The Home Page · The Integral Worm · My Resume · My Show Car · My White Papers · Organizations I Belong To
Technical Writing · Exposition & Argumentation · Non-fiction Creative Essays · Grammar and Usage of Standard English · The Structure of English · Analysis of Shakespeare
Analysis of Literary Language · Advanced Professional Papers · The History of the English Language · First Internship: Tutoring in a Writing Workshop · Second Internship: Advanced Instruction: Tutoring Writing
Visual Literacy Seminar (A First Course in Methodology) · Language in Society (A Third Course in Methodology) · The Writer's Guild
UMBC'S Conservative Newspaper: "The Retriever's Right Eye" · UMBC'S University Newspaper: "The Retriever Weekly" · Introduction to Journalism · Feature Writing · Science Writing Papers
Communicative Objective #1 (CO1): The Re-patent
Communicative Objective #2 (CO2): Recontextualizing Authorless Text
Presentation/Gaming Activity: "Shopping Happens"
Blackboard Weekly Posts (A Bulletin Board Community)
Explanation for A History of "This" Space · Parameters for A History of "This" Space · The Narrative/Argument A History of "This" Space: UMBC Food
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Introduction
As a virgin to the “Shipka Spaces” I had no idea as to what would be deemed acceptable or unacceptable for a history. All I knew would be applied from lessons learned in creating projects throughout my academic career plus three constraints drawn from instruction in Information Systems Project Management. All projects are subject to three main constraints: scope, time, and cost. Every other constraint is a derivative of these three.
We see and read signs in the
For those who prefer variety as the spice of life, the Coffee Shoppe Daily Lunch Special changes constantly making this meal unpredictable yet provides variety to the question, “What’s for lunch today?” As consumers we do not know what the daily special will be until 11:30 a.m. This is because the employees of the Coffee Shoppe are actually Quantum Physicists posing as food servers. It is well known that an infinite range of possibilities exist until an observer observes the phenomenon and hence the physical phenomenon solidifies into a state of reality when it is observed. Therefore, the actual sign of the lunch special of the day does not actually materialize in reality until a passing observer asks, "Excuse me, what's the lunch special of the day?" I shall now decribe a scenario to set up my argument.
I am in my office at
Adding second example to my argument was when I was in northern Italy en route from Milan to Venice via automobile. We stopped at a rest area and as with most rest areas food was served. This was fast food but not like ours. There were big trays of food behind glass similar to a deli counter and the food was placed in foam trays for take out. I could not read Italian so I had no idea what the food was or what were the ingredients. I had to assume from the number of people buying the food and scoffing it down that it tasted good but then again these people being natives may have been accustomed to this particular food. The food looked appealing but I could not bring myself to commit to the food without tasting it myself.
My third example is this: how many times have we gone out to an unknown restaurant with a group and no one is familiar with the food there? Everyone is without clues as to what to order. When the food arrives, how often do we find ourselves disappointed and wish we had ordered what someone else ordered because we can now see and smell the food.
Argument/Thesis
Now I know this is not going to happen predominantly due to economics but should not food be sold in such a way that the consumer may have a small sampling before fully committing to the purchase as they do in Baskin and Robbins, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club? I propose to bring in the lunch of the day for my peers to sample concluding my argument on how we purchase food. I intend to bring in plastic silverware and small plates for everyone so if they feel so compelled they may help themselves to a sample. My argument is do the signs on display really communicate with the consumer as to what is for lunch today or does the food itself do all the communicating? The purpose of the food is to illustrate and emphasize that signs and seeing the food are not the same as smelling and tasting plus there is a breakdown in communication using text and images for the purpose of selling food.
Why the cover “Paul’s Place?
To give the argument the look and feel of a restaurant menu in keeping the theme of “What’s for lunch today?
Why deliver the Food History in a pizza box?
The purpose of delivering the Food History in a pizza box is to bring the entire argument full circle and create a final package for delivery or “pass it forward.”
Why the receipt?
All deliveries come with a receipt when purchasing food.
Why the silly title?
My argument is serious but also meant to entertain. I am demonstrating that with a little wit and levity a clear, solid, and serious argument may be maintained that does not have to be boring. I am setting out to not only semiotically argue my point that signs tell us little about what is for lunch but also to educate, entertain, and persuade that there are alternative methods to purchasing lunch. I am applying the genre of Edutainment
Why images of UMBC students speaking in NYisims?
