The themes I was able to distill from my journals were are: (1) resurrection and rebirth, (2) personal growth, (3) community memory, (4) power dynamics, and (5) the connection to both history and nature.

QUESTIONS:
1. How do I synthesis these into a final project? | Procedure & Steps
2. Given this final project is like a sliced apple, how do I back-track to a Goal, back to a mission? 3. What is the mission or purpose of this story, who are the target audience I am seeking to impact?

PROCEDURE AND STEPS
{ 1. Complete a summary of themes, stories, and get initial ideas using Gen. A.I. # Idea Generation 2. Select a theme, and write a first draft of the potential story ARC.
3. Act it out, and be observed }

” 1. Resurrection and Rebirth

• Viking Music / Amon Amarth / War imagery: Your connection to resurrection via the physicality of exercise (and the Viking themes in the music you listen to) is powerful. You seem to be exploring the intersection of personal strength, historical legacy, and spiritual experiences.
  • Expansion ideas: You might explore the metaphor of resurrection as both physical and psychological rebirth. Can we draw connections between modern struggles (like personal challenges, societal pressure, etc.) and ancient mythological frameworks (such as Viking concepts of battle, resurrection, or the afterlife in Valhalla)?
  • Potential story arc: The concept of “resurrection” could be applied to the mental/emotional renewal that comes with overcoming personal struggles, with echoes of historical battles — either literal or metaphorical.

2. Setting and Isolation

• Atlas and the Power of Setting: Your reflections about the power of setting seem to underscore the personal significance of how physical environments shape individuals. Atlas’s preference for comfort vs. others’ embrace of discomfort (like snow, cold, or wilderness) seems like a poignant metaphor for personal growth.
  • Expansion ideas: The contrast between individuals who seek comfort and those who seek challenge (or those who are forced into challenge) could be a recurring theme. How does isolation shape resilience? You might also weave in historical or mythological figures who embodied the tension between comfort and challenge (e.g., the myth of Atlas or the figure of the wanderer).

3. Community, Suffering, and Memory

• The Group and Collective Memory: You mention multiple characters, like Ezel and others, who seem to struggle with isolation, suffering, and memory. These stories appear to serve as reflections on the emotional impact of past trauma.
  • Expansion ideas: Consider building a narrative around collective memory and the ways individuals in a community remember or process suffering differently. How do these memories shape their current realities?
  • Potential story arc: Explore a character (or group) wrestling with shared trauma or grief, and their journey toward understanding and healing through the lens of collective storytelling.

4. Power and Society

• Land, Power, and Economic Forces: The questions you raised about the fracking industry, land ownership, and power structures seem to have deep implications. This can tie back to themes of societal manipulation, environmental impact, and personal struggle.
  • Expansion ideas: Dive into a narrative where the protagonist must navigate the moral, ethical, and emotional implications of selling or protecting the land. This could tap into themes of legacy, sacrifice, and the tension between personal survival and collective good.
  • Potential story arc: A character must confront their family’s legacy (perhaps their grandfather’s wisdom), deciding whether to sell land to corporations or protect it from exploitation. The decision will affect both their physical survival and their spiritual well-being.

5. Revisiting the Text and Critical Thinking

• The Power of Language and Interpretation: Your notes also mention critical thinking and the process of interpretation — deconstructing and reconstructing ideas (e.g., through the context of the story circles or the impact of spell check on language).
  • Expansion ideas: How do words, names, and titles carry power? What happens when language is altered or misunderstood? This could connect well with your personal reflections on how language and identity intersect.
  • Potential story arc: A character might be searching for the truth of their identity or a piece of history, but the words or stories they encounter are altered or manipulated, forcing them to confront how language itself can shape reality. ”

In reflection about the work with Shannon Turner I recall most memorably her capacity to reframe. Objectively, one might have seen her first teaching experience as tutor following graduate as a total failure (being let go from any job is never easy!) but the way she ended the story with such an absurd position seems to have really carried forward Jo Carson’s emphasis on being able to laugh at one’s self. I carried some of this forward into my own story telling (I don’t precisely remember a pink umbrella as I reflect, though it was quite a contrasting and absurd detail that makes the conflict laughable). Nevertheless, what seems to have come from this is telling about my character. Why would I have been manipulated by this person, in spite of my friend?

