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In: Technoculture
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Yesterday when I just woke up and was early morning cat-napping, I got a text from someone asking my opinion about a project. I was excited about it, and we exchanged some ideas through texts. I got a “grand idea” that was too complicated to explain in texts. I texted her that I would email her to explain if she would give me a minute. She laughed and said, “Why don’t you just call me instead?” It’s a smart PHONE! Not a smart texting device. A PHONE! It can be used for things besides games, Facebook, and texting. Like CALLING PEOPLE. Donna Haraway, my favoriteRead More →

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In: This is my life?
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On June 10, 2011 I put my beautiful cat “down.” I have spent the week reflecting on this experience, revisiting my grief, marking the year and its tumult. I associate her with a part of my life that is now gone; she is the bearer of much meaning, and she is so much more than just that. If I cordon off all that she represents in the narrative of my life, our shared history, which I couldn’t possibly do, and if I focus only on our relationship in its purest simplicity, I see a different picture. I am reminded of Haraway’s When Species Meet. IRead More →

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In: Technoculture, This Internet Life!
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My first version of VoXYgen was posted in 1996. It was fun building the most rudimentary webpage and exploring what could be done on the internet. Since then, things have changed, and I’m suffering from “information fatigue” sans the extreme levels of anxiety or sleeplessness that it presumably provokes. I have noticed, however, that I can’t keep up with Facebook. I bookmark sites that friends post and then waste time deleting them without reading them because the list is obscenely long. I skip surfing my usual reading spots. RSS readers have made blog surfing incredibly easy. The downside, however, is that with a simple clickRead More →

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In: This is my life?
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I am in the process of getting a new tattoo. The image is a “bio-mech” tattoo in which the skin is ripping open to reveal a circuit board beneath it. The skin is tearing because the tree of life, which is growing behind the circuit board, is bursting through. It’s an especially splendid idea. The design reflects a nearly life-long fascination with the dualism of nature vs. technology. This particular fascination probably began with Star Trek, and and got nurtured through old sci fi like Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, Ursula LeGuin. Of course, in learning about feminism, I discovered the gendering of this dualism (alongRead More →

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1.  The Orangutan and the Hound — This is a lovely story about the friendship between an Orangutan and a dog, reminiscent of Donna Haraway’s work, since she’s written about primates and dogs and kinship. 3. Five creepy ways video games are trying to get you addicted — A fascinating look at the Skinnerian logic behind video games. 4. Pentagon Strike — Anyone interested in either visual rhetoric or paranoid style should visit this site produced by the Truthers at Sign of the Times. It’s a sort of paranoia that is transparent of itself. 5. Enlightened sexism — An excerpt from Susan J. Douglas book, whichRead More →

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In: This Internet Life!
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The viral video of Christian the Lion made me sniffle and almost cry. It is about a lion cub who was domesticated and then re-released in the wild. The story reminded me of Born Free, a movie from the 1960s (and it’s quintessential 60s, too). It turns out that the guy who “Born Free” was about helped re-release Christian to the wild. The viral video is a touching reunion between Christian and his caretakers. It made me think of Haraway’s notion of “companion species” and “respecere.” Clearly this animal and his caretakers were in a relationship of respect, communion, and face. There are a coupleRead More →

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In: Rhetoric and Communication, Technoculture
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I don’t really have much commentary on Chapter 4. I saw it as a case study in science studies and caring for animals situated within breeding pedigree dogs. Maybe I’m missing something. As for Chapter 3, I struggled with this chapter more than with other chapters. So first I’m gonna spin out what I got from the chapter (without the nuances, which would add years to this process). Chapter 3 The chapter is about how we deal ethically with other non-human species, specifically lab animals. “Instrumental action with animals is not the enemy” – sometimes we have to have lab animals. This puts her onRead More →

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In: Rhetoric and Communication
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Yesterday I found the greatest link to DavidHarvey.org. David Harvey is a professor of Geography at CUNY. He’s a Marxist, and a prolific writer (ten books), including one I read called The Condition of Postmodernity, and he’s wicked smart. Every year for the past…who knows how many years, he teaches a course that is a close reading of VOl. I of Capital. Last year, someone recorded his lectures on videos, and now you can see them on his website. I spent two hours today listening to the introduction to the class, which covered a close reading of the first six pages of the book. IRead More →

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In: Technoculture, This is my life?
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My latest fantasy: I want to work at Digipen, the computer gaming school in Seattle. A friend and former student went to school there. The website posted four positions in general education. I drafted my cover letter and sent an email asking questions, only to find that they already filled the positions. But they are hiring next year as well. How exciting would that be? I got all wrapped up in the fantasy about working there, imagining how I would teach my classes. Other random musings: In other news, we are going to ZoSo tonight at the Varsity. ZoSo is a wildly popular Led ZeppelinRead More →