Holy Cow It's April!

     Well, now that school has loosened its grip on me and given me time to blog it's time to play catch up. First, Frederick Turner. I am not a poetry fan at all. Sitting through a poetry reading is like stabbing my eyes out with unsharpened pencils. My sister liked it far more than I did. I do like his accent, I 'll give him that. He did give a very good lecture too. That was far more enjoyable. I have a lot of "nothings" scattered throughout my notes. I liked his comments about profound rituals and symbols. It got me thinking about the profound rituals and symbols I know of or even partake in. He mentioned the American flag. Growing up we always had a flag on our front porch. We took very good care of it. I remember going to boy scouts and listening to my dad tell the scouts why it was so important to fold it up a specific way and to not let it touch the ground. Then I thought about how there are other symbols like that in the world. Take the Olympic Rings for example. There are five rings to symbolize the five continents that participate: North America, South America, Eurasia, Australia, and Africa. The rings are interconnected to show unity. There are also profound symbols in legends. Take Ancient Egypt for example. The pharaoh held a crook and flail, the symbols of the pharaoh, the leader of the nation, the God on earth. The Round Table of King Arthur's tales symbolized equality and brotherhood of the knights. When I thought about myself and what rituals I took part in there were tons of examples. Every Sunday I partake of the sacrament which symbolizes the body and blood of Jesus Christ given to atone for the sins of the world. When I was eight years old I was baptized by immersion to symbolize death and rebirth; leave sin behind and become a disciple of Christ.
       The Tempest. I watched the version starring Helen Mirren. That was quite interesting. I have always thought she was a great actress and she didn't disappoint in my mind. I quite enjoyed it. The setting of this story felt so much different from the others because it was set on an island. I really like all the music written into this play. As a musician myself I get great joy from imagining what the songs sound like.
      Working on my project I came across a list of comedy and tragedy contrasted which was really cool. It definitely will help to show the similarities and differences between comedy and tragedy. It will also help to show how one can become the other. Here's a link for those interested in a sneak peek:
      http://blue.utb.edu/mimosa/Handouts/T&C.htm