Week 5: Top Links



http://feltron.com/






http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/2539-designs-of-the-year-furniture

Pandora.com



The Missing Girls

Last weekend I went to Barnes and Nobles and spent quite a bit of time trying to find the next book I wanted to read. My mom likes to read a lot of the same kind of books I like so I usually just borrow hers but I've read them all already. I started looking in the teen fiction section but quickly moved over to the more crime related books that my mom showed me. I probably sat there for forty-five minutes trying to decide which book to get. I finally chose my book, The Missing Girls, I wasn't sure if I would like it or not because the back of the book seemed like it told you a lot about the end of the book and where the two missing girls were found. It's a true story though and that is my favorite kind of book.

The Missing Girls is a story of how one girl has gone missing, the majority of people think she has probably just run away since she didn't have a very good life at home. There were social workers and police constantly there checking on the welfare of the girl. Through some tricky family realtions there is a private investegator in the family through marriage and she too begins looking for the missing girl when one day she randomly receives a phone call from a strange person saying her husband has visions and may be able to help find the missing girl. So far I've really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries or true crime books!

Short List:1

If your house were burning...

Have you ever thought about what you would grab if your house was burning and you had to leave? Your laptop, your dog, or perhaps something that reminds you of the best time of your life. The burning house is a tumblr page that allows people all over the world to upload pictures and lists of what they would take with them in the event of their house burning down. Each person seems to have so meticulously placed each item, the majority of people bringing their phone, laptop, or camera. The picture above is from a 16 year old female from Florida, she is bringing the painted paddle that she got from attending camp for five years, her favorite books, her laptop, phone, and camera. This tumblr illustrates the way society is turning and how addicted people are coming to technology.



Dream a Little

The crumpled, white lined paper filled with a high school boys dream girl and the characteristics the so called "perfect" girl were found one day in a high school recycling bin. The simplicity of the checklist combined with the chatoic feeling the ink splattered over the page brings a desperate boys feeling to the randomly found note. This note, most likely not wanting to be found, underscores the awkward dreams and hopes that a boy may have.

Exhale Fumes
This picture from the New York Times Style Magazine is similar to many other photographs on this website. On the website it is mainly focused on fashion but also travel, food, and many other topics. In this particular photograph the scattered look of the shed off sets the perfectly aligned dots on the mans shirt. The dark circles under his eyes and the mask on his face says that he has been spray painting for quite some time now. The array of spray paint color contrasts with the simplicity of the man dressed in the common days blue jeans and white t-shirt.

Blogger Tour

 Books and Stuff: I thought this blog was cool because the blogger incorporated a video into one of his posts which I didn't see in any of the other blogs, it's a different way to set a blog apart from all the others and stand out. The blogger also had nice blog posts that were very descriptive with the observations made and had some inferences in them too that were insightful.

http://books--n--stuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/crystal-slab-mri_10.html?showComment=1327068296973#c7018656622103131993
Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters: I was drawn to this blog because of its title, it has kind of a sarcastic tone which is just like me. When I was looking at the blog it was captivating because it was so well written and just continued to have that sarcastic tone within the descriptive observations made in the bloggers post.

"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan."

This just made me kind of laugh, it was a great way to begin the post and an interesting attention grabber!

http://pagenotfounderror404.blogspot.com/



"Dead Poets Society"
I thought that the bog Unfettered had a impressive response to "Dead Poets Society" because it was very well described.
"...educated men conduct a ceremony of gray suits and faint smiles which reveals that the austere routine of Welton serves only the enrolled boys’ academics, not the boys themselves." 
I really like how it was worded a ceremony of gray suits and faint smiles, it brings me back to when we were watching the film. It's interesting that there really was a ceremony taking place but not literally of gray suits and faint smiles and she incorporated both of those things into her sentence.

Adjusting to a New Life

I just finished "Room" and it was such a great book! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries or books that kind of give you the creeps at first. The book in the beginning and during the climax had my adrenaline rushing so fast I just couldn’t put it down. Once the climax was over it slowed down a little bit though since the danger was over.

 I have to say my favorite part was the first half when the two main characters were stuck in the room and then when they were escaping. Once Jack had executed plan "B" and had been able to talk to a police officer everything his Ma had taught him while they were stuck in the room helped find where the shack was. The common knowledge of left and right, which a lot of five year old children have yet to learn, save his Mas life from Old Nick. Since Old Nick had found out that Jack escaped it is very likely that he would have gone back and caused harm to his Ma. Once Jack and his Ma were out in the real world, outside as Jack called it, they were treated like super stars. Everyone wanted autographs from Jack and his Ma was constantly being asked to be on television shows. I don’t think that she really wanted to talk on the shows but she said that she was doing it to make money for Jack to go to college with, she has always cared about his future and I think this is just one more way that she is looking out for his future. Jack and his Ma stayed in a hospital for a while but gradually got more comfortable in the outside world and soon moved into independent living apartments. The adjustment for Jack was a very big one and I think overall he did very well. He went from being stuck in one room for five years to living like a pretty normal six year old.

