Is there no escape from christmas songs anywhere anymore? Man, call me a scrooge...and on many levels it's a perfectly accurate assessment...but I thought there was at least still a treasured respite from holiday cheeriness on the Country radio stations, but alas! Even they have become so frittered with so-called heartfelt warmth and mistletoe junk that I haven't been able to listen to them all month. Glad it's finally over. A couple more days of Auld Lang Syne and we can all go back to a sane existence. That said, kudos to Salt Lake's Classic Rock station, The Arrow, for doing an A to Z Beattles marathon on Christmas Day. It kept me alert and, ironically, cheery all the way home from my parents'! Loved it. Only slightly more entertaining would be the 'let your New Year's resolution be more margaritas' Jimmy Buffet marathon, but I don't think the nation is ready for that! =)
But in all seriousness, I just don't love the hub-bub of the holiday season. Partly because change inevitably broke in on some of the fondest memories of my childhood and removed the extended family togetherness bonus, but also because I just don't see what the logic is in making the biggest shopping holiday fall during the most dangerous, icy, part of the year. It's like inviting tragedy into your home...perhaps you ought to leave cookies out for Death as well as Santa. On Discworld it'd be perfectly reasonable, but come on!
On a brighter note, fourteen people recently survived an Extended Version LOTR marathon which went from 7pm to 7am and produced way too many bizarre combinations of both committal and non-committal cuddle opportunities in an otherwise previously unattached group! I fell asleep on a couch cushion after breakfast and didn't resurface until after noon. So much for work, but whatever. It was an experience, to be sure, but I felt like an utter lump for the rest of the day. If I wasn't such a pansy about the ice I'd have gone running to make up for 12 hours alternating between a couch and the questionably clean floor of a guy's apartment.
Back to school in just over a week and it's gonna be a killer semester. Ish. But I suppose this is where I get all that character ppl say you ought to have, eh? Why did I think I could make it in a thesis program?!! Before I face Madam Guillotine in the form of Jim's Southwest Seminar, though, I'm taking a camping trip to the Grand Canyon with a couple of the guys in my ward and then flying to LA to visit a former roommate. Life is good so long as you don't get trapped! Hence my Frost addiction: something there is that doesn't love a wall, indeed! It's ME. I get it from my dad, so at least I can trace the wanderlust and feel better about myself, right?! =)
Well anyway, best put myself to sleep. It's been awfully quiet without roommates around...miss them, though the house has stayed a fair bit cleaner without them. (That said, you wouldn't believe how much crap has wandered out of my room into the hall as I've been building a new shelving unit to get control over all my books. It's strange that the room looks more crowded now, but it's way better organized)
Oh, I finally watched Casablanca! Not the story I expected, entirely, but really actually enjoyable. It'll never be a favorite, but Rick is a pretty cool character. So, eh hem, Mr Bogart, here's looking at you, kid!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Jenny's SIR
Ah semester in review time once again...what could be more enjoyable than reflecting on the anguish and pain all over again, re-opening wounds and salting them with anticipation of next semester's requirements! Here goes:
If I had to sum up this semester in a mantra, it would be: forage, sleep, farm, repeat. I spent the better part of the first couple of months working with the Forest Service and finishing out the season's fieldwork. In addition, I finally managed to pull together my Farmer/Forager research about an hour before presenting it at the GBAC. That was the highlight of the semester, since it was my first 'real' presentation, though I still feel like I got jipped out of a really good 'Simms makes a scene' moment. According to Dr J, everybody's favorite Little Elf Man has decided--after 20 years, mind you--to accept that his theory needs work and he needn't be offended by those who attempt to move it in a more reasonable direction. Thank heaven!
I finally finished my paper version of that research today, actually, and have washed my hands of the great J himself until I get it together enough to defend my thesis proposal...so much for doing THAT in October! The delay has actually worked out, though, since it gave me a change to become better acquainted with Matt Seddon, the new Utah SHPO, and get him on board as a committee member. Charmaine and I took him out to Vernon to talk about eligibility and chaining on surface sites. We couldn't resist showing off our homesteads and, being the fellow rust-appreciator that he is, Matt was interested in my thesis and offered his assistance. His insider track on the Level III project, etc is really going to help when I get into the comparison of homesteading at Benmore to railroading in the area! Matt's a great guy--it's nice to know that someone with a personality is up there reading our reports.
I only took one class this semester--History 566: Sources and Problems in Utah History. Thomas Alexander came out of BYU retirement to teach it, which has turned out really amazingly since he's pretty much the world's expert on all things Utah history. It was interesting to see the difference in the historian approach--as we chose our books from the selected bibliography, I noticed that the three history students most often chose those that were focused on a specific individual's experience. In contrast, I tended toward those that were broader and emphasized the history of many in a specific place. Granted, I also tended to choose the shortest book on the list...dunno why those thick history types didn't think to check lengths online--there was often a wide range of lengths from 150 to 400. All in all, the class has done little to provide thesis sources, which was my initial hope, but has really assisted me in putting all my little rusty bits into context.
That's about it. Fairly uneventful. I spent a lot of time out of town or otherwise occupied with non-school items, so I've been really bad about getting the prelim for 42WS1931 out from field school last season, but now that the Fremont paper is done, I'll be better able to knock that out.
Up next, back to heavy course loads with History of Archaeology by Jamie Bartlett, SW Seminar by Jim Allison (this one's gonna be great, the texts books look pretty good), and that GIS class that Molly and Brad took this semester. I'm also hoping to delve into my thesis pretty seriously, atleast as much as possible without completed field work, and to finish up the 9 season Vernon PIT report. This is gonna have some pretty nifty 'fun with lithics' moments, if all goes well. It may lead to some sort of publication on the paleo-archaic points out there, but we'll see what we find next season. I'm still all melty over the 8-inch edge-ground concave base beauty I found in August. Sexy, sexy...even if it HAS been cow trampled into 6 pieces! Dang Bovines.
If I had to sum up this semester in a mantra, it would be: forage, sleep, farm, repeat. I spent the better part of the first couple of months working with the Forest Service and finishing out the season's fieldwork. In addition, I finally managed to pull together my Farmer/Forager research about an hour before presenting it at the GBAC. That was the highlight of the semester, since it was my first 'real' presentation, though I still feel like I got jipped out of a really good 'Simms makes a scene' moment. According to Dr J, everybody's favorite Little Elf Man has decided--after 20 years, mind you--to accept that his theory needs work and he needn't be offended by those who attempt to move it in a more reasonable direction. Thank heaven!
I finally finished my paper version of that research today, actually, and have washed my hands of the great J himself until I get it together enough to defend my thesis proposal...so much for doing THAT in October! The delay has actually worked out, though, since it gave me a change to become better acquainted with Matt Seddon, the new Utah SHPO, and get him on board as a committee member. Charmaine and I took him out to Vernon to talk about eligibility and chaining on surface sites. We couldn't resist showing off our homesteads and, being the fellow rust-appreciator that he is, Matt was interested in my thesis and offered his assistance. His insider track on the Level III project, etc is really going to help when I get into the comparison of homesteading at Benmore to railroading in the area! Matt's a great guy--it's nice to know that someone with a personality is up there reading our reports.
I only took one class this semester--History 566: Sources and Problems in Utah History. Thomas Alexander came out of BYU retirement to teach it, which has turned out really amazingly since he's pretty much the world's expert on all things Utah history. It was interesting to see the difference in the historian approach--as we chose our books from the selected bibliography, I noticed that the three history students most often chose those that were focused on a specific individual's experience. In contrast, I tended toward those that were broader and emphasized the history of many in a specific place. Granted, I also tended to choose the shortest book on the list...dunno why those thick history types didn't think to check lengths online--there was often a wide range of lengths from 150 to 400. All in all, the class has done little to provide thesis sources, which was my initial hope, but has really assisted me in putting all my little rusty bits into context.
