How Nerdy Can We Be?

Unsurprisingly, St. John’s is packed with people who understand and revel in obscurity. That was a very inflated sentence in reference to the marvellous number of nerds that are here. I had no experience with video games, role-playing or anything other than music and movies before coming here. However, I have slowly been slipping into these hobbies and having an enormously good time. This year, I’m helping out with a friend’s role-playing campaign and exploring various computer games. I have also gotten far deeper into movies and comic books than I ever thought was possible. My favorite part of listening to lunch gaming conversations is the staggering levels of intelligence and humor. It is very heartening that all this counterculture, which is rumoured to be brain-damaging, truly requires advanced thinking. I am constantly surprised by who I can happily jabber to about photoshopp’d comic book covers and the latest fantasy series satire. Naturally, a haven for book people would be a haven for comics, games, movies and good old social interaction. I can’t wait until the next session!

Check It Out: Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud
The Starro picture should be credited to mightygodking.com, it's his photoshop cover.

Processions of Grandeur

This past week was my senior oral. It was extremely fun and rather successful, in that it was an excellent conversation and I passed. Hurray! The senior essay and oral examination is the culmination of the program and drives many people up the wall. We’re given a month off to write our essays, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief when we turn them in. Orals begin after the Registrar frantically assembles a schedule between everyone’s conflicting schedules, and students and tutors alike both begin to fray at the edges. The oral committee is composed of the Chair, who directs the conversation and asks the opening question; the Presenter, who announces the senior to the Chairperson; and the Member, who acts as another questioning presence. Everyone processes in and sits in formal regalia, and the conversation begins. I had a ball talking about King Lear for an hour with extremely intelligent people. My presenter asked a very intriguing question about the nature of parenting and how it deepens the pathos of the play. This is not an experience that I have access to, so I was quite pleased to have the opportunity to view the play through an entirely different lens. I wish everyone else luck for their orals and look forward to more fascinating conversations.

Check It Out: Shakespeare After All, Marjorie Garber

Elise Kutsunai