The Buzz

The media is such an interesting tool because we love it so much, especially our generation, yet when our computer crashes, this hatred out of nowhere suddenly appears. As a society, we have developed this need for technology, and this is shown during the three articles we discussed concerning : Wikipedia, YouTube, and powerpoint.

Starting with the first article, Wikipedia actually made me laugh out loud. Personally, I have actually changed the name of the country "Australia" to "Austria" and sat there and watched to see if anyone would change the name back. Indeed within a matter of 3-5 minutes, "Australia" was back. This made me feel a lot better about using this source that so many others have deemed unreliable. Have you ever changed anything on Wikipedia?

The second source was a YouTube article concerning its origin and also a story about a young girl's journey through life and how YouTube has impacted it. I honestly thought that YouTube was much older because of all the "hits" it gets every day, but it was "born" in 1995. I was simply 5 years old at this point, and I did not know about YouTube until high school (but even then I was still uniterested). I think I might post a video sometime! It would be fun. I think. I find it astonishing thinking about how many people are actually looking at videos as you have read this blog. As stating in class, you will always be behind. How does that make you feel? Being behind so much? This fact makes me want to watch YouTube videos infact. I use YouTube solely for music videos. What do you use them for?

The third article was not that interesting to be honest. I guess I was expecting this amazing, astonishing article because they seem to be getting better, but nonetheless, it was interesting. Thirty million powerpoints are created each day. Thirty million. Try to see how long it takes you to count to that number.

What do you think will be the next HUGE "thing" for technology. Facebook has already established its legendary mark on society, but I hear Twitter is quite exciting. So the question posed is: Is technology a curse or a blessing? Why?

:)

The Intro to Tempest

Well, in my opinion, this introduction was very much exhausting. I felt it should have been at the end because honestly it helped me to better understand the play. I was at the point where I found myself merely reading rather than comprehending, and I just had to take a deep breath and start over. I have learned that with Shakespeare this happens quite often. Does anyone else feel this way or am I the one lone soldier on this one?

Moving along, the first thing I noticed and enjoyed were the pictures. I absolutely LOVE pictures because I learn better with visuals rather than just words- it helps keep me focused while reading the introduction the second time I started it. My favorite pictures is on page 7 which features Ferdinand and Miranda. I find this picture so epic and so powerful and solid. It is exactly what I think of when I think of Ferdinand and Miranda is this play. Dramatic. Lustful. In love? I still don't know about this whole real love/ lust thing. Which do you think it is?

Also, I half expected the introduction to state what the play was about, and why skeptics believed there is only one way that the play can be interpreted. But I found quite the contrary. The introduction focused on that Prospero can be this amazing ruler or this annoying tyrant. Also, Caliban could be viewed as a savage or the comical relief for the play. The play is open for interpretation, which I think is fabulous because so many times society thinks there is only one way to approach literature. "the play tempts us to fill in the blanks" (11). I actually giggled out loud when I read that line during the introduction. "tempts us", "The Tempest", get it? I apologize for the corny jokes.

I also again, find it so exciting that this is a Shakespeare original. In addition to this still fascinating fact, the introduction points out little things which go unnoticed or without explanation such as Antonio's lack of apology to his brother.“It is important to observe that Antonio does not repent here – he is, indeed, not allowed to repent” ( 53) I just found this interesting. Did anyone else find any other "hidden" scenes which went unnoticed or where characters seemed to fall off the face of the page? (planet didn't seem necessary here)

I really did enjoy The Tempest but rather I feel I will never fully understand it until I see the play in person or the whole film. It will be a personal challenge of mine to make seeing this film a priority because I want to be an English teacher and if I am not confident and capable of understanding the material, all is lost.

Question: What was your favorite part of the introduction?

Tempest III- IV

Let me first start off by saying is that The Tempest is one of my favorites of Shakespeare's so far. It is cool to note that The Tempest is actually not another's work, but rather an original. I found out that Shakespeare stole the plots and themes and such from other plays at the young age of 15 after doing a biography on Shakespeare. I was completely and utterly crushed because I thought this brilliant man had composed his thoughts himself. I feel as if I am babbling, which I am, just remember that this is an original so it must be of some importance to him.

Being the hopeless romantic that I am, a quote I found extreme was the following:
I am your wife, if you will marry me.
If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow
You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant
Whether you will or no.

I find it intriguing that SHE asked HIM to marry her, so odd for that time period. Also, the fact that she was not going to leave him NO MATTER WHAT was dedication. She longed to be near him; his wife or his maid would suffice for this young lady. She breaks out of the magic of her father. This is indeed interesting because her father has so much power over her. Honestly when we were watching that movie, I felt bad for her. I was like seriously, just get up girl. But I have to remember that it was the day and age where people were more proper, elegant, and respectful.