A New Beginning for Some, "The Dead Poets Society"

In Peter Weirs 1989 film "Dead Poets Society" the younger boys parents excitement for their children to be attending such a noble school is offset by the younger boys reluctance  for their parents to leave illustrating the worried fear instilled within the younger boys. As three young boys sit on a pew in the church like room filled with all other attentive people during the opening ceremony one boys eyes begin to apathetically wander demonstrating his desire to be anywhere but Welton listening to the headmaster speak. When the ceremony is over the conjugation of people stride outside into the gleaming sun-shining world, almost the opposite of the semi-dark room they were previously sitting in, outside the boys begin to say their goodbyes to their parents. The strong, heart-felt  hugs shared between the parents and their children and tears that begin to roll out of the small boys eyes elude to the angst the boys are holding within themselves. The older boys contrasting with the actions that the younger boys take by seeming almost more excited to be back to Welton. This displays that Welton is a superb school and that the younger boys are just stepping into a new life, afraid of the endless possibilities.

What? Since when do books make me cry?

I have been reading the novel "Room" by Emma Donoghue and it is one of those books that I just can't seem to put down. It's about this little boy who was born in a shack and has never been out of it. The boy, Jack, doesn't even realize that there is a life outside of the shack which he calls room.One might ask why they just don't leave but a man has locked Jack and his Ma in the room so it is impossible for them to escape, that is until Ma thinks up of some very dangerous plans. I usually don't cry over books or movies but this book has brought so many different emotions to the table. From the dangerous plans the mother was asking her son to do and the descriptions of how he was feeling and the persistence he had against completing these tasks brings a rush of adrenaline. Donoghue makes Jack seem like he has really never been out of this shack and brings an interesting perspective about. Since Jack has never been out of the room he thinks that there is only one real bed, television doesn't count, so he calls the bed "bed." Jack does this with several inanimate objects such as the lamp. Jack is always interested in television but Ma says it rots his brain so he is only allowed to watch it for a little bit each day, that is the days when Ma is feeling okay. Some days she lays in bed and lets a six year old boy fend for himself which is just crazy when you think about it. This is one of those books that I enjoy reading because it illustrates to me some of the ridiculous things that happen in the world that much of society is blinded from. Overall, it is a great book that brings a whole new world into my point of view and I just can't seem to put it down.

Duo Close Reading

Elements of Pictures:

- Color

- Character

- Space

- Lighting
- Brush Strokes

"Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper

Specific Observations:
- Bright main subject
- Stillness
- Detailed archetecture
- Empty
- Contrasted buildings
- Cool colors outside
- Warm colors inside
- Simple
- Outside abandonment
- Bored facial expression
- Shadows
- Gradual darkening (right to left)
- Silent awkwardness

Claim:
The simple, silent stillness illustrates the awkward relationship the four have together in the bar while the world outside of the bar as left them abandoned.

Literacy Narrative

When I was younger, in elementary school, my family never had a lot, that wasn't a big deal though because we had books. We would go to the library every weekend and we would get piles of books. Getting lost in a book was an escape from reality for me. I would do it every waking minute possible. We didn't have a television, not because we didn't have the money but because my mom didn't want our minds brainwashed as she told my sibblings and I several times. In middle school my school took part in a program titled Accelerated Reading, called AR for short, where each student had an account and had to take tests to earn points towards their goal. AR kept me reading as each student would typically have to read three or four books a quarter. Once I moved on to high school though everything about my reading habbits changed. I found myself coming up with excuses for not reading. Each night I would tell myself I had mock trial practice for three hours and just needed to sleep. I know that there are a ton of books out there that I wish to read and that the habbit has just gotten away from me. I hope that this class helps get back into the habbit of reading every night.
I usually find myself reading books about murders or children who have gone through hard times or have been abused. I think reading these kind of books open up the world that is not so easily seen to the average day human being. When I'm engaged in a book of a murder of a small child it makes me stop to think what if that was one of my family members? What would I do?
Throughout my life whenever times are hard I know that I can always open a book and find a character going through a harder time or I can open a book to bring me happiness through a character. Books have been there for the majority of my life and I hope to bring them back into my life.

The Beginning

Wow this is my first post for the semester, I wonder what it will feel like when I get to writing my last post? Anyway I used to be a huge reader but since I've moved I kind of lost touch with all the reading I used to do but I'm hoping this class gets me back into it. I like reading all kinds of different books but I really like mystery books or books about lawyers and court cases. Throughout the semester I hope to read those type of books and branch out and read different genres as well. Right now I'm reading a book called Room which I really am enjoying. It's about a little boy who has never been out of basically this shack and lives there with his mom. The way the boy talks is so interesting because he calls objects just by their name like he would call a a bed just bed. Well I'm off to read a little bit more!