The following are my CafePress pages - you can order prints or cool stuff with my paintings on them.
Friday, December 12, 2008
I love Taiwan!
I'm ecstatic. My life in Taiwan is a dream. Today I edited for a couple of hours; easy, at home work listening to music and having a leisurely lunch. The weather is beautiful. I can hear the meditative sound of running water from the carp pond in my garden. Two hours work (around $50) a day gives me enough money to live comfortably here. In the afternoon I went shopping for furniture at 2nd hand stores - I have a huge loft on the 3rd floor of my house and am going to turn it into a home theater. Yesterday I'd found a set of three couches for $200, but today I did better. I'm deciding between a black, floral L-shaped set that looks like it came from a dance club, or a pair of large red leather sofas. I could get either set for about $125. In the same store, I found a brand new foosball table (my favorite game!!) and will buy that tomorrow. They will deliver the furniture and carry it up to the 3rd floor for no extra charge. There was also a beautiful hard wood antique table (the kind that you can extend to make larger), also for $125 - it's a steal but unfortunately I don't have anywhere to put it.
On the way home, I stopped for an hour-long Chinese foot massage ($20), a box of rice and veggies, and a beautiful new Sony Ericsson phone because my phone was out of batteries.
I've been shopping for a projector but have decided to wait until Chinese New Year. That will give me time to finish my thesis... in the meantime I have plenty to do with fixing up the house, preparing my research, editing and painting for my exhibition in April.
On the way home, I stopped for an hour-long Chinese foot massage ($20), a box of rice and veggies, and a beautiful new Sony Ericsson phone because my phone was out of batteries.
I've been shopping for a projector but have decided to wait until Chinese New Year. That will give me time to finish my thesis... in the meantime I have plenty to do with fixing up the house, preparing my research, editing and painting for my exhibition in April.
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Evolution of Taiwan Pirate
Derek Murphy has gone corporate. I've spent the last month making some new websites, which can be found here:
www.derekmurphyart.com
www.holyblasphemy.net
www.paper-perfect-editing.com
They aren't perfect, but they're unique and look pretty good and give me a platform from which to cast my more professional ideas. I don't, however, have anywhere to talk about cool personal things like searching for treasure in Taiwan, so I think I'll keep this blog on the side.
In the news the other day, somebody from (somewhere in Europe? I'm too lazy to double-check) found a bunch of old gold and silver coins from about 100bc. That's fantastic. How much was the cache worth? A couple hundred thousand. However, he warns that metal detecting is a hobby and not likely to every make one rich. My thoughts exactly. It's all too easy for me to dream of treasure in Taiwan, and I'll still keep looking, but Taiwan has seen so much construction and recontruction that the ground is full of old machine parts and such.
At any rate - I'll keep looking so keep checking back for a blog post that looks like this one:
"$100,000,000 worth of gold bars discovered in by expat in Taiwan!!"
www.derekmurphyart.com
www.holyblasphemy.net
www.paper-perfect-editing.com
They aren't perfect, but they're unique and look pretty good and give me a platform from which to cast my more professional ideas. I don't, however, have anywhere to talk about cool personal things like searching for treasure in Taiwan, so I think I'll keep this blog on the side.
In the news the other day, somebody from (somewhere in Europe? I'm too lazy to double-check) found a bunch of old gold and silver coins from about 100bc. That's fantastic. How much was the cache worth? A couple hundred thousand. However, he warns that metal detecting is a hobby and not likely to every make one rich. My thoughts exactly. It's all too easy for me to dream of treasure in Taiwan, and I'll still keep looking, but Taiwan has seen so much construction and recontruction that the ground is full of old machine parts and such.
At any rate - I'll keep looking so keep checking back for a blog post that looks like this one:
"$100,000,000 worth of gold bars discovered in by expat in Taiwan!!"
Thursday, November 6, 2008
New editing and proofreading site.
