art's blog

I’m not good at dealing with death. Philosophically I think of death as just a momentary milestone on an eternal journey, but I’m still not comfortable when I find out that someone in my community has died. I’m not sure what to say to the person’s family and loved ones. I’m not sure whether to give them something, what to give, or the right time to give it. I’m much older than most of you on ProgressiveU, but I’m still learning.  Read More »

OK, so I'm a sucker for movies about against-all-odds success stories.  But I didn't expect to like Freedom Writers as much as I did.  In early December someone from a PR company promoting Freedom Writers contacted ProgressiveU.  "The movie is a perfect fit for ProgressiveU members," he said.  "Can you help us promote the film?"  We had just finished our Fall competition, and it was a about a week before I had time to even read his email.  To make a long story short, we missed the window of opportunity to help promote the film before it came out, but after seeing the film yesterday I wish I had gotten on the ball quicker.   Read More »

Recently we have received several requests/complaints/inquiries regarding what might broadly be called "virtual harassment."  We take these complaints seriously.  While ProgressiveU cannot monitor every post and comment on the site, we value every member's contribution to the community.

This fall we changed the site so that only registered users can post comments.  We will continue to add new features that allow you to filter posts and comments so you can find the posts and comments that are most useful for you.    Read More »

Many of you are blogging for a chance for scholarship money.  Here's another chance to earn some cash for college just by writing. The progressive news and opinion magazine The Nation is sponsoring a student writing contest; the winner gets $500 and their article gets published in the magazine.  Read More »

I know many of you are trying to blog your way through college.  Anyone up for using your multi-media skills to earn a few bucks and work for progress at the same time?

I received word from a reader about this contest from Citizens for Global Solutions.  Below is a teaser from their website.  You can get the whole scoop on their site.

DESCRIPTION  >>>  Citizens for Global Solutions is holding a contest for students, budding artists, multi-media designers, and activists who are interested in making some cool flash videos.  The top contenders will be published on our website for voting and the winners will get cash! We're looking for short flash movies that can inspire, amuse and activate people out there who believe a better world is possible.  Read More »

Just a quick update from the Service for Leadership Conference at the College of San Mateo.  We are blogging live during a workshop on blogging and new media, to demonstrate the power of new media and some of the practical aspects of "how to do it."

I will attach the slides I used for the presentation later today.  Read More »

One of the most popular bloggers of all time, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of DailyKos, has a book coming out in March -- Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the rise of people-powered politics.  I plan to read it, and will post my review here once I've got my copy.  Any other reviews, comments, insights from the book are welcome.

Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics

While searching for places to announce our blogging scholarship I came across this two-year-old post about whether professors should get academic credit for blogging. 

The debate sounds familiar:  Is blogging just for fun, or does it actually make a contribution to society? The bottom line from these professors is that blogging is a very positive thing.  You just need to make sure you don't let it take up all of your time.   Read More »