When I do not take care of myself, this is how I feel on the job:
When I do take care of myself, this is how I feel on the job:
Because I truly feel loved, by everyone around me.
I skiied all day yesterday up at Alpine. Wow I am exhausted (and a teeny bit sore). Still, I slept so well last night that I’m thinking I just need more exercise if I’m to fix my sleep schedule. Too bad I can’t goof off today, there’s just too much to get done for work.
Today while washing clothing, I got bleach on my favourite old pair of black pants. Stretch fabric from Express, they were medium weight, stylin’ and went with anything. They won’t re-dye correctly, either, I’m sure. Oh well, I guess it’s off to that horrid place known as “The Mall” tomorrow after work to find a replacement…
Oh, and my friend J. had her baby! Congrats to her, to her hubby, and to the happy new family!
J, (A and R’s brother) stopped by last weekend to tell me about a rave he’s going to tonight, and a film project he’s working on. It sounds like he’s got ambition, and I hope he meets his personal deadline. To witness a half-blind director making movies of stories about his world is really, really cool, and judging from his taste in films and TV shows, I can’t wait to see what he puts out.
I ran into O, an old friend, by chance last night, that was weird! I was in a car with a friend (a rare occurrence in itself) and he’s just on the sidewalk, crossing Spadina on Queen. He said he’d find me through LiveJournal – hopefully his LJ email goes to the right place, as I decided to send him a note as well. O, drop me an email!
After reading his journal, I find that a group of people with whom I was social a couple of years ago is going to this thing too! It’s weird to see all of these disparate social circles intersect, but I shouldn’t be surprised – after all, I met most of these folks through a single individual.
In the process of thinking about going, I realized that I’ve burned out on social scenes that make me feel like I must be someone who I am not…and within which I find it extremely hard to just be myself. Stepping out of the public eye has been the best thing that’s happened to me in ages; it’s given me the focus to place my energies where I find they do the world – myself, other humans, other life, and our cosmos – the best quantifyable, measurable benefit. And, in the end, isn’t that the best thing I can do to preserve fragile human society?
Anyway, I keep pondering going tonight. I’ve been invited to come along by both active friends and older buddies. I shouldn’t, but I also have been looking for the right event to tell all of those people two key things: that I hold them no ill will, and that I have no desire to involve myself in their social scenes. I have been trying to find a way to show them in the same breath that, though I was uncomfortable at times, I do not feel harmed, and that I endeavoured at every chance to ensure my own actions never caused others any harm. I also want to wish them the best in their lives, and to ensure them that I respect their boundaries as I hope they respect mine. And I want to wish them all well in whatever direction they go, whether it’s mine, theirs, or some mutual direction.
Problem is, I’m not sure a rave is a good place to express any sort of sentiment, subtle or not, to another person, unless that sentiment is “Hey! I know! Let’s go out to a loud place with LOTS of people and dance until our legs fall off. We’ll drink water, eat candy, listen to some techno music and possibly do drugs. We’re doing it just to have fun.” And, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I’d enjoy all of that tonight, with or without friends at my side. The rain has sent me scurrying to my wool blanket and knitting needles. (Damn you, sporadicity!)
So instead, I decided to blog what I would have said in person. I guess I’m not going out tonight, my friends of yore, but I’m there with you in spirit. Dance on. Have fun. Be happy – I am!
November 4, 2005
Cherokee Nation
Attn: Cultural Resource Center
PO Box 948
Tahlequah, OK 74465
USA
Dear Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center,
It was thirteen years ago today that, in the midst of studying Cherokee antiquities at university, I received a grant to develop a computerized Cherokee font. With the $300, I purchased a font creation program, spent some time learning how to use it, and by the summer of 1993, completed the work. Unfortunately, my class had already ended, and other than my own personal research, I no longer had a direct need for my own work. I released it to the public domain, and put up Gopher and Web pages offering downloads and syllabary charts. It proved to be far more popular than I had expected. I’ve made many friends and acquaintances through the letters I’ve received regarding the font over the years.
Shortly after the release, Michael Everson took an encoding of Sequoyah’s font for the Cherokee language to the Unicode committee, including my work in his initial proposal. As a nineteen year old, it was a morale boost to know I could help the computer world grow, but even then I knew I could add nothing more to the discussion of code pages and preservation of cultural heritage that was not my own. Michael’s work has ensured that Cherokee has obtained its rightful place in the international UTF-8 standard.
