Review: Vine Deloria

Today, November 13th, is the anniversary of the death of Vine Deloria Jr. I wouldn't have known that without having read the articles. I don't know a lot about the philosopher except that he was the first, widely read and popularly acknowledged Native philosopher. In the class I took last semester (Native American Philosophy, which I encourage everyone to take), we read his book God is Red.

It was a really poignant book although I would caution any Christian who considers reading it to go into it with an understanding of the devastation that has been wrought on North and South America in the name of Christianity. It doesn't go light on those topics but it brings up some very good and very important critiques not only of Christianity but of all proselytizing religions. The book, and the class as a whole, had a real impact on me. Native issues was never something that was in the forefront of my mind before but I've really tried to be careful and considerate of it since then.

I'm glad to be able to acknowledge the death of such a great thinker and revolutionary activist.

(Vine Deloria Jr., 2002 Photograph by Cyrus McCrimmon

Associated Press)

Famous Last Words: Lots of Change in the Forecast

This is the first time I’ve gotten around to doing my last words post. This semester has been kind of hectic for me especially with my capstone, my grad level class which I’m taking before I’m actually a grad student, getting ready to apply to grad school, and preparing for the GRE which is on Monday. I think too often I’ve let this class slip between the cracks even though I really do find it fun. I’ve found some extra time this week to do a lot of extra credit which will help me to catch up on some of the weeks I had to skip things in order to work on other class work and also to help me finish before the potentially hellish social theory final. I’m really, really, really not looking forward to that class final.

On the other hand, I’ll be very happy to have all my grad stuff done and sent in soon. My first applications have to be in by December 1^st. I need to finish up my statement of purpose, ask my teachers for recommendations, and run by and get my transcript. These first schools are in Canada so I’m a bit nervous about getting into them and then potentially moving so far away. I really think the trepidation is worth it though. Grad school is just immensely cheaper in Canada and I really don’t have any money or resources to pay for college in America unless I want to go into massive amounts of debt (which I don’t).

I’m very happy that I should, if everything goes well, be finishing up this semester with continued straight A’s and hopefully that will put me in pretty good standing to go to grad school. Ideally, I’ll even be able to get some extra funding like a fellowship or whatnot. There’s a lot of potentially big changes coming up and I’m not sure I’m ready for all of them but I’ll cross all those bridges when I come to them. I just can’t ignore that they’re coming up fast!

(Duke's Grad School Placard) 

Wikipedia Trail: From Oriole to Gondwana

I'm starting my trail at Old World Oriole because I read someone's story about an Oriole and they listed a whole bunch of different things that they could eat and to be honest I wasn't really sure if they ate fruit, nectar and bugs. I thought it was only one or the other. Turns out they do eat both, the article says their diet consists of fruit, berries, arthropods, and nectar.

(Oriole, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Singapore)

This led me to the page Drongo cause I've really never heard of a Drongo but turns out it's just another kind of bird. They're small and black. They eat bugs and they are very good at mimicking. They can even, apparently sound false alarms but how exactly this benefits them is vague in the article.

(Spangled Drongo, Austrailia)

From Drongo I linked to Madagascar, where the Drongo's name originates from. It's the 4th largest island in the world and 90% of its species are unique to it. Human settlement of the continent between 350 BC and AD 550. It's official languages are French and Malagasy, and it achieved independence from France in 1960.

(Madagascar Flag)

Lastly I moved on to Gondwana. Madagascar used to be a part of the Supercontinent Gondwana before it split from the Indian Peninsula about 88 million years ago. The landmass formed prior to Pangaea and later joined with Laurasia to become part of it. It began to break up in about the early Jurassic period or 183 million years ago.

(Gondwana and Laurasia)

Learning Challenge: Bibliotherapy

The New Yorker article about whether reading can make you happier was pretty interesting. I used to love to read a lot and there are still books that I remember resonating with me very clearly. In high school when I was going through a very tough time I remember reading a lot of Sarah Dessen books which were all about other high school girls who encountered issues like abuse, neglectful parents, sexual assault, depression, and things like that. All of these teenage girls ended up finding strength and hope in their friends and sometimes family and becoming better versions of themselves in the end. I remember some of these books so well because of how much they kept me occupied on the idea of better which was what I really needed at that time.

Right now, with how much work I have to do consistently and my own person issues I don't read a lot of fiction. I read a lot of theory and articles for class but I doubt they have the same kind of benefits. Reading about Franz Boas's critique of the comparative method probably won't cure my depression but at the same time my depression really keeps me from feeling up to reading much. And any time I do try to read I always find myself distracted and disinterested. I don't know if I can find that reading spark that got me through high school but I think it's worth another try if I can just get myself interested in something.

(Sarah Desson books, article not reccomended)

Growth Mindset: 1st Person Writing Style

I really wanted to challenge myself with my most recent story. I tend to shy away from 1st person stories because I never like how they turn out. I much much much prefer 3rd person narratives. Sometimes I think it's too difficult to get into a character's head without making them sound completely bland. I also like to maintain a more omniscient narrator. I'm not really sure how I'd get everything into my story from a first person perspective.

