In class this week, we'll be editing this essay I wrote my freshman year of college; (you'll copy and paste a paragraph from this essay into your blog and edit that paragraph). This will count as your week 5 blog entry.
We'll be looking at abstract/concrete language, word choice, active/passive voice, and CLICHES.
English 494
Thomas Wilk
‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste.’ This is a catch phrase that we are all familiar with. Taking this idea in another direction, I would say that literacy is a terrible thing to waste. Literacy is a gift just as any other admirable trait is, and it should be used with thought and responsibility. This is something that took me my entire high school career to learn.
As our school’s newspaper editor, I attended a newspaper fair late in my senior year of high school. There, I learned about helping people find and understand the truth about certain events. I learned about the responsibilities one has as a writer, and I learned about the rights one has as a writer. The things that had been brought to my attention at this particular seminar were very stimulating and thought provoking. I learned about how the school board could limit rights of others in school. The idea that they could limit the powers of your literacy interested me greatly. This became relevant in our school as a certain teacher was suspended at a point in the school year, and no one really knew for certain why. There were many rumors as to why he was suspended. There was no official reason as to his dismissal and rumors spread like wild fire in the wake of this incident. We, as the official school newspaper, were not able to write a story dispelling the rumors because we could not get enough information from the school board.
This seminar was very meaningful to me. It made me realize how reckless I had been throughout the earlier part of my career writing for the newspaper. It brought the potentials of literacy to my attention and helped me realized what I could do with them. I knew that the school board or the principal had the right to sensor anything we put in the official school newspaper. If we could create a pact among ourselves to only write truthful material, followed with a demonstration to the principal and school board that we are capable of writing non-libelous, unbiased journalism, maybe they would let us cover more sensitive issues such as the suspension of a teacher. Also, I learned that while the school board or principal could sensor the school newspaper, they could not sensor an out-of-school publication that is distributed in school. We also had the right to be allowed to distribute it on school grounds.
Unfortunately, I learned these truths too late. It was the end of my senior year, and as my last article in the newspaper, I tried to convey to the student body what I had learned at this seminar. The article that I wrote was serious in tone, which set it apart from the parodies that I had been accustomed to writing. The absolute lack of interest and reaction to this article led me to think that no one else cared about truth in writing. I wanted people to know how much their literacy was actively around them, and how it affected their daily lives, but no one showed concern at all.
Up to the end of my senior year, I had been mostly impetuous and reckless in my thoughts and writing. This recklessness began back in my sophomore year in high school when I started writing for the school newspaper. I had started out writing about music. The things I wrote were not very admirable. My reviews criticized music that I did not personally like, and in general were egocentric to my personal tastes in music. This was literacy, but it was wasted. I failed to use the gifts of literacy that I had learned. I was able to write, but my writing was irresponsible and careless. I did not realize at the time that what I wrote could have serious effects, either positive or negative.
I learned early what the negative effects could be. It started as people complaining to me about the lack of substance in the music reviews. But, I then wrote a humorous story with some rumored events about two brothers that I had heard from a friend. I had used some details in the story that he had mentioned, and made some others up. The final published product was something that was so ridiculous that no one would believe it. The mother of these two boys called the principle and complained about this story. I did not think that this absurd story was true, and there was nothing to lead readers to believe that it was true. The principle informed the newspaper advisor of the complaint, and the newspaper advisor rather candidly told myself. She was not upset because she trusted me, and it had seemed an eccentric circumstance. There were no negative disciplinary consequences for myself, but I had abused my literacy. I did not realize this abuse of literacy could have been considered libel. I did not even know what libel was. I was very reckless still, and I did not take much consideration into what my words could do. I had abused my literacy, and then taken it for granted. I did not fully realize the potential of having the student body’s ear in my hand.
The idea that people could be so strongly effected by writing intrigued me. I learned that there are different ways to accomplish this; some of these ways might be considered right and wrong. I could write something very libelous and spiteful, and I would receive a certain reaction to that. On the other hand, I could write something that you cared about. Others might find that they care about this too and react to it.
The physical dimensions of words themselves are not very great. Even in great quantities, words do not physically amass to much. Despite their physical size, words can move countries to civil war, overthrow governments, or move someone to tears. All these were dealt with in the newspaper, in their own relativities of course, (we never actually succeeded in overthrowing the government.) Death in the school, reactions to new policies, and new school administration rocked through the school newspaper. With proper skills, people can use their literacy to accomplish their goals. Late in my senior year I tried to use my literacy to capture the school’s attention to realize what was going on around them. I felt that people should understand how the world around them works, and should be aware of what they can do to change it. Overall, I think an important part of being literate is being a responsible and aware human being.
