Blogging Around

Alli wrote about blogging this year in a Metacognition blog. She focused on the overall experience of the blogging and specifically the Blogging Around prompt.

Hey Alli. I really liked your take on blogging this year. You gave a really great overview of (I think) everyone's feelings at the beginning of the year. I agree that blogging helped us develop our writing skills but still kept it open to interpretation. I also like the prompt blogging around for the same reasons as you do. It reminded me how many smart people there really are in Academy, and that even those that usually don't talk have many ideas. I found it really interesting that even in the blogs where we were all writing about the same thing, each blog came out differently. It was amazing to see the different ways people think about the same things. You've also inspired me to go back and look at my past blogs, which I have yet to do, so thanks so much!

Emily wrote about her suggestions for blogging in her Metacognition blog. She also talked about her whole impression of the whole blogging experience.

Hey Emily. I really liked all of your ideas. I also agree that some of the really good blogging prompts weren't used, and that more freedom in blogging would be beneficial to the thinking process. I also agree that even though we do not necessarily like the blogging prompts they are beneficial to our thinking. Thank-you for reminding me that blogs gave an open stage to continue conversations had in class, because that is a very important facet of the experience. I also agree with you on the subject of grading, and how it facilitated a free environment. Nice job!

Metacognition: Blogging

All this year, blogging has been a good way to develop thoughts. It helped me think about important things, and made me develop random passing thoughts into something I could actually use. My thinking was not always the best while writing the blogs, but it was genuine, and free. It was relaxing to sit down and write about something that was open ended, but with enough structure so that I could know something to write about within five minutes of sitting down at my computer. I think that some of the prompts should be changed or discarded, and some added. The Best of Week blog should be used sparingly. Captured Thought, Connection, 360 degrees, iMedia, It Matters, should be used more. I had trouble with the Change of Mind blog (and did not enjoy writing them) because I had to change my mind about something, and if your mind had not been changed about things from the recent things than you had nothing to write about. Dialectics should also be explained better. Overall I think the blogging was a good opportunity for everyone to practice their writing and expand their thinking.

Best of Week: Perspective

During the week, in class, we talked about the importance of part 2, and the perspective of the doctor. He observed Micheal K and took note of things that made Micheal a more rounded character. We got to see Micheal better when looking through the eyes of someone else than when following him around in 3rd person. On page 151, the doctor imagines what he would say to Micheal. I am the only one who can save you. I am the only one who sees you for the original soul you are. I am the only one who cares for you. I alone see you as neither a soft case for a hard camp but a human soul above and beneath classification, a soul blessedly untouched by doctrine, untouched by history, a soul stirring its wings within that stiff sarcophagus, murmuring behind that clownish mask. You are precious. Coetzee shows his mastery of irony for in the end, Micheal (or Micheals) is the savor, the doctor's messiah. The doctor cares for Micheal is body, but he cannot heal him in spirit, because to Micheal, there was never anything to heal. His body may shrink to just fragile brittle bones and sinewy muscles but his soul stays constant. Only through the doctors eyes can you see this, he is the only one who sees Micheal's originality. In the end the doctor is left begging for an clue, an idea, from Micheal. He wants to know the answer, although he really had no question, just an obsession. He needs it be acknowledged, for him seeing Micheal as he truly was, was meaningful, to himself (and unbeknownst to him, to us). He felt that, but he had become so dependent on Micheal that he could not know for sure. Micheal had hardly said a word to him, but through his actions, his purity, he changed this one life. One can live with that.

What if people lost the ability to Love?

