I’m currently reading Camera Lucida*,  a kind of meditation on the meaning of photography by the French philosopher Roland Barthes. It’s rather a mixed experience: one minute i’m thrilled, the next exasperated. Let’s leave that aside however; what i’d really like to talk about is a passage on page 10 where he writes:

… once i feel myself to be observed by the lens, everything changes: i constitute myself in the act of “posing”, i instantaneously make another body for myself, i transform myself in advance into an image. This transformation is an active one: i feel that the Photograph creates my body or mortifies it, according to its caprice…

Do you recognise what he’s talking about? Maybe it made you smile? Well, for me, reading those lines was like being struck by lightning.

Instantly, i remembered how in the years before i transitioned, i would smile as brightly and as widely as possible whenever i was photographed. This was truer than ever during the years of my marriage. I beam like a sun in practically every picture taken of me in that period; i gleam ecstatically. Yet that was the beginning of the long, slow unravelling that brought me to the point where i finally understood that i had to transition. It was a time when turmoil, pain and confusion reigned inside my mind.

So why the smile? The reason is simple: i believed that if all the pictures of my life showed me to be happy, then i would have been happy – not simply seemed to be happy, but actually been happy. It was one of those beliefs that possessed me so deeply that i wasn’t aware of its existence.

Now it shocks me: not just the power i ascribed to photography, but the thrall that i was in to images in general. It’s as though i thought that they were realer than reality itself. My life at that time was a constant parade of impersonations of the female sex: i was ‘earth mother’, ‘sophisticated lady’, ‘out and out tart’ – sometimes all in the space of an afternoon! Even after my marriage broke down i didn’t abandon the attempt. It was only after i’d exhausted every version of ‘female’ i could think of that i gave in and bowed to the inevitable.

My naive belief in appearances reflected my own inability to understand why i couldn’t be a woman. I didn’t – couldn’t – recognise that gender identity has to have its roots inside a person. I thought it could be planted on the outside and cultivated till it flowered within. It also showed how deeply ashamed i was of my own unhappiness, the misery i didn’t understand and couldn’t name. What better way to hide a big, big sorrow than with a big, big smile?

Now i smile when i’m happy – although not always and never like i did back then. I don’t do impersonations anymore.

* Camera Lucida (ISBN 978-0-099-22541-6; publisher: Vintage Classics)

Second in my series of people photography!!  Now, I know I said that the Mexico series was done with, but, surprise!  More Puerto Morelos pics!  Were these strategically saved for this series or did I just forget to put them with the other series?  You’ll never know.  Anyhoo, its fun to photograph kids doing their kid-ly things.  They always seem so completely absorbed in what they are doing and bring such a fun, carefree-because-they-don’t-have-bills-to-pay  feeling to the photo.  I find that looking at pictures like this always makes me remember how much I liked to do (blank) when I was (blank) years old, long before medical school sort of owned my soul.   

So, this boy and girl were playing in the sand on the shore by the Puerto Morelos pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  They are in front of the original lighthouse that was transformed into the Leaning Lighthouse of Puerto by Hurricane Wilma.  Since it’s more or less non-functional now, there is a new lighthouse a bit further back from the shore.  It is much taller and, personally, if I were a sailor, I’d be glad Wilma killed the old short lighthouse so that I could guide myself home with the more modern upgraded model.

The photo was taken with the Canon Powershot G7.  I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to adjust the contrast a bit and to bring out the slightly sepia tones in the picture to help create a more nostalgic feel and to highlight the angle of the sun.

10.14.2009

A recent trip to our land’s left side brought me in and out of a major Cali coastal storm within 120 miles traveling  between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Pacific Coast Storm

Blues

Clear

]]> http://finallylost.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/83/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:55:59 +0000 finallylost http://finallylost.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/83/

Not wanting to wait too long to find out what happened to the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, I popped season 2 in and immediately finished the first CD (ending with the great ‘Everyone Hates Hurley’). Most shows get better in their 2nd season because the writers get a chance to learn what worked and what didn’t work during season 1 so I was interested in seeing how different Season 2 would be. The writers seemed to have found a new technique to drive their fans nuts…perspective cliff hangers. Let’s leave our fans hanging on the Jack/Desmond/Locke gun scene for almost 2 episodes because we want to show it from everyone’s perspective. Great idea, very frustrating to wait. Plus how cool was it when you find out Desmond’s supposedly harmless gun shot almost hits Kate.

