April 2008 Archives

I couldn't be happier to end this last portfolio for this semester!!!! The truth is, I have yet to become frustrated with this particular portfolio, because it is only a collection of blogs for one whole month. Much less than the previous two for Intro to Literary Study 2008!. The more I thought about it, the more I realized, let's leave this portfolio as short and sweet as possible. Always a great way to end a semester at SHU.
Enjoy! This is the last one for four-five months!

Old, old porfolios:
October 2006 (Writing for the Internet)
November 2006 (Writing for the Internet)
October 2007 (Newswriting)
November 2007 (Newswriting)
December 2007 (Newswriting)
December 2007 (Media Lab)
February 2008 (Intro to Literary Study)
April 2008 (Intro to Literary Study)

Coverage
In Medias Res
It is Clear that....I am writing about irrelevant phrases.
Poor Emotional Ender
Monosubdemonism
Lack of Free-Will
Go Ender, Momma Would be Proud!
Composing Lines
W;t, Do you Have it in You?
Scansion

Timeliness
Monosubdemonism
Lack of Free-Will
Go Ender, Momma Would be Proud!
Scansion

Interaction
In Medias Res
Fireflies
It is Clear that....I am writing about irrelevant phrases.
Go Ender, Momma Would be Proud!
Scansion

Depth
In Medias Res
It is Clear that....I am writing about irrelevant phrases.
Poor Emotional Ender
Lack of Free-Will
Go Ender, Momma Would be Proud!
W;t, Do you Have it in You?
Scansion

Discussion
I loitered around these blogs the most, mostly so I could add or start conversation about assigned topics. :)
Maddie's Blog
Angela's Blog
Greta's Blog
Greta's Blog (2)
Stephanie's Blog

SUMMMMMMMMERRR IS HEREEEE!!!!

"VIVIAN: "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is soporific. The little bunnies in the picture are asleep! They're sleeping! Like you said, because of soporific!"
"The illustration bore out the meaning of the word, just as he had explained it. At the time, it seemed like magic." (W;t 43-Edson)

When Vivian recalls the memory of reading the cute bunny book, to me it was the first sign of her weakness and first show of emotion. She presents herself as a strong person who achieved so much and nothing can wear her down, but we all know no one is that tough their whole lives. She rememebers being a young child and recalls her father who also passed away when she was only 20. I think sentimental memories are a sign of weakness for her. After sharing her childhood memory, she goes on talking about John Donne and his "death" poems. By changing the subject to death only showed me she was trying not to break down and falter emotionally. She was trying to prove she could talk about what was happening to her without actually believing it herself.
And in the end, when we find out she was a DNR, we know she had no fear of dying and she was trying to act tough and for a brief moment, I believe she regretted her decision (weakness), but we clearly see she found the light and she was back to her fearless self.

"The reason for a shared line may be that the speakers are highly compatible, as in this exchange between Romeo and Juliet about plans for their secret wedding" (Hamilton 238).

JULIET: Romeo!
ROMEO: My Nyas?
JULIET: What o'clock tomorrow?
Shall I send thee?
ROMEO: By the hour of nine

Just by the positioning of dialogue shows and tells more than the intended meaning. Sharing lines is like finishing your significant other's sentence. Because when you can do that, it means you know each other so well, you're in love...blah blah blah. Aside from visuals and imagery, Shakespeare composed these lines to to physically show Romeo and Juliet's compatibility. This style of composition is almost like the film in movies. You've got the typical dialogue but in Billy Shakespeare's day, the positioning of the lines is similar to the picture in a movie.

"And always Ender carried with ihnm a dry white cocoon.....(Card 324).

Last line: Always gets me. So Ender found his freedom, just how I predicted. Let me take in this moment because I am never right.........
Ender's passion could not be defeated even within physical battle. He knew he was not a violent person and struggled to attain the goodness in his heart. Minus all this galactic science fiction talk, there's a moral to be learned. Don't change or let anyone else change who you are. In the end, when Ender traveled to the different places with his sister, he was giving back and repenting for all he did do wrong.
So I'm a sucker for happy endings...who isn't?
So hypothetically, when all of humanity is wrong, how do you fix it? Ender makes up for his wrong doings and from what we have read, wouldn't that be great if mankind in reality could do that? Our leaders in today's world are too egotistical to notice the difference....(oops) but if galactic Salamander fighters can resist violence over who they really are, everything would be much more peaceful....but we don't live in a fictional world...at least I don't think.

