HAPPY MARDI GRAS

It's Mardi Gras! Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Mardi Gras to everyone! Especially Mrs. King!

Would Heaven Be Torturous?

While it seems like a strange concept, I think that heaven has the potential to be another type of hell. While reading Andreas's blogpost about comfort, I began to think about the afterlife. Most religions propose a place of eternal bliss that is reached after death, but if comfort is, in essence, torturous, then what does that make heaven. Heaven, at least to me, seems like a place where only happiness and comfort could exist. If struggle is what gives life meaning, then a place where one is always comfortable would eventually become torturous. Sure it would seem fine for a while, but eventually, one would do everything that could be done. Once people have nothing left to do, they would fall into boredom, which would last forever. A state of perpetual boredom certainly seems like hell to me, but what do you guys think. Is heaven just a different version of hell?

P.S. If you would like to watch a show that poses the same types of questions, I would recommend The Good Place. 

Mardi Gras all over the world!

The "carnival" season is different everywhere. We are most familiar with Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but as I was researching I learned a lot about the different places the festival season occurs. In the Czech Republic, Mardi Gras is called Masopust, meaning meat-fast. In Germany, the holiday is called Fetter Donnerstag, meaning Fat Thursday. Also fastnacht means "eve of the fast." In Italy, Mardi Gras is called Martedi Grasso, meaning Fat Tuesday. The most famous "carnivals" in Italy are called Viareggio and Ivrea and they are in Venice. If y'all want to learn more details check out the link below! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras#History

History of King Cakes!!!

I got a little curious myself and looked up the history of King Cakes! This tradition was brought to New Orleans from France in 1870. It was seen as being a cross between a coffee cake and a French pastry. Most are decorated in the Mardi Gras colors, which are purple, green, and gold. Little did I know, these colors actually mean something. Purple means "justice," green means "faith," and gold means "power." The colors were also picked to resemble the jeweled crown that honors the Wise Men who brought gifts to baby Jesus. Before the babies became a tradition, they would hide things like coins, beans, or peas in each King Cake. But now the tiny baby is the prize and if you get the baby you are supposed to host the next party and bring the next king cake. 

https://randazzokingcake.com/history

Podcasts or read?

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had a preference on whether they'd want to listen to a podcast or read a book? Also, if there's a specific reason why you'd like to do one or the other? I don't think I have the attention span to read a book for the same amount of time I can listen to a podcast, since reading requires more focus. Our generation often gets a lot of hate for our lack of reading, but I don't think we are at a disadvantage because of it. We can consume information far faster than any previous generation, and I think podcasts and videos work better for me. This is a very easy question to answer so please somebody give me attention and answer and don't make me feely lonely pls I love u all have a good day

The carcass in "A Carcass"

So the first time I read the poem, I thought of the carcass in "A Carcass" as a whale's carcass. I don't know why I thought of it as that animal, even though it clearly states that it has legs. The second time I read through it I thought of it as a deer. When everyone drew their pictures it was clear that basically everyone else thought of it as a deer as well. What did y'all think of it as, and does it even matter what kind of carcass it is in the end? I think it doesn't matter. Let me know what you guys think!

Cool Video

Here's a cool video that sorta relates to the poem "A Carcass" its a music video by the Australian experimental rock group, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. If any of you are interested, give a listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57YWpvhlym4

Another Podcast Recommendation

Hey Everyone! King Tanner here, coming back at you with yet another podcast recommendation!

This week I'm recommending NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

While this is technically a radio show, you can find it on Apple Podcasts, so I'm counting it as a podcast.

The premise of the podcast is that it's a game show based around the week's news. 3 celebrity panelists and a few audience members who call in answer trivia questions about recent events. Every week, there is a celebrity guest, who is usually a bigger celebrity than the 3 panelists, and they have to answer questions.

The entire podcast has a humorous tone, and I find it very enjoyable.

Give it a listen.

My ethics class

So about 2 minuets ago I watched a video in Ethics about "why comfort will ruin your life." I find this concept very interesting. In the video it talked about how discomfort ( usually meant as a failure) will cause you to further grow as a person or society. Baudelaire is known for causing discomfort and according to the French Government caused enough discomfort to be tried for "offenses against public and religious morals." Do you guys think that this has caused some sort of progress? If so, what kind?

A Carcass

Hey everyone, Tanner here. In class last Friday, we discussed how our version of A Carcass was translated with "special attention to imagery". This sparked a thought in my mind. Is it better to have something translated literally or translated with intention? I'm of the mindset that something should be translated with intention in mind, but one could easily make the argument that something could be lost and the intention could be muddled if it isn't translated literally.

Tell me your thoughts.

Tornadoes!

