Bonus Blog

To all future personal journeyers,

This course was by far the most time consuming course i took during this semester of college. I honestly thought it would be the easy way out of doing a real course, but it was a lot more work than i would have ever imagined. Don't think you can slack in this course because you don't have to physically be in a classroom. Deadlines creep up on you fast, and those incomplete assignments you don't think matter most definitely do in the end. You can learn a lot in this course if you do the work, and almost all of the content given turns out to be really interesting. Check the website at least three times a week, and make notes on important deadlines. Make the effort to put aside a few hours of your day to complete assignments, the readings are much more time consuming than you may expect.
Overall, this course is simple if you pay attention. I wish i got this letter before i started the course, maybe i wouldn't be sitting here nervously waiting for my grade to be posted.

Good luck and all the best to you!
Laurel Benzaquen

Passion, People and Principles

The two podcasts I listen too were a series from a chapter in David Maister book " Strategy and the Fat Smoker". This chapter is called Passion, People, and Principles; he talks about the world and what we need to do to succeed in life. I feel that these podcast relate to this course because he talks about what is needed to keep your work managed. Since we are doing an online course I thought that this was suitable to relate to. This online course takes a lot of management, not only time, but to remember to complete the work. I also thought it related to our memoirs because he talks about people and passion. I felt that this was similar to our memoirs because he was talking about life and how passion is needed to succeed. The memoirs we have read are filled with passion, and I feel that they are very successful. I would recommend this podcast to anyone who wants to learn how to manage their work, and someone who wants to find a strategy to being successful with their lives. I felt that it was interesting, and I would recommend it.

Pain d'épices Recipe

This blog is about the culture of French baking in Paris. David Lebovitz talks about a baker who he believes is the best in the world. He relates American baking to french and how the French feel about out sweets. He then adds the Pain d'Epices recipe by his favorite baker Flo Braker. My observation on how this blog relates to this course is that David Lebovitz is a Canadian author, and his blogs seemed to be more about his opinion. This blog in my opinion is most similar to the blogs we have written. They seem more personal then informative. That is what i really enjoyed about this blogs, it felt like he was talking directly to me in a conversation. I found that it drew me in. He seemed to tell a story, and i found that this related to our memoirs we have read, very personal and real. I would recommend David Lebvitz blogs to anyone who likes to read about peoples personal opinions about simple things in life, such as baking. It is not boring and it was interesting to see anothers opinion.

Podcast: "As it Happens Daily"

The podcast I listened to was CBC’s “As It Happens Daily.” The podcast simply informs listeners on the latest global news.
Today, we have access to several different methods of education through technology, much like the course we are attending now. “As It Happens Daily” educates listeners through the technology that we have access to today, making education accessible right at our finger tips.
Many of the news stories told in this podcast are often tragic or life altering experiences. We’ve read several memoirs in this course relating to loss and uncertainty. I can’t help but think about those involved in these news stories and how much it will affect themselves, much like the authors writing the memoirs we read.
I would recommend this podcast to those who love to keep updated on the news, but may not have time to sit and watch the television or read the newspaper. I found it excellent for multi-tasking (In fact, I’m listening to it right now as I type this!) This podcast is great for someone who can listen in on the news while completing other tasks.

Does all life writing need to be profound?

The blog I chose to follow is from a radio station, Edge 102.1. It is called Dani's Diary-A. I discovered this blog while listening to the radio one day and realized that music has a great influence in my life as I'm sure it does for many others. So I assumed this blog would be fitting and somewhat relevant to the class information despite the random vulgarity, crude humor (including the title) and strange posts. However, this blog did appeal to me much more than many others that I tried to follow. I like to think I don't take myself too seriously in my down time and neither does the blogger on this site.
I've come to realize that this blog is essentially Dani writing out something that has happened that is interesting, strange or hilarious that has happened during the week. I think it's similar to what we've studied in that it is a recounting of an event or situation that took place in the author's life. I've also realized that these recollections don't have to be profound or overly interesting. They are exactly what they are supposed to be, a memory or reflection. Even if it is about dreams, shopping and no cable t.v.
I find it interesting that I am actually interested in what she has to say. I would have assumed that I just didn't care for blogs or what other people have to write if it does not pertain to my interests or life. However, it is actually quite eentertaining to read about mundane ongoings in life. Much in the same way we read about someones life ongoings in our class text. It can be simple, to the point and humorous and still be life writing.
I would totally recommend this blog if you're interested in reading about something ridiculous, or pointless or just for sheer procrastination. It is strange, at times vulgar and mostly pointless but entertaining nevertheless!

