The OWL

When I first clicked the link to the "website of the week," I had absolutely no idea what to expect. However, when the page loaded, I found this site quite helpful.

I believe the Purdue Online Writing Lab is a clever tool for writers. The resource links on the website offer a lot of assistance to writers. With one clcik, you can learn the basics: the corrcet MLA format, the correct APA format, creating a thesis, avoiding plagiarism, writing a business letter, and developing a resume. Sometimes, I forget how to do these things, or I'm unsure if I am doing things correctly. With a website like this, I won't have to worry anymore. After bookmarking the page, I will be able to find the answers that i need fast!

Another cool feature of this website is the bright orange button that reads "The Purdue Online Writing Lab." When I clicked on it, a page loaded that gives writers direction on the whole writing process itself. There are numerous links that offer help in various types of writing. There are links for professional and academic writers. In addition, there's specific information for those writers who are in courses like social science or engineering.

I like this website because it answers almost every question that any writer would have. I get amazed with every click because each link is narrowed down, providing a fast and easy way to find answers. I am totally bookmarking this, and so should you!

Thank you, Ms. Fletcher! =]

Website of the week is a helpful one!

This website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ (provided by Ms. Fletcher) is probably one of the best, if not the best, website for retrieving information on multiple topics concerning writing.

Upon clicking on the link, I expected a typical website with only a few links and topics about writing. Although, when the page loaded up on my laptop, I soon found that this site provided way more than I expected.

It includes: writing and teaching writing, research, grammar and mechanics, style guides, ESL, and job search and professional writing. These are just the featured topics centered on the website. The side right bar has countless resources for writing, such as: creating thesis statements, MLA and APA formatting, avoiding plagiarism, developing business letters and even tips on how to write a resume!

For a more in-depth look into the site, you may want to click on the link “Purdue OWL”. This has anything and everything a writer may need for almost any occasion. I definitely bookmarked this website for future references. And considering that college is right around the corner, which typically means lots and lots of paper, this website is a keeper.

Chris' Way of Life

While reading chapters eleven and twelve of Into the Wild,Chris' family and friends describes him as always being competitive, adventurous,and stubborn. They say he was always a pleasant child, but when it came to giving him instructions he did not like to follow them. Chris and his parents relationship was not always wonderful. In high school Chris did not plan on attending college, he wanted to work a job and earn a living that way. Since his parents had already experienced poverty before they did not want Chris to struggle in life form not receiving his degree. Walt and Billie insisted that he attend, but he thought of attending college as a useless and unnecessary goal. After Chris graduated from high school his parents dissuaded him from traveling but he went anyway and frequently contacted his parents. He traveled across the Texas plains and through Mexico and Arizona. He arrived back home two days before his fall term at Emory University. Chris only arrived back home to please his parents and attend college. After he achieved "their goal" of graduating, he officially disappeared and traveled into the wild. It's almost like he was planning to abandoned and divorce his parents from his life all along. He was just waiting until he completed everything they wanted him to do.

Chris is Kool

I don't think its weird that Chris likes to go out and explore and stuff. I mean I personally am a person who likes nature as well. Although I definetly wouldn't leave everyone and everything behind, I do like to sometimes go fishing, or go camping or something. Chris wanting to leave everything behind is perfectly normal to me. Just think about it. As a teenager in a middle class family, I don't have enough money to just buy whatever I want. And - wouldn't have played football if I thought my college was going to be free. Therefore I work hard and do things that will help me be successful. And being successful to a person like me is being wealthy..lots of money, but after lots of money, there's not much else to work for. Now if I were born with money, then being successful would mean nothing to me. I would already have what I've worked for. Therefore, Chris had perfect reason to burn his money and start a new life. "TO BE NORMAL"

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

I looked at the website of the week which is this thing called Purdue Online Writing Lab which basically has everything! It is pretty nifty and I have to congratulate Fletcher for finding this! Good job! <3 It is made by the students and staff of Purdue University. They advise you on how to use MLA or APA formats, give you tips and explain what a resume should look like and they even have these tips on how to avoid plagiarism. It's pretty cool if you ever need help writing things. They have this place for middle and high school students and teachers to go to. It has tips on how to search the web and the whole "writing process." It's really handy and I think I will bookmark it...

If you have a case of Reading ADD...

When it comes to reading books, sometimes we just can't focus. So if you suffer from Reading ADD I have a book for you! It is called How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers. It's a book filled with a bunch of short stories most of them only one or two pages long. Each story has its own message and characters basically each one is special. I don't really like to summarize things because I'm scared to ruin the stories but I really recommend this book. The way Eggers writes is so mind-boggling and descriptive. His words just make his stories come to life. What is really cool about this book is that you don't have to remember what the stories before said to understand the next one. You don't even have to read it cover to cover. Some of them, I’ll admit, are not really appropriate but that's okay you'll get over it. Two of them I believe have sexual content one more uhm descriptive then the other so if you get offended by that kind of stuff don't even bother reading "Quiet" or "The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water," the second being my favorite! This book has a very wide variety of stories which hold your attention and don't bore you with insignificant details. Eggers describes just enough without over doing it and getting straight to the point. As you can tell I'm a huge fan of this guy and I don't really know what else to say but this: READ THIS BOOK! I'm just kidding but seriously you should give it a shot. I volunteered it for Yvan's amazing idea of the book exchange just don't steal those books...that's really messed up. Well I'm rambling now so yea check out this book its really awesome.

I think you should know...

that this service is available...you can get a tattoo on one of your teeth.

I honestly don't know what to say..

I am all caught up with the reading as of Friday's work, and I still don't have anything to say.. So don't mind if I ramble for awhile. Well one of my opinions of Chris McCandles is that he is not very nice to the people he comes into contact with on his trip through the U.S. He tended to be moody from many of the people's perspectives. Quiet and to himself, then outgoing and the life of the party, to irritable in an instant. Some people I have discussed this with have said that it's because he didn't want any connection with the people he came in contact with, but then he sends these people long letters and postcards while he is away that are optimistic and thankful. In some he says he can't wait until they come in contact again and others give advice with how they should live their lives.

I just don't understand this guy, and it just adds to the pile of me not liking him. He made many bad decisions throughout the entire trip, he wasn't completely nice to the people he came in contact with, he was selfish, and he didn't fully get the "wild" experience (from what I have read). He gave up all that money in the beginning, gets rid of some gear that was necessary when "entering the wild" and then gets various jobs and uses this money to survive. I don't know where I am going with any of this.. I think I made some valid points where I stand on the argument about Chris McCandles and his decision making skills and bad attitude.

Website of the Week!

This is a good one! You need to bookmark this one!
Purdue's Online Writing Lab!

On the Flip SIde

I'm not quite sure whether or not the discussion questions we turned in last week will be posted on here, but I still want to bring this up.

Everyone that Chris encounters on the road is mindful of the fact that there exists some animosity among Chris and his parents. And while this may be true, I have a feeling that Chris isn't (or wasn't) exactly an angel child.

When people have wrong done unto them, they typically pursue revenge, either directly or indirectly. In Chris's case, this retribution came in the form of rebellion: he escaped the suffocating grip his parents exercised over him, and thus, abandoned a life of conformity.

And when he shares his feelings and experiences about his family life, he assumes the role of victim, naturally, because he wants to make himself look as innocent as possible. He wants people to sympathize with him, and this is the evidence he uses as justification for leaving because a victim mentality always seeks justification.

But while I am not complaining about him, anger with him, think him crazy, or any such ill, I cannot help but wonder about his parents' perspective about the whole situation. Because there are two poles in every magnet, and I can't help but think: What did Chris do that caused such an epic schism in the McCandless household? Sure, his parents may have caused him grief, but I want to know if this grief was reciprocated?

