Purveyors of Environmental Justice: Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang"

On May 8, 2010 I used an art project and a PowerPoint file to present at the University of Texas – Pan American’s 2^nd Annual Social Justice and Peace Conference.

Both the art project and abstract were accepted.

Art Project:

"Iron Curtain"

Abstract:

"Purveyors of Environmental Justice: Edward Abbey's Monkey Wrench Gang"

The border wall, flanked by a road on both sides, is shockingly ecologically harmful. Edward Abbey’s fictional eco-saboteurs rebelling against a military-industrial complex are relevant to real life protestors against the border wall. A very small minority of people will practice eco-sabotage, because of its fatal potential, but a much larger percentage will support the cause non-criminally. Edward Abbey’s “Monkey Wrench Gang” would have actively contested the building of the border wall if the novel had taken place in this decade rather than the 1970s.

Environmentalists have made winning strides with legislation, but Congress allowed the Department of Homeland Security to waive environmental and conservation laws if they impeded the construction of the border wall. Since Big Brother changed the rules, rendering legal avenues ineffective, audiences can find cheap solace as the “monkey wrenchers” rally for environmental justice by destroying billboards, bulldozers, bridges and dams.

PowerPoint Presentation:

Purveyors of Environmental Justice: Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang"

View more presentations from creatiffany.

Spiders, Mosquitos & Ticks, Oh MY!

Along with the wildlife come the creepy crawlies!!! I love outdoors, but I hate bugs once they land on me. Yesterday I must have been bright on the bug radar, new blood new blood new blood. It's no longer how many bites I have, but how many bites per square inch. And three ticks in one day!! Ewww! So this morning I doused myself in DEET. Now bug free, I looked up health hazards of the stuff and it's pretty bad- potential seizures, insomnia, mood disturbances, impaired cognitive fuction... even death.
I may be up late tonight, but I'm bloodsucker free!
I'll give the herbal alternative a try- rose geranium, eucalyptus, lemon grass and citronella oil. Where am I going to find that?

Day One NWR

Day One at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge

Hat- check
Sunglasses- check
Pants and long sleeves (UPF 20+!)- check
Water- check
Bug spray- double check!

Ready to go to work, about to walk out the door and my mom says I look cute. I already checked, I look like a boy scout.

Santa Ana NWR is a great place for migratory birds along the Rio Grande River. Depending on the direction of the wind, there are four climate types occuring here: arid from the west, temperate from the north, coastal from the east and tropical from the south. Today was a good day! Wind came from the north, 80 degree day. I watered plants by the visitors center, knowing they'd be making some hummingbirds and butterflies very happy. I drank coffee from a disposable cup (not very green of me, sorry) while watering, and the mosquitos were so thirsty they were stinging my cup! I guess they've acquired a taste for coffee. I gave a little extra special attention to the wild olive trees, little Love Havens for hummingbirds (Teretha had a hummingbird family living in her front yard!). Next, the butterfly garden across the parking lot needed to be watered. My supervisor gave me a Radio Flyer for carting the water hose and some other tools. Now I'm like a 5 year old boy scout! After watering, I took out the shears. Time for the dead and scraggly plant limbs to go. So I traced the shoots through the tangle, choosing a place to cut that would conserve the best energy.
It was cathartic, really. So many times in life I've reached a point where I must choose one path or another. But why not choose both? Because... Whatever the decision concerned, career or otherwise, nothing changed the fact that there is a finite amount of energy and a finite amount of time in every day. Same goes for plants! So I cut out the weak, the feeble and the lifeless. With the strong boughs stronger, I'll be watching to see how those plants bloom now!
Around lunchtime I took a break in the picnic area and watched chachalacas creep toward me through the tree branches, expecting food... eventually they ran themselves out, chirring and hr hr hrring and chachalaca-ing as they chased...
I always said I didn't care about money. Be careful, Life gives you what you want.
I found my dream job, but I'm not getting paid. Don't get me wrong, seven hours outdoors is time well spent! (Note to self: SPF chapstick) But just to be clear- I do want money. So wish me luck and hope my fiction sells. Thanks to my parents for taking care of me and for all the love!


