Othello Pulls a 180

I just cannot get over such a profound tonal shift Othello has gone through in the past couple acts. He was such a pleasing character in the opening acts, trusting, loving to his wife, etc. Now it is frustrating for the audience (as with most Shakespeare ironies...)to find him constantly skeptical of Desdemona (his ever faithful wife) and trusting of the all evil Igor. Especially when Othello asks Desdemona for the handkerchief that he gave to her and she acts all confused and everything. Well, she should be confused. She hasn't done anything. If anything Othello should question Igor. but alas. it's entertainment and never works out the way it should.

Gardening

Probably my favorite part about reading Shakespeare, if it is so required, is the rich metaphors he uses and how they so clearly outline the theme for the audience. The one metaphor I noticed in this case is a passage by Iago on pg 28. Iago in this scene is trying to instill reason in Roderigo that he should not give up hope for wooing Desdemona.

Iago argues, "Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners; so that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce...why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills..." (lines 319-326 I.3)

Here Shakespeare is comparing our bodies as something to cultivate with our mentality or our will. I think Shakespeare also means we can control our own mental stability with our will too. His line labeling our will as the gardeners clears up this point. The gardeners have the power over the garden, what goes in, how much water it receives, how it's harvested etc etc. The metaphor can be applied many different ways. It also reminded me of the cliche "mind over matter" where our bodies are the matter (gardens) and our minds are the will (gardeners). It's important that Shakespeare throws in these metaphors because they separate themselves from the text with the unusual wording and thus causes the audience to pay extra attention. The theme of willpower runs strongly throughout the text so obviously we would need to tune into this advice Iago is giving.

Class Today.

Hmm...I really enjoyed class today with our guest speaker, Andrew Hamm. I liked what he had to say about the way to read Shakespeare. I have found that in a book I despise Shakespeare simply because I cannot understand it. I find that once I watch the play or the movie, however, it all becomes clear. I actually do have an appreciation for Shakespeare, but it takes awhile to uncover. It's nice to know that someone, a Shakespeare enthusiast of all people, feels the same way. For some reason my high school teachers thought it was always a quick read and expected us to understand everything with hardly any discussion. It was annoying to say the least because everyone knew the books required more work and thought.

Anyway, I will try my best to understand the rest of Othello with outside reading, but I cannot promise anything. Hopefully in class discussions will help.

Techie Issues

So, I realize this project is supposed to be simple and everything, but I am really having trouble recording my voice. I don't know, maybe I am doing it wrong. But I still have to work on this because right now I don't have anything recorded story wise. The good thing though is that the rest of my stuff is pretty much done with the pictures and transitions. But I'll have to seek help or figure this out tomorrow. I still like the process, I have just reached sort of an annoying technical wall.

Digital Tales

I have been revising my script and fiddling around with Garageband and I have found that I really like this project. It provides a lot of creative freedom which is really cool and a rare in a typical college class. Also, going through all my old pictures and thinking about my childhood has been a fun, comforting but also nostalgic experience. I love old photos, looking at them makes me wish I could just be eight years old again. Oh well. I think the end product, if it turns out well, will make a nice keepsake for myself and the future.

A Bit of Doubt to Open Doors

"The notion began to grow on me that the philosophers whom they call academics were wiser than the rest, because they held that everything should be treated as a matter of doubt and affirmed that no truth can be understood by men" (87).

This epiphany of sorts by Augustine comes after he has traveled to Rome to teach while meeting up with a group of philosophical academics who he can safely call friends. he realizes that nothing is for certain in the world, nothing can be taken for granted. It is this idea of unavoidable doubt which Augustine decides separates the independent, wise thinkers from the common following scholar.

The passage reminded me a bit of Socrates and the White Castle. Socrates thought he was wiser than everyone because he admitted he knew nothing. The end of the white castle finds the narrator living in his chosen, inevitable ignorance when he quits his search for the complete "truth" of the universe.

Augustine is a quite frightened by this idea but inspired by it too. He is skeptical and a little wary of the fact this thinking causes him to completely re-think his faith in the Catholic church and in God or Good and Evil. He had to make a decision, like many people, whether to stay true to his beliefs or welcome the idea of doubt. Things are obviously not how he "sought" (referencing a quote on p65) them to be if it means he may have to compromise his devout faith for this new twist on knowledge...or lack there of. Which brings up the main theme of the Confessions, things are not always how they seem when one first experiences them. Or, over time experiences may have different meanings and it is part of the evolution of life. But in another sense Augustine seems to welcome this new perspective and idea as a fresh take on the way we see the world. He wants to investigate further and doesn't immediately dismiss the validity of the notion just because of his past life and religion. This open-mindedness and sort of revising ability of Augustine's really drives him through the text.

Casual Education

Reading about the Augustine Confessions I found it interesting when he was talking about forced learning in a formal environment vs. free learning in a casual environment . Learning is so much more fun when it's on your own terms and it's stress-free. It's funny because i get so annoyed with all of the books i read for school, but then when there's a break, i often spend my time reading books i have chosen for myself. They may not be as formally educational as the one's i am assigned in class, but it's still reading, it's still stimulating my mind and i learn a little something from every book i read. when educational activities are presented to students in class or in school, those students already have it in their minds that the activities are work or strictly for the sake of learning. nobody expects schoolwork to be fun. however, depending on our personal preferences we may partake in the same activities on our own free time, with an open deadline and flexible schedule. for example: completing the reading for a history class maybe viewed as less than enjoyable but reading a long historical novel on a sunday afternoon can be a quite pleasant, relaxing experience.