ACT III...

Ok, reading Act II today really caught my attention. This book is definitely not as good as Death of a Salesman or A View from the bridge, both also plays written by Arther Miller. But here are my predictions for Act III:

1.) George is going to reopen the case with the faulty warheads against Joe.
2.) Joe Keller will be sentenced to jail and will end up meeting George and talking to him in prison.
3.) Chris and Ann will get married after a brief tussel.
4.) Kate will get seriously depressed and maybe become delirious until she tries to recover.
5.) Sue will be happy now that Chris has left and her and Frank.
6.) Bert hmmm...if he is in the story, he will probably look for Joe and when he is told that Joe is in jail will not believe it or being the innocent kid that he is believes the Joe is only going to be gone for a couple of days and will reappear.
7.) As for Larry, he will not reappear. They might find his body or just accept the fact that he died in battle.
Reading his other plays, Arthur Miller usually ends with tragedy and despair in the air with only a teensy bit of hope, which in itself is hard to grasp.

New Moon

Ok. So Bella had already befriended a vampire whom she instantly fell in love with; a werewolf whom she trusts and cares for more than anything in the world. What other creatures is she going to meet and befriend in the next book? I think Bella is a character who is so open-minded that she doesn't go into a situation with a closed mind. Instead, she asses the event only after she has already experienced it. Also, this book teaches us that life is full of tough decisions that you have to choose from. Although, you may get away with being indecisive in some instances, ultimately you will have to pick one and give up the other. I think that is going to be Bella's biggest decision in the next book, Eclipse. As she quotes in New Moon, "But it couldn't be worse than what the Cullens endured in their quest to be good...Nothing could be harder than that. The werewolves had chosen a different path. Now, what would I choose?" (Meyer 299) But somehow just because of that fact that this is fiction I think that by the end of the series Bella will get a happily ever after.

Squid

When you think of a Squid, what do you think of? A translucent invertabrae harmlessly navigating the myraid of creatures that inhabit the deep and dark depths of the world's oceans? (WOW. that sounds very professional! =D) Well, the Squid actually exists in many shapes and forms. There are over 280 species of Squid today. They belong to the animal class- cephalopods which also include octopuses and and cuttlefish. You can idenitfy a Squid if it has: 8 legs, two long feeding arms, parrot-like beaks, and THREE HEARTS! There are so many Squids in the Ocean but many people are only familiar with the Giant Squid which can be 12 ft long and 150 lbs! Looking at the pictures of Squids, I realized that I had never closely looked at the species before. Whenever i heard the word Squid, I would get a vague image of a whitish elongated jellyfish type creature. But these pictures depicted solid and intimidating creatures that loomed dangerously waiting to jump at the nearest prey.

bibliography

Hanlon, Roger T., and John B. Messenger. Cephalopod Behaviour. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

The Strait of Malacca

Who likes Pirates of the Carribean? I do! but is it all really just movie fiction? I just read an article in the National Geographic about an area in Southern Asia which is infamous for the inhabitance of pirates and pirate attacks. The Strait of Malacca lies between the Malayasia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Each year, some 70,000 merchant vessels carrying a fifth of all seaborne trade and a third of the world's crude oil shipments pass through this critical waterway. This strait is also crucial because it is the direct connection between India and China. So, why do people in this region become pirates? Well, one reason is they need the money and attacking large ships with tons of cargo is worth a hefty sum. Many times, older generations recruit the young population and teach them the techniques and skills needed to be a successful pirate. One secret technique that pirates use is called the "Jumping squirrel" where you take a 2ft piece of root and shape it into a footlong spike then you take a 20 ft long bamboo stalk and lash it to the mangrove root. This creates a contraption that helps pirates climb onto the ship. Then after getting on to the ship they hold the captain or whoever at knife point and demand money. Deed done. Money plenty. Escape Easy.

Interesting Facts.

1.) Lanun: The Malaysian equivlaent of 'pirate'
2.) Since 2002, IMB has reported 258 pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait- more than 200 sailors held hostage and 8 killed
3.) Pancungs: wooden boats that are rigged with powerful engines used by 'jumping squirrel' pirates (They are not like the Flying Dutchman!)

bibliography
Gwin, Peter."The Strat of Malacca." National Geographic Magazine. October 2007: Pages 126-149.

What you want...is it really what you don't have?

I'm rereading New Moon and I thought of an interesting question: Do people really think that what they don't have is what they want?

Bella really wants to become a vampire. "And i supposed...if i could be sure of the future i wanted, sure that i would get to spend forever with Edward, and Alice and the rest of the Cullens..." (Meyer 10) She thinks that to become one is no problem and it will be easy to emulate into the Cullen's lifestyle. However, she is not thinking of any consequences that Edward or she may face. It is harder than she thinks and i doubt that becoming a vampire is something that will please Bella in the long-run.

