Graceland

Name Change!

litotease — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 19:14:19 GMT

I've changed my name from gracecourage to litotease on both DW and LJ. Just because.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth. Comments at Dreamwidth: .

Cal Loves Holmes

litotease — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:48:12 GMT

Seen all over the Berkeley campus today (click for larger):

I believe in Sherlock Holmes.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Huh. This actually makes me feel better.

litotease — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:44:05 GMT

I was looking up the side effects of the anti-cancer meds I'm (OMG still!) on, and found this tidbit at breastcancer.org:

Hot flashes or night sweats from taking tamoxifen can be troubling. But a 2008 British study suggests that women who experienced hot flashes and night sweats while taking hormonal therapy medicine were less likely to have the breast cancer come back (recur).

Knowing that is making the stupid things so very much easier to tolerate. (If more intense symptoms indicate a greater reduction in recurrence, I am in good, good shape!)

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Stabbity Stabbity Stabbity

litotease — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:15:24 GMT

"Agency is predicated on self-reflexive, interpretive framings of power which are embedded not only in language but in relational sequences of action."

"Legitimation can be understood as constructed and mediated by two poles: the site of instantiation and the Archimedean point of the authorizing center."

"Thus there is a need to interrogate the mythicizing reception of violence in order to trace the path by which ideological readings of violence engender the subject of the act and the extrinsic site of legitimation in a single moment."

"Legitimation resides in the construction of a fictive depth, a dimensionality of force which draws consciousness away from the concrete material investment in acts and effects that reproduce domination in time and space."

I NEED A SPORK FOR MY BRAAAAAIN! GAH!

It's not that I can't parse this shit; it's that the language is obfuscatory rather than illuminating, and that just pisses me. the fuck. off. (Edited to add: OK, so 'obfuscatory' isn't exactly a common, everyday word either but I claim an exemption on it since everything I know about the word 'obfuscate' I learned in The Sentinel fandom. :D)

And how's your day going? ::g::

All quotes randomly pulled from Allen Feldman, Formations of Violence, pages 1-3. I've got roughly 170 more pages to get through today.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Wherein fandom and academics collide (and not in the happy way)

litotease — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:55:42 GMT

This is not the kind of research challenge I could have ever anticipated.

I have to do a short presentation tied somehow to the idea of how we utilize space for my Semiotics class. I thought it might be interesting to look at the different ways social class and the use of space interact here in the U.S.

I type "blue collar" into google image search, and I get a variety of images of houses and neighborhoods and people wearing hard-hats and uniforms.

I type in "white collar" and I get Neal Caffrey, Neal Caffrey, Matt Bomer, Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey....

(I've tried -neal -caffrey -peter -burke -matt -bomer -tv -television, and I still get results about the show!)

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Stuff

litotease — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:15:24 GMT

I distinctly remember that much of what I read on LJ/DW, back when I was gainfully employed, was prefaced with "I should be working on my [homework/paper/thesis/some other school related thing], but I'm [writing/reading/vidding] fannish stuff, instead!" And I remember thinking how nice it was going to be to have some free time once I got back to school...

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

A lot of our readings reference the writing of dead white guys that I should have already read but haven't--Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Lacan, Foucault... I feel like I've jumped into the middle of a very long discussion (decades long, centuries long--which is, I think, an accurate description) and am having trouble picking up all of the conversational threads.

I would love suggestions for either:
- Good, introductory books on any of these guys (or others I should be familiar with.
- A basic, key article/paper/argument from any of 'em that I should tackle to start.

In thanks, may I offer music? (Seriously, check out the awesome chick rocking slide on the electric cigar box guitar.)

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

So Just How Out-of-Touch am I?

litotease — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:16:43 GMT

My new most favorite song is by The Hush Sound. I've never heard of them before, but since I don't listen to radio (Pandora, yes, but not radio) I've got no concept of how well known they are/were.

So, if I were to say to someone, "You really need to hear this song!", would I get an "Oh, wow, thank you!" back? Or an "Um. Duh!"? LOL.

The song in question: The Boys are Too Refined

(ETA: Crap. The "Embed Media" button didn't work, and I can't immediately see why. So here, have a link to the YouTube vid of this song instead! I'm gonna go fart around with things and see if I can't figure embedding media out...)

