9/1/20
5-510: Check-in… how’s your day, week? Narrate your day…..
510-530: Before we get into Sedaris, talk to us about your reading methods….
530-550: Sedaris, the four essays we read. Observations? How did the reading feel? What insight do you have on this author?
550-610: What parts/quotes did you like most? Why?
610-630: Does he have you thinking about writing a different way, possibly telling your own story from a funnier form?
630-650: Thoughts, and close…..
ASSIGNMENT: Read the next three essays, take notes on them IN YOUR JOURNAL. Post pictures of your journal writings on Sedaris, on your class’s assignment post. Any questions, send me a text.
#professormikey 
A note for your notes….. Your work is not just about the assignment, it’s about your story. It’s about EVERYTHING. Your work is YOU, connected to all your dimensions.
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One of my favorite methods if I want to take notes and remember a lot of the book is on the first read I just skin through it just to get an idea of it then on the second read I read it slow to retain the information. I don’t like to read it for more then 2 times or I’ll lose interest quick.
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the way like reading is focusing 100% on the book. I wish I could take notes while I read but once I stop reading for a second it’s really hard for me to concentrate again.
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I feel interested on the meaning of this book and I feel like I don’t understand it yet but thats why its triggering me to keep listening. sometimes you can tell by the title on what a book covers or is suppose to be about but this book is mysterious or maybe im not that smart?
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Good!
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Well to be honest I also thought the title was going to be related to the book but I didn’t think Professor Mikey was going to do something so evil as reading about Owls with Diabetes
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There is an interview with Sedaris where he explains WHY he chose this title. I’m not evil!! Did your sister call me that?
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No but Ciana says she likes Sylvia Plath better but it’s because she’s always depressed
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I don’t think the book has anything to do with diabetes yet..
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lmk what you find out about the book because it seems like its a lot of here nor there. it is funny and interesting so I give it that!
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While I was reading especially in the essay memory laps, I felt as if I was there by the pool watching him and Greg race. He uses similes and metaphors to bring you into the landscape and make us laugh.
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I really like how Sedaris came up with such clever titles for each essay. They give the reader a sense of what is about to be read but also keeps readers interested enough to continue on and read
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In the first essay, one of the many things he said that really stuck with me is about how much he sweats. I am really curious as to why haha
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What was your favorite of the four essays, and why?
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I personally liked the Memory Laps essay because it was relatable, having a father who compares you to others. As well as never being able to have my fathers approval. He brings light and laughs to that kind of relationship.
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Yes… definitely shapes perception and identity.
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agree!! I loved that he called his dad in 2008 to tell him about his book and not even then his dad was excited for him and in the end he just remembers the day he won the swimming competition and most important the won again Greg
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The way he writes is very interesting to me because I’m not used to reading a book in essay form, but I definitely enjoy how it is written. I almost like essays better than chapters because it gives you a topic. I believe that I will really enjoy his writing style and want to ready his novels.
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My observation for this book is that it wasn’t a typical read. its was kind of a biography kind of not. I love that he was using his own experience to kind of give us lesson or for us to know him on a different level. It was nice too, just the way he set it up . it was like a one sided conversation
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My favourite essay was Attaboy.
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Why?
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That was mine as well!
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I really like “Attaboy” when he compares his traumatic childhood to his life today.
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Any quotes that made you think, made you pause…?
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Because he really talks about how times have changed and that things today wouldn’t flow back then and vise versa
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“Well, it’s not number 1 on The Wall Streets Journals list,” he said.” Sedaris’s father pg 39. It was crazy to me how easily his father shrugged off his accomplishment of being on the TIMES bestseller list, huge accomplishment but not praise.
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This is a very poignant passage!!
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“the child’s name sounds vaguely presidential” So funny !
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That was mine as well! In my opinion it was very interesting.
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Why was it so interesting?
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This reply accidentally was meant for a different comment… my apologies.
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All good.
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Quotes!!!!!
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I highlighted the part his mom says ”oh, you are a good swimmer. Not the best, maybe, but so what? Who wants to be the best at something you do in a bathing suit?” I thought it was hilarious the way she tried to be positive about the fact he is not the best
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His writings almost feel like im reading the transcript of a comedy special with the way he delivers punchlines and how he talks about things that happen to him. He doesn’t beat around the bush either and is very blunt about what he says and doesn’t really embellish what he writes. Like mentioned previously is almost like a comedy special or a conversation. Based on the way he writes from what ive read so far id say he has an affinity for comedy and skits the problem i see is that for me personally i dont think it translates well onto paper as some of the punchlines dont land very well. If i heard it audibly id laugh however the written format doesn’t do it for me but that more likely than not my personal preference.
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Nice! Well said!