The images with the text bubbles introduce the argument in a lighthearted manner. Because we are also considering language and communication within this course, I deemed it fitting to introduce my peers to a few dialectic phrases typically heard in the five Burroughs of Manhattan N.Y. having been a native New Yorker for 36 years. My small circle of friends was a little obsessed with food. At the drop of a hat we would drive 30 minutes to Bayville on the north shore for soulvaki (not to be confused with a gyro) or an hour to Wo Hop’s in Chinatown for “autopsy in a bowl” — this was some seafood mix in a lobster sauce and became renamed because it looked so bad but tasted so good. All one had to say was “It’s to die for” and we would clamor for the cars. (For an expanded discussion see this link
Why introduce the Commons first?
Using the Commons first helps to ground the argument and the project. Nothing ever changes in the Commons so this becomes a simple task of showing the web pages and the signs illustrating the food options so the reader may see how language is used in order to make our mouths water leading to us thinking we are hungry. The icons from the web site for each food vendor are used because as consumers we identify these symbols with the various vendors and the particular types of food they sell. The reason for leaving the hours in was a hold over from some other argument that was never formulated. That argument could have been politically revolving around the fact that the entire campus shuts down on Friday at 2 p.m., while many of us remain working here on Friday well through the night. This political argument may come in due to confusion between working on the Culture History and the Food History at the same time. The fact that the campus shuts down at 2 p.m. seems to provide support for the culture argument (the culture argument that UMBC is a "Commuter School," see
Why was this particular walking path chosen to display the Commons food vendors?
I would argue that one is most likely to enter the Commons through the doors closest to the Biology buildings. If one is coming from the library to eat, one is most likely to proceed through these doors. If one is coming from the following buildings: Biology, Chemistry, Math/Psych, Social Sciences, ACIV building 1 or 2, Administration, the RAC, Information Systems, ECS, or Fine Arts building, then most likely one will enter through these doors. There are fewer buildings on the other side of the Commons so this is the least likely path entering the ground floor food court. Hence the tour of the food courts begins with Jazzman’s Café (coffee, salad, and pastries). There is no motivation for deciding on a course from this point on and I just decided to take my viewers to the center of the food court where Pete’s Arena (Southern Italian food), Salsa Rico (Tex-Mex food or Southwestern) exist and basically walk through as a tour guide. Next one would see Rappz (Tortilla paper like sandwich thingies and salads) next to Salsa Rico walking towards the rear of the food court. Hanging a quick right one comes upon Subversions, the submarine (hero, hoagie, or grinder) sandwich shop and if one turns and walks back they pass the Mein Bowl (Chinese food) Last but not least is Sunset Strips (“Reconstituted burn bird meat” as a Klingon on Star Trek - Next Generation once referred to a chicken meal.) The Kosher Food heat and eat and other self-serve foods were not shown due to the complexity in recording them and due to their lack of popularity. I did not see how including them would add anything to the argument.
Why the argument about advertising signs?
The signs are the focal point of my argument. The idea stems from early readings of Gee where he was examining the language used in signs and that the language communicated a voice or lack of authority. Gee argument acts as a springboard to my argument. I argue that the food tells us what is for lunch but if one is not familiar with these particular foods or is not a part of American culture the signs become meaningless. I am not arguing that because the signs are in English that they fail to communicate with non-English speakers but that providing a description of the ingredients is nondescript to the consumer. As an example let us say that I was a native Tibetan foreign exchange student who understood English and spoke fluent English. Because I am a native Tibetan, I am not familiar with Greek food: feta cheese, vinegar and oil, black olives, anchovies, and other ingredients. Reading the sign for a Greek wrap now becomes meaningless for me because I have no idea what feta cheese as a main ingredient tastes like. I may be familiar with cheese such as yak cheese (cheese made from yak's milk) because yaks are plentiful in my native country of Tibet, but I also know that there are many types of cheese and each has its own unique smell, texture, and flavor. Because I cannot sample the tastes of the foods being offered, I am less likely to commit to something I am not familiar with because I may find out that I do not like my selection and will in turn will throw out the food. If I was permitted the opportunity to sample particular foods I may be interested in before committing to a purchase I would be more likely to make a purchase of a food I was not familiar with.
Why focus on the Commons food court and the UMBC Coffee Shoppe in the Administration building?
