Last week was pretty hectic and I completely forgot to do reading notes. My bad. Unfortunately for you all, this week wasn't much better by a long shot. Therefore you are being subjected to the most boring blog on Earth. Please enjoy.
So, we watched Lost in Translation about 10 days ago. I've never seen it and since I didn't see the first 2/3 of it, I was pretty lost myself. After listening to the class discussion about how Tokyo wasn't a place but became a place to the characters, even moreso than their own actual homes, I really became pretty enthralled and plan to see this movie in its entirety the first chance I get.
On to Emergence: I can't lie. I was really distracted in class when we were talking about this. But I read the intro and first few chapters when I had a little time this weekend...I feel like Johnson's whole idea is really under-publicized. Why haven't I heard about this before? It's so simple and so complex at the same time; I feel like an 8th grader could begin to get a grasp on it. The whole ant colony thing made me think about my surroundings and how they came to be. Then the follow up readings as well as Jonathan's blog made me think about where my mom grew up.
My mom grew up in Iron River, MI. Known to no one other than for its AMAZING pizza. It's about a 5 hour drive from my home in Racine to this place; and with my older brother present, this journey seemed more like 5 days. Anyways, after you pass a place known as Wabeno, it's like a time warp. All of a sudden you are back in the 60s. I'm serious here. Iron River just got a new restaurant- its called McDonald's. So how has this place not evolved? How is it the same town it was when my mom was a kid? It seems everywhere else is becoming industrialized, expanded and modernized at the speed of light. Then you get into the upper peninsula of Michigan, and you might as well be rockin' your bell bottoms and afros (I actually saw one while I was there...no lie.)
Then I read Bobby's blog to get another view point on the stuff we read (and maybe discussed in class?- Like I said, I was preoccupied). The whole cell phone thing and tracking people...maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but I think they already do that. But in a related field, as I told the class, Disney World takes your finger prints now. My brother and uncle were convinced that ol' Walt is selling our prints to the FBI. There were many a people angrily ranting at the gates about the ludicrousness of sacrificing your fingerprints to ride a few rides. But I think this is the direction we're headed. There's already systems to put in your cars so you can track your kids; you can get a type of cell phone you can purchase for your child (designed for ages 10 and under..absolutely ridiculous) so you can track who your child is calling, how long he is talking, and how often. So while this "safety" feature is letting you sleep better at night, what are you giving up to have it?
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Some premature reading notes
Due to my mom's stressful job and the fact that I have little cousins (roughly age 5 and 10) I'm going on a late family vacation to Disney World until Monday (thank God for no MWF classes). Since I'll probably forget to do my reading notes when I come back, I'm doing them now.
I thought Tuesday's discussion about non-places was really intriguing. Not going to lie... I had not read for the class because last week was pretty much the busiest week "work-wise" of my life (I'm a waitress right now, so homework wasn't an option after all the long hours). But after the discussion, it really inspired me to do the reading anyway. The article sounded like it would be interesting and something that I could actually grasp, since I feel lost most of the time when I read for this class.
I think it's really mind bending to think about how a place can be a non-place to one person while to another it's vice versa. For example, at my job (Cheeseburger in Paradise in Middleton, but please don't come ask for me because I HATE serving people I know- Hi! My name is Randi and I'll be your islander today) people usually come in to eat or drink. They don't interact with those around them, sometimes not even the staff, monotonously eat their meal and drink their drink and then leave. For those people, CIP is a non-place. These people have no relationships at this place, they don't come to this place for a real life-oriented purpose, and it's usually a stop in transit for the rest of the evening. However, for me, this is obviously a place. After countless shifts at this location, I've made a lot of really good friends and have a lot of my personal life invested in it. I spend more time there than I do in my house most weeks.
This brings me to something that I really liked in class: our "homes" in Madison as non-places. The places we rent are all in transition to a permanent arrangement when we get out of school. I could make the argument that if you've lived in the same apartment for 3 years, it's probably more of a place to you. However, if you're anything like me and my roommates, you just move furniture in, sleep in a different room than you were last year, pack up and move out. Rarely do people invest time and money into these temporary dwellings because often we'll get fined if we make any major changes or create major holes. Sure, we hang pictures and have relationships between each other, but it's too hard to really make that place our own.
One final thing I'd like to say regarding non-places...The more I thought about observing a non-place for the blog, the more I came up with a realization. Many non-places have a social standard for how long it is acceptable to be there. If you think about a gas station, convenience store, bus stop, etc., if you linger too long people will begin to ask questions. Loitering rules are in effect in a lot of places. In that -30 degree week, my older brother was visiting and partook a little too much. He got VERY lost going back to his friend's house and ended up being outside for 2 hours. He went into a convenience store to gain feeling in his legs, but the store clerk told him that he had to buy something or leave immediately. It's assumed that if you want to spend extended time in non-places, you are there because 1) you have no where else to go, 2) you have nothing to do, or 3) you are there for a conniving purpose.
