Monday 6 May 2013

Poetry


I have been reading poetry for a while, mostly when I was in primary school but back then I didn't take time to analyze I just considered poetry a rhyming story. Now looking at it closely with a some what prior knowledge of the topic, I relate poems to riddles, they have a much deeper and secretive meaning than stories. Stories are where the author classifies characters, plot and moral, whereas poems you look for a personal meaning, being to characters, plot or moral, you can relate your experiences and feeling to them.  

I remember when I was around 7-8 years old I had to memorize a poem and it was very long and hard to remember. I recall my mother saying memorize it as a song (due to the hannah montana craze I was going though I made sure the poem was recited alike the “Best Of Both Worlds” song was) Putting aside my childhood I found that memorizing a poem like a beat or song can make it much easier to remember. This experience can allow me to relate poems to lyrics and songs both having a personal connection to the author and reader/listener. 

I had it today
For just an hour,
Then, tugged away 
By the winds power
It sailed off free
Above the crowd,
High as a tree, 
High as a cloud,
High as the moon,
High as the sun,
My blu balloon 
Has gone, gone, gone 

~ Eric Finney 


Monday 8 April 2013

Lost Like A Lost Boy.

I have just Finished reading "What Is The What" By Dave Eggers and I still remain lost when talking about this novel. I have to admit I found this book not at all in my reading repertoire and somewhat uninteresting. The main thing I struggled with was getting sucked into the book, having to add posits was just unbearable When I did get into reading about the Lost Boys Of Sudan I had to add a posit making my pattern of reading come to a stop. If this were A fiction book I would have no problem expressing what i truly think of this book, But if I somewhat say one bad thing about it I feel guilt. I think if next years Grade 8's read this book, I would make the annotating rule optional. As one of the less progressive readers in the class I have found the book hard to read when having to add posit, I would much rather prefer adding a quick summary after every chapter to conclude the happenings. Otherwise I would make the next Grade 8's read this because yes, some will enjoy it and some will not, but the people that did not enjoy it will learnt that in life you need to do things that you may not want to or enjoy doing. Before reading this book I had absolutely no idea who the lost boys were or let alone there was a civil war in Sudan, alike many others in the class. Overall I did enjoy this book and its purpose to inform and empower.


Saturday 2 March 2013

What Is The What? So Far...

"What is the what" By Dave Eggers Is based on the factual experience of Valentino Achak Deng as one of the many lost boys of Sudan. I have been reading this book for a while now and I feel like when he goes in and out of daja vu's I get quite confused and I  sometimes do not know what happened last (it can be hard to follow).


I found many parts interesting but the part where the lost boys and other helpless people come and eat the elephant raw I found especially interesting, I think it meant a lot and really showed how desperate they were and still are. As I continue to read I hope to become more indulged in the book.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

How To Write About England.

Inspired By How to write about Africa;

http://www.granta.com/Archive/One-Day-I-Will-Write-About-This-Place


Well, England the land of afternoon tea and scones, when writing on England explain that everybody in talks in a posh accent and works on farms with sheep and cows roaming the open fields and after having tea with the queen you would make it clear that every one pops down to the precinct and stuffs their faces with sweets and fish and chips. 

Then when it nears sunset the entire village will pop on down to the local pub (usually named the Red Lion or Royal Oak) with their boarder collie and drink gallons and gallons of beer while watching football. One very important fact that you must add is that English men are football hooligans going crazy over a goal especially when they have had too much beer. Also everybody in England uses the words Spiffing, Fiddle Sticks and Tallyho way too much it becomes annoying.

In the morning you will normally wake up to fog outside your windows and you wont be able to see a single thing apart from the pigeon sit on your windowsill. Talk about how everybody is fat from the large intakes of Bacon, fried eggs and sausages for breakfast (known As A Fry Up). You will always have the traditional British breakfast and drink tons more tea you will also always watch BBC news in the mornings to keep you up to date. In England everybody worships the Queen and knows her personally from having many afternoon tea sessions with her. Everybody also walks to the newsstand in their bowler hats (they wear these so their little bit of hair dont get wet from the persistant rain). When writing about England make sure you include all of these very true facts! 

Monday 28 January 2013

Normal..... Huh ?

Normal has so many different meanings, it all depends on the experiences you have had and the routes you have taken through out life. Normal to one person may be themselves and another may be a completely different person. I think your opinions come fromt the people around you and your surroundings, The input that everything has on you leads up to make well... you. I strongly believe that the word "normal" has no definition, even though it is present in the dictionary there is no universal understanding of this word. 

I will never forget that in Chiang Mai an entire new door opened for me when I realize I take single stories for granted, when I go on holiday I never realize how stereotypical I am, for example if I went to Cambodia I would think I am walking into a country with begging children and temples everywhere but it is actually a lot more than that, now I have learnt to be more flexible when trying new things and exploring new places. 

Tuesday 8 January 2013

New Years Resolution

2013, a new year to me means a fresh start and a new beginning. A new year is a chance to experience new things and new people, to push your boundaries physically and mentally. This year I expect too participate more in class, Almost all my teachers have told me that I would raise my grades and potential at school.





Monday 7 January 2013

Who's Irish

Who's Irish by Gish Jen is a very interesting short story capturing the visions of an old chinese grandmother. During the story it is obvious too tell this chinese lady is very one sided and has a habit of discriminating people based on their race, gender, birth country ect.. There where many times in the story where the chinese lady could not speak proper English and had her mind set on raising her granddaughter Sophie like a well behaved Chinese school girl, but Sophie was almost on a mission to get in trouble. Readers later found out that Sophie was a extremely troubled girl which almost had no cure.

The grandmother turns to spanking, and although her daughter forbids her to, she feels that if she does she will finally adapt too a good temperament  In some situations I think this story can be confusing and misleading, otherwise it was cleverly written. When Sophie was pulled out the fox hole "asleep" I seem to think that she may have been knocked out. Also in this scene I feel very bad for the grandmother as she had no idea what was happening and couldn't see down the fox hole because of her age.

I have now leant the importance of identifying characters traits from the very beginning. This helps us engage in the story more, by leading us too have more of a connection with the plot.