Vocabulary: Fall List #10

No list/sentences from me this week.  Instead, take a look at Justin Thompson's excellent vocab Prezi.  It's got plenty of humorous pictures to associate with the words, and is far more effective than anything I've done for vocab.

Literature Analysis: All the Pretty Horses

GENERAL
Apologies for the long summary.  The story is fairly complex, and anything shorter would not have made much sense.  For those who don't want to read the whole summary (or don't want the entire story spoiled), it's basically about a trio of teenagers who go to Mexico in search of work as ranchers.  A horse gets stolen, and a snowballing series of events leads to prison, heartbreak, violence, and eventually death--a modern day Western indeed.

Tools That Change the Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

 -From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p. 67)

Notes on Hamlet: Particularly Polonius

Of all the elements of Hamlet, I would say that my view of Polonius as a character has changed the most.  Over the course of the play read so far, he has become my favorite character.  He is by far not the most likable character, but he is the closest thing to comic relief in the play.  While he initially just seems like a prolix old man, he is eventually revealed to be a fool.  Almost with no exception, scenes involving both Polonius and Hamlet result in outrageous dialogue, usually ending in Polonius's befuddlement.

Polonius has a deceptively complex character.  He is a humorous character, but also villainous and obsequious.  The audience loves to hate Polonius, but enjoys what he contributes to the plot.  When Hamlet kills him the audience is glad for his death (he's a "bad guy" after all).  However, even in his humiliating death he is able to make people laugh.  His unfortunate comedy makes him some kind of bizarre villainous butt monkey.  Despite his generally deplorable role in the play, the variety of different sentiments he brings makes him my favorite character, if only on the merit of design.

"Where do you see things going from here?"
Pulling from what I already know about the end of plot, as well as Shakespeare's typical idea of an ending, I would guess that things are going toward a massacre.  Tension has been building the entire play.  With the killing of Polonius, blood has been spilled, and it should not be too long before swords start swinging.

Who was Shakespeare?

A surprising amount of Shakespeare's life is unknown.  Everything that is known about him is found either through the influences on his writing, or official records from important points of his life.  From these records we know that he was born around April 23, 1564.  Interestingly, there is little record of his education, leading to some wild speculation about the credibility of Shakespeare's authorship.  Shakespeare married, then had a daughter and twins.  After the twins were born, seven years pass with no record of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is generally received poorly among students.  It is most commonly associated with difficult to understand text.  His reputation is further tarnished by the fact that Romeo and Juliet is used by many to sarcastically describe a cliche romantic situation.  This establishes the idea that Shakespeare's work is outdated, with all its value being academic.

If I'm honest, as far as Shakespearean reading comprehension goes, I've progressed slowly.  I'm certainly better than I was freshman year, but I'm far from seamless understanding of the text.  The biggest part I struggle with is the extended sentences.  The dialogue tends to wander between several different topics in a single sentence, making it difficult at times to relate everything back to the original statement.  However, I definitely get the comical aspect of Shakespeare's work much more.  When it was first explained to me while reading Romeo and Juliet freshman year, part of me guessed that the teacher was making it up the help the play appeal to us as a modern audience.  Doubtlessly that was part of the purpose, but I didn't realize how deliberate the humor was.  Additionally, I'm enjoying the cultural benefits of reading the classic plays.  A lot of previously esoteric references ("Et tu Brute?) make much more sense now.

Source:
http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
Found via DuckDuckGo, in accordance to our "filter bubble" discussion.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?

I can still remember pretty clearly when I was introduced to Facebook; it was just a few years ago, after all.  My friends had been trying to convince me to join for a while, but their arguments weren't very strong.  Their description of it came down to something like "you have a wall, and people can write on it or post pictures and stuff", to which I made a sarcastic (and unoriginal) joke about graffiti.  At the time, I found it pretty pointless.  If somebody really wanted to talk to me, why couldn't they just call or text?  Or even better, actually talk in person?

However, once I finally gave into the friendly peer pressure, I found it amazing.  The idea of having a singular hub to connect to my peers easily was pretty cool.  Throughout the end of junior high and early high school, I used Facebook moderately.  I wrote a status update from time to time, and made an effort to like and comment when I felt another status was worthy.  I wasn't on it nearly as much as some people, but I definitely checked at least once a day.

Vocabulary: Fall List #9 (Tentatively "remixed")

abortive: failing to succeed; unsuccessful
bruit: to voice abroad; rumor
contumelious: describing a humiliating insult
dictum: a saying; maxim; judicial assertion
ensconce: to settle securely or snugly
iconoclastic: attacking or ignoring cherished beliefs and long-held traditions
in medias res: in the middle of things
internecine: of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group; mutually descructive
maladroit: unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless
maudlin: tearfully or weakly emotional, foolishly sentimental
modulate: to regulate or adjust to a cettain measure or proportion; soften; tone down
portentous: ominously significant or indicative
prescience: knowledge of things before they happen; foresight
quid pro quo: one thing in return for another
salubrious: favorable to or promoting health; healthful
saturnalian: unrestrained revelry; orgy
touchstone: a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing
traumatic: of, pertaining to, or produced by a trauma or wound; psychologically painful
vitiate: to impair the qualitiy of; make faulty; spoil
waggish: roguish in merriment and good humor

