Translations

I really loved the play, Translations. I thought that it was going to be much less interesting that it actually was. When I finished reading it I was very disappointed with the fact that it didn't have an ending. The ending was not finished. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Yolland and Maire. Although the play is very good, I felt as though it was almost too easy of a read. There was a certain high school feel to the play. I felt like it was a bit below a college reading level. In order to prove my point I wanted to put up a youtube video of a group of high schoolers setting up the play. I started watching it and realized that it was too easy for a college student. Then it dawned on me that I really liked this play and that as a college student it shouldn't be that easy to find a college book fun to read.
Anyway, enjoy the video. I know that I did. It's interesting seeing somebody play the characters though. It actually makes the characters that you picutre in your head disappear, but I believe that it is good to see the movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nak3db9_NJY

Nature in Power

Nature is a big part of the novel. As I finished the novel I really found that I enjoyed all the of the nature that was in it. As spring is coming it really helped me get through my cabin fever of winter in South Bend, IN and I felt ready to get into spring, and of course, graduation.
The use of nature in Power is very profound. It is found throughout the novel. In the beginning it is used in a general way by Omishto and how much she loves the outdoors, but then it quickly shifts to an eventual way of life when she goes to live with the elders at the end of the novel. I thought the transition was fairly smooth after the incident with the panther and the court room and the additional events that led to her decision to live in the Taiga way. I appreciated her courage to leave behind all the things that she was accustomed to and live in the old ways.

Power in Power

When discussing what type of power is found in the novel Power it really helps pull the book together because we can see that the whole book is connected in an essential element.
One of the topics that I felt was important was the story about the Taiga Panther woman. The picture to the right was actually painted by an artist that is from Mumbai. It is unclear whether he painted this with the knowledge of the background story, but nonetheless I found it interesting.
The panther woman had a large power in the world. It was her responsibility to keep the world in balance. Specifically, her role expressed in Power by Ama was to "sing the sun up each morning" (110). This seems to be an important task. The sun would not come up without her. Ama claims that the world has become disheveled because the panther woman left this world to bring order to another world that was in chaos. I enjoyed this story because it was a good representation of what this novel is really about. It is about a belief in a story that Omishto has never hear of. It is unclear if she really believes in these stories, but it is clear that she believes in Ama. This is another kind of power that Ama has. She is a knowledgeable woman about the Taiga way and that gives her power. She holds on to the traditions and she gives them the power in the modern times that they had back in the old times. This is also an example of power.
Basically, the point is that there is power in this novel. It is literally riddled with it.

Lucy Follow Up

I just wanted to quickly follow up with Lucy. The book cover of Lucy is seriously depressing. I thought that the paintings by the man who abandons his family and ran away to some remote island to paint people...poorly was a seriously big mistake. Does anyone else think that he should have kept his day job? I guess when it is your passion that you have to follow it, but I definitely was not impressed by his work.
Lucy has to be the most depressing book that I have ever read. And I read The Life of a Cell. Now, that was an exciting book compared to this one. I found her provocation slightly appalling. These are of course my opinions on the novel, but I really felt that as we are coming to the close of the semester that this was definitely not the "spirit lifter" that the class needed. Or maybe, that I needed. Just look at her face and it almost makes you want to cry. She is definitely not a cheery girl who loves being a young adult.

The Tranquility of Nature

When I began reading Power the first thing I noticed was the attentive detail to nature. I began to imagine the surroundings as they were described. Obviously nature is beautiful even though some people might disagree, but how many times in a day do YOU stop and anjoy nature? Once? Twice? None? I really had to think about it. I stop to enjoy nature at least once every day. Mostly I do this on my daily walks. Some call it exercise, but I call it relaxation. Ok, I'll admit that there is not room EVERYDAY for a walk, but I at least attempt one everyday. Sometimes when the wind rushes through the campus (which it does all the time) you see the grass blow and you just realize how beautiful the waves of grass really are. I myself am an ocean person. I could sit and watch the ocean for days and never get tired of it. The video that I've posted is a very good one. Make this video your calming video of the day with nature. Nature is a beautiful thing. It's all around us. Even though we see it everyday we look right past it. Take a moment to breathe and make an effort to relax for the duration of this short clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPc8b3UvNwU

Lucy

When beginning Lucy I felt that it was a depressing book and actually couldn't relate to the novel until later when I started to realize that the book was not really depressing. It was just Lucy's way of expressing herself using emotions that are often seen as dark and ominous.
After talking in class I realized what time period that Lucy was writing in. This was the most important period in her life where changes were occurring. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew that the things in her life were not going the way that she had hoped. She hated the Islands and her time there, but it is unclear whether it was the people or the weather or both.
Throughout the novel we see a young girl of 14 grow up to become an adult. Her adventures into womanhood are paramount because they give a version of what a young girl would go through at her age. Although this is not a template for every teenager, it may be a guide for others.

Metaphors of Writing

Everyone has their own version of what writing is. I recently heard about a certain metaphor that really should be shared with everyone.
Writing is like dancing.
She said to me, "Writing is like dancing because you take a few minutes to get warmed up, but when you do get warmed up the words just come flying out and you just float across the page like it were a dance floor" (Shanna Goffinet).
I had never thought about this before, but she has a fantastic point. She used an active metaphor to describe the writing style. Instead of a natural occurance like a river which I used earlier, she actually used a style that is not constant. It stops when the feet are tired, or in this case, when the hands are tired.

