Sharkbait's local spot

Mindful Blogging

2009-12-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

Bear with me while I figure out the balance between how much to put out there and where I should be reigning in. These last few weeks have been...interesting. Trying to play nice and be a good little human in the world, bouncing around with the other humans in the big pool of humanity. And then somebody goes and pees in it, and we all must figure out how to slink into our safe little corners until they move along. Such is life.

Just to be clear, I'm not referring to any of my old friends, past lovers, or regular blog readers, but rather the credit card frauders, pragmatically-defective creeps, and other weirdos I've had to deal with lately. It's given me a lot to think about. Specifically, what's the point of public broadcast? What's *my* point in this form of social participation? Am I getting what I need out of it? Is it helping me be who I want to be? Are there other forms of expression that can foster creativity and attract the type of attention I want? I think there are.

There's a lot of good in the world. And I've been feeling the love from near and far. Especially during this tough time. It takes a lot to stop me from paddling around without this stupid, wonderous grin on my face. And I am grateful to all of my friends, friend-strangers, and everybody in between who have kept me afloat during what's turned out to be a rather cold winter. I thank you sincerely.

Anyways, if you want to stay connected during all of the changes (I may restrict this blog or eventually shut it down for good), I welcome you to follow my Twitter feed. Smaller bites, but more flavor. :)

Phonetic Swagger

2009-11-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a bit about the perception of gender in voices. I've learned that even though there are some general physiological differences in the speech anatomy of males and females (vocal tract length, lung size, etc.) that lead to acoustic differences (fundamental frequency, creaky vs. breathy voice, and very arguably, pitch range...to name a few), there is also a whole slew of sociophonetic factors. Basically, to a large extent, we 'perform' gender with our voices, down to the most basic, almost imperceptible level. It's part nature, it's part nurture. Meaning that, we take what we got and we work it.

But it's not all about production. What we perceive, and what we perceive that we like, is subject to this nature/nurture thing too. Our desires are part biological, part socially constructed. See male gaze for one example of how this works. It's inescapable, and you might as well embrace the parts that lead you to happiness. And since we can't chase our big desires all the time (we have places to go, kitty litter to buy at the store, and term papers to write), I've found that I'm unwittingly participating in the reinforcement of my fantasies in really small, almost unnoticeable ways, every single day, all the time. In musical pleasure.

I was thinking about this when I was listening to the dangerously catchy Making Me Nervous by Brad Sucks. Over and over. I just couldn't get over the way he sings the word 'heart'. I had to hear it again. He puts such a swagger in that one little word.

Which made me realize that almost all the songs I love are packing the sexy phonemes. It's why I love them. The way Iggy Pop says 'ripped' in the middle of The Passenger. Mike Ness saying, well, anything. Franz Ferdinand, Tod Ashley of Firewater, they both have it too.

It's not just men either. 4 non blondes frontwoman Linda Perry is dishing out the good sounds right and left in Superfly. I'd link, but the YouTube video has a really annoying commercial in the beginning. PJ Harvey does it for me too. And there are many others, but I'll save them for myself, for later.

I guess I just never realized what it is about certain lines of music that I like so much, aside from the semantics. I could easily write a post about the lyrics I love and why (it usually has to do with crossed metaphors, such as "You saw a light, I saw a freight train comin'/I tried to tell you he was no damn good/You heard bells, I heard the hammer fallin'/He ran you down like I said he would/Baby, pin a rose on me") But I guess it wasn't until recently I noticed this other layer of meaning and it just slays me. There's something that got programmed in my brain at some point of my development that says, "That sound, that little sound right there, ooooh, you're gonna liiiike it." And I do. Again and again.

I've never dated a musician, but I'm starting to understand some of the perks. I don't know why this idea/fantasy has never even occurred to me before now. Maybe I've just held them up as these mythical, unattainable sexy beasts that I would be unwise to trifle with. Or would I?

Something pretty in the swamp

2009-11-23T23:08:00.000-08:00

of sickness. Lotus flowers emerge from filthy, putrid waters. I feel as though I can relate, as I have been swimming through snot and hacking my way through this miserable cold for almost a week. But I think I may just pop out on the other side of this all sunny and cheerful, once I get my energy back. Still, I've managed to keep doing at-home workouts, taking walks, and stretching.

