ramble through the bronx

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

As you can see, not much activity

I'm more or less retiring this blog. For personal stuff, I invite you to stop by LiveJournal (email me for my user id there)(note: most of my posts there are friendslocked, so you will need a LiveJournal account to view them).

Love to you all, and thanks for reading over the last few years!

EDITED for discretion, July 5 2007.

jane 6:00 PM [+]

In the midst of Lent, still happy to be an Agnostic Catholic

Picking up on my friend Ryan's post on Christian atheism, I found the following 'Blogthings' quiz interesting. To the question, "You are most interested in...", I could have happily answered either 'Philosophy' or 'Serving God's purpose' -- probably to a large extent because I see these as pretty intertwined for me. (To the question "You think God...", I answered "is unknowable," but that's just good philosophy of religion, and good Aquinas)

When I answered "Philosophy", the result was:

You are Agnostic

You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care. For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine. You rather focus on what you can control - your own life. And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

Which isn't true, for me, because I do care quite passionately that God exists.

So, then, when I switched just that one answer over (saying that I want to serve God), the result is this:

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion. Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu.. Your convictions are strong and unwavering. You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

Which is, again, not quite right at all. Yes, I believe in God, and given that I'm going to be baptized this Easter, I'm committed to becoming Catholic specifically. I can reflectively affirm the Creed. But I don't know if I would say my convictions are strong and unwavering -- rather, my prayer is "Lord, I believe; Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). (See Ryan's post, linked above, for more on doubt, or this spirited discussion on LiveJournal about the importance and nature of doubt.

Further, while I do think that my religion is true, I would qualify the statement that it's the one true way for everyone. The Second Vatican Council acknowledged that there are a lot of obstacles between some people and the church -- and includes the bad & hurtful & unthinking behaviour of some believers as among those obstacles. The Church recognizes that there can be non-believers who are, in their commitment to the good and to truth, very close to God.

And that's Catholicism! I'm pretty sure a Hindu would be even farther from being characterized by that blurb.

Anyway. Just some thoughts. To sum up -- I'm not surprised that with my answers I wavered between 'agnostic' and 'believer' -- but the descriptions are lame.

jane 12:11 PM [+]

Go Irish Studies!

News about Fordham's Irish Studies Department; can I say that I feel very cool that it was I who introduced Ryan and Eoin at an Irish bar? (They had heard of each other but had not yet met.) I feel cool. (Nice photo of Eoin, too).

jane 9:47 AM [+]

Thanks Jane!

I would like to thank Jane for some fantastic company on Monday and Wednesday. And a tour of all the restrooms in the bookstores on the east side. ALL of them. :-)

And just in case you get lost, I found a map.

meg 10:16 AM [+]

I'm not going to tell you what this is

...but if you haven't heard about NFCTD yet, go check it out. And resist the urge to look it up on google until you've played with it a little.

Beautiful.

jane 12:49 AM [+]

So, ignore the fact that I look awful

But in case you wanted to see how my banjo was coming along, here it is. (My lovely new laptop has a built in webcam. Awesome.)

jane 9:47 PM [+]

The Joy of YouTube... Glenn would love it.

By the way, a HUGE reward to anyone who manages to find me a copy of "The Idea of North."

Glenn Gould playing Bach's Concerto in D minor. A very old recording indeed.







Also, for extra Gouldiana... from "The Art of Piano"

jane 8:10 PM [+]

Ryan... why? That's how a girl loses her reputation!

I had a lovely lunch with my friend Ryan on Valentine's Day. Here is his mention of our lunch on his blog. All I can say is, even though I am coming up on a year now, my celibacy is entirely unintentional. Come on.

And it was a grilled cheese and bacon. Where did standards go?

jane 11:13 AM [+]

BFF!

Awww....

jane 10:06 AM [+]

Everyone send good luck wishes to Paul today

And of course you will send us postcards as you get settled in? And pictures? (I could even post digital pictures here, to share with folks, if you like)

GO PAUL!!!!!


EDIT: In celebration of Paul's Moving Day, here is a photo of Paul asserting the dominance of human reason over that of mere irrational animals.

jane 8:24 AM [+]

Darwin is rolling in his grave

It's the next stage in evolution!

meg 10:44 AM [+]

More Fun With My Father!

Sometimes I am tempted to change my last name... but why should I let him have it? ARGH. Here's my dad's latest comment, in response to this piece in the Globe & Mail about Michaelle Jean addressing the Nova Scotia legislature, in which she comments about how racism still exists. It's a short little piece, I'm sure it was a good speech, and it's the type of thing that she is supposed to do.

