Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

Zephoria points to the blogging connection of an essay by Rudy Ramirez, “Authorizing Activism: Arundhati Roy and the Performance of the Public Intellectual.” [Essay as Word doc.] She (Danah Boyd) says: Of particular interest is the lit review discussion about the collapse of the public intellectual and the rise of the pundit, whereby professional standards are at issue as well as a concern that narrow expertise does not necessarily imply moral authority. All of this is highly relevant to the blogging community. Trying to decode what Ramirez is saying, however, felt like sucking on Hanukkah geld that I couldn’t unwrap. The essay stays inside the usual mesh bag of loud allegiance to every possible PC ideal. And, standing in for tinfoil that jars your fillings, it’s packed with postmodern* jargon–nobody ever “does” or “says” anything; instead they “perform” it.

Here are a few of the interesting ideas I think Ramirez expresses:

• The role of “public intellectual” is under siege, because audiences just want punchy sound bites.
• Expertise gives you no authority to make moral statements–neither does celebrity, of course, but audiences are curious about what celebrities think.
• OTOH celebrity is more fragile than expertise–if Roy stops being photogenic and “famous” then her message loses its interest to the public.
• Professional intellectuals may be corrupted by those who pay for their expertise.
• Therefore Ramirez prefers to think of Roy as an amateur intellectual rather than as a celebrity pundit.

All in all, it’s an intriguing essay, with interesting applications to blogging.

* Still, although it quotes Foucault once, it is Derrida-free.

Early this morning (December 26), an ocean  wave (tsunami) 30 feet high swept up over South Asian coastlines. Millions of people have been left injured or homeless–many thousands of people are dead or missing.

The scope of the disaster is overwhelming local resources–the International Red Cross is sending emergency aid–the American Red Cross is asking for donations to its International Response Fund. Internet users can find a donation form here.

And, bloggers, let’s help Dan Gillmor get this message out.

A thoroughly modern couple, Frank and I shoot multiply cc-ed emails back and forth between our adjoining studies. (No, we haven’t forgotten how to holler, we do that too.) He sent out a great one this morning and said I could share:

Here is a link to a very interesting video:

http://epic.chalksidewalk.com/

I got to it via chessbase.com. I recommend their “Christmas puzzles” both in themselves and as portals:

http://www.chessbase.com/puzzle/christmas2004/index.htm

Does this video forecast the future of bloggers, “Googlezon”, and the New York Times? Co-author Robin Good posted a transcript and more commentary. Oh, and the Christmas chess puzzles are fun too, not to mention those Flash-imated reindeer.

Our non-Christmas non-dinner today was open-faced California grilled veggie sandwiches. Mmmmm, delicious.

We’re saving our family Christmas hullabaloo for December 30, when both daughters will be around. Stockings will hang by the chimney with care on the night of December 29, while New-Years-Eve-Eve will feature more gifts and big festive meal.

There’s something comforting about shifting “Christmas” (the name we give our family’s own pagan festival of gifting and getting together) away from December 25, the official birthday of the Christ child since 336 A.D. It somehow gives us a little more leverage against the thousand and differing voices trying each year to tell other people how Christmas “should” be celebrated.

The commercial push to buy and spend, for example, doesn’t push so hard on people who don’t share the same “last-minute shopping days” with everyone else.

Our first early Christmas was in 1999 or so. Because we were scheduled to spend Dec. 25 on an airplane bound for Chile, we moved Christmas to December 21. Amazingly, the next four days felt calmer for us than for anyone else we knew–getting ready for 3 weeks on the other side of the Equator and the International Date Line was much less stressful than gearing up for Christmas.

Of course, our family might just cheat a tiny bit. As I type this, Frank is thumping out “Joy to the World” on the piano. And we had some Christmas stollen for lunch dessert.

Anyway, I wish all my readers a good celebration of any kind you fancy, and a happy 2005 to follow!

Look, it’s the Christmas alphabet–no L!

Do you know what goes “Ho-thud, ho-thud, ho-thud”? Could it be maybe Santa Claus jumping rope?

OK, remember how shepherds watched
their flocks by night, then an angel came down and told them all
“Fear not.” Now I told you what the angel said, can you tell me what the sheep said?

The sheep said, “Fleece Navidad,” and I wish you the same.

I spent seven hours of Christmas-Eve-Eve-day (today) trying to find our lost suitcase in Logan Airport. I hadn’t been waiting long when three men appeared–not Magi on camels, but young men in silly red hats who carried a trumpet, a trombone, and a big golden French horn. They sat down on folding chairs, rustled sheet music, and started to play, rather softly, “Joy to the World.” They gave it an oompah bass line that was somehow funny and touching at the same time.

The music transformed the way I experienced all the people around me–and the airport was packed with holiday travelers. I saw them as people who wanted to be with their families.

I remembered my brother Mark’s great delight in driving children around to see Christmas lights. I remembered my mother’s pride in her Yorkshire pudding.

Looking for my suitcase today meant I had to bother a whole bunch of busy, tired people. Every one of them treated me with kindness and concern.

Some of the time one of us said “Merry Christmas” to the other and some of the time one we didn’t, and some people say “Happy holidays”
instead, and it amazes me that people who think of themselves as Christian can get angry about “Happy holidays” or because you can’t see baby Jesus in the White House crèche.

Anyway, I didn’t find my suitcase (drat!) but I did find the spirit of Christmas in the kind and caring way people were treating each other, all over that crowded airport.

And also, of course, in the oompah backbeat to “Silent Night.”

The longest night of the year (winter solstice) is over!

Northern Hemispherians (Hemispherites? Hemisphericals?) can
rejoice–our days now start getting longer, the sunshine gets warmer.
The lovely gray midday twilight of snowy we enjoyed in Kiruna now starts to stretch out and get brighter. On the morning of New Year’s Day, a real sunrise will happen.

Southern Hemispherosians, you just saw midsummer pass by. But your
equivalent months for July and August still lie ahead–so I can’t feel
too sorry for Southern Hemispheratics.

The longest night of the year ( winter solstice) is over!

Northern Hemispherians (Hemispherites? Hemisphericals?) can rejoice–our days now start getting longer, the sunshine gets warmer. The lovely gray midday twilight of snowy Kiruna now starts to stretch out and get brighter. Not too long from now, a real sunrise will happen.

Southern Hemispherosians, you just saw midsummer pass by. But your equivalent months for July and August are just ahead–I can’t feel too sorry for Southern Hemispheratics!