05/29/15

Div and Des

Way back when, before the skies, before the stars, before anything, two beings existed. Two beings that were not like anything today, they had no characteristics, no size, colour, shape, smell, nothing they just simply were.

These beings lived for many years, thousands and thousands of years, in simple harmony with each other, exploring the big nothing that surrounded them.

One day the beings began to push into each other’s space, they began to test each other, to test dominance. They had grown tired of their peace. The two beings decided that they should be different; they wanted to be able to tell themselves apart.

So there in the big nothing these two beings that were pure entities of energy decided to give themselves an identity. The first being chose to keep its shapelessness but gave itself a white dewy color; it also chose a name, Div. Once Div had created itself the second entity wanted to do the same, it chose a colour as well, a murky grey and because it wanted to be different than Div it gave itself more rigid and sharper edges. The second entity wanted a name as well, but again it had to be different than Div, it chose the name Des.

Div and Des were quite happy with themselves and the time they had spent on making something in the big nothing. However much like they had grown tired of their peacefulness, they grew tired of their new characteristics they wanted to create more.

Div decided to create a tiny ball with blue liquid and green mush. Div was so proud of the little ball it was pretty and warm and made Div feel a sense of love inside it’s being. Div wanted more of that love feeling, so it decided to create little tiny moving fluffy things. Div made them big and small, Div made them like water or like the green mush, there were flying ones and swimming ones, things that burrowed and things that lived in the tall green mushy parts. Div loved her little ball with it’s little inhabitants and quickly forgot about Des, Div was too consumed by watching her ball to even notice what Des was doing.

Des became jealous that something else for the first time had Div’s attention. Des tried to create her own little blue ball but Des was too angry to make it as warm and as happy as Div’s and no little fluffies would stay on it. Des tried and tried and with every attempt Des became angrier and the balls became less blue and less happy.

Div was busy naming the blue ball and it’s inhabitants to see how upset Des was becoming. Div named the blue ball Earth and the liquid parts the seas and the green mushy parts the land and forests. The inhabitants all got names too, there were elephants who were big and smart, whales that were the elephants of the sea, mice which burrowed and scurried around, foxes that were beautiful and cunning, just to name a few. Div was growing more and more loving and warm with every new name or thing it created.

Des finally had enough, it had been years since Div gave any attention to Des and Des could no longer even form a ball; there was too much anger. Des sat and stewed for many years trying to think of a way to get back at Div, until one day Des thought up the perfect plan. Des knew the only thing that Div cared about was the little Earth and since Des could not make it’s own it decided to hurt Div’s. Des created rain clouds, practicing by sending little rainstorms over Div’s Earth. At first Div did not mind, the rain helped the land and forests grow which kept all the inhabitants happy.

This only enraged Des more, Des sat and practiced making the rain and liquids even more violent, until one day Des had created what it called a hurricane, a thunder storm, a flash flood, and lightening. Des was so delighted with it’s creation that for a moment Des hesitant to send it over Div’s Earth. Unfortunately the anger Des felt for Div was still growing.

Des sent all of it’s creations over Earth all at once. Div couldn’t stop it, the storms ravaged the little blue ball and overwhelmed the inhabitants, most of which never got up.

Div was devastated and Des was overjoyed, but only for a moment. Div quickly remade all the things that had perished and warned them all to lookout for Des, for Des was sure to do it again.

Sadly as much as Div warned them, the inhabitants didn’t know what to look for, they had no way to tell what Des was. So Des sent waves of storms and Div remade waves of inhabitants, for many years this was Earth’s cycle.

Finally the cunning fox asked Div what the storms names were, Div paused and said well Des created them, but Div had no name for the actually storms. Then an wise owl chimed in and suggested they name Des’s storms so they could warn each other and have a fighting chance. Div loved this idea and quickly asked all her creations what they wanted to call Des’s storms.

The inhabitants of Earth decided on Evil, it wasn’t similar to Div or any other name given and it was short enough to be shouted quickly as to warn each other of Des’s storms.

From then on Earth and it’s inhabitants knew Evil was out there and that it would come and try to hurt them, they knew that when Evil was shouted they needed to protect themselves.

Earth now knew Evil existed and some inhabitants were still caught in Des’s storms but more survived knowing Evil was out there.

Div still remakes those inhabitants that perished and Des is still trying to destroy Div’s earth, and every time Div makes someone new, they hear the story of how Evil came into their world. Div stays one step ahead of Des because, once you have told a story, you can never take it back, it can never disappear.

 

Here is a link to the audio that inspired my story – Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, I can picture Div and Des in this.

 

thanks for reading, talk soon!

 

E

05/22/15

Intersections

I chose to answer to question number 7 for this weeks post,

At the beginning of this lesson I pointed to the idea that technological advances in communication tools have been part of the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, and suggested that this is happening for a number of reasons.  I’d like you to consider two aspects of digital literature: 1) social media tools that enable widespread publication, without publishers, and 2) Hypertext, which is the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click. How do you think these capabilities might be impacting literature and story?

