Can You See Me Now?

Can You See Me Now?

Lost in the din, Voices like pillars white-hard and static. White-snow.
The television screen of my life flips channel to channel
Blinking I glance a moment of laughter, of pain, of clown-face and scream of horror
Only to lose it again, Like violins singing their eerie secrets,
The memory of the sound lingering, fading, haunting
As the screen continues to show me gray. Perpetual attentive waiting.
Tink, thud, plop, a stone traveling down into the gorges of red-rocked hell
The well is its dark oblivion, and motionless, weightless, sightless, soundless,
The ripples show me their pattern. I watch disturbance spread.
Soft flakes of ice float in the wind and settle upon one another
A perverse dance of self-preservation. Melding with others.
Snow-flakes like people encase themselves in a protective shield of others
Cannibalistic in nature, we feed ourselves on the failings of others.
Protect me, be my shield of flesh, die for me for I am no better than you.
Lock me inside my tombe. I'll watch the suffering of others
On the white-snow screen of my life, fading.
And without another thought I'll waste your life and mine
Learning nothing and watching the snow behind glass.
Imagining it is a message from God.
I've been standing here too long. Staring at their garbage.
I wonder why those people threw out their TV.
Black heap of box, glass, and buttons.
You shine on in the eyes of too many others.
I walk along further towards the sea-shore, the forest, the war.
My life is in a book somewhere.

Some random stuff that's worth trying to elaborate upon

Quacks chatter endlessly about Laundromats... but never-the-less they always seem to grow tired of it when you bring up to them that time when they found a duck swimming in the washer. It really must be a sore subject.

Executives have nightmares about pink ribbons... I mean come on! They Must! Haven't you ever wondered why uncle Ralph never lit little Susie come into his office. His favourite was Johnny, Johnny and his little red-headed friend Tom.

My ants want to rid the world of bullfrogs... A gooey fate is what awaits them and so soon the tables shall turn... Meanwhile I am satisfied in watching my ants learn how to throw things and build complex goo-shooting weaponry.

High school teachers have more scars than lion tamers... Have you ever noticed how they hide themselves in very concealing clothing and lurk about. They never want to talk to you for fear you'll find out their secrets, their schemes, or worse yet; the deep-seeded emotional trauma which has left them wishing deeply, secretly, that someone would throw them to the lions instead of the teenagers. Of course the large cats - the ones that look at you like you are some juicier, hairless, slower form of mouse, bite-sized in all your glory - they are the ones you mustn’t fear. They an smell fear and like un-adjusted youths will pounce and snap at any moment.

Couch potatoes despise all bullfighters... I would... I mean if I were a potatoes left forgotten to rot in among the couch cushions. I mean think about it... all you ever wanted to do was get eaten so you may give some person the energy to run. And instead you are stuck in the cushiony hell while some full-breed idiot is off dancing with a living hunk of red meat. I'd be so jealous, I'd want to be the meat and potatoes I was meant to be, I'd be bitter too.

In some places the communists require that the thieves are rarely mistaken for politicians... Though, strangely enough, not in America.

Monkeys gaze wistfully at cyborgs... Wide-eyes and awe inspired yet sorrowful and with trembling tears in their eyes, monkyes realize that these things born of nothing, which do not live are seen more readily as human then themselves. How is it that a machine which can walk and talk can ever be seen as better, in any way, than a primate which can communicate and love?

Fish are twice as good as geophysics!... And so I shall stick to the bowl of joy and goodness in fin-inspired heaven, which waits on my mantle each day for me to feed it. It eats raw meat - like my geophysics class which eats my brains.

Jokers seldom annoy dance therapists... If I taught people to lightening up through dance, not only would I be considered a con-man and leech to suckers but I would love a sucker who would laugh as I robbed them blind. Like a politician who tells jokes...

Dogs like to tease bureaucrats... But only on the weekends and only when no-one is around to hear them... trust me, I caught it on tape - I'll sell it to you for five dollars!

Technicians hit on soap opera stars... but technically speaking they never date them.

And for one that stands on its own:

Country and western singers long to be sissies.

What should you do?...

Seriously what should you do when you see a grown man run past you and you realize he's being chased by a little-person with a ping-pong paddle...
What do you do? Just stand back and watch or take out your camera?

FYI: Props to Comedy Central, Mind of Mencia, and Motherload!!!

First drtaft of paper

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Bordley-Harvell
Performance Analysis
Date: 4/26/06
Performance Analysis
Luke – Six-Pence-Blues
A real nice jazzy piece. He did well with playing it, although there were a few spots where he obviously had trouble with a few parts, he’s obviously doing relatively well.

Miriam – An-Ne-Nak-Digal, and An-De-Musik
Such a strong voice and pure sound, she gives the voice character and emotion when she sings. She has a strong grasp of dynamics and expressiveness, as well as mechanics.

Jerry – Sonorodies
His piece struck me as overly simple but the more I listened the more I realized how very good the piece was for teaching him and for him learning the notes and keys. Well done.

Kate – An-De-Musik
Lord! Kate has a beautiful voice. She really can (and did) belt it out. She too was expressive and beautifully well put together in her sound.

Dee – Finalle
Wow! An organ piece and one especially so well done! So much sound and control and she really had control of her pace and timing and the piece. Dee did a very good job playing.

Madeline – Silent Noon
She really seemed to get into her piece and although she wasn’t very loud she did well singing and expressing her sound. I wish I could remember as much as her.

Kate – E-Se-Damoré
Kate’s voice is beautiful and operatic in her control and tone. She has such control of her sound that it makes her singing very expressive and live. She doesn’t seem too over rehearsed or overdone.

Tamia – Swan Lake
Such a beautiful and familiar, you could tell she was hesitating at first but once she got past that nervous beginning the hesitation and forced nature became more relaxed and beautiful.

Becca – I know that my redeemer liveth
Such a small bell-like voice made so big, Becca has so much control and so much in the line of breath-support and you can tell that she’ll do nothing but get better and better.

- Bliss (by Schubert)
She seems a bit breathy but her sound beneath it is full and pure and beautiful. Also having all that memorized is quite a feat.

- Matchmaker – piano duet
She seems to have a heavy hand and to be very nervous but otherwise it was a fun tune and done well.

Hope – wishing you were here again
Despite the shaky start, Hope has such a beautiful voice and it sends chills of warmth to hear her hit some of those notes, she is emotional and evocative with her singing. Beautifully well done.

Natalie – Intro Choralle
He didn’t hesitate to bring forth the sound and she seemed very sure of her fingering/playing. Very well done.

Homework for today

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 08-1 Poem on
Cat Poem Exercize (pg 167)
Due 4-27-06


1. Morning

First I
arose to the
morning;

dew hung
on me, I
shook it off

and yawning
I reached
beyond my shell

and slowly
I crept
out of bed.


2. The Itch

I felt
a prickling
sensation

in the back
of my neck
and reaching

first over
one shoulder
then over
the other

I finally
scratched
the itch.


3. A Rat

As it was
my duty
I scampered

around looking
and finally
told her

there was not
a single mouse
in this
house

ignoring
my friends
under the bed

and
under
the sofa.


4. The Snail

I watched him
peek his slimy
head

first one
elongated eye
then cautiously

the other
glistening
out form
under

his shell and
he began
to show

himself
and then to
creep carefully,

slowly along
the leaf leaving
his putrid trail.


5. To Hop

I liked the
feeling of
the pressure

in my legs
as I spring
quickly

easily gliding
into the smooth
and weightless
air

and finally
I loved
landing

sometimes heavy,
sometime hard,
usually softly

miles from
where
I was.

Post for 4/26

Man! I'm getting really bad at this daily thing! I'm posting enough but remembering to do so before bed is getting harder and harder as the days seem to be getting fuller and fuller. I really do intend to keep up with this, both for class and for afterward. Meanwhile I'm really disappointed in myself that I've let it slip and that I've not done as much writing as I would like to and should do.

So as for updates and news, since it is now Thurs I can tell you about the weekend. Last Saturday I watched small children... it's like putting bait into a shark-tank, they can smell my fear and I had to shower heavily to get the creepy feeling off of me and after that otherwise uneventful day, I finally got to sleep! Sunday started off well, I slept in (which wasn't so good) but got to relax for the first half of the day. Afterward I got ready to go to class and got intercepted by a phone call from my friend, who insisted, since I am a mechanic, I should help our other friend out. Her car would not start. I tore into the ignition, cleaned it out a bit and tried to start it again and again. It really wasn't me though, everyone else had loosened it up for me, really! None-the-matter, it started and they all kidnapped me to go get ice-cream and it was good!

