zBlogging the Literary Life - Period 6/7 - AP College English - 2005/2006 - Oak Park River Forest High School

Semester 1: We Dabbled...

This semester of English class has been, well... let's just say it's been a lot of things. We, believe it or not, have covered quite a bit of text, something like 3,759,524,601 words. Actually I just made that number up, but ballpark to say the least. Anywho, I think most of the stuff we've read and studied has been pretty good. Nothing has really made me want to shoot someone, I mean, Heart of Darkness got me sort of in the mood, but it wasn't too bad.

Okay, so I wrote to crappy papers and B.S.'ed some poetry from time to time, but I was still learning what needed to be learned. And come on, we've had some pretty kick ass discussions as well. I could only hope that second semester follows the first in being a solid class, not too much fun, but not too boring.

One more thing, is anyone actually planning on taking the AP? I heard it's as hard as Velutha's abs.

Ob La Di, Ob La Da...

(after winter break)... life goes on, rah.  As I sit at my computer for a school driven purpose (sigh), I long for the days when it was "acceptable" to listen to Holiday song. I couldn't ever imagine I'd write this, but I miss *N Sync... Anywho, I hope everyone's winter break was two weeks filled with sleeping in and "chill-axin." Surprisingly to me, I wasn't completely cut off from English, I spent an hour a day working on my Comparison Poem Essay-- just kidding. Only half an hour. For Christmas this year, instead of another *N Sync or Charlie's Angel's CD, my youngest older brother gave me On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. In short, this book involves self-discovery. It's a keeper and I advise everyone to read it. Well, think of things this way-- only five school days (plus finals) separate us from second semester seniors status. Kind of intense. So maybe instead of complaining about writing another essay or reading another book or studying for another test... we should do things to enjoy the last times we have like this. As they say in Costa Rica, Pura Vida!

My Querencia (Revisited)

With the paragraph due tomorrow, I have been reconsidering my querencia.

Previously, I said my car was my querencia.  After hearing other peoples' thoughts, though, I started thinking.  Some people started mentioning things about family, and I started to think about my family reunions in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan (that's in Canada for those of you who do not know).  These family reunions are a lot of fun and involve any outdoor game you can think of.  We have a lot of fun playing these games, because we often add twists to them.  For instance, one game my family does is a golf tournament, except with teams.  We play best ball, meaning whoever hits the best ball in your group is the ball your team takes their next stroke with.  One year, my cousin got a fart machine and would activate it every time somebody was about to swing.  Needless to say, it was hilarious.

These family reunions provide a sense of euphoria for me that nothing else can give me, not even my car.  To all those who inspired me-- I'm sorry I forget who you are but you'll know who you are when you read this post-- I offer many thanks.

Will-Go

I can honestly say that my life is fulfilled-- okay, maybe not but I just went to the best concert I have (and arguably will ever) see. Wilco, a band based from Chicago, played tonight at the Auditorium Theatre. They played wonderfully and sounded better than their records. Jeff Tweety's voice is unmatchable. Even though they did not play two of my favorite songs, they played so many others-- one could not be disappointed. The concert served as a one night charity to raise money for New Orleans musicians. Unlike many "concert charities," everything went towards the fund. The band, the ushers, the stage hands, the caterers-- everyone involved did not get paid. Wilco even did not sell their own merchandise-- to support that of the Charities. It was an amazing concert-- and a good cause. Hopefully, we will be able to see human kind help one another in God of Small Things.

The Boys and Master Harold

We never really got to discuss the play (no knock on Mr. H, I know we've been busy). Anyways, I thought the play was excellent, a very good production. I've never considered myself a theatre buff, and though I am a fan of Broadway, I don't care much for a serious theatrical experience. I don't know if it was the play itself or the actors, but something about Master Harold really drew my attention. Looking back, I have a new-found respect for stage actors and how difficult their work is. Between the language and amount of lines, not to mention the circumstances of the play, those three actors, and especially Sam, really played the part. The context of the story is so moving, that to put on a character in such a personal way is really something. I think we all know what our opinions are on racism and the like, but this play was about more than an ideal. It wasn't an overdramatic play, and nobody was trying to teach us a lesson. The play did no more than make me think.

El Fin

First, does anyone remember DEAR: drop everything and read? That's kind of sad that in 4th grade we needed clever slogans to make us read... Anyway, I only bring up 4th grade because, I just got home from what will ultimately be my last volleyball practice-- which I started playing in fourth grade. After devoting about nine years to one thing, it was a very anticlimactic experience. I feel like we will have a lot of "last times" this year. I think we all have already expereinced some too. But look on the bright side: if we think the transition from high school to college is hard, what about the one from college to the "real world"-- and I don't mean the television show on mtv (... ha ha).  Jokes aside that was kinda deep, not really, but I try to pretend.

PS: I was about to write "last dance with mary jane" for my title-- trying to be clever, but I never throught about it before: Did Tom Petty (and the heartbreakers) mean last time smoking pot? or was there really someone named mary jane? and did he really have a last dance with her? woah...

It Does Exist

Tonight I saw it.  Existentialism in its true form, and it was amazing.  Of all places, It was at the Aragon Theater, on stage, and in the form of Franz Ferdinand's basist.

He spent the whole concert with an absolutely bored look on his face.  Every once in a while he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and then paced around a bit.  Maybe he smiled once.  His eyes scanned the crowd with incredible apathy. 

I shouted to my friend that I was embarrassed to say, but that the basist reminded me of Meursault.  Great, English has leaked out of school, affecting my thoughts.  Maybe this is learning...just kidding, don't get all offended.

But just like Meursault (in the beginning), this guy showed no emotion.  He seemed to wonder, "why are these people here?" just as Meursault did at his court case.  The basist also did not fit in with the other band members (who bounced around and shouted energetically), similar to the way Meursault did not mix well with normal society. 

Interesting coincidence.

Existentialism and Living

        As I was discussing my Stranger essay with a friend, we had a disagreement about the definition of existentialism. What I got from Heidkamp's lecture at the beginning of the year is that life is meaningless and attempts to rationalize it through any system, including finding meaning in relationships, love, law, work, family, religion, or pretty much anything that can be considered a truth is futile. My super cool Trapeze editor friend  (everyone read Trap! Especially my ed. picks) Clo, however, disagreed. She saw existentialism as the idea that you chose your life, not let it chose you. And that you can find your meaning anywhere and live however you want, but ultimately it's the choices you make and the act of living that constitute meaning. And I said, hmmmm, interesting. I could get on board with that much more easily. An essay by Sarte confirmed it. Although the one system he completely rejects is religion, which he sees as a way to take the responsibility for living away from the human and instead live life according to some arbitrary system. He believes not that we should have no morals, (as it seems that Mersault has), but that we should create our own morals. This is interesting, and perhaps a truer way of living than accepting societies mores and codes, or using religion in your guide, instead of your own common sense and feelings. However, it could be problamatic. It's possible that Mersault had morals which made it okay to kill and acceptable to beat up on dogs and women. That may be true to himself, but what would the world be like if we all made our own morals? Self-interest would likely rule and things would turn to chaos. Still an interesting thought however, and one I can more easily consider and mull over than the straight-forward no morals no love no nothing kind of existentialism.

Trust: only the best movie ever

I'm so bummed right now. Even though I went on a kick ass field trip, I missed the second installment to Trust, only the best film of the 1980s. I'm really upset--what happened? What did I miss? Please, comment... I'm sitting at the edge of my seat, with anticipation.