Last Meeting with Bandar - a great end to the semester

Wow, it's crazy how time flies by.  It feels like just yesterday I was walking into class and finding out who my conversation partner is. Now the semester is only a week from being over for me and I had my final meeting with Bandar. We had our usual greeting, catching up on our stress levels and class work.  Apparently as of today Bandar is completely done for this semester.  I told him how jealous I was and he told me the only thing left is a party on Friday. However, he isn't going because he would rather sleep.  

Then we talked about our latest plans for the break.  Some close friends of Bandar's invited him to join them in New York.  If he goes he will stay close to 2 weeks, which he plans on doing. He told me that he likes the city and the night life of New York, but that he prefers Seattle. This is because he prefers the vibe and weather of the city.  He also mentioned that the people of Seattle are much nicer and less fast paced than New York, which I agree with.  He asked when I thought the weather would finally cool down here.  I told him January and February would probably be most cold.  "How about Christmas?" he asked me.  I told him it would start cooling down again next week.

He then asked me what I do with my personal life.  I didn't understand what he meant but then I figured out he was asking about my hobbies and free time outside of school. I told him that I do photography and draw things.  Despite my emphasis on the photographs he was more interested in the drawing, asking if I drew by hand or on the computer. When I told him by hand he said good and asked to see one of my drawings, so I showed him the picture above. When I asked him the same he told me about a game on the computer he plays called Kaiser.  Apparently he has put a lot of time and money into this game, and he does not like loosing.  "If I were to loose I would be like a samurai and commit suicide," he joked with me.  Apparently this game started in America but it was translated and now it is a big deal in Saudi Arabia, with millions of players of all ages.  He was very excited to talk about it and we had some good laughs..

The meeting was a bit bittersweet, this semester has treated me well.  At the end of our hour, Bandar and I talked about possibly meeting up again next year just as friends to catch up and talk to each other. When I first heard about our conversation partners I was so nervous about how I could possibly fill an hour of time with a complete stranger.  I have found that the experience was quite enjoyable though and I am so glad that I got to be a part of the program.

#7 Meeting with Bandar

I met with Bandar for the 7th time this Friday. The last few times I had talked to him he was sick but he was feeling better this time.  Last time he told me one of the first things he was going to do once he was better was shave, which he did. He laughingly told me it was a long process and that he was happy to be well again.  We talked about how when you are sick all you want to do is sleep all day and all your other priorities become insignificant.  I asked Bandar if his sickness affected his studies.  He told me that he had missed many classes but that he wasn't missing anything except more practice with the language.

We both talked about how classes had been going and he told me about a writing final they had earlier in the week.  The prompt was to write about an influential person from their country.  He wrote about their king.  The essay had to be written in 30 minutes and Bandar was mad that he only was able to write the first sentence of his concluding paragraph.  I was surprised by the time restraints and specific organization they had to follow for their essay.  Bandar said the teachers told them not to worry to much since they would take the time pressures into consideration, but I was still amazed by this. I remember not being able to write an essay in an hour my Sophomore year of high school so these demands were higher than I expected.

I asked what else he had coming up and he told me about a speaking exam he would have this coming week.  I empathized because just that morning I had to do an oral exam in Spanish class. He told me that the exam was divided into parts that involved repetition, comprehension, and grammar.  Then we had a good laugh when he told me about his favorite portion.  Apparently the test is on a computer and this section in particular asks very basic questions.  He told me how silly they were, something along the lines of you go to school to? ... fight? study? or dance?  Apparently he has failed this section before because he has laughed through the time given to answer the question.  When his teachers confronted him about it saying the section is easy and asking why he was laughing he asked them if they had been listening to the questions.  When they said no, he told them to listen to the questions so then they could understand why he was laughing.  I was cracking up for the whole story imagining this scene.  I thought it was great that his laughter showed his comprehension but also caused him to fail.  This will probably be one of my favorite stories from this whole experience. 

I Love Twain... Final Reading Blog Post!!! #6

     Although this last reading may not have been as funny as some in the past it is probably my favorite book from this semester.  Maybe it is because I didn't have to read it cover to cover, maybe it is because each section was short, maybe it is because it read like a bunch of clever jokes. However, I think when it comes down to it, it is the satire that won me over.  The wit of Twain and his strong commentary on humanity, religion, and society is what appeals most strongly to me. As I close off this amazing semester in Literature and Civilizations, I will it say again, it is the intellectual and relatable humor that really gets me.  This book really delivered in that department.

