Updated holiday wish list
by V.E. on December 11th, 2005
filed under fyi, ladyamedeus, personal
Okay, so I’ve been thinking about what to get for other people since like July. But I haven’t really come up with some things I want. So, in that light, here’s a list of stuff that couldn’t go wrong if I found it under the tree with my name on it.
clothing with letters… 
–for examples of letter clothing, check out Greek Gear or Greek Ave
any Superchic[k] CD**
Rent (Broadway) soundtrack**
Battlestar Galactica, season 1**
money**; 128 Mb flash drive**
Beauty & the Beast (movie) soundtrack
Spine-Worx; Angel, season 1
professional massage
movie tickets/certificates
Star Wars ep. III
Escape to Witch Mountain (original)
Return to Witch Mountain
Requiem for a Dream
Books
The Official Handbook of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy**
Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth**
Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon**
The Witch from the Sea: A Novel**
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (by Anne Rice)**
Pledged: the Secret Life of Sororities**
The Hazing Reader; Inspiration for Greeks
Inspiration for Student Leaders
Inspiration for LGBT Students & Their Allies
Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism is Corrupting Our Future
Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas
Anime
Samurai Champloo**
Kaleido Star**
Gunslinger Girl**
any season of Sailor Moon
Full Metal Alchemist
Gantz; DearS
Evangelion; End of Eva
…
Did I mention money?
[** excellent, super-approved choice]
Monkeys!
by V.E. on December 11th, 2005
filed under entertainment, favorite, ladyamedeus, school
I received this email a while back and forwarded it to my dad because I knew he’d find it amusing.
————————-
Subject: DVD’s for Primate Lab in Psychology
From: MaryAnn Russell
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2005 12:34:40 -0500
Got any DVD’s lying around collecting dust???
Why not donate them to F&M Primate lab — we use them as enrichment for our monkey colonies.
————————–
This evening, I received a reply from my father saying thus:
————————–
Subject: Re: Fwd: monkeys!
From: Courtney Duncan
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 21:55:05 -0800
… enrichment…? Does that mean they eat them, watch them, or poop on them?
—————————
I LITERALLY fell out of my chair laughing. I love you, Dad!!
Poem plagiarism, part 2
by V.E. on December 11th, 2005
filed under ladyamedeus, politics, school, writing
Yes, it is a found poem. When I find a found poem, I usually just write “–a found poem” underneath the title—I can’t believe I forgot to do that for your friend’s words! as for the other poems, I’m positive they’re mine (unless they say “–a found poem” underneath the title, like “Widows” does).
Anyway, I’m sorry about the confusion.
–Viannah
——————————————
Sarah,
“A found poem is a piece of writing that was not intended as a poem, but is so declared by its ‘finder.’ Parts of newspaper articles are often declared to be ‘found poems,’ as are lists, notes passed among children, scraps of conversation, and other incidental uses of language… Writing a found poem often requires creative skills similar to those used in actual creation of the art, deciding the poem’s limits and linebreaks. The poet does not enjoy the license to change, add, or omit words–a rule often broken.” **
Obviously, you and I are basing found poetry on (similar, yet) different definitions. I had no idea that what you wrote on a facebook wall was a poem, so I had no idea that I couldn’t “find” it and create a found poem from it. Please keep that in mind next time you post something online. Facebook walls can easily be considered either “notes passed among children” or “scraps of conversation” or both. As for my “forgetting to cite” your words, I actually DID forget. As Kathryn Bursick knows, I submitted another found poem to the Dispatch, “Widows”, and did say it was a found poem. I am disappointed that you refuse to give other poets the benefit of the doubt.
As for my class portfolio, it’s not IN my class portfolio, and if it was, it would be significantly changed. Sometimes when I find found poems, I edit them and add to them until they are not found anymore–which would be the case with your poem IF it were in my class portfolio. Regarding your problem with its possible publication, that’s up to Kathryn and the staff of the Dispatch, not me. I assume that since it’s caused so much turmoil it won’t be published, but just to make sure, you should contact Kathryn about that.
**Padgett, Ron, ed. The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms, second edition. New York, Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2000. p. 79.
Sincerely,
Viannah Duncan
Franklin & Marshall College
——————————————
For the record, since I submitted “All too soon” to the Dispatch, I HAVE significantly altered it and added quite a bit of my own words and now consider it neither plagiarism NOR a found poem. Also, it’s been retitled “Bath, England”. I am offended and feel very threatened by Sarah Broderick’s words and hope that she reconsiders her problem with my found-poem-no-longer-a-found-poem.
Poem plagiarism, part 1
by V.E. on December 11th, 2005
filed under ladyamedeus, politics, school, writing
I sent eight poems to the Dispatch on 3 December 2005 to see if they’d publish any of them. They were “Words”, “I confess”, “College Intern”, “I am”, “Neck”, “An Un-workshop-able Poem”, “Widows”, and “All too soon”. The last two were found poems (which I’ll explain in part 2).
——————————————
Here’s what I received from the Dispatch on 8 December 2005:
Viannah,
I’m very intrigued by one of the poems you submitted to The College Dispatch.
Viannah Duncan
10 October 2005
All too soon
we’ll meet in Bath
at “our” restaurant
it will be raining
our heels will click
against the cobblestone
and we’ll run with strangers
under our umbrellas
Your poem entitled “All too soon” and written on October 10th is actually verbatim from a post that my friend Sarah left on my facebook wall [found here: http://fandm.facebook.com/wall.php?id=32700374] in September. You must be aware of this.
