http://animoto.com/play/O7V0HDPD5P3xC0MdhWh1QQ
http://animoto.com/play/5CGmDNwC0vep6bTsk5hXDQ
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Themes in The Great Gatsby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZwPIJylhM
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald had many prevelant themes throughout the story. I'm sure that there were more than I could detect, but the two main ones that I could see was the decline of the American dream in the 1920s and the emptiness of the upper class. The main scope of the story was the love story between Daisy/Gatsby/Tom, however Fitzgerald had a much larger theme in mind. Fitzgerald lived in the 1920s and so he saw first hand how the American dream slipped away from many people. He describes in many instances a world of decayed moral and social values. I saw this most in the adultary that happens throughout the novel between Tom and Myrtle and later Daisy and Gatsby. Also, I see the decaying American dream in Gatsby's "empty" parties. The parties were social highlights, however Gatsby rarely knew anyone in attendance, and he threw parties just because he could. Where is the enjoyment in that? Also, both Tom and Gatsby, as well as other characters throughout the book, are incredibly greedy and money-minded. This is where the American dream becomes corrupted. Another evident theme was the emptiness of people in the upper class. As I just mentioned, Gatsby threw parties just for the fun of it. This gives him no real satisfaction, and leaves him empty. Gatsby was the main person aimed with this shadow of emptiness and the lack of social grace and general kindness. His comparison was Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Their tasteful home and lovely lifestyle was much different than Gatsby's money revolving-social climbing minded lifestyle. This is actually very clearly defined--Gatsby lived on East Egg, Tom and Daisy on West Egg.
Along with themes, there were a few important symbols throughout the novel. One was Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes. This was an old advertisement on an old billboard advertising the doctors' services. The advertisement was eyes with glasses around them. They looked over the valley of ashes (a symbol for the fallen American dream). The valley of ashes in the story was just a desolate land that was a spot industrial smog and ashes happen to fall. Anyway, his eyes, in my opinion, symbolized God. They are often given the impression of being spooky and eerie and untouchable. The residents of East and West Egg had to drive or ride the train through the valley and ashes and Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes always caught their attention. They seemed to be watching everything, just like God does. It seems to see all the things that happen throughout the novel-the adultary, the hit and run by Daisy killing Myrtle (which actually happened right in the valley of ashes), and the numerous lies in the novel. You could even say they were judging all the characters in the novel for "Judgement day". A second symbol was the green light at the end of Daisy and Tom's dock. Gatsby could see the light every night from his mansion. The green light symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future, specifically with Daisy. He looks at the light every night as a way to keep connected to Daisy. Carraway describes the the significance of the light to Gatsby as it must have been for early settlers to see America for the first time (Also, like what the Statue of Libery symbolizes for new immigrants). People were coming over to America to experience the American dream--and Daisy was Gatsby's dream.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald had many prevelant themes throughout the story. I'm sure that there were more than I could detect, but the two main ones that I could see was the decline of the American dream in the 1920s and the emptiness of the upper class. The main scope of the story was the love story between Daisy/Gatsby/Tom, however Fitzgerald had a much larger theme in mind. Fitzgerald lived in the 1920s and so he saw first hand how the American dream slipped away from many people. He describes in many instances a world of decayed moral and social values. I saw this most in the adultary that happens throughout the novel between Tom and Myrtle and later Daisy and Gatsby. Also, I see the decaying American dream in Gatsby's "empty" parties. The parties were social highlights, however Gatsby rarely knew anyone in attendance, and he threw parties just because he could. Where is the enjoyment in that? Also, both Tom and Gatsby, as well as other characters throughout the book, are incredibly greedy and money-minded. This is where the American dream becomes corrupted. Another evident theme was the emptiness of people in the upper class. As I just mentioned, Gatsby threw parties just for the fun of it. This gives him no real satisfaction, and leaves him empty. Gatsby was the main person aimed with this shadow of emptiness and the lack of social grace and general kindness. His comparison was Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Their tasteful home and lovely lifestyle was much different than Gatsby's money revolving-social climbing minded lifestyle. This is actually very clearly defined--Gatsby lived on East Egg, Tom and Daisy on West Egg.
Along with themes, there were a few important symbols throughout the novel. One was Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes. This was an old advertisement on an old billboard advertising the doctors' services. The advertisement was eyes with glasses around them. They looked over the valley of ashes (a symbol for the fallen American dream). The valley of ashes in the story was just a desolate land that was a spot industrial smog and ashes happen to fall. Anyway, his eyes, in my opinion, symbolized God. They are often given the impression of being spooky and eerie and untouchable. The residents of East and West Egg had to drive or ride the train through the valley and ashes and Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes always caught their attention. They seemed to be watching everything, just like God does. It seems to see all the things that happen throughout the novel-the adultary, the hit and run by Daisy killing Myrtle (which actually happened right in the valley of ashes), and the numerous lies in the novel. You could even say they were judging all the characters in the novel for "Judgement day". A second symbol was the green light at the end of Daisy and Tom's dock. Gatsby could see the light every night from his mansion. The green light symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future, specifically with Daisy. He looks at the light every night as a way to keep connected to Daisy. Carraway describes the the significance of the light to Gatsby as it must have been for early settlers to see America for the first time (Also, like what the Statue of Libery symbolizes for new immigrants). People were coming over to America to experience the American dream--and Daisy was Gatsby's dream.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Quotes!
http://cdn-img1.imagechef.com/w/120509/3dc34c7cab40477f.gif
I did this before on another post, but I love quotes. I collect quotes in a notebook...from song lyrics to random things I see in movies, books, magazines, or on the internet. Most of them have no real creditor to it, I just find them randomly. But I'm going to flip through my notebook and find quotes that remind me of things in The Great Gatsby and then explain how!
"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
This quote really reminds me of Daisy's outlook on life. She has had a lot happen to her. She lost Gatsby and now has a husband who cheats on her and she is well aware of it. However, she always has this positive way about her. She is sunshine, really.
"The biggest mistake you can make is drifting apart from seomeone who you once had the time of your life with."
This quote reminds me of how both Daisy and Gatsby probably felt at one point or another. They were once each other's entire world's. They were so in love. They indeed had the time of their lives together, then Gatsby left to war, and it ripped them apart.
"The only truly painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained."
This is probably how Gatsby felt when Tom took Daisy away without telling anybody with full intention of ripping Gatsby and her apart again. This is also how Daisy must have felt after she found out about Gatsby's death--she never got to say goodbye, never got to tell him she loves him.
"All our lives we search for someone to love, someone to make us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope, all the while, wondering if somewhere, somehow, someone perfect is searching for us too."
I love how much this quote reminded me of the overall flow of the book. Gatsby spent yearswaiting for Daisy to just walk right back into his life. I especially like the metaphor "dance to a song of heartbreak" because of Gatsby's parties--full of dancing, all the while Gatsby is heartbroken, waiting for Daisy. Gatsby spent those years just wondering and waiting and hoping Daisy still loved him back.
"Sometimes you just need someone. Someone to make you smile when you're sad, to tell you you're beautiful. Someone to look forward to seeing you every day. Someone to call you every night just to say I love you and mean it."
This quote reminds me of how Daisy could have been feeling. Tom neglected her to a point because he had another woman. Therefore, Daisy's self esteem wasn't at peak, and she very much just wanted to be loved and wanted to be enough for anything. I also think Gatsby would have done everything for Daisy that the quote suggests.
"Don't ever use someone's past against them. You're just reminding them of the mistakes they made back then. If you watch their facial expressions carefully, then you'll see the hurt in their eyes as they reminisce everything that happened. Never use emotion as a weapon, it strikes deeper than you can imagine."
The past between Gatsby and Daisy was an extremely touchy subject even for the two of them alone. The past had been buried in Daisy's life while the past was very much alive in Gatsby's world. Therefore, it was hard for both of them to think about how things used to be, and to realize they may never be the same again.
