Favorite Waffles

Ever notice this cute little guy up there?

He's called a "favicon."

Do you want one like him? Of course you do.

Step one. Log into Google Blogger
Step two. Go to the "design" dashboard
Step three. Go to the "layout" tab.
Step four. Locate a the "favicon" module.
Step five. Click edit.
Step six. Follow directions.

Have fun!

Love waffles... I mean blogging! Yeah... blogging...

Meta-blogging! Fun phrase, no? Annnyywaayy moving on...

Blogging, to me, has been a double edged sword. I think it draws out more of who I actually am as a writer, in contrast to other styles, where my speech is more reserved and refined. In blogging, often, I let my manic side take over naturally.

Often I find myself writing emails in this fashion... even talking in an "off-the-cuff" style that is atypical for me. While I find this to be helpful at times, other times I find myself wondering whether or not, this blog style of writing could be detrimental to my long-term writing skills. Much in the same way Ebonics creates shortcuts that create communication barriers with stereotypes, blogging accepts a less ridged forum that may be seen by others as too informal and simply silly.

I've never been so divided on a writing style. To be honest, I don't think I've ever really formed much of an opinion on ANY writing styles... so I am certainly happy I tried this in any case.

Personally, blogging has helped my writing. After all you know what they say, "Write drunk, edit sober." Writing blogs has helped me be more creative, even without creative substances.... which is DEFINITELY a good thing.

It should also be noted, as alluded to before in my third paragraph... the skills garnered from blogging extend beyond the writing sphere into speech. Blogging cultivates an area of the mind built off of whim and impulses. This makes, in my mind, blogging a dangerous writing tool... as it has the ability to change not only the writing of a character, but also the character of an individual.

Waffles waffles waffley waffles. Waffles in syrup, waffles in butter, dear waffle waffle I will always be your lover!

Waffles are Cute

So basically, I love peer reviews. Why? Because I love to talk. I'm a pretty talkative person and I think everyone deserves to have the blessing of hearing my opinions. Also, occasionally I like listening to the opinions of others, but only if they are given in a humble manner. I expect all of my peers to kneel over to my superior writing finesse. Did I mention I have bipolar awesomeness? Most people call it bipolar disorder... at least the DSMV-IV does. lolololol. Not really... I don't actually have that. I just enjoy acting manic.

Back to the peer review thing... I like my peers. They're pretty sexy. Especially when we review together. My favorite part is making people go off tangent. Because we have a small group, this is easier to do. After we've covered the necessities of the discussion about our papers, I like to talk about peoples personal lives. I find people fascinating... because people are fascinating. Seriously. You're pretty self centered if you don't think the major point of a peer review is learning about someone else. Who cares about the paper? Honestly. The paper... is just that. A piece of paper. The more interesting piece is the piece of work sitting in front of you, the person.

Now I know many of you may not agree... this is probably too great a concept to grasp.. that someone ELSE might actually be of interest.

I think in all aspects of interaction we all need to take a step back and appreciate what little actions allow in the view of a greater image of a person.


I figure I should talk about it about the actual peer review last week to avoid losing points or something. Ummm Thorton is an excellent peer reviewer... (if you're reading this Thorton pay attention! ILY). Thorton's reviews to me at least, come off as chill and laid back.... and THAT'S A GOOD THING! Thorton has the talent of letting you know what's up without being an asshole. And Ken... those Pockies..... I want some more. They were so good. I have me eating them as my profile picture on Facebook. NOM NOMONOM. That being said, your review was good as well. You're an interesting person. I want to learn more about you.


I really like baby kittens. They're cute.

So are waffles.

Goodnight.

Forget the Batter, Remember the Waffles

Please take me by the hand
It's so cold out tonight
I'll put blankets on the bed
I won't turn out the light
Just don't forget to think about me
And I won't forget you
I'll write you once a week she said
-Going Away to College, Blink 182

 I hope all of you have at LEAST heard this song. It's pretty awesome. Speaking of awesome, so is college.

As you may or may not recall, I am a community college transfer student. For the past two years I have been living in a world of semi-independence. Not entirely "out of the house," but certainly not entirely in it. I've already done many of the passing rights of a college student, but I am starting to learn just how more this is to learn.

RIGHT now, I'm sitting in our living room. It's pretty big for a dorm room (I live in Miltimore now). One guy, an RA is sitting across for me singing "I've got a feeling that I never knew I had before..." Another is sitting on the couch, texting, also singing. Another is sitting holding a girl. The final one is playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.


I just took a break... and two more girls have shown up.

... And since someone mentioned having a point

... It's time to tie this all in.

I already have a lot of hard experience learning about independence. Self-discipline is invaluable. Sometimes it's not easy to make the right decision. To party or finish an English Blog? And there are many tougher choices out there. Living three hours away from home, completely separated from your family, for the first time, is different... even difficult.