I could then use these questions: 1. Have you ever had something to prove? 2. Where their other instance where I was manipulated in a way that lead me to betray or hurt someone else in the other stories detailed in my life map?

The prompt was to tell about a job that didn’t work out as expected. In my work, there have been more than one job that didn’t work out, and I could use this as an exploration of every job I’ve ever held, though that might be a bit much (the terms story-telling is predatory in nature from Spider Speculations remains in my mind), and I often overshare.

Perhaps, it was my first job at Best Buy? The position was in an entirely different time (~2011), and I hardly had any understanding of economics at the time, but the pay was better than nothing. My work mostly involved stocking shelves. I remember a co-worker that connected with me on games (World of Warcraft comes to mind), and sitting in the white-walled and bland break room. I had no intentions to make the job anything significant, or to commit to it – I was more concern with the local Hookah bar that all the locals visited, women, videogames, and exercise. The job was the only requirement my Dad had for me to stay with them – but the every present distractions and my soften, unfocused mind, ended with a one-way ticket “home”, and the dissolution seemed to be the first string towards an unraveling of my main childhood friendship.

The prompting for this journal was a bit ambiguous. When you are asking to: “Write a script on what your group presented in the first half of class.” are you wanting an review of the first portion of the coursework prior to spring break, or on a presentation that we did in the week prior to spring break?

In reflection, I am struggling to recall the group play… but after a few moments, I do recall a barrier, a mother, a father, an inmate, and the voice of conscience. What is surprising to me is that way that this could be a friend, or a teacher, etc. and how bitterness or could impact the way that came out.

Reflecting further on the semester, at this point I am pleased with my grade – though I am struggling with what is considered sufficient for proper annotation in my journal, and I hope that my grade can be righted moving forward ( in some sense I feel that I am relying on GSTR material as a boon and support to my GPA for my STEM coursework – in particular as my advisor presses me to complete (3) five credit semesters over the next year and a half. Even on paper, this seems impossible!

Part one of this prompt is to revise my questions for Anne. At this point, I feel that the quality is strong, and well developed – though I did make some changes from J11. I’ve read it out loud 2 additional times, and my final product will be:

Good afternoon, my name is Antonio. I am a Computer Science Major here at Berea, from the United States, and since I was a child, I’ve liked a good ghost story. I think that draw, found presence for me in your writing, for three reasons:

First, in your poems titles there are almost always marks that involved a date of birth and date of death.

Next, the statement in Homeplace, where you say, “No one asks me if I am haunted” implied for me, “Are you haunted? Am I haunted”.

Finally, just last evening, I was in a state of half-way awake, half-way asleep, and as I was waking I thought I could clearly distinguish a man standing by the side of my bed.

So, my first question is – what are your thoughts on the nature of ghosts? How do you view the nature of ghosts—do you see them as metaphors, spirits, or something else?

My second question would be closely related to that, and I’d ask why it seems there were no stories about ghost or the supernatural in Salt, was that an intentional choice?

RESPONSE TO DR GREEN ON POSTS:

Reference To: Re: APS 140: your server is down! On Post J9.
‘Many stories in these words! Why no people’s names? I’m also curious about where you’d put them in a time line since these are your ancestors. How do you see them living in you? I can imagine a whole book! I can imagine each of them in their own complex manifestation which has a direct relationship to you…… Please send me an e-mail telling me more….’

Dr. Green, I did have mention to some name in J9, “Mary-Paul-Carl Sr.-Richard”. If I were however, to describe these relationships, in another list I’d say: “Disowned-Dead-Dead-Disowned”. Though, I do recall the power of some of the archival work that I’d done in Caribbean Literature where I’d explored some of the final moments in my grandfathers life. I also carried some of this forward in my writings on Saudi Arabia. The question of how I seem them living in me is powered, considering that my descriptions are at least halfway dead, and I’d tend to agree that each of these could represent a form of short story.