    

     I get my books from the athletic department and I can genuinely say that I will be sad to return this book to them. I even took a picture of the cover so I could remember this book on  a later day.  Twain relays an interesting reflection of my own mental musings.  Many of the ideas he holds, rest strongly in my own opinions. Twain's support of women's equality and his criticism of man kind are real and honest.  There is no topic that he leaves unturned.  His commentary on the nature of religion reveals taboos and ideas that most people leave untouched. 

     Many comedians are stereotypical in their commentary on women, relationships, America, and life.  Twain takes a completely different approach though. Twain focuses on all of human's faults and folly, the things we keep hidden and don't want to admit.  He takes all these things and puts them out in the open, he forces the reader to be aware of the very hypocrisies that human kind holds so dearly.  While some people may not want to hear this I personally love this sort of witty satire and criticism of a species that thinks so highly of itself.  Our brains, our thoughts, our intelligence - they are both a gift and a curse. 

    

     As Twain states, no human can beat nature's design.  I love the comic above, especially after noticing Twain's criticism of America throughout the book.  Nationalism can be a good thing, and the American spirit is strong. However I think I can see where Twain is going with his commentary.  Americans have a sense of more than just pride.  It is almost an ignorant attitude of being better than everyone else and right about everything. No one can really say who is right and who is wrong but our system has flaws just like everyone else and it is not right to put ourselves so ahead, not only of nature, but of other nations and peoples as well. I am happy to be human and proud to be an American, but I think Twain was definitely getting at something. 

Bandar Meet #6

     I met up with Bandar at 1873 again today.  He is still feeling sick and so our conversations were mostly circular.  Something that I forgot to mention from the last time we talked was that we discussed Daylight Savings Time.  Because Bandar didn't know about the time change, he was very confused when his watch and clocks said one thing, while most of his electronics said another.  He asked me why we did the time change and I tried to explain that it was meant to help save electricity and adapt to the light but he thought that this was pointless for the most part.  I laughed and said that I didn't really see the point of it most of the time either.

     Today we talked about the upcoming breaks and our plans.  He asked how school was going and if my family was all right.  Then he asked if I was going home to California for the break.  I asked him about his plans and he said that he might be going to California too, in order to visit his brother there but that he most likely would stay in Texas.  He also mentioned that his parents may possibly be coming down to visit for Christmas and that they would all meet up in San Francisco. If this didn't happen he said he might travel back home but that he didn't really want to.  He told me there isn't much entertainment back home so other than seeing his family he would be bored and would have to spend time checking on his company which is not his main focus right now.  

    I asked him how his family is doing and he said his father is very busy traveling for work. He mentioned that his father was a bit crazy.  Apparently his father has some ties to the coal business and has been to Iraq during war time.  He even mentioned that one of his father's friends had been killed once going there but that his father still insists of going back.  Bandar's father once suggested Bandar go help him with business but Bandar has no desire to go to such a dangerous area and is concentrating on being a student right now.  Next year Bandar is planning on getting his Bachelors degree at a near by college and explained to me that when he went to visit he discovered that many of the students there have been in jail and are criminals and that this worries him.  I will make friends with them, he told me, "better to be on their good side."

    Then he mentioned a time at his apartment when a homeless man knocked on his door but then left when Bandar could not understand what he was saying.  He asked me if African American people were hard to understand.  I mentioned Hokum and explained that even for a native English speaker, sometimes the slang and lack of annunciation makes the culture hard for anyone to understand.  He continued on to talk about a black woman at the 7-eleven near his house who he also has a hard time understanding.  Apparently she has offered to help him with his English though to which he declined.  "I can not understand her," he told me and then mumbled some nonsense to further prove his point.  I laughed and said I knew what he meant.  Overall this was most of our conversation though we revisited the topic of the breaks and travel several times more.

