My family loves these films. And because my Dad is a smart guy, we have known for a long time that these three films have both a historic basis (Western short story author James Warner Bellah drew from the truth in some cases) and a familial resemblance (due to John Ford and also to his... Continue Reading →
Livetweets: The fall of the Alamo
Here in Feb. 23-March 6, 2021, we are again in the midst of the Alamo's “13 Days to Glory.” I've "livetweeted" the Alamo siege twice, in 2011 and 2020. This year, I thought I would collect the text of my 2020 tweets in case I ever decide to revise them again! So here they are... Continue Reading →
Why Yankees think ‘Y’all’ is singular: A theory
A few years back at Christmastime in Chicago, I wandered cold and sleepy into a store across from Wrigley Field. I'd been away from home too long, I needed comfort and I hadn't found a Dr Pepper in days. Inadvertently, a linguistic theory was born. Yankees are known (yes, you are) for mistakenly using "y'all"... Continue Reading →
Three Aggies to know: Ike, Von, Roy
Here in the land of Aggie news, we are aware of what we call "the maroon bubble." That is, some news is really familiar to those of us living/working around campus, but we realize not all Aggies may actually hear about it if they live outside the bubble. So here are three Aggies whom, if... Continue Reading →
Going back to Aggieland to be of service to you
Big change in my life -- after 19 years of being a designer, reporter and editor at the Statesman, later this month I will jump geekstatically into my new job: communications specialist for the Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University. This is really, truly dream job time. The Association, one of the largest... Continue Reading →
How tweeting #3glad things can rewire brain for happiness
Psychology researcher and author Shawn Achor gave this quite funny TED talk in 2011, with five quick, science-based ways to increase happiness daily that he explains further in the video and in a blog post: Scroll to the bottom of this post for links to most of those research papers and others. Achor talks about... Continue Reading →
Clear directions to set up a classy website for free
At least I hope the directions are clear! I thought I would share with y'all a website I made to help fellow journalists post resumes on the web, but of course it works for anybody. Go to sueowenresume.wordpress.com and I'll walk you through the steps of setting up a WordPress site like this one --... Continue Reading →
Socrates, “Doonesbury” or Kinky Friedman?
Lately I've been trying to simplify and automate a lot of tasks, and I keep thinking of this quote: "I'm trying to develop a lifestyle that doesn't require my presence." Yes! If everything could keep humming along while I took a week-long nap ... This quote, or a version of it, is attributed all over... Continue Reading →
