Final Reflections

I am your teacher, as you well know, and not a student, so I approach the great WRIT 101 blog experiment of Spring 2010 from a different perspective. For me, the questions are: how successful was this? What did my students get out of it? What have we learned together as a class, and ultimately, was the experiment a success or failure? The truth is I don’t know, and I plan to reserve judgment once I read all of your reflections.

What I hoped would come out of this is that you would become better writers. I wanted to take the writing experience out of the cold dead hands of the classroom and into the “real world” or at least “the real world of the Internet” which of course is not real. I digress. I also wanted to teach you a little bit about publishing work on the web and creating an Internet persona. I definitely think there was some wavering interest in that. Students are not necessarily as Tech obsessed as the media would have you believe, but I hope that you at least learned some new skills about the world of blogging and web writing.

I know that for me, maintaining a blog was a major contributing factor in my becoming a writer. I started a website when I was 15 and in high school. Remember, this was 1997. The Internet was in its infancy then. They didn’t have applications like “blogspot.” The word blog didn’t even exist. I wrote all my own html and every week I would post random writings about my life. (These were called “vanity sites” at the time.) It was through doing this, the constant practice of writing for an audience that I realized I might have a gift for it. When I would get feedback about my work from random strangers, it encouraged me to keep going. I wanted to entertain and impress my readers. So this was my experience. Yours obviously will vary.

I hope that at least a few of you continue to blog in whatever capacity is fun and meaningful for you. Writing on a regular basis for other people (even if it’s only a few of your friends) I find can be really therapeutic and fun. Also the practice of reading other people’s blogs can be an intriguing endeavor. From this class, my favorite blog posts were probably the “Food” posts. The posts on television and “choose your own adventure” were also particularly fun to read. I look forward to reading your reflections on the process, and thanks for joining me in the great blog experiment. I know you didn’t really have a choice, but thanks all the same J

Choose your own adventure

Choose your own blog post topic week, hooray! What a blast. This is going to be a total blast. we're going to blast it out. Okay, I'm nuts, sorry. So I collected some good ideas from you. I've just sort of condensed, nuanced and filtered the list you've given me. Please pick one to write on. I want at least two full paragraphs of good, careful writing. Please pay attention to mechanics and ease of reading. Try to engage and entertain us. We don't have a lot of blog posts left so I'd like you to make this one count. Also, additionally, in addition. If you'd like, for those of you looking for extra credit, you can choose not one but TWO of these topics and write two SEPARATE blog posts, as in two different posts on two different days. (This is just a blogger convention. Only crazy people write more than one blog post a day. That's what twitter is for.) One or both posts should be up by Monday, April 19th before class. GOT IT? Yeah, you got it. Please specify which topic you've chosen somewhere in the post so I know what I'm reading. Thanks, friends!

• Describe atmosphere/experience at griz games.
• Talk about your plans for the summer
• A day in the life of "you." (alternatively, a week in the life, a weekend in Missoula, a snapshot of some kind)
• A short story or a poem (about the short story: keep in mind short. If you have some long crazy story lying around, consider truncating it for the sake of your audience. blog posts tend to become heady any more than like 700 words so keep this in mind. And believe me, I sympathize. I write long.)
• A vacation, an interesting place you've visited. What did you learn and how did you grow richer from the experience?
• A movie, music, play, show, something review. Something you either really love or really hate, and be specific about why.
• "Two truths and a lie." I don't know what exactly this is but I'm intrigued. Make it work.
• Secret talents - what are you good at and why is it a secret? What on earth.
• Anything else you think you can justify. If you choose something not on this list you'll have to tell me in your blog post what you've chosen, why, and how the post is going to work, so probably better to just choose something on the list.

I may or may not do this blog post. I feel like compiling the list itself was a lot of work!

