The loose orange earth slid beneath our boots as we made our way up the scar in the side of the hill up towards Dante's View across from the Griffith Park observatory. The sight looked strange. Sort of like seeing a family member for the first time in years after he had suffered a severe accident that left him scarred and disfigured.
For years my uncles and I had made a routine of hiking up the mountain up to the observatory, then to Dante's View or our little "oasis" that refilled our waterbottles, and finally down a rough path that was mostly spent rolling on our asses before we made it to our parking spot beside the bird sanctuary.
For years we had been doing this. Then two of my uncles got married and had children and little time remained for weekly hiking trips and that sort of thing. I went about once a month after that with my best friend or my girlfriend (whenever it wasn't too sunny or hot and as long as I was the one who carried about 5 bottles of water in case she got dehydrated). Then the fires happened and it sort of stopped completely.
After the park was reopened and people were allowed to hike again my oldest uncle and I went back for a weekend hike on a Saturday morning.
We talked mostly about his career and funny things his daughter has done since the last time I saw her. You know, that sort of thing. We talked about cool books we've read and cool games that have come out that was followed by a discussion about how it would be funny if the makers of Guitar Hero came out with "Keytar Hero" featuring all Keyboard oriented 80's hits like Flock Of Seagulls and funny 80's bands like that. My uncle suggests Sitar Hero featuring classic Indian hits and I just laugh and look at him quizzically, "Sitar Hero???"
"Hey I was just kidding. You're the one who was all serious about Keytar Hero. I was only going with the flow."
I only laughed.
That was the sort of the thing we talked about. Then we reached the peek where we saw over the cliff and our conversation sort of died down to a slow crawl punctuated with the sound of a hawk's cry and the cascading of loose earth and rock as lizards zoomed across rocks and brush. The view was like something out of Mad Max Throughout Thunderdome. Uprooted trees were lying roots facing up to the sky like a dying animals outstretched blackened claws.
I know alot of the fires start with freak accidents involving a thrown cigarette that some jon doe tosses carelessly into the bushes without realizing the dry brush is like a piece of coal drenched in lighter fluid under the hot sun. However during the fires there was alot of reports considering arson as a cause. Of this I ask Why? Why when so many people consider these places that burn up like a match doused in gas a look at their past and of a look at their younger selves. I see old men hiking and women carrying their newborns on their back in one of those cool baby backpacks and I wonder, How many of them have come here for years? Even when they were young? How many see these hills blackened by the fire and the soil covered in orange fire retardant that smells like hay, and totally disfigures a memory of their past?
And still I ask why.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Media effects on society and the likes.
I was recently over at my aunt's house hanging out with my eight and ten year old cousins. I turned on the tv and began surfing the channel menus. That's when I saw that HBO had a movie I really wanted to watch. When I tried changing to that channel, it was empty except a small box that said 'Parental control, please enter password.' That got me thinking about how media (tv, movies, videogames) affect us. There have many cases that sued media companies for creating shows or games that created a negative effect on their children. For example, the Doom case. Parents of the students responsible for the Columbine shooting believed that it was because of the Doom videogame that made them so violent. They said that the kids were using the game as a practice run of what they would do the day they brought the guns to school. Or another case, the Seven Dirty Words Case (also known as the Pacifica Case). As a father was driving his son home from school, a comedian revealed curse words on live radio and the father sued for damaging his child. That was when safe harbor was created. Material inappropriate to children could be only played from 10pm- 6am. How do we define what is appropriate or inappropriate? Does parental control help save kids from hearing what they will most likely hear in school? Does the violence on the tv or video screen make them want to do the same things? Could it possibly be also cathartic, by playing violent video game, they don't need to express it in reality? Can media be a positive influence as well, such as showing the poor and making people feel more fotunate?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Notes on Titus Andronicus
Here's some key ideas, though, that might be of use on the final.
Titus Andronicus does not have as many little nuggets of beautiful phrasing as a lot of Shakespeare, so it's harder for me to quote a few lines to give a prompt. The play does have its share of dynamic ideas, however, especially as filmed here. They come out in the extremity and complexity of both the play and its presentation on film. I may present characters and/or scenes and ask a question for each prompt. So it may be worthwhile to think of how that happened.
For the production -- the play itself involves a clash between clans -- cultures, generations, classes. That's in part carried in the movie by relation to visual and aural fashions, partly of the 20th Century. So, for instance, Titus Andronicus, for example, is an older character with a kind of Old Testament kind of morals. We find him in battle gear that reminds us of ancient Romans and Greeks. He's generally accompanied by music that sounds classical and formal -- violins, heavy sounds, choral sounds. The conflict between Bassianus and Saturnius uses a lot of Fascist imagery. Their costumes may be placed around the 1920's and 1930's. Scenes were shot in and around Mussolini's palaces and so forth. His celebrations and orgies flow with hot jazz arrangements and costumes. Tamora's kids are rockers who at one point would have had posters of Sid Vicious or Billy Idol -- probably not serious enough for the Clash, but you know the era. You see the costumes, even the 80's-early 90's graphics on the video-game consoles. And so the leather pants and so forth. There's a convenient confusion between the tattoos of Roman-era northern tribes and those of contemporary youth that's taken advantage of broadly here, but partly in the sort of exotic set of costumes for Tamora and Aaron.
All of these things -- setting, music, costume -- related meaningfully to the content of the written play and to intent in performance.
Now, the Taymor production also makes a big deal of the point of view of the boy, young Lucius. He gets that whole extra scene at the beginning where he's playing, then the last frames at the end where he walks into the rising sun with Aaron's child. That and the odd march at the beginning and the odd scene at the end where the camara pulls back from old Titus' table to show the coliseum and then what appears to be a film audience are a modern addition to the Shakespeare, and seem to provide a symbolic or at least significant bracketing to the rest of the film. Taymor's making some point or points about the viewing of the film and the viewing of violence and the effect on the younger generation, but what?
A lot of the conflicts in the play proper are built on astonishing apparent contradictions in the characters, and if you go through the play character by character and isolate what appears contradictory, why the contradictions exist, and what they tell us about human nature and principles, that will stand you in good stead. Here are a couple of the more obvious examples.
Most of us find Titus Andronicus good. He's sacrificed 21 sons to Rome at the beginning. He's modest enough to turn down being an emperor, for crying out loud. He tries to be fair: he even kills one of his own sons when he feels the son is a traitor, so he seems the ultimate patriot. But at the same time, he's willing to cut off his own hand for his sons, and even tricks his relatives to get his hand cut off before theirs. Would I hesitate so little? And yet, he has Tamora's son killed and his entrails burned in front of her. Now, if that happened at a local park on a Sunday afternoon, what would we say? Alright, this is "to appease the Roman gods," granted, but what are the Roman gods that they may be so appeased? On top of that, it's not like this son was the first who was killed. Titus lost 21 sons, but he won the war. What did the Goths lose? There's no reason here to believe that the Goths had been violent towards Rome. Rome invaded them, cut them up for something it calls glory. So what's good?
Aaron, on the other hand, can be pretty well described as evil. His last dying regret is that he may have inadvertently done something good. I won't even list the vicious things he does in the play just because they're painful and I assume you remember them well enough. On the other hand, doesn't he seem to be the only person in the whole play who demonstrates anything like defensible family values? A lot of people see Tamora's rage as righteous because she loses a son, but she herself is willing to kill her own son, and foolishly gives Aaron orders to see that it's done. Not even poor Lavinia can be described as altogether innocent. Recall her praise for her father, Titus, as he buried 21 of her brothers for the priviledge of slaughtering Goths. And what about her and Bassianus' threats towards Tamora when they found her sporting with Aaron in the woods? They surely amounted to a death threat, since Saturnius would surely have executed Tamora had he found her unfaithful. So, if the Roman and Goth societies are thus, and and if they have the prejudices towards Aaron's race that Lavinia, Bassianus, Lucius, the Andronichae, and the nurse all show at points, can we not make a case that it's not so bad of Aaron to bedevil them all?
If you can get a pretty good sense of these things for the main characters and think of them in terms of your own values and in terms of events you're familiar with, you'll be in good shape.
Titus Andronicus does not have as many little nuggets of beautiful phrasing as a lot of Shakespeare, so it's harder for me to quote a few lines to give a prompt. The play does have its share of dynamic ideas, however, especially as filmed here. They come out in the extremity and complexity of both the play and its presentation on film. I may present characters and/or scenes and ask a question for each prompt. So it may be worthwhile to think of how that happened.
For the production -- the play itself involves a clash between clans -- cultures, generations, classes. That's in part carried in the movie by relation to visual and aural fashions, partly of the 20th Century. So, for instance, Titus Andronicus, for example, is an older character with a kind of Old Testament kind of morals. We find him in battle gear that reminds us of ancient Romans and Greeks. He's generally accompanied by music that sounds classical and formal -- violins, heavy sounds, choral sounds. The conflict between Bassianus and Saturnius uses a lot of Fascist imagery. Their costumes may be placed around the 1920's and 1930's. Scenes were shot in and around Mussolini's palaces and so forth. His celebrations and orgies flow with hot jazz arrangements and costumes. Tamora's kids are rockers who at one point would have had posters of Sid Vicious or Billy Idol -- probably not serious enough for the Clash, but you know the era. You see the costumes, even the 80's-early 90's graphics on the video-game consoles. And so the leather pants and so forth. There's a convenient confusion between the tattoos of Roman-era northern tribes and those of contemporary youth that's taken advantage of broadly here, but partly in the sort of exotic set of costumes for Tamora and Aaron.
All of these things -- setting, music, costume -- related meaningfully to the content of the written play and to intent in performance.
Now, the Taymor production also makes a big deal of the point of view of the boy, young Lucius. He gets that whole extra scene at the beginning where he's playing, then the last frames at the end where he walks into the rising sun with Aaron's child. That and the odd march at the beginning and the odd scene at the end where the camara pulls back from old Titus' table to show the coliseum and then what appears to be a film audience are a modern addition to the Shakespeare, and seem to provide a symbolic or at least significant bracketing to the rest of the film. Taymor's making some point or points about the viewing of the film and the viewing of violence and the effect on the younger generation, but what?
A lot of the conflicts in the play proper are built on astonishing apparent contradictions in the characters, and if you go through the play character by character and isolate what appears contradictory, why the contradictions exist, and what they tell us about human nature and principles, that will stand you in good stead. Here are a couple of the more obvious examples.
