Dissertating Daze

These past 3 days I was amazingly productive on my last chapter. I read 6 law review articles, 3 court cases, wrote 3 pages for my last chapter, and discovered a better argument to round out my second and third chapter. I'm not surprised considering teaching does take up so much time and energy by itself. As a matter of fact, it was a relief to be away from teaching and focusing on my immediate goal of just finishing my degree.

Oddly enough, at a moment when I am most productive, I'll be taking a short 4 day vacation to New York to visit some friends starting tomorrow. I'm quite excited to go considering I haven't been to New York since I was 4 years old and I barely remember anything. So I guess it'll be all brand new for me. But it feels like an interruption knowing that I'm on a roll and I should take advantage of it while it lasts even though I had planned the trip less than 2 months ago.

Don't get me wrong; I'm very excited to go and I will enjoy my time there. Nothing is easier than to forget about it writing a dissertation. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of ways to avoid the drudgery of writing and researching. But there's still only one way to actually finish it which is to sit and write.

Winter Vacation

Finally! The semester is over! I turned in my final grades and I am officially free. I can't wait until next weekend where my partner and I are heading to New York for vacation. I'm not flying to California to visit my folks this year. And considering the major blizzards and airport shutdowns, I am glad I didn't.

I just want to read books, write my chapter, and play video games. And I made some progress on my chapter researching the Virginia v. Black (2003) case. Funny how I can make some headway when I don't have a major obligation like teaching.

In general, I love my students and they've been great. Though they need to stop using Google and Wikipedia as their sources. They need to go to the library and read a book. I wonder if any of them had ever picked up a book. I've always enjoyed the tactile nature of being in a library and thumbing through a book's pages. The internet as a virtual library is wonderful, but it's not the same experience. They also need to be patient and allow the research to develop and evolve. A question does not have to have an immediate answer, but that it takes time to develop. It must be all that mocha frappucinoes they've been drinking.

At the same time, I need to rework my syllabus. I think I have to incorporate more writing assignments, quizzes, and the like. It was too easy a semester, but now that I have a better grasp of this course, I can shape it the way I want it. I also realize that my theme for the course could have been better organized. In some parts, it was just too random, without a certain coherence for students to follow, let alone an understanding of the stakes of democracy. I also really ought to challenge students more and don't let them off the hook so easily. They didn't get away with murder, but I certainly didn't do enough to push them or have them be accountable.

Anyways, I'm off to see the matinee showing of Happy Feet. Hooray!

Photography and Public Spaces

I am by no means a "real" photographer. I dabbled quite a bit but I came across this photographer's weblog and I really love his work. It also helps that his photo essays are about my hometown of San Francisco. Yes I do play favorites. I also enjoy reading his accounts (article from Wired) when he's out on one of his photography trips -- and he gets harassed by the police or the local "rent-a-cops." This is what I fear when I actually do go out. I hate being hassled. It just ruins what you're trying to photograph. But I like the way Thomas Hawk, his pen name actually, approaches them and the irony of photographing what is presumably "public spaces."

It's really ironic. He's taken some wonderfully beautiful photographs of "The City" -- events, neighborhoods, scenery, and buildings. All of which everyone enjoys and photography is not only a way to preserve it, but to represent it as an experience to others. But to have the police charge you with trespassing? Or even attempt to take your camera away? I understand that there are concerns about what the photographs may be used for, or even reveal. But of public spaces like a Muni terminal? What is this fear? What does it mean when security and the protection of public space extends to its representation?

I should know better though that there's a huge difference between taking a picture of Coit Tower and the old carpet of a BART train. And the fear is how a picture of a public service program is going to be used to subvert funding, or justify budget cuts, or be used in a PR campaign to call for more environmentally safe public transportation. Yes, a picture can do many things. It is a politically powerful medium. I think that's why I like and fear this medium so much.

I have yet to go out on a photography trip of Arlington, VA, and Washington, DC -- especially when I really do look at public spaces and not your usual tourist attractions. I like taking what others often do not see and it's usually quite random. But at the same time, I also fear what others think of me when I'm there. I am conscientious about that and every now and then I get a stare or two from the locals. Sometimes I get a chat or two and what usually saves me is that I identify myself as a professor -- yes, it's my "Get Out of Jail" card. A few minutes more of chatting about what I teach and that's it. No harm done. But I think that's what makes photography such an intriguing medium. There's no one else there but yourself, the camera, your eye and your wits. It's a productive tension.

