All My Single Ladies...

Beyonce’s song, "All My Single Ladies", was released in November of 2008. This song became pretty popular because it is quite catchy, especially if you are/were single at the time. A little after the song came out, there were a plethora of YouTube videos that had come out with people “trying” to sing the song and dance along with the music. Last summer, one of my friends showed me a YouTube video of an African American woman with a clown mask on her face dancing to the song. Her hands are raised in the air, and she is jamming out to the song in a hotel room with one of her friends. First of all, she has a clown mask on which means that she probably can’t see too well. Second, she isn’t paying attention to where she is going or what exactly she is doing. All she cares about is dancing to the song, but she doesn’t want anybody to see her face. I mean it couldn’t possibly be the fact that she isn’t the world’s best dancer. Nevertheless, she continues to dance. Third, she is with her friend and they are probably bored out of their minds, so they decide that they will make a YouTube video. During the part of the song where it says “now put your hands up,” her hands go up in the air. As the song progresses a little further, she does the infamous head throwing motion. Not realizing the TV is right there in front of her when she brings her head forward, she nails her head on the TV. Clearly in pain, she takes off her mask and proceeds to turn off the video camera. This video is one of those videos where it gets funnier and funnier every time you watch it. I think it very much relates to me because I love to dance; although, I am far from being close to the real Beyonce. I have hurt myself before trying to dance. This video is so hilarious because I can see this happening to me. I would be trying to hide my face because I wouldn’t want anyone to know it was me trying to dance. Then, I would get hurt and take off my mask so that everyone is able to see my face all over YouTube. My friend and I have also made videos very early in the morning because we were bored. Of course, I embarrass myself and my roommate put them on Facebook. I also think that I do things sometimes without thinking what I actually look like, and I’m sure this is what this girl did. I am the type of person that will laugh at almost any joke, “funny” movie, anything that is intended to be funny, or for that matter things that aren’t intended to be funny. I love laughing. This video might not be that funny to other people, but I think that everything is funny!

He Never Knew...

In Ralph Ellison’s An Extravagance of Laughter, he experiences something he has never experienced before. He learned, while he was in New York, that buses were a very popular way of transportation. However, unlike in the South, the North didn’t really associate your racial status as to where you had to sit on the bus. Ellison describes the way it was for him in the South: “In the South you occupied the back of the bus, and nowhere but the back, or so help you God.” Then he explained the difference between the North and the South by saying:
“ So being in the North and encouraged by my anonymity, I experimented by riding all over New York buses, excluding only the driver’s seat—front end, back end, right side, left side, sitting or standing as the route and flow of passengers demanded.
Being accustomed to the South’s “rules”, Ellison was baffled by the different choices he had in which place to sit. He was used to not having a choice because he was obligated to sit in the back of the bus in the South. Ellison claims,
“ Thus having convinced myself that no questions of racial status would be raised by where I chose to ride, I asked myself whether a seat at the back of the bus wasn’t actually more desirable than one at the front. “
Ellison realized that all this time he had complained for being made to sit at the back of the bus. He claimed, “Now that I was no longer forced by law and compelled by custom to ride at the back and to surrender my seat to any white who demanded it.” I think this is a good example of why we think “grass is always greener on the other side”, but then we find out that it is really not any better. In fact, it may be worse. Ellison found it amusing that he actually preferred sitting in the back of the bus because now he wasn’t required to sit there. Now, he had a choice to make. “And in my own personal terms, what was more important—my own individual comfort, or the exercise of the democratic right to be squeezed and jostled by strangers?” he asked himself. Did he want to conform to the old ways of the South by taking a seat at the back or did he want to take the less comfortable, more prideful front seat? His history with buses in the South and realization that the back of the bus was actually better amused Ellison.

