Frozen Words

I got to thinking recently about what Prof Sexson said in class a couple of days ago about how when we speak our words immediately disappear. It reminded me of a story that I read in elementar school about a girl whose words froze in to icicles when she spoke. To hear what she actually said one had to melt the icicles. For this girl, her words could be eternal. Something to hold and store away. They could always be remembered, but still one could never hear them. They would be physically solid, yet at the same time have faded away like the echoes of our spoken words. Is this what happens with writing? Words become physically solid, but still fade away? It is just as easy to forget what one has read as it is to forget what one has heard. ALos, what one writes down is never identical to what one has spoken. Words and phrases continually change and shift, perhaps becoming better. Our minds play tricks on us and what we remember fades as easily as the spoken word. So, cherish what you speak because what you say will never be said again. It will never be heard again. Things change, people change, places change.

True Originality

We were discussing the inauguration in my 401 Capstone class just a little while ago and I was struck by the fact of how often Obama and what happened today has been compared to history. For those of you who were perhaps abducted by aliens and have missed the entire last year, Obama's slogan has been "Change." After the discussion in my class, I have to wonder just how original that change will be (if there is any to begin with). Will anything that he does be truly new and wondrous? Or will it simply be the same events and decisions that have occurred and reoccurred over the centuries with new places and new faces? Have there been any original thoughts since the dawn of man?

For me the word "classic" has always had connotations that whatever is "classic" is original, the basis for whatever follows. Yet, if there has been no more originality since the start of mankind, then how can anything but those things that existed at that moment in time be considered "classic"? How can the Rolling Stones be considered "classic"? How does something gain the designation of that all powerful label "classic"?

Any thoughts? Any original thoughts?

Ah, sweet beginnings . . .

My roommates and I were hanging out last night and if you truly knew us than the fact that the conversation turned to zombies at some point during the night would not be a surprise. So, we were talking about vampire movies and jumped to zombies somehow and Kim tells me that she finally told Jenn about her zombie plan. We were laughing hysterically and I had a brillant thought that instead of everything going back to myth, everything actually goes back to zombies! I've since given it some thought and have started wondering just how old the idea of zombies truly is. So, I did a little research. For those of you unbelievers who scoff at the notion of zombies and say that of course zombies are myth, really meaning not possible, here is a little tid bit for you. Apparently, zombies originated in myths of Haitian Voodoo! It is believed that one can take over and control a person's body by using a powder called coup padre. Even zombies, something that seems relatively new and planted firmly in movies, goes back to myth. I guess Sexson was right in the end. Hmmm, I wonder what else can be traced back to myth?

If you have an undying love of all things zombie or are just a little interested in the concept here are some of the websites that I looked at: http://www.umich.edu/~engl415/zombies/zombie.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie