EschaTon

I mostly stash data online at this location (in case you care)

Blogs:

2.23.2006 2329

I'm still trying to determine if Roland Fisher is dead or alive (I may try cold-calling the Ohio State chemistry department (any other suggestions?)). Anyway, in the course of doing research to answer this (seemingly simple question), I came across a presentation by Jean-Bertrand Aristide on "The Psychology of Ubuntu" that cites Fisher's work. Thought people may be interested in taking a look (it's a pretty interesting paper, either way):

http://lsa.unisa.ac.za/news/archive/2005/february/vol1/aristide.html

2.8.2006 1119

Picture of Mexico City

2.1.2006 1904

1.19.2006 1636

I got to thinking about the discussion of this departure of agency at the moment of sexual selection and its relation to television advertising. I suppose its becoming passé to discuss advertising in terms of sex (I mean, after all, who hasn't heard "sex sells" repeated ad nauseum?), but I thought the specific discussion of loss of agency and sexual selection shed specific light on the entire process of the ad image provoking a sexual response in the viewer. It seems then, to make the cliché of sex selling product more nuanced in that the product that can most readily evoke "a sudden fluctuation of figure and ground," thereby enabling the product to continue into the next generation (after planned obsolescence, of course). Of course, that means in a very specific (and RatherIcky way) we have a very sexualized relationship with the objects with which we "choose" to surround ourselves. I wonder, then, if the advent of advertising had more to do with the birth of the cyborg than, say, the digital computer.

1.18.2006 2350

Despite my previous aversion to blogging, I can't help but continually be sucked back into the medium (cue mafia film reference). Anyway ...

I watch a lot of television. I used to think that as an intellectual I should be worried about this fact but not so much anymore. Recently our house has been abuzz with "reality" television. It's totally compelling and I can't wait until they do a season of \"The Most Dangerous Game\" (because, ultimately, watching total strangers die on TV is what the American public most desires). Anyway, being young English graduate students at PSU, the question of later employment is continually on the minds of our house's occupants. While watching "America's Next Top Model" (or was it "Project Runway"?) we realized a show that must happen:

The program will be called "The Ivory Tower" and will future 15 young, liberal arts professors competing for a tenure track position at a major R1 University (since Nebraska already did a show about Tommy Lee going to college, this seems like a logical locale) all while having to live together in some sort of dwelling (possibly a fraternity house?). Can they handle the various immunity challenges dreamed up by senior faculty? Will in-fighting tear the group apart? Who will be the ultimate candidate? All these questions and more can be answered when you tune into "The Ivory Tower."