Considering that I'm kind of awkward in person, and I don't know where to find people anyway, I've been trying to meet interesting people on the internet. I've talked to a few interesting people, which is pretty alright. I want to meet friends or potential boyfriends. But it seems like whenever I talk to dudes from the internet, they are only interested in the more-than-friends part. So, that's downer number one, since I just want someone to chill out with.
Secondly, I have become increasingly aware that I really am only attracted to skinny dudes. The downside of the internet is, depending on where you find people, you don't know what they look like right away. I really feel like an asshole when a guy seems cool, but then I'm just not attracted to him. I'd rather tell a guy I'm not attracted to him then drag it out, but I still kind of feel like a jerk. Like, if only I were less shallow, I wouldn't have these problems. I just like what I like though.
The effect of this is not great on my self image. I'm starting to feel that if I want skinny dudes to be attracted to me, then I should be skinnier. This is totally the wrong reason to lose weight. I should be losing weight to be more bad ass, if anything.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
A long rant on education classes and other things
Having just about finished my "education" classes for my teaching credential, I feel qualified to say that it is no wonder that education in this country is so fucked up.
Of the five classes I took, I felt that two of the teachers we had were well qualified and motivated, one was middling, and one--who we had for two of the five classes--was just awful.What the hell? Are there not enough teachers out there who are motivated and skilled teachers who are willing to pass on their methods to the next generation of teachers, or did I just get extra unlucky? Of the good teachers, one ended class halfway early every time, which is great one the one hand (yay, going home early!), but on the other hand, we could have actually learned something from that guy, so that's fairly disappointing.
We have had a number of textbooks, maybe one of which was really useful. The rest seem to create some pedagogical echo chamber reiterating the importance of vocabulary acquisition and the use of graphic organizers. As a whole, they had very little to do with my field: applied linguistics/language acquisition. The only good thing about having such mediocre texts is that it did inspire me to go off on my own and find things that I think are useful. But you know, the majority of people don't think that way. Most people, when presented with this situation just say, "This is easier than I thought it was going to be!" and move on. And I get that attitude, I do. Everyone is busy, you have a job, some of the people in my class have kids. But if you're going to be there, spending the time and money to start a new career, don't you want to start it with as much knowledge as possible? Nothing is going to be as good as classroom experience, but don't you want to at least know what is happening in your field? I think that teachers have a personal responsibility to keep current with the research of their discipline, even if only a little bit. My master teacher was telling me that a lot of the teachers at her school with masters degrees have them from education programs. I'm assuming that's because it's so easy. I wonder if they are better teachers for it? I wonder if teachers who have a masters/Ph.D. in their field of teaching are better teachers than those with a masters in education? Granted, there are a lot of people who are highly educated and terrible instructors (just look at any college campus), but I'd be interested to know if there are any statistics on that.
I was talking about this with my dad and it was his view that having high standards is great because it makes you want to be good at things, but shitty because it mostly just makes you go insane since you can't do much about it. He also gave me a few "that's just how the world works," which is extremely depressing. People have low/zero motivation--even about the things that they are most interested in--and there is nothing you can do about it so just roll with it and pick your battles. That was his message. I told him that this message was "the most depressing thing ever," but he just came back with "that's reality." I'm far from an optimist, but damn. I haven't even started yet and he's already telling me that no one can accomplish anything. Apparently, the only way to get things done is to be in it for the long game. My dad also told me that when he was working as an electrician 25 years ago at the same hospital he is now the facilities manager of, he would see things that need fixing and his boss would just tell him no, that it was someone else's problem. Now, he is the boss and he says he is fixing some of the things that were problems 25 years ago. Holy shit! Conclusion: my dad's version of reality is pretty sad.
Since classes have been so understimulating, I feel like I've been way more of an obnoxious asshole than I typically am. It's expensive and I have to sit there for long classes and we have basically nothing to do, so I mostly heckle the professor. That's something I kind of hate about myself, but I think goes back to the high expectations. I have high expectations for myself and the people around me. I expect to learn something from going to classes designed to make me into an educator. I expect to do something other than jigsaws every day. And honestly, I expect to have to do work once in a while. And not bullshit work that is just because someone said that we should all do it, but work that actually teaches me something. Here are some examples of total bullshit work.
Of the five classes I took, I felt that two of the teachers we had were well qualified and motivated, one was middling, and one--who we had for two of the five classes--was just awful.What the hell? Are there not enough teachers out there who are motivated and skilled teachers who are willing to pass on their methods to the next generation of teachers, or did I just get extra unlucky? Of the good teachers, one ended class halfway early every time, which is great one the one hand (yay, going home early!), but on the other hand, we could have actually learned something from that guy, so that's fairly disappointing.
