The economy needs to grow. If it doesn't grow, bad things happen.
This doesn't seem sustainable. We need a new system where life can continue to be good for everyone even if there's no economic growth.
No, I don't have any specific ideas.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Maybe this is why older people frustrate me
It's not that all older people frustrate me, of course. The vast majority of my interactions with older people are perfectly unremarkable. But when they do frustrate me, it's always because they aren't smarter enough than me. It's an annoyance because it's very difficult to keep up the appropriate level of respect (yes, believe it or not I don't always want to be a disrespectful little shit) when telling someone decades my elder that they're completely wrong, and it's also scary because it makes me wonder if I'm going to stop learning at some point - there's no way half the older people I deal with have spent a lifetime learning at the same rate I am.
But this might explain why:
My entire adulthood has taken place in the 21st century. The vast majority of my adolescence happened on the internet. I've been constantly intaking these huge quantities of information for nearly half my life without even noticing. I feel egregiously underinformed about buying real estate, but I have more information than my parents did when they bought their first house. I mention that the problem with translation is it isn't very organized as an industry, so I don't really know how exactly I'd go about finding a translation job next time I need a job. My older interlocutor says, "Look in the classified ads in the newspaper" as though that's the solution to all life's problems, as though translation jobs have ever been advertised in the classified ads in the newspaper, as though jobs were just advertised instead of us having to access a hidden job market and incorporate ourselves so we can bid on government contracts and educate prospective employers who want bidirectional translation AND conference interpretation AND by the way you're also responsible for organizing the whole conference all for $28,000 a year. But maybe that really was what the world was like last time my interlocutor looked for a job, and they haven't had to look for a job since so they aren't aware that his is unapplicable. Maybe they really think they have all the information because that was the quantity of information they needed last time around.
It's still very frustrating though, because I find myself unable to evaluate whether I'm exponentially more informed or egregiously ignorant. For example, suppose I read in my morning paper "The Prime Minister's economic plan will protect us from this financial turmoil." So I go and google up what exactly the economic plan is, I find commentary supporting and opposing, I do some quick research on the trickier concepts, I post my remaining questions here and maybe some of you nice people answer them. Then I finish my coffee, put on some pants, and go off to work. I don't quite feel well-informed, but I feel like I have a decent overview. Later on I find myself talking about this to an older interlocutor who has been thinking about economics since before I was born. I mention that the information I could find on the economic plan seems to be rather lacking in specifics, and one or two commenters have pointed out ways in which the lessons of the past are not applicable here, and there are some pieces of ideology they have expressed in the past that could be disastrous if implemented here. "Don't worry," my interlocutor tells me, "the Prime Minister's economic plan will protect us from this financial turmoil."
So are they saying this based on their decades of financial experience, of having watched the rise and fall of several economic cycles? Or are they saying this because they read it in the newspaper this morning and are now accepting it as fact?
But this might explain why:
My entire adulthood has taken place in the 21st century. The vast majority of my adolescence happened on the internet. I've been constantly intaking these huge quantities of information for nearly half my life without even noticing. I feel egregiously underinformed about buying real estate, but I have more information than my parents did when they bought their first house. I mention that the problem with translation is it isn't very organized as an industry, so I don't really know how exactly I'd go about finding a translation job next time I need a job. My older interlocutor says, "Look in the classified ads in the newspaper" as though that's the solution to all life's problems, as though translation jobs have ever been advertised in the classified ads in the newspaper, as though jobs were just advertised instead of us having to access a hidden job market and incorporate ourselves so we can bid on government contracts and educate prospective employers who want bidirectional translation AND conference interpretation AND by the way you're also responsible for organizing the whole conference all for $28,000 a year. But maybe that really was what the world was like last time my interlocutor looked for a job, and they haven't had to look for a job since so they aren't aware that his is unapplicable. Maybe they really think they have all the information because that was the quantity of information they needed last time around.
