I just want to say I am thoroughly thrilled that this was the last peice of work we had to view in this class. It was so funny that it made me cry, even the serious and touching parts, for instance when he had to shoot his own mother in the head. But I will say one thing, David was not someone I would ever want to be friends with. The humor in this film was so simplistic that besides being funny, it makes you realize how complicated society has made things, or how high tech everyone thinks they need to be because of consumerism. When an audience thinks its funny when the main character tells everyone to stay here I’ll go scope out the area, and then climbs up a three foot kiddie slide, besides making you split your sides it really makes you realize.
Peep This November 28, 2007
So now that the Apex has been ripped off and thrown away, meaning the story is over, everything finished its full circle and has come to a rest. This story has so much in it, that in the end had changed the narrator and how he looks at how things are named, and basically how he looks at life as well. His toe was the most disturbing part of the novel, and the maid along with Muttonchops was probably the most humorous parts. The ending of the story was probably the most disappointing. Even though the process of getting to the end was intriguing.
In an earlier post I compared this novel as a new age mystery, with its fragmented postmodern information, and seemingly pointless details that in the end add up and let loose the real meaning. One conclusion is that nomenclature is not just a simple job that everyone should want to have, but it is the idea of where someone fits into society, it shows confliction. Or, that an apex may cover up something damaged, but it does not make it physically go away, or cure anything. Which in a way this story was an apex over the way the narrator saw and believed things ran, it was taken off in the end and he saw things in a new light, unlike his poor toe that had to get cut off. The realization that even though the narrator mentioned early on that a name is power, but then he settles with naming the town “Struggle” shows the narrators growth and realization.
Even though the story ended with a dud name, the way you get all the information about how there was a conflict with field, and there is still a mystery as to why Goode decided to join Winthrop’s side in the vote, was what made me really enjoy the book despite the “struggle” to understand the reasoning of the flow and pace of the book. 
part II November 17, 2007
I liked the second part of the reading more so than the first because, now that I understand the drift of this novel, it was more intriguing to keep reading. The second part is revealing some answers to the questions that orignated, and its kind of like this book is a mystery in itself, it starts off being mysterious and not understanding where it’s going to go next, and now its letting us in, showing us the problems, and why things are the way they are. For example, the toe has been brought back up. We know know a possible solution to why he is missing his shy, back of the room, B average student toe, because he stubs it and puts an Apex on it but he continually stubs it? So is this why he gets it amputated? the second part gives possible solutions but no definitive end to what we are reading yet, which is like a mystery novel, and I enjoy mystery novels, so this is novel is like a postmodern spin-off on what old mystery stories are like. This book isn’t about who killed who and how, or how something got where and why, the story itself is a mystery, like the town of Winthrope and like the unnamed narrator limps, and despite being a “namer” has no name himself.
Apex November 14, 2007
I actually like this book. It has the slower pace, and even though it seems like in the first fifty pages you learn nothing, in class when we were talking about it all there’s a lot more that you do learn then you think. The most different thing about this book is the humor, and the whole renaming a place. I do feel as if the humor is out of the movie Fargo. It’s dry and you have to realy be paying attention to what you are reading to catch on to that one funny sentence amist a paragraph of horrifying realizations, like the housewife that cuts herself paragraph, but her husband definitly went to a liberal arts college. A lot of the things that I feel are funny aren’t right away and they continue to make me feel like the book is not funny at all until class time where we point all the little humorous comments and then it dawns on me that oh yeah thats funny. I guess this would put this novel into the postmodern genre. The unpredictability and straying from the general rules of what makes something funny is what happens in Apex Hides the Hurt.
Also I kind of get why some of the citizens of Winthrop want to change the name, but then again I don’t. Don’t some places really pride themselves on being a place for over so and so number of years? Wouldn’t that only be possibly if they kept the same name? Doesn’t every place want to keep the same name so they can be considered a historical landsite which in turn can help them earn more tourists and help raise up their town’s revenue? Also, barbed wire…who would want that? Oh Apex…
Paper Topic November 9, 2007
As said in class I wanted to do my paper on something that had to do with masculinity which was a theme that was brought up in almost all of the texts we read. The way masculinity changed and had different meetings in every text is what sparked and kept my interest. So then, my topic is really, what is postmodern masculinity?
I decided to narrow down the text reference to the film Fight Club, in it masculinity is changing, has several different definitions, along with various reasoning for what is and why certain things were made masculine or not. Doing the film instead of the book I thought would be better, because when talking about masculinity it is easier to find that characteristics to me, when watching images rather then reading a text where the images are left up to our own imagination which can tend to make things more masculine when they shouldn’t be just based on how we interpret the words in the passages.