Those with a poetry bent and those who've been in SPN fandom from the beginning will most likely get why I love this song with all my heart and haven't been able to stop listening to it for days. Now that I've heard it. ♥

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Occupy It!

litotease — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:38:39 GMT

Occupy Oakland is throwing a party!. Tonight the revolution is groovin'.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Acafan Love

litotease — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:06:32 GMT

How nerdy does it make me that the highlight of my week (I'm really excited) is that Henry Jenkins is coming to speak on campus? Or that I liked one of my professors just fine until I found out she's on the TWC board, at which point I became totally starry-eyed. A lot, right? I ♥ acafans.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Need Help re: Downloading the Undownloadable

litotease — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:15:43 GMT

Somebody out there knows (or knows somebody else who knows) how to download undownloadable video.
Help?

I'm going to be working with a Professor who's studying the impacts of subtle racist language in the news. For online sources, she wants to save a local copy just in case the original source disappears. This isn't a problem when the source is text-based, but can become a problem when the source is video footage.

I'm using Firefox. I've been playing with footage from The Daily Show, just because I know that my Download Helper add-on doesn't see video streams from there, and I can't figure it out. I know there's gotta be a way.

Thanks, y'all.

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Go Bears!

litotease — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:41:09 GMT

Today is my first day of school. I'm a little bit nervous; I haven't taken a strenuous academic class since before the cancer/chemo/medically-induced menopause thing, and I know I don't think as well as I did before all of that happened. (On the other hand, 3-1/2 years down--which is incredibly optimistic--and 1-1/2 to go until I can say "I beat this thing!")

I am used to community college campuses, where there is a broad range of ages in every classroom. Berkeley won't be like that. There will be other older students on campus, but not in the numbers I'm used to, and my fat*, 55-year-old self is going to stick out like a sore thumb. This is going to be especially true this semester, because three of the classes I'm taking are lower-division 'Intro to' classes (they're prereqs for upper-division classes I want to take, and too specialized to have been offered at the community college level), so most of my classmates will be straight out of high school.

I'm also excited. It's Berkeley, and it's going to be full of smart, interesting people and smart, interesting discussions, and I get to be part of it. Amazing.

*This is not me beating myself up or exhibiting body dysmorphia. It's as true a descriptor as 'I have blue eyes and brown hair.' Some of it's genetics, some of it's personal history, some of it's meds (four rounds of prednisone this last year; god, I hate prednisone). Most of the time I'm so aware of how lucky I am to still be breathing that the idea of worrying about my weight is laughable. In a few minutes, though, I'm going to be on a campus full of young women, most of whom will have very strong negative feelings about fatness, and who will judge, and that ratchets my anxiety levels way up. But not enough to keep me from going.

Go Bears!

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Disclaimer: I Am Not a Vidder

litotease — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:39:55 GMT

These folks here are looking to raise startup funds for a free, professional-level, distributed video editor.

Some features:

Distributed workflow - collaboratively edit video with other artists over the Internet

Distributed storage - seamlessly store and synchronize video files across multiple computers and the cloud

Distributed rendering - seamlessly spread rendering and encoding across multiple computers and the cloud

I have to confess that I'm partially enamored with them because the first item in their Why Are We Developing It? section is "because there's no reason for Joss Whedon to ever have a show canceled."

So, vidders, check it out. If it looks worthy to y'all, help 'em out if you can & spread the word.

(I want them to get the software up & running just because it looks like it'll be fun to play with, but, y'know, note the disclaimer above.)

(Also, if you like supporting artistic or creative endeavors of any sort, browse that website. It's full of musicians, filmmakers, artists, techies, and other creative sorts who need funding for specific projects (in various amounts -- from a couple hundred dollars to several grand, depending on the project) and are asking for small (sometimes as little as a dollar) donations to get it underway.)

This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth.

Gratitude Project

litotease — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:50:23 GMT

I am grateful for milkshakes. And burgers. And onion rings. Yum.

Gratitude Project

litotease — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:47:02 GMT

I am grateful that Prop 8 was overturned. I am sooo grateful that Prop 8 was overturned. I am kick-up-my-heels, giggling with glee, dancing in my chair (and in the living room, and in the kitchen...) grateful that Prop 8 was overturned.

