Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hamlet Monologue Parody

I came across this cute parody of Hamlet's monologue in Act III, scene i. Sorry it's in an odd formatting.


To eat, or not to eat, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the stomach to suffer the slings and arrows of hunger, or to take mouths and by digesting end them.

To bloat, to eat, no more, and by eating we say we end the stomach ache and the thousand natural pangs that digestive systems are ere to. Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

To bloat, to eat, to eat. Perchance to fulfill? Ay, there’s the rub. For in that meal of nourishment what fulfillment may come must give us pause. There’s the respect that makes calamity of so long bulimia.

For who would bear the hunger and malnutrition of time? The food corporation’s wickedness, the proud anorexic’s contumely, the pangs of despis’d hunger, the law’s delay, and the spurns that a good appetite by the unworthy takes when you yourself your acquaintance could make with a perfectly good stingray.

Who would fardels bear to suffer under the veil of famine, but that the dread of something after the meal, the undiscovered course from whose satiation no feeder returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather eat those fish we have, than swim to others that might not taste as good.

Thus conscience doth make dolphins of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution to feed is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought. And meals of great pith and moment with this regard, their ocean currents turn awry and lose the name of action.

Thus conscience doth make dolphins of us all

And thus the native hue of vegetarianism is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.

Soft you now, fair Lionfish! — Nymph, in thy orisons. Be all my sins remembered.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Blogging White Noise: Discussion Question Response

3. Final Countdown: Is there some sort of irony regarding the main character's odd title on campus? There are many ironies to Jack’s title of chairman of the department of Hitler studies. One is the notion that a man clearly terrified of death is fascinated by a leader who systematically murdered thousands. This discord in Jack’s interests highlights his flawed logic, forming him into a quite unreliable character. Another irony is the general enthusiasm of Jack’s department. The Hitler studies division, Jack’s brainchild, was founded in 1968, around twenty short years after WWII. Rather than being shot down by skeptics, the subject thrived, and a Hitler conference is said to take place the following fall.


4. Quarter Rose: Why would any mother in their right mind force their children to spend their Friday night free-time watching television that upsetted them? Contrary to Quarter Rose, I have to agree with Babette’s unconventional parenting. In addition to encouraging family togetherness (or, regrettably, the lack thereof), the Friday TV ritual dampens the children’s love of television. Thus, the custom strips the false magnificence from TV programs and makes them rather mundane and ordinary. By making TV “unglamorized” and a “domestic sport,” the children lose interest in the “brain sucking” nonsense that TV can broadcast. In short, Babette is preventing her children from wasting away in front of the TV, desiring a false reality that TV so readily presents.


9. Fettuccini Alfredo: Why is the school evacuation played off as not too serious? There is little discussion of it... why? It is odd that only two brief paragraphs are reserved for an event of this magnitude. For one who is overwhelmed by the omnipresence of death, Jack seems strangely nonchalant about this mysterious, and perhaps lethal, happening. I believe that this snippet concerning the disaster serves to enhance the palpable reality of death that begins to pervade Jack’s life. Before this incident, Jack’s life seemed relatively harmless; his anxiety over death seemed almost like a childish delusion. However, compounded with other seemingly inconsequential events such as the toxicity of gum chewing, the school evacuation hints at the ominous truth behind Jack’s qualms. As the novel progresses, this truth becomes frighteningly apparent, ensnaring Jack in a shroud of fatal and infinite darkness.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Watching Star Wars!

I rewatched Star Wars Episode III yesterday. I came by this earlier and thought it was fitting. Enjoy!


Blogging White Noise: Questions

1. What is the significance of Jack's wonder at the station wagons?
3. What evidence of white noise is already evident in the novel?
5. How does death seem to have an omnipotent presence in the novel? What does this signify?
7. How are Jack and Murray foils to one another?
9. Explain the significance behind Jack's almost foolhardy commitment to his Hitler Studies class.
11. What's the deal with the discussion about the fatality of gum?

Coming Soon!

This has been a successful spring break.

Things I did over break:


  • Sleepwalked

  • Watched The King's Speech (again)

  • Watched Beauty and the Beast (for the first time, yes I know. Pitiful)

  • Watched Peter Pan (both animated and live action versions) for the first time

  • Watched Love Actually ♥

  • Watched Eclipse (Ugh. Horrible movie)

  • Tumbled like there was no tomorrow

  • Ordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1

  • Made it to the final level of my video game

  • Went to Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell

  • Gained five pounds. : 9

Well, I think that's pretty good considering I was in Fort Fun all week. [:

I think I sleepwalked a few nights ago.

The idea didn't hit me until now though. On Friday, I went upstairs to sleep as usual, but woke up downstairs on the couch. I never go downstairs in the middle of the night, save for the occasional sip of water. I truly have no recollection of ever getting up and physically leaving my room. Weird.