I have 50 G-Mail invitations. Want one? E-mail me (remove the (AT) and replace it with @) and I’d be happy to share the wealth. I love G-Mail.
Specialty Blogs
I can’t help but comment upon the popularity of “specialty” blogs. Steve noted that the stats for his true crime blog have been through the roof. People are interested in that type of thing, or Ann Rule wouldn’t have a career, right? And I’m not knocking that, either. There are blogs that specialize in technology, namely Slashdot and Kuro5hin. There are political blogs, like Daily Kos, InstaPundit, and Little Green Footballs. There are homeschooling blogs, knitting blogs, and whatever you name it, there’s a blog for it. I myself keep a blog with an admittedly narrow focus — Harry Potter. I’m not alone there, either. MuggleNet, The Leaky Cauldron, The Dark Mark, Veritaserum, HPANA, and many more are also available in that narrow niche.
There are a plethora of so-called personal blogs, which, in my opinion, resemble nothing so much as journals. Not many of them reach the upper echelon of blog popularity. There are a few, I’m sure, but I’m stuck trying to think of a personal blog that doesn’t have some other agenda or focus tied to it, whether that be technology or politics or whatever else. Just a flat out, “this was my day” or “this is what I’m thinking” type of blog. Some people dismiss these types of blogs as “not real blogs.” So what defines a blog? Some definitions I’ve found, with a quick Google search are:
- Blogs have comments (defined by, of course, a commenter and not the author).
- Blogs are updated daily (the author points out he doesn’t believe this, but references another who does).
- They’re not corporate blogs.
- They’re not professional or celebrity diaries. I’d argue Wil Wheaton DOT Net is a real blog that just happens to be written by a celebrity.
I’m sure you could add to that list, but that will do for starters. Then there is the problem of nefarious sites masquerading as blogs. This has become a big problem, prompting lots of comment spam designed to improve Google rankings and increase traffic. Read more:
- Porn Blogs Manipulate Google
- CyberQuest Disavows Porn Blogs
- Porn Sites Hiding Behind Blogs
So what makes a blog good? And why, inexplicably, is this an extrememly popular blog? Go figure.
I guess people read specialty blogs because people are interested in fitting themselves into niches and reading news about that niche moreso than they are interesting in reading the ramblings of, say, your average high school English teacher with three kids, two stepkids, a minivan, and a small house in the suburbs of Alanta (for example). Not that I’m complaining about a lack of traffic. Actually, believe this or don’t, I don’t really care about traffic. Not here, anyway. But it does bug me that I get one or two visitors a day at the Pensieve. I realize part of the fault is mine. I don’t update it often enough. But it is hard to update it without turning it into another Harry Potter news aggregator. I never wanted it to be that, and anything else requires more time than I have. It takes time, for instance, to research the characters’ name origins or to speculate about rumors and make predictions based on logic and clues in the books. I want to do it justice, which means I don’t update much. Still, I think there is some good stuff there.
So… is there such as thing as being too narrow in focus? *Scratches chin thoughtfully* Maybe. But I’m not going to change the focus of the blog just to generate traffic. People can get Harry Potter news in a variety of places. I don’t have the time or inclination to add my site to that pile.
A New England Nun
The other day I read a short story by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, a local color writer, entitled “A New England Nun.” It’s a charming little story. I don’t think most of the newer high school American Literature textbooks anthologize it anymore. At least, I don’t believe Prentice-Hall or Holt do (and those two are, in my opinion, the best textbook series for literature that I’ve seen). I can’t recall if I read it when I took American Realism and Naturalism in college — we read a lot of women regionalists then, including Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Noailles Murfree, Kate Chopin, et. al. If we read Freeman, we probably read “The Revolt of Mother.” Truthfully, we read so much that quarter that I barely remember some of it. Anyway, get to the point, Mrs. Huff. Okay, little Louisa Ellis is one of the most blatant examples of a literary character exhibiting signs of OCD that I’ve ever seen. I am not sure when it was written, but Freeman died in 1930. Freud described OCDers, but I am not sure when OCD was recognized by the medical establishment.
Google renders no hits matching this story to OCD, so here’s one for you, Google:
Louisa Ellis demonstrates the following compulsions that could be attributed to OCD:
- Louisa wears three aprons: an outside gardening apron in green, a pink apron for sewing, and a cambric-patterned apron for company.
- Louisa routinely rips out her sewing in order to do it again. The author says it is just pleasurable to her. I advance that it is pleasurable to her because she has OCD, and it makes her feel better to rip out the work and resew it so it will be “perfect.”
- Louisa used specific dishes to prepare her food.
- Most telling: a description of Louisa’s insistence on having items in a certain place
Presently Dagget began fingering the books on the table. There was a square red autograph album, and a Young Lady’s Gift-Book which had belonged to Louisa’s mother. He took them up one after the other and opened them; then laid them down again, the album on the Gift-Book.
