Remember This

These are the things to remember for the test on February 20th: 

-Danielle's roommate's cooler, which has nothing important in it, and has therefore not been emptied.

-John Nay's 21st birthday on February 20th.

-Sutter's image of Malpomene, Mel Gibson eating a pomegranate. 

-Dr. Sexson's next appointment to give blood on March 17, on which day his blood will be green.

-Test -> Testimony -> Testicle. Enough said. 

Now to the first loci experiment. I've come up with my own types of association.

1. Thermostat: Erato, because erotic poetry makes people all hot and bothered.

2. Blackboard:Urania, because Uranus is in a black sky.

3. Screen: Melpomene, because I can't get Mel Gibson out of my head and he's on the big screen.

4. "Quiet" desk: Terpsichore, because sitting at a quiet desk is a chore.

5. Overhead projector: Clio, because Miss Cleo projects futures. 

6. Old table: Euterpe, because the word reminds me of Europe and it is the old country. 

7. Bulletin board: Calliope, because a bulletin board calls for posters. 

8. "Let it snow" drawing: Polyhymnia, because "Let It Snow" is a song.

9. "F" thing: Thalia, because two F's back-to-back make a T. 

Provocation

In beginning to read our three books, I've made note of what stood out to me most in each of them.

Orality and Literacy: "...we can never forget enough of our familiar present to reconstitute in our minds any past in its full integrity," pg. 15. (I explained my interest in an earlier blog)

The Art of Memory: "Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs," pg. 10. Looking at the best ways to construct a memory image, Yates suggests finding something that "arouses emotional affects" through images that are as striking as possible. Here she cites Ad Herennium, in which the author gives some grotesque image examples. We tend to find things beautiful or obscene only if they are out of the ordinary--thus provoking an emotional response. In this way, we are to use only striking images to our memory's advantage.

Wisdom of the Mythtellers: "Much revivalist mythology is really psychology, cutting across cultural difference with the mistaken assumption that there is a universal world of myth which is true to all peoples past and present because it is true to eternal powers in the human psyche," pg. 14. I'm a fan of Jung and Campbell, so I had to be provoked by this passage. It seems like Kane is suggesting that the archetype is a false impression; that there is no unconscious human understanding of the myth and its generally formulaic expression. He doesn't go into much detail to defend this claim in his prologue, though I hope he does later in the book. Maybe he is suggesting that we have fabricated this universal myth. He goes into a discussion about early humans and their origins, and perhaps he is just arguing that all myths were created essentially out of a singular beginning. I'm not sure what to think about this...

Musings

In my Restoration and Eighteenth Century literature class, I've come across some interesting quotes about literacy in terms of the emergence of the novel:

"Trust not your memory, but put all remarkable, notable things you shall meet with in your books sub salva custodia of pen and ink." -The Earl of Argyle, 1661

"A book or manuscript is a surrogate friend, an ornament of the mind and library, an oracle of enduring truths, a property to be possessed, marked, transcribed, and committed to memory."

Reading is "communing silently with an oracular author." 

The Orality of Language:

"...we can never forget enough of our familiar present to reconstitute in our minds any past in its full integrity." 

Ong is talking specifically here about orality versus literacy. He says that "for most literates, to think of words as totally dissociated from writing is simply too arduous a task to undertake." I think this fits in nicely with our discussion of memory; it's a difficult task to live day to day with all our past transgressions in the forefront of our minds, leading us away from (often repeated) mistakes. We're supposed to learn from history and carry our burdens like baggage. 

I see Ong's "orality" as our "memory"; his "literacy" as our "action." Our "familiar present" is action and our "past," void of its "full integrity," is memory. In order to continue in our action and to move forward, we are often unconsciously forced to forget our past: "We have to die to continue living." 

Notes

Here are some of my notes I found... noteworthy:

-Writing is a method of storage. It is a technology, an extension of the body, and it is inevitable.

-Writing is a form of memorization; orality is ephemeral, "gone with the wind," so we must write it down. 

-Writing is authoritative to orality.

-We think in terms of words because writing has become so internalized; writing changes our consciousness. 

-How do you know what you think until you see what you say?

-We interiorize technology until it becomes "natural."

-The oral tradition values the carnal.

Some vocabulary:

-Chirographic- writing

-Typographic- typing, printing

-Luddism- an opposition to technological development 

-Primary orality- the orality of cultures untouched by literacy, relying on the spoken word through memorization, repetition and story-telling

-Secondary orality- the orality of telephones, radio, and television, which depends on writing and print for its existence

The 9 Muses:

Callipoe- chief muse and muse of epic poetry

Clio- muse of history

Erato- muse of love or erotic poetry

Euterpe- muse of music and lyric poetry

Melpomene- muse of tragedy

Polyhymnia- muse of sacred song, oratory, singing and rhetoric

Terpsichore- muse of choral song and dance

Thalia- muse of comedy

Urania- muse of astronomy 

The Dance

Concretely, memory is about factual, knowledgeable recall-- and it's easy to say that it happens in the mind, but it also happens in the senses. Memories are feelings; they are cold, wet nights and bright, soft afternoons. They are dewey grasses, warm breezes and smooth skin. 

The one thing that takes me to another place, to another memory, more than any other, is music. It's always been a huge part of my life and has been there for almost every event that I have ever experienced. It follows, then, that music can take me almost anywhere I have ever been. It brings me emotions, smells, sights and sounds. 

It's amazing how vivid memory can be if it is shared by the senses. Memory is like a dance: it makes sense when in formation, but is beautiful when it's free.