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His writing is so free flowing! It feels casual and relaxed. I’m used to writing being more strictly organized. I think authors are encouraged to stay on topic to avoid losing the reader. Sedaris, however, jumps excitedly into tangents that can abruptly end as quickly as they start. Often these contain details that seem irrelevant, but they take you more intimately into how Sedaris views the world.
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My favorite out of the four essays were Memory Laps because I really did feel the anger that he was feeling and could relate to it. Maybe it’s because I’m not that far from his age in that essay but waiting your parents to be proud is such a big deal as kids. Also, when you’re a kid and your parents talk about how great someone else’s kid is, you try to be them or dislike that kid because of it. It like he kind of mentioned, why don’t you just adopted him if you like him so much
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Nice!! Good thoughts here!
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I personally love “Think Differenter”… Anyone else?
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why the ”Think Differenter” is your favorite professor?
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Easy… how much energy and wit he shares in such a short span span of time. And his remark on the iPhone had me rolling. Wish it were a taser sometimes..
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Cool!
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I really enjoyed Attaboy, “It wont stop its crying, but at least now it’ll be doing it for a good reason.” This was funny to me because it sounds like what my parents used to say, “You better stop crying before I give you something to cry about.” Must be a generational thing haha
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Thanks for including these quotes! They’re strong and very informative, aren’t they?
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a quote from ‘Memory laps’, “It’s not my fathers approval that troubles me but my childlike hope that maybe this time will last. Absolutely love that quote. I feel like he says what’s on a lot of peoples minds when it comes to family approval and childhood dreams and aspirations
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Good!
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I like “Dentist without Borders” was one of my favorites because it is the first taste of his writing style since all of my research. The first comparison of the Canadian healthcare system to European genocide really caught my eye and gave me a sense of how bold the rest of this book is going to be.
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The way he writes was very inviting to me. Reading the essays felt very real, like a friend recounting their experiences to you. They felt like very honest accounts, not preachy. I felt like he took me in to the experience with him, telling the raw details not just the “pretty” stuff, like the beginning of Attaboy, with sarcasm and all.
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His writing and mood in this piece remind me of a confessional piece of writing…
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I like them all but I think my favorite was Attaboy
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Because it’s very funny and differences he points out of parenting style in his childhood and today makes whole situation funny.Especially the ice cream part.
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“as a child, I thought that when I reached adulthood I would have grown-up thoughts.” I just looked that one up but it was quite funny because I can relate to thinking this same exact thing.
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I like that one a lot. I always feel like my thoughts and interests are ‘childlike’ even though I’m an adult. But turns out even though my thoughts are childish, they grow with me as I become older.
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Yeah, and what does “grownup” mean anyway?
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Right?? How it is that you’re a kid one day and adult the next? I think we’re all just kids that have learned a thing or two
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“In Japanese and Italian, the response to [“How are you?”] is “I’m fine, and you?” In German it’s answered with a sigh and a slight pause, followed by “Not so good.” this quote reminds me of my boyfriend who was an exchange student from Germany and he would say the same thing, it just made me chuckle when I read it.
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This is great! One of those quotes that is human, and makes the reader comfortable.
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I am really enjoying Sedaris’ book. I’ve never read essays book before and it is so much easier and lighter. The way he writes also makes a really easy reading. My favorites essays so far are Dentists without borders and Memory Laps. The first one I love the way he sees the dentist and how he feels about them, like they are his friends. And the way he finishes the memory laps really showed how positive he is even when his dad always trying to make him feel threatened or insignificant (this was his words)
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100% agreed !
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Glad you’re enjoying it!
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“Here I am just turned 50, and I forgot that my father isn’t dead yet!” Sedaris pg 23 This quote just made me laugh I get forgetting about the past but to forget your father is alive is beside me but hey I’m not 50 yet.
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I love the tone in this part.
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“Competing against celebrities, people who were not in any sense ‘real,’ was a losing game.”(37). Love this line.
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Well now he is the celebrity! :]
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Ha ha…
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I think my favorite quote might’ve been “ If you don’t think a mental patient has the right to bring a sawed-off shotgun to the church where his ex-girlfriend is getting married, you’re part of the problem.” This whole essay really threw me, because it was very much a ‘no f’s given’ kind of attitude that he had in it. At first I read it and got very defensive about how he was speaking and the stances he took, but I forced myself to read through it again and had a new sense of appreciation for his candor and the ridiculousness of it all and kept saying to myself “well if that isn’t American culture I don’t know what is”
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I love that you got defensive haha. It reveals altruistic nature. And probably good mothering instincts 🙂
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I like the way Sedaris talks about his doctors and how blunt he is with how his doctors act. He talks about how he questions the authenticity of his doctor since his doctor is so mellow and laid back then he cuts to how wired his dentist his specifically his assistant who seems not to care but not in the fun way like Sedaris’s doctor. Sedaris brags about flossing and the nurse just goes whatever
and moves on can be highly related to and was funny.