Most of us find Titus Andronicus good. He's sacrificed 21 sons to Rome at the beginning. He's modest enough to turn down being an emperor, for crying out loud. He tries to be fair: he even kills one of his own sons when he feels the son is a traitor, so he seems the ultimate patriot. But at the same time, he's willing to cut off his own hand for his sons, and even tricks his relatives to get his hand cut off before theirs. Would I hesitate so little? And yet, he has Tamora's son killed and his entrails burned in front of her. Now, if that happened at a local park on a Sunday afternoon, what would we say? Alright, this is "to appease the Roman gods," granted, but what are the Roman gods that they may be so appeased? On top of that, it's not like this son was the first who was killed. Titus lost 21 sons, but he won the war. What did the Goths lose? There's no reason here to believe that the Goths had been violent towards Rome. Rome invaded them, cut them up for something it calls glory. So what's good?
Aaron, on the other hand, can be pretty well described as evil. His last dying regret is that he may have inadvertently done something good. I won't even list the vicious things he does in the play just because they're painful and I assume you remember them well enough. On the other hand, doesn't he seem to be the only person in the whole play who demonstrates anything like defensible family values? A lot of people see Tamora's rage as righteous because she loses a son, but she herself is willing to kill her own son, and foolishly gives Aaron orders to see that it's done. Not even poor Lavinia can be described as altogether innocent. Recall her praise for her father, Titus, as he buried 21 of her brothers for the priviledge of slaughtering Goths. And what about her and Bassianus' threats towards Tamora when they found her sporting with Aaron in the woods? They surely amounted to a death threat, since Saturnius would surely have executed Tamora had he found her unfaithful. So, if the Roman and Goth societies are thus, and and if they have the prejudices towards Aaron's race that Lavinia, Bassianus, Lucius, the Andronichae, and the nurse all show at points, can we not make a case that it's not so bad of Aaron to bedevil them all?
If you can get a pretty good sense of these things for the main characters and think of them in terms of your own values and in terms of events you're familiar with, you'll be in good shape.
Romeo and Juliet Characters and (quick) Plot
We open with a TV announcer. "Civil blood makes civil hands unclean:" - TV & magazines, signs at the gas stations, buildings, personalized licensed plates try to update the old "chorus" of Greek antiquity.
Montagues vs Capulets
Casa Capulet
Rough Wedding
Plots foul
Philosophical denoument
Main Characters -
House of Montague
House of Capulet
Various
Montagues vs Capulets
- "the boys" w/swords - Shootout at the gas station.
- Prince threatens families
- Romeo moons for Roselyn; folks worry, send Cousin Benvolio to spy on the boy
Casa Capulet
- Costume party to marry Juliet to Paris
- Romeo's chums drag him along.
- R sees Juliet forgets Roselyn .
- Balcony, love, promises.
Rough Wedding
- Romeo goes to Friar Laurence to marry; he hopes they'll turn their famillies' "rancor into pure love"
- R promises J's nurse he'll marry J; the nurse reports.
- R&J secretly wed
- R refuses duel, finally kills J's cousin Tybalt.
- L sends R to J, then to Mantua; will arrange union.
- Capulet offers J to Paris.
- R leaves J @ dawn. J refuses Paris, fairly near disowned.
Plots foul
- Father Laurence offers Juliet a drug to feign death.
- Laurence's letter does not get through to Romeo.
- R hear's J's supposed death, gets poison, returns to Verona, drinks poison.
- J sees R dying, kills self.
Philosophical denoument
- Families relent
- All are Punishèd
Main Characters -
House of Montague
- Montague
- Lady Montague
- Romeo, son to Montague.
- Benvolio, nephew to Montague, and friend to Romeo
House of Capulet
- Capulet
- Lady Capulet, wife to Capulet.
- Juliet, daughter to Capulet.
- Tybalt, nephew to Lady Capulet.
- Nurse to Juliet.
Various
- Escalus, Prince of Verona.Here the police officer.
- Paris, Count, kinsman to the Prince, Cap's choice for J.
- Mercutio, kinsman to the Prince and friend to Romeo.
- Friar Laurence, Franciscan and herbalist
Romeo and Juliet
I'll take the lack of questions about Romeo and Juliette to mean that a few of you are pretty certain that you're in good shape for the final, but that others may not be certain just what questions might be framed. Since we missed some important discussion when I missed class last Friday, here are a few common points about the play and the production.
First, a correction -- I thought more was shot around L.A. than was. I recognize a few scenes for certain, but much of it was apparently shot in Veracruz, Mexico.
Some themes you might think about include the following
A very good exercise might be this. Go through the plot of the play in your mind or look at a synopsis. Note what the motivations were for the different characters, and how the characters were wise and unwise.
First, a correction -- I thought more was shot around L.A. than was. I recognize a few scenes for certain, but much of it was apparently shot in Veracruz, Mexico.
Some themes you might think about include the following
- Love, particularly love-at-first-sight. Is it possible? Is it reasonable? How does it relate to conditions we might consider opposite, like a marriage of convenience? For instance, if love-at-first-sight is not valid or wise because one does not consider the inconveniences of life with a potential spouse, does that mean that a marriage of convenience, where these are taken into consideration, is true love? Or what about Romeo's condition with Roselyn at the start of the movie? We're tempted to say that he's "enamored" or "in puppy love" or "thinks he's in love" or use any of a large number of similar expressions to describe him. But how are these different than love itself?
- What is the role of reason in love? Is unreasonable love really love? For that matter, can reasonable love really be love, and what does this mean? People say "Love is blind," but Mercutio says it must then "miss its mark."
- What kind of control should parents have in kids' romantic lives?
- What responsibility for Romeo and Juliet's problems do the different characters have? (Try the heads-of-houshold, the prince (chief of police here), the priest, evern apparent innocents like Mercutio or Juliet's maid.
A very good exercise might be this. Go through the plot of the play in your mind or look at a synopsis. Note what the motivations were for the different characters, and how the characters were wise and unwise.
FINALS
Students from either Friday or Sunday classes may take the final test with their own class or with the other class. Times and places will be as follows:
Friday: 26A 321 10am-2pm
Sunday: 26A 370 8am - 12:15 pm
In both cases, the instructor will arrive at or before the hour, and the student will have the entire time to write. Prompts will be given out at the hour, before if possible. Students may bring books, notes, dictionaries, electronic spell-checkers or translators, or laptops.
Our Friday final is a decidedly odd situation because for the first time in my experience, our day and time is not included in the updated finals schedule. Fortunately, it is easy to deduce an appropriate time, since none of you can be in a Friday 8 AM or 1:20 PM class. I will show up at 9:45 as usual, and I am almost (not completely) certain that our room will be free before 10, so anyone who is worried about time has an almost certain chance to start at 9:45.
Friday: 26A 321 10am-2pm
Sunday: 26A 370 8am - 12:15 pm
In both cases, the instructor will arrive at or before the hour, and the student will have the entire time to write. Prompts will be given out at the hour, before if possible. Students may bring books, notes, dictionaries, electronic spell-checkers or translators, or laptops.
Our Friday final is a decidedly odd situation because for the first time in my experience, our day and time is not included in the updated finals schedule. Fortunately, it is easy to deduce an appropriate time, since none of you can be in a Friday 8 AM or 1:20 PM class. I will show up at 9:45 as usual, and I am almost (not completely) certain that our room will be free before 10, so anyone who is worried about time has an almost certain chance to start at 9:45.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Friday Absence - Finals Preparation
My apologies to the Friday class! I could not arrive because of a severe flu. I will post here by Saturday night whether or not I can make it Sunday.
Those with questions about Romeo and Juliet may post them here or email them. I will try to answer them on the blog by early next week.
Those with questions about Romeo and Juliet may post them here or email them. I will try to answer them on the blog by early next week.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
How to Find Your Class in the New Classrooms
Hello All --
As of yesterday afternoon, our new classrooms have no class numbers stamped or painted on them. Instead, small signs are stuck to the doors, usually by the window of the door. As a little extra complication, each sign has two numbers on it, only one of which relates in any obvious way to the class number.
Hopefully, the following will help.
Both classrooms are in 26A. That's the class on the north side (facing the student parking, facing the hill, the opposite side of the auditorium, the planetarium, and the big clock from where we have been all semester.
Friday Class will meet in 26A 321. That's on the third floor, on the far side (the north side, the side facing the parking, the side facing uphill) in about the center of the row of classes.
Sunday Class will meet in 26A 370. That's in 26A, of course, so it's on the north side of the clock, the auditorium, and the planetarium; however, it's on the south side of 26A, the side facing downhill, towards the pool, the auditorium, the planetarium, and across towards 26D, where we have been all semester. It's all the way towards the east (that is, to your right if you're facing the parking lot, the hill, so on and so forth.
Just as another hint, the sun rises in the east (and, for us, slightly to our south).
We will be writing in class this week. See you.
As of yesterday afternoon, our new classrooms have no class numbers stamped or painted on them. Instead, small signs are stuck to the doors, usually by the window of the door. As a little extra complication, each sign has two numbers on it, only one of which relates in any obvious way to the class number.
Hopefully, the following will help.
Both classrooms are in 26A. That's the class on the north side (facing the student parking, facing the hill, the opposite side of the auditorium, the planetarium, and the big clock from where we have been all semester.
Friday Class will meet in 26A 321. That's on the third floor, on the far side (the north side, the side facing the parking, the side facing uphill) in about the center of the row of classes.
Sunday Class will meet in 26A 370. That's in 26A, of course, so it's on the north side of the clock, the auditorium, and the planetarium; however, it's on the south side of 26A, the side facing downhill, towards the pool, the auditorium, the planetarium, and across towards 26D, where we have been all semester. It's all the way towards the east (that is, to your right if you're facing the parking lot, the hill, so on and so forth.
Just as another hint, the sun rises in the east (and, for us, slightly to our south).
We will be writing in class this week. See you.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
What Thanksgiving means to me.
