Friday, August 30, 2013

"Graceless," The National

Graceless

The National

[See lyrics with annotations HERE]

[Verse 1]
Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless

I'm trying, but I'm graceless
I don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless

[Pre-Chorus]
I'm trying, but I'm gone, and through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine, and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice
Just let me listen
Graceless

[Verse 2]
I figured out how to be faithless
But it would be a shame to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless

[Pre-Chorus]
I'm trying, but I'm gone and through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine, and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice
Just let me listen

[Chorus]
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means

I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the white ones, they're my favorite
It's the side effects that save us
Grace

Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace

[Bridge]
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows
There's a science to walking through windows without you

[Chorus]
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rotten fruit
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means

I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the white ones, they're my favorite
It's the side effects that save us
Grace

Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it'll brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
[X2]



Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Passive Radicals: The Manufactured Myth — Writers on Writing — Medium

Passive Radicals: The Manufactured Myth — Writers on Writing — Medium

My Introduction: Dr. Thomas

Hello, I am Paul Thomas, your FYW professor. My writing is under the name P. L. Thomas because I fell in love with the poetry of e.e. cummings and the fiction of J.D. Salinger.

I have been a teacher for thirty years—eighteen years as a high school English teacher at Woodruff High (Woodruff, SC) and the last twelve as a professor in the Education Department here at Furman.

I am also a writer. I have written and edited many books, I have chapters in several books, I am very proud of my Kurt Vonnegut scholarship, I write poetry, and I write original blogs many days each week, usually on issues related to education.

I have been a serious cyclist for almost thirty years, also. I ride about 4-5 days a week and about 8,000 to 10,000 miles a year. Each year, a few friends and I do a 220+ mile ride to the beach in one day, about 14 hours of cycling.

I also do a good bit of work and posting on Twitter: @plthomasEdD.

I enjoy science fiction so two of my favorite movies are Blade Runner and Solaris.

My favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, Neil Gaiman, Cormac McCarthy, Milan Kundera, and dozens more (I read a lot and have many, many books).

I enjoy The National, CAKE, R.E.M., Ben Folds, Beck, Fiona Apple, and many other musical performers and groups.

I love teaching and especially love to teach writing. I am excited about our class, and hope you enjoy this semester.

DUE: Friday 8/30 and Wednesday 9/4

Friday 8/30

  • Email (reply ALL to the email I send about these assignments) an introduction about YOU. You may include your background, preferred name, possible major, reason you are at Furman, hobbies, favorite stuff (books, authors, films, music, etc.), and such.
  • Email (to ME ONLY) your version of Sandra Cisneros's "A House of My Own"
Wednesday 9/4

We will choose Adaptation Unit 1 by 9/6 (be sure to research World War Z and be able to vote by then)