Vote for Space Shuttle in Tulsa

The Tulsa Air & Space Museum is among 29 institutions nationwide competing to be a final destination for the retired space shuttles, the Enterprise, Atlantis or Endeavor. This article link will let you vote for Tulsa and bring a space shuttle to our area. Encourage your friends to vote!

http://www.spacetimesnews.com/news/2011/mar/27/space-shuttles-retitrement-fuels-rivalry-among-exhi

Stitch Niche NEC LRC

STITCH NICHE

Every Tuesday

from 12:30 to 1:30 pm

in the NEC Learning Resources Center

(LRC a.k.a. the Library)

Come knit with us!

Instruction and supplies are

provided for FREE!

Social Security 101

Social Security 101: What's in it for me?
March 10, 2 pm

Film & Lecture Room (near the book store)
TCC Metro Campus

A live webinar for young adults (ages 18-24) that will explore how Social Security is relevant to
college students and young workers--including how Social Security is funded and an explanation
of the FICA tax.

The webinar will also offer tips on saving and planning for a secure financial future.
Enjoy some free popcorn.

Sponsored by the TCC Learning Resources Center

Eyes of the Overworld - Book Review

Eyes of the Overworld: Reading about the adventures of one of fantasy’s greatest rascals.

Fantasy is full of picaros; rascally protagonists that are just as likely to steal the king’s treasure as he is to rescue the King’s daughter. Fritz Leiber’s Grey Mouser and Fafhrd come to mind. None however, are as charming and irredeemable as Cugel the self-proclaimed "Clever" in Jack Vance’s Eyes of the Overworld.

Eyes of the Overworld is set in the distant future where science has given away to occult superstition and the earth’s bloated red sun hangs in the sky like a piece of rotten fruit ready to drop form the vine. In light of earth’s soon to be demise, most people just go about the business of self-gratification. Cugel is a master at this. He is a lazy, untrustworthy, rakish, lecherous, greedy, and impish rogue. Unfortunately for him, he gets caught stealing from a powerful magician and is coerced into performing a task that takes Cugel to the far side of the world. He must use his wits and natural talents (which are fairly base) to return to the wizard and free himself from his service.

Reading about Cugel’s adventures while he accomplishes his task is a beautiful train wreck. Time after time he surprises the reader with his selfish behavior and turns advantage against him. And as bad as Cugel gets, I can’t help but read on. Much of this is a result of Jack Vance’s masterful use of baroque language. Jack Vance weaves a tapestry of obscure words and vivid descriptions that keep the reader ensorcelled. He introduces language in such a way that not only does the willing of suspension of disbelief remain unbroken, but context offers clues to even the most archaic of terms and keeps the reader from running for his dictionary.
This book is a timeless classic of fantasy, and has inspired legions; Gary Gygax, George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman to name a few. If you are interested in getting back to popular fantasy roots, reading something that isn’t a pastiche of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and like scoundrels, this book is for you!

Adam Brennan

LRC Floater

TCC's Online Writing Lab

At the beginning of last semester, the campus Writing Centers debuted the Online Writing Lab, a place where students can go to get help with English mechanics, like grammar and punctuation, and all the steps of the writing process, including research, drafting, revising, and documentation.

One of the highlights of the OWL are the tutorials; check out the tutorial on diction, for example, to learn more about when to use Standard American English, and when to use colloquial or informal English. There are examples of good word choices for different situations, quizzes to test your understanding, and videos and images to illustrate concepts.

There are also handouts and presentations on common questions and problems, plus links to high-quality outside sources that can help you. And, the Writing Centers plan on adding even more content over the next few semesters, so be sure to check back regularly to see what they can do for you!