Some of my more anxious and astute readers may notice that this wasn't actually posted until Thursday. I had an extremely busy day yesterday and didn't get finished writing this until the next morning. Anyway, I assure you that the bulk of this article was written last night.
The idea for this post came a good friend of mine. It immediately struck a chord with me, though I still don't know how I really feel about it. Without further ado, the triumphant return of Wikipedia Wednesday with...
Placebo Button
As the article says this is "a push-button that appears to do something, but actually has no effect, like a placebo." A good example of this is a cross-walk button which actually does nothing because the lights always change regularly and pedestrians are allowed to cross during every cycle.
I think I had an experience with what I assume was a placebo button this summer. It was an elevator which was already pretty slow and so I was usually compelled to press the "Door Close" button. However, it seemed to have no bearing on how quickly the door closed, which was painfully slow. This, of course, did not actually function as a placebo because it was even more infuriating than the elevator would've been without the button at all, as you can imagine. Feel free to post any personal experiences you have with placebo buttons in the comments.
Share & Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Back from a Long Break
Greetings, courteous reader! This summer was longer and busier than I had anticipated, and I seem to have fallen off the blog wagon (or perhaps gotten back on the laziness wagon). In any case, since school being back in session forces me to schedule my life more rigidly, I'll be doing my best to keep up with this whole endeavor. So that I don't spend this entire post apologizing for being lame, here are some things going on in my life that will probably find their way into a blog post or two:
School
In the fall semester of my final year in the UMBC American Studies department, I'm doing a lot of heavy stuff. Most of that will be my Senior Seminar, wherein I'll be learning about research methods and academic writing for the purpose of eventually writing a 20-25 page final research paper. The topic of the course this semester is political culture, but I have yet to nail down my specific focus for the paper. Additionally, I'm signed up to take my required Internship Seminar this semester. Again, I'm still tracking down an internship, but once I get started I'll probably start cross-posting items from the blog which I have to keep for the class portion. Finally, I'm taking TV in American Culture. So far, it's a fairly interesting class, and I'll probably be posting my thoughts on some TV Culture-related topics throughout the semester.
My other two classes are in Phys. Ed. (jogging and weight training), so I may bring that up at some point.
Not School
As I said above, I'll be going to an internship, so I might post about this in some sort of non-school context. Also, I may (hopefully) have some sort of job and, depending on what that ends up being, I may talk about that. I'll also be returning to the UMBC Ultimate Team (Booya Ultimate) for my third and final year and probably playing in some other venues as well. I can't say that I foresee a lot of Ultimate-related posts, but I'll keep my ear to the proverbial ground.
Finally, for those of you brave enough to have read all this boring filler, I'm interested in featuring some guest-posts. By now, I think the focus of this blog is pretty well-defined so I think you know the kind of topics I'd be looking for. Of course, I'm also open to new ideas. If you think you might like to contribute, shoot me an e-mail at daniel.paoletti@gmail.com letting me know what you'd like to write about.
School
In the fall semester of my final year in the UMBC American Studies department, I'm doing a lot of heavy stuff. Most of that will be my Senior Seminar, wherein I'll be learning about research methods and academic writing for the purpose of eventually writing a 20-25 page final research paper. The topic of the course this semester is political culture, but I have yet to nail down my specific focus for the paper. Additionally, I'm signed up to take my required Internship Seminar this semester. Again, I'm still tracking down an internship, but once I get started I'll probably start cross-posting items from the blog which I have to keep for the class portion. Finally, I'm taking TV in American Culture. So far, it's a fairly interesting class, and I'll probably be posting my thoughts on some TV Culture-related topics throughout the semester.
My other two classes are in Phys. Ed. (jogging and weight training), so I may bring that up at some point.
Not School
As I said above, I'll be going to an internship, so I might post about this in some sort of non-school context. Also, I may (hopefully) have some sort of job and, depending on what that ends up being, I may talk about that. I'll also be returning to the UMBC Ultimate Team (Booya Ultimate) for my third and final year and probably playing in some other venues as well. I can't say that I foresee a lot of Ultimate-related posts, but I'll keep my ear to the proverbial ground.
