"I attended Southeastern's production of The Imaginary Invalid and watched the entire play."
We took our seats at around 7:15pm and waited for the moment when the play would begin. It wasn't but five minutes before the production began that I noticed colorfully dressed girls prancing around and finding their way through the audience. There were blondes and brunettes, short and tall, all wearing short dresses and leggings with nothing that seemed to match but still came together for a perfectly odd outfit. One bubbly blonde with curly pigtails sat in front of us and played with another girl's hair. I sat watching these hysterical characters interacting with the audience, yet not using any words; it was much like a pantomime show. The lights dimmed; it was time for the show.
The colorful ladies took their place on stage, scattered between the upstairs and downstairs rooms. Argan, the imaginary invalid, was the first to appear on stage, reading through his list of expensive medical procedures. We soon learn that he has two daughters, a second wife, and a hilarious housekeeper. One of his daughters, Angelique, is in love with Cleante; but before Cleante has the opportunity to ask her father for her hand in marriage, another father-son duo does the job. They are out for his money and planned the scheme only to get to her father's wealth. By the end of the play, the housekeeper, Toinette, helps to plot a clever intervention on Angelique's behalf. Argan becomes his own doctor and Angelique gets to be with the man she loves.
I really enjoyed this play. It reminded me of how much talent we have here at Southeastern. The cast, the set up crew, and the media crew all did a fantastic job. Props to Mr. Dixon for putting together such an awesome production. Although I'm not really sure why the colorful dancers were in the play, it really added a lot to the production and was probably one of my favorite parts. I also loved Toinette the housekeeper. The only thing I didn't like about the play was how late it ended; the play began at 7:30 and lasted until 10:00, including the intermission. It would have been nice if it began at 6pm. However, I would say that I am overall very well pleased with The Imaginary Invalid.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Blogging
I feel like blogging is one of the biggest parts of our class; we have two due a week and they really cause us to connect what we are learning in the classroom to what we are thinking in our minds.
One of the instructions for blogging is to engage the text in our blog. This relates to our class time because we are constantly referring back to the text during class and therefore are required to do the same for our blog. I quickly learned that this wasn't a class I could take lightly; if I don't read the text I can't really interact in class or know what to write about for the blog. Not ot mention, if I don't read the text (which happened once before) I am guilted by the mini quizzes we end up taking in class!
One of the ideas discussed about reading in class was to re-read the text in order to come to a better understanding of its theme and meaning. As much as I don't like to re-read texts, especially when they are long, I have come to find that it is extremely effective. Usually at first glance I read over a poem and don't understand it; instead of wanting to figure it out, I would rather simply put it away and forget about it. But if you can get me to read it a second time and I begin to comprehend the message, I quickly become interested and want to decipher its meaning! I think blogging helps to put that on paper and gets me to write my thoughts down, making them more concrete. I would liek to re-ignite my excitement for blogging by engaging my thoughts more into the texts. When I first started blogging, I really liked being able to write down my thoughts and feel like I was being heard. Lately I have been taking it less seriously, and as a result haven't enjoyed them as much. But I want to change that; I want to be more negaged in the text to have a deeper blog posts that will ultimately being an enjoyable experience to myself and hopefully others.
One of the instructions for blogging is to engage the text in our blog. This relates to our class time because we are constantly referring back to the text during class and therefore are required to do the same for our blog. I quickly learned that this wasn't a class I could take lightly; if I don't read the text I can't really interact in class or know what to write about for the blog. Not ot mention, if I don't read the text (which happened once before) I am guilted by the mini quizzes we end up taking in class!
One of the ideas discussed about reading in class was to re-read the text in order to come to a better understanding of its theme and meaning. As much as I don't like to re-read texts, especially when they are long, I have come to find that it is extremely effective. Usually at first glance I read over a poem and don't understand it; instead of wanting to figure it out, I would rather simply put it away and forget about it. But if you can get me to read it a second time and I begin to comprehend the message, I quickly become interested and want to decipher its meaning! I think blogging helps to put that on paper and gets me to write my thoughts down, making them more concrete. I would liek to re-ignite my excitement for blogging by engaging my thoughts more into the texts. When I first started blogging, I really liked being able to write down my thoughts and feel like I was being heard. Lately I have been taking it less seriously, and as a result haven't enjoyed them as much. But I want to change that; I want to be more negaged in the text to have a deeper blog posts that will ultimately being an enjoyable experience to myself and hopefully others.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Cemetery Journey
"I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes."