I am currently finishing up chapter 9, but I've had this question on my mind since about chapter 4. I've gathered that Krakauer goes into greater details about Chris's parents and home life in later chapters, but since I haven't gotten that far yet, I would appreciate if people didn't respond to this with answers that would spoil the plot for me.

Gratsi!

Is this off topic?

Dear Young Students Heading Off to College in 10 Short Weeks:
I would like you to watch this video and comment on it, please.
Love,
Fletcher

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Delicious :)

I just quickly skimmed over Fletcher's Website of the Week- Delicious. I must say that it is not what I expected. I know that Fletcher described it as a place where you can share your bookmarked site, but I was under the impression that there would be many "common" sites, oh but was I wrong.

When I first got onto the site I thought I would see bookmarks like "Yahoo", "Google", "Twitter", and "Myspace". I did not see not one of these sites. Instead I found sites on intellectual sites. Educational sites. These are sites that will help you. It is moe like asking a group of people in your , lets say, physics class on a good website, rather that asking a friend what a good website is.

I did however I did see a classic. YouTube. But this was a bookmark of YouTube's smarter olders sister (or brother). The tags for YouTube were not "funny" or "dance moves", instead they were "educational", "institutions", and "teaching". I was pleasant surprised.

I also found this handy little button that said "random bookmark" and it took me to a website that frankly I knew very little about, so you know it educational. I am glad I have stumbled over this site because in my college years I believe that I will be bookmarking like crazy.

Living the Dream

"Everett was strange. Kind of different. but him and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That's what was great about them. They tried. Not many do." - Ken Sleight

I was reading about Everett Ruess's adventures and I came across the quote above, which I wanted to share with y'all.
A lot of people are quick to judge Alex/Chris, saying that he was ungrateful of all the good things he had in life, and crazy to go off into the wild. I totally agree with them.
However, I think he would have been crazier if he had remained in civilization and done what was expected of him. He would have been crazier if he had gone to law school, graduated summa cum laude, gotten a job at a successful law firm and settled down. Why would he have been crazier? Well, it's simple, really. If he had done all those things, those things that were expected of him, but not what he wanted, he would have lived a life that was not his. He would not have followed his dream.
As children everyone has dreams. We dream of becoming surgeons, lawyers, firemen, astronauts. We hope to see every part of the world, to climb the highest mountains, to discover the undiscovered. But somewhere along the way many people lose sight of those dreams. Life happens. They are forced to settle for less than they had hoped. They are told to "stop dreaming and grow up" because their dreams will never come true. Some people accept that and stop dreaming, or more accurately, stop living. Others, on the other hand, never give up. They look for ways to make their dreams come true. They try to look for ways to be satisfied in life. Chris McCandless was one of those people. He worked to make his dream come true. Sure, his dream was a little out there, and he didn't exactly take the necessary precautions he should have, but he still did it. He did it despite what people said, he did it despite the possibility of failure. Although he died before his time, he died knowing that he had achieved his biggest dream in life. I like to believe that he died satisfied with his life accomplishments.
Some might say that I'm putting McCandless up on a pedestal and making him sound like a hero. I know it might seem so, but that's not what I'm doing at all. I'm merely pointing out the fact that he was able to do something many people are afraid to do: try to follow their dream. I just hope that as I move onto the next stage of my life that I have the same amount of courage and self-confidence he had, and that I am able to achieve all my dreams in life.

This is my second time writing this…I posted one before but I looked on the blog and it wasn’t there…=(
anyways..

This book is by Kristin Hannah. Random author, I know. I usually don’t read books by people I never heard of, but my mom recommended I read this so I gave it a shot..
This book tells the stories of two different people. Angela is a woman that was raised in a great household with loving parents and two sisters that always looked after her. She grew up to marry a man, and she was the happiest ever. There marriage fell through, however, when they couldn’t have a baby. That is all Angela ever wanted.
Lauren is a seventeen year old that grew up raising herself. She only saw her mom when she came around to take money from Angela for her next drink down at the bar. Lauren is very smart, though, and gets accepted into a very high end school. Her only problem is paying for it.
From the moment Lauren and Angela meet, they connect. Angela asks Lauren to work at their family restaurant and Lauren gladly does so. They grow close together. However, when a certain situation arises, everything changes.
This book is not full of action or extraordinary events. It is very realistic, which is why I think I like it. I recommend this to any girl(boys will get bored..). It is a very heartwarming story that leaves you with a tear in your eye.

SSR- The Things We Do For Love

This is my second time writing this…I posted one before but I looked on the blog and it wasn’t there…=(
anyways..

This book is by Kristin Hannah. Random author, I know. I usually don’t read books by people I never heard of, but my mom recommended I read this so I gave it a shot..
This book tells the stories of two different people. Angela is a woman that was raised in a great household with loving parents and two sisters that always looked after her. She grew up to marry a man, and she was the happiest ever. There marriage fell through, however, when they couldn’t have a baby. That is all Angela ever wanted.
Lauren is a seventeen year old that grew up raising herself. She only saw her mom when she came around to take money from Angela for her next drink down at the bar. Lauren is very smart, though, and gets accepted into a very high end school. Her only problem is paying for it.
From the moment Lauren and Angela meet, they connect. Angela asks Lauren to work at their family restaurant and Lauren gladly does so. They grow close together. However, when a certain situation arises, everything changes.
This book is not full of action or extraordinary events. It is very realistic, which is why I think I like it. I recommend this to any girl(boys will get bored..). It is a very heartwarming story that leaves you with a tear in your eye.

SSR Book Review- The Things We Do For Love

This book is by Kristin Hannah. A random author, I know. I never heard of her before. My mom acutally told me to read this. She always buys random books regardless of author. She is the total opposite of me; I find an author I like and just read their books. So, I decided to try something new. This book is not full of intricate vocab words, but it does not read like a teenage book. It tells the stories of two different people. One is of a woman, Angela, that was born into a loving family with two sisters and a mom that always was there for her. She married a guy and they were happily in love. Angela always dreamed of having a family; in fact it was her biggest quest in life. When her husband and her found out they were not able to reproduce, their marriage failed. Angela ended up moving back home to live with her family.
Lauren is a high schooler basically raising herself. She has an alcoholic mom that only talks to Lauren when she needs money for her next drink. At seventeen, Lauren has such high hopes and yet fears that they may never happen. She is a high achiever and gets accepted into her perfect college. She has a wonderful boyfriend that treats her nothing short of perfect. Lauren wants to leave her mom so she can start her new life.
Lauren and Angela meet and from the start they have a connection. Angela knows Lauren is in need of money so she offers her a job at the family restaraunt. Everything is perfect in these girls lives, until something unexpected happens that changes both their lives.
I would recommend this book to any girl(boys would get bored with it). It is a heartwarming story that makes you cherish your loved ones around you. It is not action-packed or extraordinary, it is very realistic, which is why I think I liked it so much. It is a great read! =)