What if people lost the ability to love? What would our world be like? I am sure that today a great amount of suffering is caused by love, but there is also a great amount of happiness. On the surface, one might think that erasing love would just make it more neutral, but considering this complicated connected world, I don't think it would end up a level playing field. Without love would other things connected to it disappear? Things like family, compassion, romance, tears, appreciation. Almost every book, poem, or movie considered great now would be wasted on this new generation of cold-hearted machines. Every society on earth would fall apart, change, to be replaced with a new way of life. Religion would be completely scraped, or at least geared more towards personal gain. Without love, there is no need for compassion for others or piety or friendship unless it is to benefit yourself. Love creates connections, without it people would have no relationships based on anything other than personal gain. In the end, people who possessed the hardest exterior, who had the least amount of love in them in the first place would rise to the top. When no one can love, those that can do it with the most profit, who are the greediest, can rule this new world. There would undoubtedly be those that remembered love, that wanted it again, but how could they get something so precious back? People would no longer suffer because of love, but a greater amount would suffer from war, from famine, from greed. Although thinking about this is admittedly pessimistic, I think its valid (or at least interesting). If something inside the human brain or the human machine enables us to love, couldn't that part brake? Couldn't it disappear? In order to calculate the importance of something possessed, we must also acknowledge the things (good or bad) we would endure if it were lost.

Metacognition: Short Story - The Nothing Fellow (Short Story)

Since I could create little books with paper and crayons I have been experimenting with stories and the ways they come together. When writing a story longer than a page, no matter how planned the story become, there are still unexpected aspects... usually important ones. When I finished the Nothing Fellow, I was surprised (as always) at the differences wrought by my pen (or keyboard). The things not planned made the story better (I think). While I was writing my thoughts were not linear, I composed paragraphs for the end while I was writing the beginning, thoughts came about different parts while I was in the shower or sitting in class. When sitting down to write, I was all over the place. I am not sure if it was a good or bad thing, but it eventually all came together. It probably would have been easier to write the whole thing in a linear fashion, but that is not how my brain works, and I have to come to accept that. Writing is easiest when I am tired or distracted by a few other things, and now I think I know why. When I am writing, and am dedicating my brain fully to the task there are too many thoughts and tangents that fight for space, and its hard to keep up. If I am tired the action is slower and easier to follow, if I am distracted, there is just enough space left to let me work in peace. Its strange that I need to do these things to calm my thoughts, but I have found it works, and is necessary for my sanity. Too many thoughts on the same subject can be very painful. In the end, I hope I turned out a good story, and learned to manage any skills I may possess a little bit better. I hope to at least avoid future headaches.

Metacognition: Jane Eyre Assignment

During the past week Dylan and I had been writing and thinking about the Jane Eyre assignment almost every day. Working with a like-minded person on a thought-driven project is very enjoyable because you can build off each others ideas. Going into the project I was worried that making a dialogue would be difficult keeping all the other requirements in mind. I was surprised when we started writing that it was relatively easy. The conversation flowed, the ideas came quickly, and we even created characters (or applied their existing personality). The thoughts were very linear, one built off the previous ones. At the end there was very little to add because everything had fallen together during the process of writing it, straight through. It was a very effective use of time. Working through the whole thing only took a couple hours, and it was not a boring use of time because Dylan and I had an interesting discussion. Mostly we agreed, and I think we were both surprised at how easy the writing was. It was fun to try to make each character have a different voice, or a different role in the conversation, and to keep their separate beliefs in mind throughout the whole discussion. When we reached the end, there was still so much we felt we could continue with, which I think is a hallmark of an effective discussion. Our thoughts worked well together separately and working in tandem, no thinking strategies need to be devised... we used the most effective way of thinking for both of us.

iMedia: Said the Raindrop to the Seed

Said the Raindrop to the Seed is a little known love song about a drop of rain and a little seed. It is one of the best love songs I have ever heard. Its simple, its beautiful, and interesting. The metaphor is new, and amazing in its execution. Its the full story too, its not just a moment of love, its all of it. Its from life to death. It says that even though love is not historical by itself, or that they may not be remembered or even matter to anyone else, they matter to each other. It reminds me of the beginning of Love Actually (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMScPVO4rLw), it is not Romeo and Juliet or Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, but one love, whether quiet or newsworthy, is no more important than any other. The metaphor of the raindrop and the seed is also very good because they are a team. Without each other neither of them can make a flower, something beautiful. Without the other, they would be a lonely ugly nothing, but together they make an amazing thing. In the end, the raindrop asks the seed to be always there for her because she can't stand not being with him, even in death. The song is so truthful, and plain (but in a good way). I think anyone who listens to this caught by it, its a relaxing universal song. A simple masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AW-LgDx_Qk&feature=related