"I wasn't looking for someone to make me feel happy. Of course I can be happy on my own. But I wanted to be someone else's happiness. Do you know that feeling? To be someone's first thought when they wake up and to put a bright smile on their face just for saying "hello". Whatever it's called, it's a feeling I can't feel on my own, it is a a feeling I was looking for, and it is what I meant when I said "I can't be alone"."
Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker become romantically involved throughout the story. This quote reminds me exactly of something Miss Baker would say to Carraway. She was incredibly independent and strong, however she wanted to be loved. She could do things on her own, but she didn't want to-and she had thought Carraway was her answer even though he has much bigger things to be dealing with.
"What they say, life goen on, is mostly true. The mail is delivered, and the Christmas lights go up and down from the houses, and the ladders get put away, and you open yet another box of cereal. In time, the volume of my feelings would be turned down in gentle increments to near quiet, and yet the record would still spin, always spin."
This is most likely how Daisy felt for a long time after Gatsby's death. She had a husband and a daughter to take care of, she couldn't just stop living. She had to accept things and keep living her life no matter how deep her mourning may have became. She probably understood that life goes on, even if pain is constant.
I did this before on another post, but I love quotes. I collect quotes in a notebook...from song lyrics to random things I see in movies, books, magazines, or on the internet. Most of them have no real creditor to it, I just find them randomly. But I'm going to flip through my notebook and find quotes that remind me of things in The Great Gatsby and then explain how!
"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
This quote really reminds me of Daisy's outlook on life. She has had a lot happen to her. She lost Gatsby and now has a husband who cheats on her and she is well aware of it. However, she always has this positive way about her. She is sunshine, really.
"The biggest mistake you can make is drifting apart from seomeone who you once had the time of your life with."
This quote reminds me of how both Daisy and Gatsby probably felt at one point or another. They were once each other's entire world's. They were so in love. They indeed had the time of their lives together, then Gatsby left to war, and it ripped them apart.
"The only truly painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained."
This is probably how Gatsby felt when Tom took Daisy away without telling anybody with full intention of ripping Gatsby and her apart again. This is also how Daisy must have felt after she found out about Gatsby's death--she never got to say goodbye, never got to tell him she loves him.
"All our lives we search for someone to love, someone to make us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope, all the while, wondering if somewhere, somehow, someone perfect is searching for us too."
I love how much this quote reminded me of the overall flow of the book. Gatsby spent yearswaiting for Daisy to just walk right back into his life. I especially like the metaphor "dance to a song of heartbreak" because of Gatsby's parties--full of dancing, all the while Gatsby is heartbroken, waiting for Daisy. Gatsby spent those years just wondering and waiting and hoping Daisy still loved him back.
"Sometimes you just need someone. Someone to make you smile when you're sad, to tell you you're beautiful. Someone to look forward to seeing you every day. Someone to call you every night just to say I love you and mean it."
This quote reminds me of how Daisy could have been feeling. Tom neglected her to a point because he had another woman. Therefore, Daisy's self esteem wasn't at peak, and she very much just wanted to be loved and wanted to be enough for anything. I also think Gatsby would have done everything for Daisy that the quote suggests.
"Don't ever use someone's past against them. You're just reminding them of the mistakes they made back then. If you watch their facial expressions carefully, then you'll see the hurt in their eyes as they reminisce everything that happened. Never use emotion as a weapon, it strikes deeper than you can imagine."
The past between Gatsby and Daisy was an extremely touchy subject even for the two of them alone. The past had been buried in Daisy's life while the past was very much alive in Gatsby's world. Therefore, it was hard for both of them to think about how things used to be, and to realize they may never be the same again.
"I wasn't looking for someone to make me feel happy. Of course I can be happy on my own. But I wanted to be someone else's happiness. Do you know that feeling? To be someone's first thought when they wake up and to put a bright smile on their face just for saying "hello". Whatever it's called, it's a feeling I can't feel on my own, it is a a feeling I was looking for, and it is what I meant when I said "I can't be alone"."
Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker become romantically involved throughout the story. This quote reminds me exactly of something Miss Baker would say to Carraway. She was incredibly independent and strong, however she wanted to be loved. She could do things on her own, but she didn't want to-and she had thought Carraway was her answer even though he has much bigger things to be dealing with.
"What they say, life goen on, is mostly true. The mail is delivered, and the Christmas lights go up and down from the houses, and the ladders get put away, and you open yet another box of cereal. In time, the volume of my feelings would be turned down in gentle increments to near quiet, and yet the record would still spin, always spin."
This is most likely how Daisy felt for a long time after Gatsby's death. She had a husband and a daughter to take care of, she couldn't just stop living. She had to accept things and keep living her life no matter how deep her mourning may have became. She probably understood that life goes on, even if pain is constant.
Vlog!
This is just a short Vlog about my fourth quarter book The Great Gatsby and my general opinion on it. Enjoy! :)
The Great Gatsby animoto
http://animoto.com/play/k079EShP28ucZAyqTohWIw
This animoto was meant to be like a movie trailer for a movie based on The Great Gatsby. Although the plot is much deeper than the love story between Daisy and Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy, and Tom and Myrtle, that theme seems to be what would compel readers into the story. So, that's the main point of this animoto. I really liked how this one turned out, my past animoto's haven't been able to get a point across like I wanted them to, but this one was much better! Enjoy! I hope this makes you want to read the book! It's a classic!
This animoto was meant to be like a movie trailer for a movie based on The Great Gatsby. Although the plot is much deeper than the love story between Daisy and Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy, and Tom and Myrtle, that theme seems to be what would compel readers into the story. So, that's the main point of this animoto. I really liked how this one turned out, my past animoto's haven't been able to get a point across like I wanted them to, but this one was much better! Enjoy! I hope this makes you want to read the book! It's a classic!
F. Scott Fitzgerald (short) Biography
In reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's biography, I saw many similarities between his life and The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was supposedly born into a wealthy family, and when his family died, he inherited a lot of money. This is similar to Fitzgerald's upper-middle class birth. Fitzgerald lived a lot of his life on the East Coast, which makes me think he preferred there over his hometown in Minnisota. This is also like both Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, who adored living on the East Coast. Fitzgerald's name for his future wife "the golden girl" made me think of Gatsby's adoration for Daisy in the book. The fact that The Great Gatsby was published in the Jazz Age explains much of it's plot and storyline-such as Gatsby's extravaggant parties. I feel like F. Scott Fitzgerald drew a parallel to Gatsby in this book. He viewed himself as a character like Gatsby's--amazingly popular, but misunderstood. Both loved a woman very much and both had a tradegy among their characters and especially their deaths. After reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's biography, I can see many similarities between his life and the plotline of The Great Gatsby.
Fourth Quarter!!
