teaching
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Done Done
Every early December and early May, it seems that a smattering of people who know that I teach part time will ask me if I’m done with the semester yet. If they catch me during the period between final exam week and when grades are officially submitted to the registrar, my stock answer is, “Well, Continue reading
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Eternal Recurrence
Yesterday, I was doing some lecture prep for the course I am teaching in Integrated Marketing Communications. This week’s module delves into communication theory and how traditional communication models can be used as a framework for understanding advertising, public relations, direct marketing, etc. The textbook features a standard model of the communication process very much Continue reading
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The Other Side of Summer
The calendar says that summer of 2024 ends on September 21. Tradition says it will end the day after Labor Day. For me, summer is effectively over on this, the evening of August 25. Fall classes start tomorrow at SUNY Oswego, and I will be there on day one teaching a section of Integrated Marketing Continue reading
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Year-End Wind-Down
There is a period in the Central New York seasonal cycle between when the last of the fall foliage drops from the trees and when the first serious snow accumulation arrives. It’s a time of dreary landscapes filled with bare tree limbs silhouetted against drab skies, dampened by cold drizzle and fog. Generally, that is Continue reading
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First Day of School
Yesterday was the first day of classes for the Fall ’23 semester at SUNY Oswego. When I was a student, from elementary school right on through grad school, starting a new academic year was always a bittersweet experience. There was a sadness over the end of summer mixed with the excitement of a fresh start. Continue reading
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A Change in Cadence
According to WordPress, today marks the 77th consecutive day that content has been posted on this blog. Unfortunately, this post marks the end of a.k.a. V.J. as a daily enterprise — at least until next May. The Fall 2023 semester is just a week away at the time of this writing. I’ll be teaching two Continue reading
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Course Prep
For most Americans, the unofficial end of summer is Labor Day weekend. For me, it comes a week prior to that when the fall semester starts. The first day of classes is less than a month from this writing, which is my cue to slip into Course-Prep Mode. It’s a bittersweet process. By this point Continue reading
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I Won’t Quit Wearing Ties
I am not exactly what someone would call a “fashion plate.” For most of my life, I was positively indifferent toward clothes. My daily wardrobe ensembles were usually slovenly and uncoordinated. I was never the kind of guy you’d see on the cover of GQ. (Hell, I would have gotten laughed off the pages of Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 