Finally, for those of you brave enough to have read all this boring filler, I'm interested in featuring some guest-posts. By now, I think the focus of this blog is pretty well-defined so I think you know the kind of topics I'd be looking for. Of course, I'm also open to new ideas. If you think you might like to contribute, shoot me an e-mail at daniel.paoletti@gmail.com letting me know what you'd like to write about.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wikipedia Wednesday: Therizinosaurus
Sorry for doing another biology-related Wikipedia Wednesday. I think that about 70% of what blows my mind on Wikipedia is in the biological fields. The other 30% is mostly to do with technology and theoretical physics, but even I find that a little boring. Anyway,...
Therizinosaurus
This is a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago) and, apart from being another big reptile that could frighten and/or kill us before we could say "life will find a way", it's a pretty average member of the genus Theropoda...except for its massive one-meter-long SCYTHE-LIKE claws. Ahhhhh!!! This thing looks like Wes Craven designed it to haunt our darkest dreams. Don't worry, though: like most therizinosaurs, it was probably herbivorous. Still, meter-long claws? The only practical purpose I can think of for such an exaggerated feature is to make Sam Neill pee his pants in half the time.
Share & Enjoy!
Therizinosaurus
This is a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago) and, apart from being another big reptile that could frighten and/or kill us before we could say "life will find a way", it's a pretty average member of the genus Theropoda...except for its massive one-meter-long SCYTHE-LIKE claws. Ahhhhh!!! This thing looks like Wes Craven designed it to haunt our darkest dreams. Don't worry, though: like most therizinosaurs, it was probably herbivorous. Still, meter-long claws? The only practical purpose I can think of for such an exaggerated feature is to make Sam Neill pee his pants in half the time.
Share & Enjoy!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Point(s) of Order
As some of my more astute readers have noticed, the post-finals content of this blog have been somewhat lacking. This is, of course, due to my laziness and not, in any way, related to the large amount of writing I had to do up until the end of the semester, the four-day trip to Columbus, OH that took place over the following weekend, or the 9- to 12-hour workdays that I am now enjoying.
Right now, I'm trying to work out a schedule that will keep me writing regularly and yet not force me to come up with content just for its own sake. To this end, I think I'm going to be imposing a twice, possibly thrice, weekly posting schedule. The days that I hope to come out with posts will probably be Sunday, Wednesday and (maybe) Fridays. This way, I can keep the Wikipedia Wednesdays going and have all weekend to think of something original and enlightening to say, rather than just copying my content from the backs of cereal boxes. If this goes well and doesn't seem like too much work, I'll start adding days to the schedule.
A Glimpse in the Future: As a means of atonement (or scapegoating) the next few posts will probably deal with the reasons I've been so busy the last few weeks. Therefore, look out for posts on subjects such as the UPA (Ultimate Players Association) College Nationals (which I attended), My New Job with a Moving Company, and The Topics of My Final Papers.
Right now, I'm trying to work out a schedule that will keep me writing regularly and yet not force me to come up with content just for its own sake. To this end, I think I'm going to be imposing a twice, possibly thrice, weekly posting schedule. The days that I hope to come out with posts will probably be Sunday, Wednesday and (maybe) Fridays. This way, I can keep the Wikipedia Wednesdays going and have all weekend to think of something original and enlightening to say, rather than just copying my content from the backs of cereal boxes. If this goes well and doesn't seem like too much work, I'll start adding days to the schedule.
A Glimpse in the Future: As a means of atonement (or scapegoating) the next few posts will probably deal with the reasons I've been so busy the last few weeks. Therefore, look out for posts on subjects such as the UPA (Ultimate Players Association) College Nationals (which I attended), My New Job with a Moving Company, and The Topics of My Final Papers.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wikipedia Wednesday: Wolfe+585, Senior
A little late today, because I couldn't find anything that struck my fancy, until I stumbled on this little gem.
Wolfe+585, Senior
Okay, so there's this guy who was born near Hamburg, Germany. He's got the longest personal name ever used. His full name is...Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Senior.
A full translation can be found near the end of the article, which is rather amusing. Unsurprisingly, he grew up to become a typesetter.
Share & Enjoy!
Wolfe+585, Senior
Okay, so there's this guy who was born near Hamburg, Germany. He's got the longest personal name ever used. His full name is...Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Senior.
A full translation can be found near the end of the article, which is rather amusing. Unsurprisingly, he grew up to become a typesetter.
