It's time for my second quarter blog reflection. Blogging was a little more difficult for me this quarter. I am not completely sure why, but I was just having a lot more difficulty coming with new and interesting topics to discuss. However, because of this, my posts seemed to get a little more interesting and exciting.
For example, in my post titled "Because I Have To", I discuss how I could not think of a topic to blog about, but I was still blogging because it was a major part of my grade. I related this to school in general and how I have to do things that I am not interested in just so I can meet graduation requirements. I thought that this was a very interesting post.
My favorite post of this quarter, however, was probably the one titled "He's Livin' in the 21st Century". We had been discussing in class whether Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be censored. In the post, I not only gave my opinion on this question, but also related it to a musician and raised an interesting question for people to think about. And although only four people commented, the comments were very insightful and answered my question directly. This is why I feel it was a successful post. I brought up a topic that people cared about, and posed a question that I knew people would want to state their opinions on.
Overall, I am pretty happy with my blogging this quarter. Although I had more difficulty blogging, I felt like, for the most part, I wrote some pretty interesting posts and made my peers think a little bit about the topics that I was bringing up.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
He's Livin' in the 21st Century
Earlier this week in AIS, we read an article on an NPR news blog about a new version of Mark Twain's classic book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that is going to be published. It is going to replace every instance of the "n-word" with "slave". You can read the whole article here.
I personally do not believe that this is the right thing to do. Yes, the n-word is a very offensive word, but one must remember why it is in the book in the first place. Mr. Twain made his characters use this word for a reason. It is a source of irony in the book, as well as it reflects on culture in America during that time. Taking it out would make the book lose some of its power and meaning. For me, at least, "slave" brings out less emotion in me than the "n-word", thus, when Mr. Twain uses the use of this word to describe a flaw in our society, it would not seem as powerful.
Speaking of power, I would like to relate this to Kanye West's latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Upon first listen, you notice a few things. First, this album sounds completely different from any other rap album you've ever heard. Musically, it is much more intricate and complex, and it just sounds amazing. Second, you notice just how offensive the lyrics are - and how many swears they contain.
However, Mr. West is using these words for the exact same reason that Twain is using them. Kanye is a great lyricist, and the album truly just feels like poetry set to a great beat. If these words weren't in the song, the song would not only lose its impact, but also its meaning. He, as well as Twain, uses irony to bring to light what he is actually feeling. Just listen to the song "Power", and then tell me that those lyrics had no use being in the song.
Interestingly enough, nobody has even talked about censoring Kanye, but people will change a book which is truly a classic just so kids can read it without their parents having to worry about what it says? Just something to think about.
I personally do not believe that this is the right thing to do. Yes, the n-word is a very offensive word, but one must remember why it is in the book in the first place. Mr. Twain made his characters use this word for a reason. It is a source of irony in the book, as well as it reflects on culture in America during that time. Taking it out would make the book lose some of its power and meaning. For me, at least, "slave" brings out less emotion in me than the "n-word", thus, when Mr. Twain uses the use of this word to describe a flaw in our society, it would not seem as powerful.
Speaking of power, I would like to relate this to Kanye West's latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Upon first listen, you notice a few things. First, this album sounds completely different from any other rap album you've ever heard. Musically, it is much more intricate and complex, and it just sounds amazing. Second, you notice just how offensive the lyrics are - and how many swears they contain.
However, Mr. West is using these words for the exact same reason that Twain is using them. Kanye is a great lyricist, and the album truly just feels like poetry set to a great beat. If these words weren't in the song, the song would not only lose its impact, but also its meaning. He, as well as Twain, uses irony to bring to light what he is actually feeling. Just listen to the song "Power", and then tell me that those lyrics had no use being in the song.
Interestingly enough, nobody has even talked about censoring Kanye, but people will change a book which is truly a classic just so kids can read it without their parents having to worry about what it says? Just something to think about.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
It's Not Weird to Go to Disneyland When You're Sixteen...Right?
This past winter break, my family and I took a trip out west to San Diego to escape the cold weather and get away from the stresses of school and work. While we were out there, we drove up to Anaheim for a few days to go to Disneyland, which we had never been to before. The first thing I thought to myself was, "aren't my sister and I a little too old for this?" You always hear that you are never too old for Disney, however I wasn't so sure.
Once I got there, however, everything changed. As soon as we stepped into the park, the atmosphere was one that I hadn't experienced in a long time, and my sister and I were soon going on all of the rides, watching the fireworks, and of course eating the funnel cake.
Somehow, Disney does something that no one else can. It truly feels like another world, and no matter how old you are, there is something for you to do. There were entire groups of just adults who were entering the park! So next time you say you're going to Disney and you're friend snickers and says it's childish, remind yourself that you're getting one of the best experiences of your life.
Once I got there, however, everything changed. As soon as we stepped into the park, the atmosphere was one that I hadn't experienced in a long time, and my sister and I were soon going on all of the rides, watching the fireworks, and of course eating the funnel cake.
Somehow, Disney does something that no one else can. It truly feels like another world, and no matter how old you are, there is something for you to do. There were entire groups of just adults who were entering the park! So next time you say you're going to Disney and you're friend snickers and says it's childish, remind yourself that you're getting one of the best experiences of your life.
Gazelligheid!
A few weeks, I saw Andrew Bird perform at the 4th Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago. It was the last of his five "Gazelligheid" shows, a concept created to make his shows more intimate. It was, in one word, beautiful. I had never heard Mr. Bird's music performed like how he did it there and I am not sure I ever will again.
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