Real World Road Rules Challenge

Look at me! I'm doing my blog post just before midnight. This is proof that I know what it's like to be a student. So, once you're in grad school it's pretty gauche to pay for cable. The presumption is that we don't have time to watch TV, and also that we're above it. We have time to watch Hulu though! My guilty pleasure shows include but are not limited to: The Biggest Loser, America's Next Top Model, and any incarnation of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Some shows that I like that are actually really good are: The Daily Show/Colbert Report comedy rock block, The Sopranos, and finally, The Wire, which I consider to be the best show ever made. For this piece I think I'm going to argue for why The Real World/ Road Rules Challenge is both shallow, mindless, idiotic, AND incredibly satisfying reality television.

The basic premise of the show is this: a bunch of former reality stars (and some people who were never even on Real World or the now cancelled Road Rules) compete in a series of incredibly contrived athletic contests for cash prizes. The way the game works changes for every incarnation of the show, but the alliances, backstabbing, and otherwise despicable, slutty behavior between cast members remains comfortingly the same. One great thing about the show is that all of these people are incredibly good looking but with dubious at best characters, and there's something really satisfying about watching hot twenty somethings slide around on big blocks of ice for the chance to win a BMX bike. Also, it's sort of like sports, but again, the athletes are hot and dress really well. Finally, the inter personal drama is soap opera level epic, but since it's "reality tv," somehow you feel less ridiculous caring about their struggles. Everybody agrees that Tonya is batshit insane and that Evelyn the little lesbian who kills the challenges rules.

To review: I like Real World/Road Rules challenge because 1. I like watching good looking people do stupid shit. 2. It's sort of like sports but without boring innings and rules and the soundtrack is more hip. 3. It has all the drama of television with a "real" component that makes me feel less shallow. Although it probably shouldn't.

So anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing what compelling arguments you've come up with for the shows you like. You may or may not be informed by the Steven Johnson reading I gave you. Really it was just for entertainment and to get our heads in the right space.

Oh. And I found this article after I wrote this that I think is really great. Me and the author are pretty much on the same wave length.

Why I can't stop watching the real world/road rules challenge.

Spring break 2010!

Spring break really makes sloths of us all! I've just spent some time reading your latest blog posts, and let me just say generally that they are excellent and I am pleased with the high volume of participation. I should yell at you more often.

So I told you I'd write and give you some things to think about, but I'm not so sure if I, even I am capable of thinking about anything on this break. Still.

1. Think about what you want to write your op-eds on. We're going to need to get started on them right away on Monday so no time for lollygagging.

2. Like I mentioned in class, if you'd like to write a bonus blog post over break, that would rock. I think I'll probably be sharing some experiences I've had so far later in the week. This is a chance to just sort of have fun and write for the sake of writing. Writing is fun. It lets us know how we think and feel about things and it gives us a chance to share hilarious stories and to be understood by our friends and peers. No real requirements here, just write something fun and engaging and true to you. Please have those up by Sunday night (or Monday BEFORE class. There it is in print, no ambiguity.)

3. I feel like a list should have at least 3 items on it.

Still having a blast grading your research papers! Only have a few done but I have to say, I'm really impressed with what I've seen so far. This is that horrible time in the semester when I fall disgustingly in love with all of you, like you're a basket of puppies. I don't know if this happens to all teachers or if this is a unique to Molly problem. Anyway, thanks a lot for that. Geez.

Three Op-Eds I read in minutes flat.

Professors have a responsibility to lead by questioning

This article basically says that University teachers aren't just free to but actually should voice their opinions on controversial topics. The article elucidates a basic debate in education: should teachers attempt to be unbiased, or is that both impossible and imprudent? You can guess where I stand: I can't help but tell you what I think. Do teachers have a responsibility to share their opinions, though? I don't know.

MTV and the archetypal college spring break

This is heavy on random opinion spouting and light on researched facts, but I found the writing to be delightful and the argument convincing. I'm against any form of culturally sanctioned, scheduled drinking. I think drinking and hanging out and having fun should be undertaken with reverence and a free will. What are your plans this spring break?

The Story of Bottled Water: Fear, Manufactured Demand and a $10,000 Sandwich

Today is apparently "world water day" and so I present to you this informative and stimulating article on the destructive force that is the bottled water industry. Basically the author states that bottled water costs too much money, the plastic is toxic, and it's not safer or cleaner than most tap water anyway. Do you remember the water bottle rule I wrote into the syllabus at the beginning of the semester? This article reinforces my beliefs!