The book is narrated by a sort of third-party witness- Nick Carraway. He is involved right in the middle of everything that happens in the story. He is Daisy Buchanan's cousin. He is Jay Gatsby's neighbor. He knew Tom Buchanan from college. So he is tied to all main characters in the entire book. He tells the story through his point of view. The book takes place in the 1920's in different places in and around New York City, New York. Daisy and Tom are married and live on East Egg- the glamorous "egg" while West Egg, where Gatsby and Carraway reside, is less glamorous except for Jay Gatsby--with his marvelous mansion that hosts extravagant parties almost daily. Daisy and Gatsby are past loves. They were madly in love until Gatsby left for the war, in which in that five year time frame, the pressure became to much to handle and she fell in love and married Tom. Gatsby came back from the war still deeply in love with Daisy and lived his life in accordance to winning her back and in ways that would please her. He bought the huge house and had fun, classy parties in hopes she would wander in one of those days. She never did. Gatsby was fully aware that she was married and also knew that she lived in East Egg. He could see a green light that was on every night at the end of the Buchanan's deck and he would look at it every night, longing for her. A friend of both Daisy and Gatsby- Jordan Baker- first meets Carraway at a tea at the Buchanan house. Soon enough Gatsby found out that Carraway was Daisy's cousin and used him to get to Daisy again. Later in the story, he finally asks Carraway to have a tea and invite both Daisy and Gatsby only. He did, and that's when their love rekindles. Before you know it, Daisy and Gatsby usually with Carraway are inseparable. Tom eventually picks up on what is going on. However, Tom has a mistress- Myrtle Wilson. He has been with her for quite a while now and Daisy is fully aware. But, Tom is not the sort of man to let his wife be stolen away from him...so he is very upset. Jordan, Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, and Carraway take a day trip to New York soon after Tom realizes what is going on. Confrontation begins and everything is out on the table. Daisy is incredibly distressed and doesn't know what to do. Gatsby doesn't realize that Daisy did actually love Tom. Tom doesn't realize Gatsby and Daisy's past. So she is faced with a choice that she can't decide on. Daisy and Gatsby leave together from the city in a seperate car from Tom. On their way back, Daisy wants to drive to try to calm her nerves. As she was driving through a town, she hits Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, on total accident. She hits and she runs. She is terribly distraught. Tom drives through the town later to see the scene and finds out it was Myrtle who was hit. He soon figures out it was Gatsby's car who hit her and tells Mr. Wilson this. Mr. Wilson seeks revenge and shots Gatsby a few days later at his home. Carraway is left with the load of Gatsby's life--which is a lot. He holds a funeral for him but only his father shows up--a father Carraway understood to be dead. After all the people who appeared in his life through his parties, none of them showed. Tom took Daisy away after the incident and was never heard from again. I really loved this book.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Animoto :)
http://animoto.com/play/CiRo3w7nGOXiwNhjbQX1mA
This animoto was meant to be sort of a trailer for the book. I absolutely love seeing movie trailers because they almost always make me want to see the movie. I just made this to get the general point across that the book is about two best friends who grew apart and one ends up dying and the other one is left distraught and heart broken. Although Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King is so much more than just that plot line. As I have already said, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone really. I think boys would enjoy this book just as much as I did. The thing that keeps you tied into the book is the mystery behind Charlie's death. Hint lie throughout the novel as to what could have possibly happened and Vera hides herself from the truth all the time. Finally though, at the end she comes clean and clears Charlie's name. In addition she comes to peace with Charlie's death and with Charlie through a very unique was that was really really touching. It really makes you open up your eyes to the realities of the world.
Now this is what really made me think throughout the whole book: What would I have done if this would have happened to me? In my Vlog I mentioned how I know quite a few people who have changed since we got into High School. What would happen if something happened to one of them? What if that happened to you? It's not fair when things happen to us, things like losing someone with no answers and no real absolution. Recently I have been going through a similar thing with a friend of mine. Him and I have been best friends for a year now and once he got into High School, about the end of first semester, things started changing. It was really hard to deal with it because he just wasn't who I grew so close to anymore. He started hanging out with new people, not bad people, but new people who seemed to have an influence on him that I didn't appreciate. He started lying to me and saying hurtful things all to often. It's devastating and heartbreaking when anything like that happens to anyone.We ended up getting in many fights and stopped talking to each other for awhile. If something happened to him in that time--the worst time of our friendship--I have no idea what I would have done. I didn't hate him at all, I missed his friendship everyday when we weren't talking and if suddenly he was dead, never to be talked to again, I would have had some serious grieving and therapy sessions in my future. However, we worked out our differences and are now best friends again like we used to be. We both came around and I believe that if Charlie wouldn't have died, that is what would have happened with Vera and Charlie. The sad truth is that young people die all the time. People lose best friends and loved ones all the time. It's incredibly tragic. The lesson that Please Ignore Vera Dietz taught me was to appreciate the people who you love and who love you back more than anything in the world. They could be gone any second.
This animoto was meant to be sort of a trailer for the book. I absolutely love seeing movie trailers because they almost always make me want to see the movie. I just made this to get the general point across that the book is about two best friends who grew apart and one ends up dying and the other one is left distraught and heart broken. Although Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King is so much more than just that plot line. As I have already said, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone really. I think boys would enjoy this book just as much as I did. The thing that keeps you tied into the book is the mystery behind Charlie's death. Hint lie throughout the novel as to what could have possibly happened and Vera hides herself from the truth all the time. Finally though, at the end she comes clean and clears Charlie's name. In addition she comes to peace with Charlie's death and with Charlie through a very unique was that was really really touching. It really makes you open up your eyes to the realities of the world.
Now this is what really made me think throughout the whole book: What would I have done if this would have happened to me? In my Vlog I mentioned how I know quite a few people who have changed since we got into High School. What would happen if something happened to one of them? What if that happened to you? It's not fair when things happen to us, things like losing someone with no answers and no real absolution. Recently I have been going through a similar thing with a friend of mine. Him and I have been best friends for a year now and once he got into High School, about the end of first semester, things started changing. It was really hard to deal with it because he just wasn't who I grew so close to anymore. He started hanging out with new people, not bad people, but new people who seemed to have an influence on him that I didn't appreciate. He started lying to me and saying hurtful things all to often. It's devastating and heartbreaking when anything like that happens to anyone.We ended up getting in many fights and stopped talking to each other for awhile. If something happened to him in that time--the worst time of our friendship--I have no idea what I would have done. I didn't hate him at all, I missed his friendship everyday when we weren't talking and if suddenly he was dead, never to be talked to again, I would have had some serious grieving and therapy sessions in my future. However, we worked out our differences and are now best friends again like we used to be. We both came around and I believe that if Charlie wouldn't have died, that is what would have happened with Vera and Charlie. The sad truth is that young people die all the time. People lose best friends and loved ones all the time. It's incredibly tragic. The lesson that Please Ignore Vera Dietz taught me was to appreciate the people who you love and who love you back more than anything in the world. They could be gone any second.
Vlog talking about Please Ignore Vera Dietz
This is me just talking about how great my book was. I also talked about the plot as well as relate to some of the themes throughout the novel!
Should Teenagers have Jobs?
I know that teenagers having jobs is a very controversial issue for many reasons. I, myself, have a job. I balance a job, school, sports, extracurriculars, and social life and I have yet to have too much of a real struggle at all. I enjoy the extra money and I enjoy my job itself. On the other hand, a friend of mine's dad WILL NOT let her have a job. He says now is the time for studying and schoolwork for your future--you will work the rest of your life. On the third hand, I know people who need a job to make ends meet with themselves or even for their families. So it's all a very debatable topic. I know some people think that teenagers having jobs ends up with unreliable service and their workplace. What do you think? Do you think schoolwork is more important in high school especially? Do you think teenagers are unreliable employees? Do jobs at a young age teach lessons or just hinder the "good life" of being a teenager? Here are a few links discussing this topic:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2006/04/28/when_teens_have.html
http://voices.yahoo.com/5-reasons-why-teenagers-after-school-331714.html
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2005-04-06-teen-work-usat_x.htm
Monday, February 27, 2012
Quotes relating to Please Ignore Vera Dietz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ-nKUpZPOo
This is a link to the song You Are Goodbye by Holly Conlan. I believe this song is a great representation of how Vera could have been feeling about Charlie at any given moment.
Not to many people know this about me but I love quotes. I have a huge notebook filled with them. They come from movies, songs, famous people...but mostly they are just from the internet somewhere and I see them, like them, and write them down. This blog post is going to contain quotes from this notebook of mine that somehow relate to my third quarter novel: Please Excuse Vera Dietz.
"They didn't agree on much, in fact they rarely agreed on anything. They fought all the time, and they challenged each other everyday, but despite their differences-they had one important thing in common. They were crazy about each other."-The Notebook
This quote from this famous movie describes, I think, how Charlie and Vera's relationship was. They did fight very often mostly because Charlie did some mean things to Vera. But no matter what, they always found their way back to each other. They never really lost each other throughout the entire High School change.