I've migrated my site after discovering my host 247-host is almost always down. My new editing site is mypaperperfect.com.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
America is second pig!
Friday, June 6, 2008
What is linguistics? The ruination of the English language
I've mentioned before that I don't like linguistics, but as my feelings towards the subject are once again enflamed, and there is no other outlet than this blog, I'll continue on the subject.
What is linguistics? In general, it is the study of sounds, signs and signifiers that make up language. It is the study of language (ie vocal communication) in and of itself. Not an actual language per se - not grammar or spelling, but processes that make language possible.
Linguistics is a pretty recent field. Its increased popularity is due to the internationally recognized need to communicate in a global society. English is becoming the 'international language', and many countries, hoping to speed up their English-learning-programs, are focusing on linguistics - studying why and how students make mistakes, for example, in order to help them avoid those mistakes. This may seem like a smart move.
It is not.
Languages have been learned for hundreds of years. There are many ways to learn a language, but sustained immersion is the way to go (repetition, listening, speaking, etc.) It is a natural human faculty to learn languages. Learning linguistics (a field of study about languages) will not improve your ability to learn one specific language.
Because of the exciting trend - linguistics is a popular field, students abroad are studying it instead of English! These are non-native speakers, who rather than study English and improve their own pronunciation, writing or communication, do 'scientific studies' of linguistic phenomena. In Taiwan, for example, students and professors study whether Taiwanese students who study Spanish and then English make certain mistakes because their L2 influenced their L3. This may be interesting. It may be fascinating. But who cares - outside of the linguistics balloon that is self-sustaining.... the research does not make their students learn English better or faster. Awareness and understanding of the influence of L2 on L3 does not allow teachers to teach with enhanced subtlety. Actual teaching remains more or less the same, and is almost never done by the linguistic majors! Instead, linguistic majors get degrees in 'applied linguistics' and teach 'applied linguistics' to others.
Studying education or classroom management - and equally important, polishing your English to the point where you actually can speak it fluently - are so much more important. If Taiwan or Japan wanted to encourage their English, they should have government funded English schools (rather than the cram schools) and send their teachers for training overseas.
Parents who want their kids to learn English should send them to English summer camps. (2 months in a summer would be more effective than a whole year screaming and playing games in cram schools in Taiwan - well...maybe).
I - elitist that I am - am studying classics and philosophy. I will teach literature courses and not be able to apply for the best jobs because I didn't study applied linguistics. And that's sad and wrong.
What is linguistics? In general, it is the study of sounds, signs and signifiers that make up language. It is the study of language (ie vocal communication) in and of itself. Not an actual language per se - not grammar or spelling, but processes that make language possible.
Linguistics is a pretty recent field. Its increased popularity is due to the internationally recognized need to communicate in a global society. English is becoming the 'international language', and many countries, hoping to speed up their English-learning-programs, are focusing on linguistics - studying why and how students make mistakes, for example, in order to help them avoid those mistakes. This may seem like a smart move.
It is not.
Languages have been learned for hundreds of years. There are many ways to learn a language, but sustained immersion is the way to go (repetition, listening, speaking, etc.) It is a natural human faculty to learn languages. Learning linguistics (a field of study about languages) will not improve your ability to learn one specific language.
Because of the exciting trend - linguistics is a popular field, students abroad are studying it instead of English! These are non-native speakers, who rather than study English and improve their own pronunciation, writing or communication, do 'scientific studies' of linguistic phenomena. In Taiwan, for example, students and professors study whether Taiwanese students who study Spanish and then English make certain mistakes because their L2 influenced their L3. This may be interesting. It may be fascinating. But who cares - outside of the linguistics balloon that is self-sustaining.... the research does not make their students learn English better or faster. Awareness and understanding of the influence of L2 on L3 does not allow teachers to teach with enhanced subtlety. Actual teaching remains more or less the same, and is almost never done by the linguistic majors! Instead, linguistic majors get degrees in 'applied linguistics' and teach 'applied linguistics' to others.
