Name All The Animals (continued once more)

Having finished Name All The Animals, by Alison Smith, I've found that a lot of the characters in the book were likable. They all seemed to try to do the best thing for the people around them. Even though some of the family members seemed slightly harsh, it's hard to dislike people when you know they've gone through something as difficult as losing a son/brother. My favorite characters were Sister Aggie, Roy and Mary Elizabeth. Roy and Sister Aggie both seemed like kind, goodhearted, funny people. They both had a sense of humor and were much more understanding than Alison's parents or the other nuns. They aren't very similar, but I liked their characters for similar reasons. -Mary Elizabeth was Alison's neighbor and the sister she never had. After Roy died, she saved the newspaper article when Alison asked her to. Although she let Alison mope around in the basement for a little while, she would eventually force her to come outside, climb trees and various sorts of things to get the grief off her mind. I like that she (even though she was going through her own "teenage drama,") she continued to be there for Alison and she treated her the same as she had before Roy's death.

A character who I really don't like is Alison's mother. She is rude. I think that even though she tried her hardest to cope with her grief as well as her family's, she couldn't do it all on her own and it seemed like she refused to ask for help. I think her constant nagging at Alison to feel better and go through the stages of grief just made things harder for her. 

Name All The Animals (part two)

I think one of the reasons that the characters in Name All The Animals are so realistic is because Alison Smith is able to make a point of each character's flaws without "over-writing" them. After the death of Roy, she writes about how their reactions, and the decisions that ensue aren't always positive or healthy for anyone, but she doesn't write it in a vengeful way. Alison (as a character) doesn't judge or hold these flaws against the other characters; she just writes and views things in an honest, clear way. I think that makes the story more compelling, because you can see the characters in a different light than if the narrator was annoying and didn't like those around her (like The Bell Jar). She also makes all of the characters interesting; none of them are consistently the same throughout the novel and they often make surprising choices, which makes the story more unpredictable. The reader (or at least I) don't lose interest in any of the characters because there is always so much going on in their lives and they're always going through something. The way Alison Smith writes the people in her life makes Name All The Animals much more interesting than if she acted like the stereotypical girl of her age.

Name All The Animals

After completing the incredibly depressing (yet well-written) The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, we asked our creative writing teacher for something a bit happier. He responded by giving us Name All The Animals, a memoir by Alison Smith which starts off with the death of her older brother. Although not exactly any happier than The Bell Jar, because the character isn't clinically depressed, the story has lighter moments and the main character is more likable. I personally like the book, although not as much as I liked The Bell Jar. I was immediately interested in it because of the title, and the book has remained equally interesting. I like that with the death of her brother the family's opinion on religion changes; Alison's parents turn to religion, but she believes God has walked out of her life and she is unable to reconnect with her faith. I'm not thrilled with the book so far, but I at least like that it's interesting and I hope the book becomes slightly less depressing.

Sylvia Plath Poetry.

The Beast: Like all of her other poetry, this doesn't make any sense. The poem jumps around in each stanza. However, unlike the others, I didn't necessarily dislike this poem. Some of the lines were slightly amusing; "I've married a cupboard of rubbish," and "The sun sat in his armpit." Lines like these, which I don't think are meant to be funny, made me laugh anyways and lightened the mood of the poem (which was quite depressing, like everything else she's written). This poem, unlike others, manages to stay on one topic (for the most part), which made it slightly more enjoyable.

Female Author: I chose this poem because of the name. I ended up liking it more than any of the others I've read by her. It seems most normal and it represented an actual idea, and the metaphors and similes and all those parts of speech related to the poem, instead of going off into some other abstract meaning which I didn't understand.

I Am Vertical: This poem is quite depressing. The title was intriguing, but the first line immediately depressed me; "I am vertical, but I wish I was horizontal." She goes on to talk about how she wants to be dead and buried in a cemetery. I know most of her poetry is sad, but this is the most depressing one I've read so far. Because it talked about death in the first line, it set a horribly upsetting mood for the entire poem, opposed to just being vaguely dark like some of her others.

