twenty-four stories of internal-external causation

(No, this is not related to last night's post about new ideas, although if you know anybody who has thought about this exactly this way before, let me know. I'm not sure this is actually going to make it into anything I'm writing, but I've made the graphs, so I'm subjecting you to it. I'll try to post something hilarious to make up for it tomorrow, even though my inability to be amusing under any kind of pressure is well-documented.)

The three basic genres:



1. How do a person’s genes and environments combine to produce the embodied characteristics (e.g., the psychology) of the person?

2. How do those embodied characteristics interact with the circumstances of the immediate situations to produce actions?

3. How do the actions of individuals interact with the structure of the networks and societies in which they are part to produce biographical attainments?

Note: more properly, one should add "at a particular point in biographical time" before the question mark for each question.

The eight basic plots:



The red and blue lines are different genotypes or phenotypes or some-as-yet-unknown-word (agencies?). E is the default environment, and E' is the environment with some natural or artifical intervention.

As if we were talking about genes -> embodied characteristics, the eight plots briefly:

(a) Different genotypes cause different outcomes that are the same across environments.
(b) Different genotypes produce the same outcome that depends on the environment.
(c) Genes and environments both have effects, and the effects of each are not affected by the other.
(d) Environmental cause only has effect for some genotypes.
(e) Genes produce different outcomes in the normal environment, but under a compensating environment produce the same outcome.
(f) The environmental cause makes the effect of genes less than it would otherwise be.
(g) The environmental cause makes the effect of genes greater than it would otherwise be.
(h) Different genes do better or worse in different environments.

Anyway, if somebody ever asks you to think about "genetics and social structure" and you start doing background reading, you'll find that you are soon reading about debates about genes v. environment, person v. situation, agency v. structure. These are very different things. And, yet, you do have a entity and a substrate in which a transformation of the entity occurs and the project of telling a story about how the character of the entity and the character of the substrate caused the transformation to happen as it did.

Royksopp - What Else Is There

Royksopp feat. Karen Dreijer - What Else Is There


Mistic song! And it is one of that cases when remix completely excels the original version of the song. See the video, listen to original version, then download the remix here and compare! amazing!

Royksopp - What Else Is There MIX (free download)

halloween novelties

A magical thing about this world is that you can type a sentence and feel some certainty as you are doing it that no one in the history of the world has ever before typed exactly the sentence that you are typing. Especially if, like me, you are prone to long sentences, which had I stopped at the comma would have been a sentence that had probably been typed or said sometime but now once again I am off into a sentential terra incognita. Strange things come into your head when you are working at 3:07am, which seems improbable enough also to have never been previously typed, especially when I add the preceding clause and the fact that I am typing it on Halloween 2006. (Happy Halloween! Nothing new in that.)

I was thinking about this because I was here in my office writing away and had a thought about what I'm working on that I realized was probably something that no one had ever really thought before. Nothing particularly profound, nor even necessarily correct (I'll need to think about it more tomorrow). But that the things I was working with were such a motley and intellectual-biography-contingent collection of things that no one else would ever have reason to put them together. Anyway, it's not like I've never thought anything that, to my knowledge, nobody has ever thought before, per se, but my usual conclusion from that is that it's more or less something that has been thought before and I'm just rediscovering it unwittingly or otherwise, with perhaps a new coat of paint particular to whatever issue I'm working on. Like how there are only really like 11 plots of novels, or how I only really have like 17 different funny things to say--total, lifetime--but spring them on people in different guises.

In any case, it's an magical thing about this academic world that you can read an eclectic bunch of things and put yourself in a position where you feel like you are thinking about something that nobody has ever really thought about before; even more that you can reflect and conclude the feeling is probably correct, at least in terms of particulars, rather than delusional. It's like the boy detective gets to feel like he's an explorer, without having to leave his office or risk malaria or scurvy.

That said, I should really leave my office and go to bed. I have been trying a nocturnal gambit while I work on this paper. Still, it's past 3 and I'm still in my office, feeling slaphappy and blogging, both of which are good indicators that it's time to go home.

