My presentation was on Don Delillo’s “Videotape”, and I tried to impart some reading as a writer wisdom to the class. My result could use some work. You wouldn’t know it from my 10 minute schpeal, but I was actually captain of the school debate team. Out of practice in front of a totally different kind of audience, I was nervous and ummed way more than is allowable in a presentation. My unease was palpable, and catching myself up meant that I couldn’t impart with confidence what I wanted to say. Listing his influence such as New York and jazz gives the reader some insight into his writing, but I didn’t properly associate his biographical information to his writing, and everything for a writer is relevant. To understand the story it is important to have a grasp of the wider reasoning in his book, which I managed to impart. However, when I cite passages from the book, I don’t make a strong enough break from the text to what I want to say about the text. I’m glad I was able to touch on some of the major literary points in the piece, such as repetition, circularity, and pronoun use, but for the class to really appreciate the concepts I am conveying, my voice needs to carry more strength and directness. Also, I wish I had had a better awareness of time. Overall, I did successfully impart a lot of what I wanted to say, though not all. I think I need to get into practice again.
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Response to Presentation
May 14, 2008stanger study audio
March 11, 2008Mini Narrative (14-2-08)
February 14, 2008Mini Narratives
1) If you think about it, it is quite roomy as place go. I can stand, there are bathrooms that flush and theoretically I can stretch my legs if the need strikes me. The food isn’t bad, it’s in a sense free, but I can’t seem to enjoy the experience. I don’t mind it, a necessary evil. I don’t like to inconvenience other people, so I try to sit on the aisle, where if I have to go to the bathroom I can. The recycled air doesn’t bother me, but for some reason, the altitude makes my normally indelicate tummy uncomfortable if I eat anything. I can’t sleep, it’s not the noise, or the light; it might be the chair, the uneasiness of it all.
2) Occasionally my thoughts turn to my 17 year old brother. Physical descriptions of him as we paraphrase to people come up, it’s how one associates, the broad brushed mental picture; 6 foot 4, always first. Jon has dark hair, deep brown eyes, almost olive skin, a little lighter, does sport and so spends time on his arms, but lets the rest of his body fall as it may depending on how much activity he happens to be doing, his height making him comfortable. Mom, stop commenting on the obvious, he is right there, half smiling in our lopsided grin, silently soaking up the heaped praise, partially embarrassed and resigned to the stacked up fate.
3) Sitting, almost alone on a mountaintop, ish. As a solo hike point of reflection on the peak, I can kinda see the girls in my group on spaced ledges, though they are trying to give as mush reflection space as possible. It isn’t much of a cliffhanger, the ridgeline is pretty long to accommodate all of us, so it still feels a little anticlimactic, no tip of a peak. The view is amazing, I soak the silence, and the panorama is sweeping, miles and kilometers, clear and muddy greensilver mountains. I have to write, *sigh, not that I mind particularly, a little sarcastically, a little not, my poem is titled alone. I’m not sure of my real intent.
4) People are their personality. My world view dimmed a little. It seems so self evident, people are hopelessly complicated and full of capricious decisions and quirks, but, but she is so completely what I can see. This is why the arguments are so frustrating and get nowhere, we can’t change our personality. I give up, it’s not worth losing the friendship over. I don’t really give up, closing the argument in the best way possible for cool down time “Agree to disagree”? Her eyes suddenly seem less deep, less comprehensive than before. Ticks click and whir in her head.
5) ROOOAAAAD trip!! Take me home tonight… I don’t want to let you go til’ I’ve seen the light be my little baaaaaby. Sing SING my angels SING. Guys, important, sunroof or windows? I’m so excited we are finally getting off campus, what a ginormous significant sigh of relief. Pass the coke? You got munchie mix, I knew you are my wifey for something. Turn right 200 meters, I can’t believe you still don’t let us take turns on these long drives when you hate driving. Don’t answer that, we know you, I’m just saying it because it seems like a tradition now, we don’t care ‘I’m just sayin’’. What do you want to do when we get up there? My personal vote is a shower, damn paper, and my propensity to procrastinate, I think it would in everyone’s best interest. RIGHT RIGHT YOU FOOL… HOORAY!!!! Beer. Brilliant. Noice.
