Just a quick welcome message. I would like our first night's homework to be creating a blog post describing yourself, your interest in professional writing, and the last good movie you saw. Make sure you read the quick guide for HTML if you are unfamiliar with writing on the web.

• I've been living in West Lafayette for five years now and have come to appreciate the mid-west. I'm originally from Boston [yes, I am a die-hard Patriots fan... yes Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning] and moved here to pursue a Ph.D. My wife is the scenic charge artist for Purdue's Theater Department and we have a four month old daughter, Rowan Margaret. We also have two ridiculously spoiled dogs. When not dissertating, searching for a job, and playing with my daughter, I play video games [currently: Super Mario Galaxy and Medal of Honor 2: Online] and guitar.
• Like I said, I am a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric and Composition. My areas of specialization are new media and theory and cultural studies. My dissertation concerns how digital technologies, by putting people in more dynamic communicative situations, is radically changing the ways we conceptualize knowledge, ethics, and authors. We'll be reading one of the books at the center of my dissertation this semester: Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams' Wikinomics.
• The last good movie I saw was I Am Legend. Although the end might have been a bit quick, I thought it was a subtle and engaging film.