Admission Ticket Assignment

My Applied Linguistics professor has a requirement of us for each class: that we write 250 words in response to a prompt given at the end of the prior class called an "admission ticket". You have to attend class to turn it in and to get the prompt for the next week's ticket. You can get the prompt from a classmate, but you cannot get someone to turn the ticket in for you if you miss a class.

At the end of the semester, you turn all your tickets in. They will have been given a check, check-plus, or check-minus, meaning they'd been accepted. If one is not accepted for whatever reason (looks like one already turned in, etc), it gets an X. If you turn in the maximum number of admission tickets (in our case, 14), your grade goes up. If you turn in one fewer (13 for us), then your grade is what you earned on other assignments. If you turn in two fewer, your grade goes down one letter grade, and onward.

I share this with you because I think it's a brilliant way to avoid taking attendance (and wasting valuable class time) and to encourage students to attend class.

Anyway, our prompt for this week was to think of an amusing example of illogical, non-standard English. Here's my response:

Using language to sound smarter is nothing new. We constantly see it in freshman writing as they click “thesaurus” in Word, not fully understanding that synonyms are words that are similar, not necessarily equal in meaning. As I thought about amusing examples of illogical, non-standard English, I immediately thought of malapropisms[1].

Malapropisms occur when a speaker substitutes a similar sounding phrase or word for one of intended meaning. One might say, “I think her point was irreverent” instead of “I think her point was irrelevant”, since the two words sound similar. Most of the examples in actual usage occur when a speaker either doesn’t learn a common phrase properly (“pigment of my imagination”) or attempts to use vocabulary he grasps tenuously.

Popular culture has used malapropisms humorously for as long as people have been misusing language—Shakespeare certainly included them among his other methods of wordplay.

Unfortunately, some infamous instances of malapropisms in actual usage come from our current President. Sites that discussed malapropisms referenced Bush’s tendency towards language misuse, compiling frequently updated lists and using it as mockery-fodder, even coining a term for his peculiar speech impairment.

The comic effect of malapropisms is undeniable, even when they occur unintentionally. I personally find them enjoyable because it gives a glimpse into the mechanisms of language, and how difficult it can be to operate in a discourse that one is unfamiliar with. Critics of our current president cite his unusual usage as evidence that he is unschooled in political discourse, and therefore unfit to be our president.

References

“Bushism.” Wikipedia. 25 January 2008.

“Malapropisms.” Fun-with-words.com. 25 January 2008.

“Malapropism” Wikipedia. 25 January 2008.

Weisberg, Jacob. “The Complete Bushisms.” 25 January 2008. 9 January 2008.

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[1] While I was tempted to pepper this admission ticket with malapropisms, I refrained for ease of reading. It was certainly fun to think of ways to misuse language…

Apartment Advantages

The advantages of having my own two-bedroom apartment are numerous, but I'm thinking of one that pertains to my success as a student: my office.

Since I am one person with a two bedroom place, I made the logical decision to make one room my sleeping quarters and one room my office/craft room/guest bedroom. Last week I worked to get the office organized, setting up my books, my computer, putting all of my crafty stuff away in the closet, adding lots of books to Library Thing*, etc.

It's a cozy space--my boss gave me a nice, comfortable desk chair (which I really like). The room is a good workspace: well-lit, plenty of room for my stuff, everything within easy reach.

Its chief advantage, however, is that it's small and not easy for Lance to hang out in. Not that I have any problem with Lance hanging out with me, oh no...but when I'm trying to read or do homework while hanging out with Lance, this is usually what happens:

Lance: Hey Jenn, listen to this cool thing!
Me: Dear, I'm trying to read.
Lance: Yeah, I know, but...it'll only take a minute!
Me: *Sighs* Okay, what is it?
Lance: [Tells cool thing]
Me: Hey, that is pretty cool...but I need to read now.
REPEAT every 10-20 minutes....

OR...
Me: Oh!
Lance: Hmm?
Me: Isn't this cool?? [Talks about cool thing I just read]
Lance: *Feigns interest* That is pretty cool**.
Me: Blah, blah, blah, I love books, blah, blah, blah. Oh, I guess I should read now...
Lance: Yes, you do, so we can do something fun.
REPEAT every 10-20 minutes

I was working contentedly in my office for a stretch of uninterrupted time last week when I realized that having a separate work space is definitely worth the extra cost of living alone***. Lance was contentedly playing on his laptop without feeling the need to share cool stuff with me or talk to me while he was cooking. I didn't distract him with random English facts. And I got lots of stuff done, which gave us more time to do things other than have me panic about the amount of homework I had. Offices rock.

*I'm about halfway done, I think. Bring on the books!
**He takes much more interest than he needs to--he's supportive like that.
***Besides the other 1000 awesome things about living alone.

Amusing Things

I faithfully subscribe to I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER--it's one of those things in Google Reader that I giggle about on a daily basis. It's nice to have something amusing to look forward to each morning.

My cat is obsessed with my pillow. No matter how hard I try to dissuade her, she must sleep by my head, which amuses me and annoys me all at the same time.

I made a list site. I love lists.

I'm having a hard time focusing at work lately, so I'm playing around on the internet. In my playing around, I found this fabric site, which has me thinking about all sorts of crafty projects I'd like to make...

All Alone, But King

I've never read Robinson Crusoe, but I had vague ideas about what the book entailed: shipwrecked on an island, hangs out with some dude named Friday, eventually escapes. Defoe's story is well-known enough to be immediately recognizable when someone asks what I'm reading*. I wasn't quite prepared for my reaction to the work as I started reading it for my 18th-Century Literature class.

Robinson Crusoe was written in the early 18th century, when British colonization was in full swing (the American colonies had yet to rebel). Consequently, the book is full of what Lance calls "the Taker mentality". Crusoe kills animals without needing to, just because they are big and there. My modern conscience was appalled at such a unfeeling approach to other creatures, and especially toward other people, namely non-Europeans.

At the beginning of the book, he sells his companion Xury to a Portuguese captain who rescues him, even though he was "very loath to sell the poor boy's liberty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own" (29). As through the whole book, however, Crusoe finds it easy to smooth over any pangs of conscience and justify his actions.

The book alternates between Crusoe bemoaning his dejected state and telling us how he lived on his island, and after his religious conversion, his bemoaning shifts to reflections on God. He realizes that he could be in a worse state, but it takes him half the book to figure that out. His life, although he is without human contact, is actually quite comfortable: he is able to retrieve food, clothes, tools, and weapons from his ship before it sinks, and with those supplies build himself a "castle" as he terms it.

His view of the world is in-line with the colonists' perspective. This island becomes "his" domain. The creatures that he tames are "his" subjects and servants. And when Friday appears on the scene, he has no thought to make him his equal--he isn't a European after all!--but he becomes his loyal servant to do Crusoe's bidding. Crusoe is king of his little world, and he persists in viewing it this way throughout the book. When other men come to the island, they too end up his subjects, his army, his men to command.

I found the book interesting and engaging (I was never bored in my reading of it); however, the ideas the book represented were ones that were alien to my way of thinking. Robinson Crusoe was a book born of the ideas in its time, and no Englishman reading it would have thought anything the matter with Crusoe's approach to the world. After all, who wouldn't want to be king of an island?

*Usually it's "Ah..." *Looks bored as I try to explain the book*.

Belated ARCHIES (Top 25)

Having read several lists of Archies, I found my list-making impulse* too captivated to not do it. So after a little thought (and an internal debate on if I was too late, but then I saw this), I decided to list, in no particular order, my list for 2007:

1. Spain (potential 2008)
2. my own apartment (potential 2008)
3. little shelves in my closet for shoes
4. Ravelry
5. Knitting groups
6. Rory (the cat, not the Gilmore Girl)
7. Jesca Hoop
8. bookmaking
9. Working for the Little Mountain Bindery
10. Tortilla de patata (Spanish omelette)
    
11. Sunbeam stand mixer
12. Two friends' wedding
13. Another one, two months later...
14. Realizing I have really awesome friends
15. A visit
16. NPR
17. Free Rice
18. The Cupcake Blog
19. 101 Cookbooks
20. Library Thing
21. Etsy
22. Knitty
23. Google Reader
24. Knitting Swap Pals
25. The Grammar Vandal

I think 25 ought to do it for my first stab at the Archies!
*There's a site that encourages lists. Drat them!

Bookshelf, Where Art Thou?

I go through the same trauma every time I look for a new bookshelf. For one thing, I want one that actually will last longer than one move and will hold lots of books with out listing to one side. Another, I want one that looks good. Because it's made with real wood, and not particle board crap. And each time, it's an arduous process.

Thus, I set out to buy a smallish bookshelf to hold specifically my semester's texts and library books. But the awesome one I found once at Lowe's was no longer there. Drat--and it was so cool! My favorite! I should have bought four!

