Button, Bullough & Bones

 In Goldberg’s writing, the poems that were taken from a collection written by women who are developmentally disabled were interesting to read. I was imagining what their handwritten poems looked like, and wondered if they were similar to Jessica’s (a developmentally disabled woman I’ve worked with for years).  “Give Me a White” was funny, but I wondered what “white” meant to her when she wrote “Please give Marion Pinski a white”, and if white and write were similar or not. I’ve noticed in Jessica’s writing that she writes other words that sound similar to each other, like “bear” instead of “beer” or "six" and "sex." Those are just examples, not saying they are real life examples of hers or not. It doesn’t really matter though, because the poems are written without worrying of being grammatically correct, and to be able to write more free-flowing like that is great. I also liked how she talked about obsessions, how everyone has them, and how important it is to get them out of your system before writing the piece you want, and so you can be slowed down to pay attention to details. Similar to the Button reading, noticing details and being observant in a way that we normally aren’t is important in creating a piece of art.

I thought it was important for Taylor to educate himself on the biology of the plants, insects and fungi that he was painting. It connected him to them more because he understood the processes of how they coexist, and learn their life cycles of growth and decay, and even just understanding the age of the tree and how much history has happened during it’s lifetime. I liked how he moved on to water, and at the end mentioned observing the water "as if you have never seen it before." I wanted to see some of the water paintings and found this:

I’m also glad that I read Bullough’s before Botton because I had a hard time distancing myself from the Botton reading, and appreciating it, so I read it four times the past week. The way Botton wrote this on painting made me feel like I was there next to Taylor as he painted (once I was able to separate myself).  The transitions also didn’t feel rough the fourth time!

RLW

Mike Bunn’s writing was friendly to read, which makes understanding the content easier, but he didn’t want you to just understand the content. He wants you to RLW, read like a writer. When I first saw that, I thought, “What does that mean?” It means that when you read something, it will make you feel a certain way depending on how it is written. Bunn wants you to identify how author’s create these feelings in the way they write. He wants you to know techniques do they use, and how effective they are, then think of whether or not you would have done the same. Think of how you want to write and what feelings you want your reader to feel. Context, purpose and audience are very important factors to think about while you read. Then once you identify them, think about if you would have the same audience and purpose. What would you want to write about? That’s what Bunn is trying to get us, his readers, to do. I think. How effective is their writing, and how do they transition from ideas? Then think of how you would make it more effective, or what transitions you might use. Maybe they’re the same as the authors. Maybe you have your own style for each piece you write, or maybe you use different styles depending on your purpose. Basically, the writer gets to decide all of these, and Bunn is trying to teach upcoming writers how to find their style and make it as effective as possible. I’m not completely sure that I followed his advice in this blog since I have no transitions.

William, Priscilla & Leonardo

            I found too many journals online to read, so I had to narrow it down. I first thought I would read journals of famous actors, actresses, artists or musicians that I had a personal draw towards, but instead I chose two people that I had no idea who they were, and someone that I admire but know little about. The first journal I read belongs to William Henry Ashley, who was a fur trader, entrepreneur and politician from 1778-1838. Priscilla Larkin, who lived from 1839-1868, and was a female college student during the civil war, wrote the second journal. Finally, Leonardo Da Vinci, an overall curious being who lived from 1452-1519. Da Vinci was a scientist, mathematician, botanist, engineer, geologist, anatomist, architect, painter and quite a few more others including being a writer. Priscilla Larkin had the most personal journal.

            William Henry Ashley’s journal was more of a travel log than anything personal. He was traveling through territories with Native American Indians, who he often had personal troubles with, and eventually was killed by them with the weapons he gave them. In my opinion, that’s just Darwinism. Of course they did not want him and his other pioneers on their land and hunting their food, so I’m not sure what William Ashley was expecting from his journey. Ashley describes the scenery and weather as well as his directions of travel. He talks about the snow, and lack of food in the areas that they travel, until they find herds of buffalo of course, and they kill four of them.  Indians steal his horses, and he does not go after them because he feels those horses were “indeferent,” which I think means useless and may possibly be the word ‘indifferent.’ He and his crew build canoes to float their supplies down the river, which I found pretty interesting compared to the rest of his journal. He makes supplies list, and also has a translation page of animals in Ute language, a group of Indians that they befriend, or at least temporarily. Overall, his theme seemed to be travel, weather, starvation, progress or lack of, and encounters Native Americans. 

            The Diary of Priscilla Larkin was much more entertaining. She sings, and a friend tells her that the words suit her, which were “sleep when I am drowsy, And tend on no man’s business; Laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humor.” She also writes about God, church and how her Sabbath was that week. Sometimes she writes of books she reads, or things she must memorize for school. She writes, “Sad news this morning… Federals were victorious… yet they were greater losers.” I think that speaks for itself. She goes from candle lights to gas lights, has a friend who lives with her leave,  and talks about the men that court her. She writes, “ ‘tis my misfortune—I cannot conceal my feelings,” since she was very sad that evening and the man was joking with her. She writes, “I must be sad when I have cause, and smile at no man’s Jest.” She mentions President Davis’s inauguration, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to be alive during this time. Priscilla mentions that a young college girl is dying because she is sick, that soldiers were coming through their town, and how much she misses home and her family. It would be much harder to be away from friends or family during a time that it took days to send a letter and days to hear back. Definitely made people miss each other much more than we do today with texting and skype. That’s also changed dating a lot too. People aren’t chaperoned, and they don’t summon you for a date in a few days expecting you to be ready and waiting for their arrival as if you have nothing better to do. Despite some differences in culture, I could relate to Priscilla a lot.

