The Virtual Peace Garden

An interesting passage I stumbled across in my ongoing research of Theodore Roosevelt comes from author George Grant in his book CARRY A BIG STICK. The passage is very inspiring not only for me as a person, but for my MEmorial project as well--which I can only hope will ultimately reflect the same enthusiasm and passion characteristic of the 26th President of the United States:

Roosevelt’s passion for life was infectious. Everything about him tingled with zest and vitality. He approached every circumstance and situation with consummate gusto and enthusiasm. What others believed were obstacles, he considered adventures. What others thought as setbacks, he viewed as challenges. (Grant 98)

Perhaps no quote by Roosevelt best illustrates his passion and enthusiasm for overcoming the various hardships of life than his most famous quote, as we have all been reciting in class:

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. It sounds rather as if that were but a homely old adage, yet as is often the case with matters of tradition, this truism is actually true. (Grant 23)

I hope the overall creative aspect and overtones of my own MEmorial will reflect the enthusiasm characteristic of Roosevelt; and I believe my picture does accomplish that objective, as too does the whole MEmorial itself. The MEmorial itself is a symbol of enthusiasm because its presence indicates an active participation in planetary matters. The blog-spot, at the very least, shows that at least one person has decided to carry a big stick and is hoping that others do so as well.

On a lighter note, I also loved this quote by Roosevelt and think it a nice place to conclude. The quote itself reflects the nature of the MEmorial, which is in a sense a way of responding via language and technology to tragedy--rather than simply complaining about it:

Profanity is the parlance of the fool. Why curse when there is such a magnificent language with which to discourse? (Grant 166)

The University in Chains
Interview with Henry A. Giroux
by Scott Jaschik / August 9th, 2007

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/08/the-university-in-chains/

I don't have the book, so I will have to resort to outside references and hope it adds something to the discussion of Giroux's work.

I’ve been having an easier time (and somewhat more enjoyable too!) researching the basic psychology of colors (i.e. the moods that particular colors tend to set) via the internet. Since I have always felt (and still do of course) that the overall tone and mood of my MEmorial is so important, I want every color and word and shape to deliver some powerful meanings. Therefore it is highly unlikely that my final MEmorial will display too much in the way of pictures and links. It may have a lot of words (I’m leaning that way now), but words I don’t think will hurt my tone. We’re all writers after all (i.e. rhetoricians). So words are okay I think.

As I’ve said in class and in my MEmorial proposal, the choice of the color blue within my MEmorial is not an accident. I picked blue because blue symbolizes depression. Here is an informative site pertaining to the various meanings and impacts associated with the color blue:

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/color/blues.html

My favorite line goes, “Blue invokes dreamlike states, it instills yearnings and has a calming effect, it leads to a serious inward outlook.” That so-called “dreamlike” state is something that I hadn’t even thought of when I picked my blue color, and now it is something that makes me wonder . . . .

I had intended with MEmorial to get people to thinking about problems that extend beyond themselves, and I think that if I can get people to dream a little bit then I have certainly accomplished my objective.

Words and colors will certainly play an important role in my final MEmorial, and of course I’m going to attempt to hit all of the Ulmer points regarding MEmorials as well. I just think this “color stuff” has been a cool and refreshing break, so to speak. Ulmer was making my head spin a little bit! But now I’m good to go again I think. I don't get all that blue with working with my MEmorial now!

People of Peace,

During this Season of Peace, the ND Peace Coalition has joined Yoko Ono's project, Imagine Peace Wishing Trees. All over the world, tree are set up and people are writing their wishes for peace on a tag and tying it to the tree. When the tree is full, the wishes are harvested and sent to Iceland to be encapsulated and planted around the Imagine Peace Light Tower, a tribute to John Lennon and his visionary work for peace and a powerful message to the universe. www.imaginepeace.com

I am starting to regret the fact that I didn't assign Mauer's essays earlier in the semester, but I thought Ulmer would give us more than we can handle in terms of making sense of the MEmorial. And maybe that is the problem. Mauer gives us less (writes less), and does so in the register most of us seem comfortable with: the register that strives from comprehension, rather than complexification.

So, if you can, please check out Mauer's reasonably short web-essay from 1996, "A project in electronic monumentality." http://english.ttu.edu/Kairos/1.3/coverweb/Mauer/kairos.html

NDSU Visual Arts Creates Community Sculpture

Community members are invited to contribute to sculpture

NDSU Visual Arts students are inviting community members to contribute
to a commemorative wall constructed on the northeast side of the patio
at the downtown campus, 650 NP Avenue. The wall, which is made of
lumber using a honeycomb pattern, represents the ties that we all have
to where we live. The students are inviting people to leave mementos
that honor friendship, family, hobbies, memories and other tokens

So I've not yet decided officially whether I'd rather learn Dreamweaver to make a mockup of my website, or struggle it out with blogger. I decided that it would all depend on if things looked like they were going though to make this thing actually happen or not. So I'd need to find out if I was likely to get permission from the Hjemkomst Center or not, but I couldn't really do that until I had a good way of explaining what I was trying to do.

So I made a brochure. Here is the draft. I'd love some feedback so I can send this off as part of the explanation of my project.

The first thing I decided to do was a comic book based on some of the ideas of capitalism. Next, I needed a way to distribute this comic book – using the weapons of the dominant power (taken from Baudrilliard) – I chose to attach my comic book to the McDonalds Happy Meal. This idea became really interesting to me when I learned the first promotion McDonalds had with the Happy Meal included a comic book.

Working through my Happy MeMormeal

I figured I could use 10-20 blog posts, so here we go! This blog post is dedicated to the thought process regarding my MeMormeal – with the caveat that writing my thought process is entirely difficult.

I am currently unsure of whether I will attend class. Abdel is sick and if he stays sick, I can't have a sitter over and he doesn't feel up to Daddy-care. Plus, two hours on the road could be better spent working. Here is my very early beginnings

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=10395330...

What I have been doing so far--
--I have a fair number of links in my favorites and a few in delicious (I keep forgetting to use it, but I am growing fond of it), most of which will work their way into my MEmorial.