Wisdom in Wit - Reading Post #5

    When I first began reading the Tales of Juha, I was not impressed.  They were an easy read and pretty entertaining, but they didn't do anything special for me.  I did not find myself laughing out loud or taking great interest in the short tales.  After the second reading though, I have found that I enjoy some of the stories much more than others.  The section titled "Social Satire" really impressed me.  I will repeat it again that jokes which I can relate to and that make a statement are more likely to make me laugh than some trick.  The first section we read was full of wit and outsmarting others, but this section really spoke to me because it pointed out things in reality. It's like comparing "Space Balls" to "South Park."  One engages in a slapstick sort of humor while the other commentates on issues in society in a negative but funny way.  

     The first story I really liked was the one that relates to the cover image.  As a FTDM major with a minor in Journalism and Art I am constantly surrounded by the idea that not everyone can be satisfied. All these subjects involve the creation of a "product" that many may love and others will hate.  It didn't matter what Juha and his son did, not everyone can be made happy, people will always find something to criticize.  

      I also really liked the story where Juha changes and gets a different reception from the same group of people who had ignored him earlier.  When he said "eat oh sleeve" I actually laughed at this great cognitive shift.  There is much truth in this idea.  I have definitely seen a difference in the way people I don't know interact with me when I am dressed up to go out in comparison to when I am in my athletic "comfort" gear.  The image of a man actually doing this at a party to make a point also seemed entertaining to me.  Too often people will "judge a book by its cover," myself included.  Just this summer I learned to scuba dive with a middle aged man.  He seemed confident and plain but at the end of it all I found out he is Jessica Biel's father.  This is just further proof that things are not always as they seem.

    

          There were two others I enjoyed from this section.  The first was the story about the man who was mourning his dog, who was near death because of hunger, but would not share his food with it.  The second was the one where Juha goes to visit a man who always spoke kindly to him but who then claimed not to be home even though he was. These both pointed out very human flaws that can be seen in society everywhere.  In a vague and general way they all call out the hypocrisy that plagues all of us.  Human nature is simply that way, everyone driving faster than you is crazy and everyone going slower than you is stupid.  It is critical and closed-minded, but everyone has moments like this.  Seeing this called out in these characters just brings it to light in a way that doesn't attack any one person, and so it becomes humorous.  

Meet with Bandar #5

     After an incredibly long break period I finally got to meet with my conversation partner again. He has been sick with the flu for over two weeks now and is just now starting to feel a little bit better. He explained to me that he had gone to the hospital and that he had not been going to class lately in order to rest and get better.  For the past two weeks he has simply been staying at home, resting, and eating. I asked him if the hospital helped him at all and he told me that they gave him a prescription but that he would not use the medicine.  Then I asked why. He told me that he did not trust the chemicals and that he preferred vitamins and natural supplements. Although I have been helped greatly by antibiotics and other prescription drugs in the past, I could understand why someone would not want to put that in their body.

      Later in the conversation he told me congratulations on Obama. I laughed because my journalism class just before had been talking about how explosive and negative social media had been on both sides regarding the election. Many people are happy about the results, but many are angered and dismayed too so it seemed ironic that he would be congratulating me without knowing how I felt about the results. It was a nice cognitive shift since lately the election seemed to be such a dramatic thing and, having heard that from him, I was able to take a step back from the party lines and just appreciate having voted this year. I asked him if he had watched or been interested in the election.  He told me that he had not but that if he was going to have an opinion he would vote for the democratic party. When I asked why he explained that he did not like how war focused the republicans seemed, which I laughingly agreed with.  I asked him how the political system worked in his country.  He told me about how there was a King with no voting and that when he died his brother or heir would succeed him. I asked if that bothered him at all.  He paused a minute before shaking his head to say no, it's the police you have to worry about he told me.

      After this we moved on to lighter topics.  We talked about multi-tasking and chess.  He explained to me some internet games he plays on how amazing the web is for connection people all over the world.  Last time we met, Bandar asked me to send him a link to my blog once I had explained the concept to him.  This week he mentioned it.  "It was good," he told me, "I liked it."  This made me happy since I had been a bit apprehensive at first about sending him the link.  These posts are about my learnings and my opinions on the experience and I did not know what he would think of my outside view. I asked what he had to do for our meetings.  He explained that the teacher had given them a sheet to talk about what we had discussed.  I asked him what he put down and he told me "everything."  This apparently did not go over well with his teacher, who insisted he specify what type of "everything" we talked about.  This made me laugh too because we often talk about so many vague and varying topics, that when I sit down to write my blog posts I often have a hard time remembering specific topics of discussion. We are hoping to meet again this Friday providing he doesn't get too sick again but it was good to catch up.

