The conundrum of high school

This week's blog takes you out into the metaphoric wasteland of high school. T.S Eliot wrote in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

"In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all:
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how shall I presume?"


What is paradoxical or metaphorical about your high school experience, or your experience as a teenager in the early 21st century? What do you "measure out [your] life with"?

Blogs are due on Aug. 31st.

Assignment #2 Icons

This week and all last week we've been looking at symbols, paradox and metaphor. The blog for this week is to write about an icon that you think pervades our lives. This blog is the first musing that will eventually become your first essay. If you start the blog and find that you don't have much to say about the chosen icon, you should probably choose another one. If you are having trouble writing much about it, perhaps you've chosen one that is too small. Choose a big one.

This post should be done by Monday night, August 27th.

In the beginning...

Post a couple of passages from a novel, quote, short story, song lyric, etc. that you enjoy, find interesting, or reflects you in some way. Next, in a brief, but specific way, explain your items in relation to you. Please avoid stating the obvious. For example, "I like this song because it has a good beat and I can get crunk with it" is pretty generic and not particularly specific to who you are. Try to avoid going to quotable quotes websites and finding some random quote. Think about the world which moves around you and your understanding of it. You should post something today to make sure your blog is up and running, and complete the post by Wednesday of next week. Below, I've chosen two passages from two novels:

"'Listen, every object's in flux. The Earth, time, concepts, love, life, faith, justice, evil -- they're all fluid and in transition. They don't stay in one form or in one place forever. The whole universe is like some big FedEx box." -- H. Murakami Kafka on the Shore

"When the mystery of the connection goes, love goes. It's that simple. This suggests that it isn't love that is so important to us but the mystery itself. The love connection may be merely a device to put us in contact with the mystery. It is contrary to the nature of mystery to stand still. We glimpse it when we stand still." -- T. Robbins Still Life of Woodpecker

I chose these two passages because, at heart, I think about things metaphysically. I like looking at the nature of things, and why we are the way we are. I often read novels that are, at heart, metaphysical. Sometimes, though, a good Harry Potter novel is the best. The picture is Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." It's probably my favorite painting. Just as in music, I have an eclectic taste in art. I think the older I become, the more diverse my interests become. Old age isn't so bad after all.