A different Point of View

This is my first post and it is a little scattered. Please bear with me…
As I read more and more of this book, I am beginning to realize that I have no harsh feelings toward McCandless, other than him running away without a slight goodbye to his family. That part made me furious. (Even though I hear there is more to the story of his parents, I just haven’t gotten there yet). I actually look at Chris as a hero in a way. Hero, as defined by dictionary.com, is a “man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” It is obvious that he is very courageous and brave. I would never imagine going into the world alone, with or without money. Heroes in the movies are often taking care of other people and solving their problems. I actually think we stereotype heroes. In real life, heroes are not full of superhuman abilities. They do not produce spider webs, drive bat mobiles, or have x-ray vision. So, what is a hero in our world? A hero, in my eyes, is someone who does something to better them and has an impact on other people. Period. Many of us say our parents are our heroes; I think mine are too. Why? I was trying to think of a solid answer and I couldn’t. So these are my reasons. I look up to my parents. They raised four kids and now are a huge part in the lives of their six grandchildren. I love my parents. I respect my parents, which means that they raised me good. They have good morals, which they taught to me. They cherish life and make sure I do the same. All this builds up to make them my hero. They have made a huge impact on my life and everything I am today is a product of them.
Chris did make a lot of friends throughout his journey, and in the end hurt every one of them. A lot of us are saying he was selfish, and I thought that too. I still do. But the fact that he made such a huge impression on people shows a lot about who he was. He made an impact on people. So, he hurt the people when he wound up dead, but would the people he meet wish they never had met him? I doubt it because they have the memories. Chris set out to better himself and he accomplished that. It was his goal. He achieved that goal. Aren’t we taught in school that we should have goals and follow them? Well, Chris did just that. I look at him as a hero for achieving a goal and having an impact on other lives.

What an egotistical prick!

Krakauer introduces us to some people that expressed their thoughts, opinions, feelings, what have you, about McCandless's death in chapter 8. The person that caught my attention was a man named Nick Jans. His comment occupies a place in my mind not because of its implications and conclusions; he basically said what every other person who thought ill of McCandless said. Because of the way he went about presenting himself and his argument, I would like to have a nice, little, chat with him. But this would be no tittle-tattle. Sorry Jeeves, tea and crumpets will not be necessary this time around. See, we would discuss until the convo turned heated, and I'd let him have it. I mean, really let him have it. Just let the flames begin.

Before he even divulges his feelings towards McCandless, he obnoxiously begins mentioning, excuse me, "warning that it was 1:00 A.M., & he was well into a bottle of Seagram's...". I took this little crumb of information into account before I began reading and analyzing his response, so much so that I was expecting grammatical errors, spelling errors, and any other errors and signs of incompetence usually accompanied with an impaired state of mind. But after I finished reading his piece, I was unpleasantly surprised.

His argument was clear, well-constructed, and saturated with elevated vocabulary <20th>, the use of antithesis, colons, semicolons, em dashes, and other stylistic moves that suggest a high level of thinking. And then he has to end with "-- or am i missing something?"; translation, "--am I right or am I right? Ya, I am."

I hate when people try to be modest, especially when they know good and well that they're talented. And then they try to justify any ounce of failure or weakness, before they even begin, for fear that someone might detect a weakness or a flaw in them, making them not-so-great.

This is exactly what Jans did.

He composed a perfectly competent critique of McCandless's life, but lets on that he's drunk late at night. This is the lamest excuse ever. And all this just in case his response sucked, and he still wants to make himself look good.

Or am I missing something?

P.S.

BY THE WAY, I AM THE WORSE ON COMPUTERS SOOOOOO
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THOSE LINES ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BLOG
BELOW.

From the very beginning of Into the Wild, I have been fascinated (like Krakauer) with McCandless. The way each person he ever came in contact with took such a strong holding to him. Wierd as it sounds, I am totally and completely depressed that he died. I wish that I could just sit down with him and just talk. I want to know first hand exactly what made Chris McCandless so interesting (BESIDES his lust for adventure). It's like the first time I watched the movie Selena, I was only nine years old, and I was completely blind sited when she died. Honestly, I think I cried for an hour. At least in McCandless's case I knew beforehand that he died, but I still can't help but feel sad. I know some people think that he was just a selfish young guy who ran away when things didn't go his way or maybe he did what he did in order to punish his family, however, I truly believe that their was a passion inside McCandless, that none of us can fathom. Perhaps his passion is what draws me to him. I can't help but to admire him. Besides the whole Alaskan adventure and his inevitable "itchy feet," he sounds kind of dreamy...YES! I know. I am wierd, but come on ladies. He was intelligent, passionate, insightful, musical, and very cute. However, just because I have a strange "crush" or better stated a strange "infatuation" with Chris McCandless, it doesn't mean that I agree with what he did to his family. In a letter to his sister Carine, he wrote,

"Since they won't ever take me seriously, for a few months after graduation I'm going to let them think they are right, I'm going to let them think that I'm 'coming around to see their side of things' and that are relationship is stablizing. And then, once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I'm going to completely knock them out of my life."

I am so disgusted and turned off by his attitude in this letter. After reading this, my prince charming turned into a bratty five year old. The whole idea of "tricking" his parents into thinking everything was ok and than BAM he's gone, was just a horrible thing to do. Chris McCandlesss had malice intention of running away in order to hurt his parents, and that is just cruel and insensitive.

So, although McDreamy (meaning McCandless, not Grey's Anatomy's Dr. McDreamy) isn't perfect, I still like him. He wanted to explore the world in which we live, and that's exactly what he did. Of course he could have been a little smarter about his escapade, and MAYBE he would be alive today. Then again, if he would have lived, we may have never known about Chris McCandless a.k.a. Alex Supertramp.

DEATH

So I am heading into chapter 18 and I am realizing how unfortunate the events were that were leading up to Chris' death. Everything that happened to him was so unfortunate, and it was like inevitable for him to die. He escaped death so many times, and constantly played with his life like he was exempt from it. I'm trying to speed through this book because it is depressing. Like I think he was ignorant in a sense to what was out there, and because of his easy upbringing he figured that life out in the wild was going to be easy.
Yea it was cute that he cared about the animals that he killed, and he raved on and on about not being able to save the meat before it spoiled. He let his love for nature control him, and contort him from thinking about things realistically.
It was too bad that Chris died before he got to reconcile with his family. It was almost shocking when I caught the connection between Krakauer and McCandless. They were so similar in so man aspects. So Krakauer's realization shows us how things could have ended up for Chris had he survived.

i dont say much in class but...

My thoughts about chris mccandless? really, who are you? if you had never ventured out into the alaskan wilderness we wouldn't be reading this book about your life and experiences. if you had lived to tell the story, not many people would have cared. they would say "good for him" and just forget about it in a couple weeks.

these are all pretty obvious things but what i'm trying to figure out, is what are we supposed to learn from you dying out there? i can honestly say i will NEVER go out to the middle of nowhere, burn all my money, and leave all my family and friends behind just to find my "inner self". it would be like me driving to mexico one day just because i have a car to drive, its simply ridiculous. i think it's interesting to read to about, but i think your a selfish jerk for going college and getting a degree, then leaving everything and everybody you knew behind just to fulfill your dream of living in alaskan wilderness. i'm not saying he was crazy because he was a smart guy, but he could have done other things during those four years than that.

i like how he's a carefree guy and does things how he wants to do them but come on. he needed to wake up and smell the roses, because i feel like you just cant desert everything like that. really, kudos to him. he actually went out and did what he wanted to do with his life and didn't care what people thought of it. i know i've been ridiculing him for the past two paragraphs but i think it takes a lot of guts to just go and do something like this. i probably still wont understand the meaning of the book but this is what i think of it all so far...

ohh i guess this is it...it would be greatly appreciated if you didn't hate on my blog

All we need is love...right?