I went to Target to find the one they had on sale this week. While it was affordable, it was also crappy. And they didn't have the color I wanted.

I found one at a thrift store that should have been $5, but it was $15, which was the price of a brand new one at Target. Apparently they smelled my desperation.

I'm trying to decide if I should keep searching, go to miscellaneous big-box retailer and buy the crappy small one, or shanghai Lance into building me one to my exacting specifications. Don't the bookshelf barons realize that people like me are willing to pay a little more for a cool bookshelf that won't fall apart if you as much as think about putting too many books on it?

So for now, all the books that are destined for the bookshelf are lying around in dejected piles.

That Thing...

Library Thing: most of you probably remember me talking about it, and many of you have embraced it as a way to catalog your library. I signed up, then didn't really have time to add many of my books.

118 books later, I've discovered why I put off doing it. I recently moved, and I'm looking for a way to sort all of my books. Then I decided I really wanted to put them online. This is going to be an on-going project, I have a feeling...

It's a neat program, though, and a neat tool to organize one's library. Lance declares I will be frightened by the number of books I own, and I'd admit that I've only entered in a small fraction of my total collection. I'm sure it won't stop me from buying anything else, though. I'm a book addict and an English grad student, for God's sake.

The First Frivolous Friday

Although I occasionally maintain an air of calm disinterest on this blog (I'm an academic, y'know), most of you know that I'm secretly silly and easily excitable (and fond of alliteration). So in the spirit of my fun-loving and sugary cheerful side, I'm instituting Frivolous Fridays, where I post about anything unrelated to literature, graduate school, and books (though I reserve the right to be giggly over books, if I want.)

This week's frivolity involves coffee. Mmm, I love the coffee. Since I determined as a freshmen in college that I adored coffee, I've journeyed through various coffee-drinking phases. I started out drinking impossibly sweet coffees, but then discovered my true coffee love was strong and heady, with a bit of cream to make it palatable (not that I don't occasionally dip into the drinks that involve coffee, but more often lots of sugar and milk). Lately, I'd been alternating between lattes (occasionally with a splash of cinnamon syrup), Americanos (with half and half) and brewed coffee.

When we were in Spain, I learned something very important--I thought all along that lattes were my espresso drink of choice, but I was wrong. Oh, so wrong. You see, the problem with a latte is that it involved too much milk, not enough espresso love. I discovered this by drinking cafe con leche every day for my two and half week stay.

The cafe con leche is served in a small white porcelain cup with a tiny spoon and a packet of sugar. Lance and I would sprinkle a little of the sugar in the cup, stir it with the adorable spoon*, and drink it slowly. Most everyone in Spain drinks their coffee like this; in very few places did we see coffee para llevar (in a disposable cup)--you want a cup of coffee, so you buy it and drink it at the bar, then pay and leave**. It was beautiful, really.

So upon returning to the US, I set out to find the proper thing to order at my favorite local coffee shop. I'd been informed that what I really liked was the macchiato, but when I ordered that, it was a shot of espresso with a teeny bit of steamed milk foam. A bit strong for me.

Today, however, I determined that the cappuccino with light foam was my drink (at least at Arsaga's). It's deliciously milky, and although I forwent the added sugar, it was just like being in Spain again, sipping cafe con leche in a little cafeteria. Yum.

*I bought some tiny spoons because I have this thing for the diminutive. I also already own small coffee cups, and have bought other things because they are small and "precious".

**Very few things could be bought para llevar unless it came from a fast-food joint or places specifically meant to sell "take away" food. And the portions were small enough that you didn't typically have left-overs to take home...

Lagging Behind

Last night was my first class of the spring semester, and although I'm still readjusting to the time changes, the class perked me up. It was Literacy and Applied Linguistics, and since I have an undying passion for linguistics, I was in heaven. We talked about the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is one of the coolest things ever.

I have another class on Thursday afternoon, but I think I'll like it a lot too--it's 18th century British novel.

We got back to LR Saturday evening, where Amber cheerfully picked us up. It was an 18 hour journey, and our bodies knew that it was time to rest. We had slept most of the way on the plane from Atlanta, waking up with cocktail napkins on our legs (did the flight attendants smirk as they did so?). We went to Kerry and Justin's house where we chatted a bit with friends before succumbing to sleep.

Jet lag hit me later the next day; it wouldn't hit Lance until yesterday. Someone mentioned to me that she heard it took as many days as the hours of time difference to recover from jet lag; I think that a valid assertion. An afternoon walk and coffee has perked me back up for the rest of the day. My plans for tonight are some rest, some DVD watching, and maybe a little bookmaking or cleaning up my apartment, which is still in a shambles from the move. As soon as we get our pictures uploaded, I'll start posting Spain stories!

When You´re Royalty, You Can Buy Good Art

So um, yeah. The Prado. Amazing, awesome, and more than what was promised to me. I see now why it´s considered a world-class museum. I spent 5 hours there, and barely saw anything. Well, I saw everything, technically, but I didn´t get to really contemplate it properly, or spend much time on it.

Favorites include works by El Greco, Goya, and Bocsh. I saw The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Third of May, Velazquez´s Las Meninas, and lots of really, really good art. Amazing, especially when my best museum experience was the National Gallery in Washington. And since I got to study a lot of the art that I saw today*, it was even better.

The experience of standing in front of Goya´s The Third of May was...indescribable. It´s a painting I´ve always admired, but standing before it, in person, seeing the size of the painting, the brush strokes, the actual colors and composition as the painter did...the work suddenly takes on a new power. I think I gaped at that painting for a good 5 minutes before Lance tugged me along to the next room.

Well, we´re off to Barcelona in the morning. Whee!

*I should have majored in art history too, damnit. I guess I´ll just have to study on my own...

Spanish Movements

We hit Toledo yesterday, which is a short 30-minute hop by train from Madrid. (Lance and I keep asking ourselves why we don´t have more trains--would a train between Conway-Maumelle-Little Rock be wonderful? Or among the NWA cities?)

Anyway, I´m still holding off too many details until I have photographs, but I thought I´d chat a bit about the art of Spain. I knew that Spain had a couple of painters of note--but I discovered the art of one that I knew by name: El Greco.

He painted at the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century, and his paintings are distinctive for their elongated figures, use of light and color, and mystical subjects. He also often painted his figures holding their hand up in a particular way. I think when I get home, I´m going to set out to learn more about him and his art; he seems like a really interesting person. We walked by his house yesterday, and today, when we go to the Prado, we´ll see more of his art.

Hostel life is still interesting. We´re heading off to Barcelona tomorrow, so that´s exciting--but our trip is starting to come to its conclusion. It seems like a long time since we were home, and it´s only been a week and a half...

Off to the yarn store today. I´m hoping it´ll prove to be all I´ve hoped for...

Hotel to Hostel

Hola, my faithful readers. We're now in the lovely (huge!) city of Madrid. We're headed off to the Prado later this evening (when it's free), so we'll get to see lots of awesome art. I'll relay more later.

We arrived in Madrid yesterday afternoon, and set out for an affordable place to stay that was close to our train station and our tourist destinations. Using my guidebook, I found a little place that looked cool and got high ratings, Cat's Hostel. It's pretty cool, especially for a hostel, but we went from a hotel room to a noisy eight person dorm, so the switch was interesting. But exciting.

Well, our place has free internet, but only for 20 minutes, and it's taking me forever to do anything on them because the internet is slow, so I'd best sign off.

Adios!

*PS, Donna and Mark, I found a yarn shop finally in Spain. I'm planning to check it out tomorrow or the next day and will report my findings about Spanish yarn stores...

¿Hablo español?

The language barrier has been interesting. I can read signs, and my vocabulario is slowly returning. (The verb conjucations seem to be lost, so I´ve been glancing at my verb book to refresh--but it´s hard to remember which to use when, so I usually take the simple, wrong approach). I can make myself understood, and generally understand for the most part, but I´m still frustrated. I think I´ve never felt much motivation until now to actually speak and study Spanish beyond earning an A for a class.

I´m good with language, but insecure when it comes to speaking. I´m starting to get over that out of pure necessity, since I´m the one out of the pair of us who can read, speak, and understand most of the Spanish that comes my way. Those Spaniards with English skills usually switch to English when I start having problems, though I´m always careful to start by speaking Spanish, and usually respond in Spanish until I can´t figure it out. It´s worked so far.

I´ve become increasingly aware of language, both mine and those around me. Surrounded by the rhythms of a language I have to concentrate to understand, I´ve discovered how much language plays into our everyday lives. How often we use it to communicate, to achieve our basic needs, to connect to both old friends and new acquaintances. It´s a pretty cool thing, our ability for language.