Lyrics:
You and me,
Said the raindrop to the seed
We'll make a winning team won't we?
Cause when I fall down
You'll become a pretty flower
And I'll be finally free
From the shackles of this cloud

And the sun will shine
And we'll make the most of life
Come, we haven't got much time
'Cause all living things must die
But I will nurture you
'Til your petals turn to white
And you will hold me close
Until the last drop of me dries"

'Cause you and me
We have each other
And that's all we need
The place I'll call my home
Is anywhere that you will be
You and me
May never make a mark on the shape of history
But I'm glad you came to make your mark on me

So darling when I lie down
I hope you'll be around
To lay your roses down over me
'Cause I'd never keep
To watch you fall asleep
I wouldn't last the day
Without you standing next to me

Through a satellite lens
We are just a tiny speck
Oh, of little consequence
In the greater scheme of things
But from down here
In our private little sphere
The colors are in focus
And the picture's crystal clear

'Cause you and me
We've got each other
And that's all we need
The place I'll call my home
Is anywhere that you will be
You and me
May never make a mark on the shape of history
But I'm glad you came to make your mark on me

I'm glad you came to make your mark on me.

Dialectics: Education and Freedom

Education and Freedom seem to be at first two completely opposing ideas. Modern education, at times, seems to do nothing but suppress freedom, and freedom can only be obtained in small doses between school and homework (and the occasional liberated class). In theory, freedom comes in that bright future which I have heard so much about... a distant promise. They are in a constant struggle, reality and hopefulness, practicality and dreams. In some ways though, they can aid in the fruition of each other. Education can lead to intellectual freedom presently. With knowledge comes intelligent thought, and that is a form of freedom... freedom to think in the best way that we can. Freedom to have opinions and different thoughts comes partially from education. When the time of liberty comes in a place where freedom is scare, education prospers as well. When freedom is suppressed, education is censored and suppressed. They walk hand in hand at those times, and if one is pulled one way, the other must follow shortly. Education now, can also lead to a better life later, a greater freedom of choice and happiness later. Although we may be unhappy in our fictitious cages now, prospering in them leads to a larger pasture later.

Blogging Around

First I read Stephanie's What If? post about what would happen if there was a newly discovered continent today with people that were different (similar to Heart of Darkness). The idea intrigued me and made me think.

Stephanie:
Thank you so much for bringing this up, I completely agree. Even though we view ourselves as highly advanced, and despite the fact that we hope that our society has learned from its mistakes, we must remember that time and time again those assumptions have proven false. If those purple people did turn out to be sitting on an oil reserve I would be surprised if the U.S., China, Germany, Great Britain, Japan (or anyone else in the global gang) did not exploit them. It would be imperialism all over again, and we thought we had moved past that. Although there is more education and knowledge flow than ever before in this day and age, we cannot say with certainty that there would be acceptance of an unknown civilization. Humans are by nature afraid of the unknown, and when humans are afraid they tend to do stupid things (that they apologize for 20-30 years after the fact). Anyway, I also agree that people tend to forget that other people have feelings these days. In a fast paced society where less and less is being done face to face, it is understandable. Treating someone inhumanly though, is completely out of line. So that secret continent with purple people should hope to stay hidden for a couple more hundred years!
-Tessa

After Stephanie's blog, I read Daniel's Best of Week: Story Fragments blog. He had a personal way of writing that I enjoyed and explained the fragmented story concept very well.