With the holidays literally just around the corner, I was curious and want to provide an opportunity on what Thanksgiving means to each and everyone of you. With politics, global economy, and controversy out of the way I would like to take some blog space to ask what this special historical holiday deeply means. For me Thanksgiving means more than just dressing up and eating and buying things. ("Black Friday" After Thanksgiving sale). To me this is a special day in which celbrates thanks and unity. As the best example and most popular story of the Plymoth Indians and settlers enjoying prayer and a bountiful feast in the new world, both found a level of trust and friendship to each other. This story to me is meaningful because it shows human compassion and emotion at its best. At the time showing appreciation to one another for selfless deeds. Thanksgiving is also a time where college students from abroad come home to see their folks again. When I was at my prevous university it was the first time I have not seen my family in over 5 months and it was a releaving feeling. Here in the United States tables are filled with many delicious food. Even meals are served with traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos on top of that some Americans with Ethnic background may serve rice with it or sausages. But nonetheless one fills himself with food. As in many other countries people starve and risk death. Here in our Thanksgiving we can safely enojoy full meals in the company of friends and loved ones. And I think that truly means something even though many take it for granted and see it just "as another day". Even in a deep sense Thanksgiving is exactly that "thanks" and by us celebrating this day we give thanks to whoever our God maybe and to the founders of this country who worked hard and made sacrifices to make it the way it is today. So I thought I would open up an open discussion for anyone who wants to express their own deeper meaning of Thanksgiving. I found an interestig discussion here: http://topolegionleague.virtuaboard.com/off-topic-discussions-f21/yum-official-thanksgiving-discussion-thread-t3241.htm about food and other random thoughts on it and many others can be found on Yahoo.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Upcoming Assignments
Here are the rest of the assignments for the semester, with their due dates:
- In-Class essay, next week (11/16 or 11/18, depending on the class)
- Research Project, due on finals day
- Final Test, written in class on finals day
NEW CLASSROOMS!! In-Class Essay!!
PLEASE NOTE -- Both Friday and Sunday classes will be in new classrooms as of this coming week. We will be in the new classrooms for the rest of the semester.
Let me be clear: the next class meeting will be in a new room; all meetings after that will also be in the new room.
Friday class will meet in 26A 321.
Sunday class will meet at 26A 370.
Both classes will meet during the regular hours. Anyone who shows up at the old building will probably find it barricaded for construction crews.
Building 26A is located just the other side of the big clock at the staircase, that is, just north of 26D, where we have been meeting. Both classrooms are on the third floor, I am told. I have not yet been able to verify exact locations.
Students will write in class in the coming session. The in-class essays will be in response to two of the readings: "The Storm," by Kate Chopin; and "The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka.
Let me be clear: the next class meeting will be in a new room; all meetings after that will also be in the new room.
Friday class will meet in 26A 321.
Sunday class will meet at 26A 370.
Both classes will meet during the regular hours. Anyone who shows up at the old building will probably find it barricaded for construction crews.
Building 26A is located just the other side of the big clock at the staircase, that is, just north of 26D, where we have been meeting. Both classrooms are on the third floor, I am told. I have not yet been able to verify exact locations.
Students will write in class in the coming session. The in-class essays will be in response to two of the readings: "The Storm," by Kate Chopin; and "The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
PLEASE NOTE
ALL STUDENTS PLEASE NOTE:
The story "The Gambler" by Dostoyevsky will be REMOVED from the readings. Anyone who has read it is still entitled to write about it, but no one is required to read it.
The story "The Gambler" by Dostoyevsky will be REMOVED from the readings. Anyone who has read it is still entitled to write about it, but no one is required to read it.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Lakerfan on Global Warming, Re-posted
I've reposted this comment by Lakerfan that was buried in a comment due to tech issues:
I would like to rant about a subject that we have not discussed in class, but concerns me immensely.
It has been in the news lately that Al Gore recently was a co-winner of the Nobel peace prize for his work in the subject of global warming. Gore, and most of our media, reports that global warming is accelerating and that if we do not do something quickly, the process will be irreversible. They would have us believe that this will lead to rising sea levels, the extinction of certain species, and eventually the destruction of the earths atmosphere, and maybe us.Is this scarry or what? Or, is this exactly what they are trying to do, scare us.
As my trust for the media has waned in the last few months, I have begun to research this global warming subject myself.I ran across an article on digitaljournal.com, written by Michael Wagner.He reports that much of the medias information regarding global warming, is supplied to them by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.This is a 3,000 member panel appointed by the United Nations, consisting of mostly politicians, not scientists.Many of the scientists on the panel dispute the global warming findings, but are having their opinion deleted from the panels reports.
The truth, according to Wagner, is that most scietist in the world disagree with the idea of global warming. He reports that a petition has already been signed by 17,000 scientist that states they do not agree with the conclusion of global warming.
Hearing these statistics makes me leary of our medias reporting of the global warming facts.Does anyone remember the medias reporting of the "fact" that Iraq had WMD's. Was not that meant to scare the American public, as global warming is doing.And was not the truth regarding WMD's shown to be "they never existed".I know the two issues do not seem to be related, except that most Americans receive their info regarding these two issues almost exclusively from the media. It sure makes me wonder.
History has shown that the best way for a government to subvert their peoples rights or to accomplish an unpopular political goal is by scarring them into believing that it is being done to protect them. Personally, I do not put it passed our government to pull a dirty trick like this against the American public.
I would like to rant about a subject that we have not discussed in class, but concerns me immensely.
It has been in the news lately that Al Gore recently was a co-winner of the Nobel peace prize for his work in the subject of global warming. Gore, and most of our media, reports that global warming is accelerating and that if we do not do something quickly, the process will be irreversible. They would have us believe that this will lead to rising sea levels, the extinction of certain species, and eventually the destruction of the earths atmosphere, and maybe us.Is this scarry or what? Or, is this exactly what they are trying to do, scare us.
As my trust for the media has waned in the last few months, I have begun to research this global warming subject myself.I ran across an article on digitaljournal.com, written by Michael Wagner.He reports that much of the medias information regarding global warming, is supplied to them by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.This is a 3,000 member panel appointed by the United Nations, consisting of mostly politicians, not scientists.Many of the scientists on the panel dispute the global warming findings, but are having their opinion deleted from the panels reports.
The truth, according to Wagner, is that most scietist in the world disagree with the idea of global warming. He reports that a petition has already been signed by 17,000 scientist that states they do not agree with the conclusion of global warming.
Hearing these statistics makes me leary of our medias reporting of the global warming facts.Does anyone remember the medias reporting of the "fact" that Iraq had WMD's. Was not that meant to scare the American public, as global warming is doing.And was not the truth regarding WMD's shown to be "they never existed".I know the two issues do not seem to be related, except that most Americans receive their info regarding these two issues almost exclusively from the media. It sure makes me wonder.
History has shown that the best way for a government to subvert their peoples rights or to accomplish an unpopular political goal is by scarring them into believing that it is being done to protect them. Personally, I do not put it passed our government to pull a dirty trick like this against the American public.
Reposting Lakerfan II - Iraq War debate
Due to a tech difficulty, Lakerfan's earlier post got buried in comments:
I had a conversation with a friend regarding the war in Iraq.He stated that he supports it. I asked why; he said because he is patriotic. I asked "what does that mean?" He said it means he loves his country.When I asked why he loves his country , He did not seem to have a response.
If you claim to love your country, what is it that makes you think this is true.What do you love about it. Do you love your house, your job, your street, your city, or your state? Do you love the parts of the country that you have never been to or seen? Do you love our political system? how about our president.Do you love the fact that our country sends our young men to die in a war for no good reason, or that this war is costing innocent women and children their lives(granted, their not Americans) . A war that we started.
Do you love the fact that their are millions of people in our country that are deprived of healthcare, while many of the European countrys have universal health care that treats all of their citizens, no matter what.
Who is better now?Do you love the fact that our country claims that drug addiction is a disease, but if you are caught, you are not put in a hospital, you are thrown in jail.Many of the European nations actually do treat drug addiction like a disease and provide treatment.
Do you love our banking system; how about our mortgage brokers. I bet , after this sub-prime loan fiasco,that the people that have lost or are losing their homes do not love this country as much as they did, if they love it at all.Would you?
What I am saying,is that "I love my country" is too freely used without any thought of why? It seems to be a catch phrase for "I am a patriotic American, and we are the best." If you really think about it, are we the best? Just wondering.
I had a conversation with a friend regarding the war in Iraq.He stated that he supports it. I asked why; he said because he is patriotic. I asked "what does that mean?" He said it means he loves his country.When I asked why he loves his country , He did not seem to have a response.
If you claim to love your country, what is it that makes you think this is true.What do you love about it. Do you love your house, your job, your street, your city, or your state? Do you love the parts of the country that you have never been to or seen? Do you love our political system? how about our president.Do you love the fact that our country sends our young men to die in a war for no good reason, or that this war is costing innocent women and children their lives(granted, their not Americans) . A war that we started.
Do you love the fact that their are millions of people in our country that are deprived of healthcare, while many of the European countrys have universal health care that treats all of their citizens, no matter what.
Who is better now?Do you love the fact that our country claims that drug addiction is a disease, but if you are caught, you are not put in a hospital, you are thrown in jail.Many of the European nations actually do treat drug addiction like a disease and provide treatment.
Do you love our banking system; how about our mortgage brokers. I bet , after this sub-prime loan fiasco,that the people that have lost or are losing their homes do not love this country as much as they did, if they love it at all.Would you?
What I am saying,is that "I love my country" is too freely used without any thought of why? It seems to be a catch phrase for "I am a patriotic American, and we are the best." If you really think about it, are we the best? Just wondering.
Re-Posting Lakerfan
Because of some tech troubles with new posts, I'm reposting something that Lakerfan did not intend to leave buried in a comment line.
I would like to dicuss the issue with Kobe Bryant and the Laker Management/Kobe haters.First of all, I think it would be hard to deny that Kobe is currently the best offense player in the NBA. Last season he averaged 32 pts a game and the season before had a game in which he scored 81 points(second only to Wilt Chamberlains game of 100 pts. in 1962.)As good as he is, Kobe can not always win basketball games on his own. Nobody can. It is a team sport.The problem Kobe has with the management, which I agree with, is why won't they trade for a quality player to give him help.Granted their are salary cap issues, but they can be worked around. Kobe watched almost every team in the NBA make improvements to their team last summer by making trades, while the Lakers did nothing(for the second year in a row).I understand Dr. Buss(the owner) has given control of the team to his son, which may be the problem.The Lakers current team will never win a championship, and Kobe knows it , and it sure isn't Kobe's fault.If the Lakers don't trade for someone quick, they will lose the best player since Michael Jordan, and they will regret it for ever.Also, why do the Kobe haters continually call him a rapist. Weren't the charges dropped. Aren't we, as American citizens, innocent until proven guilty. It reminds me of the Barry Bonds issue. He was never "proven" to have taken steroids.So why do people , including the media, continue to treat these athletes like criminals.Its kind of funny, the best player in baseball and the best player in basketball are the ones criticized the most. Watch out Tom Brady!!