"El presente es lo único que tengo
el presente es lo único que hay"
-Julieta Venegas

English 114 Expository Writing- Personal Response to John Gardner

Personal Response to "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner

There’s a dream of mine I’ve been working on, the way someone works on an intricate knot or the way threads are woven into a pattern. The materials for this pattern fall into the form of words, and the sources of these materials are the books, movies and songs I read, see and hear. The Art of Fiction by John Gardner has made an addition to my supplies of thread, introducing new vibrant colors and rich and comforting textures.

“Art depends heavily on feeling, intuition, taste. (Gardner 7).” The thoughts I previously categorized as cluttered, unpredictable, or messy are reorganized by this sentence, forcing me to give myself credit for artistic ability that I previously neglected. He apprehends readers-writers (that includes me) of writer’s block, or “the first stage of aesthetic arthritis, the disease that ends up in pedantic rigidity and the atrophy of intuition (Gardner 3)”-- ironically so eloquent with his words that he makes it sound appealing. He has a way of instilling confidence in my ability to focus on the center instead of being distracted: “Seize the trunk of any science securely, and you have control of its branches (Gardner xi).” When I feel myself getting distracted by irrelevant thoughts, remembering this sentence is the cure.

Once I harness the ability to focus on the center, I will know what is at the heart of the matter. Namely, that is practice. For “the true writer is one for whom technique has become… second nature (Gardner 9).” Practice in reading and writing teaches me when or why something works. “If [a work of art] has no laws, or if its laws are incoherent, it fails, usually, on that basis (Gardner 3).” He encourages would-be writers by saying that “most of the people…who wanted to become writers, knowing what it meant, did become writers.”

I want to be a writer! Once you know what work has to be done, all you have left is to do it. Then it’s done. A main ingredient of this work is “good teaching supported by a deep-down love of writing.” Good teaching has been given to me, as well as a deep-down love of writing, especially this sentence: “Whereas the realist argues the reader into acceptance, the tale writer charms or lulls him into dropping objections,” and “persuades him to suspend disbelief… simply walks past our objections… winning our suspension of disbelief by the confidence and authority of the narrator’s voice (Gardner 24).” I aspire to this sentence in all the writing I do, finding ways to “distract the critical intelligence (Gardner 22),” …especially my own.
I can stop now, “not…because [this paper] seems to me to have at last reached perfection… but because I’m convinced that in its present stage it’s good enough (Gardner xi)."


These assignments were written late 2005 and early 2006.

English 114 Expository Writing- Problem Analysis on campus

Problem Analysis on campus

As an Austin College student, I choose to be involved with organizations and obligations that are demanding occupiers of my time. Organizing and managing these demands to meet my available time can be an interesting and perplexing process. Above all these obligations, two are ongoing and consistently at the head of the race. The competing importance of my social and intellectual lives is an exceedingly delicate balance difficult to maintain. Not only do I share this challenge with other students (especially Greek members), it is also a common concern of faculty and administration members.

The importance of our intellectual lives is more readily recognized than the importance of our social lives, yet students like myself have frequently suffered the consequences of neglecting both at one time or another. Having an active intellectual life is the optimal gathering, cultivating, and harvesting of the cornucopia of options for our futures. Neglecting these duties lead to a loss of opportunities, tuition, and semesters of scholastic freedom. These factors are strong enough to send me into hiding from my social life for a partial or even whole semester, consequently living in isolation and a net of deteriorated friendships that need to be reinforced. At my best, I am cooperating with other Greek organizations and contributing to my own organizations, thus earning the respect of my brothers and sisters. We pay a high monetary and legal price to provide social events for the student body as responsibly as we can, as well as work to organize ways to give back to the community monetarily and through service. We are building social supports to share the load of what life has to offer. These supports provide shelter from crises and funerals all the way down to silly things like break-ups cured with girls’ nights out. These supports are strong enough for the weight of what we want to celebrate in life- weddings, job opportunities, new families, new beginnings, and long awaited reunions. These mutual experiences span generations and are fertile for connecting people that share characteristic qualities, ideals, passions, life dedications, travels, and cultures. Sometimes we share the same or complementary tastes in music, have similar histories of problems, refine each other’s talents and ambitions, and even share family relations of which I was previously unaware.