The years of writing and managing the newspaper have served as a testament of my writing for all, but it also became a personal memory for myself. I have saved all the newspapers that I helped produce, and they are a direct reflection of what I did in high school. There are memories of what was occurring during certain times of my life when those stories were written. My work on the newspaper has also been a road map of my literacy. And my literacy has made all the work possible and worthwhile.
In-class essay editing work
Blog for Week 5
For WEEK 5
You can blog about anything.
It's that simple.
There will be a blogging exercise in class also, which will count for your WEEK 5 blog, so if you want, you can just wait til this week's class to BLOG YR MIND!
I am posting the ESSAY #2 Assignment on Blackboard, FYIIII. Let me know if you didn't get the paper version of it.
BYE!
Hellvar
Hellvar with Zahnarzt
Sept 26th @ POINT 5, 383.5 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY
8 PM
Sept 27th @ Peint O Gwrw, Main Street, Chatham, NY
9 PM?
Sept 28th @ 27 3rd Street, Troy Night Out, Troy, NY
6 - 9 PM
amazingplaid.com
Surf's Up
Has anyone ever couch surfed?
The New York Times just published a large piece about the couch-sharing website Couchsurfing.com that describes the growing fad of traveling the world for free, and not paying to stay anywhere--because you're staying on someone's dusty, perhaps grimy couch, sofa, day bed, guest bed, cot, futon, or beanbag rug.
Last night I had a couchsurfer. It came together pretty last minute, as some surfing experiences often do. She was on some fandangled trip to Washington DC, and had to camp out in Albany for about 8 hours, so she camped in my living room. She was 18, alone, and female, so I thought she was kinda brave/maybe naive, since she was traveling alone and planning to walk by herself at 11 pm to my apartment, from the bus station, in a city she'd never been in before.
I don't really have much of a problem letting strangers crash in places I've lived; most of the people I have had stay have been either friends of friends, maybe bands, or some other random hooligans who somehow have had their background checks pass through my mental scanners before they fall unconscious on my couch.
This summer I couch surfed often with this group Local Emissaries United, who were traveling throughout the US to promote the Capital District and learn about other American cities. There are usually common lines of class, and the corresponding behaviors of American middle class, amongst those who end up on CS: people who have a little extra time and money to make a CS profile, have room for travelers, and people who value meeting a new stranger in their city. The experience of couchsurfing in many different cities, with different types of people was most interesting in the fact that these people were a diverse crowd, yet they all shared some common values congruent to the CS values. They lived in Austin, Madison, Omaha, and Cleveland, and had different jobs, interests, and senses of humor--but they all wanted to have dinner with you.
Muscle Words: Conjunctive Adverbs
Boring sentences? Try one of these conjunctive adverbs to link two complete ideas together for some strange and fresh brew!
accordingly
afterwards
also
besides
consequently
earlier
finally
first
for example
furthermore
hence
however
indeed
instead
later
likewise
moreover
nevertheless
nonetheless
on the other hand
otherwise
second
similarly
still
then
therefore
And. Please don't ever use "thus." You'll turn into an antiquarian.
239-word grammatically correct sentence
Knowing that millions of people around the world would be watching in person and on television and expecting great things from him — at least one more gold medal for America, if not another world record — during this, his fourth and surely his last appearance in the World Olympics, and realizing that his legs could no longer carry him down the runway with the same blazing speed and confidence in making a huge, eye-popping leap that they 
were capable of a few years ago when he set world records in the 100-meter dash and in the 400-meter relay and won a silver medal in the long jump, the renowned sprinter and track-and-field personality Carl Lewis, who had known pressure from fans and media before but never, even as a professional runner, this kind of pressure, made only a few appearances in races during the few months before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, partly because he was afraid of raising expectations even higher and he did not want to be distracted by interviews and adoring fans who would follow him into stores and restaurants demanding autographs and photo-opportunities, but mostly because he wanted to conserve his energies and concentrate, like a martial arts expert, on the job at hand: winning his favorite competition, the long jump, and bringing home another Gold Medal for the United States, the most fitting conclusion to his brilliant career in track and field.
Barbara Ehrenreich
What has Barbara Ehrenreich learned from men?
Perhaps to be tough.
What have I learned from Barbara Ehrenreich?
Well, I took a look at her Blog, here, and she's got a lot to say to the Freshmen of Fleece University, or really the freshmen of any university--the future debtors of America.
