Well, Isn't That Convenient.

So I recently completed Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut. At the time, I failed to realize that Timequake was one of the last books he completed. In the book, time repeats it self and all humans are forced to relive the last 10 years of their life. Though seemingly harmless, this caused worldwide confusion as the rerun ended. It focuses on Kurt Vonnegut's relationship with his fictitious alter-ego,  Kilgore Trout. Trout releases several science fiction stories he writes to a security guard through a trashcan way- the-hell-and-gone up on West 155th Street in Manhattan. The end of the story is the death of Trout at Xanadu, as apposed to his several other deaths in Vonnegut's books.

This story is quite odd. It's full of little nuggets of humor, with a senseless story line. I think that Vonnegut's humor-science fiction-non fiction-fiction frankenstein's monster esk genre, keeps me intrigued. I would read a two page chapter about his family, and have to ask my self if that was actually his family, or just fiction of his writings. This made Wikipedia my source which ended up spoiling some excellent moments that were cooking for 60 pages. I am excited to begin reading Breakfast of Champions which is a earlier Vonnegut book, about Kilgore Trout. I will compare the two books in a blogpost later.

I do however have some questions about the book. If during the Timequake, people basically watched their lives, why didn't they remember when they last had control. Also, If the universe just decided to stop growing, why did it go back and start over for ten years and then continue growing again. Though it shouldn't matter because the storyline doesn't matter in anyway. It could be about a piece of toast named Kurt Vonnegut who is friends with the hermit Kilgore Trout. Story doesn't matter so what does? The real or fictitious side stories. They make it different from the other sci-fi type stories I've read.

This was a great comedic story, and I will understand more and more as I read the previous books.

Thanks For Reading

-
 d
   r
    a
      t

Vern Is USELESS to the group

In the movie Stand By Me directed by Rob Reiner, A group of young boys go on an adventure to find the body of a dead kid their age. In the movie, though the characters are a group, the characters always divide themselves similarly.

So whenever something in the story causes the characters to split up or take watch, or even the way they act. The groups are always Gordie and Chris together and Teddy and Vern together. By the end of the movie, Teddy and Vern don't matter, the story becomes fixated on Gordie and Chris. Gordie has obvious family issues that Chris helps him feel better about. Chris has the entire town believing that he will become of nothing because of his father and family. Gordie tries to get Chris to feel better about himself, but is never as successful as Chris is to Gordie. Teddy doesn't really see his purpose in life and tries to kill himself in several parts of the movie. Teddy ends up in jail as an adult, and doesn't contribute much to the story. Vern is kind of dumb and does almost nothing important the entire movie. He does give the group the idea to find the body and tags with Teddy when the group splits.

The bullies in the movie add a sort of tension to the movie. The characters are scared of the bullies, the bullies also want the body and are going by car. Though the bullies have as much development as Vern, you can tell that if it wasn't for Eyeball, the rest of them probably would have jobs and not be terrorizing 12 year-olds.  It is a little strange that this is the first encounter between the two gangs, because if Gordie has always been friends with them and the bullies live in town, you would think that they would've clashed before. I think this is because before Gordie's older brother could protect him or the group of bullies has recently formed. Either way the movie is excellent and has a wonderful storyline.

Thanks For Reading!

-drat

Liar Lawrence

Book: Romeo and Juliet
Focus: Whom do you find to be the most interesting character in Romeo and Juliet?

I found the most interesting character to be Friar Lawrence. He can be argued to be the reason this play takes a dangerous turn. He marries Romeo and Juliet even though he doesn't think they will last as a couple. He does this only because he thinks it will bring the two families together even though it ends up causing the death of two young boys, the banishment of Romeo and the attempted marriage of Juliet and Paris. And this is only what we're up to.

Friar Lawrence beat-out Mercutio for most interesting character by a small amount. Though both of them are outside of the families and move the story along, Friar Lawrence lasts longer (literally) and effects the characters more. I also can talk about Friar Lawrence as we get deeper into the book.

As a Friar, you are a "man of god" and preach Catholicist teachings and live humbly. None of these give them the ability to perform social experiments that can have dangerous repercussions. (vocab word!) And yet Friar Lawrence does this, which makes him so interesting. His ethical code is so strange because it differs greatly from Juliet's jump into everything and Romeo's romantic look at everything. Friar Lawrence seeks to put the public first, even if that means yessing some kids to their eventual death.

