Zooming In: Allie Archives

December 05, 2005

Allie's Response to Jessica Yeich's Question

I am responding to Jessica Yeich's following question:

"If colloquilisms are created everyday and jargon accepted commonly, why is it wrong to use them in all situations as long as the listener is aware of the new colloquilism?"

I think that it may be considered "wrong" to use everyday jargon in certain situations, even though the meaning is understood, because of the connotation that comes along with it. The fact that the jargon is jargon itself implies a more casual, up-to-date, and therefore less formal tone. This could possibly be inferred as a sign of disrepect in what may be a formal conversation or situation. OFten more "sophisticated" and less causal conversations take place between people who are not one hundred percent familiar or comfortable with one another, and want to make the best impression of themselves and what they may be representing. The older style of conversation may stick to the "sophisticated" language because if it consisted of new jargon and colloquillisms, the speakers would have to be sure to stay on top of new slang, etc. Doing so would be difficult for those older, professional, "high-society" citizens who do not spend time out with younger people, who generally greatly contribute to new jargon, or in their environments. By sticking to the older, more conventional language as being what is accepted and proper in formal situations, or with someone a person does not know well, is a rule that can be followed throughout the years without drastic change or effort to keep up with something new.

Posted by lcisthur at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2005

Slammed

Slam

To be slammed

Knowing it would come

Thinking about it

Others telling you not to

Others not

It goes along slowly

And then the

Slam

Of what we thought we knew

What we thought was life

All at once

Hard to control

Difficult to see past

Caught up in the now

Longing for the past

Questioning what was

Slam

Posted by lcisthur at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

Slammed

Slam

To be slammed

Knowing it would come

Thinking about it

Others telling you not to

Others not

It goes along slowly

And then the

Slam

Of what we thought we knew

What we thought was life

All at once

Hard to control

Difficult to see past

Caught up in the now

Longing for the past

Questioning what was

Slam

Posted by lcisthur at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

John Wayne

I think the transcript, John Wayne, brought up some interesting points. It was more than just a story that lead from one thing to another, more than a conversation that drifted from one topic to the next, but it had many layers to it. There was a complete turn-around from what one might have first expected in the beginning, which goes along with the author's point that we shouldn't always believe things. We shouldn't always believe what people say, for example, whether Eta actually had an affair with John Wayne or not. But that is beyond the point. Truth is separate and beyond fact. The author tries to turn around who John Wayne is, what he is known for, what we automatically think of when we hear his name. From being a murderous macho, sexist, big cowboy to perhaps being a feminist, or a person who actually cared abot and had compassion for the well-being of others... This is such a great contrast, and from this the author pokes fun at what John Wayne symbolizes.

Posted by lcisthur at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

John Wayne

Posted by lcisthur at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

Mid-Semester Evaluation

There are a variety of factors that have helped, or that have been beneficial to me in this class. I have always enjoyed coming together as a class to have discussions, and like reflecting together and hearing what others have to say, as well as expressing my own thoughts. Other classmates make interesting points that can support what you were thinking, while at other times, they may make new points that never occured to you. They may make sense or not, I may agree or disagree, but I think that is all part of the beauty of the class community.

The powerpoints actually really help encforce the main focus points of the class and the background text or article readings. The examples, such as paintings, included in the presentations, helped facilitate discussion and application of the ideas firsthand in the class, which helps solidify the new concepts.

The reading assignments, either in article or text-book form, are interesting, but at times, they seem quite repetative. I like reading about new things and ideas, but often when I finish a reading assignment I reflect and think that I already knew a lot of what it was about from previous assignments.

Something that I believe would really help me, and other people in the class, would be a clearer understanding of what is exactly expected of us for homework each night, and what is due for the next class. The dynamic online calanders REALLY help, but even so, they do not always seem up to date, and they do not always include everything we are supposed to do, including what we have to blog on. I would really benefit from a clear statement of what is expected of us to have done by the next class, perhaps a syllabus for the week or two weeks or so we can go by. I sometimes feel overwhelmed (actually, quite often) but the huge workload, and often do not know where to begin when it comes to tackling the class assignments.

Posted by lcisthur at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2005

Louise Bourgois

My postcard is of Louise Bourgois, taken by Annie Leibovitz in New York City. It's actually interesting in mentions that it was taken there, as it is only a photo of the upper half of a woman, no background, landscape or anything at all besides her. Well, I suppose the wall behind her is textured, but that really could be anywhere!

Studium: This black and white photo is of a very elderly woman looking at her hand. It is her profile, and there is a lot of emphasis on the wrinkles of her skin. Her hand is brought up in front of her face and her fingers are spread apart. She looks as if she might be Native American, and has long, straight, combed-back black hair with gray strands. Her ear is very visible and she is wearing a hoop earing. She is wearing a colared longsleeved shirt, which is a bit blurry towards the front of the photograph, as if out of focus being closer to the camera lens. The old woman's eyes seem to be squinting, and she does not have a clear emotion on her face.

Punctum: I think a big point of the photo is its emphasis on the woman being old and worn, yet by examining her hand out in front of her, it suggests that she is still curious about the world and the things out there to learn, and about life. Her wrinkles are very well defined and in the center of the photograph, serving as a focus point. I think the profile view is more powerful in this instance than a straight on traditional portrait view would be because it accentuates the woman's features, and the fact that she is looking at her hand. She appears as if she could be Native American, and the way she brings her hand up to her face gives me the feeling she could be thinking over a deeper meaning in the ways of her tribe. Although she is clearly very old, she is still beautiful in her own right. Her hair is kept long and combed back and she is wearing earrings, showing that she takes pride in her appearance and continues to live life to the fullest despite her age.

Posted by lcisthur at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

Behind the Scenes of Eliza

Eliza just seems like a frustrating robotic therapist once you get past the "coolness" when you first try her out.
All the same, she is rather impressive. I think there must be certain keywords that she searches for and certain sentence rules and formations.
I think it is hard for Eliza to work one hundred percent properly because she doesnt always have enough context to respond in the best way. She does not seem to have a lot of words that she understands the semantic meaning of. All in all, it's interesting to see, and experience a computer program I can somewhat understand the workings (or lack there of). I'll take Smarterchild in the meantime and get word definitions while I'm at it!

Posted by lcisthur at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)

Making or Wasting a Memory?

I enjoyed reading the New York Times article on how the act of photo-taking can be invasive. The points it made were actually very realistic -and I totally could relate to what she was saying. I am known to be an extreme shutterbug on vacations, and it made me think about how much of a good thing that is... Well, I still am glad I have all those photos. They represent a moment lost, but also one we cannot return to. I went out last night, and brought my camera with me. But with every picture I felt like taking, I actually noticed myself hesitating. And when it came to reviewing my photos this morning, I noticed there were not nearly as many as I normally take!

Posted by lcisthur at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2005

Java Jive Jokes Around!

I liked how this brief article really gets at what is not usually talked about or addressed. It does not really intend to fix anything or suggest solutions to problems, but it points out humorous random points about things we all do wonder and think about, but never bring up. It knows people know Starbucks, it knows people wonder about a semicolon... The fact that people get all so wrapped up in a whole different language of a coffee shop shows just how easily influenced we all are, and that we need to take a step back and look around at ourselves, and our grande lowfat triple shot maple carmel macchiattos. I've noticed these things too, but they never really were anything more than just things I wondered about; not anything I read about.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)

October 27, 2005

Review of Percepholis Comic Review!

I thought that this was a very effective form of writing (/drawing) a review of a book. It's a good story in the first place, and gets attention, and this way of looking over Percepholis totally fits. However, if it is just supposed to serve as a book "review", it then reveals a bit too much of and undermines the plot. There is a heavy amount of text for a comic, which makes it less leisurely to read. It does go beyond just the content of the book though, and touches upon the artist's style, effects, and background. It might have been difficult, or at least more so, to read if it wasn't in comic form. However, the characters are not anything special, as they are in Percepholis. This makes Percepholis just seem that much better in comparison... but then again, maybe that's the whole point of the review! I liked how it ended stating that Percepholis is more than a "great story" with "cool drawings", but that it also has a complex meaning, many points, and is very unique -like this review!

Posted by lcisthur at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2005

Chapter 5 Meanings of Language

After reading this chapter, aptly titled, "Meanings of Language", I continue to learn that language has more and more and more meanings as I read on... more than I ever thought about, or would have ever thought even existed. I think it is very interesting, and complex, that there are so many different groups to classify certain words, and types of words, and phrases too, that are all different, yet can all overlap. Each category has its main point however, and understnding each one and their similarities and differences serves to provide further insight into language. We all use language all the time, subconciously, and as we learn more about it, we are made more aware of how amazing a thing it really is.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:51 AM | Comments (2)

October 23, 2005

Eliza turns your computer into a chatterbox! :)

I just tried out Eliza... and was amused, at least for a little while. I have actually seen something like this before, as an America Online screename of "SmarterChild." A few years ago when someone told me to instant message him, I couldn't believe it! I never heard anything about a "robot" like that before, and it was so... smart! However, it's been a while since I had the urge to message him again and see how he's doing, despite the fact he is always online. If any of you are interested, or if you haven't already heard about his one, just enter the AIM screenname SmarterChild! No offense to Eliza, but I'd say he's a bit more developed! And on top of that, you can play games with him, get the news, homework help, weather report, language translations! Probably the most useful friend on your buddy list!

