What called my attention was that description at the moment at the beach. I

The Stranger

   
    What I've notice in the the couple of pages was that the confrontation between the Arabs and mersualt and Raymond had became intense 

The End of The Stranger

I do believe that meursault had some kind of mental issues because no one in the their right frame of mind would be thinking of the things that he was right before being executed.it was almost as if he were welcoming it. On page 123 he said  " I had only wished that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate" from what I understood of his expression was that he was nonchalant about his death. It is what it is

In The Stranger Meursault was on trial for the crime he was convicted of doing , he was anticipating what was going on, and what he thought might happen to him while he was on trial. His thoughts were that he was going to get executed, and also how people would react to him being executed. he felt that no one would really care much about it, and also that they would rather look at him with hate, and not show any feelings, or pity to him when it would happen. he is living in a cold sort of environment.

Hey guys!

I hope everyone is studying for finals and is feeling confident! I feel like I've been studying forever, I'm hoping all of this will pay off.  Just remember to trust your gut, get enough sleep and eat before the exam! Nothing worse then a grumbling stomach when you're trying to fill in the scantron! I really enjoyed our discussions and material we went over in class, I hope you all enjoy the summer and time off and excel in your bright futures!

Thank you, Tori

Time go fast

Time is the only thing we can't get back. So the time we spend in class, went flying. Now we finished a semester and I didn't expect this quick transition. In the beginning, I wanted the semester to end fast but now I'm sad because I don't like endings. But this is part of life.

An Acrostic on Arrange Marriage

Arranged Marriage

(Acrostic)

A marriage of getting a man and woman to acknowledge one another

Reality of two persons that don’t know each other

 Relationships that is expected to turned into love

Accepting a complete stranger as their spouse

Not giving the two people a freedom of choice

Gruesome relationship to grow into love

Expecting the two to become one

 Decision made by parents.

Maintaining a marriage that is being forced upon two people

Anticipating angels would sing and dance

Requiring two strangers to live in peace and harmony

 Relationship that is to be obliged by two people

Intent to last and prosper

An artificial marriage that has no love or affection

Generated to work out

 Eternity of forced love.

Short Days & Mister Lytle: An Essay

From the two readings this week, "Short Days" and "Mister Lytle: An Essay" were both very different.  "Short Days" definitely caught my attention more because each little piece had meaning independently.  With the separation of each piece my mind was able to break them up, rather than me trying to read it as a whole.  I highlighted six pieces, but the one that caught my attention the most was, "It isn't that the genius makes it look easy; it's that he makes it look fast", because the more I thought about it, so many famous faces floated around in my head and those couple little words really make you stop and think.  I love how engaging each piece was and in "Mister Lytle: Am Essay", I just wasn't finding something to keep me wanting to read more in depth. 

short days -

I felt like the genre was auto biographical, it was personal and it seemed almost as memories of someone written down as thoughts.
My favorite epigram was "The dark owns everything, but our sun comes out often enough that we think the universe is half dark, half light."  he epigram before talks about ending and oblivion then leads into the epigram i chose. i felt as if when you think of oblivion you think of this dark place of nothing. The dark owning everything is a way of looking at the world in a pessimistic way. the sun comes out to fool us, to make us think its half half but in reality the dark owns and usually dominates.
The next epigram spoke about when the bad passes the first feeling is relief. i related it to the the epigram i chose by saying when the sun comes out after darkness, its that sense of relief.
Of course i don't think the author was being literal when he was writing this. he wanted to get a message across and used these comparisons and distinctions in order for readers to comprehend.
i think this piece of work was titled short days because each epigram sounds like a day this character has endured. a day that they lived and how our life is short lived and each day is just one of  many that is the episodes of our life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

This week

Since this week is only a half-week, I'll give you extra credit for any entries you make on the blog. In addition to the two series of questions, I've posted this week, you might also talk about your experience in the class, what you learned, what you're still learning, what we did that helped, what you wished we had done more of, etc.

You can also use this space to compliment and celbrate your classmates' readings on Wed.

