Time to Put On my Champion Face

LET'S DO THIS.

Darlene McCoy

Karen Barad

FMST 80K

25 May 2011

Week 8 Readings

            I found the lecture on Biomimicry yesterday incredibly interesting. For some reason, I guess I had just never thought to look to nature for technological inspiration. I found the animals, specimens, creatures, or whatever they shall be called to be so fascinating! It was crazy to note that the pattern a shark’s scales were in helped it keep clean. The brittle star is quite the odd little creature as well, and it was entertaining to be able to just chat about it, and how a scientist like Karen would describe it. I can’t recall her name for the life of me – but the woman who headed the entire biomimicry project seemed incredible to me. I understand Karen’s concern for her work, since ethics really are a big deal and all, but I was just so amazed at what she had already done in her life and how apparent it was that she did actually care about science and nature.

            The article on nanotechnology more or less really made me think how much science influences daily life. Honestly, it’s just sort of hard to comprehend sometimes. The fact that there is nanotechnology in sunscreen seems kind of silly to me when I think about it, because sunscreen seems to be something so simple and mundane. But – I think because most people in the world are of the same mindset about sunscreen – it is important to know how it’s formed, and for who, and what it takes to form it. If something were to be mass distributed to the public, I’m sure the public would like to know what they’re applying on their skin.

            The Nature article also shed some light on the idea that humans sometimes play around with things they don’t quite fully comprehend the workings of yet, and because of that, there may be some serious consequences. I feel like because humans don’t understand the natural science behind such phenomenal creatures like the brittle star, they might be diving into unknown worlds. The results could be good or bad, and I think what Karen might have been trying to say is that scientists must take responsibility all outcomes, and not attempt to hide a more negative consequence because it makes their life easier.

I Swear to Freaking God

There will be real blog posts. Soon. Maybe soon? I don't know. But there are things that need discussing. DISCUSSION IS REQUIRED GODDAMNIT! Where are you Janet omg omg omg omg omg D: SLUUUUUT NOT YET GIVE HER TIME . . . Argh. Seriously. My brain right now is just a jumble of men, fishnets and Lady Gaga. Also: orgies. What the fuck? I'm so tired. So tired. Fem studies reading can die in a fire! I don't know how I feel about anything and everything at the same time. Next weekend is going to be batshit insane. More insane than everything ever that I could imagine. I think. I also think it might be one of the best weekends ever. I'm really excited to see UAWS again. It's been too long since I rocked out with my cock out. :D Rocky cast party is going to be the fucking shit, but I don't think I'm going to get to take the person I want to... small sacrifice, though! It's not like I wouldn't do anything to make things cheel anyway. I'd do anything. Hah. Haha. Hahaha. I'm so fucking cracked out and insane right now. You can tell by the not organized train of thought, right reader-friend person thing? Good lord. Good lord, good lord. I'm just a jumble. A hot mess jumble and I have every right to be. But I'm also incredibly happy. And incredibly grateful for peach milkshakes. I fucking love peaches. Anyway, dude. Dude, anyway. There's going to be so much to talk about soon, my friendly friend bloggin' buddies. There's so much happening right now, but I can't post anything about it, yet. I'm really excited, though. And I think you guys will be, too.

I really love you all more than you think.

xoxo foreva,

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee <3

Dunno What to Do

Dunno what to say~

but I'm super-duper happy and can't hide it~

Eh?

