunity to practice doing that as well, but time slipped away and we will deal with it next time.

I remember feeling self-conscious whenever someone observed me while I taught because I thought evaluation accompanied observation. For some reason, previous observations happened on days when I seemed not at my best, so I thought having Elizabeth watch me then would add stress because of our relationship. However, I conducted class confidently and completely forgot that I was being observed. I never experienced that before in my teaching and I take it as a sign that I am continuing to be an always improving instructor. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:37 PM | Comments (3)

Adventures in Macland (Discourse Chronicle)

[A few days ago, I finally replaced my 512MB RAM Hewlett-Packard desktop computer with a new iMac, which completes my conversion from PC. Transitioning from Windows proved relatively painless aside from experiencing empty folders when I burned a copy of my transferred files. For some reason, my iMac saved my files, but did not copy them on my CD-RW.

The only annoying thing about switching to Mac is reformatting my fourth-generation iPod because doing so means ripping my entire CD collection again (currently 2100+ songs), but now my iPod may be used as a portable hard drive. My only criticisms about the new iMac is that it does not come with the OS X Leopard operating system and its keyboard's USB cable is not long enough. I am loving it anyway! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:07 AM | Comments (2)

September 03, 2007

When Bobby Met Elizabeth (Discourse Chronicle)

["Are you Bobby?" asked a woman in Grounds for Thought as I turned around from looking at a rack of paperback books. I looked slightly perplexed because I expected someone with longer hair and she arrived early. I answered her and she said, "I'm Elizabeth," as she extended a hand out to shake mine. I introduced myself and I followed-up with "Please, sit." I never experienced a better first date in my life, but that is the end of a story that began a few months earlier...

I began looking at Bowling Green State University's Rhetoric and Writing PhD program website after accepting an offer from them last spring. I paid particular attention to learning about my future colleagues, both professor and graduate student, hoping for a better experience compared with Texas A&M University. I found a website for Elizabeth J. Fleitz, whose online CV informed me that she published an article about comics, particularly Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers. I decided that I needed to meet her, but that would probably not happen until August, or so I thought.

I also began talking with Heather E. Pristash via email and she assured me that my research interests in visual rhetoric, comics, and popular culture would be welcome at BGSU, but something I did not realize was that Heather is Elizabeth's officemate and she told her about me. Once I moved to Ohio, I joined Bowling Green's network on Facebook, which allowed Elizabeth to seemingly friend me randomly. I replied kindly and asked her out, bringing us back to the opening scene in the coffee shop...

Once Elizabeth sat down, we began a conversation and I realized I never felt more comfortable talking with a woman in my life, which lasted five straight hours. We are still together and happy. I am meeting her grandparents today, so I thought I should get my story straight! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:22 AM | Comments (7)

June 28, 2007

End of the Semester - Spring and Summer 2007 (Discourse Chronicle)

[Soundtrack: M*A*S*H

Many readers probably wondered during the last month: "What happened to Bobby?" I realize my absent presence from my blog may be frustrating, but believe me, being temporarily unavailable needed to happen. During the last month, I enrolled in a five-week independent study working on rhetoric and comics, which delayed my graduation in May with my MA degree in English. The independent study consisted of reading over twenty books and writing a 60-page paper over five weeks. Luckily, I was able to work from Ohio and everything remains on-schedule for me to start PhD work in Bowling Green this August. Gone is Texas A&M University and everything is looking brighter for the first time in a long time. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 07:16 PM | Comments (1)

May 08, 2007

Six Flags Over Texas (Alliance Wake)

The University of Texas won the Spring 2007 Collegiate Team Challenge hosted by Texas A&M and North Texas on April 28-29 in Beaumont Texas at Set-x Lake. The weather could not have been more perfect with blue skies, temperatures averaging 85 degrees, and zero wind. Six schools represented in the event including North Texas, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, and Steve F. Austin. The tournament was pulled by Texas Tige with their new 2007 RZ2. The first day of the event was packed with competitive riding from all of the teams. Key riders in the first day included John Aulick (Texas A&M), John Marshall (Texas Tech), Mark Heger (Texas), Joram Hadden (Louisiana Tech), Slayt Ebeling (Texas A&M), and Clint Hibbard (SFA). -Leo Lasecki

[Leo was a freshman in my Composition and Rhetoric course this semester and he shared his online publication with me soon after our course ended. I understood teaching as a thankless job from an earlier time, but once in a while, instructors see things like this come around. The best feeling is knowing that maybe I had something to do with it. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:39 PM | Comments (1)

April 27, 2007

Rejection [Purdue University] (Discourse Chronicle)

You have not heard from us prior to this note because your application interested us and we hoped to be able to admit you. But, we had only 8 teaching assistantships, and we admit people when we have secured aid for them. We never secured aid to fund an offer to you.

Posted by kuechebj at 04:50 PM | Comments (3)

April 13, 2007

Distinguishing Comic Strips, Comic Books, and Graphic Novels (Discourse Chronicle)

[Today I appeared in a colleague's class as a guest-speaker presenting about comic books, so I used an opening lesson about comics from my time as an undergraduate TA, which begins with distinguishing three genres of comics: comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels. All three are different and those differences are dependent upon length and content. For me, graphic novels are NOT "collections of comic books that are bound together in book form" because that is what I identify as a trade paperback since those issues are released individually in serial format first.

Defining a graphic novel in my mind only requires understanding the two words in its name: "graphic" (which describes content) and "novel" (which describes length and also means "new" in Latin). Therefore, a graphic novel is a new book-length comic containing graphic content not found within regular monthly comic books. I know a debate exists about comics and comix as well as some creators referring to their own works as "comic books" while others call them "graphic novels," but each category is uniquely different, so I do not know why addressing those differences is difficult.

During my trip to Boston, I launched this debate in a question and answer session after hearing a paper call Art Spiegelman's Maus a comic book, which is also how Spiegelman classified his own work. However, comic scholars and fans call it a graphic novel. I believe one reason differences like that exist is because Spiegelman (like Scott McCloud) is not a scholar and may not be aware of discussions resulting from scholarship, but we love their work and use them in our own projects. Now, some people argue back saying such knowledge is specialized I am inclined to believe it, but only if its context is a geek session.

Comic scholars and comic book readers are not some secret society holding meetings in the most remote places in the world. Non-comic scholars should probably be aware that scholarship exists on comics and that might reduce the number of dabblers in the field. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2007

National Popular Culture Association Conference 2007 Recap (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here is a recap of my trip to Boston:

Day 0

• Continental Airlines showed Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness during the leg from Houston to Boston. An excellent movie and definitely inspiring given my string of rejection letters from PhD programs.

• Boston experienced unseasonable weather equivalent to that of a Wisconsin winter. I packed the wrong long leather coat and froze that night.

• In-room internet is still too expensive given that wireless internet is free in the hotel lobby.

Day 1

• I purchased an appropriate long leather coat and umbrella before learning that the conference item this year was a travel umbrella.

• I met up with fellow comic scholars and heard panels on comics.

• I recounted my MA experience thus far at dinner and thankfully other comic scholars encouraged me to continue studying English and comics.

• I caught a cold as a result of shock from Boston weather.

Day 2

• I bought necessary cold medication at a nearby grocery store and began medicating myself.

• I supported my fellow rhetoric colleagues Ryan Malpurs and Jen Haley by listening to their papers.