Thanks For Reading!

-drat


Post Script:

What was your most interesting character?

Non-Fic Blog Post #2 ( I believe )

NY Times Upfront: CYBERWAR, page 14. by Patrica Smith   {--Link--}

This article was about how hacking and computer technology has been used as warfare. On August 15th, an Iranian computer virus destroyed 30,000 computers in Saudi Arabia. The computers belonged to one of the largest current oil companies. The virus, "erased 75 percent of the data on Aramco's corporate computers." But this isn't just a threat to Saudi Arabia, the Defense Secretary believes a "cyber pearl harbor" could be coming, and this time we want to be ready. Obama has increased work on computer attacks on Iranian nuclear factories. Simulations have been done, cyber attacks can and will be a threat to the US until we protect ourselves.

Patricia didn't really speak in a commanding tone. She listed off facts and comments about what is happening around the world, and used quotes accordingly. It ends with her leading the reader to believing that cyber war will not eventually beat out actual war and a quote. I think she wanted the readers to be a little on edge, but not to think that other countries are going to have entire cities in their hands. She definitely wanted to get across that this is a big issue, but she didn't plan to frighten readers. Another quote from the article: "You don't have to be sophisticated to do a lot of damage," was spoken by Richard Clark a former counter terrorism official, really means that with all of our technology, you don't have to do much to prove a point.

This text reminded me of a new video game being released called "Watch Dogs." In this game you control a character that lives in Chicago. Chicago is run by a computer system called CtOS. In the game you hack the CtOS to learn about your surroundings and control the city on demand. From changing traffic lights, to stopping trains, the entire city is under your control. It also includes the ability to hack bank accounts and steal info about people, just by looking at your cell phone. After reading this article I found this game come quite close to home. If cyber warfare can be a real problem in the future, why showcase something dangerous in an interactive way? It really does bug me. Its as bad as when they make movies where the world is ending. It seems a bit like pushing your luck.

Thanks For Reading!

-drat

Post Script:

Do you find this game off in any way? Write your thoughts.

Blog Post #?

Book: The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley

Wikilink <---

This book is about an eleven year-old chemist named Flavia de Luce, who discovers a dying man in her cucumber patch and a dead bird on her estate. The story takes place in England in the 1950s. Using wit and a high chemical knowledge she follows clues about her house to find the hotel room of the dead man. Flavia overhears a conversation between her war-vet dad and a suspicious man, that she assumes to be the dead man she found in her cucumber patch.

Flavia is a very interesting character. She takes on the entire world as an eleven-year-old girl. I can't tell if this unstoppable drive comes from her growing up very wealthy, or if it's just her personal character trait. Adults treat Flavia strangely. They sort of don't realize that she's serious and just play her. I specifically noticed this when she was talking to a police officer. He spoke to her semi-jokingly like she was an adult, but Flavia didn't realize that, which kind of added to her young ego. In all I don't think that the adults around her are helping and I believe that her ego will hurt her at some point throughout the book.


Thanks For Reading!

-drat

Woo Music!

Song: The Part Where He Kills You, Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory <--- LINK


Alright, this was me going overkill (pun intended) and choosing a song with no lyrics. So anyway the first 40 seconds are just creepy ominous background sounds. You can hear three overlapping patterns, it kind of makes me think of water dripping in a cave. After the strange prelude it begins with the sounds of an alarm, rhythmically matched to an orchestra. It all sounds very electronic, and after about a minute in, we get this weird drum-like solo, and then the rhythm returns but faster. It makes me think of when a cartoon character is running away from some bad guy, and hides, only to see what it was running away from. If you don't understand here's a clip.


Then about a minute later at 2:14, there's this weird bump sound, that sort of sounds like someone jumping away from their pursuer link here. Then after 2:51, one of the coexisting patterns ends for a few seconds. By the end of the song it's just this flattened, muted version of the alarm we heard earlier. Sorry if this creeped you out, but I like this song because I have no idea what it's about, write what you think in the comments below.


