“Intel researchers in Pittsburgh told journalists today that brain implants are harnessing human brain waves to surf the Internet, manipulate documents, and much more.”
Well, thank you Intel. The modern age wasn’t quite scary enough. And contrary to what science fiction from the 1950s-1980s would have had us believe, the recipients of these chips are eager volunteers. As Hollywood has explained to me over the course of the last three decades, this will not end well.
It is fitting that this is taking place in Pittsburgh (and yes, we are looking at you Carnegie Mellon University) as the whole chain of events will end like another Pittsburgh iconic event:
Am I the only one who really has purpose with horror films? I have no attraction to the genre whatsoever.
But I suppose we can be optimistic and hope this Intel brain chip business turns out to be a different take on the Pittsburgh legend, a la The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.
I dare you not to watch that addictive clip all the way through.
On a side note, is this not the most delicious Wikipedia entry of all time (from George Romero’s biography):
Romero attended Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1960, he began his career shooting short films and commercials. One of his early commercial films, a segment for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in which Mr. Rogers underwent a tonsillectomy, inspired Romero to go into the horror film business.
Mr. Rogers’ tonsillectomy unleashed all the Zombies. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Wait, what was this post about originally?
Second Life has its fair share of haters and often that is warranted. It is at times a clunky, unwieldy atmosphere with a high barrier to adoption. Businesses were early adopters and then quickly pulled their presence from the environment as it was difficult a return on their investment.
After the initial wave of adoption, we are settling into a period of overall decreased, but more concentrated use on Second Life. Less people using it more intensely. Or at least that is the ideal. Once the dust settles, we get a clearer picture of how useful the tool really is.
Gallagher Glenfadden, aka Michael Gallagher, running around The Globe Theatre on Second Life.
I was on the fence before regarding Second Life; it was a nice diversion, but I had yet to see any real usefulness. As I proceed through my Masters program(me) at the University of Edinburgh on e-learning development, I am starting to see some possibilities for education in that environment. We hold classes there occasionally, investigate different subjects, discuss, banter, and evolve (as avatars with presence). We build, we fly and teleport and all that jazz. Heady, interesting stuff.
I won’t go into too much detail as many of my original objections about Second Life still hold true (still resource intensive, clunky and high barriers to adoption). But it is nice to see that there are indeed practical opportunities that can be realized there (social opportunities for distance learners, communities on inquiry, at the very least reducing that sense of isolation one feels when studying distance programs).
All of that was a long-winded attempt to mention that our program made the BBC News cycle. We will be having a virtual graduation in Edinburgh for those who are unable to physically attend the graduation ceremonies.
So give the article a read. Virtual gowns and all.
But do take a look at the actual ceremonies below. I will most definitely be there in person if and when I do graduate. Either these people are graduating or this is a coronation ceremony. I love the ceremony involved.
And one more Second Life image for the road. There are limitations in Second Life, but appropriating emotive context is not one of them. You become emotionally involved and that spurs ownership and investment in this projection of self.
Gallagher drifting in time, virtual space and actual thought. Cue the Brian Eno music.
Generally, my morning jacket is an old t-shirt and a fleece and shorts. Nothing like this, much to my chagrin. Either way, it is a good version of a good song at a time when I am trying to make things good.
I am heading to Long Island tomorrow, to the home of Jay Gatsby, Theodore Roosevelt and some of the Robber Barons. I will sit with my Korean father in-law and laugh at his wonderful observations and know that when he looks me in the eye that he is interested. I will converse with my brother in-law and wonder what life is like in San Francisco. I will lament never having met my mother in-law as she seemed like a wonderful lady.
Work tomorrow then the New Jersey Turnpike to the Goethals Bridge (we were convinced when we first came back from Korea that this was called the Gertels Bridge based on my father in-law’s accented English) to Staten Island to the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn (and Coney Island) and Queens and then Long Island.
