Sub Rosa

Ignore the sardonic lyrics - I play this every year when my results are in.


Transactional Writing - 70% (pleased with this one, might have been let down slightly by the travel piece).

What is Theory? - 70% (now that pleasantly surprises me; I presume I did better on the Jane Eyre rewrite and I must've aced Brave New World).

Creative Writing - 72% (very pleased).

Sense of Place - 72% (both Passage to India and Nineteen Eighty-Four went well).

Identity and Nationhoood - 70% (really surprised at this one, the John Harris/Arthur Caddick  was ok, but I really thought I had trashed the last IN3. It was about literature/political purpose and I went waaaay out on a limb for this one, using media and modern-day satire, citing the TV satire and even the use of Huffpost and the irreverence of Newsthump.  Whereas I think the examiner wanted evidence in literature history.  Paid off though - I argued the toss about progression, might not gamble quiet that high in the future).

Introduction to Literature - 67% (Goddammit, must have fell back on Donne and his extended metaphors or maybe the parallels between Wordsworth and T.S Eliot was 'a bridge too far').


Credits Achieved at this stage - 120
Overall aggregate mark - 70.17%

Therefore, my measly 10% have managed to scrape a first for the first year !!! Wooohooooooooooooooo!!!!

*does a happy dance*

Onward to the FdA English Studies Year 2 :-DDDDD

Commentary on essay - word Count 554 - I have to follow a framework for analysis, which includes: an overview; the structure (layout, narrative, paragraph structure etc.); grammar, lexical sets and phonology. I am about 2/3rds done, but only have a limited amount of words left.  Thankfully, I don't have to state too much of the obvious - how ever else can a speech be, but in first person? The clue is in the word 'speech' *duh*

Graffiti - a soap box for free thinkers.  Not sure that I have the courage of my convictions LOL.  This time last year, I used the Gorillaz video for my PP on graffiti.  I loved Jamie Hewlett's work with Damon Albarn on the videos and CD covers.

( Gorillaz - 'Tomorrow Comes Today' and 'Stylo' )

I've got to stop net flicking and carry on with the work, but for the record, I love Bruce Willis in 'Stylo' - inspired casting.

15:12
I have been on Facebook, reading a Second Year FdA English Studies student, reflect that she has written 800 words, only 4,200 to go.  Right now I feel for her and worry about this time next year.  Right now in my little masterpiece, I am trying to "urge" people to rethink art with my adverbial imperatives and I am at least 150 words over.

*sigh*

22:58
I went well over 1,000 words, trying to pare back now.  Lots of waffle (there's a surprise) - I have to shed 126 words somehow.  Damn it, I won't go to bed until this is done :-/

23:51
Done it - essay 928 (may consider revising); commentary 769.  Neck hurts, now off to bed :-)

We had to stage a debate this morning - All literature should have a political basis. Interesting. I had to be on the opposing team and trying to prove that there shouldn't be politics in all literature - however, most of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels have some kind of feudal system and any trashy novel has some form of sexual politics, so more difficult than we thought. Define politics - Define literature. Politics: are they just morals and values channeled into governing society? It would make the written word an even more terrifying tool - akin to fascism and communism under Hitler or Stalin.

Thankfully, we were prepared with enough ammo - how it would stunt education, devalue scientific discoveries and cause divisions where there would not have been any.  If you enforced politics into literature in past, present and future text - at the very most there would be concerns of brainwashing/paranoia; at the very least, some people would lose interest and not read at all. Could you imagine the drive to find more and more 'neutral' books and just how boring that would be? A horrible Orwellian world of sanctioned books etc.

Edit ::: I forgot to mention that I used the children's story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' as part of the argument. Try stuffing politics into the life cycle of a butterfly, you will come unstuck.

I have to write a speech on a subject I have studied - so I am revisiting Graffiti again.This is more of an inner city problem and far less common in the UK than, say America etc. I am digging through my old Access stuff (including my old PP on it) and this time, because I haven't got wonderful photos, I am going to rely on persuasive speech.  Basically, I want to get across the benefits of community arts projects and the idea of livening up dull concrete.

