This post is kind of to replace a meeting that Sina and I were supposed to have. Unfortunately due to both of our busy schedules, Sina and I were unable to fully complete the amount of required meeting times set forth by Dr. Williams, but I feel that our conversation times that we had were more meaningful as a result. Each time we met, we were able to discuss events that had happened over the course of a longer time period, giving us more subjects to discuss and branch off of.
Sina was an excellent conversation partner, with a lot of insight and perspective to offer. Her German background gave her a unique view on American actions, humor, and life in general, a view that I would not have noticed since I have lived on the inside of that perception my whole life. She pointed out a lot of things that she felt Germany did better, and also noticed a lot of things Americans did better. Her sense of humor was perhaps not as easily triggered as mine, but we both shared a great many laughs throughout the course of our meetings.
Overall, I think we both profited greatly from these meetings. It is really a shame that we weren't able to spend more time with each other but both of us were very busy. We shared a lot about ourselves with each other in the short amount of time we had together, and made the most of every chance we had to talk to each other. We talked about everything from Spring Break to Billy Bob's to humor to education to American Pie. We talked deep, shallow, and everything in between. I am really honored to have had her as a conversation partner, and I thank Dr. Williams for the opportunity that he has given all of us to hear a view of our lives from the outside and to get an insider's viewpoint on another culture.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
American Pie?
So in my last meeting with Sina, we discussed the stereotypes that people had about Germany and America. We met where we usually meet (Union Grounds) and chatted about the usual things first, almost like a ritual humans like to perform before we actually start talking: "How was your day?" "How are classes going?" "Any fun plans for the rest of the evening?"
Even though I felt like we were going through the motions with these questions I knew that we were probably just going to sit for an awkwardly long time if we didn't do them. I was pleased to find that Sina was having a good day, doing pretty well in her classes, and found out she was going out with some friends that evening. I also told her about my day, saying little because my mind was on some other matters that had absorbed my entire week that I wasn't allowed to talk about except with a small group of people. I noticed I was quickly making her do all the conversation and realized I needed to pick it up.
We started talking about her going back to Germany over the summer and what plans she had. The conversation quickly turned to general impressions of Germany. We recalled from our last conversation that I generally thought of Germans as more serious people than Americans and that I thought they were all pretty devoted to their work due to their different scholastic system and their cultural differences when compared to America. Sina corrected me on some of my assumptions, pointing out that while I was mostly right there were some areas that she wanted to clarify to me. She then turned to me and said, "Honestly, just from the movies, most Germans, well my friends and I, thought America was just like the movie American Pie."
Wait, what? I looked at her, she looked at me, and we both started laughing out loud right in the middle of Union Grounds. I'm sure we got some looks from other boring people trying to study there and kill our fun, but we didn't care. When we could finally breathe again she looked at me and said, "I'm serious! I got here with the impression that every house had a party going on all the time!" I asked her what gave her that impression and if she thought TCU lived up to that perception. She just said she got the impression from movies, and that it wasn't quite like American Pie, but in some respects it was.
We eventually moved away from that and finished out our conversation time. As we were getting ready to leave, she told me I had to put her quotes into the blog for the rest of the class to see and enjoy as well. I told her I definitely would, and that she didn't have a thing to worry about.
Even though I felt like we were going through the motions with these questions I knew that we were probably just going to sit for an awkwardly long time if we didn't do them. I was pleased to find that Sina was having a good day, doing pretty well in her classes, and found out she was going out with some friends that evening. I also told her about my day, saying little because my mind was on some other matters that had absorbed my entire week that I wasn't allowed to talk about except with a small group of people. I noticed I was quickly making her do all the conversation and realized I needed to pick it up.
We started talking about her going back to Germany over the summer and what plans she had. The conversation quickly turned to general impressions of Germany. We recalled from our last conversation that I generally thought of Germans as more serious people than Americans and that I thought they were all pretty devoted to their work due to their different scholastic system and their cultural differences when compared to America. Sina corrected me on some of my assumptions, pointing out that while I was mostly right there were some areas that she wanted to clarify to me. She then turned to me and said, "Honestly, just from the movies, most Germans, well my friends and I, thought America was just like the movie American Pie."
Wait, what? I looked at her, she looked at me, and we both started laughing out loud right in the middle of Union Grounds. I'm sure we got some looks from other boring people trying to study there and kill our fun, but we didn't care. When we could finally breathe again she looked at me and said, "I'm serious! I got here with the impression that every house had a party going on all the time!" I asked her what gave her that impression and if she thought TCU lived up to that perception. She just said she got the impression from movies, and that it wasn't quite like American Pie, but in some respects it was.