Back to Princeton on Saturday only to fly to Ann Arbor (via Detroit) on Sunday to meet the great people of the JSTOR office there. Just in time to celebrate their Christmas office party.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and all my best to everyone else. I will be cooking some mean blue cheese mashed potatoes. Pictures to come.
This is part of the reason I was having a tough day. A few weeks after I had reconnected with him after the many years since our finishing school in Dayton, Ohio, a dear friend (one that I had not seen in over 12 years) passed away. His name was Adam Cline and he was truly one of a kind.
Adam Cline on a very good day
Here he said:
My body continues to change- I continue to define my identity. Wheelchair or no wheelchair. I now have new piercings, more ink, a branding and more to come. . . . Everybody asks ‘Why.’ Do I hate my body enough to mutilate it? Or do I love it enough to celebrate and decorate it? I can’t give a clear answer.
My disability more or less forces me to be conscious of my identity. Therefore, my disability has become a large contributor to who I am. My lack of muscle control, my speech impediment, my physical breakdown have shaped my identity. My mental capacities largely exist in what forms they may because of my physical capacities. I think as a man on the outskirts of society because the handicapped will never be incorporated into the mainstream. Therefore, I have reclaimed my body through physical adornment because, for me, this act coincides with my mentality. I have pierced and tattooed myself, my body, to complement my disability. Body art gives me a new way of looking at myself. Anyway, I figure if people are gonna stare because of the chair – I might as well give them something interesting to look at. A chair by itself is pretty boring.
Tattooing and piercing provide me with an unspoken language in which to define myself. Because of my speech problems, along with my disability, people assume that I am mentally retarded. The body art, however, is a way to show people that I can think for myself. I mean, let’s face it, no parent in their right mind would tattoo their child. My body art provides me with a clear voice I may otherwise not have. I can now clearly show the world who (or what) I am.
Adam Cline as I knew him even though I was not there
Adam was confined physically in many ways and mentally in none. He was an absolute inspiration even as I was hatching up plans to head overseas (before I really knew what that meant). He was confined to a wheelchair, but read poetry aloud on countless occasions, listened intently, pierced and tattooed himself on numerous occasions and was just perfect. The man even met Allen Ginsberg, his idol.
I will let him speak for himself.
Because of my dependence on others to provide me with aid in bathing, dressing, almost all actions largely taken for granted by the abled; I feel my body is no longer my own. I need help in almost every physical aspect of my life. People can, a lot of times, choose my bedtime, choose my clothing, among other things- I feel very limited. But with piercing and tattooing I make the choice of what happens to my body. This way I reclaim my body as my own. Also, my disability is caused by a degenerative muscle disease, Muscular Dystrophy, that causes my current physical condition to be temporary, ever changing. My body art is permanent; it will always be there. My tattooing and piercing provide a sense of stability in their permanence. Taken from here.
I have my own personal story. Adam and I were in a class together at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Young, silly, in love with writing and poetry. A small class of 12. One joker attempting to write the great post-modern Vampire novel starts describing it in grave detail, in the middle of a lecture of a really respected professor whom we both adored. Adam, with limited constraint, flings his head at me and says rather audibly “what the fuck is this joker talking about?”. He pretended to whisper, but like everything Adam Cline, he was heard.
With love, I miss you and will see you on the other side. God bless and good luck. Read more here.
I will not try to go into details about why this was a bad week, but I would rather just give you some music that is just now pulling me out of it.
The three tracks have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but are merely how iTunes shuffle chose to present them to me. And for that lack of effort on my part, I am thankful.
The second is from Emmylou Harris’s most exquisite album from 1995, Wrecking Ball. If you do not own it, you need to buy it. Seriously, as in right now. It is produced by Daniel Lanois and has parts by Steve Earle (a beautiful version of Goodbye, which you can listen to below:
The album also features Neil Young, Larry Mullen, Jr. and others. Brilliant. And this is my favorite track from the album. MP3-Emmylou Harris-Goin’ Back to Harlan.