I appreciate all the hard work you've put into the course this term.

best,

jt

Mr. Lytle: An Essay

Some questions:

• Why is the cedar coffin such a major part of this essay?
• What is Mr. Lytle like?
• The Southern Agrarians, of which Lytle was one, was a very influential group of writers. Based on the essay, what was the group like?
• What do you think John Jeremiah Sullivan's attitude toward Mr. Lytle was? What do you think it is now as he writes this essay?

Short Days

Questions:

• What genre is this?
• This is like a series of epigrams. Which is your favorite epigram? How does it work w/ the epigram before? The one after? 
• Which epigram puzzles you the most?
• What is the overall effect of reading all these epigrams together? Why is it called "Short Days"?

Late Post

I have no idea why this always repeatedly happens to me, but I'll always be doing my homework late at night and then I'll finally remember, "OMG THE BLOG".  I have no idea why it always occurs to me deep into the night that I should be checking up on everyone's responses and even submitting some of my own.  Why do us college kids always leave things for the last minute? Actually, even past the last minute.  Truthfully, I just don't think there are enough hours in the day. 

Short Days

In Short Days the author in it has a lot of emotional stuff that makes other people read it have strong feelings toward her. She talks about different kinds of writing, and the way it is in how people decide what to do with it. It could be the genres they decide to write about which seem to make people's impressions about writing become more interested in a certain topic than another. She feels that writing can go into deep discussion about things that go on in people's lives, which could be personal to them about anything. For her writing is a passion that she enjoys doing, she likes coming up with ideas, to write about. It is a way of expressing things out, and even trying to get a message across to the reader. For her after seeing other people's perspectives about writing, it is clear to her that everyone has their own reason for why they write. It is a way to express themselves, yet they have their own stories to talk about.

Should we get rid of automatic cars?

A lot of new cars in the United States are automatic. There's a reason why buyers choose automatic cars instead of manual cars, also called stick cars. Because automatic cars are easier to drive then stick cars and easier to learn. Then, there's no reason to have a stick car on the market? According to Quoted," just 3.9 percent of cars sold in U.S. were built with manual transmissions".

The Hidden Kingdom

They say there's a kingdom above the clouds

A kingdom that no human can see

They say there is no king or queen,

A place where everyone is free

In the kingdom there’s a palace so scenic,

That its beauty is unknown to mankind

In the kingdom there's a grassland full of flowers,

With vibrant colors so defined

But the kingdom hides a dark secret,

A secret unknown to the citizens,

The kingdom conceals its bruises,

Falsifying their deadly sins

A kingdom masked by the cold mist,

A kingdom so distorted,

It mustn't truly exist

But the kingdom full of lies,

Lays there,

Before your very eyes

Dogs

Sometimes I feel sad for dogs because they stay at home alone and when you come back they get happy to see you. This happens over and over. Just imagine if you were a dog and when your owner goes to work, you stay at home waiting for him. I personally hate waiting for someone to come home. That is the saddest part of being a dog. The other sad thing is when the owner can't keep the dog or doesn't want the dog anymore. When this happens, they just throw them to the streets.

Enchanted Love

The Enchanted Love

That delicate moment, that loving face,

Brings me to a fascinated place,

Yonder of the heavens, stars, moon above,

To that enchanted feeling that people call love,

Love is like a jig-saw puzzle that has no clues,

But through the vapor we knew ours was true,

Powerful enough to withstand the wall of pain,

Mending my gaping wounds that no medication can cure,

Our eyes connected and my heart skips a beat,

You love me more than others,

Your heart redeems all the sorrow,

Both of us know a twinkling sort of happiness,

That enchanted moments that makes living life worth,

That moment that brings heaven and earth,

You are scared, I will become your guiding angel,

Cuddling you close through the darkest night,

That quiet touch that shatter my heart,

A cardiologist does not know how its starts,

That ray of passion as powerful as the sun,

Brave enough to burn a blunt of a bullet,

That love protection that no emotion can overcome,

That love detector that makes me depict you in every heartbeat,

That feeling when stars are closing up and the sky is closing in,

Like a lion raging to capture his prey,

Is that the enchanted love you give me to sustain the pain,

Is that the strength you invented to break my chain?

Life is love, love is the lyrics, and you are the music,

When I dance and sing in pain then, begin the enchanted love.

