Entry tags:
Name Change!
I've changed my name from gracecourage to litotease on both DW and LJ. Just because.
Entry tags:
Cal Loves Holmes
Seen all over the Berkeley campus today (click for larger):
I believe in Sherlock Holmes.
I believe in Sherlock Holmes.
Entry tags:
Huh. This actually makes me feel better.
I was looking up the side effects of the anti-cancer meds I'm (OMG still!) on, and found this tidbit at breastcancer.org:
Knowing that is making the stupid things so very much easier to tolerate. (If more intense symptoms indicate a greater reduction in recurrence, I am in good, good shape!)
Hot flashes or night sweats from taking tamoxifen can be troubling. But a 2008 British study suggests that women who experienced hot flashes and night sweats while taking hormonal therapy medicine were less likely to have the breast cancer come back (recur).
Knowing that is making the stupid things so very much easier to tolerate. (If more intense symptoms indicate a greater reduction in recurrence, I am in good, good shape!)
Entry tags:
Stabbity Stabbity Stabbity
"Agency is predicated on self-reflexive, interpretive framings of power which are embedded not only in language but in relational sequences of action."
"Legitimation can be understood as constructed and mediated by two poles: the site of instantiation and the Archimedean point of the authorizing center."
"Thus there is a need to interrogate the mythicizing reception of violence in order to trace the path by which ideological readings of violence engender the subject of the act and the extrinsic site of legitimation in a single moment."
"Legitimation resides in the construction of a fictive depth, a dimensionality of force which draws consciousness away from the concrete material investment in acts and effects that reproduce domination in time and space."
I NEED A SPORK FOR MY BRAAAAAIN! GAH!
It's not that I can't parse this shit; it's that the language is obfuscatory rather than illuminating, and that just pisses me. the fuck. off. (Edited to add: OK, so 'obfuscatory' isn't exactly a common, everyday word either but I claim an exemption on it since everything I know about the word 'obfuscate' I learned in The Sentinel fandom. :D)
And how's your day going? ::g::
All quotes randomly pulled from Allen Feldman, Formations of Violence, pages 1-3. I've got roughly 170 more pages to get through today.
Entry tags:
Wherein fandom and academics collide (and not in the happy way)
This is not the kind of research challenge I could have ever anticipated.
I have to do a short presentation tied somehow to the idea of how we utilize space for my Semiotics class. I thought it might be interesting to look at the different ways social class and the use of space interact here in the U.S.
I type "blue collar" into google image search, and I get a variety of images of houses and neighborhoods and people wearing hard-hats and uniforms.
I type in "white collar" and I get Neal Caffrey, Neal Caffrey, Matt Bomer, Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey....
(I've tried -neal -caffrey -peter -burke -matt -bomer -tv -television, and I still get results about the show!)
I have to do a short presentation tied somehow to the idea of how we utilize space for my Semiotics class. I thought it might be interesting to look at the different ways social class and the use of space interact here in the U.S.
I type "blue collar" into google image search, and I get a variety of images of houses and neighborhoods and people wearing hard-hats and uniforms.
I type in "white collar" and I get Neal Caffrey, Neal Caffrey, Matt Bomer, Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey....
(I've tried -neal -caffrey -peter -burke -matt -bomer -tv -television, and I still get results about the show!)
Entry tags:
Stuff
- I distinctly remember that much of what I read on LJ/DW, back when I was gainfully employed, was prefaced with "I should be working on my [homework/paper/thesis/some other school related thing], but I'm [writing/reading/vidding] fannish stuff, instead!" And I remember thinking how nice it was going to be to have some free time once I got back to school...
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! - A lot of our readings reference the writing of dead white guys that I should have already read but haven't--Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Lacan, Foucault... I feel like I've jumped into the middle of a very long discussion (decades long, centuries long--which is, I think, an accurate description) and am having trouble picking up all of the conversational threads.
I would love suggestions for either:- Good, introductory books on any of these guys (or others I should be familiar with.
- A basic, key article/paper/argument from any of 'em that I should tackle to start.
So Just How Out-of-Touch am I?
My new most favorite song is by The Hush Sound. I've never heard of them before, but since I don't listen to radio (Pandora, yes, but not radio) I've got no concept of how well known they are/were.