            I felt a little ridiculous reading Leonardo Da Vinci’s journals, even though it’s all common knowledge now, until I read this: “Though I may not, like them, be able to quote other authors, I shall rely on that which is much greater and more worthy:—on experience, the mistress of their Masters.” I really enjoyed this quote because it emphasizes how much more you can learn from experience rather than just reading, observing or memorizing something. At least in my opinion. He writes about perspectives, their use and importance in drawing and painting, and how the eyes work in relation to this. He talks in detail, and I mean pages, about the pupils and lenses, how they react to light, which changes objects, colors and perspectives. I had no idea that this much work and thought was put into something that is now common knowledge, “The angle of sight varies with distance.” Overall, the part of his journal that I read, on the eye, painting, drawing and perspective was honestly boring since it seems like simple things, but it was impressive that he wrote about it hundreds of years ago. It would be insane if we didn’t have this knowledge! I'm continuing to read more of his journal just for fun, and find more interesting parts than perspective.

       Some journals include drawings, pictures, poems, and others are just a daily log of how far someone has traveled and what their scenery was so that they could find their way back. I enjoy the more personal journals that include someone's thoughts or feelings, even if they don't directly say that, you can pick up on the way the write. That's how Priscilla's journal was. Da Vinci has some parts that showed his feelings, and those were much easier to read than the plain academic writing sections. William Ashley's journal was the hardest to read since he had few opinions and feelings included, but it was still interesting to see what supplies they used back then and have the Ute translation of animal names. Each journal was unique to the individual, and I think that is the most important part to remember when I journal. To keep it for myself, and not think of it as an academic journal.

Reading Rainbow

Writing Down the Bones is a simple read, it just makes sense. I liked this quote so much that I marked it in the book, "If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you. Besides, those voices are merely guardians and demons protecting the real treasure, the first thoughts of the mind."  It reminded me of this: PsychAlive. The demonic voices of mine are over-thinking & over-reacting too often.

Side note: The 'feminist' in me doesn't like this picture, but it fits how I relate to the quote.

Back to the readings, I first read Rubin, because that is supposed to be the annoying one. It was difficult to read, and cheesy, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I felt the most annoyed when she replayed interactions with her husband, and I think that's because it seemed 'picture perfect,' especially at the end when she gives him a hug because that's what you're supposed to do. At least that's how it sounded to me. It didn't sound authentic, the whole reading sounded a lot like a chick flick movie about how to find happiness and love. It was boring. I did appreciate the basic principles [at least in my opinion] of the reading though. Figuring out what you want in life, and setting goals, writing those goals down to make yourself more likely to achieve them, and talking about ideas and goals with someone to help each other grow. Although that seems like common sense to me. I also enjoyed the part where someone asks if she tried therapy, because I think that is a useful tool that everyone can benefit from.

As for the Button reading, I liked how making biscuits was more compared to psychology than baking since there was a lot put into studying people. They found out what people craved emotionally, and packaged/marketed it to draw specific people toward their product. Smart for business, but kind of taking advantage of people's weak spots. Like loan sharks. They're making people "feel better," temporarily, so they can profit. Jerks.

My journal only has 6 days in it, but so far it's really helpful in letting me release all the junk I accumulate [emotionally] throughout the day, or at least it's entertaining. Some of it is pretty profound (sarcasm)... I started writing about not knowing what I'm doing as a 'career path' anymore, and the song lyrics "where do we go now, where do we go" from Guns N Roses came onto the paper. Then Pocahontas came to mind, and thanks to Pride, I spent the weekend writing my thoughts about sexuality and why it's such a 'taboo' subject, not just in society but personally. And it's kind of just continued through my journal today. Welcome to a glimpse of my brain!

About Me Blurb

I never know where to start or what to say in any “About Me” section, so I usually just skip it. Anyway, since I can’t skip this one, I’ll start from where I grew up… Solvang. One of the top 10 weirdest places to visit in America. I guess it’s cute. And creepy. There’s not a whole lot to do there as a teenager, unless you ride horses, take care of animals or live on a winery. Most teens just drank wine from their parent’s fancy wine cellars. Luckily, my parent’s didn’t have one. I played tennis, volleyball and pretended to be on track & field for the pole vaulting. I even tried shot put, which is hilarious! Clearly I wasn't made for that sport.

After high school, I went to SBCC, for way too long. My first class was on Dinosaurs, which I took because I thought it would be an easy A. Turns out, it included anatomy and was my hardest class that semester, but also my favorite. After that, I changed my major from international business [yawn, sorry business majors!] to geological sciences, something I actually felt [feel] passionate about. I went on field studies throughout California and Colorado, and that’s one great thing about earth sciences, you have to get out of the traditional classroom and learn from nature. 

Now, I’m here at Antioch because I convinced myself that I should be a special education teacher, a field I’ve been working in for 6 years, because I do love it. I was supposed to start the MAE early decider program, THIS QUARTER, but I backed out, and am figuring out how I can still pursue paleontology. I’d be happy even if it was just a side hobby, and take weekends to go fossil hunting at Shark Tooth Hill.  Of course, if someone is willing to pay me for that, then that’s the perfect job! On a side note: My housemate’s almost two-year-old son comes into my room with a huge smile saying “dinosaurs” because of this amazing and massive picture book I have. Sooo cute!

More random stuff about me… I teach and practice yoga, kayak, play tennis, hike, bike, garden, and travel even though I’m afraid of planes, and get seasick on boats. I also love 80’s rock and hair bands in case anyone wants to see Motley Crue or the Scorpions :)