These are the two most centrally located places to buy lunch on campus especially if one is on the fly. The Commons food court is highly visible and most people forget that sandwiches are offered in cold storage of the Candy Shop and also forget that there is a fried food grill on the second floor of the Commons. Most students don’t bother with the Skylight Café on the third floor of the Commons. Students forget about this place because of lack of visibility and its also cost prohibitive. The dining hall down by the dorms is overlooked because most students are commuters and rarely venture out to that distance on the campus. The Coffee Shoppe is the next most likely place to venture in search of lunch due to proximity of where most classes are held and for convenience. The reason I focused on these two locations is due to location. These food stops provide the most selection and have the highest traffic out of any of the other locations. Second reason was nothing within the Commons changes but the Coffee Shoppe attempts to offer some variance in its food choices by offering a different hot entrée daily. This helps to create a focal point for my argument.
Why were the fixed signs of the Coffee Shoppe typed out and not photographed?
The Coffee Shoppe is a tight environment, up-close, and personal. The only time to get good photographic images of the fixed signage was while the Coffee Shoppe was opened. Questions would have been raised as to what I was doing and this could have also been considered interfering with their business operations. I thought about photographing the signs and dismissed this for these reasons. The alternative was to photograph the signs after hours. Because of the security fencing it was impossible to read any of the signage and in some cases the angles did not permit photographing. The only alternative was to hand copy the signs and reproduce them to the best of my ability using Microsoft Excel and Word.
Why plastic sleeves and a three ring binder instead of a scrap book?
The plastic sleeves support the theme of an argument about ordering food and working with food. Most restaurants have their menus in plastic to keep the menus clean so they do not have to be replaced as often. The plastic also permits easy cleaning. The whole arrangement fits in well with the topic of food and purchasing food. The artifact adds a diner feel (diner menu) to the argument from the perspective of the viewer. From my perspective, by creating every page as a new sheet, the problem of paper curl was avoided resulting in a more professional looking product. The plastic sheets also allowed me to change layout quickly. I could add, change, and delete at will; therefore, I was not fixed to a particular form of linear-ness while I was assembling the argument. The finished product would be linear to the viewer but from my perspective this method provided me greater flexibility in design. I could easily change my design on the fly.
Why was the argument on social space within the two food courts abandoned?
In the early stages of constructing this argument when I went out and photographed all the signage I had sketched out the layout of the Commons food court: the seating arrangement, the placement of counters and fixtures, and soda fountain positions. In addition, I also sketched out the layout of the Coffee Shoppe, the seating arrangement, and the soda fountain position. This argument was working with the word “space” in the history handout. The argument would have been comparing and contrasting the two purchasing/eating spaces and how the Commons was more conducive for socializing in large groups while the Coffee Shoppe was meant for those eating alone or in small groups. Secondary to this argument would have been that the Coffee Shoppe atmosphere was more targeted towards older adults, faculty, and administration because of the smaller seating arrangement. This particular age bracket would be more likely having lunch in smaller groups. The Commons was designed to handle a greater volume of people because the greatest number of people on campus is the young adults attending class. In some cases this group is also more likely to socialize in larger groups from past experiences associated with high school. This argument was abandoned or sidetracked by the stronger argument that developed later about how we purchase food.
Why was the argument of instilling confidence in the consumer’s food purchase abandoned?
The second argument that was revolving around my head in the planning stages while all the other arguments — the Culture history, the OED, and the Patent project were occupying space, dealt with consumer confidence in the quality of food. This is reflected in the web text advertisement for the Coffee Shoppe in the phrase, “...tastes sure remind you of a Sunday dinner at Mom’s house!” My argument was that even though both the Coffee Shoppe and the Commons are both run by the Woods Food Dining Services, because of the elderly women working behind the food prep counters of the Coffee Shoppe, the mind does not connect the two places with the same food service. The Coffee Shoppe reminds one of the old time lunch counters in the old five and dime stores or of a grade school lunchroom. Having the elderly women instills confidence in me as a consumer because I assume these are veteran food handlers. My assumptions are that they wash their hands before preparing food and after using the bathroom, that they do not cut different raw meats with the same knife, that a knife used for cutting bread or vegetables is not the same knife used for cutting meats. In other words, in my mind, I associate the semiotic message of these women with Mom and that Mom is going to follow sanitary practices of food prep in order to prevent the family from coming down with e-coli, salmonella poisoning, botulinum, calicivirus, Hepatitis A, B or C. On the other hand the food handlers behind the food prep counters in the Commons semiotically do not instill confidence in me that I will be safe from receiving such a problem due to unsanitary food preparation. This argument was abandoned because the argument of how we purchase food seemed to be more visual and aided in the construction of a stronger argument.
