reading blog 1984

In George Orwell's 1984, the dystopian set novel focuses on the theme that big brother watches everything.  Every space is seen through telescreens that have microphones and cameras.  Not only are your actions censored, but so are your thoughts.   Thoughtpolice constantly scan people to find any sort of suspicion and will incriminate them with the thoughtcrime.  Winston, the main character, happens to be able to think for himself and isn't quite yet brainwashed by the party.  However, this isn't good for him because thinking as an enemy is a big crime and it only takes time for him to be caught. 

PRTW: 328
PRTQ: 1765

Finished The Power of Six

The Power of Six ended at a climatic point.  Six and John had split up; Six went to help the "unknown" member (who was Marina, number seven), and John went to capture the stolen chests at the Mog cave in West Virginia.  While John went to the cave, it was very nerveracking because he had to battle many Mogs, and beasts to get the chest.  Also, he ended up rescuing number Nine who had been trapped in a cell for over a year.  Six ended up saving Marina in a battle against the Mogs right by the lake where Marina and Ella were.  The book ended with John and Nine safely out of the cave and Marina, Ella, and Six safely from the Mogs.  However, one person knows whats on the other side of the mountain which could be the answer to many things.  The intense climatic point at which the book ends made me frustrated because now I just want the next book to come out!

PRTW: 272
PRTQ: 1437

The Power of Six

Sam, Number Six, and Number Four, known by his fake human name "John", are being chased by the cops and currently are America's Most Wanted.  They are running throughout America, resting whenever it is possible and training whenever they aren't resting.  The suspenseful chapters make you anticipate the Mogs everywhere.  Something different about this book compared to "I Am Number Four" is that there are two different narrators.  The other narrator, other than John, is Marina.  Marina is Number Seven and she has been betrayed by her cepan, so basically she is learning everything on her own.  She keeps getting creepy feelings that the Mogadorians are close, but why haven't they captured her?  She knows she has to find the others, and it will just be a matter of time that the Mogs attack.

I kept my reading goals in mind all week and accomplished them!

PRTW: 190
PRTQ: 1165

The Power of Six

The very first page of The Power of Six starts with "The events in this book are real.  Names and places have been changed to protect the Lorien Six, who remain in hiding.  Other civilizations do exist. Some of them seek to destroy you."  Pittacus Lore, the author, writes with many captivating sentences that pull you in and make you want to read more. The way he makes the fictitious story seem so real makes him a great author.

This past week I didn't so so great with my reading goals.  Next week my goal is to at least accomplish two out of my three goals because this week I failed at all three.  Unfortunately, I just couldn't find time to read.

PRTW: 50
PRTQ: 975

Note #2: The Notebook

The YouTube clip of the scene from The Notebook.

In the romantic movie "The Notebook", based off of a novel by Nicholas Sparks, Noah and Allie spend a wonderful summer together and accidentally fall in love. At one point, Allie and Noah are at the beach spending time with one another and it becomes evident through actions and words that they are experiencing true love. Opening the scene, waves crashing against the shore on the average summer day lead to a blissful mood that sets up for a romantic date.  Allie screams as she gambols into the moving water, scaring a flock of birds away.  Noah quickly follows Allie into the water as if the vast ocean could suck her away at any second and he would be there to save her.  Allie is very goofy and seems to want to explore new things, since she is always stuck to her strict and powerful family.  After running out to the sea, she asks Noah if "in another life [she] could have been a bird."  Noah is very stubborn and will not return the answer she is hoping for.  Allie leaps into Noah's arms and the smiles that each of them wear suggest their passionate and inseparable feelings.  Noah tells Allie "if you're a bird, then I'm a bird." The happiness between the two is fulfilled by their eye contact and constant laughter as the scene is sealed away with a kiss.

Note #3: First Love by Jan Owen

First Love

Jan Owen

It happened in Physics,

reading a Library art book under the desk,

(the lesson was Archimedes in the bath)

I turned a page and fell

for an older man, and anonymous at that,

hardly ideal –

he was four hundred and forty-five,

I was fourteen.

‘Eureka!’ streaked each thought

(I prayed no-one would hear)

and Paradise all term

was page 179

(I prayed no-one would guess).

Of course

my fingers, sticky with toffee and bliss,

failed to entice him from his century;

his cool grey stare

fastened me firmly in mine.

I got six overdues,

suspension of borrowing rights

and a D in Physics.

But had by heart what Archimedes proves.

Ten years later I married:

a European with cool grey eyes,

a moustache,

pigskin gloves.

In the poem "First Love" by Jan Owen, the humorous idea of falling in love with a science subject suggests the uncontrollable and attachable human emotions.  The low and easy diction helps explain the chronological order of the love relationship to the "older man...four hundred and forty-five. And I was fourteen."  The age difference is not the only eye-catching thing; the fact the narrator fell deeply in love with his "cool grey stare" illustrates the beginning of true, innocent love.  First love never fails to be special, and the narrator never forgot how special her first love was because after ten years of falling in love with the cool grey eyes in the book, she married a "European with cool grey eyes, a moustache, [and] pigskin gloves."  The simplicity and considerate diction illustrates the easiness and unforgettable first love. 

First Love: Scene from The Notebook

The Notebook is all about the relationship between Noah and Allie.  This scene of the movie illustrates their crazy, innocent love. 

I Am Number 4

I was very hesitant to start the book I Am Number 4 because of two reasons. First, I saw the movie and I hate seeing the movie before the book. Second, the movie was horrible.  I was worried when someone suggested the book to me, except I gave it a try and fell in love.  Pittacus Lore wrote an amazing and catchy novel that begins a series.  He wrote with words that were easy to read so it helped to read fast and follow the story easier.  The story of the book is about aliens that are trying to save their planet but are being hunted by the Mogadorians.  In short, there was a lot of action, suspense, and some romance from a high school fling.

Over the past two weeks, I haven't made it to any benches.  However, I did take pictures of benches I saw during Spring Break that I thought would have been good benches if I had time.  There was even a bench six miles down the Grand Canyon that I snapped a picture of.  And my other goal of reading every night didn't happen either...I think I only read five times in the past two weeks. However, I did finish a 440 page book and read 50 pages of the next one so hopefully that redeems the other goal.

PRTW: 490
PRTQ: 925

Exercise #3

Reviews:
Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles
Try Not to Breathe
Black Boy White School

Elements:
1. Summarize the background of the novel and set-up the conflict so that the reader of the review wants to know more, but is left hanging.

2. A set aside quote on the left side.

3. The conclusion focuses on themes or moral lessons that the author writes about. 

Tuesdays with Morrie

Finishing up Tuesdays with Morrie came with many tears and realizations.  You only live life once, and Mitch Albom's classes with Morrie helped teach what life should be about.  Love is the biggest thing to consider.  Nothing matters without love and relationships.  People think that they are satisfying their time and having the best life by being busy and fighting for power and money; however, Morrie teaches us that enjoying each moment of the dull and exciting times makes one never regret anything in their lifetime.  He taught many moral lessons and new ways of thinking about death.  No one should fear death because the soul lives on.  Our body is like a shell and it wears out, but our soul will never die.

Tuesdays With Morrie was a really quick read and it helped me accomplish my goal of reading 150 pages a week.  Although I only read 3 nights this week, instead of my goal of reading 30 minutes each night.  Another goal was to read at 2 park benches, and unfortunately I only got to one park bench.  I realized that if I brought a pillow with me to the bench it would be a lot more comfortable!

The park bench I read at...

Any guesses where this is?
Clue: It is along the Aboite Trails and near Aboite Center Rd.
PRTW: 199
PRTQ: 435

Note #1: My Father's Diary

In the poem My Father's Diary, by Sharon Olds, the narrator reads the vague diary of her father and notices the quick changes from the young boy's perspective of everyday chores and activities to the perspective of playful and passionate feelings of love.  Though the poem gives the narrator a gift from her father, the narrator's language is full of simple yet delicate words that introduces the father's compassionate feelings of love.  The narrator is reading the diary, which shares a timeline of the young boy's, now her father's, events.  It starts off with plain, everyday activities that every boy does.  The boy "went to look at a car" as well as "went to try out some new tennis racquets".  The lack of emotion during the beginning of the passage suggests boredom with his innocent life.  However, the boy's life is boring and slow "until Lois" turned it around and the boy started to experience new emotions that transformed his life.  He started "worshipping her" as all he wanted to do was spend time with her.  The transforming sentences in the diary documents the first phases of his love for Lois.  First love can never be taken for granted; the young boy has fallen for Lois and doesn't know what he has "ever done to deserve such a girl."  The run on events of growing up happens so fast, and when it is written down in a diary, the pure and honest words reveal the unique and surprising emotions of one's first love.

My Father's Diary by Sharon Olds

My Father's Diary

My Father's Diary

By Sharon Olds b. 1942 Sharon Olds

I get into bed with it, and spring

the scarab legs of its locks. Inside,

the stacked, shy wealth of his print—

he could not write in script, so the pages

are sturdy with the beamwork of printedness,

WENT TO LOOK AT A CAR, DAD

IN A GOOD MOOD AT DINNER, WENT

TO TRY OUT SOME NEW TENNIS RACQUETS,

LUNCH WITH MOM, life of ease—

except when he spun his father's DeSoto on the

ice, and a young tree whirled up to the

hood, throwing up her arms—until

LOIS. PLAYED TENNIS, WITH LOIS,

LUNCH WITH MOM AND LOIS, LOIS

LIKED THE CAR, DRIVING WITH LOIS,

LONG DRIVE WITH LOIS. And then,

LOIS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! SHE IS SO

GOOD, SO SWEET, SO GENEROUS, I HAVE

NEVER, WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE

TO DESERVE SUCH A GIRL? Between the dark

legs of the capitals, moonlight, soft

tines of the printed letter gentled

apart, nectar drawn from serif, the

self of the grown boy pouring

out, the heart's charge, the fresh

man kneeling in pine-needle weave,

worshipping her. It was my father

good, it was my father grateful,

it was my father dead, who had left me

these small structures of his young brain—

he wanted me to know him, he wanted

someone to know him.

Exercise 2: Analysis Scavenger Hunt

(2)"Grey and tall and stocky as the granite outcrop their town was built upon" are the inhabitants described in an unvarnished plain-dealing diction"

(6)"In her novel, Cruddy, Lynda Barry use of brusque, crude, and cacophonous language depicts and establishes the narrator’s dreary outlook on her gloomy life."

(1)Barry comes across as a bitter woman with the constant negative and degrading word diction saying "Roberta was writing the cruddy book of her cruddy life."

The blog that I really liked: Reading, Reflecting, and More Reading 

Exercise 1

In the opening paragraphs of Lynda Barry's Cruddy, words are filled with simplistic humor that suggests the authors young and rebelious personality.  The low diction and literal words make the passage easy to read.  The repeating use of the word 'cruddy' exaggerates the tone of the author and depicts her 'cruddy' life.  The character that writes a 'Cruddy' book is "the cruddy girl named Roberta."  Roberta's story is going to be about "the cruddy time on a cruddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town in a cruddy state, country, world, solar system, universe."  The conflicting words with Roberta's sister suggest the natural state of bickering with siblings.  The frustration is implied through the cruddy words and poured out to "her little sister [who] will NOT shut up she will NOT shut up SHE WILL NOT SHUT UP."  Roberta's story, during the rest of her cruddy time grounded, uses personal language to depict the growth and maturity of a teenage girl. 

Reading Goals

I've never really read a book like Before I Fall; It was definately original and entertained me throughout the book.  There were many funny parts throughout the book, but the book also taught many lessons.  After reading it I really thought about how I could change the way I act towards people and if I were to die today if I would have any regrets.  Sam, the girl who died in the book, got a chance to relive her last day seven times.  It wasn't so that she could possibly get a chance to live again, but to help her deviate from her old, snobby personality.  She was able to enjoy a last day with no regrets and helped others before she fell to death. 

My reading goals for this 9 weeks:

1. Read at a random park bench two times a week.  I expect to find most of the park benches along the Aboite Trails or by neighborhood ponds.  I can never repeat a bench.   This will be really fun because I'll be exploring on my bike and finding peaceful places that I enjoy to relax and read.

2.  Read 30 min a night.

3. Read 125 pages a week.

PRTW:236
PRTQ:236

Theme Statement

I am going to focus my anthology work around the theme of one's First Love.  It is uncontrollable and exciting.

A few ideas for some works are from Nicolas Spark's book, The Notebook--which also was turned into a movie.  Also a poem I found on the Poetry Foundation is by Kevin McFadden, A Date.  It's interesting because it talks about first dates and how love can be a drug.  Also, another poem that I could include in my anthology is "I wish I could remember that first day", by Christina Rossetti.  This poem is about how she wishes to remember the feeling of the first time she laid eyes on her loved one.

Optimism is Key

On a rainy day it is so hard to wake up and get out of your warm and snuggly bed.  It's easy to become drowsy and bored--just because of the rainy day.  Being drowsy oftentimes leads to pessimism.  Many people live their life thinking the "glass is half gone".  What's the purpose of that when there is so much life to live, and so many experiences to experience?  Everyone has bad days, but your mentality can be changed and life will get much more fun just from being optimistic. 

Sam is having a rough time; she died, and now keeps reliving her day and she doesn't know why.  Is it to fix her mistakes?  She doesn't know because she's done a mediocre job at attempting to change and be nice but she still ended up dead and reliving Friday. Or is it just how death is?  And do you get the freedom to do all of the risky and naughty things that you were wanting to do when you were alive, yet you would have no consequences?  Sam can't figure it out why she is reliving Friday, but she does keep getting reminded how mean she can be to people. 

She doesn't only realize that she can be mean, but she also is getting very irratated and annoyed of repeating Friday.  Talking to the good boy, Kent, she says:

"It's not my fault I can't be like you, okay? I don't get up in the morning thinking the world is one big shiny, happy place, okay? That's just not how I work.  I don't think I can be fixed."

Fixed? I agree with Sam on that point, except you can be changed.  If she were to focus on becoming optimistic and thinking the world is a happy place, then Sam could easily transform her persona.  When she says this it is her fourth day living the particular Friday.  Hopefully she is realizing that living the popular life isn't as fun as it looks, and that she needs to relax and be herself.  Having positive views on things help make life more pleasant and enjoyable.  Life will quicken and entertain you when the "glass is half full."

Before I Fall

Have you ever been somewhere and you follow the crowd? Or get sucked in by peer pressure?  When that happens, usually dumb decisions are made and you definitely regret them.  Not only will you have to face consequences from the dumb decisions, but the decisions could affect who you are.  It could change your personality, who your friends are, and what you do from that point on.  Hopefully the dumb decisions that are made will help you change friends and change what you do, but in a lot of cases one will get stuck in a hole and keep making dumb decisions. 

In Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, Sam gets caught up in popularity.  She is at the top of Jefferson High, has the boyfriend everyone wants, and gets many roses on Cupid's Day.  However, while you read the book, you understand that Sam regrets many of the things she does.  One day she spends it by cutting classes, smoking, being arrogant, and going to a naughty party.  She makes so many mistakes and hurts so many feelings that she starts to realize she's not the nicest person; yet, she doesn't care because she is Ms. Popular.  At the end of the night, on the way home from the party, the car crashes and she dies.  Was she so mean that she deserved to die?