The last is another of my favorite bands, Beirut. If you haven’t heard of this band, you should have. Go and listen. My mother would not appreciate the title of this track. Mom, it is all about the music and where it takes you. Emotionally, that is. As in not to Marseilles.
This was an interesting talk given by Dr. Martin Hall and it originally appeared on the Aluka Blog. After returning from Korea, Aluka is where I got my start. I moved to Princeton and the rest is history/blogged. To take the text from the Aluka blog:
Two weeks ago, while some members of Aluka were in South Africa meeting with partners and scholars involved in the Struggles project, a similar meeting took place at Aluka’s Princeton office with partners and advisors regarding Aluka’s Cultural Heritage project.
During this visit, Professor Martin Hall, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and advisor to Aluka, graciously gave a talk on the Cape’s historical background and more specifically, the Cape’s legacy of slavery. As part of his talk, Prof. Hall also discussed how the University of Cape Town recently discovered a burial ground of slaves who worked the farms along the Liesbeeck River in the 17th and 18th centuries; his talk is available online. A detailed bibliography on the Cape’s slave past is available on the Iziko Museum’s website and a detailed report on the slave burial ground discovered at UCT is also available online.
Dr. Hall is a world-renowned archaeologist and he has since moved on to Salford University in the UK. The podcast is quite intriguing and makes mention of Brown University’s bout with slavery. Dr. Hall talks specifically about the legacy of slavery in the Western Cape and the founding of the University of Cape Town.
So, I recommend downloading it, throwing it on your iPod and spend a few minutes getting an enlightening education.
My personal connection to this podcast is that I was in the room when he gave it at our office (oh so long ago). I recorded it and edited it using Audacity.
If you are interested in reading more about archaeology, check out Martin Hall’s (et al) book Historical Archaeology, available from Google Books.
Last night, Rahim and I went to The Power of Youth Voice: What Kids Learn When They Create With Digital Media, an event hosted by the MacArthur Foundation, The Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the National Writing Foundation. It was held at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
It was an excellent event, well attended, and the panel discussion afterwards was quite interesting. It was geared mostly towards the K-12 crowd (obviously, considering the title) but their explorations extend well beyond that set.
What I pulled from the event:
1. There are some absolutely amazing explorations taking place at various secondary schools throughout the country. From what I could gather, these were primarily occurring at arts and specialty high schools. I heard more than once that it was the hope that these would serve as models for the larger school systems as they worked to establish programs on their own.
2. One amazingly fascinating project was through the work of Global Kids, an interesting organization that works a lot with school districts throughout the country. Their example was called I Dig Zambia. It involved students in three locations (Chicago (via The Field Museum), New York and Zambia working together on Second Life to explore paleontology, biology, forestry, etc. IT basically involved setting up a virtual Zambian dig where students could explore the world of paleontology realistically, interact with their fellow students and report on their findings. Amazing stuff. You can learn more here about Global Kids virtual explorations.
3. It was noted that a lot of this digital media investigation is occurring outside the classroom/schools, in after-school programs, etc. One attendee seems quite passionate about the fact that this had something to do with the filtering mechanisms that schools put in place that restricts access to certain materials and sites. There seemed to be a regional divide on this issue and several advocates strongly believed in these filters and some didn’t. Inconclusive. I opt for more rather than less, but never full access to all materials.
4. Literacies, namely transliteracies, seemed to be a critical focus in digital media. What are we learning? What literacy is being promoted? It most definitely is a critical, conceptual thinking, as all creativity is an abstract take on the world. I believe, as did others, that this multimedia exploration is an augmentation of traditional literacy, an expansive literacy. It is not an either/or proposition (traditional textual literacy as opposed to multimedia literacy). There is room for more. As some admitted, however, the verdict is still out. We are not sure what are the best standards, best practices. We are still in an age of exploration.
5. Literacy led to assessment. What is assessment in this digital media context? Do we assess the learning artifact? Is it formative as opposed to summative assessment? Most seemed to lean towards formative assessment but that isn’t always encouraged by administrators or school districts who want measurable numbers.