I would like to dicuss the issue with Kobe Bryant and the Laker Management/Kobe haters.First of all, I think it would be hard to deny that Kobe is currently the best offense player in the NBA. Last season he averaged 32 pts a game and the season before had a game in which he scored 81 points(second only to Wilt Chamberlains game of 100 pts. in 1962.)As good as he is, Kobe can not always win basketball games on his own. Nobody can. It is a team sport.The problem Kobe has with the management, which I agree with, is why won't they trade for a quality player to give him help.Granted their are salary cap issues, but they can be worked around. Kobe watched almost every team in the NBA make improvements to their team last summer by making trades, while the Lakers did nothing(for the second year in a row).I understand Dr. Buss(the owner) has given control of the team to his son, which may be the problem.The Lakers current team will never win a championship, and Kobe knows it , and it sure isn't Kobe's fault.If the Lakers don't trade for someone quick, they will lose the best player since Michael Jordan, and they will regret it for ever.Also, why do the Kobe haters continually call him a rapist. Weren't the charges dropped. Aren't we, as American citizens, innocent until proven guilty. It reminds me of the Barry Bonds issue. He was never "proven" to have taken steroids.So why do people , including the media, continue to treat these athletes like criminals.Its kind of funny, the best player in baseball and the best player in basketball are the ones criticized the most. Watch out Tom Brady!!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Biofuels a crime against humanity?
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9436
If you are not aware of the background in the sudden surge of bio-ethanal perhaps a small review is in order. Due to rising costs of gasoline and the fact that the majority of our supply comes from a part of the world void of any type of stability either politically, economically or religiously; we have been trying to wean ourselves and ultimately our nation from such dependence on foriegn oil. One fabled savior is that of renewable, self grown commodities. In our case; corn. Corn is used now more so as a vehicle for fuel development than that of a food product. This was in large part due to a Government backed endorsement (and, coincdentally, reduced fuel consumption mandates for those vehicles that are "duel fuel" ready) and the whole romanticized Americana day dream of an all American chain of supply. American farmers (who already receive ridiculous, outdated and damaging subsidies on their crops) grow our fuel so that hard working blue collar American factory workers produce our cars so that Americans can drive to the store and purchase goods!
Goods, more than likely, made in China. But I digress.
The fact that Corn has gone from a food product to a fuel source not only affects us at home, but it has also had a negative effect on persons such as those in Mexico. For whom Corn is a staple of food more so than here in America due to their consumption of the delicious, nutritious and edible food plate that is the tortilla. Producers in Mexico of corn have started to plant more of it, but it is now for export to us here so that we can turn it into a fuel with less energy per pound than gasoline, and with an increase in N2O emissions. Nevermind the fact that the process to produce such a fuel from Corn is more so environmentally damaging than that of turning the traditional fossil fuel into Petrol. In addition to this obvious one sided growth spurt of Corn, those vehicles that either run entirely off of biofuel or off of both traditional dino Petrol and biofuel, are exempt from the normal Government mandated mile per gallon standards. So Ford can continue to produce outdated, unneeded gigantic Trucks that don't meet fuel standards for 1987, let alone 2007, can tweak their engines to run both kinds of fuel (which is quite easy) and be exempt from the already existing miles per gallon standard. Yay. It is a circle of inefficient, jingoistic self deprecating patriotism consisting of a lot of smoke and mirrors to make ourselves feel better.
Think about it.
If you are not aware of the background in the sudden surge of bio-ethanal perhaps a small review is in order. Due to rising costs of gasoline and the fact that the majority of our supply comes from a part of the world void of any type of stability either politically, economically or religiously; we have been trying to wean ourselves and ultimately our nation from such dependence on foriegn oil. One fabled savior is that of renewable, self grown commodities. In our case; corn. Corn is used now more so as a vehicle for fuel development than that of a food product. This was in large part due to a Government backed endorsement (and, coincdentally, reduced fuel consumption mandates for those vehicles that are "duel fuel" ready) and the whole romanticized Americana day dream of an all American chain of supply. American farmers (who already receive ridiculous, outdated and damaging subsidies on their crops) grow our fuel so that hard working blue collar American factory workers produce our cars so that Americans can drive to the store and purchase goods!
Goods, more than likely, made in China. But I digress.
The fact that Corn has gone from a food product to a fuel source not only affects us at home, but it has also had a negative effect on persons such as those in Mexico. For whom Corn is a staple of food more so than here in America due to their consumption of the delicious, nutritious and edible food plate that is the tortilla. Producers in Mexico of corn have started to plant more of it, but it is now for export to us here so that we can turn it into a fuel with less energy per pound than gasoline, and with an increase in N2O emissions. Nevermind the fact that the process to produce such a fuel from Corn is more so environmentally damaging than that of turning the traditional fossil fuel into Petrol. In addition to this obvious one sided growth spurt of Corn, those vehicles that either run entirely off of biofuel or off of both traditional dino Petrol and biofuel, are exempt from the normal Government mandated mile per gallon standards. So Ford can continue to produce outdated, unneeded gigantic Trucks that don't meet fuel standards for 1987, let alone 2007, can tweak their engines to run both kinds of fuel (which is quite easy) and be exempt from the already existing miles per gallon standard. Yay. It is a circle of inefficient, jingoistic self deprecating patriotism consisting of a lot of smoke and mirrors to make ourselves feel better.
Think about it.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sustainability of the earth.
This is both a test post and a post made at the behest of Prof. Crandall to verify that us students can indeed create brand new posts. I read this article linked from fark.com. And if you don't read fark, this is a very positive advertisement for that site. It is all real headlines about any and all subjects, but with absolutely hilarious one liners so that it gets you to click the links and read.
www.fark.com
And here is the article in question. It is about a current study into the "extinction periods" that have been part of the very existence of the earth for the past 4.5 billion years. It is hypothesized that the current use and abuse of the earth and its resources are not sustainable.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleid=DEAF205F-E7F2-99DF-35C3B60FE3CC788B
Kind of scary. In fact, really scary. We only have one of these things. Until we can get to mars and robot wives are cheap and effective; things must change.
Cookie for the reference to the robot wives bit.
www.fark.com
And here is the article in question. It is about a current study into the "extinction periods" that have been part of the very existence of the earth for the past 4.5 billion years. It is hypothesized that the current use and abuse of the earth and its resources are not sustainable.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleid=DEAF205F-E7F2-99DF-35C3B60FE3CC788B
Kind of scary. In fact, really scary. We only have one of these things. Until we can get to mars and robot wives are cheap and effective; things must change.
Cookie for the reference to the robot wives bit.
Fires
Hello all ---
Pursuant to class requests, I'm posting some responses to current events and class readings to see whether it makes posting easier.
BTW, the comments we've gotten are good, but do remember that students can make new posts also.
I suspect those who want me to write here are more interested in my opening a topic than in my particular opinions about any one thing, so let's see ----
What about the coverage of these fires? Is it better than coverage of foreign policy or elections? If so, how so, and why do you suppose that might be the case?
Pursuant to class requests, I'm posting some responses to current events and class readings to see whether it makes posting easier.
BTW, the comments we've gotten are good, but do remember that students can make new posts also.
I suspect those who want me to write here are more interested in my opening a topic than in my particular opinions about any one thing, so let's see ----
What about the coverage of these fires? Is it better than coverage of foreign policy or elections? If so, how so, and why do you suppose that might be the case?
Agnew on TV
What did you think of Agnew's speech?
He's speaking some time around 1970, so when he talks about modern media, he means television networks. At the time, there were several national networks and some relatively local networks, too. TV dials (round knobs; you turned them and they went click-click-click between channels) went all the way up to 13, though of course not all the channels were occupied in any one city.
Agnew was Vice President during the Nixon Administration, at the height of the Vietnam War, during part of the big roil of social and political unrest that people mean when we talk about "the sixties" or "the seventies."
Some people still talked about television as the educational wave of the future. We were all going to be able to see and almost touch the world, right as things happened. We would be more informed than ever before. For the last ten years or so, we have heard the same thing about the Internet. What happened to TV? What might happen to the Net? What should happen?
He's speaking some time around 1970, so when he talks about modern media, he means television networks. At the time, there were several national networks and some relatively local networks, too. TV dials (round knobs; you turned them and they went click-click-click between channels) went all the way up to 13, though of course not all the channels were occupied in any one city.
Agnew was Vice President during the Nixon Administration, at the height of the Vietnam War, during part of the big roil of social and political unrest that people mean when we talk about "the sixties" or "the seventies."
Some people still talked about television as the educational wave of the future. We were all going to be able to see and almost touch the world, right as things happened. We would be more informed than ever before. For the last ten years or so, we have heard the same thing about the Internet. What happened to TV? What might happen to the Net? What should happen?
Agnew Again
How do you feel about Agnew's opinion that reporters did not give President Richard Nixon a chance to properly explain his opinions or be heard or understood?
Breton, "Freedom of Love"
Andre Breton -- the man who wrote "Freedom of Love," the piece about the poet's "with the waist of an otter" -- was the leader of a movement called the Surrealists. They felt that a lot of what matters to humans is subconscious or semi-conscious and not completely logical, so they used startling analogies to summon feelings and things that they felt were obscured by what we usually consider as logic or as common sense.
Is there conflict between human logic and human feeling, and if so, how does that work?
Some say that "human logic" is an oxymoron, but how can logic happen without a human logician?
If each of us senses separately, what is "common sense"?
Is there conflict between human logic and human feeling, and if so, how does that work?
Some say that "human logic" is an oxymoron, but how can logic happen without a human logician?
If each of us senses separately, what is "common sense"?
Dooce
In what ways does Dooce relate to kinds of media performances that are called gossipy?
Dooce herself (it's her nickname as well as the site name) has become a small-time celebrity, probably because her blogging was indiscrete enough to get her canned from her job, but also because she spills her guts online about her depression and hospitalizations, and because she gets personal about her relationship with her daughter and her husband -- all items that relate to the concerns of young and middle-aged women who raise children.
It seems to me that in some ways Dooce is very similar and in some ways very different from gossip mags and the schlock that's called entertainment news. Gossip mags like People make a lot out of celebrities' very personal lives and problems. Many people find this either predatory, trivial or both, yet very many people are fascinated by all this, including people who would rather not admit it.
If the most personal parts of our own lives are the parts we value most, in what sense is knowing about those parts of other people's lives trivial or nosy?
Now, what does this say about someone like Dooce, who's not telling us about other people's lives? (Well, alright, I reckon she has had a talk or two with her husband and has some doozies coming up with that daughter, but she's not ratting out strangers or acting like she's personally concerned with people she has never met.) Is this only a moral distinction, like a person has a right to talk about personal things they're details from that person's own life? Or if the nature of this information differs from tattle-tale reports of Ms Spears' or Ms. Hilton's recent difficulties, how does it differ?
