Noises

NOISES

Screech Honk Punk Clunk

Vroom Vroom Crash

Ping Pong

Bark Meow Roar and Chirp

Oowiu oowui oowiu

Peep peep

Scratch, Scrape, Sweep and Swish

Bang Crack Crunch and Bleep

Drip Drip

Plop Clap Clank and Pop

Ring Ring

TWO

Do Not Remove Label

Do not remove label

Do not freeze. Do not reheat. Do not place bellow 7* C. Do not expose to extreme heat.

Do not stack. Do not store in humid place. Do not refrigerate. Do not microwave. Do not store in humid area.

Do not swallow. Do not leave children unattended with product. Do not consume under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Do not inflate in enclosed areas. Do not record. Do not duplicate. Do not rebottle. Do not exceed 40 mph. Do not overtake truck.

Do not cross. Do not enter. Do not step. Do not sit. Do not open. Do not operate heavy machinery. Do not consume while pregnant.

Do not use if pregnant or suspect you are pregnant or are breast-feeding. Do not place in contact with skin. Do not dry clean. Do not bleach.

Do not dye. Do not disturb. Do not try this at home. Do not reply. Do not lift. Do not run. Do not sign in black ink. Do not touch. Do not climb. Do not litter.

Do not smoke. Do not feed alpacas. Do not feed the wildlife. Do not block driveway. Do not drink this water. Do not scream. Do not throw rocks. Do not operate without help.

TWO

Ozymandias Modification

Oh

I mourn a time for all around love


Why sing: Try violins at times low of sound

Shadows in the dark. Night time, of the silence,

Hum softly, amid silk vines l, wish forgiveness


A wish, among simple order comes colorfull


Try truth in spirit with to pray ranting

With your soft, soft outer touch lighting tenderness,


This has the mattress that any theatre has to find.

Adopt our tone please to wake alex:

"My new instrument Order, k o k:


Love our mom with, your Mind, add diligence!"


Never buy rubber. Retarded teams do


Once the cow wakes, bring a bat


This long and lazy story satisfies future arguments.

Flaaaaaaarf!

Poetry Daily

I walk into a room

I say

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

They send me to eat in the kitchen

They'll see how beautiful I am

Then they swarm around me,

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black,

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

I hear the bright bee hum

Ever serene and fair,

And all this is folly to the world

A Soothing Enigma

While listening to Tony Morrison’s a lot of ideas came to mind. The first thing was the importance of context. Morrison tells the viewers that in order to write her book she had to study about the time period. By study I thought she meant get to know the historical context, I was clearly wrong. She states that she sat down with botanists in order to find out how tall the trees were. Her dedication impacted me. Writing a good book is so much more than the idea, it is the notion of the essence, feeling what the smells were like, the air, the noise, the view, and so many more factors that make a book unique.

The second aspect that caught my attention was race. The entire interview was based on the discrimination and exclusion of certain groups. Not only does Morrison mention black segregation but white rejection. Rose focuses on the different types of racial movements that take place in the US. The election of Obama, which had happened a few days ago, marked a pivotal moment for Rose. When the issue of whether or not his election marked a point in the movement against segregation, Morrison did not feel strongly about it. She was not enthusiastic, much like the tone in her books. If you take a look at the video in minute 24:50 you will notice how Rose is surprised at her lack of expression.

In order to conclude I must mention Morrison’s comment about readers and their perceptions. She mentions that a reader should not look at other forms of the characters he will or has read because it will change his own opinion. Each character is different for each person and it should remain they way. Maybe that is why she gave the characters in her book such strange names, names that every reader must decipher.

A Cultural Calling

With names in the back of my head I continued my journey into The Song Of Solomon. The story developed into the story of Milkman, a character that has a lot to do with his name. If I were called Milkman because my mother breast-fed me past the appropriate age I would probably try to loose the nickname. Not only does this strange fellow accept his name it does not bother him. When you go a little deeper and look at his last name, Dead, you realize that there is definitely something very special about the way Morrison portrays her characters. At a given point Milkman travels to his aunts house. Seen as the family bookkeeper Milkman’s aunt begins to tell him the story about the Dead family. At a slight sardonic tone leads the main character to become defensive: “as though having the name was a matter of deep personal pride, as though she had tried to expel him from a very special group, in which he not only belonged, but had exclusive rights” (Morrison, 38-39). He is proud about his name and will fight anyone who sais otherwise. Although this surprised me at first I soon realized that it was to be expected from someone who wants to feel as if he were a part of something.