I watch this guy on youtube pretty often, and while tornadoes rarely ever affect us and even more rarely do they actually harm us down here in New Orleans where the water is rising faster than we can move out, I really enjoy watching his educational content on tornadoes.  His videography style of filming is really engrossing.  I watched a video recently about how he spoke to some professor from some university out west about how they're using a supercomputer to generate an accurate model of a supercell thunderstorm from genesis to its dying out, and tornado included.  Whats revolutionary about this technology is that it could assist us in predicting weather patterns in the future, which could be monumental to preventing disasters such as the 2012 Moore Oklahoma EF5 tornado that was 2.6 miles wide and by far one of the most destructive ever recorded.  Here's that video now!!::: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2wbn3ivHwc

Rosin powder should only be applied a couple of times.

I have a violin with two strings.  Given this, what's you guys' favorite violin concertos?  I personally enjoy occasionally listening to Paganini's La Campanella.  Whats more interesting, I've found that the violin really is one of the hardest instruments to play, given that to play it properly you have to put the proper amount of pressure on the bow, and on top of that the amount of pressure changes when you want to play a different note.  Also, to play louder or softer, you have to use the bow faster or slower.  Although, I've only ever played one with two strings which were out of tune.  I tried stringing it and failed.  It makes noise though.  

Thank you

I think Valentine’s Day is dumb and here’s why

Valentine’s Day is stupid. I said it, sorry Sara (thanks for the fun dip). I’ve never really like it because I think it’s so dumb that we hype up one day for love and romance. Like why can’t you do something special for your person ANY day of the year?!? I say we boycott Valentine’s Day! Down with Hallmark! Also I realize this is a day late but I was at a ball so I forgot to blog about it hehe sorry...

very good music video

Also while I was trying to find inspiration for my "Carcass" blog post, I came across this video that should NOT go unnoticed. Great music video and song 10/10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KKYJD09qCk

Love, Laughter, and Carcasses!

Hope everyone had a great day Valentine's Day! I think the poem, "A Carcass" is somewhat inspirational because it shows that you can find love in anything, even a dead, rotting animal. So I challenge you all to find something random, horrible, maybe even disgusting, and find love in it. I'll start... Tanner, you can be funny sometimes. On the other hand, this poem takes beauty in life and turns it sour, like line 8, "Her stinking and festering womb." The thing that brings life into the world shouldn't be layered with negative adjectives!!!

The Underground Man?? ORRRRR Joe from "You"?!?!?!

There's a fairly new Netflix Original called "You." It's about a man, Joe Goldburg, who forms obsessions with women and peruses them through stalking and manipulation. He's also very jealous and believes these women do certain things for him in order to get his attention. Sounds kinda narcissistic if you ask me. Immediately when we started reading Notes from Underground, I saw a correlation between the Underground Man and Joe. Just to get a better gist of this character I attached a link with some of his moments. I also would recommend this show to anyone who likes a little drama. It's weird because he's a bad guy who does bad things, but you're still rooting for him. WARNING the show is TV-MA... Sorry Tanner... this ones for MATURE audiences ONLY!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6F-lFC94U0

Valentine's Day in Russia

So here is just a little interesting thing I found about Vday in Russia:
It is from a website called the Russian store.

"This happens on March 8th, and it only happens for women. It is International Women’s Day, and people in Russia celebrate this day by giving similar gifts to girls and women, regardless of age.

The most popular gifts being chocolate and flowers.

In America we celebrate Valentine’s Day because of Saint Valentine, or Valentinus. In Russia, they celebrate Women’s Day because it pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of women across the globe and equal rights.

Men in Russia respect this holiday, and husbands will sometimes do all the cooking, cleaning, and tending to the kids on this day to allow the women a full day of rest." 

Tech and Notes from Underground

After reading Underground Man's monologue, I found some similarities between the negativity towards advancements of the 19th century and the advancements of today. Underground Man is highly opposed to this in depth research on the human psyche being a cure all for humanity. He doesn't believe our actions can be formulated, and I think the robots of the 21st century prove his theory. Many jobs are becoming automated, and there's a general opposition to this change from the public. Humans can't truly be replicated, since we have the ability, and sometimes the desire, to deny whatever restraints are put around us. Although we like control, we hate boredom, but robots only exist to serve a certain purpose. I think I would greatly miss the human interaction involved in every day tasks such as checking out after shopping or being waited on at restaurants. Would y'all prefer if the world became more automated, since it may make our lives easier and more efficient? Or do y'all think human interaction keeps us more in touch and happier?

Liza and the Underground Man’s Want for Love

Both Liza and the Underground Man want to find true, pure love in their lives. The Underground Man fantasies about a beautiful family with kids and Liza holds onto a note from a man who loved her. However, neither Liza nor the Underground have the capacity to love.

First, the Underground Man’s want for dominance AND love are not compatible. Love is seeing one another on an equal platform. With true love, he cannot establish dominance. Due to this, he will never find love until he realizes his partner is his equal.

