Sunday, April 26, 2015
It was...
It was the scariest feeling i had ever felt. Palms sweating, knees trembling, follow my big brother into the unfamiliar building. Going from being the big man on campus as an 8th grader in middle school to that first day of high school, once again being a little fish in a big pond. I had no idea who was in my classes, who my teachers were or how these next four years of my life were going to make me into the person I am today. I made many mistakes, failed many tests, gotten into trouble, and screwed up so many times along the way. However, I also made new friendships, made many A's, and thrived on sports teams and I would not trade these experiences for anyone else's. I had no idea that day walking into high school for the first time that i would end up transferring schools to Millbrook, joining the IB Program, meeting new people, or making it to the state semi-finals game in basketball... twice. These are the memories that I will cherish forever no matter how old i grow or where i am living. I WAS a scared little freshman, fast forward 4 years and now I AM a proud curious senior anxious and prepared for what the world will throw at me.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
14. Notebook of Whitman
Before
When first viewing the cover of Whitman's notebook, it is apparent that the notebook is extremely worn and old. We can conclude that Walt Whitman did not take very good care of it and possibly take it with him everywhere he went. The cover is plain and black with multiple scratches and tears visible. When viewing the first page, I noticed that his handwritten is very messy and difficult to read. This could also be due to the fading that occurs over time. Also there is no definite order and neatness to any of his pages. They all seem to be simple notes and ideas that he quickly scribbled into his notebook. Although I cannot decipher the words, I have noticed that many of his phrases end in question marks. He may do this when bouncing ideas around in order to create the perfect story. Lastly, I noticed his drawings towards the end of his notebook. These drawings are extremely detailed. They vary from drawings of characters to the creation of title pages.
After
After seeing the story behind his notebook, i was correct that he did take it with him everywhere. More specifically though, he kept it in his coat pocket. This explains the wear and tear that i noticed on the front cover. I find it extremely fascinating that Whitman glanced upon his hero, Abraham Lincoln, and created a fake conversation with him. The possibility that he even may of started this conversation in his journal while watching him makes it even more fascinating in my opinion. I was also correct in my first assumptions that he bounced around with ideas in his book, toying with different titles and dialogues. Many may wonder why he was so fond of Lincoln but we see in his notebook that they both shared the same ideologies. Like Lincoln, Walt Whitman also despised slavery and wanted to see it come to an end. Earlier i believed that the drawings in his book were created by Whitman himself, but this is not true. Whitman never drew or even doodled so these drawings must have been created by someone else. The first portrait in the notebook is a drawing of Whitman himself which leads me to wonder why Whitman would have someone draw a picture of himself in his notebook that was meant for ideas.
When first viewing the cover of Whitman's notebook, it is apparent that the notebook is extremely worn and old. We can conclude that Walt Whitman did not take very good care of it and possibly take it with him everywhere he went. The cover is plain and black with multiple scratches and tears visible. When viewing the first page, I noticed that his handwritten is very messy and difficult to read. This could also be due to the fading that occurs over time. Also there is no definite order and neatness to any of his pages. They all seem to be simple notes and ideas that he quickly scribbled into his notebook. Although I cannot decipher the words, I have noticed that many of his phrases end in question marks. He may do this when bouncing ideas around in order to create the perfect story. Lastly, I noticed his drawings towards the end of his notebook. These drawings are extremely detailed. They vary from drawings of characters to the creation of title pages.
After
After seeing the story behind his notebook, i was correct that he did take it with him everywhere. More specifically though, he kept it in his coat pocket. This explains the wear and tear that i noticed on the front cover. I find it extremely fascinating that Whitman glanced upon his hero, Abraham Lincoln, and created a fake conversation with him. The possibility that he even may of started this conversation in his journal while watching him makes it even more fascinating in my opinion. I was also correct in my first assumptions that he bounced around with ideas in his book, toying with different titles and dialogues. Many may wonder why he was so fond of Lincoln but we see in his notebook that they both shared the same ideologies. Like Lincoln, Walt Whitman also despised slavery and wanted to see it come to an end. Earlier i believed that the drawings in his book were created by Whitman himself, but this is not true. Whitman never drew or even doodled so these drawings must have been created by someone else. The first portrait in the notebook is a drawing of Whitman himself which leads me to wonder why Whitman would have someone draw a picture of himself in his notebook that was meant for ideas.
Monday, March 30, 2015
13. The American Dream
Our world is filled with hundreds of developing countries that struggle everyday and do whatever it takes to survive. Everyone has heard of the American Dream and although I have the great luxury of living it everyday, millions of people around the world are not as fortunate as I am. To me this dream consists of a good life full of opportunity and chance and if you work hard enough, everyone has an equal shot at being successful. Throughout history and today, immigrants travel thousands of miles and risk their life savings in order to be able to life the American Dream. The thought of getting out of their daily struggles drives those who wish to leave their third world countries behind. My goal of living the dream would be doing what i love while being able to provide for a family and not having to worry about putting food on the table.
Many people may believe that the amount of money and possessions owned, is how you measure a person's wealth. To me this is incorrect. Wealth is a measurement of a person's happiness and their mental outlook on life. I believe that it is very possible for someone to be poor but yet wealthy in terms of their friendships and other relationships. Sadly, many Americans only see wealth as the value of all the assets owned by an individual person and interchange the word with 'rich'. Without these items, you are considered to be in poverty.
People will always pursue this American Dream but hopefully one day people in every country will be able to live the lifestyle they hope to live in America.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Wishing I Went To Dunsinane
For this blog post I have chosen to compare the third and fourth NLMG book covers.
These two book covers are completely different in almost every aspect. It is almost hard to believe that both of these covers are for the same story. While the third one seems mysterious and draws you in, the fourth looks like something from another word and frightful. For one, the primary color used is yellow while in the other, most of the cover is a dark blue. Also, the yellow cover has neat, block, white letters compared to the scrambled, disorganized title on the blue cover.
The third (yellow) cover has a picture of a boat on the edge of a lake with a foggy haze over it. I believe the purpose of this is to touch on a major theme in NLMG, the theme of the unknown. Throughout the book, the unknown is a major factor in the children's lives and they seem to be scared to search for answers. This matches perfectly with the boat on the foggy lake because the mystery of not knowing whats passed the fog on the lake draws the reader in. If I was unfamiliar with the story of Never Let Me Go, when looking at this cover I might think the story was about a man looking for adventure and finds love after leaving his home in the middle of the night and getting on this little boat.
The fourth (blue) cover is a drawing of a torso and the organs within the stomach. This cover is more obvious in terms of NLMG because the main characters are clones who grow up to donate their organs. However the bodies are missing all other limbs so as the head, legs and arms. This represents how the clones' only purpose in live is to donate their valuable organs. The rest of their bodies are not important. When i first see this cover, I am drawn to lettering of the title and how they are very static and scary. If i had not read NLMG I would think this book to be similar to frankenstein. A mad scientist attempting to create a human out of separate parts.
These two book covers are completely different in almost every aspect. It is almost hard to believe that both of these covers are for the same story. While the third one seems mysterious and draws you in, the fourth looks like something from another word and frightful. For one, the primary color used is yellow while in the other, most of the cover is a dark blue. Also, the yellow cover has neat, block, white letters compared to the scrambled, disorganized title on the blue cover.
The third (yellow) cover has a picture of a boat on the edge of a lake with a foggy haze over it. I believe the purpose of this is to touch on a major theme in NLMG, the theme of the unknown. Throughout the book, the unknown is a major factor in the children's lives and they seem to be scared to search for answers. This matches perfectly with the boat on the foggy lake because the mystery of not knowing whats passed the fog on the lake draws the reader in. If I was unfamiliar with the story of Never Let Me Go, when looking at this cover I might think the story was about a man looking for adventure and finds love after leaving his home in the middle of the night and getting on this little boat.
The fourth (blue) cover is a drawing of a torso and the organs within the stomach. This cover is more obvious in terms of NLMG because the main characters are clones who grow up to donate their organs. However the bodies are missing all other limbs so as the head, legs and arms. This represents how the clones' only purpose in live is to donate their valuable organs. The rest of their bodies are not important. When i first see this cover, I am drawn to lettering of the title and how they are very static and scary. If i had not read NLMG I would think this book to be similar to frankenstein. A mad scientist attempting to create a human out of separate parts.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Andrew Fitzgerald: Adventures in Twitter fiction
https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_fitzgerald_adventures_in_twitter_fiction/transcript?language=en
This TED talk by Andrew Fitzgerald discusses mainly the use of twitter and how our knowledge of the internet is so limited right now. We are just starting to understand all the uses it may serve. New methods of storytelling will be created with the internet. Fitzgerald uses the example of the eBook, Wool, and how that short story exploded on the internet. Immediate responses and enthusiasm the author received inspired him to write more. He also provides the example of Elliot Holt, an author who wrote a short story on twitter through multiple tweets. The each tweet was sent out at different times, leaving the audience in suspense and wanting the next tweet or piece of the story. Andrew Fitzgerald then goes into detail about more twitter accounts that tell stories such as Crimer Show, a twitter account that follows two characters including a protagonist and antagonist and situations these characters get themselves into, almost like a TV series.