That's about it. Fairly uneventful. I spent a lot of time out of town or otherwise occupied with non-school items, so I've been really bad about getting the prelim for 42WS1931 out from field school last season, but now that the Fremont paper is done, I'll be better able to knock that out.
Up next, back to heavy course loads with History of Archaeology by Jamie Bartlett, SW Seminar by Jim Allison (this one's gonna be great, the texts books look pretty good), and that GIS class that Molly and Brad took this semester. I'm also hoping to delve into my thesis pretty seriously, atleast as much as possible without completed field work, and to finish up the 9 season Vernon PIT report. This is gonna have some pretty nifty 'fun with lithics' moments, if all goes well. It may lead to some sort of publication on the paleo-archaic points out there, but we'll see what we find next season. I'm still all melty over the 8-inch edge-ground concave base beauty I found in August. Sexy, sexy...even if it HAS been cow trampled into 6 pieces! Dang Bovines.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Write, Check Email, Repeat
I have an essay due at 3pm. It's now 11. I'm not crunched for time yet, so the juices haven't flowed and you know what that means! I'm sitting in the library thinking up every dumb little time wasting thing I can do. Pathetic, I know, but I just don't work well unless I'm under major pressure. Sigh. Well, despite all that, I suppose I'll have to get it done before the reserve book is due back at 12:30. There's a little more pressure. And then I've gotta prep a major outline for an essay exam tomorrow. Aah, now I think I can write...
...or not...
Ooh, ooh, Merry Christmas, everybody! How thrilling that we all find ourselves here there and everywhere but celebrating in many of the same ways, even if they're somewhat varied. I took myself to Target a couple weeks ago and spent I don't want to admit how much, but the result is a very Christmas-y house, indeed, complete with a designer tree in the living room and my parent's mini Fiber Optic tree in the kitchen, and two sets of mistletoe...not that it's getting any use.
I took my roomy Ally to the airport this morning and was thwarted by a closed REI. Really looking forward to going, but alas! It doesn't open til 10. I've been thwarted by a closed or otherwise un-successful REI visit three times in the last month, now. Erg! But this situation has introduced me to yet another eternal principle. This one is #33:
Eternal Principle #33:
Never become fixated on purchasing someone a specific gift that you can only acquire in one place. The amount of time buying said gift will triple the cost and leave you disillusioned once you actually get it.
That said, I think I'll get on REI's online store and see about whether or not they've got what I want.
Oh, update on life--I just spent a full week without eating anything. I drank a special lemonade mix that would have given me all the nutrients necessary to survive if it hadn't consisted of unprocessed maple sap which I couldn't stomach. I did it because I'm trying to figure out my food migraine triggers. Only one I know for sure is potatoes. Now that I'm back to eating solid food, I'm going to slowly reintroduce suspicious items like yeast, soy, and dairy and we'll see what results in a return to eating excedrin like candy! But you know, soy is in EVERYTHING! It's crazy. I spent an hour at the grocery store yesterday reading labels and trying to figure out what I could eat that I actually have time to eat. Lots of stir fry from fresh stuff, as you'd expect, but no more soy sauce or many other flavorings. Garlic it is. No wonder the mistletoe isn't working!
Well, it'll be an adventure, but I'll say this for the whole process: I'm in no risk of gaining the dreaded Holiday Pounds! In fact, I've lost 15. Amazing what not eating for a week will do to you. If I kept that up, I could disappear completely in just a few months! Ish!
...or not...
Ooh, ooh, Merry Christmas, everybody! How thrilling that we all find ourselves here there and everywhere but celebrating in many of the same ways, even if they're somewhat varied. I took myself to Target a couple weeks ago and spent I don't want to admit how much, but the result is a very Christmas-y house, indeed, complete with a designer tree in the living room and my parent's mini Fiber Optic tree in the kitchen, and two sets of mistletoe...not that it's getting any use.
I took my roomy Ally to the airport this morning and was thwarted by a closed REI. Really looking forward to going, but alas! It doesn't open til 10. I've been thwarted by a closed or otherwise un-successful REI visit three times in the last month, now. Erg! But this situation has introduced me to yet another eternal principle. This one is #33:
Eternal Principle #33:
Never become fixated on purchasing someone a specific gift that you can only acquire in one place. The amount of time buying said gift will triple the cost and leave you disillusioned once you actually get it.
That said, I think I'll get on REI's online store and see about whether or not they've got what I want.
Oh, update on life--I just spent a full week without eating anything. I drank a special lemonade mix that would have given me all the nutrients necessary to survive if it hadn't consisted of unprocessed maple sap which I couldn't stomach. I did it because I'm trying to figure out my food migraine triggers. Only one I know for sure is potatoes. Now that I'm back to eating solid food, I'm going to slowly reintroduce suspicious items like yeast, soy, and dairy and we'll see what results in a return to eating excedrin like candy! But you know, soy is in EVERYTHING! It's crazy. I spent an hour at the grocery store yesterday reading labels and trying to figure out what I could eat that I actually have time to eat. Lots of stir fry from fresh stuff, as you'd expect, but no more soy sauce or many other flavorings. Garlic it is. No wonder the mistletoe isn't working!
Well, it'll be an adventure, but I'll say this for the whole process: I'm in no risk of gaining the dreaded Holiday Pounds! In fact, I've lost 15. Amazing what not eating for a week will do to you. If I kept that up, I could disappear completely in just a few months! Ish!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Vegas Busted
Aaahhh...the smell of freedom...it's never been so close and yet still so distant!
I'm long since back from Vegas and the Great Basin Conference. I've spent, I confess, the past few weeks doing very little and loving it. But Dr J has kicked me back into gear big time so now I'm back to blogging for the sake of avoiding what I now know I've got to do by Monday! Sweet procrastination linger longer!
The Conference went really well. I got a cold and spent a good deal more of it asleep in my room than listening to lectures, unfortunately, but I did get everything necessary completed for both papers I was involved in.
The adaptive diversity Fremont paper you've been subjected to for the past months went particularly well, I'd say. The room wasn't horribly packed, and it was a smaller venue than I'd expected which made the presentation infinitely easier. Steve Simms, who I will forever after refer to affectionately as the Little Elf Man (LEM) came in all his supposed grandeur to hear the upstart present her reserch. I gave a 12 or so minute powerpoint which I might try to figure out how to attach here. In short, I softened the blow to him directly by saying it was the theory rather than the theorist that was infamous. =)
LEM wandered up to me after. I saw him coming and gave him a preemptive [respectful and apologetic tone] "Dr Simms!", which probably caught him off guard. Tee hee. Thus beginning to deflate, LEM commented on some burial data that he felt contradicted my over-arching accusation that his theory was untestable. I rebutted and deflated him more. I think he expected me to be unfamiliar with this data, but I know it, I've read it, and I think it makes its own set of fallacious assumptions. He ended our brief 'tete a tete' with a mumbled "Well, I guess the theory needs work" , shook my hand and walked away.
What?!! I can't believe I got off that easily. I expected atleast a head-butt to the stomach or something =) He's a really good researcher, despite my views toward his behavioral ecologist junk theories, but his temper is notorious, so I'm still trying to process the civility act. I did get a couple slight evil-eyes later in the conference. Dunno. Maybe he thinks I'm not enough of a threat to lose his temper over. Let's hope so. Then I can just quietly publish my research and start a tsunami of data tests that will bury his untestable theory before he can remember the source.
Well, other than that, things go on quite as they ever have...atleast this semester. I'm behind in my work on the field school report and have to go stick my forehead on the ground in front of Jim today to beg forgiveness. Joel is temporarily placated, but as I said, expects the final draft by Monday. The only thing I'm not feeling pressure about right now is my actual coursework!
On a more personal note, I've gone out on three dates in the last 2 weeks and have another one in a couple of days. How refreshing...go me =) The complication, of course, being who they're with and where the heck I stand in all this. My Bishop asked me what my hopes and dreams are...I told him it was easier to just say that my greatest fear is being trapped and that he could assume any hope or dream is focused irrevocably on freedom and a desire for variety. Might have scared him a bit as regards my ability to settle down once and for all with one of those husband things. Oh well. ;)
Happy Holidays! It's come around so fast this year, but for the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm actually excited to hear the carols on the radio and know the house lights are increasing exponentially in the neighborhood as each weekend brings us nearer to the arrival of jolly ol' St Nick.
I'm long since back from Vegas and the Great Basin Conference. I've spent, I confess, the past few weeks doing very little and loving it. But Dr J has kicked me back into gear big time so now I'm back to blogging for the sake of avoiding what I now know I've got to do by Monday! Sweet procrastination linger longer!
The Conference went really well. I got a cold and spent a good deal more of it asleep in my room than listening to lectures, unfortunately, but I did get everything necessary completed for both papers I was involved in.
The adaptive diversity Fremont paper you've been subjected to for the past months went particularly well, I'd say. The room wasn't horribly packed, and it was a smaller venue than I'd expected which made the presentation infinitely easier. Steve Simms, who I will forever after refer to affectionately as the Little Elf Man (LEM) came in all his supposed grandeur to hear the upstart present her reserch. I gave a 12 or so minute powerpoint which I might try to figure out how to attach here. In short, I softened the blow to him directly by saying it was the theory rather than the theorist that was infamous. =)
LEM wandered up to me after. I saw him coming and gave him a preemptive [respectful and apologetic tone] "Dr Simms!", which probably caught him off guard. Tee hee. Thus beginning to deflate, LEM commented on some burial data that he felt contradicted my over-arching accusation that his theory was untestable. I rebutted and deflated him more. I think he expected me to be unfamiliar with this data, but I know it, I've read it, and I think it makes its own set of fallacious assumptions. He ended our brief 'tete a tete' with a mumbled "Well, I guess the theory needs work" , shook my hand and walked away.
What?!! I can't believe I got off that easily. I expected atleast a head-butt to the stomach or something =) He's a really good researcher, despite my views toward his behavioral ecologist junk theories, but his temper is notorious, so I'm still trying to process the civility act. I did get a couple slight evil-eyes later in the conference. Dunno. Maybe he thinks I'm not enough of a threat to lose his temper over. Let's hope so. Then I can just quietly publish my research and start a tsunami of data tests that will bury his untestable theory before he can remember the source.
Well, other than that, things go on quite as they ever have...atleast this semester. I'm behind in my work on the field school report and have to go stick my forehead on the ground in front of Jim today to beg forgiveness. Joel is temporarily placated, but as I said, expects the final draft by Monday. The only thing I'm not feeling pressure about right now is my actual coursework!
On a more personal note, I've gone out on three dates in the last 2 weeks and have another one in a couple of days. How refreshing...go me =) The complication, of course, being who they're with and where the heck I stand in all this. My Bishop asked me what my hopes and dreams are...I told him it was easier to just say that my greatest fear is being trapped and that he could assume any hope or dream is focused irrevocably on freedom and a desire for variety. Might have scared him a bit as regards my ability to settle down once and for all with one of those husband things. Oh well. ;)
Happy Holidays! It's come around so fast this year, but for the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm actually excited to hear the carols on the radio and know the house lights are increasing exponentially in the neighborhood as each weekend brings us nearer to the arrival of jolly ol' St Nick.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Adaptive Diversity part Deux
It's amazing how one little paper can linger for an eternity, floating gently--and a bit flirtatiously--just beyond your grasp! I have now successfully survived a two month camping trip, a subsequent 3 months of daily field work and report writing, and started classes again without cutting back work hours, but I still haven't finished the flippin' paper I started in February. Alas! But I'm presenting it in front of several hundred people two weeks from tomorrow, so I guess the end is in sight. It's just the journey that may kill me!
Still, I find that this has been a very affective busy-maker, which keeps me feeling as if my life is full and meaningful. Not that being activities co-chair in a very social ward, a full-time government employee, full-time student, part-time research assistant, and developing social-life junkie doesn't provide meaningful busy-ness.
I was recently out touring sites with the new Utah State Historic Preservation Officer, Matt Seddon, and he offered to be third man on my thesis committee. This will be a huge help, as he was directly involved in a number of reports I'll be pulling data from. And he's the SHPO for crying out loud! What an awesome network to make! I'm thrilled that he would offer.
As ever, I remain married to archaeology. But, adaptive diversity is real...so mayhaps someday a red-blooded non-archaeology type will convince me to adapt!
Cheers!
Still, I find that this has been a very affective busy-maker, which keeps me feeling as if my life is full and meaningful. Not that being activities co-chair in a very social ward, a full-time government employee, full-time student, part-time research assistant, and developing social-life junkie doesn't provide meaningful busy-ness.
I was recently out touring sites with the new Utah State Historic Preservation Officer, Matt Seddon, and he offered to be third man on my thesis committee. This will be a huge help, as he was directly involved in a number of reports I'll be pulling data from. And he's the SHPO for crying out loud! What an awesome network to make! I'm thrilled that he would offer.
As ever, I remain married to archaeology. But, adaptive diversity is real...so mayhaps someday a red-blooded non-archaeology type will convince me to adapt!
Cheers!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Adaptive Diversity
I'm continuing the ever-unpleasant endeavor of finishing my Fremont Farmer/Forager paper for Dr Janetski. It's focused on Simms' notion of adaptive diversity, if I haven't mentioned that before. Basically the idea is that the Fremont people chose, on an individual basis, how they ought to live each year or season--one year I'm going to farm, the next I'll wander the hills gathering roots and rabbits and such. Interesting concept but not entirely reasonable if you look at hunter-gatherer/farmer behavior throughout the world.
But adaptive diversity puts me in mind of that opening bit of The Gods Must Be Crazy. It talks about how 'civilized' man creates new environments for himself instead of adapting to what he already lives in, such that he has to constantly disadapt himself from his present surroundings and readapt himself to an entirely different set of conditions. This has created all sorts of craziness sense man didn't know when to stop and created a complex of daily adaptations that have become 'required' for survival. Work, home, car, stores, etc.
So why did we do it to ourselves? We created all these 'labor saving devices' which now require children to be sentenced to 12-20 years of education just to survive in this environment that we've created. But if we go out into the original environment from which 'civilized' man emerged, we don't know how to survive.
Hence survival classes that ask people to pay large amounts of money in order to learn how to readapt to their ancestral environment. Sigh. Our air-conditioned, 4 Wheel Drive selves are something of a tribute to our inability to exist in this complicated, 'civilized' world of ours.
And I'm typing this on a laptop that's wirelessly linked to somebody or other's network in the Elms Apartments...ok, so all adaptation isn't bad...
But adaptive diversity puts me in mind of that opening bit of The Gods Must Be Crazy. It talks about how 'civilized' man creates new environments for himself instead of adapting to what he already lives in, such that he has to constantly disadapt himself from his present surroundings and readapt himself to an entirely different set of conditions. This has created all sorts of craziness sense man didn't know when to stop and created a complex of daily adaptations that have become 'required' for survival. Work, home, car, stores, etc.
