Good Endings

I think that a successful ending of a movie or a book leaves a great lasting impression on the audience. Because it is the last thing the reader/viewer has to read/see of the whole work, it stays the freshest in their minds and for that reason it is very important for the author/director to get it down perfectly. Some movies with great endings that come to mind are City of God and Django, because they wrap up the movie in a very intense and sound way, where the wrongdoers are brought to justice.

blows up Candie's house

like a boss

I also like endings that completely flip the movie on its head, like Fight Club, and American Psycho for that matter. When it comes to literature, one of my favorite endings was the Great Gatsby's. Although it was sad that Gatsby was gunned down, I'm happy that he died while thinking that Daisy was calling him. Similarly, I always admire Shakespeare's creativity in thinking of the terribly sad and moving ending of Romeo and Juliet. In relation to stories, I think that the ending of A Good Man Is Hard To Find was really great. I love how ironic it was that the cat was the only one to survive. Another great story ending was in the Trespasser. The juxtaposition between the daughter of the family sleeping in the scary house while the trespasser aimlessly floats down the river to the liquor store was very powerful.
In the end, I guess I like two type of endings. In one, all the rising action that was boiling up during the story comes together in an epic ending and all matters are clearly stated, leaving nothing up to the imagination. In the second, I like an ending that completely flips the whole work on its head and makes you reconsider everything you just read/saw.

Movies, Movies & More Movies

I love a movie that places me in a time/setting and portrays it so accurately that I feel as though I learned a certain way of life while watching it. A movie is great to me, if, when I think about a certain time period and/or culture, that movie immediately comes to mind. For example, Gangs of New York, to me, is a great movie. It portrays the Five Points of Manhattan in the mid-19th century, and while I was learning about that time period in History class, I kept on picturing Scorcese's film.

New York mid 19th-century

Django Unchained is also very successful for the same reason. Although it was a bit exaggerated (Tarantino seems to do that quite a bit), I think that it covered nearly all the aspects of slavery at that time in a very visually powerful manner. I also love mafia movies, such as Goodfellas, and the Godfather's I and II. These epic movies not only show me a way of life that I know very little about, but they are so well acted and well written that I can watch them a hundred times and still take away something new from them every time. One movie that I saw very recently that I think was fantastic was City of God, which is a story about a young photographer in the slums of Brasil who risks everything to uncover the truth about the immorality of the gangsters there.

Lil Dice - the youngest gangster

This movie is entirely spoken in Portuguese with english subtitles, which I think added to its cultural aspect.
Finally, I have always loved surfing movies. They are so calming and relaxing to watch and put me in a great state of mind. My favorite would have to be Riding Giants. It is so, so epic.

Another Look at Cheating Upwards

From the very beginning of this article, Robert Kolker drags the audience in. By using cliffhangers and descriptions that many people can relate to, Kolker sets the scene in the first two paragraphs. From that point on, we are in his hands, and want to read on to find out what Nayeem did to be called the "most brazen feat of cheating in the illustrious school's 107-year history." Kolker did a great job discussing the preparations Nayeem made for his scheme, and then how it played out in reality. By describing in great detail the lengths that Nayeem went to in order to plan out his strategy, Kolker made the article very suspenseful and dramatic, like a story rather than an account of events. Towards the middle of the article, when Kolker is describing the statistics behind student cheating and the reasons that drive students to do so, the article admittedly becomes more fact-based and not as story-like. However, Kolker brings back the story-like element when he describes his dinner meeting with Nayeem. When discussing Nayeem's case, he is able to make the story much more personalized. It is no longer a calculated guess about why high-school students are cheating based on studies and results, but rather, it is a real-life scenario, in which we can fully see the pressures put on a kid like Nayeem which push his hand to cheat. Overall, Kolker did a really good job of guiding his article between very personal and more general arguments behind cheating, which made reading the article more fascinating for me.

I vaguely remember that while reading this passage the first time through, before coming to college, I could not fully relate to the pressures and tension that eventually led Nayeem to resort to cheating. In reading this article a second time, however, I can relate more to the pressures that weighed down Nayeem. One line that especially stood out to me on my second reading is when principal Teitel says to Stuy's incoming freshman, "Grades, friends, and sleep--choose two." I definitely have had moments here at Michigan where I feel as though I must chose between these three aspects of life, moreso than ever before. Reading this again was a great reminder of how serious cheating is and how it is never worth it in the end.

