techie this week

here's a short of the computery things i've done so far this week:
IMed with some friends and family
typed up many, many documents on word for work and school
listened to a 3 hour lecture on powerpoint
emailed a lot!
texted to my honey
participated in an asynchronous discussion for psycholinguisitics class
downloaded materials off of blackboard
downloaded several journal articles online from online databases and online magazines
watched several clips of the ROOTS TV series in class on my laptop DVD player
used the library card catalog

more to come...

love/hate relationship

i have a love/hate relationship with TV. i used to say that i would never have a TV in my house, but i do. but what i don't have is cable. i think TV contributes to laziness, allowing the viewer to take, take, take, and give nothing in return. it's easier to sit on the couch and turn on the TV and let it feed you entertainment or information. it's harder to pick up a book and read or get the things done around the house. hours can go by sitting on the couch watching TV. does Johnson make some good claims about the value of television? yes, he does. watching certain TV programs require viewers to reach into their cognitive toolbox and make predictions, recollections, connections, and characterizations. these are the same qualities that we attribute to book reading. the quality of TV has gotten better because viewers demand more stimulating and challenging plots. while we don't physically want to move, we want our minds to be pursued and moved. there are few shows that i keep up with, but i do enjoy watching LOST. in the past season, the plot has become so predictable that many religious LOST viewers are blogging and writing that LOST has lost its way. the characters are quickly losing depth, the plot seems to be going nowhere or is feeling redunant. i am losing patience with the show, and i don't look forward to wednesday nights like i used to. and do i love watching shows without depth? sure i do. but in this regard, i take an oppositional stance and stand on viligant guard against shows that will probably not add something positive to my well-being. and i take an oppositional stance to shows that might have depth but again, don't add something positive to my well-being. shows like deperate housewives. like the "Dallas" example in our reading, someone who loves that show will definitely need to write me and explain your obsession. do you love it because it takes you into a fantasy world? do you hate it but watch it anyway to poke fun at it?

maybe i'm a marxist

i don't know that much about marx, but some of the pieces that shannon pulled from marx, i believe. such as: "Marx calls this alientation--the subordination of the worker to the reified product of his labor." yes, i once was the subordinated worker who labored over making sure her students manufactured good quality products--passing TAKS test scores. perhaps shannon refers to students as the products of labor, but these days, tests are the products we strive to manufacture with perfection. children are just the tools we use to create those great products. with great products comes money, fame, and the coveted "exemplary" status. i was compelled to read (from wiki, only) about marx and his other beliefs. he was an enemy of capitalism for sure. the goal of his historical project was to claim the "universal right to be freely active, to affirm ourselves, to be spontaneous in our activity, and to pursue the free development of our physical and mental. YES! dewey would say YES! too. the mantra of capitalism might also sound very similar, though. the pursuit of happiness through the almighty dollar. can't it be read that way?? obviously, it comes down to philosophical differences in the goals of education. and i stand on the side of marx.