One of my favorite essays that we read in class was Becoming Adolf. This was the first essay we read and I still remember better than the essays we read. The thing that first caught my attention was how fascinated the author was by Hitler’s Toothbrush mustache He even went to the extreme to grow a mustache just like Hitler and actually go out in public. I agree with the author on the fact that the Toothbrush mustache will always remind society of Hitler even though many people have tried to wear this particular mustache. He supports his opinion by wearing the mustache in public and received negative feedback from society because it reminds them of Hitler.
The essay I liked the least was Buzzards. Not only was this essay a complete sob story but also extremely dull and boring. The author describes her life as a buzzard. Just like her story, buzzards are too extremely dull and boring. She goes on to explain that her father disapproves of her writing as a career and would never read any of her work. Her father soon dies and the story gets even more boring. She even throws herself a bigger pitty party because she never mended the relationship with her father even though she knew what was upsetting him. This caused her to never fully spread her wings and fly instead becoming like a savaged buzzard.
The essay I enjoyed writing the most was the personal essay. Writing this essay allowed me to share my experience I had working with the women of Martha’s Manor. All the women were over the age of twenty and each had a mental disability. The thing I liked about writing this essay was I got to relive my experience through my writing. These women influenced me over anything else in my life so getting to write about it was not hard.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
7th post
Run Like Fire Once More
The first thing that caught my attention was that this whole story was based around one single race. This race was extraordinary because it was 3,100 miles long and lasted for two months. Each person in this race had to run around the same block everyday but would switch direction they ran each day. I found this to be severely boring and very intense. A person who wanted to stay in the race had to run fifty miles a day from six in the morning to midnight. I personally find this to me very boring and repetitive. I would have no drive to encourage me to run this race since your not getting anything out of it because you are running the same block for 3,100 miles for two straight months. You see nothing new or exciting for two months. I also found that the man running in the race got an ingrown toe nail when he had 2,000 miles left in the race. Yes, 2,000 miles is a lot left in the race but yet he has already ran 1,100 and pretty much is half way finished with the race. This in particularly made me very aggravated and I felt bad for this man. An ingrown toe nails are very painful and annoying. If he ran another 2,000 miles with an ingrown toenail, that would be nothing but pain. I understand where he wants to finish the race because he has already made it this far. I found it very discouraging because he has already ran so much of the race and what is the point of running this far if you are not going to finish. I would honestly never find the courage or strength to even start a race that last even longer than ten miles. 3,100 miles seems really far fetch to me and ridiculous. If this story is true I have respect for people who have finished this 3,100 mile race in two months.
Candid Camera
This essay was one of the most boring essays to me. I was first confused because the author starts talking about different cars and which ones he prefers but then he gets into talking about cameras. I did not find anything of this to be interesting in the least. I like to take pictures and I found photography some what interesting but this particular story made me not want to read anymore about cameras. Cameras in the first place are something not a lot of people know a lot of about. It is a topic that most people are not going to find interesting because it is not among of the popular hobbies like cooking or sports. I even got more confused when he started to talk about different types of camera and about his photography in Germany. Then he went on to talk about a camera called Leica in depth and that just made the story so much worse for me. I almost found it to the point that he talked about the camera like it was a human. He made it sound like the Leica was the most important thing to him. I understand that the camera is one of the most important things in photography but the author wrote it more in an obsessive manor. He did not help me enjoy photography more but yet made me think it is more boring than I already did.
The first thing that caught my attention was that this whole story was based around one single race. This race was extraordinary because it was 3,100 miles long and lasted for two months. Each person in this race had to run around the same block everyday but would switch direction they ran each day. I found this to be severely boring and very intense. A person who wanted to stay in the race had to run fifty miles a day from six in the morning to midnight. I personally find this to me very boring and repetitive. I would have no drive to encourage me to run this race since your not getting anything out of it because you are running the same block for 3,100 miles for two straight months. You see nothing new or exciting for two months. I also found that the man running in the race got an ingrown toe nail when he had 2,000 miles left in the race. Yes, 2,000 miles is a lot left in the race but yet he has already ran 1,100 and pretty much is half way finished with the race. This in particularly made me very aggravated and I felt bad for this man. An ingrown toe nails are very painful and annoying. If he ran another 2,000 miles with an ingrown toenail, that would be nothing but pain. I understand where he wants to finish the race because he has already made it this far. I found it very discouraging because he has already ran so much of the race and what is the point of running this far if you are not going to finish. I would honestly never find the courage or strength to even start a race that last even longer than ten miles. 3,100 miles seems really far fetch to me and ridiculous. If this story is true I have respect for people who have finished this 3,100 mile race in two months.