After that the week commenced and though I love him, the boy is getting antsy. It has been a while since we have seen each other and been together and he's starting to question me and us and it hurts because I want to comfort him and tell him... convince him that the truth of the matter is that everything is all alright... but he is scared and telling a person not to feel anyway they feel is an exercise in futility and aggravation. I try to help, and I try to ride out the storm, and I try to not let it get to me or bother me but the truth of the matter is that it does slowly grind away at my spirits. My strength is this ring, no amount of mental anguish may grind away at a diamond. I need always to remember to be as strong as a diamond and to not let things belittle me.
He always seems to be contacted by that awful stalker guy whenever it gets to that point. This guy seems to embody his every knowledge, his every fear and is almost too far into my man's thinking. Sometimes I question it, sometimes it worries me. Is my love seeing and hearing things? No! No couldn't be! So am I really being followed? He tells my man of a few facts. Things like what I'm wearing, whether my hair is down, where I am, who I'm talking to... but then he fills my love's mind full of things that are not true and would never be. He implies that I'm cheating - something I'm assuming he knows weighs very heavy in the worry category of my man's mind. He says things like don't bother and don't try, things I wish Ry would do more often. He think sso little of himself and this stalker guy ... asshole seems to do nothing more than belittle him more. What's worse is that he begins to believe that this asshole might know what he's talking about. I assure you that he does not. I Love my man and would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. If you don't believe me, ask any of my male friends who I've pushed away in the wake of this stalking bullshit. Whether it's an actual person or just something in his mind, this whole ordeal is as much of a wall as solid concrete. It is damaging to my relationship with Ry and it is hurtful to me and what's worse it is affecting my relationships with my friends. A relationship should but does not always last forever, a friendship, however, does last forever and in the wake of it all I am beginning to end friendships. I Love my man, and I am dedicated to him and loving him forever but when one friendship goes then another, then another… what's to say it won't corrode the friendship that is the base and definitive factor of the relationship that Ry and I have? What's to say the domino effect will leave standing strong that friendship on which our relationship is based? What's to say it won't destroy us by destroying that friendship too?
Whether it is or not I want to convince Ry that this voice on the phone is a specter. It is a mirage that embodies his fears and it is not to be listened or trusted as far as it is something that will destroy us. I want to not only tell him but to convince him that if he wants to loose me then he is welcomed to listen to the vissor. Meanwhile I wish for him to have faith in me and to find comfort in the fact that when we are living together he will know better because he'll physically be there. I hold him in my heart, mind and arms every moment though he is not physically here to hold in my arms, my Ry is my love and nothing replaces him in these arms, in this mind, in this heart; nothing!
And Monday through Wednesday have been consumed in this manner.
I've also been working the play every night this week and will continue to do so, so long as I have the time for it. I can find time for money though; I need to pay for this education somehow. Meanwhile I'm lucky. They recruited me because my Ry is a pro at the very same task and so they figured that through me they could get free professional work with amateur hands. Sure I need the practice, but even though I act the part, I am no expert and do not know nearly as much as my man does. I only hope to keep up with him when I work with him this summer. It's a risky situation to put myself in, especially with his duplicitous nature towards our relationship (is it working is it not) but I have confidence in our love, and I have confidence in my ability to stay strong and withstand his lows and I have confidence in my ability to keep us together and strong and to be happy in doing so. He makes me happy and I feel this summer will be a happy time. Despite the lows that are bound to occur.
However, back to the week: No papers thankfully but they will hit like a ton of bricks soon and I should be getting them done early. I’m also trying to set my schedule and convince my professors that I will be capable of taking their classes next semester. I hope to be and I really do worry of it, but in the meantime:
It is Thursday, the week is nearly over and I shall be happy and keep writing…
Now… on to my Homework assignment.

Poem for class

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 07-1 Poem on
Write a Scary Poem
Exercise(pg104)
Due 4-25-06


Sweet Embrace

The tears running the trail of my flesh,
A path of cheek to finger, hand to arm beyond
Rivers of blurry pain flow through open gashes;
The blood dripping, muddied salt-waters
Down my face, down my hands; the floor
Below me cherishes each succulent stain,
I have you now and always will. Don’t leave
Your heart is needed here to throb;
Your pain you shove into me, I do not like
This breathless existence, panting, heaving
I held you close in sweet embrace,
Arms encircle desperate around you,
Your smell and limp body heavy;
I kissed your face but now you're gone
I lye here silent still. A grave.
Perverse pleasure this game we play,
You leave, You scream, You hurt,
I scream, I hurt, I leave.
We both betray.
We cry.
And all the while birds are singing,
And the knife keeps swinging,
Hug me, hold me,
Blade cut closely,
My only love,
Goodbye.

Post for 4/24/06

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Mingus
Performance Analysis
Due: 2/27/06
Post-Performance Analysis
Words:
This piece contained many strong words which required pausing before and/or after them to accentuate their importance, I was able to emphasize the importance in such phrases such as “intimacy alert” though I couldn’t quite do it right in my mind and I couldn’t nail down exactly what I did wrong but I hope you did so I may discover it and fix it for the future. What needed to be more effectively in performance I made strong effort to humanize, slow down and to characterize each word that I found to be important and valuable. The performance required attention to the emotions in the phrases and the words to be most effective and I believe I put that into the performance, though I may have done it a bit too much.
Persona:
The persona as written is a love-sick, perpetually addicted man, as I am a woman I changed the maleness but left the rest. It seems to fit and work as many of the students were not surprised or put off in reaction – as far as I saw, by the implied lesbianism in the piece.
Locus:
As the location is more a frame of mind than an actual location. I tried to ensure that it was clear that the character talks about his needs and feelings in a conversation with a friend, confidant or even perhaps a therapist. Thankfully this is a very well written piece so I did not need to worry too much about what I had to do to portray this clearly. Didn’t want to over-do it but I think I did.
Climax:
A) logical: The logical climax of the piece was when the character met the “other woman” who happens to be his girl-friend. I think I overdid everything else so I ended up way overdoing this in compensation.
B) emotional: At the logical climax, emotion needed to portray a nervousness and a sense of relief all at once. This is elaborated in the last portion of the piece and is summarized in the final three words which are the true emotional climax. I think perhaps I may have done this right but I hoped at the same time I’d be able to recognize what right was. I instead placed myself in the required mindset of the piece and felt my way out of the proverbial box the rest of the way through the piece. I felt the ending rather than performed it, I only hope it was believable.
Aesthetic Components:
The aesthetic components of the piece all relied heavily upon the performance and the way the interpreter (me) chose to speak with body-language and emotions. There needed to be a certain methodic almost compulsory feel to the way I re-told the events but it needed to be balanced out by randomness and a sense of “craziness.” I think I may have overdone the frantic feel to the character and I believe I may have done too much and by it mussed with the balance and the person-ability and thereby the believe-ability of the piece.

Post for 4/23/06

Proposal:
Shannon Hollender
Prof. Malesh
Draft 2 of Hellacious Ppr.
(Proposal)
Due: 4/12/06

The E-book Publishing Debate
Intro:
Every book on the shelf was a war. A war waged internally; A war waged against the writer himself; A war waged against a publisher. Every writer has to fight to become great, and their greatest adversary is literature itself. As a writer, I had to overcome my own apprehensions to tempt myself, to force my mind and body to write and to never stop. But still my voice is not heard, the field of literature is such a vast one that being a little fish in this big pond is causing me to consider any other options I may have for making a name for myself. No publisher wants to publish a no-name. So far I am a no-name. Self-publishing via some made-up on the spot vanity press is also out of the picture, so many self-made writers have done it that way and gone far, they had the money to invest in it. I do not. Being a poor, young, inexperienced, small-fish of a writer, I have only one thing going for me: I’m am innovative and resourceful young college student. Being the writer I am I will find a way and I will make it happen.
Enter the research and prospective solution: E-Books. For those of you who do not know, an e-book is…

History: Personal Involvement:
When I was young I wrote poetry that – at least in my own naïve little world – was ground-breaking and different. Morose, somber, bloody, and sick were all call names for my writing. In growing up – and growing more wise – I was introduced to the words and works of Poe. I was given a compilation of his works – a book I never read. I shunned him at first – not wanting anyone to believe I’d plagiarized him. I felt I was just as good and just like him in works and I feared people telling me I couldn’t possibly be that good all on my own; but instead I was told I was indeed that good. I continued to write and I continued to progress towards being just as somber, morose and deeply layered as he. I love Poe. One day I hope to be as recognized as he, one day I hope to be as calculating, deviant and as good as he – One day I hope to be better.
Controversy (history too)
Getting published is my ultimate goal. Without publication, a writer cannot make a name for themselves, without a name they cannot hope to get published; so the hideous catch twenty-two ensues. But the question remains: how to break into this loop? How to get someone who is important enough to recognize you as a writer and give you a way in?

Perceived by others: (Maybe include sub-sets, consult time restraints)
The publishers see these things:
The people (readers/customers) see these things:
The authors see these things:
And the shared opinions are…

Conclusion:
In conclusion, my opinion is: That E-books are a good thing and they need to not be locked up or secured. Sure this will lead to more theft and plagiarism but this is a necessary step and a necessary piece of the puzzle in this country that is free speech and that is the world of publication. Literature today would not be existent if it weren’t for the principles that make it ok to freely copy and distribute the words of others – Like our fine country, which would not be today what it is if it were not for those same principles encouraging and protecting free speech. What is lost in profits for large companies and mid-grade writers is gained in opportunity, freedom and exposure for those less famous and just as good as the ‘greats’ of any genre.

● ● ●

In my paper:

Specific controversy is:
E-book publication, it’s “locks” and whether this is good or bad for a writer
Summary of argument:
E-books are a new opportunity.
Locks are preventing easy and/or free distribution – and they hinder easy-access
A new writer likes free-distribution – which is legal either way – for the free-publicity. Success comes in small amounts for a short while.
A writer already with a name does not like this piracy factor because it draws attention away from their hard-earned success. Success comes in small amounts far less than their distribution calls for.
A reader likes free-distribution of good writers – entertainment for nothing – does not like piracy distribution if they are honest because it inflates costs in compensation.
I am a new writer. I want what I can get while I can get it and while I make a name for myself.
Journal I’m Targeting:
“The Internet Writing Journal” because they are a step above “Writer’s Journal” in quality, they are professional, and the audience seems to be drawn towards intelligent academic and in-depth works – which is a level of quality I hope to measure up to some day. For my creative writing however I would want to aim for “Mystery Writers of America” an online journal which grants awards and writing opportunities to Poe-esque writers.

