Future's End #0 Review

So This is a comic I got at free comic book day and some of you might be wondering why its a number 0 and not number 1? I don't know. Couldn't tell ya. But I have a theory. You know the scrolling text in Star Wars that told you all that was going on? I think that's what number 0's are in comic form. Now on to the story: it begins with The Flash (who I think is Barry Allen in this rendition) runs into a warehouse of sorts and mentions 'they' are too fast. and all the spider robot things come in and they seem hard to defeat and Bruce Wayne loses an arm and he tells his apprentice Terry Mcginnis whom you may remember from Batman Beyond (does anyone here actually watch it? Respond in comments) goes back in time to kill 'someone.' I guess it was a good way to begin a series but it was so confusing. It played 'the pronoun game'  as cinemasins would put it making it hard for the reader to follow. Maybe this is what they are going for I'm not sure. But in stead of feeling intrigued, I just felt disoriented but hey. It was free

The Joker #1 Review

Okay so a few months ago (I think it was January) they had DC villains month including Doomsday, Lex Luthor, Lobo, Riddler, Harley Quinn, Sinestro (anyone?) and my the Joker. So I finally got around to reading it and here is the synopsis: The Joker picks up a chimpanzee after it is abandoned by its mother and raises it as his own. That's really it. Nothing really to spoil, nothing really to add its just that. It never felt out of character, honestly it feels like something the Joker would do. But the problem is it doesn't seem like a particularly interesting adventure with the Joker. Its like having a comic with Lex Luthor being about going out to get a toupee. It would probably happen its just not very interesting. There isn't much really at stake and there's almost no crime. But the major pro of it is you get to hang out with the Joker. I have said it many times he is an awesome character and that is worth my money at least. So if your a huge Batman fan I'd hunt it down but if your just trying to get in to them, I wouldn't put forth the money.

Oh yeah and since I've recently talking about Star Wars here is an hour video from a series called AMC Jedi Council, I'd check it out if you have the time

Comics are Novels too!/ Free Comic book day

I have often tried to get my peers into comic books and graphic novels but comics have been nudged to the side for long enough. I am going to give comics the attention the deserve! Comic books are an interesting way to comprehend social issues, it helps with visualization, challange you just as much as "normal" novels do, they allow you to have a deeper understanding of our favorite heroes that surpass what is shown in the movies, and we get more time with the heroes we know and love so they are just fun to read.

Some people have told me "I don't want to read comics because I want to be challanged." But there is nothing that can hinder a comic from being challenging. Characters can use a higher vocabulary and you can speak with different methods of syntax and diction. But what really makes a story challenging is how thought is provoked in the reader. I don't think we read harder books to say, "hey look at all the big words I can find" if that was the case I'd plop a dictionary in your hands and condescendingly say, "have fun!"

Another argument I hear is, "they are too short" But keep this in mind. The first Harry Potter book is 200 pages long give or take. But the whole saga is at least 1000. Let's say the average comic is about 20 pages. They usually get released about twice a month (40 pages a month) and the first Superman issue was released in June of 1938. Since we are drawing to a close with May, this is where I say: close enough. Now that was 76 years ago. If we calculated 76 times 12 months and the bimonthly comic schedule we would get (ladies and gentlemen get out your calculators) on average 1,824 pages. FOR ONE CHARACTER. DC and Marvel (and the smaller comic makers) have hundreds of characters so you have an abundance of variety.

There is a good chance you are probably thinking, "that's awesome but I don't know where to start." But one of the easiest way of starting is going to Half Price Books and spending 1-2 dollars. If you get confused about a reference to a character just look them up on Wikipedia. But if your not sure if you want to spend money just yet, the first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day (that rhymes if you say it aloud.) But there is a video in the post explaining what it is.

In conclusion: my friend once asked me if I wanted to learn how to play the Pokemon trading card game (which I also suggest but that's aside the point) and I said I'd give it a shot. And if we are all willing to try the comic books and the trading card games and the skydiving and the spelunking and the video games and what else. We have to at least be able to give it a shot.

