haha

The Nature of Our World Today

The nature of our world today demands global unity and cooperation. With growing technology and an increase in communication, nations of the world should be in harmony with each other; but are not. These issues only seem to tear us apart. The developing world allows for the possibility of global unity and interconnectedness. To combat issues like global warming, hunger, and AIDS, understanding and cooperation are needed. Reality is we are all linked; what one of us does affects the other and once we understand that, we can move forward. Michael Ondaatje, through the unique style of pluralism, sends that message to his readers in both The English Patient and In the Skin of a Lion. In his novels, there are scarce if no religious references. However, there is not a lack of religion or spirituality because the form and messages of the two novels are almost like gospels themselves, preaching a sense of connectedness and universality. The epigraph that precedes both In the Skin of a Lion and The English Patient reads “Never again will a single story be told as thought it were the only one.” Ondaatje makes that promise to his readers. His stories are not about one person; they are about multiple people and how their lives are woven together, a lot like the blockbuster movies Crash and Rendition.
These are award winning movies because they reflect our culture today. In Crash, the lives of nine complete strangers, living in Los Angeles, all converge in one day, in some tragic event. The movie begins with snap shots into each person’s separate and independent life. Through the metaphor of cars and accidents, these character’s worlds collide. The powerful message reverberates through your entire being: we are all linked no matter how far apart we may seem. Rendition holds the same message but is portrayed through different circumstances. The lives of seven people of different ethnicities and homelands are severely affected by one suicide bombing explosion in Egypt. As the story is played out, every character is dragged in by this event which acts as vortex. The innocent Egyptian American engineer is tortured. The American rookie C.I.A. agent has to witness the atrocity. The Egyptian high ranking official investigates the bombing and institutes the torture while his daughter has gone missing. She has been hiding with her lover, a member of a secret religious terrorist sect, who, as the story unfolds, is responsible for the explosion. Once again, even though these characters are from different countries and have no relation to the other characters, they are drawn together. This global coincidence is like a magnet. However instead of an Egyptian market place being the junction point, an Italian villa is convergence point in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient.
Tracing the experiences of four random people, who coincidentally all end up in an abandoned and shell shocked Italian villa, The English Patient portrays World War II and the effects of war on these people in an incoherent manner. The story line bounces from present to future to past all within a few pages, never making a clear distinction between the time changes. Michael Ondaatje, a Canadian author, centers his novel around a severe burn victim, unable to survive on his own and suffers extensive memory loss except for dream-like sequences where he recounts his dangerous and lustful past. Always by his side, Hana, a nurse who chose to stay with the English Patient despite advice not to, fosters to his every need either by peeling plums for him or by reading to him. Two characters arrive upon this serene Italian villa unexpected: Caravaggio, Hana’s Canadian thief for an uncle, whom she grew up with, and Kip, an Indian bomb disabler, whom she has a physical love affair with. Through these characters, the novel addresses the issues of universality, war, and identity. Ondaatje leaves his readers with a sense of interconnectedness. Even though they are miles apart, “[Hana’s] shoulder touches the edge of a cupboard and a glass dislodges. Kirpals’s left hand swoops down and gently catches the dropped fork an inch from the floor and gently passes it into the fingers of his daughter, a wrinkle at the edge of his eyes behind the spectacles” (302). Ondaatje has somehow found a way to weave beautiful descriptions by just using actions. His descriptions are not flowery and verbose. They are simple and yet intricately beautiful. The love scenes are blunt. By putting forth these un-stereotypical intimate moments, like when Katherine, the English patient’s former lover “sits on the bed hugging nakedness. He slides his open palm along the sweat of her shoulder…As lovers they have offered parts of their body to each other, like this” Ondaatje almost makes sex and the sensual a little less awkward and more real (156). Because the language is so simple, the coherence of the story is very complex. Instead of a panorama, snap shots are given. Ondaatje does not just tell one story, but multiple stories through different lenses. It is never one person’s life, it is never one persons story because lives and stories are made up of relationships between people and their experiences. The life of one person is dependent upon another. Ondaajte first addresses this issue in his novel, In the Skin of a Lion.
This story revolves around the life and relationships of Patrick Lewis, a Canadian farm boy who keeps manual labor as his livelihood for years to come. Most importantly it traces the relationships he has with two women lovers, three unrelated men, and a young girl. It is hard not to fall in love with or at least pity Patrick Lewis, this hardworking, unsure, and compassionate figure. While there are subplots interspersed, the storyline is not quite as complex or as hard to follow as the English Patient storyline. The bulk of the novel deals with the passionate love affairs between first Patrick and Clara and then Patrick and Alice, Clara’s actress friend. Small details make up these relationships, like
“the eroticism of [Clara’s] history, the knowledge of where she sat in classrooms, her favorite brand of pencil at the age of nine” (69). Infatuation relied on details. One night, while lying in bed, Alice, his second lover, whispered to him her favorite lines “I have taught you that the sky in all its zones is mortal…let me now re-emphasize the extreme looseness of the structure of all objects” (135). All parts of the world are living and each of those parts flows and coexists with the other. This statement deems true because the end of the novel brought Caravaggio, a thief Patrick met in prison, Mr. Harris, a big wig who was the funding behind the waterworks project that Patrick worked on, and Patrick himself all together in one grand scheme bombing attempt. All their lives were mentioned separately and described apart from each other in the beginning; yet they all come together in the climax. Never would one have guessed that the lives of these characters would cross paths. That is the beauty in Ondaatje’s writing. He finds ways to bring the lives of his seeming separate and unrelated characters together. On a larger scale, Patrick resides in the middle of a giant ethnic melting pot. Immigrants of all kinds: Macedonian, Greek, Finnish, Serbian, call this place home. They have migrated from thousands of miles away to all fatefully end up in this one Canadian city of “many languages” (115). The world and its people are not disconnected, but are bound eternally. Sometimes it’s just a little hard to see. Ondaatje in both his novels shines light on the interconnectedness of the human family.
English Patient is too translucent; there are far too many tangents to fully grasp in one read. In the Skin of the Lion also has these interspersed tangents but they are not as complex or intangible. If the English Patient is a giant web of dreams then In the Skin of a Lion is a sweet day dream. A single beam of light hits a mirror, but yet is reflected in millions of beams of rainbow color. Michael Ondaajte’s writing style parallels the qualities of a prism. There may be a single story, but that single story has an infinite number of sub-stories that branch off of it. Ondaajte is right a single story cannot be told as if it were the only one because in our world today that would bear false witness against reality.
This theme will become more apparent in all forms of expression, books, movies, plays, music because it has become a fact of life. As we become more aware of the world around us, it is impossible not to notice the qualities that connect us all. Michael Ondaatje proves that no matter how separated two lives seem; there is a way in which they are connected.

Letter from my gums

Dear Jade,
I hate you, too
Do you know what its like to stand next to such white specimens?
I'm know I'm purple
But I've grown to love myself
Even with all the probing and scrubbing
I've done my job without complaints
Not once did I cry when that damn toothbrush made me bleed
Not once did I complain when the Listerine singed my being
Why can't you accept me
I am your sense of diversity
I set you apart from every other person
When you smile, they see me
Your pretty PURPLE gums
With hatred,
Your gums

Letter to my gums

Dear Gums,
I hate you.
Why can't you be pink like everyone else's
That diseased look is not attractive
I did nothing to you but clean the teeth you hold
Tell me why then must you look like I've harmed you
I never attacked you with nicotine
I never bombarded you with foreign alcoholic substances
I kept you clean
Oral B can't scrub away your permanent filth
Listerine can't bleach your undeviating stain
I hate you
With hatred,
Jade