"You wonder why I don't talk to you anymore and please believe me it's not because I don't want you, it's just that everything I want to say I can't tell you anymore" -unknown
This quote is something I believe Vera would have been extremely relatable to. Charlie hurt her in so many ways and eventually she had the strength to rise above and move on. Even when she made that decision, however, he still crossed her mind constantly. The part about "everything I want to say I can't tell you anymore", Vera had said that in one way or another many times throughout the novel. Charlie was her best friend since they were kids and he changed into a completely different person- a person Vera did not know.
"I believe in fate. That everything, every single thing happens for a reason. The wrongs and the rights, they all shape our future. I believe no matter how much we might feel regret for the things we do, no matter how sad we may be for things that happen to us, in the end what happens, happens. And there is absolutely nothing anybody can do about it. There is nothing to do but embrace the change and make the best of what's been given to us"-unknown
This quote reminded me of Vera's attitude almost all the time. She was never angry at the world for what went on in her life. She was mad at Charlie and her mother mostly and those are perfectly understandable. She had this amazing ability to just accept things. All that happened to her she just accpeted no problem. No questions at all, she knew she couldn't do anything to change it. That is an amazing quality I think most people wish to possess.
"Life is a roller coaster, a never ending cycle. Every person is unique and beautiful in their own way. Each individual has a beauty that's unexpressed. Beauty is within. You love a person for how they make you feel, for their courage and compassion. I believe we always go back to the people that were there in the beginning. You create so much of a history with certain people that they become a part of you. They're always in your heart"-unknown
The part of this quote that really reminded me of the book was about how you love a person for how they make you feel and also the part saying we always go back to the people that were there in the beginning. Both of those ideas rang very true in the novel. Vera used to say often how Charlie was not perfect. He was very scraggly looking and sloppy acting. He was rude a lot. However, he was adventerous and has a fantastic spirit. That is what made Vera fall in love with him. And also, the part about how we always go back to the people who were there in the beginning reminds me how Charlie no matter who he turned into, would always keep showing up in Vera's life.
"If you want to succeed in life, remember this phrase: The past does not equal the future. Because you failed yesterday, or all today, or a momeny ago, or for the last six months, the last sixteen years, or the last fifty years of life, doesn't mean anything. All that matters is...what are you going to do right now?"
This reminds me of how Vera felt about her mother. She had in her mind from a young age that she was just going to turn out like her mother no matter what she did to prevent it. She drover herself crazy with this thought because she just had a lot of hatred towards her mother because of what happened.
"I think that you find your own way. You have your own rules. You have your own understanding of yourself, and that's what you're going to count on. In the end, it's what feels right to you. Not what your mother told you, not what some actress told you. Not what anybody else told you but that still, small voice"-Meryl Streep
I believe Vera would have been able to relate to this quote in many ways. She is incredibly independent. Therefore, she has her own rules as the quote suggests. I also know her attitude was that she can change her life if she wanted to..she had the power to. She was just nervous about fate stepping in and her being able to do nothing about it. The part of this quote where it says it doesn't matter what your mother says would have really hit home to Vera Dietz.
"What they say, life goes on, is mostly true. The mail is delivered, and the Christmas lights go up and down from the houses, and the ladders get put away, and you open yet another bos of cereal. In time, the volume of my feelings would be turned down in gentle increments to near quiet, and yet the record would still spin, always spin"-unknown
Vera lost her best friend in the entire world and the boy she loved at the exact time. It would take a long time for her to move on from something like that happening, if she ever could. That is what this quote is explaining-hurt fades but the feeling never leaves completely. Vera's hurt would disappear but Charlie will always be in her heart.
"I'm not asking for an I love you, I would settle for a simple hello"-unknown
This quote instantly made me think about how Charlie treated Vera for so long. Vera was well aware of her feelings for Charlie and she knew she loved him. However, he completely ignored her and would have nothing to do with her for days, weeks even. And she desperately wanted to talk to him almost all the time. I think this is something Vera would say.
"You're never alone. I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown"-unknown
Change of pace, this quote is something Charlie would say. At the end of the novel when Charlie is in heaven, he only watches Vera. He doesn't care about his old friends anymore and he hates his family. Vera is the only person he ever cared about. He makes this clear at the end of the novel in his own dead-person ways.
This is a link to the song You Are Goodbye by Holly Conlan. I believe this song is a great representation of how Vera could have been feeling about Charlie at any given moment.
Not to many people know this about me but I love quotes. I have a huge notebook filled with them. They come from movies, songs, famous people...but mostly they are just from the internet somewhere and I see them, like them, and write them down. This blog post is going to contain quotes from this notebook of mine that somehow relate to my third quarter novel: Please Excuse Vera Dietz.
"They didn't agree on much, in fact they rarely agreed on anything. They fought all the time, and they challenged each other everyday, but despite their differences-they had one important thing in common. They were crazy about each other."-The Notebook
This quote from this famous movie describes, I think, how Charlie and Vera's relationship was. They did fight very often mostly because Charlie did some mean things to Vera. But no matter what, they always found their way back to each other. They never really lost each other throughout the entire High School change.
"You wonder why I don't talk to you anymore and please believe me it's not because I don't want you, it's just that everything I want to say I can't tell you anymore" -unknown
This quote is something I believe Vera would have been extremely relatable to. Charlie hurt her in so many ways and eventually she had the strength to rise above and move on. Even when she made that decision, however, he still crossed her mind constantly. The part about "everything I want to say I can't tell you anymore", Vera had said that in one way or another many times throughout the novel. Charlie was her best friend since they were kids and he changed into a completely different person- a person Vera did not know.
"I believe in fate. That everything, every single thing happens for a reason. The wrongs and the rights, they all shape our future. I believe no matter how much we might feel regret for the things we do, no matter how sad we may be for things that happen to us, in the end what happens, happens. And there is absolutely nothing anybody can do about it. There is nothing to do but embrace the change and make the best of what's been given to us"-unknown
This quote reminded me of Vera's attitude almost all the time. She was never angry at the world for what went on in her life. She was mad at Charlie and her mother mostly and those are perfectly understandable. She had this amazing ability to just accept things. All that happened to her she just accpeted no problem. No questions at all, she knew she couldn't do anything to change it. That is an amazing quality I think most people wish to possess.
"Life is a roller coaster, a never ending cycle. Every person is unique and beautiful in their own way. Each individual has a beauty that's unexpressed. Beauty is within. You love a person for how they make you feel, for their courage and compassion. I believe we always go back to the people that were there in the beginning. You create so much of a history with certain people that they become a part of you. They're always in your heart"-unknown
The part of this quote that really reminded me of the book was about how you love a person for how they make you feel and also the part saying we always go back to the people that were there in the beginning. Both of those ideas rang very true in the novel. Vera used to say often how Charlie was not perfect. He was very scraggly looking and sloppy acting. He was rude a lot. However, he was adventerous and has a fantastic spirit. That is what made Vera fall in love with him. And also, the part about how we always go back to the people who were there in the beginning reminds me how Charlie no matter who he turned into, would always keep showing up in Vera's life.
"If you want to succeed in life, remember this phrase: The past does not equal the future. Because you failed yesterday, or all today, or a momeny ago, or for the last six months, the last sixteen years, or the last fifty years of life, doesn't mean anything. All that matters is...what are you going to do right now?"
This reminds me of how Vera felt about her mother. She had in her mind from a young age that she was just going to turn out like her mother no matter what she did to prevent it. She drover herself crazy with this thought because she just had a lot of hatred towards her mother because of what happened.