Resources for your Research Paper

Here's a ragtag collection of material I've collected for you re: your research papers. You are so welcome.

Purdue OWL - MLA guide.

This site has a lot of information regarding works cited, basic paper formatting, etc.

Duke University Library - MLA guide.

Weirdly, information on this topic varies, overlaps, etc. An alternate source.

MLA citation generator.

You can use this site to a lmited degree to automatically generate citations for you, but it can be a little nutty so you should always double check whatever it spits back at you.

Online Paper Grader.

Somebody sent me this the other day. I haven't really used it yet. Allegedly you can paste your paper into it and it will tell you all sorts of things that are wrong. Let me know how this works if you use it.

Where might we go for additional information, you might ask?

• Use the Every Day Writer pages 369-419 to look up specific citation/formatting questions. Particularly, the student essay sample, pages 410-419 is a real hoot.
• Chapters 11 and 12 of The Curious Writer are all about writing a research paper. Check it out why not.

Writing the sketch:

You will be bringing a sketch of your personal research paper to class this Wednesday. Instructions plus an example sketch are available in The Curious Writer page 459.

That's all for now. Check back throughout the week as I may add additional information/resources. Writing this paper is going to be so awesome you guys.

Class business

Hello class. As promised, here's that link to the Sustainability site put together by the library. If you go to the "sustainability" tab you can find that research log I told you to model your blog posts on.

To review, I want 5 sources that you've explored and considered for your site and some brief comments about them, their efficacy, credibility, etc.

In retrospect I feel bad for making fun of my friend Travis in class on Monday. Having said that, here's one more sentence he left on my wall last week. I think he's trying to insult me?

See you all at conferences this week.

Personal Academic Essay Paper Topics

As in, write a paragraph on one and post it by Wednesday morning, so we'll be ready to start researching in class.

Also be sure to look through your classmates blog posts regarding food and have some conversations about it. No promises, but you might actually enjoy yourself.

I've been raw for over 24 hours, and I think it's going well enough. I'm still hungry.

A Raw Vegan Diet

According to about.com, a raw vegan diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The simple, golden rule is that raw foodists don't cook their food. Food can be heated or "dehydrated" to temperatures no more than 15 degrees farenheit. For a raw foodist, the microwave, the stove, and the backyard barbeque are all obsolete. Raw foodists believe that the integrity of the food we eat is compromised when exposed to high temperatures, and that altering the food in this way can deplete most of the foods nutrition at best, and at worst can in fact be harmful to the body. Wikipedia puts it thusly: "Raw foodist believe that digestive enzymes aid digestion. Heating food above 104-120 degrees Fahrenheit degrades or destroys these enzymes in food." (See source here.) Finally, they believe that cooked and processed food contain something called "excite o toxins" which, despite the enticing name, are apparently very bad. These are the facts.

So, class. It's worth noting that it was very difficult for me to find straight up information on this phenomenon on the Internet that didn't seem to have some sort of "economic bias." By that I mean that most websites that provide information on raw food are also trying to sell something. Raw food cookbooks, videos, bulk nuts and seeds, etc. It's not to say that their information is incorrect, but still, we have to be skeptical.

I've been dabbling with raw food for a little over a year now. There are a lot of benefits to eating this way, but it's also an extremely difficult lifestyle to maintain long term. (Say goodbye to eating in restaurants. Say goodbye to alcohol...eek!) But the one time I did maintain a 100% raw lifestyle (lasted two weeks) I must say, it was amazing. After the first couple of days of gross detoxicity (headaches, nausea, depression, etc.) I reached a sweet spot. By the end of the two weeks I felt euphoric. I lost 10 pounds, my nails got stronger, I could pick up cars with one hand... then I went to a wedding, ate cake, drank liquor, and that was the end of that.

I may or may not attempt to go raw for the entire month of March. I'm drinking a spinach, banana, hemp seed, orange juice, wheatgrass smoothie this morning, so we're off to a good start. Also, I'm hungry.

(The picture is of a "raw vegan taco wrap" I made last week. The "meat" consists of almonds, chili powder, olive oil, etc. crushed in a food processor. The "cheese" is cashews, cilantro, lemon, etc. crushed in food processor. The wrap is a collard green and it's garnished with tomato and avocado. Surprisingly filling and delicious!)

I refuse to call this post "food for thought."

Hello class. This is not my official blog entry, just a couple of things I came across today about food I thought I might share.

So, this first video is just frightening. Think back: do you think when you were in first grade you'd be able to identify basic vegetables? I would really like to think so.

"Settling the Soy Controversy"

I find the title of this article somewhat laughable. The thing about nutrition science is that it's very mysterious. Scientists to this day have only a foggy understanding of how food interacts with the body. Further, we know that food reacts with every individual differently on a genetic level. Finally, this article simply makes no sense to me in parts. They say that soy is in everything we eat, and then they talk about people getting very little soy in their diet. Also, they don't say anything about the effect soy has on raising estrogen levels (the implication being that women already high in estrogen might want to stay away from soy.) Anyway, it's an interesting article, but just keep in mind, just because it's in print doesn't make it the final word.

Fast Food Nation: Intro

Finally, here's the reading I want you to do for Monday. Remember we'll be doing an in-class write on this so don't blow it off. I think you'll like it. It's f-u-n.

Emergency in the Brain

I wanted to wait to post my reflections on the stories so as not to influence your own posts, but then at the last minute I decided to share the beginning of this story I'm working on instead. Tell me honestly, class: would you keep reading a story that started this way?

Anyone at all concerned with moose preservation in Talkeetna, Alaska was gathered in Cindy Marshall’s apartment that fateful Saturday evening, some of them frozen in prayer position, asking God for anything but death – but oh, He works in mysterious ways.

Mary got to the place at eight, and opened the door to a room full of partygoers jumping out from behind furniture with a “Surpriii- oh it’s Mary.”

“Mark, hon, we really need to designate someone to watch who’s approaching the door – this is getting a little ridiculous. Mary! How are you! Welcome to the party!” Cindy was all smiles and party dress as she approached Mary at the door.

The apartment looked like a Jetson’s estate sale, hard wood floors and orange throw rugs that grew and pulsated under foot, a fichus in the corner with veins crawling up the wall and red light bulbs poking out of the greenery like little eyes – but then, Mary had taken drugs so it was impossible to know whether this was a weird set up or perfectly routine.

“I don’t understand,” Mary said. “Is this a surprise party?”

“Oh, no wonder!” Cindy guffawed. “You didn’t know! That is hilarious.”

“Aye Matey,” Cindy’s companion Mark said. “Can I get ye something to drink?” He had one arm wrapped up in his sweater, his lips curled, an invisible parrot. Mary sussed the whole thing out. Mark wasn’t actually a pirate; he was just pretending to be one, probably per some joke thrown out earlier in the night. Mary prided herself on her skillful inference.

“I’ll have a…” she paused to note the drugs rumbling in her stomach set to polish rocks. “Do you have any ginger ale?”

“Adorable,” Cindy said. “Just adorable.”

Bullet in the Brain! Emergency!

I'd like to present you with two fabulous short stories. Your assignment is to read one or both and write about them. Both would be great. They're both excellent and short and funny and true, but you need only write on one of them. For the writing assignment you can choose to either:

1. Write a short imitation of the story - i.e. write your own story in the style/spirit of whichever one you've chosen. Be sure to tell me which one you're modeling so I know.
2. Write an analysis of one of the stories. What do you think it means? What does it mean to you? What are the story's strengths? Think about how the story is shaped and what it's trying to say. What details in particular resonated with you? If you didn't like it, specifically why not. Cite examples.

Story 1: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff.

This story is available in both print format and as an audio file.

audio version

text only

Story 2: Emergency by Denis Johnson

audio

I couldn't find this online in print - you can only listen to the audio file, but it's worth it. Coincidentally, it's discussed and read by Tobias Wolff, author of Bullet in the Brain. If you want to seek out the print version, it's in a collection called Jesus' Son. You may also be familiar with the film version. (Extremely awesome movie, rent it today!)

