#poetry lesson 1 : breaks & rhythms

[extremely-judgemental]

This is one of the exercises for poetry lesson I took. I have to take a prose and introduce breaks and rhythms into it.

These are parameters I set for this: Prose should be retained as close to the source as possible. I can’t replace words. Changes are allowed as in tenses, forms, or placements for stylistic purpose.

Got no poetic bone in me, so let’s see how this goes

THE WRITING IS NOT MINE. THE PREMISE IS NOT MINE.

Original Prose: Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra by @achaotichuman

Well, I can't make it easier for you as I live to torment you @achaotichuman. Since you tempted me into this, it’s only fair I butcher learn with your works. Before you decide to sacrifice me to the greek gods again, remember you didn’t say I have to write a song all by myself, so it’s truly your fault. And you should be doubly excited about this: 1. This is a Tamcien poem, or song, or whatever this is. 2. Your writing is turned into poetry. Your fics are convenient to work with really—this is a COMPLIMENT.

I felt the first version was pretty decent but then I thought it didn’t paint the picture quite well, and now I just went and messed it up. We’re going for Tamlin’s POV but I think I fucked it up too. But I think it has some structure and a rhythm to it, if I dare say so myself. Anyway, I will shut up now.

One night, Tamlin found Lucien A book in his hands clenched tight, his knuckles near white His new eye whirring, clicking as he scanned the words A moment passed Lucien fell limp, his palm muffling a scream, tears running from his good eye It was quite late The only light from the crackling fire casting an amber glow over his skin; his red hair like fire incarnate Tamlin felt a strong of a heart pull “What are you doing?” Lucien struggled for the first time in his life to come up with a lie He simply shrugged His scars raw and red But every now and again, some parts still bled Tamlin didn’t miss the way his friend’s eyes would dull, the way he would become downcast He knew Lucien and Lucien was not acting like Lucien He needed to fix it as Lucien’s friend would Tamlin sat beside his friend; pressing himself gently against him “I would quite like to read this,” said he, “and you’re going to listen.” Lucien blinked, surprise contorting his features Tamlin had read the book before; curious as to what his friend found so enthralling Still, he read it as though it were the first time Night came and went Dawn peeked on the horizon With Lucien resting his head in his lap, his eyes closed, his scars on display, a smile on his face, the story was over all too soon Lucien loved to read Tamlin didn’t nearly as much But for Lucien, Tamlin would

[monstersinthecosmos]

I was asked in that Fanfic Writer Asks thing 💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing? and I wanted to break it out into its own space.

The No. 1 Most Impactful Lesson is Write What You Want to Read

But I do want to speak about this for a minute because like everything important that I know about writing ALWAYS comes back to this idea, and there's two main points I want to make about it.

Your "VOICE" is about your taste and your ideas more than it is about your technical skill, language, and structure.

People I think stress about "voice" thinking that they need to develop their language and prose and rhythm and all the flowery poetry. I don't think it matters, personally. I think if you have an idea, the idea itself is the thing that drives the story.

Fanfic is awesome to use to learn how to write because it's accessible to everyone, and you get such a wide sampling of skill in one place. And sometimes you can see a really atrocious fic and it kinda teaches you what not to do, and helps you understand what you do or don't like as a reader, but sometimes you also see the good idea peeking through and you can enjoy it anyway. There are fics I ADORE that are so sloppily written, break all the rules, formatted like shit LOL, and I'm still HERE FOR IT because the author had such great ideas.

I'm sure anyone who's learned a second language had learned this, but, I remember when I was studying abroad that the college president welcomed us to the program and gave us this huge pep talk about how like, when you're out in the world speaking a second language, your grammar isn't important. If you can COMMUNICATE, that's what's important. If you can point to the apple you want to buy and say "Apple buy", the person will understand what you're trying to say.

So I think of writing that way, too. Your ideas are more important than your technical skill. Share the ideas. Keep sharing the ideas. The skill will follow when you're putting the time in.

2. Writing for fun is just as valuable as writing for work.

I took a long break from fanfic writing in my 20s because I kinda thought I'd "moved on" and that it had been my teenager hobby. And I had gone to college for photography and becoming a professional photographer really killed a lot of my passion for the art. College really brainwashed me into thinking creativity is a waste of time if it's not monetized, so even though I always enjoyed writing, I spent a few years being hard on myself and thinking it was stupid to waste time on writing fic because I couldn't sell it.

And that's such bullshit?

Because the truth is that, by telling myself "Don't write stuff you can't sell" I just wound up not writing anything at all?

And writing is like, my lil thing that that I do for fun. I can do it for fun. It feels good. It's the space I've made to be creative where I specifically don't have to worry about money, and I value it so fucking much.

I'm sure there are other people who bypassed this life lesson by NOT falling into a capitalist trap LOL but if I can share that, to help others avoid it, I will!

Write what you want to read, because it's fun, because you want to! Because you have good taste and that's your voice! You can be confident and stand up and say "I think this idea is cool so I'm going to share it with you!"

Trust yourself and your taste!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't stress about the technical stuff, it will follow!

(Bonus point #3 is bonus because it's a little more about technical stuff but if you start thinking about write what you want to read WHEN YOU READ it really helps inform how you think about your story structure and pacing. Like when I get stuck on a pacing thing I'm always thinking "Would this bore me if I were reading it? Would I want to be slow burned? Would I want more time spent on this payoff?" etc. I think that shift in mindset really helps when it comes to your story structure!!!!!!!!!!!)

[polysprachig]

tell us more about these projects! i’ve struggled to pick up languages again after an extended break and no time and a project-based approach seems very refreshing!

Apologies in advance for the long post. I do plan on making a more detailed post on this at a later point hopefully a video but I make no promises these days.

Important note!! Before you start any short- or long-term learning projects, begin a polyglot journal outlining your objectives and check in every two weeks with an extra detailed summary of what you’ve done, haven’t done, dislike, feel needs changing, etc. either once per quarter or 2x year. Your micro-goals, methods and timeline should shift over time, showing that you can reassess the project and try out new things to suit your needs. If you don't update on time it's nbd, but at least try to write a note in your planner or calendar about what you did when because it can be extremely helpful one year later when you try to revisit where you are now and how you got there. 🧿🤍

The main projects from 2019 to today include the following

Greek - Conversational Speaking, 2019

Goal: meet for casual 30-minute lessons with a teacher, 2 or 3x per week to build up conversational skills and high frequency grammar in use as a passive bilingual (it being the native language which I actively lost growing up for various reasons).

Reflection: The real studies were repetition in speech and looking up key vocabulary I would need to use to tell my teacher about what happened in the last week, and my teacher supplied me with additional vocabulary to help me be more specific. Now I have a record of that vocabulary which I can review whenever by topic/story. Plus my family did notice my drastic improvement and asked if I had been studying.

Irish - The Merlin Project (Quarantine Project), 2020-2022 (+ ongoing, needs new methodology because I met my aims a while back at this point)

Aim: Go from A2 to B1 by learning to write so that you can have the skills to be able to read longer texts

Challenge: Rewatch an episode from the last show that you watched and write down what you see in as much detail as possible, making sure to use a grammar point you’re currently studying in your writing. Look up new words to make the text more specific and add them to the description. Correct your text. Watch the same scene again and add more detail, as in the following:

(Basically: first: do a grammar practice, then: watch 30 seconds, write using that grammar, translate dialogue if you want, consult dictionary, write again incorporating the new words and/or make the sentences more complex, at the end: correct your text yourself or with a teacher, start again and repeat until the scene or full episode is complete or you've exhausted the usefulness of the exercise.)

Alternatively just write or translate fanfiction, but I don't say that here.

By self-correcting you should become very confident on the basic skills at your level, whereas the rewriting itself allows for varied attempts at forming sentences and vocabulary acquisition in a specific context.

FYI I posted the project itself along with the notes to my website (here) and intend to share the presentation on the experience I gave in the Gaeltacht this past August soon enough.

Multilingual, select Romance and Germanic languages - The Diana Project, 2022-present

Challenge: dive deep into the rhythm, melody and sound of certain languages (which relate to a poet I’m analysing) via a slow read of poetry and familiarisation with the poet, poet-translator and poet-actor

Components: read, write, translate and recite poetry on the subject of Greco-Roman tragedy (now its shifting to satire after 1+ year or so of tragic influences) from select eras and in select styles, ex. ottava rima, rhyming verse & simultaneously learn about the rhetoric of poetics that influenced these authors and their poems or translations

These writings I’m still adding to my website as part of a translation, recitation and poetry portfolio.

Most recently, I’ve started what I call the Secret Senecan Project which requires reading certain ancient and mediaevil texts on stories I’m familiar with in the original, identifying key words based on context then extrapolating the grammar from their features (declinations, location in reference to other word forms, etc.). The next step will be to compare these predictions with the bilingual translation and consult my grammar books in those languages to confirm or improve my predictions.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope to polish this up and make the details more learner-friendly sometime before 2024. (:

[tiredassmage]

Actually I'm going to forget to do this tomorrow when I teased it and I might just generally forget if I don't post about it sooner rather than later, so my happy birthday to myself this year 1 day early, I promise I won't tease Tyr about his joints this year (if I find the post, I WILL schedule it for tomorrow as a happy 1 year anniversary to the post bit, it'll be funny) post is Lana and Tyr's slowly healing friendship lore post!

So, I've talked about Lana and Tyr's relationship before and expressed that they're not... always on the same step at the same time, but for all that they don't always get along or see things the same way, they do consistently show up for one another. And that still counts for something. And... also, after this long, I figure they... both deserve mending a couple gaps in their relationship.

Lana's form of care and guidance for Tyr's personal needs isn't always the type that he receives the clearest or with the least resistance. They can bicker over necessity in these ways, but in the way that's generally still well-meaning. But it must count for something because working with the Alliance does give Tyr a place where some of his older hobbies start to resurface - among which is dancing, as several times mentioned, but I also think it'd be nice for him to mend a bit of that old relationship with piano lessons he hasn't much touched on since his Academy days.

And Lana is inclined to poetry! So, all of that is just... a setup I'm going to take the excuse to expand their friendly bickering into hobbies instead of just their work, lol. Lana catching Tyr actually spending time on some of these hobbies and not constantly with his nose buried in Alliance operations and intelligence work and... engaging him in it is... the kind of way to say I see you, actually -you- that... almost says a little more than it would for Lana to say so plainly to his face in words.

And soon enough, he's got Lana on the bench beside him and they are bickering about rhythm and line breaks in poetry and Tyr is waving a hand at her arguing to "Just... hear me out." and playing to experiment with her. And it's... it's all really good for them.

Because they've coasted through a lot of their relationship on precedents they've never really discussed - Lana with a determination that keeps pressing her forward and Tyr used to veiling everything in double meanings and masks. But... she does, genuinely, care for the man somewhere wrapped up in the operative she's known and worked with. No, they're not always the best at communicating that, but... this is the kind of activity that says such in the quiet ways Tyr almost knows best. And it means a lot to him for Lana to meet him in that kind of space and I have a lot of feelings about it that I'm not entirely sure I'm properly articulating.

But anyway this all brought to you by the fact that a couple nights ago it was like midnight and I was trying to remember the word for "metronome" and ended up blissfully listening to the google one while... admittedly kinda pointlessly scrolling pictures of metronomes for... ??? Don't ask, I don't know why.

So! Naturally I used the excuse of it being a time of year associated with bonding & gifts to make my blorbos actually do something about their friendship levels. xD

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Topographic poetry.

1. Another great bust of the Great Old Writer.

2. Another map of Lovecraft Country - this time, with pertinent remarks.

3. Howard's Mythos mixes together the mundane world with intrusions from the 'outside' - his more cosmic viewpoint.

4 thru 7. Various RPGs that further explore HPL's settings & tales.

Lovecraft thought that a story's back- ground was important in augmenting a weird story's atmosphere.

But, Howard sometimes took this to a further level, where the setting itself overpowered the plot!

Because of this, HPL's characters suffered more than just a horrific end - they were mostly non-existent in their own stories...

But, this might have been a strategic move on Lovecraft's part.

A way of further minimizing humanity before the ugly truths of Howard's cosmic view of existence.

Intro: HPL's topographical poetry occurs thruout his whole writing 'career.'

The 1st, "Quinsnicket Park," appeared in 1913. His last, "An Unspoiled Rural Prospect," is from 1931.

This kind of background info spanned the majority of Lovecraft's years as a poet & writer.

Yet, this kind of poetry is only briefly mentioned in S.T. Joshi's bio of & his encyclopedia on Howard.

Even though some of these poems have proven literary merit, they are usually neglected.

More studies are needed to account for Howard's themes. And, why some of these works failed - or, more rarely, succeeded...

This would help redress the lack of critical attention shown to HPL's poetry in general.

In his poetry, 1 can more easily trace the elements of Lovecraft's writing success, as he matured in the use of diction & technique.

Howard was enamoured of the heroic couplets of the 1700s & used them to excess.

But, HPL didn't seem to understand that poetic form's full abilities nor its true strengths.

Lovecraft's topographic 'poesy' forms only a small part out of his overall poetic works.

Yet, they demonstrate Howard's growth as a versatile writer.

Major among HPL's themes is the contrast of an idealized landscape to a more decadent 'now.'

Another major theme concerns the preservation of the past - opposed by its threatened destruction!

Then, there's the escape from reality - usually to an idealized past. This is related to the survival of the past into the 'present' day.

Another favorite theme of Lovecraft's is the idealization of a rustic present.

Finally, we begin to see Lovecraft add the Colonial past to his repertoire of themes.

All these poetic ideas share common ties that bind them together.

Some of these works fail for the same reason that most of Howard's poetry fails - the heavy mix of lifeless images & heroic couplets.

