Saturday, September 27, 2008

Fun Home ch 1+2

Fun home is crazy cool. I read it last night after dinner, but before I did, I was convinced that I wasn't going to like it. Guess i was wrong! I really like how she starts out. She shows right off the bat that there's something quirky going on with her and her dad. I mean on the first page, 3rd block, she describes the game of "airplane" that they play together and you can see his face: Unemotional, blank. You'd think that the father would be smiling, laughing or at least showing some sort of emotion but he's blank. It's something small and you might just think it was an error on the authors part, until they get to the end of their game and she says "again!", in which he replies , "get the vacuum cleaner, this rug is filthy". (cold!) Anyways, as the comic goes on, she continues to paint the picture of her father. An unemotional perfectionist with an obsession. His obsession happens to be their house. (architecture, interior/exterior design) It's cool at first but then you start to see just how aggravating he is. You start to see just how much more he cares about the house than his own family. Even others give into it. Like when the mother is playing piano and "Aunt Sue", tells her to keep playing but shes going to show the house off to some friends. Ridiculous!

The relationship between the words and the pictures are kind of a big deal. And by "kind of" i mean "really". Without the pictures, you can't really get a sense of what the characters are like. The author is literally showing the reader just how she wants the characters to be thought of. No room for imagination here! But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Understanding Comics (part dos) ch 4-9

So, I'm not going to lie in this situation but I'm really kind of at a loss for words. I looked around at other blogs and found that I agreed with Keyokah. (can i do that? talk about how i agree with what someone else has to say in my blog and not on theirs? Should i do both?) Anyways, She said about how the book was repetitive and I agree. I guess it all just relates back to what i said in the first blog. Its a comic book about knowing how to read comic books. It was put together really well and its been helpful but at the same time, its been boring. But again, my favorite part about everything was still the fact that he related comics to famous works of art and how he explained that describing a famous work of art and a comic is similar. I also like that he stood up for comics. He admitted that they were underappreciated but he made sure to relate comics to real works of art to prove that comics are also works of art. Oh! and when he made everything colorful towards the end of chapter eight, i was super happy. Im a big fan of color in general, (hence why you'll see me with bright red lipstick on or some outrageous eye makeup) so seeing color in a sea of black and white was a good finish in my book.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Understanding Comics

Well, I found it strange but cool that I was reading a comic book about comics. Although, I wasn't really sure how to take it at first. I mean, McCloud told us things that we basically knew already but just didn't think about. Like how the human mind can see a circle, two dots and a line and see a face in the midst. But that we were so trained that it would always look like a face. He also mentions how we're a selfish species, looking for "faces" in everything; ie: houses, cars etc...)But when i finished the reading, I realized that it kinda shed a whole new light on comics. (for me anyways). Suddenly, the concept of comics didn't revolve around Batman or spiderman.
OH and before i forget, I was actually able to tie a lot of things that McCloud was saying to my "Aspects of Art" class. The ideas are similar when describing art work, whether its a painting or a graphic memoir. I thought it was cool, especially when he showed "the treachery of images" because I wasnt very familiar with the drawing, i had only seen it for the first time in my art class a week before. And the artowkr was explained to me. I liked the ideas behind it, so when he showed the work of art and then explained it, I smiled a little.
The idea of readining graphic text about readining graphic text was a strange concept at first. But the more i read, the more i liked it. Ill admit, there were pages where id "read" them and then have to read them again because the information just wasnt sticking. But i think thats something we all find, whether in a text book or just in general with things.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Fishing Story

Whoa. I'm a fan.
At first, I wasn't too intrigued with her descriptions. It was nice but I was bored. But then she started talking about how her grandmother has a failing memory. Interesting how the pretty stuff is boring but the tragic stuff is what we find interesting. (people can deny that all they want, but why do they think that something like the news is so captivating for some of us?) Anyways, my favorite part of this essay is when she starts talking about the fishing story. It kind of reminded me of the notebook. (lame?) I loved the way she paints the picture, the repetitiveness, and especially the silence. "They didnt exchange more than 10 words the entire time..") Other than that part, some of the quick comments that Richards makes are kind of entertaining. I realize that there's nothing humorous about death and a failing memory but i think, sometimes the best way to cope with something, is to laugh about it. She mentions the joke she has with her grandmother about "done shit and flew", and even just the way she says some things like : "we tune out until we hear the key word that signals the end..." Richards is right, is does sound rude but there's something about the way that she writes the essay that sheds a positive light on a terrible situation. It makes me realize that we all have tragic things that happen in our lives, but we chose how to deal with them. And when telling the story to others we show exactly how the situation is affecting us without even realizing it.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Benson: "The Sparkling Eyed Boy"

This was my favorite essay. Why? Well it was the shortest but that's not the true reason...or the only reason, rather. Hah. you see, the essay packed a lot into the 2 pages that it took up and I was a fan. I'm convinced that i like all the essays that no one else likes. Haha i bet everyone will say that they hated "The Sparkling Eyed boy". Anyways, I thought the essay was interesting. The beginning was super interesting. Think about it, the "sparkling eyed boy did not love my sister", ....but he loved everything else. Classic! The narrator goes on to describe her sister and how she was different and boys liked her and all the jazz. Then at the end, BANG! ,"the sparkling eyed boy may have loved me, but he didn't love my sister." I loved the way it began and ended like that. It was super sweet. The sparkling eyed boy, does not necessarily sound like an ugly kid. He could have been the kid with telescope eyes and braces or zits all over his face. But, instead, he was the "sparkling eyed boy". The narrator chalked up her sister to be something amazing and made herself seem so awkward and lame only to find that the "sparkling eyed boy" was more interested in her, than her sister. At least, this all was my interpretation. What i don't understand is this: why does she say that shes not sure where her sister ends and she begins? And then she goes on to mention about how her sister despises that idea, which I think is interesting because her sister is supposed to be the "cool" one yet shes unhappy with her life and the choices shes made.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ashes, + The love of my life

