Monday January 4, 2010

The French songwriter Jacques Brel wrote the following. It is lovely message I wish to share with you all as a nod to the New Year.

Our Deepest Fear.......

Je vous souhaite des rêves à n'en plus finir
Et l'envie furieuse d'en réaliser quelques uns.
Je vous souhaite d'aimer ce qu'il faut aimer
Et d'oublier ce qu'il faut oublier.
Je vous souhaite des passions. Je vous souhaite des silences.
Je vous souhaite des chants d'oiseaux au réveil
Et des rires d'enfants.
Je vous souhaite de résister à l'enlisement, à l'indifference, aux vertus négatives de notre époque.
Je vous souhaite surtout d'être vous!


Our Deepest Fear.......(English translation)
My wish for you is that you have a neverending series of dreams and a furious desire to realize a few of them.
My wish for you is that you love what must be loved and forget what must be forgotten.
I wish you passions. I wish you silences.
My wish for you is that you hear the songs of birds and the laughter of children at your awaking.
My wish for you is that you resist the downtroddenness, the indifference, the negative virtues of our era. My wish for you especially is that you be YOU!


New ASSIGNMENT:

We have three weeks left in this term and will spend it blogging. What this will entail is that every couple of days, you will have an article prompt to which you will respond. These responses should be subjective, much as one would write an editorial; however, they should not be diatribes, but insightful, reflective observations. At the same time, again like an editorial, there will be some controversy. Not everyone will have the same reaction.

Mechanics:
1. You need to connect to each other on the blog. Early on, I put together a list of folk's blog addresses. I'll hand out a copy to everyone. In class, let me know what is incorrect and I'll update it for tomorrow. In the meantime, put everyone in.

2. Read the article. They'll be one Tuesday.

3. Respond and post your article.

4, Now read some of your classmates' responses and respond to at least three of these. Again, these are not attacks, but thoughtful reflections and obserrvations. You may want to do a little background reading to support your arguments.