"I think that you find your own way. You have your own rules. You have your own understanding of yourself, and that's what you're going to count on. In the end, it's what feels right to you. Not what your mother told you, not what some actress told you. Not what anybody else told you but that still, small voice"-Meryl Streep
I believe Vera would have been able to relate to this quote in many ways. She is incredibly independent. Therefore, she has her own rules as the quote suggests. I also know her attitude was that she can change her life if she wanted to..she had the power to. She was just nervous about fate stepping in and her being able to do nothing about it. The part of this quote where it says it doesn't matter what your mother says would have really hit home to Vera Dietz.
"What they say, life goes on, is mostly true. The mail is delivered, and the Christmas lights go up and down from the houses, and the ladders get put away, and you open yet another bos of cereal. In time, the volume of my feelings would be turned down in gentle increments to near quiet, and yet the record would still spin, always spin"-unknown
Vera lost her best friend in the entire world and the boy she loved at the exact time. It would take a long time for her to move on from something like that happening, if she ever could. That is what this quote is explaining-hurt fades but the feeling never leaves completely. Vera's hurt would disappear but Charlie will always be in her heart.
"I'm not asking for an I love you, I would settle for a simple hello"-unknown
This quote instantly made me think about how Charlie treated Vera for so long. Vera was well aware of her feelings for Charlie and she knew she loved him. However, he completely ignored her and would have nothing to do with her for days, weeks even. And she desperately wanted to talk to him almost all the time. I think this is something Vera would say.
"You're never alone. I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown"-unknown
Change of pace, this quote is something Charlie would say. At the end of the novel when Charlie is in heaven, he only watches Vera. He doesn't care about his old friends anymore and he hates his family. Vera is the only person he ever cared about. He makes this clear at the end of the novel in his own dead-person ways.
Personal Admiration for Ms. Vera Dietz
A big reason why I loved Please Ignore Vera Dietz was becaue of the main character-Vera. She endured an incredibly traumatic event in her life and she just held on even when everyone would have understood if she fell apart. She inspired me in the fact that I find personal strength an extremely attractive quality and me, myself, would love to have more of. Vera suffered a few very impactive things throughout the book. The first one is that her mother left her and her father when Vera was 10. Her mother left them for a wealthier man and never really contacted them. She sent Vera $50 dollars on her birthday every year- a cheap excuse for having a girl grow up without a mother. This obviously had affected her growing up. She was left with feelings of being completely unwanted and unloved. Early in Vera's life, Vera's mother had to become a stripper in order to make finanicial ends meet. A reoccuring theme throughout the novel is how strongly Vera felt about becoming nothing like her mom. She was constantly afraid of falling into the same path her mother fell into. So there was the first one. Secondly, Charlie. Charlie gave Vera enough trouble when he was alive. He ditched her in high school and as soon as she started feeling okay about losing him in the sense of him just changing, he would show back up in her life only to let her down again almost instantly. This is hard enough for a teenage girl to deal with-losing her best friend due to high school changes and loving him in silence. He quiet frankly played with her heart. Then, of course, the big one- Charlie dying. He already hurt her enough while alive and then he decides to die-as Vera's attitude was- and leave her with all these daunting questions. He is no longer there at all to answer anything--so Vera is left with the unknown about everything Charlie was into and what Charlie was feeling and doing. Then, lastly, she develops this...condition...after Charlie dies. She hallucinates that at times, thousands of Charlie's are suffocating her asking her to clear his name. She is too mad at Charlie to do this right away, so the Charlie's don't leave her alone for a long time. They come at the same times Charlie did- right when she starts feeling better. In fact, since the novel changes narrators, some chapters include dead Charlie's opinion on things. He says he sends these things on purpose because he knows and wants Vera to clear his name since he obviously can't. But anways, Vera is very scared of these Charlie's appearing and she becomes extrememly frustrated with them.
So that is an overview of how strong Vera Dietz HAD to be in order to overcome all these obstacles in her life. I know that I already have a heard enough time balancing my school-work-soccer-social life schedule. I recently got in a car crash and have been dealing with the consequences of that which include a lawsuit against me. And I know one of the hardest things I deal with is boys and heartache. After reading this book, it made me think about how much worse it could be. My boyfriend could be dead. I could be living only with my father with no mother figure and no siblings (I love my brother). I could be having mental problems as an after effect of all that has happened to me. I could feel like I am destined to be absolutely nothing when really, I have an incredibly bright future with much less darkness than Vera's. Therefore, I really became attached to Vera's character and how she carried herself. It made me appreciate what I do have. At for that, A.S. King, I thank you very much.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Hey 2012 how are you?
2012 is finally here! That means third quarter is starting as well. That also means a new book! I really had no idea what kind of book I wanted to read, so I just went with one. A classmate told me it was good, so I chose Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. I honestly thought I was just going to have to suffer through it, but I ended up absolutely loving it. I agreed to the book after I read the back cover because it had to do with first loves and losing someone you love, both of which I have experienced, thankfully not together. So the book did interest me, but I kind of had the impression it was just going to be another teen romance novel that would be hard to get into and enjoy. How wrong I was! I finished reading it last night, it took me about a week and a half to get through. My first quarter book was one of those sort of books, and my second quarter book was based off a true story. I am really excited that I'm getting a taste of everything by this blogging assignment. Next quarter I hope to get another book based off a true story. But anyways, my third quarter book is officially Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King.
The novel is set in a small Pennsylvania town. The town is a mix of run down neighborhoods, middle class neighborhoods, and rich neighborhoods. You only really know this because Vera, the main character, is a pizza delivery "technician" for a pizza place in town. The book is mostly in Vera's point of view, but transitions between four people's viewpoint: Vera, Charlie, Vera's dad, and the pagoda. Vera and Charlie grew up together. They have been best friend's virtually their whole lives and only woods separate their houses. Then when the transition to high school came, that's when everything changed. Vera stayed the same: responsible, quiet, undercover, and determined. Charlie stayed the same in the sense that he was still wild and free spirited. However, he did this the wrong way. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd. This eventually led to his death three years after high school started. The book switches from present time to a time in history--flashbacks really. So Vera is left with the unresolved feelings of losing her best friend after he continually hurt her in many ways and in some ways hating for him, all the while being in love with him and he now being dead. So throughout the whole book, you are left trying to figure out how Charlie dies and the dark secrets he left behind. It was a fantastic book that capture's your attention instantly and keeps it until the very end. I highly recommend it!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Letters About Literature: From Baghdad, With Love
Sloan Winters
Dear Jay Kopelman,
I’m an11th grader at Carbondale Community High School and in my English 3 class we were assigned to blog about different books included on the Read for a Lifetime list. For my second quarter book and blog, I chose your book: From Baghdad, With Love. My best friend read it as her first quarter book and loved it and recommended it to me, so I went for it. I have never been interested in war. I have never overly adored warfare or the military or anything. It’s not that I’m anti-war and military, but I just do not enjoy the idea of people killing each other and if anyone-my dad, my brother, my boyfriend or my future husband- was employed in a war I would be quite frankly, torn up and a nervous wreck. I am so thankful for all the Military Forces, but I just don’t want it to affect me too personally. After reading your book, my perspective changed. I never would have chosen a book that was set in a war on my own. Since my best friend recommended it I figured she knows me well enough to accurately recommend a book for me. I was, of course, touched by Lava changing your heart so much, which I will get to later, but my perspective on war and the military, in your case the Marines, was changed. I now have a new pride and respect for military veterans and current soldiers. Soldiers aren’t just tough, strong men devoted to killing for a cause-they are still human and they still have human emotions. I also learned from your novel about how war works. I don’t watch the news, especially when newscasters start talking about war because really I just don’t understand. Living in your shoes by reading your novel put that understanding in my mind and heartbreak in my heart. I could never be a soldier. I don’t have what it takes. Therefore, I’m in awe of the military work now.
