Cut

Natan had an emergency appendectomy today! He went to the emergency room yesterday because he was in pain because he didn't know what was wrong with him and it turns out it was his appendix.

The appendix is that weird wormlike thing at the bottom.
Appendixes are so strange, I was asking my mom all about and what it does and how it could just be removed and it doesn't seem to effect you afterwords. Apparently people are still trying to figure out what exactly it does. My mom compared it to your tonsils, it basically helps fight off bacteria in your body. The human body is so neat, because tonsils shrink as you get older and your body no longer needs them!
Any way Natan is doing well and hopefully can check out of the hospital tomorrow.

Post

I had to read an article (well really a chapter from her book) by Linda Hutcheon called Theorizing the Postmodern: Toward a Poetics and then write a one page response/summary to the article to present in class tomorrow. I thought I would just post my paper here;

Post-modernism:
-“A contradictory phenomenon, one the uses and abuses, installs and then subverts, the very concepts it challenges.” (3) We can see from the name alone that it is not something that seeks to break completely from the past but will incorporate and modify the ideas that proceeded.
-“Does not really describe an international cultural phenomenon, for it is primarily European and American (North and South)” (4)
Obviously this class deals with post-modern texts and authors from areas outside this generalization, but I believe that the non-European and non-American authors we have read all emigrated to a European or American country. For example Rushdie and Nabokov.
-“’the presence of the past’ is not a nostalgic return; it is a critical revisiting, an ironic dialogue with the past” (4)This idea can be seen in what Hutcheon calls “historiographic metafiction” There is no longing for an idealized time gone-by in these texts (at least the ones I’ve read, but I imagine this is the case for all of them) like in Elliot’s The Wasteland that Hutcheon calls, “a wishful call to continuity beneath the fragmented echoing” (11). These novels “work within conventions in order to subvert them” (5) For example, The French Lieutenants Woman reads like a 19th century Victorian novel but within that structure Fowles questions and critics the Victorian class structure and the role of women at that time (and our time?) Post-modernists use historiographic-metafiction not just to shed light on a time that perhaps was idealized (ex. The Victorian time) by showing that many hypocrisies and social injustices existed in that time, but also to compare it to our time to show how many things that we would look down at when studying that time period (ex. The treatment of women in the Victorian time) still exist today. (see example on page 19 also page 20)
-“the increasing uniformization of mass culture is one of the totalizing forces that post-modernism exists to challenge. Challenge, but not deny. But it does seek to assert difference, not homogeneous identity.” (6) Although globalization and the swelling of mass culture would indicate a growing homogeny, it in fact leads to a fragmentation that allows for questioning of the previously held meta-narratives. (see example on page 12)
-“no narrative can be a natural “master” narrative: there are no natural hierarchies; there are only those we construct. It is this kind of self-implicating questioning that should allow postmodernist theorizing to challenge narratives that do presume to “master” status, without necessarily assuming that status for itself” (13). Art>life but art and life (or any other meta-narratives) are both human constructs and therefore one cannot assume power over another. “History is not made obsolete; it is however, being rethought-as a human construct” (16)
--Post-modernism, according to Hutcheon, essentially works like an undercover detective or spy, it works from the inside to create change on the outside.