• I witnessed and participated as an audience member in a parody comics panel devoted to the Institute of Korvac Studies (hilarious!).

Day 3

• I visited Newbury Comics and found myself disappointed since it stocked no back issues.

• I bought my Dad a Boston Harley-Davidson T-shirt in Quincy Market as I always do whenever I go to a conference.

• I visited both Cheers bars (one used for exterior shots on the show and another featuring a replica interior from the set on the show).

• I presented and fulfilled my duties as a panel chair.

I must say that I experienced another successful conference despite catching cold that I am now almost completely over except for some congestion. Next year is being held in San Francisco. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2007

Rejection [Texas A&M University - Assistant Lecturer] (Discourse Chronicle)

Thank you very much for your application to the Department of English. We received a surprisingly large pool of excellent applications and the department's Executive Committee reviewed each one carefully. Our decision had to be based primarily on the fit between applicants' experience and our immediate teaching needs for the coming academic year. I regret to tell you, that we will not be able to offer you a teaching contract for the academic year 2007-2008.

[Lecturing in the English department next year was my backup plan in case no PhD program admitted me for next fall. However, since I am accepted into Bowling Green State University for Rhetoric and Writing, this rejection is painless. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2007

Acceptance [Bowling Green State University] (Discourse Chronicle)

I am glad to be able to let you know that the rhetoric faculty is impressed by your file and that it recommended you for admission to the Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program.

[Awesome! Official letter is on its way. Now only Purdue is left...BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 02:01 PM | Comments (1)

April 03, 2007

National Popular Culture Association Conference 2007 (Discourse Chronicle)

[No blog this week. I will be presenting "Superman's America: History, Reception, and Imperiex" at the National Popular Culture Association Conference in Boston, MA. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2007

Rejection [Iowa State University] (Discourse Chronicle)

I regret to inform you that after careful review of your application materials for admission to the doctoral program in Rhetoric and Professional Communication, the Admissions Committee has not recommended your acceptance.

[Two schools left...Purdue and Bowling Green. Iowa State was my other "dream" school...BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:39 PM | Comments (4)

February 26, 2007

Rejection [The Ohio State University] (Discourse Chronicle)

Your credentials and application for admission to the English program for Autumn Quarter 2007 have been given careful consideration by the Graduate Studies Committee. I regret to inform you that the committee did not approve your application to the Graduate School.

[Three schools left: Iowa State, Purdue, and Bowling Green. OSU is one of my "dream" schools...BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:53 AM | Comments (4)

February 21, 2007

Rejection [Texas A&M University] (Discourse Chronicle)

Thank you for applying for Graduate Studies in English. We had an unusually large and qualified applicant pool this year, and our admissions committee thoroughly reviewed each application. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that your application for admission has been denied.

[Four schools left: The Ohio State University, Iowa State, Purdue, and Bowling Green...BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 07:18 PM | Comments (2)

February 09, 2007

Achilles' Heel (Discourse Chronicle)

[According to Greek mythology, Achilles is made invulnerable at birth because his mother, Thetis, dipped him into the River Styx except for his heel. As a result, Achilles became a great warrior who fought for the Greeks during the Trojan War depicted in Homer's Iliad. Achilles dies during the war when Paris shoots his heel with an arrow (guided by Apollo) and this myth is referenced whenever we talk about our own weaknesses.

Foreign language is my Achilles' Heel and I dealt with it at various points in my life, including now as a graduate student, struggling with translating Beowulf this spring. Unfortunately, none of my colleagues suffer from this weakness nor understand why languages are traumatic for me. I believe my trauma is due to a lack of training in linguistics and such background is crucial for success with languages. Instead of studying linguistics and German, I studied literature and took French in high school as well as college, which are no help whatsoever for my current situation. I walk away from Beowulf each week discouraged and depressed.

I am hoping to continue graduate studies in English with an emphasis on Rhetoric and Composition next fall as a PhD student somewhere, BUT I know during that process, I must go through another foreign language. Honestly, I do not know if I am able to handle another arrow from Paris' bow. I know it sounds incredibly ridiculous, but I am giving serious thought to quitting graduate studies to avoid being hit in my Achilles' Heel again. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:34 PM | Comments (4)

January 26, 2007

National PCA 2007 Comics Panel Chair (Discourse Chronicle)

[I received a pleasant surprise today when I looked at the program for the National Popular Culture Association conference coming up in Boston during the month of April. I noticed that I am not only presenting my paper, "Superman's America: History, Reception, and Imperiex," but I am also chairing that panel. I felt honored with such a responsibility and I view it as a showing of support from my comic scholar colleagues who attend this conference annually. I also find it amusing that I became appointed much like how I became a Graduate Student Council representative for my English department. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:12 PM | Comments (1)

January 15, 2007

Standby (Discourse Chronicle)

[Whenever winter break comes upon me as a reminder that I more or less lived through another fall semester, I fly home, which may be more expensive than driving back to Wisconsin. However, flying allows me to avoid other drivers on the road (who become much more dangerous in winter) and I like to think it saves some wear and tear on my 2000 Monte Carlo SS. I typically fly out of College Station to Dallas and then on to Minneapolis, MN before catching a ground transport taking me to Eau Claire, WI where my parents pick me up and drive us home to Chippewa Falls, WI. I repeat this routine backwards when I am ready to return to College Station. However, nothing proved routine on my return trip.

Returning to College Station took 20 hours yesterday starting at 4am and consisted of experiencing flight cancellations, rerouting, and delays (due to ice storms in Dallas); navigating an unfamiliar O'Hare airport; and catching the last ground shuttle for the night from Houston to College Station. I must say that the airport staff at O'Hare is extremely rude and completely unavailable for answering questions about finding terminals when switching airlines. Meanwhile, I caught that final ground shuttle to College Station without a reservation thanks to people not showing up due to flights being cancelled, but I roasted along with other passengers because someone turned up the heater and opened the back vents. It took us two and a half hours to figure out how to close those vents because the shuttle provided door-to-door service.

As many of us know about me, I fly regularly a few times a year to visit friends and family in Wisconsin at Christmas time, but also for conferences in the spring. I never experienced so much trouble for a routine trip. I know that I relate more with Odysseus and his difficulty returning to Ithaca in Homer's Odyssey after this experience. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:42 PM | Comments (2)

December 27, 2006

End of the Semester - Fall 2006 (Discourse Chronicle)

[Soundtrack: Decisive Battle (Final Fantasy 6). I returned to Wisconsin for Christmas break two weeks ago and I find myself facing an uncertain future. I managed to complete all five of my PhD applications for next fall before leaving Texas, but whether or not I am accepted into any of them is unknown. I am hoping to leave Texas A&M University for a midwest university such as The Ohio State University, Iowa State, Purdue, or Bowling Green. I find that uncertainty bearable because I experienced it the last time I applied for graduate school programs.

However, the other unknown is my GPA. I started strong with my first semester in graduate school, but each term afterwards brought my GPA steadily down. I also experienced an Achilles's Heel of mine this term as well: foreign language. Now I find myself entering my last MA semester with a GPA threatening Academic Probation if this term is not excellent for me. Unfortunately, I must deal with foreign language again as I translate Beowulf. I am also taking my last two literature courses. I am trying to remain optimistic about this last term coming up and I also take heart in something K.A. Laity once said to me at a conference. She reminded me that getting a PhD has nothing to do with intelligence, but rather, whether or not I finish. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:33 PM | Comments (4)

December 04, 2006

Acceptance - National Popular Culture Association Conference 2007 (Popular Culture Association)

This letter is a formal acceptance of your paper, "Superman's America: History, Reception, and Imperiex," for the 2007 national meeting of the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations. The conference will be at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, April 4-7, 2007.

