Stop it

People in this class keep writing these little lamentations and ending posts.

Stop it.

Seriously,

stop. Actually, don't stop.

It's not over.

We have a nice little community here.

Good presentations, good groups, a class where I actually know people's names (and then some).

It's based on being in class, yes, however it's also about these blogs. Dialoging and flyting and the like. Good stuff.

Orality doesn't end.

Keep adding crap, I gain too much pleasure from reading your words, so for my sake, keep going. Even if your posts become rare, keep checking back and writing shit. That's all I'm going to say.


Don't be an asshole, keep blogging.

Podcast!

I missed class today because I was offered a delicious free breakfast, and I haven't eaten a delicious free breakfast in a long time. I am aware that this is disrespectful to those who went today, and I apologize for that, but seriously, delicious free breakfast. Say it again, Delicious Free Breakfast.

I like a delicious free breakfast. Although, I am aware of how not free any meal is. I mean, we must always remember, "There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch". But this was breakfast, and a delicious and free one it was.

Now I shall move on to something relevant.

I want to talk about a mostly free phenomenon in the world of secondary orality, the podcast.

Now, I can hear every tech literate person sigh. We all know what a podcast does and what it is. Instead I just want to talk about how great an experience hearing a good podcast can be. A good podcast usually consists of some well spoken folk, who are passionate about whatever topic, just riffing on their subject for a bit. Sometimes they cuss and sometimes they have standards. But most of all, my favorite podcasts are very rarely scripted. It consists of three of four people in a room with a microphone. They have all the ums and uhs of real speech and their cpnversations always diverge into pointless tangents. They make inside jokes that make no sense and make fun of each other. They talk about smoking, sex, and video games while educating me in the most welcoming way possible. Unpretentious, funny, offensive. Oral.

A good way to grab podcasts is to just pay attention. Go to your favorite sites and look around. See that little link in the corner? That one that has been there ever since you wandered into this site (probably with the words, "check out our podcast!"). Click it, download it and enjoy. Also, if you use itunes or Zune software, these programs have a collected compendium of podcasts for a plethora of interests.

Here are some links for you lazy types:

http://www.podcastalley.com/
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php
http://sic.conversationsnetwork.org/?gclid=COWZp4S9lpoCFShRagod_gRBNQ
http://www.apple.com/business/podcasting/?cid=WWA-SEGO-BIZ080324G-I620I&cp=WWA-SEGO-BIZ080306G&sr=WWA-SEGO-BIZ080306G

Also, Google reader is a fantastic way to subscribe to RSS feeds which usually include up to date links to various podcasts.

Grab one. They're freeish. TISTAAFPC.

Guest Poster: Bri (Summer Breeze)

I don't know what she is gonna write. I take no responsibility for the contents of this post if they are at all rambling or pointless.
Hello fellow bloggers it is Ghost Writer, a.k.a. Urania, a.k.a. Summer Breeze, I know you are all interested in what I have to say. Well, for one I don't care too much for Tai, I mean seriously what kind of name is Tai anyways? Secondly, I don't care too much for what Tai drinks, or how much, I feel AA should be recommended. And thirdly I just have to say there is a fine line between sarcasm and insult. I'm not going to refer to anything directly, I just wanted to put that out there. Now for something relivant. Earlier this year we were talking about flyting, or the act of fighting with someone in good manners. Flyting can only be done between two friends because otherwise it will be taken offensively (take my word for it, I tried flyting with a certain someone the other day and then he kicked me out of his house...alittle dramatic if I say so myself). Anywho, flyting started in the oral culture. I would like to think it started between two men from two neighboring tribes who were simply talking amongs themselves about life. This is how the conversation went (I'm almost positive).
Tribe man 1: Your wife looks like she has been eating too much Mammoth. Haha.
Tribe man 2: Unlike your wife she pregnant. Your wife ate all the dinasours.
(flyting is so much fun)
Tribe man 1: OH, good one Tribe Man 2, but seriously your wife is gaining weight and she's not pregnant because we all know that you prefer men.

And that last comment by Tribe Man 1 took it too far. That was an example of bad flyting.

Either way, the act of flyting, or sarcasm, or whatever it's called in any other country is the same in every culture. Silly fighting has been around before the print culture was able to (what's the word) print it.

Group Presentation... Boundaries

For our presentation the other day, I wrote this story. It was the one that Kevin read (as Neil Armstrong) on Uranus. The version we read was a bit truncated so included the original one here,

This is the story:

"One day the great god of the sky, Uranus, left the sky. He went not low but high- through the trees, through the clouds, through the great wall of air. He went higher than any man and sat with the stars. There he sat until he felt weary of the cold and he decided to leave. The great god of the sky Uranus went into his bag of magic dust; he found his bag to be empty. Without that magic dust he was trapped in the sky.

