For more detail, listen to the NPR story.
picture by Julie Zickefoose
Slow clap
13 years ago
Thursday, April 28, 2005
A small measure of hope
To some it may seem blown out of proportion, but I was very moved by this story of a kayaker and a couple ornithologists re-discovering a thought-to-be-extinct woodpecker. When I read stories like this and see examples of people emotionally invested in the natural world, it gives me small measure of hope.
For more detail, listen to the NPR story.
picture by Julie Zickefoose
For more detail, listen to the NPR story.
picture by Julie Zickefoose
Linking goodness
Yay! I sent the link for The Daily Show bit to Pink Dome and they posted it. Now even more people will see it, and maybe read Pink Dome which provides wonderfully snarky coverage of Texas politics (nudge, nudge).
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
The Daily Show's Gaywatch
Last night as I watched The Daily Show, I had a perfect hilarious/depressing moment. Jon Stewart was skewering the Texas House bill to ban not only gay marriage (already illegal anyway), but also to bar the gays from being foster parents. Really funny segment, but it made me mad all over again at the awfulness of most of Texas.
If you missed it, watch it here.
I almost teared up at Jon Stewart's palpable disgust.
If you missed it, watch it here.
I almost teared up at Jon Stewart's palpable disgust.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Communicable disease here I come
I heard the news today, oh boy. I got a job working at a local hospital. Whoo-hoo!
Officially my title is Patient Access Representative I. What that means is that I check people into the emergency room if they are barfing too much or they picked up a rabid bat or they got stabbed. You know, whatever. Take their name, address, insurance, etc, and put them into the computer. I'm kinda like Jerry on ER, but different.
I'll be working the 3-11 PM shift, which I'm happy about. The morning shift is waaay too early for me and they won't let anyone work the 11PM - 7AM shift til they have some experience. I expect I'll do some overtime on graveyard as the summer progresses, picking up some extra bucks and freaky stories. Now that the hiring manager has mentioned it, I can't wait to learn the protocol for when the police bring in a prisoner.
This is absolutely the perfect job for me right now. When I graduate with my Nursing degree I want to work in emergency/trauma, so this will be a great introduction.
Dang I'm pumped.
Officially my title is Patient Access Representative I. What that means is that I check people into the emergency room if they are barfing too much or they picked up a rabid bat or they got stabbed. You know, whatever. Take their name, address, insurance, etc, and put them into the computer. I'm kinda like Jerry on ER, but different.
I'll be working the 3-11 PM shift, which I'm happy about. The morning shift is waaay too early for me and they won't let anyone work the 11PM - 7AM shift til they have some experience. I expect I'll do some overtime on graveyard as the summer progresses, picking up some extra bucks and freaky stories. Now that the hiring manager has mentioned it, I can't wait to learn the protocol for when the police bring in a prisoner.
This is absolutely the perfect job for me right now. When I graduate with my Nursing degree I want to work in emergency/trauma, so this will be a great introduction.
Dang I'm pumped.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Don't say anything! I haven't watched it yet.
The other day I saw the headline for an article about the death of watercooler TV talk because of Tivo and similar devices. The idea is that because people are delaying watching Desperate Housewives or Survivor or Lost by recording them on their Tivo, they can't gather round the watercooler and discuss the previous night's episodes without spoiling it for someone.
It got me thinking about a parallel phenomenon; the development of home theater systems and the ongoing shift from watching films in movie theaters to watching them at home. Both are instances of the loss of communal experience. The movie theater experience is obvious, the TV one less so. While the Lost fans probably didn't come together physically, they did temporally, and then discussed the experience the next day. When the number of people using VCRs and DVRs to shift when they watch increases, it disrupts even the temporal communality and therefore the watercooler "campfire".
Today, I made another connection through the increasing privitization of public spaces in the US. We're moving further away from a culture of sharing unique experiences physically and temporally towards one where experiences are preserved and available to indiduals whenever and wherever.
