EVOLUTE99's Common Place

Okay another punctuation mark that I continually botch is the comma.  So now I meditate on MLA's use of the comma. 3.2.2. Commas a. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction ( and , but , for , nor , or , so , or yet ) joining independent clauses in a sentence.  Congress passed the bill, and the president signed it into law. The poem is ironic, for the poet’s meaning contrasts with her words. But the comma may be omitted when the sentence is short and the connection between the clauses is not open to misreading if unpunctuated.  Wallace sings and Armstrong plays cornet. b. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and clauses in a series. Words Boccaccio’s tales have inspired plays, films, operas, and paintings. Phrases Alfred the Great established a system of fortified towns, reorganized the military forces, and built a fleet of warships. Clauses In the Great Depression, millions lost their jobs, businesses fail...

  Herzog "Readings" (101-163)      " Have to go back. Not able to stand kindness at this time. Feelings, heart, everything in strange condition. Unfinished business " (108). This note is actually one Herzog leaves for his hosts, the Sisslers. The Unfinished business is what Moses Herzog is after in the entire novel, and certainly could be a major theme of the novel.  The Vineyard Haven not being the place for Moses at this point, he must move on, and return to his home and continue searching within his own element. I have often felt like this many times. I have been places, then all of a sudden I want to leave. Not because the place is dreary or not entertaining, but because there is something left undone somewhere else. Herzog definitely must finish his business. Herzog completely wrapped up in himself leads to a world that on the outside he cannot cope with. He is safer in his own mind and thoughts, and searching for the answers.    ...

Post Modernism  A rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective, anonymous experience. Collage, diversity, the mystically unrepresentable, Dionysian passion are the foci of attention. Most importantly we see the dissolution of distinctions, the merging of subject and object, self and other. This is a sarcastic playful parody of western modernity and the "John Wayne" individual and a radical, anarchist rejection of all attempts to define, rectify or re-present the human subject. http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0242.html  

Bellocq's Ophelia by Natasha Trethewey My rating: 5 of 5 stars I actually had the pleasure of hearing Nastasha Trethewey read selections form Bellocq's Ophelia in New Orleans. After reading the work and then hearing the author bring the words to life, it was an experience I will never forget. She was amazing. Poetry is fantastic, and Trethewey's approach was fantastic. With Bellocq's Ophelia Trethewey brought life to the character creating words into a film of the mind. View all my reviews

  Herzog  "Reading" (1-101) For Moses Herzog life is moving too fast. His mind moves rapidly He catches up with what he has missed by writing letters endlessly. Through his letter writing Herzog is explaining life after the fact. When he is in the moment he can’t react, so his outlet is to write. Herzog is looking for the answer of how to react in the moment. He is the type of character that just misses the moments that matter. He also has this amazing ability to be at fault for all actions, for example his best friend sleeps with his wife then it appears that Herzog is at fault by Phoebe, Valentine’s wife, for the matter. The Narrator adds, “Moses was sure that she [Phoebe] blamed him for aggravating Valentines' ambitions” (65). The hilarity of the situation is that no matter what Herzog has done he is the culprit. Of course, most of these debilitating thoughts come directly from Herzog’s mind. He has a good reason to think such thoughts, but his inability to be...

For years I have struggled with the dreaded apostrophe. I remember setting in my freshman composition class claiming to be a master of apostrophe usage. I felt I knew the rule. I, surely, had a firm grasp on it. But! In writing I found out I didn’t. I would make stupid mistakes like not signaling the possessive with an apostrophe. Worst of all, I would place apostrophes everywhere for no reason. So, after my professor pointed out that I continued to make these detail orientated mistakes. I have decide to isolate the problem. So the best way to do this is have a check list available when proof reading.   Proof Reading Check List: Check all possessives for correct punctuation Check proper nouns for correct usage look at dates and contractions Check usage of It's and Its (should not be a problem but I have been wrong before) MLA Handbook Usage 3.2.7 Apostrophes: "A principal function of apostrophes is to indicate possession. They are also used in cont...

How Do You Cite a Tweet in an Academic Paper? - The Atlantic Click the link above for a nice little tutorial on how to cite Tweets. MLA is finally moving in a new direction.