The Big Five personality framework is well-validated across cultures and popular with researchers, although it’s not as well known at the Myers Briggs. The five factors of personality that emerge with some consistency are
Extroversion/introversion
Neuroticism
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Openness to experience
Looking over this list, you can see why the Big Five hasn’t caught on with HR departments. The terms don’t look value-neutral. If you administer the Myers Briggs and report that someone came out as an INTJ or an ESFP, great! Neither one sounds better or worse than the other. But who wants to tell someone they tested as neurotic and disagreeable?
One dimension that the Big Five has in common with the more popular Myers Briggs is introversion vs. extroversion.
Psychologist Jeremy Dean has posted one-minute measures of introversion and neuroticism, with more to come.
“Lobster shells about a house are looked upon as signs of poverty and degradation,” wrote John J. Rowan in 1876. Lobster was an unfamiliar, vaguely disgusting bottom feeding ocean dweller that sort of did (and does) resemble an insect, its distant relative. The very word comes from the Old English loppe, which means spider. People did eat lobster, certainly, but not happily and not, usually, openly. Through the 1940s, for instance, American customers could buy lobster meat in cans (like spam or tuna), and it was a fairly low-priced can at that. In the 19th century, when consumers could buy Boston baked beans for 53 cents a pound, canned lobster sold for just 11 cents a pound. People fed lobster to their cats.
All of the special snowflakes are remarkably similar!
Acceptance Revenge post on The Site That Shall Not Be Named
[1] my favorite example from the current semester is the student who patiently guided me through the math justifying her case for a higher grade: “I have 57% on the written assignments, 58% on the quizzes, 58% on the final, 98% attendance, and 77% on the midterm, so my total grade is 347%.”
I’ve been looking for a better way to duplicate full WordPress posts (not just summaries) in Blogger. EDIT: The Blogspot posts are still appearing truncated. Still working on it…
John Carenen is an author and a professor of English. He holds an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from the prestigious University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Signs of Struggle, his first Thomas O’Shea mystery novel, was published in 2012. In the sequel, A Far Gone Night, a late night stroll by the river propels O’Shea into the middle of a baffling murder. Here John talks about how Signs of Struggle took shape and then evolved into a series.
Author John Carenen
I did not plan to write a series. I figured my debut novel, Signs of Struggle, for a stand-alone story about a man and how he dealt with tremendous adversity and his own personal demons springing forth from that adversity. I thought it would make a good story, I would write it, and then I would hope it would be publishable.
The genesis from the story came from an approach Steven King uses. That is, the “What if?” question to propel a story forward. What if the protagonist wakes up in his small Montana town and everyone else has vanished, or is dead. Except him. What happens next? Why did it happen? How will this craziness turn out?
Adopting that approach, in part, I once asked myself a few years ago, what would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to me? Well, at the time I had a wonderful family – wife and two teenage daughters. The worst thing that could happen to me, it seemed, would be to lose them all somehow – car crash, airplane crash, Ebola virus – you name it.
Okay, once I got to thinking about that, as abhorrent as the thought was, what would I do about it? We were living in the South then, and still are, and I decided I would sell everything and head back to my home state – Iowa – and try to heal by withdrawing and very, very gradually try to create some kind of a productive life, if that were possible. Get away from so much that would remind me of what I had lost. Take a few pictures and our Bulldog and go back north.
So, that’s what I did; or rather, that’s what my protagonist did. His name is Thomas O’Shea. He sold his half of a successful business, sold his house, his beach house, his cars, and cashed in everything. He gave away his furniture and all the clothes that belonged to his family. He bought an enormous pickup truck and headed home with just a few things and Gotcha, his Bulldog.
He tries to avoid people, but one day he stumbles onto what looks like a farm accident, but he has questions, and the more questions he asks (he has nothing but time on his hands), the more people try to discourage him. Unpleasant people. Killers. What happens next is in the novel.
Thankfully, the folks at Neverland Publishing decided to publish Signs of Struggle. But then some of my readers, and the people at NP, decided that they wanted to know more about Thomas – his history; his relationship with the comely high school English teacher, Olivia Olson; and where did he learn to be such a tough guy?
A Far Gone Night, the sequel, was born. Thomas O’Shea, suffering from insomnia, goes for a late-night stroll through the peaceful streets of his adopted town, Rockbluff, Iowa, and finds himself pausing downtown on the bridge that spans the Whitetail River, which flows through the village. When he glances downstream, he sees a dead girl’s naked body, rushes down and pulls her from the water, and discovers two bullet holes in the back of her head. When the law shows up, Thomas does not divulge what he discovered because he is distrustful of all governmental agencies. Then, when the coroner declares the girl’s death a suicide, he begins to ask questions again. And people try to discourage him from asking those questions.