Hapa Girl - My 4th Reading Post

     For the past few weeks I have been really struggling with the excerpts from Hokum.  As reading is already difficult for me, trying to sort through the unusual dialect of the authors challenged me even more.  On top of that, the bitter grudge embedded within the reading (although understandable) made it difficult for me to find the stories truly laughable.  This week, some of the readings have really touched me though. Both for humorous reasons and for how relatable they are.

    The story that touched me the most was Ellison's "Invisible Man," about the yams. I am not sure if the overall absurdity of the yams and the revelation about freedom through food was supposed to be funny but I actually found it comically inspiring.  Yes, perhaps discovering a sense of empowerment and liberation through food is over the top and ridiculous, but I enjoyed the "message" of this story. The rich imagery of the yams and setting helped contribute to the impact of the story on me.  I found myself lifted up with the narrator as he expressed his joy for not being ashamed of what he liked and creating opinions for himself, instead of what society deemed correct.  I grew up very sculpted by the media and world around me.  Television and books taught me I wasn't supposed to like vegetables and that all men are not to be trusted.  Although the narrator's experience with the yams was a bit comical, I actual felt a strong connection to the meaning because I was so affected by society growing up.

    The story that really made me laugh was Senna's "The Mulatto Millennium." The whole first half of the story about identifying as black did not really interest me but I found myself laughing out loud throughout the list of mulatto classifications the narrator invented. A lot of the descriptions had huge amounts of stereotyping and silly names that had their own tone of racism within them. However, as the narrator made jabs as California (my home state) I couldn't help but laugh.  I nearly died during the part about the "Tomatto" as the first black president, especially in light of Obama and this year's election. 

    As a child of mixed decent (half asian and half white) who has struggled with identity, this descriptive stereotyping definitely felt like something I could relate to.  Many times I have had people ask me what I am or just label me as "that asian girl," which I always was offended by.  I took pride in my mixed decent and in being "hapa." More often then not, I too wanted to relate more closely to my "white side," because in America and much of the world, that just seemed to be the "better" thing to be. Growing up I even had a shirt that said "hapa girl." I thought that was the coolest thing to identify with. As I have stated in the past, how closely I can relate to a subject really affects how funny or important it is to me.  The sassy nature of this piece and my background as a "mixed" person really made this piece stand out to me, as it did not relate strictly to African American culture and history. 

Did I Miss the Punch Line?

   I really enjoyed the readings today about the fashion senseless man and the Tip-Top Club.However neither, especially the radio one, struck me as particularly funny.  When I first read the radio story I kept waiting for the punch line, when I finally got to the end I had an empty feeling that perhaps I just missed something, which is possible, but for the life of me I can not figure out what it is. The story was a good one and I could see the irony between the positive point of the show and how its listeners actually react poorly to a new host, but this still did not make me laugh. Perhaps the story was more of a parody on radio shows, the industry, and its devoted followers but I could not really get into that side of it.

   What I did gain from the radio story was more a sense of inspiration.  I actually liked the idea of a "news" show that focused on a community and finding joy in stressful everyday life.  This is a great contrast between typical news shows that seem to point out all of societies flaws. Before the Club got hostile and cultish I really like the flow of the story. Perhaps because I was inspired by the first part, it stopped me from finding more humor in the second half because I took it too seriously. Either way, it left me entertained and refreshed but I would not say amused.

   The next story was much more funny to me, although not quite laugh out loud.  The story itself was so human, talking about the insecurities all people face with fashion and their external appearances.  I enjoyed this story because it was relatable and realistic. I wouldn't say the story had wit, but it certainly had honesty, which made it that much better.  I loved the imagery and silly rhymes for all the fashion don'ts.  The crazy clothing choices the man makes throughout the story and all his self doubt and depreciation were definitely amusing.  I especially loved the butt enhancing pants and catheter. Each fashion fail was a story of its own that ultimately led to the full circle completion of the story. I really enjoyed how blunt the narrator is and the way he shares all his misfortunes and internal thoughts.