Right now, I´m listening to a loud argument in some sort of Germanic language. Our hotel is actually mostly Australians, Spaniards on holiday, and Dutch or German or something. I´ll expect to hear Spanish, and it won´t be. Quite strange, really. The loud protester is the same one that we saw get into a lame bar shoving match (not really a fight), and I don´t really want to turn around to see exactly what is going on.

Well, I´ll write more about actual Spain soon (probably when I get back, and I can illustrate with photos!) It´s pretty nice, this españa, and it´s been pretty nice to us so far. We had a fantastic new year´s, and I hope you all did too!

Hasta pronto...

Hola de españa!

We made it to Spain safe and sound. The flight got to Barcelona at 7am local time--but our brains were still at midnight, which was Arkansas time. We wandered around Barcelona and slept a tiny bit in the train station until we could take a late train to Madrid, where we arrived about 11 pm local time. After getting kicked out of the train station, we quickly found a sketchy (but much welcome, since we had so little sleep) hostel, where we gratefully crashed for 5 hours. It was our first real sleep since leaving Arkansas. We arrived in Torremolinos (the south of Spain, near Malaga) this morning, where we´re staying for a week in a neat little studio.

It´s pretty cool here. Lance loves all the pork products that he can eat as well as fish. I may not be able to talk him into getting back on the plane at the end of our stay--or me either! We´re having a great time. We did a little grocery shopping today, buying the staples: wine ($1.50 a bottle and good!), baguettes, and cheese, tuna for me and salty anchovies for Lance. We also walked on the beach, picking up shells and watching the Mediterranean flow in and out. I haven´t seen an ocean since I was a little girl, so that was pretty neat for me.

Well, internet time is limited and expensive, so adios for now.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today, I made several calls to get everything prepped for our Spain trip. Like calling credit cards, printing out itineraries, e-mailing them to people, and making copies of passports*.

It's the last day of work before the holiday break, and the air is festive. And restless. We're all bouncing off the walls, though I'm not sure how much of that is the sugar consumption. The Dean just hinted loudly that we could leave early if we could live with that on our conscience. That may be up to my boss, though...

Well, back to do a little last minute work in hopes of getting the heck out of here a teensy bit early...I'll try to post while on vacation, but we shall see!

*I have the WORST passport photo EVER. I think I've talked about this before, but seriously...it's awful. I weigh about 70 lbs less now than I did when I had the photo taken, so I pull it out to remind myself not to eat too much and get fat again.

Bookish Things

My daily web browsing and Google Reader offerings have brought several different websites to my attention, so I thought I'd share them with you all.

First is a used book site, Alibris. Like Amazon's used books, Alibris coordinates independent sellers who might have what you're looking for. I've noticed that often their prices are cheaper than Amazon's (and the shipping is also standardized). And right now they are offering $2 off any order. I ordered a book from them, and I was pleased with the speed of shipping, which is sometimes lacking in Amazon's sellers. (Though I'm guessing it might vary). Basically, it offers an alternative place to look for used books should Amazon let you down or not have what you desire.

Now, have you ever desired to make your own paper? Recycle the paper that accumulates around you? This tutorial looks interesting, and I'm longing to try my hand at homemade paper for my bookbinding purposes...I guess I just gotta get someone handy to build me the frames for it!

If you're environmentally minded, recycling paper is great, but what about the paper that goes into all those books I purchase? All the textbooks that I need to buy? Eco-Libris offers a way to make up for the environmental impact of new books. For $1 each, you can buy a tree and balance out your paper consumption! I thought this was a pretty neat organization, so I wanted to pass it along.

And finally, do you want to read new books, but don't want to spend all that money for a book you'll maybe read once? The BookMooch is a program that allows you to trade books with other Book Mooches, creating a reading community and cutting down on consumption. It's a way to share good books, de-clutter your bookshelf, and get books you want to read with minimal cost. Woo! (Donna, aren't you using BookMooch or something similar?)

Anyway, that's some nice fruits from my web-browsing. Time to go home and make some books!

Setting Up House

Yesterday, I received a packet through campus mail. It was a paper I had written last spring for my literary theory class, graded with comments. I had earned a 95% on it--and the only fault he had with the paper was that I hadn't done much outside reading for it.

I do believe that was a paper I actually worked pretty hard on. It helped that we had to present a 10-page version of it, so all I had to do was expand and edit and incorporate feedback. A 95% is better than I was expecting, I think. I tend to feel like I don't deserve my A's (I got all A's again this fall) because I don't always put 100% of my effort into a given project or paper, and sometimes I slack off. Really, I'm probably just too hard on myself, but I still feel guilty for being rewarded so richly for not putting forth a whole lot of effort.

Going back and re-reading those papers has been enlightening. I like my academic writing style. It's clear and concise, and I sound confident and intelligent. As Emily says, my writing and style still needs a bit of polish and sophistication, but I'm starting to see how I can be good at this writing/publishing aspect of my chosen profession.

In other news, I've moved into my new space, and after 3 nights there, I'm in love. Not only is the layout better than my other apartment, not only do I have much more space, I'm now living alone (with my kitty), and we're both very happy. Rory (the kitty) is less stressed, I'm much more relaxed, and because I'm content, so is Lance. I still have a lot to unpack, but I managed to get the kitchen in order (you see my priorities?) and a friend helped unpack some books, which was really nice. I even went ahead and set up my Christmas tree! So homey. I love it.

Enemy Fire

When someone gets it into her head to be openly hostile and mean, there's not much you can do except avoid them. When you live with that person, however, it makes avoiding significantly more difficult. I've been trying to keep my head low, counting the days down eagerly, and avoiding her, but the hostility is just too much for me; I broke down last night and fled to a friend's apartment.

All of this merely affirms that I'm making the right decision, but it's hard to watch a friendship disintegrate. Perhaps I didn't handle things very well, but I'm not sure it warrants this sort of treatment of my person. I'm so tempted to retaliate (i.e. cutting of the utilities early, etc), but I'm trying hard to come out of the situation cleanly and honorably.

I want to think of myself as an assertive person, but when it comes to hostility, I shrink down into a little ball--unless I have reason to feel righteous fury. Even then, my impulse is still to flee. I don't like nasty confrontation, but I will do it if forced.

Anyway, this nastiness will soon be over. I hope to leave behind an olive branch if she cares to take it up, though I'm not holding my breath. I just want to be in a comfortable, stable environment--something I haven't had for at least a few months.

Oh! And there are still 2 slots on the pay-it-forward exchange. If you're already participating and paying-it-forward elsewhere, I think you won't necessarily have to pay it forward an extra three times, if you want me to make you something...

Various Sundries

• Pay It Forward: like some of my fellow bloggers I am taking up the Pay It Forward challenge from my ISE 4 pal. Which means the first three people to comment gets something mysterious and homemade (i.e. I don't know what yet, nor what craft...) from me within 6 months. The catch? You gotta make the same offer to pay it forward. Always wanted something lovely from yours truly? A book, a knitted thing, a sewed thing, a box? Leave a comment and join in the pay it forward challenge!
• I'm moving, possibly, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, possibly Saturday. I really hope I can get all my stuff moved this weekend, so I can relax and enjoy my home once more.
• Christmas stuff! Yikes! If you want a Christmas card from me, send me an e-mail (*ahem, Tim*) with your address so I can send one.
• Christmas baking--I may post on the ol' Baking Blog. Keep your eyes peeled for fun stuff.
  
• Umm, it's now 5 o'clock, and I'm going home to pack, bake, and attempt to ignore my roommate and her rudeness.
  

No Rest for the Wicked

...Or the really busy.

I foolishly delayed my Christmas stuff until too late. It wasn't entirely my fault--I had a lot going on this past semester. So now I'm making lists and planning days to sew, knit, and glue things together because otherwise there will be crying children. Or I'll have to actually spend money and buy gifts, and I don't like that idea at all.

I've been making Christmas gifts for quite some time--this year my goal was to make as many as possible. This year I went all out, combining my many talents to make books, knit projects, and sew things. If I can pull it off, it'll be exciting. If I can't...well, we'll see what happens.

Back to being busy!!

Finished, I suppose...

I printed the project out. I'm not excessively proud of it--however, it's done, and I'm going to turn it in and hope that it doesn't kill my A in that class (I highly doubt it will).

I reached the saturation point for the semester, and so I just decided to do as best I can, but not stress too much about it. I think it's probably a bit shorter than she would want, but I simply couldn't do any more. The writing is decent, though, and I did a lot of research and leg work.

I'm very tired now. I was up until one working, but then I didn't sleep until 2 because I was so wired from the Americano that I imbibed at the coffee shop.* Up at 7 am, out the door by 7:30 to get to work early and do any last minute edits.

