Using humorous and a casual tone, Sam Anderson did a wonderful job of conveying the importance of literature and how a critisim fits into it. He addressed how the internet and media have changed people's expectations and even abilities to read and interpret good literature. While some say that that is the death of critism, Anderson calls it an opportunity. He claims critism, if well written and shown respect by the readers, can allow our society to revive the meaning literature used to have. He claims critism to be an art and is unique; it takes an already meanful and amazing piece of writing and alters it so people can see it from a different angle and gain even more appreciation for it.
I agree completely with Anderson's take on the role and duty of modern critism. The advance in technology has changed our culture and society vastly and caused a loss some significant practices and values. Critism is an art. Anderson's points matter a lot and I think critism should have the role in modern society that he suggests.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Great Gatsby
This book has been very different than I expected it to be, Gatsby in particular. Before Gatsby was even introduced I had an idea about what he would be like as a person based on the context and persona's of the other characters, but my original thoughts diminished when he was first brought into the plot and continued to be further exposed.
His infatuation with Daisy is what got me most about him. The time leading up to his reunion with Daisy showed he wasn't this powerful and secure man people and his image made him out to be. He was vulnerable. Having to plot so extensively and go through so much trouble in his life in order to just get the chance of running into Daisy to fufil his obession of ending up with her. He hadn't seen her in five years; she could have changed drastically, and for all he knew she was happily married. Gatsby turned out to be no more than an average guy seeking to have the perfect life and live the American dream, but I think he started to strive for something that was unattainable.
His infatuation with Daisy is what got me most about him. The time leading up to his reunion with Daisy showed he wasn't this powerful and secure man people and his image made him out to be. He was vulnerable. Having to plot so extensively and go through so much trouble in his life in order to just get the chance of running into Daisy to fufil his obession of ending up with her. He hadn't seen her in five years; she could have changed drastically, and for all he knew she was happily married. Gatsby turned out to be no more than an average guy seeking to have the perfect life and live the American dream, but I think he started to strive for something that was unattainable.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Blog Activity Week 1
Before reading The Things They Carried, I hadn't read any novels related to war and have seen maybe one movie that involves war in its plot; those kinds of books and movies were just never my thing. My ideas and opinions about war have come soley from what I've learned in history classes over the years. The Vietnam War in particular is always addressed due to the difference between it and the other wars fought by our country in the last couple hundred years. I knew that there were many casualties and that we didn't win or lose that war. The Things They Carried didn't help me learn much about the war as a whole, and its effect on our nation, but it really made me see what a soliders in Vietnam faced. This book probably is different than many other books written about war because the themes focused on weren't the battles, the military, and even the dying aspects of the war; it went much deeper.
The things I got most out of the book was the emotion that seeped from the pages of every different story told and what it means to find truth in within those stories. This war was not glory; the country went into the war blindly with vague goals.This caused so much non-legit killing of innocent citizens no matter the sex or age. It drove people insane. It made them lose sight of themselves and of life in general. The book captured the emotional response of Vietnam wonderfully. The other thing I liked most about the book is the idea of what truth in stories was. I really think Rat Kiley was right saying that sensation dictates truth of a story instead of the other way around, the way that most see it.
The things I got most out of the book was the emotion that seeped from the pages of every different story told and what it means to find truth in within those stories. This war was not glory; the country went into the war blindly with vague goals.This caused so much non-legit killing of innocent citizens no matter the sex or age. It drove people insane. It made them lose sight of themselves and of life in general. The book captured the emotional response of Vietnam wonderfully. The other thing I liked most about the book is the idea of what truth in stories was. I really think Rat Kiley was right saying that sensation dictates truth of a story instead of the other way around, the way that most see it.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Get the Lead Out
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-miller-lead-ammo-20101018,0,4641644.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fopinion%2Fcommentary+%28L.A.+Times+-+Commentary%29
Millions of birds in America are suffering miserably from the affects of lead poisoning. It's something that is 100% preventable by requring non-lead hunting ammunitoin. A petition requring hunters to use non-lead hunting ammuniton went around and gained a lot of support, but was shot down by the EPA. They claimed they didn't have the authority to regualate such a thing under the Toxic Substance Control Act.
