In the manner of Keats, Shelley, and Byron. . .

I am not a fan of poetry; I hate most of it, in fact. Some of it however is good, but those poems are quite rare. With that said, I had to write a lyrical poem for my British Literature class. I thought it turned out badly--not quite living up to the master plan in my mind--but it was well recieved in my peer review group even though it has an extremely lose form. So, I will post it here for your reading pleasure. If you are a poetry critic, please be kind; I'm a little embarrassed.

Lamentation of Silence

Mute are the muses that guide me
in the presence of these sirens
that invade my reverie
haunting me always
with their melodies
that whisper
in the wind and down the byways
like something from a dream
remembered and forgotten.

I pray you, Speak! Feel my plight
ere this holy specter vanishes
from the pleasure of my sight
but not my soul
where her eternal absence
will wroth and roil
like a tangle of serpents
flailing and striking
until all is still.

Come muse, Speak!
Curse these words that choke
Curse this love that binds
my thoughts and words
to formless theory and bitter hope
Speak, and grant me sanity
let heart and mind end this violence
and come together
to end this
the utterance of my silence.

~Joseph Devenport

Palin vs. Biden

I just finished watching the VP debate and I just want to say that I think Palin did quite well. A small town Alaskan, 2 year governor, took on a 30 year career politician and DID NOT LOSE! And considering the media bias against her over the last few weeks I think that this is a great victory for her.

Biden was a little more polished and spouted off more numbers, as expected; tonight he showed himself for what he is, a career politician. Palin was much more eloquent than even I expected, though she tended to give broader answers at times, but it's like she said at one point, she's only been doing this for five weeks.

Anyway, Biden had a strong showing, but I have to give the victory to Palin for exceeding all expectations.

Quote of the Moment

I came across this quote in my Literature and Film class today. It's pretty good.

"The Lord of the Rings is a touchstone. If someone dislikes it, I shall never trust [his] literary judgement about anything again. It is a touchstone for more than literary judgement; it is a touchstone for one's whole personality. Those who love Tolkien are almost always good people, honest people. Some are Hobbit like and some are Elvish, but none are Orcish. Not all Tolkien haters are Orcs, but all Orcs are Tolkien haters." ~W.H. Auden

Pride and Prejudice

Here are a few of my thoughts on Pride and Prejudice, which I am reading--for the second time in the last year--in my British Literary History II class.

First of all I have to give praise to Jane Austen for her absolute brilliance. In her creation of this story, she wrote one of the best love stories in history, as proven by it's popularity these days--I know of only one girl that has not read it. Jane Austen also gave life to some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever read. And she is a master of dialogue which feels authentic but so often drips with wit and sarcasm. . . which makes the interplay between her characters so fascinating.

I know of a few guys who have read this book and not liked it, but for the most part I think Pride and Prejudice has a real appeal for the male gender. Personally, I relate to Mr. Darcy. I understand him. In fact, I relate so well to him that Internet personality tests tend to give him as an example of my personality type. It's a shame that I don't have his whole rich thing going on. . .

As far as the filmic adaptations go, I have to disagree with pretty much every woman that I have ever talked too. The 2005 version directed by Joe Wright and starring Kiera Knightly is by far the best. I know that it isn't as true to the book, but it is a far better as a film. I do think that Colin Firth is absolutely brilliant as Mr. Darcy in the older TV mini-series but that isn't enough to sway me--I think Matthew Macfadyen is highly undervalued for his role as Mr. Darcy. But characters aside (I'll come back to them), the 2005 movie is beautifully filmed while the other two major versions feel like sophisticated soap operas with simplistic camera work and staged scenes counterbalanced by intelligent dialogue. The new version also has an excellent musical score which was, I believe, nominated for an Academy Award. Now, back to the characters. Kiera Knightly is BY FAR the best Elizabeth Bennett of any version, and not just because I am more attracted to her. If you look in her eyes--where Elizabeth Bennett exists, that's why Darcy fell for her in the first place, her "fine eyes"--you'll see that Kiera Knightly becomes Elizabeth Bennett to the core. None of the other actresses who have portrayed Elizabeth have captured the same tomboyish wild spirit that Kiera Knightly did, which is unfortunate, because that was an important aspect of Elizabeth Bennett's character. Donald Sutherland is also quite good as Mr. Bennett, though his role is much reduced from the book, and Judy Dench is perfect as Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Rosamund Pike is also an excellent Jane, and I really liked Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins.

Anyway, I didn't intend to blab that much about the film, but it's pretty well done; an excellent job of putting Jane Austen's story into a 2 hour film.

The long and short of things is that Jane Austen is pretty cool, and reading Pride and Prejudice is not a painful experience, even for guys.

Secrets of the Universe

I think I've had a rather astounding discovery. The other day in my Literature and Film class, we were talking about romance addiction--yes, you really can become addicted to the idea/feeling of romance. . . candlelight dinners, exotic beaches, having that picture perfect someone at your side. A strange topic, I know, but really we've been discussing the Western ideal of romance as found in mythology like Tristan and Isuelt--basically, love at first sight and all that stuff--which leads us to this problem that people have with romance addiction. So the conversation meandered along, and I was mostly asleep, but as the topic started shifting over to the idea of the fantasies that people create for themselves I became more alert for two reasons. The first reason is that as a self proclaimed writer, I deal in fantasy. I depend on my ability to create situations--romantic or otherwise--with my mind, so I started to wonder if maybe writers are perhaps romance addicts at heart (maybe not Tom Clancy, but certainly Nora Roberts and Stephanie Myer). But that's not really the heart of this blog, the second reason was because I had an epiphany.

