Hash for January 21, 2009

Jan speaks in her blog on Pg. 34 – Orality and Literature – Even with a listener to state your thoughts to, your thought is not in writing. The only way to remember what you said is to think memorable thoughts.

**Assignment – Should have read 1st chapter of each book (prologue too).**

The pen and paper is technology just like my Acer that transcribes our thoughts and words to this screen.

** Test Material: The only way to remember, without our technologies, is to think memorable thoughts.**

**Assignment - Think memorable thoughts.**

Ong uses the words, “Never the less.” You must remember with writing, organizing. Without it you use your memory.

E.M. Forster? – “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”

** TEST WORDS – Ong uses Chirographic (writing) and Typographic (typing).**

Marshall McLuhan – Comedian - www.marshallmcluhan.com - Always talked about technology as an extension of the body. (i.e. ski an extension of feet, typewriter extension of hands, hat an extension of the head)

“The Pleasure of the Text “ – Erotic nature of the text – French literary critic Roland Barthes - He says not to come to my blog because I talk about this. ;)

People mad at computers because we’re getting rid of letter writing, x’s and o’s, and licking your envelopes. (Or as Sutter said, “Sealing it with wax.” ;-)

Speaking on a telephone is not exactly natural, about as natural as an email.

James Joyce – “in a nutshell” which Ong uses and McCluen loved Joyce.

It’s always the same little story, the new technology is always criticized as being unnatural by the older generation.

Garrison Keillor – prairiehome.publicradio.org - Plays guitar on NPR and tells stories.

It’s nicer to listen to the radio stories rather than television/movie stories because you can use your imagination.

“Why in the world would anyone listen, on the radio, to a ventriloquist!?” –MS

They did!

Calculators were a huge invention. Allowed you to calculate without using your brain.

Nay sayers say Nay…. Or maybe Ni (to this technology). (Reference to Monty P. ;)

John Updike said it would never use a word processor to write his novel because you could never have an erotic connection with it.

John Updike is now using a word processor because it’s just the way it is.

Ong/McLuhan say that nothing is naturalized. It’s all technology upon technology since the use of rock weapons.

***Luddism – (Robert Ludd) Anybody who doesn’t like technology is a Luddite.***

Lord Byron’s daughter one of the inventor’s of the modern computer, Aida Lovelace (probably butured that).

Plato – Phaedrus – Greatest attack on writing the world has ever known – Socrates comes in and talks about an invention from Egypt. Phaedrus (which reminds me of the word Pharo) says, “What’s wrong with that?” – Socrates says that once written, you don’t have to remember. The only natural way to communicate is through speech.

Past person of White House and the Lady from Alaska – What they were going to say looked good on paper, but then when spoken it sounded quite different. Not quite as good. ;)

“Writing changes your consciousness.” – Ong

We have been brain washed, but we can still imagine a completely oral culture.

***Assignment – Go and find a passage from one of our books and work with it like we have done with pg. 34 today. ***

Ong makes the point that the Oral Tradition values the Carnal Tradition of using the tongue and mouth to/ voice to something.

Primary oral – no reading and writing anywhere at all

Secondary oral – even if you are not able to read and write, you are in a culture of reading and writing

Lisa - knows someone who only looks at the pictures in the newspapers, then imagines the story from them, then has you read him the stories.

His way of life is not very different from our new way of life (tv, screens, pictures, etc.)

MS remembers exactly where he was during the assassination of JFK. (Sitting in a communications class in Washington State University). (He had to speak the words that he spoke to us, the exact words he said 40 years ago.)

Ong says that sometimes memorable thoughts are not thought at all, they are forced upon you (JFK, 9/11, Obama swearing in).

Yates says that if you want to make something memorable, you have to associate it with something completely grotesque and vile. (Arts of the Middle Ages)

"It’s not history that makes us remember something, it’s mythology." -MS (The Coronation of the King).

And we are given a recital of the 9 muses. Build memory theatres in this room so that we can help each other remember them.

Later in the semester he will have us recite 100 specific items, then do it backwards.

It will be easy once we know the secrets of The Wizard of Oz.

***Memorize the 9 Muses***