Update, next day: As I expected, upon further reflection, neither so new nor so clever.

[passport to trespass] 10/29/2006 05:12:00 PM

a return to the dark days, we bought a bad batch
new york city
october 2006

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Posted by Mikael Kennedy to passport to trespass at 10/29/2006 05:12:00 PM

[passport to trespass] 10/29/2006 05:23:00 PM

sarah meadows reminds me of white light in photographs
new york city
sunday morning

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Posted by Mikael Kennedy to passport to trespass at 10/29/2006 05:23:00 PM

Sonny And The Sovereigns –School Is Out

Sonny And The Sovereigns –School Is Out/Walm Jetz –Rare Earth C006-95809 (1974 German issue)

A minor entry which updates 1964 with the Glitter sound. It has a monster drum heavy production, but the corny melody (that owes a heavy debt to Lipstick On My Collar) definitely grates. The B side is more enjoyable as it’s an instrumental version. I especially like the mumbled humming that replicates the Glitter Band baritone sax sound. The label mentions that this is a “ British recording for Tamla Motown” and it’s co-produced by P. Anders. I was wondering if this could be Peter Anders who with Vinnie Poncia was behind The Tradewinds and tons of 60’s New York produced stuff. It would make sense sonically, but not sure on that one.

PS: On closer inspection of the cover photo; it looks likes the guy has sideburns and they seem to be turning grey…a bit unsettling that!

Click below for soundclip

eszter pagaent

Eszter has started this thing where she is going to post a photo of something-from-her-life every day for a year. She's on Day 3, so just shy of the 1% of way there. She tried to get me to do it, too, even enticing me with a picture of the Boy Detective sporting black and gold.

My reaction: I can't even manage to shave every day, how am I supposed to manage to remember to keep my camera with me and take a photo of something every day? In general, I am not very good at the concept of "every day," a principal part of my more general difficulty with that great secret to high human productivity, the "routine."

Although I do admit the idea is appealing. I think I also don't like the arbitrariness of doing it from a random day in October/November that same day one year hence. Presuming that Eszter is still going strong, I might join the project on January 1. If I do, you should, too. (Yes, I mean you.) If I do, I don't think I'd write the full descriptions of the photo that Eszter does, but rather just snap something quirky and give a couple of lines.

frayedy cat

Winter is coming. For six years now, winter has meant Jeremy breaks out his extra-long black-and-gold scarf. Back when Dorotha and Henry were working on a comic book about me--I know, whatever happened with that--the scarf figured prominently in the rendering of my character, making me look sort of like a hypercomely Madison version of The Fourth Doctor Who. Anyway, the scarf has become increasingly worn, but I like it's distinctiveness, so I wanted to buy another one. I originally got it at a shop selling Iowa Hawkeyes paraphenalia, but as far as I can tell it's been discontinued at Hawkeyes outlets. I despaired, but then Dorotha found it from a store called Angry, Young, and Poor online:


(my scarf, exactly, only new)

I was so excited I ordered two. But then I got an e-mail from them saying it was out of stock and that they had it in red-and-gray. I told them that I had an immutable color preference and asked if they could give me the manufacturer's name so I could try to track it down. Being Angry, Young, and Poor, they didn't write me back. I hope they stay poor and age rapidly and ungracefully.

Meanwhile, on the self-motivation front, I downloaded the cover image from The Boy Detective Fails, photoshopped out the "Fails" and the author's name, printed it out, and have tacked it to my bulletin board. I should color in his tie black and gold.



Meanwhile: I've declared that this boy detective is grounded until he makes real progress on the paper he's working on. I'm incorrigibly bad about being the boss of me, but time is getting tight and this wandery child needs to be brought to heel, or he's stands no chance of cracking The Case of the Embodied Explanans.

instead, because i didn't turn and it hit me in the back of my head, i've become strangely repetitive

From ESPN.com:

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said Friday he was hit in the back of the head with a mini glass liquor bottle while standing on the sideline during Thursday night's 24-7 loss to Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium. [...]

"Had I turned and had it hit me in the eye, it would have killed me," Bowden said. "It was glass. That's what scared me. Those plastic ones, it wouldn't go that far."

