May 6th 2012

This week we finished up our video; the filming part anyways.  We got everything filmed we needed but it was hard. We had to come in on Saturday to finish it.  Jerrin got the production done, so I think we did pretty well! I was the writer so the script was all mine.  I think I did a pretty good job!

April 27th, 2012..The Fire Dolphin Lives!

This week we started our major visual literacy project.  We decided to do a video to demonstrate in a humerous way the themes of Percy Jackson.  I have been put in charge of writing.  I think I have done a good job with it, and we got our pre-idea paper done quite early.  We'll do well.

We plan to keep writing our script for the next few days.  I think we have a good thing going. Right now I feel like I'm the only one doing anything because everyone is playing a stupid game.  But anyways, next week, I hope by Wednesday to start filming.  We haven't had any troubles yet, but hopefully I can keep everyone on task.

Post-Secret

I choose this picture because it seems like a very powerful message.  I think it's great that people can do things like this instead of hurting themselves.  I think its also amazing that this got in the paper.  Also, it's something that only they will know and I think that's kind of special.

I wish more people would do stuff like this.  A lot of people, especially teenagers are depressed and I think that this would give a positive message to a lot of people.  Especially for the town.  Very moving!

German translation? "I inherited 20 million Euros and I'm living off the interest!" This one made me laugh. Partly because of the funny picture, but also the german lol.  It shows that anything is possible sort of.  On a side note, I wish I had 20 million Euros.

I can't imagine what I would do with that amount of money! Actually, I really can't because I don't know how much 20 million Euros is in US dollars.  I'm sure it's a lot though!


I like this one because I also have trouble sleeping and find myself on my phone! I'm usually one Facebook though.  Also, I think this secret has a powerful message.  The "can't let go" part could really have double meanings.  If I was the writer of this secret, I would hope that someone would get something else out of this or could relate.

I also find myself wondering why this person can't let go.  This secret in particular make me feeling like I don't know enough.  I would like to know more about it.

I think HAHA when I see this! I hate the almost peer pressure you get with some very good books.  Like Derek and Michael telling me how good the hunger games are I had to see the movie/read the book! It turned out good though haha.  So it can be beneficial some times.

Also, I would like to point out that on the flip side of this secret it said "I don't count Harry Potter"! This was a very humorous secret.  It's a definite change from the depressing ones.

Yet another powerful secret.  I think this one is amazing because it's really showing the human nature of some people, with fear and helping each other out.  I can't imagine having a fear this drastic. I would be pretty hard to cope with.

I think I'm afraid of a lot of things but this is definitely drastic.  36 flights? That's intense. I don't even think I could do that lol.

Omg this secret is horrible lol. I can't imagine what I would do if someone asked me this.  I can't even believe someone would ask this to begin with! I wonder if this person really was autistic? Either way it would be horrible. If my boss asked me that, you better believe I would report that haha.  It's definitely not any of their business. 

The picture they used for this was interesting. I wonder why they chose it.  Actually, I wonder how they make most of these postcards.  But anyways, this little wooden doll with the caution tape around it might represent the stigma of autism.

This is another one I sort of agree with.  I think people who don't try new things are boring.  I guess I don't think they should be judged though lol.  But yeah, I have a personal motto to try everything once.  I think it's very closed minded not too!

I don't know why people wouldn't.  It's not like it's a big deal if you didn't.  I think some people are just scared.

My Six Word Memoir

The white part is Katlyn's fault. lol

Photo Shoot With Michael

Beloved

In chapter 19 of Beloved, Sethe finds herself stealing from the restaurant she works at because shes 'too proud' to face the racism of the local grocer. My question this week is have you ever been in a similar situation? That is, have you ever been too proud to do something? Im interested in your feedback!

Beloved #1,338,901

Well I've decided no one really cares about summaries about boring books, so I've decided (and have been doing) my blogs differently.  Instead of talking about what I read, I wanna discuss aspects that I found interesting and what you think.

So...

This week I saw the reccuring theme through chapter nine of people warning our main character Sethe to "not love something too much".  I feel this is especially significant because our Sethe is a former slave.  Why do you think "not loving something too much" would be an important lesson to Sethe? Do you agree that loving something too much is a bad thing?  I have got my hopes up before, but I think if you love something it's probably worth it in the end even if you lose it. Just my opinion though.  What do you think?

