Hello.
I wasn't sure if I was going to post this tonight, but I have just enough time and energy. I spent the weekend in Minneapolis with some good friends. We enjoyed downtown, a Twins game, and some great food. If I was ever to live in a major U.S. city, Minneapolis is a major contender!
This week was pretty sad as far as hours go. I read for four hours, and that's it. I took this week off by focusing on relaxing and working around the house. I finished Confederacy of Dunces, which was excellent, and began In Cold Blood, which is really stirring and disturbing all at the same time. Here's my video...
Once more, tried to keep it short, but have some fun with it as well.
As I inserted the RotK footage, I realized it didn't work so well without ten minutes of context, which is how working with Tolkien is. In short, this is what I meant to use his words to say:
We spend too much time & effort worrying about what the founding fathers wanted, rather than what we need right now.
That being said, however, have an excellent and safe 4th!
Also, what books are you reading this summer?
Showing posts with label Reading List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading List. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Some random mid-week thoughts...
Hello. Here are some random thoughts.
1) I had my first "back to school" nightmare the other night. I went into the classroom imagining I was teaching one class and my students informed me they were there for another class, one I had never heard of before. Terrifying.
2) Tonight I was reminded about the power of science fiction/popular culture. I was watching Dr. Who. The Doctor & Amy took Vincent Van Gogh to the Musee d'Orsay in order to see his works in a museum, and to hear himself be praised by the curator. At this point in his life Van Gogh had thought himself a failure, worthless. It was brilliant, sorrowful, and ecstatic all at once. Two thoughts. It's not only artists, musicians, or authors whose works are appreciated much later in their life, perhaps after they're gone. How wonderful it'd be to the spirit to have a time machine and see your work realized after you were gone.
Secondly, I'm always disappointed with the marginalization of "pulp" fiction in the Literature context. There seems to be two ways it's presented in a classroom, either as a gateway to other more important texts, or as a means to practice rhetorical/literary theorems before tackling the big stuff.
3) My cobbled together reading summer list as of now. I've just finished #2.
1. The Book Thief
2. A Confederacy of Dunces
3. In Cold Blood
4. The Grapes of Wrath
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. Stranger in a Strange Land
7. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
There's several libraries full of things I've never read or even heard of.
4) I've so far forgotten to thank all the great support staff who work ALL summer long, including the custodians, secretaries, administration, and IT techs. Thank you!
5) I've been awful about responding to comments on the blog so far. Perhaps I'll change that this week...
1) I had my first "back to school" nightmare the other night. I went into the classroom imagining I was teaching one class and my students informed me they were there for another class, one I had never heard of before. Terrifying.
2) Tonight I was reminded about the power of science fiction/popular culture. I was watching Dr. Who. The Doctor & Amy took Vincent Van Gogh to the Musee d'Orsay in order to see his works in a museum, and to hear himself be praised by the curator. At this point in his life Van Gogh had thought himself a failure, worthless. It was brilliant, sorrowful, and ecstatic all at once. Two thoughts. It's not only artists, musicians, or authors whose works are appreciated much later in their life, perhaps after they're gone. How wonderful it'd be to the spirit to have a time machine and see your work realized after you were gone.
Secondly, I'm always disappointed with the marginalization of "pulp" fiction in the Literature context. There seems to be two ways it's presented in a classroom, either as a gateway to other more important texts, or as a means to practice rhetorical/literary theorems before tackling the big stuff.
3) My cobbled together reading summer list as of now. I've just finished #2.
1. The Book Thief
2. A Confederacy of Dunces
3. In Cold Blood
4. The Grapes of Wrath
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. Stranger in a Strange Land
7. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
There's several libraries full of things I've never read or even heard of.
4) I've so far forgotten to thank all the great support staff who work ALL summer long, including the custodians, secretaries, administration, and IT techs. Thank you!
5) I've been awful about responding to comments on the blog so far. Perhaps I'll change that this week...
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