He, She, It

Gender barriers hinder the ability for men and women to fully understand each other. The role society impresses upon its inhabitants forms distinct differences between the races. Interconnectivity is nearly impossible because of these socially enforced rules and values. Because of the social intimidation and innate ignorance, men and women are unable to cross the barrier the separates them sexually. Jeffrey Eugenides delves into the world of obsession and adolescence in his voyeuristic novel, The Virgin Suicides. The spellbinding novel follows the story of five mysterious sisters, and the boys whose lives they forever change. The narrative voice is a collective voice, an infatuated group of boys who can only report on what they see or find or remnants from the oral information they gather. The story is built around a failed investigation in which the boys gather mounds of “evidence” only to realize they never understood the Lisbon girls.
Eugenides creates two parallel experiences. It is the men who return to the era of their teenage obsession and girls that changed their lives versus with the tragic lives of the very girls they admired. These men recall a time before they fully understood themselves, let alone the opposite sex. They return to a time when experience was shared and communal. The central belief is that the Lisbon sisters are the feminine ideal in how they are shrouded in mystery and unattainable. Their obsession is tangible through the “evidence” they collected, “[they] tried to arrange the photographs chronologically” (4). Their devotion lasts even into adulthood (a lost romantic ideal they can cling to). The men keep in touch with each other to continue to be the custodians of the girls' lives. Lisbon sisters are the mystery that is the opposite sex personified. Equally, the girls, through wildly different, constantly return to being seen as one entity, “the Lisbon sisters.” On one of the few occasions when they boys have physical interaction with the sisters, “their dresses and hairdos homogenized them. Once again the boys weren’t even sure which girl was which” (122). The sisters also see themselves as a unit, “Cecilia writes of her sisters and herself as a single entity. It's often difficult to identify which sister she's talking about, and many strange sentences conjure in the reader's mind an image of a mythical creature with ten legs and five heads” (42). Eugenides vaguely makes distinctions within the collective sexual units, filtering their lives into a shared understanding and experience.
The Virgin Suicides tell the story of familial, cult-like suicides. The novel encircle this time period, beginning and ending with the last suicide. No one seems more intrigued and haunted by these girls and their deaths than their male counterparts. The men collect “evidence” from the girls (Exhibits 1-98), but despite being inanimate, their connection with the girls is magical, obtaining fetish-like qualities. In their attempt to understand who the Lisbon girls were and why they committed suicide, they never find a truly satisfying answer. Each action they took to understand the girls was a step further into confusion. Like Sirens, this female entity lured the boys in, only to leave them wanting more. The group of young boys is unable to understand the inner workings of the Lisbon sisters, the motive behind their collective suicides. The unrelenting factor keeping them from complete discernment of the Lisbon girls is the gender barrier that separates them. Eugenides re-establishes the sexual obstruction by never giving insight into the minds of the opposite sex. The Lisbon girls represent the epitomized gender enigma, the unsolved mystery of the opposite sex. Contrarily, Eugenides takes a different approach with his second novel, the comedic epic, Middlesex.
Middlesex, reaching across generations, continents, and genders, traces the path of a mutant gene to one Calliope Stephanides. In Cal, our storyteller, that gene finds expression. Eugenides explains, “I used a hermaphrodite not to tell the story of a freak or someone unlike the rest of us but as a correlative for the sexual confusion and confusion of identity that everyone goes through in adolescence.” While the boys in The Virgin Suicides have the gender gap that cannot be bridge, Calliope lies on that bridge. In many ways, the book looks at how we are all an I before a he or a she. By creating this I narration, Eugenides leaves the reader close to Cal’s metamorphosis. Because of its epic nature, the I narration needed to have third person qualities to be able to relay the tale that led to the actual ability to do so. Cal, straddling the gender gap, falls easily into the minds and thoughts of both sexes. With uncanny fluidity, Eugenides creates a character that becomes the omnipotent lens to the past. Calliope reveals the way his grandparents fell in love in before they fled from the Turkish invasion of Asia Minor; how “at first they just hugged in the standard way, but after ten seconds the hugs began to change” (39). Cal can explain with unrivalled certainty, the way Desdemona blushed when Lefty, her brother and third cousin, looked at her. Cal delves into the way his parents, second cousins, could not deny the love that flowed within them. Cal acknowledges with clarity how Tessie, his mother, allowed Milton, his father, “to press his clarinet against her skin and fill her body with music” (176). Because of the condition, Cal transcends the gender biases and dwells within the gender gap.
Eugenides mentions how Ovid’s Metamorphosis address Tiresias, the mythical hermaphrodite and the character Calliope plays in her high school play. He was drawn the incredible utility of Tiresias, this person that knew more than a normal person. That is what makes a good novelists, the capability to know people better than the average people, to be an understander of both sexes. It seemed to me that a novelist has to have a hermaphroditic imagination, since you should be able to go into the heads of men and women if you want to write books. What better vehicle for that than a hermaphrodite narrator? It's sort of like the dream novelist himself, or herself, or itself. However, in opposition to the portrayal of hermaphrodites in literature, like Tiresias, Eugenides write about a real hermaphrodite. Cal is one of the most unique narrators in modern literature because of every person can relate to this character. At heart, Middlesex is modern myth about adolescence. People hear that Middlesex is told by a hermaphrodite, and sometimes that repels them from reading it. But I see it as a family story. Eugenides uses a hermaphrodite not to tell the story of a freak or someone unlike the rest of us but as a correlative for sexual confusion and the uncertainty of identity that accompanies adolescence. Eugenides uses Cal's double-visioned life experience as an opportunity to display a generous, good-humored empathy toward all of his novel's characters, male and female. Cal serves readers not only as a lens on the hermaphroditic, but also as a prism of the humane. One reviewer refers to the book as “a cleverly post-modernized successor to the likes of Howard Fast's THE IMMIGRANTS series, engrossing multi-generational bestsellers that were popular in the Nixon era, when Cal Stephanides and Jeffrey Eugenides were growing up.” Since genetics play a prominent role, the book is a novelistic genome; containing some of the oldest traits of writing and storytelling. It begins with epic events, old fashioned, almost Homeric ideas and, as it progresses, it becomes a more deeply psychological, more modern novel. Eugenides manages to tuck this strange personal tale into the generocity of the traditional epic, much as Cal's pseudo-penis is hidden away in his labial folds.
Both novels tell of the internal world of the familial unit, differing tragically from the norm. These families are statements about the American suburb in what seems like easier times. In The Virgin Suicides, Eugenides makes it difficult to place the entire blame on the parents. The pressure to conform plays a major role. Every detail is a criticism against the world in which the Lisbon sisters and Calliope lived. In the Grosse Pointe, Detroit of the Lisbons, each home mimics its neighbors. Every autumn, the families rake and burn their leaves in a primitive yet respected and expected ritual, all in an attempt to keep their lawns clear on discolored blemishes. When, like the trees of this area, the sanctity of the town becomes diseased, the city moves to extricate the infection. Mr. Lisbon is asked to relieve his duties as teacher at the high school. But like their infected counterparts, the Lisbon girls are relentless in restraining against the suburban conformity. In Middlesex, Cal's life story is grounded in the context of the sprawling Stephanides family history, a Greek-American immigrant saga that brings Cal's paternal grandparents to urban Detroit in the wake of the burning of Smyrna by the Turks in 1922 and leads all the way to the present day Germany. Four decades of Stephanides roams the pages: from entrepreneurs to charlatans, housewives to hippies, homosexuals to religious leaders, all linked by matrimony and genetics and love. Even the most eccentric subplots of Middlesex, whether it is a Muslim temple scam, a tension-fraught car chase, or the invention of hot dogs that flex like biceps, are imbued with tender, familial warmth. Bypassing in-your-face gender politics, Eugenides focuses on undeniable in-your-bloodline realities, the “roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time.” Even though genetics sets the stage, American history is the backdrop. Key moments in the Stephanides family are marked by significant moment on American history. When Grandfather Lefty arrives in Detroit he is briefly employed at the Ford Motor Company, where Eugenides deftly etches the dehumanizing aspect of assembly line work. The Detroit race riots of 1967, white flight to the suburbs, the social divisiveness of the Nixon era, and the so-called sexual revolution all feed into the Stephanides story. There are moments as well when Eugenides captures the pulse of an era in his dialogue, such as Chapter 11's explanation of his refusal to use deodorant during his hippie phase: “I'm a human…This is what humans smell like.”Eugenides wrote two novels that comically comment on two societal taboos: teenage suicide and hermaphrodites. The first looks into the world of shattered female idealism seen through aging eyes of once-young men. Obsession and voyeurism mix with anti-conformist undertones to construct the gender study that is The Virgin Suicides. Eugenides takes it a step further with his second novel. Appealing to every type of person, Cal is the perfect narrator, making his hermaphrodite book, the perfect crossover novel.

the poem to my HAND-BODY

To hands-
Dirty, filthy, muddy, haven’t been clean for three days hands
Why aren’t you clean?
I wash you and wash you and you never become what you were before
I remember when you were clean, it seems like a long time ago
I look at the creases between my figures, the lines in my palms and the winkles in my skin and all I see is dirt, dust and grim.
Under my nails there is a streak of grit and ick and that I brought home with me from Hollister
You do so much for me hands but why wont you just become clean.

To body-
Its not my fault! You’re the one who neglects to wash me.
Instead you go off and have fun without thinking about the dirt you left behind,
What can I do, you’re the one who decides to wash me or not,
I want to be clean, I yearn to be clean, you could almost say it’s my goal in life.
Yet I fail each time you walk away from your sink and I FEEL SO DIRTY!

Its amazing.

Its amazing. It so big, and new, clean, and huge! It is so big you could get lost in it, and then not worry since there is food everywhere. There is a Jamaba Juice and a sushi place inside its walls. I have not many poor words for the new Safeway besides it is not the old one and it is still new. Otherwise enjoy, explore and have fun in the new incredible Safeway.

I am a bag of Chips

I don't really know what this new Safeway is, last time i went to a Safeway was at Crystal Springs Shopping center last week in San Mateo (or Belmont, its kinda on the border so i don't know). It didn't seem any different to me, and i didn't see any pig heads or chickens hanging by the deli. I guess i don't really go grocery shopping and when i do it is for snacks, nothing out of the ordinary. The last thing I bought at a Safeway was a bag of sourcream and cheddar chips and some onion dip. I guess this shows that i am already complete on my own but still seek more things to hide myself in or fill my life with. I guess these material things act like dip to add more aspects to my being. Personally though, i do not believe that this has anything to do with my life except for the fact that i was hungry and wanted to eat.