I’m in all reality a big softie. Stories about how one person changed someone’s life, or an activity, and in your case, a feisty puppy; it just touches me. I also adore the concept that your life could be going one direction and then all of a sudden, something happens and it is changed forever. This is exactly what happened with Lava to you. This gives me hope for humanity. So many people view people as at the core-bad. They view the world as a dark, cold place. They believe there is no pure good and that everything is corrupted. For you, this is what you were living with and I would not be surprised if this was your standpoint on the world prior to Lava leaping into your life. But then he shot across your horizon like a falling star and nothing was ever the same. You were living and working in hell until this furry friend got into your heart, softened it, and changed you. Though I am not to speak for you, Lava was your hero. He saved you from the world and from yourself. As a sixteen year old with much more life ahead of me, I can only hope I find something or someone in my lifetime, like Lava did for you, to ignite the fire inside me and change my life forever.
Sincerely,
Sloan Winters
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Sparknotes=Bad
I went on sparknotes.com and read the extremely short and pathetic summary of my second quarter book From Baghdad, With Love. This novel is an incredible and inspiring book and this "summary" of the book is nowhere near the deserving amount of credit to the whole novel. This novel is deeply emotionally moving, and in this summary I wanted to fall asleep. Sure, it spoils the entire book for you and points out obvious symbols. But, how is this enriching your attitude towards Marines, or war, or how people's lives can change in one day, or how good things come out of bad situations, or the pure goodness of reading a book! I've never used Sparknotes for any school assignment. I always really try to read a book whether or not I like it. Like the catchy phrase of the Disney movie, Holes: "It builds character". That is repeated to the campers when asking why they must dig holes all day. I'm pretty sympathetic towards anyone who uses Sparknotes or doesn't read outside school let alone an assigned text. They are cheating themselves. What's it gonna hurt? Going to gain knowledge you wouldn't have originally gained? Going to expand your reading skills and therefore, believe it or not, your writing skills? Reading an entire novel is nothing but a benefit and an enriching experience. When taking the easy way out like reading Sparksnotes, you get practically no benefits but maybe an A on a quiz or test. I consistently see that the people who do take this shortcut, take other shortcuts in life as well, if you get my drift. Reading is one of the simple joys in life and when you completely disregard this fact, no good is done. Even if someone has to sit down and force themselves to read a novel, in the very least they can say that they did it, and they conquered something they didn't want to do. In my case, whenever I've had to sit and force a novel down my throat, I always was thankful I did so, because the best part of the book is always the end when everything makes sense- you just have to get there. Specifically in reference to my second quarter novel, you completely miss the attachment to Lava and adoration for Kopelman, the emotional connections to Kopelman when he doesn't know Lava's fate, and especially you don't get the build-up and climax of when Kopelman and Lava are reunited again and for the rest of their lives. The summary that stated pretty much that the novel was about a Marine who found a dog and went through a lot of trials to get him to America is a terrible representation of the treasure that this novel truly is...the treasure that any and most novels are.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Link-up: From Baghdad, With Love
http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/from-baghdad-with-love-a-marine-the-war-and-a-dog-named-lava
This link gives a summary of my second quarter blog book: From Baghad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman. Gives reader an idea of what book is about and shortly discusses symbols and themes of the book. Additionally this link gives helpful publishing information.
http://bfgb.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/from-baghdad-with-love-by-lieutenant-colonel-jay-kopelman-with-melinda-roth/
This is an incredible link giving a very short summary of the novel. It gives a high recommendation for the book. Also, it informs the reader that there is a follow-up book of this novel: From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons From a Dog Named Lava by Lieutenant Colonol Jay Kopelman. This is so exciting!
http://catalog.wrl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1H5250D06H640.8438&menu=search&aspect=subtab63&npp=12&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=dial&ri=1&source=~!horizon&index=BIB&term=580316&x=0&y=0&aspect=subtab63#focus
A quick link to a site summarizing the follow-up book. It summarizes as well as gives publishing information. It also lets you use a website set up like SILNET to borrow book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLIzyAM5qrQ
This is a fantastic YouTube video of Jay Kopelman talking about Lava and his story. Viewer is able to see actual footage of Jay and Lava's life currrently. This video talks less about what the book is about and more about what happened AFTER the book, after Lava arrived safely in the United States. Must watch if you have read the book!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/
Lava potentially saved Kopelman from this common disorder. It's very common with veterans. This link discusses symptoms and causes.
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
This is the official website for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It offers help and informs public of disorder. It also includes numerous, true stories of veterans dealing with this condition.
http://www.militarymascots.org/
This is one of the two groups that helped Kopelman get Lava to the U.S. "Military Mascots" helps deployed service members and the pets they love. It contains a few similar stories to that of Kopelman and Lava.
http://www.animalcenter.org/
This is the website for the second organization that helped Kopelman and Lava. The Helen Woodward Animal Center is dedicated to saving animals lives and enriching people's lives--which happens to be exactly what they did for Kopelman and Lava. This website provides information on the oraganization.
http://www.spcai.org/baghdad-pups.html
This is a really awesome site that pretty much reminds me of Kopelman and Lava's entire story. Operation Baghdad Pups is a mission for soldiers who find dogs in the warzone and become attached, as Kopelman did. It is their mission to save these dogs to keep soldier's hearts from hardening from the influence of war, again, exactly what happened with Kopelman.
http://kennedycanine.net/warzone.htm
This is a nonprofit center that raises money and collects supplies for stray dogs in Afganistan. In the future, any wars in another country where needy dogs reside would benefit as well. It crossed my mind that if Kopelman knew about this project, that he may have been less attached to Lava because he may have had more hope. Then as soon as I thought that, no way. Kopelman and Lava were meant to be.
http://www.wctv.tv/wswg/headlines/Florida_Soldier_Reunited_with_Dog_132514528.html
This is an article of a story about a soldier who was reunited with his warzone dog that fought alongside him in the war. It's so sweet, the soldier got emotional and the dog was so excited. This dog helped this soldier cope.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/dogs-rescued-war-zone-safe-fairbanks
This is another story about a soldier being "saved" by a dog, two dogs in this case. They are puppies actually. They were rescued by a soldier through a Puppy Saving Mission and he adopted them when he was back from his service.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50thAP-K9/K9History18/
This is a really great website providing information on war dog training. It gives an extensive history of war dogs. It also provides many pictures to go along with the information.
http://www.robinsondogtraining.com/historyofwardogs.html
This is the website for an actual war dog trainer. It gives information on the training dogs would go through. It also provides quite the history of wardogs.
http://www.vet.utk.edu/wardog/background.shtml
This is a really nice website that is a War Dog Memorial. You always hear about soldier memorials and it's nice that dog's involved in war are recognized and remembered as well. It gives history, information on ceremonies, and pictures.
http://www.marines.com/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=AXW101AXXABX0607#default
This is the Marine website. It gives historical information as well as information on training. This website gives you a good idea of how Kopelman was trained and why he has the attitude he does.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/marinebasic.htm
This is a very informational site on Marines. It gives general information and takes you through what to expect if wanting to become a Marine. It also starts to get into some of the strict rules of basic training as well as being a Marine.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/mari-f25.shtml
This is an interesting article about how a man died in Marine training. It gives you a really good idea how tough it is to be and become a Marine. This explains Kopelman's hard attitude towards life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33585208/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/marine-bends-rules-save-dog-found-iraq/
This is yet another similar story to Kopelman and Lava's. A Marine bends the rules in order to get his furry new friend home with him. There is also a video in this article of an actual interview with the Marine with his dog.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2005/050315-bdu_standards.pdf
This is a excerpt from the long list of conduct rules Marine's have. Kopelman stressed many times throughout the novel that having a pet was against the code General Order 1-A. This is a list that includes a brief part on having pets as a Marine.
