I think I just fell in love with an NYU professor I've never met.
Why? Because a helpful, respectful, gracefully worded putdown of rude behavior should brighten anyone's day.
For anyone who hasn't seen it since it went viral, for educators everywhere who like some satisfying student humor, for anyone who has ever dealt with an entitled snot of a student at any level:
Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 7:15:11 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Brand Strategy Feedback
Prof. Galloway,
I would like to discuss a matter with you that bothered me. Yesterday evening I entered your 6pm Brand Strategy class approximately 1 hour late. As I entered the room, you quickly dismissed me, saying that I would need to leave and come back to the next class. After speaking with several students who are taking your class, they explained that you have a policy stating that students who arrive more than 15 minutes late will not be admitted to class.
As of yesterday evening, I was interested in three different Monday night classes that all occurred simultaneously. In order to decide which class to select, my plan for the evening was to sample all three and see which one I like most. Since I had never taken your class, I was unaware of your class policy. I was disappointed that you dismissed me from class considering (1) there is no way I could have been aware of your policy and (2) considering that it was the first day of evening classes and I arrived 1 hour late (not a few minutes), it was more probable that my tardiness was due to my desire to sample different classes rather than sheer complacency.
I have already registered for another class but I just wanted to be open and provide my opinion on the matter.
Regards,
xxxx
—
xxxx
MBA 2010 Candidate
NYU Stern School of Business
xxxx.nyu.edu
xxx-xxx-xxxx
The Reply:
—— Forwarded Message ——-
From: scott@stern.nyu.edu
To: "xxxx"
Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 9:34:02 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: Brand Strategy Feedback
xxxx:
Thanks for the feedback. I, too, would like to offer some feedback.
Just so I've got this straight...you started in one class, left 15-20 minutes into it (stood up, walked out mid-lecture), went to another class (walked in 20 minutes late), left that class (again, presumably, in the middle of the lecture), and then came to my class. At that point (walking in an hour late) I asked you to come to the next class which "bothered" you.
Correct?
You state that, having not taken my class, it would be impossible to know our policy of not allowing people to walk in an hour late. Most risk analysis offers that in the face of substantial uncertainty, you opt for the more conservative path or hedge your bet (e.g., do not show up an hour late until you know the professor has an explicit policy for tolerating disrespectful behavior, check with the TA before class, etc.). I hope the lottery winner that is your recently crowned Monday evening Professor is teaching Judgement and Decision Making or Critical Thinking.
In addition, your logic effectively means you cannot be held accountable for any code of conduct before taking a class. For the record, we also have no stated policy against bursting into show tunes in the middle of class, urinating on desks or taking that revolutionary hair removal system for a spin. However, xxxx, there is a baseline level of decorum (i.e., manners) that we expect of grown men and women who the admissions department have deemed tomorrow's business leaders.
xxxx, let me be more serious for a moment. I do not know you, will not know you and have no real affinity or animosity for you. You are an anonymous student who is now regretting the send button on his laptop. It's with this context I hope you register pause...REAL pause xxxx and take to heart what I am about to tell you:
xxxx, get your shit together.
Getting a good job, working long hours, keeping your skills relevant, navigating the politics of an organization, finding a live/work balance...these are all really hard, xxxx. In contrast, respecting institutions, having manners, demonstrating a level of humility...these are all (relatively) easy. Get the easy stuff right xxxx. In and of themselves they will not make you successful. However, not possessing them will hold you back and you will not achieve your potential which, by virtue of you being admitted to Stern, you must have in spades. It's not too late xxxx...
Again, thanks for the feedback.
Professor Galloway
There's a bit more context here, but the writer presenting it refers to Professor Galloway as "kind of a dick," and consequently is clearly not an academic who appreciates what a moment of Robin Hood justice this is.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Home decor of nerdy glee
This warms the cockles of my heart and makes my hand twitch instinctively toward the Mod Podge:
Image courtesy Jennifer Ofenstein.
Isn't that incredibly cool? I am thinking of perhaps a desk nook done in Victorian naturalist texts, damaged Audobon guides, cryptozoology sketches, with pressed leaves and flowers added for more color and texture. It would be glorious.
The same person does awesome paper-piecing patterns: Here's a great little tutorial on using them for greeting cards.
Image courtesy Jennifer Ofenstein.
Isn't that incredibly cool? I am thinking of perhaps a desk nook done in Victorian naturalist texts, damaged Audobon guides, cryptozoology sketches, with pressed leaves and flowers added for more color and texture. It would be glorious.
The same person does awesome paper-piecing patterns: Here's a great little tutorial on using them for greeting cards.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Treasury Wednesday: Lyrical inspirations
I did a whole lot of treasuries inspired by song lyrics a few weeks ago. This week's offering: a line from "The Rose."
I do a lot of this sort of moody iron-grey-and-gold color scheme in treasuries, but very little in actual jewelry. I'm not quite sure of its appeal to me, except that it makes me think forests and thunderstorms. I should try to bring this into a jewelry design soon.
Reminders of a sanctuary happily left behind.
I do a lot of this sort of moody iron-grey-and-gold color scheme in treasuries, but very little in actual jewelry. I'm not quite sure of its appeal to me, except that it makes me think forests and thunderstorms. I should try to bring this into a jewelry design soon.
'If You Think that Love is Only for the Lucky and the Strong' by tangopig
Reminders of a sanctuary happily left behind.
 Carved Jacobean Mah... $5999.99 |  A dreamy fine art p... $30.00 |  Bangle Bracelet Kai... $9.50 |  Hair Fork Birdseye ... $45.00 |
 Blue Queen $1200.00 |  winter weave no. 2 ... $42.00 |  Close To Me A Sign... $20.00 |  bear portrait, anti... $32.00 |
 CELTIC- ELVEN pewte... $10.00 |  through the woods n... $65.00 |  Small " m &quo... $170.00 |  Heart of the Forest... $16.00 |
 Hairsticks Pair of ... $275.00 |  Gothic Leaf Earring... $55.00 |  Forest Light / fine... $30.00 |  gold circular branc... $24.00 |
Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.
Monday, May 23, 2011
More on the use of "tribal"
... and this time it's from Fire Mountain Gems, and it's cringeworthy!
The text of a specials email I received from the company at the end of February, combined into prose paragraphs, but otherwise left intact and uncut:
"Wild Animal Prints in Drops, Links and Focals Plus a Selection of Hot-Selling Beads. Tribal Tribulations: 'High-contrast ethnic prints offer graphic appeal.' --Accessories magazine, November 2010 Issue in reference to Spring 2011. Dear Jewelry Designer, Take a walk on the wild side with animal print beads, drops, links and focal components! Exotic NEW prints and customer favorites add bold patterns to jewelry and home decor pieces. Shop the variety of colors and patterns and embark on your own expedition of safari-influenced designs."
The problems with this copy are twofold.
First of all, it has that regrettable and exceedingly colonial emphasis on "discovery," "embarkation," "expedition," "exploration." This is a relic of the imperial drive -- our cultural mythos in the West, particularly the English-speaking West, is that those who travel, who discover, who conquer are the world's heroes. Africans don't generally go on safari. Rich middle-aged white men who dress like every other country is a camping trip do.
Shockingly enough, Disney's Pocahontas actually constitutes a lovely little meditation on the motivations for the colonial spirit: the musical number which is a duet between John Smith and the commander dude whose name escapes me at the moment is a little more subversive than it seems, because while it initially looks like there's a contrast of "good" and "bad" motivations, there's more going on than that, as the idea of "discovering" and "taming" a wilderness is illustrated to be just as faulty as raping the land for raw materials. Props, Disney; didn't expect it of you.
The second problem is both more subtle and, in my not-so-humble opinion, more hideous.
Check out that header of "Tribal Tribulations." Why are animal prints "tribal"?
Given that "tribulations" is, definition-wise, a quite ludicrous choice in this context, I'll happily grant that this is just hasty work, and by no means deliberately attempting to draw the parallels I'm about to highlight. However.
