meet maggie: mood maker

Have we seen a softer side of Ulmer? Up until this point the discussion has been fairly impersonal and very much based on research. In chapter 6 however, Ulmer lets his hair down and I think I like it. His showing a tinge of vulnerability reminds me he truly is human and not some computer-like philosopher spitting out quotes and facts.

Which came first: my feeling (even if I could not name it) or the theory? The dilemma is structured like the fetish: intellectually I know that nothing I do will improve the world. Emotionally I believe that my actions make a difference for the better ("I know, but still...)...Can I do this? Can I inhabit the theory of narrative as if it were the narrative itself? More than the narrative, as if knowing the theory put the narrative directly into experience? I know that the fairy tale and the wish it expresses are the safe house of the Utopian impulse. What may we learn about consulting from narrative? (p 164)

This is something I really struggle with and is much of the reason I chose not to tackle an abject topic for my MEmorial. When I experience a punctus, I am very unable to keep myself unbiased. As much as I like to claim that I am unemotional, who am I kidding? I get all worked up when it comes to a soap-box topic of mine. It is my task as a egent to remain unbiased, but I don't know that I would be able to stand back an thrust out an "abject hypothesis concerning the politics of the homo sacer" (p 157). Alas, I am an emotional being. I do, however, think I could take the approach of discovering mood (p 154). Mood implies emotion, something I really understand and relate to.

If our class were an Egency, could we elect positions? Like in an advertising firm there are titles like Creative Director, Designer, Productions Specialists, Marketing Guru, CEO, etc. Could the same thing be done for an Egency? Can I elect myself the mood-maker? That would be a fitting position for me, to map the emotional train that is a disaster. Being visual by nature, I like the idea of using a MEmorial "to map and participate in mood construction, tracing the series of pain." As a team of egents, our class could each take a direction to pull a complete disaster profile together, allowing our many personal and academic strengths to fully flesh out an amazing MEmorial.