This post is due monday night at midnight. You should also have commented on our last post re: The American Male, Age 10 by this time.

Oh, I was 10 once too you know.

It's 1992 and I'm ten years old. Let's say it's summer, mid afternoon and I'm walking down to the end of my street where my friend Dylan lives. The night before we drew up big plans to build an airplane in his backyard. The pavement is hot but I am not into wearing shoes. I have to sort of skip to keep the bottoms of my feet from burning off, and when that doesn't work, I hop back and forth from street to grass.

When I finally arrive it seems like there's a hundred kids in Dylan's yard, playing soccer. There's Dylan's older brother Jason, who's 11 and snobby, and Chris, who's two years old and loud and annoying. Michael and Dan are there from next door, plus Becky and Lindsey, although I don't know why because they hate soccer and I hate when one or both of them get stuck on my team. Dylan's mom Pam is outside, and she yells at me for not bringing shoes to the soccer game. "I didn't know there was gonna be a soccer game," I say. "I thought we were building an airplane."

Someone suggests boys against girls, and we lose. It's dark outside when I finally hobble home, my spirit broken, grass stained, and blisters on my feet.

Chuck Klosterman Interviews Val Kilmer

Over the weekend, I'd like you to read this article and come prepared to discuss it on Monday. Remember to think about the interview process and how it does (and does not) relate to your own profile pieces.

Crazy Things Seem Normal, Normal Things Seem Crazy.

American Male, Age 10

You can find your reading assignment for the week here:

American Male: Age 10, by Susan Orlean

Enneagram post, revised

So, the enneagram. Let me begin with a (very) brief overview of how the system works. There are nine basic types, denoted by number. The number system is nominal, meaning they're all created equal, one type isn't better than any other, (one is not greater than three, etc.) Another thing that I didn't mention in class is that every type has a subtype or "wing" - and the wing will always be either lower or higher than your type. Since I'm a type four, I can have either a three wing or a five wing, and this wing helps to temper and further delineate me as a type four. When you take the test, it will also tell you what your wing is (I think.) Further, there are always different levels of health within every type. The healthier we are as people, the more we learn how to take virtues from all the different types to make a more well rounded person. But this is a lot of jargon for you to explore on your own, and I hope you do.

So about me. Like I said, I'm a type 4, and I have a 5 wing. 4w5 is how we present it in ennea-speak. The basic deal with type 4's is that we feel special, sensitive, moody, sectioned off from the rest of society. We are often artists, or in my case, writers. We feel like we need to create art in order to be understood, and we navigate the world chiefly through our emotions. We tend to be narcissistic at worst, and deeply compassionate for others at best. My 5 wing tends to make me more introverted and introspective than if I had a 3 wing. The 3 wing would make me more expressive and extroverted, but alas, no. The goal for any 4 in life is to learn how to get out of our heads, and to be productive in our art. 4's have a tendency to sit around fantasizing about being great artists as opposed to doing the work to actually get them there. When you sit down to analyze your own type, it's good to think about the different strengths and weaknesses that your type has to offer, and identify the ways you can improve. Some of my favorite/famous 4's include, but are not limited to: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, the recently deceased J.D. Salinger, William Shakespeare, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and on and on.

Now, what do I think about all this? Obviously I'm into the enneagram, otherwise I wouldn't have assigned it. I've been studying this system since high school. First my friend David got into it, and then he converted me, and soon all of my friends at school knew what their type was. It tends to really interest some people and seriously annoy others. When I came to Montana I tried to keep the information to myself, but alas, I couldn't keep it contained, and now everyone in the MFA program knows what type they are thanks to me (and also my roommate, a 4w3. She adopted it early on and taught it to everyone else.) The reason I want all of us to learn it is that I just want to give us a collective vocabulary on how to deal with ourselves and others. Further, you may or may not find it useful to know your partner's type when it comes time to interview them for the profile piece. Knowing your own type helps you improve as a person; knowing the types of your friends and family around you will help you relate to them. We often assume that everyone thinks the same as us - the enneagram, or indeed any personality type system helps us appreciate each other's differences. I look forward to reading all about your results.

