Whileawaying

Gender bias

2009-06-28T22:47:10Z

There's been an interesting discussion going on in an sf list I'm on about this article on gender bias in the theatre

doing something useful

2009-06-27T01:58:23Z

I've been thinking about ways i can do something more productive about sustainability, and have been getting very interested in the 'days of change' campaign that is starting here in Western Australia. More about that later, but given the number of people around me who seem to be looking for different things in their work lives i thought perhaps someone might be interested in doing some work for them. They have a number of different jobs available - not all pay up front, or well, but if it gets going the way it is planned to (WA wide in 2010, Australia wide in 2011, then the world...) then there might be some wonderful work in the future.

And just so you know i'm putting my money where my mouth is .. i have donated and also offered my services as editor.

on more boring fronts - email bulged out to about 10 by end of week cos its just been so damned busy - but confident it will be empty again by the end of the day :-)
to-do list. bah. old one all crossed off - new one very long and daunting.

monday monday

2009-06-22T15:01:30Z

your average monday. started bad - forgot office keys, also thumbdrive with all important lecture power point on, gave said lecture on Frankenstein to TEE students who descend on Curtin for this week.. now avoiding fixing said lecture for tomorrow, cos it was shite.

on the plus side: work email in box - 0!!! yes 0!! take that, Outlook!
to do list - bit more average, but getting there.

countdown to next hug a canadian day - 9 days. Things I want to get done before Canadian arrives - too many.

oh and there was a weekend wasn't there? Saturday - marking and work and marking. Sunday washing (cos washing machine blew up while i was at natcon so biiig backlog) and little bit of planting - more peas and broadbeans. would have done more potatoes but didn't have any and couldn't be arsed driving to freo to get them.

hmm. might be close to bedtime methinks.

pretty impressive thus far

2009-06-18T05:21:13Z

for a thursday...
my work email in-box under 10 mails now!! might action them all today! without even trying realised last night i had managed to cross almost half off my to-do list (a huge thing written during the boredom of our school planning day).

and have clean fridge, pantry and even spice rack - gasp! Partner came back from shopping and insisted that food could not be unpacked unless these jobs done. hooray! my spice rack now full of jars with the right things in them. instead of shelves of empty jars, with little plastic packets spilling crap precariously balanced on top.

ok maybe i should go revisit to-do list now - on a roll!

report on Arabic blogosphere

2009-06-18T01:31:09Z

This report from the Berkman Centre Internet & Democracy project is very timely....

BERKMAN CENTER INTERNET & DEMOCRACY PROJECT RELEASES STUDY MAPPING THE ARABIC LANGUAGE BLOGOSPHERE
June 16, 2009 - Cambridge, MA - The Berkman Center for Internet & Society's Internet & Democracy project has released a major study on "Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere: Politics, Culture and Dissent." Using a unique methodology that blends computational analysis and human coding, the study investigates the contours and scope of the discussions taking place in the Arabic language blogosphere.

"The Arabic blogosphere is a dynamic public space," writes John Palfrey, faculty co-director of the Berkman Center and principal investigator for the Internet & Democracy Project, "We have found a far-reaching conversation about virtually all aspects of life, culture, religion, and politics. This public conversation surfaces local and national issues of political reform and the global tensions related to human rights and conflict between nations. We have much to learn from the rich tapestry that this study reveals."

"Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere," including the full Key Findings and the map, can be downloaded at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publications/2009/Mapping_the_Arabic_Blogosphere .</em>

Fund Iran exit poll

2009-06-18T01:24:11Z

heres a site run by Avaaz where you can donate money to run an exit poll in Iran

finally a natcon report of sorts

2009-06-15T14:56:20Z

and a little disaster, ...

