"Complexification"

I attended a lecture on Women and Print Culture earlier this week. The speaker was "winging it" from a series of notes and an outline. . . She was very nervous. At some point, instead of saying a situation had "complication," she used the term "complexification." -- That term pretty much means what it is. . . if it were a real term. I sympathized with her nerves, but she is a professional scholar. . . she's been in the "biz" for quite some time, so I'm rather surprised that she employed techniques that would be for a more casual, informal talk on a lecture that was supposed to spark interest in a recent collaborative publication. It was bizarre. Moreover, she unintentionally insulted the English department -- this was not a good thing, given that many people in the audience were from the English department. She later apologized for it, but still. . . it was very strange.

I'm in the midst of lackadaisical procrastination. I remember how my friend Misty from high school loved the term lackadaisical. It was another one of those terms that is what it is. Anyway, I feel like killing time with video games, surfing the internet, writing my blog (hurr), and other miscellaneous non-school activities. Spring Break at mid-semester can do these things to a person.

I feel that I may be too prolix. Which is a term that isn't what it is. Hmmm. WWWD? (What would Wittgenstein do?)





**Another funny note. Blogger's spell check actually picked up the term "blog" as a misspelled word. That's hilarious.

**Even funnier, I think I've been misspelling the word "misspelled" for most of my life.

Rare Disney VD movie

I saw this from BoingBoing quoting google video:

End of the week, beginning of the end

This would be the one time in the semester where we all bunker down, stop having fun, and start living in . .. the real world. haha, just kidding.

Honestly, it's the approach of our last weeks in the semester when all of our reading material and course work is supposed to help enlighten a path for our final projects. I only know of one thing I'm interested in writing on this semester, and perhaps two larger/general ideas, yet the way I've formulated my ideas for the past 9 weeks is coming from an approach that isn't really literature oriented. Perhaps, am I returning to my roots of philosophy and film? Hmm. . . interesting.

We also had an interesting discussion on Interdisciplinarity Today. To a certain extent, there is now a return to the "Renaissance Man" -- generally, a person who is well-versed in many areas and an expert in many things. However, there is this danger (could it be an exciting danger??) to experiment with issues, genres, media, and concepts that you are not an expert in (and will probably never become an expert in). . . Although this experimentation could open many possibilities, there is the risk of being mediocre and uninformed in a scattershot manner rather than an expert in more things that one. This presents interdisciplinarity in a more intellectually elitist light, and I'm not sure that's the kind of "bad" elitism that people fear and disdain. Instead, I would like to think that this kind of elitism is one in which we push ourselves to learn more and become so much more adept. Interdisciplinarity is one of those things that if you are good at, you are really good; however, on the flip side, if you are bad, well... you get the idea.

I'm feeling so pensive right now. It could be the after-effects of reading good ol' Wittgenstein, or it could be my desire to (my lack of) sleep and regain the things I have already lost.

Which reminds me. . . I'm really enjoying the theoretical work in the pastoral genre (particularly space). Why do I keep returning to these genres that reflect a sense of loss or nostalgia? What is it that drives me to seek these things out? What we produce is a reflection of the issues and concerns we've been struggling to answer throughout our lives.

Okay. . . that was quite Emo of me. Back to work. . .

Finally!!

It's what I've always wanted. . . a flat panel e-book reader. How many times have I asked for something I can use to read pdfs and bring them to class?

Sony's new Reader

At last! Someone has been eavesdropping on my public rants and made my dreams come true!

I did absolutely nothing!

What is Spring Break? In what way does it function in society? And how the hell is it supposed to make you feel better about the rest of your semester?

Right now I am procrastinating my studies by procrastinating cleaning my apartment. I just left my SO and my family and other friends behind in Colorado for cold Madison. If Madison were in Colorado, or if everyone I knew were here, I would be 200% happier.

The difficulty with being an English major pack rat is that you accumulate an insane amount of paper and books that could possibly take over your entire apartment. Apparently, I need more bookcases. Blah.

My old advisor told me to revise and submit my papers for publication.
-- What? Are you serious?
-- You'd honestly be surprised.
I would definitely be surprised. Because right now, I find so much wrong with my work. . . I guess I will once again relegate these things to the summer.

First, I need to clean my apartment. Then I can clean up everything else.

I swear. . .

This baby is evil!

You Are 58% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

For Christina

I finally found it. James Lipton does PopoZao:

CSI, how you amaze me

I watched the newest episode of CSI tonight. . . I think it's called "I Like to Watch." Anyway, I've been over-using the term "Post-Modern" as a way to describe any text that leaves its own diegetic realm and pops over to our side. When CSI makes fun of forensics shows like it, that definitely makes an impact on the viewers. Initially, you laugh -- you are also aware of the shortcomings and unrealistic expectations that these shows produce. Then there is a moment of silence when you wonder if fans like you encourage this kind of sensationalist behavior that makes everything into a spectacle (and makes that spectacle a social commodity). . . and, of course, you do. So you come out of part of the episode laughing, but you also realize that you are laughing at yourself. And that's the kind of laughter that hurts in the not-so-good way.

I'm really excited to go back to Colorado tomorrow. I'm worried that this weeklong vacation is going to encourage bad habits during the remainder of my semester. I will try to not let it get to me. I've also packed light in terms of my homework. Well, four books is considered light. I doubt I will get to all of them, but I figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I swore to myself that I would not do any research or paper-writing during my break. No problem.

With that, this will be my first true Spring Break since . . . freshman year of undergrad. Whoa. It's been about 11 years. Yikes!

Support Hoth 2014!

Sign the petition for Hoth as the next Winter Olympics City/Planet!

A vote for Hoth is a vote for the Jedi!

Osteo BiFlex Frankenstein

Okay, this is also just really funny. . . Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to embed the video into this entry. Sorry! But, it's definitely worth a click:

The new "Frank"

One to cheer up many

One of my school friends says this video is the treat he grants himself for studying:

The day before tomorrow. . . Today!

I'm really excited, yet really nonchalant about returning to Colorado tomorrow evening. Maybe it's due to the long road trip to Chicago and the wait in Midway that I have to look forward to. Or maybe it's because I know I have to clean, do laundry, and pack when I return from classes today. Or maybe it's due to the weather right now (all fog). Thank goodness I didn't schedule my flight for today.

This week hasn't been the greatest, but it hasn't been the worst either. . . I'm pretty sure that I've been rather hormonal in my reactions to random things. . . Blah.

I wonder what would happen if I didn't go anywhere I intended for spring break -- I could go to Vegas or NYC or anywhere but Colorado and Wisconsin. . . What purpose would that honestly serve?

Last night, I was speaking to my friend about how odd some people find their niche when they are very young. I wondered about whether or not people had personalities to match the careers they eventually choose in life. . . Have I chosen the career that matches my personality yet? Have I even been exposed to what that is? I don't know. . . My friend said that she could ferret out problems and possibilities that many people do not think of because of her previous experiences with the underworld of crimes and misdemeanors. . . Now she gets paid to find mistakes. I don't ultimately know what my talents and skills are good for. . . Perhaps I was born to be a Rock Star and missed my calling. Damn. I knew I should have taken choir.

Ad creates a live Simpsons intro

This is crazy awesome: