Group Project

Our topic involves age limitations and restrictions in four main areas: Sports, Drinking/Driving, Military, Politics.
I have the politic area.

I suppose I will spend some time going over mainly the American government and how our federal system is set up with limitations, such as 35 for president, 30 for senator, and 25 for house of reps. I'll find out if these restrictions are proper, and some exceptions to the rule.

That's my mission plan, and it is completely subject to change with little to no notice!

Little Brother and the Love Story

I personally found the love story around Little Brother a little out of place. It is almost as if the story was written, and seemed lacking, so the author tacked it on to make it have some more weight.
Specifically, I felt like the author somewhat failed in his attempt to write a love scene.

There are two books I have read on writing, one being "How to read literature like a professor" by Thomas Foster. In it, he dives into sex scenes and he made a memorable point. Try writing a steamy sex scene sometime, really get into it. While you write it, it may seem good. It might seem hot and amazing. But come back to it a day later.... and it will 9 times out of 10 just be plain awkward.
His point was that when something was straight up sex in literature, it always means something else (like how the sex in 1984 was a form of rebelling against the government) but if the author wants to symbolize sex itself, it is best to go about it indirectly, as most novels and old movies did. (think of the famous "train going into a tunnel" scene from that old movie)

To me, Little Brother's sex didn't seem to be anything symbolic, but just awkward.

Little Brother and Technology

One aspect of Little Brother I found to be the most interesting, was the aspect having to do with technology. Being a little bit of a nerd myself, I can halfway relate/understand the stuff that goes on with the Xbox and the security stuff and etc. Now a lot of this is a bit into the future, and does not exist, but I just really enjoyed the slope the author took with the advancement of technology. Specifically I thought there was a certain irony to be had. It seems that the further that security systems progressed, the further hacking systems progressed as well, and then one step further. It is almost as if the harder that the government and the school board tried to make an airtight environment, the harder that normal people had to push against it to get out. In some ways it inspired people like Marcus to become very technology-wise as they discovered new ways around the ridiculous security, and in other ways, it just made the environment an even more insecure place because of false hope the systems provided.

Modest Mouse

When I can work out how it was
Then I'll tell you
TV stained my memories, yeah
I don't think it shows
Remember through sounds
Remember through smells
Remember through colors
Remember through towns
With fear and fascination
On what was here
And what's replacing them now
Interchange causes a mall
And crowded chain restaurants
More housing developments go up
Named after the things they replace
So welcome to Minnow Brook
And welcome to Shady Space
And it all seems a little abrupt
No, I don't like this change of pace

These are the lyrics to Novocaine Stain by Modest Mouse. The lead singer/songwriter Isaac Brock frequently talks about urbanization in his work. Here is a particularly good song that just points out how fast change seems to hit. He says that all of a sudden, it is hard to remember how things used to be, before the area began to develop. Life in its mundane self seems to distract from the change around you, and even blur your memories (TV stained my memories). Also a nice note to the clever way Isaac noticed how we do seem to tear down land, and then name the area after something in nature, whether it be a cruel joke on our part or simply a wish the nature was still there.
I personally can relate to this song as the land around me, which when I was young was nothing but woods and fields, soon turned into neighborhood after boring neighborhood. So I must agree, that when I too work out how things used to be, I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

I can no longer tell the difference between real life and The Office.

alternative title: I cried at Jim and Pam's wedding.

The hour-long wedding special of Jim and Pam from the Office was probably the master piece of the writing staff. Every element of each character was brought forward and thoroughly displayed. Angela was her prude self, Dwight was a completely sociopath, and Michael Scott was ridiculously inappropriate.

This show was not for someone new to the office, but rather a treat to the loyal viewer, as it made much more sense if you knew the cast well. I am not the type to become entwined with any sort of fictional character, simply based on the fact that in the back of my head I know fiction is fantasy. But the Office dulls the line with their newest special and creates a sense of realism that will at least momentarily lead you to believe that you are observing real people doing real things.

If you ARE in the mood to give some of your precious life to the mechanical box sitting in the living room, you might as well choose the Office on NBC at 9pm on Thursday to do it.

Children of Men

The movie Children of Men is certainly unique, and wishes to create several images. One image I thought stood out the most, in the first part of the movie, was that of a division of rich and poor. Specifically, I thought that the camera on the luxury car as it drove through the crowds of the poor and filthy drove home this point, how with a government, or no government, there will always be a division of the wealthy and the poor because the poor haven't the means to pull themselves up, and the rich are too self centered to even consider helping out the common man. Of course there are plenty of exceptions to this, many rich folk give to charity, and many many people build themselves up out of nothing. However, those people ARE the exception to the rule, while most the rest of the world, especially in the underdeveloped countries, run fairly in sync to the rule itself.

Image Selection

I thought this image was interesting, as it displays a common circular argument when it comes to war: To end violence, we need more violence. This isn't to say that what the Japanese were doing was acceptable, but that the two main soldiers, one beating another, would soon trade places. However, I'll save other such observations for my paper itself.

Now a new addition to my blog posts, corny jokes.
Corny Joke:
What kind of shoes are made from bananas?

Slippers!!