So Adelaide was every bit as sleep-challenged as expected and much much more fun than I hoped! For me the adventure began when i caught a taxi from work to the airport. So strange to actually be going somewhere rather than dropping people off! And be going somewhere on my own! I was so paranoid about being on time I ended up with a couple of hours to spare- especially as the plane was delayed. So - how terrible - i just sat, in the bar, with a glass of white wine reading my new Julia Czerneda book. ahhh bliss! And some mad texting with Ron Serdiuk from Pulp Fiction books in Brisbane, who was getting into the airport at the same time as me, so we were going to share a cab. All went well at airport, we grabbed a cab together, only to have our catch up chat interrupted by phone call from home. Very very upset Julia who was sobbing her little heart out cos she wanted a cuddle. Very upsetting, but managed to get off the phone by promising her a present (she specified: " a special toy and something to eat"). We'd arranged to have dinner with a few people, which ended up including ladnews and jonathon, also got to meet Angela Slatter tho didn't get to talk to her at this point and karenmiller (ditto) but had lovely talks with the absolutely gorgeous Lisa Hannett and Ron. back to hotel, to bar and then was just going to be a few quiet drinks as I had to get up early, but somehow got led astray by doctor_k
8.00 am I had a breakfast date with the international GOH Julie Czerneda (yes, she of the airport book). Now I need to explain why it was that I hung out with Julie so much - it wasn't that we fell in love at first sight (tho close on my behalf). We'd actualy een emailing for quite a while - ever since I put up my women scientists in sf website, and Julie was the first person to email me to say nice things, and also tell me I'd mispelled her name in the data base. yes. cringe! Anyway lots of squeely fan girly emails followed, and when the natcon thing happened obviously i had to go to Adelaide to meet her. Anyways on with the story.... We were running a science literacy workshop at 9.30 - on using sf for teaching science in classrooms. Julie did all the work I got to learn heaps, although unfortunately very few people came (half of them perth people!). Things kind of get blurry after that ... there were papers to go to, including my own, panels to be on and then of course dancing. I dance a lot and energetically, I think Cheryl Morgan thought I might have been a bit squiffy but that came later. finished up sat night with lovely quiet room party with Julie and her gorgeous partner Roger (also a mean dancer) Roman and Beverly (can't remember last names) and callistra. we were good girls and went to bed at semi reasonable hour. I think it was the next morning we went to very interesting talks on sustainability and energy crisis, later Julie nabbed me for lunch and took me to a lovely little cafe down by the river - the furthest I got away from the hotel all con! Then Sunday night was the night of karaoke fail. So sad. A little troop of us went bravely off into the Adelaide night to a place recommended by ladnews (who had piked out after many golden promises the night before). we walked in the door only to walk straight back out again after being informed we would need to pay $150 for the privilege! Another cab back to the hotel and what else - the bar. Where i did manage to talk to a few other people I hadn't aught up with so far and also did a bizarre 'this is your life' session with Ron, with Justin (of slow glass books) listening in. very very strange. Last day included lunch with Julie and Roger and a sniffly goodbye and a lovely trip home chatting with callistra and girliejones . Lots of good book launches through the weekend, tho surprisingly I only came home with 3 books, one of which I'd already read! What was I thinking? I didn't hit the dealer's room properly the whole con! madness. Also hatched some evil plans re worlcon and academic programing which hopefully will come to fruition.

.. and now the smell of burning alerts me to the fact that the special buns I made for my children's lunch tomorrow have been in the oven for 40 mins instead of 15 and are ruined. argh! In fact the only reason i was doing this report was because I had to wait up while they cooked, after letting them prove for 1.5 hours...
bed, i think!

action on climate change!

2009-06-14T12:18:41Z

Just so I don't forget .. there is an awesome project all about community action around climate change going on right under our noses called days of change. Feels very personal for me, as one of the main instigators is someone I went to school with (and saw recently at a school reunion after 25 years or something stupid - a really inspiring person!) and also my gorgeous sis-in law who has done the most amazing things in the last few years around getting shit done - transforming her kids school, getting grants for grey water, rain tanks, gardens you name it.

And I think she has had a pretty important role in ensuring that York gets to be the trial community for this project - go check it out!
http://daysofchange.org/

i think someone from the project should do a presentation at worldcon - whaddyareckon? specially considering Stan Robinson is GOH...

Not the natcon news

2009-06-14T12:12:48Z

yeah, well I'm thinking of retitling to the above....

brief news - ok so no natcon report but a lovely weekend of gardening... yesterday my own: prepared three of my beds which the chickens have happily scratched over and pooped on the last few months. Planted - spinach, silverbeet ,rainbow chard, spring onions, onions, garlic, beans, peas, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, two types of carrots.. didn't quite manage to get to the broad beans. also want to plant at least two more loads of peas (otherwise J eats them all before they even make it to the house) and lots more potatoes.

then today off to help out at a grubby nails do which was so much fun. Its great to see things happen so quickly and the lovely glow on host's face when pavers disappear and new veggie beds magically appear.

and did some marking and admin too! 'Mazing. Might even manage some Dr Who tonight (last night got to see the bloody blink episode people were going on about in a certain room party at natcon. yes. was cool.)

little toot

2009-06-13T03:21:42Z

yes, I realise this is also not a natcon report. And that i have done more putting myself about online over the last 24 hours than the last year. But what the hey - I managed to post something on the Aqueduct blog cos Timmi said I should. So I did -- over here.