I think in order to answer this question we have to look at two of the main themes from this weeks readings, one being of course hypertext, social media tools and the new world of online stories, and the other being intersections. The new world of online text without limit that can spread like wild fire across the entire globe in a matter of minutes changes the role of writer, reader, and listener. When I log into my Facebook and see posts for the 10 most outrageous whatevers of this week, a trending article, or a developing news story and I chose to click in that moment I take control of my reader role and turn into an active reader, listening, and potential publisher. This is an environment new to us and it is really exciting. At first I am a reader but by choosing the setting, method, and distractions around I also become a listener, even more so if what I clicked on has a audio component, a video, radio or music.  However the intersection of reader and listener is not alone, because of the non-publisher requirements of online stories I also become a sort of writer if I choose to pass the story along and contribute to the widespread publication of any given story.

The next component of my answer has to do with hypertext which makes the intersection in which all three roles interact even larger, allowing for even more of a a grey zone between the three listed roles. I know by know I sound like a broken record but writing down these themes and explanation of the connections I have made in my head helps me and hopefully you guys to understand where my mind has wandered to. Hypertexts require participation on the part of the reader or listener, you actually have to follow what is being said and are given an opportunity to read in greater detail what the original author intended the context of their story to be.

I think hypertext is a really cool idea and that it will help students and the western world to move away from our favourite literary past time of cat herding. I love that metaphor of a cat herding, I cant help but giggle every time I think of how that would look, this is probably how Chamberlain felt when explaining how we try to organize orality. This is probably my favourite discovery from this weeks reading, the idea that we should regard stories, reader, writer, and listener roles, and orality in not a hierarchical sense but a ever changing, flowing, equal plane on which to share, grow, and develop our stories together.

Just as a last note, hypertext and the new online world we’ve been discussion made me think of youtube and video interacts, I follow a few people on youtube and totally get a sense of participation in their videos even though its possible to be worlds apart. One of the girls I follow is really about self love and being happy and supportive of each other no matter what, give her videos a watch! here

Herding_Cats_by_Nhaar

 

 

found this… its wonderful!

 

talk soon,

 

E

 

 

Bibliography

The Chicago School of Media Theory, “orality”. accessed May 22nd 2015. https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/mediatheory/keywords/orality/

Chamberlin, J. Edward If this is your land, where are your stories?: finding common ground. Toronto: A.A. Knopf Canada, 2003. Print.

05/16/15

Hello world! 1:1

Hello, I go by Erica and this class is helping me to complete my first undergrad in History and in English. I am enjoying and yet overwhelmed by online classes and I took this course in hopes of educating myself in the world of blogs and Canadian literature simultaneously.

I am, like I said, new the world of blogging and online discourse but I am really excited and reading all of your guys blogs has really inspired me to give it go myself. I am currently in the middle of my third and fourth year at UBC and currently have taken a interest in the theory of language. What I mean by that is the methods in which writers, theorist, historians, journalists, etc use to evoke a response, lately I find my responses to the literature I have been assigned to one, of curiously and confusion. I personally think that is the best combination. I love when a piece of writing or presentation stops my ever-changing, constantly active crazy mind, and forces it to focus on the ideas presented, this is what I hope and am certain this class will provide.

For a little background and step outside my mind palace (any Sherlock fans out there?).  I grew up in Colorado and moved to Canada when I was sixteen. I was adopted at birth from two amazing people and identify with my birth father as a member of the Kiowa tribe.  The Kiowa tribe are plains people known for the hunting and horse riding ability, an activity I have pursued since I could sit on a horse. This and Canadian literature go hand in hand for me, Canada has such a rich aboriginal history and I am eager to explore it. I was first exposed to Canadian literature in my first year of university and have been wanting to revisit it ever since. One of the most memorable books I encounter was The Imaginary Indian by Daniel Francis, here is the hyperlink incase any of you guys are interested, its amazing read, http://www.danielfrancis.ca/books/imaginary-indian. As much as I identify with my tribe I was raised in a non Kiowa household by two amazing and unique parents. My dad is a sailor and my mom is every bit a feminist as you can be, well they both are. So I was raised to believe everyone in every light is equal and the human race should be celebrated equally. One way I really like to express this, or to celebrate feminism is through photography and movements based around photography. One movement or project I follow closely is Project Unbreakable, where victims of sexual assaults take back the words used to hurt them, http://projectunbreakable.tumblr.com/ it is well worth your time. I know this course isn’t intentionally focused on feminism or gender studies but I believe all literature reveals an observation on gender and I hope that is topic our class at least touches on.

I will finish up with a photo that I hopes give you all an insight into my crazy mind thats full of curiosity, understanding, eagerness and compassion .This photo is a funny quote that outlines how I see the world, I think the smallest things can have the biggest impacts.

banana

I am really looking forward to this class and learning with you guys!

 

Talk soon,

E

 

work cited

Francis, Daniel. “The Imaginary Indian:The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture” Daniel Francis: Reading the National      Narrative. Web. 18 May 2015.

Tumblr. “Project Unbreakable”. Web. 18 May 2015.