Monday, September 10, 2012

Vocab!

acumen (noun)- keen insight.
adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.
anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.
apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
disparity (noun)- inequalityThere will always be disparity of wealth within this society.
dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment
flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross
immolate (verb)- to sacrifice
imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.
lackey (noun)- a servile follower
liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word
nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.
patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.
propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
sic (verb)-to incite to attack
sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer

Sunday, September 9, 2012

funny stuff.

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.
Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye
Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;
Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.
Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.
Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;
Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"
Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp
Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."
Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson
Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen
Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,
Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."
Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.



Taken from google, basically means:

Meanwhile, back at the mead-hall, the monster lurked
Full (of) few too many drinks, he was looking for a fight
Then (name), son of (name) asked the awful jerk to step outside
Thud, Bash, Crash, boom, the big guy
All of his bones broke, bit his nose off;
Wicked Godzilla wailed on his a ss
Moster mopped the floor with all the men in the hall
Beowulf in the backroom making a phone call (?)
Hearing sounds of ruckus said, "What the hell?"
Grabbed his strong shield and sharp switch blade
Stood forth to fight the grimlic foe
"Me," Godzilla said, "Make the mince-meat"
Hero ? quickly got (getting) held with the famed half-nelson
And flying him like a frisbee back and forth
Beowulf belly up to the mead-hall's bar,
said, "No foe has beaten my fearsome kung-fu."
He ordered coca-cola, ice cold, the real thing

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

1. Apostate - a person who foresakes his religion, cause, party, etc.


"Some Amish teenagers take the chance and become apostates to what they grew up with."
 2. Effusive - pouring out; overflowing
"Her emotions were effusive and we all saw them come out."







3. Impasse - a position or situation from which there is no escape
"We reached an impasse in our disagreement."
4. Euphoria - a feeling of happiness, confidence or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania
"She was filled with euphoria by the site of the twenty puppies."
5. Lugubrious - mournful, dismal or gloomy
"The lugubrious charm of the swamp called her."
6. Bravado - a pretentious, swaggering display of courage
"Christian showed great bravado after his well done performance."
7. Consensus - majority of opinion
"They reached a consensus about which pizza to order."
8. Dichotomy - division into two parts
"There is a dichotomy in our government."
9. Constrict - to draw or press in; cause to contract or shrink
"Their rules were constricting."
10. Gothic - style of architecture; barbarous or crude
"The gothic style painting was characterized by contrast and design."
11. Punctilio - a fine point particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure
"They reached the punctilio of the church service."
12. Metamorphosis - a complete change of form, structure, or substance
"The character had a complete metamorphosis by the end of the story."
13. Raconteur - a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly
"I fancy myself a raconteur of jokes."
14. Sine qua non - an indispensable condition, elements, or factor; something essential
"Cinnamon is the sine qua non of the recipe."
15. Quixotic - extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable
"She was quixotic in her idealism."
16. Vendetta - any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention or the like
"I have a vendetta against anyone who says they dislike books."
17. Non sequitur - an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises
"Non sequitur humor is oftem my favorite."
18. Mystique - an aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation or pursuit
"The old mansion had an air of mystique about it."
19. Quagmire - anything soft or flabby
"The man had become a quagmire from not exercising in four years."
20. Parlous - dangerous
"Stay away from the parlous forest!"

Deconstructing Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is one of my favorite movies that I've never read the book of its origin. I chose this because it is very much an epic in a modern sense. It represents a lot of the values that young people have today such as romance, ambition, and being seen as cool.

The call to action in Scott's journey was probably when he first saw Ramona Flowers. He was just living his life in denial, and seeing her, he finally began his quest to win the girl of his dreams. Ramona herself is his spiritual aid, as he sees her call to him in his dreams. His guide could be considered Wallace, his "cool gay room mate" because he is there through every phase of the journey as an observer.

The moment when Scott separates this new self with his old self was when he broke up with Knives, his significantly younger girlfriend, in order to pursue Ramona. This phase is sometimes called "in the belly of the whale."

Scott's road of trials is marked by the task of him having to defeat all seven of Ramona's evil exes. His
"moment with the Goddess" could be every time he spends time with Ramona, when they make out in her bed, when they eat garlic bread, and every time his hair is called shaggy.

The woman who tempts Scott is his ex girlfriend, "Envy" Adams. By the same token, his coming into terms with her breaking his heart also falls into a part of Scott's journey.

The hero's apotheosis is when Scott first dies, and gets a chance to live again knowing what will happen and what needs to be done. This time he is unstoppable, as he reaches the "Boss level" and fights the most evil of the Evil Exes. And wins.

The falling action exists when Knives accepts the relationship Scott now has with Ramona, and Ramona and he step through the door to begin their life together for the second time.

Monday, September 3, 2012

A Doll's House by Henric Ibsen


This play is one of the earliest examples of literature that breaks commonly accepted gender steryotypes by challenging the patriarchy of the characters' family.

I just so happened to own a copy of this script. I attempted to read it back in freshman year when my then-drama teacher Mr. P gave it to me. He said that I would really like it, and explained the plot in detail.

He also explained that Ibsen had to rewrite the ending for the Germans, since they found the ending to be insulting and unrealistic. The interesting thing  was that all the ending really involves is a woman walking out on her husband after she had been mistreated.

I've always found this play to be surrounded by intrigue, but its been collecting dust on my bookshelf and had long since been forgotten until I saw it on the reading list. Now, I have incentive to re familiarize myself with it. This is hitting two birds with one stone: Its a classic script, and AP worthy literature.