● ● ●
Notes To Self:

I plan on using these methods to exemplify my points:
Organizational.
Informative.
Be mindful of:
Audience perceptions and experiences - interests
Audience aptitudes – teach them terms!!!
Find more facts on publication via e-books
Find more fact on publication period

Knife in hand...

This is going to need some editing yet but I'll lay out the general idea; Background: I am afraid of children, today I had to play with and watch over several of them.... (b..bb...bbluagh... ~heebie-jeebies~)

The screaming wouldn't stop... why wouldn't the screaming stop? I had no other choice but to defend myself, was there really no other way? No. I had to do it. The gremlins drove me to this corner, I had to chase them off with my knife...
The door swung open and groggy, the police ushered me into the dark interior of he vehicle. Thank goodness, I'll finally be able to get away from the little monsters, peace and quiet at last...
One of the last things I remember is having been surrounded... Lights flashing... blue, red... blue... red...
They came towards me, their contorted little faces laughing and screaming in their sadistic high-pitched little ways, demented little smiles, they all had those demented little smiles. I was scared. I turned and ran.
They gave chase. I dodged and weaved, I was running for my life.
The things never run out off steam. They just kept running. As I ran out of steam their energetic and lightening quick steps padded lightly, almost care-free, behind me.
I was out of breath and delirious with lack of oxygen. I made a wrong turn. Trapped.
I had to face them.
There was only one way out of the kitchen and it was through them.
I grabbed a knife and waved it at them weakly. I collapsed to the floor.
The gremlins, pixie creatons, were upon me...
I remember grabbing one by the waist, I flung it off. Another I swatted at, and another I flailed at with the knife. One I'd flung to its stomach beside me. I plunged the knife into its back. I had to defend myself... the screaming.
Why were they screaming their hideous war-cries? All I wanted was for them to leave me alone.
They wouldn't leave me alone. I had to chase them away from me...
The screaming and the blood, I chased and they screamed still louder. Having found my second wind, I swiped at each of the little beasts whenever it got close enough. Some were trying to jump on me and pull me down, I resisted them, I stabbed them. And when they fell I did my best to make sure they stayed down...
The chasing and the bleeding and all the while their hideous screaming with the constant barrage of attacks. It all made me do it. I stabbed and bled and stabbed and ran. Chase, run, chase, run, stab, stab, stab... It didn't seem to end...
Huddled in a corner I stared at it splayed out before me, the last of the bigger ones was dead and bleeding and seeping before me. The rest had finally been silenced and chased off.
That's when the police arrived.
I was wide eyed, I didn't want them to take my knife from me. I clutched it tight and held it close to me. I was shaking violently from the whole ordeal. I was the victim here... They shot me with a tranquilizer...
The headlines the next morning read: "Babysitter Goes Psychotic, Stabs Several Children!"
They weren't children, the little creatons, they are monsters! The world nurtures those creatures, but they don't know, they just don't know!!!

one of the ways in which Beatty has moral tunnel vision

Shannon Hollender
Joseph Beatty
Moral Philos. Essay
Due 4/21/06

And then there were none…

Point: If everyone were eliminated from this world for anything anyone ever saw them do wrong, there would be no one left because Saints don’t breed. So may the punishment fit the crime:

When Joseph Beatty speaks, all those who are smart – listen; even a few of the dumb ones, like myself, are able to extract from his wise teachings something of intrinsic value and worth. I do not know this man well, but I do know a by what he has written that his is a reasonable and rational mind. He is logical in his formulations and when he speaks (or as is in this case writes) he imparts truth. In his article: For Honor’s Sake Dr. Joseph Beatty approached the concept of students cheating. His article, however had more of an issue with the informer rule than it did with students cheating. “So what’s the big deal?” you ask… The big deal is that while so many find it reprehensible to be put in moral conflict such that Beatty examines in his article; the action taken by the campus of revoking the informer rule effectively/inadvertently condones cheating by all but stating that it is not wrong for one student who is sole witness to another’s dishonesty to not report this reprehensible act. Saying that it is ok to let your friends cheat I think is not really what the campus wanted to do. Why, since the big argument was with the overly severe punishment, would the college not instead reduce the severity of the sanctions for such an act? Beatty has all that brain power, all that logical manageability and flexibility and instead of addressing the root of the problem, why did he spend all that wit, time, effort and energy on trying to figure out why people should not have to tell rather than addressing the real issue: why people don’t tell.
I by no means think Beatty did not address this issue, quite the contrary: if it were not for Beatty addressing it, I would not have known about it. My mind cannot grasp nearly as much as his and without his guidance I would not have understood this problem as much as I do. But still my complaint stands: Why not address the root of the problem? Why did Beatty and the school both address the informer rule rather than the severe penalty as the problem in this scenario.
My strategy for this paper is the same as my strategy for the last paper I wrote for Beatty; it is to follow the directions that were given me through the assignment and those given me by Beatty as a good of this assignment as laid out before me and come out of this paper having made myself and my argument even remotely clear. This in mind I move on to the relevance and the plan. But to attack the thorough logic of such a wise man and to hope to derail him in one argument is sheer madness, yet this is the requirement of the assignment. My first step was to analyze so that I and my reader thoroughly understand the question and confines of what I intend to answer. After all one must know the claim, who cares, the argument and the factors effecting or restricting the argument. And so I have (or will have) provided them (see the next paragraph for the argument). From here my strategy will be to pace like an idiot until I come up with some knowledge or inspiration that may either find me some loop-hole in Beatty’s logic or that I will get a good grade based on my adherence to the requirements/guidelines of this paper. Any success I will blame on sheer coincidence because when it comes to Philosophy I am a rather dim sort. Whatever happens there; floundering or lucky inspiration, I plan on then attacking my own argument with something Beatty himself would likely state. I plan to appreciate it – as the man is superior to me and far more intelligent than I am, then I plan to reply to this attack as if it really weren’t all that relevant, then in summing up my arguments I will attempt to state why even Beatty himself should find my arguments sufficient and why this my (as the paper’s requirements put it) “adversary” should be satisfied with my argument, then to go against the very requirements of the paper as set out in the question I shall offer (by virtue of the rest of the requirements) any number of “further strong objections” made apparent by the paper that “others would make.” Summing up the argument is then the next step in the strategy as provided by our gracious professor, and I plan on here pointing to or underlining the strongest points in my argument – limited as it may be. From there I can do no more than to point out where I am flawed in my own feeble attempts and to acknowledge what is so unsatisfactory in my attempts at an argument against such a far more experienced and superior mind. My final worries, fears, intuitions and regrets will be stated then. Overall I hope my arguments and postulations are satisfactory enough, such that I will not fail this paper. I also hope that my handling this paper in this manner: a manner outlined by Beatty as a good strategy will logically lead me to pass this course.
So back to the paper topic so generously provided to me by Beatty himself. The Issue I have with Beatty and his article For Honor’s Sake is that while the article is very well established and very thorough, I have no earthly idea why Beatty didn’t put his energies into proving the punishments too stern. Why did he – a man I think capable – shoot for the easier target. He so artfully and skillfully showed why it is wrong for the school to require students to inform – which is a principle I personally find flawed – why did he not turn this artful and skilled eye onto the real issue of punishment or better yet onto solving the problem of cheating. No one, I presume is good enough to answer those uninsurable questions, questions like: which came first: the chicken or the egg, how do turtles know exactly where they were born, and why do humans find it necessary to cheat. But even questions about why the sky is blue and the grass is green have answers – surely someone as smart as Beatty can figure out how to prevent cheating or at least how to rework the punishment system to be more conducive to the cause it attempts to support. I argue this: Informers should be given rewards, while cheaters should be given a first-time warning sanction including either a minor fine or community service. Is it so hard to justify why this would help alleviate the problem? If the informer rule was so bad because it required students to tell on their friends against other moral principles, and if the students did not tell on their friends or develop morally because this conflict put them at odds with other values; why then did someone not do as I am proposing happen now and eliminate the punishment which makes the informer rule one of conflict. Instead make it into a reward based system. Make a system which will encourage (via internal and external motivation) people to put an end to (or at least to inform of) cheating. I for one could use a few extra tuition dollars, a few extra points on a test or a few less papers to write; even free food is good by me.
The reader should think this a good idea, I know I do. And I suspect even Beatty wouldn’t think it so bad to reward students for monitoring one another in this area of college life where there is seldom anything to prevent and moderate this shameful act of cheating. But on a whole the reader should agree with me when I say that the real root of the problem was ignored when Beatty attacked the informer rule rather than the cheating and the punishment. Does it not stand in court today in this country that according to law the punishment should fit the crime? It does! Does it not stand a generally held notion that one should report illegal or otherwise wrongful acts if they are witness to it – at least on a moral level? Was this rule not put into effect in order to encourage moral growth of the student population? It is agreed in all cases at hand – this is the goal. So why not keep the rule, moreover why not fix the real culprit here, and why not attack the true problem? I am by no means saying that I am offering the absolute solution to the issue. Instead I have suggested that Beatty wasted his energy in arguing what he did and that the real problem which still needs to be addressed, at least by someone more qualified than I, is the problem dealing with the punishment and the problem dealing with the students being less than willing to inform. The reader will recognize, after having read what I’ve had to say, that these are reasonable postulates and that I have at the very least a point valid.
Beatty however might not think this argument a thorough or valid enough argument, even if he does I suspect he would shoot holes in it, bleed it out even with that razor-sharp wit of his. At the very least I can only assume he’d be less than pleased with me calling him and his years of advanced knowledge and philosophical experience and wit buffoonery. Beatty is after all a smart man and I suppose he’d point to any number of the following reasons why the reader should discard me off-hand: I have not the experience of speaking with these students, therefore I am assuming (all-be-it off of what I gathered from Beatty’s argument) they did not agree with the punishment severity, I even said myself that Beatty in fact had addressed the issue of students being less than willing to inform, or most powerfully I suspect Beatty would object with the notion that despite all my ass-kissing and sideways slandering, I still don’t grasp what good it was Beatty meant by addressing the issue in the way that he did. After reading and re-reading his article I get that Beatty believed his solution to be the best for the situation at hand, but I must admit that he would be right to assume that I just don’t get what he meant because I just don’t get where his logic proves his solution as the best response and I offer this paper as proof of this.
Beatty would have strength in his arguments, especially his last one. No I did not understand his arguments entirely and there may be some good reason why it logically made sense to address the issue by removing the informer rule. This logic is something that I did not grasp or understand and it is something which very well nullify not just my argument but my entire perspective and sub-sequent paper.
But I am writing. I read, and I re-read that article and I have posed the loop-hole which I have seen. Even though Dr. Beatty did in fact address the problem dealing with the punishment – his version of addressing it amounted to (in summation) saying that in fact this was stated by the students to be one of the causes. He did not, as far as I saw, truly address this issue as being a solvable problem. While he also addressed the problem of students being less than willing to inform, he addressed it as far as I saw by ultimately making excuses for them and why they shouldn’t have to rather than dealing with and solving the problem exemplifying why they don’t inform. Both of these I deal with her by doing what I have stated my intention was: by addressing the root of the problem rather than the symptoms.
I suppose Beatty would not be so satisfied with this sharp blow to the face of experience and wit especially from someone who does not understand him. He by no means need be obliged to understand me. But I think, being the rational man he is, he would at least concede to my hypothesis that it is better to deal with a problem by getting to the bottom of it rather than by pruning its branches. We cannot make up for Catherine “Kitty” Genovese’s murder but maybe one of those 38 witnesses would have reported the crime if there had been some sort of incentive spurring them onward and tempting them to fight their urge to leave the moral obligation to someone else. It is a principle that needs not be understood, morality is something which needs in any stage of a person’s life to be nurtured. And so by offering incentive the college would be saying: it is your choice to turn in a cheater or not, but you need not be afraid of being loyal to your friends. I think Beatty would or at least should be satisfied with that.
Still an objection to this might be that while it is nice to offer rewards for morally praiseworthy actions, does it not follow that some might come to expect these rewards? I Succumb to this but respond with “not if the reward is small enough.” If one has the choice between not turning in a friend effectively revoking loyalty and turning them in for a free pizza, my guess is they will forgo the free pizza. But given the choice between not getting the same free pizza and not removing a cheater from his ways it is my supposition that one will do the morally better by turning in the cheater and they will enjoy that pizza all the better. Something so small as a pizza is not enough to create a dependence upon reward for good behaviour. In training dogs it is seen that by using the reward system one does not foster a dependence upon treats but a propensity towards good behaviour and a desire to act in accordance with what is deemed the right thing to do.
On a whole, however, I’d like to revisit my arguments. I argue that while revoking the informer rule seemed to Beatty to be the better option; it actually wasn’t. True that having such unmovable moral conflicts was not the proper way to go about encouraging moral health, but the better solution could be found by addressing the deeper problems. And this was the point of my paper: to show that while the informer rule was bad as a rule it is good as an encouraged action, a role which it does not fill currently.
I have addressed why the root of the problem is a better place to look to address issues and I have ranted on why it is good to encourage moral rightness – not force it, and I have even touched on why Beatty should not fail me for my interpretations (or misinterpretations) of his writings. But overall I wish I could delve into the moral and social rightness of informing and of making the punishment fit the crime. I am however not as skilled as Beatty. Who wasted his time not addressing these (hopefully now proven to be) more central issues and concerns.