Final Blogger Assesment English 1B

 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Why did I choose Star Wars On Trial?

I took a break from Dark Knight Returns because I wanted to read a longer book (and the library doesn't allow renews on graphic novels but that's irrelevant). I also wanted to go with something that didn't just make me look like the nerd in class, you know like Star Wars. But the real reason I chose this book is because I have two passions in life: comedy and movies. Film has the ability to influence us in so many ways that we don't even realize. The lawyers in the book (by the way there was a real trial about the religious and government undertones in Star Wars. Isn't that awesome?) make this apparent due to their quote they took from a famous New York Times interview, "Movies have a big voice, and what we filmmakers have to do is set a good example" also on page 5 Birn (The lawyer) Brought up is how he felt after seeing The Empire Strikes Back, "This (Star Wars) wasn't just fun anymore. It felt... important.

I want this book to help me understand why certain people feel so passionately about the films they took the time to see, love and eventually argue about religious undertones of.

So here is the non rhetorical question I'm putting out:
What are your top 10 favorite films of all time and talk about why they are your top 10. Submit below in comments and click here to visit my movie blog so we can continue our discussion about movies.

Here's my top 10 to get you started (in no particular order)
1. Dark Knight
2. Avengers
3. Star Wars 4
4. Star Wars 5
5. Star Wars 6
6. The Matrix
7. Batman Forever
8. Ghostbusters
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 

One purposeful diction choice I made was when I said, "the library doesn't allow renews on graphic novels but that's irrelevant" I chose the word irrelevant because I like to use larger words and that is just how I talk. That was an important factor in adding voice. Another reason was I wanted to maintain (at least at the beggining) a sense of professionalism and then geek out by the end. A purposeful syntax choice I had was keeping the sentences in parenthesese medium in length because it was a tangent of train of thought but it wasn't an entirly new subject. "(by the way there was a real trial about the religous and government undertones in Star Wars. Isn't that awesome?)"

 

Over the course of the trimester I tried to find ways to enhance my use of technology. "The blogger takes advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically by consistently including links, pictures, and videos in their posts as well as three or more Goodreads widgets, which reflect regular updates." My main struggles with this at the beggining was I didn't know how to add them but with my movie blog it got easier for me. Then the struggle became where to add them oppose to how. The easiest thing to add were the pictures just to give a glimpse to what the blog is about. Going with the cover of the book is too obvious the wierder your picture (school appropriate and relates to the subject) the more they want to read (this has been Spencer Walsh with Advice for Adverts) but I digress. In this post I found a way to insert a link and have it make sense. I also have a way to incorperate a video for my next post. 

How will the trial go down?

When I started reading, Star Wars on Trial, I thought there were going to be three or four "charges" but I was a little off. There is actually (for sport you can put your guess in comments) I can't believe this court, which is actually a mock trial but its a 600 page book about debates and Star Wars, found eight charges in Star Wars. I thought the only things Star Wars did wrong could fit into three categories: 1) Episode I. 2) Episode II. And 3) Episode III.

But here are the eight charges: 1) The politics are antidemocratic. 2) Star Wars portrays no admirable Religious or Ethnic beliefs. 3)Star Wars NOVELS are a poor substitute for real science fiction. 4) Modern Sci-Fi has been reduced to poorly written effects extravaganzas. 5) Star Wars has dumbed down the perception of science fiction in popular imagination. 6) Star Wars pretends to be science fiction but is really fantasy. 7) Women in Star Wars are portrayed as weak. 8) Logical gaps in Star Wars make it unsuitable for intelligent viewers.