It was with great joy and reverence that I then learned of the Nation’s own efforts, culminating in the release of your official font in 2001. Having taken hundreds of hours to produce my font, I respect what must have been the thousands of hours put in by the Cultural Resource Center to correctly design a keyboard layout. It was absolutely what the next generation Cherokee computer user interface required: attention to detail by the very people who speak and use the language daily.
About three months ago, I received a letter from a private publication, asking me about my font. He wanted to know who used it, and whether I thought it was suitable for current language research. Without hesitation, I told him that it was part of an old research project, and that I didn’t think it was suitable for anything these days but ornamentation and the odd tattoo. I directed him to your website, and to a Unicode Cherokee font listing online. I also asked him permission to publish that response on my website, but received no reply.
Rather than continue to wait for a reply, I am sending you this letter today. With all of the erosion of your language to date, I do not wish to muddy the waters any longer. I write to you today not only to offer extremely late congratulations on your font’s release, but to make it clear to you, and to my website’s visitors, that I am not Cherokee, and I do not pretend that my font is the best solution for any serious linguistic needs. I’m pleased to offer it to those who need a toy implementation, but for real language work, people should use your font, or a font using the UTF-8 standard encoding. As of today, I have revised the text on my website to include the text of this letter. I would have done so sooner, except that it struck me that anyone serious about the language would already have found other resources closer to the Nation on the Internet already.
As I turn to future endeavours, it is my selfish regret that I was unable to work with you and your team in the 1990s to hand over my work to you sooner. I attempted to contact the Nation back then, but ultimately nothing came of it. In the end, you have determined future on your own terms, drawing from your own world experience; I can think of no better outcome.
Sincerely,
Joan Sarah Touzet
P.S. For many years I have gone by the nickname wohali, the origin of which is detailed on my website. I realized shortly after adopting the nickname that it was an incorrect translation of “eagle,” the correct translation being uwohali. And while the name was given to me by someone of 3/4 Cherokee blood, I never inquired directly of someone associated with the Nation whether the name was correct, nor whether it was appropriate for me. My sincerest apologies if any action I have taken has offended you or any members of the Cherokee Nation.
cc: Dan Agent, Editor-in-chief, Cherokee Phoenix
cc: Cherokee Nation Webmaster
I never did get to write about the header art issue, and I’ve only recently learned that it’s been a bone of contention between those who love blogs, and usually have it — and those who think it’s perhaps a waste of space.
My header art is a photograph of a subterranean tunnel in Tokyo, I believe underneath Shinjuku station, heading out towards Studio Alta on the northeast side of the station. I learned this part of the city well; rather than meet my first Japanese girlfriend in dizzying Shibuya, or the awkward Harajuku, we most often met early on right in front of Studio Alta. It was easy to find, and she was easy to spot there.
Exploring the tunnels underneath there, I was always amazed by their twists and turns, and how eminently sensibly they were designed, unlike how many subterranean passages of that time turned out. People still get lost at Shinjuku station, but I never did.
I rotated the photo 90 degrees to make it look a bit like you’re on a circular space station platform; after all, Japan still looks way more modern than North America, and probably will for a while to come yet.
I might not think “header art” is where it’s at – my previous header art was fonts from divide by zero fonts, done by a graduate of my alma mater – but it adds, for me, a different way of thinking about the world. When I look at it, I feel like I’m half on a carousel, and half in a futuristic society. That’s pretty much how I feel every day – and when I remember to sit back, enjoy the ride, and marvel at the wonders I see, I have a great time.
The Interdictor/nola-intel project has officially ended, amidst controversy and confusion. So the direcNIC folks were more than they let on — big deal. It doesn’t make their photos or information any less relevant. If you really must read the gossip, go here , but be warned: there’s libel here, and I want no part of it. None of us are saints.
That said, there were *interesting* things on the radio scanners that the media wasn’t covering, and that we had word of **first** on the ‘net. So to those of you who called it “Team Geeky” and don’t think it was worth anything — I recommend you check over the logs (there are more, email if you want links) and see the interesting facts that slipped through the cracks on CNN and FOX. Like the early report about the NOPD shooting Army Corps of Engineers contractors trying to repair the Danziger bridge. Or early reports of rapes in progress at the Astrodome, the Convention Centre or the Superdome. We wanted to help, all we had was a scanner, IRC and a crapload of bandwidth. A lot of good can be done.
