zBlogging the Literary Life - AP College English

Semi-Charmed Life

I do not think that anyone had really understood what the song, "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, said.  The tune and rythm of the song is catchy and that seems to be why it was so popular, even with younger children, despite the more adult lyrics.  The lyrics themselves are on the surface all about sex and drugs.  But the repeating drug referances are so common that they are not hidden at all.  This leads me to believe that the drug referances are diliberately used as a metaphore.  I am still not sure what he song means but whatever the meaing, the song remains iconic.

Problems Commenting

Many people have been getting errors when attempting to comment.  It seems that Typepad periodically updates their spam filters -- and it's possible the latest update is causing problems.  Things should get resolved, but in the meantime ...

What to do when you get an error -- or the page isn't loading correctly:

1) Refresh the page a couple of times -- but don't go crazy trying to get your comment up there.  Relax and go back the next day.  You will not lose any points if it's late.  If it's more than a day or two late, though, let me know -- or just go to #2 ...

2) You can always post something you planned on making as a comment.  Just say at the start of your post that you intended it to be a comment on such-and-such a post.

3) Please let me know if the problems are persisting.  Sometimes Typepad goes a little wacky, but they usually correct it within hours/days. I need to know if it's still going on ...

SuperBlog

Anyone else excited about the converging blogs?  And is it a coincidence that the other classes have come to ours, or were we just that much better 1st quarter?

Thank You, And a Note on Informality

First, I want to say thank you to everyone for embracing the blog with such enthusiasm.  I think it adds a great dimension to class, but it doesn't work without your thoughtful, passionate, and sometimes humorous insights.

But I also want to mention one trend that I think we should probably avoid.  Many of the posts are getting too informal.  I obviously don't mind you bringing your personal reaction to the texts -- or even personal stories or experiences -- to the blog.  And I also don't mind plenty of humor.

What is bothersome is when we begin to give shout-outs to each other in class, abbreviate the names of authors and text, put the text in color, etc.

What also doesn't look good is when people do not take enough time with their writing and the format of the posts: capitalizing first letters in the major words in the title, spellchecking, revising for grammer/sentence structure errors ...

The key is to remember the audience.  It's not just me.  It's not just each other.  It's the larger world.  So keep a sense of what you want your "public voice" to be.

Intellectual Couch Potatoes

I was just thinking about this because instead of watching my favorite TV show, HOUSE, I'm on the computer doing homework.  My question to you all is, how many TV shows are there out there that teach as well as entertain? Specifically on the basic network, are there any?  Between channels 2, 7, 5, 9, 11, and 12; how many shows actually intrigue as well as enlighten you?

I can only think of HOUSE, and maybe Law & Order...but who really learns things from Law & Order?  And no, I am not talking about 20/20 or Dateline.  I mean as in series.  Is this another level where TV once again fails to "educate"?

Can there be a such thing as an intellectual couch potato?

Welcome!

Welcome to the weblog for our AP College English class. Here's the place we will be continuing conversations from class and starting new ones. We'll be discussing and debating literary conundrums and so much more. We might even see a little poetry.

So, what's a blog? And how will we be using it class?

For information on blogging and how to join and post to our blog, see "All About Blogging."

Make sure you check your e-mail for your invitation to join the blog. Also – and this is very important – when entering in your “First Name” and “Last Name” enter your entire first name and just the initial to your last name (for example, “Bernie” would be my “First Name” and “H” would be my last name). Having just the initial to your last name keeps a little bit of anonymity with the outside world.

For information on your responsibilities as one of the authors of our blog, check out "Responsibilities of Authors."

We'll be talking about these responsibilities during the first week of class.  More importantly, we'll also be talking about what to call our blog ...

I'm looking forward to a great year.