Dooce herself (it's her nickname as well as the site name) has become a small-time celebrity, probably because her blogging was indiscrete enough to get her canned from her job, but also because she spills her guts online about her depression and hospitalizations, and because she gets personal about her relationship with her daughter and her husband -- all items that relate to the concerns of young and middle-aged women who raise children.
It seems to me that in some ways Dooce is very similar and in some ways very different from gossip mags and the schlock that's called entertainment news. Gossip mags like People make a lot out of celebrities' very personal lives and problems. Many people find this either predatory, trivial or both, yet very many people are fascinated by all this, including people who would rather not admit it.
If the most personal parts of our own lives are the parts we value most, in what sense is knowing about those parts of other people's lives trivial or nosy?
Now, what does this say about someone like Dooce, who's not telling us about other people's lives? (Well, alright, I reckon she has had a talk or two with her husband and has some doozies coming up with that daughter, but she's not ratting out strangers or acting like she's personally concerned with people she has never met.) Is this only a moral distinction, like a person has a right to talk about personal things they're details from that person's own life? Or if the nature of this information differs from tattle-tale reports of Ms Spears' or Ms. Hilton's recent difficulties, how does it differ?
Dooce
I suppose all the questions and ideas I mentioned with regard to "Yellow Wallpaper" apply to Dooce as well.
What do you think of blogs? It occurs to me that yo might feel different about different types:
What do you think of blogs? It occurs to me that yo might feel different about different types:
- The personal blog, like Dooce, in which the topic grows out of the blogger's personal life and obsessions, almost like a public diary.
- Blogs kept primarily by one person, but which deal primarily with a personal approach to some topic, like Rocinante or Insta-Pundit
- Blogs sponsored by an online journal or some other entity with its own interests, like professor's blogs or, say, Chomsky's blog on the Z-Magazine Website.
- Blogs kept by a lot of people equally, like Common Dreams.org
- This.
Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman
Perkin-Gilman published "The Yellow Wallpaper" in 1892, a few years before I thought. But a lot of current issues run under the narrative. Some have to do with gender issues, but many also have to do with self-determination in general.
The narrator's condition at the start of "Yellow Wallpaper" reminds some people of what's now called post-partum depression. In a way, it's interesting we should even have a separate term for that. Why would women become depressed after childbirth? It happens very frequently, and to women in many different circumstances.
What has made narrator so unhappy before she's even shut up in the room, before the story proper even gets started?
Some might say she has everything she can want. Lots of people were poor; she was fed. Lots of people died of disease with little or no medical treatment; she was healthy and had doctors on call to take care of her. Lots of women were and are abandoned by husbands and significant others; her husband is still there, providing. Lots of people, particularly women, are exhausted by the demands of work and childcare; she has little worries about either.
I could go on.
How does this situation relate to these situations:
What should be done about all this? Who should do it? How?
The narrator's condition at the start of "Yellow Wallpaper" reminds some people of what's now called post-partum depression. In a way, it's interesting we should even have a separate term for that. Why would women become depressed after childbirth? It happens very frequently, and to women in many different circumstances.
What has made narrator so unhappy before she's even shut up in the room, before the story proper even gets started?
Some might say she has everything she can want. Lots of people were poor; she was fed. Lots of people died of disease with little or no medical treatment; she was healthy and had doctors on call to take care of her. Lots of women were and are abandoned by husbands and significant others; her husband is still there, providing. Lots of people, particularly women, are exhausted by the demands of work and childcare; she has little worries about either.
I could go on.
How does this situation relate to these situations:
- Women with post-partum depression today
- Dooce
- The narrator's needs
- Her husband's needs
- Her child's needs
- Her servants' needs
- The needs of child laborers at the time
- The needs of poor mothers who had to work and send their young children to work
- The needs of single mothers today
- The needs of mothers who wish to have professionally satisfying careers and rich social lives, including rich family lives with their children
- The needs of young couples or singles trying to get the education society demands of them while they raise young families, and the needs of those families.
What should be done about all this? Who should do it? How?
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Real News
The Real News is getting more material. They report differently than I anticipated they would. For one thing, I thought of it as a leftist production, mostly because Jeff Cohen recommended it. But some of the commentators bill themselves as conservatives and voice conservative liberatarian ideas that I did not expect.
All the Real News reports have faces and voices attached, and the way this happens seems very different than Fox or CNN's kind of presentation. Most news items seem to start with a report that sounds built around the traditional journalistic questions "who, what, where, why, and how." But they include or link quickly to commentary by one or another person billed as an expert. Some of these experts are known to me and are people I recognize as experts; others I have never heard of, though perhaps they are known elsewhere or to a different community.
They had a pretty startling report yesterday. One of their reporters had apparently slipped a cell phone with a camara to a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli prison on the Sinai Peninsula. The prisoner called out commentary and shots of limp bodies strewn over each other in a pile in the prison yard, bodies that may have been shot.
The bodies and other prison scenes went by pretty fast, and I have to say I found it hard to be certain what I was looking at or what the prisoner referred to, even in translation.
I can't recall when I ever had this kind of less mediated or differently mediates information from a news article. But I wonder how you-all feel about this kind of reporting. Does it need more mediation or different mediation? Is it actually mediated more, in a sense, because commentary is available?
To what extent and in what way should this information be edited or mediated?
All the Real News reports have faces and voices attached, and the way this happens seems very different than Fox or CNN's kind of presentation. Most news items seem to start with a report that sounds built around the traditional journalistic questions "who, what, where, why, and how." But they include or link quickly to commentary by one or another person billed as an expert. Some of these experts are known to me and are people I recognize as experts; others I have never heard of, though perhaps they are known elsewhere or to a different community.
They had a pretty startling report yesterday. One of their reporters had apparently slipped a cell phone with a camara to a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli prison on the Sinai Peninsula. The prisoner called out commentary and shots of limp bodies strewn over each other in a pile in the prison yard, bodies that may have been shot.
The bodies and other prison scenes went by pretty fast, and I have to say I found it hard to be certain what I was looking at or what the prisoner referred to, even in translation.
I can't recall when I ever had this kind of less mediated or differently mediates information from a news article. But I wonder how you-all feel about this kind of reporting. Does it need more mediation or different mediation? Is it actually mediated more, in a sense, because commentary is available?
To what extent and in what way should this information be edited or mediated?
Kate Chopin, "The Storm"
Those who like Kate Chopin's "The Storm" might want to get her novel, The Awakening, about a woman who leaves her wife and family "to find herself," as we used to say in bygone ages.
Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening and her short stories for money while she raised her kids. I'm a bit nervous about saying so, but she claimed she barely proofred her work.
Chopin wrote in the 1800's, but her stories can still raise a bit of a scandal in class discussions. I don't want to give away too much, since most students will not have read "The Storm," yet, but here are a few things that to me seem worth your comments.
Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening and her short stories for money while she raised her kids. I'm a bit nervous about saying so, but she claimed she barely proofred her work.
Chopin wrote in the 1800's, but her stories can still raise a bit of a scandal in class discussions. I don't want to give away too much, since most students will not have read "The Storm," yet, but here are a few things that to me seem worth your comments.
- Why are or aren't things OK at the end of "The Storm"?
- If this kind of thing goes against the morés of the 1800's, why was Chopin so popular. What, if anything, does that tell us about the general practice of censorship?
- Kate Chopin's works became less known in the early 20th Century, but they have undergone fresh popularity after the 1970's.
- Are Chopin's writings useful in the way they would have been when they were written?
Franz Kafka
When Franz Kafka died, he ordered a friend to burn all his manuscripts, including "The Metamorphosis." Should his friend have burned them?
"The Metamorphosis" belongs to a genre that has since come to be known as "magical realism." Some other artists in this genre include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author of One Hundred Days of Solitude; Juan Rulfo, who wrote the short novel Pedro Paramo; José Donoso, who wrote of strange sexual liasons in works like The Obscene Bird of Night; the ever-dignified and amusing Jorge Luis Borges, who wrote "The Garden of Forking Paths;" and Julio Cortazar's wild novel Hopscotch, Rayuelas for you Spanish readers, which can be read in various orders.
In what ways is "The Metamorphosis" realistic?
Other than Gregor's surprising change, what's bugging him and his family?
"The Metamorphosis" belongs to a genre that has since come to be known as "magical realism." Some other artists in this genre include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author of One Hundred Days of Solitude; Juan Rulfo, who wrote the short novel Pedro Paramo; José Donoso, who wrote of strange sexual liasons in works like The Obscene Bird of Night; the ever-dignified and amusing Jorge Luis Borges, who wrote "The Garden of Forking Paths;" and Julio Cortazar's wild novel Hopscotch, Rayuelas for you Spanish readers, which can be read in various orders.
In what ways is "The Metamorphosis" realistic?
Other than Gregor's surprising change, what's bugging him and his family?
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
Walden is one of the key works of the Transcendentalist movement of the American 1800's, but it probably never hit its peak popularity until the 1960's, roughly a century later. During his short life, Thoreau was known mostly for his radical opposition to slavery and to the American invasion of Mexico. He wrote in favor of John Brown, who was hung for killing slaveholders. And he wrote "On Resistance to Civil Government," the essay often known as "Civil Disobedience," while in jail for refusing to fund the invasion of Mexico by paying a tax.
In Walden, Thoreau describes a year of his life in a homemade cabin at Walden Pond, just outside of Concord, Massachussetts. A lot of MtSAC students are putting together households, or will. What's the difference? What principles still apply?
In Walden, Thoreau describes a year of his life in a homemade cabin at Walden Pond, just outside of Concord, Massachussetts. A lot of MtSAC students are putting together households, or will. What's the difference? What principles still apply?
On "The Gambler," by Dostoyevsky
What sense does gambling make?
How is gambling similar to work? What if the work is done on commission? How is it similar to owning stocks or commodities trading?
How is or or isn't the main character's personality characteristic of gamblers or gambling in general?
If we say a thing is valuable or has value, what does that mean?
How does this reading relate to the poem by Sappho that we looked at in class way back towards the start of the semester?
How is gambling similar to work? What if the work is done on commission? How is it similar to owning stocks or commodities trading?
How is or or isn't the main character's personality characteristic of gamblers or gambling in general?
If we say a thing is valuable or has value, what does that mean?
How does this reading relate to the poem by Sappho that we looked at in class way back towards the start of the semester?
Shakespeare - Choice of film
Towards the end of November, we're going to see a movie based on a play by William Shakespeare. I have not decided which.
A lot of you are familiar with at least a few Shakespearean plays and might have opinions about which you would rather see and write about. I welcome everyone's opinions, and will probably show the film that the class chooses.
