PDS on the Rhetoric of Blogging: Ideas and Advice

I’ve been asked to share my experience with blogging to instructors at the University of Kentucky.  What better strategy than to go meta and write a blog post about blogging?  In a year (allegedly) the University of Kentucky Writing Program will spearhead a significant curricular shift, which is part of the university’s larger general education [...]

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The New(est) Dispensation of Kentucky’s Domain of Greed, Power, and Corruption

My institution, The University of Kentucky, continues to receive national media coverage for the embarrassments that take place on campus and in its administrative meetings.  Our latest shameful news is that the University Board of Trustees met today to discuss whether or not they would accept Joe Craft’s proposed gift of $7 million and the [...]

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Rejecting Nobel’s Audacity of Hope

This article appears in North of Center.  I hope everyone in the downtown Lexington area picks up a copy.
Rejecting Nobel’s Audacity of Hope:  Why We Should Not Appreciate Barack Obama’s Peace Prize
When the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it would give President Barack Obama the 2009 Peace Prize, I, like many people, reacted bitterly.  Having [...]

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The Cost of Replacing Rupp Arena

Several weeks go North of Center published my article on the prospect of a new Rupp Arena.  To my knowledge, IMG/ISG and the UK Athletics Department have yet to release any official news on the project, although those well-connected people have stumbled upon some rumblings.  See Kentucky Sports Radio’s blog post, “Is There a New [...]

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Two Plugs: Sheehan and Pease

This weekend, famed voice for peace and activist Cindy Sheehan will visit Lexington.  She’ll be available at various events and locations this weekend, including a free talk at Transylvania University on Friday, September 12, 7:00 pm, and an appearance at Morris Book  Shop on Southland Drive (the next day, Saturday, between 3 and 4 pm).  [...]

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The Lyric Theatre: Does the Past Improve the Present

This week construction began on the Lyric Theatre.  It’s an important event for Lexington, so I wanted to re-post an article I wrote for North of Center several months ago.
The Third Street Corridor, which intersects Lexington’s East End Neighborhood, is a place where people are negotiating what it means to commemorate a community’s historical legacy. [...]

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Bluegrass-Aspendale Housing

Some friends of mine who also live in the East End neighborhood in Lexington are involved in a historical preservation project, which seeks to document the remarkable people, places, and buildings that have passed through the area over the years.
One of these places is the Bluegrass-Aspendale housing development.  Built in stages between 1936 and 1951, [...]

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Adventures at Rupp Arena

Yesterday I took a trip down to Rupp Arena and took some mental notes of my journey there.  The details and times might be a bit spotty.
3:30 PM – It’s a cold Saturday afternoon in Lexington, and everyone’s attention turns to Rupp Arena, where the revered University of Kentucky Wildcats will take on LSU.  It’s [...]

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An Evening with the Mountain Keepers

On April 9, the University of Kentucky Writing Program is sponsoring “An Evening with the Mountainkeepers,” the germinal event in the WP Community Engagement Series.  The festivities begin at 6 PM in the UK Student Center Ballroom.  It’s a free event that is open to the public.

The fundamental premise behind this event is that public [...]

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The Spirit of Sacrifice

Tomorrow is a day to celebrate the life and message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Each year when this day approaches, I think about an article I read a couple years ago, “Missing Martin,” which classifies King as one of our antisceptic heroes.  Too often in our society, King’s message has been emasculated, even [...]

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