9/14/12 35 min 9/15/12 65 min 9/16/12 52 min
This week, I started back up on my other book, The Last Guardian. There's something that is puzzling to me about the main story across the entire series: how have fairies, gnomes, and other mythical creatures managed to keep their existence a secret by living underground for the past 10,000 years, and how are they so much more technologically advanced than us?
Alright. I would buy if they had some invisible base in the middle of space between the Earth and the Moon, or if their habitat was, say, the Bermuda Triangle, but... underground? I just feel like that's the most overused of the hiding places for secret organizations, let alone magical beings. And as for being technologically advanced? Well... they can use magic, I guess they could create new elements, and then, being underground, use the energy from the planet to superheat them to create, like, SUPER elements, or something like that. So, I guess, if they had 10,000 years to do all this, they could be pretty far ahead of us. But, that's only if they weren't found by curious human entrepreneurs spelunking in their free time. I don't know... I guess I could believe the whole "way more tech savvy fairies" part, but not the "mystical beings have been living underneath us for several millennia" part.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Literacy Narrative
So, I have an idea for my literacy narrative. It's the fact that reading Harry Potter changed my perspective on reading. First, though, a question or two: are we writing this from the point of view of a reader or writer? I only ask because, even though I'm pretty sure you said both, I'm not 100% on that.
Another thing: reading that series changed the way I've read everything after it. There are details in abundance in Harry Potter, so it taught me to look more carefully at books from then on, to try and fully understand them. Also, this was one of the first REAL books I'd ever read. Because of this, I've enjoyed sci-fi and fantasy books far more than any other genre. This is due to the fact that, because of my experience, I feel more connected to this type of book than any other. Finally, the writing in Harry Potter is a little more complex than your run-of-the-mill kindergarten-1st grade book. As I've mentioned, the details are more prevalent, and the ideas are more developed. So, having grown on the genre of sci-fi and fantasy, I've taken a liking to creative writing more than any other kind (like, say, literacy narratives).
I know that I want to write about how Harry Potter changed my perspective on reading.
Another thing: reading that series changed the way I've read everything after it. There are details in abundance in Harry Potter, so it taught me to look more carefully at books from then on, to try and fully understand them. Also, this was one of the first REAL books I'd ever read. Because of this, I've enjoyed sci-fi and fantasy books far more than any other genre. This is due to the fact that, because of my experience, I feel more connected to this type of book than any other. Finally, the writing in Harry Potter is a little more complex than your run-of-the-mill kindergarten-1st grade book. As I've mentioned, the details are more prevalent, and the ideas are more developed. So, having grown on the genre of sci-fi and fantasy, I've taken a liking to creative writing more than any other kind (like, say, literacy narratives).
I know that I want to write about how Harry Potter changed my perspective on reading.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Readin Response 3
9/11/12 172 min
One thing that happened toward the middle of my book is that the main character, Jack, met up with one of his old teachers. The teacher was working for the Emperor, though, which surprised Jack at first. Then, he began to think that his old sensei was going to spring a trap on the enemy, and flee with Jack. Turns out, he just ends up cutting the tip of Jack's pinkie finger off. When asked why, the sensei replied that, in capturing Jack, he would restore his honor, which he lost in a previous book.
What I was thinking about when I read this was how most people can be bought off to do just about anything. I mean, here's a guy who just cut off a former pupil's finger. Granted, he used to take pride in beating said pupil up during training, but still... he used to look after this kid. It doesn't get much more extreme than that.
One thing that happened toward the middle of my book is that the main character, Jack, met up with one of his old teachers. The teacher was working for the Emperor, though, which surprised Jack at first. Then, he began to think that his old sensei was going to spring a trap on the enemy, and flee with Jack. Turns out, he just ends up cutting the tip of Jack's pinkie finger off. When asked why, the sensei replied that, in capturing Jack, he would restore his honor, which he lost in a previous book.
What I was thinking about when I read this was how most people can be bought off to do just about anything. I mean, here's a guy who just cut off a former pupil's finger. Granted, he used to take pride in beating said pupil up during training, but still... he used to look after this kid. It doesn't get much more extreme than that.
Comment Response
"I kind of love that feeling of being caught between two books you desperately
want to read, and I do love getting those lovely packages in the mail. But I
want to know more about what makes you want to read them so much..." -Dr. D in response to my first reading response
What makes me want to read The Ring of Sky and The Last Guardian... well, there are two reasons. The first is closure. They are both the final installments in their respective series', so it would be wrong to just quit here, and not know what happens. It's like leaving Star Wars Episode V without finding out that *SPOILER ALERT* Darth Vader is Luke's father. It just doesn't make sense to me.
