second post of the day

I found Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw's, "Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes," to be a pretty helpful and enjoyable read.

Some quotes that I liked:
"...field notes do more than record observations. In a fundamental sense, they constitute a way of life through the very writing choices the ethnographer makes and the stories she tells; for, through her writing she conveys her understandings and insights to future readers unacquainted with these lives, people, and events." P. 16

I also liked how they suggested that the finished ethnographic text crafts "a world on the page." P. 16

"Ethnographers learn to experience through the senses in anticipation of writing: to remember dialogue and movement like an actor; to see colors, shapes, textures, and spatial relations as a painter or photographer; and to sense moods, rhythms, and tone of voice like a poet..." P. 35

I had derby practice this morning so I took a few mental notes that I jotted down later in the day. They lack overall structure but they're a start:

• Derby certainly attracts a lot of strong-willed and social women - I'm amazed that the trainers can organize us and get us to listen so well during practice. I'm also inspired by the fact that there are quite a few mid-forties women in my league, yet many of them still out-skate my twenty-year old legs and give me quite a few bruises up & down.
  

• We have a saying - "There's no sorry in derby." However, with a derby name like Moon Star Twinkle, [it's what my sister wanted to name me when I was born,] I don't feel very intimidating or overly aggressive out there on the track. I really like asking people how they came up with their derby name - some people have some great stories and others just have really great names. Roller derby names are meant to be personal and unique - we have a database that no two derby girls have the exact same name. There's definitely some overlap usually, but some people get really creative. Some of my favorites include: Tsu Mommy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Mama Sutra.

• We've had some new girls join recently, two of them are about my age. I talked to one of them briefly about my ethnography idea and she seemed pretty excited to be a potential interview.