The Blind Leading the Blind

Well, another week has passed and that means 2 more of Brother Babcock's British Literature class sessions! This week was interesting...as usual and as evidenced by the photograph. (Yes, that is a copy of Frankenstein in his hand). A couple funny things I'd like to share. First is the story behind the photograph. This was Tuesday's class and Brother Babcock added a new twist to the blindfolds he bought for the last class we'd had. He decided to pass around about 6 blindfolds throughout the class and after he'd redistributed the Discussion Board e-responses he nominated someone to read the e-response. The twist is this: only those who were blindfolded were allowed to comment/respond to the e-response. Brother Babcock ended up with a blindfold and started discussing Shelley's Frankenstein with a copy in his hand while he was blindfolded. I don't really know what he was trying to accomplish... My friend Alli snapped this shot with her camera phone after I realized I'd forgotten mine. It was posted on the class Discussion Board and Brother Babcock was a little confused.

On Thursday we were still discussing Frankenstein and the discussion centered on the Monster's ability to learn things like speech, right and wrong, etc. Brother Babcock made a connection to Sunday School when parents talk about how their kids learn to not touch a stove because it's hot after they've touched it once. He said something to the effect of: "I always want to say, 'THAT'S NOT TRUE! My kids are scalded because they touch the stove once, walk away screaming and then go back 5 minutes later and do it again!" To which I promptly replied, "Maybe you should watch your kids more, man." The rest of the class was dedicated to whether Dr. Frankenstein was the real "monster" or his creation was the "monster" - and conversely, whether this very vocal class was the "monster" or whether Brother Babcock was the "monster" for creating it. And then setting us loose on the rest of the Campus.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Being out of the Burg for 9 whole days.

2. Seeing the majority of my family.

3. The way McMoviePhone treats me.

4. Singing at the top of my lungs in the car for 3 1/2 hours.

5. Benjamin.

6. The fact that my first class was cancelled today (not that Brother Hansen was sick, but that he cancelled class) and that I ditched French so I could leave town early.

Brother Babcock's British Literature Class.

I've been ranting and raving about Brother Babcock's British Literature class (neoclassical and romantic period). I've finally decided to do a post dedicated to Brother Matt Babcock: the best English teacher on campus.

Brother Babcock's class is like no other I've ever been in. Each class has a Parliamentary feel to it. For example: for the first half of the semester we were studying Neoclassical authors and he would bring in a plastic gavel to bring order to class each day. Now that we're studying the Romantic authors he has a fake flower he brings in to tap against the podium. Since that doesn't ever get our attention he does other weird things. One day he was a mime.

If anyone has a question he "recognizes" them by saying "Yes, uh McMoviePhone then, uh Diane, then uh Ali." He knows everyone's names. He doesn't need the "uh" he just does it. It's weird. We have online discussions that are done with pseudonyms (only McMoviePhone knows what mine is, so I'm not going to tell you). And we have weird pseudonyms like "Moosejaw" or "C3PO." Each person is supposed to respond to the reading in some way, preferably with a question, and then give a suggestion as to what we should do in class to further our understanding of the text. This is where the comedians get creative. And the best part is: Brother Babcock listens to and then puts into practice the suggestions.

On Thursday (11/13) someone suggested we play "Murderer" for our discussion. (We're reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein right now - for those of you who are interested). So "Murderer" goes like this: we put our chairs in a very large circle around the room and once we had done this, Brother Babcock had us turn our chairs around so that we were all facing the wall and couldn't see one another. Brother Babcock then chose a student at random and explained that whomever he chose to be "it" stood in the center of the circle and read one of the questions from the discussion board to the class so that we could discuss it. When the person who was "it" felt the conversation was lagging or wanted a new topic they would take the dollar store blindfold he purchased and "strangle" the next person they chose to be "it." It was very effective (and terrifying because I'm very vocal against the loyal opposition and one of the loyal opposition was "it." eek).

When we first started the Romantic authors we decided to run class a little differently - so we made class basically a free for all that started up with McMoviePhone standing in his chair yelling out lines from Wordsworth in a very "O Captain, My Captain" sort of way. Which I joined in on. :o) Then it all ended with Doug in the teacher's chair spinning and sliding from one end of the class room to the other while singing some random song. All the while there were girls doing an interpretive dance. We've done debates, moral meters, acting out plays, youtube videos: you name it - we've done it.

Perhaps the best thing about Brother Babcock is the accents. O! the accents! He served his mission in England and can do New York, English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, Swedish...basically ANY accent you can think of he does PERFECTLY. And frequently. When we were reading Robert Burns' "To a Louse" and "To a Mouse" and "Tam O'Shanter: a Tale" (one of the best pieces of poetry EVER) he read each piece to us with perfect Scottish accents that made them all the better. He randomly changes accents and tells the BEST stories ever.

If there's something we don't like about the class we take a vote on it. Basically we're in charge, which is great because that way we're learning and leading the discussion and putting the [stupid] Learning Model into practice like President Clark has asked.

Honestly I've barely touched the surface here. I might have to do a special post after every class period or once a week completely dedicated to Brother Babcock's class because this man is now one of my heroes. I've never laughed so much in my life.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Possibly being able to leave for Thanksgiving break early.

2. Being done with my French presentation (one of them...).

3. Nathanael in uniform.

4. McMoviePhone teaching me things I didn't know about myself.

5. Denny on Grey's Anatomy.

Everybody Remain Calm!

There has been some worry from a few of you as to whether my apartment has toilet paper or not. I didn't realize it would be so disturbing to you all. So here's the deal: we had toilet paper all along, my roommate Jessica just didn't see it because some of the other girls *cough, girls who don't do anything around here, cough* just started shoving all the Halloween decorations from the ward party into the storage closet (where they don't belong) and buried the new thing of toilet paper Kelli had just bought. So. Disaster averted. And just in case that doesn't ease your worries, I wasn't even the one who found the note, it was Kelli - who knew all along there was toilet paper somewhere. :o)

In case my few readers out there haven't noticed I posted a question regarding where I should live winter semester. You should all vote in case you haven't and for those of you who have...can someone please tell me who it was that voted for California? haha.

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot going on right now. Just a bunch of homework which has decreased incredibly but there is still so much to do that I'm having difficulty getting it all done. OH! Good news, I thought I had 3 research papers due at the end of the semester - one of them in French - well it turns out that my big research paper for Sister Papworth will now be a collaborative effort with my friend Carol (woo hoo for cutting the work load in half), my British Literature research paper isn't 10-15 pages like I thought. It's 6. Maximum. haha. And my French research paper is now nonexistant. Joy!!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. The whole no research paper thing previously described.
2. My book box.
3. Getting closer to figuring out what I'm supposed to do for winter.
4. Only 30 days until the end of the semester and 9 days until "Twilight" and Thanksgiving break!

I'm Blessed.

So basically I have awesome roommates! This was on the toilet seat lid on Friday morning. Jessica put it there just in case I didn't check first - which I probably wouldn't have done because of the head ache I just can't shake. They're great girls. :o)

Things that induce smiles/laughter/happy feelings in me today:

1. The fact that there are only 33 days left until the last day of the semester. Which translates into about 35-36 days until I'm back in California.

2. My creative piece for Brother Babcock's class that is going REALLY well.

3. The incredibly random Saturday night I had. WOW.

4. Shauna moving to NYC in January (so happy for you love!).

5. Being able to help people whenever they ask (or at least attempting to...).

6. My family. They rock. Seriously.

A Dream Come True...

Okay, so the other day Lindsey and I were driving somewhere and I saw a guy in a US Naval uniform. Thanks to this (now unfortunate) soul, I was able to fulfill a life long dream. As Lindsey and I drove past I rolled down my window and called out, "Hey there, Sailor!" I've always wanted to do that!

Mission accomplished.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Sleeping in because Sister Papworth cancelled all Thursday classes.

2. Excedrine.

3. Waking myself up by talking in my sleep (a new phenomenen).

4. Blue October. I'm a junkie.

5. People playing with my hair.