Friday Currently

Favorite Sentences from the week:

This first one is from The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini

"That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out."

The next one comes from D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger

"No matter where you go or what you distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.

My next favorite sentence comes from the poem "On a Church Lawn" by William Stafford

"God is not big: He is right."

Pages read this week: 648
Pages this Semester: 2419

The Kite Runner

This week I read The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini. This book was absolutely riveting. It entails on the internal struggles of a young Afghan boy, Amir, as he fights for his father’s attention, right and wrong, and how to deal with a changing world. Amir’s mother dies during child birth and he thinks that this is one of the reasons his father doesn’t approve of him. His servants, Ali and Hassan, a father and son duo whom which the father has been with Amir’s father since childhood and Hassan who is one year younger than Amir play a crucial role in the development of Amir. Also, Rahim Khan, Amir’s father’s best friend and business partner seems to be more of the father figure and the one who understands Amir the most. This book gives a vivid description and insight into what Afghanistan used to be before the Taliban and also what the Taliban has done to the entire culture. The things that are profiled in this book are just astonishing and it makes you realize how lucky we are to be living in a society where you can look someone in the eyes without fear they will shoot you or your family. Afghan people have to endure many struggles throughout the day just to survive. The Kite Runner describes more than just Amir’s stories and struggles to be at peace with himself and with the people who were there for a good portion of his life. It is a haunting peak into everything that isn’t the United States.

Friday Currently

Favorite sentances of the month include:

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine
Meanwhile the world goes on."

This comes from the poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver. This is one of my favorites because to me it's just flat out honest. Also, the fact that she may be writing to someone who she trusts and loves opens up a whole new perspective on it too.

"Someone spoke to me last night,
told me the truth."

This sentance comes from the poem "Dust" by Dorianne Laux. I like it so much because I feel like it is hard to come by the pure truth.

"There is a shabby nobilitiy in failing all by yourself."
This one comes from Bright Lights, Big City. For some odd reason that cannot be explained this sentance is growing on me. Initally I hated it, but now the idea of not dragging others down with you is sort of noble.


This week:
Pages Read: 236
Books Read: 1 and 1/4
Total Pages this semester: 1771

Palo Alto

This week I read Palo Alto by James Franco. This book is a collection of short stories written from the point of view of troubled teens who are growing up in Palo Alto, California. The stories of the kids start off at all different ages and some of them are absolutely horrifying. To me it’s sad that there is a possibility that is how some kids choose to live their lives, and how parents choose to overlook things. One young girl starts a physical relationship with her teacher at the age of 14! All I know is that at the age 14 of no one should be involved in a physical relationship. Another story goes into the life of a young girl who goes to a party for the first time and sees an unspeakable act of violence. Also, the amount of drug activity and drinking that goes on with these kids is insane! This book was fascinating, disturbing, rough, and yet some how it was addicting. It was like I couldn’t get to the next story fast enough. Another story looked into the life of a boy who partied non stop and one night cheated on his girlfriend then drove away drunk and fast, he hit someone and never once looked back. He later goes on to say that he’d forgotten that the accident even happened sometimes when he drove down that corner of the street. I cranked this book out in about 3 hours today, and it fascinated me. I loved the style and set up of the book. However, one little thing that bothered me was the fact that the author never brought all of the characters together for one final event and tied everything up. Each story ended with a haunting remark that sticks with you. I would recommend this book to others due to the unique set up and style.

Claims Currently

1. In Versace's purple ruffled gown, his fading colors, smooth lines, and rough and fragile textures along with a flowing and clean shape create a complimentary and whimsical sense of beauty in fashion-art. -Swimstrong

I really like how this person looks at fashion from an artistic point of view.

2. The majestic, distinctive color with the deep, wild detail add to the heavy contrast and proud focus of this lion, a dignified and appreciative beast who hunted his prey out of resigned necessity, and for a disgruntled, hungry family.- I need a nap?

The powerful words of this claim really help make it to be more descriptive.

3. In this beautiful beach painting, the sparkling water to the clear gleaming sky, the vast openness of the ocean, and the author’s use of graceful, yet precise lines and textures illustrates the dreamy peacefulness the author attempts to portray.- Emily:)

I like this one because it brings about a sense of serenity.

4. The strange, abundant markings wandering all over the tough skin, creating a colossal of ink transforming the appearance for all of eternity. Once young and fresh, now old and rusty. -E-dubs

The last trailing thought of this claim really stood out to me.

5. In Fighting Gravity’s final Performance on America’s Got Talent, the voiceless and light dancers use graceful, upbeat, and a unique technique that expresses a new and an explosive futuristic type of dance.