Now onto the big things. Ohhh the hatch. Finally. After so much waiting. And it was worth it. An enormous bunker, with tons of supplies and best of all a computer from the 80s that prevents the island/world from being destroyed. Prediction1: Doc Brown invented the computer from used pinball machine parts.Prediction2: letting the 108 minute counter go down to zero will NOT destroy the earth nor the island. Balls to the wall. As an agnostic I’m going with the man of science over the man of faith (even if it seems like all the man of science does is cry) however, like Jack I would have entered code, cause you never know. And in part 15 of the infinite part series “I don’t believe in coincidences”, Jack had already met Desmond following the unsuccessful surgery on his future wife. This is followed by her immediately regaining the ability to walk again. I have no idea what it all means but there is something going on. I also hope we get to learn more about this Dharma group and the CEO behind it. In the Chris Tucker “follow the rich white guy” school of law enforcement, he’s the prime candidate for #1 bad guy.

Now when we last left our friends on the raft not much was going on except Sawyer got shot, Jin & Walt were kidnapped and the raft was blown to bits like it was the Prof holding dynamite (got to use that nickname somehow). Sawyer is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters while I continue to loathe Michael. Hey Mike, remember that time Sawyer got a bullet in his shoulder because he was trying to rescue your son and then he saved your life and gave you CPR? How do you want to repay him? Um I’m not so sure yelling at him and saying it was all his fault because he told you to fire the flare is the proper response but to each his own. So after a shark attack and a lucky current the crew finds Jin (a character I like more and more every episode) and is taken out by a Clarke Duncan look alike. Cut to the crew captured and then…of all the pit prisons in all the islands in the world, she walks into mine…Welcome back lady from row 42, I do believe a victory speech is in order. I got another one right!! I’d like to thank the academy and the writers for making it so obvious that you were going to come into play. Same goes for Bernard. Welcome Bernard, we’ve heard so much about you and I had no idea you’d be white! Can I just say that Ana Lucia is a mean bitch. You survived a plane crash which was a billion to 1 shot, try to perk up a bit. And what kind of shoddy tribe are you running here where most of the 23 (NUMBER) survivors died? When the two tribes merge you’d better hope you get immunity or else your ass is getting voted off. I loved the shot of Michael, Jin and Sawyer looking uncomfortable around the tattered tribe while their leadership argues. Despite his reluctance and other flaws this was a great vindication of Crying Man’s (Jack) leadership. It really made you appreciate how well he’s kept tribe prime together.

Now it wouldn’t be a respectable post if I didn’t comment on “Everyone Hates Hurley”. Great idea to put the fat guy whose life was changed by winning the lottery in charge of the food. I also love that he asked Rose to help him, the show has a great cast of characters and I like when we get to see new pairings interact. Hurley’s idea of having an island thanks-regularfood-day was classic Hurley. Shout out to Kyle from Road Trip. “No you don’t get it, because it’s YOUR dog…”

Finally due to the fact that I couldn’t wait to start season 2 I didn’t do a prediction blog. I was asked to give a top 5 list of predictions for season 2 and in the spirit of the numbers I’ll list 4 (Mean bitch and Bernard coming back would have been my 5th).
- The island will not blow up if they don’t enter the numbers into the computer
- The electromagnetic force on the island is what ripped apart the plane and caused it (and all the other boats/planes) to crash there
-  Charlie falls off the wagon and feasts at the all you can eat virgin mary heroin buffet bar
-  None of the main characters from season 1 die (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Charlie, Locke, Hurley, Sun, Jin, Prego, Sticks, Michael, Walt).

