Movie Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obSjR0tD_8g

Vocab Story #8

Now, we've all heard the story. Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon... But how in the world did a cow manage to jump over the moon? Cows stand in fields of grass and make weird noises, which is not the proper criterion for moon-jumping. Humans took their entire route of evolution to come close, and didn't even reach the moon until 1969, a mere 45 years ago.
        I think we can all rationalize that cows do not come equipped with rockets. We are all cognizant of the fact that the human brain is much more advanced than that of a cow. Humans are notorious for being the most advanced species, whereas all we impute cows for is their ability to chew abnormally loudly.
        Maybe this story is supposed to be a presage, warning us of the future, when cows take over the human race. Perhaps one day a brave cow will venture to jump over the moon. Hopefully, if this time comes, cows will also become conscientious of the fact that they can't breathe in space. It seems reasonable to make a prognosis that this is how the cow population will be wiped out. One day they'll be grazing peacefully, the next a rebel among them will doom the entire species.
        Maybe, though, the cows are already the dominant species, and are simply too smart to reveal their hypocrisy. They could be planning to overtake the human race in time, and we would never know. Perhaps every night after the human farmers go to bed, they have frenetic meetings about the date of this event.
        It is most likely that cows are the same animals we see in fields next to roads, lazing in the sun and grazing near streams. They probably don't run secret cow covens or rebel armies. But the story is always told a certain way, with the cow jumping over the moon. Perhaps only the author knows the cows' secret. There's something to think about.

The Right Stuff

So this story is incredibly realistic. I know that these are real people and such, but the author just brings the story to life. I can't imagine living in a state of constant fear of my husband dying. Especially not in the fifties and sixties where technology was. to very advanced, but the author can. This is only chapter one and I'm already attached to the characters. I don't want Jane to be alone. I want the wives to stop calling, and I want Pete to continue his lucky streak. I'm scared that on each page Pete will come plummeting down to his death. And again this is only chapter one.

Beat the Devil Review

Beat the Devil is a witty depiction of a classic story, an attempt at eternal life. A life full of fortune and fame, everything thing you could ever ask for. But this famous life is on a timer and everyone wants more. Everyone is greedy. This includes the character James Brown, played by himself. He is unable to give up his star life even though the contract is running out and approaches the Devil (Gary Oldman) to renegotiate. The director, Tony Scott, uses editing techniques to make this film all the more dramatic. With the use of color editing and still frames the drama is more intensified. The Driver (Clive Owens) stays remarkably calm even when his life is put on the line for Brown's fortune and fame. Driver against driver, lives are gambled in a drag race. Throughout the race Brown and his driver stay calm and determined. They Devil starts off mocking the race with a joking manner, but when he realizes he may lose, his attitude quickly changes to rage and fear. The Devil ends up losing in a firery car crash, but you can't kill the devil. A theme throughout this film is one of greed. Greed controls humans. brown put his driver on the line, as did the Devil just to keep what they wanted. The song Crossroads really explains Brown out there in the desert. It talks of the sun coming down and begging for mercy from the Lord. And then the hotel is also called Crossroads. You must make a choice, left or right. And thats exactly what Brown and the Devil must do. The cameo at the end featuring Marilyn Manson is brilliant and adds another humorous element to the film.

Harlem Renaissance Response

So I weirdly like the Harlem poem by Langston Hughes. I think it was because it was short and had rhyme scheme. I love poems that rhyme for some reason, I don't know why but I do. If a poem rhymes then I like it way more. Same reason that I liked the Cullen piece. It rhymes to a point and makes it more enjoyable to read for me. But my favorite piece was the Storm Ending by Jean Toomer.   It's short and to the point with beautiful imagery. It doesn't rhyme but it weirdly doesn't matter. I love this poem. It just draws me in with the personified imagery, which is why this poem is my favorite :)

Factoid Friday #8

The Bell Jar was first published in 1963 by Sylvia Plath under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. 

Sylvia Plath-The Bell Jar. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.sylviaplath.de/plath/belljar.html

Factoid Friday #7

Schizophrenia has 5 sub categories.
Paranoid Type
Disorganized Type
Catatonic Type
Undifferentiated Type
Residual Type

Association, A. P. (1994). Quick Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV. Washington D. C. : American Psychiatric Association.

Infomercial #2

Infomercial :)

Blood Moon Reflection

So the biggest  motif in this story was the moon. It was always there, always looming and there. Also the  song  that opened and closed the story was a motif. As for the story itself it was hard to read. I know it was probably common talk back when it was written but the grammar just drove me up a wall. And then the story itself  was Romeo and Juliet to a point. Two people fall in love who aren't supposed to and ends in death. I didn't really like the story but can understand why it's significant.

FTA: Quotes 120-200

"Life isn't hard to manage when you've nothing to lose." Page 137
There is no reason to not do something, be adventurous, this falls under love and war.

"I never think. No, by God, I don't think; I operate." Page 167 This also falls under the theme of war. War can turn you into a robot, mindlessly just trying to survive "[Many of the soldiers] were beaten to start with. They were beaten when they took them from their farms and put them in the army. That is why the peasant has wisdom, because he is defeated from the start. Put him in power and see how wise he is." Page 179This under the theme of war. War destroys people. Put someone who isn't destroyed into power and see what good can come.

"The killing came suddenly and unreasonably."

 Page 218

Shockingly this fall under the war theme again. War waits for no one. 

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.