The end of The Stranger

The ending of The Stranger we see Meursault show the most emotion throughout the whole novel. We see him get emotional when he talks to the chaplain and when asked Meursault why he doesn't call him father and with that he snaps back at the chaplain. I believe to a point the emotions that Meursault felt and understood were coming to a head at least for him. In general though I don't believe he would have have ever fully grasped feeling like everyone else does.

Letter from Kentucky #16 He talks about the strange things his friends do, of how his one friend Scott used a razor to cut his own chest but not just a cut he carved out the whole word "pussy" into his own skin. He also compares his friends to being weirdos which I see as an understatement for someone who is able to carve themselves with a blade like that.

old revised poem

My city

You are the light that keeps us bright

You are the one that casts away the darkness at night

You are filled with lefts and rights

You give us the best of sights

And at night you become our rainbow

You are filled with colors from head to toe

You’ve given us so many and sorrows

Yet, you are the one that gives us hope when the times are looking low.

Your subways and streets are filled with music, art, and performers

You are the best for visitors

As you give the best there is to offer

We are glad to call you a transformer

As you change our lives forever

You are the city of hope

You are the city of dreams

You are the city that never sleeps

You are New York City

Section 11

 In Section 11, J.D. Daniels describes the main characters experience in church. Throughout this section, the main character explains how the church's method had become unrelenting just like his phys-ed coach. This constant repetition of the church's choir practice had led the main character to compare himself now as to back then when he would be at church every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. He compares his lack of faith and attendance of church to a sinner.

Human Snowball

The story got the name Human Snowball, because human life can be like snow, as Davy was explaining how the snow fall and then it melt away likewise Humans are like that one moment we can be here and a next moment we are not. From the author point of view he seems to be a person that accept life as it is. The character Chris adds fun and excitement to the story he seems to be a cool guy. Davy got connected to Vernon through his age and his positively of life. I am confused at the end. Did Davy and Lauren get back together?  It was a sad and happy moment at the same time.

Human Snowball Questions

Human Snowball-Era Sen

When the "snowman" was getting destroyed by the kids, Vernon stated that's how long his marriage felt like, as long as the snowman was alive. I believe that's why its called "Human Snowball", beautiful things come to an end. If it was labeled differently, I wouldn't get the true message that Davy was trying to pursue. 

To me, Davy is a good person who cares for people. Although Vernon was  years old, he still kept him with him to make sure hes okay. He is also really good at making friends. He made friends with Chris through a phone conversation, and with Vernon just by sitting on the bus. The rest of the friendships occurred throughout this story. 

Although Chris is a criminal, he has a big heart and Davy emphasized that alot throughout the story. He kept explaining to his readers what a good guy Chris was. When he almost got arrested I was apprehensive, because I felt like he didnt deserve to go to jail. He extremely caring and friendly. 

Between Davy's friendship with Vernon, the most interesting aspect would have to be the age. I can imagine getting along with someone with that type of age difference. I really like how he seeks for advice from Vernon and they share stories about a situation thats almost similar but not quite. I find it interesting to how Davy also considers him his wingman and vise versa. 

I was shocked that Davy was okay with the fact that he did not last with Lauren Hill, when he really liked her. I guess that was the main part of this story. Beautiful things come to an end and you can only look back on the memories. I was extremely upset that Vernon died, but it was soon to come. This information was extremely important to send out the message of this essay. 

Human Snowball

When I envision Davy, I see a guy who isn't really known for taking a lot of risks, unless it really means some thing to him.  You can tell that he really loved Lauren, even though it didn't work out he got those few moments that night with her and that was all he wanted.  I think him going and surprising her opened up who he is as a character too.  I like Chris, I love that he is noted as a "criminal" but throughout the whole essay he helps everyone else out.  I love that he's portrayed as just a good, compassionate person who just does illegal things.  The relationship between Davy and Vernon is very warming.  Davy really looked out for him and helped him rekindle his relationship with his family.  I think the respect is very visible because of Vernon's age, but they seem to need something from each other too.  Davy wanted Vernon's wise life advice and Vernon needed to be back wit his great granddaughter.  The title for this piece is fitting because in a matter of as couple hours 10 random people that have never met each other are sharing birthday shots with a very special man.  It's proof of what humans are capable of when it comes to social interaction. 