This link gives a summary of my second quarter blog book: From Baghad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman. Gives reader an idea of what book is about and shortly discusses symbols and themes of the book. Additionally this link gives helpful publishing information.
http://bfgb.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/from-baghdad-with-love-by-lieutenant-colonel-jay-kopelman-with-melinda-roth/
This is an incredible link giving a very short summary of the novel. It gives a high recommendation for the book. Also, it informs the reader that there is a follow-up book of this novel: From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons From a Dog Named Lava by Lieutenant Colonol Jay Kopelman. This is so exciting!
http://catalog.wrl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1H5250D06H640.8438&menu=search&aspect=subtab63&npp=12&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=dial&ri=1&source=~!horizon&index=BIB&term=580316&x=0&y=0&aspect=subtab63#focus
A quick link to a site summarizing the follow-up book. It summarizes as well as gives publishing information. It also lets you use a website set up like SILNET to borrow book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLIzyAM5qrQ
This is a fantastic YouTube video of Jay Kopelman talking about Lava and his story. Viewer is able to see actual footage of Jay and Lava's life currrently. This video talks less about what the book is about and more about what happened AFTER the book, after Lava arrived safely in the United States. Must watch if you have read the book!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/
Lava potentially saved Kopelman from this common disorder. It's very common with veterans. This link discusses symptoms and causes.
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
This is the official website for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It offers help and informs public of disorder. It also includes numerous, true stories of veterans dealing with this condition.
http://www.militarymascots.org/
This is one of the two groups that helped Kopelman get Lava to the U.S. "Military Mascots" helps deployed service members and the pets they love. It contains a few similar stories to that of Kopelman and Lava.
http://www.animalcenter.org/
This is the website for the second organization that helped Kopelman and Lava. The Helen Woodward Animal Center is dedicated to saving animals lives and enriching people's lives--which happens to be exactly what they did for Kopelman and Lava. This website provides information on the oraganization.
http://www.spcai.org/baghdad-pups.html
This is a really awesome site that pretty much reminds me of Kopelman and Lava's entire story. Operation Baghdad Pups is a mission for soldiers who find dogs in the warzone and become attached, as Kopelman did. It is their mission to save these dogs to keep soldier's hearts from hardening from the influence of war, again, exactly what happened with Kopelman.
http://kennedycanine.net/warzone.htm
This is a nonprofit center that raises money and collects supplies for stray dogs in Afganistan. In the future, any wars in another country where needy dogs reside would benefit as well. It crossed my mind that if Kopelman knew about this project, that he may have been less attached to Lava because he may have had more hope. Then as soon as I thought that, no way. Kopelman and Lava were meant to be.
http://www.wctv.tv/wswg/headlines/Florida_Soldier_Reunited_with_Dog_132514528.html
This is an article of a story about a soldier who was reunited with his warzone dog that fought alongside him in the war. It's so sweet, the soldier got emotional and the dog was so excited. This dog helped this soldier cope.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/dogs-rescued-war-zone-safe-fairbanks
This is another story about a soldier being "saved" by a dog, two dogs in this case. They are puppies actually. They were rescued by a soldier through a Puppy Saving Mission and he adopted them when he was back from his service.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50thAP-K9/K9History18/
This is a really great website providing information on war dog training. It gives an extensive history of war dogs. It also provides many pictures to go along with the information.
http://www.robinsondogtraining.com/historyofwardogs.html
This is the website for an actual war dog trainer. It gives information on the training dogs would go through. It also provides quite the history of wardogs.
http://www.vet.utk.edu/wardog/background.shtml
This is a really nice website that is a War Dog Memorial. You always hear about soldier memorials and it's nice that dog's involved in war are recognized and remembered as well. It gives history, information on ceremonies, and pictures.
http://www.marines.com/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=AXW101AXXABX0607#default
This is the Marine website. It gives historical information as well as information on training. This website gives you a good idea of how Kopelman was trained and why he has the attitude he does.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/marinebasic.htm
This is a very informational site on Marines. It gives general information and takes you through what to expect if wanting to become a Marine. It also starts to get into some of the strict rules of basic training as well as being a Marine.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/mari-f25.shtml
This is an interesting article about how a man died in Marine training. It gives you a really good idea how tough it is to be and become a Marine. This explains Kopelman's hard attitude towards life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33585208/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/marine-bends-rules-save-dog-found-iraq/
This is yet another similar story to Kopelman and Lava's. A Marine bends the rules in order to get his furry new friend home with him. There is also a video in this article of an actual interview with the Marine with his dog.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2005/050315-bdu_standards.pdf
This is a excerpt from the long list of conduct rules Marine's have. Kopelman stressed many times throughout the novel that having a pet was against the code General Order 1-A. This is a list that includes a brief part on having pets as a Marine.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The New Age: 21st Century English Classrooms
Nowadays, teachers, classrooms and schools are trying to utilize the new technology that is available to many schools. They do this by incorporating social networks such as Facebook and Twitter that many students already have outside of school and using blogging such as this. This is completely understandable and it works for many students and it does for me to an extent. I give teachers a lot of respect for trying hard to make lessons relatable to their students. I enjoy blogging. I didn't at first but I really have learned to get into it and use it to enhance my understanding of the current book that I'm reading. So, in this aspect I truly believe the attempts at using 21st century technology in the classroom. However, I do not use my Facebook or create a Twitter account educationally. I don't see how this would benefit me because I purely use my Facebook for social things. I keep in touch with my friends and family members from across the country. Facebook is almost something to get away from school. I like school, and I always have, but I don't think I could ever want to use Facebook educationally. So, blogging, yes. Facebook and Twitter, no. I do think the contact across the state to another school is really cool and can really be fun and enhance understanding of texts, but as far as I have seen, the school we are communicating with isn't doing the same kind of assignment as our school. I don't think they are reading Read for a Lifetime books and blogging about them. So, therefore it makes it hard to really have something to talk about most times. But, this idea has a ton of potential. It is a way to connect with people you don't know and learn more about the book than you yourself could come up with. I think by the time I get into college, colleges will be incorporating the same kind of educating techniques as the ones mentioned above. So this is great practice!! Blogging really helps your understanding of the text because it tests your creativty and makes you think more about things, and differently about things. The student across state communication introduces the oppurtunity for other students to mention or discuss something about the book that maybe you missed or didn't think about. This also happened in group discussions in our class and the idea is the same and would work the same. Reading aloud in class gets boring and long. People read at different paces and understand at different paces and reading in class as a class can mess those things up for some people. Books should be read at your own pace and own skill level. Plus, no one looks forward to just sitting in class for an hour listening to a fellow student read a paragraph of a novel, and just passing it on, and on, and on.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Animoto- From Baghdad, With Love
http://animoto.com/play/FZM32NFNPF18XXMBUnjH8g
This is a short trailer to my second quarter book: From Baghdad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. It's a very inspiring true story, I hope you enjoy!
This is a short trailer to my second quarter book: From Baghdad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. It's a very inspiring true story, I hope you enjoy!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Comments Round TWO!
Comment to Walker Upton:
I'm glad you actually got your blogs mostly finished up, and I'm glad you aren't completely unhappy with your grade for it. Overall, it sounds like you really just need to sit down and take everything seriously. My attitude was sort of similar at the beginning of the blogging, I just didn't want to do it. Maybe you should read my reflection, I feel like it could help you. I basically was talking about how I didn't want to do them, and I also procrastinated, but once you just sit down and focus and get it done, it'll really not that bad. I think at the end if you really put more effort into, you will have an awesome sense of accomplishment because it's really kinda cool looking at all your hard work in one place and saying "this is mine". Keep working at it Walker! I know you have the potential to make a really great blog!! Bring out your true creativity, we all have it in us somewhere.