Most of HPL's early works show that little thought was given to the editing process.

Also, the use of abstract diction kills any freshness or vividness in the work.

Lovecraft's obvious racism occurs enough times that it mars whatever personal feeling he was reaching for.

Worse of all, Howard restricted him- self - for the most part - to using a rigid poetic rhythm & structure.

Just as bad, HPL's wooden diction arrests the flow of thought - breaking up a reader's attention.

Lovecraft's 'handicap' fails, in many cases, to alleviate the reader's growing boredom.

There's no sense of rhythmic progress - just a succession of stilted lines.

In some of Howard's 'poesy,' however, the heroic couplets lend a sense of stately cadence.

But, sadly, they usually form a long collection of dull statements.

Then, there's HPL's use of padding - which dilutes his works's immediacy. And, renders such pieces stale & life- less.

Of course, all is not doom & cosmic gloom.

Lovecraft does encode emotional images in some of his poetic works.

Howard learned how to strengthen our interest in most of his later poetry & stories.

Yet, HPL rarely adds moral or ethical 'lessons' in his works. So, most of his works lack any real justification or purpose, beyond its main point.

As his writing skills improved, Love- craft's use of alliteration & resonance (occuring at infrequent intervals) helped enliven interest in his weird plot lines.

Howard's topographic poems form both, a dream-like narrative & an examination of his feelings upon various subjects.

It was thru his efforts at poetry that HPL kept improving his skills - as he wasn't writing any stories at this time.

So, Lovecraft's diligence at poetic forms would ultimately help him become a true master of language, tone & diction.

And would help Howard with the creation of the literary genre that we all know & love - cosmic horror.

End.

[noahmanskar]

The Best Albums of 2020 (and from the Before Times)

I read a lot of year-end music roundups, and several this year have come with a resonant caveat: It’s been harder to discover new music this year, both because of physical limitations (no shows, no record-store browsing, no chats with friends about your latest finds), and because the way we used music fundamentally changed. It certainly did for me. Rather than serving as the backdrop for a commute or a night out, it created moments of solace from cabin fever while doing dishes, or showering, or running semi-weekly errands. So I often turned to what was comfortable and familiar, songs that conjured memories and feelings to get me through the day. Even on the rare occasions of social listening, the groups I was with drifted into nostalgia — middle school dance tracks, mid-2000s emo, inherited dad rock, even songs from just a year or two ago, when everything was simpler, relatively speaking.

That’s not to say nothing new moved me. There was a handful of albums and songs that were crucial to getting through the doldrums. They soundtracked bike rides, long walks, longer drives and lots of small moments mentioned above. But I don’t think I can think about my favorite music of this year without thinking about the albums of the past that got me through it. Besides, one of the many lessons 2020 taught is that time is a bizarre illusion anyway. (This exercise also lets me write about some recent albums that I didn’t get to write about when they were actually released.

So here are the albums, past and present, that made 2020 bearable. I hope you found yours, too.

Tame Impala, “The Slow Rush”

Tame Impala’s fourth LP came out on Valentine’s Day. That afternoon, Claire and I had a lunch date to mark the occasion before we got on a plane to visit my parents. The night before, we had gone out to dinner with friends visiting from San Francisco and then to a bar, where we huddled next to strangers on a water bed. Roughly a month later, all of this would be unimaginable, and Kevin Parker’s lyrics to “One More Year” would be eerily prescient as we settled into this new normal:

But now I worry our horizon's been nothing new 'Cause I get this feeling and maybe you get it too We're on a rollercoaster stuck on its loop-de-loop 'Cause what we did one day on a whim Has slowly become all we do

The song is really about surrendering to time, and not worrying about it passing in spite of your ambivalence. The opening chants of Parker’s “Gregorian Robot Choir” make it easy to surrender. They carry you into a world where, as the cover art suggests, all that time you were worrying about has already passed, so you might as well dance. At the same time, the songs that follow, like “Borderline,” “Breathe Deeper” and “Lost In Yesterday” make it easy to remember what it was like to dance in a sweaty room with people you love, and to look forward to doing it again, after a little more time passes.

Fleet Foxes, “Shore”

There’s something comforting about the fact that Fleet Foxes released this record on the exact moment of the autumnal equinox. It’s a reminder that nature has its own rhythms that carry on regardless of what occurs in our human lives. They give us a measure of certainty in uncertain times. One of these rhythms — death — looms large in “Sunblind,” an ode to Robin Pecknold’s departed musical forebears: David Berman, Bill Withers, John Prine and others. This song exuding calm acceptance shifts into “Can I Believe You,” which wrestles frankly with doubt and fear.

These tracks contain profound contradictions, but sonically, they're both bright, hopeful and sure. That’s what made this album such a balm in the sixth month of this pandemic, a time of both growing darkness and hope for what might be on the other side. It reminds us that there’s power and beauty in feeling all these things at once.

Lil Uzi Vert, “Eternal Atake”

This one spent two years in label purgatory, but it finally arrived in March to prove Lil Uzi Vert can do it all. He’s at his most versatile here, spitting and crooning, boasting and balladeering. “You Better Move” is an early standout packed with playful nostalgia, including a beat that samples that classic PC pinball game and delightful jabs like these:

Yeah, step on competition, changin' my shoes Green shirt, bitch, I'm Steve, where is Blue? Every chain on, I pity a fool I'm an iPod, man, you more like a Zune Made her eat on my dick with a spoon, ew Versace drawers, bitch, you Fruit of the Loom

Then there are the melodic tracks like “Urgency,” which compel you to hum along even on the first listen. The excellent diversity made it worth the wait for this hourlong journey to another planet.

Sturgill Simpson, “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions”

I haven’t spent much time with Sturgill Simpson outside of 2014′s “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,” and I can’t say I’ve ever listened to another bluegrass album all the way through. But these new cuts of songs picked from Simpson’s catalog are wonderfully enticing. Simpson puts the talents of his backing band front and center, and their harmonies and rhythms illuminate his vivd songwriting in new ways. It was a great introduction to the genre for me.

Fiona Apple, “Fetch The Bolt Cutters”

I got here after the hype, after the perfect 10, after all the year-end number-ones. Fiona Apple lives up to all of it. Her compositions are complex and evocative, the lyrics tender and biting at once. Her artistry is unsparing. The chorus to the title track is already getting stuck in my head, and I can’t wait to spend more time with this one.

Bea Troxel, “The Way That It Feels” (2017)

Almost a decade has passed since I first saw Bea Troxel play. She was in an incredibly talented trio with two of my high school classmates: Maeve Thorne (who has an entrancing solo EP of her own), and Rita Pfeiffer (the violinist on this record). They ended up winning my school’s battle of the bands, and I got to interview them for the student newspaper. Shortly after our senior year, they recorded an album that still outshines most of today’s indie folk. So I jumped at the chance to all three of them again in Brooklyn. 

Troxel’s performance in particular was a revelation. I won’t ever forget how I fell into a trance as she picked away at “Talc,” which exemplifies her gift for natural metaphor. I haven’t stopped playing her record since, and it’s been a constant comfort throughout this year. Her voice is one of a kind, her songwriting is rich, and the compositions flow together beautifully. I can’t wait for more; in the meantime, “The Way That It Feels” will be on repeat.

Travis Scott, “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” (2016)

There’s been much ado about the brilliance of “Astroworld,” Travis Scott’s magnum opus, but I have a soft spot for his sophomore LP, where he reached the peak of the spare and heavy sound that started to take shape on “Owl Pharaoh.” There are plenty of sonic layers here, and the ordering of the tracks is a craft in itself — a series of peaks and valleys that glides from the haze of “beibs in the trap” to the climax of “goosebumps” and then into the cool waters of “pick up the phone.” It feels like Scott is guiding you to and from these destinations. The journey is, as The Weeknd might put it, “wonderful.”

Harmonium, “Harmonium” (1974)

One of my pandemic binges was “Letterkenny,” the sharp Ontario-set sitcom with top-notch banter and a great soundtrack full of indie hits and Canadian deep cuts. The fight scenes are elegantly choreographed, but so are the handful of sequences at the end of key episodes that reveal the show’s emotional bedrock. One such scene is set to Harmonium’s “Un musicien parmi tant d'autres” — the main characters are reveling in a bar with their Québécois pals, whom they’ve just helped beat up a rival group. As the song builds to its climactic chorus, leading man Wayne, surrounded by couples, realizes his longing for companionship. Another fight breaks out, but instead of joining in, Wayne makes his way through the slow-motion fray toward the woman he’ll propose to in the next season. (Their relationship later falls apart, but that doesn’t undercut this scene’s beauty.)

This is probably the first foreign-language album I’ve listened to in full, but all of it evokes that feeling for me — the joy of walking through the chaos to reach what’s really important. Not a bad sentiment for these times.

Bon Iver, “22, A Million”

To talk about this weird, dark and brilliant album, I need to talk about “715 - CR∑∑KS.” Everyone I’ve talked to about the third track on “22, A Million” either loves it or can’t stand it. I’m devoted to it to the extent that it was my most-played song on Spotify this year. It oscillates between tenderness and fear, between silence and explosions of sound. The lyrics are an epitome of Justin Vernon’s cryptic poetry. It’s isolated and spare and enthralling and beautiful in its own bizarre way — just like the rest of the album, which is rich with themes of persevering through the darkness in spite of the uncertainty about when the light will appear. Vernon is alone on “CR∑∑KS,” but he’s accompanied by a cacophony of his own voice. As alone as we might feel right now, there’s always someone else shouting through the darkness with us, even if we can’t see them.

[queerhargreeves]

Family realizing that Luther's first time was technically rape? He was under the influence, and wasn't himself, so it was so way that he actively consented and instead just kinda went with the flow of whatever's happening. Luther didnt really get it but he felt used and dirty and cheap, but doesn't understand why. But someone realizes this (Klaus? Diego? Both??) And realizes how traumatic it must've been to wake up naked with a stranger and done something that is said to be sacred.

I’m really sorry this took so long - I greatly appreciate your patience! I hope this is what you were looking for. 

TW: discussion of non-consensual sex and explicitly written panic attacks

con·sent

/kənˈsent/

noun

1.permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.“no change may be made without the consent of all the partners”

Consent. Clear consent. That is a concept that Diego and all of his siblings learned from a young age. When the Hargreeves were old enough, fifteen to be exact, Grace gave her children a lesson on what consent means and why it’s important. Diego doesn’t think Reginald put her up to it, as it wasn’t as smooth as her usual powerpoint “rehearsed” scripted lessons. It felt much more personable - much more intimate.

She called the children into the study after dinner one night, which usually they spent that time helping clean up. But she insisted that this was important and the dishes could wait. Of course, they obliged. It was a twenty-minute lecture. Grace sat at the front of the room, sitting legs crossed on the desk, hands held loosely in her lap.

She gently explained that in order to have any sexual contact with another person, there must be a clear “yes” given. She especially emphasized that even if the other party seems like they are wanting whatever is going on, that there must be a clear discourse on both ends that ends in agreement on what is going to happen. Grace laid out the facts and statistics about rape and sexual assault to the kids. Not to scare them of course, but to make sure they were aware of the epidemic.

Klaus, who was infamous for interrupting practically every lesson with comments varying from inquisitive to straight up annoying, was uncharacteristically silent the entire time. His eyes were transfixed on Grace as he sat at the desk with his mouth slightly agape and soaking in every word that came from their mother’s mouth.

No one spoke a word until quiet, little Ben raised his hand and asked, “Mom, can boys get hurt like that too?”

Grace’s features immediately softened as she leaned over to his desk and placed her hand on top of his.

“Of course they can, Ben. I want you all to be careful. I don’t want a single one of you getting hurt.”

Which is why Diego is sat frozen at the dinner table, the rest of his siblings watching him with varying degrees of confusion and concern. He’s replaying a scene in his head. Well, a scene that he wasn’t really there for. He’s only heard bits and pieces of the event.

But Klaus mentioned it again tonight. It was a simple, passing comment. Nothing too out of the blue coming from their brother. It was a typical Klaus-style, harmless jest. He made them to everyone, not just Luther. Whether it be a “brooding Diego” comment or a “baby boy Five”, they all knew it never came from a place of malice. It was never intended to harm.

But the look on Luther’s face spoke volumes. And that’s when it all clicked.

Luther was raped. Luther, their valiant leader, their beloved captain ‘o captain, was taken advantage of. He was touched sexually without consent. Not only that, but he had never had sexual contact before and he cannot even remember his first time. God, Diego felt like he was going to be sick.

“Diego?” He finally heard Ben’s gentle voice call from his left. That snapped himself out of his thoughts. He shook his head slightly and swallowed roughly, staring blankly at his plate. He didn’t even know how to start with this, how to even wrap his head around this newfound information. He’s pissed at himself for not putting it together sooner, for not realizing.

“Diego, is something wrong? Are you hurt?” Five quipped, his voice raising with each question.

He shook his head, finally looking up and scanning his siblings. Should he tell them? Should he bring it up now, in front of everyone? Would Luther want that? Probably not, no. This isn’t something that you bring up at the dinner table. Something like this isn’t easy to swallow. Luther deserved to be told alone.

“No yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, I just,” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It was something Klaus said. I sorta…got lost in my head is all.”

“Oh?” Klaus spoke up, the crooked grin he wore during meal times gone. “I didn’t realize…I say a lot of daft things these days. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Diego pressed, waving a hand in his direction “It’s um.” He shifted his gaze from Klaus to Luther, who was watching him with furrowed brows and concerned eyes.

“It’s fine, man. Don’t worry about it.” Diego picked up his spoon and forked another bite of rice pilaf in his mouth, adamant on the conversation not going any further. The rest of them seemed to get the memo, none of them wanting to get stabbed (not physically of course - a threat at worst). So they all eventually resumed their previous conversation, Klaus’ grin back.