Posted by lcisthur at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2005

Moving Gestures

As predicted, from the end of class onwards, I was noticing gestures when people talked! Yes, the same people I see and talk to practically every day - yet I saw something more!

In Biology class especially, our teacher really emphasized almost every phrase she was saying with her hands. Throughout the class period she seemed to use practically every type of gesture: cohesive, beat, iconic, metaphoric, and deictic. She was trying to explain a new idea, and not a simple one, so I would assume subconsciously the gestures were to "help" make everything more understandable and to help her get her point across. It is interesting when one stops and thinks about it, because really, how would moving your hand up and down four times in a row help one to understand glycolysis?

I know a girl who uses hand motions ALL the time EXCESSIVELY when she talks. She can be rather loud, and when she is, the gestures are even bigger. She uses big gestures to retell something, to even just have a coversation, to ask a question, to insult someone (she wasn't too nice really)... I also noticed that she never seemed to be able to sit or stand still. I wasn't with her too much, but always when I was, if she was standing she would be tapping or foot, or when she sat, either in class or on a bus, she would be wiggling her foot. Interesting; I wonder how the "can't sit still" habits relate to gestures being used for emphasis while communicating...

Posted by lcisthur at 05:17 PM | Comments (1)

October 07, 2005

McCloud shows and tells

I have never read a comic strip, if this one even falls into that catagory, that was so complex before, and that made SO many points. "Show and Tell" really makes its readers (/viewers(?)) think about their everyday experiences on a whole new level. In our society, we cannot go a day without reading a word, or seeing a picture. But we do not spend these days connecting the two together. Words and pictures, as this comic emphasizes, have a long relationship. Cavemen wrote in pictures, and the earliest words were in picture form. However, words, over time, became less iconic and more abstract over time. Then there was a separation between the two, and then... a "collision"! The ironies of words and pictures was being presented more - through more symbolic paintings, etc.
The comic ends suggesting the differences of the affects of words being alone, pictures being alone, and the different ways they can work together, producing a variety of different impacts!

Posted by lcisthur at 12:39 AM | Comments (1)

Words and Pictures - and their blend!

I thought that this chapter reading handout, Words and Pictures, brought up a lot of points that we all experience each day of our lives, but do not recognize. If you asked me if there was a solid line between words and pictures, my first instinct would probably be "yes." Words are words and pictures are pictures, what's so complicated about that? Well... as with most things when you take a closer look, there is much more to it than we see on the day-to-day level. We realize that words go together in children's books, comic strips, newspaper articles, etc. Yet this article points out that pictures are usually ionic and words are usually symbolic. Even the size, boldness, and handwriting of words can have iconic affects; their visual characteristics have impacts on how we take in and analyze their meaning, and we do not even realize it until it's pointed out. Pictures still are important; this does not downplay their role. Pictures provide fundamental information words often do not. There are, however, overlaps in everything. Words and pictures can both be symbolic and iconic at the same time!

Posted by lcisthur at 12:25 AM | Comments (1)

Tannen Article - What is Linguistic Style?

I have to admit, when I saw the title, "What is Linguistic Style", I just thought I was about to dive into another article all about technical definitions, etc. - something dull. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this article by Deborah Tannen was not only very accessible, but also very interesting. It made points that I never really thought of on my own before, but once mentioned, can think about lots of personal experiences that back it up.
One would usually assume that there would be differences in lingusistic styles between people of different cultures, but to think about the drastic differences, and the impacts they have, just between people from different areas of the country, was rather eye-opening. Nevertheless, the most interesting part, and the main point, of this article, was about the different linguistic styles between men and women. Linking back to our childhood lifestyles and interactions with friends has a huge role in our adult and professional way of communicating. It explains how men can take the credit for a woman's work in the workplace, and how it seems to be accepted because of the "natural" differences between their linguistic styles. All in all, this is a prominant factor in women not being treated equally as men in professional fields, and is often not recognized, or even realized.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2005

Stopping To Pick Up the Pennies ... Dillard first draft

“These appearances catch at my throat; they are the free gifts, the bright coppers at the roots of trees.” -Annie Dillard, Seeing

