Lose a Title, Win Another

For those that have read some of my previous post you know that my little brother is a professional wrestler known by Superbeast.

Well, at the beginning of October I touted his championship win of the Hardcore Title in Roc City Wrestling. Unfortunately he's since lost that title. He has since left Roc City Wrestling and is trying his hand at bigger and better things.

But fear not fans of the Superbeast because he is now the World Heavyweight Champion of Next Era Wrestling. This is the pinnacle of this wrestling promotion and here's to hoping that he holds that championship for a long time to come.

Long live Superbeast, the Inhuman Monstrosity!

Boldly Going Where Few Have Gone Before

Yesterday marked another celebrity outing themselves.

George Takei, otherwise known as Star Trek's Mister Sulu, announced that he was a gay man and had been in a relationship for 18 years.

Takei, who from age 4 to 8 lived in a U.S. internment camp, finally felt that it was an appropriate time to come out due to the United States' current political situation. Especially when you consider homosexuality and gay marriage being such decisive issues right now.

Wow. It's good to know that homosexuals last into the 23rd century! There's hope for us yet.

Deadline is Upon Me

The submission deadline is fast approaching for the International Communication Association’s annual conference. The due date is November 1. Getting something submitted, and subsequently accepted, is important if for no other reason than next year's conference is in Dresden, Germany.

I am preparing one paper for which I am the only author. It’s on a topic that Professor and Associate Dean for Research Annie Lang affectionately calls “gender crap.” It examines the emotional responses of females while they watch televised sports in which the gender of the athlete does not match up with the perceived gender of the sport.

In addition I am working on a paper with Professor Lang and fellow graduate student Gayle Nadorff about a project that I have been working on since fall of 2004: a content analysis dealing with the prevalence of stigmatizing portrayals of mental illness on television.

For a third paper I am working with Visiting Professor Sari Thomas and fellow graduate student Brian Wilson. This is another content analysis that deals with the coverage of music protests in a few major publications: The New York Times, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, and (possibly) Billboard.

As you can see I have a very busy five days ahead of me. All of these papers are in various stages of completion, but all are due by this coming Tuesday.

November 1 is also my birthday. What a way to spend the day. At least I’ll have something to celebrate since turning 32 isn’t really that much of a milestone.

Research is Hard

I’ve spent my entire day in the Institute for Communication Research Lab running participants through a print advertising study that I am working on with my friend Sam Bradley, who is at the Ohio State University. Being in the lab from 8am until nearly 6pm sure can take it out of a person. I’m dead tired.

I can’t even imagine what it will be like next year when I’m collecting data for my dissertation. I’ve already got a sleeping disorder. I’ll probably be a zombie once that process is done.

Out and Proud

Today was a monumental day in the world of women’s basketball. No, a championship game wasn’t played or a new team was added to the expanding WNBA field. It has to do with a personal issue that one of the sport’s biggest stars of all time has decided to come forward with.

Sheryl Swoopes, of the Houston Comets, discusses in an article in ESPN The Magazine that she is in fact a lesbian and in a long term relationship.

This may not be groundbreaking in the overall scheme of the world; bigger and more widely known stars such as Rosie and Ellen have come out before her. But Sheryl really is the biggest name and the face of women’s basketball. And, as far as I can remember, she is the first big name African American female to come out.

The WNBA for many years has attempted to shake its lesbian image. They would promote family days and discuss their players’ husband and boyfriends. But as anyone who has ever been to a WNBA game can attest, me included, a very large percentage of the sport’s fan base is lesbian.

Sheryl Swoopes declaration should open doors for more female athletes to come out of the closet as well. As a three-time WNBA MVP, five-time WNBA all star, and three time Olympic gold medalist she is an idol to many women and girls out there looking to her as the ideal female basketball player. Many a lesbian athlete (and gay male athletes for that matter) should be able to look at Swoopes and realize that if a star of that magnitude can be proud of who they are and not be afraid to tell the world, then maybe they can too.