I could probably relate to Bella in some way. I know i have wanted a lot of things in my life that i don't have. But these things are not really what i wanted. What i really wanted was maybe the satisfaction of obtaing it or just the momentary feeling of happiness.

What about you? Is what you don't have, really the thing you want? or is it something else?

My favorite Quote

My favorite quote from New Moon were:

"Suddenly, something Jacob had told me this afternoon echoed in my head, finally sinking in...She took off into the water, he'd said. The bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That's why i raced home-i was afraid she was going to double back swimming.
My hand froze in its seraching, my whole body froze into place, as I realized why I recognized the strange orange color on the water.
Victoria's hair, blowing wild in the wind, the color of fire..." (Meyer 381)
I thought this passage did a good job of accentuating the carelessness of Bella's actions. She did something very rash and as a result put herself in more danger than she could have ever imagined. Although, being clumsy and reckless is something Bella is expecially good at, this experience almost crossed the line. I felt that if this wasn't a fiction book, someone would have suffered bad consequences. Furthermore, I like this passage because it is like a flashback to an earlier event that explains a very key detail that the reader probably did not pick up on. Likewise, after reading this, I found myself questioning, why I had not picked up on this fact earlier? but also what would have happened had the werewolves not rescued Bella?

400 BLOWS XTRA CREDIT-one paragraph

Just like books are made for library shelves, movies are made for the cinema. As a result, movies include cinematic elements. I believe that cinematic aspects of a film have the ability to control an audience’s thoughts and impose certain emotions and viewpoints that a director wants to emphasize. A camera’s angle and photography shot have a big impact on a scene. For example, when following Antoine at the end of the movie running along a dusty road, the camera is at eye level and the audience can see nothing but Antoine and the background. This creates tension that makes viewers think he may get caught at any time. Or when the camera follows Antoine into the building where he steals a typewriter. We, as the audience only see his feet and the stairs moving fast but we comprehend that this is a matter of urgency and great importance to the characters. Nevertheless, it is not always what you see that creates emotions. Many of the times it is also what you hear. Background music plays a big role in supplementing the action. During the opening scenes of the movie, the music is very melancholic yet uneasy. This complements the passive nature of the scenes of the streets of Paris and the ensuing anticipation as an evocative picture of a woman circulates in the boys’ classroom. Further on, in the middle of the movie the Doinel family is laughing happily and driving home from the movie. During this scene the music is upbeat and lively to portray the happy emotions of the characters.

400 Blows...SHORT review

I thought the film 400 Blows was a pretty entertaining movie. Although it was monotonous during some portions of the film, it was overall effective for me. I think the movie did an especially good job portraying emotions and characterization. You could clearly tell when there was a mood change. For example, when Doinel family went to the movies, they were letting out all their tensions into this momentary happiness. Also, I thought the themes of family, love, friends and good morals were evident throught the plot and setting. The plot provided ample opportunity for the actors to experience these things. For example, when Antoine undergoes psychological questioning, he relfects on why he stole the typwriter and why he gave it back. Through this you can kind of get the feeling that he does have some remorse in him. In conclusion, it was a good movie and i would give it 3.5/5 STARS.

400 Blows

We are in the middle of the movie 400 blows and so far there hasn't been to much going on. It began with a classroom full of boys and a very strict teacher. One kid in particular, Doinel, is a troublemaker and lives in a poor apartment complex. After his mom and dad fight, Doinel decides that he can not live with them any longer. Expecially after he catches his mom kissing another man.

I think his mom is way to controlling and demanding. She is too wrapped up in her own world to really care about her son. The dad is way more understanding and concientious.

One quesiton i have is: What other things will Doinel get in trouble for?

And it is really interesting that this is a memoir. It puts a whole different perspective on how you perceive the actions and characters that are portrayed.

Hop-Frog

I just finished reading Hop-Frog by Edgar Allen Poe and it is pretty interesting. As you all have probably read, Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allen Poe's stories usually include death that is acted out in vengence but then is reflected on by morals. Well, in this story there is a little dwarf named Hop-Frog. He is always playing the subservient character to the kings and his faithful servants. So, one day the king calls on him for ideas. The king is hosting a big costume party and wants his outfit to be the most unique out of all the guests. After a couple of drinks, Hop-Frog saw this as the perfect opportinity for revenge and comes up with a marvelous idea. They would dress up as the "eight chained ourangs-outrangs" which required lots of specific garments and elusive preperations.

...To find out what happens to them at the party you have to read it. I couldn't possibly describe it as well as Edgar Allen Poe.