Monday, September 3, 2012

BUCKET LIST

Title
Author
Commentary
1.       “Life Of Pi”
 Yann Martel
I enjoy reading books about adventures and this book had a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle on the front labeling that it was a great adventure and it was hard to stop reading. I LOVE books where you can’t put them down! This is a chilling tale about 16 year old Pi who finds himself stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, it tells of his challenges to find food and to overcome everything the ocean throws at him.
2.       “Water For Elephants”
Sara Gruen
After seeing the movie with the amazing Robert Pattinson playing the role of Jacob I made the decision to read this book. This book is about a thrilling love story during the prohibition and tells of a man who lost his parents in an accident and jumped a train into the life of the circus and finds his love but she is married to another man the circus ringmaster, who also is a wife beater. This book also had several different places on the bestseller list including USA bestseller.
3.       “Two Or Three Things I Forgot To Tell You”
Joyce Carol Oates
This book cover interested me it showed of a girl standing in the sunset with the wind gently blowing her hair as if she was escaping something. After reading the first few pages I noticed that this book was about a friendship between two girls one who was killed and the life that she knew and the life her friends knew of her. This book also landed a spot on amazon’s best book of the month.
4.       “City Of Bones”
Casandra Clare
After hearing all of the ranting about this book series I had to read it and I read the back of the book along with the first few pages and found it to be quite interesting especially since I like books that are real science fiction. This book is about a person who witnesses a murder of somebody whose body disappears and then later finds out the murderers are demon hunters and they kill and rid the earth of demons.
5.       “Beautiful Creatures”
Kami Garcia
This book is another that has been on my reading wants for a very long time and it has very unique paranormal aspects to it. This book is about a girl with special powers but doesn’t want anybody knowing about them or the curse on her family, and then she meets this guy who is physically drawn to her and wants to find out the connection between them. This book seems to be a definite thriller and suspenseful read.
6.       “Children Of The Fog”
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
This book drew me to it because the cover reminds me of the book The Shack, but although these books are very different children of the fog is about a mother who is forced to decide what to do about the kidnapping of her son and seeing the face of the kidnapper and not being able to tell anyone or her son will be in pieces and sent back to her. This book is about a mother’s love to save her child and to face the person who took him.
7.       “Taken”
Norah McClintock
This book in some ways is similar to the movie taken but don’t have the same story line. This book is about a girl who thinks that nothing that happens to other people will happen to her, although it does and she’s miles from home tied up and doesn’t know what to do. This is a thrilling book about an escape and the will everybody has to live in the worst situations.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Film Critic: Rebel Without A Cause

In the 1955 film "Rebel Without A Cause" characters Jim Stark, played by James Dean, Judy, played by Natalie Wood, and Plato all have led lives in homes considered fatherless. In today's society most homes that are considered fatherless have children that are more likely to get involved in crime,drugs, and alcohol. The screenwriters of this film include: Irving Shulman, Steward Stern, and Nicholas Ray as director, Ray and his other screenwriters did a fantastic job at portraying the effect of a tragedy that in our time now is more than likely not going to happen. All of the film's main characters had troubles with their father figures, which caused them to make stupid decisions that led them all to get into trouble.

Jim Stark, a typical teenage male, always seemed to get into trouble so his mother would always do the "brave" thing and move from place to place to try to keep Jim out of trouble. Jim as the new guy ran into the crowd of guys that were obviously the popular guys which also included the leading guys girl, Judy. Jim didn't ever like his mother always being in control and his father sitting around watching on the sidelines, so Jim did the practical thing and every time an oppurtuinity would come along, he would do something bold and try to become the man of the house, but everytime his mother would make them move and he never got to really make that point. Jim got into a quarral with Buzz, played by Corey Allen, and they played a game of chicken. The cars were both started at the same time and shockingly Buzz got his jacket sleeve hung on the door and went over the edge of the cliff, making Jim the winner. All of the other kids watching were scared and decided to go home and not mention anything about this.

Judy, Buzz's girlfriend, was drawn to Jim from the beginning of the movie and now after Buzz's death gets her chance to show Jim how she feels. Judy always seemed to get rejected by her father and never got to show anybody her true feelings. Judy knew her rank in the world and if she was with the next greatest guy, then she could maintain her status in the world. The viewers senses somewhat of an effect of betrayal as they see Judy getting pushed away from showing her only father affection, because the reader knows in that time period girls weren't the same as they are now and usually their father is the only guy they ever want to kiss or more or less think is number one in their lives.

Plato is a small guy who is in and out of the juvenile offices, because of his behavior like shooting puppies. Plato too has an issue with having somebody as a father figure and after Jim showed kindness to Plato, Plato picked Jim to act somewhat as a father figure to him, since his own father had abandoned him.

Jim knew that after the one night of playing chicken that he should let somebody know of the events that had occured that night, so he decided to talk to his dad about it, well of course he ignored everything Jim had to say, this caused Jim to want to contact the authorities. Coincidentely Buzz's friends found out and chased Jim down to prevent him from talking to the cops so nobody would get into trouble. Jim was with Plato and Judy at an old mansion at the time they came after him. Out of pure fear Plato goes into a crazy-like rampage and kills a member of the gang. Judy and Jim tried to get Plato to stop and to come out, but he saw the lights and again got frightened and ran at the officers with a weapon and he was shot and killed.

