Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Walking the walk

Dr. Alfred Lutz, professor for the Department of English and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Faculty Subcouncil, will be the main speaker at the MTSU summer commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Aug. 8, at Murphy Center. The university will present degrees to 681 undergraduates and 255 graduate students. The proceedings will be available via Webcast for those who are unable to attend in person and who have access to the Internet. Go to www.mtsu.edu; under the A to Z index along the top, click on “Graduation;” click on “Streaming Video of Commencement.” You will need Window Media Player, or read the directions provided to access the Webcast. Please note that the link will nto be active until approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.

For more information, contact the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

Real estate reality

The real estate business in the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area slowed down in June by comparison to a year ago. According to preliminary figures, only two building permits for multifamily dwellings were issued in June 2009. In June 2008, 34 were issued. Single family unit permits totaled 419 compared with 487 a year ago. Closings, inventory and median price all took a tumble. Closings totaled 1,770; inventory slipped to 15,035. The median price for a residential dwelling fell to $177,700. Hotel room rates declined to an average price of 93.53, comparable to the U.S. average of $96.77.

Contact the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2616.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

Are you tired of television programs and motion pictures in which computer-generated images and thunderous crashing noises are the stars and the actors are merely wallpaper? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, feels your pain. “Just for fun, I checked out the movie ‘Rodan’ a few days ago,” Burriss says, “and, you know what? That flying reptile does look like a papier-mache pterodactyl. And I had to chuckle as I watched him sweep away a formation of what were obviously model tanks. … Back when I first saw ‘Rodan,’ I knew it looked fake, but my friends and I didn’t care. We were watching the movie for fun, not for social commentary, political awareness or interpersonal growth. It was simply mindless entertainment—chewing gum for the mind—and it was great.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.