I won't be prosecutor for the issues but I will defend some of them. Starting with Charge 4) The Matrix came out 16 years after Return of The Jedi, and even though it was full of special effects it did still have an importance for those special effects and a really good story I love to this day. Avatar and Terminator 2 are also both huge sci-fi films and one of them is the best of a 4 or 5 film franchise and the other is the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME. James Cameron is a boss. For charge 7: There is only like two major female characters in Star Wars with more than two lines which is Leia and Luke's Aunt. His Aunt get's charred to death so you can't base that assumption off of one character who is still pretty awesome (my favorite Disney Princess). For charge 6, Star Wars was never pretending to be anything. George Lucas calls it a space opera. I think it's just because people think space=science fiction. Even though its fantasy all along. And that brings me to charges five and eight: its not meant to be logically thought provoking. It is a fantastical story of a Jedi and a Smuggler saving a princess and blowing up a Death Star. And it has touched the hearts of millions.
Can you defend or prove any of these charges?  Or are there common criticisms of your favorite films you would like to share. Comment below to answer one or both of these questions.

Why did I choose Star Wars On Trial?

I took a break from Dark Knight Returns because I wanted to read a longer book (and the library doesn't allow renews on graphic novels but that's irrelevant). I also wanted to go with something that didn't just make me look like the nerd in class, you know like Star Wars. But the real reason I chose this book is because I have two passions in life: comedy and movies. Film has the ability to influence us in so many ways that we don't even realize. The lawyers in the book (by the way there was a real trial about the religious and government undertones in Star Wars. Isn't that awesome?) make this apparent due to their quote they took from a famous New York Times interview, "Movies have a big voice, and what we filmmakers have to do is set a good example" also on page 5 Birn (The lawyer) Brought up is how he felt after seeing The Empire Strikes Back, "This (Star Wars) wasn't just fun anymore. It felt... important.

I want this book to help me understand why certain people feel so passionately about the films they took the time to see, love and eventually argue about religious undertones of.

So here is the non rhetorical question I'm putting out:
What are your top 10 favorite films of all time and talk about why they are your top 10. Submit below in comments and click here to visit my movie blog so we can continue our discussion about movies.

Here's my top 10 to get you started (in no particular order)
1. Dark Knight
2. Avengers
3. Star Wars 4
4. Star Wars 5
5. Star Wars 6
6. The Matrix
7. Batman Forever
8. Ghostbusters
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Krista Ramsey Intro Activity

According to Mrs, Ramsey's collumn, the Mennonites (which based on the article are a religous group) embrace the arts by making quilts, performing, etc. Click here to see the article. The best written line in my opinion is, "It's an image to which many Americans can't relate. That's one reason why Mennonite artists like Stoltzfus relish this weekend, the chance to explore such thoughts with others of their faith" (Ramsey). The first sentence of the line is much more to the point than the second. However, the second sentence is a lot more thought provoking. Her writing style is written directly to the reader to make them feel not only like an observer (like in most novels) but almost conversation like. "You see it all the time" (Ramsey).
If I could ask her three questions they would be:
1) What seperates you and your style of writing from other journalists and columnists
2) Have ever written in any other genres before and if so what were they
3) How do you choose what to write about?

Where is Killing Joker Hiding?

There was an era of comic and superhero cinema where the point of superheroes were supposed to beat the bad guy where the bad guy wasn't given as much back story as I would believe they deserve. Even though The Joker was Batman's opposite since the beginning, he wasn't taken particularly seriously. You could try to argue, "well he's a clown" but that can be argued with two major points 1) clowns are terrifying. 2) None of the characters in the Adam West Batman were taken seriously. But then The Killing Joke came along and the story is terrifying. I won't tell you what the Joker does but it is MESSED UP. But the writer Alan Moore did something really cool with the character. He expanded on it while keeping the core essential elements to who the Joker is: a sadistic clown. If you want to know where you can see the most accurate portrayal of the character is (what a shock) Heath Ledger's Joker. Although they never actually describe him as a clown in the movie, the two parts that express who The Joker is more than anything are 1) the magic trick and 2) when he has the frag grenades in his coat and he says, "lets not blow this out of proportion." I highly suggest you check out both of the Joker pieces I talked about because they're both awesome.