Human Snowball questions

This story is called Human Snowball because it resembles what the lives of the characters are in the story. What makes this story an essay is that it is long, and has continuous events happen as the story goes along over a period of time. If it were labeled a short story I would read it in a way that would not have as much suspense, neither would I be as surprised by what goes on in it story. The way I envision Dave Rothbart is someone that is determined, and trying to be hopeful when he does not feel optimistic about the way something is going on. He is the kind of person that could be nice, but also crazy because of the decisions that he makes throughout the story. The way I pictured Chris by the end of the story was that I thought of him as being a supportive friend of Davy even though he was almost in trouble with the police. When he almost got arrested my reaction about it was that he would be facing a punishment for what he has done, and that it would stop Davy from trying to continue with his plans to meet up with Lauren Hill. What is interesting about Davy;s friendship with Vernon is that Vernon is giving him advice about relationships even though he is much older than Davy, and had only known each other for a short amount of time. Yet seem to get along nice like they are close friends. The way I reacted to the news of Davy, and Lauren hill only lasting a couple of weeks is that I felt that it was sad that they would, because of the effort Davy made to try to see Lauren Hill. Also they seemed to be happy when they were together. When I heard that Vernon would die in the coming Summer I was sad because, he had such a big impact on the people around him. This news is important to the essay because it tells us what is about to go in in their relationship, being that it was such a big part of the story, and also that Vernon eventually made it to Little Rock, but then died when he was in a park, and that I found out that he had made it to Little Rock after all that had happened. Other questions that I have are why didn't Davy, and Lauren hill's relationship last? Also how did Vernon make it to Little Rock, when he was in Buffalo, with not much financial support?

Power Of The Mind

Power of The Mind

Drowning into the vast emptiness

Living my life?

Or a dream sold as our reality

Heading in the right direction,

Standing in the same place

Grinding gears from one thought to the next

Do I ignore them?

Open the door

With your mind as the key

I don’t want to live a life manufactured for me

Not lost, nor lonely

Not mad, nor sad

A racing mind with no track to finish

You are the teacher

And I the student

Human Snowball

In the beginning it starts off like he's trying to win over a girl but then he just ends up meeting a bunch of people. Which is ironic because he starts off alone and then all of these add ons of people much like a snowball effect, drifting him from his "main" goal which was seeing his girlfriend. Throughout the story he meets an thief, a Chinese family, a 110 year old man and his great-granddaughter. This was an experience that as a reader we can tell was not part of his plans at all. They all in some way had a connection with one and other despite how diverse they really are. They all helped each other. The relationship that Davy and Vernon had reminded me much of a father and son, like he had a huge soft spot for him and he was very open with telling him his situation with Lauren and Vernon then shared a similar story with him. As for Chris, its so funny because he's doomed all of these things because he's an ex-con but he's very honest with the cop. But back to the name Human Snowball, it makes sense just because they were all together at one moment then everything happened so fast, from Davy loosing Lauren to Vernon dying.

How to not get grounded when you fail a class

The first thing you gonna need is to have a car. A new would work better but a decent one can also work. When you have the car, go to your parents and tell them that you crashed the new car you got or they bought for you. The moment they hear the bad news, they gonna freak out. When they seem angry, then you tell them that is a joke and that you just fail a class. For this to work, you need to be fast but not so fast. Try to practice with friends and good luck!

How to tell if money is fake

The first thing to look if the money you have is fake or not is to touch the black jacket of the president. You should feel the black ink with your nails. The next thing to look for is the small twenty on the bottom right corner. It should change color from green to like a gold color. Another thing to look for is the watermark of the president on the right corner. When you put it to the light, you should see the face of the president. The last thing to look for is the vertical line that should say the amount of the bill you have. Now you know how to tell if the money is fake or not.

Human Snowball

Why is the essay called "Human Snowball"? What makes this an essay? How would you read it differently if it were labeled a short story? Other questions:

• Davy Rothbart is a good writer and so we get a pretty clear description of all of the characters in the essay. However, since he's the narrator, no one can describe him. How do you envision him? What kind of person is he?
• His friend Chris is a convict and a car thief. That's a pretty serious crime. How do you picture Chris by the end of the story? What is your reaction when he almost gets arrested? 
• What is interesting about Davy's friendship with Vernon?
• In the big paragraph that runs between p. 86 and 87, we learn that Davy and Lauren Hill would only last a couple weeks, and that Vernon will die in the coming summer. How did you react from this news? Why is this information important to the essay?