Why was the argument of the Coffee Shoppe attempting to offer variety by offering a lunch of the day abandoned?
See paragraphs under the heading “Why the original plan of recording the lunch special of the day in the Coffee Shoppe abandoned?” below.
Information abandoned
Originally in my food photographs there were photos of the soda fountains all of which distribute beverages from the Coca Cola Bottlers Company. Their purpose may have been another abandoned argument about why Coca-Cola and all of its other products are the only beverages sold on campus. Old research would have been drudged up from articles I wrote for “The Weekly Retriever” but this argument seemed rather weak and wholly unnecessary. This argument has appeared in “The Retriever Weekly various times by different reporters so this argument would probably be nothing more than whipping a dead horse. I.E., "We've been here, done that, and accomplished noting. Isn't it time to move on to a new argument? Hmmmmmmmm?"
Pictures were also taken of both eating spaces: occupied and unoccupied which was for the purpose of visual support in the “food space” argument. These pictures came out awful but this did not alter the decision of the argument. Somewhere between having taken the photographs and turning in the film for processing the decision was made to pursue the argument of the lunch signs not communicating what was for lunch.
Why was the original plan of recording the lunch special of the day in the Coffee Shoppe abandoned?
The bottom line is doing this became too cumbersome and interfered with my daily obligations. First thing I noticed was the Coffee Shoppe even though they may advertise a daily special, the Coffee Shoppe fell into a habit of offering the same special all week in some cases. When we began the semester I did not have a routine schedule in the Writing Center and that was going to change in the third week. Up until that time I was able to run over to the Coffee Shoppe on Mondays and Wednesdays to record the lunch. In the third week of the semester everything changed and I was scheduled to work 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. The Coffee Shoppe begins laying out lunch about 11:30 and not earlier and closes at 2 p.m. This became a problem. I asked one of my fellow Writing Center tutors to cover me once just to record how much time I would consume running to the Coffee Shoppe, taking down the data and running back. The time was coming out to about 15 to 20 minutes and I felt that this was an unacceptable burden for my fellow associates so I abandoned the idea of making recordings on Mondays and Wednesdays.
The day that Elizabeth Piccirillo’s group conducted their presentation in Lecture Hall V for ENGL 407, I found I had a timing problem for Tuesdays and Thursdays. It seems their project kicked off the necessity to be overly prepared for someone requesting data in some form. Because my mind only functions so fast, I was not able to run over Tuesdays and Thursdays to Administration to check the lunch of the day. I found myself needing that moment in time to transition from one class to the next. I tried a different strategy of going there before class around 11:20 a.m. only to find the Coffee Shoppe was not set up for lunch yet and there was no advertising sign laid out. ENGL 407 ends at 2:15 p.m. so jumping out and rushing over didn’t work either because the Coffee Shoppe closes up shop at 2 p.m.
Fridays eventually ended up right out because this ended up being the only day I could sleep late and not have to rush to some place where I had an obligation. I work Saturdays and Sundays at Pep Boys as an Automotive Counter-person so those days were wiped out for a sleep in. I had to put a day into my schedule that was a day off somewhere and that day became Friday. I would always arrive to UMBC late to do studies but I needed some time for myself to energize my own batteries. The outcome of all this interference became sparse data; therefore, I could not show a trend in the food offered as the lunch of the day.
Why the use of photographs?
The photographs freeze the moments of the history in time. As far as my UMBC students, years from now their dress and hairstyles will indicate to viewers in the future that this history was recorded in a particular period of time. Even the signage and flags in the photos will some day change; therefore, these artifacts also capture the moment in time.
The photographs of the signs capture the particular shops that were in the Commons at this point in UMBC’s history. The photographs also capture the food choices and the prices of the food, both of which will eventually change with time. The photographs become the facts for the Food history and do the necessary work for a history.