Blogs > Essays

I believe that the frequent blog post should be more heavily involved in college writing classes than long term papers. I say this for multiple reasons. Personally, I don't consider myself that strong of a writer. When it comes to essays, I just follow the rules that have been drilled into me all throughout high-school. I can find evidence, create a thesis, introduce my quotes, and then analyze them.

boooring

I have followed this same routine countless times, and yet, when it comes to creative writing, I don't know where to begin. I feel as though this class, with its constant blog posts, has given me more of an opportunity to express my feelings in my writing. Because I don't have to worry about following a set of rules set by some societal essay standard, I can actually begin to form my own style of writing.

I like knowing that what I am writing is open to the public. I can share bits and pieces of my life and I feel that when I am writing on my blog, there is actually a purpose behind it. I also like how much more expressive I can be in my blog writing. I can chose the topics I want to talk about, and in doing so, I often consider things I would normally not, and come to conclusions that I would normally not reach. In this way, my blog writing actually benefits me. Of course I still use the skills and techniques I learned while writing long, formal essays, but I can actually enjoy seeing my words come to life while writing about topics of interest, rather than analyzing quotes to some piece that does not resonate with me in the slightest. I think that while teachers should not get rid of the essay, they should definitely begin to weigh the blog post more heavily into their curriculums. 

How I Miss City Food

The amount of Victors sandwiches I’ve had since I’ve been here at college…

I’m not saying they’re bad (they’re actually really good), but it’s just so repetitive at this point. I miss sushi more than anything. I think about spicy tuna rolls almost every day, and tempt myself with this picture I took at my favorite restaurant back home.

tuna of gari :)

I used to eat so healthy at home and my parents really warned me about falling into a trap where you just eat garbage. Well, it happened… I’m always so lazy and resort to easy, microwavable foods.

probably eaten about 12 of these since being here

I look forward to going home and enjoying a nice home-cooked Thanksgiving feast at my grandparents house. Could not sound any better!!

A Reflection on the Best

Some of the best blogs I saw were not only well thought out and executed, but also aesthetically pleasing. Using different colored fonts, as Bre did, made the blog look more appealing to dive into. Furthermore, the frequent use of images really acted as a way to convey the point. Sometimes I could not really understand what the writer was trying to get across, but after seeing the photograph he/she had in mind, I was able to understand immediately. I really liked how Kelly, as well as others, copied in a YouTube video into their blog. It added a whole new dimension – one which I had yet to consider. Looking at Celik’s blog, I really admire the photos he adds in, because they usually directly relate to his own life, and the captions he puts under them are hysterical. I could relate to many aspects of his humor. I think that the blog posts that I found the strongest were the ones that I could identify with the most. That is to say, although these posts might not entirely mimic my own life, I was able to relate to enough aspects of them to have it make me consider moments in my own life. That, after all, I believe is the most powerful possible reaction to one’s writing – to invoke emotion in his/her audience.

Character: fiction based on reality

I see a man sitting down waiting for a bus. He is middle aged, I'd say around 55. He's wearing a flannel button down tucked into a pair air of faded jeans and brown boots. Looks like a real farmer. He's kind of just waiting around and not really moving. He's tucked in between two doctor-looking people with their white coats. He really stands out. He looks pretty old-fashioned to be blunt. As he sees the bus approach, he is the last to stand up and get on. 

This man is named Robert Greene. He's a farmer from up in Maine. He's 60 years old and is getting fed up with his life of farming every day. On top of his getting bored of his routine, his wife has unfortunately just passed away. He can no longer bare living in his old farm, as it reminds him of his wife and his old job that he is so fed up with. Shortly after the funeral, he decides to pack up a suitcase of essentials and travels to NYC in search for a new life. He just wants to find happiness again, as he had early on in his marriage.

Childhood

I decided to write this post on the first thing that came to mind - my childhood. I grew up in a very European styled family. My dad, born in England, but having grown up in Paris, made sure that I retained at least some of his European mannerisms. For starters, from the time I could walk, I was enlisted on a soccer team

el capitano

and from the time I could piece thoughts together, my dad made sure I was a die-hard Arsenal fan, as his father was. Apart from soccer being a big part of my childhood, my dad always wanted me to learn some of the culture that he was raised with. He would always speak to me in French, make me watch the news in foreign languages, and last, but most certainly not least, he drilled me on my table manors. The amount of times I must have heard him say, "bring your plate closer to you", or "no elbows on the table", or "don't speak while chewing". 