What other questions do you have? 

Human complexity

Humans, such strange creatures we are.

We are greedy,

Yet we are generous,

We are judgmental,

Yet we accept others,

We are hateful,

Yet we can love,

No other species has this many contradictions

We’ve built castle and palaces,

Just to destroy them and build some more,

We swear to protect all,

Yet we take away lives for that cause.

A human cannot truly be human without contradictions.

Or can they?

Human Snowball

In Human Snowball, it seemed like it was a story about adventure, and also trying to get in contact with other people. No matter who it is it seemed like the main character in here was trying to overcome obstacles in order to see his girlfriend working at the bar. Along the way when he met Vernon, the soon to be 110 year old man on the bus, it probably seemed to help him knowing he had support from another person. Vernon himself was trying to see his great-granddaughter, and seemed to have his own doubts about it. He said how he really wasn't the type of Great-Grandfather he had planned to be or the one she had planned for. But he was trying to make it up for her in the end by visiting her. Chris Darrell's friend also was probably a major help to them by driving them around so they could see the people that they were trying to. A connection seemed to form between them in trying to do what they wanted. When they were able to have this connection between them, it gave them the strength, and the courage to get through these challenges. They were helping each other, and gave one another advice on how to handle their situation. For example when Darrell wanted to meet up with his girlfriend Lauren Hill, he was nervous because he did not see her for several weeks. Therefore he was not sure what to do in this situation. Being that he was in a rough bar, in a different city he had to find a way to make it happen. For all of the characters it was a matter of being able to keep on accomplishing what they had to. Chris even tried to help fix Vernon's Great-Granddaughter's car which was an act of kindness in showing compassion for another person. These kinds of acts are what made them stronger.

Life in Pluto

Life in Pluto

It was midnight and the sun was still out

It’s strange

 In other times, the moon and the sun were out together

I guess this day is going to mark history 

or is it going to mark me?

Who knows

 Maybe is just as everyday only with a different flavor

Although it is 111 degrees outside, I am getting goose bumps

I am scared

I am crying eyes cubes

 I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I have become a fiction character in her story

 "Life in Pluto "

Letters from Section 10

In section 10 of A Letter From it talks about how the road that it will be for him in the future is a difficult challenge, because there will be economic problems to deal with. It is as if he is saying that that he should read, and listen to what they are saying because it seems like it can be important to him. What he is listening to talks about economic problems that it says will take place in the future. It seems to relate to the book he had received for Christmas as a gift. Being that he is also on a long car trip too, it seems to have a certain aspect of it that can make the car trip seem much more emotional, with relating to the radio he is listening to, and the book he has. For the main character when he is listening to the radio, and when he says pieces to the puzzle, it is almost relating to his own life, and what he is doing in the current moment.

Section 1

I think section one is about J.D Daniels family tree, and  to show his reader's the depth and history of where he came that he was allllllll Kentucky. It was generation after generation, and Daniels explains this in a very funny sarcastic way, like for example when he speaks of who I believe to be his grand mother, he say's " Elmina Dixon married Bryant young millers boy, and they bore a girl name Mary Bothena Doctor Bohanan Sarah Lucritia Miller Rock, who , mercifully, named her own son charlie." to me he lighting up this section when he explains that each of his family member had a three name minimum. 