Thanks for reading! (and hopefully listening)


-drat

Who Will Save You Now? Blogpost # I Don't Remember

Book: The World Made By Hand by: James Howard Kunstler  (wiki) <---

The World Made By Hand, by James Howard Kunstler is a dystopian novel about the end of the world, and how it affects a small town. In Union Grove, NY, we take on the character of Robert Earle, a refugee of the end of the world. Most electricity is out, and all government has retired. Our story starts when he and his friend, Loren (the reverend of their church) stumble upon newcomers to their small suburban town. Brother Jobe (nils<) of The New Faith Church had just bought the old abandoned high school in their town, for his church to live and worship in. Only a few days later, a young boy is shot within Robert's vicinity. This raises up questions if their still is any laws, and if the shooter can be prosecuted. This also drives Brother Jobe to start introducing himself, and his church to the townspeople.

So far, this book has been startlingly realistic.  Though power occasionally flicks on, their world is dark except for those with the power to build generators. Luckily, Union Grove stayed to together, which kept them alive. I really understand these people, (after reading enough of these books) they are stuck in a tough situation, and need to find a way out. The main character talks about people making drugs and alcohol as a "public service." That reminded me of the child soldier unit, in which the soldiers used drugs to leave the horrible place they were in. However, what really spooked me was how the general store owner acted when the boy was killed:

"-nothing I can do will bring this young man back to life. This will all come out in the wash, I promise you. ... I'm personally sorry this has happened, and I wish you luck in dealing with it."

This boy died, because a man shot his dog thinking it had rabies, and he yelled at the man. The shop owner thinks this will come out in the wash. I personally think that that is in humane. Why persecute a killer when normal life might serve him justice. This kind of think may be what comes out of catastrophic events, but it still should not be stood for.

Thanks For Reading! (it took me exactly 29:30 to write this)

-drat

Post Script: Do you believe what the shop keeper said was reasonable?

Non Fic Post #1

Are You Being Tracked  (upfront magazine, Sep 3rd 2012 link <--)


This Article was about how law enforcement uses Global Positioning Systems in cell phones to solve crimes. The question brought up in this article, is if using this information is an invasion of privacy, a "violation of fourth amendment rights." (paraphrase) Though "phone tracking is a valuable weapon in emergencies like child abductions and suicide calls," many people have sued police for using cellular information without a warrant or probable cause.  Though many of those people have won their cases, the people really getting a pay day, are the phone companies.


The author wants you to think about everything you do with your own life, and how much of the time you have your cell phone. The author wants you to know that the police have automatic clearance to peek in at your life. The author wants you to feel a little worried, however safer, so if you're in a dangerous situation, cell phone technology could be your savior. Most importantly, the author wants you to know exactly how much information is out there, and he does that quite blankly, leaving you with how useful it is: "Without it, she never would have been found," said Lt. Heitkemper of Adam's County Sheriff's office in West Union, Ohio, while speaking about the attempted kidnapping of a girl, where GPS technology allowed the police to cutoff the vehicle of the kidnapper. He also tells you the other side, the fourth amendment disputes, who's profiting from it, letting you choose your own side.


It was quite relieving for me, and let me know that if my family or friends were missing, cell phone data could help us find them. It also gave me a better view of what had happens when every person has a tracking chip in their pocket, crimes get solved. It gave me more faith in modern society. I personally think its a good idea for everyone to be tracked and logged. However if this information isn't kept out of the wrong hands, cops may find themselves being tracked and cataloged by criminals. So I would be interested if this information is at high enough clearance, that anyone can't hack into it.

Thanks for reading! (sorry if this one was repetitive)

-drat

The Hunger Games (Dooh Dooh Dooh Doooo)

Reading Response #?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Let me level the playing field, Here is the wiki link but I doubt that you'll need it.

So in this dystopian trilogy, a Girl named Katniss, lives in a strange world (Panem) built on top of the remains of old civilization. (ahem America) I am reading this book for a whopping 3rd Time. Anyhoo, I am reading this again for a dystopian literature book club, which is where you will be able to find my posts in the future, on another blog. Link SOON TO COME, but back to the capitol.

 So anyway, the world is set up into separate districts by what their production is. Their only reason to exist is to fuel the capitol with supplies. The capitol is run by a 'president' snow, but it isn't quite descriptive of how much power he has as 'president.' Several years ago, (74 years) District 13 (Graphite Mining) rebelled against the capitol and many died. When the capitol eventually won the war, and obliterated District 13, The capitol invented The Hunger Games, in which each district would give up it's young, to fight to the death... on live T.V!