That is a great song by the Beatles if you didn't already know that. I'm listening to it as I post :) Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp is not crazy. In fact I don't see anything crazy about him. He marches to the beat of his own drum and I applaud him for doing so. One thing that keeps going on in my mind is that fact that he does hurt people on his journey. Most of us are saying how cruel and mean he is to do something like that to people who loved and cared about him. I'm not saying it is the right thing to do but we have to look at it from his point of view.
Chris had a goal and that goal was to live in Alaska and live off the land with no help from the outside world. It seems funny to me that this rich boy doesn't want anything to do with the money he has but more power to him. I've read farther on the book and I don't want to give anything away but a happy perfect looking family behind closed doors can be just as dysfunctional as the Osbournes. I'll really get into this when everyone has read those chapters though.
Because of what I’ve read I can understand why Chris acted the way he did. I wouldn't have acted as far as he did but he did what he believed was right and what would help him along his journey. Chris didn't want to feel tied down to anything while he was on his journey because he feared if he did let someone too close then his plans would have to be on hold and that is something Chris did not want at all.
~Please everyone read more so I can really really explain what I’m saying...Thanks:)

Daily Quote Blog

I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't.
Jules Renard(1864 - 1910)
That is the quote for today. I really like this website because I am a huge fan of quotes. I always like seeing what others say about a certain topic. I really like quotes by Mel Brooks. I update the quotes in Mr. Headley's room every week, showing others quotes that I have found amusing. I like that the daily quotes come from different catergories and that you can find quotes based on who said it or the category of the quote. There are also book reviews, a weblog that goes back to 1997. There are also forums where you can talk to others about quotes or found out who said that.
Please feel free to correct me if I did this wrong Ms. Fletcher!

Terrified of a blog?

I don't mind if this does not count towards my grade, but I wanted to say this anyways.

Looking through old entries and reading lots of conflicting ideas, I am terrified to write on this blog. To put an idea out there takes a lot of courage, to have it shot down and have someone try to shove their idea at you is discouraging.

Even in class sometimes, I feel like I cannot say a lot of what I would like to for fear of backlash from other students. It's almost like silence is the only way to keep everyone happy.

I think its worse online however, if you say something "stupid" or "not popular" in class, people can roll their eyes at you, attack you, or whatever, but its only a moment of time, a few minutes. If you forget about it, and move on, chances are no one else will remember. Online people can read things over and over, its a paper trail... (Well... not exactly paper..)

Maybe I'm acting ridiculous, but I just wanted to say I would have a hard time expressing my opinions on a blog. I will comment people however! 

Does anyone else feel this way?!

And on a side note...I do enjoy the book reviews!

Ultimate Betrayal

I was a little saddened when I finished reading Chapter twelve, and I actually had a little understanding and compassion for Chris. He found out some really shocking things about his parents, and he didn't know what to do with the information that he knew. I think that he handled it the wrong way though. He held in his resentment for his dad for the lie that he had known to be his life. He felt that his father was hypocritical, yet he didn't confront him about his problem. He just let his hate grow into something beyond his control. He hardened his heart toward his family because he felt betrayed. He had done what his family had to expected of him, but his father had made some deliberate mistakes that Chris could not forgive. I think he should have let his parents know about his findings, and then maybe he wouldn't have run off and died his lonely death. He would have kept that desire to live. He was lost emotionally, and he just needed to get away from anything that could lie to him. awww... he felt alone and betrayed. Sad right?

Pilgrim

At the end of chapter eight, Chris is described as a Pilgrim. Krakauer say that he wasn't a nutcase or incompetent but instead a pilgrim. I was caught a little off gaurd by this comparison, and so I decided to research a little into the term "pilgrim," and I agree with his findings. The term pilgrim is another word for a wanderer, or a person who travles to a shrine or holy place. When I saw this definition I have to admit that I was a little puzzled as to why Krakauer had chosen this term to refer to Chris. I then realized that Chris' holy place would be the wild, Alsaka, or whatever it was that he was searching for when he left home. The word wanderer also fits because he traveld to and fro a bit before he actually departed for Alaska. He didn't know where he was going or what he wanted but he just needed to get away. So in essence he did take on a life of a pilgrim.

That SSR Book

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is about the main character Calliope Stephandies growing up in detroit in the 1960's where she discovers that she is a hermaphrodite; raised as a girl, the body and the mind of a boy. She tells the story of how this mutation of her chromosome 5 mutated leaving her the unique genetic make-up and a troubled identity. Now 41, Cal digs into his family history to find out how he became how he is. He tells the story about a Greek family immigrating to the united states, settling in Detroit. The books goes through significant events in history: Greco-Turkish war, industrial revolution, prohibition and the depression years, also race riots, and discrimination. Once Cal's parents find out the truth of their daughter, they go to New York to see a genetics specialist. He concludes that hormones andcosmetic surgery will complete Cal's female identity. She will not be able to have kids, adoption is her only option for a normal family. She runs away, transforms herself into a boy and hitchhikes across the country.

The reader explores the the story of a girl going through puberty, tyring to fit in and questioning herself about her feelings and trying to understand the changes her body is going through. While Cal is trying to be normal she knows she is quite different from everyone else. The author uses Cal as a figure of the humane. The reader sees more than a "freak" but a person who they eventually root for at the end of the book. The authors attempts to show the readers that no matter how unique, strange, or different we are, everyone has genetic history. He really makes you care about this awkward girl in the begining of the book that you would have never of imagined of understanding her situation.

I think the book is very insightful; it shows us how to look past someones appearance. Everyone has history and a background, but just because someone is different doesnt mean we should treat them differently. i mean think about if you were in Cal's situation: imagine being an hermaphrodite; going through life especially different from everyone else. Imagine not understanding whats going on with you and your body. No comprehension of the thoughts your having and no control over the action your body makes. Imagine waking up one day and realizing that your a "freak" that you have to take dramastic measure to live as normal human being; surgically removing apart of you, not knowing which half of you is the right half. Living all your life being raised as one sex but realizing that your a whole different sex. Can you really picture a life of being a girl and second guessing yourself or your sexuality because you may like someone of the same sex; recieving mixed signals and mixed feelings.

I think the book is great, i highly recommend it. The book starts off really slowly so if your person who cannot do with the long beginings then this book may not be for you, but it does take a while for the book to unfold. Once the book does start getting into the meat of the story that it flow nicely.

I Can See Clearly Now....

I've never really bought into the whole concept of Internet blogging. At least not fully. Maybe it was Hollywood's all-to-common obstruction of reality and subliminal perversions made possible with faulty generalizations and cliche exploitations. But after spending just a few minutes on kottke.org, I am beginning to relinquish some of my misconceptions.

I previously, and still am aware, that some blogs are people-typical: nerd types, gaming types, shopping types, aspiring writer types, poser aspiring writer types, and the list meanders on. But I found "my kind of blog". It is extremely laid back and fun, and I feel a sense of camaraderie has established itself quite nicely between Jason Kottke & his commentators. He makes sure his site isn't typical and incorporates many relevant topics that are completely unrelated without being random or pointless. His topics vary from health, to news, to mini golf design contests, to science, to official font making, to cheap cars, and much more.

He starts off the discussion with a few short lines to draw people's attention & posts links to different websites where one can further investigate at his/her own pace or level. It's this atmosphere of independent dependence that I personally love: each post gives you the answers without exactly solving your problems, thus enlightening you without bombarding you with facts and opinions. You get to draw your own conclusions rather than read pages and pages of other people's conclusions and opinions, and then try to make sense of it all and make your own conlusion. The blog is competent, yet interesting. It's simple, yet simply realistic.