It's still very frustrating though, because I find myself unable to evaluate whether I'm exponentially more informed or egregiously ignorant. For example, suppose I read in my morning paper "The Prime Minister's economic plan will protect us from this financial turmoil." So I go and google up what exactly the economic plan is, I find commentary supporting and opposing, I do some quick research on the trickier concepts, I post my remaining questions here and maybe some of you nice people answer them. Then I finish my coffee, put on some pants, and go off to work. I don't quite feel well-informed, but I feel like I have a decent overview. Later on I find myself talking about this to an older interlocutor who has been thinking about economics since before I was born. I mention that the information I could find on the economic plan seems to be rather lacking in specifics, and one or two commenters have pointed out ways in which the lessons of the past are not applicable here, and there are some pieces of ideology they have expressed in the past that could be disastrous if implemented here. "Don't worry," my interlocutor tells me, "the Prime Minister's economic plan will protect us from this financial turmoil."
So are they saying this based on their decades of financial experience, of having watched the rise and fall of several economic cycles? Or are they saying this because they read it in the newspaper this morning and are now accepting it as fact?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Question for GTAers who have Rogers Cable
Do you get channel 163?
I have Extended Basic and Timeshifting and I don't get it, which is strange because it looks like it's another PBS station, so I should be getting it with all my other US timeshifting channels.
I have Extended Basic and Timeshifting and I don't get it, which is strange because it looks like it's another PBS station, so I should be getting it with all my other US timeshifting channels.
Plot hole in Ugly Betty
They could have just told the press that they couldn't get the call through to the printers in time.
Also: Dear Cliff, c'mere and I'll cheer you up! (Don't worry, I take my makeup off and I'm manlier than Marc.)
Also: Dear Cliff, c'mere and I'll cheer you up! (Don't worry, I take my makeup off and I'm manlier than Marc.)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The spammers are invading my dreams
Last night I dreamed that the spammers were coming to my door to deliver their messages in person. Someone would knock on my door, I'd answer (I never answer IRL unless I'm expecting someone), and they'd try to sell me penis enlargement or fake diplomas.
At one point the Chinese guy from Ocean's 11 was at the door holding a printed-out email, and told me (in English) to read it when I was drunk. I said, "Sorry, I'm not drunk right now," and slammed the door in his face. Then I started drinking vodka.
At one point the Chinese guy from Ocean's 11 was at the door holding a printed-out email, and told me (in English) to read it when I was drunk. I said, "Sorry, I'm not drunk right now," and slammed the door in his face. Then I started drinking vodka.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Senate reform
One of my favourite translation tools uses the Hansard as its corpus. I type in a word or phrase and it shows me every sentence in the Hansard that contains that word or phrase, along with each sentence's equivalent in the other language.
In the House of Commons Hansard, I can identify which party the speaker of any given sentence belongs to about 75% of the time, because of how much party politics seeps into every utterance. In the Senate Hansard, I've only been able to identify party affiliation a handful of times.
This is why I think we need to be very careful about any move towards Senate reform. In the House of Commons they are constantly playing politics. There is constant awareness of the party line and the need to be electable next election. There is rhetoric, there is pandering, there is showmanship, there is jockeying for soundbites.
There isn't nearly as much of this in the Senate. It is, like they say in the motto, sober. It is dull and sensible. Because they don't need to be electable they don't need to play the games, and our parliamentary system is better for it.
Any attempts at Senate reform should take this into consideration and make sure that the new Senate structure continues to have these advantages.
In the House of Commons Hansard, I can identify which party the speaker of any given sentence belongs to about 75% of the time, because of how much party politics seeps into every utterance. In the Senate Hansard, I've only been able to identify party affiliation a handful of times.
This is why I think we need to be very careful about any move towards Senate reform. In the House of Commons they are constantly playing politics. There is constant awareness of the party line and the need to be electable next election. There is rhetoric, there is pandering, there is showmanship, there is jockeying for soundbites.
There isn't nearly as much of this in the Senate. It is, like they say in the motto, sober. It is dull and sensible. Because they don't need to be electable they don't need to play the games, and our parliamentary system is better for it.
Any attempts at Senate reform should take this into consideration and make sure that the new Senate structure continues to have these advantages.
Open Letter to the grocery store customer satisfaction survey people
Dear grocery store customer satisfaction survey:
If you're going to ask how much of my total household grocery spending is spent at your store and ask for a response in dollars, you also have to specify over what period of time.