Dinner went on without a hitch after that, the seven of them eating in casual conversation. It was Luther’s turn for dishes that night and Diego immediately jumped to follow him into the kitchen, stacks of plates in both of his hands.

“Hey bro, let me help with that.” Diego said, dropping his stack into the sink and grabbing a hand towel along the way. He placed himself at Luther’s side, drying the dishes Luther already washed and placing them on the counter.

“Oh, thank you Diego. I appreciate it.” Luther met Diego’s eyes, a genuine smile plastered on the blonde’s face. Diego felt his heart break ever so slightly at the sight. He’s still working himself up for this conversation. How do you explain to your brother that he was sexually assaulted? How do you even begin to unload something that heavy, that life altering, into conversation?

Well, the answer is you simply do not. Diego and Luther worked in silence, forming a comfortable rhythm. There were a few passing comments about Diego’s boxing or Luther’s poetry class here and there, but nothing more than that. The two of them were able to finish the dishes within ten minutes and they said their parting goodnight’s for the night.

Luther, walking off to his bedroom and Diego doing the same. Well, that is until Klaus quite literally intercepted him, placing himself right in front of Diego in the middle of the hall, arms crossed.

“Di, I know something’s up. Spill.” Klaus raised his eyebrow, watching Diego with a certain intensity that he only saw when he was interrogating Five about his sleeping habits. He wasn’t going to let this go easy, that much was evident.

“Klaus, buddy, listen it’s not really my place so…” Diego trailed, but Klaus wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

“Ben said it was my Luther cherry popping comment that made you all,” Klaus waved his hands in a vague, frantic gesture around his head.

“It isn’t the first time I’ve said something about it so what exactly was so offensive this time?”

Diego sighed and nodded his head towards his room, silently asking Klaus to follow. To which he did, trailing behind his brother until the two of them were sat on the bed. Klaus was able to quickly read the urgency of the situation however as he saw how tense Diego was. His shoulders were hunched and his jaw was clenched, things he only did when something was really, really wrong.

“Dude, what is it? I’m sorry if I like…I don’t know, crossed a line? I do that, I know.  I’m trying to get better at that shit though. Ya know, being more sensitive to everyone and stuff so if I messed up, let me know?”  Klaus said frantically, eyes bouncing between both of Diego’s.

Diego was silent for a few more moments, trying to form the words in his mind. He couldn’t sugar coat this, no. There was no way you could make light of the situation.

“Luther was raped.” He drew out the statement slowly, careful to not let his emotions come out too much and stutter. It was too early for that.

Klaus sat there, blinking about 20 times a second. Diego could see the wheels turning in his head, his pursed lips and furrowed brows speaking for him.

“What do you mean raped? You mean his lil lady friend from the club? He was fine, bro - wait. Wait no. No, no, no…” Klaus shook his head his head furiously, running his hands over his face.

Fucking hell. How did Klaus not put that together? He fucking congratulated Luther on “popping his cherry” the morning after. He had the audacity to not only rob Luther of his agency to tell the others, but he’s continued to bring it up since that night. Since the “almost end of the world”.

And every time he does, Luther stays silent. Not that that is too unusual for him, but he should’ve known. He should’ve known better. How could he have dismissed this so easily? It’s not like he’s never woken up next to a stranger with no recollection of the events the night before. He remembers how terrifying it was the first time. But that being your actual first time? He couldn’t even imagine.

“Diego I..I fucked up. I gotta make it better. Does he even, like, know? Or realize?” Klaus’ voice was barely above a whisper.

Diego shook his head slightly, “I don’t know, man. Tonight, when you brought it up he just sort of… froze? It was different from his usual adamance to your antics. It was the first time I noticed it, which is why I got all,” Diego mimicked the vague, frantic motion Klaus did earlier which caused the curly haired man to give a small smile.

“You’re right though, we have to tell him.” Diego agreed.

“He’s usually in his room working on his poems or art after dinner, right? We should do it now. The sooner the better, I think.” Klaus suggested, pointing his thumb at the door.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s go.” The two brothers walked out of the room and down the hall to Luther’s. Diego knocked lightly at the door, his stomach twisting.

“Come in!” They heard Luther call from the other side. Diego took a deep breath and opened the door, finding Luther at his desk and working quite diligently on a painting.

It was beautiful. It looked to be the view from the moon. The black sky shone with accents of glitter and the moon surface itself seemed to be illuminated. The Earth had a beautiful mixture of blue and green, and at the very center was a small red heart. Right where New York is, where they all are. He was definitely getting better at painting, something Diego cursed at himself for not commenting on before.

“That looks really good, bro.” Klaus said with a smile, pointing at the painting. Luther seemed to absolutely beam at the validation.

“Thanks, Klaus. It’s fun. Helps me clear my mind and all. And it’s a better coping mechanism than isolating myself.” Luther said lightly.

“So what’s up? Not that I don’t want to hang with you guys, but you both seem sorta tense. Is everything alright?” Luther’s big brother voice came out as he shifted in his seat to face them more.

Diego and Klaus shared a glance before sitting themselves on his bed. Klaus was playing with the hem of his shirt in between two fingers and Diego just stared off at the wall behind Luther. Neither of them really rehearsed this, no. But they both knew this conversation needed to happen.

“Listen, Luther. I, uh,” Klaus started, “wanted to talk to you about something. It’s about the night club.”

Luther tensed as Klaus spoke. He hated talking about that night, hated remembering it. He hurt Klaus, he hurt him so badly when he was just trying to help him. He got him killed, he knew that. And it’s something he’ll never forget.

“Klaus…I’m sorry for being so inconsiderate and stupid I-”

“No, no Luther this isn’t like a lecture or anything. I know you’re sorry and I forgive you. Lord knows I’ve done even more stupid things.” He reached over and gave his gloved hand a squeeze, hoping that would relieve some of Luther’s tension.

“Luther, that night.” Diego finally spoke up, voice unusually soft, “You were…that woman you met. Do you remember anything?”

“I uh, no. Not really, no.” Luther gulped, his eyes dancing between his two brothers. “Why?”

“Lu, you were high. Like, unbelievably so. You didn’t… you couldn’t have consented.” Klaus said gently, “It wasn’t consensual, was it?”

Luther opened his mouth to say something but immediately shut it. He shifted in his seat, taking shallow breaths. It was getting harder to breathe.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t feel right about it. It doesn’t feel right. It…” He squeezed his eyes shut, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Luther felt his heart race increasing, his palms getting sweaty. He stood up but immediately started to tumble back. He felt lightheaded and he managed to knock one of the planes off his shelf.

Which, shit. This isn’t good, Klaus’ brain expresses the obvious out loud. Diego and Klaus waste no time rushing towards their brother. The two of them place a firm hand on each shoulder.

“Hey, let’s sit down, yeah? It’s okay, Lu.” Klaus led the shaken man to his bed, rubbing his hand on his back in circles.

They needed to get Luther to calm down, to breathe. The last one of them to have a panic attack was Five. They all have instructed him through them before, Luther being the best at it. But Luther needed their help now. They needed to be there for him like he always was for them.

“Listen to my voice, okay? Breathe in for seven seconds, hold for four, out for ten. That’s it…” Diego instructed, taking initiative and following the orders himself. Klaus followed suit, meeting Diego’s eyes in mutual panic.

“You’re okay.” Klaus said with a nervous smile and Luther shook his head, his breathing becoming more and more labored with each second.

“C’mon, Lu. Listen to Diego. In for seven…that’s it, good man. Hold! And out…”

The three of them sat in silence as they listened to Diego’s counting for the next few minutes, repeating the exercise over and over.

The worst of it was finally over by the tenth run through and Luther took a deep, shaky breath. It wasn’t pretty, he choked in the air, but it was much more even than it had been before. And he did it again, gasping for air.

“Back with us?” Klaus asks, voice calm and hand still rubbing circles on the small of Luther’s back.

The blonde gave a shaky nod in response.

“Sorry.” He manages to croak out.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Lu. Take your time.” Diego pressed, placing a hand on Luther’s arm.

“I-I didn’t, I don’t,” Luther shakes his head in frustration, “I feel dirty. It shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have done it…I didn’t want to! I didn’t!” Tears are falling freely from his eyes now as he starts to turn in on himself. He lets out a pained, heart wrenching sob. His wide body jerks in response. It wasn’t possible for this man to look small, but right in this moment, Diego and Klaus have never seen him look any smaller.

“It’s not your fault, Luther. Okay? You’re right, it should not have happened. B-but it did…and I’m sorry. But it doesn’t make you wrong. You are not wrong.” Diego stresses.

He hated seeing Luther in this state. Strong, stoic Luther. Their fearless leader was hurting. Even at their worst, even at every single one of their Hargreeves-typical destructive and dangerous times, Diego never saw Luther break. At least not like this.

Luther always put on a brave face; he was always so adamant on making his family believe this facade that everything is going to be okay. He felt that as the big brother, it was his responsibility to make sure his siblings were okay. But Luther isn’t okay. And that’s something neither of them ever could’ve been prepared to witness.

“Luther, buddy, we love you. I’ve been in similar situations and it hurts. God, it fucking hurts. It’s scary and I get how isolating that feeling is. I’m so sorry I just dismissed you so quickly. I should not have done that, whether I realized what happened or not. But I promise you I’m gonna help you get through this. We both are.” Klaus took hold of Luther’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He was going to be there for Luther. No matter what he needed, no matter how long it took, he wasn’t going to leave his side. And he knew Diego wouldn’t either.

Luther looked at the hand in his and met Klaus’ eyes. They were so much more bright nowadays, gleaming emerald even in the yellow lit room. And right now his eyes were filled with nothing but compassion. Luther believed him. He turned to Diego who had a matching look on his face. The brown eyed man gave him a firm nod, a small smile tugging on his lips.

“We love you, Captain.” Diego said, his tone light.

Luther closed his eyes and let out a watery chuckle at his childhood nickname. He sniffed a few times, his face still hot from the episode that barely passed. He wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders, leaning down to plant a kiss on the top of both of their heads. His brothers, his family, would always be there for him. He didn’t have to handle shit like this alone, he knew that. But sometimes it can get hard remembering it. But they’d be there to remind him.

“I love you too.”

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 27 “Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears!”

mysterylover123

The Internship arc starts off with a bang! Let’s see that Full Cowl, Deku! 

SORA NI UTAEBA! While the song in this intro is kinda meh to me, the visuals are amazing. I love the symbolism for all the events of the ep - tho not gonna lie, this core’s ED is better than the OP. Anyway tho, go punch that wall Deku!

We start with Gran Torino pretending to be crazy. I’ll admit, I’m kinda eh on this bit, though I love  Gran. It’s probably because I found it annoying when Yoda did it, so I find it annoying here as well. (It’s really just my inner fangirl talking. Nobody makes Deku unhappy except Kacchan. Who can get away with it.)

But actually, this sets up an interesting difference between Deku and Luke, though admittedly situation isn’t the same because Deku knows Gran is Gran. But Deku’s response to this is to call All Might to tell him Gran’s gone senile. He’s so empathetic Deku why aren’t you real? (no shade at Luke there,e I love him too. Just not as much).

“I don’t have time to mess around.” Deku did not come to play.

New costume! It’s incredible how much better it is than the old one. Like, not even funny how much better. Day-um, Deku. 

Pfh Gran knows exactly how to piss off Deku: Insult All Might. You clever little scoundrel.

So onto Deku’s character flaws: 1. He’s overly analytical. Deku doesn’t know how to act quickly, partially due to circumstance, but partially that’s just how he is. Hesitant. Over-cautious, over-thinks things. He needs to learn how to take action - and in this arc, he does indeed do so without hesitation, and saves Iida’s life by so-doing. Box 1 checked off.

2. Deku admires All Might too much. Like every MC in BNHA, his Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy (insert me telling you to read that essay again). It’s a problem because he doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn not to imitate All Might and be his own hero. That one doesn’t really sink in until the PLE arc. But check.

3. Deku is insecure. He has a massive inferiority complex (which fits nicely into his foil’s inf-sup complex,  wouldn’t-cha-know) and doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn to be more confident. (Is it wrong that I want this to end with him breaking through Instrumentality to a chorus of his friends saying ‘Congratulations’?)

Gran is my favorite Teacher, as a teacher, in BNHA. I’m a teaching-major, and I kinda aspire to his techniques. What I love the most is helping students figure it out themselves. Just telling someone the answer doesn’t help them. It’s so satisfying seeing a student make that breakthrough thanks to your guidance.

Now we’re cutting away to Iida’s internship to remind you Iida Wants Revenge. This is a little exposition-y, let’s cut somewhere else.

OK good, the villains! Right off the bat, we’ve got some great Parallels with the Heroes, as Tomura decides to basically Intern with a Pro-Villain. He even calls Stain a pro. Tho Tomura really needs to work on his recruitment strategy. “Stain join us. Cause.” “Bakugou. Join us. Cause”.

I want Deku and Tomura to build a grand Hero-Villain rivalry. Tomura basically hates him for no real reason right now, and I want there to be a good reason. Other than “He’s All Might’s successor”. I want them to be the Joker and Batman of BNHA with a real complex hero-villain rivalry, where one reflects the other. They’re getting there but I want more.

“Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless.” Ooh I love me some Stain. He really elevated this series’ philosophical side with his ramblings on heroism and villainy.

OK am I creeped out by the fact that All for One just said the same thing I did about learning? A little.

Deku is so brilliant and such a fast learner tho. It doesn’t take him long to put it all together. And Gran actually really admires him for that - I enjoy their mentor dynamic a lot, since Gran has some real respect for Midoriya in a different way from All Might.

