partsofspeaking

A revelation yesterday:  The solution to our polarized society and toxic discourse is to return to good old-fashioned rule-bound debate. Some people may think that what we have today is "debate."  No, what we have today is childish screaming matches, narcissistic attacks, ad hominem (read David Hogg on any gun owners), media ginning up drama for ratings, and the death of facts and logic. (By the way, Kelly Anne Conway was mocked for saying "Alternative facts" but this is not mock-worthy.  A background in real debate shows there are alternative facts, or better, complementary facts.) I was a college debate coach for several years in my 20s and early 30s.  It was foundational to teaching critical thinking for me as the coach, so I know it is for students.  My former debaters are pastors, college professors, and professionals.  And moms and dads, too.  The true debate format (not this public forum thing that is called a debate, i.e., the presidentia...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/31/sacramento-nurse-placed-on-leave-after-post-saying-stephon-clark-deserved-it.html Not wise behavior. No professional should ever comment on patients, students, or clients on social media. I am a free-speech advocate but there is no such thing as absolute freedom of speech.  Social media makes us all big mouths. The Stephon Clarke story is disturbing.  The shooting in the back because the police thought a cell phone was a gun makes no sense. Justice must be served here.

My Good Friday started early.  Then at 8:45 I was at a faculty development event this morning where I spoke for about ten minutes on High Impact Practices a la AAC&U, which I am rather an expert on, actually, and am writing a book about.  I watched some of my colleagues presentations.  The program was a series of short TED talks called "Bold Talks" that I thought went quite well.  Being a public speaking instructor, I am conscious of being professional and fluent (read slick) in my presentation.  Then I went to a Good Friday service at my church.  Which is the point of this post. Last Sunday at ESL class my co-teacher and I planned to discuss the Christian, real meaning of Easter with our students, all of whom are Muslim immigrants.  I gave my conversion testimony, which probably was more relevant because I was older when I was converted (15).  They had good questions and listened respectfully, and I gave them a copy of Matthew 26-28 in Ar...

I think (without being informed of this) that my first three novels are out of print.  I can't say I blame the publisher--the sales have been abysmal for a while, but I do need to talk to them about copyright. However, I have many copies, and a few are available used.  If anyone wants a copy of Traveling Through, Cross Road, and Legacy, contact me through the comments. I will get you a signed copy for $8 plus shipping.  That is my cost. I personally think those books, although early efforts, have a lot to say and have good characterizations and plots.  They are faith-based, with strong theology. 

This morning I attended a local authors' event in Dalton, GA. It was well run and I actually sold 16 books.  That's amazing for me. Equally good, I saw a former student there and we had a good talk, catching up.  We invariably got onto technology--especially social media. I had an infuriating experience with Twitter this week and have not looked at my notifications for a few days.  I will probably post to hawk my books, but I'm not going to get any more connections or follows.  Enough.  Facebook only for notifications, birthdays,  and congratulations. After this week's news of the data mining scandal at Facebook, I don't want Zuckerberg to get any more of my information or money. My student and I said we both hoped social media would diminish to the point of irrelevance. Then I come across this article on smartphones' mere presence affecting our  cognitive ability. So the question is, do I want a better quality of life, spiritually, intelle...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/steven-pinker-enlightenment-now/554054/ "The ancient Chinese philosopher Mengzi identified another conundrum: how to expand the mutual commitment and trust that define a family to the very different scale of a state. This is not an easy lift, especially for a nation as large and scattered as the U.S. But perhaps we can take a lesson from family terrain. Marriage counselors often say that relationships can weather anger, misunderstanding, jealousy, fundamentally different values—even the occasional bout of hatred. But they can’t survive contempt, which has become the signature political emotion of our age. Trying to make a state more like a community doesn’t mean making it more homogeneous or even more harmonious. Instead, the problem for enlightenment now is how to establish a background of trust and commitment that allows conflict without contempt." This idea that relationships can weather anything but cont...

I showed this video in class the other day to discuss stereotypes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu3FE7BswYI You'll have a hard time getting it out of your head.  It's hilarious. 

I rarely recommend movies, especially recent ones.  I do recommend, with provisos Wind River .  I won't give away the plot--the least you know going in, the better, I think.  The script and acting are excellent, and the scenery, as some have said, is a character.  Although it addresses the plight of the Native Americans, it does not beat the viewer over the head with it and the characters are not stereotypes. Granted, it's rough to watch at times and not for children, so you are warned.  But it's a compelling movie, and I don't know why it was not nominated for an Oscar but Lady Bird (which I paid money to see) was. 

I'm proud of this one--my first mystery.  If you know me, I can get you a signed copy for 6.00.  Kindle only 2.99.

The textbook I am using for the Interpersonal Communication class decries stereotypes, but allows that they are not necessarily always untrue. A recent Ted Talk I saw by an African woman states, "Stereotypes are not wrong because they are untrue, but because they are incomplete." What? I think this is sending a mixed message.  While it might be true that there has been some basis in reality for some stereotypes, I think overall we do better to denounce stereotypes. Some are, or might seem, harmless, "Black people like fried chicken."  "Latinos value family."  "Asians have strong work ethics."  And if you were to do real research, these might hold up, to some level.  I don't think the alleged harmlessness of a stereotype dismisses its lack of logic and potential damage to thought processes. Plus, don't white people do all these things?  Is it possible Asians would like fried chicken if it had been part of their heritage?  Do Black ...

