A Nerdy Break?

So, Winter Break is finally coming to a close. Tomorrow (which is now today because I stopped writing last night) is Sunday. Only one day left of this two week freedom that we had. So, naturally, what do I have to do tomorrow (today)? HOMEWORK!

Yes, homework. I think probably about 85 to 90 percent of the students at our school are in the same boat as me. You get a break, and every day you say to yourself “I’ll do my work tomorrow or the next day. After all, I’ve got all break to do it.” This is where we are all wrong! We just keep putting the work off until the very last second, and then we are all frantically working all of Sunday to make up for our mistake.

Now you might find yourself asking “So, what were you doing all break to make yourself so busy to hold off the work?” Yeah, about that…

I think I have been incredibly lazy this break, and I feel kind of horrible about it. I really did not do anything productive. The only things I really did over break were make cookies, sleep, and kind of be a complete nerd.

So, making cookies and sleeping: self-explanatory. Being a nerd: where to begin?

Over this break, I revitalized an old passion that I sort of dimmed down once the school year started. This passion is for Harry Potter. Yes, I know, I’m seventeen years old, and maybe it seems a little childish. Despite my age and what I think some people would say if they knew how much of a Potter nerd I am, I spent a great deal of this break reviving my passion since the summer.

I got the DVD of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for Christmas, so, obviously, I started my “nerding out” by watching it…twice. The second time I watched it, I forced my sister to watch it with me because she hadn’t seen it yet and I love it that much to make her sit down at 9:30 PM and watch it.

Apart from watching the movie, I reread the first book of the series. My goal was to reread the entire series before break was over, but I only ended up reading the first. Diving back into actually reading the books made me love the series even more. I’d honestly actually be rather reading the second book right now, but I sort of have to get this blog done. I haven’t read the first five books since I was probably about eleven years old, so refreshing my mind of the original works was nice. You can watch the movies all you want, but nothing is ever as great as the books.

So now I suppose I should justify slight obsession with these books. I love the Harry Potter series for a number of reasons. My first reason is that I love the whole magic sort of thing. I have a really quixotic (bonus points for vocab word? Maybe? Just kidding) mind sometimes, and I think that the world J.K. Rowling creates in the books is fascinating. Wouldn’t it be so cool if we could perform magic, or fly on a broom? I think that the fantasy element helps the reader to sort of get lost in the book, and really be able to envision what they are reading. I love when you can read a book and really see the story come to life. That is my second reason for loving the series.

My third reason for loving the series is that these books are probably the only ones to make me feel strong emotions while I am reading them. I don’t know if maybe it’s J.K. Rowling’s writing or the story or whatever, but when I read these books I feel emotion. This might be a little odd to admit, but I actually almost cried a little when one of the characters died in the sixth book.

So, to sum up why I am a complete nerd over the Harry Potter series, I will ask these questions: Would you rather read a book and only see words on a page that you know tell a story, but you don't really remember anything or care? Or, would you rather read a book and see an entire world come to life in your mind that makes you want to keep reading? I would choose the second option any day.

Be Italian!

Warning: Long blog ahead!

The other night, my sisters and I went to go see the movie Nine. This blog is going to be my personal review of the main actors in the movie, and my general opinion of it.

First, here is a little background on the movie. Nine is based off of the Broadway musical of the same name. The musical won the Tony for Best Musical in 1982, and the revival won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2003. The musical/movie is the story of an Italian movie director named Guido Contini, his struggle to create a new masterpiece, and the several women in his life.

In the movie, Guido is portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis. I thought that his performance was notable. Through his acting, he clearly showed how the character was feeling, and it did not seem forced or fake. His singing ability was also noteworthy, but not my favorite.

Guido’s wife, Louisa, is played by Marion Cotillard, who I had actually never heard of before this movie. I thought her performance was impressive. I loved the emotions she showed. She made me feel sympathy for the character. I also enjoyed her songs in the film. I think she sang them beautifully, and put all of the right emotions into them.

Penelope Cruz plays Guido’s mistress, Carla. Her performance was not exactly one I would go on about. I do think that she played the role well, and her acting was good. Her singing, however, was not remarkable. I mean, she hit the right notes and got the right feeling of the song, but it just didn’t blow me away.

