morrisseyed

sometimes i just can’t help myself.  this week, in my favourite class, “interruptions and interactions with the mba’s”, i had brought up the evil words “cultural imperialism.”  there was a bit of a discussion on the go about the how great - or how evil - the One Laptop Per Child programme was, and I had to state the case that perhaps Western tech is not the answer and that developed nations may not necessarily be jonesing for disney.com, even if no one else was going to.  i really with the mba’s were into this one, but they couldn’t care less for the subject since it had nothing to do with risk management or ROI.  oh, those kids..

anyway, I don’t want to go far into the details, but I do want to say I see the merits of a programme such as OLPC, and I won’t dispute them.  Also, i’m aware of the elitism inherent in western arguments developed for western thinkers such as, “Giving laptops to children in developing nations is a form of cultural imperialism” (i.e. the very argument reinforces the dichotomy and widens the gap between cultures, not to mention the digital divide), and i’m more than aware that one can’t ever bridge the development gap by holding steadfast to the idea that “our western culture is bad therefore we shouldn’t export its wares”.  however, in a lecture preaching all the merits of OLPC and how it will change the world for all these little kids (who might be worried more about basic life necessities like a glass of water than they might be about their facebook wall), some one out there who can see things the other way needs to speak up and broach the subject…

it was really nice, therefore, to watch two other classmates take the microphone after me and begin their comments with, “I agree with Mitch…”   After getting past that moment of self-indulgence, when all my thoughts veered to just how awesome i really am, I realized that perhaps i did the right thing after all by stating the case, even if that case is flawed.  Because in the end all of the cases are flawed, but I don’t think many people realize it.  That’s something I’ve always resented about the classroom.  And I’m a little disappointed to see that it hasn’t been alleviated bur rather reinforced at the graduate level.  we need more people willing to disagree, and to disagree passionately, to our great ideas.  without that disagreement, without that dialogue, our arguments turn to dogma and tautology.

so.  yay to criticism.

Hey all,

so I’m going to run the santa shuffle after all.  if you feel like donating anything to the cause, then shuffle yourselves over to http://steeleworthy.ca/run to get all the details.

luv,

m.

(nike+ powersong: fire eye’d boy)

Okay, so this morning, for perhaps the third (fourth) time in my life, I actually baked! I don’t count baking cakes for The Pineapples as baking, because I’ve failed almost every time, but if even if you were to add those numbers into it we’d still be at less than a dozen instances.

I baked because I helped organize a to-do for this evening with a budget so small that us organizers had to get crafty in the kitchen. I lose all capacity to think when it comes to baking, so this experience was a little more… difficult… than is had to be. The Pineapples was both exasperated and laughing her face off at my uselessness with the blender this morning. She actually must be given credit for guiding me through some of the process. At any rate, the snicker doodles are baked, ready to be boxed up, and will tonight be eaten.

I’m writing all this up mostly for Rhia, who I think would be proud of my… ability acumen experience intention willingness to conjure up something in the kitchen that doesn’t call for oregano or basil for once. These photos are for you..

[the thumbnails are clickable, btw.]