~Here’s hoping you don’t hate me, and that you put up with my misguided ramblings;
Shannon

What are these ppl thinking!

Wow, sadness ensues: there is a website that teaches ppl how to be anorexic... The world has sunk low!

Post for 4/20

4/20 "national don't do anything day" for most people. My day however just never stopped. From classes to work to attending the debate tournaments I was just plain busy... Meanwhile I did write a lot of stuff and I'll post it here:



(Hey what do you want from me I'm not going to type all that! I wrote it didn't I? It took me 3 hours to compile that info and I don't have time to type, I have a paper due!)

Annotated Bib

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Malesh
Annotated Bib of
Hellacious Ppr.
Due: 4/19/06
Works Cited
"Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters (CLM)." Limitations and Exceptions to Copyright and Neighbouring Rights in the Digital Environment. 18 Sept. 04. IFLA. 27 Feb. 06 . In this article, The IFLA addresses how libraries use and provide print and information. It has a mission statement which basically exemplifies their interest in ensuring the free distribution and easy access of the masses and of organizations like libraries to all published information. They offer an interesting perspective which allows me to delve deeper into why some believe that exemptions and limitations to copyright laws - exemptions and limitations which allow some to freely use and distribute copyrighted material - are being threatened and need to be protected/safeguarded.
"Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)." SU Lair. Stanford University. 23 Feb. 06 . Though this page is lacking in a lot of the important info it is a useful site in that is outlines a lot of the laws and sub laws effecting the issue of digital copyright. With this site I have found it easier to understand the issues and concerns being voiced and I have found it easier to weed out the opinions from the facts.
Bernard, Andre, ed. Rotten Rejections. Ossining, New York: Pushcart P, 1990. In this book Bernard offers a compilation of several examples of works which were submitted to be published and were rejected. The rejection letters themselves are included in the text and show what publishers say about particular works and why they cannot publish them. This is a useful text in that it allows for a broad sweeping overview of what cannot or would not get published and why. It exemplifies why certain works get that final rejection and allows me to better understand what I should avoid in submitting, how I should pitch it, and what is likely to be met with failure and thereby what is likely to be granted publication.
Curtis, Richard, and William T. Quick. How to get your E-Book Published. Ed. Donya Dickerson. Cincinnati, OH.: F&W Publications, Inc., 2002. This book by Curtis and Quick is a comprehensive and in-depth guide to all the knowledge one could ask for concerning the production marketing and distribution of e-books. It goes into gory detail about how one is to protect their rights and works and it guides one to a thorough understanding of what the many, many options are for e-publishing. This piece acknowledges that this is a new field and serves to really educate the reader on what, how, why and any other questions one poses or could pose about e-book publication. It is a comprehensive and useful guide, though thick in content, which will aid me in understanding this option of publication and distribution.
Hodes, Laura. "ADOBE's REVERSAL OF ITS POSITION ON THE "HACKER" THAT CRACKED ITS E-BOOKS: Proof That the Digital Millenium Copyright Act Needs to Change." FindLaw. 02 Aug. 01. University of Chicago Law School, The New Republic Online (www.tnr.com). 23 Feb. 06 . In this article Laura outlines some of the laws concerning digital copyright and some of th problems with these laws and why they need reform. In this issue she points to Dmitry as well as to Adobe themselves as examples of ehy the status quo as it is does not work when it comes to digital copyright laws. This is a very useful piece in that it helps hone both sides of the case further by showing me the problems, the case and the objections. Yay for free lance writers who are trained lawyers! ^=^
John, Dessauer P. Book Publishing What it is, What it Does. New York, N. Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., 1977. This book, by Dessauer, is laid out in such a way as to outline is clear and concise detain the ins and outs of the business of book publishing. The intention of this book is to offer a broad perspective in detail and fortunately unfortunate obsessive-compulsive organization on what goes into the production, finance, editing, marketing and many of the other operations of press. This is a concise and information-laden book that will prove an invaluably useful book in my endeavors to streamline that process of getting a book to publish and sell in a summer. The value of this book to my research I cannot convey. It has become a stellar resource to me and it will further prove to guide me through the thick of this project. This book has been and will further prove to be the device which will lead this ground-breaking endeavour of mine to a sure success.
Pruitt, Scarlet. "Four Years on, Digital Copyright Law Revs Up." CNN.Com. 18 Feb. 02. CNN. 27 Feb. 06 . In this article Scarlet approached the debate of software intended to aid the copying and trafficking of locked e-books without those locks. She approaches this issue by addressing the case in the court systems of Dmitry Sklyarov who has posed quite a threat to the laws and issues surrounding the electronic copyright debate by not only pointing out the big loophole flaw in our system but by exemplifying it himself. This is useful for my research because it has helped me understand the finer points of the laws surrounding electronic copyright.
Templeton, Brad. "An EBook Publisher on Why the U.S. Attorney Should Free Dmitry Sklyarov." Dec. ClariNet. 23 Feb. 06 . Though he seems less than appealing as a source, I have found Brad's writings, the points he poses and the issues and facts he relates to be extremely useful and accurate. In this he wrote on Dmitry Sklyarov and how, even as an e-book publisher he finds Dmitry to be innocent of any ill. I find his point of view to be a refreshingly rational. His is one article which is lacking in swing and chock full of tib-bits, quotable quotes and a whole lotta zing.
"US V. ElcomSoft & Sklyarov." Electronic Frontier Foundation. 19 Feb. 02. 23 Feb. 06 . Another lacking an author but chock full of facts, this web-page offered a lot of useful information about the Sklyarov case. It also led me to it's parent site which offers a lot more on electronic publishing, laws and opportunities.