Anyways, I've been trying to branch out with how I write my stories so my most recent story about Merlin was from a first person perspective. I thought that, because his situation was so odd, it would really help to be able to get into his mind rather than watching him complete all these actions from the outside. I think it was a more personal story which is why it worked so well. I'm not sure I could use the writing style as often as some people like to use it, but this definitely gave me some good practice with it.

The last thing I want my writing to sound like is bland and boring and I think I accomplished that pretty well with my current story. I would really have liked to have had a large word count limit because I feel like I could have expanded on his thoughts even more, but I'm generally happy with the story I wrote.

(my dog stays up late with me while I'm trying to write, original picture)

Tech Tip: Ad Free Internet

I know I certainly get sick of ads popping up every time I'm trying to read a website. Moving ads with flashing lights are great for getting your attention but not so great for concentration. This is why I use two Chrome extensions in tandem to block both ads and website trackers so they can't keep track of your data (like cookies).

(screen shot of uBlock extension, taken by me)

uBlock is an extension that blocks ads on websites when it detects them. In the event that it doesn't detect an ad, you can always right click on the ad and add it to the extension's database. Then refresh the page and no more add! uBlock is now preferred over the previously popular adblock plus because adblock plus now sells ad space that it will refuse to block to third parties. 

(screenshot of Ghostery extension, taken by me)

Ghostery is an extension that blocks websites and third parties from collecting data on you without your knowledge. These profiles they build allow them to not only track what you look at an buy but also build targeted ads tailored to your spending habits. Because Ghostery blocks these, it will also block some ads that might slip through uBlock's detectors. If there is any ad targeting you'd prefer to receive, you can always list trackers as trusted in the options menu.

Extra Reading Notes: King Arthur B

Sir Galahad's tale is one I'd never heard before but it is kind of funny, him running around and fighting with just about anyone. Some of the fights I wasn't even sure why he was doing them other than maybe he just wanted to fight.

There are an awful lot of Christian symbols in the tales of the nights. Being heavy or weighed down by sins is a common theme. All looking for the Grail (Graal).
I was not aware of the idea that a lion was a more natural beast than a serpent. Maybe this has something to do with the snake in the garden of Eden. Also riding a lion is pretty dang cool.

Lancelot is "the best man in the world and the bravest." However he's also very sinful. The concept of sin in this old context is somewhat confusing to me.
There's a lot of voices and hands and visions. It's all meant to be holy but it could be abstracted to something else. Even witchcraft.

There's another sword like excaliber that cannot be drawn from a stone. It's also got blood writing on it though that's a little more menacing.

Only the last story makes any mention of Arthur. Most of these stories are concerned either with sin and fighting or specifically with searching for the Graal.

This has a story of miracle healing by the three knights and the Graal. They get imprisoned for this. Galahaad becomes king. Unexpected.

(Sir Lancelot fights the knight of a rival kingdom)

King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes B

there are lots of animal stories with potential to mash together. There's a poor cat who's almost drowned but is saved by a dog. A wedding between a fly and a bee, a flying monster cow???

there's also a recurrent theme of small children doing things together. Jack and jill, the two kids who live in an alley, the man who asked to marry the woman but she wasn't having it. These are all disparate and mildly related but i could splice them together somehow.

Im not sure how two geese could carry the kings daughter over a river but this could be a possible story. it's wild and vague enough i might be able to work with it especially if they perhaps kidnapped her or something.
I might be able to combine it with other bird nursery rhymes but for the most part they are very vague. In this other story a bunch of ducks die from eating polywags. I might include that geese are almost ducks.

(goose and gander)

The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes A

some of these are styled differently from how i remember them. i memorized the whole mother goose book at like age 3 so reading these slightly off rhymes is really weird

the first one that catches my eye is the on old duck hunter who shoots a duck for dinner. the only interesting bit is at the end when he promises his wife he'll go out and shoot a drake. like... a dragon? the duck hunter v the dragon

robbin the bobbin - man who can eat literally anything and anyone and never gets full. either a horror story or a superpower

I might by able to add in the rhyme about the piper's son to the tale of the dragon. if he can make anything dance by playing his pipes that might come in hand to fight a dragon

(this probably isn't a hunter but he is fighting a cool dragon)

 The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang

Story: Falling Skies

I am fated to die.

I know this and I accept it. I had a dream about it once. I closed my eyes and I saw it all – the sky, black and heavy, fell upon me and swallowed me up, and I waited in darkness for my last breath to leave me.

            My friend, Arthur, says I am being dramatic. He says that if I can see my death coming, then why am I so calm about it? Why don’t I try to avoid it? But the truth is that things like this cannot be outrun. If the sky chooses to swallow me whole, then I will let it and be content. One cannot fight the sky after all.