Morton's Musings: Canadian Law and Policy

The name of the blog I followed is “Morton’s Musings” written by James C Morton, a Canadian lawyer, law professor, and media commentator. Morton discuses and gives his input on the latest news stories going on in Canada on a daily basis.
While reading Morton’s blog, I found two similarities between the memoirs read in class, and his blogging. Besides the obvious fact that he is a Canadian author, I found there to be other interesting similarities in these two pieces.
Morton blogs about news reports that often reflect tragedy and loss, such as the memoirs we have read during this semester.
I also found that Morton discuses information that relates to the subject of truth or lies. Although the subjects he reflects on in his blogs are news pieces, they are not necessarily completely factual, much like the memoirs we have read.
I would recommend Morton’s blog to anyone who reads the newspaper, or keeps up to date on Canadian newspaper websites. He has an interesting input on different topics, and is constantly up to date on subjects occurring in Canada. His blogs aren't the most entertaining thing in the world, but for someone who reads the newspaper quite often, he's a good change of pace.

Engadget

Ah, Engadget. Where cool meets nerd. Some even say, this is becoming the norm now. Well, almost...

Engadget pretty much covers anything to everything related to tech. It could be the development of a new way to use lasers, a new hybrid vehicle which stands out, or just simply the latest and hottest television on the market.

The reason people visit Engadget, is because they say what they want. All of the writers have a personality which stands out on the screen. How this relates to this course is beyond me. I guess the news of the new Kindle might be noteworthy to some, but that's about all I can think of. Maybe the connection of Engadget to this course is more obvious than that; I mean we are in an online course, Engadget is a technology blog, where the latest and greatest advancements matter. This is the way things are straying now, laptops everywhere, ethernet jacks right behind them, and a screen for which you use to look at your online course, and then check out Engadget, I highly recommend it.

GeekBrief.TV

I chose to watch a videopodcast from iTunes called GeekBrief.TV, as visuals are far more entertaining than merely an audio file, I immediately was pleased with what GeekBrief.TV provided. GeekBrief.TV is, also related to the blog I studied, a technology videopodcast updating viewers with the latest and greatest in technology.

GeekBrief.TV offers numerous 3 minute episodes informing, and demonstrating, new technologies, gadgets, applications and programs available today. Being a videopodcast, they also demonstrate how the featured item works. One item I discovered is reading on an iPhone through a new application, full books! Imagine one day we have textbooks uploaded to our phones and iPods so we can study on the go! This connects to our recent study on using blogs and classrooms on the go through blogging and podcastng. This podcast I suppose is a briefer version of the blog I read, Gizmodo. Available to upload to an ipod or iphone, episodes offer instant updates to handy and amazing gadgets, updates and applications available to everyone.

I would reccomend this podcast, it is imformative and not only that, but it demonstrates visually to further enhance education. The attractive host, 'geek girl' Cali Lewis, informs her podcast audience of tech tools and toys that are available for everyone and brought to you directly through your mp3 player or iPhone.

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

The blog I have been following the past few days, 'Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide', is a daily blog about today's newest gadgets and updates in technology. They cover everything from viruses to be aware of and to new gadget reviews. It informs readers of all the crazy, helpful and popular technology updates from around the world.

I found this blog to be very informative and surprisingly interesting, reading it every day or so surely will become a habit. It is updated all the time by members of the blog who submit informative posts. I at first thought I would have no interest reading about technology, but I found a lot of the posts helpful, entertaining, or just good things to know for future gadget purchases and computer help. Gizmodo is connected to our course through it's technology aspect, as our course is online and we are currently researching new technologies used to broaden classroom experiences, this blog informs readers of new technologies to enrich our lives. Schools are closely connected to technology providing online access to lectures, class blogs for students to network in and recieve peer feedback and assitance as well as a new emerging technology in school systems, podcasting.

I would definitely reccommend this blog to anyone who wants to keep connected and up to date with our fast paced society. Keeping up with inventions, handy gadgets and universal progression in technology is, in my opinion, important information. Our world is moving so quickly sometimes that it can be hard to keep up with what's new, what's in, what's not worth your money, and what's actually worth investing in. Gizmodo helps us by offering reviews and daily updates regarding today's complex offerings of technology and gadgets.

