I just finished my paper and i am so relieved! i need to step away for a bit and then proof and scale down a little--i went a bit beyond the 3,000 words and i'm not sure if that's ok. But, i am proud--in the wake of a stomach bug that swept through the entire house, a vet emergency for our poor kitty, Gideon, and out of town guests that have left me in the midst of 5-7 boys at any given moment ranging in age from 3-7, including 2 sets of twins for the past 3 days--i still managed to write my pap…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on August 3, 2008 at 4:59pm —
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i'm half way through my final paper and feeling the dissipation of stress all ready--still on edge, but at least i feel like i can keep my full-time job and my kid and meet the paper deadline!
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 31, 2008 at 5:06pm —
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i am using a personal day this week solely to focus in my final paper. By then, i am assuming my poor kiddo will be over his wretched stomach bug and i will have miraculously walked away from all the water bottle, food, kiss, germy hand sharing unscathed by his nasty virus. He will be at daycare. My husband will be at work. But, i don't know what i'm wiritng my paper on....i keep reading all these articles, that lead me to more articles and journals, and i'm finding a lot of fascinating stuff--j…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 28, 2008 at 2:01pm —
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i just read an article about clubbers who have opted to have a glass chip inserted in their arms or hips, that act as debit cards, so they don't have to carry anything and can wear tight clothes without having stuff in their pockets. Anytime they buy a drink at the bar, they are scanned to pay. VeriChip is the name of the company. i did some research after i read about it and found out some bank employees are chipped to curtail fraud/robbery, people are opting to have their medical records, bloo…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 26, 2008 at 9:51pm —
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My husband dumped a few of his movies onto my thumb drive that he thought i should watch--to give me a further glimpse into the world of cyberpunk and also to get a visual. Mainly, i think he's enjoying my sudden interest and ability to have a conversation with him with textual (and now visual) reference. i thought i might use one of the films for my 3rd review, but i'm not sure--i may go with Distraction--writing a film review seems a bit more difficult than a book for me. i just finished watch…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 23, 2008 at 11:02pm —
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maybe i need a little more time to reflect since i am honestly not sure how i feel about Sterling's Distraction. He certainly touched upon some really serious contemporary issues. i like a great deal of his message about politics, corruption, environment, yet somehow i didn't love this book. Perhaps b/c these are issues i already think about and am concerned about--i didn't find any new ideas or revelations. Just having a bit of fun with the direction we're heading if we don't wake up. i found m…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 22, 2008 at 8:29pm —
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i was going through bookshelves in our den looking for a book i want to give my son and i came across a book i got in high school--probably almost 13 years ago :( called Chaos and Cyber Culture written by Timothy Leary. The internet was still pretty non-existent in my world and i think i was probably more interested in the rebellion and William Burroughs portions of the book, but now my entire point of reference has changed. There's an interview with William Gibson with a section about Neuromanc…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 21, 2008 at 9:18pm —
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i loved the ending of he, she, and it. it's not what i was expecting, but i thought Shira was going to lose Ari, so i was very relieved. This is probably unpopular--but i was glad Yod chose the death he did. He was too conflicted to be a weapon and too dangerous if Y-S were to get him. My only sadness was for Shira--that she still needed Yod and felt the need to try to bring him back. i thought he would serve as a sort of freedom for her--like he taught her to indulge her own being and to forgo…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 18, 2008 at 3:26pm —
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i have about 40 pages left to read, but i have to go grocery shopping and do some laundry, so it'll have to wait. i love he, she, and it and can't wait for the ending, but my instinct says i know what will come and it's going to bum me out. i really appreciate the way Piercy uses words--even when horrible things are happening, she has the ability to string words together beautifully. And, i think she's fairly good at capturing emotion realistically. The scene with the message from Ari was almost…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 17, 2008 at 7:45pm —
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Both in reading He, She, and It and Haraway's article i feel like i have really been able to make some important connections and have been able to find my place in a genre that i considered a bit alientating at the start. And, in retrospect--i should have expected to find this place. As an undergraduate Women's Studies major i read some of Piercy's work, a number of works that i guess would fall into the catergory of utpoian literature, and actually many of the writers and works Haraway refers t…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 16, 2008 at 12:30pm —
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There's an article in this month's Discover Magazine called "The Crush of Information: How Do We Survive the Cyberswamp of Data?" It directly relates to much of what we've explored in class and brings the works of SF we've read a bit closer to reality. The premis of the article is that, if we continue in the technological direction we are, singularity will be the almost necessary consequence as a means of keeping up; dealing with the amount of information and networking we're creating:
"What i…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 13, 2008 at 10:50am —
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Saturday mornings are mine. My husband works for nearly 13 hours and since the end of naps, i have forced myself to get up early to have coffee, read the paper and do whatever i want until Declan wakes and i am his until his bedtime. So, this morning, i was following my husband around obsessing b/c there are typos (extra words) in 2 spots of the paper i handed in yesterday and after the whole DSL, router process, i was so anxious and submitted and then realized i hadn't proofread and it was too…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 12, 2008 at 9:34am —
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First, i must say, i am loving The Diamond Age. i appreciate it on so many levels, both ethically and for its literary wit. i am very used to the mulit-threaded plots/stories that meet and weave together, as i read a great deal of Native American Lit and i think Stephenson did a wonderful job making each thread as important and rich as the next.
Second, the book has really had me thinking about the human/technology relationship. i am the least technical member in my house by far. i have a husba…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 10, 2008 at 12:50pm —
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As i was just sitting here reading The Diamond Age i began to think about Nell's relationship with her primer. In the absence of any true parent/child bond or really any healthy, nurturing relationships (besides her brother) in Nell's life, her primer has become her one and only true teacher, friend and guide. From the beginning Nell is lacking positive interaction with other people. Aside from "her children," her four stuffed animal companions and her brother, Nell does not have a person to tru…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 8, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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i'm really enjoying The Diamond Age so far. i'm only about 50 pages in. i like the balance i have encountered between the new and old, the retention of human qualities in the characters, despite technological advances, and the realness, for lack of a better term. There are race and class divides. Good and bad exist. Certianly, in comaprison with Neuromancer, i feel much more connected to the text and characters.
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 7, 2008 at 1:06pm —
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Well, i am coming to terms with the fact that i'm not putting Neuromancer on my top 10 list. But, i can certianly say i appreciate it on certain levels, i believe it serves a purpose, i don't feel like i wasted my time reading it and i got something out of it. i was not sure i'd be able to say any of this at the half way point. Now that i'm finished, i've adopted a slightly different stance. Viewing Neuromancer as a sort of cultural artifact, elicits a lot of respect from me. Since Gibson was re…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 3, 2008 at 10:00am —
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i feel really badly, but i just am not enjoying this book. There are things i appreciate about it in terms of both content and style, however, i cannot become fully engaged. i know there's a lot of action, but i actually find it kind of boring and overdone. i keep comparing it to other works i've read that are built on similar concept that i've really liked, but they all seem to have some other element that appeals to me. In fairness, i do appreciate that Neuromancer is the first and had i read…
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 2, 2008 at 1:33pm —
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i just started the second section of Neuromancer and, at this point, am not sure how i feel. i haven't been grabbed yet, but not totally disinterested either. One of the issues for me is that i haven't developed an attachment to any of the characters and i'm having a hard time getting images in my head of what people look/dress like. Perhaps it just starts off a bit slow.
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Added by Megan Morrissey-Kelley on July 1, 2008 at 4:37pm —
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