Another Cool Writing--Make-up Post

This post is to make up for my absence in class on Monday.

I've decided to do a simple close reading on the song Turn by Travis. Travis is my favorite band, and I've listened to their music for years. I love almost all of their songs, but this one in particular, with Fran Healy's (the lead singer) desperate vocals and a smashing video (I'd provide a link if I could get to youtube on the school computers) really gets me.

Okay, so here's the lyrics:
I want to see what people saw / I want to feel like I felt before / I want to see the kingdom come / I want to feel forever young

I want to sing / To sing my song / I want to live in a world where I belong / I want to live / I will survive / And I believe that it won't be very long / If we turn, turn, turn / turn, turn turn / Then we might learn

So where's the stars? / Up in the sky / And what's the moon? / A big balloon / We'll never know / unless we grow / There's so much world / outside the door

I want to sing / To sing my song / I want to live in a world where I'll be strong / I want to live / I will survive / And I believe that it won't be very long / If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn / And if we turn, turn, turn, turn / Then we might learn / Turn, turn, turn, turn / Turn, turn, turn / And if we turn, turn, turn, turn / Then we might learn / Learn to turn

Analysis: I think this song is talking about the infinite curiosity humans have. The word turn is kind of like a journey we take to learn something. We get a question, and then we look for the answer, and then we find it, and then we get a new question, always going in a circle from question to question and answer to answer.

Still, I think Travis also wants to show that the circles people travel in aren't always worth the time we put into them. The video really drives this point home. The video features Fran in the push-up position, trying to win a bet by staying that way until midnight. Then, when midnight comes, several hooligans come by chasing an innocent young man. Fran tries to help, but his muscles are so sore and tired from completing the bet that he has not energy to go help the young man. The money he gets from the bet looks like a waste in comparison to the safety of the man. Fran wastes all of his energy on something that doesn't matter and then has no energy for something important.

Holy Crap! I'm a Girl!

So, this is just another story about a time when I've noticed my gender in a particularly awkward way.

This one is about my self-defense class.

I used to take a self-defense class learning Commando Krav Maga.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3874023586448343804

For a long time, I was the only girl who went (and even then, the only other girl we ever got while I went was a married middle-aged woman) so it was really obvious when we would spar/train/etc. It was a blast and a half, and I greatly enjoyed the class, but I could tell that I was different. I was still treated as an equal however, as everyone who went there was a stellar person, but I learned different moves because of my build, both from being short and also from being female. It made for some awkward circumstances (learning how to escape a choke hold when someone is stradling you was particularly awkward), but it was actually a situation where being noticeably different didn't result in alienation or any negative feelings.

Anyways, that's just another way I notice being a girl.

A new sort of dictionary

Stemming off of a comment on a previous post, I have decided to catalog my new words, and the definitions I come up with for them. This post will be continually updated as I bring new words forth from that place in my head where definitions come from (now known as Hotarfes).

If I don't have a definition yet, I'll just put the word, so feel free to put up new (possibly better)definitions if I don't have one, or just if you have another one, I'll add it.

The dictionary has now been moved to the side of my blog (at the top of course) since this blog post keeps moving farther and farther down the page. Feel free to add definitions in whatever comment section you please though!

Just so you know...

I've decided that the random letters they make you type in whenever you post a comment often make awesome words. I've also decided it's important to share these new and unique words. Therefore, when I post comments from now on, I will include at the end, the word I must type to post the comment. I'm just tossing this out here now so people don't get confused as much, although it isn't really helpful to those who don't read my blog. I guess confusion is the price they'll have to pay for not checking it out (well, in addition to the intrisic loss of not reading my blog). Anyway, just wanted to let you know.

An Interesting Conversation

So there are a lot of things in Slaughter House Five that remind me of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. I feel like if Tim and Kurt had a conversation it would be really interesting, and seeing as Kurt is dead (for real this time), I think I'm just gonna have to improvise.

Tim: Hey Kurt, whatcha eating?
Kurt: Three Musketeers Bar.
Tim: I knew a guy who used to eat those all the time back in Nam. Said he used 'em to keep him mellow.
Kurt: What was his name?
Tim: Fred Periwinkle.
Kurt: Did they work? To mellow him out?
Tim: Yep, right up until the day he died. Shot in the head. Taking a whiz and then Boom down. He was gone.
Kurt: So it goes.
Tim: Yea, just Boom down.
Kurt: Wow, is that true?
Tim: Does it really matter?
Kurt: Nope.