Currently #6

The Time Maching by H.G.Wells

Population:485 by Michael Perry

This week: 110

Last week: 100

Total: 823

1. Summer here comes on like a zaftig hippie chick, jazzed on chlorophyll and flinging fistfuls of butterflies to the sun.

2. Uncle Shotsy was a victim of optimistic physics.

3. You can move about in all directions of Space but you can not move about in time.

I love the imagery in the first sentence.  It is the first sentence of the entire book and it got me excited to see what other images and descriptive words the author would use next.

If you've seen Bon Qui Qui at King Burger

Reading: Population:485

The narrator of the story is a fire fighter in his town.  Their fire department did not have many qualifications necessary to become a fire fighter.  The town is small and has nothing to do.  Their Main Street isn't even busy during the day.  When someone is hurt, they have to wait at least 15 minutes for an ambulance to come from another town because the town he lives in does not have one.  The main character also talks about people who used to live in the town.  He talks about a huge family and one of his friends who died in a car accident because she did not turn a sharp curve and went off the road.  The other part of this book's title is Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time.  After finding out that this man is a firefighter and certified nurse, this title makes a lot more sense.  He recently moved back to this town which is where he grew up.  He is meeting all of the new people in the town each time he responds for an emergency.

A lot of Homestead students whine about how there is nothing to do in Fort Wayne.  There is a lot more to do here than there is to do in most towns.  Those students must not have been to a town in the middle of nowhere or a farming town.  This book brings the boringness of most towns to my attention and shows how we need to stop whining and just have fun and enjoy what we have.

Reading: The Time Machine

In the beginning of this book there is a man having a dinner party.  When he walks in his clothing is tattered and he has some cuts.  Turns out this man had just time traveled.  Many stories talk about time travel but I think it is interesting how this book portrays the journey to time travel.  The main characters in other stories who time travel make it to the desired time or even the undesired time usually unscathed and without much difficulty.  In this story, it really took a lot out of the main character to time travel.  This book though was literary so I read about 60 pages but decided to switch to another book.

The book I switched to is called Population: 485 Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry.  After reading the first sentence I had a feeling this would be a great book.  Usually the beginnings of books are boring and take a while to get you interested in the story.  The author used a lot of imagry and colorful adjectives in the first paragraph alone.  So much in fact, that I went and reread it two more times just to make sure I caught all of it.  In the first few pages the title of the book is already making its self known.  The author tells how everyone was kneeling around a girl who was hurt and yelling for an ambulance while she was about to die.  I'm excited to see where this book leads!

Currently #5

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

This week: 100

Last week: 150

Total: 713

Sentences of the Month!

1. "Shes wearing a tight red sweater a red skirt and enough makeup to scare a hooker."

2. "Shoot, she call the roll at the crazy lady club."

3."The sun is bright but my eyes wide open."

I picked the first one as my favorite mainly because it is funny.  The relation to a hooker really helps you imagine what the normal house wife looked like.  That is one of those sentences where you will stop for a second and re read to see if that is really what the book just said.

Reading: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This is the first literary book that I have read all year.  I now understand why literary books are 50 less pages a week.  This book is not necssarily extremely difficult to read but it is definitely harder than a normal popular fiction book.  Especially since these stories are older the language and vernacular is much different than we use today.  This book was originally published in 1892 and has become some of the most well known stories in history.

Holmes was investigating a group called the Red Headed League.  The league paid a small amount of money per week but there was hardly any work that needed done.  This pay was only available to red heads that are in the League.  The two supposed heads of the League said that the money was left behind by a rich business man who died.  This man also had red hair and wanted the gene to continue on throughout history.  Turns out these heads of the League were crooks and closed the League once they had built an escape tunnel.  The closed the League on Saturday which gave them two days to escape.  At least, that was their plan until Holmes figured it out.  The best part of the stories is when Holmes explains his reasoning and how he solved the mysteries.  His attention to details and situations that most people would overlook is one reason Holmes is such an intriguing character.