Finally, while this is a “PG” or “PG-13” rated website, I personally feel there is nothing wrong with a little pr0n or swearing now and again for adults. And, don’t forget, IRC is not for kiddies. We swear, we cuss, and we paste absolutely crude links that would make a sailor blush. Be above 13 years old at a minimum, regardless of the network, before you sign on. And get your parents’ permission, please. There’s a lot of evil people out there, so you best beware.
Here is a mirrored copy of the mp3 of the WWL radio interview with Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans. Warning, strong language and reality check. Don’t believe everything you hear on CNN. [edit: Now uncensored version, starts earlier.]
About to head to Japan. I’ll check in when I get there. Stay tuned on IRC.
Things have gone from bad to worse. I have not heard from anyone about my grandfather. I phoned the company that runs the hospital he went to, and they have no information either. Supposedly they evacuated that hospital to another one, but the second hospital too is flooding, and according to reports on nola.com, running out of food and water. There are 350 people there at last count.
They say that the flooding is so bad in St. Bernard Parish that the water is flowing back over the levee into the Industrial Canal.
Perhaps the worst is that the St. Bernard Parish president, Henry “Junior” Rodriguez, isn’t getting any attention. He can’t even get through to FEMA and local employees to help coordinate rescue activities and focus efforts on the worst areas: the Civic Center, the Domino Sugar Refinery, the High School, the Medical Center, and so on.
For anyone who is listening in who has loved ones in the area, here are the best resources I have found for information:
St. Bernard Forum @ NOLA.com: http://www.nola.com/forums/stbtownhall/index.ssf This has the most up to date info. Go up to just http://www.nola.com/forums/ for other parishes.
Secondary forum @ wwltv.com: http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2486 (registration is offline so this forum doesn’t get as much activity as the NOLA.com one)
Best news coverage: http://2theadvocate.com/
Streaming video of WWL-TV: here
Worst news that I’ve gotten so far: http://2theadvocate.com/stories/083005/new_penny001.shtml
Letter from Junior: http://stbernardafterkatrina.blogspot.com/ (scroll to bottom)
Photos: My cache which I’m building right now. I will update this as I get more photos of the affected area. Many cached from http://geckodog.dyndns.org/gallery/katrina (thank you!)
More photos: http://parishphotosafterkatrina.blogspot.com/ taken from KHOU-TV in Houston that’s covering St. Bernard. The general consensus is that CNN isn’t covering St. Bernard because there are too many floating dead bodies, and that’s “unsuitable” for the nation.
Official St. Bernard Parish website has a few pictures. Quote from the gentleman who runs the site:
“If I can interpret “gone” by someone, the reference is probably to a “current way of life”, or inundated with Noah’s new flood, or perhaps a “future” way of life. Looking at either interpretation, it’s a depressed feeling. I believe that St. Bernard is not alone and so many of us who have lost so much will band together at some point (as here) and hopefully give a total effort towards complete recovery with a memory that will last a lifetime. It’s a statement, sad but somehow is sprinkled with truth. “Alas, poor parish. I knew it well.” –Rebuilding as a Phoenix from its ashes. –Jerry”
Rebuilding St. Bernard Parish blog
More photos, downtown: from directNIC operator 2
“Checkin site”: http://www.katrinacheckin.org seems to go down often…
Other: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theparish/
LiveJournal blog of an operator at directNIC.
Missing Persons
Raging Redfish forum
Photos of lower Plaquemine Parish are at this site
Red Cross: 866-438-4636 or 1-800-HELP-NOW
Number to call to see if people have been rescued: 1-225-925-6626
Company that runs Chalmette Medical Center: 800-347-7750 ask for Heather, you can get on a list and they’ll call you when they have an update
Pet rescue:
General Info:http://www.nola.com/forums/kennertownhall/index.ssf?artid=24151
Kenner pets:http://www.nola.com/forums/kennertownhall/index.ssf?artid=24154
http://www.nola.com/forums/kennertownhall/index.ssf?artid=24158
Jefferson pets (some of the links provided are showing up blank…I don’t know why though):http://www.nola.com/forums/jefftownhall/index.ssf?artid=14940
http://www.nola.com/forums/jefftownhall/index.ssf?artid=14954
The two cats I gave my grandfather are surely dead now. poor aRTie and Baskin…
Seems that there’s some renewed interest in my The Electric Company (TEC) website, the one over which Sesame Workshop sent me a C&D letter. I’ve never made my thoughts public on the matter until now. If Sesame Workshop was keen to reclaim their copyrights on the material I had there for commercial distribution, so be it; I would understand if a DVD release of previous material was forthcoming. However it’s not available on DVD, and the C&D letter I received startled me — it stated something about “brand dilution.” (I will try and find the letter and post an excerpt here.)
