Conclusion: The Final Blog

When it comes to blogs they honestly never bothered me that much. They're not how I would like to spend all of my free time, but when it comes to a school assignment they're about as good as it gets for me. Being a person who enjoys writing more than almost all other aspects of school, this is a quick enjoyable way to get an assignment done while also showing some personality here and there. The personality being the one thing that all of my blogs really have in common. The very first blog was a good topic for me to ease into my sort of writing style. The topic faced focuses all on me and the way I think about reading. Let's face it, we all like to talk about ourselves and when we write it is no different. I talk about all the small things that bug me when I'm reading. For example I can't stand picking up a book that doesn't draw me in right away. If I'm going to read a book it better be 10/10 all the way through or it's not really worth my time. I then go on and whine about how I like fantasy and I can only read in silince. That first blog really set the standard for all of the others, it's me ranting ...hopefully about the assingment, but what really brings all of the blogs together is the ranting I do about myself and the certain ways I do it.







As I continue on my journey through all of my various blogs a certain climax of my joking/sarcastic/self centered writing style is reached with the my life lessons blog and the best friends/ Anthony Kiedis blog. In the life lessons blog I talk about my parents and how they raised me to be a very kind and accepting individual. In reality I'm not the most accepting person in the world. I try to be, but I definetly have my slip ups every alot in a while. During that blog in particular I used two different sides of emotion to get the assignment completed. There's one side of me being very dramatic and a bit cheesy, talking about my parents and how they raised me. While there's the other side of me comenting on the whole thing with quite a large amount of sarcasm (which could be hard for alot of people to understand if they don't know me that well). Moving on to my blog about Anthony Kiedis. Ahh this was an interesting one. Instead of writing a blog about one best friend (which would be a little bit wierd for me because I don't have one "best friend") I wrote a blog about one of my favorite musicians, Anthony Kiedis the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, pretending he was my best friend. I pretty much showed my true colors in this blog taking an assignment that didn't really interest me and turning it into a subject that did interest me. Now of course I was assuming that Mrs. Gilman didn't know anything about the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Anthony Kiedis and of course I was wrong, but I wasn't too worried about that. I thought of it as a good thing that Mrs. Gilman knew who Anthony Kiedis was, most people don't. I got full credit too I'm pretty sure.







Now it is time to wrap everything up. It is the conclusion to the conclusion of all of my blogs. The blogs were a good thing. They were a quick way to get your initial idea on the page without the toture of re-editing and revising that many other writing assignments brought. Although I prefered writing about things focused on me opposed to the prompts that dealt with theme and literature those weren't too much of a pain either. To end it all I want to show a picture of my favorite band Radiohead with some lyrics from one of thier songs because I feel it is an appropriate legacy for me to leave behind with my blog writing career.




Used to be alright
what happened?
etcetera etcetera

-Radiohead

There's alot of hidden symbolism, theme and motif in that line.
(not really)

Essay Writing

I've always been pretty good at writing, it's one of my strong points, and I enjoy it compared to most other things in school. But I have learned a lot this year in regards to "essay writing specifically." Whenever I used to write it was about whatever was on my mind, I wasn't trying to follow a specific set of rules or a rubric, and I truly enjoy this type of writing much more. But in the end looking back on the whole struggle, it was a very constructive challenge and a valuable skill to have.

Looking through this essay I am confident that it meets almost all of the standards that make it an A. Examining my other essay grade and comments I noticed that I wasn't using enough original ideas. This can be very hard for me because my ideas tend to get cluttered and repetitive but this time around I put a lot of focus into using original ideas. With this new aspect in my essay I feel fairly confident about my grade.

Summer Reading

Well I have a lot of books in mind to read over the summer but I never really get the motivation to start them usually because I'm too busy doing nothing. The first book I would like to read is "Room Full of Mirrors" a biography on Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross. Now both of my books I'm going to write about are music centered and that's because that's what I like to read about. I'm really fascinated about Hendrix's life and death. His life seemed so carefree and so spontaneous, I'm really interested to learn more about it. The next book I want to read is "This is your Brain on Music" by Daniel J. Levitin. Credit for the idea to read this book goes to my sweet compadre Quinn Mau. The theory of how music effects the brain, to me, is mind blowing. I really don't understand how something like music can give you so many emotions and make you feel so many different things. I want to become more informed on this subject.

Culture Shock

When I read this blog assignment surprisingly I had no idea of any "solid" example in modern life referring to Romeo and Juliet. I mean i could write about some Taylor Swift song but I probably wouldn't be able to live with myself after doing that (no offense to any fans of hers). However, there's a song by the Arctic Monkeys that I've listened to and loved for years now, and just today realized it would fall into this category that fits with the blog. I googled "songs that allude to Romeo and Juliet" (having no ideas in mind) and I found this song and realized there was one line that alludes to Romeo and Juliet.
The line of the song in "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" by the Arctic Monkeys goes as follows:

Oh, there ain't no love no, Montague's or Capulet's
Just bangin' tunes in DJ sets
And dirty dance floors, dreams of naughtiness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oviw6QZepVc&feature=related

In this song I feel like they are just talking about the boring town that they live in, and there isn't any sort of romance or fun. It's a pretty awesome song you should click the link above to listen.

More Questions

One thing I noticed in this last reading is Pip easily has sympathy for the fact that Abel Magwitch was betrayed by Compeyson. Why does Pip decide that he actually cares for someone other than himself for once? This seems very out of context from where the story has been going so far. I think Pip might want to help Abel have revenge on Compeyson only to further Miss Havisham's opinion of him because he would be avenging Compeyson's betrayal of Miss Havisham as well.
Please help me with this one, tell me if you agree with me or if you have any other opinions to add.

Great Exp. Question

"Little Jane is the same. In her desire to be matrimonially established, you might suppose her to have passed her short existence in the perpetual contemplation of domestic bliss. Little Alick in a frock has already made arrangements for his union with a suitable young person at Kew. And, indeed, I think we are all engaged, except the baby."
Page 252

I really don't understand much about this quote at all. To my knowledge Jane and Alick are relations to Herbert , but I really don't know how or why this is supposed to fit in or add something to the book. I also don't really understand the reference to Kew. I have a feeling that is a town or a city but I'm not quite sure.
Please Help.

Photo Post (Poodles)

These two poodles represent the two sides of Pip that are shown during the novel. The dog to below represents his innocent side shown during the first part of the novel. This dog is much like the Pip in the sense that it's a character that is very down to earth, the type of personality we could relate to and sympathzise for. Although we may not sypathsize for this dog quite as much as we might for Pip because Pip is taken advantage of and this dog doesn't seem to be, it still gets this general idea of Pip across. The poodle above is Pip's character later in the book. This poodle appears to be very snobby and although this characterization of the poodle is all hyopthitical (and only based on looks) it would seem to be more self centered then the other poodle. The other reason this poodle above portrays the new Pip is because any wealth or high status that a poodle gains is completely dependent on thier owner. This is much like Pip because his wealth was given to him and he did hardly anything to earn it.

Great Expecations: The First Stage

In response to the quote...

In the quote Pip is referring to the fact that for most people their whole life is dependent on one event that is the basis for the way that you live the rest of your life in the future. This event is usually something that is based entirely on your luck at a very young age, like the type of family you are born into. For Pip he was born into a poor family and all of his relatives died except his sister so his luck wasn't so great. The day that he was born into this sort of family permanently altered him because after being raised by his sister and constantly being beaten his emotions became very unstable. This developed Pip's character in a very negative way because it made him naturally become very timid and with hardly any confidence. After being scolded and beaten by his sister on such a regular occasion he feels that almost everything that happens is because of his wrongdoing. One memorable day that formed my character was the day my mom bought me The Beatles "1" hits album. After that day I steadily began to enjoy wide varieties of music. This has influenced most of my life up to this point because I am always striving to play or listen to music at any point in the day. As for my character I think there is a certain confidence that listening to/playing music gives me that wouldn't be there if I hadn't been given the opportunity to listen to wide varieties at a very young age.

TELTIBE Essay Collaberation

The first point I make in my body paragraph about Bunburying is how Algernon uses Bunburying completely selfishly to escape all duty like when avoiding dinner with Aunt Augusta. I then use commentary to address the matter of how Bunbury is the made up character used for escaping duty.My last commentary for this point how Algernon spends money extravagantly to enhance is appearance as a gentleman.
My next point is the way Jack uses Bunburying to separate two different the two different aspects of his life (raising Cecily and visiting his lover Gwendolen). I add commentary to this by showing how Jack is unlike Algernon in the way that he is not entirely selfish in his Bunburying. Also I expose the fact that Oscar Wilde is using the character of Jack as an example of a Successful and not at all bad way to take part in the pursuit of pleasure.
My last point is that as Algernon and Jack begin to consider marriage Algernon is stressing that they both need a way out in order to continue their pursuit of pleasure. I back this point up with the the quote from Algernon to Jack on Pg. 16 "You don't seem to realize that in married life three is company and two is none." For commentary I talk about how marriage is a road block in the pursuit of pleasure and then go on to talk about how Wilde does not think very highly of marriage and believes that people need the right to escape it.
To conclude the paragraph I talk about the statement Wilde is trying to make about Bunburying in this Play. He is trying to get across to the reader that sometimes you need a way out of everyday life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

That's basically it.

The Importance of Being Earnest/Victorian Research

During my research of the Victorian age I discovered much valuable information that has given me more insight on the play, The Importance of Being Ernest. I learned that the Victorian age for most, was not a great time to be living in. Many people were poor and the people that weren't didn't care for anyone but themselves. This really shows in the play we are reading. One thing I notice as a reader is that Algernon has an extremely cynical attitude to almost everything. One example of this is on Pg. 38 he says, "I love hearing my relations abused...relations are simply a tedious pack of people who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live". As these comments keep going on, never seeming to end, the reader develops the gloomy, distressed attitude the writer is trying to portray.
Another example of a theme from the Victorian age that relates directly to the play is marriage. Marriage in the Victorian age is treated simply as the husband inheriting all of the possessions of the wife,and the possibility of the wife advancing in status if the husband is rich. No compassion or love is involved what so ever. This is displayed very clearly when Lady Bracknell is questioning Jack to determine whether he was eligible to marry Gwendolen on Pg. 25. Jack says, "I have lost both of my parents." Lady Bracknell replies, "Both? That seems like carelessness." In this short excerpt from the book it is clear Lady Bracknell doesn't care that Jack has never known his parents, all she cares about is that because he has no parents he has no status. This fits with the Victorian theme of marriage very well.

New Year's Resolution

Usually I'm sort of against the whole idea of a New Year's Resolution because if you really do plan on dramatically changing some part of your life (which I usually don't) then why wait till the New Year when everyone does this, you should be able to do this of your own accord. But, for the sake of this assignment I will think of some way I can make myself a better person in the year 2010. I think for the year 2010 I will make a committed effort to work out more often.

I am making this my New Years Resolution after a long shortage of exercise after winter break leaving me feeling very out of shape. With this feeling in mind I went to my athletic club today to exercise for a little bit and it gave me a huge amount of relief. I spend a lot of time exercising with my soccer club Blackhills, which keeps me in fairly good shape throughout the year. With this in mind I would like to step it up a little bit so to speak and get used to exercise more. As long as I keep exercising on my own I will still be able to stay in shape during extended periods of break. During these periods of break such as summer I still continue soccer, but my eating is not nearly as healthy. So now if i exercise even more I won't have to worry about this as much and after I finish exercising everyday I can just enjoy myself.