The Boston.com Big Picture blog has a subset of the photographs by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Remarkable.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html

Funny how a familiar technology in an unusual context can produce such an odd impression.

It’s a very strange and rather hard to explain feeling that comes from breaking the unconscious linking, born of experience, of “past” to “black and white”. My first unconsidered impression on seeing these photos, this color out of context, is that the photographs are … somehow staged, which is absurd, of course. Then the consideration begins….

Since I was a kid, I’ve often wondered what exactly “real life” looked like in 1942 for example when my dad came to the US for the first time (and took photos that I’ve seen), or in the 1910s (from which I’ve seen photos of my grandparents). What did people in the late 1800s experience when they walked around. Or for that matter, in the year 200?

I can tell myself that, yes, what everyone saw and experienced was just like what I see now but with the different trappings of time and location. Reality is reality, always has been, and it’s all in color. No different from now in any great way. But even after that intentional, intellectual exercise, there remains the sense that it must have been different; after all, it existed in black and white, didn’t it? People back then mush have experienced some kind of fog or fuzziness between themselves and their world, since that is what I see now of that time….

These photos here shoot those impressions all to hell and so I’m left with some sort of cognitive dissonance, a difficulty in accepting that the past I’ve always thought existed as different is actually similar to my present. I haven’t quite yet accepted that, but I’m beginning to see the people in these photographs as people I share a reality with.

Me veo sonriendo
en los juegos de palabras
en los primeros momentos de nuestro amor
en la cara de mi hijo.

Me veo muriendo
en los recuerdos de mi abuelo
en el hígado de me papá
en los ojos en el espejo
en la cara de mi hijo.

Helados Scannapieco is the place for ice cream if you are in Buenos Aires. Forget the Freddo and Filippo chains, forget all the trendy, cute heladerías. Just go to Helados Scannapieco at  Avenida Córdoba 4826. It’s been there since 1938, just 17 short years after my aunt was born. Perhaps she remembers it opening. In any case, we won’t hold its youth against it.

It has the ambiance and it has the ice cream. You can try the five different types of Dulce de Leche, but really, as far as I’m concerned it’s all about the Chocolate Amargo.

My brother just sent me a link to, and I just read: “Chaos in Fourteen Lines”: Reformations and Deformations of the Sonnet by Annie Finch

For the most part I like the article. I knew about the Italian and Shakespearian sonnet forms, and about the volta and the quatrains and the couplet and so on. I didn’t know too much about sonnet forms apart from those two.

Mostly the example sonnets are enjoyable, but I do think Ms. Finch goes a bit far. I definitely believe that sonnets have a certain something and that that something is big. Just that she’s a bit overzealous in finding connections to other even bigger things….

One example: Ms. Finch is not good at arithmetic. That is to say, she starts talking about the Golden Mean (I think she means the Golden Ratio, see Wikipedia’s entry on the Golden Ratio), the ratio seen in nature, implying that there is something numerological and vast and universal and almost spiritual about the form of the sonnet with its 6 and 8 division, but wait, the last couplet is sometimes separated out so the numbers are … 6:8:12. (Okay, so the Shakespearian form of 4,4,4,2 version doesn’t fit this cosmological connection she’s discovered, but hey). But okay, we’ll overlook all that. The only real problem is that the numbers she uses 6:8:12 to show the ratio, to prove her argument don’t hold true in any way. If you use 12, the ratio is wrong and even if she had used 14, perhaps the number she should have used (6+8), it still isn’t right.

The proportion is:

(a+b)/a = a/b

(8+6)/8 does not equal 8/6

On a different note, at one point she says, “Paul Oppenheimer makes a convincing argument that because the sonnet allowed room to struggle with oneself, it marks not only the beginning of modern poetry, but the beginning of the modern idea of our ’self’ as having a complex internal life.” Whoa. I guess I should do some research and read Oppenheimer, because I gotta figure that people way before sonnets were written in English, way before there was English, there were people thinking that we had a “complex internal life.” Didn’t people like Plato and Lao Tzu imagine a “complex internal life”? They were probably too busy doing math.

So, I may be way off on that last bit, that it’s only in the modern era that we are special enough to think ourselves to be internally complex, but I’m pretty sure about the arithmetic part.