So, if I were to say to someone, "You really need to hear this song!", would I get an "Oh, wow, thank you!" back? Or an "Um. Duh!"? LOL.
The song in question: The Boys are Too Refined
(ETA: Crap. The "Embed Media" button didn't work, and I can't immediately see why. So here, have a link to the YouTube vid of this song instead! I'm gonna go fart around with things and see if I can't figure embedding media out...)
Those with a poetry bent and those who've been in SPN fandom from the beginning will most likely get why I love this song with all my heart and haven't been able to stop listening to it for days. Now that I've heard it. ♥
So, if I were to say to someone, "You really need to hear this song!", would I get an "Oh, wow, thank you!" back? Or an "Um. Duh!"? LOL.
The song in question: The Boys are Too Refined
(ETA: Crap. The "Embed Media" button didn't work, and I can't immediately see why. So here, have a link to the YouTube vid of this song instead! I'm gonna go fart around with things and see if I can't figure embedding media out...)
Those with a poetry bent and those who've been in SPN fandom from the beginning will most likely get why I love this song with all my heart and haven't been able to stop listening to it for days. Now that I've heard it. ♥
Entry tags:
I Want This!
"...the ideal answer would be a Male Gaze Filter in Final Cut that allows the editor to flip the camera angle and see from the female characters’ perspective. This ‘filter’ is obviously dependent upon additional footage but it would change the narrative so drastically that it’s fun to think about how powerfully different our stories would be if there really was a such an add-on."
Pop Culture Pirate on the difficulty of constructing a feminist critique vid when all of the footage is oriented to the male gaze.
Pop Culture Pirate on the difficulty of constructing a feminist critique vid when all of the footage is oriented to the male gaze.
Entry tags:
Acafan Love
How nerdy does it make me that the highlight of my week (I'm really excited) is that Henry Jenkins is coming to speak on campus? Or that I liked one of my professors just fine until I found out she's on the TWC board, at which point I became totally starry-eyed. A lot, right? I ♥ acafans.
Entry tags:
Need Help re: Downloading the Undownloadable
Somebody out there knows (or knows somebody else who knows) how to download undownloadable video.
Help?
I'm going to be working with a Professor who's studying the impacts of subtle racist language in the news. For online sources, she wants to save a local copy just in case the original source disappears. This isn't a problem when the source is text-based, but can become a problem when the source is video footage.
I'm using Firefox. I've been playing with footage from The Daily Show, just because I know that my Download Helper add-on doesn't see video streams from there, and I can't figure it out. I know there's gotta be a way.
Thanks, y'all.
Help?
I'm going to be working with a Professor who's studying the impacts of subtle racist language in the news. For online sources, she wants to save a local copy just in case the original source disappears. This isn't a problem when the source is text-based, but can become a problem when the source is video footage.
I'm using Firefox. I've been playing with footage from The Daily Show, just because I know that my Download Helper add-on doesn't see video streams from there, and I can't figure it out. I know there's gotta be a way.
Thanks, y'all.
Go Bears!
Today is my first day of school. I'm a little bit nervous; I haven't taken a strenuous academic class since before the cancer/chemo/medically-induced menopause thing, and I know I don't think as well as I did before all of that happened. (On the other hand, 3-1/2 years down--which is incredibly optimistic--and 1-1/2 to go until I can say "I beat this thing!")
I am used to community college campuses, where there is a broad range of ages in every classroom. Berkeley won't be like that. There will be other older students on campus, but not in the numbers I'm used to, and my fat*, 55-year-old self is going to stick out like a sore thumb. This is going to be especially true this semester, because three of the classes I'm taking are lower-division 'Intro to' classes (they're prereqs for upper-division classes I want to take, and too specialized to have been offered at the community college level), so most of my classmates will be straight out of high school.
I'm also excited. It's Berkeley, and it's going to be full of smart, interesting people and smart, interesting discussions, and I get to be part of it. Amazing.
