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Blogging Tools (Yet Again) and Email Reminders

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They got me. Not hooked, but interested again.

When you download Qumana, you’re expected to fill in your email address. It’s not required and the use of the email address is explained on the download page. For those of us with good filters against unsolicited emails, it’s not too scary. Didn’t think too much of it.

Tried Qumana a little while ago, along with other blogging tools. Can’t remember what it was that didn’t really convince me at that point, but there must have been something. Been blogging in my blogging system‘s Web editor since then. And wasn’t really thinking about other solutions.

Just got an email from Qumana telling us about a new beta version of their blog editor. Though the new features don’t sound that compelling to me, it got me interested again. And here I am, trying Qumana again.

And, you know, it’s not bad at all. Quite comparable to ecto. But free.

What would be really, really nice is a del.icio.us-like way to add tags, labels, and categories. Qumana does have an "insert tags" button which lets you add comma-separated tags. But these are, AFAIK, not connected with WordPress categories or Blogger beta labels. And it’s not exactly as useful as it could be. First, it could be a field in the editing window instead of a button. And it could work like del.icio.us in providing you with a context-sensitive list of possibly-relevant tags. This might have been the deal-breaker with Qumana for me before. You can use your WordPress categories, but you can’t add any.

Qumana’s strategy, of sending a reminder email to those who downloaded the program, is pretty much what it should be. It’s not sneaky, it’s not pressure-selling, and it’s not begging. But it’s a good way to connect with users. These guys got a clue.

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Africa, Anthropology, cultural anthropology, media, news, Spoofs

News, Anthropology, Polygamy

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This is one for which I need help.

Is there a serious debate, in the U.S., on the issue of polygamy?

Don’t really have access to U.S. television news. Been getting information through many other methods (many of them online). But this one is about television news in the U.S. and it could be interesting.

The latest Borowitz Report (Andy Borowitz’s spoofs, called “shockers”) is about polygamy:

CNN Switches to All-Polygamy Format

One thing about the Borowitz Report is that it often brings my attention to something in the actual news. Then, it’s easy for me to look it up on diverse news services and to dig up more details by going to diverse sources. Because it’s a spoof, the Borowitz Report doesn’t impose its conclusions on me. And it’s usually timely enough that it’s possible for me to read the deeper analysis instead of being caught up in all the knee-jerk reactions.

But, in this case, it’s about television news and mainstream media. My guess is that CNN ran a few stories on Warren Jeffs and such. And there are obviously some entrenched opinions on both sides. But given the fact that kinship systems, including marriage practises, are among the core areas of cultural anthropology, are there people (anthropologists and non-anthropologists) who are discussing polygamy in a broad way? In fact, are people talking about marriage in diverse contexts? Isn’t there anyone talking about the social basis of marriage?

For some reason, in the U.S., many people seem to assume that marriage has to do mostly with love, sexuality, or religion. And people there often think of polygamy as a way for a man to have sexual intercourse with many women. Perhaps because of Hugh Heffner’s life story. But isn’t Warren Beatty proof that you don’t need to be married to have sexual relationships with many different women?

Because of this association of marriage with sexuality, it’s often difficult to get people to discuss the social issues associated with polygyny and other kinship systems. For instance, the actual power afforded women in a polygynous household. Or the economic basis of marriage systems.
The debate over polygamy has been brewing for a while here in Canada and probably in the U.S. (where it’s connected with religion). But I’ve yet to see a serious attempt to discuss it in a thoughtful fashion.

Can anyone prove me wrong?

Thanks.

blog comments, Blogger (Blogspot), Blogging, blogging systems, WordPress, WordPress.com

Blogspot v. WordPress.com, Blogger v. WordPress

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Blogspot Does Not Scale With My Life at A Fool’s Wisdom

My comments:

Blogspot isn’t perfect and WordPress is quite good. But Blogger beta does have some redeeming qualities, including category-like labels. The advantage these labels have over WP categories is that labels can be sorted by frequency instead of being listed alphabetically. Also, you can simply type a comma-separated list of keywords and these will be added as labels. The full list of labels is available but it’s hidden by default. With WordPress.com, adding categories can be an issue. It actually takes time to do on my decent DSL connection. In terms of basic reasoning, WP categories are really categories (you classify posts). Blogger’s labels are more like labels, tags, or keywords: you specify what your post connects with.
While it’s true that Blogger beta doesn’t have an export feature yet, other blogging systems should be able to import Blogger entries, once the new APIs are released. In fact, the cool way to do it, IMHO, is to use a standalone editor like ecto to repurpose your posts. Since the new APIs for Blogger haven’t been released, ecto can’t download Blogspot entries, but it’s certainly going to be a possibility quite soon.
Since Blogger accounts are quite common, commenting on somebody else’s blog can bring more comments to your own blog. WP.com tries to do the same thing and the tag surfer is quite cool, but so far comment traffic on my blog has been very low.
The other thing that is nice about Blogger is that, contrary to WordPress.com, it’s not a simplified version of a full package. WordPress makes a visible effort to add functionalities to WP.com (WP MU) but it’s still meant as a way to push people into WP. Installing WordPress is very easy and anyone with server space should use it on their own server. (That’s what we do for our <a href=”http://blog.criticalworld.net/”>academic blog</a>.) But for those who don’t have server space, WP.com can be slightly frustrating as the documentation, forums, community, plugins, and neater features are really meant for your own WP installation.
Now, don’t get me wrong. WP.com has been quite nice to me in the past few months. In fact, my main reason to move from WP.com to Blogger would be if my Blogger/Blogspot blog got more comments than my WP.com one. Otherwise, unless Blogger comes with very compelling features (like integration with Google Measure Map, Calendar, Spreadsheet, Writely, Gmail, etc.), my WP.com blog will remain my active blog.

