It’s Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature…

And we don’t fool her. Ever. There are 20,000 dead in China after a 7.9 Earthquake, but that news is 4 days old. The interesting thing is that before the quake, a pond became completey dry, and thousands of frogs were evacuating their aquatic homes. The question on the table now is “do we get signs from nature prior to a natural disaster”? Despite the fact that behaviors like this are common in animals (elephants were said to be acting strangely prior to the cyclone in Myanmar) scientists continue to ignore these signs. I guess I don’t understand why scientists refuse to acknowledge the natural instincts of creatures that predate us. Is it arrogance, or simply disbelief in things that can not be proven to their satisfaction? I find it interesting that Einstein understood that we are all connected (quantum theory), that his contemporaries agreed with him (Bohm), and yet the idea of cosmic connection is still viewed as mystical . Perhaps if we paid more attention to the subtle clues we receive from mother nature and tuned in to our natural intuitions, we would be have a slight advantage over these catastrophic events.  Certainly, we can’t stop natural disasters no matter what we do, but would it have been possible to detect the epicenter of the quake with enough time to evacuate some of the areas if the behavior of the frogs been taken more seriously?  Would the citizens of Myanmar have had more time to evacuate if the intelligence and wisdom of elephants would have made meteorologists suspicious? There is no way to know for sure, but maybe we should have some respect for the things we do not fully understand, instead of looking down our nose at them.  Sometimes, we can be too smart for our good.

The Cultural Complaint of the Day

I just completed my readings for a mini seminar that I am attending in the morning regarding ESL learners and the writing center. All of the texts made some very interesting observations, and brought up some topics that I had not thought about since I got my masters in linguistics. Language has always fascinated me; the way we use it to construct meaning, and the way we use it to understand others.

After reading these essays, the one thing that I could not let go of was the insistence that communicative practices in writing for ESL students must be done in a singular way. With the exception of one essay (which included an honorable mention of Asian linguistic practices), there was really no allowance for the way in which the ESL students must use their individual languages to assist in making the connections necessary in obtaining what these authors felt were essential bridges leading to native intuition. Allow me to explain. As an ESL teacher, I had students from many different linguistic backgrounds; Bosnia, Germany, Morocco, and the Philippines, just to name a few. The one thing I always understood as a linguist/ESL instructor was that the most efficient way to build a bride is to start with the materials at hand. That is, while it is important to teach them English language conventions, it is also important to have some understanding of the linguistic features of their L1 (first language). For example, what in their language acts as a qualifier (for example)? Do they understand what a qualifier does in their language? If they don’t, it doesn’t matter how much language you give them-the understanding will remain surface knowledge until they can make the connection in a way that is meaningful to them. The first rule of ESL is that students that are proficient in their L1 have a higher success rate of understanding their L2.

Another thing I found a bit bothersome (and maybe it’s just my love of the relation of language to culture that makes me so sensitive about this type of thing) is the way in which the dictionary of collocations uses specific phrasing and sequences, without any allowance for options-as if there is only way way to express certain ideas. Look, I understand that academic language is necessary and specific, but the beauty of language is supposed to be its flexibility (Do I have to remind you why Latin is dead?). The knowledge that phrases like “Could I have a word in your ear” pass as acceptable is a little scary. I am fluent in two languages, and I would never say that, much less write it! Instructions that read “choose the appropriate word” without giving ESL writers more than one option seem problematic to me as well (take for example the sentence that reads “We had to queue for ages at the taxi rank” with rank being the suitable word). My major objection to the way texts of these type are constructed is simply this: students that feel insecure about their linguistic prowess tend to cling to the ideas validated in textbooks, dictionaries and the like. For ESL writers/students, these texts represent the rules of the language they are trying to acquire. Further, if these types of texts are readily available in Writing Centers (where tutors are no less than cultural informants), it is a natural assumption that the information in these types of texts is “correct” and unquestionable.

Now, I could take the scholarly high road and extol the virtues of these types of texts, the intentions that guide them, their value, and go along with the unspoken assumption that as they (the ESL students) evolve as English speakers, the additional language they acquire will somehow expand their knowledge in a way that would interrupt those hegemonic teachings, but I won’t. You do the linguistic math.

On Obama…

This is an very interesting assessment of Obama, and might give those engaging in fictive kinship a moment pf pause. Like Dr West says “Who is funding Obama’s campaign”?