   One of the things that was best for me was the reliability of this story.  As a woman I have certainly struggled with body image issues and bad fashion decisions. There have been many a time where some over the top body enhancing product or crazy clothing item has been tempting for just a moment.  My mom also happens to be great at the same game the narrator's sister plays where she convinces you that you NEED some silly item.  Keeping up with fashion is a task all of its own and I have definitely felt behind before.  I was a tomboy in elementary school and did not figure out how to dress myself properly till my Junior year of high school.  Even today I find myself fighting Texas fashion with my California senses which often gets me made fun of.  Clothing and fashion will always prevail to be ever changing and demanding and the way this story combined all these problems into a very personal narration definitely kept me amused.

Conversation Partner Meet #4

   Today I got to meet with Bandar again. We both talked about our weekends and our break. I told him about my trip back home to California and we discussed the weather for a bit.  I talked about how I liked sunny days with a blue sky in comparison to the gray overcast Texas has been having lately. Bandar disagreed, saying that he enjoys the gray sky and that he had visited Seattle once and that he really liked the weather there. 

   I asked if he had success getting a car in Dallas the week before but he told me that the man selling the car was asking for too much money.  He explained that there are frequent car auctions in the area and how he might go to one of those.  We discussed cars some more and he talked to me about why he likes European and Asian car companies so much better than American.  I told him about the Acura my family owns and he explained that Acura does not exist where he lives so he would not be able to get service on the car or parts for the car if he shipped it back home with him.

   Later he asked me how my classes were going. I told him about how I was struggling in my Spanish class and he was surprised that TCU had a significant foreign languages department.  He asked why Spanish was so difficult when many of the words were close to English and I explained that it had been a long time since I had taken Spanish and I was lacking in my basic knowledge.  He then empathized with me, talking about how he had learned English at a private school when he was young but that there was a long time between then and TCU where he didn't have much practice or training.  I talked about this class for a while and how professors make a big difference in learning experience. This he also empathized with.  He told me about a teacher who had travelled the globe teaching english and how they were so much better at understanding accents and respecting the variety of culture among the students. It is always really cool to hear how the different perspectives between students can still be so similar.  Bandar feels that learning is mostly something he does on his own though, and that teachers are just there to help.  He strongly suggested I find someone fluent in Spanish to converse with, just like he does with me.

Whoops - Meeting With Bandar (3)

    I met with my conversation partner again last week but completely forgot to write about it till now so here it goes.  We met up earlier than usual and sat down at our usual spot in front of 1873.  He told me about how he was going to be traveling to Dallas that afternoon to check out a car he hoped to buy.  I talked about my new car, a mustang, and we both got to share our appreciation for nice cars.  He said that he was looking for a used luxury car but that many of the cars he had tried out were in bad condition.  One of the phrases Bandar says a lot when he dislikes something is "no way." He described a Lexus he had tried that was gross and gummy, "no way, no way," he told me. 

     Later we talked more about his family and about his parents.  I learned that his mother used to work in an education department but that she no longer works. This was funny because my mother didn't work before but now she works an office job at a University.  He joked to me that his mother now spends all her time asking when he is going to get married.  He explained that it is common for people to get married early on where he lives but that he is here to study and is in no rush to get married.  I empathized with this because Texas is very different from my home in California with its views on marriage.

    Neither of us had big plans for the weekend at the time so I talked to him about my living situation last year and how hard it is to share one room between two people at times.  Somehow we got on the topic of my roommates and how I was one of the youngest.  He laughingly told me he felt very old when he found out I am 19.  We both agreed that it is good to travel and experience the world now before different responsibilities and difficulties arise later in life.

    I asked him more about how his classes at TCU are run and where he takes them.  He told me about how he was struggling with some of the English language rules and spelling.  All letters/characters are pronounced in Arabic and so he does not understand why some of our words have silent letters.  He then went on to tell me he had to write a brief paper about our meetings that day and that he misspelled my name "Shlby." I laughed as he explained the conversation that him and his teacher had after she told him it was wrong.  He also explained that people from his country see everything very logically and that when teachers say "because" as an answer it frustrates him a lot.  "How am I supposed to learn if there is no rule?" he asked me. I agreed that the English language is very unfortunate and then we talked a bit about my last name, which is japanese.  It was a pretty good meeting and although I was tired I think we both managed to get a few good laughs in.

