May 14th, 2010

elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Friday, May 14th, 2010 07:16 am
I'm not sure what got into my head this morning, but i spent most of my reflection time writing a script to extract data from a file, and then figuring out how excel could chart it, which involved pivot tables. The files are concatenated output from running another tiny script which gets the date and time and then pings my ISP's DNS server and my mail server twenty times. We've been having
some periods of very slow response time, and i wanted to get some documentation to my ISP.

Excel, how the *^(* do i "title" your bloody axes? [This is rhetorical, please do not answer. The "help" has indicated that i need to have my formatting palette visible; this is a Office 2008 for Mac specific headache.]

--==∞==--

I have dropped down in emotional energy from yesterday morning's distress. I think a comment from [profile] mopalia helped in that it helped kick me back into recognizing that i choose my quality of life options. If X is the price of Y, so be it. Mostly though, i think calming down was brought by a hormonal shift.

I feel awfully wimpy to complain about the little things i complain about. I have some anger that will take a long time to sort out: anger that my mother, aware enough to read my diary because she feared suicide, didn't get me professional help for my depression when i was young; anger that my parents were so (are so) "stoic" that they ignore their physical well being until incapacitated and thus i am doing catch up now on learning appropriate management of my well being. I am doubly angry as i wonder about the past and how much depression might have been being physically unwell.

So, i know i am a skipping record [and how long will that metaphor carry vivid meaning?] as the anger shows up along with old repressed feelings and i need to just let those feelings wash through me. Somehow, feeling present feelings is so much easier than old repressed ones.

--==∞==--

Grey skies, warm tea.

Edward wanting out first thing.

Greycie Loo has finally learned to snuggle me and give Christine the imperious looks.

A parade of leafblowers.

Time to work.
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Friday, May 14th, 2010 08:09 pm
I am reading about appropriation of Native Culture, and i think i am beginning to get it, maybe. I do own Native American handicrafts: pottery, some wall hangings and small sculpture, and some jewelry. I think such collecting is not considered appropriation. (Appropriation: the act of taking something for one's own use, typically with out the owner's permission.)


These crafts are from a four continents: Asia, Africa, North and South America.


I got to this post about the Native star quilt pattern and a Baby Gap chevron pattern dress, and i had a bit of a problem.

I think that color gradients and parallelograms can transcend a single culture. The first quilt's eight pointed star and circular glyph look like Scandinavian patterns with which i'm familiar.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=3&q=Selburose&btnG=Search+images

Here's a Latvian echo in glass of the second quilt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53795079@N00/2631698455/ (although, not, not entirely pieced of parallelograms).

Is the spiral pattern inside the first quilt a borrowing of the yin-yang symbol, opposites of cool and warm mixing together? Or when people work with abstract geometric designs...


I wrote more and deleted some of it and searched for more examples and -- then i came here to post it.

I know how i feel when i return to the Seagrove area of NC and find all these random potters, folks who are not part of the families who have been doing pottery in the area for hundreds of years, folks who are not using the native clay, folks who aren't building on the vernacular tradition. The privilege gap between the Cravens, Coles, and Owens and the New Yorkers on the passing through on the rail lines was not insignificant.

If i can take that feeling and try to stretch it to bridge a much greater gap, the gap between my majority white culture and native peoples -- well, i think it breaks, I don't know if i can do it.
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