We have had a number of textbooks, maybe one of which was really useful. The rest seem to create some pedagogical echo chamber reiterating the importance of vocabulary acquisition and the use of graphic organizers. As a whole, they had very little to do with my field: applied linguistics/language acquisition. The only good thing about having such mediocre texts is that it did inspire me to go off on my own and find things that I think are useful. But you know, the majority of people don't think that way. Most people, when presented with this situation just say, "This is easier than I thought it was going to be!" and move on. And I get that attitude, I do. Everyone is busy, you have a job, some of the people in my class have kids. But if you're going to be there, spending the time and money to start a new career, don't you want to start it with as much knowledge as possible? Nothing is going to be as good as classroom experience, but don't you want to at least know what is happening in your field? I think that teachers have a personal responsibility to keep current with the research of their discipline, even if only a little bit. My master teacher was telling me that a lot of the teachers at her school with masters degrees have them from education programs. I'm assuming that's because it's so easy. I wonder if they are better teachers for it? I wonder if teachers who have a masters/Ph.D. in their field of teaching are better teachers than those with a masters in education? Granted, there are a lot of people who are highly educated and terrible instructors (just look at any college campus), but I'd be interested to know if there are any statistics on that.
I was talking about this with my dad and it was his view that having high standards is great because it makes you want to be good at things, but shitty because it mostly just makes you go insane since you can't do much about it. He also gave me a few "that's just how the world works," which is extremely depressing. People have low/zero motivation--even about the things that they are most interested in--and there is nothing you can do about it so just roll with it and pick your battles. That was his message. I told him that this message was "the most depressing thing ever," but he just came back with "that's reality." I'm far from an optimist, but damn. I haven't even started yet and he's already telling me that no one can accomplish anything. Apparently, the only way to get things done is to be in it for the long game. My dad also told me that when he was working as an electrician 25 years ago at the same hospital he is now the facilities manager of, he would see things that need fixing and his boss would just tell him no, that it was someone else's problem. Now, he is the boss and he says he is fixing some of the things that were problems 25 years ago. Holy shit! Conclusion: my dad's version of reality is pretty sad.
Since classes have been so understimulating, I feel like I've been way more of an obnoxious asshole than I typically am. It's expensive and I have to sit there for long classes and we have basically nothing to do, so I mostly heckle the professor. That's something I kind of hate about myself, but I think goes back to the high expectations. I have high expectations for myself and the people around me. I expect to learn something from going to classes designed to make me into an educator. I expect to do something other than jigsaws every day. And honestly, I expect to have to do work once in a while. And not bullshit work that is just because someone said that we should all do it, but work that actually teaches me something. Here are some examples of total bullshit work.
- TPAs. I totally forget what this stands for, but we have to do four of them throughout the credential program. They are long, repetitive case-study assignments wherein one must select teaching strategies for hypothetical students and justify their use. It's completely pointless. It takes me around six hours to do, so I know it's taking other people even longer than that. You know what would actually be useful instead? Selecting teaching strategies, perhaps writing a brief justification for their use, actually using them in the classroom, and then thinking about how it went and what one could do better or differently next time. Bam, done! I just made the education world better.
- This fucking presentation that we have to do for class next week. We have group presentation, the content of which is so prescribed, it reads like an assignment for fifth graders. The syllabus lays out the assignment stating how many slides to do of each topic and provides links for where to find this information. Everyone in the class has already read these and submitted the compulsory notes on the topics. Now, every group is going to give the same presentation. In a graduate level class? Are you fucking kidding me? I told my professor that I would be going "off book" in my presentation regarding the topics of content area literacy and language acquisition. Why? Because I have something more useful to add. My professor keeps chiding me for not making the material relevant to my teaching practice, but at least he's been cool when I say "I think this is stupid and I'm going to do something I find useful."
I am just so sick of laziness and mediocrity. Laziness is the new normal. My classmates keep calling me an overachiever, but I've mostly been retorting to that with "I just achieved ahead of the deadline," but you know, I'd rather be an overachiever if regular achieving doesn't do anything. It makes me think of the conversations I have with people when I say that I am a language person and I speak a few languages. People always say "oh, you must just have a natural (or god-given, if they're really trying to irritate me) talent for languages!" And I say, "No, I am good at languages because I have made the effort and spent a huge amount of time on it. Anyone who spent as much time as I did on this would be at least pretty decent as well," but no one wants to hear that because it is easier to believe that some people are just good at things. People, you are good at the things that you make an effort in! So make an effort once in a while! Ultimately, I think that's what our teaching system is lacking: effort.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
In which the consumer ethics are considered
So I read recently that Target donated $150,000 to Tom Emmer, who is running for governor of Minnesota. It bothers me that corporations can donate money directly to candidates now, which is another topic for another time, but what really bothers me in this case is that said gubernatorial candidate is for the execution of homosexual people. He is not simply interested in denying them the right to marry each other, but he flat out wants them to not exist. That is completely reprehensible.
I understand that $150,000 is of hardly any consequence to a huge company like Target, but that amount could mean a lot in a state gubernatorial race, especially for a relatively small state like Minnesota (small relative to California, I mean).