Maybe CTW/Sesame Workshop is embarrassed by their former efforts on a children’s program with extremely low production values and a set that looks like it was designed by someone on LSD. Perhaps the educational value of those programs has decreased over time, and they are worried that today’s children would be negatively impacted by the offbeat programming. Maybe they don’t want to pollute their limited marketing stream with outdated ideas when they would much rather put effort into newer, potentially more lucrative projects.
In the end, though, this program forms part of the collective consciousness of millions upon millions of Americans, and at least some folks from other nations I’ve met remember the program. It helped them grow into the people they are today. I certainly wouldn’t have the love I have for funky music, analogue synthesis and graphics, and humorous little ditties without this program. And it did help me read — me, a child in the city with some disadvantages and a tumultuous family life — precisely the sort of child at whom the programming was targeted, according to various Teacher’s and Parents’ Guides for the program I have collected over the years.
Further, such programming is woefully absent on PBS these days. I know the team responsible for TEC went on to work on Square One TV (another fantastic program, focused on math) and then Between The Lions (still on limited circulation, and for the moment, acknowledged by PBS). Post-Sesame children’s television is a panoply of offerings, and Sesame Workshop may have decided to throw in the towel to other fields. Yet this is the area in which TEC excelled, and provided a positive, hip role model. An example: Morgan Freeman himself (under the guise of his Easy Reader character) would make references to Fred Rogers’ program and Sesame Street — he reads some ancient graffiti, an inside joke about how “Sir Lancelot loves Lady Elaine Fairchild.” This is the sort of subtle, intelligent humour that should be required reading for today’s generation of children lost on televised baby talk, programming that amounts to no more than bubblegum for the brain.
Sesame Workshop’s struggle to define themselves in the increasingly narrow field of educational television – in a world where PBS is under constant threat, where parents demand programming that pacifies, not instructs or challenges, and where commercialism is required to achieve the desired production values – may not permit the sort of experimental efforts TEC engaged in on a daily basis in the 1970s. Controversy is unavoidable, and I appreciate Sesame Workshop’s attempts to “walk the line” as carefully as possible. But to not even mention programs like TEC on their own website, and to actively persecute other websites offering no more than the sharing of memories and concepts, is tantamount to denying that the past ever occurred.
However, I argue that to remain relevant in the digital age, in a world where evolution of ideas is occurring with ever increasing rapidity, that experimentation must be increased. There should be tens more programs all being explored through digital means. Experimentation should be seen as a chance to learn more, and just like Fred Rogers used to tell me, failure isn’t something of which to be ashamed. It means you tried your best, and you learned from what you did. That such a simple concept is lost in the world of public television is, frankly, heartbreaking.
Why not bring TEC back? Why not release it on DVD, with two versions: an edited down version approved for today’s kids, and a full-length version for parents keen on nostalgia? Such things are easy to execute, and former actors on the program have stated publicly they’d be happy to volunteer their time to help frame the content. I’d buy the complete program set if available. Heck, why not consider relaunching the show? Popular cultural references in the media are at an all time high. Electronic techno music echoes the funky strains of the 1970s now more than ever. And while one can rightly attack some of the sappy songs one hears in childrens’ albums and television these days, the self-effacing humour of TEC never alienated nor condescended.
My archive was never intended to cut into Sesame Workshop’s profits, but to keep memories alive for this generation and share them with the coming ones. I could even argue for its restoration under “fair use” terms, but I really don’t feel like fighting a long, protracted battle with the powers that be.
Feel free to convince me otherwise. I have plenty of bandwidth.
I’ve not been feeling all too well for an extended period of time recently, so it’s rare that I have a really “good day.” But today I managed to make it into work for a bit (and to a doctor’s appointment), I cooked myself and my housemates a proper meal (delicious New Orleans cooking, not the protein shake stuff I’ve been subsisting on), and I talked about everything under the sun for hours. It also cooled off in the evening. I actually feel a lot better. I hope this keeps up; it sucks to collapse from exhaustion in the middle of the day, but it rules to be able to feel like a real human being again.