Tonight, I think I'll collapse in front of a TV and knit. Sounds like fun to me!

*Usually caffeine doesn't affect me late at night except when the stars are in a specific configuration and I drink espresso later than I should. I never know when or how, but then I'm super alert for a while...

E-S-C-A-P-E: Escapay?

Ahhh, I'm at the coffee shop. Of course, there's an art sale going on, and I'm sitting on the corner of a giant table because I couldn't find a smaller one of my own, but it's a change of scenery, and I'm out of my dratted apartment*. (The cats have been distracting me, big time.)

I hope I can finish up my project here, but I may just hang out for a few hours, then go home (or over to a friend's to finish up). It's noisy, but if I can fall into a rhythm of writing, I can tune out everything, and I do have an iPod to neutralize some of the noise.

I've been trapped at home for most of the weekend, and I'm just ready to be done. I had a hard time sitting down to work because it feels like the semester should be over already. I'm working on my project where I got to hold the 200-year old Crevecoeur piece in my hands--Letters from an American Farmer. In the course of my research, I discovered that it was the first American printing of the book. The project has been pretty fascinating overall, but I'm looking forward to turning in the project tomorrow.

Well, back to the scribbling away!


*One more week, I hope. Please let me move next weekend!!

Word Game

Thanks to Lance, I'm now addicted to a word game. But not just any word game--the more you play, the more the world benefits. How?

Free Rice teams up with advertisers to donate rice for every word you play. Not only do you learn vocabulary (hircine means goat-like? I knew what a seraglio is!), but you help feed hungry people. So hop on over and play...

And I have a challenge. My current high score is 45 (out of 50). If you can beat my score then I'll...well, I'll do something cool. Like donate some money to Heifer Project*. Play, play!


*Heifer Project is a great organization--if you're looking for a good place to donate to (and also give donations as a gift for Christmas), it's a good one to pick.

Excitment...

Lots of exciting events are developing. No, and I'm not just talking about Christmas (which is becoming that thing that happens before we go to Spain). I'm talking about moving, about my own apartment, about finishing the semester, and about Spain.

I'm usually a big fan of Christmas, but I think the unreasonably early exposure to Christmas decorations and music on the part of retailers and my roommate has killed my normal Christmas buzz. So now I'm just focusing on making sure I've got the gifts I need to give. I'm certain I'll feel differently when I get to my parents' house (and Lance's parents').

We set up and decorated Lance's grandparents' tree yesterday, which made it feel a little more Christmas-y.

So, if you didn't hear from other sources, I'm moving. Unfortunately I wasn't able to exit with the grace and amiability that I had hoped, but I did try. Now I just have to get through the next week or so. I'll be into my very own place sometime after December 15th!

And Spain. I'm so excited. We have to plan some stuff still, but I think we'll get it all together--Lance's parents are even helping us out a bit with a lodging deal. Yay!

Sorry I haven't posted much this week. I've got one more final, then I'm done until January 14th. I hope next year/semester is better...

NaBloPoMo--Finis

I'm sad to say that I was two posts short of completing NaBloPoMo--and it was tragic. I was in a place with no internet or some such excuse.*

I did learn some things from blogging daily (for the most part). Usually I don't, and I only post when I have things to say. I found that when I was compelled to post, I didn't always write things that were useful, meaningful, or all that great. I struggled at first with this, but then I found posting meaningfully became a little easier**.

I think that my fellow bloggers also liked that I posted with some frequency. I'm not too terrible--I don't go weeks without posting or anything. But several of them are daily bloggers, so it gave us a sense of community. Or something. But I did like posting with some regularity, so perhaps I'll try to keep it up--I make no promises for when I'm in Spain, though!

*This sort of thing usually seems to confirm my inability to actually complete things when I start them. Do I really have that sort of tendency? I hope not...but I fear it is so! Will I get to the end of my Ph.D. program and not graduate because I just can't finish? Or will it be confined to things like desiring to run a marathon and not completing NaBloPoMo? Perhaps...
**Don't think it meant all my posts are this. Quite the opposite.

Don't I Feel Smart...

(Stolen from Tim and Donna). However, now I feel a little pretentious. Oh well, I am writing about being in graduate school, so I should hope that my reading level would be equal to the task...

But I do want to make my thoughts accessible to anyone who stumbles across the blog; I don't want to be some snooty academic pontificating on literature.

I think I just won't worry about it. I have fun with my posts, and I hope you (my dear readers) have fun reading too.

Paper in a Sentence

I had a paper due today, where I discussed the nature of the picaresque in relation to graphic novel; now I am done, and I'm afraid the paper isn't great, but I'll live.

Homework, Oh My!

I have a paper due tomorrow. After that paper is done, I cannot relax because I have a presentation on Monday and a huge final research project due on Thursday.

After that I can relax. So now, I shall take a deep breath and get back to typing.

Holding a Slice of History

My final project for Intro to Graduate Studies is based around a text that resides in our university Special Collections office. Mine is Letters from an American Farmer by Hector St. John de Crevecoeur in 1782. I went to go look at it yesterday.

It was really neat: I got to hold an over 200-year old book in my hands. It was small (about 6 3/4 inches by 4), bound in sturdy leather (probably a while after it was printed on March 4th 1793). My bookbinding interests got me to look at how it was bound, and I was able to spot the heavy bookbinding thread that bound the book together. It smelled like an old book.

I started imagining reading this when it was first printed. The paper was heavy (probably cotton rag paper), yellowed with age. I could feel the roughness from where the printed letters pushed through to the other side of the paper. It had obviously been taken care of for the past 200 years because it was in amazingly good condition.

I wondered about the book's owner (before it was donated/purchased for Special Collections). Were they a scholar? A gift to a traveler on his way to Arkansas? How did this particular book get to where it is today? It's all pretty interesting, really.

Mostly, though, I was just happy to be holding an old book and thinking about how neat it was to hold an object that has been around almost as long as the United States has been a country.

Catching Up

After a small blip in my posting (I failed at NaBloPoMo, drat), I figured I should update you all on the entertaining world that was my Thanksgiving weekend.

The weekend itself was quite nice. I had my apartment to myself all weekend, since I came back on Friday, and I was able to just relax with my cat and Lance.* Of course, before leaving my parents' house on Friday, I met with a minor mishap.

My parents both had to work on Friday, so I was left at their house alone to pack up and get ready to head back home. I needed to go get my boots out of my car, so I slipped on some shoes, threw on a sweater, and walked out the front door and shut it tight. When I heard the little "click", something switched in my brain, and I turned to check the knob. Yep, that's right, I was locked out.**

Since I've been dating Mr. Industrious for 3 1/2 years, I let out a sigh and a curse, and went to the nearest window. I pried off the screen only to discover that my parents have gotten better about locking their windows since the last time Lance and I broke in. The small window over the kitchen sink was my last hope. The screen popped off easily, and the window was indeed unlocked. I cleared off the sill, grabbed a chair, and crawled in.

Luckily that was my only other Thanksgiving mishap. I didn't do as much homework as I should have, unfortunately, and have found myself in varying degrees of not caring about my classes. (Shame on me). I hope next semester will be better motivationally.

In other news, I should be moving soon since my roommate has decided to cease communication***. I only hope I can find an apartment in my complex soon before I wake up smothered or something...

*Reason #247 that I need my own apartment.

**They have one of those annoying locks that you can still open the door from the inside even if the door is locked. Drat!

***Reason #47589 to get my own apartment. I'm sick of living with other people.

Home Again

I'm back in my apartment today. After traveling from my parents house (after a sticky incident, which I'll relay later), I'm supposed to be working on homework...

I just don't feel like it, though. I'm tired of working all the time, going to school all the time, and just being generally busy. *Sigh* I'm sure I just need a break--it's been a hectic semester, and the course load has been pretty heavy. My boss has been asking me about taking two classes next semester, and I'm wondering that myself. I'm signed up for two; however, should I be? One's not even for credit.

I think I will, nevertheless. There's nothing like a good, intellectually stimulating class to make me happy, and I think the class I'm taking (that I don't need to take) will do that for me. Now onward to homework!

Literary Thanks-Giving

I am thankful for Emily Dickinson and her wonderful poetry:

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church --
I keep it, staying at Home --
With a Bobolink for a Chorister --
And an Orchard, for a Dome --

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice --
I just wear my Wings --
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton -- sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman --
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at least --
I'm going, all along.

I am also thankful for the British Romantics, for Nathaniel Hawthorne, for J.R.R. Tolkien and the world of Middle Earth. I'm thankful for Jane Austen and her terrific heroines and her sharp wit. I'm thankful for brilliant song-writers, poets and lyricists, and those writers who bring magic to their art.

I'm thankful for books that capture my imagination, books that take me to new worlds and new experiences. Books with words that catch my breath, thrill my heart, and make my spirits soar.