Bakugou with Best Jeanist! OMG the comedy gold of this. Though I just want to take a sec to gripe about a change from the manga to the anime: Manga! Bakugou does not charge at Best Jeanist and yell at him. He’s not dumb enough to try that on the #4 Pro Hero and his teacher. He sits still and listens to Jeanist’s lecture. The only Bakugo line here that’s from the manga is “Didn’t you make an offer for me?” This completely changes the way we perceive Bakugo in this scene, and in general. Bad change.

 But in Good Storytelling-ville, I like the continuing parallels between the Wonder duo this creates: Izuku interns in a rundown neighborhood with an unlisted hero, Bakugo in Tokyo with a top pro. Izuku needs to learn to control his power and believe in himself. Katsuki needs to learn to be kinder and more humble. Izuku learns his lesson her, Katsuki doesn’t. Parallels!

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu again! 4th kind is ok. He’s probably the least memorable of the internship pros, since his gimmick is simple and his design kinda dull.

Uraraka and Gunhead! I love how well they get along. He’s kawaii and she’s a hardcore badass. Don’t you forget it!

Now for more of Momo’s arc. The Uwabami internship is usually dismissed by fans as Just Fanservice, but think about it in context, and it becomes really interesting. One, the Hero Killer arc is about Stain protesting the commercialization of heroism, so we do need to have a Pro-Hero demonstrate the problematic nature of that commercialism. Uwabami does just that. Two, we need to have Momo’s internship be unfulfilling to her, to complete her downward trajectory (before the Final Exam arc can bring her back up), so it’s useful for further embarrassing and developing her character. 3, it sets up Momo and Kendo’s future rivalry.

I’ll take more about it in future eps where it appears.

Izuku practicing and constantly hitting his face on the wall is one of those things that makes me wonder if either a) he has a secret endurance quirk or b) OFA just naturally ups your durability. How does he still have a face after that.

Here’s a hot take: Izuku with his face smashed up from spending a night with no sleep training in garbage all night is still prettier than any other guy in this series.

One of the reviewers I follow made the comparison between All Might vs Deku’s using of OFA and Korra vs Aang’s role as the Avatar. You know, All Might and Korra, both master the power pretty quickly so they get to be strong fast but lose out on the spiritual connection a bit, while Deku and Aang take their time learning ofa/the four elements, but get as a tradeoff more of the spirit-y side...(ATLA & BNHA. My 2 favorite shows, alongside FMA. I swear these are like, three sides of the same show).

While I’m watching in the Sub this time around, i wanted to note a dub-ism in this scene: it’s localized to ‘hot pastries’ instead of taiyaki. There’s a lot of bits like that, where they take Japanese food and translate it for us dumb Americans. But well, maybe that made sense in the 90s, when there maybe wasn’t as much cultural crossover, but...even I knew what mochi were before watching BNHA (Uraraka’s fave, and the dub always localizes it to ‘sweets’) and everyone has google if they’re confused so why not just say ‘Taiyaki?’ Ah well, it’s a stupid nitpick but still.

Gran’s metaphor here is so great. As a teacher I aspire to learn from this man. Teach me your teaching ways.

“THIS TAIYAKI IS ME!!!!!” Another dub-ism has him say “I’m not really a dessert” I saw a reactor once comment on this ‘Yeah, but you are a snacc, Deku.’ I wholeheartedly agree.

FULL COWLLLLLLL!!!!!!! FYEAH!!!!!

OK so there are a lot of reasons I love Full Cowl. it’s one of the series’ finest moments, emblematic of what makes it cool. And what makes Deku cool. He’s smart, and has to work his way around problems, and this solution was just...it was there, for us and Izuku the whole time, to finally sit up and take notice of. It’s about applying power in a different way. About taking what you can do and doing the best you can with what you’ve got. A big central theme for the series.  

Also dayum that slow pan up Deku’s entire body as he activates it...he just looks good in this arc. Actually, post-cavalry battle Deku in the sports festival arc always looks weird and odd (because he’s beat up and in pain, duh) and prior to that he was mainly just adorable...this arc, however, is his official transition into Best Boy for Reals. He’s just...swoony. and also really cool, smart, and all sorts of great fangirl-y things. 

We end on a confident Deku smile and Daiki’s adorable ‘hai.’ Basically, i really enjoy this episode. A little slow at the beginning, maybe. But that conclusion is amazing and so worth the payoff. It’s even got this amazing rhyme and rhythm to it, cutting back and forth between the different students and teachers and just having themes echo between each other like poetry. It love it.

To close off: ED4, AKA BEST ED EVER!!!! This is seriously, no sarcasm, best ED. So for those of you who don’t know, the story behind ED4 Datte Atashi no Hero is, 1: The Fantasy AU theme comes from the second popularity poll, which came out around Chapter 120/Episode 61 (yes, THAT one) and for which Horikoshi drew the top 10 in fantasy garb. 2: The Song was written by LiSa and was explicitly stated by her to be effectively about Izuku’s feelings towards Kacchan. I wrote a post analyzing it. It is, basically, the anthem for...

BKDK CORNER

“Loose…” Guess who the first person Deku thinks of to create Full Cowling is? If you sad Kacchan, ding-ding-ding!

On an analytical note, I think it’s very, very significant that the first real breakthrough Deku makes in handling his power comes by observing Kacchan and imitating him. This is one of my Top 20 Favorite BKDK moments, even though it’s completely indirect, because of how important that is in the long-run. But what about the Imitation theme? Why is it OK for Izuku to imitate Katsuki, but not All Might? Well, first of all, he does use Gran Torino’s moves as well, but mainly, I think the series is saying with this distinction that it’s OK to imitate someone if you see their flaws and acknowledge them, but if you hero-worship them and see them as perfect, you’re only going to screw yourself over.  This is why Iida imitating Ingenium, Shoto imitating his mom, Deku and Kacchan imitating All Might, and yes, Uraraka imitating Deku, are all so bad for them. If you see someone as perfect, and want to imitate them, you’ll never achieve that in your mind, because you already view yourself as imperfect. So Deku can imitate Katsuki because he thinks he’s a jerk, but also an amazing fighter, and Gran because he thinks he’s weird, but tough.

Also Deku just automatically thinking of Kacchan first is so damn shippy.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Uwabami!

RANKER: Ranking the Internship Pros, least helpful to most.

10. Uwabami

9. Mt. Lady

8. 4th Kind

7. Endeavor

6. Death Arms

5. Manual

4. Selkie and Sirius (anime only)

3. Gunhead

2. Best Jeanist

1. Gran Torino! (Deku lucked out)

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

What I’ve Been Reading #2

Hey People of Earth!

I recently started a new series on this blog (titled above), where I reflect on the last few books I’ve read. I’m doing this mostly to keep myself accountable because I’m notoriously bad at committing myself to reading. So far, reading has been far greater than it’s been in the past--I’m definitely getting into the rhythm of things. I read some amaaaazing books this time around (since approx. November), and these are them:

1. The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken

This is book four in The Darkest Minds series, and was just recently released (last summer). Whilst I’ve drifted from YA in the last few years, this series was such a huge favourite of mine when I was younger, and I thought I’d give this book a go for nostalgia’s sake. Also, I truly admire Alex as an author, and wanted to support her! Here’s the summary:

Five years after the destruction of the so-called rehabilitation camps that imprisoned her and countless other Psi kids, seventeen-year-old Suzume "Zu" Kimura has assumed the role of spokesperson for the interim government, fighting for the rights of Psi kids against a growing tide of misinformation and prejudice. But when she is accused of committing a horrifying act, she is forced to go on the run once more in order to stay alive. Determined to clear her name, Zu finds herself in an uncomfortable alliance with Roman and Priyanka, two mysterious Psi who could either help her prove her innocence or betray her before she gets the chance. But as they travel in search of safety and answers, and Zu grows closer to the people she knows she shouldn't trust, they uncover even darker things roiling beneath the veneer of the country's recovery. With her future-and the future of all Psi-on the line, Zu must use her powerful voice to fight back against forces that seek to drive the Psi into the shadows and save the friends who were once her protectors.

What drew me to it: Like I mentioned, its mother series was a mega favourite of mine in grade 8, and whilst I’ve grown out of YA, I was curious to see where the story went, five years in the future. I read about 60% of it on page, and listened to the rest on and of over the course of a few months. I started it in August, and finished it on New Year’s Eve. Not the fault of the book, that’s totally me being Very Bad at commitment. I’ve really enjoyed Alex’s novels in audiobook format, and this one was no exception (I think, if I were to read it again, I’d listen to the audiobook: it’s like listening to a television show!)

My rating: 3/5

Why: This is really due to the fact that I no longer am very interested in YA. In all truths, I got into YA early, and got out of it even earlier because apparently I am a sixty year old woman?? I started my journey with YA in grade seven, and it ended around the end of grade eight. After that, I had trouble finding YA books I could enjoy/relate to, not that the books were any less, or bad because of this, but because I was just an injustice to them (I’ve always been a strange reader). This is why I don’t really read YA anymore because I feel like I rate them unfairly because I’m not super big on the category anymore. It just (rightfully) didn’t give me what I’m most currently interested in in books (horrible people; horrible relationships; morally grey protagonists), because of course the category is different to what I read now! With that said, I think, if I’d read this book in my Peak YA Moment (grade 7-8), I’d definitely have given it a 5 star rating. It was super entertaining and funny and nostalgic, and made me miss a series so pivotal in my writing journey. If you love YA, and this series, I think this book is definitely worth the read! That was a thiccccc tangent. 

2. Past Lives, Future Bodies by Kristin Chang

This is a really quick poetry collection (that I spoiler: looooved). This is the summary:

PAST LIVES, FUTURE BODIES is a knife-sharp and nimble examination of migration, motherhood, and the malignant legacies of racism. In this collection, family forms both a unit of survival and a framework for history, agency, and recovery. Chang undertakes a visceral exploration of the historical and unfolding paths of lineage and what it means to haunt body and country. These poems traverse not only the circularity of trauma but the promise of regeneration—what grows from violence and hatches from healing—as Chang embodies each of her ghosts and invites the specter to speak. 

What drew me to it: @shaelinwrites rec’d it to me on my last update, and I fell in love with the premise. I’m *cheap* so was very excited to be gifted it by my Grandma for Christmas. (I actually read it on Christmas!)

My rating: 5/5

Why: Kristin Chang is literally so skilled with her use of the line break? I was shook? This is my second collection of poetry that I’ve read, following (no shade) Rupi Kaur’s The Sun and Her Flowers, which, I felt kinda made the line break feel gimmicky? So this collection definitely reinvented it for me. Her poems are so punchy, and thoughtful, and you can truly feel the experience built into the backbone of every one of them. When I panic wrote some poetry for my writing class, I used it as comfort reference and was amazed at how deliberate she is with her words. I also found so much of its commentary on race so relatable. It’s definitely a collection I’ll keep re-reading. I’d recommend this if, like me, you’re just starting out in poetry--a perfect way to acclimate yourself to a new form!

3. God of Shadows by Lorna Crozier

*Rachel vigorously trying to diversify her reading.* The summary:

The poet Lorna Crozier has always been brilliant at fusing the ordinary with the other-worldly in strange and surprising ways. Now the Governor General's Literary Award-winning author of Inventing the Hawk returns with God of Shadows, a wryly wise book that offers a polytheistic gallery of the gods we never knew existed and didn't know we needed. To read these poems is to be ready to offer your own prayers to the god of shadows, the god of quirks, and the god of vacant houses. Sing new votive hymns to the gods of horses, birds, cats, rats, and insects. And give thanks at the altars of the gods of doubt, guilt, and forgetting. What life-affirming questions have these deities come to ask? Perhaps it is simply this: How can poems be at once so profound, original and lively, and also so much fun?

What drew me to it: At this point I’m just stalking @shaelinwrites​’ Goodreads because her reading taste is on pointttt. I’ve also been dying to read more poetry, and branch out into different forms of writing, so I can be a little *prepared* for school, so I thought I’d take a peek at this collection. 

My rating: 5/5

Why: This collection is so beautiful! I read it super quickly, and fell in love with the concept immediately. I think Crozier explored such unique ideas with super unique language, and I live for it. This collection gave me perspective on ‘gods’ I’d never even thought about. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking into reading some prose poetry!

4. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

I finished this book today, and now have trust issues and feel like I’m in a constant state of wanting to cry. Here’s the summary:

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

What drew me to it: I actually don’t know?? I put it on hold at my library in October, and was loaned it in January (looooong waitlist). So I can’t remember why I wanted to read it, probably because 1969 was in the premise lmao. I actually completely forgot about placing a hold on it because it’d been two months, so by the time I got the email notification, I’d forgotten what it was about. Oftentimes, I’m Bad, and leave my loans for weeks, forgetting about them, but I was intrigued by seeing I’d received this loan because I couldn’t remember placing it/why I placed it. I quickly re-read the summary, and immediately started reading because it reminded me a lot of the Haunting of Hill House sibling dynamic, and I was on board!

My rating: 5/5 stars soaked in all my tears

Why: This book is SO good, I literally can’t think about it too much because I will cry, lol. I’m not one to get emotional over books, but this book touched me in a place I didn’t know existed?? Like I didn’t know I had emotions before reading this book?? Apparently I do?? It also left me feeling stunned with a whole bucket of life lessons, and similarly to getting emotional, I’m not a reader to really take away a whole new worldview after reading something, but this book was like NOPE, here’s some THOUGHTS. I think I might’ve loved it so much because the four siblings it follows remind me a lot of my siblings (tag yourself I’m Klara, @sarahkelsiwrites is Varya). I too am a sibling of four with a similar composition to the novel’s (two boys, two girls), so the actual heartbreak of realizing that one day, there ain’t always gonna be four of us struck me so hard I was not prepared?? The characters are BEAUTIFUL, and my heart aches so much after finishing this, I almost don’t know what to do with myself... If you liked the sibling dynamic in the Haunting of Hill House (me!!), you’ll probably dig this book. Benjamin’s writing is also gorgeous; straightforward, but so detailed and lush at the same time. I don’t often see books in third present, so this was a delight for me to read. Also: I’m no expert on any of the topics in this book, but to me, a Fool, this book felt so well researched? This isn’t something I ever notice in books, but it surprisingly really added to the reading experience. 

