So, today is the last day of the Public Memories conference in Syracuse. It has been enlightening and interdiciplinary and conversational and delicious-martini-ful. And today I am taking the Greyhound to NYC with dear E; we were going to take the train, but the scheduling did not work out, so now we are hoi polloi-ing it back home, bitches.
When get home, I will post something more substantial about the things I got to see and hear. Right now, though, here are a few tantalizing tidbits:
1) New Crush! = Yummy Cultural Interventionist
2) Rejuevenated Crush! = Cara Finnegan continues to rock star her way through life.
3) Crush Maintained! = My dearest E--awesome as she ever was.
4) People who say that they have never been below the Mason-Dixon line are not my favorite.
5) Gumball machines are cool.
6) My love affair with Jean Baudrillard may be turning me into a disillusioned douchebag. And I'm kind of okay with that.
Showing posts with label conclusions? you betcha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conclusions? you betcha. Show all posts
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Hermeneutic of Superstition
Would be a great band name. I think it might also work as a philosophy for life.
So, I'm watching "Dawn of the Dead," like ya do, and I start thinking about my phone. My ring is Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," and people (well, Steve and E!) sometimes tease me about the message I'm sending when I answer every call with a superstitious wink. But... like casuistry (the application of general, ethical reasoning to particular situations--or--the recognition and application of contingency), superstition (depending on the source, mostly definitions of superstition read something like this: overly zealous and irrational beliefs, especially having to do with religion--emphasis on lack of thought and irrationality) has gotten a bad rap--mainly because of its reliance, it seems, on things outside classical reason.
But it's interesting to think about the outside-rational significance of little moments, the strange connections between our thoughts, our actions, and the particular events that make up our lives.
One example: today I was talking with a friend about the therapeutic effects of teaching. He had been thinking about a certain recent crisis in his life, and, on the day in question, class discussion just happened to include that exact situation as a theoretical point, a way to analyze and explore the topic of the day. As he was teaching the class, he said, he had to pause a couple of times--keeping the theoretical discussion and the actual situation separate in his head was more challenging a task than he had thought it would be. And that wasn't such a bad thing, he said. It kind of helped him understand the theory and the moment more clearly. The hermeneutic of superstition, in this case, allowed for a clarifying dip into both theory and practice.
Another example? A couple of weeks ago, I went to an AA meeting with my sister. It's called an "open source" meeting. Most AA meetings are closed, designed to increase and accentuate the feeling of safety-in-community for which AA is so lauded. But open speaker sessions welcome any and every person interested in learning more about the warp and woof of addiction. Anyway, the speaker that day was this cool lady, probably in her forties, talking about her life pre-, during, and post-realization that she is an alcoholic. Coincidentally, earlier that day, my sister and I had just been talking about some of the topics the speaker addressed (the differences between social and addictive drinking, the various definitions of "party" and "problem," the difficulties of "hanging out" in a culture so centered on mind-altering substances). The speaker's story, like many of the stories one hears from and about addiction, revolved around loss and redemption, failure and success--as well as the issues my sister and I had been talking about earlier.
These stories, these moments of clarity, are reasonable, at times. They are often, after the fact, easily designated as instances of rationality and enlightenment. But the mechanisms of the connections, the links between moments of clarity and our interpretation/reception of those moments, is not always a rational, causal thing. Sometimes, it's a mystery, and mystery--as much as it gets suspicioned and ogled and sliced out of our enlightened, reasonable world--can be a situation-saver... keeping us, perched as we are on the edge of the abyss, sane... mostly.
So, I'm watching "Dawn of the Dead," like ya do, and I start thinking about my phone. My ring is Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," and people (well, Steve and E!) sometimes tease me about the message I'm sending when I answer every call with a superstitious wink. But... like casuistry (the application of general, ethical reasoning to particular situations--or--the recognition and application of contingency), superstition (depending on the source, mostly definitions of superstition read something like this: overly zealous and irrational beliefs, especially having to do with religion--emphasis on lack of thought and irrationality) has gotten a bad rap--mainly because of its reliance, it seems, on things outside classical reason.
But it's interesting to think about the outside-rational significance of little moments, the strange connections between our thoughts, our actions, and the particular events that make up our lives.
One example: today I was talking with a friend about the therapeutic effects of teaching. He had been thinking about a certain recent crisis in his life, and, on the day in question, class discussion just happened to include that exact situation as a theoretical point, a way to analyze and explore the topic of the day. As he was teaching the class, he said, he had to pause a couple of times--keeping the theoretical discussion and the actual situation separate in his head was more challenging a task than he had thought it would be. And that wasn't such a bad thing, he said. It kind of helped him understand the theory and the moment more clearly. The hermeneutic of superstition, in this case, allowed for a clarifying dip into both theory and practice.
Another example? A couple of weeks ago, I went to an AA meeting with my sister. It's called an "open source" meeting. Most AA meetings are closed, designed to increase and accentuate the feeling of safety-in-community for which AA is so lauded. But open speaker sessions welcome any and every person interested in learning more about the warp and woof of addiction. Anyway, the speaker that day was this cool lady, probably in her forties, talking about her life pre-, during, and post-realization that she is an alcoholic. Coincidentally, earlier that day, my sister and I had just been talking about some of the topics the speaker addressed (the differences between social and addictive drinking, the various definitions of "party" and "problem," the difficulties of "hanging out" in a culture so centered on mind-altering substances). The speaker's story, like many of the stories one hears from and about addiction, revolved around loss and redemption, failure and success--as well as the issues my sister and I had been talking about earlier.