Let me back up a bit. A long time ago, communicating was very much a here-and-now phenomenon. A storyteller entertaining their tribe with tales was a one-time, physically intimate performance. You had to be there at the time to experience it. Even if the storyteller repeated a story, it wasn't exactly the same. Then, we came up with ways to record information; we created media. Pictographs, writing systems, etcetera were increasingly complex methods of transmitting ideas and experiences through space and time.
From this it's a logical supposition that the development of media is the constant process of refining the transmission of ideas and experiences through space and time. I haven't quite thought it all out, but I see a pattern repeating itself through media development, a pattern of increasing and decreasing shared experience. A simplified example would be:
theater -> novel -> film -> TV -> VHS/DVD/Tivo
Theater as a way of telling stories was and is a rigid experience. You are physically there in front of the actors seeing the performance with the rest of the audience. Then writing systems and literacy allowed people to experience the same story, but as a personal experience at random times and places through the novel. Then a new medium, film, was developed and we moved back towards a communal experience. The same story could be seen at different times and places, but you had to get yourself to a specific place and time for the screening and experience it with an audience. Then TV came along. Although you were physically tied down to a place with a TV, TVs quickly became ubiquitous. Time was the real constraint. Particular programs aired at particular times and if you missed it, you were out of luck. Finally we reached the near-present where films and television shows are available with most of the benefits of the novel. Cheap copies are available for people to see whenever and wherever they want, and we can jump backward and forward through the text to whatever degree we like.
You can walk yourself through another example:
town crier -> newspaper -> network news -> web news
Or trace one out yourself.
Now I'm not assigning value to private vs public experience and certainly there are many social factors that influence the development of media as well, I just wanted to throw out what I've been turning over in my head for the past day. The next thing I'll ponder is the push-pull of demands on our time, the pace of modern life, and the desire to see/hear/do as much as possible.
Or to put it another way:
We implement technology for time-shifting,
so events are not observed when they occur.
Everything is preserved. To be seen, eventually.
Always later, when there's time to shuttle time.
In gaining access and lack of overlap,
we've scattered the tribal pack.
It got me thinking about a parallel phenomenon; the development of home theater systems and the ongoing shift from watching films in movie theaters to watching them at home. Both are instances of the loss of communal experience. The movie theater experience is obvious, the TV one less so. While the Lost fans probably didn't come together physically, they did temporally, and then discussed the experience the next day. When the number of people using VCRs and DVRs to shift when they watch increases, it disrupts even the temporal communality and therefore the watercooler "campfire".
Today, I made another connection through the increasing privitization of public spaces in the US. We're moving further away from a culture of sharing unique experiences physically and temporally towards one where experiences are preserved and available to indiduals whenever and wherever.
Let me back up a bit. A long time ago, communicating was very much a here-and-now phenomenon. A storyteller entertaining their tribe with tales was a one-time, physically intimate performance. You had to be there at the time to experience it. Even if the storyteller repeated a story, it wasn't exactly the same. Then, we came up with ways to record information; we created media. Pictographs, writing systems, etcetera were increasingly complex methods of transmitting ideas and experiences through space and time.
From this it's a logical supposition that the development of media is the constant process of refining the transmission of ideas and experiences through space and time. I haven't quite thought it all out, but I see a pattern repeating itself through media development, a pattern of increasing and decreasing shared experience. A simplified example would be:
theater -> novel -> film -> TV -> VHS/DVD/Tivo
Theater as a way of telling stories was and is a rigid experience. You are physically there in front of the actors seeing the performance with the rest of the audience. Then writing systems and literacy allowed people to experience the same story, but as a personal experience at random times and places through the novel. Then a new medium, film, was developed and we moved back towards a communal experience. The same story could be seen at different times and places, but you had to get yourself to a specific place and time for the screening and experience it with an audience. Then TV came along. Although you were physically tied down to a place with a TV, TVs quickly became ubiquitous. Time was the real constraint. Particular programs aired at particular times and if you missed it, you were out of luck. Finally we reached the near-present where films and television shows are available with most of the benefits of the novel. Cheap copies are available for people to see whenever and wherever they want, and we can jump backward and forward through the text to whatever degree we like.
