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Interview Canals

I interviewed a veteran of the U.S. Navy. While he spent most of his time on land as an intel officer, I thought his perspective provided an interesting lens on the topic of both expert and non-expert.

What definition comes to mind when you think of Canals?

A Connector.

How So?

The connector of bodies of water that flow into each other. Mainly in cities.

What do you believe is the main purpose of canals?

Vessel transportation of people and goods.

Do you believe there are any secondary purposes of canals?

Moving energy to an environment and allowing access to water for areas that may not have had it otherwise.

What made your mind go to waterways rather than bodily systems?

Being a coastal person and a veteran of the Navy, my mind automatically went to waterways.

To your knowledge, are canals man-made or environmentally made?

Both? [I then explained the differences to a canal and a channel that I have learned in my research]

Are you aware of the negative environmental impacts caused by canals?

I wasn’t aware and mainly thought of them as providing access and transportation and did not consider the ecosystem impact.

 

When holding this discussion, I realized I was not alone in my knowledge of the importance of canals outside of commerce to our environment and protection. Even when interviewing a Navy veteran, it was apparent that this is a lesser-known fact. In addition, realizing the broad range of the topic mid-way through my research between the waterway/transportation lens vs. the bodily lens (which was inspired by the Borderlands reading) it is not the first idea that comes to mind when discussing canals. Still, if you enter it into a Google search, you receive a different outcome, and the bodily canals are the first to appear in the results.

Interview

I asked my friend Rhyan if I could interview him since he has a dog. Down below are questions that I have asked him. Rhyan did not know what taxidermy was, and I gave him a brief explanation and history of taxidermy. He did find it weird that people did do taxidermy in museums for research and to teach others as well as ordinary people using taxidermy as a way to keep their memories alive with their animals.

 

Questions that I have asked:

Have You Ever Heard the Term “Taxidermy” Before?

  • No, I haven’t heard that term before.

Do You Believe That The Practice of Taxidermy Should Be Continued?

I think that taxidermy can be used to study animals, but it is not necessary to use it as a display.

What Do You Think You Think Of When People Say That They use Taxidermy or “Stuff Their Animals” to Keep Them In Memory? Would You Consider Using Taxidermy As A Way to Keep Your Pets In Memory?

I understand the reasons why people would use taxidermy because they love their animals. However, I don’t think that I would ever use taxidermy to “keep the memories alive” with my dog.

 

 

Topic 1 (Puppets) Interview

I interviewed my friend, Nicholas Johnson, who’s a Ph.D. student from the University of Chicago, with a research focus on Economic History. He studies the past, structure, consumption, production, exchange, and the change in time. Apart from his research, he also teaches undergraduate classes in philosophy and social sciences. He’s not an expert in Puppet. However, he will be very informative to me to gain the US perspective of things as I did not grow up in the States.

 

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Puppet”?

I guess…like…when you want to say something but you can’t, so you have to pretend to be somebody else that’s small and cute, kinda like ventriloquism.

 

Did you grow up with Sesame Street or any program that utilized puppets as a storytelling tool?

Yes, I grew up watching Sesame Street. I watched it at daycare from age 3-6. 

I remember all the characters, especially the Count, who’s Dracula, and he teaches people how to count. (sidenote: Nicholas was a math major back in undergraduate). 

 

Do you think dolls and stuffed animals can be considered puppets as well?

A little bit different. I think in order to be considered a puppet, you have to have more detailed control of it.

 

Were you ever obsessed with dolls, stuffed animals, or puppets as a kid?

Yes! My favorite stuffed animal as a kid was a seal, i called it Silly. I remember vividly I left it at my grandpa’s house during a weekend, on hour one hour ride home, I wouldn’t stop crying and screaming, so my parents had to drive all the way back to pick up Silly for me. 

 

Describe the image in your mind when you hear the word puppet. 

It’s made of felt fabric, and the entire forearm can fit into it. Looks like Pinocchio, but more ironic and sad, sick and twisted looking. 

 

How would you define the term “puppet leader”?

From a US-centric perspective, leaders wouldn’t have power without us, and can’t contradict our immediate interests and constraints. It doesn’t mean they have to listen to everything we say, but we defined the strict limit of what’s possible for them. 

 

What comes to your mind when you hear the term puppet state?

A classic example would be Eastern Europe during the Cold World, so maybe like Poland.

 

Where do you think these terms come from?

I have no idea…but should be as old as modern theory, so probably 16 century if not earlier. I also assume it’s western, but the same idea might have occurred simultaneously in other parts of the world. 

 

Have you ever felt like a puppet yourself?

No.

 

Do you ever feel the need to control others?

Yes, when somebody might cause self-harm, or when I think somebody is acting irrationally. 

