Category Archives: ramblings
Blogging Ethnography
Ethnography of bloggers, ethnography through blogging, blogging about ethnography… English is cool for ambiguity, even though many English-speakers follow a Gricean language ideology.
Comment-Fishing: Think It Through
As I notice that provocative and opinionated pronouncements are more likely to garner feedback than carefully crafted balanced thoughts, I’ll say it like this: bloggers should think before they blog! :-S
What I really mean to rant about is that the part of blogging I dislike the most is time-sensitivity. Knee-jerk reactions are great for blogging and I do believe in RERO. But there’s a point at which people seem to care too much about posting at the right time. Some even want to be the first person to blog a given issue. Is it the blogging equivalent of scooping??
Ok, ok, I’m about as guilty as anyone else. Partly because I have long lists of things I want to talk about and there are some cool streams of consciousness effects in the bringing of current issues in the same conversations. This is, in fact, where blogging is most interactive, IMHO.
Sheesh! Can’t people just think, once in a while?
For Those Who Don't Grok Blogging
A friend sent me this link:
How to Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger – WikiHow
Cute, but not that insightful. Continue reading For Those Who Don't Grok Blogging
African Ingenuity
Via BoingBoing.
Who says Africans lack business acumen?
(Actually, such methods of empowerment are quite common, throughout Africa. And many Africans are rightfully proud of being able to manage by themselves. When will people from OECD “nations” get this?)
To Live By
- Don’t get mad. Get a clue.
- Respect is not earned. It’s all due.
- People aren’t what you think they are.
- Protestant work ethic? Catholic play ethic. Buddhist life ethic.
Tags: quickies, ramblings, street philosophy, anger, respect, perception, ethics
McGill and UofT Ranked
Speaking of university rankings, McGill University describes its presence in the Princeton Review as praise. Their actual rankings in distinct categories are [drumroll, please…]:
- 3rd in “Class Discussions Rare“
- 15th in “Lots of Race/Class Interaction“
- 7th in “Great College Town“
The first category (rare class discussions) is surprising to me because, in my experience (taught at two universities in Quebec, two in Indiana, two in Massachusetts, and one in New Brunswick), university students in Quebec tend to discuss quite openly in class, much more so than U.S. students. But these rankings are based on perception, not analysis of classroom behaviour, AFAIK. And McGill has a high proportion of students from the United States.
In my mind, Concordia University would be likely to rank higher in “race/class interaction” as it’s a well-known part of people’s experience there (faculty, students, and administrators frequently discuss diversity issues). And since Concordia’s campus is quite close to McGill’s, it’s quite possible that Concordia would rank close to McGill for the “college town” category. Although, McGill students tend to live close to campus (including in the so-called McGill Ghetto) while Concordia students are scattered across town. Still, Montreal is considered a cool “college town” by people who attend all of its four universities.
The other Canadian university in the Princeton Review rankings is University of Toronto, which is similarly “praised“:
- 5th in “Class Discussions Rare“
- 17th in “Professors Get Low Marks“
- 2nd (!) in “Professors Make Themselves Scarce“
Hmmm… Where’s the UofT press release about its consecration by The Princeton Review? Can’t wait to see how they spin it. “At UofT, we pride ourselves for our groundbreaking approach to teaching. Students are encouraged to work by themselves, without the hassles of communicating with their professors or with their fellow students.”
Of course, those rankings aren’t based on stereotypes or frivolous factors. After all, which serious ranking wouldn’t have a category for “Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians?” Maybe rankings made by “Dr. Martens-Wearing, Tree-Cutting, Non-Smoking Omnivores.”
It’s quite difficult to compare Canadian universities with those in the U.S. because the systems are quite different from one another. For instance, tuition fees at (publicly-funded but private university) McGill are quite low ($1,668 for “Out-of-State Tuition”) and a full bachelor’s degree in one of Quebec’s universities is typically three years (because Quebec has a separate program between high school and university). So a full degree at McGill can cost less than $6,000. The “Best Value College” according to The Princeton Review is the University of Central Florida which charges $17,017 a year for Out-of-State students. Other expenses seem fairly similar between these two universities. UCF’s ranking is 16th for “Their Students (Almost) Never Study,” which is obviously a very important factor in selecting an institution of higher learning. We wouldn’t want these kind souls to be wasting their time studying! So, “best value” in the U.S. is quite different from “best value” in Canada. (AFAIK, no Canadian university charges as much as $17,000 a year in tuition fees.)
Ah, well…
(Rant) Fold It! Fold It Riiight There!
Don’t get me wrong. I do love children. Children are the reason I feel optimistic about the future of humankind. And what I tend to call championship strollers do have a place. In parks, on bike paths, and in wide open spaces. It’s just that this place is not, I repeat not in subways, busses, and other means of public transportation. At least, not fully opened. During rush hour. In a crammed space. With parents oblivious to the fact that their presence is an annoyance to dozens of fellow passengers.
Hey you, the new parent! If you’re taking your stroller on the bus or in the subway at rush hour you are allowed to fold it up so that it takes as little space as possible. You could also do as if it were a bicycle and take it to the last car of the subway. No harm in that! Or you could wait for rush hour to be over. In fact, you can even be considerate to other people and make sure that your stroller isn’t too much in the way.
Should a baby really take more space than five adults in a public space?
Gah! Some parents are so self-obsessed! I mean, rugged individualism is one thing. But consideration for fellow human beings goes a long way to improve everyone‘s quality of life.