lalalalalalalalalalalalalalaa :DDD

Tumbler - On the Edge of Internet Glory
    A vast universe of pictures, text, quotes, links, conversations, audio and video clips exists on a website known to many as "Tumblr." (I am correcting the site's spelling error for the sake of grammer.) Everything displayed on a computer screen is composed of pixels, and Tumbler is no exception. Though it does share this key characteristic of being pixelated with every other website ever, Tumbler is a new, unique way for people of all ages to express themselves through the microblogging world. According to David Karp, Tumber's founder (and high school dropout, thus the mispelling), in 2009 there were about 2 million unique bloggers on Tumbler, and 10,000 new people signed up for the website each day. Of those 10,000, 85% remained active. By those statistics, Tumbler should amass 3,102,500 new bloggers in one year. In approximantley 2,183 years, every person on the planet should have a Tumbler, providing the global population does not fluctuate in any way anytime soon.
    A microblog is a form of a blog. It differs from a traditional blog in that its content is framed in an area that is 600 pixels wide. The small space demands its own suffix! Thus, in most instances microblogging is much akin to what a person can simply do on Facebook. Why the craze then? Why will Tumbler encompass the world's population in 4194 AD?
    Tumbler has a few key features that give it it's great appeal. First, and foremost, nude and pornographic images are a-okay on Tumbler. On Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg will get disown you from his website for posting nudes or other images deemed as containing "inappropriate content." Tumbler also has two other features that Facebook simply cannot compete with: a blogger can post an entire conversation bet between two people on Tumbler, or an audio sample that looks nice and is embedded into the page. One simply cannot do that on Facebook. The act would require far too much effort on the user's part. Tumbler is much easier to operate.
    Another appeal to Tumbler seems to be the commuinities built upon a function of the site known as "Reblogging." A blogger can "reblog" a post that another user posted, denoting that the user that reblogged the post finds it unappealing in some way, and wishes it to return from the idiot user it came from. The user from which the post originated is notified that someone else has reblogged their blog's content. They then have the opportunity to check out that person's blog, and reblog whatever fetid images they find. The cycle continues. Because of this function, people across the world can share their varied hatred for many different kinds of things and ideas. Furries, distressed fifteen year olds, horny bros, and college freshman who believe their long-distance relationship is forever can connect and share their hatred through the internet in this new, fantastic, way!
    While we here at TMP do not understand the world's fascination with hatred, we endorse free speech and think that Tumbler is a great way to massively communicate what needs to be removed from today's society.
    Gatemaster, an internet regular, said in regards to Tumbler: "It's like 4chan, except without all the kiddie porn! I love Tumbler!" He, and many other students at UCSC have started to experience the Tumbler craze. It will not be long before the entire world catches on, too!

Darlene McCoy

Karen Barad

FMST 80K

11 May 2011

Week 6 Readings

            I found Niels Bohr’s philosophy-physics to be a new way of thinking about how things as humans see them are “real” or not. I really like his concept of a thing is only “real” if it can show its capability to intra-act with an apparatus. I enjoyed his definitions of position and momentum because now that I think about them, and how they are defined, I can’t figure out how I defined position and momentum before. I suppose they were just numbers that meant something on a lab report in high school. I never actually thought to myself, “What is momentum?” I also just adore the fact that if a person is measuring a particle’s position, its momentum cannot be calculated, and I think that Karen linked it to the feminist idea that “something is always excluded” very well.

I also found Niels definition of the difference between subject and object to be fantastic. I mostly enjoyed it because his example made sense to me. The idea that a walking stick is an extension of the subject because said subject is using it to see versus the idea that if a subject were to just be feeling the walking stick it would be the object allowed me to understand what he was speaking of.

            Karen’s piece on Agential Realism was a great thing to read before class. I feel like I would’ve been much more confused if I hadn’t. I think that what we’re attempting to do with our projects in class is look at the material-discursive practices that went into making our object a material reality today. Because my object is a supernova, I found quite a bit of things that relate to it in some sort of way. For example: I figured that if the Scientific Revolution and Nicolas Copernicus did not happen, the supernova as I know it now might be different – different in the sense that it might not exist, might be called something else, may be portrayed in a different way – whatever. I just feel like Copernicus’ actions were part of the material discursive practices that went into construction the idea of a supernova in my head today. I feel like I’m on the right track with this project, but I’m still sort of shaky on what exactly a material-discursive practice is. I feel like the material part is what physical objects are being used to measure a phenomenon, and the discursive part is what social implications are behind the making of the object, why the research is being done, etc.