Andrew Fitzgerald is a member of the Twitter team and works for this company. This gives him credibility when discussing how stories are being told all over twitter. He is very effective in getting his point across through the use of real twitter accounts thats sole purpose is to tell stories and entertain an audience. He provides specific examples and how each account/author puts their own twist on the stories they tell. These examples appeal to the audiences emotions as they are somewhat funny and comical, giving the audience a reason to go take a look at these twitter stories for themselves. Fitzgerald's argument is that the internet especially twitter, is providing creative minds with more opportunities to express their stories and thoughts. He is very bias in this argument considering that he is an employee of Twitter and advertising for them.
I can relate to this TED talk as a teenager because I myself have a twitter account and like most other high schoolers know the benefits of using this social media. It can provide an escape for creative minds and i personally view tweets that are told in a story format even by some of my friends who are only trying to be funny and entertain their twitter followers. Twitter is very important to some people and I know a couple of my friends who could not go a day without checking their timeline and finding out the latest "story".
This TED talk by Andrew Fitzgerald discusses mainly the use of twitter and how our knowledge of the internet is so limited right now. We are just starting to understand all the uses it may serve. New methods of storytelling will be created with the internet. Fitzgerald uses the example of the eBook, Wool, and how that short story exploded on the internet. Immediate responses and enthusiasm the author received inspired him to write more. He also provides the example of Elliot Holt, an author who wrote a short story on twitter through multiple tweets. The each tweet was sent out at different times, leaving the audience in suspense and wanting the next tweet or piece of the story. Andrew Fitzgerald then goes into detail about more twitter accounts that tell stories such as Crimer Show, a twitter account that follows two characters including a protagonist and antagonist and situations these characters get themselves into, almost like a TV series.
Andrew Fitzgerald is a member of the Twitter team and works for this company. This gives him credibility when discussing how stories are being told all over twitter. He is very effective in getting his point across through the use of real twitter accounts thats sole purpose is to tell stories and entertain an audience. He provides specific examples and how each account/author puts their own twist on the stories they tell. These examples appeal to the audiences emotions as they are somewhat funny and comical, giving the audience a reason to go take a look at these twitter stories for themselves. Fitzgerald's argument is that the internet especially twitter, is providing creative minds with more opportunities to express their stories and thoughts. He is very bias in this argument considering that he is an employee of Twitter and advertising for them.
I can relate to this TED talk as a teenager because I myself have a twitter account and like most other high schoolers know the benefits of using this social media. It can provide an escape for creative minds and i personally view tweets that are told in a story format even by some of my friends who are only trying to be funny and entertain their twitter followers. Twitter is very important to some people and I know a couple of my friends who could not go a day without checking their timeline and finding out the latest "story".
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Double Indemnity Heroes
In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?
Double Indemnity is a film with a plot filled with corruption, adultery and murder and is exciting from the first minute to the last. It seems as though every character is corrupted by either love or power/money with no true hero that saves the day or does the right thing. However, if there was one character who was good and true throughout the whole film, it would be Barton Keyes. Keyes is a colleague and friend of the main character, Walter Neff. He is a hard worker and never lets a case go thanks to his "little man" or gut feeling inside his stomach.
Keyes is the investigator that solves the murder of Mr Dietrichson. The homicide was almost ruled as an accident or suicide but Keyes knew there was something more to the story and trusted his "little man" as he investigated the case. Even when it seemed that there was no more evidence or leads to work with and he no one supported him, Keyes never gave up and continued to pursue the truth. As we know, his best friend, Neff was the true murderer and the answer was right under his nose the whole time and without the confession of Neff, Keyes may have arrested the wrong man. Keyes is the only character in the film that was not corrupt and showed true sincerity and strong morals. Although Double Indemnity is filled with characters that have been corrupted by lust or power, Barton Keyes is the closest thing to a real hero in the film.
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