The Conclusion - Week 22

September 22nd, 2009, 10:37 AM, I had just posted my first blog, and I was not too happy about it. When I had first heard that we were going to be posting weekly blogs, I was very excited. I thought it would be a nice change from the normal typed English assignment, and it was, but when I read that our first blog was to be about how we like to read, I was slightly disappointed. After two more weeks of writing mundane blogs, I found myself reading the prompt for our 4th blog. I finally saw a chance to write about something I could have fun with. After an hour of creative genius, I sat back and published my blog post. That was probably the most fun I have had writing in a very long time. From then on, I tried to add a little humor to the rest of my blogs, whether it fit into the prompt or not. Except for this blog, I'm tired, I have a lot of studying to do, and school is almost out, I don't want to be funny.

Many times when writing, the effort I put into the assignment often reflects how creative I can get with what I'm writing. For example I probably spent about three minutes writing my Great Expectations Photo Post, as opposed to the hour I spent on my post about the first stage of Great Expectations just a week before. This is something I really need to work on, I have plenty of boring assignments ahead of me, and I need to find a way to motivate myself. Right now, I have a delicious bratwurst in front of me that I will only eat once I finish this blog.

VISUAL AID

Now that I've talked about what I've written and what I've learned, I think I'll talk about what my blog is all about. My blog is about staying up Friday night trying to post my internet literature before 12:00, my blog is about (I was serious about the bratwurst, I'm eating it right now) inconsistent effort, my blog is about having fun less often than not. Now I will wrap up my final blog post with a quote from Mister Ed O'Brien, "When you’re making a record, a film, write a book for ages and ages you think the finishing line is miles away. Now it feels it’s in touching distance. But of course, it being a creative process, at the last bit also, you have bursts of energy, you achieve a lot of things in a small period of time and then you’re nearly there…it might slow down.".

Essay Writing - Week 21

Essays are easily my least favorite part of school. It's not uncommon for an essay to take me more than 7 hours to complete. Although I'm still working on my efficiency, I feel that I have improved greatly on the structure and balance of my essay. Along with efficiency, I also need to work on procrastination. I'll often wait until the last day to write my essay, and as a result, it's often rushed.

Another thing I need to work on is original commentary and hooks. I have a hard time finding multiple original commentaries to support my concrete details. As for my hooks, they're usually barely related to the thesis. I'm not looking forward to all the essays I will have to write in the coming years, but at least I'll be prepared.

Summer Reading List - Week 20

The two books that I'm going to pretend to want to read over the summer are Abarat: Absolute Midnight, by Clive Barker, and A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. I started reading the Abarat series when I was in 4th grade, and I loved all of the unique characters in it, particularly the main antagonist. As seen below, he looks cool.


The second book, A New Earth, was recommended to me by Oprah Winfrey. I was told that I need to awaken to my life's purpose, and that sounded good. Now that I think about it, I don't really want to read this book, I'd rather read Abarat.

Theme and Motif: Dreams - Week 19

"Get out your journals you idiots" said my teacher Mrs. Namlig. I reluctantly reached into my backpack for my journal, and as I turned to the next clean page, a thin rubber band fell out onto my lap. I quickly grabbed the rubber band, making sure no one else saw it. Then, once everyone had focused their attention onto their assignment, I withdrew my elastic device. Taking aim at my teacher, I slowly stretched out the band until it had reached its maximum stretching capacity. I then screamed and shot my deadly projectile. Just when my artillery was about to collide with Mrs. Namlig's face, my best friend stood up in front of her to turn in his paper. I screamed again, this time in horror, as I jumped out of my desk, and sprinted towards my friend, in hope of intercepting the rubber band. I was catching up, and just before the rubber band hit my friend, I dove in front of him. I dove to soon, and fell on Mrs. Namlig, killing her instantly. I then turned around just in time to see the rubber bullet blow my friend's head straight off. The elastic killer wasn't done yet, and after barreling through three other students, it smashed into the heat controller on the wall, raising the temperature in the room to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone else that the rubber band hadn't decapitated caught on fire. Just before the whole room exploded, I jumped out of the window. As I plummeted down a full story to my death, I began counting down to impact. Three...Tw- I woke up on my bedroom floor, still counting down. It took me no time at all to figure out that I was dreaming. I grabbed my backpack and checked my notebook only to find that same rubber band lying in between the pages. I was about to remove it, but then I got hungry and went downstairs.

I would have to say my view on dreams are similar to Mercutio. Dreams are the result of an idle mind and are not linked to reality. Romeo beleives too much that dreams can actually have an impact on your life, and makes most of his choices based on his dreams. This leads Romeo into a very unhealthy relationship, and ultimately his banishment and eventually, death.

Culture Shock - Exit Music (For A Film) - Week 18

	Radiohead - Exit Music (For A Film)
	Found at skreemr.com

Wake... from your sleep. The drying of your tears. Today we
escape, we escape. Pack.. and get dressed. Before your father hears us. Before
all hell breaks loose. Breathe, keep breathing. Don't lose your nerve.
Breathe, keep breathing. I can't do this alone. Sing.. us a song. A song to
keep us warm. There's such a chill, such a chill. You can laugh. A spineless
laugh. We hope your rules and wisdom choke you. Now we are one in everlasting
peace. We hope that you choke, that you choke. We hope that you choke, that you
choke. We hope that you choke, that you choke.

Exit Music (For A Film) by Radiohead is a song that lead singer Thom Yorke wrote for the ending credits of the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet. When Thom Yorke was interviewed in 1997, he said, "When we saw the scene in which Claire Danes holds the Colt 45 against her head, we started working on the song immediately. I had something with 'Romeo & Juliet' a long time already... I just couldn't believe why Romeo and Juliet, after they had made love, didn't run away together. Romeo should have packed his bags, jump out of the window and eloped with her!" This idea can also be interpreted by the lyrics, "Today we escape... Pack, and get dressed. Before your father hears us." I agree with Thom Yorke, if Romeo and Juliet had escaped from Verona and gotten away from their family, they could've avoided killing themselves.

Extra Credit

Besides the hit television program "Oprah", this class has probably been the single most important thing that has ever happened to me. Five years ago when I was morbidly obese, if you had told me that I was going to be reciting poetry, I would kill you in disbelief. Nevertheless, a few months ago, I stepped up in front of the class, and began filling my listener's ears with poetic genius. As I finished the last line, I was greeted with thunderous applause. I then began crowd surfing, a feet that would've been impossible five years ago, when my massive girth couldn't have been lifted without heavy machinery. After five days of celebration, I was placed back on the floor, and received a 28/40. I will always remember that day. Until I die, then I won't be able to remember it.

Great Expectations: Skit Prep - Week 17

The first scene that I think would make for a good skit is when Abel Magwitch and Compeyson are fighting in the marsh. This is one of the more action filled scenes in the book, and I think it would make for a very dramatic and exciting skit.

The second scene that I'm considering is when Miss Havisham falls into the fireplace and ignites into flames and Pip runs in and burns his hands trying to save her. This also would be a very exciting scene because it'd be cool to light someone on fire, and I don't mind burning my hands too much.

The final scene that I would like to preform in class is when Mrs. Joe goes insane when Orlick insults her and then Mr. Joe begins to fight with Orlick. Like the first two, this skit would be very action packed, and I feel like I could efficiently portray Mrs. Joe's insanity through my spectacular acting expertise.