One Very Important Thought

I read a lot of great quality writing on blogs. User-driven communities online connect disparate people, creating common spaces for the consolidation of ideas and art around mutual interests. The blogrolls where we link to several, or many, other blogs spread out as we link to new blogs and interesting websites; they also reconnect inward as we inter-link to one another's blogs. We form an ever growing, ever solidifying body of writing and art around topics like outdoor pursuits, photography, music and more. And as we span out and interconnect, scores of others on the Internet are doing the same thing around other topics, interests, hobbies, professions, beliefs, and more. Just as the printing press shrunk our ancestors' world half a millennium ago by bringing together literate people, the Internet allows us to construct world-wide imagined communities, enriching our lives through the flow of fascinating information and conversations with one another.

It's important to understand that what we do - the harmless building of communities around common interests - is being threatened now in the United States. The introduction of a bill known as SOPA - or Stop Online Piracy Act - is currently under review by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. The Wikipedia page seems up to date and explains SOPA and the controversy well. Under the provisions of this bill, sites that publish copyrighted information are liable to be shut down and those who published copyrighted material punished as felons. While the intent to stop online piracy sounds like a logical thing to support, this act is written in a nebulous and open-ended manner that, depending on how it is interpreted, could make sites like Youtube, Google, and others unusable. Google has come out against SOPA. The companies that host our various blogs could also find themselves facing problems under SOPA and our pastimes and communities could vanish while they're still forming. If the Internet is to continue to revolutionize the size, scope, and nature of what we call communities, it must remain free. Copyright law can easily become censorship with the right (or wrong) interpretation.

The following clever quote from this odd little Boards of Canada track is adapted from the end of a 1982 adult film called "A Brief Affair:"

"If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think.  Defend your constitutionally protected rights. No one else will do it for you."

How many copyrights am I violating by posting this video and quoting from the dialogue in the song? Could this post be taken down? How many of your posts might contain copyrighted material? Is what we're doing wrong? 

I'm Not a Climate Scientist, but I Can Still Speak the Truth

Warning: The video is not safe for work - the rest of the post is probably OK!



I came across this video earlier today. It's produced by The Hungry Beast, an Australian television show that combines comedy/satire with current events. This rap song, "I'm a Climate Scientist," features real climate scientists using hip hop to both point out the actuality of climate change and demonstrate the utter weaknesses of climate change denier's arguments. It's funny to hear scientists swear, but I'm left asking, who is this for? Who is the audience?

Climate scientists Peter Doran and Maggie Kendall Zimmerman lay out the challenge facing their profession clearly in their 2009 article, "Examining the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," which appeared in Eos: American Geophysical Union. They write:

It seems that the debate on the authenticity of global warming and the role played by human activity is largely nonexistent among those who understand the nuances and scientific basis of long-term climate processes. The challenge, rather, appears to be how to effectively communicate this fact to policy makes and to a public that continues to mistakenly perceive debate among scientists.

Nothing demonstrates the challenge Doran and Zimmerman describe more poignantly than the "I'm a Climate Scientist" song and video. Far from winning over climate skeptics, this video would likely make them feel ridiculed while at the same time offending them with bad language and failing to provide ample facts. It's misdirected as a persuasive video and I fail to find another purpose for it beyond humor. But why make such a dedicated appeal to authority if the intention of the video is merely humor? Why include facts and climate scientists?

More than anything else "I'm a Climate Scientist" expresses frustration. Frustration with lies perpetuated by special interest groups and the people foolish enough to believe them. Science relies on facts and evidence. How are scientists, and those of us who adequately understand most basic scientific ideas like climate change, supposed to communicate information when pointing to a huge pile of evidence and nearly complete consensus among experts fails? The video attacks the credibility of climate change deniers, a good approach for the situation, but the vehicle delivering the message is not persuasive - it's insulting. I also appreciate that a funny video will get more attention than a boring one, but I still believe this video is rhetorically ineffective because of the content - swearing, rapping, etc.

I understand the urge to ridicule climate change deniers. It's painful to see our world shaped by ignorance. It's hard to watch people destroy the environment when we know how it's happening and that we could be working to counteract it. We can understand scientific concepts more easily than we grasp the ignorance and gullibility of our fellow citizens. However, history doesn't support the rhetorical practicality of shaming or ridiculing large groups of people into thinking or behaving properly.

