The English Inquisitor

I never though footnotes could be so fun since starting Infinite Jest. Foster Wallace uses them in such an amazing way. They provide clarification and cite resources just like you would expect. But these are no orginary footnotes.

Foster Wallace takes them above and beyond what you could ever imagine they could be used for. Almost like a third plane of existence that every other author has been missing out on utilizing. His footnotes are anecdotes, inside jokes, calirifiers, and short stories. I just finished one footnote that I was expecting to explain why one character lost his legs. Instead, the footnote is a short story for a second character writing a term paper about the organization that the wheelchair bound character belongs to, and therefore, how he looses his legs. And I haven’t even scratched the surface. I am only on #45 out of over 400 footnotes.

Let the journey continue.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. is putting on an all-male version of Romeo and Juliet. The director felt that it brought out new aspects of the play he wasn’t familiar with before. Remember that during Shakespeare’s time, women were not allowed to perform on stage, so all of the parts were always played by men. Are they performing the play the way it was originally intended? Or is it just a ploy?

Listen to an interview on NPR with the play’s director and the man playing Juliet HERE.

Shakespeare Theatre Company Website - Watch a video and see pictures of the production.

Resources and Articles:

It’s a Man’s World by Akiva Fox

About All Male Productions

Use any of the following story seeds to start a piece of fiction or non-fiction:

1. On stage the dancers were ………
2. Composting is one of the ………
3. Alicia pressed her body tighter against the cliff face as she listened to the tiny stones ………

From WakeUpWriting.com

Vampire Literature has been around for about 200 years, starting in the early 1800’s in England. Now it is hugely popular, Twighlight, Anne Rice, and others. Not to mention all vampires running around in TV and movies.

In this Halloween edition of the Podcast, we will look at Vampire Lit. Stefanie Sarros offers a book review, my brother talks about where vampires come from in the first place, and Mrs. Peters takes a look at Teen Vamps.

Episode 3 – Vampire Lit

Here are some more resources and reading if you’re interested in more!

Vampire Folklore and History

The Penguin Book of Vampires - An excellent anthology that contains important bits of vampire literature from the first known published story (in 1819) till today.

The Vampire: A Casebook - According to my brother’s professor of the Vampire class he took, this is the best book available on the actual folklore and practices from places that actually believe vampires exist. It’s very interesting and the folk beliefs themselves are frequently more insane than anything you would read in a novel.

Vampire Literature

Varney the Vampire – Varney was the first semi-popular vampire figure. Varney was featured in a penny dreadful series. Penny Dreadfuls were kinds of short stories and serials published in the late 1800’s in England. They were called this because they only cost a penny, and the stories and writing were usually dreadfull.

Dracula by Bram Stoker – The first novel to really catapult the vampire into popularity, and to set down the idea of the modern vampire as we know it. The story actually moves through letters, newspaper articles, and diaries, so it’s a very different way to take a story in.

Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice – Note that Anne Rice is pretty explicit in language, sex, and violence. There are several books in the series, starting with Interview with a Vampire, which was a hugely successful movie.

Twightlight Series by Stephenie Meyer – Hugely popular series, the fourth book just came out, and the film of the first book is due out this November.

 House of Night Series by PC Cast – Hogwarts a la Vampires. Both Cast and Meyer offer books that are not over graphic or use language. This series is quickly gaining popularity.

Tall, Dark and Dead, Dead Sexy, and Romancing the Dead by Stefanie Sarros

This is a super adorable series about love, and magic and mystery and all the trouble you get into when you mix them together. You’re really going to love these books. Once you read one, you’re hooked. So beware!

It all started when the most gorgeous man alive walked into her store, Mercury Crossing, one afternoon. He had no aura. This meant he was dead. She knew exactly who he was; a vampire. Her ex boyfriend, Daniel Parrish, was a vampire, but how was this guy walking around in the middle of the day? Now the Vatican assassins are after him, and through him, they find her and all hell brakes loose…again.

This is an amazing series. It’s full of magic, love, zombies, witches, ghosts, jealousy, and humor. The stories are told from the main character’s perspective, Garnet Lacey, and she has the cutest personality.

Infinite Jest is a big book. Pretty much every chapter has a new subplot and characters. Not to mention, each chapter happens in a different year. For crying out loud!! It’s taking a lot of work to make sense and keep track of everything.

But, I’ve found a system that is working for me. Timeline wise, I’ve been keeping track of everything that’s going on. I’ve been using those highlighter tabs you can buy to mark paper. I’ve been using different colors to mark off the different chapters, which indicate the different years within the book. It’s been a great way to quickly revisit information, and remember what events are happening when. Even for a less complicating book, this can be a great tip to use as you read. Just mark pages as you go for quick reference later. You’ll be all set!

One thing I love about the book are the Chapter titles. “Year of the Trial Sized Dove Bar” Amazing!

Rudolfo Anaya is known as the father of Chicano literature. He has written several important books, including Bless Me, Ultima, Heart of Aztlan, and Tortuga. Anaya said “I’ve always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. I think if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio.”

You can find out more about Anaya and read an interview with him on The Big Read.

1. Get a stopwatch or clock. Set the timer or see what time it is and start reading.
2. Pay attention to when your mind starts to wander, or you stop paying attention to what you’re reading, or when you get frustrated.
3. How long did you read? 10 minutes? 20? 30?
4. Only read for as long as you could, then take a break. Put the book down, go get a snack, run around the block, or work on other classwork.

Try it!

Wow.

I am totally dorking out. I have my highlighting tabs, highlighters and am all set to go. An idea I had. Since my brother told me to pay attention to the chapter titles in terms of chronology, I am flagging each type of chapter with a certain color. I think this will help me keep track later down the road.

I’m interested by Wallace’s use of the word “like”. I haven’t decided if it’s a stylistic choice, character voice, or just part of Wallace’s own speech. However, every word is so delibrate, I can’t imagine he would just use “like” in everything. So far it seems confined to the character Hal, so I was thinking maybe it was a Hal thing? Just something interesting.

Good Quote: Pg 26 – “He didn’t reject the idea so much as not react to it and watch as it floated away”.

Meet Tom Rossow, our resident English 4 flying ace. He’s currently finishing his hours to earn his pilot’s license while finishing his senior classes. He’s ever so close to earning his private pilot’s license and his full credit in English 4!

1. How did you become interested in being a pilot?
I have always been interested in becoming a Pilot. It probobly started when I was really young, and I went to work with my mom, who is a flight attendent.
2. How much time have you logged in the air?
I have about 35 hours of flight time, 6 of which are solo.
3. What is your biggest challenge in balancing your schoolwork with your personal life?
 What personal life? Finding time would be the biggest issue. I’m always at school, flight school, or at work.
4. What other special interests do you have?
I like to play golf, wakeboard, surf, and longboard.
5. What are you looking forward to the most after high school?
I’m probably going to go to college or the Air Force!
6. What’s your favorite book?
Of Mice and Men. Hands down the best book I’ve ever read.
7. If you could eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I could eat pizza for the rest of my life and be happy.
8. What was the last movie you saw at the movie theater?
Step-Brothers
9. What’s the most rediculous television advertisement you’ve ever seen?
I saw it on youtube, It’s in french, but it has english subtitles. This guy walking onto a plane spots this girl sleeping in first class and sits next to her. He takes out his phone and starts taking pic’s and sending them to his friends. His friend calls him right as he’s taking a picture of him kissing her and she wakes up to the phone. Then it cuts to the brand.
10. What was your favorite tv show when you were five years old?
Rugrats.