I’m sorry that I haven’t put anything up on here in the past couple weeks….I’ve been busy… But I thought for my next post, rather than talk about a subject, I will just tell you what all has been going on over the past few weeks.
I left on Friday the 13th of April (ooohhh Scary…) and flew up to San Francisco. I was going to the Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (read previous post to see the preconceptions). From there I met up with some friends from college. We stayed Friday night in Oakland with one of my professor’s sisters. The next day we left Oakland and headed to South Lake Tahoe. I have never been to northern California so I didn’t really know what to expect. But it was a really nice place (much different from the desert where I now live and also much different from the big city). We spent the weekend there driving and hiking around the lake. Oh and btw…Lake Tahoe was named by the Native Americans that inhabited the area. The meaning and pronunciation of the original name is debated but it is generally accepted to say that is means “Big Water.” It is also the deepest freshwater lake in the US (or so I am told).
This kind of trip was both relaxing and stimulating for me. I am reminded when I go to these places just how diverse the world is. As a geographer, I inherently have an interest in maps. So one of the first things I did was to purchase a good contour map of the area. This helped me to understand where I was at. I took my rock hammer along for the journey (but I forgot my hand lens which drove me insane!!!). The only problem was that we didn’t stop in very many places that allowed me to go “bang around” on the rocks (as Dr. G calls it). One other thing that was different about this trip was that I am used to doing this type of stuff with Dr. G who is a physical geographer. This trip I was with a political geographer (which is very different). So one time, when I got my hammer out and headed down a cliff to get some samples he threatened to make a citizens arrest on me for using my hammer on the rocks. It didn’t stop me, however, and I got a few really good pieces (and distributed several to my friends who are also interested in the rocks). Most of the rock in this area is granite. It is a mixture of feldspar, quartz, mica, and something else that I can’t remember right now. Also, most of the area had been glaciated which was different from what I am used to (the glaciers in the last ice age never made it past the Ohio River so you don’t see much glacial evidence in Alabama!).
We also made some journeys over into Nevada. We visited Virginia City which is very much like an old western town, full of Saloons and old timey gambling places. There was a magnificent cemetery which was also very interesting to me. The main entrance had the Masonic symbol over it and it was soon clear that this section was a Masonic place of burial (there was also a Catholic section in the Cemetery). One thing that I noticed in the cemetery (I like to say cemetery rather than graveyard…it just sounds more appropriate) was the direction the graves were laid out. Most of the graves were in a east-west orientation. I haven’t really done any research on this but it appears that this is done so that the feet are towards the East, so when Christ comes and the dead rise, they will be facing Christ (which is said to come with the Sun). The point of interest was that there were a handful of graves that were facing North-South. It makes you wonder why this is done…some of them had Christian symbols on them (such as a cross) so it wouldn’t appear to be the grave of a non-religious person that just didn’t want to be buried like other Christians. So it made me wonder if that person was buried like that intentionally or just inadvertently. I don’t know but im sure I will check it out…
After the weekend, we had to head back to San Francisco for the AAG conference. It was pretty much typical AAG stuff…a lot of people with big degrees telling other people just like them what kind of research they are doing. The disappointing thing is that most of it seems completely irrevelant to me. But I went to a few sessions that were worthwhile. I wont really discuss them on here because I think there is plenty to talk about without all that….maybe I will save it for a later time.
While in San Francisco, I couldn’t resist doing the touristy things….I went to China Town, walked all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge (and back across…whew!!!), went to Alcatraz, and took the public transportation as much as possible. For the most part, San Francisco is not a place I would like to live. It was ok to visit for a few days but honestly, it wasn’t my favorite city.
I left San Francisco and flew back to Alabama to spend my last weekend away from work there. I arrived on Friday afternoon and on Friday night I went to Caffeine High. Caffeine High is a huge party thrown by my fraternity (ATO). It is the largest substance-free party at UNA and all the proceeds go to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Shoals. I got to spend some time with a lot of my friends there. The only thing I didn’t like was that I was there until really late and the next day I had to get up really early to go fish a tournament. We didn’t win the tournament but I had a good time regardless. (and it gave me my ‘fishing fix’ for a little while). That Sunday I ate lunch at my Grandparents with all the family.