What does the mask mean?

Among most superheroes a common trait is that they have a mask (besides X men, Hulk, Thor, Wonder Woman, Dr. Strange and Superman) although that's a lot of exceptions we will address those later. But why do superheroes wear masks? Is it just a form of disguise? I don't think so. Let's discuss a couple of heroes and their reasons for wearing the masks. As a child dressing up for Halloween my least favorite part was the mask because it was as sweaty as all get out so it worth it? The main use for the mask or the outfit in general as Ra's Al Ghul put it in Batman Begins is (to paraphrase) that it you have to be more than a man. A symbol. To be honest more that one person can be taking that persona of Batman. There might even be a Batman organization of people who are Batman all over the world. Although this is only in the comics, there is a real super hero organization who wear costumes and do work for the good of humanity. Not for hiding identity but as a symbol. What do you think the mask is for? Comment below to state your thoughts.

The best thing about Dark Knight Returns

The best part about The Dark Knight Returns so far is that it constantly addresses the issue of 'is Batman a vigilante or a hero?' and the morality of what he's doing. There are entire pages dedicated to newscasters and correspondents discussing the morality of what Batman is doing. Honestly I'm surprised more superhero cannon doesn't do this. Sure cops chase after Spiderman and he's huge in the press but they don't go that far in depth. Metropilous just gracefully accepts a dude flying around trying to save the earth. But that's because his girlfriend is a reporter. Then again so is Batman's, and the ninja turtles. Princesses and reporters can never stay out of trouble that's why I'm pro news-less democracy. For the safety of the people. But anyway what looked like it should have been a problem for the Batman universe was manipulated by the writers into interesting subject matter.

The Killing Joke Review

So a few weeks ago I read the graphic novel The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, the author behind small works such as V for Vendetta and Watchmen, which is basically the closest thing we have to a Joker origin story. I loved the graphic novel for two primary reasons. 1) the Joker is one of my favorite characters of all time to the point where I can name all the actors who played him: Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill (that's right, Luke Skywalker was the Joker!) and the most recent and best from the bunch Heath Ledger. But I digress. If the movie The Dark Knight took from anything its this and The Long Halloween (which is also awesome). The Killing Joke is praised as the best Joker story of all time and for very good reason. In the Adam West TV show and the early comics (from my understanding) wasn't a violent character but as you can probably tell he has changed over the years. This novel is very dark and the Joker spends the majority of the novel trying to make Commissioner Gordon go insane like he did. And it shows this really interesting motivation for the Joker beyond 'just cause' that I can't talk about without entering spoiler territory. 2) The other reason I really like this book is because of the dark tone. The first Batman movie I've ever seen is Batman Forever and it was very childish but I will always have a special place in my heart for Jim Carey as the Riddler. But the first Batman comic I've ever read had the first panel being a guy shoved into an iron maiden and that triggered the, "holy shoot Batman isn't for kids" and this comic does the same thing. My only problem with it is it is too short. Like every Joker story is too short but this is only 46 pages long. But besides that, its a dark  psychopathic story involving one of my favorite characters and I suggest you check it out

Final Blogger Reflection

Click here to view my best blog post.

 

My theme and summary post for Looking for Alaska was the best because it meets all the requirements, the theme is appilicable to other texts as well as life and it was well recieved in comments. The theme was that nothing will ever truely be gone. The requirements for the post are to determine a theme or central idea of atext and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text. In the post, I say, " Miles Halters who loses a dear friend (not saying who, how or why). So Miles and his friends have to cope with their disapearance. For most of the second half, Miles is very sad and at many points angry that his friend was gone mostly because of how he wanted questions answered that could only be answered by the person they could not find. But once Miles came to grips with his friend being gone was when the theme was realized." That meets that requirement. The theme (according to comments) was a touching theme worded well which is applicable to other texts which I point out about the end of Romeo and Juliet, or just applicable to life. 

 

My goals for next tri involving reading are to finish An Abundance of Katherines and read (or at least start reading) The Fault In Our Stars because I cannot read more than one or two books at a time. I want to read The Fault In Our Stars because 1) everyone says it is great 2) I really like the author and what I read of his and 3) it is being made into a movie and I want to read the book first. My goal for writing is to attempt to participate in NANOREMO (National Novel Writing Month) but I am almost certain I will not complete that task. But my trimester goal is to brainstorm and start writing a new novel or screenplay as a new project. My other goal with my writing is that I want it not to only be entertaining but helpful in others lives with relatable characters and situations.

Analysis of An Abundance of Katherines

"' Because of the whole genius thing...is nothing. That's just about wanting to be famous'
'No it's not. I want to matter' he said" (Green 11).

I think this is an interesting concept. Being famous and mattering seem like two different things to me but I can't put my finger on why. This is a problem that I (and many other people I presume) face. But is it just a euphemism for simple lust for fame. I think the arguement can go both ways. Collin goes to Gunshot, Tennesee to see the body of Archduke Franz Ferbinard. He meets a nice mother and daughter who give them jobs and housing. But Collin spends most of his time thinking about the most recent Katherine or battling the idea that he might just want to be famous. You can argue that they are the same thing that fame is a result of work that you have done that matters to people. And thats true. Many people revolutionized the world we live in like Albert Einstien or George Washington. But sometimes you either get one or the other. For example many people don't know who Martin Cooper is. But he invented the first version of an invention practically everyone has now (try to guess what he made and don't use google) and I think that mattering means someone who has found a way to positively impact your life or the human experience. The Kardashians are famous but they don't really do anything to positively impact society. From what I know, all they do is walk around, be rich and get divorced every once in a while. But they are well known...somehow.Sometimes the concept of fame confuses me. Should all people that matter be famous or do all famous people matter. What do you think makes someone famous and or matter? Do you think fame builds or destroys human culture and why? These aren't retorical questions and I would like to wrap up with this: fame and mattering is all about perspective. Someone can matter and/or be famous to a lot of people but not everyone.

New Book!

After reading Looking for Alaska, I grew an apreciation for John Green as not only a youtuber and a human being but now as a writer. So I started reading An Abundance of Katherines, his second novel. Everyone tells me to read The Fault in Our Stars (which I will read once I read this and maybe some of his other books). That got me wondering what made his books so good? As a child I loved the concept of magic, I would always pretend that I was a wizard because it is protrayed that there is a spell for everything in the universe of Harry Potter for example (which again, I still have to read. So contrasts between Green's work and Harry Potter will be based on the movies. Sorry) but I digress. Harry Potter is so imaginative in the universe it creates but I couldn't find the main conflict relatable. But that doesn't mean it isn't a compelling conflict. One of the goals I find in liturature is basically why we look for theme statements. When characters are put in relatable situations, we turn to them to see how they handled it. In An Abundance of Katherines, the main character Collin is a child protegy who has only dated girls named Katherine and has been dumped by a Katherine 19 times. But his main struggle in the beginning of the book is not his relationship problems (as much) but how he wants to matter. I can relate to that. So in conclusion books can serve as guides, warnings or just an escape from this world to enter another.

Wrapping up Looking for Alaska

I have just finished Looking for Alaska and FRENCH THE LLAMA it was awesome! (Comment below if you got the refference). So I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible. The climax was somewhat predictable but it was still impactful. But what I thought was really well done was how the protagonist didn't have the same reactions to the climax throughout the book. It wasn't just sadness; it was anger, curiousity, happiness and at one point they said they felt pure. It followed the thoughts of the speaker very well and I could relate very much to some of the lines (to the point where I almost wanted to highlight my book). Check it out if you ever get a chance and what book should I read next if you have any suggestions.

