Wireless Wizards and other pyschosis
After my first post on my new journal sparked conversations with three people, totaling 74 or so comments total, I decided to check out a few friends pages within the little e-network here at PUMPA. Apparently, LiveJournal is the social networking site of choice at this charming institution. That surprised me greatly: while Livejournal certainly has a very active communal component, it is lightyears from being the networking tool of choice for geographical-based institutions- schools and the like. You use Livejournal to find other people with your interests, not people you already know.
The significance of Livejournal's dominance on this campus's electronic social sphere is that it's- despite the distancing implied by the choice of medium- a very personal and verbose method of communication. In sharp contrast to Facebook, which mechanically strips the humanity and meaning from every act of "communication" by reducing it to a button to initiate some stupid fucking fratboy bullshit (LOL AH KICK/POKE/RAEP U) Livejournal is just a glorified text editor and nothing more, requiring you to actually talk to each other. That in turn implies a very social and introspective community, and that sounds promising.
Of course, that level of investment also means the drama is going to be absolufuckinglutely horribad. Once more unto the breach, alas.
Classes were boring as hell. There's nothing to be said of their quality yet, since it was just the standard first-day rules lecture (don't throw fireballs at the TAs, etc.) Fortunately I was able to beat the schools automated schedule system into submission late last night, so I had my schedule to follow. I really should be thankful that they even use computers here, unlike that UK school, Hock-a-wad or whatever the hell they call it. Stone corridors and robes and quills. They consider themselves Oxford wizards or some shit. Complete tools.
So the only thing of note or interest today was the first meeting of the Archery Club. They've got a nice range and a nice selection of bows for loan, (I'm still trying to justify the cost of buying my own,) and it's certainly a nice way to shed the mental buzz and hum of extraneous details and get one's focus back. What made it interesting, though, was the girl who was hovering by the arrow bin at one side of the range. She was fidgeting nervously, hesitant, but when she saw me looking at her she tried to hustle away. A spare archery target nearby took issue with this and tackled her, and she managed to take out the arrow bin as well before she made good her escape. She was so cute and flustered I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but the way she bolted off afterward makes me doubt I'll see her at practice again, which is a shame.
But tomorrow, as they say, is Tuesday.
The significance of Livejournal's dominance on this campus's electronic social sphere is that it's- despite the distancing implied by the choice of medium- a very personal and verbose method of communication. In sharp contrast to Facebook, which mechanically strips the humanity and meaning from every act of "communication" by reducing it to a button to initiate some stupid fucking fratboy bullshit (LOL AH KICK/POKE/RAEP U) Livejournal is just a glorified text editor and nothing more, requiring you to actually talk to each other. That in turn implies a very social and introspective community, and that sounds promising.
Of course, that level of investment also means the drama is going to be absolufuckinglutely horribad. Once more unto the breach, alas.
Classes were boring as hell. There's nothing to be said of their quality yet, since it was just the standard first-day rules lecture (don't throw fireballs at the TAs, etc.) Fortunately I was able to beat the schools automated schedule system into submission late last night, so I had my schedule to follow. I really should be thankful that they even use computers here, unlike that UK school, Hock-a-wad or whatever the hell they call it. Stone corridors and robes and quills. They consider themselves Oxford wizards or some shit. Complete tools.
So the only thing of note or interest today was the first meeting of the Archery Club. They've got a nice range and a nice selection of bows for loan, (I'm still trying to justify the cost of buying my own,) and it's certainly a nice way to shed the mental buzz and hum of extraneous details and get one's focus back. What made it interesting, though, was the girl who was hovering by the arrow bin at one side of the range. She was fidgeting nervously, hesitant, but when she saw me looking at her she tried to hustle away. A spare archery target nearby took issue with this and tackled her, and she managed to take out the arrow bin as well before she made good her escape. She was so cute and flustered I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but the way she bolted off afterward makes me doubt I'll see her at practice again, which is a shame.
But tomorrow, as they say, is Tuesday.