The deeper problem with this text is that it conflates tribal people with animals. No, really, bear with me.
At the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert, CA, private event sponsors can rent the residence of the British district commissioner of the Kenyan village replicated in the zoo's African exhibit. Though constructed in the same manner, the commissioner's residence is referred to in all copy as a "house," the other buildings as "huts." And in the British-style dining room, a plate-glass wall looks into the leopard enclosure. Unlike any other animal in the zoo, permanent signage advertises how dangerous the exotic leopard is and explains the usages of the local people for leopard claws and skins, with images where the leopard parts hide the faces and bodies of the wearers. The leopards in this case take the place of the native people: Kept excluded from the refined area within the British-style house, lovely to look at but not to be gotten close to, the dangers of the African night subdued and brought under the British gaze in a way that is all about the pleasures of power.
This was the topic of my paper "Conservation and the Narrative of Stewardship," and I find the mentality even more painfully obvious in this copy.
Animal prints labeled "exotic" is one thing, though the problem with "exotic" is similar to that of "Oriental" in that it assumes that everyone who matters is in the same place. But animal prints labeled "tribal"?
Animals don't form tribes. People do. And this copy encourages its readers to consider that "tribal" is a synonym for "wild" and "animal." Tribal people become wild animals in this construction of the world beyond the audience of the copy.
Whether it's the fault of the magazine quoted or the copy editor who pulled this together, and even though it was certainly done without intent of harm -- there's no excuse for that "tribal tribulations" header. This is exactly what's wrong with using the word "tribal" insensitively.
The text of a specials email I received from the company at the end of February, combined into prose paragraphs, but otherwise left intact and uncut:
"Wild Animal Prints in Drops, Links and Focals Plus a Selection of Hot-Selling Beads. Tribal Tribulations: 'High-contrast ethnic prints offer graphic appeal.' --Accessories magazine, November 2010 Issue in reference to Spring 2011. Dear Jewelry Designer, Take a walk on the wild side with animal print beads, drops, links and focal components! Exotic NEW prints and customer favorites add bold patterns to jewelry and home decor pieces. Shop the variety of colors and patterns and embark on your own expedition of safari-influenced designs."
The problems with this copy are twofold.
First of all, it has that regrettable and exceedingly colonial emphasis on "discovery," "embarkation," "expedition," "exploration." This is a relic of the imperial drive -- our cultural mythos in the West, particularly the English-speaking West, is that those who travel, who discover, who conquer are the world's heroes. Africans don't generally go on safari. Rich middle-aged white men who dress like every other country is a camping trip do.
Shockingly enough, Disney's Pocahontas actually constitutes a lovely little meditation on the motivations for the colonial spirit: the musical number which is a duet between John Smith and the commander dude whose name escapes me at the moment is a little more subversive than it seems, because while it initially looks like there's a contrast of "good" and "bad" motivations, there's more going on than that, as the idea of "discovering" and "taming" a wilderness is illustrated to be just as faulty as raping the land for raw materials. Props, Disney; didn't expect it of you.
The second problem is both more subtle and, in my not-so-humble opinion, more hideous.
Check out that header of "Tribal Tribulations." Why are animal prints "tribal"?
Given that "tribulations" is, definition-wise, a quite ludicrous choice in this context, I'll happily grant that this is just hasty work, and by no means deliberately attempting to draw the parallels I'm about to highlight. However.
The deeper problem with this text is that it conflates tribal people with animals. No, really, bear with me.
At the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert, CA, private event sponsors can rent the residence of the British district commissioner of the Kenyan village replicated in the zoo's African exhibit. Though constructed in the same manner, the commissioner's residence is referred to in all copy as a "house," the other buildings as "huts." And in the British-style dining room, a plate-glass wall looks into the leopard enclosure. Unlike any other animal in the zoo, permanent signage advertises how dangerous the exotic leopard is and explains the usages of the local people for leopard claws and skins, with images where the leopard parts hide the faces and bodies of the wearers. The leopards in this case take the place of the native people: Kept excluded from the refined area within the British-style house, lovely to look at but not to be gotten close to, the dangers of the African night subdued and brought under the British gaze in a way that is all about the pleasures of power.
