Aarg.

I am still relatively new to the research field and still uninitiated in the writing of complicated scholarly papers. As such, I don’t know how to deal with some of the roadblocks in a research project.

Let me explain: I’ve recently found, without even specifically searching for it, a feminist art history article that addresses the proposed subject of my paper. While it doesn’t use all of the words that I do, it is a study of the same issues by a much more learned and articulate scholar in my field and comes to the same conclusion that was my tentative thesis. This has happened to me before in a couple of other papers; I have found the essays that I wanted to write already written. However, those papers were analyses of the Odyssey and Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. I didn’t honestly think I’d find something new to say about either of those topics and I wasn’t too invested in them.

This is different. Though I don’t think I have to drop the project altogether now that I’ve found a scholar who nearly argues my thesis for me, I do have to figure out how or whether to adapt my paper into something that doesn’t just quote this article in every other line. This certainly can’t be an uncommon problem for academic researchers, so I’ll probably approach some professors and ask for advice, but right now it’s kind of taken the wind out of my sails. Of course, that could be the sleep deprivation talking as well. After a few conversations and more sleep, we’ll see where this goes.

creepy treehouse

I’ve just learned a new technology term - “creepy treehouse.” I first heard the term via an article in Inside Higher Ed on Blackboard (which is basically like Moodle, but very expensive) building an application so it can be accessed from Facebook.

In doing so, the company is implicitly conceding that students are less inclined to flip through Blackboard pages to kill a few spare minutes. “This is specifically to take advantage of the fact that college students spend a tremendous amount of time on Facebook,” said Karen Gage, Blackboard’s vice president of product strategy. “I think that what we know is that socializing with your friends is more fun than studying.”

“Let’s face it,” the app’s introduction page says. “You would live on Facebook if you could. Imagine a world where you could manage your entire life from Facebook — it’s not that far off!”

But there’s one exception: “You have to access a different system to get your course information and you don’t always know when something new has been posted or assigned, so it’s difficult for you to stay on top of your studies. We get it. That’s why Blackboard is offering Blackboard Sync™, an application that delivers course information and updates from Blackboard to you inside Facebook.”

One of the comments on the article was “This is creepy treehouse.”

A creepy treehouse is a place built by scheming adults to lure in kids. Kids tend to sense there’s something creepy about that treehouse and avoid it. Hence, a new definition: “Any institutionally-created, operated, or controlled environment in which participants are lured in either by mimicking pre-existing open or naturally formed environments, or by force, through a system of punishments or rewards.”

Okay, maybe this blog is sort of a creepy treehouse, but you can’t accuse me of making it too entertaining. At least not more so than class discussion  (which I have found enormously fun, but in an academic sense).

And yes, I am on Facebook, but not to spy on anyone. Or educate them by stealth. Just to keep up with friends.

photo courtesy of noricum

Dreams

I am usually a very active dreamer and seem to remember at least one of my dreams if not more from my nights rest. Lately, I haven’t been remembering any of my dreams, until my marathon dream from last night. It would be too hard to explain what the dream was actually about but to sum it up, it was a re-play of my entire weekend, but warped. This last weekend I was at my Theta banquet and it was quite lovely. In the dream however, everything was different, and scary, and somewhat sinister. At the end of the dream I found out that my roommates had secretly set me up on a TV show that messes with my head and makes me think I am going crazy. It worked. I then proceeded to watch the edited version of the TV show of the weekend with all my roommates and with the producers of the show. I don’t know if this makes sense, but it was as if I was watching my self in real time as everything was happening, like an out of body experience or something, but this time I was able to see the “behind the scenes” aspect and it was no longer so scary. Weird, I know. The moral of this story is that it makes me wonder what this dream was actually about. If I was going to Freud it up… I cannot even imagine what this dream would represent. Maybe that things aren’t always as they seem.

“Free” as a verb

The New York Times’s public editor usually responds to reader complaints or investigates possible violations of journalistic ethics. This week, he turned his attention outside the paper, to the process behind putting out investigative stories that relied on Freedom of Information requests. In one case, for a story published finally last month, the reporter filed a request two years ago. It took a lawsuit and repeated visits to court to pry public information out of the government. In the other case, it only took months to get information that, by law, should be provided within 20 business days.

Yesterday, the Free Government Information blog pointed out a new policy from the White House that ends the strange existence of documents that are “sensitive but unclassified” and replaces it with Controlled Unclassified Information - “a categorical designation that refers to unclassified information that does not meet the standards for National Security Classification under Executive Order 12958, as amended, but is (i) pertinent to the national interests of the United States or to the important interests of entities outside the Federal Government, and (ii) under law or policy requires protection from unauthorized disclosure, special handling safeguards, or prescribed limits on exchange or dissemination.” [my emphasis]

It does say in the memorandum that you can’t declare something secret because it’s embarrassing or might lead to indictment of the federal official for criminal misbehavior - what a relief - but it still seems to allow for a level of secrecy that is a little spooky.

