The Internet

This year, as much as any, I have used the Internet to get information instead of other sources like books and magazines. This may not be a good thing, an article published in the July/August issue of the Atlantic titled Is Google Making Us Stupid? argues. It says that because people have gotten used to the quick switching of directions and tasks that the Internet allows, they are not able to read books and longer pieces of literature. I have not noticed this at all, but I've had the Internet at my disposal for as long as I have been able to comprehend the meaning of words. I will never know how I have been adversely affected by the Internet. Perhaps if I had never known of the internet then I would be able to concentrate on longer pieces of literature for a longer time, but even if this is true, would it be worth it? It seems to me that the answer to this question is unequivocally no. The ease with which it is possible to fetch useful information on the web is mindboggling. I have the ability to gain any piece of knowledge at the click of a mouse. I would not give this up in order to be able to read at greater length. But I'll never know if the Internet has cursed me in this way.

The Road

The Road is shaping up to be a great book. I was somewhat dumbfounded and angry when I heard that we were going to be reading a book by an author who doesn't use quotation marks, and as I had heard at the time, used periods sparingly. Dumbfounded because I was sure that a literary work of this description couldn't be considered a literary work at all, and therefore had no place in a language arts program, and angry because I thought that sifting through text rendered meaningless by lack of punctuation would be a waste of my time. Luckily, the rumor of the lacking periods was false (although McCarthy might have been able to pull it off). Surprisingly, I am finding The Road to be quite readable, even one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a very long time.
The lack of appropriate punctuation regarding conversation is something that I am now enjoying. I feel like it forces me to think a lot more while I read, allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of the book, while teaching me something about the variations of writing style. So far, reading The Road has taught me that writing has no limits, and because of this, it can be made your own. It has also taught me not to jump to conclusion about pieces of literature, and to try new and different books that I normally would not read.

The Last One

As the last person on Earth, I would be at a loss to find things to do. I do enjoy many things like reading, practicing saxophone and piano, making and viewing art, biking, as well as various other things, but as the last person on Earth, I would not find any fulfillment in these or other things because I would have nobody to do them or discuss them with. Without anyone to listen to your music, why would you spend time practicing an instrument? With nobody to discuss literature and get perspective on it, why would you read? With nobody to view, discuss, and share art with, why would you spend time learning about it or creating it? With nobody to pay for items or skills, why would you hone your own skills in order to make a profession out of them? Basically, I see almost everything I enjoy doing in life as serving the purpose of bringing me pleasure from making me more able to interact with other people because of skills and hobbies that I develop. An uninhabited world with me as the exception, would demonstrate the hostility of solidarity. Luckily however (or perhaps not....overpopulation is a concern too) the world is filled with people, about 6,740,422,806 acc0rding to www.census.gov. I say luckily because this puts the odds of me being the sole human on earth at 1/6,740,422,806, or about .0000000148358645856% I could keep going but you probably get the point.

Textbooks :(

Reading textbooks is probably close to the most boring reading I have ever had to do. I have great respect for the writers of the books because they are well educated, well meaning individuals, at least I would guess they are; my problem with their product is just how dry and student unfriendly it is . They need a lesson from a good language arts teacher. If they got this, they might be able to produce a product that is slightly more captivating, and readable. I am not naive enough to think that textbooks should be so molded to fit the student that they do not have a professional air, but if they aren't captivating enough to at least keep the readers' attention, they don't accomplish even their primary goal: to make information stick in the heads of the students. A good language arts teacher could show the textbook writers how to use fun and creative word choice to spice up the pros. They could also teach them better sentence fluency, which, besides making the books more fun to read, would also make the meaning clearer. Many times I can recall I have had to comb through a textbook sentence multiple times just to understand its jumbled sentence structure. Textbooks are frustrating reading, but if they teamed up with a good LA teacher, I'm sure some significant progress could be made.

Picking a Good Book

They say that you can't judge a book by its cover. I'd agree. But I also figured out that it is not safe to judge a book by its author either. At least not always. I am a fan of John Steinbeck. My favorite novels written by him are The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row. I recently read The Winter of Our Discontent, and from start to finish, I was discontent. The first three books I mention are filled with adventure, twists and turns, emotion, interesting characters, and endings leaving the reader wanting more. The Winter of Our Discontent, also by Steinbeck, is none of those things. I found it boring, long, uneventful, lacking interesting characters, twists and turns, and most of all, the vivid, meticulously, and beautifully written descriptions that are what I most admire of him as an author. So, for this book project I am not going to pick a book because of previous ones I've read from an author, I'm going to try branching out and finding another author that I like. I'm going to do some research on authors and novels and try to find one that is very me.