I flew back to sunny CA on Monday. By this time I was SICK of flying. That flight back here was probably the worst I have ever had. I was stuck between two relatively “large” women and was miserable the whole time. But now I’m back and it feels good to breath again.
I went SCUBA diving yesterday at Laguna Beach. I didn’t get to dive much but that is another story…after I got finished I just went to the beach and set in my chair for half the day. It was cloudy but I still got burnt. Such is life I guess…
I will try to get some more topics on here in the next few days. Hopefully things will continue to go well and I will have lots to talk about.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Left Behind???
This afternoon I was on my way home from afternoon church services when I heard a very interesting discussion on NPR. It was an interview with one of the authors of the “Left Behind” book series. It was either Tim LaHayne or Jerry B. Jenkins but I’m not sure which…
What was interesting is their concept of why they wrote the book. They state that their series is based on the book of Revelations in the Bible. And throughout the interview, the author made it clear that they felt the events they were writing about were the actual events that would take place one day (However a comment was also made that talked about writing ‘good fiction’). They made one particularly interesting comment; that when most readers read the book of Revelations, it is hard to interpret. Therefore, according to the authors, there could be hundreds of interpretations. But for some reason, they believe that their interpretation is correct…and that by reading their book, one could more easily understand the ‘allegory’ written in Revelations. The interviewer stated that several Theologians have refuted their writings as misinterpreted. The author then responded that either the theologians that did this had either not read their series, or had not read the Bible. I do not claim to be a Theologian but I do disagree with some of their interpretations (I sort of figured out some of them based on the interview), and no I haven’t read the series.
All of that isn’t even what I wanted to write about. There was one thing in particular that the author said that just really applied to my life. He was talking about how some people say to him that they don’t believe in everything they have written because they don’t believe a good God would send anyone to Hell. His reply in my opinion was outstanding. He said that God has given man the chance to obey him and that he wants everyone to go to heaven. God doesn’t “send” anyone to Hell…some just choose not to believe and therefore choose for themselves to go to Hell. Sometimes, because of my beliefs, people feel that I (and those who have the same beliefs as me) look down in condescension on them and think that we are better than them because we feel that we will go to Heaven and they will not. The author also tackled this issue and it could not be truer, at least from my perspective and from my experiences. We do not look down on you because we think we are going to Heaven, we FEAR for you. It is our desire, just as it is God’s that you go to Heaven. It is not condescension that we feel towards the lost; it is a desire to help so that our own fear can be quenched. I hope I haven’t offended anyone with these comments because that is the last thing I want to do. And it is not my goal to judge anyone; that is up to God. I would much rather try to reason with you based on the scriptures found in the Bible and discuss the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ….so that you and I can have the ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7).
So whereas I do not agree with all the interpretations from the book of Revelations that the writers of the “Left Behind” series have made, I do agree with some of the points that are made. I want to share the GOOD news with everyone and let everyone know that there is a way through Jesus the Christ to not be the one “Left Behind.”
P.S.
For more info please leave comments.
Also, see: Acts 2:37-38, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 22:16
And lots more. These are just some ‘to the point’ passages that you might be interested in.
What was interesting is their concept of why they wrote the book. They state that their series is based on the book of Revelations in the Bible. And throughout the interview, the author made it clear that they felt the events they were writing about were the actual events that would take place one day (However a comment was also made that talked about writing ‘good fiction’). They made one particularly interesting comment; that when most readers read the book of Revelations, it is hard to interpret. Therefore, according to the authors, there could be hundreds of interpretations. But for some reason, they believe that their interpretation is correct…and that by reading their book, one could more easily understand the ‘allegory’ written in Revelations. The interviewer stated that several Theologians have refuted their writings as misinterpreted. The author then responded that either the theologians that did this had either not read their series, or had not read the Bible. I do not claim to be a Theologian but I do disagree with some of their interpretations (I sort of figured out some of them based on the interview), and no I haven’t read the series.