He Doesn’t Know He’s Just Sayin’

Laughing is an essential facet of everyday life. Stand-up comedians play a big role in giving us many reasons to laugh. In one of Katt Williams’s acts, called “Weed”, he portrays many unique characteristics that make him stand out among other comedians. For one, he is dressed in a suede green jacket, and that has everyone’s attention at the very beginning. The language he uses throughout the whole act is very attention getting because he is not afraid to say a few curse words. I know cursing for comedians is becoming more popular, but I think Katt Williams puts his own pizzazz in it. He begins the act by saying how weed can get your mind of the struggles of everyday life, and how he doesn’t understand that if you are smoking weed then you aren’t doing anything with your life. He makes weed seem like it is the solution to all our problems, when it is a horrible thing you can get addicted to. Next in his act, he talks about how weed isn’t a drug; it is just a plant that grows in the ground. He uses logical humor to his advantage because we all really know that weed is a drug. However, he puts it in terms that we have never thought about. I think this is why he is so hilarious! Then he continues to say that it has some affects when you light it on fire, but then he compares weed to actual drugs. He says you don’t have to mix all baking soda, water, or anything else to weed but you do to other drugs. Then he says that he doesn’t know the recipe; he is just saying. When really he does know the recipe or else he wouldn’t have said that. I think another reason he is so funny is because he says things from actual experience because he knows so much about it. He relates smoking weed very well to the audience. He mentions worrying about the light bill. He says if you just hit the blunt one time, it will take away all the worries because you have 12 candles you have been waiting to burn. Another unique characteristic about him is he uses his hands very well to demonstrate what exactly he is saying. There are many distinctive traits that separate his comic style from others. I think because he is willing to branch out and say some pretty fanatical things that he is very successful in making people laugh. When he makes people laugh, the people don’t really realize at what they are laughing at could be very harmful to someone. He, in a way, puts a distraction on people because many people don’t realize what they are really laughing at. His technique might not be as ethical or moral as Bill Cosby, but that doesn’t take away the fact that it is hysterical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWhUqo9Aivs

Making a Stand

Fanny Fern’s, "A Law More Nice Than Just", was written when it was the woman’s job to stay at home all day and clean house. Fanny Fern was the type of woman that wanted to be active and not cooped up in a house all day. I can easily understand where she is coming from because if I put myself in her situation I would be exactly like she is. When she decides that she is tired of waiting around on her husband to get home from wherever he goes, she wants to live a life in the man’s shoes. Her decision to do this would have most likely been accepted in the modern age because our world has changed quite a bit since then. It was illegal for women to dress as men, but Fanny didn’t care. She was tired of feeling unequal.

When she told her husband that she was going to dress up as a man and go out with him, he was in shock that she said that. As she began putting on the clothes, he began to laugh. She said of him, “Tailors must be a stingy set, I remarked, to be so sparing of their cloth, as I struggled into a pair of their handiwork, undeterred by the vociferous laughter of the wretch who had solemnly vowed to “cherish me” through all my tribulations.” This is very humorous to me because he is laughing at her while she is getting dressed as a man, and she is complaining saying he is supposed to “cherish her” as a man. Then it goes on to say, “Still no reply from Mr. Fern, who lay on the floor, faintly ejaculating, between his fits of laughter, ‘Oh, my! by Jove—oh! by Jupiter!’.” I think Mr. Fern is laughing at her because he thinks she will stop, when in fact this drives her to dress as a man even more. As they began to walk she lead, and he drug behind her. Thinking to herself, “Oh, Fanny! Oh, my! but none of these things moved me, and if I don’t have nicely-fitting suit of my own to wear rainy evenings, it is because---well, there are difficulties in the way.” I thought this was really funny because she refers to her female parts as difficulties, which is understandable when she is trying to fit in men’s clothing. At the very end of the story she states, “I’ve as good a right to preserve the healthy body God gave me, as if I were not a woman.” When she says this, she is talking about keeping her parts and still being able to dress as a man. I respect Fanny Fern very much in this story because she is tired of putting up with the men getting to do whatever they please while she sits at home. I think she takes a great stand about how women are really taken advantage of when she decides to go out with her husband dressed as a man!

Age Isn't Just a Number

Throughout Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, the characters display many immoral actions. One would think that during the Victorian time period it would be a high priority to obtain moral values. Wilde portrays his characters as having the rebellious attitude toward the Victorian culture. This dialogue between Cecily and Lady Bracknell is one of many examples of the immorality exposed during this play.

Cecily: Well, I am really only eighteen, but I always admit to twenty when I go to evening parties. Lady Bracknell: You are perfectly right in making some slight alteration. Indeed, no woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating….Eighteen, but admitting to twenty at evening parties. Well, it will not be very long before you are of age and free from the restraints of tutelage. So I don’t think your guardian’s consent is, after all, a matter of any importance.