I choose this essay because I love animals, and it makes me so sad if they are being harmed in any way.
Millions of birds in America are suffering miserably from the affects of lead poisoning. It's something that is 100% preventable by requring non-lead hunting ammunitoin. A petition requring hunters to use non-lead hunting ammuniton went around and gained a lot of support, but was shot down by the EPA. They claimed they didn't have the authority to regualate such a thing under the Toxic Substance Control Act.
I choose this essay because I love animals, and it makes me so sad if they are being harmed in any way.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Portrayal of Heartbreak
Pain, rejection, lonliness, anger, doubt...things commonly felt after parting ways with that person you couldn't see your self without. Breakups are rough and something everyone experiences at one point in their life, making it a popular topic for producers to make movies about, musicans to sing about, and authors to write books about. Each genre brings a slightly different portrayal to the idea of breakups and the emotions that surround them.
The Notebook is a classic love story and does a great job drawing the viewer in to feel the ups and downs of Aly and Noah's relationship. Movies are very effective in getting emotion past the screen and into the hearts of viewers because they allow a person to phyically see a relationship be built and then fall to pieces, hear the sobs of a person desperate to catch a glimpse of their ex or the sound of their voice, and feel the sting of emptiness of life without the person that made it worth living for. Very few people can make it through The Notebook without shedding a tear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOcKJNGGCE&feature=related
Songs and music are also very effective in conveying the feeling of a breakup. I connect with music the most out of any genre. There are so many songs that you can listen to, and you feel like it was written for you, like you were singing it. It brings to life the relationship you shared and the memories your trying to forget. You don't need to be watching anything, the lyrics paint the picture for you, and you can hear the sorrow in the voice of the artist. My favorite breakup song is Forever and Always by Taylor Swift because it expressed exactly how I felt after my biggest and hardest breakup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaBF9TeZ7Hw
Dear John was a great book I read that dealt with breakup. Books get to me, but not near as much as music or movies. Good authors can paint a vivid picture as Nicholas Sparks did in Dear John, but the feeling and emotion doesn't quite jump through the page as much. I feel like it's much more up for interpretation. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989757/synopsis
The Notebook is a classic love story and does a great job drawing the viewer in to feel the ups and downs of Aly and Noah's relationship. Movies are very effective in getting emotion past the screen and into the hearts of viewers because they allow a person to phyically see a relationship be built and then fall to pieces, hear the sobs of a person desperate to catch a glimpse of their ex or the sound of their voice, and feel the sting of emptiness of life without the person that made it worth living for. Very few people can make it through The Notebook without shedding a tear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOcKJNGGCE&feature=related
Songs and music are also very effective in conveying the feeling of a breakup. I connect with music the most out of any genre. There are so many songs that you can listen to, and you feel like it was written for you, like you were singing it. It brings to life the relationship you shared and the memories your trying to forget. You don't need to be watching anything, the lyrics paint the picture for you, and you can hear the sorrow in the voice of the artist. My favorite breakup song is Forever and Always by Taylor Swift because it expressed exactly how I felt after my biggest and hardest breakup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaBF9TeZ7Hw
Dear John was a great book I read that dealt with breakup. Books get to me, but not near as much as music or movies. Good authors can paint a vivid picture as Nicholas Sparks did in Dear John, but the feeling and emotion doesn't quite jump through the page as much. I feel like it's much more up for interpretation. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989757/synopsis
Friday, September 3, 2010
Writing and Skating...Not so Different afterall
A lot of time and thought goes into creating a finished piece of writing. It starts with an idea, and then the idea has to be taken to the next level and interpreted into words. When first put into words, its rough, unpolished; there is much room for changes and rearranging to make it your own and the best that it can be. These adjustments aren't going to acheived by revising just once, or even twice. It takes many drafts of writing to get it perfectly how you envisioned. You need to be flexible and open about the revisions you make; you need to see what fitting and what isn't. After that process is done, the writing has come a long way since that intial draft and is perfected to be the writers own.