Reflecting back on all this, I can really appreciate my dad's good intentions through it all. Although it might have been annoying at the time to hear him always point out my little flaws, or insist that we speak in French, I can see why he did it now, and I am thankful for that.

The Winning Blog: Reluctant Habits

After scrolling through the 15 blogs, the one that really caught my eye the most was the one titled Reluctant Habits. This blog is a little different from the others, in that many of the posts are uploaded via audio file through The Bat Segundo Show & Follow Your Ears. These posts also have a written aspect to them, introducing the author, and providing a transcript of the interview. Because the primary source of information on this blog is mp3 links that take up practically no space on the screen, this blog is able to maintain a very modern-esque, minimal blog layout. 

blog layout

modern architecture layout

This sleek look allows me to focus in on the important aspects of the writing without getting too overwhelmed with all of the text. 

Furthermore, the stories this blog reports on, and the style in which they do it, is very appealing to me. Reluctant Habit talk about huge issues, such as our military's nuclear-weapon policy, as well as handgun laws, and use very enticing pictures to drag you in from the start. Personally, I feel as though I learn better with the presence of photos, so I definitely appreciate the stunning images the writers pick as the title pages for their articles.

Apart from all the superior visual aesthetics of this blog, I really like the interplay between voice memos and writing. The interviews are conducted very professionally, and the background information provided in the writing aspects filled me in on everything I needed to know before listening to the interviews. 

Another very impressive feature this blog is in the process of creating is the Modern Library, which essentially is a 1000+ word book review of the top 121 novels of the 20th century, starting from 121 and making its way to numero uno. This is all being done by one man, Edward Champion. Quite the champion indeed. Although extremely ambitious, I feel as though Champion's plan is a very worthwhile one. After reading all these novels, there is no way that Champion does not begin to pick up patterns of great writing and begin to incorporate them into his own writing. The fact that Reluctant Habits has writers such as Edward Champion, who are always thirsting for new knowledge, shows how high its standards are. Every post I read on the blog was uniquely stylistic, yet equally well-thought out and executed. This blog was really something special to me, and I will be sure to check back on it now and again.

How College at UMich has Changed Me...

Being at college is automatically going to have several affects on you as a student, and a human in general. Being at the University of Michigan just exaggerates those affects. Having barely any time to do anything but sleep, eat, work, and party has taught me how to manage my time more affectively. I never thought that I would be able to manage all these different aspects to such an extent, but somehow I am still hanging in here.
    Being in a fraternity here in Michigan has taught me a whole new level of brotherhood. I can now easily say that the kids in my pledge class are some of my closest friends, after just months of knowing them. I love meeting kids from all over, and it really reminds me how different my childhood growing up in NYC was. It's great to get a different perspective on everything and this experience has definitely given me many different outlooks of life. I've always been relatively good at getting to know people, but meeting so many genuinely nice people here has just made that so much easier for me and I'm so happy to be at such a big university where I can meet new people every week who will have an impact on my life.

Open Topic - best possible superpower combos

As this is an open topic and we can chose what we would like to write about, I've decided to discuss the best possible interplay of 2 different superpowers. I realize I'm probably too old to be doing this but to be honest I've always loved superhero movies, and have often considered, if given the choice, which 2 powers I would pick.
     Most people automatically pick flight, but after much thought, I would go with teleportation rather than flight. With teleportation, one could get all the benefits of flight, and much more. Let me explain. If you wanted to get the experience of flying, you could simply teleport way up into the sky and then let yourself free fall down, without having to fear a possible technical failure. Furthermore, with teleportation, you could get yourself past checkpoints and into tight spaces without being seen by anyone.

     For my second superpower, I would chose invisibility.

 I often think about how interesting it would be to act as a fly in a room and watch over everything, unseen by anyone. Being invisible would allow me to do this, as well as so many other things. I would never feel in any real danger, knowing that at any second I could just disappear and/or teleport away. Having these two together would provide for many interesting activities, such as sneaking into literally any place, unnoticed and being able to escape in a sec.