You can walk yourself through another example:
town crier -> newspaper -> network news -> web news
Or trace one out yourself.
Now I'm not assigning value to private vs public experience and certainly there are many social factors that influence the development of media as well, I just wanted to throw out what I've been turning over in my head for the past day. The next thing I'll ponder is the push-pull of demands on our time, the pace of modern life, and the desire to see/hear/do as much as possible.
Or to put it another way:
We implement technology for time-shifting,
so events are not observed when they occur.
Everything is preserved. To be seen, eventually.
Always later, when there's time to shuttle time.
In gaining access and lack of overlap,
we've scattered the tribal pack.
My 12-year-old self is highly amused
I'm sure the gum is terrible, but that's some graphic design.
Same sense of humor with the soap products.
Same sense of humor with the soap products.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Finally, something medical
As I progress in my education, I hope to be able to share many more posts with relevant health information. Mostly to keep my friends healthy, but also so I won't catch anything from them; I'm selfless I tell ya.
Today I went to a presentation by an expert in handwashing. Seriously, Dr. Elaine Larson's been studying this since the '60s. She's just completed a study that looked at whether antimicrobial housecleaning products were effective.
The research design was cool. They recruited families with at least one pre-school age kid (rife with disease as they are) and supplied them with soap, laundry detergent, glass cleaner, etc. Every cleaning product they needed. The double-blind was whether the families got a set of products with no antimicrobials at all, or a set where they all had antimicrobials. Then the researchers followed them for a year noting disease symptoms and observing a lot of other factors for possible future studies.
The results were surprising. Antimicrobial products don't make any difference in preventing disease. No difference at all. So, waste of money and possibly contributing to the development of resistant strains of bactera. So stop buying them y'all.
Other cool, useful info:
The mechanical process of washing the hands is what does most of the work. Even washing with plain water (no soap) or sand (as is done in parts of Africa) works pretty good.
Amount of time spent washing means nothing unless done for a long time. No difference between 10 sec and 30 sec. Five minutes of washing will work better sure, but who does this besides surgeons and people with OCD?
Vigorous, abrasive scrubbing is worse as it not only causes more bacteria to be shed after washing, it damages the skin leaving the person open to possible infection. Oh, and you throw off tons more bacteria after you shower than before. So that clean feeling? Not so much.
Washing clothes at non-hot settings, especially underclothes, spreads bacteria (for instance, fecal bacteria) all over the clothes and doesn't kill them. If you dry them with heat, fine, but if you let them air-dry, they're still contaminated. So wash your unmentionables in hot water.
The best way to cleanse hands, for healthcare workers and at home, is to use one of them alcohol-based hand sanitizers. They work the best and won't contribute to the problem of resistant bacteria. Find one that has an emollient in it so the skin doesn't dry out.
Lastly, bacteria love fake nails. Many hospitals are banning them among their employees.
This has been the health lesson for today.
To me, this image says, "When washing a wooden hand, there is no need to use soap. Just let the water flow over the beautiful grain of your, sadly, unarticulated fake appendage." Right?
Today I went to a presentation by an expert in handwashing. Seriously, Dr. Elaine Larson's been studying this since the '60s. She's just completed a study that looked at whether antimicrobial housecleaning products were effective.
The results were surprising. Antimicrobial products don't make any difference in preventing disease. No difference at all. So, waste of money and possibly contributing to the development of resistant strains of bactera. So stop buying them y'all.
Other cool, useful info:
The mechanical process of washing the hands is what does most of the work. Even washing with plain water (no soap) or sand (as is done in parts of Africa) works pretty good.