Never Again
The use of disposable cameras was the Achilles heel of my project. This was a huge mistake on my part and I should have never relied on one to begin with. Because of this, most of the data from the Coffee Shoppe was useless. A digital camera would have been nice because I could just snap, check if I liked what I saw, and either keep it or scrap it instantaneously. I don’t have friends and I don’t know of anyone who would lend me a digital camera. Buying one was out of the question because when one eats every other day in order to make rent, digital camera is a frivolous expense.
I do have a Pentax K1000 SLR that I should have used. I would have been more comfortable with it and because it is an SLR, I would have known whether I was capturing the images properly. Processing and film cost would have been about the same. The problem here is that the camera equipment is either buried in a corner of the room where I cannot find it right now because I have to continually work on the fly as an academic producing more and more. As a doctor working towards tenure you can understand this position all too well. My last girlfriend was also a Ph.D. and I know how hectic being an academic can get. I’m still at the lowest level just trying to be recognized to enter graduate school to follow the same path both of you have been down.
If the camera equipment was not buried in some obscure corner of the room, this meant that the camera was in my stored car. Currently, my car sits in the landlord’s backyard because I can not afford to insure it living in Baltimore City, yet I ca not afford to part with it because it symbolizes my only escape from the economic poverty I am living. The car is also my gateway out of this place. My landlord has a huge German Shepherd and the dog knows I am afraid of her. I have been bitten so many times by large dogs it is not funny and I don’t need anymore bites. Going back to my car for anything that is inside it is always a huge risk because I do not know when the landlord will come out with the dog not on a leash. In circumstances such as these, I usually watch for an opportunity for when the landlord has left for the day to sneak into the car to find some portion of my previous life. In addition, this had to be done during the day because the neighborhood is freaky about people wandering around at night and as far as the neighbors are concerned, I am a stranger. The other problem is my landlord has a small barn on the property, which is his workshop and contains all his tools. This has been broken into more than a few times so I have my reservations about wandering around back there at night. My life is a big enough Hell and I don’t need to be accused of stealing or any other crimes I did not commit. This summarizes the unfortunate circumstance of not recovering my SLR one mistake I will not make in the future. Having the data and loosing it was extremely bothersome to me.
I should have spent a little extra money on the Kodak cameras versus the Fuji cameras because I have never, ever liked Fuji film. Colors never seem to come out right with Fuji film. I also figured by using ASA 400 and a flash that I would have enough light because I have shot with my Pentax under darker conditions using ASA 400 without a flash. I hate using a flash because I have found one runs the risk of washing out the colors.
Why not a website?
This entire presentation could have been done as a web site. I could have easily done this, but the path would have been more difficult. My concern was not with the level of difficulty but turn around time. After receiving the data I would only have one week (7 days) in order to design and create an artifact, and write out my goals and choices. I have the skills for building a web site but as with all computer type projects I have little control over down networks and also there are high learning curves associated with becoming familiar with software programs I have not used before. I would also find myself on endless hunts for Java scripts and pre-packaged Java code in order to increase and connect multi-modalities in order to make something that did not look thrown together. If there was more time I would have probably have made audio files while the data was being created and captured moments on video in order to present others with the atmosphere of the day. Unfortunately I do not have any of this equipment and I have no friends so there is nowhere for me to borrow such precious resources. As it turned out, my historian day was pushed back (At least I think it was, I can’t remember anything clearly with so many projects revolving in my mind at the same time) to the same day that our 324 and 407 projects were due. I was exhausted and I’m sure everyone else was. I know Sarah did not get any sleep the night before and neither did I because there were so many things we wanted to add to our projects that the both us were up all night long in our separate spaces burning the midnight oil.
In some ways though, the website would have never communicated the same as the three-ring binder with the plastic sleeves. The artifact takes on the look and feel of a diner menu, which was purely accidental. Yes, this was the case in science where the data feeds back and tells the observer what it is and not what the observer is trying to prove. The Sunday night before “Pass it Forward” it occurred to me that the artifact reminded me of a diner menu. This is a case of the artifact forming the design decisions. In the end the artifact will have on the cover either “Paul’s Place,” a benign name for the diner or “Bunny Burgers,” an extremely old on going family joke.
Here is the family joke. I have nowhere else to explain this because the story is a short anecdote that does not lend itself to expansion into a full essay. I do not find that there is much to explore through an essay.