Furthermore, Milkman’s obsession with the past begins to grow incessantly. After questing his aunt he asks his father for his recollection of the past. His eagerness to find the meaning behind the Dead name has made him forget the present. After finding out as a reader that the reason why the name Dead was born was because someone had misspelled it, I reached my own conclusion. Most characters had a ridiculous name that tried to forget the past. In the special Dead case “Mama liked it. Liked the name. Said it was new and would wipe out the past. Wipe it all out” (Morrison, 54). When I tried to make out a reason for waning to forget your name I embarked on slavery. The Song Of Solomon deals with a black family’s struggle to become a white family. It was a painful process that leads to the birth of a different and new culture.

What Is Your Special Name?

As I ventured into the Song of Solomon during a rainy Bogotá afternoon, I was on the look out for first impressions. I have recently noticed that my reading has become somewhat, blog oriented. If I have to write about my first impression I begin to think of what my first impression is while I am experiencing it. This has proven to be counterproductive. It would be ideal if I could simply read and then reflect upon what caught my attention. In my attempt to do this I fall back unto the characters. In my Pre-AP Spanish class we are reading Ensayo Sobre La Ceguera. Although this book is very different from the Song Of Solomon it shares a very important trait. Both texts give the characters names and call signs a special importance, an air of description.

Since the beginning, the reader begins to notice that Morrison does not want to use traditional names. It appears as if they were to dull and can’t represent the true meaning of a name. The first character to be introduced, “North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent”, is the first hint at what is to come. As the story develops so do the characters. The informal register helps the reader immerse himself in the comedy-based descriptions: “Yeah. He talk. Say something. Guitar shoved an elbow at Milkman without taking his eyes off Pilate” (37). Notice how the author included three different names that serve as descriptions of each person’s profession. There is no simple way to call a character and the way Morrison choose to present her story is definitely creative.

A Learning Experience

As I reflect upon the ending of The Heart of Darkness I realized how pertinent it is to the traveling theme. Marlow embarks on an expedition to colonize but ends up in a journey to find himself. He is constantly in a border between insanity and discovery that drives him to find the unknown. This motivation is juxtaposed with the danger that Africa seemed to be for Europeans. They too, wanted to explore and go beyond the normal routine. This need to travel finds its roots in curiosity. As I read about the Europeans in King Leopold’s Ghost I found that they were very similar. A quest for knowledge plagued the Europeans and led them towards Africa. The continent serves as a portal to nature and leads to an uncivilized world.

Marlow explores the Congo in search for Kurtz, and in this journey experiences the power of the wild: “But when one is young one must see things, gather experience, ideas; enlarge the mind” (128) We can clearly see that Conrad is telling the reader to explore. Like Marlow a reader can be young and inexperienced, he has to look for new ways to learn and explore. For the Europeans in King Leopold’s Ghost Africa was the place were they could learn and explore.

Social Justice VS. Moral Justice

As I journey deeper into The Heart Of Darkness I find myself immersed in nature. Marlow is experiencing the wild that I imagine, and have heard, Africa is home to. Not only does he live in a completely different time period but he had never seen what Africa was like. Unlike our modern civilization Marlow could not turn on the TV and do some pre-trip studying. When I try to look for the message behind the nature I find that Conrad is probably referring to the people. Not only is the terrain savage but so are the natives: "She was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous and stately in her deliberate progress. And the hush that had fallen suddenly upon the whole sorrowful land, the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul" (113). The woman Marlow describes is clearly wild. It is as if Conrad was able to grab nature and compress it into one person. These descriptions as well as a variety of messages have intrigued me.

Marlow’s condescension has also caught my attention. Although it is not his fault, he can’t help but feel as if his race was separate and superior to all others. This is all very normal, especially for the time period, but what is not normal is his good will. The reader can see that the main character is an adventurous man that always keeps the high ground. We can see a specific example when he offered a biscuit to the starving workers. These contrasts have made me think about Conrad himself.