Americans need Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Chuck Klosterman’s book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is a collection of thoughts of topics seemingly normal. He succeeds in stimulating his reader’s thoughts by finding the bizarre in extraordinarily ordinary topics. A lot of his observations seem to have been born in his college years. From his obsession with the “Real World” to his hate for soccer; his respect for Pamela Anderson to his criticism of the widely renowned Star-Wars films, he keeps readers not only turning pages but also so confused and amused that they can’t fully understand everything he says. The book opens with an essay on the impracticality of love and relationships because of the unrealistic conditions we see in movies. This sets the tone of pessimism with slightly humorous overtones throughout the book. Because we are not happy in real life we turn to something we can control, something that we feel safe in- video games. A prime example seen in the book is the collection of the computer game from Electronic Arts, The Sims. The Sims are people whose lives you control. This includes buying them appliances, feeding them, sleeping, etc, things a normal person would do everyday. We actually see a good response from Klosterman, ultimately, the Sims only care about materialistic ends. However, we are above that, no matter how much computers try, they can not completely grasp humanity. Thus, fears of robots taking over the world are grounded. Other subject areas move on to discuss the Celtic versus Laker rivalry and how the demographic of fans act as proof that the two teams can classify everyone in America. We then come to Porn and how it has made the internet what it is. Would the Internet have taken root as quickly as it did had it not provided endless pictures of so called “whores” and “sluts” on its pages? According to Klosterman, no, Porn has caused technology to flower and become applicable to everyone. He is emotionally involved with TV; a lot of his content is based on his viewing of at least 10-year-old TV shows. Interestingly, by commenting on them now he can include information on how the kid stars have turned out. These include commenting on how Elizabeth Berkley from “Saved by the Bell” has stared in soft-porn films, or the subtleties of budding relationships on “The Real World.” The book ends rather unceremoniously with views on religious individuals and how they annoy him.

This basically sums up the feel of his book. He finds something that has stuck in his mind, either because he drew an interesting explication that he wants to share or because it annoys him and he feels like ranting. Klosterman’s writings are quick-paced yet short-lived and are a bit overwhelming. He moves from subject to subject in relatively short twenty page intervals and some of the connections he makes seem only plausible to his mind. These chapters seem to remark on the average American’s short attention span just by being so diverse and short. They include observations from his childhood and through his life until now and it seems that many of his arguments have had time to fester. He is very personal in his writing, he constantly writes as if he is talking to the reader, and remarks on the time he has spent writing. This awareness of time is also somewhat humorous, for example his remarks on how he wrote an article on someone’s life based on a ten minute phone interview (in which he barely touched on his subject’s accomplishments); or how he realizes that he draws out an argument in thousands of words which he could have expressed in a few. Some words seemed overly used such as “unironically” or “pundits” and while his vocabulary is impressive, a more colloquial use of language would have served him better. Especially since his book seems to attract more young readers than the highly educated.

I neither liked nor disliked this book. At times, I found myself mildly interested, but was never completely satisfied at any point. While there was a lot of buzz going on about this book, I did not find it that great. There is no doubt in my mind that Klosterman could counter any criticism I could make and turn it into an issue of how my views of the world equate to those of a cartoon character’s-and that is exactly how it feels to read this book. He writes in a sort of roundabout way that is not very hard to grasp, but incredibly difficult to argue against. Some topics seem so esoteric or so essentially basic that no one else would have the mind, or even want to rebuke his thoughts. His ideas stem from the medium he chooses to use, the interpretive lens of criticisms are largely negative and therefore readers are constantly subjected to Klosterman’s assessment of the American culture. That is, one- we create fake characters that live fake lives. Two- we then escape to those characters, whether they are on the television or in a video game; and ultimately three- we are hiding from reality by doing so.

He was deemed the master of pop culture and is named so for a reason. Overall, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is a good escape from the norm, and would be a good book on seeing other perspectives. While not a fictional piece or a textbook, this book still feels like it is lecturing you on subjects that are only figments of one’s imagination. Though many people will sympathize with the Trix Rabbit, how many will break down the psychological workings of Sonny the bird from the lesser known Cocoa Puff commercials? Though I did not fully enjoy this book, I do recommend that others decide on their experience of the book for themselves. Comical yet somehow profound sentences end many chapters and somehow tie this messy work together. These make the experience more bearable and we glimpse the effort in his writing. He really does put a lot of thinking into these analogies and is not just trying to be the funny guy he frequently makes himself out to be. He leaves us thinking with lines such as “Saved by the Bell wasn’t real, but neither is most of reality.” (147) Or “Neither one of us understands how the world works.” (185) By no means was this book boring, dull, or a waste of time.

"Answers" Poem

How is it going?
Great! Thing couldn't be better!
How is it going?
Life is an endless pit of shit and I am in that pit.


Do you like my recipe?
Spinach casserole is my favorite!
Do you like my recipe?
I rather eat dog food.

Why did you lie to me?
Me? Lie? Never!
Why did you lie to me?
Because I can.

Do you love me?
Your are my only love.
Do you love me?
A fat kid loves chocolate cake more than I love you.

Safeway's Two Gems

I normally never go to the grocery store – no time, no interest. But there are definitely two items that I do not have each week, I go insane. First of all, I am a compulsive gum chewer and cannot live without my 7 packs of Sweet Mint Orbit Gum per week (yes, I chew a pack a day….better than cigarettes, I guess). Gum gets me through my typical school; if I’m not chewing, there is no stopping my heavy round head from falling down on my desk in a deep sleep. My second important item is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Original Flavor. I’ve been attached to it since I was four, and it’s the one thing I can never screw up cooking. Boil water, drop pasta, drain, add butter, milk, and cheese sauce. Perfection created in under 15 minutes. Plus, that processed powdered cheese is one taste that no other food even comes close to comparing with. It’s the essential comfort food, the one thing that gets me though those moments when I’m about to crack. Without these two items, I would have probably quit at life long ago….

Shopping for the Groceries

Believe it or not I am the one who gets the groceries for my family. At first I didn't consider a very appealing job, but now I have grown to love it. Let me explain how it all started. When I got my license my father said he would get me a car if I met some conditions. I said sure, his conditions were simple. Taxi my little brother when he needs to go somewhere, drive the family home on family gatherings for the holidays, pay for your own gas, and go get the groceries. Out of all those conditions, I started out hating getting the groceries. Normally it would be taking my brother around, but that kid is just to funny. So my first real grocery shopping occured the firt week I receieved my car August 14, 2006. I went to the Safeway at Seqouia station in Redwood City and went in confident with my list. I didn't know how hard shopping for the family was. I got all the right things just the wrong type. For instance, I brought home 2% milk instead of 1% milk, I thought it was just milk and I don't care if it is skim milk. Then my next trip to the grocery store was the Safeway on woodside road. I ended up getting a little extra food not on the list and was yelled at. By my third time I almost thought nothing could go wrong, only to figure out that I was supposed to bring home wheat bread and not the white wonder bread. I thought I was pathetic and was probably the only kid unable to by food. I love food, I love the taste, how it looks, the many combinations and I just love food. At this point in life I decided to get my food right because someday I would have to get my own food. So, I went to the big kahuna, Costco. I not only tried all the samples, but I couldn't go wrong because they had exactly what I wanted. That day opened my eyes and allowed me to fully appreciate grocery shopping. Now I know alot of the people at the safeways and costco. This is helpful especially when you want the hook up for the "good stuff" that I can't attain yet. But, that is besides the point,the point is go grocerie shopping because it could be so much fun.

Groceries Suck

One word to explain going to the grocery store, boring. I have never liked going and never will. My mom used to have to bring me when I was a little kid and I could not stand going. Now that I am older I do not have to tag along because I am brave enough to stay home and my mom does not worry about me. Unfortunately, I do get stuck going when my mom drives me somewhere and she says, “I need to pick a few things at the store. It will only take five minutes.” Yeah right. Never happens like that and we get stuck doing all this shopping and I do not even get to eat any of it while I am there. A lot of the food is really good and then there is all that other food that you want to eat, especially the ice cream. My mom will make me go to the frozen food section to get peas or something like that and I see all the ice cream and of course my mom is like, “we don’t need any of that.” The grocery store kills me because it is so boring to walk through and put food in your cart and the worst part is, all that awesome food you want right then and there, you cannot have it. I do not care about what type of selection a grocery store, they all are boring for me to walk through and if someone can get groceries for then I will be happy for the rest of my life.

p.s.
aya your not good looking

Sexy Drugs and Coco Puffs

Eric Davila Bº


“Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs”


This book is a collaboration of essays by the precocious unknown yet known author named Chuck Klosterman. His essays examine contemporary controversies of Americans and events that have occurred. Not only are the essays a great comical read, but the way they are laid out and organized recommend that Klosterman sees it fit to view American culture as many soundtracks in a CD of life. As in any CD trying to be at the top of the charts, it must be filled with captivating rhythm and words able to capture the listeners attention and make them recognize the true intention of the song. In Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs, the true intentions are to make people aware of the issues regarding the media, pop icons, politics, race, clichés and morality. These ideas are found in his essays and are deeply analyzed; raising many questions that not only invite, but challenge the reader to decide a personal opinion. To criticize a man who criticizes for a living is no easy task, especially if the criticizer is Chuck Klosterman, what makes him so good? This is simple, the reason he is so awesomely entertaining is because you can pick up this book open it to any page and laugh out loud in any environment. Some people like Brian Houle, a writer for about.com, have found this to be untrue and state “Like most collections of short stories or essays, Chuck Klosterman struggles to maintain a consistent level of quality throughout the book.” This statement is his opinion and I respect it, but I disagree. In this novel he thoroughly presents the facts in an unnoticed strategically way that leads to an explosive taste of sweetness.
With Klosterman’s collaboration of essays packaged separately there is no apparent theme of the overall book. This is a random burst of explications of random everyday things that sometimes lack attention from us busy people or in some cases get too much attention. These random essays are what keep the reader on edge and eager to find out what witty comical thing Klosterman will say next. For example, in chapter 9, a clever title called Porn, gives the reader expectations or feelings about what the chapter will include. Yet, he doesn’t go off on experiences or explain dirty sexy things, but instead uses the facts of internet porn to show us Americans about how much time we spend on Porn. He states that “97 percent of the internet is porn” and also relates that we are so full of ourselves that we get into a harmful cycle of addiction. His analysis of a subject ends up really being an analysis of who we are and who we want to be. It tests the reader to judge them and have the option of changing or improving themselves. His literature puts the reader into a hypnotic state that allows the reader to secrete themselves into any place and leave into a different world. When you are in this world the only logical thing to do is to start analyzing the previous life settings and see where you want to be in the future.
Other chapters like “Toby over Moby” discuss country music and how people who say they like all genres of music except country to seem cool are fake and need to own up to the reality of country being the original song storytelling. Then there are chapters like
Then aside from music, he has a chapter called, “George Will vs. Nick Hornby” which discusses soccer the most popular sport in the world not catching on in America. Is it that we find ourselves in so much need to take the road less taken that we seclude ourselves from international joys? Then he has chapters like “When Happens When People Stop Being Polite” that talks about reality television and how it was the only thing that captured our viewing time for the year of 2005. This book is so random, comical, and deep witted that I feel like Klosterman just told stories about his conversations that he had when out with his buddies under the influence. Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs was a great read that I recommend to all curiously aroused by modern culture and where it is leading to.

3rd post in a row. A record set on the blog by Aya Nakano

Dear earlob,
why are you so soft? I am sorry I cant put a fake diamond on you and make you look hella sick but Im afraid of needles. The sight of my blood coming from my ear terrifies me. If i did get a diamond on you, mother would have me killed. I would also like you to tell my washboard abs that i love them.

Dear Aya,
Its a shame that you wont get me a diamond on me. Am a not good enough for you? Are you seeing other earlobes? Do you not love me enough? Is your mom stopping us from expressing our love towards each other? If that is the case, never attempt to feel me again. Though i should i miss your gentle touch, my love for you has gone. Never speak to me again. This is the last time i shall write to you. I ask of you to burn all my letters and all the pictures i sent you. Delete my voicemails and everything that reminds you of me. I want you to be deleted from your memory forever. Your washboard abs say that they cannot express the love they have for being attached to possibly the best looking person alive.

Lov... From, your earlobe


all written by Aya Nakano
from christians blog name

My Odyssey to Safeway

Last Friday with nothing to do, I went with a friend to the grand opening of the huge safeway somewhere around school. The friend, lets give him a name, lets just call him Ryan Wigley. We went to the new safeway just going to get dinner but what we stepped into was no ordinary safeway, it was the god of all safeways. Free samples of organic lemonade, new york steaks, some type of soup, chocolate chewy cookies, and some type of sugary nut were all around the store. So many samples that would pretty much could fill you up for the day. That is what ryan and i did. We ate all the samples around the store until we were full. To top it all off, santa clause gave me a candy cane. We also had a run in with a meat butcher or whatever, who tried to give us a life lesson. He told a friend of mine not to go to a school like USC or Lehigh but to go to California's great JC's such as Foothill and get a real education. He then went on a huge rant about drugs and he mentioned something about LSD or PCP. A friend of mine said "LSD.. that really messes you up". The meat guy quickly replied "no, the governent f***s you up". I walked away thinking "wtf?", what was the point of those 28 minutes of me standing there listening to this guy talk. I think he just wanted to believe he made a difference in someones life when he really just completely messed up his speech or whatever he was giving. I went on with my night going to a friends house and falling asleep while watching Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Nick at Nite. I remember what the meat guys name was. It was Frank. He was an idiot.

- Aya Nakano
The Cutest, Best Looking guy prolly in the whole world

hella good book review. POSSIBLY the best book review in the universe

Aya Nakano
Lowney Book Review
The Road

For this novel review, I read a novel written by Cormac McCarthy titled “The Road”. The book is about a duo of a father and son that have been traveling constantly for months now in a world where most of civilization and life is destroyed already from a disaster. The mother, you find out later in the novel, has committed suicide. They remain unnamed throughout the whole novel. It takes place in the United States. The whole world is covered in ash and the father and his son wear masks to clean out the air they breathe. The human life that is left is made up of a collection of cannibals and refugees who search for any type of food possible. Everything, such as forests, rivers, all types of nature, is bare and empty. It is winter time and they are trying to survive by reaching another region with warmer weather. The father in the novel is described as well traveled and educated. He realizes that the will not be able to survive in the winter so they set out and follow highways. This is I believe the title “The Road” comes from, from the two main characters following a road and we see the journey they take. On their trip, they face events that they must pass to save their own lives. It made the book more exciting and interesting because it was two characters attempting to survive in a world where the only living human beings were cannibals and marauders. The reader can see that there is something wrong with the father since throughout the whole book he is coughing up blood once in awhile. He is dying and it seems as if he cannot protect his son anymore from the struggles they go through. The two are without food, tired, and attacked by cannibals. They travel the roads carrying a gun with two bullets that are meant for suicide. The son is told to kill himself before he can be captured by the cannibals or marauders. The dad does not want the son to be captured and experience what cannibals do to their prey. The dad is also afraid that he himself might have to kill his son to save him from a more horrible death. The thought of killing his own son haunts him through the novel. The bond between father and son are extremely strong since they only have each other to depend on. The end of the novel is pretty depressing as the father dies from his sickness he had after they reached the south where there is warmer climate. He leaves his son on the road. But then the boy comes across a man who has been following them through their journey. We find out the man has a wife and two kids, and they decide to adopt the boy as their own. The boy ends up with a new family which shows him the love and care that his father did show when he was alive. I usually hate reading books for any class, but this book did not bother me as much as others. It was a pretty easy read, only being 256 pages. In the beginning I was pretty interested in the novel because they were going through the highways and they had to watch out for cannibals and marauders. It was a fight for survival for them. Then towards the end I found it really boring, disappointing and depressing. It was boring because they weren’t being attacked and it was just them traveling most of the time. This was also a reason why it was disappointing because I was expecting a major encounter with a group of cannibals or marauders. Then the obvious depressing part of the book for me was seeing the father fall to his sickness after all the struggles they went through and finally making it to their goal. It was sad to see their strong bond being broken by his sickness. The bond was something you can appreciate in the book and you can see how the father- son bond was so strong. It was them against the world pretty much. As a closing thought, I do recommend the book to readers but I advise them not to expect much.

A REVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF LOVE <3

Two different lives come together through their intricate quest for each other in this enchanting piece of fiction. Leopold Gursky is a lonely, old, Polish immigrant, living in New York. In his old age, the anticipation of death occupies his days while he reminisces the woman he let slip away, his beloved Alma. Despite his passion for Alma that he conveys so beautifully in his works of literature, he doesn’t consider himself a writer. Instead, convinces himself he is a coward for not connecting with his own son, who has no idea of his existence. He spent the majority of his life in remorse for not running after his love and confronting his son, decisions he regretted every day.

In the same city, Alma Singer (not to be confused with Leo’s one love), clings on to the memory of her dead father through her vague knowledge and a book he gave to her mother. Alma’s mother is bewildered without her husband and spends her days in books to escape the lingering memory of her late husband. Alma’s quirky brother, Bird, is a fascinating creature who is convinced he is the Messiah and builds an arc for their family. In Alma’s quest to get to know her father, whom she idolizes, she delves deep into a book he loved, The History of Love.

The tale of the History of Love (the novel in the story, mind you) has a confusing timeline of how it came to be created and then published. It turns out that Leo Gursky is the actual author of the story, who originally wrote it in Yiddish. He wrote it for his love Alma in Poland and after she left for America, he found no use for it, so he handed it off to his friend Zvi Litvinoff. Zvi figured that his old pal Leo had perished during the Holocaust, so he published the book, only he named himself as the author. Tisk tisk. The reader later learns that Zvi became famous for The History of Love as he lived a lie.

This novel reaches Alma Singer, who is fascinated by the character Alma, who he believed she is named after by her father. Alma does some research in order to find the real Alma which eventually leads her to the author, Leo Gursky. In the final scene of the novel, the two meet in an emotional encounter where they share a moment of remorse, each for someone they loved deeply. Leo for Alma and Alma for her father.

Nicole Kraus’ writing style is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Her unpredictable humor keeps the reader on their toes. Whether it is a scene with Leo, a true attention whore, who would drop his change on the floor, just so people would notice him, or in her description of Bird’s massive pile of cardboard and scrap medal for the ark, Krauss’ quirky intelligence kept me flipping pages. What captured me the most were her excerpts from her fictional novel, The History of Love. She speaks of a time before words, where humans communicated solely through their hands. Her depiction of life without words was truly amazing. (PG 72) Her captivating language and beautiful prose held my attention throughout my enjoying of the novel. Sometimes, when I taking a break from the novel, I would think about it, and I was immediately drawn back into it where I would stay for hours.

It is virtually impossible to summarize the book because there are so many small details that Krauss carefully weaves in that come together in the end. The book leads up to this amazing moment where these two characters, whose brains we have picked and examined for the past two hundred pages, finally come together in a beautiful, emotional scene.

you know you love me, gossip girl

Comparison Between the Book and the TV Series:
The Gossip Girl novel differs significantly from the Gossip Girl TV series. First off, the book has more of a story behind it. Whereas, the TV series skips through most the events of the book. Within the first few episodes of the show, Serena and Dan started dating. In the novel, this relationship did not happen until about the seventh or eighth book. Another difference between the book and the TV series is that in the book Jenny is described as not an attractive girl, brown curly hair, very skinny, but with massive breasts. In the TV series she is almost the opposite, blond hair, pretty, small breasts, and skinny. I feel that even though both the book and the series have the same name, characters, plot and setting, they are still very different. I personally like the book much better. In fact, after viewing the first two episodes of the series, I had no desire to watch it any longer. But in contrast, the book series is the only one that I have ever wanted to read.

