Gadgets I do not need, part 2

I'm still seriously wanting one of these. But this morning, I remembered something else I was seriously wanting not too long ago: a Tablet PC. Now I can't decide.

The mini laptop would be useful for me now, as I could take it to the library and stuff. My current laptop isn't extremely heavy (my first one in Ox weighed 13 pounds!), but it is a bit bulky. A mini one could fit nicely in a bag and wouldn't take up much space. I hear they also have good battery life.

Some downsides: it would mean that I would have to carry two laptops every time I make my long-haul US to UK flights, and it does not have a DVD drive or much memory. I wouldn't use it for heavy-duty storage, just mainly whatever I'm currently working on, so I could probably get a small memory card or whatever. But I would have liked to use it for watching movies on the plane.

I can't really think of a reason I would *need* a Tablet PC right now. It's actually something that would probably be best if I were working: I could annotate presentations or use it to correct electronically-submitted student papers. I would not use it in addition to my current laptop - if I needed to replace this one, it would probably be my replacement. Perhaps what they say is true: these days, companies create needs for us. We see these things that look cool, we decide we must buy them, and then we decide why we need them.

Because you should have it stuck in your head too.

Ohhhhhhh..........
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

How it's goin'

Those of you who have been following me since the beginning may remember how I used to post regular updates of wacky costume parties, black-tie events, and lectures that involved cocktail breaks. I know I don't post much about that kind of stuff anymore (mostly because it's not so novel), but it doesn't mean I haven't been doing stuff. Also, if you follow me on Flickr, you may think that the only thing I've done this term is meet celebrities. Although there is not always photographic evidence to prove it, here's some of what I've been doing this term:

• Chung's leaving do. Chung matriculated with me, and we lived in the same staircase during our second year here. I came back early specifically to say goodbye to him, as he finished his DPhil and got a spiffy new job in Hong Kong. Chung took pictures that night but hasn't posted them yet, but I know he's busy with the new job and I'll probably get a huge email of photos at some point, as he usually does.
• The standard fresher events. Matriculation lunch, Domus dinner (a dinner for new graduates), Master's drinks. I don't have pictures of those because they're not really "my" events - I go as a "delegate" of the college, more or less. It would look kind of weird if I took photos at them. It was kind of cool, though, at the Matriculation lunch: I got to be head of my own table. Usually at these events there are a bunch of fellows and stuff, and they are all kind of spread out all over the place to mingle with the students. There were no fellows at my table, so I was technically the senior person. It meant that the freshers asked me a lot of questions about college life, which was cool and made me feel important.
• Trinity guest dinner. Corwin invited me to guest dinner at Trinity last week. It was one of the nicer dinners I've had at Trinity, and it was great to see Elizabeth and the Trinity contingent. I've been there enough times that I feel like a regular - the porters buzz me in and I go where I need to go. Elizabeth took pictures that evening, and I hope she will post them somewhere soon.
• Meeting celebrities. If you haven't heard me talk about this, you've been living under a rock.
• Visiting Enrique in London. My lovely Enrique has submitted his thesis, found a cushy job and packed up and moved to London. Justin and I went to see him (and Maria, who was also visiting) yesterday, and we had a lovely lunch and a walk around Finsbury Park. I had my camera in my bag, but for some reason I couldn't find it while I was there. So no photos. :(
• Doing work. Yes, I do work too. On Tuesday I handed in a 15,000-word chapter draft, and am now working on another chapter. This year I have to do a Confirmation of Status exam at the end of the year, in which I hand in a 15,000-word paper and do another viva. 15,000 words is roughly a chapter's worth of content, so I am doing lots of 15,000-word papers this year and I'll fix up the best one for the exam. Obviously, not a picture-worthy event.
  

I think there's been a trend of bloggers moving on to Facebook, so perhaps that explains the lack of updates - many of you who read me here also keep up with me there. I've also been a lot more laid back in my social activities since becoming Junior Dean, so now I hang out with friends and watch movies and order takeout and go out to dinner. It's not like the black-tie dinners of days of yore, but it works for me. :)

Tonight is Girly Night, hosted by Eleanor and Elizabeth, where a bunch of the language girls will get together and watch girly flicks and drink pink champagne. We don't get together nearly as often as we should, so this is a good chance to kick back and relax and not be hermits. ;) Tomorrow, I have been invited to dine with Andy and Elizabeth at Andy's new house. And I'm not on duty until Friday, so it should be a good week.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend - xxx

A word a day

I'm on this Spanish word-a-day mailing list to help keep my vocabulary up. Having done nothing but Golden Age literature since college I can talk forever about Cervantes and literary authority, but my practical and useful vocabulary is a bit rusty. So this word-a-day list is a good little way to brush up on vocabulary, as people will probably find me as crazy as don Quijote if I called them "Your Grace" and talked about knight-errantry in 17th century Spanish.