I know why there is so much divorce and crime and stuff. I know why society is degenerating so quickly. It's because things are too good. People have too much time to indulge in their fantasies, but worse than that, people fantasize about things that are within the realm of possibility. You want a bigger house? You can get it. You want a supermodel at your side? Not impossible. Sure, you might have to sacrifice things like your family or your soul, but just about anything is possible these days. This is perhaps the only time in history where such social mobility is possible, and people fantasize about that. They always dream about how things could be better, and that's why things are so bad. Because they stop caring about now.

Let's rewind a couple hundred years or so. . . no, let's go even farther back. . . err, let's forget picking a specific time, but rather, let's pick a lifestyle. Farmers. Before all these technological creations that make farming much easier, farmers labored in the fields all day with their hands. Work started early, and ended late. Even the women worked hard. People were so involved in work they didn't have time to fantasize, and if they did, their fantasies just weren't possible. A farmer couldn't really fantasize about having an affair with a supermodel because they didn't exist, and it just wasn't possible. A farm wife couldn't dream about a romantic getaway in Tahiti because that wasn't possible either.

Worse, our society today capitalizes on this. Movies and books paint pretty little pictures about the ideal romance, the ideal home, the ideal woman/man, the ideal car, blah, blah, blah. Life and love should be fast paced and full of excitement. We are bombarded on all sides by these ideals that are possible, but not realistic. And so, people become disenchanted with the now. They cannot be satisfied with what they have, and they constantly believe that obtaining the next thing will make them happy. It only brings them misery, because they leave behind the things that are really important.

Yup, we're decaying because things are too good, and because we dream about how they could be better.

Time to Spoil Myself?

I've decided to buy a new electric guitar. This decision comes because my current electric guitar is around 10 years old, and it doesn't sound right with itself--no matter how much you tune it. It was a cheap starter guitar, but it hasn't always been this bad. I'm no musical prodigy, like my young brother, but I can't stand instruments being out of tune. Pretty much, my current electric makes me wince when I play it. And, I bought a couple text books today for one class, tiny little things, but they almost cost $200. If I can pay that kind of money for a couple cheap little books, then I can buy myself a nice electric guitar! So, I am considering this beauty.

And I might possibly throw in this amp as an early Christmas present or something.

Let me know if you think that you can find me a prettier guitar and amp for under $500.

Politics Again!

It's just that time of season. Here are my latest thoughts on politics.

First of all, I'm surprised with the intensity of the liberal media's attack on Sarah Palin. She is NOT running for President. One of the major things that they are throwing against her is her lack of political experience. Somehow there is something wrong here. The liberals are using Sarah Palin's lack of political experience as a smoke screen to hide Obama's--and I do realize that he has more than twice as much political experience as Palin; 4 yrs as a Senator and 7 yrs in the Illinois Senate, but, he is running for PRESIDENT. Relatively that's barely any experience at all.

Also, I've been reading Internet comments from readers of the Salt Lake Tribune, who's readership seems to be largely liberal. I'm restraining myself from calling them names, but the word ignorant comes quickly to mind. They are using instances from Alaskan politics in an effort to discredit her. Please people, if you don't understand Alaskan politics, keep your comments to yourselves. Hunting predators from airplanes (And I'll state right now that I am NOT a hunter) is important for a significant portion of Alaskans who SURVIVE by living off the land. When the predator populations are out of control, these humans have nothing to eat. And please, don't say that they can go to the store. The vast majority of communities in Alaska live off of any established road system and all the goods have to be flown in, if there even is a store. I'd invite anybody (SL Tribune readers!!!) to pay $20 for a jar of peanut-butter WITHOUT that cushy job. Suddenly hunting becomes a good option, and suddenly wolves become a danger to your existence. Idiots!

Now let me talk a little bit about the 2nd amendment. I may not be a hunter, but I strongly believe in the right to bear arms. I don't understand how any man, or woman, would not desire to possess a way to protect themselves or their family. I'm sorry people, I wish it didn't, but crap happens ALL the time, even in peaceful cities like Provo, UT. People can't depend on the rule of law, or Police, or somebody else to protect them. Therefore, they should have the means to protect themselves, if they wish. A gun is a tool, a tool that allows an individual to protect themselves, and others. When a benevolent government can ensure that crime does not exist, and that the neighborhood pit bull isn't going to maul my child (this is a little more important in Alaska), then I will gladly beat my guns into plow blades or whatever, until then, I keep a loaded gun with me as much as legally possible.

If man is the cause of Global Warming, I would really like to know what we have been doing on the planets other than Earth. I didn't know that my driving an SUV would raise the temperature on other planets in the solar system. I wish someone would explain the physics of that to me.

This kind of turned into a rant. Sorry. On a lighter note, BYU thrashed UCLA on Saturday 59-0. That was an awesome game to watch. By the end I felt really bad for UCLA, especially after they couldn't even score on our third string defense.