Thoughts this week on Class.
Well actually let’s start with Tuesday. We watched a movie on how the Germans pretty much brainwashed their people into believing Hitler was their almighty righteous leader and that Germany was pretty much a superior race. He used different methods, like scaring the German people, if they didn’t follow him they would incur a great punishment or death. The funny part was when they had reason, and I’m not sure what the other one was called, but it was pretty much like instant attainable desires, or your wanted desires. Reason fights with it and they come to a compromise. This reminds me a lot about my old psychology class, about Sigmund Freud’s theory of the id, the ego, and the superego. The id was your basic primal desires, like food, warmth, and pleasure; it is the first structure present at birth. That’s why babies want their needs meant immediately. Then the next structure is called the ego which pretty much says you well maybe all your needs cannot be satisfied, which is sort of the mediator of the structures. The last structure present is called the Superego, which pretty much is like the one that remembers rules of society and is the polar opposite of the id, and says you can’t do that! The reason sort of reminded me of the superego and I believe they made the film based on these principles. The little child reminded me of actually the id, because it just wanted to do everything immediately and wanted needs fulfilled right away. I actually researched WWII way back in the day for one of my classes, and found out why Germany was the way they were, and why they bought into Hitler. After WWI the Germans were handed over a crushing defeat and were forced to pay money to other Nations that it lost to during the war. The Germans were in a deep recession and living very poorly because all the money made from its economy went straight to the Nations it lost to during war. This led to the deep feelings of depression and inferiority the German people endured. Then one day Hitler came along and promised to make the nation great again, and put the Germany as one of the superpowers in the world, the German people just bought right into Hitler’s radical facades about the German people being a superior race, and the German people just fell in Love with Hitler, so as in the movie Patriotism was one of the strong motivational factors for the German people believing so much in Hitler. Actually after WWII many things were changed because of what happened and many lessons were learned especially now if a country invades another country especially if it’s a superpower it ends up being that countries moral obligation to rebuild that country. Also the United Nations was created to help prevent something like this from ever happening again. Although the united Nations now is seen as a largely ineffective way of getting rid of corrupt leader, and will not act unless provoked, the one good thing about the UN is that it does have the ability to provide large amounts of economic aide, and help to poor and underdeveloped countries in time of natural disasters, or war, but is largely ineffective, because of the large amount of politics that does go on in the UN. Getting back to the movie it seems hypocritical and obvious that Disney did send the same message it was trying to say was bad. Very contradicting, but then again when I think about it the movie was aimed at young kids and America along with many other countries manipulated children a lot over its time. I believe we do and did not do so as much to the extreme as other countries did. Getting back to the book Radical Alterity I am having a hard time really getting a grasp on the message of the book. Probably one of the big reasons is I have only finished about 30 pages of the book, but I do think it may turn out to be like the book “The Ticket that Exploded.” Which was pretty much agony for me to read. I read the first part of the book and he mention Buillard’s text a lot and I’m trying to figure out what he means, maybe this is another author he doesn’t like or something, but there is really no way of knowing. Well I better get to reading the book!
Friday, January 30, 2009
My Snowball!!
This is my snowball, You try and guess the meaning, becuase its there!
I
He
She
Says
That
There
Cannot
Bewilder
Different
Distortion
Undergone
Changers
Ground
Below
This
Off
To
N
I
He
She
Says
That
There
Cannot
Bewilder
Different
Distortion
Undergone
Changers
Ground
Below
This
Off
To
N
Friday, January 23, 2009
Blog for this week 1-23-09 Thoughts on this book!
So we are really into the book called, "The Ticket That Exploded" and pretty much it has made no sense to me at all, so lets jump back in time to last week and my discoveries about the book to help clear things up...
Last week 1-15ish...