I don't have a complete solution to the challenge Doran and Zimmerman present, but I can say that we shouldn't make climate scientist go it alone. It's in our best interest to help climate scientists out. Get educated about the facts of climate change so that you can influence those you come into contact with. No one - not the most brilliant scientist - has the persuasive power of a friend or family member. If you know lots of climate change deniers, you have my condolences and your work cut out for you.

Friends don't let friend deny climate change.

For more info on climate change, visit The Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

My Objectsphere - (Rad Shit, Recently Obtained)

I've been one busy dude. End of the semester blues. The harried life of a grad student/instructor. So I haven't had time to post much lately. No time for adventures. Instead, I offer some things I've obtained more or less recently for your appreciation. Pictured above we have a cabin incense burner and accompanying balsam fir incense sticks, both by Paine's Products. These were a gift from my in-laws for our anniversary. It's awesome. You light the incense on the inside and the smoke comes out the chimney. It smells like a campfire. Leaning on the cabin is a porcupine quill. I found it on the floor in Gem World in Quartzite, Arizona. I thought it was garbage, but they charged me $1.50 for it at the counter. That was an unusual place. Finally, we have my glasses. I bought these a year ago at Catalina Optical in Tucson. I told them I'd post about it because they gave me a deal, then I forgot. I'm making good on it now. It's a great place that doesn't charge too much (very helpful when you don't have vision insurance) and they have a huge collection of vintage frames. The vintage frames are awesome and wicked cheap. I bought two pairs, but I put the other pair down while taking a photo at the Oak Creek Overlook near Sedona and somebody picked them up. I miss those glasses. They were great. These are cool too. They're pretty old, probably 1960's.

I got Black Sabbath Vol. 4 on vinyl at Bookman's in Marana. It's the out-of-the-way Bookman's, so the records aren't all picked over. Usually all that's left at Bookman's (and most other used record stores for that matter) are lots of Englebert Humperdink, Barry Manilow, Men at Work, and Pure Prairie League.Don't even get me started on the mammoth loads of Bing Crosby Christmas records at Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Not only do I not want them, they also remind me that I'm buying clothes that belonged to old men who have passed away. I try not to think about that.

I got lots of books! From left to right: Law and Authority in Early Massachusetts by George Lee Haskins, The Democratization of American Christianity By Nathan O. Hatch, The Transformation of American Law 1780-1860 by Morton J. Horwitz, Hanging Between Heaven and Earth by Scott D. Seay, The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol F. Carlsen, Underwriting: The Poetics of Insurance in America 1722-1872 by Eric Wertheimer, a Forest Service Map of Tonto National Forest, and The Puritan Family by Edmund S. Morgan. I've read Carlsen, Morgan, and Seay's books so far. Interesting stuff. Eric Wertheimer is the chair of my Ph.D. committee. He puts up with listening to me talk about all the stuff I read in these sorts of books and helps me make something out of it. He's a talented poet, too.

I got these moccasins at Payless of all places. Not exactly the pinnacle of fine footwear, but vegans take note - many of their shoes are all man-made material and not leather. The flannel is an old one from L.L. Bean I found at Buffalo Exchange in Phoenix. I got the vest at Sunset Clothing Exchange in Tempe, AZ.

Yarn Owl

Yarn Owl is a band from Pullman, Washington. Their website describes their sound as melding "the pop sensibilities of the 60’s and 70’s with a twist of modern indie flare." My path crossed with band's somewhere in the sinuous ways of the Internet. Noam Chomsky has asserted that language contains infinite numbers of potential combinations, but I'm guessing the words "Yarn" and "Owl" are not often a likely pair. So they're called Yarn Owl, I own a yarn owl, someone punches "yarn owl" into Google and the magic of Boolean search brings people together.

Well, once I found the band, I thought they sounded great. I sent them some questions and their singer, Javier Suarez, was kind enough to respond.

Eric -Yarn Owl began in 2007 and you've been a pretty busy band since then. Can you give us a brief time line of events over the last three or so years?

Javier -We started playing together in October '07 at our school's music building. We had our first real show in Seattle the next May. In the fall of '08 we put out our first little E.P. called Tape 1 cause it was recorded on cassette. We made the sequel E.P. tape 2 the next Spring. During that year we played a ton of shows around the Northwest with all kinds of groovy bands. We put out a cassette with Leftist Nautical Antiques called Tiny Dots that combined songs from both EPs in the Fall of '09. We made the E.P. Stay Warm in the Summer of '09. We are recording stuff now for a future release, the details of which are still coming together. We have shows coming up this fall and are just trying to put together the coolest music we can right now! 