Strangely enough, Sam wakes up "the next day".  However, she really is just reliving her Friday.  The same exact things happen--Will she change her attitude toward things and fix her issues?

Luckily for Sam, she is getting a second chance.  In life, many people can suddenly die and won't get to say their last wish, last piece of advice, or fix many of their weaknesses.  Sam gets too, and hopefully she can redeem herself and find her true identity.  

Strong Claim vs. Evaluative

Book About A Book "Ryan's artwork, distinct in style and whimsical in ideas, instills a childlike gayness and a twirling bliss in the eyes of all who see it."

Vivir, Sonar, Leer "The radical range of color schemes, discombobulating object scale, unusual item combination, and drastic angling of geometric shapes combine to form a divine harmony in the middle of a flustering discord."

"Jim's overwhelmingly awe-struck portfolio probably had the potential to make a rather dull and boring collection if he left each picture be it's own without making a collage out of them."
I think the submission about the photo was talked about nicely, except it was more evaluative than an analytical argument.

"Lunch Bag Art is a tumblr that is very unique and worth looking at."
This one was too personal and gave too much of the writers feeling toward the piece rather than strongly analyzing it.

Deadly Little Secret

Do you remember that awful feeling you get when you hear about amber alerts and kidnappings?  The sick and twisted person who tortures someone for their pleasure should be permanently in a straight jacket for the rest of their lives.  The impact that they put on the victim, but also the family and community is huge.  All the love and care for the poor victim poors out and search groups spill out all over.  In Deadly Little Secret, sadly Camilia has to be the victim. 

Camilia fights as hard as she can to scream and beat at the wall to escape the enclosed area she is trapped to while her ex-boyfriend (the sick and twisted kidnapper/stalker) pretends to be innocent while at school.  However, no matter how hard she screamed she was in the middle of a torn up trailer park.  Luckily, the boy who had the prescience of the kidnapping ever since he laid eyes on Camilia could sense where she was and saved her.

In real life, things don't happen like that.  People go missing for years and families and communities come together and never forget about the loved one.  It is so sad and heart breaking that stories like this happen in real life.  I wish, though, that in real life people could sense the future and figure out hiding places of the kidnappers.  Truly, I wish life was fair and that there was no corrupt people in the world.  It's simple; world peace would solve everything. 

Spartan Reader: Hunting for Art

Everyone loves elementary school art.  No matter how much one can deny it, getting messy with paint can be a great time.  However, the watercolor paint is difficult to master and usually used on an 8.5x11in paper that's easily recyclable.  It obviously needs more skill than a little kid can provide because of the hard to create images of indefinite lines and pastel colors.  Fortunately, the world is blessed with artists like Cate Parr, an expert and fashion illustrator with watercolor paints.  Most of the time it's hard to find artists and brag about them, but The Cool Hunter does a nice job of displaying the exotic art that they find.

In Cate Parr's portfolio of about six watercolor paintings, the subtle vibrant colors and free flowing strokes of paint highlight the vulnerable passion for beauty.  The reocurring paintings of women suggest the common feeling of the importance of fashion.  Specifically in one of the paintings, the wild and vibrant hair looks difficult to tame and ready to burst into an afro.  Her almost hidden, pale face is hidden in the background of the blaring hair and complicated necklace.  The choker style of the bulky necklace covers the whole neck and neckline.  It has many geometric shapes consisting of circles and rectangles, rarely filled in with a dull shade of green or yellow.  The choice of colors and shapes of the necklace may suggest the materialistic mindsets of the women today.  However, her extreme hair and exotic necklace screams a new trend that women could latch onto after the boring flat, straightened hair accessorized with Tiffany's heart lockets.  The style of many of the women painted contradicts the popular fashion today.  Cate Parr's portfolio may be a handful of iconoclastic images that are going to set a new trend and create larger parameters to beauty.

This American Life: Notes on Camp

In this episode of This American Life, listeners will get opinions and commentary about camp.  This episode specifically takes place at a pair of camps in Michigan--Lake of the Woods, a girls camp, and Greenwoods, a boys camp.  Although the camps may have separate names and may brag they are better than the other, they function as one whole camp--they share many of the same fun activities.  While listening to This American Life, one will hear a major theme of camp people verses non-camp people.  Once one heads off to camp, their life has changed forever.  Also, this episode has two highlights about the popular icon, David the counselor, and about the fearful ghost stories by which the camp is haunted.  Just from spending a short amount of time with the camp kids, This American Life gathered a quick list for Notes on Camp.

The first episode, Mr. Popular, opens up with a quirky guitar strumming song that introduces the long living camper--the boy who has participated since he was eleven years and grew up to become a camp counselor.  His name is David, but often referred to as Davey by his small, yet obsessed fan club.  David claims that "the best moments of his life are with campers.  Two weeks in the real world is about a day in camp.  It's almost like a time warp."  Because of camp, David strongly admits that it changes peoples lives for the better.  While observing the lunch room (known as the mess hall), loud screams, singing, and chanting fills the air.  The atmosphere is booming with chaos, but David somehow can control it all.  "David is the force, the one people turn to.  He is the man."  His ability to calm drama and stir up humor allows many of the campers to relate to him and claim he is the "number one counselor."

This American Life successfully observed Mr. Popular, but they also observe a certain type of fear among the campers.  In the second episode, the kids lack of common sense is tested.  As always, each camp has some time of horror story.  Several kids are eager to share this camps story.  As they tell the story of Turtle Man, each person's details in the story can change and influence the story a different way.  The bottom line is that the Turtle Man takes its new victim each fourth of July.  The children's curiosity with the ghost stories and their want to get scared is surprising since they are currently living in the woods.  A group of boys' gullability and curiosity gets the best of them when testing the legend of Bloody Mary and chant "Let's get scared!"  The anxiety and focus that the listener hears in the young boys is humorous when the legend is finished.  The need for the ghost story to be true is evident as one of the boys swears, "I felt a baby in my hands! It worked!" 

The two segments of This American Life share an innocent story of campers having a good time over the summer.  The fact that David is the one all campers are envious of suggest the need of a role model to the immature boys and girls to look up too.  The fun atmosphere that is fulfilled by the singing and chanting creates a loud area for the campers to express their inner personality, let go of nasty stereotypes, and have fun being a kid.  The simplicity of a camp is amazing when is brings so much joy to the many campers.  Both of the episodes illustrated the innocent lifestyle of children and how life can be more fulfilling through goofy games and stories rather than materialistic ways.  People need to learn a lesson from Notes on Camp and start living the fun life--start camping!

Short List 2.19.12

Masterpieces of the Natural World: Visit the most innocent and untouched places of the world.  People often overlook Earth's beauty and ignore the many things in nature that are ineffable.

Incredible Tree Houses: As a kid lounging in your ammature treehouse, or even your swingset, have you ever dreamed of living in a real tree house?  If you visit the door-nob site, there are plenty of custon tree house plans.  It's incredible the detail and variety of tree houses that are offered.  And to think, all of that design and hard work up in a tree.  Better test the trunk real well--wouldn't want the tree to fall!



The Cool Hunter- Art: The Cool Hunter found an artist that paints from watercolors that captures vulnerable fashion.  All of the paintings are focused on women and a certain style.  It takes a few seconds to recognize the fashion statement that is trying to be portrayed, and I think that is the point of it.  I think the artist wants to have the average person stumble upon the images and have to interpret them in their own time. 

Deadly Little Secret

It's crazy to think that people have stalkers. Legit stalkers; not just fan clubs, or wannabes, but people who may threaten your life.

In Deadly Little Secret, the main character Camilia has an ex-boyfriend who wants to get back together, a goofy jokester best friend, a drama queen best friend, and a mysterious lab partner.  On top of it all, she keeps getting creepy and suspicious messages.  Sounds like a stalker to me.  The intense scenes in the book can be scary with the suspicion that someone is always watching.

From what we know (after reading about 70% of the book), Camilia has a very suspicious lab partner.  I can't tell if the author is trying to blame the stalker on him and surprise us, or if he is the one.  However, the lab partner, and new boy in school, is named Ben and he has a thing for Camilia.  Not only does he want to keep touching her, but he needs to touch her to see the future. He has a thing called psycho.... (a long term for being able to see the future).  With it, he can sense the future and according to him Camilia's future is not pleasant.  Actually, her future is fatal.  This is where the mystery comes in and the intense suspicion among the characters is measured. 

Ben's background isn't the cleanest and most innocent, but would the author really make it so that he is the obvious victim, or could she stir things up and surprise the reader who the stalker/murderer-to-be is?  Thank goodness this story is just fiction because creepy stalkers and a lab partner with psycho-future seeing skills is not a great way to peaceful sleeping--talk about nightmares. 

Notes on Camp response

Going to camp may be the best thing that happens to young children.  They participate in so many activities and games to create inside jokes with their new, yet best friends, and their life changes from that point on to becoming a "Camp Person" rather than a "Non-Camp Person."  In the episode of Notes on Camp by This American Life, segments titled Mr. Popular and Fear engage the listener by hearing the humorous and exciting tones of the campers.  David, also known as Davey by his small yet obsessed fan club, is the long living camper; he first went to the camp around age eleven, has clear blue eyes, and claims "the best moments of my life are with campers."  This American Life describes the powerful icon; "David is the force, the one people turn to; he is the man." He has set trends, made cheers, and passed along many of the scary legends.  The scary legends, such as the Turtle Man, are said to be true among the worried campers, not faithfully believing where the line of fiction and non-fiction is.  Listening to the eager chants and worried screams illustrates the emotions that the creepy legends create.  Both of the segments, Mr. Popular and Fear, suggests a fun and exciting camp.  The set of campers from both segments were eager to be interviewed and share their opinion of camp.  An underlying statement by many of them: Once a camper, always a camper. 

"Really Cool Art"

The artist, Henk Hofstra, creates a new type of art that one does not come across on a regular basis but when it meets the eye it leaves quite an impression. In Drachten, a public art piece called "Urban River" is a blue road that has been repainted to portray the artist's mood. From a bird's point of view the road looks a lot like a bright and vivid river, as if one could sail right through the middle of a non-polluted city. In the dull and lifeless city, the bright blue forms a unique and eye popping image. Each building is gray, square, and uniform; the addition of the "Urban River" adds diversity to the view. In one of the captivating shots, a car has been smothered in blue and positioned to look as if it's diving into the welcoming river. It is possible that Hofstra wanted to capture the image of fun and silliness by showing the car taking a dive into the water like it is relieving its stress from the hard work it'd done that day. The blue road may be a sign of advertising diversity, or it may be a sign to relax and have fun; no matter how a person looks at "Urban River" it is a prime example of Really Cool Art(http://www.crookedbrains.net/2008/03/really-cool-art.html).

The Death Cure

Last winter, I traveled to Denver, Colorado and drove up the mountains to spend a week skiing and snowboarding. I had a great week spending time with family and enjoying the time with no stress from school. I know it sounds random that I'm talking about my favorite family vacation, but as I read The Death Cure it’s so hard to imagine that Denver, Colorado is one of the only safe cities in the world for the Gladers.

At this point, the Gladers have bravely escaped WICKED on Jorge's berg and miraculously arrived in the safe haven of Denver. Dashner does a great job in captivating the reader's attention because it's almost like he has experienced the chimerical events himself and he knows what the emotions rolling through the characters minds should be. His captivating words paint a picture and describe intense scenes that seem so real.

With Dashner's help of describing fear from the Flare, the reader feels the importance of the city Denver. However, rumors around town say that the city of Denver isn't as safe as it is meant to be and Thomas and his group is looking more and more suspicious --and it is definitely well-known not to advertise that they are Munies (Dashner's lingo of Immune).

I'm almost half way through The Death Cure and I'm crossing my fingers that the ending answers all of the questions that I've been pondering since The Maze Runner. One topic that Dashner keeps foreshadowing is the fact that Thomas had a huge role with WICKED before he got put into the trials. Will the reader hate Thomas once we find out his role? I really hope that is not the case; if I were able to write the ending from this point on, I would somehow wrap it up so that Thomas finds the cure and everyone survives. Personally I love it when everyone lives happily-ever-after, although it is very rare to see a conclusion like that after reading about so many tragic deaths in the middle of the story.

Short list #2

The Cool Hunter: Basically this site hunts down anything considered to be cool.  I have only checked out the architecture page so far, and have stumbled upon inverted warehouse houses that have a modern twist and make them extremely homey.  Many pictures and descriptions are displayed for easy and interesting browsing.

Crooked Brains: Crooked Brains is a weird site that displays "really cool art" in their opinion, and I would have to agree.  You will come across yellow streets, bright blue buildings, abstract paintings, and more.

Craziest Gadgets: Today's craziest gadget is color changing mood lipstick.  Many people have heard of or even owned a mood ring, but lipstick?  How is it possible that the color of it changes according to your mood? I'm not exactly sure, but scientists sure are inventing crazy gadgets.

Betrayal - How to Forgive

Betrayal, also known as disloyalty.  The worst offense a friend or loved one can do to you.  The act of betrayal can just rip you up and set your emotions on fire; to say the least, it's not the best feeling in the world.  Have you ever been betrayed by a best friend or loved one?  Is it even possible to forgive them after an act of treachery? Personally, I never have but James Dashner's words in The Scorch Trials illustrate the deep meaning of betrayal in friendship.

When Thomas was struggling to survive physically, Teresa emotionally murdered him.  The act she put on was cruel and violating to their trust.  Not only did Teresa physically beat Thomas up with a staff and sword, she showed affection for Aris - and kissed him.  I think it would be very hard to betray someone physically, but right when she kissed Aris on the cheek, the pain that drowned Thomas' heart was more severe than any of the pain caused by the sword. 

Thomas didn't just get his heart broken and a few deep gashes in his skin for fun, but after he was healed he was expected to forgive and forget.  When Thomas came back into conscience, Teresa greeted him with a bear hug.  (Ummm, I don't know about you but after being betrayed by your best friend and girl friend, I don't think a big hug will do the trick.)  Is Thomas just suppose to forgive Teresa and believe it was just a mission set out by WICKED?  Was it Teresa's true intentions or did she regret every word and punch that she forced upon Thomas?

I think it would be extremely hard to forgive a loved one who betrayed me.  To regain the trust and the emotional bond would take time and a lot of patience.  My heart goes out to the fictional Thomas; James Dashner's words in The Scorch Trials seem so real and portray such great scenes that it keeps the reader on the edge and hoping for more.

The Spartan Reader

In early elementary school, possibly first or second grade, many learn the term endangered species in science class.  Although everyone knows what endangered species are, it's very hard to wrap the mind around the thought of a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction.  Browsing through North America's Most Endangered Animals highlights a top list of lonely animals trying to complete the extremely tough but selfless act of surviving. 

The most endangered animal, according the the Smithsonian Magazine is the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle.  The lonely turtle and dark colors of the weather exaggerate the melancholy mood.  In 1947, 42,000 of these innocent turtles were filmed nesting on a beach in Mexico.  They were performing a normal task of laying hundreds of eggs in just one nest.  Unfortunately, cruel and careless humans dug up many of the eggs and stole for selfish reasons.  Not only were the turtles nesting sites attacked, but many turtles were getting tied up in left over fishing line and nets. Not even forty years later did the amount of turtle nests in the same nesting range decrease to the lowly number of 702. 

