What I Learned at Faire: Week 2

1. Pillows are a must when camping.

2. So is Benadryl.

3. I am really missing having more time to interact with patrons.

4. Angry Orchard Cider is delicious.

5. The jousters' skill at dramberries is impressive, intimidating, and when I think about it a little disturbing.

6. I really do feel closer to everyone this year.

7. I need to work on more really quick interacting "bits" with patrons as well as other cast members since my time is indeed limited.

8. Odette Baguette is absolutely hilarious and a little bit naughty.

9. I felt absolutely fabulous when, after a joust, a young lady wanted a picture with me to put in her scrapbook.

10. Parade is way more fun when not trying to keep patrons from trying to get too close to Gracie.

11. And once again my fellow cheerleaders are awesome!!!!

What I Learned at Festival: Week 1

Things I learned from Faire Week 1

1. Being a cheerleader for joust did not get any easier despite this being my 2nd year. 

2. A "thank you" from Sir Rolland made cheering a lot more worthwhile.

3. As Mandie said in her post: I need to sit more. My legs are singing today and the song is not "Rambling Rover."

4. I helped make a child's day by interrupting the queen's probably much-needed rest so she could meet Delilah. Thank you Beth!

5. Walking to pavilion after 2nd joust is hilarious when you are telling religious jokes. Thank you John and Beth for the stimulating conversation.

6. It's all fun and games in the rain until it gets cold.

7. Forgetting your pillow sucks when camping.

8. When using the port-a-potty at night, the flashlight made it look like the TARDIS. I also thought Matthew's blinking of the flashlight enhanced the effect.

9. Parade is a lot more fun when you are in front of Celtic Legacy.

10. It was very humbling being confused for one of the gals from Hey Nunnie Nunnie. I am nowhere near these wonderful a ladies' caliber.

11.  Kitty Kjeldsen, Amy DeHerrera, Kathrynne Watson, and Lizzie are awesome!! That is all

For Love of the Festival

   I have finished my 2nd weekend as Sister Helen Baque at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. This is my second year as a festival performer, and I have learned many things. These posts will come soon. I am finally doing something that I absolutely love. Now the big trick will be to keep the enthusiasm and passion running high throughout next school year.

Connotation and Denotation

I found the ideas in chapter 1 about language the most relevant to me. I especially like the idea that "there are no longer any innocent words" (40). This quote seems especially true now in our age of political correctness. I was thinking of all the mascot drama when I read this. I also had an AHA moment when the book put into words what I struggle with as a teacher of language as far as vocabulary is concerned. "The all-purpose word in the dictionary, a product of the neutralization of the practical relations within which it functions, has no social existence: in practice, it is always immersed in situations" (39). I took this as saying that a dictionary definition is useless in that it has no meaning outside a public or societal discourse. The word then only has a meaning when it is assigned one inside a social context. This gave me the insight that I really needed to help defend my method of teaching vocabulary. I don't care if the dictionary definition is memorized in its entirety. I insist on students being able to actually use the word in their writing and everyday discourse. Oddly enough, students have more difficulty placing the words into a situation (sentences) than they do with memorization. I have also had a run in with veteran teachers who insist that it isn't until they know the definition that they can use the words correctly which of course I have already proven incorrect based on previous test scores.

Hegemony

I am not sure of the purpose of hegemony other to provide for a gray area as opposed to the black and white way that Marx has set up the base and superstructure. I must admit I am struggling with these ideas as well. I have always (until this point) felt that what Williams includes in the hegemony has always existed in the superstructure, so I guess this is a new lesson in Marxism for me. Culture and ideology have existed in the superstructure for me as I have always thought of them in terms of them being attached to or a part of the legal and political (superstructure). What bothers me is the necessity of trying to break apart the pieces into so many parts that the message and ideas thus the whole point of using Marxism as a lens to approach "art" get lost in the complexities of societal analysis. We have extremely complex societies, and, I think, we recognize this. This does not make the base-superstructure approach wrong; it only makes our job as close readers much more complex in how we handle the relationships within complex societies and the works which are products of them.