Close Read

I chose to do this picture which was previously posted by Mr. Hill on our class blog site.
Here is what I inferred:

Nostaligia: Friends gathered together
Pose: Open
Time of Day: Late
Location: Meaningful

Infer:
Lighthearted
Dreamy
Dignified
Adventurous
Graceful
Unconcerned
Whimsical
Candid
Ceremonial
Nostalgic
Reminiscent
Relaxed

In this photo it seems that a group friends are marking the end of an era or the start of something new, the arms outstretched are either reaching for something that's gone or welcoming something that is coming.

Friday Currently

This week I've decided to take my favorite sentances from poems just to add some variety.
"Someone spoke to me last night,
told me the truth."

This sentance comes from the poem "Dust" by Dorianne Laux. The reason this is a favorite sentance of mine is because the truth is sometimes hard to come upon now a days.

"Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine
Meanwhile the world goes on."

Mary Oliver, wrote this in the poem "Wild Geese", this is a good sentance because for me, I interperet it to be that the character in the poem is offering support for someone or something."

And my  last, but of course not least favorite sentance comes from the poem "First Kiss" by April Lardener.

"He imagines he knows her
after four dates, both of them taking pains
to laugh correctly, to make eyecontact."

This sentance to me is almost ironic. It symbolizes the start of dating and in my opinion it doesn't matter how many first or beginning dates a person goes on, they all start out like this.


Also, this week I have read 214 pages which brings my semester total to 1,535.

Currently

This week I finished Tweak, The Power of Six and started Bright Lights, Big City which if you were to read my post from yesterday you would find that I have a strong dislike for Bright Lights, Big City. I didn't finish this book which makes my grand total of books this semester 2 1/2.

Pages This week 583
Pages this semester 802
Books Read: 2 1/2

The 3 sentences I am choosing to write about this are ones that come from Bright Lights, Big City. Just because I really don't like this book and need to vent about it.

1." You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning."
        The reason why I don't like this sentence is because if this guy, Jay, isn't the person who would be there then why is he there?

2. "There is a shabby nobilitiy in failing all by yourself."
       Jay's coworkers all offered to help him edit this difficult piece, but no, he had to reject their help and fail.

3. "Here you are again. All messed up and no place to go."
       This guy has a great job, family, friends and a nice place to live. I just don't get how someone doesn't accept the help everyone is offering to him.
     

Tweak follow up and other stuff

This weekend I finished Tweak by Nic Sheff. This has to be my favorite biography/ memoir ever written. Nic finally accepted the help he needed and made an honest attempt to start healing and repairing the relationships that he destroyed. I was so intrigued with Nic that I found his online blog site and read through several posts he’s put up. Also, I have ordered the follow up book We All Fall Down mainly because I wanted to see if Nic repaired his relationship with Spencer, his sponsor. Once I am finished reading this book I am going to get Beautiful Boy, the book David Sheff, Nic’s father wrote on his take with Nic’s drug problems.

Also this weekend, I read The Power of Six by Pitticus Lore. This book is the sequel in the I Am Number Four series. The series is about an alien race of people whose planet, Lorien, is taken over by another alien race, Mogadorians (Mogs for short) and the Loriens send 9 kids and 9 guardians to earth to escape the attacks. These 9 kids all have powers that they are supposed to one day use to take back their planet from the Mogs. However, they are not safe on earth because the Mogs know that they are blending in with society so, the Mogs send thousands of people to earth to hunt down these kids and their guardians. The kids all have numbers 1-9 and they are only able to be killed in numerical order, hence I Am Number Four. The beginning for I Am Number Four starts with “3 are dead, and I am number four.” This creates the entire plot for the series about John Smith a.k.a. Number Four and his guardian, Henri, hiding from the Mogs. When John and Henri move to a small town in Ohio they get way more then they were asking for, especially when John meets a new love interest.

The Power of Six is about Number Six and her journey to find her fellow Loriens and stay away from the Mogadorians. I don’t want to give too much away for anyone who may want to read the series. For those of who are romantics, action, sci-fi, and suspense lovers this is the perfect series for you to read!

Today, after the vocabulary quiz (word doesn’t let me abbreviate vocabulary) I started reading Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney. Honestly this has to be one of the worst books I have ever started and will never finish. Yes, in my opinion it is that bad. Jay is living in New York and lives his life by always throwing a pity party. He has a great job at a prestigious magazine and a wife for a model who ended up leaving him and this turned his life upside down. Jay begins to drink, do drugs, slack off at work and ruin his entire career. His so called friend Tad is another contributor to this pity party. Tad won’t leave Jay alone until he is snorting drugs off of toilet seats in clubs. Jay talks about how he is the more stay at home and read a book guy then to go out and party every night. What bothers me most about this book is that Jay will not take his life into his own hands and live the way he wants. I’ve read 61 pages of this book and this is all I will be reading.