E - You're from the Northwest (Pullman, Washington) and so you have a legacy of great northwestern folk-rock bands to contend with, such as Rogue Wave, The Decemberists,  and Blitzen Trapper. What is your relationship with the northwest's musical heritage and how has it affected your sound, if at all?

J -Yeah...I'd say we do have a relationship to it. Tim, our bass player was the Band of Horses original drummer on their first album. So he contributes elements of that style in his arrangement ideas and notions of what is sonically desirable. For me, when we talk about modern Northwest bands I'd say that the Fleet Foxes are at the top of my list in terms of what I actually listen to and consequentially I think that influence manifests in my lyrical themes, singing style and occasionally guitar playing. The Northwest is a big and diverse place, though, and I think talking about it as one 'thing' that exudes some kind of force is a bit amorphous- I mean, we all (read 'most modern people with Internet access') get our music and ideas about music from a very similar place, i.e. the Internet and so I think geographic location isn't as big of a influence as I think it once was... We all wear a lot of flannel though.

E -You've recorded an E.P., "Tiny Dots" released it on cassette format through Leftist Nautical Antiques. There's been a return to vinyl, but why cassettes?

J - Regarding Tiny Dots, that was Leftist Nautical Antiques' idea- that's just what they do. We thought it made sense, it was recorded on cassette, why not release it on cassette? Tons of people still have cassette players in their cars, its cheap, and its just kind of a different, novel way of gettting your music out there that fit our kind of thrift store aesthetic. It did come with a digital download 'cause I'm not so sure people were actually gonna start busting out their old Walkmans just for us. But it was a fun project that went really well, their seems to be a very dedicated and enthusiastic cassette constituency out there that was really receptive to it. 

E - On your website you say you have a full length album coming out. Where are you recording that and with whom? When can we expect to hear it?

J - It is still being written. We want to get the songs just right before laying them down. Once the material clicks like we want it to, the 'whom' and 'where' of the recording will become clear to us. As for a when, I'll just say.....in the future. Definitely in the future.  

E - What do you do to create such a full sound? Instruments? Studio techniques?

J - Well...Vocal harmonies, doubling vocals, shakers, panning, adding guitars, cymbals, organ, reverb...giving the mix to a good mastering place (We like Ed Brooks at RFI in Seattle). 

E - Any plans for a tour outside of the northwest anytime soon?

J - Ambitions, but no solid plans!

E - Tyler makes some rad videos for your songs. What's the process? It looks work intensive.

J - Oh yeah, thousands of photos! Just your basic stop motion animation with construction paper. He's a patient and dedicated dude though, we are proud of him. 

E - How'd you come up with the name Yarn Owl?

J - I used to have a collection of yarn art. Like, framed portraits and stuff made from yarn...my favorite piece was the owl, it was a 'yarn owl' and we needed a band name and no one objected to that one...sooo...it stuck.


If you've been looking at your old Walkman, missing it, longing for a reason to reconnect, then pick up Yarn Owls' "Tiny Dots." You can buy it here. It comes with a digital format, too, so iPoders can listen the newfangled way.

The Aldrich Family

A few years ago when I was teaching high school, my friend Amy found a record in her classroom of the Original Radio Broadcasts of "The Aldrich Family." I've had the record for some time, but I only recently researched it and I was quite surprised to find that the radio show was only one part of "The Aldrich Family" program. In addition to the radio show, there was also a comic book and several movies.

The show ran from 1939 to 1953 and featured Ezra Stone as Henry Aldrich, the goofy, adolescent protagonist. Each show began with Henry's mother calling "Henry! Henry Aldrich!" and Henry's response "Coming Mother!" The show was quite popular at the time and, after listening to a few episodes, I understand why. It's really funny!

I have a great grandparent named Henry Aldrich and it's funny just how accurately Henry Aldrich the character capture the essence of Aldrich. First off, he kind of looks like me. There are several episodes in which Henry attempts to raise carrier pigeons that are quite funny and at the outset of those episode, his original idea is to raise rabbits and make money. Back in 1994 my friends and I had the same idea. We bought several white rabbits with plans to breed and sell them. Much like Henry's plan, it made neither sense nor money. It must be an Aldrich thing.

Many episodes are available here. I guess I always thought radio situation comedies were too antiquated for me to really appreciate them; after all, they were merely the result of technological limitations obviated by television, right? Well, not really.  There's a particular style of narrative and performance that is lost and it's really too bad. Furthermore, I also think it's time for Aldriches to reclaim the our place that Henry established in American popular culture. Be on the lookout for my plan of action...