And I'm thankful for an easy post tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!

Interpretation and Authorial Intent

Breaking news* in the literary world! A letter from Edith Wharton has been discovered that could alter how critics interpret the end of The House of Mirth!

Okay, so it's really only exciting to me (and other English-types), but it is a situation which makes me think of some of the issues we've discussed in Intro to Grad Studies. How much to we allow authorial intent to influence interpretation? Do we prescribe to the theory of the intentional fallacy (which means you ignore authorial intent), or do we try to figure out as closely as possible what the author wanted? And what role do letters and journals play into the editing/interpretive process?

As a critic, I want to take a more moderate approach. A work will always have plausible interpretations which we can never possibly validate according to authorial intention. Most of the works we discuss are written by those long gone. We can't dig up Shakespeare and ask him which version of Hamlet was the one he intended, so we have to muddle through it the best we can with the evidence we have.

To a certain degree authorial intent should influence how we interpret a work. For example, if an author created a female character, we can't really say that character is a man. If a character loves a woman, we can't argue that it's really a man--unless the woman turns out to be a man in drag. It just wouldn't make sense. There were times in my Intro to Grad Studies paper that I disagreed with a critic's interpretation because it didn't make sense in the text--they were reading what they wanted into the text**.

By the same regard, all we do have is the text. We can't necessarily postulate "what ifs" about it--we have to work with what is there. Which makes introducing letters, journals, etc into the interpretive process: we start moving into murky waters. Wharton's letter is certainly interesting, but should it change how we interpret the end of The House of Mirth? I'm not so sure--perhaps Wharton wanted it to be ambiguous when she reached that point in the novel's composition, but the letter reflected a phase where she was more certain about the character's fate. Plus, it just seems so much more cool for the ending to be ambiguous***. One reason I like Margaret Atwood is that her endings are often ambiguous, straddling the gap between dystopia and hope (The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake).

An author doesn't necessarily always have a final interpretation in mind. Most of our best literature is the stuff that leaves the reader with lingering questions, leaves us wondering how we should view the literature and the ideas. Those questions can be the spark of some great conversations, great articles, and great literary debates.

*So for two days in a row, my posts have been inspired by the NY Times. I'm okay with that--I hope you, my dear readers, are as well!
**This leads to my hatred of a good chunk of feminist and gender study criticism. No, Fitzgerald, you cannot argue that Theodore in The Monk is actually Agnes in drag. It's unsupported by the text and all we have is the text.
***Ambiguity is what we often base our publications on. If there's uncertainty, we can argue forever about it!

Where's the Tenure-Track?

While reading the NY Times this morning, I ran across an article about tenure. As an aspiring PhD student and hopeful professor, I find myself thinking about things like tenure a lot. However, the number of tenured or tenure-track faculty are decreasing. I don't know if it's because they are going off of percentages, but the general trend is to hire adjunct faculty because they're cheaper than tenured professors.

The tenure system was created to keep professors from being fired for political views, religious beliefs, personal ideology, etc. I personally think the system is in serious need of overhaul--we still need to try to maintain the "independent" nature of academia without making it quite so difficult to get into the tenure club. Tenure can also saddle a university with professors that aren't good teachers; however, the university can't get rid of them because they have tenure.

The whole tenure process makes me nervous. If I want to be in academia, my best (and best paying) option is to pursue tenure. It's a difficult process from all accounts, with lots of pressures. The pressure to publish is currently one that I want to overcome.

It is comforting to know that more universities are realizing that overextended adjuncts are not going to make the best teachers. They are increasing their number of tenured and tenure-track faculty, realizing that it makes a difference on the success of students--there is a correlation between student retention and who teaches them. The article didn't really address the plight of adjuncts, however.

Adjuncts often work at several universities, teaching more than a full load of classes, to make ends meet. It's difficult for an adjunct to live comfortably off of what they can make working part-time, so they do what they need to make ends meet--which means more teaching and less time to spend with students. I think there needs to be a system to support adjuncts, especially since higher education is depending on them increasingly to teach classes.

It's really interesting to read about issues in higher education and realize that those issues will someday affect me--or have already.

Oh, the Research

I've gotten to where I really enjoy research. I have a little process I use now: first, I find what I can online, through JSTOR, the online library catalog, etc. Then I dig around those sources and interlibrary loan what we don't have at our library. It seems to work for me so far.

I'm working on my final project for Intro to Grad Studies. We were given a list of choices that the U of A special collections has a first edition of (we even have a Blake, with all the engravings--how cool is that?). I chose J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer. My choice was influenced by the fact that I knew a little about him, and have read part of the Letters. Now off to do more research!

Two more papers and a presentation, and my semester will be done. Fun times!

Abstractly Writing

I had no idea how to write an abstract, so I tried to copy what our examples did. We'll see if she accepts it or if I have to rewrite it...

Broken vows of chastity, a bastard child born and dead in a crypt beneath a convent, and a monk who rapes and murders his own sister: in Matthew Lewis’s The Monk, sexual aberrations abound. The characters who are free from these crimes or seek to rectify their mistakes are men who have male friends. Using Eve Kosofsky Sedwick’s definition of homosocial, I argue that Lewis explores the role male friendship plays in the creation of virtuous, noble, and manly men, and that these relationships are responsible for the restoration of social and sexual order at the end of The Monk. Other scholars use Lewis’s suspected homosexuality to support the presence of homoerotic undertones within the novel. I argue instead for a reading that looks at the relationships between men in terms of fraternal and paternal friendships, demonstrating that what other critics may see as homosexual is actually homosocial. Lewis describes men who interact with one another—Lorenzo, Raymond, and Theodore—and then contrasts them with Ambrosio, a man who exists without male society. Ambrosio could have lived happily if he’d associated with men. Lewis is careful to describe Ambrosio as “possessed of many brilliant and manly qualities”, and he then insinuates the possibilities: if only Ambrosio had friends like Raymond and Lorenzo, if only he hadn’t lived shut off from society, and if only his manly qualities had not been suppressed and feminized by a woman. Instead, he dies broken and blaspheming, while his counterparts Raymond and Lorenzo end the novel in domestic bliss. I assert that in The Monk, Lewis explores ideas of what makes a man a man, and how a man of good character can fall into sin and temptation if he lives without homosocial relationships.

Writing Papers (For Tim!)

I was just going to reply to Tim's comment with another comment--and then I decided that it would generate a post for today, so here are my possibly fallacious tips for writing a good paper.

• Edit. Edit. Then edit some more. This is the lesson I learned when we edited the paper a total of three times, not counting all the edits we did to it in the prior class for which the paper was written.
• Edit by reading it out loud. Yep, you'll catch all sorts of fun things by reading it out loud.
• Edit by handing it off to someone you trust to offer good, constructive criticism. And not someone who just looks at it and says, "Oh, it's so good." You want a nitpicker. I'm a nitpicker, so I'm a good editor like this.
• But before all the revision and editing you have to write the damn thing, which means coming up with an idea. I talk out ideas with people who sort of care, write them out on my blog/journal, and outline to see if I can flesh out the idea. Do most research after you come up with an idea (it makes you feel good if your ideas are supported by the research you find). And even if someone else had your idea already, you may still be able to offer a new angle.
• Don't be afraid to change your original idea if you start writing and find that it doesn't work. It's almost inevitable that the paper you start writing is not the one you finish writing, and that's usually good.
• Don't stick with a sinking ship--if it's not working, abandon it and use the driftwood to construct a new boat.
• Writing is hard work. I find that if I can just sit down and concentrate for a few hours, I can knock it out. The earlier the initial drafting is done, the better because...
• You should leave yourself time to set it aside so that you can come to the edits fresh faced. Because revision is key. Revise, edit, revise, proofread and revise. Very important. I usually fail at this step, though...but I try to leave myself enough time to set it aside for a day or two.

I hope that helps Tim! Go forth with enthusiasm and courage, and don't be afraid to have an idea. Run with it and see where it takes you--and if you need someone to edit anything, feel free to ask me! I've read your writing and I know it's good. First seminar papers can be so frightening (I was terrified when I turned in my first grad school paper), but don't let that fear show up in your writing--fake confidence until you forget you aren't. Good luck!

Return of the Paper

I got back The Paper that I've been dealing with off and on all semester in Intro to Grad Studies. We finally submitted a final draft (19-35 pages) a couple of weeks ago, and my professor handed them back this week. Here are the comments that greeted my eyes:

A [I got an A! Yay!!] Picture with me, reader, a dark November night. A woman [my professor] sits at a table in a richly decorated and furnished but otherwise empty living room. Before her lies a mysterious manuscript, its pages gleaming in the lamplight. She bends her head, heavy with its burden of untamed russet curls--she lifts a page--she discovers--and extremely good paper!