For the paper I want to start off with describing some vividly masculine scenes in Fight Club, maybe two or three. Then go into further detail with why these scenes are masculine, their importance, and what masculinity means in that reference. Then to bring it back to what’s going on today I want to first bring up what others are saying about the masculinity in Fight Club, and about what postmodernism is to them, and then to bring it even further back to base, use some current images that show and over use of masculinity. One example of this would be a magazine ad for Tag Body Spray. I will go into further explanation of the masculinity visible in the ad and then talk about what others have said about masculinity in today’s advertising and photographs. I feel by doing these four general goals, I can talk about what postmodern masculinity is, demonstrate it with the film Fight Club, and then talk about what masculinity is today, and use some ads and photographs to demonstrate it.
The only problem I having with writing this paper is that it is difficult to find sources that are specific enough to pertain to my topic and other goals. I have found one journal that talks about the impact of visuals over reading, and a couple scholarly websites that talk about masculinity in Fight Club the movie. I can’t really find any one who talks about what generally postmodern masculinity is, or about anyone mentioning what masculinity is today. Most sources I do find are about politics and I can not find that information useful for this paper so if anyone has gotten any sources I could use that would be greatly appreciated. 
Here are the sources I did find:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/postmodern_culture/v013/13.3friday.html ~Talks about the masculine scenes in Fight Club, novel and film.
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=H0QKJrprQCDShTtMXWCvSprVXJ5RJ4FL4rCnCX4qTj9JqpBJQsLw!-1280909210?docId=5006370732 ~ Talks about the masculinity in Fight Club and relates it to the world we live in and how the film is just showing us the society we have become.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/j7n7v3212064h237/ ~Talks about the crisis of masculinity and how Fight Club is alienated men using updated pranks to demonstrate this crisis.
http://www.umpi.maine.edu/~ricer/research/masculinity.htm ~ Talks about masculinity using Fight Club and other movie references.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma02/freed/fightclub/mv.html ~ Says violence is the reclamation of masculinity in the postmodern moment.
http://www.jstor.org/view/00028762/di981910/98p2596i/0 ~This is a book review on Martin Jay’s novel: Downcast Eyes: The Denigration of Vision in the Twentieth Century French Thought.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/gwss1001/axe.jpg ~ This is an Axe Body Spray ad that I will probably include in my paper.
Third chunck of Galatea October 30, 2007
First off I really liked Donna Haraway and her theory. She is really different and talked about things I never would have thought about with technology and humans. Also, how power is thought of both physically and theoretically. The way she relates to Galatea really interested me as well. It was well explained that one of the boundries is that technology is a man’s way of thinking which links to Galatea because what is the purpose of Helen? Lentz wanted to make this machine to help him figure out how the brain works in reference to his wife. What was really fascinating is the relationship between Helen and Lentz’s wife.
They work inversily towards each other. Audrey has the data base but there is no meaning left. Meanwhile Powers is trying to expand Helen by giving her more data, and from there get her to get meaning. Another relation is that Audrey at one point was a capable human being of being independant and providing for herself and Lentz was her lover, but since her stroke Lentz is now like a father figure, trying to get her to remember paths such as a spoon to the bowl and then spoon to the mouth. Helen is the opposite with Powers. At first he was a father figure to her, spoon feeding Helen information. Now it seems as if Powers has surpassed that emotional stage and is kind of falling in love with her instead. The role reversal is opposite that of Audrey and Lentz. This can also bring it back to Donna Haraway where it shows the seperation of humans and machines. You can’t have a machine feed an insulate, a human with feelings and emotions would be the only appropriate thing to perform such a task.
On an ending note, since Power’s only writes when he has love pushing him, or else there is no meaning, does this justify that this book is about Helen and his new love for her, or is this supposed to show that as a human Power’s himself has expanded and can write now with out being in a romance?
part 2 of 2.2 October 23, 2007
When I first started reading the book, I got a false sense of actually liking it. This should have been a sign from the beginning because all of the other books we have read I hated at first and then started to like it. Since I liked this book at first it should have been a clear obvious sign that I am not going to like it. This is going to be one of my worst posts because I do not like this book at all. The only thing keeping me going is just me trying to get to the conclusion of the relationship with C. and not the Imp C. either since Powers just loves to repeat uses for abbreviations so the reader really has no idea what is going on, which annoys me, how is the reader supposed to interpret and get a greater meaning out of this book if the readers need to take notes on what every letter of the alphabet stands for.
