Suboptimist
I’m not quite a pessimist. I’m more of a suboptimist.

Seriously, folks, this semester blows.

Please stand by.

I have a lot of things I could write about, but I feel I have lost my ability to do so. I am in a rut, as it were. I don’t know, I don’t feel like doing much of anything lately.

I do have a few things to mention. In continuation of my recent work in the field of sensitivity, I have come to find myself pondering my relationship with the students I tutor in Classical Arabic. This goes beyond the question of whether they are a students or clients, venturing into how I should go about treating them if they are, indeed, my students.

Most of my students, coming from Arabic 2, don’t have a very good teacher to begin with, making my job nearly impossible. I can’t be a supplemental instructor, nor do I want to be. Ideally, students would come to me for an hour or two to work through questions they still have about things they have already learned. The reality is that I find myself attempting to teach what the real teacher doesn’t. I am not a trained teacher, so I can’t do this very well.

This relates to my recent thoughts on sensitivity thus: is putting my fist through the wall and storming out in anger to show my disapproval of my most boneheaded client/students a sensitive method of teaching?

Oh, notice the layout change. Yes, it’s a WP theme. I intend to experiment with new themes to see how you like them, and when we settle on one, I will modify it, assuming the license allows me to. The header image is mine, but the rest is canned.  I also want to put my Node links first, but I can’t do that.  The categories want to go in alphabetical order.

As far as sensitivity toward the plight of others is concerned, I am a conundrum. People who know me well enough would characterize me as either a softy or a misanthrope. Here and there, people will tell me that I wear a misanthropic facade, while my innards are soft, gooey, and warm. I don’t know which story to buy.

Sometimes, I find myself leaving the table I sit at in the library when a minority sits next to me. This isn’t because the newcomer is a minority, I just happen to be leaving when he sits down. While walking away, I wonder if he thinks I left because he is black/Mexican/Indian, whatever. I, at the very least, want to appear racially sensitive, since that is what society has told me to do, so naturally I am insecure about the image I portray to those of other races.

Since we are on the topic of sensitivity, I should mention that I have come to the conclusion that homeless people need to stop hanging out on the University of Utah campus. I have nothing against homeless people, just the ones who come to the library, get a temporary NetID, and browse for pornography in the Middle East library. I also would like the guy who smells like a rotten deer who comes the Middle East library to research the Bible code, while screaming violently about the end of the world to be removed. While we’re at it, let’s get rid of the guy in the Union who was sitting behind me watching Rosanne on the Oh! Channel tonight. He was laughed at an heretofore physiologically impossible level, ate three personal pan pizzas, vomited in his cup, and went on watching Rosanne.

Finally, have you noticed that nothing on my sidebar has changed?  I will get around to that.

I am actually considering dropping linguistics down to a minor for the sole purpose of avoiding Syntax II. I don’t know, I just don’t really buy it. Take, for example, my text book. Throughout the entire course, I am offered by Andrew Carnie evidence for specific theories. Upon reaching chapter 10 (raising and control categories), we are just told that what subject-to-object raising is and what PRO is. That’s it. No explanation why we do it. Here is the catch: if I did decide to follow through with this, I would only be Syntax 2 and Senior Capstone short of a full major. So, yeah, I am torn about what to do.

Though I hate politics, I love keeping track of returns. I figured the Democrats would take control of the house, but I didn’t think the Senate would come so close. Anyway, here are my closing thoughts:

· I am glad to see that Joe Lieberman won. I disagree with him on several issues, but I find him one of the few remaining independent voices in either chamber. This proves that when Ned Lamont was chosen as the Democratic senate candidate, the people didn’t speak, the Democratic Party of Connecticut spoke.
· I am saddened that people didn’t even consider Pete Ashdown, but whatever. The people choose.
· I just hear Nancy Pelosi on the radio, claiming that her party will a) act in a bipartisan manner, b) lead the most ethical Congress in history, and c) lead the country in a new direction. To this I say, “Bull shit.” The same things were claimed when Newt Gingrich led his party to power in 1994. 12 years later, though Republicans claimed to be leading the most ethical House in history and act in a bipartisan manner, they lost, corruption being the reason.