So here I am gonna say, Target, you need to fucking pay attention. I shop at Target as the alternative to Walmart. Walmart and the way it conducts itself irritate me. You are supposed to be the better company. Your wikipedia page goes on about all your "philanthropic" work, but I think this has the potential to get a lot more publicity than anything else.
I feel like it is important to "vote with your dollar" since there is not really a better alternative to getting one's message across to corporations. So I am thinking it's time to boycott Target. Is one person going to make a difference? Probably not. I can hope that other people will take action too. But at least I feel good that a company that I help support is in turn supporting someone who things homosexual people should be executed.
On the other hand, I kind of want to justify shopping at Target. They apparently do a lot of other good things, it's convenient, it's inexpensive, etc. But I am not sure I can really rationalize that.
I just hope that Amazon isn't doing anything sketchy or I am really going to have a hard time buying things.
I understand that $150,000 is of hardly any consequence to a huge company like Target, but that amount could mean a lot in a state gubernatorial race, especially for a relatively small state like Minnesota (small relative to California, I mean).
So here I am gonna say, Target, you need to fucking pay attention. I shop at Target as the alternative to Walmart. Walmart and the way it conducts itself irritate me. You are supposed to be the better company. Your wikipedia page goes on about all your "philanthropic" work, but I think this has the potential to get a lot more publicity than anything else.
I feel like it is important to "vote with your dollar" since there is not really a better alternative to getting one's message across to corporations. So I am thinking it's time to boycott Target. Is one person going to make a difference? Probably not. I can hope that other people will take action too. But at least I feel good that a company that I help support is in turn supporting someone who things homosexual people should be executed.
On the other hand, I kind of want to justify shopping at Target. They apparently do a lot of other good things, it's convenient, it's inexpensive, etc. But I am not sure I can really rationalize that.
I just hope that Amazon isn't doing anything sketchy or I am really going to have a hard time buying things.
Friday, April 23, 2010
On roving memorials
There is an odd trend that I've noticed since being back in the so-called "Inland Empire." I'm not sure if it is because I am driving a lot more (as opposed to spacing out on public transit for my commutes) or because I have left the shores of heathen-ville, but I am seeing more and more cars with decals proclaiming their remembrance of deceased individuals. In case you haven't seen these things, here's a picture that I found that represent
s this trend.
Of course my perplexity here is with the living, not the dead. I do not understand the impetus to turn one's vehicle into some sort of roving memorial. It also brings up an issue of scope. What exactly is in loving memory of said dead person? The car itself? Why dedicate a car to a dead person? Did you build it specifically for them? I doubt it. I know this is a semantic question for the phrase "in memory of X" overall, and not just on cars. But when you put it on a car, that's what I think of. I do not think this is an unreasonable assessment. My second quandary is why one would want to be constantly reminded that someone you love has suffered, in many cases it seems to be untimely, death? How many times a day do you head out to the car? At least two, I would guess. I feel like it would be hard to cope to be constantly reminded.
To be frank, I suppose the heart of this issue is that our society is largely uncomfortable with the dead and dying. The dead are generally sent to cemeteries to be buried, where we may choose to visit them on our own schedules, rather than be jarred out of the business of day-to-day rigmarole to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life, perhaps acutely felt while driving.
Unfortunately, there is no way to broach this topic with society at large without sounding like an insensitive asshole.
s this trend.Of course my perplexity here is with the living, not the dead. I do not understand the impetus to turn one's vehicle into some sort of roving memorial. It also brings up an issue of scope. What exactly is in loving memory of said dead person? The car itself? Why dedicate a car to a dead person? Did you build it specifically for them? I doubt it. I know this is a semantic question for the phrase "in memory of X" overall, and not just on cars. But when you put it on a car, that's what I think of. I do not think this is an unreasonable assessment. My second quandary is why one would want to be constantly reminded that someone you love has suffered, in many cases it seems to be untimely, death? How many times a day do you head out to the car? At least two, I would guess. I feel like it would be hard to cope to be constantly reminded.
To be frank, I suppose the heart of this issue is that our society is largely uncomfortable with the dead and dying. The dead are generally sent to cemeteries to be buried, where we may choose to visit them on our own schedules, rather than be jarred out of the business of day-to-day rigmarole to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life, perhaps acutely felt while driving.
Unfortunately, there is no way to broach this topic with society at large without sounding like an insensitive asshole.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
In which the attributes of good friends are considered
I've been thinking a lot lately about the sort of attributes I need in friends/boyfriends. This is largely precipitated by having basically no friends in Redlands (goddamn this town) and that when I do meet people, even people who are pretty cool, I don't always feel like I want to hang out with them and do whatever friends do together.