If you're going to ask how much of my total household grocery spending is spent at your store and ask for a response in dollars, you also have to specify over what period of time.
Could Google possibly be listening to me???
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested that Google Blog Search should index blog entry contents only.
Now they do.
Dear Google, if you're listening, thank you and I love you! If you're interested, here is the rest of my wishlist:
1. Don't localize search results to the interface language, or at least give us the option to turn it off. (Example: compare the search results for éléphant in the English and French interfaces of google.ca.) Localizing to interface language makes life difficult for people who work multilingually, especially since you are accent-blind (which we love and adore and appreciate more than you can possibly imagine!)
2. Make iGoogle a separate thing rather than simply an alternate interface.
3. Let me mark messages as read from Gmail Notifier. I can see from the notifier that it's just the email telling me I've made an ebay bid. I don't need to read it, so I'd like to be able to make the notifier stop telling me I have a new email rather than having to go all the way to my inbox to mark the email as read.
Edit Nov. 12 6:30 p.m.: And now it's giving me results from tag clouds again. Dear Google: WTF?
Now they do.
Dear Google, if you're listening, thank you and I love you! If you're interested, here is the rest of my wishlist:
1. Don't localize search results to the interface language, or at least give us the option to turn it off. (Example: compare the search results for éléphant in the English and French interfaces of google.ca.) Localizing to interface language makes life difficult for people who work multilingually, especially since you are accent-blind (which we love and adore and appreciate more than you can possibly imagine!)
2. Make iGoogle a separate thing rather than simply an alternate interface.
3. Let me mark messages as read from Gmail Notifier. I can see from the notifier that it's just the email telling me I've made an ebay bid. I don't need to read it, so I'd like to be able to make the notifier stop telling me I have a new email rather than having to go all the way to my inbox to mark the email as read.
Edit Nov. 12 6:30 p.m.: And now it's giving me results from tag clouds again. Dear Google: WTF?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Things that are completely unlike video games cannot be used as a viable substitute for video games
There has been a lot of anti-gaming sentiment in the media lately, and a lot of it has been suggesting things that parents could have their kids do instead of gaming - sports, outdoor activities, family board games, etc.
The problem is that these activities don't do for the user what video games do.
Video games occupy part of the brain while letting the rest of the brain roam freely. It's an indoor activity that you can comfortably do in any weather and in any clothing. Because it's indoors, children don't require immediate adult supervision so can be given some modicum of privacy. It's a solitary activity, so you can use it to unwind from the stress of a day full of social interaction (especially helpful for introverts). If you're playing a multi-player game, it's something you can enjoy with people you have stuff in common with.
The proposed alternatives don't do these things. While gaming lets me think by occupying the part of my mind that would get bored from just sitting and thinking, sports occupy just enough of my mind that I can't think freely, while not providing me with any significant entertainment. Gaming can be done indoors in any clothes and in any weather, but outdoor activities require that you get dressed appropriately for outside and make yourself suitably presentable. Video games can be done in privacy from one's parents, while outdoor activities require supervision and family activities have parental involvement. Gaming can be done alone, but sports and family activities must be done with others, thus making them draining instead of re-energizing for introverts. Multi-player gaming is done with your online friends, whereas organized sports and family activities are done with a group of people whose composition you have no control over.
None of these activities provide users with the same benefits as gaming. They are completely different things and no substitute for gaming. If so-called experts feel the need to propose alternatives to video games, they should come up with alternatives that users would enjoy the same way as they enjoy video games.
The problem is that these activities don't do for the user what video games do.
Video games occupy part of the brain while letting the rest of the brain roam freely. It's an indoor activity that you can comfortably do in any weather and in any clothing. Because it's indoors, children don't require immediate adult supervision so can be given some modicum of privacy. It's a solitary activity, so you can use it to unwind from the stress of a day full of social interaction (especially helpful for introverts). If you're playing a multi-player game, it's something you can enjoy with people you have stuff in common with.