Jabberwocky

Last Friday I got a call from a Middle School to ask me if I wold be interested in being a long term sub to replace a teacher that was leaving. Of course I accepted, it's really exciting because two of my friends work there. I took over 3 ESOL (English as a second language) classes in 6th 7th and 8th, two critical thinking/study skills (elective classes that are kind of a joke) in 6th and 8th and one ESE (exceptional student education) class. It's a tough schedule and when I went in there I thought I would have plans at least for the first couple of days but I did not and I've never had to create lesson plans so I was very over-whelmed. So far it's going pretty well, every day is definitely getting better as the kids are getting used to me and understanding that their teacher is not coming back and I will be there for the rest of the year. I have one really tough class, the 6th study skills, there are 37 kids and a lot of them are really obnoxious and have been held back. For that class their is no curriculum so I have freedom to do different things and I think once we start doing some fun activities most of the kids will calm down. The ESOL classes are pretty well behaved but it's tough because they are all at different levels and some really understand and have very good comprehension skills but others speak little to no English. This week I thought them alliteration and we read/listened (I brought in a recording) to the poem the Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol, which I really love. The kids really liked it and they had fun with the alliteration activities. I wrote on the board two words that started with the same letter, for example nice noses and then asked them to come up with two or three more words to complete the sentence, like nice noses notice nothing new. We did a few together and then I had them come up with their own. They also liked when I showed them how Lewis Carrol created new words by combining two words together, like slithy (slime and lithe) or chortled (choke and snort). I will be really happy if I can just get the kids in my study skills class to participate and work on some of the projects I am looking into.

Sprouts.

I walk out and check my garden everyday. Yesterday I noticed that the green beans were beginning to sprout up but I didn't take a picture. Today they already look noticeably bigger than yesterday!


They grow so quickly, which is nice because I'm impatient. The peppers have not shown themselves yet but the radishes look good.

Over the weekend my mom also planted some tomato plants.



Red followed me outside. Look at that tongue! Haha, I love getting pictures of cats with their tongues out or yawning. I should make a whole post of cats yawning. I took some good ones of one of Natan's cat but the pictures are on his camera. I will have to get those first.

Blasted!

Last week Natan and I were at the grocery store and saw this product called batter blaster (just typing the name makes me laugh). It was next to the whip creams and it's pancake batter in an aerosol can, like whip cream, and so all you have to do is blast it out onto the pan.

At first we were laughing like crazy at it and making jokes but then it really seemed like a good idea and we became more curious, so he bought it. Today was the first opportunity we had to try it and it was really great! You don't have to mix anything and you can make just the amount of pancakes that you want and all you have to clean is the pan. Plus, which I thought was the most fun, you can make fun shaped pancakes! Natan made me a "K" pancake:


It looks more burnt than it tasted, it was pretty delicious.
I wanted to make other fun pancakes, or funcakes, but I was getting full. Also Natan was the one blasting the pancakes so I just suggested things for him to make but he was more interested in making a perfect pancake because apparently when you are blasting out pancake batter they can be to thick so he was trying different ways of blasting. I really want a whole breakfast that is a sentence of pancakes.

I woke up yesterday and my sinus were acting crazy and I felt like my head weighted ten pounds. I think it's because it's been weird weather here, and I know I shouldn't complain about the weather in South Florida (at least not until the hot, sticky days of August) but it's been ridiculous. It's cold/chilly/windy at night and than sunny and burning hot during the day. So I think my body is just rebelling, hopefully it doesn't turn into a full blown cold.

It occurred to me that even though I am reading a book a week for my Post-Modern World Literature class I haven't mentioned any of the books here, so I will try to bring it up more, mostly for myself because I like looking back at journals/blogs days/months/years later and being able to pinpoint what I was doing that week and I used to keep a list of the books I read and when but I know that this semester it's a new book every week. This week (last week was spring break, so we actually had two weeks to read this one) we are reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's probably the most well known book that we are reading and I think it's my least favorite book, so far. I have about 100 pages left but I'm just not motivated to finish. I don't really see the appeal of the book. Maybe after I finish and we talk about in class, which happens sometimes, but right now I am not enjoying it. I feel like I am watching a movie in fast-forward because characters are introduced so quickly and than disappear 5 pages later and time moves so quickly and there is never any signifiers to let you know how old people are or how much time has passed. And everyone is having sex with each other and even that's not that exciting, most of the time it's just weird or with young kids or relatives. Also everyone has the same/similar names so it's really confusing and every time a child is born I think "oh great ANOTHER Aureliano or Jose Arcadio" I mean seriously! I felt the same way when I took History of the Ottoman Empire, "Was that Mehmed I or Mehmed II? Or maybe it Murad II" I know that obviously this happens in life and history and that people keep names in the family but when there are over 20 characters in a book with the same name I feel like it's just a dirty trick. I was excited to read the book (after all it's Oprah approved!) because Marquez gets grouped together with Salman Rushdie because of the magical realism styles of both authors and I really like Rushdie but I think the main difference is that Rushdie has a sense of humor and his books are really, really funny and the magical realism that takes place is sort of ridiculous, for instance the main character in Midnight's Children has an ultra powerful nose which helps/leads him through life. Marquez seems to take himself way to seriously, I mean if you are going to have people ascending into the heavens with no explanation it should at least be amusing.
But I DO have to have to finish by Tuesday so I think I will go read some more.

