Gravitas

The dulcet tones of e-mail

2007-07-24T21:03:00.002-06:00

Salon.com reports this week on better E-mail management. The article's slant is how to achieve e-mail nirvana (the zero inbox) and a new generation of books that could help with that onerous task.

Personally, though, I was struck more by a excerpted passage concerning e-mail and why it so often comes off sounding wrong. After a decade (nay, more like 14 years now) of watching communication goofs in every possible online medium, from multi-player text games (remember MUDs? remember wizard wars? no? count yourself lucky, very very lucky) to e-mail to irc to bulletin boards (flamefest!) to usenet (*plonk!*) to the newest generation of online chat, I feel like I've seen it all.

Quite simply, people fail more often and far more spectacularly online than they ever do in person in RL.

And yet, I don't know if I've ever seen the reason for this summed up quite so well:

E-mail hangs unfamiliarly between the formality of written missives and the immediacy of voice, and that opens some pitfalls. ... This passage [from David Shipley's book], for instance, is a perfect summary of the form's emotional opacity: "If you don't consciously insert tone into an email, a kind of universal default tone won't automatically be conveyed. Instead, the message written without regard to tone becomes a blank screen onto which the reader projects his own fears, prejudices and anxieties."

- Empty thine in-box

Anke would approve. Online communication feels so immediate and connected, that we often forget it lacks all the other cues we get in person-to-person contact: voice inflection, volume, speed; facial expression, body movement. Sometimes all of that conveys far more than the words themselves.

---

[1] MUD - multi-user dungeon. A not-so-massive multiplayer online adventure game in a purely textual format. They're still around (surprised?); grew out of the single-player text games like Adventure and Colossal Cave, from the UNIX days of yore. That's the 1970's for you young whippersnappers.

[2] *plonk* - How you told someone on a usenet group that they were so damned annoying that they were going into your killfile. Killfile? A method to block someone's posts in a news reader.

[3] RL - real life, as opposed to online life; an acronym especially prevalent in my days of mudding; more humorously so, as some players seemed to lose the ability to make the distinction.

[4] Anke, my roommate in Tübingen, wrote her Master's thesis on social interactions in the brand-spanking-new (at the time) internet.

The End is Nigh - Reread Now

2007-02-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Her Rowlingness celebrates finishing HP and the Deathly Hallows by writing on the décor.

Something for the Little People *

2006-12-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Not just Stargates

* Or maybe I should say: "Something for the Little People, Aussies, and Nadine"

Larsisms

2006-12-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

LARS: "I don't know much about Sharia law, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't cover camcorders."

- in response to my re-reading of Francis Fukuyama's 1989 article "The End of History?"

Bunnius Rabbitus

2006-12-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last Lavender

2006-12-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Dr. Lorimer asked about this one.

No parking

2006-12-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Oh, deer.

A little explanation

2006-11-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hee hee!

Every two years the US has elections for the national government. If we had a parliamentary system, all of our national representatives would be elected at the same time. Alas, we have this wacky presidential system instead.

Our lower house (the Congress) is elected for 2 year terms (too short, IMO). The upper house, the Senate, is elected for 6 year terms. Every two years we elect one third of the Senate and all of the Congress.

We had the election on Tuesday. People thought the Democrats might do well. The war in Iraq is very unpopular, President Duh's approval ratings are the lowest in history, and the Republicans are doing everything in their power to bankrupt the country. But, after the debacle in 2000, best not to get hopes too high.

The Democrats needed to take back 15 seats to be the majority party in Congress. The result? We got at least 29 and probably 32. (They're still counting a few races).

The Democrats needed to swing 6 seats in the Senate to get the majority back. We got exactly 6.

I'd hoped for the first. I never expected the second. Dr. Lorimer and I were watching the returns on television and gasping at every seat that went blue.

A few more noteworthy details:

- The state of Minnesota elected a Muslim to Congress -- the first ever to sit in parliament.

- The new leader in Congress will be a woman -- the first time a woman has ever held this position.

- Barbara Boxer will be the new Chairperson to the Environmental and Public Works committee in the Senate. So what, you ask? In her words: "Finally we will hold hearings on global warming". Amen.

The US electorate finally gave GWB the finger, and damn, it feels good.