*SHOUT OUT TO YVAN!!!*

Check out his link, kottke.org, on the blogosphere; scroll down a little & on the right-hand side, under the subheading "Recently popular tags" click on the photography link. You can explore whatever you like from here, but I recommend/really like "The Ruins of Detroit", the first link of the passage. Cool pix, just follow the arrows, and comment back with the captions of your favs. =)

Table For One Cheap Hopeless Romantic

Alright, I'll be honest- when I buy books, I usually go for cheap. My mom will let me buy more books if I don't break the bank. So I found two books to read for this quarter. The first is called If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor which is the Young Adult Novel about a girl named Lucy, who's dad has just remarried to a woman named Mara (who has two daughters) and has just moved from San Francisco to Long Island, New York. Her dad flies out every weekend to see her, but she feels like Cinderella- also being forced to do chores and even living in the basement of the house with nothing but boxes and an air mattress. She appears to be an amazing wall flower. Then, she then met her prince, Connor, and everything quickly seems to be turning for the better. Then her prince turned out to be more of a, well narcissist. He would rather talk to her about basketball and what team will win rather than what her interests are. Maybe she kissed the wrong toad.
I will admit, this book is most likely not for someone my age. I mean, really, no one would just out of the blue ask a girl ask, knowing they would say yes. I personally would have told my stepmother to stick it where the sun doesn't shine and then walked out, and gone somewhere else. I would have threatened my stepsisters into shutting up and listening to me (they are younger than her by about three years). I also have a soft spot for underdogs. I love knowing the ending of book so that I don't internally race to the finish because I want to know how it ends. I like knowing that at least in books, the good guys always win. How sad that it never happens in real life.
The other book is called Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. I love Jodi Picoult. I always buy one of her books when I go to Target. This book is one of my favorites, coming in a close third to two of the other books by her. This book makes you question everything you know. Do you know that your name is really your name? That your parents are really your parents? The story is about a woman named Delia Hopkins, who searches for missing persons. She and her fiance Eric have a daughter named Sophie. Eric is an alcoholic who has been Delia's friend since childhood, along with Fritz, a reporter.
Then her father is arrested and tried with kidnapping- it seems that Delia really isn't Delia. Her name used to be Bethany Matthews. Her father kidnapped her and is now on trial in Arizona. Fritz is there reporting and Delia packs up her daughter and Eric to head there.
This book will have you staying up late, just trying to figure out all the twists and turns of the plot. I really like this one because it makes you really think about what would happen if all you were ever told turned out to be a lie, how someone could handle that. All of Jodi Picoult's books are like this and I definately would recommend them to anyone. I have a bunch of her books if anyone is interested, please let me know and I will lend one to you.

Into the Wild Main Idea

I have just finished chapter 9 in Into the Wild and I believe that i may have come across Krakauer's underlining thesis. I know that is novel is based on true events and that in the natural life their is not a preset thesis, but I cannot escape what Krakauer is trying to say.

In the chapters 6-9 there is a lot of talk of other people who set out to make their desires a reality and failed. Krakauer talks about Rosellini, Waterman, McCunn, Ruess, and of couse McCandless. He tells us how these men wanted something badly and they set out to do it. He tells of their struggles, of their accomplishments, and of their death. This is a pattern I am not to fond of.

I have desires that I wish to pursue, maybe not as big as McCandless but still pretty big. If I set out to do these things I feel that I could die. I am not going to lie I am a bit apprehensive now. Don't get me wrong I understand that Krakauer is doing this to compare McCandless to others before him, but the way he does it makes me believe that there is an underlying point.

Maybe Krakauer believes that these adventures are asinine and he is trying to warn his readers that if they go to such extremes it will end fatal. Perhaps I am looking too much into his style, or not loooking enough. Your opinion?

Than again, I am only on chapter 9.

SSR- the partner

I am currently reading this book by John Grisham entitled The Partner. I really enjoy his style of writing. He incorporates law into all of his pieces, and that really interests me. I have previously read A Time to Kill which was also written by him. A Time to Kill was about a little girl that was raped back before lynching was punishable. Enough said. The Partner is about this guy that stole ninety million dollars from his law firm by first faking his death, and then leaving the country. He left behind his wife and supposed child, as well as his friends and loved ones. This is a really exciting read, but I've been so busy lately that I haven't picked it up for the past three weeks. Well, he has to suffer the repercussions of his crimes. Oh, but check this out. He faked his death right.... so there is someone dead. He killed someone right. That is the main mystery.
I think that you all should read at least one of his books in your lifetime. If you all have any recommendations for me I would also appreciate them. I like romance and mystery novels. I enjoy books that are along the same lines as CSI, and other shows like that. I don't know why these things interest me. It's a little weird to me, but it's so good. When I get a book like this, I can't put it down; unless I have other work to do that prevents me from reading the way I would like.
I have also read Little Brother, Ready to Exhale, Brothers and Sister's, and a few others this quarter. Little Brother is about the government's constant eye over civilization these days. They claim that they watch us for our safety, but it is a little uncomfortable. They say that if we have nothing to hide then we shouldn't care about a constant surveillance over our lives, but I value my privacy and I would like to retain that privilege. Anyway, the book talks about the corruption within, and the provisions that they make to protect a city. The city is in turn victimised by the government rather than protected. It's really interesting, but it made me more aware. Ready to Exhale is about a group of friends that go through many relationship problems, and they help each other cop with their situations. I actually forgot what Brother's and Sister's is about. I just remember it being good.
All these book are in Ms. Fletcher's library if you're interested.

wilder and wilder

The only bad part in my opinion about McCandless' life is that he hurts so many people on his way to true freedom.He connects with every person on his journey so well with his insights and tales to come but he always leaves them hanging, waiting for more.It seems unfair that he made so many friends and his life was taken from them.As he goes more into the wild, he leaves more of himself behind with his new families.It is challenging to even embark on this independent and harsh adventure but McCandless takes it even further as he tries to convince everyone to join him and "become nomadic."Ever since I've read this passage i can't stop thinking about how our lives should be more free and nomadic.How people go day by day unfullfilled because they don't take risks.Just comes to show how the loss of McCandless will go on and his journey won't be lost because more and more people will be greatly infuenced by his outlook on life.

The Blog Assignment Handout

Mayfair High School
Senior Expository Reading and Writing Course
Second Semester Blog
http://erwcclassof2009.blogspot.com/
_________________________________________________________________

There are 3 Objectives:
• To create a community “book club” where we, as a class, can discuss the books we’ve read during SSR; to create a forum where we may share and recommend books to one another
• To discuss ideas and insights gleaned through our common reading of Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
• To explore new electronic resources (Blogs/Website of the Week) to support lifelong learning of the 21st century; to deepen and expand digital literacy

Standards:
• English Language Arts Standards for Reading & Writing
• Technology Standard
o Creativity and Innovation
• Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
o Communication and Collaboration
• Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
o Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
o Research and Information Fluency
• Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
o Digital Citizenship
• Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
•
Instructions:
• You must send an email to me at afletcher@busd.k12.ca.us
• I will send you a link; once you create a Google account (it’s free) and access the link, you are a member of the blogging community and you will be able to write and publish posts, and respond to your classmates.

SSR Blog Requirement:
• All students will post a book review for 3rd quarter, and a book review for 4th quarter; these reviews are of the books you read during our weekly SSR sessions
• Book reviews are no less than 500 words in length, and include title, author, genre, page count; a brief summary of the book (without plot spoilers), and your reaction and thoughts about the book
• To encourage discussion among students, all bloggers will comment on the posts of others three times per quarter
• All students should keep track of the date of their posts, and the titles of the posts they write or comment on

Unit Requirement (ie. Into the Wild):
• At least once per unit (Into the Wild/Childhood Love Lessons/Etc.), students will post a response to the unit to extend or generate class discussion; responses to one another are strongly encouraged.