I'm inspired by two things: 1) the positive progress I've seen since I've changed my diet, as evidenced by my blemish free skin and the number on the scale (a number I haven't seen in a decade), and 2) Netflix streaming wirelessly over Xbox Live. Seriously, that's where it's at.

After years of what should be illegal manipulation and pillage by Comcast, I dropped their overpriced triplepay 'deal'. I had to return the equipment myself, which would be fine IF THEY LISTED THEIR LOCATIONS ON THEIR WEBSITE. So I used Google maps, where the first two locations didn't exist. After 2 towns and a trip back to the town I live in, I was able to unburden myself of their overpriced 'goods'. I also talked to several people there and on the phone about the location woes. They were just as over it as I was, except more so, since apparently they hear this complaint EVERY SINGLE DAY. Where exactly did my monthly $160 go?

For two weeks I did without TV, where I regrettably missed Top Chef and the Mad Men season finale. Rats. But after checking my options with Hulu, Netflix, AT&T, and Xbox, I settled on the following: $40/mo. internet and phone through AT&T, $12/mo. Netflix, and $3/mo. Xbox Live ($60/year). For a total of $55 a month, I get all of my shows + workout videos and movies downloaded to my TV. I just realized that I think I wrote about this in a previous post. Whoops. What can I say, I'm really f*cking inspired!

Aside from all that, I've channeled my breakup angst and sadness into my renewed love of cooking. I hardly cooked ever when I was with Mark. I can't complain about that (justifiably, he might), I ate very well during that time, and I cherish all the wonderful meals we enjoyed together. But I forgot about the creativity involved in cooking, and I realize I missed having that outlet. I've also been fortunate to have learned a LOT from Mark, and now approach the kitchen with a full repertoire of skills and no hesitation about the world's strange fruits and vegetables. So, with sharpened knives, I've been making soups, stuffing mushrooms, roasting eggplants and garlic and squashes, concocting dressings and sauces, and tinkering with spices and seasonings, among other things. The only missing ingredient has been meat, but I haven't really been missing it too much. Plus, I've been playing around with tofu and soydogs and all that other stuff in the vegan health food section. I've learned that the fake cheese gives me gas, and isn't worth it. Sprouts however, are delicious. I've also discovered things like 'wheat germ', which is ridiculously healthy, and has a strange savory-like nutty flavor. It tempers my morning yogurt, granola and honey mix, since I'm truly not a fan of sweet things in the morning. So that's the food front. I also find it's really satisfying to pig out all day on healthy things, knowing that the caloric intake is well-justified by nutritional content and my activity load. Besides, pickles and pepperocinis are delish. I do foresee a sodium problem in my future, however.

Anyways, another positive thing about my environment is my new pledge to keep the house CLEAN. I've been pretty successful with that, and it's helped me adjust to the idea of paring down and being more minimalist. Especially since I've got an empty room sitting here taunting me, and the notion of roommate seeking soon on the horizon.

Paper writing has been moving along. I'm 3/4 of the way through the first of 4 papers due after the break. Two of them will be sort of cake, the fourth will be a whopper. I hope to finish the first tomorrow. A literature review of Exemplar Models. At first I was intrigued. Now I'm outright bored to tears. I've set myself goals and rewards to get through this. Pages have been written inbetween the following movies: Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (not as good as I wanted it to be), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (much funnier and apt than I had expected), Smart People (slow, simple, pretty good, solid 3 stars out of 4), and Pineapple Express (hi-larious). I also tried to watch Being There (couldn't be there, too boring), and Enlighten Up! (the sound quality was so bad that I was keeping my neighbors up trying to hear the dialogue above the screaming background music and sound effects). The irony here is that Enlighten Up! is a documentary about yoga.

Oh, and I made a scarf.

Sea change

2009-11-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

I'm at the beginning of a complete life overhaul. Many things have already set the course, some are in progress, and yet still others are yet to come. In about eight months I will likely not be living in the sunny state of California, or even in the good ole US of A. The constants right now are pet ownership and my love of cheese. I can't even count on my health at the moment, as it seems I've very recently succumbed to this pesky cold that's going around.