Jenn, this is really excellent work. You have a fine voice, a strong argument, and reasoning and evidence that it's very difficult to argue with. [Aw, shucks]. I do feel that your writing is not as sophisticated as it will be, but that's a matter of time and practice.

I think you should consider sending this out for publication. [Really?!?] I suspect you will get a revise and resubmit, but the comments will help you learn, and you can resubmit if you choose to. Consider sending it--we can talk about where.

You can probably imagine my response when reading this--overjoyed, excited, etc. I felt really good when I saw her comments and thought about the prospect of getting published. It was hard work, but I see now that I can do it--I can produce work that has a shot at publication. What a great feeling!

Anti-Censorship, Pro-Literature

As I was doing the meme yesterday, I found myself in varying states of shock and outrage about censored works of literature. I get pretty heated up about the issue.

In my second semester of college, we had to write an argumentative paper for Honors. Being the child of conservatives, I thought I should talk about the horrors of partial birth abortion. The paper was boring, but okay--I'm sure my instructor read more than one of them*. Then we had to pair up and write a paper about some issue. My friend Wes and I chose to write about censorship, an issue I immediately and passionately threw myself into. After completing the project (and enjoying it), I realized: for the first paper I picked a topic I thought I should care about deeply but really didn't. But censorship--now that was something I could fired up about.

Why do I care so much? Part of it is that I don't believe kids should be as sheltered as some parents want them to be. I grew up over-sheltered, yet books taught me about the world in ways I didn't have to experience. Books (and some that my parents wouldn't have approved of) allowed me to escape from those unbearable teenage years for a short time.

The other part is that it pains me to see beautiful, wonderful, magical books treated like filth, like they have nothing to offer readers. And it pains me even more to see how those calling for censorship judge the works: off a word, a scene, a situation. They don't take the work for it's full value; they act like themes of violence, sexuality, and crudeness can never have a deeper meaning. And they can. A book like Speak can enhance rape awareness, for so many people who refuse to speak out about it. So many good books get tossed out because they aren't mundane and "wholesome". But they are beautiful works of literature.

I could go on and on, but censorship of these kind of books that are real and marvelous is such a mistake. Though, if parents try to hide books from their kids, maybe the kids will try to read them more...



*When I taught a homeschool writing class, I forbade any students writing their argumentative papers on things like abortion, gun control, and the death penalty. I really didn't want to read 20 paper on how horrible abortion was when all they were doing was spewing back everything they'd heard from their parents, church, and community for the past 14-18 years. I wanted them to choose an issue that they had a vested interest in.

I Read Banned Books!

Thanks, ADAllen, for the meme.

The name of the game: highlight/comment on the following banned books you've read.

The American Library Association's most challenged books of all time

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (Maya Angelou)

"The Chocolate War" (Robert Cormier)
I read this one in my adolescent literature class in undergrad. It's definitely a book for boys, but it has something to offer teens of all sorts about resisting the pressures of authority if personal convictions conflict with that authority. A valuable lesson, especially under our current administration. Oh wait, that's probably why it's banned...we don't want kids to learn to challenge their social structures.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Mark Twain)
Thanks to my liberal education (haha), I read this in American Literature in college. I was always puzzled by the accusations of racism--the book is about as anti-racist as a book published in nineteenth century America could possibly be. Twain would be both proud that his book can spark so much to debate, and a little sad (maybe) that people are dumb enough to only read the surface, to only see the words and think that's what the book means.

"It's Perfectly Normal" (Robie Harris)

"Scary Stories" (Alvin Schwartz)

"Daddy's Roommate" (Michael Willhoite)

"Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck)
This is a beautiful, sad book. I'm guessing it's banned because of violence; however, the novella is a tragic story of friendship and the inability to survive in this cruel world for someone who is different and misunderstood. I cry every time I read this book.

"Harry Potter" series (J.K. Rowling)
I'm a fan. I actually avoided the series in high school because my parents warned so strongly about it (the one time that they actually said anything about books that I paid attention to). I finally picked up the first book when the movies were coming out because all my friends were reading them, and I was hooked. (This is also, incidentally, where I started to realize that my parents' judgment was not absolute, and that perhaps I should start figuring things out for myself.)

"Heather Has Two Mommies" (Leslea Newman)

"Goosebumps" series (R.L. Stine)
I read a couple of these in junior high, and found them stupid. They really were just not my kind of book.

"The Catcher in the Rye" (J.D. Salinger)
Why does the best literature always get banned? I didn't encounter Salinger as a teenager, unfortunately, but when I read The Catcher in the Rye, I realized why so many adolescents love this book and found meaning in Holden's narrative.

"The Color Purple" (Alice Walker)

"A Wrinkle in Time" (Madeleine L'Engle)
I read this many times as a little kid, and am baffled as to why it's on the banned list. I haven't read it for a while, so maybe I should go back and read it again...

"Earth's Children" series (Jean M. Auel)

"In the Night Kitchen" (Maurice Sendak)

"The New Joy of Gay Sex" (Charles Silverstein)

"Blubber" (Judy Blume)

"The Handmaid's Tale" (Margaret Atwood)
Of course a feminist dystopia would be banned--it's too easy to misunderstand Atwood's intention, which is to horrify and shock us into seeing how easy it would be for our world to become like the one in her novel. I'm guessing most of those crying out for the book to be banned get caught up with all of the sex and violence and miss the true point...if they bother to read it at all.

"The Bluest Eye" (Toni Morrison)

"The Outsiders" (S.E. Hinton)
I like The Outsiders. It's another one of those books about not belonging, a condition so many teenage readers could identify with, I'm sure. If they were allowed to read it...

"Captain Underpants" series (Dav Pilkey)
Banned because the hero wears underpants? How silly...I've seen these books and thought they were harmless and cute. My potential kids are going to be so corrupted...

"A Light in the Attic" (Shel Silverstein)
How can they ban Shel Silverstein? The man who gave us The Giving Tree? Man, this book was hard to find in my elementary school library because so many kids wanted to check it out all the time. I'm guessing the silly poems about boogers didn't endear it to parents in the same way that it captured so many children's imaginations.

"Brave New World" (Aldous Huxley)

"Asking about Sex and Growing Up" (Joanna Cole)

"Cujo" (Stephen King)

"James and the Giant Peach" (Roald Dahl) .
I have a great story about this book. When I was seven or so, I was reading this book and noticed the word "ass" cropping up a lot. (I think the grasshopper calls everyone an ass). So I showed my parents. Shocked and outraged, they then petitioned to have it banned from school--in the end, they blacked out all the "ass" with a Sharpie. Little did they know that their act would help create a die-hard anti-censorship liberal daughter...

"The Anarchist Cookbook" (William Powell)

"Boys and Sex" (Wardell Pomeroy)

"Ordinary People" (Judith Guest)

"American Psycho" (Bret Easton Ellis)

"Athletic Shorts" (Chris Crutcher)

"The House of the Spirits" (Isabel Allende)
I've started this several times. Allende is a great writer, and I really need to finish it...

"Slaughterhouse Five" (Kurt Vonnegut)
I feel like a bad English major for not having yet read any Vonnegut.

"Lord of the Flies" (William Golding)
The rule must be "all disturbing literature shall be kept from those of tender years". You know, because kids need to be innocent until they encounter all the world's nastiness in person.

"Mommy Laid an Egg" (Babette Cole)

"Private Parts" (Howard Stern)

"Where's Waldo?" (Martin Hanford)
I was enlighted by ADAllen that this is banned because of wantonly bared tiny breasts. I never saw any tiny breasts, since I was too busy looking for Waldo.

"Little Black Sambo" (Helen Bannerman)

"Girls and Sex" (Wardell Pomeroy)

"How to Eat Fried Worms" (Thomas Rockwell)
I'm always astounded by what makes it on the list. Is it because he eats worms? I don't get it...I remember this book being tremendously entertaining and with some sort of good message.

The Future of Literature?

I've been working on a presentation for Jessica Abel's fantastic graphic novel La Perdida, and thus I've been reading about graphic novels. There's a lot of banter about the term "graphic novel": is it just an attempt by comics creators to legitimize (and thereby canonize) their works? Or are we observing the development of a new genre, one that is different than the term "comic" can cover?

I think we're observing the rise of a new genre of literature. Part of my presentation is about how graphic novels are particularly suited to the picaresque: it seems that more and more marginalized voices are using the art form to speak out. They aren't sharing their experiences in film or in novels necessarily; they are drawing their lives out on a page. It's a genre where Art Spiegelman could tell his father's story (Maus); where Marjane Satrapi could tell her tale of growing up in Iran during Iran's political unrest (Persepolis); and where journalist Joe Sacco could explore the situations in Bosnia and Palestine in such a way to bring those realities home to his readers (Palestine and War's End: Profiles from Bosnia 1995-96).