First I am taking a look at this book and am wondering what its really about! I mean "The Ticket that Exploded"! I mean the title did not make any sense at all, so I start reading the outside cover and the back cover to try and get a grasp of what this book is about, and that did not tell me much. It was pretty much just meaningless and did not get any hints about what the book was about whatsoever. I did read some people saying how great an author Burroughs was, but thats about it. Nothing really special. So I get into reading the book and determine its some kind of sci fi detective book thats a really extrememly hard read. As I get into the book more though there is weird alien sex describing texts that are just way out there and I am pretty much starting to hate the book. I start to wonder, "Is this author gay or something"? Large portions of this book seem to be about Alien gay sex, I mean really I don't want to read this! That pretty much concluded my thoughts for the end of that week.
Middle of This Week...
Things have not really changed about this book. I have tried to sit there and understand it picking out little paragraphs and analyzing them to no avail. Seems the book in just supposed to make no sense at all, and I am just never going to get the book. Besides the Bizarre sex acts in the book just really freak me out and make me not want to read the book at all! I find myself sitting there gazing at the pages reading the book but thinking about other stuff like what I'm going to eat later on in the day, or my new car that I want, or that really pretty girl in my microbiology class, anything but the book at all. So I'm about half-way through the book and just have sort of been trying to figure out the book but really just have gotten more confused than ever!
Now 1-23-09
It finally came to me! After class on thursday I know why the book makes absolutely no sense at all! It's becuase it's not supposed to! The style of writing this author used is called "The Cut Up Technique", which can be demostrated if you follow this link.
This book did make sense at one time (Although I don't see how)! It was then just cut up and made into a completely new unmeaningful story! Wow! All those relentless, tireless hours of thinking about what this book is about, was really unecessary ha! I really should have figured it out sooner! Well I always try to look on the bright side of things no matter how grim things tend to look, and I have to say maybe I did improve my reading and literary skills by really analyzing this book. I am also happy I learned a new technique of writing which may seem strange to some, but others absolutely love this guys work, and in this english class I believe it is a good idea to analyze different texts no matter how bad or how meaningless they may seem. After all there is meaning in almost anything no matter how small, or how simple something is, it has a meaning and a purpose even if we do not know the meaning or purpose.
Well and the book sort of does have a story to it. Mostly its about a virus, some police called the nova police, and a gang called the nova gang. It seems in the beginning of the book everyone was infected by a virus! Also this book was about alien sex but I really don't want to go into that. It seems as though the main character was a detective of some kind, and he was trying to find the origins of the virus? From what I gathered. i am still working on the book so I have a lot of reading to do beofre i can establish whats going on, but in class it sounded to me as though the book was really just meaningless and maybe the point of the book was to do something that was really tough, like read a random book thats not an easy read, that does not make sense from front to back, and call it good! So thats what I'll have to do!
Last week 1-15ish...
First I am taking a look at this book and am wondering what its really about! I mean "The Ticket that Exploded"! I mean the title did not make any sense at all, so I start reading the outside cover and the back cover to try and get a grasp of what this book is about, and that did not tell me much. It was pretty much just meaningless and did not get any hints about what the book was about whatsoever. I did read some people saying how great an author Burroughs was, but thats about it. Nothing really special. So I get into reading the book and determine its some kind of sci fi detective book thats a really extrememly hard read. As I get into the book more though there is weird alien sex describing texts that are just way out there and I am pretty much starting to hate the book. I start to wonder, "Is this author gay or something"? Large portions of this book seem to be about Alien gay sex, I mean really I don't want to read this! That pretty much concluded my thoughts for the end of that week.
Middle of This Week...
Things have not really changed about this book. I have tried to sit there and understand it picking out little paragraphs and analyzing them to no avail. Seems the book in just supposed to make no sense at all, and I am just never going to get the book. Besides the Bizarre sex acts in the book just really freak me out and make me not want to read the book at all! I find myself sitting there gazing at the pages reading the book but thinking about other stuff like what I'm going to eat later on in the day, or my new car that I want, or that really pretty girl in my microbiology class, anything but the book at all. So I'm about half-way through the book and just have sort of been trying to figure out the book but really just have gotten more confused than ever!