Into the Wild

I am currently reading Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild. It's about a man in his early twenties who rejects society because of what he sees as its flaws. He decides to go out alone, change his name, and travel all around North America by walking and hitchhiking. He lives an ascetic lifestyle and so far in my reading, I have noticed many similarities between Siddhartha, and Chris McCandless, the main character of Krakauer's book. They are both seeking a deeper understanding of the world, a more intense closeness with nature, and seeking an understanding of where they fit into the world as a whole. Siddhartha tries to understand the world to a fuller extent by gaining knowledge, having experiences, and depriving himself. Chris does almost the exact same. He gives all of his savings to charity and goes penniless, he wanders in hopes of having enlightening experiences, and he reads a lot in search of knowledge. In terms of gaining a closer relationship with nature, Siddhartha goes into the woods and listens to the river. Chris goes into the woods too, and attempts to live off the land and come to peace with himself through nature. It doesn't work out so well in the end; some hikers find him dead and rotting in a van. Finally, they are both trying to find where they fit in the world as a whole. Siddhartha looks for a very long time and doesn't find it unil he meets Vasudeva. Although we can never be sure if Chris had a realization of where he fit in to the world, it is certain that through his wanderings and ascetic lifestyle his ultimate goal was to know where and how he fit into the larger scheme of things, despite his unconventional ways of finding this out.

A hero is whatever you want it to be. You can have as high or as low standards as you want to formulate your own personal definition of a hero, meaning that you can be very inclusive, or very exclusive. To decide what constitutes a hero, you also need content. You need to be able to relate to this person and the actions that distinguished them as a hero. You also need to have knowledge relating to their actions. I very rarely think about heroes and what constitutes a hero because it is so subjective and personal that it's unlikely that I would have the same feelings about another person's hero status. It seems like a title given to someone so that they can be more convincing or can accomplish a goal. It seems like the kind of thing applied to someone, that people think sounds good and admirable, but fail to actually think about and analyze. There is no universal hero. I fail to understand the importance of being named a “hero.” It doesn’t change who you are, or give you any more qualifications. Why is the title of hero assigned to people in society? It doesn’t seem to have any point.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Grandpa

My grandpa does not have a high level of formal education, but behind his unfailing smile, there is a level of wisdom and knowledge that I hope to one day possess. He was born to a working class family, and has had to work his way up from there. He says things like "you never get far without working hard," and he knows this from experience. He started a company after getting out of a school, and has worked hard to educate himself to make his business a success. "Attitude is everything," is another one of his favorites. He knows that attitude is important, and he shows it. If I was asked to find any time when he has not shown optimism and a good attitude, I would instantly fail. This has helped to make him such a fun guy and my number one role model. He's also a believer in effort. He tells me to try hard and give all that I've got. Finally, he is a believer in perseverance. He has not quit, and that has made him a success. Even if he doesn't get what he wants, I always know that he has succeeded, just because he always perseveres. If he believes in something, he will work for it, and not give up when he's frustrated or when he's not looking likely to come out on top. My grandpa has if figured out pretty well. If someone were to follow all of these unfailingly, like my grandpa, that person would be a great success because after you've acquired a good work ethic, a good attitude, giving everything you've got, and persevering no matter what the circumstances, many other great things, that are more closely related to success, will be much easier to come by.

The Lord of the Rings

My favorite movie, or in this case trilogy, is The Lord of the Rings. The three main aspects that I like about it are the scenery, the plot, and the soundtrack. The scenery adds a lot to the movie by making it feel like you are actually there, hiking in the mountains, or having a quaint, but nonetheless spirited, celebration with the Hobbits. The plot also enhances the movie quite a bit. I usually have a hard time sitting through a long movie, but The Lord of the Rings kept me very engaged. It is fast paced enough to not let it get boring, but also not so fast that it ignores small details that make it feel realistic and interesting. Finally, the Lord of the Rings is my favorite series of movies because it has an excellent soundtrack. In most movies, the music is something that doesn't subtract, but also doesnt add anything. In the Lord of the Rings, the music adds a lot because of how well it is composed, and how well it fits every scene very well. I am currently reading The Hobbit, and hopefully will read the trilogy afterwards. It is almost always the case that the book is better than the movie. If this is true in this instance, then I have a lot to look forward to in reading the books.