The dialogue between these two characters epitomizes the way people believed and acted in Decadent culture. Cecily believes it is okay to lie about her age at times when she thinks it is appropriate. I would have expected Lady Bracknell to speak up and say something to Cecily about lying about her age, but she, like Cecily, believes there is nothing wrong with it. Of course Lady Bracknell would say that she didn’t need her guardian’s consent to say she was two years older than what she really is because it wouldn’t matter anyways. Her ward or guardian is John Worthing, and he is the one that calls himself Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. There were some really great role models during this time period. I think this is humorous because Lady Bracknell should be someone that helps distinguish between what is right and wrong, but even she thinks there is no harm in lying. Lying about anything is, without a doubt, under the category of immortality. In our society today, lying leads to nothing good. If I were to admit to lying about my age, it would not go unnoticed. I would be punished. In the Decadent culture, it seems to be there are no consequences for the actions people take. The only way a person learns from his or her mistakes is by being punished or having consequences. Wilde took a step away from showing how the characteristics of being honest and trustworthy are of great importance in not just the Victorian culture but in life as well. There is no point in time when lying should be accepted as being moral.

Callie Holloway

The Unexpected

In the chapter Blind Panic, in Douglas Adams Last Chance To See, Adams deals with the disorientations of another place besides his home. It is a challenge for many people to venture out into places that are unfamiliar to them because they can’t handle getting out of their regular routines. Adams says, “Assumptions are the things you don’t know your making” (143). When we travel to different places, we assume that everything will be just like it is at “home.” This false hope is a bit mind-boggling to us because we figure out that people live a lot differently than we do. Adams goes through many experiences that he was not expecting. Being around a lot of people that you don’t know in large crowds can be very overwhelming. When you add a lot of people plus a lot of bicycles it can be a little scary. It is very uncommon to see many people riding bikes everywhere, unless there is a bike race. We are used to seeing people drive cars everywhere we go. Adams says, “Everyone in China rides bicycles. Private cars are virtually unheard of, so the traffic in Shanghai consists of trolley buses, taxis, vans, trucks, and tidal waves of bicycles” (158). Adams was not accustomed to seeing all the different types of transportation such as trolley buses and bicycles. China’s population causes major traffic issues when seeing it from a pedestrian perception. “The first time you stand at a major intersection and watch, you are convinced that you are about to witness a major carnage” (158). When driving on the road, we don’t usually think about how there is going to be a wreck because we don’t normally have to worry about there being a huge number of people driving bicycles through intersections.

Adams comments, “Next time you keep your eyes open and try to see how the trick’s done; but however closely you watch you can’t untangle the dancing, weaving patterns the bikes make as they seem to pass insubstantially through one another, all ringing their bells” (158).

By referring to the mass chaos of the intersection as a trick, I think Adams is finding humor in the situation. He knows that it is very dangerous, but I think he looks at it as pretty funny because they are all so good at not crashing. Another thing he realizes about China is that sound is a major part of communicating. He says, “In the Western world, to ring a bell or sound a horn is usually an aggressive thing to do. It carries a warning or an instruction: “Get out of the way,” “Get a move on,” or “What the hell kind of idiot are you, anyway?” He is saying we use sound as a meaning of warning someone; we don’t try to look after anybody but ourselves.“In China, you gradually realise, the sound means something else entirely. It doesn’t mean, “Get out of my way, asshole,” it just means a cheerful “Here I am.” (159). He is not used to using sound as a pleasant communication tool, but he accepts how they use it and embraces it. I think that Adams deals with the “disorientations “of China very well because he found humor in them. If you can laugh at a situation you are uncomfortable with, then it makes the situation seem bearable.

