Two tasks and constant interruption
I have two important tasks I need to finish by Friday. Both require solitude and uninterrupted time to complete. It's been the kind of day in which setbacks and trivial interruptions kept me from even starting on either. When I eventually got the privacy and time, it was dinner time. After I ate, the low-level frustration that had been building all day got to me, and I mentally checked out. It felt like I was throwing a tantrum.
Once I was home, I watched two interviews with David Foster Wallace and felt better. Contrary to the popular image of Wallace as an arrogant sexist, the interviews showed Wallace to be humble but brilliant. No, not humble, insecure. He was apologetic about his ideas and in one poignant moment, his face fell when an interviewer said he was more brilliant than her. It was as if his brilliant ideas seemed ordinary to himself - he would say rather routinely: "I know this is simplistic but..." I speculate that he wanted to be appreciated for his talent but not distinguished as a genius. Somehow, Foster's compelling content and his sad-brilliant personality made me feel...un-alone while being intellectually stimulated.
This may be the year I cave and read Wallace's mammoth _Infinite Jest_.
I also watched a couple clips of the Dr. Phil show. They dealt with a 20-year-old woman who as a child had been saved by her father from a fiery death: against his own self-preservation and upon realizing that his daughter still remained in the rapidly engulfing house, he ran back and snatched her burning body and ran to the window to hand the child to a fireman. He then made his way out too. An undisclosed entity is forced to give the girl a 5.1 million dollar settlement, which is to be distributed in installments of varying amounts up until her 45th birthday.
This is all to say that the father and mother had been guilt-parenting their daughter, and the father felt tremendous guilt because he overheard a - in my opinion - rather foolish fireman say that had the father gotten to the daughter 30 seconds earlier, much of the near-fatal repercussions would have been avoided. The daughter said that her father was her hero because he saved her life and the man got a shy yet pleased smile on his face. I said to my phone screen, "Guilt? What are you talking about, bro? You are the epitome of a real man." And though the young woman was spoiled and was quickly spending her money on trivial things, I was surprised to find her so poised and good-natured, even mature, when speaking to Dr. Phil. She was looking confidently into his eyes and nodding attentively and verbally affirming him. The heroic father and the bratty young woman who is, incredibly, self-possessed and convivial made me feel better. I'm not quite sure why but it likely has to do with seeing goodness and love in the world, which lights up hope.
One thing that Wallace said strikes a chord on a personal level. He was asked what he would do with an impending sabbatical from teaching. He said that he would probably write for an hour each day, then worry about not writing the rest of the time. I immediately understood what he meant: at the end of the day, I feel uncomfortable and disappointed if I didn't write or at least do some intellectual work that is personally satisfying but also necessary for professional reasons. I'm realizing that without clear goals and a daily plan, that I will not get the work of writing done. I'm going to also need to keep a daily schedule that attends to the practical everyday stuff - cleaning, email, paying bills, etcetera - to create the time for reading and writing. My lack of discipline is stiffling my progress as a writer.
Earlier, as I waited for my Uber driver to arrive to take me home, I noticed that on his Uber profile he had listed his vocation as "Writer". I would like to someday legitimately lay claim to that designation, to express my vocation proudly. God willing, I will become a committed writer.
PS:
As a way to prep for starting the two tasks tomorrow, I will outline them here. No need to read past here, my dear reader, unless you want to.
1. Research Talk:
Title: [Revolution and Irish Quakerism in the Annals of Ballitor)
A. Breaking Bad avert, Cranston reading Ozymandias. Go over poem and its connection to book of Daniel (ephemerality of worldly power), one of several influences. "On a broad scale, today I will speak to you about how my work is part of a movement that is recovering the centrality of religion in Romanticism. I will then discuss Irish Quaker writing and its depictions of the violence of the 1798 Rebellion and how Quakerism manages to cope with said violence."
B. But what is Romanticism? It sounds like it would have to do with romance or love. But in fact...(go over popular and scholarly iterations).
C. secularism and religion in Romanticism
D. Annals of Ballitor
1. Quakers in Ireland
2. Life in Ballitore
3. Dress, beliefs
4. M Leadbeter m: Quaker writing and revisions to genre of Annals
5. 1798
6. Select three or four quotes and explicate. Find interesting ones.
7. Conclude with a powerful passage.
Misc: work in interdenominational sympathy as main part of research; decide on pp images and text.
II. Teaching Demo
A. Dickinson poem on death.
1. Show clip of ahistorical TV show about the poet, by way of giving brief bio and then purposes of the lesson.
2. Ask how many like reading poetry? Favorites? How do you read poetry?
3. Invite to consider that poems'meanings build cummaletively(so?), In putting lines, sounds, stanzas together. We can have multiple readings - theological, political, cultural commentary - but must be grounded in the text. Also discuss the issue of liking and not liking, how emotional responsiveness should go hand in hand with grasp of meter, form, content.
