Unpacking

I have moved a few times in my life. After a move it is important for me to get settled quickly and get important things unpacked; the things that sort of show a part of me or where I've been. The items that acknowledge the past in the present circumstances. The last time I made a major move was nearly five years ago but only in the past three weeks or so have some things come out that normally would have been nearly immediately unpacked. It feels good that they can finally see the light of day. What is funny about this is that the only reason that they got to come out was my brother leaving for grad school and me moving into his room.
It is strange how we grow older.

Just a picture

This is what I got to see tonight

One of my life goals has been completed. (And no. I did not take this picture. That would have been cool though.)

Ohmygoshholycow!!! moments of Toy Story 3

So, this post will be full of spoilers. Beware. That being said this list will not be exhaustive of all of the great moments in the movie but is more the ones that stood out to me. It will also not be anything academic. This is a blog after all. Moving on...


1. The opening sequence was downright cool.

2. When Woody was mentioning all the toys that had passed on and all of a sudden Slink mentions Bo-Peep. Way to kill Woody's love interest and twist my gut Pixar.

3. Buster showing up to save the day and then rolling onto Woody fast asleep.

4. Ken and his love of clothes, such as his Ascot.

5. Spanish Buzz!

4. b. Barbie interrogating Ken.

6. The scene when all of the toys are in the garbage melter and when they see that there is no hope begin to hold one another's hands was so intense. The way Woody, true to his character, was the last to join into the circle of friends, still hoping for some way of escape for his family was moving. Then I watched and began to prepare myself for how I would emotionally deal with the death of all of these characters. I seriously thought they were all dead. (I watch Joss Whedon after all. I know leads are not safe. [Wash]) But while that was going on I was also thinking, "Pixar has guts. They are the only people who could kill off their cast like this and me be strangely okay with it all." I was wondering what that great toy box in the sky was going to look like.

7. Then came "The Claaaaw"!

8. I was almost teary eyed as Andy handed away Woody to his new little friend. Then they played together and everything was okay.

Something I loved about this movie was all of the set-ups and pay-offs that happened throughout. The makers tied the movie in with itself and the other two in such an intelligent and nostalgic way.