Candid Camera
This essay was one of the most boring essays to me. I was first confused because the author starts talking about different cars and which ones he prefers but then he gets into talking about cameras. I did not find anything of this to be interesting in the least. I like to take pictures and I found photography some what interesting but this particular story made me not want to read anymore about cameras. Cameras in the first place are something not a lot of people know a lot of about. It is a topic that most people are not going to find interesting because it is not among of the popular hobbies like cooking or sports. I even got more confused when he started to talk about different types of camera and about his photography in Germany. Then he went on to talk about a camera called Leica in depth and that just made the story so much worse for me. I almost found it to the point that he talked about the camera like it was a human. He made it sound like the Leica was the most important thing to him. I understand that the camera is one of the most important things in photography but the author wrote it more in an obsessive manor. He did not help me enjoy photography more but yet made me think it is more boring than I already did.
Monday, November 9, 2009
6th Post
Tripp Lake
“Where was I? Where was she?” (pg 239).
She was in rehab and I was in Memphis. She was my best friend that I tried to help but failed. I would talk to her mother periodically to see how she was doing while she was in rehab. She was the most upset by this situation. We would write a few times while she was at that place. She was not the same best friend she used to be. She changed and that place changed her even more. I do not know what she was doing or thinking. She did it to herself and now her family and friends are feeling the pain. She keeps hurting herself and everyone who loves her by doing what she keeps doing. She always loved attention even if it was negative attention. She did not and does not care only if it was just attention. I loved and will always love her like a sister. She used to love me but now it is the attention that she loves. Now I am just one of them according to her. I am on of them because I actually went to college and care about my family and friends. I am watching a girl I love waste her life, talents, and intelligence away. She is slowly killing herself. I tried to save her, so did everyone else around her. Now, she is the only one who can save herself. Yet, if she saves herself then the attention is gone. She does not want to lose the attention but she does not realize that no one cares anymore. No one is trying to help her anymore because everyone has tried and she has just pushed them away. Now she is slowly dwindling from everyone’s lives. She still needs help but everyone is tried of being disappointed.
“Where was I? Where was she?” (pg 239).
She was in rehab and I was in Memphis. She was my best friend that I tried to help but failed. I would talk to her mother periodically to see how she was doing while she was in rehab. She was the most upset by this situation. We would write a few times while she was at that place. She was not the same best friend she used to be. She changed and that place changed her even more. I do not know what she was doing or thinking. She did it to herself and now her family and friends are feeling the pain. She keeps hurting herself and everyone who loves her by doing what she keeps doing. She always loved attention even if it was negative attention. She did not and does not care only if it was just attention. I loved and will always love her like a sister. She used to love me but now it is the attention that she loves. Now I am just one of them according to her. I am on of them because I actually went to college and care about my family and friends. I am watching a girl I love waste her life, talents, and intelligence away. She is slowly killing herself. I tried to save her, so did everyone else around her. Now, she is the only one who can save herself. Yet, if she saves herself then the attention is gone. She does not want to lose the attention but she does not realize that no one cares anymore. No one is trying to help her anymore because everyone has tried and she has just pushed them away. Now she is slowly dwindling from everyone’s lives. She still needs help but everyone is tried of being disappointed.
Monday, November 2, 2009
5th Post
Paddy’s Pub is a place where one can go to have more than an interesting time. The owners and workers always keep it entertaining. But, if you are looking for a more formal place and have a more exquisite taste in alcohol this is definitely not the place for you. Paddy’s is a more lay back bar with strictly drinking nothing but hard liquor and beer. Unless you want to get ridicule and made fun of you should stay clear of wine and basically any classy drinks. I would advise one not to go if they get their feelings hurt easily. The workers seem extremely sarcastic and do not hold back what they are thinking even if it is not nice. Also Paddy’s Pub is not what I would call nice. The bathrooms are more disgusting than a gas station. One night at Paddy’s Pub is a night that will never be forgotten.
Cricket Fighting
I found the whole idea of cricket fighting ludicrous and pointless when I first heard the title of the story. My opinion slightly changed after I actually read the essay. I actually found it interesting that people would actually train crickets and spend all that money on a bug. To my surprise there are actual events and places just for cricket fighting and people really do bet on these fights. This story takes place in China with a man who has a translator talking to Mr. Wu who is big into cricket fighting. The translator describes to the man what cricket fighting is and all the requirments and rules to it. Cricket fighting is more popular in Asia than anywhere. Through the story you understand more about how people can actually train crickets to do what they want and sneak around to be able to bet on the actual cricket fights.