So why did we do it to ourselves? We created all these 'labor saving devices' which now require children to be sentenced to 12-20 years of education just to survive in this environment that we've created. But if we go out into the original environment from which 'civilized' man emerged, we don't know how to survive.
Hence survival classes that ask people to pay large amounts of money in order to learn how to readapt to their ancestral environment. Sigh. Our air-conditioned, 4 Wheel Drive selves are something of a tribute to our inability to exist in this complicated, 'civilized' world of ours.
And I'm typing this on a laptop that's wirelessly linked to somebody or other's network in the Elms Apartments...ok, so all adaptation isn't bad...
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Hoe-La
Back to 'civilization' and finally settled into a nice place south of campus. Field school was...well, long and informative and a whole bunch more adjectives that could be taken in multiple ways. I'm glad to be back where I have control over my company, let's just say, and glad to be up in the mountains working for the Uinta again. It's paradise, really.
My field school summary, in brief, is this: I'm sick of camping with archaeologists, we hit a cow with the truck (no damage to either party), midden is artifact rich, I'm sick of archaeologists, Anasazi are cool, but I'm still doing a historic thesis, did I mention I'm sick of archaeologists?, my crew was freaking hilarious (I'll tell stories, but not here), we got 13 flat tires including my freeway blowout on the last day, and I'm sick of archaeologists. About sums it up. Love my job, don't get me wrong! We really did find some neat things. It'll be interesting to follow the research over the years of the project, though I'll be long gone by the time it's done.
I'm a bit slow on the uptake of reestablishing contact with everyone, so my apologies, but internet service was finally installed in the house yesterday, so that'll help. I had to turn my baby (that's my laptop, for those of you who don't here the day-to-day cooing) in for a little maintenance check. Thankfully it only took a couple days and since it's from PC Laptops, didn't cost me a thing.
My other baby, Dirt the Subaru, got new tires Monday. She's ready for a road trip. I think I'll go to Disneyland in a couple weeks. No really. I'll post pictures. Now to find a digital camera...
Well, Pirates part deux is good, for those who haven't seen it, though, as expected, I had some issue with the increased super-natural element. Somehow barnacle-covered fathers are less realistic than sabre-fighting skeletons. Figure that one out!
Much love to all! The picture is an old 1980's view (all I've got) of Land Hill where we excavated in Utah.
My field school summary, in brief, is this: I'm sick of camping with archaeologists, we hit a cow with the truck (no damage to either party), midden is artifact rich, I'm sick of archaeologists, Anasazi are cool, but I'm still doing a historic thesis, did I mention I'm sick of archaeologists?, my crew was freaking hilarious (I'll tell stories, but not here), we got 13 flat tires including my freeway blowout on the last day, and I'm sick of archaeologists. About sums it up. Love my job, don't get me wrong! We really did find some neat things. It'll be interesting to follow the research over the years of the project, though I'll be long gone by the time it's done.
I'm a bit slow on the uptake of reestablishing contact with everyone, so my apologies, but internet service was finally installed in the house yesterday, so that'll help. I had to turn my baby (that's my laptop, for those of you who don't here the day-to-day cooing) in for a little maintenance check. Thankfully it only took a couple days and since it's from PC Laptops, didn't cost me a thing.
My other baby, Dirt the Subaru, got new tires Monday. She's ready for a road trip. I think I'll go to Disneyland in a couple weeks. No really. I'll post pictures. Now to find a digital camera...
Well, Pirates part deux is good, for those who haven't seen it, though, as expected, I had some issue with the increased super-natural element. Somehow barnacle-covered fathers are less realistic than sabre-fighting skeletons. Figure that one out!
Much love to all! The picture is an old 1980's view (all I've got) of Land Hill where we excavated in Utah.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Ah-dee-oh's
Well kids, I'm off to field school for the next two months. I shall see thee upon my return and shall post pictures (oooohhh....aaaahhhh)! In the meantime, look at my little thumbnail i.d. pic cuz that was the taken at field school 5 years ago.
Much love. Good luck with life. Funny, really. Despite the high cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains? Lame Jack Handy theft. And what a note to leave on for so long. Alas! Well, perhaps I shall remedy it with a picture! THough that's always a trick to figure out...
Teehee. If any of you know the band Interpol, there's this song with these sick looking car accident victim puppets, but they look too freaky, so I fixed this one for a friend who likes the band. Well...now maybe the picture is worse than lame commentary! (That's ok, I thought the whole apricots in honey thing was the real low point!)
Loves!!!
Much love. Good luck with life. Funny, really. Despite the high cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains? Lame Jack Handy theft. And what a note to leave on for so long. Alas! Well, perhaps I shall remedy it with a picture! THough that's always a trick to figure out...
Teehee. If any of you know the band Interpol, there's this song with these sick looking car accident victim puppets, but they look too freaky, so I fixed this one for a friend who likes the band. Well...now maybe the picture is worse than lame commentary! (That's ok, I thought the whole apricots in honey thing was the real low point!)
Loves!!!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
And now a slightly longer Semester in Review...
Ok, I've recovered from the kick to the stomach moment of reflection and can now look objectively at life in the past four months. Here goes:
I started the semester with a highly enjoyable, though interestingly thought provoking, trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Southwest Symposium archaeological conference. Very good stuff. I particularly enjoyed the first day's bits on landscape and such. Very post-processual, 'touchy-feely', archaeology. Useful in terms of acknowledging the human agent.
Following an uneventful and deceptively calm January, February hit with an, I'll admit, boring ethnographic paper due for Great Basin Seminar as well as a beginning attempt at determining what to do my archaeology paper on.
This was followed by March. Now, for those of you well acquainted with me, you'll understand that simply typing the name of that particular month makes me want to slink into the fetal position in the darkest recess of my closet while sucking my thumb and crying 'this is not happening.' That said, despite one of the worst 1st of March days I've had in years, the rest of the month wasn't so bad. Shocking considering my track record. Horrible month, really.
But I got a draft and bits in to Dr Janetski on my archaeology paper, which I finally settled into. It's on the Simms and Madsen Fremont Farmer/Forager bunk...stupid, really, and pretty annoyingly fore-sighted, but such is life. I'm designing a model test using survey data, which presents its own problems, but it's what I've got from the Forest. Since they're so nice as to give me a steady job during the summers, I can't help but feel a bit of obligation to use their data sets wherever possible. This way all that Section 106 fieldwork goes into research instead of a filing cabinet. There are a number of really interesting questions and projects I'd like follow up on while I'm with the Uinta, but to heck if there's time!
April has been a whirlwind adventure and there's still plenty of sprint left in the rush to field school May 2nd. My archaeology paper is progressing, though every student in the class is taking a 'T' on their transcript until they finish the paper...no stress there. Guess I know what I'll be doing at field school instead of enjoying my evenings... But there is light at the end of the tunnel, to be sure, and the research turned into a fairly good poster which I submitted to the Fulton Mentored Research Conference last week. Aaron, a fellow student and my sainted graphics expert, took first place in the department, and I followed for second. Dunno yet what the award is, but hey, cash is cash!
As for work, it's an on-going process. I've spent a number of hours this semester working with the photographic record of the Alkali Ridge Site 13 stuff from Harvard. This is one of Jim Allison's primary (of many) research bit right now...lots of pots and trying to shuffle through the excavation records. Good times. Of late, this part of the job has involved trying to determine vessel volume from photographs Jim took at Harvard last summer. So I hunch over a paper photograph with a ruler and try to scale things just right.