All of that isn’t even what I wanted to write about. There was one thing in particular that the author said that just really applied to my life. He was talking about how some people say to him that they don’t believe in everything they have written because they don’t believe a good God would send anyone to Hell. His reply in my opinion was outstanding. He said that God has given man the chance to obey him and that he wants everyone to go to heaven. God doesn’t “send” anyone to Hell…some just choose not to believe and therefore choose for themselves to go to Hell. Sometimes, because of my beliefs, people feel that I (and those who have the same beliefs as me) look down in condescension on them and think that we are better than them because we feel that we will go to Heaven and they will not. The author also tackled this issue and it could not be truer, at least from my perspective and from my experiences. We do not look down on you because we think we are going to Heaven, we FEAR for you. It is our desire, just as it is God’s that you go to Heaven. It is not condescension that we feel towards the lost; it is a desire to help so that our own fear can be quenched. I hope I haven’t offended anyone with these comments because that is the last thing I want to do. And it is not my goal to judge anyone; that is up to God. I would much rather try to reason with you based on the scriptures found in the Bible and discuss the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ….so that you and I can have the ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7).
So whereas I do not agree with all the interpretations from the book of Revelations that the writers of the “Left Behind” series have made, I do agree with some of the points that are made. I want to share the GOOD news with everyone and let everyone know that there is a way through Jesus the Christ to not be the one “Left Behind.”
P.S.
For more info please leave comments.
Also, see: Acts 2:37-38, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 22:16
And lots more. These are just some ‘to the point’ passages that you might be interested in.
Preconceptions of the 2007 AAG Conference
It is almost time again for the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. I went to this conference last year for the first time and thought that I might share some thoughts on what I expect for this years conference, before I get there. Sometimes I think this is a dangerous thing to do. Usually I try not to preconceive too much because it seems like most of the time if it is a negative preconception, it is only verified. Then all you are left with is your conscious telling you “I told you so.” And if you have an overly positive preconception, sometimes you get let down. But I want to write this because of my feelings toward the academic world. And I want to get this out there so that after the conference I can either refute my own comments on here, or at least say that I saw it coming.
Last years AAG was a lot of fun. I went on the eve of the election for Student Government Association Officers, of which I was running for President. So while I was in Chicago, all my friends were busy running my campaign back home (I voted Absentee ballot). I got to Chicago on Tuesday and on Wednesday night, I heard the results. After the highest voter turnout in over a decade at UNA, I had been defeated by 6 votes. But that is another story and I don’t want to talk about that for now. I mainly want to talk about the AAG. The AAG was founded under the leadership of William Morris Davis in 1904. Davis is often referred to as the ‘Father of American Geography.’ I’m going to bounce off of this point more in a little while.
So I learned a lot at the AAG last year. I have to admit, I had heard some positives and negatives about the conference even before I attended. The obvious positive is that it is one of the largest academic gatherings of geographers in the world. This was somewhat surreal to me when I got there because I realized that there were indeed so many people that shared the same academic interest as I had, or did they? I sat through several lectures and presentations, and also visited a few poster sessions. In fact, I myself presented a poster during the economic geography session titled “Spatial and Demographic Patterns of Population.” This poster was mainly about development and characterizations of development in developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations. I am presenting a poster this year on “Visualizing Yesterday’s Maps with Today’s Technology” (I digress again…)
The negative things I heard about the AAG mainly revolved around the obscurity of much of the research presented (and allowed) at the AAG. Although I had heard about all of this stuff, I guess I just had to see it for myself. I will now share with you some of the more ‘eccentric’ topics presented: under the heading of “The Politics of Public Washroom Spaces II” ‘Our Toilets: access dilemmas in UK public washrooms’, ‘Looking Straight: location, gender and the dynamics of public sex’, ‘The Contested Boundaries Between Public and Private Space: Mapping the Gay Male World’. Under the title of “Sexual Constructions” ‘Are Gays Staying within Their Enclaves to Work? A Comparison of Commute Times’, ‘The moral geographies of gay life in Taiwan’, and ‘Where the Girls are: Lesbian Territories in Chicago’.