The next woman in Guido’s life is an actress named Claudia, who has been in a majority of his movies. Claudia is portrayed by Nicole Kidman. Before seeing Nine, I had only seen Kidman play a singing part in Moulin Rouge, and I had forgotten she was even in the movie at all. I liked her performance in this movie. Her character, unfortunately, was not in a lot of the movie, but I think she played her small part extremely well. I also loved her song. I think she sang it beautifully, and it was one of my favorites in the whole movie.

The next actress I am reviewing is Judi Dench, who plays Lilli. It was a little tough to watch Judi Dench in this movie because I am actually a pretty big James Bond fan, and all I could see her as was M (Bond’s boss). Her role in this film was completely different from that boss type. Lilli is Guido’s friend and costume designer. It was a little weird to see Judi Dench playing this role because she was not so much of the leader type as she is seen in other films, and she wasn’t exactly prominent. It was also very odd to hear her singing. I think part of the reason it as weird was because her song had a French theme, and she sung it with a French accent. I did not exactly like this. I think she sang the song decently, but for some reason the French aspect of the song made me dislike it. Overall, I think Dench did a good job in this role.

Kate Hudson played an American journalist named Stephanie. Her role confused me a little. For some reason, it just seemed a little out of place. It was not really pertinent to the plot, but perhaps that is a result of changing the role between the stage and film versions of the musical. Despite my partial confusion, and the small size of the role, I think that Hudson did a fairly good job. I think she acted the role well, and I actually found her sort of humorous. Her song was a really flashy, big number with lots of dancing and sparkles and lights. I think she did notable job singing the song because it does not sound like an easy one to sing, but I just don’t like the song itself as much as some of the others.

The role of Guido’s mother is played by Sophia Loren. I do not have much to say about Loren’s performance, which, unfortunately, is a good and bad thing. I do not have much to say because I can’t remember her performance much, which is the bad part. The good part is that this means that she wasn’t so bad that I have to rant about her.

Finally, the last woman in Guido’s life is a prostitute named Saraghina. This role is portrayed by Fergie, and was easily my favorite in the entire film. Guido encounters Saraghina while he is younger (about 11 years old maybe), and she is sort of his first encounter with, for lack of better word, sex. Guido and his friends go to the beach and pay her to dance for them (because she obviously isn’t going to go the whole way with 11 year olds). Fergie’s one scene in the entire movie is Guido’s flashback to when Saraghina told he and his friends about love. The scene visual switches back and forth between the beach scene and more of a dance number on a stage covered in sand. I loved this number so much. Fergie impressed me with her singing ability. She was able to sing the song phenomenally while doing it with an Italian accent and putting all of the right emotions into it. The choreography of the scene was amazing as well. It involved a lot of tambourine moves with the sand on the stage, which created a really cool effect. This scene was definitely my favorite.

So, overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I am unable to say whether it’s a good representation of the stage musical it is based on, but I thought it was a very well done movie. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it should win all of the awards it is nominated for, but if you want to be entertained for about 2 hours, this is a good movie for it.

Participation: 12 Reasons Why

Participation is always an important part of any English class. In order for a class to discuss a topic, everyone must participate. I believe that throughout this first trimester, I have earned a high participation grade. I do not believe I have earned a perfect, 100 percent average for participation because no one is perfect, but I do think I should receive a generally high grade. In order for me to justify this belief, I have compiled a list, which I have entitled the “12 reasons why I should receive a high participation grade.”

1. I pay attention in class
2. I am always prepared, and have everything I need for a particular class day
3. I contribute to class discussions
4. I think about what is being said, and bring up new ideas or questions for discussion
5. I do not talk over my classmates
6. I do not talk over my teacher
7. I do not discuss anything that is off topic
8. I partake in games when reviewing for tests/quizzes
9. I do not act out of line when participating in above mentioned review games
10. I do not have side conversations with the people sitting next to me
11. I take notes during class discussions, powerpoints, etc.
12. I do not do anything that would be a distraction from what we are doing

In addition to this list, however, I know that there are factors that reduce my participation grade. I have not compiled these into a formal list because I do not feel there are enough of them to need a formal list. These factors are that sometimes I do not participate completely during a discussion or offer to read a passage in class. I can provide justification for these reducing factors, however.