What was my relationship to Mary? To Paul? To Carl? To Richard?

A final note, how much of this should be redacted? Perhaps I should transition over to a more confidential format. The website does get it’s share of traffic, but most of it is bot generated…

I had some preparatory comments as I formatted my question, and was fully prepared to engage with Anne but the snow day was enough to make me lose my paper! My journal post will work to iron this out before class:

Good afternoon, my name is Antonio. I am a Computer Science Major here at Berea, from the United States, and since I was a child, I’ve liked a good ghost story (though I have never considered a ghost poem!). I think that draw, found presence for me in your writing, for two reasons: First, in your poems titles there are almost always marks that involved a date of birth and date of death. Next, the statement in Homeplace, where you say, “No one asks me if I am haunted” implied for me, “Are you haunted? Am I haunted”. So, my first question is – what are your thoughts on the nature of ghosts? “How do you view the nature of ghosts—do you see them as metaphors, spirits, or something else?”

My second question would be closely related to that, and I’d ask why it seems there were no stories about ghost or the supernatural in Salt, was that an intentional choice?

My reflections on this time of sharing are sweet. I am more aware of the dynamic and traveled lives of others (particularly from the white board illustration the Megan’s group demonstrated).
Marriage and family are a common thread and shared experience, as well as people looking for ways to care for their children. Loren’s projection and voice was quite strong, despite being sick.

I am glad that Aaron had such quick thinking and had already laid out a good account of parts of his mother’s life. We seem to have both been impacted by drug abuse, and I enjoyed setting the stage on our presentation through a brief narration.

Group two, the use of the ball was an effective tool for sharing control of who was speaking; as well – their highlighting of different sections using a “chorus” also holds a strong mental note for me. It did seem as though there was a lot of tension in the group, perhaps nervousness?

Overall – In my body, I can only describe a feeling of relaxation, and a care for my peers.

I’ll conclude this post by writing for five minutes on this question: how do we activate and process (the journeys and creative processes we are sharing) using both our minds and bodies? | My reply to this will start with a brief mention on Boolean Logic. In programming, when and is used, this typically means that two clauses are two be evaluated, then if both evaluate to True, than the next step of a process will begin. With this in mind, I’d say that we should more clearly delineated what is of the mind, and what is of the body. Then we can categorize the activities that are associated with each. From there we can practice both, in hopes that there will be alignment? For example, if I understand thought to be of the mind; and speech to be of the body, I should practice both thinking and speaking. Eventually they will align?

My word cloud begin…
[ Louisville, Dirty Birds, Basketball, Aluminum Foil, Racetracks, Gambling, Dirty Floors, Heroin, Catholics, Baptists, Mary, Paul, Carl  Sr. Carl Jr. ]
I consider redaction, and salting the list with some things that aren’t true… or maybe something better?
[ Louisville-Oklahoma-Washington-Louisiana; Dirty Birds-Cardiac Cards-Black Birds-Little Brother, Basketball-Baseball-Football-Racetracks, Gambling, Dirty Floors-Marble Floors, Hardwood Floors, Heroin-Marijuana-Lithium; Catholics-Baptists-Atheists; Mary-Paul-Carl Sr.-Richard; Iroquois Park; Motown; RnB-Soul Music- Emo-Heavy Metal; Ohio River; Racism; Neutrality; Bitter Winters-Hot Summers; Water Parks-Roller Coaster-State Fairs; Ghettos-East-Enders-South-Enders; Male-PRP-Manual-St. Xavier-Trinity]

This seems to capture just about everything, with some time remaining. I’m going to describe the part of speech for each item as well….