Final Project: Linguistics

Here is my final project for my Intro to Linguistics course. Enjoy.
The Slang Around Me
Slang is commonly found among the younger people in a culture. Maybe a word is created to describe some new phenomenon, such as the word blog, or though one means or another alters or adds to the meaning of an existing word, such as "tight", which apart from meaning "taut"; "not loose" can now mean that something is "cool", "special" or "excellent". Jargon is used to describe the specialized vocabulary used by members of a group to describe the important parts of that field in a succinct and understandable manner. So Doctors, fishermen and video game enthusiasts all would have their own jargon unique to their fields. This project will outline some of the slang and jargon that can be found among late teens and young adults, living in the United States of America. Focusing on one word in this group, this paper will seek to describe its various linguistic properties.
There are many words that stand out when looking at the vocabulary of the speakers, but for the sake of discussion eight have been selected. The words will be given, their definitions and whether or not a word falls into the category of slang or jargon.
ºSweet– A slang adjective used to say that something is "Cool" or "Wonderful". In a sentence it would look like, "Have you seen my new bike? It's sweet". Not a specialized term it falls into the realm of slang.
ºLegit– An adjective derived from legitimate, legit, is used to say that something or someone was praiseworthy or honorable, as well as to indicate authenticity. So one could say, "Man, that guy's song-writing is so legit." This word is also slang.
ºLOL– Representing the phrase "Laugh out loud" it is used to indicate the state of the speaker (or typist, depending on the circumstance) and is used as an interjection often in response to something that was found to be funny. "That video is HILARIOUS!!! LOL!!!!" is a frequently found example of LOL in action. LOL can be used as either an initialism or an acronym (pronounced [lʊl]) and is an example of jargon. Its use is limited to people who are in need of the shortened characteristics of this phrase, such as people typing and needing a short phrase that can convey emotion.
ºDiss– Diss a synonym of insult. It falls into multiple lexical categories, as a verb one can "get dissed", or as a noun one can "feel the pain of a biting diss". It is a slang term.
ºApp– An abbreviation for the word "Application" it is a noun meaning "a computer program" and is a jargon word. Primarily it is used by people involved in software but it is also gaining in common usage as more devices make claims about having many apps available download.
ºWired– Used to describe somebody who is either a) Technologically connected as in "My son spends so much time on the computer. He is wired." or b) experiencing a jittery or hyperactive state, most frequently applied in connection with caffeine "I let my friend have a triple shot espresso and now she is wired!". Both are slang terms.
ºBTW– Another abbreviation used by those heavily engaging in electronic communication, it is jargon for "By the way" and is used along with the introduction of a new or unrelated thought as in "No response yet from the league, BTW." Like LOL, BTW when used in speech can either be an initialism or an acronym and when used as an acronym takes two forms. Either [bi ti dʌbʊlju] or [bi ti dʌb] are acceptable ways to pronounce this phrase.
The final word for analysis is the word "own". This word in its root form is a synonym with "to defeat". So a speaker could say "I am going to own you at Settlers of Catan this Friday!" This word is the most linguistically complex of this sample and is worth a more detailed analysis to see it in its various linguistic properties.
Phonetically speaking, own, is fairly simple. Produced as [own] its nature lends itself well to its use in two ways. Firstly it is short and so can be used quickly in order to continue to whoever is going to experience the "own"ing but it is also sonorant in nature which can let it be carried out should it ever be used in a situation such as mockery or if it needs to be amplified for point of emphasis. Compare the ease with which own can be either extended or amplified in comparison to "defeat" in the sentence "I am going to own you!".
In terms of morphology, own, has a broad mix of options in terms of affixation. As a verb it can be used with both -ing and -ed endings as well as being able to be used to refer to someone in the third person as in "Peter owns Paul at fishing". It can take the derivational suffixes -age ([ownɪʤ͡]) or -ing turning it into a noun. "Did you see that total ownage?" which would be equivalent to saying "Did you see that resounding defeat?" is a grammatical use of this word. The nonstandard suffix -erific ([ownɪɻɪfɪk]) allows own to be used as an adjective. Most likely this is the result of a blend with the word terrific. So in theory the phrase "That was ownerific ownage that he dealt out." could be produced, though it would be unlikely. The prefixes un- and re- are both grammatical uses as well. Somebody who has been defeated again has been "reowned" and if victory was either revoked or snatched away at the last moment somebody could be "unowned".
As a word own carries with it a certain connotation. If I were to say that "I owned" something, it would mean at a surface level that I was successful in a struggle, be it against man or term paper, but it would not mean a simple victory but more of a total conquest, in other words I was not just successful, I was very successful. Own as verb always carries the need for a theme to a sentence. It is not enough to say "*Henry V owned." it must be said what Henry V owned. A grammatical use would be "Henry V owned the French at the Battle of Agincourt".
How did it develop? It is possible it was taken from the idea that victory results in possession (I won + I possess it = I own it, perhaps?). However it came about though, it is now part of the lexicon of its speakers. Who uses this term though? This word is common among a fairly small subset of U.S. English speakers. The primary users appear to be males between the ages of 14 and 24 who are or were active video gamers. Own is used almost exclusively in an informal context and in gaming it is commonly used to describe the demise of an onscreen character. Although it has seeped out of the context of video games, this word has not gained broad representation among different sexes or age groups therefore as a word it hovers between jargon and slang. The popularity of own within its field could be attributed to its brief and descriptive nature, discussed above. In a culture where economy of words is valued this word provides a quick and versatile lexical item to this subgroup.
Slang and jargon pass in and out of language quickly. Few of the terms coined last more than a few years and those that do might lose some aspects of their original nature in their preserved state. These terms are the same, it may be that app falls out of favor and instead only its long form, application, remains. They are also frequently looked down upon by those who seek to uphold a standard in a language and resist change. However new words are always added to a language, slang and jargon included. And however much their transient nature, slang and jargon, are valuable in the ways that they allow the speaker a way to express him- or herself and engage in communication.

A warning

Ah, the follies of youth! As I prepared for my day I looked to the outside and thought, "it appears cloudy but so it also looked yesterday, and that day was quite hot. I will not need my coat. Instead I will celebrate a beautiful day in May.". So did I dress accordingly, in garb appropriate for a warm day. Foolish was I to not remember that the weather of Portland in Spring is wanton and cruel to the unwary, luring them outdoors with promises of sunshine and then rendering them waterlogged. Ah, the follies of youth, that I fell for her cruel trap.

A Video for Thought

I watched this video in class yesterday and I found the first few minutes where the speaker talks about the brain to be some of the most moving descriptions of the complexity of the human brain I have ever heard. The last two or so minutes where she draws her conclusions I would disagree with her at a philosophical level. All the same it is quite fascinating.