Again, I'd like these posted by Sunday at midnight. Any earlier postings would be greatly appreciated as I'm really looking forward to reading these!

similarminds.com

go here. click on the first link, enneagram personality tests > under the "ennagram tests" header, click on "advanced test" - email yourself the results page.

9types.com

Once you get your test results, you can read bulleted information about the different types here to determine if you think the test is right.

wikipedia.com

Wikipedia isn't always a great source, but for the kind of pop psychology we're dealing with here, its got decent information that I trust.

Please do further research on your own for different sources. There are also books on the subject. The big authors in Enneagram land are Helen Palmer and Don Richard Riso. Good luck, friends.

Where are we, what's happening, why are we doing this?

Hello and welcome to the great blog experiment of 2010. The purpose for gathering you all here to do this weird, weird thing is many-fold. You're probably wondering why I don't just assign you reading and writing assignments like a normal person. With all the initial set up and hassles, I'm beginning to wonder that myself :) Still. Let me list off a few reasons why I think this experiment might be fruitful for all of us.

1. Firstly, I want to mess with your heads a little bit and take you out of the normal academic setting for a moment. Something about the educational process gets us all thinking in fragmented ways about what writing is. Many of you talked about wanting to learn better "technical writing" skills or "academic writing" skills. Some of you said you were better at personal writing or "writing for fun" compared to school writing. My goal here is to teach you that there is really no difference between these seemingly disparate kinds of writing. Yes, there are conventions and nuances to different genres, but essentially, it's all a process of communication. The writing you do for your blog will be excellent practice for any other kind of writing you attempt to do, including the major papers we'll be working on in class.
2. The blog will give all of you a chance to get to know and to learn from each other. You'll get a variety of different voices, and further, you'll learn what other people think about the different topics. You might find that others in the class approach a reading we do radically different from how you did. You might even change your mind about something, and changing your mind is exhilarating.
3. The student-teacher writing relationship exists in one place and one place only: school. It's made up; it's not real. When you do "real world" writing, the audience matters. Your words will make a difference and will be designed to influence, inform, entertain, whatever. With this blog community, you will have a real world audience: each other.
4. I understand that writing for your peers is scary, intimidating, etc. Courage, man! We should relish the opportunity to overcome fears, because it can only make us stronger, better people. All of you tested into writ101, so that means you're all more or less at the same skill-level. I can promise that no one is judging you for misplaced apostrophes or weird sentences. We're all in this together, and we're all going to become better writers as a result of this process. Myself included.
5. Finally, blogs are fun. The philosophy behind blogging is that it's quick and dirty writing. The writing process isn't just about writing what you know - rather, through the writing process you come to discover what you know. It's an act of inquiry, of curiosity, of engagement with your subject. You might not understand what I'm talking about now, but I promise, you will.

Phew! I've said a lot. In fact, I never got around to the topic at hand, which, what was it I assigned? Introductions. Well, Hi, it's me, Molly, and I am the Messiah of Writ101. I love writing, reading, and persuading others to love it too. I look forward to reading everyone's first blog posts. I'll leave lots of comments, and hopefully together we can decide where this experiment will go from here. Feel free to leave any questions or comments you have about this post in the comments of this blog. I'm going to end by leaving you with this link about web literacy and some of the other topics I've introduced thus far.

Studies explore whether the Internet makes students better writers.

Namaste.

How to set up your writ 101 blog

Hello. I'm going to walk you through the basics of setting up your blog here. It's pretty simple.

1. Start by going to Blogger.com. You'll set up an account using an email address and password. You don't need to use your grizmail email. If you have a gmail address, that's ideal because it will link to all your other google stuff, but any email is fine.

2. Pick a URL and blog name. It doesn't matter what these are. The blog name can be changed easily - the URL cannot.

3. After that, you're all set. You can look around at different layouts and settings to customize your blog. We'll be linking all the blogs together in class on Wednesday.

Day 1.

Welcome, writ 101 students. We will be building a thriving Internet community very soon. I'm sure of it.