Well... He Tried His Breast

Yay for bad puns to start off my second reading blog post...

This evening's readings from The 50 Funniest American Writers was enjoyable but unremarkable.  I was going to start questioning Andy Borowitz's sense of humor but I have a feeling that some of the stories he chose for the book are a bit over my head in the realm of literacy, wit, history, and intellectuality. However, as a whole, I have found at least one of the stories from each assignment to be significantly more entertaining than its companions.  This evening that story happens to be Nora Ephron's "A Few Words about Breasts."  I think I tend to find many of the stories relating more specifically to women to be the most funny.  Perhaps it is because, as a woman, I find them very relatable.  It is one of those instances where the surprising truth and honesty of something is what makes it so laughable.  

Specifically in this story I found myself relating to the turmoils of womanhood and growing up as a female.  This story was spot on, from first bras, to the competition of "developing," to sharing experiences with a mother who is in a completely different realm of thinking.  Although many of my personal experiences differ from the author, there were many moments of truth.  Like the author I had a best friend during my youth who "developed" faster than I did and made everything a competition, growing up included.  Laughably, unlike the author, I was terrified of bras growing up and it was my mother doing the encouraging while I was usually grimacing in discomfort. Despite my many different experiences from the ones in this story I think it still holds a bit of truth for every girl.

I really appreciate the variety the book has to offer overall.  Politics, gender, culture, satire, irony, and many other forms of humor all play into the different stories this book holds. For every dry or confusing story I am still able to find one that amuses me.  In reading this book I have found that often the stories that make me laugh the most are not those that involve incredible cognitive shifts, but rather those that surprise me with their total honesty and relatability - the stories that break social courtesy and talk about the unspoken taboo of real experience. This relatability is what makes me laugh because I can not only understand the joke or humor, but I can completely get it because I have experienced something similar. As I apply this to my own life I find this true in listening to comedians also.  The jokes that really get me are usually the ones that point out some unrealized or unspoken truth.  That being said I think that knowing this can perhaps be a way for me to find humor in every day situations, by addressing the human qualities of my struggles.

On a bit of a last note in the story by Ephron she goes to visit a city known as Palos Verdes Estates which is where I went to school and I lived in the neighboring city right on the edge of PVE known as Rancho Palos Verdes, small world...

Bandar: Meet Number TWO

   Today I got to meet up with my conversation partner again! We sat outside 1873 and drank hot coffee while sweating in the heat, go figure. We got to talk a lot more about humor and laughter. I asked what people did for fun where he lived and if there were movies, since I am considering becoming a film major. He told me that there are no movies, alcohol, casinos, or entertainment in his country because of their strict rules.  He explained that you had to travel 3 hours for any sort of fun and compared it to driving to Huston just to see a movie. This surprised me a lot and he went on to explain that is why he has travelled so much, because there is so little to do there except work. He also made a joke that because it is so hot and "fiery" outside there is no place to walk, "if you want to walk you go in circles inside your house," he said, to which we both laughed.

   Continuing with the topic of movies though he asked if I had seen the movie "Dictator" by Sacha Cohen from this year.  I told him no and he explained how the movie made fun of Libya and its leader.  I asked him if he found it offensive and he laughingly told me that a lot of the content was actually realistic and that the leader was actually that crazy so, to him, the movie was funny. Then I asked him if people still joked around and had fun in the work place at least and he said that they did.

    Another story that made both of us laugh is when Bandar explained that the teachers recommend the students go to coffee shops and listen to other peoples conversations to improve their listening.  One day he was leaning back in his chair and people asked him if he was trying to listen in on their conversation.  At first he said no and told them he was just playing with his chair (at this point he acted it out and we both laughed) but then admitted he was listening because he was learning English.  They invited him to join their table but because they were talking so quickly he had a difficult time keeping up.

    Towards the end of our meeting time a lady walked up advertising a blood drive that was going on in the BLUU auditorium.  Bandar read the sign for the blood drive out loud and asked what that meant.  I explained that the blood would be used in hospitals for patients who needed it, to which he promptly responded that he would give blood. I was surprised at his eagerness but it was simply yet another learning experience for both of us.

First Meeting with Bandar!

