Stuff White PeopleLike

have people seen this? I think it is ridiculous and stereotypical. of course most of the comments on there ask people to just laugh it all off-but I am confused what am I supposed to laugh about. The stereotyping, the blatant disregard of power involved in relaionships between white people and people of color, or the fact that these supposed media are really just funny and not at all involved in he production and reification of inequality, oppression, pain, trauma etc? As some of the commenters do point out that this is more than a "white thing" this is a class thing, a sexuality thing, and a gender thing-but I guess that doesn't really seem to matter anyway since all white people apparently like the same shit anyway. huh-maybe I don't get it-just like No Country for Old Men. I am sufficiently annoyed for the day.

stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Blog Number 2 FOLKS FEST

So I have always wanted to go to Folks Fest and this year when the line-up was announced and KT Tunstall, Patty Griffin, The Waifs, Greg Brown and Amos Lee were on it I knew that I had to go. So a bunch of fun people from the EP and I will be headed to Lyons, which is like 30 minutes from where I live to camp for the weekend and listen to amazing music.

Check it out!

Folks Fest at Planet Bluegrass!!

Stronger Woman

I am not a huge fan of the beginning of this song but rather enjoy it as it moves along. I like that Jewel is going country-it really seems to suit her rather well although it is also a little weird given her multiple transitions throughout the years. Either way i am supportive of Jewel not being a sell-out trying to compete with Britney, Jessica, and X-Tina. I don't know if she got the memo that that was just never going to happen and that everyone was going to think it was weird that she was trying. Anyway, here's a newer song that makes me feel all joyous on the inside...
--
Stronger Woman, Jewel

I guess you could say I'm one of those girls
That's always been with one of those guys
You know the type
Like right now, he sleeps while I write
But it's better than crying
I'm worn out from trying
From loving a man who always makes it clear
I'm not welcome here
Just till he's horny and hungry
or needs something cleaned
And you know what I mean

But not tonight
'Cause come the morning light, oh
I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
The stronger woman in me

I'm going to be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no,
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me

Light bulbs buzz,
I get up
And head to my drawer
I wish there was more
I could say
Another fairytale fades to gray
I've lived on hope
Just like a child
Walking that mile
Faking that smile
All the while
Wishing my heart had wings

Well tonight, I'm going to be
The kind of woman I'd want my daughter to be, oh

I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
I won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman

This is me, packing up my bags
And this is me, headed for the door
And this is me, the best you ever had
I'm going to love myself
More than anyone else
Believe in me even if someone cannot see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm going to be my own best friend
Stay with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman
A stronger woman
There's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me,
Yeah...
--

VOMIT!

Yes this is a real song and yes it is gross, and disgusting but after it was brought to my attention I had to post about it...and then cry as I remember how sad some people are...

Brad Paisley, I'm Still a Guy

When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You're probably thinking that you're gonna change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up aww but no matter what
Remember, I'm still a guy

When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl
You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy
And I'd like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy

And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by

I can hear you now talkin' to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way"
From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try
Well now, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I'm still a guy

And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by

These days there's dudes gettin' facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can't grip a tacklebox

Yeah with all of these men linin' up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy

Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy

...gross...

Manatees

Yesterday my family and I for our last day in Florida took a boat trip through Tarpon Bay which is on the other side of the Island from which we are staying. We are staying on the Gulf side. The day before we took a tram in the same area and saw lots of birds, racoons, and some alligators. It is all part of the Ding Darling Preserve and Wildlife Refuge here on Sanibel. Staying on an Island for over a week has been kind of crazy. But yesterday on the boat was the coolest. They offer a night cruise which is an hour and a half boat ride to the end of the bay and back. Along the way we again saw many birds as they fly into the bay to rest on the weed-like trees that grow in the center. Ibis, egrets, osprey, pelicans feeding themselves and their babies. It was a very nice treat. As we turned around however, people began sighting dolphins, their sleek bodies rising out of the water for a millisecond of exhale and inhale and back under water. They proceeded to follow the boat-at a fairly safe distance for quite some time. After the dolphins people began to ask what the big brown things were poking up from the water. Our guide asked us to look to see if was snout and coconut like which, it was. She told us they were Manitees. Although we couldn't see them up close at one point they must have been scared because five or sick of them reared up out of the water and floated through the air, through mists of ocean for fifty yards or so, giving a good view of the outlines of their bodies. We also saw many noses/snouts and backs/bellies gliding through the water. It was so cool. And as the woman said since it is a refuge it's not as though they can guarantee sightings like those, not every tour sees manatees and dolphins, so we were lucky. She said if you want the sure thing go to Sea World, they lift curtain and show you the animal. So this was cool to see them just doing what they would normally do in a somewhat man-preserved bay. She also said there are sharks, and sting rays and sometimes gators although gator only feed in fresh water so they don't often swim into the bay which is packed full of salt. So while I don't like to rely on biology for explanations, it was really neat to see and hear about nature-I'm not sure how "natural" it really is, but it was very neat all the same.

