Alien-Human Hybrid

The Big Move

2007-02-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well. I've decided to pack up shop and move to Livejournal. Please feel free to join me there; I hope that you will. The problem (and for anyone who does not have a Livejournal, the annoyance) is that I often friends-lock my entries, not because they're intensely personal but because I feel better keeping some of my posts visible only to the people I know or want to know. If you are interested, sign up for a Livejournal account -- it's free -- and request to be my friend (God only knows why you'd want to!). Then, you can read my friends-locked posts, even though I do not promise they will be entertaining or worth reading.

I know this is a lot of trouble but I enjoy posting on Livejournal much better than posting here. And it's getting difficult to maintain two blogs, so I'm going to try to blend the two and create a kind of potpourri blog. A little of everything.

Here is my new home, which is still Alien-Human Hybrid: http://jorvik.livejournal.com/

(Livejournal's address is http://www.livejournal.com/.)

Two Things

2007-02-01T15:31:00.000-05:00

1. Blogger is far too sassy for my taste. Time for a move, methinks.

2. Is it really necessary for the folks at Trinity College to shout from the rooftops that a severe stomach flu is wreaking havoc throughout campus? Do I really need to know that? Does it - in any way - help my mild (though slowly turning not-so mild) hypochondria? And must they insist on sharing the fact that sufferers are vomiting "as many as 20 times in 6 hours"?

Oh, woe is me!

2007-01-25T20:12:00.000-05:00

There's nothing sadder than reaching the end of a cup of perfectly brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee. Except, of course, reaching the end of a cup of perfectly brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee as you're sitting down to write a response paper.

(Me and Mr. Hyperbole? We're very tight.)

Winter Break: A Recap

2007-01-22T09:47:00.000-05:00

The new semester begins today. Let's review my goals for the winter break:

Blog every day, even if I don't have anything to say. (Well! We know that didn't happen.)
Read a lot, including a big, fat classic novel and something by Stephen King. (I read four books, including King's Pet Sematary, but I didn't read a big, fat classic novel. I'm taking 19th Century American Literature this semester so that should more than compensate.)
Successfully cook a dinner that is not microwavable or stored in a can. (Actually, no, I didn't. I did, however, start using the oven to cook the microwavable meals I eat because - somehow - that makes me feel better. And more accomplished. "A" for effort!)
...And if that goes well, bake something from scratch. (Ha!)
Discover some crevice of X-Files fandom I have not yet explored. (Yes, I managed to complete this oh-so haughty task.)

?

2007-01-16T16:37:00.000-05:00

Taking (and enjoying) the "Blogging On" class this past semester has placed me in a difficult predicament. I used to blog more often and more about daily life -- especially in my other, more private blog -- but knowing that I have accumulated a small (alright, minuscule) readership from taking the class has somehow paralyzed me. I'm plagued with the gnawing question: Do I have anything interesting to say? I always turn up with a big, fat "no" and thus, I don't blog. I mean, who wants to hear about my long walks on campus, what I had for dinner or how I found the perfect pair of jeans this weekend? No one. These things, however, are what I enjoy writing about in my blogs.

The problem is that I now don't blog in my older, more personal blog either because I feel a sense of loyalty (perhaps responsibility?) to "Alien Human Hybrid." I've watched it grow and I enjoy receiving feedback, which didn't happen as often with my other blog because I had a two-person readership. Literally.

I'm thinking too much.

Warning

2007-01-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

Beware of elderly people driving big cars. They may pull out directly in front of you as if you weren't there at all; and consequently, make you slam on your brakes which will cause you to swerve off the road. Then, you'll spend the remainder of your car ride waving your fist and mumbling obscenities like a mad person.

Good God!

2007-01-07T18:13:00.000-05:00

In the past month, we have found five Western Conifer Seed Bugs in our home. I wouldn't have known what it was were it not for http://www.whatsthatbug.com/, a simultaneously compelling and revolting website. The Western Conifer Seed Bug was the site's December Bug of the Month. What an honor!

That said, I am not an insect person. Not many people are, I know, but I'm really not an insect person. Since I was a child, insects (of all kinds) have been a recurring theme in my nightmares. Mr. Conifer Seed Bug over there on your left visited my sleep last night. I had a dream that he and his friends were slowly taking over the house while I frantically (and unsuccessfully) tried to kill them all. I woke up sweating and anxious and convinced my home was doomed. My only comfort? A bedside lamp and Nick at Nite.

(After writing this, I realize this probably isn't something I should blog about. I mean, who wants to read about bug invasions?)

The Returns

2007-01-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

When I was a junior in college, I studied abroad at the University of York in England. I spent the better part of my senior year trying to get over England, trying to forget how much I loved it, trying to ease the longing to return and stop my heart from breaking every time someone asked me about my experience abroad. I eventually learned to stop yearning for England and to move on with day-to-day life here in the States, where I was born and where I will likely remain for a very long time. I've pined for England less and less as time has passed. I've let it go.

But then, on New Year's Day of this year, it occurred to me that it has been four years since I've been in York. Four years. And ever since I realized that, I've been pining all over again, just as intensely (perhaps ridiculously) as I did during my senior year of college. I can't stop thinking of England, of the way York smells, of the damp city streets, of the small movie theater where I spent the better part of each week, of the long and restless walks down cobble stoned roads, of the nights spent lying awake and staring at the York Minster, amazed that something so large could be so graceful. I've been thinking of all of it: smoking cigarettes on my windowsill, reflective train rides to London and Leeds, excursions to Spain, France, Scotland and Holland, dirty hostels, eating too many pastries, drinking too much vodka, reading away the afternoons, long phone calls home to my mother and my friends. All of it seems so brilliant, even the filthy showers and hot, crowded computer labs. So, once again, I'm aching to get back there.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever stop missing York.

They're Everywhere!

2007-01-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

An interesting article on blogging from Writer's Digest's e-Newsletter: http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/weinman_blogged_and_burned.asp

Hugh Ogden

2007-01-02T13:22:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I did not know Hugh Ogden nor was he my professor, but it seems inappropriate to be a Trinity College student and not mention his death. His poetry is beautiful and by reading it, I can easily see that this is a great loss.

Staying the Course

2007-01-02T00:15:00.000-05:00

I've had a week off from work, which translates to a week of staying up until three or four in the morning and sleeping late. I'm going to attempt to get some shuteye at a reasonable hour, but first, I thought I'd depress everybody. Yeah! A year in review.

Addendum

2006-12-31T15:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Santa (also known as Matthew), I am wearing this right now:

2007, Here We Come!

2006-12-31T15:12:00.000-05:00

I am a procrastinator and I am not alone.

I had to drive up to Massachusetts this afternoon to buy alcohol for the New Year's party I'll be attending because it's Sunday and Connecticut does not sell alcohol on Sundays. The funny thing is: As I was waiting in line, which stretched from the register to nearly the back of the store, I noticed that the majority of people in line were flashing Connecticut driver's licenses. All of those people, myself included, just couldn't get it together and get their procrastinating butts to the liquor store before Sunday. Instead, we all drove miles from home and waited in 15-minute lines with our fellow Connecticut procrastinators. Happy New Year to all.

This year, I've decided to avoid setting myself up for failure. I'm not going to make grand, life-altering resolutions. I'm just going to make some small goals and slowly work toward them as 2007 progresses. These include, but are not limited to: blogging more, focusing on my creative writing and perhaps sending out some material to literary magazines, collecting rejection letters from aforementioned literary magazines, deciding my thesis topic, and learning to cook and bake.