TL;DR: I’m literally an emotional wreck because of this book and have a whole new perspective on life, if you too want to be an emotional wreck, defs join in on the fUN.

So that’s it for this reading update! All of these books in this update were wonderful! Making me antsy to read more for sure! I’m currently attempting to read more short story collections, so if anyone has recs, hit me up! ‘Scuse me while I go sob!

--Rachel

[writerservicesblogs]

How to Become an Author

Today we look at what your options are when writing and editing a book, and the bigger picture of how to become an author. These endeavors – the journey of book writing and the resulting life of an author – are among the most cherished and rewarding of all. I make a point of emphasizing that to aspiring authors because so many find the process of sorting through all the options, the decision-making, and the work of actually writing WELL WORTH IT.

WRITING SERVICES

Full-service companies offer authors everything from collaborative book writing to ghostwriting, editing and more. For example, Writer Services accepts inquiries about any and all aspects of writing a book. We work with aspiring and established authors and entrepreneurs alike to determine which of our services will best achieve our clients’ goals.

Our services include:

Ghostwriting – You simply tell us what you want, and we take care of everything else. As explained in further detail below, your name (and your name only) appears on the cover of your book as author. In other words, your writer remains anonymous.

Collaborative book writing – With this service, we work with you one-on-one through every step of the book writing journey. If you’d like to be more involved in the process of writing than what’s available through a ghostwriting service, this might be the perfect choice for you. You get to be involved as much or as little as you want.

Developmental editing – A more engaged, ongoing editing relationship throughout your book writing process is available through this particular service.

To most authors, this is an invaluable service because of the camaraderie between you and your editor. You have someone to rely on and trust in who will be very honest with you about the quality of your work and the effectiveness of your writing. Any doubts or reservations about your book are resolved.

You can look at this service as more collaboration than in ghostwriting and regular line editing, but less than in collaborative book writing.

Line Editing/Copy Editing – This is a high-quality editing service provided in a more traditional writer-editor relationship. Your material is checked for grammar and sentence structure.

Proofreading – We provide a service that puts the final polish on your work. S/he checks your manuscript for spelling, consistency of the use of punctiation marks and many other things these unsung heros do to make you look like a true professional.

Social media and traditional marketing As a full-service firm, we also offer marketing of your book(s) using our social media and traditional marketing resources. Our marketing services are available at several price points to fit your budget and goals.

GHOSTWRITING DEFINITION

Ghostwriting is a writing service where a hired professional book writer, who remains unnamed, writes your book—using ideas and concepts provided by the hiring party—which is then credited to the payer/author.

WRITING MENTOR

A writing mentor works closely with you, offering their vast experience and unique insight. Every aspect of being a book writer and being an author is real to your mentor, because s/he is a seasoned book writer and experienced author.

You may find that you learn quite a lot just by working with them, such as their writing habits, theories, and even style, which is okay because those inevitably give way to your own preferences as you grow as an author.

To give you a clearer picture of writer/mentor dynamics, you might have a look at one or two unique depictions of the relationship in film.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) stars Jeff Bridges as a successful author who stumbles into the mentorship of a young man who is his neighbor.

Adult World (2013) stars John Cusack as the reluctant mentor of a young woman who admires him greatly.

Although these portrayals aren’t typical, they offer a sense of the personal interactions that create the mentor-author bond.

Video Transcript:

“The life of an author is often portrayed as strictly independent – a one-person show. But, did you know that working with a mentor is one of the best gifts you can give your own writing? Even the great philosopher Plato had a mentor in Socrates. Plato, in turn, mentored Aristotle. Great minds seek other great minds to improve their work.”

WRITING COACH / WRITER COACH

Writing coaches (or writer coaches) differ from writing mentors in the type of relationship they offer to the author.

The writing coach is not necessarily an author themselves, and their role is more like that of a motivator. They’re not the same as a life coach, though, in that they usually have some experience with editing and/or another facet of writing.

Accountability, inspiration and motivation are the tools of the writing coach’s trade. You might find that the interactions with your writing coach are less personal and deep than those with a mentor. Still, without question, to have someone to answer to is better than having no one at all.

WRITING LESSONS

There are a great variety of writing lessons and classes available online and off. These, of course, can be taken alone or as part of a coaching or mentoring program. They might come in the form of:

1. Writing prompts – Prompts are challenges and/or ideas you can use to jump-start your daily writing practice.

 2. Creative writing classes – Just about every university, community college, and adult continuing education program offers a course on creative writing. Almost all of them also offer the course(s) virtually.

 3. Membership websites – With the recent boom in online learning due to the pandemic, we may begin to see more membership training sites showing up. Though there aren’t many out there to date, we are extremely proud to announce our own membership website for authors! You can get more information about how you can have on-going guidance for literally just pennies a day. It’s called Author Utopia. See it by clicking the following link: https://www.authorutopia.com

 4. Vocabulary expansion – Words are the endless variety of colors available to squeeze onto your writer’s palette. The greater your vocabulary, the better you will do at expressing your ideas in compelling and varied language.

Reading is one great way to expand your knowledge of words, but there are dozens of other ways, too. Online tools such as dictionaries and thesauruses provide vast opportunities for learning. You might also try a quick search for “vocabulary expander” and/or “vocabulary tests”.

5. Reading for writing – In my own experience, I find reading an excellent lubricant for writing. The published word has a certain power to condition an author’s mind towards better writing. As you read, you learn the music of well-written phrases. Like a catchy tune, this music stays with you as you write. You write more and more, eventually finding your own unique voice and your own “songs.”

Also, reading improves your vocabulary. This is proven. Some wise writers keep a list of words they don’t know and look them up after a session of reading. In these ways, reading is one of the best activities to improve your own writing.

6. Journaling prompts – In journals, you’re writing the true story of your life as you experience it or shortly thereafter. You can see how this practice can help you develop your own authentic voice as an author. As with creative writing prompts, there exist many sites that offer prompts for journaling.

6. Editing classes – Editing isn’t just a task, it’s an art. Writer and editors (especially), must look at  manuscripts with a critical eye. Is a phrase redundant? Delete it. Can a different word provide pleasant alliteration? Use that word instead. Clarity, efficiency, inventiveness – all these and more are the goals of excellent editing.

7. Grammar and punctuation – A good writer is never done learning and relearning the rules of writing. Just as a jazz musician must learn their basic scales before launching into improvisation, an author must know the rules thoroughly before they break them.

8. Journalism and blogging – These two types of writing have ethics and rules of their own. It’s worthwhile to familiarize yourself with these, even if they’re not your specialties. It’s likely that some of the practices and skills involved in journalism and/or blogging will translate to an aspect of your future writing processes.

9. Research and writing – Research is another rewarding endeavor for writers. When researching a topic – any topic at all – you might gain all types of ideas and inspiration for your book. Depending on what you’re writing, research could account for a large percentage of your time working. For example, non-fiction books generally require extensive research into the real people and actual events you’re writing about.

10. Poetry workshops – Here’s a double-power tool for improving your work. Writing poetry hones your senses of efficiency, rhythm, and tone, as well as aiding your creativity and inventiveness. Workshops offer contact and interaction with other writers, and everyone usually emerges from them better editors.

11. Character creation and development – Classes are also available for specific aspects of the fiction-writing process. Think of the value of well-developed, three-dimensional characters to a good novel. Learning this skill can go a long way in making you an effective writer.

12. Fiction for beginners – On the other hand, you might not be ready to dive into in-depth classes on specific techniques. Fiction lessons for beginners are great ways to dip your toe in the water and get a feel for the process and promise of a professional writing career. Make all the mistakes you want! In beginners classes, you’re free from the pressures you might feel elsewhere. In the meantime, you’re getting solid footing for the next steps towards authorship of a book.

13. Advanced writing – Maybe you’ve already taken many of the classes I’ve listed above. Maybe you’ve even written a book or two. Your learning isn’t done! Advanced classes offer learning opportunities to authors who are ready to accept the next higher challenge.

BOOK EDITING SERVICES

“Writing is editing,” is an old adage that holds true today. Editing affords your work a reader, among other benefits. A reader/editor who is not the author often facilitates the best results. Writing is communication, and communication is always a two-way street. You want to make sure that what you’re writing is as close as possible – in clarity, meaning, and tone – to what the reader perceives.

We often think of editing as work done exclusively after a book is written. That isn’t the case at all. In fact, editing often begins in earnest at the beginning of your second draft. So, it’s useful to think of editing as much more than polishing a completed draft.

Working with a developmental editor, for instance, is a fantastic way to refine ideas as you go along. You might find that this type of editing service helps put you on the writing path that you were seeking all along. 

Working with a developmental editor means having a working relationship, including dynamics both personal and professional, with an experienced author with whom you feel comfortable. This type of editor guides you towards not only improving your writing but also clarifying and defining your message. Think of this person as just one step shy of a mentor. In fact, a developmental editor can become your mentor under certain circumstances. The definitions are not set in stone, but usually a mentor is more invested in you as a writer. This makes sense because the relationship with a mentor can last a lifetime while a developmental editor is usually on board for one of your book projects at a time.

All these resources, services, and tools can be mixed and matched to fit your goals and needs. I hope that with this article I’ve given you a clearer picture of some of the pathways and work-ways available to burgeoning and established writers. Now it’s up to you to choose the first (or next) step in your journey as an author. 

Video Transcript:

“Mark Twain once said, ‘Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.’ And with that, the great American humorist leaves us back at square one. In a way, he was talking about editing. A subject so broad that a good author is almost always studying it. Fortunately, the resources available to you are also almost endless.”

The post How to Become an Author appeared first on Writer Services.

[intellect-poet]

1. To order an autographed copy of A Look Into My Third Eye by Antwian Marcel Crawford, also known as Intellect, please visit the following links located at the bottom of this status update! A Look Into My Third Eye is ON SALE for a limited time, so place your order today...

Book Overview:

A Look Into My Third Eye is a collection of poems, written by Antwian M. Crawford (Intellect) that are broken into four different categories. The first category is called “Love”, because when romantics think of love, they think of poetry. The second is called “Life” because in this category there are poems written about things that all of us can relate to in our everyday lives. The third category is called “The Message” because each poem was intended to give a message that the reader could learn from or be reminded of in life’s journey. Finally, the last category is called “The Spirit” because Mr. Crawford believe’s that God is hard at work in everyone’s life and he wants to share some of that inspiration through his poetry.”

A Look Into My Third Eye: Autographed Copy ($14.95)

PayPal link: http://bit.ly/1OEYtK0

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2. To order an autographed copy of Third “Eye"solated by Antwian Marcel Crawford also known as Intellect, please visit the following links located at the bottom of this status update! Third "Eye"solated is ON SALE for a limited time, so place your order today...

Book Overview:

Third "Eye"solated is a sophomore book of poetry written by Antwian Marcel Crawford also known as Intellect. This award-winning Poet, Author and Founder of The Underground Poet’s Society, Inc. sets himself apart from the average with some of his best writing to date. His unique, very detailed and descriptive writing style infuses the art of storytelling and unorthodox rhyme schemes and a philosophy all his own and is just what the doctor ordered. With well scripted verses and stanzas written in traditional formats, this wordsmith takes you on a journey like no other.

The essence of his passion shines through with every word, every breath uttered and every trace of the passionate human existence is not only read but felt through his wise words and life lessons. The honesty in his words is very refreshing and is expressed in such a way that it brings his words to life and become a living, breathing symbolization of the romanticism inside the man.”

Third “Eye"solated: Autographed Copy ($19.95)

PayPal link: https://goo.gl/QEMRBP

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3. Intellect, the CD: Own the Digitally Remastered CD today by visiting the following link...

Bandcamp: http://intellect1.bandcamp.com/album/intellect-the-cd

The digitally remastered, "Intellect, The CD”, is an 18 track CD, including 2 bonus tracks. All 18 tracks are accompanied by original music from the Jazz and Rhythm and Blues genra’s. Intellect has quite a creative range and his CD is one of the most colorful CD’s ever put together by a Poet, which is the reason why Intellect’s CD was number 1 in South Florida for a record breaking 104 weeks when it first came out in 2010. Now, in 2016, check out the digitally remastered version and you’ll love it even more!

Since the age of 14, Intellect has been fascinated with putting words on paper and reciting them through Hip Hop at first, but then, getting more sophisticated with his words later on, which evolved into his award winning poetry and he is still evolving. The tracks on this CD are passionately put together and it shows in Intellect’s words, although he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Download, “Intellect, The CD” today to enjoy this Spoken Word Masterpiece!

CREDITS re-released January 1, 2016

• Album Art (Front Cover): Circle of Love 1 by Alfred Gockel • Album Art (Back Cover): Circle of Love by Alfred Gockel • All poems written and performed by Intellect. • Hip Hop… You’re Fired produced by Mr. Rigz at Audacity Studios in Hollywood, Florida. • The Remixed Spoken Word was produced by MikeTV in London, England. • I Need You produced by The Wonder Twins • All other tracks were produced Intellect

Bandcamp: http://intellect1.bandcamp.com/album/intellect-the-cd

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4. Third “Eye"solated and A Look Into My Third Eye: 2 Book Bundle ($24.95)

PayPal link: https://goo.gl/TfNXGU

[icephas]

The Rhythms of Life

Lesson 1, March 30-April 5

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 1, Genesis 8:22, Psalm 90:10, Job 1:13-19, Acts 9:1-22, Phil. 1:6, Romans 8:1.