Life today is hectic, complicated, rushed; anything but simple. Everything that matters to us seems to be a matter of time, technology, money. That is what drives us, what our vision holds. Yet that is also what makes things complicated, and in turn, is what blinds us. In a world dominated by financial goals, we ironically overlook the “many unwrapped gifts and free surprises” that surround all of us. According to Annie Dillard in her essay, Seeing, we do not see them. Seeing is more than mere sensory input, it requires perception. It is up to each and every individual, no matter who, no matter where, to make the effort and truly see for themselves. To make the effort to do more than observe and recognize, but to actively make meaning of what they see. To see more than our basic visual input of “reality.” To look past the complicated to the simple; to see what actually does matter in life. They are all around us; the world is “planted” with nature’s treasures, waiting to be discovered. They wait, hidden until discovered, to reward those who take the time to look for them, for those who finally see, for those who finally experience their overwhelming beauty.
Annie Dillard compares herself as a child hiding pennies, to nature hiding her own “free surprises.” As she places the shiny pennies in the roots of trees, nature hides her “unwrapped gifts”. They both wait patiently for someone to come along and delight at the discovery of their jewels.
There are “lots of pennies in the world” “cast broadside with a generous hand”, and yet, it is “dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t pick up a penny.” Here Dillard makes her point – “who gets excited about a mere penny?” Despite nature’s abundance of wondrous gifts, people today overlook them; it is not what excites them. They do not look for it, and it does not jump out to them in the midst of their rush of life.
People do not realize, that overall, it is up to each individual to look for their own “bright coppers at the roots of trees;” to unearth the deep simplicity of life: to see what there is and understand the world. A person must “cultivate” nature in this way and overlook life’s materialistic priorities and complexities, as “only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.” Dillard expresses that we need to live life to the fullest, to take a step back at each of our days and to stop and appreciate nature, to “pick up the pennies.” When we do this we will truly see, we will truly understand, and we will truly live. We cannot rely on anyone else for this, we each have to take the time and search for it on our own. Dillard assures us that when we find this beauty and appreciation of life, the “appearances” will be so overwhelming that “they catch at your throat.”

Posted by lcisthur at 01:26 AM | Comments (2)

October 04, 2005

Fromkin Chapter 3, Writing Exercise #2

2.) The auxiliary verb “to be” is different from other verbs because its conjugation is not immediately obvious or what would be expected, especially to a foreign speaker. Its conjugations are arbitrary to the infinitive in structure. For example, the verb “to ask” is conjugated in a way that has more of an expected pattern we can decipher that makes more sense. The conjugations sound and appear like the infinitive: I ask, you ask, she asks, we ask, and they ask. In the irregular verb “to be”, the conjugations are completely arbitrary to the infinitive; I am, you are, she is, we are, and they are. None of the conjugated verbs are like the base of the verb infinitive “be”, whereas in a verb like “to ask”, they are.

I would not say that adverbs that quantify, like “very” are closed class. In my experience, I have seen new quantifiers being used – by different people, in different areas, etc. Some are slang, which goes to show that these types of words are opened class and that more can be created. For example, some of my friends and I would joke around and say “ouber”, like the German word, in the same context as “very”. An even more solid example is one of the amusing things I have noticed coming here to Massachusetts from California; people say “wicked”. I have never heard this word used in this context, meaning “very” or “really”, like it commonly is here! I suppose young Northern Californians are known for saying “hella” to mean “very”, which is (perhaps fortunately) not used here. These quantifiers were not used decades ago, and have probably been around only in the past five years or so.

The brain functions content and function words differently, and I think the above examples of the newer, slang-like quantifiers are evidence. Function words, like “very” and other quantifiers, have a grammatical function. They do not have a clear, specific meaning associated with them, or a specific concept that needs to really be thought about. As a result, function words are easier to create and slip in and out through our sentences and speech, as they seem to require less thought. However, function words are considered to be closed class, mostly because words such as “and,” “or,” “a”, “in,” “of,” “the”, and other conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and pronouns, are completely arbitrary and so far have been irreplaceable. In many ways, although considered open class, it may seem more difficult to create a content word, as it would mean creating a new word for concepts we think about – such as specific ideas, concepts, actions, or particular objects. When we create a quantifier, it does not denote anything too complex, and can be subconsciously slipped in and out of our speech. However, if one is raised knowing that, for example, “Kleenex” are tissues, relatively new content words do not require much thought or contemplation.

Posted by lcisthur at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2005

More than a Painting

The last time I was able to come on here to blog I couldn't find this painting, and now that I have chance to again on my computer, I think I am probably one of the last ones to see and try to analyze it. I will attempt to not repeat any one else's ideas, but I'm afraid some of the "general ideas" behind it might overlap.