Now I am the first person to start defending geography by stating that all things exist in space and therefore can be studied geographically. But a thought just keeps resonating in my head, “Was this the picture William Morris Davis had when he helped to found this organization?” Davis was a geomorphologist, a physical geographer if you will. What has changed? I just don’t like all of this new obscurity that has perverted our science. This is an opinion and one that I feel I have every right to have.
I also know that I have a choice when I go to the AAG. There are so many presentations going on that it is physically impossible to attend even the ones that you would like to hear, much less all of them. So I just choose not to attend these that I deem obscure and impractical. But what I would like to see is for all geographers to step back and look at their work and make a practical application of what they are capable of researching.
This is one of the reasons that I don’t like academics. Not all academics at least. I feel very close to many of my college professors but the major difference from them to the ones I have previously discussed is that most of their research has a practical justification. As a geographer, I was taught to look at real world phenomena and try to solve real world problems. I just don’t see where some of this research fits into either of those categories. Another problem that I have with academia is that they just get so caught up in doing their research that they completely forget the big picture. And I don’t think geographers can afford to forget the big picture. The concept of keeping the ‘big picture’ in mind is the foundation of our discipline. We often times complain that geographic education is floundering and that American children are geographically illiterate, but would you really want me going into a classroom trying to convince people to take geography seriously when my research is about using toilets in the UK? I mean, give me a break!!!
So I have talked about several important topics that I will probably talk more about later on here but I want to get back to the AAG. The title states that I want to discuss preconceived notions of this years AAG conference. So I already have established my opinion of the organization (it is out of touch with the world (the big picture)). But now I want to say what I expect at this years conference. In order to do that, I decided to do a few simple searches on the AAG’s pre-conference schedule. Here are some of the interesting things I found (not really interest, actually quite disturbing): ‘Bear Bottoms and Hairy Chests: Nudity, the Woods, and a Creation of a Gay Male Subculture’, ‘Locating Queer Key West: Between the Closet, the Resort, and the Bridge’, ‘Animal Husbandry: Bestiality and the Making of the Human Animal’….I could go on and on but I just don’t feel like typing all of the many very disturbing presentations that will take place this year.
So it looks like yet again, those of us that just want to see the practical applications of geography will be thrown into the melting pot of research by individuals that obviously interpret the meaning of geography very differently from me. I will probably learn a lot but I also predict that I will get so frustrated with all of those so called “Doctors of Philosophy” that I would like to strangle some of them. I guess that is just one of those things one has to live with in life. But I think if we are to sustain the field of geography and promote its relevance in society, we must get back to the roots. Read about William Morris Davis and I think you will understand what I am talking about. I personally think the ESRI User Conference is a much better choice for those who want to see the practical applications of geography (but then again, I do work for ESRI). If I ever decide to get on some obscure quest for knowledge and begin researching some of the (excuse me…) CRAP, then please slap me around until I get back to what the real world needs….problem solving and practical applications of ‘space’, (the way WM Davis meant for it to be…).
Last years AAG was a lot of fun. I went on the eve of the election for Student Government Association Officers, of which I was running for President. So while I was in Chicago, all my friends were busy running my campaign back home (I voted Absentee ballot). I got to Chicago on Tuesday and on Wednesday night, I heard the results. After the highest voter turnout in over a decade at UNA, I had been defeated by 6 votes. But that is another story and I don’t want to talk about that for now. I mainly want to talk about the AAG. The AAG was founded under the leadership of William Morris Davis in 1904. Davis is often referred to as the ‘Father of American Geography.’ I’m going to bounce off of this point more in a little while.