Consideration One: I am interesting. I went through a period in my early college years when I thought I was a really boring person, and that's why I wasn't going out or making any friends. I think this is largely related to the fact that I was at the heart of Mormonia: BYU. And I am not the sort of person that fits the mormon mold. But I have a lot of varied interests and I want people who can keep up with that. I have also realized that I like to go out, but I also like to stay in. I'm not all one or the other. Again, being at BYU kind of set my normality meter to wonky because people at BYU are constantly running around trying to act interesting to cover up the fact that many of them are hollow people.
Consideratoin Two: What I need from potential friends. One of the most important things is that I want to talk to people who can keep the conversation rolling all day long. I have met too many people who, after the preliminary topics are exhausted, refuse to continue into the world of fantastical, speculative, crazy, intellectual, what-have-you types of conversation that keep us entertained all day. Those people who I can do this with make me happy. But there is nothing more disappointing than meeting someone who seems cool, and then the conversation falls flat after 30 minutes and you're left staring at each other wondering how much more time you can realistically fill that way. Hand in hand with that, is I want friends who have at least some common interest so that we can talk about linguistics, the middle east, circus arts, sci-fi/fantasy books or whatever. Because that is awesome, it also helps keep conversation going. I also need a person who is willing to go on spontaneous adventures. Now that I have the super freedom of not being in school (or work, but...you know eventually there will be work) I want to fucking do things. So sometimes I'll think, it would be cool to go to the beach (or whatever, depending on the locale) right now. I want someone who will be like "alright, let's do it." But someone who is also willing to just chill sometimes. This may be one of the most stringent requests, as I have discovered that many people do not want to do any damn thing. I can understand if someone is busy, but if you're not, there's kind of no reason.
In conclusion, I want to meet my match. If I'm the president of crazy land, I'm saying that we need a prime minister.
Consideration One: I am interesting. I went through a period in my early college years when I thought I was a really boring person, and that's why I wasn't going out or making any friends. I think this is largely related to the fact that I was at the heart of Mormonia: BYU. And I am not the sort of person that fits the mormon mold. But I have a lot of varied interests and I want people who can keep up with that. I have also realized that I like to go out, but I also like to stay in. I'm not all one or the other. Again, being at BYU kind of set my normality meter to wonky because people at BYU are constantly running around trying to act interesting to cover up the fact that many of them are hollow people.
Consideratoin Two: What I need from potential friends. One of the most important things is that I want to talk to people who can keep the conversation rolling all day long. I have met too many people who, after the preliminary topics are exhausted, refuse to continue into the world of fantastical, speculative, crazy, intellectual, what-have-you types of conversation that keep us entertained all day. Those people who I can do this with make me happy. But there is nothing more disappointing than meeting someone who seems cool, and then the conversation falls flat after 30 minutes and you're left staring at each other wondering how much more time you can realistically fill that way. Hand in hand with that, is I want friends who have at least some common interest so that we can talk about linguistics, the middle east, circus arts, sci-fi/fantasy books or whatever. Because that is awesome, it also helps keep conversation going. I also need a person who is willing to go on spontaneous adventures. Now that I have the super freedom of not being in school (or work, but...you know eventually there will be work) I want to fucking do things. So sometimes I'll think, it would be cool to go to the beach (or whatever, depending on the locale) right now. I want someone who will be like "alright, let's do it." But someone who is also willing to just chill sometimes. This may be one of the most stringent requests, as I have discovered that many people do not want to do any damn thing. I can understand if someone is busy, but if you're not, there's kind of no reason.
In conclusion, I want to meet my match. If I'm the president of crazy land, I'm saying that we need a prime minister.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
State of the Madness, Books of the Year
I haven't consulted a doctor or anything, but I may be dying from boredom. The last two months have reminded me why I don't like being in Redlands. There isn't really anything to do, not really any people in the 20-30 set (for the most part) and I pretty much have no friends. There hasn't been any circus practice to entertain me for the last couple weeks and I am snapping from the boredom and restlessnes.
Otherwise, I have applied to be a language analyst at the NSA, and I hope they get back to me soon. This would involve moving to Maryland, which I am, at this point, pretty okay with. To this end, i've been brushing up on Persian; I claimed to know it (they have a scale for self-reporting, but I still said I know some), so I don't want to make a total fool of myself. And I've made a head start on learning some more media arabic vocab.
I really wish I had some New Year's plans, but I don't. I know I want to drink myself into oblivion, to symbolicly obliterate the shithole that this past year has been. My current conundrum: wine or vodka? I'll have to decide soon, in any case.
And the moment you have all been waiting for, the list of Books I Read in 2009. I'm assuming I won't read anymore between now and the New Year. (listed is the title, author and date that I finished it)
So these were the goals I set at the beginning of the year:
* 5 books in Spanish
* 4 banned books
* 4 books in Arabic
* 3 linguistics books
* 3 history books
* Read fiction from 3 authors that I haven't read before
In the end, I read 3 books in Spanish (and I'm halfway through Wicked: Memorias de una Bruja Mala), 2 in Arabic, I think one or two banned books, 2--arguably 3--linguistics books and 3 (4 depending on how you count) history books. That is better than I thought I did compared to my goals, so yay.