      Well I can certainly say that this whole "conversation partner" thing has been a very different experience than what I expected.  After two weeks of scheduled appointments, cancelations, and busy days, I finally got to meet with my conversation partner at a table outside of 1873.  In all honesty I was expecting a shy person of hispanic or asian decent around the age of 20.  In reality my conversation partner is a laid back 30-year-old from Saudi Arabia who has had a conversation partner in the past, so our meeting was nothing new to him.  Although we did have instances where communication was difficult, he was not uncomfortable talking, asking questions, and answering them.

      We talked for a bit about TCU, business, and where he comes from.  I was amazed to learn about the heat his home area receives. He told me that only about two months of the year were cool, while the rest was like summer with temperatures commonly going over 115 degrees! He also explained to me that families are bigger there and that he was one of six siblings, three brothers and three sisters.  When I told him I lived in California he asked me if I lived close to San Diego because he has traveled there before and that is where is brother is attending business school now.  He had visited Los Angeles before which is close to my home town and wondered why would ever want to go to Texas with all the universities and great weather in California.

      Toward the end of our conversation time we began to talk about things that really interest both of us.  He has travelled all over the globe through North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. I asked him about his favorite places he had gone and he recommended that I had to go to Brazil during "Carnival" to see all the crazy people and just how beautiful the area is.  Another place he recommended was Sicily because of its diversity of people, cultures, and ethnicities. I got the feeling that he really enjoys a youthful and partying lifestyle after he told me more about Carnival and how he drinks tequila to get through the 15 hour plane trips on his way back home.  He also has owned and rode horses so when I mentioned the equestrian team we got to talk about the differences between the different types of horses and how American horses are different than the thinner, more elegant Arabian horses. 

      Overall I was very surprised at how well traveled and laid back my conversation partner was, but I had a fine time talking to him and laughing about cars, horses, and travel. I don't know what we will talk about next but I am interested to see how the next seven meetings go!

Really?

My reporting professor sent us this link, it makes me laugh but its one of those overlapping classes moments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwXF7_19VGM

3 Things Worth Remembering from an Almost Inspiring Book Filled with a Lot of Rubbish

1. Humor Increases Health

Although I have always know this in the back of my mind, this book and class are the first time I have really been forced to focus on the idea and think about "why." To me this is worth remembering because I just LOVE to stress myself out, to the point where my athletics advisor makes fun of me every time I go in, even if I am not stressed! Being able to realize how much just giving myself a short break to enjoy some humor and be with my friends has been a great reason (if not an excuse) to have a laugh. Keeping things in perspective and remembering how much more enjoyable life can be with some humor is definitely worth remembering.

2. Humor is a Tool

And like any tool, this means it can be used for both good and evil.  Possibly evolved from a play mode that increased our adaptability, laughter, from an evolutionary standpoint is in some ways a metaphysical tool.  However, as is human nature, we have found ways to use and abuse this interesting adaptation.  I have experienced the mob mentality that can come from laughter, causing you to say hurtful, false, and cruel things that would normally never cross your mind.  Having read this book I know that every time I laugh I am experiencing changes in both my body and mind, and although these changes can be good, they can also lead to impractical, insensitive, and irresponsible behavior. Because the body and the mind are essentially one I think it is important not to let one get too far ahead of the other when it comes to humor.

3.  Humor Increases Creativity (the most important)

This point is the only one I bookmarked in the whole book. If I were to forget the whole book but one thing I think this is the one thing I would insist on remembering. The reason for this is because I feel as though this point encompasses everything good about humor - creativity, flexibility, adaptability, diversity, health, thought, and appreciation. The examples about humor in the work place make me want to be able to create a better environment for my self at school, while creating art, and in my future career.  As an artist, creativity is the point from which I stem and choose to live my life.  I know that I am prone to getting stuck in a mental rut where I find myself with one option on a one-way track and I forget to think outside the box and really look at my options and opportunities.  I believe remembering this point will help me most in the long run.

Well this has nothing to do with anything... or does it?

So this post doesn't really pertain to the class but I am trying to share it everywhere I can.  The link I have included is to a post about a photography project I am working on.

The project itself actually focuses on writing both with words and with images to make a point about our culture so I guess that counts as semi-pertinant.

http://www.nonsensesociety.com/2012/09/shelby-tsuji/

Enjoy!

