It's the end of the beginning

For this image I thought 'Something new but familiar in something well known'
How do I look at literature differently? Yeah I definitely look at it differently than I did before. I always knew that people would read classics and rip them apart word for word to find every meaning behind every word. I never did that. I would consume the book for the story. So reading these books, looking for the meanings and the messages behind the story was new and different. I actually like it sometimes. I see now what people think of the world around them and how they put it into their stories. 1984; George Orwell was describing the world around them, the issues with the government. In that case I believe everyone knew what was going on, but in other cases the people might not; for example the Hunger Games. I read that story last semester and I loved it. I still do. Yet reading it through a second time and being asked different questions about how it compares with to our society made me think about it more. Survivor and other such reality TV shows how are those different from the Hunger Games? The Hunger Games are (for the most part) there to provide amusement for the audience. The audience could help influence the outcome of the games as well. American Idol, Survivor, aren’t these shows the same? Yet the first time I read that book I never made those connections, but the second time around looking for things like that I noticed it. It’s scary to think that we are doing almost the same thing, yet does our world care? Just like those watching the Hunger Games. I’m looking at the media and the world a little differently seeing these connections. The same with Feed and Fahrenheit 451, will we be like them one day? Is the road we are taking today lead us there? Where we talk about nothing, where we don’t understand what real knowledge is and how to use it for the better. Will we backtrack and be worse off because we gained knowledge? It’s hard to say. People are always saying the younger generation is horrible and they aren’t learning as much etc. I wonder about all these things, then I think of all the other novels that I haven’t looked at for their underlying messages. Then I think ‘Oh man, we are going to all die in a nuclear explosion.’ But I’m excited to reread novels and try to make comparisons and find out what their messages are. What else do all these great stories have to say other than their amazing outer shells.

No Books. *cry*

I would cry if I could never read another book in my entire life. I would be bored out of my mind with out books. My summers have been spent reading one to two books a week. That is all I do; read, read, and read. Not to mention what the world would be like without books. History, Science, Math, knowledge in general is all kept in books. Everything would be lost. Our governments could do whatever they want. We would be blind to everything around us. With books and literacy comes the free will and thought of the people. Just look at our history. When the poor started to become literate, they overthrew their old governments and set into motion a fair government.
I'm really not fully certain exactly how we "burn books" everyday. Some books are censored. Many popular books have been censored from grade schools. Some of these include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and other stories. I read a book in 6th grade called "The Confessions of Charlotte Doyle". There were very violent parts in that book about rape and it freaked me out. So my mom tried to get the school to not entirely remove the book, but just only let older kids be able to read it. I understand age limits on certain books, especially in elementary or middle school. But banning books from High School or from everyone is a completely different scenario.

Hunger Games

I loved the Hunger Games. It was a great book and well written. I was constantly on edge wondering what was going to happen. The main character never dies especially if there is another book, but how she survives is what kept my attention drawn. This novel is similar to the other novels we've read because it's attacking the government and going against what they say or demand. My reaction to the love triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale was really intense. I say that her and Gale should be together. I liked Peeta, but her and Gale have been closer a lot longer. Also at the end with the turn of events saying that only one person would now win, I couldn't imagine Katniss or Peeta turning on each other. I was sure that something else would kill one or the other, like one of the dogs or something like that. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Project Runway: Andre

This is the link for part of the show I was talking about. It wasn't loading correctly so here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUH6wjU46A

Reality TV Shows

I hate reality TV shows. They are dumb. I don't like them at all. Yet I do have to admit I greatly enjoy one show; Project Runway. The best part of this episode is of Santino, Andre, and Tim. I always laugh at this one. Santino mimics Tim and talks about Tim and Andre's "relationship" which is completely non-existent. It's so funny. Then Tim hears about it and mentions it and embarrasses Santino. No one gets mad at each other or anything like that, it's just all fun and games. That's what friends do, laugh with each other about stuff. This is a real thing. I sometimes joke around about my friends and we all laugh about it. Sometimes they pick on me. It's all in good humor, nothing mean, nasty, or rude about it. I like this show for the funny moments in it but mainly enjoy it because of the chalenges and the final products the designers come up with. The crazy outfits they come up with are just great!
Gabler wrote an article in 2000 about reality TV shows. His point about how no one can predict the outcome of the show I have to agree with. I love looking at the designers and seeing what they can do. I enjoy trying to guess who would win that round. Yet in this show there is no sex drive that Gabler talks about, nor am I interested in seeing people fight etc in a relationship. I think those things should be kept to yourself. No one in the entire world needs to know that you were arguing with your boyfriend because he didn't pick something up. That's just stupid.

The issue of Privacy

I would say that there are certain ways we have lost our privacy in the world today and that which we have given up to feel "safe". When I am emailing someone, different advertisements pop up on the side of the screen that deal with what I'm talking about. Yeah they might just be looking for key words, but that still means they can read what I'm sending. I'm not freaking out that some government sight is reading everything I send, but sometimes I wonder if a stalker would hack in and read all my stuff. I'm not giving that freely, well it most likely says something along those lines in the fine print of the "I agree to these Terms" that no one ever reads. Yet beyond that we have knowingly and freely given up some of our privacy to make sure we are safe. For example, cameras in the mall. They could potentially catch different really embarassing things. For example the girl who was texting and walked/fell right into the Berkshire Mall's fountain. Yet that's not what those cameras are for. They are there so if there is a physical fight they can send police to stop it or if a child is kidnapped while in the mall they might be able to catch the criminal. Those sorts of things. We have given up our privacy in those cases to make sure that we are protected. That kind of protection I am fine with, as long as no one goes overboard with it.

Silence, beautiful Silence.

My name is Alana. I’m stuck in this hospital with Titus and Violet. As I’m Violet’s older sister, I didn’t receive the Feed till I was 12; we both got it at the same time. When I first got it, I didn’t know what to do! There was so much to look through! But it got bothersome fast; all those images and items bombarding me all the time. I had gotten used to it, but now after what that old man did, they turned it off. Now it’s blissful peace and silence, just my thoughts. It was a little odd at first not having the constant buzz in my head. Now there is only silence.
I’m sitting on my bed observing the paining on the wall. I remember my mother teaching me how to paint, before she left. She wasn’t a master painter, but she had dealt with many pieces of art. I noticed the different shades of the ocean. The darker versus the lighter shades made the ocean look choppy. The brush strokes of the ocean were large and smooth, while the boat’s strokes were thinner and less noticeable. It was beautiful, something I only wish I could create. Nothing like this is ever created anymore. It’s such a loss to society. Then Titus interrupted my thoughts by mentioning that he couldn’t see why someone would paint a picture like that and that it was meaningless. I honestly don’t understand how I got stuck with these kids.