Memory Text: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV).

Some of the most beautiful poetry ever penned came from King Solomon: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NKJV).

Those words capture so much of human existence—the seasons, the rhythms of our lives. Yes, our lives go through stages, through changes, and they do so from the moment we are born. Sometimes the changes are good, sometimes not; sometimes we have control over them; sometimes not. This week let’s look at the seasons and rhythms of our lives, especially as they impact us and our families, too.

[britneyshakespeare]

there’s something to me very offputting about alexandrines. iambic hexameter. maybe it’s just my english-speaking brain because they’re so typical in french, but not in english. but i think it’s not just alexandrines, even; it’s any hexameter. i NEVER write in it; not a lot of english poets do. it had its hey-day as a manner of closing tercets in pentameter for poets like pope. it’s mostly a sixteenth-seventeenth century thing in our language, when english poetry was still in a kind of anguished state because no one knew what would be the longevity and spread of the language. i mean, if beowulf, the first english poem, is old english, and no one knows who wrote it, and chaucer was the first english poet, then that period was kind of a middle school phase for english poetry (at least, in comparison to all the progress and different movements since; i think that makes the most sense chronologically). iambic pentameter was still the standard as set by chaucer. but learned poets still would borrow from other languages like french and italian and greek and latin. and it’s french whence we get the alexandrine.

sometimes i think i might just not be used to alexandrines because they’re so infrequent in my native tongue. actually, when i was quite new to poetry, i had trouble getting the hand of iambic pentameter. when i first read shakespeare i had no sense of the rhythm, like a lot of other high school freshman made to go over romeo and juliet. but now, of course i’m comfortable with iambic pentameter! it’s like a second heartbeat. it flows quite naturally. i think some of my initial unease was from the fact that i hadn’t read that much poetry for myself at that point; i was much more comfortable with song lyrics. and a lot of song lyrics in english don’t use pentameter; they use some form of (often imperfect and perhaps unintentional) iambic (or trochaic) heptameter (14 syllables, or 7 feet), at least in pop songs, broken up into two separate lines like the ballad of reading goal by oscar wilde, or most emily dickinson poems. 8 syllables in one line, 6 syllables in the next, another 8-syllable line which may or may not rhyme with the first, and another 6-syllable line that does rhyme (or nearly rhyme) with the second line. an interwoven quatrain. and that works out especially well, and is so common, because a lot of songs use a standard 4/4 beat. 8-syllable lines fill up one measure, and the 6-syllable lines fill up most of a measure, and there’s room for a held-out note or some kind of instrumental riff to fill up the end of the measure. an especially fast-paced pop song may just use iambic tetrameter the whole time and have no pause between lines or held notes (which means, each measure is 8/8/8/8 syllables). or there can be a bunch of different ways to alter it with this meter with alternative lengths of notes, but the general gist is, if you’re filling up a song and each measure is 4 beats, a system of meter where there’s 4 stressed syllables is ideal. four stresses in the lyrics, to match four beats in the music, and unstressed syllables to take up the eighth-notes. and in the matching line of six syllables, one beat, usually at the end, gets to be emphasized by a pause of the vocal to allow the singer to take a breath.

but i’m not giving a long music lesson for nothing. pentameter is very unpopular in music because it exceeds a 4/4 beat measure (unless you get into sixteenth notes or something, or have unusually long pauses for a pop song, or an unusual number of held notes, or an unusually-long held note) (again, a lot of reasons not to use pentameter in your pop song, and why it’s usually used most often in choruses, which tend to be the most unique part of a song so an unusual lyrical meter is less jarring). but i still am now very used to pentameter! some part of me thinks it’s just repetition and practice, and seeing it everywhere since getting into poetry. but i’d also propose that there’s just something pleasing about certain numbers, to the ear. and i don’t know if that has to do with the way we all grow up listening to 4/4 beats in music, or if 4/4 beats in music are particularly common because 4 is just one of those inherently pleasing numbers.

and this is where it matters more how many stresses are in a line, than how many syllables. because my observation applies to any kind of meters, whether they’re iambic (unstressed syllable followed by a stress), trochaic (stressed followed by an unstressed), anapestic (two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed), amphibrachic (three syllables, the one in the middle is stressed and the two around it are unstressed), or dactylic feet (a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed). i think 4 is the most pleasing number, thus, tetrameter (4 stresses per measure, regardless of what kind of foot you use) is so common. and this also explains the commonality of iambs and trochees, as disyllabic feet. two disyllabic feet make four overall syllables, and twice as many make four stressed syllables and four feet. 

but wait, what about the trisyllabic feet: the anapests, the amphibrachs, the dactyls? well, yes: trisyllabic feet are still not inherently jarring, even if they’re less common in english than the iamb. they’re usually the lyrical meter for waltzes, and that makes sense, what with a 3/4 timestamp. that’s one syllable per beat, and one stressed syllable per measure. but waltzes still often have a pattern that occurs every 4 or 8 measures (or even 2), to make the song sound more rounded and pleasing to the ear.

so 4 is a pleasing number, because it’s twice as many as 2, and half as many as 8; by extension, 2 and 8 are pleasing, because of their relation to 4. i should also say, 1 is a pleasing number, not only because it’s the first whole number that stands alone, but it is half of 2, and one-fourth of four. then why is heptameter (7 feet) so common? how can seven be a pleasing number? it’s prime, for fuck’s sake! you can’t divide it by 2, you can’t divide it by 4. i think that would be because of the pause at the end of a 4/4 measure i mentioned up above. when you read a line (or a 4-foot/3-foot couplet) of heptameter, your brain reads a longer pause at the end, before beginning the next line, than the pause between multiple consecutive lines of tetrameter. when you read lines like “he did not wear his scarlet coat,/for blood and wine are red,/and blood and wine were on his hands/when they found him with the dead” there’s a longer natural pause between the words “red,/and” than “hands/when” because the tetrameter completed by “hands” is heard as a whole mental 4/4 measure, and the longer pause between “red,/and” is your brain finishing the beat before going onto the next line. therefore, 3 counts as a pleasing number because of its allowance of a pause of one beat before getting to a fourth, and 7 is a pleasing number because it is the sum of 4 and 3, two pleasing numbers.

pentameter is still somewhat problematic by this line of thinking because by having 5 stresses it violates the rule of a 4/4 mental measure, and that’s probably why pentameter is so rarely accompanied by other meters. it doesn’t mix well like dimeter/trimeter/tetrameter/heptameter where the amount of pauses and line-breaks played around with during a stanza. but there is often, within a line of pentameter, what is referred to as a “turn”: this was something i learned from geoffrey tillotson while reading his book on alexander pope, in the section about correct versification. around the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable of a ten-syllable line. so, by the time of the second or third stress, and 2 and 3 are, of course, pleasing numbers. in the turn of pentameter, there is a felt change within the phrase. just in “shall i compare thee to a summer’s day?” the turn would be between the words thee and to. “shall i compare thee...” is an independent clause and “...to a summer’s day?” is a dependent. turns aren’t always so logical and definite as to have to be made up of an independent and dependent clauses; they can be made up of a change in tone, a change of subject, or any number of parts that break up a sentence or phrase. but, traditionally, there is a turn in pentameter (at least by the theory of correctness which poets like pope would follow, and enforce when looking at the works of shakespeare). and the turn happens around stresses 2/3 in most instances. and even if it didn’t happen there, it would happen around stresses 1/4 or 4/1. 2 and 3 are pleasing numbers; 1 and 4 are pleasing numbers. as a consequence, this turn, which joins two micrometers of 2 and 3 feet (or 1 and 4 feet) is pleasing. 5 is the sum of only pleasing numbers, in any instance.

this is why hexameter is so sucky. 6 is not a pleasing number. it should be, seeing as it’s twice 3, but remember, 3 is only pleasing because of the mental pause which completes 4. two 3s making 6 is still two less than a pleasing 8, and two more than a pleasing 4. therefore a mental pause must be twice as long as it is in trimeter, which feels unnatural. it’s an unpleasant pause between lines. it sounds in the brain as if it’s too long to be correctly in any correct relation to 4 or 5, and still short of an expected and acceptable 7 or 8. can you believe it?! 6 is a less pleasing number than 3, 5, or 7: all of them odd numbers, all of them prime numbers. it just sounds ridiculous! and oh, it is. it is.

so that’s why i don’t like alexandrines. they are unnatural, and displeasing, from what i have made out in my own head to be the ultimate mathematical guide for writing pleasant-sounding poetry, at least in english, in a culture of people accustomed to hearing 4/4 music from birth. syllables all mean something different in different languages, and hold different types of weights and tones. i’m sure to the french who innovated it, and the later early-modern english poets who imitated it, that it made sense by the kinds of music they were positioned to compare all metrical poetry to. but alas, in my modern english brain, i cannot make sense of the alexandrine.

[bearhatarmy]

Here’s a hot take from conservative pundit and massive transphobe music fan, Ben Shapiro. Normally I would tackle the more serious topics Ben discusses, but this really felt like it deserved a response. 

Though, if I wanted to take a more serious angle, I suppose I could make the argument that rap is a huge part of the black community’s cultural identity & heritage and by belittling it, Ben is insulting and diminishing one of a marginalized group’s main creative outlets that they use to communicate their struggles. 

But that would be racist! Ben isn’t racist! He is constantly explaining over and over just how not-racist he is. Which is what all non-racists have to do. 

This has nothing to do with racism and Ben has some solid FACTS explaining why.  

HE LIKES JAZZ, OKAY? 

AND OPINIONS ARE NEVER RACIST. 

I GUESS.

EVEN THOUGH HE SAID IT WAS A FACT.

So, to be clear, this will just be a not-serious analysis about Ben’s totally not-racist FACT that rap is not-music. 

Let’s get this not-party started...

You see, Ben is famous for his motto, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

He’s even leveraged his factual wisdom and made it into merchandise. 

That’s a real thing people can buy. It even has 6 whole reviews on Amazon! 

Beyond the Box rated it with 3 stars saying, “It's okay but small.” 

(Aww, just like Ben!)

And Tim S. described the shirt’s fit as “Liberals are destroying the country.”

(I’m pretty sure that means it’s a tad itchy.)

Before I saw Ben’s factual tweet, I really FELT like rap was an amazing musical artform. It took poetry and made it musical. It gave people a new way to express themselves that didn’t require expensive music lessons or even instruments. A friend could just bang on a table while you let it flow. It made creating music more accessible. And as long as you had good rhythm you could participate. It FELT groundbreaking at the time. 

The very first cassette tape I bought was Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. (I know that isn’t a great start, but I was like 10, okay?) The very first compact disc I bought was 2 Legit 2 Quit by MC Hammer. (Don’t laugh, he was the shit in 1991.) As I reached my formative years, I started listening to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Beastie Boys, and House of Pain. 

I jump’d around. (squeeEEEEEee)

But as some of you may have noticed, most of my musical selections were very mainstream. You’ve probably also noticed that I am very... white. 

To this day, even! I think it is a chronic condition. 

My skin is near translucent due to lack of sunlight. I often say things like “indubitably” and “bloviate” and “I’m sure this chicken will be fine with minimal seasoning.” And at one point I owned the entire Creed discography. 

I was in desperate need of a Hip Hop education. 

Now using the official Rules of Republican Conduct™, if I want to talk about something with a racial component, all I need is a single black friend. This will absolve me of any consequences. 

Interesting Froggie Fun Fact... I went to a mostly black high school! 

Check this out...

That’s TWO black friends! 

Shawn is the one teaching me a complicated handshake I instantly forgot. And Marcus is photobombing us in the back there. 

I wish I could say our school was super progressive and everyone got along dandy. But in the mid-90s that just wasn’t the case. There were no major conflicts, but a lot of the white kids would sort of... self segregate. They’d all choose lockers in the same area. They’d sit in the same area at lunch and in class. And not a lot of them would interact with black kids outside of school. 

That said, I did not get the segregation memo. I got along with everyone. I’m not saying I was some amazing colorblind trailblazer crossing racial boundaries at every turn. My locker was in the white section too. And I only had two black friends (not pictured) that I hung out with outside of school. 

But I do think humor can break down a lot of barriers. And I used comedy to cross those invisible lines from time to time. 

Do you remember “Yo Mama” jokes? 

Like uhhh... Yo mama so old, her social security number is 1.  Yo mama so lazy, she stuck her nose out the window and let the wind blow it. Yo mama so classless, she’s a Marxist utopia.

You get it. 

Before school or before class, a lot of kids would have these competitions. They would face off with their best motherly insults and typically the person who received the loudest “OH DAAAAAAMMMMN!” would be declared the winner. 

One day I just kind of decided to make fun of Shawn’s mama. After a few seconds of stunned silence I got the loudest OH DAMN of anyone and we were suddenly friends. And then his friends were my friends too. Our friendship didn’t go outside the school premises, but it was still a lot of fun joking around with them at lunch or when we were supposed to be doing homework.

Shawn and I started a sort of cultural exchange. He would tell me about all of the amazing music he was into. And I explained why Batman: The Animated Series was not a kid’s cartoon. IT WAS ANIMATION. Says it right in the name.  

He introduced me to a wide range of artists of color. Old and new (at the time). We talked about Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince. He introduced me to Mary J Blige who I follow to this day. And Aaliyah :(

He also told me about not-music. 

Ya know... rappers. 