• Louisville-Oklahoma-Washington-Louisiana: Proper Nouns (names of places/cities)
• Dirty Birds-Cardiac Cards-Black Birds: Proper Nouns (team names or nicknames)
• Basketball-Baseball-Football-Racetracks-Gambling: Nouns (sports and venues)
• Dirty Floors-Marble Floors-Hardwood Floors: Nouns (types of floors)
• Heroin-Marijuana-Lithium: Nouns (types of substances)
• Catholics-Baptists-Atheists: Nouns (religious groups or categories)
• Mary-Paul-Carl Sr.-Richard: Proper Nouns (personal names)
• Iroquois Park: Proper Noun (name of a specific park)
• Motown-RnB-Soul Music-Emo-Heavy Metal: Proper Noun (specific place or genre of music)
• Ohio River: Proper Noun (name of a specific river)
• Racism: Noun (concept or social issue)
• Neutrality: Noun (concept or state)
• Bitter Winters-Hot Summers: Nouns (types of seasons)
• Water Parks-Roller Coaster-State Fairs: Nouns (types of recreational venues/events)
• Ghettos-East-Enders-South-Enders: Nouns (places or groups of people, with “East-Enders” and “South-Enders” being specific groups)
• Male-PRP-Manual-St. Xavier-Trinity: Nouns (possibly referring to schools, locations, or specific terms, like “PRP” as an abbreviation)

Currently working through a cold, and an unexpected state tax…debt…”forgive us our debts”.

My free write today will be a draft from an email conversation I’m having with my accounting professor.

Thank you for your passionate reply, you must enjoy these types of conversations! 🙂

The question of mission work and evangelism has been a significant part of my life, though I have struggled to have enough conviction to keep hard theological lines. (I’ve struggled to ever speak up for myself!). I wonder if it’s easier to do good works? But, to verbally proclaim the gospel ( which Paul described as an offense )? I certainly want to avoid being offensive!  

Perhaps I lack the clarity to see things as they are, but as a non-trad my struggle to find a stable living is a deep concern. It seems the age affords me neither to be neither a monastic, nor a carpenter, nor a lumberjack, or miner , or soldier. So, I have tried to be an educated person as my means of living. I wonder if the line from Dalton is true: “Congress sold us for cheap wages.”

 I have been prayer about this!

On a less personal side, I am wondering if there are any accounting classes where one could develop the economic framework for running a business? 
I love the scenario driven work on the Cengage text but Imagine the possibilities if students could use this material as a guide for the formation of LLCs! This knowledge would be amplified if applied towards an actual entity. 

Daily, I seem to find reminders about the United States lack manufacturing base, as the phrase (logistics win wars comes to mine). How shifting’s like BRICS looms as an existential threat to the United States, to my children. I am perplexed by the wars in Ukraine and Palestine, and my inability to do anything.

20 minute focus session – START.

Quickly searching for notes, but they’ve vanished somewhere. I’m in the classroom, and it’s dark, there are no other students here, and the only light is from my laptop, and a dim light from the projector screen. Having to listen remotely to the course yesterday, I think I really gleaned one key things from my group work: Atlas needs encouragement. As we tried to share our stories, it became apparent that the thoughts of leaving the college were at the forefront of her mind. As I listened to Esa talk about the newly born dear being consumed by a cheetah, I saw how I too have been young (freshly away from home, newly born into the responsibilities of adulthood) – and in that I could see Atlas. In this case, even if there were no external entity chasing her (the burden of life, as we experience it in the college is much to place on such a young frame).

On the more thematic, I think the power of setting was apparent, the output of our group work showed this as we titled our work: ” Roadtrip With Friends – Home To West Virginia”. In this there was a real distinction to be made about who was driving. How the dynamic of the needing to focus on the wheel would change ones ability or inability to have conversation, and how it would free up others to communicate (or not) more freely.

In general, I found that Bobby’s description of moving through the process of critical thinking, from reading, to writing, to discussion, and synthesis into something new was powerful. I wonder about the process we’re engaging in as a class. Are we: looking at letters on a page, deconstructing those words, and reconstructing them into a new story, and play?

I also am giving thanks for Dr. Greens flexibility with the remote session!