 Alright, the rest of the story goes, with Katniss, and a strange boy (Peeta) from her past, being entered into the Hunger Games Battle. They pretend to be in love, to keep each other alive. Peeta always loved Katniss, but Katniss loves Gale her hunting Partner... Another teenage love triangle. (that makes most of the second book unbearable) I'm not going to explain the story any further, but some great Hunger Games fanatics wrote on the wiki, so just check up there if you haven't read it.

Katniss, has a kind of despicable character type. I can't exactly explain it so well if you haven't read the entire series, but Katniss sort of plays everyone, which doesn't make me feel sad for her. I mean she is fighting for her life out there, but you can't have the best of both worlds... or it'll bite you back, and that's just what happened. Now many people may disagree, but I don't like Katniss. She is not a good person, but that's really what makes this so fun to read.

I also don't really like the world Suzanne Collins has made, why is everyone in the capitol so rich when they don't have jobs, or do anything. Also, why does everyone trust the capitol (at least for the first book) when the capitol turns your children to killers?

Thanks For Reading! (I'm not gonna attempt a joke here <---)
-drat

Post Script:

Do you believe that a society could work if some people just stood around like cows in a pasture, living off the work of others?
 

Ray Bradbury #2 (Fahrenheit 451)

Wikipedia Page <-- Click Me
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Sorry for not posting. My weekly routine was disrupted by Hurricane Sandy, so I waited for the next Wednesday.

As usual the wiki page is up top. This is going to be an odd response, because I am writing about the entire book. Fahrenheit 451 is split in three parts: The Hearth and the Salamander, The Sieve and the Sand, and Burning Bright.

The hearth and the salamander sets the story in a time in the distant future with an off and on war raging, where Guy Montag, a fireman for the city, meets his new neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. She moved in with her intellectual family, which is unusual for the time period. She talks to him about how she walks about and notices things. She speaks of how many kids her age are just killing each other, in car wrecks and other 'accidents.' It's obvious that kids like Clarisse are a dying breed of children that still ask questions. However, the fireman in this dystopian land aren't the suppressors of fire, they're the starters. It's their job to start them in the homes of book owners, because intuitive insight that is written, has become outlawed. Montag's strange relationship with his wife is also brought up in this first part. At the end of this piece, we become aware that Guy has been keeping a hidden collection of books in his house over the years. At the end he and his wife Mildred start to read out of some of the books, with their last few fragments of curiosity.

The sieve and the sand starts with Montag reading through the pile of books. Montag starts to discover the greatness of books and decides he needs to take charge. He storms off to a friend he met long ago: Faber, an out-of-work English Professor. Faber gives Montag an earpiece so he can help him figure out what kind of character Guy's Chief (Beatty) is.

The last section: burning bright, is when the firehouse is called to Montag's house, with orders to burn all the books inside. Beatty tells Guy to burn it down himself and throws him a flamethrower. Montag follows through, burns down his house. He than faces and kills Captain Beatty, burning him with the flamethrower. The rest is really just a chase to the edge of the city, where Montag meets a group of homeless book aficionados, who plan to reteach the world. Then, suddenly war is made certain, and the city gets bombed. Starting a new world from the ashes.

One of Bradbury's favorite tricks is where he uses a metaphor in a metaphor, where he has one character bring up a metaphor in conversation, and what that character says is really another metaphor. Follow that? It's okay if you don't,  I'm not sure I completely get it myself. This book as well as other Bradbury books, are quick reads, but don't miss a word, because it can make things very confusing. when Faber is first mentioned, I guess I incidentally skipped it when saving my page, so the character came out of the blue, so I went all the way back again.

Anyhoo, if you haven't read a good Sci-fi book in a while, read something of Bradbury's, you won't regret it.

Thanks For Reading! (It's amazing you could follow that, you probably couldn't)
-drat

Post Script:

What do you think would happen if we ran out of questions to answer (on earth, in society, in any specific field etc.)

Nothing is ever what it seems... On Mars!

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (2nd Response)

In the book of stories (Links^) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Bradbury uses absolutely wonderful plot twists, some obvious, others completely unexpected. In some stories, Bradbury talks about characters we honestly haven't seen in ages, brings them up, and puts them in strange situations. For instance: in one story, an old crew member (Hathaway) of Captain Wilder's is found still living on Mars, even after everyone has gone back to earth. The man and his family are living at the brink of a small town. When Wilder's crew notices that some of Hathaway's kids look a bit older than they actually are, one of them checks a nearby cemetery to find the graves of Hathaways entire family but him. Eventually Hathaway dies and tells the crew that those are really just Androids, robots that helped him keep his sanity on Mars, all alone.