Shakespeare is everywhere

The movie "O" is very interesting. I like how it plays on Othello in a modern way. When we started it I was thinking of the new version of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo Dicaprio. I liked the modern twist of Romeo and Juliet by using guns instead of swords, but in that version they kept the Shakespeare words.
"O" is very different in that it does not keep the old Shakespeare words and in fact changes some things around just to create a more dramatic story. Although, like Shakespeare needed help with creating drama? I don't think so.
There are many new movies that have remnants of Shakespeare in them. I think that's why people love them is because even though some may not enjoy reading him or trying to pick up on every double edge word he writes they actually enjoy the drama of the story. If you try to pinpoint other works where there are other details of Shakespeare you can see that there are many places where he comes up. One of my personal favorites where I immediately thought of Romeo and Juliet was with Taylor Swift's new music video, "Love Story". It definitely has that Shakespeare feel to it.
I included a picture of that captures the basic feeling of the video. She has an old dress on and in the background is a painting that has a medieval look to it with a peasant holding a lamb. This was just the first thing that popped into my head when we talked about Shakespeare in every day life.

Othello

Watching the little blurp from Othello was very interesting. It is always difficult to read Shakespeare when you have to read it by each word tediously. Even something simple such as the word "and" can have a significant meaning for Shakespeare. I really enjoyed seeing it though. It brought the reading into perspective. I liked being able to see what the reading was actually interpreting. I know that I have trouble sometimes because I try to rush through it and then while reading I forget who said what and then I get lost in the reading. It was nice to see a part of the film to get a perspective and possibly get an idea of the mood of the scene. It was very helpful.
Follow up: Watching the movie brought some of the scenes into perspective because although they may have not seemed significant at the time, with the setting change into modern times it creates a more familiar atmosphere. When I can relate to the scene, I can make a connection and I can see how it shaped the play. By pulling the movie in a way that makes it more modern it is easier to relate to and see the big picture about the play.

A Necessity

A necessity is something that everyone needs. Something that is absolutely essential to life. When you break it down to the bare minimum you consider air, food, shelter, and maybe a few other things. Now, I'm not talking about a cell phone or a computer. I'm not even talking about toilet paper. I'm talking about the bare essentials.
Can you think of something other than the bare essentials that every human being needs besides air, food and shelter? That pretty much covers it, right? Shelter protects your body from the elements which is essential at keeping the body's physiology functioning. With food your body can do acquire all the nutrients that your body cannot make itself. Air keeps oxygen in our blood to provide energy for all the basic functions of the body.
Can you think of anything else?
I can think of something. It's sleep. Sleep is something that every person needs. It's like that cold drink of iced tea on a very hot day. It is a recharge for your batteries so that you are ready to take the bull by the horns the next day.
Imagine never sleeping again. It wouldn't work. Your body would eventually shut down. What is this periodic state of unconsciousness that we require? Why is it so essential to our lives, but we never think of it? Why are we diurnal instead of nocturnal?
All the answers to these questions are quite simple really.
Just like air, food and shelter is an essential part of our lives, so is sleep. It's one of those necessities that are essential to live.
As a side note...this link is actually a video that is displayed as art in the National Gallery in London England. David Beckham was filmed taking a nap and that is his commemoration to the National Gallery. As I was standing in front of this in London, I actually was able to appreciate it as art. I am now sharing it with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0UEuuYuNDo

Light at the end of the tunnel...

So, basically this is a very busy time right now. I have been completely swamped with stuff to do. I am just finishing up my comp and it is killing me. No, not in a romantic "killing me softly" way, but rather "I am going to jab you in the gut with a knife until you are dead" sort of way. Yes, I admit that some things have been put on hold, including readings, but unfortunately it is necessary.
I present my comp on February 14th. What would normally be a good day to spend with a special someone is now marked in my planner as "D-Day". I see the light at the end of the tunnel and the light is a spotlight that is shining on me, and I am the pawn that must dance and joke in front of the audience and get them to like me and my research, and therefore pass my comp so that I may graduate. Honestly, the presentation is what is scaring me most. I can sing in front of thousands of people, but I can't speak in front of them. If there were only some way in which I could sing my presentation to the entire junior and senior class, plus the faculty; then I would be set. Unfortunately, I won't be able to mess this presentation up. It is incredibly important that I do well. Obivously, it is important that I do well because this is one of the dtermining factors if I graduate or not. You see, it's not all the grades and credits, it is also this project that has literally made up my blood, sweat and tears for the past 2 years.
Fortunately, it is almost over. Only 9 days left until the big moment. Well, it actually has to be 12-15 minutes.

Woolf - A Room of One's Own

When I began reading this novel I was expecting the narrator, who we assume her name is Mary, to tell me the relationship between women and fiction. I soon found out that the novel would be mostly about her adventures in trying to find out the relationship between women and fiction. With her daring mind forced to read the words of the man's idea of what a woman is and what she is made of was as much an adventure as trying to find someone in the game of hide-and-go-seek. She became angry with a writer who she deemed Professor X. She made him an ugly man who was very sour and angry. I believe this was her way of expressing how she really feels.
As she moves forward in the novel Mary takes us everywhere she goes. When I was reading this I kept trying to relate this back to our topic, women and fiction, and I became somewhat distracted as I believe Mary was also distracted by her surroundings. As Mary was trying to lookk at everything with this question in mind, I too began to wonder what the progression of the novel would mean to resolve this lingering problem of this obscure relationship beetween women and fiction. Will she ever figure this out?

Writing is like a river...

Imagine a river. There are parts of the river where it is better defined as a stream. There are other parts of the river that are wide and deep. Some parts are slow moving and others are fast and have rapids.
Each paragraph is like a wide deep part of the river. The first and last paragraph are like the narrower parts of the river where rapids crash on the rocks and churn.
So, the paper begins rough and bumpy and then the body of the paper is wide and deep, finally the last paragraph is again narrow and focused and intense.
A paper is like a river.