So anyway, for each word, they use it in a sentence. Some of the phrases are pretty useful, as you would find them in everyday life. Today's word was "retroceso" (recession), and the sentence was this:

Atribuyen el retroceso español al escaso aprovechamiento de las nuevas tecnologias.
They attribute the Spanish recession to the scarce exploitation of new technologies.

That could be something that you hear on the news or read in the paper, especially these days. But yesterday's word was "jugadores" (players), and the sentence was this:

Los jugadores se encuentran de vacaciones.
The players are on vacation.

Huh? Maybe this is something you would read in a sports section, but it just seems so random. Wouldn't it be a good opportunity to teach some other sports terminology, like "The players scored three goals in the second quarter"?

Maybe there's something about language pedagogy that I'm not getting here.

Dorkiness personified

*No, the typos do not come automatically with the Claudia font. :)

In which Kaitlin yammers on about random bits of her research.

I was writing a little bit about the episode in part I of the Quijote in which don Quijote and Sancho have dinner with some goatherds, and the don launches into a verbose and random commentary about the Golden Age just because he sees some acorns. (Even the author describes it as unnecessary smack dab in the middle of the text.) Anyway, after his speech, the goatherds offer to entertain don Quijote and Sancho with some singing. When don Quijote asks them to sing some more, Sancho disagrees, telling him that

Bien puede vuestra merced acomodarse desde luego adonde ha de posar esta noche, que el trabajo de estos buenos hombres tienen todo día no permite que pasen las noches cantando.

To which don Quijote replies,

Ya te entiendo, Sancho […], que bien se me trasluce que las visitas del zaque piden más recompense de sueño que de música.

(Chapter 21, p. 102)

For some reason, this passage made me lol, so I thought I'd share. :)

This post is brought to you by.....

Having a degree in advertising makes you exceptionally aware of advertisements. Someone mentioned to me once that I watch commercials with just as much interest as I do when I watch the show itself! Anyway, I was watching Ugly Betty last night, when I came to realize the type of advertisement I hate the most: the product placement.

I know they're trying to ram that idea into your head by making it appear subtle, but it's not subtle. It's painfully obvious. I really started to notice it when Survivor first came out - on one episode, the reward challenge prize was a gift basket full of bathing essentials that was "parachuted in" from Target. The winning team was clever enough to use the parachute (which had a giant Target logo on it) to make shelter, so every time the team was shown on the program, it was an ad for Target. In other reward challenges they would win random snacks of things like Doritos and Mountain Dew - probably the last things I would want after not eating for days, but if they're paying for air time, I guess you eat it.

On this week's episode of Ugly Betty, Betty tries to win back Gio's approval by acquiring some rare Italian cheese for him (he had tried to get some in Rome, but it was confiscated at customs). When it arrives at Mode, Amanda mentions how one slice of the cheese is probably much worse than her whole drawer of Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers lunches. You've probably seen similar commercials: people are whining about the crap they eat at lunch, when someone opens a desk drawer to reveal a whole pile of Healthy Choice lunches. Well, this was the same thing.Another one that annoys the hell out of me is when they do it on Jon & Kate Plus 8. I can't find a clip of it, but one day when they were waiting for something, Jon and Kate pulled out the kids' new VSmile and they waxed poetic about how wonderful it was while the screen showed the kids playing with it. You could tell it was planned because Kate sucks at reading stuff (listen to her monotone voice in the opening bit). I'm willing to bet that those kids don't ask to play with the thing ever again - it probably comes out when Mom and Dad want to make some money.

I'm also guessing that people talking about the awkwardness is a good thing too - sure, Amanda was weird about flashing all those Healthy Choice lunches, but people gawked about it the next day, which spread the name around. That's the weird thing about advertising - ads may be memorable because they're annoying, but at least they're memorable!

Completing the celebrity hat trick

Today's post is brought to you by the letter K, for KEVIN SPACEY.

As you may have read in the papers, Kevin Spacey is the new Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at my college. He succeeds Patrick Stewart and a number of other prestigious actors in this role.

He gave his first lecture today, and he was amazing. He didn't have the same kind of presence as Sir Patrick, but he was funny and interesting. And the best part of it was, he took the "Professor" part of it to heart.

