Finally

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Pages Read this Week: 100
Pages All Together: 1635

Since the beginning of this semester I can tell my reading skills have evolved immensely. I used to read some before this class but I read books very slowly and it would take me like a month to finish a book. But now I can tell that I'm reading many more pages per week and getting through books much quicker than I used too. The next book I hope to read is Crossed the sequel to Matched, if only I could find a copy of it. It just came out on the first, and I'm like seventeenth on the waiting list at the library so I might just have to end up buying it, because that will be like a month from now and I don't think I can wait that long. Also, I didn't find myself reading in any new places that I didn't normally read in before, well maybe not I guess, I read in class more often now. Like not just Etymology on Thursdays, but other classes too. I still like to listen to music when I read because it drowns out the noises of conversation that distract me and even though I listen to music I can drown that out too and get lost in a book. I also think this class made me read the books that I've been meaning to read but just hadn't got around to doing it, so I hope to keep reading those books and ignore the homework and college things a little to do so.

One last thing I know we didn't have to do "Quotes" this week but I really enjoy this one:
"Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve." now ponder that one for awhile.

Charlie

Charlie is an interesting character, ever though he has no friends he still goes out to all the football games and dances and just sits in the back round and observes people. I guess that's why the books title is what it is. But another thing he is super emotional which kind of bothers me. He cries all the time and not like in the I'm depressed lets go up to my room and sulk and feel bad for yourself type cries. He'll cry at like super random none emotional moments, I don't know I thought it was odd. But he's seems like a good kid he always seems to want to do the right thing and he never wants to feel bad about anything, he never wants to be in trouble with anything. Another thing Charlie does is that he thinks about hypothetical futures a lot, like what are things that he will tell his children or even his grand children one day.
So Charlie has made some friends Patrick and Sam, they are step-brother and sister, and seniors at the high school. Charlie knew Patrick vaguely from shop class and started talking to them at a football game. Charlie really likes Sam and Sam knows this fact but said that charlie is too young for her. Charlie tries not to think of her that way and just trys to look at her as a friend, but now she has a boyfriend named Craig and Charlie's not jealous but thinks he could treat her better. Also, Charlie is now in on the secrect between Patrick and Brad, the quarterback of the football team, their an item, Charlie noticed that Patrick would always cheer for Brad at football games and just assumed he was really into the football games.
This book is really good so far I really do love the Charlie character he's super likeable and he has really thought provoking ideas to say in his letters, so I hope the rest of the book goes well.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I picked this book up because I really loved the cover then I read the back and it sounded pretty good. And I just figured out by researching the picture above that this is soon to be a movie in 2012, it has that guy from that Percy Jackson movie and Emma Watson so maybe if I like the book I'll have to go see the movie. So The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky takes you through the life of Charlie through letters sent to his "friend." The reader and Charlie do not know who this friend is and he states that he doesn't want this friend who hes sending these letters to, to know who he is or where he lives so he's very vague on all those parts. Charlie is in 8th grade when the book starts and his friend Micheal had just commit suicide hes dealing with those emotions when soon he's starting high school. Since losing his friend Micheal kind of made him lose all his other friends along with him. So he's unpopular and he hates high school. He has two older sibling a sister and a brother. His brother is a football player at Penn State and his sister is still in high school. He talks of sister and her many boyfriends and how she treats them (not well and weirdly to be specific). There is one teacher Charlie acknowledged in these letters and that is his English teacher who ask Charlie to call him by the name of "Bill."

Pinterest!

 

I'm obsessed with this website called Pinterest. It is so addicting. Its pretty much this site with a bunch of different photos and videos on it, but like of all different things. The photos in this post are pictures from the site, they have humorous things and like DIY stuff, and fashion and super awesome nail idea, and the most adorable photos of animals and pets you have ever seen. I really suggest you join cause its amazing. Pinterest.com 

Bree Tanner: Part 2

So since Victoria made a deal with the Volturi, Victoria has commanded Riley to start training the newborns to fight against the Cullens.  So to fast forward a little bit Diego (Bree's friend) decides to run away because he knows he'll probably die in the fight. Riley tells Bree that he already went off to fight just so Bree wouldn't get any ideas and decide to leave too cause he couldn't afford to loose that many numbers. So they finish training and make the trek to where the Cullens live. Once the fight begins Bree thinks that Diego is dead because she does not see or smell him. She then surrenders to the Cullens and says that she will not fight if they do not kill her. The Cullens agree to this little truce, at least till the Volturi get there. Once the Volturi do get there though its a totally different story, and the book ends with the Volturi killing her.
Bree's vampire life is a sad story she was just a young girl in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she was just a little pawn in Victoria's big game. This young girl's life was wasted for it seems like no reason.

Bree Tanner: Part 1

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a book about Bree Tanner a small character in Eclipse from the Twilight Saga. Bree is a young girl changed into a vampire, shes not the only one though she has a friend named Diego (their both young vampires). More and more people are being change and they don't know why. They know that there is a woman behind all this but they don't know what she looks like are who she is. They do know about Riley, he is the "boss" or "leader" over the newborn vampires. Bree and Diego decided that they believe that Riley is uses them for protection against something. Once they've concluded this they decide to find and follow Riley in the hopes that the would find the woman (now the woman is of course Victoria the vampire that wants Bella dead in New Moon and Eclipse). Riley does end up going to see Victoria to update her on whats going on with all the newborn vampires. In the middle of their discussion the Volturi show up (now at this point if you had read the books before you know what is going on and who these vampires are, but Bree and Diego have no idea about any of this stuff and they are being kept in the dark). The Volturi threaten Victoria, their not happy with her creating a "vampire army" but are willing to give her a second chance only to use the army to kill off the Cullens.