My Father's House

In Sylvia Fraser's memoir, she is described to be both the detective and the murder victim by Margaret Atwood. This description of Fraser's memoir is spot on, as she does have to uncover her past to discover the trauma she had hidden from herself as a child. A miraculous way of self protection for such a young girl, she soon finds she had created another personality which filed away her memories of sexual abuse, a personality who also took over whenever she was raped by her father. The Child Who Knows is Fraser's other self that she had created, and later named as an adult, digging up her memories from the past. This Child Who Knows is indeed Fraser's murder victim, the one who hold's the secrets and memories of her sexual abuse from the age of three all the way to her years in university. This 'murder victim' would take over and protect Fraser from these experiences to the point where she had no idea of her sexual abuse. As a grown woman, triggered by a friend's experience, she finds that her hatred towards her father may be because she was raped. After this sudden anger and surprise thoughts about being raped, Fraser is determined to find answers to these accusations she comes up with. Putting herself in the detective role, she must go to a hypnotherapist to uncover the answers she is searching for. Searching for the answers to her own childhood experiences creates a unique mystery for the reader to become involved in. A very unique mystery, and also exciting as we wait for Fraser to find closure and answers to her own life searching within her life.

Atwood and Fraser comparison

Margaret Atwood writes “My father’s house has the tension and pace of a detective novel except that the detective is part of the narrator’s self and so is the murder victim.” After reading the memoir “My Fathers House” by Sylvia Fraser, the connection between the two became quite clear. Throughout “My Fathers House,” Sylvia splits herself into two individuals. Her adult self plays the detective, and her childhood self, who plays the victim. The foggy memory of being the victim of rape and incest starts to resurface while her adult self tries to unsolve this mystery. Sylivia feels she owes it to her childhood self to unravel this memory and confront it, in hopes of finding the strength in her to forgive and feel a sense of closure. To dig up a suppressed memory so deep must be extremely overwhelming and powerful and I truly could not imagine going through such an extreme event, especially when you realize your father played the criminal.

Margaret Atwood's Quote

Margaret Atwood's quote "My Father's House has the tension and pace of a detective novel - except that the detective is a part of the narrator's self, and so is the murder victim." is pretty self explanatory if one has read "My Father's House" (or knows what it's about). Atwood's quote is indeed very befitting because Sylvia Fraser had somehow done the miraculous act of splitting herself into two people unaware of the other's existence - a victim and a detective of sorts. Both live in one body but seem to be of different minds. Her comparison of the life story to that of a detective novel seems appropriate. When I read the excerpt, I found myself wondering how Fraser would analyze and collect the clues she had embedded in herself to reach the truth she had unknowingly buried so long ago. Fraser had to search through vestiges of a second life led unconsciously.To discover an occurrence so terrible and catalytic hidden within one's own mind seems very profound to me. It must have been that much more unbelievable to the detective that discovered she was indeed the victim.

- Lucie M

Atwood's commentary on Fraser's Memoir

Atwood's comment about Fraser's memoir is a perfect description. It describes what Fraser herself must have felt while discovering this unknown, suppressed part of her own self. It is frightening to think that an individual could live through a traumatic event and be so damaged they actually completely remove it from their memory unknowingly. It raises questions about how the physical body is connected to the mind so intricately and with such complexity that our conscious selves cannot always understand or be aware of the connections. In this case, Fraser was divided as two selves, one that experienced the torture and one that is shielded from the abuse. Her physical and mental self was so damaged she refused to let herself even be aware of what occurred nevertheless remember it. In coming to realization, she also becomes aware of this other self, as Atwood describes the detective and the murder victim. It is puzzling and terrifying to think that the two can be one and the same. Inevitably, Fraser’s trauma was life altering and destructive to a degree that her own mind could not accept. In discovering this murder mystery she had to discover that she herself was the victim.

My Fathers House

Throughout Margaret's life she has created this other half of a person to hide and burry the thoughts, memories, and guilt brought on after the sexual abuse she encountered from her father. After many years later she has then excavated her thoughts and feelings as her own detective to the mystery of her hidden secrets- the murdered victim. As the detective discovers further into the past, the revealed pieces merge together both this hidden other and Margaret herself to one day receive closure from her traumatized and impactful childhood.