Throughout his talk he said a lot about how he wanted to meet the students and know what the students want, and I thought it he was just saying what he thought we wanted to hear. But he really meant it. During dinner, he got down from the high table (where the highest-level fellows and prestigious donors were invited to dine with him) to walk among the students, thank them for coming and to just chat with them. I was one of the lucky ones who got to chat with him, but sadly I did not document this momentous occasion on camera. (No one else was doing it, so I didn't want to start something if he just meant to walk around quickly!)

After dinner, Kevin and the fellows adjourned to the Senior Common Room for the usual post-high table gathering - probably port and whiskey and the like. But he didn't want that - he wanted to go to the JCR (student) bar. The fellows and the organizers (the Master's secretary, etc.) looked shocked, but they followed him along.

These things showed me that he takes this position seriously, and not as a pompous way to earn the college money from donors. It was great. I can't wait for his next lecture!

Very rarely do I get them this accurate!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure
• I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this
• Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit
• Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally
• Ask me questions to help me get clear
• Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery
• Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings
• I like a good discussion but not a confrontation
• Let me know you like what I've done or said
• Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

• being nonjudgmental and accepting
• caring for and being concerned about others
• being able to relax and have a good time
• knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
• my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
• my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
• being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

• being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
• being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
• being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
• being confused about what I really want
• caring too much about what others will think of me
• not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

• feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
• tune out a lot, especially when others argue
• are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

• are supportive, kind, and warm
• are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Celebrity Hat Trick

Six days ago: Geri Halliwell.

Today: Sir Roger Moore, aka James Bond.


Monday: Kevin Spacey.

I am meeting celebrities at an average rate of once every three days. It's kind of awesome.

I am so immature sometimes.

I know the candidates want people to get out and vote.

I know they want to take advantage of technology to give people as much specific information as possible, ensuring that people will be convinced to go out and vote and that the candidates care about each individual voter's personal concerns.

But did Obama's web team really have to call it "My BO"?

Giggling. I am so immature sometimes.

Romance language-speakers sure like long sentences

Dicen que en el propio original de esta historia se lee que llegando Cide Hamete a escribir este capítulo no le tradujo su intérprete como él le había escrito, que fue un modo de queja que tuvo el moro de sí mismo por haber tomado entre manos una historia tan seca y tan limitada como esta de don Quijote, por parecerle que siempre había de hablar de él y de Sancho, sin osar extenderse a otras digresiones y episodios más graves y más entretenidos; y decía que el ir siempre atenido el entendimiento, la mano y la pluma a escribir de un solo sujeto y hablar por las bocas de pocas personas era un trabajo incomportable, cuyo fruto no redundaba en el de su autor, y que por huir de este inconveniente había usado en la primera parte del artificio de algunas novelas, como fueron la del Curioso impertinente y la del Capitán cautivo, que están como separadas de la historia, puesto que las demás que allí se cuentan son casos sucedidos al mismo don Quijote, que no podían dejar de escribirse.

-El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, Part II, Chapter XLIV

I guess I shouldn't complain, though. I could be doing German, where instead of long sentences, I could be dealing with long words, like Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunter - beamtengesellschaft (Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services - I only hyphenated it to make it fit) or Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (A German law dealing with the supervision of the labeling of beef).

Languages are awesome.

Signs I am getting old

So today I got to meet Ginger Spice* from the Spice Girls. She has written a children's series called Ugenia Lavender, and the most recent book in the series just came out, so she was doing a book signing.

I found the whole thing kinda funny for a few reasons. First, there were many people there who were well beyond the target market for the books, and probably had no one in the target market in their lives, but were there to get a book signed anyway. (I was one of them.) Second, the girls who were in the target market for the books were probably far too young to (a) know who Geri Halliwell was and (b) appreciate what it means to have an autographed copy of a book. But Geri was lovely to everyone, so it was nice.

Anyway, my point. I was standing in front of a girl who was in her late teens, early twenties. (I dunno, I'm bad at guessing ages.) When we got closer to the front of the line, I asked her if she could take a photo for me while I was getting my book signed. She turned to her mom and said, "Can you take a photo for this lady?"

I was kind of surprised. Am I old enough to be called "lady"? It's kind of like when they call me "ma'am" at a store. I don't think of myself as "lady" or "ma'am" - perhaps it is because I am still a student - but at 28, maybe I am.

*Ginger Spice is not actually ginger any more, nor is she that sort of strawberry blonde that you see in all of her publicity photos. She's also tiny. But come to think of it, isn't she the one who always wore the massive platform boots in her performances?

I voted today.

And probably not for whom you think.

And no, that doesn't mean McCain.

:)



Edit, 10/2/08, 12:19 am: When I say "I voted today," I mean that I mailed in my absentee ballot, just in case you were wondering.