There. I've blogged. I'll now reward myself with the all-too-appropriate "Millennium" episode of The X-Files.

...

2006-12-27T22:34:00.000-05:00

Anyone else see the humor in the fact that I wrote, almost one week ago, that one of my goals for the winter break between classes is to "blog every day, even if I don't have anything to say"? I think it's a riot.

Since Christmas, I've been lounging around in my robe, reading either this or this. I'm thinking tomorrow will be the day. I will blog. I will write part of that short story that's been gestating in me for quite some time. I will do laundry. I will...make my overdue car payment. Big plans, I tell you.

This Cake Is Baked!

2006-12-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

My first semester of graduate school is complete. Wrap it up and put it under the tree!

I have some rather lofty goals for the "winter break," which starts - for me - tomorrow afternoon, when my half-day at work ends:

Blog every day, even if I don't have anything to say.
Read a lot, including a big, fat classic novel and something by Stephen King.
Successfully cook a dinner that is not microwavable or stored in a can.
...And if that goes well, bake something from scratch.
Discover some crevice of X-Files fandom I have not yet explored.

In other news, I'm about as jolly as St. Nick himself lately. What a beautiful time of year. If I could, I'd wear a Santa suit 24 hours a day, for the next four days. Now that's festive!

Bert & Ernie: Which One Are You?

2006-12-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

I went Christmas shopping with my cheerful, wonderful mother this weekend and we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: I like to park on the side of the building, away from everyone.

Mom: Why?

Me: I don't know. I hate walking near people.

Mom: Gee, Sara, you need to lighten up.

Me: ...I drove this time, so we park on the side.

Mom: I hate parking on the side.

We park on the side and get out of the car.

Me: It's finally getting cold! It feels so Christmas-y.

Mom: Brr!

Me: It's so nice, I love being all bundled up. This is my favorite time of year.

Mom: I like Spring.

We walk into the store, my mom smiling and me with my arms folded (probably scowling).

Me: You know, we're just like Bert and Ernie.

Mom: Wait. Which one's which?

Me: Ernie's the jolly orange one, the one with the rubber ducky who plays jokes on people and laughs all the time. Bert's the taller, anxious one who can be pretty miserable.

Mom: We are like that!

I'm Bert, in case this little tale needs further explanation.

Scram!

2006-12-09T17:23:00.000-05:00

From this, I have learned that the original Oscar the Grouch was orange. Who knew?!

Will The Blog Go On?

2006-12-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

As the semester is nearing its end, I've been wondering what will happen to my blog. Part of me wants to discontinue it and return to my more private (but in no way more interesting) Livejournal. Part of me wants to keep it going for a while and let it run on its own -- without the assistance of writing prompts from the blogging class. Of course, in doing this I'd probably end up creating a weird blog that seems to be written by feminist muppet who reads a lot and obsesses over The X-Files.

And I'd probably end up turning my minuscule readership away.

Eh.

I'm also wondering what will happen to the other class blogs, who have given me daily doses of interesting, insightful and funny writing. Will I start going through some sort of www.trinblogwarriors.blogspot.com withdrawal? Meep.

Procrastination Rears Its Filthy Head

2006-12-03T12:12:00.000-05:00

Some great (in my opinion) Livejournal communities:

SistersBronte is delightful if you're into the Bronte sisters. And, c'mon. Who isn't? By the way, I'm convinced that someone's favorite Bronte says a considerable lot about him or her.
Academic_Anon is for (sometimes "recovering") academics.
HipsterBookClub is useful for finding new reads or revisiting old ones.
StoryBookLand is a community for those interested in the art of children's literature.
I like old photographs, so VintagePhoto is a blast.
For your muppet fix, here is muppets, a community devoted to muppet thoughts. There's also muppet_icons, which is barrels of fun.
And here's a community of people who are fighting for a second X-Files movie. Death by Excitement, anyone?
There are also some creepy communities, ones that advocate alcoholism, eating disorders, strange fetishes, etc. But I'm not going to link those because I don't believe they deserve the attention.

And now, back to persistently avoiding my final Literary Studies paper.

Apparently I've Stopped Caring That This Blog Is Public

2006-11-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

I have a thing for Cookie Monster. I always thought it was his eyes (so dark and googly). But I think I finally understand the true reason behind my fondness for this particular zany muppet: he embodies unbridled obsession. His eyes twirl, his hands shake, he grunts and wails and howls, and he has a purely single-track mind. That muppet only cares about cookies. Everything somehow relates to cookies and his insatiable hunger for them. Genius.

Not to mention, Cookie hosted Monsterpiece Theater, one of Sesame Street's gems.

"Me love to look out the window at night. See all the pretty stars -- twinkle, twinkle. You know what moon remind me of? It remind me of great, big, delicious cookie!"

"El-Jay" Or, In Which I Bore You

2006-11-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

I think Livejournal is different from "other" blogging sites, perhaps Livejournals aren't even blogs in the traditional sense (if there is a traditional sense). I think Suzan, who insulted our professor, said this well: Many of the entries in LJ may refer to events or discussions that happen in another venue, be it instant messenger, telephone, or face to face, and there is much recursive, esoteric, and self-referential conversation that takes place on LJ that simply doesn't occur in a one to many blog paradigm.

Livejournal hastens the process that Colin often diagrams in class: the one where X number of knitters are blogging and communicating with one another, and X number of Lamont supporters are blogging and communicating, and then some knitters crossover to the Lamont blogs because they're also Lamont supporters and vice versa. So there's this ever growing, ever changing blog community. Livejournal makes that process easier. You can set up a Livejournal, search for common interests and join communities based on shared interests. Then, through commenting in a community or clicking on a blogger's user info, you can decide to "friend" a blogger, allowing both of you to be on one another's friends list, which gives each of you permission to view each other's friends-locked entries. The cool thing is you always have control over who can view your entries. And you can even create your own community and decide who can and cannot join your community by becoming a maintainer of a community.

I've mentioned this before, but Livejournal is its own species, sort of.

I'll probably return soon with a list of some cool things I think are happening at LJ, but for now, it's me and my tissue box. We are one these days.

For the record, I disagree with this:
Colin said...
Well, I'm a very bad professor. There's no getting around that.
4:49 AM

Lord In Heaven, My Nose Is Swollen!

2006-11-28T09:52:00.000-05:00

So. This is the first class I've missed, and I just want to comment on how fantastic it is to be able to check in at trinblogwarriors.blogspot.com and catch up on what I've missed, from the professor's perspective as well as from my classmates' perspectives. I know it's now common to use the internet and email and even Blackboard in academic settings, but those tools do not seem to provide the same communal feel that blogs do. Because this class forces us not just to absorb information and respond to it, but to respond to it in a public forum and then respond to the responses of other students, we really do form a sort of tribe, a close knit community where we can continually challenge ourselves. And where a sick tribe member can feel like she's still part of the campfire without really being there. (Is this feverish talk?)

My initial point (the one I intended to make) is that I think blogging is an amazing tool for the classroom, one that has the potential to keep everyone active in the discussions or, at least, aware of the discussions. Maybe blogging will grow in academic popularity?

I'm mixing topics here (forgive me, Nielsen!), but Livejournal is going to be an awesome thing to discuss. I can barely contain my excitement. Squee!

I Didn't Promise Coherence

2006-11-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

I'm sick, again. Twice! Twice in one semester! I'm sort of bummed about missing tonight's class because exploring the visual aspects of blogs sounds like a dandy way to spend an evening, but I promise I wouldn't be useful for anything other than spreading germs and blowing my nose.

The blog that Caitlin likes seems to be a perfect combination of visual stimuli and "wordsmithery." Caitlin and Dan discussed this a little in our comments thread. Each aspect appeals to me because I think the author is quite good at both of them. This is a blog I'll probably continue to visit.

As for the weblog usability guide that Steph found, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at the start because I'm (still) convinced that the anything-goes, frontier land quality of blogging is a huge part of not just its appeal but also of its identity. So maybe I wasn't the best person to read this. Regardless, I'm not convinced. Author bios and photos are, for me, the least important aspects of blogs. As this site explains: "What we tune in for is the author's voice, not their CV." I think what we're attracted to in a blog (and what makes us come back for more) is the voice, the writing, the ideas or emotions or even the particular slant of the blog. For me, knowing about the author always seems to take a back seat.

Also, Nielsen calls "mixing topics" a no-no, but wasn't randomness one of the primary "qualities of blogging" we listed in class? Part of the reason I return to the blogs I read is because I enjoy the surprise of what the authors say next. Variety is the spice of blogging, if you will.

Gratitude

2006-11-24T22:19:00.000-05:00

All this talk of blog aesthetics pushed me to devote my entire Friday morning to fiddling with my blog. Delightful, really, because what else would I be doing the day after Thanksgiving besides still digesting all the turkey and stuffing and potatoes and rolls I consumed?

It's a bit belated, but in the spirit of the holiday, here are some things for which I am thankful:

1. Good health, my own and that of those I love.
2. Matthew, my partner, my touchstone, my fellow odd duck. Especially for managing to not only accept but to also love the things about me I am as yet unable to accept about myself.
3. My mother who incessantly reminds me that life and love are all the reasons one needs to spontaneously break into song. Quite simply, she reminds me that it's okay to be happy.
4. My friends who, despite the fact that each of us claims to either generally dislike or feel horribly awkward around other people, have brought abundant light into my life for many years.
5. Those small but essential things: my warm home, more than enough food to eat, music, good coffee, gin & tonics, and The X-Files.
6. Books, the best and most faithful friends a gal can have.
7. My bed. Seriously. It's my favorite location.
8. Hope and perseverance.

It's funny. Once you start thinking about it, there's so much to be grateful for.

I'm A HUGE Cheeseball

2006-11-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. I truly love it. I'm a cheeseball in general: I love every holiday and will probably become (in the not-so-distant future) one of those women who wears giant "holiday" sweaters and turtlenecks and who goes just a little too far in decorating her house for each holiday, even the small ones.

But I'm particularly festive when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's such a warm time of year, and sometimes I find myself smiling for no reason just because of this thing we call the "holiday season."

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, fellow bloggers!

Betcha Didn't Miss Me

2006-11-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

I'm back. From the flaming pits of hell otherwise known as annotated bibliography, which, by the way, I believe to be more difficult to produce than the actual critical essay. The process is intense: read as much material as humanly possible relating to your essay, discern what is useful and what is not, re-read the useful ones, succinctly summarize each of them and finally, bring it all together by relating each piece to your thesis. Oh, and do it in an orderly fashion. Or else!

Moving, er, blogging on, pseudonyms are kind of interesting in themselves, without considering the anonymity of them. What I mean is, the pseudonyms people choose are often revealing, just not revealing of identity. Think of Caffeinated Geek Girl, Bitch PhD (which was listed somewhere in the reading for tonight's class and which I like), Whiskey Bar, Spazeboy. They all hint at certain qualities of the blogger, either real or desired. So I think that pseudonyms, though commonly used to maintain anonymity, are chosen as a sort of mark or brand. A "hey, this is me" kind of thing. Of course, there are probably many instances where this is not true, but I think that because there's always some desire to personalize what you write and what you create, to mark it in some unique way, to own it or at least attach yourself to it, pseudonyms represent the blogger, if not identify them.

I chose to be known as Sara, my real name, when I post, but I put considerable thought into my site name and my url. Why? Because I wanted this blog to represent me in some way.

Also, the nutsy boltsy link about how to post anonymously is sort of strange. Solid advice, but it has me thinking about how I generally avoid blogging about work, about specific people or revealing events. It always seems like the "right" thing to do, but it would be such fun to let loose and blog the way that I journal. Maybe I should?

Informative Love Affair

2006-11-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

What is your relationship to information?

When initially asked, I thought of myself first and foremost as a collector of information, in the old-lady-with-lots-of-antiques sense of the word. I enjoy information. I’m pleased to neatly stack it in my brain, dust it occasionally and drag it out when the moment requires it. I take great comfort in gaining information and in knowing that there’s always more out there for me to collect. Information is a thing without end.

Then I thought of myself as a collector in a less flattering, slightly creepier sense. I’m (psychotic?) obsessive about it in some ways. If I’m genuinely fascinated with something or someone, I simply cannot. get. enough. I often think of my life as a series of obsessions. And when I’m obsessed with something, I will turn the world upside down and shake it to discover all of the information I possibly can about the Obsession. It becomes a quest, simultaneously sustaining and challenging me. I live for what I love. It’s intense. And the interesting thing is: when my Obsession fades (and I can never tell when it will), it still retains its original vibrancy and glory. Even as I delight in a new obsession and embark on a new quest, I still revisit and adore the old. The information I’ve collected still glimmers.

I also consider my relationship with information to be, to some extent, one of advocacy. Politically, I’m just about as far left as you can go. I have a passion for Women’s Studies and feminist theories, which often shows itself in the kind of information I collect and disseminate. I use what I learn, whether in academia or through another writer’s blog, to educate other people and (sometimes) persuade them to change their thinking. I firmly believe knowledge is power (is that a cliché yet?) and I believe sharing information can empower and enlighten people. Hence, the “About Face” and “Voice Not Bodies” links on my “Good Sites” roster.

Finally, for me, information is (sort of) a form of self expression. This blog, though now dear to me, is not what I would consider my most honest, creative self expression. Creative writing – poetry and short fiction – is where I express myself, where I experiment, where my emotions pulsate beneath the words, where I abandon my shy exterior. (This is not, of course, to suggest it is any good.)

Until this class, I was unaware of the relationship between information and creative writing, but there is one and it's strong. The information I collect, the information I want to share and the information that disturbs, challenges or pleases me always seems to wriggle its way into my writing. Characters, plot points, descriptions, settings, word choices are laden with the information I absorb.

And that’s my story.

Thank You

2006-11-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to launch into this week's assignment and discuss my relationship with information, but I think a "thank you" is in order. Thanks, CT Bloggers! You were engaging and informative and challenging. Not to mention, it was wonderful to see the faces behind the blogs.

Success

2006-11-13T12:56:00.000-05:00

I shall now be known not as Sara but as The Thing That Does Homework.

I've been drowning in a little sea I like to call Annotated Bibliography (AB), so I haven't posted much about what we're discussing this week, unfortunately.

A few notes:

1. Our leader's post is hilarious.
2. Kristen wrote a very thoughtful, well-written post that you might want to check out.
3. This was an interesting read, particularly the conclusion:
Internet political professionals often concentrate our attention on the particular tools we use to get our messages out, but the real effect of the Internet and the electronics explosion of the last 15 years has been the immense deepening and broadening of the sea of information in which we now swim. Our biggest task is just to get noticed as we drift along.
4. LamontBlog's "Last Call" post was fitting: a showing of success rather than defeat. Though Lieberman may have won, Lamont didn't lose. Well said: We took on one major party in the primary, and we won an historic victory. But, in so many ways, we had to take on the combined efforts of two major parties in the general - an even more herculean task that, amazingly, we almost pulled off too.
5. I'm looking forward to tonight's class.

I Can't Do It

2006-11-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

I can't. I can't write this annotated bibliography. I've done, oh, 85% of the reading (a good thing), but I cannot bring myself to sit down and start putting the damn thing together. I just can't.

Instead, I've been perusing the Toothpaste For Dinner archives.

Hey, at least I'm laughing.

Rar!

2006-11-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

A story: It is my day off and I've decided that, for the first time in months, I will allow myself to sleep until I want to get out of bed. The groundskeepers of our condo complex have a different idea, however. They decide to use The Loudest Leaf Blower Ever right outside my bedroom window. At 8:00 in the morning.

That's all I have to say for today.

Moving On

2006-11-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

I'm posting mostly so that visitors of my blog (if there are any) don't have to face Flukeman's evil eyes right away.

I'm also posting to retract my statement about changing my "I voted today!" sticker to a "I voted today! For nothing!" sticker. I really wanted Lamont to win and (foolishly?) believed he would. Seeing the results gave me flashbacks to Election 2004, which was a truly traumatic experience for me, so I overreacted. A bit.

There are some decidedly good things about this Election. And for now, I'm going to focus on this.

Irrelevant & Weird. Skip Ahead, Please.

2006-11-08T19:03:00.000-05:00

I love the way Flukeman breathes in the X-Files episode, "The Host." It's so sinister and threatening!

Election Day Blues

2006-11-08T00:10:00.000-05:00

I'm disappointed.

I feel like changing my "I voted today!" sticker to a "I voted today! For nothing!" sticker.

Exciting News

2006-11-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

I just switched to the beta version of blogger!

Also, vote!

Monday's Class

2006-11-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

Monday's class, despite Colin's absence, was wonderful. The casual group discussion allowed me to get to know the people of the class, not just the blogs of the class, which was a pleasant experience. Everyone was really engaged in the conversation and each person offered a unique perspective.

We dug into some interesting stuff about ethics in blogging, including the negative aspects to the anarchic internet "frontier land." While it's exciting to explore this generally lawless territory, there is both offensive and frightening material open for all eyes. Kristen, for instance, mentioned a particularly disturbing blog about abortion. And Kirsten, in her blog, addressed the issue of using full names when making threatening or disparaging remarks in blogs. The problem is, it's very hard to decided what, if anything, to do about such things.

It was great to bounce ideas around in class about possible accreditation for blogs/bloggers, guidelines about using full names, guidelines similar to or different from journalism guidelines and -- if we were to establish such guidelines -- how they might change in a political/journalistic blog vs. a personal blog.

Still, for me, the bottom line is that, for right now, the unrestricted nature of the internet prevents us from developing serious guidelines for everyone. And isn't some (or much) of the appeal of the internet and of blogging its freedom, its spontaneity, its anything-can-happen quality?

Either way, Monday's class was "good times."

Ethics?

2006-11-05T14:28:00.000-05:00

This article presents a vague set of blogging guidelines based on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. I think it's a nice idea. And I think Jay Rosen's suggestion is really interesting (excuse the length):

What do we, as a community, need to do to enhance the respect internet journalists receive in the world at large? My first answer is: we have to look for it.

We should major in transparency; the “major” media will take a minor in that. Diversity of outlook in the reporters ultimately improves the reporting. The blogosphere has advantages there, especially as it does more reporting.

I think we have to accept that Big Media, which isn’t going anywhere, is society’s default legitimacy-distribution machine. But that doesn’t mean it works well. The machine itself can lose legitimacy without exactly falling apart. If you’re an upstart publisher of news and you suck at it, Big Media will try to ignore you. If you’re an upstart publisher of news and you’re really good at it, Big Media will try to ignore you. Then when you assume the shape of a writes-itself story—first bloggers to go the political conventions!—Big Media will over-cover you, spreading a small bit of understanding over lots and lots of stories. Six months later it’s time to debunk the trend they missed, then over-hyped and finally misdescribed. It’s not personal. It’s protective. It’s also cheaper than figuring out what’s going on.

And, I also think that no matter what guidelines are created or what ideas are brought forward about internet journalism and blogging ethics, there's still a kind of untamed frontier land quality about blogging, as we've discussed frequently in class. And as Jay Rosen goes on to say:

What some people can’t seem to get over is that other people can say any damn thing they want on the Internet! How can you trust any of it? is their natural reaction to all open systems. Closed systems—and professional journalism is one—develop trust in one way. Open systems have to do it a much different way. Expecting one to look like the other is unreasonable.

On the one hand, I appreciate that internet journalists and bloggers want to be taken seriously and respected (and hence, would benefit from ethical guidelines). On the other hand, I'm attracted to the wildness of the internet, the "anything goes" quality of it, and the fact that I have to do a little extra work to find the truth (or rather, to find the nearest thing to the truth). Perhaps as we move forward and as blogging becomes more important, we'll start seeing more stringent guidelines and ethical codes, but how, then, will the frontier land change?

The Departed

2006-11-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Friday night, as I sat in the movie theater watching The Departed and becoming increasingly disappointed with it, I kept thinking, "I have to blog about this." It wasn't until the next morning when I realized that blogging or thinking about blogging or thinking about the world in terms of blogging has become a daily occurence for me.

Funny, you know, how your blog insidiously creeps into your every day life, your mundane thoughts and routines.

So, the movie: Contrary to apparently 93% of critical reviews, The Departed is not a very good movie. Pardon my language, but it was a cock movie, one of the biggest cock movies I've ever seen. I'm fully aware that there are better, more intellectual words for this. I could call it a hypermasculine narrative or say it was celluloid drenched in testosterone, but when the film is rolling, the phrase "cock movie" just fits so well. By that, I don't mean it's a male movie or a movie about men or male relationships or a masculine quest for power. I'd have nothing against that. I mean, The Departed is one of the most sexist, "phallocentric" films I've seen in a long time. In it, uniquely female things (menstruation, female sexual pleasure, female genitalia) are disregarded, degraded and used as insults in casual conversation. Not to mention, there's only one female character, a Harvard-educated psychologist, who could have been a positive representation of women had she not slept with both of her male patients and passively accepted that there are some things her boyfriend does that she's just not meant to know.

I understand that most people probably won't walk away from the movie with this impression or be to bothered by it, which is fine, but it's not a very good movie even if you were to remove all of that. The performances were great, but everything else was just sort of...tepid. I wish I went to see Running With Scissors instead.

There, that's my review. I'm really going to get on with the whole "ethics of blogging" business now, I promise.

You (Didn't) Ask(ed) For It

2006-11-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

Well, Dan's blog prompted me to explore my corner of internet fandom, The X-Files. And the massive amount of websites, forums and blogs has prompted me to consider delving deeper into this, perhaps culminating in a final paper. So, without further ado...

X Marks the Spot, or Good X-Files Sites:

-For a brief synopsis of the show's characters, plot lines and history, Wikipedia actually does a pretty nice job. I guess that makes sense because, as we've talked about, many of the people on Wiki are geeky, passionate types with strong (obsessive?) interests in one or a few subjects. Perhaps glaring errors on The X-Files Wiki page have been avoided because the fandom is enormous and its members are so fastidious.

-A great episode guide, including summaries and memorable quotes, can be found here.

-There are quite a few forums, but the definitive one (in my opinion) is Idealists Haven, a registered users only forum with scads of XF material. It's a wonderful fan space. This one is newer and smaller, but a bit more personal. Television Without Pity has one. TV.com has one, too. To name a few.