Also feeling guilty cos I I'm not going to make it to the march in perth. But today may really be my only chance for the next month to get anything planted in the garden. And I don't have the car and it is a long long walk to the train station with a 4 year old. So I'm thinking about the climate, doing my bit by planting lots of veggies and will also think more on what actions I can get involved in. ideas welcome :-)

neleh13 @ 2009-06-12T23:09:00

2009-06-12T15:06:29Z

well obviously its a surprise i'm here at all really, and honestly truly I was going to post a report of my fantabulous time at natcon....

but then this happened:

Help Catherynne M. Valente
adoptingcat
and then this:

Help Catherynne M. Valente
adoptingcat

and so I did this

and so reports must await the morrow. Or not. I realise my last post was like a year ago, and so this statement might not inspire ... confidence? But I'll try. Really.
Just in case - short version -
it was lots and lots of fun - not enough sleep; too much champagne; and not enough dancing or karaoke or talking to so many gorgeous peoples whom i love and bring on aussiecon 4. the end.
(and we've already had a first bid. how cool. i love this community!)

Calling Female science types

2008-06-30T13:40:16Z

I mentioned this briefly a while ago .. I'm hoping to ask a few questions of some of you sciencey types out there about connections - if any - between your background in science and SF reading habits.

I'm doing research on representations of female scientists in sf, and I'm interested in the kinds of 'useful cultural work' that SF might do....

<snipping from an earlier LJ post>

It really struck me at Femmecon last year how many women were into sf and also had training and / or jobs in the science/technology areas. So I'm hoping to do some surveys or interviews with women in science who read (or have read sf). Is there a connection between women who are open to the sf imagination and a broader interest in or open-ness to science? As younger readers , did certain fictional characters or situations produce a feeling that science was an ok thing for girls to do?

You don't still have to be 'in' science - if you have done science-type degrees at undergrad or grad level I would still love to hear from you! I have ethics clearance now :-) It would involve about 6 or 7 questions, doable over email and of course you can remain totally anonymous if I end up publishing anything about it :-)Some of you have already expressed willingness and I will chase you very soon! Anyone else who is willing, email me on h.merrick _at_westnet.com.au

sickish but still

2008-06-09T12:21:58Z

J is sick, S is sick, I'm getting sick, so difficult to get things done! Also lost the interwebs all of saturday, so no computery work. Then had visitors Sunday, so no work then either (though got to go round the garden getting lots of advice from them - good permaculture types, who actually know the names of all the plants!)

still... in the last couple of days:
women in science database - now has 38 records
finally got round to doing new userpic
read some stuff
did some washing
planted lots: third lot of potatoes, more peas and beans. put out snail & slater traps

still haven't cleaned floors, or done bathrooms, but hey, maybe tomorrow. Or maybe not...

cuteness!

2008-06-08T07:32:20Z

Cute warning - don't click if you don't want to adopt a baby guinea pig - pictures below.

And seriously, we are looking for homes, so if you know anyone who might be interested .. they'll be ready to leave mum in about 2 weeks..

lists

2008-06-04T14:40:39Z

not too bad today on the lists front.

cleaned kitchen, J's play room and organised J's making room hooray! Did three loads of washing. went to gym last night and tonight. Started e-list for sf researchers; did other worky email stuffs. Found articles for Frankenstein lecture.
Did no work on my stuff, but still. not too bad.

I worked out it helps if half your day isn't spent doing the 3-year old social rounds. We have something on pretty much every morning but friday, but today boo said she didn't want to go to playgroup. I said yay! and started cleaning, and she helped. kind of. She really managed to tidy away daddy's driving license, which we need to photocopy for the solar application. Still can't find it!

Ah well, parents on boo-duty tomorrow, so i get whole day to work. I find it kind of depressing that this actually excites me...

monthly list?

