Blog Post #33

Tom Leonard's "The Six O'Clock News" is very modernist, I think. The words are spelled phonetically and sentences are seemingly randomly broken up by the lines of the poem. I cannot tell what the structure is or what guidelines he is using to write it, and that is why it feels modernist (like Marianne Moore's poetry). Maybe Leonard was trying to make the poem appear long and skinny like a straw, and this is why there are never more than four words per line. I'm not sure what he means by "yoo scruff." Is it Scottish slang/terminology? I like the part about the BBC accent--it's ironic because the speaker is imitating the news reporter in his own heavy Scottish accent. There's a right way to spell and a right way to speak (very elitist), and common people are incapable of this kind of refinement. I like what Leonard is doing with this poem, because I dislike that sort of mentality as well.

Blog Post #32

I am both amused and disgusted. We'll leave it at that, I think. Jack has chosen loyalty to Rebus, not Ancram. Seeing as how Rebus has mostly been true to Jack, it makes sense, and I think I approve. Maybe. It's just that John seems to be magnificent at making trouble wherever he goes, and I don't want Jack to suffer because of John's actions. It's a risk he'll have to take, and I'm sure he's well aware of it. Well, at least Johnson and Boswell's "Journey and Tour" helped me to familiarize myself with place names. I think with a course like this, we should somehow raise funds to take a trip to Scotland. Yeah, I know--ha, ha. That kind of mirthless laughing, the one full of sympathy. That's the kind I'd choose. Wishful thinking, but I still think it. Briony the hamster. Nice. I'm very suspicious of her. Good! Rebus is going to 'face the music.' I saw that cliché coming miles away, or more accurately, blogs away. At least he's being good and keeping Jack out of it. Oh no! Enter Trouble. Eeew! What a nasty expression: shit monkeys?! Hit the puke switch and duck. I don't like torture scenes--they always seem to go on forever. That was a close one! Aah. He's finally figured out who Bible John is. I thought that was interesting, how Rankin let us know pretty quick up front who Bible John was. Not in the sense of having his real name, necessarily, but in having an idea of his identity/motives. Interesting ending, too. Of course, it is a series--we must bear that in mind. I liked this book...it kind of makes me want to read more. So I think I'd have to say that my opnion of Rebus has changed somewhat: I grudgingly like him. Ian Rankin's so eccentric. Alcohol researcher, though! Ya think?! :)

Blog Post #31

haha! Good line: Ancram: "By the way, DCI Grogan called me this morning." Rebus: "It must be love." I've got to remember that one...although I can't think of a situation where it would be useful at the moment. I'm a huge fan of dry humor. Is Girl Guides Scotland's version of Girl Scouts? I'm going to guess: affirmative. I'm starting to get very curious about the Dancing Pigs. I have decided that Jack is much more likable--I'd rather run into him than John anyday. Why do Rebus and Jack have to bond if they're friends? I'm starting to think Rebus doesn't have any friends. Brian should get out while he can! Rankin is really helping me to get the hang of irony, so I think this book is worth reading (even if it is written primarily for entertainment value). I can't believe Rebus actually ran away from Mick like that. I haven't a clue what he could have said, but I feel like maybe he should've tried. I think that this scene where Rebus breaks down and cries is one of his finest moments. Rebus + 8 points. It's not daft, not at all. For talking to Nell, + 19 points. I have my own scoring system, you see. Apparently he can be truly decent at times. No alcohol and no ciggies!! If the story stopped here, I would consider it a happy ending. Really?! They're playing cat and mouse in a toddler assault course? Into the plastic balls...my favorite! And Hank gets a ball in the mouth. Boy it gets better and better...the attendant asks for the ball back!! :p I probably shouldn't be laughing, but the double negatives are so classic! Whenever I read this book, my hands get dirty. It's like newsprint, just rubs off on my fingers. Ah, bummer. Back to boozing and smoking again. Oooh! Abstinence after all. R + 6. I'm actually getting a little fond of him now, "give the garlic here, I'll stamp on it!" Wait--Bible John didn't plan the attack/message on Rebus? Who did??? Well that is an ominous place to stop. Someone's about to get a bruising (or worse). I really wonder who will find who first, Rebus-Bible or Bible-Johnny?