Here are the films I know I have access to, and a very short evaluation of each:
A lot of you are familiar with at least a few Shakespearean plays and might have opinions about which you would rather see and write about. I welcome everyone's opinions, and will probably show the film that the class chooses.
Here are the films I know I have access to, and a very short evaluation of each:
- Hamlet: I would probably use the early '90's Zeferilli production with Mel Gibson as Hamlet; Glen Close as his mother, Gertrude; and Alan Bates as the scheming Claudius. Kenneth Branagh did an interesting Hamlet in 1996, but it lasts 4 hours, and we will probably want the time for discussion. Gibson gives a passionate and surprisingly cogent performance; Close and Bates are measured and good, as expected. Hamlet is famous for the profundity of the main character's grief and philosophical investigations of life, death, and responsibilities of various sorts. Some have said that Prince Hamlet is literature's most intelligent fictional character; others feel he goes on too much about his own problems.
- Othello is a tragic story of love, jealousy, friendship and betrayal that is considered by some to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, in part because the plot is very tight and moves fast. I would use the 1994 version with Branagh as Iago and Laurence "Morpheus" Fishburne as Othello. For my money, it's Branagh's best performance, better than the early Henry V that made his reputation. There is some nudity and violence.
- Macbeth is tightly plotted, moves quickly, has lots of action, and showcases some of Shakespeare's finest language. It's a story of ambition and murder in which the strongest and perhaps most interesting character is the female murderess, Macbeth's wife. I'm not sure which Macbeth I'd use yet. There's a recent Australian version set in Melbourne with three very alluring young witches, which does contain some nudity; a 1972 or so version directed by Roman Polanski, lushly costumed and appointed; there is also an older Orson Welles version that I have just acquired and hope to view this coming week. There is violence, but so far none of the versions strike me as graphically violent by the standards of modern TV viewers.
- Titus is the Julie Newmar version of Titus Andronicus, surely Shakespeare's most savagely and graphically violent play, and both the violence and sensuality are graphic in this Newmar production. This is superbly acted and realized. Anthony Hopkins plays Titus Andronicus better than I'd have thought possible. [] is savage and lovely as the Barbarian Queen, and very effective when her discomfort with the Elizabethan script don't weigh her down. The Queen's Afican lover, Aaron, whom many find the most interesting character in the entire piece is nobly played as well. If we watch this, viewers must be ready for some strongly graphic scenes that involve both violence and nudity.
- Romeo and Juliet is of course the famous tale of star-crossed young lovers. If I go with this, there is a big decision to make about which version to use. West Side Story is a version of R & J done as a musical in the late 1950's with Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno. It's a great production, though I find it more dated than the 400-year-old play itself. It does not use Shakespearean language, which I think is a pity (student opinions vary). There are several fairly standard versions that I could choose from. But then there's also Zieferelli's mid-90's version with Leo DiCaprio as Romeo, which sets the whole play in a stylized "Verona Beach" filmed across town from here in Venice CA. The rival families show up here as rival gangs who shoot at each other and have names shaved into their heads. Modern drug references are made in Shakespeare's original language. It's pretty wild altogether. Some passing nudity, and a fair amount of violence.
- The Merchant of Venic is kind of halfway between tragedy and comedy. Take your pick. Shakespeare takes 4 traditional stories that feel kind of like fables or fairy tale examinations of love and values. Then he gets some real depth by weaving them together. I'd go with the lovely 2005 production, filmed in Venice with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons sharing the screen with a crew of attractive younger actors. Some nudity, no violence, some laughs.
- The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy about gender roles. Feminists often complain because "the shrew" is female, and in some sense apparently "tamed" or dominated by her husband, but to my mind the most accurate readings of the play and its best performances give a very different impression. This is one of Shakespeare's funniest pieces, and so remains popular despite questions about whether it's politically correct, as the saying goes. So far the best version I have is the old Liz Taylor vs Richard Burton 1968, played very broadly and for laughs, with the couple spitting and bellowing at each other and Taylor merrily cracking chairs over Burton's back and head. C'est la vie, mes amis.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, for all its apparent silliness, involves profound examination of love and may be Shakespeare's most popular comedy. Four couples and a troop of would-be amateur actors traipse through the woods at night, befuddled by fairies and magic that strangely resemble a lot of human romantic behavior. This version has Michelle Pfeiffer as the Queen of the Faeries, Calista Flockhart chasing her man through the woods, and an extraordinary performance by Kevin Kline as the lunkheaded dreamer Bottom. This play causes some confusion because viewers tend to take it as just a light comedy and nothing else, but when the faerie dust clears, there are always things to write about.
- Julius Caesar is one of the better known of Shakespeare's histories, a thoughtful consideration of power and morals. The version I have features a very young Marlon Brando in one of his first filmed performances.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Staggered Schedule
Everyone note: we're still on a staggered schedule this week.
The debates will be next week, 11/2 or 11/4, depending which day you're in class.
The debates will be next week, 11/2 or 11/4, depending which day you're in class.
FYI -- You Can Make New Posts for Credit
Like a lot of new things, student participation is getting going slowly in terms of quantity, although so far the quality of the entries has been very good.
One thing I notice is that no one is making new posts. Just to be sure this is clear:
YES! You can make new posts!
In fact, in many if not most cases, I recommend it. That puts your words right up there front and center at the top of the blog, where your colleagues can read it and comment. Once we get a few more comments up there, it will be (I think) easier to continue.
One thing I notice is that no one is making new posts. Just to be sure this is clear:
YES! You can make new posts!
In fact, in many if not most cases, I recommend it. That puts your words right up there front and center at the top of the blog, where your colleagues can read it and comment. Once we get a few more comments up there, it will be (I think) easier to continue.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Debate Procedures
Debate Format
Here's how the upcoming debates will be structured:
Physical Layout:
Notes
Students may use notes in any form. These will not be turned in to the instructor. Many previous students have found 3" by 5" cards to be an effective form for notes, though some few prefer outlines. Flow-charts have been used effectively by a small number of students who are responding to previous speeches (that is, everyone but the first pro speaker).
A few students have used visual aids effectively, but they have often caused more trouble than they have been worth. Since the speeches must respond to previous arguments, completely mapping out a speech before the debate tends to keep the speaker from properly responding, and grades may suffer.
The only speaker in a debate who can know before the debate exactly what he or she will say is the first pro speaker. No one else should attempt to pre-write a speech. Even first pro speakers will usually find that writing out the entire speech is usually not the best way to perform, since it's very hard to give an effective delivery when one is reading. (An outline is usually effective for the first pro speech).
Procedure in a 2 vs 2 Debate
Anyone who arrives late on the debate day runs the risk of being unable to participate in the debate, and possibly having to take a zero for the debate. We will accomodate people who arrive late only insofar as this does not handicap those who arrive on time, but that also means that we will not keep the class waiting.
In the case of a 3 versus 3 debate, there will be two more rounds. Cross-examinations will continue in all rounds except the very last one. (The reasons that cross examinations are not traditional in the last round is that it's not usually advantageous to ask questions of an opponent unless one will have the opportunity to respond. Since both teams cannot have the opportunity to respond last, the most equitable procedure is to have no cross-examination for either at the end.)
It may happen that teams have a different number of debaters on debate day. If so, the members of the team with fewer members has a choice to make. They are entitled to make extra speeches and cross-examinations to make up for the teamates that are missing or non-existent, so that the team has equal time. Or they may refuse to speak extra in order to avoid the extra work or stress. They will not be penalized for either decision, but historically, extra speaking often raises a grade and almost never drops it.
Here's how the upcoming debates will be structured:
Physical Layout:
- Speakers will use the podium, which will be at the center-front of the classroom
- The teams currently debating will occupy a row of desks at either side of the front of the class until their turns to speak.
- All of us not in the current debate will occupy the regular class seats.
Notes
Students may use notes in any form. These will not be turned in to the instructor. Many previous students have found 3" by 5" cards to be an effective form for notes, though some few prefer outlines. Flow-charts have been used effectively by a small number of students who are responding to previous speeches (that is, everyone but the first pro speaker).
A few students have used visual aids effectively, but they have often caused more trouble than they have been worth. Since the speeches must respond to previous arguments, completely mapping out a speech before the debate tends to keep the speaker from properly responding, and grades may suffer.
The only speaker in a debate who can know before the debate exactly what he or she will say is the first pro speaker. No one else should attempt to pre-write a speech. Even first pro speakers will usually find that writing out the entire speech is usually not the best way to perform, since it's very hard to give an effective delivery when one is reading. (An outline is usually effective for the first pro speech).
Procedure in a 2 vs 2 Debate
Anyone who arrives late on the debate day runs the risk of being unable to participate in the debate, and possibly having to take a zero for the debate. We will accomodate people who arrive late only insofar as this does not handicap those who arrive on time, but that also means that we will not keep the class waiting.
- Round #1 (first speakers)
- First pro speaker makes a speech, taking up to 5 minutes. This explains what the pro-side's proposal is and why it should be implemented or accepted.
- Cross-examination -- the first con speaker asks questions of the first pro speaker. As in all cross-examinations, the questioner ONLY asks questions, making no statements. The person who answers ONLY answers, asking no questions. Cross-examinations may take up to 3 minutes.
- The first con speaker makes a speech describing why the pro platform should be rejected, answering the first pro speaker's arguments and extending the argument in whatever ways the con side finds advantageous.
- The second pro speaker cross-examines the first con speaker. Notice that the person asking questions is always the person who will speak next, and the person answering questions is always the person who has spoken.
- Round #2
- Second pro speaker speaks.
- Second con speaker cross-examines second pro speaker.
- Second con speaker speaks
- First pro speaker cross-examines second con speaker.
- Round #3
- First pro speaker speaks. Notice that by this time it's unlikely (although entirely possible!) that the debaters are dealing with entirely new main concepts.The second speech usually amounts to a rebuttal -- a response to previous arguments.
- The first con speaker cross-examines the first pro speaker.
- The first con speaker speaks.
- The second pro speaker cross-examines the first con speaker.
- Round #4
- The first pro speaker speaks.
- The second pro speaker speaks.
In the case of a 3 versus 3 debate, there will be two more rounds. Cross-examinations will continue in all rounds except the very last one. (The reasons that cross examinations are not traditional in the last round is that it's not usually advantageous to ask questions of an opponent unless one will have the opportunity to respond. Since both teams cannot have the opportunity to respond last, the most equitable procedure is to have no cross-examination for either at the end.)