Creating a program for figure skating is a very similar process to writing. When a choreographer listens to a piece of music, they get an idea that they want the skater to convey when he or she skates the program. So the choreographer finds a way to transfer their ideas into movements. Depending on the skater's abilities and style of skating, the intial program the choreographer comes up with is going to have to be tweaked and adjusted, most likely more than once. The skater needs to be comfortable skating the program, and its going to take some work by the choreographer to achieve that yet keep their intial envisionment of what they wanted the program to look like. After multiple changes, the program is in its best form.
Creating a program for figure skating is a very similar process to writing. When a choreographer listens to a piece of music, they get an idea that they want the skater to convey when he or she skates the program. So the choreographer finds a way to transfer their ideas into movements. Depending on the skater's abilities and style of skating, the intial program the choreographer comes up with is going to have to be tweaked and adjusted, most likely more than once. The skater needs to be comfortable skating the program, and its going to take some work by the choreographer to achieve that yet keep their intial envisionment of what they wanted the program to look like. After multiple changes, the program is in its best form.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
My Sergei
I used to be a competitive figure skater. Due to a back injury I no longer skate at all, but skating is something I still love and am very passionate about. So for my book I chose a biography of a famous pairs skater. Ekaterina Gordiva and her husband Sergei were two-time Olympic champions and were extremely talented athletes. The book is written from Katia's perspective from the time she was just 4 years old up until her late 20's when Sergei passed away from a heart attack.
The first part of the book talks about Katia's childhood in Russia, her love for her family, and her discovery of skating. She started training as a singles skater until she was nine and was then told she could make a great pairs skater, and that's when she met Sergei. Even though their romantic relationship off the ice did not develop until years later and after they had won their first Olympics, the book shows the slow development of their relationship as friends and pairs skaters. Because their relationship was fairly slow coming, the middle of the book focused mainly on the skating aspect of their lives: the travel, the intense training, the injury, and being away from family at such a young age. The book gives you a great understanding of what it took to be successful in this sport. Being a skater myself i had an idea of what it took to get somewhere in the sport, but being from the United States and being a skater, and being from Russia and being a skater are very different. Figure skating is huge in Russia. The successful skaters in that country are famous like the Kardashions are here. Things are taken very seriously over there so it was interesting to get a different take on skating. It makes me give them so much credit for being strong enough people to get through training of that level at such young ages.
After winning their first Olympic gold, Katia and Sergei decided to go professional, skating in only certain competitions and mainly touring in different ice shows. Their lives were a lot more relaxed now and they started to see eachother as more than just partners. I loved this part of the book because it was all about the excitement of first love. I also liked this part of the book because they were a lot more on their own as professional skaters, so they were discovering so much about life as well as themselves. They were so perfect for eachother and were so happy they were experiencing all of these new things together. When Katia was 19 and Sergei was 23, he proposed and they were married no even a year later.
About two years after becoming professional, the newly weds got offered to skate in Stars on Ice, which is the biggest American tour there is. They were going to be making great money and loved America the last couple times they had visited, so they decided to not only do the tour, but to settle down there. After skating that tour, a new rule was established allowing professional skaters to be elligible for amatuer competitions, including the next Olympics. They decided they wanted to go for a second Olympic gold and began training hard core again. Though not long into their training, Katia found out she was pregnant with a baby girl. Her and Sergei were thrilled that they were going to be parents; however, they weren't ready to give up skating and the upcoming Olympics. So they skated and trained for as long as Katia was allowed by her doctor and then prepared for the birth of Daria.