Website of the Week/Blogs:
• Once a month, beginning in March, students will access a link to a website or blog recommended by Fletcher, and explore the site, and post a brief description of the site and an evaluation of the website’s usefulness.
• If a student has already posted about the website you visited, you may comment rather than write a new post (although you may, if you wish); however, your comment should be substantial and add new information not already provided by the other blogger

Assessment:
• Students will be assessed for the following:
o Participation — completion of all requirements (keep track!)
o Quality of writing – your voice may be more informal and conversational on a blog than in an essay, but the writing itself should be lively, engaged, authentic, and relatively free from error
o Quality of response to one another – in conjunction with the technology standard on Digital Citizenship, students must treat each other professionally and with respect; the blog is an extension of the classroom, and we work with a higher communication standard than if we were on MySpace or Facebook

These are the categories that will be in my gradebook:
SSR Blog Post 3Q
Comment on SSR Blog Posts 3Q
Into the Wild Blog Post
Into the Wild Blog Commentary
Website/Blog (March)
SSR Blog Post 4Q
Comment on SSR Blog Post 4Q
New Unit Blog Post
Website/Blog (April)

I reserve the right to add assignments and information as necessary; however, this should be enough information to get you started (if you haven’t already). We’ll cover questions in class!

What is everyone else reading?

Besides Into the Wild, what is everyone else reading? Has anyone finished their SSR book yet? If so, could they recommend it to anyone in the class? I am looking out for another book to read, because I am almost done with mine.
I’m crazy in love with my SSR book, Bel Canto! Ann Patchett is quickly becoming my new favorite author. Her style of writing is so fluid; it is an amazing break for me, from the strange or difficult assigned reading that we sometimes have to do for school.
Bel Canto is a 318 paged romance/ political thriller/ fantasy novel that starts off with a kiss. Roxane Coss, a famous soprano opera singer, was the only reason Mr. Hosokawa agreed to coming to the birthday dinner that some third world country was hosting for him. He knew that this was a pour nation and that they wanted him to build a Nansei factory here since he was the chairman of the company, but he had no intention of doing so. The only reason he came here with his translator Gen, was to hear in person Roxane Coss sing. That was at least until the terrorists invaded the vice president, Ruben Iglesias’ house and took hostage all of the people attending the celebration. Though it sounds like a basic plot, “a bunch of wealthy/important businessmen become hostages and are forced to live and work together with a group of terrorists,” Ms. Patchett reveals hidden depths within each of the characters through their interactions with one another. In the book, all of the main characters, hostages and terrorists alike, go through a transformation as they are held captive in the same house, waiting for something, anything, to happen. The hostages begin to learn all of the terrorists by name, who are mostly younger than them, and are more interested in exploring Iglesias’s mansion than being soldiers. Gen being the only translator their all the time becomes the terrorists “secretary,” doing everything from writing the names of all of the hostages to talking for everyone in the rooms needs, except for his selves’. Mr. Hosokawa trying his best to learn as much English as he can so he can talk to Ms. Coss., and Father Arguedas (also a hostage) begins to feel it is his mission from god to do whatever he can to help.
As they tell their stories to one another, they learn that even with the language barriers between them they share a common love of music. It is with their passion for music that the occupants of the house find a way to communicate with each other. It’s difficult to describe how unbelievably captivating this book is, but I recommend it to anyone who has a passion for music and romance. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

What is everyone else reading?

Besides Into the Wild, what is everyone else reading? Has anyone finished their SSR book yet? If so, could they recommend it to anyone in the class? I am looking out for another book to read, because I am almost done with mine.
I’m crazy in love with my SSR book, Bel Canto! Ann Patchett is quickly becoming my new favorite author. Her style of writing is so fluid; it is an amazing break for me, from the strange or difficult assigned reading that we sometimes have to do for school. Though it sounds like a basic plot, “a bunch of wealthy/important businessmen become hostages and are forced to live and work together with a group of terrorists, ” Ms. Patchett reveals hidden depths within each of the characters through their interactions with one another. In the book, all of the main characters, hostages and terrorists alike, go through a transformation as they are held captive in the same house, waiting for something, anything, to happen. As they tell their stories to one another, they learn that even with the language barriers between them they share a common love of music. It is with music that the occupants of the house have a way to communicate with each other. It’s difficult to describe how unbelievably captivating this book is, but I recommend it to anyone who has a passion for music and romance.

The Trailer

Just decided to include the trailer to the movie...
For some reason, I could only give the URL, I couldn't embed it.
Sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek

Crazy Indeed

Yea I see where everyone is coming from, but I think that I am entitled to my opinion. I still think he is absolutely crazy. I just don't agree with this dude, and I think he is a really rude person. I guess you can say that I am reading this book closed minded, and I wouldn't deny it. I just can't see past the people that he has mistreated and used, so ultimately I'm going to have a biased opinion throughout the entirety of this book. He struck a nerve with me, and he hasn't done much to repair it thus far in the book. It gets worse and worse.

Street Smart Or Not?

Amari I agree with you he was a smart guy. I don't doubt it! My dad (who read the book) and I were having a discussion about the book late Thursday night. We got into how he was smart, but kind of dumb in some cases. As we all know he died from starvation. What some of you might still not know is that they think that he ate a root that was bad for him in the sense that after he ate that nothing else that came in after could not be kept in the stomach. Well we were talking about the incident of him confusing roots or not seeing mold on the root, which end up aiding in the killing of McCandless. Something like that shouldn't have happened to a guy that had been used to living like this for two years now. Or his intelligence shouldn't have let him make this grave mistake.

In chapter 7 Wayne talks about Chris' thinking "gap". He says "there was gaps in [his] thinking." And he goes on to give examples that show that his commen sense wasn't to strong. Maybe that's what got in the way of him distinguishing between an edible root and one that is not. So maybe this kid was book smart, but not completely street smart. Would any of you agree? What do you guys think?

He's not stupid but he's not smart

I think that Chris McCandless is far from stupid. He was college educated and he read alot of books. He seemed to be very articulate. I think that the best way to describe him is a dare devil or a thrill seeker. I'm sure that he knew that burning all of his money and traveling with not alot of equipment wasn't the smartest idea but thats the life that he wanted to live so people just need to respect that. I can't call him crazy just because i would never ever do anything like that. i understand why people would think he was dumb or out of his mind because that is a pretty fair assumption but its still not right. Everyone is entitled to live their lives the way that they want to and that's how he wanted to live his.

I Agree

I agree with Jeremy, I don't believe that Chris McCandless was crazy, he just wanted out.
Many of us lead the same boring lives, do the same exact thing everyday, to make our parents happy. We do it because we want an education, to get a job, have a family, etc.
Some of us don't want that, they want excitement, thrill, adventure, and a sense of being.
I believe that Chris did just that, he went into the wild to find himself, to live a life that would make him happy, nobody else; he wanted his life to himself.
I think that because our generation is so technology dependent, we wouldn't dream of going "into the wild" and living that way. I know I couldn't but that's because of the way i was raised, I love showers, i hate dirt, etc.
When we watched the movie and he picked up the dirty hat he found on the ground, and wore it, i shuddered and shook my head in disapproval; I couldn't do it, but more props for him for doing it.
We are to quick to judge Chris, just because we couldn't do it, doesn't mean Chris was crazy for doing it.
Yes, he made mistakes, but at least he tried to live his life the way he wanted to.