Love. This. Video.

Reading: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes

This is a collection of smaller individual mysteries.  They do not necessarily relate to one another.  Sherlock Holmes is an extremely clever and observant character. He could tell where his colleague Dr. Watson went in the morning and how good his staff was without Watson having to say anything.  Holmes says the difference between him and other people is that he does not just see what is around him, he observes what is around him.  Most people can go up the same flight of stairs their entire life and not think a thing about it.  Holmes would know exactly how many steps there were. This picture is what many people pictured as Sherlock Holmes and Watson for a long time.  These actors were from one of the earlier movies in the 1940s.  The stories became popular again recently with the new movie with Robert Downy Jr. 

In the first story of the book Holmes refers to someone as the woman.  We later find out that Holmes was trying to get to an incriminating picture of that woman and the King.  Holmes had almost outsmarted and tricked the woman as Holmes tends to do with anyone.  Surprisingly the woman caught on and fled the country with the picture and her new husband.  Holmes was shocked but the woman promised that she would not reveal the picture.  The fact that someone could see past Holmes's tricks, especially a woman, was a concept that Holmes never believed possible.

5 Favorite Claims

1.  [In this scene from Vincent van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night , his colorful and exciting use of setting, busy but pleasant mood, and inviting cozy buildings]
 portrays [a sense of playful benevolence and lighthearted liveliness.]

2.  In this picture of lightning striking the Serengeti you are overwhelmed by it's explosive power, seductive presence, and docile setting which creates a sense of euphoria, fear, and loneliness.

3.  Emerson's chubby cheeks, varying moods, and melodic giggles highlight the sincere, playful, and cheerful innocence of children.

4.  The educationally stimulating childrens' game Questionaut incorporates pleasantly jubilant music with whimsically quaint animation to create an inventively playful adventure.

5.  The painting “Bold as Love” by Scott Cicero portrays an intense and dramatic expression through the spiritual flow, soothing colors, and compassionate movement emphasizing the complex design.

The most original artifact: http://freefifteen.blogspot.com/ 

Claim

So in honor of Disney day here's my video!

4 Elements: setting, choreography, attire, sound

12 Adjectives: happy,excited, magical, smooth, cheerful, energetic, absurd, friendly, whimsical, vibrant, upbeat, loud.

Claim: This dance battle shows a magical setting, energetic choreography, vibrant attire, and upbeat sound that captivates the crowd and all who watch.

Poet of the Month

I copied "Aboard at a Ship's Helm" by Walt Whitman into my moleskine.  I chose Walt Whitman because I recently rewatched a movie called Dead Poets Society. The character Robin Williams plays quoted lines from Walt Whitman that the students then showed their respect for him by using those lines at the end of the movie.

Currently #4

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This week: 150

Last week: 150

Total:   613

1. "The sun is bright but my eyes wide open."

2. "You'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin."

3. "Go to New York, Miss Skeeter. Go find your life."

The first sentence gives a sense of optimism that most people wouldnt find in the situation that the character was in.  I just thought the sentence sounded cool.

Reading: The Help

I finally finished the book! This is the first book I have finished in one sitting in a very long time.  In the story, the editor decides to publish the book but only runs a small amount of copies.  The sales were up in the districts where a lot of the actual maids lived in Jackson but not many in the white suburbs had bought copies yet.  That was until a talk show host did a review on it and made a lot of the white women in the town believe it was about Jackson.  All of the women went out and bought copies to figure out if it was in fact about Jackson.  Hilly started to piece together and come up with maids that she thought helped with the book.  Hilly then told all of women who were those maids' employers and they fired their help.  Hilly was especially outraged that the story about the chocolate pie was in the book.  Instead of going to Celia, Hilly went to Minny's husband's employer and made him be fired.  Minny's husband was abusive so Minny and her children decided to run.  Skeeter was offered a job at a magazine in New York, and after Aibileen's encouragement, Skeeter took the job.  Skeeter was also rocking the long hair and hippie look that had become popular.  The other main reason Skeeter decided to take the job was that her mom's cancer was in remission.  Then, Hilly went to Elizabeth who was Aibileen's employer.  Hilly tried to frame Aibileen for stealing and forced Elizabeth to fire her.  Aibileen made sure the children remembered all of her lessons before she left.  On the bright side, Aibileen was offered the Miss Myrna column that Skeeter previously did and was paid the same amount Skeeter was.  This story was very powerful and inspirational. 