*This is not me beating myself up or exhibiting body dysmorphia. It's as true a descriptor as 'I have blue eyes and brown hair.' Some of it's genetics, some of it's personal history, some of it's meds (four rounds of prednisone this last year; god, I hate prednisone). Most of the time I'm so aware of how lucky I am to still be breathing that the idea of worrying about my weight is laughable. In a few minutes, though, I'm going to be on a campus full of young women, most of whom will have very strong negative feelings about fatness, and who will judge, and that ratchets my anxiety levels way up. But not enough to keep me from going.
Go Bears!
I am used to community college campuses, where there is a broad range of ages in every classroom. Berkeley won't be like that. There will be other older students on campus, but not in the numbers I'm used to, and my fat*, 55-year-old self is going to stick out like a sore thumb. This is going to be especially true this semester, because three of the classes I'm taking are lower-division 'Intro to' classes (they're prereqs for upper-division classes I want to take, and too specialized to have been offered at the community college level), so most of my classmates will be straight out of high school.
I'm also excited. It's Berkeley, and it's going to be full of smart, interesting people and smart, interesting discussions, and I get to be part of it. Amazing.
*This is not me beating myself up or exhibiting body dysmorphia. It's as true a descriptor as 'I have blue eyes and brown hair.' Some of it's genetics, some of it's personal history, some of it's meds (four rounds of prednisone this last year; god, I hate prednisone). Most of the time I'm so aware of how lucky I am to still be breathing that the idea of worrying about my weight is laughable. In a few minutes, though, I'm going to be on a campus full of young women, most of whom will have very strong negative feelings about fatness, and who will judge, and that ratchets my anxiety levels way up. But not enough to keep me from going.
Go Bears!
Entry tags:
Tech Help, Please
I can see LiveJournal just fine in both Chrome and Safari. But when I'm in Firefox (my preferred browser), I just get blank pages.
When I type "gracecourage.livejournal.com" into the address bar and press enter, this is how the address bar actually reads: http://gracecourage.livejournal.com/__setdomsess?dest=http%3A%2F%2Fgracecourage.livejournal.com%2Ffriends%2F&k=ljdomsess.gracecourage&v=v1%3Au5805874%3As860%3At1311638400%3Ag58c4065d8c14a4575c37d4c4563185fa3de0a84f%2F%2FThanks%2520for%2520signing%2520 in%2520%252F%2520LiveJournal%2520loves%2520 you%2520a%2520lot%2520%252F%2520 Here%2520have%2520a%2520cookie (emphasis and line breaks mine).
What did I do, and how do I fix it?
Update: Now I'm getting the same thing on Safari, too. Is it a bug that gets planted on signing out? Because I signed out of, and then signed back into, LJ on Safari before it happened.
When I type "gracecourage.livejournal.com" into the address bar and press enter, this is how the address bar actually reads: http://gracecourage.livejournal.com/__setdomsess?dest=http%3A%2F%2Fgracecourage.livejournal.com%2Ffriends%2F&k=ljdomsess.gracecourage&v=v1%3Au5805874%3As860%3At1311638400%3Ag58c4065d8c14a4575c37d4c4563185fa3de0a84f%2F%2FThanks%2520for%2520signing%2520 in%2520%252F%2520LiveJournal%2520loves%2520 you%2520a%2520lot%2520%252F%2520 Here%2520have%2520a%2520cookie (emphasis and line breaks mine).
What did I do, and how do I fix it?
Update: Now I'm getting the same thing on Safari, too. Is it a bug that gets planted on signing out? Because I signed out of, and then signed back into, LJ on Safari before it happened.
Entry tags:
G+ and Pseudonymity
CNET News posted an article about the G+ and pseuds issue.
Some links from that article:
Google VP Robert Scoble posts on G+
Violet Blue at ZDNet talks about pseudonymity and account cancellation, and specifically references![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skud
Christina Trapolino writes on Google +. She says she has a good idea of the pro-psued arguments, and asks for feedback on the anti-psued side.
As I said in a comment to Christina, ( this is my position: )
Basically, Dreamwidth makes me happy.
Some links from that article:
Google VP Robert Scoble posts on G+
Violet Blue at ZDNet talks about pseudonymity and account cancellation, and specifically references
skudChristina Trapolino writes on Google +. She says she has a good idea of the pro-psued arguments, and asks for feedback on the anti-psued side.