Journal Article Proposal and beginnings

Proposal:
Shannon Hollender
Prof. Malesh
Draft 2 of Hellacious Ppr.
(Proposal)
Due: 4/12/06

The E-book Publishing Debate
Intro:
Every book on the shelf was a war. A war waged internally; A war waged against the writer himself; A war waged against a publisher. Every writer has to fight to become great, and their greatest adversary is literature itself. As a writer, I had to overcome my own apprehensions to tempt myself, to force my mind and body to write and to never stop. But still my voice is not heard, the field of literature is such a vast one that being a little fish in this big pond is causing me to consider any other options I may have for making a name for myself. No publisher wants to publish a no-name. So far I am a no-name. Self-publishing via some made-up on the spot vanity press is also out of the picture, so many self-made writers have done it that way and gone far, they had the money to invest in it. I do not. Being a poor, young, inexperienced, small-fish of a writer, I have only one thing going for me: I’m am innovative and resourceful young college student. Being the writer I am I will find a way and I will make it happen.
Enter the research and prospective solution: E-Books. For those of you who do not know, an e-book is…

History: Personal Involvement:
When I was young I wrote poetry that – at least in my own naïve little world – was ground-breaking and different. Morose, somber, bloody, and sick were all call names for my writing. In growing up – and growing more wise – I was introduced to the words and works of Poe. I was given a compilation of his works – a book I never read. I shunned him at first – not wanting anyone to believe I’d plagiarized him. I felt I was just as good and just like him in works and I feared people telling me I couldn’t possibly be that good all on my own; but instead I was told I was indeed that good. I continued to write and I continued to progress towards being just as somber, morose and deeply layered as he. I love Poe. One day I hope to be as recognized as he, one day I hope to be as calculating, deviant and as good as he – One day I hope to be better.
Controversy (history too)
I strive to get published. Without publication one cannot make a name for themselves, without a name one cannot hope to get published; but how does one…

Perceived by others: (Maybe include sub-sets, consult time restraints)
The publishers see these things:
The people (readers/customers) see these things:
The authors see these things:
And the shared opinions are…

Conclusion:
In conclusion, my opinion is: That E-books are a good thing and they need to not be locked up or secured. Sure this will lead to more theft and plagiarism but this is a necessary step and a necessary piece of the puzzle in this country that is free speech and that is the world of publication. Literature today would not be existent if it weren’t for the principles that make it ok to freely copy and distribute the words of others – Like our fine country, which would not be today what it is if it were not for those same principles encouraging and protecting free speech. What is lost in profits for large companies and mid-grade writers is gained in opportunity, freedom and exposure for those less famous and just as good as the ‘greats’ of any genre.

● ● ●

In my paper:

Specific controversy is:
E-book publication, it’s “locks” and whether this is good or bad for a writer
Summary of argument:
E-books are a new opportunity.
Locks are preventing easy and/or free distribution – and they hinder easy-access
A new writer likes free-distribution – which is legal either way – for the free-publicity. Success comes in small amounts for a short while.
A writer already with a name does not like this piracy factor because it draws attention away from their hard-earned success. Success comes in small amounts far less than their distribution calls for.
A reader likes free-distribution of good writers – entertainment for nothing – does not like piracy distribution if they are honest because it inflates costs in compensation.
I am a new writer. I want what I can get while I can get it and while I make a name for myself.
Journal I’m Targeting:
“The Internet Writing Journal” because they are a step above “Writer’s Journal” in quality, they are professional, and the audience seems to be drawn towards intelligent academic and in-depth works – which is a level of quality I hope to measure up to some day. For my creative writing however I would want to aim for “Mystery Writers of America” an online journal which grants awards and writing opportunities to Poe-esque writers.

● ● ●
Notes To Self:

I plan on using these methods to exemplify my points:
Organizational.
Informative.
Be mindful of:
Audience perceptions and experiences - interests
Audience aptitudes – teach them terms!!!
Find more facts on publication via e-books
Find more fact on publication period

An old-ish poem - reworking...

Three Wishes…

The smell of Tobacco.
Black Ink Burning;
I write on everything;
Old habits, old sting,
My words my soul, caught aglow
I breathe deeply inhale my pain.
I Write away my sorrow,
On words my self sustain.
And so words from me do flow,
My smoking hands out of control,
I sit here burning away my soul.
It disappears in blue-grey smoke,
A wish or two it does provoke,
And I want to believe it no sick joke,
My hands in tears are long since soaked.
I’ve no friends saying lovely things,
I have no place to go;
I want for friendship, heart-healing slings,
But still my tears do flow.
As her words burn away,
Here I lonely, do obey,
I watch her writhe with just dismay.
As she leaves me empty handed,
Her ashes float and cling to me,
My only wish thus is granted.
I lift my eyes and pain to see
Without me, Strangers Play.

Shannon Hollender

Watching over the ones I loathe...

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 01-2 Poem on
Remembered Visuals
Due 4-6-06

Unanimous Contempt for Those in the Alley

Cats sniffing at the trash-can foulness of dead owls.
Alone in a dank alley of sweet blue-bird smelling Virginia
Sits the carcass. Exquisiteness lost.
I in my window, overlooking Gods grey stones and dung heaps
I wait with my teacup trembling in hand, saucer trembling in hand.
I watch the hogs devour the magnificence. Cats are demons.
Singing songs of ardor to the decay, sloping up the meat.
Ants find the cast-aside marrow-less bird-bones. I weep.
Such grandeur, such frailty… such wonder nature gives its demise.
From weeks ago, bones heaped in greasy piles
Spiders spinning their empire into lacy majesty,
Skeletons of finery, punched out of ruin. Ruin: God’s plenty.
A streak of moon-beam weeps on this sad dignity.
In this corner far off: Drunkards meet to piss and find whores;
Singing of temptation, of enthusiastic rapacious delight
With their white cotton dresses of skin-tight nothingness,
Holes and stains of desire branding them,
The nouveau scarlet letter, yellow and crusty;
Once velvet A’s, now cigarette burned discoloration.
I can almost see them now – Faces pressed against head-boards…
Rakes! Rapes! Enthusiastic, Violent, Lust!
Wax casings of what used to be gloved dignity.
What happened to the delicate mint dresses of lace and frill,
Masks of distinction and valentines of scandalous accusation,
The delicate turns of phrase; the romantic softness.
What ever happened to velvet and lace?
Punched out by the fists of drunkards kissing.
Meager money changing greasy hands.
My sister, one of them, singing the song of cats,
Indifferent in their delight, obsessive in their trade,
Hands on their shoulders, eyes on their backsides
Polished toes unseen by their billy-goat counterparts
I will remember me in her eyes one day.
Till then I watch the beauty fall prey.
Swallowed whole by the beast.

• • •

Word List:
mint, fist, teacups tremble in their saucers, spider, empire, emperor, I will remember me, drunkards meet, kissing, polished toes, cats, owls, alone in Virginia, marrow, streak, cotton dress, lace, punched, velvet, face pressed, valentines, my sister, alleys, cans, on shoulders, stains on fire, wax casing, gloves, untying, skeletons, singing to decay/dump, God’s plenty, Beautiful hogs and billy-goats.

Post for Sat:

Alright so yesterday I was pre-occupied. I got to re-arrangin' my room and packin' up shit to get rid of - in the meantime I hope you enjoy this comic I like:
(ps. click on it to see it bigger)

Another poem for class

Lost, Alone - Waiting for Salvation, Salvation

I am lost in confusion, around me wars wage
I rock within the tortures of the storm
I am to sea without a crew.
You are my only hope, the sea,
Which looks for my demise,
Which leads me to the rocks, but you,
Salvation sweet you are.
I only, rock within these waves,
Alone I battle death.
I cling to you, my only hope,
Your hands I desperate need.
Treacher, Torture, Torment, Torrent
Rain and Stormy Hell
So here I'm led without your guide
Confusion consumes me.
Strange guide of mine, Salvation I
Alone am your meek ward.
Salvation, Salvation
I wait for you and death.
The waters deep consume me whole;
Waves of tears do splinter me.
I break, I break, I die alone
Salvation sweet do come.
In death I find you, Sweet Salvation,
Silence, Stillness, Warmpth.
No longer in the storm I wait.

PS

Ps. Thanks mom for putting up with my constant barrage of contempt and bitter, cutting word. We've discussed this before, it's not you. You know that... And thank you for sending me an Easter-Basket in the mail! It was sweet and thoughtful and I'll have something wonderful to munch on in class.I found myself looking forward to checking the mail for a while there hoping to find some sweet treat. Thanks most of all for the laundry money and the caramel... You know I love caramel! And Money is always appretiated! Thanks for caring! I Love you!
~Shan

An exercize for class

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 05-1 Poem on
Thought to Image
Due 4-18-06


Easter care-package

I can't take your half-hearted hellos, mom,
And the way they always seem to be saying some sort of sardonic goodbye;
You're not mournful, you just want to seem that way to the world.
The way you like to seem caring, the way you show what isn't really there.
You seem to be saying to the world that you care about me,
And it's more important that the whole world hear you;
Than it is that you actually show some compassion towards me.
You send me things, trinkets and "remember me"s,
Things I don't need, don't want, and have a terrible time finding space for.
I sit here sifting through your junk,
You want me to think it's how you show you care.
I can't find a single thing I ever liked.
I asked you not to send this very thing.
I don't need it.
I can't use it.
I'm allergic to it.
I don't like it.
I pick past it, spending time, useful time,
I could be at the bank now,
On sorting through these things in their shiny shells.
Broadcasting a sweet inner morsel with a bright shiny coat.
I'll not have your candy-coated lies. I know the bitter center.
I've tasted your foul fruit these years.
The masses do not understand my contempt, they do not know that you lie.
I plead with you to stop wasting my time, my energy, my tears.
You send them anyway, obsessed with the message it sends.
You seem to say to the world;
The world who doesn't know what we've fought about:
"Yes, I care about my child!"
And you scream it on a soap-box,
Over my head,
Past me.
You ignore me;
In order to spew your lie.
Mother. I despise you for your lie,
You want only to reap the social benefit of caring,
Without really caring.
You bitter-sweet morsel of poison.