But research hours are nothing compared to the joys of field school prep. I've spent more hours in the basement than I thought possible, especially considering I'd already done a significant amount of time in that hole during my undergraduate roadkill boiling days. Sigh. But progress has been made and I think we'll actually make it in the end. I spent today washing the kitchen stuff and finalizing our shopping list so we can hit the stores this week and next. But highlights of the process have been trying out cots, setting up tents, and battling wits with Jim over whether or not we really need a box truck (where else would we pack it all? Really? Do you realize how much it takes to camp 25 people for 2 months?). I've enjoyed it. The better part of the semester was actually spent working on the ArcView maps for the research design and that was definitely rewarding.
Well, beyond school, there's been a great deal of piracy in my life. There's an eclectic bunch of archaeologists who spend their Saturday nights playing a very cool WizKids game called Pirates of the Spanish Main. It's become downright addictive. And I've also got a good friend whose favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean. He seems to think that we should watch it give or take EVERY WEEKEND so there go my Friday nights and here I am. Covered in basement dust and saying "Arrr" too much. Highly suspect, I'd say.
Alas. Such is the life of a common pir...I mean...student. And now, I'm off to another 700 pages for my readings class and preparation for two religion finals. As an aside, my father was able to interview with the Saints at War folks up in Salt Lake. Not only is this footage great for our family history, especially since he joined the Church as a direct result of his military service, but he will be part of the next Church video on the subject, which should be a hoot and a half. My father, the movie star. Ish. You read it here first, folks!
I started the semester with a highly enjoyable, though interestingly thought provoking, trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Southwest Symposium archaeological conference. Very good stuff. I particularly enjoyed the first day's bits on landscape and such. Very post-processual, 'touchy-feely', archaeology. Useful in terms of acknowledging the human agent.
Following an uneventful and deceptively calm January, February hit with an, I'll admit, boring ethnographic paper due for Great Basin Seminar as well as a beginning attempt at determining what to do my archaeology paper on.
This was followed by March. Now, for those of you well acquainted with me, you'll understand that simply typing the name of that particular month makes me want to slink into the fetal position in the darkest recess of my closet while sucking my thumb and crying 'this is not happening.' That said, despite one of the worst 1st of March days I've had in years, the rest of the month wasn't so bad. Shocking considering my track record. Horrible month, really.
But I got a draft and bits in to Dr Janetski on my archaeology paper, which I finally settled into. It's on the Simms and Madsen Fremont Farmer/Forager bunk...stupid, really, and pretty annoyingly fore-sighted, but such is life. I'm designing a model test using survey data, which presents its own problems, but it's what I've got from the Forest. Since they're so nice as to give me a steady job during the summers, I can't help but feel a bit of obligation to use their data sets wherever possible. This way all that Section 106 fieldwork goes into research instead of a filing cabinet. There are a number of really interesting questions and projects I'd like follow up on while I'm with the Uinta, but to heck if there's time!
April has been a whirlwind adventure and there's still plenty of sprint left in the rush to field school May 2nd. My archaeology paper is progressing, though every student in the class is taking a 'T' on their transcript until they finish the paper...no stress there. Guess I know what I'll be doing at field school instead of enjoying my evenings... But there is light at the end of the tunnel, to be sure, and the research turned into a fairly good poster which I submitted to the Fulton Mentored Research Conference last week. Aaron, a fellow student and my sainted graphics expert, took first place in the department, and I followed for second. Dunno yet what the award is, but hey, cash is cash!
As for work, it's an on-going process. I've spent a number of hours this semester working with the photographic record of the Alkali Ridge Site 13 stuff from Harvard. This is one of Jim Allison's primary (of many) research bit right now...lots of pots and trying to shuffle through the excavation records. Good times. Of late, this part of the job has involved trying to determine vessel volume from photographs Jim took at Harvard last summer. So I hunch over a paper photograph with a ruler and try to scale things just right.
But research hours are nothing compared to the joys of field school prep. I've spent more hours in the basement than I thought possible, especially considering I'd already done a significant amount of time in that hole during my undergraduate roadkill boiling days. Sigh. But progress has been made and I think we'll actually make it in the end. I spent today washing the kitchen stuff and finalizing our shopping list so we can hit the stores this week and next. But highlights of the process have been trying out cots, setting up tents, and battling wits with Jim over whether or not we really need a box truck (where else would we pack it all? Really? Do you realize how much it takes to camp 25 people for 2 months?). I've enjoyed it. The better part of the semester was actually spent working on the ArcView maps for the research design and that was definitely rewarding.
Well, beyond school, there's been a great deal of piracy in my life. There's an eclectic bunch of archaeologists who spend their Saturday nights playing a very cool WizKids game called Pirates of the Spanish Main. It's become downright addictive. And I've also got a good friend whose favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean. He seems to think that we should watch it give or take EVERY WEEKEND so there go my Friday nights and here I am. Covered in basement dust and saying "Arrr" too much. Highly suspect, I'd say.
Alas. Such is the life of a common pir...I mean...student. And now, I'm off to another 700 pages for my readings class and preparation for two religion finals. As an aside, my father was able to interview with the Saints at War folks up in Salt Lake. Not only is this footage great for our family history, especially since he joined the Church as a direct result of his military service, but he will be part of the next Church video on the subject, which should be a hoot and a half. My father, the movie star. Ish. You read it here first, folks!
A Brief Semester in Review
In response to Dawn's inquiry regarding paper progress, I give you the Winter 2006 Semester in Review...
Ugh.
Well, that about sums it up folks. Bye now.
Ugh.
Well, that about sums it up folks. Bye now.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Musing to Camille and now to the World =)
Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a fish tank. Perhaps this is because I'm sitting in the over-crowded OPA Graduate office which is only a leap away from the third floor bedroom window of nobody knows who over at whatits complex...sigh. I'm trying to be motivated enough to write this stinkin' paper for J, but you know, there are a ridiculous number of variables in Fremont archaeology once you start looking at it. This is why I stick to historic. I had forgotten that for a bit and was being seduced to the dark side of prehistoric archaeology, but I remember now and will endeavor to pull myself free of the scary morass of Madsen's self-created empire. World archaeology tells us that noone in their right mind goes back to hunting/gathering after adopting farming, but here in our microcosmic world, we have a goodly collection of respected scholars who genuinely believe that that is exactly what happened. Are they respected outside the Great Basin? Perhaps not. And this may be the reason why. We are, perhaps, the laughing stock of American archaeology--foolishly going about, blissfully purblind, even while impending doom approaches rapidly from the theoretical hashings of the Southwest. So what can we do? My answer, typically and characteristically mind you, is to flee--in the flight or fight world of evolutionary studies, I'm a flitting bird skipping back and forth between branches whenever I deem one or the other a safe place. I turn to historic archaeology because it is boring, simplistic, and utterly devoid of the ugly variables created by a lack of written records. Ironically, there's a fan next to me that has "Nobility" written across the face. If I turn it on will I become a Fremont fighter or will it blow me out of OPA and back to my orange-carpeted bird-cage down the hall.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Albert Einstein
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
What a lovely perspective...
Just thought I'd share the giggle! =)
What a lovely perspective...
Just thought I'd share the giggle! =)
Six Feet Under and Sinking Fast
A few weeks ago I applied to participate in the Annual Fulton Mentored Research Conference. Basically, you create a 48" poster about research that you have performed with the guidance of a faculty member and, if accepted, they pay to print it and you compete for a few cash scholarships.
Easy, I thought. I'm doing the research anyway, I thought. It'll definitely be done before the April 10th deadline, I thought.
