while it is very shameless to self-publish this video, i think the subject matter is important enough that the ego-gods will give me a pass.

not only is this line of research important, it’s very, very vital for everyone to note just how bad my minnesotan accent is getting.

the latter, being the inspiration for this post, is a loaded “thing” to believe in as there are so many unique aspects latent and hidden in the word. from the greek technología, the literal meaning can be a the study (logia) of an art or craft (tekhno) – which doesn’t really narrow the scope of its interpretation but is meaningful to me. for example, i’ve been thinking a lot recently about the study of sport is a technology. there is arguably an art and craft to being a [successful] athlete or coach – and as one that studies those groups – i am a technologist and i like that label more than i like any other labels that have been thrown upon me other the years. kinesiologist, journalist, or sociologist never fit quite right and i was always itching when wearing those brands. technology, anyway, was always the common thread  in all of those ensembles.

within the many meanings of technology and the phrase i used above “the power of technology”, social media lives. and the power of social media has been debated both here, there, and pretty much everywhere. there are benefits and drawbacks just like there are in most technologies – and i do not have the time nor inclination to wax about all of them. what i do what to promote today is how social media is powerful and EASY to us to get free and reduced goods and services. also, these examples just go to show that i am both a huge nerd and incredibly lucky – which is a great combination!

collective couponing - groupon and livingsocial have changed my life.  everyday, for many north american cities/locales, a deal is presented – usually at least 50% of a goods or service – and if a certain number of people buy the deal (on groupon this is called the “tipping point”), the coupon is valid. i used my first groupon on friday night at joe’s garage – where we got $40 worth of food and drink for $20. groupon even has an iPhone app, so you can just show them the codes. saving money and saving paper, what could be better?

needtobreathe from first avenue's staircase; view from a vip table

twitter contests – there are a lot of reasons to join twitter – but the one i want to note here is winning free stuff on this petite-blogging platform. just this week, i won two SWEET contests, totally nearly $200 in free-ness (and awesomeness for that matter).

a) first avenue, the iconic music venue featured in prince’s purple rain, runs a trivia contest called #tweettable prior to most of its shows. the premise is so simple – they tweet a question and then you tweet the [correct] answer back. if you are the first to do so AND you already have tickets to the show that night, you are upgraded to a VIP sightline seating table. stephen kellogg & the sixers and needtobreathe would have been quite the show from any vantage point, but were spectacular from the roped-off balcony.

b) in contrast to first ave’s tweet tables, the second contest i won this week was completely and utterly by chance. i follow a lot of minneapolis-based entities (companies, blogs, groups etc) and on thursday, TCFoodFinds tweeted the following:

it is just unadulterated luck that i saw this update and used my super google powers to find out the answer and just like that kate and i will be dining at OM on wednesday night for a six-course meal featuring steltzner vineyards.

my mom can fly!

because my mom is yogi, her children also like to post crazy things on facebook related to their yogic attempts – i was not surprised this morning to see this video from my brother on facebook.

because my mom is a yogi and i am nerd, i had to follow my brother up with the follow video.

this kind of impassioned, diverse environment is like brain candy for this nerd and in the midst of our discussion on technological determinism, Deleuze and Guattari, and the agency of language – i was frantically jotting down the ideas, inspirations, and new phrases that were rolling out and sparkling on the conference room table.

my love of words and the subtle way words can be used in concert was in heaven, and i warn you that i may begin to drop arborescent thoughts (a way to explain the world as a binary; as a system of ones of the others; the antithesis of rhizomatic thoughts), talk about meat space (the physical space your body takes up), and say obsolescence instead of obsolete.

after much speculation, today apple’s website reflects the release of the “iPad” – its first large-scale tablet-like portable device. the iPad looks like an enormous iPhone – and has many of the same capabilities (apps, email, web browsing). my first reaction to seeing the iPad was, “wow, this is SO rad!” – a very similar to a justification for the cell phone in a book i’m reading for a seminar in media and technology that i’m taking this semester.

however, as i thought more about it, i wondered if it’s just a little TOO much. i was talking to my advisor about it, and she made a few hilarious comments about trying to fit the iPad in your back pocket. i responded that, i guessed low-rise jeans were going to be a thing of the past.

seriously, i have to wonder why i think that the iPad is so rad, so sleek, so awesome, that i would even think about setting aside a month’s rent to buy it (don’t worry mom, i won’t!). i love apple, hard, and my iPhone even harder, but is that enough justification – especially since i love hard copies of books, think the Kindle is silly/ugly, and would rather do a crossword puzzle in pen and get newsprint all over my hands then fill in a grid with rote helvetica font.

that all being ranted, my birthday is only a few months away … just sayin’ …

then, because just updating the tag lines wasn’t *quite* geeky enough, i made a few wordles out of all of the text. interesting how the largest word and my actions right now are oh, so similar …

seriously. the coolness is overwhelming on bryant ave right now. did i also mention i’m hanging out my cat right now?

despite the fact that this was one lame saturday and literally the definition of unproductive, i’m very happy with everything that happened today — from sleeping in to a time i’m embarrassed to admit to brunch at 3:30pm to the formerly noted geekiness.

there’s a method to this madness. and her name is balance. because we drink and dance and order pizza, we have to sleep and geek and eat danishes. as j said early today, when things had worked out just right for the nth time in a short span of time, “i love my life.”

ditto. duh.

my “boss” at UMN recently started a blog devoted to many critiques. i’ve helped her get this thing of the ground .. and then, by jove, she has rolled with it, cranking out the QUALITY content — not just pictures of cats and college.

if it seems that i’m a little jealous of the forum she has, that would be because i am. and then i realize … um, i have a forum just like that. just with hot jamz and hijinx. it may not be as academic, but it *could* be mine.

given that, let me share a few thoughts i have related to this post(that i will eventually be posting in the comments section):

• I can hardly go a day (or even an hour!) without someone forwarding me an article about social media or Twitter. A constant I’ve seen throughout these recent, and nascent, narratives regarding Twitter is a lack of empirical research – surely, we are seeing a phenomenon emerge and we know SOMETHING is happening — but that is where the certainties stop. 
• We still have no idea what that “something” is. In all honesty, it could be a very bad something for women’s sport … especially (like the linked post highlights) if social media only replicates and reinforces these dominant and emblematic representations of the hetero-, hyper-sexual female athlete. If that is the case than it’s extremely premature to call any kind of social/new media a savior or posit that it can only be a positive for women’s sport. Thus, this post resonated with me, because I’ve been feeling like there’s a disconnect for some time (and of course, am now attempting some research of my own).
• Another disconnect that may need further fleshing out is the relationship between organization/league and the athlete. While the former may think social media is a “quick fix”, do the actors (i.e. athletes) know that they are pawns – Or are they just being “regular” people, connecting with friends and not realizing that they are being called upon to save the women’s sport in 140 characters or less?
• It may be that leagues and teams may want to show female athletes as “regular” well-rounded people. This could be the subject of a whole other “blog” and could be someday … but if there is a conscious or unconscious attempt to promote an image of well-roundedness (i.e., mother-athlete, friend-athlete, and student-athlete); it’s borderline insulting to both the athletes and the fans. Many people, arguably most people, spend their entire lives TRYING to be exceptional at one thing. However, female athletes are truly exceptional and have spent their entire careers honing their talents. Why wouldn’t we want to showcase that kind of exceptional? Possibly in more than 140 characters?