A list poem - exercize for class today

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 04-1 Poem on
Exercize: List
Due 4-13-06


Desio e Risuscito (Desire and Resurrection)

Love, A fly swatted and squashed, wet stains,
Two lines, Twin-towers, Roman numeral in blue ink
Blue by blue, blue butterfly-wings, Ocean of guilt, Ocean of worry,
Perverse obsession, munching sound of locusts, midnight vomiting,
Curious contempt, Distaste, Tarantula feeding, the smell of vomit,
Admiration, lucky lady-bug round and plump, love of the condition.
Pain, no, Agony. Blood-beetle and tearing flesh-meat,
A job of artificial labor, inchworm climbing a pole, silk threads of hope,
Sleepless nights, falcon swooping, protecting self, feather floating by,
Sleep-walking, nervous self-containment, sleep-waking.
Pride, disappointment, distance, a shell of former self,
Familiar strangers, split back and forced separation,
Caskets, cold hard body, molting, cold hard fact.
Rain, sun, day, night, breathing for the first time, a watch ticking,
Time in slow agony, low throb of finding form, mindful blood flow.
Shoulders, tears, laughter, friendships, wings spreading,
Blue. Twins. Love.
Butterfly move on.

My example monkies are roman!

Ok so here's the background:
I was sitting in class minding my own notes when my brain decided to take a fieldtrip based on something the professor said. His comment was: The romans seemed obsessed with the number three. Anytime they wanted to seem authoratative they cited examples, subdivisions or categories in threes. ...
This got me thinking about what I do every time I try to exemplify, clarify or justify anything I have to say. Or even when I'm rambling... I have the tendency to give my examples in threes as well. Was it something I was trained to do as a child? 35% of what we do "unconciously" we learned was the "right" thing to do when we were children, 68% of what most people say when they try to sound authoratative is based on what their elders did or taught them about (83.5% of statistics are made up on the spot)... Meanwhile I tried to think of why Ido this... Perhaps advanced, ingrained, thoroughly beaten training from years of childhood "preperation" for "big-kid talk" perhaps it's just one of my idiosyncrasies, perhaps it is the influence of all the Shakespeare I read when I was younger...
My mind said to this concept: Nah!
It's what the monkies in my head tell me to do. Hell it's what they do for me. There's my mind, and in my mind is the examples department - it's run by monkies which explains why sometimes my examples are intelligble and sometimes they are asrandom as poop flung on the wall.... I'll leave you alone for a moment with that imagery... let the smell waft and fill the expanses of yout empty-room for a skull imagination... there now that I no longer have a single person reading this, let me finish it... Poo.
Seriously though. Apparently the reason why my example monkies always fling things at me in threes isn't because there are three up there, in fact there are twenty-seven pairs (the perfect bare-minimum for a breeding population) but it's because they are Roman and therefore are obsessed with exemplifying, clarifying and justifying in threes.
Therefore, by no deduction of logic whatsoever - the example monkies in my head are Roman!

WhadaDay

So today started off eh and went down hill fast. i was supposed to get so much done but here I am and I still need to catch up...
More to be posted on this in a bit... Currently in the process of typing it...

The battle between God and the Reaper. Life and Death. Self and Same

For my creative writing class I had to write a poem in which a member of my family met someone famous.
Here: My Grandfather (the I) meets first death, then God. I hope it is clear that both are perversions of the same (here labeled he and she)
It's a thinkerthough. I don't really expect anyone to get it, but if you do I hope you enjoy the implications in its perversity.

Self and Same
They battled themselves
The man stood there before us.
Black robes and a pale face.
He held in his blood-stained hand
Hate. And hers. He was my enemy.
She held my ground.
He bore the scars of the barbed-wire fences
Bloody arms, bloody face, bloody mess.
She turned to show my tears to the crowd
Like waves, the screaming began.
The crowd turned on us
She held my ground.
She turned to him instead.
The man before me Beating the man behind her
She stood in the way of the blade he swung
She stood for the lives of so many.
His fist raised itself to strike me but she
She held my ground.
Bracing her-self for love and pity's sake
She would not let him hurt that man;
Not without dying in defense.
She looked at this reaper-man, full of tears and anger
The reaper looked at me.
She held my ground.
As he swung to hit me, driven by dark cruelty
His scythe arching high in contempt
In mournful misery he aimed his punishment
In tearful distaste for the cost he must ration
Before me he wept and he died.
She held my ground.
For many years, she held my ground
She refused to let me die.
Every attempt was torture for me
It hurt them both to die each day.
They mocked me, but would never let me die.
She held my ground
Against the reaper each day
And I fought her for freedom and death.
I sought no protection and met him one day
She turned, they became one and I met Him
‘Till then… God held my ground.

first poetic attempt rejected

He was a biker, a lock-picking gunsmith and a catholic boy
They trained large cats.
He could tell jokes and entertain the best
They were social rejects.
With the mind of a physicist and the braun of ten men
He could stave off nuclear meltdown on third shift
While they played with each other
And they did 'magic tricks'
He paid to see their show,
For my mother and I
They invited us back stage

...
So he meets them, they call him a sissy for not petting the tiger, Roy begins petting the tiger and gets bit. Sigfried yells at my step-dad and he punches Sigfried's lights out.

Post for 4/9/06

Ok so I posted this originally at midnight but the post time shoved it to 3 am Mon. So ... Figured I'd let you know...

Ever consider that term: Almost. It's the kind of word that adds dobut and excitement, it is neither confirmation nor denial, it is neither here nor there. It is a term which implies and endorces suspense. It lessens the agony of waiting, and it amplifies the effects of failure.
I say almost when I referr to feeling. Consider this:
Aspiring to an end, who is impacted more by the force of the blow?: the child who almost won the contest or the child who came in last place. The definite looser never had that shimmering ray of hope, that possibility that they may measure up, that they may succeed, that they may have a chance. The child who just barely did not make it, who almost had it; they gave their all, they tried their hardest. Because for just barely a bit more they may have known the taste, the feel, the joy of success, they did it right; Almost. But having failed; their dreams, their hopeful jubilation, their anticipation is met with the crushing blow of defeat. They are not good enough though they could have been. Really Could have been!
To tantilize. I believe the term almost is a word that means to tantilize; it is to tease with thoughts of possibility and hope, with promises of better things of brighter days and lighter hearts, Almost... Is associated with the nurture and slaughter of happiness, ...Loss.

Oh to be 21!

So there I was drunk and 21... Only it didn't really happen like that. Sure I'm 21 now but I'm not your typical youth. I'm not obsessed with alcohol, I'm not hooked by the grip of drugs, I'm not deviant or stupid...
I'm just crazy little ol' me. For the first time in my life I got to spend a birthday my way.
So I walked around an old part of the city with the one I love, went to dinner and had a glass of wine with that self-same man and have otherwise occupied my time by cuddling, snuggling and otherwise being sappy-sweet, romantic and happy with the one who loves me. It's not your typical twenty-first birthday, but it's the best birthday I've ever had. It's the best because it's the first I've gotten to spend how I want. ... Happy.
Thanks Ryan. I Love You!

One Day...

~One day! One Day! One day away!!!
~I turn 21 tomorrow and I'm so excited.
:I'm so apprehensive.
~I want to get there and be 21 and do all the things that I couldn't do before!
:But why?... I've never done them before and never wanted to.
~There'll be respect from my parents!
:Like there ever was... so one day can make a difference, a two digit number can cure ass-hole-ery?
~She'll see me as a full-fledged adult and will no longer treat me as a child!
:To quote: "I'll never be your friend, I'm your mother."
~She'll be able to see me as both now; and all will be cohesive!
:Sudden cohesion, be sure to report that to the natural sciences foundation, I'm sure the'd like to study the first case ever of the passive mule.
~Bells will ring and choirs will sing... life will have a right foot to start off on!
:To be accurate they will be singing the night prior and it will be a requiem.
~Life will not succumb to negativity because I'll be 21!
:Because negativity takes a back seat to a specific number. 9 + 11 + 01 = 21
~If I will myself to have a good day, I will have a good day! Basic theory of optimism!
:Here, let me will myself to get an A+ on that paper I turned in yesterday.
~It's about seeing the bright side of things!
:It's about being afraid of there being no bright side.
~It's about talking up a good game, and doing what you can to make things work!
:It's about realizing you're an unwilling player at a game without rules, you're playing against cheaters and rats and no matter what you do you can only make things worse.
~It's about calculating risks, and taking chances, succeeding because you never gave up!
:Then being miserable because of the failures that happen reguardless of how hard you worked, how accurately you calculated, or how much you sacrificed. It's about ultimately losing reguardless of what 'milestones' you pass along the way.
~It's about hope?!
:Hope for a new outlook on life, because yours is broken and bound to lead you to nothin' but a world of dissappointment and hurt. Face it; you have now officially lost any chance you had at enjoying the thrill of being young. You're no longer the you you could have been, you no longer have the excuses, and you are no longer going to be a member of that class of idiots who answer to the call of 'fun'. You no longer have a right to 'harmless pranks', and what's worse, out of this deal - you don't even get respect from your elder. You lose. Hope for something else.
~...But... but tomorrow is supposed to be a good day...
:Cry me a river. Loser.
~...

