Last blog, for now...

So, this is it.  Tomorrow is our last day of school and after that, were all on our own paths.  This is insane.  If there is one thing i want to make clear in this blog, its that, well, i love you guys.  Teachers, classmates, Buckley.  I love it all.  I don't know what more to say other than this:
A) lets always keep in touch forever (classmates) through the Facebook page
AND
B) Lets always remember the amazing time we've had together, and this school year.

peace, for now

Laker and Celtic analysis

A recent ESPN poll asked "who has a greater chance of coming back from their 2-0 series deficit, the Lakers or Celtics"?  The nation was right, with 62% in favor of the Lakers.  While the Lakers and Celtics are both great teams, the Lakers have the 2-peat playoff experience in their pocket.  SWAG.  Also, the Black mamba is due to explode in an upcoming game.  The lakers also face a much less talented squad in the Mavericks than do the Celtics in the Heat.

making up for Monday's blog: missed because of an AP

I was reading threw some of my fellow classmates' blogs when I stumbled upon Alec Shauls.  I read the first 5 words and knew where he was going with it.  However, i would feel wrong if i dont address the senior pride situation as well.  From the least biassed standpoint possible, I want to make it clear that this senior class is the most talented, passionate, driven, and special class of all time.  We are all one unit, and after all the adversities we have been through, our senior class is amazingly close.  I hope that our senior class remains in touch, and stays as close as we are now, forever.

creative blog due by friday 4-29-11

So today is college t-shirt day, and its already extremely nostalgic.  Yeah, i've been at Buckley since 6th grade and all of the people around me have shaped me as an individual.  Its crazy to think that in 1 month from now ill be out of here, and in 3 months ill already be in a new routine, living the next chapter of my life.  I can't express the feeling i have; its like i don't want to let go, but i'm ready to move on.  I hope that this graduating class remains in touch forever.  Through the Facebook page that i created for our class, "Buckley class of 2011 will remain in touch forever", i hope that the relationships i have spent years building will last a life time.

When creepy people talk to you at the gym...

You're in the middle of your shoulder press when some middle aged man comes up to you and asks about your shoes.  what has this world come too?  People need to understand if someone is listening to his or her ipod, he wants to be left alone when working out.  I love watching people, and I often notice pretty women at the gym get freaked out when men twice their age try to pick them up.  Sure, I'm all for conversation, but wait to ask me a question once I'm done with my set.  It's just disrespectful.  Another thing that tends to bother me is when you see people staring at you while you're making weird faces because you're trying to lift weights.  Enough is enough.

Restaurant review -- I'l Pastaio

I'l Pastaio is hands down the best Italian cuisine i've had.  I find their dishes perfectly portioned, not too filling but just right.  What makes I'l Pastaio so unique?  Their lack to conform to the classic "Italian" menu.  To start, they don't serve pizza.  What kind of Italian restaurant doesn't serve pizza?  But once one delves into the menu, he will realize the plethora of choices that would come before a pizza, any day.

Creative blog #2

For my second blog, i want to write about the conformity associated with march madness.  I find it funny how people who never talk about sports, let alone basketball are suddenly "experts" on whose winning what matchup and whose bracket is better.  Truth of the matter is, though, I'm not the biggest expert when it comes to collegic sports either.  However, i'm going to a big 10 school, Michigan, who thrives on DI athletics.  From Michigan's football team under Denard, or the basketball team thriving under sophomore Darius Morris.  In short, i thought ide just blog abut how people are "conforming" to the March Madness hype and becoming experts on chartering unseen waters.  

creative blog #1

Something that stood out to me over the past few days, especially in reference to something we have studied this school year, was Buckley's production of Pride & Prejudice.  After waching P&P, somethings stood out to me.  First, despite the fact that i found the play hilarious (from Alex's facial expressions to Sara Super's "annoying" laugh to Olivia's characteristic smirk) i still couldnt help to nitice a lot of what was scripted was different from the play.  Of course, a book is much longer than the script of a play, however, there were still scenes missing.  All in all, i feel that Buckley's production of P&P strongly portrayed the themes central to the play and the important facts and details that make Pride & Prejudice special.