Form for Gardens Project

I will be making a map of sorts for exploring my topic, and an accompanying exploration kit.

I will be focusing on the plant life — wildflowers, trees, etc — that are found in and around Chicago. A map helps people navigate, explore, find things, locate themselves and other things, orient oneself, and capture a moment in time. Some maps include transportation routes, trade routes, and points of interest. Mappe mundi, a form of medieval map, also include history, mythology, different animals/species/peoples, and are not terribly focused on literal locating of things.

I will be leaning into the navigating, exploration, and orientation aspect. I want to make a map that might help someone orient themselves in the world of the diverse plant species that surround them. I’d like to help them explore these plants, become interested in them in order to build appreciation, and ultimately care enough to help protect them.

In making this map, I will be  subverting the focus on precise location and finding things. I don’t want people to be able to use it to specifically locate anything, I would like them to be exploring instead. Instead of focusing on the more typical built environment or on humans’ points of interest, I want to focus on non-human elements. I am not sure yet what metaphors I will be employing.

In making this map, I will need to do some exploring myself. I will put together a “kit” for this exploration and will document that as part of my project.

Interview: Wonderland Project

** Due to scheduling gymnastics, I will be conducting my interview on Tuesday, September 27th at 7pm, and will update this post with a summary when it is complete **

Interview subject: Natalie Evans, who is working on the Wonderland Community Project near Woodstock, IL

Stated goals of Wonderland:

  • Building a large scale mutual aid food supply where we can feed 100 families, hopefully in 5 years time.
  • Land restoration: removing invasive species, replanting native spices and reestablishing lost ecosystems.
  • Creating ecological wealth for future generations.
  • Exploring ways to give land back to local Indigenous people.
  • Helping people feel connected to the land and providing a space for people to be outdoors, especially people that don’t have easy or safe access to being in “nature”.
  • Moving slowly, working in collaboration with each other and the land.
Questions for Natalie:
What led you to starting Wonderland? What drew you down this path?
What were some of the ways that you prepared for this project? Some of the hurdles?
How did you choose the location for Wonderland?
I love all of the goals that you shared for your project. Do you consider any to be more important than any others? How do you balance them?
If someone else was interested in starting down this path, what advice would you give them? What would their first steps be?
What are ways that people could serve similar goals if they don’t have access to large tracts of land?
Natalie’s journey toward her project began in earnest roughly a decade ago when she turned to the outdoors for comfort during some stressful moments for her family. At that time, she took many nature walks and started to study urban foraging — looking for edible food in and around Chicago. After finding a community of like-minded individuals, she joined a group of 6 families, 9 adults and 16 kids, to purchase a large chunk of land about an hour from downtown Chicago. The group’s plan is to work with the land to provide food for local families, and safe space for humans of all types (with an explicit focus on people in the queer community) to enjoy being outdoors. They are also focusing on sustainable growing — removing invasive species and replanting native species.
The practical details are not terribly glamorous, but it was clear how much Natalie loved the work. From a human side, they are hoping to build a comfortable composting bathroom facility in the next year. From a plant side, they are hard at work removing honeysuckle, buckthorn, and oriental bittersweet. They are planting oaks, milkweed, onions, bee balm, bundle flowers, ramps, sunflowers, and wood nettles.
She also pointed me toward a few people to do more research into, surrounding the controversy of rewilding: Farmer Rishi, Daniel Vitalis, and Peter Michael Bauer, as well as the blog CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt.com.

Interview: Salt

I talked about salt with an endocrinologist.

She said the recommended salt intake in China’s dietary guidelines had been reduced from 6g to 5g. Then I asked her if she would be worried if the dish was too salty. She replied with a smile: “No, the excess salt will be excreted by the body.” We started the conversation casually, but it still gave me a lot of interesting knowledge.

 

In a doctor’s view, salt is not only sodium chloride but also potassium chloride. Sodium and potassium ions maintain the osmotic pressure of cells. Some juices, such as orange juice and coconut water, are rich in potassium. Usually, eating too much salt will not be a problem because the kidneys excrete excess sodium and potassium. But overeating salt every day can cause cardiovascular disease.

 

A too bland diet can also cause problems. Some elderly diabetics eat too lightly. Without enough salt, as a result, they feel weak and have to go to the hospital. The doctor will adjust the saline composition and concentration according to the patient’s condition. (I didn’t expect a light diet causes issues too.)

 

Foods that are not salty are not necessarily low in salt. A sweet cake may contain more salt than you think. To determine salt content, we can read the NRV (Nutrient Reference Value) on the packaging bag. (I didn’t know 100% on the NRV label means 100g of such food’s nutrient is sufficient.)

