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Rachel Jenkins' E-Portfolio

The Art of Communication

I've got more than I could ever handle on my mind this weeks, which sucks especially because finals are right around the corner and I can't focus on anything. What I can't stop thinking about have been inspired by some pretty sucky recent events, all coming from a lack of communication. One of the questions we had to answer in class this semester is "is it okay to lie?" I know I said that it depends on the situation, but now being on the other side of it all i take it back. If something's on your mind, SAY IT. It takes the time and pain out of what happens when you put it off until later. Sure, you don't want to hurt feeling because you're a good person, but delaying the obvious hurts that other person more because of the fact that it is being delayed. Recently I've had someone tell me, "you don't need to worry about a thing; everything's fine." Obviously not. Why is it that much easier today to put off the obvious? Us as a society have regressed to taking the easy way out, or changing the means of our words to not cut too deeply sometimes. We choose our words, rather, our rhetoric, wisely as to not hurt someone. But how far does that rhetoric get us, really? Why can't we say how we feel, no strings attached? In my instance, I knew something was up for a couple weeks..things just felt sketchy. Which stressed me out because I didn't know what the hell was going on. So, as an ardent believer in communication (past relationships have shown me that when something doesn't get talked about, it festers), I brought up the situation at hand. I was then told millions of times that everything's okay. Why take the easy way out?! Here I am a couple weeks later finding out what I should have weeks ago. The art of communication is seriously messed up today. Have we as a society become so lazy that even being morally correct and honest are out of the question? Is it really that much more efficient to tell a few lies to pass the time? No. What we need to remember is the importance of honesty. Sure, the truth hurts, but lies kill. Hearing those rhetoric "comfort phrases" such as "it's fine" and "don't worry" give us some serious setbacks. Be honest people.

Tats

Lately I've been thinking a lot about tattoos. I don't know if it's the change in weather which has inspired some change in me, but I'm beginning to think differently about inking up one's body. Normally, I'd be completely against it. The mere act of permanently marking yourself up is kind of repulsive to me. I understand that people are inspired, moved, motivated, or whatever else by whatever event or cause, but I've always though that there has to be a better way to show your passions than to drill them into your skin. But then I started to do some research and ask a few of my roommates about their own tattoos as well. As is turned out, their reasonings were really touching. For instance, one of my roommates has three black stars on the top of her right foot, symbolizing the bond between her and her two sisters, who also have the same tattoo. Being a sibling, I absolutely loved the idea. I'm more close with my twin brother than I am with nearly anyone else on the planet, and nothing could ever change that. I guess I've never really been inspired by anything, so I never saw the purpose in getting tattoos. But I've had a change in heart and really appreciate the rhetoric of it all now. Tattoos are a bodily portrayal or manifestation of a person's beliefs. There's really no other rhetoric out there that speaks as powerful as a tattoo does. Tattoos can be a tribute to one's past and can tell a whole story. Everything is meaningful and has its own rhetoric within the process, even down to the decision of where to place it. I've always thought about getting a tattoo, but the topic has always been so taboo and has had such negative connotations within my family that I've never really given it any serious thought. But last week I decided to call up my mom and just ask her about tattoos, just for shits and gigs. And she was fine with it. I was floored by her reaction, but then I remembered it's my personal decision of what I'd chose to be inked onto me. My choice is what's changed my mother's mind. With all of my family strife going on lately, I've been really attached to the idea of "family first." My brother, in particular comes first. Recently he came out about being gay and it's been a trial and testimony of support for my family. But I realized that Drew is Drew and I love him irrevocably. He's my twin. So, I want to tat myself up with the tribal Gemini symbol on my foot. This symbol holds so much importance to me because not only are Drew and I Gemini, but the symbol for the Gemini zodiac sign are the twins. It's always been so fitting. I chose my foot because Drew and I have always walked the same journey all of our lives together, one step and one foot at a time, in the same unison with our strides.

Seriously, Just Do It.

