Advice- blog 12/12

Ron Koertge advises us to venture out and play with our words. We need not to write the same way we've been taught, but we can take a risk.  Writing is not over in one go. When you're done with it, you need it start over and just keep working at it. 

Here's my advice to all those starting out :

Think outside the box. Don't write from the cookie cutter way that you were taught in before. 

Dont keep your words within. Disperse them all over the page. Be creative, be honest.

Write it all out on hot pink paper. Keep re-writing over and over again. 

What what you feel. There is no right or wrong.

Take that risk, you know you want to.

Be true to who you are.

Dont limit yourself.

& take it easy.

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Four letter project- Blog 11 of 12

The four letter word projects aren't really a form of writing. To be literal, writing is "the activity or skill marking coherent words on paper and composing text".  Although the definition may be a bit old school, the emphasis is for a type of medium. There has to be text.  In most presentations, text was a tool which aided to the whole message. The main media that was the background music and images. Individual pictures strung together to form one big message. The main point of this entire project was to see if images could do the same thing as text could. Some were more successful than others, some didn't need text as a tool but it needed to be the main source for the message. While for others, pictures were enough to say a thousand words. The four letter word project is really a composition. Different elements combined to make one project.

Rodney JOnes poem- Blog 10 of 12

On the surface of the poem, the author is painting a picture how he dropped his alcohol, and then he wanted it back. On a deeper note, the author is actually on about words. Once we say somethings, its been heard. We cant take it back. The same thing can go for writing. We publish writing, its already out there. We may want to take it back sometimes but its not possible. In some forms of media, we may actually be able to delete it, but that still doesn't means somebody hasn't read it yet. In today's world, there is a greater emphasis of technology, and this technology can be good, it can also be bad. We need to watch out more and more what we say and what we write,. What we can can always be published through a video and what we write can always be shown on the internet. Since everybody has access to technology, people around the world can read what you wrote and see the videos. When its up there , you just cant take it back.

Text and other things- Blog 9 of 12

When I wake up in the morning and put a shirt with text on, I don't wear text for others to read. They can read if they want to, but it's not for them.. The text is for me. The text is associate with that I like and I express that through different mediums. Sometimes i might like to wear a shirt, other days ill have a necklace and then one day i might just put one of those peel off tattoos. As I have not made the text, I have obviously not created it, but I have adopted it.
     
Now jumping into twitter, those that do tweet anticipate readership because they are putting it up for people to read. I admit, there might be few that actually tweet for themselves, but the majority tweet for others. Although, I do not use twitter- most people i know use twitter to get a response. Many tweets have either statements or they pose questions for others. Obviously , the second one has to anticipate an audience. The question is out there and the response is bound to come eventually...

Twitter again- Blog 6 of 12

The animated character in this short video asks, "Who are they talking to ? This question mainly depends on your setting on twitter. If you make your profile public, then anybody can just find you. You're virtually talking to every and anyone. But then if you change your settings to private, then only your followers can view your tweets. In that sense, you're strictly talking to those interested in your thoughts.
I am so happy that this animation was made. I completely agree with the little man with a blue shirt and red tie. I think there isn't really a purpose to twitter. It shows twitter to what it really is- mundane posts about a person. Social interaction can be seen as a good way to actually keep in touch with people, but then today people take it too much and they are relying on it. This goes back to , the machine is controlling us.

Response to crayon writing - Blog 7 of 12

     The writer is not influenced by the writing implement, it does not appear that the crayon stopped her. . She speaks her mind and expresses it very clearly. A thing I've noticed is the writer always expresses their opinion- negative or positive- without any hesitation.
     Whether the writing is good or bad all depends on perception. The author,had an understanding what the question was asking and expresses it accordingly to the question. In my opinion, I think she writes fairly well. She states her opinion, explains it and then goes on by saying what would actually make her agree to the original question. 