I have been surprised to see, according to this software, that sites about transgendered people are coming to this site.  I'm thinking, "I never write about that topic--what's the connection?" I realized the other day that it is probably my posts on Kallman's Syndrome, which are among my most visited. "Coming out" about Kallman's has been painful but I hope it helps some to know that you can get through this life and condition and have fulfillment.  Of course, my fulfillment is mostly because of the grace of Jesus Christ. With the identity as His follower, physical conditions come fourth or later.    As a patient of Kallman's, I do not know what the connection to transgenderism is.  I never felt that I was a man living in a woman's body or even a non-woman.  I have all the working parts, just no gasoline.  I have been pregnant and had a child.  Granted, some aspects of stereotypical womanhood are puzzling to me, but I think that's bec...

Fascinating video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ess8txBX0 Reading the comments of viewers disheartens me, since so many equate their church experience with this kind of group.  I doubt many pastors expect everyone to live together or to have photos of the pastor in their houses or rooms.  With the exception of some megachurch pastors and some little popes in the pulpits in small churches, most pastors are feeding rather than fleecing the flock and are making sacrifices for ministry.  Christianity Today does a good job of focusing on pastors of small congregations (around 200 and less in attendance), which constitute the majority of them.  In my humble opinion, pastors' first responsibility is to teach the Word, preach the gospel, and know and care for the flock.  Their second responsibility is to not let their ministry become a cult of personality, to not allow themselves to "attract followers."  Even Twitter feeds into this proclivity of st...

This is my 1900th post! Welcome to March 17, St. Patrick's Day.  The day that flagrant stereotypes are allowed. We don't celebrate the contributions of the Irish this day.  We don't marvel at the story of Patrick.  We use it as an excuse to party and make fun of drunk Irishmen. In the 1800s, the Irish Catholics were not considered "white" in this country, at least in the Northeast. That changed as racists saw the rise of African Americans and targeted them. I have Scots Irish in my background, which is not really Irish. It refers to Scots who migrated to Northern Ireland before coming to the U.S. I also found through a DNA test that I'm 3/8 Scandinavian and 1/8 or 1/16 Mediterranean.   I was told for years I was Native American, but there seems to be some controversy there. Read up on St. Patrick.  It's a great story of the early church. 

My son is attending the first two rounds of the March Madness tournament in Nashville this weekend.  He is in seventh heaven over it.  His tweets are funny. 

It was a beautiful day yesterday in Northwest Georgia, and I have been off this week for Spring Break.  I have worked at home for most of it, being quite productive. Yesterday we finally did something as a couple--shoot guns. We visited an outdoor shooting range in Murray County, quite off the beaten path as is to be expected, since guns make a lot of noise.  Due to the excessive busy-ness of my job for the last two years, it's been a while since I've been shooting, and I'd never been to this range. For those who have never been to an outdoor shooting range, the concept might be bizarre and frightening.  I would never do it without my husband, and I don't think he is all that crazy about going by himself, mostly because they are isolated.  Some might think it would be like this video of vandalism at another gun range in our area, but these fools are being prosecuted.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZyStPStFP0 No, it's not like that.  People come wi...

LINK TO KINDLE VERSION

My sixth novel and first murder mystery.  Announcing https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981163042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520867836&sr=8-1&keywords=Barbara+G.+Tucker. Kindle and CreateSpace; I can sell signed copies cheaper.  Please spread the news.

Do we really have to see those commercials about the old naked woman falling in the shower to know that seniors need an alert system? I am so sick of being told I am supposed to care about Hollywood telling itself how great they are. Likewise I am so sick of immoral people telling me how to be moral. I will add to this as it goes.

My sixth novel, Long Lost Family, will soon be available! 

What happens when you find out something horrible about someone you trusted, and realize you were one of the few who didn't know it?  (This is not a family member.) This happened to me recently.  I am disturbed by it.  I wish someone had told me a few years back.  Life would have been qualitatively different. 

Something I said in class led a student to ask me a hard question the other day after my Interpersonal Communication class. "Where do you come down on the issue of free will and determinism." Hummmmm. "It's not 50/50.  Some things are biologically determined or part of early development that they are set.  But I would lean on the side of free will.  I could never be an NBA player.  That's determined.  I can't change a lot of my circumstances.  But if we don't have free will, why get out of bed in the morning?" It led to a good discussion, I was able to share that my world view came from my faith, and some of my background. That is an area of apologetics that might open doors. However, "free will" always struck me as a poor choice of words, as if it were an absolute.  That's not possible, so "reasonable or limited choice" makes more sense. 

A line from our Life Group literature bugs me this week. "Scripture tells us Jesus was full of both grace and truth (John 1:14).  We should emphasize both in the church as well.  If we swing too far toward grace to the neglect of turth, we can wink at sin and fail to confront wickedness suh as hypocrisy.  On the other hand, if we ingore grace and focus solely on truth, we can become Pharisaical, judging others harshly without love." I understand at one level what this writer is saying, and for most Christians who have minimal theological training, it makes sense.  But I fear we are missing the point.  I don't think that John 1:14 means that Jesus was an almagam of opposites, and I think we are wrong when we see grace and truth as opposites.  Grace is only grace if it is truthful and gracious about truth; truth is only truth if is truthful and gracious about grace.  Grace includes truth; truth includes grace.  Hopefully, I am not splitting ha...

This will be controversial.  Trigger warning. I can't help but compare the students post-Columbine and the students post-Parkland. After Columbine, the heroism of the survivors and victims was widely reported and lauded.  They saved each others' lives.  They stood up to the killers who asked about their faith, and they died as a result. While there was, deservedly, talk about gun control afterward, there was as much or more talk about what led the shooters (who will not be named here) to do it, the effects of violent media, and the age-old question, where were the parents. That was 1999.  This is 2018. While there is much to talk about after the horrendous Parkland shooting tragedy (including the courage of teachers), it has been drowned out by the gun control debate.  The media has gone wild on the subject. I don't deny guns in this country should be debated.  I favor some restrictions on what is going on now. I do deny that the way the current...