We eventually moved away from that and finished out our conversation time. As we were getting ready to leave, she told me I had to put her quotes into the blog for the rest of the class to see and enjoy as well. I told her I definitely would, and that she didn't have a thing to worry about.
Discipline and Ducks
So in my search to find some more ways to distract myself, I came across this little gem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXg-ng_osM
An excellent study of humor is ever I saw one. This video is a great example of an appeal to different senses of humor that various people may have. It shows 7 different versions of how the same incident could turn out (granted they are extreme versions).
Each version could appeal to a different sense of humor, and all of them rely on cognitive shift. The premise of the entire video is to catch the audience unawares. Whether it's the father acting like he's going to shoot the kid, being a spider-thing coming to eat him, or playing the nice guy just to turn around on his word, the big idea is that the audience isn't expecting a father to treat his son in such a way for what was obviously a harmless accident.
To me it seemed like the different shifts that were presented in each of the instances could appeal a semi-large audience. While this is certainly not the funniest video I've seen, it definitely had some points where I laughed to myself just because it was so ridiculous. I suspect that much of our class, if not the audience at large, would find at least one instance they would find humorous, and if I'm wrong then that just speaks to the vast variety of forms of humor there are. Some people will only like certain forms, and other people will appreciate other forms more. This doesn't mean anyone is right of wrong (humor-wise anyways, society-wise is a different matter entirely), it instead just means they have different preferences for things they find to be funny.
Now for a video that I think is universally hilarious:
http://screen.yahoo.com/baby-duck-tries-stay-awake-115302107.html
Hope every one has some great finals and manages to stay awake for their finals!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXg-ng_osM
An excellent study of humor is ever I saw one. This video is a great example of an appeal to different senses of humor that various people may have. It shows 7 different versions of how the same incident could turn out (granted they are extreme versions).
Each version could appeal to a different sense of humor, and all of them rely on cognitive shift. The premise of the entire video is to catch the audience unawares. Whether it's the father acting like he's going to shoot the kid, being a spider-thing coming to eat him, or playing the nice guy just to turn around on his word, the big idea is that the audience isn't expecting a father to treat his son in such a way for what was obviously a harmless accident.
To me it seemed like the different shifts that were presented in each of the instances could appeal a semi-large audience. While this is certainly not the funniest video I've seen, it definitely had some points where I laughed to myself just because it was so ridiculous. I suspect that much of our class, if not the audience at large, would find at least one instance they would find humorous, and if I'm wrong then that just speaks to the vast variety of forms of humor there are. Some people will only like certain forms, and other people will appreciate other forms more. This doesn't mean anyone is right of wrong (humor-wise anyways, society-wise is a different matter entirely), it instead just means they have different preferences for things they find to be funny.
Now for a video that I think is universally hilarious:
http://screen.yahoo.com/baby-duck-tries-stay-awake-115302107.html
Hope every one has some great finals and manages to stay awake for their finals!
Inspiration from Failure
Ok, so maybe failure is a bit harsh. Maybe I should instead say "Inspiration from doing not quite as well as I wanted to, but still better than just completely failing."
It just doesn't have the same ring to it though...
Anyways, this entry is mostly about my struggle through the first two days of finals. I've had two finals so far, and in all honestly they were both extremely hard. The comfort comes in knowing that even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked to, the rest of the class in both situations seemed to have struggled as well so hopefully there will be some sort of curve.
All of this is to point to what I really want to write about: how I got myself back up after doing poorly on my first two finals. The cure I found? Laughter! Taking some time to stop worrying and start enjoying life seemed to be all I needed to get the mindset that the next few days are possible to complete with my sanity intact. Here are some statistics and sayings that I found to help make myself feel better and hopefully any of you who are struggling as well.
-Getting a hit in baseball 3 out of 10 times consistently not only makes you a great baseball player, but it can also get you into the hall of fame. (That's 30% for those who are mathematically lazy)
-Meat Loaf once sang this line: "But baby don't be sad, 'cause two out of three ain't bad." (Helps me because I have 5 finals, so if I do well on the last three I get 3/5 which is .6 and since 2/3 is .667, I almost the same thing right?)
-70% of statistics are completely made up, meaning you're really only as bad as you make yourself out to be, not how bad the red numbers on your exam say and how society has taught you to think. (This statistic was also made up.)