Again, you don’t necessarily need to use a smaller umbrella-style stroller to use in public transportation. And it’s quite understandable that you need the best possible carrying system so as to not strain your back carrying your baby. But there is such a thing as noticing that the world doesn’t revolve around your very own child. Yes, every child is a precious gift. But can you imagine what would happen if every single child were treated the same way as yours?
Of course, people will call me a kid-hater or some worse thing. But I’m not angry at all! Really! In fact, when I gave my seat so a father could sit with his baby and take less space than his wife and their championship stroller were taking, I was smiling. Not a smug smile, mind you. More of a “children are so cute” smile. But when this lovely couple left their “we take no prisoners” stroller unattended while they became extremely attentive to their very quiet and happy baby, I couldn’t help but think that such a natural thing as parenthood could become an excuse for ignoring the rest of the world. And there’s a point at which ignoring the rest of the world can lead to angst, frustration, and conflict.
Not to mention that there are much better ways to carry a baby in a crowd! Some of them are even stylish…
Blogging Spree
Weeeeee!
My, oh my!
It might be the Back to School mood, or it might be something (I was advised to write more, for personal reasons) but it seems like I’m going through an intense blogging phase!
Man!
You know what? It feels gooood!
Several of my latest entries were in fact drafted a while ago.
And this one is a collection of short entries that could have been expanded entries.
Late August Quickies
So, all of these aren’t new entries. But publishing them helps me in many ways. As silly as it may sound, these drafted entries were starting to become a burden on me. So, publishing them feels like lifting that burden. This feeling is behind many people’s “to do” lists. My mother talks about that feeling you get when you cross out an item in your “to do” list. It’s hard to describe but it’s easy to understand if you’ve ever felt it. In my family, “to do” lists are called “vélo (faire du),” an example of our oikolect. It comes from the French “bike (to do).” My older brother noticed that item on one of my mother’s “to do” lists lying around and found it pretty funny. It stuck. My family also has a term for the opposite of procrastination, “fullfur” (/fUlfyr/ in IPA). It comes from English “full,” which has been used by young French-speakers in Eastern Quebec to mean pretty much the same thing as “totally” as used by U.S. youths, and “au fur et à mesure” in French, which means pretty much the same thing as English “as you go.” Both of these terms go well with my family’s ideas about time-management. Not that we all follow these ideas. But I have been enculturated into these ideas.
Anyhoo (!), back to blogging sprees.
They’re quite therapeutic. Maybe because they stimulate da buh-rain.
And I notice a number of things about writing and blogging strategies. Seems like blogging really works best if it’s kept spontaneous. But going back to previous entries can be pretty satisfying too.
There’s pretty much no reason to wait before posting an entry. RERO!
As I expected, writing a lot without too much self-censorship really helps to develop writing abilities. Not I’m necessarily that proud of my writing but I do write a lot and some people have complimented me for my writing style. Especially as a non-native speaker of N-guh-lish.
Editing can be easy and fun if enough time has passed since the last revision. It can be a b*tch when it’s done right away.
The entries I’m most proud of (yes, there are some) don’t tend to be the most read ones or the ones garnering comments. But they feel really good to write. In a way, the fact that they’re not read so much encourages me to stay humble, which is helpful to any writer.
Linking is fun. So is playing with categories/labels/tags. Actually, it’s quite likely that nobody notices my use of categories as counterpoint to my entries, but I do it for fun anyway.
My growing obsession with getting more comments might die out pretty soon. And as soon as it does, I will be getting so many comments that I’ll have to moderate my blogs!
There’s a chain reaction or domino effect to blogging. You write about one thing which makes you want to blog about another thing, etc. So you go on a blogging spree during which you want to post 25 entries a day. Eventually, your blogging fervor peters out and you only blog a few times a month. It’s quite likely that getting comments has a large influence on whether you’re on a blogging spree or not.
Given the way blog entries are read, it doesn’t seem to matter much if an entry’s structure is tidy or “chevelue.” Good thing too as my thoughts tend to be pretty scattered. (Yes, really!)
Erm, and, it’s actually hard to press that publish button, sometimes.
Adding It Up
Been thinking. Yes, it’s dangerous. But it does happen to any of us.
Starting up with my own comments about Yu Koyo Peya and Jared Diamond’s Collapse. It’s no secret that Diamond’s approach often clashes with the anthropological tendency toward critical thinking. But still…
From The Matrix, Agent Smith saying that humans are a disease. The YKP on-screen message that “civilization” (however defined) is the disease. A further claim could be that a specific civilization is a disease. Fun to think about. Where does it lead us, exactly? And, really, what do we mean by “civilization” in those cases? State-level “democracy” based on the illusion of national identity and individual autonomy, and motivated by market economy? And that’s all so important why, exactly? After all, there are alternatives of different types and in different places…
Haven’t read Diamond’s books but it’s quite likely that Collapse in fact describes the decline of a specific social model. Actually, to a Québécois, the recent tribute to Rémy Girard’s career makes the analogy even more salient. Some have asked what year the U.S. were stuck in. Some date between 410 and 476 would be many people’s guess. But it could be later.
It might be the end of Occidentalism. Or, simply, perceived radical changes based on a series of significant events.
It reminds me of a well-known Swiss novel and a movie made about it. English-speakers would likely think of Chicken Little. Again, windmills and shelters.
Many events are connected to these times. From the end of the Cold War to Hurricane Katrina. From a climate of terror and paranoia to the rise of Chindia. From the Washington Consensus to notions of terrorists and freedom fighters,
There’s no conspiracy. Just a bunch of loosely linked social changes on a rather large but still very limited stage.
What are we to do?
Look further than the end of our collective nose?