In my 20+ years as a student, this has easily been the most challenging semester of my life. I'm in my last year of coursework for my Masters degree in linguistics. Multiple sources have colluded together in this 6-month span, for the sole purpose of testing my passion for this gig. In preparation to finish next semester, I had to prepare write-ups for 3 original mini-theses (aka, squibs), get them approved, and submit an IRB protocol for one of them. That part is perpetually ongoing. Additionally, the budget cuts have made it difficult to find the necessary classes (not to mention paying for them), so I took advantage of SF State's cross-enrollment agreement with UC Berkeley, and have been taking an unbelievably challenging graduate seminar over there. Did I mention that I live in Pacifica? Anyways, then there was the GRE – a complete racket AND blow to my confidence in test-taking. In 2 of the 3 required sections I scored below the 45th percentile. I was ready to retake the test, but then my boyfriend and I, of two years, broke up that week. Suddenly the world took on a whole new seriousness that couldn't be ignored. Everything else would wait. While I'm still working that experience out, it's safe to say that it no longer cripples my very being.

One thing that got me through that initial two weeks was the need to research and prepare for five PhD applications, mostly due by December. I was able to finally put three of them in the mail last week. It was quite an accomplishment and I feel the lightness of being, as in being free of Statement of Purpose writing. Now I can actually focus on coursework. Did I mention that yet? Yes, I am taking three classes. These are the final requirements...and the stragglers that I have put off for three semesters thus far. I find myself now needing to crank out 4 papers over the next 2 weeks, and very little motivation to do so. Can you blame me?

So that's about it. Well, except for the part where I'm also working. And looking for a roommate. Change, change, change, all around me.

I'm looking forward to next semester, where things will free up significantly. In prep for this, I've already started playing the part. I decided that things like 'reading for fun' would actually be doubly beneficial to my mental state, regardless of how much academic responsibles there are (they will always be there, waiting for me anyways). I miss the idea of reading + imagination co-occurring. What was that like? I want to know again.

I've also gotten more involved with yoga, surfing, and exercising in general. The yoga is particularly challenging. It's this whole 'nother planet, inhabited by weird cats who speak a funny little language. There's not much in the world that makes me feel like a bumbling giantess, but stumbling through poses and 'trying to quiet the mind' has that effect on me. But I'm determined to WIN, WIN, CONQUER! Maybe my approach is off. My approach is off, right? No worries, I get it. But that yoga scene in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' had me in stitches. Too, too funny and on the spot.

Not sure what this blog has become, and where I'll be going with it. I'm glad I'm putting this up there though; I was getting tired of the random pic uploads, and I've been itching to write something utterly meaningless and somewhat self-indulgent. So there you go. Now I'm off to healthy breakfast, and maybe a workout video before I put my sick butt back in bed.

(I've been eating super healthy for the last several weeks. And I've given up chocolate and refined sugar. The difference has been AMAZING and completely worth it. Do recommend! Also, while I'm recommending...AT&T cheap internet + Xbox Live + Netflix is a must-have life hack. For $55/month total, this little trio allows me to stream just about anything to my TV, to listen to anything at all – Lastfm.com – through my speaker system, and to play interactive video games until my fingers cramp. Comcast can suck it.)

Bridge Construction, Phase Ii

2009-10-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

Bridge Construction, Phase I

2009-10-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

Healy Hall at entrance to Georgetown

2009-10-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Favorite pic of the year thus far

2009-10-07T17:34:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by thegirlinthecurl

It's the beginning of the end...

2009-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by Starbucks.

What does it mean?!?!

2009-09-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

This cracker looks scarily like my cat's head:

Free market America, with strings firmly attached

2009-08-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Mark and I have really been looking forward to seeing Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. However, we haven't really had the time or money to go see a 2.5+ hour film in San Francisco. The availability of this one has been quite difficult to work around as well. We finally settled on date night, this Sunday evening. We justified the higher price of the IMAX 3D experience by deciding to forgo any alcohol purchases for a week. A good deal all around.