Next up on Finally Lost…mama said not to hit a girl but Sawyer might have to slap around Mean Bitch

SUN esta MUUUY agradecida por poder debutar aquí en los EE. UU. y poder conocer a tantos fans ¡¡FANTASTICOS!! ¿¿¿¿De qué están agradecidos ustedes???? Xoxo

[Fuente: followWG]

The idea that the Sun orbited the Earth – rather than the other way around – was the common position throughout antiquity. The Bible, in verses like the one above, seemed to support it.

While it made intuitive sense – the Earth feels solid, while the skies seem to move – close observation of the heavens raised serious questions. The ‘wandering stars’ – now known to be the other planets – periodically seemed to change direction and travel backwards, rather than continuing on a smooth orbit.

Copernicus and Galileo, using new technology like the telescope, suggested that the Earth went around the Sun. The Church, angered, condemned Galileo to lifelong house arrest on “grave suspicion of heresy”.

By 1835, in the face of overwhelming evidence, the Church had dropped all opposition to heliocentrism, and in 1992 Pope John Paul II gave an official apology for his treatment. There are now plans to build a statue to Galileo inside the Vatican walls.

The age of the Universe
One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8)

While the Bible never explicitly states the age of the Earth, many Bible scholars attempted to deduce it using the dates and ages of its characters.

While there were problems with this approach – the chronology becomes confused after King Solomon – several attempts nonetheless came up with strikingly similar figures. The Venerable Bede suggested that the Earth was created in 3952BC, while Johannes Kepler and Sir Isaac Newton said 3992BC and 4000BC respectively.

The most famous, however, was the Ussher chronology, put forward in 1650 by the Archbishop of Armagh, James Ussher. With almost comical precision, it claimed that the first moment of creation was in the evening of 22 October, 4004BC. Scientists point out that all of these dates would mean that the planet came into existence a full thousand years after the domestication of the guinea pig.

Radio dating using lead ores suggests the Earth is around 4.54 billion years old, while the age of the Universe has been put at around 13.7 billion years. This has been established partly by looking through powerful telescopes at distant stars; the Hubble Space Telescope’s Deep Field Image (pictured) shows galaxies over 13 billion light years away, in the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

If the Ussher date was correct, we would only be able to see stars 6,000 light years away, or about six per cent of the way across our own galaxy.

Creation and evolution
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

The 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin’s great book detailing his discovery of the processes of evolution, caused the greatest split between the Church and empirical science since Galileo. The idea that man was not created in God’s image, but evolved from an ape-like ancestor, appalled many Christians.

While not all clergy were opposed to the theory of evolution, some were furious. In the famous debate at the Oxford University museum, the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, asked “Darwin’s Bulldog”, Thomas Huxley, whether he claimed descent from the apes on his mother’s or his father’s side.

The argument rages to this day, although the weight of evidence is overwhelmingly in favour and very few biologists now question the basic idea of evolution.

However, some Christians – those who believe that God created the world as described in Genesis – have called for Creationism or “Intelligent Design” to be taught alongside evolutionary biology in school science lessons.

The Church of England issued a posthumous apology to Darwin last year, saying that it showed too much “anti-evolutionary fervour” when his book was published.

Noah, the Great Flood, and fossils
Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. (Genesis 7:2)

In the early 19th century, a young girl called Mary Anning discovered a strange beast in the rock of the cliff-face in Lyme Regis, Dorset. It was a fossil ichthyosaur – a marine reptile that lived at the time of the dinosaurs.

Other fossils were being found in their hundreds, in Britain, the United States and elsewhere. The fact that many of the creatures being found did not seem to exist on Earth led to problems with another of the Bible’s teaching: that God, through Noah, had saved all the animals of the world from the Flood.

Taken together with the belief that God had given Adam “dominion over every living thing that moveth over the Earth”, it was widely believed that it was impossible for animals to go extinct. Anning’s discovery, and the arguments of Georges Cuvier and other scientists, made that position untenable.

Another, greater problem for literal readings of the Bible was that if Noah had saved the dinosaurs, humanity must have coexisted with them.

While some still argue this, most theologians have backed away from taking Scripture literally. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales says: “We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision”.