2008-06-03T08:29:42Z

I am panicking about what needs doing, so I am following callistra's lead and making list.
If I can get at least one thing off each list (home and work) every day maybe I'll start making progress...

home stuffs
-get rates notice for solar rebate & copy license
-plants more seeds in trays & ground
-put out slater traps
-clean house!
-organise J's making room / desk
-collecting dead bits of tree from garden
-plant more cover crops in 'orchard'
-build shade tents around fruit trees
-build new chicken run
-find new homes for guinea pig babies
-Clean out A's wardrobe so we can remove
-clean out shed
-look for loft bed for A

work stuffs
-more entries in women & science database (currently 25)
-write text for database page
-go to murdoch to chase women scientist stories
-write 'frankenstein' lecture
-write AWGSA paper
-write women scientists journal article
-turn swancon paper into article
-start SF academics list for natcon
-researching sf and sustainability project
-work on reconstruction special issue

sun at last

2008-06-01T06:39:31Z

ug. Bit of a painful evening with too little sleep, so feeling icky this morning.

Now cheered up by the sun emerging, so I can actually do some planting, and the fact we have just signed up to get solar power for the house - we're going with Solar unlimited, paying a bit more than some other companies to get an expandable system (i.e. you can add more panels at a later date to double the output). Just gotta wait for the rebate to be approved, then free power from the sun here we come - yay! :-)

babies!

2008-05-29T01:11:32Z

Ahhh - we have a mummy among the livestock again - last night found 5 little baby guinea pigs! They are absolutely gorgeous - except now we have just 3 weeks to find new homes for most of them. And try and work out how to sex them - we don't really want another litter, and apparently from about 3 weeks the baby boys can impregnate the mum - erk!

Have to get the camera out and put up some pictures - they're all a great mix of both parents - tan and white from mum, with raffish black patches from dad. (Reminded me that fabulous sf author and all round amazing woman Naomi Mitchison learnt genetics by breeding guinea pigs as a girl - or was it gerbils? - her brother was JBS Haldane, and she was mates with Aldous Huxley - fascinating life).

Also reminded me looking back over previous entries that it wasn't that long ago we had baby chickens - they are very big girls now - only 4 left however - gave two away, far too many were roosters, and two died over that horrendous boxing day weather :-(

so - anyone want a couple of beautiful little baby guinea pigs? I'll get up pictures soon to entice you some more! Good little veggie-scrap and fruit cleaner uppers . and lawn mowers - and very nice tidy poo that is good for the compost :-)

The thing

2008-05-27T13:45:51Z

So this 'thing' of mine needs a name - the online database with which I'm gathering all these references to women scientists in sf... I'm hoping the DB will go live in a couple of weeks, so I need a proper name (the programming guy's use of 'science chicks' as nickname for the project probably won't cut it!)

I want something simple, obvious which will get picked up pretty easily by people looking for stuff on women in science. But 'women scientists in sf' is a bit dull, and limiting...
I also have grander plans for ~~world domination~~ expansion - to include media, for eg, or general lit, examples of real-world inspiring female scientists... and further down the track ecofeminist works, and sustainable visions in sf...
so I could go for something broader like 'fictional female scientists' or 'fantastic female scientists'.

Of course I wanted something a bit sillier - or intriguing - 'the Calvin registry' (but who outside sf would get the asimov reference) .. or something involving hypatia...
gah! maybe science chicks isn't so bad after all...
give me ideas.. or maybe I'll do a poll. I've never done an LJ poll - they look fun :-)

No movies for me...

2008-05-27T13:32:59Z

So some more on the 'female scientists in sf' project... in particular, why I'm not, at present, including media examples.

Most of the small amount of work done looking at this comes from science communication rather than more literary/ cultural or media studies. There has been quite a lot of work published on representations of scientists in film & TV, and the potential affect on the public perception of science. Amongst these are a few studies of female scientists in the media - and one academic Jocelyne Steinke has done a detailed study of female scientists in film, with an appendix of examples (you can find an abstract of the article here - i have a copy if anyone is interested): she focuses on films from 1991-2001, and found 23 films featuring women scientists/engineers as primary characters. Other articles include one specifically on women scientists in 1950s sf films.

So quite a lot of work has been done in this area already (not as much on TV as yet) - in contrast almost no studies have been done on sf literature - and not just in the area of female scientists, but in terms of looking at sf as examples of cultural engagement with science at all! One of the primary academic areas for these kinds of studies is something called 'science and literature' - but it looks primarily at 'high lit' and 19th century stuff - sf mostly gets left out.