Share & Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
George Will and His Fashion Crusade
My friend and divining rod for everything that pisses me off, Warren, posted this link on Facebook last week. Unsurprisingly, I couldn't wait until all my weekly obligations were fulfilled to write about it here so, naturally, I put it off for a week. I'll try to restrain myself, but...
My initial reaction was to start with a cleverly subtle critique like "George Will is an asshole." However, when I forced myself to really reflect on why this article frustrated me so, I realized that the most irritating thing is to wonder how George Will manages to get paid (by a highly respected national newspaper, no less) to write this piece of crap which, although largely opinion, is based on some very basic fallacies.
His main and most general point is that wearing jeans all the time is wrong because they are either misappropriated or childish. This means that, in George F. Will's mind, there is some essential immutable quality that jeans possess that ascribes a certain meaning to their wearers. Why don't senators wear togas, because I feel that that is the most appropriate attire for democratic debate. You see, the roles people occupy in society are reflected by the clothes they wear, but those roles and the rules of fashion which signify them change all the time.
Then, the whole "don't blame Levi Strauss" craziness started. To George Will, there's something wrong with hippies and cubicle-workers wearing jeans (Fridays only for the cubicle slaves) when they were originally invented for burly frontiersmen who were panning for gold. Again, the togas thing. Original function means nothing, especially since his argument is about fashion, not utility.
And another thing...I take some offense at the implication that video games and cartoons are inherently childish. Just because most of the examples of video games and cartoons from the past are just for fun and are geared towards younger people doesn't mean that there's anything inherently "childish" about the medium itself. Also, neither of these things make something childish. Why, when something is just for fun, must it be childish? I will not feel bad when I am still playing video games at 50, because they're fun. I like to have fun. Doesn't George Will?
My initial reaction was to start with a cleverly subtle critique like "George Will is an asshole." However, when I forced myself to really reflect on why this article frustrated me so, I realized that the most irritating thing is to wonder how George Will manages to get paid (by a highly respected national newspaper, no less) to write this piece of crap which, although largely opinion, is based on some very basic fallacies.
His main and most general point is that wearing jeans all the time is wrong because they are either misappropriated or childish. This means that, in George F. Will's mind, there is some essential immutable quality that jeans possess that ascribes a certain meaning to their wearers. Why don't senators wear togas, because I feel that that is the most appropriate attire for democratic debate. You see, the roles people occupy in society are reflected by the clothes they wear, but those roles and the rules of fashion which signify them change all the time.
Then, the whole "don't blame Levi Strauss" craziness started. To George Will, there's something wrong with hippies and cubicle-workers wearing jeans (Fridays only for the cubicle slaves) when they were originally invented for burly frontiersmen who were panning for gold. Again, the togas thing. Original function means nothing, especially since his argument is about fashion, not utility.
And another thing...I take some offense at the implication that video games and cartoons are inherently childish. Just because most of the examples of video games and cartoons from the past are just for fun and are geared towards younger people doesn't mean that there's anything inherently "childish" about the medium itself. Also, neither of these things make something childish. Why, when something is just for fun, must it be childish? I will not feel bad when I am still playing video games at 50, because they're fun. I like to have fun. Doesn't George Will?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
PCA/ACA Conference: Day 3
I know, I know. Late post, blah blah blah. This one will be a little shorter because I went to more sessions which were outside my normal area of interest and I didn't feel like taking notes that I would understand later. In fact, I only have one paper to report on, then I'll move on to the conference as a whole.
“Beyond the Gaze: Eroticization and Identification with Lara Croft”
This was in the first Undergraduate session I attended and I was really glad I did. The only difference I saw, despite rumors indicating otherwise, was that the presenters were more timid and it was more like seeing a paper being read in class. More on this below. The first half of this paper, given by a student from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, was rather trite and went over all the ways in which the creators of the Tomb Raider series objectified women by making Lara Croft so sexy. She talked about how her identity is "obscured" because her face is rarely shown. However, this is a convention of third-person shooters and not intended to rob Lara of personality. She moved on to the curious phenomenon of Tomb Raider, being one of the first and certainly the most successful video game with a female protagonist, that is the user (almost always male) having control over the female avatar. This was more interesting because it conjured issues of "agency" which is a major subject of scrutiny in feminist theory. However, she still had a curious way of framing everything as abuse towards the character, as if exploiting a cheat code to make Lara Croft naked was equivalent to forcing a live woman to be naked. Finally, she questioned the kind of role-model Lara is with her body type and exploits being so unrealistic. For the most part, this paper made me question a lot of stock American Studies and feminist jargon. In general, I agree with the vague assertion that Lara Croft objectifies women, but if the only way to not do that is to give the player a realistic idea of what being a woman in our society is like, then it won't be in the form of a video game because earning 75 cents to the dollar in middle management isn't very action-packed.