I really enjoyed going to the cemeteries; I know that sounds weird, but there is really sort of a peace in places like that. No matter who you are, you can't help but respect the dead when you are in the presence of their tomb stones. Before venturing out to wander the grounds, I re-read Whitman's poem. One part of it really stuck out to me that I wanted to focus on during my time there:
O what shall I hang on the chamber walls?
And what shall the pictures be that I hang on the walls,
To adorn the burial-house of him I love?
What I believe Whitman is talking about here is he is asking himself who Abe Lincoln was to him. What would he want to display for the world to see that would say something profound about the life of his dear friend? As I walked about the grounds, there were different things written on the stones...."Infant son," "World War II SGT," "Methodist Minister." What would be said about me? This inspires me to really do something in my life. I want to love people in such a way that they will remember that most when I leave this world.
I spoke with one of my classmates today and he mentioned how Professor Corrigan always talks about death. We started discussing why this might be, and something occured to me. Whether this is his intention or not, he has caused me to really examine my life as we are continually discussing death. Death is becoming more real to me, and as a collateral life is becoming more real as well. As surely as I am moving and breathing now, I will also cease to live one day. There is so much significance in that statement. Our lives are but a vapor, but such an important vapor; that vapor determines our eternity. What am I going to do with the short time that is given to me?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Lilacs by Whitman
This poem was really hard for me to understand; I can't tell what kind of mood Whitman is in while he is writing this. I know the poem is about death, but his words are so beautiful that it is hard for me to see a dreary mood. But it also is hard for me to understand exactly what the words are saying! I think it is sad how we are not really accustomed to this kind of writing anymore. It really is beautiful and I wish I could comprehend it as easily as I can modern writing.
To try and understand it better, I read the blogs from my group to see what they had to say ;) A couple of them talked a lot about adding goodness to our lives to help with the bad; the goodness being lilacs. I do this pretty much all the time to buffer the negatives of my day; for instance, I ate a few pieces of chocolate at work today just to feel better after a long day :) But on a more serious note, how much more should I be relying on God to buffer the evil of the world? I am tempted to say that I wish God could simply eliminate the evil in the world, but I know there is evil for a reason. God didn't create it, no. Evil entered the world by our free will. But God, in His good grace, is able to manipulate (for lack of a better word) this evil that we produce and make it to work with His plans. "For we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." This doesn't mean things are always going to look good, but that's where faith comes in that God is the one who knows what He is doing!
To try and understand it better, I read the blogs from my group to see what they had to say ;) A couple of them talked a lot about adding goodness to our lives to help with the bad; the goodness being lilacs. I do this pretty much all the time to buffer the negatives of my day; for instance, I ate a few pieces of chocolate at work today just to feel better after a long day :) But on a more serious note, how much more should I be relying on God to buffer the evil of the world? I am tempted to say that I wish God could simply eliminate the evil in the world, but I know there is evil for a reason. God didn't create it, no. Evil entered the world by our free will. But God, in His good grace, is able to manipulate (for lack of a better word) this evil that we produce and make it to work with His plans. "For we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." This doesn't mean things are always going to look good, but that's where faith comes in that God is the one who knows what He is doing!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Onions..Nasty!
As I walked into class on Friday, I couldn't believe the bitter sweet aroma of onion filling my nose while I found my seat. Little did I know we would be reading a poem about onions in just a few minutes!
I liked the procedure we went through in order to read the poem. Reading it several times definitely helped to spark my interest, because to be honest if I had just read that poem only one time I would have put it down and never given it a second thought. About half way through the class we began to discuss what this poem was talking about. Some of us thought it was simply about an onion, while others thought it may be talking about something more.
The more I read it, the more I was convinced it had to be about more than onions, because of the fact that some of the lines didn't seem to make sense if she was merely talking about onions. As much as I believe this poem is about something else, I couldn't tell you what she was talking about haha. Of course, I don't think our class ever reached a sure conclusion as to the meaning of this poem either. Maybe it's one of those poems that aren't meant to have a definate meaning, but are to be left up to the interpretation of the reader. Then again, the paper we read about poem reading says that it is a fallacy of readers, to believe a poem is left to interpretation.
The more I read the poem, I could picture it talking about slavery. The way she was referring to the onion as something that is unoticed but contributes so much to the big picture. Another student thought she was talking about the author herself, and how she felt people thought of her. I guess we will never know!
I liked the procedure we went through in order to read the poem. Reading it several times definitely helped to spark my interest, because to be honest if I had just read that poem only one time I would have put it down and never given it a second thought. About half way through the class we began to discuss what this poem was talking about. Some of us thought it was simply about an onion, while others thought it may be talking about something more.