Bowden said he gave the bottle to Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips, who was standing on the sideline. Bowden said officials made an announcement warning fans not to throw objects on the field.

"I really was afraid after that because had I turned and been hit in the eye, I surely would have lost the eye," Bowden said.

In any case, even though college football coaches get paid roughly two orders of magnitude more than college professors, at least we don't have people throwing glass bottles at us while we are doing our job.

[..............m. powsner..................] fire island.

travis at the beach birthday barbeque.

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Posted by m. powsner to ..............m. powsner.................. at 10/27/2006 03:22:00 PM

[Nine37 Productions Home] FIVE TOWN MASSIVE VOLUME 8!

The FIVE TOWN MASSIVE is an annual Arts Festival that takes place in Bristol, Vermont, during the week leading up to the new year. We are looking forward to presenting our 8th edition of this community celebration for a whopping FIVE DAYS from December 26 - 30th, featuring entire nights dedicated to poetry, gallery art, music and cumulating with two nights of our traditional Art, Music and Film Presentation.

Submissions for this years event are Due November 20th at the latest, so download an application form Today!

If you have ever been to the Massive, you know how much fun, art, music and film is packed in, and this year promises to be more Massive than ever. We look forward greatly to seeing you there.

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Posted by Nine37 to Nine37 Productions Home at 10/27/2006 06:48:00 PM

This Weeks Damage Control! - DJ Chill and Rapid Ric on the radio in Paris!

What they talm bout? I'm pissed I'm not in Paris, but pumped I got to hear my boys on the radio. I did sleep good last night, rather than sit on the 10 hour flight, but um, man I miss Paris. Boys killin' 'em over thurr.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAST WEEKS DAMAGE CONTROL HERE DO NOT STREAM!

RAPID RIC DJS WHILE FRENCH MC'S Youssoupha, Poison and Alibi Montana FLOW!

DOWNLOAD RAPID RIC AND DJ CHILL ON GENERATION FM IN PARIS 10-27-2006

That's today.

Trae Video Shoot - InTha Hood/No Help - 3rd Ward Texas

Man I'm sitting here listening to DJ Chill and Rapid Ric mixing live on the radio in Paris. It's goin' down. Just a couple days back though, I mean nights, we were out there in that Third Ward Texas off Scott fof the latest Trae video shoot. Here's some shots. Get excited. Trae is the Truth.


THA TRUTH!


With Yung Joc


Know'm sayin'?


Jason holding it down for Texas once again.


G.R.i.T. Boys!


Big Chief of Rap-A-Lot Records, DJ Chill


DJ Wiz Familia


Bun B!






What you know 'bout that Ella? There's a good bookstore over there.


Freeze!


Trycia Nguyen and friend


It went down.




Mad Linx from BET!


Lance Walker and Cl'che WHERE YOU BEEN CLE?




Cl'che


with me


Poppy


Yung Redd


The Boss!




Billy Cook and Mad Linx


Lil J Xavier the youngest in charge for real


Trae and J. Prince of Rap A Lot!


Big Truck!


Keeping it soreal








Pimp C, Louie Rankin!


KB da Kidnappa, Louie Rankin


KB da Kidnappa, Pimp C


Mad Linx, Pimp C, Wickett Cricket!




International Red!


DJ Wiz, Nancy Byron, Pimp C, Dread!


Wonderous of the Plaboy Click, Lil J Xavier, Big Chief


Yung Joc and Trae.


Lance Walker, Julia Beverly, Showtyme

Look out for this one. Maybe BET and MTV will actually play it. I don't know. If they hate they may have to get dealt with.

And the other, other night I went to a poetry event, something I usually don't do, but INVINCIBLE was performing and I always liked her shit. Yeah, she's the white girl from Detroit who can really rhyme, but she's also a seious activist and extremely community minded. She raps real about real shit so I had to go and support.

She didn't lip synch. In fact she sounded quite clear over a shitty little semblence of a sound system. No lip synching dudes.




Especially not at Sabbath in the Park.