Posted by kuechebj at 02:41 PM | Comments (2)

November 18, 2006

Acceptance - National Scholars Honor Society (National Scholars Honor Society)

Thank you for your interest in The National Scholars Honor Society. The membership committee has reviewed and approved your application for membership.

It is my honor and privilege to extend congratulations on your acceptance into The National Scholars Honor Society. Our membership of over 50,000 university scholars and students welcomes you.

Posted by kuechebj at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2006

Spring 2007 Book Order (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here is my list of assigned textbooks for my freshman composition students next semester with rationales:

Writer's Harbrace Handbook (Third Edition)
Texas A&M University uses the Harbrace Handbook as a standard adoption, but our department is not switching to third edition until next year, due to custom cover requests. Despite that, I received permission to assign this new edition early because I learned about a new chapter on visual rhetoric after a recent meeting with its author, Dr. Cheryl Glenn.

Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers (Fifth Edition)
An excellent collection of popular culture essays about topics ranging from Barbie dolls to comic books and film. I chose this text as my reader because my students provided feedback wishing for in-class examples that may seem more familiar to them. I may develop lessons from its readings, but more importantly, I am assigning oral presentations about them as a means of encouraging in-class participation on a regular basis. I am also able to speak better on popular culture than some other topics, thus improving my teaching due to increased confidence over material.

Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud's text discussing comic books in comic book format. I assigned a few chapters from this book already and students responded extremely well and claim McCloud's presentation helped them learn difficult concepts such as Aristotle's Model of Argument (Ethos, Logos, Pathos). Many of its chapters relate with our four paper topics and will act as a supplement to our handbook readings.

Writing Traditions
A compositional exercise workbook containing sample student essays and covers concepts such as summary and paraphrase, plagiarism, MLA format, peer review, and others. Non-negotiable.

Typical American
Gish Jen's novel about Ralph, a Chinese immigrant graduate student working on his PhD in Engineering, and how him and his family become Americanized. Non-negotiable. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 12:49 AM | Comments (2)

November 11, 2006

Mr. Kuechenmeister and the Green Pen (Discourse Chronicle)

[Today I spent all afternoon grading half of my freshman composition students' papers on Argument and I wished for comment stampers again. All of my students are aware that I grade using a nice green fine-point pen, which some of them believe is symbolic of kryptonite because we previously talked about Superman, but perhaps some make the connection with Green Lantern. As I graded my students' papers at Sweet Eugene's, my nice green fine-point pen became a lifeless thin plastic tube refusing to express my comments, almost preventing me from finishing papers 9-12.

For a few moments, I contemplated going back to my apartment and changing over to a black ball-point pen, or better yet - blue. However, then my comments may blend with the typeface on my students' papers, so I needed to find a new green pen. I never imagined replacing a green pen as difficult until I arrived at Target and browsed its miniature office supply section. Target stocked a variety of pens, but none are green, mostly red, black, and red. Occasionally I saw a green pen amongst an assortment, but I decided not paying however much those sets costed for a single green pen. I left Target as empty-handed as I entered and drove to Office Max.

I hoped to find a box of green pens for sale at the office oasis known as Office Max and so I did. I found said box, but these pens are ball-point and nowhere near as nice as my original green pen. No, these green pens are probably a step up from those disposable Bic pens I use when I write checks. However, once I returned to Sweet Eugene's and began using it, I noticed this new green ball-point pen's ink was a duller shade of green - but green nonetheless. I finished my half stack of papers and plan on returning tomorrow to finish the other half with my new green ball-point pen. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:38 PM | Comments (2)

November 03, 2006

Sweet Eugene's Travel Mug (Discourse Chronicle)

[For over a year now, my apartment complex resides across the street from a local coffee shop called Sweet Eugene's House of Java, which is now a popular hangout for myself and many of my colleagues. I admit that I probably spend money for uniquely flavored coffee too often, but such spending is justified because I am an English major and people know coffee shops are good places to find English majors. Tonight is no exception with respect toward my spending habits.

I purchased a travel coffee mug from Sweet Eugene's and some colleagues said that purchase pays for itself over time because owners are granted a $.50 discount on coffee beverages with it. Buying this mug somehow makes my patronage "official" and in a way rejects being assimilated into the coffee house illuminati (Warning: Clip contains strong language). As we move through one semester after another, I am always trying to figure out how to manufacture time as a complement to super-structured time management, but alas such a machine does not exist. However, caffeine is an excellent substitute when used sparingly. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2006

Comment Stampers (Discourse Chronicle)

[I contemplate about whether or not having stampers with our frequently used comments on them such as "Comma splice - move clause and revise sentence" or "Pronoun disagreement" is more efficient than writing those out each time, but then our students may not be able to tell how much energy is invested into reading and commenting on papers.

A student forgot to pick up his homework from my stack along with his rough draft a few weeks ago because he said "it wasn't green enough" referring to how much I dig into them. I only dig hard on rough drafts because a chance (albeit a small one) exists for my students to work on problems in revision, rather than no chance if I dig into final drafts since our students do not receive opportunities to revise once we complete a paper assignment.

I remember commenting on papers when I mentored as an undergraduate under Dennis G. Jerz with his freshman composition students and learning how to plow through papers thoroughly, yet efficiently. Efficiency equated to a total of six hours working with 30 papers, but four years later, my best is three hours with 24 papers. However, each new paper assignment seems to introduce other pitfalls for composition students to fall into along with common errors from previous work. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:04 PM | Comments (2)

September 28, 2006

All in My Head (Discourse Chronicle)

[For a while now, I fought with a number of my personal demons such as jealousy and competition, but now I believe I understand why I lost control of them. Last semester, I failed a graduate course (a C = an F in graduate school) and that experience left me flawed and feeling inadequate. I corrected myself by internalizing competition so much that I felt an extreme amount of jealousy and I allowed that to consume me. I lost sight of who I am until now.

I forgot that graduate school is not a competition and colleagues are not obstacles. All of us are future scholars learning to live an academic lifestyle together and if we must compete, then it is with ourselves. Self-competition is more like setting an attainable goal and holding ourselves accountable. I remember spending time learning coursework my way and being happy if I applied it to something I care about. Approaching coursework and a professional lifestyle using such a state of mind helped me spend more time enjoying life rather than wallowing in paranoia and misery. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:04 PM | Comments (3)

September 21, 2006

Facebook - A Badge of Honor (Discourse Chronicle)

[I am in my office holding an extra day of office hours waiting for any students to come and ask for help before we turn in our first papers tomorrow. As I wait for anyone to visit, I am working on my coursework for next week along with blogging and checking things out on Facebook. I decided to try searching for my last name on Facebook and I found one student group called "Kuechenmeister's class. Fall 2006." I am beaming with pride as my students communicate with one another thinking I am not on Facebook. I view that as a badge of honor and I love it! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 03:24 PM | Comments (1)

September 13, 2006

Teaching Mr. Kuechenmeister (Discourse Chronicle)

[Teaching my freshman composition students proved especially difficult for me this week because I noticed many of them are unable to remain interested during a full 50-minute period. Many students lose interest, fall asleep, or show visible signs of boredom about halfway through a period. Looking at such a situation as an instructor who is passionate about English studies (particularly rhetoric and composition), I instinctively blame myself and my presentation style, which leads me walking out of my class feeling less confident and that lack of confidence infects everything else I do. I feel like a failure at something I wanted to do since I can remember.

