Mission Acomplished!

So I have already written twelve hundred words through my other two posts but I was still short one entry so this my pointless but still completely neccessary blog.

Picture Perfect

By: Jody Picoult or however you spell her name. I really like this book except for the end. It is about a anthropologist who is married to a movie star husband who abuses her. Alex (the most sought after actor in America) due to his unpleasant past and father issues beats Cassie (the anthropologist with her own unpleasant past] but he really loves her with all his heart. I loved Cassie and Alex’s relationship (beside the abuse) and was really disappointed in the end when she divorces him to save their baby from having to witness him beat her all the time. The story goes that Alex and Cassie meant in Africa she was on an excavation and was also consulting on Alex’s movie where he played and Archeologists. They fell in love and married, returned to America and were happily married with the occasional beating for three years. After three years though Alex beat Cassie too hard and she run away to protect the baby inside her that she couldn’t tell Alex about but develops amnesia due to a previous hear wound. After a kind cop finds her and develops feeling for her Alex claims her as his wife he starts working on restoring her memory. Unfortunately for Ales Cassie dose get all her memory back and runs away to have her baby away from Alex. Cassie runs away to the kind cop who takes care of her while she has her baby. After the baby is born she returns to Alex who has been distraught without her and risked his career in his depression. Once she returns Alex tries his best to control his destructive tendencies though his over controlling and abusive nature soon resurfaces and forces Cassie to publicly divorce him and start a new life for her and her son. This was very depressing to me I was personaly hoping Alex would be able to change his ways and him Cassie and the son would all live happily ever after. But this is Jody Picoult and she never has a happy ending as far as I can tell.

He’s not that Into You

This is possibly the best chick flick of all time! It is roughly based on a book though I will elaborate more on this fact later. In the movie there are many important and semi main characters but the main, main one would definitely be Gigi. Gigi is desperate, adorable, needy and clingy young woman who can’t keep a man to save her life. While Gigi is stalking her most recent love interest she meets a hot bartender (who is also known as the Mac guy on the commercials or the PC I don’t remember the hot one) who lays out the laws of attraction for her. He bluntly tells her that his friend (the guy she’s stalking) is not interested in her as was every guy she’s ever been with. The law of attraction states that Gigi and all females in general are considered the rule until proven otherwise a lucky few are the exception. The rule is many rules combined like don’t expect a guy to change for you if he is a player he will most likely remain so and if a guy likes you he will make it happen so you shouldn’t call needlessly and obsess over it if he doesn’t call he doesn’t like you or is just interested in sex and will not pursue further contact afterwards. Gigi’s friend who is married is having marital troubles her husband is cheating on her with a slut. The slut then has two friends the boy who is a friend is romantically interested in the slut but the slut is only interested in Gigi’s friends husband. The sluts other friend (Drew Barrymore) convinces the slut that she is an exception, the rule doesn’t apply to her and Gigi’s friends husband will divorce his wife (Gigi’s friend) for her. The slut’s friend boy who is crushing on her is also friends with Mac/PC-guy who is shamelessly being used by the slut is a realtor who pretends to be gay to appeal to a mainly gay based customer base and uses Drew Barrymore as his advertiser to display his ads on the gay/lesbian section in the news paper. Jenifer Aniston is also part of the rule she plays a coworker of Gigi and her friend who has the cheating husband and is living with her boyfriend of a long time (multiple years) who happens to be friends with the cheating husband, and refuses to marry Jenifer Aniston. According to the rule that means that he will never want to marry her and that she shouldn’t expect him to change so after hearing the rule Jenifer Aniston dumps him and goes to work helping her sister with her upcoming wedding. Unfortunately Jenifer Aniston’s dad has an untimely heart attack while Jenifer Aniston is overwhelmed cleaning up after all her sisters and their lazy husbands, her ex-boyfriend shows up and helps showing his loyalty to her and she gladly accepts him back. He later proposes to her at the end of the movie. Meanwhile The slut rejects her friend boy and the cheating husband gets rejected by his wife and all three the husband, wife and slut all end up alone at the end of the movie. Gigi goes back to her boy crazed ways and accuses the Mac/PC guy of harboring secret feelings for her he immediately rejects her and after an argument they lose contact. Gigi gets her act together and starts dating normally but Mac/PC guy realizes he actually likes her he returns and sweeps her off her feet. When Gigi asks him about the rule he proves her to be the exception. Drew Barrymore also gets together with the slut’s friend boy. In the end there are many happy couples and one happy independent woman (Gigi’s friend with the cheating husband) and two generally unhappy cheating whores.
Since I loved the movie so much I fervently searched for the book at the nearest library with the help of a very nice librarian I finally found it. I was disappointed when I first got the book because it seemed very small, I was curious as to how they could fit a whole movie with a complicated plot I soon found out that it didn’t The book is nothing more than an advice column of random girls writing in asking why guys didn’t like them. There was no plot no characters just simple ask and answer columnists work. I strongly recommend the movie but don’t even attempt to get the book it’s not worth your time.