Cornell West On Martin Luther King

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Dr. Cornell West gave this speech to honor, remind, and indict those that misread the significance of the holiday as “just some black man’s birthday”.  The video you are about to see is 45 minutes long, and is not for the faint of heart. But if you want to LISTEN to  a wonderful orator who even after 45 minutes leaves you wanting more, than this is my gift to you.  Dr. West is not only a wonderful orator, rhetorician, and political pundit, but also a scholar that communicates his knowledge in a way that inspires critical thinking and introspection.

The eventual goal of love is…

not the exciting, heat raising experience that we all wish we could hang on to forever (unless you plan to take Dopamine pills for the rest of your life!), but instead, according to this week’s Time Magazine, the goal is “to move beyond the early thrill of love and into the comfort of the Sunday-paper-and-coffee phase”.
While the scope of the article is to explain the why(s) and wherefore(s) concerning the importance of love and mating, I was comforted to see that my desire for stability is more common than I thought. Don’t get me wrong-I never want to be part of the “old fuddy club”. In fact, those closest to me know that I am all about keeping the heat in the relationship alive and well. But, I do believe that the type of stability spoken of in the article is romantic and valuable in its own way; it’s built on mutual respect, love, memories (of the wild times), and all of the secrets and private jokes that the couple share.
And then there’s the quiz. Yep. A quiz-titled “The Thermometer of Love”. Its focus is to assess the different temperatures of love; cool, hot, and scalding. The scores range from 15 to a maximum of 135. I scored a 115, thank you very much! The number/score reflects the heat of your emotions when you felt most passionately about the person in question. If you’re currently single, then in order to take the quiz you have to be willing to muster up those old feelings you had for a certain someone. Fret not, the quiz is fun to take, and what have you got to lose? You might learn something about yourself that you didn’t know. Good luck!

According to this article…
“If partners are going to stay together, they need a love that bonds them to each other without the distraction of passion. That’s not to say that people can’t stay in love, or that those couples who say they still feel romantic are imagining things. These people, however, are the exceptions, and nearly all relationships must settle and cool. Long for the heat of early love if you want, but you’d have to pay for it with the solidity you’ve built over the years. ‘You’ve got to make a transition to a stabler state’ says Barry McCarthy, a psychologist and sex therapist. If love can be mundane, that’s because sometimes it’s meant to be”.

And, of course, it will only be as mundane as you both want it to be, right?

Happy New Year!

I know my poor blog has been neglected since November, but I should be back in full force in the upcoming weeks. I wish all of you out there a happy new year! Felicidades!

The next few weeks will be filled with syllabi writing and figuring out exactly what I want my students to learn about las mujeres Boricua. I have chosen to use the biography of Luisa Capetillo, and the book by Altagracia ortiz titled Puerto Rican Women and Work; Bridges in Transnational Labor. I think the issues brought forth in these two texts are not only important to Latinas everywhere (regardless of national affiliation), but also historical. I think that too often our little Isla Bonita is thought of as nothing more than a political disaster or a cute tourist spot, while the geopolitical and historical significances are continually overlooked. Hopefully, this semester I will be able to enlighten a few more students about Latinas, Puerto Rico, and the political implications of being historically overlooked.

Best of 2007

I love Time magazine. Each week they have very compelling articles, but what I am beginning to realize is that it’s the visual rhetoric that snags my attention. Every cover is done is such a clever way, that it’s hard not to become intrigued with what the actual articles are about. This week, they use the i-phone and spell out the topic; best inventions of 2007. This is especially clever because the i-phone was chosen as the best invention of 2007. Whatever they are paying the creator of these covers is worth every penny. But isn’t it interesting that we seldom think about who is behind the visual rhetoric, or the hours it must take to come up with those ideas? But I digress…

The best inventions seem to center around saving our world, and in fact many of the inventions ( the most interesting ones to me, anyway) deal with fuel, and different ways to get around. They have cars and buses that look like nothing we’ve ever seen and run on bio-ethanol, and MIT has come up with a City Car that they claim is the cross between private and public transportation, and it’s electric. There’s even a new plane called the 787 Dreamliner that promises to use 20% less fuel than other planes its size (it seats 250 passengers). We won’t see this until 2008, though, so don’t call your travel agent just yet. The most promising for my money is the car that runs on compressed air. Made by Tata Motors in India, and according to Time, the cars run on cold air, and the only thing that comes out of them is colder air! That’s what I call progress-and that’s not all.

