Monday, September 12, 2011

September 12

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Bob Dylan]
Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Why do people celebrate anniversaries? What is it about noting a date on the calendar and following an associated ritual (giving gifts, going to a house of worship, taking a day off work, shooting fireworks, eating turkey, et al) that we find so important?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss homework
3. Vocabulary

HW:
1. Take another shot at #3 from the weekend's homework.
2. Read pp. 64-82 in textbook; notes due Tuesday, 9/13 (UPDATE: PLEASE BRING TEXTBOOK TO CLASS TUESDAY)

46 comments:

  1. Just to be clear, you want us to read all the random stories in our lit books? Correct?

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  2. No. I doubt attempting to read the nearly 1300 pages of "all the random stories in [y]our lit books" would lead to understanding. I just want you to read pp. 64-82, which include: "The Epic" and excerpts from Gilgamesh, The Iliad, History of the English Church & People, and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

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  3. There is a Japanese rock band named Gilgamesh/Girugamesh (ギルガメッシュ)... Just thought I'd share it because the band did get their name from the king... I found it pretty cool once I heard you say the name of the story, so I'd thought I would share this little piece of info...

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  4. do we post our new answer for #3 here on the blog?

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  5. You can either comment here or to the original post.

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  6. 3. After delving deeper into what makes Leopald Bloom unique, in an effort to find out why an allusion to Ulysses would be made, I have discovered that Leopald Bloom is indeed not unique at all. He is the Joyce's representative of the average joe. One with real problems such as marital issues and self-pitying. However thats precisely the point, that he is an Everyman. After all this however I relized that in fact, I do not believe that there is a valid reason that Ulysses out of all pieces in literature was chosen. There simply isn't an apposite reason for a story about the struggles of the bourgeois to fit perfectly with an article on the crossroads of old and new tech. i believe that the phrase its self, to "stop the sea" was a perfect match for his article and being the obvious literary buff that he is, it was simply appropiate for him to make the reference. we might be giving a man who self-pleasures to the idea of using as many literary references as possible to much credit to beyond just that..
    Trenton P.2

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  7. I can't really find any good information to help me answer question #3. I looked up Leopald Bloom and the quote "stop the sea" for information, but nothing good comes up.

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  8. I agree with Jessica. I read that Leopold Bloom was an "everyman" sort of guy, but I did not find anything relating to his quote, "stop the seas"

    Rebecca Patterson. p.6

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  9. I'm just going to take a random (but slightly) educational guess to explain the allusion to Ulysses. I couldn't attain much information about the story and background but I'll give you this: Joyce wrote Ulysses in order to rival the classical figure of Homer's Odysseus-- just like how old technology and rivals with the new technology. Also, the book is divided into eighteen different chapters that are in chronological order, each story about one hour spaced. This can relate to our technological advancements in digital "books" because after time passes, there's no turning back. (Ugh, I believe I'm on the wrong track.) Anyway, Joyce clearly stated himself that the book is "an epic of two races", which relates to our topic of books to digital books, even those books and technology is clearly not the same as ethnicity... each story has connections and interrelations, just like how there are connections to books and digital books. It is not a bad idea to mix them together; maybe we'll make the best use of the two of them put together. From another source, it stated that the theme was "life is a journey", perhaps, our direction in the technology world is unpredictable and one cannot fortell what can happen in the future. Life's a journey, we can't "stop the sea"... We cannot halt what is going on with reality.
    As you can tell, my jumbled up answer went many directions--I'm not exactly sure about the allusion.

    -mari kagawa
    Period 3

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  10. I searched "stop the sea Leopold Bloom," and this showed up:
    "Bloom might still attempt to "hold Molly back," but to what end? The effort would be as futile as cupping water in his hands. He can no more curb the moon-drawn tides of female desire than "stop the sea'' or possess the ocean."
    I think the allusion to this meant that the effort of preserving reading is a waste of time. Just as attempting to stop the sea or possess the ocean would be.
    Cayla Salazar Period 2

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  11. So, Leopold says "Woman. As easy stop the sea. Yes: all is lost" (and a bit more). To change his view on behaviors of women, to stop his wife from having an affair, and to stop what he believes is inevitable, would be like having to stop the sea. I don't really believe there is some enormous meaning to be derived from this one allusion (although i only got through part 2, chapter 6), aside from the fact that it is a phrase also used in Hamlet (sort of). An allusion to an allusion, just a nod towards the travelling of information across people.

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  12. 3. There was not a lot of useful information I found that would explain why Ulysses was used. I found that Leopald Bloom enjoyed reading and explaining his knowledge to others, but again I dont really see the relevance it has to multimedia vs. reading/writing. I dont think that Ulysses was that special, it seems something else could have worked just as well. However, I do think the quote "stop the sea" did work in the article and related well to the growing force of technology, and how it is an unstopable force. Just as Leopald's attempts to stop his wife were futile. Stopping her was like trying to stop the sea..impossible. So I see why the allusion was made but I dont think Ulysses was necessarily the best choice.

    Nicole Anderson
    Period 2

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  13. 3. I didn’t really find much but from what I read, I thought the allusion to Ulysses is that Leopold Bloom struggled with the disloyalty of his wife Molly. Molly, in this case is the sea is uncontainable; trying to stop her from having an affair would be impossible. It’s "As easy stop the sea". Trying to stop technology from spreading and reading from dying is a lost cause just like tring to contain Molly.

    Lupe Perez Per. 3

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  14. Can't really find anything that leads me to believe there is any meaning beyond that which we already have established. It seems to me that he quoted it to show that trying to stop technology is impossible. People will always be innovating and trying to improve upon things; and you can't really stop that.
    drew king
    p.3

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  15. 3. I looked everywhere to find the allusion to Ulysses, the best answer i found was that "sop the sea" was related to Bloom's wife and how he struggled with her disloyalty and how he couldn't stop her from doing anything. Technology is related to this situation in that, technology is hard to stop.

    Patrick Sims P.3

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  16. Ok so, I have learned that Ulysses was really just your average everyday person and there was noting really spectacular about him and I had a hard time linking that to what we've been talking about in class. But, Joyce was the first author of fiction works to really go about the new process of thinking. So maybe that's where the allusion is. The fact that Joyce wrote in a new way reflects the new way that we are exposed to new information and how we choose to view it. It's new and fairly unique and certainly not anything that has been done before.

    Hannah Hosking
    Period:4

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  17. 3. I have to agree with Nicole. It is a waste of time trying to change things that simple can not be changed. You should just go with the flow instead of being crushed by it.

    Gary Case
    P2

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  18. Nuuuuumber 3! Lets have a go at this (again). I still maintain my original view point on WHY exactly Thomas Burkdall decided to reference that particular line from Ulysses. It's a perfect fit for the article. From what I read about Leopold Bloom however, I couldn't find anything particularly outlandish about him. He was just an ordinary man of the period. There wasn't anything more in his character that would have made that line more powerful or created a deeper root for it in the article. From what I can gather it was just a good line to make a good article better.

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  19. I checked out a few websites and found out that Leopold Bloom was dealing with an unfaithful wife and trying to keep her faithful was like trying "to stop the sea." other than that I found no specific reason that Burkdall used that allusion
    Brynn Greenelsh p2

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  20. I hate to follow the trend of not finding much but i really did try, many of the links were summaries of the book or the book itself. So i believe that what he is saying is that to stop the advancement of technonlgy is impossible, much like it is impossible to stop the sea from moving.

    Kristen Frias
    p.2

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  21. In life, you can't fight what's happening. Granted you may be able to slow it down, but something like the tech invasion, you cannot stop it. Somethings are just out of your power.

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  22. He is saying that the evolution of technology is inevitable, as well as the sea moving. It is impossible to stop the advancement in technology, just like it is impossible to "stop the sea" from moving.

    Nathan Seidenberg
    P.3

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  23. I agree with practically everyone about... I really don't know what else to say in the ways of an answer. I don't think i have really found the answer you are looking for. All i found was stuff about Leopold Bloom trying to keep his wife faithful and loyal to him.
    Sarah Rayburn period 3

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  24. I couldn’t really find anything to make me think that there is a deeper understanding to the allusion. He mentions Ulysses “stop the sea” in comparison to trying to stop technology. You will not be able to stop either no matter how hard you try.

    Mitchell Edmondson P4

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  25. The quote "stop the sea", pertains to Leopold Bloom's struggle with his wife and her affair in Ulysses. Trying to stop his wife was like trying to stop the sea, and trying to stop modern technology is like trying to stop an inevitable affair.

    Nicholas Joshua Lycan
    Period 4

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  26. 3. I found an article online (http://classiclit.about.com/od/bannedliteratur1/a/aa_ulysses.htm) that explains how New York attempted to ban Ulysses, even going as far as burning the books. I think Burkdall may have used this allusion because banning such a significant piece of literature is like "stop[ping] the sea".

    P.S. While reading another article (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/magazine/the-fading-world-of-leopold-bloom.html) I remembered that I went on a Literary Pub Crawl during my time in Dublin, where James Joyce wrote Ulysses. I also went to two of his favorite pubs, Davy Byrnes's Pub and The Duke. No wonder Joyce was so inspired. The people there were amazing.

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  27. 3. The allusion to Ulysses represents how both Leopold and Molly both have sexual immorality and that trying to change or do anything about it seems impossible. Both Leopold and Molly want things to work out but their natures just get the better of them. We need multimedia in most things we now do so trying to go for an ideal preservation in this case is impossible seeing how most people buy books online and incorporate electronic devices in almost all other areas of learning.
    I hope this was somewhat of an improvement.
    Jon Hoffman Period 2

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  28. Katie Enstad Per. 2

    From what I gathered, I concluded that Burkdal's reference to Ulysses' "stop the sea" is just saying you cannot fight the inevitable. Bloom came to the conclusion that it was inevitable that his wife was going to have an affair, and Burkdal came to the conclusion a wave of multimedia was inevitable. I think Burkdal uses this allusion because it was what came to his mind when he was righting, and he thought it was a good fit.

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  29. 3) The allusion to Ulysses' "stop the sea" relates to Bloom's and Molly's complicated affair after their son died. Even though they want to make things better, they are not willing to put much effort. Likewise, trying to prevent technological advancements is like trying to stop the sea. It's impossible.

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  30. After reading through several sources, I have come to the conclusion that he is saying that we cannot avoid the rapid development of technology. We must embrace these advancements because trying retain them, is as impossible as "stopping the sea."
    Patrick Fraire
    P.3

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  31. Kari Griego
    period 4

    After reading several-- and by several I mean like, one hundred-- different websites and/or versions of the text, I haven't been able to attain a better understanding of the allusion. If anything, Burdkall could be referencing the relationship between Leopold Bloom, an Everyman, and the task he took to. In context, the phrase was used to show that Bloom's problem (the will of an unfaithful wife) had a force that was too powerful for him to control. The same goes for the struggle between the reading community (analogous to Bloom) and "the media" (analogous to Molly, in context). Modern media has become a strong, omnipresent force that pushes itself onto the public. The reading community, however large it may actually be, stands small in comparison to the media giant. Therefore, the reading community's attempt to battle against the power of the media and technology would be similar to Bloom's attempt to prevent Molly's infidelity.

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  32. 3) Researching this was quite a difficult task since as everyone else stated, there wasn't much to find. I managed to come across the fact that he did have a unfaithful wife in his life. I believe that, "stop the sea" was meant for the allusion that Molly, is the sea that he cannot control. Almost as if, he's trying to fix something that is completely uncontainable for anybody to handle on their own. Comparing this to what we were reading, I think that to stop the technology advancements is simply out of everyone's hands.