Another reason for wanting to focus on the literature, is that in general you are much more likely to find challenging, non-traditional depictions of female scientists than in film or TV which for the most part tend to conform to cultural stereotypes about femininity... there's a lot less feminist film-makers in Hollywood than there are feminist sf writers :-)

women scientists in SF

2008-05-26T14:16:18Z

So moving right along with keeping up with projects project, this is the main thing I'm working on:
Representations of female scientists in science fiction - I'm collecting, reading and analysing as many SF novels and stories as I can that feature a female scientist as major or minor character, then considering how these representations relate to the real-world climate for women in science. (More details than you really need behind the cut)

I'm trying to collect as many examples as I can of sf (and other genres if applicable) with female scientists, covering as wide a historical range as I can. I'm really keen to get some early examples in there, which means mostly stories in the SF magazines. These are pretty tricky to find, so I am developing an online database where I will display all the examples I have so far, and advertise it on various sf lists so people can nominate stories or novels I have missed. Hopefully a basic version will be live in the next couple of weeks, and I will post a link to it.
I'm interested particularly in finding examples which represent women scientists in non-traditional ways - which obviously differs depending on the historical (and cultural) context. In examples which do depict, for example, successful, independent, even feminist women practising science, what is different, if anything, from the contemporary situation, where we continue to see reports about the 'leaky pipeline' for women in science and a continuing gender imbalance in most areas of the sciences (particularly as one goes higher up the academic/ professional ladder)? Given the amount of work that has been put into improving the science curriculum at schools, implementing non-discriminatory legislation and policies in workplaces and universities, what else can be done to attract more girls and women into the sciences? My feeling is that the answer lies int hose broad, murky areas of culture and representation. So one of the sidelines of this project is thinking about the connection, if any between women scientists and an interest in SF. It really struck me at Femmecon how many women there who were into sf also had training and / or jobs in the science/technology areas. So eventually I'd like to do some surveys or interviews with women in science who read (or have read sf). Is there a connection between women who are open to the sf imagination and a broader interest in or open-ness to science? As younger readers , did certain fictional characters or situations produce a feeling that science was an ok thing for girls to do?
and so on :-)

So any sf fans / female sciencey types out there who would be happy to talk to me about this, let me know!

still alive but...

2008-05-26T12:44:41Z

not really kicking - more like waving appendages helplessly crying 'where does all the time go?'
well I know where, of course - into the draining vortex that is the 3 year old girl with an ego (or id?) the size of a planet.
I've been 'working at home' since January - ha! No childcare + partner writing a PhD = very little work getting done by Helen. And virtually no online presence. I have done quite a bit of gardening, however :-)

I'm too pathetic to be able to meet the awesomeness of '500 word' pledges ala Callistra, but thought I would at least have a go at 5 lines here every day- or most days. Once a week maybe? Something to try and keep myself on track, and see that I am actually achieving something.

So I must go away and take photos of my veggie patch, which is coming along nicely. And will soon post about some of the projects I am working on (as I may need people's help very soon!).

And if anyone has advice on toilet training a 3 year who was trained then totally regressed please tell! I'm going crazy and don't know if I can stand to wash even one more nappy.
speaking of which, washing to hang out. in the dark. damn!

Aurealis awards

2007-10-10T00:41:35Z

(important public service announcement, not work deferral activity)

Anyone out there who has written or published some good sf&f recently - don't forget the aurealis awards - nominations close at the end of this month and you can nominate here

rain is good

2007-10-10T00:36:05Z

repeat 10 times ... "rain is good"
...becuase we need the water
...in a month or so we'll be wishing we had more (especially as that is probably when we get our rain water tank in finally, after which it probably won't rain again for a year)
... its watering all the seeds and seedlings I planted a few days ago
... I'm not distracted from all the work I have to get done cos I can't garden

(hm its meant to be fining up today tho - isn't it? so many more beans and tomatoes to plant .. and more veggie beds to build)

*sigh* back to pooey work. can't believe i had to take a week's leave so i could get work done :-(

feminist sf carnival

2007-09-27T11:51:03Z

I love these carnival things - such a great way to catch up on interesting conversations and find good new reads ..
so take yoursleves along to the : 17th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans

I also found a good one a while ago on women in science and tech .. will have to look for that again..