The more I read it, the more I was convinced it had to be about more than onions, because of the fact that some of the lines didn't seem to make sense if she was merely talking about onions. As much as I believe this poem is about something else, I couldn't tell you what she was talking about haha. Of course, I don't think our class ever reached a sure conclusion as to the meaning of this poem either. Maybe it's one of those poems that aren't meant to have a definate meaning, but are to be left up to the interpretation of the reader. Then again, the paper we read about poem reading says that it is a fallacy of readers, to believe a poem is left to interpretation.
The more I read the poem, I could picture it talking about slavery. The way she was referring to the onion as something that is unoticed but contributes so much to the big picture. Another student thought she was talking about the author herself, and how she felt people thought of her. I guess we will never know!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Book of Joel
The first part of Joel sounded a lot like the Book of Isaiah, as God's message described destruction, wrath, and turning back to God. Some of it is really disheartening to read because it makes God sound like and rage-filled Creator. But listen to this verse:
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
That was taken out of the book of Joel, the same book that is talking of the devastating locusts and what not. I think what people fail to see sometimes, is the love of God in the midst of his repremending.
When I was 16 or 17 (I dont remember) I hit a cyclist with my car, and fled the scene. When I returned ten minutes later, the injured man's bike was all that was left. My heart sank as I imagined all the different things that could have happened to him. But instead of repenting and turning myself in, I drove to church (it was a Wednesday night) and acted like nothing happened. I got a call that night from the police department and was asked to meet up with an officer at the scene of the crime. Long story short, I had a court date in a few weeks facing criminal charges.
I knew what I did was very wrong, and couldn't believe I did what I did, even under the state of panic I was in. It was at that point, after the punishment, that I repented. I cried to God for forgiveness, while I felt as tiny as a grain of sand. The man was ok; his ankle was injured which resulted in him ending his tennis career. And his $4,500 cycling bike was totaled. But he was alive. At that point, his life was all that mattered to me. And for all I cared, I deserved every charge I was going to face in court.
God saw my heart; he knew I was deathly sorry. He surprised me in court when I showed up and the state representative forgot my file in his office. Therefore the judge charged me with one non-moving violation. What a break! Praise the Lord.
I don't often share this story, only when I feel led to do so. We all screw up, some worse than others. God has the choice to decide how He is going to deal with us. But no matter what the punishment...He is loving us through the entire process. In fact, it is out of His love that He is punishing us. If you think about it, without Christ, our punishment would be a hell of a lot worse (pun intended).
Reading Joel just sort of brought all of that to mind. And what is awesome is that there is always hope. The silver lining on the clouds will come into view at the right time. I want to close with another verse from Joel. God bless!
It will come about after this
That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
That was taken out of the book of Joel, the same book that is talking of the devastating locusts and what not. I think what people fail to see sometimes, is the love of God in the midst of his repremending.
When I was 16 or 17 (I dont remember) I hit a cyclist with my car, and fled the scene. When I returned ten minutes later, the injured man's bike was all that was left. My heart sank as I imagined all the different things that could have happened to him. But instead of repenting and turning myself in, I drove to church (it was a Wednesday night) and acted like nothing happened. I got a call that night from the police department and was asked to meet up with an officer at the scene of the crime. Long story short, I had a court date in a few weeks facing criminal charges.
I knew what I did was very wrong, and couldn't believe I did what I did, even under the state of panic I was in. It was at that point, after the punishment, that I repented. I cried to God for forgiveness, while I felt as tiny as a grain of sand. The man was ok; his ankle was injured which resulted in him ending his tennis career. And his $4,500 cycling bike was totaled. But he was alive. At that point, his life was all that mattered to me. And for all I cared, I deserved every charge I was going to face in court.
God saw my heart; he knew I was deathly sorry. He surprised me in court when I showed up and the state representative forgot my file in his office. Therefore the judge charged me with one non-moving violation. What a break! Praise the Lord.
I don't often share this story, only when I feel led to do so. We all screw up, some worse than others. God has the choice to decide how He is going to deal with us. But no matter what the punishment...He is loving us through the entire process. In fact, it is out of His love that He is punishing us. If you think about it, without Christ, our punishment would be a hell of a lot worse (pun intended).
Reading Joel just sort of brought all of that to mind. And what is awesome is that there is always hope. The silver lining on the clouds will come into view at the right time. I want to close with another verse from Joel. God bless!
It will come about after this
That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What's the Theme?
What bizarre stories!
I can’t believe how the author changed some of these versions. In a way it was humorous just because it was more realistic. The way the nursery rhymes changed made me think of how drastically our culture changes too. Think of what it was like fifty years ago in America. Yea we still had prostitution, drugs, and the sort, but it was still somehow so much different. If it wasn’t different then our baby boomers wouldn’t be so upset about how our generation has turned out.
