Checked Out: Germany's Black Forest and Cologne, Germany, Swiss Alps & travel skills, Jonestown: the life and death of People's Temple, and The Mormons.
Checked In: Germany, Austria & Switzerland.
Rating: 3 stars
Review: This travel DVD was decently informative, but I don't think I can jet to Germany after watching it. The main drawback is that it is close to 20 years old (post-Berlin wall, but pre-Euro). I'll know how accurate the information is once I watch some of the newer Rick Steves DVDs. Oh, and after I read one of his books. I do need to check out a book from the library eventually. :-)
A Milestone
academics access address agree anybody asked audience being bill black brewster bryan campaign certain checked chew class cloud collective comes comics community content create davies digital discussed documentary emira ever fact farm fear forum francisco fred future government group happen hear hip-hop hope important individuals information interesting internet ivan jacobs kahle kelly kevin knowledge librarian library links living lolcats lot love media memory mentioned message mulan music neighborhood night paper people perfect phillip presentation public question rather really reason rights san second senior sf shopkeepers snow society speakers street students tag talk technology text things think usf women work world
created at TagCrowd.com
Today is the last day of the Davies Forum. After what I am sure will be a grueling class session at NoPa, the class will disperse and go our separate ways, hopefully keeping in touch through the media we have used throughout the course.
As a final post, we were all asked to TagCrowd our blogs, and then reflect on what we see. So I found a url that shows all of my posts on the same page, plugged it into TagCrowd, fiddled with the settings, and hit enter.
I am not sure what I expected, but I don't think I would have guessed my most-used word in a million years: People.
What a fitting note to the end (not forever, just for now) of an academic career focused on the study of, well, groups of people.
Phillip Thurtle
Last week the Davies Forum hosted its last speaker of the semester: Phillip Thurtle. As a Sociology student (soon to be graduate!), his talk was fascinating.
Phillip argues that we can explore both the present and the future in comic books. Comics show us what we fear as a society, and it also shows us how society could one day be.
Although I agree with his latter point, it is the first one I am more immediately interested in. Sociologists study the crap out of everything in order to learn what the norms, values, and ideologies are of a society, and fear is an important part of this. One of the more omnipresent fears is that of new technology; society feared the radio, the television, and now it fears the Internet. And I am sure at some point we feared the book, which is now the most holy form of media and the only one that schools spend an inordinate amount of time promoting. Ah society, how constantly you change...
But back to comic books! So what exactly does Phillip argue we fear? Technology and the industrial age. Spider man had his radioactive bite, Superman was spurred on by organized urban crime, and the X-Men (and women, really X-People) are all products of overexposure to radiation. As a group, we are worried that technology is going to change us all into weird people, mutant people, half people. We fear that technology is going to replace our humanity.
Ok, so you don't have to read comics to find out that society is freaked out by technology - just turn on your local news. This is where the second piece of the beauty of comics comes in. The news will tell us what is happening today, but comics can tell us what can happen tomorrow. They can speculate as to what our future will be.
I like to focus on the optimistic futures found in comics. Rather than worry about the Magnetos of the future world, I hope we will be like the X-Men (seriously, the gender bias has got to go): one big, happy, fucked-up family.
Checked Out
I just got a library card!
After living in San Francisco for almost 4 years, I finally registered with the San Francisco Public Library, and it was fairly painless. I filled out an online application, printed my form (at USF's library), and walked it down to the Park Branch. The only drawback is that my residential address doesn't match the address on my driver's license (the DMV needs to find a way to accommodate nomads), so my card is currently "provisional." But as soon as I show up with a piece of mail that has my name and address on it I will be free to check out materials to my heart's content.
SFPL's website could use some redesign work (some stuff is just hard to navigate), but it is user-friendly enough that I can pull information from it to blog for you fine people. And thus this is the first of what I hope will be many posts.
Just checked out: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (a Rick Steves travel DVD)
After living in San Francisco for almost 4 years, I finally registered with the San Francisco Public Library, and it was fairly painless. I filled out an online application, printed my form (at USF's library), and walked it down to the Park Branch. The only drawback is that my residential address doesn't match the address on my driver's license (the DMV needs to find a way to accommodate nomads), so my card is currently "provisional." But as soon as I show up with a piece of mail that has my name and address on it I will be free to check out materials to my heart's content.
SFPL's website could use some redesign work (some stuff is just hard to navigate), but it is user-friendly enough that I can pull information from it to blog for you fine people. And thus this is the first of what I hope will be many posts.
Just checked out: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (a Rick Steves travel DVD)
Kevin Epps
Kevin appeared a tad nervous during his talk, and he quickly opened the floor for a Q&A free-for-all. It was pretty amazing. What better way to address what your audience wants you to than to just ask them? He discussed copyright issues (especially for young media makers who haven't made a name for themselves yet), gentrification of the Bayview/Hunter's Point area, and how he uses media to serve his community.
Which is where my question comes in.
In countless media studies and Sociology classes, we have analyzed how the media portrays African Americans, and the portrayals are very rarely positive. The media teaches society, especially white society, to be afraid of African Americans. Who are the people getting busted on Cops? Black people. Who is getting busted for crime on shows ranging from the nightly news to CSI? Black people. What is take-home message from all of this media? Be afraid of black people.
I promise I'll get to my question eventually.
Before he gave his talk, I watched Kevin's documentary Straight Outta' Hunter's Point. While it was one of the first films of its kind that has documented what it is like growing up and living in a black ghetto, I found myself coming away with the same message that I get from all other media: The ghetto is scary, if you go to the ghetto there is a high chance you will be harmed, and don't forget to be afraid of black people.
"How do you work to portray your neighborhood in a truthful way without perpetuating white people's fears of African Americans?" (I told you I would get there eventually)
His off-the-cuff answer was one I did not expect. "Well, some of the people from the neighborhood would probably be glad if you were afraid to go there. Then you wouldn't move in and try and gentrify the place!"
I am sure he said more than that, but that comment is what has stuck with me. Part of me agrees with him - gentrification is pushing more and more people of color out of San Francisco on a routine basis. Anything that combats that should be a good thing.
But, on the other hand, racism is not going to go away if white people continue to be in fear of African Americans. Can't we find a way to avoid gentrification without perpetuating fear of an entire group of people based on their skin color?
I struggle between two sides of the argument, between those who argue for integration and those who argue for segregation. There are people of all races on both sides (and some in the middle), who defend their cases based on a variety of arguments, some of which I agree with, some of which I do not.
I still haven't reached a definitive answer as to what my actions, as a white ally, should be. Instead of sitting here and pondering what the residents of the neighborhood would prefer, maybe I should come down from the mountain of academia and do as Kevin did: Ask.
Kelly Quinn
It seems like forever ago that Kelly Quinn spoke at (to? with?) the Davies Forum. But I just made a vow to finally finish blogging all of our speakers (it is kinda required) in chronological order, and Kelly is where I left off.
Kelly was an awesome speaker. Her presentation style, content, and overall message were amazing. Some of the highlights:
-A grid is the most democratic way to lay out a city because it allows anybody to find his/her way without asking for directions. In a conversation the next morning, Kelly mentioned to me that some feminists argue that a circle is the most democratic, for what reason I do not remember. "I bet it's psychoanalytic feminists who say that," I responded, as if the term is a slur. "You bet." Damn you, psychoanalytic feminists!
-"Homogeneity is important to a lot of people... It's important to 92% of the people in my town." (on the homogeneity and the white population of her town)
-More than being democratic, the grid also allows for an element of surprise in the city. You turn a corner, and suddenly you bump into a neighbor, or a garage sale, or a flier for a lost kitten. Or, in Kelly's world, it would be nice to bump into a bit of history about your neighborhood, possibly printed on the back of a paper fan.
-"I like saying the word intercourse in public" (on social intercourse)
-Kelly met with some of the Davies students Friday morning, and she and I took a short walk around around the USF neighborhood. During the course of the stroll, Kelly stopped next to a box that holds plastic baggies for dog poo. The university erects the boxes in the hope that dog owners will clean up after their pets. Kelly pointed out how something such as the "doggie pot" can show what we value in our society - in this case, dogs, but not poo.
Thank you so much for speaking to (at? with?) us, Kelly!
Kelly was an awesome speaker. Her presentation style, content, and overall message were amazing. Some of the highlights:
-A grid is the most democratic way to lay out a city because it allows anybody to find his/her way without asking for directions. In a conversation the next morning, Kelly mentioned to me that some feminists argue that a circle is the most democratic, for what reason I do not remember. "I bet it's psychoanalytic feminists who say that," I responded, as if the term is a slur. "You bet." Damn you, psychoanalytic feminists!
-"Homogeneity is important to a lot of people... It's important to 92% of the people in my town." (on the homogeneity and the white population of her town)
-More than being democratic, the grid also allows for an element of surprise in the city. You turn a corner, and suddenly you bump into a neighbor, or a garage sale, or a flier for a lost kitten. Or, in Kelly's world, it would be nice to bump into a bit of history about your neighborhood, possibly printed on the back of a paper fan.
-"I like saying the word intercourse in public" (on social intercourse)
-Kelly met with some of the Davies students Friday morning, and she and I took a short walk around around the USF neighborhood. During the course of the stroll, Kelly stopped next to a box that holds plastic baggies for dog poo. The university erects the boxes in the hope that dog owners will clean up after their pets. Kelly pointed out how something such as the "doggie pot" can show what we value in our society - in this case, dogs, but not poo.
Thank you so much for speaking to (at? with?) us, Kelly!