Yes, count your lucky stars if you make it beyond college with a debt of $20,000 or less, obviously it can be much worse, especially since debt is that weird reaper that shows up in your mail from time to time, it's that occasional "unavailable" phone call you get, or the reason that your employer has to garnish your wages, (after being subpoenaed by the IRS since you haven't been paying your student loans.)
According to many, and confirmed by my brother who works for a debt collector (calling me), your credit card debt apparently goes away after seven years. Your student loans don't ever go away--those Sallie Mae packets get larger and more frequent.
Well, moving on, I guess what anyone could stand to learn from Barbara Ehrenreich, male or female, is that college is the fertile ground where you are planted as a future producer for the land of the free. The majority of college grads, from virtually any institution, are going to graduate and spend several years making 8 - 12$/hour serving coffee, pushing TCS reports, or washing cars. You will be in debt long enough that your loan interest will creep to a point that banks have made plenty of return on you to keep seeking out more fodder.
UGH, debt. It's late. I'm not paying this. Goodnight Barbara.
Blog Topics for Week 4
BLOG about one of these topics in your journal before your class on WEEK FOUR!!!
1. Explain your essay that you are writing for the first essay assignment.
2. Post an image file that you think describes/addresses/is stereotypical and explain why it's a stereotype/stereotypical
3. Free write for five minutes about the word "GREED." (see page 263 in the SPR, and read the piece "Pride" by Dagoberto Gilb for further reference.)
Required Blog Post Topics
Please blog at least ONE of these topics in your journal.
This will be due by your class time during WEEK 3.
(choose one)
1. Pick a story from timesunion.com and write a brief review of it. Please don't forget to include the link to the story online.
2. Make up 8 strategies/rules/ideas that you use to write ESSAYS in the same way Kurt Vonnegut has written these 8 rules about creative writing.
3. Describe, in detail, how you have acted as an autodidact, similarly to the way Malcolm X has. Describe the importance of what you taught yourself.
4. Write out the essay structure of Ehrenreich's essay (SPR pages 194-198). Identify the main argument, the supporting information, any contesting arguments, and the conclusion.
5. Using similar reality-based foreshadowing techniques, like those demonstrated in the US Department of Defense piece (SPR 204-205), write out a short scenario of what would happen were there to be no gravity at Hudson Valley Community College. (Think: what kind of classes would there be, how would you get around, what sort of attention would this raise in the Pentagon, would major celebrities show up at HVCC, why is there no gravity all of a sudden?) Explain these "unreal" things with realtiy-based arguments. Maybe supply sources for further research.
Writing of the Day!
this is an exercise I posted from Tuesday/2pm's in-class writing (not an actual assignment):
WRITE ME A 200 WORD ESSAY ABOUT STYLE? THAT’S 2 PAGES BUCKO!
What do I do with STYLE?
Hmmm.
Maybe I dress with style? No.
Ok. Well maybe it’s about writing or art?
AUDIENCE: Woul I rather write theis paper to my teacher or to my students?
DO I CARE ABGOUT STYLE?
What. I’m not sure that I really care aabout it.
What is another word for style?
I like saying the word the phrase “it’s true.” I’m not sure why , it started happening becaseu I wanted to emphasize something that was happening that
WHAT IS AT STAKE IN WHAT I AM WRITING!?!?!?!?!?
What is my goal?
Run, Walken, Run!
Today I saw the beginning of the long awaited celebrities-running-for-president posters. I think they were outside the Hudsonian office in the Campus Center. And who is our celebrity candidate? Christopher Walken, of course. Too bad it's only satirical, because I think Walken would make a great candidate; he offers the Oval Office clear prose:
"If you want to learn how to build a house, build a house. Don't ask anybody, just build a house."
-Christopher Walken
Perhaps that's not the best advice in all situations, to simply act without the foresight of those with experience--but in the cases of essay writing, reading, (and guitar playing for that matter), it can often be the most productive and informative method.
Quite the autodidact, Malcolm X devoured a large amount of literature in prison. This is where he was introduced to the texts of the Nation of Islam. Others too have made similar self-transformations through time spent in prison libraries. Take Monster Kody Scott, for instance.
I wonder if Kurt Vonnegut would agree with Christopher Walken when applying Walken's quote to a philosophy of writing. Vonnegut loves the eccentricities in prose that occur from any number of sources: multilingual mishaps, regionalisms in speech, or seemingly unecessary exposition in a story. But Vonnegut is also a bit vocal about telling other people how to write. I think his list of creative writing rules has been circulating rather widely by now.
Ooops, out of time!
Last but not least, you should check out Steve Donboch's blog responding to the Hudson Valley Mission Statement!