The fridge is almost empty, so we left a little early to grab some light fare at the Metreon. We drove there, being that a BART ride was going to be $6 per person, and take forever since it's Sunday. We parked at the 5th and Mission garage, place with a sordid past for me. Fool me twice...

We bought our tickets first, at $17 apiece. The cashier happily and wordlessly took our money, giving no allusion to the shortchanging we were in for. Wish an hour and a half to spare, we then wandered around the Metreon, looking for best food options.

There was a 'farmer's market' going on. I use quotes because I really, really doubt that any of those people were actual farmers, but rather middle-man vendors with overpriced goodies and faux-homemade packaging. They were all also repeatedly engaging us with hard-sell tactics, which is closer to timeshare than cropshare.

I passed on the $6 for a 12oz. cup of orange juices and the pita plus hummus for a Hamilton. Instead, we wandered through what was left of the expensive fast-food options. Only a few remain standing since the recession. We settled on Firewood, because they were advertising 3 Korean BBQ tacos for $7. Or so we thought.

Turns out that if you actually want some meat in those tacos, its gonna cost you a bit more. And if you want some chips and salsa with that, be prepared to pay (too much) for it. With our cups of free water, our total was $14.

It also turned out that there was nothing Korean or BBQ about our tacos. This is my surprised face.

Wandered some more, and couldn't resist the candy machine spewing runts. Except that is not accurate at all. For 50¢, you get approximately TEN pieces of candy. This on a machine that advertised "BIGGER PORTIONS!" Whatever. I should have bought a gumball, FOR A DOLLAR.

Next we took our supremely awesome 3D glasses and waited for the film to start. A voice came over the theater speakers and mumbled something about when to take our glasses on and off, and then ended it with an ominous caveat of "If you want a refund for this movie, you must do so now." Huh?

But, 12 minutes into the film, it became apparent why this warning was given. Turns out that, unbeknown to us, the film is only 3D for the initial opening scenes. If you don't know this (because you weren't told by anyone at any point along your journey) it becomes an abrupt awakening, akin to "HEEEEEEY, I just got screwed!" coupled with a feeling of being torn between enjoying a movie you've just committed to, and being stuck holding a bag 'o bitter.

I tried to forget that all of this just happened and lose myself in the film. This was hard since I had no place to put my ridiculously oversized glasses. Also, the sound was deafeningly loud. Why? No seriously, WHY ARE MOVIE THEATERS SO GODDAMN LOUD?!

Nonetheless, I mostly enjoyed the film. I forgot about the ending, which was another bummer however. Harry Potter himself was less of an insufferable asshole as he was previously, which was nice. Hermione got ridiculously hot, and seeing the director's attempts at playing this down while keeping her current and relevant was pretty amusing. She's got a great body and great clothes and there's just no way for her to wear them without it being somewhat sexualized. It made some of the male character's lack of interest in her seem farcical. Especially paired with her woe-is-me narrative of rejection. She just isn't a forlorn nerdy undesirable anymore. I think they were just downright forced to drop the precocious, know-it-all schtick she had going on – nobody was going to buy it. It was over even before the 3D was.

That wasn't all though. The night topped off with a $17.50 parking tab. We reluctantly paid it and cursed ourselves all the way home.

In spite of all this, Mark and I had a great time. We seem to weather these things really well together, especially when situations get pear shaped for whatever reason. It sucks, but we don't get bent. We laugh. What else is there, really?

But next week we are avoiding people, franchises and anything requiring sticking bills, coins or cards into stupid little machines. A walk in the woods will do us good.

My response to John Mackey

2009-08-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

georg_cantor from Metafilter made a great front page post about the WSJ Op-Ed piece by John Mackey the other day. The discussion on this topic has been quite lively on the Whole Foods Forums, MeFi, Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere. I have been voicing my opinion on this when and where I can, because I think its the most important issue there is right now, and I fear for the health and safety of all Americans if this good-will plan gets sabotaged by greedy corporate mobs.

Here is my comment from the Metafilter thread, re-posted here. It pretty much sums up my stance. Feel free to comment, copy, and repurpose as you see fit.