Second, Liza’s job as a prostitute is a profession in which love rarely exist. She is selling her freedom to others. Love only exists where freedom does. Since she cannot posses freedom AND love, she too is void of love. Liza holds onto the note from the medical student who professes his love to her. He didn’t know she was a prostitute and showed real love toward her. She keeps this letter as a way of proving to herself that love exists and gives her hope for her own future

Although Liza and the Underground Man cannot possess love, that definitely does not mean that they don’t desire it. They want love more than anything, but cannot reach it.

Do y’all agree?!

synesthesia

The background information on Baudelaire presents the topic of synesthesia. It defines it as "the reciprocity of our five senses." I viewed synesthesia almost as a literary device in this sense; Baudelaire drew parallels between the senses and attempted to get his reader to see how they correspond. However, if you look up synesthesia online, it's mainly viewed in relation to the medical condition. I read an article released by pitchfork that detailed the various artists who have claimed to experience this phenomenon, which they defined as a condition in which a person's senses are joined. From Billie Eilish to Kanye West, everyone seems to want to claim this magical power. A professor of psychology at the University of Miami has claimed to experience synesthesia for as long as she remembers, and she even proposes that anyone can "teach" themselves the most common form of this unusual connection of senses. 

So, my question to y'all is: have you ever experienced this phenomenon, or even attempted to?

Joaquin Phoenix's speech at the Oscars !!

As I watched the Oscars this past weekend, I very much enjoyed Joaquin Phoenix's speech. I feel that he was deserving of the Oscar for Best Actor, and his speech stood out from any speech I’ve ever seen. The style and delivery reminded me of the material we’ve been studying in class: Notes from Underground. Phoenix seemed to be criticizing our current world, specifically the injustices, as well as human behavior. At one moment he said, “And I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something, to give something up, but human beings, at our best, are so inventive and creative and ingenious.” This part of the speech reminded me so much of Notes from Underground. Just like Dostoevsky, Joaquin Phoenix was brave enough to reveal the raw realities of our society and how we treat/interact with our surroundings. He dares us to push for change within ourselves and to see our commonality with others, regardless of how different we think we are. 

I suggest ya’ll watch Joaquin Phoenix’s speech, it’s very inspirational and moving !!

(Although when he starts talking about baby cows and milk it was a bit strange haha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87zXvSCmSYk

UNDERGROUND MAN'S THEME SONG

Hey hey hey (dont worry im not fat albert),

It's me, King Tanner.

This is the song that makes me think of the Underground Man.

I declare this to be the National Anthem of the blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjgZZGo881E

Kindly,

King Tanner Duncan Sykes I

HOW BOUT THEM OSCARS, HUH?

So, I watched the Oscar's last night. I was pretty happy with them. Jojo Rabbit definitely deserved best adapted screenplay and Parasite was deserving of best original screenplay, and history was made when it also won Best Picture, becoming the first foreign film to do so.

I am curious to hear all of your thoughts on the awards last night.

Tell me.

Now.

Sincerely,

King Tanner Duncan Sykes I

Birds of prey, wow

So I just saw Birds of Prey and honestly it’s probably one of the best movies of 2020. The soundtrack was amazing and it’s great to see a group of women kick some major butt on screen. So let’s talk a bit about irony for a bit so this counts as a blog post. Black Canary sings the song “It’s a man’s world” in the first 30 mins of the movie. You can probably see where I’m going with this so yeah. She and the  rest of the Birds kick major butt but I won’t spoil the movie for those of you who want to see it.

Lack of Sympathy for the “Underground Man”

As I began reading “Notes from Underground,” the Underground Man began by telling us about his sickness and loneliness. He says how he has no friends and has isolated himself from others in his life. 

            When we typically hear people say how they have no friends, happiness, or meaning in life, we feel sympathetic towards them. You tend to feel sorry or at least try to help them out in some way. However, with the Underground Man, I don’t really sympathize with him. For some reason, it is very difficult to feel bad for him. 

           I began thinking more about this, and wondered if he wanted us to sympathize with him? Is his goal for readers not to feel bad for him? 

            There seems to be some quality to the Underground Man that makes him isolated, even from readers. He describes himself in terms of things he dislikes about other people. By not having the qualities that others do, he describes himself.

             Do y’all feel the same way? Or do you sympathize with him?

What is your version of Underground?

Whilst reading Underground I noticed the “dramatic monologue” style of the writing was particularly interesting. The Underground Man seems to be analyzing and picking apart the world around him, while also picking apart characteristics of himself. I wondered if one of us decided to write something like this, in this day and age, what would we choose to criticize or analyze? I’m curious about what ya’ll would discuss. What aspects of the world would be the topic of your own piece of writing similar in style to Underground? What is your “dramatic monologue”? What is your Underground?

