My sister would like me to ask if anyone would know how to perform a ritual cleansing of her apartment.

Oo Oo, me, me!

I do it for all my friends who move into new houses!

email me and I'll give you the rundown.

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So, can we play a game? It’s called, "Name Val's Thesis"! Right now my title is "Oral History as Literature: A Case Study," and while that perfectly describes what it is, it’s so uncreative. I'd love a nice snappy title. So, first question of the game is, "Should Val just get over it and accept this title, or should we try to come up with a better title?"

If the first answer is come up with a better title, we can try to come up with something better…right? I can give some basic info on the project if it'll help.

My creative juices are gone. I'm in full editing mode, and there's just no creativity left.

Here are some ideas my brother just threw out to get us going:

Oral Legacy: [Something]

The Inheritance of Stories: When Oral History meets Literature

A Narrative Inheritance: When Oral History Meets Literature

or maybe it should be flipped: "When Literature Meets Oral History"

And here's my really pathetic one:

New Kid on the Block: Oral History as Literature

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Dear Miracleborns, move to the West Coast. Do not argue with or attempt to thwart me in this, unless you really really want to get the Very Stern Letter where I explain what is best for you.

THIS. Don't listen to those East Coasters. They're a bunch o' liars, I tells ya!

All your Buffista vajayjay are belong to me!

Bwah! NATLBSB.

Nora, I'm so sorry about the continued stress and frustration in dealing with Tom's mom. Hang in there, love.

Sorry you had a crappy day at work, vw.

{{sj}} Just because.

ETA: I like this one, vw:

A Narrative Inheritance: When Oral History Meets Literature

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Don't get too cutesy/creative with it -- those only end up looking vaguely embarrassing 15 years and several critical fashions later. But I really like the resonance of "Narrative Inheritance", both as a phrase and as a good representation of what your thesis is actually about. Narrative Inheritance: A Case Study in Oral Literature?

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I like Narrative Inheritance too. That was all my brother.

What do we think about this one? I forgot to list it...

"Oral History through the Lens of Literature: A Case Study"

That was actually my parents' favorite, apparently.

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"Oral History through the Lens of Literature: A Case Study"

Nope (no offense to the parents, of course). "Through the lens of" feels like student-desperate-to-pad-a-paper writing, and I have a burning hate-on for just "A [genre]" as a subtitle.

I blame way too many years of bookselling, and failing to move endless variations on Blah Blah Pretentious Literarycakes: A Novel. At a certain point, I wanted to send them all back with a note saying "if I can't tell it's a novel, you're not doing your job".

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"Oral History through the Lens of Literature: A Case Study"

This is okay, but...

Narrative Inheritance: A Case Study in Oral Literature

I like this best of all.

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...so, the times last night when I wasn't jumping out of bed and running to the loo?

I was dreaming about going to the loo. Or trying to find a loo. Often the loo then turned into a lift, with glass walls, and started moving, thus exposing my plight to the world.

I'm'a stay home today. Sorry, kidlets! (But they're having a half-day, which consists of: watch assembly, do spelling test, have snack and break time, spend remaining hour splashing in pool to celebrate Songkran and shooting each other with waterpistols, eat lunch and/or go home. Easy day.)

(It's my first day off so far, in a year and a half.)

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Narrative Inheritance: A Case Study in Oral Literature

My only problem with this is that part of what I'm arguing is that, at least in this case, oral literature and literature shouldn't be separate things. So, it feels misleading.

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Narrative Inheritance: Oral History As Literature

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