I need to first read some Paul Oppenheimer and see if he can support his view of ancient thought and fuzzy math. And then perhaps I need to write a sonnet that does some fancy math that proves an impossibility, something like the lyrics to “I’m my own grandpa”, and have it published in the Contemporary Poetry Review.

I travel to Buenos Aires just about every year to visit family and to take in one of the more interesting cities in the world. I try to go in February and March to escape the bleak Michigan winter and store up some BTUs in the dead of a Buenos Aires summer.

I usually like to take 3 weeks vacation to make it worth the long trip. This year, my supervisor at JSTOR was kind enough to offer a hybrid approach. Since there was definitely some pressure to get some projects done, I would be here longer, just under 5 weeks, but would telecommute for part of the time. I’m doing my best to make it work, and it seems to be working.

I brought my wireless hub with me to hook up to the apartment’s cable modem. I get on the work VPN and, other than the occasional slowness when hitting some resources, I might as well be in the office. Social interaction? Email, wikis, instant messaging with and without video, Skype, version control on code. All these, but for Skype we use in the office anyway. Some people not in my department didn’t even know I was 5500 miles away.

BTW, have started following @telesaur and @phunkpathic on Twitter.

Some interesting stats about telecommuting:

http://undress4success.com/research/telecommuting-statistics/

Click here to get the full PDF complete with photos and diagrams and charts . But here’s the first page of the content to get you started:

February 12, 2009

Michael Nearing, P.E.
City of Ann Arbor – Project Management Unit
100 N. Fifth Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Re:     Stadium Blvd. over State St. Bridge Condition

Dear Mr. Nearing:

On February 10, 2009 I met with the City’s maintenance crew and you at the East Stadium Boulevard Bridge over South State Street.  You had expressed concerns over the condition of the 5th beam in from the southern side of the bridge.  This beam has been under close observation since January of 2008 when a large chunk of concrete broke loose, exposing/breaking 7 prestressing strands.  Your specific concern at this time was that you felt the beam was sagging lower than the adjacent beams.  Once we were able to get up close and use a tape measurer with a straight edge we were able to see that the beam has indeed deflected 7/8” more than the adjacent beams.

On October 22, 2008 NCI completed a bridge safety inspection of this structure.  As part of this inspection we brought in a manlift to get close access to the bottom of the beams.  Special attention was given to beam #5 due to the large chunk of missing concrete and damaged prestressing strands.  At that time we did not observe any deflection of this beam relative to the adjacent beams.  Thus, I am of the opinion that this is a relatively recent development.

The 7/8” of additional deflection found on this beam is a significant problem which will require precautionary measures to be taken.  Excessive deflection is one of the primary warnings of impending beam failure.  Of additional concern is how fast this deflection has developed.  If traffic continues to drive over this beam I would expect the deflection to continue to grow, eventually leading to beam failure.  Therefore, my recommendation to you is that traffic be removed from over top of this beam.  This can be accomplished by reducing Stadium Boulevard to 2 lanes over the bridge, and shifting these lanes to the north side of the road.  I’ve attached a sketch showing how this can be accomplished.

The Load Factor Rating (LFR) Method utilizes live load distribution factors from the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges.  According to Section 3.23.4.2, “In calculating bending moments in multi-beam precast concrete bridges, conventional or pre-stressed, no longitudinal distribution of wheel load shall be assumed.”  AASHTO is telling us that a live load placed directly above a box beam will be carried by that beam alone, without assistance from the adjacent beams.  Therefore in theory, by removing the traffic loads from directly above Beam #5 we should be able to keep the condition from getting worse.  In reality though, I believe that  Beam #5 will still see some load (albeit a significantly reduced load) from traffic over other  beams.  In recognition of the differences between theory and reality I would recommend that  your maintenance crews continue to measure the relative deflection of Beam #5 as often as  possible to ensure that the condition doesn’t get any worse.  If the beam continues to sag or  deteriorate please let me know and we can discuss further safety measures.

If I can be of any other assistance, or if you have any additional questions please let me know.

Sincerely,

NORTHWEST CONSULTANTS, INC.