So I learned a lot at the AAG last year. I have to admit, I had heard some positives and negatives about the conference even before I attended. The obvious positive is that it is one of the largest academic gatherings of geographers in the world. This was somewhat surreal to me when I got there because I realized that there were indeed so many people that shared the same academic interest as I had, or did they? I sat through several lectures and presentations, and also visited a few poster sessions. In fact, I myself presented a poster during the economic geography session titled “Spatial and Demographic Patterns of Population.” This poster was mainly about development and characterizations of development in developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations. I am presenting a poster this year on “Visualizing Yesterday’s Maps with Today’s Technology” (I digress again…)
The negative things I heard about the AAG mainly revolved around the obscurity of much of the research presented (and allowed) at the AAG. Although I had heard about all of this stuff, I guess I just had to see it for myself. I will now share with you some of the more ‘eccentric’ topics presented: under the heading of “The Politics of Public Washroom Spaces II” ‘Our Toilets: access dilemmas in UK public washrooms’, ‘Looking Straight: location, gender and the dynamics of public sex’, ‘The Contested Boundaries Between Public and Private Space: Mapping the Gay Male World’. Under the title of “Sexual Constructions” ‘Are Gays Staying within Their Enclaves to Work? A Comparison of Commute Times’, ‘The moral geographies of gay life in Taiwan’, and ‘Where the Girls are: Lesbian Territories in Chicago’.
Now I am the first person to start defending geography by stating that all things exist in space and therefore can be studied geographically. But a thought just keeps resonating in my head, “Was this the picture William Morris Davis had when he helped to found this organization?” Davis was a geomorphologist, a physical geographer if you will. What has changed? I just don’t like all of this new obscurity that has perverted our science. This is an opinion and one that I feel I have every right to have.
I also know that I have a choice when I go to the AAG. There are so many presentations going on that it is physically impossible to attend even the ones that you would like to hear, much less all of them. So I just choose not to attend these that I deem obscure and impractical. But what I would like to see is for all geographers to step back and look at their work and make a practical application of what they are capable of researching.
This is one of the reasons that I don’t like academics. Not all academics at least. I feel very close to many of my college professors but the major difference from them to the ones I have previously discussed is that most of their research has a practical justification. As a geographer, I was taught to look at real world phenomena and try to solve real world problems. I just don’t see where some of this research fits into either of those categories. Another problem that I have with academia is that they just get so caught up in doing their research that they completely forget the big picture. And I don’t think geographers can afford to forget the big picture. The concept of keeping the ‘big picture’ in mind is the foundation of our discipline. We often times complain that geographic education is floundering and that American children are geographically illiterate, but would you really want me going into a classroom trying to convince people to take geography seriously when my research is about using toilets in the UK? I mean, give me a break!!!
So I have talked about several important topics that I will probably talk more about later on here but I want to get back to the AAG. The title states that I want to discuss preconceived notions of this years AAG conference. So I already have established my opinion of the organization (it is out of touch with the world (the big picture)). But now I want to say what I expect at this years conference. In order to do that, I decided to do a few simple searches on the AAG’s pre-conference schedule. Here are some of the interesting things I found (not really interest, actually quite disturbing): ‘Bear Bottoms and Hairy Chests: Nudity, the Woods, and a Creation of a Gay Male Subculture’, ‘Locating Queer Key West: Between the Closet, the Resort, and the Bridge’, ‘Animal Husbandry: Bestiality and the Making of the Human Animal’….I could go on and on but I just don’t feel like typing all of the many very disturbing presentations that will take place this year.
So it looks like yet again, those of us that just want to see the practical applications of geography will be thrown into the melting pot of research by individuals that obviously interpret the meaning of geography very differently from me. I will probably learn a lot but I also predict that I will get so frustrated with all of those so called “Doctors of Philosophy” that I would like to strangle some of them. I guess that is just one of those things one has to live with in life. But I think if we are to sustain the field of geography and promote its relevance in society, we must get back to the roots. Read about William Morris Davis and I think you will understand what I am talking about. I personally think the ESRI User Conference is a much better choice for those who want to see the practical applications of geography (but then again, I do work for ESRI). If I ever decide to get on some obscure quest for knowledge and begin researching some of the (excuse me…) CRAP, then please slap me around until I get back to what the real world needs….problem solving and practical applications of ‘space’, (the way WM Davis meant for it to be…).
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