2.2 October 17, 2007
Before reading the book something popped out at me, does the front cover look strangely familiar to anyone else? Yeah so now when I pick up the book all I see is Sherman holding up a prothestic breast. But, really, I started reading the story and at first I thought I was doing pretty well at following where Powers was going with his life, but then I don’t know if I was tired, but I just felt like there was so much superflous things being included in that first 48 pages. I did get kind of lost near page 20 but I regained focus around 25 and by the end of the 48 pages I was really interested in this magical mystery machine that is going to be produced. And, I know we have seen it before but why can’t powers just say the names of these places and people, or give them a fake one so I dont have to keep thinking back to what U. stood for theoretically, or C. I don’t know about anyone else but I felt this was more frustrating then when reading Funhouse. I do see that this is a post-modern trend with it trying to leave things out so it seems like this story isn’t fictional, but really I rather just have a fake name then. Also, why is it that Powers comes home and decides to work in a science center. I know that the two do have similarities but why would the science center be his first choice of work, while finishing up writing his books to spend his time in?
Lee October 17, 2007
If I were to try and think of one thing that I could say about Lee and her projects is that she is a cameleon of many colors, especially for her being Asian which I feel is one of the more distinct ethnic characteristics. She blends in so well with being hispanic and being a lesbian, that at first I did not realize that it was her, I did notice and asian was in every photo but I did not realize it was her and that it was the same asian in those photos. That alone impresses me, but I really did like the projects, I like how all the photos seem ordinary, but they have extraordinary meanings hidden in them. Hannah did mention in class today how maybe Lee is a sociopath because she can just create different lives in all of these photos. Which to me really could be true, because how does a person, just walk into someone’s home and pose “kinda” and then call it the Ohio Project, it is weird.
When comparing Lee to Sherman there are more differences then similarities. I feel like Sherman’s photos did feel more structured, and while also having hidden meanings, I feel as if Sherman herself was not as chameleon like, she had to use posthesis to create a different image of herself. Also I don’t know if this is a common thought, but I think Sherman’s work is more gender based then what Lee is trying to show with her photos, I feel Lee is more into showing different ethnicities and sexual preferences, and Sherman is trying to show more with using gender, feminity and masculinty.
One thing I still do not get though is that in Lee’s pictures, is she the object or the subject. I mean we as the gazers are usually looking at her, but for example when she is the tourist she is the one looking at different famous statues or landmarks. So is this another exaomple of how the subject and object can change unnoticed and it is so versatile or is this a general explaination of what is what and who is who?
Mid-term Blogerroni October 15, 2007
Part I.
I read all of my blog posts, and after fiddling around for an hour on this trying to figure out if there is an easier way to see all of my comments ,than going to every-ones page and searching, which there is, so if anyone wants to know, i have the key. But my comments, I felt do not really ascend in showing my understanding of postmodernism. I know my blogs have greatly increased in decent material but I feel as if my comments are so insignificant. For the next half of the semester I’m going to change that. But for now the two comments I took to quote are the only ones with any real density to them.
”If your father is a model for God, then what is really meant by this. Does it necessarily mean your father, or is it a confusing play on words because like God, father can be used in its place. Is this book trying to portray using the word father instead of God just so the thought of God does not make you feel as meek or empty? But, your father as a role model for God, is not usually the case anyway, in typical families I feel the mother is supposed to be the role model more-so. But this book does not favor the females of course.” This is my comment that is taken from Hannah’s Weblog, and it was written on October second, in regards to Hannah’s blog, “Fight Club: the book.”
In analyzing this comment I feel as if it is one my better ones with the best questions and most density to the ideas and thoughts I gathered from the book. This comment implies this constant questioning I have of gender and its roles, what it is supposed to be representing, and how the author or photography wants this to be taken by the observer or reader. This can all link back into Fight Club, which can lead to Written on the Body, and Life in a Fun-house. All of these have the unpin-point-able area of gender and its purpose in the piece. This comment is great because it asks unanswerable questions and leads to other ideas and questions that can branch off other originals. When talking about the father and God, it can be a ply on words, but is this passage supposed to taken as when speaking of father it is your paternal figure or is father, just another word for God, who in a religious family is supposed to be your role model? Like mentioned in the comment it naturally seems to me that the mother would be your role model since traditionally in most families she is the one staying home and raising the kids while the father is out making money to support his wife and kids. But, if father is supposed to be your role model is this a play on gender? Fight Club really emphasizes masculinity and how the characters in the book have feminine or masculine characteristics that are opposite their true gender and basically they are just trying to prove to them and everyone else their real gender. So is this another swap of genders and the father is the role model now, or does it really just mean that everyone wants to be more masculine so you idolize the father figure in your like, like god, or your dad? These are all lingering questions still rattling around, but I feel as if gender is an interesting topic to me because of the sublime feeling I get from trying to figure out every author’s purpose with it.
