1984 by George Orwell
- Well I believe it is safe to say that this book has made me lose my trust with the government. This "Big Brother" fiasco has messed me up. I know avoid all routes that I know have a police car monitoring. I clear my history like crazy, and have stayed away from all politics because it quite frankly scares me. This book has really changed the way I think of society. It has also taught me that social psychology is a tool that powerful people use, and "Big Brother" is one of them. I can not wait to reread this book when I am older, and see how else I become paranoid with the world I live in.
FEED by M.T Anderson
- I could not say that this book changed my way of thinking. It wasn't a very influential book, but I absolutely love it. I think I like it because of the way it was written. It had a very quick, and easy story line that let you connect with the characters, but it also didn't drag on certain things. It got be aggravated, it made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me smile. Not to mention it was written so eloquently. It was written almost futuristically. The way M.T Anderson used words stayed did the futuristic time period such justice. I loved reading every word of it.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Well, I think it is safe to say I absolutely loved this book, and its sequels. I read this book series over Christmas break and it was everything I needed to get back into reading. I was really overdue for another book series to read really fast, and this was exactly what I needed. This book being the first one in the series was quite slow, but man did it pick up the pace in the end, which set it for the rest of the books. I think I liked this book the most because I could connect the best with these characters. I saw aspects of myself in each character and it just hooked me in even more. I think what initially hooked me was when Miranda's friend was killing herself because of what the church was telling her to do. I have always had a problem with the way religion is interpreted by some people. When I saw that Pfeffer was challenging those same challenges I faced, I was instantly hooked. In the second book of the series, it is very interesting how she takes a whole new light on religion. I also just liked this book because my obsession with the Moon is a problem:)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- This book just hits me in so many different feels, I don't even know how to describe it. It mainly hit in my feminist feels. It just bothered me so much what they were subjecting women to. Healthy women at that as well. I think the worst part of it all was "The Ceremony". As a fellow writer, the entire idea of it, and how being a Handmaid works was simply genius. But as a ethical person, it is just wrong. The entire book was just beautifully wrong.
So, since I loved this book so much, I made it my mission to find the movie online. I did, but I wasn't able to watch it all. I did find some rather amazing information though. Aidan Quinn played the role of Nick. Now Nick was by far my favorite character in the entire book. He was so mysterious, and you could just tell that he was hiding something that would save the day in the end. He also cared so much for Offred, that he just made my heart warm. Then I saw who played him in the movie, and my heart just melted. I absolutely love Aidan Quinn in Practical Magic and in Legends of the Fall.
World War Z by Max Brooks
- Okay, I know that it seemed like I didn't like this book in class, but I actually really enjoyed it. I think I need to reread it, and fully enjoy it. It is just one of those books that I need a bit more time to read and fully appreciate everything this book has to offer. And man does it have a lot. It just covers so much globally! What I thought was most interesting was the Redeker Plan. It has so much to entertain ethically, that I want to explore it some more. I never thought that I would ever like a book with zombies!
Monday, May 16, 2016
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Idiocracy: A Take on Modern Society
Dank… sick brah… suhhh dude… literally… streak… i can't even… broski… chollo… bfffls…
This is common lingo used in today's society. If you where a person that just came to the United States, I'm sure you would be quite confused with the everyday conversation of some people, especially from adolescence. This type of specialized lingo is utilized in the movie Idiocracy to portray a form of satire. This movie uses terms like fag, retarded, and has a very large emphasis on sex and money. The use of these words are somewhat similar to what we do today with words like nigga, and beaner. Also, the obsession of sex and money are just exaggerations on what today's society obsessed with.
What this movie did was it took a sort of serious topic of todays society, and used satire to show its obscurity. It dumbed people down because stupidity is funny for the intelligent. It made derogatory words common to show that we use them often in society, and then made them funny. It took sex and made it a very big topic for that society. People laugh at sex, but they also are always drawn to it. Have you ever heard the term that sex sells… Well yeah, it does, especially in this movie. Also, money all everyone wants in this movie. That seem's to be the the case in todays society as well.