I imagine freshman students having a much harder time understanding rhetoric compared with me during my third year of undergraduate when I learned about it. Therefore, I spent one week on learning about rhetoric and the rhetorical situation; one week on reading visuals and argument; one week on basic composition and drafting; and then next week I plan on devoting one period to MLA citation and one period to peer review before my students turn in papers next Friday.

I hoped my students learned how to identify parts of the rhetorical situation, move from identification to explanation using sentences, change those sentences into an introduction, and then apply concepts of argument to develop body paragraphs analyzing details from their visual before providing a conclusion. I notice most of them succeeding at these tasks in their homework, but not in class. Maybe I am asking for too much or not guiding them enough...I feel like I failed teaching this unit. How will I teach my students to write the other three papers if I failed at the first one? BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:54 PM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2006

Truth, justice, American way (Plain Dealer)

"If Superman must be classified, then he is best aligned with the Democratic Party," said Bobby Kuechenmeister of the English department at Texas A&M University. "In 'Vote Lex 2000' [the storyline in which Lex Luthor is elected president], Superman reacts negatively after placing his faith in voters."

Kuechenmeister notes that Superman's reaction to Luthor's unexpected victory was similar to the reaction of many Americans to the confusing Bush/Gore election debacle. -Michael Sangiacomo

[Last spring, I presented an article titled "Superman's America: Audience, Reception, and President Lex" at the National Popular Culture Association 2006 conference and Brad Ricca (who moderated our Superman panel) passed my name along to Sangiacomo, who contacted me about being interviewed over the summer. I remember asking fellow comic scholars at the conference about how we know that our scholarship is getting better. I got my answer right here. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2006

Taking Back My Sleep (Discourse Chronicle)

[I trekked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase a memory foam mattress topper for my bed yesterday. I hoped Rebecca's suggestion would finally solve my lower back pain problem when I sleep. I awoke this morning after at least 8 hours of sleep and realized I slept comfortably for the first time in over a year. Thanks, Rebecca. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:20 AM | Comments (2)

September 05, 2006

4:00am (Discourse Chronicle)

[I am awake against my own free will at 4am and my alarm clock is set for 7am. No, I am not a PhD graduate student yet, so I am not reading for prelims or working on a dissertation or anything like that. Unfortunately, lower back pain is what keeps me up at night preventing me from sleeping well over the past year or so. Nothing I do helps this pain go away and it seems to be getting worse as I watch my hours of sleep become less and less over time.

I started working out my upper body a few weeks ago because my parents thought my pain is associated to weight after a magical 15lbs. found its way on me over the summer changing me from 130 to 145lbs. against 5ft. 5in. in height. I tried using a pulley traction system to straighten my spine for 15 minutes a day, but stopped because of potential hyperextension of my neck; I flipped my mattress; I tried buying a contour memory foam pillow; but none of them alleviate my pain. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:02 AM | Comments (5)

September 04, 2006

Rhetorical Situation Breakthrough (Discourse Chronicle)

[Today I experienced a breakthrough with my freshman composition class! I finally got them to understand what the "context" part of the rhetorical situation means. Last week, we spent time learning the parts and being able to identify them in a given packet of popular culture visuals from my collections, but I noticed in the homework some students struggled with the "message" and "context" part of the rhetorical situation. I worked with them today interactively on the 2-Disc Deluxe Edition Batman Begins DVD image and one of my students said, "So once the message is established, then the context is the support." I made that student repeat what he had said and I beamed with pride because I managed to get them to overcome a hangup and it is only week two. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 05:51 PM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2006

Fortress of Solitude (Discourse Chronicle)

[I began my quest for the PhD in English as a sophomore attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as an English major and received additional training as a McNair Scholar. I worked toward my current path by pursuing research projects involving comic books as literature with application possibilities from literary theory (New Historicism and Reader-Response), winning research and travel grants to fund my work and present papers at conferences (over $14,000 won so far), and publishing two non-peer-reviewed journal articles about Green Lantern and Superman comics. I also networked well within my department working as Lead Organizer for the English Festival (a student-run conference hosted at UWEC). In order to do all of those things, though, I sacrificed my personal life and constructed a Fortress of Solitude for myself and became a work-a-holic.

Despite my accomplishments and those sacrifices I willingly made, I still feel inadequate compared to my colleagues, who somehow manage to do everything sooner with equal or superior quality to me. For example, last night I was hanging out with some of our new MA and PhD English graduate students and found myself unable to engage in discussions about certain works because I had not read them or did not remember them as well as my colleagues. Once discussions came closer to things I am interested in, such as Greek mythology, I could not really participate because any number of people knew it better. A few times I managed to redirect discussion and talk about concepts like video games and the Final Fantasy series, but that was not until much merriment had taken place and an ungodly morning hour came upon us.

Whenever situations like that happen to me, I always feel depressed because I believe I made the wrong decisions in life, even though I am on the right path for me. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 05:48 PM | Comments (10)

August 30, 2006

Legend of Johnny Cash (Discourse Chronicle)

[For over a year now, I have been a closet Country Music Television (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC) watcher, which I justify to people by saying these are the only two stations I know about that still play music videos most of the time and costs nothing extra beyond Expanded Basic cable. I often wonder why I like country because I remember giving ex-girlfriends a hard time since they liked country. After thinking about it for a while, I determined that Modern Country is what Oldies music became once Classic Rock takes over the music scene in the 1970s, so it made what happened a few days ago much easier to stomach.

I willingly purchased a country CD at Target. I contemplated if I ever purchased a country CD of my own free will, then I would want to buy one that I believe should be in every music collection. My choice: The Legend of Johnny Cash. Last week, I told some of our new graduate students that I always play "Walk the Line" and "Ring of Fire" whenever faced with a jukebox in a bar. Both of those songs are on my selected CD along with other goodies like "Hurt" (which really sold me on it). However, my all-time favorites remain Buddy Holly, Tom Petty, and Aerosmith. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:06 PM | Comments (2)

What a Difference a Year Makes (Discourse Chronicle)

[I am consistently surprised about how different Year Two of graduate school is compared with Year One. Loyal readers remember not everything went well for me last year, which I attribute to culture shock because I am from Wisconsin, but also the transition from undergrad to grad work despite being a former McNair Scholar. Thus far, I survived the first day of new graduate courses such as: Old English, Romanticism, and Pedagogy along with teaching freshman composition.

I also met most of our new graduate students and everybody seems awesome. I am currently convincing a new Early Modern graduate student to switch over to Rhetoric and Composition. I believe I can do it, too, especially since I talked my best friend into switching to English from the sciences during college. Now he teaches 9th and 10th grade English at a private school in a suburb of Dallas. Obviously I am much happier with how this year is going than last and hopefully the Powers that Be will allow me to stay on for PhD studies. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 05:54 PM | Comments (0)

August 29, 2006

Backblog (Discourse Chronicle)

[If anyone wonders what happened to my blog over the summer, fear not, because I am back for another year of graduate school. I am finishing up my MA studies and applying for PhD programs again this year, but let's go back and review last semester. I learned these three important things about graduate student survival:

• Coursework is more important than everything else.