Giddy

2006-11-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Do the dance of victory, Numfar!

A little snow

2006-10-26T09:33:00.000-06:00

8:30 this morning

Colorado Springs is under a blizzard warning. Whee! A day for Glühwein and deeveedees.

The long road to Colorado

2006-09-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind on blogging... actually, a lot behind. The new university semester started the morning after we got back from California. I'm doing World History at one school, and Latin at another. It's gooood to get out of the rut and back into something that feels productive.

The drive home from California took about 30 hours, not including sleep stops. Oh yeah. And Someone Else doesn't have a radio in his car. I amused myself by taking pictures. None of these are works of art, but I think it's interesting to see how much the landscape changes between Here and There.

Carmel

And one more before we hit the road...

Southern California: Somewhere near Death Valley and the Mojave Desert

Nearly out of California: I've never been a fan of deserts

Nevada: Viva, Las Vegas. And 110F outside. (93 in the car WITH the AC on) Truly, why do people live here?

Southern Utah

Colorado: Glenwood Canyon

Colorado: Coming over the Rockies

Down Monument Pass into Colorado Springs. Naturally, there's a storm over Pike's Peak.

Kudos to the driver.

Carmel Pics

2006-08-26T15:19:00.000-06:00

Taking off from Denver

Something went boom here. At first I thought it must be an impact crater, but then Lars pointed out it isn't hollow enough. This could have been over Nevada -- underground bomb tests? A volcano that has eroded?

The classic anvil-shape of a thunderstorm

Quail running thru the backyard

Carmel Beach

Pelicans

And the winner of the Carmel Silver Polishing Championship is...

2006-08-15T11:51:00.001-06:00

Unbelievably, a week has already come and gone. Dr. Lorimer and I drifted through the Monterey Aquarium yesterday before I took her back to the airport. Everyone should have their own Dr. L -- mine pressed fresh coffee into my hand every morning, grilled steak, and polished silver like a Victorian pro. And then she flew off back into the sunset from whence she came.

Sniff.

But sometime early this morning my phone went bleepity-bleep: Larsie has left Nevada, helloooooo California! He is en route with vehicle. We shall pack up whatever Narrisch chooses to keep and slowly drive back to Colorado.

We learned that jellyfish are incredibly difficult to photograph

Whaddre'you starin' at?

And of course, one just for Em

Tuesday morning

2006-08-08T11:16:00.000-06:00

Things have improved since Thursday. Uncle appeared Friday night and we had a nice dinner. He's brought lunches over and helped with the sorting. My brother came down Sunday night and we did the final splitting of the treasures. Dr. Lorimer arrives tonight, Lars next week.

It doesn't feel like I'm making progress on the house, but I know I must be. Another box filled, another load to charity, another trash bag drug out the door. Scraping away the layers of a person's life like so much archaeology. No one should have to do this, but at some point it has to be done for all of us.

There is a hummingbird outside the cafe window. It's good to find these tiny moments of wonder between the hours of sorting-packing-saving-junking.

There have been hummingbirds around my mother's house. I think Dr. Lorimer will enjoy them, and the flowers, and the sea.

I wish so much I could keep the house. I don't know how I will drive away next week.

Coming home for the last time

2006-08-04T16:59:00.000-06:00

Even though what's-left-of-my-family all live in California, I would appear to be all on my own this week. Even though I have a relation 10 minutes away, no one offered to fetch me from the airport. No one seemed to care if I got to my mother's house or not. Just-get-the-damned-house-clean-because-everyone-wants-their-cash-halleluja-and-ciao.

Cleaning out is hard enough, but staying alone in my mother's house is going to gut me. There is a void where she used to be. There is a void in the spot that held us all together. And I am too wearied by the narcissism and the self-pity to keep patching dykes. If you can't let of things after two decades, then there never was any hope. Take your grudges and entertain someone else.

I need to empty this cupboard, but all I can do is stand in the kitchen and cry.

Dr. Lorimer arrives Tuesday night to help. Tuesday can't come fast enough.