Sarah Broderick (Denison) wrote
at 2:04am September 10th, 2005
I think your pic is even better than mine! Someday…we’ll meet in Bath…at “our” restaurant…it will be raining…and our heels will click against the cobblestone…and…we’ll run with strangers under our umbrellas…sigh. 
I’m confused as to whether you are counting the poem as a “found” poem (yet found poems usually cite the source) or were trying to pass it off as your own. In any case, I was glad that I recognized Sarah’s words (and, incidentally, recognized the poem as my own experience) and caught it. Can you explain this? Are the other poems you submitted also from other sources? Have you submitted the poem “All too soon” to any classes or as a work in a portfolio? Am I correct in thinking that it was submitted to ENG382, Joanna Goodman’s poetry seminar?
I’d appreciate a quick response, as we are laying out the issue soon.
Thanks,
Kathryn Bursick
Editor-in-Chief
The College Dispatch
——————————————
And here’s what I received from the so-called original poet of “All too soon” this afternoon (10 December 2005):
Viannah,
After receiving the email from The College Dispatch, I was somewhat troubled by your use of my words. I want you to understand that I consider your use of my poem to be plagiarism. I find it difficult to believe that it was a “found” poem that you forgot to cite. There were no changes, and you simply slapped a title on top of what I already wrote. You should understand what it means to write found poetry. “Found poetry is the rearrangement of words or phrases taken randomly from other sources (example: clipped newspaper headlines, bits of advertising copy, handwritten cards pulled from a hat) in a manner that gives the rearranged words a completely new meaning” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_Poem). Also, I happen to be a writer, and that particular poem is part of my own artistic portfolio. I strongly suggest that you remove that poem from your class portfolio and from publication, or I will have to take further action.
Sincerely,
Sarah Broderick
Denison University
Movies…
by V.E. on December 9th, 2005
filed under entertainment, ladyamedeus, to do
…I must see while I’m at home (if at all possible).
Rent
Brokeback Mountain
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Memoirs of a Geisha
Syriana
Good Night & Good Luck
Marie Antoinette
In that order.
Better
by V.E. on December 9th, 2005
filed under fyi, ladyamedeus, personal
I’m feeling better than before. I took a shower and then slept for twelve hours. Sorry, Dave, for completely ditching you online last night. I think I’m good, at least for another three or four days.
Recently
by V.E. on December 9th, 2005
filed under finances, health, ladyamedeus, school, thoughts, work
I have one week left, but I don’t know if I can make it. I can feel what I have left slipping through my fingers. I have so much to do, even in these last hours of this semester. I’m disheartened.
I received a phone call (not the first–or the last) from some debt-collecting company evening before last. I didn’t even pick up, but from that moment, I’ve become progressively moodier. I know I’m in the right on this debt; I don’t owe a debt to these particular people. Everyone I DO owe, I’m paying off. I have a plan to be completely debt-free by my 21st birthday… not including my college loans. It’s not that I OWE someone that’s frustrating to me, it’s that THEY think I owe them, which I don’t.
I’m still anemic. I tried to give blood earlier this week, to no avail. I’ve been taking vitamins with iron! My hemoglobin count is 36; it needs to be 38. I don’t want to eat meat, but I can’t help people the way I am right now. Why won’t they take my blood? How bad does the situation have to be before they’ll let me give blood? I hate not being able to help people. I HATE it.
I’ve been putting off schoolwork. I haven’t really, but it feels like it will never end. I just want to sleep and never have to wake up. I am involved in my sorority, Diplocon, and Students for Marriage Equality, and I work (to pay off my debt). I’m burning out. I feel like I just need to stay inside for a while and breathe.
I need to start looking at grad schools and/or post-graduation job opportunities. I don’t even know where to begin. I want to live in New York City after graduation if I can, and I’m trying to get a summer internship there, but I haven’t been able to hold down a job in the past, much less a paying job AND live on my own AND feed myself… why do I think I’ll be able to do it next summer?
I’m lonely. I miss Bennett terribly. I know he doesn’t love me, but I still miss him. I know he thinks I’m crazy, and I am I guess, and that he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life with me. I’m not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life with him, either, but I can feel the relationship unraveling. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what will happen when we break up. I know it’s inevitable; I’m not stupid. Will I act like I did with Nathan? I pray not, but I fear I will.
I’ve had trouble sleeping recently. I started having bad nightmares again. Not that nightmares aren’t bad already, but the kind in which I wake up shaking and crying. It’s not like something’s wrong with my life. I have a good life. I’ve got it under control. That means it must be me, right? Am I completely insane?
One moment I want to lock myself away and lose myself in my mind and the next I want to throw myself off a tall building and the next I just want someone to hold me tight and let me scream. It’s not even like I’m tired of living. I’m just tired of dealing. I’m afraid I’m not a good person. I’ve been trying hard all semester not to ask questions like that of myself, because I know intellectually that I AM a good person. Right now I can’t help but question every step I’ve ever made, and it’s overwhelming.
I know if I do what I WANT to do, which is just blow everything off, I will only get worse. I have been so happy this semester; it’s been the best semester I’ve had since starting college, and now I can feel it starting to unwind. I take my medicine; I go to therapy, like I’m supposed to. What’s wrong with me?