Intro paragraph to conformity essay: The Black Sheep

He who conforms is a sheep to society, and he who does remains independent is societies black sheep.  Conformity, behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards, has the ability to make life monotonous, or, when not abided by, the ability to create a stand-out individual.  Negatively speaking, conformity has the ability to turn an individual into a sheep, or a conformist who solely follows "order" and "rules".  However, conformity, to a certain extent, has the ability to instill determination in an individual.  In a class-room setting, for example, conformity has the ability to create a competitive nature among student who are all working for the same goal.  As seen in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, the conformity of Gregor Samsa may have helped him through his ailment.  While most almost anyone else who wakes as an insect would not worry about anything else other than trying to be normal, Gregor's conformity was so deep-rooted in his mind that he looked past his troubles and only focused on how he would get to or be able to work.  Next, Joseph Conrad employs the use of characters including Mr. Kurtz to exemplify the repercussions of a non-conformist.  Lastly, conformity is still prevalent today.  Therefore, in order to further expand the horizon on conformity in today's society, an interview about the troubles of conforming or not conforming from the perspective of Raphael Levy will further interpret both pro's and con's of conformity.  While conformity has the ability to turn humans into monotonous sheeps, there are also positive effects of conformity that suppress one's other issues, or create a beneficial competitive environment in which individuals achieve greatly.

Idea/ conformity

My idea for my essay is to examine the causes and consequences of conformity, and nonconformity alike.  I also would like to use personal family anecdote to complement my essay.  My first body paragraph will constitute of an examination of conformity through Gregor Samsa.  My next Body paragraph, will examine non conformity through Kurtz, and my last body paragraph will be based on the pressure to conform through the eyes of one of my family members.

Moreover, in terms of our classroom discussion, the main point i would have liked to convey is that conformity, to a certain degree is necessary.  However, i feel that younger generations should be brought up and taught how to think for themselves through a practice of freedom.  On the contrary, i find it crucial, for the purpose of learning, to have a slightly conformed feel in the class in which the teacher does most of the teaching, and in order to balance the classroom feel, often engage group discussions of leaderless discussions in which student participate; thus, promoting a practice of freedom.

2 Kafka questions

1.  I think the illustrations are beneficial in further comprehending the plot of the short story, and confirming what I already felt.  Of course, they are exaggerated, but, thats what cartoons are meant to be.  They are also frightening, but they serve the purpose they are supposed to.  They definitely confirm my interpretation of Metamorphosis and make the read more enjoyable once finished.  I think it was illustrated in black and white so that the real purpose of the cartoon was portrayed, and all the colored didn't de-rail the reader from the purpose of the cartoon.  It created a more intense and focused read.

2.  Kafka is the most sympathetic to Gregor.  First, he makes the reader almost feel sympathetic for Gregor by using certain words that portray a feeling of remorse for the bug.  However, it is important to also take into consideration that Gregor's family has treated him like an animal his whole life, so while there is no feeling of remorse for Gregor from his family, Kafka takes the initiative and shows the remorse.  But, while  sympathy for Gragor is shown from Kafka, the reader also feels the same way.

Group feedback

As we began a new method of class lecture today, i realized student-conducted group discussion is very beneficial in the advancement of the class.  First, something productive that i learned about what we did today was the fact that every student is enticed to contribute, and you hear from student of whom usually do not participate very much.  Moreover, i found that the content of the material discussed was more personal to each individual, and each student was more passionate in the discussion.  Thus, while of course it is important to the classroom setting to sit in traditional rows or a circle, i thought that the student-led discussion not only includes everyone, but also raised passionate and substantial information.