Jonathan Drummond, P.E.
Bridge Project Manager

cc:  File

Saw the Fischbein exhibit at the Palais de Glace in Buenos Aires. The exhibit was big enough to fill the entire first floor of the Palais de Glace. See http://www.palaisdeglace.org/exposiciones/2009/01/flischbein/fischbein.html
The 3 pieces on that web page are about 3×4 feet. There were much smaller boxes and much bigger. Probably about 50 pieces in all, perhaps more. Most built around little plastic babies (1 1/2″ long) woven, glued, wired into/onto all sorts of things.

It took me quite a while to get into it. Eventually, it was humorous and interesting. As the blurb on that page says, he says, “Mi ideal no es componer, sino generar texturas”. It’s not about composition, it’s about texture. But it’s texture at a bigger level: color, rhythm, space and juxtoposition are part of the “texture”. So, why isn’t it composition? Maybe it is too.

Here is a February 26, 2008 memo from Michael G. Nearing, P.E., Senior Project Manager, Project Management Unit to Homayoon Pirooz, P.E., Manager, Project Management Unit about the condition of the E. Stadium Boulevard over S. State Street in Ann Arbor. Read it, appreciate the dates and the content.

MEMORANDUM

DATE:    February 26, 2008

TO:        Homayoon Pirooz, P.E.
Manager, Project Management Unit

FROM:    Michael G. Nearing, P.E.
Senior Project Manager, Project Management Unit

RE:        2006-2007 Bridge Inspection Program
Reduced Weight Postings for E. Stadium Boulevard over S. State Street
File No. 2006-014.17 (mgn)

We are writing to inform you of the recent investigation and analysis that was performed on the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over S. State Street.  We are also reporting on the condition of the bridge and providing information regarding possible short- and long-term solutions for the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over S. State Street and the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks.

Attached, please find a Traffic Control Order (TCO) that recommends a reduction in allowable gross vehicle weights for the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over S. State Street in accordance with the limits contained in this memorandum.

Background

On December 29, 2007, our Field Operations forces were called out to the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over S. State Street as medium-sized pieces of concrete were falling off of the bottom of one of the box beams that support the roadway.  These pieces of concrete were large enough to damage passing vehicles, if they were to strike them.  Our Field Operations and Safety Services personnel closed one lane of traffic at a time and removed the remaining loose concrete from the underside of the box beam.  No injuries due to the falling concrete were reported.

As a result of the concrete removal, we reviewed the structure again and were concerned about the condition of one of the box beams.  In early January 2008, a meeting was held on-site between Project Management Unit, our bridge inspection consultant, and bridge design personnel to review the condition of the bridge and (1) determine what possible courses of action could be taken to help prevent further damage to the bridge and (2) identify possible repair strategies.

We directed our consultants to re-analyze the bridge structure given the section loss that had just occurred.  As you may recall, effective January 1, 2008 we lowered the weight limits due to section loss that was discovered during the biennial inspection that was performed in late October 2007.  Based upon the new analysis that was performed in January 2008, it is recommended that we reduce the weight limits on this structure again.
Condition of the bridge

The existing bridge is composed of 16 pre-stressed concrete box beams that are laid side-by-side.  They are “tied” together with steel post-tensioning rods that connect pairs of beams together.  The beams are overlaid with an asphalt wearing surface.  There is a concrete sidewalk that has been cast on top of the two northernmost beams.  The bridge does not provide sufficient vertical or horizontal clearances and is considered structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.

One of the box beams has developed a severe longitudinal crack.  This is the beam that our field personnel had to hand-chip to remove the spalled concrete in late December 2007.  There are other beams that are developing longitudinal cracks, as well.  Other beams have several broken pre-stressing strands and the abutments that support the beams are in poor condition.  Note that the pre-stressing strands are the primary elements of the bridge beams that provide structural strength.  Based on these deficiencies, the bridge, viewed as a whole, is considered to be in poor condition.  The beam that is severely cracked is considered to be in serious condition.

Upon review of the “as-built” drawings of the structure, we believe that it is not possible to repair the severely cracked beam in any manner that can restore its structural integrity.  This is due to the location of the beam itself, and the location and configuration of the post-tensioning rods that tie the box beams together.  The severely cracked beam is the fifth beam in from the south side of the structure.  Due to the manner in which the bridge was constructed, it is not possible to replace only this beam. In order to repair the beam, we would have to cut the post tensioning rods on each side of the beam.  We would not be able to access the needed areas of the beams to re-install the post-tensioning rods, however, effectively leaving the beams to function individually.  This would be unacceptable.  There is also one other beam that contains small cracks that currently are not as severe as the beam described above, but we believe that it is likely that it, too, will crack in a similar manner.  AS A RESULT, WE BELIEVE IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO REPLACE AT LEAST FIVE BEAMS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BRIDGE, AND POSSIBLY AS MANY AS EIGHT.