This was the topic of my paper "Conservation and the Narrative of Stewardship," and I find the mentality even more painfully obvious in this copy.
Animal prints labeled "exotic" is one thing, though the problem with "exotic" is similar to that of "Oriental" in that it assumes that everyone who matters is in the same place. But animal prints labeled "tribal"?
Animals don't form tribes. People do. And this copy encourages its readers to consider that "tribal" is a synonym for "wild" and "animal." Tribal people become wild animals in this construction of the world beyond the audience of the copy.
Whether it's the fault of the magazine quoted or the copy editor who pulled this together, and even though it was certainly done without intent of harm -- there's no excuse for that "tribal tribulations" header. This is exactly what's wrong with using the word "tribal" insensitively.
Friday, May 20, 2011
This blog gives me joy.
City Farmer News. Pay a visit.
Putting the means of production in the hands of the disenfranchised through training and education. Using simple technologies in ingenious ways to create permaculture. Reusing and repurposing everything to carve out a space for living things to thrive. Devising a way for humans to coexist with the necessities of life in a manner both pleasant and functional.
It's like the best sort of Utopian steampunk fiction, only it's news, with bylines and ledes and captioned photos. And it makes me go, "Hey -- maybe the world is gonna be okay after all."
Putting the means of production in the hands of the disenfranchised through training and education. Using simple technologies in ingenious ways to create permaculture. Reusing and repurposing everything to carve out a space for living things to thrive. Devising a way for humans to coexist with the necessities of life in a manner both pleasant and functional.
It's like the best sort of Utopian steampunk fiction, only it's news, with bylines and ledes and captioned photos. And it makes me go, "Hey -- maybe the world is gonna be okay after all."
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Treasury Wednesday: Geek Cred
I'll admit it; I make an awful lot of Tolkien-inspired treasuries. You may now commence mockery.
This one ended up very "vampy" but was actually inspired by "Of Maeglin and the Fall of Gondolin." This is ... not a popular character, partly because he's drawn in broad and incestuous strokes, and once the crawlers have a chance to pick this post up I'm really tempted to see where this post falls in Google search results for the name.
Amusing and illustrative anecdote here follows: I got in a bit of trouble with one of the major online Tolkien communities when I was about thirteen, because the point of the story is that the title character is an unwise merger of the two great elfy-awesome bloodlines (back in the mythical past; the distinctions are not terribly relevant by the time of the Lord of the Rings films, but the echoes of it are still visible to the discerning eye). Now, The Silmarillion says very specifically that the character is white-skinned. In so many words. However, since his father is referred to as "the Dark Elf," and since I read the tale as being partly a story of biracial issues -- I had chosen in my little fan creation to deal with biraciality in the visible manner which would be most recognizable to the twenty-first-century American reader: to depict him as darker-skinned than the first cousin he was lusting after and basically went all Wuthering Heights on everybody.
Needless to say (to anyone who is familiar with the majority of Tolkien scholars), this did not go over well.
Tl;dr; Chelsea is really damn weird.
Anyway.
Treasury.
Blood red and black. Passion turning from love to violence. Title from a song by Vienna Teng, inspiration from The Silmarillion.
This one ended up very "vampy" but was actually inspired by "Of Maeglin and the Fall of Gondolin." This is ... not a popular character, partly because he's drawn in broad and incestuous strokes, and once the crawlers have a chance to pick this post up I'm really tempted to see where this post falls in Google search results for the name.
Amusing and illustrative anecdote here follows: I got in a bit of trouble with one of the major online Tolkien communities when I was about thirteen, because the point of the story is that the title character is an unwise merger of the two great elfy-awesome bloodlines (back in the mythical past; the distinctions are not terribly relevant by the time of the Lord of the Rings films, but the echoes of it are still visible to the discerning eye). Now, The Silmarillion says very specifically that the character is white-skinned. In so many words. However, since his father is referred to as "the Dark Elf," and since I read the tale as being partly a story of biracial issues -- I had chosen in my little fan creation to deal with biraciality in the visible manner which would be most recognizable to the twenty-first-century American reader: to depict him as darker-skinned than the first cousin he was lusting after and basically went all Wuthering Heights on everybody.