6. Some of these projects ranged into elementary schools, which was younger than I had imagined.
All in all, a great event and I wish the MacArthur Foundation all the best in their work as this is an exciting age. My wife would be pleased to know that the MacArthur folks also sponsor PBS and NPR. How’s that for All Things Considered?
Tomorrow, I will be heading down to Philadelphia with Rahim Rajan after work for an event hosted by The Digital Media and Learning Initiative entitled The Power of Youth Voice: What Kids Learn When They Create With Digital Media.
Rahim and I are not attending in any official capacity, but just as curious onlookers. We have noticed a real trend in these types of programs for digital media and education and personally I hope it is a trend that continues. We need to move beyond the shiny new object syndrome and start applying rigor to our technology and content selections. To do that, we need to know what works and what doesn’t, what technology is appropriate for what age ranges, and how interaction with digital media and the technology that supports it augments/diminishes both traditional learning paradigms and new facets of information literacy. For more information on what literacy (transliteracy) I am referring to, see here and here for some excellent background explanation.
Rahim is a veteran of Aluka and JSTOR and takes some wonderful photographs in many far off places. Even as far as Brooklyn. He also took a lot of the photographs we have on the Aluka Flickr page.
The Power of Youth Voice: What Kids Learn When They Create With Digital Media is a public forum designed to open discussion in the Philadelphia area to educators, parents, researchers, students, and community members about the potential of learning through engagement with digital media.
There are many questions around what it means for young people to be widely involved in digital media use today—whether it is playing video games, using the Internet for research or social networks, or using mobile devices. By bringing in experts in the digital media and learning field and showing examples of how digital media is used to create powerful learning experiences for young people in and outside the classroom, we hope to encourage dialogue regarding opportunities to make learning meaningful and relevant to the next generation.
The forum will take place at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm. The event will be broadcast in Second Life—a virtual world—and available via streaming video. For those who attend in person, before the panel and discussion a reception will be held, during which examples of youth work involving digital media will be on display.
Should be interesting. For those of you not in the NYC/Philadelphia corridor, you can follow it online either in Second Life or via video stream by following the instructions on this page. Be there or be square.
I keep spiraling into some sort of cooking horizon as I replace metaphor with Le Creuset, hyperbole with exactness of time and alliteration with reduction. It is an ongoing redefinition of self and I am not sure where it is taking me. But I will eat well on the ride.
Tonight was about veal and soup. I had never made a cream-based soup before (Jen had repeatedly and I thoroughly enjoyed those) so there was a higher chance of possible failure involved. I understand (via my coursework in education) that an empowered learner is one who is willing to fail, one willing to see deterioration in acumen for the sake of innovation. All art is like that really. A willingness to create a lemon will allow for the possibility of something really spectacular.
My veal soup was not spectacular. But it certainly wasn’t a failure. But we should proceed chronologically. Since it was a slow cook sort of deal, I thought Jen might like a little something to nibble on so I threw together some wonderful whole wheat bread, brie, and a tart apple. All from this, the single greatest supermarket I have ever had the privilege of visiting.
A pre-dinner appertizer.
I basically used the cheese, bread, and apple as a diversion as I slowly cooked the soup. I also roasted potato slices and brussels sprouts (liberally doused in spicy sesame oil). Delicious.
Brussels sprouts and some wonderful bread
This was followed by the soup itself, which literally took three pots and 2 hours to manifest. It was simply divine.
And for those reading this blog who might happen to be my mother, I have also included a few pictures of my reconfigured apartment. I am still quite happy with Korean-sized dimensions for apartments and am quite happy with all the space I have after living in closet-sized apartments for a decade or so. This place is literally a mansion, although I was shocked to be paying more in Princeton than I did in Seoul. Bizarre considering how small this town is.
The view from my kitchen: The king of infinite space
View from the window towards the kitchen. My laptop, posters, Ikea and kitchen stuff.