Sheryl’s biggest worry is that some of her fans will no longer feel right in looking up to her. I can tell her that by doing this she is actually going to gain some fans, not just for her ability to play basketball but for her personal strength in declaring who she was in a world that may not be ready to accept her. And she can now count me as one of those fans.

Welcome to the club Sheryl. Remind me to show you the secret handshake!

Where Does All The Time Go?

It seems like just last week that I started go to Indiana University for my undergraduate degree. And it was just yesterday that I started by graduate work, right?

This morning I registered for my last semester of coursework. Ever.

It is such a strange feeling. I can’t believe that I’m this close to being done with taking classes. I’m finding it very difficult to wrap my head around.

I only have to take two classes. I have chosen a Gender Studies course, G701-Sexuality, Privacy and the Law, and a course in IU’s School of Library and Information Science, L567-Gender and Computerization. In addition I have six more credits of dissertation that I must complete.

I just can’t believe that this part of my academic journey is nearly over.

Fair Ruling?

This past weekend marked the first LPGA tournament in which 16-year old Michelle Wie competed as a professional golfer. She availed herself pretty well at the Samsung World Championship, her first tournament as a professional. She placed fourth which would have earned her $53,126.

That is, until a Sports Illustrated reporter stepped forth after the tournament had reached its conclusion to point out a possible rule infraction that Wie had committed during the third round of the tournament. After doing a brief investigation Wie was then disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard and forfeits her standing in the tournament and her prize money.

Wie hit a shot into an unplayable location. (I believe she was behind a bush.) The rules of golf state that she would be able to take an unplayable drop to move her from behind an obstruction that would hinder her next shot. In taking such a drop she is not allowed to move herself any closer to the hole than where the ball had landed behind the obstruction. Wie believed she had done that, but upon further investigation she moved herself between 12 and 18 inches closer to the hole. For this reason she should have included some penalty strokes on her scorecard to account of moving herself closer. Because she did not believe she had done that, she did not include the additional strokes to her card. She went on to complete her third round and sign her scorecard with no problem.

A reporter from Sports Illustrated believed that Michelle may have may an error in her drop. He went so far as to say that, as a reporter, he intended to ask Michelle about it after the round to get her reaction. If he had brought it to her attention before she had signed her scorecard or told an official before the end of her third round in order to ask her about it, this disqualification would not have happened or been necessary. The addition of these two strokes would have moved Wie into a tie for eighth place and she would have earned approximately $24,600.

This reporter said that he tossed and turned all of Saturday night, went so far as to go back to the hole in question and examined what he believe Michelle did by looking at where she did her drop. The guilt of having this knowledge finally got to him and he brought it to the attention of a tour rules official.

Does it seem strange to anyone else that this reporter had a belief that some sort of rules infraction had occurred but waited 24-hours to report it, which in turn caused the disqualification of a player?

In other sports rules infractions from previous plays/events/days that are reported or discovered later don’t typically come back to hurt the players once the event was completed. If there was some sort of impropriety believed to have occurred, is it fair to punish the player (particularly one who did it inadvertently) a day later? If it is dealt with relatively immediately, then I would have no problem with it. But bringing it forward a day later, which would then result in a disqualification, just doesn’t sit right with me.

Scanadal in an Unlikely Sport

I was recently speaking to someone about steroids in the sporting world, and we were wondering what sports might not actually benefit from steroid use and therefore their athletes probably wouldn’t be caught taking them. There are just some sports that you never hear about steroid scandals in, and the public ends up thinking that those sports are immune from such a problem. But not anymore.

Recently Australian world champion kayaker Nathan Baggaley tested positive for the steroids stanozolol and methandienone. This blemishes a sport that, up until this time, has not been a subject of this type of scandal. Kayaking officials are now working toward stronger guidelines and testing standards for their athletes.