-Myspace has an interesting set up of all of the characters. Mulder and Scully's blog entries are voice overs lifted from various episodes. I'm not at all sure how this works. Is one person controlling them all? Is each one a different individual pretending to be a character? Do many people edit each one?

-Livejournal has great a blog community of XF fans.

Even though this particular topic is of interest to no one but me, it's interesting to consider both the vast amount of websites, blogs and forums there are for only one subject and to consider how they are run, how the information spreads and what codes or what rules each website follows.

The internet has been a perfect place for fandoms. Before, if you were really interested in something or someone, you could join fan clubs for a fee and wait anxiously to receive a newsletter or a promotional piece or new information. There wasn't as much contact with other fans. You might have known they were out there, but meeting them or communicating with them was a difficult process. With the internet, obsession can blossom. You can communicate with other people who are interested in or passionate about the same things as you. You can blog about your obsession. You can explore many fan sites for free and with just a click of the mouse.

It's kind of brilliant, really.

Did I Make Sense?

2006-11-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

We're asked: What is it about blogging and humor?

There's a short and easy answer: Because everything on the internet is designed to be fast-paced, if you're going to stay with a page for a long time, it better be high-quality and of particular interest to you or it better have enough humor to move you along. I believe this is true, but I have an inkling that there's more to it than this. Sure, it's easier to glide through a blog entry if you're entertained by humor, but why is humor so common? Why use it more than, I don't know, images or very short sentences/posts or bulleted lists or lots of links? It seems to be one of the most common qualities of blogs; they're funny. Perhaps it's more about humor than about blogging. What I mean is, humor (in any form) is a sort of speedy thing. A joke can be long, but the "hit," the pinnacle, the funniest part is quick. And wit is best when it's quick (hence, quick-witted). Humor is a punch -- fast and powerful. Even stand-up comics always seem to move and speak with unearthly energy.

Maybe blogs are a perfect medium for humor rather than humor being a perfect device for blogs?

Has Anyone...

2006-10-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

seen this? I'm not sure if it has already been covered in one of the class blogs, but I had to post it. Look at the entry on the word "blog."

It's Alive!

2006-10-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

This blew my mind. Though I've thought (and written) about the communal nature of blogs and delighted in the collaborative efforts of MetaFilter and Wikipedia, I've never pushed it one step further into what Teilhard calls a "vast thinking membrane...containing our collective thoughts and experiences." Since infancy, we're taught to work in groups, to share, and to listen. But to me, these things always seemed confined to classrooms and homes and office spaces (in other words, confined to person-to-person contact), but in thinking of the internet as a membrane wherein our collective thoughts and experiences lie brings a new dimension to the concept of "teamwork."

And when we join together, when we collaboratively blog and create sites like MetaFilter, are we building something that will soon take its own course, have its own "life" no longer under our control? It certainly seems that way. Let's look at MetaFilter. It was created by "bloggers" but now seems to sort of exist on its own, morphing as the users and their ideas multiply. Though I love The X-Files and have a geeky penchant for the Sci-Fi channel and horror movies, I've always found the idea of life in computers, within the internet or on blogging sites impossible.

Now, I'm not so sure about that.

Sheesh! I still have boingboing-ing to do.

Briefly: Metafilter

2006-10-25T13:12:00.000-04:00

Metafilter, where have you been all of my life?

Seriously. This site is fabulous. As if I need another obsession.

Metafilter seems different from Wikipedia, not so much in structure (I think that's rather similar, though scaled down) but rather, in concept. Wikipedia, even with its weighty pop culture entries, is geared to be a free encyclopedia, which means it aims to be objective and informative. Metafilter allows for fun and subjectivity. The comment threads are loaded with opinions, compliments, further information and more links, witty remarks, not-so witty remarks, and hilarious musings. It's good stuff.

Perhaps it works better and is (for me) more enjoyable to study because of what it is.

Wiki: It Is What It Is

2006-10-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

I'm running the risk of oversimplifying my opinion of Wikipedia (and perhaps Wikipedia itself), but...it is what it is. Whether or not it was founded on (too) idealistic principles, whether or not the founders knew it was going to explode as it did, whether or not the system of addition and deletion is sort of arbitrary, and whether or not you like the site or use it, it is what it is: a free, experimental, communal website that attempts to distribute information of encyclopedia caliber (with a dash of popular culture).

I agree with Eric S. Raymond's analogy of the bazaar, especially: "With no central authority, order sort of emerges bottom-up from the actions and desires of the participants." That, I think, pretty accurately describes Wiki's unique structure.

And I'm OK with that. And that doesn't mean my attitude toward Wiki is "take it with a grain of salt," even though I think you must. I appreciate Wikipedia for what it is, for the structure of it, and for how it grew. I would never rely on it for a research paper, and I would always double-check the information it provides, but it's a useful site if you need information quickly, if you want to jog your memory, or if you want to explore some aspect pop culture. Where else might I find all of this X-Files information on one page?

Perhaps the one down side is that some people, especially younger people, make take Wiki's information as 100% true, either because they don't understand how the site works or because they trust internet information too much. But then, we probably shouldn't trust any information too much.

A Few Disjointed Thoughts

2006-10-23T12:08:00.000-04:00

1. I've often thought of my life as an endless series of awkward moments. I've thought about this so often, in fact, that I once considered starting a blog that only included the awkward moments of my life: nervous elevator conversations, dropping things at crucial moments, falling down various sets of stairs, the bizarre go-ahead-no-you-go-no-really-ok-ok dance in which I always seem to get stuck, excitedly imitating a great kill scene from a Friday the 13th film in a Board meeting and then realizing I went just a little too far. You know, things we can all relate to.

This only came to mind today because I remembered that I fell down the stage stairs at a CODS show this weekend. I tell you: awkward moments, one right after another.

2. Livejournal. I've had a Livejournal for three or four years now, and the more I learn in this class, the more interested I am in how Livejournal works. It's sort of its own species. I mean, it is a blogging site, but it's also a web of forums (communities). And good icons are the much-desired art of the Livejournal world; some people enter icon contests and some people pay to have unlimited icons. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about Livejournal is different from other blogging sites, even the similarly youthful Xanga. And I know people chock up Livejournal to a teen diary site, but it's pretty in-depth and some people are doing some really cool things with it.

3. Further evidence of my crotchety old lady status: I have a bad back.

Notes on Notes

2006-10-22T13:41:00.000-04:00

In Notes From My Corner, Em wrote about the stunning unifying powers of the internet. We can connect with strangers as easily as we can connect with loved ones. We can surf chat rooms and websites for information and for connection. We can comment on one another's published thoughts. And we can do it all so quickly.

I started thinking about how the internet is paradoxically connective and isolating. Emailing, surfing for information, IM-ing, etc. are solitary acts. It's a bizarre concept: we can reach out to people with more ease and speed than ever, but actual human contact, one-on-one interaction with eye contact and touches and body language is becoming a bit more infrequent. We are holing up and sitting alone in order to branch out and connect. Strange.

Of course, I've been reading a lot of post-structuralist literary theory about paradoxes and breaking down binary opposites and de-centering structures and all that jazz, so perhaps I'm over-thinking this...

Wiki Crit

2006-10-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

No better way to spend a sunny October Saturday than reading Jason Scott's criticism of Wikipedia (she says, with a hint of sarcasm). Really, though, it's an entertaining article. However, I -- like Wiki's blogger -- found most of the main arguments within the article to be lacking sufficient evidence.