This film represents an odd occurence in life that wouldn't happen in society today because of the several other conflicts that exist. The overall effect that this film has on the reader would most definitely have to be betrayal because of how all three of the main characters led lives that didn't involve a father. This film didn't seem very realistic just because I couldn't see it occuring in today's society, it's to dramatic. I think that the screenwritiers should have went into more depth about the character Plato, throughout the film you don't really know how he got to be the way he was and you pretty much had to take an estimated guess at how his life was before and how it is now. I enjoyed watching the film, but it could have been directed better and maybe more realistic to today.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Men Need Sleep!

Barry’s idealistic humor reforms any woman’s idea of men and their almost too regular, sleeping patterns. Barry forms a position that men need sleep to function properly, by using examples of ethos, pathos, and logos to further inform people on the matter of men needing their daily afternoon naps.
                Barry begins by using ethos to emphasize his idea on men needing more deep sleep. The “breakthrough” researchers “indicate[d]” to be an important study at the University of Chicago gives Barry’s theory more credit. He makes it known throughout the article that men have hormones that they need to do even the simplest things like push buttons on a remote, and the only way to make these hormones is to sleep. Barry uses this to address the matter at hand and to give his idea more credibility since it was an actual study done at a known university.  The somewhat idiotic man in the newspaper clipping Barry refers to “concern[s]” a man in Tehama County who decided to “shoot” himself with a rifle helps point out how many men can treat their selves medically and be just fine without consulting a physician. Barry makes this a well drawn out story and uses some satire in showing how before you can help yourself medically you must first sleep.  He uses this to convince the readers that men really do need sleep to do even the most idiotic tasks.
                Barry then shifts to using logos to help defend that men need their daily afternoon naps to function. The “hormones” men produce that “compel” them to do stupid things like watch constant replays in slow motion on TV are one good reason to show that Barry is supporting his point. He uses the hormones excuse throughout the essay and goes on to say women do not produce those hormones, but instead produce and different kind that compels them to rearrange furniture. Barry uses sarcasm to show that any man’s spouse will be happy to support their husbands in this health kick to get more sleep. Barry thinks there should be “Muscle Mass for Men”, an idea for an exercise show that features eight to 10 “uninterrupted” hours of men sleeping. He keeps mentioning that there would be fitness centers that would be equipped with the latest in mattress technology, he also goes back and uses the idea he mentioned earlier that men have to watch TV. He uses this to make the reader think about men and their hormones that are apparently vital for survival.
                Barry closes to use pathos to connect to the emotions the readers possess for men and how they need sleep more than usual. The new “physique” Barry creates in the mind of the reader of men needing sleep is something that even the “manliest man” needs. Barry reaches out to the reader’s personal emotions and hopes that they will feel sorry for men that may be even the toughest guys on Earth, but they don’t get enough sleep so therefore they are weak. He broadens his point on how men need these crucial hours of sleep to do things like operate a TV remote. Barry brings up an example of a newspaper article he received “concerning” a Tehama County man that allegedly “[shot]” his foot because of a painful corn on his toe. Barry describes this whole situation as a man treating himself in a manly way, and how if he would have visited a doctor that it would have cost him a fortune. He reaches out to the reader making them feel sorry for the man and his pain and that he obviously didn’t have enough money to pay for a doctor’s bill.
                Barry uses ethos, pathos, and logos to establish that men need their sleep even in a stupid way they need it no matter what to do the things we as women ignore and try not to think about. Barry also uses sarcasm to make his article humorous to the reader.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!

Q:John mcmurty's essay begins with a personal anecdote about the results of playing sports-especially football- since childhood. When he can no longer ignore his physical condition, he seeks treatment and is hospitalized. How does the anecdote lend credibility to his argument?
A: the anecdote lends credibility to his arguement because he has been through all of that before so anyone going through the same issue can look to him for support because he knows exactly what they are going through. Mcmurty also knows how his passion for football has made him a more driving and more competitive person anyone who has that drive as well knows how he feels.
Q:paragraphs 5-7 compare and contrast football and war. Is this comparison convincing? How does this comparison appeal to logos?
A:this comparison is convincing it gives the reader a reason to really think about all of the things that make them the same and all of the things that make them different. This comparison appeals to logos by making the kill em expression that is used in both sports and war real it's actually used by coaches to convince their players to do better and to make good tackles, in war asearghants use this to tell their regiments to keep themselves safe and to kill the enemy.
Q:Consider the language of football, especially the words shared by the military. What sports other than football have a militaristic side?
A: the sport world has several different sides there's sports that are played by two single people and then there is team sports, team sports mostly have more of a militaristic side bobsled is a great example of this it's dangerous like war and football both are and they both could use the same language. Also rugby might be considered to have a militaristic side sine it's considered to be more like football but safer.
Q:mcmurty charCterizes general George Patton and president Richard Nixon as "jock loving media stars" think of contemporary media stars who associate themselves with football or other sports. Does the association enhance or tarnish their image?
A: Tim tebow is a professional football player who is an icon to almost every single boy or girl in America even tho he did not win the super bowl or even go for that matter he still makes himself noticed in the media world. Tebowing has become a world phenomenon and is very popular to today's society, tebows association with football and being a known Christian doesn't tarnish his image at all but strengthens it toward Christian viewers who might not like sports, because of the sometimes foul things sports stars do. Now that they have somebody like Tim tebow they can have a great icon to look up too.