These stories, these moments of clarity, are reasonable, at times. They are often, after the fact, easily designated as instances of rationality and enlightenment. But the mechanisms of the connections, the links between moments of clarity and our interpretation/reception of those moments, is not always a rational, causal thing. Sometimes, it's a mystery, and mystery--as much as it gets suspicioned and ogled and sliced out of our enlightened, reasonable world--can be a situation-saver... keeping us, perched as we are on the edge of the abyss, sane... mostly.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
It is good to be home
I woke up this morning to a warm, summer breeze on my face and a soft kitty cuddled up beside me. This week is going to be another crazy one--tying up all the loose ends at school, getting ready for the next trip (I fly home on Saturday--whew!), loving on this stupid cat (who really missed me, despite her best efforts), and unpacking/re-packing suitcases.
I vow to take only three pairs of shoes. And pack lightly. By damn.
However, right now, we are sitting here on our red chair. Tea is brewing. The sun is up and the day is going to be gorgeous and long. I get to see my dear NYC friends whom I have missed.
It is good to be home.
I vow to take only three pairs of shoes. And pack lightly. By damn.
However, right now, we are sitting here on our red chair. Tea is brewing. The sun is up and the day is going to be gorgeous and long. I get to see my dear NYC friends whom I have missed.
It is good to be home.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Alright, you people
I am leaving for Austin on Wednesday--for the long-awaited and much-deserved doctoral graduation ceremony on May 17. Super-excited!!!
But, as Jerry Reed put it so eloquently, I've got a long way to go and a short time to get there... Here are some of the things that need to get done before I leave on Wednesday morning.
1)um. laundry. Unless I do some laundry but-quick, I will be arriving in Austin nekkid. I miss my washer and dryer. Sigh.
2) Yeah, I should probably finish that paper. Despite my best efforts, I have gotten really excited about this Second Life thing for RSA, which is good and bad. The good: it will be submission-ready by the end of June. The bad: I also have to write a whole nother paper for a whole nother panel that I have not even begun. I'm thinking that one might be more like "Here are some thoughts, dear conference attendees, for your consideration."
3) Submit grades. Of course, students are coming out of the woodwork to find out why they did "all that work" for a "lousy B." So Monday is grade submission/grade-grubbing day.
4) Clean the house.
5) Get an extra key made for kitty sitter.
6) Decide how to pack for a week in humid, Africa-hot Austin and a week in This-is-not-my-beautiful-Spring-what-the-hell-it's-54-degrees-and-raining Seattle. Top priority = outfits that will go with new turquoise stillettos.
7) Watch "Zombie Strippers." My colleague just gave me a copy, and it is going to be awesome.
8) Call my godmother and make sure she knows which hotel we're staying in for the graduation.
9) Shop for thank you presents (to advisors and the office ladies) and Mom's day presents (for the Mom, of course).
10) Return/renew library books.
I am certain that there are things missing from this list. Never fear--they will get done--with all the panache of the Bandit and less runins with the law. Mostly.
But, as Jerry Reed put it so eloquently, I've got a long way to go and a short time to get there... Here are some of the things that need to get done before I leave on Wednesday morning.
1)um. laundry. Unless I do some laundry but-quick, I will be arriving in Austin nekkid. I miss my washer and dryer. Sigh.
2) Yeah, I should probably finish that paper. Despite my best efforts, I have gotten really excited about this Second Life thing for RSA, which is good and bad. The good: it will be submission-ready by the end of June. The bad: I also have to write a whole nother paper for a whole nother panel that I have not even begun. I'm thinking that one might be more like "Here are some thoughts, dear conference attendees, for your consideration."
3) Submit grades. Of course, students are coming out of the woodwork to find out why they did "all that work" for a "lousy B." So Monday is grade submission/grade-grubbing day.
4) Clean the house.
5) Get an extra key made for kitty sitter.
6) Decide how to pack for a week in humid, Africa-hot Austin and a week in This-is-not-my-beautiful-Spring-what-the-hell-it's-54-degrees-and-raining Seattle. Top priority = outfits that will go with new turquoise stillettos.
7) Watch "Zombie Strippers." My colleague just gave me a copy, and it is going to be awesome.
8) Call my godmother and make sure she knows which hotel we're staying in for the graduation.
9) Shop for thank you presents (to advisors and the office ladies) and Mom's day presents (for the Mom, of course).
10) Return/renew library books.
I am certain that there are things missing from this list. Never fear--they will get done--with all the panache of the Bandit and less runins with the law. Mostly.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
I just saw
A preview for the movie Zombie Strippers.
No. I'm not kidding.
And, Yes, when it comes out on DVD (when oh when will that be?), I will place it at the top of my Netflix queue.
Let's hear it for thinly veiled moral allegories!!
No. I'm not kidding.
And, Yes, when it comes out on DVD (when oh when will that be?), I will place it at the top of my Netflix queue.
Let's hear it for thinly veiled moral allegories!!
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