1. I never considered Wikipedia to be resting on a "utopian framework" (as Jason does) because I always understood it as a sort of collaborative experiment that expanded beyond expectations. Wiki blogger says something like this, and Jason defends himself by saying that Jimbo has repeatedly referred to Wikipedia in terms of "good and light," which reminded me of The New Yorker article that mentions Wikipedia working for a "greater good." I don't think that makes Wikipedia based on a utopian framework, but I can more clearly see Jason's point. Perhaps the site has been glorified a bit...too much?

2 & 3. Jason believes that the back-and-forth quality of Wikipedia opens it up to "supervandalism," which I think contributes to his third point about Wikipedia representing the first wave of the information war. I would not pin that on Wikipedia. I think we've been heading toward that for a long, long time as our technologies have advanced and the speed with which we attain information has quickened. Wikipedia may be a part of the information war, but I don't think it represents the first wave. And I guess, to be perhaps overly optimistic, an information war may bring about more discernible readers.

4. He is right on this. Deletion by some random guy (or woman) is a bit disheartening and befuddling, but, you know, that's how it works.

5 & 6. Jason, even in his comments on Wiki's blog, did not solidify his claims that insiders of Wikipedia are working to ruin it. Totally possible, sure. But not convincing without proof. I'm also not convinced of any sort of coming overthrow of Jimbo, nor do I particularly care.

The delightful New York Times article that Colin posted centered on #4, the process of deletion from or addition to Wikipedia. It seems that the definition of "notable" is ambiguous (even considering the guidelines), but I think it has to be in order to maintain the open feel of the site.

I loved reading the entries and the debates about whether each entry should be added or deleted. It was like a pithy internet version of American Idol. They show off their stuff (Pooky, for instance), the people debate about its "notable" quality, and it either stays on or gets the ax. What fun!

The Dream

2006-10-18T17:56:00.000-04:00

Someone poked a hole in an original Picasso painting. And Nora Ephron blogged about it.

...And I'm cringing as I type because I love Picasso.

Wiki: The First View

2006-10-18T11:31:00.000-04:00

I've just hit the tip of the giant iceberg that is Wikipedia. My first thoughts? Not only is it massive (much larger than I had assumed), it's also very intricate. There are layers upon layers of information on the Editing and Tutorial pages alone. It initially seems like an easy-to-use, easy-to-access collaborative encyclopedia, but it's really a complex system of rules and etiquette. What I love about it is the icy politeness of its instructions: They rarely command you to do anything; instead, they suggest it by saying, "It's a good idea to..." and "it can be bad if..." or "it would be useful to read..." It makes you feel welcomed and watched, which I guess is how Wikipedia works.

Death by Video

2006-10-15T12:52:00.001-04:00

Against my better judgment, I went to a party last night. Wild party girl that I am, I spent the evening curled in a leather chair reading various Time magazines that my friend Dennis had scattered on the table in his room. I came across this really interesting article and began to think about it in terms of writing, blogs and vlogs. If museums are going high tech to keep up with our ever-shrinking attention spans, are traditional museums dying out? Similarly, is traditional writing dying out in favor of blogs and vlogs? There will always be books; I'm sure of this because the thought of books ceasing to exist or migrating online or becoming shorter and more interactive makes me want to fling myself off the nearest bridge. But will they always be as well read? Will they turn into the traditional museums hurting for money of the literary world? Further (and more relevant to class), will videos replace much of the writing in blogs? Will the attitude be: If you can show it, why bother writing it out?

I don't know. I think it's possible that writing and blogging will shift to incorporate more videos and interactive what-nots. But I have faith that one of the fundamental joys of blogging and writing is to "get it out" -- whatever your "it" may be -- to punch the keys, to express yourself. And I have to believe that no matter how technically savvy we become, we will still appreciate that and make room for it.

10-13

2006-10-13T18:34:00.000-04:00

It's Friday the 13th! Of October, no less. Bwah ha ha.

DUI

2006-10-11T12:18:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder about the kind of person I really am. Is it awful that, as a Saint Joseph College alumna, my first reaction to President Evelyn Lynch's DUI was laughter? I mean, we're talking serious cackling, nearly doubling over with giggles. As an English student who is all too familiar with the most-writers-are-drunks phenomena, I find it hilarious that the English department of Saint Joseph College is housed in Lynch Hall. It's all too fitting.

Two things that may redeem my status as a human being: 1) I wasn't laughing because I want such a negative reputation to befall Saint Joseph College. I love that place and I loved my studies there. 2) I saw the story on the news and was legitimately concerned about whether she had injured herself or anyone else.

But seriously. Isn't it a little funny? (I hope this post doesn't piss anyone off. No, I don't take drinking and driving lightly and no, I don't think drunks are cool.)

Alternative Blog

2006-10-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

I know we're supposed to be discussing the recent YouTube controversy, but before I get into that, I just want to express my unyielding love for YouTube. I sound more and more like a crotchety old woman with every passing day and what I'm about to say isn't going to help that at all, but I guess that's just the way this particular cookie crumbles.

I miss the good old days.

The days when Connecticut's Radio 104 was an alternative rock station, when VH1 played Pop Up Video incessantly, when instead of downloading music you sat in front of your stereo waiting to push the "record" button on your tape deck so you could capture that awesome, new song for your awesome, new mix. The days when MTV played music videos and devoted their weekends to Top 100 countdowns. YouTube reminds me of my love for music videos. I'm not talking about rappers popping champagne bottles in jacuzzis or emo kids with eyeliner pouting at the camera. I'm talking about great, weird videos like Live's "Lightning Crashes" and "Lakini's Juice." The Smashing Pumpkins' "Thirty-three" or, hell, even Bush's "Swallowed."

OK, maybe I miss the music more than the videos, but however I slice it, YouTube has reunited me with music videos. Good music videos. And for that, I am forever indebted.

In lieu of digging out my baggy jeans and flannel shirts, I'll just watch this.

(Almost) Back in the Saddle

2006-10-09T14:43:00.000-04:00

I try to avoid getting too personal in my blog, but it seems that I, as a blogger, tend to migrate toward the personal stuff, whether it be serious or exciting or mundane. It's what I like to read and what I like to write. So without divulging too many uninteresting personal facts, it's been a rough week: The Illness, the Literary Studies paper, and the unfortunate (though not unexpected) death of a member of my boyfriend's family. But. The Blog must go on.

This quote stuck with me: Emergence is what happens when the whole is smarter than the sum of its parts. It's what happens when you have a system of relatively simple-minded component
parts -- often there are thousands or millions of them -- and they interact in relatively simple ways. And yet somehow out of all this interaction some higher level structure or intelligence appears, usually without any master planner calling the shots.

Doesn't that sort of define blogging? Or maybe it's better said this way: Doesn't that describe the essence of blogs? The whole blogosphere is smarter than the sum of its parts in the sense that its components, even the most highly regarded or complex blogs, operate very simply. A blogger types and links and posts in his or her small block of the internet, and that small block connects with other blocks through links and through the information it spreads, and those other blocks connect to still other blocks. And when you zoom out you see this massive information-spreading system, far more complex than any individual blog.

Emergence is probably why I can spend hours on the internet when only intending to check my email or check my friend's blog.

Also, Chris made a great point about emergence and homework. I whole-heartedly agree.

