Catherine Conner
Posts tagged it’s me!
The Newspaper
Apr 28th
Even in a crowded room it is possible to be lonely.
In a room reeking of conversations and coffee, I am here alone, a casualty of the endless progress of newer and faster. Those around me converse with small shiny objects, beeping and flashing. Or with machines showing them brilliant moving paintings, music, endless scrolling text, all the raw words in the universe — prepackaged yet unfiltered.
Sometimes I understand: how can I compete with that? My information is dated, my interaction rigid. Compared to the conversations flowing around me, my presentation is stilted, inflexible. I can be eloquent, but only when allowed the time to speak.
I don’t know the latest jokes, the trendiest phrases; I can’t respond dynamically to your witticisms, or feed you the compliments that you beg for. I cannot participate in the social code swirling around me; I am aware of it, but it is always just beyond my capability. I can communicate only on my own terms. But I will also let you be you; I don’t expect you to change for me, I don’t decide whether you conform to my idea of what you should be before we can talk.
Please. It may take some effort on your part to understand me, to get to know me, to interact with me on my own terms. But I have thoughts and wisdom of my own to offer, if you will only take the time to let me. Pick me up. Please.
Gus and Ollie Meet Craft Hope
May 7th
I recently participated in a wonderful craft night where we stitched educational bean bag toys for orphans in Liberia, as part of project Craft Hope. This was coordinated by Jessica Allen, a lovely Australian expat living in Hamburg, and the creative force of Gus and Ollie over on Etsy. Not only does she make the cutest plush toys you ever did see, but she’s just started a blog as well. Give her a visit!
Political Ash Wednesday
Feb 18th
All over the world, Ash Wednesday is a day of Christian self-reflection and repentance. Except in Germany, where it doubles as a political festival. With beer, of course. More >
There’s No Place Like…
Feb 9th
When I first moved to Germany I expected to encounter prejudices. The Germans would certainly have pre-formed opinions of me as an American, as I myself would have towards my new country of residence. I was prepared to challenge and be challenged over the validity of these preconceptions. But to my surprise I had also to contend with prejudice from an unexpected source: my fellow Americans.
The Bi-Lingual Brain Advantage
Jan 22nd
Maybe I’m just glad to justify all my efforts to learn another language. Or maybe I’m glad to have scientific backing for my own observations I’ve written about in the Adventures in German series. Either way, this article totally confirms my own experience.
The findings suggest that after learning a second language, people never look at words the same way again.
“The Neural Advantage of Speaking 2 Languages” (Scientific American)
Letters of Note
Jan 13th
The academic study of history makes a strong distinction between “primary” and “secondary” sources. While secondary sources are narratives, opinions, or analysis produced after the fact, primary sources are the real artefacts of the time in question: contemporary documents produced by those with direct experience of events. Primary sources are as close as you can get to experiencing the time during which they’re created; they are snapshots of a few droplets of water rushing along in the ephemeral river of time. You hope as a historian to be able to view as many of these multi-faceted drops as you can to formulate a theory as to the shape of the river’s path.
I’ve just stumbled upon this blog which features a wonderful varied collection of such sources. Letters of Note “is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos.” Take a moment to peruse a few of these prismatic pieces of history. Fascinating!
Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience
The Knave Abideth
Jan 8th
Two great classics that taste great together. A screenwriter has rewritten “The Big Lebowski” in the style of Shakespeare. Publicity stunt? Probably. But with this level of talent and iambic pentameter, he deserves all the attention he gets.
In wayfarer’s worlds out west was once a man,
A man I come not to bury, but to praise.
His name was Geoffrey Lebowski called, yet
Not called, excepting by his kin.
That which we call a knave by any other name
Might bowl just as sweet.
Flash is a Multimedia Tool, NOT a Website Platform
Dec 8th
I don’t want my blog to become one long vicious negative rant, so in general I try not to write pieces about things that irk me. However, once in a while I encounter something about which I feel passionately hacked off, for which I can offer some constructive alternatives, and that I want to warn my friends about. Plus, it is *my* blog, and if I can’t stand on my soapbox here, where else can I? So here it is:
Businesspeople: PLEASE stop building web sites based solely on Adobe Flash technology. Use it for streaming video and audio, by all means. Offer it as an extended “experience” on your site. But for the love of God, PLEASE learn to understand the basic functionality of web tools before you blindly blunder forward with technology marketing. More >
Fingering the Culprit
Oct 9th
I’ve just noticed that my keyboard is dirty. How’s that for a spectacular intro to a blog post? Well, it isn’t (a spectacular intro, I mean. It is definitely a dirty keyboard — this wasn’t meant to be an existentialist post). Anyway, as I was saying…my keyboard is dirty, which is nothing new. What is new is the odd pattern.
I use one of these. It’s a nice size for my hands, and the individual key mountings mean that it tends not to collect crumbs (a big problem with other keyboards I’ve owned). But what I noticed today is that there are two keys on the board that are visibly filthy… the P and the ‘ (I mean the single quote mark…the key one to the right of the semicolon). On the surface of each key is a perfectly round clean white space surrounded by a ring of brown…I believe the technical term is “gunk”. This disturbs me. More >
A Day That Will Live In Parody
Oct 5th
40 years ago today occurred a very important event in my life. Yes, even though I wasn’t yet born, October 5 was a very important date: the birth of the comedy language that would enable me, years later, to communicate with geeks and humorists around the world. Oh, and that still makes me laugh, years later, after many many viewings.
Happy Anniversary Monty Python, and thanks for all you’ve done for me 
Celebrity Favourite Monty Python Moments: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8287931.stm