I am stating to see the utility in Google Wave, but that is not exactly groundbreaking news. I suppose the biggest thing so far that I can see is the playback feature, which allows you to play back a thread as it was created (to get a sense of the flow).
Also are the ability to thread conversations in midstream. I have provided a few screenshots below by way of example.
A sample thread/Wave
All your Waves are provided as well:
A list of my Waves (ones I participate in)
A column with my options/contacts/miscellaneous items:
I won’t lie. I have difficulty turning off and letting myself relax. I take great satisfaction in motion, in perceived progress, in multi-tasking. I would like to think that I work hard, study hard, and all that, but something seems amiss when I sit in front of one of the multiple communication channels I participate in and stare at the screen blankly with nothing to say. Having nothing to say does not bother me; feeling like I should have something to say, always, bothers me.
I suppose a review of what I participate in should paint the picture. When I say (x2) in the following, that is referring to my professional/personal accounts (I use them for work as well).
Most of this is somewhat professionally related, but I am also studying a MSc at the University of Edinburgh and so there is considerable crossover from work Mike to professional Mike to academic Mike.
So, I really shouldn’t fret when I stop, pause, stare at a blank screen and have literally nothing to say. I have said so much over the course of the day. I answered dozens of emails, blogged a bit, conducted two webinars, drafted some language for a site, drafted some other language for a site, drafted more language to announce release of said site. I created audio files with Audacity, a video with Camtasia, a script for another video. I am stripped of all my language because I communicated it all away.
My heart still beats, however, when I think of what moves me. I still dream big. I still am restless regardless how tired I might be. I am a clumsy, passionate, goofy and sincere eighteen year old on the inside. I yearn for another phrase, a couplet, a stanza, a source of inspiration. I am always consuming in this respect.
Rock Art from Africa. Retrieved from www.aluka.org.
After returning from Charlotte via Philadelphia Airport late Saturday night, I decided to make more food goodness. I realize with cooking there is no happy medium for me. I either want to eat something out of a can or I want to paint the gastronomic Mona Lisa. So I went the creative route tonight.
On the menu:
1. Beef tenderloin with blue cheese herbed crust
2. Steamed broccoli (simple yet elegant)
3. Mashed potatoes with blue cheese and celery (no lie)
Michael Gallagher sees food this way
Jen liked it. I liked it. Jen liked that I liked it. I liked that Jen liked it. All is well with the world.
Jen surveying all that Michael Gallagher has done
But I need to start writing some poetry again. It is just nice to know that I have other avenues to express some creative impulses, even if they never approach Wordsworth, Yeats, Yeats, and, (and notice the Oxford Comma), Leonard Cohen.
I arrived late last night after a horrendous flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia. On the approach, we received a rather scenic tour of Philadelphia as the Captain mentioned that an indicator light implied that we might not have our wheels all the way down so we pulled up rather suddenly, pulled to the left and toured many parts of Eastern Philadelphia. I then landed and made my way through the longest single baggage claim walk of all time (I suspect at 25 minutes that it must be close to a mile).
I grabbed my bag and waited for the Economy Lot shuttle, which I only parked in because the other lots were full. 25 minutes later, I am still waiting. I board the shuttle, make my way there, stop at every stop despite the fact that I am the only one there, and get off at the last stop. I jump in my car (Honda Accord), drive to 95, merge and make a beeline for Princeton. I arrive, kiss Jen and fall in love with my apartment all over again.
That was Saturday night. I took a vacation day for Monday so Sunday was my Saturday. I woke up from my mini-coma, worked on Masters stuff, wrote a decent amount for a research project, checked email, and then Jen woke up. I made her coffee and we worked on our separate Masters together (how cute). We then went to the Princeton trail (see previous post for House video) and walked/ran for a decent bit. We came home, showered, and went back to work (on our Masters). In keeping with my new manifestation as a creative person (rather than writing poetry as used to be my way (sigh)).