Thanks for your comment on my blog!!

Academia, academic institutions, academic models, Concordia University, pedagogy, ramblings, Universities, University rankings

McGill and UofT Ranked

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Speaking of university rankings, McGill University describes its presence in the Princeton Review as praise. Their actual rankings in distinct categories are [drumroll, please…]:

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“:

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…

individualism, ramblings, rants, social contract

(Rant) Fold It! Fold It Riiight There!

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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…

Academia, ethnomusicology, Food, music, radio

Food and Music

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Posted on  SEM-L:

Hello all,
Two cooking shows on NPR affiliates this Saturday the 2nd and September 23
will feature our Ethnomusicologists’ Cookbook. The first is on WHYY in
Philadelphia: the show is called “A Chef’s Table,” hosted by Jim Coleman,
and is broadcast at noon, EST. You will be able to hear the archived version
of it after 1 pm by going to the WHYY site:
http://www.whyy.org/91FM/chef/index.html.

The second interview/discussion is on KCRW in Los Angeles: the show is
called “Good Food” and is hosted by Evan Kleiman. It will be aired on the
23rd between 11 and 12 PST. You can hear the archived version, once it’s up
and running, by going to their website: http://www.kcrw.com/show/gf.

There’s also the possibility of the cookbook being featured on Jeff
Nemcher’s “Cooking on the Radio,” and a number of positive reviews have come
out already (The Chronicles of Higher Education, for example).

Besides the fact that 40% of the royalties for the book are going to the
Society for Ethnomusicology, we now have the added benefit that several
radio people and many, many listeners are going to be hearing the word
“ethnomusicology” for the first time, and understanding something of what it
means. I hope that this is good news for all of us. [And perhaps my parents
will stop having to explain what it is that I actually do!]

Cheers, Sean Williams

Academia, academic institutions, academic models, blogs, Canada, Education, ethnocentrism, France, Québec, United States

France and Higher Ed

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[Yet another older draft…]

Choses Vues » Blog Archive » Higher education in France

(That link now leads to a paid article. Here’s another link to the article.) Perhaps typical of NYT pieces these days, this article is rather detailed without being edifying and somewhat provocative without being thought-provoking. It’s also very ethnocentric. Too bad, though, as the issue would merit a thorough analysis. Coming from French-speaking institutions outside of France and currently connected with academic institutions in the U.S., my personal perspective is quite different. Not that the issues with the French system are at all surprising to me. But comparison with the United States doesn’t really bring the issue forward. As Paul says, Scandinavian institutions could provide more interesting models. My experience in Switzerland and Quebec is also significantly different from what is described in the article. Not that any one of those post-secondary educational systems is perfect. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. But post-secondary education is not limited to France and the United States. In fact, France and the U.S. are isolated cases in today’s educational world. What might even be surprising to many people is that those two countries are often much more similar than different. For instance, the extremely high prestige afforded a precious few institutions is a striking feature of both educational systems (Grandes écoles, Ivy League…). It might exist in other places (say, England) but, at least, it’s not characteristic of universities in Quebec. In Canada generally, most academic institutions have much of the same status, despite attempts by MacLean’s to rank universities every year (à la Princeton Review). While the rankings have some effect, they are much less restrictive than what exists in either the U.S. or France. Also, faculty members across Canada get almost exactly the same salary for the same position, irrespective of their host institution. Disparities in salaries exist at many other levels but they usually don’t distinguish one institution from the rest. Will probably post a blog entry about this pretty soon.

blogosphere, groupthink, journalisme, media

Média et sens critique

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Bon, puisque mes commentaires sont toujours refusés… Ma réponse à un billet de cos.

Pour une raison ou une autre, quelques-uns de tes billets apparaissent dans mon Tag Surfer. Donc on doit avoir des intérêts communs.
Avec les média indépendants, espérons que les gens ne commencent pas à les prendre trop au pied de la lettre. D’après moi, ça reste important de garder un sens critique. D’ailleurs, certains lecteurs de DN parmi mes amis font un peu comme les lecteurs du NYT: ils se limitent à une source et ne cherchent pas ce qui se cache derrière cette source. Pour ceux d’entre nous dans le domaine académique, c’est une stratégie assez dangereuse en ce qu’elle encourage la pensée unique.
D’un autre côté, il y a un mouvement très sérieux (bien que très minoritaire) vers une réflexion plus poussée sur le statut de «l’information». Garder son sens critique par rapport à ce qu’on lit. Les blogues font parfois partie.de ce mouvement, mais il y a plus que ça.
Mon espoir, personnellement, c’est qu’une grande proportion des gens en viennent à penser de la façon la plus large possible. Qu’ils apprennent à comprendre comment les autres pensent.
Mais ça, c’est ma déformation professionnelle en tant qu’anthropologue.

Blogging, getting things done, play, ramblings, writing, writing style

Blogging Spree

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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.