Please Do Not Move this Lectern

I put that title because the word "Lectern" is a cousin of the word "literacy." I think in our statement we should say something about religion in many cultures being one of the founding motivations to create literature and promote literacy.

For the thing about second language students, I would show them that in English churches, it is still customary to see older languages of religion, like Hebrew, Latin and Greek, because they are rooted in cultural and religious meaning and tradition, versus in English banks or English schools. I would show that the Bible, comparatively to other works of English literature, is much easier to read and use in English than is a hymnal, because in a hymnal one must be able to read music and read lyrics simultaneously.

The Pantheon of British Acting

I just saw the sixth Harry Potter movie--it was great and it reminded me of an idea forming as I watched countless BBC period pieces and other fun stuff from across the pond. A lot of the adult actors in HP can be seen in Shakespeare and Austen remakes. So here is my "pantheon" of British Acting, as compared to the pantheon of Greek and Roman deities.

Also a short code of stuff I've seen them in:

S- Shakespeare movies
HP- Harry Potter movies
BBC - Other BBC stuff
A-Jane Austen movies
C-Contemporary (Love Actually, Bridget Jones etc)

Hades/Pluto is Alan Rickman (A, C, BBC, HP)



One of my favorite British actors! We all know him as Snape from the Harry Potter movies, of course, but what else is there to this lion-voiced prince of the morally ambiguous and mysterious? He was in the Barchester Chronicles, a BBC old-as-dinosaurs miniseries about clergyman who argue about choirboys and somehow manages to be interesting as the slimy and power hungry Obadiah Slope(Slope? Snape? resemblance?). From Austen, he is in Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility" where he plays the seasoned and mature Colonel Brandon opposite Kate Winslet, who plays what we today would call jailbait. And in the contemporary scene, he is Emma Thompson's wandering husband, the opposite of Snape in a way--he is not outwardly creepy but manages to succumb to weakness in the end. But despite this, he is the king of darkness in my pantheon, like Hades, king of the Underworld.



Apollo is Kenneth Brannagh (S, HP, A)



I'm sure he's in more stuff and I'm forgetting. Branagh is famous for his epic "Hamlet" and other Shakespeare things, my favorites being "Othello" and "Much Ado About Nothing." Branagh has shining golden hair and a very bright expression, so it's no wonder he's Apollo, as well as Gilderoy Lockheart, the beautiful and narcissistic pseudohero in the HP movies.



Minerva/Athena is Emma Thompson (A, S, HP, C)



Emma Thompson is the queen of wit and ubiquity. She directs and acts. I've noticed that a lot of her characters, especially ones that are central, are very sharp and composed women. Consider Beatrice, of "Much Ado About Nothing," Elinor of "Sense and Sensibility," and the wronged wife in "Love Actually" (the exception being the loony Professor Trelawney in HP). I would peg her as a sort of British Tina Fey. Emma Thompson's witty writing, directing and acting earn her the spot as Athena.


Artmeis/Diana is Keira Knightley (A, C)



Keira Knightley is my Diana because she is the huntress, the simultaneous sex symbol and Amazon. More known in American cinema, she's Elizabeth Swann, the lady-turned-pirate in Pirates of the Carribean, as well as a small army of badasses including a soccer player (Bend it Like Beckham), an archer (Princess of Thieves), and a militant queen (King Arthur). I think she would have made a cool Death Eater, but her condition of being very pretty and as thin as a stick sort of conflicts with J.K. Rowling's writing, as she didn't write about any pretty girls as thin as a stick.


Hermes/Mercury is Hugh Grant (A, C)



My Hermes is Hugh Grant because of his usual boyish cuteness and sneakiness. Another actor more familiar to American audiences, he is often the romantic hero, winning love through wit and deceit as much as good looks. In Bridget Jones, he is the neo-Pride and Prejudice Wickham, tricking Bridget into bed while also fooling around with other ladies (or transvestites). He's also the unseeming villain in "Sense and Sensibility" who breaks Kate Winslet's heart for cashing in through marriage to another girl. He deviates from evil but not from cuteness in "Love Actually" as the Prime Minister who saves his secretary's honor and wins her heart.


Aphrodite/Venus is Catherine Zeta Jones



CZJ (confirmed by IMDB) is not in anything Shakespeare, Austen, BBC, or HP, but she is the highest paid British actress in the world and a familiar (and beautiful) face to American audiences. She is in those terrible cellphone commercials that are an overstated testament more of her hotness than of anything great about phone service. She is in the Zorro movies and a lot of stuff with George Clooney. Famous perhaps more for her appearance than her art, CZJ is Aphrodite.


I think that's all for now. There's some others I would include but maybe more later.

Awesome world animation Part 2

4. La Maison en Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato

Profoundly beautiful Oscar winner.

Animation: Japan





5. Geri's Game

Genius Pixar animation, another Oscar winner.

Animation: USA



6. Okatpodi

Cuteness and creativity - octopi in love!

Animation: France

Awesome world animation - Part 1

Part 1 of a series on my favorite short animations from different parts of the world.

1. "Good Morning" - Kanye West

A music video! It follows the journey of a little bear trying to get to his graduation despite numerous transportation obstacles. Good music and great animation.

Animation: Japan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIiTmmMqNso

2. Kiwi! -Madeyeti47

Warning--tear-jerker. Are dreams worth everything?

