Wednesday 3.30.10

A while back, when were reading Antigone, we discussed how women and children with deformities were brought up to the top of a mountain and left to die. For the most part I agree with this but at one point in greek history, around the time of Alexander the Great, Greeks were fascinated with deformities, especially dwarfism. You can find the subject matter in many works of art from the period.

Monday 3.28.10

In class we discussed tragedies we've personally experienced. I haven't experienced a loss of a family member since I was around three, so I don't remember much. Something that really affected me recently is the loss of our van, Big Red. I grew up driving Big Red. She handled anything great - snow, rain, mud..anything. I have many fond memories in Big Red - from using her as the "party bus" to driving up to Glacier Park to go fly fishing. Big Red was special to me...she almost had a mysterious power behind her - I've never gotten in an accident and I think that's partly because of her. When my mom called to say they had taken her to the junk yard I actually stared crying. Not only was it the end of great memories, but the end of an era.

Friday 3.26.10

This week we discussed the true sense of tragedy and how are lives are all tragic. We were suppose to talk about a terrible day we've experiences recently. For the most part, my life hasn't been tragic. I've grown up in a good family and haven't suffered any major losses in my life. The only events of semi-tragedy that I think of revolve around relationships. When ever relationships have gone south, it seems like I'll fall into a bout of depression for a couple of months afterwards. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that initially you think that your life isn't a tragedy but when you think about it one bad even leads to another and you just have to live through the tragedy.

Wednesday, 3.24.10

Dostoyevsky claimed that Dmitri took on a life of his own as he was writing the book. He said that it was an iteresting experience; almost uncontrolled. I'm not sure if I believe this experience completely. I feel like Dostoyevsky said this to justify something that he couldn't flat-out say. You can use your writing as a portal to something that you wouldn't be able to say on your own.

Monday 3.22.10

In class we discussed how we've become boring, not our literature. This was in response to some people in the class claiming that the Brother K is a "boring" book. I think for the most part, that we have become a boring, impatient society. It's not really our fault though. We've been raised to find a faster, easier method to everything. The exercise of reading was not pushed enough in schools when I was growing up. I hated reading when I was little and elementry school didn't do much to help change that. It wasn't until junior high that I decided I enjoyed reading. I don't think it was one particular book or anything, but I just realized that it was really relaxing and intellectually stimulating to sit down and enjoy a good book for a couple hours. Hopefully when I have kids, the joy of reading won't be completely lost in school.

Friday 3.12.10

Today, Sexson asked us to look up the meaning of 'theodicy'. Here's what I found:

Theodicy is an answer to the problem of evil. Specifically, Theodicy is a specific branch of theology and philosophy which attempts to reconcile belief in God with the perceived existence of evil. As such, theodicy can be said to attempt to justify the behaviour of God (at least insofar as God allows evil).

In The Brother K, I believe it was Ivan that said "It's not that I don't accept God, I just don't accept the world he created."

This book has one of the biggest questionings of God in literary history.

Wednesday 3.10.10

In class, we discussed works of literature that have changed the way we think. I thought back at the books I've read over the last couple years and the one that stuck out the most was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I'm a very realistic thinker. I stick to what makes me feel safe and I don't often venture out of my comfort zone. This book got me to realize that if you want to live a full life, you have to step out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you, even if it's dangerous.

We also discussed how found poetry can be addictive. Everywhere you look, you'll find it. I'm a graphic design major and find occurrences like this in my major. I often find myself looking at billboards or other advertisements thinking of what they could have changed to make it better. It drives me crazy going down the interstate..I can't concentrate on anything else.

Monday 3.8.10

In class, Sexson brought up that we need to write our sonnets the best we can because they're going to our significant "otter". This an interesting concept, and I know I participate in it on a regular basis: We make/do thing the best when someone we admire is around. Why don't we just do it because we can? Just do it for ourselves? I'm going to keep this idea in the back of my mind from now on..

Friday 3.5.10

I'm writing my sonnet to my boyfriend who lives in Seattle. Hw moved there about a month and 1/2 ago, but we've decided to continue dating long-distance.

Though you've been away for over forty days,

It almost feels like a year or maybe more.

I miss your company in so many ways;

Miss what we had together to the core.

While you are all the way in Seattle,

I'm still here in Bozeman, Montana.

The space between us has been a battle,

Distance doesn't matter, know we can-a.

I really miss waking up next to you,

After dreaming all night of your cute face.

I know you miss that as much as I do.

Know this is hard, but we can win this race.

One day we will be together again,

No matter the amount of time its been.

We were also making found poems with what we found around us. I used a container of fish food, because it was with reaching distance of my bed, where I'm blogging :)

TetraFin Goldfish Flakes.

Diet nutritionally.

Gold water.

Gold health.

Gold fin.

Optimal color health.

Water flakes.

Garantee water flakes.

Gold.

Friday 2.26.10 & Monday 3.1.10

For these two classes we discussed what version of Lady With the Dog We preferred - Either the original by Anton Chekov or the newer version by Joyce Carol Oates. I liked the second one better even though it was a little harder to understand than the original. I liked it because it showed the emotional side of the story, not just what was on the surface. I think women sympathize with the emotional aspect of events rather than the physical.

Wednesday, Feb. 24

In class we were talking about archetypal female character. She's either the platonic ideal or the temptress. Sexson was asking the class (gearing the question to the boys) if anyone has had an infatuation to another person without the other person really knowing that the admirer even exists. I guess I don't understand why its suppose to always be that the boy is infatuated with the girl..I think it definitely goes the other way around...I'm saying this from personal experience.

In seventh grade, I had the biggest crush on a kid in my class..lets call him "Jimmy" because there are people in this class who I went to high school with. So my infatuation with "Jimmy" got a little creepy..like boarder-line stalker...I would even watch "Jimmy" in the reflection of a compact mirror while he played basketball during lunch recess. I think he knew I existed...but I was never actually able to attain the boy...and based on my actions..I think it was better that way.

This has happened to me again in college. There was a boy in one of my major classes that I thought was the cat's pajamas. Well everyday during this class I would imagine what it would be like if me and said boy were a couple. Every time I'd see him, my heart would flutter a little. I doubt this kid knew much more than my first name.

What I'm trying to say is that girls put boys on a pedestal just as much as guys do it to us. I think that guys are just more verbal about it.