Exacerbating the problem is the condition of the remaining beams.  We believe that it is likely that the tops of these beams have begun to spall.  It is apparent to us that salt-laden water has seeped between the asphalt layer covering the beams and the beams themselves.  Water routinely leaks around the beams and runs down the abutment walls.  Over time, this moisture and salt will cause the concrete to disintegrate.  Given the length of time this has been occurring, we have reason to believe that it is possible that the tops of the beams are damaged to the point that they may not be able to be repaired, if we were to attempt it.

We also believe that any attempt at performing a repair itself would be expensive.  We do not have detailed costs at this time, but we estimate that it would cost at least $250,000 to attempt to replace the five to eight south side bridge beams.  Also, it would take at least one month to perform the needed construction.

At your request, we could prepare a more thorough and detailed estimate of the repair costs and other possible options that could be implemented should funding for the replacement of the structure not be available in the foreseeable future.  This evaluation would cost approximately $15,000 to retain the services of a structural engineer to analyze and review various options.  We also recommend that about $10,000 be budgeted for our Field Services personnel to assist in the performance forensic investigations on the bridge in order to better determine the extent of deterioration of the existing bridge beams and abutments.

We do not believe that it is possible to repair the bridge over S. State Street cost effectively, however.  This is due to the extensive deterioration of the existing beams, abutments, and asphalt-wearing surface.  As mentioned previously, the bridge is considered structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.  These deficiencies cannot be easily remedied.  We will, of course, continue to monitor the condition of the bridge. Should it become necessary, we are prepared to repair the structure in order to allow the bridge to remain in service.

Proposed Short-term Action

In order to help minimize damage to this structure and prolong its life span to the greatest extent possible, we are recommending that the weight limits be lowered.  We have prepared the following table that compares the existing and proposed weight limits for the three classes of trucks that can use the structure:

Design
Vehicle        Existing
Posted Load
(since January 1, 2008)    Proposed
Posted Load    Reduction in
Load carrying capacity
Single Unit Truck        31 tons    19 tons    39%
Two-Unit Truck        39 tons    24 tons    39%
Three-Unit Truck        44 tons    26 tons    41%

The proposed Traffic Control Order (TCO) recommends a reduction in gross vehicle weight for the three types of trucks that can travel on Michigan roadways without special permits.  They are one, two, and three-unit trucks.  A single-unit truck is any truck without a trailer.  A single-unit truck can be any number of common vehicles.  Some examples of this would be a school or AATA bus, moving van, or in the worst case, a fully loaded concrete truck.  A two-unit truck can be most easily described as a semi-truck with one trailer.  Note, a pick-up truck or car pulling an “ordinary” trailer (such as the trailers that lawn maintenance companies would use) would not be considered a two-unit vehicle. Finally, a three-unit truck can be most easily thought of as a semi-truck pulling two trailers.  An example of this would be the large sand or gravel hauling trucks that bring materials to construction sites.

The recommended gross vehicle weight reductions are significant.  Also, the overall condition of the bridge has declined measurably over the course of the last calendar year.  We expect that the condition of the structure will continue to decline as the structure is nearing the end of its useful life.  Based on the rate of deterioration that we have observed over the course of the last few years, we believe that the structure has approximately three to five years in which it will be able to carry trucks.  We also expect that additional weight limit restrictions will be necessary in the future.

Proposed Long-term Actions

As you may recall, we have begun a project to perform the preliminary design of the replacement for this structure, as well as the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks.  The bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks is located about 300 feet to the west of the bridge over S. State Street.  We believe it makes sense to consider replacing both bridges at the same time, although it is also possible to replace the two bridge structures at different times.

We have not able to move forward on the preliminary design of the bridge over S. State Street or the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks because we are waiting for the 4th Ward City Council members to nominate and confirm a Citizens Advisory Committee to assist us with the public engagement process.  It has been our experience with projects of this nature that it is important to consider and review all aspects of the proposed design with the citizens in order to make sure the project that we deliver meets community expectations.  This process will also help us to avoid conflicts later in the design process as we will have already confirmed the design approach and aesthetics of the project with the public and City Council.  Finally, this preliminary design process will allow us to better estimate the cost of the project based on a more complete picture of all project elements.