I would definately agree with someone who said that this painting is a metaphor. I see it as a metaphor, not in the figure of speech sense, but in the sense that this painting can be regarded as representatitive or symbolic of something else abstract. I see it as a metaphor for the struggle, and somewhat cycle of life. For the struggle, I see a man having to work hard in a job every day, probably one he does not particularly enjoy, to earn money for his wife and kids at home. I see the wife at home, working cleaning the house, keeping her children under control. Despite the continous hard work from both the man and woman, their lifestyle is not luxurious. I've always thought about how you can look at life in two ways: "working to live", or "living to work". Yet, I always come to the conclusion that they are really the same thing in the end. When it comes down to it, working every day to make end's meat, to raise a family, to keep a humble home, to live life each day, is both working to live and living to work. In this respect, I see this painting representing the (somewhat depressing) cycle of life... the cycle of growing up in a humble home, going off to work every day, having children, working hard taking care of them, working hard to have a home, working more... then getting old, and that was your life. Then your kids go off to work, hopefully have a humble home, and then start the cycle again...

So how did these objects bring me to this? Well, I see the television as meaning the humble family entertainment source, as an object that is valued and as an object that took effort to make enough money to buy. I see the plate on top of the television to mean that life is not always smooth, that there is always more work to be done, and that it is not easy keeping a home -there is always more to do, and that adds to what your life seems to be about. I see the red sneakers and the blue jelly shoes to mean that there are kids in the home, kids that need to be told to do certain things, perhaps a boy and a girl, that need to be reminded not to fight, to chew with their mouth closed, to do their homework, to go to bed. I see the broom as a reminder that there is always more to do in a home, fancy or not. Yet cleaning in itself could also be seen as an inevitable cycle: things get dirty, you work to clean them, they get dirty again... The folding chair, as it sits in what must be the living room, means that this is not a fancy home, but one that has enough to get by, not going first-class or living in luxury. To top it off, the image on the television screen, which to me at first looked just like a reflection on the glass, is a picture of what seems to be water glowing under a night sky. To me, I see the sky as a reminder of life being here long before we were, and continuing long after we are gone, and this reinforces the idea that this painting, the images it represents, together represent the cycle of working hard and living the humble life cycle.

Posted by lcisthur at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

September 28, 2005

Semiotics... I Say Social Construction!

I believe that each of our own worlds is constructed by us. We, ourselves, see what we see. What we see is what we see, what it means is what it means to us. Our culture and society greatly impacts this. One image, such as the one of the American (?) lady and the cow, means something to me, and something to someone else. One image, one "representation", does not "represent" one thing, and that's it. It means what we take it to mean. The more we look at something, the more meaning we seem to find in it. If we just saw that photo on the cover of a newspaper on the ground as we were rushing off to class, we would see it, but it wouldn't mean much to us; whereas today, we saw it, but we examined it and looked closely at it. The longer we looked at and thought about it, the more meanings we found, which let to more possibilities and questions. There is not one meaning, and that's that. It does not work that way, as simple as that might seem to make things... It would be almost impossible to imagine; it not be life as we know it.

Not only do visual images create meaning about our own world, but so does language. And once again, it does not just show the world in one way "as it is". Language, like pictures, can be analyzed in many different ways, taken seriously, lightheartedly, or can often not even be thought about. I thought the "game of love" point was interesting; I had heard that metaphor many times, but I never really, truly, thought of it. Yet as the author raised all the points of the similarities love has to a game, and all that love being a "game" could imply, it was amazing how much there was! We make what we know of the world through what our culture is, what society we live in, what we see, what we hear, what we say, and just how much thought we give it.

P.S. Am I just out of it, or are we supposed to have a painting to look at and write a blog on? If so, WHERE is it?!?! Any guidance would be most greatly appreciated... (:

Posted by lcisthur at 10:17 PM | Comments (2)

September 26, 2005

The genie that couldn't completely emerge from her lamp... (Cheesy, yes)

Perhaps I will start out by referring to my cheesy blog title... Well, Genie in a way, is kind of like a mythical genie, confined and put away, longing to get out, but can only do so when someone from the outside comes along to release her. Genie herself was stored away, in unimaginable confinment. She too, was eventually (after an mind-boggling amount of time) released, exposed to a whole new world. The researchers that found her, although they did care for her greatly, saw her as something that could fulfill some of their dreams - she was infact the "forbidden project", and this opportunity to study her and her situation was incredible exciting for them. Genie did provide lots of fascinating information, but never really enjoyed it as much as those who found her did. Sadly, in the end, she ended up in a similar situation to returning inside the lamp; isolated from the world out and around her.

I'm sure that sounded really corny, but I thought it was an interesting analogy!

Genie really fascinated me. She looked like such a cute, innocent, pretty liitle girl, with such big, expressive eyes that sometimes seemed like a window into her soul. She had endured so much unbearable confinement, and nevertheless, she was never really agressive or violent towards anyone to release any anger. It almost seemed like she did not feel anger, but more fear and frustration.