Section 9

      The main character seems to be an interesting individual. He starts off section nine explaining how she was headed down a highway, and basically described what she saw along the road which tells me that he is a very detail oriented man or rather he is very observant.  He proceeds to go into explaining how his ex-wife cheated on him. The way he explained it he seemed quite nonchalant about it, which kind of threw me a loop. He up until this point has been oddly descriptive about everything he had to talk about. I just found it weird that him discussing his ex-wife cheating on him was basically something that just happened, there were no hurt feelings behind it. He gave more detail about the men she cheated on him with. He didn't even seem hurt by the fact that the men she cheated on him with so happened to be his friends. Especially with his second friend, Gary. He didn't seem bothered at all that his wife was with him, in fact it seemed like he could clearly see why she did so based on Gary's appearance. In this section he gives a lot more of a description on Gary and his relationship over the relationship he shared with his ex-wife.    

letter

I haven't been to Williamsburg or Kentucky but I have been in Florida. My letter would be as similar to Dombeck's. In his letters he does talk about the place and its location like how he mentioned the distances of places and the cities that are around but he also talk about the environment  In section 13, he starts out by saying that he was in Kentucky but not for the reasons he thought. He continues by talking about the physical features that Kentucky as. "I passed Daniels Mountain and Manito hill, Out past Tin Can Hollow" and "When boone was asked if he had gotten lost in that forest, he said: I can't say as ever I was lost, But I was bewildered once for three day" He really he lost into Kentucky as he keeps reminiscing and describing everything that comes across.

18

What i read was a moment when she was driving and the radio was playing. the man from the radio was talking about how to prepare yourself for an economic crisis with God. He explained how to change adversity into advantage. He started saying some verses that were confronting the main character and that made him feel as if it was God punishing him for what he had been happening. He cried, that made me feel as if what has been happening was really touching him. He did not wanted to hear the word, "God" but the "Word of God". He wanted to have an actual experience with Him. 

Section 2- Letter From Kentucky

This part of section is a flashback in his childhood. He talks about how was Kentucky identified as from different perceptive views and the history. What he learned in school about Kentucky changes every time as he grew older. In additions, he gave different pronunciations of Kentucky and the meaning behind it, such as, in first sentence, he stated "As schoolchildren we were taught that the word Kaintuckee came from Ka-ten-ta-teh, which meant, in Cheroke, 'the dark and bloody ground'."

In section 15 John D Daniels was talking about his past memories about the grocery stores, the church and his memories about his father, he mentioned the first time he saw his father cry was at the church, the second time he saw his father cry was while he was strangling him and accusing him of being gay and telling him that he would cut his hair off. The third time after accusing him he would regain his sense and tell him I am vietnam veteran what is happening to me, then he mentioned that he dared his father to cut off his hair, then he smashed him against the wall, through the doorway thrown him onto the bed and strangled him and that was the third time he cried. In this letter the author is recalling his experiences he had living with his father which was very abusive.

Letters from Kentucky, section 4

Section 4 sheds some light on author J.D. Daniels' childhood. He writes about a repair shop that he'd worked in on two different occasions- once as a summer job, when his father had warned him that this job as a repair shop attendant could be his future if he didn't "fly straight". The second was when Daniels inevitably didn't fly straight and ended up dropping out of college. He reminisces about the different branded trailers that came in, and the way his coworkers would fool around. He concludes this section by remembering his reading of The Faerie Queene- an old English epic about virtues, and his musings of one day jumping off the Second Street Bridge.

7

This section reminds me of the state of Texas because of all guns. First of all, the town has a lot of drugs. One boy got shot by the police for having 37 shell casings of Meth. The second gun related was when a neighbor dog killed 2 chicken because the dog didn't have food, so the grandfather wanted to kill the dog for his 2 dead chickens.

Section 11

 In Section 11, J.D. Daniels describes the main characters experience in church. Throughout this section, the main character is forced to attend multiple prayers on certain days and tells us how this cycle was repeated by the pastor as a method. She then compares this relentless method of teaching from her pastor to her gym teacher. All of this had formed her into this person who now is unholy and doesn't attend church as she used to. She referenced herself as a sinner because of her driving by the places she used to attend as a child.

Section 5 + 6

In Section 5 of Letter From Kentucky, J.D. Daniels writes about the paranoia his friend, Allen, felt over a white van being parked across his house. He recalls Allen telling him that he believes the FBI has come for him, and J.D. believes it too because of the amount of drugs Allen has in his house. The FBI wouldn't stake out for nothing and this is what they're paid to do. J.D. told Allen he would see him later but that never happens because Allen was sent to jail.
In Section 6 of Letter From Kentucky, J.D. Daniels writes about the different places he's driving by. He tells a short story about a old woman that lives where he used to live and about a pastor that once helped him move furniture as he's driving. He continues passing by places and specifically naming them until he turns on the radio and hears about an individual, that believes in God, trying to get people to help them out. After that, he says "something" for the next places he drives past as if he got distracted.

"Letters from Kentucky" - Section 12

In many cases, people from the South are very religious.  In "Letters from Kentucky", this is proven to be true, in the section I was assigned, Daniels is reminiscing about his childhood and his roles as Jesus and Judas in the passion plays at his Vacation Bible School.  What is extremely ironic is that he is apart of this play to celebrate their religion, but the father seems to be so cruel.  Daniels even writes, "He cooked and served at the Wednesday night church suppers and was happy to do it.  But he didn't have time for what he called churchified people". It strikes me of this idea that people only want to be good on "church time", and think that makes up for them to be nasty and impure every other moment that they exit the doors of God's home.  With the fathers excerpt after that paragraph, he's going on and on that his God doesn't care what he's doing so why should all these other people be so worried about him? Which, I kind of do understand, but he's just not the nicest person, so I also see where they're coming from too. 

Section 3 Letter From Kentucky

In this section, the author goes back to Kentucky. He describes the cold air and his surroundings of where he grew up. The most important setting of this section of the essay is the bar across the street from his house. Its called the B & B Bar named after the owner Bill. He describes and retells the many things he has witnessed at this bar such as fights, snorting pills, prostitution, losing money, etc. With these stories you can analyze he spend a good amount of years at this bar.  He states how this bar is the only bar that knew what he wanted and when he walked in the drink would be set up for him. This section ends with " I dont know where the bar went". It shows how everything has changed from what he remembers about this location in Kentucky.

section 17

In section 17 J.D Daniels talks about his father. how old with age his character had completely changed from the one the author knew as a child. he says the man who saved his life from choking was then convinced he had the power to choke him himself. At the ending of this situation he starts to explain that this person who he knew or knows had died time and time again. i think this symbolizes the reinvention or changes the father has portrayed through the authors life.

Letters from...

Both of the essays this week are titled "Letter from ______." (This is a series from The Paris Review.) How are these essays about these particular places? What do the narrators and the characters in these essays tell us about their locations? Have you been to Williamsburg? How would your letter be similar to or different from Dombek's? Have you been to Kentucky or anywhere else in the deep South?

Both Letters in "The Paris Review"

The two letters in the Paris Review book are extremely different.  I thought they might have some kind of relationship because of the titles, but was very mistaken.  The "Letters to Williamsburg" is a little vulgar, but I feel her piece is all about the setting and she incorporates herself into the entire piece as a way of finding herself.  In "Letters to Kentucky" you kind of get the same feeling.  The voice of the letter is talking all about his home and his father, maybe I'm not grasping the deeper meaning to both of them, but I need some kind of outside ideas or clarification.

Hi everyone I rewrite the poem arrange marriage
Arrange Marriage
Stealing glances at each other
For the first time they met a shy smile
Heart beating tum-dumm.........
As they sit in silent.

Observing their families come and go
One side calm the other in mayhap
Fat uncles making jokes as if they think, it is
Something to make fun about.

The women sitting in a corner quietly
Whispering children running around
And men are not allowed to joined

In total silent the couple steal glances
At one another as a silent message is being
Sent across bringing two strangers together
They jumped apart as they parent approach them

Faces red as tomatoes as they were caught
In the act a silent so deafening was around
The atmosphere you could hear a pin drop
As the pair stand there with their mouth wide open

Not knowing what to do?
The marriage was fixed, both parents made their decisions
It was a moment that they two would never forget.

My Song

My Song

I was never the one you said you loved, so I'm not going to continue anymore. Now I'm moving forward because once I looked up to the sky, I understood

You never loved me everything I lived for was just a lie to see me smile.

  You never loved me but I understood that I never belonged to you.

You were that love where I gave the purest of my being. But I won’t stop, I am going for more because I understood

You never loved me everything I lived for was just a lie to see me smile.

  You never loved me but I understood that I never belonged to you.

Not everything is lost, I am going for more

There is a world waiting for me to be conquer

Authors Note: This piece is actually a song I wrote in Spanish. It was inspired in an experience I had. I tried to translate into English to see if it works as part of my collection as a hybrid. I feel unsure if it makes sense because of the translation. If you guys have any comments I would happily accept them.