“I agree with you and the way you say that the face is most logically becoming from a catcall on the street which brings femininity back into being an object, but is there ever a way to keep one general thing as males or females as a commonly known object or subject? no of course not which is where I get lost when they are in transition between being an object and subject. But I do agree with you on the pictures and the male gaze thingy.” This was the comment I took from Little Bit of my World’s Blog called: Sherman: Film Stills, and I commented on this blog on October 12th as well.
I do not feel as if this comment is a strong a comment as the first but I still like how I was able to relate to the discussion in class and bring into the comment some terms we have been leaning on through out the year so far. This comment is intriguing because it brings up the males gaze. Once again gender being the peak of my interest, I feel as if Sherman’s stills are perfect for the topic because one person sees one thing of the picture and someone else can see almost the complete opposite. Whether they are cliches or not it can never universally be agreed upon but they do show that everyone sees maybe not what they want to see, but maybe what they do not want to see. Also another gender related topic I brought up in the comment is about objectivity and subjectivity. When you take the root of the words you can simply understand the difference between them, but, when taken to stills, or characters in a book, it is puzzling to decide what is what and which is which. A lingering question left that is branched off this comment is just how can these two terms transcend to one another, or actually not be transcending to one another and the observer thinks it is, and the transfer be so unnoticeable and flexible?
PART II
I feel the two comments I put up before are my best comments to date. They ask good questions, provide branching off onto new ideas and different perspectives, they are relate-able to class discussion, mention terms we’ve been associating with, and it relates well with the other texts we have read. Because the comments have already been discussed the two best blog posts I feel I published include, my blog post number 9 called: Masculinity, which was posted October second, and my eleventh blog post called Untitled…How Ironic?, which was posted October 9th. Another curiously developing theme between my train of thought and my blogs posts are the questions about gender, subjectivity, and objectivity. They related well to our discussions in class, for example Masculinity was written after we were split into groups in class to discuss one topic of the book Fight Club, which also relates it to the texts and others we have looked at. Also, my eleventh blog which is about the Sherman stills, shows the same thing, which can relate to class and the tests and others we have seen. Both of these blogs go in depth into certain areas of what I felt was important to write and discuss about. These have helped me ascend in my understanding of postmodernism; and I feel it is obvious how much better my ideas and thoughts about the texts have gotten if you compare my earlier blogs. So these I felt were some of my better blogs and comments for those reasons.
A classmate’s blog that I really enjoyed was Michael’s blog called Settling a Fight, which was posted on October 8th. It to me was exceptional because I really learned and got a grasp on some terms that I was to sure of, because of the questions, or maybe jokes, he was putting into the blog. Also, I enjoyed the blog I did not feel as if it was just reiterating everything we said in class, or that everyone else had the same information in their blogs, it was actually pleasant to read. Also, I learn better through comedy then serious lectures and felt his blog really did get me interested and help my attention because of the questions and the jokes. But, really the blog was exceptional because it has such great terms in it that are related to other readings, like ideology, and capitalism, and of course the big one post-modern, which really you don’t see anyone specifically writing about too much in their blogs. He mentioned things that intrigued him and frustrated him, and he just makes connections with concepts and definitions, that I especially was having a hard time grasping, and made them more clear to me.
For the three goals I want in my writing for the last half of the semester my number one goal would definitely have to be, to have more substantial and qualified comments. My second goal would definitely be trying to work from such small specific little parts of post-modernity and try to get a clearer larger picture of what that word means. My last goal would be to go even more in-depth in my blogs, I feel as if I skim a lot of good subjects, topics, and questions, but I do not dive far enough into them during the blog, I just think about it after I have already posted. To achieve these goals, I think the main thing would be that I need to find and spend more time blogging and writing which would really help with my number 1 and 3 goals. It is difficult though to spend a lot of needed time on these things since we do need to blog twice a week and comment twice a week, that is supposed to be 4 quality passages, which really at this point I don’t feel I have enough time to do. But, since I really do want to achieve these goals I think it would be best if I found a way to get in as much time as possible. My second goal I feel could be achieved if I look more closely at what my classmates are blogging about and then compare it to my blogs and then try and get a general feeling about what is post-modern what is modern and what is neither or both. So basically, I need to take my time while reading and writing, and find more time to do these things, and I feel I could easily accomplish all three of my goals.