I am involved with festival banner making in one of our local towns.  I use bold colours and simple forms to convey passion and soul.  Last academic year, I made a Hamlet artifact using very bright colours. It wasn't exactly Matisse's Blue Period, but it was eye-catching and has pride of place on my bedroom wall.  I agree that some tags are not attractive, especially offensive ones - yet some of the most amazing artwork has been the traditional block/bubble font.  I have mentioned Banksy and we have our own local Bot Man, who tends to sticker-bomb, rather than spray can his work.

( Banksy's Rat )

( BotMan Art )

Not sure how I am going to pull this off just yet. Right now, I have written 376 words with a further 424 - 624 words to find. Ah, the art of persuasive writing - PP's say so much more :-/

16:15
Have just found a page which shows public art - the Belfast Murals, that depict the history of the troubles for many generations.  Fascinating stories and possibly the biggest place of public/political art.

( The Belfast Murals )

22:01
607 words all told - a little slow, because I had to do additional research and and keep a running reference.  I also took a break and has Mother's day tea/cake with my sister.  it is shaping up nicely and I will do more tomorrow :-)

Have got 69% in my children's book/commentary!  Am over the moon - just a nip/tuck and the mark will be way in the 70s. Another first.  Before I congratulate myself too much, I said that I will illustrate this (not an uncommon thing to do - those before me have given it a go, even the ones who couldn't draw).  I will have to do this in my spare time.  I also have to road test this on K, see if she likes it (a four year old audience can be tough) :-D

I've started to write the children's book, alas I have found that there is already a Gulliver the Gull in existence, so I have had to change his name again.  I have story-boarded it, so at least I have the outline sussed e.g. 12 sides: Beginning (intro and what they did) + Middle (one clever child who points out the obvious) + End (sensible conclusion).  Also ::: I have to create a poem about a crow and submit it to the forum by at least tomorrow.

I have started the last page first and I am inspired by snippets - but trying to make things work rhyme and metre-wise is not always easy.  I am thinking to books of my own childhood:



The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is still going strong



Edward Lear's Nonsense Stories are not so popular but his nursery rhyme The Owl and the Pussy Cat still stands the test of time.



 My personal favourite still is The Butterfly Ball by William Plomley, illustrated by Alan Aldridge.

Normally, I have an ear for rhyme and have composed poetry in the past, but I am finding the concept of writing rhymes for children a bit challenging at the moment.   Strange really, because it was rhyming stories and nursery rhymes that opened my head to English at a very young age.  I was a voracious reader, read anything and everything and it IS the children's first books that captivate children and introduce them to using their imagination. I have storyboards 1 and 12 sorted out - I need to find the story in rhyme from 2-11.

I am finding the art of mastering Microsoft Publisher has been easier than trying to write tabloid style.  I have several copies of the red-tops in front of me, yet other than alliterative hooks in titles, I find it really difficult to write in that way.  I am kinda sounding like a strangulated Daily Mail journalist.  It is more difficult to get into the lexical bank than one would imagine.

Wading through 'celeb-feed' should be a cake walk for me.  I must admit there is more to this tabloid hack stuff than meets the eye :-(

EDIT:::Hoping to write more tomorrow - I have comprised a tabloid word bank.

( Word Bank )

Lots of plosive b-words - busty, boobs, bikini, birds, bullied etc.

*sigh*

Today is the Othello/Tabloid assignment.  I haven't read a red-topped newspaper for a very long time.  I have got The Mirror, The Sun and The Daily Star in front of me.  I want to weep on behalf of the human race.  I know the kind of market and I saw more 'Pap's Baps', than is healthy on a Thursday afternoon (as usual page three and the usual lurid stuff), but also Rihanna wearing postage stamps on her chest, but granny knickers ala Bridget Jones. Strange girl.  I try not to be snobby about it, but the whole lot just makes me cringe.

There seems to be a huge celebrity market and not a lot of news at all.  I am not interested in soap operas and light entertainment, therefore I am lost in this strange quagmire of celeb-feed, boobs and low-register scorn on low-brow topics. Task set as follows:

( Othello/Tabloid )

Right now, I am at the 'scrabbling around for ideas' stage.  It's going to be about the interracial marriage, the kiss-and-tell of Iago etc., but I must admit to dragging my feet (again) on this one.