blog, blog.

       Of all the blogs I've read this week, I have to say Hannah Seitz, yours really rocked. I personally thought it fulfilled my standards of a blog. It was everything between funny, nice, engaging, organized, true, and smart! Within the first words I read upon finding your blog, I was engaged. "Lets pretend there's no character limit" 

It gives off an inviting feel and it sets a sort of standard for your blog itself; a place without a character limit, a zone where you can be as imaginative as you want. Writing with freedom.

       Reading this blog, was so interesting and hilarious. You have this original personality-like quality that flows perfectly into your writing. Although I did not have time to read all your posts, (considering I was also checking out other blogs) but I loved the ones I read like the Our Town post, and especially the John Green post. It actually felt like I was talking to you in a way. I also like the way you structured it. Where the blog started out as sort of a John Green rant about his book, the school board...blah, blah, blah interesting I don't want to get into details just yet. And then the video ended and I was like, okay... what is this five paragraph essay-like thing you've got beneath it? So I read it, and find a whole other meaning to Looking For Alaska. I had completely missed that whole entire concept behind the contrasted scenes. Anyway, I really thought there was a lot in that post, more than I saw in any other cover/ summary of Looking For Alaska. You basically talked about everything important in that book, and everything that stood out to me as striking and put it into a paragraph.

             Another post I loved was your Shakespeare post. It is a coincidence that we are doing Shakespeare in drama, a little in science and just started it in English. When we read this in class, we had the exact same interpretation. It's practically like you stole the words out of Ms. Rear's mouth. My favorite part of this post however was when you talked about Shakespeare talking about how people I love see their lovers.

-I know I’m sort of getting a little confusing but stay with me...

In this poem, Shakespeare talks about looking at someone and seeing an angle, the best thing in the world, a god, something beautiful. However, all there really is, all anything can really be is normal. Nothing is perfect. Nothing actually shines like the sun. But I love how true that is. Some people look at others like they are actually a summer’s day. They can get so caught up in their love. I love the philosophical thinking behind this blog because it's really good, (insert cool word like sterling) clear, and funny. I love the sense of humor in these blogs and how honest it is at the same time. "Although you may be telling yourself that you are waiting for a certain type of person, and you don't want to be with anyone else until you find that person, your potential love is not always that person. A person that you'd be perfectly happy with, and possibly even be in love with, is right in front of you, no matter how imperfect they may seem. Oh dear, did I just write a cheesy teenage-girl-esque interpretation of love? *Mental Slap*"

http://unlimitedmargin.blogspot.com/

                  Anyway, I just really love Hannah’s blog and ^ that up there is her address thing a ma bobber that if inserted correctly into your little white box at the top of your computer screen where there should be a bunch of words like "http://blogger.com/post-eladlkerjgmfdvkd" you will find her. 

                 This is also another blogger that I thought was pretty amazing, I know I’m only supposed to talk about one blogger, but as long as I'm on the subject, I figure Tomin should be acknowledged for his work . . . 

http://infinitebookapocalypse.blogspot.com/

I love the way he words his sentences. It's just enough Tomin complexity where you think about and savor each phrase, but not enough that it distracts you from what his point of what he is saying is. His words are crunchy, and full, and powerful... but they are not just words take from the little thesaurus gadget most mac computers have. All his words are meaningly placed in a way where they feel natural. 

His writing has a tone that is mellow and seems as if to stride through the page. It is a pretty amazing blog so take my word and read it. Like now. Kudos to all those amazing bloggers!

Teretts book

                    So I've recently began a new book called Motherless Brooklyn. It makes me crack up in the middle of project real, but also rub my temples with aggravation. For those who read the book, Minna, the main characters (Lionel’s') boss didn't really make much of an impression on me. I did not feel any sympathy when Minna died; I do really like Lionel the main character though. He seems like a cool person and all. I feel like, as I get deeper into the book I will start to grow closer to him and become a little more attached. One very interesting thing that I especially loved about this book is that it takes place in Brooklyn. As Lionel describes his childhood, places in Brooklyn he sees, schools and people he knows, it becomes easier for me to relate to him. Parts of the story practically take place in my backyard. One thing I really like about this is that it gives me a different perspective on Brooklyn, this story seems to be more about gangs, violence, secret meetings, (I’m really not too sure yet) this is a part of Brooklyn I don't really know too much about so it's interesting for me to read about that. Another reason I like that this book takes place in Brooklyn is because I find it interesting to read about one-person memories in a place that I also share memories at. For example, when Lionel talks about the Brooklyn Bridge and that area, my mind just jumps to memories of hanging around the promenade and the people I know who live there. It makes me sort of nostalgic but I guess it also brings me closer to the book.

FATKEDRULZTHAWURALD

the very first thing established in this book by the narrator is. Troy is fat. extremely. fat. about a hundred -two hundred lbs overweight. Second; his brother hates him. his brother is perfect, which -according to troy- all perfect people want nothing to do with the fat kid. the fat kid does everything wrong. troy says everything he tries to do normal, makes him normal because he's fat. I'm so fat. people are staring at me

fat kid just sat down. oh no.

fat kid didn't order the french fries. gasp.

fat kid just realized he forgot he was fat for a second. weird.

fat kid breaths funny, fat kid talks weird, fat kid slobbers, fat kid huffs, fat kid doesn't walk fast enough, fat kid is a freak because he is so fat. fat kid plays the drums

fat kid doesn't want to wave his arms because he is too fat.

fat kid standing looks like a lowlife.

Troy doesn't believe that -even though hanging with rock stars is a dream of his, he shouldn't do it if he got the chance because he is fat. My theory (for this constant annoying complaining) is that the author wants to show how Troy really doesn't have a mind of his own. he talks about himself him third person when he puts himself down. Now, i have two theories for this.
a) he does this because he wants to fit in with everybody else in his life, like his perfect brother. and he begins to talk about himself in third person to feel like he isn't the fat kid because when he thinks about it, he does see the things he does as funny, like running. (cause he's fat) so I'm thinking, he just goes with what everybody else thinks because he thinks that it will make him normal.
b) because he hears so many people say it, he's beginning to believe it. when he hears his brother call him a fat looser, he is just like... yeah he's probably right....hmmm....(it kinda makes me wanna slap this kid) like, really? stand up for yourself man.
Another strong thought i have about this book, is that i find it weird how he refers to himself as the fat kid. kid. what seventeen year old calls himself a kid?

The end of Looking for Alaska. SPOILER

I liked the closure the author gave the reader. it wasn't just a big author's intrusion that was all like "people who die might actually be gone forever. but believing in god to gain closure is okay." it was more for the reader to feel a comfort at the end of the book, like it wasn't an ending that was hard, or emotional. it was just an ending that had closure for a lot of things, not just death, but for mistakes and accidents. This made me realize that in a way, this book was mainly about life. living. growing up. having experiences, making mistakes and trying to find who you are before you end up in the ground. i liked how i could tell that most of what pudge was saying was an authors intrusion, but at the same time it fit so perfectly into the story that it didn't really matter. it was mostly some kid growing up and figuring things out like how will i get out of this labyrinth. I really think this only worked because the author made the characters come to life and believable. Because if they weren't as fit and you weren't able to relate to them it was just a book about some kids that had a friend who died and they do some pranks that aren't really funny and they go around and are realize some stuff about dying and how to cope with it because it was their friend that died and they think they killed her whatever. But there's really a lot to think about in this book. it's not just some kids who do pranks. they do pranks because they gain respect from some of the kids in their school, and they gain ego from their success and pissing off other people. it's not just about a kid questioning where people go when they die. it's actually making the reader taking that into consideration and wanting to know what happens. I feel like other than realistic characters that the author uses to reel you into this book, it's also the suspense of having 20 days before, 10 days, 5, 1. and then wondering what actually happened, and wanting to learn what happened to these characters and having so many cliff hangers. In my mind, this was a pretty successful book for me. i really couldn't put it down.

Labarynths

I've recently started a book called Looking For Alaska, and found it was pretty good. it was funny and smart. Though there's really nothing too specific that i would point about that i thought was especially memorable about what Ive been through so far in it. . .
So the main character Miles starts out as a total loser in his old school. And suddenly he is shipped off to boarding school where he immediately befriends some hard core pranksters and gets himself into smoking and drinking and all this type of teen angst stuff.
the reason i think this book is so successful though, is because there's this flawless balance between sophisticated, visionary philosophical and like teen drama with a little twist of suspense. Having that balance makes the book a little bit more interesting and it gives it a backbone ish moral behind it that makes the book meaningful. (i.e.)Not just some forth grade chapter book about a guys first crush or whatnot. it makes it relatable to a variety of audiences and it makes you take the book a little more seriously.

"There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through times eventually gets dragged out to sea by the undertow-that, in short, we are all going."

I feel like this line from the book was a direct authors intrusion. that this was the bowels of authors writing and it was what he wanted to get across to the reader. I mean, for deity! He's in a boarding school, like a thousand miles away from his parents and he starts making all these decisions for himself and he is truly out on his own for the first time. His best friend was eight when she realized this, when her mother was having an anurisum and wasn't able to make things better. sooth the crying (eight year) old best friend, and make her pain go away, like the (eight year old) best friend's mother was supposed to do in her eyes.
(trying to sustain from making this a spoiler)

I am really only like half way through the book, and a couple flimsy pages from "AFTER" and I'm really on the edge of my seat.
and scared out of my mind
and sad that his life will be changed forever, because i don't want it to.
oh well.

The steryotypical teen drama.

Struts and Frets:
The boy gets the girl. the girl gets the guy.  They like music and are talented. The parent(s) are really cool. Everybody ends up happy in the end. oh wait....SPOILER!
There's more, right?-(Anabel Polin)
Actually no. This is the way every thing ends. Oh.. the grandpa is crazy, but i bet that was pretty obvious if you got threw the first couple of chapters of this book. But see, I did happen to get through the whole book- before realizing that unlike the other half of it, the ending was unrealistic and just what the reader wanted to hear. . .which wasn't what I wanted to hear. I wanted to read something that was realistic. Where, maybe the main character didn't exactly get what he wanted. And not everyone ended up happy, but there was some conclusion. I was hoping that this story would end in something that would have a reasonable conclusion that would keep the story real. for a story that started out completely relate-able and realistic, it ended in some gushy, love fest where every turns out OK. And fine. Which isn't too realistic. I mean, his girlfriend's father gives him a very, very expensive guitar, he gets together a really amazing band, and his mom is attacked by his insane grandfather... who has already been established as insane. She's fine though.
I guess I'm just disappointed that the end plot of this story was clesa (spelled wrong) and kinda unrealistic. But other than that, I pretty much solute the author on how realistic the whole beginning was. And how I sometimes even believed that the story was real, because it made me feel so connected to the characters. I guess that that's really what reeled me into the book. The point that i was reading something that i could relate to and had feelings about.

sopwize.

nosdfg dfg dfg sdfgsdfg eyjw457axs7yik5y xsrfgt56i85d569i fduyernb45rten 4wqoh,fjgtjal kjhafakz3;5yaj5yj5hjarhSAFSWA 6U2L4K5JNN,M,M3J22345H4H4H4H4H4H4,L /QL34QO 64P56Q1304939048394534tk skdnvkw3 hrtuo
FORTIFIER. NO. ANABEL SAYS HI.

About an Elephant.