I had a vague idea of writing some sort of wrap-up for the conference here. It's hard to say how I feel about it, seeing, as I do now, through the haze of retrospect. I don't know if I had any concrete expectations going into it, though I suppose if I did, then they probably weren't met. As I said back in the "Day Zero" post (linked above), I've spent a lot of time crusading for the kind of things that would've allowed me to present at this conference and I was happy to have other people who were more interested in doing it than I was. After it became clear that there would have been nothing to stop me from presenting had I just submitted an abstract to a different area, I became increasingly uninterested in the issue. Getting to just chill out and absorb information at the various sessions had its own perks, including many ideas for future blog posts. In the end, the conference just made me start thinking about my own future.
The real kick in the old crotch in this regard, though, was Facebook-friending a grad student from Delaware, who had given a rather brilliant paper on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and finding out that she was born in 1986 as well. I know, I transferred and only started in American Studies in my fifth year, and I'm cool with all that, but having been in a place where some people, at least, clearly valued the kind of work she's doing so much as to exclude the lowly work I'm doing made the difference seem that much greater. In the end, I'm grateful for the experience and New Orleans is always a treat.
“Beyond the Gaze: Eroticization and Identification with Lara Croft”
This was in the first Undergraduate session I attended and I was really glad I did. The only difference I saw, despite rumors indicating otherwise, was that the presenters were more timid and it was more like seeing a paper being read in class. More on this below. The first half of this paper, given by a student from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, was rather trite and went over all the ways in which the creators of the Tomb Raider series objectified women by making Lara Croft so sexy. She talked about how her identity is "obscured" because her face is rarely shown. However, this is a convention of third-person shooters and not intended to rob Lara of personality. She moved on to the curious phenomenon of Tomb Raider, being one of the first and certainly the most successful video game with a female protagonist, that is the user (almost always male) having control over the female avatar. This was more interesting because it conjured issues of "agency" which is a major subject of scrutiny in feminist theory. However, she still had a curious way of framing everything as abuse towards the character, as if exploiting a cheat code to make Lara Croft naked was equivalent to forcing a live woman to be naked. Finally, she questioned the kind of role-model Lara is with her body type and exploits being so unrealistic. For the most part, this paper made me question a lot of stock American Studies and feminist jargon. In general, I agree with the vague assertion that Lara Croft objectifies women, but if the only way to not do that is to give the player a realistic idea of what being a woman in our society is like, then it won't be in the form of a video game because earning 75 cents to the dollar in middle management isn't very action-packed.
I had a vague idea of writing some sort of wrap-up for the conference here. It's hard to say how I feel about it, seeing, as I do now, through the haze of retrospect. I don't know if I had any concrete expectations going into it, though I suppose if I did, then they probably weren't met. As I said back in the "Day Zero" post (linked above), I've spent a lot of time crusading for the kind of things that would've allowed me to present at this conference and I was happy to have other people who were more interested in doing it than I was. After it became clear that there would have been nothing to stop me from presenting had I just submitted an abstract to a different area, I became increasingly uninterested in the issue. Getting to just chill out and absorb information at the various sessions had its own perks, including many ideas for future blog posts. In the end, the conference just made me start thinking about my own future.
The real kick in the old crotch in this regard, though, was Facebook-friending a grad student from Delaware, who had given a rather brilliant paper on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and finding out that she was born in 1986 as well. I know, I transferred and only started in American Studies in my fifth year, and I'm cool with all that, but having been in a place where some people, at least, clearly valued the kind of work she's doing so much as to exclude the lowly work I'm doing made the difference seem that much greater. In the end, I'm grateful for the experience and New Orleans is always a treat.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