I am finishing up with the AASL Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. One more day on the exhibition floor and hopefully a few more good conversations with some really switched on secondary school folk. Overall, it has been good and I thought I might share a few of the highlights (both conference related and not).
1. Everyone more or less knowing JSTOR. We had only a handful of people mention that they were not familiar with it. A lot of schools interested in learning more.
2. Conversations with several teachers/librarians on how to incorporate JSTOR into AP curricula. These were very good, pragmatic discussions where we bounced ideas off one another. Really has me thinking about materials to develop when back in the office.
3. Conversation with librarian at Maggie L. Walker School Library on Data for Research (DfR). Very astute and very excited about new ways to conceptualize information. She even recommended a few search examples for DfR to see when language fell out of favor. Great conversation. Be sure to visit the Library’s Blog. If only they had these types of resources when I was in secondary school.
4. Talking to a librarian currently at an American International School in Peru, but who had formerly worked at the American International School in Maputo, Mozambique. He was very very familiar with materials found at Aluka (especially the absolutely brilliant Tempo magazines-so vivid). He had used these materials in class. Great to know they got some use as that is where I started in this organization. I included a few sample covers below.
5. Having someone recommend that, on my night off, I should go to Whiskey River, a saloon (that is the word she used) created by Dale Earnhardt (I think that is what she said). She said I looked like I would enjoy it. I am not sure what that meant.
Flying to Philadelphia Airport tonight and then a drive up 95 to Princeton. There be my wife.
Autumn. The season where the leaves change color, fall clothes are taken out of semi-retirement and the air chills just enough to make thoughts crisper, sharper, more in focus.
And for my line of work, it is also the season for academic conferences. So, this week I will be heading off to the American Association of School Librarians Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is an interesting mix of secondary school librarians, passionate techies, people intentionally and pragmatically looking to redefine the influence of their profession. More power to them.
I enjoy dealing with the secondary school crowd after spending most of my time in higher education. They are very approachable, very enthused (very) and just plain old pleasant people. Always quick with a smile and a laugh. So, it should be good and we will have a little swag to hand out. I am looking forward to having some good conversations about the secondary school community and how we can work with them more. Should be fun.
That being said, blogging will be light for the week. I will be relying on Twitter to post from the exhibition floor with #aasl09.
Me in my living room admiring my cassoulet
On an unrelated note, I made cassoulet the other night. It is a kind of stew with lamb, duck, pork, sausage, beans and vegetables slow cooked over a course of three or four hours. It was absolutely brilliant. I think when I cook that is my way of expelling some of that creative energy that I used to write through. Now, I cook. The evolution of Michael Gallagher continues. I would still like to write some poetry, though as I do miss it.
Besides the readings/texts for my program at the University of Edinburgh, I am reading a wonderful book called The Economics of Attention by Richard A. Lanham. This was recommended to me by my professor and I immediately bought it (and am subsequently devouring it). For you teachers out there, there are some (conceptually) applicable bits, but it is definitely more philosophical discourse (and I mean that in a very positive way).
It makes a case for the economy of attention (as opposed the economy of stuff) and the perpetual gaze (the centripetal gaze) of the populace, that construct of attention and meaning we pile on top of objects we perceive as beautiful (or indeed any emotion, positive or negative). It is a really engaging book on some level (my centripetal gaze is fixed firmly on it) and discusses the medium as conveyor of meaning (even the text of a book). He meanders all over the place to Dadaism to Duchamp (and his exhibition of a urinal and a bicycle wheel at an art exhibition to poke fun at the seriousness of art). Lanham is quoted below from the book:
You must look at it differently. Yes, we should indeed pay more attention to the utilitarian world, savor its beauty as beauty. But when you find yourself gazing at it worshipfully, Duchamp turns around and says, “It’s just a bicycle wheel, you silly jerk.” The final result is to make us oscillate back and forth between the physical world, stuff, and how we think about stuff. It makes us look at our own patterns of attention and the varieties of “seriousness” we construct atop them.