The proposed alternatives don't do these things. While gaming lets me think by occupying the part of my mind that would get bored from just sitting and thinking, sports occupy just enough of my mind that I can't think freely, while not providing me with any significant entertainment. Gaming can be done indoors in any clothes and in any weather, but outdoor activities require that you get dressed appropriately for outside and make yourself suitably presentable. Video games can be done in privacy from one's parents, while outdoor activities require supervision and family activities have parental involvement. Gaming can be done alone, but sports and family activities must be done with others, thus making them draining instead of re-energizing for introverts. Multi-player gaming is done with your online friends, whereas organized sports and family activities are done with a group of people whose composition you have no control over.
None of these activities provide users with the same benefits as gaming. They are completely different things and no substitute for gaming. If so-called experts feel the need to propose alternatives to video games, they should come up with alternatives that users would enjoy the same way as they enjoy video games.
Things They Should Invent: custom-made birth control pills
Picture this:
They take some blood, analyze its hormone content, then use that information to come up with the doses that will work best for you - either by choosing from commercially available pills or by compounding a new one. They could consult with the patient on the desired side effects and proceed accordingly.
Doesn't that sound like a much better system?
They take some blood, analyze its hormone content, then use that information to come up with the doses that will work best for you - either by choosing from commercially available pills or by compounding a new one. They could consult with the patient on the desired side effects and proceed accordingly.
Doesn't that sound like a much better system?
Sunday, November 09, 2008
The difference between La Senza and Victoria's Secret bra sizes
The bra I liked best at La Senza was discontinued and I saw one that looked identical in the Victoria's Secret catalogue, so I ordered one in the same size I wear at La Senza.
The band of the Victoria's Secret bra is a good inch longer, and the cups are smaller. The arc of the wire is identical on both bras, but if you lay the Victoria's Secret cup on top of the La Senza cup, the La Senza cup has about a centimetre more material the cleavage side and on the armpit side. The result is if the La Senza bra contains your entire breast, the Victora's Secret one will create cleavage or uniboob or quadboob (assuming you distribute your assets so that all the fleshy lymph-nodey part of your breast on the armpit side is always contained inside the bra cup).
I don't know which bra is closer to true size (i.e. the size you're supposed to be if you measure yourself and plug the numbers into the chart) because I'm infuriatingly nowhere near a true size.
This is something that annoys me about the bra industry. People always say that all you need to do is get a really good professional bra fitting and then you'll know what size you really are and live happily ever after. Now I have no doubt that a really good professional bra fitter can help you find a good bra. (Assuming you get a proper professional bra fitter, not one of those people who just takes a tape measure around your ribs and then around your bust and runs the numbers through the chart and says "Okay, done!" But since the sizes don't seem to be reliably the same from store to store, this isn't going to help you find other bras. Even if I go to Secrets From Your Sister and let them spend like 45 minutes doing their voodoo and they come up with the perfect bra, that isn't going to help me buy bras from other places if the sizes aren't going to follow the rules. I don't want professional assistance every time I buy a bra, I want to be able to pick something off the rack and have it fit. What's the point of measurement-based sizes if they aren't going to do this?
The band of the Victoria's Secret bra is a good inch longer, and the cups are smaller. The arc of the wire is identical on both bras, but if you lay the Victoria's Secret cup on top of the La Senza cup, the La Senza cup has about a centimetre more material the cleavage side and on the armpit side. The result is if the La Senza bra contains your entire breast, the Victora's Secret one will create cleavage or uniboob or quadboob (assuming you distribute your assets so that all the fleshy lymph-nodey part of your breast on the armpit side is always contained inside the bra cup).
I don't know which bra is closer to true size (i.e. the size you're supposed to be if you measure yourself and plug the numbers into the chart) because I'm infuriatingly nowhere near a true size.
This is something that annoys me about the bra industry. People always say that all you need to do is get a really good professional bra fitting and then you'll know what size you really are and live happily ever after. Now I have no doubt that a really good professional bra fitter can help you find a good bra. (Assuming you get a proper professional bra fitter, not one of those people who just takes a tape measure around your ribs and then around your bust and runs the numbers through the chart and says "Okay, done!" But since the sizes don't seem to be reliably the same from store to store, this isn't going to help you find other bras. Even if I go to Secrets From Your Sister and let them spend like 45 minutes doing their voodoo and they come up with the perfect bra, that isn't going to help me buy bras from other places if the sizes aren't going to follow the rules. I don't want professional assistance every time I buy a bra, I want to be able to pick something off the rack and have it fit. What's the point of measurement-based sizes if they aren't going to do this?
