Haven't written in a while, and I guess that after I got all over Tom, Joyce and Dale for that very thing, I should probably keep from lapsing into oblivion.

The problem has been that here in Business, we have some monumental things coming up that have been draining my time.

First, we are going for accreditation, and expect a site visit next week. You faculty know what that means, but for students, let me just say that I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say that the shape of our future depends on this. This IS a huge deal, and there are millions of things that have to be taken care of before, during and right after this visit. Please wish us luck. I don't believe there has ever been a site visit to this college that has been so underpromoted. Almost no one outside business knows this is happening, which is quite different from the many other visits Lourdes has hosted. I admit that does bother me a bit. The stress is the same, but the support has been underwhelming. We could use some support.

Then we have the dedication of the Center for Professional Studies the following week. A couple of us have been waiting for this day for 7 or 8 years. It is also a big thing. We are more than excited, we are hopeful.

I'll write when I get the time. Considering the fact that I've put in 5 of the last 6 non-promotional entries in the faculty blog section, I'm not stupid enough to think that anyone really notices. It's all good, I'm enjoying it.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3:02:17 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [4] | 

I recently had one of those moments when I could’ve sworn my thoughts appeared to everybody else in a bubble above my head and my environment was really drawn by the same people who did Bugs Bunny for Warner Brothers. (best cartoons EVER, by the way.)

I wanted to borrow a CD from the excellent Toledo Lucas County Public Library system. They have so much stuff and have made it incredibly easy to do. I’ve done it hundreds of times—go online, access the catalog, find the wanted material, and request it sent to the branch of my choice. Hundreds of times.

This time was different for some reason.

I had to get the song Purple People Eater. Just had to. Don’t worry, it’s a real oldie and it’s never coming back. The One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater. The question about that song was never “Why are we listening to such awful stuff?” (answer: it’s fun) but always “Is he himself purple or does he eat purple people?” There really isn’t any way I could start wondering and then stop wondering.

I found the disc I wanted after searching just a little. I asked for them to have it ready for me at the Washington branch; it’s pretty close to my home. I was encouraged because I noted that there was a disc available in a few places, one of them being the Washington branch. Should I just go in there myself and get it from the stacks or should I order it online, make them walk out, retrieve it, and bring it back to the desk for me? I actually thought about it for a minute before I ordered it.

Then I waited for the call to tell me my disc was ready. And I waited. And then I waited some more. Five days I waited. Checking back on line, I saw that this item was marked IN TRANSIT on my account. In transit? They have a copy in the building!  

After a week I went to the library to take care of this. I’ll walk back to the stacks myself if I have to, but I’m getting to the bottom of this.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, thanks. I have a disc ordered; I’d like to get it please.”

“It says here that it is in transit. That means…”

“I know what that means, thanks. I was wondering if you could tell me why it’s been in transit for a week now.”

“Sometimes it just takes a while.”

I thought ‘Oh come on. Toledo isn’t THAT big.’

I said, “It takes a while, huh? Ma’am, isn’t it true that this item is available right here in this branch?”

I couldn’t stop thinking about this poor disc in the back of the library. It probably hadn’t been requested in years and years, and now that he’s needed again, no one knows he’s here. I envisioned this poor disc thinking that ‘if no one knows I’m here, I’ll have to get to the front desk myself,’ forcing himself off the rack, and trying to walk to the desk. Of course he’s been in transit for over a week. He doesn’t have legs!

I realized she had been speaking to me this whole time. I’d better listen.

I hear “It’s coming from Toledo Heights.” “Sir? Sir?”

Of course I was now thinking ‘Toledo has Heights? I’ve lived here my whole life and now I hear that Toledo has Heights? Where exactly? I thought that the 3 foot rise on the way to the front door of The Learning Center was the highest elevation in NW Ohio’

Back to the present, with a note to myself to take the time to find these heights and climb them.

“Sir? Are you alright?”

