A Good Suggestion?

So I got a new book. It's called The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle. Based off the synopsis, it looks, complicated to say the least. I read the first couple of chapters as well and it seems pretty cool. It was in a list of suggested books on the Amazon Kindle store. It starts out with multiple characters alternating in the chapters and I believe that eventually the characters will meet up and in someway be connected to each other. I've actually found this to be pretty typical in novels and have seen it a few times actually. The book is about a genetics doctor and an agent of the West Jakarta Police Department. Kate Warner, the doctor, is seeking out a cure for Autism while David Vale is trying to stop the Immari, a secret organization. Could it be an adaptation of the Illuminati?

I've read the Amazon synopsis a few times now, and each time it gets more and more mysterious and just mind blowing. For example, look at this quote: "The Immari are good at keeping secrets. For 2,000 years, they've hidden the truth about human evolution. They've also searched for an ancient enemy--a threat that could wipe out the human race. Now the search is over." Come on now. I wish I could draw someone into my writing like that did to me. It leaves so many questions, 
"Who's the Immari?"
"How can something wipe out the human race?"
As they say, I guess I'll have to read to find out.

The book as a whole seems to involve a lot of things about genetics, evolution, and secrets. All things which I find to be very interesting. I think it will be a great book to read and I hope I actually enjoy reading the rest of it (no offense to you heavy readers).

Column Reflection

To be honest, when it comes to the column packet, I was kind of dreading it. But I can say for a fact after reading all of the columns, it was definitely worth it. Not only because I had to read in preparation for class, but because I actually enjoyed it. I got a lot out of it and I learned some real valuable lessons. 

I chose the, "Advice, like youth..." column to model my own column after and I really felt connected to what I wrote. My column was about how to survive your freshman year and I gave all kinds of tips ranging from humorous to philosophical. I went into detail about staying in the right crowd and making good decisions but also relatable things like using a locker and being on electronics too much. I got a lot from reading the assigned one and even more from writing my own. 

Two columns that resonated in my mind were,"Something to remember for Thanksgiving" and "Man of the Streets, in Three Suites." The first one had a great intro and grabbed my attention with a relatable situation. It sounds cliché but it made me think about how much I have and how much I ask for. It relates to the second article because Nathaniel had so little but didn't let it bother him none the less. I've always had a soft spot for homeless people and it gave me hope that there are good people in the world who try to help the homeless. I just wish that some day I can help someone who isn't necessarily talented like Nathaniel. Because after all the people who give the most sometimes have the least.

Post on 14 Pages

I enjoyed reading the fourteen pages and the various passages within. I thought the first one was very cool even though I wasn't alive and don't know much about hockey. The second one was similar because it discussed the way the people backed their country in a time of struggle or even a time which needed a rise to the occasion. It further supports the idea that sports are a way to bring people together. The most confusing of the passages to me was "An Image a Little Too Carefully Coordinated." It didn't make much sense at all but I could tell that it was paired with the Kate Middleton passage for a reason. They possibly utilized different types of rhetoric in similar subjects. For the final two passages, I noticed that it was the separate parent's desires put into an individual column. The wife of the marriage wanted to organize an awesome themed party for their young child, while the dad just wanted a dog.

Theme Handout

Censorship causes diminished individual thought.

Cami Albers, Vidhan Bhardwaj, Jack Douglas, Alex Fortson, McKayla Peebles, Joann Tsai, Amanda Weis

Bell 4

Timeline:

1. Montag is a normal member of society, and comments on how Clarisse thinks too much in this censored society.
2. Beatty talks about how everything is shortened and censored so there is no room or need for thought
3. Montag realizes there is something to books, that possibly makes people happier, trying to break through the censorship.
4. Beatty attempts to rebut Montag’s realization by saying books can be used for people as well as against people.
5. Montag joins up with Faber to try and stop this censorship, but Beatty keeps trying to stop them.
6. After killing Beatty, Montag runs away where he meets a group of men, who open his mind to the world of books, thoughts and literacy.

Textual Evidence:

Part 1:

• “‘You think too many things,’ said Montag uneasily,” (Bradbury 6).
• “‘School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophers, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about the work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?’”(Bradbury 53).

Part 2:

• “‘We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I look around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years,’”(Bradbury 78).
• “‘Oh, you were scared silly,’ said Beatty, ‘for I was doing a terrible thing in using the very books you clung to, to rebut you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be,”(Bradbury 104).