 

She mentioned a group of indigenous people named Yanomami in the Amazon rainforest. When she talked about the marker of a condition called Primary Aldosteronism that is not suitable for these indigenous people. (She even showed me a diagram to explain the mechanism, but the only thing I remember is Yanomami.) Their diet is different from modern people’s diet. We intake much more sodium than potassium, but they, on the contrary, intake more potassium. For they live by hunting and don’t eat industry salt. As a result, although the marker is high, they are healthy as the sodium content in their body is low.

 

The relationship between salt and border is not very direct. Maybe the Yanomami part is a little closer. However, the conversation is fun.

week_3_”Metaphors We Lived by”

Metaphors We Live By

  • Lakoff + Johnson give several examples throughout the text of linguistic metaphorical systems. Are there any you found odd, outdated, or different from metaphorical systems that you use, either personally or in your language, culture, or social sphere? For instance, do you speak about conversation as battle, or use orientational metaphors the same way the authors describe?

A: I found two main verbal metaphors the article mentioned, which are “argument is war” and ” time is money “, are both relevant and did not feel outdated. One reason might be English is not my first language so I did not grow up in the same context as a native speaker. Second, I learned the language by its assigned meaning. Since both of the expressions are intuitive and comprehensible to me, they are not odd to me.

Though some spatialization metaphors look a bit different than how I perceived native speakers would put out, such as “unknown is up, known is down”. They aren’t isolated cases, at least it takes me a few seconds to “grasp” the meaning of “unknown” which is defined as “unclear, undecided”. I don’t think “That’s up in the air” is an outdated expression, just not as intuitive as other examples.

  • Can you identify a metaphorical system that you commonly use? What do you think is the motivating rationale (“experiential basis”) behind that system – or is there one? Have you ever intentionally (or unintentionally) changed the metaphorical system that you use to speak about a certain subject, to reflect a different experience or worldview?

A: Thinking back on linguistic expression reflecting a certain metaphorical concept, the naming of some editing techniques comes into mind. One technique called “mask”, where the editor selects part of the unwanted image and hides it off (or the reverse) is used metaphorically in this case. The experiential basis might be the physical techniques applied frame by frame in the film era. Before moving images practices became mainly digital, if something unwanted happened on the raw footage, editors would then need to cover up the unwanted part with other materials.

I always use metaphors that maybe only me and my friends would understand because more often we share context . By changing, I sometimes intentionally switch verbs within a sentence to exaggerate my reaction. For example, instead of saying “I’ll reach out to you”, I will say “Yall at you when I know”.

  • What metaphors/systems of metaphor are commonly used when discussing your topic? If “the essence of a metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” (5), what other kinds of metaphors might be useful for discussing your topic, or an aspect of your topic?

My topic is “grafting”, which certainly has a human-centric aspect within. Metaphors commonly used in the realm of study are verbs indicating status such as: undergo, under, between, select, etc. Usually, within the context, plants “undergo” profound changes or “under” natural conditions. “Under”  seems to be implemented as an orientational metaphor often in the case suggesting lower status of plants. (intellectually? or power of control)

I am not sure what “other kinds of metaphors” within the prompt specifically suggest. Like “what are the other ways people could describe the process of grafting”?

Systems Map: Borders | Canals

Concept Map:

Nicole P – Canal Mind Map

Feedback Map:

I’m interested in exploring the concept of division and connection when researching canals as borders. Waterways help funnel water through the many different divides that split land and water supplies while also ultimately draining into oceans to funnel back into watersheds.

Skin: Taxidermy

Every organism has a “skin”. Most have skin that we can see, touch, or even taste. The idea of “stuffing” the skin of an organism to preserve it is called Taxidermy. Taxidermy by Merriam-webster.com is, “the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals and especially vertebrates”. Taxidermy dates back to the Egyptians according to “bonesandbugs.com”, “In ancient Egypt, taxidermy was not used as a means to put animals on display, but rather, to preserve animals that were pets or were beloved by pharaohs and other nobility. They developed the first type of preservation of animals through the use of embalming tools, spices, injections, and oils.” Taxidermy evolved from something that was noble to everyday practice. Many museums today, use taxidermy to show animals. Taxidermy is also used by many animal owners who wish to preserve their precious animals.

Since taxidermy is a bit odd for many people, there has been a backlash against it. According to “adventure.howstuffworks.com”, the downside of taxidermy is that people think of it as a way to boast about hunting an animal. Also the risk of getting “Chronic Waste Disease (CWD), which is in the same family as the human disease Creutsfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)”. Humans have not been contaminated with the disease, but can be spread throughout the area, possibly to other animals.

 

Taxidermy Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

The History of Taxidermy – Kodiak Bones and Bugs Taxidermy

Introduction to Taxidermy | HowStuffWorks