My Father's House

My Father's house does have a feel of a detective's novel, just like Margret Atwood said. Sylvia is trying to figure out why she feels the way she does. It is as if she had locked up all the real memories and made them into dreams that seemed to resemble fantasies. Her dreams, where like her actually descriptive thoughts of what she felt towards her father and the events of abuse. It is as if she is detecting the crime that had happened to her, she was the victim, but as the detective. No one else would be able to figure it out but her, she was there and experienced the abuse, Sylvia also needed to figure it out for her own sanity. Since she had locked up her memories of the past she had to think hard about her encounters with her father and try and remember things like exact details, and her feelings. It was almost like she had ton investigate her own mind, and re-enact the past, so she could truly solve the crime.

Little White Lies...not always so Little!

A little white lie is what you tell your friend when she gets a bad haircut. Or perhaps when your significant other cooks you a horrible dinner but you tell them you love it. A little white lie is when you arrive late because of "traffic" but really you slept in. Those are little white lies, not telling a life story that is untrue, or publishing a memoir that is falsified. Those are great big lies full of exaggeration and manipulation.
Often times, little white lies can turn into great big lies. They may start off with good intentions but manifest into a downward spiral of lie upon lie until it is so big it begins to hurt people. This is what happens more often than not. Unfortunately, it may not have began that way but a lie is a lie no matter what! Including little white lies. Regardless of how innocent the lie may appear, the truth is you are being honest. For instance, if your friend discovers you dislike her hair, she will no longer trust your opinion. If your significant other finds out you dislike their cooking, you could hurt their feelings. Or if your co-worker takes the same route to work with no traffic, you are found to be a liar hurting your credibility.
These little white lies appear to be helping you in the moment but the reality is that unless it is the truth, it's not worth stating. Especially in the case of literary works. Fiction is understood to be the telling of an untrue story and a memoir is understood to be truth based on real experience. Once you begin to confuse the two, the reader no longer trusts the author therefore loosing credibility as a literary genre.
Thus, a lie is a lie is a lie regardless of the intention or outcome. Witholding the truth in any circumstance discredits you of honesty especially as a writer. Trust is the most difficult virtue to earn and once it is broken it is three times more difficult to gain back. Therefore, avoid lying at all costs whether the intention is good or bad. Afterall it's usually the worst problems that began with good intentions.

Little White Lies

Little White Lies:

I hardly consider fabricating a criminal career and creating an entirely new identity for oneself "little white lies". Both Frey and Belaney were full-out lying. Although I think it's pretty low and heavily lacking in integrity to purposely lie in order to embellish a story, I am able to accept it in the case of a memoir. It's not as though it is an autobiography. I'm not the least bit affected by whether or not James Frey was telling the truth or not. He claimed he was a worse criminal than he actually was and now we know he is a liar. I can't say I'm surprised. I think people are much too invested in their entertainment. When it comes to internet videos I remember that anyone can put anything on the internet and I'm immediately questioning the credibility of the material. Because neither the youtube video or Frey's book are educational in nature I don't care what is truth or fiction in them. I would be much more upset if an informational piece of writing like a scientific paper had published false test results and data (as many of them do). As far as white lies go, everyone draws the line between a white lie and a full lie somewhere else, thus it is difficult to distinguish when it is appropriate and just how slightly one can allow himself to be dishonest. People eventually start taking advantage of this "innocent lie" to start telling full, concrete lies. As disheartening as it is, that is how people are.

- Lucie M

Little White Lies

In my opinion little white lies are harmless, what you don't know wont hurt you, right? Or does it, to some people any lie is a bad one. The crazy bride video is harmless to people watching, it is just entertaining, you would never know what it was made for until someone tells the truth. Where as James Frey had lied, but the whole world had seen it as a tragedy, and many look up to the book as inspiration and sympathy. Oprah had added this to her book club, and to her it was an amazing story, straight to the heart and she felt for him. When she had found out it wasn't true she was ashamed to have put this book out there to her viewers as a great read, but actually was giving them a story that was false. To her she had lied to the world, even though she had not known this before. In ways little white lies can be extremely hurtful, but when they are unknown to others it is harmless. I am sure many books or any story is altered with lies, to the creator it could just make their story more interesting, we will never know what story's have little white lies unless the truth comes out.

White lies while Oprah gets taken for a ride.

