Oh, blog, I have neglected thee!
I have been quite the busy little Red Robin bee lately. Next week I will check in to a hotel in North Phoenix, and be there for three weeks to open the Happy Valley location. Things should be interesting. I am nervous and at the same time excited. They are trusting me to train a whole team for the open. Wow. I just hope that I can live up to expectations.
School has fallen by the wayside. I don't really know what that expression means if you look at it closely, but whatever. I somewhat have the motivation to do it, but as I do not actually have to attend any classes, it is difficult to find (make) time. I seem to think that hanging out and playing cups is way more valuable to me than these for classes. And in many ways, I think that it actually is. I am proud that I finished all of my school requirements so quickly. I worked really damn hard to do as well as I did, but I also didn't do much more than school and work and hanging out with the same group of friends nightly. Now I have a little more freedom to meet more people, and more than just meet them, actually spend time and get to know them. It has been fantastic.
But then again, I did spend a lot of money on my Italian books, so I'd better learn something.
P.S. Why doesn't blogger ever know what time it is when I post? This is quite frustrating.
Friday, February 18
Tuesday, February 8
Oh siblings.
Matthew pissed me off last night, by waking me up in the middle of the night to see if I was done in the office and ready to turn off the light (I apparently forgot to do so). I responded in the most mature of manners by putting eggs in his bed for him to roll over on.
Too bad it didn't work.
Matthew pissed me off last night, by waking me up in the middle of the night to see if I was done in the office and ready to turn off the light (I apparently forgot to do so). I responded in the most mature of manners by putting eggs in his bed for him to roll over on.
Too bad it didn't work.
The following is a post discussing the term "historiography", written for a class, but an interesting topic., especially considering the taste and nerdiness of my readership.
Historiography, by its definition on Dictionary.com, refers to A. The principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation; B. The writing of history based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and selection of authentic source materials and composition of these materials into a narrative subject to scholarly methods of criticism; and/or C. A body of historical literature.
Now in this definition, historiography and objectivity must go hand in hand, based on the fact that it purports to be scholarly and authentic. But let us take, for example, our sorted history of feelings about Christopher Columbus. According to the authentic first-hand accounts written by many of the "whites" who were on the voyage and made it to the "New World" for the first time, Columbus was a hero, to be held high on a pedestal. But to the "Indians", Columbus was a n intrusive barbarian who destroyed their land, culture and people. These two perspectives both stem from authentic primary sources, so how do we choose what to believe?
That is where our written history plays into our current culture. Continuing with the example above, the American school system has for years on end chosen to support the former of the two perspectives. It is only in the present that curricula are even acknowledging another perspective.
So objectivity becomes a concern for both the recorder and the receiver of the written communication. We will look at another example. The political arena, although we try to show it as a fair and open system, is strictly as we know a bipartite system. When a Republican representative says or writes something, that may be far-fetched or even inane, Republican citizens will tend to buy into it, because they identify with the source, and most likely are “hearing what they want to hear”. On the other hand, Democratic citizens and officials will be the ones to question every word, idea, and even spelling put out by the opposition. This obviously works vise-versa as well.
At this point, perception becomes reality. What I perceived to have happened in an event, based on what I read and hear about it, is what I will consider to be the reality of the situation. Which means that every single person’s truth and reality is different from the next’s. This can even vary for primary sources, as we saw in the Columbus example.
Relating back to the Worthen discussion of Peter Holland's writing in which he states that Holland confronts the issue of the academy as an "institutional structure" where there is a tension between "the logic of facts, and the generalizing power of narrative that represents and inevitably falsifies them", I would have to agree with Holland. As seen in the Columbus curricula example above, and in another example: Creation vs. Evolution. The institution that is public education has taken this argument/conflict of theories beyond the point of education. Many schools are so scared of offending parents that they skip over the theory of Creation, and would not even think about teaching any other religions’ theories. The imbedded power and credibility of an American academic institution supports anything that the student is taught, and does not encourage that student to do further research and decide for his/herself what is “true” to him/her.
Based on the issues discussed, I believe that a historiography can be most related to its third definition, C. A body of historical literature. This is because it is through reading of literature, including fiction, non-fiction, theater, etc., that a modern day reader would best be able to assimilate his or her own perspective on the culture and events of the past; without having to question the objectivity of the source nor his/herself, he/she would be creating his/her own truth and reality based on those writings.
Historiography, by its definition on Dictionary.com, refers to A. The principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation; B. The writing of history based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and selection of authentic source materials and composition of these materials into a narrative subject to scholarly methods of criticism; and/or C. A body of historical literature.
Now in this definition, historiography and objectivity must go hand in hand, based on the fact that it purports to be scholarly and authentic. But let us take, for example, our sorted history of feelings about Christopher Columbus. According to the authentic first-hand accounts written by many of the "whites" who were on the voyage and made it to the "New World" for the first time, Columbus was a hero, to be held high on a pedestal. But to the "Indians", Columbus was a n intrusive barbarian who destroyed their land, culture and people. These two perspectives both stem from authentic primary sources, so how do we choose what to believe?