• Have we missed some? Do you disagree with the ones we’ve chosen? Have your say below

It’s that time of year here in good ol’ Minnesota. The days are nearing their shortest, the weather is getting cooler, and my work schedule is such that the sun has barely risen when I leave in the morning and is just setting when I walk out the door of my office (building, I mean, I don’t have an office). To add to that, our neighbor suggested to us today that we put plastic over our windows because our apartment building gets unbearably cold in the winter (we just moved in this past summer). Perfect.

To cheer myself up, I’ve begun the practice of throwing off my productivity stats by taking a walk around the building in the afternoon. I worry that taking an extra ten minute break will hurt my performance, but I can’t bear to be cooped up all day without once seeing the sun. I need my vitamin D, and I think that getting out into the cool air for awhile and clearing my head allows me to focus better afterwards.

Keeping a stash of favorite teas at work is another great comfort, and the best way to warm up ever.

One other thing I’ve been thinking about doing to make being inside more bearable is putting up cubicle “wallpaper,” i.e. hanging fabric panels in my workspace, which is more like a half-cubicle. I’m hoping to find a sufficiently cheery and sufficiently inexpensive yellow fabric, as well as a sneaky way of measuring my cubicle walls so that nobody asks me what the hell I’m doing.

The great thing is, it’s almost Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays. I am off Wednesday through Friday to Chicago to spend time with family. And after Thanksgiving, it will be almost Christmas, which is another one of my favorite holidays. Go figure.

O Open-solaris é um sistema operacional de código aberto mantido pela Sun e pela comunidade, ele é um sistema clone do Solaris (sistema proprietário da Sun ). A idéia é mais ou menos igual a da Red Hat que comercializa o RHEL e desenvolve junto com a comunidade o Fedora.
O Open- solaris é um sistema operacional derivado do solaris que por sua vez é derivados dos BSDs. As principais caracteristicas do Solaris 10 (tambem do open-solaris) são:

Para download do Open-solaris 2009 clique aqui>;

Sua instalação é facil, pois alem ser em liveCD ele vem com um instalador interativo.

Veja como é feita a instalação:

WOW what a season 1 finale. As you know Before starting I knew just about nothing about LOST (save they eventually get off the island, numbers are important and the island maybe a government or alien creation) so there were quite a few things I did not see coming. Everyone got a flashback (which was awesome). Frenchy pulled a rope-a-dope and kidnapped devil baby (Erin!) in order to swap for her 16 yr old son. The Others were really after Walt and it looks like they have a motorboat (why are they still on the island then!). Jack gives Sawyer a gun and Sawyer tells Jack about his encounter with Jack’s father (it’s like the writers read my last post). Hurley saw the numbers on the hatch. The Prof blew himself up with dynamite in a wicked cool scene (I’m sorry that the Prof died, esp since I’ve taken the trouble to give him a cool nickname). The invisible-dino is really a defense system which appears to be mechanical. Jin and Sun reconcile. Sticks shows heart, Charlie finds the heroin, the US marshal put the toy airplane in the safety deposit box, Jack is no longer married, Sayid uses gun powder to fix Charlie and the list goes on and on…

As I said before I really loved how this episode gave everyone flashbacks. They really made you feel how how much the characters have changed in the last month. The theme of the flashbacks seemed to be how the main survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 almost didn’t get on the plane but fate stepped in and assured they were. Interestingly enough we had our survivors sitting in rows 23,16,42, etc. And who is that hott chick that was hitting on Jack who just happened to be sitting in row 42 (last row in the plane). Would they bring her up and make her sit in that row if she wasn’t important? Could she be alive on the island and hanging out with Rose’s hubby??

All in all I am loving LOST right now. Season 1 had a tight the story and everything felt connected and purposeful. They probably gave us enough answers in the finale but I would have had trouble waiting between seasons to find out what happened to the folks on the boat and what’s in the goddamn hatch!! I think the next thing I need to explore is…what is the island??..because like Sawyer said, it’s too big to not have been discovered.

Next up on Finally Lost, I’m really wondering how they will bridge the time gap between seasons. So far only roughly a month has gone by. Will we pick up hours, weeks or months later? How the hell are Michael, Jin and Sawyer going to survive being 15 miles out with no boat? Will we EVER find out what’s in that damn hatch. Are the survivors going to start figuring out how they are all connected? Is hott girl #42 going to come back?

Nicole introdujo a las Chicas el Nuevo Grupo Femenino del Momento refiriendose a su entrada en EE. UU.
Luego se muestra una recopilación de videos de los fans y de las Chicas mientras estaban de gira con los Jonas Brothers.
Todo esto para que luego JYP recibiera el premio de Mejor Compositor de Asia.

Los MAMA (Mnet Asia Music Awards) son la nueva versión de MKMF (Mnet Km Music Festival). Una ceremonia en donde se premia a los cantantes más exitosos/populares del momento, mismo donde las Wonder Girls ganaron el año pasado el premio a la Mejor Canción del Año que fue otorgado a 2NE1 en esta ocasión.

Queremos aprovechar para felicitar a los hermanitos de nuestras Chicas y a los Hottest de 2PM por ganar el premio al Mejor Artista del Año.

[Crédito: iLOVEyoobin@youtube]

I have always admired the Native Ameicans for their honoring and blessing the earth.  This is my giving thanks to the Native Americans for their teachings that we must relearn to save the animals, people, and our planet.

I am thankful for mother earth as she has provided nourishment and sustenance for our bodies and souls.

I am thankful for the oceans, the rivers, the streams, the ponds, and the lakes, as they have provided us with water to keep our bodies flowing.  I am also thankful for them, as they nourish the plants, the flowers, and the crops.

I am thankful for the grasses, the plants, the herbs that provide us the food we eat, the decoration, the beauty, and the medicinal properties to keep us healthy.

I am thankful for the animals, as they are our healers, teachers, and nurturers.  They teach us how to bond and to trust.

I am thankful for the trees as they provide us the oxygen we breathe, as well as provide shelter from the storm, a place to rest, and the food we eat.

I am thankful for the birds.  When we hear their lovely songs and communication, they are our reminders that we need to listen, to pay attention, and most importantly, be still.

I am thankful for the Winds of the Four Direction who continue to blow, purify the air, and clear the clutter of our minds.

I am thankful for the thunder and lightening, “as they welcome the Spring with their loud voice.”1

I am thankful for Grandmother Moon for honoring and uniting all the women of the world to celebrate their cycles and regulate the tides.

I am thankful for Grandfather Sun who brings us light, energy, and allows for the food to grow.

I am thankful to the stars who also provide lightness in the evening, and also gives Grandfather Sun a rest!!!  I am also thankful for the planets, as they hold mysteries of the unknown.

I am thankful for all the unseen things that make everything move, like the “powerful forces, such as atoms, molecules, and spiritual forces.”2

1 Mohawk Sub-Chief Tekaronieneken Jake Swamp, “The Worlds before all else.”

2English, Barbara, Vermont Wilderness School, Art of Mentorship Seminar, October 16, 2005

2 more episodes down and still NO idea what’s in the damn hatch! I only have the 2 part season finale left and there are still so many unanswered questions however this time we were given a few morsels of answers. Mystery 1 solved: John Locke knock out Sayid and destroyed his equipment. I KNEW it! Wait let’s go back to the record…”Locke is very suspicious because he does too good of a job convincing Sayid it was Sawyer (even though the audience knows it wasn’t) and I’m not sure he wants to be rescued from what he dubbed “magic island” because unlike at home he has a role and is respected. That being said, I’m going to pin it on a yet to met character.” Good reasoning but went with unknown character who turned out to be Ethan. I’ll give myself half a point for reasoning, for narrowing it down to 2 good guesses and for identifying that there was someone already on the island that was going to cause them problems. Fair?