Amount of time spent washing means nothing unless done for a long time. No difference between 10 sec and 30 sec. Five minutes of washing will work better sure, but who does this besides surgeons and people with OCD?
Vigorous, abrasive scrubbing is worse as it not only causes more bacteria to be shed after washing, it damages the skin leaving the person open to possible infection. Oh, and you throw off tons more bacteria after you shower than before. So that clean feeling? Not so much.
Washing clothes at non-hot settings, especially underclothes, spreads bacteria (for instance, fecal bacteria) all over the clothes and doesn't kill them. If you dry them with heat, fine, but if you let them air-dry, they're still contaminated. So wash your unmentionables in hot water.
The best way to cleanse hands, for healthcare workers and at home, is to use one of them alcohol-based hand sanitizers. They work the best and won't contribute to the problem of resistant bacteria. Find one that has an emollient in it so the skin doesn't dry out.
Lastly, bacteria love fake nails. Many hospitals are banning them among their employees.
This has been the health lesson for today.
To me, this image says, "When washing a wooden hand, there is no need to use soap. Just let the water flow over the beautiful grain of your, sadly, unarticulated fake appendage." Right?
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Oh my. Oh my yes.
Don't know if you've been hipped to Wonder Showzen, but it is seriously the most subversive show on television. And it's on MTV2.
It's hard to know where to start. The last three sequences I just saw were:
A cartoon about four little girls who invoke Finger Force and bulimic-ize themselves into skinny, big-eyed fashionistas to raise money for an orphange, but then spend all the money on clothes.
A hygiene film of the '50s, recut and with added voiceover so it becomes a celebration of obsessive-compulsive hand washing.
And then one of the most incredibly dense OHMYGAWD moments I've ever experienced, a cartoon titled Global Politics in 30 seconds.
It opens on a map of North America. A pink USA sprouts a pig tail and roars. Then, it pisses on Mexico, takes bloody bites out of South America, humps Africa, gives birth to three crying Mexicos, and then eats two of them. My head almost imploded from the sheer audacity of it.
I'm going to have to start taping it. Oh hey, here's the pilot. If you have Windows MediaPlayer 9, you can see more clips here.
Och, the coolness continues. The animation studio behind the cartoons on Wonder Showzen is Augenblick Studios. Aaron Augenblick sent an animated music video of sorts to SXSW in 2000 and it got in. He appears to be doing well now, and throwing music work to Bradford Reed who played his awesome pencilina in the music conference part of SXSW several years ago. So much sweetness all interwoven together.
It's hard to know where to start. The last three sequences I just saw were:
A cartoon about four little girls who invoke Finger Force and bulimic-ize themselves into skinny, big-eyed fashionistas to raise money for an orphange, but then spend all the money on clothes.
A hygiene film of the '50s, recut and with added voiceover so it becomes a celebration of obsessive-compulsive hand washing.
And then one of the most incredibly dense OHMYGAWD moments I've ever experienced, a cartoon titled Global Politics in 30 seconds.
It opens on a map of North America. A pink USA sprouts a pig tail and roars. Then, it pisses on Mexico, takes bloody bites out of South America, humps Africa, gives birth to three crying Mexicos, and then eats two of them. My head almost imploded from the sheer audacity of it.
I'm going to have to start taping it. Oh hey, here's the pilot. If you have Windows MediaPlayer 9, you can see more clips here.
Och, the coolness continues. The animation studio behind the cartoons on Wonder Showzen is Augenblick Studios. Aaron Augenblick sent an animated music video of sorts to SXSW in 2000 and it got in. He appears to be doing well now, and throwing music work to Bradford Reed who played his awesome pencilina in the music conference part of SXSW several years ago. So much sweetness all interwoven together.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Lament of the text-only post
Yet again, it is obvious that I need a digital camera, or really, any camera with me at all times. I’m walking across campus today when I see a guy in a full-on Donatello costume. Not the Renaissance sculptor mind you, the Ninja Turtle. Best part? He was carrying a backpack, as you do when you are a Ninja Turtle working towards that degree in, social work? Philosophy? Civil engineering? Hmm, should have asked him.