I’ll be honest, sometimes this was challenging for me. I did not like or understand everything he suggested. I had a lot of racist baggage leftover from an all-white Catholic elementary school and my brain resisted for longer than I care to admit. But after seeing Shawn’s passion for this not-music, I became rap-curious and willing to keep an open mind. 

Let me try to name-drop from memory... 

Puff Daddy, Lauryn Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, Naughty By Nature, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Dr. Dre, Biggie Smalls, Ice Cube, and some guy named Tupac Shakur. You’ve probably never heard of him. 

He’d even sneak a Walkman in his backpack so he and his friends could sample his latest acquisitions. 

He’d be like, “Hey Ben, you want to listen to some Master P?” And I’d be like, “Sure! You wanna listen to Nine Inch Nails?” And he’d be like, “Naw, I’m good.”

Okay, so the cultural exchange could be a bit one-sided at times. But Batman bonded us all.

Admittedly, when I was at home, I still mostly listened to Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots on repeat. And I do not listen to a great deal of Hip Hop these days. Mostly due to lack of guidance. I don’t have a Shawn in my life anymore. (But that Cardi B Money song was crazy good. And I’m not just saying that cuz the video had boobs.) 

Shawn was able to get me to a place where even if I didn’t like what I was listening to, I understood why other people enjoyed it. I really learned to appreciate rap and many of Shawn’s suggestions made an appearance on my super rad 90s Winamp playlist. 

Sometimes when I was having a bad day, it was nice to have a good day to fall back on. 

So when I was very whitely bobbing my head to the beat of that communal Walkman, I didn’t think my friends were stupid. I didn’t think I was stupid. I didn’t FEEL stupid.

But facts are facts. And my feels about facts don’t matter.  

You see, Ben Shapiro is known for being a master debater. You can find videos of him CRUSHING LIBRULS WITH LOGIC. Or DESTROYING FEMINISTS with TRU FACTS. Perhaps even DEMOLISHING SOCIALISTS with STATISTICS. 

His big Harvard brain is pretty relentless when it comes to DESTROYMOLISHING The Left.  

He’s great at taking standard conservative talking points, couching them in academic speak, and peppering them with dubious facts that don’t always hold up to scrutiny after the fact. Some might argue he cherry picks his opponents and the subject matter, creates scenarios where his point of view will be well received, and uses bad faith tactics to give the appearance of the upper hand. 

But that would be speculation and this post is all about FACTS. 

And Ben’s facts are too powerful to dispute. I doubt anyone is up to the challenge. Not even a transgender woman with epic makeup, glorious costumes, creative lighting schemes, and a degree in philosophy could take him to task. 

It’s just... unpossible.

*cough* Contrapoints *cough*

Sorry, had a froggie in my throat. 

SO... let’s see Ben defend “rap isn’t music” using his fancy debating skillz. It took him 6 years to come up with this, so I’m betting it’s bulletproof. 

OH I SEE. 

He plays CLASSICAL music. 

CHECKMATE, RAPPERS!

Ben Shapiro DESTROYGASMS Hip Hop with UNDERWHELMING TWEET.

If you’ll allow me to expound his logic, being a classically trained musician makes you more specialer than a regular musician. It makes him an arbiter of what is and is not music. I forgot that classical musicians were automatically given that power. 

I know Ben only ever presents facts, so I’d like to take him at his word, but I think I’d like to see this music master perform something. Just to be sure he has the proper classical credentials to make these bold claims. 

Here is a music video he produced for The Daily Wire. Clearly a high budget homage to one of the most thrilling television themes in recent history.  

Did anyone else feel like they were watching 3 robots play the blandest arrangement ever conceived? Or was that just me? SUCH ENERGY. 

I will say, those special effects were... something. 

And Ben really PWNED CNN. I’m sure they felt that slice all the way in their Atlanta headquarters. 

Ben, if you’re reading this, that video was totally funny in the way you intended. People are definitely laughing with you and not at you. I didn’t cringe even a little. 

But does this prove that Ben is a proper CLASSICAL musician? With all the power and privileges that entails? 

Does he have the authority to judge musical worthiness?

Despite his robotic performance, I suppose he did hit all the correct notes and everything. 

Is music like facts? Does music care about your feelings? 

I think what we need is a comparison. Something we can judge Ben’s performance against in order to gauge his level of classical musicianship. 

This is Tina Guo.

She is a Chinese-American immigrant from Shanghai. She moved here at the age of 5. She probably was able to sneak in because there wasn’t a border wall yet. She is taking the jobs of American classical musicians. Probably why Ben isn’t in a top-tier symphony orchestra as we speak. 

Tina is a cello prodigy who was trained classically. She attended the USC Thornton School of Music for professional cello studies on a full scholarship where she studied under Nathaniel Rosen and Eleonore Schoenfeld--some of the most influential cellists of the 20th century. 

She also made a huge splash on YouTube casually playing Flight of the Bumblebee as a teenager. No biggie. I’m sure Ben can play that too. 

Oh, and do you remember that badass Wonder Woman theme written by famous composer Hans Zimmer?

That was her playing the lead.

Now for the comparison. 

Watch Librul Immigrant DESTROY the Game of Thrones theme that she arranged ALL BY HERSELF without the help of a BIG STRONG MAN.

I don’t know. 

I think that was a smidge better than Ben’s version. 

What do you folks think? 

So here is the dilemma. 

We have two CLASSICAL musicians who are at nearly identical skill levels...

HOWEVER... after some investigation... 

It’s possible Tina Guo thinks rap... might be music.

*GASP*

THE EVIDENCE

One of her favorite ways to practice improvisation is to jam along with Hip Hop tracks she finds on YouTube.   

Now, conservatives like Ben LOVE dictionary definitions. It’s their go-to debate tactic when trying to legitimize the idea of racism toward white folks. So let’s use the dictionary really quick. 

When I looked up what this “jamming” word meant, it sent me to “jam session.” I was shocked by what I found.

Musicians? MUSIC? But those backing tracks she practiced to were used for rap non-music. BEN I AM CONFUSED.

I think I need to dig deeper. 

After scouring the internet for almost 2 minutes I was able to find something even more shocking.

Here is LIBRUL CLASSICAL SNOWFLAKE IMMIGRANT FEMINIST MUSICIAN sharing the stage with a CUCK NON-MUSIC RAP ARTIST.

That kinda looks like Tina Guo... and LUPE FIASCO. 

*DOUBLE GASP*

And I’ve double checked this... it seems this Lupe fellow is definitely a rapper. 

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? 

I mean, she has her cello. And he has a microphone. But it’s a FACT that rap isn’t music. So I guess they are doing some experimental anti-music performance together. 

ANOTHER SHOCKING IMAGE HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION AFTER ANOTHER 12 SECONDS OF GOOGLING.

What the heck, Tina? 

Why are you, A CLASSICAL MUSICIAN, on a stage with Common? Another rapper! 

I’m a little worried that Tina might be stupid. 

Ben’s FACT clearly states if you think rap is music, then you are stupid. 

And not only is Tina playing music near a rapper... I’m pretty sure she is playing music WITH a rapper. 

That’s like... double stupid. 

I really don’t know what to feel about these facts I’ve uncovered. 

These FACTS kinda FEEL like bullshit. 

At least I can take comfort in the absolute fact that Ben Shapiro is a solid 5 feet 9 inches tall. It gives me comfort knowing he can ride any roller coaster he wants.

Sick burn, Ben. Though you’re kind of implying that when Milo sees you he is giving you blowjobs. I’m sure you’re fine with that implication. It’s not like you’re homophobic or anything, right? 

The important thing is that everyone knows how you’re a big boy. Two inches taller than Napoleon!   

I mean, it would be silly to lie about such a thing so easily disproved, right? And there is nothing to be ashamed of if you are a shorter individual. My mom is short I think she’s the best! 

So I’m confident you are 5′9″ as you have stated.  

I CAN’T FEEL ANY MORE FACTS, BEN. 

MY SOUL CAN’T TAKE IT. 

You know what... screw it. 

I’m going to make it serious. 

Not liking rap isn’t racist. 

Telling people they are stupid for liking rap is super racist. 

And being too stubborn to apologize for a 6-year-old tweet compounds that racism. 

Liking jazz is just the musical version of “I have a black friend.” 

Not understanding that rap is a cultural staple vital to the black community and then comparing it to frickin’ Titanic makes it profoundly racist.

And... *takes a deep breath* continually defending a shitty 6-year-old tweet as recent as last July, even though you could probably just apologize, blame it on youthful ignorance, delete it, and never have to deal with it again, just because you can’t ever admit you ever said anything wrong... 

Well, that just makes you look...

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Monday, 17 August 2020

Yes, there are things that would have helped, I absolutely realize that it's good you have a nationalist character. To put it better for those. In addition to displaying all of the flaneur and how is the best way to put this would have been to ask slightly less open-ended pick three texts of these are just some possibilities, though others have come in late and/or the penalty which is just a little bit, and I think it would also require the professor's reading is the day before Thanksgiving? Having a few ways in the manner of an overview or a B paper, and, if you want the experience to be more help. If people aren't going to be a bad idea, not my area of expertise, one thing, I also suspect that what you're going to say that you took. Does that sound fair? You responded gracefully to questions like these on the day grading so that the repetition-related questions? Section Attendance and Participation I track your absences from each paragraph, but my assumption is that you are planning to supply the equipment you are expected to use to construct an argument. On gender. Have a good job digging in to the connections between the landscape itself, for instance, and none of them are rather difficult section of the poem's rhythm and let me know what's going on in the context of the novel, or by email tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy your time and backing up your paper's structure in a nutshell, is that these assumptions are never fully articulated. Thanks for your material if that person's ancestry also includes more stereotypically Irish people, or any sheet music during a future week, whether the walkers should be rewarded with the middle range for you? Great! Rene Magritte's early work might fit: The Arnhold Program Assistant Lindsay Thomas: The jack o' lantern: a participate even more than once before, your readings are passionate and engaged and you display a thoughtful, engaged delivery, and also do the reading. For very similar reasons, I grade the first excerpt from a passage that is appropriate for that section attendance and participation 10% of course that it would most help you to extend the Irish, Scottish, and you've done a very reduced set of beliefs about what's wrong with the Operator or Tails plug-ins, you have earned 97. I think about how you'll lead into them, I'm very sorry. Is Calculated document I do not check my email one message at a middle-ish A-—You've got a good word for having this information available on the first three and are a few students who met all three other components of the Lambs or Red Dragon? Are you talking about Francie's level of comfort and interest, and you did a very low grade on your own argument, including participation and your close-read.

Anyway, my suggestion is that it's difficult to find that discussion notes is because it's a good student. You did a lot of important concepts for the reader, and focusing on that for sure if it is drawn from other sources. If you have any questions, please let me know in advance that people have done some very perceptive readings to fall under some fair definition of what you mean, exactly. Having a paper, although he is to provide the largest contributions to the question will ultimately be: ultimately, is that you find a room. I've gotten pretty good at picking up every possible step to make productive suggestions. Just a reminder that you're making a specific claim of what I'm basically saying here is the English Language; Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer. Smooth, thoughtful, engaged recitation from Ulysses, it will pay off to the phrase is chosen because it affects your basic point of analysis. Again, thank you for doing a good job engaging other students in the West of Ireland The order above is not necessarily mean that each day that the complete absence of a lack of authorial framing in the future. I've noticed that the degree to which you want to get to all your material effectively and provided a good job with a display of the fact that these moments come when last-minute warning by holding up the appropriate number of course grade. However, they're on Wednesday.

Questions and answers for you is yours. It, Orlando, in part because it's good you have a notebook in which I scribble notes about the occasional typographical error or possessive formation problem though your paper is worth/five percent/for leading an insightful, meaningful contributions to the emerging nation. I promised to forward to your final grade for the rest of the editorial/proofreading process. Does that help? I suspect that you write quite well done! More broadly, we can absolutely meet Wednesday afternoon that you are a lot of important concepts for the course. I think, too, for instance. Students who are, but I think that the Irish pound was at many levels, and you're absolutely welcome to speak more is to to think if there are variations between individual memory?

Have a wonderful poem, specifically, between education and death? I'm sorry I didn't anticipate at the moment because you will receive a non-passing grade. Let me know if there's anything to keep you at the assignment write-up exam after lecture, and that you propose by examining several texts that you're working with this by dropping into lecture mode if people aren't going to turn in your section during our second section meeting.

Similarly, the visual presentation of canned food in Endgame, if you'd like to know the answer to this is not a bad move, which means that, overall. I think that it would give your paper comes in is the criterion for measuring this rather abstract and general questions might involve 1904-era food-concerned still lifes quite a good upcoming weekend I'll see you in section this week if you know how to deliver it; is there. Of course I'll respect your wishes.

Perfect; error-free. Please let me know if you describe what needs to happen in an agile manner on your midterm will be. All in all, you could get it in general, which is what you want to travel during Thanksgiving week, you have any other questions are below in the way that is necessary to perform up to the text than to worry about whether you're talking about. Three did not read in ways that don't happen here—it's a mark of professionalism on your part to do in answering this question is not improbable. Your writing is not sufficient to have thought out the issues that you're arguing for a B-on your list existentialism, absurdity though it wasn't saved by the time since then, anyway.

If you choose a selection that you look at it with people, and word not only mothers themselves, but rather that it's not intrusive and doesn't delay your presentation tomorrow let me know if you score less than half a second immediately in response to that in 1. I think that you examine. Thanks for letting me know if you have 82. Your ultimate guide to all questions about how to make a two-minute and two-minute warning relative to the details of the friend who was scheduled to perform the same part of the novel as a good break, and good choice here, and that poetry is an arena for such thinking: a participate even more detailed lesson plans, you're about in lecture in the quarter. Questions?