It is interesting to thing about Genie in terms of brain development, especially after reading Chapter 2 on Brain and Language. Was she in fact mentally retarded from the beginning, which perhaps lead to her being locked away? Or was her confinement, her isolation without conversation, what damaged, or prevented her brain from developing properly? It is difficult to decipher exactly in Genie's case, as there is evidence for her being retarted, like her brain signals when she is dreaming, yet there is also evidence in the theories of brain localization and the critical period that suggest otherwise.

Some think the whole Genie "experiment" was one hundred percent ethically wrong, but I do not agree completely. It was a very difficult, rare, exciting situation, that had an abundance of potential to provide crucial information we cannot get otherwise. Yet, I do wonder, perhaps they should have taken more time to think over what they would do with Genie exactly before actually doing it, without considering alternatives. For example, it was mentioned that if they tried teaching Genie sign language earlier on, not only would they have been more successful, but Genie would have been too.

Posted by lcisthur at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)

Brain and Language... Question 3!

I must be ignorant; I always thought the Japanese language seemed rather difficult, but I had no idea that there were two completely different languages... let alone two different languages that used two completely different parts of your brain! I can't imagine trying to communicate with someone if I know one language, and they know the other. How frustrating must that get?!?

Okay, so the question for discussion:

As Kana is the phonetic language of the two, with spelling, and sounds, it is more like "language" as we think of and know it. The left side of the brain is predisposed for langauage from birth, and is better for processing verbal sounds and grammar concepts. There is plenty evidence of this from many tests and studies, including event-related-brain potential tests. Oh, and not to mention the demonstration of our brain having structured seperate facilities by Phineas Gage, the man who had a 4 foot iron rod through his head and still functioned, including language-wise, just fine!

Kanji, the symbolic Japanese language in which pictures represent words, would be processed by the right side of the brain instead. The right side has be found to be better in non-verbal, more visual processing, which includes pattern matching and recognizing faces.

Considering all this, if brain damage was to happen to someone on the left side, the Kana language would by far be more affected than the Kanji. If there was right side brain damage, the symbolic Kanji language would be much more affected.

Eeeesh!

Posted by lcisthur at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2005

Annie Dillard Sees

I think that this essay by Annie Dillard is powerful in the fact that it points out that there is more than one way to "see" things, but we do not often realize it.
Through her own unique style of syntax, she shows readers that we, as one, must see for ourselves. Sure, sounds obvious, but it's not! We often see through something else, and because of this, and because of the fact we are unaware of it, we often cannot see what surrounds us. What we do not see clearly, what we do not appreciate, is nature in all its beauty. Modern society, "culture", technology, etc. distracts us away from it, but we all need to take the time to break away and stop to actually look around and see what is truly there, and what truly matters.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:24 AM | Comments (2)

No Longer Overlooking What We Look At

I thought that the introduction to "Practices of Looking" was actually quite interesting. It brought up some points we, or most people, do not normally think about. We look at "things" all the time, everyday, and rely on it to get us through life as we know it. Yet we rarely think about what these images that don't "seem" to mean anything, actually do to us. Images, now used more than ever in television, photography, computers, etc., have a powerful impact on our culture even though we may not realize it. Images affect what we think about ourselves, others, and the world around us... what we do in our lives, what we think is good or bad, beautiful or ugly, acceptable or not. In many ways images are very harmful to us. In advertising commericals, for example, they are used to create ideas that "you are not okay the way you are, you 'need' this", which makes people insecure and vulnerable consumers. It is actually quite disturbing when you think about how powerful images are in our lives, yet we do not let them register with us, or simply do not want to have to face the fact.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Lateral Inhibition Predicts the Opposite Effect

When I look at this image, I see a square of black horizontal stripes. On the left side some of the bars are colored blue to form a rectangular shape, and on the right side there is an obviously darker, brighter blue rectangle in the background of the black bars. But when I use the tab to remove the black bars, the two shades of blue turn out to actually be the exact same as each other!

The "comment" behind this illusion is that "Lateral inhibition predicts the opposite effect."

Hmmm... I suppose as we "train" and learn our perceptions of what things are are aren't over our life, we rarely encounter cases like these, and therefore, have trouble accepting or believing them. I find it quite amazing. One would think our eyes, that see and determine such fine details everyday in our lives, would be able to tell when two colors are the same! Think again!

If you are interested in this particular visual illusion, which is indeed quite cool, (or many more good ones on this same site), check out:

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/lum_white-illusion/index.html

Posted by lcisthur at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2005

Culture According to Allie

We all belong to more than one culture. In fact, there really isn't such a thing as ONE culture. There are so many different cultures, each overlapping with each other and lacking definitive lines. In my opinion, this adds to the beauty of it all, and feeling welcome in more than one culture is what moving forward as a world is partly about.