Rough FRL! Article

Needs work. Still depressed. ~.~

Tumbler - On the Edge of Internet Glory (Rough Draft)
A vast universe of pictures, text, quotes, links, conversations, audio and video clips exists on a website known to many as "Tumblr." (I am correcting the site's spelling error for the sake of grammer.) Everything displayed on a computer screen is composed of pixels, and Tumbler is no exception. Though it does share this key characteristic of being pixelated with every other website ever, Tumbler is a new, unique way for people of all ages to express themselves through the microblogging world. According to David Karp, Tumber's founder (and high school dropout, thus the misspelling), in 2009 there were about 2 million unique bloggers on Tumbler, and 10,000 new people signed up for the website each day. Of those 10,000, 85% remained active. By those statistics, Tumbler should amass 3,102,500 new bloggers in one year. In approximately 2,183 years, every person on the planet should have a Tumbler, providing the global population does not fluctuate in any way anytime soon.
A microblog is a form of a blog. It differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically much smaller, in both actual size and aggregate file size. A microblog entry could consist of nothing but a short sentence fragment, or an image or embedded video. Thus, in most instances microblogging is much akin to what a person can simply do on Facebook. Why the craze then? Why will Tumbler encompass the world's population in 4194 AD?
Tumbler has a few key features that give it it's great appeal. First, and foremost, nude and pornographic images are a-okay on Tumbler. On Facebook, 'ole Mark Zuckerberg will get yo' ass for posting nudes or other images deemed as containing "inappropriate content." Tumbler also has two other features that Facebook simply cannot compete with: a blogger can post an entire conversation between two people on Tumbler, or an audio sample that looks nice and is embedded into the page. One simply cannot do that on Facebook. The act would require far too much effort on the user's part.
Another appeal to Tumbler seems to be the communities built upon a function of the site known as "Reblogging." A blogger can "reblog" a post that another user posted, and it will appear on the blogger's "Tumblog." The user from which the post originated is notified that someone else has reblogged their blog's content. They then have the opportunity to check out that person's blog. They then can reblog any content they may like, and the cycle continues. Because of this function, people across the world can share their varied interests. Furries, distressed fifteen year olds, horny bros, and college freshman who believe their long-distance relationship is forever can connect through the internet in this new, fantastic, way!
Gatemaster, an internet regular, said in regards to Tumbler: "It's like 4chan, except without all the kiddie porn! I love Tumbler!" He, and many other students at UCSC have started to experience the Tumbler craze. It will not be long before the entire world catches on, too!

The 'Cho, and Why It Makes Me Sad:

(Click image for larger.)

I'll post actual words on this later. Maybe.

By the way: if you can tell who this person is, please let me know. I don't want anyone to bother them over a silly blog post made by some bitch that doesn't even know them. I'm using this as a statistic and am in no way making fun of them or their life.

Also: obviously edited for names.

A New Activity!

Darlene + Rocky Horror = win!

May 28th. Stevenson Event Center.

Give yourself over to absolute pleasure.

Seriously. It's gonna be hot!

And I'm in the pre-show, doing something to Lady Gaga's Telephone!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Bad Depression is Bad

:/ don't even feel like writing most of the time... ~.~

Darlene McCoy

Karen Barad

FMST 80K

4 May 2011

Week 5 Readings

            Doing the readings this week, I realized that I’ve had quite the interesting college career so far (especially for being a Lit Major!). Last year, I took a class called The Quantum Enigma, so the concept of diffraction did not boggle my mind as much as a person who hasn’t been introduced to the idea before. Though, I must say, the concept that an atom is both a wave and a particle is pretty strange. I’m incredibly interested to see how Karen uses diffraction in her book, though, because I feel like it is a wonderfully different way to look at phenomena.

            I was incredibly excited when Karen brought up Judith Butler’s theory of performance versus performativity. I read the essay that Karen quotes in her book in a different class. We also went very in-depth when we discussed it, so I had a fairly good idea of what she was talking about. It was so relieving to have Judith’s theory compared to what we’re talking about in class, because it made it so much easier for me to comprehend. I love the idea that a tree isn’t a tree because I can look at it and say, “This is a tree.” A tree is a tree because of the way it looks, the way it moves in the wind, the whole producing oxygen thing – a tree performs its role constantly, therefore it is a tree. If a tree were to not perform what I would think is the regular role of a tree, it would be something else. At least, I think that’s how it works. Judith’s original explanation involved performing gender roles and whatnot.

