Week 9 (Allegory)

Plato states that in our everyday lives, we get only a dim, superficial view of the external world. He compares this limited perception to the shadows items placed outside a cave would cast on a wall inside that cave. Everyday people are thus like people in that cave facing the wall, getting only this limited, monochromatic, two-dimensional view of the world "out there." In order to really see what things out there are like, what constitutes their essence or true being, we have to get up and go out of the cave.

In "The Matrix", the Keanu Reeves character (Neo) starts out being an everyday person, but it becomes evident to him over time (with the help of Laurence Fishburne) that something is wrong with his everyday experience. The scene where he has to decide which pill to take is somewhat like the decision we have to make in Platos understanding to turn around and face the actual world outside the cave (the world of being rather than appearance). Neo and the others living outside the Matrix try to bring enlightenment or knowledge to those inside by struggling against the agents, etc., just like a philosopher in Platos view is obligated to bring enlightenment to the cave-dweller.

Week 8 (Satirical News)

=============================
Black Friday Could Be Beige
=============================
A report from game industry watcher Max Vitoon predicts that Black Friday—the Friday shopalooza following Thanksgiving—might turn out to be beige this year.
“I’m calling for Beige Friday,” said Vitoon in a press conference last week. “All indicators are beige or possibly a desert tan, but definitely not black.”

Economic hue researchers were divided over this announcement, some suggesting that Vitoon was blind and stupid and others stating support for the unexpected color prediction.

“I’d love any earth tone shades,” commented Riley Minster of the Economic Institute of Redding.

Retailers, who look at Black Friday as the day they begin making profits for the year, were worried about the forecast. Some thought that Beige Friday could cut into sales by at least 12%.

“Who’s ever heard of Beige Friday?” said Kirin Kloss, a manager in a Waterbury toy store. “This doesn’t sound good at all. I think I have a headache.”

“Who decides this stuff, anyway?” complained Marsha Raminer, a clerk from New Jersey.

But Max Vitoon stands by his prediction, and furthermore he believes that Beige Friday will be better for the economy than last year’s Black Friday. “I’m planning on buying a Kinect, myself,” said Vitoon, “that is if any are still available. I just wish it would come in beige to go along with my living room décor.”

Week 7 (Response to spoken-word poetry and sign-language poetry)

How is spoken-word poetry similar and different from written forms of poetry?

Spoken word is nothing new. However, there is something to be said about the difference between poetry that is spoken aloud and meant to resonate in the moment, and verse that is written on paper which is meant to be scrutinized and interpreted. Poetry in its most classic sense was meant to be heard, not read. Poetry has existed since long before literacy was considered to be the norm. Poetry was a form of entertainment presented by performers in venues ranging from theatres filled with the common classes all the way to the courts of kings and queens. It was only as literacy became more common place that the written word became the standard of poetry. This is not to say that spoken word is any better than written word, or vice versa, but they should be seen in perspective. Todays spoken word artists, and the beat poets before them, are actually a return to the roots of poetry and the oral traditions that have been around since the dawn of civilization.

How is sign-language poetry similar and different from written poetry and spoken-word poetry?

Poetry uses various elements and devices, such as alliteration, rhythm, simile, metaphors, and onomatopoeia. Often poetry relies heavily on imagery and metaphors. In this sense, poetry and visual-manual (sign) language are somehow a natural complementarity. It uses specific language devices to maximise the significance of the poem, just as in the poetry of spoken languages, although the language devices are rather different from the rhymes and alliteration that are familiar to most hearing audiences. The metaphors and images used in sign language poems may also be different from those in spoken language poems. In general, though, the basic idea of maximising the message through specially heightened language is the same in poetry in all languages, whether signed or spoken.

Week 6 (Reviews)

Following on the heels of an album where he repudiated his past with his greatest backing band, Blood on the Tracks finds Bob Dylan, in a way, retreating to the past, recording a largely quiet, acoustic-based album. But this is hardly nostalgia -- this is the sound of an artist returning to his strengths, what feels most familiar, as he accepts a traumatic situation, namely the breakdown of his marriage. This is an album alternately bitter, sorrowful, regretful, and peaceful, easily the closest he ever came to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. That's not to say that it's an explicitly confessional record, since many songs are riddles or allegories, yet the warmth of the music makes it feel that way. As such, it's an affecting, unbearably poignant record, not because it's a glimpse into his soul, but because the songs are remarkably clear-eyed and sentimental, lovely and melancholy at once. Dylan made albums more influential than this, but he never made one better.

Week 5 (Concrete Poetry)

I
am
a very
special
shape I have
three points and
three lines straight.
Look through my words
and you will see, the shape
that I am meant to be. I'm just
not words caught in a tangle. Look
close to see a small triangle. My angles
add to one hundred and eighty degrees, you
learn this at school with your abc's. Practice your
maths and you will see, some other fine examples of me.