Reality Exaggerated:
Gossip Girl, the books, I feel are an exaggerated version of reality. Some of the situations and events that happen in the books are close to what can happen in real life. But, this book series is trying to captivate an audience and so of course, all the situations are going to be dramatized in order to attract readers. One example of a situation in the book that I feel is somewhat close to reality is when Gossip Girl, herself, blogs on the “gossip” that happens every so often. I feel that in real life gossip is passed around regularly but not through an actual website, this is one of the many exaggerations in the book. So, Gossip Girl is based on reality but also attracts an audience at the same time.
In order to attract readers, the author also makes the issues that the characters have in the book series seems so extravagant. Because these issues are close to reality but yet so far, the issues that the characters have seem so much worse than the ones that I have myself. But, von Ziegesar “glamorizes” these issues to the point where I would trade the issues I have with the ones Serena and Blair have any day, even though theirs are far worse. Just like Gossip Girl says, “Our shit still stinks, but you can’t smell it because the bathroom is sprayed hourly by the maid with a refreshing scent made exclusively for us by French perfumers”. Even though their issues (their shit) are terrible, they are still so perfect at the same time.

Lifestyle for Criticism:
Some may take this book as criticism for the lifestyle that this book portrays. The characters in the book live in New York City’s Upper East Side. They “all live in huge apartments with (their) own bedrooms and bathrooms and phone lines. (They) have unlimited access to money and booze and whatever these (they) want…(they’ve) inherited good looks, (they) wear fantastic clothes, and (they) know how to party.” So, basically, these kids have everything. One way that von Ziegesar may want you to see the book is in a way of critic for this lifestyle. The author may be exposing every part of this lifestyle so that others have a better view of it and can critic it more than they ever could. Cecily von Ziegesar lived the same lifestyle of the characters that she created in the book. I am uncertain if she lived through the same events in the book, but I have to believe that some of the events in the book are based on her own knowledge of this lifestyle. The message that she could be trying to portray by writing this series of books is that this lifestyle is absurd. She may ant readers to realize this message as they read. I feel, though, that some of the readers are going to think the exact opposite of this message and view the life of these characters as they way they should be living their life. I just feel that von Ziegesar needs to be careful with what she writes because some readers may take her writing seriously.

No Country For Old Men: A Good Story and a Bad Book

In No Country For Old Men, author Cormac McCarthy, delivers a tale that seems to be contradictory to its title. McCarthy, who published the novel in his early seventies, seems to know all about the time and place. He tells a tale that follows one man as he makes a moral error and his action sends the entire border between Texas and Mexico into a state of brutality and chaos. The variety of characters described in the novel range from a ruthless bounty hunter to a humble police officer. The strength of the story comes from McCarthy’s ability to be withdrawn from the fate of the characters. You can detect no favoritism toward any characters from the author as the seemingly good and bad alike all perish. It is a story told that is not particularly sad or happy, just one told. McCarthy takes no sides and simply recounts the story.
In a way, McCarthy’s detachment proves to be the novel’s greatest failure. By rendering this story, McCarthy completely abandons the chance to showcase his writing. He is unable to validate his past comparisons to Faulkner because he tells his story in the simplest language possible. No Country For Old Men, while a western at its heart, is merely a legend like any other. It could have been told by anyone at anytime. Other than McCarthy’s knowledge of the subjects, his influence on the novel seems minimal. Almost entirely written in the third person, the novel reads like a screenplay, as it is primarily made up of dialogues and physical actions. In the few excerpts of first person, the reader can see the author knows the subject with which he is dealing. These captivating moments are cut short as McCarthy quickly switches back to the third person and resumes telling the story which, though very dramatic, is just a story.
No Country for Old Men is definitely not a tale for the faint of heart. From the first pages, McCarthy’s obsession with gore is obvious. “He was gurgling and bleeding from the mouth. He was strangling on his own blood. Chigurh only hauled the harder. The nickelplated cuffs bit to the bone. The deputy’s right carotid artery burst and a jet of blood shot across the room and hit the wall and ran down it.” Scenes like these give the novel its harsh undertones and depict the tense situations at the border. Violence is a key element of McCarthy’s writing as he is known for being able to articulate the most gruesome deaths.
McCarthy’s work is a great story but a bad book. When reading it, one is captivated but not in the usual ways of McCarthy’s works. His knowledge of institutions in the southwest is shown in his knowledge of the cities and terrain but his attention to detail is minute in comparison to his past works. He does not tangent off on the setting or the personal struggles of his characters and leaves these up to the reader’s imagination. With great acting and directing, this makes for a great movie. Without such a visual aid, the reader is left in the dark. Reading No Country for Old Men after reading All the Pretty Horses left me very confused. All the Pretty Horses proved to be the complete opposite as it was a bad story saved by strong writing. I was thoroughly impressed with McCarthy’s descriptions of the desolate Mexican landscape but very unimpressed with the contents of the story. I noticed the novel translated to the big screen very easily and I was suspicious that the novel had been written with the hopes of becoming a movie. With No Country for Old Men, I have few doubts. The novel was published in 2005 and there is already a movie in local theaters after opening at the Cannes Film Festival. I have not yet seen the movie although I would be very surprised if I did not know what happened in every scene. I can watch the trailers of the film and see a character walking and I know exactly where in the novel it occurs. When I see characters conversing in a heated dialogue, not only do I know exactly how the conflict will end, I can account their entire interaction verbatim. This would make the entirety of the movie very anticlimactic. I enjoyed reading the novel because it was a very easy read, but upon further review, this is not something I want from an author as acclaimed as McCarthy. I want to have to look up every other word just as other readers had to when they his first novel, Blood Meridian. Without these elements, it just is not McCarthy’s work. I do not care about the story. I want to hear the author’s voice as I do through the first-person of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. I want to hear the characters reflect why the border between Texas and Mexico is “no place for old men.”

TIMMAY

The History of Love

The History of Love is an unusual novel. Not just a story, but also a creative work of art that supplies the reader with pages that they cannot stop reading. Nicole Krauss writing takes many forms, whether it is a list, a page with two sentences on it, or a long drawn out story retold by a character. It is not a novel that can be explained simply, because it has connections too significant to be summarized into a few words. It was written from multiple points of views, with several intriguing stories occurring simultaneously but in different places. The novel follows two characters specifically: Leopold Gursky and Alma Singer.
First, there is the infamous Leopold Gursky, who can be characterized by the way he believes his obituary will read: “LEO GURSKY IS SURVIVED BY AN APARTMENT FULL OF SHIT” (3). An elderly man who is up to his eyebrows in belongings from his past, he cannot help but wonder “who will be the last person to see me alive.” Leopold, most commonly known as Leo or Gursky, makes sure that someone notices him. Whether it is the art students who draw as he poses nude for them, or the man who sees him drop everything in his hands, someone, somewhere, everyday sees Leo. Everyday brings with it the fear that death is right around the corner and the feeling that Leo’s life will not have been significant. This fear spurs him to demand something out of everyday life. He is all about surviving, just making it through the day and through the spontaneous events that challenge his life. As the author of a little know book, The History of Love, Leo ponders day in and day out if anyone ever read the one thing that he believes would make his life count for something.
Next comes Alma. “When [Alma] was born [her] mother named [her] after every girl in a book [Alma’s] father gave her called The History of Love.” With her father dead, and the rest of her family wounded by the death, Alma wants to bring peace to her world. She spends her time looking for a way to quench her mother’s loneliness, and figures that only the book from her father can cure the disease. When her mother receives a letter from a man named Jacob Marcus asking her to translate the text into English, she is thrilled and happiness strikes in Alma’s home. It later turns out that this Jacob Marcus connects the only owner of The History of Love, Alma, with its original author, Leo Gursky. While neither of them is knowledgeable of their connection, it does not take long for everything to flow into its place.
Although Alma’s brother Bird dictates scattered portions of the novel, it is predominantly told from the perspective of the two connected individuals. It is told in succession with every other chapter being told from the other person. Between Alma doing everything she can to discover the woman she is named after, the same woman from Gursky’s The History of Love, and Leo trying to become a part of his son’s life, there is one person who realizes the connection that these two individuals share. The middleman per say, plays a large role in the outcome of the novel during the uniting of the “lost and wounded” narrators. The final pages end on a happy note, one I felt worthy of the phrase “Happily Ever After”. Although neither of the two found what they were looking for, they found each other and a connection to what they sought after.
Previously a poetry scholar, Nicole Krauss was born in 1974 and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Stanford, graduated and went on to receive a degree from Oxford University. Krauss wrote The History of Love in 2005 after writing her first novel, Man Walks Into a Room in 2002.
I greatly enjoyed Nicole Krauss’s novel and found it to be a page turning, never-ending surprise. It grabbed my attention and I was distraught at the end for no other reason than that I was finished reading. There were no pages left to explore the intricate lives of Alma and Gursky, no more pages to hear about the ridiculous behavior of Bird, or about Bruno, Gursky’s best friend. The book was over and I would not be able to indulge in the lives of these characters any longer.