Most of the time, I try to participate in class, but sometimes I feel that some of the other students in my class make it difficult to participate. My class has a tendency to get off topic. As a result, I feel like it is difficult to participate. This is one of the reasons why I sometimes do not fully participate in a discussion. When my class gets off topic, I usually do not have anything to say about the new topic, so I do not say anything. Another reason why I sometimes do not participate fully is that I like to think before I speak. When I want to contribute to a class discuss, I want my point to actually have a point, so I usually take a minute or so to think about what my point is, and what importance it has. This thought process can have a tendency to keep me quiet for portions of class discussions.

In conclusion, I believe that my participation grade should be somewhere between an 85 to a 95. I do not think my grade should be higher than a 95 because I do have factors that probably reduce my grade, and because no one is perfect. I think my grade should be higher than an 85 because I believe that I participate in class more than some of my classmates, and my list of 12 reasons justifies this.

Final Thoughts on The Stranger

In my last two blogs, I talked about how Camus’ random and confusing style of writing caught my attention in the first five chapters of The Stranger. After now having finished the novel, I understand Camus’ style of writing better, and I am able to form an opinion on the piece as a whole.

The Stranger is one of the only novels that I have read that has caused me to ask so many questions. There were several instances throughout the book that made me think “why did he say that?” or “why did he do that?” For example, on page 35 in chapter 4, Mersault states that Marie asks him if he loves her. He says “I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.” This moment was a “why did he say that?” moment. Mersault went out with Marie, kissed her, and did other things that would make it seem like he loved her. For him to say he didn’t think he loved her, and that he didn’t know for sure confused me.

A moment in the novel where I thought “why did he do that?” occurred in chapter 6 (of part 1). In this chapter, the magistrate is questioning Mersault so that he can create his defense for the trial. Much to his dismay, however, the magistrate does not get all of the answers he is searching for. As a result, he pulls out a silver crucifix, and begins to question Mersault’s faith. This moment confused me because it seemed so random. The magistrate practically threatens Mersault with the crucifix just because he is not responding to questions. This seems like a very rash and radical decision, and makes me view the magistrate as crazy. It also makes me view this part of the novel as a section that only catches our attention because of how unprecedented it is.

This section also brings up another theme in the story that confuses me. Even though this moment, for me, was memorable for its extremity, it did not appear to affect the plot much. After this moment, you never really hear about it again. I have noticed this theme in most of the novel. You read a section, and then it ends up having no affect on how the story turns out, or never is mentioned again. This theme bothers me because I believe that memorable moments in a book should have some significance to how the story ends or reaches a climax.

Based on the points I have made, I think it is obvious that this novel generally confused me, and left me asking questions. Despite all of the confusion, however, I liked the novel because it kept me thinking, and the random moments did capture my attention. My final thoughts on this novel are that I probably will not read it again any time soon, but I will definitely remember it and I would suggest it for people who would like to read something a bit different.

Random But Captivating

In my last blog, I discussed how I was both confused and captivated in the first two chapters of The Stranger. This blog is going to be similar. Instead of being confused and captivated for pages 25 through 47, I was captivated by a different theme. Camus can be quite random.

While reading, I also found two ways of classifying Camus’ random points. I will call them “storyline random” and “just plain random.” Both classifications are exactly what they sound like. Storyline random is a random point or statement that moves the story to the next plot point. Just plain random points are points where the narrator adds some insight into something that really does not seem to have any importance, or move the story along.

Chapter two ends with the statement “nothing had changed.” This statement itself and the statement before it is, in my opinion, the most thoughtful thing the narrator has said the entire book, so far. He suddenly switches back to his indifferent self at the beginning of chapter three.

This random jump into a new subject captivates me because of its placement. To go from a thoughtful statement such as “nothing had changed” into “I worked hard at the office today” sets you off your mindset, and that is what captivates me. It sort of keeps me guessing as to what the narrator might say next, and how it will relate to the story. This random switch is storyline random because it moves the story along.

Another random moment in chapter three is when the narrator says that he really enjoys washing his hands at lunchtime, and not any other time. This statement is just plain random, and most likely has no impact on the story. Unless his love of washing his hands at lunchtime becomes what the story is about, I am pretty sure this statement is just random and not necessarily needed. This statement, however, peaks my interest because it provides us with some insight into the character. It gives the narrator another dimension while it has no importance to the plot whatsoever.