Callie Holloway

Comparing Jesus and Billy

In Kurt Vonnegut’s book, Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim is portrayed to be the type of “man” that rarely sheds a tear. Most wars have the opposite effect on people, but not Billy. “Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you’re alive. I don’t think Billy would have agreed with this quote because he didn’t feel the need to cry very often. His response when people died were so it goes. A time in which I thought he would cry was when his wife died, but he didn’t even then. When she died, he was pretty much a vegetable in the hospital. This could have affected the way he felt toward the situation. Throughout the book, Billy had not cried once until he came upon the two horse pitiers. On page 252 it says, “Billy asked them in English what it was they wanted, and they at once scolded him…When Billy saw the condition of his means of transportation, he burst into tears. He hadn’t cried about anything else in the war.” This statement helps explain that Billy doesn’t believe in crying because it doesn’t help the situation. In his case, he could have taken the side of the Tralfamadorians in realizing that everyone dies in some point in time. In the stanza of “Away in a Manger” when it says, “The Baby awakes. But the little Lord Jesus No crying he makes,” it is not often that babies do not cry when they are woken up. Billy and Jesus can be compared to each other because they both experience difficulties and reasons that one would cry. Billy goes through the war losing people all around him and seeing cruelty. Jesus, even as a baby, did not cry when he was awakened. When Jesus was crucified, he did not cry. I am sure he wanted to, and there is not a single person in this world that couldn’t have held it within them. Billy and Jesus show a similar characteristic of strength. They both endured some very painful things such as death and dying in which many people cry. This is not saying that they both never cried because they did. Billy cried because the condition of the horses, and he also wept. Vonnegut says, “Later on, as a middle-aged optometrist, he would weep quietly and privately sometimes, but never make loud boohooing noises.” The stanza of “Away in a Manger,” says, “No crying he makes.” John 11:34-35 reads, “Master, come and see, they said. Now Jesus wept.” Jesus wept when Mary and the Jews came weeping to him over the death of Mary’s brother Lazarus. He also wept when he approached the city of Jerusalem in Luke 19:41. They both wept over the condition of someone or something besides themselves. I think this shows that Billy Pilgrim and Jesus didn’t cry often. When they did, they wept quietly. Jesus and Billy demonstrate that there is really no need in crying; however, there is need for weeping.

Callie Holloway

Vonnegut vs. Warren

Racial segregation was a big controversy in the early 1950’s. One of the big court cases during this time was Brown versus the Board of Education. It actually occurred in 1954. A year before, in 1953, Earl Warren was appointed the Chief Justice position of the Supreme Court by President Eisenhower. The time, in which Warren entered his new position, the court was much divided because of the Brown v. Board of Education case. The case was for racial segregation in public schools and how it was unconstitutional. The argument was that it violated the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees all citizens have equal protection of the laws. Warren’s beliefs were that if children in public schools were segregated, it would deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities. He did not agree with the ‘separate but equal’ idea when it came to education. Warren was criticized for his opinion because he wasn’t in total acceptance of the Constitution, but he took the criticism. Why would Kurt Vonnegut want to impeach Earl Warren because it sounds like he is representing something good?
Kurt Vonnegut is known for his black humor as a writing style. Vonnegut’s or, in the book, Billy’s bumper sticker portrays that for some reason he wanted to get Earl Warren out of office. When putting together that one of Vonnegut’s styles is black humor and that Earl Warren wasn’t for racial segregation, it is very clear why Billy had this bumper sticker. Warren believed that all races should be kept together in public schools because he thought that having the opportunity for a good education should be available to everyone, not the majority only. Warren didn’t believe it was fair to discriminate against any minorities. When someone wants to impeach someone, it is usually because he or she does not agree with what that person stands for. In the case, Vonnegut’s writing style hints that he doesn’t necessarily consider everyone to be equal or that everyone should have a chance at a good education. Vonnegut probably agreed that public schools should be segregated; therefore, he didn’t agree with Earl Warren. I think Billy’s bumper sticker shows that he agreed with racial segregation to some extent or otherwise he wouldn’t have wanted to impeach Warren. Billy obviously is not scared to go against what Warren believes because he has the sticker on his car for everyone to see. In a way, Billy is standing up for what he believes in. However, in this situation I disagree with him.

Callie Holloway

Can You Handle It?

Blog #3
The A.R. Ammons’ poem, Shit List; Or Omnium-gatherum Of Diversity Into Unity, about the different types of shit was not intended for everyone. I don’t think the words in the poem, mainly the word shit, were meant to be read by smaller people. Younger kids shouldn’t be introduced to words such as shit at a young age; therefore this poem would be inappropriate for kids in middle school and under to read. In the modern world, however, many smaller kids have been introduced to curse words at an early age. This does not make it right. In my personal opinion, I don’t agree that they should be. This poem was intended to be read by people in high school and up. I think you have to be at a certain level of maturity to read this poem.
This poem reiterates the fact that everyone and everything has bodily functions. It has to happen because it is part of the cycle of life. If we didn’t poop, we could not live. It is vital to survival. I think one would have to have this assumption in order to find this poem funny. I don’t agree that cursing is always funny, but in this context, it is. Depending on someone’s religion, it could determine whether or not he or she thinks this poem is laughable. A really religious person might not think it is very funny because of the abundance of the word “shit.” Even if a person doesn’t morally think cursing is right, it could still be funny to him or her. Also to think this poem is funny, I think one has to have a sense of humor or be easily amused. In a sense, this poem could be considered disgusting, but it is natural. I also think one has to be open-minded to different things. A normal poem wouldn’t have a subject about the bodily functions of life. If one is close-minded, then he or she probably will not find this poem laughable. People that are close-minded are not willing to branch out to different ideas. Overall, this poem is very strange, but in a peculiar way it brings humans and animals together.