Trends: There was a lot of fantasy, largely in thanks to the Realm of the Elderlings series (all that Robin hobb). That is a testament to great marketing. I downloaded the first book for my Kindle because it was free, and then I bought EIGHT MORE books. So, good job, publishing house. I also took a pretty big interest in feminism, which is pretty new. A lot of books about fringe religious shit, both from a journalistic/research standpoint and in memoirs (FLDS memoirs, got kind of on a streak there).
Otherwise, I have applied to be a language analyst at the NSA, and I hope they get back to me soon. This would involve moving to Maryland, which I am, at this point, pretty okay with. To this end, i've been brushing up on Persian; I claimed to know it (they have a scale for self-reporting, but I still said I know some), so I don't want to make a total fool of myself. And I've made a head start on learning some more media arabic vocab.
I really wish I had some New Year's plans, but I don't. I know I want to drink myself into oblivion, to symbolicly obliterate the shithole that this past year has been. My current conundrum: wine or vodka? I'll have to decide soon, in any case.
And the moment you have all been waiting for, the list of Books I Read in 2009. I'm assuming I won't read anymore between now and the New Year. (listed is the title, author and date that I finished it)
- Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
- The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde 1/11
- Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman 1/18
- Islamic Historiagraphy - Chase Robinson 1/18
- Something Rotten - Jasper Fforde 1/30
- First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde 2/9
- Coraline - Neil Gaiman 2/11
- New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish 2/26
- The Princess Bride - WIlliam Goldman 2/27
- The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin3/9
- A Room with a View - E.M. Forster 3/14
- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest -Ken Kesey 3/22
- The Golden Trade of the Moors - E.W. Bovil 4/5
- Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood 4/7
- The Scandals of Translation: Towards and Ethics of Difference - Lawrence Venuti 4/19
- Malinche (Spanish edition) -Laura Esquivel 5/11
- Stardust (Spanish edition) -Neil Gaiman 5/27
- Empires of the World: a Language History of the World -Nicholas Ostler 5/28
- This Side of Paradise -F. Scott Fitzgerald 5/31
- The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women -Jessica Valenti 6/1
- The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood 6/7
- Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement -Kathyrn Joyce 6/22
- Anansi Boys: A novel -Neil Gaimna 6/25
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Ston (Arabic edition) 6/25
- American Gods -Neil Gaiman 7/11
- Female Chauvinist Pigs -Ariel Levy 7/15
- Assassin's Apprentice -Robin Hobb 7/22
- Royal Assassin -Robin Hobb 7/30
- Assassin's Quest -Robin Hob 8/9
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood -Charles Dickens 8/13
- Ship of Magic -Robin Hobb 8/31
- Mad Ship -Robin Hobb 9/16
- El Laberinto de la Soledad y Otras Obras -Octavio Paz 9/22
- Ship of Destiny -Robin Hobb 9/27
- The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power -Jeff Sharlet 10/3
- Fool's Errand -Robin Hobb 10/17
- Golden Fool -Robin Hobb 10/24
- Fool's Fate -Robin Hobb 10/27
- The Magicians -Lev Grossman 11/16
- From Eve to Dawn, a History of Women in the World Volume I: Origins: from Prehistory to the First Millennium -Marilyn French 11/7
- Lost Boy -Brent Jeffs 11/8
- Favorite Wife -Susan Ray Schmidt 11/14
- Interworld -Neil Gaiman 11/16
- Year of the Flood: A Novel -Margaret Atwood 11/21
- Shattered Dreams -Irene Spencer 11/24
- A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind -Michael Axworthy 12/7
- The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future -Vali Nasr 12/12
- Harry Potter and the chamber of Secrets (Arabic Editionh) 12/14
- Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic -Ray Takeyh 12/21
- The Blind Assassin: A Novel -Margaret Atwood 12/28
So these were the goals I set at the beginning of the year:
* 5 books in Spanish
* 4 banned books
* 4 books in Arabic
* 3 linguistics books
* 3 history books
* Read fiction from 3 authors that I haven't read before
In the end, I read 3 books in Spanish (and I'm halfway through Wicked: Memorias de una Bruja Mala), 2 in Arabic, I think one or two banned books, 2--arguably 3--linguistics books and 3 (4 depending on how you count) history books. That is better than I thought I did compared to my goals, so yay.
Trends: There was a lot of fantasy, largely in thanks to the Realm of the Elderlings series (all that Robin hobb). That is a testament to great marketing. I downloaded the first book for my Kindle because it was free, and then I bought EIGHT MORE books. So, good job, publishing house. I also took a pretty big interest in feminism, which is pretty new. A lot of books about fringe religious shit, both from a journalistic/research standpoint and in memoirs (FLDS memoirs, got kind of on a streak there).