Mackey: "Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals."

Why don't I have a right to health care? Just what would I have to do to earn the right to basic care from another human being? What do I have to prove, to be worthy of equal treatment? Or even access to equal treatment?

Put another way, if my house is on fire, the Fire Dept. comes and puts it out. If I'm being robbed, raped, harassed, or otherwise harmed, the police come and help. They don't stop and ask me if I'm covered for these things. They don't half-assed put the fire out or refuse treatment based on some third-party contract I've signed. They just fucking do it, because their job is to ensure personal safety and well-being of the citizens of this country. Why the hell does my physical and mental health not fall into this category? Why is access to all direct pathways to my well-being intercepted by a profit driven industry? How can I expect that my health will be their number one priority? And I don't understand why anti-health-reformers care soooo much about the possibility that this will bankrupt the country. It's as if they're more concerned about the economic health of this country than the actual health of its citizens. As if that idea was the most noble expression of their patriotism and capitalist altruism, all bundled up in this strong symbol of freedom called America. Don't they realize that America is made of people?

Also, I'm really sick and tired of 'government' being a dirty fucking word.
posted by iamkimiam at 10:31 PM on August 12

Night life

2009-08-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

Mark and I met some friends at Cal Academy of Science's Nightlife event earlier this evening. It was a great way to unwind and celebrate the end of the LSA. Also, Nightlife is a friggin' DEAL. $10 for museum access, plus some of the best animal watching you can get. The Academy makes a killing on overpriced drinks, and everybody is happy.

They had the viewing room bustling, with three labcoat workers fervently dissecting various birds and placing them on display tables. There were several magenta-necked birds, full of pins, like some sort of voodoo revenge. Then the bigger ones were displayed in a manner that Mark appropriated as 'birds on sticks'. It was a strange sight. There's also something weird about a bunch of dolled up humans, with drinks in hand, laughing and gawking at the animals on the other side of the glass. And since the birds were all dead, the specimens on display display had to be the human ones. Or maybe it was truly us.

We then got in line for the rainforest exhibit. We spend some time staring at a particular glass cube, waiting for the surprise of 'oh there it is!' or 'wow, a walking stick!' or 'I thought that was a rock, but its a giant toad!' That's just how shit goes down at the museum. But yet again, it was our own behavior that proved most fascinating. For all our searching, we didn't see the big orange sign on the glass that read "This exhibit is currently being updated."

The orb spider / little orange frog exhibit was very cool. I tend to like spiders the bigger they are. And they provoke reactions in others that are all too entertaining. I could have watched that for hours. At least until one of the spiders ate one of the frogs. Then its time to move on.

I got to visit the penguins again, as well as the albino croc (gator?) on the rock. The lemur booth reminds me of brain. The pendulum time thingy is hypnotic. Fish are pretty.

I do think there's something fundamentally wrong with the idea of having live cephalopods downstairs, and then serving their breaded brethren upstairs. I ordered french fries instead. And that concludes my night at the museum!

Boots, Bridges and Bags of ??

2009-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

I had a bad feeling about driving today. And before I launch into this, I should state that I do, to a certain extent, believe in premonitions. The confirmation biasing, self-fulfilling kind, if you must. Anyways, I can only reliably claim responsibility for 1 of the 5 driving terrors I experienced today. This was my accidental misunderstanding of curb location as I unsuccessfully backed out of a driveway. Wheels intact, I rolled on.

Two of the remaining four were most definitely not my doing. One was a horrific accident I crawled upon, blocking the 3 left lanes of the bay bridge as I commuted to class. The other was a near-matching accident on the return, so this time on the upper deck, naturally.

Just prior to that were the two that I could have probably done something about. The first damn near killed me. Here's what happened.

So today I wore my hiking boots. That's ominous, huh? A driving horror story that starts with, "So today I wore my hiking boots." This will be very relevant soon. So these boots have bootstraps, as boots do, in the form of little fabric loops at the back of the heel. They should solely (ha!) serve the purpose of leveraging foot into boot, but this is not always the case.

