Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Dead Zone: an Epic Journey

(01.11.12) Soon after starting this blog, which I promised to do as a 2012 New Year's resolution I wrote a short account of the launching in my writing diary, a logbook which I keep as a member of the Daily Writing Club, (an online support group for academic writers, sponsored by the Poststructural Theory site created by Clare O'Farrell http://edtheory.ning.com)
   After launching 29 Sunset Drive I recorded the following in my daily diary:  "Feeling nervous about this project, because it feels boundless.  I'm not sure what I will do with this blog?!  I have some ideas about it being a kind of flaneur repository….where I will store all my reflections, observations, etc., as well as links to my radio show.  So no general organizing theme as of yet." 


We didn't cross the borders, the borders crossed us!


Of the lessons I've learned from my studies, one of the most profound is the one taught to me by Herodotus, when he warned his readers to beware of ignoring boundaries!  But can we be guilty of ignoring boundaries if we don't know where they are?  Isn't that part of the fateful flaw of human beings?  Yes, at times we cross them, transgressing the conventions of our villages, and, like gamblers take the risk and embracing the outcomes, whatever they may be.  At other times, we unwittingly cross some boundary or another.   And at still other times we set out on a new journey without any sense of where we are going.  This is what I've seen called the 'Epic Journey':  pursuit of the rare experience.   

So, for the moment, unclear of the boundaries of this blog, I'm sharing links to my weekly radio show, which I have posted on the internet archive. The Dead Zone is an expression of my love of music, radio, and, of course, the Grateful Dead.  It's also part of my take on being a professor, which for me demands some experimentation, innovation, and, above all, using all of the available resources at the university!  Here's a link to one of my favorite shows, which I produced for New Year 2008:  


www.archive.org/details/DeadZoneJan12008



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