Portfolio 1- Gosh...Are We a Third of the Way Done Already?

   How time has passed.  I have compiled a list of blogs that you should check out.  They're in neat little categories so that they are easy to go through and you can easily find something that may interest you.

   I guess that now's the time when I should say what I've learned from this whole experience thus far.  I would honestly like to say that I do like to blog, but maybe not as much as we do.  I feel that my blog entries would have better quality if there weren't so many of them.  It is fun to see what other people write and write my own entries, especially when the spirit moves me.  I work really hard on my classes in general.  I think that blogging and doing all the readings have made me into a better writer.  Sometimes, after I read a work, I can't wait to blog about it.  Other times, I just want to skip the whole blogging experience and watch TV or go to bed.  I have also learned that it is impossible sometimes to get everything done.  I have sacrificed a lot in the efforts to do well in this class including free time, my health (I eat sometimes while I write and I cannot go to the gym), and sometimes my other work. 

Often times, I also try to make my blog a teaching experience.  I take a good deal of time trying to put things in terms that I think will help my peers understand better.  Without further ado, here is my first list of blog entries...Enjoy!

Coverage

• Speaking of Muddy Points... is just me venting about not understanding philosophy, and so not really understanding the text.
• The Logic in Author's Intent shows me just trying to make sense of what Hirsh said in the text.  I also think that this may have been a little bit of an "Aaaaha! moment" for me.
• The Tempest that is Life depicts the struggles of a rising star...Ok, not really, but it is my struggles with this class.  Keep in mind that Me plus Bad Day does not equal literary criticism.
• It's the Sentence that Never Ends just displays me picking apart a sentence of one of the essays we had to read for class.
• So THIS is How History Ties In?! is just a run-of-the-mill blog entry about historical texts and how they play a role in literature.
• So You Don't Make an Assonance of Yourself, Read This! is a blog that I enjoyed writing, but nobody read :(
• I'd Be Willing To Bet That There Is No Real Answer. was a kind of "Aaaaaha! moment" for me again.  I'm starting to see that it would be hard for a person to go completely wrong, but at the same time, may be hard for her to go completely right either.  Actually, I've learned that there is no "completely right."  But I'm ok with that.
• And The Oscar Goes To... is a fun entry that covers women and the literary canon.

Depth

• Mortality Squares Off with Immortality...And the Winner Is!? is a long, critical analysis of "Ode on a Grecian Urn."  I just got going with this one and couldn't stop.  It would be an example of what I talked about in the intro, me really having a lot to say and being excited to write about it.
• Mother was Right Again...You Need to Get Your Sleep! shows how I am able to analyze a text on my blog.  I make some pretty interesting points in this one.
• A Contradiction? allows me to demonstrate my ability to look at a critic with a critical eye.  I also reference other webpages a few times in order to clarify (for myself and the reader) what certain terms are.
• My Second Crack at Trying to Understand Reader-Response gives my own in depth analysis of reader-response.  It also links you to another webpage for further understanding.  I also link back to my one of my other blogs because I kind of answer my own question.  In fact, I link both of these blogs together to help my reader.
• Subjective, Objective, Which Is Which? is not a very long blog, but it demonstrates my ability to put things in simplier terms and make things relatable.  I believe strongly in word association.  If you can look within a word and find a connection with another word that will unlock the meaning for you, great!  I try to use this a lot or create analogies or metaphors.  I think this makes the subject more personal.
• O'Connor's Objective clearly picks apart O'Connor's essay and raises new questions.  I wrote it because I think that O'Connor's essay is well organized and well written.  I know that everyone in the class will not always understand every essay so I used it as a reference point for them.  People who understood it, however, can still get a lot out of this entry because I make some new claims and try to think of it in a way that is outside of myself and more towards the mythical "ideal reader."

Blog Carnival Entry

• The Horror House at the Carnival is my piece of the carnival blog.  Because I wasn't very sure which ones I was supposed to link, I'll just do all three components, mine, the person who kicks of the carnival, and the person who sums it up.
• Blog Carnival - Cover Blog Entry is Derek's blog entry that kicks off the Carnival.
• Come One, Come All to Our Carnival of “The Dead” is Greta's wrap-up of our Carnival.  Lots of fun and learning was had.  Join us and you'll learn a lot!
• I also took a look at Bethany Merryman's carnival entry as an attempt to connect that carnivals.

