Factoid Friday #6

"In the episode “Born this Way,” character Emma Pillsbury’s OCD is brought to the limelight when each character is asked to reveal a trait that he or she often perceives as a flaw. At first Emma hides that her OCD affects her deeply, but over the course of the episode, the once laugh-worthy quirks are replaced by portrayals of how her need for cleanliness affects many of her daily functions. The show also advocates both medication and counseling."

Quote from  http://psychcentral.com/lib/changing-media-depictions-of-mental-illness/0008213

This is a positive way that media is trying to deal with mental illness.

APA Reference
Holliday, R. (2011). Changing Media Depictions of Mental Illness. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 21, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/changing-media-depictions-of-mental-illness/0008213

Vocab Story

        Stars are a divine sanctuary. They drip from nighttime clouds like water droplets, free-falling through space, never able to land. Maybe they can see us, down here on Earth. Perhaps they realize that we are all credulous and sanctimonious creatures, drunk on fake ideas of love and life.
        "Silly humans," I'm sure they'd say, "Can't you see how small you and your problems are?" They are only a pittance of the universe, and we are simply specks of dust, sizzling on the surface of their shine. The stars cannot expiate our flaws, no matter how guilty we make them feel with our constant stories of their inevitability.
        Or perhaps they are deities, keeping us under sanction for our mistakes. They shine brightest on the darkest nights. Sometimes, even though they're gazing upon us, we cannot see them at all. This must be when they're angry at us for our sacrilege.
        Who consecrated these floating fire-orbs anyway? They're tragically beautiful. You can never get close to them, or they'll scorch you alive. You can never hide from them all, either. No matter where you go in the universe, they will follow. Whether it be in the Milky Way, or on a small planet in a galaxy not yet discovered, stars will always be around. Is that why they've received apotheosis? "God is always watching," is a common phrase within theology.

        Whatever they are: chaotic gods or peaceful demons, stars will be above us until we run out of time for existence. No one can deny that, atheists or pantheists, monotheists or polytheists. Maybe we'll never know why they hide in the heavens, but if we don't, it's probably for the best. The hierarchy of universal enlightenment keeps humans secure in the last rung. For now, we'll have to keep our feelings of star-induced insignificance close, for that's all we are able to understand.

FTA: 80-120 Quotes

"I want what you want. There isn't any me any more. Just what you want." Page 106
So this is a classic love and war. He is torn between Catherine and serving his country

"You'll never get married. . . . You'll fight before you'll marry. . . . Fight or die. That's what people do. They don't marry." Page 108
I don't think it could get any more reality of war than this. You're going to die, you can't have love forever, soon it'll be all over.

"Life isn't hard to manage when you've nothing to lose." Page 137
Reality of war and loneliness. If you don't have anything to live for, why not take the risk?

"Perhaps wars weren't won anymore. Maybe they went on forever." Page 118
Grim reality of war, it never truly ends until one side stops and leaves. Even then, the effects last forever.

Factoid Friday #5

One in four adults suffer from a mental disease or illness in the United States.

Health , N. I. O. (2014). The Numbers Count: Mental Disease in America. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml

FTA: 80 Pages Quotes

Pages 1-30

"All thinking men are atheists." Page 8
This gives us insight into his religion and government were affecting people at this time.

"Evidently it did not matter whether I was there or not." Page 16
This is the reality of war. People are gonna die even if you're there to protect them.

Catherine: "I didn't know about anything then. I thought it would be worse for him. I thought perhaps he couldn't stand it and then of course he was killed and that was the end of it."
Henry: "I don't know."Catherine: "Oh, yes," she said. "That's the end of it" Page 19

So this is love and war. Catherine lost in war, but is ready to love again.

"I did not care what I was getting into. . . . I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards. Like bridge you had to pretend you were playing for money or playing for some stakes. Nobody had mentioned what the stakes were." Page 31
This is also love in war. Henry is toying with his feeling but letting a war front stop him.


Pages 31-80

"It doesn't finish. There is no finish to war. . . . War is not won by victory. . . . One side must stop fighting. Why don't we stop fighting?" Page 50-51
This is the reality of war. It's never going to end

"I was blown up while we were eating cheese." Page 63
This is also war reality, war waits for no one.

"What you tell me about in the nights. That is not love. That is only passion and lust. When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve." Page 63
This is love and war. Henry loves Catherine, but he has a war duty.