Tag Cloud v.2
One of the tag cloud websites, TagCrowd, was down for some reason last night, but it is now up and running. Thus, here is a different tag cloud for the same project discussed previously. Also, the problem with tagging phrases (see comments for the previous post) has been fixed by combining all words in the phrase into one word, which results in some interesting looking tags that I promise are not typos.
acceptance activism affirmation animals anxiety assimilation awayfromcivilization balance beauty blake bugs cellphoneanxiety chainsaw change childhood choices city classmates cold collaboration comfort communalliving community compromise connected connections contacts countryliving daviesforum dirtroad disconnected documenting dogs driving ducklings earlymorning earth eggs environment environmental escape ethos expectations experience farm fire firewood firsts fleeting food forecast francis fulfilling fun garden gas goats habits hail happy harmony heat homesteading homework honesty humboldt icicle incorporation individual informative innerpeace instinct interconnected journal jovial joy learning lettinggo lifestyle loggingoff logs longdrive meals melindastone memory method mindful nature necessity newexperience noise non-digital notice npr octagon offthegrid online organic outside peace pedagogy perfect photography poem preparation prospective pure rational reconcile reflection relaxation renewableresources reporting resonate rhythm roadtrip rules rural savor sawing seasons self-reflection self-sufficient service silence simple simpleliving slow snoring snow snowball snowflake solarenergy solitude sound stonelake strangers struggle sunset sustainability sustenance swing teaching technology temporal temporary thegrid tick togetherness tools travel urban walks warmth waterfall weather wildness
created at TagCrowd.com
Tag Cloud
In class today, the Davies crew explored what it would be like to tag each other's blog posts (specifically, our "Best Blog Post Ever" assignment). We collectively tagged everybody's posts (except Steve, who is still working on his), and we came up with a list of 161 different tags.
I snapped a few pictures of the board, transfered all the data to a spreadsheet, and then created a paragraph of what our tags would look like. Since it takes almost an entire page, I won't post it here.
But I did found a sweet service that will create a tag could from any text you upload. Thus, you can find out collective tag cloud at Many Eyes. Enjoy!
I snapped a few pictures of the board, transfered all the data to a spreadsheet, and then created a paragraph of what our tags would look like. Since it takes almost an entire page, I won't post it here.
But I did found a sweet service that will create a tag could from any text you upload. Thus, you can find out collective tag cloud at Many Eyes. Enjoy!
StoneLake Farm
The Davies Forum event for this weekend was a trip to StoneLake Farm in Humboldt county. The farm was beautiful, the company was jovial, the food was tasty, and the weather was...
Well, it snowed. Some people might complain about the snow, and the cold, but I loved it. I grew up in the Sacramento Valley and it never snowed there. The few times I have been to Truckee there has been snow on the ground, but no snow falling from the sky. So let's just say I was a tad out of my element (heh), and I loved every minute of it.
More importantly, with my first snow came my first sighting of a snowflake. I'm not talking a little frozen droplet of water, nor a little ball of snow falling from the sky, but an actual flake. Like the ones you draw in kindergarten, with six points and lacy stuff in between. The biggest shock to me? Oh my god was it tiny! And perfect! And the tininess made it that much more perfect!
I immediately grabbed for my camera to snag a picture (macro photography is my fav genre), but realized that I had left it in the Octagon. I asked Blake if I could borrow his (the Davies crew always has at least one camera on hand), but before he could hand it to me the perfect snowflake melted into the dirt. It disappeared back into the earth, and though I did snag a shot of a less-perfect cousin, the only person who will ever see that perfect snowflake is me. I can talk about it at length, but I have no proof that it ever existed except my own memory of the incident.
And you know what? That's OK.
Well, it snowed. Some people might complain about the snow, and the cold, but I loved it. I grew up in the Sacramento Valley and it never snowed there. The few times I have been to Truckee there has been snow on the ground, but no snow falling from the sky. So let's just say I was a tad out of my element (heh), and I loved every minute of it.
More importantly, with my first snow came my first sighting of a snowflake. I'm not talking a little frozen droplet of water, nor a little ball of snow falling from the sky, but an actual flake. Like the ones you draw in kindergarten, with six points and lacy stuff in between. The biggest shock to me? Oh my god was it tiny! And perfect! And the tininess made it that much more perfect!
I immediately grabbed for my camera to snag a picture (macro photography is my fav genre), but realized that I had left it in the Octagon. I asked Blake if I could borrow his (the Davies crew always has at least one camera on hand), but before he could hand it to me the perfect snowflake melted into the dirt. It disappeared back into the earth, and though I did snag a shot of a less-perfect cousin, the only person who will ever see that perfect snowflake is me. I can talk about it at length, but I have no proof that it ever existed except my own memory of the incident.
And you know what? That's OK.
Government Control of Information = Really, Really Bad
This, among other reasons, is why I am leery of the government owning knowledge or the access to knowledge.