One thing we forget when we get older is; where was the last time we put our keys. We forget who people are, and what year it is. we forget why we were talking, and what time it is. we forget everything. until we are nothing. And by the time we are nothing to ourselves, we are no one to other people. and by then. we are forgotten. Jacob Jankowski was a polish man from Cornell College. he lived his life in the circus. he throws plates of food off tables because he doesn't want to eat. he takes drugs that make him forget even more things than he already does, and he makes every one's life hard. on purpose. Jacob Jankowski is my type of old guy.

just like all old people, Jacob had a life before the start of his golden years. he had love and jealously and death and booze. he was the most strong headed man i ever knew and had a life story that was morally timeless. knowing Jacob makes me feel like i underestimate old people.  He alone makes me feel guilty for not getting to know my grandparents too well. this one man. Jacob, winces at his liver spots and cowers over his wispy gray hair, yet to have noticed his age. he is timeless. Though his life and all the stories he tells about it is based off of the circus, he is a very polished man who would never lay a finger on a woman. he never even brags about how amazing his life was.

One thing i noticed at the end of Jacob's life, was that he very much resembled an elephant. the way he describes himself and elephants; the wrinkly skin, and dreary complexion. people underestimating him, and always longing to eat things that people don't want him to eat. for example: who gives elephants liquor? and apparently Jacob hasn't seen fruit in years. he's constrained to his little room away from the outside world much like an elephant restrained to a train car of tent away from towns and bustling people. every once in a while (when people remember) Jacob is paraded around and his faceless family coos about their lives and their promotions and kids. much like a polish speaking elephant paraded around and shown off to people babbling in English. . .its sad to not know who and what your talking about when conversation comes by. (which  isn't often for jacob) its lonely and cold when you don't know the people who are willing to talk to you are. like i said; when you get old you forget things. for Jacob, his past was his present and future. it was his pride and singularity.

RIP JACOB JANKOWSKI
           timeless.

A Book About Nine Eleven.

          
It's sorta a spoiler.

              My second favorite book in the entire world is called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Now, I'm really stubborn, opinionated, and picky when it comes to my reading. I keep to something I like. Frankly I like it. Or I don't. This doesn't mean that I think some of the books I don't like are bad. They might just not be right for me. For example; In kindergarten, I stuck to Henry and Mudge, and Calvin and Hobbes. I couldn't read any other book because no other book gave me the same experience, it just wasn't the same. Like paper to glue I was attached to those books. Absolutely, utterly, positively impossible to rip apart without the other side clinging on tight-an end product of bits and scraps of useless lint.- Then, somewhere between second and third grade came Geronimo books. Soon after I graduated to Louis Lowery. (her entire collection) Then came Sammy keys' books and mysteries. I read all the Harry Potters, and finally now. A somewhat less interesting category; Creative non-fiction. My all time favorite books. From Life of Pi to Water for Elephants,  And sometimes I'll jump to a book like Love That Dog. 

        
               Extremely loud and incredibly close. This was a book about the search for closure.
It followed the lives of two and a half-(ish) boys. Oscar who believes that a single word and key will lead him to his dead father. A grandfather (Thomas Schell) who missed out on his sons' life. And a father who loved his son and died in nine eleven. (Before the book begins) His name was Thomas shell(Jr). However; this book mainly followed the life of Oscar Schell, who goes threw two years of grieving and coping with his fathers death. I believe that he is the hero in this story. He grows up quite a great deal and goes threw lots of different changes. He meets hundreds of people and changes hundreds of lives.

              A more effective way to describe Oscar Schell is as a nine year old boy with special needs. He is incredibly mature and incredibly bright for his age. He is constantly inventing, and thinking, and imagining. Never. Not once in this book, did he ever loosen his loyalty to his father.

             The shape shifter in this book was grandfather Thomas Schell. He was always sorry. Sorry he wasn't there when people needed him. He was a man that would close himself off from people. He was selfish and fragile after his old life. The grandfather never stopped loving Anna. This is the only thing that didn't change about him throughout his whole life. I thought this was kinda interesting and worth thinking about considering where it leads him in the book. I thought the fact that he couldn't speak was very interesting about him too. It made him sorta vulnerable to other people. It meant he couldn't scream. . .