Do you think that Ferdinand and Miranda are right for each other? Honestly, do they :fit together like two peas in a pod"? (There is an awful metaphor Orwell was talking about...) Do you think that Miranda was a slave to her own desires? That she gave her everything and the power over her to others? Was she fragile?

Just something to ponder. I think "Yes" would be the appropiate answer for all of the questions asked above, but I want to know your opinion.

:) Holly

The Orwell Experience

After reading a selection like that, my first thought was: "I really hope that my blog post does not contain horrible English grammar considering I just read a story on the topic." I know that this is such a silly thought, but sorry to say friends, I was major judging your blog posts because Orwell got me excited about the use of bad English. I soon became a detective when reading your posts. I must apologize, because I have no place to judge the English and grammar of your blogs, but I did find it humorous that I focused so much on the English and grammar after reading the argument made by Orwell. I really enjoyed this piece, and on many occasions it made me giggle.

Continuing on from the rather long introduction, I must say that the first quote that struck me was:"A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks." Orwell notes that our English becomes quite horrid because of our "foolish thoughts", but because we have "foolish thoughts" it poses as an excuse to write inaccurately. I must admit that sometimes, I too use the wrong words when I am talking. It is merely a mistake, and I think it is because in high school I felt the pressure to speak "intelligently". Hm. One can wonder. Does anyone else feel this way? Maybe not.

Also, another quote I found fascinating was : "An interesting illustration of this is the way in which English flower names were in use till very recently are being ousted by Greek ones, Snapdragon becoming antirrhinum, forget-me-not becoming myosotis, etc. It is hard to see any practical reason for this change of fashion: it is probably due to an instinctive turning away from the more homely word and a vague feeling that the Greek word is scientific." This tickles me so much because I really do feel that people try to sound intelligent in speech and writing. Do not get me wrong, obviously people sound smarter if they are using the Greek names, but I feel it takes away from what we know the flower to be.

Speaking, writing, and teaching respectively and accurately is indeed a challenge that many face today because as a society we are making excuses for our bad English or grammar. It is our responsibility to not only locate the bad habits, but also we must change the bad habits. (I almost wrote "fix" the habit-- this is also a bad habit that is common in the South. One does not "fix" a habit, but rather one can "fix" a door).

I also enjoy the part where Orwell "lays down the law" at the end of his piece. It is quite nice to see in simple form how we can change our bad habits.

So, question time is now in session:
1. Do you think that you have Southern English problems?
2. Do you think because of the pressure put on students by school that people try to hard to use an advanced vocabulary and ultimate fail?
3. Can anyone think of a metaphor or simile that is used incorrectly in today's society?

It's always a good time.
Until then,
Holly

Marvell's " To His Coy Mistress"

Hello New Group!
Let me just start out by saying that I have loved this poem for a while. I had found this poem once before when looking for a poem about "love" online during my younger teenage years. It is a bit hard to swallow, but sometimes the things that are best for us are not the easiest. You can tell a lot about a poem if it is broken down and analyzed. After researching a bit about it, I noticed that when he states: "Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Should'st rubies find: I by the tide" it is during the time where England began exploring and trying new things! It is neat once you find things about history during that time that pertains to the piece itself.
The second point I wanted to make was about "vegetable love". This same vegetable love has everyone else puzzled it seems. I used this phrase as a young teenager before I even knew the meaning. According to another source: "A vegetable comes from the vegetative part of a plant, as opposed to a fruit, which comes from the reproductive part. At any rate, their love for one and the other may well grow slowly, for what ever reason; but it is a growing thing: deep, complex and vast." In my opinion, he was being respectful. It seems like this poem is a lot about sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. How odd, in my opinion, if that is the main point. BUT, when he talks about vegetable love, as noted, this scholar believes he is being respectful in the sense that he is making it known that the center of their relationship is not sex itself; rather something deeper. It's food for thought. haha. Oh dear, what a funny that one was. I suppose it is late night humor.

Questions:
1. What do you think "vegetable love means?"
2. What other hidden secrets about the poem have you found?

Psychoanalytic Criticism

Well, this criticism was really something. There was just so much information packed into these 30 or so pages, but nonetheless it really intrigued me. I have been learning about Freud in other classes so it was neat to see how classes do overlap. The most interesting part to me was the fact that sometimes our writing is often portrayal about personalities within us. I never thought of this, but in all honesty sometimes people write like who they were, who they are, or who they would like to become as a person and a writer.