Today I was accepted into the conference and informed that the posters must be printed up to 10 days in advance, following a college-specified print schedule. I haven't exactly even started writing my test model, let alone applying my data to it. Shoot me. I think perhaps Dr. Janetski (my mentor extraordinaire) was correct when he mentioned that this was typically a conference for those who have already completed their research.
So, aside from being the Maid of Honor at a dear friend's wedding on Saturday, the rest of my life will be spent on my bed with my laptop and reference books strewn semi-circularly around me. Thank heaven I bought the full-size mattress!
When I surface, I'll tell you all about the big competency exam which I finally took and am still waiting to hear about. Oh heck, I'll just sum up: it's a 3 hour typed essay exam on every aspect of archaeological theory anyone in our department has even the slightest bit of experience or interest in. I answered three questions: Archaeological trade patterns and research designs, the major contributions of three of the biggest archaeological theorists, and how to determine the difference between an egalitarian and a stratified society using multiple lines of archaeological evidence. Sigh. Now it's just the wait...
See you all on the other side of the moon!
Easy, I thought. I'm doing the research anyway, I thought. It'll definitely be done before the April 10th deadline, I thought.
Today I was accepted into the conference and informed that the posters must be printed up to 10 days in advance, following a college-specified print schedule. I haven't exactly even started writing my test model, let alone applying my data to it. Shoot me. I think perhaps Dr. Janetski (my mentor extraordinaire) was correct when he mentioned that this was typically a conference for those who have already completed their research.
So, aside from being the Maid of Honor at a dear friend's wedding on Saturday, the rest of my life will be spent on my bed with my laptop and reference books strewn semi-circularly around me. Thank heaven I bought the full-size mattress!
When I surface, I'll tell you all about the big competency exam which I finally took and am still waiting to hear about. Oh heck, I'll just sum up: it's a 3 hour typed essay exam on every aspect of archaeological theory anyone in our department has even the slightest bit of experience or interest in. I answered three questions: Archaeological trade patterns and research designs, the major contributions of three of the biggest archaeological theorists, and how to determine the difference between an egalitarian and a stratified society using multiple lines of archaeological evidence. Sigh. Now it's just the wait...
See you all on the other side of the moon!
Monday, March 06, 2006
An end to Nightmares...
For five years now, I have had recurring dreams about Dr. J being disappointed in me. Anyone who knows me has probably hear the tales, but anyone who knows J may understand why. Well, today I met with him about a paper and he began by telling me that he's proud of me and it looks like I'm really passionate and going places in archaeology. I was stunned and more than a little relieved to know it. Wow! I will never fear sleep again =) Now I'll have to develop some sort of psychosomatic issue with Clark, eh? =)
All else goes well, life is just life. I love it, but it's coming up on the competency exam soon, so I'm becoming anxious about getting ready and passing that. And I've seriously got to figure out how to sell my contract so I don't pay rent while I'm at field school. Sigh.
Camille is in Taiwan. Tragic, but so cool! It's sad, though...she is no longer just a free cell phone call away, so I've had move her name down in my phonebook so I won't forget and break the budget calling her...what an empty existence!
All else goes well, life is just life. I love it, but it's coming up on the competency exam soon, so I'm becoming anxious about getting ready and passing that. And I've seriously got to figure out how to sell my contract so I don't pay rent while I'm at field school. Sigh.
Camille is in Taiwan. Tragic, but so cool! It's sad, though...she is no longer just a free cell phone call away, so I've had move her name down in my phonebook so I won't forget and break the budget calling her...what an empty existence!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Annual UPAC Presentations
Today was the annual UPAC meeting up at State History. Presentations all morning and then they did the business stuff after we all cut out to head back down to Provo. All told there were four presentations from BYU, including Jim Allison, Rachel Pollock and Mark Bodily, Brad, and I. Topics varied, I'd say Brad's North Creek junk is top list, but I'm still having nightmares from J-in-the-cliff...shudder...
Anyway, one presentation, which I unfortunately didn't really take notes on, was done by a UofU Doctoral student. I'd say it was the most interesting to me, so I wanted to throw out a bit of what I remember for you all.
It dealt with a mass burial in Moab. Six individuals, all male and all between 13-25 years old. Dentition and bone condition suggest that they were all in good health when they died. Three showed similar healed cranial injuries including a segment of bone/incised trauma above the right eye and several blunt trauma episodes to parietal and occipital lobes. Etc, etc, interesting stuff about the bones, but the really intriguing bit is the way the bodies were laid out in the mass grave. Unfortunately I have sucky MS Paint and that's it for graphic edits so I can't crop and rotate it, but the previous post gives you a basic idea.
Each burial was placed face down, with layered bodies having heads placed over the thoracic trunk and down. So they're actually at an angle, which I can't do in Paint, such that the six piled up a bit and then sloped back off.
Has anyone seen anything like this? It's really a bizarre bit of activity.
She didn't say anything about grave goods. She did note that the two common skull shapes for Utah burials (one more spherical/robust typically associated with Fremont/Anasazi culture and one more elongated not consistently identified to any specific culture) were represented in the grave, a good indication that cranial morphology shouldn't be standing alone in our cultural affiliation calls.
Anyway, interesting bit. Wish I had her graphic or better technology on my lappy...but anybody got any thoughts?
Anyway, one presentation, which I unfortunately didn't really take notes on, was done by a UofU Doctoral student. I'd say it was the most interesting to me, so I wanted to throw out a bit of what I remember for you all.
It dealt with a mass burial in Moab. Six individuals, all male and all between 13-25 years old. Dentition and bone condition suggest that they were all in good health when they died. Three showed similar healed cranial injuries including a segment of bone/incised trauma above the right eye and several blunt trauma episodes to parietal and occipital lobes. Etc, etc, interesting stuff about the bones, but the really intriguing bit is the way the bodies were laid out in the mass grave. Unfortunately I have sucky MS Paint and that's it for graphic edits so I can't crop and rotate it, but the previous post gives you a basic idea.
Each burial was placed face down, with layered bodies having heads placed over the thoracic trunk and down. So they're actually at an angle, which I can't do in Paint, such that the six piled up a bit and then sloped back off.
Has anyone seen anything like this? It's really a bizarre bit of activity.
She didn't say anything about grave goods. She did note that the two common skull shapes for Utah burials (one more spherical/robust typically associated with Fremont/Anasazi culture and one more elongated not consistently identified to any specific culture) were represented in the grave, a good indication that cranial morphology shouldn't be standing alone in our cultural affiliation calls.
Anyway, interesting bit. Wish I had her graphic or better technology on my lappy...but anybody got any thoughts?
Friday, February 24, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Eternal Principle #1
I've been announcing eternal principles to my roommate lately, but I started with #2, reserving the #1 for something truly all-encompassing. Some of the eternal principles include #3--the sink will clog right before the dinner party and #6--a room is only as messy as the archaeologist living in it. But now, behold!! The #1 eternal principle has been identified, nay, revealed!
...drumroll...
The #1 eternal principle is...
The best way to finish everything you need to do in a given day or week is to procrastinate the number one most important thing!
Amazing! Stupendous! Life-altering in more ways than even I realize!
Actually, this simply comes of the fact that I am STILL avoiding writing a paper that is now due in 3 days...I'm 9 pages into a 20-30 pager, but I've registered my car, prepared an elaborate Valentine's Day package for a missionary, finished a book about the Donner Party, nearly finished The Blue Sword again, and worked out more in the last 2 days than I've managed in any given week this entire semester. The list goes on. It's amazing, really. I might just keep avoiding it and do my laundry and, perhaps, a few years worth of scrap-booking...the possibilities are limitless!