My dad, of course, hates the monarchy & so hates the GG-ship in general. So that's part of it. Here's the link to my dad's comment, so you can see it in context. But of course he forwards them all to me and a few of his buddies, so I don't even have to look for them (the subject matter for this email referred to the "Suntanned GG"). Here's the text:

Another GG idiot is heard from. Wow. Who will the next one be? What racist or ethnic or tribal group will it (sic) represent? When will Canada become a republic and dump this useless nonsense? Speaking of which, it should be pointed out that there is no historic constitutional precedent or place -- in a (read this v.
carefully) 'constitutional democracy' (not 'parliamentary democracy') -- for
a monarch, never mind some emblematic how-many-votes-can-the-party-get-appointment of an air-head who happens to be a member of the vote-targeted community (most of whom, in this case, are too stoned or too busy faking 'make-work' for taxpayer-funded wastes of money-and-time to vote anyway). Perhaps the lady in question at the moment
should do some real work and understand that racism, ethnicism, tribalism is timeless, universal, and alive and well (or bad, whatever) wherever she would like to look -- including, very especially, where her ancestors came from, where they're still selling slaves to the arabs and the chinese. Us white folks got enough problems with Saint Al Gore and Saint Dave Suxzuki trying to extort the entirety of Western wealth to the slave-owning and -murdering Chinese to be greatly bothered about something that black folk now get bothered about, when white folk sorted it out a couple of centuries ago. Get real, idiot.

Ah, thanks Dad, for reminding me that racism is alive and well....

jane 9:29 AM [+]

Bad Joke for Tuesday

Two TV antennas met, fell in love and got married. The ceremony was terrible, but they had a great reception.

Teehee.

meg 12:44 PM [+]

DOOM!!!

This is not surprising.

Your results:
You are Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom 79% Apocalypse 72% Magneto 72% Lex Luthor 70% Mr. Freeze 65% The Joker 65% Poison Ivy 63% Dark Phoenix 55% Green Goblin 49% Juggernaut 49% Riddler 44% Kingpin 43% Mystique 41% Two-Face 41% Catwoman 38% Venom 34%

Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.

Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz

jane 12:26 AM [+]

It's baaack

The Eurovision song contest is back. I think it might be the reason so many people left for Canada. Worth taking a look at is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3mIvZg8XIU
I think the most disturbing part is when they clap at the end.

meg 8:15 AM [+]

I hate Valentine's Day, but I still want your love

My 4-part argument against Valentine's Day:

1. If you are single, it is a reminder of our society's continual expectation that You Be In A Couple.

2. If you are in a relationship, you have a zillion other occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) to do nice things together.

3. If you have just broken up with someone, it is just painful.

4. If you have just gotten together with someone, the pressure of knowing what level of enthusiasm to put into the day is very stressful.

That said, send me love!


Get your own valentinr

(Owl_of_Minerva is my LJ username, in case you're confused)

jane 12:59 PM [+]

Well, this makes me feel good about my coming baptism...

Maybe Ryan will forgive me for not coming to his bible study group now...

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

jane 8:06 PM [+]

Bad Joke of the Day

Q: What does a Buddhist ask for at a hot dog stand?
A: Make me one with everything.

meg 11:51 AM [+]

The Challenge

One of my favorite sections in the Saturday Globe&Mail is "The Challenge" by Warren Clements at the back of the Books section. It's where people write in witty phrases. This week's was items or pursuits that one might associate with a well-known person. Some goodies:

Lawrence of Arabia asked to see the desert menu.

Marcel Marceau uses a silencer on his rifle.

Young Rodin would play with his thinker toys.

My favorite: John Stuart Mill would seek the greatest wood for the greatest lumber.

meg 10:19 AM [+]

Yay Ponikarovsky and Sundin!

I was at this game and it was great. Also note:

The back-to-back wins lifted the Maple Leafs into a seventh-place tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings.

Come on!

(Sorry to not be posting much; pretty much everything that's going on with me these days is related to the job hunt, which I don't want to post about in this forum - so my livejournal is getting a bit of a workout, since I can friendslock it.)

EDIT: Take that, Winnipeg!

jane 9:47 AM [+]

NSFW

That's right, it's penguin porn!

meg 8:16 PM [+]

Ask the dead!

Ever wanted to use an ouija board? Well, here's your chance to ask questions of those beyond the grave!

meg 10:48 AM [+]

No! Not the W!

