Friday, February 19, 2010

Words

The objective was to hear a given phrase and create its polar opposite, as insane and irrational as possible.  This was the class result:

An auditorium full of balloons.


-flat black stones at the bottom of the ocean
-small brown room with one window
-12 legged tripod
-snake
-icicles hanging off a skyscraper
-dead pigeons on cement floor
-line of ants carting crumbs away in a dusty corner
-a needle in a haystack
-books stacked on a wood floor
-sunken pirate ship
-sidewalk with cracks
-one blue marble and a porcelain bathtub
-purple flags at a funeral procession
-sewer rat
-can of chicken noodle soup
-rhino at Laker's game

As we went around the room and read our answers aloud, we burst out in hysterical laughter.  It was an extreme nerd moment, but there was something so moving about language moving against a cliché.  Our list was exciting, jolting, caffeinated.

Next, we wrote about one of the phrases.
       The lifeless pigeons were more of a roadblock than anything.  The cabbies maneuvered around the influx of pedestrians who were dodging the corpses.  The wind carried the birds' feathers into the juicy exposed intestines.  Stupid stinky dead nuisance.

Then we wrote about something that happened to us over the weekend but concluded our free-write with the final sentence of the free-write above, like so.
       My eyes were still sensitive as they adjusted to the bright light.  The intermission was refreshing, and I took the time to stretch my legs.  I took a second glance at the gentleman sitting in front of me because he looked exactly like a friend of mine.  Same eyes, same bone structure, same angular haircut.  And then bam!!!  A flip flop sandal hit my shoulder.  It had fallen from the first balcony directly above me.  Stupid stinky dead nuisance.


Words are funny!

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