When I started reading this passage, I just thought that this last remaining family would turn out to be Martians, fooling Wilder's crew and end up killing the leader of the fourth expedition. I didn't have any clue about the ending, this kept the book almost fresh. If they all ended up with the earthlings being killed by martians, It would practically be the plot of Scooby Doo. I'm not dissing Scooby Doo, but it would get dry. These plot twists have made this book stick out from other science fiction stories.

All these stories have been connected very well for just being a few pages a piece. His craft skills are uniform, but are diverse enough that all the stories don't blur together. Sorry if this one was a bit boring.

Thanks for Reading!(Its amazing you could follow that!(If you could)
  
-drat

Post Script(I need a new name for this section, anyone in the comments?)

If you were alone on a desert island, what would you do to keep yourself sane? And do you think that would actually keep you sane?

Join the soon to be stirring conversation,  Bye bye.

WE GOT ONE!!!

YAY 150 views! Thanks so much class members and other great people! Sorry, The actual post for this week is down below. THANK YOU!

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Wrath Of Mars

I am currently reading: The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. (Now I'll post the wiki page for each book I put a response on just in case my descriptions aren't good enough) If you don't know what this book is about, it's a collection of Ray's Ideas on what would happen if people attempted to conquer mars for human civilizations. It starts in a fictitious 1999 in which several space missions to mars are explained over a period of time.

Every 'story' has an incredible literary sense, as well as an underlying  importance to the real world. Each story teaches and entertains the reader simultaneously. One of my personal favorite inputs on Bradbury, was his inclusion of the Martian's ability: telepathy, to read and change ideas in a person's mind. Several of the stories I've read so far have been involving telepathy.

My favorite was an early one, if you still don't understand after my telling of the story, the name of the passage is here: The Third Expedition. You can look it up by hitting the link above. Anyway, the story goes with the third expedition landing on, a very earth-like Mars. The astronauts are at first a bit worried that they somehow made an enormous turn and landed their rocket back on earth. They find that to be impossible so they leave the rocket to find that they have been transported to a 'heaven' of sorts.  It's really a heaven just for the deceased members of the crew's family. Each crew members house and dead relatives is just, there. They all eat a delicious meal in their own home with their dead parents and grandparents. At night we see the perspective of the Captain's house where he lies pleasantly in bed across from his brother. All of a sudden, the warnings of telepathy and its deceiving powers are realized by the Captain, so he tries to escape by getting up to get a drink of water. He however doesn't realize that his 'brother' knows he isn't thirsty (by reading his mind)and shoots him before he leaves the room. A similar fate happens to the other 20+ members of the crew, and are all in caskets by morning.

I'm not quit sure why but this is the smartest way I think anyone could write a story about people with this power. I would write of a civilization without lying, or cheating. It would really level the playing field. But no. Bradbury thought of a devious plot to abduct the earthlings by using their memories against them, to make the martians look like trustful people from their earthen life.

I'm not quite done with this book, but I think its great! If you don't read Science Fiction that often, pick it up. You may like it alot. I did.

Thanks For Reading! (It's amazing you could make it through that(if you could)

-drat

Post Script:

Do you think society would break down, or build up if humans could read each others minds, as well as changing what people see and do?

Write it in the comments! Join the soon to be stirring conversation.

Animalism Pro's and Con's

Reading Response Number Five (I think)

Animal Farm! (for this one I did some research)

Okay, I read animal farm last week. It was a very quick read and was very thought provoking. Now if you don't no what it is, Animal Farm by George Orwell (pseudonymous - BIG word)is a book written about communism and is really, making fun of it. So basically Communism is the Ideology that if everyone in a society has the same amount of power, and does exactly the same thing(same amount), and makes the same amount money, everyone is equal. (Essentially removing the 'Castes' from a society) This eventually leads to problems when forming a leader, because a leader would have more power then everyone else. Once a leader is 'chosen' it morphs into a form of dictatorship, ruining the hopes of a utopian society.

