sick. sucks.
there is definitely a problem with me. i eat lots of vitamins, have never eaten this much healthy food in my life and i still get sick (cold, not stomach) every 3 months. actually, i was sick less than 2 months ago. maybe it is all the pollution. maybe i am just weak. either way it is no fun.
timmay, i liked your comments. i will respond to them at a point where focusing on the screen is less difficult.
i applied to wyoming today. we will see if they love me or hate me. i am guessing they have already hired someone as there are probably lots and lots of people who would love to live in northern wyoming. well, i would anyway, and i doubt i am that different from, well, ok. maybe i am. either way, i hope i get the job.
26 February 2008
14 February 2008
ok, i mentioned i need help with my cover letter. well, here it is. any comments or ideas are greatly appreciated. i wrote the first few drafts in a prosaic and somewhat long-winded style. i am going for brevity here, but feel i need to explain what the hell i am doing in mexico and why teaching english down here is still relative to teaching in the states (is it?).
here it is:
here it is:
My name is William Davis and I am applying for the position of English teacher posted on the Higher Education Jobs website. I can offer to Sheridan not only skills as a teacher, communicator and creator, but also a perspective molded by international experience as I have taught in Mexico for the last three years with students of diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.
My current position at the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) involves designing and developing courses based on improving student writing and communication skills. A recent set of courses I have created intertwine the study of literature and technology (my students are high level English speakers who excel in exchange programs in English-speaking nations) in an effort to remind the students that reading, writing and creativity are inclusive ideas. Focusing on activities that allow learners to participate actively rather than passively, these classes invite not only student-teacher interaction, but peer communication as well.
The areas in which I give classes are the Bi-Cultural Program, the International Baccalaureate as well as in the Humanities Division in the university. The Bi-Cultural Program requires students to take half of the course load in English and half in Spanish. As a result, the language skills of these students can easily be compared to that of a high school student in the
In graduate school I studied Native American Literature and Chicana/o Literature and presented papers in these areas. Undoubtedly the students at
At my current school, Blackboard and other web-based programs used to record grades, attendance, feedback, etc., form an integral part of the position. In order to better utilize these services, I have attended multiple training sessions and courses detailing their numerous attributes. I also participated in a 60 hour teacher training course designed to help educators better understand the needs of students, handle a variety of behavioral and external issues and incorporate values into courses taught.
Teaching at a small college in
two things today that i need feedback on pronto. anybody want to tell me about the best way to open a cover letter for a job? is it as simple as: My name is William Davis and I am interested in applying for the English Instructor position at Sheridan College. ?
i am sending in apps this week or next to one school in wyoming, in a town called sheridan (i would tell you its in the middle of nowhere but that describes wyoming in general). the other is in spokane, washington. not places you might choose, but places i might be quite content. plus, both are full-time and tenure track positions at community colleges and the pay is generous for the work schedule.
anyway, feel free to throw out your thoughts on this (although i am no longer sure who exactly might read this thing still). and please send any advice regarding cover letters.
of course, i may not get any position in the states and i could be back here next year. or i could be in colombia. or chile (where i have a connection now after my last trip to costa rica). or....
i am sending in apps this week or next to one school in wyoming, in a town called sheridan (i would tell you its in the middle of nowhere but that describes wyoming in general). the other is in spokane, washington. not places you might choose, but places i might be quite content. plus, both are full-time and tenure track positions at community colleges and the pay is generous for the work schedule.
anyway, feel free to throw out your thoughts on this (although i am no longer sure who exactly might read this thing still). and please send any advice regarding cover letters.
of course, i may not get any position in the states and i could be back here next year. or i could be in colombia. or chile (where i have a connection now after my last trip to costa rica). or....
31 January 2008
news of sorts. first, i have been trying to reduce the amount of sugar i eat. too much time on my hands, you ask? indeed. al huevo.
either way, i have begun buying large quantities of grapefruits and orange, about 1-2 kilos each per week, and, well, juicin 'em. i bought a hand press juicer (small compartment where the cut orange or whatever goes, then a hand press that mashes the fruit against a solid wall, and small holes underneath where the goose goes out). less complex than i just explained. but, it is pretty rockin. i was thinking about how much sugar i ingest every week just from the juices that i buy, and it is a lot. yes, this way is more of a pain in the ass, as you have to juice about 6 halves by hand to get a good sized cup o goose, but the juice tastes 100 times better and i feel better about myself. part 2 of the last sentence was all i was ever really after.
continuing the saga, i have also started making smoothies. i bought a blender last fall, never used it, then finally started. i take my homemade juice, add a banana, frozen berries of whatever sort, carrots, maybe a kiwi if i have it, some flavored yogurt with meal in it, and liquefy the sumnabitch. sweet sweet action.
this is my two step process of feeling better about myself. the third step is going to the gym as often as possible, 3-4 times a week, and after the workout with weights, absolutely trying to kill myself on the stairmaster. that's right, i said it, the stairmaster. you burn calories on that thing faster than any other machine i have found. plus, at about 8000ft in altitude, it does not take long until you are entirely soaked with sweat.
in a somewhat unrelated topic, i went shopping after xmas to catch the sales. i ended up buying a lot of new clothes, which is good considering it has been a long time since i did that and some of my pants, especially, were literally wearing thin. i ended up buying two really cheap blazers. i now have 3. i wear them 3-4 days a week. imagine this. will. beard. longish hair. button down shirt. rockin blazer. i either grew up or just like looking strange. i must say my favorite part of wearing the jackets is the pockets. dude. three inner pockets? score. i love it. pens, paper, phone, keys, credit cards. it's all in there somewhere and as long i dont forget and leave it in there when i change jackets (this is happening a lot but i blame this on the transition stage), it is all good. we are talking about doubling, nay, tripling my on-person (or on-billy as i like to say) storage capacity. yahtzee.