--Sloan Winters :)
Comment to Richard Ketter:
I'm really happy you got such a good grade on your blog! I sincerely think you deserve it. A couple times when I was complaining about the blog assignments, saying I was having a hard time with them, you sarcastically encouraged me and prompted me to believe that maybe they are not too bad. Thanks! My favorite thing about your blog entries are your humor. I find myself laughing out loud at them often. I think that maybe, though, still you should take your analysis seriously, which I think for the most part you always did. Just make sure you maintain a good, strong, serious note in your blogs! I think it's awesome that you are reading a book of poems this quarter. Poetry can be overall challenging and most kids doing this assignment wouldn't even stop and think to read a book filled with poetry. Poetry is hard for a lot of people to understand so good luck!! You've heavily praised The Great Gatsby, and either third or fourth quarter it's definetly of my list to read!!
--Sloan Winters :)
Comment to Laurel Stewart:
Hey best friend :)I took your advice and am reading the book you read last quarter, this quarter. I think I will enjoy it, especially since you did so much. Sorry that your grade wasn't what you hoped for, but now you know what to improve! The points msised because your vlog wasn't showing up, that's a real bummer, and there wasn't anything you could do! I know you run your own blog on your on time,a very successful one at that. So, I definetly think you have the full potential to run this, new, reading related blog really well!! Good luck with your new book. You are transitioning from a true story to a fictional story, and I'm doing the opposite. This quarter I already enjoy the book you read last quarter much more than my last quarter book, and I can safely assume you will prefer your first quarter book over this fictional one. I hope I'm wrong though! I will be following you...
--Sloan Winters :)
I'm glad you actually got your blogs mostly finished up, and I'm glad you aren't completely unhappy with your grade for it. Overall, it sounds like you really just need to sit down and take everything seriously. My attitude was sort of similar at the beginning of the blogging, I just didn't want to do it. Maybe you should read my reflection, I feel like it could help you. I basically was talking about how I didn't want to do them, and I also procrastinated, but once you just sit down and focus and get it done, it'll really not that bad. I think at the end if you really put more effort into, you will have an awesome sense of accomplishment because it's really kinda cool looking at all your hard work in one place and saying "this is mine". Keep working at it Walker! I know you have the potential to make a really great blog!! Bring out your true creativity, we all have it in us somewhere.
--Sloan Winters :)
Comment to Richard Ketter:
I'm really happy you got such a good grade on your blog! I sincerely think you deserve it. A couple times when I was complaining about the blog assignments, saying I was having a hard time with them, you sarcastically encouraged me and prompted me to believe that maybe they are not too bad. Thanks! My favorite thing about your blog entries are your humor. I find myself laughing out loud at them often. I think that maybe, though, still you should take your analysis seriously, which I think for the most part you always did. Just make sure you maintain a good, strong, serious note in your blogs! I think it's awesome that you are reading a book of poems this quarter. Poetry can be overall challenging and most kids doing this assignment wouldn't even stop and think to read a book filled with poetry. Poetry is hard for a lot of people to understand so good luck!! You've heavily praised The Great Gatsby, and either third or fourth quarter it's definetly of my list to read!!
--Sloan Winters :)
Comment to Laurel Stewart:
Hey best friend :)I took your advice and am reading the book you read last quarter, this quarter. I think I will enjoy it, especially since you did so much. Sorry that your grade wasn't what you hoped for, but now you know what to improve! The points msised because your vlog wasn't showing up, that's a real bummer, and there wasn't anything you could do! I know you run your own blog on your on time,a very successful one at that. So, I definetly think you have the full potential to run this, new, reading related blog really well!! Good luck with your new book. You are transitioning from a true story to a fictional story, and I'm doing the opposite. This quarter I already enjoy the book you read last quarter much more than my last quarter book, and I can safely assume you will prefer your first quarter book over this fictional one. I hope I'm wrong though! I will be following you...
--Sloan Winters :)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Reflecting and Moving Onto Second Quarter!
I am perfectly content with my grade this quarter! I got a 100! I was surprised. I am definetly not the most creative and thoughtful person on the planet, but I'm glad that the hardwork that I did put into the blog proved successful. As for organization and focus, all my blog entries were complete and my blog was well organized. For content and ideas, this is coming from my feedback, readers of my blog could understand that I read my book and understood it. My blog provided readers with informational websites, personal vlog, etc. Then, thankfully, my grammer and spelling proved adequate to the criteria. That was one thing I was worried about when doing this blog assignment. I overall have good grammer and spelling skills, but I do have problems from time to time. I think this quarter I can definetly become more creative when responding to blog prompts. Although I still don't know how this will turn out, I can always try. Whenever trying to be creative, unless I come up with an idea right away, there's like a wall preventing me from coming up with a solid, creative, idea or response. Also, I hope that this quarter I picked a more meaningful, interesting book. Three Black Swans was an alright book, but it got repetitive and was just very fictional.
When presented with this blog assignment, I was indifferent. I don't read to often on my own, but when I do get around to it, I enjoy it. Soon enough, I began to dread the blog days. This really is only because it challenged my creativity and it took more effort than I was usually willing to give on a Thursday at the very end of the school day. I soon got behind by putting off the blog prompts. I then decided that I just had to go it, just get through them all. I gave myself a lot of time to do so, and to my surprise I finished them quickly. I had assumed that they would be very time consuming, but once I had the attitude to just get it done, time flew. At the end of the day, and looking back, I do like this project. It's like nothing I've ever done in any class and like I've mentioned a few times now, it challenges my creativity which trust me, needs challenging. Also, one thing I think this blog assignment has taught me is to just get it done, and do my best. I think this will be very beneficial when I get into college. There are going to many things I don't want to do, but have to do. Who knows, I could end up liking it, and I need to learn the discipline to just get to that point.
This quarter I'm reading From Baghdad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. My best friend read this book last quarter and really loved it. It's written by a Marine with the help of Melinda Roth. Overall, it's about a big tough Marine who's heart had been hardened by the war, and the concept of it, and the death that inevitably follows it who finds a puppy in the midst of this fight-physically the war, as well as his emotional and mental fight- that changes his life. This quarter readers can expect to see a lot of information on the Army, Marines, etc and their psychological dealings that are a direct result of fighting a war. I think that this book is going to give a unique perspective of this, the problems veterans of wars deal with after the fighting is long over. The fact that a puppy "softened his heart", which is how I like to think of it, is just downright precious. I hope this quarter blog is an successful as last quarters!!
When presented with this blog assignment, I was indifferent. I don't read to often on my own, but when I do get around to it, I enjoy it. Soon enough, I began to dread the blog days. This really is only because it challenged my creativity and it took more effort than I was usually willing to give on a Thursday at the very end of the school day. I soon got behind by putting off the blog prompts. I then decided that I just had to go it, just get through them all. I gave myself a lot of time to do so, and to my surprise I finished them quickly. I had assumed that they would be very time consuming, but once I had the attitude to just get it done, time flew. At the end of the day, and looking back, I do like this project. It's like nothing I've ever done in any class and like I've mentioned a few times now, it challenges my creativity which trust me, needs challenging. Also, one thing I think this blog assignment has taught me is to just get it done, and do my best. I think this will be very beneficial when I get into college. There are going to many things I don't want to do, but have to do. Who knows, I could end up liking it, and I need to learn the discipline to just get to that point.
This quarter I'm reading From Baghdad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. My best friend read this book last quarter and really loved it. It's written by a Marine with the help of Melinda Roth. Overall, it's about a big tough Marine who's heart had been hardened by the war, and the concept of it, and the death that inevitably follows it who finds a puppy in the midst of this fight-physically the war, as well as his emotional and mental fight- that changes his life. This quarter readers can expect to see a lot of information on the Army, Marines, etc and their psychological dealings that are a direct result of fighting a war. I think that this book is going to give a unique perspective of this, the problems veterans of wars deal with after the fighting is long over. The fact that a puppy "softened his heart", which is how I like to think of it, is just downright precious. I hope this quarter blog is an successful as last quarters!!
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