Literal Shell

After reading the first few chapter of The Heart Of Darkness, I was enlightened. Although my first approach was not as literal as you might think, it was still too shallow to really realize what the book was about. I would see myself reading along as if it were a storybook, catching a few glimpses of what was behind the literal shell. The next day I left the classroom feeling renewed. I had not noticed most of the symbolism in the book. It seemed extremely obvious once I knew what to look for and I felt very stupid. I decided that the best choice would be to re-read the book with a different pair of eyes.

The most obvious detail was the use of Darkness. I had not thought of it as a race but when the characters refer to Darkness it has a double connotation: “a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness” (71). The reader can see how Marlow is using darkness to describe the African continent. This darkness comes, not only from his maps, but from the people that live in Africa. Conrad wants to make it clear that racism and judgment was present at the time. I will continue to look for more details that will give me a hint towards the deeper meaning of the book.

A Dark Brightness

As I began reading this special novel I noticed that Conrad likes to use a specific style. His character descriptions are all very similar and use the same format. The first description the reader encounters is that of the director: “The Director of Companies was our captain and our host. We four affectionately watched his back as he stood in the bows looking to seaward” (Conrad, 2). One would expect this character to be the epicenter of the story to come. To my surprise, he is not. After a few pages he is transitioned out smoothly. The narrator, who was traveling with the director, then introduces “The Lawyer – the best of old fellows – had, because of his many years and many virtues, the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the rug” (Conrad, 2). I found a pattern in which the characters profession, social rank, and what they are doing currently.

I was also interested in the way race, slavery and social rank is portrayed. Slavery is present and the narrator experiences very different social conditions. After reading The Cherry Orchard I might be especially sensitive to social differences but it seemed like a theme that was going to be discussed later on. The first few pages I have seemed interesting and different, which is always nice. Darkness is obviously present and is helpful when trying to see how bright ones life is.

The Twilight Zone

The end of the play was unexpected and dull. I expect anagnorisis and catharsis to be much more defined. It might be that I am not trained at recognizing the use of these techniques but I could barely make them out. The whole play started to build the viewers expectations but never climaxed. It grew gradually and suddenly stopped. Maybe it is a way to go even further into the monotony of life. At the end of the day nothing interesting really happens. It has, in a way, reminded me of the Twilight zone. The little I know about this different dimension is what I have been exposed to through Disney movies. Apart from Pishchik's new found riches, and a few other dull events nothing much happens. It might be my lack of understanding that leads me to believe that the end of The Cherry Orchard could have been better.

Extreme Makeover: Facebook Edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROg82eSiFSw&playnext=1&list=PL174A820103D304E4

Ironic Tragic Different Comedy

Upon reaching the end of the Cherry Orchard I felt as if I wanted to touch upon the subject of the title it has been given. A tragic comedy, in my opinion, is something much more Shakespearian. Maybe it is my lack of experience with plays other than those from the famous Englishman, but I have classified this different tale into a different section. The first thing I did was re-live all the emotions it brought forth. Surprisingly, the most common was laughter. This made it clear that it was a comedy. My next step was to figure out if it was a tragic comedy, a normal comedy, or a weird comedy. Irony was also fundamental in the development of the plot: “Some misfortune happens to me every day. But I don't complain; I'm used to it, and I can smile” (Chekhov 1). Because the characters are all lost in their own little worlds, I have come to the conclusion that The Cherry Orchard is, among other things, an ironic tragic different comedy. I have added the different because it is, in no way, like any other play I have ever read.

Because the characters are all the epitome of monotony, and the ending can be considered normal. By normal I mean that it was not a tragedy. The play mocked human nature. It reminded me of a video I saw recently that also mocked how average people’s lives really are.

Inevitable Hardship

After reading Act II of The Cherry Orchard, my opinion towards satire has changed. Not only do I consider it a lot more serious than what I thought it was, but I also seem to think of it as a way to pass judgment on the reader. Chekhov is a specific satirist that I find criticizes the reader. After reading A Modest Proposal by Swift and the two acts of the play I experienced a “paradigm shift”. Both authors are hard on the reader and mock him explicitly: "there was probably nothing funny about it. Instead of going to see plays you ought to look at yourselves a little more often. How drab your lives are, how full of futile talk" (343). Although Chekhov is not referring to the reader directly, like Swift, the message is clear. He is telling the reader, who is viewing a play, to go take a look at himself. Out of the two options, what seems more likely is that the look implies a problem. One does not take a step back and look at the situation unless something is wrong. What these authors have tried to do is take a step back and look at society as a whole. They did not like what they found.