Louisa kept eying them with mild uneasiness. Finally she rose and changed the position of the books, putting the album underneath. That was the way they had been arranged in the first place.
Dagget gave an awkward little laugh. “Now what difference did it make which book was on top?” said he.
Louisa looked at him with a deprecating smile. “I always keep them that way,” murmured she.
- And yet another example, a cleaning compulsion
Then she set the lamp on the floor, and began sharply examining the carpet. She even rubbed her fingers over it, and looked at them.
“He’s tracked in a good deal of dust,” she murmured. “I thought he must have.”
Louisa got a dust-pan and brush, and swept Joe Dagget’s track carefully.
- Her brother’s dog Caesar bit a man once as a puppy and remained tied up for the rest of his life — Louisa was terrified he’d go on a rampage. Some OCDers imagine terrible things happening and perform compulsions to keep them from occurring. Louisa also feeds the dog only mild food like corn mush cakes, because she believes he will become wild if he eats meat.
It’s actually amazing. I think OCDers (and those that want to learn about OCD) might appreciate that story. Go check it out.
Related posts:
New Stuff at the Pensieve
I have been tweaking the Pensieve, my Harry Potter blog, today. Here’s a list of what’s new:
- Half-Blood Prince predictions (entry)
- Buy Harry Potter books and DVDs through the Pensieve
- More links to goodies (AOL Buddy Icons and Images)
- Minor tweaks to the templates
Check it out, if you are so inclined.
Related posts:
Oh, That Smile
I wrote a short story, something I’m considering submitting to the school’s faculty edition of the literary magazine. It is based on the plotline of a dream I had last night. This is just the first draft. Tell me what you think, but be sort of gentle about it.
Continue reading “Oh, That Smile”
Related posts:
New Year’s Resolution Update
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was breaking my usual tradition and making a New Year’s resolution: to do whatever I can to touch base with old friends. For various reasons, as I said then, I have let my life concerns get in the way of being a proper friend. Then I looked around and wondered where everyone was. It isn’t all my fault. While I haven’t exactly been the best correspondent, the fact that my parents moved us around quite a bit as kids had something to do with the difficulty of maintaining close friendships, too.
But you always think there will be time. Some time, later on, you can look those people up, and they’ll still be there, somewhere. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. I regret it took the death of a friend — and not exactly a close friend, but a friend nonetheless — to teach me that life is too short to wait, and those friends might not be there. I didn’t want to wait and find only regrets instead of old friends.
So I set out to find as many of my old, close friends as I could and resolved to be a better correspondent to those that responded and, in the case of my friend Jenni, to those with which I had always remained in touch. The results have been far more rewarding than I could have imagined, and I am so happy I made the effort.
So far, I have renewed my friendship with my oldest friend, Darcy. We have been e-mailing regularly for the last couple of weeks. It feels so good to have her back in my life again. I also heard from my college roommate Kari. She’s doing very well, and it was nice to hear from her. I’m glad she decided to be a teacher.
Today, I heard from another old elementary school friend, Ha. She moved in the house across the street from my grandmother when we were in 3rd grade. We became fast friends, having a shared passion for Barbie dolls. My grandmother has remained friends with Ha’s mother, and mentioned in their last phone conversation that I would be going to Boston on a school trip, but of course my grandmother didn’t know exactly when. Ha lives near Boston, in Concord. My grandmother tried to get in touch with Ha’s mother and finally succeeded after a couple of days. So I got Ha’s e-mail address and wrote her last night. It’s hard to begin a letter like that. Hi, I haven’t seen you in 20 years, but I’m going to be in Boston in two weeks, and would you like to have a cup of coffee? On the one hand, I was half-scared Ha wouldn’t remember me, which is stupid, because I spent the night at her house tons of times and we were really good friends. This next part is really goofy, too, but I was intimidated too by the fact that Ha is a Harvard graduate. As if that somehow makes her too good to talk to me! Honestly, I’m such a dork. But I received a warm response, and I got to see pictures of her beautiful baby girl.
I have to say that the last few weeks, hearing from old friends, has been, in a word, amazing. So I guess my advice to you all, is to value your friends and stay in touch. If you aren’t in touch, get in touch. Even if it means your first letter needs to be an apology. It’s worth it. My life has become so much richer in the last few weeks, and who knows where it will all lead?
Ralph Waldo Emerson advised “keep your friendships in repair.” It’s a simple statement, but how many of us really register what it means enough to do it? No wonder they called him the Sage of Concord.
Related posts:
Trivia #6
The answer to last week’s trivia question:
How much did Thoreau spend when he built his cabin near Walden Pond?
$28.12 1/2. What ever happened to the half-penny anyway?