This time he’s in deep against powerful forces, but that does not deter him from enlisting help from a couple of friends – Lunatic Mooning, Ojibwa owner of the Grain o’ Truth Bar & Grill; and Clancy Dominguez, an old buddy from Navy SEAL training days. Mix in the rest of the quirky characters populating Rockbluff, and the reader will find themselves in what I hope to be an enjoyable read – with a few surprises.
Thomas O’Shea has begun to take over my creative juices, and so now I am working on the third novel in the series – The Face on the Other Side. There’s just something about this character that won’t let me go. I hope you, as readers, have the same response.
John and his wife live in a cozy cottage down a quiet lane in northern Greenville, South Carolina. He is a big fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Boston Red Sox.
Student-AthleteAthlete-Student:I have to miss class because my team is traveling to the mainland for two weeks. I know the syllabus says no makeups, but I don’t have a choice about going on the trip. Can I make up the in class quizzes?
Professor B. (that’s me!), Unknowingly Stepping Onto the Slippery Slope: Sure! Because you have to travel as a condition of your athletic scholarship, just write a short reflection paper on the week’s topic and get it to me when you come back.
SCENE 2: Third Week of the Semester
Scammy Sammy: I heard you can make up the in-class quizzes. I had to miss last Wednesday for a very important family funeral event.
Professor B.: Well, OK, I guess you can make the quiz up by writing a short reflection paper.
Scammy Sammy: When is it due?
Professor B.: Just get it to me by the last day of class.
SCENE 3: End of the same semester, the day after final grades are submitted
Email from Scammy Sammy to me:
Professor,
Please expect my makeups this evening or tomorrow morning. I just finished finals and now wrapping extraneous assignments up. [That’s right. “Extraneous” assignments.]
Email from me to Scammy Sammy:
I already submitted the final grades. These were supposed to be in by the last day of class.
Email from Scammy Sammy to me, the following day:
I’m so sorry, I thought you meant the end of finals week. Thank you for being so understanding!
[Attached to Scammy Sammy’s email: FIVE makeup essays, rather defeating the purpose of requiring students to attend and participate in the class exercises and discussions.]
And because I had allowed this unwritten loophole, I took Scammy Sammy’s makeup essays. Scammy Sammy’s grade went from a C to a C-plus.
Of course this was my fault. I implemented an informal makeup policy that wasn’t written down anywhere. But I learned my lesson.
What’s the big deal, one might ask? Is it the end of the world if one pushy student gets a probably-undeserved half-grade bump? No, it’s not.
Once word of Scammy Sammy’s gambit gets around, next semester will be Scammy Sammy to the nth degree. It is not unreasonable to anticipate an entire semester of dead classrooms, culminating in an eleventh-hour avalanche of makeup assignments.
So, new on the syllabus for fall:
An elaborate, scammer-resistant makeup policy, yet to be formulated, that somehow manages to be fair to everyone, including those whose obligations to the university require travel.
No makeups, no exceptions, and if you don’t like it, go pick another major.
FOR SARA, COFFEE WAS ONE of life’s
greatest—and simplest—pleasures. Every time
she took a draw of freshly brewed java, her
eyelids automatically lowered in appreciation of
the robust flavor. Somehow, when drinking it,
life seemed less complicated, or maybe it was
just how it coated the palate and calmed her
nerves despite what some scientific studies
might say.
She was in her home office, seated behind her
desk, staring at the blinking cursor on her
monitor, but it wasn’t because she had writer’s
block. Her wrists needed a break. Better yet, she
needed to indulge in this cup.
Leaning back in her chair, she swiveled from
side to side and closed her eyes, savoring the
aroma ofthe dark beans. While they were ground
at the time she pressed the button, the only way
to get it any fresher was picking the beans off the
plants in Brazil. With their money, she supposed
it was an option
Carolyn Arnold writes three different series, under the same author name. As she describes them,
THE MADISON KNIGHT SERIES falls neatly into the police procedural genre with murder investigations and forensics. Think Law & Order meets CSI. There is some foul language and limited graphic violence.
THE BRANDON FISHER FBI SERIES toys with the edge between the police procedural genre and thriller genre. Due to this, you will find foul language and graphic violence in this series.