Ms. King is the best English teacher hands down

Ok...wow. Senior leadership day has come and gone and I just want to say that I have a new found appreciation for our teachers. I shadowed Ms. King and I just want to say that this woman does SO much in one day for all her students that it’s insane. I’ve always known that she works hard for all her sections but let me just say, I taught for one day and I collapsed the second I walked through my front door. So let’s have a round of applause for our teacher who not only teaches our AP class but 3 rambunctious sections of junior English.

Historical Context

To understand Notes from Underground, you need to understand the historical context. Russia in the 1860s was not a nation-state; it could barely be called a state. Even though the Tsar was powerful and there was a united government, the nation was still primarily based on an absolutist government. An absolutist government is a system of government that sought to increase the power of the monarch and protect the traditional rights of the nobility. 

The economy of Russia was also largely agricultural with peasants and later poor farmers living on small farms. There was little to no industrialization in most regions of the Empire. Unlike the rest of Europe, the Russian Empire did not have an elected parliament. Even states like Prussia and Austria created parliaments after the revolutions of 1848. Russia was economically behind and politically stuck in the 18th century. 

Dostoyevsky is responding to the actions of the current and past Tsars. Russia was divided by those who wanted to westernize and those that wanted to promote Slavic values. For many Russians, this was an impossible choice. They recognized the need to change, but they also knew that they need a unifying force for their multi-ethnic Empire. Dostoyevsky, through the Underground Man, is dealing with this existential question. Should the Russian Empire act, or should it be acted upon? Should they change, or should they persevere? 

if our lives were mapped out

After reading Part I, I started thinking about if our lives were mapped out for us. If we really ever conquered the human psyche, I don't believe that it'd have solely negative results. I think you could still find happiness and purpose in a society that has condensed your life into mere calculations. I think civilization as a whole would be much more progressive if we knew why we did everything. Most of the time, people are frustrated by their actions that they can't explain. I know I am supporting the "ladies and gentlemen" that he is referring to in his monologue, but I was wondering what ya'll think? Could you find meaning in a life that is already mapped out for you? Or are you in agreement with Underground Man, and feel that we could never actually achieve this formula, let alone prosper in its' appliance?

THE NAME GAME

Hey Hey guys,

King Tanner here. The narrator in "NFU" has no name, so people just call him
Underground Man.

I don't like that. 

I don't like that at all.

So I came up with a list of names for him that we
can use in our class discussions and blog posts.

- Tallywhacker

- Stinky Pete

- Quendra

- Josh Gad

- Dang Drum Neuron

- Thunder-Ground Man

- Casanova Fly

- Dante Alighieri (as a throwback!)

- Cornholio

- Tann Erismyfavoritestudent

- Alex From Target (remember him?!?!?)

- Former Saturday Night Live cast member Bobby Moynihan (say the whole thing
each time)

- Spain

- Mr. Myxlplyx

- Fyodor Clementine Dostoevsky

And of course,

- Megan King

Let me know your favorite in the comments. Mine
are Josh Gad, Cornholio, Bobby Moynihan, and Megan King.

Once we pick a favorite, we have to stick to it.

Cordially,

King Tanner Duncan Sykes I

MY SECOND BLOG POST FOR THE WEEK

So, Dostoyevsky makes it clear that the nameless narrator in Notes From Underground is not a real person at all, but people like him likely exist.

This makes me ask all of you here today; who do you know that's like the narrator in the book that we are reading, if anyone?

He personally reminds me of my best friend from back home in Knoxville, TN, Cole. He's a strange dude. He has black hair and drives a Mercedes convertible. He smells stale and has a tendency to ramble on like our nameless narrator.

Actually, all this nameless narrator talk gives me an idea for another blog post.

KTDSI out.

HEY EVERYBODY,

I just wanted to gage people's thoughts on Notes from Underground so far.

I have to say, I'm not a fan. The speaker seems very very very repetitive and honestly I'm bored to death by it. He won't shut up about advantages and how advantageous the advantages are, and how man is stupid but we can't say man is stupid because if man is stupid can anyone be not stupid?

I'm sure I'll like it more in class.

Food in Prison

So I was planning on talking about food in prison in my group's podcast, but I think I will just make a blog post about it instead! So I did some research and turns our wikipedia has a whole page on prison food! I found out some prisons prepare their own food and then others use catering companies, which I thought was very surprising. In the United States, prison meals are designed to be low sugar and salt diets. Also, it is said that dietary and religious concerns are taken in consideration (to an extent). In the UK, the average daily allowance per prisoner is 1.87 pounds (2.48 US dollars). Their meals are generally not made from seasonal produce, but from things like canned goods and frozen foods. 

I found these facts very interesting and if you do too you can read more about it at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_food