Hello family. This is my first post, believe it or not! I'm so glad we're all using this and commenting and such. Let's just make sure we keep it going, keep checking back all the time like we're already doing so enough of that.
Everything here's so busy. I'm just looking out the window and the sun's setting and there's still snow on the ground, but it's been much warmer, much nicer. I think the high today 46 or something, if you can believe that. It shot up in just a couple days. I just finished reading The Age Of Innocence, and now Amy's starting it. I really liked it; now I want to rent the Scorsese movie, just at least to see how it is. I've been reading a lot of short stories too--I just read Brokeback Mountain which is insanely well-written (but occasionally romantic so to speak so be forewarned) and then I read Soldier's Home by Hemingway. I love finding stories online to read and share. Oh yeah and another really good one which I recommended to Dad, that inspired me to buy a P-38 can opener at Arian's is called The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. So yeah if you have some time and haven't read them and feel like it--good stuff. Sorry for getting carried away; I tend to do that on blogs.
Well on February 16th I'm presenting a paper at this symposium here at BYU. It's called Life, the Universe and Everything--it's a sci-fi and fantasy conference, basically. My paper's called To Contemplate the Universe Beyond Man: Postmodernism in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I figured that for fun, I would post my abstract and see if any of you would be interested to attend because of it. So here it is:
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams creates an often-hilarious and sometimes-wise universe in which science and rational thought take second seat to coincidence and the irrational. Looking at Adams through a postmodern lens exposes elements of scientific and philosophical thought that call basic axioms of existence and even religion into question. In particular, the positions of existentialism, Darwinism and nihilism are prevalent, yet concealed somewhat in Adams' entertaining framework. His unique brand of British humor merged with skillfully-slight science fiction creates a postmodern work that encourages questioning and the destruction of the status quo.
Whew. I'm kinda worried about it because I need to present for 30 minutes (!) and have a powerpoint presentation and a short bio written plus I need to do a huge revision on the paper before it's presented. That, along with schoolwork and all of us at home and work and I'm swamped.
I always sleep weird--unhealthily too. Last night I had to write two short papers and read, and then Bella wouldn't sleep so I played Zelda with her watching (that was her request; she said, "I want to play a video game" in her Bella talk and how could I resist?). My nights are just weird. Sleep two hours, read an hour, sleep two, write papers two.
I tried to teach Jarom to write his name on Sunday. He's got "rom" down, but he keeps confusing capital-J and lowercase-a. He calls them "r". But he's learning. He's such a smart kid. He's especially smart at these cute little children computer video games he finds on the web, which is neat and all but maybe sad if that's the only thing he wants to do. (But it's not.) And he's good at em anyway. Makes me think of pictures of Mikie and I, stone-faced and staring at that tiny TV in the old family room, playing 8-bit Nintendo games and taking pictures of the ending screen so we can prove to people that we really beat the game.
I better go. This was just a post for fun. Can't wait till school's out and I can see my family more and do fun and exciting things again. Though winter's not all bad-- But this summer will be great: Disneyland, camping, exploring, road trips, new baby--as much as we can do. I'm looking forward to it all. Then hopefully we'll be back closer than ever and we can all have fun and celebrate newly received Bachelor degrees and stuff. Love you all. Talk to you soon.
A Moment in the Sun - a literary journey
2 years ago
5 comments:
mattie, we will have to have a giant shindig to celebrate all of us having degrees! okay, i have to say i would DEFINITELY want to attend your presentation, and i WOULD ACTUALLY if there were any possible way! i want darin to read the abstract too. i think he will like it. you have such a way with words. i am confident you will be published in scholarly journals one day. you have a confidence and sophistication in your language that stands out. when i write, which i love to do of course, i think i am so much for frilly or something, i can't describe it, but i really admire your style. and you are so ambitious! i admire that too. you are just out there getting stuff done. it makes me wish i didn't sleep so darn much, opposite of you! kiss the family for me! i can't wait to see what orion's precious face looks like. more like amy, more like matt? somewhere exactly in between like the other two? we shall see!
DEGREES! YES!! Only barely 6 weeks for me, and I think about it EVERY DAY. I cannot wait to get over this routine and onto something fresh and exciting. So Matt, that stone-faced talk, well not much has changed between Jarom and us, has it? Since you and I are both as stone-facedly guilty of hours of Zelda time whenever the opportunity presents itself (usually post-11pm for me). I like your abstract. It makes me want to go back and reread good ol' Douglas Adams and those stories.
degrees schmegrees. I hate degrees for me that is. For you guys its great, but I am awfully tired of trying to adhere to the idea that in order to be accepted in the more intelligent half of our society you are supposed to have one. I just keep thinking if I actually tried to get one I would die in a car accident while hating my entire life about 3/4 of the way through working and school, working and school. What a travesty to die while doing what you hate. The structure, the rigamarole, the stuff teacher's teach you already know, the classes you wish to quit. I wish there was a degree in just plain old life or something, right. If that was the case, I would hope to have a doctorate's by now. Anyway, enough on that. Matt, you are such a great writer. It blows me away. I can't wait till we are all doing what we love for jobs.How exciting that will be. I looked up J.D Salinger alot lately. Strange and wonderful life he has had. Best of luck and inspiration to your presentation. Powerpoint, blah! I have to make them all the time for Judy at work. Speaking of degrees, I had the Academy of Art send me whole books on their program for graphic design. Now that's one thing I would be willing to get a degree in. I just wish I could a specialty degree with none such math or silly Gen Ed requirements even near me. Just a special course in Graphic Design for a year or so, and wallah! a certificate that shows I passed. Our country's education system kind of blows, if you ask me. It's just perfect for molding good ol robots. THAT DOES NOT APPLY to our CRAZY FAMILY! But, hey, that's just my non-rules, non-conform mind at work. Matt, you should watch the 7 up series. It's awesome! I love you!
I do realize that teacher's teach was a comment that made me look kind of WT while I am ripping on college. Bad. Sars.
Ok, Adie, what does WT mean. Anyway, Matt, you are incredible and I am so proud of you! Congratulations on getting the honor of presenting your seminar, I have been telling everyone about it. Wow, it's a little hard to understand all that postmodernism stuff, but keep up the good work! What a precious little (getting bigger)family you have and all the love and support you have for each other is inspiring. I am so glad you have Amy and that she supports you in your goals. Thank you Amy and Good Luck on your class Matt, I hope lots of people sign up, Love you so much
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