Now 1-23-09
It finally came to me! After class on thursday I know why the book makes absolutely no sense at all! It's becuase it's not supposed to! The style of writing this author used is called "The Cut Up Technique", which can be demostrated if you follow this link.
This book did make sense at one time (Although I don't see how)! It was then just cut up and made into a completely new unmeaningful story! Wow! All those relentless, tireless hours of thinking about what this book is about, was really unecessary ha! I really should have figured it out sooner! Well I always try to look on the bright side of things no matter how grim things tend to look, and I have to say maybe I did improve my reading and literary skills by really analyzing this book. I am also happy I learned a new technique of writing which may seem strange to some, but others absolutely love this guys work, and in this english class I believe it is a good idea to analyze different texts no matter how bad or how meaningless they may seem. After all there is meaning in almost anything no matter how small, or how simple something is, it has a meaning and a purpose even if we do not know the meaning or purpose.
Well and the book sort of does have a story to it. Mostly its about a virus, some police called the nova police, and a gang called the nova gang. It seems in the beginning of the book everyone was infected by a virus! Also this book was about alien sex but I really don't want to go into that. It seems as though the main character was a detective of some kind, and he was trying to find the origins of the virus? From what I gathered. i am still working on the book so I have a lot of reading to do beofre i can establish whats going on, but in class it sounded to me as though the book was really just meaningless and maybe the point of the book was to do something that was really tough, like read a random book thats not an easy read, that does not make sense from front to back, and call it good! So thats what I'll have to do!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Movie!
So we watched groundhogs day yesterday in class and let me tell you it is the funniest movie ever. I really am trying to figure out what is supposed to happen to him. Obviously he is supposed to learn a lesson, but what is that lesson? I have been contemplationg but I can't quite figure it out! I know by the end it should be revealed, but I am still guessing. I believe the bartender has something to do with him repeating days. What is he supposed to learn? Is he supposed to think of others before he thinks of himself? He is obviously a very self-centered person and is sort of all about himself. I guess I will just have to watch the resty of the movie. BTW plurking is addicting lol!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Worst songs ever!
I think this has got to be the complete worst song ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtHEmVjVw8
I also went on google and found some pretty horrible songs, and some of them were actually on the top of charts at some point in time.
http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=786
It's pretty sad that the artist actually invested millions of dollars into making music videos for some of these songs.
If you look back on it some of the worst songs were in the 70's and 80's were people's taste in music was a bit off. The voice of artists singing were sometimes distorted beyond recognition and their singing was horrible, and don't even get me started on their music videos! I think we should just sort of try and forget some of the music and fashion from the 70's and 80's because it was pretty bad and I feel sorry for my parents who lived through it. However there was some very good and revolutionary artists and music that came from the 70's and 80's that set the stage for what we listen to today.
As for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" I believe its the worst song ever because obviously the singer has no vocal talent whatsoever, and his voice is warped by 1970's voice distortion machines. Also some weird girl who sounds like she is about 12 years old is singing in the background, I mean, what is up with that? Really a good song would require good vocalization and a catchy beat within the song to keep everyone entertained.
Going back to my article about "The top 50 worst songs ever"
I looked at some of those songs and realized I used to listen to them back when I was a kid back in the mid 90's lol! How funny is that!? I do disagree with some of the song on the list, but some of them are pretty bad I must admit! I think Limp Bizkit should not be on the list at all! I do believe the song "We built this city" is probably one the worst songs ever! Anyways this list pretty much sums up some of the worst songs ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtHEmVjVw8
I also went on google and found some pretty horrible songs, and some of them were actually on the top of charts at some point in time.
http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=786
It's pretty sad that the artist actually invested millions of dollars into making music videos for some of these songs.
If you look back on it some of the worst songs were in the 70's and 80's were people's taste in music was a bit off. The voice of artists singing were sometimes distorted beyond recognition and their singing was horrible, and don't even get me started on their music videos! I think we should just sort of try and forget some of the music and fashion from the 70's and 80's because it was pretty bad and I feel sorry for my parents who lived through it. However there was some very good and revolutionary artists and music that came from the 70's and 80's that set the stage for what we listen to today.