The Other F-Word

2006-08-02T16:47:00.000-06:00

"So... anybody who grew up in a fucked-up family...
which I assume is most of us"

* audience laughter *

"Do you find your being really suspicious of happy families? Does that just creep you out?"

welcome to:
no amount of stoned makes you feel ok
welcome to:
this year's alone - brought to you by Christmas day
welcome to:
the darkness into which prayin people pray

it's quiet here except for this song
now that everybody's gone
but hey
least you don't have to play along today

welcome to:
something like elation when you first open your eyes
just cuz it means
that you musta finally got to sleep last night
welcome to:
the precipice between groundlessness and flight

it's quiet here except for this song
now that everybody's gone
but hey
least you don't have to play along today

besides which
welcome to:
taking the good stuff down off of the shelf
and welcome to:
the art of conversation with yourself
welcome to:
humming an unbroken tune
all day long
yes it's quiet here
but hey
least you don't have to play along today

{{ Ani DiFranco }}
angry anymore :: carnegie hall 4.6.02
welcome to :: so much shouting, so much laughter

Ivy

2006-07-25T14:19:00.000-06:00

One more from the London bunch: Highgate Cemetery.

Tomorrow: Hobbling No. 5 continues on to Prague.

St. Stephen's

2006-07-25T11:55:00.000-06:00

Up the road from Biped's.

Looks old, but in fact it's 19th century Gothic Revival.

DIA

2006-07-25T11:39:00.000-06:00

The roofline of the Denver Airport always makes me think of circus tents.

It's especially nice at night when it's lit from inside and glows.

Mind the Gap

2006-07-24T12:12:00.000-06:00

Monday, July 10

Destination: Denver Airport, where a British Airways jet is waiting to whisk me off to the land of Jaffas, gin tonics, and curry take-out. Later, Colorado.

Tuesday, July 11

I arrive at Biped's office around 3.30-ish and amuse her with my newly-procured Oyster card. Shiny.

She leads me on a two-hour tramp over the beautiful greenspace of Hampstead Heath, at the end of which I am rewarded with ice cream. Such hardship.

She even takes me to her super-secret-Sunday-morning-hideout, an enticing terrace cafe alongside a manor house-turned-museum, perched atop a rise overlooking the Heath. Biped seems immensely pleased that I've made it thus far without collapsing. I don't tell her that being back at sea level makes me feel 10 years younger. Yay for oxygen.

Dinner at a curry joint. They bring a plate of orange slices and what looks like seed and spice garni. Biped says it tastes like potpourri. That's how I like to finish up a meal.

Wednesday, July 12

Decide to be a lazy slob and visit Highgate Cemetery, which is barely a mile up the road from Biped's. Once a posh Victorian resting place for the well-heeled, the cemetery is now a lush overgrown jungle of ivy and brambles.

They charge me 2 pounds entrance fee for "maintenance and upkeep". So glad they're putting it to good use.

A dog pops out of the undergrowth. A very red dog. With a rather long body and big bushy tail. Thankfully, no Tories on horseback to be seen.

Highgate has a reasonable number of luminaries reposing here. Most people come to see the father of the Manifesto, but I primarily wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite writers.

It's a good place for a shady wander. Sometimes a name, or a stone, catches my eye, like this one: Caleb Pink. Really.

I wander back over the Heath on the way home. I could live in Hampstead with a park like this at my garden gate.

Along the way I watch a couple practicing Tai Chi under a huge English oak.

Thursday, July 13

Skipping right over Thursday (I guess everyone knows by now what I was doing...).

Friday, July 14

Biped and I seem to also share the architectural fantasy gene (which the Human Genome Project has yet to identify). We discuss knocking out her walls and glassing over her terrace.

Indy takes a half day and drives up to London. We spend the afternoon having a coffee on Biped's terrace and then drinks on the pub's terrace. It was a really pleasant, relaxing day, which is sometimes far nicer than running about doing the frantic tourist thing like a headless chicken.

I was bummed that we missed seeing Hampton Court, but I threaten Biped with a second visit and she surprisingly doesn't make noises about moving to Burma. Which I might have done had some strange foreign Hobbling come chuck in my toilet for a day.

Ain't Biped the Best?

And thus ends Hobbling No. 5's stay at Chez Biped, a.k.a. Florence Nightengale, whom I shall evermore fondly associate with flat coke and potpourri. (Num!)

