Davis' News

23 June 2009

Joan's second surgery for lung cancer went very well. You can find details of the operation and her full treatment at http://fyberspace.biz/joan/.

23 June 2009

The Media Ecology Association meeting went very well. The paper I presented there was very well received. I'll be posting it soon. Watch this space.

18 June 2009

I'm presently in St. Louis for the annual conference of the Media Ecology Association. I give a competitively selected presentation in the morning on nonverbal communication in online media. I hope to post it online soon. I drove out from New York on Tuesday and spent Wednesday visiting ancient native American constructions in West Virginia and Ohio (Adema and Hopewell cultures). For me, at any rate, fascinating stuff. These are places I've been planning to visit for years. It was nice being able to fit it in. I return to New York Sunday (expect to arrive Monday). Joan has her next cancer surgery on Tuesday, June 23.

29 May 2009

Joan has healed well from the first of her two lung cancer surgeries this month. We see the doctor again on Wednesday, and hope to schedule the next surgery as quickly as possible after that appointment. The earliest date is probably June 4, but I would guess it will be within a week or two of that date. Chemotherapy will probably follow. There isn't much to add right now, but details of her surgery and recovery can be found at http://fyberspace.com/joan.

24 May 2009

I finally received a formal invitation to my nephews wedding, which is scheduled for July 18th up in Maine. I wish Joan could come along, but it seems likely that I'll be making the trip without her. I will see all my children together for the first time in over a year and a half. That will be pretty wonderful.

19 May 2009

With the final exam done, my semester at Brooklyn College is complete except for the grading. I loved teaching my class this semester and am looking forward to teaching Media Criticism in the second summer session.

17 May 2009

The Choral Arts Society concerts this weekend (joint with the West Village Chorale) were warmly received by their audiences. They sounded great to me, too. I love singing with a chorus, and hope my voice remains up to singing for years to come.

2 May 2009

Visited my son and daughter in law in Boston. The big objective was simply to leave my car there so I don't have to worry about parking it here in New York. That is made easy by the inexpensive bus service between New York and Boston. My most likely use of the car these days is to visit Maine or Boston, and I can do the trip to Boston for as little as a buck and a quarter. It was a short visit and my granddaughters were already asleep for the night when I got there, but we had a good talk. I'll probably be back next week for my granddaughter Sophie's birthday.

27 April 2009

The 100th Anniversary meeting of the Eastern Communication Association ended on April 26. As the chair of the Communication and Technology Interest Group, I am pleased to report that all participants in the seven scheduled Communication and Technology sessions attended the convention and that our panels were generally both excellent and well attended. Thanks to all who participated in reviewing and presenting papers and panels in the Communication and Technology Division this year. It is your efforts that continue to advance research on new media and technologies within the field of communication.

27 April 2009

My son Sam, a professional musician in Portland, OR, is now playing upwards of 15 gigs a month and is now earning his living entirely from performance. You can find information about his upcoming dates check his performance calendar at http://sam.foulger.info.

Archival News items

• It's no secret that the stock market is down ... very down. It won't stay there. Indeed, it has risen in recent weeks. The question is no longer when the recovery will start, but how long it will take and what companies will do well over the long term. The short answer, I imagine, is most of them. All they have to do is continue to find ways to do business and time will heal most of them. That makes index funds a great place to put your money now, but there are many beaten down sectors, including real estate, financials, and now the oil industry, that should significantly recover over the next few years. Two companies that I'm invested in, RAS and AFN, cross over between two of these sectors. Both are doing particularly badly in the stock market right now (although the stock price of both is unrealistically low compared to the results they are getting. Both have reorganized somewhat recently. AFN is merging with Cohen and Company and will, in the process, give up its REIT designation. The current head of RAS, Daniel Cohen, is leaving RAS to focus his attention on that new combined company. The moves are probably good for both companies. Daniel is the head of Cohen and Company, started AFN, and has an excellent management team in place at RAS. His departure will reduce overhead at RAS while leaving it well positioned to execute its business. Combining AFN with Cohen and Company adds value for AFN shareholders and frees AFN to pursue a more diversified investment strategy in today's undervalued market.
• I've moved. I'll be distributing my new address to anyone who I think needs to know. There's a lot of work to do before the place will be entirely functional, but the walls are almost entirely painted and I now have a functional, if incomplete, work environment. The apartment has stunning views of New Jersey and the Hudson River. Between the hawks and the passing boats, I've never had more consistent use for a pair of binoculars.

Courses taught at Brooklyn College in previous semesters: