TRANSCULTURAL DIALOGUES (Helsinki University and Penn State University) - 143 views
started by Karen Keifer-Boyd on 09 Oct 12
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1. MEET & GREET: Using DIIGO (with a post to this topic) as the social media platform, communicate to each other regarding metaphors, analogies, and sayings that participants from Helsinki University and Penn State University have heard repeatedly growing up. Explain what it means and how you see the meaning played out in your experiences. In your post, provide a link to a website that you feel conveys the idea. Due 10/16.
DIALOGIC RESPONSE: For response to another there are so many possibilities. The dialogic task is not to see something in a negative way but to see beyond the surface layer of the website selected to communicate the idea of the saying. Focus more on the linked site and interpret the visual culture of that site in terms of messages (without setting up a dualism of negative and positive) in regards to race, gender, and/or social class. Find a different way to look at the familiar visual culture of the linked website, i.e., a different narrative. Post response on a DIIGO sticky note on the website page. Due 10/23.
The full TRANSCULTURAL DIALOGUES project is described at http://cyberhouse.arted.psu.edu/322/projects/3_td.html
http://extraordinarylivingbydrscotty.blogspot.com/2011/10/thats-not-fair.html
In the link above please focus on the image at the top of the page and not the blog post posted by the blogger. The image is an example of the saying, "Life isn't fair get used to it".
Growing up, ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with various accents seen across the United States. Although I have always grown up in the East Coast, I have had the privilege of having family and relatives from all over. It is amazing that you can cross a border into another State, and the accents and sayings completely change. For example, I have family in Boston, Massachusetts and they all have heavy accents. One popular sayings that I often hear people from Boston say is "Wicked Smart". This term, especially the word "wicked", is placed in front of basically any adjective. However, Bostonians are known for saying the term "Wicked Smart" due to popular media and visual culture. It is important to note the phonetic differences in how people from Boston say it. For example, although they pronounce wicked as it is read, they pronounce smart as, "smarhhht" - they essentially drop the r sound and add an H. Although it has the same meaning, it is pronounced differently. This has become a landmark saying for Boston, being seen on a lot of their historical memorabilia and on downtown souvenirs.
One way in which this saying is used in popular culture is in the hit and classic movie, "Good Will Hunting":
http://youtu.be/ymsHLkB8u3s
In this video you can see a scene in Harvard (Harhhhvarhhd) Bar where Ben Affleck and Matt Damon talk about what it means to be "Wicked Smart (Smarhhttt)".
In terms of using this in terms of images, this saying can be seen on Boston memorabilia and souvenirs seen everywhere. For example, on this website: http://www.chowdaheadz.com/wicked-smaaht-college-tee.html , you can see the saying being used on a t shirt that displays it in a collegiate way, again illustrating the idea of being "wicked smart".
I hope this helps you understand a little bit of a saying/phrase in Boston, Massachusetts!
http://youknowmojo.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/when-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade/
This link contains a blog that I thought explained this saying very well, and I really like the picture at the bottom of the blog, when you scroll to the bottom.
http://blogs.families.com/media/Like%20a%20Moth%20to%20a%20Flame.jpg
This link is a demonstrating of a moth going toward something it knows is dangerous, but can't help but go towards.
"Like a moth to a flame"
The saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is an inspirational quote that I can relate to. This can relate to anything in your life. In my experience, this relates to school and other hobbies that I have been involved in. I am one to complain about homework, a test, or a project if I don't like or understand it. Is it going to kill me? No. Once I have completed the task I feel like I did something amazing, and I am a better person because of it. In the various hobbies that I participate in, this quote will always stand by the sports I have played. I played soccer my entire life, and when the weather was terrible, or my team was down, or I was having an 'off' game, I always knew it would be okay. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is something that will say, hey, you can do it. It's not the end of the world, keep going. You'll be stronger when you finish.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OT6z4wr-mJg/T6Q-H5u0hQI/AAAAAAAAE8I/sUzj2tO4UXI/s1600/Mount-Everest-Climb.jpg
http://www.shape.com/blogs/working-it-out/monday-motivation-what-doesnt-kill-you-really-does-make-you-stronger
The link above demonstrates a different view on the saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". In this case, it is dealing with health and diet.
Here is a video of a woman who isn't very attractive but has the most amazing talent that nobody would have guessed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECmXi8dv9s
This is an image that I thought exemplified this saying.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1R-bh_eaCVI/TZquIgr3MEI/AAAAAAAAAIE/MZKuzH-i5aU/s1600/walk.jpg
This video is a perfect example of where I would have used this saying if I were the person in the video or if I was along with him when he made this shot. It is a golfer and he is attempting a long putt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7gazvoQboU&feature=related
http://rlv.zcache.com/does_the_name_pavlov_ring_a_bell_mug-p168582124689162402en711_216.jpg
All the time growing up, and even now, my family and friends and others I have known have used the phrase "back to the drawing board". While literally this phrase was created during World War 2, and refers to going back to make a new plan or idea after your initial one has failed, it also has a little different meaning to me. For me, the phrase not only means going back to find a new plan or idea but it also gives the inspiration to try, try and try again.
I great example of this idiom is the provided website below.
http://www.womansday.com/life/the-origins-of-12-common-idioms-83098
In terms of this website you get a definition of the idiom as well as a photo that portrays failed attempts and "going back to the drawing board".
I hope this helps you understand the idiom "back to the drawing board" a little better!
My metaphor could be "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken", by Oscar Wilde, which means in Finnish: "Ole oma itsesi, kaikki muut ovat jo käytössä"
My picture:
http://sani-valoakohti.blogspot.fi/2011/03/huhtikuun-teema-ole-oma-itsesi.html
It is okay to be different, it is okay to be you:) that is what I would like to say in my metaphor and picture.
My mom teached me quite many sayings while I was a child and I've continued using them a lot. One idiom I remember quite well is "Hullu ei huomaa, viisas ei virka mitään" which could be translated to "A fool man won't notice and a wise man won't say anything". I see this in two different ways. First, it means to me that it isn't end of the world to fail sometimes - most people won't even notice your failure. And most of them who notice won't be too hard on you. On the other way I think this idiom can be a guideline how we should be treat each other. If you don't have anything nice to say, then sometimes it's better say nothing. To cut it short, my idiom is about being merciful to yourself and others :)
http://heatherlydee.blogspot.fi/2011/09/commandment-8-what-would-i-do-if-i.html
I like especially the second picture in this blog post. It's a good continuation for my saying.
"Parhaat asiat elämässä ovat ilmaisia" this means "The best things in life are free". Like family, friends, laughter, love and all the great memories you have. You can´t buy these things. This is something that one should always remember. :)
http://data.whicdn.com/images/11745501/cute-friends-laughter-play-smile-Favim.com-98329_large.jpg
Here is the url to the picture that describes the saying and me well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidlipscomb/5263250679/
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2163381
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
This phrase means that if you cannot handle the challenge, whatever it may be, you should remove yourself from the situation. For me, whenever somebody has said this to me, it becomes a sort of dare. It makes me feel as if they do not think I can do it and that I am weak. It instills in me a fear of failing, and I try even harder to make it. This saying does not just have to do with cooking, and I would say that most times it has nothing to do with a kitchen. This could be said at a sporting event, in a class, or at a job. It is rather broad, but always means, "If you are not tough enough, and this is breaking you down, you should leave." For most people it instills a drive to succeed.
http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/world/europe/qmilch-milk-sustainable-fashion/index.html
This link is to an article on CNN about a designer using fabric made out of milk instead of water. There no need to cry over your spilled milk now because it could be used for an eco-friendly fabric!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JoXHO3ceUY
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4Cb_t7BLaIA/TSs6vBfesbI/AAAAAAAAB80/H_pAELCbl8M/s1600/220127929_55d535ba92.jpg
But it can also mean a position that you can be in where there seems to be no right way out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwm5Xk1YUw
Here is a link that further explains the phrase and the history behind it:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-it-mean-to-kill-two-birds-with-one-stone.htm
My idiom is "Joukossa tyhmyys tiivistyy" which could be translated "In a group stupidity condenses". I've seen it countless of time when you just became stupid in groups. Think crowds, ideologies or bullying someone in school. Often there is some strong person in the group and he/she can easily dominate others. In that kind of situations people don't necessarily think like they would think in another situation.
Luckily you can also think the idiom another way. Smart ideas, tolerance and knowledge condense too. In a classroom for example students can achieve something that they couldn't do alone. I just read about math enthusiasts (teachers, students ….) who gathered together for a weekend and made an open source study material. They did it because they loved their subject but the point was doing it t o g e t h e r.
Ps. Jouko is also a man's name in Finnish :)
Here is an example in the nature's point of view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY&feature=related
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