It got me wondering what sports out there would have athletes that just wouldn’t use steroids. How about synchronized swimming? Or rifle? As it turns out, on the list of banned substances are various beta-blockers that would enable the athletes in these sports to better concentrate and focus, and could in the long run assist in making them a better athlete in their sport.

Is it only a matter of time before we see a steroid scandal hit the Olympic badminton team? Or maybe an Olympic archer? Maybe, but I sure will be a little less surprised when it happens.

One Class Nearly Done, But Was It Worth It?

This week marks the eighth week of the Indiana University fall semester. This also means that it is the last week of my eight week Gender Studies course.

I’ve enjoyed this course (GNDR G702-Researching Gender Issues) more than I thought I would. It turned out to be much more of a history course than I originally thought it would be, even though going back now and rereading the course description I should have know what it was. I have read a lot of interesting articles and historiographies that examined various topics in Gender Studies. I’ve worked incredibly hard during the first seven weeks, both because it was an approach that I am not used to working with and because it was an accelerated class. It was like having an entire week of a class in one session.

I often felt like there was no time to breathe and that I was behind the rest of the class.

But now as I approach the end of the class I’m left wondering, what did I learn?

I’ve been exposed to historical pieces and points-of-view that I had not considered before. However, outside of an awareness that they exist I’m not sure that I actually learned anything that I will either retain or use.

I think that this is partially due to the fact that the entire course was done in what felt like a rushed manner during only half of the semester. Perhaps if the class went the entire sixteen weeks I would feel better about what I am taking from the class. I would have had more time to think and reflect on a topic instead of rushing to finish the readings for one topic before immediately moving on to the next.

I can see the validity for having eight-week classes in some areas. (I took such a class as an undergraduate that taught me how to use some of the reference resources in the library.) But for a class such as this, I am left wondering if the students are done a disservice by having the class only run half the semester.

Enough Cancellations, Let's Hear Some Good News

I keep listing all the television programs that have been failing this season. So today I thought I'd give some recognition to those new programs that earned a full season order of episodes. Those programs include:






CBS's Criminal Minds












CBS's Ghost Whisperer





















CBS's How I Met Your Mother








FOX's Bones







FOX's Prison Break













FOX's The War at Home















UPN's Everybody Hates Chris













the WB's Supernatural











NBC's My Name is Earl

Another One Bites the Dust

There has been another cancellation worth reporting in the new TV season.



Don Johnson's return to network TV, the WB's Just Legal, was recently axed. Another legal drama bites the dust.

Expect more cancellations before the beginning of November sweeps.

Just Plain Wrong

It's just my opinion, but, essay exams at 8am are just evil.

The News Gets Better and Better

For those of you out there wondering, it turns out that the colon cancer scare that my Mom had last month is not as bad as we thought it was, even after she had her colonoscopy. The more tests they do the more it appears that she does not have colon cancer at all.

What they believe it to be is appendix cancer.

Appendix cancer is very unusual, and is usually related to having colon cancer. Though my mom had her appendix removed when this whole ordeal started, she is scheduled to go back in the hospital for a bit of exploratory surgery to make sure that there is nothing on the outside of the colon since there are no signs of anything on the inside. She is expected to make a 100% recovery.

Thanks to everyone for all the positive thoughts and messages that we've received during this time!

The Puppy & The Knife

Here’s a topic that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while, but only now have the time to do so.

A few weeks back a news story was reported about a 6-month old puppy swallowing a 13-inch knife with a serrated blade. A vet took an x-ray of the dog and was astonished by what he saw. I too can’t believe that the dog could swallow a knife like that whole and not be injured. It’s amazing, and just looking at the x-ray gives me the creeps!

The puppy, a Saint Bernard, is recovering nicely now after the vet surgically removed the knife.

An unbelievable story with a happy ending!

The Future of Golf is Now

As was recently reported, and then confirmed, 15-year old golf phenom Michelle Wie has decided to turn pro. While she plans to continue high school, and graduate, she will be competing on the LPGA tour and actually earning prize money.