Here's to eternal principles, "those kinky little devils!!" ;)
...drumroll...
The #1 eternal principle is...
The best way to finish everything you need to do in a given day or week is to procrastinate the number one most important thing!
Amazing! Stupendous! Life-altering in more ways than even I realize!
Actually, this simply comes of the fact that I am STILL avoiding writing a paper that is now due in 3 days...I'm 9 pages into a 20-30 pager, but I've registered my car, prepared an elaborate Valentine's Day package for a missionary, finished a book about the Donner Party, nearly finished The Blue Sword again, and worked out more in the last 2 days than I've managed in any given week this entire semester. The list goes on. It's amazing, really. I might just keep avoiding it and do my laundry and, perhaps, a few years worth of scrap-booking...the possibilities are limitless!
Here's to eternal principles, "those kinky little devils!!" ;)
Friday, February 03, 2006
Musings
Well, I've just watched Big Fish, which came out while I was on my mission. Interesting sort of film. Puts one in a mighty introspective mood, which, in my case, isn't often particularly peppy. But I'm well enough off, I suppose. It occurs to me that between the Jolley clan and my FHE group in my current ward, I'd have something of a major bash were I to go the way of the big catfish any time soon. =) Now if that doesn't make a person genuinely content, I don't know what could.
Went to Howl's Moving Castle at the international cinema early today. It's been a big movie day, I guess. It was absolutely classic anime with all my favorite characteristics--particularly, as with Spirited Away, that there are a number of side characters who have absolutely nothing to do with anything, really, but are completely loveable. I also enjoyed the bits of Russion mythology stuck in here and there...mostly dealing with a particular chicken-legged house. Billy Crystal always has such great roles, doesn't he? The fire was fabulous. And small bits of me are now head over heals for an animated fella who's far too concerned with his hair! =)
It was a good week. I've gotten deeper into Field School prep and have also started working on some stuff dealing with a collection of pots now housed at Harvard in my beloved Massachusetts. If only I could convince Dr. Allison to let me fly out there and look at them...what a lovely thing to combine my two great loves, Boston and archaeology. I've decided being married to my work suits me quite fine. I'm happy as a clam, only I'll be the one digging, not the one being dug up!
There's a small part of me that whispers something about a phD and that's somewhat terrifying...one never knows which voices one might decide to follow someday, but for now, I'm simply trying to be motivated enough to do my research, write my papers, and get myself ready to present something or other on Virgin Anasazi trade patterns at the UPAC meeting end of the month. I'm attaching a view of one of the places we'll be working. Gorgeous region outside St. George! Can't wait!
Went to Howl's Moving Castle at the international cinema early today. It's been a big movie day, I guess. It was absolutely classic anime with all my favorite characteristics--particularly, as with Spirited Away, that there are a number of side characters who have absolutely nothing to do with anything, really, but are completely loveable. I also enjoyed the bits of Russion mythology stuck in here and there...mostly dealing with a particular chicken-legged house. Billy Crystal always has such great roles, doesn't he? The fire was fabulous. And small bits of me are now head over heals for an animated fella who's far too concerned with his hair! =)
It was a good week. I've gotten deeper into Field School prep and have also started working on some stuff dealing with a collection of pots now housed at Harvard in my beloved Massachusetts. If only I could convince Dr. Allison to let me fly out there and look at them...what a lovely thing to combine my two great loves, Boston and archaeology. I've decided being married to my work suits me quite fine. I'm happy as a clam, only I'll be the one digging, not the one being dug up!
There's a small part of me that whispers something about a phD and that's somewhat terrifying...one never knows which voices one might decide to follow someday, but for now, I'm simply trying to be motivated enough to do my research, write my papers, and get myself ready to present something or other on Virgin Anasazi trade patterns at the UPAC meeting end of the month. I'm attaching a view of one of the places we'll be working. Gorgeous region outside St. George! Can't wait!
Friday, January 27, 2006
Focus issues.
I don't think I've spent more than an hour studying at any point this semester until today. Long live the lame-o Friday night study session...*sigh*
I successfully created an ArcView map of this summer's field school area around St. George, Utah. I'm looking forward to getting down there on the ground--especially now when it's snowy and miserable up here. But in the meantime, I still need to find a high res. topo to lay under my sites. For now, it's only an ortho., though aerial shots are always cool.
I've got 500 pages to read and summarize this weekend to keep up on my readings course, so I best get gone. But Look Mom, I'm a Blogger =) (Note: if Mom ever actually makes it on here to see this, the earth will likely shake, and now you'll know what's happening and won't have to worry about any apocalyptic advent! You're welcome. "Please leave a contribution in the little box!")
I successfully created an ArcView map of this summer's field school area around St. George, Utah. I'm looking forward to getting down there on the ground--especially now when it's snowy and miserable up here. But in the meantime, I still need to find a high res. topo to lay under my sites. For now, it's only an ortho., though aerial shots are always cool.
I've got 500 pages to read and summarize this weekend to keep up on my readings course, so I best get gone. But Look Mom, I'm a Blogger =) (Note: if Mom ever actually makes it on here to see this, the earth will likely shake, and now you'll know what's happening and won't have to worry about any apocalyptic advent! You're welcome. "Please leave a contribution in the little box!")
Monday, January 23, 2006
The Southwest Symposium
I just posted this on Friends of the Fremont, but for those of you who are archaeologists, I'll add it here as well. You should probably just go to FOF, though...
I figure I better hurry and post just in case Holly decides to do something brash and actually post--wouldn't want to be branded as she has been.
That said, all I'm gonna say about you sceptics and your anti-historic attitude is...well...ok, I got nothin', but it's still cool. Pass your rust to me, I'll gladly take it--maybe it's my practical side reacting to the number of uncontrollable variables in prehistorics. But don't get me wrong, I'll take a pretty lithic scatter over a pile of cans any day of the week.
Now, to the Symposium...
First of all, even now, days later, I can feel my tailbone. The drive was LONG. I tried keeping the 'hey, we're bonding' perspective and that made it slightly more tolerable. 1776 was really enjoyable even though it came in such large blocks.
The first session was definitely the highlight for me, despite its comparative lack of historic discussion, but when it came down to it, I enjoyed the Pueblo talk a lot more than I did any of the Euro-American junk. Traitor to my own cause.
Christine Ward's discussion of lithic procurement. Definitely interesting stuff--a great way to start the conference. Aaron has already discussed it, so I won't except to say that it was definitely one of the more useful presentations.
Donna Glowacki's was a little soft around the edges, but I enjoyed the basic concepts. She discussed The Social Landscape of Depopulation in the northern San Juan. I resonate with ideas that go beyond what's strictly represented on the ground and really try to bring in our inherent understanding of humans, but getting too post-processualist can rub me the wrong way. In this case, some good points were made and I'll just choose to ignore the rest. Ultimately she suggested that movements in the region, particularly between the east and west, were caused by social differentiation in addition to drought. The east became more ritualistic than the west and that affected the equilibrium.
Does anyone know of any positive demonstration of the southwest "ball courts"? I mean, yes, they're big flat community areas with seating around, and yes, they're very similar to what we see in Mesoamerica, but do we have associated gaming artifacts? Just curious. I wonder if we tend to just follow along with traditional terminology and let previous biases (such as the standard south to north movement) cloud our ability to read the ground. Ball courts were mentioned, mostly in passing, in a couple of the presentations.