And we got some answers about Kate in her flashback. Kate did kill the man she loved and predictably it wasn’t at her hands although clearly it was her fault (BITCH that’s why no one’s voting for you on my poll!). We found out the significance of the plane!! Now that I know it, am I really expected to believe Kate would risk everything by breaking into a bank to get a toy plane? How did it get in that safety deposit box anyway? We still don’t know what Kate’s original crime was to set the law after her but maybe in her next flashback. I’d also love to know what she did to her mom to piss her off so much. PREDICTION: Kate was molested by her step-dad and ended up killing him by accident. That seems to fit and still keeps her hands relatively clean…

Before I get to Sticks I need to say something to the on the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815: can you PLEASE tell each other more about yourselves! In honor of Walt telling his dad that he burned the raft I have my list of top info that would be really useful if shared:
- Hurley’s numbers (then maybe they’ll notice they’re on the hatch)
- Hurley’s numbers (it’s f’n important!)
- The fact that Locke can now walk
- Whatever the hell Locke knows about the island
- Prego’s psychic setup
-  The story of Jack’s father and Sawyer (this isn’t really important but it would be really nice for Jack and maybe him and Sawyer could then be bff’s)
- Am I missing anything???

One last thing about Walt. I’m starting to think he really does have some sort of super power. He touches Locke and then has a bad feeling about the hatch. In the past there was him always rolling the correct dice against Hurley and that bird showed up at his house when his parent’s weren’t listening to him. His step-dad DID call him the luckiest man alive…

And finally Sticks. What the hell were you thinking girl Locke’s the bet shot you got!? And how the hell did you know about the secret guns and that Jack had the key? Something was very odd about the shooting scene. I kept replaying it and it looked like she shot Locke in the stomach. Can anyone confirm? Is the island trying to protect Locke? Why did he get the use of his legs back again? Did it have something to do with the Hatch? I don’t think I like Sticks very much but Sayid is the man. His flashback was a great story and it made his scene with Frenchy more significant when he talked about giving up on finding his love. I really don’t see why he likes Stick’s other than she is pretty hott. But I guess on a deserted island that’s probably enough…

Next up on Finally Lost I get to see the Season Finale of Lost Season 1!! I’m predicting 4 answers and 2342 more questions. By the way today is the last day to vote for your favorite character, so please vote and I will do a write up on the winner.

Hi friends,

After two and half days of hibernation, I am finally feeling better today.  I compiled a list of things that I learned since Wednesday afternoon.

1.  Sleep is good.  I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday sleeping.  I usually get around 8 hrs a night so I never think of myself as sleep deprived.  My body must have been fighting something off as I did not move off the couch for 36 hours.

2.  I like tea.   I usually consider myself a coffee person but I consumed a bunch of tea over the last three days.  Tea is good.  It feels very healing going down.  I like it.  I should drink it more regularly.

3.  cheesy oats may be healing too!  I had a huge cheesy oat craving on Friday around lunch time.  It was my first nonsicky meal.   I cooked 1/3 cup oats with 1 cup water and stuck a chunk of goat cheese and sriracha in at the end.  I scrambled one egg and one egg white with a bit of bell pepper, mushrooms and spinach and dumped it on top of the oats.  Again, Sarah your oats are outstanding

4.  I can run farther than I think.  It was sunny out yesterday and I was antsy to get out of the house so I decided to go for a little walk around 3pm.  I was enjoying my walk and then out of no where I got the urge to run.  I never get the urge to run.  So I started running.  It was a pretty slow run, but it was run.  I enjoyed myself.  Out of the 4.2 mile loop, I think I ran about 3 miles of it.  I think I would like to do more running. 

5.  Pancakes in the morning are such a treat.  I was craving something different and a little special for breaky this morning.  I mixed together 1/3 cup of oats, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 frozen banana melted in the micro, 1 egg white, vanilla and a splash of soymilk.  It made two large pancakes.

The one in the front is topped with pomegranate seeds, a blob of plain yog and a bit of maple syrup.  The back one is topped with a blob of homemade AB and some frozen blackberries.  I sprinkled ground flax over both.  I prefered the pomegranate seed combo best.  Enjoyed breakfast with a mug of Goji Raspberry green tea!

Ok, have a lovely weekend friends!  

Kate