Megan Crayon writing - Blog 8 of 12

" I disagree with Zadie Smith's claim that flexibility of voice lead to flexibility in all things (194). This statement is too broad so I cannot bring myself to agree with it. A flexible voice can be crafted and fake. Flexibility in all things would include social interactions, yet some of the greatest actors are some of the shyest people.  The ability to adapt your voice is a skill; it does not guarantee flexibility in everything. A great speaker may be a terrible writer, like a great writer may be a terrible speaker. A flexibility in language allows for greater understand of the cultures of the world, but again, does not lead to flexibility in all things. If Smith restated her belief replacing the word things with something like- understanding- I would be more likely to agree."
         - Megan Andrews

President vs. Poet- 5 of 12

To conclude her essay, Zadie Smith discloses: “In this lecture I have been seeking to tentatively suggest that the voice that speaks with such freedom, thus unburdened by dogma and personal bias, thus flooded with empathy, might make a good president” (192).  However, she rejects this claim by advocating for the many-voiced role of the poet.  What is the difference between the rhetoric of a president and that of a poet?  Does Smith suggest there should be a difference?

 

At first glance, one may think how can we compare the president to a poet. Well I know I did. They’re both at opposite ends of the spectrum. But then at a closer glance, if you really think about it, they’re pretty similar. Both of them manipulate language in a manner which the audience is moved by. Looking solely at Barack Obama’s speeches, he has such a way with words in which he moves his audience. He brings the nation together as one. As Smith pointed out, down south he talks about Wall Street and up north he talks about the south. One does not have to agree with him, but he knows how to move an audience.  Even Zadie Smith agrees on this.
A poet is very similar to a President. Like a president, they manipulate the language and create a speech, an argument, a statement and much more. Each piece a poet writes may generally have one voice, but then their entire collection can have different voices. There shouldn’t be a problem because the poet has freedom to express themselves through any form. Like anyone, they have the right to have different voices on different aspects.
 

Twitter...

What I really think about the writing space that twitter affords is a distraction. There are already so many social websites that they just had to add another one. Personally, I'm not a big fan of twitter. I accept that many people enjoy twitter, and that's cool, but it's not for me. I don't want to "tweet" every thought that pops up in my mind on twitter.  There are too many limitations on twitter. Users can only tweet up to 140 characters in one tweet. For those who do enjoy twitter this can be somewhat annoying. I see this as just another passing phase for people. What insightful/amazing/personal contribution could be made with 140 characters? 

"Tweeting" is a form of form of writing. The name may be different, but it still is a form to communicate with the world.  People write for different reasons, people write at different lengths and people write different things. Tweeting allows users to do everything stated above. Every individual may choose to tweet about their day, a funny moment or a short inspirational quote.

Texts on their clothing/skin

I'm not sure why so many people wear texts on their clothing and on their skin.  Perhaps they feel that such portable writing serves to non-verbally communicate with the world. Many at times, we wear shirts with text that represent themselves. People wear what the enjoy. For example, I love the Beatles and I have their shirt. When I wear it, I am expressing how much I enjoy their music. For, others it can simply be a statement. Many people also wear shirts to associate themselves to a specific event or company. There is no one simple answer for why so many people wear texts on their clothing. Each person is different and their reason varies. But, what each person does is non-verbally communicates with others.

The same can go for people who wear texts on their skin. The skin now, is a more personal and intimate. There is a certain amount of pain that goes with the text, so most people generally write text that means something to them. Some like to profess their love to family/friends. Others take inspiring quotes that have had some meaning to their life and put it on their skin. Others prefer pictures to decorate their body.  Like written text on clothing, there isn't one sole reason. But, since there is a certain amount of pain associated with this, there is more thought placed into why people get text on their skin.

Zadie Smith's Speaking in Tongues

Questions:

"...voices are meant to be unchanging and singular" (pg.180)
      - Why must we be forced to stick to one voice?

"... there's no quicker way to insult an expat Scotsman in London than to tell him he's lost his accent" (p.180)
     - Why is there such a heavy influence of accent with identity?

"... What are they fit for? What will become of them?" (p.181)
      By accepting multiple voices, why are we forced to choose between them?

"...I mean, who is this guy, really? he says sweet potato pie in Philly and Main Street in Iowaa!" (p. 185)
     If the nation is one then why can't we talk about aspects from part in another?

"When you can't be both black and white. Sometimes in a country ripped apart by dogma, those who wish to keep their heads- in both senses- must learn to split themselves into two." (pg. 189-190)
     Why is not accepted to stick to both instead of one?