went to costa rica last week on a business trip. that was really cool, although having to work was somewhat of a bummer. costa rica seems beautiful, but pricey. that only leaves panama and i have been to every country in central america. i met a guy who lives and works in colombia and that might be my next destination. if i can score a job at the school where he works, i could be out of here within the next year. or not. it all depends.
looks like mccain might be the man for the repubs. if that happens, i think the dems are lost. what are your thoughts on that? it is strange to go out and hear lots of mexis talking about the elections in the usa. i doubt anyone in the states was discussing the virtues and vices of amlo and calderón a few years back.
if i get a photo of me in one of the sports coats i will upload it. gq baby. keep on truckin.
either way, i have begun buying large quantities of grapefruits and orange, about 1-2 kilos each per week, and, well, juicin 'em. i bought a hand press juicer (small compartment where the cut orange or whatever goes, then a hand press that mashes the fruit against a solid wall, and small holes underneath where the goose goes out). less complex than i just explained. but, it is pretty rockin. i was thinking about how much sugar i ingest every week just from the juices that i buy, and it is a lot. yes, this way is more of a pain in the ass, as you have to juice about 6 halves by hand to get a good sized cup o goose, but the juice tastes 100 times better and i feel better about myself. part 2 of the last sentence was all i was ever really after.
continuing the saga, i have also started making smoothies. i bought a blender last fall, never used it, then finally started. i take my homemade juice, add a banana, frozen berries of whatever sort, carrots, maybe a kiwi if i have it, some flavored yogurt with meal in it, and liquefy the sumnabitch. sweet sweet action.
this is my two step process of feeling better about myself. the third step is going to the gym as often as possible, 3-4 times a week, and after the workout with weights, absolutely trying to kill myself on the stairmaster. that's right, i said it, the stairmaster. you burn calories on that thing faster than any other machine i have found. plus, at about 8000ft in altitude, it does not take long until you are entirely soaked with sweat.
in a somewhat unrelated topic, i went shopping after xmas to catch the sales. i ended up buying a lot of new clothes, which is good considering it has been a long time since i did that and some of my pants, especially, were literally wearing thin. i ended up buying two really cheap blazers. i now have 3. i wear them 3-4 days a week. imagine this. will. beard. longish hair. button down shirt. rockin blazer. i either grew up or just like looking strange. i must say my favorite part of wearing the jackets is the pockets. dude. three inner pockets? score. i love it. pens, paper, phone, keys, credit cards. it's all in there somewhere and as long i dont forget and leave it in there when i change jackets (this is happening a lot but i blame this on the transition stage), it is all good. we are talking about doubling, nay, tripling my on-person (or on-billy as i like to say) storage capacity. yahtzee.
went to costa rica last week on a business trip. that was really cool, although having to work was somewhat of a bummer. costa rica seems beautiful, but pricey. that only leaves panama and i have been to every country in central america. i met a guy who lives and works in colombia and that might be my next destination. if i can score a job at the school where he works, i could be out of here within the next year. or not. it all depends.
looks like mccain might be the man for the repubs. if that happens, i think the dems are lost. what are your thoughts on that? it is strange to go out and hear lots of mexis talking about the elections in the usa. i doubt anyone in the states was discussing the virtues and vices of amlo and calderón a few years back.
if i get a photo of me in one of the sports coats i will upload it. gq baby. keep on truckin.
17 January 2008
on the fly. i remember when i was much younger that the idea of ¨winging-it¨ was not only the means but the ends. ¨just start and figure it out as you go¨ was the motto used by me and my buddy ryan when dealing with everything from asking the rents for something to talking on the phone with a some girl to getting out of some problem. i am sure i can glorify this method and claim that it makes your mind sharp as you must remember whatever lies are spewing from your mouth for future reference but that would be, well, a lie. the point is that later whenever confronted with some bullshit we had said, we just made up some other as an explanation. there was no basis for anything other than believing what you wanted the situation to be. i used to expound the idea that if you believe it, it is true. i still feel that way in most cases, undoubtedly confirming my own opinion by not seeking that of others, and confer upon those around me such wisdom as comes to the top of my head. how grand.
in some ways i am experimenting this semester with the idea of saying fuck it and making up each day as it begins. but, that would also be a half-truth as i have a plan, even wrote it down, of where each week and semester goes. the details of the day, however, stem from whatever it is i am thinking of at the moment. i have taken to reading technology sections of the bbc, new york times, wall street journal and economist to get fresh ideas to present to my students. the class is called literature and technology, where the literature, future or science fiction, serves as the foundation, or even catalyst, of the class, and technology acts as the medium through which the students interact with the texts. frankenstein? ok, we will talk about issues of identity and what makes a person a person (cloning, human genome project), or playing god (lack of genetically unmodified fruit and vegetables, tampering with viruses and diseases). the latest, which i read this morning in the bbc, was that a governing body (possibly international but at least british) has approved the splicing of human and animal egg and sperm to create a fetus. no joke. the claim is that the combination (i am sputtering for a word to describe this offspring) will never live more than 14 days and that it will only be used to harvest stem cells and study effects of viruses and diseases in general on the fetus. strange days.
the point of this might have been simply to help me explain to myself what the hell it is i am doing here. maybe i am justifying my rationale. both.
completely unrelated idea- i highly recommend the book ¨under the volcano¨ by malcolm lowry and published in the late 1940s. set in mexico, just outside of the city where i live, the story takes place in one day and loosely follows the odyssey format. incredible story, too much feeling at times, and rather unnerving. gives a startling view into the life of a foreigner surviving (and not) in mexico.