Middle-Eastern Studies Essay One

This is the first essay that I wrote for my Middle-Eastern Studies class last quarter. The assignment was to explain the rapid rise of Islam; how it went from a small following to a world power in a matter of decades.

Islam in the Formation of a Civilization

Islam began in the early seventh century in the Arabian city of Mecca as a small,
persecuted group of believers fiercely following the message proclaimed by their leader
Muhammad of a single god. Out of this belief came personal devotion to him and a new social
order. By the eighth century it had grown out of Arabia and stretched from Spain to India. Today
it is one of the world's largest religions. How did this small movement so quickly and
overwhelmingly expand into what it is today? The message given by Muhammad, the social
framework established in the Qur'an and its behavior towards the people around it, gave the new
religion the legs on which it could stand and eventually burst forth onto the stage of world
history.

At the heart is the Qur'an. The revelations given to Muhammad. Its content ranged from
the Oneness of god and his power to how Muslims should operate in their daily existence. Those
that followed the message were not following a mild new faith. It required them to turn away
from the other gods around them and live in accordance with the message. The Muslim's
rejection of what was then the heart of Mecca, the worship of the gods there and the revenue that
was gathered from others making pilgrimages to those shrines, did not endear them to the leaders
of the community. Fazur Rahman (1966) in his introduction to the history of Islam points out
that the oligarchy of Mecca feared and persecuted Muhammad for his direct attack on the
traditions of the city and their commercial interests. His follower's fared no better. However, the
persecutions did not keep new people from joining the Muslim community. To be a part of the
community required more than a nominal observance. Roy Mottahedeh (1984) observes that,
“Islam left little room for compartmentalization or separation of life into sacred or secular spheres...” (pp. 55). Islam took precedence of all things and influenced every aspect of a
person's life; all was to be placed in submission to god. Once established, that level of centrality
is not easily replaced. The pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith; daily prayers; annual fasting;
the pilgrimage to Mecca (for those who able to); and the giving of an offering from one's wealth
for the poor for the betterment of the community all combine for a powerful experience. They
created a shared experience that tied the community together and gave the individual believer the
chance to practice his or her faith in a way that solidified their resolve.

In the Qur'an, Muhammad spoke not only of personal and communal devotion to god but
also to society as a whole. When Muhammad began his mission, Mecca was the seat of a highly
profitable trade route between the kingdom of Yemen and the empires of Byzantium and Persia.
It was rich and stratified, with the poor being mistreated and overlooked. Rahman (1984)
describes Mecca at the time of the first revelations as a place of great wealth differences,
dishonest trade practices and a wealthy class that cared not for the poor, orphans or the
oppressed. From the very beginning, Muhammad spoke out against these practices. So it was
among the ones that the Meccan society at large ignored that the Prophet found the people who
were to make up the majority of the early Muslims. It was not the wealthy or those with great
status that heard the call of Muhammad. Rather, it was people who were not viable members of
the economic and social life of Mecca. In his account of the life of Muhammad, Hazrat Mirza
Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (n.d.) puts it this way about the early converts, “In his Message
and in his teaching there was hope for the degraded, the depressed and the young....Young men
thought the avenues of progress were going to be thrown open to them.” (11). Here was a
message that they could spring for; it was not a message only for the rich but also for the
marginalized. As time progressed the message for all, even the low, was not lost: fair treatment of the poor remained a frequent command and the giving of alms became one of the five pillars
of the faith.

Women in Arabia at that time had a low status. Though the standards that the Qur'an set
forth might not impress a current Westerner, it set to improve the lot of women. William
Cleveland and Martin Bunton (2009) illustrate that under Islam women saw polygamy curtailed,
divorce regulations put in place and were given legal status as capable of inheriting from the
estate of a family member. Though not the most drastic measures taken it was a great
improvement. Though women were not placed as equals in the Qur'an they gained by following
this new faith.

As well as dealing with social issues, it cannot be overlooked that Muhammad was
simultaneously building the foundations of a state. In moving to Medina from Mecca,
Muhammad was placing himself not only as the leader of the religious life of the Muslims but
was also taking the role of civic leader. The Qur'an speaks of Judgment Day but is not silent
about the way Muslim society is to function. Cleveland and Bunton(2009) say that, “[The]
Quranic revelations were intended to direct all the affairs of the ummah [Muslim community],
including relations among other human beings.” (pp. 26) and that, in legal and state matters, the
action being performed was not a secular but religious action for the Muslim.(12) The latter
section of the Qur'an, written while in Medina, contains a greater emphasis on these aspects. And
though it was not comprehensive in the creation of a complete civic code, between it and the
examples of Muhammad that were written down (called the hadith) there was a sufficient
framework for the sophistication of Islamic law in the following years.