Real Life Ghostbusters Surprise New Yorkers

Reading: The Help

Let me start out this blog post by saying how much i love this book!  Everyone else who has read it will most likely agree that if you are interested you should definitely read it!  The benefit that the Jackson League puts on happens at the beginning of what I am reading for the week.  It is one of the biggest social events of the year in Jackson.  Celia goes to the benefit and wears a dress that she believes is cute but is not very modest.  The moment Celia walks in the room people are staring at how provocative she looks.  Celia gets very drunk and throws up and Miss Hilly, the woman in charge of the benefit, kicked Celia out of all Jackson League events forever.  Just before that, the winners of the silent auction items are announced.  Someone signed Miss Hilly up for a chocolate pie that Minny made.  On stage Hilly looked happy but when she got off stage she was disgusted.  What people do not know is how Minny made a chocolate pie for Hilly once right before she was fired.  After Hilly had already eaten two pieces Minny told Hilly how she put poop in the pie.

Skeeter rushed to get the manuscript together in time for the editor to read it before the holidays but Skeeter will not know what the editor thought until after the holidays.  Skeeter also just found out how her mother had cancer in the lining of her stomach.  Her mother only gets up to go to the bathroom and throws up at least twice a day.  Skeeter is worried but she has started to go on dates with Stuart again.  Stuart left for a few months and did not contact Skeeter at all.  Before the benefit, Skeeter pulled a prank on Hilly showing her protest for Hilly's separate bathroom initiative for the help.  Skeeter put almost thirty toilets on Hilly's front lawn.  Because of this action, Skeeter lost her position as the editor of the League's newsletter.

Currently

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This week: 150

Last week: 152

Total: 463

1. "I realized I actually had a choice on what to believe."

2. "I hope you write something really good. Something you believe in."

3. "The churches got together though.  They gone send both those boys to college."

All of these sentences show some obstacle being overcome or about to be overcome.  The first sentence shows how in the world full of hate and racism a little girl understood that there was no need for all the hate and that she could believe and do whatever she wanted.

Personality Test

I am an ESFJ, (Extraverted, sensing, feeling, judging).  I definately agree with the first one because I tend to be very social but I try not to judge people.  To be honest after the 30th question I wasn't thinking about the questions very much.  I guess this test makes sense.

Reading: The Help

Miss Celia, the woman Minny works for, does not know that her husband found out about Minny and is actually happy that Minny is working for them.  Minny still has to sneak around so Miss Celia thinks her husband does not know.  Miss Celia would also sneak up to one of the old bedrooms and stay there all day while Minny cleaned.  Minny spied and saw that Miss Celia was an alcoholic and was going up to that room to drink.  Minny confronted Celia and was fired.  After getting home from Miss Hilly's house, Skeeter noticed that she left her bag.  Miss Hilly was nosy and all of the interviews and books on the Jim Crow laws were in that bag.  Miss Hilly was not a supporter of the Civil Rights movements and was actually trying to pass a law that would have mandatory separate bathrooms for the help.  Miss Hilly started to avoid Skeeter but Skeeter saw her at the swimming pool one day and talked her way out of what Miss Hilly found.