“Ma’am, listen very carefully, please. I believe you should see that you have a copy of this disc right here. Why can’t I just have that one?”

“Well, that’s highly unusual.”

?????????????????? I thought, 'It isn’t unusual that you have people bringing this disc down from The Great Heights of Toledo and “transited” across town when you have one here? You say THIS is unusual?' ???????????

“Sir? Sir? I think I’ll just get that for you, ok?”

“My thoughts exactly. Thanks very much.”

Turns out I remembered it correctly; it is a pretty fun tune. Dated like all get out, but fun. I wondered how many other tunes have faded into my memory waiting to be remembered and enjoyed again, but those are thoughts for another time.

And incidentally, he says in the song that he eats purple people. Of course he does.

Friday, April 04, 2008 3:29:43 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] | 

I have found it hard to break away from thinking about Dr. King and our nation’s trek toward equality after my last blog. I would so love to believe that “The Dream” has gotten closer to reality, but I see mixed results at best. How do you make sense of some of this stuff?

We all know about the remarkable journey of Senator Obama. He keeps going, getting ever nearer the goal, dealing with race in ways I didn’t think would happen in my lifetime. Every American now has to deal with his/her convictions, no more putting it off. It’s wonderful.

At the same time, I can’t get past the stats released by the Department of Justice recently. In case you haven’t yet seen it, let me explain why I bring it up here. The numbers describe who exactly is in our jails, and it is a real eye-opener.

There are many numbers here, and almost all of the stats make you scratch your head, but let me focus on just a couple.

First, the DOJ says that of all those incarcerated in the U.S., over 40% are black, 36% white. What is that all about? 13% of the population as a whole, 40% of the jailed population? I don’t know, statistics students, would that be significant?

Next, take a look at this. 1 in 106 white men age 18 or older are in prison. I guess that seems about right, but I don’t really know what the optimal number would be except maybe 0. What I do know is that this next number, even with different age parameters, puts it in a different perspective.

1 in 9 black men age 20 to 34 are in prison. 11%? Impossible. How can that be? When I heard these numbers first on NPR I thought that surely I had heard it wrong. Maybe I was actually paying attention to my driving and not listening carefully. I know, that doesn’t sound much like me. Of course I then checked it out and there it was.

I guess it would be prudent to mention the female totals, they are interesting as well. In case you wondered, about 11 out of every 12 prisoners in America are male. (Oh good, something we can joke about.) Using that as a basis, let’s look at the racial makeup: 1 in 355 white women age 35 to 39 are in prison, while 1 in 100 black women of the same age bracket (35 to 39) are likewise incarcerated.    

There have to be reasons beyond the obvious. I’m not sure how to understand this especially in light of the presidential race. Any thoughts? Any comments? Any solutions? Li'l help.

Maybe we’re just still dreaming.

Sources: U.S Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006.

              Pew Public Safety Project

              Time Magazine

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 12:40:13 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [3] | 

This week is the 40^th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s hard to believe that the number 40 is correct. Really? Could it have been that long ago?

There are reminiscences and interviews, tributes and ‘what-ifs’ galore, and you’ll have to try hard to avoid them. Well, if you want to avoid them, stop reading this now.

I remember that day well. I was a young man (yes, it’s hard to believe, but I actually was young at one time. Stop it) and I think I lacked a bit of perspective. Looking back, I think the whole country did as well. Surprised but not shocked. It felt as though the event had a certain inevitability to it.

I remember the times. It’s hard to believe, but assassinations were, while not commonplace, occurring with some regularity. President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, and his alleged assassin was himself killed days later, all of this live on television. Three New York Civil Rights workers were murdered in Mississippi while pushing to register voters. Malcolm X was similarly killed earlier that decade. Horror seemed to simply change to anger and angst, but not righteous outrage. If you were trying to change the mindsets of people who were benefiting from the status quo, apparently death was going to be a part of the equation. It was more than just a symbolic risk you took, there was a good chance.