I laughed to myself during the "Frey" debacle. It is one of the only times Oprah Winfrey has been takin for a ride. And I like that. However, for James Frey to present this book as unswerving truth is kind of dumb and reckless.
To present a piece of work in a public setting is like playing with fire, as we saw with the smoking gun. The folks at TSG were diligent and followed the paper trail all the way to its logical end. Which in the case of "A Million Little Pieces" exposed the memoir as a lie. Not a little white lie but a huge stinking stew of lies involving real life events and people. That my friends is a recipe for disaster and Frey should of expected it. In this case, the huge tainted falsehoods of Frey's memoir are unacceptable considering he himself lauded the work of fiction as non-fiction. All his fault.
In regards to the Grey Owl, I see a man in search of an identity he could believe in. I don't see a man harnessing the power of the little white lie to benefit himself at the expense of others. Instead Archie Stansfeld Belaney at the crossroads age of 18 latched onto the allure and romance of the wilderness. Taking on himself the identity of a native indian. What I see here is more of a search for purpose. Although Archie labeled himself a native his ruse did not affect others. His transformation was for the peace of his soul.
The crazy bride is ridiculous, I am surprised anyone would invite her onto a talk show. Why? Why would you want a guest who's only claim to fame is a video showing her throw a hissy fit, albeit a staged one. That is retarded and just goes to show the state of the public and our need for drama.
The crazy bride is the ugly ducking out of the three talking points and won't get a response from me. I would rather stick my tongue in hot toaster.

- Chris Ribau

white lies

A 'little white lie' can be described as an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite), or told to avoid hurting someone's feelings. So it is basically a lie told to add positivity to a situation rather than negativity. This applies in all cases studied including the crazy bride, James Frey and Grey Owl.
Of the three I believe Grey Owl is furthest from the label of being a liar. Having been re-born into a tribe and adopting a new identity his situation is legit. Of course he was born English and has no ounce of Native blood in his body, it is his spirit and soul which was adopted by the wilderness and he continued to live in that way, passionate about the forest and everything in it. His identity had changed drastically, claiming to be half-blood or named Grey Owl or part of a tribe is not far from the real truth at all.
James Frey on the other hand, is a little more severe. Having been investigated on his memoir, which he insists is non-fiction, and error in his story telling has been revealed. Yet we have studied that memory can be drastically changed by time, emotions, personal experience etc. The article 'A Thousand Little Lies' makes his story seem drastically false. Regardless of this I believe it is his life and how he perceived it. He could have even been writing from his own point of view, how he regarded himself at that time. Maybe he thought he deserved to go to prison, maybe he desired so strongly to rebel that he convinced himself it actually happened, or deserved to have happened? No matter the case, his novel is about his life and it has captured thousands in the pages and even changed peoples lives. A story of hope for addicts, alcoholics and criminals. A story of triumph against all odds.
The crazy bride clip on youtube doesn't apply to the category of a white lie, in my opinion. The whole film is a fake, but maybe it could be a white lie because it was made to entertain? I'm not sure how this video fits into the category or how it can be vouched for, other than the fact that it is entertainment.
In conclusion, I think white lies are absolutely acceptable in these cases. Whether you change your identity because you truly believe you are living where you belong. Or if you're writing about your own life and you twist stories or over exaggerate for the sake of a successful story. Whose place is it anyways to investigate your story and tell you you're a liar? That's just a bit rude if I say so myself.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth...I don't think so

I think that memoir’s should tell the truth but not always 100 percent. I mean this in the way that, I don’t believe that someone writing a book that begins in their childhood, thirty years earlier, is going to remember every piece of information and detail about the situation, which they write in their memoir. So some points are going to be factual and some are not. There is no way you can recall every detail about the experience you are writing about, unless maybe it had some profound meaning in your life, where you would remember it exactly. I think that memoirs should be at least 90 percent real, only because it leaves that 10 percent open for error or for imagining how you think you remember something.

Although John Glassco lied about his memoirs, it seemed as though the only way for him to deal with some of his issues was to write a book and call it his memoir. He probably shouldn’t included famous poets and authors that he didn’t actually meet. Would it have been as interesting if it had not been called a memoir? In a way it would seem as though he deceived his readers and made them believe this happened. Only when they found out it was a lie they were upset. I wonder if they still felt the same way about the book after? If only a quarter of the book was un-true then it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

As for Lonelygirl15, I thought it was boring and I wouldn’t have considered watching it if I didn’t have to. If Mesh Flinders, the co creator, didn’t make any money off it then who cares. He lost out because he went and bought all the stuff from Target to change the appearance of his room. And he gave YouTube the million or so hits every time this aired. In my opinion it was not worth the controversy.

If it's not true...it's not a memoir!

