frustration

I’m not sure I understand how EL&IC works as a a whole. The various bits and pieces, such as the images scattered throughout and the pages of other people’s letters and notebooks, while referenced in the various bits of narrative, feel like puzzles to me. I constantly pore over the pictures, the red-circled edits, the… Continue reading frustration

Published
Categorized as Reflections

Trauma in “The Road”

I’m not entirely convinced that the ‘Black Hole of Trauma’ chapter relates directly to The Road, in the sense that the situation of the father and son figures of the novel is far more complex than that of the easy groupings of “people who undergo trauma and develop PTSD” and “people who undergo trauma and… Continue reading Trauma in “The Road”

Confessions

(p. 48-49) Soundtrack: Prelude by Nanase Hikaru The camera pans along a wooded ridge edging a valley plain, through an uncertain darkness lit by smoke-obscured flames across the plain. It reaches a small space in the woods of the ridge where a bare camp—a blue tarp pitched precariously upon some branches and sticks stuck in… Continue reading Confessions

Parable of the Sower

The character of Keith really threw this story into a loop for me, so far. When he was first mentioned, Lauren spoke of him so shortly that I did not at all expect him to become anywhere near as important a character as he became by chapter 9. The focus up until the moment in… Continue reading Parable of the Sower

Friday night sights

Kids go out on Friday nights. There’s an idea of the promise of fun that makes the idea of standing in a pool of beer and gyrating your hips far less repulsive at midnight on a Friday night than at, say, noon on a Tuesday. It’s the idea of that promise that has me finding… Continue reading Friday night sights

Panasonic White Noise

The entire first volume of White Noise is devoted to apparently anything but the “disaster” element. It opens as a first-person narrative, and relates to us – through the eyes of our narrator – the inner workings of (and delicate relationships strung between) himself and the other members of his family. On first reading, none… Continue reading Panasonic White Noise

Published
Categorized as Reflections

just breathe

Well, I wrote this up yesterday before I went home, but apparently closed down my computer before it finished posting. My bad. Breathing: it’s simple, and it happens more or less automatically. With the Hammer strike, I would have thought that many of the characters would find good occasion to breathe, whether to calm themselves… Continue reading just breathe

Personal Ad: Harvey Randall

Pre-Hammer Not Quite Single White Male seeking independent, willful Female for one-night indulgence. Preferably this episode would be carried out at your place, not mine, as I have a very dependent wife (but do not let this worry you). Trampiness a plus. I feature a steady, sizeable income and relative fame via my job as… Continue reading Personal Ad: Harvey Randall

Published
Categorized as Reflections

Gordie Vance

I found it interesting to see Gordie Vance’s reaction to Hammerfall. We have so far seen plenty of pages filled with people acting irrationally or inappropriately because of the idea of the comet hitting Earth, justifying their actions with that “end of the world”-type inevitability. Fred, most obviously, has his (icky) way with Colleen, later… Continue reading Gordie Vance

tweets

Hay guys, we have officially instated an extra-special hashtag on twitter just for our class! You should be super excited about this, because it’s going to be awesome. So if you already have a twitter, start tossing out #eng459 and tweet about class, the readings, musings, whatever. If you don’t have a twitter, head on… Continue reading tweets