Right Now. . .

Nightlight by The National Lampoon
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Pages Read for the Past Two Weeks: 264
Pages Read all Together: 1535

Quotes of the Past TwoWeeks:

1. "I had to admit, I did look stunning for a caterpillar's pupal casing. Lucy and Laura would say I looked more "hAwWt and jUiCaYyY ;)" but I think that "stunning" was a much better word" - Nightlight
2. "I had recently come into the possession of a Thesaurus. You would not believe how many words there are! When I opened that book, I was like, whoa! Word party!" - Nightlight
3. "Dad was in the kitchen, as usual, fumbling around with the drawers. he couldn't even pour himself cereal! i wonder how he managed to exist by himself before I arrived. "Here's a bowl, Dad," I said. "A what?" "It's like a plate, but with sides," I explained." - Nightlight

Why Nightlight is Hilarious.

Twilight Summary:

About three things I was absolutely positive.

 First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him- and I didn't know haw dominate that part might be- that thirsted for my blood.  

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Nightlight Summary:

About three thins I was absolutely certain.

 First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him - which I assumed was wildly out of his control- that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, genealogically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

These are the summary's that are on the backs of both Nightlight and Twilight. And this is pretty much the what the whole book does: it makes fun at Stephine Meyer's writing, some characteristics that Bella/Belle possesses, and how weird and unusually and not real Bella/Belle and Edward's/Edwart's relationship is. If you have read the first Twilight book I think the book would be a lot funnier than if you haven't read it because there are a lot of little inside joke things that you would only catch if you had read the book. For example, in Twilight Charlie (Bella's dad) can't really cook very well, so in Nightlight they take that little trait to the extreme. They literally make him seem like an infant and he doesn't even know how to put a bowl of cereal together. They also make fun of how Bella's kinda of clumsy and they take that trait to the extreme.

The Beginning of the End

This is for Taylor (and anyone else who enjoys Twilight for that matter and can't wait till Breaking Dawn) I know you love Twilight, and this kinda sums up the whole saga pretty nicely. Only 15 days left!:) Oh I also have no idea if anyone seen this but I'm hoping not.

Close Reading Bingo

Four Common Weaknesses

Weakness: 1. Avoid "he says" quote introductions.

• "His strange admiration is expressed with metaphors like "the free-standing kind: a pair of integral signs swooping upward" and "a temporary, steeper escalator of daylight" which help make a mental picture of the escalators as well as give an appreciation for the escalators." My Everyday Sticky Waffle 

Weakness: 2. Don't use a long quotations the subject of a sentence.

• "'On sunny days like this one, a temporary, steeper escalator of daylight, formed by intersections of the lobby's towering volumes of marble and glass, met the real escalators just above their middle point, spreading into a needly area of shine where it fell against their brushed-steel side-pannels, and adding long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails" By using such imagery and specific details, one is able to clearly paint a picture of the lobby in their minds." TheyCallMeFreshMoney

Weakness: 6. Avoid  the verbs "uses" and "shows".

•  "His use of connotation suggests a picturesque vision of his apperance while walking through the lobby."  T-Rex

Weakness: 8. Punctuation goes inside quotation marks.

• "Baker describes his surroundings as "towering volumes of marble and glass" and "long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails"." To Kill a Mockingjay

Best Diction Analysis

• "In the excpert from the Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker uses an intricate, buisness-like language which helps describe an everyday morning at the office. The connotative figurtive language assists the refined wording by adding descriptive variety throughout the prompt. With the use of his realistic descriptions, the promt was easily visualized. "Towering volumes of marble and glass" is what he saw as the lobby, which creates a clear, yet abstract vision. Writing with a language that is not quite fancy but is elevated, Baker also seems to have connotataion mixed in making his writing clinical, and elaborate." Peanut Butter Without the Jelly

Practice Diction Analysis

Nicholson Baker's formal and straight forward language conveys a lifeless, cold depiction of the escalator's centered in the lobby of his work place. Baker describes his surroundings as "towering volumes of marble and glass" and "long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails". This gives the impression of a fancy an intimidating lobby. Also, the matter of fact way Baker describes the lobby makes the reader sense that this is somewhere to not be impressed with, its an everyday occurrence.

Right Now. . .

In honor of the past three rainy days, lets hope its sunny this weekend.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Nightlight by The Harvard Lampoon

Pages This Week: 173

Pages All Together: 1271

1. "The characters speak in colloquial language, using words such as "silly," "darling chicken-flower," and "wop." The language is humble, but it is suggestive of the culture and personality of the characters." - Keep It Classy
2. "Adair's passage is more of a in-your-face type of writing. She says things like "She was in ready position, but frozen like a deer in headlights, sniper rifle silent, and useless, in her hands." To me, that just seems more of a "Hey! Here it is!!!" type of writing." - Twilight
3. "In Neil Gaiman's Stardust, the rocky terrain and harmonious forest create a high sense of tranquility as one observes the town of Wall." - The Blog of Epic Proportions
4. "Picturesque and somewhat blunt all at once, Dostoevsky describes a man walking down a street in a sensuous, tangible string of words that sets an automatic environment for the scene at hand." - Look Up... (Now!)
5. "He talks about the sheeps grazing on the out skirts which is sweet and calming" - J-Momma

My two favorite are Keep it Classy and Look Up... (Now!). I love "The language is humble. . " I've never really heard language described like that before. I also like "... tangible string of words" the Look Up Now uses, I just love the word tangible.

