September 2005 Archives

Comments - Traction by Erik Ramsey

Traction by Erik Ramsey

Comments - Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Part 2

Comments - Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Part 1

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Heart in the Ground by Douglas Hill

Rix, ''Was Oedipus Framed?'' -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

Oral Presentation Paper

Compassionate Characters and Remorse: Poncelet vs. Young Woman

B1-1: Blogging Portfolio – Newswriting

Wildcard (AKA: Goals Statement essay)

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Part Two

Homecoming Story Pitches

Media Analysis

The AP Guide to Newswriting (Ch. 8)

The Communicator's article on Opening Liturgy in comparison to mine.

Reporter’s Notebook

Oral Presentation Reflection

Peer Profile: Lorin Schumacher

Spot News Reflection

Peer Profile Reflection

Tribune-Review - Sept. 20

Sophocles, Oedipus the King (Up to Scene III) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

You know the drill: go read and comment. Imagine I'm a sad, forlorn puppy with only one leg that derives my only joy from your comments. You wouldn't want to make a crippled puppy sad now, would you?

Robbins and Prejean, Dead Man Walking: The Shooting Script -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

Elements of Journalism (Ch. 3 - 5)

Wojtyla, The Jeweller's Shop -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

Spot News Article

"With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it's worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.

Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey," died peacefully at age 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in... and then the trouble started."

Shut up, you know it's funny.

Currently reading Lost In A Good Book. It's the second novel to Eyre Affair. So funny. You know the wacky humor of Harry Potter? The irreverent descriptions of Diagon Alley and the Burrow? Yeah, this whole book is like that, only better. It's amazing, nearly every single sentence is some subtle jab at Shakespeare or Jane Austen or any book you can think of. It's the perfect book for a bibliophile. Especially if you like Austen or Shakespeare. There's also none of those unnecessary descriptions that authors like to waste their times on. It has the snappy dialogue and paragraphs similar to Artemis Fowl (but minus the stupid plots and the idiotic mind-numbing "Hi, I'm dumbed down for kids" feel). This book is almost in the league of Terry Pratchett. Helloooo, new favorite obsession.

Treadwell, Machinal (Finish) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

Treadwell, Machinal (Scenes 1-5) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

I encourage you to comment because it will be lots of fun. And if there's one thing better than Dr. Pepper, zombies, the Finn Brothers, and Harry Potter - it's fun.

Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

"The life and times of Jesus were recorded in fanfic form by his four biggest fanboys — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — shortly after his death. Later, their works were compiled by a basement-dweller nerd named Peter into the "New Testament." Initial sales were stagnant, however, and so after conducting numerous focus groups and hiring many expensive consultants, the title was changed to "Jesus: The Reckoning." Subsequent sales skyrocketed, thereby propelling the publisher — Catholic Church, Inc. — into global prominence.

Today, with Jesus fandom on the wane, "The Reckoning" is typically published as an anthology in conjunction with the so-called "Old Testament." This saves on printing costs, and has served to bolster sales, though one may still need to order the book at Amazon since many bookstores are stopped carrying it. Incidentally, another Jesus fanboy, Paul, invented the blog."

(from Encyclopedia Dramatica)

Heh. Fanboys. Heh. Blogs."

Foster, How to Read Literature Like a Professor Intro through p. 22 -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)

Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching by William Byron

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Part 1

Everyone on my floor has gone off to the foam dance. I didn't even know what a foam dance was and figured that "foam" must be slang for something. Surely they couldn't mean actual foam... then I did a google image search and yes, yes they do. Dancing in foam: sounds like a recipe for unpleasantness.

- - - - -

I'm reading this... book (I don't dare call it a novel). It's horrid and vile and disgusting and I'm half way through it and despise it beyond all means. I hate chick lit and I hate the whole "omgosh I'm so awesome and clever and cute but dammit I just can't get that guy, but everything falls in place by the end". It's about a girl who is forced to star in a play version of Pride and Prejudice and obviously - she gets the part of Elizabeth. Incredibly, a famously wealthy annoying actor is cast as Darcy. Can you see what direction this is going? Oh, and her sister is cast as Jane and she falls in love with the guy playing Bingley. There's also a smarmy news reporter who keeps trying to get in bed with our heroine but instead gets in with her roommate who is desperate for anything male. Wow. So original. There's more and it's basically exactly like Pride and Prejudice, but contemporary and lacking in the hotness of Darcy and minus the lovely, snarky humor of Austen.

I think that there is a definite decline in today's literature and it's due to lowered standards of publication. Ex: Danielle Steele, Dave Eggers, and whoever wrote that tripe Confessions of a Shopaholic, where just the glaring cover makes me want to beat it to a pulp* with Beowulf.

*Pun intended.