            I thought my end was coming today as I left my house. I stood at the crosswalk and felt my time was near. The cross-light turned green and as I began to set foot in the road I saw a truck, bright and red and angry, speeding down the street.

           

“So this is how it ends,” I thought. “A squeal of black tires and a flash of red and it’s over. If this is how it ends, then I march boldly forward to meet it.” I spoke these words aloud to myself as I crossed slowly, slowly, waiting for the end.

WHEEERRRRRR!!!

            I stood in the road, staring up at the bright red fire engine, now halted in front of me.

WHEEEEERRRRRRRR!!!

            It blasted its horn again at me. As I stood there, contemplating my new turn of fortune, the driver of the truck hung his head out of the window.

            “Hey! Move it won’tcha! We’ve got a fire to put out and you’re standing in the middle of the bloody road!”

            He was clearly put out. I stood there a few seconds longer contemplating this twist of fate as his face grew redder and redder. I thought he might pass out before he threw the engine in reverse and pulled out around me.

            I was alive, for now, and for how much longer I didn’t know. Any second could be my last. I drifted the rest of the way across the street in a daze as I made my way to the park. I looked up at the clouds above me. I was wrong. My end would come from the sky, not the street. I thought about my dream as I wandered into the neighborhood park. The sky. In thought, I looked down at the ground and surprised myself to see the clouds and sun shining at me from below my feet. My legs had carried me to the small dock hanging out over the edge of the pond.

            The sky. The sky. But what if it had not been the sky falling down to meet me? What if I had fallen to meet the sky – the sky reflected at me in this water hole? As I contemplated this, standing on the edge of the deck I felt overwhelmed. Vertigo set in as I wobbled where I stood.

            “Merle? Oi, Merle!” someone called. I think it was Arthur. His voice startled me. I jumped only a bit but it was enough to send me off balance. Ah, my fate at last. I did not fight to stay upright as I tumbled into my abyss. With a hard splash, I hit the water. Drifting there in the cool water I felt myself running low on breath.

            “Not much longer,” I thought to myself as I floated there, face down, waiting for my end. All around me I heard splashing and shouting. Not mine, I believe. I simply floated, calmly, calmly, accepting a fate I could not change.

            Suddenly and with much angry yelling, I was hefted from the water and shook about until my head rattled. As the cacophony sounded in my ears and my vision slid back into focus I saw my friend Arthur standing above me, visibly peeved. He was shouting,

            “What’re you doing, you daft bastard?! Why were you just floating there?!”

            Oh Arthur, he didn’t understand. Fate is not something you can run from, but as I searched for the words to explain this to him he kept shaking me, thoroughly rattling me about.

            “Please, Arthur, let me go,” I asked him calmly. He was stood waist deep in the pond still holding me by the arm and covered in pond scum. As I tugged free and pulled my feet underneath me I realized the pond was easily shallow enough to stand in.

            “You’re not still on again about the fate shite are ya? I told you it was a bunch of rubbish and now I’m covered in pond scum because you want to splash about in the fish pond. I’m tired of it ya know!”

            “Yeah, I know,” I said as I walked away from him. I needed to return to my house and think about what had happened. Every time I thought fate had finally caught up with me, something impeded it. Perhaps, perhaps it had not been so inevitable as I thought. Every pitfall today I had avoided. Perhaps Arthur was right. Maybe I am not doomed.

            I hurried home as the fluffy white clouds above me grew grey and heavy with rain. I pulled open the door to my flat as the sky opened up and the wind began to howl. In deep contemplation I trudged up the stairs to my room and laid down in my bed.

Drip. . . Drip. . . Drip. . .

The rain leaked through the ceiling and onto my pillow. Years of water damage had weakened the roof and the leak grew steadily larger. As I lay in bed and contemplated the ceiling, I heard it creak and shudder. Slowly, I watched the ceiling above me buckle and groan.

“Ah,” I thought, “not so inevitable then. As I suspected,” and I lay there and waited as the roof strained, and broke, and caved in above me, and the sky fell, and darkened my world.

(A collapsed roof)

Author’s Note: This story is based specifically on the death of Merlin in the larger myth of King Arthur. In the story, Merlin has a premonition that he's going to die by being buried. King Arthur tries to encourage him to avoid this fate since he knows it's coming but Merlin sees it all as inevitable. When the evil Vivien asks him to climb under a boulder to look for something, he knows he going to die but does it anyways. Then she traps him and leaves him for dead. I chose to retell the story like this out of frustration with the original. I didn’t understand why Merlin told Arthur that he was doomed to die by being buried alive and clearly knew a trap was being set for him when Morgan encouraged him to squeeze in under that big rock but he still went and did it anyways. So I thought I’d play up my frustrations to a bit of an absurd level with this little story.  I really wanted to keep the ending something close to being buried alive so even though his house collapsing is a bit dramatic I think it worked fairly well with the story. I hope it wasn’t too awfully morbid!

King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang