Beale street trek

We were asked in the very beginning when we met up at Local to decide if Memphis had become a tourist attraction and I have to reply with an emphatic yes but only in some degrees. Beale street to me was sad, I walked in disdain from shop to shop looking at crappy souvenairs at exubereant prices. I walked in bars and listened to some live music by famous people. Maybe I didn't find the right store or bar to listen to some good home written music but for me I felt like was just walking around somewhere that wasn't home. Beale street just felt like it was here it wasn't overly interesting or exciting. But riding the trolley, going to some of the art displays and looking at the lorraine motel was nice. I enjoyed the home grown art and the history that was here. I enjoyed getting into a discussion about the art and music that was played, the people we saw. Even though we could see the bright lights of Beale, it was more enjoyable for me to be in the streets outside of it, barely lit up by street lamps.

Old Forest Hike

I love nature, all of it. From the beautiful trees to the grimy mud that feels great in between your toes when you run in the woods barefoot after a light rain. I have grown up in the woods and don't know much when it somes to the innerworkings of the woods. With this hike we learned about trees, animals, the history of the forest itself. We smelled interesting plants and listened to the heartbeat of a tree. The hike became repetitive after a time, which goes to show that the forest is small in size, which disheartens me. Industry is good for industries sake but you have to have a place to go hide from the world and if this is all the ctiy of memphis has to offer in this aspect then it's sad. I do want to go to live in a big city in the future but I still want to be able to go back to my country roots. Even as I live in my plush suburban neighborhood, the one thing that keeps me sane is that when I need my alone time to think and just do some hard labor I am just a short 45 minute drive from munford. In 45 minutes I can go work in a barn, just cleaning or I can go to some woods and cut down some firewood for the house and to sell. I seem to get alot of my thinking done when I am doing repetitive hard labor and can just be by myself and enjoy the solitude. A happy life for me is one where I can work hard physically but enjoy the fast paced life of the city is that too much to ask?

Playing catchup (sun studio/nathan bedford forest park)

I thought the sun studio tour was intersting as much as it was funny. The tour guide knew his information and even though I have grown up in memphis and love music I pretty much have no idea the extent to which it goes. Everyone knows the famous one, Johnny Cash and Presley to name a few but even then I barely know any of Elvis's music and the only reason I know Cash is because I've been listening to it for as long as my parents have been funneling it through their tape player. Even though I learned a good bit of information sun studio it hasn't really pressed me to learn more. The only thing I wanted to learn more about on this trip was the city itself. Since I have started this class I have learned more about the city itself. I have never been to beale until this class or even midtown. As far as the trip to Nathan Bedford forest park, the question that persisted the most was; why is the park under so much controversy? It isn't like it is in the middle of a massive park, and it isn't like it isn't in the middle of a major part if memphis and other than the history that is behind the man. I do not see the reason for the controversy.

not elmwood

I had fun at Elmwood, but since I just wrote my reflector article on it, I really don't feel like saying anymore on the subject. Instead I am going to write about my upcoming trip to the Czech Republic. I'm really excited because I've always been interested in photography and I will finally get a chance to start developing a new skill in an environment full of wonderful subjects and a conclave of professional photographers that I will have the privilege of interacting with. This was also the perfect excuse for me to splurge on a professional camera. Initially I found the mix up with my plans to go to Italy quite irritating, but since become just as excited to about my expedition to Prague. One event I am particularly looking forward to is our visit to a museum made of bones. some might consider it a bit creepy, but I think its actually pretty wonderful. Why are all the most intriguing things buried? Everyone with the least bit of curiosity has some kind of interest with death. It is, after all the only thing no one can speak on with certainty. I am a bit worried about the thieves. Half of the time I'm stumbling around in my own world and these thieves are supposed to be able to steal from the most cautious travelers with out rising suspicion. I'm also a little worried about the Icelandic volcano that has already caused some disturbances in airline schedules. Keep your fingers crossed that the volcano calms down.

The Brad Watson Reading

Overall, I suppose the event was a success. We did, after all, hear a literary reading by a short story writer. But the small things do add up. I liked the author's literary style. His almost plain linguistics were somehow molded into a very articulate model of how literature should be written. He was very plain, very controlled, not at all what I was expecting from the author of a book titled "Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives." My complaints would all be geared toward the way the event was held. The chairs were small, hard and uncomfortable. I'm sure that the author was less than pleased to have his reading interspersed with squeaks and creaks from chairs as his uncomfortable listeners shifted. Also, with the sun beating down from just behind where he was standing, the audience was forced to sit blinded in the heat. This is twice now that the facilities of Burkes Books have proven less than adequate. They really do need a larger store.
On a separate note, dinner at Celtic Crossing was a treat. The food could have been better, but the company couldn't. I thoroughly enjoyed eating, drinking, and discussing poetry with my intellectual peers. I think my favorite part of the night was getting to show my professor something on a poem he had chosen for us to elucidate. It's not often the student gets to do the teaching.

misogynistic?

I'm not really sure. While certainly, many of the characters in Hustle and Flow were misogynistic, the movie itself was in some ways, and in others seemed to be quite the opposite. When I think of all the movies I've watched where prostitution played a part, only two cross my mind where a prostitute was both an important and positive character that managed to get out of the situation she was in on her own (the other being paprika). To me it seems that if the movie itself was misogynistic, the females would not play such a integral role in the success of the main character, or appeal to the audience as individuals deserving of reaching their potential and attaining a better sense of self worth. Even when they show a clip at the end of the prostitute that was kicked out, although she was clearly unhappy with the fact that she did not play a part in the music production, she was in a school which gave a sense of hope as to what her future would hold. There were only a few parts that gave me pause like where Yevette shows up with sandwiches after her husband publicly disrespects her as though she was the one who should make amends. It was also a pretty harsh spin to say that one of the girls left DJay when he clearly kicked her out. Some scenes, I'm not even sure what I really think of. When Nola and Shelby come to the consensus that refilling vending machines is worse than prostituting. I noticed that inflated egos were rampant among the male characters and while this may be a hint misogynistic, I think it could also simply be a mixture of Shelby's ego and Nola's diminished sense of self worth.

Good, Bad, Good.

Overall I suppose I enjoyed Brad Watson's reading last Tuesday. I think he is a great talent and surely an asset to his community, both locally and to writers at large. His wry sense of humor is very much in tune with my own and I'm sure that I would greatly benefit from taking a class of his, though I don't know that I will buy his book, nor do I think I would ultimately decide to take a class of his if the opportunity were afforded to me. Ray made a comment in his post about how Watson's sense of humor was refreshing in light of the status quo's palate, a palate that tends to prefer dick jokes over high-brow dryness. I agree with this generalization but beg to differ that Watson himself writes at a caliber far above it. I noticed a pattern in his writing that seemed obsessed with gleefully describing phalli in great detail, and I cringed at his entirely unecessary description of a young girl's vagina. Call me a puritan if you want, that's fine. I just couldn't help but be instantly turned off by the superfluous peppering of perverse references, and found myself fidgeting in my seat, eager to once again be in charge of what I choose to be an audience to. Perhaps I should have asked him about his infatuation myself, but frankly the guy creeped me out and I wanted to leave.

I was happy to reconvene with my classmates over dinner, as I had found myself missing them during our time away from each other and my absence at the Art Tour the previous weekend. I had never been to Celtic Crossing before that night, but I will just say this: some might complain about how we "always" eat at the Deli when we're out in Cooper-Young, but do we not now have a more acute understanding of why that is? If fries are not appealing, might I humbly suggest Cafe Ole, the Beauty Shop, or Jasmine next time? The Beauty Shop is fabulous. As for reading Don Share's poetry, I can appreciate being forced to do my homework on a writer I am not familiar with. However I think my recalcitrance was due mainly to my own feelings toward poetry, which are not usually positive, I must admit. Share, to his credit, is an exceptional writer and I am looking forward to meeting him. However writing poetry MUST be an organic process for it to be done well in my opinion, and so analysis of poetry should be similar, logic would dictate. When I am forced to analyze on command I get a little shy. Give me a research or position paper and I will edit, analyze and produce an exquisite criticism like a dog sits for a treat. I am just very linear-minded and so poetry has never appealed to me. upon further examination of Share's work on my own time I did discover immense beauty, diamond-cut wit, and a deep understanding of what makes him tick. I look forward to turning the mirror on him when he is in Memphis, intellectually speaking.

once upon an unknown

If he was starving, I'd cut off my fingers to feed him;
And in not knowing that he defied logic.
For a months I was homeless;
And in not knowing I defied logic.
How can a city break your back?
In not knowing Memphis defies logic.

How will I ever find a way to finish?
The day?
School?
Work?
Planning a trip I still haven't convinced myself is happening?
Impressing your mother?
I HATE YOUR FUCKING MOTHER!

Imbeciles devour the streets and fill the bellies of poverty.
In not knowing, the world defies logic.

Would you like some propaganda cake?
Open wide; here comes the train to plow through your good sense.
Not to worry, you were always a whole to invalid thought;
And in not knowing, you defy logic.