Then, within the next minute, I encountered the biggest, corkscrewiest white afro I’ve ever seen and then a girl with beautiful, vibrant purple hair. Purple-hair Girl actually threw a “see that?” look over her shoulder at me, apparently also impressed by Huge White ‘Fro Guy.
No camera, no pics. Dang.
Then, within the next minute, I encountered the biggest, corkscrewiest white afro I’ve ever seen and then a girl with beautiful, vibrant purple hair. Purple-hair Girl actually threw a “see that?” look over her shoulder at me, apparently also impressed by Huge White ‘Fro Guy.
No camera, no pics. Dang.
Why did this come up at 3:29 AM?
If, for some strange reason, I was punished by being made to dress up in drag (and that's really a punishment for everyone cause I would not be a pretty lady), this would be the dress I would be required to wear. Ack.
Oh, and if you like laughing at ludicrous wedding dresses, you'll love this.
Oh, and if you like laughing at ludicrous wedding dresses, you'll love this.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Well frick
I spent many precious minutes writing effusive praise for two movies I watched this weekend, then Firefox locked up on me and I lost it all. That fiery, world-hugging bastard. I haven't the morale to rewrite it all, so suffice to say that Black Narcissus and At Close Range are quite good movies that should be seen. Hmph.
Shot in the Dark
You: holding up the wall all night
Me: dancin' fool in the Kraftwerk shirt
You disappeared as I was on my way over to chat you up. Intentional or coincidental?
Fun time drinking and dancing with friends to celebrate the death of electroclash (in Austin anyway, I think the NYC funeral was quite awhile back) and raise some money for KOOP. Guy hitting on me smoked too much, hipster chick and I facetiously grind on the dance floor, guy against the wall runs away - funny how that keeps happening.
Mybloodyself should have pictures up soon.
Me: dancin' fool in the Kraftwerk shirt
You disappeared as I was on my way over to chat you up. Intentional or coincidental?
Fun time drinking and dancing with friends to celebrate the death of electroclash (in Austin anyway, I think the NYC funeral was quite awhile back) and raise some money for KOOP. Guy hitting on me smoked too much, hipster chick and I facetiously grind on the dance floor, guy against the wall runs away - funny how that keeps happening.
Mybloodyself should have pictures up soon.
Friday, April 15, 2005
360° indeed
I always told myself I would not become a linkmonkey, obsessively posting whatever funny/cool/freaky stuff I came across on the internets. Yet, here I am doing it two posts in a row. St. Murse you are a disappointment.
Anyway, Anderson Cooper is positively a gay (read the comments too).
Oh, and I totally want to record an album called Yooge Queeah.
Anyway, Anderson Cooper is positively a gay (read the comments too).
Oh, and I totally want to record an album called Yooge Queeah.
Supreme
So I was perusing Gawker just now, and came across something that made me shake with laughter so much my bed was squeaking and hitting the wall. Hopefully my roommate won't get the wrong idea.
Gawker is often too snarky, but this is just damn funny.
Gawker is often too snarky, but this is just damn funny.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Celebration of Me-ness
My friend Joolie is profiling me on her blog because I gave her a silent reader award and because it's my birthday today.
Read about me over there (follow the links at the top for Part II, Part III, etc.)
Read about me over there (follow the links at the top for Part II, Part III, etc.)
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Now I'm really happy
Brilliant news. Patton Oswalt is going to record his next CD in Austin at Emo's this September. I can only assume that he was so blown away with the gushing love that we poured out upon him at the Comedians of Comedy show during SXSW that his neural pathways for pleasure and gratitude were permanently re-wired. See, I told him that Emo's was his kinda place. He talks about Austin here.