Peyser Paper

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Peyser
1st Paper – Douglass
Due: 4/6/06
(906 words)

To Be Drunk is to Be Free:
Douglass; Enslavement is Wrong

Fredrick Douglass, being a former slave, has the benefit of authority when he speaks of slaves, the slave mentality, and of life as a slave. With this inside authority also came the inherent complications. Being a black man, Fredrick Douglass had little education and even less formal background. Despite this he rose above the stigmas and presented himself as a well-educated authority on the matters of slavery and enslavement. One can speculate as to why he dedicated his life to opening the eyes of the masses to the truths behind slavery but it is likely obvious to most that he did what he did in order to help abolish slavery. He presents in his work Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, an ugly account of slave holders, slavery, and what ends up being the slave mentality one must acquire to cope with being a slave.
In his narrative Douglass offers many arguments and points, but two of the overwhelmingly striking points are 1) that slave owners deceive slaves by making them believe that “there was little to choose between liberty and slavery.” (2073) and 2) that slaves will often convince themselves that their enslavers are so much better than the alternative; this to the extent that they will fight one another before admitting that their own position is the worse for wear.
Douglass, of course, made the first of these points very clear when he explained that masters had the miserable habit of attempting to make holidays; an occasion on which slaves are convinced they are to get a taste of freedom, into a time which the slaves cannot wait to see the end of. As Douglass puts it: “This [is] seen by the fact, that the slaveholders like to have their slaves spend those days just in such a manner as to make them as glad of their ending as of their beginning.”(2073) He explains further that the masters’ “object seems to be to disgust their slaves with freedom,” (2073) and it seems the masters accomplish this dissolution of the slaves “by plunging them into the lowest depths of dissipation.”(2073)
On one hand this indulgence is seen as kindness on behalf of the masters who allocate it to their slaves. The masters give their slaves alcohol and are seemingly giving the slaves a taste of freedom, finery and of that which is seen as one of the “benefits” of liberty. It is in this way, according to Douglass, that slaves became more docile in their attempts for freedom because they became more convinced of the awfulness of independence and choice. Douglass states: “We felt, and very properly too, that we had almost as well be slaves to man as to rum.”(2073) It is “Thus, when the slave asks for virtuous freedom, the cunning slaveholder […] cheats him with a dose of vicious dissipation [which] the most of us used to drink […] down”.
This was the unfortunate truth; that slaves were so misguided and so profoundly disillusioned by what they were tricked into thinking was freedom. To make matters worse, Douglass argues, slaves were also, by human nature, misguided to believe “their own better than that of others.”(2048) Douglass explains that while some slaves do have it better than others, all convince themselves that their particular situation is among the best, if not the very best. Even with cruel masters, “Many, under the influence of this prejudice, think their own masters better than the masters of other slaves”(2048) In this way, supposedly, the slaves are constantly fighting to convince others (and most probably themselves as well) that “the greatness of their masters was transferable to themselves”(2048) and that without their masters, they are nothing. In cruel situations as was the common case slaves instead turned to this transference principal to validate themselves and their worth. “It was considered as being bad enough to be a slave; but to be a poor man’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed!”(2048)
Slaves were constantly, so it seemed, fighting with, fighting for and fighting against themselves on the issue of freedom. It seemed to be commonly held among slaves that validating their placidity with enslavement was both a necessity and a curse. Freedom, it appeared, was either an illusionary and abstract concept, was the poorer state of existence, or was something which was to be the demise of them. And the slaves believed this. The trickery of the masters seemed to work so well as to placate the slaves and keep them working.
So with his narrative, as well as so many other works, Fredrick Douglass became simultaneously the authority on such matters as the slave mentality and he became the champion to slaves everywhere, offering hope and promise of a better life and way. His was a glimmer of possibility that any slave, common like himself might break free of the mentality shoved upon him, might break free of his bonds, and may rise to a position of affluence and authority. But until then it was downright a sin that slaves were placated in such a way as to believe it:

“So, when the holidays ended, we staggered up from the filth of our wallowing, took a long breath, and marched to the field, -- feeling, upon the whole, rather glad to go, from what our master had deceived us into a belief was freedom, back to the arms of slavery.”(2073)

Reaction to what Michelle Wrote

In Michelle's blog she wrote:
"Is it their smile? Their captivating eyes? What about the way they laugh? Or how they always get this look on thier face right before they blush from something. Maybe it's the way they make you feel about yourself, or how they feel with you. Don't forget about the way they look when they're sleeping, or how they toss their hair back out from their eyes. Or is it his favorite hat that you hate to love? For me it's the never ending empty feeling I get when he walks away. The nautious feeling that you only get when you dont think he'll ever turn around and come back to you. It's the fact that you know you can't go a day without talking to him or wondering what he's up to or how he's doing. Why do we get those feelings???"

It made me think, when I read it, about the one I love. How he makes me feel and the way he smiles. I find myself wondering at the feelings I feel when I'm with him. Why do I get the floaty feeling, why is life just one big carnival when I'm with him? Can love, especially new love, really conquor all?

edited and added to 4/7/06

I've had so many dreams where my mind has literally led me to embody the fears I have about love. From relations with other people to blindly driving backwards to getting stuck up, caught up, yelled at, misunderstood, filmed, beaten, lost, found out and every other malady that a relationship could suffer; it seems to never fail that my biggest fears (or at least the ones that re-occur most often) are my fears of being alone, a failure, or (worst of all) misunderstood. In my dreams I see his face in the darkest of these moments, sometimes with that look of understanding and approval, sometimes with dissapproval and fear. When in my dream I know I've hurt him, it hurts me. And in those moments when my dreams turn to nighmares, he is the one who saves me. He understands, listen and comforts. I see that look in his eyes as he takes my hand and smiles at me. I feel safe, warm and secure when he puts his arms around me, the way he hugs, and the way he kisses... My nightmares turn to heaven and he saves me from being a helpless blundering loner. Kind of like he has done for me in life. For his love I thank him, for his heart, the way he listens and the fact that he talks to me, for the simple fact that he cares, for the honesty that he really intends to listen and understand... for all of it I love him, and promise my life to him. Now if only I could extract him from my dreams, or remain forever with him in those arms... in love.

A Needle Injection

Shannon Hollender
Prof. Heroy
Assn 01-1 Class Poem
Due 4-6-06

Getting a Needle Injection

I remember being poised,
Like standing at the edge of the cliff
Blackberry bushes beneath me,
Bending for sweet air.
I turned, Mother’s voice ringing
“Stop your whining!”
Clouds out the window, soothe me.
My head whirs as I totter,
At the edge I kick off
And climb towards the height of my
Misery.

• • •

Originally:

Like a Needle Injection
I remember being poised, standing at the edge of the cliff
Blackberry bushes beneath me, bending for sweet air.
I turned, Mother’s voice ringing
Stop your whining
Clouds out the window soothe me.
My head whirs as I totter, at the edge
I kick off
and climb towards the height of my
misery.


• • •

Word list: Cliff, Blackberry, Needle, Cloud, Voice, Mother, Whir, Kick or Lick

I did not know the eight word line limit, I did not know to use only five of the words, I did not know the ten line limit. But I tried.

Do Virgins Taste Better?

Intro:
Irish Folklore tells tales of dragons,
great worms of devastation and destruction.
We all know the story:
The dragon ravaging the town;
The town offering a sacrificial virgin
to rid themselves of the beast.
On this, Randy Farran muses:
Do Virgins Taste Better?
And Claire Stephens McMurray
Gives us the Dragons Retorte

Do Virgins Taste Better
words by Randy Farran, music traditional

A dragon has come to our village today.
We've asked him to leave, but he won't go away.
Now he's talked to our king and they worked out a deal.
No homes will he burn and no crops will he steal.

Now there is but one catch, we dislike it a bunch.
Twice a year he invites him a virgin to lunch.
Well, we've no other choice, so the deal we'll respect.
But we can't help but wonder and pause to reflect.

Do virgins taste better than those who are not?
Are they salty, or sweeter, more juicy or what?
Do you savor them slowly? Gulp them down on the spot?
Do virgins taste better than those who are not?
Now we'd like to be shed you, and many have tried.
But no one can get through your thick scaly hide.
We hope that some day, some brave knight will come by.
'Cause we can't wait around 'til you're too fat to fly.

Now you have such good taste in your women for sure,
They always are pretty, they always are pure.
But your notion of dining, it makes us all flinch,
For your favorite entree is barbecued wench.

Now we've found a solution, it works out so neat,
If you insist on nothing but virgins to eat.
No more will our number ever grow small,
We'll simply make sure there's no virgins at all!

The Dragon's Retorte (original version)
by Claire Stephens McMurray

Now, I am a dragon. Please listen to me
For I'm misunderstood to a dreadful degree.
This ecology needs me and I know my place.
But I'm fighting extinction with all of my race.

Well, I came to this village to better my health
Which is shockingly poor, despite all my wealth.
But I get no assistance and no sympathy,
Just impertinent questioning shouted at me.

Yessss, virgins taste better than those who are not.
But my favorite snack food with peril is fraught.
For my teeth will decay and my trim go to pot.
Yet virgins taste better than those who are not.