In his article "A Comic-Book World", Stephen Tabachnick asserts that we were seeing a new direction of literature. As television and electronic media pervade our culture, graphic novels are the book's response to shortened attention spans and the inability of readers to wade through lines of straight text. I think that this is valid, but I also think that the graphic novel offers much more than that. It has its place not as the successor to the novel, but as a totally new reading experience. I value them for that quality, the world they can convey without words. It takes a skilled artist to know when to use words and when to allow the pictures reflect the themes and ideas that she wishes to convey. Incidentally, Abel is one such artist.

I embrace the teaching of graphic novels, but not in place of literature, but as a new genre. Graphic novels are more than the book's answer to the rise of film and television; they can become a valuable teaching tool, a refreshing and illuminating way to access literature.

Textual Editing!

I was given the assignment to talk about how I would handle the editing of the letters of famous literary figure Eupheus MacAdder, author of the famous sonnet sequence "On the Teats of Muffy, My Catte". Here is what I turned in, after a bit of research and thinking.

***********************

Why do we publish collected letters? Almost every (dead) major literary figure has at least one edition of published letters, and likely more than one. Perhaps the motivating factor is to give us some insight on an author’s creative processes. Or perhaps editors wish to show a human face to often-mythologized poets and novelists: Grant F. Scott in his recent edition of Keats’s letters offers, “For those who have encountered Keats’s poems only in weighty anthologies, it is refreshing to come upon them in this warmer human environment. In context they seem to breathe again, to take on new life and interest” (xxiii).

Since not every letter can be included in an edition (unless one is publishing multiple volumes, or the extant letters are very few), an editor must decide on an approach and let that approach determine which letters she selects. The traditional method is to choose those letters which include details about an author’s works or in some way illuminate their texts. Humphrey Carpenter chose this approach when selecting among the massive quantity of Tolkien’s extant letters, “Naturally, priority has been given to those letters where Tolkien discusses his own books; but the selection has also been made with an eye to demonstrating the huge range of Tolkien’s mind and interests, and his idiosyncratic but always clear view of the world” (1). H.L Jackson’s purpose for Coleridge’s letters was “to display his achievement as a writer in the minor genre of the familiar letter; to reveal his complex personality in evolution; and to record his astute judgment, especially in literary matters” (xii). Leslie Marchand chooses to illuminate Byron’s personality in comparison to the tone taken in his works. Alan G. Hill chooses the letters of Dorothy Wordsworth “not only for the interest of their subject-matter but also to indicate the range of her correspondents,” i.e. her brother William Wordworth and their friend Samuel T. Coleridge: Hill seems interested in using Dorothy Wordsworth’s words to illuminate the humanity of the famous men who were her correspondents (xvii).

A more holistic approach (like that of Grant F. Scott with Keats’s letters) allows the editor to present the author as a whole person by including letters with various details not pertaining to them as an author. This second approach is the one I’d like to take with Euphues MacAdder’s letters. Working with Jack Stillinger, Scott brings a fresh approach to Keats’s letters: several definitive scholarly editions of Keats’s letters have already been published, therefore Scott’s goal was offer an edition that would allow maximum accessibility for any reader to the life and mind of John Keats, including his poetry but not excluding details of his life. Scott even chooses to end his edition with letters written by Keats’s death-bed companions, instead of Keats’s own final letter written several months before he died, commenting that they “offer valuable additional testimony concerning Keats the man” (xiv).

MacAdder’s extant letters include a mixture of his own letters, received letters from his correspondents, daily ephemera, and drafts (that may have been part of his letters) of his famous sonnet sequence, “On the Teats of Muffy, My Catte.” I favor Scott’s approach precisely because he does not include only the letters that show the influences on a writer’s works: he wants to give as full a picture of Keats-the-man as he can, which of course includes Keats-the-poet. Thus my choice would be to include some of the minutiae of MacAdder’s daily existence, where it is most charming or interesting or illuminates MacAdder’s habits and relationships with his friends. (As Scott points out, the letters that contain Keats’s most brilliant ideas often begin with a simple account of day-to-day occurrences). Also, if the letters from MacAdder’s correspondents contain some ongoing dialogue about his poetry or ideas, I think it would be worth including selections to give a reader a fuller idea of MacAdder’s composition process and how much other people contributed to his writing. If anything, I would at least summarize the letter to give a reader context for MacAdder’s reply. I agree with Stillinger that writing rarely, if ever, occurs in isolation.

Which leads to the question: what about all those drafts of his sonnet sequence? I think they are worth including, especially if there are indications they were part of his letters. After all, the reason readers are interested in the letters is to get some glimpse into the mind of a well-known author, and that includes how they came to produce their art. Thus, I would certainly include the drafts of his poetry where evidence suggests they may have been included with a letter, and refer to the other drafts in a footnote or appendix if no evidence exists to demonstrate that they were sent to MacAdder’s correspondents. Since this is an edition of letters, poetry manuscripts and other papers would be better suited in another volume. I believe, however, that to the degree the poetry was part of MacAdder’s letters, they should be included in my edition.

Another question that most of the editors brought up was how much an editor should interfere with spelling, typographical errors, and punctuation. Correcting obvious errors is generally not considered interference. The murkier situation is a particular author’s spelling and punctuation habits. Jackson felt that readability was not lost (and may in fact be “refreshing”) by leaving Coleridge’s letters as they were, fixing only typographical errors (xii). On the other hand, Scott believed that accessibility was enhanced by “principled modernization:” he is conscious that altering letters from handwritten to type is an act of translation and interpretation (xv). He is sensitive to Keats’s particular quirks in capitalization and their significance in his letters, and Scott also leaves errors where they are “wonderfully spontaneous and creative” (xvii). The traditional stance is to leave the spellings as they were or with very little interference. My decision would rest on who my target audience is: if this is the first time MacAdder’s letters have been in print, I would probably leave the spellings as they were since my likely audience would be scholars. However, if I were attempting a new edition to essentially refresh MacAdder’s letters as Scott does for Keats, then I would apply a little principled modernization of my own because my audience would not necessarily be scholars but those wishing to learn more about MacAdder.

Out of all the editions of letters that I perused, I admired Scott’s edition of Keats’s the most. Scott’s approach did not attempt to focus on the possible influences on his poetry; instead, they offered up a picture of Keats through his own words, minutiae and all. I think scholars and editors enter into murky water when they attempt to determine what is could be an influence and what is not, since questions of authorship and creativity are not so easily answered. My edition of MacAdder would take a similar approach: I want to offer my readers a MacAdder that visits friends, drinks tea, and buys shirts not just a MacAdder that locks himself in his study with only his Muse (or Muffy) for company and feverishly scribbles. That image would be false. I would like readers to be able to connect to MacAdder as a real human being, not an abstract ideal of an author.

Ah, Homework

A short post--once again--because I need to do some homework tonight. I have to finish my textual editing exercise and read a bunch. I made it back home safe and sound with some craftiness done. Perhaps I'll post the cookie recipe I devised last night on my baking blog!

My kitties were naughty this weekend--my roommate has started decorating for Christmas, and they were trapped in the house alone, so when Lance came to check on them, they had "destroyed Christmas" as he phrased it. Basically, they knocked her decorations down. Crazy cats. Guess that'll teach me to leave them alone for the weekend...

Sewing weekend was a mostly success, considering the sleeping most of Saturday on my behalf. I have lots more to finish, but it feels good to get a start on the Christmas gifts for the year.

Well, back to work. Plus, Lance's laptop has a messed up backspace key, so it's making typing extremely difficult (I had no idea I made so many typing errors!) I'll be posting about my assignment tomorrow. Good night, dear readers!

Crafts Weekend!

Or it would be, had I not been feeling like a plate of death. Finally, at 4 pm, I was able revive myself enough to move, eat a little something, and help my friend get ready for having some friends over. The only crafting that was to be had was some knitting on my ISE5 scarf and buying fabric. It's tragic, really, but I plan on accomplishing one or two project before returning to Fayetteville, never fear.

While I was trying hard not to move lest the contents of my stomach rebel, I managed to finish La Perdida, which was really good. I think my presentation is going to take a genre theory approach to the graphic novel, discussing how the form of the graphic novel enhances some of Abel's major themes of miscommunication, being between places, and trying to find something lost. I even get to bring in some Derrida!

Now to do sometime domestic--baking some cookies with a recipe that I'm making up as I go...

Plodding Steadily

I've been moving steadily through my final assignments. What I have left for the semester:

• one textual editing assignment, due Monday
• one presentation over La Perdida (such a good book!), due Thursday
  
• one 12-15 page paper (probably also over La Perdida)
• one mysterious final project, to be revealed on Monday. (yikes!)