Rainbow Boiz

Rainbow Boys
Rainbow Boys, a simplistic novel, follows three characters struggling with their homosexuality, high school life, and the complexity of relationships in a conflicted, homophobic world. Alex Sanchez, the author (who followed with sequels Rainbow High, Rainbow Road, and God Box), writes with unadorned, and sometimes mundane, prose as he jumps between the first person viewpoints of his three main characters; Jason (a star athlete, who has a beautiful girlfriend, and is struggling with his sexuality), Kyle (a competitive swimmer who has always known he is gay, but wrestles with the notion of coming out), and Nelson (an openly gay chain smoker, who is in love with his best friend Kyle). The premise of the story revolves around the issue of being gay in the one of most outspokenly homophobic, and even dangerous places for these characters: high school. All high school seniors, Sanchez attempts to fictionally portray the struggles and trials each of the boys contends with on a daily basis. The sole uniting factor between the three boys is a removed father figure, and the struggle with homosexuality in a hostile environment.
Sanchez’s characters are sporadically believable, ostensibly well developed, but not profound. This may be because of their typical high-schooler focus on superficial aspects of their lives, or because of their sheer lack of complexity. Sanchez’s descriptions are sufficient: his character’s habits, fears, and ambitions are illustrated abundantly. For example, the character Nelson, a chain smoker, continually smokes during times of stress or excitement in the novel, and Sanchez mentions this at every opportunity he gets, consistently adding in phrases like, “Nelson sat down and lit a cigarette…” (52). These character traits reveal personality, but the characters themselves lack complexity.
When Sanchez speaks about his own difficulties, struggles, and tribulations as a gay Latino immigrant living in Texas, he speaks with passion and compels his audience with a motivating story of success through hardship. In Rainbow Boys, his powerful message was lost in the shallow nature of his characters, and his attempt to fictionalize his personal story. Sanchez’s spoken message is a poignant one, and Rainbow Boys fails to convey a similar message: the acceptance and growth of self despite sexual orientation. Sanchez’s use of multiple, shallow, fictionalized characters hinders the significance of his ideas; if he were to tell his own story, his readers would find a profound, impressive story, made more effective by its truth. Instead, readers encounter three conflicted characters in a love triangle, who are possibly the three most introverted yet superficial high schoolers I have ever read about.
The plot of the story is enough to keep reading, but not much more. Most of the scenes are predictable, and can become tedious. The first few chapters of the book were interesting, because I had never read anything like it. As I continued on it seemed as though a middle school student was streaming their consciousness onto the page, without reflecting on his own selfish attitudes. The quality of the writing made me lose some interest; it seemed as though the writing reflected this middle-schooler stream of consciousness. Sentences like, “Maybe he was in love with Kyle. Would that be such a bad thing? The idea made him want to go for a long, exhausting run. But that was crazy. He’d just taken a shower.” (228) Because the language is so rudimentary and the sentence structure is repetitive, I found it hard to become immersed in the novel, simply for its apparent lack of thought and profundity. “He turned on the stereo to drown out their voices and lay down on the bed, listening to the music and stroking Rex. He thought about the fight with Debra. She’d probably tell everyone about him. He should’ve kept his mouth shut, he told himself. Life sucked.” (125) When Sanchez incorporates paragraphs like these, the novel is hard to take seriously. Sentence structure is repetitive and follows a “he did this, he did that, she did this, he was sad” pattern. I honestly felt as though I was reading an intelligent middle or high schooler’s work. With this being said, there were some redeeming qualities to Rainbow Boys.
The feature of the novel that most intrigued and shocked me was the abuse the students encountered on a daily basis. The blatant and destructive homophobia astounded me, and you come to question the quality of human relationship and interaction in our society after reading of the unfounded hatred these people employ over the gays in their community. One must examine the ideals and environment that causes such hate, and cannot help but become angry at the slurs, physical and verbal attacks, and lack of protection a gay high schooler is victim to, especially in this novel.
Overall, Sanchez composes a semi-interesting novel. I would recommend Rainbow Boys to a middle school student, because it appears that is the audience Sanchez is writing for. His plot is captivating at some points, but on the whole, somewhat average. The message about acceptance is not powerfully displayed in the novel because of the character’s lack of complexity, and because of the repetitive pattern the plot follows. I feel that if Sanchez tells his own sincere story he would accomplish a lot more than he is now through these uninteresting selfish characters. Overall, I give Rainbow Boys a C-. A disappointing read for a novel that has gotten so much attention in our community, and which the readers seem to be so invigorated about.

Edward and Florence has Problems

The pressure on your wedding day

Society has rules and guide lines we should follow to make certain occasions easier. However does following these rules mean that it is easier for men to talk to women, and visa versa, when actually most men have trouble talking to women and visa versa. When men and women talk to each other they experience difficulties that are hard to understand if you are not in that situation. That impedes them from becoming closer together. In the novel On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, Edward and Florence have trouble having conversations with each other and being close to each other especially on their wedding night. This couple demonstrates how much pressure is on men and women on their wedding night and on other occasions. And it does not help when they cannot produce the words that express their emotions, even if the possibility to over come these problems are probable.
Before that dreadful night a couple has to talk and get along. Corny words and sayings are said to get the ball rolling. Minute actions like a held gaze brings two people together yet can surprise each in the end. When Edwards and Florence where talking their “conversation had returned again to these moments, by now enriched by a private mythology, when they first set eyes in each other” (71). Their relationship seemed to have moved forwards Edwards and Florence become more comfortable with each other. These moments are rare and few and far between for Edward and Florence. Both being from completely different families, they are working hard to let time take its course to bring them closer together. As Edward and Florence are a model for most modern couples, they continue to bring themselves closer together by these precious moments. Florence “raised herself up on one elbow to get a better view of his face, and they held each other’s gaze,” (72) and as Edward “drew her closer, until their noses were almost touching and their faces when dark.” (73). These moments express the goodness and calm situations before the wedding night how close they were coming. These situations, however do not mean the pressures of the wedding night are not present. Edward and Florence seem to be able to be intimate with out the dread and worry they were experiencing earlier. However it all ends up with true emotions being expressed, by Florence saying “ [a]ctually, I’m a little bit sacred” (103). These words are trying to express the feelings Florence is feeling. This combined with actions these words accentuate the meaning they are trying to put forth. Florence is realizing the pressure, rules and consequences that come with her actions. These precious moments add to the excitements of their life and lead them to the pressure before them.
On your wedding night you have to be perfect. You can have no fault or error, and certain actions typically occur on your wedding night that most people will assume you do. This pressure plus personal pressure adds to rash decisions. While Florence says “I’d want it, I would because I want you to be happy and free” (189), demonstrates how Florence wants Edwards to be happy yet, does not know how to do include herself in his happiness. She is trying to be open and free however is failing because of her country tradition husband. Even though Florence is speaking, the silence between them makes it harder and harder for them to get close. “There was a silence, a kind of stalemate of indeterminate length, during which they listened to the waves and intermittently, the bird, which had moved farther off” (184) this silence is a parallel to how their relationship is now and where it is headed. They ended up being forced into silence since they do not know how to continue. They would have been doomed to listening to the world and events around them as when they were eating dinner and listening to the wire down stairs. The silence is the only time when there are not problems. Each time either speaks, their problems start to stir and they end up down a dark path of pain. Edwards tries to be a nice husband with a “touch [that] was kindly, spreading a warmth along her spine and into the small of her back” (184) but he does not realize that Florence is having a panic attack on the inside. She has to over come her problems and all the pressure she is feeling by Edwards touch, but she does not know how to let all her problems go. She wants Edward to be happy and even though his touch is what makes her happy she knows she can never return the favor. All the talking and touching between them is leading to what makes Florence run away and become an unconfident person. Edward’s touch is what she wants, just as much as making him happy, but Florence does not know how to make everything better between the two of them, and to make Edward sexually happy.
The pressure Edward and Florence have acquired has ended up harming their relationship. Pushing each other away instead of bringing each other together. This couple was not meant to be and in the end the anxieties that Florence has, brought her to the conclusion that “[p]erhaps [Florence] should be psychoanalyzed. Perhaps what [Florence] really need[s] to do is kill [her] mother and marry [her] father” (187).

YOUTUBEEEEE

I feel like I would get shot for saying that I actually hate YouTube, and the time people spend watching the most pointless videos. However, over teh past couple months, I have a newfound respect for the talent put on the internet to be shared with others. Although YouTube proves to be a waste of everyone's time, there is some substance to the videos posted. The ones we watched in class were among the dumbest I have seen, but others have actually been somewhat educational.
I work with seniors in my free time, and YouTube actually put a huge smile on "my" senior's face when she was able to see the video her daughter uploaded on the web for her to see her grandson take his first steps crawling. This was the moment when I started to believe that YouTube wasn't all bad.
The "Kitsch" video last year was posted on YouTube for fans and people who might have missed the show to view after that actual night. And we all know Adam Leao's productions were hilaroius. YouTUbe actually made me laugh-- Case 2 where I decided it wasn't all that bad.
YouTube has revolutionized the way we have watched videos. Kids now have easy access to videos that don't cost money and can entertain them, which is a good thing in an "atmosphere of wise freedom."
It is an easy way to connect with people around you and to show off talent of people who may not show it off in their daily lives. I think if people use it wisely and only for semi-important things, it actually is helpful. I just hate to see people who could be out with their friends or family wasting their time watching people they don't even know do stupid/funny things. If people can control their YOUTUBING (similar to not getting attached to facebook....like Katie Russell says: biggest waste of time EVER, but couldn't live without it) then I say GO FOR IT. HAVE FUN. GO CRAZY. YOUTUBE.