It’s the mid sixties and I am about eight or ten. My older sister is living near the Montgomeryville, PA area, off the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast extension. At the time the area was still highly rural. My older sister and her husband were starting out their early farming pursuits breading rabbits, Silver Martin rabbits for pets. Rabbits are lucrative because they breed quickly, mature quickly, hence more rabbits.
While my father was listening to their conversation he came up with the idea of “Bunny Burgers.” Breading rabbits for meat and selling the rabbit burgers at truck stops similar to the “Golden Arches” of the time. As I said, there’s not much to explore here.
In the nineties I saw a documentary about Flint, MI 20 years later after the collapse of the Big 3 in Detroit and its effect on Flint, MI. Lo and behold! The Internet once again reveals its secrets. The documentary was made by Michael Moore in 1989 titled “Roger & Me,” about Michael’s quest to speak with the GM CEO at the time.
Bunny Burgers was dropped because the explanation of the family joke adds nothing to the project and also because of the negative connotations of bunny burgers. I think too many people cannot associate a harmless domestic creature — a rabbit, as a source of food and will only be viewed being morose.
The title “Bunny Burgers” was also dropped because all the associations above are asides and become random, i.e. serve no purpose in my argument; hence “Bunny Burgers” was dropped.
Also considered for the name of the UMBC Food History was Saint Alphonzo's as in Saint Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast of Frank Zappa fame. This title could have worked if I delivered the end product as a web page. On a web page I would be able to hyperlink to the song something I cannot do with the paper based menu. This title was discarded due to its obscurity and randomness when presenting a paper-based end product.
Why not a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation?
This entire presentation could have been done as a PowerPoint presentation. Much of what I have to say about this refers back to the development of a website. The difference I see between a website and a PowerPoint presentation is the position of being the driver in the driver’s seat and being a passenger in the vehicle. A website would place control and interactivity in the hands of the viewer so one could pick and choose what to view, what not to view, and what order to view pages. A PowerPoint presentation would be more like a slide projection show from the old days having moments flashed in front of one’s face and sitting back passively watching the data unfold. I am an advocate for active learning having come from Automotive Engineering and the Laboratory Sciences where instruction meant reading, recitation, and then jumping into the lab and doing what was learned. Laboratory sessions could and did sometimes go on for 4 hours at a time with some passionate teachers who would dig in with us. The PowerPoint presentation would have never captured the theme of the diner theme so for this project a PowerPoint presentation would have been a poor choice. A PowerPoint presentation I think was on a low list of priorities and the website coming in just above PowerPoint.
Why was the idea of using colored paper as a background abandoned?
The first reason for not using colored background sheets was cost. I ran out of money to invest in the project. I also wanted to put together the artifact so I could spend more time writing my goals and choices. Second, color can be added for visual impact but can also become an eyesore detracting from the data. I wanted the viewer to concentrate on the signs not the background sheets. Background color also creates a third problem. Some photographs would be difficult to see with a colored background and the clarity of the photographs is bad enough already. I do not need more distractions but less in displaying the data. These are the reasons for abandoning the idea of using colored papers.
Why was the idea of re-creating the Coffee Shoppe signs in Microsoft Publisher abandoned?
I actually forgot this idea was in my notes but there are some real good reasons for not using Microsoft Publisher for re-creating the Coffee Shoppe signs. One reason is the Coffee Shoppe creates real basic signs done in Microsoft Word with what looks like the “Java” software icon thrown in for some clip art. I do not think whoever is creating the signs is familiar with Publisher and neither am I. I am familiar with Adobe PageMaker but do not currently have access to the program and I know because the learning curve to use this program is real high, the person in the Coffee Shoppe is definitely not using this program. Using Microsoft Word for the signage captures the authenticity of the Coffee Shoppe signage and remains true to the intellectual aspect of recording and reporting the history of these spaces.
What’s your process?