Reused!

I found transfiguration really hard to follow. One moment she would be in her house observing a spider behind the toilet then she’s camping and it ends in her classroom. What confused me is that she writes in present tense at both the beginning and the end making it hard to arrange everything in a time sequence. Annie Dillard’s description of the insects and their actions is amazingly detailed. When she talked about the burning moth and all the dead bugs it was so descriptive. I was slightly skeptical as to if she really noticed all that. I believe she might have briefly observed it and upon later thought embellished on the story. Throughout the whole story it hinted at a deeper meaning. The whole story was one big analogy, I didn’t fully understand what the analogy was though it had something to do with the writing process. I was thinking that the moths may be inspiration that comes and goes in quick flashes and the one that stayed and burned was a brilliant idea. I found this story creepy but it takes talent to invoke those strong emotions in your readers. I don’t know what feelings the author meant for her readers to have while reading or how she even came up with such a abstract idea, but with all the different genres out there sometimes it’s nice to be creeped out every once in a while.

The Princess Bride

Sticking with our princess theme I am going to now rant about The Princess Bride. This is another one of those, love the movie but the book disappoints you with a terribly, tragic ending. The Princess Bride is a classic but when they say that they are referring to the movie where Wesley and Buttercup invariably ride off into the sunset, not the book. The book basically follows the movie (rather the movie follows the book but I watched the movie first so I will put that first) pretty directly till the author throws in this weird twist ending. The book ends happily like the movie or at least you think it does but then in this personal style of writing the author uses like he is directly talking to you tells you to stop reading and pretend that the story ends happily if you dislike troubled endings, and continues on with this depressing ending that involves killing off everyone. Who actually does that?! I mean if you’ve actually bothered to get that far in the book who is actually going to stop before they’ve reached the end, especially after being told to, it’s like being dared! In the book ending Indigo’s ( the charming Spaniard trying to avenge his father who befriended Wesley) wound reopens (that he got from avenging his father) and he starts bleeding profusely. The sweet, stupid giant that follows Indigo like a puppy dog gets separated from everyone else and not being able to navigate by himself will most likely despair and die. Wesley’s pill expired (Wesley officially died before he could save Buttercup from the evil Prince so Indigo and the Giant had to go to a wizard and get a magic pill that brought him back to life for twentyish hours)thus leaving Wesley once again dead. I don’t remember what happened to Buttercup, maybe wandering the woods by herself lost and helpless or something else equally horrible. Other than the obvious problem of this ending not being all bright and cheerful I hate his last words. The author never officially say’s any of the characters are dead he just leaves it hanging like that and say’s it’s up to you how you want it to end, even though he’s already practically finished off the story leaving really only one conclusion for his audience to assume. This is a cowardly way to end a story it’s like eating a whole cake except for a single tiny piece so you can say you didn’t eat the whole cake. I hate this book with a passion.

My Sister's Keeper

I adored this book! As much as I love happy, clean-cut endings where all the main characters find everlasting love, nothing can beat the occasional, bitter-sweet, tragic demise of the main characters at the end. My Sister's Keeper has a surprise ending you prepare yourself the entire novel for Kate to die the death she was destined to and then suddenly the story pulls a 360 and kills of Anna instead. This is basically the story. Anna’s parents had her so that they could use her to save their older daughter who had cancer; Anna goes to a lawyer to claim medical emancipation so she will no longer be used. They go through a long trial packed with a lot of drama. Anna achieves medical emancipation but it is learned that Kate has actually asked her to do this so Anna would no longer be forced to keep her alive. But soon after her hard fought victory Anna gets in a car wreck and is brain dead. They take her organs and give them to her sister and others.Although I love the tragedy and drama of this end, it leaves me incredibly pissed at Anna's mother. The mother completely ignores her other children and uses Anna shamelessly without the slightest twinge of guilt, she was born for that purpose so she better serve it. Anna is robbed of a regular childhood and friends because of her mother and even though her sister is the sick one she ended up getting more of a childhood in the end. Anna died without ever going to a dance or feeling romance, while Kate (Anna’s sister was able to experience both of these with a fellow cancer patient (who tragically died). Besides her mom I loved the rest of Anna's family. Her brother while being a troubled delinquent had a special bond with Anna that was exclusively Anna's and his Kate may have always demanded the most attention but this one thing she was left out of. Anna’s father took care of her and not just Kate. At the beginning he’s the only one who notices and cares that Anna is acting weird her mom just shrugs it off, as a impossibility that Anna could have any problems. Anna’s aunt was also very cool, I liked how she seemed to have everything in control and showed affection for all of her nieces and nephews not just the sick one. By the time I reached the end of this book I was openly weeping, you just get so wrapped up in Anna’s character that it’s hard not to be sad by the sudden loss of it.