After our rhetoric speeches earlier in the semester, I've begun to pay a lot closer attention to advertisements and the portrayals of their messages. The ad that I'm discussing here is one by Nike, which I think is pretty powerful. Situated in downtown Manhattan, it states “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow.” This is an old ad from Nike, dating from a couple of years ago. It doesn't really matter if it's older, it's always a good reminder to be proactive. Furthermore, it's timeless. This message is a simple one that stands the test of time because it's so true, and Nike knows that. The ad essentially guilts you into whatever you haven't done yet. In this case, since the target audience is made up of athletes, this ad guilts athletes into exercising, but through the use of Nike products. The colors are simple: black and white. This highlights the simple, "no-brainer" attitude of the advertisement.

Party in the USA

This week’s post is dedicated to the project my group recently just accomplished (although it was a HUGE pain in the ass… #techproblems). Our project’s focus was on the adverse effects of the teenage partying movies in modern society. Obviously one can see a few connections and correlations between movies and real life when it comes to partying in real life, but I really didn’t think about the actual consequences these movies bring upon today’s teenagers. There are 75,000 alcohol related deaths per year. 75,000. Per Year. That’s astounding. Now I’m not saying I’m the perfect human specimen because I’m really not. We’re all in college and I think we all know what that means. But these younger generations are concerning. What is a 12 year old going to think of Project X? It’s different for a kid my age. We’ve all been there and have experienced it and can logically conclude that a party of that caliber if kind of ridiculous. Wicked cool, but ridiculous and never really happens. But a 12 year old or any other age for that matter doesn’t know that. They think that that is what a party is supposed to be.  They’re probably more likely to abuse alcohol in drugs in a much scarier way as opposed to when older generations were growing up. When I was younger, American Pie was how I viewed college parties. At least at Penn State, they’re accurate, but still unrealistic. And that’s been enough to take 75,000 lives per year in itself. What is a young kid who is just starting to become curious about the party scene going to think if these party movies keep pushing the envelope? If movies like these keep emerging with fewer and fewer restrictions, I fear that death toll will continue to rise. I’m not saying to ban party movies because I like anyone else enjoy them. But there’s got to be some other way to dissuade some of that behavior some stupid kids decide to mimick.

Happy Hunger Games

Since I never actually read Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games until yesterday, clearly I never really understood the hype over the whole series. But I was so wrong. I literally couldn't put the book down yesterday and basically tossed my social life out the window by purchasing the next two books already. The plot itself within this book is fascinating. Given who ever would come up with a plot about making teenagers fight to the death to get food for their village is a little messed up, but still. It plays up Darwinism, fate, and luck. Those things together are so interesting because you really don't know how it could all play out. The ideas of the book are so basic too, it’s hard not to be completely captivated by the story. Pitting humans against one another for food, leveling us with the behaviors of animals in the wild. I think it’s really cool and is a huge reason why the book was a huge success. I also like how Collins right off the bat acknowledges a forming relationship between Katniss and Peeta. In the back of your mind, you can’t help but keep reading to see what happens between them because at the end of the Hunger  Games event, there’s only one winner. So how could their friendship or romance play out?

What I love the most about books like The Hunger Games is that for the first time in a long time since the Harry Potter Series, it got people to read. Not enough people read “for fun;” it’s almost always school related lately. I can’t even tell you the last time I read for fun, honestly. Reading this book made me appreciate reading for fun again. I really did forget how enjoyable it can be and I plan to read more books on my own over the summer now. The power of a book is ridiculous. 

Media's Influence

I was listening to some music today and came across some pretty astounding lyrics that I never really thought about before. On Pandora, I just happened to be listening to some Kid Cudi and notices some shocking lyrics. In his Pursuit of Happiness, Cudi says, "I don't care, hand on the wheel, driving drunk I'm doing my thing." Kid Cudi's a pretty influential rapper to a lot of young kids today. Like any celebrity, kids look to see what Cudi's doing and then try to mimic that. I think the fact that he's talking about drunk driving in his song his awful. I mean I get it, people have their personal choices they make. Sadly I can't say I've never driven drunk, and I know it's wrong and it's not too fun in the moment. It's actually pretty scary. But endorsing drunk driving through your own song? Now come on, that's not okay. Do what you want and live your life, but you're sending out an awful message. It's not like anyone's like "yeah I do meth, I'm the shit" and is trying to endorse meth to the general public. Cudi's basically telling kids that drunk driving is a cool thing to do, regardless of the life-threateneing risks. He's giving kids permission to go out and do something that could potentially kill them. That doesn't make Cudi that cool to me anymore. In fact, he's kind of a douche now. Driving drunk really doesn't make you sound cool. It's pathetic that Cudi would think he'd have to rap about that to try to get some badass credibility. Just stick to  rapping about weed, because that won't actually kill you.