McCandless did something none of us would dare try, and just because he died doesn’t mean we should just call him stupid and move on. His journey is the message, not the end result.

hello. prepare to listen to my opinion

CHRIS MCANDLESS IS NOT CRAZY. he simply had strong ideals, and didn't envision himself living normally in the world. Instead, he created his own way of life, and for a while, lived his dream. All one has to do is examine all the places he's been, all the great people he's met, all the adventures Chris had, and then it's easy to see his mission wasn't in vain. But most people in our great Englsih class don't seem to do this, and instead, they focus on his death and the small mistakes he made which cost Chris his life. Stop being so quick to criticize, and be open minded. It's easy to sit back and agree with the majority opinion. It's easy to nod your head and pull the "yup, he's one of those wack jobs" card. But how about this: Don't. Read the whole book all the way through, and if you still think he's crazy, then I guess anything outside of normal is impossible for you to imagine.

P.S. i hope that wasn't too angry, it's not supposed to be but now as I look at it, the tone sort of comes off as angry. I just wan't people to realize this is a NORMAL kid, and a smart one at that. He's obviously not crazy or stupid.

I Know How He Feels

I have at times wanted to do exactly what Chris did. I want to move somewhere where no one knows who I am and truthfully, who I am doesn't matter. I too, have wanted to just completely ignore my parent's very existance. If you have never felt that way, either you don't have both parents and are grateful for what you have or you are lying to yourself. Everyone at one point or another has wanted to just divorce their parents and just run away. That was what Chris did- he ran away from a life he didn't want. I know that feeling so well because it is the thought that runs through my mind every few hours. I could just get up and run away from the life I have and never turn back and live the most simplistic life where I don't have to worry about phone bills, loved ones dying, what label my clothes have on them, etc. I don't have to worry about the disappointment I feel when I look into my parent's eyes because I know I'm not good enough. He did the right thing- taking the road his parents wanted him to take and then flipping a u-turn and heading down his hidden path. I don't think he's dumb, stupid or crazy. I think he was trying to figure out who he was and how far he could push himself. Did he make mistakes? Of course. I'm not saying let's all go on his great adventure. I'm saying don't be statisified with what is in front of you, sometimes things on the side are what is right for you. That is what Chris did- he took the road that he felt was his to create.
Tiffany, you mentioned that he takes ideas from others- that is not himself being incapable of thinking for himself- it's him taking his knowledge and interepreting it his way. It's what we all do- take advice and knowledge from others and put it to our own use.

Ultimately, Chris is crazy

So about this book into the wild. I am pretty pissed at this kid Chris. He is so ungrateful, and I'm kinda like how dare he do some of the things that he has done, especially to his family. He uses people to get ahead, and then when he's done with them, he throws them aside. In the case with Franz, he really hurt him. Of course Chris didn't care because he's selfish. He hurt that little girl that had a crush on him. Oh, did you all read that note that he wrote about his parents in chapter seven? It's on page 64, or if you have a different book, the first italicized passage of this chapter. This passage totally concedes my point about how prickly this dude is. Even the people that came into contact with him said that had they known his past they wouldn't have been as friendly with him because of his relationship with his parents. I also think that he cannot think for himself. He takes the ideals of others and then incorporates them into his life. He follows the example of Thoreau; he doesn't yield to the flesh. I actually commend him for that, but he should have done that because of his own reckoning. I still think he was embarrassed at his job at McDonald's. Of course this was the life that he choose, but when his crazy life came into contact with those who are normal i think he got a little nervous about it. His colleagues said that he was a little standoffish, so he obviously had something to hide. Some feel that he just didn't want visitors and he wanted to go about his life by himself, but i think otherwise. If that were the case then he would have been the same way everywhere he went, but he wasn't. In certain atmospheres he was a little more comfortable with those around him, so he'd let them in on his secret. All in all he is really indecisive. People say that i just don't get him, but I do. He is a selfish, rich kid that thinks that everything comes easily to him. Instead of having his life handed to him he wants to work for it. Understandable, but he is whacked out.

from sarah and anissa! <3

Funny Pics & MySpace Layouts

Campbell's Introduces NEW! Primordial Soup, Chicken McCandless Style

"The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, & under the fierce conditions of trail life it grew & grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise & control."

This is the perfect metaphor for McCandless's journey. In AP Bio, we're learning about early Earth & how organisms came about. Scientists speculate that the oceans of Earth were once the ideal "primordial soup" from which life arose. Many people thought this to be a hopeless hypothesis because conditions on Earth were far from accomodating: horrifically low oxygen levels, virtually no nutrients, and an atmosphere thick with inorganic material, such as methane, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen oxides. Yet, experiments have given more weight to this argument that conditions were just right.

It turns out that the environment was a reducing (electron adding) one. in which organic compounds could easily form from simple molecules. The energy needed for such synthesis came from penetrating UV radiation because the Earth had not yet established an ozone layer. And thus, amino acids, the building blocks of life, came into existence, and life began as small, prokaryotic cells, relying on RNA for gene replication, which later became the intermediate step in DNA replication and the emergence of eukaryotic organisms, like ourselves.

McCandless is not too different from this scenario. He, a "primordial beast", with respect to the Alaskan wilderness, is so deeply committed to his quest to find meaning in his life. People doubted his load: inadequate shoes, gear, food supply, knowledge. But he was set, like clay, and he pressed on. His growth was indeed secret. He received aid when absolutely necessary, and learned by doing, or in some cases, not doing. As the story unfolds, he is becoming more and more in control of his situation, and this, too, is a growth that comes only with time.

Primordial beast?

Ya... he is.

Be Brave Be True

Kids, I like it that you are starting to risk discussion out here, so let's make a few points absolutely clear. We challenge ideas; we do not attack each other. All ideas are worth discussing, but some ideas are more legitimate than others -- they are based in the text and in what we know about human beings. We never bang on one another here. This is a class discussion, and the rules of class discussion apply here as well: respect for ideas, willingness to engage with people we do not agree with, respect and admiration for one another. All of you who have posted: I am really proud of you, and I have noted your good work in my book...

Okay! I am reading this book called Into The Wild and a young man goes to Alaska to try and find himself, and people keep trying to deter him from the dangers of going into to Alaska mountain range but I think people should just stay out of his business because what's wrong with a grown man deciding to find out the good and bad that life has to offer. That's all I'm saying!

I was thinking about how during our discussions some people think that Chris or Alex was an idiot to do what he did. I don't think that he was an idiot, I think that he was smarter then alot of people. I understand that he died and so the point he was trying to prove is meaningless now. But I don't think that when he set out to live in the wild, he was trying to make a point. He just went out there to make a life for himself that he was happy with. He was tired of living a life of rules and structure and he just wanted to get away and be happy. I think that he was smarter then the rest of us because he followed his heart and lived his dream, if only for a while. He set out and did what most of us are afraid to do, he lived his life, followed his dreams and was truly happy. Yea it ended badly and he did die but he died happy, that's the way I want to go when I do die. I'm not trying to shoot down what anyone thinks, please don't take this that way, I just wanted to get my thoughts out there I guess.

ok so i was reading Into The Wild and i found a quote that really caught my attention and here it is:

"He was alone and young and wild hearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight."

I love how descriptive it is, the words that he uses almost makes me feel as if he were explaining what McCandless was feeling by just describing the environment he was in. I specially love when he says “ alone amid a waste of wild air”. Everything just flows so simply and beautiful. I wish I could write or say things with such passion.

Fletcher Website of the Week

Try Delicious, a way to store bookmarks online (so your favorite websites are always available to you, from any computer), and a way to network with people who have also bookmarked those sites. This is an extremely useful website, and one that I recommend highly. I wish I used it MORE. Check out my weblinks: I am alexfaye57 -- all kinds of interesting links about golf, gardening, vegan cooking, and library science. Oh, and books.

21st Century Literacies

Why blog?
The blog is a little nudge in the direction of 21st Century Literacy...using the tools of technology in your educational life as well as in your social life.