I am grateful for a Court that understands that one of the important tasks of government is to protect us from each other. I know that this isn't over yet, but for today, I'm grateful.

Gratitude Project

litotease — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:37:42 GMT

I am grateful for purple.

Twelve purple pictures here. (This is a random sampling of picture results from a Google Image search for "purple.")

This is a Gift, Day 1

litotease — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:15:56 GMT

elfwreck posted about The Gratitude Project today. (Well, officially yesterday, since it's after midnight here, but still today because I haven't yet been to sleep. *g*) I hadn't heard of The Gratitude Project before, but I have been recently reminded that remembering to be grateful never goes amiss; that it can, in fact, actually make one's world a better place. So.

I am grateful that I am affluent enough to own a decent computer and also able to afford reasonably high speed internet service to use it with.

NPR Personalities Spoof Lady Gaga

litotease — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:39:25 GMT

Found on Reel Grrlz:

Can't. Stop. Smiling.

Orgasm, Inc. at the 5th Annual Anti-Corporate Film Festival Next Friday

litotease — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:45:54 GMT

"When director Liz Canner was hired to edit erotic videos for a pharmaceutical company developing the first Viagra-type drug for women, she saw it as an opportunity to make a documentary about the relationship between science and pleasure.

But she soon began to suspect that the pharmaceutical industry might be endangering the physical and mental health of women in its pursuit of billion-dollar profits."

Orgasm, Inc.

I'm going -- anybody else local want to come [heh] with? Comment or email me at gracecourage @ gmail.com

litotease — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:42:24 GMT

Tuition & Fees: $39,923

My Financial Aid Award: $31,080

Difference: $8,843

So close and yet so far.

The financial aid includes the maximum amount of student loans, so I can't (and shouldn't for the safety of my future) borrow more. I can work part time while attending to cover my living expenses, so it's just the fees at issue.

Any ideas from the peanut gallery? Anybody know someone who might know someone who wants to support a returning student? --a fine arts/media student (that's the Bachelors)? --a woman in tech (plus one for the Masters)? --a cancer survivor?

There's gotta be something out there....

Hey, it's been awhile....

litotease — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:07:18 GMT

1) I posted on Dreamwidth but didn't crosspost. And rather than re-do the whole post here, I'm just gonna link.

2) I cleaned up my flist here to remove everybody who also posts to Dreamwidth. If I took you off my flist in error (i.e. if you don't crosspost most everything), please holler at me and let me know so I can add you back.

3) Hi, you guys! How are you?

Dear Flist, I Need Some RL Help

litotease — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:27:09 GMT

My kid is graduating from Berkeley this year. (Woo-HOO!!!)

My mission is complete. Which means I need a new mission, because getting her to the point she's at has been my reason for getting up and going to my shitty job for a couple of decades. It's getting harder and harder to get up and go.

I was venting about my shitty job and the skeevy ethics of our corporate overlords: "Dear God, I need to work for the ACLU, or somebody that's doing something I can morally support!"

Oh, hey -- why can't I work for the ACLU? So I started browsing their website, and I found this. I wanna. So I wondered, "What kind of degree would one have to be working on to get that internship?", and I found this. I really wanna. OK, so what kind of undergrad degrees are they looking for in their PhD candidates? And I found this.

I'm applying to Mills for the fall. They do that ICS degree as a 4+1 (one takes classes towards both the BA and the MA all along, the program takes 5 years -- 3 for me since I'm transferring in as a Junior -- and when one is done, one has both a BA and an MA), although I won't be able to declare it for a year because I've got a couple of prereqs I have to have taken before declaring it that I can only take there (if I get in, if I get in). (I'm thinking of doing this as the BA portion of the program.)

I've done an admissions interview, and I think they liked me. But Mills is expensive, and they don't do (can't afford to do) full rides anymore. I'm too old to take out a boatload of student loans -- I won't have the same kind of time to pay them off that someone younger would have.

So I'm looking for information on scholarships. Scholarships for returning students, cancer survivors, single moms (would I qualify for one of those if my kid is grown and independent now?), for women in tech (would I qualify for one of those if I can't declare the CS part of the degree for a year? And is that degree tech-y enough?)