Callie Holloway

There Are Two Sides to Every Story

When I read the Box Hill scene from Emma, I had a difficult time grasping what I was reading. As I was reading, the characters seemed to overlap each other because I didn’t know who was who. Our class discussion helped sort out the different characters and some of their characteristics. I knew a lot more about the Box Hill scene when we viewed the clip, so I was able to pick up on some of the funny things that happened during the scene. The character’s voices and animations brought life to the scene. When reading it, one cannot judge how someone’s voice sounds without actually hearing it. Reading the picnic scene, I didn’t realize how much Emma’s words offended Miss Bates. Also when reading it, there were not any awkward pauses. However, when we watched the picnic scene it had a very long awkward pause after Emma made her rude comment. Upon watching it, it became clearer to me how sensitive Miss Bates was. It was also funnier watching the part where Miss Bates acted goofy while she was attempting to give Emma and Jane their cake. I am more of a visual learner, so watching the scene had more clarity and reason for laughter.
Charles Baudelaire believed, “The wise man does not laugh without trembling.” Throughout this scene there were a few funny parts. During the picnic scene Mr. Churchill suggested they play a game by saying one clever thing, two semi-clever things, or three dull things. I think everyone thought it would be a really fun game. Miss Bates stated, “Three things very dull indeed…I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth.” Miss Bates is pretty much making fun of herself to liven the crowd. Then Emma pipes in by saying that she would be limited if she were to say three things. There was a part of me that wanted to laugh, but I felt empathy for Miss Bates. I think Baudelaire’s quote is appropriate here because a wise man should think twice before he or she laughs any time. It’s like a person laughing at something they know there will be a consequence for. The quote that suits Emma would be the quote from Thomas Hobbes. She couldn’t handle Miss Bates having all the attention. Emma made her comment so the attention shifted back to her. She didn’t care who she had to belittle. Baudelaire’s quote describes my reaction towards the scene.
-Callie Holloway

Why do we Laugh?

Callie Holloway

Blog 1- Why do we Laugh?

Laughter is very much essential to life. It is something we put into our daily routine or at least I do. I think Thomas Hobbes’s quote talks about some of the negative aspects of why people laugh. It says that people laugh because of the deformities of others. I don’t necessarily agree with this because not all people do this. I guess there are times when it does occur, but I wouldn’t say it is meant to be derogatory. There was a time I was in music class in elementary school, and I could not stop laughing for the life of me. My music teacher would give me the evil eye, but that did nothing for me. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I just couldn’t quit. I guess it seemed like I was doing it on purpose. Sometimes I think people think that when we laugh we are doing it in spite or trying to be mean, when we truly aren’t. He also portrays that when people laugh; they are putting themselves above others or bringing glory to themselves. I don’t agree with this either. This quote can also be a little confusing. If some people like telling jokes, then they might laugh at their own jokes to try and spread the humor. This doesn’t mean they want to bring glory to themselves.
Hobbes does mention the word pusillanimity which means cowardice. He says,” Much laughter at the defects of others is a sign of pusillanimity.” I do agree with this statement of his because it is not right to make fun of people. It reminds me of the golden rule. Hobbes also says that people laugh at others because they are insecure about themselves and their own imperfections. I do agree with this statement. I think there is a difference in laughing at someone who trips or something and then laughing at someone to make fun of them. Who hasn’t laughed at someone who has tripped? Sometimes it also depends on the person. There are certain people I can joke around with because of their personality, and there are others that I have to be more serious with. If my friend trips, I would probably laugh. If someone I didn’t know tripped, I would make sure they were okay first. I am a person that loves to laugh a lot, and the reasons I laugh are not to put others down or bring glory to myself. I laugh because it makes me happy, and I like to see other people laugh. Laughter is meant to bring a sense of life into this world.