With all of these similarities between today and the movie, I can only hope that we do not fully evolve into the people of Idiocracy. If so, I really do hope I am not around for that time. I don't think I would be able to sit and watch my society crumble the way it did.
(I hope you enjoy yet another parallel between today and Idiocracy)
This is common lingo used in today's society. If you where a person that just came to the United States, I'm sure you would be quite confused with the everyday conversation of some people, especially from adolescence. This type of specialized lingo is utilized in the movie Idiocracy to portray a form of satire. This movie uses terms like fag, retarded, and has a very large emphasis on sex and money. The use of these words are somewhat similar to what we do today with words like nigga, and beaner. Also, the obsession of sex and money are just exaggerations on what today's society obsessed with.
What this movie did was it took a sort of serious topic of todays society, and used satire to show its obscurity. It dumbed people down because stupidity is funny for the intelligent. It made derogatory words common to show that we use them often in society, and then made them funny. It took sex and made it a very big topic for that society. People laugh at sex, but they also are always drawn to it. Have you ever heard the term that sex sells… Well yeah, it does, especially in this movie. Also, money all everyone wants in this movie. That seem's to be the the case in todays society as well.
With all of these similarities between today and the movie, I can only hope that we do not fully evolve into the people of Idiocracy. If so, I really do hope I am not around for that time. I don't think I would be able to sit and watch my society crumble the way it did.
(I hope you enjoy yet another parallel between today and Idiocracy)
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Population Shortage vs. Overpopulation
Imagine a world where the sound of children playing is no longer at every corner. Where the happy family with a husband, wife, and two kids no longer exists. Where women can no longer produce children. Where the idea of a happy, healthy family is gone. This is the world that Margaret Atwood has developed in the book, The Handmaid's Tale. This story follows a woman who happens to be a "handmaid", which is a woman who's job is to produce children. They are assigned to certain households where they are made to have the child, and then give it to the woman of the house to raise it. This handmaid will never have a family, never have a husband, will never know a loving touch in her entire life. The question is, why are women subjected to such a position? Why is this happening?
The book doesn't give much information on the topic, but from what is given we know that there are toxins in the air that have polluted women's bodies. Thus, a fetus does not have the nutrients to grow into a fully functioning child. Only a certain amount of women have the ability to have children, and they are placed as handmaids.
A handmaids job is to make sure the sound of children playing at every corner comes back, and that the sight of a happy family of four is once again attainable. Their job is to repopulate in a world where they have lost so many lives.
The opposite seems to be happening in the world today. Today we find ourselves facing overpopulation. Especially in countries like China, Mexico, and Brazil. Overpopulation has presented itself with it's own set of problems; food shortages, human suffering, collapses in global diversity, and space shortages. In today's society, the sound of children on every corner is heard everyday, all day. That happy family of four is actually a happy family of eight. We may not have a sustaining humanity problem like presented in The Handmaid's Tale, but the other problems presented could lead just to that. With food shortages, and human suffering, the death tole will increase. With the collapse in global diversity, we lose certain animals that are essential to our ecosystem. With space shortages, disease and bacteria is more likely to spread. We may not be dealing with population shortages, but with the way we are dealing with overpopulation, we may lead ourselves straight to being handmaids.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-tal/overpopulation-is-still-t_b_3990646.html
The book doesn't give much information on the topic, but from what is given we know that there are toxins in the air that have polluted women's bodies. Thus, a fetus does not have the nutrients to grow into a fully functioning child. Only a certain amount of women have the ability to have children, and they are placed as handmaids.
A handmaids job is to make sure the sound of children playing at every corner comes back, and that the sight of a happy family of four is once again attainable. Their job is to repopulate in a world where they have lost so many lives.