4.one way to grasp the concept and form of the poem, looking at the interesting use of the dash.
5. (design group work).
Once I was home, I watched two interviews with David Foster Wallace and felt better. Contrary to the popular image of Wallace as an arrogant sexist, the interviews showed Wallace to be humble but brilliant. No, not humble, insecure. He was apologetic about his ideas and in one poignant moment, his face fell when an interviewer said he was more brilliant than her. It was as if his brilliant ideas seemed ordinary to himself - he would say rather routinely: "I know this is simplistic but..." I speculate that he wanted to be appreciated for his talent but not distinguished as a genius. Somehow, Foster's compelling content and his sad-brilliant personality made me feel...un-alone while being intellectually stimulated.
This may be the year I cave and read Wallace's mammoth _Infinite Jest_.
I also watched a couple clips of the Dr. Phil show. They dealt with a 20-year-old woman who as a child had been saved by her father from a fiery death: against his own self-preservation and upon realizing that his daughter still remained in the rapidly engulfing house, he ran back and snatched her burning body and ran to the window to hand the child to a fireman. He then made his way out too. An undisclosed entity is forced to give the girl a 5.1 million dollar settlement, which is to be distributed in installments of varying amounts up until her 45th birthday.
This is all to say that the father and mother had been guilt-parenting their daughter, and the father felt tremendous guilt because he overheard a - in my opinion - rather foolish fireman say that had the father gotten to the daughter 30 seconds earlier, much of the near-fatal repercussions would have been avoided. The daughter said that her father was her hero because he saved her life and the man got a shy yet pleased smile on his face. I said to my phone screen, "Guilt? What are you talking about, bro? You are the epitome of a real man." And though the young woman was spoiled and was quickly spending her money on trivial things, I was surprised to find her so poised and good-natured, even mature, when speaking to Dr. Phil. She was looking confidently into his eyes and nodding attentively and verbally affirming him. The heroic father and the bratty young woman who is, incredibly, self-possessed and convivial made me feel better. I'm not quite sure why but it likely has to do with seeing goodness and love in the world, which lights up hope.
One thing that Wallace said strikes a chord on a personal level. He was asked what he would do with an impending sabbatical from teaching. He said that he would probably write for an hour each day, then worry about not writing the rest of the time. I immediately understood what he meant: at the end of the day, I feel uncomfortable and disappointed if I didn't write or at least do some intellectual work that is personally satisfying but also necessary for professional reasons. I'm realizing that without clear goals and a daily plan, that I will not get the work of writing done. I'm going to also need to keep a daily schedule that attends to the practical everyday stuff - cleaning, email, paying bills, etcetera - to create the time for reading and writing. My lack of discipline is stiffling my progress as a writer.
Earlier, as I waited for my Uber driver to arrive to take me home, I noticed that on his Uber profile he had listed his vocation as "Writer". I would like to someday legitimately lay claim to that designation, to express my vocation proudly. God willing, I will become a committed writer.
PS:
As a way to prep for starting the two tasks tomorrow, I will outline them here. No need to read past here, my dear reader, unless you want to.
1. Research Talk:
Title: [Revolution and Irish Quakerism in the Annals of Ballitor)
A. Breaking Bad avert, Cranston reading Ozymandias. Go over poem and its connection to book of Daniel (ephemerality of worldly power), one of several influences. "On a broad scale, today I will speak to you about how my work is part of a movement that is recovering the centrality of religion in Romanticism. I will then discuss Irish Quaker writing and its depictions of the violence of the 1798 Rebellion and how Quakerism manages to cope with said violence."
B. But what is Romanticism? It sounds like it would have to do with romance or love. But in fact...(go over popular and scholarly iterations).
C. secularism and religion in Romanticism
D. Annals of Ballitor
1. Quakers in Ireland
2. Life in Ballitore
3. Dress, beliefs
4. M Leadbeter m: Quaker writing and revisions to genre of Annals
5. 1798
6. Select three or four quotes and explicate. Find interesting ones.
7. Conclude with a powerful passage.
Misc: work in interdenominational sympathy as main part of research; decide on pp images and text.
II. Teaching Demo
A. Dickinson poem on death.
1. Show clip of ahistorical TV show about the poet, by way of giving brief bio and then purposes of the lesson.
2. Ask how many like reading poetry? Favorites? How do you read poetry?
3. Invite to consider that poems'meanings build cummaletively(so?), In putting lines, sounds, stanzas together. We can have multiple readings - theological, political, cultural commentary - but must be grounded in the text. Also discuss the issue of liking and not liking, how emotional responsiveness should go hand in hand with grasp of meter, form, content.
4.one way to grasp the concept and form of the poem, looking at the interesting use of the dash.
5. (design group work).