Part 3:

• “It's strange, I don’t miss her, it’s strange I don’t feel much of anything,’ said Montag. ‘Even if she dies, I realized a moment ago, I don’t think I’ll feel sad. It isn’t right. Something must be wrong with me,’” (Bradbury 148).
• “The chase is still running.”...”They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick! If they started searching the whole d*** river it might take all night. So they’re sniffing a scapegoat to end things with a bang,”(Bradbury 141).

This theme contributes to the progression of the story because it shows how Montag changes his views of the society, also how he wants to change himself.

In today’s society, this theme could be seen as people trying to stop others from making their own decisions, North Korea being an example. People are forced to think as one country, not individuals when a dictator takes absolute authority.

Fahrenheit 451

Imagine a world without books. A world where your house can be incinerated by the people who should be putting it out. A world where people are so censored and controlled that they can't even read their own emotions. Where the horrors of war are covered up as no big deal. Fahrenheit 451 is an exact reflection of this nightmare.

I really liked the premise of Fahrenheit 451 and the dystopian idea of it. I just didn't like the way it was executed by Ray Bradbury. I felt like there was too much going on and I had  bit of a difficult time following it .However I liked the way that allusions played a role in the novel and I enjoyed doing research on Gandhi, Confucius, and Buddha. I learned a lot about censorship, and totalitarian governments. It made me think a lot about the way people in society are affected by literature or lack there of. A great quote that displays societies relationship with literature: “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” I made many connections to society today, and even the past. North Korea has technology they can't control as well as power and The Nazi book burnings are similar simply because they were book burnings and attempts from the government at limiting the peoples knowledge. But as a whole Fahrenheit 451 was a pretty good book that I enjoyed studying and reading.

Hearth and Salamander

Narrative

     The words stick in my mind like glue. It is all I can think about. "Go home and think of the dozen abortions you've had, go home and think of that and your damn Caesarean sections, too, and your children who hate your guts..." My children don't hate me do they? They can't, I've never done anything to them... Maybe that's it. I never have ever showed any love or affection toward them. A strange feeling bubbles inside of me as I look out the side window, the other cars flying by.

     I open the door to my bland house, back to my boring family. That poem continues to stay in my mind. I don't like this; my brain hurts. Why am I thinking so much? "I'm not really happy am I?" I contemplate. I look into the parlor and I see the same thing I see every day. The screens playing the same old rubbish it always does. I wonder if books are the answer. They can't be, why else would the government be so against them? But on the other hand, Montag is a fireman and he showed a poem to us. His job is to burn books and he read us one.

     This is not right. I pick up the phone and call Mrs. Phelps. "How are you doing Clara?" I ask her. "I am okay actually; I don't know what has gotten into me, I just cannot stop thinking about the poem." "I can't get over the fact that Montag, a fireman of all people, read to us. From a book!" I exclaim. "I am thinking about calling in an alarm or talking to Captain Beatty about the incident," Clara responds. "The thought has crossed my mind as well," I say. "I have to go my dear, the screen is playing a new feature," she says with a farewell. "Goodbye." I hang up the phone. Then I walk to the front door, open it, and exit my home. I get into the car and enter the Fire house into my navigation system. I can't help thinking to myself, "Is this the right thing to do..?"

Great Start

I started Million Dollar Arm on the plane ride home from Florida on Monday this week. I am really enjoying it so far and I think I'm going to like it even better than I liked the movie. It started off with the Major League tryout that occurred in a mall parking lot (like it did in the book). The trainer that had been working with the two boys from India, (if you aren't sure what i'm talking about please see the blog post about J.B. Bernstein because it provides background) took the cover off the mound the two had to throw off of. It was completely crooked and messed up. J.B.'s confident positive attitude declined to nervous and full of doubt. He decided to take a leap of faith in starting the reality TV show, "Million Dollar Arm," and starting the idea in general. So much depended on a few dozen pitches in a parking lot. The background before this point begins right as the ball is released from the first pitchers hand and a new chapter begins (literally).

J.B. was tired of the same old-same old when it comes to athletes and wanted to draw talent from the 1.252 billion people living in India. Surely someone could be good at baseball... His idea was to have one or two Indian boys / men successfully join and play in the MLB so that the entire country of India could start supporting the sport and possibly bring profit in. Think of Yao Ming and China's introduction to basketball. He gets to India and everything is hectic and chaotic, as you might imagine with as many people as it has. He begins his search for talent and someone who can pitch 85+ mph. He goes to many villages and cities on the hunt for this million dollar arm. He encounters struggles of all kinds and eventually perseveres and the finals take place. That is wear I left off. I think it is only going to get better as the novel goes further into character personalities now that the background is set.