Figure 1
This process begins back in Westbury, N.Y. back in the late eighties. I was lying on the couch with one eye open and one eye closed taking a nap before going out to the nightclub for Saturday night. I would watch Dr. Who and some other science fiction programs on television. This nap was usually taken at about 4 p.m. in the afternoon and Tammie, my pet cockatiel liked taking naps with me so she would stand on my knee and fall fast asleep. I watched a British post=apocalyptic fiction TV series called
Figure 2
Shipka handed out the history and immediately I had an idea. How well it would work or not work I had no idea. I have been attending UMBC since the Summer of 2000 and knew the food offerings on campus never change except the “Lunch of the Day” in the Coffee Shoppe located in the Administration building on the ground floor. I hate procrastinating on anything professors hand out especially projects. Having gone to school for years and having worked as an automotive and information systems technical writer, I knew all to well how things never go as planed in design projects. Things always go wrong along the way that change the final product. One has to allow plenty of time to navigate around roadblocks
Figure 3
Soon as the history was handed out I went to Shipka’s office to run my idea past her and also to chew the fat so to speak. I was looking for input, insight, and suggestions. The dates to be a historian were not assigned yet nor did I know anything about the "Shipka’s Spaces". I now regret having jumped into the project so soon. Once things began to become active in the "Shipka Spaces" and I saw all the potential possibilities of a free hand in design, I found myself disappointed having jumped in so soon
Figure 4
I this history at the beginning of the semester with no real idea of what I am setting out to do or record. This is a problem because I have little background reading to work within in this course and no little about Shipka's expectations. As I have said in the other communicative objectives, I am a blind man in a black room looking for a black cat and I know its here because I heard it meow, but I can't find it. I go out and begin recording data without having an argument formulated.
I begin recording in the Commons as this is the largest of the dining spaces and also the most frequented. I continue recording over the course of a few nights. First, I begin recording signs by hand. I start the process late in the evening, but not late enough as some employees are still around and I arouse suspicion. They must think that I am a corporate spy from a competing contract firm. I stop what I am doing and return around 10 p.m. when I know everyone has left and I can move about freely. Over the course of three evenings I complete hand recording all the signs but I am not satisfied with this. The problem I foresee is re-creating all the signage in Microsoft Word. Not only will be time consuming but much of the authenticity of the signs will be lost.
During these three nights I also make hand sketches of the seating arrangements in the front and the back court, how the various vendors are placed in the space, and where various fixtures are. I have lost my focus by recording the space itself and I am not even aware of this yet as the project is still young. I think what is going though my mind at this early stage is that I am focused on the word “space” and subconsciously thinking of an argument about space that I do not quite understand. I am maintaining four arguments in my head at the same time plus the arguments I am working on for the
At this point none of the four possible arguments have a strong focal point so I am recording a great deal of data not really understanding how, why or if the data will be used
Figure 5
I disappear from campus on the weekend to work my two days at Pep Boys. While in Wal-Mart I decide I should purchase two disposable cameras, one for recording signs in the food history argument and one for artifacts in the culture history argument. When I return on Monday, I begin photographing signs and the empty dining spaces of the Commons
Figure 6
Over the course of the next three days, I do the same recording of the Coffee Shoppe space, sketching out the space and layout, recording signs by hand and taking photographs of the dining spaces. The original purpose of sketching the two spaces and recording the signs traces back to reflecting on the word “history.” As a historian I am freezing this particular moment in time and recording how these places are at the moment. I am focusing on food costs, what vendor currently occupies the space, and how the space is being currently used. What is going through my mind is I remember the changes that my own home towns of Westbury and East Meadow underwent change as I grew up (I lived on the boarder of the two towns so this is why two places). From the age of five to the age of 36, I remember how the two places drastically changed and matured. I once saw a cocktail table book of photographic images showing the changes of Westbury and found browsing through it fascinating because I could see the flashes of the places in my mind as they once were as I flipped through the pages. For the time being I was wandering around in this stage with no real clear emerging focus
Figure 7
I now have the signage data for both spaces recorded, I have images of people occupying both places (so I think), I have images of the two spaces empty, I have sketches of the two places layouts and spatial arrangements, yet I have nothing else to record for this food history which is not making sense to me. I continue recording the lunch of the day to the best of my ability
Figure 8 & 9
My classmates and I are still pretty much blind people, in a black room, searching for a black cat within the Shipka Spaces
Figure 10