He also spends a lot of time with Christo, the artist who wraps everything (think the Reichstag and the most recent project in Central Park). Lanham actually spends much more time with a Christo project called Running Fences that was really intriguing.
Running Fences meandering throughout the Californian Coast
This fence was fully financed by Christo, involved years of legal permissions to build through private property, ran over 24 miles, plunged into the sea and was torn down after two weeks. It was designed to be temporary, but we still talk about it. The economics of stuff gave way to the economics of attention.
Running Fences plunging into the Pacific
It was a brilliant chapter and I really came to appreciate Christo’s ambition here. If you are interested, it worth the investment or you can take a look at Google Books.
This is more of an observational post rather than anything intrinsically of any merit, but I will leave it for you to do with what you will.
I was walking along the Princeton Canal path. Off to one’s right is an old canal path from the early parts of the 19th century. Off to the left is Lake Carnegie, which is a bit of a misnomer as it actually is a straight waterway perfect for boats and, since this is Princeton, crew.
Crew are those long slender boats with many people sitting one in front of the other all facing the wrong way except for the one in front (back?) who is facing the way the boat is moving and whose sole responsibility seems to be to yell at everyone else. Often with a megaphone. This path is a perfectly tranquil place, full of beautiful birds and flower turning that brilliant cascade of yellows, oranges and red this time of year. It is tranquil most times except when the Ivy Leagues descend on Princeton for their crew races.
And yes, there is Dartmouth, and yes, Harvard, Yale, Georgetown and the whole bit. And yes there are chinos out the yin-yang and sweatshirts that say “Insert Expensive University Name here” Crew. And they all stand at the various bridges and scream things like Go Blue! Go Green! and Down With the Peasants! or some other bits of Ivy League wits (witbits).
I am reminded of a football cheer that was literally chanted at a football game in the great American institutions of higher learning:
Thermopylae, Thucydides
The Peloponnesian War!
x2, y2, h2so4.
Who for, what for.
Who the hell are we cheering for?
Ahh, they are witty around here, aren’t they?
(forgive my squared symbols above, I can’t be bothered to go look for the proper notation)
Either way, so you have these long boats and they race them really fast. As so does House, if one watches the opening credits of that show which supposedly takes place in Princeton (the river they show is Lake Carnegie as the overhead shots are Princeton campus):
So, I am sure all these Ivy League types have names for all parts of the boat and all those crew people in them. I, however, am fascinated by the social awkwardness that must ensue as the person who is facing the one direction is nose to nose with the person rowing in the other direction. I imagine that would be uncomfortable the first time.
The Princeton crew guy facing the wrong way
I mean he is sitting there doing nothing but yelling and facing the opposite direction as everyone else. I imagine the first guy rowing looking at him gets peeved as well as he might be thinking “who is this guy to yell at me when he is doing nothing?”
Well, I created a term to represent the space between the two guys facing in the opposite directions doing opposite things.
I hereby refer to it as the “scrum junction.” That is all.
I love Princeton. I love it with all my heart. It has been my favorite place for the last three years and will be my favorite place for years to come. Princeton, you are the most aesthetically pleasing place I have ever lived. You know it and you flaunt it.
But I miss my people. They are not in Princeton and I miss them. Badly. This is where some of them are.
So there, Princeton. You can be as aesthetically pleasing as you want, but that isn’t everything. I miss some people and those people live elsewhere. I love you but there is more to life than love.
You will keep me here for now. But I keep getting called out. And out. And out. Endlessly.
I'll be there! RT @sbayne: MSc in E-learning virtual graduation is on BBC. Nice quotes from Fiona and Youenn -http://bit.ly/4mUBj8 #mscidel16 hours ago
At the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. 1 week ago
About to start a webinar on Advanced Searching. http://bit.ly/47dMUU. * + # + ^+ ~ = database-speak for awesome. 1 week ago
Google's Uncle Sam searches US Government information as well as court cases/legal decisions. http://bit.ly/1AHj8b. Ouch. Hurts Westlaw. 1 week ago