A big turning point in this section was when a man was killed by a member of the KKK.  The man was the husband of a woman who was higher up in the NAACP. The NAACP is the national association for the advancement of colored people who work towards civil rights for minorities. The husband was attacked and shot in the back.  This scared many of the people in the area but it also brought about a surprise.  Aibileen was able to convince more maids to talk to Skeeter.

Minny waited a few days and went to beg for her job back.  When she got to the house, Miss Celia was curled up in a ball and there was blood on her night gown and all over the room.  When Minny looked in the toilet she saw a dead baby.  Miss Celia was crying and told Minny that this is the fourth time it had happened.  It turns out that what Minny thought was whiskey was actually molasses and water that Miss Celia was given by Native Americans to help prevent the miscarriages.  Minny had to work fast to clean up all of the blood before Miss Celia's husband got home.  The twists and turns in this story really take you buy surprise.

The Help Featurette and Charater Overviews

I haven't seen the movie yet but this video is clips from the movie and the actors talking about their characters.  It is actually a good assessment of the characters and helps you understand the emotions and situations in this book even more.

Reading: The Help

After a lot of asking and perseverance, Skeeter convinced Aibleen to talk and be interviewed about her life and how it is working as a maid.  Aibleen is nervous she will get caught and hurt and Skeeter is nervous that the editor will not like what she has come up with. After a few interviews with Aibleen the editor calls Skeeter to tell her that she will need to find more people to interview.  Aibleen turned her sights to convincing Minny to join.  After much persuasion, the stubborn Minny actually decided to talk to Skeeter.  Minny would only do it if she was on the opposite side of the room as Skeeter so she could keep an eye on her. 

Earlier in the book Skeeter went on a date with a man named Stuart.  Stuart was a handsome, smart, and reputable man.  Surprisingly, Stuart got very drunk and rude on their first date.  Stuart came back and explained how he was not ready for that date since it was too soon after his breakup but that he would love to take Skeeter out again.  Skeeter had a great time and Stuart acted like a gentleman.  They have been going on dates periodically since then.

One aspect that really makes this book interesting besides the content is the way it is written.  Like I said before, the three points of views in this book are Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter.  In each seperate section the dialect and language is different.  Skeeter's language is somewhat more proper and educated while Aibileen  and uses more slang terms and words that are realistic to the type of person she is and helps bring what is happening to life.

Blog Tour

Blogs I visited today.
-As Told By Ginger
-ETYAFTER
-Apples to Apples
-phyllis
-Chillin In The Nyle
-Back of the Napkin blog
-Fire Side Reading
-Chillin
-Contemplations 

Currently

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This week: 152

Last week: 161

Total: 313

1. "Shoot, she call the roll at the crazy lady club."

2. "Shes wearing a tight red sweater a red skirt and enough makeup to scare a hooker."

I like both of these quotes but the first one is my favorite.  They are both funny but I think the first one is a very creative way of calling someone crazy.

Reading: The Help

The main things that happened in this section involved Skeeter.  Skeeter's mom fired her old maid Constantine. Skeeter has been asking all over town but no one knows where Constantine went or how to get a hold of her.  Skeeter also applied for a job at a successful publishing company and received a personal letter from the senior editor who was surprisingly a woman.  The editor was named Elaine Stein.  Stein agreed to look over Skeeter's ideas and give her opinion but that Skeeter should first get a job at the local paper.  Since Skeeter was a woman, she was given the Miss Myrna column.  Women write in to Miss Myrna and ask for advice on cleaning and relationships.  Skeeter does not know much about either of those topics so she goes to see Aibleen who agrees to help with the answers.  After a few days, Skeeter gets a revolutionary idea.  Skeeter decides she wants to write a book from the perspective of the help.  No one has written anything like it before.  The only problem will be finding people who will be willing to talk about their employers and their lives.  It will be even harder because a local black man was beat for going into the white bathroom.  He only went in there because there was not a sign that said he could not.  Aibleen does not even want to be a part of this book.  I am excited to see how Skeeter convinces people to be a part of the book.