in some ways i am experimenting this semester with the idea of saying fuck it and making up each day as it begins. but, that would also be a half-truth as i have a plan, even wrote it down, of where each week and semester goes. the details of the day, however, stem from whatever it is i am thinking of at the moment. i have taken to reading technology sections of the bbc, new york times, wall street journal and economist to get fresh ideas to present to my students. the class is called literature and technology, where the literature, future or science fiction, serves as the foundation, or even catalyst, of the class, and technology acts as the medium through which the students interact with the texts. frankenstein? ok, we will talk about issues of identity and what makes a person a person (cloning, human genome project), or playing god (lack of genetically unmodified fruit and vegetables, tampering with viruses and diseases). the latest, which i read this morning in the bbc, was that a governing body (possibly international but at least british) has approved the splicing of human and animal egg and sperm to create a fetus. no joke. the claim is that the combination (i am sputtering for a word to describe this offspring) will never live more than 14 days and that it will only be used to harvest stem cells and study effects of viruses and diseases in general on the fetus. strange days.
the point of this might have been simply to help me explain to myself what the hell it is i am doing here. maybe i am justifying my rationale. both.
completely unrelated idea- i highly recommend the book ¨under the volcano¨ by malcolm lowry and published in the late 1940s. set in mexico, just outside of the city where i live, the story takes place in one day and loosely follows the odyssey format. incredible story, too much feeling at times, and rather unnerving. gives a startling view into the life of a foreigner surviving (and not) in mexico.
16 January 2008
new school year started on monday. my classes are good and the workload is definitely manageable, so that is great. my good friend just became the director of the university foreign language dept. selfish of me, but this post really helps me a lot as well as he will be able to offer me classes in the university in the upcoming semesters which will help my résumé and generally improve my standing if i choose to make a permanent switch out of the high school. he will also have a lot more pull in areas like phd programs (he was the first to graduate, in december, from the program i want to enter, so i am hoping that he can also help keep the program alive and accepting new students). as we are pretty tight, it will also help me because i will be talking to him a lot and learning about his job and whether something administrative might be in the future for me as well (indeed, if he leaves in a few years and i am around working on a phd or whatever, i would be in a great position to take over the post). so ya, i am extremely pleased about this turn of events.
the director of the language dept in the university just quit; the director of the language dept. in the high school left 2 days ago. also, two other full time teachers have gone within the last 5 days. huge changes around here, which again makes me glad that a good friend is in charge of another dept in case things go south and i want out of this dept. i doubt that will happen as our new director is professional and up to the task, but with so many other external factors, one never knows. as this is the first time i have held a job for 17 months or more in the last 5 years, i guess i just assume that i will leave before anyone in a position above me does. strange to see your friends go as opposed to you be the one going. not exactly used to that, but oh well. there will always be new additions.
the director of the language dept in the university just quit; the director of the language dept. in the high school left 2 days ago. also, two other full time teachers have gone within the last 5 days. huge changes around here, which again makes me glad that a good friend is in charge of another dept in case things go south and i want out of this dept. i doubt that will happen as our new director is professional and up to the task, but with so many other external factors, one never knows. as this is the first time i have held a job for 17 months or more in the last 5 years, i guess i just assume that i will leave before anyone in a position above me does. strange to see your friends go as opposed to you be the one going. not exactly used to that, but oh well. there will always be new additions.
03 January 2008
i would have to get sick as soon as i get back into town. sucks. oh well, today is my first day back at work and i already want another vacation. on the whole i learned an incredible amount on this trip, including where i want to go back to (la antigua and lago atitlan in guatemala) and where not (managua, nicaragua). i have wanted to visit central america for years. i finally got my chance. as i will be going to costa rica for a week this month, i will only have one country (i dont count belize really) left to visit: panama. all of my friends, including many who i met on this last trip, tell me it is beautiful and well worth the visit. i have no doubt they are right.
here are 100 or so pics from the trip. let me know if this link does not work.
if you check back in a week or so i will add some comments onto the pictures so that you have an idea of where they are all taken from. the first volcano is the island of ometepe in nicaragua and the water is a lake. the second volcano pics, the ones where are within 5 feet of flowing lava, are from guatemala. the last pics are from the beach in chiapas (mexico).
i am definitely hoping to go back to guatemala at some point soon, but i may have to wait until next winter vacation. the time to go is definitely in the winter if anyone is thinking of central america because you miss the rainy season and the heat is tolerable. july? hell no.
i hope the hokies win tonight and dont live up to the nickname as they did last year.
happy new years to all.
here are 100 or so pics from the trip. let me know if this link does not work.
if you check back in a week or so i will add some comments onto the pictures so that you have an idea of where they are all taken from. the first volcano is the island of ometepe in nicaragua and the water is a lake. the second volcano pics, the ones where are within 5 feet of flowing lava, are from guatemala. the last pics are from the beach in chiapas (mexico).
i am definitely hoping to go back to guatemala at some point soon, but i may have to wait until next winter vacation. the time to go is definitely in the winter if anyone is thinking of central america because you miss the rainy season and the heat is tolerable. july? hell no.
i hope the hokies win tonight and dont live up to the nickname as they did last year.
happy new years to all.
28 December 2007
well, at the very least, i must say that getting online in central america is not impossible, but not always that easy. hence, it has taken me this long to get online. we went to honduras, then el salvador, hiked onto an active volcano and came within 3 feet of molten rock, no shit, flowing, active, real live 2000 degrees centigrade magma, on christmas day. not a bad way to spend the holiday. tons of fun, lots to say, but my bus leaves in 15 minutes to mexico city and i have to run. not looking forward to a 13 hour bus ride, but oh well. still cannot believe i hiked on an active volcano in guatemala, but fortunately i have a camera and it even has video so all of it will be available to you guys in about a week.
merry xmas. hope you all had a great holiday, and happy new year. i am so excited to have visited so many cool countries!
merry xmas. hope you all had a great holiday, and happy new year. i am so excited to have visited so many cool countries!