Interaction

• Derek's Blog- I really love Derek's blog.  He always has good things to say and always tries to pose a question at the end of each entry to get others to think and respond back.  I think that my comment on this one is especially insightful in how to begin to critique literature and my personal style in doing this.

• This is an example of me trying to explain a concept to one of my peers that she could not understand.  I attempt to explain to Katie how the urn is both above and below language.  I get pretty philosophical (at least for me) and I am pretty proud of myself for it.

• AllofMyClassesAreRunningTogether. demonstrates me asking a question and when my reader did not know the answer, I answered her.

Discussions

• The Formalities of Formalism is a blog that I used an analogy to help me understand a concept.  It seems to have helped my peers as well for they had positive comments about it.
• Metonymy and the Steelers shows my ability to take something I learned and apply it to what is pertinent to my life at the time.  It also seemed to assist my peers with understanding the term metonymy.  (I guess that this one may even qualify as depth because I sadly had to research the exact date of the Super Bowl.)
• In the Left Corner, Weighing 200 Pounds, is T.S. Eliot! sparks an interesting discussion about what poetry actually is.  I also take a stand on the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" which I later refute in a paper and on Kayley's blog.  (Dr. Jerz...Here you can really see how I've grown and am continuing to grow as a result of blogging, the casebook, and your class in general.  As much as I hate to admit it sometimes, thanks.)
• Future Students Beware for I Now Hold the Ace in the Hole! draws attention to a few sentences that I think will be very useful to me against my future students who question why they have to study poetry (As Dr. Jerz pointed out I didjust last year.  lol.  I did too.  I won't even deny it.  Yet another way I have grown).  I got a pretty good reaction out of my readers! 

Timeliness

• What's That Mean Again? as ALL my blogs, this one was turned in on time.  I'm only going to put one in this section, but they all really belong in this section.

Xenoblogging

• Kayley's blog, Complex or simple? which is better?, makes the reader question Keesey's assessment of poetry.  I really enjoy seeing people disagree with the text because it shows that they are not afraid to challenge something that someone else may just accept as fact.  I added to Kayley's disagreement and seemingly inspired others to look at "simple texts" more closely for they are not as simple as they seem.  (The Comment Informative/The Comment Grande)
• An Insult to Keats! talks about Kent's poor word choice and bad insinuations.  I promote Marra's blog here and provide a link to it because she commented that her blog was similar.  I also took time to comment on her blog for some extra fun!  She has a really good conversation going on her blog.  Check it out. (Link Gracious)
• A Reader Must Stay on Course is a thoughtful exchange between Derek and I.  I was the first to comment on his blog and have been going back and making comments on it to keep the conversation flowing. (Comment Primo)

Wildcard

• Ode to the "Ode" is an extra blog entry that I created for fun.  It's a sappy love poem that I created for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day.  I think that this blog will show you that I do like to blog and that even when I'm not doing English and writing, well I'm doing English and writing.  I even analyze song lyrics when I listen to my Ipod.

Funeraction-Everyone's doin' it!

• So I've created my own category.  I call this one, funeraction.  This is just me having fun interacting with my peers and with the text.  I hope you like it.  This one takes place on Katie's Blog called Something a Little More Complete, which is about formalism.
• Kayley's blog, Complex or simple? which is better?, makes the reader question Keesey's assessment of poetry.  I really enjoy seeing people disagree with the text because it shows that they are not afraid to challenge something that someone else may just accept as fact.  I added to Kayley's disagreement.
• Wacky Wording: How Wording Can Change the Meaning of a Sentence shows me just having fun being an English major and picking apart language as a result of it.  Oh the ways I have fun anymore...lol.
• Could It Be True!? may be one of my favorite short blogs.  I really liked how Keesey gave us a sort of formula of how to write a formalist critique.  I really liked my application of Where's Waldo.  It is even linked to an example of Where's Waldo.  Try to find him!
• What Would You Do If You Were In Delano's Shoes? is a newer blog where I asked my peers to put themselves in Delano's shoes.  I wanted to spark a good conversation.

*This is my little end note.  Many of my blog entries overlap into other areas.  For example, my Carnival blog could also go under the Discussions section and my reactions to all my peers could probably fall under the Interaction sections.  If I put all these instances down, I'd never finish this.