As for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" I believe its the worst song ever because obviously the singer has no vocal talent whatsoever, and his voice is warped by 1970's voice distortion machines. Also some weird girl who sounds like she is about 12 years old is singing in the background, I mean, what is up with that? Really a good song would require good vocalization and a catchy beat within the song to keep everyone entertained.
Going back to my article about "The top 50 worst songs ever"
I looked at some of those songs and realized I used to listen to them back when I was a kid back in the mid 90's lol! How funny is that!? I do disagree with some of the song on the list, but some of them are pretty bad I must admit! I think Limp Bizkit should not be on the list at all! I do believe the song "We built this city" is probably one the worst songs ever! Anyways this list pretty much sums up some of the worst songs ever!
Friday, January 9, 2009
First 49 pages of The Invention of Morel 1-9-09 Thoughts on the book
January 9, 2009
The invention of Morel
Blog Post: Jonathan R. Van Dyke
Reading this book I am a little confused as to why the main character of this book is not trying to go out and touch people or get the attention of others. Every time he has he has just been ignored which leaves me to wonder, if any other person in his situation would do the same thing? If it were me personally I would try and go out and get someone’s attention or talk to someone to see if they even acknowledge me. So far he has approached a woman and has failed to even have acknowledgement of his existence. The main character seems very timid and shy, but stuck on his island for months with no human contact I think any person would try and talk to someone, which makes me question the validity of the book. Although remembering the book is just someone’s fantasy and did not really happen I will just go with it. I also am wondering what the invention of Morel really is. Does it have something to do with this escaped convicts hallucinations, or fantasies? I am also wondering what really happened to the people that first colonized the island, and am thinking those people that the convict is seeing could be ghosts of the first colonizers of the island. When the convict tries to listen to their conversation it is all just the same thing and they are talking about the same things over and over again. The convict thinks they are toying with him, but I believe they could be ghosts and their presence could be amplified by whatever Morel invented. Now let’s delve into the convict’s state of mind to sort of understand the man. He is on an island living in a marsh with no food, so physically and mentally he is exhausted. He also just broke out of jail and he is intensely afraid of persecution, and believes he may be swept away at anytime guards, police, or just anybody. He is also seeing things that are most likely not really there. This sounds an awful like someone who is schizophrenic. Reading past page 49 the convict talks about a horrible dream he is having about him being in a ward, and Morel being his physician, maybe the invention of Morel is an invention being used on the convict right now and he is in a psychiatric ward dreaming about this deserted island he is living on. Morel could be inventing something to try and cure the convict and maybe towards the end of the book he will be cured by the invention of Morel. Another theory I have is that maybe the food on the island or something he is eating has caused him to hallucinate. The convict explored that avenue a while back ago but has since forgotten about it, probably believing his hallucinations to be too real. Also what is up with this guy, he is stalking some gypsy lady, what is up with that? He has got to be a real weirdo. Is that how he’s always been with girls? Hopefully not, but maybe, after all we have no background history or any recollection or inclination of what his past was like or could have been like other than he says to “us”, that he was wrongfully punished for a crime he did not convict and somehow escaped from a prison. Did he leave behind a wife and kids, was the single, did he work, and these are all answers that could shed light onto why he does the things he does. Also why is he even on the island, if there are people there that he is afraid of why doesn’t he just leave? He has a little boat on the island. I also really believe he is and always has been a non-social person because when he tries to talk to the lady, he always messes up, or says something really dumb. I really have not read a book like this and it seems very odd and throws you off guard and just keeps you wondering. I am actually glad we have had the in class discussions to sort of clarify the book because I believe without the discussions I would totally be completely lost in the book. I am still wondering how the lady plays into the book because the author brought her in the book for a reason. She keeps talking to Morel about ghosts, maybe she sees or somehow notices the convict, but does not say anything about it, well I guess I will just have to read more and find out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)