As I said in a comment to Christina, ( this is my position: )
Basically, Dreamwidth makes me happy.
Update. Stuff. Hi, You Guys!
1. I took an unplanned leave of absence from fandom, which seems to have lasted about a year. Huh. (Well, I did sneak in and out every now and then....)
2. Last we spoke, I was feeling gutted -- I had gotten into Mills College (a wonderful, private women's college), but didn't get enough financial aid to cover tuition, much less books or living expenses. But it turns out that that's OK! There's this other nearby school and they said I could go there, instead (OMFG I got into UC Berkeley and I got full financial aid!!!!! My DAD went to Cal. My KID went to Cal. Cue tears times eleventy. Go Bears!) I'm transferring in as a Junior and tentatively majoring in Gender & Women's Studies with a focus on Women in Media. ::nods::
3. I just did some maintenance on my Dreamwidth circle. I had subscribed to a fair number of y'all that I hadn't given access to, which was more me feeling like I didn't want to be presumptuous than for any other reason -- so I just went through and fixed that. If you just got a random "You've been granted access" message, that's why.
2. Last we spoke, I was feeling gutted -- I had gotten into Mills College (a wonderful, private women's college), but didn't get enough financial aid to cover tuition, much less books or living expenses. But it turns out that that's OK! There's this other nearby school and they said I could go there, instead (OMFG I got into UC Berkeley and I got full financial aid!!!!! My DAD went to Cal. My KID went to Cal. Cue tears times eleventy. Go Bears!) I'm transferring in as a Junior and tentatively majoring in Gender & Women's Studies with a focus on Women in Media. ::nods::
3. I just did some maintenance on my Dreamwidth circle. I had subscribed to a fair number of y'all that I hadn't given access to, which was more me feeling like I didn't want to be presumptuous than for any other reason -- so I just went through and fixed that. If you just got a random "You've been granted access" message, that's why.
Disclaimer: I Am Not a Vidder
These folks here are looking to raise startup funds for a free, professional-level, distributed video editor.
Some features:
I have to confess that I'm partially enamored with them because the first item in their Why Are We Developing It? section is "because there's no reason for Joss Whedon to ever have a show canceled."
So, vidders, check it out. If it looks worthy to y'all, help 'em out if you can & spread the word.
(I want them to get the software up & running just because it looks like it'll be fun to play with, but, y'know, note the disclaimer above.)
(Also, if you like supporting artistic or creative endeavors of any sort, browse that website. It's full of musicians, filmmakers, artists, techies, and other creative sorts who need funding for specific projects (in various amounts -- from a couple hundred dollars to several grand, depending on the project) and are asking for small (sometimes as little as a dollar) donations to get it underway.)
Some features:
- Distributed workflow - collaboratively edit video with other artists over the Internet
- Distributed storage - seamlessly store and synchronize video files across multiple computers and the cloud
- Distributed rendering - seamlessly spread rendering and encoding across multiple computers and the cloud
I have to confess that I'm partially enamored with them because the first item in their Why Are We Developing It? section is "because there's no reason for Joss Whedon to ever have a show canceled."
So, vidders, check it out. If it looks worthy to y'all, help 'em out if you can & spread the word.
(I want them to get the software up & running just because it looks like it'll be fun to play with, but, y'know, note the disclaimer above.)
(Also, if you like supporting artistic or creative endeavors of any sort, browse that website. It's full of musicians, filmmakers, artists, techies, and other creative sorts who need funding for specific projects (in various amounts -- from a couple hundred dollars to several grand, depending on the project) and are asking for small (sometimes as little as a dollar) donations to get it underway.)
Entry tags:
Gratitude Project
I am grateful that Prop 8 was overturned. I am sooo grateful that Prop 8 was overturned. I am kick-up-my-heels, giggling with glee, dancing in my chair (and in the living room, and in the kitchen...) grateful that Prop 8 was overturned.
I am grateful for a Court that understands that one of the important tasks of government is to protect us from each other. I know that this isn't over yet, but for today, I'm grateful.
I am grateful for a Court that understands that one of the important tasks of government is to protect us from each other. I know that this isn't over yet, but for today, I'm grateful.