"Some people might think tha tbecause you're being a soldier, you are now a cruel and hard person who likes to hurt people like the Marines in the videos, but i know that isn't true. You are nothing like you-know-who" (Card 137).
This segment of Valentine's letter is telling Ender he is not like Peter and he is not cruel. Valentine keeps telling her brother that he is kind-hearted and compassionate. Graff and other authority figures' duties are to train Ender and the other launchies for battle. They want them to separate emotion from battle. Ender doesn't want to be cruel like Peter and he sees his brother's reflection looking back at him in the mirror. Psychologically, Ender feels like he is Peter because of his brutal battle training.

With the lack of free will, you cannot decide who you are or what you want to be. Free will is a God-given right which is non existent in Ender's life. Techically, there is no higher power in this book, but from the reader's point of view, it is extremely difficult to understand the concept. Ender is only a young boy who realizes he does not want to be in battle because he fears becoming like his older brother. Ender knows thats not who he wants to be. His sister is trying to tell him who he is and the authorities are trying to train him as something he is not or wants.

So this new word I've invented is called
monosubdemonism. Yeah, just try clicking the link....it will tell you it doesn't exist.

By simply tearing apart my new word:
mono=one
sub=under
demon=demon
-ism=belief of...

If you're a true believer of monosubdemonism, you believe in one demon, underground....aka...the devil.

"Peter walked to the bed, and sure enough, he did not lift himself up to his bed. Instead he came and stood by Ender's head. But he did not reach for a pillow to smother Ender. He did not have a weapon" (Card 15).

Right away in the novel, the reader discovers Ender's fear of his brother. You also discover that he belongs to the government and his parents were TOLD he could be born. For a 6 year old's ego, I bet he is crushed. From finding out that adults rule this child's life, telling him he can't have friends, but then he can, but no parents, it's certainly an emotional read even though it's science fiction. I feel so bad for Ender and what I have noticed is, these characters are everyday people. They have emotions, wants, and needs which is affecting how I read the story as a whole. If the characters were robots or animals lacking emotion, I wouldn't respond the way I do. I think the story is unique because of the character structure. As the reader you can relate to how Ender feels. In reality, we know Ender is not being treated like a normal person, but then again this is a science fiction novel. This book reminds me of The Giver. All the characters in The Giver are brainwashed to believe in a certain way of life, but when the main character Jonus becomes the new "Giver," he recieves the memories of the world. He experiences things like war and sunburn and yet peaceful pleasures he has never known. Just from reading 5 chapters, I'm predicting this small boy will break free from everything he has ever known. That is just the hint I am getting from all his emotional challenges.

"Simplify. Most first drafts are about 50% deadwood." (Short Research Paper).

It is clear that...
In other words...
It is interesting to note that...
Some people might say...
I think...

These simple phrases we use day to day in debates and conversation sound horrible in research papers. To me they sound like you as the writer are not sure of yourself and you must repeat certain information to get the point across. You are not the audience. Expect the audience to understand a straight-to-the-point and blunt, yet well-researched paper. With (the above phrases), people may doubt your debate or even credibility and no one wants that just because of a few phrases. Words are powerful.
If it is true about 50% of rough drafts are deadwood, so be it, that means you're on your way to a strong, research paper. So maybe you've got "Some people might say," that is always replacable the second time around. We shouldn't rely on deadwood permanently and it certainly should be burned in the final paper.

The End.

So, friday night, I happened to be playing Trivial Persuit 90's with my friend Dave. At one point in the game, I landed on the yellow space which was computers and technology and I was thinking....great my favorite subject (sarcasm). Not to mention it was a question from 1990 and I was about 2 years old at the time but hey, lets give it a shot right?
The question: "What term did internet users borrow from angling to indicate a person who goes fishing for trouble?"