Similarly to my last blog post, I wonder whether the author had reasons for these random points, and if he did, I wonder whether they will come around to have some sort of pertinent plot point.

Confusion and Captivation

The next novel I am going to discuss in my blog is The Stranger by Albert Camus. I have only read the first two chapters so far, and I am already feeling mixed emotions about the novel. I am confused and captivated by it at the same time.

The first sentence in the book is “Maman died today.” After reading this sentence, I immediately felt sympathy for the narrator, and expected him to go into some sort of explanation of the death. After this sentence, however, he questions whether his mother died today or yesterday. These statements confused me because they gave a sense that the narrator did not even care his mother was dead. These statements also captivated me. Even though it seems that the narrator does not care about his mother’s death, I was captivated into reading more of the story to find out how she died, or just more about the situation in general.

In addition to the beginning statements, the set up of the rest of the first two chapters confuses me. To me, the story, at this point, is just the narrator’s stream of consciousness. I see no plot or point to the story yet. Usually when I read a book, I can sort of get an idea of what the plot might be like, or what the point of the story is quickly after starting to the book. So far, the narrator’s stream of consciousness has not shed any light on what might come in his story.

I am again captivated at the same time though. As I have been reading, I have not seen any real change in the narrator’s way of expressing his story, and none of the plot points have really connected to one another. I believe that this lack of change and connection is what has captivated me into reading the story more. I want to see if the narrator will tell part of the story differently, or suddenly connect two seemingly different, unconnected plot points, and turn them into a prominent part of the story. My hope or wonder as to whether a change will occur captivates me into reading the story.

After reading the first two chapters, I know that while I continue to read this novel, I am going to want to continue to feel confused, but at the same time captivated. I feel that if the narrator continues to tell his story how he has told it in the first two chapters, I will initially think that he is crazy, and I just want to stop reading. Ultimately, I think that I will always have the tendency to stay captivated also, despite the lack of continuity. I am excited to see whether the novel does ultimately culminate into one large plot point that makes all of the previous discontinuities connected.

Enjoyment and Confusion

Blog number two of the day!

Grace Ogot’s The Rain Came is the story of a village that has not had a plentiful rain supply. The lack of rain is causing hunger and suffering. The only way for the town to get rain is if the chief’s daughter, Oganda, sacrifices herself to a sea monster.

I really enjoyed reading this story up to a point. I liked the beginning because of the vivid picture the descriptions painted with statements like “everyone moved aimlessly and fussed in the year without doing any work.” I also like the description of how chief Labong’o acts. He is supposed to be brave because he is the chief, but his own daughter is set to be sacrificed. With this burden on his shoulders, he cannot help but weep, and question what to do. I like this description of him because, to me, it gives him more depth. In some other stories, the chief fathers might just say that it is their daughter's fate and she must carry it out. In this story, however, Labong’o truly cares about his daughter, and this is visible his description.

The story continues on to describe Oganda’s actions whilst the family is discussing her fate. When I was reading the story, I started to view the scene through Oganda’s eyes at this point. I could see that she probably guessed her family was talking about her marriage because they excluded her from the discussion, and how when she heard the people singing that she must die, she was upset and scared. I liked the story at this point because I was able to get into the character's head and see the scene through their eyes.

The last thing in the story that made me enjoy it was the description of the start of Oganda’s departure. The picture is painted so vividly. I was able to see the villagers watching her and her mother hugging her. I also really liked the use of her song. Having the specific words to her song to read helped to visualize the picture that much more. The author could have just as easily said “Oganda began to sing a song to keep herself company,” but this would not have given any real meaning to the point of the song.

The end of the story, however, I did not like as much. For some reason, it bothers me that Osinda comes and saves Oganda. I feel like it does not entirely make sense. We know from the story that Osinda is the man that Oganda really would like to marry, but he is not really mentioned that much. I think that because of this, it seems random that he just appears out of nowhere and saves Oganda. In addition to thinking Osina’s appearance is random, the very ending does not make much sense to me. He saves her, and takes her to the water. Then, all of a sudden, it just starts to rain. Oganda’s fate was to die so that her village could receive rain. The ending to this story just leaves me asking the question why did it begin to rain if she did not die?