And just as these stories had different themes, so do our lives have different themes. I have been doing a lot of soul searching this week, so much so that it’s hard to even concentrate on writing this blog. I feel like God is really moving on this campus, stirring our hearts for something huge. And it’s making me think…what is the theme of my life? What am I living for? If my life were to be summarized, what would that synopsis say about my theme? When I became a Christian seven years ago, my story reached its climax. And since then my theme has changed a lot, starting with my growth in God, then moving on to winning souls for Christ, then to healing and restoration. But what is it now? I feel like while I am here at SEU my theme is preparation. My life is so focused on school at times that it drives me crazy, but then I try to remind myself that it will all be worth it in the end. I guess that is a good theme for now!
In class we discussed the possibility of there being many themes in one story. Maybe that is what is going on in all of our lives. What’s the theme of your story?
I can’t believe how the author changed some of these versions. In a way it was humorous just because it was more realistic. The way the nursery rhymes changed made me think of how drastically our culture changes too. Think of what it was like fifty years ago in America. Yea we still had prostitution, drugs, and the sort, but it was still somehow so much different. If it wasn’t different then our baby boomers wouldn’t be so upset about how our generation has turned out.
And just as these stories had different themes, so do our lives have different themes. I have been doing a lot of soul searching this week, so much so that it’s hard to even concentrate on writing this blog. I feel like God is really moving on this campus, stirring our hearts for something huge. And it’s making me think…what is the theme of my life? What am I living for? If my life were to be summarized, what would that synopsis say about my theme? When I became a Christian seven years ago, my story reached its climax. And since then my theme has changed a lot, starting with my growth in God, then moving on to winning souls for Christ, then to healing and restoration. But what is it now? I feel like while I am here at SEU my theme is preparation. My life is so focused on school at times that it drives me crazy, but then I try to remind myself that it will all be worth it in the end. I guess that is a good theme for now!
In class we discussed the possibility of there being many themes in one story. Maybe that is what is going on in all of our lives. What’s the theme of your story?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
My super weird dream, and "The things they carried"
I had an extremely weird dream last night that must have been inspired by C.S. Lewis...
My roommate and I were just chillin one night in our dorm room, which was like ten stories high, and I had my dog with me. Her name is Dingo; she is a black and brown chihuahua and one of my favorite puppies in the whole world. I have actually missed her a bunch since I came back to Southeastern (which is probably why she was in my dream). The weird part of my dream was that I stood near an open window and strangled my dog with my own hands. I felt nothing while I was strangling her, until I felt her last breath and her body slowly melting into my grip. Then the biggest sorrow came over me and I said to myself...Did I just do that only to see how it would feel to lose someone I loved?
I told you my dream was weird, but it makes me think of C.S. Lewis and why in the world he would marry a dying woman. That is like providing the gun for your killer. He must have lost his mind for a moment, much like I did in my dream while I was killing my dog!
I feel like "The Things They Carried" was pretty strange, but was reality at the same time. I found the story a little hard to follow; not as far as following the transitions in the story, but just with keeping up with each of the men's lives. I knew the author was writing the things they carried for a reason, so I would try to keep up with the different men and their possessions only to find myself frustrated. I don't have much to say about this story; maybe I just missed the point of it but it didn't seem to catch my attention. Hopefully the class discussion will spark my interest!
My roommate and I were just chillin one night in our dorm room, which was like ten stories high, and I had my dog with me. Her name is Dingo; she is a black and brown chihuahua and one of my favorite puppies in the whole world. I have actually missed her a bunch since I came back to Southeastern (which is probably why she was in my dream). The weird part of my dream was that I stood near an open window and strangled my dog with my own hands. I felt nothing while I was strangling her, until I felt her last breath and her body slowly melting into my grip. Then the biggest sorrow came over me and I said to myself...Did I just do that only to see how it would feel to lose someone I loved?
I told you my dream was weird, but it makes me think of C.S. Lewis and why in the world he would marry a dying woman. That is like providing the gun for your killer. He must have lost his mind for a moment, much like I did in my dream while I was killing my dog!
I feel like "The Things They Carried" was pretty strange, but was reality at the same time. I found the story a little hard to follow; not as far as following the transitions in the story, but just with keeping up with each of the men's lives. I knew the author was writing the things they carried for a reason, so I would try to keep up with the different men and their possessions only to find myself frustrated. I don't have much to say about this story; maybe I just missed the point of it but it didn't seem to catch my attention. Hopefully the class discussion will spark my interest!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