• Professional development (conferences, publications, networking) is expected, but pursued at your own risk.




• All absences count against you regardless of university policy. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:22 AM | Comments (4)

May 08, 2006

Rejection [Glasscock Center] (Discourse Chronicle)

Thank you for your interest in the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research and for your application for a Glasscock Center Graduate Student Stipendiary Fellowship for the academic year 2006-2007. The Center received many excellent applications for these fellowships, and the decisions to be made were quite difficult. The Glassock Center Advisory Committee was impressed with your proposal, but we regret that we cannot offer you a fellowship at this time.

[I proposed a miniature version of my potential dissertation topic looking at DC Comics's Crisis on Infinite Earths and how reading that crossover event as an experience is similar to reading Greek Epic. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Festival 2006 Recap (Discourse Chronicle)

[Before I provide a recap of my most recent conference trip, I would like to thank both Jackie Lockerby (English Festival Lead Organizer) and Dr. Joel Pace (English Festival Faculty Advisor) for inviting me back, especially because EF-XI marks departures for Joel and I from the Fest. Honestly, I could not imagine leaving on a bigger high note. Also, an additional special thanks goes out to Joel Pace, who picked me up from the airport at Midnight and allowed me to stay with him and his wife Caldwell for one night. Now, on with my highlights...

• Meeting and hanging out with Keynote Speakers Orlando Lima (former Executive Editor at Vibe magazine and author of No Room For Squares) and Mike Derigan (Author of Backpocket E-pistles).




• Meeting Ben Wood and Jonathan Helland (founders of Phenomenon Comics and Blackpool) and listening to their presentation about producing comics independently.




• Listening to Joel Pace's band, Irie, play a show at the House of Rock.

Despite this amazing list of highlights from my trip, I saved the best for last, which are special moments I am truly grateful for experiencing. Friday night, Joel, Orlando Lima, Mike Derigan, and myself enjoyed ourselves at local establishments and two former students of mine approached me. Both of them told me how much they loved it when I helped Dr. Elizabeth Preston-Simon as a teaching assistant in her Novel course when she taught using League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

One student in particular, Kristi Letourneau, confessed to following my academic career so far and is also considering graduate school. Both students reminded me about why I want to become a college professor and work at a university like UW-Eau Claire where teaching is valued more than producing research. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2006

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Festival 2006 (Discourse Chronicle)

[No blog this week. I am presenting a new Superman paper titled "Community, Rhetoric, and Poetics in Superman: Birthright" at the Eleventh Annual University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Festival on May 3. On May 4, I am hosting an open and honest question and answer session about being a graduate student and graduate school life, based upon my experiences. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

Rejection [Fabricated Heroes and Homefronts] (Discourse Chronicle)

We read your proposal with geniune enjoyment, but regret to say that we did not choose it for inclusion in our collection. We received many proposals on superheroes, so the competition was very stiff.

[I submitted "Superman's America: History, Reception, and Imperiex" for this collection. I am still working on my "Superman's America" series of articles and currently envision four parts with two already completed. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)

Rejection [Smithsonian Institution] (Discourse Chronicle)

The Office of Research Training and Services (formerly the Office of Fellowships) has completed its review of applications for internships at the Smithsonian through the Institution's Minority Internship Program for Summer and Fall 2006. Although the review panel was impressed with your academic credentials and goals, I regret that we are unable at this time to offer you a stipend award for an internship.

Posted by kuechebj at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)

National Popular Culture Association 2006 Recap (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here are a few highlights from my trip to Atlanta, GA:
Day 0 - April 11, 2006

• I am convinced being a cab driver requires NO knowledge about city streets or locations.

• A cab from the airport to the hotel costed $38.

• I left copies of my paper and handouts I requested from my department behind in Texas.

Day 1 - April 12, 2006

• A cab from the hotel to the conference costed $20

• Many conference attendees were denied conference materials (PCA/ACA portfolio with notepad and pen along with nametag) unless proof of membership was provided. The organization did not share its most updated paid member list with the conference causing delays and long lines.

Day 2 - April 13, 2006

• I attended my first panel in the Rhetoric and Composition area.

• I heard many papers in the Comics area that may be of interest to my colleagues studying Neil Gaiman's Sandman or 9/11 and terrorism.

• I discovered new potential Calls for Papers in peer-reviewed journals.

• I learned about Atlanta's inexpensive mass-transit system Marta (Special Thanks to Jason Tondro and Nicole Freim).

Day 3 - April 14, 2006

Unfortunately, I had to miss a presentation by Mick White (a colleague in Creative Writing), but for a good cause. Each year I present at a conference, I find a Harley-Davidson dealership and bring home a T-shirt or tanktop for my Dad, which indicates where I am. Therefore, when my parents ride their Harley, it seems like my Dad has been to Honolulu, San Antonio, San Diego, and now Atlanta (which is true), but it is really me who has been to those places. I took two buses, one train, and walked a few miles outside of Atlanta's immediate area to track down this year's shirt. I found the bus drivers to be as helpful as cab drivers about stops and locations.

Day 4 - April 15, 2006

• I experienced a surprisingly good turn-out for an early morning panel on the last day of a conference.

• I promised future Superman papers for at least another three years.

• I missed my flight from Houston to College Station because the flight leaving Atlanta experienced a mechanical delay. My compensation included one free night in a Wyndam Greenspoints hotel.

I believe this time at PCA is the best year yet. It always keeps getting better. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:17 AM | Comments (2)

April 11, 2006

National Popular Culture Association 2006 (Discourse Chronicle)

[No blog this week. I am presenting "Audience, Reception, and President Lex" in Atlanta, GA. The National Popular Culture Association conference is one I always look forward to each year. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 12:10 AM | Comments (1)

April 07, 2006

Acceptance [Travel Grant - English Department] (Discourse Chronicle)

Your travel plans have been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the amount of expenses up to $400 for your trip to Eau Claire, WI. Since we cannot fund all of your expenses, please apply to the Glasscock Center, and any other appropriate entity, for additional funding.

[I am presenting a new Superman paper at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Graduate Conference from May 2-6. The conference is running concurrently with the English Festival, which I ran for two years under Dr. Joel Pace, my undergraduate mentor. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2006

Graduate Student Council Representative Nomination (Discourse Chronicle)

I nominated you for an EGSA position. Specifically, I thought you'd be great as a Grad Student Council Rep, which means you'd go to two monthly interdisciplinary grad student meetings and report back to EGSA. What do you think? Would you like to accept the nomination?

[Meghan Gilbert, a colleague of mine, nominated me. EGSA stands for English Graduate Student Association here at Texas A&M. I am honored to be nominated for an officer position, especially considering I was not running for office and I could not be at today's meeting due to a work shift conflict. However, I accept the nomination. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2006

Acceptance [Travel Grant - English Department] (Discourse Chronicle)

Your travel plans have been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the amount of expenses up to $500 for your trip to Atlanta, GA. Since we cannot fund all of your expenses, please apply to the Glasscock Center, and any other appropriate entity, for additional funding.