            I was also incredibly interested in the idea that a phenomena’s “realness” depended on its interaction with an apparatus or another object. I believe that quantum physics is more or less justified because of this idea. I think that while scientists don’t exactly know what is science is taking place in quantum mechanics, quantum mechanics work and interact with other objects or phenomena.

            I was also very excited to eat raisins. There sure is a lot more than sunshine and grapes. Horray, raisins!

FMST 80K Final Paper Annotated Bibliography

Darlene McCoy

Karen Barad

FMST 80K

3 May 2011

Supernovae Annotated Bibliography

Baade, W., and F. Zwicky. "On Super-Novae." (1934). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Web. 3 May 2011. .

This is the first use of the word "supernovae" in a scholarly/scientific article. I believe that the article may give me some insight into how the idea of the supernovae formed in modern-day minds.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory Center :: Gateway to the Universe of X-ray Astronomy! NASA. Web. 03 May 2011. .

This is the website for the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center. I believe that it will be useful in researching modern-day telescopes and technologies because there is a fantastic amount of information on the site. The Chandra is also quite associated with supernovae, for it is one of the few satellites that can observe far off supernovae. The site is sponsored by NASA. I believe in NASA!

Monnier, John D. "Optical Interferometry in Astronomy." Reports on Progress in Physics 66. IOPscience. Institute of Physics, 25 Apr. 2003. Web. 3 May 2011. .

Optical interferometry is technology used to detect and record supernovae. It is important for me to understand how it came about, so I can understand how people materialize supernovae. This article explains what it is and how it works. The Institute of Physics a scientific charity with over 37,000 members since 1874, published this article, and seems like quite the reliable source. I feel as if the technology may have progressed since 2003, but this article will let me at least grasp the workings of it.

Motz, Lloyd, and Jefferson Hane Weaver. The Story of Astronomy. New York: Plenum, 1995. Print.

This book follows the path of astronomy through history -- from the very beginning in Greece through Galileo and on to more modern astronomy. It highlights what physics had to take place in order for astronomy to grow as a field. This book looks a little old to be super relevant to my paper, but I believe that it will provide enough information that is still relevant in the field of astronomy for it to be a reliable source. Lloyd Motz wrote twenty-one books on astronomy. I feel like he has at least a good idea of what he's writing about. I am not so sure who Jefferson Hane Weaver is. But I do know he wrote a book entitled "Conquering Calculus" and another called "World of Physics". That implies that he might know something about physics or even astrophysics. I think this source will be very helpful in discerning how Supernovae came to be.

Naeye, Robert, and Rob Gutro. "NASA's Swift Satellite Catches First Supernova in the Act of Exploding." Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA, 21 May 2008. Web. 3 May 2011. .

This is a news article provided by the Goddard Space Flight Center, sponsored by NASA presenting the news that the Swift satellite has caught real-time video of a supernova exploding. I feel like anything posted on NASA's site probably has some strong credentials behind it. Both of the authors are experienced newsmen. I trust that have their sources in check. I am including this article in my bibliography because it is the first time a supernova was recorded in real-time. Otherwise, humans have only seen still shots of a supernova and because of this recording, scientists can discover new implications about how supernovae function in space. It's important to the history of supernovae, and may also constitute as evidence for supernovae being "real."

Osterbrock, Donald E. "Who Really Coined the Word Supernova? Who First Predicted Neutron Stars?" American Astronomical Society 33 (2001): 1330. The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System. Web. 3 May 2011. .

I just have the abstract for now -- but this paper will explain who coined the term Supernova first, basically, who "discovered" supernovae. I need this source to credit another one of my sources. I trust articles that are published by the American Astronomical Society. Though this is a 10 year old paper, I feel like the material in it is still relevant and will help me in my research. It is a scholarly article.