Thursday, May 14, 2009
On Harry Potter; Family (and other) Prayer
On Harry Potter
I believe I have now related my thoughts about Harry Potter to a number of people, but now I'm going to lay it down for the whole internet. I've almost finished reading the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Arabic. I first read this book when I was around 12, before it was a craze and I found it moderately entertaining (why do I always want to spell that word 'intertaining' anymore?) but nothing to write home about. Reading it again as an adult has given me some new perspectives on it. Before I get the "but it's a KIDS' book!" let me just say, I know that, but I still find these ideas to be relevant.
Harry Potter has spent his entire young life with his aunt, uncle and cousin, who all seem keen to ignore him. From the first few chapters of the book, we find that they talk to him as little as possible. You would expect his speech development to be delayed, or for him to at least be lacking some forms of socialization. Hand in hand with this, is that he lives in an essentially abusive environment. He lives in a closet, for fuck's sake. He probably has never heard a word of encouragement in his entire life. Why haven't any of his school teachers asked him about it? You'd think someone would look into that. Maybe a friend's parent? I say: the system is failing him.
My second major problem with this is, as the product of a fairly abusive homelife, how in the world does he go from zero to awesome by the time he gets to school? He should have some self esteem issues, not be the swaggering jock that he is, deciding he's allowed to roam around the school all night and not get in trouble. He would still be dealing with some issues. Rather, he appears to be 100% well adjusted to boarding school life. He appears confident and well liked. Again, not what I would expect to happen to someone within days after leaving his abusive home life. Why isn't he haunted by his childhood? I didn't spend my childhood in a closet (okay, I did sometimes hide, but that's a lot different), or have my parents die and I still have a lot of hangups and moments where I just can't. let. shit. go. So what is the deal with Harry Potter, super wizard? His behaviour is not reasonable.
On Family Prayer
I was considering today the remarkably passive aggresive nature of public prayer. Mormons are encouraged to pray pretty much all the fucking time. They are encouraged to pray with their family (morning and evening prayers being an ideal), before meals and at church services (before and after each section. OH the praying!). These are just the public instances of prayer. I think one is always supposed to have a prayful heart, or something like that. In any case, I mostly want to consider public prayer. Since we know prayer doesn't work (sorry: spoiler alert, I guess), we have to consider other functions. Sure, one is basing community building on ritual, but I think there is another, more obnoxious basis to this: being passive aggressive. Let's make up a compltely fictional example that could never be taken from anything I have ever experienced. Say that in a family of people, the parents have spent the entire day bickering. The topic of bickering doesn't matter. Kids are on high alert trying to stay out of it. At the end of the day, before everyone goes to bed, someone decides that it's time for family prayer. Everyone gathers up and bows down. Say one of the parents prays. Something like "Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to have compassion for each other, help us open our hearts and let them not be hardened. Fill our home with a spirit of peace." And you know, other prayer cliches. But this isn't a plea to god to "help" everyone stop being such an asshole, it's a direct call to action to the people around you to stop being such an asshole. Realistically, you can do this with any topic. Obviously, not everything has to be passive aggressive, like "please help the kids do well in finals" or something, although you could take it as "maybe if you would study sometimes." But there are definitely ways in which it is pretty damn passive aggressive.
I believe I have now related my thoughts about Harry Potter to a number of people, but now I'm going to lay it down for the whole internet. I've almost finished reading the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Arabic. I first read this book when I was around 12, before it was a craze and I found it moderately entertaining (why do I always want to spell that word 'intertaining' anymore?) but nothing to write home about. Reading it again as an adult has given me some new perspectives on it. Before I get the "but it's a KIDS' book!" let me just say, I know that, but I still find these ideas to be relevant.
Harry Potter has spent his entire young life with his aunt, uncle and cousin, who all seem keen to ignore him. From the first few chapters of the book, we find that they talk to him as little as possible. You would expect his speech development to be delayed, or for him to at least be lacking some forms of socialization. Hand in hand with this, is that he lives in an essentially abusive environment. He lives in a closet, for fuck's sake. He probably has never heard a word of encouragement in his entire life. Why haven't any of his school teachers asked him about it? You'd think someone would look into that. Maybe a friend's parent? I say: the system is failing him.
My second major problem with this is, as the product of a fairly abusive homelife, how in the world does he go from zero to awesome by the time he gets to school? He should have some self esteem issues, not be the swaggering jock that he is, deciding he's allowed to roam around the school all night and not get in trouble. He would still be dealing with some issues. Rather, he appears to be 100% well adjusted to boarding school life. He appears confident and well liked. Again, not what I would expect to happen to someone within days after leaving his abusive home life. Why isn't he haunted by his childhood? I didn't spend my childhood in a closet (okay, I did sometimes hide, but that's a lot different), or have my parents die and I still have a lot of hangups and moments where I just can't. let. shit. go. So what is the deal with Harry Potter, super wizard? His behaviour is not reasonable.