Posted by kuechebj at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

Spring Break Goodies (Discourse Chronicle)

[All of us here at Texas A&M University are on spring break this week, so while I am working on trying to get ahead in my coursework and hammer out some papers, I thought I might recall some of my previous posts for my readers:

• Book Fairs are like Christmas (Discourse Chronicle)




• Phloph's Scrabble Score Generator (Solfire)




• Randomized Garfield (Jerz's Literacy Weblog | Memepool)




• Editing He-Man (Jerz's Literacy Weblog | Penny Arcade)

Enjoy! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2006

Book Fairs are like Christmas (Discourse Chronicle)

[Each spring, the Writing Programs Office hosts a book fair and invites representatives from numerous book publishers to preview upcoming textbooks, many of which students work with throughout an academic career like Norton or Bedford / St. Martin's. I never experienced a book fair before a few days ago, but I must say that as an English graduate student, it was like Christmas. I figured that seeing what is up and coming will help me when a time comes for me to select my own texts for teaching. Here are all of the books I am looking at now:

Special Thanks to Sarah Spring for a primer on Book Fairs. Also special thanks to Joel Pace and Dennis G. Jerz for sharing what texts they use for freshman composition. Here is a list of textbooks I am looking at now:

• Bedford Handbook Seventh Edition (Hacker)




• Easy Writer Third Edition (Lunsford)




• A Writer's Reference Fifth Edition (Hacker)




• Everyday Writer Third Edition (Lunsford)




• Signs of Life in the USA Fifth Edition (Maasik-Solomon)




• Reading Critically, Writing Well Seventh Edition (Axelrod-Cooper-Warriner)




• Critical Tradition Second Edition (Richter)




• Keys for Writers Fourth Edition (Raimes)




• Little, Brown Handbook Tenth Edition (Fowler-Aaron)




• Little Penguin Handbook (Faigley)




• Conscious Reader Tenth Edition (Schrodes et al.)




• Rereading America Sixth Edition (Colombo-Cullen-Lisle)




• Beyond Words: Reading and Writing in a Visual Age (Ruszkiewicz-Anderson-Friend)




• Compose Design Advocate (Wysocki-Lynch)

If you currently use any of these texts or have used them, I would love to hear from you! BK

Posted by kuechebj at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2006

Deal or No Deal Returns (NBC)

The rules are simple. Choose a briefcase. Then as each round progresses, you must either stay with your original briefcase choice or make a "deal" with the bank to accept its cash offer in exchange for whatever dollar amount is in your chosen case.

Once you decide to accept or decline the bank's offer, the decision is final.

Contestants are encouraged to ask friends or family in the audience for advice; however, only the contestant's answer will be considered binding and final.

[Yes! My favorite game show is back on NBC this week. I do not consider myself a game show fanatic or anything, but I love Deal or No Deal, which trumps Who Wants to Be A Millionaire in my book. I highly recommend watching this absolutely unique game show. Hosted by Howie Mandell. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:24 PM | Comments (5)

February 24, 2006

Cultural Collisions Aftermath (Discourse Chronicle)

[I believe presenting "Superman's America: Audience, Reception, and President Lex" was successful. Our audience turnout consisted of seven people (counting presenters), but good discussions resulted from our small band of scholars. I found Adam Williams paper, "Me, Myself, and I: Hip Hop Culture and Racial Identity on tha Street and in African-American Literature" particularly fascinating. He contextualized Hip Hop artists and industry as a whole with a sociological model of self-development and linked those findings to themes within African-American literature. I felt proud of myself for being able to engage Adam's topic with a question stemming from my love of Eminem's music.

Although no direct questions were asked about my paper, I am accepting this experience as a success, not a failure or another example of Me vs. the World as a comic scholar. I still feel that I need to persevere for an acceptance of comic scholarship as an area of research, but maybe I can slightly lower my guard. Something I notice about my colleagues through this positive lens is that they enjoy holding dialogues with me about Superman outside of the classroom. Obviously I am always happy to oblige and appreciate different perspectives on the Man of Steel, but I no longer feel like I am being attacked for my interest in comics. Maybe it is because I am wearing a suit, but I think it has more to do with today's experience. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 10:49 AM | Comments (2)

February 23, 2006

Cultural Collisions (Discourse Chronicle)

[Tomorrow morning, I am presenting a Superman paper titled, "Superman's America: Audience, Reception, and President Lex" (which is also following me to Atlanta, GA in April for the 2006 National Popular Culture Association conference) for a conference hosted by the English department. Each year, I always look forward to open grant season and the conference circuit, but tomorrow is different. Presenting at "Cultural Collisions" is the first real opportunity to show all of my colleagues one way that my comic scholarship works. Many of my fellow graduate students and professors hear me talking about comic books and listen to me work through ideas that I pursue for term projects, but nobody at Texas A&M University has seen my work in action, so there is a lot riding on tomorrow's presentation.

I am confident about my article, which is being published this summer in Astra, the University of Wisconsin's McNair Scholars' Journal and know that I have a solid 20-minute presentation. Tomorrow will be the fifth time I am presenting it for people and I am prepared with my handouts. I will be presenting with two other presenters and I am planning on wearing a full suit constructed from my suit separates. People who know me during any time before graduate school will easily say that I love dress clothes and that my idea of "dressing down" is putting on a T-shirt and a long-sleeved overshirt instead of a dress shirt with dress pants and shoes. I am not, however, an authoritarian nor a disciplinarian. I believe that dress clothes convey a visual message about who is in control of a situation, so a good personality and communication style help students remember that you are a person and not a rigid suit.

Anyway, I am excited about an opportunity to talk comics and hopefully things go well for me because of how much is riding on tomorrow's presentation. I notice that I am presenting early in the morning. Based on my previous four years of conference presentations, I remember that early morning and late afternoon time slots usually do not attract the largest crowd. Hopefully I am wrong. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2006

Super Bowl XL Ads (Discourse Chronicle)

[Here is my assessment of Super Bowl XL ads. My favorites are Bud Light, Diet Pepsi (Jackie Chan), Aleve (Leonard Nimoy), careerbuilder.com, Ford, Sprint, and MasterCard.

Winners: Sierra Mist, Bud Light, Fed Ex, V for Vendetta, Diet Pepsi (Jackie Chan), Aleve (Leonard Nimoy), Cars, Budweiser, Mobile ESPN, careerbuilder.com, United Way, Mission Impossible 3, Dove, Shaggy Dog, Ford, Michelob, Poseidon, Disney, Sprint, Sharpie, NFL Mobile, World's Fastest Indian, ESPN, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Master Card .

Losers: Burger King, Toyota, 16 Blocks, Ameriquest, Cadillac, godaddy.com, Gillette, overstock.com, NFL Network, Motorola, nationwide.com, Hummer, PS, Taco Bell, Slim-Fast, McDonald's, Degree, Emerald Nuts, Fidelity, Honda, Beer, World Baseball Classic, Running Scared, Outback, Westin, network ads, and local ads. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:49 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2006

Acceptance [Cultural Collisions - English Graduate Student Association] (Discourse Chronicle)

Thanks for submitting an abstract to this year’s graduate student colloquium, Cultural Collisions. Your paper – “Superman's America: Audience, Reception, and President Lex” – has been enthusiastically accepted! Please keep an eye out for a more detailed program in the near future.

