Winter rookie mistake: Parking in a puddle when its 30 degrees at night means that when you get out of the market, the puddle is frozen. Almost died even though I knew it would be slick.
These last two weeks, as I have been putting off work, one way I procrastinate is by Skyping, Steam chatting, G-chatting, game chats, texts and even phone calls with various peoples. It's been nice because, as I have discussed in many of my posts, it keeps me connected to my various groups of friends, many of whom read this blog too. You get some insight to my life every week, but I get connected back to you all through these methods.
For example, I've had a couple google chats with Pokeboss, Red Button, Captain Peanut and the like. It's been great catching up on the little dramas of University life, the challenges and rewards of the RA position and all the things just happening in these peoples lives. I feel like I get to continue my favorite part of my job at University: adviser (which really is just a listener). I get to continue those grand one on ones (read: two on ones with guests) and joke and goof off with old friends at the same time. Pokeboss and I have recently caught up several more times, discussing life, love and the pursuit of happiness, things we didn't delve into as much when I worked there, showing how not only have we maintained relationships but also continued to nourish them.
I finally got Mama G, Brock, Kareem, and Nemesis to video chat on Google+. We had a lot of fun playing with the reindeer app that added cartoony horns and noses on all our faces. Special shout out to Brock, who after feeling bad for showing off his giant 5-pound bag of gummi bears decided to send me a giant bag also. I'm still eating them two weeks later. I'm probably getting fat but they are so lovely. This kind of chats, especially with video involved, I think is really healthy for my relationships not just being on hold while I'm not present but to continue to grow and develop. Spam Boa even had me on Skype for a bit while the rest of them went to Vegas, so I actually got to see them in Vegas and wish them well. Spam and I have even had a drink "together" while chatting online or playing games, which is actually very similar to if we were in the same place.
This weekend I spent time in northern Ohio visiting my cousin. On the way back, I used my phone to call people and catch up with them. I talked to Tenshi, P Diddy and Cheeky Monkey, all close friends/family who I have a more phone relationship with than others. I don't typically call Clark and catch up but I will send him a Facebook post every once in a while. Same with my mom: almost all our catch ups are via phone. We often miss each others email responses but we always get back in touch via phone call. Lately my brother, like Spam, and I have talked via video game and skype.
The group that has mastered this internet relationship the best is the family of friends including Dungeon Daddy, Mother Mapster, Heavy Spy, Micki Granger, Tenshi and Spotty Sister. This was the first group I did google hangouts with. This was the group I first did mass texting with. This was the group that brought us facebook wall post spammings (Spam Spotty) and I think we have perfect technological friendships with our ongoing Skype chat. This is like a room in a play where characters come on and off stage passing and interacting when in front of the audience. We just have this literally 24-hr live chat the people can catch up on if they want to see what was discussed earlier or can just tune and out whenever they are online. The boys tend to talk video games and the girls often connect on tv shows but all topics are fair game and everyone talks with everyone depending on who's on. It's rare all 7 of us are ever all there simultaneously but it makes for good catch ups and the amusing randomness that I did not think we could recreate since living in the residence halls.
Back to my cousin. This was the first time I met my cousin's wife and their new baby, born last October. I got my christening as an uncle, complete with holding the baby, burping the baby, getting drooled, coughed, and sneezed on by the baby, pacifying the baby and driving the baby around until she fell asleep. It was good times. It was also nice to see this cousin, who I think has had kinda a bad rep in the family lately. See, he is 20 years old. He met his wife online, in a super nerdy video game (nerdier than WoW) and that led to emailing, texting, video chatting and finally a plane ticket. Talk about building relationships through technology! Basically, my cousin moved out here to Ohio, eloped with his now wife, and then started looking for a job and place to live. At least that is how the family perceives it. And that may be pretty accurate. But in a rather judgmental family at least in terms of putting a pressure to succeed (intentionally or not), my cousin is a bit of an outlier. Most of us would agree that to make those kind of choices was a bit rash and irresponsible, not having a job, degree, or anything lined up except a child. But when I saw my cousin, his wife, his little girl, they were such a good, happy family that I was reminded that theres something more than just rationality. They are in love. They complete each other and fit really well together. It was uplifting and enjoyable to witness. Sometimes we forget that side and only see the fact that neither of them have jobs right now. It will work out. Until then, I'll buy them dinner whenever I visit. What is family for if not to SUPPORT each other, not judge.
Also, I saw my first great lake: Erie is a strange, dark windy place. I miss the ocean.
I think those are my big points for today. Sorry for the late post. I don't sleep but I don't use that time well. Also, know that my cohort is reading this more and more so get ready for more cohort stories. Time to build those relationships online. Have a great week and happy weekend. Enjoy the good weather!
-JTY
Listening to: Professor's lecture. I'm. So. Sleepy.
