Collins vs. Shakespeare

Collins' "Litany", when looked at broadly, is pretty much a modern version of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130. As you begin to read, one thinks that "Hey, this is another one of those nice little imagery poems where the guy gets a little weird while talking about someone he loves." But, alas! It is not. For awhile while reading the sonnet, the reader may tend to believe that this woman is rather mediocre, with bad breath. But similarly  to Collins, Shakespeare goes on to say that these are not things she should be compared to, because she is one in her own.

Litany

To be honest...all I heard in the beginning was "Bueller...Bueller..."
Then he began his poem. It doesn't even sound like poem. It seems like a comical monologue of one beloved speaking to the other. He uses great imagery, then he says "However." He doesn't smile, he just keeps a straight face, making it a bit more humorous. It's a dry humor, which can oftentimes be the best kind of humor. It's real somehow and I found it to be more entertaining than the other poems we previously heard. I don't know why - he was just sitting there reading, but his delivery was perfect for the piece in which he was reading.

Emily Dickinson

This poem, now looked at in a different manner, has a unique flow to it. It's honest, at least for the time it was written. In 19th century when it was written, I don't think it was the most popular thing to talk about the art of lying, or rather, not lying. Her wording is almost a play on words, giving it this fresh feeling, almost requiring the reader to do a double take to really understand what she is genuinely trying to say.

Say What .. ?

You kiss your mother with that mouth, brah? Just kidding..
Shihan uses only minimal flash to make people feel his poem. He doesn't overdo it. He moves his voice, he moves his hands, he closes his eyes, and feels what he is saying, and sometimes just seeing someone feel something so deeply, we begin to feel it too. He says if we reconfigure our lives, satisfaction will follow. Easier said than done. How do we totally revamp our lives? Can we look for epiphanies? I'm not sure it would be an epiphany if we were looking for it.

Reading our lack of Conviction

Whenever I see one of these moving text videos, I feel like the words actually matter. As in every word somehow carries a deeper meaning since it is written in a special font, given a special size. Taylor Mali's voice echos through these words on the screen and I'm getting the same message, but a different kind of dramatic undertone, versus the video of seeing him perform it with hand motions and facial expressions. This guy is upset about this...he wants to world to speak with conviction. Good luck with that; there are a lot of under-confident people in this world.

Lack of Conviction

You know? You know what I'm saying?
Yeah I know what you're saying, don't worry bro...
Taylor Mali speaks with such conviction that our generation has no conviction. We are inarticulate.
I more or less disagree ... but he speaks with such conviction, that I think that he's convinced me otherwise. Look at those hands motions. Mmmhhmmmm

Critiquing (my) In-Class Writing

Everyone critiques their own writing and has their writing critiqued for them in order to improve upon not only the individual writing piece itself, but also their skills as a whole. I've personally never blogged about my own writing but, hey, there's a first time for everything I guess.
The primary question asked is whether or not the writer belongs in the writing. Of course the writer belongs in the writer, this is what makes a the piece a production of the human mind. Whether the writer intends to or not, his or her personality is somewhat reflected in their writing. Imagine reading a piece of work with absolutely no voice in it - boring, monotonous. I enjoy finding wit in writing because reading can sometimes be a grueling experience, thanks to those with no personalities, and it makes the experience a lot more enjoyable, almost like a conversation.
In my writing, I seem to naturally input voice just because of my nature. I have always written as I speak just out of normality, and I think it has worked out for me most of the time. Pieces with a bit more wit, sarcasm, and voice tend to get a little more attention due to the reactions people get from reading it - no necessarily from the content itself, but how the piece was written. The reader is essentially fulfilling the role of conversing with the writer, or at least listening to the writer's monologue, and who wants to hear something in a monotone. Let their be some emotion in your voice, like you actually care about what you are writing about, whether you actually do or not.

Pantene Commercial Paragraphs

Personally, I am not sure that I would be able to master the violin and get such great reviews had I not been able to hear what I was playing. This girl, although she never once heard a violin being played, possessed extreme passion for this instrument, mostly was seemed to be from watching the elderly street performer play. The passion she has may or may not have made that instrument sound, but it surely caused the crowd to in awe of her ability.
The elderly man states that "music is visual"; while this is true, music is not entirely visual. Visualizations make a up a large part of the music experience, but most people gain the most extreme of musical effects from simply listening to it alone in their room or on their way to work in their car, all while seeing nothing having to do with music. While this is indeed a shampoo commercial, looks are supposed to be the pillar theme, so most likely this girl, with her perfectly washed hair, most likely was not actually playing the violin but was rather visualizing her passion for the audience. Although a few things such as the applause and the look on the other girl's face may argue against this, playing a violin that has been taped back together simply isn't possible.