 

Nightlight

I've started Nightlight by Harvard Lampoon. Its a parody of the Twilight Saga books and its super hilarious and stupid so far. Now I really love the Twilight Saga a lot, and I don't mind if people make extremely hilarious jokes about it, but I hate it when people rag on it for no reason when they haven't even read the books and all they've seen is just five minutes of one of the movies. However, this book stars Belle Goose an extremely socially awkward seventeen year-old who moves to her dads house in Switchblade, Oregon. Shes very "in to herself" and think all the guys at school like her and super spacey and dense. She soon meets Edwart Mullen a nerd who has no interest in girls. Immediately Belle thinks Edwart is something supernatural and also thinks that Edwart is really into her but he really is showing no interest. Soon after a couple of days at the new school Belle notices strange things about Edwart Mullen like he shielded her for a snow ball and didn't eat his tator tots at lunch so of course there is no other explanation he has to be a vampire.

Now the some of the jokes in this book are super humorous like when Belle receives a u-haul truck from her dad and is absolutely ecstatic, this of course is making fun of how excited Bella was when she got the oldest red pick-up truck imaginable from her dad in the real Twilight. Also, there are a lot of extremely random little things that Belle always bursts out and does, this is poking fun at the real Bella's personality and taking it to the extreme and its very funny. Now this is a super fast book to read, its only a hundred and fifty-four pages long, so if you love or hate Twilight and want some stupid random books you should totally read this book.

Never Let Me Go: The End

Tommy and Kathy want to get deferrals to live together with no donations for a couple of year by themselves. They go and find Madame to see if the rumors are true and to see if they can receive these deferrals. They both meet with her and find that none of this is true they can't have a few years off together and they have to go back to giving donations and being a carer. While they were there talking with her they discovered much more about what their lives truly were and they meant to the public around them. These true facts about their lives didn't help either Tommy or Kathy and soon Tommy had to give his fourth donation (which is usually their last before they complete/die). Tommy wants Kathy to quit being his carer because he doesn't want her to see him like that. so she does as he asks and just months after Tommy's fourth donation she finds out that he had died. The book ends with Kathy now ended being a carer and started giving her donations holding on to her memoirs of Hailsham, Ruth, and Tommy and moving on with her life.

Part Three

Now Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy had a falling out close to the end of their stay at the cottages. Kathy is the first to move on to go to training to become a carer. A carer is what everyone has to do, they pretty much help the people giving donations recover form their surgeries and their kinda like a friend and mentor towards them during that time. So part three starts seven years after the cottages Kathy is still a carer and Ruth and Tommy have started giving their donations. There isn't a certain amount of time you have to be a carer for, they can start giving donations whenever their ready and that's usually fairly soon because it gets depressing watching the people they befriend die only after a couple of donations. Kath sees that her time as a carer is probably coming to an end so she does what she been wanting to do for awhile and becomes Ruth's carer (note they haven't spoken to each other since the cottages). Kath and Ruth hit it off again not really thinking about their fall out sever years ago. They plan a trip and decided that they should invite Tommy to come with them. Tommy is in a hospital not to far from their destination. Tommy came and on their trip Ruth admitted something to Kath and Tommy that day. She told them that she was sorry that she had kept Kath and Tommy apart from each other all those years starting at Hailsham. Originally Kath din't do anything with this information she went on with being Ruth's carer. But after Ruth's second donation she was slowing dying and ask for Kath to become Tommy's carer.

The Graduate Bus Scene

I am obsessed with this scene for The Graduate that I originally saw in 500 Days of Summer. I absolutely love this song by Simon and Garfunkel that I don't think is in The Graduate movie and only in 500 Days of Summer but I haven't seen the full Graduate movie before (and I probably should). But I do know that the woman was getting married and in the middle of the ceremony the man on the right bursts in and they run away together on this bus. You would assume they would be joyous and happy that they are now together but their not and i love that, its so unexpected. And how sad their faces are just staring blankly forward not even truly realising one another. Love it.

Style Mapping

I compared three passages, two from the packet, and one book of my own. This is what I conjured up:

Cormac McCarthy's diction in Blood Meridian creates a common, harmonious sound to the passage. I fell like it could be a poem almost with it slow, music like qualities. Neil Gaiman's word choice in the passage from Stardust conveys an elevated, and straightforward read, with a very common sound that is not musical nor harsh. It seemed very exact when describing the details in the passage. Kazuo Ishiguro's diction in Never Let Me Go I would say is fancy, that might be because they talk using some British terms, but I would say its more elevated. The writing also has a sweet sound to it, and is split between denotative and connotative.

Quarterly

I've been reading a bulk of my books like randomly one week night or on a Sunday afternoon like for four hours straight, which is not particularly a good thing because if that doesn't happen one week then I have to catch up when I don't have time. So I think my goal for the next nine weeks would be to spread out my readings to almost every night and so I never have to catch up. Umm, I read mostly in my room with my ipod playing my reading playlist, I usually can't read in the car or anywhere with noisy, I get too distracted and want to stare out the window. So I hope I successfully accomplish my goal for the rest of the semester and hopefully everyone else does too.

Possibles

Two veterans at the Cottages is Chrissie and Rodney have become closes with Kath, Ruth, and Tommy. They are a couple just like Ruth and Tommy are a couple. Kathy liked both of them in the beginning of their stay at the cottages but she is starting to dislike them more and more. Were are starting to discover more of who these people are who went to Hailsham and other schools like that. You could say their kind of clones of people except that's not how they said it, its like they're modeled off of certain people. They were "created" for their vital organs which are called donations. Once their old enough and they'll give two to four (depending on what organs they have to give) donations then they'll die. The people that they were based off of they call possibles. There is always talks and rumors that they've seen possibles of friends or anyone they know but no ones every taken any of it too seriously. Well one day when Chrissie and Rodney were on a trip visiting a friend they saw what they thought to maybe be Ruth's possible in an office window. They told Ruth of her and planned a trip to see if they could find her again.

The Cottages

I've gotten to part two of Never Let Me Go, the three main characters are now all sixteen and leaving Hailsham for the cottages. The cottages is a farm where they now live, there are many different places like these where people from Hailsham (or any other place like Hailsham) go to at the age of sixteen. This is the first time in their whole lives that they have been beyond the gates of Hailsham. They learned that some of the things that they were taught in Hailsham do not apply very well to the real world. Once they get to the cottages they aren't the first ones there, there are also veterans (those are people who have already been there for a couple of years). Another person there is Mr. Keefer hes kind of the landlord of the cottages and Kath trys to be firendly to him by doing all the things she learned in Hailsham but hes not very firendly and she stops trying so hard. This is also the first time their talking to anyone new, I'm excited for them to see the real world but wouldn't that be awful if you never left the bondaries of house for the first sixteen years of your life. For most of us that would of been just last your that you saw the would for the first time, I just coundn't imageine.

Right Now . . .

Movie still from 500 Days of Summer



Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Pages This Week: 100

Pages All Together: 1098

Quarter Quotes:

1. "But I've spent time with someone fading toward death - held his hand, inhaled the scent of living flesh as it rots away. An old folks' home must smell the same, and no air freshener could disguise that odor. It chokes you, gags you, but you have to pretend that you're doing just fine, not trembling with fear because the end is close. You can feel death hovering, waiting for his very last breath his final shudder; anticipating taking him away." - Impulse
2. "Freedom is a doubled-edge ideal, because true freedom comes without the protection of laws that also enslave us by defining us - female, male; Christian, Islamic; good, evil. All at the at the whim of a frail minority." - Impulse 
3. "The past is just something that's over." - A Single Man

I love the third quote a lot because the past is over with and you can't change anything about it, as they say in Meet the Robinson's "Keep movie forward".

Innocence to Reality

One reason I loved the movie Never Let Me Go is the way they depicted these kids childhoods being corrupted by the reality of what their lives really are. I think we can all find a time in our past where we finally realize that life isn't just play and imagination and real stuff can actually happen you. This moment happen for Kathy in Never Let Me Go, the moment before and the moment after her and Tommy started talking at the pond. Her and Tommy would always talk about the weird incidents that would happen with them and the guardians. Kathy had and incident once with Madame. Kathy was in her dorm listening to a song on tape, she thought the song was about a mother and child and how the mother wanted to protect the child so much. She didn't think anyone was around so she was embarrassingly holding a pillow and swaying back and forth while she sang to the song. Then she was jolted out of her singing when she heard sobbing and she turned around and saw Madame standing in the doorway crying staring at Kathy. Kathy immediately thought she was in trouble but all Madame did was walk away and didn't say a word still sobbing. Kathy had no idea why she was crying and didn't get her in trouble. She talked about it with Tommy a few years later, Tommy may thought she was crying because the children at Hailsham couldn''t have children and Madame may have thought it was so tragic that she could never have children. But Kathy thought that couldn't be true because that's the story she mad up in her head about what the story meant. This story and many others were odd things that the guardians did to make her and Tommy speculate. When Kathy and Tommy started asking questions about their life at Hailsham is the turning point in Kathy's life. Where transition from child to a young adult.

The Early Years

Never Let Me Go is divided up into three parts. The first part is Kathy looking back on her, Tommy's, and Ruth's young lives at Hailsham. The way Kathy talks to the reader its almost like she assumes you know whats going on and whats happening with these things called donations and Kathy calls herself a carer and of course she doesn't explain any of this stuff to you yet, I'm assuming she'll explain all of it later on in the book. So part one consist of many little short memoirs Kathy has about Hailsham and the people there. Many of her stories seem completely random and use for nothing but some of them straighten out and actually go along with one another. One thing I think most of these stories are doing is helping the reader figure out who these children are and what Hailsham is and is doing to these children, just as the main characters had to figure it out. Since i have already seen the movie I know what is coming but I'm excited to see if the movie and the book actually follow each other or if one will be completely different from the other.