Growers Growing on Growing

One particular example of a film growing on me that comes to mind is the old western classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The first time I watched this movie, I hated it. My mom really wanted me and my brother to watch it and we watched it all together as a family. I found myself bored within the first 3 minutes. I had to sit through all of it, and I probably complained all the way through it, being the 13 year old that I was. However, recently, I watched this movie at my friend's house on Netflix. I barely remembered any of it when I saw it the second time five years later, but I really enjoyed watching it the second time. It was no longer so much boring as it was relaxing. I found it refreshing to see how different movies used to be back in the day.
I think that what changed between the two viewings was, for starters, my age. Watching this very slow, dragged-out movie as an 18 year old was definitely a very different, more endurable experience than when I was only 13. Also, the fact that I actively chose to watch this movie the second time, rather than it being forced on me, was a huge factor in why I liked it so much more the second time. Finally, watching this movie with friends in a more laid back environment definitely gave the whole experience a much different vibe - one that I embraced more.

sick scene

Although this experience of having something grow on me happens to me frequently, it usually happens with music more. This particular movie was one of the few that I gave another shot, after disliking it so much the first time. Perhaps it is a sign to be more forgiving of first impressions of movies in the future...

End of the story

I really liked the ending of the story - especially the last page.  Leading up to the very end, the story was very action-packed. I think that Adichie did a great job ending on a high note. Although there is a lot of conflict throughout the story, the end ties everything together and hints at what is to come. I really liked how it ends for Kambili in a hopeful manner, because I feel as though she has been oppressed her whole life and deserves a bright future. Thinking back on how tortured her life was and how she even had boiling water poured on her feet by her own father, I was so happy for her. The possibility of a new life in America away from all the hardship and suffering they have faced in Enugu is a very comforting thought for me. I think the last line pretty much sums everything up. “The new rains will come down soon.”

Adichie often uses natural metaphors to hint at larger meanings. And in this case, she is hinting at the new life that Kambili and Mama and Jaja will have.

Possible Essay Topics

Easy: Differences between Aunty Ifeoma and Eugene's parenting, and how that in turn affects how their children act. Aunty Ifeoma's children are raised on love and laughter and turn out very confident and happy. Eugene's children, on the other hand, grow up in constant fear of disappointing their father, and are in turn very scared to do anything on their own, besides from excelling in school and following his religious ideals.

Likely: Focusing in on Kambili and Amaka and contrasting how their different views of religion and their contrasting childhoods affect the way they are. Kambili, on one hand, is too afraid to express herself, while Amaka is constantly laughing and has no problem showing people who she truly is. However, as the novel moves forward, Kambili gets more and more like Amaka, so at the end of this essay it could become more of a comparative essay discussing the ways in which they become similar as Aunty Ifeoma starts to affect Kambili's character.

Risky: Comparing the grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard To Find and Aunty Ifeoma. They are both powerful women who attempt to shape the minds of the children around them. While the Grandmother is constantly disappointed in how the youth acts, Aunty Ifeoma is always urging Eugene's children to break out of their shell and express themselves without fear of failure. Both of these ladies' attempts to change the ways of the youth around them end up in complete disaster and death.

Purple Hibiscus p 11

thick with chunks of boiled and dried fish and dark green Onugbu leaves. We ate silently. I molded my fufu into small balls with my fingers, dipped it in the soup, making sure to scoop up fish chunks, and then brought it to my mouth. I was certain the soup was good, but I did not taste it, could not taste it. My tongue felt like paper. "Pass the salt, please," Papa said. We all reached for the salt at the same time. Jaja and I touched the crystal shaker, my finger brushed his gently, then he let go. I passed it to Papa. The silence stretched out even longer. "They brought the cashew juice this afternoon. It tastes good. I am sure it will sell," Mama finally said. "Ask that girl to bring it," Papa said. Mama pressed the ringer that dangled above the table on a transparent wire from the ceiling, and Sisi appeared. "Yes, Madam?" "Bring two bottles of the drink they brought from the factory." "Yes, Madam." I wished Sisi had said "What bottles, Madam?" or "Where are they, Madam?" Just something to keep her and Mama talk- ing, to veil the nervous movements of Jaja molding his fufu. Sisi was back shortly and placed the bottles next to Papa. They 
had the same faded-looking labels as every other thing Papa's factories made--the wafers and cream biscuits and bottled juice and banana chips. Papa poured the yellow juice for everyone. I reached out quickly for my glass and took a sip. It tasted watery. I wanted to seem eager; maybe if I talked about
how good it tasted, Papa might forget that he had not yet pun- ished Jaja.