Luckily, rescuers all over are out to help the turtles safely nest their eggs and their efforts have been successful.  In 2009, the amount of turtle nest increased to about 8,000.  The need to help animals is getting more severe because careless and selfish humans will ruin habitats without realizing it.  After learning about the many endangered species Smithsonian offers, the next click on the internet should be a site helping to save the endangered species. 

Week 5: Top Links

Best of the World 2012

Runnie

L'Horizon

Portraits of Grief

Recalling a Memory

Because of a functional brain, I can remember what I did yesterday, where I went, how I felt, and why I did it.  Not only can I remember yesterday, but I also can remember most things in my life.  Yesterday, I smashed the snooze button about three times, rushed to get to school, sat through seven boring classes, went to practice, did homework, ate, and went to sleep.  That is the routine of most of my days.  As I mentioned, not only can I remember my daily routine, but I can remember big events like, who I crushed on in middle school, when I got stitches, why I'm not friends with Bob anymore, and any emotion that triggers an event.  It's ordinary for me to be able to recall memories, as well as for you.  But can you imagine if you couldn't remember the day before yesterday? If all of your memory before today was erased?

If you can't imagine it, it's really hard to relate to the characters in The Scorch Trials, the second book in The Maze Runner Trilogy.  I know it's hard for me to relate to the characters because it's impossible to imagine having no memory. 

Fortunately, Thomas, one of the main characters, dreams at night stories and events that he thinks may have been his past self, but he isn't one-hundred percent sure.  One dream that he had was a scary and lonely dream and he could recall a voice saying, "The Flare is rooted inside him."  The Flare, a grand epidemic that is ruining the world is the reason the boys are trapped.  Mad scientists are experimenting with the innocent boys so they can somehow save the world (Crazy, huh? I really don't know how trapping boys in the Scorch area will help save the world.)  However, Thomas recalls his dream/memory and it changes his perspective.  What are the creators planning? Are they cozening him to a miserable death?

With many questions about the intense plot and after reading a big chunk of the book I get one overall feeling: that I hope I never get Alzeihmers in the future. 

Hitlist to a Shortlist

Smithsonian's Science&Nature tab offers information about North America’s Most Endangered Animals.  It provides a list and quick information about a few species that are close to extinction.  The melancholy pictures of the lonely animals sadden the viewer and help make people realize efforts can be made to help out the almost extinct species.

The Daily Shoe: Exactly how it sounds, T Magazine chooses a new, outrageous shoe daily.  Yesterday it happened to be a curvy, colorful, extremely tall pump that seems impossible to walk in.  Today T picked an exquisite Chanel shoe: a classic narrow pump with four straps around the ankle and to top it off it is in navy glitter. 

Found Magazine: I stumbled upon this site from the Reader Links, and they simply collect anything they find, such as, love letters, notes to parents, lost and found signs, etc.  "The Saddest Dad" note was found flying through a golf course.  It appeared to be an apology written by a father's son for running away. However, it is sad because of the fact the father could have never found it or simple wanted to disown his son and gave it to the wind.  The son refers to the father "whooping" him and how it didn't help in him feeling comfortable coming back home.  This magazine is very interesting in the stories they find and add to their site.   

Finding the catchiest blogs

In my opinion, some of the catchiest reading analysis blogs:

lost_at_sea http://pagenotfounderror404.blogspot.com/
^This blog has a really good intro and point to make, and a little sarcastic too.

coraline http://xixamxkenziex.blogspot.com/
^"You know those books you accidentally come across? " This is the very first sentence of the post and it really made me want to know what she was going to say, because for me, coming across books accidentally happens all the time.

In my opinion, some of the catchiest Dead Poets Society paragraphs:

nans http://rrr-nans.blogspot.com/
^ "In Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society, the explosive crowd of parents and the aggressively proud students highlight the sense of passionate strength and intense superiority that will be countered with the arrival of a teacher whose thoughts change the ideas surrounding the school. " Nans does a great job with the claim because of the powerful nouns and verbs that help describe the observations and inferences.   The rest of her paragraph correctly posted about the observations and then the inferences that led to possible problems in the movie, like the new teacher. 

Finished The Maze Runner

Where to begin?  With the suspenseful and intense Grievers who are on guard to kill or the fact that the Gladers may never return to normal life?  While reading in the pitch black and cuddled in my warm sheets, the image James Dashner can illustrate makes me want to sleep with the lights on.  Not necessarily is the book scary, but it sure is suspenseful. 

I recently left off wondering how and why the innocent boys were put into the maze.  Upon finishing, only one of the nagging questions was answered.  Thomas and about half of the Gladers decided to bravely take their chances and fight the Grievers so they could escape.  However, after jumping through the Griever Hole, battling Grievers, and punching in a code, they only came out to a cage-like room with windows revealing the evil creators. 

The readers didn't learn much about why the creators ran the maze experiment because a group of protestors came in and rescued the boys.  Who knows exactly who the group was, but they transferred them right to a somewhat safe house. 

You might be thinking that this was a happy ending and all of the boys got to return to their families; but the story hasn't ended yet.  The boys are now fighting from getting the epidemic Flare.  They are trapped inside this "safe" house and can see the lunatics raging around their windows.  They've tried everything trying to get out of the house, but soon they hear a very familiar alarm--one only heard in the maze. 