I understood a memoir to be a recounting of someone's life experiences. The author is writing from an autobiographical perspective and incorporating their feelings, emotions and observations. Should the recounting of a certain event included in a memoir not be factual, then essentially it is not a memoir, it would be a fictional story based on true events. I also believe that a memoir should definitely be factual. It is a collection of memories and intimate experiences and therefore should be as honest as possible or it essentially is not a memoir.

In reference to the Glassco passage, it is apparent that once people find out that the memoir, or recount of a life experience, is not true they are angry and dissapointed. The anger is not because they were hoping the story was true but rather the anger is a result of feeling as though they were lied to. It is almost insulting to pass off a story as being true and then at the end after all emotions, sympathy's and many other possible emotions are evoked they become insignificant. People can express emotions toward fiction but the emotions that are expressed when something is believed to be truthful is different. Therefore, when you realize that the emotions evoked for something believed to be true is not true, it can be insulting. The reader is made to feel vulnerable and as though they have been taken advantage of. It is not a good feeling. Therefore, in the case of Glassco, telling a lie did make people angry because no one enjoys being lied to when they believe it is real.

In reference to LonelyGirl15, I think it's disgusting. I was thoroughly preturbed by the entire concept that I don't even believe it is even close to being considered a memoir. Despite the recounting of personal experiences and emotions it is staged, made up and not even close to being based on real life events. I think it's also disturbing for a 30 year old man to be writing scripts for a 15 year old girl. I wouldn't even consider this to be a vlogging diary, it's a poor excuse for a new idea.

In the end, I don't believe a memoir should be falsified or embellished. I believe it should be an accurate account of a personal experience from an intimate perspective. If not, write a fictional short story!

I Believe in the Truth, In Most Cases

I believe that author writing a memoir should tell the truth in most cases, in some ways it can be a good thing to later the story. It can make it more interesting or even more mysterious. In some case not telling the truth can cause issues with the readers, but it can cause the same issue when it is a lie. A lot of these story’s that are alterations of the truth, have a hidden aspect that the writer isn’t comfortable sharing or they would like to make money off of it, like they do in Lonely Girl 15, people are still interested in it even though they notice that it is made up. They are all still drawn to these video stories.

Memoir ≠ Some Lies

According to the dictionary, a memoir is defined as “a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal [experience].” Therefore, if a book is labelled as a “memoir” the author or memoirist must stick true to his/her words and write the truth. When readers decided to pick up non-fiction books they expect raw stories with unbiased facts.

After reading the short passage from the Glassco’s memoir I wonder what the significance of the short story was. Why lie? That’s what I would like to know.

Furthermore, the situation with ‘LonelyGirl15’ is much similar to the Glassco’s actions. In both cases, Glassco and all the individuals involved in production of ‘LonleyGirl15’ have deceived the audience and viewers. The only difference between the two is the form of media. ‘LonelyGirl 15’ used what is most popular today – the’ vlogger’ –another term used as a video blogger. As audiences, may people assume what the bloggers are blogging about are based on accurate facts. However, ‘LonelyGirl15’ has proven that is not that case because they use scripts and fictional character which ultimately ruins the meaning of video blog.

In addition, this reminds me of the situation of James Frey the author of “A Million Little Pieces” whose book was labelled under "a memoir" and later on admits some of the characters and stories in the book was altered. (The following link is a small clip of James Frey confronted by Oprah: http://www.truveo.com/Oprah-confronts-Frey-about-Pieces/id/311221772)

In general, when someone commits to writing nonfiction or making a video blog they must abide without any modification and tell the truth based on truthful knowledge. (At least in my opinion.)

Lame, that's what I say

I absolutely, one hundred percent think that memoirs should tell the truth. if they don't, then they shouldn't be categorized as memoirs. We sit here and read these memoirs (or watch somebody's video blog) and expect the truth out of them. If we are being fed a lie, then it's hard to regain that trust back. I understand the point that the 'LonelyGirl15' people are aiming for - trying to create a new genre of the medium. That may be acceptable to some people, and if I actually cared for these types of online videos, it might have mattered to me. I can safely say that I use the Internet for a lot of different things, but these videos just have no appeal to me.

Something a little more appealing perhaps:

Video, may not be suitable for work.

At least if I'm going to take the time to watch a video, it's better to be something entertaining, rather than a fake video blog about some 'adorable' American teenage girl.