Intro Paragraph: Heart of Darkness essay

In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the actions of power-hungry Kurtz are better understood after an analytical interpretation of Fredrick Karl's Psychoanalytical Criticism.  In Heart of Darkness, the actions of European Ivory hunter Kurtz are understood by the reader from a Psychoanalytical perspective.  While Kurtz, a high-class European, claims to be in Africa on an Ivory-hunting business trip, he is a megalomaniac who uses his profession as a facade for his strive for power.  Furthermore, Karl would argue that the Kurtz has created for himself an alter-persona and has become entrapped and obsessed with his fantasy of power.  "He (Kurtz) must continue to assert himself, a megalomaniac in search of further power" Karl.  Karl's inference to Kurtz's obsession with power actualizes the "Ivory-hunters" lifestyle and makes comprehendible to the reader the reason as to why Kurtz behaves as he does.  While Kurtz is a successful Ivory hunter in Africa, this megalomaniac's profession has taken a back seat to his addiction to power, and is just a facade to conceal his true intentions of remaining in Africa.

"Heart of Darkness, then, is concerned with moral issues in their most troubling sense; not only as philosophical imperatives, but practically as they work out in human behavior."  This quote from Karl is what I will set the foundation of my essay on.  I find it important to further analyze what Karl is implying when he speaks about characters in Heart of Darkness, and the decisions that they make.  These decisions are even more noteworthy when they are "in their most troubling sense", or between two poor choices.  Furthermore, I plan to analyze the motives behind the actions of Kurtz, and interpret if his actions were based on economical interest, or solely because of his thrive for power.

Essay Ideas: Heart of Darkness

The main idea of my essay will revolve around Kurtz, and how his quest to find ivory is facade for his hunger of power, and his desire to obtain complete dominance while in Africa.  Moreover, this ties in with Frued's idea of how individuals make decisions based on their inner evil when there is no one else to control them, and no rules either.  My ideas are still formulation; however, this seems to be the focus of esaay thusfar. 

Phycological journey

Often, when an individual is stagnant in his or her speech, the cause is largely because of uncertainty, a fear, or a lack of knowledge.  However, in Heart of Darkness, the reader is able to follow the phycological journey of Marlow through his speeches, of course, but even more subtly, though the patterns in his speech that can reveal certain emotions.  For example,  Marlow's stagnant speech, often broken up by a hyphen in the middle of his diction, can indicate fear or uncertainty in his train of thought as he is articulates a point and thinks about Kurtz.  Moreover, this stagnant consistency is Marlow's speech offers a nice contrast to the more formal, easy read narrator.  In conclusion, as the reader follows Marlow on this physical and phycological journey, it is important to analyze and interpret when pauses in Marlow's speech occur, and what they may reference to.      

Heart of Darkness: page 430 #6

The painting of "a woman draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch" can represent several things to Marlow, but I think the most prevalent could be the search for something new.  As the lady holds the torch, it appears she may be searching for something with the light from the flame, similar to what Marlow is doing, searching.  However, the flame also reveals the injustice of what the Europeans are doing to the Africans.  The Painting could be Kurtz's way of warning individuals who pass, stating that upon searching for things, dangers may occur.  While Marlow may have an unshared prior experience which causes him to feel even more scared when traveling, he continues his journey.  The painting can also be foreshadowing or an ominous warning; stating that 'ahead lies darkness'.  Lastly, Kurtz's blindfolded lady could be more than just a warning, but may also represent the fact that the Europeans do not realize the harm they are instilling on the Africans; or, they are "blind" to the effect negative affect they have.  Personally, I think Marlow would agree with the painting, and he would realize that while the Europeans may have a good intent, but their detrimental affect on African society out weighs their few positive contributions.   

Heart of Darkness: page 429 #2

Marlow begins his tale of a journey to the heart of darkness with an account of London in "very old times, when the Romans first came here" because the Roman invasion was similar to that of English colonization to Africa.  Romans brought with them the life styles they already obtained, including food, housing, technology and culture, and upon English colonization to Africa, the situation was similar.  Moreover, the older English days are portrayed as uncivilized and barbaric and Marlow expressed that when "entering the darkness", the colonizers should be prepared to face savagery and hardship.  In conclusion, Marlow might introduce Africa as he does to instill a certain feeling toward to country he will soon travel in, thus, giving the reader a better understanding of his hardships to come.