On Family Prayer
I was considering today the remarkably passive aggresive nature of public prayer. Mormons are encouraged to pray pretty much all the fucking time. They are encouraged to pray with their family (morning and evening prayers being an ideal), before meals and at church services (before and after each section. OH the praying!). These are just the public instances of prayer. I think one is always supposed to have a prayful heart, or something like that. In any case, I mostly want to consider public prayer. Since we know prayer doesn't work (sorry: spoiler alert, I guess), we have to consider other functions. Sure, one is basing community building on ritual, but I think there is another, more obnoxious basis to this: being passive aggressive. Let's make up a compltely fictional example that could never be taken from anything I have ever experienced. Say that in a family of people, the parents have spent the entire day bickering. The topic of bickering doesn't matter. Kids are on high alert trying to stay out of it. At the end of the day, before everyone goes to bed, someone decides that it's time for family prayer. Everyone gathers up and bows down. Say one of the parents prays. Something like "Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to have compassion for each other, help us open our hearts and let them not be hardened. Fill our home with a spirit of peace." And you know, other prayer cliches. But this isn't a plea to god to "help" everyone stop being such an asshole, it's a direct call to action to the people around you to stop being such an asshole. Realistically, you can do this with any topic. Obviously, not everything has to be passive aggressive, like "please help the kids do well in finals" or something, although you could take it as "maybe if you would study sometimes." But there are definitely ways in which it is pretty damn passive aggressive.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fools: Why I am not a fan
April fool's day kind of annoys the hell out of me.
Some things end up being funny. The Consumerist amused me and google is always quite funny. These things are good becuase it is clear that they are jokes.
Some things are obvious jokes but are still quite annoying. Such as jezebel.com disabling comments for the day. The commenting is the best part.
Other things are simply in bad taste. When it comes to the internet, I have a hard time distinguishing reality from photoshop/hoaxes to being with. April Fool's just makes me confused. I just want to have a normal day.
Some things end up being funny. The Consumerist amused me and google is always quite funny. These things are good becuase it is clear that they are jokes.
Some things are obvious jokes but are still quite annoying. Such as jezebel.com disabling comments for the day. The commenting is the best part.
Other things are simply in bad taste. When it comes to the internet, I have a hard time distinguishing reality from photoshop/hoaxes to being with. April Fool's just makes me confused. I just want to have a normal day.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A continuing series on things I find to be stupid
Here is the description of a DVD from Netflix.
Lovers of the Arctic Circle
The moment they meet, 8-year-olds Ana and Otta know they have a special connection. After all, their names are both palindromes--spelled the same whether they're read forward or backward--and each has a parent looking for a mate. But when their families finaly meld, the two children, now young adults realize that they, too, may share a romantic destiny.
So what is wrong with this, you may ask (other than the suggestion of step-incest)? My problem is that there are apparently enough people out there who do not understand what a fucking palindrome is. Way to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
I know, it seems kind of stupid. but hey, I can rant about whatever I want on the internet.
Lovers of the Arctic Circle
The moment they meet, 8-year-olds Ana and Otta know they have a special connection. After all, their names are both palindromes--spelled the same whether they're read forward or backward--and each has a parent looking for a mate. But when their families finaly meld, the two children, now young adults realize that they, too, may share a romantic destiny.
So what is wrong with this, you may ask (other than the suggestion of step-incest)? My problem is that there are apparently enough people out there who do not understand what a fucking palindrome is. Way to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
I know, it seems kind of stupid. but hey, I can rant about whatever I want on the internet.
Friday, February 27, 2009
The coast is clear
I decided to get out a Spanish textbook to see if I could find any useful vocabulary lists to busy myself with (yay for not doing textbook buyback), and I was met with this amusing passage, translated for the reader's benefit:
Medieval Minstrels
Imagine that you live in a small town in the north of Spain in the 11th Century. You don't have TV, or radio, newspapers, the internet, and printing doesn't even exist. The few books that there are were written by hand and are the property of a few elites: namely the members of the clergy, some nobles, rabbis and Jewish scholars.
What I find amusing about this passage is that one should specifically envision Northern Spain. And there is direct mention of Jews and indirect mention of Christians ("the church"). So, what about the Muslims? Here's a map of the Iberian peninsula at the time
Notice that the greater part of the peninsula is al-andalus...you know, the Muslim part. That's okay spanish textbook, it's cool to quietly leave out an awesome part of Spainish history and keep pretending that Christians were the only people to ever be in charge of Spain (duh, it's spain!). This is especially ironic considering that minstrels are most likely a concept taken from the Andalusian courts.
In conclusion, way to be an ass.
Medieval Minstrels
Imagine that you live in a small town in the north of Spain in the 11th Century. You don't have TV, or radio, newspapers, the internet, and printing doesn't even exist. The few books that there are were written by hand and are the property of a few elites: namely the members of the clergy, some nobles, rabbis and Jewish scholars.