A final word to the John Green fans out there (and everyone for that matter)
DFTBA

Theme and Summary of Looking for Alaska

The book Looking for Alaska is about a boy named Miles Halters who loses a dear friend (not saying who, how or why). So Miles and his friends have to cope with their disapearance. For most of the second half, Miles is very sad and at many points angry that his friend was gone mostly because of how he wanted questions answered that could only be answered by the person they could not find. But once Miles came to grips with his friend being gone was when the theme was realized. Even if something is lost to the naked eye, almost nothing is ever completely gone. Miles wrote in his final paper that, "Those awful things are survivalable, because we are as indestructable as we believe ourselves to be" (Green 220). Miles also mentions in the paper that energy is never created or destroyed. It only changes shape, size, etc. People (including myself) that in story telling (but mostly TV) characters never actually stay dead. This is more of a literal sense but in writing that is very true in a deeper meaning. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide which eventually results in the families making up. In conclusion whatever you may have lost, may it be as insignificant as your pencil, or as meaningful as a loved one. Nothing will ever truely be gone.

Looking for Alaska tone and mood.
The tone of Looking for Alaska changes as does the mood (this isn't necesarily spoilers but Alaska is a pretty moody character). Sometimes the tone is sweet and innocent, like when Alaska and Miles have their first conversation. So the mood is happy and optimistic. Sometimes the tone is for a "more adult pg-13 esc" and that makes the mood uncomfortable. I believe the mood/tone of the book always depends on the mood Alaska is in because she is the main subject/focus of the story.  The Colonel convinced Miles to take up smoking unintentionally because he was going to smoke anyway and it is apart of his lifestyle.Miles said, "The Colonel neglected to ask whether 4. I smoked, which 5. I didn't" (Green 14). But since he is trying to fit in and he just met Alaska (who he is obsessed with) it didn't take much to get him to start. He is not a good role model, what makes this absolutely halairous is his justification of his actions was three words, "when in Rome..."(Green 16) the only tone picked up from the Colonel is casual but the mood is awkward because the reader and Miles are trying to adjust to his lifestyle. But as Miles says, "when in Rome..." (Green 16) apparently it is ok going against your personal beliefs.

5 links about Looking for Alaska





The Author of Looking for Alaska is a youtuber so here are some of the videos he posted about the book
this link will bring you to a video about the setting of Looking for Alaska and the author's experience at his high school

The book is about a character named Miles who memorizes the last words of many famous people. These are 50 famous people's last words

These are the last words of every (deceased) president.
                                                                                                                                            www.helensbookblog.com 
                                                                                                                    

www.npr.org 

Looking for Alaska
In Looking for Alaska, Alaska has this large stack of books she wants to read when she is "old and boring" but a bunch of "weekday warriors" (as they are called) ruined them. I can understand someone getting angry if the books were heirlooms but she just found these books at garage sales and such. Not only that but she hasn't even read them. But this also shows people's connection to material items. I've seen people flip out when their Iphones touch the ground. I am no exception. I hate it when people take my stuff (and get extremely frusturated when people ruin my stuff) but why? it's replacable. This can also be related to the friend moving away. When the thought of your stuff possibly being ruined, you would have to adjust to a life without it is very difficult. Continue the conversation in comments.

Reading Skills for Looking for Alaska
Looking for Alaska is about two characters complex relationship between the two main characters: Alaska and Miles. The book discussing how much Miles cares for Alaska will (from what I predict) will show how much Miles can suffer the loss of someone he cares about. That is meerly based on the title, but I wonder: how this will be protrayed? Also how will Green show the suffering Miles goes through to a point where it is real emotions about fictional characters? But I have realized that is easier that I think it is due to all the "team Edward" and "team Jacob" but is that only when there is a relationship on the line or is it when character is fully developed when characters are sympathized for. I can relate this to the TV series Doctor Who when the Doctor loses Rose and is unable to get her back. But in reality it relates to when friends say they are moving away you realize how much they mean to you predicting what life will be like without them.