Reading: XKCD and Penny Arcade comics. Catching up.
Playing: LoL and TOR but not as much as in the last few weeks. WOORRRKK!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Unmotivated
I need a hobby. Or an extracurricular. Or something. I need to be busier because I think that might cure my lack of motivation to do homework. Or maybe that's just how homework works.
So tonight, as I put off analyzing the Perry theory I wrote so many silly haiku about (wait til you see my sonnet for next week), I shall briefly blog.
I spent most of my day today at a Lunar New Year festival. It was put on by a Chinese student organization and featured a variety of different shows and performances. There was no food, but that's ok because Friday I went to a dumpling-making program and stocked up on tasty dumplings. There were plenty of modern and traditional performances, with everything from modern dance groups to magicians to the Chinese opera to a Chinese tv show. Almost the entire 4 hour show was in Chinese, so for the most part I had not idea what was going on. But my Chinese conversation partner (a friend of mine who we meet and talk with each other every other week or so in order to help him practice English and me learn about his culture) kind of filled me in on the purposes and significances of the performances. For example, there was one love song that is used in the equivalent of Chinese westerns, where the main characters are kind of superheroes, larger than life kung fu masters who can fly and whatnot (I kind of picture Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, except a little less art-heavy). It was performed with wooden flute (dizi) and a kind of sideways harp (zheng). Then we had a pop culture dance where they performed both modern songs (like a g6) and songs from kid's tv shows in China, which everyone found very funny. Overall it was a good experience and got me to thinking about how little I know about China.
Since I will be going there in less than 6 months, I'm going to start brushing up. My convo partner was saying it is hard to understand Chinese traditions because in one sense, according to him, they don't have one tradition. Instead its traditions based on certain dynasties. For example, some people are very loyal to the Han dynasty traditions and so when clothes and performances dating from the Qing dynasty are also prevalent, they get angry. It would be like some people clinging to traditions from the colonial days of our country like common thanksgiving depictions but rejecting labor day because that traces its roots to the industrial times over a hundred years later (I think). It's hard for Americans to understand, I think, because we are a country built on incorporating traditions from everywhere. There are very few traditions that are "right" and "wrong", it's more of a well I do this thing and you do that thing and a "to each their own" mentality. So more investigation is needed, because today was a taste of what China will be like: not understanding anything anyone was saying but still benefiting from even the two or three words my convo partner would translate. And asking many, smart, investigatory questions. At the end of the event, a student asked to interview me. She was asking how much I knew about all the things going on. That's when it hit me how much I really didn't know. Time to change that.
On a completely different note, I've been thinking lately about the culture I grew up in, not specifically my family but of those big pop cultural influences. This specifically came up because of my conversation over google with Pokeboss, Captain Peanut, and Red Button (Terrific Craniac and Naysayer P Squirrel were there briefly too). Pokeboss and Captain Peanut recounted how they mentioned the Death Star to some of their fellow staff members one day and only one person knew what they were talking about. If you recall, Pokeboss, Captain Peanut and I had an intervention for Red Button near the end of last school year because she had never seen Star Wars. It is apparently worse than I thought. I have many friends who have never seen it but now it looks like there's a whole generation that has missed out. Dungeon Daddy said most of his class had barely heard of Darth Vader. How can this be possible? This is one of those things that has been such a staple in my life, that I cannot fathom not knowing anything about it. Anyway, I'm not going to rant about this again, but know that in a few years, the only thing I'm going to ask for Christmas is DVDs (or perhaps Blue Rays) of all the shows and movies that have so significantly impacted my life. My kids will have sleepover parties where they share these cultural artifacts (man I feel old using that language) cultural legacies, with their friends. All my friends will do the same with their kids. We will bring back the knowledge of quality television and movies. Because who knows what crap is on TV today.
What will I make them watch? Let's make a list:
Star Wars (all 6 plus the Clone Wars tv shorts, and probably the Clone Wars TV show since that's actually not that bad and probably one of the few quality TV shows today)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the movies for sure, maybe just the newer show since that's better tailored to later generations)
The Muppets (movies, Muppet Show and Muppet Babies)
Looney/Tiny Toons (the old tv shows, not the new action hero crap or sitcom style of today- Nothing after Space Jam!)
Batman (Original 4 when they are old enough and the Nolan trio, the Animated Series, Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League)
Flintstones (and any Hannah Barbara I can find like Scooby Doo and Jetsons)
Jackie Chan Adventures (these were pretty good and came late in my cartoon watching years but I saw them cuz my brother)
Avatar: The Last Airbender (so good all people of all time should watch this)
Indiana Jones
Jurassic Park
Disney (all of it, everything, yes even the Black Cauldron I may even let any daughters watch the princess and tinkerbell crap, Lord help my wallet)
Beast Wars (likely Transformers too)
I can tolerate Spongebob I suppose...