Maru: The Cutest Cat Ever

This video makes me want a cat so badly (and I'm not even a cat person!). Apparently, this cat is very popular in Japan and on Youtube, but its just so adorable. I just felt like I should share its cuteness with all of you. Enjoy.

Right Now. . .

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Pages this Week: 105

Pages All Together: 998

Quotes of the Week:

1. "For some reason, I want to grab the guy by the throat, squeeze, cause him pain." - Impulse

2. "But I've spent time with someone fading toward death - held his hand, inhaled the scent of living flesh as it rots away. An old folks' home must smell the same, and no air freshener could disguise that odor. It chokes you, gags you, but you have to pretend that you're doing just fine, not trembling with fear because the end is close. You can feel death hovering, waiting for his very last breath his final shudder; anticipating taking him away." - Impulse

3. "As the old saying goes, 'sometimes loving someone means letting them go.'" - Impulse

4. "Love means holding on to someone just as hard as you can because if you don't, one blind and they might disappear forever." - Impulse 

I really thought the first quote was funny cause don't we all sometimes feel like squeezing someones throat and causing them pain. Oh and also the pictures are just some men's clothing I thought was cool. I personally love men's clothing and I love to wear and intermix men's apparel with very girly, feminine pieces.

Never Let Me Go

     I have started reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and like most books that I read I saw the movie first (I don't like to be surprised and spoilers are a good thing) and I loved it. First off, I love the story line of the movie, it puts the children in this very sad situation that corrupted their little world at Hailsham. Second, I love love love the score that Rachel Portman did, it sets the tone for the whole movie and its amazing.
     So the main characters are Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. The book is in Kathy's point of view, shes twenty-eight years old and  looking back on her life with Tommy and Ruth at Hailsham. Hailsham is not a normal bordering school that all three of the children go to. Tommy is the kid that everyone picks on. Hes bullied not physically but mentally. Kathy seems to tag along with the "cool" group but seems always kind of by herself. In the first couple of chapters she observes Tommy all the time watching him get bullied and noticing when the bulling lets up. And Ruth is the kind of popular girl, the other girls always seem to be following her around and she makes jokes about Tommy too. So when Tommy's bulling lets up Kathy notices and wants to know why. So Kathy asks Tommy and Tommy tells her that Ms. Lucy (a guardian/teacher) said to not let any of that stuff bother him she also told him some other puzzling things that both Kathy and Tommy find confusing. They both promise to each other that they won't speak of this conversation.

The End

So Conner, Tony, and Vanessa are still out in the wilderness on their challenge and doing many skill tests. They've been crossing lots of sketchy bridges that are many stories high but now they have to climb a very steep rocky cliff. Tony and Vanessa make it up the cliff just fine, they talk about how the future and whats going to happen once they get out of Aspen Springs. They say they are going to stay together once they get out and they are going to support each other in the real world. Meanwhile, Conner was climbing up the he starts hearing his parent's voices in his head. Their saying that hes not good enough, Cara's much better than him, and he won't make the line-up the way hes climbing the cliff. He finally gets to the top and feels totally unsatisfied with his victory of making it to the top, he looks down to see what hes accomplished, he steps closer and closer and then he decides to jump. He died instantly. Tony and Vanessa heard the screams and saw what had happened. Immediately Tony feels guilty thinking that its his fault that Conner had killed himself, knowing that Conner had gone off his meds and wasn't acting normal. He and Vanessa thought he had everything; he was rich, good-looking, a full family and didn't know why he would want to kill himself.
When your in the point of view when Conner is about to kill himself you understand why hes doing it there really doesn't seem like there was any way out of it. He would of needed support which he probably could of found in Vanessa and Tony, but he needed to want their help and he didn't, you could tell he had given up.

Right Now. . .

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Pages this Week: 282

Pages All Together: 893

Best of the Best Quotes:

1. "Freedom is a doubled-edge ideal, because true freedom comes without the protection of laws that also enslave us by defining us - female, male; Christian, Islamic; good, evil. All at the at the whim of a frail minority." - Impulse
2. "The past is just something that's over." - A Single Man
3. "What do they think they're up to, here (here meaning getting an education)? Well, there is the official answer: preparing themselves for life which means a job and security in which to raise children to prepare themselves for life which means a job and security in which." - A Single Man

These are the best quotes because I believe that everyone of these quotes are true. Also, quote three is talking about how an education prepares you for "a job and security in which to raise children". I think this is true, but I find it sad that they map our lives out like that what if I do not want that life?

Letters

During the Challenge they have all received letters from home. Tony's letter is from his very distant father. Hes wants to be apart of Tony's life and hes hoping that Tony can forgive him for not being there when he was younger. With Tony's father back in his life he now has somewhere to stay, he doesn't have to deal with his mother and he doesn't have to live on the street or be homeless. Vanessa's letter is also from her dad. He writes that he is coming home permanently from Afghanistan and that he is going to be there for her because now her mom's bi-polar has gotten so out of hand that she not a suitable parent. Unlike Tony's and Vanessa's letter, Conner's letter is less supportive. Its from his mom, shes not to worried about him. Her only concerns are that he's getting behind on his school work and that he won't get in to a good college like his twin sister got into Stanford. Conner's not too surprised that nothing has change but he knows that he can't go back home. Unlike the other kids nothing changed at home for Conner nothing is going to be better, there is  no one there to support him in the healing process.