Check it out

http://liminalities.net/4-1/16thstreet.htm

check it out, it is my qualitative methods professor and one of the doctoral students in my program at DU and it is all about downtown Denver. Is a very interesting read on consumerism culture and identity as performed on the 16th St. Mall.

Shout out to them!

Margot at the Wedding

Margot at the Wedding is a movie I watched while on my vacation. I don't know that I actually enjoyed this movie but I liked a few of the points it made and the way it connects to writing and Truth and connecting to intimate others.

I liked the scene especially well when Margot and her sister Pauline are in a hotel room. Margot who is a writer of books and magazine stories is sitting on the bed with her journal before her writing. Pauline accuses her of writing about her and the situation they are currently in. Apparently in the past Margot has written about Pauline's life and it ended up in tragedy. She rips the journal from Margot's hands and says, "The rights to this are not for sale."

I thought this made some great connections between writing biography, ethnography, autobiography and what are the ethical lines and limitations of writing about people we are intimately connected with. How as researchers should we be committed to ethically representing the people we are working with. I think we must be held to an utmost standard not of portraying accuracy, honesty, and the truth but of being fair, empathetic, and accountable. This means showing care and thinking about the way we
would like to be represented if the research were about us and even better talking about ourselves (the self) in the research so as to make one even more accountable to the process.

This also made me recall a conversation had in my qualitative methods II class about the woman who supposedly wrote a memoir about her life in a gang. It was later found that all of the things she wrote about were fabrications, that she had been dishonest about her past with just about everyone and written a book about it. I would never advocate that this is an ethical position to hold to premeditate fabrications and falsify stories but I also think we have to reconceptualize the Truth. Was it ethical-no but if it helped someone and served a larger purpose might the outcome be worth it? I don't know but these are questions I have to ask. Is the greater good of helping someone, calling people to action/social justice more important than complete and utter honesty which can never actually be achieved anyway? I think it might.

This reminds me of Testimonios written about mainly women in Central and South America. The women in these testimonies reveal their stories about having loved ones disappear in countries facing political turmoil. These women risk their lives to join activist groups in order to stand against the the government in solidarity. The testimonios are mainly written for an American audience so that they will be called to action to ask the U.S. government to send support to stop funding for corrupt governments that harm and torture Central and South American people. These testimonios are calls to action for people in the U.S. to realize what happens in other countries and how the U.S. contributes to these problems. However, what was later found was that the stories in the testimonios were sometimes part of a collective consciousness made because the society's of which these women took part were collective society's so what happened to a neighbor or relative felt like it was directly tied to the woman telling her story to the translator and using it though it were her own tragedy to tell-in a way it was. But is this being dishonest, using a clever strategy, or simply an act of story-telling? It is hard to say but I can't help but think that without these testimonios the words of these women might never be heard and if it can call one person's attentions (and it did because it drew mine)so even if it is not completely factual-it served a greater purpose.

This doesn't mean advocating lies or thinking it is ethical to falsify a complete story but in this sense the author of the gang memoir is villanized for not being truthful but stories like Into the Wild are valorized because they are supposed insights into the truth-but the story serves no purpose but to illustrate a white privileged kid deciding to give it all up to disconnect from society in the wilderness. What good does supposedly piecing his story together do for humanity? What does the attempt to retrace his steps, talk to people he knew, go to the place his body was found? This is not Truth, this is Krakauer's interpretation of truth as he figured it out. And he portrays McCandless as a hero and Krakauer is a hero for finding this uncovered story. Although I liked the movie, I think it failed to focus on the real culprit, mental and social dis-ease. No one knows what McCandless's story really is and the book even if it had been written by him himself would not be the accurate and real story behind his life.