Today as I'm crossing the bridge and talking on my new cell phone (3G, woot!), traffic before me slows. Having just come off the toll both a minute prior, I had waded through a few gears and my left foot was in a relaxed position on the floor, its work done for the moment. So you could imagine my surprise when I attempted to move said foot-in-boot towards clutch, and it was mysteriously pinned to my seat. Jerking my foot revealed that the foot-in-boot was now negatively correlated with the lever controlling the position of my seat. Being a 4'11" girl perched at the very front of the rails of reachability, any seat adjustments would have serious consequences. Besides, I had a slowing traffic problem to contend with.

Remarkably, I did what I needed to do, in the order I needed to do it. I used my right foot to throw in the clutch and go neutral, whilst telling my phonemate (now potential witness to my demise) of the current moment's news. Then I proceeded to slow down, driveshaft disengaged, for all kinds of potential gambling fun in the occasion that things not go as planned.

But panicking, as traffic is bound to pick back up, and I not with it. I cannot unloop my shoe on the seat slide lever, nor yank it free for fear of unwanted adjustments. So I reach down and one-handedly quickly untie my double-knotted left hiking boot! I release my foot and put the clutch in, just in time to flow with my fellow drivers...as if nothing happened at all!

Dorothy, my phonemate at the time of doom, can corroborate all of this. And please do, as I'm curious what I said during that brief insanity.

And if that weren't enough, not one minute later, some asshole with his garbage not strapped down in his old beige pickup, leaves me a flying-and-landing obstacle to dodge...ON THE FUCKING BRIDGE. It was one of those times that you half run over something, telling yourself, "Good God, I hope this is FLUUFFFYYY."

And that was all. Drive safe, people.

Also, Happy 10th Birthday Metafilter!

2009-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Metafilter: community weblog.
The best of the web, x10.

Using my words

2009-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in week 2 of the Linguistic Institute at UC Berkeley. This has been inspiring, intimidating, and ultimately, nerd heaven. Linguists don't shut up. Competition is high. Everybody is doing amazing research.

I've had some serious highs and lows. I've learned tons. I should probably be reading right now, but I can't do this 100% of the time. Even this, right now, is linguistics-related. At least I'm thinking of it that way. I can't help myself.

I'm living at my friend's house in Berkeley during the week. It's very weird to be back at Cal. It's like I get a big, fat do-over of my undergrad experience. Oh the things I would have done differently.

I made a friend who is a PhD candidate over at Stanford. She's amazing. And she just turned 23 last weekend. That was 8 years ago for me. I didn't even know what linguistics was back then. Unbelievable.

The competition around here is ridiculous. Not unlike surfing, where people start with "Where do you go?" and "What kind of board do you ride?" the general M.O. is "Where do you study?" and "What have you done?" I feel below the radar on this one, and therefore unaffected by it. Sadly, SF State doesn't have the cachet of these other places...it's almost like linguistics has a caste system, and I'm so low that I'm not even in it. The only narrative option here is a 'rags to riches' one. I fully embrace it. I'm fully determined to make the most out of my experiences, regardless of whatever happens with my school (outlook not so good). We'll see. I'm making connections and pitching my research ideas. It's unbelievable how accessible everybody is! These are heavies in the field. These are my celebrities. And I can just walk right into their backstage dressing room and have myself a little chat.

Speaking of celebrity worship, I need to go finish reading the book "You know my steez: An ethnographic and sociolinguistic study of styleshifting in a black American speech community"...the author is coming to visit and lecture on Thursday!

So many other things to say...must stop now...can't. stop. gah!

Google Squared's answer to Sarah Palin

2009-07-03T23:05:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this a while ago, but its somewhat timely again now, so here goes. Google Squared is part of Google Labs, where they work out new stuff, ready for us to play with. It's pretty cool to check out their list of apps, and opt-in on whatever suits your fancy. I find the Gmail email 'unsend'* feature to be a neat offering, although I hope to never need it.

Anyways, Google Squared: takes a category and creates a starter 'square' of information, automatically fetching and organizing facts from across the web. Here's what it had to say about Sarah Palin:

*For the 'unsend' feature, and other opt-in fun stuff, find the 'Labs' tab in your Gmail Settings window.