WTF Rosie?!? Follow-Up

So Rosie O'Donnell finally apologized after a week of what appeared to be some intense pressure from her "ching chong" episode. It was the lamest apology which was obviously done on the spot as she was fumbling over words to describe "Asian people." It sounded more defensive than an apology. But the kicker was when one of the co-stars noticed TWO ASIANS in the crowd. Rosie then asked whether the "ching chong" bit offended them, and they said it did not. It's so damn predictable to turn to a "legitimate source" (i.e., Asians) to demonstrate that the slur wasn't all that bad. That is not the point. The point is that she and others on the cast should've known better not to do it. If you're not going to use homophobic slurs on air, then you better not use any others. But props to The Soup for catching and turning it on it's head. Now that was funny.

Her apology:

[UPDATE: Apparently the clip is not available from YouTube anymore.]

And The Soup's version of it:

Self-Explanatory

Yep. Definitely self-explanatory.

WTF Rosie?!?

Just because you are a "liberal" and/or identify with a minority that doesn't excuse you from being an intolerant/racist git towards another. That is hypocrisy plain and simple. And by the way, thanks Rosie for reinscribing a denigrating stereotype on national television. As if we needed your help in maintaing racial prejudice.

Here's the original clip and a pretty decent response:

Bad Santas!

If there's one thing I loved about growing up in San Francisco, it's moments like these that makes "The City" so unique and my experience so memorable. :D

For the original link from SF Gate:

Bad Santas: Dozens of wacky Santas partying it up in San Francisco as part of the 13th annual "cheap-suit-Santa'' celebration stormed the Cheesecake Factory atop Macy's at Union Square last weekend.

Brian Foley and his pals were waiting for a table when he noticed a herd of Santas -- estimates range from 30 to hundreds -- coming up the escalator, including one clutching a bullhorn.

And they weren't your garden variety Santas. "They all had gore makeup on -- fake blood on them, like Halloween meets Christmas,'' Foley said. "One had an eyeball popping out of his face.

"They all seemed drunk and happy, and they didn't really care that everyone was staring at them,'' he said.

"They came in full force and just took over,'' said Assistant General Manager Roy Feigenbaum. "They must have been here 15 minutes, parading around, ho-ho-ho-ing.

"Jaws just dropped to the floor, and staff was at a standstill.''

And the Santas weren't the only eye-catchers to show up at the Cheesecake Factory that night.

Two hours later, Gary Coleman came in for dinner.

And no, he wasn't dressed as one of Santa's elves.

One More Week

One more week and the semester will be finally over! My last class on Thursday ended the same way it started ... with little fanfare. I ended my Tuesday night class by telling my students how much I appreciated their work and committment to the class. I didn't do that with the other section. I simply finished up a few more points about my research, fielded some questions, handed out the final exam, and passed out the evaluations. And that was that.

Tonight I'll have my first batch of finals from my Tuesday night section and another one this Thursday. And then I'll turn in my final grades and that will be the end of it.

If there's one thing I have noticed about students at George Mason University, it's their hospitality and courtesy. Almost all my students referred to me formally as "professor" even though I indicated that it wasn't necessary. When I was teaching in Los Angeles, there would always be someone asking how I should be addressed, or in some cases, students would simply call me by my first name without asking. Not so at GMU. I don't think it's about respecting authority per se, but it seems to be about not being presumptuous. There is a practice of care among these students -- well, my students anyway -- that is markedly distinct from students in Los Angeles.

There's really only three conditions that I demand people to address me formally with my title. First, if it's a formal / public event such as a fundraising dinner for a community organization, or a panel organized by students on campus. Second, I hate it when people bastardize my last name. I can only take that nonsense for so long. And finally, only my enemies address me as "Professor."

One Down ...