When it comes to literacy, there are always insiders and outsiders. Insiders have access to text, technology and information, and use it to deepen and enrich their lives. I want you to get used to the idea that there are virtual classrooms and communities that you will be asked to participate in. This is not silly little busy work...it is dipping your toe into the world that you will be invited to join as you move into your professional lives.

The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies

Adopted by the NCTE Executive Committee, February 15, 2008

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

* Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
* Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
* Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
* Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
* Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
^ Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

An Absurd and Onerous Duty

I was reading chapter three in Into the Wild and I came across something that totally struck me. It talks about the way Chris McCandless saw his education. He saw it as "an absurd and onerous duty". When I read it, it made me mad, why? I'm not very sure about that, but maybe it is the fact that he worked so hard and in the end he didn't use that education. It just all went down the toilet. Why didn't he just start his journey before he went to college? Why didn't he "wallow" before he started to waste money on an education that he thought was absurd?If he thought it was so absurd then why do he even bother doing it in the first place? He ended up dying because he made a stupid mistake that his education couldn't fix, so why not donate all the money he got at the beginning? I guess that I'm bitter towards his attitude because I think that education is one of the most important things out there in the world. Maybe he had the Poor Little Rich Boy Disease. Just because he has had everything that he ever wanted he wanted to join the blue collar workers. I don't know why this little line in particular stuck with me and made me ask questions. Do you guys remember there was a prompt for a college essay that asked: "If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?" I think I'd choose Chris just to ask him what made him do everything he did and if he could go back and do something differently, would he?

My new favorite YouTube video.

o.m.g.

So many quotations about books and reading...amazing.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

So most of you have heard Ms. Fletcher talking about this book, but I'm going to talk about it some more.
When I first started reading the book I had no idea what it was about, it was not until I read about 50 pages that I decided to actually read the cover and see what the heck was going on.
I found out that it was about this boy who was born mute and lives in a very rural area with his mom and dad who breed dogs. What caught my attention was the fact that the dad dies. Not only does he die, he gets murder. BY HIS BROTHER. Than this sneaky guy wants to marry his late brother's widow. Intense stuff.
It was not until recently, that I actually read all that was given away in the summary. But what the summary did not tell was how Edgar found out all of this. I don't want to say too much because Ms. Fletcher hasn't gotten this far yet but I will say this, the person who shows Edgar the truth has been dead. At this point I am completely drawn in because you can see how confused, hurt, and agry is at his uncle and his mom. I just finished reading this scene where Edgar is just staring at his uncle... It is hard to explain but you can feel how much he wants revenge.
I have never read a book like this. Im usually into non-fiction serial killers or people going through terrible anguish, but this book is good. It tears open the image of a perfect life through the eyes of someone who cannot verbally tell the story.

All I can say is that if you don't know what to read, you should try it.

The City of Angels

I like to think that we're fortunate to live in California, a place that lends itself to a massive amount of diversity of all kinds. LA of course is probably the center of all this diversity. It's also no secret that I'm really big into photography, so when I came across this photographer and his latest work entitled "Walkabout", I was immediately pulled right into every piece he did. You should take a look at the photos. Each one portrays a lively mood that I think is endearing of Southern Californians. This little piece is close to my heart because I lived in East Los Angeles for awhile.
"Walkabout" by Mathieu Young

A New Fletcher Feature: Website of the Week

Your first website of the week is a science blog called Cognitive Daily, publishing "reports nearly every day on fascinating peer-reviewed developments in cognition from the most respected scientists in the field."

I Never Realized

This past weekend, my sister and I decided to spend some quality time together away from my wicked brother and his annoying cronies. We decided to go to the Long Beach Town Centre and to just look around, hoping something would catch our eyes.
We went store to store, not really satisfy with what we had found until I remembered the real reason I loved the Long Beach Town Centre- the Barnes and Nobles Book store. So my sister and I proceeded to go into the store. My sister, Michelle and I can spend about three hours in a book store and not be bored. My sister and I also have two totally different tastes in books. She prefers Nicholas Sparks and Classics, while I prefer to just hang around the cooking area and the young adults.
So there I was, standing in the two aisles of young adult books, my eyes browsing the books. I couldn't find a single book that interested me! I never realized up until this point just how picky of a reader and book buyer I am. I felt rather depressed when I only found two books. I continued around the store, carrying my unusually light load. I kept looking and found nothing.
Please help me feel better and tell me that someone has gone through this same thing.
Also, any recommendations would be very appreciated!
Ms. Fletcher- what would you think about our classes have a book exchange? If someone was done with a book and wanted to trade it with someone else...

Rainy California and Catch-22's

What happened to Sunny California? What happened to the glamorous shots of Palm trees swaying in the breeze, the sun shining brightly? I'm writing this from Ms. Fletcher's computer, the sound of rain hitting the pavement continuously is loud enough to be heard through a heavy steel door. But I'm ranting right now. I'm ranting because I get to walk home in the rain today after fourth period. I'm ranting because I want to start looking for a job so I can pay for car insurance, but I can't start looking for a job until I get car insurance. What? Weird how that works out huh? Catch-22 in effect. This is the premise of the book I've been reading, Catch-22.

The book takes place during World War II. The main character in the book is a bombardier named Yossarian. He flies dangerous combat missions, and constantly lives in the fear that he could die at any moment. He also believes that thousands of people that he hasn't even met yet are out to kill him, and is paranoid of everything. The book tells about his attempts to stay alive throughout all the madness. But there are a couple things that thwart his attempts at every turn. One is Catch-22. Catch-22 is a sneaky, underhanded and sinister idea. The idea is that a man is insane if he continually flies dangerous combat missions, and should be grounded from flying. But to be grounded, he must formally request to be grounded and by doing so proves that he is not insane and is therefore fit to fly. This is important because one of Yossarian's Commanding Officers, Colonel Cathcart, is continually raising the number of Combat Missions needed to be flown in order to be rotated back home, and Yossarian is always a couple missions away from being rotated back home, before Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions again. Yossarian attempts to get a doctor to declare him insane, it doesn't work and Yossarian is stonewalled by Catch-22.

I'm gonna stop here because I'm too lazy to keep typing, and I don't want to give away too much of the story. Some of the dialogue that takes place between characters in Catch-22 is hilarious. I would recommend reading it, but you should probably be paying close attention when you're reading it. There are a lot of colorful characters, and you have to pay close attention to what they say, otherwise you may be hard pressed to understand it. Alright, enough of me talking, don't forget to attend the Faculty-Student Basketball game tonight at 7 P.M.

Edit: Anyone that comes up with a solution to my Car Insurance/Job problem will get a double double, fries and an extra large coke from In N Out, delivered to a Sixth period class of your choice.

-Yvan

Chris McCandless/Alexander Supertramp

I thought I'd provide you with some links to Chris McCandless:

The original Outside article by Jon Krakauer.

Here is his Wikipedia entry.

A YouTube video (that you will have to access from home)...

A blogpost...

Welcome to your English class Blog

I will post here to talk to you about books, technology you should know about, and our expository writing assignments...this blog is for us, in ERWC, and just for the last few months of the year. It's an opportunity to open up a conversation among us about what we are reading, thinking about, and writing about as we approach graduation day and the start of something new.

I invite and encourage you to write here about your thoughts on college, leaving Mayfair, (and for many of you, leaving home), and moving into new routines, a new space, and new ways of spending your precious days. And, as you will see in my very next post -- writing out here and interacting with one is an assignment for class. Anyone can read this, although I do not advertise its existence out in the broader online community. But only you can post...and only after completing a brief sign up task.