My laptop is just about to turn four years old next month; it's a Dell Inspiron 2650. It's been more or less a trusty old companion; I have typed many a word with its aid.

For the last few months, it's been groaning more than usual when it's loading, and has been making grinding unhappy noises. Now, just today, I notice the new problem:

the "W" key is sticky. Each "w" in this post had to be hit and re-hit firmly in order to come through. I have had to go back and insert "w"s into words that missed it the first time around.

How will I type the essential questions: Who? hat? here? When? hy? (see -- it's sticky. but it orks sometimes.)

I am very sad.

jane 9:24 AM [+]

Things that are good.

My ethics class seems lovely so far; I walked into the classroom, and the students (mostly sophomores, some juniors) all stopped talking, looked up at me, and smiled. Smiled! On the first day! What nice students! This never happens with the freshmen. So this is all very nice.

Plus, the Dinosaur Comics comic is very good today. It is always good. But only some days do I actually laugh out loud. Today I did. So I reproduce it below. Make sure you go dig through the archives to see more brilliance.

jane 4:17 PM [+]

It's like having an office job

Without any of that pesky work. Play with the wad of paper!

meg 11:09 AM [+]

Frankly, I blame Preetom

After all, she's the one obsessed with dental hygiene.

On another note... cute sign!

meg 12:40 PM [+]

For Paul

Cat photos.



The first is from July 2005. The rest are since I got my new camera for Christmas.









Paul -- happy now?

jane 12:26 AM [+]

Looking for a Vacation Location

Well, have you thought about Dahota? You won't be disappointed.

meg 8:31 AM [+]

Thanks, Google! You bring me closer to Hegel.

I'm reading Paul Redding's Hegel's Hermeneutics, which if you're interested in Hegel and hermeneutics, is fantastic. It's also good since it's one of the few recent works in English that attempts to really show how Hegel's social and political thought is, in fact, grounded in the Logic.

Now, I know lots of words, but my brain kind of stuck on this:

In reading these sections we must keep in mind what we have learned about recognition throughout the Phenomenology. At key points in the text, consciousness has undergone a form of anagnorisis in a way that has turned it and the action around. I have suggested that, as in the theater, we can follow the experience of consciousness because we can recognitively put ourselves in the various points of view it assumes in its history. Surely then we must also be able to recognize something of ourselves in consciousness's own experiences of recollective anagnorisis? Might it be that there is something of this complex movement going on at the level of absolute knowing and that the review of the whole drama constitutes our anagnorisis?

(p. 134, my emphases).

Yes, this is the type of writing people engage in when writing about Hegel. It's an acquired taste. I'm not totally sure that 'recognitively' is a word. But 'anagnorisis' seems to be, at least judging from how much Redding uses it. After failing to find it in my Oxford Reference Dictionary, I figured that the smart thing to do would be to consult the index. (I'm slow like that). Sure enough, on p. 80, Redding writes, "for consciousness, the problems within which it entangles itself form the occasion for a type of anagnorisis, the self-recognition opened up to the hero by the reversal of their fortune."

That's kind of helpful, but I wanted more -- especially since it sounds Greekish and I'm, alas, not as up on my Greek dramatic theory as I should be (just vague memories from my first year undergrad course in Western Lit and Julian Patrick's excellent lectures at Victoria College. Ah, Northrop Frye Hall. Such a box you were.)

Google to the rescue! Google, please define: anagnorisis for me, will you? There's a dear.

Definitions of anagnorisis on the Web:

* the protagonist’s recognition of his/her peripeteia.
www.english.uiuc.edu/lit_resources/English%20102/Miscellaneous/Terms/greek_drama_vocabulary.htm

* (GK 'recognition') A term used by Aristotle in Poetics to describe the moment of recognition (of truth) when ignorance gives way to knowledge. According to Aristotle, the ideal moment of anagnorisis coincides with peripeteia, or reversal of fortune. The classic example is in Oedipus Rex when Oedipus discovers he has himself killed Laius.
members.fortunecity.es/fabianvillegas/drama/glossary-a.htm

* "Recognition," in Greek. Aristotle claimed that every fine tragedy has a recognition scene, in which the protagonist discovers either some fact unknown to her or him or some moral flaw in her or his character. Scholars disagree as to which of these precise meanings Aristotle had in mind. See also hamartia.
highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0767430077/student_view0/glossary.html

* "recognition": one of the two requirements, as given by Aristotle in the Poetics for a "complex plot."
www.clt.astate.edu/wnarey/Genre%20Class/tragedy_terms.htm

* Anagnorisis originally meant recognition, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for, what he or she represented; it was the hero's suddenly becoming aware of a real situation and therefore the realisation of things as they stood; and finally it was a perception that resulted in an insight the hero had into his relationship with often anatagonistic characters within Aristotelian tragedy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagnorisis

Ah, Aristotle. I should have known you were behind this!