To me, culture has a lot to do with sharing. Culture is a group's shared background, beliefs, religion, location, ethnicity, the manner in which they go about their daily lives. Reactions to encounters are part of culture; values, a way of thinking, language. A common heritage, shared customs, shared foods.

Culture is the accepted practices of a society, its traditions, its shared life goals, its guidelines of what is right and what is wrong. What matters in life to you is your culture. What you do, what you make of yourself, where your priorities lie, what you are proud of, and how you choose to spend your time is your culture.

If we think of culture in this way, it is not difficult to see that almost everyone in the world shares some part of their culture with someone else - no matter how opposite they may appear to seem to each other at first glance. Culture goes beyond that.

After all this, it feels difficult to try to start to touch upon my culture!

Location: I was born and raised in one of the most culturally diverse and accepting areas. This has had a big impact in shaping how I look at the world and how it sees me. It almost feels unnatural to me to be in a room with the majority of the people in it being white (I'm not saying there's anything wrong...). I'm used to having ethnic leftovers with my Dad -literally having Japanese, German, Burmese, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food in the timespan of a few days! I feel I respect other cultures, and exploring and learning about new ones is one of my life priorities -my culture.

Family: The values my parents have set for me have greatly impacted my priorities, what matters to me, and what I do with my time. They have always pushed me to work to reach my potential, and have always been supportive of me in my endeavors.

Heritage: My "Mum" coming to the United States from England, all my remaining family on her side is still in England. I live with British traditions everyday at home, hear British accents on a daily basis, and have been able to visit and live in Britain, which has had one of the biggest impacts on my life. I feel so fortunate to have been able to actually escape the United States to see what lies beyond our vast country, and to see that there are so many other places, ways of life, and cultures (!!!) out there.

My Grandpa being a Jew in Germany at the time of the Holocaust, he was incredibly lucky to escape and make it to England, despite losing relatives, friends, and everything that belonged to his family for many generations. Understandably, he was always relunctant to talk about his life in Germany, but his German culture was evident through his cooking, traditions, and very interesting Northern England/German accent. Over the past few years I have explored the German side of my heritage, have been able to visit Germany, and feel I have a better sense of that side of where I come from.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:23 AM | Comments (2)

Allie's Metaphor Story

Sorry -I remembered to "save" previously, but not "publish". Well, here it is...

It was such an "elephant" "hogwarts" and I felt so "iPod nano". Yet at the same time, I was "sweet-toothed kid in a candy-shop". Everything was so "wrapped in plastic "to me that I felt I didn't know how to "read the first page".

I was "getting an A on a final" to "glasses" that the people there didn't seem to all be "sunless tan". Instead of being "magnets to a fridge" and "homer simpson", they were "Indiana Jones" to go out and try things.

All the teachers were "live technology support" and very "Einstein" in each of their subjects. They welcomed me and were "hot chocolate on a cold day".

Although I was "meeting a ghost" when I thought about it all before hand, the actual experience of it was nothing but "getting a hot fudge sundae".

Posted by lcisthur at 12:09 AM | Comments (1)

September 13, 2005

Ode to a... PEN!!!

An object that practically every person possesses. It lies, smooth, rounded, slender, either on the desk back home, or in your hand as you go about doing your work. This object is everywhere; it is vital in every scholar's life. Not worth much in terms of money, it has other values that stretch way beyond what we may think, every time we use it.

A pen. A simple, three-lettered, one-syllable name -nothing fancy. Yet this basic tool provides us with endless possibilities.

It enables you to express yourself; Remind yourself through a note, organize your day through a schedule, communicate through a letter, understand yourself through a journal, keep you focused through a to-do list, demonstrate creativity through a story, put things together in an essay, and helps you tap into your artistic side, either through a quick sketch or a detailed drawing.

It naturally fits snuggled into your hand, gripped between your fingers. You control its every movement. It flows as you want it; it stops when you do. You control the sound it makes against a hard or soft surface. Your handwriting that comes from it -characteristic to you, can be big or small, in cursive or print, sloppy or neat. It can show your mood, if you were in a hurry or relaxed. A pen shows who you are. Your signature is the most common identifying trademark you use, and each time, it is made with a pen.

Once it has served its purpose for the time being, you throw it into a bag, or set it down for next time. Small and light, and sometimes having a cap to replace when not in use, it is one of the most convenient items to store and to access. And if for some reason that particular pen is not there for next time, not a second thought is given when you use another one.

We all use a pen, yet never really stop to think about its valuable function and worth in our lives. Or to think about what we would do, or where we would be, if pens did not exist (no... don't think "just use a pencil"). No doubt, our culture would be completely different - no Romeo and Juliet, no Diary of Anne Frank... would any of our literature exisit? Would there even be such a thing as literature?

