September 13, 2005
Ode to a... PEN!!!
An object that practically every person possesses. It lies, smooth, rounded, slender, either on the desk back home, or in your hand as you go about doing your work. This object is everywhere; it is vital in every scholar's life. Not worth much in terms of money, it has other values that stretch way beyond what we may think, every time we use it.
A pen. A simple, three-lettered, one-syllable name -nothing fancy. Yet this basic tool provides us with endless possibilities.
It enables you to express yourself; Remind yourself through a note, organize your day through a schedule, communicate through a letter, understand yourself through a journal, keep you focused through a to-do list, demonstrate creativity through a story, put things together in an essay, and helps you tap into your artistic side, either through a quick sketch or a detailed drawing.
It naturally fits snuggled into your hand, gripped between your fingers. You control its every movement. It flows as you want it; it stops when you do. You control the sound it makes against a hard or soft surface. Your handwriting that comes from it -characteristic to you, can be big or small, in cursive or print, sloppy or neat. It can show your mood, if you were in a hurry or relaxed. A pen shows who you are. Your signature is the most common identifying trademark you use, and each time, it is made with a pen.
Once it has served its purpose for the time being, you throw it into a bag, or set it down for next time. Small and light, and sometimes having a cap to replace when not in use, it is one of the most convenient items to store and to access. And if for some reason that particular pen is not there for next time, not a second thought is given when you use another one.
We all use a pen, yet never really stop to think about its valuable function and worth in our lives. Or to think about what we would do, or where we would be, if pens did not exist (no... don't think "just use a pencil"). No doubt, our culture would be completely different - no Romeo and Juliet, no Diary of Anne Frank... would any of our literature exisit? Would there even be such a thing as literature?
A pen is one of the many essential tools that we use every day, yet do not take the time to appreciate. Next time you grab a pen lying around to quickly jot down a note, stop and think about how much it does for us!
Posted by lcisthur at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2005
Seems like the perfect person to eat a perfect orange
Before even starting to read the essay, the title alone, "Ode to an Orange", already lets readers know it is not your typical "Ode". Because, guess what?.... it's to an orange!
Woiwode creatively dives into extreme details in his descriptions of various orange experiences. As noted in the reading, he draws from all of the five senses, perhaps to help readers relate to and envision his discriptions more clearly and personally.
His 1940s white winter setting of North Dakota seems far from exciting, and the descriptions of the oranges make them seem as if they are from another world, one that contrasts greatly from his own. Even the colors, the bright oranges against the white, represent the brightness the "lovely spheres" bring into his life.
The oranges themselves were presented as almost having some super power from another world. They could enter the stingy, unpleasant grocery store by the boxfull and then instantly transform the atmosphere and mood of the place and all the people there. They "foretold the season more explicityly than any calander" and even physically burst the crates in which they arrive.
The statement that the narrator would do anything "in order to get one" suggests that, to him, getting an orange temporarily allowed him to escape his own world. An exotic world of bright colors, wonderful smells, and textures... far from the one that he resides in.
Posted by lcisthur at 12:36 AM | Comments (1)
September 07, 2005
anything you want
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Posted by lcisEllen at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2005
Welcome to Seeing and Saying
Hi Everybody,
We are hoping that you all will find time to introduce yourselves to one another and get a start on building our learning community ahead of schedule. In a few days we will post some thoughts about the intersections of art and science which are at the heart of our learning in the coming semester. But for now, take a moment and tell us two things about yourself: something that you see in your day to day life that you value (it can be the way the sun sets over the mountains, or the view out your window, or a bird's nest or skyscraper in your neighborhood; some visual experience that is meaningful to you) and something that someone has said to you that has changed you in some way--words of your parents, a teacher, a friend, a favorite author or poet).
I'll (Ellen) begin: I live in the city and the buildings here are quite close together. However, in my neighbor's yard, is a small Chinese maple. Every fall it is the last tree in the neighborhood to turn a brilliant red/ orange, and the last tree to lose its leaves. It is a real hold out, a marker of all things in their own time, and of invevitable change.
John Dewey: Life itself consists of phases in which the organism falls out of step with the march of surrounding things and then recovers unison with it–either through effort or by some happy chance. ...Life grows when a temporary falling out is a transition to a more extensive balance of the energies of the organism with those of the conditions under which it lives.
happy blogging! Ellen and Nanette
Posted by lcisEllen at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)