Sometimes things just go your way.

2009-06-29T13:55:00.001-07:00

Avocados
Originally uploaded by thegirlinthecurl

Even on a Monday.

Organic Dirt

2009-06-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

Organic Dirt
Originally uploaded by thegirlinthecurl

There is something inherently funny about this. And really sad that its a very hard thing to find. Anywhere.

Letting them stack up, then clearing the rows

2009-06-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

I thought summer would allow me freedom to clear my mind, to experience a slow, calming, emptiness of thought. Ha!

Apparently, I just spend free time creating new stuff to take on.

I've got several work projects going, which is a little bit stressful since I am trying to leave town for 5 days. Also, when I get back I have a job interview for a part-time work study position on campus, starting in the fall.

School is keeping me busy too...even though I'm not going, and I haven't started the summer Linguistics Institute yet, there's still lots to do: writing my abstract and submitting it for the LSA conference in Baltimore (Jan. 2010), revising/rewriting the corresponding paper, keeping the student organization blog alive with at least the bare minimum of content, reorganizing the entire semester's formatted and scanned History of English files so I can pass that off and be done with it, writing a letter to the Student Grievance Officer (SF State doesn't have an Ombudsman, wth?!) about our erroneously canceled field research, and researching the GRE and PhD programs.

And while we're still on school stuff, here are the books I'm currently reading (yes, I'm reading all of them):
Homegirls: Language and Cultural Practice Among Latina Youth Gangs (Mendoza-Denton)
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (Diamond)
You Know My Steez: An Ethnographic and Sociolinguistic Study of Styleshifting in a Black American Speech Community (Alim)
Style: Language Variation and Identity (Coupland)
Complete Idiot's Guide to Unix
Statistics for Dummies
From Molecule to Metaphor (Feldman)
Harry Potter y la cámara secreta

I know, right?

I've also been trying to keep up on socializing. Some of my friendships were pretty neglected during this last semester, so I'm making the rounds and trying to catch up. The no-school, anti-Twitter, un-MeFi, and offline folk are the hardest to keep up with. Technology really does make my life easier in some ways, and I really miss out in others. Y'all shall be hearing, seeing, or receiving written word from me soon.

And speaking of technology, I must admit that a(n) (un)fair amount of time gets devoted to it. There's an endless world out there, full of interesting links, videos, games, and other stuff to keep the brain exercised. I. Can't. Stop. Myself. A few of my recent favorites, for your enjoyment:

Monsieur Cok: A delightfully dystopian French animation short. Also of similar genre, an animation noir flashgame with catchy music and stunning visuals: Little Wheel.
Fantastic post on Metafilter about the Iranian election. Full of insightful commentary and hundreds of links to leapfrog about the internet.
Hilarious just desserts in joholland's comment: a response to Tanya Gold's condescending rant about weddings and dinner parties.
The computer upstairs is running the 'motion' library for linux. As soon as it detects something moving on camera, it starts recording frames. While it is saving frames, it also initiates another Perl script I wrote that sends an X10 command to turn on the blender and strobe, wait 3 seconds, then turn them off. After the script is done detecting motion, it then splices all the JPG frames together using ffmpeg and saves the resulting movie as a SWF file, which you can see above. Finally, after it saves the movie, I have it set up to email me a link to the movie so I can see the results from where ever I'm at (remotely by using my phone). Or, How to keep the cat off the counter.
From NPR: Dear Pixar, please make a movie about a girl who is not a princess. 500 comments and counting on MeFi.

Hmm. That's probably enough for now. If you want more, you can hop around my delicious links here.

Well, I should get to bed. I've got to get up early, finish some work, go to a dermatology appt., buy a wedding card and present, buy 2 graduation gifts, call my grandma, meet with the catsitter, pick up steroids for my cat (her asthma) and pack for a roadtrip.

It's like the beginning of the internet, again

2009-05-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Data.gov is live! Not only is it a top-level decision to provide transparency to this country's widest-reaching institution, but (I believe) it has the power and potential to radically transform how we do business, how we research and who we research with, and what we can accomplish.