-C's get degrees baby.
-My future wife is probably going to care less about how many zeros I got on assignments in school and more about how many zeros are at the end of the number on my paycheck.
The key idea behind these sayings is that no matter what happens, laughter can always make things better. It is the ultimate cure, for man has no greater strength of himself than the will to succeed, and the ability to have fun while doing it.
Hope you have enough time in the day to find something (or someone) to laugh at!
It just doesn't have the same ring to it though...
Anyways, this entry is mostly about my struggle through the first two days of finals. I've had two finals so far, and in all honestly they were both extremely hard. The comfort comes in knowing that even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked to, the rest of the class in both situations seemed to have struggled as well so hopefully there will be some sort of curve.
All of this is to point to what I really want to write about: how I got myself back up after doing poorly on my first two finals. The cure I found? Laughter! Taking some time to stop worrying and start enjoying life seemed to be all I needed to get the mindset that the next few days are possible to complete with my sanity intact. Here are some statistics and sayings that I found to help make myself feel better and hopefully any of you who are struggling as well.
-Getting a hit in baseball 3 out of 10 times consistently not only makes you a great baseball player, but it can also get you into the hall of fame. (That's 30% for those who are mathematically lazy)
-Meat Loaf once sang this line: "But baby don't be sad, 'cause two out of three ain't bad." (Helps me because I have 5 finals, so if I do well on the last three I get 3/5 which is .6 and since 2/3 is .667, I almost the same thing right?)
-70% of statistics are completely made up, meaning you're really only as bad as you make yourself out to be, not how bad the red numbers on your exam say and how society has taught you to think. (This statistic was also made up.)
-C's get degrees baby.
-My future wife is probably going to care less about how many zeros I got on assignments in school and more about how many zeros are at the end of the number on my paycheck.
The key idea behind these sayings is that no matter what happens, laughter can always make things better. It is the ultimate cure, for man has no greater strength of himself than the will to succeed, and the ability to have fun while doing it.
Hope you have enough time in the day to find something (or someone) to laugh at!
Procrastination...
"I wait longer to do things because I will be older, therefore wiser."
This is one of those quotes that I hear all the time but never really seems to work out for me. All throughout dead days and even into finals week I have found myself procrastinating on getting things done (one of the reasons for the delay of this posting!) The really interesting thing I found about this quote is that it shows how we try to laugh off our tendency to not do what we know we are supposed to do. I constantly find myself using humor to try and shrug off criticisms from other people, and that's usually all well and good. In this case however, it seems that I'm using humor to shrug off my brain trying to tell me that if I don't study I'm going to get bad grades.
Whatever brain. What do you know anyways?
(My brain's response to this would probably be along the lines of "Nothing, because you haven't been studying at all.")
Reading other people's blogs, I was glad to see I'm not alone in the procrastination department. For some reason, it comforts me slightly to know that others are wasting their hours occupied with the same task that has been occupying my time: that task is nothing. In the words of C.S. Lewis "Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man's best years.. in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why." He seems to have diagnosed the very problem I seem to be having: my addiction to Nothing. (Also, note that C.S. Lewis used the word "very," not me. Just keeping myself clear).
The fortunate thing about this addiction to Nothing is that it has lead me to some funny clips that I would like to share with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVA047JAQsk
Well I know I said clips, but after reviewing them I realized that if I posted more than one, things were going to get out of control, and I'm sure all of us are already out of control because of finals and whatnot.
Anyways, here's to hoping that even with all of the craziness that has gone on in our lives within this past week that we all find enough time in the day to make a memory and have a laugh!
This is one of those quotes that I hear all the time but never really seems to work out for me. All throughout dead days and even into finals week I have found myself procrastinating on getting things done (one of the reasons for the delay of this posting!) The really interesting thing I found about this quote is that it shows how we try to laugh off our tendency to not do what we know we are supposed to do. I constantly find myself using humor to try and shrug off criticisms from other people, and that's usually all well and good. In this case however, it seems that I'm using humor to shrug off my brain trying to tell me that if I don't study I'm going to get bad grades.
Whatever brain. What do you know anyways?
(My brain's response to this would probably be along the lines of "Nothing, because you haven't been studying at all.")
Reading other people's blogs, I was glad to see I'm not alone in the procrastination department. For some reason, it comforts me slightly to know that others are wasting their hours occupied with the same task that has been occupying my time: that task is nothing. In the words of C.S. Lewis "Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man's best years.. in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why." He seems to have diagnosed the very problem I seem to be having: my addiction to Nothing. (Also, note that C.S. Lewis used the word "very," not me. Just keeping myself clear).