Animal Farm is basically a step by step copy of the Russian Revolution. Every character is based of a real person who affected the Revolution. For example: Old Major invents "Animalism" and preaches the word to the entire farm. (incites revolution) Old Major is based off Karl Marx, the creator of Communism, they both die before the revolution. The animals, being the people of Russia, are often mislead by: Changes in the principles of animalism, amount of food/gains, reasons for someone's disappearance, and Snowball's misdeeds. It shows how stupid a society is in it's whole, and that how little you believe in the truth of something, people forget. Your opinion is meaningless in an enormous society.

When you heard about government as a child what did you believe a perfect world would be? I personally thought of a world where there was no money, and everyone had to work a bit, but could live where ever they wanted and have whatever they wanted. Those are Communist ideas. That isn't uncommon. Even today five countries are still communist. ( China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam) To tell you the truth, I believe Communism would be great is it could work. If someone could somehow figure out a way everyone could be equal, without making leaders more equal then citizens, and it worked, it would be great.

Thanks For Reading! (It's amazing you could understand that(if you could)

-drat

Post Script:

Question to any of you that respond,

Do you believe that your American lifestyle is Utopian? Why or why not?

  

Blue Bonanza!

Reading Response: "Am I Blue" by Bruce Coville

"Am I Blue" is a story about Vince, a child being bullied by Butch Carrigan, A student at his high school. Shortly after being pushed into a pile of mud on the sidewalk,Vince meets his Fairy Godfather Melvin. Melvin picks him off the street and brings him over to a nearby coffee shop. Melvin proves his magic abilities (turns his coffee to cocoa) and they start talking. Melvin is the first ever fairy godfather, on his first case. (Vince) Melvin really takes Vince's problems seriously because he himself was killed by 'gay bashing'.

Eventually he explains to Vince the third: "gay fantasy", that for one day all the gay people in the world would turn blue. This would show that gay people are everywhere, and prove that straight people do know gay people. Melvin gives Vince this vision (nicknamed Gaydar) while their sitting around in the coffee shop. About one third the coffee shop turns blue. Melvin and Vince discuss that Vince is only partially blue, because he is undecided. That night, Vince uses his second wish to have blue day. In the end it turns out that Butch Carrigan was blue, making his remarks at Vince just insecurity.

In the story, I am certain that Butch Carrigan's cruelty to Vince is based off his own insecurity, that he's gay himself. I pulled this from his only 'line' in the entire piece: "I'll 'teach you' to look at me!" He says: "I'll teach you to look at me!" You would teach someone something if it was done wrong. In fact, the guys in the alley that killed Melvin also say "I'll teach you!" I think this is the author trying to explain how some straight people assume that being gay is wrong. Now of course not all straight people think that way, but obviously (Butch) some people who are gay themselves think that being gay is wrong.

Another theme that caught my eye is the authors relationship between racism and 'gay bashing'. One of the best quotes proving this was:

"My friends and I called each other 'faggot' and 'queer' for the same reason so many black folks call each other 'nigger'--- to take the words away from the people that want to hurt us." - Melvin

I never really thought about using words this way, but it makes sense. The more you use a word, the faster it becomes the norm, so using words on each other, can break down what a word really means. I remember in fourth grade at a bullying assembly, the guy explained that words do hurt, so naturally my friend and I turn at each other and shout:
"Words! Words! Words! Words!"

But now it shows that words do hurt. You either ignore and move on, or get rid of the word itself. In all this fantastic(and occasionally banned) story tells us a lot about ourselves and who we think we are. Whether you're just not sure, or don't like who you are, you actually have to live with it. No matter how much you hurt other people it still doesn't change yourself.

Thanks For Reading! (It's Amazing you could get through that!(If you could)

-drat

DBoS Post #4

DBoS Reading Response Post #3

(Why doesn't Tab key work here?) In the story Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury, Joby is about to experience what may well be the most important day of his life. While most of us won't have to run into battle when their fourteen, Joby does. That doesn't make his life any harder than any of ours. His battle experience may be equal to the SATs for a high schooler or The MCATS in college. Everyone will have to do something life-shaping. Everyone will get to prepare for them.