Fairly Odd Parents
I wonder if they would "get" Invader Zim... do I?
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Cosby Show
I Love Lucy
Sister Sister
Full House I suppose
Dont even get me started on teh Nickelodeon shows like All That or Rugrats or Clarissa Explains It All, cuz then I never really would stop...
Basically, unless something new comes out that I approve of, my kids are going to be watching old stuff. If I have enough DVDs or whatever, they won't be watching the same 3 movies over and over again either (I hope, cuz I remember hearing Lion King 3-4 times a day cuz my sister loved it so). I say this partly in jest, partly in mockery of television today, and partly in some sense of seriousness that I'd want to pass on my influences to my kids. Obviously, I'm not the only one with a say in raising them, so maybe I'll have to make my wife watch all of these things first ;). But seriously, I know I am biased. The things we watch as kids stick with us for the rest of our lives, even if they were terrible. But as nostalgia is a running theme of this blog, I'd like to point out that even as I revisit these old things, I'm justified that I was very lucky in the types of shows and movies I saw. There was some quality stuff out there. What happened?
I wanted to end this blog with a Character Spotlight, since I haven't done one in a while. So for this evening, our Spotlight shall be Dr. Beeker Flips. No particular even caused me to pick Beeker, but I was thinking about him this week since they announced Resident Evil 6 and RE:5 was kinda our game. He's well on his way to being a doctor these days. He will surely save many lives. He's already delivered babies and dissected people and knows more about the human finger then I do about the entire human body. I'm sure in his free time he still does flips and plays games and hopefully he's kept up with the latest youtube sensations. Have you seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XA7_8_FvA ? Ahh good times harkening to the RA days. This was our first winter break we didn hang out in a few years. Mostly cuz I don't have an apartment in CA anymore. We have a rain check on a Vegas trip, once we finish busy life times. Who knows when that will be. So, Dr. Beeker Flips, old friend and one of the smartest and nicest people I know (we've only seen him angry once and oh waS the girl aSKing for it!), I salute you with this Spotlight.
Goodnight all! Next Week: Adventures in Video Chatting
-James Tiberius York
Reading: Wikipedia, even when it was blacked out, for random crap, and also Chinese history
Listening to: Hero movie soundtrack: If I want to start learning about China, what better way than the way mainstream Hollywood depicts it right?
Playing: I played TOR, SC2 and LoL yesterday. Good gaming day with Dungeon Daddy, Spam Boa, and Heavy Spy.
Happy Dragon Year!
So tonight, as I put off analyzing the Perry theory I wrote so many silly haiku about (wait til you see my sonnet for next week), I shall briefly blog.
I spent most of my day today at a Lunar New Year festival. It was put on by a Chinese student organization and featured a variety of different shows and performances. There was no food, but that's ok because Friday I went to a dumpling-making program and stocked up on tasty dumplings. There were plenty of modern and traditional performances, with everything from modern dance groups to magicians to the Chinese opera to a Chinese tv show. Almost the entire 4 hour show was in Chinese, so for the most part I had not idea what was going on. But my Chinese conversation partner (a friend of mine who we meet and talk with each other every other week or so in order to help him practice English and me learn about his culture) kind of filled me in on the purposes and significances of the performances. For example, there was one love song that is used in the equivalent of Chinese westerns, where the main characters are kind of superheroes, larger than life kung fu masters who can fly and whatnot (I kind of picture Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, except a little less art-heavy). It was performed with wooden flute (dizi) and a kind of sideways harp (zheng). Then we had a pop culture dance where they performed both modern songs (like a g6) and songs from kid's tv shows in China, which everyone found very funny. Overall it was a good experience and got me to thinking about how little I know about China.
Since I will be going there in less than 6 months, I'm going to start brushing up. My convo partner was saying it is hard to understand Chinese traditions because in one sense, according to him, they don't have one tradition. Instead its traditions based on certain dynasties. For example, some people are very loyal to the Han dynasty traditions and so when clothes and performances dating from the Qing dynasty are also prevalent, they get angry. It would be like some people clinging to traditions from the colonial days of our country like common thanksgiving depictions but rejecting labor day because that traces its roots to the industrial times over a hundred years later (I think). It's hard for Americans to understand, I think, because we are a country built on incorporating traditions from everywhere. There are very few traditions that are "right" and "wrong", it's more of a well I do this thing and you do that thing and a "to each their own" mentality. So more investigation is needed, because today was a taste of what China will be like: not understanding anything anyone was saying but still benefiting from even the two or three words my convo partner would translate. And asking many, smart, investigatory questions. At the end of the event, a student asked to interview me. She was asking how much I knew about all the things going on. That's when it hit me how much I really didn't know. Time to change that.
