This Could Be The Last Blog

This last blog is something that has been sitting on my mind for sometime now, I seem to be putting pressure on myself to have it be the best. I want to accurately capture my feelings about this course, in a provocative, profound way, and through all my mapping out in my head of how it will look, I never came up with a solid plan, so here it goes. This class has changed my life, and I think it's for the better. This being my first class with Sexson, I really had not idea what to expect. I remember seeing him in the hall ways, with his shock of white hair, and those eyes that looked like they could stare right through you. It, to me, seemed as though there was an aura surrounding him, like he had this force that resounded from his being, I saw the people talking to him, always were smiling, and it looked like they were honored to be in his presence. I now feel that same honor as I stand in his aura, he is increasingly knowledgeable, and immensely intelligent, but of course those of you who took his classes already know this. When describing this class to my friends, and the effect it had on me the only thing I could think of to reference was acid. For the first few weeks I felt completely and utterly overwhelmed. How can I keep up? Do I fit in this class? But eventually I learned how to cope, my narrowing my focus on what interested me the most. Looking at the blogs and class notes really helped. I began to come around and felt like I was learning, and that I was going to enjoy the class. However, even with this new view point I still felt anxieties when leaving class. Just like acid no matter how many times you take it each time is so strange, you cannot anticipate or prepare for it, you just have to live with it. I remember describing it to my friends as a mind fuck, taking everything I thought I had pinned down, and seeing it blow around in the wind once more. But I think that's the point. We need to feel this way or else we won't try to get out of it, and find meaning. We need to run into the wall and get back up again, or else we will never learn what it means to hit rock bottom, and nothing will ever be pleasurable again. We need to get knocked down, so we can pick ourselves back up and figure out what is important. In the context of the class themes reading and writing were thrown out the window, I had to redefine what I understood these thing to be. I found a new lease on life if you will. And in the future I hope have this same sense of wonder that I now have with literature. Beckett, Eliot, Joyce, I had no idea, but taking this class opened my eyes to a new reality a better one, one with meaning. So I will go into the world with this knowledge and change what I can, I've got my copy of The Four Quartets with me, as I fall deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, maybe I'll see you on the other side.

Group Presentations Day #3

The presentations on Monday were very interesting, to say the least. I liked the incorporation of the movie clips into the class themes. Since books are associated with high brow and movies with low brow, I found it to be a perfect connection in the way in melded these ideas. "What we do in life, echos in eternity." It still kind of sends chills down my spine to think of that idea, but it's profoundly truthful, is it not. Also I liked hearing the Four Quartets being read by someone other than the Dr., no offense, it's just refreshing.

I was puzzled by the theme of the last group, or the last two for that matter, did both teams have, dolce domum, I'm guessing so. Anyway, I found the incorporation of the sun to be the epitome of recurrence, it always rises, but each day is unique and the same. The three classes of people also hit at an important theme in class, the language of the world and the different classes of people that speak them. Nice job capturing the essence of coming home again.

Group Presentations Day #2

The Life as Fiction group's movie was fantastically hilarious, I loved the characters and each person seemed to depict the epitome of the person they were representing. I really enjoyed the idea of having a program for people struggling with the anxiety that go along with the realization of being a character in a story. The idea of needing a twelve step program for it was nothing short of brilliant. Obviously we can all take something away from this presentation, that no matter who or what made us who we are, we still have control of our lives and we can do with them what every we want, well at least, relatively speaking.

Our presentation I feel did a good job of capturing the theme of eternal recurrence. Although I will admit I was a bit hesitant at first about making our presentation, all about farts and seeing no real connection between that and recurrence, I thought about it and Jennifer spoke of gas as the link. It now makes even more sense to me after hearing Dr. Sexson tell his story about gas at the morgue. The inclusion of "Box of Rain" came from an epiphany I had after a group meeting while listening to the song, I realized it captures almost every theme we discussed, if your not familiar with it I suggest you look it up. Keep On Truckin' with the presentations.

Term Paper Elements

I spoke with the Dr. before class today, although not without a little trouble finding his room, I think I walked by it twice. But anyway we discussed my topic, and he advocated that I put the Quartets first and look at Bob's words and music in this context not the other way around. So that's what I did, I just finished my first draft. I looked at how the themes of the eternal return, and life as fiction, manifest themselves in the Quartets, and how Bob's words are a reflection of their themes and ideas. I looked at the Rastafarian relgion as a whole and how Eliot wrote about similar concepts in his poems. I look forward to see what some of the other papers will be about.

Group Presentations Day #1

Today I though both groups did a great job of discussing the class themes in a fun and educational way. The life as dream group had an interesting take on the concept of life being an illusion. The journey Jon went on after he feel asleep contained a grerat incorporation of many of the elements we discussed in class, The Matirx, Alice and Wonderland, and others. I liked the props to its funny how some of the everyday things of life have duel purposes for the high brow community as well.

The twenty minute lifetime video was priceless, as it included much of the class topics in a hilarious context. It remined me of the extra credit videos we shot in high school for english. The group included many of the topics in a interesting way and even illustrated how the class itself is a lifetime in fifty minutes. They perfectly blended the high brow and the low brow in the material discussed and the manner in which it was presented.

Excellent Job and Congrats to both groups.

Finnaly Page

This is my page for Finnegans Wake, I choose it at random in the beginning of the semester. I is the second page from the chapter about ALP. So far I've been able to guess that its about a devious man named Reeve Gootch who I'm guessing is an Irish man based on its discussion of a derry. And the reference at the end about the Whale reminded me of Moby Dick which I'm currently reading for another class. The page also mentions a woman named Sabrine, who is a goddess, it reminded me of Sabina from SOOT. Don Dom Dombdomb.

Paper Thesis (Subject to Change)

After reading the preface and the introduction to this book, pictured left I believe I refined my topic and have come up with a thesis. Bob's immersion into the Rastafarian lifestyle in the early stages of his life and his sequential beliefs as they manifested themselves in his songs and his teachings relates to two of the themes of this class. The Myth of the Eternal Return, and Life as Fiction. Bob's message in his songs articulated a calling of self purification and redemption. "If you sing the right words it can live. It can live through the world and when the next world comes you don't need that anymore, there you need new words." He understood that things would always return to our lives and we should see them as something else when they come around again. Bob understood that his life was shaped by Jah, the Rastafarian God, and he saw his lyrics as a message of the lives people should be living. In this way he wrote what he believed our lives should be, and his life is no exception. I plan to look at Bob's life and how he came to see the world in this way, also I plan on doing a critical analysis of one or two of his songs, as they relate to these themes.

Best Of Both Worlds

I feel there is some commentary needed on the English verses Business debate and which can lead to an invigorating and more profound learning experience. When we were meeting in our group for the presentation, Justin had mentioned how the Dr. said he was from the enemy camp when he declared his major in Business. This debate seems to be quite relevant because I have heard it discussed in several classes both English and Business. The English people think Business is all about money and there is only one right answer. The Business people think English is too free form and has no merit in the real world. Although both of these views have some validity there is also an element of arrogance present. The Business people need to recognize that literature expands our minds by allowing us to view the world differently, it causes us to feel anxieties that result in feelings of curiosity which expand our consciousness. The English people need to recognize that not all of Business is about finite answers to money problems, rather there exists in Business an element of creativity in things like company structure and creating a business culture within the uniqueness of a particular field. In these ways it is evident that English and Business need each other, because whether we like it or not money is a part of this world, but English can be an escape. Where do I get off you might ask? Well, I suppose its time to reveal that I am my self a part of this, as Sexson so eloquently put it, part of the enemy camp, my minor is Business Administration. I have found that English and Business can co exist because they compliment each other, and yes we can all get along.

Newer Paper Contemplation

Last month when the Wailers were in town, I naturally listened to a lot of reggae both before and after the concert, it revived my interest in the genre. While I was listing to the songs as I biked to work, or walked to class I could not help but think about them in relation to the class themes. Many of Bob's songs are about redemption and self purification. The Myth of The Eternal Return, Dolce Domum, are two prevalent themes in his music. So I started to research about how Rastafarian tradition got its start. A man named Marcus Garvey started professing what would later become known as the Rastafarian religion. In the last 1920's he had a vision that the blacks in America and Jamaica alike needed to return to their native land, Africa. Although later in his life he was deemed a racial elitist for his purification beliefs, he had a profound effect in African culture and societal relations. I need to come up with a thesis still, but that's what I have so far. I'd like to focus more on what Bob was saying in his music as he was able to blend the Rastafarian beliefs and his musical talents in a way that sent a message to those listening.

Paper Contemplation

Recently I came across a song by the band Blind Melon, I must have listened to it about thirteen times, restarting it before it finished completely, until I had the lyrics and the chords memorized. It was so strange the song got me hooked and I could not stop listening to it, simply bizarre. Mainly I was drawn to the lyrics and of course I found a way to relate them to class. The song is called "No Rain" released in 1992 on their self-titled album. The one line that struck me was this, "And I don't understand why I sleep all day / Then I start to complain that there's no rain / And all I can do is read a book to stay awake / And it rips my life away, it's a great escape" Books allow us to put ourselves in other worlds to escape our own story even if for just a moment before we fall asleep. I'm noticing I connect this class with music quite often. Mostly reggae, blues, dancegrass, folk, rock, really everything. I dwell on this thought as a possible avenue for the paper.