        (substituted for eight spaces) Exams, Interviews, games (sports) etc. Without studying and practicing you can and will fall through the crack. This could mean no job, no scholarship, no future.
Joby's losing could cause in death. That doesn't mean your problem is smaller than Joby's. (though it could be) You're in different situations. You should never compare yourself to the character in a story that can die, you can't die. But what happens to you can be a close equivalent (I feel like I said this twice...) However if you have a general, a teacher, a friend, a parent. Just someone to set you straight and keep you in the big picture, encourage you. Without encouragement you might be as good as dead on that test.

        So in the end Joby does forge himself a fine shield of his own despair and his current understanding of the situation. And hopefully you shall also build yourself a shield riveted with hope and dreams. Maybe that shield will save your life.

                    Thanks For Reading!(Its amazing you could follow that!(if you could)
                                                   
                                                      -drat

Reading Post (?) #2

Reading Response #2 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    So far in my book, nothing controversial has happened since forty pages ago. This book is known by everyone. Dr Jekyll and the mysterious chemical that turns him into his alter-persona Mr Hyde. I'm what I guess is close to the end of the book, and they still haven't figured out that Jekyll is Hyde. It seems so obvious. I have gotten to the point that the main character has a drawer full of dusts and serums to give to a messenger, to give to Jekyll. I put Cannery Row on hold for this book, because alter-ego's and alter-persona's where always hard to think about. That in: terrible, horrible people there is the "make-up" to a good-natured, thoughtful person. It never really made sense to me. However, maybe Rambo worked at a soup kitchen on the side, or I could become a sensible person. (cue rimshot)

   Okay, now for the tough part, how this relates to my life...
It doesn't. (for now)

    I probably would be able to come with an semi-correct way that these characters play into my life but most don't exactly. No. No, actually Jekyll would have a situation closest to one I'm going to at some-point have. Let me explain. Jekyll's life is in shambles as two people fight for his spot in life. That won't happen to me (for now) other than when I'm stuck between two things and have to pick one. I'm not talking about which sandwich to buy, but the bigger decisions I will have to make in high school and college. The stuff that will morph my life. None of the other characters have anything remotely close. For Example: I probably will never have a friend that leaves every once in awhile, until someone attempts to murder him and, alright I'm nitpicking. But the example I have above is pretty good. (kinda obvious though) maybe this'll be easier to write after I finish the book. In which case I'll update it.

                      Thanks For Reading! (It's amazing you could follow that (if you could)

                                                            -Chase/or drat, I kinda like that now

Reading Response #1 To Kill A Mocking Bird

Reading Response #1
"To Kill A Mockingbird"
By Harper Lee

     Over the summer I read the classic book: "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Though I had seen the movie before (when I was around seven) I found a lot of story that I either:
- Didn't understand at the time
                      or
- Was cut out of the movie.
  
     Other than the basic characters and the ending, most of this book was new to me. Reading about this small town that was so different from the lifestyle I grew up with, was refreshing. The Book I'm currently reading: "Cannery Row" also gives me an older persons perspective of the same(ish) type of lifestyle. But there's so much to that book that even though I read it months ago, The engaging characters and conflict still run at the back of my head and every once an a while I'll just suddenly make a connection I didn't realize when I read it. Stuff I sort of sped through because, I thought it wasn't real plot, probably would have made all these other, parts I thought was filler, click in with the rest of the story. When Jem read to Ms.Dubose after he pulled up her garden, didn't seem to effect the main plot about the Radleys and the court case. Though some parts tied into that, It seemed like another story.

    Overall a fantastic book. Definitely the second best book I read this summer miles above "The Great Gatsby," which was hard to follow, repetitive and had, (I can't stress this enough) TOO MANY CHARACTERS!!!!!! I'm going to stop myself there about Gatsby and get back to To Kill A Mockingbird.
  
    So the few problems I had with this book was mainly how much book time it took for stuff to happen. Plenty of interesting, important, stuff happened, but the book kinda sped up and slowed down. I noticed it do this mostly when the time of year changed. Most of the main story happened during summer. Now this makes sense  because kids have so much freedom during the summer, but was sometimes strange because it was halfway through the book we learn who Mr. Finch is defending or why. I felt that the court case got pelted at me but, that's just my opinion. (that's all your reading, my opinion). The last quarter of the book seems to be pure action, broken up by other things I personally had figure out over time. Sorry this ends abruptly but I feel I have enough ideas on paper for now so,

  
 Thanks For Reading! (It's amazing you could follow that! (if you could))
         - Chase     

Tested

Just A Test :/

Sorry 'bout that.