Category / Research Blog

by shannonchance

Appreciating Classicism with Christine Franck

Shannon Chance and Christine Franck.

Shannon Chance and Christine Franck.

Prince George's Street in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Prince George’s Street in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Meet my colleague Christine Franck.

I was introduced to Christine when I was delivering a guest lecture at the University of Notre Dame while she was an adjunct professor there.  She usually practices architecture in New York and blogs about classical architecture. She has also written several books and has served as president of the board of the Institute for Classical Architecture and Classical America.

During 2012, Christine and I got together a couple of times in Williamsburg to discuss each others’ research.  Christine has a fascinating idea for an architectural research project.  I’ve been helping her figure out how to pitch the idea to Fulbright.  There are Fulbright grants available to teachers, researchers, and professionals… in my book, she’s all of these.

Without giving too much away, I can say:  Christine is interested in documenting a certain type of housing that is relatively unknown but that she thinks holds keys for the development of sustainable cities and towns.  We hope to connect Christine with professors in Europe who are doing research the same area, in hopes she can do funded research alongside them on the topic she has defined.

A photo my dad, Don Massie, took outside the Wren Building on graduation day, May 2012. Can't help but love the cap, eh?

A photo my dad, Don Massie, took outside the Wren Building on graduation day, May 2012.

It seems fitting that I meet this classical architect in Williamsburg — the heart of colonial Virginia.  It’s also the place I earned my PhD.

I always enjoy being on William and Mary’s campus and seeing the Wren Building.  It’s the place where I received my diploma in May 2010 — right there on the lawn in front of the famous building.  I felt immensely honored to have received a scholarship from the Christopher Wren Association to study at this amazing university… Christopher Wren was an English architect and I appreciated studying at an institution that held an architect in such high esteem.  About this building, the Colonial Williamsburg website explains:

The Wren Building at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Photo downloaded from Colonial Williamsburg website.

The Wren Building at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Photo downloaded from Colonial Williamsburg website.

The College of William and Mary’s Christopher Wren Building is the oldest academic structure still in use in America. Construction on the building began August 8, 1695, two years after the school was chartered; it is the signature building of the second oldest college in the nation (next to Harvard). Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Tyler, and John Marshall studied in its rooms. George Washington was once chancellor of the college, which is now a distinguished university.

Three times destroyed by fire, the appearance of the brick-walled Wren Building has often changed, but it stands today much as it appeared by 1732. It was the first major building restored by John D. Rockefeller Jr., after he began Williamsburg’s restoration in the late 1920s.

by shannonchance

My Fulbright Mission (a la Ben Franklin)

Truth Becons posted Ben Franklin's words to live by.

Truth Becons posted Ben Franklin’s words to live by.  All sorts of doing and writing for me….

by shannonchance

Weddings Past

Speaking of weddings past, I thought you might like to see a few of the wedding photos that I have here at my fingertips….

Wedding of Shannon and Dave Chance (2001).
Dave and Shannon in the wedding of Jay and Hayley Gallagher (2000).
Wedding of Lillian and Layton Massie.
Wedding of Wayne and Rosemary Ringer. I was the Best Woman.
by shannonchance

Starting a New Year with Annie and Rob

A quite day with Annie and Rob Nichols.

A quiet day with Annie and Rob Nichols.

Phoebe in her cage next to the Nichols Christmas tree.

Phoebe in her cage next to the Nichols Christmas tree.

Annie and Rob Nichols are our adopted family.  They issued Dave informal “adoption papers” for Christmas in about 1993, granting him “full rights” as a member of the Nichols clan.  Since that time forward, they’ve treated him as if he were their own flesh and blood.

When I turned up at their home in 1996, Ann and Rob extended full benefits to me as well.  When Dave and I married in 2001, Annie, Rob, and Annie’s son Jay, were among the eight members of our bridal party.

For years, Dave and I spent Christmas Day at their home in Allen, Maryland — a place we all lovingly refer to as “the clubhouse.”  The place has stayed the same, though the actual house changed.  (Home, we say here in the States, is where the heart is.  “Americans” are a traveling bunch, and home means something different to us than it does to most Europeans.)

Annie petting her bird. Who knew birds like to be petted?

Annie petting her bird. Who knew birds like to be petted?

Rob and I designed a new clubhouse together in 2000 (it’s the one pictured here).  Our design was based on the original cottage clubhouse, but the new house is much larger and more spacious.  That was necessary because the house is nearly always full of friends and relatives.  We all spent one Christmas in a rental house, in the period when the old clubhouse had been sold and the new clubhouse was under construction.

Yesterday, Dave and I spent a quite day with Annie and Ron, ushering in the New Year with a feast of delicious, Shannon-friendly foods.

We had also visited Annie and Rob earlier during the break on a day when the house was full of people….