The second reason is that they are so different from my life. To my knowledge, I am not a reformed evil genius who has billions of dollars and works with fairies and other magical creatures to protect the planet Earth. Also, this is obviously not 17th century Japan, and, while I DO have samurai swords, I haven't traversed the countryside as a wanted fugitive, killing any samurai who get in my way. These things are what make these books interesting to me.
Another thing: the characters in these books are close to my age, so I feel like I can relate more closely to them than, say, Curious George. Then again, that might have to do with the fact that he's a monkey. Anyhow, I just feel a connection because of the similarity in age.
What makes me want to read The Ring of Sky and The Last Guardian... well, there are two reasons. The first is closure. They are both the final installments in their respective series', so it would be wrong to just quit here, and not know what happens. It's like leaving Star Wars Episode V without finding out that *SPOILER ALERT* Darth Vader is Luke's father. It just doesn't make sense to me.
The second reason is that they are so different from my life. To my knowledge, I am not a reformed evil genius who has billions of dollars and works with fairies and other magical creatures to protect the planet Earth. Also, this is obviously not 17th century Japan, and, while I DO have samurai swords, I haven't traversed the countryside as a wanted fugitive, killing any samurai who get in my way. These things are what make these books interesting to me.
Another thing: the characters in these books are close to my age, so I feel like I can relate more closely to them than, say, Curious George. Then again, that might have to do with the fact that he's a monkey. Anyhow, I just feel a connection because of the similarity in age.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Reading Response 2
In the book I am reading, The Ring of Sky, there is a boy named Benkei who is helping Jack and his group to Nagasaki. Since Jack is a fugitive, this is a big deal. If they are caught, Benkei would almost certainly be killed along with the group. Here's my point: the only original fugitive was Jack. His friends got into trouble by HELPING him. It seems like, in almost every book in this series, there is someone like Benkei who is willing to help a complete stranger, who also happens to be an outlaw.
I think that in the real world, there are far fewer people like Benkei than we think. We all want to be able to say that if one of our friends was in trouble, we would be brave and courageous and help them get along to safety. They might not even have to be a friend. Well, I have a second-degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-Doe, and access to a samurai sword, but that doesn't mean that I'll aid and abed fugitives, whoever they are, when DEATH is the punishment for getting caught. Did I mention that the Emperor has pretty much the entire army out looking for these people? So there's a pretty high chance of that. What I'm trying to say is that the likely-hood of Jack running into someone like this, who is willing to risk life and limb, in almost every book, is just unrealistic.
I think that in the real world, there are far fewer people like Benkei than we think. We all want to be able to say that if one of our friends was in trouble, we would be brave and courageous and help them get along to safety. They might not even have to be a friend. Well, I have a second-degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-Doe, and access to a samurai sword, but that doesn't mean that I'll aid and abed fugitives, whoever they are, when DEATH is the punishment for getting caught. Did I mention that the Emperor has pretty much the entire army out looking for these people? So there's a pretty high chance of that. What I'm trying to say is that the likely-hood of Jack running into someone like this, who is willing to risk life and limb, in almost every book, is just unrealistic.
Hurricane Moment
During Hurricane Isaac, I got a chance to really get into my newest video game, Sleeping Dogs. In short, you play as an undercover cop of the Hong Kong Police Department trying to infiltrate the local Triad organization. So, I was playing this one mission where you have to evade members of a rival gang in a street chase. It didn't seem hard at first, but as I progressed, the number of enemies I encountered didn't decrease: it increased. There was just no end to them. However, I glanced over at my mini-map and saw that I was about to leave their territory, thus completing the mission. So, I paused the game to go get a soda. Then, as I was reaching into the refrigerator, the unthinkable happened: my house lost power.
I rushed back into the living room, hoping against hope that, by some miracle, my xbox had remained on. Alas, it had not. Then, just as quickly as it had left, the power returned. I was annoyed for a minute or two, but, as the game started up again, I thought, "Hey, it was only one mission. I can easily make it up." After the game finished loading, I restarted the mission. This time, though, it seemed like every character other than mine was an enemy gang member. I mean, they were popping out of every nook and cranny there was. Eventually, the end was finally in sight. And then, when I was in almost the exact same place on the mini-map as before, my power went out again. This time, I didn't even bother turning my xbox back on. I just walked into my room and read my book.
I rushed back into the living room, hoping against hope that, by some miracle, my xbox had remained on. Alas, it had not. Then, just as quickly as it had left, the power returned. I was annoyed for a minute or two, but, as the game started up again, I thought, "Hey, it was only one mission. I can easily make it up." After the game finished loading, I restarted the mission. This time, though, it seemed like every character other than mine was an enemy gang member. I mean, they were popping out of every nook and cranny there was. Eventually, the end was finally in sight. And then, when I was in almost the exact same place on the mini-map as before, my power went out again. This time, I didn't even bother turning my xbox back on. I just walked into my room and read my book.
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