Blog Post #30

I don't really think I like John Rebus (as a person) all that much, which is kind of problematic as I have no choice but to follow him everywhere he goes and hear about his experiences as an investigator. He is a very slippery alky indeed, but he can be quite witty at times, so that helps in my book. I did have to admit being a little concerned for him when he was pulled down the hill and hit over the head with the handgun. I wonder what all that was about, who the message was from? I kinda wish he'd just face the music (and Ancram). It lowers my opinion of Rebus, although I know he doesn't feel all that good himself either. So Bible John is trying to frame Rebus? An interesting idea...that would get rid of him nicely while John looks for Johnny. Is it just me, or are there not a lot of Johns in this book?! At least he finally did have to meet with Ancram...the running is over, and now he's going to be tailed by Jack. He got off lucky--for the moment. Also, all of these brief snapshot glimpses into Bible John's mind are creepy. A little like Robert Wringhim, acutally.

Blog Post #29

I am going to make a few observations about Black and Blue before I move on to the poetry. The thing that stands out most to me is that I lose track of things when I'm reading it. I mean, I lose myself in the book. I told myself I would stop reading when I got to the next chapter, and then the next chapter seemed to go on a bit longer than I thought it should. So I went back and checked, and sure enough, I'd read right past it. Not that the other books we've been reading have been uninteresting, but I haven't had that experience with them as often. Also, Rankin's descriptions of crime scenes are detailed to the point of being downright grotesque. However, I love all of the band/music references. I've heard of most of them, and I actually like some of them. Rebus reminds me of James Bond: he smokes, he curses, and he's not ugly. Predictably, he's not oblivious to pretty women either.

"Return to Scalpay" has many asides to the reader--an interesting feature. It sounds like the speaker is revisiting the place where he/she grew up. I don't understand the part about jumping in a batwing jacket. It reminds me of batman, and I think it's pretty safe to say that MacCaig was not thinking of superheroes in capes when he was writing this. The Scalpay folk are not Spinozas...I had to look that one up for sure. Turns out Spinoza was a rationalist philosopher, which helps a little. I like the "easy glum, easy glow" remark, which sounds a little like "easy come, easy go" although it has a much different meaning. And last and perhaps best of all are the final lines, "knowing that I have been, and knowing why, diminished and enlarged. Are they the same?" This question deserves either a very good answer or no answer at all. I'm only capable of the latter.

Blog Post #28

"Instrument and Agent" is an interesting poem. Is it like signifier and signified? That would be a more boring title, I suppose. Does the first line mean that the speaker does not love anyone? I like the description of how each image uses other thoughts to make meaning. I wonder why the "objects" travel to the back of the brain. They all accumulate in one place, apparently, but what is significant about the back other than the fact that they all have to move a short distance to get there? The pairings of images and concepts are interesting, but there seems to be a theme of space with moon and stars. Is the poem comparing the mind to the infinite reaches of outer space?

"Basking Shark"--I love the title of this poem. I like the line "on a sea tin-tacked with rain" and the contrast of the shark's great size in comparison with its tiny brain. The poem explores the concept of evolution. I wonder why the shark was "shaken" on the wrong side of the family tree. "Shook" is a curious verb to use, and I wonder what it means in this context. It makes me imagine a tree growing sharks instead of apples, which is rather alarming! The speaker starts thinking deep thoughts about who is superior by evolutionary standards. I find it hard to believe that the speaker is more frightened by the idea that he could be a monster than by the fact that he has just hit a shark with his oar, and has probably made it very angry by doing so! However, on the whole, I enjoy Norman MacCaig's poetry.

Blog Post #27

Haha! "She'd be safe as a cow though she hoped to God she didn't quite look like one." That is a good line. Chris has her baby and it sounds like a very unpleasant ordeal despite the doctor's assurance. There is a lot about the war, and people seem to be quite anti-German. I wonder if this helped the book's popularity at all--it was published in 1932. When Chae comes back from the war, he is different. He's thinner and his laugh is altered. And then Rob is taken away to war against his will and Ewan goes off to war without even telling Chris first! I would be sooo mad!! He just leaves her with all that responsibility and his son to take care of all by herself. Will comes back...it's hard not to like Will when Chris obviously likes him so much. Ewan comes back and he's just awful. If I thought he was bad before, he's twice as bad now. She actually has to threaten him with a knife, and it's sad that that's the only kind of language that gets through to him. His son doesn't even know him any more. Too bad he didn't realize that it's more cowardly to submit to the need to prove himself rather than to live life the way he wants to. As if he hasn't done enough damage already, he goes and dies in the war. I feel sorry for Chris. It gets worse! He was shot as a deserter. Rob was killed too. I am not satisfied with the ending, maybe because it didn't fulfill my expectations. Also, I sincerely hope we go over the poems tomorrow in class...I didn't really understand them, but I get the feeling that they are probably very good and I'm missing out.