"Broadcast Yourself"

“Broadcast Yourself” is the driving concept behind YouTube’s wide appeal to people around the globe. Advancement in technology, both the internet and video-taping, has allowed YouTube to become one of the most popular websites on the World Wide Web. This site allows anyone with internet access to upload videos of themselves, T.V. shows, or self made power points to be put on display for any onlooker to watch. With over millions and millions of videos, one must rummage through all the junk to find an intellectually engaging YouTube video. That is not to discredit the humorous and almost always entertaining pointless videos because if a good laugh is all you are looking for they hold some redeeming qualities. Youtube does exactly what it promises; it allows self expression. This form of media has the potential to broadcast great things to millions of viewers. However, it is demeaned by the countless and brainless videos.
These videos do not provide stimulating material; they can only provide a short outburst of laughter for a solid thirty seconds. One video unconsciously gives its audience an intimate window into a family’s Christmas morning, with the son thoroughly excited and freaking out about the x-box he received. He goes on screaming for a good minute and then it is replayed in slow motion. While it is comic, it does nothing more than cause a chuckle. The American people are not afraid of revealing intimate family time, like Christmas morning, as evidence by the mom walking past the camera in her pajamas, as long as it serves an entertainment purpose. Youtube can do more than entertain though. It can allow for the free flow of intellectual thought and ideas.
The possibility for humans to communicate and exchange meaningful ideas through Youtube is there. “Slip of the tongue” poetry put to a well organized and visually appealing video meshes beautifully and artistically together to form the Youtube video “Ethnic Makeup.” Addressing the issues of racism, feminism, and the media, this video actually engages its audience to comprehend what they just saw, (not just because of the shock of witnessing a boy dislocate his knee, like in another video) but because it speaks deeper. It entertains and it provokes. The story line is as follows, an Asian male in his twenties approaches a female, also Asian, at a bus stop. After he fails to seduce her with his “playeristic” lines he asks her “Girl, what is your ethnic makeup?” Through the metaphor or make-up, lipstick, foundation, and eye shadow, issues of suppression, advertisement, and our consumerism are brought to light. Someone actually took the time to produce a worth while youtube video that distinguishes itself far from the rest.
If our culture was not so consumed with entertainment, comedy, and fame, Youtube might have a chance to broadcast videos with intellectual vitality. Self expression, in itself, is a wonderful quality, we Americans are taught to embrace and pursue but it is when we pervert this privilege that we demean ourselves and our culture to a pathetic level. What Youtube could be and what Youtube is are two entirely different forms of media. The ideal Youtube holds capacity to transmit engaging and meaningful messages and ideas to such a large audience; yet the Youtube of today is held back by pinheads who want their three minutes of fame.

YouTube: Entertainment at its Finest

Seena reclaims his chair silently, as the class stares in disbelief at the paused video broadcast on the wall. Did that really just happen? No one knows for sure. Then a comment without a speaker echoes across the walls of Lowney’s MB 213, “is that what you do with your time, Seena?” He only chuckles, and we know, that he does in fact use his time to memorize every dance move and lyric to the ever-popular YouTube song, ‘What what, in the Butt.’
And so the debate rages: is YouTube a productive, useful site; or a meaningless, waste of time? The video sharing website allows for users to post their videos for any user to view online, and for viewers to interact, by leaving comments, subscribing to a user’s video posts, or rating videos. The site has met undeniable success in the world of modern technology and internet interaction. The videos YouTube showcases range from TV shows, to music videos, to home videos, to videobloggers, to newcasts, to shortlived home-filmed pornography, to young children yelling, to hilarious clips of famous SNL skits, and the content is, for the most part, depressingly, horrifically terrible. But what redeems the site is the ease for which it promotes searching, displaying, and finding desired videos, and the hilarious, helpful, and interesting nature of those one-in-a-million finds of young children filled with demonic glee as they scream “NINTENDO SIXTY FOOOOOOOURRR,” at the top of their lungs.
Its popularity is undisputed. YouTube was sold to Google in November or 2006 for $1.65 billion. Within a year of its launching, in July 2006, YouTube reported that it had over 100 million videos viewed daily on its website, and at least 2.5 billion views per a month. Though the company is no longer releasing usage or profit statistics regularly, there is no doubt their audience has grown, as they have expanded internationally, and their popularity has soared.
YouTube is a perfect outlet to display, criticize, and view other artist’s work, but also a place to relax and enjoy hilarious sketches. The ease with which the site provides video sharing capabilities is not only attractive for those wishing to share, but also makes audiences more inclined to view the millions, even billions, of videos posted on the website. Furthermore, YouTube provides a perfect cross section of American Society: from the crazies to the critics: they’re all there, and they’re all free. Clips of movies and TV shows can appeal to the numerous fans of various programs, while videobloggers and home video displayers portray a different, more personal, yet still widely varied view of American lifestyle. Comedy sketches capture American humor in all its forms: dry and subtle, loud and obnoxious, and everything in between. Serious or controversial videos provide a perfect nesting ground for heated debate over certain issues. For example, a erroneous call during the 2006 Kings Academy/SHP football game that led to a loss for the Gators was posted on YouTube, and the call was debated by the league as a result. Because YouTube provided an outlet for these events to be reproduced with any viewer with an internet connection capable of seeing the call for themselves, the call could be debated by the league officials, parents, students, and administration alike.
Aside from the quantity of the videos, and the variety they encompass, YouTube can be quite annoying and cumbersome with the many useless, and, for lack of a better word, dumb videos posted. However, these uninspired presentations can be easily avoided with a quick and easy search. The positive aspects of YouTube fully eclipse the negative, and with modern interaction so rooted in internet communication and file sharing, the site could not do what it does better. It is a perfect cross-section of American, computer-owning society, and a valuable resource for anyone from a bored teenager looking for a laugh in the ‘what what in the butt’ video, to an inspired fan looking to recap a show they missed on TV.

From me to You...Tube

From TV-Links to MyspaceTV a whole new era of information dispersion has been born. Though streaming media has been in the works for years, it achieved its first great success on the pages of YouTube. YouTube is a website which hosts and shares videos for people to upload, watch, and (with the help of some programs) download. These videos include everything from Music Videos, Movie trailers and game reviews to user videos that can teach the viewer anything between charging an iPod with Gatorade and an onion to hotwiring a car. Acquired by Google for 1.65 billion dollars worth of Google stock late last year, YouTube is one of the most diverse web sites on the internet. It boasts videos and users from all over the world, allows hosting to anyone who is willing to register, and is quick and user friendly enough to be of interest to all genres of people.
YouTube’s versatility and the depth of it’s video collection does not only provide endless entertainment but is a source of help and support to those who need it. Am I talking about emotional support? No, yet there may be videos that do offer such help. I am talking about technological support, academic help, and extracurricular activities to explore. YouTube’s user network consists of all types of people- those who will post videos explaining how to install a new program, explanations of esoteric subjects, pranks you might want to commit, or projects to do in your spare time. Yes watching seemingly useless videos for the sake of spending your day is lame. However that is the fault of the “player” and not the “game”. It is merely a means to an end, how you use it is up to you. YouTube is a whole new form of interaction; information-wise it is a phenomenon and should be given respect as so. It brings more users to computers via entertainment instead of plain text or still images. It provides an escape from a boring day or a night of homework and is completely free, safe, and reliable.

Facebook: Getting In Touch With the Good ‘Ole Days

From teenagers to adults, Facebook is the revolutionizing how people all around the world connect. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, it is a social networking website used by millions to communicate. Originally opened for people affiliated with Zuckerberg’s alma mater, Harvard University, Facebook was later opened to any student with a University email address. Gradually, Facebook became available to anyone above the age of thirteen similar to other popular social networking websites such as Myspace. And why not? People of all ages can appreciate Facebook for its many different uses.
Some adults use it to keep in touch with old high school and college friends they have not seen for years, while teenagers may log in to ask one another what the homework was in their Algebra 1 class. You can post pictures or videos, blog, send “gifts” (little pictures), send private messages to select contacts, and public messages that anyone around the world can see. Additionally, Facebook has a variety of strict privacy safeguards that let you prevent some people from seeing what you may not want them to see.
Facebook allows you to customize your usage to reflect your interests. When you first sign in, you enter your homepage where the network shows you highlights of what has been posted by your friends. You may find one friend is no longer in a relationship with someone, another may have put up pictures from their vacation, and someone else may be attending an event. A group of your friends may have joined a new group (which may be public or private), while others may have added a variety of different applications including games, dating information, or musical interests. Facebook is what the user makes of it as you control what you see on your homepage. For example, if you are interested in seeing what new photo albums your friends add, you can be sure not too miss a single one. If you are not a consistent “Facebooker,” you may receive emails that notify you any time you have a new friend request or let you know when someone has tried to contact you.
Facebook can mean a variety of different things to different people. Although it began as a network for college friends to keep in touch, it has evolved into something much bigger. It is now used for keeping in touch, advertising, spreading news and information, communicating with associates, and introducing people with similar interests. I use Facebook for a variety of reasons. I began using it to connect with my siblings who had moved out of the house. Over time I started using it more to keep in touch with friends who have graduated and to talk to my cousins in Iowa and Texas. Now I use it to stay up to date on all sorts of high school gossip. It has had a huge influence on my life and is something that definitely finds itself into my daily routine.