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He is blunt. I also think he’s truthful, and a bit aggressive..
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“Enough with the flossing. You have better ways to spend your evenings” LOL that’s so great
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Again, lots of attitude from him…
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“If you don’t think a mental patient has the right to bring a sawed off shotgun to church where his ex- girlfriend is getting married, you’re part of the problem” I was definitely caught off guard by that, so much so I had to laugh. It was so over the top. Before this chapter I hadn’t figured out that not all the essays are from his point of view. It’s interesting the commentary that is being conveyed from this hilariously despicable character
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Awesome..
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“‘I’m not a parent myself , but I think the best solution at this point is to slap that child across the face.”‘ This quote is just to funny
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Lots of attitude from Sedaris here.
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more parents should think like this lol
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Maybe…
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I really enjoyed the first chapter. I really understood what he was saying about how America and other countries react differently. Like for example How he was saying how doctors would have freaked out when a tumor being mention while in other countries they would be like its not really a big deal. I felt this too because thats how doctors are in El Salvador and I experience the same situation.
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What about the other essays?
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Memory laps was a second for me, He could have saved the world and still couldn’t make his father happy or proud. Really sad but also kind of dope how he sharing this with us.
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Yeah…. lots of insight in that piece.
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Mr. Sedaris has me thinking about MY life and my past, differently…
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When talking about the “lump on my right side”. I thought the reply from the doctor was priceless. “Oh, that’s nothing” “A little fatty tumor. Dogs get them all the time.” Page 4. I thought that was pretty funny thing to say.
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He also urges us to approach different days and people, interactions, differently.
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“All these young mothers chauffeuring there volcanic three-year-olds through the grocery store.” I found this quote particularly funny considering everyone know the feeling of seeing a child meltdown in grocery store or can remember being that child themselves.
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A note for your notes….. Mr. Sedaris also urges us not to care so much… the only person that can free us from shit is ourselves.
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I like that concept it’s very true we are our own biggest enemy.
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It’s really cool how he’s been so many places and how many experiences he has because he’s learning things from different people and tying it into his already learning experiences. Then sharing it with us.
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A note for your notes….. Try being more like Sedaris in certain situations. See if it works!
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take a negative situation and find the good in it
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Yep.
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I would love to hear people’s stories about trying this!
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Me too!!
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I read the essays but after downloading the audio book and listening from Amazon. I realized these are bits from his stand up act. Hearing these make it so much more entertaining to listen to.
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He also told that story of fatty tumour on Stephen Colbert show and how he got those tumours removed and later feed them to turtles.
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So awesome..
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Jeez that’s kinda metal
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I think that being aggressive or stern is definitely something that you need to be in some situations. I can say that many of use probably have experienced this as well.
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I also have to say that I am so glad I read a lot about him and saw a bunch of his interviews because now I can literally picture himself and imagining him as a kid in every chapter
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he definitely has changed the way I think essays are written. i can’t speak for everyone in this class. but i’ve never read an essay like the ones he wrote, fun to read
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Fun, and revealing. I think he’s a great teacher on the form of essay itself.
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I like to believe that i write my essays and works in a comedic manor already however i dont do it to the extent that Sedaris does it. Personally his way of writing comedy isnt mine and while i can appreciate it it doesn’t resonate with me his style so no it doesn’t inspire me to change the way i write at all however as previously mentioned i respect the way he writes.
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I dont really try to be funny in my writing because I typically only write for school and you’re the first English teacher to encourage humor. I think I will try to bring more comedy into my work
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More important than humor is that you enjoy your writing.
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And…. be more a fan of yourself!
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Agreed. Other teachers want more formal and non-personal essays that don’t have “I” and our opinions in them.
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Please don’t mistake, there IS formality in this class. Just never at the expense of expression, and your happiness and creative freedom. ❤
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He has me thinking differently about essays and writing, altogether. Always do something different, use what’s in front of you for material… DON’T OVERTHINK YOUR OWN PAGES.
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From reading this essays, I had of changed my writing in my journal now. I try to make it more interesting and write about the things I couldn’t say out loud.
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I wouldn’t say reading Sedaris book makes me want to write differently, but just think differently in life in general. This world is full of so much bad and chaos. The only way to fix it is by looking at it from a better point of view. Enlightened darker situations
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I’ve been trying really to apply Sedaris’s mentality into how I narrate my own life. Honestly, I started doing it without even realizing I was. I had a challenging day today but I find that it’s not sticking with me in a negative way. I feel quite care-free despite what happened and just that fact makes me want to laugh.
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