Two aspects of student life that impact our lives as much as tides and tidal waves impact our shores should be simultaneously important. When separated, each takes up too much time to succeed in both, so we should find a way to merge the two. It is difficult to get what I need to enjoy my college experience as well as reap all the benefits my education and social life have to offer. There is a conflict between what students like myself need and what spatial organization of our buildings and frequent environments have to offer. Libraries are focused for intellectual attention without social interaction. The cafeteria, the pub, and the Starbucks® Hopper area are spaces open for sociability but rarely suggestive of intellectual interaction. Parties and other social events hosted by Greek students and non-Greek students alike allow freedom for whatever those attending may choose. Personally, I have initiated literary and/or artistic conversations following the example of one of our recent graduates. Without someone’s intentions for this kind of initiation, parties take their usual course of events without regard to our intellectual development. I think if these intentions were manifested into an environment where a person is surrounded with intellectual tools as well as facilitators of a social atmosphere, students would advantageously frequent this environment in order to merge the two largest aspects of their lives at Austin College.

Since at least 1918, the Greek community has been a presence on this campus eager to help social, intellectual, and even spiritual situations if they can. Today the Greek community’s presence on campus is reinforced with the spirit of all those that have graduated before them. This reinforcement manifests itself in various Greek alumni networks that are becoming more involved with Student Life to bridge the college student’s perspective with the wiser perspective of a graduate and an adult. I have a project in mind to bring these two perspectives together in an effort to provide a haven for the seemingly shortsighted social life and the future-minded intellectual life to flourish together. The 800 S Willow St. block of Sherman, TX is the site of an old Sherman school. This building is now being repaired and renovated by a man who is leasing it to tenants as a residential structure. If the Kappa Gamma Chi Alumni Network (KRXAN) and other Greek alumni and networks favored the idea, they might donate and facilitate student fundraising enough to redesign the building into a comfortable environment conducive to social activity that fosters education. Each Greek organization could have a room allotted to them on a lottery system and rooms could be a cross between a library and a youth hostel. Free wireless internet access and bike rentals would be a great start for the building.

Of course, there are problems we would run into. The building is in what some would consider a bad part of town, but Austin College is surrounded by bad parts of town and I haven’t seen or heard of any real problems as a result of that. If the alumni do not favor the idea, I don’t see how else we could raise enough money for this project. Legal considerations and precautions need to be made for liability reasons, but the policies and precautions of youth hostels could be researched in order to predict and prevent what problems we may run into. If this facility was considered as a Greek-only house, that assumption could easily be refuted with personal invitations blanketed to all Austin College individuals. There are many other problems Greek functions inevitably run into, but there are multiple full-time employees on campus in charge of directing the solutions to such problems, so it may not be necessary to discuss all of them in this paper.

In conclusion, we could provide this gem to members of the Austin College community simply on the basis that they are part of the Austin College community. Masked talent and genius would be unveiled as the fog of the party environment lifts to reveal social lives weaving a tapestry with intellectual interaction. Students would appreciate the knowledge around them before they graduate, because many graduates have gone on to the real world to find out you will not always be surrounded by intelligent people. We can all understand the value of this knowledge without completely tearing ourselves away from the social lives we already have. Informal social gatherings ripe with intelligent people leaves us with the ability to fully reap the benefits of our precious education.

English 114 Expository Writing- Descriptive Assignment (Revised)

Descriptive Assignment (Revised)

Elements and minerals flow through mountains, rivers and rainfall, finally depositing in creek beds around the world. Cultures both modern and native take great measures digging me up and wedging me into bodies of consistency. These bodies are divided and miniature clones replicate myself. My creator forcibly throws me and my side smacks a wheel. The wheel’s motion begins at the hourly pace of a sundial, picks up speed, and progressively whirls me into vertigo. A shower smooths me like honey that flows like silk. My creator’s hands push my shape from an amorphous blob to a right triangular cone. Another shower and my peak plunges toward my base with ease, I now resemble a volcano. The hands glide against my base sides and lift my weight away and above the waning thickness of my walls. My tall cylindrical profile will now be manipulated to my creator’s will.