We have estimated that it will take about 2 to 3 years to prepare for bridge replacement including the public engagement and internal project review process; the preliminary and final design of the bridges and needed approach work; and the development of a funding plan for the project.  We have prepared a tentative schedule for this project such that its construction could be started shortly after the University of Michigan’s Football Stadium Renovations are completed.  We are also planning and coordinating this project so that it is compatible with the planned improvements along W. Stadium Boulevard.  Attached, please find a drawing that we have prepared that locates all of these planned improvements and their anticipated starting and completion dates.  Also attached, please find the tentative project schedule that details the required tasks and estimated durations of the required activities to complete the project’s design.

Summary

Fortunately, the reduction in weights that we are proposing does not yet affect most of the everyday users of this structure.  However, we believe that when it is again necessary to reduce the posted weight limits, both AATA and the Ann Arbor Public Schools will be impacted by this change.

The proposed change will impact the trucking and construction operations that use this corridor as they, most probably, will not be able to route trucks through this portion of the E. Stadium Boulevard corridor between S. Industrial Highway and S. Main Street.  These types of trucks will have to find an alternative route around this portion of E. Stadium Boulevard.

We are also working with the Communications Office to prepare a press release notifying the appropriate agencies of the proposed change.

attachments

HP:MGN:mgn (e stadium weight reduction memo 080225.doc)

Ding  dong, the Bush is gone, the Wicked Bush, and Cheney too. Ding dong, the Evil Ones are gone!

One of the main reasons I bought an iPhone was because I figured I’d be able (eventually) to listen to my favorite Buenos Aires-based radio stations, or any others for that matter. Still surprised Apple has restricted the iPhone’s Safari by not providing access to video, Flash, certain kinds of audio, etc. In any case, …

the first iPhone app I’ve actually purchased: WunderRadio. Via radiotime.com, they stream a large number of web-based radio stations. I get my local Michigan Radio and now I can listen to La2×4, New Orleans’ WWOZ, and any number of radio stations around the world.

Occasional breaks in the stream due mostly to moving out of range of a WiFi and switching to 3G, but hey, I get to listen to a porteño brand of castellano whenever I want.

As we know, the so-called “Skyline” high school is a reality as will be the land use ramifications brought on by a school administration stronger than a city’s master plan or leadership, and by a sleeping community that only pretends to care about things environmental. It’s way too late now for Ann Arbor, but it is interesting that the Michigan Environmental Council uses Ann Arbor, for all its “greenness”, as a prime example of a failure.

This has just come to our attention: Slide 19 of an old Michigan Environmental Council Powerpoint presentation, from MEC’s website, describes what impact the new high school means / will mean to Ann Arbor.

http://www.mecprotects.org/smartinvestmentspp.ppt

The MEC slide states:

• The site of Ann Arbor’s new high school is in the middle of the “greenbelt” around the city, created in 2003.
• The site increased the amount of water and traffic infrastructure in the area, driving sprawl.
• Ann Arbor went through a community planning process, but without matching zoning, could not enforce their vision.

Of course the only “vision” was on the part of the Planning Commission which, though impotent against the Ann Arbor Public School administration and the Michigan laws that exempt school districts from zoning laws, voted against the plan. Mayor John Hieftje and the city council did not even display as much courage. The Mayor said he and the city had no power to change the course of events, but of course he wouldn’t say he opposed the oncoming train wreck.

The slide’s notes:

“Ann Arbor has taken great strides towards creating a sustainable Smart Growth community by recently completing a $200,000 community visioning process that produced the Recommended Policy Framework for Downtown Ann Arbor. In 2003 the city passed Proposal B to create a joint “greenbelt” land preservation framework with surrounding townships.  However, these advances are threatened by the siting of the new Ann Arbor Public School building (300,000 sq.ft., 1,600 students, 800 parking spots, a football stadium, three ball fields, four tennis courts, and a practice field with a track) just outside the western limits of the city and along the M-14 highway. While much of the new growth in the City of Ann Arbor has been effectively directed inward or south towards Ypsilanti, the new school will push development into a forest and wetlands area, requiring the extension of roads, sewer and water mains out to the new school which will encourage new residential development in the area.”