Watson, Fred. Stargazer: the Life and times of the Telescope. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2007. Print.

I am adding this source to my bibliography because telescopes are very relevant to supernovae! Many supernovae have been discovered by amateur astronomers simply looking up at the night sky and noticing an incredibly bright star. Telescopes are also one of the key tools in discovering supernovae. Fred Watson has a PhD in astronomy. I trust him and his knowledge of astronomy and telescopes!

Woosley, Stan, and Hans-Thomas Janka. "The Physics of Core-Collapse Supernovae." Cornell University Library. Cornell University, 12 Jan. 2006. Web. 03 May 2011. .

This paper explains just what happens in the core of a star before, during, and after a supernova. It is information that I will need to explain to my reader in order for them to have some understanding of what a supernova is and how it works. It is very detailed and I feel I can pull whatever information I may need out of it. This source seems entirely reliable. I am aware that UCSC has one of the best astrophysics programs, and that the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany isn't short of any credentials itself. The authors are from the two universities. I feel that by being in the department of astrophysics at either of these universities makes a person qualified to write a paper on astrophysics. I feel as if the research is as "objective" as possible. The paper is divided into a few different subsections, and has graphs and figures to go along with its explanations. It is a scholarly article.

I Found All of My Bibliography Stuff!

1. http://arxiv.org/ftp/astro-ph/papers/0601/0601261.pdf
2. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/swift_supernova.html
3. http://books.google.com/books?id=HRcddzNMlzkC&pg=PA76&dq=&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
4. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001AAS...199.1501O
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1076395/pdf/pnas01745-0006.pdf
6. http://chandra.harvard.edu/
7. http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~monnier/Publications/ROP2003_final.pdf
8. http://books.google.com/books?id=2LZZginzib4C&pg=PA40&dq=intitle:Stargazer+digges+coins&lr=&as_brr=0&ei=BIwrSc6pB4OClQT4zfyxBg#v=onepage&q&f=false
9. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980223c.html

ANNND MAH REFERENCE SO I DON'T FUCK UP: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/02/

Now off to the Kresge comp lab to actually do this shit! ~.~

PS: I'm writing a giant paper on the materialization of supernovae.

Sounds smart right? :D

Was Doing Better, but

Still pretty down. Blog isn't much consolation as of late.

:(

I've Been Bad Lately...