SERIOUSLY MORREALL!?!

Am I the only one who thinks Morreall may have lost his mind writing this book? 

 In all honesty I really appreciate some of the lessons that can be gained from the analysis of humor.  However some of the material in these last few chapters seems SO hypocritical.  First on page 97 Morreall defends humor against the claim that is fosters anarchy.  Saying that satire points out faults in the system, requiring other people to take notice and then eventually action.  He says that is is a part of democracy and helps people realize where the flaws are and encourages deeper thought.  Then on page 101 NOT EVEN FIVE PAGES LATER he says that "satire is not a weapon of revolutionaries." 

 Yes I get there there are some minor discrepancies in the points he is making here but if you ask me you can't tell your readers that humor is involved enough to change opinions and bring people to new forms of thought, as can be seen in old comedies, and then tell us that satire is not used in an engaged way to evoke emotion about a problem. This just creates super massive black holes in his argument.

Then he talks about how women's laughter is thought to be a sexual stimulant to men on page 95. After this he proceeds to also say that "amusement and laughter tend to diminish sexual passion, as we said earlier," ON THE SAME PAGE. Maybe I'm getting this all wrong but this is really frustrating to me.

I Think I Need To Laugh More

So here goes the first reading blog post of the semester...

    The past two readings for Literature and Civilizations II have consisted of chapters from Comic Relief. This book is certainly not one that I particularly enjoy.  It can be repetitive, full of many cyclical arguments, and generally dry.  Although the presentation of the material is not something I particularly enjoy, this book is full of all sorts of interesting facts and humorous examples. I definitely got a "jolt" when I was reading along about why some theory about laughter is wrong and then all of a sudden there is a comment about someone  masturbating to the Venus de Milo.  

    For as much as I like to complain about this book though, there are interesting and influential points made in the text. I always knew that laughing was supposedly good for you, but I never really considered why and where it came from. It really caught my interest that laughter renders you essentially incapable of doing anything else, releasing the person laughing from stress, anger, fear, and other physical activity. This book is essentially a constant reminder that I need to laugh more! I find that I am incredibly susceptible to stress, which according to the book is the offspring of anger and fear.  Stress is also incredibly unhealthy, something that I have lived because I most often get sick when I am stressed, resulting in only more stress. Having read about all this I feel much more encouraged to try and incorporate laughter into my life as part of an every day necessity. I have found that now if I randomly laugh I stop and think afterwards, why was I just laughing?  I have not decided yet whether this is a good thing or not but it is certainly an unusual train of thought. 

   One thing I really appreciate about this book though is its seeming commitment to the arts, especially in The Aesthetics of Humor chapter.  I am so much more encouraged to appreciate the goofy and "less educated" things in life having read about the authors argument for comedy over tragedy.  I agree that there may have been a time when such things were beneficial but in today's times I would much rather be gaining happiness and a break from my worries.  I feel that many people admire sad stories, and incredibly deep literature while more simple things are looked down upon as uneducated and dumb, even the word "simple" can be seen as having a bad connotation.  This book has only encouraged my once guilty pleasure of constantly being immersed in the arts and appreciating more easily grasped concepts.  

   In final consideration I believe that although this book's criticism, philosophy, and analysis of amusement is perhaps a bit too thorough and specific for me, there are things to be gained from the text.  One of my own personal beliefs is that one never stops learning.  Good learning encompasses growth, both in thought and in understanding of one's self. Although I may not enjoy reading this book, it has contributed to my learning.  Thus I feel more equipped to argue in support of humor and the arts.  I also feel as though I have gained knowledge about myself and my opinion of laughter.  As a result I hope that I have gained lasting motivation to find more reasons to laugh and be positive for my own sake, and to hopefully encourage those around me.

I LOVE Pixar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHUgdwyxTF0&feature=related

I took a break from Comic Relief (ironically) to watch some youtube.  I randomly remembered this short by Pixar, as great as inappropriate humor can be, Pixar always does an incredible job of making people laugh at the most simple concepts.  This definitely put a smile on my face, and in some ways it shows a reversal of the Superiority Theory discussed in the book.

FIRST POST!!!!!! - Laughter

Here is a post I did on my personal blog about this class and laughing!

http://diamondstoglass.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/laughter/