A few people ask me what I am doing and I describe some of my recording thus far yet none of this seems to hold anyone’s attention so I just let it go. I think my peers disinterest in this history is that no one in the "Shipka Spaces" is involved with it. No one is producing data for me, so my peers aren't a part of the history. I talk with Greg for a little bit and here the conversation seems to revolve around how the women in the Coffee Shoppe, at least for me, instill some sort of confidence in me that I am not going to get food poisoning from eating there. Greg understands my point yet introduces me to a new spin that is obvious to me but does demonstrate that I have a built-in bias. Greg seems to think that the elderly women in The Coffee Shoppe do instill some confidence in the consumer, but also I am more comfortable with eating there because I am surrounded with those closer to my own age within the social space regardless of whether I actually communicate with anyone. I think there is some validity to what he has said. The dining space on the opposite side of the Coffee Shop is always less active and quieter. As I said, I did find some validity in Greg’s statement, but not enough to support a strong argument. My discussion with Greg doesn’t seem to really solidify anything in my mind and I just continue recording the lunch of the day
Figure 11
Many things change in my scheduling as the semester wears on. My Writing Center schedule is finalized, my peers in 324 and 407 begin collecting data for their histories, my peers begin setting up class discussions, so every class meeting within the "Shipka Spaces" becomes a “black box.” I have no idea what to expect, what to bring, or what I need to do. I know I have to stay on top of my readings to be prepared for every class in order to participate in discussions and activities. I now have to be fully energized and engaged in class to meet not only to meet my own expectations, but the expectations of my peers. We are all relying on each other to conduct the class. Now I am having difficulty trying to record the "Lunch of the Day". The idea of maintaining any type of argument about consistency and change goes out the window so I now have one less argument. The argument about the elderly women instilling confidence is pretty much right out because there does not seem to be any multi-modality support, so that also falls apart
Figure 12
All I am left with is the first argument which seems to have no argument at this point. The so-called argument one consists of just recording data and passing it forward. I can’t visualize what work this is doing. Argument two, the recording of the signage and whether this is effectively communicating with the consumer as to “What’s for lunch today” becomes the workhorse argument
Figure 13
The whole argument now begins to cascade. I perform an experiment with my parrot and the argument is resolved. I lay out Ryoko’s favorite foods and let her choose what to eat. Without hesitation, Ryoko gravitates toward the dish with fresh pineapple. “That’s it! Most of us don't eat because we have to when we are out and about. Most of the time we eat for the sheer pleasure of eating. We eat for taste! After all, why did we scramble for the cars at the mention of Chinese, Greek, or Italian food. What sells food better, signs or the food itself? The food of course, that’s how BJ’s and Sam’s Club increase food sales”
From this point on the entire argument becomes entertaining to me. I have my pictures processed the first Saturday of Spring Break, but only the signs in the Commons came out well and most of the other pictures were useless except for some outside shots of some students on campus. I begin to see a vision coming together and decide to have some fun with this argument.
Figure 14
First there is the old NYisims about eating and lunch. Then the Saturday Night Live skit goofing on the movie “Cool Hand Luke” that still lingers in my mind. I find in my notes I have a quote from C. Gatton which must have come from one of her Blackboard responses to the “meal flavored” gum which supports my argument as to why we eat. I’m always hungry myself or going hungry trying to pay tuition so I can hear
Rolling Credits/Acknowledgements
Special thanks goes to Crystal Gatton who somewhere in a Blackboard post said the now famous quote shown on the last page of this argument. All I needed was one other person saying the same thing I said as my support for credibility. I think the quote may have come in response to the re-invention of a meal-flavored gum.
A special thanks also goes out to Greg Masters as he agreed with me on the observation that the elderly women in the Coffee Shoppe instills confidence in the consumer that food preparation is being handled properly and on the point that the Coffee Shoppe dining space draws faculty and administration versus the student body of UMBC.
A special thanks also goes out to Douglas Adams, author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Here we learn, "The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question 'How can we eat?' the second by the question 'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question 'Where shall we have lunch?'”
Last but not least Ryoko, my current Green Cheek Conure parrot and Tammie, the white Cockatiel now long deceased who participated in my experiment to determine “Why do we eat?” My parrots took the argument beyond the utilitarian stance of “We eat because we have to.” With both parrots I played a small scale experiment with them and laid out their favorite snacks all at once to determine which particular food they would gravitate to. The result of the experiment not only told me which was their favorite food but also demonstrated that animals and people eat based on taste preferences. For those who would like to know what their favorite foods were; Tammie gravitated towards scrambled eggs with American Cheese and Ryoko gravitated towards fresh pineapple. Both parrots demonstrated that they preferred wet food over dry food and Ryoko demonstrated that she has a sweet tooth, while Tammie liked things that were gooey.
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