On a completely different note, I've been thinking lately about the culture I grew up in, not specifically my family but of those big pop cultural influences. This specifically came up because of my conversation over google with Pokeboss, Captain Peanut, and Red Button (Terrific Craniac and Naysayer P Squirrel were there briefly too). Pokeboss and Captain Peanut recounted how they mentioned the Death Star to some of their fellow staff members one day and only one person knew what they were talking about. If you recall, Pokeboss, Captain Peanut and I had an intervention for Red Button near the end of last school year because she had never seen Star Wars. It is apparently worse than I thought. I have many friends who have never seen it but now it looks like there's a whole generation that has missed out. Dungeon Daddy said most of his class had barely heard of Darth Vader. How can this be possible? This is one of those things that has been such a staple in my life, that I cannot fathom not knowing anything about it. Anyway, I'm not going to rant about this again, but know that in a few years, the only thing I'm going to ask for Christmas is DVDs (or perhaps Blue Rays) of all the shows and movies that have so significantly impacted my life. My kids will have sleepover parties where they share these cultural artifacts (man I feel old using that language) cultural legacies, with their friends. All my friends will do the same with their kids. We will bring back the knowledge of quality television and movies. Because who knows what crap is on TV today.
What will I make them watch? Let's make a list:
Star Wars (all 6 plus the Clone Wars tv shorts, and probably the Clone Wars TV show since that's actually not that bad and probably one of the few quality TV shows today)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the movies for sure, maybe just the newer show since that's better tailored to later generations)
The Muppets (movies, Muppet Show and Muppet Babies)
Looney/Tiny Toons (the old tv shows, not the new action hero crap or sitcom style of today- Nothing after Space Jam!)
Batman (Original 4 when they are old enough and the Nolan trio, the Animated Series, Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League)
Flintstones (and any Hannah Barbara I can find like Scooby Doo and Jetsons)
Jackie Chan Adventures (these were pretty good and came late in my cartoon watching years but I saw them cuz my brother)
Avatar: The Last Airbender (so good all people of all time should watch this)
Indiana Jones
Jurassic Park
Disney (all of it, everything, yes even the Black Cauldron I may even let any daughters watch the princess and tinkerbell crap, Lord help my wallet)
Beast Wars (likely Transformers too)
I can tolerate Spongebob I suppose...
Fairly Odd Parents
I wonder if they would "get" Invader Zim... do I?
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Cosby Show
I Love Lucy
Sister Sister
Full House I suppose
Dont even get me started on teh Nickelodeon shows like All That or Rugrats or Clarissa Explains It All, cuz then I never really would stop...
Basically, unless something new comes out that I approve of, my kids are going to be watching old stuff. If I have enough DVDs or whatever, they won't be watching the same 3 movies over and over again either (I hope, cuz I remember hearing Lion King 3-4 times a day cuz my sister loved it so). I say this partly in jest, partly in mockery of television today, and partly in some sense of seriousness that I'd want to pass on my influences to my kids. Obviously, I'm not the only one with a say in raising them, so maybe I'll have to make my wife watch all of these things first ;). But seriously, I know I am biased. The things we watch as kids stick with us for the rest of our lives, even if they were terrible. But as nostalgia is a running theme of this blog, I'd like to point out that even as I revisit these old things, I'm justified that I was very lucky in the types of shows and movies I saw. There was some quality stuff out there. What happened?
I wanted to end this blog with a Character Spotlight, since I haven't done one in a while. So for this evening, our Spotlight shall be Dr. Beeker Flips. No particular even caused me to pick Beeker, but I was thinking about him this week since they announced Resident Evil 6 and RE:5 was kinda our game. He's well on his way to being a doctor these days. He will surely save many lives. He's already delivered babies and dissected people and knows more about the human finger then I do about the entire human body. I'm sure in his free time he still does flips and plays games and hopefully he's kept up with the latest youtube sensations. Have you seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XA7_8_FvA ? Ahh good times harkening to the RA days. This was our first winter break we didn hang out in a few years. Mostly cuz I don't have an apartment in CA anymore. We have a rain check on a Vegas trip, once we finish busy life times. Who knows when that will be. So, Dr. Beeker Flips, old friend and one of the smartest and nicest people I know (we've only seen him angry once and oh waS the girl aSKing for it!), I salute you with this Spotlight.
Goodnight all! Next Week: Adventures in Video Chatting
-James Tiberius York
Reading: Wikipedia, even when it was blacked out, for random crap, and also Chinese history
Listening to: Hero movie soundtrack: If I want to start learning about China, what better way than the way mainstream Hollywood depicts it right?
Playing: I played TOR, SC2 and LoL yesterday. Good gaming day with Dungeon Daddy, Spam Boa, and Heavy Spy.
Happy Dragon Year!
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