When Daria was born, Katia's mother flew into the States to be a babysitter while her and Sergei trained. It was a very hard decison for them to give up raising Daria for their skating career,, but they knew that if they wanted to have a chance at winning a second Olympic gold, it was what they had to do. They worked very hard and saw Daria and Katia's mother as much as they were able to. Olympic time came and their choice paid off when they won their second gold medal. They were now satisfied with their accomplishments as skaters and were ready to be full time parents. The few years they all had together were precious. Though when Daria was only 4, Sergei died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Katia was lost and depressed for a year after his death and the only thing that kept her going was her daughter. Katia started skating again because it was the only thing that could make her as happy as she was when Sergei was alive. On the ice she could feel his presence and came to realize that at least she had been blessed with the years she had had with him.
Katia and Sergei's story is a great one, and it makes you see how great of a gift life is and how much one person can make you the person you are. It also shows incredible strength of self and drive to get through extremely tough times. The book has so many great life lessons and makes you really appreciate everything you have. It was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes love storys or adventure; you don't have to like or know anything about skating to like this book.
The first part of the book talks about Katia's childhood in Russia, her love for her family, and her discovery of skating. She started training as a singles skater until she was nine and was then told she could make a great pairs skater, and that's when she met Sergei. Even though their romantic relationship off the ice did not develop until years later and after they had won their first Olympics, the book shows the slow development of their relationship as friends and pairs skaters. Because their relationship was fairly slow coming, the middle of the book focused mainly on the skating aspect of their lives: the travel, the intense training, the injury, and being away from family at such a young age. The book gives you a great understanding of what it took to be successful in this sport. Being a skater myself i had an idea of what it took to get somewhere in the sport, but being from the United States and being a skater, and being from Russia and being a skater are very different. Figure skating is huge in Russia. The successful skaters in that country are famous like the Kardashions are here. Things are taken very seriously over there so it was interesting to get a different take on skating. It makes me give them so much credit for being strong enough people to get through training of that level at such young ages.
After winning their first Olympic gold, Katia and Sergei decided to go professional, skating in only certain competitions and mainly touring in different ice shows. Their lives were a lot more relaxed now and they started to see eachother as more than just partners. I loved this part of the book because it was all about the excitement of first love. I also liked this part of the book because they were a lot more on their own as professional skaters, so they were discovering so much about life as well as themselves. They were so perfect for eachother and were so happy they were experiencing all of these new things together. When Katia was 19 and Sergei was 23, he proposed and they were married no even a year later.
About two years after becoming professional, the newly weds got offered to skate in Stars on Ice, which is the biggest American tour there is. They were going to be making great money and loved America the last couple times they had visited, so they decided to not only do the tour, but to settle down there. After skating that tour, a new rule was established allowing professional skaters to be elligible for amatuer competitions, including the next Olympics. They decided they wanted to go for a second Olympic gold and began training hard core again. Though not long into their training, Katia found out she was pregnant with a baby girl. Her and Sergei were thrilled that they were going to be parents; however, they weren't ready to give up skating and the upcoming Olympics. So they skated and trained for as long as Katia was allowed by her doctor and then prepared for the birth of Daria.
When Daria was born, Katia's mother flew into the States to be a babysitter while her and Sergei trained. It was a very hard decison for them to give up raising Daria for their skating career,, but they knew that if they wanted to have a chance at winning a second Olympic gold, it was what they had to do. They worked very hard and saw Daria and Katia's mother as much as they were able to. Olympic time came and their choice paid off when they won their second gold medal. They were now satisfied with their accomplishments as skaters and were ready to be full time parents. The few years they all had together were precious. Though when Daria was only 4, Sergei died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Katia was lost and depressed for a year after his death and the only thing that kept her going was her daughter. Katia started skating again because it was the only thing that could make her as happy as she was when Sergei was alive. On the ice she could feel his presence and came to realize that at least she had been blessed with the years she had had with him.
Katia and Sergei's story is a great one, and it makes you see how great of a gift life is and how much one person can make you the person you are. It also shows incredible strength of self and drive to get through extremely tough times. The book has so many great life lessons and makes you really appreciate everything you have. It was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes love storys or adventure; you don't have to like or know anything about skating to like this book.
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