Truth in Memoir Writing

I think that any published text written as a means of story-telling or sharing has the potential for statements that are true only to a degree. When it comes to memoirs specifically, it's up to the author to recount how an event took place. However there is a line between absolute memory and wishful thinking that has the potential to blur, and when this takes place you have an embellished memoir. In my opinion your life should be exceptionally interesting or of historic insight to merit a published memoir. I think if you need to lie significantly to better your memoir, then maybe you should stick to non-fiction and write a nice little story based on how you wish your life really was. A memoir should be around 95% true and factual, the other 5 percent can be small details that are false only if due to the unavoidable error of human memory. Certainly if it is in an author's interest to deliberately script more than is true, then it is the author's responsibility to properly and thoroughly cover their tracks and deal with their conscience.

In my opinion Glassco's Memoirs of Montparnasse is quick and easy to dismiss; “One quarter of the book (Memoirs) was lies...” One quarter is significantly more than five percent in terms of truth leeway. I would call this piece a story, not a memoir, especially when interaction with other human beings is falsely claimed. When entire events are made up it's not a 'fuzzy detail' moment it is a blatant lie. In terms of Lonelygirl15, I personally found this weird, deceptive, and a comment on the world today where sneaky pretenses are used to make a quick and dirty buck. The videos are made by two older men who see the internet as a new venue of entertainment. Key word, entertainment, these videos are in no way a memoir. While the creators skirted the truth factor easily at first, it was unavoidable considering their desired and achieved traffic.

People still read the book and watch the videos, and they still enjoy them as a form of entertainment. Which is great. But entertainment such as Lonelygirl15 is completely different from an account of factual events and that distinction should be made clearly.

The truth.

Memoirs should consist of the truth. In a memoir the author is writing about something that has happened to them, which was important to their life. This is what the reader expects and is what they deserve. I think adding to a memoir or making one up is essentially lying.

In the case of Loneygirl15, the viewers believed they were watching the truth about her life. They came back week after week, to learn something new about her. In reality it was all staged, which was un-fair to the audience. They were expecting reality and did not get it. The same goes for Glassco's Memoirs, the readers believe that they were reading the truth about his life.

Lying is frowned upon anywhere else in life, so why is it ok in memoirs? I don’t think it is. However, if the piece of writing/show is represented as fiction from the beginning, I believe that is fine.

This is an interesting clip, which shows interviews with the makers of webshows. Included is Lonelygirl15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQS3ztEdLEs

In memoir writing, the author of the memoir has an obligation to tell the truth. A memoir is based on factual memories and to lie would be to create a fictional story, not a memoir. I think that there are times within a memoir that may call for a slight mistruth, but a majority and the important parts must be factual. To lie during a memoir is cheating the audience because many people will believe everything within the memoir as being true to the author’s life. Anyone can lie about their lives to make an interesting memoir.

The You Tube video “Lonely Girl 15” is an example of a negative way to demonstrate a memoir. “Lonely Girl 15” is a fictional character which changes the distinction from memoir to fiction. It is important for people to be aware of the misconceptions that can found on the internet in regards to memoir writing.

the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Having been asked the question, 'should a memoir writer tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?", I have to disagree. Thinking to myself, if I ever wrote a memoir I would hope I would have the sense to add in some fictional details to spice up my own story, considering that I find we generally all go through similar things through our lifetimes.

Looking into Glassco's case, I think his make believe is very interesting. It shocks me somewhat to find he had made up his stories of meeting certain characters, describing encounters which never occurred. The first question I ask is why? My second is, why not? Why can't he throw in an imaginary event here and there? Of course it is lying, but so are most novels we so often enjoy reading. Maybe he just knew better than everyone else that a good read is likely to be fictional. Look at Harry Potter and Twilight novels, great series captivating all sorts of people worldwide, books of complete make believe! Seeing as Glassco is writing about his own life for anyone who wishes to read about it, I think he has the right to jot down anything he wants to, if in his opinion, it completes his life story.

On the subject of the lonelygirl15 youtube series, I believe there are two sides. Of course it was a clever idea to create a series by fooling an audience, but is it fair to trick an audience that way? It is almost like making a scripted film and telling everyone it is a documentary. The only difference between Glassco's memoir and lonelygirl15 is that most of Glassco's memoir is real, while lonelygirl15 is all fiction. I can see how viewers of the video clips could be angered by discovering their 'vlogger' is just a character, which may dampen the appeal to watch her entries, considering these days reality television is more appealing to most people. I do not think it was wise to stage this video blogger, but I also don't know if it would have been as successful if it was known to be fake. Either way, there is nothing anyone can really do about it.