Daniel:
While reading your blog, I really enjoyed this post. You have a writing style in your blogs that is personal and informative (and very effective). I agree completely with you on the fact that widowed images are great ways to get into a story. I am also intrigued by the fact that widowed images stick with such clarity and interest to people. I like your idea that by writing about these widowed images, and exploring them, we can discover perhaps why we remember them, or more depth to what we already know. A short story is an exploration and an expression and these fragments we hold so tightly on are worth putting into those works. I had never thought to use these images in different contexts other than writing but now that you brought it up I think I will, thanks! I stopped trying to suppress random ideas a long time ago, and what I find really helps is to just write them down and save them for later. Its nice to get them out, and even when you do, it also helps you discover more about the idea.
-Tessa

Best of Week: Importance of Objects

This week while discussing Cathedral, we talked about the importance of objects. Even though when you think of an object simply, a chair, a table, a rose, a pencil, it is just a thing, an object. They are simply described by how they look. Objects though, are also what each person makes of them. A rose is not the same from one person to the next. A simple yellow rose can cause one sadness, as they remember their deceased mother's rose garden, but it can also cause one happiness, as they remember their wedding day. Things are a flurry of feelings to humans, and would have no meaning if people did not attach feelings and memory to them. If we did not attach feelings to them they would only be noticed in a moment of observance, but nothing more.
How could you explain an object to someone that had never seen one before, had never experienced it before? You could say it is yellow, small, pretty. What else? To fully know an object, a thing, an idea, it has to be experienced. Music cannot be explained, art cannot be explained, light cannot be explained... they all must be experienced, and so must everything else in the world

What If?: Postmodernism Past and Present

While discussing the short story, Boys, the idea of the past and present coexisting and working together to create the things we experience came up. What if this was fully in effect? Would our lives be immeasurable... lasting an eternity but yet only lasting a minute? Would they become a twisted canvas, colors forever mashing together and creating a mess of inextricable images and shapes. A picture that you could stare at for an eternity or only a minute and see something different each second, but see the whole picture from the very first second. How would our society be different if everyone thought in this way? Would we have a better outlook on life, see the things around us and give them as much worth as they should be given? Would we learn from our mistakes? Would we see our lives as an endless knot of strings... people, places, ideas, all coexisting. Each string knotting and deterring each other as if to influence as many other strings as possible. Every second a new string, a new idea to add to the mess we had already created? Would the future become less important? If we could always see the things in the past would we have enough time to think of the future? If we did not, we would be able to learn from our past mistakes, but we would never have time to fix them in the future. We would never be able to move past our mistakes and look to the future, with our minds always stuck int he past. There is a certain wisdom in living in the present, but all agree that living in the past is never a good idea, because you miss the things going on right now, and in the future. So for this postmodern idea to ever come to fruition in a positive way, the canvas would have to be special... it would need blank spaces. The artist, the thinker, would have to see what they wanted in those spaces, but know that something a piece of art does not turn out how it was imagined, things change. They would work with the other long dried pieces of the canvas to create a masterpiece.

Connection: Heart of Darkness and Model UN

This weekend I went to the University of Chicago's Model UN Conference. I was in the African Union and while discussing our topics it was impossible not to include the topics of racism, and colonialism. Both are important parts of African History and have forever shaped Africa and its people. It was helpful having read Heart of Darkness before hand, because it gave a comprehensive idea of what kinds of things happened to during colonialism (and that time in history) and where current thoughts on race and racism originated. The research I did for the conference, and participation in the discussions, also gave me a more rounded experience of the book. It make me think about the ideas brought up in Heart of Darkness more intricately, and then apply them. Conrad speaks of so many themes that may or may not be obvious, but something that can be picked up by all are the themes of confusion between the European and African people (along with racism and colonialism), which can still be seen today through many aspects of life in Africa and in European/American countries. Therefore, they complimented each other.