Wendy Ashmore was the discussant, as Aaron mentioned. Her broad discussion of landscape theory was certainly more useful than anything any of the other discussants shared. Her nine factors to be considered were: (1) use of ethnography, (2) consideration of the spatial scale, (3) physical visibility, (4) time, (5) decision making and strategy use, (6) social relations and interaction, (7) movement/pilgrimages, (8) power, and (9) citation circles/networks. I appreciated her inclusion of no. 9—that we need to acknowledge the work being done on the other side of the Atlantic and the Euros need to do the same.
Well, I’m long-winded. The point is that the conference had a lot of good points. I got to see a few token rusty things, particularly in Carol Griffith’s trash talk. Interesting history bites about waste disposal. Did you know there’s a landfill in Fresno that’s eligible for the Register under A, B, C, & D?! The fire talks were interesting, but I think more could have been done. My particular interest in the fire venue is maybe better saved for a separate post…I’ll probably do that one of these days.
In the meantime, it’s oddly nice to be back to the bubble, though I’m still hoping for a giant pin to come along someday. Looking forward to the Great Basin Conference, now, or whatever may come before that.
I figure I better hurry and post just in case Holly decides to do something brash and actually post--wouldn't want to be branded as she has been.
That said, all I'm gonna say about you sceptics and your anti-historic attitude is...well...ok, I got nothin', but it's still cool. Pass your rust to me, I'll gladly take it--maybe it's my practical side reacting to the number of uncontrollable variables in prehistorics. But don't get me wrong, I'll take a pretty lithic scatter over a pile of cans any day of the week.
Now, to the Symposium...
First of all, even now, days later, I can feel my tailbone. The drive was LONG. I tried keeping the 'hey, we're bonding' perspective and that made it slightly more tolerable. 1776 was really enjoyable even though it came in such large blocks.
The first session was definitely the highlight for me, despite its comparative lack of historic discussion, but when it came down to it, I enjoyed the Pueblo talk a lot more than I did any of the Euro-American junk. Traitor to my own cause.
Christine Ward's discussion of lithic procurement. Definitely interesting stuff--a great way to start the conference. Aaron has already discussed it, so I won't except to say that it was definitely one of the more useful presentations.
Donna Glowacki's was a little soft around the edges, but I enjoyed the basic concepts. She discussed The Social Landscape of Depopulation in the northern San Juan. I resonate with ideas that go beyond what's strictly represented on the ground and really try to bring in our inherent understanding of humans, but getting too post-processualist can rub me the wrong way. In this case, some good points were made and I'll just choose to ignore the rest. Ultimately she suggested that movements in the region, particularly between the east and west, were caused by social differentiation in addition to drought. The east became more ritualistic than the west and that affected the equilibrium.
Does anyone know of any positive demonstration of the southwest "ball courts"? I mean, yes, they're big flat community areas with seating around, and yes, they're very similar to what we see in Mesoamerica, but do we have associated gaming artifacts? Just curious. I wonder if we tend to just follow along with traditional terminology and let previous biases (such as the standard south to north movement) cloud our ability to read the ground. Ball courts were mentioned, mostly in passing, in a couple of the presentations.
Wendy Ashmore was the discussant, as Aaron mentioned. Her broad discussion of landscape theory was certainly more useful than anything any of the other discussants shared. Her nine factors to be considered were: (1) use of ethnography, (2) consideration of the spatial scale, (3) physical visibility, (4) time, (5) decision making and strategy use, (6) social relations and interaction, (7) movement/pilgrimages, (8) power, and (9) citation circles/networks. I appreciated her inclusion of no. 9—that we need to acknowledge the work being done on the other side of the Atlantic and the Euros need to do the same.
Well, I’m long-winded. The point is that the conference had a lot of good points. I got to see a few token rusty things, particularly in Carol Griffith’s trash talk. Interesting history bites about waste disposal. Did you know there’s a landfill in Fresno that’s eligible for the Register under A, B, C, & D?! The fire talks were interesting, but I think more could have been done. My particular interest in the fire venue is maybe better saved for a separate post…I’ll probably do that one of these days.
In the meantime, it’s oddly nice to be back to the bubble, though I’m still hoping for a giant pin to come along someday. Looking forward to the Great Basin Conference, now, or whatever may come before that.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Scheduling...
I sometimes wonder if calendars and time pieces will ultimately mean the destruction of us all. I live by them nearly obsessively, but they don't prevent me from wasting a significant bit of every day doing things like buying a third copy of The Blue Sword and staying up all night reading it which I confess I have every intention of doing...
Still, things are looking manageable as long as I give up some of the sleep I enjoyed last semester despite its difficulties. I'll be working 20 hours a week, a much needed blessing money-wise, but less-than-fun in terms of restricting my day-time hours and therefore requiring more night study than usual. Such is the life of a grad student. If it didn't stretch me, I suppose I wouldn't deserve or appreciate the degree.
Started my Revelation of St. John class this morning at the ungodly hour of 8am. How are we supposed to have a spiritual understanding of the Revelation when we are lying unconcious in our cushy JSB chairs? Still, the professor is passionate about his topic and that makes every yawn worthwhile. I have a feeling I will count it as one of my all-time favorite BYU classes, which, since it's in the religion department, is saying something considering my previous experience.
Still, things are looking manageable as long as I give up some of the sleep I enjoyed last semester despite its difficulties. I'll be working 20 hours a week, a much needed blessing money-wise, but less-than-fun in terms of restricting my day-time hours and therefore requiring more night study than usual. Such is the life of a grad student. If it didn't stretch me, I suppose I wouldn't deserve or appreciate the degree.
Started my Revelation of St. John class this morning at the ungodly hour of 8am. How are we supposed to have a spiritual understanding of the Revelation when we are lying unconcious in our cushy JSB chairs? Still, the professor is passionate about his topic and that makes every yawn worthwhile. I have a feeling I will count it as one of my all-time favorite BYU classes, which, since it's in the religion department, is saying something considering my previous experience.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Bit by Bit
Ok, back from the Southwest Symposium in Las Cruces, NM and glad to have the day off to sleep, buy food, and all that good junk. I'm slowly but surely trying to get my feet under me on this thing, too, so hopefully it'll be useful. I think I've just accidentally posted a bunch of random pictures on here while trying to learn the stinkin' Hello software, too, so I guess there's stuff to look at, though no promises...
Last semester turned out to be survivable, but I only worked 10 hours a week. This semester I have just as many credits (though admittedly, some aren't graduate level) and am working 20 hours plus I've picked up a shift as a worker at the Provo Temple. It'll be interesting to see what happens, but I'm excited about the job. First thing I'll be doing is creating the site location overview maps for field school. Dr. Allison is working on getting ArcView onto a computer for me and then away I'll go. Thanks again to MOAC for spending all that money to train me so I could stop working for the souless contractors and get serious!! =)
Last semester turned out to be survivable, but I only worked 10 hours a week. This semester I have just as many credits (though admittedly, some aren't graduate level) and am working 20 hours plus I've picked up a shift as a worker at the Provo Temple. It'll be interesting to see what happens, but I'm excited about the job. First thing I'll be doing is creating the site location overview maps for field school. Dr. Allison is working on getting ArcView onto a computer for me and then away I'll go. Thanks again to MOAC for spending all that money to train me so I could stop working for the souless contractors and get serious!! =)
Saturday, January 14, 2006
What the...?
"People do crazy things when they're in [New Mexico]...They buy leather coats that are way too expensive, they do not [create random blogs for their love of rusty stuff!]"
Aaahhh...the wisdom of corrupted movie quotes. Just getting started...we'll see what happens with this. In the meantime, check out Friends of the Fremont!
Happy January,
RustLover
Aaahhh...the wisdom of corrupted movie quotes. Just getting started...we'll see what happens with this. In the meantime, check out Friends of the Fremont!
Happy January,
RustLover