    Adriana Zamudio
    period 4

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  33. When Burkdall used a reference to Ulysses' "stop the sea" he was implying that you cannot stop what is inevitable. With this reference, Burkdall expects his reader to know that in Ulysses, Bloom concluded that his wife was going to have an affair. And this was inevitable. Just as a stream of multimedia is inevitable.

    mariah cooks p.2

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  34. 3) First, I typed in Ulysses' "stop the sea" into the google search engine. I then clicked on the 7th link down the list which was a google book for Ulysses'. I didn't read all of the text since that would have taken me a very long time, but the part I did read being where "stop the sea" was mentioned, I found difficult to fully comprehend due to the unusual syntax and diction.

    However, I agree with what a lot of others said in that Bloom struggled with his wife's affair and trying to stop the affair was as difficult as trying to "stop the sea". And trying to stop the progression of technology is also as difficult as "stopping the sea".

    Although I don't know for sure, I think that Burkdall chose this allusion to incorporate into his article because it simply came to mind and was relevant to his topic.

    Kayla McCallie
    Period 2

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  35. Jojo Relyea
    Per. 3

    Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. Ulysses includes a series of encounters and incidents in Bloom's "contemporary odyssey" through Dublin in one day, June 16th 1904. The title alludes to Odysseus, hero of Homer's Odyssey. It consists of a series of parallels between characters and events in Homer's poem and Joyce's novel (Leopold Bloom compared to Odysseus)

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  36. This question is a bit menacing, I've tried to look at it and come up with something that nobody else did. Nothing came to me. I guess the allusion to Ulysses "stop the sea" is saying that you can't beat the inevitable, in this case, modern technology. "Stopping the sea" is impossible because it is such a massive force, and technology is advancing at a rapid pace.

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  37. ^^^^
    Matthew Giddings p.3

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  38. This allusion isn't comprehended based on one's knowledge of Ulysses. Knowing Ulysses inside and out would supply an example of what the author is trying to express, but in no means does it explain the allusion itself. This allusion can be comprehended based on one's knowledge of the sea and it's massive force. When he suggests that we "stop the sea", this is just a suggestion to fight against the inevitable expansion of technology and the media. The sea is a force that no man, or group of men, can conquer. Therefore, this suggestion is impossible to achieve and the author uses it to make us contumacious against the expansion of technology and media.

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  39. "Bloom might still attempt to "hold Molly back," but to what end? The effort would be as futile as cupping water in his hands. He can no more curb the moon-drawn tides of female desire than "stop the sea'' or possess the ocean."
    This was the first useful, valid quote that I found online when I did my research. I believe the allusion that he is referring to is his problematic marriage. "Holding Molly back" is like "stopping water", both impossible to do for you can't control either. They are living beings with their own will, you may be able to infulence it to some degree, but completely control it is unattainable.

    Laura Wong
    2P

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  40. After doing some research, I only found out that Leopold was a fairly common man that had an unfaithful wife. All I could conclude is that his wife's cheating was inevitable and unstoppable, like the ocean, which I believe what the author was alluding to when she talked about the wave of technology being like trying to "stop the ocean" and is therefore impossible to stop just like it was impossible for Leopold to stop his wife from cheating.
    Ian Janssen P.4

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  41. From some research that I did, I found that Ulysses was dealing with an unfaithful wife. Trying to stop her was like trying to "stop the sea" and it was nearly impossible to do. The author referred to this allusion by saying that you can't stop the inevitable and technology will take over. 

    Hunter Walker 
    Period 3

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  42. After excessive research I found out the Ulysses was having to deal with and unfaithful wife. She was known as the "sop of the sea" because it was impossible to stop her. This relates to technology because technology is hard to stop. 

    Chad Foster
    Per. 2

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  43. From what i have found, the allusion to Ulysses is about Leopold his wife after their son died. She was cheating on him and to stop her was to like stopping the sea, you can't. It relates to the article because the article tries to explain that we can't stop technological advancement, that it is impossible and that we need to find a balance between new tech and old.

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  44. The allusion to Ulysses refers to the infidelity of Leopold's wife. Her cheating was inevitable just like the progression of technology in our world today. No one can "Stop the sea" or stop the growth of technology.
    Kelli Carrillo p.3

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  45. The allusion used in the article "stop the sea" is a reference to how you cant stop the sea from movie just as you cant stop the growth of technology
    Max Kuhlman
    period 2

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