Now, we Worms are deep thinkers; at science we shine,
But our world's complicated with every new line.
We must quit all the things that we've done since the Flood
Like, lying on gold couches poisons our blood!

Well, I'm really quite good almost all through the year.
Vegetarian ways are now mine out of fear.
But a birthday needs sweets as I'm sure you'll agree.
And barbecued wench tastes like candy to me!

As it happens our interests are almost the same.
For I'm really quite skillful at managing game.
If I ate just your men, would your excess decline?
Of course not, the rest would just make better time

But the number of babies a woman can bear
Has a limit, and that's why my prunings done there.
Yet an orphan's a sad sight and so when I munch.
I'm careful to take out a virgin for lunch.

Quiz 3

Shannon Hollender
Dr. Mingus
Quiz 3
Due: 2/20/06

Quiz #3

1. Prose as a subject of oral interpretation: In general how does the text suggest the interpreter organize the analysis of the prose? Where does one start? What is the next step, and so on.

It suggests one look at the goals found in the prose, then the interactions within the text, then the things which limit or augment those interactions. One starts by understanding what is going on in the piece; then analyzes the piece as outlined above.

2. Modifiers in the middle of a sentence pose a special problem for the oral interpreter. What is the problem and how should the interpreter deal with it?

This is a problem for character and persona, where there is a conversation in a text, there is a voice inflection and manner to accommodate, this also includes the creative use of pausing, timing and a certain fluidity of speech.

3. The text discusses several “types of prose.” Name and briefly explain any three of these types of prose.

There are two basic categories of prose including: prose fiction which includes Novels and Short Stories. There there’s Non-Fiction Prose including Essays and Journal and even biographies.
Novels: Books of substantial length (in comparison to short stories) of an entertaining nature which are written and published for an audience.
Short Stories: Same as novels only the tale restricts itself to a few pages.
Journal: Letters, diaries, personal writing – not usually intended for the general population.
Biographies: a summation of the life or achievements of self or another.
…

4. Chapter 6 The text discusses several types of narrator- not exactly in the same way narrator or point of view is discussed in a strictly literary context. Briefly discuss each of these types of narrator, touching on the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Well; the first person narrator is a character in the story and though they may or may not be reliable, they often take action and have opinions to share.
The second person is rarely used, so it deserves only honourable mention because of it’s rarity and oddness.
The third person narrator is dependent upon whether the character is limited or omniscient. It is more often the case that this disembodied narrator has no opinions – or few – and understands, knows and portrays the thoughts of the characters spoken of.

5. In cutting and excerpting what is the most critical thing to keep in mind?

What to keep in mind, when cutting and excerpting, prose tends to be the story, the critical elements of the plot, the main characters and their important actions. Often the more moving elements of the story are what you want to keep in the piece and one must always make sure it makes sence when it’s all said and done.

Stepping on Toes (2nd version)

I hear the sweep-brooms sweeping, like the enemy lines fast approaching; and you sweep me off my seat. As the screen flickered, most of the remaining bodies scurried away...
Us in our dark corner, like enemies in the fox-holes, stale pop-corn crunching like dead bees under our feet. We smile at each other, sideways glances, we are Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in our moments of standoffish irresistibility. Your eyes show mine that flash of mischief. Starry and deviant. I'm bashful, you're brave. I tremble like a virgin being touched. But your palms are sweaty. You are deceitful. I hug you tight, my ear I hold close to your chest, your heart is beating as fast as the tango-beat in my feet.
We kiss.
For ages we kiss, moments and ages. You move, I linger, humming-birds on daffodils; tasting, savoring your sweet taste; Our slow penetration. You slowly pull away but your lips remain at mine. Gummy Bears and chocolate, sweet and sticky. We cling to each other in our crude dance of stepping on toes and coordinated bumbling. Your arm closed tightly around my back; Our bodies sweating in passion's sweet embrace.
Your hand holds mine, lifts, and I move. The room spins. The flicker of the projector, the flash of your smile.
You hold me close, two bodies moving as one. Stars in your eyes you smirk and tell me I've done it. Here in the theatre, for the first time, I'm waltzing.

SURF Works Cited

Works Cited
Bernard, Andre, ed. Rotten Rejections. Ossining, New York: Pushcart P, 1990. In this book Bernard offers a compilation of several examples of works which were submitted to be published and were rejected. The rejection letters themselves are included in the text and show what publishers say about particular works and why they cannot publish them. This is a useful text in that it allows for a broad sweeping overview of what cannot or would not get published and why. It exemplifies why certain works get that final rejection and allows me to better understand what I should avoid in submitting, how I should pitch it, and what is likely to be met with failure and thereby what is likely to be granted publication.
Curtis, Richard, and William T. Quick. How to get your E-Book Published. Ed. Donya Dickerson. Cincinnati, OH.: F&W Publications, Inc., 2002. This book by Curtis and Quick is a comprehensive and in-depth guide to all the knowledge one could ask for concerning the production marketing and distribution of e-books. It goes into gory detail about how one is to protect their rights and works and it guides one to a thorough understanding of what the many, many options are for e-publishing. This piece acknowledges that this is a new field and serves to really educate the reader on what, how, why and any other questions one poses or could pose about e-book publication. It is a comprehensive and useful guide, though thick in content, which will aid me in understanding this option of publication and distribution.
John, Dessauer P. Book Publishing What it is, What it Does. New York, N. Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., 1977. This book, by Dessauer, is laid out in such a way as to outline is clear and concise detain the ins and outs of the business of book publishing. The intention of this book is to offer a broad perspective in detail and fortunately unfortunate obsessive-compulsive organization on what goes into the production, finance, editing, marketing and many of the other operations of press. This is a concise and information-laden book that will prove an invaluably useful book in my endeavours to streamline that process of getting a book to publish and sell in a summer. The value of this book to my research I cannot convey. It has become a stellar resource to me and it will further prove to guide me through the thick of this project. This book has been and will further prove to be the device which will lead this ground-breaking endeavour of mine to a sure success.

Research and Outline of Speech for 04-05-06

Intro:

The sky is blue. No really it is! You don't believe me, consult yourself, I trust an expert on colour perception... Look up out there... see? Like I told you: the sky is blue. Thank you. Oh?... you want more than that? Fine; would ya believe me if I told you what x y and The National Weather Service think?
At one point I actually listened to this explanation. I assume you all have too, but in case you haven't...
I will go over it here as briefly and concisely as I can.

Body:

You see; your elders say that the sky is blue because that's what colour you see when you look at the sky most days... like today. And you gotta believe 'em cuz they're right. It boils down to what your typical eye sees when gazing at your typical sky.

That was good enough for me as a child, but not for the scientists who had to get in on the act. Enter Geeorge Wald:

George Wald says the sky is blue because of all the cones in your eyes. He was the one who led to the research and discovery that your eye contains three types of cone receptors: red green and blue. Of these the blue are the dencest and most sensitive. You can trust him because over the years, Wald won numerous awards in addition to the Nobel Prize (1967), including the Eli Lilly Award in 1939, the Lasker Prize in 1953, and the Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959.

His advancements led to many other scientists analyzing other aspects of this question. Scientists such as Tyndall and Rayleigh... Tyndall's discovery - What became known as the Tyndall Effect, had a lot to do with milk... This was the embodiment of what Rayleigh's studies speculated.
Rayleigh scattering; named after Lord John Rayleigh, an English physicist, who first described it in the 1870's, is the process of light being absorbed by and reflected by gasses.
  blue light is scattered more than red light by a factor of (700/400)4 ~= 10
  -Gas molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. If light bumps into them, it acts differently. When light hits a gas molecule, some of it may get absorbed. After awhile, the molecule radiates (releases, or gives off) the light in a different direction. The color that is radiated is the same color that was absorbed. The different colors of light are affected differently. All of the colors can be absorbed. But the higher frequencies (blues) are absorbed more often than the lower frequencies (reds).


But what better authority to consult on the matter than The National Weather Service. With any number of scientists, meteorologists and other professionals under their belts, they've gotta know what they're talking about. According to them:

The sun emits visible light. The visible light is made up of different colors from violet (shortest wavelength) to red (longest wavelength). The atmosphere is made of tiny molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, dust, etc.) which allows the most scattering to occur with the shortest wavelengths, which for light are violet and blue. This kind of scattering is called Rayleigh scattering. Rayleigh scattering by definition is "a scattering process produced by spherical particles whose radii are smaller than about one-tenth the wavelength of the scattered radiation" (Glossary of Meteorology). So as light encounters atmospheric particles, the violet and blue colors of the color spectrum is scattered much more than the colors that have a longer wavelength (red). Since violet has the shortest wavelength, the sky should be violet, but because our eyes are more sensitive to blue we see a blue sky.

Conclusion:

SO back to my case points:
The atmosphere
Light waves: vibrating electric and magnetic fields
  -At a speed of 299,792 km/sec these waves hit your eyes.
Light's colours
Light hitting particulate matter


So it's like I told you, the sky is blue. At least according to x, y, and z; it appears blue. And that's really all that matters. Case, grounds, points, info, authority. You see, even if you are colour-blind, or for some strange reason, don't believe me... Trust me on this one, the facts are there, (lean forward) The sky is blue.




Reference:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html
http://www.euronet.nl/users/hnl/tyndall.htm
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/atmos/blusky.html#c2
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/Meteorological_Inquiries.htm
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/colcon.html
http://staff.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html
http://newton.nap.edu/html/biomems/gwald.html