I feel bad for abandoning blogger, which I've used for close to four years, but trying to get anything done while in China is just not working.
So. Mosey on over to my barfings' new home, here. And boo to government censorship! Seriously.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Chinglish, part 1
Chinese: Coffee from Singapore most suitable for Chinese people
No Chinese.
They're actually earbuds of some sort.
Chinese: none
I have no idea what this is supposed to be.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Near-Mistakes
...I nearly tried to explain something to my (extremely conservative) mother drawing parallels to BDSM. Ooops. Good thing I caught myself before that happened, or that would have been a really awkward conversation, not to mention unproductive since it would make exactly the opposite of the point I was intending.
ION (in other news): New glasses were acquired tonight. They're blue! And match my eyes! And I like them! And apparently like exclamation points.
In yet other news, there might be China!pictures tonight if I get around to uploading them. If not, then hopefully tomorrow. Then Pinkaboo and the Goddess can stop poking me about it.
ION (in other news): New glasses were acquired tonight. They're blue! And match my eyes! And I like them! And apparently like exclamation points.
In yet other news, there might be China!pictures tonight if I get around to uploading them. If not, then hopefully tomorrow. Then Pinkaboo and the Goddess can stop poking me about it.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Honey, what do you think of Persephone Penelope Hermione [Last Name]?
I name all of my sundry gadgetries. I name lots of other inanimate objects too, but anything electronic seems to pull on my cognomenative instincts more than usual.
Therefore, allow me to present:
Ramses- laptop
Spike- ipod (deceased)
Firefly- ipod
Penelope- U.S. phone
Mathilda- China phone
Eggy- mouse
Nathaniel- earbuds
Kingsley- thumb drive
Eurydice- camera
...Perhaps I should not be allowed to name my kids, if I have any. They'd probably have lovely, meaningful, but hard to pronounce or spell names that they'd all hate. Maybe there should be a review board?
Therefore, allow me to present:
Ramses- laptop
Spike- ipod (deceased)
Firefly- ipod
Penelope- U.S. phone
Mathilda- China phone
Eggy- mouse
Nathaniel- earbuds
Kingsley- thumb drive
Eurydice- camera
...Perhaps I should not be allowed to name my kids, if I have any. They'd probably have lovely, meaningful, but hard to pronounce or spell names that they'd all hate. Maybe there should be a review board?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Miscellany
-I'm so incredibly glad that I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, otherwise my wrists would be killing me. In the past week, I've transcribed and annotated approximately 12 hours of material, which is about 25 hours of typing, just for work.
-I made an off-hand observation to the researcher who decided that it would be an interesting idea to pursue. This means that now I have to go through all of the transcripts and make note of the length of the pause between every single remark. I'm slightly giddy about making a substantive contribution to this research, but absolutely dreading the work, as it's both incredibly tedious and requires a significant amount of attention to detail.
-It's wonderful to be working with a bunch of people who are interested in many of the same topics, read the same sorts of literature, have similar mental lexicons, and use similar conceptual frameworks as I when it comes to English, linguistics, epistemology, and pedagogy.
-I need to close read Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity by Basil Bernstein, as it's the basis of the conceptual framework of this research. While the subject is interesting, aughlblargh dry horrible writing.
-In the past week, I've consumed more coffee than I had in the entire previous year.
-The Baha'i fast has rolled around again, so I'm surrounded by people who aren't eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. I don't understand the idea of virtuous restraint, the idea that somehow by denying ourselves things that we rationally desire will make us better, happier, more effective individuals. In fact, the very concept seems fallacious when looked at both from a theistic/religious point of view and an atheistic one.
-Not only do I find the idea of fasting to be baffling, I also think that it's also an indication of how fallible and obsolete the doctrines instructing people to do so are. For instance, many religions that encourage or require some sort of fasting do so of anyone who is post-pubescent and not considered "elderly", with no acknowledgement that people often do not stop growing until their late teens or early twenties. Also, Islam is the only religion that gives exemption from fasting to those who are mentally ill. This shows a serious lack of awareness of the effects of fasting on people with eating disorders, as well as a general disregard for the health of its followers.
-I have Arnott's Tim Tams. From Thailand! They're delicious, and go surprisingly well with PG Tips tea. Guess what breakfast is going to be.
-I made an off-hand observation to the researcher who decided that it would be an interesting idea to pursue. This means that now I have to go through all of the transcripts and make note of the length of the pause between every single remark. I'm slightly giddy about making a substantive contribution to this research, but absolutely dreading the work, as it's both incredibly tedious and requires a significant amount of attention to detail.
-It's wonderful to be working with a bunch of people who are interested in many of the same topics, read the same sorts of literature, have similar mental lexicons, and use similar conceptual frameworks as I when it comes to English, linguistics, epistemology, and pedagogy.
-I need to close read Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity by Basil Bernstein, as it's the basis of the conceptual framework of this research. While the subject is interesting, aughlblargh dry horrible writing.
-In the past week, I've consumed more coffee than I had in the entire previous year.
-The Baha'i fast has rolled around again, so I'm surrounded by people who aren't eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. I don't understand the idea of virtuous restraint, the idea that somehow by denying ourselves things that we rationally desire will make us better, happier, more effective individuals. In fact, the very concept seems fallacious when looked at both from a theistic/religious point of view and an atheistic one.
-Not only do I find the idea of fasting to be baffling, I also think that it's also an indication of how fallible and obsolete the doctrines instructing people to do so are. For instance, many religions that encourage or require some sort of fasting do so of anyone who is post-pubescent and not considered "elderly", with no acknowledgement that people often do not stop growing until their late teens or early twenties. Also, Islam is the only religion that gives exemption from fasting to those who are mentally ill. This shows a serious lack of awareness of the effects of fasting on people with eating disorders, as well as a general disregard for the health of its followers.
-I have Arnott's Tim Tams. From Thailand! They're delicious, and go surprisingly well with PG Tips tea. Guess what breakfast is going to be.
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