Sheep in Fog: Like the others, I came across this poem because of the name. Aside from that, I didn't really like anything about it. It talked literally about sheep in fog (and the meaning behind it was one I didn't grasp). I couldn't connect to the images she produced and even though it sounded rather nice, I didn't react to it in any particular way. It wasn't as depressing though, which was nice.

Metaphors: I like this poem a lot. Even though it didn't make any sense, for some reason, I still liked it. I think because the title was "Metaphors" and you have that idea of a metaphorical poem in mind, the fact that it literally doesn't make any sense is okay, and it just works.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

About a week ago, we began to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath for my creative writing class. I'd already read it over Christmas break, but I'm finding that, unlike other books, I enjoy reading it again. I like the style of writing that Plath uses; the way she describes things are interesting and not common. I would definitely recommend this book. However, it wouldn't exactly be the best book for someone going through a bad time-it really is depressing. Even when life seems to be going well for her, things always end up taking a turn for the worse and she ends up just as miserable as she was before. If you're willing to read it despite this, the book is very good. It's well-written and interesting, and because it's based off her life, it's unique and unlike any other story I've read. Overall, I really enjoyed the book the first time I read it, and I'm enjoying it again.

Unsettling America Poems

Mnemonic-Li-Young Lee

I liked this poem most out of all of the ones we looked at today. I'd found it before we read it in class, because we read another poem on the page before it. Anyways, I liked how the poem started; "I was tired. So I lay down. My lids grew heavy. So I slept. Slender memory, stay with me." I liked that it wasn't full of illusion and metaphors, that it was sort of simple and gave you an introduction to the poem that wasn't full of imagery and description. It was different from the other poems in that way, which set it apart and made it more memorable. I also liked the repetition in the poem, because it wasn't the exact same thing. Well it was, but the sentences were worded differently; "I was cold once. So my father took off his blue sweater." opposed to "Once, I was cold. So my father took off his blue sweater."
I liked the way the poem is written, and I like it a lot more than the other Li-Young Lee poems that we've read so far. Something about it made it easy to relate to, even though it doesn't really apply to my life at all.

Betsey Brown

1. I can relate to a lot of the scenes in the book, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. However, one of the ones that stuck with me the most was when Betsey and her siblings concocted a plan to send Bernice away. I've never done something that mean, but I've definitely at least tried to think of a way to get people I didn't like out of my house.
2. I would want to spend time with Greer, because I think out of all of the adults, he's the only one that actually provides the family with the things he feels they should have.
3. Whenever people talk about how Betsey lives in the "rich colored neighborhood," I'm confused. This isn't exactly what bothered me, but I am a little confused because Jane talks as if they're poor, but it's been said several times that they're not.
4. I think Shange plays with grammar and sentence structure the way she does because she wants to reflect the tone of the time period; also, it gives the book a more unique feel than it would've had otherwise.
5. I think that while Betsey will continue to struggle, she'll end up okay, because it's a coming-of-age story and that's generally what happens in these kinds of stories.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange

We've just begun reading a book called Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange. We've only read the first and part of the second chapter, so I can't talk too much about the book or even whether I like it; simply because I don't know enough about it.
The book centers around a family in St. Louis. The parents and five children live in a small house with their maternal grandmother. The first chapters detailed their morning and their interactions with one another; the size of their family seems to make everything a jumbled mess of relationships.
So far, I've enjoyed reading the book, although I find it rather confusing.

The Good Thief

   We were introduced to The Good Thief far before we actually held a book. For weeks our creative writing teachers raved about how fantastic the book was, how great of a read it is for teenagers and how much we would enjoy it. Writers and Books, a local establishment that offers writing programs for kids and adults all year long began a city-wide reading campaign; "What if all of Rochester read the same book?" The idea is to get everyone reading and talking about one specific book. That book is The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. The book's main character, Ren, grows up in an Catholic orphanage in the 19th century. He was given to them without a hand and therefore has spent all of his eleven or twelve years at the orphanage and doesn't have much of a chance of being adopted. So, when he is adopted, he's thrilled. Unfortunately for him, he soon discovered he's been adopted by a thief who forces him through grave-robbing, petty theft, lying and all sorts of different scams. 

    The Good Thief was a good read. It had adventure and excitement, it wasn't overly predictable and the characters were, for the most part, likable and easy to relate to. However, I didn't think it was all that my teachers thought it was. It was nothing more than a good read. It has achieved wide-spread popularity amongst both teens and adults, which is something I respect, and it doesn't have the horrible plot and characters that books such as Twilight does.

     However, I didn't (and don't) have the fantastic opinion of the book that my teachers do. I found it to be a lot like Oliver. In the interview Hannah Tinti does state that while people have compared Benjamin and Tom to Bill Sykes and Fagin, she doesn't believe they're that similar. I however, thought there was a huge similarity to the entire play. There were differences, of course, but I was disappointed by the lack of originality the book held at times.

     Hannah Tinti will come visit our school on March 24th. I'm eager to see what she says about the book and the inspiration she draws upon as a writer; regardless of how I personally feel about the book, it is highly successful and well-liked by many, and simply for that I respect her and think meeting her will be a worthwhile experience.

Haiku Guy

Haiku has been something that I've always ignored. I don't enjoy reading it; I always feel like I'm missing something that everyone else can instantly grasp. The meaning of the haiku? Perhaps. I can read the words and the sentences and see that it's a haiku, but I cannot for the life of me enjoy it. It's too short, too clipped and the imagery and details just aren't poignant enough for me. At least, that was how I've felt about haiku ever since my fifth-grade self was introduced to it.
When I was given Haiku Guy to read, it was hard for me to stay open about it-I was inclined simply to dismiss it as more haiku nonsense and get through it as quickly as possible. However, as I began reading it,  I became more and more surprised. I liked it. I even liked the haiku in it (even the ones which Cup-Of-Tea deemed unsatisfactory). The way it was written reminded me a little bit of a book called The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff. Something about the way the book is written made it easy for me to read. The writing, while still being professional and retained the ability to create the vivid imagery that all good writing should, also had a simplicity to it that set it apart from other novels.
But more than just being a good book, something about it reminded me so much of haiku that it was almost (almost!) easy to write haiku while reading it. Something about the way the characters were described, the way they interacted with each other and the places they went and their reactions to these places was just... For lack of a better word, nice.
I found myself beginning to enjoy haiku. Not reading haiku (I don't think any amount of good writing could do that), but I enjoyed the challenge of writing haiku; of making my point in less than seventeen syllables, and making it sound pretty.
So for me, even more so than the book being a really great novel, it taught me to appreciate the art of haiku, and to even enjoy how challenging it is to write it. Any book that can do that has to be pretty good.

Hahaha.

How do people like this think they have a shot? I'm not sure... But everyone has to turn on the T.V to watch auditions, at least once, because who would want to miss this? As awful as that is... It's true.

The "Hidden Curriculum"

My mother has a Ph.D in the sociology of education and for as long as I've been alive, taught teachers how to be teachers. She currently teaches (among others) a course at the University of Rochester called Race, Class, Gender and Disability in American Education. The course is designed basically to open student's eyes to the problems in education; the biases they have and need to overcome in order to be better teachers.  I've been to many of her classes (she's taught it for a while now) and I've seen and heard many of the racism, sexism and other biases that her students carry into the classroom. Hidden curriculum is basically what students learn in school that isn't part of the curriculum. How kids learn to interact with each other, how girls and boys learn how they're "supposed" to act and how society expects them to act with each other and with the world. My mother's library is right next to my room and it's filled with books all about this and about education in general.
There's a lot of good things about this, but there are also bad sides-the main thing being that every time a teacher says something that is (whether blatantly or not) disrespectful, degrading or just rude to a certain group of people, I definitely notice.
This happened a lot in a certain class yesterday. I'm not going to name the class or the teacher (although most of you will figure it out on your own), just out of courtesy. We were discussing immigration and the teacher was talking about the benefits and problems that comes with people moving in and out of different countries. He was discussing the problems with it, and then said something along the lines of this, "Immigration does bring a lot of problems; drugs, guns, they all come from these people moving into the country." I suppose that some drugs and some guns do come from other countries, but the Europeans, who came to America before anyone else; they brought the guns. There are so many different types of drugs that I think it's impossible for immigrants to have brought them all over. Even the day before, when the teacher was explaining the "push-pull" factors of immigration, he was using a picture of a truck in the mud. He asked how someone would get the truck out of the mud and someone said "Hire Mexicans to push it!" He burst out laughing and even after he recovered, simply said "I don't think there were any Mexicans around."
Sure, it was a little amusing, but he is a teacher. His job is to create a safe, healthy environment for kids to learn in, and if someone goes to class and not only hears a stereotype or degrading comment about their ethnicity or their background, but hears that it is enforced by the teacher, it just engrains the idea that it must be right into themselves more and more.
When we get packets and articles to read, the majority of them refer to a collective group of people as "him" and "he" opposed to "them" and "they."
People spend thousands of dollars trying to fix the education system; fixing students grades and behavioral problems and their self esteem and confidence in themselves and their education. But someone, please explain how these students, whether they come from a privileged or impoverished homes, who already deal with almost crippling self esteem issues are supposed to thrive and learn in an environment where the stereotypes they try so hard to get rid of are reinforced in their daily life?

Last Class Requirement

Today is the last day we were required to post anything on this blog. Although I used to think of blogging as something that people only did when they had a ridiculously high opinion of themselves. Through reading blogs I do think that this is true, but I also have come to deal with that there are bloggers with interesting thoughts and opinions which really are worth reading.

I'm not going to stop blogging, although I must admit that I won't blog as much; softball season is starting soon and once it does, I don't have time for anything. But until then, I won't stop blogging whatever thought I may come across.

Ten Questions

1. If you could be born in any country (besides wherever you were born), where would it be and why?
2. What T.V show that you watch now would you want your kids to watch when they're growing up?
3. If you could retire anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
4. Fried dough or cotton candy?
5. If you could choose any time period to grow up in, what would it be and why?
6. What is your snack of choice?
7. Do you think it's reaaaaally possible not to regret anything in your life?
8. What is your opinion on onions?
9. If you could be one superhero, who would it be and why?
10. Would you ever want to be a dinosaur?

2021

 Anything that anyone thinks is important can be broadcast around the world with nothing more than access to a screen and a keyboard. Almost anyone has the capability of becoming a "celebrity"-look at Justin Bieber. Whether this is good or not-we either end up with people who have more talent than usual or people who have fans that carry talentless people into the already overly untalented pop industry; is debatable. However, the production of music is far from the biggest concern with this changing technology.

In my opinion, the scariest thing about how technology is the rate that technology is developing. It used to take people years to come out with the "latest" technology; people spent years doing nothing but working on something to show the world. Now, however, there are thousands of people whose job is nothing but to sit in front of a computer and write new programs, new software; new products to provide us with. Similarly, the public requires more and more products. Waiting years for the next iPhone is simply preposterous. New iPads, iPods, iPhones; they all come after mere months of their predecessors. 

What doesn't concern me is that people are made to adapt; the only way people even consciously recognize how much their world has changed is when someone asks them to think about it. People will always adapt and change, and people will continue to become more and more technologically capable. That's just how the world works. Not only do people learn quickly to take advantage of new products, but the marketing geniuses of the modern world have thousands of brilliant ways to make us feel like we need this new technology more than anything in the world.
I think the problem with new technology and the world is where they meet. Outside of Silicon Valley, the world operates much differently. When people from the world of technology-where people are constantly changing and evolving and updating things and making them more and more accessible and easy-to-use meet the people of the rest of world, things can get messy. Take WikiLinks for example; and that's only one website.
I don't think technology will ever advance beyond the point of something we can control. Humans are all about control-we need it. What I do think is a problem is the difference between the world of technology and those that create it and everyone else.

March Fourth, Twenty Eleven

On that date right up there in title, I'm going to a Lady Gaga concert (with the fabulous Hannah MacLagger). To say I'm excited is kind of an understatement. So much of pop music today is nothing more than a heavy bass and some intense autotune that it's overwhelmingly refreshing to see someone who not only can sing, but is intelligent, active and aware of the goings-on of the world and still able to produce hits that the general population can enjoy. I think one of the most unique things about Gaga is that she's able to attract more than the kids/young adults that the entire pop industry is marketed to. Sure, you can find Poker Face, Paparazzi and Alejandro on almost any radio station's playlist, but she's also recorded songs like Speechless, No Floods and Wonderful. Admittedly, those aren't the ones released as singles, but the fact that they're out there and she writes them is still nice. Oh, and writing. That's another thing she does. You know, because the majority of singers should be able to have enough interest in their careers to write the songs they sing...
There are plenty of artists I admire and listen to, but Lady Gaga has to be number one. I get that perhaps she's not completely unique; traces of Madonna, Christina Aguilera and almost anyone who's in the business of putting on a show when they sing are evident in her "persona," but I still can't help but label her as "unique."
She almost reminds me of that guy who was going to run for governor of New York State... The Rent Is Too Damn High guy. Completely opinionated and almost in her own world, yet she has the sense to collaborate with music's stars; Akon, Beyonce, etc.
Opinions aside, I'm just really super duper excited to see her in concert. Her new single comes out this Friday, so I'm also excited I get to hear that live. Also, I spent ridiculous amounts of money on those tickets, so it better be good ;)

Valentines Day and the Concept of Indifference

Yesterday marked a week before February 14th. Valentines Day. And thus began the obsession once again. And I'll admit to being slightly annoyed by the "Valentine's Day is so romantic, I have the best boyfriend in the world" sayers, but nothing can compare to the people who take to the opposite extreme-"I hate Valentines Day, it's so stupid and pointless." Really, guys? I suppose I can understand why you're upset that you don't have someone to spend Valentines Day with, but feigning anger and mocking something that really has very little impact on your life is, in my opinion, simply ridiculous. I'm not going to comment on people who are excited for Valentines Day and like their significant others; that's great and I'm glad you're in a happy relationship and quite honestly, I can't make a valid argument against something that makes you happy and influences your life on a daily basis. However, those who make it a habit of reminding everyone how awful their life is around Valentines Day not only confuse me, but make me really kind of annoyed. I suppose that wanting a boyfriend is something some teenagers want in their life-peer approval is just part of life, right? But why spend so much energy denouncing something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things? The word "indifference" exists for a reason. If you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever you may call someone you have a relationship with, what's the point of telling everyone and their brother your version of Valentines Day? Calling it stupid won't make it any less existent. It'll always be there and there are so many more things you could do with your time and energy than complain about something that no one really wants to hear you talk about. What you want is called indifference, and it's really a nice thing.

Ten Reasons Why I'm Adriana and You're Not

I Googled "ten question survey." Here it is.

1.) If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?
Reeeelaaaaaax!
2.) If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Skittles.
3.) What do you value most in other people?
Respect
4.) If you could only see black and white except for one color, what color would you choose to see?
Blue!
5.) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
The fact that my hair grows reaaaally slowly.
6.) If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass on to your children, what would it be?
Not to take life so seriously.
7.) What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?
Jetskiing.
8.) Would you rather teach a young child to read or have to learn again for yourself?
Teach. It'd be more interesting?
9.) What is the best advice you've ever given and received?
I don't remember getting a memorable piece of advice, mainly because I don't usually ask. Given, though? "Get yourself together, honey."
10.) How would you like to die?

Without a heart attack.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever. Why, I'm not exactly sure, but for some reason, I just adore it. It's not from Vogue, they're not wearing great clothes, but I still like looking at it; a lot. I originally used it for the iMovie project I had to do for a Creative Writing class, and it's continued to be one of my favorites, even though there's nothing incredibly special about it. I wondered at first how they managed to get a bed with a person to float in the water, but then I remembered those handy things called rafts... So that  erased any sort of musings about the structural devices that otherwise would've been under the mattress. I can't really explain what draws me to this picture. Maybe it's the angle, or the water, or something as abstract as what I was thinking about when I found it. I'm not sure, but since the blog assignment was to find a picture that I like, here we are. 

I Never Know What to Write About

And when I say I never know what to write about, I literally mean never. It takes hours of whining and complaining for me to figure out what I want to say, and even more to fit everything into one neat idea. So this whole blogging idea just fuels this constant writer's block. Although that's not really what it is, because I do end up writing, it's more that I can't be given a topic and write about it right away. Besides telling me that I will never be a journalist (or a successful one), this has nothing to offer me at all. So after letting you know that, I'm going to stop writing because again, I don't know what to write about.