For Nadine

2006-07-08T14:33:00.000-06:00

Here be Stargates

Shiny!

2006-07-07T19:46:00.000-06:00

Narrisch got a new camera. Hoo hoo!

Playing with the macro setting. Learning how to focus.

Pineleaf Penstemon

Ornamental Oregano

Scarlet Gilia

Colorado

2006-07-05T10:40:00.000-06:00

I still remember the first night I set eyes on Colorado Springs. For a moment I thought I'd overshot and hit Kansas by mistake.

"Ehh, we're not in California anymore, Toto".

Colorado Springs was anything but how I'd imagined Colorado. This wasn't the alpine wonderland I'd signed on for. This was industrial. And brown. Where were the trees? the mountains? the bears?

Most people equate Colorado with the Rockies. Aspen, Vail, chichi après-ski cocktails and log-built alpine chalets. But this was nothing like that.

And that is something that surprises the first-time visitor: the eastern half of the state is flat. Colorado is the end of the Great Plains. Grass and scrub and yucca. And the odd cactus or two.

Unless you find 20th Century Strip Mall to be the height of chic, Colorado Springs itself is ugg-LEE. Compared to some of the other places I've lived [1], Colorado Springs ranks right down there with landfill, trailer parks and rural Mississippi. The region has been in the throes of a construction boom, throwing up neighborhood after neighborhood of identical, drab, cheaply constructed houses which possess neither detail nor character. The arts scene is ... *cough*... nascent, and shopping is ... *coughs harder*... stylistically challenged.

In short, moving here was depressing.

But Colorado Springs IS where the plains meet the peaks. The western side of the city butts up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. And at 8-9,000 feet, those hills are already twice as high as the highest peak in Britain. [2] Even if I don't live in the Rockies, I can see where they begin from my backyard.

In a way, it's one of those magical lines of demarcation: where this begins, where that ends. As a child at the beach, I liked to stand in the water, exactly where the wet met the dry, and think, "This is the end, the very very end. There are 4,000 miles of land behind me, but this very inch of sand is where it ends." Colorado Springs may be the end of the plains, yes, but I stand in the shadows of the greatest mountain range in North America. Here is where it begins.

1. Prague, Tübingen, Galway, and Edinburgh: admittedly a hard crowd to beat.

2. Ben Nevis, 4,406 feet, and a real bitch of a walk.

As Seen Around Town

2006-06-16T12:56:00.000-06:00

Microsoft finds a sense of humor. Film at 11.

spotted at: The SciFi Channel

Because Rian will ask...

2006-06-12T14:51:00.000-06:00

Photo by Vermillion Asian Arts, Carmel CA

Whilst in California, my uncle and I made time to drop by my very favorite shop in the world: Vermillion Asian Arts in Carmel. Vermillion is run by two lovely men, Robert and Michael. Not only do they share my love of everything Japanese, but they are also incredibly warm and friendly. Even though their shop is filled with exquisite and expensive treasures, I always feel encouraged to browse and discover, touch and covet. And they know about what they are selling, unlike so many other places these days.

These lamps came out of a Japanese ryokan. The shades are paper; the legs fold up like a camera tripod. As they had to be electrified, I imagine they originally held candles. If I remember correctly, they are circa 1920. (I might be wrong on that.)

When I was in the shop, they had 2 on display which were already spoken for. More had been promised, but t'was uncertain if they would actually materialize.

But, happily, I got the email last night that they had indeed materialized, and they remembered that I coveted two.

Wonderful.

And I'm high on cold medication, so if none this makes any sense at all, blame Dr. Lorimer.

-----

Footnote: IF you ever visit Japan, do try to stay in a ryokan. Many ryokans are located in beautiful, older buildings, and the best ones give you a real taste of Japanese culture and history, from shoji doors, tatami mats and a private garden off your room, to unrolling your futon in the evening, bringing meals to your room, and drawing your nightly bath. Read more here.

Bonsai!

2006-06-10T22:47:00.000-06:00

Who would have thought you could bonsai a sequoia tree?

I expected this one to start throwing apples at me any moment...

Ginko leaves.