[Acceptance into "Cultural Collisions" fills my conference card for this academic year. I am now presenting a paper at Texas A&M University, at Popular Culture Association in April, and then my last conference is at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Festival. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2006

Back in Blog (Discourse Chronicle)

[Coming back after my transition semester from undergraduate to graduate school feels good, now that I understand what I am up against each term, but there are some lingering feelings of guilt from the break. Here is what I thought I was going to get done:

• Redesign this blog




• Redesign my static site




• Read Homer's Iliad




• Read DC Comics's Crisis on Infinite Earths maxiseries

Instead, none of those things got accomplished, but I did see my friends from home and catch up with professors who still know me at UW-Eau Claire. I also spent time with my parents watching The Shield with my Dad while my Mom and I watched Adventures of Superman and The Waltons.

Another semester means we can get back to blogging about rhetoric, comics, and popular culture. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 03:05 PM | Comments (2)

December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays (Discourse Chronicle)

[Hopefully all of my readers and commenters are enjoying a good holiday with loved ones. Thus far, I managed to see many of my close friends, some of whom are former professors and others are coming soon for a visit as well.

Apparently, there is a debate about whether or not to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and I am following it vaguely. I like to think that I use a simple solution for this dilemma. If I am around people I know who are religious, then I say "Merry Christmas." If I am around people I know less well, then I say "Happy Holidays." BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:39 PM | Comments (7)

December 23, 2005

Deal or No Deal (Discourse Chronicle)

[NBC finished its premiere week for a new game show called Deal or No Deal. Hosted by Howie Mandell, this game show features 26 numbered briefcases, each with a random amount of money placed in them by a third party. Each case contains anywhere from $.01 to $1,000,000. These cases are brought onstage by 26 gorgeous models and a contestant chooses one for him or her to keep. The object of the game is to determine which money amount is in that selected case via elimination of those other cases. Beginning with the first round, the contestant chooses 6 cases to open and each round allows one less case to open until only 1 case is left to open per round. "The Banker" watches the game from above and wants to prevent the player from taking home a lot of money, so he makes an offer for that case between rounds, prompting Mandell to ask, "Deal or No Deal?"

I am not a huge game show fan, but this one grabbed me and refused to let go. The premise is similar to a psychology experiment I participated in at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire a few years ago. I believe it went something like this: I was shown two different choices, one was a dollar amount, and the other was an object of value such as tickets to see a show. For a while, I chose dollar amounts, but there were instances when I hesitated because the object seemed more valuable. After the experiment ended, I was told that its purpose was for risk analysis and eventually choosing objects over money was common behavior.

The experiment I described and this new game show also exploit utilitarian thinking, an ethical concept from philosophy, when a person weighs a decision out critically and only chooses the most profitable option. No profit = No go (Deal or No Deal?). Complicating matters is a slippery slope or an unforeseeable outcome ("The Banker" or choosing another case). I love this concept and unfortunately, future episodes are going to be shown on CNBC Prime beginning next week. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 08:03 PM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2005

Rejection [IJOCA] (Discourse Chronicle)

Dear Bobby,
On behalf of both THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMIC ART and the "Ever-Ending Battle" Symposium, I would like to thank you for your submission of "Christ, Anti-Christ, or Super-Hero: Green Lantern Through the Looking Glass". However, due to a combination of space, thematic, and content limitations, I'm sorry to say that your piece will not be included in the final package [to the] Editor of IJOCA. Nevertheless, please stick with your work, continue to submit to IJOCA, and accept my best wishes.

Posted by kuechebj at 10:56 PM | Comments (4)

December 09, 2005

Are You My Reader? (Discourse Chronicle)

[Are you my reader? I wonder about this whenever I am doing one of my blog sessions. One thing that fascinates me about hypertext, new media, and blogging is how much potential there is to build an interactive community through its users via computers. However, in order for that to happen, there needs to be voices other than my own here. I know that graduate school semesters are unquestionably brutal and time is a valuable resource, but I would hope that my blog provides a break from monotony. Other reasons for this blog also exist, but that sense of community is important to me, especially when it concerns itself with how we read texts.

I ask myself the following questions during every blog session:

• Am I not getting comments because the site is unappealing in its design?


• Am I not getting comments because the site is suffering from usability problems?


• Am I posting things nobody else cares about?


• Am I posting too many entries per blog session?


• Am I still too new at blogging to be disappointed?


• Is it because I have no students to inflict blogging on?

Now that we are going into Christmas break, I plan on redesigning this site using Dreamweaver and hopefully help from Dennis G. Jerz, one of my mentors from undergraduate, who runs Jerz's Literacy Weblog at Seton Hill University. I also plan on taking a break from posting new entries to really give people a chance to dialogue with me through comments on any posting and answer my burning question, "Are you my reader?" BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 02:55 PM | Comments (9)

End of the Semester [Fall 2005] (Discourse Chronicle)

[I believe all of us have a soundtrack to our lives, usually reflected by a CD collection, or general music tastes. I am unable to speak for anybody else, but there are certain moments throughout my life when my own soundtrack plays loudly in my head, such as today. Once I turned in my final papers and term projects for my graduate courses, I realized that doing so not only signals the end of my first semester, but also a baptism of fire as I transition from undergrad to grad work.

Which song was playing the loudest in my head as I threw my Research Guide and Primary Source Study about Edith Wharton into my Bibliography professor's mailbox, followed by a term paper about Hamlet for my Renaissance Drama professor? Easy: "Top Gun Anthem" (The "Fanfare" from Final Fantasy games comes in a really close second).

If you are not familiar with Top Gun, then I strongly urge you to rush out to your video rental store and get it. Now. Stop reading this blog posting and watch it. I have more to say, but I am not going anywhere, so this posting will still be here when you get back. I will just carry on without you for the two hours or so that are spent watching that awesome movie. Afterwards, I am sure an entirely different perspective toward Tom Cruise will open up revealing a time before scientology, TomKat, and Cruise Gone Wild! on Oprah. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:55 PM | Comments (2)

Eminem's Curtain Call (Discourse Chronicle)

[Eminem released his greatest hits CD, Curtain Call, on Tuesday and I have been listening to it ever since. I am always willing to admit that I listen to Eminem CDs because I believe his angry raps are humorous and they work as motivators for me, especially when I am writing or doing something that requires a strict focus. However, Eminem does not work when studying for major exams. Let me say that again for undergraduates: Eminem does NOT work when studying for major exams.

For some reason, most people look at me strangely when I admit that I listen to Eminem. However, my admittance also lures other closet Eminem fans out, such as some of my colleagues in the English department. I am not sure why one needs to be a closet fan, but I hope whoever you are, that someday you will explain that to me.

Meanwhile, Eminem fans who already own his four previous albums may feel slightly disappointed because hits like "Guilty Conscience," "The Way I Am," "Without Me," and "Just Lose It" are all on this album. However, what is missing are hilarious skits done on the other albums between Eminem and either his producer Steve Berman or his lawyer, Paul Rosenberg.

Despite those hits being released again, there are still goodies for the taking. A few of them include "Lose Yourself" (from the 8Mile Soundtrack), a live cleaner version of "Stan" performed with Sir Elton John, a new skit to open the CD, plus three new songs titled "Fack," "Shake That," and "When I'm Gone." Disc 2 features "Dead Wrong," "Role Model," "Sh-- on You," and "Renegade" (with Jay-Z). BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 12:53 AM | Comments (4)

December 01, 2005

Who Needs Sleep? (Discourse Chronicle)

[Yesterday, I received a flu shot from a clinic hosted by Student Health Services on my campus thinking that I was taking a preventative measure before flying home for Christmas break in about a week or so. A few hours after receiving said flu shot, I gradually begin experiencing ill symptoms come upon me, which my body responds to with congestion and body aches. I quickly lose most of my ambition that I had mustered to make it through my first semester of graduate school, but it gave way to a strong desire for sleep.

