In my initial blog post I talked about my research project being ethnographical. In last Monday's class I realized that it is, more acurately, a learning history. I was previously unfamiliar with this term, but should have been able to intuit it. By interviewing my subject, drawing out her narrative, listening to and recording her stories, we are constructing the story of her life. We are, in effect, learning the history together.

The five salient points about a learning history that Dr. Amidon mentioned describe perfectly what I am learning while undergoing this process:

1.      Storytelling can be valuable.

2.      Different voices can join together to tell a complete narrative.

3.      Research doesn’t end with the final project, but can be reviewed with the participants.

4.      Researchers and subjects come together in a continuing process. (this is currently my favorite part.)

5.      It’s not just studying a culture, but aims to change it for the better.

Okay, I'll admit that I haven't exactly figured out how number 5 comes into play, but am sure it will become clear as my project continues.

There is a scene in the 1981 movie Arthur where he is sitting quietly in the back of his limo, then suddenly says, “Oh!”, throws back his head and begins laughing hysterically. His lady friend asks what’s so funny, to which he replies,"I sometimes just think funny things."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUiCFk2HB94

Sometimes if there isn’t enough laughter in my day, I’ll conjure up a humorous memory and make like Arthur. For instance, the other day I was remembering one very cold winter day on the IU campus when my friend and I came upon a dead squirrel. I picked up its stiff form in my gloved hands and carefully positioned it, in an active pose, in the crook of a tree. That poor thing remained there “running up the tree” until the spring thaw, which gave me the giggles every time I walked by.

Heard from the team's sideline at Soe Moe's soccer game: "I'm beginning to question the validity of those calls!" That has to be the politest way I've ever heard a coach issue a challenge. Then again, this is a sport where they call the officials "sir".

To announce my new blog I sent certain people--the privileged few--an email with the subject line "I blog, therefore I am," to which Russ Eplett replied:

I blog, therefore I am. Translated to Ciceronian or Caesarian Latin this, of course, becomes – Bloggo ergo sum – as "seize the blog" becomes carpe bloggo – and "I came, I saw, I blogged" becomes – veni, vidi, Bloggi. Of course, there is Caesar’s now famous commentaries on the Gallic Blog that opens with "Omnia Bloggia in Partes tres divisa est." (All blogs are divided into three parts). Latin is so revealing!

Russ, non sum dignus!

The project I plan to pursue for my ENG C625 course is to help someone who I believe has had a very interesting life tell her story, as either a biographical work or an assisted memoir. This is an idea I've had for quite some time, and am grateful for this impetus to pursue it now.

For this week, we are to lay some groundwork for our project. I don't know if these qualify as research questions, but they are issues I've wrestled with while determining whether to pursue this project:

> How do we decide whether a person's life story is "worthy" of being told?
> Who deems whether or not a life is "interesting enough" to record?
> Must a writing project necessarily be potentially publishable or of commercial interest in order to be pursued?
> Will readers only care about a person's story if he/she a celebrity, or can the uniqueness of a life generate others' interest?
> How can I best help my friend elucidate her story while keeping the writing uniquely mine?

> Will this in-depth ethnography stand alone with its qualitative aspect? In such a project where might I find quantitative aspects? (Perhaps the latter will come from accompanying genealogical research.)

I dozed repeatedly during the 3rd quarter of Colts/Vikings today. A Sunday afternoon football game snooze would not be remarkable, but for the fact that I was AT the game. Yesiree, high up in section 637 of the engineering marvel that is Lucas Oil Stadium, in a hard seat, in person at a live NFL game for only the second time in my life, and I kept nodding off.

I was rudely awakened at one point when a groan moved through the crowd like the wave--not a reaction to something that happened on the field, but nearby patrons commiserating with the guy who tripped while coming back up the stairs with a beer in each hand. At $7.50 a pop, they were very sympathetic. Only one person asked if he was okay, the rest were counting how few drops he spilled and congratulating him on a remarkable save.

Okay, so, HumorMeDaily because I love to laugh. Laughter is vital to our overall well being. I'm always on the lookout for humorous comments and situations. I hunt for them, listen for them, and, more often than not, instigate them. Each time I post I'll try to include a funny, in the hopes that you will be able to share the mirth. 

Today one of my laugh-out-louds was courtesy of Charlie Pierce during the final "Prediction" round on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! (the NPR news quiz). The question: What will be the next You Tube video to cause protests? The answer: Catholics protest as Clint Eastwood reenacts the Council of Trent with an entire dining room set.