I can only wonder how long it will be until, again, history repeats itself. In 12 years, we may likely see a Democratic House, Senate, and Presidency. We will see how long Pelosi can keep the Democratic Party graft free.

Finally, two things: first, as The Reverend said, that a voter has the option to select every candidate running under one ticket without giving any thought about for whom they cast their vote is disgusting, if not dangerous. The moment the American public ceases with complex thought, giving our nod only to the candidate whose yard-sign bears a cartoon drawing of a certain quadrupedic mammal, we slouch another inch toward a loss of freedom. Secondly, on a related note, my stomach churned as I saw a Democratic victory party. I hope they ask themselves, as I hoped for the Republicans two years ago, “Are we really cheering for the American people, or are we cheering for the Democratic party?”

Less glory, more liberty.

Most individuals who fancy themselves linguists try to view Language, including dialects of their own language, objectively and without bias, and it is no simple task. While, in my opinion, the most interesting dialect of English (North-Central American spoken in Wisconsin and Minnesota) is perhaps also the hardest for me to listen to.

Enuma Elish, the creation epic of Babylonian mythology, was written primarily to elevate the position of the Semitic deity, Marduk, over that of the older Sumerian deities. While the Sumerian and Babylonian creation epics bear remarkable similarities, the nomadic heritage of the Semites of Babylon shows through in Enuma Elish.

For example, the Sumerian account of creation cites still waters, representing balance, as prima materia. While Babylonian accounts cite waters as prima materia as well, they did not represent balance, rather they represented chaos. Salt waters and sweet waters mixed together, personified by the goddess Tiamat (salt) and the god Apsu (sweet) and their offspring Mummu (mist). Whereas in Sumerian tradition, the feminine deity could can sustain life on her own, the Babylonians believed that, as the feminine deity was salt water, she could not sustain life. She was stripped of her position as primary mover; her existence became procreation with a male deity. While she is still more powerful, she also represents negativity.

The above is a (remarkably oversimplified) look at what I am currently studying in my anthropology class. This part interests me most: the feminine deity remains more powerful, but also represents negativity. In Gnostic and other esoteric traditions, the feminine aspect of deity, Sofia, is the source of wisdom, but also the source of error.

In other news, I have another syntax test coming up. I imagine I will do better than I did on my previous exam. I got a B, but I can do better. In most complex sciences, things start out easy to understand, but become more difficult upon progression to another point. I have found this class to be the reverse: it started out incomprehensible, but as the principles are painted with a finer brush, things become clearer. Now, I understand how to apply syntactic theory (to some degree) to a VSO language, a task I had previously thought impossible.

While I started out hating phonetics, I am beginning to appreciate it more, now that we are moving away from acoustics, into articulation, and further into the realm of phonology. My previous class sessions have focused primarily on vowels and consonants from around the world and how they compare to vowels and consonants found in English. I understand if that sounds boring to you. It did to me at first, but my opinion changed when I learned what the human vocal tract is capable of.

My weekends have been remarkably busy lately. The past few weeks have entailed a lodge meeting every Friday (which I enjoy, honestly), hours of studying, and stacks of Arabic papers to grade. I feel more up to the task of doing what needs to be done upon starting my new treatment for my Crohn’s disease. I was incredibly productive this weekend, which amazes me, and will continue to amaze me.

My mother was in Seattle, Washington for the past week visiting my aunt, who I am afraid to say is gravely ill. I would have loved to have been with her, but it was impossible for me to join her. However, interestingly enough, the same time I intend to petition the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, I learn that my aunt had in her possession an old copy of Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma. She felt I should have it and sent it to me. I pray it is not a parting gift.