This Thursday marks Wie’s first tournament as a pro. All eyes will be turned on her as she competes at the Samsung World Championship. This will mark the start of a new era in golf, one that will very likely shape where the sport of golf goes in the future.

Not since the start of Tiger Woods’ career has there been such a buzz for a new golfer. I look forward to seeing how Wie does in her first tournament and how she handles the pressure of being a pro.

And are there any bets on how long it will take for her to win an event?

Academic Apathy

In grading my first set of exams in many years, and my first one ever that wasn’t a multiple choice exam, I am struck by how unprepared many of the students were. Now I’m not saying that there aren’t good grades. My students run the gamut from A to F. But there are many more students on one end of that spectrum than the other.

I’ve expressed this view to others and have been told that I may have unrealistic expectations, that I’m comparing my undergraduate students to how I was as an undergraduate. Only once as an undergraduate did I ever go into an exam feeling like I was unprepared; it was for my history of 70s and 80s rock music class and I was just coming off of having walking pneumonia. I bombed the test and felt horribly afterward. My grade in the class never recovered, ending up with my only undergraduate C grade, and I forced myself to take another music class that summer to prove to myself that I could hack it in a music class and that the previous one was fluke.

In grading last night I saw many a question without any sort of answer even tried to be given and even full pages completely blank. I would never have even thought to turn in an exam with a completely blank page. But for some students it seems that they could really care less. They’re there for the C-grade and nothing more. Again, this baffles me to no end!

While I agree that many undergraduates go to college too early and should have taken a year or two off after high school, there are some students that should not even be in college in the first place. I’m sure some of my students fall into these categories, but it can’t be all of them.

Again, I know that this does not apply to all of my students. I have quite a few really good ones. But maybe someone could explain the undergraduate student academic apathy to me that the others have. I’m just not getting it.

Another Task Done!

My take-home exam is finally done.

Woo hoo!

Two Down, One To Go (Not to Mention Some Math)

I just had to stop working on my T511 take-home exam for a moment. I've finished two of the three essay question with one more to go. Not to mention some calculations of ratings, shares, and the like.

I turned in my big historiographical paper today. That project nearly turned my mind to mush!

Once I'm through with this exam it's on to studying for another exam next week, not to mention working on some of the ongoing research projects that I have neglected this week.

Is it Thanksgiving Break yet?

Two More Down

There are two more casualties of the new season to report.

First to report is NBC’s Inconceivable. With only approximately 4.5 million people watching it each Friday night, it was inevitable that this program would be pulled. Though not yet officially cancelled, it has been pulled from NBC’s schedule for the immediate future.

Second is UPN’s Sex, Love & Secrets. UPN has halted production of the program all together. While the network may still at some point down the line burn off the remaining episodes that have been made, this is the end of Denise Richards’ TV program.

Any bets on which program will be next? By looking at the Nielsen ratings, it could be any number of current shows both new and returning.

The Olympics Bidding Process

After reading my recent post about the possible bid cities that would like to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games I had a question asking me how a city actually becomes the host city. They wanted to know what the actual process was in becoming a nation’s nominee to the international process and what a location has to do at the international level to prevail in winning the games. It is an interesting process, but what one has to remember is that a certain level of luck comes into play and the recent history of the games can impact a decision.

A city that desires to host an Olympic Games must first make it past the nomination process on a national level. For example, in the recent bids for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games New York City was the United States nominee to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They competed against eight other cities. Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Tampa were eliminated in 2001 and did not make the short list of possible U.S. host cities. New York City then prevailed after further consideration by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) over the other cities that did make the short list: San Francisco, Houston, and Washington D.C.