As the Muslims were unifying themselves, Arabia was not a unified whole. There were
many tribes with different religions, and social obligations that stretched only as far as the tribe.Inter-tribal conflicts were common. Medina, at the time of Muhammad was locked in civil war
between the Aus and Khazraj tribes (Rahman, 1984). Islam gave a unifying feature to the
landscape. Under the leadership of Muhammad the people were a part of the larger Muslim
community and not simply one tribe or another. Within this community all were Muslims and
subject to the commands of the Qur'an and the judgment of Muhammad. As it expanded, more
and more tribes converted to Islam, and though the unity was not perfect it was a drastic change
from the prior conditions in the region. It gave Muhammad and his successors a fairly unified
group to lead in the often militaristic expansion of Islam.

During its expansion Islam encountered other religions along its path. Polytheism was not
tolerated. Since the belief in one god is so central to Islam, polytheism was a direct enemy of the
faith. Islam was, though, fairly tolerant of the other major monotheistic religions in the area.
Christians and Jews were “People of the Book”; co-believers in the one true god, albeit their
views were seen as distorted. As Islam came to dominate the area there was no persecution from
the Muslims so long as the others lived in harmony with them. Rahman (1984) explains that
when Muhammad established himself at Medina he signed a charter with the Jews of the city.
Muhammad was placed as the overall leader of the city but the Jews were allowed to function as
a separate community who were to come to the defense of Medina should the need arise.
However, on two occasions the Jews were accused of siding with the Meccans and in a third
instance openly did so. For those breaks of faith they were treated harshly. They were not equals
in the community though. Annemarie Schimmel (1992) points out that as non-Muslims they
were, among other restrictions, required to pay a special land tax and were not allowed to build
new places of worship. However due to many Christian's differing theology from that of
Byzantium, being under the rule of Islam was sometimes more advantageous than being under the Christian Byzantine empire. They were allowed to worship as they would in relative security
but as second class citizens.

The message of Islam was one that was to be spread throughout the world. The world was
divided into the world of Islam and the world of unbelief, and it was the duty of the Muslims to
bring in a unified world of Islam. As Islam expanded it encountered non-Arabs, particularly
during the conquests following the death of Muhammad. Though some felt that Islam was to be
simply an Arabic religion, such as the leaders of the Umayyad dynasty, the message itself was a
universal one. As non-Arabs converted they were added to the community. As Muslims they
were held to the same laws and tried in the same courts. For the conquered there was inclusion
into the system of the conquerors. Giving them a chance to utilize the structures of Islam to
advance in position.

In 610 C.E. not many in Mecca would have supposed that the message brought by
Muhammad would, with such astounding speed, cover the territory that it did. But with the
message's unifying nature in the pursuit of a higher calling, structuring of daily life and the
treatment of other religions and minorities around it, Islam prevented the community from
collapsing after the death of Muhammad and gave Muslims the basis on which they could
expand out into the world.

References
Ahmad, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud (n.d.). The life of Muhammad. Rabwah, Pakistan:
The Ahmadiyya Mulim Foreign Missions Office, Tahrid-I-jadid
Cleveland, W. L. & Bunton, M. (2009). A history of the modern Middle East (4th ed.). Boulder,
CO: Westview Press.
Mottahedeh, R. P. (1984). The Foundations of state and society. In M. Kelly (Ed.), Islam: The
religious and political life of a world community (pp. 55-72). New York, NY: Praeger.
Rahman, F. (1966). Islam New York, NY; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Rahman, F (1984). The message and the messenger. In M. Kelly (Ed.), Islam: The religious and
political life of a world community (pp. 29-54). New York, NY: Praeger.
Schimmel, A. (1992). Islam: An introduction. (A Schimmel Trans.) Albany, NY: State
University of New York. (Origional work published 1990.)

Seeing as the Olympics are well under way...

it is about time to show my colors.

Photo 1.

Aceh Besar, Aceh, Indonesia

The first signs of Spring are coming.

For my Dad

From Opus:

Fellows, if your wife is ever in the hospital and you want to prove to her, once and for all, that you love her, spend the night on that “couch” next to her bed. The bruises and shooting pains should be proof enough of your unconditional love and adoration.

My Dad did this two nights in a row this last December. He is that cool.
Happy Birthday!