Then I remembered earlier in the day, in class, Dr. Jerz was talking about people causing trouble on the internet and they call them trolls. So as my brain was churning memory, Dave was laughing and claiming I would never get the answer and he would win (he only needed one more color). So I squinted my eyes to challenge him and replied, "troll."
I wish someone else could have just seen his face.
And people say I don't pay attention in class....EVER
and random off-topic trivia IS useful

A Kiss: as defined in the Urban Dictionary

The sweetest thing a guy can do without bein an ass.
&
Acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid

Patrick Dempsey

Actor who has his second breakthrough playing doctor McDreamy in the hit series Grey's Anatomy.
ahm...and sexiest man alive!

Dr. Meredith Grey: Did you let me scrub in for this operation because I slept with you?
Dr. Derek Shepherd(Patrick Dempsey) : Yes.
pause
Dr. Derek Shepherd: Just kidding.

William Shakespeare

Hated by English students worldwide.
He is supposed to be the greatest playwright to have ever lived in spite of being in dire need of a spell check.

WARNING: Shakespeare may be safe or even beneficial when consumed in homeopathic quantities, but can cause permanent brain damage in larger doses.

Star Wars

The epic story about the dysfuctional Skywalker family.

I love urbandictionary.com

"A scanned poem is roughly analogous to a musical score: it marks the stresses and pauses and provides a guide to the rhythms, but ittakes a performance with the instrument of the human voice to bring out the variations in intonations, lengths of syllables, and emphaes that give the work full meaning" (Hamilton 205.)

So once you've got the CORRECTLY scanned poem, its time to understand the words that are emphasized and those that do not matter as much. I personally think that is much easier. Stressed syllables=more important than unstressed syllables, ultimately allowing the reader to better understand the meaning behind the poem. Then you get into the speaker's tone...etc. This kind of reminds me of symbolism. It's the hidden meaning behind an object or in this case, a poem in its entirety. So I assume, if you're going to analyze poetry and form an opinon about it, why not get all the facts and dig deeper into what the speaker really means. Then you could even debate about it with someone who would find that interesting or be equally good at debating meaning of poetry....and thats not me guys. :)

I didn’t understand things like I do now.
I was a thinker even way back then.
My mind worked more than my little mouth did.
Imagination was reality.
To me, speckled-winged birds flew in airplanes.
Eight years of life was a long time to live.
Fireflies lit up from swift shooting stars.
The moon was just a short distance away.
One summer day equaled a child’s lifetime.
Where’d it go? I guess I don’t understand

In Medias Res!!!! (Hamilton 167).

I remember this!!! I remember learning this tactic of starting in the middle of things. Obviously a literary term once pounded in my head with every English teacher I ever had. When you think about it, aren't the best stories often suspensful beggining somewhere in the middle of the story which leaves you on the edge trying to figure out not only what is going to happen but what HAS happened to get thus far? Even in most television shows nowadays, the storyline will begin in the middle. Lost, Cold Case, and other crime shows often follow this pattern of plot.
I like this idea alot. There is suspense all around. One example of a book I read Slaughterhouse Five, (terrible book, in my opinon) had random things happening out of order, partly because it was about time traveling, but also the story began in the middle of the man's life then later traveling back to his younger days where significant events occurred tying the book together.
I think it is clever.

I remember back in the day, freshman year, October 2006, when these blogging portfolios used to take me forever. I have established a system which works for even my attention deficiency. I get them done faster and actually learn much more from linking to others'. For Intro to Literary Study, at Seton Hill University, this is our second porfolio of the semester. If you're interested in my past portfolios: Here ya go, and this is another one for the lisit!

October 2006 (Writing for the Internet)
November 2006 (Writing for the Internet)
October 2007 (Newswriting)
November 2007 (Newswriting)
December 2007 (Newswriting)
December 2007 (Media Lab)
February 2008 (Intro to Literary Study)

Coverage
Trust Shakespeare, He Knows What He's Talking About
Peace on Earth? Just a Pitt Stop
Fun Fun Fun...Til Her Daddy Took the T-bird Away
Journalism Majors: Take a different path
Have an epiphany, read my blog
Rags to Riches-Good, yet with Serious Consequences
Aprehensive College Kids
Count your Blessings
Irony and No Good Country People
I always get the Last Word
.!;:?
Comma Comma Comma Comma Swoop Comma Comma Comma Comma
Semi-Comprehendable
My Little ADD Brother --> !!!!
Mystery Endings...