Now moving on to the "meat", so often times we overlook the fact that Victor did approve of his creation ( for a short moment, of course). I liked how the criticism made note of that because human nature is to remember the negative over the positive. What finally clicked while reading this was the fact that Victor was creating himself but after the monster opened his eyes, Victor regretted making the monster immediately. Victor does not see himself as the monster and then he wants to destroy it. He desired to create someone for himself that resembled himself. A down scaled example would be simply in writing. We put our hearts, breathe, and time in creating something beautiful but after seeing the final product sometimes we just want to start over. This is difficult in the case of creating a human being from dead corpses, don't you think?

On an ending note, I just want to point out one of my favorite quotes from the excerpt : "We read all the stories in the novel as if a hand is over our eyes, too, and at any moment it will be lifted and the novel will transform from something read into something seen --- perhaps someone seen in a mirror."(page 293) Often times I correlate what I am reading with people I know, and this is an interesting thought to ponder. Do you guys ever relate what you are reading to reality? To yourself?

No Class- Feminist Response

Let me just start out by saying that I was a bit confused about this assignment, but I am sure it is my fault. I felt the criticism was a bit odd because a woman did not talk, it was only by a woman through a man. Even though I knew that Mary Shelley did not put her name on the book, it was a light bulb moment for me because of the female criticism at that time and I found it interesting. But now that it is all straightened out, let me tell you about my view of the "oppressive domesticity" of Victor's family. I believe that Victor's family was oppressive because it too perfect; it contradicted society. No one is that perfect. Her father and mother were figures that isolated Victor from the outside world. His mother was the perfect little homemaker and the father was a gentleman. But we all know nothing is perfect (except the divine power of God, of course). Human nature is evil and sinful, so there must have been something wrong with the picture. Women were seen stereotypically as the ones who stayed home and took care of the household while the other men traveled and were disciplinary. Victor was used to being the center of attention and taken care of and even played with others such as Elizabeth. It was not until deaths in the family did Victor experience real freedom. When he did, he took his freedom to the extreme by creating a new being. He then took the being for granted and rejected him because the monster was not perfect like his family had been. I believe this corresponds with Shelley because like Victor, she was oppressed as well until later in life when women's writing was more accepted. The lightbulb moments were really happening this morning and that my friends is the exciting part!!!

The end.

Let me just start out by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed last class. I learned a lot about not only why the book was written, but also those involved in the book. I especially loved the quote from Paradise Lost:
"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me Man, did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?"

Although this quote is in the beginning of the novel, it sums up the whole novel. It was noted last class that sometimes children nowadays say that to their parents as a joke, but in reality we often wonder for what purpose we were made. Frankenstein had a purpose for making this monster although he abandoned him. Frankenstein created this monster that was supposed to be a friend and companion, but rather the monster was undisciplined and lacked structure as an individual. It baffled me because the monster had feelings; he acted as a human being. All the monster desired was acceptance, much like people in today's society. But because humans are judgmental and firstly see the outward appearance, the monster became revengeful.
After many unfortunate events, Frankenstein actually fears his life. He created something he feared!! The monster seriously messed with his brain making him paranoid about everything. I honestly believe that if Frankenstein had taken the time to appreciate, discipline, and teach the monster he would have acted differently.

I was unsure about what to focus my blog on today because we had finished the reading, but also we were the contextual documents, so I focused on both. I know we are supposed to solely focus on one topic, so please pretend these are two separate.
The document I decided to focus on was the note Paracelsus [on Creation] (1531-1538). I thought it fit quite well because it notes creation and Frankenstein's monster was a creation of Frankenstein. The document discusses that things are created as a way of life, and everything that is created is unique. But just because things are created differently, they all suffer the same. I created the connection that just because Frankenstein was not created by God and did not look like humans, he suffered from rejection just like people in today's society. I also liked how this note states that people must be different or it would make for a boring world.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this document.

Frankenstein pgs 3-90

When I first thought about this book, I tried to envision what it would be like. My first thought was actually that about Halloween and how everyone dresses up like Frankenstein. Did it derive from the monster made by Frankenstein in the book? I kept this in mind as I read. Maybe one of you girls know the answer? It would be intriguing if that were so. Because Frankenstein during Halloween does indeed have scars-- we shall see. Moving on, the first thing I noticed was the language that Shelley uses for her book. I like it very much because her vocabulary is simple yet she uses adjectives that brighten up the story.
I am going to focus on chapter V because it intrigued me the most.
The quote that stuck on to me the most was the following :
"For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."