Beloved #?

This week I want to talk about the paranormal.  In Beloved, the paranormal and supernatural play a big role as seen in the ghost of Beloved haunting Sethe and her family.  They do not seem to question it's a ghost at all.  So my question this week is do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you hesitant in believing in something that you don't understand. I believe, but I wouldn't say I'm as easy to explain phenomenon like this on a ghost as easily as Sethe is.  How do you feel about this?

Memory

I think that people definitely remember things differently! For me, I remember words better than images.  However when I recall memories I often see pictures so thats the opposite of how I memorize things. I once heard that if you repeat something 10 times, you will remember it.  I utilize this a lot when I need to memorize lines and stuff so that is also how i remember things. I think its important to understand how memories and recollection happen in novels, especially because of the stream of conciousness techniques, employed by Faulkner as well as many other authors.

Beloved #4

I only read a few chapters this week, and in chapter four I found something that really spoke out to me.  In the beginning of the chapter Sethe's daughter Denver asks Paul D how long he plans on "being around". Sethe is embarrased by her daughters words, but all Paul D sees is a mother loving her daughter immensely.  He says it's not good for a slave to love something too much...

This part spoke out to me, because it shows in not only in Sethe, Denver, and Paul D's life how people would come and go, but also in the lives of all slaves and former slaves.  It's hard to imagine your life changing so much and adjusting.  It's no wonder that Sethe and Paul D are so pleased to see each other because that is an aspect of their life that they thought was over and it's not natural for them to have someone they love come back rather than leave for good...

Beloved #3

" . . . If you go there—you who was never there—if you go there and stand in the place where it was, it will happen again; it will be there, waiting for you . . . even though it’s all over—over and done with—it’s going to always be there waiting for you."
This week, I would like to talk about the importance of this quote taken from a passage in chapter 3 of Beloved.  Sethe (the main character) is talking about how she thinks the past is a "physical entity" and and it is destined to repeat it self.  I think this shows her narrow view of things, and she doesn't really try to redeem herself.  She tells this quote to Denver, her daughter, and this sort of instills bad values in her I would think.  It definitely shows how Sethe regrets what she did, but she seems like she would rather live with it than go for redemption. 

Grapes of Wrath Movie or Book?

First off, I would like to say that I did not like either of these. But if I would have to choose, I would choose the book because it was a little less dry and easier to understand.

The book and movie have several differences:

The book gives more information, which is part of the reason the movie isn't so dry.  Also, I think we got less information on the time period from the movie, because of the exclusion of the intercalery chapters in the novel.

I guess the main difference was the tone near the end.  The book ends sort of sad, with the still born baby and the dispersion of the Joad family.  In the movie (which is fairly old) I bet they couldn't really show that stuff in this time, so they had to not show those sort of things and end on a better note like them finding the "clean camp" so early. 

I think that if the movie stayed more true to the book with more focus on the journey and the farm it would have been a little bit better.  It suprised me, that in this case, I would rather watch the movie than read the book first, so that I could understand the dry nature of the novel better.

Beloved

This book is turning out to be really interesting! I really didn't think it would be that good.  But anyways...the book opens with meeting the former slave Sethe.  She and he daughter Denver have been living in their house for 18 years and it is haunted by Sethe's daughter Beloved, who she had to murder. Objects get thrown around, and this entity even forced her two sons to run away. One day, one of Sethe's friends from the plantation, Pauly D, comes to visit her.  She hasn't seen her in a while and they talk and flirt.  This sort of angers Denver because she feels excluded and she cries.  We can imagine that this makes her feel really lonely.

Sethe tells Pauly D about her scars, and he "rips the top of her blouse off" and begins to kiss the scars.  Then, the house begins to shake violently (a fit of rage from the ghost) and Pauly D scares the ghost off much to Sethe's dismay.  She said the ghost was the only company she had...

Overall I'm liking the book and it sort of has an edge of mystery to it.  I'm excited to see where this books keeps going to.

Beloved

Well I just got the book "Beloved" by Toni Morrison like...right now but it looks pretty good anyways.  I know I know I'm judging the book by it's cover so hopefully it keeps it up.  It's supposed to be about slavery and history and sometimes I find that boring so hopefully it turns out pretty good.  It seems to have a lot of biblical references so hopefully reading the Bible will have helped me.  Looking forward to it!