Brian Posehn & Patton Oswalt at SXSW
Photo by Patton
I previously wrote about The Comedians of Comedy show in Austin here and here. I am sorely tempted to drive to Houston next week for the start of the Comedians of Comedy Southern Tour.
Brian Posehn & Patton Oswalt at SXSW
Photo by Patton
I previously wrote about The Comedians of Comedy show in Austin here and here. I am sorely tempted to drive to Houston next week for the start of the Comedians of Comedy Southern Tour.
This is going to be embarrassing tomorrow
An anonymous person told me about this. This very blog is the second search result that comes up in Google when searching for "murse", which is really strange. Who out there is linking to my blog so much? I'm mystified. And now that I think about it, who is this Slacker Manager and why is he first?! C'mon vastly tiny audience that still managed to get me to 2nd, link like you've never linked me before! Oh wait, I just linked to Slacker Manager and bumped him up. Dang.
The vast majority of the other search results are about man-purses. Ridiculous! At least Google knows what's up. It says "Did you mean: nurse", not purse. Take that all you man-purse searchin' motherfuckers.
Rational St. Murse: Wow. Why so belligerent and competitive?
Overstimulated St. Murse: Whoooo hoooo! Fuck all y'all! Yee-ha-yee-ha-yee-ha.
Rational St. Murse: I don't even know what that means. You should go to bed now.
Overstimulated St. Murse: (coming down off a sugar high and sobering up that last little bit) Um, ok.
The vast majority of the other search results are about man-purses. Ridiculous! At least Google knows what's up. It says "Did you mean: nurse", not purse. Take that all you man-purse searchin' motherfuckers.
Rational St. Murse: Wow. Why so belligerent and competitive?
Overstimulated St. Murse: Whoooo hoooo! Fuck all y'all! Yee-ha-yee-ha-yee-ha.
Rational St. Murse: I don't even know what that means. You should go to bed now.
Overstimulated St. Murse: (coming down off a sugar high and sobering up that last little bit) Um, ok.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Horace
I was just reading about this year's winners of the Peabody Award (yay Daily Show!) when my eyes literally bugged out of my head. It seems that the director of the Awards is named Horace Newcomb. "No way," I thought as my eyes recessed back into their sockets, "But then how likely is it that there would be two guys named Horace Newcomb involved in media?"
You see, Horace Newcomb (why can't I stop typing his name? Because his name is Horace Newcomb!)) was the name of my Intro to Media Studies professor my freshman year at the University of Texas. The class was a prerequisite to taking any other Radio-Television-Film class and therefore, in an apparent effort to dissuade the dilettantes, was stultifyingly boring.
After checking a little further, I found a picture and confirmed that it is the same Horace. Wow. Good for him I guess.
What I will never forget about Horace:
- He was obsessed with Magnum P.I. to the point that he had published articles about the show and cited it constantly in class.
- On the slam tables* one semester someone wrote, "Horace has the personality of a dead platypus."
* Slam tables are the old school way that UT students share opinions on teachers and classes. They are actual tables covered in butcher paper set up around the main library during registration. Can be useful and funny.
You see, Horace Newcomb (why can't I stop typing his name? Because his name is Horace Newcomb!)) was the name of my Intro to Media Studies professor my freshman year at the University of Texas. The class was a prerequisite to taking any other Radio-Television-Film class and therefore, in an apparent effort to dissuade the dilettantes, was stultifyingly boring.
After checking a little further, I found a picture and confirmed that it is the same Horace. Wow. Good for him I guess.
What I will never forget about Horace:
- He was obsessed with Magnum P.I. to the point that he had published articles about the show and cited it constantly in class.
- On the slam tables* one semester someone wrote, "Horace has the personality of a dead platypus."
* Slam tables are the old school way that UT students share opinions on teachers and classes. They are actual tables covered in butcher paper set up around the main library during registration. Can be useful and funny.
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