Morning

Morning is my favorite time of day. Unlike the rest of the day, morning is very peaceful. I prefer to wake up early, and enjoy it for as long as I can without losing too much sleep. It is a peaceful time for me because I have nothing I usually have to do, and nobody to talk to, nobody to do tasks for, and nothing to distract me from reading, or doing whatever else I prefer. Cold winter mornings are especially pleasant. I love to get a good book, curl up under the thick wool afghan that my grandma knit for me, and just read. No distractions. Nothing to think about except what I'm reading. This is usually the way I start my days. By getting up early and spending time doing something that I really enjoy, I am able to prepare myself for the day ahead, and ensure that during the course of the day I have a good time and am relaxed. I sometimes have a hard time getting out of bed; especially on those really cold, snowy mornings that I love. But the nice thing is, that on those mornings when it's hardest to get out of bed, I'm always happiest I do, because those are the mornings that are the coziest, and those are the mornings when I really feel like my day has gotten off on a good foot.

My Life as Bread

I am comparable to a slice of bread. For simple reasons, such as my fondness of bread, but also for deeper reasons comparing how varied bread is from loaf to loaf, and how my mood and my life vary from day to day.
I have loved bread for my entire life, and have eaten a lot of it. Perhaps that is why bread and I are so similar. Both of us grow brown in excessive heat. With enough heat, bread turns a golden brown color, similarly with enough sun, I turn a shade close to that loaf. More deeply however, enough heat can also dry out a loaf of bread and make it chewy and tough. When I am stressed, feeling the heat of life, when, for example, I have a lot of homework, or when things aren't turning out the way I'd like, I also tend to feel dry, worn out, like that overcooked loaf of bread. Comparable to how that burned loaf is chewy and unpleasant to eat, I am tough and unpleasant to be around when the heat of life it turned up to high, or when I’m subjected to it for too long. But just like bread, when all of the ingredients of my being are mixed to pleasing proportions, the consistency of my life is like that warm, soft loaf - satisfying.

Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye is easily one of my favorite books. I would recommend it to anyone, but especially to guys our age. It is not about sports, or gaming or anything like that. It is about a kid at boarding school who seems a bit crazy, and does not really care about life much. He swears a lot and isn't afraid to say anything about anyone. The book has a long history of being banned and challenged. Here's a history of when, where, and why it was banned. Reasons for banning the book include vulgar language, sexual references, blasphemy, undermining of family values and moral codes, Holden being a poor role model, encouragment of rebellion, and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, and promiscuity according to wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.
The main characteristic of Catcher in the Rye that makes it such a great read, is the voice of Holden Caulfield, the main character. His outlook on life is very negative, and he expresses this negativity in very odd ways that are very captivating and cool. He also just doesn't care about life much. He is very frank and tells about his life as it is. This lack of care is the main aspect of his voice that makes it such a great and entertaining book. Catcher in the Rye was written by J. D. Salenger, and you should definitely read it. (If you can, get a really old copy because they are way more fun to read, and they have that awesome "old book smell.") By the way Mrs. Reinertsen, am I supposed to italicize Catcher in the Rye, or underline it?

Blog Expectations

My name is Alex. This is my super cool blog, which I will personalize and make my own (but not post pics of myself on or use my last name on). I will always use appropriate language on my school blog and follow the conventions of the English language.

The expectation for this assignment is that I post on my blog once a week for the remainder of the school year. I am expected to comment on texts that I am viewing in the world around me. These might include, but are not limited to: books, magazines, movies, internet articles, television shows, trips to museums, etc.
Each post should be at least 200 words. Each weekly post is due by 8am on that Wednesday. Therefore, Q1 due dates are: 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, and 10/29. That makes for a total of 7 posts this first quarter. I understand that blogs are worth 100 points per quarter and are graded holistically (That means there will be no specific grading rubric). I also understand that blogging is a significant component of my quarter grade. By the way, what I have just typed is only 196 words! Now it is 200!

My Journey

I am interested in taking a musical journey. I love music and listen to and create much of my own. The type of musical journey that I am interested in taking would involve joining a band, traveling and performing with them, and meeting a lot of cool people. Through an experience like this, I would learn a lot about music, and a lot about traveling and performing live, two things that I don't have as much experience in as I'd like. The type of band that I want to be a part of would play funk, jazz, and R&B. These are my favorite types of music because they are very fun, as well as challenging for an alto saxophone player to play. Being part of a band like this would be a very interesting experience because it would allow me to meet many other people who share my interests. I practice saxophone and piano a lot so that some day I might have the opportunity of being accepted into a band where I could meet people, have a bunch of interesting experiences, become far more competent as a musician, and most of all, become involved in the type of music that I listen to.