Ok. So here's the deal, kiddies. As I said in the last blog, my mom died of lung cancer when I was younger, so these essay's were interesting to read. They didn't really upset me though, because I found them hard to relate to. Some ideas found in the essay's were ones i've encountered myself. For example: in "The Love of My Life", she makes comments like "I want my mother" in a stressful situation, "my mother's death has taught me to live each day as if it were my last", and "I cannot continue to live without my mother." These are things I've both thought and said many times before, and so reading it in the essay made me stop and think for a while. Actually, I had an extremely hard time getting through both essays. Every once in a while the writer would say something that reminded me of my own personal experience with the similar situation. I would then stop, and think for long periods of time about anything and everything but mostly things pertaining to my life with my mom still around. Needless to say, I realized that most of the time I try to block out thoughts of my mom, memories and the D.E.C. itself.(note: D.E.C = the day everything changed) It was upsetting for me to realize but I guess it's just been my own personal way of dealing with things. Oh well. I'm digressing. I didn't hate the essay's but I also can't say that I'm their biggest fan. "Ashes", was a story that I couldn't really relate to. I mean, it certainly portrayed a reality, and the ugliness associated with a loved one suffering cancer but at the same time it portrayed a strange family connection. Affection was rare and considered unnecessary. But again, I can't say that, that didn't occur with my family. The difference is that their family was naturally not big on affection in general. So when the cancer hit, they drove themselves further apart to ease the suffering and pain of losing each other. My family doesn't necessarily go day by day hugging and telling one another "i love you", but when my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer we definitely at least tried to be more loving towards each other. Although I do remember, being an angsty teenager and wanting nothing to do with my mom at the time. It sounds horrible because it was horrible and the things I wish I had done was talk to her more...find out more about her and be more mature. Unfortunately, life isn't that easy and you can't just go back in time,(no matter how much you wish to.)

Monday, September 8, 2008

"Beard"

Well, I just read "Beard" and it depressed me but in a good way. Now, reading this, you might ask how can depression be a good thing? All I'm saying is that, the story did what it was supposed to do. It was supposed to move you and make you an emotional wreck. At least, that's what I believe. I liked the reading. I liked the story line and the ways that the characters were introduced and described. The ideas associated with the old and decrepit dog were incredibly sad for me but I'm a total fan of dogs. (So in other words, I might just be biased.) The woman starts out talking about the sky. She describes planets as she waits for the dog to go to the bathroom. At the end of the story she talks about the planets and stars again. I thought it was a cool touch. Catch me if I'm wrong but it’s almost as if at the beginning her life was a mess and the universe was there, still living and after she loses Chris and other friends the planets and stars are still in the sky, living and comforting those who look upon them. I feel as though it’s leaving you with the whole "people die, but life goes on" idea. (This post is a little scattered..but so are my thoughts!)"I get his coat and follow him into the cold November night; there are stars and stars and stars. The sky is full of dead men drifting in the blackness like helium balloons my mother floats past in a hospital gown, trailing tubes. I go back inside where the heat is." This section from the story was particularly moving for me. I think it hits me because when I was younger, I lost my mom to lung cancer and so the image of "mother floating by in a hospital gown trailing tubes" is one thing that I remember vividly. So perhaps this story wasn't meant to be upsetting at all, but because I was pre-exposed to death of a loved one and have a love for dogs, the story upset me just that much more.

Friday, September 5, 2008

An introduction to E.K


As a Freshman at "UHa", I look forward to having a good time and doing well in school. I think that's pretty much what every kid at this school wants to accomplish. So, to differentiate myself from the other students, I'll give you some background. I'm an eighteen year old from Methuen, Massachusetts, a place where many kids go to high school without walls. The school is a prison, the people are diverse and the teachers are ridiculous. But isn't that what everyone thinks about their hometown and the people residing with them? Maybe not. I'm an Irish step dancer, painter and person retaining outrageous qualities. I aspire to do many things and be many different people, but again, that's something you find within the brain of an eighteen year old. I like designing things and I'm a total make-up guru. I'm a fan of indie rock and roll, but I'll listen to virtually anything. Art fascinates me but I fail at drawing. Music amazes me but I'm not very good at any instruments. I find that I'm often mediocre at a lot of things but not really great in anything particular. I always strive to be the best but sometimes the bar seems to be set too high. I'm an optimist(i swear!), and a morning person but I, occasionally have my opinions and days that can say otherwise(like today!). I'm often told that I'm ridiculous but have yet to decide if that's a compliment or not. I like being independent and different. I sweat the small stuff and drive myself crazy. I like Ultimate Frisbee, taking pictures, being silly, bright colors, thunderstorms, eating chocolate ice cream with a fork and just plain ol' having a good time with friends and family.