22 December 2007
this seems like a good color for another country. today we are in león, nicaragua, but we will soon be leaving (later this afternoon actually) to return to managua, the capital of the country. as there is only 1 bus out of this country going north that leaves each day (it leaves at 5am), we have to return to the capital to catch it.
we spent the first night in managua, where on the plane we met an incredibly kind nicaragüense who told us how ridiculous the cab prices would be at the airport and that we should look across the street to find a cab. well, her sister, brother and son all came to get her and they busied themselves with finding us a decent cab (because we had big packs and looked foreign they would overcharge), but it turned out the cabs all wanted more than our new friends thought we should have to pay and so they took us the 10 miles into town themselves. from there they found us a cheap cab to take us to where we thought there would be cheap places to stay (although the guidebook i am using, only 5 years old, calls the neighborhood one thing, nobody from there has ever heard of that name, so there was some confusion at first). anyway, they found us another cab and told us it would be 4 dollars (almost everyone here accepts usa dollars). before i could reach into my pocket for cash, they were handing us the amount in córdobas, the local currency, and explaining that since we just arrived we probably had no change. upon discovering that i was reaching into my pocket to give them cash, they made it clear that they were not actually offering the money, but were insisting. needless to say this was the most cordial arrival i have received anywhere and should have boded well for the rest of the stay here in nicaragua. it did not.
we made our way to the part of town the guidebook said has cheap places to stay. well, cheap was true. the barrio was truly frightening, but i will get into that another day. we found a cheap hospedaje (like a house with rooms partitioned off) and were all set. the señora running the house told us it was dangerous to walk around (we got there around 9pm), but as we had not eaten, she recommended a place within two blocks. it was sketchy to say the least and as investing in street lights would take up precious money that they city could spend on, say, trash removal (also not done), the streets were darker than madison county side roads.
and it is roasting down here also. i should mention that. mosquitos abound, and since my friend has already had dengüe fever once (the second could be fatal), i put up the mosquito net in the, let us just say, not frequently cleaned room (filthy would be more adequate actually). about an hour into our rest, i could not stop itching my legs and arms. ever heard the phrase: sleep tight, don´t let the bed bugs bite. well, i leanred that night what bed bugs are. painful, obnoxious, not something you ever want to experience again (which is why, 3 nights later on the largest freshwater lake island in the world, ometepe, we found ourselves sleeping under the open sky in hammocks instead of the shitty ass room we had paid for that apparently used mattresses and pillows from the 1960´s that had never been cleaned or replaced). yet i digress. managua.
is, as far as i can tell from less than 24 hours, one of the ugliest, dirtiest and poorest capital cities i have ever been to by far. mexico, even the poorest parts, seems first world here. frightening at times, managua left much to be desired. we descended upon another city on a lake, this the largest freshwater lake in central america, granada on tuesday. heaven. colonial buildings, oriented for tourists, the place positively reeked of happy people and good times. while that first impression was not all true, we found a beautiful place to stay for 18 bucks a night (expensive for my taste, but after the bed bug incident, it was necessary. on a side note, we found an english-run coffe/bookshop on arriving in granada and the lady, from the states, suggested the place we ended up staying in. she told us there were cheaper places, but had heard horror stories of bed mites, and even a case of mange. no. we told her we could not believe it and were shocked but would take her advice and find the place she suggested. dear god. this is a valuable lesson. pay more if you have to, but find a place that is clean (this never mattered to me in the mountains of mexico where i have stayed because of the cold weather, but here, damn, the bugs love it.)
anyway, granada rocks. i have to go check out more of this city, but when next i write i will either be in el salvador or guatemala. tomorrow, honduras. merry christmas!
we spent the first night in managua, where on the plane we met an incredibly kind nicaragüense who told us how ridiculous the cab prices would be at the airport and that we should look across the street to find a cab. well, her sister, brother and son all came to get her and they busied themselves with finding us a decent cab (because we had big packs and looked foreign they would overcharge), but it turned out the cabs all wanted more than our new friends thought we should have to pay and so they took us the 10 miles into town themselves. from there they found us a cheap cab to take us to where we thought there would be cheap places to stay (although the guidebook i am using, only 5 years old, calls the neighborhood one thing, nobody from there has ever heard of that name, so there was some confusion at first). anyway, they found us another cab and told us it would be 4 dollars (almost everyone here accepts usa dollars). before i could reach into my pocket for cash, they were handing us the amount in córdobas, the local currency, and explaining that since we just arrived we probably had no change. upon discovering that i was reaching into my pocket to give them cash, they made it clear that they were not actually offering the money, but were insisting. needless to say this was the most cordial arrival i have received anywhere and should have boded well for the rest of the stay here in nicaragua. it did not.
we made our way to the part of town the guidebook said has cheap places to stay. well, cheap was true. the barrio was truly frightening, but i will get into that another day. we found a cheap hospedaje (like a house with rooms partitioned off) and were all set. the señora running the house told us it was dangerous to walk around (we got there around 9pm), but as we had not eaten, she recommended a place within two blocks. it was sketchy to say the least and as investing in street lights would take up precious money that they city could spend on, say, trash removal (also not done), the streets were darker than madison county side roads.
and it is roasting down here also. i should mention that. mosquitos abound, and since my friend has already had dengüe fever once (the second could be fatal), i put up the mosquito net in the, let us just say, not frequently cleaned room (filthy would be more adequate actually). about an hour into our rest, i could not stop itching my legs and arms. ever heard the phrase: sleep tight, don´t let the bed bugs bite. well, i leanred that night what bed bugs are. painful, obnoxious, not something you ever want to experience again (which is why, 3 nights later on the largest freshwater lake island in the world, ometepe, we found ourselves sleeping under the open sky in hammocks instead of the shitty ass room we had paid for that apparently used mattresses and pillows from the 1960´s that had never been cleaned or replaced). yet i digress. managua.
is, as far as i can tell from less than 24 hours, one of the ugliest, dirtiest and poorest capital cities i have ever been to by far. mexico, even the poorest parts, seems first world here. frightening at times, managua left much to be desired. we descended upon another city on a lake, this the largest freshwater lake in central america, granada on tuesday. heaven. colonial buildings, oriented for tourists, the place positively reeked of happy people and good times. while that first impression was not all true, we found a beautiful place to stay for 18 bucks a night (expensive for my taste, but after the bed bug incident, it was necessary. on a side note, we found an english-run coffe/bookshop on arriving in granada and the lady, from the states, suggested the place we ended up staying in. she told us there were cheaper places, but had heard horror stories of bed mites, and even a case of mange. no. we told her we could not believe it and were shocked but would take her advice and find the place she suggested. dear god. this is a valuable lesson. pay more if you have to, but find a place that is clean (this never mattered to me in the mountains of mexico where i have stayed because of the cold weather, but here, damn, the bugs love it.)
anyway, granada rocks. i have to go check out more of this city, but when next i write i will either be in el salvador or guatemala. tomorrow, honduras. merry christmas!
