she was completely riveted by all the pictures of Cooper, even the first one--she pointed at his fat little toes and said solemnly, "Bay. Bee."

Awwww! So cute!

Does that make more sense?

It totally makes sense, I'm just not sure why anyone would tell you that makes it not literature.

Oh well. Just puzzled, like that's new!

Also, those pictures reminded me, I need to check eBay and see if I can find Matilda some Cubbies gear (Emmett's LL team this year is the Cubs).

Then Frisch comes along and says, "That's not ok! We need to be collaborating with our narrators, working towards a shared authority."

I'm just not sure why anyone would tell you that makes it not literature.

Yeah, I'm confused. Unless there is some strict definition of literature that says "It must be communicated more-or-less directly from the creative source of the story with minimal interference by any mediators (so editors are okay), else it is Not Literature."

Is that it? Like, it's okay if I tell Aimee a story and she just writes it down, that could be Literature, but if she adds something then there's the "shared authority" issue all of a sudden and it's Not Literature?

I remember when you were out here last year for that conference and met that Huge Important Researcher, and what a jolt of brainiac joy it gave you to have him get all excited about your thesis and tell you not to let his research stop you

It really was so cool, which is one of the reasons I decided to quote it in the discussion section. It’s one of those moments that will just stick with me forever. And this guy has an ego the size of a galaxy. So, to see him tell me, a lowly student, “Don’t worry about my research! Go for it!” was just such an amazing experience.

Also, I'm completely in awe of you, and everyone who's done a serious research thesis--I did a creative thesis because the research would have killed me.

Heh. There were moments I thought it was going to do me in. As a matter of fact, my Beauty and the Bug blog entry for today is about that very thing.

It totally makes sense, I'm just not sure why anyone would tell you that makes it not literature.

Because those people were not literature experts...they were oral history experts, and they didn't consider all of the ways that that just didn't matter. At least that's my very humble opinion.

Just puzzled, like that's new!

Oh, stop. The more I think about it, the more it puzzles me as well. Also, it makes me continue to wonder why I’m the first person (or one of the first) who’s come along and said, “Why aren’t we looking at the literariness of oral history narratives?” I mean, I know I’m bright and stuff, but I’m not usually *this* original.

Also, those pictures reminded me, I need to check eBay and see if I can find Matilda some Cubbies gear (Emmett's LL team this year is the Cubs).

Oh, how fun! If you don’t find anything, I can make my brother make a Target run for you. That’s where most of Cooper’s Cubs stuff has come from. Very reasonable, and SO cute! I love the little picture of him in the hat, where the bill is flipped up. He’s just already so cool!

Is that it? Like, it's okay if I tell Aimee a story and she just writes it down, that could be Literature, but if she adds something then there's the "shared authority" issue all of a sudden and it's Not Literature?

Actually, that would be very literary, in my opinion…the shared authority really is more of an historical issue. So, yeah. The more I think about it, I have no idea why I was told by so many people that it was also a literature issue.

Because those people were not literature experts...they were oral history experts, and they didn't consider all of the ways that that just didn't matter.

Huh. Maybe they just didn't want literature claiming their stuff -- like that thing on the Daily Show about Paterson (Patterson?): "The first black governor. Not the first blind governor -- you hear that, blind people? He's ours. Back off."

Congratulations, vw! Enjoy your unscheduled weekend.

Sometimes I forget that reacting to posts only in my head doesn't actually work.

Just wanted to steal that sentence for a moment because it so perfectly encapsulates so much my b.org habits.

Way to go, vw! Early!

This "shared authority" business is interesting. It helps me understand a little the thing that is making my brain hurt right now - DH is reading i A History of the Jewish People and giving me some of the interesting bits as he goes. The big new idea for both os us that I'm being all boggled by is that Genesis, et al, are both historical documents and imagined stories that illuminate the period they were written down as much as the period they are supposed to be about. It's hard to hold both ideas about the same bit of text. Though what that has to do with Literature I don't know, I'm sure.

Seconding the police report filing for Laga's sister if he took funds he didn't legally have access to. It's the only way the bank will be able to do anything at all.

Seconding the police report filing for Laga's sister if he took funds he didn't legally have access to. It's the only way the bank will be able to do anything at all.

I think that's the problem. He had legal access to them, but didn't have her permission to take all of them.

Sometimes I forget that reacting to posts only in my head doesn't actually work.

Just wanted to steal that sentence for a moment because it so perfectly encapsulates so much my b.org habits.

Yeah, sitting here nodding my head which, ummm, you can't see.