That is where our written history plays into our current culture. Continuing with the example above, the American school system has for years on end chosen to support the former of the two perspectives. It is only in the present that curricula are even acknowledging another perspective.
So objectivity becomes a concern for both the recorder and the receiver of the written communication. We will look at another example. The political arena, although we try to show it as a fair and open system, is strictly as we know a bipartite system. When a Republican representative says or writes something, that may be far-fetched or even inane, Republican citizens will tend to buy into it, because they identify with the source, and most likely are “hearing what they want to hear”. On the other hand, Democratic citizens and officials will be the ones to question every word, idea, and even spelling put out by the opposition. This obviously works vise-versa as well.
At this point, perception becomes reality. What I perceived to have happened in an event, based on what I read and hear about it, is what I will consider to be the reality of the situation. Which means that every single person’s truth and reality is different from the next’s. This can even vary for primary sources, as we saw in the Columbus example.
Relating back to the Worthen discussion of Peter Holland's writing in which he states that Holland confronts the issue of the academy as an "institutional structure" where there is a tension between "the logic of facts, and the generalizing power of narrative that represents and inevitably falsifies them", I would have to agree with Holland. As seen in the Columbus curricula example above, and in another example: Creation vs. Evolution. The institution that is public education has taken this argument/conflict of theories beyond the point of education. Many schools are so scared of offending parents that they skip over the theory of Creation, and would not even think about teaching any other religions’ theories. The imbedded power and credibility of an American academic institution supports anything that the student is taught, and does not encourage that student to do further research and decide for his/herself what is “true” to him/her.
Based on the issues discussed, I believe that a historiography can be most related to its third definition, C. A body of historical literature. This is because it is through reading of literature, including fiction, non-fiction, theater, etc., that a modern day reader would best be able to assimilate his or her own perspective on the culture and events of the past; without having to question the objectivity of the source nor his/herself, he/she would be creating his/her own truth and reality based on those writings.
Monday, February 7
I thought that I should update:
It became quite apparent that the little broken puppy has been upgraded back to the little puppy. This realization came at 7:00 a.m. as she tried to eat my face (And this is why she is not upgraded back to The Adorable One quite yet).
Today has been filled with naps and not being able to wake up. As well as me just now realizing that I was going to go to a meeting at work 2 hours ago. Damn.
It became quite apparent that the little broken puppy has been upgraded back to the little puppy. This realization came at 7:00 a.m. as she tried to eat my face (And this is why she is not upgraded back to The Adorable One quite yet).
Today has been filled with naps and not being able to wake up. As well as me just now realizing that I was going to go to a meeting at work 2 hours ago. Damn.
Sunday, February 6
Oh, poor broken puppy.
I feel like I have a child with this dog. Whenever I take her anywhere, I have to pack her "things" (blanket, toys, snacks, etc.) When she whimpers, I don't know what she wants, to eat, to shit, etc. And tonight she hurt herself, and it was heartbreaking, but I don't know what to do to make it better. Poor broken little puppy.
I feel like I have a child with this dog. Whenever I take her anywhere, I have to pack her "things" (blanket, toys, snacks, etc.) When she whimpers, I don't know what she wants, to eat, to shit, etc. And tonight she hurt herself, and it was heartbreaking, but I don't know what to do to make it better. Poor broken little puppy.
Tuesday, February 1
The latest reasons that I like Arizona:
A. Last night (and by last night I mean around 4:00 in the morning) it was warm enough that I was wallking around in shorts and a t-shirt, with no qualms about it.
B. I had a delightful afternoon in the sun, laying out and playing with Dixie, who is a damn cute little bastard.
C. I can attend Arizona State University without going to Arizona State University, thus not having to park at Arizona State University.
D. Products such as Arizona Iced Tea, which are super-yummy.
A. Last night (and by last night I mean around 4:00 in the morning) it was warm enough that I was wallking around in shorts and a t-shirt, with no qualms about it.
B. I had a delightful afternoon in the sun, laying out and playing with Dixie, who is a damn cute little bastard.
C. I can attend Arizona State University without going to Arizona State University, thus not having to park at Arizona State University.
D. Products such as Arizona Iced Tea, which are super-yummy.
I really didn't think that it would be possible to get a 4 out of 10 on an online quiz in which I was to conjugate verbs into present and past tenses, while I have a 501 Italian Verbs book in front of me. (If you don't know what this book is and you study a foreign language, you need to get with the program.)
I have been reading Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Excellent! I must say, if you aren't nitpicky about punctuation and writing, you would most likely hate this book. But if you are, you will be in love. From the way she talks about commas to the explanation of the semicolon, a pure delight!
And yes, I do understand the extreme level of nerd that I have just reached.
I have been reading Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Excellent! I must say, if you aren't nitpicky about punctuation and writing, you would most likely hate this book. But if you are, you will be in love. From the way she talks about commas to the explanation of the semicolon, a pure delight!
And yes, I do understand the extreme level of nerd that I have just reached.
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