Now that I have to get a job……

I enjoy the working world, I have found satisfaction and learning opportunities in all the jobs I have held.  These next two weeks of school can’t be here soon enough, or so I tell everyone.  The only thing is, I don’t have a job yet.  I also surprised myself this morning while laying in bed, I thought, man - I am going to have to start waking up really early, there will probably be a dress code, no longer will I be able to enjoy the empty grocery store in the middle of the weekday…….so in the meanwhile, in between interviews and applications I am not going to stress.  I can’t wait to lounge around in the june sun…..(and I am hoping friends will invite me over to feed me)…..  

Mushy Stuff

I wanted to say, thanks.  This was the perfect class for me to end my college education on, as I’ll probably never get around to pursuing a master’s degree.  I’ve learned how to look at research from all angles, and how to navigate a library.  These skills will be very useful during my writing career.  I only wish I would have taken a class like this at the beginning of college too.  This class also gave me the initiative to find resources and educate myself on the publishing industry which I will soon launch myself into.  Class discussions and blogs have also been very interesting ways of being informed on new issues and perspectives for me.  Thanks everybody, I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this class.

Grand Theft Auto IV

I don’t know how much you’ve heard about the newest hit game Grand Theft Auto IV, but it marks a significant step in pop video gaming culture. The GTA series gives the person control to do almost whatever they want in a highly interactive world. Recent renditions put they player in various fictitious cities, and allow them to rise through the ranks of organized crime. Themes include violence, sex and drugs. The game is the best reviewed in 10 years, or the majority of 3D gaming. Even though it can only be purchased by people over 17 years old, its gross will likely surpass that of Titanic, the highest grossing movie ever. CNN even wrote an article saying its release could hinder crowds from going and seeing the new Hollywood blockbuster Iron Man (apparently Iron Man did end up doing fine). As far as content goes, reviewers are saying the game takes over 40 hours of play to go through the main story line, not counting side quests. Some people will tell you that thats not even the beauty of the game, its that you can do whatever you want, and ignore the story line almost completely. Not to mention online game play, where 16 strangers can be in the city at once. Overall this game just punctuates the gaming industries success, and how, with technology advancing rapidly, they are able to offer more in content then other genres of entertainment.

Just Venting.

This is my perspective on the recession from home.

My husband just recently slipped through the lay-off list at his job because he’s the least paid supervisor at a plastics factory, and my uncle just got laid-off from his computer tech/Professor job because he made too much.  I don’t know how close the recession is getting to the rest of you, but it’s been smacking me in the face.  I’m also going crazy trying to find a job myself (big surprise, I’m a slacker and left job hunting until these last few month).  The hike in gas prices doesn’t help.  It’s just depressing to search for a job that pays enough to cover commute and day-care and still leaves enough left over to pay a couple bills.

The only up side, for my husband and I anyway, is that the real-estate market is so low that we’ll be able to find our starter house at a great price after I secure a job.  But even that doesn’t really make me feel great  when I think about all the people losing their homes.  All-in-all this is just very foreboding and I hope that we can rise out of this recession soon; even if there’s no hope for gas prices stop rising.

A Satirical Assessment of The Truth Behind College Advertising

This video (which contains expletives) is a hilarious commentary on those often misleading statements which college offices of admission occasionally use to recruit students. Note in particular the segment referring to the development of new campus buildings. I love our college but I’ve been expounding the merits of our future Social Science building to potential students since freshman year, and we haven’t even put the blueprints into ink yet (although to be fair, this is because most colleges run on development plans with major construction projects planned a decade or so in advance)

Though comically inclined this clip does bring to the forefront several issues regarding the factuality of many college advertising campaigns.

‘Poetic License’

Rosanne Cash recently wrote for a NYTimes blog on writing music.  She makes the comment that her songs aren’t a diary or a blog, that she has never had a fact-checker go through her lyrics.  She exclaims that she really only knows what’s fact, her version of fact or what is poetic license.  A few days ago I got together with some people from my hometown.  We were all caught up in reminiscing and connecting events and people – it was humorous and idyllic and with a sighhhhh we all leaned back and agreed how much we loved growing up where we did.  The next morning I woke up and literally thought, ‘what the f’….’  We had completely romanticized a period of our lives, and realistically it was simply untrue.  I don’t think we remember the facts, I wish we had a fact-checker for our memories.  Maybe it doesn’t matter, I guess it is still our version of fact.  I think our poetic license convinced one of their girlfriends to think about moving up there and it reassured the rest of us that it was (or could have been) a lovely place and that we are somehow unique because of it.