The opposite seems to be happening in the world today. Today we find ourselves facing overpopulation. Especially in countries like China, Mexico, and Brazil. Overpopulation has presented itself with it's own set of problems; food shortages, human suffering, collapses in global diversity, and space shortages. In today's society, the sound of children on every corner is heard everyday, all day. That happy family of four is actually a happy family of eight. We may not have a sustaining humanity problem like presented in The Handmaid's Tale, but the other problems presented could lead just to that. With food shortages, and human suffering, the death tole will increase. With the collapse in global diversity, we lose certain animals that are essential to our ecosystem. With space shortages, disease and bacteria is more likely to spread. We may not be dealing with population shortages, but with the way we are dealing with overpopulation, we may lead ourselves straight to being handmaids.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-tal/overpopulation-is-still-t_b_3990646.html
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Children of Men- A Story of Theo Faron
Theo Faron. From the beginning, he is just a man that has been through too much; a revolution, death of his child, separation of a family. Sadness, depression, and loss surrounds his life making him seem like the last person on earth who would end up doing the right thing. He is lost and confused in his crumbling life, only finding drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with it all. But some how, in the twisted world that he lives in where everything goes wrong, he found a right. The question is, when did he find this "right"? When did he realize what he needed to do in his life to make everything all good again?
"Y'know that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it last." -Julian Taylor (Children of Men).
Theo realized what he should do when he was told that he would die. Yes, his own wife told him so, but it was then that he was finally becoming alive. When he was told that his ear cells are dying, it was really just himself that was, so why not "Enjoy it while it last"? It was the sounds of his wife's words that woke him up, and showed him life again. It was the words of his wife that he continued on, because as Jasper was saying, they are like yin and yang. They are opposites, but they draw to one another. Julian lived through Theo and that is why he was to die in the end. One can not live while the other does not.
"Y'know that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it last." -Julian Taylor (Children of Men).
Theo realized what he should do when he was told that he would die. Yes, his own wife told him so, but it was then that he was finally becoming alive. When he was told that his ear cells are dying, it was really just himself that was, so why not "Enjoy it while it last"? It was the sounds of his wife's words that woke him up, and showed him life again. It was the words of his wife that he continued on, because as Jasper was saying, they are like yin and yang. They are opposites, but they draw to one another. Julian lived through Theo and that is why he was to die in the end. One can not live while the other does not.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Feed the Starving Children
The stale air, part ash part oxygen had a crisp feel to it. Its freezing temperature seemed to have imbedded into his bones. The layers of clothing on his back felt coarse on his paper thin skin. Everything that touched his body was uncomfortable and hurt, but there was no escaping it. He sat on the mattress with his sister, who shivered under her sheets. A painful churning errupted in his stomach. The knot of pain felt was a familiar pain. It is the pain of starvation. He felt as if he could scream, but the energy to has been long gone. In an attempt to make the pain go away, he shuffled himself up to warm up some snow water. It may not be food, but it is something to fill his stomach with. Standing caused a million aches and pain to resurface themselves throughout his body. His energy slowly escaping him. A fog of black seemed to close in on him as he reached for the water. A vision of black, and the calling of his name are the last things to happen. His name, his name was "Johnny".
This, this event which is completely fictional is what could have happened if Johnny was not given extra food in the Life As We Knew It book. A debate that we had in class was why was Johnny given more food than the others, and why did the mother make this executive decision? Being the oldest of my three sibling, I would gladly give my younger brother more food over myself, but for others this was not the case. Because of this, I would like to give you a visual of what would have happened to Johnny if he was starved even more so than his older siblings…
Yes, little Johnny would have not been able to grow correctly, and would of been the first to die if this were so. His mother made sure he ate more because she was trying to make sure all of her children survived. She was not picking favorites, or deciding who was more worthy of eating food. She knew that her older children were able to survive with less food, but Johnny was not. Him being younger, makes him weaker, and more likely to die of starvation.