The inventions span a few more categories; space, robots, entertainment,law and order, living environment, architecture, fashion, computers, and health. I have taken the liberty of choosing 1 favorite from each category.

Space-Spandex Space Suit ( no more looking wierd while cruising the cosmos)

Robots-the Weed ‘Em and Reap (not just a catchy name, but a useful tool for farmers)

Entertainment- Digital 3-D. Does this mean we don’t have to wear those strange glasses anymore?

Law & Order- StarChase Pursuit Management System. This will allow officers to flag vehicles with a laser gps device, eliminating the dangers of a high speed chase for the cops. I know-we can have all kinds of conversations about how this can go wrong, but I have to believe that there are some good cops out there!

Living-Espresso Book Machine!!! YES! this little machine can churn out a 300 page paperback on demand, for $3 a book, and is currently available. My sense is that they are only sold to libraries, but who cares? Maybe more kids will take an interest in spending their time at the library, even if it is just to check out the new tech toy.

Environnent-Erasbale Paper. Yes, E-R-A-S-A-B-L-E! Any text printed on this paper (and with the appropriate printer, of course) disappears after 24 hours. Tree huggers of the world-get happy!

Architecture-San Francisco Federal Building-not aesthetically appealing, but makes sure that 85% of the work space receives fresh air and natural sun, while maintaining a comfortable temperature with minimal air conditioning.

Fashion-Transformers! High heels that can be transformed from stilettos to flats!

Computers-WildCharger- a cordless cellphone charging pad that goes everywhere with you, and can charge your phone in the same amount of time as a wall plug can.

Health-Blood Simple-a machine that can take your blood and convert it into “O” type blood (universal donor), so that your blood can be used for anyone that might need it…impressive indeed.

Those are my choices, but check out this issue and see for yourself; it’s time well spent.

More on Columbus

Read this for more on the oldest slave trader…

Indigenous People Day

That’s what we should celebrate tomorrow. Forget Columbus; he was a rapist, a pillager of land; in short, a medieval thug. So no, I don’t celebrate a day named for any cultural assassin (s), or a day named for someone who discovered a place that had habitants that knew who and where they were. Sorry. I think that any Latino/a that does celebrate it is misguided and misinformed. For the record, making a discovery involves the acknowledgment of something that was unknown until that time-certainly not the case with respect to the indigenous people that were here when that asshole arrived. It does not involve renaming, raping, slave trading or conquering. But, there are others more notable than I that make the point in a much more succinct and important way…

• “Columbus makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent,” asserts American Indian activist Russell Means.
• Winona LaDuke deplores “the biological, technological, and ecological invasion that began with Columbus’ ill-fated voyage five hundred years ago.”
• The National Council of Churches declares the anniversary of Columbus “not a time for celebration” but for “reflection and repentance” in which whites must acknowledge a continuing history of “oppression, degradation, and genocide.”
• Historian Glenn Morris accuses Columbus of being “a murderer, a rapist, the architect of a policy of genocide that continues today.”

A reason to celebrate? Not at all.

I know, I know…

It’s been more than a month since I have posted anything worth reading. I have been busy trying to get my exam proposals ready so that I may “officially” begin reading for exams. One of the things I plan to do is post my complete exam lists, but I have been having a hard time trying to negotiate how to get them off of Endnote in a way that will maintain the MLA format they were written in. Sheeshh…just when I thought my Luddite days were over, here comes another tech issue that I have to figure out! Anyway, I am hoping that once I figure out how to do that, that some of you will give the list a brief perusal and find something of interest there that you might want to read. Once I get the “nod”, I will be posting my notes for each of those readings here, so even if you are not a lover of academic discourse, you might find my interpretations compelling enough to give the entire text the once over. Or maybe you’ll get fired up over something I say, and will let me know that I need to consider another point of view-after all, isn’t that what thinking people do?

I do miss blogging, and I miss reading blogs as often as I would like to, but I take comfort in knowing that once I start posting my notes, there will probably be something new here every day. Until then, I ask for your patience. And, if you are a Boricua lover (Boricua-centrist?), I promise that the texts I have chosen will not disappoint. I can’t say that some of my views won’t ignite a fire, or claim that I will be inventing the Latina/o wheel. But I do hope to give a voice to the way in which we Boricua’s express ourselves, our identities, and our ser; our Rhetorica Latina, that deserves to take it’s place at the academic table next to all of the other great rhetorics we so often hear about.

So, check in once and a while and see what’s up. Hey, you never know.