A Little Princess

I grew up watching this movie so I was very shocked when I read the book and it wasn’t as clean cut and happy as the movie. The story is about a little girl named Sarah who lived in India with her rich father but when her father leaves for war she is put in a boarding school in New York. She lives there as a student for awhile until it is found that her father died leaving her penniless. In the book her father had actually given all his money to a friend investing in diamond mines who lost all his money either way leaving Sarah penniless. She is demoted to a servant girl and makes fast friends with the other serving girl Becky. In the end though Sarah manages to keep all her old friends too because this is a children’s novel and friends aren’t supposed to care about social standings. Mrs. Minchin the evil boarding school teacher who hates Sarah of course is really mad that Sarah still thinks she’s a princess even though she’s poor and tries to keep all the other girls away from her. Mean while in the movie version the neighbor next door and his magical Indian care taker takes in a wounded soldier who is actually Sarah’s father who has temporary amnesia and can’t remember he has a daughter. When all the girls work together to steal back some of possessions that were taken away from her when her father died Mrs. Minchin accuses Sarah of being a thief and calls the police to take her away. Sarah manages to escape to her next-door neighbor’s house where she finds her father. As she is begging him to remember her the police drag her off. As they’re about to take her away the father suddenly and magically regains his memory and in a touching scene they hug each other in the rain. This is the movie end in the book her father really is dead and there is no wounded soldier with amnesia. Instead the neighbor himself turns out to be the friend who lost all of Sarah’s money who conveniently found it after her father’s death and the Diamond mines began to pay off. He had come to New York to search for Sarah and give her all the money that rightfully belongs to her. She pays the neighbor a visit one day for reasons I have forgotten and they find out who she really is and he decides to take care of her and love her forever. I like the movie version better.

Of Mice And Men

I personally loved this story. It always shocks me to find that the majority of my classmates do not share my enthusiasm for this novel. My favorite character was Slim, He was respected by everyone even Curly the arrogant, Ranch owner’s son listened to him. Of course that isn’t the only reason I liked him best, he was also very cool, level headed, kind, and I really liked the name Slim. Slim and George had a really great relationship he appreciated the way George looked after Lenny and the sacrifices he had to make to do and he also enjoyed having another intellectual person to converse with. Slim usual being surrounded by brawny simple minded workers so smart and calculating George must have been a nice change of pace for Slim. I also really like George and Lenny’s relationship, at fist it seems like George is being mean and taking advantage of Lenny but as you read on you realize all the underlying kindness in George’s harshness towards Lenny, it’s all just to protect Lenny. Lenny is really strong and huge but he is mentally retarded and causes George a lot of trouble. George is intelligent and resourceful if he didn’t have Lenny to take care of he could be doing very fine for himself instead of skipping from town to town every time Lenny accidently attacks a hooker or something. The ending is probably the real reason this is one of my favorites. At the end Lenny accidently breaks Curley’s slut of a wife's neck (she totally deserved it) and everyone gets together a hunting party to find Lenny so Curley can kill him. George doesn’t join the party instead he goes off on his own to where he knows Lenny is hiding to kill him himself. George meets Lenny at the lake-like place and tells him all about the house they were going to buy where he could raise his rabbits before shooting Lenny in the back of the head. The search party soon finds George and Lenny after hearing the gun shot. They are all impressed by how George was able to take down such a big man by himself. Only Slim realizes how hard it was for George to kill Lenny he tells George he had to do it and offers to get a drink with him. As they leave the other guys all wonder why he is so upset. The last line is something like “I wonder what’s bothering them”.