Monterey Bonsai Club, Annual Exhibition 2006
Seaside, CA

Lost and Found

2006-06-06T21:53:00.000-06:00

Narrisch had been fretting that there were NO pictures at all of herself and mother, just the two, neither having enjoyed their photograph being taken. <mock-glares in the general direction of the Bedroom Paparazzi>

But whilst cleaning out the house this week this image fluttered out of an envelope. Sometimes the universe does smile upon you.

1991

One More

2006-06-05T10:23:00.001-06:00

A different mastavallia orchid

Reasons Why

2006-06-04T10:05:00.000-06:00

Begonia Leaves

Water Lily

Masdavallia Orchid

Airports II

2006-06-01T23:55:00.000-06:00

8:00

There was a man in the Salt Lake City airport carrying a box marked

LIVE BOILED LOBSTERS

9:10

I wish I'd thought to have my camera out as we left Salt Lake City. The sun had just gone down; snow-capped peaks to one side; orange and red sunset on the other; silvery twilight on the lake.

One should always travel with Dr. Lorimer, I suppose, who remembers to do these things.

11:02

Monterey. Finally!

And: not to be believed: my bag is the first one off the trolley.

Bed.

Airports

2006-06-01T14:56:00.000-06:00

2:00pm

So. Here I am in the Colorado Springs Airport. Here I go! Going now!

Except... flight delayed.

Ho hum.

*twiddles thumbs*

2:30

'Tis not a bad airport, really. They have free wireless. FREE WIRELESS. The two words in the English language that make Dr. Lorimer's little Scottish heart go pitter-pat.

And Indy is on MSN. Hi Indy!

So, Indy amuses me with tales of his Sims:

Indy: "It's great fun - you can play it seriously or find amusing ways to wind the little buggers up.
Or...ahem...accidently kill them."

Me: "*laughs more* Can they get run down by Sim busses?"

Indy: "I don't think so...*rubs hands together*
..but let's find out... "

3:15

Plane is supposed to be loading now.

*twiddles thumbs more*

3:50

Dr. Lorimer has a computer problem, which she explains at great length, not realizing I am sitting in an airport.

By now it is obvious that half the plane is going to miss connections. United has only one frazzled agent at the gate trying to rebook 50 people.

4:05

"Will the person who found a finance book in the men's toilet please bring it to..."

4:25

At this point it is obvious that I am not going to make my connection in Denver. The flight itself, at 16 minutes, is so short that they don't even bother closing the doors. Nevertheless, even if we left right now, I might make it but my bag definitely won't. Time to talk to Frazzled Woman.

4:45

Frazzled Woman has put me on Delta. Now I'm not going to Denver at all.

Salt Lake City, here I come.

5:30

Frazzled Woman told me to come back at 5:30 to see if they could "find my bag". First she tells me it went on the plane that just left for Denver. Ehh, did it, or do you *think* it did? I smile, she hems. I ask politely if she can radio the baggage guy who'd been tasked with finding it. She hems a bit more, but does. She thinks it is at Gate 12 on the loader now. Oh. Good thing I'm leaving from Gate 4.

I have a baaad feeling about this.

Stay tuned to see where Narrisch's luggage ends up! If the flight has pretzels! And if a freak blizzard snows her into the Salt Lake City Airport!

One For Dr. Lorimer

2006-05-31T13:56:00.000-06:00

Speaking of 'the ruins of civilizations that were mighty in their day'...

This is the sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II, king of Sidon (one of the great port cities of ancient Phoenicia, located in modern-day Lebanon). Dr. Lorimer and I admired it at the Louvre.

The inscription comprises a little genealogy, a little self-promotion, and a little admonishment to potential treasure seekers. ("[T]he sacred gods shall inflict extirpation on them.")

But what I really like is how the translator phrased this bit:

For, graced by the gods, I am carried away. The time of my non-existence has come; my spirit has disappeared, like the day, from whence I am silent, since which I became mute.

I should very much like to have that on my tombstone one day.

source: Dr. Nicholas C. J. Pappas

One Reviewer's Take on The Odyssey

2006-05-25T15:10:00.000-06:00

"I picked up this Library book [The Odyssey] because I am in love with the story Troy. It makes the movie more put together."

source: Amazon.com

Bookish Voyeurism

2006-05-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a sucker for gizmos and statistics.