I thought Tuesday's discussion about non-places was really intriguing. Not going to lie... I had not read for the class because last week was pretty much the busiest week "work-wise" of my life (I'm a waitress right now, so homework wasn't an option after all the long hours). But after the discussion, it really inspired me to do the reading anyway. The article sounded like it would be interesting and something that I could actually grasp, since I feel lost most of the time when I read for this class.
I think it's really mind bending to think about how a place can be a non-place to one person while to another it's vice versa. For example, at my job (Cheeseburger in Paradise in Middleton, but please don't come ask for me because I HATE serving people I know- Hi! My name is Randi and I'll be your islander today) people usually come in to eat or drink. They don't interact with those around them, sometimes not even the staff, monotonously eat their meal and drink their drink and then leave. For those people, CIP is a non-place. These people have no relationships at this place, they don't come to this place for a real life-oriented purpose, and it's usually a stop in transit for the rest of the evening. However, for me, this is obviously a place. After countless shifts at this location, I've made a lot of really good friends and have a lot of my personal life invested in it. I spend more time there than I do in my house most weeks.
This brings me to something that I really liked in class: our "homes" in Madison as non-places. The places we rent are all in transition to a permanent arrangement when we get out of school. I could make the argument that if you've lived in the same apartment for 3 years, it's probably more of a place to you. However, if you're anything like me and my roommates, you just move furniture in, sleep in a different room than you were last year, pack up and move out. Rarely do people invest time and money into these temporary dwellings because often we'll get fined if we make any major changes or create major holes. Sure, we hang pictures and have relationships between each other, but it's too hard to really make that place our own.
One final thing I'd like to say regarding non-places...The more I thought about observing a non-place for the blog, the more I came up with a realization. Many non-places have a social standard for how long it is acceptable to be there. If you think about a gas station, convenience store, bus stop, etc., if you linger too long people will begin to ask questions. Loitering rules are in effect in a lot of places. In that -30 degree week, my older brother was visiting and partook a little too much. He got VERY lost going back to his friend's house and ended up being outside for 2 hours. He went into a convenience store to gain feeling in his legs, but the store clerk told him that he had to buy something or leave immediately. It's assumed that if you want to spend extended time in non-places, you are there because 1) you have no where else to go, 2) you have nothing to do, or 3) you are there for a conniving purpose.
I just worked out!
We've all rode the 80 from the Union to the top of Bascom Hill. Don't lie. You've done it. You've heard that girl talk on her phone to her friend about how she just totally ran 3 miles...but then proceeds to exit the bus after a single stop.
For my non-place, I did just this- but further than the top of the Hill. People simply enter and exit this bus, rarely making eye contact with anyone around them or saying anything. If you sit next to someone when there are empty seats elsewhere, you must be new. Even in the front of the bus where there are three seats, people almost always have an empty seat between them (and lets be serious, that empty seat looks like no one, even Nicole Richie in her anorexic stages, could fit there!)
So, we ride along and people enter and exit the bus. Rarely are courtesies extended to people who were at the bus stop first (No CUTTING!) or elderly people, or even people on crutches. It's a first come first serve basis favoring those that can be stealth and move in between the rushing hoards and sneak in the back door without the bus driver knowing (they WILL kick you off for that if it's not been a good day).
Finally, as people exit the bus, there are a few bus drivers that will wish their passengers a good day. Do you answer? Most people don't; whether they have an Ipod blasting directly into the ear canal, or they are just plain rude, people often don't acknowledge this address. But don't lose faith yet. There are a few polite souls who still thank the bus driver when de-boarding.
For my non-place, I did just this- but further than the top of the Hill. People simply enter and exit this bus, rarely making eye contact with anyone around them or saying anything. If you sit next to someone when there are empty seats elsewhere, you must be new. Even in the front of the bus where there are three seats, people almost always have an empty seat between them (and lets be serious, that empty seat looks like no one, even Nicole Richie in her anorexic stages, could fit there!)
So, we ride along and people enter and exit the bus. Rarely are courtesies extended to people who were at the bus stop first (No CUTTING!) or elderly people, or even people on crutches. It's a first come first serve basis favoring those that can be stealth and move in between the rushing hoards and sneak in the back door without the bus driver knowing (they WILL kick you off for that if it's not been a good day).
Finally, as people exit the bus, there are a few bus drivers that will wish their passengers a good day. Do you answer? Most people don't; whether they have an Ipod blasting directly into the ear canal, or they are just plain rude, people often don't acknowledge this address. But don't lose faith yet. There are a few polite souls who still thank the bus driver when de-boarding.
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