This weekend, I was watching a movie with my grandmother called The Good Shepherd. The reason why I mention it is because in a scene the characters act out a part of The Cherry Orchard. Although the scene is surprisingly short I was able to recognize the characters and the unique plot. It has proven to me that reading has made me a better viewer without me knowing it.

A Russian Inequality

The first thing that came to mind when I started reading The Cherry Orchard was Russia. I immediately gathered all of my memories that had anything to do with Russia. This list included movies, music, and art. Once I had a setting for the story I started reading with specific mindset. To my surprise, it was not what I expected. The characters seemed somewhat American and so did the social conditions. Being a communist country I could deduce that the play would give its audience some sot of feel for what it was like. It did. Social aspects are very important and the differences between characters are mostly economical: “There used t be only the gentlefolk’s and the peasants in the country, but now there are these summer visitors.” (Chekhov, 73) After reading this sentence my ideas about communist Russia were confirmed. The play would address the topic and tell the reader what the transition was like.

The other main aspect that came to my mind was the translation. The translator has inevitably touched all their creations. Little parts of his experiences are buried within the text. Not knowing whether this is a good translation or not I have to hope it will do the job. Every language is different and I can think of a lot of expressions in Spanish that do not exist in English. It is a fine line that the translator has to decipher. Hopefully he gets it right.

The Cherry

Unintentional Inspiration

When it comes down to deciding how much words and speech matter you have to rely on the situation. In A Scholar Finds Huck Finn's Voice in Twain's Writing About a Black Youth, the author narrates how Twain could have met a boy that inspired him to write Huckleberry Finn: “in an almost forgotten article in The New York Times in 1874 as "the most artless, sociable and exhaustless talker I ever came across"” (Anthony DePalma). Although this boy might have given him part of the idea I find it unlikely that this encounter is the reason he wrote the book. The situation might have had its part and Twain, who already had a vague idea, concluded that he should write the novel. This leads me to the conclusion that all artists are inevitably inspired by their surroundings and the mood in which they are in transforms an idea into a work of art.

Idiots: So Easy

After reading Blackface Minstrelsy I reinforced my position that MT did not make a mistake when using the word nigger in his books. It was used during the time when the books took place and should not be removed. The author shares a Twain’s opinion on Minstrel shows and we can clearly see that his era was one of discrimination: 1906 Twain “said, using a word that would have bothered almost no white Americans at the time but which now makes us wince, that "the genuine nigger show, the extravagant nigger show" was "the show which to me had no peer" and "a thoroughly delightful thing"” (Blackface Minstrelsy). We should not try to hide the past but use as an example for the present. I know it is a cliché but, in this case, it applies.

Because we do not know why twain wrote in such a funny or offensive way, depending on how you look at it, I prefer to think that is was part of his plan to make the book humorous. The conversation between Huck and Jim are, on several occasions, funny. It is much nicer to look at the book with a lighter air and enjoy it for what it is.

History’s Throne

Every book is remembered for the small details that impacted the reader, at least this is my case. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is able to capture a time period and show the reader how people used to speak and act. Huck is very different from Jim, and even though he is a little boy he thought of Jim’s race as inferior. At a specific point he said that he was surprisingly smart for a nigger. Part of what makes this book unique is its language, and changing it will only hurt literature.

Benedicte Page, the author of New Huckleberry Finn edition censors 'n-word' exposes several points of view on the issue of a new version that omits the words “nigger” and “injun”. I agree with Dr. Churchwell’s point of view on the subject, which states: “These changes mean the book ceases to show the moral development of his character. They have no merit and are misleading to readers. The whole point of literature is to expose us to different ideas and different eras, and they won't always be nice and benign” (Dr. Sarah Churchwell) Literature will have to change over time but I do not believe that change should apply to our history. What is already written should stay the same and new versions will have to compete with the original version. I sincerely hope history is able to defend its throne.