:(

/checktimestamp

ugggggggggggh can't sleep ~.~

LTMO 144D - Paper #1

Darlene McCoy
Bruce Thompson
LTMO 144D
24 April 2011
Translation - Take It Seriously!
    Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son, is a novel by Jewish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem. The novel, Aleichem's last, remains unfinished due to his death. Aleichem wrote the entire novel in Yiddish, so many a translator translated it into English to allow English-speakers to enjoy the adventures of a mischievous little hellion. The most recent version, translated in 2009, is by Aliza Shevrin. Another, translated in 1953 is by Tamara Kahana. With translation comes discrepancies in many forms, and the two recent translations of the novel are no exception. These slight discrepancies, no matter how trivial they seem, change the reader's experience in reading the novel.
    A glance at the two novel's covers implies that the novels will not read in the same fashion. Shevrin's translation's title is, Motl, the Cantor's Son, while Kahana's is Adventues of Mottel, the Cantor's Son. Another difference between the two is the spelling of Sholem Aleichem's name. Shevrin spells it Sholem Aleichem, and Kahana spells it Sholom Aleichem. While the different spellings and titles are small discrepancies, they are still present and may change the reading experience for a reader. The difference in the titles changes the reader's first impressions of the novel. Kahana's addition of the word "adventures" to the title of the novel gives the reader more of an idea about what the novel is about. "Adventures" is also quite the exciting word, and implies that the tale is either joyous, courageous, or amusing. Shevrin's translation lacks the word "adventures" so the reader cannot imply anything but that there is a person named Motl, and he is the son of a cantor. The most apparent difference between the two covers is that of the image on the front. Shevrin's translation of Motl is bundled with her translation of Tevye the Dairyman, and the cover's image is that of a fiddler on a roof. An illustration of Mottel, surrounded by animals, structures, and other people adorns the cover of Kahana's translation. Because the image on Shevrin's translation is not of Motl, the reader can imply nothing about him or the novel from it. On the other hand, the reader can imply many things about Mottel from Kahana's translation's cover. Mottel is the center of the illustration, and the other things illustrated seem to revolve around him. Mottel wears a cheerful smile on his face, yet the two people behind him seem to wear expressions brought on only by endless labor. Mottel is shaded in a way that makes him seem light, and not filled with grief. The other two people are almost pure black; they seem to be overpowered by the color, overpowered by their grief. The illustration thus implies that Mottel is a cheerful young boy who has not yet grown enough to know more than his own personal world, and he is not bogged down by daily life as many others around him are. The differences in the two covers change how much knowledge the reader has prior to starting the novel, thus changing the reader's experience.
    The text itself features many examples of different translations creating different reading experiences. The beginning of the chapter, "A Sea of Tears," differs. In Shevrin's translation, Motl's mother cries for the people around her who are suffering. His brother then responds to her tears, telling her, "You sin, Mama!" Motl agrees with his brother, because he feels that their mother has nothing to cry about. They have made it across the ocean, and are in America. He does however, emphasize with his mother, thinking, "But how can a person not cry when surrounding him is so much misfortune, so many reasons for tears, for a sea of tears?" Through this scene, the reader learns more of how Motl thinks. It develops his character as a thoughtful, understanding, boy. It also further emphasizes just how much Motl's mother cries. This scene sets the stage for Motl's description of all the misfortune around him and how much if affects everyone on Ellis Island - but it is not present in Kahana's translation. The reader does not get the small depiction of the characters of the novel that Shevrin's translation provides, and thus, their reading experience is changed.
    The simple changing of a name in this novel can create quite the different reading experience. In Shevrin's translation, there is a small girl aboard the same ship as Motl's family who is called Ketzele due to her overwhemingly cute qualities. To the unknowing mind, Ketzele is simply a name, and is something looked over, it is not alarming in the least. In actuality, Ketzele is Yiddish for "kitten," which goes well with Motl's description of her, which otherwise, gives no inclination that the child is kitten-like. In Kahana's translation, the girl is called Pussy. In America, "pussy" is a widely known slang term for female genitalia. Therefore, an American reading Kahana's translation may find the fact that a child of three goes by the name of "Pussy" quite disturbing.  The other other implication of the word "pussy" American-English is just simply a synonym for "cat." Mottel tells of the girl as such: "She is such a darling that everyone calls her Pussy. Pussy is not quite three years old, but she already runs around, talks, sings, and dances." There is no implication that she is cat-like, just a small, sweet child, which may lead the reader to think, "Are the sailors playing a trick on the poor Jews who are unaware of American slang? What is going on here?!" That thought process can interrupt the flow of the novel, and it most definitely can change the reader's experience. The definite meaning of the name Pussy is lost in translation and causes some rather alarming confusion!
    Descriptions of the city differ in each translation. When riding on the ferry into the city, in Shevrin's translation, Motl notes that, "We see an enormously huge iron statue of a woman. She looks like a giant mother," but in Kahana's translation the Statue of Liberty is described as, "There we were looking at a tall, huge iron statue, standing in the distance, made in the shape of a woman who is holding up a torch." Kahahna's version of the description of the Statue of Liberty does not contain the word "mother." The Statue of Liberty was quite the important symbol for immigrants entering America through New York's harbor. Many looked upon her as the mother of all those lost, forgotten and without hope. Through the simple word "mother" Shevrin's translation evokes these emotions and direct feelings. Thus, due to an emotional response, the reader's experience is changed by a very slight difference.
    New York's skyline comes fast upon Motl's family aboard the ferry. It, too, is described in a different way in each translation. In Shevrin's version, Motl describes the city: "Ach! What tall buildings! They are cathedrals, not buildings! And windows! A thousand windows!" In Kahana's, he states: "Oh what a city, what enormous tall houses! They aren't houses -- they are towers which stretch their hands up into the sky. And how many windows! Millions of windows..." The main difference in these two phrases is the noun Motl uses to describe the buildings in the city. The word "cathedral" implies the concept of a religious safe-haven, a place where all is good and holy. The word "towers" is more associated with giant, spiral skinny structures that pierce the sky. Thus, the difference in words creates different meanings out of what seems to be the same sentence. Each work evokes a different connotation.
    The vernacular in the translations is different. Shevrin's translation uses Jewish phrases such as "mazel tov" and "oy vey." Kahana's version uses "congratulations" instead of "mazel tov" in her translation, and the phrase "oy vey" is not found in her version at all. Shevrin's use of Jewish vernacular connects the reader to the Jewish culture found in the novel by using actual Jewish phrases. Kahana's version lacks the more foreign words, and may appeal to a different audience more because the language of the novel is less foreign, and therefore less difficult to internalize. Either way - the lack of Jewish phrases may change the reader's experience as well.
    A simple sentence can change how a paragraph reads. In Shevrin's translation, a family friend, Pinni, says that, "May the czar suffer as long as it will take for them to get rid of us!" in regards to the threat of being deported due to Motl's mother being too loud for America. Pinney, in Kahana's version, says "The Czar's beard will grow down to his toes before we move from here." One version is much more dark than the other. Shevrin's version seems to be much more spiteful, more dripping with hatred for the old country. Kahana's version makes Pinney's response seem more of a joke, more of something silly to be laughed at, which makes for a lighter mood. Both are used to further develop Pinney/Pinni's character, but each does so in a different way. The different portrayal of a singular character can make for a different reading experience.
    Different translations create different reading experiences. Even if the experience is slight in difference, different reading experiences create different interpretations of a novel. Different interpretations of a novel can affect people in a multitude of ways, sometimes making them take actions they might not have without reading a text. For example: the Bible has been considered the most read book of all time. It was originally translated from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts by an immense number of different translators. Many different people read the Bible, and took their own interpretations from its pages. Because people believed in their own interpretations, branches of religion formed from one book. If stripped down to its bare bones, religion is a form of culture; a set of practices, values, and works shared by a society.  Countless numbers of people gave their lives for their belief in their interpretation of the Bible, their culture. Though Motl, the Cantor's Son will more than likely not influence history perhaps as much as the Bible did, it is important to note the differences in the translations, because Motl will influence someone, somewhere, at some point in time. It is a novel that is a very prominent figure in Jewish literature, and will continue to influence the culture associated with Jewish literature for quite some time. With each new translation, the novel will change in ever so slight ways that may end up changing how a person feels about it, which may change culture, which may cause someone to do or think in a certain way. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to small differences in translations of novels such as this one, because small differences can make for small changes, but a multitude of small changes over time can cause a giant move in an aspect of life and culture.