Needless to say (to anyone who is familiar with the majority of Tolkien scholars), this did not go over well.
Tl;dr; Chelsea is really damn weird.
Anyway.
Treasury.
'For You I'd Burn the Length and Breadth of Sky' by tangopig
Blood red and black. Passion turning from love to violence. Title from a song by Vienna Teng, inspiration from The Silmarillion.
 Tudor Half-Tester B... $70.00 |  Sterling Silver Rad... $250.00 |  Blood Red & Black F... $15.00 |  Photograph Gothic R... $12.00 |
 Suede Leather Wrap ... $18.00 |  Velvet Covered Meta... $1500.00 |  35% OFF SALE - Here... $22.75 |  Love Hurts- Anti Va... $13.00 |
 Tragedy King Lear b... $40.00 |  Red Blood Celtic kn... $2.75 |  Kellinda Rose and B... $37.00 |  Weathered 8 x 10 $16.00 |
 Tiny Red Leather Bo... $24.00 |  SALE Small Unwelcom... $35.00 |  35% OFF SALE - A fi... $9.75 |  Medieval style cott... $55.00 |
Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Steampunk Skills
In my heart, I still really prefer a steampunk that is a lot more "punk" than "steam."
Available here.
I don't think that things need to be dripping in gears (or octopi) to be steampunk. The "purist" view is that it's not steampunk unless it's functional; I'm not sure I ascribe to that either. I like the William Morris standpoint on the technology vs. aesthetic thing: "Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or feel to be beautiful." To me, it naturally follows that either is good but both is best.
Nor is steampunk just a "look" to me, though there's definitely some level of know-it-when-I-see-it going on here with the clothing and accessories. As an iteration of punk, it's a mindset and an aesthetic.
Primarily, the mindset is characterized by the oft-calligraphied Japanese phrase "onkochishin": "Honor the past to create the new." It's a looking backwards to solve the evils of now and recreate the present; it's looking at the world and saying, "You know? We don't have to break this to remake it. We can have science and responsibility and wonder. They can become the same thing again. We can save the world by changing our ways, not by eschewing them."
(Please allow me a moment to be a Lord of the Rings fanatic: "He who breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of reason," Gandalf advised us. And while Papa Tolkien is no doubt revolving in his grave to have me say it: That applies to the technological lifestyle too. We don't have to destroy either the ways of the past or the ways of now to understand them, nor to improve them.)
The steampunk culture looks to the past and incorporates it in order to celebrate it -- which is almost universal; the only reason it's settled on neo-Victorian is because that's where/when our society's cultural memory says, "This is when science and beauty and romance and heroism and practicality could all be realistic concepts at the same time." It's really not about a particular time period. It's about recreating the useful and the beautiful in one another's image to create a world that both looks and works well.
This isn't to say there isn't harsh, gritty steampunk alongside the elegant gleam. The wisdom of the culture lies not in its settings but in its meanings -- in what it takes as its heroes.
Consequently, while I can't mod my technology and I don't drive a steam-powered hovercraft, these are the things I consider my "steampunk skills":
Available here.
I don't think that things need to be dripping in gears (or octopi) to be steampunk. The "purist" view is that it's not steampunk unless it's functional; I'm not sure I ascribe to that either. I like the William Morris standpoint on the technology vs. aesthetic thing: "Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or feel to be beautiful." To me, it naturally follows that either is good but both is best.
Nor is steampunk just a "look" to me, though there's definitely some level of know-it-when-I-see-it going on here with the clothing and accessories. As an iteration of punk, it's a mindset and an aesthetic.
Primarily, the mindset is characterized by the oft-calligraphied Japanese phrase "onkochishin": "Honor the past to create the new." It's a looking backwards to solve the evils of now and recreate the present; it's looking at the world and saying, "You know? We don't have to break this to remake it. We can have science and responsibility and wonder. They can become the same thing again. We can save the world by changing our ways, not by eschewing them."