Unfortunately child starvation doesn't just happen in this fictional book. It actually happens in todays society, and more so in third world countries such as Africa. It may not be prevalent in America, but throughout the world it is so. A company that is trying to aid this terrible problem is "Feed My Starving Children". Their goal is to solve child starvation by providing food for the body and mind in these third world countries.
Now I know that America is not a third world country in the book, because this is happening to the entire world, but the same thing that is happening to Johnny is happening to another child on the other side of the world. The only difference could be that Johnny has a mother, and the other may not.
https://www.fmsc.org/about Go to this link to learn more about My Starving Children and donate.
This, this event which is completely fictional is what could have happened if Johnny was not given extra food in the Life As We Knew It book. A debate that we had in class was why was Johnny given more food than the others, and why did the mother make this executive decision? Being the oldest of my three sibling, I would gladly give my younger brother more food over myself, but for others this was not the case. Because of this, I would like to give you a visual of what would have happened to Johnny if he was starved even more so than his older siblings…
Unfortunately child starvation doesn't just happen in this fictional book. It actually happens in todays society, and more so in third world countries such as Africa. It may not be prevalent in America, but throughout the world it is so. A company that is trying to aid this terrible problem is "Feed My Starving Children". Their goal is to solve child starvation by providing food for the body and mind in these third world countries.
Now I know that America is not a third world country in the book, because this is happening to the entire world, but the same thing that is happening to Johnny is happening to another child on the other side of the world. The only difference could be that Johnny has a mother, and the other may not.
https://www.fmsc.org/about Go to this link to learn more about My Starving Children and donate.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Resist The FEED
To be perfectly honest, I am not okay with a device in my brain that causes lesions, and that has the potential to kill me if it breaks. If this device was outside of my body, then I see no reason to resist it. It does what I want. It shows me what I love, and it does so without hurting me. If anything, it is helping me identify who I am. In psychology, it is stated that Identification is the hardest development curve for adolescence. So, the FEED that doesn't effect my body, YES, I am all for that. The FEED in my brain, yeah no. Not happening! EVER!
FEED Model 2016 S
Description: This girl loves three things in this world: Animals, Books, and Ballet.
Her love for animals enhanced when she became a Vegan. It was then that she decided that her goal in life is to save as many animals as she can. She hopes to foster pregnant Cats or any cats needed, own two cats, two dogs, and a Tiger/Lion.
Her love for Ballet started at a very young age, and has only grown. She hopes to become a professional ballet dancer with the Royal Opera Ballet in London, England. Her favorite ballerina's being Marianela Nunez (The Royal Opera Ballet), Alina Cojacaru (The Royal Opera Ballet), and Svetlana Zakharova (The Bolshoi Ballet). Her favorite ballets being Giselle, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet. She is currently obsessed with watching the Balcony Pas de Deux from Romeo and Juliet.
Likes:
- Ballerina's (on and off stage).
-Dance wear (warm-ups/leotards/tutu's)
-Books (at a cheep price:) )
-Animals for sale/ Foster families
- Music (classical is my favorite/Twenty-One Pilots)
Dislikes:
- Food Posts
- Spoilers
- Not being able to go to my favorite ballet
- Deep/Emotional Posts
Marketing Strategies:
1. Show her a kitten wearing a tutu and she is sold!
2. Any pretty picture of a professional ballerina doing something and she will love it. Especially if it is Marianela Nunez.
3. Use funny book puns. Her ability to apply Harry Potter to every aspect of her life is quite impressive. Have fun topping it.
4. Advertise every single performance opportunity of her favorite Companies. Give her cheep deals, and appealing times.
Ideal Product:
iProvide- this app allows one to search whatever they want, and it provides it for you. If you want to search Svetlana Zakharova's Giselle Second Act, it will provide. If you want to search Cute Pictures of Kittens in Tutu's, it will provide. If you want to re-read the Harry Potter Series, it will…..provide.
Just for fun (you probably wont watch it, or if you do, you wont finish it), here is a link to Svetlana Zakharova's Giselle Second Act……it makes me cry…every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6--QRj8fUA
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