Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Fun Home

I really enjoyed the start of Fun Home with the father and son playing airplane because that is an experience I once did when I was a little kid too. I could relate to the boy very well because my father too liked everything to be perfect. Make it be furniture or cleaning the house, he was always doing something around the house to make it look better than it did. The pictures really helped me understand what was going on as they illustrated very nicely what was being said in the text. I like that much better so you can actually feel what is going on instead of just reading it and imagining from the words. It shocked me to read the question of the father having sex with little boys while they were attending mass. Talking about an ideal husband and then saying something drastic like that through me off. When the boy talks about his father dieing it gets a little depressing to see him reliving the happy moments he spent with him. I too thought about the moments I used to spend with my dad. It got even more strange for me when I found out the family business was running a funeral home. It was difficult to read about the father comititing suicide, but what really got me was how the family reacted to it. Being around the funeral home all those years made him dieing in a way not so much of a big deal. I would be defistated if I lost a parent and they acted by grinning at one another. My favorite part was the connection between the children's favorite story about their father getting stuck in the mud and the ending line where the boy says his father was stuck in the mud for good this time.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Starting to read this it brought back memories of when I used to read comics. It is very true that comics have recieved a bad reputation I guess to a point where people only think they are kiddie, crude, disposable, and cheap. I don't think people understand the true meaning of comics and often times define it as to narrow. There are many different types of ways to write comics seeing as there are many different styles. Understanding Comics is definetly a really good way to comrehend comic books if you don't know a lot about them. It breaks down definitions and shows accurate drawings of how things are done and thought of. It breaks down for you action shots and sounds to get a full effect of what is happening in the scene. It also shows how to capture different frames to connect all together to string a story line. I really like the begining as it was very helpful and informational to a non-comic book reader.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Benson / Orlean

Benson was a rather short essay. Reading it went by quickly and it barely had a relevant meaning. The younger sister was telling about her life living under her older sister. Nicely describing the things she does and her as a person. As well as making it very obvious that her boyfriend does not love her, but loves everything else he does. The older sister was becoming a bad influence for the younger sister and in knowing so showed some of her innocence. In the end I did not expect the boyfriend to fall for the younger sister, as she then rejected him although stating she was different and maybe a better person than her sister.

Reading Orlean I wasn't interested until it starting getting weird. Although that sounds funny this is what I mean. She was going off about herself and all these things she did and what not, but when she told the story of Colin really got me. The way she started of her and Colin one day being married was strange to me. Going on about all the things they would do and be good at and like together still had me confused. As she then turned to talk about Colin's life I finally understood. Everything she mentioned of his life was the same as when they were to get married. The college he was going to, what he would study, the games they would play, etc. Once I caught on I started to really enjoy the essay. It was funny and the exactly what a ten year old kid thinks of and does. It had a great wrap up to the essay.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Fishing Story / Bumping into Ravioli

Reading The Fishing Story made me feel a sense of sadness for the grandmother. People around her trying the help with on every occasion, but nothing could save her life. Her family around her having to put up with hearing stories 3 and 4 times in a row in just an example of sadness I felt for her and toward the family. In a way I was a little depressed to see how much she remembered and cared about the people around her she loved and lost. The way she talked about the times she spent with her husband even though they didn't say more than 10 words to each other on their boating trips really had an impact on her. The description of the yard and people were great as I could make out a wonderful picture of the scene. Although I was expecting the end to come I was still sad when her monitor crackled and hummed as a sign she had died in her sleep.

I connected more with the story Bumping into Ravioli. Every kid when they are young make up an imaginary friend they can talk to and play with. Olivia living in New York had trouble making friends probably so she made up a imaginary friend. I suppose living in New York with so much going on is hard for a little kid to take in. Charlie Ravioli always being busy and not being able to play is just her way of expressing living in the city as a child. There was no one to play with or just relax and have fun with. Her parents were mostly busy working and her brother was also on a very busy schedule. This deprived her of having fun with family close to her. Her sister in California thought that the city was making her think of this busy friend because of her surroundings as well. Olivia had a very creative mind making up stories to almost think that Charlie was real. My gut reaction was waiting for Olivia to bring Charlie over for dinner and have a shocking ending. I liked Olivia as a character because she was very spontaneous and creative.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Bernard Cooper's: 101 Ways to Cook Hamburger

After reading 101 Ways to Cook Hamburger I find my self uttlery shocked by the memoir. I did not expect that story coming from a title about cooking hamburgers. I did although enjoy the story it told. I think that in every class you have a student who is curious of his or her surroundings and lurches around to find unusual things going on. I really liked Theresa Sanchez portrayed as a character above anyone else of her age. Being more safisticated, mature, and having a better understanding of everything around her. It seemed as she was so powerful that when conversing with the boy and asked if he was a fag it almost changed his mind and made him think he was really gay. I don't know if he was ultimately gay to begin with or if her saying that kind of made him question himself. My favorite part was going to Debbie's make-out party which is a typical high school thing, but again it showed the repent of him kissing a girl and the thought of Grady's wet chest everytime he stopped kissing. When he asked his mom what a fag was it seemed he was asking for a sense of acceptance in her eyes. Seeing as he quickly said Bobby Keagon was called a fag and not himself. I thought this story was telling of a confused hard decision that people are forced into making everyday. As I too make these hard decisions I felt connected in a way. I do think it might of been a little over the top to go on about the two teachers being gay as well. Toward the end it kind of threw me off a bit not fully understanding where they were going with the letter from Gerald to Mr. Kendrick. I didn't enjoy the ending as much as the overall story because I felt it got a little to weird. Such as the description of his nights he had thinking of what would have been different if he had just told Theresa he was gay. With that exception I was entertained and it was enjoyable.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Just a little Something!


Knowledgeable fun facts about me! Most importantly I am a 3 sport runner here at the University of Hartford! I run Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track and Field. When I am not competing or practicing you would probably find me hanging out with my wonderful friends :)! I enjoy many outdoor activities such as running!, swimming, skim boarding, snow boarding, or anything that keeps me busy. I'm very adventurous, curious, and couregous and will try anything twice. I am from a small town called Ludlow which is in Massachusetts where everybody knows everybody. An unusual fact about me is that I am a Math major and I absolutely love it! My future plans are to graduate with a Masters in Math and become an actuary. I occasionally enjoy browsing through facebook, relaxing and playing cards, and taking naps! My favorite animal is a turtle because I believe that slow and steady always wins the race. And they are slimey and adorable. My idols in life are Steve PreFontaine, my dad, and Tom (for creating facebook! haha). I'm very goal oriented and always push myself to accomplish the impossible. Im hoping this class will help improve my writing skills and open up my mind to visualize everything in a new perspective allowing me the capability to accomplish all that I can!