Studying education or classroom management - and equally important, polishing your English to the point where you actually can speak it fluently - are so much more important. If Taiwan or Japan wanted to encourage their English, they should have government funded English schools (rather than the cram schools) and send their teachers for training overseas.
Parents who want their kids to learn English should send them to English summer camps. (2 months in a summer would be more effective than a whole year screaming and playing games in cram schools in Taiwan - well...maybe).
I - elitist that I am - am studying classics and philosophy. I will teach literature courses and not be able to apply for the best jobs because I didn't study applied linguistics. And that's sad and wrong.
Monday, April 7, 2008
I'm a bird without a nest.
Yesterday, I put my pants on. They were wet. We'd turned on the AC late at night because the weather has turned stiflingly hot, and shut the door to the patio - forgetting that we'd just gotten a cat and the litterbox was outside. The cat had peed in my pants. Nearly 12 hours later, when we were rushing to pack some things for the moving truck I'd demanded we call (Funky wanted to wait so we could pack things more carefully) we discovered that the cat had also pooped in Funky's bag. She'd just had a wisdom tooth pulled so all in all, a bad weekend for Funky.
The cat, incidentally, has temporarily replaced the dog I've been wanting to get. A foreigner had her and she needed a home asap... we saved her from being put to sleep. She's not a bad cat, but dogs are better.
Today I locked myself out of my apartment, and the spare key isn't hidden like it should be. In the past I've gone up to the top floor, climbed across the roof and landed on the upstairs balcony to get in. I tried this again, but the people who live in the upstairs apartment were there. They thought I was a prowler and chased after me. I couldn't convince them that I really did live there and had forgotten my keys. I was carrying a load of stuff to take to my new house and they thought I'd stolen it. I managed to get away... but I'm still keyless, my cellphone is inside as well, so I'm just waiting until I can hopefully meet up with my roomate and get him to let me in.
I do have a paper due tomorrow, and I did bring my laptop and the sources I need, so I'm at a nice cafe where I can work on it.
I've been awfully busy. I went to the dentist again today - she's been trying for weeks to finish up a root canal (the nerve is deep...makes the place under my nose feel funny). I also went to the hospital to finish the health check I need for the part-time job I'm going to start. I was there for an hour, running around, talking to a dozen people, before finding the two important people with the special stamps that I needed stamped. (One behind the cashier counter, and one in the mail room.) I hate that place.
Did I mention its really hot? The new house doesn't have any AC's yet...I'll have to buy some. It is looking better though.
The cat, incidentally, has temporarily replaced the dog I've been wanting to get. A foreigner had her and she needed a home asap... we saved her from being put to sleep. She's not a bad cat, but dogs are better.
Today I locked myself out of my apartment, and the spare key isn't hidden like it should be. In the past I've gone up to the top floor, climbed across the roof and landed on the upstairs balcony to get in. I tried this again, but the people who live in the upstairs apartment were there. They thought I was a prowler and chased after me. I couldn't convince them that I really did live there and had forgotten my keys. I was carrying a load of stuff to take to my new house and they thought I'd stolen it. I managed to get away... but I'm still keyless, my cellphone is inside as well, so I'm just waiting until I can hopefully meet up with my roomate and get him to let me in.
I do have a paper due tomorrow, and I did bring my laptop and the sources I need, so I'm at a nice cafe where I can work on it.
I've been awfully busy. I went to the dentist again today - she's been trying for weeks to finish up a root canal (the nerve is deep...makes the place under my nose feel funny). I also went to the hospital to finish the health check I need for the part-time job I'm going to start. I was there for an hour, running around, talking to a dozen people, before finding the two important people with the special stamps that I needed stamped. (One behind the cashier counter, and one in the mail room.) I hate that place.
Did I mention its really hot? The new house doesn't have any AC's yet...I'll have to buy some. It is looking better though.
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