I feel like I have a decent handle on the semester, so that's a nice feeling. The pieces have been falling into place, so I just need to work steadily to make sure the semester ends as a success. Then I can throw an awesome Christmas party!

My arms are sore right now from getting two vaccines, so I'm going to cut this post short. And since I get to leave work at one today, I get to have a bit of a longer weekend...hooray! Hope you all have a good Friday.

Tidbits

• Remember my recent post about the link between mental and physical health? Today, the NY Times posted an article about how staying active can reduce the risk of dementia and keep the brain from deteriorating in later life. Better go hop on that treadmill!
• I'm heading down to LR this weekend to sew and have fun. Whee!
• I have mastered the butterfly swimming stroke. Well, "mastered" is stretching it a bit, but I am doing it almost right, and I can swim a length using it.
• I was planning to go to a lunch meeting today because it would teach me about creating a CV and resume, but now I feel hesitant. I should probably just go...
• I have a fun assignment that I need to work on. I'll post more details later, but it involves an imaginary Scottish poet and his poem about his beloved cat's nipples.
• Thomas Pynchon's Vineland is interesting.
• I am really enjoying Jessica Abel's La Perdida. It's full of all sorts of good themes, like the failure of communication and learning to exist in a new culture. Fascinating--and I get to give a presentation on it and write a paper!
• Less than one month of class left. Oh, the pressure!
  

Autumn

Walk outside and take a deep breath of air. Do you feel it? Smell it? It's autumn, folks, and it's my favorite time of the year. I used to wonder if I had a favorite season, but then I realized that every fall, my blood would sing, my spirit would soar with exhilaration, and my eyes would dance from all the brilliant colors around me.

I really love this season. The trees all dressed in their elegantly brilliant hues: gold, crimson, orange. I encounter one tree each day that looks like it is on fire, the leaves are so vibrantly red. For someone who loves color as much as I do, the trees provide a feast for the eyes, and all I want to do is look at them, take pictures of them, and soak in the colorful rays. Even when the leaves fall to the earth, they look like confetti decorating the green lawn--I love the contrast.

The season's first frost was upon us, in my town. I walked outside slightly before dawn and had to scrape my windows. I didn't mind. I like how the world looks with a light frosty coat.

The air smells crisp and clear. I've heard this is better in other areas, but I think the air is nice here too. I inhale and inhale, enjoying the feeling of the cold air in my lungs, the smell of wood stoves and warmth and soups on the wind. I like how I walk in from a jaunt outdoors and my cheeks and nose are blushed and my eyes feel brighter.

Soon the leaves will fall off and fade away, raked into piles by industrious folks. I won't mind--I'll just have to wait again for my favorite season so I can revel in all it's glory. (And by then, winter's promises of snow will claim my attentions...)

Academic Imersion

I joined MLA today. (Yay for student rates). Joining MLA gives me a subscription to PMLA and several other publications, and allows me to be connected to a national organization. I joined on the impulse of professionalism that I've been cultivating as of late.

My Intro to Grad Studies class must be influencing me. We're immersing ourselves into aspects of the profession (as did the class that I took last semester), and it's got me thinking about steps I can take now to help my future career.

We're going to be giving a mini-conference on the paper that just won't go away, and next week we'll be discussing how we wish to present ourselves to the public eye. When I decided to go to grad school, I had no idea that there'd be so much involved! In the end, however, I like it.

I'll probably join NCTE soon too, and subscribe to College English, since there are sure to be articles I would find useful for my thesis! Yay again for student rates...

Body and Brain

The dumb jock, the unathletic geek: we usually assume that being good at sports and being smart are mutually exclusive. Why is this? Is it because we think of the highly intelligent hiding in their ivory towers, descending rarely to mix among us mortals (and get a breath of fresh air)? Do we think that those who enjoy physical pursuits don't have to use their minds--or don't have the inclination to do so?

This connection is one that I've been thinking about for a while. About three years ago, I started running, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and enjoying all sorts of sports. Recently, I've been taking swimming lessons. I enjoy physical activity. I also enjoy reading, writing, and thinking.

I'm planning to be an academic, something which (shockingly) doesn't require physical abilities. Part of me occasionally longs to find a occupation where I'd use both my body and my mind.

The connection between our physical and mental abilities is subtler than one might think. My mind doesn't shut down when I start running: no, instead it becomes more active. My mind is always more alert (and my body more energetic) when I'm working out regularly. When my body is healthy, my mind is sharper.

So why does our culture persist with the separation of mind and body? I think part of it is that we do like simple dualities--they make life easier. And I do admit that I know some really dumb people who are great athletes and some really smart individuals who suck at anything athletic. But I also know a lot more people who are both successful athletes (or have physical abilities) and intelligent, capable individuals.

Personally, I'm cultivating a life of the mind and greater physical abilities. I think that understanding the connection is deeply important to my own success and well-being.

Cat Naps and Articles: A Picture Post

My cat, Rory, decided to help me with my homework:





Homework completed with purring furball demanding my attention. It actually worked out fairly well...

Lack of Homework

I have piles of homework. Yet, somehow, I manage to be lazy enough to not do any of it yet. I blame Netflix, Heroes (season one), Lance, and my own desire to bake cupcakes. So in the hour I have remaining, I suppose I shall read Vineland and wonder why I squandered my Saturday.

It was a fun squandered day, however. I got up, checked on the newly fixed kitty in the house, who curled up on me and slept, read a bit of my book, ate some breakfast, strolled down to Farmers' Market (only two left!), baked cupcakes, and cleaned a bit. So, as you can see, I'm quite productive.

I just usually want to kick myself, though. I get to the point of being caught up, have a chance to get ahead, and then all I can do is just be lazy and not do any of the work I should. I do blame the fact that since I work all the time, the only time I have to blow off steam is the weekend, which means I don't wish to spend it doing homework. I am, however, a graduate student, which means I should make school more important.

Thus I sigh, shake my head at my silliness, and attempt to work in a smaller chunk of time. I guess I'll be at the library tomorrow, holed up, awaiting my fate for my lack of diligence...

Learning to Keep My Mouth Shut

Occasionally, I have the urge to tell people things that they are doing wrong. Sometimes I do, then they feel embarrassed. I often feel superior. I've been realizing, however, that sometimes what I define as "wrong" is merely just slower, but equally effective.

Sometimes, however, they are just wrong.

One case is those instances of misuses of grammar. Unless it's someone that I'm close to and can call them out on it, I don't, even if I want to. Like all of the English graduate students who don't realize the difference between "quote" and "quotation". Every time they say "quote" when they mean "quotation", I wish to yell. But I don't. Some things are bad manners.

The other times I've learned to keep my mouth shut involve working with other people. Sometimes a co-worker will do something in a way that I find to be inefficient, slow, and overly cautious. Occasionally I say something, and it makes her feel inadequate, and then I feel bad. So I've learned to keep my mouth shut because in the end, she gets the job done well, and just because I can do it nearly twice as fast doesn't mean that her way doesn't work. She's probably a little more conscientious and has a stronger work ethic than I do.

Another is with my family. I'm the sole liberal in a sea of stanch Republicans (my dad doesn't think women should be senators, let alone president), and I'm also more honest about my doubts about traditional, mainline Christianity than they would like. I have learned that even if all I want to do is offer up a different perspective, without arguing, I should just keep my mouth shut. They don't listen, and the situation usually quickly results in a full out yelling match, and my mother cries easily. Don't discuss politics and religion with family--good rule to remember.

What are some situations where you have learned to keep your mouth shut?

Me? Blog Daily for a Month?

That's right, folks. In an attempt to aspire to more conscientious posters, I am participating in NaBlogPoMo. Blog each day in November. Can I do it?

I've discovered a blog that makes fun of misused quotation marks. I also hate that...

It's Stephen Crane's birthday, by the way. If you don't know who he is, that's okay. (He wrote The Red Badge of Courage). John Keats, however, is inexcusable.

I was invited by my Grad Studies professor to take her Advanced Romantic Poetry class. My heart yearned to do so...but, alas, I have to take another class, and my job only permits me to take one during the day. She's a great teacher, and I'd love to learn more about the Romantics from her. I think they really are my favorite period, if I had to choose. Occasionally, when I falter with my Rhetoric Composition plans, I think fondly of doing something with the British Romantics.

I've been enjoying the "Books" podcast from NPR. It puts the different segments involving new books together into one weekly podcast. NPR has become a tool for me to keep up with new literature that I might otherwise read much, much later.

The trees are starting to take on their autumn blushes. I love fall colors, the weather, the sweaters I get to wear--it really is my favorite season.

Excuse the rambles. My brain is all over the place today...