"You cannot know about [happiness] unless you have it" Page 72
I think this falls into love. Love makes you happy, and they are hinting that henry is not happy until he is in love.

FTA: 1st 40 Pages

So far I like this book. Lt. Henry seems like an interesting character. I like that he's in the Italian army. I went to Italy this summer and loved it so having an Italy connection is nice. Now I'm not sure where I stand on Catherine yet. She seems a little too dramatic and girly for me. I don't know, I just get a vibe from her telling me not to like her, but we'll see. I'm excited to continue on.

Lost Generation

Lost Generation refers to the time between the end of World War I and the Great Depression. The literature that falls into this category tell coming of age stories during and after WWI.  Ernest Hemingway was the one to popularize the term in works such as The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast. But it is Gertrude Stein who gets credit for the term. Authors of this era included  F. Scott Fitzgerald,T. S. Eliot, John Dos Passos, Waldo Peirce, Isadora Duncan, Abraham Walkowitz, Alan Seeger, and Erich Maria Remarque. 

There are novels. paintings, dance, poetry within this genre. Including All Quiet on the Western Front

Farewell to Arms: 1st 10 Pages

So I think that I'm going to enjoy this book. I'm not sure how much I will like the characters because I tend to get picky about things, but overall it seems interesting. So far it reminds me of "A Separate Peace" and I really enjoyed that book so I hope I enjoy this one as well!

The Color Purple: 1st Ten Pages

So I read this book as a freshman. And I probably wasn't old enough and mature enough to read it then. I remember liking it, I remember being horrified at the graphic descriptions and beauty. Now reading the first ten pages is a bit different. It is graphic, violent and actually awful. But I think I can appreciate it better now. My mind is better able to process what's happening instead of just being horrified at the violence going on. I think I'd really enjoy this book now because I'm older

Factoid Friday #4

When John Steinbeck wrote "Of Mice and Men" he intended it to be both a novella and a play. The story has been adapted for film and theatre nine times since then.

Of Mice and Men. (2014, February 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:35,   March 7, 2014.

Vocab Story 7-8

        My newest mix blares out through my car speakers as I accelerate on the empty road. There's no one around, and I have no idea what the speed limit is, but I see very minimal danger in speeding along a flat, straight, desolate road. I'm still two states away from my domicile. The clock in my car tells me the time: 2:32pm. I haven't eaten since this morning. My stomach remembers and alerts me of it's voraciousness loudly.
        I don't have any food left over from my trip. There's half a pack of bottled water in the back seat, but I don't need to imbibe. I expected to be back home by now. Of course, a fine cuisine isn't going to just appear. I'll have to keep driving. Maybe soon I'll find a town.
        Ten minutes pass, then thirty. Before long, it's been 45 minutes and I'm still on the desolate road. I don't even see any animals around. But wait- there's something up there! Maybe it's a road sign or something. Hopefully it'll show an upcoming Safeway or Subway. As I get closer, however, the black blur seems to take the shape of something much more domestic. A person? No way. There is no way someone could walk along this whole road. It must be a delusion.
        I pull over as I approach the strange maybe-man. He looks like he could use a long ablution, but he doesn't stop walking at the sight of my car. In fact, he seems completely unaware of anything going on around him, in a dormant state. He's tall, much taller than me. His clothing is completely black and covered in dirt. He smells atrocious. Maybe he's a somnambulist.
        "Sir? Are you okay?" I don't get out of my car, but roll along slowly behind him. The man keeps walking. "Hey," I try again, louder. "Do you need some help?" I honk my horn quickly. The man still doesn't move. My stomach growls again, and I remember that I have to be at work tomorrow. It's 3:17 now, and I have a very long way to go. I turn around in my seat and grab three bottles of water. I don't know how I'll get them to the man if he refuses to talk, so I just open my door and place them on the ground. I feel bad for abandoning the man, but I remind myself that I really don't have time for him right now. At least I gave him something potable to drink. 
        I don't look back until I'm about thirty feet in front of where I left the man. I swerve by accident- where did he go? He was right there thirty seconds ago. Maybe I am hallucinating. I have to eat something.
        I finally roll into my driveway, 1am on the clock. I go to open the door, but I'm stopped by something on my doormat. Three empty bottles and a note: "Thanks for the water".