Educate Yourself

1. Why do car drivers have responsibility for avoiding collisions with motorcyclists?
C) Car drivers have more protection.
2. Which of the following is not a safe practice for bicyclist?
D) Listening to music with headphones while bicycling.
3. When meeting a truck on a two lane road…?
C) Move to lane position three and speed up.
4. To reduce risk of collision, motorcyclists should increase their ______.
Following distance
5. Users of mopeds have limited speed and ______.
Acceleration
6. Many collisions involving pedestrians occur at crosswalks and intersections in ______.
Business districts
7. Two wheeled vehicle that can be driven either with motor and pedal.
Moped
8. Large blind spot areas where truck drivers cannot see other vehicles.
No-zones
9. Items a motorcyclist wears to protect head, eyes and body.
Protective equipment
10. Truck that has a powerful tractor that pulls a separate trailer.
Tractor trailer
11. Large vehicle used for pleasure and travel.
Recreational vehicle
12. Type of tractor trailer commonly called an “eighteen wheeler”
Tractor semi trailer
Moped- Two wheeled vehicle that can be driven either with motor and pedal.
Motor scooter-Low powered two wheeled vehicle, more powerful than a moped.
No-zones- Large blind spot areas where truck drivers cannot see other vehicles.
Protective equipment- Items a motorcyclist wears to protect head, eyes and body.
Recreational vehicle-Type of vehicle used for pleasure and travel.
Tractor trailer- Truck that has a powerful tractor that pulls a separate trailer.
Tractor semi trailer- Type of tractor trailer commonly called an “eighteen wheeler”.

While driving in urban stations…?
C) Be ready to reduce speed and change vehicle position.
The three second following distance technique…?
B) is safe for most conditions.
You can avoid being hit by a tailgater if you…?
A) Increase your following distance to 4 seconds or more.
It is illegal to pass another vehicle…?
B) At an intersection.
To give yourself adequate time to react to a hazard you should ____your speed.
Slow
Urban streets and roads have the highest number of____ per mile.
Hazards
Take your foot of the accelerator and hold it over the brake pedal to be ready to brake quickly.
Cover the brake
Rest your foot on the brake.
Ride the brake
Pass the car ahead.
Over take
Follow another vehicle too closely.
Tailgate
Cover the brake- Take your foot of the accelerator and hold it over the brake pedal to be ready to brake quickly.
Over take- Pass the car ahead.
Ride the brake- Rest your foot on the brake.
Tailgate- Follow another vehicle too closely.

Jane Eyre Continued

My last blog being about the pains of working in a reading group this one is going to be about the actual book. I generally enjoyed Jane Eyre it reminded me somewhat of Jane Austen’s work but a bit darker without the clean cut happy ending. I hated the way Jane Eyre ended and I will give you a warning now I am going to spoil it for anyone reading this so if you ever plan on reading Jane Eyre and are one of those people who don’t like others spoiling the ends of things (I am not) stop reading now. It goes like this Jane Eyre falls for her boss who is old and ugly and they are about to marry when everyone discovers that Mr. Rochester (the old ugly boss man) already has a wife who is crazy and he keeps locked up in the far corner of his house. Jane Eyre runs away and meets her hot age appropriate cousin who she didn’t know she had who also offers her marriage. He want to take Jane as his wife to travel around the world as a missionary. Jane also in this time finds out even though she though herself a penniless orphan all her life she is actually got a nice inheritance. Jane stupidly leaves her cousin goes back to Mr. Rochester who during this time his house caught on fire and as he heroically saved everyone inside got hurt in the process losing a eye and leaving him crippled. Making him a cradle robbing, lecherous, decrepit, unsightly, one eyed (which is just disgusting!), arrogant creep. Congratulations Jane you turned down a exciting life of travel with a hot young preacher for a lifetime with a revolting, demanding old coot who will need constant care and will still most likely die thirty years before you. When I brought up my opposition of the ending the teacher dismissed my ideas saying she thought I had missed the point. I still get mad whenever I think about it I mean he is obviously revolting how can you even stand to be next him let alone share a bed!? He could be your father! I recommend about three fourths of this book, read the first three fourths of it and quit, I mean don’t even bother you will be eternally pissed at the author who I don’t remember but I know that I hate her for making Jane suffer such a cruel fate.

The Jane Eyre group

Since I can’t think of anything to write which seems to be becoming a recurring problem lately I will rant about a book I have read. This may seem random but it actually makes sense to start blogging about all the books I read. I love to read I make weekly trips to the library and often neglect my homework and chores in order to finish a good book. The book of my scrutiny will be Jane Eyre I read this book freshman year as a group reading assignment and out of the group I am the only one who has read the book from cover to cover to this day, most of them never got past chapter two, The second farthest was chapter five (me being the farthest of course). I don’t want to brag but this is my blog and I’ll brag about myself all I want I actually finished the book on the second day it was assigned but halfway through our allotted time to finish the book when no one was past chapter one the teacher cut down all the reading by half and then by another half when the situation hadn’t improved a week before the presentation. In the end no one finished and I had to tell everyone the end and about everything in between basically spoon feed them all there lines to deliver and create the poster. Although I might seem it by the way I am ranting about this I bear no ill will towards the other members in my group I actually had a lot of fun with that project. Now that I’m done explain the circumstances of the reading I will now go into the content of the material in my next blog.