Daniil Kharms

In one of my classes I’m taking this semester, I’ve been learning about soviet Russia’s means of war and daily life propaganda from a wide specter of the Russian society. An author I’ve found incredibly fascinating is Danil Kharms. His style of writing is absurdist theatre, something I had absolutely no idea existed. It is based on the idea that it’s really not supposed to serve any particular purpose. In fact, there really isn’t that much substance to an absurdist text in general. People have been racking their brains for years trying to figure out what the hell Kharms was talking about, but to no avail. I love this style of writing because of its very nature: go crazy, be creative. Given, Kharms’ short stories are pretty disturbing and horrifying, but I think I’ve actually been able to give a few some meaning. I mean, they had to serve some significance to my class, right? Here’s a link to a cite encompassing the gist of his works, but I’ll also post a really short story of his that really sums up what he’s all about. As it turns out, the Soviets HATED Kharms. Their whole thing was to have a solid, conservative, factual consensus of every aspect of their lives. The fact that they couldn’t hold writers like Kharms down is fascinating to me.

            There’s not much that can be said about Kharms’ rhetoric or personal style of his writing since it’s literally brain diarrhea. But I think the kairos of this absurdist literature and theatre is so cool. It’s as if Kharms wanted to mess with the Soviets on purpose. It’s hard to say if his writings or plays were effective, but his target audience was children interestingly enough. How could a child possibly endure this type of writing?  I’d get so many nightmares. Was he trying to brainwash kids? I have no idea and I kind of don’t want to know; he creeps me out a little bit.

http://www.sevaj.dk/kharms/kharmseng.htm

Die Rhetorik der Deustschen

Inventur

Von Günter Eich (1907-1977)

Dies ist meine Mütze,

dies ist mein Mantel,

hier mein Rasierzeug

im Beutel aus Leinen.

 Konservenbüchse:

Mein Teller, mein Becher,

ich hab in das Weissblech

den Namen geritzt.

 Geritzt hier mit diesem kostbaren Nagel,

den vor begehrlichen Augen ich berge.

 Im Brotbeutel sind

ein Paar wollene Socken

und einiges, was ich

niemand verrate,

so dient es als Kissen

nachts meinem Kopf.

Die Pappe hier liegt

zwischen mir und der Erde.

 Die Bleistiftmine

lieb ich am meisten:

Tags schreibt sie mir Verse,

die nachts ich erdacht.

 Dies ist mein Notizbuch,

dies meine Zeltbahn,

dies ist mein Handtuch,

dies ist mein Zwirn.

This is a poem I read last semester in my German literature class that really stuck with me. Instead of wasting an entire page translating this for everyone, I'll just sum it up. The author, Guenter Eich, was a holocaust survivor. In this peom, Eich describes his daily life while living in a concentration camp. This poem illustrates to its readers the simplicity of life and the importance of the bare necessities one needs to live. The grammar is short and sweet as compared to the typical lengthy sentences one often finds in German literature. The importance of this grammar is that it highlights the idea of "simplicity." You don't need much to live, and this poem is certainly a testament to that. The title of the poem "Inventur" translates directly to "Inventure", which is exactly what the poem is all about. Eich lists, in a very simple way, the items he is able to live with in his camp bunk. He mentions items such as a hat, a razor blade, a jacket, a linen bag, a tin can he carved his name into, socks, a nail used for writing, and the list goes on. As you can see, he doesn't have much. What's interesting is Eich's emphasis on the fact that he has his name etched into a tin can. It makes that can his own; he finds beauty in having something left to his name that's so basic to mankind: a writing utensil. I've always liked this poem because the rhetoric is so impressive. Eich's use of simple writing really illustrates the significance and impact the holocaust had on his life. Eich's simplicity exaggerates the giant impact Hitler had on the world at the time. Read aloud, this poem, no matter what language you can speak or understand, screams "basic." There are so many natural pauses exactly where they should be, which carries over into such a somber vibe. Although in German, this is one of my favorite pieces of literature.