Violence seemed to be everywhere; war in Southeast Asia, riots in Watts and Detroit, political upheaval everywhere you looked.

Amid all of that, I do remember how the idea of Nonviolent Resistance took hold of people. What a powerful message for all of us. What courage it took to do what he did! This was truly someone I could use to measure myself and my life against, always striving to be better. I got courage from watching him face constant anger and violence with calm purpose. It was hard to believe that anybody could do that knowing what could happen.

Of course, the manner of his death unleashed that message and keeps Dr. King alive. Nonviolent Resistance still communicates and accomplishes where violence doesn’t. His son delivered that thought to us here at Lourdes College recently and brought all of this back to me.

40 years ago. It’s hard to believe in so many ways.

Monday, March 31, 2008 2:27:02 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

The following is a transcript from the show Hardball with Chris Matthews:

Chris:   In the last segment of our show tonight we examine the proliferation of blogging today. Our guest is from Sylvania, Ohio and has recently become the 200 millionth blogger. We welcome Dane Copti to Hardball.

Dane:   Hi Chris, thanks for having me on the show. Wow. There must be over 10 people watching.

C:         Very funny. Tell me why you think we need 200 million people blogging?

D:         I didn’t say I think we need it.

C:         Ok. So why are you doing this?

D:         Seriously, I don’t know. I don’t have the time, I really don’t. Just to write this baloney today I’ve put off grading my 200 millionth paper. I keep thinking that if I had the time I’d do something great with my life. Instead I’m starting this. I don’t know how I get off the track sometimes.

C:         You must have some goals for your blog.

D:         You’d think, but no. I am not trying to advance humanity, teach, or even elevate anything. Some days I believe that I have something worthwhile to say, but then I remember that everyone thinks that sometime. Goals? No, not really. So in the middle of a brutal semester I think I should start blogging. What an idiot.

C:         (aside) who booked this guy?

C:         OK, fascinating. We’re off for a short break. Don’t go anywhere.

During the break:

C:         Man, maybe you should go get an anti-depressant.

D:         Thanks, but I’ll be fine.

C:         Not for you, for me.

C:         OK, we’re back with Dane Copti, 'Blogger Superfluous'. Dane, do you have any positive thoughts about this project?

D:         Oh sure, Chris. In the end I think I’m doing this because I DO have things I want to say for myself. If no one reads it, fine, but I get my say. I love Lourdes College. I love my job, my profession, NW Ohio. I love my daughter, my friends, my life, and I like to write. I’ll find the time somewhere and other things will suffer for it. I’ll look up later and realize that important things will have gone undone and I’ll be at a total loss as to why. It’s ok; I’ll probably just blame George Bush for it.

C:         Excellent. In the last few seconds, is there anything else you want to say?

D:         Yeah. I have some things to say to my fellow faculty bloggers.

Joyce Litten, what happened to you? I read about the End of the Conservatist Agenda then I wait for more. And wait. Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me nothing is happening anywhere in the world that would follow that? Where are you? Oh yeah, probably busy. Does that come as a total surprise?

Tom Estrella? I know there are things you want to say. How do I know this? YOU’RE TOM ESTRELLA! That’s how I know it. What happened? You got on the front page of the Blade and figured you met all of your goals? Elvis as the Antichrist left me wanting more. I never got any more. It’s been only 6 months, so I guess I need to learn patience.

Finally, Dale Lanigan. Important stuff you’re writing there, Dale. Look, everyone knows that people often confuse us for each other. We look so much alike you’d think we were separated at birth. But blogging? In a moment of sheer profundity, you asked about the words to the song “Take On Me”. How terribly deep! I actually got an email from a well-meaning student complete with the lyrics. Keep it up, Dale. Maybe we’ll even get an easy opening CD from this.

Come on, faculty. Our blog page is little more than promotional announcements anymore. Don’t get me wrong, IA does a good job, but please.

C:         Thanks, Dane, and thanks to all of you for watching. Countdown with Keith Olbermann starts right now.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 7:19:45 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] |