Annie sporting the Farwah (Persian coat) sent from her friend Mugren who lives in Saudi Arabia.
Shannon Chance and Annie Nichols.
Annie’s grand daughter, Molly, with their new bird Phoebe.
A postcard Dave sent Annie from Ireland, to tease her about always getting power lines in her photos.
Annie and Rob were both in our wedding. This year they kept our wedding photo up with the Christmas decorations (to tease me back, since I always check to see if we’re still displayed with the rest of the family photos).
I brought this painting to Rob and Annie from Tanzania.
Rob Nichols and Dave Chance.
The Nichols kitchen, designed by Shannon and Rob.
Annie with her grand kids, Molly and Sam.
Sam got a rocket from his aunt Jill.
Annie’s friends Joe and Sam Ireland. (What a cool name!)
Jill and Donnie root for opposing teams. (Sorry your team lost Donnie! Now you’re stuck using Redskins memorabilia for a while! Hee, hee!)
In Rob’s study…
…visiting the books and the album covers that Rob recently hung.
Phoebe and Annie.
Dave with Lacy.
She’s a sweet dog.
Shannon and Phoebe…
…getting to know each other.
The bathroom counter Dave installed in Annie and Rob’s house.

The Christmas tree at Ann and Rob’s is always decorated with items of significance from the past year.  This year’s included a camera ornament for Annie’s granddaughter (to commemorate her success in the realm of photography) and photos of new family/friends.

by shannonchance

2012 Blogs In Review

WordPress does have some fun offerings, like the statistics page which they programmed to prepare an annual report for activity on the Ireland by Chance blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 12,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 20 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

by shannonchance

Blog Tips 2: Choosing and Adapting to Your Blog Platform

When you start blogging, you may feel like you have to stand on your head to get the software to do what you want. (Photo from eblingroup.com)

When you start blogging, you may feel like you have to stand on your head to get the software to do what you want. (Photo from eblingroup.com)

This is the second of a four-part series on blogging. It’s the whiniest one, but I’ve decided that’s okay because I want to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve experienced.  It tends to portray blogging as a pain (which it can be) without describing the joy it brings.  For that you’ll need to reference other blogs in the series:

  1. Why Blog about your Fulbright Experiences?
  2. Choosing and Adapting to your Blog Platform
  3. Finding your Blogging Niche
  4. Publicizing your Fulbright Blog

Choosing a good blogging platform is very important. I can’t really tell you which platform is best (I’m an n of one as we statistics geeks say).   Although I don’t have broad experience in selecting blogs, I have had all too much experience adapting myself to the blog template (Motion) and platform (WordPress) I selected back in August.

Other blogs, such as App Storm, can help you compare popular platforms.

Overall, I wish I had tested a few different blog platforms and templates before I committed to one.  I jumped into using WordPress, and I have to admit: it’s okay. Very good, in fact, for something you’re getting for free.

Fortunately, some of the WordPress features I don’t like have improved with recent updates.  I am starting to feel more satisfied with the product.

Hopefully the things I’ve found will ease your own transition into blogging:

Upgrades — Although I love the look of the (free) template I chose, it has a couple of goofy features that I’m unable to change.  And even though I paid to upgrade to the Pro package, I’ve found I can’t modify the goofy elements while retaining the basic template design.  (I’d have to change the template all together.)  Of all the upgrade features I purchased, only the specialized domain name seems worth the cost in retrospect.

Generating Text — I enjoy the ability to start drafts, save them, and return to them later.  I have many partially complete files waiting.  On days I’m too busy to write, I can pick one of those up, brush it off, and use it to keep my audience engaged.  As I mentioned in the first installment of this series, typical blog readers expect frequent updates and they loose interest when a blog looses its zip.  I try to keep my blog zippy by keeping the entries short and always including images.

Blogging platforms. (Image from App Storm.)

Blogging platforms. (Image from App Storm.)

Regarding text, I could really use reliable spell and grammar check features within the online blog window.  If there’s a way to enable these in WordPress, I hope someone will let me know how.  I also haven’t figured out how to compose the text in Word and then copy it over without loosing the paragraph formatting.

So I compose in the WordPress window and, before hitting “publish,” I try to remember to copy the text into Word, locate errors, and manually correct them in the WordPress window.  I frequently forget this step, though, and discover annoying errors after I’ve disseminated the article.  Then I have to go back in and change them in the on-line version.  Unfortunately, the people who received them via email end up seeing the mistakes.

And, YES, I could edit more thoroughly.  But I only have so much free time available for blogging.  To keep my real work flowing, I find I have to accept more typographical errors in my blog than I allow myself in other venues.  Most of my readers are forgiving on this point.

Graphic Layout — Other than the spelling/grammar check issue, today’s WordPress is more user-friendly and has better graphic tools than when I started blogging in August 2012.  But if you’re a stickler for graphic composition as I am, you may still find yourself disappointed with various layout features.  I have trouble placing photos where I want them, but I find I get better results by writing the text first and then inserting the photos into the text.  I make a practice of previewing each draft multiple times to see what layout decisions are getting lost in translation.

Lately I’ve taken to using WordPress’s (new) gallery feature to insert photos.  It’s much improved over past versions.  Organizing, editing, and inserting photos is much easier these days!

My software sometimes makes me bend over backwards to get the results I want.