Back to my reading. This has been a glimpse into the strange world of... working on my dissertation! [cue spooky yet dramatic music]

jane 7:21 PM [+]

Sigh... the 27 year olds

I'm finally getting around to watching the US version of The Office... and the guy playing Jim, John Krasinski, is adorable. Totally adorable.

So I'm sighing over the cute boy -- and then I notice his birth year. 1979! I'm old enough that my TV & movie crushes are starting to be my own age. Also on The Office, and possibly even more adorable, is another 1979-er, BJ Novak. 1979 -- a good vintage.

I've been noticing a lot of 1979 folks lately... including, of course, my friend Ryan.

Go 1979 children! Like Mena Suvari! Norah Jones! Heath Ledger! Claire Danes! The late Rachel Corrie! Adam Brody! Go you!

We're just getting old enough that we're figuring out what we want to do -- and actually doing it. And some of us even getting paid to do it.

jane 12:09 AM [+]

Rainy Friday

When will it get cold? When will it snow? The only snow I've seen so far this winter was on the Greyhound between Toronto and New York on the 27th of December; when we stopped at a rest stop near Syracuse. I want me some snow, dammit!

I'm trying to get a healthy chunk of my current chapter done before school starts up in a week and a half, and also need to start putting together a job talk. Of course, this is encouraging fresh procrastination in the form of searching the Chronicle of Higher Education forums for on-campus interview advice.

Here is some other advice I found online:



(Source)

jane 2:55 PM [+]

Yet another webcomic recommendation

In case you have little else to do -- the glory of Patches is waiting for you...





(Patches home)

jane 1:31 PM [+]

Welcome to 2007

Happy New Year everyone. I have to say that so far I'm a fan of 2007. While it was my first New Year's in NYC rather than in Ottawa, and while I missed my Ottawans (thanks so much for the huge "Happy New Year" over the phone last night, and hellos especially to Megan and Dawn), I still felt happy and generally optimistic about the future.

A number of people at the party asked how my job interviews went last week; I haven't blogged much about my job search process out of a desire to keep it somewhat private (though I've put some "friends-only" stuff up on my LiveJournal -- but not anything that you haven't heard directly from me anyway). While those (and the results from those) are occupying a lot of my thoughts, that's not so much of a big deal.

Mostly I feel a quiet assurance that no matter what happens this year, I will be able to make it work. (The clock radio just came on -- Joe Cocker's version of "With a little help from my friends" -- fitting, eh? You guys are the greatest.)

This is also my first New Year's as a Catholic (or at least a soon-to-be Catholic). I went down to the 7.30 pm mass before the party. During the mass I felt a feeling of utter ease, of my future being in God's hands, and that God will give me the strength to take on whatever ups and downs come along.

I was also really moved by the reading from Samuel, about Hannah, who prayed for a son and was given one. She says, "I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD." This reminded me of Abraham and Sarah praying for a child, being given Isaac, but then A. being commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac. Hannah, on the other hand, freely gives back to God what she has been given. Just 'cause, you know, that's what one does.

This story made me think about my job and career worries in a different way. I'd been trying as much as possible to think of my job prospects as things I shouldn't get my hopes up over. Or thinking that I don't deserve a good job when there are so many better candidates. Or thinking that I don't have a right to hope. (Sure, these may sound silly, but who is ever fully rational in appraising their next career move?) Hannah's story made me think instead that of course it was perfectly fine to pray to God for what I want; and then if it works out, I am then able to dedicate it as service to God. Teaching young people to be reflective and critical (not just in a nihilist and relativist sense, but properly and carefully critical) is a wonderful service.

Anyway, just some pre-coffee early New Year's thoughts.

I'll close with one of my favourite NT passages, 1 Thessalonians 5.14-22 -- the tone of rejoicing and seeking the good is, I think, a good place to begin my New Year's (plus, those of you who want can mentally take out the second half of line 18, and consider the rest of it good advice in general. ;) )

14 We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all.
15 See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all.
16 Rejoice always.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 Test everything; retain what is good.
22 Refrain from every kind of evil.

Peace be with you all.

jane 9:25 AM [+]