It's a time to develop new habits, good habits. A time not to look back.
But at the same time remember the good things about where you came from.
"I'll write you once a week she said."

I will always remember the waffles I use to make.... in that yellow bowl. That beautiful yellow bowl.

The Great Waffle

Where do you stand on the social ladder? Who is above you, who is below you, and why? What characteristics gives someone status, and invisible podium on which to stand? Strength, wit, or charm... perhaps a combination? 


If you look at the extremes... it's easier to tell. A drug addict leashed to a cocaine addiction traveling down the road of destitute poverty is obviously lower in social status than say... Mark Zuckerburg. But, when you get closer to the lines, things become blurred. Where does an NFL tightend line up to a NASA engineer? I don't think you can really compare the two. The tightend has qualities that the engineer couldn't dream to posses in his lifetime and visa versa. 


Things get even more complicated when you start talking about groups like say... a class room.


These are all people here for the same thing, to study and learn. We all, however, come with different experiences and mindsets. Some of us are alpha personalities, some of us are beta's, and others are a mix. Some of us have higher IQs than others. Some of us do sports others do video games. Some are big others are little.


So who gets the big voice? And who remains silent? Is anyone outcast and is that right? There's never an official announcement of who deserves all respect and who should be ignored. These are the dynamics of social creatures. We mix a bunch of variables from physical strength to moral sets to determine where we stand. Like the wolfs, like the chimps, we too have stratified our system. Perhaps all were NOT meant to be equal...


No one, absolutely no one, is above the Great Waffle.

Waffle-Talk

Again, imma mutt. I was born in Libertyville, IL, but I've lived in Raleigh, NC since I was one-and-a-half years old. My parents were both born and raised in Chicago, IL.

Many people have problems telling exactly where I'm from. Most Northerners can tell I'm from the South. The strength of my "Southern accent" varies depending on my social setting. Many southerns pick up on the subtle Northern influence on my speech from my parents.

When I'm around people with a thicker southern accent, I unconsciously talk more southern. Yes Ma'am, yes sir, dropping the "g" off of words n' such. I don't really see this as being chameleon.... it's just another part of who I am. I was raised around people who used "ma'am" and "sir" to show respect and as a kid I picked it up.

When I'm around Northerners my Southern accent fades a bit, at least the more identifying aspects of it. However, "y'all" tends to stick with me. I'm rather fond of that word for some reason.

I like the way I talk. A lot. I believe the way I speak is unique to me. It feels like a good mix between stereotypical educated speech, and interesting character. 

Sometimes I feel like a bit of an oddball because of the way I speak. I don't really feel like I fit into a specific "dialect." But then again, I've never been much of a conformist.

Because I've studied a lot of languages, I've picked up an even greater understanding of dialects outside of American colloquialisms.

Dialects are not unique to America. My first German teacher spoke with a Southern German accent. My second German teacher had a very harsh Northern German accent. They spoke very differently. I kind of miss hearing the southern German accent. My first German teacher was the first teacher I ever thought was hot. Sie war SEHR schon (there's an umlaut over the "o" but I can't type it in).

I'm really tired and too lazy to relate this to waffles right now. Sorry :(

Literacy, The BIG Picture

Header Postscript: You should read this (: I know it's long. Sorry :(

Literate- adjective, educated, cultured (merriam-webster.com).

Literate, literacy, whatever...  it's a funny word. No verb form, as mentioned by Lindquist's essay. What does it  really mean?

Complicated words are fun because they open opportunities to be clever. My favorite meaning of literacy is more often used in the negative. "He's political illiterate." "She's socially illiterate." What this really means is that  he doesn't understand politics and she is a socially awkward penguin. Literacy can  mean that someone has substantial knowledge in a certain area (or in the case of "illiterate," having a lack thereof).

But how does one gain this kind of "literacy?" Let's start with the obvious answer: reading books. Great place to start, a set of immortal thoughts preserved on a dead tree. There's a scene from some movie I can't remember about an alien who breezes through a thick book in a matter of seconds and remembers everything. Imagine if all we had to do to become literate, in anything, was to speed through books like this alien. The world would be full of a lot less dumb illiterate people.

Sadly, we can't just breeze through books, and we don't have all powerful memories. In fact, even with the multitude of media sources (e.g. T.V.'s, videos, interviews..) we STILL have trouble becoming the ALL literates. We can't possibly become literate in every subject. Somehow literacy escapes us, somehow, somewhere.

The best we can do is focus our time and refine our learning "tool-box," in hopes that we are literate. Skrew the  standardized tests. Not that they're not important... they're just not the point.

The point is... a lot of people-

-too many people,

Think literacy is about being able to read something and then know what it meant. They are dangerously over simplifying. They are missing the big picture.

We need to start addressing, globally, the important piece of what it means to be literate.... and how we can get there faster.

Time's running out... resources aren't infinite... and we need to learn quickly...

...for the sake of cultured civilizations that have learned to craft waffles...