Clarification of Confessions of an Ethnographer Part 1

I just want to make this clarifying point on the upcoming series of posts that I plan to make on "Confessions of an Ethnographer".

These post are about ME and ME only. If you're expecting to read something juicy about my research participants then you will be sorely disappointed. I hold their trust, confidentially and privacy to the highest degree. Doing research ethically is a MUST for me. I will keep to that no matter what.

Just wanted to make that clear as it's incredibly important to me.

Confessions of an ethnographer part 1

Stayed tuned. Over the next few days/weeks/months...who knows. I'm going to be giving a very intimate look into the life of an ethnographer and what it means to be an anthropologist.

We get nice and neat papers and theories but have you ever wondered what goes into getting that material? We anthropologists are human after all and we have fears, hopes, dreams and emotional reactions to the things we study. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. The trick is separating out those raw thoughts and feelings to remain objective and be able to dig for those deeper insights that are there with the subjects we chose to research and the people we study. Our job is an embodied and deep experience. We are privy into secrets and well kept thoughts and feelings of our participants. We are confidants, truth secrets, curiosity driven researchers. Passion for research and insight runs in our blood. But like I said, we're also human. We laugh along with our participants, cry along with them, experience what they do (because without that deep raw experience we might as well be researching robotics). Along the way we make friendships, we come to care deeply about the people we study. We do this, all the while balancing our internal thoughts and feelings with staying objective and true to our research objectives. It's a rough balance but one we *must* maintain this for the sake of good research.

It doesn't mean we don't get stage fright or that we don't worry about how we'll be perceived. I personally am a needless worrier and have to fight my own personal insecurities. But I do it...and at the end of the day I'm a damn good researcher. We expect the people we study to open up to us and let us in. We have to give something in return. Anthropologists have always known and struggled with the fact that our previous in some way shapes and reshapes those we study. It's inevitable. The goal is to leave as little a mark as possible. So...we keep ourself wrapped in researcher objectivity while we research but don't be fooled... we're human and we have all kinds of things going on inside too.

I'm going to let you get a glimpse into the world of an ethnographer. Stay tuned! It will be harsh, realistic, funny and true. A rare treat indeed!

Gritty, grown up Harry Potter-esque read

Monster by A. Lee Martinez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When a Yeti is eating the ice cream in the freezers you're suppose to stock, who do you call? Naturally you call animal control. Good thing animal control works with the cryptobiological containment unit who are well equipped to handle Yeti's, Trolls, and all those others creepies who go bump in the night.


The concept of various layers of consciousness and creatures co-existing in one plane is always a fun one to work with and Martinez does it well. Think of this as a very gritty, grown up Harry Potter story. There are those who walk within the realm of the supernatural, those who can sense it but quickly forget (light cog) and those who are completely oblivious (incogs). When the world of the supernatural collides with a very inquisitive light cog, the universe as we know it is in trouble. This story follows Monster, Judy, Chester and a very interesting cast of characters as worlds collide.

My only negative is the ending. I really felt it "cheapened" the entire read. However, I give Martinez this...he is very true to his characters. My hats off to him for keeping true right up to the very end even if I didn't like it. Perhaps my problem was with Monster (as a personality) himself and not with the ending; and if that's the case (and I'm pretty sure it is) Martinez breathes incredible life into his characters.

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Love affair with the written word

So you've probably noticed a HUGE influx of book reviews lately. My weekends and nights seem to have been taken over by my love affair with reading. Since I started my PhD (the hardcore research portion anyways) I haven't read a book for pleasure. Don't mistake the not "reading for pleasure" with "not reading" because trust me...I've done a TON of reading, just not for fun. It helps when your "not fun" reading is on topics that interest you (like video games for me) but there's something about reading academic books that tends to zap the pleasure out of it and makes it seem more like work then leisure (let's not get started on the whole work/leisure dichotomy...that's a whole different blog topic). Over the 4th of July weekend I had a few days off of work and some time on my hands so I picked up Joe Hill's novel Horns and off we went. It was like discovering an old friend who you've missed dearly. You don't realize just how much you've missed them until you reconnect.

Reading for me is almost and obsession. It's most certainly a passion and as we all know passions can border on the obsessive. There certainly are worse things to be obsessive about. The worst part of my love for reading is that it collides with my love of collecting things so I'm all about buying books. My husband keeps telling me that my reading habit is going to put us in the poor house (he's joking...mostly) and that I should use our fantastic libraries. However, there's something about having shelf after shelf of books that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. One day, I dream of having a house that also has a library room (an entire wing would be better; one can dream). I want the old school kind with the vaulted ceilings and ladders to reach the highest selves of books. Add a nice over stuffed leather chair, a desk and a fireplace and I'd probably never come out.

This is probably why I've yet to purchase an e-reader. Don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely LOVE an e-reader. I've certainly had opportunities to buy one but I keep putting it lower and lower on the list of things to buy. It'd be an absolute savior to have while traveling. I tend to go through 3 or 4 books on a weekend trip, especially when flying, and well, books are heavy and to have to carry around 3 or 4...whew. But there's also that part of me that hates the idea of NOT having the tangible remains to later admire. I have only re-read a handful of books in my life so I'm not even going to fool myself into thinking I keep them around in case I want to reread them. I just love having them and with an e-reader it's hard to go back and admire your love made tangible. It's also why I hate the idea of video games going completely into the cloud...

So, it's a long way of apologizing for the numerous book review postings but also a warning that more are to come. If you're a reader you hopefully appreciate the reviews and if not, just keep checking back for the more video game focused, geeky ramblings that will appear.

Demonic Ducks...who'd a thought?

A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Curses come in many forms and for the Nameless Witch; heroine of this story, her curse is a most peculiar and horrid one. With a demonic duck, a troll, enchanted broom and White Knight by her side she sets off for vengeance and soon finds her quest one to save the world.

The first book I read by A. Lee Martinez was "Gil's All Fright Diner" and I fell in love. His humor is magnificent and the pace of his writing is a tempo that keeps you moving steadily until the end. A Nameless Witch also has some good underlying advice to it, "Curses come in many forms and it's all about perspective."

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