11 December 2007
not sure if any of you are interested, but the following is an outline/overview of what i have been working on the past 5 months or so. it will eventually culminate in a phd if all goes well, possibly down here. to say that living in mexico has changed my perspective on my future would be an understatement, but it would also overgeneralize. working at my current school, one fundamentally tied to technological advancement, has given me the opportunity to work using platforms and programs based on new ideas in technology. good and bad (certainly the two are not mutually exclusive if you believe what neil postman, andrew feenberg and albert borgmann have been saying for the past 20 years or more) this focus on change has altered how all societies function and interact with each other.
a simple example would be that we are shifting between a mass society to one that is clearly de-massified and focused on niches. of the 25 best-selling music albums of all time, none have been released since 2000. coincidence? piracy? i-tunes? or an idea much simpler- there is no need to buy an entire album if you only want one song. the last 8 years have also brought a resurgence of older music once thought gone- brandy, you´re a fine girl.
a discussion with my sister the other day made me realize how netflix contributes to this. according to a july, 2006 new yorker article, 90% of blockbuster´s film rental revenue comes from the rental of new films. with well over 100,000 films in its library, many of which are small documentaries or indie films, netflix on the other hand seems to be opening, rather than closing, markets. it was never that these types of films would not sell; however, the economics of all video stores containing all films is ridiculous. hence, netflix manages to be all the little stores combined.
technology and its ¨advancement¨ also affects individuals and has ethical implications.
memory enhancement, to take a recent example, creates numerous issues. engineers are developing devices, microsoft has a few in development, that record life. one such device is worn around the neck and takes a picture every 4 seconds or every time the wearer moves. thus, you have a photo record of what you experience. lots of cool ideas come from this when the device is linked to a computer. for example, the computer might ask you why it has been 6 weeks since the device took a picture of kelly. well, maybe kelly was out of town, or your ex, and so you could not see her. or, maybe you forgot and should give her a call. also, if you are on business and go to seattle, the computer can remind you of everyone you met and with a recording device, give you a first-hand account of what was said. maybe you dont understand why the business deal failed, but when you listen to the recording and see the faces of everyone at the table, you realize your tone of voice caused a problem (you see it in the faces of those you actually did not see bc you were looking somewhere else).
ethical issues abound with this type of technology. should we be ¨enhancing¨ memory in such a way? writing was the first technological advancement to memory. many predicted it would ruin mankind. maybe it did. but, should all people be recorded whether they want to be or not? what will happen to privacy if all life is recorded by everyone? this will change how you interact with others. guarded would be an understatement. you might even begin to wear a mask to cover your reactions/expressions.
another device is a transmitter that scrambles the messages taken by the recording device. like a program, which already exists, that automatically scrambles email messages. therefore, there is never going to be an authentic and authorized version of a digital message. all will be compromised, thus negating this ¨first-hand¨ source. is this ethical? is any of it?
the point is that it will not be stopped. you cannot take away a technology once it has been presented to society. imagine telling a kid that in 1 week, she will have no more ipod. forever. or, imagine telling a businessperson that in 1 month, the computers will disappear forever. back to typewriters and handwritten memos. this is an impossibility, not hyperbole. you cannot take away what was given regarding technology. you cannot even move backward. try telling someone that in 1 year all cellphones will revert back to the zack morris version from ¨saved by the bell¨ (big, clunky, funny looking to us).
these are the kinds of questions that interest me. these are philosophical issues, clearly, and what i am proposing to study down here is the philosophy of technology, focusing on technology and culture. the beauty is that the ideas will not slow down and the possibilities for research multiply exponentially, similar to moore´s law in that sense (moore´s law says that, "the number of transistors that can be fit onto a square inch of silicon doubles every 12 months." he said this in 1965, and mostly it holds true today. moore was a founder of intel by the way). in other words, job security.
below is a cut ´n paste job of some questions/ideas i presented to the director of the humanities graduate studies program recently. this is what i am thinking about and reading about. it may interest you or it may not; however, it already affects you. strange in that way, i think.
a simple example would be that we are shifting between a mass society to one that is clearly de-massified and focused on niches. of the 25 best-selling music albums of all time, none have been released since 2000. coincidence? piracy? i-tunes? or an idea much simpler- there is no need to buy an entire album if you only want one song. the last 8 years have also brought a resurgence of older music once thought gone- brandy, you´re a fine girl.
a discussion with my sister the other day made me realize how netflix contributes to this. according to a july, 2006 new yorker article, 90% of blockbuster´s film rental revenue comes from the rental of new films. with well over 100,000 films in its library, many of which are small documentaries or indie films, netflix on the other hand seems to be opening, rather than closing, markets. it was never that these types of films would not sell; however, the economics of all video stores containing all films is ridiculous. hence, netflix manages to be all the little stores combined.
technology and its ¨advancement¨ also affects individuals and has ethical implications.