Was it worth creating such a monster despite your loneliness? I found it interesting that he shifted emotions so quickly. So many times because of today's society, our human nature is always wanting and never patient for things to happen on their own. Although Frankenstein's monster was hideous and evil, I felt bad for it because his creator did not accept him. Frankenstein put much effort, time, and health into making this creation, yet he left him. I know that Frankenstein did feel some type of emotion towards him because Frankenstein became sick after his monster had left. He worried very much about the monster but not enough to save him. We shall see what happens. I liked how the monster had a mind of his own and he also had emotions. He was a real being. He was loving at first, but it was mankind that did not accept him that made him bitter. Just like Frankenstein was lonely, his monster became lonely because no one resembled him whatsoever. Frankenstein created a being although not physically like himself, the monster was emotionally and mentally similar to his own. I am excited to see what is to come.
Questions for you guys:
1. What do you think is to come?
2. Do you think the monster and Frankenstein are similar?
3. Do you feel any sympathy for Frankenstein? the monster?

This book is interesting. I like it so far, but it is an odd book.
Let me know your thoughts!

What? the Book is over?

Indeed bloggers, the book is over. So the real question is, what have I learned? Focusing more on the end of the book, (pages 125-319) one of my favorite chapters started on page 126. Different cultures read different ways and with different type of books. I was tickled at this notion. Words are words, right? Why does it matter where you put them as long as you put them somewhere, right? I was able to remember how important reading used to be. Today, reading is just a score on a report card to pass to the next grade, reading is in a test needed for our transcript for college. Reading has just become a letter grade. But is reading more? The ancient people thought so. I was amused with a thought mentioned : "In 1588 and Italian engineer, Agostino Ramelli, serving under the King of France, published a book describing a series or useful machines. One of these is a "rotary reading desk" which Ramelli describes as ' a beautiful and ingenious machine, which is very useful and convenient to every person who takes pleasure in study'..." (pg 131). It baffled me to know that people actually made furniture , even beds, to read books more easily. The only thing we try to make convenient for anything in America is trying to make the newest arm chair the most comfortable for watching television at night. I also agree with the fact that reading involves a great deal of privacy (pg 153). I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but reading is really an adventure where you can become whatever or whoever you desire to, and this aspect makes reading special.
On an entirely different note, I also found interesting when talking about Comstock (pg 287) the author asked what types of books he read? Then I began thinking, "What type of books do authors read? What type of books do teachers read? Fun ones? Boring ones? Short ones? Fat ones?" I guess I assumed if one was a teacher or in high supremacy they were only entitled to boring books if they seemed to be boring people. Wouldn't it be funny to find a fiction teenage book in the hands of someone in power? Possibly.
Reading is an adventure. Last week, I challenged you guys to go find a book and go to your secret place. How did it go? What was your favorite part from the book we are reading now? I truly enjoyed this book. I honestly thought this book would be unentertaining and tedious, but I found it rather fun. Let me know your thoughts!

Reading for 8.27.09- Manguel

Reading is an important, yet neglected hobby for society. I know that through experience, reading has changed my viewpoint and mindset of reality. Not only has it shaped my view of reality, but my ability to read and shape reality has changed over time as I have gotten older. I loved the reading from Manguel's book because it was catchy, yet simple, enlightening yet entertaining. Something in Crain's "Twilight of the Books" that was similar text to text was that America has lost its love for reading. Reading is now something kids look at and you "ew". I think asparagus is gross. I think brussel sprouts is gross. I think not washing my hands is gross. I think drinking from the milk carton is gross, but reading? Reading is not gross. Both texts note that reading has progressed over time which is amazing in itself. From the symbols written on the wall to the e-book my friends got for Christmas, reading has come a long way.

Sometimes I read out loud for me to better understand the text. In this situation, I read the text aloud for the reading sitting alone at Starbucks drinking two cups of coffee (which i regretted later). I enjoyed the beginning especially where it talks about reading is essential and a part of everyday life in the fact that we don't just read books. We read people, books, and we observe. All of these dealing with reading. When I read, I go to a different world. I do not like to be bothered because my concentration is broken, and all is lost. Manguel's book notes that when you read you are going to a private place, a different world. I don't mean to sound crazy, but it's true. Your reading is your own world.

So go pick up a book, go to a different place, and I will see you guys around. Tell me about your adventures reading. How has it changed? What have you learned? Also let me challenge you to read other things besides books. Be creative.

Love,
Holly Jo

All About Me

Reading has always been a hobby, but because of becoming busier with school, work, and having a social life, it has taken a back seat. Well, this semester, reading is a definite part of my life considering the fact that I am starting my major this semester. Along with reading,when I was younger, my favorite book used to be "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I would read it all the time! That little girl that turned into a blueberry was my favorite; she was such a brat. I remember thinking she was the first person I did not feel any sympathy for. She was a fictional character. Hopefully I can embrace reading more considering my major of English Education. Ya think? Let's hope so.