It may happen that teams have a different number of debaters on debate day. If so, the members of the team with fewer members has a choice to make. They are entitled to make extra speeches and cross-examinations to make up for the teamates that are missing or non-existent, so that the team has equal time. Or they may refuse to speak extra in order to avoid the extra work or stress. They will not be penalized for either decision, but historically, extra speaking often raises a grade and almost never drops it.
Debate Grading
Debate Grading FAQ
These answer the questions that come up each semester about how debates are graded:
Feel free to ask about anything I've left out.
These answer the questions that come up each semester about how debates are graded:
- Since I cannot verify how much study and preparation students do for the debate, the entire grade will depend on performance in the debate itself.
- The debate grades count the same as an essay in in terms of the cumulative grade at the end of the semester.
- Students will receive grades on the day of the debate.
- Students receive individual grades. If a team member refuses to prepare,this may be frustrating, but should not ruin one's grade. Where necessary, the difficulty of working with an inconvenient partner may be taken into account in the grading.
- One may get a good or bad grade whether one's team wins or loses.
- Each student is graded individually but according to how he or she does in advancing a team effort. Accordingly, students who make outstanding contribution to a team's poor showing may get A's, but not by abandoning the team.
- Grades will be awarded according to how logically and thoroughly each debater supports the team position. While I reserve the right to award a higher grade because a student delivers a speech very well, I will not penalize a student whose delivery falters unless that changes the logical content of the delivery. Once in a while a student freezes in front of the class, unable to speak. That student may wait even several minutes for his or her panic to pas, then proceed. As long as the speaker is eventually able to deliver the argument logically and thoroughly, the grade will not suffer.
- Hopefully this is obvious, but I will not grade anyone down on his or her accent.
- I will not grade anyone down for grammatical or usage errors unless they are sufficiently serious that the argument itself suffers.
- I make no guarantee that the use of any sort of visual aid will improve anyone's grade. In fact, my experience is that they usually do not (although I do recall several exceptions). High grades go to clear, profound argument that's relevant to the point at hand. Visual aids only improve one's case if they advance that.
- I have never had to drop any grade because a debater has been overly aggressive or disrespectful to a colleague, though I suppose this could happen. The arguments that do appear that are sort of on the borderline of this usually run like "Oh, you only believe that because you're rich (or poor or American or Republican or female or Catholic). This kind of argument tends to lower one's grade simply because it is irrelevant to the argument at hand. For instance, even if one can demonstrate that one's instructor is an arrogant, self-important pedant does not mean that said professor is incorrect about the comma splice on one's paper.
Feel free to ask about anything I've left out.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Humor and Posts
WhiteOleander, your previous post about "not joking around" applies to the suicide forum, right?
Humor on this blog, the 1C blog, is OK, though I anticipate that disagreement between colleagues will remain respectful.
Humor on this blog, the 1C blog, is OK, though I anticipate that disagreement between colleagues will remain respectful.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Suicide forum and Change in Abortion group topic
Here is the link to suicide forum: copy and paste http://www.suicideforum.com/index.php
Let's be considerate here and not joke around about serious issues. You can look around, but will need a member login to read certain posts. Even though there are moderators, some people still read those posts that may be triggering and are eventually deleted.
Also, for the people not in class today, the abortion debate group has changed it's debate to the existence of god.
Let's be considerate here and not joke around about serious issues. You can look around, but will need a member login to read certain posts. Even though there are moderators, some people still read those posts that may be triggering and are eventually deleted.
Also, for the people not in class today, the abortion debate group has changed it's debate to the existence of god.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sample post
Students unsure about what to blog might check out the blog posts on the Spring 2007 class at http://mtsac1cspring2007.blogspot.com/. Some students were particularly effective bloggers:
There were others who deserve mention, but since my end here is to give current students a few examples by which to proceed, I'll limit myself to these for now. They were solid and obvious A performances.
- Farzeneh read broadly in current events abroad, and brought up many issues that the rest of us had not noticed. Her posts were notable for thorough research and nuanced, intelligent commentary.
- Sharkyspy was a counterpuncher. A lot of what he dealt with had come up on the Net or in class, but he brought fresh experience to a wide range of discussions, and his sharp, incisive logic helped clarify many issues.
There were others who deserve mention, but since my end here is to give current students a few examples by which to proceed, I'll limit myself to these for now. They were solid and obvious A performances.
Content and grading of Posts
So, what kind of things get credit on blog posts?
Most things.
First off, WRITE. Just about anything gets more credit than nothing, and one can always write another post.
Like the previous paragraph, posts can relate to issues of class administration.
Posts can relate to critical thinking issues do not directly relate to the specific readings of the class. For instance, students in the instructor's Spring 2007 class blog posted extensively about fallacies (since I shamelessly coerced them into doing so). A lot of the earlier fallacy entries have comments about fallacies by other students and by the instructor.
Advertisements are rich sources of fallacy, as are most political speeches and statements that actually do take a stand, and most corporate position statements.
Just about any kind of comment on class readings has to be relevant. You can comment on previous readings, future readings, or current readings; the credit will be equal in any case. So, for instance, someone might point out Reznikoff's use of color in "Suburban River: Summer," with the gulls that are white twice and the water that's blue twice before the introduction of the sewers in the second stanza. If I'd found something interesting about Reznikoff or about poetry or about this poem or about pollution or about gulls or even about sewage, I could post that relevantly.
If I found some link somewhere that seemed useful, I could post that. For instance, I just now googled "Charles Reznikoff," and I got, among other things, the Electronic Poetry Center at SUNY Buffalo at http://epc.buffalo.edu/. That's a pretty useful link for people interested in modern and postmodern American poetry.
Even if you don't know the HTML to set up a link, you can give us the link, and your colleagues can copy and paste it into their browsers if they want to follow up on what you're saying. So, I googled "East River" and "water pollution," and I came up with an artistic presentation at http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/12/river-glow-water-pollution-monitor-urban-art-installation/. Comments on that would be welcome.
Most things.
First off, WRITE. Just about anything gets more credit than nothing, and one can always write another post.
Like the previous paragraph, posts can relate to issues of class administration.
Posts can relate to critical thinking issues do not directly relate to the specific readings of the class. For instance, students in the instructor's Spring 2007 class blog posted extensively about fallacies (since I shamelessly coerced them into doing so). A lot of the earlier fallacy entries have comments about fallacies by other students and by the instructor.
Advertisements are rich sources of fallacy, as are most political speeches and statements that actually do take a stand, and most corporate position statements.
Just about any kind of comment on class readings has to be relevant. You can comment on previous readings, future readings, or current readings; the credit will be equal in any case. So, for instance, someone might point out Reznikoff's use of color in "Suburban River: Summer," with the gulls that are white twice and the water that's blue twice before the introduction of the sewers in the second stanza. If I'd found something interesting about Reznikoff or about poetry or about this poem or about pollution or about gulls or even about sewage, I could post that relevantly.
If I found some link somewhere that seemed useful, I could post that. For instance, I just now googled "Charles Reznikoff," and I got, among other things, the Electronic Poetry Center at SUNY Buffalo at http://epc.buffalo.edu/. That's a pretty useful link for people interested in modern and postmodern American poetry.
Even if you don't know the HTML to set up a link, you can give us the link, and your colleagues can copy and paste it into their browsers if they want to follow up on what you're saying. So, I googled "East River" and "water pollution," and I came up with an artistic presentation at http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/12/river-glow-water-pollution-monitor-urban-art-installation/. Comments on that would be welcome.
How to Comment
"Comments" are different than "posts" on blogspot.
A comment is new text that a user enters that will be specifically related to a specific post that already exists. A link below the post leads to the comments associated with it.
Students get equal credit for comments and posts, all else being equal.
So, here's how to comment:
Often it's easier and safer, especially when writing longer comments, to compose them in a text editor or word processor, and then copy and paste them into the writing field. This keepts text from being lost and stops other kinds of less painful errors.
Don't expect all your formatting to be retained, however!
A comment is new text that a user enters that will be specifically related to a specific post that already exists. A link below the post leads to the comments associated with it.
Students get equal credit for comments and posts, all else being equal.
So, here's how to comment:
- Read the post.
- click the link below the post that reads "# comments," where # = the number of comments already made.. You should see a screen with any previous comments on the left, and a field for your comment on the right.
- Write in your comment
- Choose PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT
- Your comment should now be published. If you return to the blog, and click on the comments link again, you will see it.
Often it's easier and safer, especially when writing longer comments, to compose them in a text editor or word processor, and then copy and paste them into the writing field. This keepts text from being lost and stops other kinds of less painful errors.
Don't expect all your formatting to be retained, however!
How to post
In case someone remains uncertain about how to post on the blog, try this:
- Go to the blog. (Ah! That's done! Notice the linked options in the lighter blue bar across the top of the browser's view field. One option, along the right-hand side, should say ""Sign In," unless you already have done so.)
- Click Sign in.
- Provide your username and password, then confirm.
- Choose "View Blog"
- Now the command links at the top will include something that says "New Post." Click that. You will get a screen with a small writing field, a big writing field, and another small writing field
- Enter a title in the small writing field. It will eventually appear in larger, darker font above your post.
- Write the body of what you wish to write in the larger field. That will be the post.
- Write topics or keywords in the lower small writing field. This will help index your entry so you and other students will be able to find it more easily later.
- Select the PUBLISH POST icon
- Select "View blog." You should see your entry at the top center of the blog.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Link for "The Yellow Wallpaper "reading
To get to the reading requires a little exploration. Here are the explicit directions:
- Follow the link here to the outline
- Follow the link for "The Yellow Wallpaper" in the outline. There are some other essays there, all related. Read them if you like; ignore them if you prefer or cannot get to them. But do follow the link that says "text and images."
- When you get there, there is yet another essay above the story. Just scroll down to the story and read.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
RESCHEDULED ASSIGNMENT !!!
PLEASE NOTE!
Assignment #1 has been rescheduled. It is NOT due next week, but the week after.
Assignment #1 has been rescheduled. It is NOT due next week, but the week after.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Fallacies
The following list of fallacies should be useful as a field guide, though it's not an exhaustive explanation.
FALLACIES -- MALFORMED ARGUMENTS.
Fallacies may be used to support good conclusions, and false conclusions may include good arguments. But a fallacy is not itself a good reason to believe anything. Here are a few examples.
INDUCTIVE FALLACIES -- false analogy/unrepresentative sample, exclusion of evidence, slothful induction. Premises are based on samples that do not properly represent those involved in the conclusion, either because the samples are too few or too odd, or because some factor or pattern has been excluded from the sample population or ignored.
DEDUCTIVE FALLACY - A thinker considers that the relations between two ideas determine the nature of a third idea. If any relation in a chain of reasoning is not valid, the conclusion, correct or incorrect, is not supported.