Cricket Fighting
I found the whole idea of cricket fighting ludicrous and pointless when I first heard the title of the story. My opinion slightly changed after I actually read the essay. I actually found it interesting that people would actually train crickets and spend all that money on a bug. To my surprise there are actual events and places just for cricket fighting and people really do bet on these fights. This story takes place in China with a man who has a translator talking to Mr. Wu who is big into cricket fighting. The translator describes to the man what cricket fighting is and all the requirments and rules to it. Cricket fighting is more popular in Asia than anywhere. Through the story you understand more about how people can actually train crickets to do what they want and sneak around to be able to bet on the actual cricket fights.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
4th post
The Way We Age Now
The quote that first caught my attention in this story was “even genetically twins vary widely in life span: the typical gap is more than fifteen years.” I find this quote fascinating because twins are born the same time, look the same, have the same genes, and have many more similarities but yet they are so different and this quote proves it. Because twins have so many similarities I find this quote hard to believe because fifteen years is a long gap for people who are the same. After thinking on this quote I started to think it is extremely believable because just because twins have the same genetics and looks does not mean they have the same life style. If one twin smoked cigarettes and drank and the other did not it makes perfect sense that the one who didn’t drink or smoke would live longer.
Everybody’s Nickname
I personally think this story is mostly boring. The author begins the story talking about sci-fi movies and immediately my interest is lost. As I was reading I would find myself getting confused because I felt like the author was jumping back and forth between stories. He went to talking about sci-fi movies to a pregnant eighth grader’s murder. Although I was mainly bored during this story, the part where he talked about the eighth grader, Casey, getting murder caught my intention. I found the way he wrote was different from many authors. The way he introduced Casey and her murderer which was the father to her baby was significant. The father or murderer is first introduced as an eleven year old boy being elected mayor of the day then next a murderer. The author explains the father kills Casey because she is fourteen and he is twenty and if people out he was the father he would be charged with statutory rape. This part of the story is not only bizarre but very disturbing. But, it was the only time the story did not completely bore me.
Monday, October 5, 2009
3rd Post
The Lesbian Bride’s Handbook
“But at first I felt compelled to tell the whole mortifying truth: “Because it’s a gay wedding.” Or, if I couldn’t quite get those words out of my mouth: “Because it’s not a real wedding.” I think this is an interesting passage because the author herself is gay and is talking about her own gay wedding but it seems like she is embarrassed to call it a gay wedding. Through this story you can tell the author is preoccupied by what everyone else thinks because of the way she tries to hide it’s a gay wedding. As much as the author wants to call it a party and not a wedding she still worries about the same things people who a planning a wedding worry about. Unlike her loved one who does not worry about what people think or about the details of the wedding, the author does. The title makes it seem like the story is going to give the reader tips on how to plan a lesbian wedding but it does not. The author is just as much confused about what to do with a wedding as the reader. By the end of the book, the author’s wants of a love celebration happens and her wedding turned out just the way she wanted it to.
Salamanca
The passage that I think is important is: “Salamanca… it has a ring to it.” It was a dreamy sound that evoked far-ff mysterious places, such as Samarkand or Camelot. It had nothing to do with anything, but it definitely had a ring to it.” I chose this passage because the father just picked out the word Salamanca because of the way it sounded not because of the meaning. Salamanca is the name of the store the author’s parents owned where people could go if they wanted to lose weight. The name Salamanca has nothing to do with weight lost but was chosen because someone like they way it sounded.
“But at first I felt compelled to tell the whole mortifying truth: “Because it’s a gay wedding.” Or, if I couldn’t quite get those words out of my mouth: “Because it’s not a real wedding.” I think this is an interesting passage because the author herself is gay and is talking about her own gay wedding but it seems like she is embarrassed to call it a gay wedding. Through this story you can tell the author is preoccupied by what everyone else thinks because of the way she tries to hide it’s a gay wedding. As much as the author wants to call it a party and not a wedding she still worries about the same things people who a planning a wedding worry about. Unlike her loved one who does not worry about what people think or about the details of the wedding, the author does. The title makes it seem like the story is going to give the reader tips on how to plan a lesbian wedding but it does not. The author is just as much confused about what to do with a wedding as the reader. By the end of the book, the author’s wants of a love celebration happens and her wedding turned out just the way she wanted it to.
Salamanca
The passage that I think is important is: “Salamanca… it has a ring to it.” It was a dreamy sound that evoked far-ff mysterious places, such as Samarkand or Camelot. It had nothing to do with anything, but it definitely had a ring to it.” I chose this passage because the father just picked out the word Salamanca because of the way it sounded not because of the meaning. Salamanca is the name of the store the author’s parents owned where people could go if they wanted to lose weight. The name Salamanca has nothing to do with weight lost but was chosen because someone like they way it sounded.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sentimental Object
I have this t-shirt from St. Martin that I got when I was five that is sentimental to me. The bottom of the shirt and the sleeves are cut into pieces. It is white with a sun on the front smiling and underneath the sun it says “We Be Jammin’ Mon.”
I remember when I got this shirt because it was my first visit to St. Martin and my first shirt from there. I was on a family trip with my family while we were shopping at one of the markets in St. Martin. My stepmom brought be the shirt because I really wanted because I liked the sun for some reason. As soon as she bought it she made me put it on. We were in the middle of the market with tons of people around but I still had to put on the shirt. Right when I put on the shirt I realized that it showed my stomach and I started to panic. For some reason when I was younger I hated my bellybutton and never wore anything that came close to showing it. My sisters would always try to make me wear bikinis but I would always wear one pieces. I was an extremely shy kid and this would drive my family crazy. I still have it today and look at it sometimes and look at how small it is and it just reminds me of my family trips. This is sentimental to me because it reminds me when I was younger and how much different I am now. It also reminds me of the fun times my family and I would have together. It also makes me feel sad because we do not go to St. Martin anymore but I still like to keep it as a souvenir from my childhood.
I remember when I got this shirt because it was my first visit to St. Martin and my first shirt from there. I was on a family trip with my family while we were shopping at one of the markets in St. Martin. My stepmom brought be the shirt because I really wanted because I liked the sun for some reason. As soon as she bought it she made me put it on. We were in the middle of the market with tons of people around but I still had to put on the shirt. Right when I put on the shirt I realized that it showed my stomach and I started to panic. For some reason when I was younger I hated my bellybutton and never wore anything that came close to showing it. My sisters would always try to make me wear bikinis but I would always wear one pieces. I was an extremely shy kid and this would drive my family crazy. I still have it today and look at it sometimes and look at how small it is and it just reminds me of my family trips. This is sentimental to me because it reminds me when I was younger and how much different I am now. It also reminds me of the fun times my family and I would have together. It also makes me feel sad because we do not go to St. Martin anymore but I still like to keep it as a souvenir from my childhood.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
1st blog
Becoming Adolf
The one thing I enjoyed about reading this story is how the author wrote about Hitler’s Toothbrush mustache in a humorous but informative way. He made it clear that the Toothbrush mustache distinguished Hitler from the rest of the people of his time and even history. The author also explains that Charlie Chaplin also wore the Toothbrush mustache and Hitler and him were two very different people. The author also made an interesting point when he said that people in later in history wore a Toothbrush mustache did not make in far in their political career. The Toothbrush mustache is not just a mustache anymore it is the Hitler’s mustache and through this story it is evident. Even the author wore the Toothbrush mustache and people even of today looked at him differently even though the last time the mustache was really worn was in history by Hitler. From this article it is apparent that people are mostly reminded of Hitler when the Toothbrush is worn. Not Charlie Chaplin, but Hitler.
The Constant Gardner
From the beginning of this story I was captivated because the story begins with something I have never heard before and I wanted to read more to rid my confusion. The story begins about a man named Brian who has a PICC line in his arm. I have never heard of a PICC line and I had to read more just to figure out what it was. As I read I found out the story is about a man who is taking care of his love one, Brian. Brian is diagnosed with AIDS and the PICC line is a medical procedure that helps him with his disease. I like this story because the way the author begins the story with the end of the story. The author never fully relieves what a PICC line is till the end even though he mentions it in the first paragraph. I was fully interested through out the entire story because of his way of writing by leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion to what is going to happen to Brian.
The one thing I enjoyed about reading this story is how the author wrote about Hitler’s Toothbrush mustache in a humorous but informative way. He made it clear that the Toothbrush mustache distinguished Hitler from the rest of the people of his time and even history. The author also explains that Charlie Chaplin also wore the Toothbrush mustache and Hitler and him were two very different people. The author also made an interesting point when he said that people in later in history wore a Toothbrush mustache did not make in far in their political career. The Toothbrush mustache is not just a mustache anymore it is the Hitler’s mustache and through this story it is evident. Even the author wore the Toothbrush mustache and people even of today looked at him differently even though the last time the mustache was really worn was in history by Hitler. From this article it is apparent that people are mostly reminded of Hitler when the Toothbrush is worn. Not Charlie Chaplin, but Hitler.
The Constant Gardner
From the beginning of this story I was captivated because the story begins with something I have never heard before and I wanted to read more to rid my confusion. The story begins about a man named Brian who has a PICC line in his arm. I have never heard of a PICC line and I had to read more just to figure out what it was. As I read I found out the story is about a man who is taking care of his love one, Brian. Brian is diagnosed with AIDS and the PICC line is a medical procedure that helps him with his disease. I like this story because the way the author begins the story with the end of the story. The author never fully relieves what a PICC line is till the end even though he mentions it in the first paragraph. I was fully interested through out the entire story because of his way of writing by leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion to what is going to happen to Brian.
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