Animation: USA (NY)



3. Hoy te Amo - Vinnie Veritas

Vinnie Veritas does lots of cool stuff, but I like this one for its simplicity and unity.

Animation: Veracruz, Mexico



4. There She Is - SamBakZa

Love forbidden by politics and custom - the eternal struggle, as told with rabbits and cats.
A 5 part series.

Animation: Korea

Mar 23 ML Ch 42

Again, this chapter of our book describes the plight of youth is their unenlightened naivete. It is the power struggle of knowledge. "Knowledge is power" is a major theme of the book. None of the chapters I read has an author who suggested that he or she might be shy of having adequate knowlege but make many assertions that others, particularly young people, do not have it. The metaphor of being "armed with information" is used.

Knowledge is violence in the university. To know something is to use it in intellectual battle. To win is to gain followers, allegiance and credibility. To claim to others that they need to know something that you already know and can teach is to attempt conquest. Imperialism is not dead or discouraged. It is the practice of the Western university to colonize--not the body, land or property but the mind.

A professor gains status by making new or better discoveries or originalities. He or she is in competition with peers by being more enlightened--the greater the gap, the more the distinction. To portray others as naive or stupid is to the credit of the speaker to create the distinction. Thus the argument and the spirit of debate is born--a battle for superiority based upon persuasion and knowledge.

Teachers make students soldiers in this battle. They are taught the essay, to compete for grades, money, position. Those who adopt the teachers' ways of thinking do better. It empowers the teacher with followers and the students with accolades.

I think this has to do with suicide because this battle contributes a student's feeling of isolation and sense of meaninglessness. If the academic world is treated like a capitalist construction, education can be viewed as capital or a commodity rather than a discipline or expression. This is the teacher's role and the truest, most beneficial form of critical thinking--what can be done that is best rather than better.

Mar 9 ML 34, 35

Girls and media. This is a good topic if overdone. After all--is anyone more interesting to the modern human imagination than the young female?

Instead of TV, I'll talk about music and the evolution of girl power in the media that can be accurately traced through the career of one particular female: Britney Spears.

According to her Wikipedia entry, Britney Spears released her first single in 1999 when she was 17 years old, "Baby One More Time." Here is the link:

[embedding disabled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsniYwSaWg]

In the video, you can see she is portrayed innocently as a pretty school girl. Her sexuality is mostly hinted at through showing her midriff. The lyrics of the song are about "loneliness" and "still believing"--basically, about lost love. The video is characterized by strong vocals, highly energetic but not suggestive dancing, and above all, coyness--at the end, the video is shown mostly as a daydream.

Following this single there was "Oops...I Did it Again" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unBACOHFXes]. The music video for this song is supposed to take place on Mars in which an astronaut describes her as "cute." She wears a skin-tight suit and is more suggestive than "Baby one More time." This song also establishes a pattern of the girl's manipulation of male affection for attention. Although the video is again coy, the last line of the song goes "I'm not that innocent."

In 2001, she released "Slave 4 U" and in 2002 "I'm Not a Girl, not yet a Woman." Both seek to emphasize her innocent youthfulness anxious to break into adulthood--in the former, sexually, in the latter, emotionally. She echoes teen girls' yearning to be seen as adult while at the same time personifying their naivete about sexuality and maturity. Both give the sense that Britney is singing against control and oppression. In both videos, she is wearing little clothing on her torso, and in the "Slave 4 U," sexuality is highly suggested.

In 2004, her top release was "Toxic"--one of her first songs that seems to completely drop innocence as a theme. Rather than strong, belting vocals, Britney adopts a breathy, autotuned voice. In the video, she portrays an airline attendant in business class. Her dress is a highly festishized uniform. She seduces one of the passengers, a paunchy middle-aged male, in the airplane's lavatory--suggesting the video targets male fantasy. In segments of the video, she wears a sparkly nude leotard, hinting at total nudity.

In 2007, "Gimme More" was a top hit. The lyrics, like in "Toxic," aren't particularly romantic, but are about seduction. In the video for "Gimme More," Britney pole dances, dances against a mirror, and appears to be trying to seduce another version of herself who watches the dance. "Gimme More" also is the first major hit to do away with coyness--the song is about sex and sexual dancing.

In 2009, Spears released "If U Seek Amy." If U Seek Amy is poorly disguised code for "F-U-C-K me," and in case it was not understood the first time, the video includes two segments of a newswoman strongly hinting at the code. The video begins with Britney at the end of what appears to be some sort of scandalous gathering--the people are putting their clothes on and several are passed out on the floor. Britney sings about an "Amy" who makes no appearance, but the refrain sings "all of the boys, all of the girls want to F-U-C-K me." The second part of the video she unusually dons modest clothing and a short blond wig. She comes out of the house with a pie, two cute sons and a husband while meeting a crowd of paparazzi. The video suggests that picture-perfect celebrities lead a double life, doing things less publicly favorable in private.

Britney Spears' progression from innocent, heartbroken teenager to jaded, confident, casually sexual adult chronicles the sexual and emotional maturation of a contemporary young female, tracking first loves and first sexual experiences in high school. From the usual failure of these relationships, girls draw strength from their sexuality and use their sexual appeal to gain attention and power. As the girl ages, there is growing gap between sex and emotion and a closer relationship between sex and power.

O Saya vs. Jai Ho -- Slumdog Millionaire Music Remix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT0Q-B_FUHY

The embedding was disabled :(