Timeliness
Rags to Riches-Good, yet with Serious Consequences
Aprehensive College Kids
Irony and No Good Country People
I always get the Last Word
.!;:?
My Little ADD Brother --> !!!!
Mystery Endings...

Interaction
Trust Shakespeare, He Knows What He's Talking About
Fun Fun Fun...Til Her Daddy Took the T-bird Away
Journalism Majors: Take a different path
Count your Blessings
Irony and No Good Country People
I always get the Last Word
.!;:?
My Little ADD Brother --> !!!!

Depth
Fun Fun Fun...Til Her Daddy Took the T-bird Away
Journalism Majors: Take a different path
Count your Blessings
Irony and No Good Country People
.!;:?
My Little ADD Brother --> !!!!

Discussion
On Angela's blog, I commented on O'Connors references to Catholic teachings.
On Maddie's blog, I expressed my thoughts on jobs and careers after graduation.
On Kaitlin's blog, I commented on Ehrenreich's rags to riches experience.
On Erica's blog, I responded to her thoughts which linked to my original entry about Ruby's unusual reaction in "Good Fortune Baby."
On Jesse's blog, my response about text message and aol lingo!
On Ally's blog, Jesse and I created a comment-fest after linking to his blog on her comment [Confused?]
On Chelsea's blog, I created another comment-fest with Maddie, Chelsea, and Stephanie.
On Angelica's blog, I assurred her we all avoid confusing situations.
On Juliana's blog, I told her I am hypen-happy.

"The ellipsis is the black hold of the punctuation universe..." (Truss 165).

So I used elipsis in this quote because I didn't want to finish the rest. It wasn't important to what I want to blog about. Why go on right? Exactly.
The first reason to use ellipsis, "To indicate words missing...from a quote passage."
Which I did and feel very proud of doing so.
I have to say I like ellipsis because, the other reason they are used is to trail off in an intriguing manner....
Like I always say, I like the very last line of books, stories, and novels that I read. It always has significance. I especially love the last line of a story which ends with three dots (...) It means there is something more. Either a character is still indecisive about a situation, or they have not found salvation or redemption, or concluding other possibilites. It could also be the beginning of a SEQUEL. Everyone loves those. I like to look at these small dots as a continuation and unsolved situation. They make you think about what may happen later or if there is a later. Basically it makes you think.

I used ellipsis as the very last symbol in my short story we wrote at the beginning of the semester. The last line was stating the color of the vehicle in a crash who the main character believed was her friend. The story never goes on to say if that is the car or not, but there are elipsis to leave the reader with that wonder. There is clearly more to the story than that, but to be in such mystery shows thoughts racing through one's head of what happened and what could have happened.

Mystery. :)

...

"In the family of punctuation, where the full stop is daddy and the comma is mummy, and the semicolon quietly practises the piano with crossed hands, the exclamation mark is the big attention-deficit brother who get over-excited and breaks things and laughs too loudly" (Truss 138).

When i read this, I couldn't go on, I had to blog about it. Technically this theory of personifying punctuation is correct. I mean afterall, you typically think of the dad as the stubborn, rule-abiding man, the comma is the mom, who still holds authority but in a much gentler manner, and the semi-colon who I'm sorry to say just exists and is too afraid to rebel, and then the exclamation mark is aka me as a small child...and now. I know this quote has more significance other than to make you laugh, but when you think about how punctuation can relate to a typical family or reality for that matter, it makes it all the more entertaining.
When reading closely, one can typically pick out exclamation marks and make that phrase within their head boisterous or crazy or in higher tone, just because of that little attention-deficit brother (aka exclamation mark). Wow, punctuation really makes you think about how you read sentences now that you can personify them and pretend they are like real people.

How strange, but I love it.

EXCLAMATION

Chelsea loves "her little brother" a little too much as well.