The Globe and Mail has a strange concept of thrift
The Globe and Mail on thrifty vintage dressing.
Those prices are pretty much what I pay for regular clothes at the mall or at Winners. I'm no fashion plate, but for those prices and with no effort whatsoever and within walking distance of my home I can find clothes that I wear instead of them wearing me and that don't make me look fatter than I am. Those prices certainly aren't worth the effort of scouring vintage stores! You want thrifty? Thrifty is a $10 prom dress from the Amity.
This is actually a symptom of a broader problem I've seen. There is a shitload of stuff in the media lately about how to save money, and I find that none of it applies to me. Either it's stuff I'm already doing (e.g. I already buy the cheapest store brand products unless there's a specific reason why the name brand product meets my needs better) or it's stuff that's completely irrelevant (e.g. I don't need advice on how to save on gas mileage since I don't have a car). Why has there been absolutely nothing that is relevant to me? I'm not in a position where I desperately need to come up with ways to save money, but there's no possible way that I'm managing my money as optimally as humanly possible - I'm terrible at financial stuff!
Those prices are pretty much what I pay for regular clothes at the mall or at Winners. I'm no fashion plate, but for those prices and with no effort whatsoever and within walking distance of my home I can find clothes that I wear instead of them wearing me and that don't make me look fatter than I am. Those prices certainly aren't worth the effort of scouring vintage stores! You want thrifty? Thrifty is a $10 prom dress from the Amity.
This is actually a symptom of a broader problem I've seen. There is a shitload of stuff in the media lately about how to save money, and I find that none of it applies to me. Either it's stuff I'm already doing (e.g. I already buy the cheapest store brand products unless there's a specific reason why the name brand product meets my needs better) or it's stuff that's completely irrelevant (e.g. I don't need advice on how to save on gas mileage since I don't have a car). Why has there been absolutely nothing that is relevant to me? I'm not in a position where I desperately need to come up with ways to save money, but there's no possible way that I'm managing my money as optimally as humanly possible - I'm terrible at financial stuff!
Sheet music
In classical music, standard practice is for musicians to use sheet music while performing. In rock music, that would be laughable. In jazz, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.
So at what point in musical history did it become normal not to use sheet music, and why did this happen?
So at what point in musical history did it become normal not to use sheet music, and why did this happen?
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
I'll verb anything as long as it's concrete
Stephen Fry says:
I hate actioned, and it is ugly. But I don't hate it because it's ugly or because it's new, I hate it because it's abstract and non-specific. I'm fine with googling, blogging, commenting, twittering, youtubing, facebooking, texting, zaprudering, microwaving, dustbusting, shower-massaging, swiffering, PDFing, mp3ing, vasectomizing, tubalizing, essuring, LOLing, ROFLing OMGing WTFing and puppy-head-tilting. In every one of those cases it is completely obvious what the verb means, and in most cases it can only mean one thing (googling is obviously searching with google, although facebooking could be doing any number of things on facebook).
But with action as a verb, it's not clear at all what you're doing. In fact, it varies widely depending on context. It feels like the writer doesn't want to give any thought to what exactly needs to be done, so they're sticking the word "action" in and making me figure it out myself. I once received an email containing some information, followed in close succession by another email saying "That first email was for information only, you don't have to action it." Boy was I glad I didn't have to action it, because I had no idea how I might have "actioned" that email. It wasn't clear to me at all what might have needed to be done.
Now I'll be the first to admit that I may well be feeling this way because I'm a French to English translator. French verbs tend to be far more abstract than English verbs. In many cases (e.g. effectuer, favoriser, intervenir), you can't even translate the French verb or things will get ridiculous. You have to read and understand the entire situation and describe it in clear English, with the verbs being no more helpful than the blank in a game of mad libs.
After spending your entire workday making abstract verbs more concrete and vague verbs more specific, the last thing you want to do is go action something!