A pen is one of the many essential tools that we use every day, yet do not take the time to appreciate. Next time you grab a pen lying around to quickly jot down a note, stop and think about how much it does for us!

Posted by lcisthur at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2005

Chapter 1: What is Language? (?!?!?)

QUESTION 1) Language... what is it? I don't believe there is any one correct answer. In fact, I'm certain of that, and think that was a large point of this chapter! Language is something that is amazingly unique to man, which makes it one of the most important factors to distinguish us from the animal kingdom. Language seems like a universal connection between all people of the world; people of the past, people all over the planet right now, and of people to come. It is simply biological that every human, no matter where they are, no matter what language they speak, no matter if they can hear or not - is able to learn any language. There are so many languages all over the world, that all change over time, yet there is not one that is superior or inferior to another. All languages can express the same thing, but in their own words, with their own rules of grammar. Language, as far as animals are concerned, is a totally different story, and perhaps not a case of language at all. Even if an animal could express hundreds of emotions and responses by physical gestures or pre-determined sounds, it is not language. There is no creativity and no variation. In human language, we do not have any limits when it comes to being able to express ourselves; we can use as many different words as we want, just in one sentence alone. Many people use language that is considered ungrammatical, everyday and without thought. Some argue that this is "incorrect" language, and push the proper form suppported by grammatical rules. ("Prescriptive grammar") Others may argue that the "ungrammatical" language is just a demonstration of humans using what they know about their language, and is not in any way wrong. Language is constantly, and always has been, changing, and there are always different dialects -but one is not superior over another. Therefore, as this one side would argue, this is "descriptive grammar", and should not be deemed wrong by another person.

QUESTION 2) Although hard to say, I think it is more probable that I learned a "new word" today instead of a "new sentence". Vocabulary can never be one hundred percent complete, and has to be learned, whereas a person can make many different sentences, never heard before, in their heads, without having to learn them.

Posted by lcisthur at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)

Seems like the perfect person to eat a perfect orange

Before even starting to read the essay, the title alone, "Ode to an Orange", already lets readers know it is not your typical "Ode". Because, guess what?.... it's to an orange! Woiwode creatively dives into extreme details in his descriptions of various orange experiences. As noted in the reading, he draws from all of the five senses, perhaps to help readers relate to and envision his discriptions more clearly and personally.
His 1940s white winter setting of North Dakota seems far from exciting, and the descriptions of the oranges make them seem as if they are from another world, one that contrasts greatly from his own. Even the colors, the bright oranges against the white, represent the brightness the "lovely spheres" bring into his life.
The oranges themselves were presented as almost having some super power from another world. They could enter the stingy, unpleasant grocery store by the boxfull and then instantly transform the atmosphere and mood of the place and all the people there. They "foretold the season more explicityly than any calander" and even physically burst the crates in which they arrive. The statement that the narrator would do anything "in order to get one" suggests that, to him, getting an orange temporarily allowed him to escape his own world. An exotic world of bright colors, wonderful smells, and textures... far from the one that he resides in.

Posted by lcisthur at 12:36 AM | Comments (1)

September 07, 2005

Let's see if this works for me...

Hey everybody, hope we all can manage this high-tech computer blogging!

An extended entry...

Posted by lcisthur at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2005

Allie's Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm Allie, and I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in California my entire life. I've always enjoyed living here, and feel very lucky to have been able to grow up in such a diverse area, but am getting excited to move onto someplace new.... in Boston!

Back in the days when I would ride to school in the back seat of my Mom's car, I would await the moments that took us across the bridge into our little downtown. I would always turn my head toward the horizon and look out onto the water, staring at the San Francisc skyline for as long as those split seconds would allow me to see it. Some days would be gray and dreary, and the buildings would be nothing more than faint haze in the distance. Other days would be so cloudy that it would be hard to believe that San Francisco even existed at all, let alone only a few miles away. Yet on the days when the sun shines, the city skyline looks so bright and so close that you feel you could just about grab onto it by stretching out your arm. On those days, the sight would remind me that there is so much out there to look forward to and to work hard for, so much out there to explore, so much out there just waiting ahead. To this day I look forward to crossing that bridge every time I drive to and from home... except now I sometimes worry, for safety's sake, that I should be paying more attention to the actual road infront of me!

A short and simple quote (of course by one of my favorite musicians) has stayed with me over the years, not only because I feel I can relate to it, but also because it seems to explain so much and makes perfect sense. In the words of the great John Lennon: "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."

Posted by lcisthur at 05:59 PM | Comments (3)