TOW 10 - Drunk Text Message to God (George Watsky)

I could spend this whole post discussing George Watsky’s creativity, his humor, his tone; there’s so much in his poem upon which I could comment. I’ve listened to a lot of Watsky’s spoken word poems, but I’d never thought of analyzing his work. I’d never drawn a profound meaning from the poem, “Drunk Text Message to God.” I listened to it three times; I read the written poem; and I feel so stupid for not recognizing its depth before now. Watsky didn’t win competitions like Brave New Voices or Def Poetry for being funny; he wasn’t invited to speak at over 150 universities for being entertaining. Reading his poem a final time made me realize that Watsky is trying to convey that your morals should be focused on you and making your world better, not necessarily the values set by an institution. “Drunk Text Message to God” is filled with religious and cultural allusions that force his audience to draw connections between modern ideas and people to religious ideology. Watsky points out the offensive nature of some holy ideas and contrasts them with the idea that in his church you’d get “seventeen virgins in a room to yourself where you go and play star fox together.” Instead of “bloody crusades to the march of drum cores,” referencing the Holy Crusades of the thirteenth century, Watsky is “starting a church that gets pissed off and starts thumb wars.” The juxtaposition presented by these allusions depicts previous decisions made by religious institutions as ludicrous. Instead of idolizing these men, men who have made decisions Watsky portrays as irrational, as the new church “you eat John Stewart & Steven Colbert shaped potato chips and watch Chappelle show.” Playing on the cultural memory of these comedians, famous for their starkly shared opinions, Watsky urges his audience to portray these men as role models: Stewart & Colbert are unafraid to stand up for what they believe is right, even if they are criticized for it. Watsky acknowledges that this criticism is normal; the idea that you will be disliked is scary, this “church makes you scared.” Watsky refers back to the original metaphor of “the weight of the world is the weight of my sheets.” Ending with a full circle, also my favorite section of the poem: “You’re lying in bed at night… and the covers are like a tsunami of fear. Thinking about how you’re getting older faster than your dreams are getting accomplished… Don’t fall asleep yet. Contrary to popular belief that’s not where dreams get accomplished.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Watsky)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uOhD67028I

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49215226/Drunk-Text-Message-to-God-Lyrics

TOW 9 - A Cure for the Allergy Epidemic? (Moises Velasquez-Manoff)

My father has always said “If you’re allergic to dogs, then we’ll get you a dog,” so when I saw an opinion page about a cure for allergies I was immediately curious. Moises Velasquez-Manoff’s article coincidentally supports the theory of my father with numerous studies and extensive research. Velasquez-Manoff adds to his own credibility by citing his research with professional allergists and then explaining they found after recently venturing into the Amish country in Indiana. Their interviews and reports found that those exposed to microbes from the farms at a younger age were less sensitive to allergies compared to those in urban areas. These facts not only add to Velasquez-Manoff’s reliability as a source, but also his finding’s credibility. I was not quick to believe my father when he said the same thing, but after hearing that there were scientific studies conducted, and that it’s not just a theory, I do not doubt it. Velasquez-Manoff applies this research to explain the dangers of urbanization and evolution. As the human race has become more evolved, we have moved from the local farm into “an apartment high above Manhattan.”  Velasquez-Manoff appeals to his audience’s emotional side by detaching the human race from their humble roots. An apartment in Manhattan, one of the most expensive cities to live in throughout America, creates the idea that people have become superficial and stuck-up; alone this would be just as depressing, but Velasquez-Manoff then says that this is one of the reasons why we are more sensitive to sickness. Anyone can feel deflated by this statement, not only the educated in Velasquez-Manoff’s audience who understand the science of it. Though Velasquez-Manoff specifies this idea to just “immunologically speaking,” the audience can infer deeper. Anyone who has ever felt detached from their roots can understand the depth of this statement. Their connection to the past is what makes “the farming Amish and farmers generally may more closely resemble an evolutionary norm for our species” immunologically speaking or not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/a-cure-for-the-allergy-epidemic.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1384092835-LrsQGBGRR/1q3C6npJSJoA

IRB Intro Post: MP2

The life of Frida Kahlo can be described in many ways: dramatic, exciting, but most of all, contradictory. In her biography,  Frida Kahlo, Gannit Ankori works to sift through the variety of information on the artist in order to create an appropriate and accurate depiction of her life. Ankori brings to light unknown facts about Kahlo that add appreciation for not only her art, but also her perseverance. Kahlo struggles with determining who she is and her upcoming career, which I find inspiring and even relatable.

TOW 8 - JV is Where the Work Gets Done (Eliot Schrefer)

Being on Junior Varsity is like receiving a gold star when you did badly on a test or a participation trophy even though you lost. Writing a young adult novel is like being on junior varsity. It is common opinion, misconception, that the books are simpler. When in fact they are simply more enjoyable. He approaches the genre as more simplistic, which is logical as that teenagers are commonly thought of as more simplistic. Eliot Schrefer views being on the junior varsity of literature as a compliment. Even before the publication of his book, Shrefer knew that the young adult audience was cruel and picky. Teenagers don’t want the author’s opinion; they want a story, they want to be a priority. After his experience with his young adult book, Schrefer explains “the book’s unrelenting emphasis must be on character and event, and not the brilliance of the author’s viewpoint.” In his editorial, Shrefer reaches out to other authors and asks them to reexamine why they are writing: is it for themselves or for their readers? Appealing to the commonalities between his novel’s audience and his editorial’s, Schrefer highlights the desires of any reader. Schrefer’s emotional appeal is evident in the second paragraph of his essay when he describes himself after his first novel failed: “Betrayed by the world, I locked the door and did what I generally do with bad news: I went online and watched plane crash re-enactments.” A feeling known by his adult, or former adolescent, audience, Schrefer connects to them in a way all too familiar. Schrefer establishes his credibility as a writer, connects with the adult audience, and presents logical facts to persuade the writers in his audience they must write for the right reasons.

Editorial by Eliot Schrefer

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