Arbitrary is my middle name...

Well, no, my name isn't really "KaeDee Arbitrary," but there is no real reason why it couldn't be KaeDee Marie, or Kaleidoscope, or John for that matter. Instead my mother chose the simple three letter name, Ann...

I really like how Professor Pound brings a discussion up about our essay topics just after we've written them. All our confusions and realizations are still fresh on the forefronts of our mind. I think its great to get a glimpse of all the different interpretations that can be made just from one piece; it really solidifies exactly how arbitrary literature can be.


I also think its neat to wonder what exactly, like different lifestyles or experiences make different people have their specific approach to something. Like The Sleeping Giant assignment; I have been to Europe, taken a classical mythology class and have always been interested in those myths, so when I had to compare "The Sleeping Giant" to other myths I automatically wanted to compare it to those of classical mythology.

This is a picture of Medusa the Gorgon

from Classical Mythology that was

changed to stone, as was the

Sleeping Giant.

Dream Catcher!

Searching for common themes in The Sleeping Giant myth caused me to come across another myth that I have always enjoyed but had forgotten about. The Myth of the Dream Catcher has many origins in different Native Tribes but basically revolves around the same idea. A structuralist interpretation could be made on this myth just as we made one for the Sleeping Giant myth, but I bring it up simply to share the story with you. :)

The Dreamcatcher filters our dreams. It was said that a spider wove a web around a circular branch leaving a perfect circle in the middle, so that at night while we dreamt the bad dreams would be caught in the web and destroyed in morning light and the good dreams or ideas would pass through the circular centre. Or another version is that the bad dreams pass through the web and the good ones are caught in the web so they can be had again, or so the positive ideas can be brought into our lives. Also, often objects are added to the making of the dreamcatcher (for eg. rocks and feathers are traditional) and since the dreams passed through them to get to the sleeping person, they should be objects symbolic of what the person would like to see in their dreams.

After reading this myth again, I don't know about anyone else, but I hate having nightmares haha, so I'm thinking I might try to resurrect the old dreamcatcher I made when I was a kid and hope that suddenly I will begin to produce plenty more good ideas (generated from my good dreams saved up!)

Movie/Music Genres

So since you can take the structuralist view of myths and stories, etc, you must be able to take a structuralist view on things such as music and movies. Would all the different genres of movies and music like country, rap, alternative, romance, thriller, etc be described as structuralist analysis'/larger sets of conventions?... I think so...
If so, how do you break those genres down into smaller conventions? Any ideas?
There are so many different music genres for example, I don't always know how to categorize what I am listening to; some are obvious, but then others aren't... to me anyway.
Heres a short list of some:
-Blues -Children's -Classical -Country
-Electronic -Folk/Traditional -Jazz -New Age
-R&B and Soul -Rap/Hip-Hop -Reggae -Religious
-Rock -Pop -Metal -Oldies
-Alternative...

If anybody's got any ideas for this, please let me know!

Bob Dylan takes me a long way with A Simple Twist Of Fate

I really think Bob Dylan is awesome, and so as I was laying in bed listening to some music from my playlist and this song came on it kind of reminded me of how it feels to finally have meaning come to literature.
I know that the first time I looked at Wallace Stevens "Anecdote of the Jar" I had no idea what this "crazy" man was blabbing about. But as I sat there and broke it down, every piece started making sense to me, and even though my interpretation seemed drastically different from anyone else's in the class, I was proud of what I had come up with, I even had a ball of excitement swell inside me when I finished.
Although the chronology of the song is a little backwards for this intent, I hope it has a similar effect on you because it gave me a great feeling; the end of the song describes what it feels like when you frustratingly can't find meaning for something you are trying to decipher and the beginning narrates the feeling of having it all finally make sense. So here it is: Bob Dylan's "A Simple Twist of Fate":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYybKGp1ycQ&feature=PlayList&p=6FC538DBB1A83056&index=0

(I tried my very best to even make a video of it myself and upload it, but for the life of me I could not figure it out so check out the site, its worth it!)

The Definition of Us...?

Okay, First of all everyone should know that this is just my opinion and if the way I am writing seems to imply that I feel this is the only right answer it is only because it is easier to type in that form :)... so here we go!

In class the other day we discussed the defintions Homo Seriosus and Homo Rhetoricus but I never raised my hand to voice my opinion. I guess I was overcome with bashfulness because what everyone in class was saying seemed to be so much different from the way I felt after reading the terms descriptions, but I decided that I would speak my mind now on my blog.

I took the Homo Rhetoricus to be someone who creates time or reality as they want it to be created. They feel that the concept of reality is a slave to their own personal life. Also I saw it as someone who can change their personality at the snap of a finger, and uses these personalities artfully at their will in a way that will benefit them the most. This person likes to dramatize, publicize and they concede to their emotions; but I don't mean to sound like I am knocking the gift of emotion, they are part of what makes us human. When I think of Homo Rhetoricus a gypsy comes to my mind.

The way I took Homo Seriosus, it seemed those people would have a more solid foundation to base their lives on; they make up a community or a culture that has rights and wrongs, laws and customs. I also thought Homo Seriosus to be someone who strongly believes in who and what they are as an individual. Obviously characteristics slightly alter through time and experiences but as a whole I took them to be people who will not revise themselves simply because another person requests it or because it suits them on the present occasion. They don't believe reality will stop because it would accomodate their life at whatever moment. I also never considered the chauvenisitc side of this definition because the first time the word "man" was used it was in quotations, appearing to mean to me that the word can be interchangeable; man is just a common generalized term for all humans. It shouldn't be, but it is.

I would really like to hear if anyone agrees or disagrees, don't be afraid to comment!