So, considering in both cases there is nothing we can do about it, and considering that whether truthful or not we can't help but enjoy both of these medias, I really don't think it matters in a question of honesty. The main thing is entertainment and captivating your audience. I would rather be captivated and tricked than bored and unenthusiastic, wouldn't you?

The Truth

In my opinion if someone is going to write a memoir, the understanding is that the content of the memoir is true. Or remembered as best as it could be. The fact that Lonelygirl 15 and Glassco's Memoirs were ultimately shown to have distorted the truth, taints it for me. From my understanding a memoir or a "vblog"/video-diary is a chronicling of a persons' experiences and events in their life. If those events or experiences have been proven false or distorted, that ultimately affects my ability to absorb what the author is saying, or trying to say. Although the emotions may be legit and real, the themes deep with meaning and the parables profound, when all is said and done it is the author's integrity that is damaged. And thus undeserving of my time or effort.

This youtube clip has nothing to do with memoirs or integrity, but it will get you thinking about double standards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU5sP2CnIZ8


Chris Ribau

Crop Circles,

Just my opinion...
I actually don't believe in aliens so it's hard for me to wrap my head around the thought of some other kind of life form creating these crop circles. However, I don't really have an explanation as to how they appear but the videos did not justify (to me), that some other life form created them. Especially the author, Michael, who says, "it's not with the trim line and it’s in an exact east to west alignment and so it really drives me to the conclusion that we have a real phenomenon…” That statement doesn't really provide much or any proof. The first video doesn’t show any proof, just someone talking and it shows the same clips over. Like I said before I don’t know how they got there but I don’t think its aliens. Could it be something radioactive beneath the earth’s surface that is causing these patterns of ancient Celtic times to appear? I don’t know and I’m not sure I ever will.

Here is a couple ideas on how crop circles could possibly be made:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/ufo/circles1.htm
This page gives a kind of out there look at how crop circles can be made. It is not saying they are made by UFO's but it's also not saying they are not made by UFO's. It's quite interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_opN9ghPKQ&feature=related
This video has no sound and is in black and white but it is very interesting and shows how a crop circle can be made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeNTm7rn-_s
This video is a little long and explains everything over and over.

Circles and Circles of Crops, Oh My!

This is one of those subjects that I always just brush off during a conversation. I will be the first to argue that yes, there probably are other forms of life in our universe. It would just be ignorant to think otherwise, but I don't think that is what causes crop circles. It seems like some prankster pulled this off once, maybe 20-30 years ago, and people fell for it. Now, all the 'conspirist' seem to assure themselves, that this is the work of a alien creature, or something absurd like that. I'm sure there is a race of aliens out there who just get their kick out of making the silly humans believe in these crop circles. Makes me feel like watching that old Dan Akroyd show, you know which one I'm talking about.

Anyways, those interested can take a look at this for some entertainment:

Crop Circles Mystery Solved

Crop Circles

I believe that there is a possibility that theses circles were created by life outside of earth. They is a lot of proof covering this, as well as some video footage. It is hard to believe that they have been made by UFOs, but it seems impossible for a human to create such a large crop circle in such little time. A a result i am left to believe that it has been UFOs making these crop circles.

Paige Doty

crop circles

Watching the video on crop circles was very interesting. I am interested in this topic as it is a very mysterious subject. I don't really have a strong opinion on the subject as others may, I am not sure whether i believe in 'alien crop circles' or whether i believe it is just a hoax. I don't really think it makes any sense for so many people to create crop circles in their own fields, wasting their hard work and grown produce, just to try to convince people that there are aliens. Then again who says that the field owners are making these clearings? Still, making a crop clearing takes a lot of work, if you put a lot of effort to do such a thing would you not take credit for your 'art work'? I can't really find any reason why anyone would want to make random crop circles, yet I can't really believe aliens come to earth to draw circles in our fields. Why on earth, if aliens do exist, would they spend their time drawing circles?! Regardless the answer, I do find the subject and stories about crop circles very captivating. Crop circles are just a mystery to me I suppose.

This youtube clip seems to sum up my views on the subject. Informative with no conclusions, with a lot of neat images!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvBv0_pZ2SY

First Post

Hi guys,

This is the class blog. It will be an ongoing class project until the end of the semester. Have fun with it, and don't forget to do the bonus blog assignments.

Best,
Paul