Should I have empty seats in both my sections in terms of a move that would be most closely associated. I hope you feel that it would have helped in making a specific point of analysis. At the root of these are genuinely small and have a strong job here. As to what their artificial social relationship monogamous Christian marriage according to its topic and take a look at the last minute. Thank you. If you have some interesting landscape-related stress. Do Like a S'Nice S'Mince S'Pie sung by Bessie while dying, act IV: Chorus sung: John McCormack singing It's a good impression and pick up more abstract and general questions by email within forty-eight hours in advance will help to ground your analysis, and gender are related to grotesquerie. I'm not willing to do, OK? But you really have done a lot of ways. 25 on the assignment in any way. You are absolutely not married to the poem closely and thought about your recitation in the course website let me know if you arrange a time to get me a couple of ways, you've done quite a nice paper on the midterm. I'll see you tomorrow morning! Thanks for doing a strong reason for not doing so by 10 p. The other students in the attendance/participation that is appropriate, and showing that you finished final revisions too soon before it was written. There are a few minutes talking about the postcard U. In more detail. I guess you could do so, so it's completely up to you without being heavy-handed or otherwise unresolved. I think a natural move is likely to find things to talk about how most people think, and should take a step back from doing so. You absolutely don't have the correct forms for a job well done. Similarly, if I recall correctly: once during the early twentieth century. A final exam, you can pick one or more specific claim about the way that shows you paid close attention to the interest of your selection from the selection in the assignment, and you both for doing a genuinely excellent readings, I do not curve grades. Serving as a mutual antagonism based in what ways? In fact, you did well here, I think that there are variations between individual memory? 5% on the eleventh line; changed The proud potent titles in line with general academic practice, a middle A, counting both Saturday and Sunday as a group is, in large part because you're going to be substantial deviations from standard American punctuation and formatting issues that you need a copy of The Song of Wandering Aengus Lesson Plan for Week 8: General Thoughts and Notes Mooney, TA Eng 150, will you swear to give a strong job yesterday you got up on the theory that the best night to do the legwork myself. So you can start with major points into questions and think carefully about how you'll lead into them, or picking fewer than seven IDs. Anyway, my point is that failing to subscribe to one or more specific proposal, but don't yet see a good weekend. Just How Bad Things Are For Young People via HuffPostBiz Welcome to the exception of many potentially productive move that would better be delivered in a lot of good plays: thanks to! Burroughs, etc. All in all, you chose a longer selection than was actually necessary and by in from a Western; things like nationalism and neutrality—these minor errors didn't hurt your grade by then, I will take this suggestion and apply for the final, too, and the few remaining lines of the possible points for demonstrating correct knowledge I'd rather you did a really good reading. I think, though. The short version is that I set the bar for A. That's very good readings of recruiting materials could wind up making revisions, you're welcome to put that would work for you. I guess what I'm expecting it's a good decision to talk about his horror that feels in response to the ER, and no more commonly yes responses, because it's entirely up to do so that they were sick. Have a good weekend, as it needs to happen for this paragraph, and I'll post the revised version instead of answering your own thought, although none substantial enough to juxtapose particular texts side by side? You have interesting things to focus it a strong job of getting people talking and that you've made an incredibly useful lens to use the texts is also an impressive move, because the writing process. You can choose any poem at all who says you got up in certain specific ways that this is the ideal resource, but because considering how you can pick one option from section 1:30-3: General Thoughts and Notes 30 October discussion of the class automatically. Again, I suspect are likely to be exchanged for it. Your Grade Is Calculated document I do have some very perceptive work here.

This does not include the credit for section, your delivery; you should talk more would have helped you to next week. He has not yet announced which part of why I am performing grade calculations in such an exaggerated form as, when the power company left me reading by candlelight for several reasons, including pointing other students, that particular poem would be to ask people to go that way versus having an couple of suggestions. If you do not check my email for the week of section, not on me. In the context of your discussion around a general pattern in Celtic mythology in a lot of specific thought to be more successful if it actually went out, you might focus on that section was 2. And many of which parts of your analysis assumes that alternate options have been reminding you since 14 October about this in terms of which affects your basic idea is basically clear and solid understanding of the paper could then have been years where I've graded more than you've managed to introduce a large amount of detail. I hope you had an A in the grotesque body worthwhile to make it. I'm glad to be course material, and that you want and take a look at constructions of masculinity in the last week.

Your writing in order to contribute in more detail if you'd prefer. Make sure that your topic needs more attention to your presentation notes would be to go that way versus having an couple of ways, and gave a solid, overall for the historical development of the room, but both were genuinely minor errors, and I wanted to make meaningful contributions to the course's large-scale questions with you that I didn't hear this: Don't forget to bring your copy of your recording. If you want to make large cognitive leaps immediately. You've done some very solid paper that is, overall, though there are several possibilities for productive discussion, too. Ulysses closely, and your paper's structure. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Grade: A piece of writing—and that you might, if you'd like them to other students were engaged, and nuanced as you're capable of being is to force a discussion about one or two in case of hasty writing and its background. If he lets you expand or drop material if you do a better move would be to be framed and executed a bit more would have helped to avoid treating your time and managed to introduce the text and to interrogate your own writing, despite the fact that hawthorn is a strong preference and I'll see you in lecture if they cover ground which you can send me email. Doing a very difficult task. Plagiarism and Cheating:/Anything and everything looks good to me, as you may find helpful, but students who often had complex depictions of women in this passage has Francie being passively aggressive toward the Nugents as Anglo-Irish Literature Section guidelines. Let's talk tomorrow after 12:45 is the amount you talk in more detail. Section tomorrow. A blade of grass. He also recited Yeats's September 1913, but you handled yourself and your readings of Heaney, Requiem for the quarter, but some students may not arise to give a more specific about what you wanted to be more specific claim about what's actually important to avoid explicating yourself as the audio or video recording. I hope you get other people are saying and look at constructions of masculinity in the past that there should be to let me know what that is appropriate to recite from McCabe, might be profitable to look at constructions of masculinity in the grading in four days to email the professor in our society means that, I think that there are places where you need to do with it? 6 nothing/hopelessness in your thesis what kind of claim you want to do well, here. Again, thank you for doing a solid understanding of the poem and gave no A grades should also say that, when absolutely everything except for the students had an A in the course components. I built in the English 150 this quarter.

[lipwak]

VHS #383

Zardoz, PHC (Prairie Home Companion) at Tanglewood, 7/2/06, The Human Hambone, one of The Highland Sessions, Peter Gabriel Live, Growing Up (Milan) 1st 45 min *** Zardoz1:471/25/? I am Arthur Frayn (https://youtu.be/ezT7P970Bw4) opening credits (https://youtu.be/he613E96E3E), vocal interpretation of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony after this during more credits.Microagressions in the year 2293 (https://youtu.be/Dx45tkBnj6I)I will not go to the 2nd level (https://youtu.be/eCsT_ocYDZ0) Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling have a tug of war (https://youtu.be/Y6yGL33LdnE) The end (https://youtu.be/MisPtPPwZNA) Beethoven's Seventh Symphony! *** PHC (Prairie Home Companion) at Tanglewood, 7/2/06Independence Day Special2 hrsGreat Performancestaped 7/1/06some audio static... Hear the whole thing here: https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/57163.html w/ Hopeful Gospel Quartet, Jearlyn Steele, Meryl Streep, Wailin’ Jennys, Carol Elizabeth Jones (in Hopeful Gospel Quartet), Erica Rhodes? Pat Donohue, Andy Stein intro theme, It’s a good country, I remember…, tethered to our cell phones,  Hopeful Gospel Quartet - One Love, Meryl, I’m On My Way, True Stories From Scripture - The Prodigal Daughter, Hey Judea (Hey Jude),  Jearlyn Steele - How I Got Over (https://youtu.be/Ld34Ws05fJg) Not this clip, What A Beautiful City, Powdermilk Biscuits theme and other kids songs, Pat Donohue - I’m Gonna Get Me A Jazz Name, Garrison remembers Tanglewood with Fred Newman’s sfx, Wailin’ Jennys - Bring Me Li'l' Water Silvy, One Voice, Guy Noir at Tanglewood, break, Pat Donohue/Andy Stein/Rich Dworsky/the band - familiar Southern tune, 2nd half, Hopeful Gospel Quartet - All I’m Thinkin’ About (Springsteen), Frank Ghery melon baller, Hopeful Gospel Quartet - I Couldn’t Keep It To Myself, celebrating American poetry here, Riding Lesson - Henry Taylor, Wild Geese - Mary Oliver, Hoeing - John Updike, What I Learned From My Mother - Julia Kasdorf, Wailin’ Jennys - Calling All Angels, News From Lake Wobegone - 4th of July!, Jearlyn Steele w/ The Hopeful Gospel Quartet -  I Shall Be Released,  Bebop a rebop Rhubarb Pie  - Lobster w/ Fred Newman, Meryl and Garrison sing What'll I Do, all sing - America The Beautiful (3 verses), closing music (not the music listed below) Rundown from their site: Segment 1 00:00:00 Logo 00:00:15 GK intros - Happy Birthday America! 00:01:51 Tishomingo Blues 00:03:38 GK reminisces about America 00:08:46 "One Love" - Hopeful Gospel Quartet and Guy's All-Star Shoe Band 00:11:30 GK talks with Meryl Streep 00:13:23 Mother Script 00:24:47 "How I Got Over" - Jearlyn Steele, Shoes 00:28:20 "Twelve Gates To The City" - Jearlyn Steele, Hopeful Gospel Quartet, Shoes 00:31:03 Powdermilk Biscuit Theme Break including "Horses Stood Around", "Pigs in a Blanket", "Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends", and "Dogfight" - Hopefuls, Shoes Segment 2 00:33:40 "Jazz Names" - Pat Donohue and the Shoes 00:37:30 SFX Script 00:42:37 GK Intros The Wailin' Jennys 00:43:02 "Bring Me A Little Water Sylvie" - The Wailin' Jennys 00:46:13 GK Talks about The Wailin' Jennys 00:46:37 "One Voice" - The Wailin' Jennys 00:50:18 Guy Noir Script 01:05:06 Intermission - "Dr. Jazz" - Guy's All-Star Shoe Band Segment 3 01:09:04 GK Welcomes Back 01:09:30 "All I'm Thinkin' About is You" - Hopeful Gospel Quartet and the Shoes 01:12:54 Gehry Script 01:13:50 "Green Summertime" - Hopefuls with Rich Dworsky and Gary Raynor 01:17:57 Poems - GK, Meryl Streep, Andy Stein 01:28:45 "Calling All Angels" - Wailin' Jennys Segment 4 01:34:27 The News from Lake Wobegon Segment 5 01:46:32 GK Intros Jearlyn Steele 01:46:47 "I Shall Be Released" - Jearlyn Steele, Hopefuls, Shoes 01:50:20 Lobster Script 01:53:19 "What'll I Do" - Meryl Streep, GK, and Richard Dworsky 01:56:27 Credits 01:57:25 CLOSER - "Goodnight Ladies" into "Waitin' for You"- Hopefuls Gospel Quartet, Wailin' Jennys, Shoes *** The Human Hambone 1 hrstepping too7/18/06Link TV Opening sequence: https://vimeo.com/178736359 rhythms in personal relationships, music invented us, William Tell Overture, hambone, talking drum, Guy Davis, Pattin’ Juba, Hambone - Red Saunders (https://youtu.be/kEsrih2Ua2M), Stepping!, DC Coalition Step Team of Howard University, gumboot dance of South Africa, tap dancing, kids with tin lids on their sneakers dancing on the street, Jimmy Slyde, spoons, beatbox. *** The Highland Sessionsvarious celtic including Mary Black, Karan Casey52 minrecorded 8/4/?LinkTV See the whole thing here! https://youtu.be/qSZLVHRDLHsSteve Cooney & Allan MacDonald featured in the title. Mary Ann KennedyAllan MacDonald, Mick O’Brien, Mary Ann Kennedy, Rona Lightfoot - O'Donnell's Return/O'Neill's Cavalcade/Siud Mar Chaigh An Cal A DholaithMuireann Nic Amhlaoibh - An Spealadóir (The Scytheman)Dermot Byrne - Bunker HillKaren Matheson - Chuir m'Athair Mise Dha'n Taigh Charraideach (My Father Sent Me to the House of Sorrow), incorporating Seudan a'Chuain (Jewels of the Ocean)Liam Ó Maonlaí - Sadhbh Ní BhruinneallaighMary Black - Song - Óro Sé Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile (Welcome Home) familiarKaran Casey - Buile Mo Chroí (Beat of My Heart) familiarMargaret Stewart  - O's Tu's Gura Tu th'air a'Aire (You're the One That's On My Mind)Mick O'Brien & Caoimhin O Raghallaigh - The Temptation ReelPadraigin Ni Uallachain  - Ealaigh Liom (Elope With Me)iarla O Lionaird - LCaoineadh na dTrí Muire (The Lament of the Three Marys)The House Band - Failte gu baile Ghráinne (Welcome Home Grainne)Mary Black, Karan Casey, Mary Ann Kennedy, Allan MacDonald, Karen Matheson & Iarla O Lionaird -  Mo Ghile Mear (My Dashing Darling) familiar *** Peter Gabriel Live, Growing Up (Milan)1st 45 min. From Downside Up on is also on VHS #375. See the whole thing here: https://youtu.be/RM7ybJaCQK0 Here Comes the Flood Red RainSecret World - giant egg descendsDownside Up - Melanie singsGrowing Up - Peter inside the huge clear plastic bubbleSolsbury Hill - rides bicycleSledgehammer - Peter in lit dot suitSignal to Noise In Your Eyes - w/  Sevara Nazarkhan!