So why do we value some stories, valorize them and glorify the writers and subjects and others we condemn and villianize. I understand the situations and circumstances are different-but not so much that no comparisons can be drawn. In the end I think it comes down to the bodies that are being represented and the narratives being told in each of these types of story. Into the Wild's main character is an upper-class white privileged kid from Virginia or something who goes Emory University and is on a quest "to Find Himself." This is a story I bet a lot of white middle class white men could relate to-not wanting to deal with life, wanting to be free from societal expectations etc and I say men not because women do not feel the same but the manifestations because of society tend to be different. Men are supposed to be removed nature (more feminine characteristic) and primal nature which is no longer socially acceptable o the ultimate release is for them to become in touch with these things. I know these are large sweeping generalizations but being raised by a step father who obviously wished for this life as well as an uncle who is still trying to live it I think it might be somewhat fair. In opposition In Love and Consequence is written by a white woman also middle class but supposedly about herself as a multi-racial Native American and white girl in and out of foster care. This is telling a harrowing tale of interacting with black people and dealing with gang violence. This is an unpleasant story to hear and tell and one that she should have probably prefaced as being a compilation of truth, fiction, and other people's stories but didn't. While the theory might not hold up in court I can't help but think it definitely has something to do with it. I am not on her side but I think things are always more complex then we would like to make them-boil everything down to black and white-Truth and lies. But everything is a representation and interpretation and those are all subjective. We can never get to the truth of experience no matter how hard we try so the point is to maybe think of the bigger picture, the purpose of the work. This is a challenge because most people in this society want real definitive answers or are only open to discourses of the unknown as they relate to Jesus and God. I would hope people would be open to empathy and accountability...I think I will be working on that for awhile


--
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING Trailer

I'm in Florida

Hi everyone,

I am taking a hiatus from the land of computers starting after I finish my last paper due on Monday at noon. I am hoping to have it done even sooner and bid this POS adieu because I am in Florida on vacation. Not like crazy Daytona Beach spring break or anything like that but spring break on Sanibel Island which is basically like EP but by the ocean instead of in the mountains. The restaraunts instead of being mountain lodge themed are all themed like the marina, pirate ships, etc. Anyway, it is beautiful and sunny and I am hoping to come back relaxed and rested and even more tan then when I left. Hehe!!

peace from the beach
KHobs

What did you learn in school today?

Yesterday while reading Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of The Oppressed (1993) (some light reading I know) I came across what at first I thought was a poem but later realized was a song by Tom Paxton. I really like it because it speaks exactly to what I am writing my current paper about introducing critical and feminist pedagogy into the preschool classroom. So while the concept of the song may be a bit above the heads of two year olds it does display what we usually think of as the "banking system" of education as described by Freire. In this system teachers are revered as the all knowing beings while students are empty vessels for knowledge to be deposited. While this relationship is reciprocal students give teachers this power by not questioning and engaging in their learning. This says that teaching is one of the ultimate modes of power since teachers have the ability to construct reality for students which often masks oppression and social injustices committed to the oppressed and marginalized students. I think this relates very specifically to performance in that one of the ultimate goals is to reconstruct epistemologies and subjugated knowledges to in order to empower those marginalized peoples who rely on this knowledge. This means that we must learn and understand that bodily knowledges are often undervalued and disregarded in terms of their ability to construct reality and valuable knowledge. I think if Freire would talk about reality as a bodily knowledge we would really be in business connecting performance and pedagogy together. i think other people do this, bell hooks in teaching to transgress, as black women's/women of color's scholarship tends to be tied to knowledge of the body and theories of the flesh, and Denzin in Performance Ethnography: Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Knowledge, but I don't recall this connection being made explicitly. Anyway, here is the song...I love it!

What Did You Learn in School Today?

Words and Music by Tom Paxton

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that Washington never told a lie.
I learned that soldiers seldom die.
I learned that everybody's free.
And that's what the teacher said to me.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that policemen are my friends.
I learned that justice never ends.
I learned that murderers die for their crimes.
Even if we make a mistake sometimes.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned our government must be strong.
It's always right and never wrong.
Our leaders are the finest men.
And we elect them again and again.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that war is not so bad.
I learned of the great ones we have had.
We fought in Germany and in France.
And some day I might get my chance.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

--

there is also a really good vid on utube linking the Iraq war to this song but it is unable to be embedded. I suggest checking it out!

--

here's one version done by Pete Seeger I think he and Tom are BFF

Glentucky at Dead Guy Days

Eff Yeah!! And yes you will notice two people from Luther-or at least from the backside having a bit of a reunion (one a lovely nurse in denver and Me myself and I)!!
--

--

Better Get To Livin, so says Dolly

So I love Dolly Parton like a gay man singin 9-5 in a gay bar and I am diggin' on the song/video Better Get To Livin, from her new album Backwoods Barbie! It's kind of one of those empowerment anthems you blare in you car during your commute like five times just because it makes you happy and smile. It also requires karaoke style singing complete with fake microphone etc...

Better Get To Livin Lyrics
--
People always comin' up to me and askin'
"Dolly, what's your secret?
With all you do, your attitude
Just seems to be so good
How do you keep it?"
Well, I'm not the Dalai Lama, but I'll try
To offer up a few words of advice.

Chorus:
You better get to livin', givin'
Don't forget to throw in a little forgivin'
And lovin' on the way
You better get to knowin', showin'
A little bit more concerned about where you're goin'
Just a word unto the wise
You better get to livin'.