Secrets

So Conner, Tony, and Vanessa have passed all their levels up to level five in Aspen Springs. Level five consists of all of them going off into the wilderness challenging themselves with different tasks. Meanwhile, Tony and Vanessa relationship is becoming more serious and Conner has decided that he can't live with his medication creating his moods so he has stop cold turkey (with out anyone else knowing except for Tony and Vanessa) at the start of the challenge. Tony and Vanessa are both concerned that Conner isn't taking his pills and don't know if they should tell anyone, but so far they have kept it a secret. You can also tell that Conner's mood have change a lot since he's stop taking his medication. He doesn't talk much to anyone and when he does he's usually extremely angry.
 So a couple of days into the challenge when there was some free time we discovered that the three main characters have all killed (directly or indirectly) someone. Conner's housekeeper, Leona, who had sexually assaulted him when he was twelve. Conner had threatened Leona that he was going to tell his mom what was going on between the two of him and of course Leona told him not to do that so instead he told Leona's boyfriend. She was fired of course and when she was driving home she died in a car crash. Vanessa had gotten an abortion. The father was her boyfriend Trevor, who when she told him the news he told her to get rid of it. Tony killed Larry, one of his mother's many boyfriends and the boyfriend who had molested him when he was just eight. He was so angry that he took Larry's gun and shot him. All of these events lead all three of the characters to their depression.

Best of the Best Claims

1. "In the "So Long, Farewell" musical number of the Sound of Music, the Von Trapp children's bright  facial expressions, poised choreography, and cooing, melodic music develops the sense of lighthearted pleasure and soothing amusement." - Keep It  Classy
2. "In this flash mob by Todrick Hall, the mischievous and adventurous expressions, jubilant sounds, and bustling moves, show the explosive creativity and confident energy of the dancers."- The Average Life of a Teenage Bookworm
3. "Leonid Afremov's vibrant use of color, flowing appearance, and realistic, silky texture illustrates a feeling of whimsical relaxation and majestic euphoria."- Bud in the Garden
4. "In this scene from Grease, the director's melodic sound, crazy setting, open facial expression, and clean clothing expresses a sense of intimate playfulness, romantic energy, and loving animation."- Twilight
5. "During her routine, Shawn Johnson displays powerful tumbling, gracefully swift dance, intense expression, and representative attire; which sets forth a confidently energetic, yet cheerful routine." - Bookworm Days

I liked claim two because he/she used really different adjectives that you don't hear very often. I also feel like claim three did the same thing. Also I love the word cooing in Keep it Classy's claim.

Most Interesting Artifact: Is here. Flash Mobs are always fun.

The Claim: Proenza Schouler Fall 2010

 If the YouTube video is not working then there are photos of the collection here, and hopefully that link will work. If not I don't know what to tell you.

Sound:aggravated, annoying, repetitive                               
Fabric: confusing, disturbed, cluttered
Construction: seductive, playful, innocent
Color: neutral, dark, somber

Overall Feeling: polished, strange, dark, creepy, innocent

Claim:
Proenza Schouler's somber color scheme, seductive shape, and aggravated music choice, conveys a creepy and polished look for their fall 2010 collection.

My picks for peoms of the year (so far)

My three picks for the year. . . so far:

1. Gee, you're so beautiful that its starting to rain. by Richard Brautigan
2. Once Upon a Time by Jack Gilbert
3. First Kiss by April Lardner

I picked these poems because they are all love poems and they are all different kinds of love poems. Like, Gee, you're so beautiful that its starting to rain, is a kinda of weird, and silly love poem. And then some are more serious like Once Upon a Time and First Kiss. Especially First Kiss, I really love how it explores the relationship of young first love, and how its really not going to last and they aren't really in love. It just seems like an awkward state of two people.

Right Now. . . .

Jeffery Campbell is my favorite!




Impulse by Ellen Hopkins On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Pages this Week: 259
Pages All Together: 611

Quotes of the Week:

1. "Freedom is a doubled-edge ideal, because true freedom comes without the protection of laws that also enslave us by defining us - female, male; Christian, Islamic; good, evil. All at the at the whim of a frail minority." - Impulse
2. "If nobody's home climb in through the window." - On the Road
3. "The time has come for you and me to go see the Banana King." - On the Road

So I have given up on On the Road, this will be my last post about it. I am going to finish it but just not for class. I really do like the book its just a bit confusing and I have to re-read a lot of pages (can't you tell I've only read 17 pages in one week). Also, the pictures are of Jeffery Campbell's Night Walk Platform shoes and I am in love with them don't be surprised if you see them on me after Christmas. . . hopefully *fingers crossed*. Also, I really like the third quote the best because it kinda rhymes and it says banana king.

Parents

All Ellen Hopkins books always make me grateful for the life I have. Especially this book (so far), seeing where the three main characters parents and how they act and how most of them are very distant from their children. It makes me think of kids everyday in school that could be dealing with the same situations and nobody really notices nor cares. Its sad that this stuff can go undetected so easily by people they see everyday. I don't know, its just sad to me that parents so easily and quickly can ruin their children's lives and really not even notice.

Conner, Tony, Vanessa

Conner is your typical jock at school. His mother is a very cold woman, she is all about the looks of the family, everything from what her children wear, to who they date to what parties they go to. Everything has to be perfect, well at least physically. Conner also has a perfect twin sister, Cara, who he says is an exacted replica of their mother. The pressure by his parents to be the perfect family was too much pressure for Conner which lead him to shoot himself. Conner also before he went into Aspen Springs had a relationship with Emily, one of his high school teachers.

Tony's father left him and his mother when he was younger. Tony's mother slept around a lot and Tony was abused by a lot of those guys. With his mother and father absent from his life, Tony was forced to live on the streets and traded sex for pretty much anything, from money, to drugs, to even just a place to sleep. With all the abuse of his childhood Tony is confused with his sexuality. A couple months before he overdosed his best friend, and foster father Phillip died.

Vanessa is a smart, beautiful, shy girl. Her father is over seas fighting in the war, so he really hasn't been around for the past four years and her mother suffers with bi-polar disorder, so shes never mentally there. She says she sees angels and talks to them. Vanessa is also suffering with bi-polar disorder like her mother and is always swinging from "blue to gray to white" as she describes it. The way she copes is by cutting herself. Vanessa just before she was sent into the treatment center broke with the "love of her life" Trevor.

Currently. . .I'm doing better than last time

This is in honor of the start of Fashion Week in New York

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Pages this Week: 150
Pages All Together: 352

Quotes of the Week:

1. "Ma, I want to be a ho-bo someday." - On the Road
2. " 'Don't get lost along the the way, though.' Old joke, not funny." - Impulse
3. "I tattered their wings and tore off their legs, joint by joint, watched them crawl in circles, like little lost infants, until they decided to die." - Impulse

Impulse

So I feel like its been taking me an extremely long time to read On the Road, so to make up for lost pages I started reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. I love all of Ellen Hopkins books and Impulse is the only one I haven't read. If your not familiar with her books she writes them in some special poetic term that I don't know, but there is always like hidden messages and in like one page her words will make like a picture or something. So Impulse is about three teenagers, Conner, Tony and Vanessa, that are all sent to this "treatment center" called Aspen Springs, oh and they all don't know one other. The book is written in all three of the characters point of views, Hopkins, every like five to ten pages will change the character so you know whats going on in every one's heads on whatever is happening in the treatment center. So Conner is in Aspen Springs because he tried to shoot himself with a gun through his heart but the bullet hit his bone and his little brother found him and he was sent to the center. Tony was sent because he overdosed on pills and alcohol and a cop found in a pool of his own vomit on a sidewalk. And then Vanessa is a resident because she cuts herself and one time she cut herself so much that it pretty much went to the bone and her brother found her. So all three of them are pretty much locked up in isolation, constantly being checked up on just in case they try and do anything, but eventually they are given a level one status and are let into small groups to talk. And that is where I had finished.

Semi - Confused

So I've started On the Road. Its kind of difficult to read, being that the whole book is one paragraph. Its confusing when the topic of the story with the change of a sentence, but its working I'll get through it. So the beginning of the book goes super fast, the main character Sal meets this really energetic guy who he admirers a lot named Dean in New York (and a lot of other people that he didn't explain very much) and for some reason Sal wants to go to Denver (I got super confused there were like 20 things happening in a matter of like 3 pages). And then Sal is off on this road trip to Denver where he knows some friends. Once he gets to Denver he meets up with his friends that he knew in New York and really all they do is party/ go out to a bar/ try to hook up with girls (which Sal seems to be very bad at). But really Sal is just going with the flow with the rest of his friends.

Dragonslayer

I don't know, I thought this looked like fun. . . and don't judge the title of the movie its not about a dragon or slayer.

Currently. . . . I'm Slacking

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Pages read this week: 102
All together pages: 202

Quotes of the Week:

1. "He would be conventionally handsome if he didn't have a beaky nose; but it is a nice on, a large, humorous organ." - A Single Man
2. "The past is just something that's over." - A Single Man
3. "She hasn't seen him do this asinine thing. Which is truly providential because, if she had seen him, she would have insisted on his staying the night; which would have meant, well, at the very least, such a late breakfast that it would have been brunch; which would have meant me drinks; which would have meant siesta and supper, and more and more and more drinks to follow. . . . This has actually happened, before now."- A Single Man
4. "I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, that I didn't know who I was... I was far away from home haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and the creak of the old wood of the hotel, and footsteps upstairs and all the sad sounds, and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds. I wasn't scared, I was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost...." - On the Road

So.... I know I've only really been reading the minimum each week (hey but at least I increased two pages!) but I'm really going to read a lot this weekend (hopefully).

On the Road

I have now started On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I bought this book over the summer and really never got around to reading it (so I saved it for etymology), but what originally attracted this book to me was that it seem very similar to Into the Wild (which is both an amazing book and movie) in the lets go on an across America road trip and find yourself type thing. I love this idea of not really knowing where your going and not really knowing who your going to meet and just getting lost and exploring it seems extremely fun and a little bit scary. But I'm excited to read On the Road and I hope it stands up to my expectations well. Also, the trailer is for Into the Wild its a really amazing movie, Emile Hirsch does a fantastic job, and Sean Penn made this a beautiful movie. And I'm serious go watch it!

Finished

So I finished Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man. However, after both reading the book and watching the movie I truly do love both of them. They were both fantastic in their own unique ways. I mean of course the movie wasn't identical to the book but when is it ever. (spoilers) I guess you could say that the book and movie takes the viewer/reader through one day of a mans life and it just happens to be his final day. The major difference between the book and the movie was that in the movie George (the main character) was suicidal, like carrying a gun around with him all day suicidal. And I guess you could possible say that George was suicidal in the book, but it wasn't as obvious. He said some things in his opinions and thoughts that I think hinted at it. One thing I loved about the movie was how ironic the ending was because George goes through this whole day wanting to die and then at the end he has this moment of clarity in which he is totally peaceful and happy with his life and then bam he dies, he got his wish. 
I think the most interesting part of the book was the way George handled his partner Jim's death. When he received the call that Jim had died a family member of Jim's had contacted George and informed him that he was not welcome to come the funeral. Also the story that he told his neighbors was that Jim had moved out, back home to Ohio and that he was never coming back. The only person George confided in was with his best friend Charlotte, who of course cared for him when he couldn't face reality. However, throughout the day whenever he has flashbacks about Jim or is talking of him he shows absolutely no emotion happy nor sad.  I mean its bad enough to loose your best friend and love but to not even be able to go to his funeral or to talk about to anyone just because it wasn't acceptable to be publicly gay in the early 1960s. I mean its still sad that some people in this country today still can't except the gays and any other minority's for that matter.

Attire

His neat dark clothes, his white dress shirt and tie (the only tie in the room) are uncompromisingly alien from the aggressively virile informality of the young male students. Most of these wear sneakers and garterless white wool socks, jeans in cold weather, and in warm weather shorts . . . .

                                                          - A Single Man (p. 57)

This is George's outfit being described at his job as a professor, and describing what the male students are wearing. I find this passage kind of sad in a way because George is the only one wearing a suit and tie. Because I know at one point in history it was a given that absolutely everyone would be wearing their Sunday's best for something as little as school. But I guess school back in the late 1800s early 1900s was a rarity to most children, it was a special thing that they would dress up for. And nowadays its just more of an annoyance for most kids/teens to go to school, and they decide to come to school in their pajamas. And I'm not saying we should all look like were going to the Oscar's everyday, its just that we live in a physical and judging world and the first things someone judges when they see you is your appearance so why not make yourself look presentable no matter what your style is? 

Personality Test

My type is INTJ.
     Introverted: 56%       Intuitive: 50%       Thinking: 1%       Judging: 1%

I think I may of did this test wrong, because it was personality's of very smart people, like nothing I could ever do, but who knows I guess its right if I took the test right.

Currently

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

Pages read this week: 100

Quotes of the Week:

1. "I never hear the noise children make - just as long as it's a happy noise"

2. "What do they think they're up to, here? Well, there is the official answer: preparing themselves for life which means a job and security in which to raise children to prepare themselves for life which means a job and security in which."

3. "From time to time, as he walks, he emits quite loud, prolonged farts."

4. "I am Doris. I am Woman. I am Bitch-Mother Nature."

Freeways

George loves driving the freeways in southern California (he also loves that his commute to his job has now been cut in more than half) racing other vehicles in the far left lane and seeing how fast he can go till traffic stops him. He used a metaphor, that i really liked, for the freeway, comparing it to a river. Saying that newcomers to the freeway would find it scary, almost dangerous. I liked imaging a river, like a white water rapids kind of river, looking at it and knowing if I would step one foot in it I would tumbled over by the rush of water. Also thinking of the little water molecules as the cars, they know that this is an every minute occurrence nothing out of the ordinary, nothing dangerous or scary about it.   

Facade

When George finds himself preparing for the day he talks about creating "George" for the public. The "George"  that everyone expects to find. From his physical appearance and clothing, to how he acts. This is the way everybody knows "George". I feel that all of us, especially high schoolers, put on a facade everyday for their peers just like George does. If I came to school in my pajamas one day people would suspect something was seriously wrong with me. I wouldn't be acting like the person they expected me to be. We're all just hiding behind this layer that we put on every morning so no one will expect anything is wrong with us and we can go on being unnoticed and normal as usual. None of us actually see each other for who we really are, we do the routine and get the hell out of there because in the end all we want to do is move on from this thing called high school, but it seems, even in George's case, that we will always have to put on that facade in our adult life so everything stays normal.

Intro

George, a fifty-eight year old English man who lives in southern California, a professor at  San Thomas State College. He is going through the routines of a normal, ordinary day in the 1960s. During this day he gives his inputs, feelings, and opinions on all past, present, and future events including the death of his partner Jim. George I think is trying to find who is he is now after Jim's passing. He wonders a lot what Jim would think of his actions now if Jim would see him again, especially the way George acts towards his neighbors. His closes neighbors is a perfect couple, Mr. and Mrs. Strunk, who have seven children (Mrs. Strunk, who could of potentially had a very successful career gave it up to bear and raise seven children for Mr. Strunk). These seven children are what make George angry. He sees them as television watching, advertisement jingle singing, carbon copies, that are the makings of the modern world. This anger George has for the kids is something that Jim disliked and knows that he would not approve of this. 

A Single Man

The moment I saw this movie I fell in love with it. A Single Man is the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen. Everything is beautiful from the vibrant colors of certain scenes to even the actors, everything is super gorgeous. This movie is Tom Ford's (the fashion designer) directorial debut and he should really consider making more movies because I would love to see them. So since I loved the movie so much I am now reading the book, which so far is amazing and I can't wait to read the rest.