Blog 12/12: "Do you have any advice for those of us just starting out?"

     Be free spirited. Regardless of what the assignment is, don't be afraid to take risks and think outside the box. Granted, doing so might receive some negative attention but that's okay; it means you actually stood up for something and that you're writing has a real voice. What others may think of your writing is not important; just be true to who you are, write what you want to, and most importantly, feel what you want to. Like Koertge stated:
"Laugh so loud everybody in the world frowns and says 'shhh'.
Then start again."
It's the people with the most haters who tend to have the biggest impact on society.

Blog 11/12:Are the four-letter word projects writing?

     If one considers writing as expressing yourself and your thoughts on a subject matter, then the four-letter word projects are definitely pieces of writing. Mostly all of the projects I watched in class had some type of argument or thought process behind it. Each video showed what that person's thoughts were on that specific word they chose and what exactly that word meant to them. This is what writing is about -- making arguments and/or expressing your thoughts.

Blog 9/12: Anticipated audience when putting on text? Twitter audience?

     I guess, in the literal sense, my tweeting audience isn't jut my followers but anyone who lands on my page and actually bothers to read my posts. However, I also think by tweeting, your number one audience if yourself. Twitter seems to serve more for the purpose of letting out how you are feeling and what you are thinking and since it's your Twitter account, you're going to be on your page the most and thus reading your own tweets more often than others.
     When it comes to wearing text, I really don't anticipate any kind of audience. The only reason I'd wear a shirt with text on it is if its a cute shirts or if I like how it looks. I don't necessarily wear text in the hopes or anticipation that someone will read it and start a conversation.

Blog 6/12: Twouble with Twitter

     I'm not really a Twitter user. The only account I've made was the one for this class. If I was one, I think my audience would pretty much be whoever followed me which would mainly be friends. In an online writing environment, I think I feel more free to express myself because although what you post will be read, I'm not all that conscious of it. For some reason, writing online feels more like a personal diary rather than a public thing that many people have access to reading.

Blog 8/12: Reiterate the crayon piece you recieved

Text: Is it true that flexibility in voice leads to flexibility in all things? I don't necessarily believe so. I mean a man or woman with many different voices may not be very flexible. They could be stubborn in their opinions but be able to voice them in many different ways. It also doesn't mean they are physically flexible, they could be extremely unathletic. Flexibility in voice is a talent but it doesn't mean that you are automatically flexible in other ways."

Drawing: A stick figure talking into a microphone in all different directions, then a not equal sign leading to a stick figure smoking a pipe saying "Yes, I respect your opinion" (speaking to another stick figure).

Blog 7/12: Does using a crayon influence the writing?

I read Matt's crayon writing piece and I think it was actually pretty good. I think he was definitely influenced by the fact that he was using a crayon to write because he ended up drawing  picture in the end, which is the typical thing to do with a crayon. He seems to be just as expressive as he would when writing with a pen; possibly even more since h added a visual that very clearly summed up his point. I actually find that his argument is much stronger and clearer because of the fact he added a drawing.

Blog 4/12 "Speaking in Tongues" Questions

1.) p. 187 "These were genuine questions for people born in real cities..." What exactly is considered to be a real city? Does being from a real city make a difference in whether one approves of a flexibility in voice or not?

2.) All in all, does Zadie Smith feel that a flexible voice is a good thing or bad?

3.) p. 187 "... unless we are suggesting that one side of a person's genetics and cultural heritage cancels out or trumps the other." Does Smith believe this to be true? Does coming from a mixed cultural and ethnic background automatically make someone flexible in their voice?"

4.) By quoting Eliza Doolittle on p. 180 "What's to become of me? What's to become of me?", is Zadie Smith suggesting that with flexibility in voice comes the loss of sense of self?

5.) p. 181 "Professor Higgins has made his Eliza and awkward, in-between thing, neither flower girl nor lady, with one voice lost and another gained, at the steep price of everything she was and everything she knows." Is Smith implying that flexibility of voice can lead to forgetting where you came from and what you grew up in?

6.) p. 189 "Our Shakespeare sees always both sides of a thing, he is black and white, male and female - he is Everyman." So is Shakespeare's true voice a combination of many types or is it just that his true single voice can be morphed into many others?

Blog 3 of 12: Twitter's writing space

     What I really think about the writing space that Twitter affords is that it's limited, perhaps too limited, in how many thoughts on can put into a post, also known as a tweet. Twitter is more appropriate for simple updates, ideas,, and thoughts or to get the gist of a point across. If someone has a lot to say about something it would be better off posted on a blogging site. Though Twitter's writing space is pretty small, it's good at helping readers to be constantly entertained with each tweet being a new subject or thought. The limited writing space of Twitter keeps each tweet short, sweet, simple, and to the point, which is what many people would rather read in comparison to long complex paragraphs. This is probably what makes Twitter so successful and appealing to many.

Blog 2 of 12: Text on clothing and skin..

     I'm not sure why so many people wear texts on their clothing and on their skin. Perhaps they feel that such portable writing serves to create laughs for those who read the text. I know that whenever I purposely wear a shirt with writing on it, it's because it has some type of funny or witty remark on it that can get people to laugh. One never knows who may laugh from reading that shirt with the funny remark on it or who might even cheer up after reading the shirt.
     However, as far as tattoos go, I think it's not usually about laughs but more about that person's admiration for someone or something. It can also serve as a personal little message of motivation. For example, I know one girl who was going through a tough time in her life so she decided to get a tattoo saying "Life goes on". The really memorable thing about it is that its written backwards so that when she looks in the mirror during a tough time in her life, she'll be able to clearly read her tattoo and that helps her overcome whatever struggle she's going through.

Blog 1 of 12: The Problem of Describing Trees

     In Robert Hass' poem "The Problem with Describing Trees", Hass is trying to make the point that sometimes words can't be used to describe an event. Certain things just need to be seen or experienced. One can see this argument through the lines:

"The tree danced. No.
The tree capitalized.
No. There are limits to saying
In language, what the tree did."

The face that Hass tries to describe the tree yet fails to describe it in a satisfactory way shows that sometimes there are no words to describe certain events. He makes his point extremely clear by stating "There are limits to saying In language, what the tree did". Once again, there are certain situations in which a visual of what occured is better in terms of description and clarity compared to using words.

     In the line "Dance with me dancer. Oh I will", Hass allows the reader to decide who is the dancer and who is asking that dancer to dance. It seems to be Hass talking to the tree, the tree being the dancer. In class, one student brought up an extremely good point that maybe the poet is talking about "dancing" with words or playing around with words in order to satisfy the description of how Hass wants to describe the tree.