Feeling falsely sick, I somehow managed to finish most of my term paper for Rhetoric and Poetics, leaving only a rough conclusion left to revise this morning. I called home and my mother suggested preparing warm milk with my microwave before going to sleep. Doing so, I believed I was making myself a strong natural sleep sediment, but that also backfired. I made myself a potion more potent than anything Mountain Dew or Red Bull could come up with as I slept sporadically through the night. I may not use warm milk as a sleep aid again, but the flu shot is a must, since I go home to the midwest and winter = flu season there. Stupid flu shot. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving in College Station (Discourse Chronicle)

[No, I am not at home with my family for Thanksgiving today. The reason is because there is no point in spending $400 now to go home for a weekend and then another $400 again a few weeks later to stay for a month at Christmas. I miss my family, of course, but waiting a few more weeks for a longer stay is fair to me and saving money appeals to my "cash register for a heart." Also, having time off from courses allows me to work hardcore on term papers and my own research projects, time permitting. I am working on one right now for Rhetoric and Poetics with Eminem, my great motivator, playing on my computer.

For those of you at home keeping score, let's review what we learned about me:

• I will be home for Christmas break.


• I possess a "cash register for a heart."


• I am a work-a-holic.


• I listen to Eminem.

Happy Thanksgiving! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 02:22 PM | Comments (2)

November 22, 2005

Insomniac Poetry II (Discourse Chronicle)

"Smatterwashed Blue" by Joshua Butcher

Walking along the smatterwashed blue,
The traveller under burdening boughs,
He comes, he goes, from where to whence,
A seven day journey for a sovereign sixpence.
A seven day journey for a sick, spent sovereign.
Sauntering jaunt that vaunts him along long ways,
A long way away spies the damsel in grey.
Stay said his companion (within him abreast),
Stay he replied pounding and clasping still.
Flying along the batterbled green,
The traveller over spring sponge tuft,
He goes, he comes, from whence to here,
Left over minding made marked memory.
A long way she sighs in shades of yearn,
Sway swoon says her ghostly complexion,
Swathe not she replied in corporal tones,
And never the Twain shall meet.
And evermore shall the Poe be with us,
There are no Wordsworth our times,
So Swift our past--through the fires of slight.
Will she be rescued, will she be saved?
Will she be colored, no longer grey?
Shaded in red, smattered with blood,
Turns of the tide; sweet summoner flood.

[Thanks, Josh! BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)

Insomniac Poetry (Discourse Chronicle)

"Philosophical Poetic Polemic" by Joshua Butcher

Snippets of time snatch quality space,
Space and time, one Hegel-of-a Kantinuum.
Plato with play dough fashioned the Forms,
Oh bother, said Aristotle, what’s the Matter?
Then Aquinas went medieval on his class[(re)(ifications)]!
But let us not forget that saintly sex-crazed monk,
Who brought us an august catholic confessional.
I back and Thou forth, merry go we round,
Swing pendulum swing, slip up, slide down,
Its all this, its all that, Sisyphus climbs up to your lap,
And ponder this sitting and setting of System,
Drink deep of the swell, of the Spirit, of the Agon,
Polemical dialectics of Kierkegaardian proportion,
Heidegger you dig her we dig her now (but only just),
Shall we slip and elide the Lacanian subject,
And pass on to go by the power of Foucault?
If the Idea is an ideal conjunction junction,
Can faithless Form lead to full-bodied function?
It all pell-mell to gorgeous Gorgias going, going, goes,
And anything goes; those running with feet, on their toes.
And (Dar)rida I leave out, so many dear de—parted friends,
I trust they are forever so clever: just means to dead ends.

[Josh is a colleague of mine from the Communication department who allowed me to post his poems here. He shared this and another one in Rhetoric and Poetics a few weeks ago. It brought me to tears from laughing so hard. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 12:20 AM | Comments (4)

November 04, 2005

Rejection [Glasscock Center] (Discourse Chronicle)

Dear Bobby,
On behalf of the Conference Planning Committee, I am sorry to inform you that we were unable to include your proposal in our conference "A Thousand Words: Visual Culture and the Humanities."

We received a large number of excellent proposals, and the committee had to make many difficult decisions.

We regret that your proposal is not among those selected, but we thank you for your interest in the conference and hope that we may have another occasion in the future to include you in the activities of the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.

[I submitted my article, "Superman's America: Audience, Reception, and President Lex" to this conference, being held on my campus in the spring for presentation. All is not lost, though. The article is going with me to this year's Popular Culture Association national conference in Atlanta, GA.

A week after I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, I received a letter from two professors at Hofstra University, asking me to contribute an article for an anthology about art and mimesis. I submitted an abstract and received a rejection email from them last week.

Now I know how academic rejection feels, which is completely different from personal rejection, a common occurrence for me when it comes to the opposite sex. However, I must say that I am not discouraged by academic rejection and will seek future opportunities from the Glasscock Center, along with other avenues for grant and presentation purposes. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2005

"Yes, Virginia, There are Comic Scholars" (Discourse Chronicle)

[During a break in my three-hour class today, one of my colleagues questioned me about comic scholarship, asking "Are there others like you who do comics?" I responded by laughing because there are many other comic scholars listed on the Comix Scholars' Discussion List. I find it amusing how many of my colleagues believe that my academic existence as a comic scholar is in some self-contained universe. The joke about me now is that I am paranoid because I believe the world of academe is against me as I research comics. There is some truth in that joke, but only because Comics is still a field unable to stand on its own and most people I meet either scoff at such an idea or never bothered to think about it. For those who believe there are no dissertations or theses or scholarly texts about comics, I direct them to Dr. Gene Kannenberg, Jr., where he maintains an online bibliography on comic scholarship. Therefore, the short answer to my colleague's line of questioning is "Yes, Virginia, There are Comic Scholars." BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 06:56 PM | Comments (0)

Complete Calvin and Hobbes (Discourse Chronicle)

From Bill Watterson's Introduction--Different comics appeal to different tastes, and the goal of the comics section is to have something in it that appeals to anyone with fifty cents for a newspaper--and their children as well. The comics audience is anything but elitist, and the comics' lack of pretension is part of what makes them fun.

[Calvin and Hobbes is my all-time favorite comic strip, as it is for many others, so purchasing this three-volume oversized cloth-bound hardcover anthology was inevitable for me. I remember fondly sitting on my father's lap as we read these strips in the daily newspaper back home. I learned from that experience that reading is not supposed to be an act of solitary confinement, but an act of community, with proof of membership being an adoration toward whatever is being read. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2005

Entering the Blogosphere (Discourse Chronicle)

[Becoming a blogger is something I postponed for a long time, possibly too long, but here I am. For those who visit my website on Bravenet, I plan on importing all of those pages over here soon, so please be patient. Movable Type is a new program for me and once I learn how to apply my web design skills here, this blog will resemble my static website. BK]

Posted by kuechebj at 04:49 AM | Comments (6)