New examples [of nouns becoming verbs] from our time might take some getting used to: ‘He actioned it that day’ for instance might strike some as a verbing too far, but we have been sanctioning, envisioning, propositioning and stationing for a long time, so why not ‘action’? ‘Because it’s ugly,’ whinge the pedants. It’s only ugly because it’s new and you don’t like it. Ugly in the way Picasso, Stravinsky and Eliot were once thought ugly and before them Monet, Mahler and Baudelaire.
I hate actioned, and it is ugly. But I don't hate it because it's ugly or because it's new, I hate it because it's abstract and non-specific. I'm fine with googling, blogging, commenting, twittering, youtubing, facebooking, texting, zaprudering, microwaving, dustbusting, shower-massaging, swiffering, PDFing, mp3ing, vasectomizing, tubalizing, essuring, LOLing, ROFLing OMGing WTFing and puppy-head-tilting. In every one of those cases it is completely obvious what the verb means, and in most cases it can only mean one thing (googling is obviously searching with google, although facebooking could be doing any number of things on facebook).
But with action as a verb, it's not clear at all what you're doing. In fact, it varies widely depending on context. It feels like the writer doesn't want to give any thought to what exactly needs to be done, so they're sticking the word "action" in and making me figure it out myself. I once received an email containing some information, followed in close succession by another email saying "That first email was for information only, you don't have to action it." Boy was I glad I didn't have to action it, because I had no idea how I might have "actioned" that email. It wasn't clear to me at all what might have needed to be done.
Now I'll be the first to admit that I may well be feeling this way because I'm a French to English translator. French verbs tend to be far more abstract than English verbs. In many cases (e.g. effectuer, favoriser, intervenir), you can't even translate the French verb or things will get ridiculous. You have to read and understand the entire situation and describe it in clear English, with the verbs being no more helpful than the blank in a game of mad libs.
After spending your entire workday making abstract verbs more concrete and vague verbs more specific, the last thing you want to do is go action something!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
No smoking, no drinking, no talking
The year is 1994. I'm about to start Grade 9. High school, all new, Big And Scary.
One day, shortly before school is to start, my then-best friend calls me. "We have a problem," she announces. "The gym teacher...is a lesbian."
I was shocked and horrified. She's a lesbian! She likes girls! But she's allowed in our locker room??? Apparently her OFFICE is IN our locker room???? Why is this even allowed? I felt like someone should tell a grownup or something, but I didn't tell my parents for fear they might lock me in my room forever for knowing what a lesbian is or for having a course schedule that puts me in the general vincinity of an alleged lesbian or something.
So off I went to my doom. Not just high school, not just gym class, but high school gym class with a lesbian. And when we got there she...taught us gym. And then the next day she taught us gym. And every day after that she taught us gym, perfectly competently, with the occasional glimpse of humanity. Then the semester was over and I never took gym again and she became irrelevant.
Other things were happening around that time, in the background, in the media. On Friends, Ross's ex-wife was a lesbian. And she was...there, sometimes, when the plot demanded it. Ellen DeGeneres came out, and she was...there, on TV, I wasn't paying much attention. I found out Graham Chapman was gay, and that...didn't change anything, actually. And so it continued, every once in a while I'd find out someone was queer, and, except for the people who ended up being my friends, they'd just go on being ultimately irrelevant, like most people in the world end up being.
This is why the situation in California surprises me so much.
I can see how people who have never been exposed to same-sex marriage might arrive at the visceral "OMG THAT'S WRONG!" reaction. That's how I thought in Grade 9, and the reason I thought that was was because homosexuality had only ever been presented to me as a problem, so I had no reason to think that it might be anything other than a problem. What it took for my homophobia to go away was not happy rainbows and sensitivity training, but rather the sheer innocuousness of every queer person that I ever encountered IRL or in the news.
But in California, they already have this. They had legal same-sex marriage for several months. And, after a brief flurry of "OMG George Takei! OMG Ellen and Portia! OMG octogenerian lesbians!" it just became irrelevant to everyone who isn't immediately involved. So why do they still care after months of evidence that it's harmless?
I thought I understood the thought process, but this has me flummoxed. They do know that it isn't mandatory, right?
