Rounding Some Corners: Observing Life's Oddball Ironies

This book is a collection of oddball newspaper columns I wrote about humans beings. Many of columns make you laugh out loud; all of them show life's oddball ironies. Read the columns in order or read them randomly at your choice. A percentage of the proceeds from this book will help fund a scholarship for students majoring in Communication Studies at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. I came up with the name "Rounding Some Corners" to create two metaphors to describe the intent of the column. Metaphor 1 is a person who rounds a corner and stumbles upon a surprise they didn't expect. Metaphor 2 is a person who uses ironies to take the edge off life - like using sand paper to take the edge off a piece of wood. The most important line of each column is the last line, where I try to deliver a double meaning that gets at the essence of the oddball irony. With the last line, I try to distill the main observation of each column into a compact turn of words that invite you to catch the double meaning and then to wrestle with your own opinions on the observation. I have re-edited many of these newspaper columns to give them a better fit for a book format as opposed to a newspaper format. But they still retain a newspaper feel, complete with a headline. I've also included a couple of columns in this book that were turned down by the Pocono Record. Every column is laid out on the two pages of the book right in front of you, inviting you to pause to make your own meanings out of what you just read. I have re-edited many of the columns that follow to give them a better fit here for a book format versus a newspaper format. Yet, the columns still have a newspaper feel, complete with a headline. I have also included a couple columns that were turned down by the Pocono Record for being inappropriate - columns that I still think are worth considering. The most important line of each column is the last line, where I try to deliver a double meaning that brings home the essence of the oddball irony. My goal is for the last line to invite you to catch the double meaning that is presented, and then for you to wrestle with your opinion on the observation. Because with so many observations of life's oddball ironies out there for the taking, why shouldn't you join in the fun of wondering why humans act like they do?

About the Author :
Robert McKenzie, Ph.D., funsun99999@yahoo.com, is a Professor of Communication Studies at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and the University Advisor to WESS Radio (90.3 FM), winner of the 2014 mtvU Woodie Award, presented to the "best college radio station in the country." In 2012, McKenzie received East Stroudsburg University's "Distinguished Professor Award," the highest honor bestowed on a professor by the university. His research and teaching interests include international media, obscenity laws, journalism, and college radio. His book, Comparing Media from Around the World, studies media systems from eight countries. He has had the opportunity to teach courses in England, China, Mexico, St. Croix, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. He loves traveling with his wife, Kelly, and their two children, Fiona and Gordon. He likes to provoke everyone (including himself) to question their values.