No one gets credit, because I stumped you even though the answer would be really easy to find on Google should one be so inclined. You people are lazy. However, I send Jennifer credit for at least being interested in the answer.
So, this week’s question:
Which real-life writer was the inspiration for Alice Walker’s character Shug Avery in The Color Purple?
Answer: Zora Neale Hurston. Credit goes to Ms. Boombastic.
Related posts:
Heart of Darkness
Several years ago at an NCTE convention in Nashville, a group of English teachers from Florida (I think) presented their instructional idea — combine the study of a great work of literature with modern music. Students were asked to find songs that evoked the theme of the novels they read. I thought it appropriate for instance, that one student chose Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” to demonstrate one of the themes in The Great Gatsby. What really struck me, however, was the song chosen to thematically represent Heart of Darkness: “Head Like a Hole” by NIN. Here are the lyrics in case you need a refresher. If you need to go read them, do so, then hurry back.
The last line of that song is left off the lyric transcription: You know what you are. I really think that line matches Kurtz’s famous last words: “The horror! The horror!” The horror, to me, is the mirror held up to one’s face — knowing the evil that is in man, and knowing you are part of that evil, if not all of it. You know what you are.
There is a steady ostinato of dread that underlies the short novel. It is a primal drumbeat. As Marlow travels down the Congo toward Kurtz, you begin to feel this pulse — this heartbeat. It is the heart of darkness.
This heartbeat is also a thread of suspense. As Steve mentioned just now as we discussed the novel, it is similar to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” that way. The heart of darkness is the very center of Africa, but it is also the very center of a black soul. I think you can read “The Tell-Tale Heart” that way, too. Heart of Darkness might be the best example of the use of foreshadowing I’ve seen.
I first read this short novel in my freshman year of college. Actually I think I skipped around a bit. I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand it, then. I don’t think I was ready. I am so glad Randal let me borrow a copy. His students are either reading it now or just finished, and maybe I can discuss it with some of them. So, yes, 14 years later, I picked up this book again, and I was ready for it. I wish I could write like Conrad. Really.
The book is rich in vivid details. I could clearly see the characters and scenes. Marlow sounded an awful lot like Alan Rickman, sitting in darkness on the Nellie. As I pictured it, I could see only his hand, rested on his bent knee, and his leg extending into his worn black boot, all barely discernible in a shaft of weak light. Occasionally as he told his story, his head would turn to the side, and I saw the outline of his face. That is how Conrad so clearly painted the setting for me.
“Head Like a Hole” is a perfect illustration of this ostinato of dread I mentioned — the repetitive lyrics, the madness in Trent Reznor’s voice. The kid that made that connection was brilliant.
All that said, this book is difficult. I can’t recommend it for those who are not ready, for they wouldn’t appreciate it. And I can’t define “ready” for you either. Like Marlow, I am left, in the end, to ponder, to question, to wonder. That ostinato is never resolved. It only gradually fades to silence, but I can still feel it — I don’t know how. Maybe because it is my own heartbeat.
National Curriculum
We have two visiting students from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem who are doing (I think) their practicum with us. They seem quite nice. Both British gents. They are absolutely aghast that America does not have a national curriculum.
We had a lively discussion about America’s lack of a national curriculum at lunch today, and I think they remain unconvinced of the benefits of state and/or local curricula. Sparker and I also discussed the issue briefly after school. Her thoughts were that we don’t really remember content we learn in high school, we remember the critical thinking and writing skills, the analysis skills, the skills we later apply to success in life. I said something about teaching students and not subjects, and she agreed. I love the content I teach, but frankly, I know that most of my students are not as crazy about what I do as I am.
Oddly enough, the matter came up with yet another person, this time a student — an upperclassman (can’t recall if she’s in the 11th or 12th grade). She said she studied hardly any Southern literature when she took American Lit. with a different teacher (who is, by the way, from New York). I tend to focus on Southern lit. when I teach American Lit. Frankly, I would hate it if someone gave me an absolute list of works to teach and didn’t allow me any autonomy to choose.
I think I do a pretty good job of selecting literature selections that represent the concepts I am teaching. I teach a lot of the canon, too.
The Pardes interns had the point that teachers might really focus on what they love at the expense of something else students really need to know. I wonder if that’s true?
I used to be a proponent of a national curriculum. In fact, I did a presentation on this topic in my Foundations of Education class. I moved around a lot as a kid, and I felt like I missed out on whole chunks of stuff. But Sparker made a great point when she said, “Well, you’re okay now, aren’t you?” She’s right. I missed out on lots of grammar, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and too much other stuff that I personally consider vital to a proper English education. But now I teach English.
So does content matter that much? Or does it matter more to teach what you love, being sure to be representative and comprehensive, knowing you might inspire the kids to learn the other real skills that underlie what you’re teaching?
What are your thoughts on a national curriculum?