"The Real Stuff" by The Suburban Hick (D'Arcy)
Okay. Now that a few of my connections have been revealed, I'm going to share the real meat of the matter
I'm not talking about Robbie the Robot here, or am Ireferring to any of those less-than-B-grade movies that have been spewing out since the invention of the movie reel. I AM talking aobut the frustration that comes from going to my University's new library to search for a book on James Wright and M.S. Merwin and going to the computer system, totally new and modern and ultra high-tech, typing in my keywords as I am supposed to, only to find that the server is down, the computer is $#@&* useless and there's no manual card-catalogue system for a backup for this kind of emergency since the paper is due tomorrow!!!!!
Pant pant...gasp. Pardon me while I catch my breath.
Writing is heading for a brand new horizon, as usual, blind in its search for a new genre. The computer has taken the position as the guide-dog and is pulling the idea along like a sleigh. Where does that leave us? Pawns to technology, that's what, if we're not careful. We cannot do what we wish without having SOMETHING to do with computers.
The world is using us. Let me explain...
I have an English class (required for my major) called Style and Language. i don't know what I expected, but I certainly did not expect a class where I'd have to work half-the-time with a computer. I guess I was thinking that we'd be exploring different genres like poetry, essays, and novels. mainly, we're investigating the genre of computer writing.
And this is where this essay is stemming from. A class...demanding us, mew, to respond almost daily on a Web Caucus (B.B. system) as I would in a classroom. A class demanding us, me, to pick up my homework and reading assignments via a class homepage (Eng328)!!! Bizarre! Alien!! Hostile to my literature-based senses!!
I will admit, writing IS my style. I love it. More than love it, it is my very center. I am shy speaking in public, awkward when conversing with family, forgetful with friends. The only people I speak clearly to are to my cats, and they are not people, obviously. When I write, I can think before I set pen to page and therefore make fewer mistakes in grammer, expressing my ideas, and pronounciation.
But this webstuff is crazy. Want to know why? The server, lately, has been going down more times than M.L. (think Clinton) ever has or will. How can I check my assignments if I lack the daily access?? My teacher (sorry, Dr. Krause) is too dependent upon the system. There has to be another way to inform the students of the assignments!!! Thankfully, I print up a copy of the "text" every once in a while to see what needs to be done when, just in case the server DOES go down. Still, we get graded for the number of times we've responded to the Caucus questions--it is hard to reply, too, when you can't get on! Thankfully he's understanding, bug, still, the server is DOWN. I feel failure for not completing the assignment.
or choose from these:
Established: Dec. 15, 1998; Last updated: Dec. 16, 1998