One day, shortly before school is to start, my then-best friend calls me. "We have a problem," she announces. "The gym teacher...is a lesbian."
I was shocked and horrified. She's a lesbian! She likes girls! But she's allowed in our locker room??? Apparently her OFFICE is IN our locker room???? Why is this even allowed? I felt like someone should tell a grownup or something, but I didn't tell my parents for fear they might lock me in my room forever for knowing what a lesbian is or for having a course schedule that puts me in the general vincinity of an alleged lesbian or something.
So off I went to my doom. Not just high school, not just gym class, but high school gym class with a lesbian. And when we got there she...taught us gym. And then the next day she taught us gym. And every day after that she taught us gym, perfectly competently, with the occasional glimpse of humanity. Then the semester was over and I never took gym again and she became irrelevant.
Other things were happening around that time, in the background, in the media. On Friends, Ross's ex-wife was a lesbian. And she was...there, sometimes, when the plot demanded it. Ellen DeGeneres came out, and she was...there, on TV, I wasn't paying much attention. I found out Graham Chapman was gay, and that...didn't change anything, actually. And so it continued, every once in a while I'd find out someone was queer, and, except for the people who ended up being my friends, they'd just go on being ultimately irrelevant, like most people in the world end up being.
This is why the situation in California surprises me so much.
I can see how people who have never been exposed to same-sex marriage might arrive at the visceral "OMG THAT'S WRONG!" reaction. That's how I thought in Grade 9, and the reason I thought that was was because homosexuality had only ever been presented to me as a problem, so I had no reason to think that it might be anything other than a problem. What it took for my homophobia to go away was not happy rainbows and sensitivity training, but rather the sheer innocuousness of every queer person that I ever encountered IRL or in the news.
But in California, they already have this. They had legal same-sex marriage for several months. And, after a brief flurry of "OMG George Takei! OMG Ellen and Portia! OMG octogenerian lesbians!" it just became irrelevant to everyone who isn't immediately involved. So why do they still care after months of evidence that it's harmless?
I thought I understood the thought process, but this has me flummoxed. They do know that it isn't mandatory, right?
How to use the strike at York to your academic advantage
I was at York during the 2000-2001 strike, which lasted about three months, and here's what I learned:
Keep doing your coursework.
Even though you have no classes, keep doing the same number of hours of homework a day no matter what happens. (If you don't plan your work that way, half an hour of work per class per day is a good guideline, at least it was back in my day.)
Get caught up on all your assignments (it's November, you're feeling the crunch now anyway), study the fuck out of your December exams, then start doing next semester's reading for your full-year courses. Don't stop until you've finished every single word of reading and assignments that you can possibly extrapolate from your syllabuses and studied all the material so well you're certain you'll get 100% on every exam.
You obviously don't have enough information to identify every bit of work you'll have to do between now and April, but you have some of it. So do the part that you have now, and it will ease the workload when you go back to class. Those of us who did this during our three-month strike found that it was like taking a half courseload in terms of stress and busy-ness and time to dedicate to each class. And for those of you who are worried about the school year being extended and thus cutting into your summer job time, getting ahead now will let you do your year-end assignments ahead of time, so worst case you can just leave early at the end of the year.
Keep doing your coursework.
Even though you have no classes, keep doing the same number of hours of homework a day no matter what happens. (If you don't plan your work that way, half an hour of work per class per day is a good guideline, at least it was back in my day.)
Get caught up on all your assignments (it's November, you're feeling the crunch now anyway), study the fuck out of your December exams, then start doing next semester's reading for your full-year courses. Don't stop until you've finished every single word of reading and assignments that you can possibly extrapolate from your syllabuses and studied all the material so well you're certain you'll get 100% on every exam.
You obviously don't have enough information to identify every bit of work you'll have to do between now and April, but you have some of it. So do the part that you have now, and it will ease the workload when you go back to class. Those of us who did this during our three-month strike found that it was like taking a half courseload in terms of stress and busy-ness and time to dedicate to each class. And for those of you who are worried about the school year being extended and thus cutting into your summer job time, getting ahead now will let you do your year-end assignments ahead of time, so worst case you can just leave early at the end of the year.
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