(Please allow me a moment to be a Lord of the Rings fanatic: "He who breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of reason," Gandalf advised us. And while Papa Tolkien is no doubt revolving in his grave to have me say it: That applies to the technological lifestyle too. We don't have to destroy either the ways of the past or the ways of now to understand them, nor to improve them.)
The steampunk culture looks to the past and incorporates it in order to celebrate it -- which is almost universal; the only reason it's settled on neo-Victorian is because that's where/when our society's cultural memory says, "This is when science and beauty and romance and heroism and practicality could all be realistic concepts at the same time." It's really not about a particular time period. It's about recreating the useful and the beautiful in one another's image to create a world that both looks and works well.
This isn't to say there isn't harsh, gritty steampunk alongside the elegant gleam. The wisdom of the culture lies not in its settings but in its meanings -- in what it takes as its heroes.
Consequently, while I can't mod my technology and I don't drive a steam-powered hovercraft, these are the things I consider my "steampunk skills":
Friday, May 13, 2011
Mixed media, Fiber jewelry, Strawberries, M
Image copyright Fanciful Devices.
These are awesome and cool and make me want to do a lot more fiber.
They initially appealed because M loves strawberry stuff, but I'm not sufficiently ironic and hip to not cringe at the little Indian (the artist is Uruguayan, and doesn't have my guilt issues on the subject). Then I became enchanted by the use of the appliques. Maybe they could be ironed onto fabric and cut out?
By the way, I bought some awesome enameled bells for M from this seller; impressively swift shipping! I got some chihuahua bells and some strawberry ones, which were sold with this lovely lovely style shot:
The transition there was strawberries. Yeah. Now hold onto your powdered wigs, ladies and gents, I'm making a sharp U-turn back to fiber.
I have some cabochons which are clear acrylic and magnify what's underneath, and I'm considering going through M's and my (mostly her) quilting fabric stash for small patterns that would look nice under a fisheye magnification. I think this might be a nice, easy, lower-priced assembly project, maybe with a little beading -- I really am starting to work at a level I need to charge higher prices for, so it would be good to have a lower-end point-of-sale or niece-gift product which doesn't scream, "I'm reselling pot metal shaped by small children in Malaysia or Hong Kong!" (Actually, Hong Kong is supposed to be tightening up regulations, last I heard. Snaps for Hong Kong if this is the case.)
Fiber. Strawberries.
I used hemp and polyester ribbon in this one:
Available here.
TERRIBLE light. Dear God, I need to retake those.
Yeah, this post is not remotely topical.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Treasury Wednesday: Just Like Moonstone, Only Not
I occasionally make treasuries inspired by, but not including, my own items, which is probably bad for business. In this case, it was my sea opal Opalesce Cassandra bracelet, which has a bit of a carnival-glass look to me. Sea opal, generally sold as a gemstone, is actually a glass treatment. This doesn't prevent me from adoring it completely, except when I'm trying to find rainbow moonstone, M's favorite, and all I can find is mistagged sea opal.
Available here.
Lustrous glass, moonstone, opal.
Available here.
'Dewfall Carnival' by tangopig
Lustrous glass, moonstone, opal.
 brown leather wrist... $10.00 |  Baby Cakes - Taupe ... $32.00 |  Jojoba lip gloss $12.00 |  Lustrious Blues and... $30.00 |
 Golden Glimmer - La... $40.00 |  Dollhouse Miniature... $20.00 |  You ComPlate Me Mat... $80.00 |  50% OFF SALE Why Dr... $3.00 |
 Crescent Moon 6 x 6... $48.00 |  Luster shino leafy ... $66.00 |  Music 8 x 10 Photgr... $15.00 |  Vintage Plastic Cab... $3.75 |
 Undyed Tussah Silk $12.50 |  Beta Fish Ornament $23.00 |  Large Pearl Necklac... $300.00 |  SEA GLASS Long Bead... $40.00 |
Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)