Uranus called to his servant, crow, and said, “Oh crow can you bring me my magic dust so that I may return to the Earth?” And crow obeyed. The crow did not have to search far for the magical dust for the thing that gives the sky its power is the dirt. For without the dirt, without the ground, without the horizon, there would be no sky at all. Gathering some sand from a beautiful beach, the crow began to fly above the trees. He flew above the clouds, and when he reached the wall of sky he flew even higher. Crossing into the boundary, the crow joined the stars, and, for a brief moment, beheld their beauty. With a croak, the crow, servant of Uranus, suffocated and died. From then on, Uranus has been stuck with the stars, and all who wish to pass the wall of air must wear special clothing. "

I started this story by brainstorming with Bri and Chris. We knew that we needed a transition from the corporeal world to the spiritual and that we also wanted to represent the style of storytelling found in Kane's examples. By doing so, we hoped to simulate some of the oral normatives taught to us throughout our time in the class as well as exhibit the precepts in the chapter. Starting with Crow and Uranus, we knew the importance of the anthropormorphized animal and the god. We decided to make crow a messenger of Uranus which allowed us to add travel which, in turn, also gave us our border element. Having already decided to use outer space as the venue for our transformation, we knew that the crow would have to go to space.

Upon writing these elements down, I remembered that the sea, sand, and firmament were an evocative reminder of the border between people, the sky, and the sea. I decided to exploit this and add a bit of meat to dem bones. The death of the crow being a reasonable extrapolation from an organic being leaving the atmosphere, we were able to inject some humor into the piece, another big component to an oral discourse. Having the structure of a story, I began writing it with the trends of the Oral story in mind.

Early on, I knew I wanted to use a paratactic voice. This proved to be harder to do than expected. As it turns out, connectors and transitionary words have become totally technologized into my head. My natural impulse, however, is to proof these aspects out. So that was a challenge. Other than that though, this means of storytelling came rather easily to me. Maybe there is a bit of oral tradition in me after all.

Ze Paper

Papar rough

This is the almost finished rendition of my paper. The last part's dialogue is in a word doc, I just need to get off my butt and write it into the speech bubbles. It will be done by the time I present. However, I might be late to class while getting it printed.

EDIT: Nevermind, Can't upload it because it is too fat...

Presentations uh

Click to Enlarge

Group 4 - THE FIVE STUDENTS OF RECKONING

Group four did a satirical piece. Since my eye had gotten tired from the presentation of group 3, I chose to take a more written approach for this one. I was furiously writing from John's beginning preamble and didn't have a chance to paraphrase the first speaker. If anyone has ideas for that empty speech bubble, from Ong chapter 5, please throw some ideas in the comment area.

I think I'm going to illustrate the paper presentations of each of the class members, so when you see me staring intently at your eyebrows, don't panic, I am just trying to draw you.

Anyway,

Here's the reaction illustration for group 4:


Click to Enlarge

Group 3

Click to Enlarge.

Group 3 presented on Kane chapter 4 on the topic of "Traditions". The group consisted of Keen Kenning Ben, Emo Erin, Za Zen Zach, Joan Gossimer Van Goss, and Quick Wit nick. They each wrote a story and presented it. Each story was a remediation of a myth that they found to be interesting. With a sountrack which evoked the tents and wigwams of precolonial America, the group told a story of the seasons that was well written, and like all the presentations in this class, very entertaining.

The effect they created was an atmosphere that anybody who has had a fireplace, a den, and a living relative who has seen a great deal of life can relate to. Like the New England Den or Sun Valley Cabin, we were once again children listening to the wisdom of a thousand ages. The dim lights helped too. They told of the spring, the fall, and the cycle of life, and I think I found its simplicity and execution to be quite tantalizing. Big fan.

Anyway, I sketched them as they told their stories. I found Keen Kenning Ben's rendering to be especially evocative so I drew him standing with Lightning coming out of his armpits. His grandiose tone and flights of excitement drew me in and made me excited to hear more. In fact, I think it would be great if these guys could record their stories so I could listen to them on my next drive home.

Also, I apologize for the gestural nature of the sketches. I tried to capture each person as they read so I had to move quickly.

Their blogs, with further information about the presentation, are here:

GROUP 3

http://erinoraltraditions.blogspot.com/

http://blogofbenjamin-ben.blogspot.com/

http://mnemosyneeng337.blogspot.com/

http://zsoraltraditions.blogspot.com/

Narrative Jurisprudence

Recently, I began reading a book called The Coming Race War? which has a daunting name but a simple premise. The premise is that race as a construct, law, and Critical Race Theory are convoluted subjects which need to be dealt with in a way that transcends abstract theories and embraces the post-modernity of the recent years.

This book embraces a style of writing that most rarely associate with writings pertaining to law. It is a style rooted in storytelling, allowing certain more "literary" (gasp) aspects to act as a force in teaching and arguing subjects.

