Homework 9.8.2014

The Monastery and the Clock

1. I think that without time I would appreciate my life moreso in terms of quality over quantity because, without measurable time, you lose the aspect of repetition of life.  I wouldn't know how long I had to do my errands or assignments or when to show up for work.  I would be in constant limbo of where I had to be and what had to get done.  I rely so much on my wristwatch throughout the day, so I would go crazy without that sense of order in my life.

2. As the need for organization became more and more of a necessity for the church, the need for clocks became more desperate.  Back then, people were trying to keep up with the physics set by God and wanted to appease his rules of life.  Today, time has taken a much more personal agenda.  Despite the fact that we all use time to measure our personal and societal goals instead those of a religious figure, we still devoutly obey by the rules of the clock.  Today it is near impossible against the ticking of the clock and still life a lucrative life.

3. The article goes so far as to declare the clock to be the "key-machine of the modern industrial age."  Once people had a stricter agenda, they couldn't rely on organic time to abide by.  Mechanical time is measured by humans with the invention of the clock - seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.  Organic time is based on the natural events that happen repetitively with our without our consent.  This includes the pulse in your wrist, the changing of seasons, the Spring birthing season, etc.  These measurements (dubbed duration by Bergson) are much more irregular and are object to fluctuations.

4.  The article states that each culture has its own principal perceptions of time and space and then appropriates others' notions into their own to reinforce their opinion.  On a larger scale, each culture throughout history lives in its own conceptual time and space, whether it be phases of the moon, the passing of the stars, the growing season of crops, or the days on a calendar.  The relationship with history changes with the current society's priorities.  With the invention of the clock, people knew precisely how much could be done in a given time, ultimately making the world more prolific as a whole.

Project 1 Brainstorming

I brainstorm best when I reflect upon myself to come up with a plot.  I feel like I get a much more intimate relationship with my piece when it reflects me.

1.  In my work, I have a reoccurring theme of surrendering or clutching to childhood because it is a topic that I personally struggle with in my life.  I have an idea of a plot in which the set starts off very childish and cute, but then devolves as the main character struggles to cope with the drudgeries of adulthood.  The set would turn very grim very fast as the main character tries to adapt to this new life with responsibilities.

2.  I am a very competitive person, regardless of the task at hand.  I have an ingrained and itching desire to be the best at everything I do.  I have an idea of an object with many layers (ogres have layers, onions have layers) such as a ball.  It starts off very pristine and shiny.  The ball rolls around and sees the beauty of the world around it.  Whenever it rolls up to something it envies, it sheds a part of itself to become like that object.  This happens again and again until the ball shreds itself into an unrecognizable mess, losing its original identity.

3.  I love physical contact.  I love hugs, I love when people play with my hair, I love piggy-back rides, I love lumping up in a ball and watching a movie, I love smushing babies.  I get this a lot with my family back home, but I largely keep to myself here in Gainesville.  My circle of friends certainly favors quality over quantity, but there's a gap in the touchy-feely department.  Somewhere down the road, I don't know when, my displays of affection turned sarcastic and my hugs turned into vicious games of "punch buggy green one no punch-backs."  

I have an idea of an intimidating monster that is thrown into a new environment (school perhaps) and smothers/hurts everybody it meets.  Most respond negatively, either by inching away, cowering in fear, or blowing up in his face.  Scary Mr. Monster pays no mind and continues to pester its peers.  Time passes and everyone goes home for vacation (albeit in a slightly worse condition than when they got there).  Scary Mr. Monster goes home to his mom, who tackles and smothers him, leaving him battered and bruised.  Moment of tension before Mr. Monster smiles and brawls with his family.