Hamlet Act III: Remix

My initial idea was a remix of Hamlet set in a junior high.  The setting seemed like a reasonable premise for "modernizing" the text.  However, to differentiate it from a number of other similar parodies, I decided to only change the dialogue and leave Hamlet's brutal situation as it was.  The entire thing is incredibly contrived, so I made little attempt to justify it logically.  I added in some short bits that fit with the theme (nothing that changes the story) and cut down the length, but did my best to keep  it within the spirit of Shakespeare.  Besides that, I didn't tone down the plot at all.  At the time, I thought it would be a good opportunity for some dark humor, but it turned out a lot more disturbing than I anticipated.  It was written with a sarcastic tone in mind--I'm not psychopathic, I promise!  Apparently, pairing a mild setting with a violent story makes the whole thing a bit more messed up.  Regardless of how it turned out, it's an interesting look at how important context is to plot.  Obviously, take it all with a grain of salt.

If you can't figure it out, here's the characters and their changed names.
Hammond = Hamlet
Clive = Claudius
Paul = Polonius
Gary = Guildenstern
Ralph = Rosencrantz
Harry = Horatio
Georgina = Gertrude
Olivia = Ophelia

Background
Hammond is a young student attending Denmark Preparatory School, a private institution for Denmark's finest (or richest) students.  Hammond's father, the extremely high paid principal of the school, was recently murdered.  Hammond suspects that his uncle/stepfather (Clive, scandalously married to his mother shortly after his father's death) committed the murder by pouring Clorox into the ear of Hammond Sr. in order to gain the principal position through some archaic hereditary system of succession.  Hammond plans to show the murder of his father at the school's talent show in order to gauge Principal Clive's reaction. If he can confirm his suspicious, he will carry out his bloody revenge.  The scene begins as Hammond instructs the actors.

Vocab Midterm Autopsy

The vocab midterm went well for me.  I got 81/81, so I definitely did as well as I hoped.  I expected to do fairly well, as I typically don't have a lot of trouble with vocabulary.  The outcome can't be rightfully attributed to any one thing.  My study strategy was extremely rudimentary, essentially boiling down to reading over the words on this blog.  The fact that the midterm was matching made it much easier.  There were only a handful of words that I was not completely comfortable with going into the test, and I was able to figure them out through process of elimination.

That said, there is still room for improvement.  Ideally I would be comfortable with all the words and be able to score well even if the test was in a harder format.  Given that my study strategy was so simplistic in the first place, improving upon it will be equally easy.  Simply spending more time with the words should do the trick.  Additionally, since the word number should theoretically double for the final, I'll need to step up my use of mnemonics, particularly regarding similar words.

Vocabulary: Fall List #8

abeyance: a state of temporary disuse or suspension
ambivalent: having mixed feelings about someone or something; being unable to choose between two
beleaguer: to surround or beset, as with troubles
carte blanche: unconditional authority
cataclysm: any violent upheaval, particularly politically
debauch: to corrupt by sensuality, intemperance, etc.
eclat: brilliance of success, reputation
fastidious: excessively particular, critical, or demanding
gambol: to skip about, as in dancing or playing
imbue: to impregnate or inspire, as with feelings, opinions, etc.
inchoate: not yet completed or fully developed
lampoon: a sharp satire directed against an individual or institution
malleable: adapted or tractable
nemesis: something that a person cannot conquer
opt: to make a choice; choose
philistine: a person who is lacking in or hostile to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc.
picaresque: pertaining to a form of prose fictional (originally Spanish) involving the adventures of an engagingly roguish hero; often humorous or satiric, dealing with the common people
queasy: inclined to or feeling nausea
refractory: hard or impossible to manage, stubbornly disobedient
savoir-faire: knowledge of just what to do in any situation; tact

Dear Ophelia

"My name is O. and I'm trapped in this weird sort of dating thing--a prince says he loves me, but my family and brother hate him and tell me to stay away.  What should I do?"

Dear O,

I will do my best to impart what acumen I have on the subject.  I can understand why this situation may be somewhat of a quagmire for you--you want to make your family happy, but you cannot deny the euphoria you feel.  Indeed, the beatitude of youthful love is wondrous.  Perhaps there is a way to palliate your family while still maintaining sub rosa liaison with your "prince" (is this a literal prince, or some quixotic idealism?).  While secrecy may be parlous, it could be the only solution that appeases your family without stigmatizing your prince.  However, be wary of the mercurial nature of young lovers.  Maintain your own volition, and you should be fine.

Midterm Study Strategy

Our Vocabulary Midterm study strategy is fairly conventional (if unexciting).  I'll be collaborating with a group of 2-4 other people through Skype.  For the next three days, we will be going through two vocab lists, then on Thursday we will go over the last one and do a quick review of the whole thing.

Monday: Lists 1-2
Tuesday: 3-4
Wednesday: 5-6
Thursday: 7, review

As for the review methods themselves, we will be using mostly the vocabulary posts on this blog or Kris Green's flashcards.  I've found that using verbal quizzing is the most effective way to memorize vocab, especially when switching up the roles of being quizzed or doing the quizzing.  With simply reading a list of words or using flashcards by themselves, the vocabulary tends to blend together.  Verbal practice provides more distinction between words, as well as flexibility when providing definitions.

[Credit to Will Boerger for this one]
Mnemonic devices are also useful.  Even if you associate a vocabulary word with something silly or personal,  they do wonders for making sure you have that half dozen difficult word down.