Johnson's point about signal-to-noise is interesting. Obviously, emergence lends itself to a cacophony of opinions, useful information, some useless information, problems with communication, unwanted messages, etc. What's interesting is that part about Slashdot:

Malda and his crew didn't have the luxury of putting a bunch of people on staff to do it, and I don't think they were temperamentally inclined to do that anyway. They thought it would be better to let the community do it, and follow an open source model in developing a community itself. And so they built the karma system where everything was evaluated by other members of the community, and if you contributed a lot your karma increases. Moderation filters enable you to look at highly rated things and eliminate things that are not highly rated by the community. And it created a kind of currency within the system that enabled quality contributions to rise to the surface.

I wonder: If you try to develop a sort of rating system in blogs, will it eventually become chaotic too? Can everyone agree on what's high quality? I'm not sure about that one.

All of this has me thinking not just about blogs but about forum as well. Forums (fan forums, cooking forums, forums about movie stars, whatever strikes your fancy) are a form of emergence, wouldn't you say? I mean, The X-Files forum is monstrous, and I've gotten lost in it many a day.

...Guess I let the geek out of the bag with that closing line.

Vapor Action

2006-10-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure when they came out with Spearmint Halls (with advanced vapor action!), but they, along with Puffs tissues and saltines, are my life lines. I'm sort of fretting about the fact that I feel like I've been run over and have to begin working on a paper for my Literary Studies class. Not to mention, the title I want to use for the paper -- First Person Plural -- has already been taken by this guy. That's a great book, by the way, so he deserves the title.

Bleh

2006-10-04T09:40:00.000-04:00

I've made a blogging no-no. I haven't posted in a few days. In my defense, I'm currently in the clutches of The Illness: part cold, part stomach flu. Oh, yeah.

In Monday's class, Dan Gerstein (Lieberman's "counter-puncher," as Colin calls him) and Tim Tagaris (Lamont's blog-and-internet machine) visited to discuss the role blogging and the internet has played in the Lieberman/Lamont race. Every now and then they both shot off on tangents completely unrelated to blogging, but very relevant to the campaign. It was incredibly intense. I kept watching Tim's leg bounce up and down, waiting for him to pounce. Great stuff. They both played well. They were cordial, well-informed and persuasive, though if you came into class already on one side of the Lieberman/Lamont fence, you weren't going to be persuaded otherwise, just more convinced of your own opinion. Kind of like blogs themselves. Huh.

I have lots of other things to blog about, but I need to head back to my ~~death~~ bed.

YouTube, MeTube

2006-10-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

I've been considering the YouTube videos in the Lieberman/Lamont race. These, I think, have the potential to be more convincing and more widely consumed than the political blogs. Here's why I think that: 1) Even though they can be edited (and probably manipulated), there's something highly effectual about seeing a candidate speak about the issues and interact with reporters and others. This is not to say that written interviews or bipartisan "newsy" articles are not effective, but videos have a sort of "exhibit A!" quality about them. 2) Let's face it: our attention spans are shrinking. YouTube videos not only eliminate reading, but also any extraneous information (commercials, etc.) so you get exactly what you came to see. 3) And for the people who do keep up with the campaign and with politics, for those who read a variety of sources, YouTube videos allow them to re-watch particular segments, see other opinions, track politician appearances and all that jazz.

By the way, I like this video. And I like Lamont.

"The Milk Man, The Paper Boy..."

2006-09-30T01:59:00.000-04:00

Full House reruns make me smile. And on a related note, Designing Women is coming to Nick at Night. Oh, great glory and splendor!

I realize that I'm a graduate student and should probably be, you know, studying all of the time, but there are certain things I won't give up for any lifestyle and late-night sitcom watching is one of them.

A Few Notable Things:

2006-09-28T23:15:00.000-04:00

1. I think I'm becoming addicted to blogging.
2. The Van Gogh painting at the top of my blog keeps disappearing and then reappearing. Spooky!
3. My Left Nutmeg is great. I like the voice: smart but a bit quirky, a little edgy. It's so damn readable. It hums my political tune, so to speak, which makes me wonder: is that why I like it so much? If yes, then there must be some truth to what we discussed in class about DailyKos (and many political blogs) just preaching to the choir. Maybe that's not so bad, though. Maybe if you preach to the choir, you can get them to do even more than they would ordinarily do. Plus, there's not only strength numbers, but comfort as well. It's just plain old nice to communicate with people from different stations in life who share your opinions. Besides, I'm sure some right-winged folks drop in every now and then, just as I watch Fox News every now and then to get pissed off.
4. This timeline is helpful. I know, I know. I said that blog is kind of dull, which I still believe, but dull can be educational.
5. Lattes rock my socks off.

$1.75, Please

2006-09-27T16:32:00.000-04:00

I'm one of those people who obsessively loves coffee, but I'm also one of those people who has a sensitive stomach. I've tried and tried to quit coffee, but I keep coming back for various reasons: I smell it and suddenly need it; I have to stay up late to study; I have to function at an unholy hour (any time before 10:00 AM)...

Today's reason for relapse: Structuralist literary theory. Tell me how I'm supposed to tackle this without coffee?

By the way, I know Folgers has that easy-on-the-stomach coffee now, but there is nothing (nothing!) like my Dunkin.

The Passion of the Blog

2006-09-27T12:27:00.001-04:00

My DD said that blogs are "filling a demand for normalcy in politics, for anti-elitist open discussion." I do think blogging opens the door for discussion, but I don't know how anti-elitist it is. I mean, look at DailyKos. Sure, it's popular and yes, there's lots of commenting and discussing, but it's a Democratic blog (or is it better called a blog community?) with a stringent set of rules. There's a flow to it and I'd bet that those who try to swim against the current would be squashed pretty quickly. I think most political blogs are like that, and even though I wouldn't call them anti-elitist, I would call them interesting. I think bloggers who are all pumped up about an issue or a campaign or, say, The X-Files, are the most readable. Because there's passion, and people are attracted to that and then join in, and the passion grows. The attempt at a bipartisan blog was kind of dull, if you ask me.

I do think blogs are useful in politics, and I think -- as My DD was trying to say -- they bring politics away from that imagined sphere of white wigs and high horses and down to the people, down to daily life (which is what it's really about). In that way, I think blogging is a wonderful thing. The Lieberman and Lamont campaign, though important, probably wouldn't have garnered as much attention if it weren't for these passionate bloggers (yes, even the "choke on these numbers!!!" dude).

Gender Bender

2006-09-26T12:35:00.000-04:00

I drove home last night thinking about whether the blogosphere is male dominated and whether blogs are equally conducive to male and female thought.

Since blogging can be anonymous and profiles can be falsely populated, I imagine it's difficult to conduct research on who blogs what, how many men have blogs, how many women, etc. Having done no research at all and having no right to make this assumption, I'm going to say that bloggers who blog frequently and blogs with heavy traffic are often written/owned by men. I only say this because it has been my experience (as a new blog surfer/lurker) that many of the popular blogs I've seen and many of the blogs featured in news stories I've read are written by men. This is not to say that men greatly outweigh the number of women with blogs, but...I just have a feeling. So that'll have to do for now. Until I can dig up some research (that will probably end up proving me wrong).

Anyway. The point I want to reach is this: I think blogging is an ideal medium for women, and more specifically, for feminism. Blogging is communal; it sparks discussion and new ideas; it can be inspirational or motivational; it can be confessional; it can be political; it's often heated; it can attract attention, both negative and positive; it can be creative. These things are true of feminism as well. The two seem a perfect pair.

More on this, probably, but I'm at work. And besides, there's homework to do.

In Which I Don't Get the Right Answer...