What I find amusing about this passage is that one should specifically envision Northern Spain. And there is direct mention of Jews and indirect mention of Christians ("the church"). So, what about the Muslims? Here's a map of the Iberian peninsula at the time
Notice that the greater part of the peninsula is al-andalus...you know, the Muslim part. That's okay spanish textbook, it's cool to quietly leave out an awesome part of Spainish history and keep pretending that Christians were the only people to ever be in charge of Spain (duh, it's spain!). This is especially ironic considering that minstrels are most likely a concept taken from the Andalusian courts.In conclusion, way to be an ass.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Things of Great Annoyance and Things of the Good
- Today on campus I passed two people with a giant sign board. I figured it was some club so I turned as I passed it to see what it was. And, to my displeasure, it was a picture of an aborted fetus about 2'x3' (maybe bigger) prominently displayed among other small pictures and a sign saying something like "Does this change you opinion of abortion?" or something equally inane. I was about 80% ready to give these fuckheads a piece of my mind but I decided not to bitch them out. Probably better that way, but I'm still going to rant here. Do they think that any woman wants, really wants to abort her baby. Even when a child is "unwanted" it's not because she wakes up one morning and says "I feel like killing something that never had a chance, I'm going out for some unprotected intercourse right away." Getting an abortion, I imagine (and have been informed) is traumatic and painful enough and I don't think anyone takes that kind of decision lightly. so WHY do these asshats feel the need to display a huge, disgusting poster of disheveled, bloody baby pieces to remind us that not only are you a cold-blooded killer, but you're going to hell if you do it. So a big FUCK YOU, University of Washington anti-women's rights sign bearers of the day. You almost made me vomit and you wish to condemn women everywhere, that is if you can't chain them to the stove in a life of domestic servitude. Good one.
- (the rest of these are much minor rants) Co-workers not showing up for their shift and other irresponsible transgressions. Tuesday I was supposed to close with one of our newer coworkers. I got in at 5, as was he supposed to, and the two openers decided it would be cool to leave before the other guy showed up. Their reassurance "There's a mid." The mid-shift worker is also NEW. So naturally, 5:30 rolls around and he's not there. Not only that, but this guy doesn't even have a number I can call. The new guy stays til 9, which is better than nothing but I sitll had to keep an eye on him. So fuck you too, former co-worker!
- Bus etiquette. When you get on the bus move to the back! Especially in the morning when it gets really full. Don't get on the bus and then stand there right where you got on. This is a major peeve of mine and indeed a GREAT ANNOYANCE
I think that's it...for now!
So to balance that out I suppose it must be THINGS OF THE GOOD
- Tomorrow I'm going to take photos of the cherry blossoms on campus, for there are many and my camera is nice.
- My Arabic teacher is hilarious. However, I don't think I can really describe it
- I ordered a crock pot and intend to make delicious meals as soon as it gets here
- I'm going to start going to the farmers market for buying as much of my groceries as possible.
- It's payday.
- I already have my writing class presentation out of the way for the quarter. And it was good.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Back to the Future Confusion
I watched all three parts of the Back to the Future series of movies over the last week and it left me with a burning question: How do Marty and the Doc ever meet in the first place? Obviously their lives become intertwined with all the time travel. We see Doc meet Marty for the first time in 1955 when Doc is 1955-Doc and Marty is 1985-Marty, but when does Marty first meet Doc? What is the nature of their relationship such that Marty is the first person to witness time travel? Or that Marty can just wander into Doc's house? Despite three movies of wandering back and forth over a 130 year period Spielberg gives no insight into this relationship. Some possibilities posed by me:
In other news, I got a fancy new computer this week. It's a desktop and Ian made it custom for me. =)
Registration for spring quarter is next week and I'm planning to take 3rd year Arabic, Media Arabic, sociolinguistics, and writing. I still have to take a writing class which is pretty dumb since I've taken several in my college existance and I took 2 AP writing/lit classes in high school. Oh well. It looks like the textbooks for it are graphic novels, which is strange but possibly good. I remain somewhat undecided on this account.
- Marty works for the Doc (this is perhaps the least likely since Marty shows little to no scientific acumen)
- They are somehow related or Doc is a family friend.
- Doc contacted Marty sometime in the 80's either on pretense of work or whatever. Probably not "Hey Marty, you don't know me, but I met you in 1955!"
- Fate brings them together in some manner.
In other news, I got a fancy new computer this week. It's a desktop and Ian made it custom for me. =)
Registration for spring quarter is next week and I'm planning to take 3rd year Arabic, Media Arabic, sociolinguistics, and writing. I still have to take a writing class which is pretty dumb since I've taken several in my college existance and I took 2 AP writing/lit classes in high school. Oh well. It looks like the textbooks for it are graphic novels, which is strange but possibly good. I remain somewhat undecided on this account.
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