              The shadow in the book was hopelessness. Hopelessness overwhelmed almost every character in this book. It made these people slow down and feel low. It made Oscar give up on his list of people named Black. It made Oscars' mother give up on her search to find her husband. It dawned on the grandmother, and the grandfather too.

               Finally, the mentor. The majority of characters in this book were adults. I was always waiting to know who Oscar's friends were, and at least what their names were.I guess i hadn't really noticed this until now but the author never let me know who Oscars' friends were. They had nicknames, but i can't remember what they were. They were only mentioned like twice in the book.
Anyway, I just feel that most, if not all the grownups in this book-except the mother- were mentors in this book. At least, all the grownups tried to help Oscar in some way. Mr. Black helped Oscar look for more people with the last name Black. The grandfather seemed to want to be Oscar's mentor but couldn't. And finally, there was the grandmother. She seemed to care about Oscar more than anybody else. But that might just be because she needed someone to love. Not just Oscar, but her husband too.

               This was the first book I've seen in a long time with pictures in it. I guess that this would be because most children's books have pictures in it, and pictures in a more advanced book gave it a scrap of innocence to it. It possibly gave the ending a lot of weight to it. Being that everyone wanted things to go backwards. Then having Oscar imagining this too. It made me feel guilty that somehow this world has left a nine year old exposed to this situation. But the pictures made it real again. It snapped me out of just a different world far, far away. And it brought me home. Because that boy would be almost my age, he lives in my city. I can see all the things he does.

This book gives me heavy boots.

its kind of a funny story.

I've been on and off reading the book Its Kind of a Funny Story since July. It's written in first person threw a fourteen-year-old's point of view. The main character (Craig) in this story starts off in a room with his friends smoking pot and watching movies. Craig is a very average guy. what makes him so relatable is that there's nothing too special about him.

This book is basically about all the hard things that an average American teenage boy goes threw. Craig, just got into the best high school in NYC. Which he soon realizes is not the easiest thing to deal with. he struggles to balance his work with his social life. Soon enough he gets into a metaphorical hole and goes through some deep depression. Within the first few chapters of this book, this was a guy I could defiantly relate to. This book brings out some problems like how parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. kids using illegal drugs. and how stress from school effects kids. I guess this can go into how kids are overlooked once in a while, and when they are; they can do some really stupid stuff.

School stress is one thing almost every kid i know can relate to. Everyone going into the ninth grade (of that i know) are all freaking out because they want to get into good high schools. But at the same time, we're being buried in homework that only slows us down from our extra curricular activities and high school interviews and such. Now, not every class gives out three hours of homework. Typically it's a lot more like fifteen to two hours of homework pr subject. And the homework from one class is not evenly as hard as the next. According to most teachers, thirty minutes of homework a night is a . . .  reasonable amount to give. However, when we have seven different classes a week that evens down to about three hours a night.
But what if one class has a project?
What happens when a class has an essay due?
What goes on when a class is behind and needs to catch up?
Well, that three hours can easily alter into four hours.
And what happens to the kids who get home late? And the ones that get caught up in more and more "tentacles" as Craig calls it in It's Kind of a Funny Story. One thing I've noticed has happened to many, many people I am friends with is that with all the hard work they do none of it is actually recognized. Nothing is really regarded for. I mean, what if a kid is actually able to manage all these tentacles with-ought having to be caught up too badly, and actually does their job well. You know, gets good grades and becomes actually productive with their work? Will teachers notice? Don't teachers only recognize work done in their class? So, if one of their students does a good job. Its just a good job. If parents don't notice. Well, parents don't notice. It happens all the time. And friends. Well, friends are there for each other. Most of the time kids can get pretty competitive and push hard work off because they worked harder. They had something to do too. They have problems also. So where does that leave this kid? Alone in stress?

This is somewhat of a problem that can lead to depression. It's a problem that goes on in more than just a book. This is a pretty pervasive problem.