Journalism Class - Thursday October 20

[jerusalem-s.livejournal.com]

Spider is staring suspiciously at a bowl of cold cereal which is resting on the center of his desk. Beside it sits a box with a goofy looking cartoon character with a large, blue hat. Waiting until his students are mostly settled, he finally looks up to address them.

"We've dealt with a number of shifts in personality, disguises, extreme body modification and outright impersonations since the beginning of the term. A surprisingly small number of people have questioned any of these things or even caught on to them in a timely fashion and I'm becoming somewhat disappointed in the way that you, aspiring journalists, have ceased to question some of these issues. Professor Williams is a very good case in point. Mugged, impersonated...." Spider shook his head sadly. "You're supposed to be journalists, people whose job it is to get to the heart and truth of the matter, not only to expose the truth... but to discover the lies."

He prodded cautiously at the bowl, which continued to do nothing. "Exposing the hidden truth is the very heart of journalism. Reading the subtext, hearing the things which aren't said, learning to pick and choose the things that are true from an interview or investigation are what I'm supposed to be teaching you. I want every student today to make three statements. Two of them should be true, one of them should be false - all should be plausible. I want each student to examine the statements made by the others and decide which is the false statement."

Comments

[jayne-serenity.livejournal.com]

uhhhh.... *thinks, very, very hard*

I aint never killed no one.
I dont like messin with guys.
My faverate thing to do is with Vera.

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce glances at Jayne and snorts. "First.. who's Vera?"

[whitedeathpod.livejournal.com]

"The first one's the lie, maybe?"

[soldtoarmenians]

"Pretty sure number two is the lie, but I'm cheating there, 'cause I actually pay attention to things I hear around here, believe it or not. Even if my test scores don't show it."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"I am taking a wild guess that #3 is the lie."

[2ls-in-oneill.livejournal.com]

I'm going with three.

[courier-gavin.livejournal.com]

Jake looks up briefly, says: "1. Coffee is god. 2. Spider Jerusalem is a rat bastard. 3. I once went an entire day without coffee."

[jayne-serenity.livejournal.com]

#2's the lie

[soldtoarmenians]

"Well, two's an undeniable fact, and one's pretty close to that, so I'll go with three for the lie. It just must've been a really shitty day."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"I sincerely hope that #3 is the lie, Jake. And if it's not, I don't ever want to be around you if it happens again."

[whitedeathpod.livejournal.com]

John thinks for a moment about the statements he wants to make.

1. Professor Drusilla's seen some of my private memories.
2. I have never dressed up as a woman.
3. My father and I get along extremely well.

[jayne-serenity.livejournal.com]

#3's the lie

[soldtoarmenians]

"You know, I should totally have used number 2 myself. And in no way because that would be my lie if I'd used it, I'm guessing that's yours."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica gives Crichton a sweet smile.

"I'm gonna have to say #2 is the lie, Johnina."

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce considers the assignment for a moment, ticking things off on her fingers before she speaks,
"Male pattern baldness is caused by an overload of testosterone in the system.
Spider is bald.
Spider's baldness is due to an overload of testosterone in his system."

[jayne-serenity.livejournal.com]

#1's the lie

[chasingangela]

Angela considers for a moment.

"Three things? God, I'm such a bad liar...

Okay.

One, I was raised Catholic. Two, my mother was adopted. Three, I'm having a really bad week."

[jayne-serenity.livejournal.com]

uhhhh.. #2?

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

Before class begins, D'anna stops by the coffee machine in the back for a refill. She sips at the hot liquid while Spider speaks, wondering where he's going with all this. When he gets to the end, she groans quietly to herself and hides her face in the hand that isn't holding her coffee. Between this and Interpersonal Communication (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomhigh/247128.html), she chose the right shirt (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v722/no_chocolate/FH/taft.jpg) this morning.

"Two truths and a lie? I can handle that." She narrowed her eyes and took another drink while she thought. Then she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Alright. Everyone has the right to vote, all living humans breath air, and the sun is always out."

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

Beka studies D'Anna from where she leans in the doorframe and gives a tight nod.

"Definitions. Everyone doesn't have a right to vote, if everyone includes all sentients and sentients include machines or marine mammals or probably vampires. Also depends on where.

"All living humans breathe air. I think that's true. If you said 'beings', that would be a lie. Well, maybe. Vampires aren't living.

"And, the sun is always out...depends on what you mean by 'out'. It's always there. It may not be shining through the clouds. But if you live in space, like I do...did...it's always out."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander merely shakes his head when Spider talks about personality shifts, body mods, impersonations.

"I probably don't question any of it because I'm used to weird shi-- stuff happening, where I come from," he says afterwards. "Ghosts, robots, alternate universe doubles. Spells and things that mess with your mind." He looks down at his rather beaten-up palms and knuckles, and winces. "The only thing that surprises me even a little is that it happens someplace besides home. When you're used to there being a screwy and usually shady explanation for nine out of ten things that happen to you in a day, you don't tend to invstigate things as much. You assume trouble until proven otherwise."

"For instance..." he rubs his chin in thought. "Ok, two truths and a lie. One, I was almost eaten by one of my teachers back home. Two, both of my best friends have dated demons, and so have I. Three, I scored 1460 on my SAT last year. Now do any of those sound plausible?"

[chasingangela]

"Would you be insulted if I said that, from what you've told me about your hometown, three sounds like the lie?"

[fh_jackass]

Logan taps his pen on his desk. "Two truths and a lie? I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Love is a burning thing and it makes a firey ring. I will let you down; I will make you hurt."

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Watching Logan with amusement, Duce drawls, "Hello, Johnny Cash. We didn't know you went to this school." She offers, "And that cover of 'Hurt' you did so totally rocked my misanthropic little world."

[lady-jessica-bg.livejournal.com]

Jessica offers the options:

1. I cannot tell a lie.
2. Politics is both my enemy and my friend.
3. For me, observation is often more important than action.

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander cocks his head. "Either number one's the lie, or they're all true and you didn't follow the rules because you can't."

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

After answering D'Anna, Beka pursed her lips. A lot of possibilities flitted through her head. She sipped her coffee and thought it over.

"One, D'Anna rarely speaks without thinking first. Two, Jerusalem cares about his students. Three, I am as easy as my subtext."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica studies the girl for a moment. She doesn't really know her, though she's seen her around.

"I think #3 is the lie."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica thinks for a moment and then offers the following.

1. I accused my boyfriend of murder.
2. I was drugged the first time I had sex.
3. I love my mother.

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

After they've introduced themselves, Beka considers Veronica's statements.

"I don't think #1 is false, because you don't strike me as the sort who would joke about that. Ditto on #2, although, I'm a little less sure, because it's the sort of thing I would never admit in public. #3 seems like a plausible lie. So, I'll say #3 is false."

[youngest-sister.livejournal.com]

I want every student today to make three statements. Two of them should be true, one of them should be false - all should be plausible.
*Delirium sits in class, somewhat more sedate than usual*

I knOw lOTs oF thiNGs that aRE true and evEN More thaT AReN't. but. THere Isn't any DiFfereNce.

*she frowns, focusing - but on something far away*

I don't Think I want to Play this anymorE.

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce looks over at Delirium and nods at her answers. Watching the girl for a moment, Duce asks with concern, "You ok, Del? You seem kinda sad today. No frogs?"

[suzotchka.livejournal.com]

Ivanova thinks for a long moment.

"1. Garibaldi needs to get laid by Lennier
2. I'd rather drink water than vodka.
3. I should've boffed Marcus at least once."

[2ls-in-oneill.livejournal.com]

I have no idea who the people in the first or last one is so I'm gonna go with two.

[2ls-in-oneill.livejournal.com]

1) I've done drag before.
2) It was a gift dammit!
3) I once broke my ankle playing dominos while I weas drunk.

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

D'anna raises an eye brow, "what was a gift?"