A girlfriend came to my house
Started cryin' on my shoulder Sunday evening
She was spinnin' such a sad tale
I could not believe the yarn that she was weavin'
So negative the words she had to say
I said if I had a violin I'd play.

I said you'd better get to livin', givin'
Be willing and forgivin'
Cause all healing has to start with you
You better stop whining, pining
Get your dreams in line
And then just shine, design, refine
Until they come true
[Better Get To Livin' lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

And you better get to livin'.

Your life's a wreck, your house is mess
And your wardrobe way outdated
All your plans just keep on falling through
Overweight and under paid, under appreciated
I'm no guru, but I'll tell you
This I know is true.

You better get to livin', givin'
A little more thought about bein'
A little more willin' to make a better way
Don't sweat the small stuff
Keep your chin up
Just hang tough
And if it gets too rough
Fall on your knees and pray
And do that everyday
Then you'll get to livin'.

The day we're born we start to die
Don't waste one minute of this life
Get to livin'
Share your dreams and share your laughter
Make some points for the great hereafter.

Better start carin'
Better start sharin'
Better start tryin'
Better start smiling
And you better get to livin'...
--

FIERCE!...or something like it

So tonight was the finale of Project Runway and as predicted Christian Siriano was the one who won top prize for his innovative and outlandish style: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/05/christian3.jpg. I like Christian, he is a queeny queer gay boy, who maybe, in some ways tends to reify stereotypes of gay men, but I think also manages to queer them. His over indulging self-confidence speaks volumes to this. Christian is not the poster child of politically correct gay-ness. His small body may not be intimidating but his attitude and model walk certainly are. That all having been said-I really wanted Jillian to win. I don't know exactly why I connected to her except that in her clothes I saw what Roland Barthes refers to in visual images as "punctum" an unexplainable subjective connection to her pieces. I don't think I would have worn anything but Rami's collection however odd the colorings were. If he is all about commercial appeal he will have help making better color choices in the future.

Above all I love BRAVO and their commitment to showing different aspects of gay and queer lives and different degrees of gayness. Although "we" have Logo it is really BRAVO that I think has a wider range of representations of gays really living their daily lives even if in a totally constructed reality show world.

songs for the day

Good Happy Spring Time Songs
--

Kittery Tide, Girlyman

There are times when I want to pick up and say goodbye
To the oldest friends I've known
Jump in the car with no street map
No long sleeve shirts or shoes to pack
Just the sound of you and my guitar

Chorus: I can't wait 'til the day
You come running to say
Those summer nights are here to stay
We can run far away
Not tell a soul for a day
Carry me, oh freedom's delight

'cause I've spent times locked in grooves
Trapped in mama's old black shoes
Or my papa's, folks' and friends'
Always wanted a way just to have my own say
And walk the untrod path 'til the end

Chorus

As the map tore in two
I swore and vented like a fool
Watching miles tick, road signs fly
But I was running from myself
There was no one else
Who could know that better than I

Chorus

As the light changed to red
I wrapped the scarf tight round my head
I was cold as the Kittery tide
There was not much more to see
So I turned back quietly
And crossed back to the other side

Chorus



--

And Coo Coos Nest, Jeff Austin normally with Yonder Mountain String Band


--

Southern Sun and Vox Rising

This weekend, especially Saturday was amazing. The weather was beautiful 75 degrees in Boulder and I decided to not take the day off but take advantage of the beautiful weather and get out of the house. Despite running a few errands, which included the surreal experience of returning a bathing suit to American Eagle. Does anyone notice that the demographic has changed so that instead of being a like 17-22 demographic (typically college) it is now like a middle school classroom when you walk in there. I basically clammed up and wanted to vomit. However, it was soon followed by drinking and eating The Southern Sun Pub and Brewery.: http://www.mountainsunpub.com/ so good my friends, and fun. The food is a delicious mix of vegetarian and organic vegetarian meat dishes. The hummus which, is flavored Indian style is awesome and you can get their home brewed beer to go in Mason Jars by the quart and the gallon. And it is pretty cheap. Despite the crowd of somewhat pretentious mountain boulder hippie-ites, just remember to bring cash or localchecks since they do not accepter credit cards-really? Who does that? Apparently this place and yet they don't seem to suffer one bit.
After dinner we hit up http://www.voxfeminista.org/VoxRisingSpring08.html a youth theatre performance about the children who are left behind, which was very moving, despite being problematic at times. Vox Rising is part of the larger Vox Feminista http://www.voxfeminista.org/ theatre organization, which is an interactive multi-media approach to performance. Let's just say it is a group I am interested in doing performance ethnography with-whoot! This is the kind of stuff I thought others would be interested in-especially if you live in Colorado, but if any of you come visit me we will definitely have to venture to these places! Yay happy weekend!