I feel like this when I’m trying to achieve pleasing layouts.  (Thank God for yoga!)

Capturing Photos — Photos add a lot to a blog.  My readers say they enjoy them.  Although I have a very nice camera, it’s cumbersome to lug around and it takes me a lot of time to download the cards.  Moreover, pulling out a professional camera tends to alter the tone of events.  People continue on more naturally when I use my tiny, unassuming iPhone camera.  That’s important when I’m part of the event I’m recording, and not just an observer.

Overall, my iPhone does a fabulous job for its size!  It also lets me include myself in photographs without much fuss.

Using the iPhone I can email the images directly from the “camera” to my laptop.  I size them down (to about 700k each) for the blog before I hit “send.”  The photos are good enough that I frequently upload them to WordPress without further editing.

Video — The iPhone also captures video well.  Unfortunately, I find that I must shrink the video files down for the blog (though perhaps they’ve upgraded this feature, too?).  Shrinking requires me to use extra software, and I have to send them back to the States, where my husband has appropriate software.  I haven’t taken to editing my video clips, and the ones I’ve posted haven’t gotten many views.  (I’ve heard people claim that posts with photos get more views than those with just text, and that those with video get far more.  But that hasn’t been the case with my blog — probably because my videos aren’t polished.)  If I were to start over, I wouldn’t pay extra for the capacity to post videos (although I would still pay extra for the unique domain name).  I’d simply upload the videos to a different (free) site, like YouTube, and link my blog to that URL.

Blogging Devices — I haven’t been successful at blogging directly from my iPhone or iPad as I’d anticipated doing.  The features have been too limited for my liking (architects are so darned particular!).  I believe that the iPad editing features have improved recently and may be well worth re-investigating.

Last Words — All this being said, I do enjoy blogging, reflecting, recording, and connecting with others.  I think I may keep blogging even when my Fulbright is finished and I no longer see blogging as part of my job.

I’ve been back home for Christmas vacation (for 2.5 weeks now) and I have to say that it’s been fun catching up with friends and family and answering questions they have about stories I’ve posted on the blog.

It always surprises me when I meet people in Dublin who know what I’ve been posting.  My readership there isn’t too far behind my readership in the States.

by shannonchance

Setting the Pace for Tommy

Tommy with big brother David.

Tommy with big brother David.

David and Christopher and I have been viewing the Chance Christmas blogs.  They’ve decided they want to post one about their baby brother, Tommy.

David says to let you know that Tommy wants to go to school.  Tommy will go when he’s four, in three years, David explains, just like David does now.  When Tommy gets there, he will play.  David is sure he’ll be helpful, too.

Sometimes David’s teacher needs David to do things, like make things for his mom and dad. Sometimes the teacher sends homework. Other days, she sends a project home for him to do, like the Easter gift they made for his mom.

Most of the homework, David says, has been fun!

Big brother David with Tommy and Chris.
Such a big, happy boy…
…as long as he’s on Mommy or Daddy’s arm.
Tommy’s nearly walking.
Tommy and Uncle Dave.
Helping Uncle Dave yawn.
Big brother David sets a good example.
by shannonchance

Fabulous Four

I’ve adored baby David since the moment I heard he was on the way.

Now that he’s four years old, young David is one of the kindest people I know.  He’s a genuinely sweet kid who loves being a big brother.  He tries to help out around the house and be a good example to the two younger kids in the family.

He enjoys learning new things and receiving interesting gifts from afar, like foreign currency and the skeleton keys Uncle Dave and I brought him from France last summer.

David likes to read the books designed for older kids, and he’s pretty good at it!
Playing Robinhood with David.
Snuggling with David.
David and I play hide and seek using his stuffed animals.
It keeps him entertained…
…for hours and hours.
Who could resist playing another round?
Washing dishes with Chris and David is a full-contact sport.
David’s French skeleton key.
David is the “most awesome big brother!”
David and Uncle Dave.
by shannonchance

Terrific Twos

My nephew Christopher became tons of fun while I was away.  He’s snuggly and chipper and he has developed an impressive vocabulary in his 28 months.

I expected to find someone in his “terrible twos” but am delighted that his twos are down right terrific.  I feel so blessed to have a few days here in Maryland to get to know this little guy better.

Christopher was sleeping like an angle when we got here.
He’s a cute and curious kid.
And quite snuggly.
He loves his Uncle Dave.
His hair is sooo long (according to his mom).
Bu tlook at the styles he can work up with it!
Chris and his Uncle Dave.
Organic blue corn chips…
yummmmm!
Our little Ewok.
Playing with Uncle Dave.
He’s a bit of a monkey…
…and fun to tickle.

by shannonchance

A Great Daddy

Lucy worked at the hospital all day yesterday.  Matt, Dave, and I spent the day with the kids.  I’ve developed a world of respect for Matt, who has shaped up to be a fantastic dad.  He’s also a great cook and serves up meal after tasty meal.

Matt with Tommy and Chris
Dave in a pile of kids.
Tickle fest with Uncle Dave.
We like it better when Lucy’s home with us!