Anonymous

Well I'm gonna say it, this movie sucked.  The whole time I was lost, I still don't really know what happened.  The weirdest part of the movie was that it was a play but a movie? Yeah I don't understand it either.  I would think the movie would have been a LOT better with out that feature.  I guess some parts made sense, but the flashes back in time, and the story line switches really confused me.

The best part of the movie was I guess learning about this theory.  I don't neccessarily believe it, but it is interesting. I think it's just a lot of people speculating and looking into things too deeply. People should just let it be it happend like 400 or something years ago lol.  I wouldn't recommend the movie, unless you like boring movies that are hard to follow. Then this movie is for you.

Paper Towns: Final

Well I'm all done with Paper Towns! I would have to say it was a decent book I sort of expected it to be better though, with more mystery and less love story but oh well I guess.  Quinten finally finds Margo and it's sort of anticlimatic.  I sort of expected Margo to be dead or something but she wasn't, she was just sitting there writing.  But it was through this journey of trying to find her that Quinten proved himself to her in a way and she could finally open up to her.  He says now he can "fell the hands of Margo on his back, and see her even in cracked darkness." (305)

It was interesting to "watch" the relationships grow in this book, not only from Quinten and Margo but also Quninten and his friends while they embark on this journey to find Margo.  Overall, I guess this book was pretty good.

Paper Towns #3 or 4. I can't remember.

Well well well here we are again!  This book is really keeping me glued! Right now were following Quinten as he finds these "clues" left by Margo in an attempt to find her.  I can't help but wonder if something bad has happened to Margo and the book even mentions Quinten's fear that she might have commited suicide.

So now this leaves the reader (and Quinten) thinking what could have gone differently in her life that could have been changed. I'm sure I'll see Quinten wishing he could do something to stop her from doing anything drastic if she does, and this might cause the emotional trauma in him that we saw in Margo. Foreshadowing perhaps???

Paper Towns 2

Wow!  This book is really starting to interest me.  Let me explain some of the story: So Quinten is a smart boy, a senior in high school along with his neighbor Margo who is the "cool" type and almost a punk.  They used to be friends at like the age of nine I believe but then in the woods they found a dead body.  This is quite significant to the story because this is where we see the relationships shift or moreover how they shifted.  I believe this would have a profound effect on any kid, but Quinten's parents are therapists so he eventually gets over it.  But we see Margo with a rebellious nature, and one might argue that perhaps this moment from their childhood brought her there.  I'm very interested in learning how exactly she got  there and more on the story with the body.

Right now I'm at where Margo has disappeared after a night of rebellious pranks with Quinten.  He's very worried about her and it almost makes the reader worried too!  This book has been a great read so far, and I can't wait to read more and fill you in on what happens next!

Dallas Doane...that's me!

Welp, as the title says my name is Dallas Doane.  I'm currently a senior here at West Monona HS in Onawa, Iowa.  Let's see....

I'm involved in:
Key Club
Band (Saxophone!)
Speech
Quiz Bowl
Yearbook
School Newspaper

I also have a part time job at Scheels All Sports in Sioux City, Iowa and will be attending AIB College of Business in Des Moines in the fall for Accounting and Information Technology.

Books I've Read for this class:
Snow Falling on Cedars, White Fang, Maus I & II, Atonement, Death of a Salesman, Things Fall Apart, Oedipus the King, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, The Books of Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation, and currently the most boring book on the planet The Grapes of Wrath...And much much more!

I've made this blog as part of our A.P. Lit/Comp class and so far it's been interesting to communicate with my classmates outside of the classroom. And that's about it!

Paper Towns

I have just started reading Paper Towns by John Green and it's proving very interesting! It's about a boy named Quinten and his friend and girl next door friend Margo.  According to the back of the book:

"Quentin Jacobson has been in love with the girl next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman, for his entire life. He admits that it's cliché, but that doesn’t stop him from admiring her… from afar, of course. Then one night, only a few weeks away from their high school graduation, Margo arrives at Quentin’s window asking for help on a mission for revenge against her cheating boyfriend. She leads Quentin into a whirlwind of tricks and secrets, and she finally shows him how to live."

I'm a firm believer that most people do judge a book by it's cover so this book really intrigues me.  I'm very interested in learning how these characters interact more throughout the book and how they will grow together and probably get a relationship together.