In LibraryThing, you can add other users to what they call your 'watch list'. The watch list appears in the sidebar of your profile page. This makes it easy to see your friends' collections grow.

Anytime you click into another user's catalog, LibraryThing helpfully tells you how many books you have in common with that person.

As of ~~yesterday~~ today:

Daisy and I currently share 62 books. (cool, go Daisy!)
Indy and I currently share 42 books.
Skywolf and I currently share 26 books.
Skits and I currently share 20 books
Emma and I currently share 20 books
Rian and I currently share 3 books.
Emano needs to add more books.

Updated to add Emma and Skits

Bookish Practicalities

2006-05-23T11:39:00.000-06:00

LibraryThing is turning out to be good for more than "Oooo lookit all me books". I know. Shocking, 'innit?

Discovering duplicate copies. (As in: Why, why, why do I have 3 copies of Jane Eyre??)

Pinpointing which books have gone walkabout over the years. The ones I don't remember are probably no great loss, but the ones I miss and can't locate are.

Finding gaps in series. (Ehm, why do we have books 2 and 3, but not 1?)

Realizing just how many Pratchetts we have accumulated. (Egad, we have HOW many?)

Mother's Day

2006-05-14T02:21:00.000-06:00

When you've got the munchies...

2006-05-12T18:18:00.000-06:00

Narrisch sat on the walk this evening and watched Baby Bunny chow down on lawn.

He can't be more than a few weeks old. I'd guess he's a smidge tinier than my hand.

Every time someone drove by, he'd hop back to the safety of... the rain spout?

I didn't manage to get a shot of him sitting with his nose in the spout.

(OK, you're tiny, but really, bunny, you aren't going to fit up there).

There is a drainage pipe (black) that runs under the lawn. You can see it below the rain spout. Bunny &Co. live in said drainage pipe. Goodness knows how they all fit.

Should we give him a name?

One for Skits

2006-05-10T12:39:00.000-06:00

From time to time in my genealogical travails, I'll come across a source that has nothing to do whatsoever with my family, but rather something that is interesting in its own right. Sometimes amusing (Brigham Young's marriage -- to multiple nubile maidens, all on the same day), sometimes shocking ($40,000 for 100 acres during the Civil War?!), and sometimes just for fun.

And so, a few years back, I ordered out the film for Steventon Parish in England.

Jane, daughter of the Rev'd Mr George Austen,

Rector of this Parish, & Cassandra his wife was

privately Baptiz'd Dec'r 17th 1775

Rec'd into the Church April 5th 1776

source: Church of England. Parish Church of Steventon. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah. FHL #1,041,307.

Random Quote Generator

2006-05-09T13:42:00.000-06:00

I fixed up a little javascript quote generator for Indy's sidebar last night. If anyone else would like one for their own blog (with your very own selection of witty sayings, natch), just give a holler. 'Tis simple enough.

Far and away

2006-05-07T14:48:00.000-06:00

Zanzibar's magical - yet crumbling - Stone Town

Another item for the long list of "Someday".

Preorders

2006-05-05T15:24:00.000-06:00

The next Hobb book (US edition) is available for preorder from Amazon and Powells, as of today or yesterday (I think).

Apologies if it's already old news.

sunset, prayer flags

2006-05-02T15:51:00.000-06:00

Taos, New Mexico

Question of the Day

2006-05-01T23:37:00.000-06:00

Do you typically read:

Only ever one book at a time?
Several books in parallel?

Bumpersticker of the Day

2006-04-14T13:26:00.000-06:00

"Republicans for Voldemort"

New Toys

2006-04-12T12:47:00.000-06:00

Library Thing

Yours Truly's nascent catalog.

As seen around town

2006-04-12T12:39:00.000-06:00

"Your request to reship the PDF for Rails Recipes has been entered into our fulfillment system. Teams of PDF-aware gerbils are this very moment limbering up to deliver your content.

"Once they've finished, and we've cleaned the sunflower seed husks off your document, our system will be sending you an e-mail containing the download link."

Holländischer Viertel

2005-07-24T22:23:00.000-06:00

Holländischer Viertel
Originally uploaded by Narrisch.