Not Gonna Get to Distro in the Meadow :(

Too much reading to do today. Sad. Sad. Sad.

Darlene McCoy
Karen Barad
FMST 80K
20 April 2011
Week 3 Readings
I took Helen Longino’s piece as evidence for the fact that not all background assumptions are bad, and that they are, in fact, necessary for good science. A person cannot determine any information by a hat being on a table, or a state of affairs. Information can only be attained by said person assuming something about it, and then testing that assumption to determine if it is true or not.
I especially liked Hartouni’s piece because it really illustrated Donna Haraway’s thoughts. The story about the man named Virgil really helped me see what she was saying. I’m of poor eyesight, like him, and I remember quite clearly what it was like to put glasses on for the first time. The whole world was brighter, more colorful, and much less blurry, but it was completely weird to me for quite some time. It took a while for me to get used to the much less blurry outlines of figures. I got my glasses at the end of the 3rd grade. I cannot imagine living life near blind and then suddenly being able to see. I feel like I can understand Virgil’s confusion when he opened his eyes after the operation. Through the years, I’ve learned to see. He had no years to learn.
Donna Haraway also especially spoke to me due to a class I took last quarter. We had read a piece by Gayatri Spivak, which essentially said, “Though humans may never have the ability to communicate every exact word and feeling with one another, we must try. There is substance to the communication we do achieve and we must not throw it away due to it’s lack of complete credibility.” I connected that statement to what Donna Haraway wrote about objectivity, and feel like she is saying much of the same thing, just about a different subject, among many other confusing things!