The boys may have thought they escaped the maze and outsmarted the creators, but the upbeat sequel, The Scorch Trials makes it seem as if they are yet again another set of mice in a lab experiment. 

Dead Poets Society

            In the opening scene from Peter Weir’s 1989 film Dead Poets Society, the ceremonious activity and formal relations reveal some skeptical intensity and proud aggression.   The packed pews of the church and the sounds of bagpipe music led into a rallying speech from one of the school’s administrators.  The tense sounds of the music and sounds of the loud clapping illustrates the proudly hopeful parents, but the meek worry of the soon to be students.  The high expectations expressed by facial expressions and communication seem to intimidate the incredulously numb children for their upcoming semester.    

Enjoying the snow day!

The best way to spend a snow day includes:
building snowmen
reading in the snow
hot chocolate!

Trapped

The idea of being trapped in a maze and remembering nothing on how you got there does not seem pleasing to many people.   In the fantastic book The Maze Runner by James Dashner, a large group of boys are placed into some type of holding cell that resembles a maze.  The main character of the story, Thomas, is the newest addition to the maze and the perspective of the story is mainly from him.  The reader learns alot about the maze and society that the group of boys have created.  The most astonishing thing to the reader are the questions, how and why are these seemingly innocent boys trapped inside a maze with no memory of getting there at all?

As I have read the first half of this book, I have kept myself up way too late at night trying to race to the answers to the questions that the story is based upon.  It just amazes me how some type of person or group created the maze; and on top of it all, decide to trap boys and watch them miserably fight each other.  For the many questions that the story proposes, I try to come up with theories.  Possibly the reason for the maze is similar to the reason of The Hunger Games--where the society watches every move of the players and acts as though it is entertainment.  Entertainment definately could be the incentive for the creators, but why two years?  The boy that has been inside of the maze has been stuck for almost two years.  I cannot even relate emotions to the way they must feel in this dystopian setting.

As said before, the main character and protagonist of the story is the "Greenie", Thomas.  The first step he took into his new home he felt a familiar sort of feeling.  At the time, I wasn't too concerned.  Then, just a week after of being into the incredible area, Thomas is brave enough to step foot into the maze at night--basically a death sentence.  However, he was able to save two lives while being out in the maze, fight off four grievers, and make it through the night alive--the first boy to ever accomplish something like that. At this point, I still wasn't suspicious of Thomas even though other boys in the group started to become weary of him.  I viewed him more of a hero, and saw it as forshadowing that he is going to be the one boy that may save them from the miserable maze and find an escape out.  However, about a day after his heroic trip, the newest member of the group, which happened to be a girl, telepathically told Thomas, "It was you and me Tom. We did this to them. To us." 

When I read that line, my jaw dropped.  This created so many questions such as, Is Thomas the bad guy? Are they the creators? How could he be a creator of the maze and not remember? Why would he do this to anyone?

James Dashner does an excellent job of creating suspense in this book and I am looking forward to knowing the answers to the many questions he proposes.  As for the boys in the book, I would hate to be trapped. 

"Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper

Elements:
Setting
Characters
Action
Use of Colors
Perspective

Observations:
Setting: Phillies bar, urban town, empty bar, late at night, shadow of the moon, empty streets, no life
Characters: business attire, three customers and a bartender, little energy, little interaction, exhausted
Action: Sedentary, Lethargic, intrapersonal, slow bartender
Use of Colors: dark, shadows, plain, dull, dramatic, shining of the moon
Perspective: outsider, looking in through glass windows from distance, corner of a block, emphasizes emptiness

Claim:
In "Nighthawks" painted by Edward Hopper, an outsider looking into the empty bar with ominous apathy, lethargic complacency, and dramatic coldness of the night, portray the dark, lonely mood of the lifeless customers in the peak of the night.

Book Worm

It all began in 1999--the year I first began preschool and the year I fell in love with reading.  Memories before that year can get pretty blurry, but I do remember the huge bookshelf in my basement.  I was always very fascinated with the huge bookshelf that spilt books and waited for when I would be able to pick a book myself.  I had struggled through books with my Mom and Dad at bedtime before the age of four, but nothing can describe the ecstatic feeling when I reached for a book on that bookshelf myself.  Reaching for my very own book to read individually lead to so many fantastic things.

One of the many things reading from the bookshelf lead to was my very own library card.  Trips to the library became a weekly routine and I would spend hours shuffling through the shelves finding the prettiest covers, best sounding authors, and coolest titles.  As a young kid, I definately judged the book by the cover.  Unfortunately, the prettiest covers were not always the best books.  To not know that when I was younger definately put a toll on my reading life.  I became quite bored with books because I could never find the one that kept me on my toes.  Instead books became predictable and tedious.  I got to a stage in my life where reading was no longer exciting.

Fortunately, this phase ended when I entered middle school and found quite a few series that kept me up way too late at night.  Once again I started reading like I had never stopped.  I had started visiting the library a lot more and finding stories that completely entertained me.  However, I started to find no time for reading because I always had so much homework near the end of middle school and the beginning of high school.  Just this past year I have started a book list, became an assistant for the librarians, and have been staying up way too late trying to figure out the next scene in the current book I am reading.  Although I took a few years off from adoring the bookshelves, I can still claim myself a book worm.