BB "Letters"

This chapter, even though it's very short, will be really helpful when I'm revising my paper. Since our genealogy focuses primarily on our own personal stories, this chapter by Lamott really relates. I have to give more detail to most of my personal events, so using her method of writing to someone I know will work well I think. If I act as if I'm writing to someone personally, more of the story will come out truthfully and emotionally. It will allow me to better explain my story from my own perspective and what I truly felt during that event.

Nietzsche - Genealogy of Morals

Before I started, I thought that this would take me forever to get through and that it would be a very tough read. Luckily, I was quite wrong. I really liked reading this genealogy; I may actually finish the rest of it this weekend. I found it highly intriguing. Tracing the origins "good" and "evil" is a surprisingly interesting topic! After reading this six sections, I think that one of Nietzsche's main ideas is that historically "good" has always been tied to words that were associated with the nobility, aristocracy, and high-level people. Consequently, "bad" comes from the association with commonality, plainness, and vulgarity. It's so remarkable to see how our current language and prejudices have been defined and shaped by the past. It's absolutely fascinating in my opinion.

MS - Scott McCloud

I found this "essay" both interesting and entertaining. Before reading this, I had been stereotyping comics like most other people. I thought that they were just for kids and only dealt with superheroes and such. McCloud really opened my eyes on that big mistake. Before, I would have looked at a picture of a wall of heiroglyphics in my history book as just that, heiroglyphics; but now I'll see them as a sort of comic strip.

Although his eventual definition of comics is a bit lengthy, he seems to cover all the bases without making it too broad or too narrow. That's a bit tough to accomplish, but I think that we can apply it to our own definition of the term we've chosen for our essay. A precise definition isn't the main goal of our essay but I think it creating one will play some sort of role, at least in forming our ideas and structure within our drafts.

MS - Thomas Kuhn

This essay definitely made me look at all of my old science textbooks differently. I had never really questioned the information that science textbooks gave me; I always accepted the fact that so-and-so discovered whatever at this time and place. I'm a bit surprised that I had never been curious about those specific dates and places before. It makes sense after reading this essay that discovery doesn't just suddenly happen. There's not typically an "aha!" moment. It takes weeks, months, or years to fully understand what was "discovered." Whenever I hear or read something that claims that someone discovered some scientific idea or object I will think back to this essay and Kuhn's examples.

MS "The Loss of the Creature"

This was a bit difficult to get through at times but I did find it pretty interesting. Walker Percy's focus is what true and actual discovery really is. I could easily relate to his passage about trying to get "it" from a vacation. When I was in Yellowstone National Park I often felt the same way. It seemed like my experience was already laid out by the travel books and guides that my mom brought along. I tried to find "it" by travelling off the path by myself to discover what Yellowstone was supposed to really mean. I thought I was successful but after finishing this essay I'm not so sure I was. I never tried to find an "expert" so that they could say my experience was genuine and truly "it," but Percy's words make me think that I was still missing out on something. On a different note, I had never really viewed education as a "package." I think that's quite an intriguing way to look at things. It really makes you think and question.

BB "Radio Station, Jealousy, & Writer's Block"

I found the chapter about KFKD really helpful. I tend to fall prey to the voices in my head, especially the negative ones. It really can kill your self-esteem if you let that happen to often. I always try to shout out those voices but it truly is easier said than done. I do plan to try her technique about following your breathing though. Hopefully it will be of some use to me.

I could relate to the section on jealousy as well. Although it doesn't really apply all that much to this class, her tips are useful for life in general. That's what I love about this book; its main focus is on writing but she gives you all of this advice about life at the same time. I'm trying to take all of her messages to heart.

I liked the chapter on writer's block the most. The best advice that she gives is "to live as if I am dying." I think that is definitely one of the best ways to go through life. Viewing your life like that gives you the opportunity to truly appreciate everything and everyone around you. You really come to value everything that life has to offer. I really wish that I could put this idea into practice; I always seem to get too caught up in the small, pointless things of life.

Web Articles

First of all, let me just say that I honestly have no idea what's going on in Lyotard's article. I read it through twice and still can't really grasp what exactly he's getting at. Luckily, I did fare better with the O'Hara article. Firstly, I liked his way of writing and word choice. It is common language but it still flows well and sounds intelligent. I also liked his message regarding poetry. You write poetry for yourself or maybe for that "special someone" or whoever. You don't write it for the general public or to try to send a message to society or something. That's not the purpose of poetry: it's supposed to be personal. When it comes to "personism" I was a bit confused about what exactly he meant but I think he was trying to get at the idea that poetry should avoid the abstract. Personism allows you to write specifically to someone rather than an abstract concept or idea. At least, that's what I got out of his manifesto.