2006-09-24T18:18:00.000-04:00

I've been asked to think about codes in terms of the blogs I've read. Hm. Damn good idea, but I'm not sure I know where to begin, or if I'll get anywhere worth being once I begin.

First, it seems that blogs do indeed have codes, and that just as codes vary from culture to culture, they also vary from blog to blog. I love Nonsense's blog, and he seems to have certain codes for certain words/topics. President Bush = negative, Jewish culture = respectful humor. Certain words or phrases have come to mean certain things for him, he writes with his own code, his own personal meaning. You know?

Less about codes, and more about memes, I was re-thinking about Kottke's blog, which seems -- in itself -- a meme machine. It pumps out loads information, and since Kottke has a bigger following than many blogs, he spreads the information too. Are all blogs meme machines? I want to say yes, but feel hesitant to do so. Maybe they are all spreading information, but Nonsense's and Coffee's blogs seem less about spreading/making memes and more about blending personal anecdotes with external things (politics, movies, etc.). Kottke, on the other hand, is "heavy on the links," and on random information, so I tend to put him above the other two in terms of meme-ing (I made that up). Interestingly, I prefer Nonsense and Coffee to Kottke.

Reptiles

2006-09-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

The interview with Clotaire Rapaille was of particular interest to me for two reasons: 1) I love the study of language, of the meanings and emotions we associate with certain words, and of the simultaneously freeing and restrictive nature of language ; and 2) Before heading back to graduate school, I worked for two years in an Association for marketing and opinion researchers.

It's a little off-putting to think of our brains as reptilian, but I agree with Rapaille's idea that "when we [are] born, we have the reptilian brain" that concerns itself with survival. Then, development brings us to the "limbic" stage, which involves emotions, relationships and connections. Lastly, we come to the "cortex" stages, which -- as I understood it -- is the "thinking" stage, the "smart" stage, where we analyze and synthesize and all the other "izes."

Rapaille mentions that market researchers limit themselves by focusing too much on the cortex, on the thinking of consumers, and not on the reptilian (and limbic, too, I suppose) nature of consumers. So, I started thinking about something I buy regularly, a product that I love: Coca Cola. Now, at first, I could say, "I like the taste," but my drive to purchase it does, I think, come from my code for that word, which is familial. My mother and my grandparents we big Coke drinkers, letting the young ones have sips (we'd have to drink milk with dinner). As I grew older, I developed a sort of loyalty to Coke. I know this is a very simple example, but with it, I can see that what drives me to buy certain products is more than my "thinking." It's deeper than that.

Thinking about the spread of information in this way and about the codes we have for words (and how they vary from culture to culture) seems important, almost revolutionary (if you have not thought of this before).

I think Rapaille should speak at one of MRA's Conferences.

Future of Feminism

2006-09-20T14:05:00.000-04:00

I just found this really interesting article about the large number of people who have blogs (and myspace pages, etc.) and who use the internet regularly, and what that means for feminism.

I like that Gugelmeyer recognizes that the internet is a shifty place, tracking personal information and promoting consumer spending, but also acknowledges that it is a place of connection, of unity. If so many people are using it and communicating through it, then the feminist movement should be actively participating in "social networks, blogs, email and all the tools of the internet."

I wonder how the face of feminism will change in this new century, and what part blogs will play in the change?

Memes (Clever title, eh?)

2006-09-20T11:33:00.000-04:00

As I read the wikipedia entry on memes, it -- at first -- seemed to me that memes and ideas were synonymous. I kept thinking of a meme as an intangible mental gene, passed down (or around) via the brain. That sounded a lot like an idea to me, only viewed from a more sophisticated and scientific perspective. Apparently, this has been one of the criticisms of memes, memetics and meme theories: "no reason exists for differentiating or discerning the word 'meme' from the word 'idea' or from the phrase 'pattern of thought'." In response, the meme people say, "The creation of the term 'meme' as opposed to 'idea' or 'pattern of thought' allows for specific description and application of the meme as a phenomenon. Additionally, using a new term such as 'meme' allows one to avoid semantic baggage associated with well-known terms such as 'idea'; and conveys a (mistaken) connotation of novelty."

I still wasn't sure that I bought it, even though I agree that words are loaded with "semantic baggage" and using a new word allows for a more intense, less inhibited exploration of the meaning behind the word. Though I'm still not sure that a) memes are much different from ideas or b) I have any idea what I'm talking about, this list got me thinking. Those things aren't exactly what I would call "ideas." For instance, one of the items on the list is "internet slang." Internet slang seems to have started somewhere (not really as an idea or invention, but rather, as a shortened method of communication for internet-savvy folks) and spread rapidly and widely, developing word by word, phrase by phrase. To me, this is the epitome of a meme. And considering this, I now see that there is a distinction between memes and ideas (even if I can't clearly identify it).

In other news, memetic engineering is kind of creepy, no?

Blogger by Nature?

2006-09-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

OK. Since class ended on Monday, I've been thinking about the question of why bloggers blog, and more specifically, way so many bloggers blog?

I do think there's some truth to the idea that we (humans) are information-sharing animals, that we have innate need to spread information, knowledge and ideas. In fact, I think this is the best explanation I've heard for why so many bloggers blog.

Why do I blog? I spent some time thinking about whether this is the same as asking myself why I write. For me, the writing (moreso than blogging) comes from an innate need, from my inborn inability to communicate well in a common way: by speaking. For me, it has always been easier to write something down than to say it. Sometimes I'm not even sure that my emotions actually register, or if I can identify them, until I've written about them. So, no. I don't think asking "why blog?" is synonymous with "why write?" (But I'm just thinking aloud here.)

Anyway. After I shoveled my way through those thoughts, I started wondering: why do I blog? Why have I blogged (horrible blogs, mind you) for four years? I have no answer. I'm a relatively private person, a bit hermit-ish given the moment, so it seems out of character. Why, then, do I write in a public venue? Am I a closet exhibitionist? Am I really self-absorbed?

...I think that rather than answer those questions, I'll just say that it's natural that I blog because it's natural to share information and knowledge.

Now, on to the memes.

Other, Better Blogs

2006-09-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

So, I've blogged before but never for a class and never with any particular purpose. In fact, my blog was the Seinfeld of the blogging world (only far less successful and funny and entertaining): it was a blog about nothing. I should probably read this to change my tune. Anyway, I suppose I'm going to think of this as my blog about something, or many things, but hopefully not nothing.

This blog, deemed one last year's "Blogging On" success stories, is quite entertaining. I'm attracted to these types of blogs, ones that blend the internal and the external, the personal and the communal. Brett makes his addiction to Dairy Queen just as interesting as the way the Bush administration "takes emotional issues in the country and exploits the hell out of them." I admire that.

Coffee Rhetoric had me with the title. She has a unique voice, a bit comical and a bit dark. With Coffee's blog, I noticed that, visually, I prefer blog posts that are broken into short paragraphs or bulleted lists, and ones that include photos or videos. I wonder if that means I'm lazy? I hope not. I'm a fan of words (and lots of 'em) but moreso when they're on the page than on the screen.

I noticed something (probably something quite obvious) when reading Nutmeg Grater: the speed with which information spreads. On Friday morning, I woke up, drove to get some coffee and heard on the radio that E-coli had been found in bagged spinach in Connecticut. I spent the drive home fretting about how there was bagged spinach in my fridge. Yikes stripes. Once home (and after throwing out my spinach), I started reading some blogs for class. The first entry on Nutmeg Grater's blog was about the E-coli outbreak. Damn. As soon as the news is out, someone's going to blog about it.

2006-09-11T23:48:00.000-04:00

And away we go.