THE MCKINLEY MYSTERY SERIES ventures outside of the typical crime genre, lending itself to the cozy variety with no foul language or graphic violence. The series combines romance, mystery, humor, and adventure for a lighthearted, easy read.
So with the same author name, how can you tell what kind of book you’re getting? Good question.
Within minutes my inbox was brimming with pleas from prodigal students, some of whom had attendance records so irregular that the names were only vaguely familiar to me; I had to double check to make sure they were actually students of mine.
Some of this afternoon’s highlights:
“Dear Professor Bow,
I just received my final grade …and I was just wondering if there is any way possible that I could try to bring up my grade to pass the class.”
SURE WHY NOT I’D LOVE TO SPEND MY UNPAID SUMMER DEVOTING MORE TIME TO YOUR GRADE THAN YOU DID THE ENTIRE SEMESTER AND THEN FIELDING GRIEVANCES FROM ALL OF THE OTHER STUDENTS WHO MANAGED TO TURN IN THEIR WORK ON TIME
Q: Amanda, thanks for stopping by! Can you tell us what The Final Reveille is about?
A: As the director of Barton Farm, a living history museum in Ohio, Kelsey Cambridge is underpaid and underappreciated, but she loves every minute of it. Determined to keep the struggling Farm open, she plans to impress the museum’s wealthy benefactress, Cynthia Cherry, with a four-day Civil War reenactment on the Farm’s grounds, complete with North and South encampments, full-scale battles, and an Abraham Lincoln lookalike spouting the Gettysburg Address to anyone who will listen.
Unfortunately, the first shot in the battle isn’t from a period rifle but from Cynthia’s greedy nephew, Maxwell, who plans to close the Farm when he inherits his ill aunt’s wealth. On the first day of the reenactment, Cynthia and Maxwell stop by, and Kelsey and Maxwell have a public argument over the Farm’s funding. The next morning, things go from bad to worse for Kelsey when she discovers Maxwell dead in the brickmaker’s pit. Now Kelsey is the police’s number one suspect, and she must start her own investigation to save the museum . . . and herself while the War Between the States rages on around her.
Q: How does Kelsey’s job affect her sleuthing abilities? Does she have access to important information that even the police might not have?
A: Kelsey Cambridge, as the director of Barton Farm, knows the people and grounds better than anyone. She also knows the history of the area like the back of her hand, which helps her solve the crimes committed on Farm grounds.
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: One summer when I was in college I worked as an historical interpreter at a living history museum much like Barton Farm. The job was so much fun and one of my favorite memories from my college years. Even back then, I wanted to be a mystery author, and I recognized that a living history museum would be the perfect setting for a cozy mystery because interesting people choose to work and visit such a place. Many of them are quirky, which I love.
Q. What kind of research did you do for this book?
A: Since I worked at museum like this, I had a lot of first person experience that I drew upon to write the book, and I set the book in NE Ohio because I love the history of the Western Reserve. The Western Reserve is the northeast corner of Ohio and is called such because it once belonged to Connecticut before the American Revolution. After the Revolution when colonies became states, Connecticut gave up its claim. Because of this, there is a definite New England feel to this part of Ohio that is much different than the rest of the state. In addition to Western Reserve history, I researched Civil War reenactors and the Civil War in general. I’m a librarian as well as an author, so I watched a lot of documentaries and read a bunch of books.
Q: Is there one character with whom you particularly identify?
A: I think it would be Kelsey, the main character. She really cares about saving the Farm and preserving the past. As a librarian, I care about history too. Also, she and I have the same sense of humor.
Q: Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser?”
A: Panster 100%.
Q: For non-U.S. readers, can you explain the phenomenon of Civil War reenactments? Who participates in these, and what do they get out of it? Do the participants always follow history, or do the battles sometimes have different outcomes? Is there anything else like them elsewhere?
A: Civil War reenactment is a major and expensive hobby in the U.S. The American Civil War (1861-1865) was the costliest war for America in human life. The casualties from the war, including those who died from disease, were over 400,000. The American landscape is peppered with memorials and parks commemorating almost every battle fought. The war, which began over an argument debate of states’ rights, became an even bigger struggle when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all the slaves in the South. Ultimately, the war was about the issue of slavery. Even today, many Americans feel passionate about the Civil War and many honor it by recreating the battles. It’s their way of remembering. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the war, and I’m excited The Final Reveille came out in this year to honor such an important anniversary.
I know other countries have reenactors for battles and historical events, but I’m not sure that any of them are as big as Civil War reenacting in the U.S. I would be interested in know if there were!
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