A Place in Space: November 2005 Archives

the Aristocrats

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I did see this ... wow. Grotesque, yes. A bit weird too. (Does such an opinion expose a puritanical streak?) I did laugh, although moreso revisiting it afterwards with my good pals than during. :-) DEFINITELY "boundary-crossing" stuff, which George Carlin articulates well. Fascinating look inside comedy as an institution, too. Anyone for a socioeconomic class interpretation? Or are we talking basic social unredeemability - sheer outrageous excess? I always want there to be a message. ;-)

What's the moral element in such totally and intentionally amoral performances?

my friend's son

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"Ben is living with three other young men within comparable age range who are also autistic and mentally retarded in a single family house."

Against many odds, Ben is doing great. :-)

cross-species bonding

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Don sent me news of this baby hippotamus who seems to have been adopted by an ancient male tortoise.

Pictures.

The original news story seems to have vanished ... or one needs a subscription to get it. The next post, "confessions", includes the text of a Reuter's release, and Urban Legends reports the status of this story as "true". Imagine!

From a friend, this poem is intense.

What do you mean by "reflexivity"?

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Don, I hope you have your scotch ready!!

When Anne left me at breakfast this morning to attend a workshop, she said, "Just don't look so mean!" (I was asked for my "hair history" later at lunch; I'm not sure if this is what Anne was teasing me about - it could just as easily have been my typical oh-so-serious expression.)

Don wasn't scared off by me at all. In fact, we had quite the conversation about singing mice, possible cross-species communication between elephants and whales, reincarnation (comparing the Buddhist belief that people re-live the same life seven times with the movie, Groundhog Day), and an American Indian criticism of Christians who learn how to pray but not to listen. Don was confronted by a friend who specifically referred to the ways American Indians listen to the earth, to nature - the wind, the birds, the signs of life that can warn and guide us. I've always been drawn to listening to Indians, myself - personally, and academically. One of my professors, Donal Carbaugh, has worked extensively with the Blackfeet communicative practice of silence.

The best serendipitous moment during Don's and my chat was when Don argued that whales, elephants, and walruses might share a common ancestor, and then he broadened this to talk about the role of carbon in all life, explaining “we all come from the same element.” Is it too weird he would say this after I’d just spent hours on the flight from Boston talking with an organic chemist?

Proposals to this student conference at Ohio State are due January 20. The conference itself is April 7-8...

My workshop leanings at the moment are toward:

Martin Kuhn (U North Carolina): Blogging Ethics
and
Bob Benz (Scripps Company): Reality Constraints of Online Journalism

Whatcha watchin', Steve?

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:-) That was one of my favorite moments, but there were many on the flight from Boston to Salt Lake City. Our conversation was as wide-ranging as I imagine possible among strangers: Steve, the (touche!) “soft” scientist (organic chemistry), me the (accused!) “pseudo” scientist (communication, Note: the link is to Miami University, I attend UMass-Amherst), and Joanne the dream interpreter, Note: she said she attend "the spiritual institute" in NH but I can't locate a website. Eclectic, yet connected. I did some prepatory reading for Public Speaking while the two of them watched The Island. Plausible, apparently, to the point of being scary. About money, corruption, and real science (as opposed to the un-real kind, grin).

I rambled on about communication metaphors, quantum dualities, the uncertainty principle and neurochemistry while Steve explained some of his work with light on carbon molecules. “We’ve got black and white figured out, but not the chemistry of color.” He explained how we see things in reverse, not just inverted (like a mirror), but actually we see white because the object reflecting the light is completely black – it accepts nothing. Joanne knew about Messages from Water, I saw some of these photos on exhibit in an t-station somewhere...somewhen.

Told stories on my mom (knocking ‘em dead at 73!) They told stories too . . . “if you can remember the ‘60s, then you weren’t there!” I was too widdle to remember much. :-)

The most extreme incident was letting Joanne pray for me (!) and my loved ones’ hearts to heal. I confess, no one has done that in my presence since my Nazarene days (practically ancient history). It was sweet though, as genuine as those gestures come. The ease with which it happened confirmed the amount of healing already accomplished.

democracy online

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An excellent resource for anyone interested in Democracy Online (seems to be based in Great Britain?)

Relevant articles from "top blogs".

Current discussion: Should voters expect privacy when seeking information about candidates online? Draft paper on international electoral standards and the Internet

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