tim

YoutTube: Showing the World What is Out There

Being able to access a video from any computer, anywhere. Not needing a password or code to see them, and being able to watch tv, cartoons, music videos, etc is what YouTube presents to the modern media watcher. YouTube is an online site where anyone can post videos for people to watch. Children, musicians, and school projects, the videos range from anything to everything. There is no way to describe the different types of videos on the YouTube site, besides that most of the videos seem to deal with comedy. The basis of YouTube is to share videos with the public. When you go to the YouTube site videos are on the home page, constantly changing and showing you what people are watching. The search bar at the top of the page lets you search for every video that is uploaded to the YouTube site. Or you can click on the one of the videos that are up on the home page or you can continue further into YouTube and browse to find a video that is just for you. Diving deeper into the seemingly never-ending videos, you can click on four other sections that narrow down your video search. This especially helps if you do not know what you want to watch. Clicking on videos, categories, channels or community leads you into more videos then you could ever imagine. Also separated by category like top rated, and most played, the many videos on YouTube lead you into a video watching frenzy that seems to never end. Being one of many that have an YouTube account which lets you up load videos, add them to you page, subscribe to other users, have YouTube friends, message people and share your videos with the public of YouTube. I enjoy what I have seen on YouTube so far. And as I sit at my desk and go through ten videos I look up at the clock and realized I should have been doing work for the last twenty minutes instead of aimlessly browsing videos about Hollister Hills State Vehicle Recreation Area and videos about trucks that have meet their demise at this park. YouTube adds to the entertainment value of the modern media watcher. It lets people express them selves in the comfort of their own home, yet share it with anyone who cares to watch. Also its lets people share information and knowledge about the world around them. For example the channel broadcasts about events that are happening and what is going on related to their specific channel. There are some amazing videos of people in trucks, boats, and planes that no one would see if there were not placed on YouTube. YouTube is like books five hundred years ago with out it knowledge about the world and what is out there would not exist and no one would know what is out there or what has been accomplished.

facebook

“Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” Facebook is a school network based website that lets students create profiles under their name to interact with friends. Recently, Facebook has broadened their associations to the public and one does not need to be connected to a school network to acquire a profile. First things first, because it is called FACEbook, you may upload a picture of yourself to go along with your name on your profile. This picture can be changed at any given time. By having a profile, you can upload photos, publish notes, get the latest news about friends, interact with friends, post videos, and join a network to connect with people who live, study and work around you. Inside a Facebook profile, you can describe your favorites: music, quotes, movies, books, etc. There is also a space on your profile where you can type exactly what you are doing at that moment. For example, mine right now should say, “Katie is..writing her contemporary lit blog." You also have a “wall” where your friends can post written notes back and forth to each other. If you do not want the notes that you write to your friends to be public, facebook also has a message program where you write “messages” to your friends where only you and your friend can see them. Privacy is a huge part of facebook. You can set your profile to only your friends being able to see your profile, or anyone from your school. The only way people from other schools can see your profile is if you have accepted them friendship or vice versa. Recently, facebook added applications to their site. These applications range from alerts, business, dating, education, events, fashion, file sharing, gaming, messaging, music, photo, politics, sports, travel and video. Facebook now has 9,212 applications and is still adding more.
So many people are joining facebook from day to day and it has become one of the most popular websites for people to connect with their friends. For me, facebook has become the ultimate way to procrastinate (I’m sure many would agree with me). But, I also really like the website and I seriously don’t know what I would do without it. That sounds weird but it’s the sad truth.

YouTV

When in need of a way to quench some strange thirst for seeing people act like jackasses or to just find a moment of reprieve from a long night of homework, millions of people turn to Youtube.com for their daily fix. The website has already established itself as the number one source of video content across the world wide web and the $1.65B price tag proves this fact. With its enormous power to present videos, Youtube is considered a primary outlet for showcasing a strange talent or remixing your favorite (or least favorite) song, etc. If none of your family or friends wants to hear you rant about some insignificant snippet of pop culture, you can rest assured that a couple hundred thousand people on Youtube will give you your three minutes of fame. The beauty behind the system is this fact itself. Youtube allows complete amateurs to post something that may or may not be interesting, leaving it up to the Youtube gauntlet of video views and Internet popularity to determine the video’s worth. With its mass media appeal Youtube puts entertainment back into the hands of the common man, women, or obscure animal. But should this power really belong to a bunch of nobodies? There is no real way to answer this question yet we can clearly see as access to Internet entertainment grows, traditional media popularity begins to tire out.
Youtube is ultimately a catalyst. The website is forcing traditional media to either adapt or die out. As we can see in this theory of media natural selection, other traditional media corporations such as NBC and FOX are forced to release internet players where I can enjoy last week’s episode of Heroes despite having missed the original airing. This radical evolution of media brings up questions of advertising and the future of entertainment itself. My 25-year prediction: The death of TV and supreme rule of Internet entertainment ~ YouTV if you will.

The (Un)Fabulous World of YouTube

Youtube was brought to the World Wide Web only a short two years ago, and since then grown so popular that it contains thousands of videos of all kinds. As a public place to upload and watch videos, Youtube is open to everyone and contains every kind of video imaginable on every topic a person can possibly think of. While it could have been abused to share movies or TV shows, the creators made it so that videos could not surpass a 10 minute time limit, hoping to stop users from posting illegal movies and the like on their webpage. Although the creators went to great lengths to stop it from happening, some users have found ways to post partial episodes or many parts of an episode on Youtube until it is removed or blocked a few hours later.
While some users spend hours upon hours online watching the countless videos, I would be lying if I said I was one of them. I have seen probably 20 Youtube videos since being introduced to the site last spring, and it has often come in handy for school PowerPoint presentations and making me laugh. Although I have only seen a few videos, I have seen Youtube at its best and at its worst, between “Washington” and the unfortunate “what what” video that a student brought to class. All a person has to do is visit youtube.com to view hundreds of thousands of videos with no cost to them. An account gives a user the ability to save his or her favorite videos, but with out one, they can view the same material. They would be lost for conversation and people would have to find a new form of procrastination, otherwise being sucked further into the world of Facebook, but that is a different story.
Youtube videos are constantly a source of discussion and I cannot imagine what some people would talk about if they did not have the common link of Youtube. In the short while I have been a Youtube viewer, I have seen hilarity, disappointment, cried from laughing too hard, and been utterly disgusted. It can bring out the inner child in viewers of any age and evokes all kinds of emotions. I was quite distraught when tonight I navigated to Youtube to watch the video that had been the butt of many jokes this summer, and was disappointed when the alarming red print stated that the user had removed it. Never again will I watch the “Washington” video, but the phrase “washing-ton washing-ton, 6 ft 20 made of radi-ation” will live on in my memory for a long time. It was one of the first videos I had seen, appreciated, and laughed as I watched it multiple times in a row.

I Love You, YouTube. Oh Yes, I Do!

What is YouTube? YouTube is the increasingly popular video sharing website where users can post just about anything. There are music videos, clips from movies and TV shows, and homemade movies. If you want to watch a guy jump off a roof and do a 360° back flip into a pool, YouTube is for you. If you want to watch the Russian cellists of the Rastrelli Cello Quartet play off against the Finnish cellists of Apocalyptica, check out YouTube. It censors nothing, except pornography and extreme acts of violence. But whi wants that? Hours upon hours of entertainment are now just a click away. But is this new phenomenon rotting away the brains of our future generation? Hardly! YouTube not only entertains, it educates. It was on YouTube that I found about the new and upcoming talent of my fellow countrymen. I would have been completely ignorant of singers like Passion and amazing beatboxers like Leejay and Yuri Lane. YouTube quenches my hunger to visually experience the women of music that I adore: Billie Holiday, Dorothy Dandridge, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne. And if that’s not enough, it helped me begin to consider where I stand politically. The 2008 Presidential candidates have been using YouTube as an outlet for advertising their candidacies. Viewers can make videos in favor (or in opposition) of candidates like Ron Paul, Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. YouTube even teamed up with CNN on presidential debates. So, are you skeptical about YouTube? Take a second, then, and think about something you have always wanted to see. I’m sure it’s on YouTube.

Best Creation...Ever

Kids now-a-days spend way too much time on one of the best internet creations called Youtube. Youtube hosts millions of videos that people are able to watch at no cost. Putting a video online also costs nothing at all, just a little time and effort. You can find pretty much anything on Youtube, and when I say anything, I mean anything. There are music videos, clips from parts of movies, home made movies, and even political debates. Youtube only sensors pornography and gory acts of violence in movies to make sure that they do not have the bad image of an adult site. In order to see the videos that have brief nudity, you must sign up with Youtube, make an account, and give your birthday so that they know you are old enough to see the more inappropriate videos. The only thing that limits you on Youtube is a time limit on the videos that are put online. The limit is about ten minutes. This was done in order to keep people from putting movies that have not even been released in stores onto the internet and having people watch movies on Youtube rather than buying the movie. This was all done to the satisfaction of those in the movie industry and now we only have a maximum of ten minutes per video. I use Youtube all the time and it’s always brings me a lot of joy and entertainment. You cannot describe the variety of videos on Youtube because there is everything. Every time I go log on to Youtube I find what I am looking for. It is unbelievable how much comes up when you type something in. I could be searching for a song called, “Boom Boom Boom” by the Venga Boys, and I will end up with three friends singing the song in their car with their own spin on it and I will be laughing hysterically on the floor. Youtube is just a Google with videos; you search for something, that something comes up, but so do a thousand other videos that may be related in the slightest bit. I think the best part about Youtube is that it gets some of my friends more addicted than myself. They will spend all their searching for these great videos and I will finish up my homework and BOOM I get to watch a great video. It may take away from many students’s study time, but people have more fun watching Youtube videos over studying for a history exam. In reality Youtube gives students and many others a time of relaxation, serious entertainment, and break from our dull lives.