The fortunate thing about this addiction to Nothing is that it has lead me to some funny clips that I would like to share with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVA047JAQsk
Well I know I said clips, but after reviewing them I realized that if I posted more than one, things were going to get out of control, and I'm sure all of us are already out of control because of finals and whatnot.
Anyways, here's to hoping that even with all of the craziness that has gone on in our lives within this past week that we all find enough time in the day to make a memory and have a laugh!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Mark Twain's Wisdom
I want to start off this post by saying that I think I want to look like Mark Twain when I get older. The mustache thing he has going on is great.
That being said, picking a favorite quote from Mr. Clemens is difficult at best. At worst... well, we will just leave you to fill in the rest there. One that really struck with me was one about lightning (on page 140 in my book). It goes something like this:
"The trouble isn't that there are too many fools, but that the lightning isn't distributed right."
This quote strikes me as a funny and slightly sardonic phrase that I think is true. Let's face it, we all have that person (truthfully more like persons) that at times have that we wish could get a nice little shock from the heavens, if only for an instant. Clemens, being a humorist, catches on to the frustration that humans have with each other and creates a nice little quote that catches everyone slightly off guard. Is it nice to say? Not really. Is it politically correct? Probably not. But Clemens rarely seems to care if others take offense to his sayings, something that we might all be able to take a brief lesson on (I say brief because were we all to speak so candidly without any filter, conflicts would be a commonality between mankind as much as breathing is, something we probably don't need).
Twain's quotes are memorable and pleasing for the most part and humorous to the last. This book was an excellent choice for any class on humor, and I intend to reread it later to pick up some of the golden bits I surely left behind on my first pass through.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Last of Juha
As we finish out Tales of Juha, I realized I am quite disappointed: not with the book, but rather with the fact that we will get no more Juha wisdom or humor from here on out!
Tales of Juha was a wonderful book. The small tales in it were humorous when I understood them, confusing when I didn't, and overall a good shift from the books we had read previously in the semester. The light and comical anecdotes proved to contain nuggets of wisdom and insight into the Arabian culture of the time as well as a good look on the perspective of our own culture. Although the time setting seems different and the modes of transportation are not alike in the least (lots of mentions of donkeys in this book), it was intriguing to see the similarities of our American culture with the Arabic culture. For example, many of the last anecdotes that we read focused on corruption in the government and needless court cases, something that I have seen the American public frustrated about many times before. It seems that Juha's tales are not only meant to be comical, but also to be some sort of political and social commentary about the world around them.
It was also nice to have an easy read that kept me awake while I was finishing it. Tales of Juha was a short, simple read that contained a lot of humor and wisdom inside its lines. The one thing that may have not been so enjoyable was the presence of condescension towards women in many of the jokes; however, when reading a tale about another culture it is important to realize that back then (and perhaps even now) there were different social standards. Arabic culture is heavily male dominated, meaning that many writings, jokes, and traditions that come out of that culture are likely to reflect that idea.
Overall, Tales of Juha was a well compiled book, reminding me a lot of a deeper, Arabic version of Anguished English.
Tales of Juha was a wonderful book. The small tales in it were humorous when I understood them, confusing when I didn't, and overall a good shift from the books we had read previously in the semester. The light and comical anecdotes proved to contain nuggets of wisdom and insight into the Arabian culture of the time as well as a good look on the perspective of our own culture. Although the time setting seems different and the modes of transportation are not alike in the least (lots of mentions of donkeys in this book), it was intriguing to see the similarities of our American culture with the Arabic culture. For example, many of the last anecdotes that we read focused on corruption in the government and needless court cases, something that I have seen the American public frustrated about many times before. It seems that Juha's tales are not only meant to be comical, but also to be some sort of political and social commentary about the world around them.
It was also nice to have an easy read that kept me awake while I was finishing it. Tales of Juha was a short, simple read that contained a lot of humor and wisdom inside its lines. The one thing that may have not been so enjoyable was the presence of condescension towards women in many of the jokes; however, when reading a tale about another culture it is important to realize that back then (and perhaps even now) there were different social standards. Arabic culture is heavily male dominated, meaning that many writings, jokes, and traditions that come out of that culture are likely to reflect that idea.
Overall, Tales of Juha was a well compiled book, reminding me a lot of a deeper, Arabic version of Anguished English.
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