memory enhancement, to take a recent example, creates numerous issues. engineers are developing devices, microsoft has a few in development, that record life. one such device is worn around the neck and takes a picture every 4 seconds or every time the wearer moves. thus, you have a photo record of what you experience. lots of cool ideas come from this when the device is linked to a computer. for example, the computer might ask you why it has been 6 weeks since the device took a picture of kelly. well, maybe kelly was out of town, or your ex, and so you could not see her. or, maybe you forgot and should give her a call. also, if you are on business and go to seattle, the computer can remind you of everyone you met and with a recording device, give you a first-hand account of what was said. maybe you dont understand why the business deal failed, but when you listen to the recording and see the faces of everyone at the table, you realize your tone of voice caused a problem (you see it in the faces of those you actually did not see bc you were looking somewhere else).
ethical issues abound with this type of technology. should we be ¨enhancing¨ memory in such a way? writing was the first technological advancement to memory. many predicted it would ruin mankind. maybe it did. but, should all people be recorded whether they want to be or not? what will happen to privacy if all life is recorded by everyone? this will change how you interact with others. guarded would be an understatement. you might even begin to wear a mask to cover your reactions/expressions.
another device is a transmitter that scrambles the messages taken by the recording device. like a program, which already exists, that automatically scrambles email messages. therefore, there is never going to be an authentic and authorized version of a digital message. all will be compromised, thus negating this ¨first-hand¨ source. is this ethical? is any of it?
the point is that it will not be stopped. you cannot take away a technology once it has been presented to society. imagine telling a kid that in 1 week, she will have no more ipod. forever. or, imagine telling a businessperson that in 1 month, the computers will disappear forever. back to typewriters and handwritten memos. this is an impossibility, not hyperbole. you cannot take away what was given regarding technology. you cannot even move backward. try telling someone that in 1 year all cellphones will revert back to the zack morris version from ¨saved by the bell¨ (big, clunky, funny looking to us).
these are the kinds of questions that interest me. these are philosophical issues, clearly, and what i am proposing to study down here is the philosophy of technology, focusing on technology and culture. the beauty is that the ideas will not slow down and the possibilities for research multiply exponentially, similar to moore´s law in that sense (moore´s law says that, "the number of transistors that can be fit onto a square inch of silicon doubles every 12 months." he said this in 1965, and mostly it holds true today. moore was a founder of intel by the way). in other words, job security.
below is a cut ´n paste job of some questions/ideas i presented to the director of the humanities graduate studies program recently. this is what i am thinking about and reading about. it may interest you or it may not; however, it already affects you. strange in that way, i think.
Technology and Its Effects on Epistemology
o Philosophy of technology from a humanities perspective
o The objects are part of the discourse (ex. environment is not simply an object to be manipulated, we must develop with the environment, similar to an inter-subjective conversation)
o Art and literature influence technology
o Technology changes how we gather, transmit and view information
o Much of Postmodern philosophy deals with analysis of texts,what is needed is to dissect the concept of information
o Technology provides means for democratization as well as trivialization of knowledge
o Technology can validate a posteriori knowledge; can it affect a priori knowledge?
o As definitions change analytic and synthetic knowledge might also be altered (is this tenable?)
o Raises fundamental questions about adequacy and validity of knowledge transmitted while simultaneously providing means of researching such obstacles
o This provokes ethical questions- what information is a given technology enabling? What is it marginalizing?
§ Technology facilitates an elite group’s domination because it validates their information (knowledge)
o Changes definitions
o Effects on literature
§ Our definition of literature must change (blogs) as technology facilitates access for both authors and audiences
o Memory associated with knowledge- data can be stored but altered, lost also- this affects what is transmitted and received
o Sender to receiver not simply a straight line (magic bullet theory), must account for the source, noise, etc. How does technology affect these limiting factors, yet remain part of them?
only 6 days remain until i return to the usa. of course, i will only be in the usa for about 2 hours, but hey, it is kind of like going back. amazingly enough, the cheapest distance between two points separated by about 1000 miles is actually about 3000 miles.
a few weeks ago i was looking for the cheapest one-way fares to central america, and i discovered that miami, florida, was the connection that would take off about 100 dollars from my ticket. and instead of flying with a central america airline, i will be flying american airlines to nicaragua next monday morning.
i will spend about 4 days in nicaragua, then start heading back to mexico. one day (max) in honduras- i have friends who lived there and do not speak that highly of it- then maybe two days in el salvador. after that, another 4 days or so in guatemala before the nearly 24 bus ride back from guatemala to mexico city.
i might stop off in southern mexico just to break up the trip a bit, but as i lived there for a year, i am not exactly dying to ¨see the sights¨ necessarily.
then in january i am going to costa rica for a conference. i wont get much chance to be a tourist as the schedule is kind of tight, but it will be cool to see another country. sad to think i have lived down here over 2 years and still only been to 1 other country (guatemala). luckily in the next month i will visit 4 more. at the very least that is exciting.
anybody up there doing anything cool for vacation?
a few weeks ago i was looking for the cheapest one-way fares to central america, and i discovered that miami, florida, was the connection that would take off about 100 dollars from my ticket. and instead of flying with a central america airline, i will be flying american airlines to nicaragua next monday morning.
i will spend about 4 days in nicaragua, then start heading back to mexico. one day (max) in honduras- i have friends who lived there and do not speak that highly of it- then maybe two days in el salvador. after that, another 4 days or so in guatemala before the nearly 24 bus ride back from guatemala to mexico city.
i might stop off in southern mexico just to break up the trip a bit, but as i lived there for a year, i am not exactly dying to ¨see the sights¨ necessarily.
then in january i am going to costa rica for a conference. i wont get much chance to be a tourist as the schedule is kind of tight, but it will be cool to see another country. sad to think i have lived down here over 2 years and still only been to 1 other country (guatemala). luckily in the next month i will visit 4 more. at the very least that is exciting.
anybody up there doing anything cool for vacation?