My first cylinder is manipulated as if I were as resinous as hot wax, liquid as wind, and heavy as a snowflake. She outwardly pushes my base and my waist even more so. My shoulders are collared in, form a shelf above my hollow interior, and a lip completes my spherical cylinder. She waits for me to dry as my second self repeats the process. Rather than a spherical cylinder, my second self is a much smaller, straighter cone. The next six spheres become cylinders and resemble each other’s proportional hand held size. A needle repeatedly pierces my first dry self and my second self attaches around these holes to 45 degrees. My ninth self never forms a cylinder, but a disc fitted to my first shelf. The tenth ball of my body is sponge-bathed and milked like a goat. Milking stretches my tenth body to the desired length and flexibility so my creator arches one end towards the other. Once I am dry, the excess of my base is cut off and replaced with my first shape’s fertile curve (opposite to the small cone).

After completely drying, I endure a cocoon of outrageous firing temperatures. From this transforming experience I emerge as sonant as a bell, as translucently white as milk, and as vitrified as glass. My nonporous body is impermeable to liquid, and my sturdy vessels will be used as a means to an end. That end is entertainment: I am a pawn in a ceremony of enjoyment.

What am I?

English 114 Expository Writing- Personal Profile

Personal Profile

What can combine everything about life, leaving nothing out, into one cohesive unit? A great story. Unlike the authors swimming in the sea of my mind, I am not writing a great story. Creative ideas, analogies, and language (as symbols of ideas) float abundantly through my head, but efficient planning and cohesive organization have yet to be applied for clear and effective communication of what I feel is the best of what I have to offer. This unfortunately sets intimidating standards for myself. Papers of my past linger in folders, raked up like dried leaves to fester in the dark. I am so ashamed of my flaws that I have sabotaged my potential and my growth. Journals have created an independent and isolated outlet for my writing, but cooperation and communication are demanding prerequisites to my goals.

To say that I love reading would be an understatement- I’m bordering on addiction. Missing a good book in my life and not knowing where to find one leaves me with a lost, aimless feeling. Books mean a world of symbolism to me. They have fueled my thoughts and theories, ambitions and dreams. Being analytical and creative are among my strengths, as well as a natural inclination for math, music, and tennis. Although the latter abilities seemed irrelevant to this application, I realized the huge role they play in my life can not be ignored. Math problems gave me a means of exercising mental focus in abstract application, which has helped me analyze psychological concepts. Music I’ve played on the flute has enriched my life and given me control over my own personal satisfaction. I came to see myself as a functioning individual following the guidance of a director orchestrating all the instruments in the band to create moments that were phenomenal. The ethereal quality of great music reaches me on all levels and reassures me of the order and meaning nature has to offer. Tennis has let me test my strength, composure, and endurance on and off the court. Math, music, and tennis are three practical applications that have taught what I could never learn through theorizing and philosophizing. They have put me in context-specific situations and have solidified my values and ethical opinions. As a result, I can move on with life without losing my inner hold on what I know is valuable.

Reading, analyzing, and creative thinking are things that fill my mind like a cluttered treasure chest. It is difficult to communicate these ideas without organization or planning for the process of communication. Planning for papers used to consist of a long incubation period followed by pages of brainstorming until I felt that I could write the paper. I followed an intuitive order, but now I need a solid linear structure to harness my cyclical and vaguely recursive thoughts.

By fearing that classmates and professors would not understand my ideas, much less support them- I have become my own antagonist. If passing your course means I will effectively communicate my ideas, not only will I be one step closer to graduating- I will also carry that ability with me in my pursuit to create meaningful architecture and functional art. This course would be a way of exploring linguistics, organizing my ideas (for my own sake as well as communicating with others), and planning an efficient process of task-oriented problem solving. Most importantly, it will free up the mental energy necessary for juggling ideas when organization and planning are not employed. This new mental energy will finally help me combine my experiences with what I have read in the past and create new recipes for others to learn from. In other words, I will be able to extract cohesive concepts from my life in order to become a great writer. I am passionate about these goals and determined to use what this course offers in order to achieve them.