What's love got to do with it? Blog #8

Song of Solomon is all about love. What makes love so complex?

With knowledge comes suffering Blog # 6

Song of Solomon is a novel about many things. For the main characters who are young when the story begins, the novel is a coming of age story. Milkman, Guitar, Corinthians, Lena, Hagar all must grow-up whether they want to or not.

In this blog post, write about one or several difficulties in growing-up and about being a teenager in general. What are some of the paradoxes, the pathos of being a teenager, and/or the difficult lessons you may have had to learn--or may still be learning.

All in the Family Blog post #5

In this blog post you should write about your family. You can choose a certain person, a certain family ritual, activity, something that may be annoying to you about your family, something you may be proud about, something that is quirky or weird, or maybe something that significantly changed your family.

This is not the opportunity to have a teenage rant about your annoying mother, but rather an opportunity to think about your family and write as if you were explaining to someone you just met about your family.

The Ultimate question blog #4

Do you believe that you have a freewill, or do you believe in fate? You must choose one or if they are connected to one other and explain why. Don't be superficial in your response.

Live or Die in LA --Blog post #3

If you had to choose between #1 or #2, which would you choose?

1) Live a long life, but remain known only to a small group of people. (be an average Joe)

2) Or live large, die in your early twenties, but be insanely famous for the next 1,000 years?

Explain your choice and post by Saturday, the 22nd.

Assignment #1 quotes

Post a couple of passages from a novel, quote, short story, song lyric, etc. that you enjoy, find interesting, or reflects you in some way. Next, in a brief, but specific way, explain your items in relation to you. Please avoid stating the obvious. For example, "I like this song because it has a good beat and I can get crunk with it" is pretty generic and not particularly specific to who you are. Try to avoid going to quotable quotes websites and finding some random quote. Think about the world which moves around you and your understanding of it. You should post something today to make sure your blog is up and running, and complete the post by Wednesday of next week. Below, I've chosen two passages from two novels:

"'Listen, every object's in flux. The Earth, time, concepts, love, life, faith, justice, evil -- they're all fluid and in transition. They don't stay in one form or in one place forever. The whole universe is like some big FedEx box." -- H. Murakami Kafka on the Shore

"When the mystery of the connection goes, love goes. It's that simple. This suggests that it isn't love that is so important to us but the mystery itself. The love connection may be merely a device to put us in contact with the mystery. It is contrary to the nature of mystery to stand still. We glimpse it when we stand still." -- T. Robbins Still Life of Woodpecker

I chose these two passages because, at heart, I think about things metaphysically. I like looking at the nature of things, and why we are the way we are. I often read novels that are, at heart, metaphysical. Sometimes, though, a good Harry Potter novel is the best. The picture is Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." It's probably my favorite painting. Just as in music, I have an eclectic taste in art. I think the older I become, the more diverse my interests become. Old age isn't so bad after all.

Assignment #2 Icons

This week and all last week we've been looking at symbols, paradox and metaphor. The blog for this week is to write about an icon that you think pervades our lives. This blog is the first musing that will eventually become your first essay. If you start the blog and find that you don't have much to say about the chosen icon, you should probably choose another one. If you are having trouble writing much about it, perhaps you've chosen one that is too small. Choose a big one.

This post should be done by Monday night, August 27th.