07 December 2007
happy birthday to my sis. have a great day!
now, to complain. i really feel i dont bitch enough. ever. doubtless you would agree. selfless, giving, loving, gentle, vulnerable; a rather altruistic person in general. ya, i would say that sums me up quite well.
my beef stems from student evaluations of teachers. giving a 15 or 16 year old a forum to grade a prof seems more than slightly ridiculous. there are 18 questions on this mandatory survey, and some of the questions range from benign: does the teacher use the platform? (blackboard or an internet based system through which we run our courses); to asinine: did the teacher show the real-world relevance of this course? to insulting: did you like the professor?
please. if a kid is failing, what do you think she will do? give you a high mark? or, fail your ass because that is what you are doing to her? honestly, i am not much better when it comes to this kind of thing, so i should not be allowed to take these surveys either, but damn, at least i have a clue about what the questions are really doing. these surveys are used by the department to evaluate profs. kiss. my. ass. if you want to go on the opinion of a 15 year old, be my guest, but understand that in the end the kid is a kid and if the prof follows the rules and does not allow a kid to enter class who is more than 5 minutes late, then the kid will react. is this generalizing? hell yes it is.
the pies de resistance must be the comments section at the bottom where children are encouraged to spout off whatever inane, ludicrous grievance they can think of. sweet.
my first question is where the hell is my evaluation? why is no one asking my opinion of them? why are my thoughts not worth it? to me, this seems to be telling me that i need to grade them based on how i see them. really? ok, then half fail. if those in charge want me to grade based on: did the students use the platform? did they like the subject? were they pleasing to me? then i will certainly evaluate based on such criteria. i dont think this is fair, though. i wont do that, not because i am bigger than this, because clearly i am in no way above that kind of thing, but because i dont see that matching jackassery with more of the same is in any way constructive.
if the above diatribe has not given you a clear picture of who i am, let me share a few choice insights from adoring, captivated audience. ¨he is cold. he should be more open in class and nicer to us.¨ ¨class would be better if he made it more fun.¨ ¨class would be better if he showed more interest in the subject.¨ ¨i dont think the class is relevant to the real world¨(the class is called media and culture where we discuss how media influences and affect the population through advertising, film, television, music and cultural imperialism, etc. right. no real world application. what the fuck does this child know about the world that mtv did not show?)
am i the friend of my students? hell no. i am their teacher, not their buddy. do i want to keep a separation between myself and them? ¿cómo chingados que no, cabron? which is a somewhat impolite way of saying, of course. i dont care if you hate me, but at the very least you should respect me. or, maybe i should start grading based on my own opinion.
now, to complain. i really feel i dont bitch enough. ever. doubtless you would agree. selfless, giving, loving, gentle, vulnerable; a rather altruistic person in general. ya, i would say that sums me up quite well.
my beef stems from student evaluations of teachers. giving a 15 or 16 year old a forum to grade a prof seems more than slightly ridiculous. there are 18 questions on this mandatory survey, and some of the questions range from benign: does the teacher use the platform? (blackboard or an internet based system through which we run our courses); to asinine: did the teacher show the real-world relevance of this course? to insulting: did you like the professor?
please. if a kid is failing, what do you think she will do? give you a high mark? or, fail your ass because that is what you are doing to her? honestly, i am not much better when it comes to this kind of thing, so i should not be allowed to take these surveys either, but damn, at least i have a clue about what the questions are really doing. these surveys are used by the department to evaluate profs. kiss. my. ass. if you want to go on the opinion of a 15 year old, be my guest, but understand that in the end the kid is a kid and if the prof follows the rules and does not allow a kid to enter class who is more than 5 minutes late, then the kid will react. is this generalizing? hell yes it is.
the pies de resistance must be the comments section at the bottom where children are encouraged to spout off whatever inane, ludicrous grievance they can think of. sweet.
my first question is where the hell is my evaluation? why is no one asking my opinion of them? why are my thoughts not worth it? to me, this seems to be telling me that i need to grade them based on how i see them. really? ok, then half fail. if those in charge want me to grade based on: did the students use the platform? did they like the subject? were they pleasing to me? then i will certainly evaluate based on such criteria. i dont think this is fair, though. i wont do that, not because i am bigger than this, because clearly i am in no way above that kind of thing, but because i dont see that matching jackassery with more of the same is in any way constructive.
if the above diatribe has not given you a clear picture of who i am, let me share a few choice insights from adoring, captivated audience. ¨he is cold. he should be more open in class and nicer to us.¨ ¨class would be better if he made it more fun.¨ ¨class would be better if he showed more interest in the subject.¨ ¨i dont think the class is relevant to the real world¨(the class is called media and culture where we discuss how media influences and affect the population through advertising, film, television, music and cultural imperialism, etc. right. no real world application. what the fuck does this child know about the world that mtv did not show?)
am i the friend of my students? hell no. i am their teacher, not their buddy. do i want to keep a separation between myself and them? ¿cómo chingados que no, cabron? which is a somewhat impolite way of saying, of course. i dont care if you hate me, but at the very least you should respect me. or, maybe i should start grading based on my own opinion.