EDU 60 Memo #1

Darlene McCoy
dmmccoy@ucsc.edu
Segment 1 Memo - Option B
Yolanda Diaz-Houston - Section 1E
April 13, 2011
506 words

To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Darlene McCoy, and I’m a student at UC Santa Cruz. Merely getting to this school was a near impossible challenge for me because of where I grew up. I live in an area right outside of Sacramento – Rancho Cordova, and let me tell you, it’s not exactly the best place to go to school. When I was in elementary school, in the ‘90s, there was paper provided in the classrooms, there were pencils if someone forgot or needed one, and there were functional materials. My teachers were incredible, and happy to be there teaching each day. While my elementary school was still poor, it was alright. It wasn’t a huge challenge to get through a day of class. In high school, I was hearing about how my beloved music program might be getting cut every other week, my textbooks were falling apart, my classes were at least 30 students to one teacher, our library was a joke, and our career center was a distant memory. In school, I was in the honors/AP program - I can’t imagine what it was like to be in the normal classes, with even less material. Just this year at least half of my high school’s sports programs were cut. I’m pretty sure my music teacher got about $500 for the orchestra for the entire year. There were about fifteen people of my graduating class of anywhere from 250-300 who went to a four-year college. Our original class freshman year was about 650 students. What happened to all of them? Why is the school system failing so miserably?
I believe that if the state gave more funding to schools, that students like me, from my background, would have opportunities to thrive in life, and all of society would benefit. If my school had more funding, we could have had better classrooms, better teachers, and better material. College would not have seemed like a far-off impossible dream. Other students could have had the chance to thrive more in elective classes. We could have a library that was worth taking the time to go to, or a career center to aid us in our future endeavors. I feel like with more funding, graduation rates in my area would go up. And furthermore, because graduation rates would go up, crime rates would go down. Just the other year, at Rancho Cordova’ annual 4th of July Celebration, someone was shot, and the whole thing had to be shut down. How is education not a public good? There are far too many benefits from having an educated populace to not fund education through tax dollars. Why is it that I, my former classmates, and my community have to suffer due to our lower income? Why is the state not protecting us, not helping us become educated citizens? The cuts to education are insane – how can a society function without educated citizens that are able to perform their duties well? I expect more from my state.
Sincerely,
Darlene McCoy

Darlene McCoy

Karen Barad

FMST 80K

13 April 2011

Week 2 Readings

            Reading Karen’s introduction to her book before watching Copenhagen was incredibly beneficial to my understanding of the film. She does a great job of pointing out inconsistencies, or points of interest, and I liked how she explained the encompassing themes of the film. It was very useful to know some background on the film – though I knew quite a bit about Bohr and Heisenberg before due to an earlier physics class – because it really isn’t the easiest thing to pick up on. Knowing that there was going to be three separate and different interpretations of what happened at Copenhagen helped me keep up with the film. In the film, the uncertainty principle is explained, but in a way that is more difficult to understand, so it was nice to have an explanation I could read again and again in front of my face.

            The other reading for this week, the piece by Stephen Jay Gould, should have probably surprised me, but it didn’t. I feel like I’ve always just assumed that racism leaked into all aspects of human life and culture. I don’t understand how people could believe other people are less than them unless more than just the idea that “They look different” was circulating around. Of course the white man would “prove” that he is superior to the black biologically. As Gould points out, though, all of the scientists he discusses, especially Morton, do not try in the least to cover their tracks. That surprised me. They were so blatantly racist! It also surprised me that Ben Franklin believed that the black man was less than the white – I had already known that some of the others mentioned were of that thought, but not Ben Franklin! It was quite surprising, indeed.