This style of writing is called, Narrative Jurisprudence.

James R Elkins, a professor of Law at the West Virginia University college of law writes that,

"We might then, say of narrative jurisprudence, that it is a way of thinking about law as composed and comprised of stories, performed in their most celebrated and public way–in trials." Source

This quote shows that, even in the most crotchety of academic venues, the subjectivity and ambiguity of the flesh world can be utilized to portray complex, abstract ideas through oral mediums.

In the book, The Coming Race War by Richard Delgado a standard section of the book looks like this:

"I wish it were that way," Rodrigo said with a sigh. "But Lawyer's training and culture discourage him or her from challenging the narrative structures we just mentioned. Lawyers who spoke up or mimicked the emotional tone of the judge, would be sanctioned or disbarred (69). Lawyers cannot depart much from the stylized, desiccated stories spelled out in the rules of pleading..." (Delgado 25).

This passage seems to have more in common with the writings of Tom Clancy than a scholar of law. And stylistically, that would seem like a sound assertion. However, the meat of the matter is sound, researched, and a wholly well formed argument. Also, see that "69" in the middle of the passage? That is one of many notations which link to a large footnote bank in the back of the novel. Richard Delgado has exhaustively researched and studied his topic. This is an academic essay written in a wholly academic tone, and the content is concrete, but the medium is the message.

While I understand and admire this kind of postmodernist approach, I do understand that not all information can be presented in this way, however, I think that it would be wise for us to revisit the stylistic mediums which we use to address other fields.

I am in the process of investigating this form further and will add more to this post later.

Never thought I'd find a connection between Kane and his merry band of myth tellers and lady justice.

Book Report

Back in the day, when I read books like Lowis Lowry's The Giver (which is a book all about memory) and Anne Frank's diary (which is another book about memory, odd how amnesis has always been a part of my life), I always had these opportunities to write "Book Reports" which were basically assignments students did to prove that they could read.

In these, "Book Reports", there was always a summary and then a brief few words about "what I thought" which was almost always summed up with "I like this book". Anyway, these reports were pretty much worthless but they served one very important purpose, to teach youngsters how to speak in front of large groups and to allow them to practice this skill. Though I will not be presenting this book report in front of the class, I hope, through secondary orality, to capture the feeling of the old style book report (complete with bad grammar and stammering). Why? Because I want to relate this book to Walter Ong's book, Orality and Literacy, and share one of my favorite populist writers (I know I know, we're erudite here, but I think it's important to see what the enemy is up to on occation).

So with no further bullcrap, here is my Book Report...

Um, hi, my name is Tai and I want to talk about a book that I read. It is called, American Gods, and it's about a guy named Shadow and it was written by Neil Gaiman and I really liked this book and I think you should all read it. This book has a lightning bolt on the cover and it is about gods who live in America who are want to fight eachother. I think it has some stuff about America and it is a critique on the technologizing of America and it has a bunch of old mythologies incorporated into its content. I thought that the inclusion of the likes of Loki and Odin and Bastet in a modern book was kind of corny but after a while I started to realize why Neil Gaiman did it. He did it because he is writing about the oral tradition, also, he is weaving a roaring yarn of war and fighting and women who eat men with their vaginas (you have to read the book).

In the story, the gods of the land are sustained through the stories and traditions of their followers. Their power is enhanced by the number of times their names are uttered in prayer and the root of their existence comes from the words of their congregation. As the congregations of these norse gods all but disappear, the deities of the dying faiths would take human forms, finding niches to fit into. Here is where the relation to Ong's book begins. In chapter 6, Ong writes about the stories behind Anansi and the elemental gods of the old religions. He asserts that the power of these stories came from their repeated utterance. In doing so, the deity would become a god that one could get behind.

During the course of his travels, Shadow meets all manner of old deities who do little more than eat, sleep, and live forever. Though their existence is assured by the old manuscripts, the true potential of each god is squelched by the complete lack of an oral tradition. Instead, the Gods that truly control the land are those gods that we have created from technology. The computer, the film, and all manner of other contemporary devices have become the means of our communication and thus new gods are born. At first, the syntax doesn't seem perfect, the computer is a medium and the stories of the Norse Gods are stories, however, if one looks at the medium which the old Norse, Native American, Celtic, and Egyptian stories were related, Orally, one finds Orality as the counter part to the electronic mediums presented in the book (I am aware that the Egyptians use chirographic techniques on papyrus to relate information, this is not an analysis, this is a book report, I am allowed to be misinformed and stupid).

Towards the last quarter of the book, Shadow dies and finds himself before Anubis for judgement. However, Eostre brings him back to life by reciting his name. If this isn't Oral Tradition-ish, I don't know what is.

And I don't want to give away the ending so I'm going to stop there. Hope you liked my book report on American Gods by Neil Gaiman.