FALLACIES OF DISTRACTION - Irrelevant conclusions.
APPEAL TO MOTIVE - Whether the conclusion is convenient or not has nothing to do with its truth.
CAUSE AND EFFECT FALLACIES -
FALLACIES -- MALFORMED ARGUMENTS.
Fallacies may be used to support good conclusions, and false conclusions may include good arguments. But a fallacy is not itself a good reason to believe anything. Here are a few examples.
INDUCTIVE FALLACIES -- false analogy/unrepresentative sample, exclusion of evidence, slothful induction. Premises are based on samples that do not properly represent those involved in the conclusion, either because the samples are too few or too odd, or because some factor or pattern has been excluded from the sample population or ignored.
- The quarterback failed chem, so jocks are dumb.
- "My roommate's chem class was hard, and mine's hard, too. Chem's just hard."
- “To see if Bush would win the next election, we polled thousands of people in Venice, California”
- "Jim has arrived prepped for each essay this semester, so we can expect him to arrive prepared for the final (even though he’s running a fever of 103 degrees, his car just burst into flames on the 57 and his mother reported him to the IRS."
- “I always get ridiculously busy at the end of the semester, but it’s not bad planning: Things just happen that I don’t expect.”
DEDUCTIVE FALLACY - A thinker considers that the relations between two ideas determine the nature of a third idea. If any relation in a chain of reasoning is not valid, the conclusion, correct or incorrect, is not supported.
FALLACIES OF DISTRACTION - Irrelevant conclusions.
- False Dilemma - The thinker presumes that fewer options exist than those that may exist.
- "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists."
- Complex Question - .Two distinct statements are treated as inseparable.
- "Do you support our troops and the war in Iraq?"
- Slippery Slope - One idea is related to another similar (or dissimilar!) idea.
- "“If we allow same-sex marriage, pretty soon we’ll have to honor marriages to multiple partners, then to animals.”
- Argument from Ignorance - If it cannot be proven, it must be false.
- "In over 2,000 years, no one has proven that God exists, so obviously She doesn’t.”
- Attacking the person (not the argument) -
- "The Pope just believes that because he's Catholic."
- "You were never poor (or old, or left-handed) so you just don't understand."
- “You say pot hurts my studies, but you do seem to like your whisky sours.”
- Style over Substance - Judging whether something's true or false by how it's presented.
- "How can you believe Bush? The guy can’t say three sentences without putting his foot in his mouth.”
- “But that’s just why I trust him: He’s so downto-earth and anti-intellectual.”
- Appeal to Authority (particularly anonymous authority) -- It's true because some authority says so.
- “Oprah says Bill Clinton’s autobiography is one of the best books written this year.”
- "Starbucks says espresso over ice is a great way to chill.”
- “But I read right in The National Enquirer where experts say it’s so!”
- "Flies have four legs: Aristotle said so!”
APPEAL TO MOTIVE - Whether the conclusion is convenient or not has nothing to do with its truth.
- Prejudicial Language - Something's held to have certain characteristics because of a term applied to it.
- Operation Iraqi Freedom?”
- "If you don’t support the Patriot Act, you must not be patriotic.”
- “If you don’t like Affirmative Action, what is it you prefer? Negative action or inaction?”
- Appeal to Pity, Force, or Popularity
- “I worked so hard on this handout that you students must consider it brilliant and interesting.”
- Lucy Van Pelt, speaking to Linus, says,“I’ll give you five good reasons: (wrapping her fingers one by one into a fist) : one, two, three, four, five.” "
- Look, we’re right because we can do it,
- It works, so it's right.”
- “It’s just common sense.”
- "Joe Basketball wears Flying A sneakers.
CAUSE AND EFFECT FALLACIES -
- Coincidental Correlation - One thing follows another, so someone assumes a causal relationship.
- “Jim caused a quake. The week after he moved to L.A. and started talking about quakes, one happened.”
- Complex Cause or Insignificant Cause - Ignores the various causes of an action to concentrate on one or a few.
- Joint Effect - The same phenomenon is treated at once as its own cause and effect.
- "Violence against the population was caused by the invasion."
- Reverse Cause/Effect - "I don't revise essays because I'm a lousy writer anyway."
Charles Reznikoff
Suburban River: Summer
In the clear morning
the gulls float
on the blue water,
white birds on the blue water,
on the rosy glitter of dawn.
The white gulls
hover
above the glistening river
where sewers empty
their slow ripples
Charles Reznikoff, from Jerusalem and the Golden
In the clear morning
the gulls float
on the blue water,
white birds on the blue water,
on the rosy glitter of dawn.
The white gulls
hover
above the glistening river
where sewers empty
their slow ripples
Charles Reznikoff, from Jerusalem and the Golden
Sappho on Gold
Here's the Sappho, for those who wanted to write in response.
Say what you please,
Gold is God's child;
neither worms nor
moths eat gold; it
is much stronger
than a man's heart
Sappho
After a translation by Mary Barnhard
Say what you please,
Gold is God's child;
neither worms nor
moths eat gold; it
is much stronger
than a man's heart
Sappho
After a translation by Mary Barnhard
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Just FYI - Dept of Justice against Freedom of Info
This is not required reading, but it's very relevant to the discussions we'll have on the week of the 15th. It gives a current, practical example of what people like Chomsky, Herman, and Cohen are talking about.
The United States Department of Justice has recommended that the FCC go against Net neutrality. What that means, in a few words, is that they want to charge writers, teachers, schools, and individuals to distribute information over the Internet.
PCMag.com has an article
The United States Department of Justice has recommended that the FCC go against Net neutrality. What that means, in a few words, is that they want to charge writers, teachers, schools, and individuals to distribute information over the Internet.
PCMag.com has an article
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Reading-Link Confusion Solved
Thanks to all who gave me the heads-up about the problems with links. After trying the wrong options for an hour or so, I found my incredibly dumb error, so the problem is fixed.
However, the problem with the link for the Stephen Toulmin reading is off-site, so I can't fix that. As another option, check out this Diagram of Toulmin Argument. Clicking on the icons in the diagram gives a quick discussion of the main elements in a Toulmin argument.
However, the problem with the link for the Stephen Toulmin reading is off-site, so I can't fix that. As another option, check out this Diagram of Toulmin Argument. Clicking on the icons in the diagram gives a quick discussion of the main elements in a Toulmin argument.
Monday, August 27, 2007
WELCOME TO THE BLOG, FOLKS!
Here's how to use it with ease and in comfort.
- Drop by at least once a week or so to check out what's new. Updates announced in the blog will be considered officially announced.
- The most recent entries are towards the top of your screen.
- The "Blog Archive" at the top of the left-hand column has links to older entries, organized by week. Notice that it organizes the entries according to the date each is entered, NOT the date of the class to which it might be more relevant.
- "Labels," immediately below "Blog Archives," has the same entries organized according to topic. Note that the same entry may appear under various topics.
- If you click on the label "Administrative," then scroll down, you will find the class outline and syllabus near the bottom, since these were the first Administrative entries.
Assignment #1
In the first essay, I anticipate that you will perform a logical analysis of a text. However, THE ESSAY YOU WRITE WILL NOT BE A SUMMARY of the text, nor will it be simply an account of your logical analysis, nor will it be simply an explanation or interpretation of the text. Instead, make a proposal, a thesis based on your analysis of the text and your objections to the arguments that text presents. Then support your proposal with reference to the text and other sources.
Your essay should involve the exposition of at least one error in logic.
All essays will be graded exclusively for profundity and clarity, but be aware that these normally include thorough, proper research and precise English.
Your essay should involve the exposition of at least one error in logic.
All essays will be graded exclusively for profundity and clarity, but be aware that these normally include thorough, proper research and precise English.
- Length: About 6-8 pages.
- MLA Works-Cited Page
- Sources: Using 3 or more distinct sources is strongly recommended in most cases.
Class Outline 1C Fall '07
Class Outline - 1C Fall 2007
- 8/31 | 9/2 - Procedures & Parameters. Logic & Fallacy.
- Plato's "Allegory
of the Cave." http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.html - "Toulmin's
Model" http://www.concentric.net/~Creyn266/COMM335/Toulmin.htm - Logical
Fallacies http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
(Get at least a good start on these)
- 9/7 | 9/9 - Toulmin, Plato, Fallacy, Sign vs Referent.
- http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
(Finish these.)
- Edward Herman
on the "propaganda model" http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/2002----.htm
- Jeff Cohen
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1122-31.htm
- Agnew
- http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/spiroagnewtvnewscoverage.htm
- http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
- 9/14 | 9/16 - "Information Filters." Choose medium for
presentation.
DUE#1 CRITICAL READING AND EXPOSITION OF FALLACIES.
- Breton http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/freedom-of-love/
- Perkins-Gilman's
"Yellow Wallpaper." http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/gilman.htm
- Breton http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/freedom-of-love/
- 9/21 | 9/23 - Breton, Gilman, Blake, Drucker. Choose media for future
discussions.
- Dooce -- http://www.dooce.com/
(Take a look around)
- Wikis --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
(Read the article)
- http://therealnews.com (Exact article
TBA in the blog)
- http://earlyradiohistory.us/1922new.htm
- http://www.jeffcohen.org/docs/interviewactive.html
- Dooce -- http://www.dooce.com/
- 9/28 | 9/30 - Media objects. Compare notes for student-led discussions.
Research.
- 10/5 | 10/7 - Student-Led Media Discussions. Choose Debate and Deep-reading
topics. DUE - ASSIGNMENT #2 Critical Response to art or media. Research.
- 10/12 | 10/14 - Discussions continued. Debate meeting and Conferences.
Research.
- 10/19 | 10/21 - Debate meeting + Conferences.
- 10/26 | 10/28 - ASSIGNMENT #3 DEBATES Read for discussion
in 2 weeks:
- "The
Storm" Chopin. http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/kchopin/bl-kchop-thestorm.htm
- from
Walden http://www.skidmore.edu/~tkuroda/hi215/ThoreauWalden.htm
- "The Metamorphosis." http://www.mala.bc.ca/~Johnstoi/stories/kafka-E.htm
- "The
- 11/2 | 11/4 - DUE ASSIGNMENT #4 In-class essay - VOICE.
- 11/9 | 11/11 - Discuss readings and themes
- 11/16 | 11/18 - Discuss readings and themes
- 11/23 | 11/25 - Shakespeare
- THANKSGIVING !!
- 12/7 | 12/9 - Discuss Shakespeare
- 12/14 | 12/16 DUE # 5 RESEARCH PROJECT # 6 DUE FINAL TEST
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