Also see “Michigan Environmental Council’s Smart Investment Series” (as a PDF file or in HTML).

So, the latest Ann Arbor Public Schools spending of taxpayer money is a campaign to ask for taxpayer money. The flyers came in the mail. One  implores us to vote on May 6th to give this dysfunctional administration more money to waste.

The other talks about “exceptional Accomplishments.” In the blurb about “Accessible Schools,” it says, “At Huron and Pioneer accessibility improvements were made to the curb ramps, sidewalks, parking areas and the routes of travel to and from both schools.” Of course, it leaves out the phrase, “under court order.” If it hadn’t been for the hard work of an Ann Arbor civil rights law firm,  the ADA would have been ignored. The AAPS was dragged kicking and screaming into doing the right thing.

My 96-year-old aunt, Virucha, told me this as we walked around the block in Buenos Aires that was once the quinta of the Pagliere clan (the block surrounded by Corrientes, Sarmiento, Gascón, and Acuña de Figueroa). In front of my cousin’s shop was a sign that said something like: “No dejar canastos en la acera o la calzada”. She saw that I wasn’t completely familiar with the words, so to illustrate she told me the following story.

[Virucha, mi tía de 96 años, me contó este chiste mientras dabamos la vuelta de la manzana que antiguamente era la quinta de la familia Pagliere (la cuadra entre Corrientes, Sarmiento, Gascón, and Acuña de Figueroa). En frente de la fábrica de mi prima Lucila Ballester (que diseña y hace trajes de baño de mujer), la hija de la tía, había un cartel en que estaba escrito: No dejar canastos en la acera o la calzada. Virucha vió que no conocía muy bien las palabras, así que para ilustrarmelas, me contó la siguiente historia.]

Una española se muda, con su gata, a Buenos Aires. Le pregunta a un vecino “dónde podría ir a pasear con mi gata?” “Bueno,” le dice el vecino, “el jardín botántico es lindo y ahí hay muchos gatos.” Entonces, un día la española lleva su gata al jardín botánico.
Un gato del jardín se acerca a la gata y le dice, “Qué tal si vamos a pasear por la vereda?”

La gata le dice, “no se dice ‘vereda’, se dice ‘acera’.”

“Bueno,” dice el gato, “qué tal si vamos a la calle?”

La gata le dice, “no se dice ‘calle’, se dice ‘calzada’.”

El gato, un poco harto ya, está casi por irse. Ahora la gata le dice, “Qué tal si vamos a coger un ratón?”

El gato le dice, “No se dice ‘ratón’, se dice ‘rato’.”

After the AAPS gets so-called security cameras installed at Pioneer (because they can, because the community lets them), perhaps they should move on to terahertz cameras. Read about them here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7287135.stm

Here in Buenos Aires again, the land of the unexpected adventure and an anarchistic everyday life, on a nearly annual family visit cum winter escape. Heat, sun and chaos of possibility to escape cold, cloud-locked Ann Arbor with its dual self-delusions of cultural diversity and progressiveness.

Staying at a fantastic find of an old apartment in a casa chorizo in Palermo Viejo, which may have already jumped the cultural shark since last visit. Other barrios up and coming. All in flux.

More postings to come.

It just keeps coming.

George Fornero left quite a legacy to this town. And everyone on the board helped him do it. And almost everyone in the community let him do it.

Ann Arbor News 2/6/2008, Schools Face $6 Million shortfall

I am thrilled to announce that “The Catford Tapes: Professor Catford’s Life in Linguistics” are now available to the world. This is a very happy day for me.

The Catford Tapes are a series of eight one-hour lectures given by Ian Catford in early 1985, on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Michigan Linguistics Department. For anyone with an interest in linguistics, from theoretical to applied, from English to Kabardian, from grammar to phonetics, from Henry Sweet to … well, to Ian Catford, these lectures make clear just how fascinating and remarkably broad Professor Catford’s life in linguistics has been. You can read the background and history of the Catford Tapes below.