I say radical, that's the thing that I say!

I just got home from substitute teaching. It was a pretty good day, it's nice because I worked at a school were my friends Dave and Sarah work. It's nice to have someone to eat lunch with, at other schools I just stay in the classroom. It was a seventh grade class, they were very talkative but mostly well-behaved. They spent most of the time making cracks about each other. One kid told someone that he accidentally gave them diabetes, which I thought was pretty funny. The same kid also made a Sleepaway Camp reference, also hilarious. I'm excited because I think I will be able to work at this school regularly which would be great.

My mom just gave my dog a bath and now she (the dog, not my mom) is running around like crazy and rolling on our kitchen rug.





Yesterday at Marshalls I got this cute new American Eagle dress, only $13 and these awesome Betsy Johnson heart tights! I love them and the dress has pockets which is great.

Seeds.

Natan and I bought are plane tickets for our trip this summer. I'm pretty excited but planning a trip is so exhausting and annoying. I've never had to plan a trip, I've only been on school trips are family trips so I've never had to spend so much time looking up prices and comparing prices. It's overwhelming and I can't do it for too long in one sitting so we are planning in pieces.
On Friday we went to Sewell park in Miami, it's a city park and one of the oldest city parks. It's on the river and apparently used to be a big drug park but it's more of a family park now which is nice.


This is the natural ridge in Miami, which is neat.


Look at this tree growing around another tree! It was a really beautiful day but we didn't stay too long.

Sunday I went with my mom and my aunt to the Swap Shop. I haven't been in many years and when I used to go it was mainly just for produce and flowers. This time though we spent most of the time in the flea market part where people sell things practically out of their van. I got some nice jewelry there:

A heart ring for $3, a bracelet for $3 also, and a weird fish necklace for $10. More excitingly I got a McKinley campaign button!

I couldn't get a good, non-blurry picture of it but it says: "Count me for (picture of McKinley) and a full(picture of flask/barrel? I don't quite know)
McKinley's campaign of 1896 is the first one to use campaign buttons so it's especially exciting to have found and I only paid $2 for it! Now I have two buttons of presidents who died while in office (I also have an FDR button given to me by Jon Webber, who also gave me a McGovern, who lost to Nixon in 1972, button as well).
I know where the bargains are!

My mom and I also planted our garden. We planted artichokes (!) radishes and onions. My mom had started the radishes from seeds in pots but the artichokes and onions she bought. We also planted green bean seeds and red pepper seeds. I'm most excited about the artichokes because I've never seen one growing before.


The first picture is the radishes and the onions and the second one are the artichokes. I love looking at the window and seeing our plants grow and I really love just walking outside and picking lettuce for my sandwiches and salads.
One of my favorite lines from the Simpsons is at the end of the episode where Lisa babysits Bart and fails, and when Bart comes in to apologize she tells him that she is selling seeds now and pathetically asks him if he wants to buy some seeds. It always cracks me up, I tried to find video of it but I failed. I say this line a lot for no apparent reason and this weekend when I was planting seeds I said it a lot to myself.