05 December 2007
dreams supposedly offer us a glimpse into the subconscious mind. not sure i believe that, but at the very least they show us a warped reality that inspires thousands of trite ¨explanation¨ books and dim conversations. this is the latter.
there is an interesting film called ¨the good night,¨ at least that is what i think the english title is. stars danny devito, penelope cruz, the sister from royal tenenbaums whose name i cannot place and some brits. the brits pretty much run the film, so take that as you will. one of the underlying premises of the film is the notion that you can control dreams. lucid dreaming, i believe.
turning the light switch on and off a few times before bed, among other remedies, supposedly allows you a margin of control when you switch off normal thinking patterns and drift off for the night. following this ¨method¨ permits you to introduce into the dream whomever you want and control the actions.
is this not already possible? one could argue that we do already control our dreams and that what occurs, though not necessarily an overt desire, has links to what we want (or in some cases, what we do not). these remedies to give power back seem based on the idea that what we experience (not sure if we can use this word to describe a dream, but we can get to that later)is out of our control in the first place. is that true? do we really have no ability to manipulate dreams?
assuming we do not command what occurs in a dream state, why would we want to do so? is it simply fear of the unknown; some abject desire for power (a manifest destiny as it should and must be ours to control)? often times we fear what we do not understand. few have a clear grasp of the reasons behind ¨terrorism¨ (those in the muslim world who act against the usa, or those in the west who act against the muslim world) and thus both sides in many ways fear each other. would clearer definitions resolve these problems? perhaps.
what is the point of all this? not sure. my dreams recently have been no stranger than any other time (although it would also be difficult to define a ¨normal¨ dream), but i was reading an article the other day about a frenchman, jacques barzun (a rather famous author and former prof a columbia university) who taught and lived for 70 years in new york. he will be 100 this year and in the last 10 years published a book called ¨from dawn to decadence¨ which traces the history of europe and the states from, you guessed it, the renaissance to present. from the title you gather that he claims current society is in a state of decline. isn´t there a reality show based on that idea? according to him, all his dreams recently have been a mix of french and english. he is starting to blend french back into his dreams though he has not lived there for nearly a century. in fact, he resides in san antonio, texas. although not an expert on texas, somehow i doubt it has a barrio called little france.
it has been more than a year since i really payed attention to what language i was speaking or those in my dreams speak. most of it is spanish, and i often find myself explain spanish words to people as a kind of, not exactly translation, but clarification. this is a problem i still face with spanish- i know most of the rules but not all. luckily, i now hear others making mistakes all the time (native speakers), so i realize i am, and have been for a long time, at a point where my vocabulary is fine (although my slang can always improve), but some of the minor rules i miss.
nevertheless, i dreamed last night that i was explaining to two friends, one from the usa and one from here, how to say something in spanish. it did not strike me as odd in the dream that my mexican friend never contradicted me or corrected me. she let me go on with my explanation and even asked for further clarification. did i control that? do i want that? if not, do i really desire that people from here accept my version of their language as the correct, thus forcing them to come to me with questions about their native tongue? maybe.
i have many more questions than answers, but i am rather sure that no matter what i want, subconsciously, there is most likely an excellent reason that i do not make these desires public. so why did i write this?
there is an interesting film called ¨the good night,¨ at least that is what i think the english title is. stars danny devito, penelope cruz, the sister from royal tenenbaums whose name i cannot place and some brits. the brits pretty much run the film, so take that as you will. one of the underlying premises of the film is the notion that you can control dreams. lucid dreaming, i believe.
turning the light switch on and off a few times before bed, among other remedies, supposedly allows you a margin of control when you switch off normal thinking patterns and drift off for the night. following this ¨method¨ permits you to introduce into the dream whomever you want and control the actions.
is this not already possible? one could argue that we do already control our dreams and that what occurs, though not necessarily an overt desire, has links to what we want (or in some cases, what we do not). these remedies to give power back seem based on the idea that what we experience (not sure if we can use this word to describe a dream, but we can get to that later)is out of our control in the first place. is that true? do we really have no ability to manipulate dreams?
assuming we do not command what occurs in a dream state, why would we want to do so? is it simply fear of the unknown; some abject desire for power (a manifest destiny as it should and must be ours to control)? often times we fear what we do not understand. few have a clear grasp of the reasons behind ¨terrorism¨ (those in the muslim world who act against the usa, or those in the west who act against the muslim world) and thus both sides in many ways fear each other. would clearer definitions resolve these problems? perhaps.
what is the point of all this? not sure. my dreams recently have been no stranger than any other time (although it would also be difficult to define a ¨normal¨ dream), but i was reading an article the other day about a frenchman, jacques barzun (a rather famous author and former prof a columbia university) who taught and lived for 70 years in new york. he will be 100 this year and in the last 10 years published a book called ¨from dawn to decadence¨ which traces the history of europe and the states from, you guessed it, the renaissance to present. from the title you gather that he claims current society is in a state of decline. isn´t there a reality show based on that idea? according to him, all his dreams recently have been a mix of french and english. he is starting to blend french back into his dreams though he has not lived there for nearly a century. in fact, he resides in san antonio, texas. although not an expert on texas, somehow i doubt it has a barrio called little france.
it has been more than a year since i really payed attention to what language i was speaking or those in my dreams speak. most of it is spanish, and i often find myself explain spanish words to people as a kind of, not exactly translation, but clarification. this is a problem i still face with spanish- i know most of the rules but not all. luckily, i now hear others making mistakes all the time (native speakers), so i realize i am, and have been for a long time, at a point where my vocabulary is fine (although my slang can always improve), but some of the minor rules i miss.
nevertheless, i dreamed last night that i was explaining to two friends, one from the usa and one from here, how to say something in spanish. it did not strike me as odd in the dream that my mexican friend never contradicted me or corrected me. she let me go on with my explanation and even asked for further clarification. did i control that? do i want that? if not, do i really desire that people from here accept my version of their language as the correct, thus forcing them to come to me with questions about their native tongue? maybe.
i have many more questions than answers, but i am rather sure that no matter what i want, subconsciously, there is most likely an excellent reason that i do not make these desires public. so why did i write this?
26 November 2007
this is her boyfriend, ¨el popo.¨ there is a legend about the two, but i will save it for another day. suffice it to say the two volcanoes, el popo is active, are quite close to d.f. they are about 20-30 miles or so from where i live (maybe closer as i am not good at measuring distances). and as you will see in the next pics, both are visible from my apt simply by walking outside.
this is the volcano ¨la itza¨ its name in nuahtuatl is extemely long and i will not spell it right. anyway, if you look at it from left to right, you should be able to see a woman lying down (profile view from the side- her head is the left, then her chest is higher, and down to the feet- like a mummy in a way.
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