... and one more day of class to go. My Tuesday night class ended quite well. I talked about my research on hate violence, how it manifests, it's power, and legislative responses. I was extremely pleased with the overall progress of this section. Afterwards, I handed out my final exam, and talked about how this section made teaching a very meaningful practice for me. And I thanked them for making the semester wonderfully productive. I turned the class over the student to conduct teacher evaluations of me, and stepped outside. Students began to trickle as they left the room and many of them thanked me for a great semester. One in particular said that my class meant everything to him, and he wished he had more opportunities to take classes from me. That certainly made me feel great about what I teach and how I approach the practice of teaching. It was simply an excellent experience.

As for the other section, I'm fairly ambivalent about them. The students are in a program to acclimate freshmen as they transition from high school to college. They have joint classes, share the same residence halls, and are exposed to a "rigorous" liberal arts curriculum. They are selected because they scored slightly higher on the SAT than the average student, but come up short on being in the Honors Program. And there are some great students who actively contribute to the class and the assigned work.

So why the ambivalence? A few of them still have the "high school" mentality. Quite a few it seems. If I was asked to assess their transition, I would say they're stuck in the high school mode. And to be fair, I have to think about what I've done and how I conducted myself in class. I could've created or contributed to an environment where they're still thinking as high school kids because of my friendly and comedic nature. But I look at my Tuesday night section, and I see a huge difference in the quality of the work. I am still the same person, doing what I've always done, and the disparity is quite noticeable.

I think it's the air of entitlement among these students that bugs me quite a bit. That because they're in this program, they seem to think they are smarter than everyone else. But when I read their work, and listen to their discussions, I find them to be fairly average. I had high expectations for this set of students because they were affiliated with this program for good reason. But it's clear that either I set them too high, or they're just not up to task.

Whatever. The semester is almost over and I'm planning to make a push to finish my last chapter. So the sooner this is over, the quicker I can get back to writing.

The Word on Ms. Dewey

This is weird. This "search engine" was forwarded to me by a friend called MsDewey.com. Like I said it's a search engine ... I think. But loading the flash introduction is abysmally slow, and searching for your topics is painfully slower. The results are difficult to read and it's not an expansive list of items unlike google or yahoo. As a matter of fact, all I seem to get are hits from Wikipedia or Amazon.com. After all, it's made by Microsoft so I'm not expecting the best in quality or efficiency.

So what makes Ms. Dewey interesting then? Well it's Ms. Dewey herself, played by actress Janina Gavanka. It's a human, and a very attractive, female interface. She is fully animated, responds to the results of your search, and engages in her own chatter when idle. Here she looks bored, smiles, and fidgets behind the counter and sometimes she says, "Hellloooooo? Type something here!" It's humorous and at other times it's a joke at your expense such as, "Somebody needs to get a hobby. Like, say, something interesting." On a whim, I typed in her name and she says one of the most funniest moments of the site itself, "Janina Gavanka, now that is talent!"

So technically it sucks as a search engine. But it's a different way of representing a search engine where it is personified, a "human" element driving the interface. That is interesting to me because we've been saturated with the idea that computers are personified from the ship's computer voice, played by Majel Barrett in Star Trek: The Next Generation, to the fully interactive library interface of Vox, played by Orlando Jones in The Time Machine (2002). So this site is a fascinating innovation of representation, but I wouldn't call it breakthrough for search engines.

Ms. Dewey's specific racial and gender identity is also interesting. It's no surprise that the interface is feminine in order to conjure up a sense of comfortability and warmth to users. Feminine representations as an animated subject or even a voice is more inviting. But the multiethnic dimension of Ms. Dewey is

Dissertating Daze ... Again

Yikes! I can't believe it's already December!

Not good. Not good at all. Final exams are around the corner for my students and I need to finish my chapter. I've read quite a few court cases from Texas v. Johnson (1989) to Terminiello v. Chicago (1949) in trying to understand the precedent and legal history behind Virginia v. Black (2003) which is to be the subject of my last chapter. But in reading one case I come up with a few more to look up, and not to mention I've accumulated over two dozen more law articles to read. I think I'm in danger of following up on too many tangents and not knowing when to stop. The funny thing is that moment of incoherence is when I should stop reading and start writing as a way to define/refine the parameters of my argument for the chapter. If after writing, the argument still feels weak, then start reading up again.

Rinse and repeat for consistency and flavor.