I'm applying for academic renewal at my Junior College, which, if granted, will give me a GPA of 3.89 over 90 units ::facepalm:: with lots of science and math classes in the mix (without academic renewal, my GPA is 3.5 which is nothing to sneeze at).

I didn't realize the application deadline for Berkeley was so early or I would have applied there, too (I just found out yesterday that the cut off is Nov. 30, ::grumble::), and of course I'll apply to the State Schools, too. But, oh, I want to go to Mills -- it's an old-style private women's college, y'all.

So, anybody know of any scholarships? Know anybody who might know?

Supernatural on Sale at Amazon

litotease — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:47:34 GMT

If you want but haven't yet got any season of SPN, they're on sale at Amazon this week for $13-$15 per season (depending on the season, more $$ for blu-ray but still really cheap). (Sets at Amazon.UK are deeply discounted, too.)

Wait. Shit. Are we boycotting Amazon? I distinctly remember queer-related asshattery -- have they resolved that yet? Damn.

This entry was originally posted at http://gracecourage.dreamwidth.org/20127.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Some Introspection and Some Thanksgiving

litotease — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:11:24 GMT

I haven't really posted in close to 6 months. I've been in a (much needed) introspective and re-evaluative place, parsing out where, at this time of my live, the differences are between who I say I am (to myself and others) and who I actually am. (I've kept for years a book I didn't love because I do love and am haunted by something it says on the cover: "What if the question is not why am I so infrequently the person I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person I really am?")

I am dealing with rage, mountains and mountains of rage, most of it decades old, most of it related to how a girl child was treated in my family, is treated in the world. ("What a gift your anger is," says my therapist. "Doesn't feel like much of a gift," says I. "Do you want to be what they want you to be?" "Oh, GOD, no." "Then the anger is a gift," says she.)

Through it all, as has been true for years, it's you guys who get me through. When I'm irritated with life, I come here. When I'm dissociative and having trouble staying fully in my body, I come here. When I need to relax, or laugh, or breathe, I come here.

I am surrounded here by people who are smart and articulate, who have intelligent opinions and aren't afraid to use them (even when they're not popular ones), who are gifted storytellers, or gifted with invective, or gifted at being honestly themselves. People who make me think and frown and laugh. People I admire.

I only use reading filters to screen out newsletters; my default view is every personal journal I've friended/subscribed to. If you're on my flist/in my circle, it's because I want to (and do) read what you have to say.

I maybe fangirl you a little, too.

I'm definitely thankful that you're there.

HAPPY U.S. TURKEY DAY, Y'ALL.

This entry was originally posted at http://gracecourage.dreamwidth.org/19836.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

ETA: Please to be ignoring the "comment at Dreamwidth" comment; comment wherever makes you happy! ::fixes defaults::

Window Help

litotease — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:04:47 GMT

Does anybody out there in the peanut gallery have suggestions for inexpensive window treatments?

The thing I love about my new room is that it's got windows on three sides (one of 'em a big sliding glass door that goes out onto a wrap-around deck that's only accessible from this room!).

Except that since I work mostly nights, I need to find a way to block out all of that light so's I can sleep.

I'm adept enough with a sewing machine to do your basic straight seam....

Thoughts?

This entry was originally posted at http://gracecourage.dreamwidth.org/19494.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Breathes again

litotease — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:49:28 GMT

OK, the 24 hours I was going to be without internet turned into 10 days. But I'm moved, and I'm up! Whee!!!

Did I miss anything?

::g::

This entry was originally posted at http://gracecourage.dreamwidth.org/19221.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Graceland

Name Change!

Cal Loves Holmes

Huh. This actually makes me feel better.

Stabbity Stabbity Stabbity

Wherein fandom and academics collide (and not in the happy way)

Stuff

So Just How Out-of-Touch am I?

Occupy It!

Acafan Love

Need Help re: Downloading the Undownloadable

Go Bears!

Disclaimer: I Am Not a Vidder

Gratitude Project

Gratitude Project

Gratitude Project

This is a Gift, Day 1

NPR Personalities Spoof Lady Gaga

Orgasm, Inc. at the 5th Annual Anti-Corporate Film Festival Next Friday

Hey, it's been awhile....

Dear Flist, I Need Some RL Help

Supernatural on Sale at Amazon

Some Introspection and Some Thanksgiving

Window Help

*Breathes again*

Breathes again