You can find videos of the lectures at Deep Blue, the University of Michigan’s service providing access to work in research and teaching:

Lecture 1, February 7, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57765
Lecture 2, February 14, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57766
Lecture 3, February 21, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57767
Lecture 4, March 7, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57768
Lecture 5, March 14, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57769
Lecture 6, March 28, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57770
Lecture 7, April 4, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57771
Lecture 8, April 18, 1985:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57772

or simply go to Deep Blue’s home page ( http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/ ) and search for “catford”

By the way, as I understand it, this is the first instance of Bentley material being hosted by Deep Blue.

————–
My deepest thanks go to all the following for freely giving their time, advice and effort to promote the project of preserving this treasure and making it freely accessible.

• Ian Catford, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, University of Michigan
• John Swales, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Director Emeritus, English Language Institute
• Fran Blouin, Director, Bentley Historical Library, Professor of Information and Professor of History
• Jim Otaviani, Coordinator Deep Blue
• Tom Bray, Managing Producer Media Resources, Digital Media Commons and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art, School of Art and Design
• Greg Kinney and Brian Williams, Associate Archivists, Bentley Historical Library
• Nancy Deromedi, Assistant Archivist, Bentley Historical Library
• David Erdody, Media Development/Services, English Language Institute

————–
Background / History

In 2002, the Catford Tapes had been stored for nearly 20 years at the University of Michigan but it was unclear exactly where and whether anyone was actually benefiting from the fascinating content and story-telling therein. Making sure that the lectures were not lost to obscurity or to failing media or to technology change was important, and so the mission was to have the tapes archived somewhere, somehow, and made available to a larger audience.

The original eight VHS tapes were not, as one might have expected, at the Linguistics Department, but rather at the English Language Institute Library. They were finally found in a cardboard box at the old, about-to-be-demolished NUBS building the very week that the ELI was in upheaval, getting ready to move to its new location. I was given permission to take the original tapes with the intent to more properly archive them. I contacted Greg Kinney at the Bentley Historical Library of the University and Tom Bray for technical advice and help.

The VHS tapes had not been viewed in 17 years but fortunately transfered to digital tapes easily. These masters then became the basis for other derivatives: other digital tape formats, tapes edited with introductory titles, eventually mpeg files and DVDs. Masters, DVDs and the original accompanying handouts, obtained from Professor Catford himself, were accessioned by the Bentley. All along I was supported by John Swales and the folks from the Bentley.

Two missions are better than one. The next step was to see who might host web-accessible versions of the videos. Jim Ottaviani helped coordinate with the Bentley and the ELI to arrange rights sign offs and got downloadable and streaming versions of the lectures into Deep Blue. And here we are today. Follow the links above.

Can this be happening in hip Ann Arbor? Surveillance cameras on kids at Pioneer High School? Sure it can because the AAPS administration is clueless. Let’s not talk about the financial, ecological and demographic fiasco that is the new high school and the concocted lies and painted smiles that backed it up.

But let’s do talk about how the administration can actually think it’s okay, in this day and age, in a town that was once fairly progressive, to set up Big Brother cameras to watch over kids in high schools. Student Safety is the local politics version of National Security: the excuse to remove privacy from your life.

Besides, the community is clueless. Cameras were put in Huron quite a while back.

Besies, the district is “getting a good deal” (only about $80,000). When the same contractor who did up Huron, the district had some equipment left over. Instead of having the contractor buy it back, it’s now the explanation of why we’re getting such a good deal.

Clueless. And just plain bad.

Recently while checking out at the grocery store, the cashier began a nearly sub-vocal, somehow laid-back diatribe about how one shouldn’t vote for a person simply because they’re black or a woman. Hmm. So that’s what this guy, and all the people he is representative of, think. A nice example of how folks lie to themselves to be able to vote against the thing that scares them but feel they can’t, in polite company, air. With all the important issues hitting this society over the head with a baseball bat, he chooses to explain away to himself and a stranger his multi-sided bigotry. Aside: Alluding so subtly to what I assumed were this guy’s political leanings, I replied that people shouldn’t vote for someone simply because they are complete and utter idiot either. Not sure he got the reference.

So, will Americans vote for a black man or a white woman first? Or a white religious man? No surprise if it’s the white religious man. After all they voted for the afore-mentioned idiot. Twice. And in large numbers. But if Americans, with their tradition of prejudices, surprise us by electing either of the first two and if there is any way to separate the personal from the historical and look at the winner as icon, which of those two will they let have power first?