The national choice is then submitted to the IOC. The IOC then sends the host city a questionnaire so that they are better able to understand what structural, infrastructural and monetary factors will have an impact if the IOC grants the games to the city. From the big list of possible cities the IOC evaluates the questionnaires and shortens the list to the possible Candidate Cities. Typically this list comprises of approximately five or six cities, but recent history has shown this list to be as short as three cities or as long as seven. During the process for the 2012 Summer Games the cities that did not make the Candidate List were Havana, Cuba; Leipzig, Germany; Istanbul, Turkey; and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Those that made the cut to the Candidate List in addition to New York City were Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Madrid, Spain; and the eventual winner of the process London, England.

The Candidate Cites must then prepare bid books in which all possible information pertaining to their hosting the games must be included. (Click on each of the cities here to see their 2012 bid book: New York City, Moscow, London. Paris and Madrid's are no longer available online.) These bid books are reviewed and visits to the city are arranged by members the IOC. The IOC members that visited the city then prepare a report that evaluates their visit. A formal bid by the Candidate City is then submitted to the IOC prior to voting. The host city is finally decided by secret ballot.

The secret ballot may take as little as one round of voting, depending on the number of Candidate Cities or an overwhelming number of votes to one city. For the 2012 Summer Olympics the secret balloting proceeded for four rounds. Round one saw Moscow receive the least number of votes and London receive the most. New York was eliminated and Madrid moved into the lead with the most votes. What was a surprising move in the third round Madrid moved from first to worst and was eliminated from the voting. London eventually prevailed, garnering the most votes in round three and four, eventually eliminating Paris as a possible Candidate City.

It’s a long process over that takes approximately two to three years. One that can be very fruitful for the city that is granted the opportunity to host the Olympic Games and one that can be very costly to those who don’t get them.

Week From Hell!

Have you ever had one of those weeks when there just aren’t enough hours to get everything you need to done? I’m faced with that right now. I have a 10-page paper due this week for one class based on readings we just finished discussing last week, I have a take home exam that is still sitting on the shelf waiting to be started and is due Friday, I have to be finish some library research for another class that I’ve been doing and coming up empty handed on, and to top it off I started running an experiment this week.

(The experiment was an unexpected turn of events. I had planned to start it early last week, but things happened and I was not able to start it until yesterday, right smack dab in the middle of my week from hell.)

My struggle now is how do I get all of my schoolwork done and done at an acceptable level of competency. This will be hard considering I’ve been suffering from some really severe allergy induced asthma (which my doctor put me on prednisone for) and the fact that I don’t sleep well (and that’s even worse since I’m having problems breathing).

Aahhh, the life of a PhD student! No rest for the weary!

And for those of you wondering why I’m blogging if I have so much to do: I’m waiting for my gender studies class to start in 15 minutes and that’s just not enough time to start work on any of the tasks on my plate.

BEWARE THE SUPERBEAST

I want to introduce everyone to the guy in the picture on the right. This guy is known by some as Superbeast. He is the current Roc City Wrestling Hardcore Champion. He’s a guy who has found a passion for something that many people don’t necessarily understand: professional wrestling. He trains hard to learn his sport and is dedicated to being the best wrestler that he can be. And he is finally finding some successes for his efforts.

Some of you reading might be wondering why I would feature a professional wrestler from the independent circuit. That question is easy to answer. He’s my little brother, Bill.

Bill isn’t one to brag about any of his accomplishments. I had to find out that he won this title by visiting the Roc City Wrestling webpage and reading the results for their September 2 Remember show. Granted we as a family have had a lot of other things on our minds as of late (our Mom being diagnosed with cancer, our sister getting into a recent car accident) but he never took the time to let anyone know that he had achieved one of his ultimate goals of winning a title. (For the record he has won this title before, but only held it for a few minutes before losing it. He currently has held this title for two weeks.)

There will be those out there saying, “So what? Wrestling is scripted and he knew ahead of time that he was going to win the title.” While that is very true, they would not have chosen him to hold the title if he hadn’t shown the skill and the determination to prove that he was the caliber of wrestler to hold the title and represent RCW. That alone tells me that he is serious about following this road to wherever it will take him, no matter what.

I am very proud of my little brother Bill. And may the title reign of Superbeast last a long, long time!