I chose this particular page because I felt that it expressed a great deal of info about the story as a whole. First of all, it really explained the family dynamics between Papa, Mama, Kambili, Jaja and Sisi. Right before this page occurs, Jaja talks back to Papa and Papa causes a violent scene. After such an erratic event, the real nature of the characters come out. This applies especially to Kambili, because we can read her thoughts on everything. We can see that Kambili wants the best for her brother Jaja, and is constantly looking out for him. She does not want him to be punished by Papa and tries to limit their interactions as much as possible. That is why she is the one who passes the salt to Papa when they both reach for it. Furthermore, this scene is testament to the culture of the family. I especially liked the descriptions of the food they are eating. It sounds as if it's from another planet.

Several times in this passage, Adichie uses spacing to highlight her point. For example, about a third of the way down, when Kambili describes how the silence stretched out, the last line of the paragraph is just the word longer. Because it stands alone on the line with a large space after it, it really stands out and further accentuates just how long the silence really was. Also, Sisi's question "Yes, Madam?" and then Mama's command, followed by Sisi's answer, "Yes, Madam." is very repetitive and stood out to me as showing the dynamic of respect shown by Sisi towards her employers.

Adjusting to Michigan

When I applied to the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, I never seriously considered that this is where I would end up. I wanted to go to California. I wanted the warmth, the chilled out atmosphere, and to be able to drop everything and spend the day at a beach at a moments notice. Well, that is not how it turned out in the end. And to be honest, I think it is for the better. Although my life here is completely and utterly hectic at the moment especially, the people I have met here and the friends I have made are some of the best I have ever had.
Being in the art school has also been a totally new experience for me. Although I have always been fascinated with art, I had never taken it really that seriously before coming here. I was a very gifted young artist, making pieces such as these ones

when I was only 10 years old. I compiled a lot of these works from when I was younger into an  online portfolio which I sent to Michigan when I was applying. The funny thing is, since then, I have not produced a lot of work, so to come here to Michigan and have almost 100% of my classes to be Studio Art classes has definitely been a shock, but one that I embrace. I like to think of myself as an easily adaptable person, so I am making the most out of it and learning a lot every day. I look forward to seeing where art school leads me, and what I find most interesting about it...

Aunty Ifeoma

While reading this novel so far, Aunty Ifeoma has stood out to me as one of the more powerful, open-minded women in the story up to this point. Despite her grand, almost imposing stature, her willingness to speak her mind always impresses me. She works as a teacher at a nearby University, which reinforces the fact that she is not like most other women in the story. I believe that her job also gives her a more liberal view on life, and parenting in particular.

I fully respect the way Aunty Ifeoma acts in relation to her family.

She is one of the few good parents in the story, in my opinion. Despite being widowed and having to care for her three young children, Aunty Ifeoma does not resort to stern parenting, like her brother, Eugene. Rather, she feels as though there are other ways to raise a child. Although she is a devout Catholic, Aunty Ifeoma also recognizes the importance of keeping to her traditional Nigerian roots, just as her father, Papa-Nnukwu, does.

The way Aunty Ifeoma brings up her children, Chima, Amaka and Obiora, shines through in the ways they act differently from their cousins, Jambili and Jaja. Chima, Amaka, and Obiora are very willing to speak their minds, as their mother did while raising them in a loving environment, while Jambili and Jaja are too scared to do so, as they have been raised in a more strict, punishable environment. I believe, however, that soon enough, Aunty Ifeoma will begin to change this, and Jambili and Jaja will become more and more swayed by her way of parenting. Auny Ifeoma even hints at doing just this on page 119 when she says, "'Today we'll treat Kambili and Jaja as guests, but from tomorrow they will be family..."

Aunty Ifeoma reminded me slightly of the Grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard To Find, because of her attempts to try and mold the minds/manners/views on life of the children around her. However, Aunty Ifeoma is much more successful at this than the Grandmother is.