Think about it. With more data sets, people across all disciplines will be able to share and apply their data with infinitely wider scope. I wonder how an artist, engineer, biologist, linguist, statistician, economist, teacher, and realtor would approach the Active Mines and Mineral Plants in the US set. Or what thousands of seismologists across the world looking at things from different perspectives can discover about earthquakes.

Also, the effect of this on intellectual property, licensing and rights, open source software, and other things like the Right to Repair Act will be dramatic. This is not only a shift of policy, but one of ideas and information, down to meta levels of how we even think about, look at, and access that information.

How this can't help but phenomenally change society forever is what I'm trying to wrap my head around.

Congratulations! No, Edit+Undo. Wait, Edit+Redo. Congratulations!

2009-05-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

I received an email this morning from a Graduate Studies Coordinator at a very prominent school for my field. It was a quasi-mass-mailer, congratulating me on a recent scholarship accomplishment (which did not apply to me) and noting that I was discovered through the Graduate Student Research Showcase I had recently participated in.

I followed up on the email with a thank you, a clarification, and my expression of interest in their graduate program. About thirty minutes later I received the following email:

"____ would like to recall the message, "Congratulations from ___"."

Huh? Was my inquiry no longer welcome? Were the 'Congratulations' recalled as well? How should I regard this school moving forward? It was all a rather strange violation of social practices.

But not to fear...about 30 minutes after that, I received the original email, again. This time it congratulated me, just for being me – no scholarship accolades required!

Heh.

Ode to Portland

2009-05-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is just to say,
I have eaten from your local, organic, sustainable, zine-supporting, hipster CSA outlet. Which you are probably going to turn into a vegan microbrewery next week.

Forgive me, I couldn't resist. You are just so white, so librul.

Watch the Gap! Have a safe trip!

2009-05-19T21:03:00.001-07:00

Watch the Gap!
Originally uploaded by thegirlinthecurl

Is this supposed to be ironic? The worn seats from the 70's...the happy go-lucky slogan (have a safe trip, get it, get it?)...the old style font...the outdated women's fashionwear. Is advertising these days that hard up that they can't pull a poster more recent than '73? Or has BART gone hipster?

This little piggy goes to Mexico?

2009-04-28T23:29:00.001-07:00

I've been avidly watching, reading, and Twittering about H1N1, a.k.a. The Swine Flu. Cue panic music.

The reason for my interest is not your typical voyeuristic what's-the-latest socio-political drama. I actually have a LOT riding on the next weeks' turn of events.

For the last year, I have been planning and preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime language documentation project in Oaxaca, Mexico. This is an opportunity to do actual field research, and work with the Zapotecas — also known as the Cloud People, one of the oldest tribes of Meso-America. Their ancient language is rapidly becoming extinct, pushed out by other languages of socioeconomic power in today's modern world. Namely, this would be Spanish. And ironically, as the language of power, it is necessary that all our research and elicitations be done en Español. So I have been on the Big Cram, severely ramped up in the last five months, to learn Spanish like a muchacha en Oaxaca.

I have invested literally thousands of $$ in this trip already. Every minute has been spent listening to Spanish music, reading Spanish books, taking Spanish lessons, studying Zapotec, and generally getting ready to spend the month of June in a small little place called Teotitlán de Valle. My non-refundable tickets have been booked for quite some time.

Sadly, as is customary for June, I will be missing some really special events back home. The wedding of a very close friend tops that list. I have been working out a way to make it up to my friend Spike, but it is now seeming I won't have to.

And that's the thing. As much as I want and am ready to go to Mexico, I am ok with staying too. Life rolls.

However, staying unfurls a whole different timeline of events. While I will be thrilled to go to SoCal for a very special union, I won't be in Mexico earning the 3 units towards my Masters program at SFSU. It will delay my graduation plan by an entire semester.

There are the immediate things too. The current small fortune I'm spending on private tutoring in Spanish. The change of airfare. The Summer Linguistic Institute, commencing the day after I am destined to return from Oaxaca...or not. Signing up for Fall classes tomorrow. Do I pick classes based on whether I went to Oaxaca, or whether I didn't?

My fate rests with H1N1. And what the State Department has to say about travel.