#JusticeForZainab

#JusticeForZainab

She keep this burdening agony,

built deep inside her bones.

She cry to herself,

hoping, her voice would be heard.

She didn’t know what was going on,

Because she was only 7 years old.

what could she have done?

For once she felt her skin rip apart,

She knew it just begun.

Public Writing Project REPOST

Public Writing Project

To meet this requirement, you can go to a reading. Here are some listings:

http://www.bookforum.com/events/

And check out the Center for Fiction in Midtown:

http://www.centerforfiction.org/

They have frequent readings and even a literary magazine that you can submit to.

There's also the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the East Village:

http://www.nuyorican.org/

Bowery Poetry:

http://www.bowerypoetry.com/

And the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church:

https://www.poetryproject.org/

 If you'd rather submit your writing to a publication, I'd suggest Newpages.com:

http://www.newpages.com/magazines/literary-magazines

or Poets &Writers:

http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines

Nowadays, many mags will allow you to submit your writing via the internet. We'll talk more about submitting your work, and I'd be happy to speak one-on-one w/ you about this too.

If you'd like to start a lit journal and publish yourself and your friends (inside or outside the class), I can show you how to set up your own blog on blogger (though there's a lot of free platforms like Weebly and Wordpress).

If you know of any other resources that aren't listed here, then please recommend them on the blog.

The Story of of

 The story reminds me of Russian nesting dolls. You open a doll and inside is a smaller doll and inside that is an even smaller doll and so on:

How can you name a story, "The Story of" (or "The Story of of")? "Of" is a preposition which means that it's a connecting word. You can have "The Captain of the Team" but you can't have "The Captain of" b/c it makes no sense. Is that the point, that the story makes no sense? But that's not entirely right b/c the story does make some kind of sense or, if not the sense that we expect a story to have then at least it has an internal logic, doesn't it? It's got rules. Some questions:

• What are the reasons for having "Dirty Norma" stories opening and closing this collection?
• What happens again and again? What seems to develop over the different stories? 
• What's the reoccurring story about Kanakas and Drake and copyright infringement telling us?

Alone

I think the mother shouldn't have left her 14-year-old daughter alone. She should have left her with a babysitter. I know that she wanted some time alone but she should also have think about the safety of her daughter. 

The story of pt 2

I am confuse because there are two "The Story of", one in the beginning and ending. However, the second one seem to continue from the part 1 and there some changes how Norma met Dirty Norma. Also some scenes repeat, when she called the hotline. To me, I feel like the second one gives more details on characters and stories, such as epilogue on some scenes. While reading it, I have some questions, why did she brings back the same story? Is it kind of continuation of story? and  Why she use it in beginner and ending?                                                                                        

Finishing "Dark Dark"

After reading the last short story in the novel, I was shocked. I loved that Hunt went back to the first story and continued it to complete the stories.  However, I do feel like the last story was also the most confusing, did anyone else think so too? Both Norma's throw me off and then they find the stenographer pad and it seems like its predicting the future? Not really sure, can't wait to discuss this one in class.

Samantha Hunt Story

In Samantha Hunt's story about when she thought there was an intruder outside, and she told her husband to check to see if there was any. There had at first been nobody outside, when they looked. But then a few minutes later they heard a sound again. They heard a voice, and the sound of a cough again. They checked around the other side of the house to see what was there. When they got there to see what it was they saw out in the distance a figure of a person far away from their house. They weren't sure who it was, and started talking about it, as they were looking at the person in the distance. Being that it was in a field with a far distance that the figure was in they were determining who it was, and also what they should do. They went out to try to see the person who it was in the field. As they were approaching the figure in the distance they had heard he was making the same sound as they heard, and then heard him say other things. They shouted at him who are you, and then he turned toward them to say I am looking to check out the property. They didn't believe him so they told him what he was doing here, and told him to get off our property. He seemed like strange man, and did not listen to them, and had been arguing with them. There was a problem going on, and they were not sure how to handle him, because they did not know who he was. The couple was convinced he was a thief, and had did not like him being on the field. The man then left, and they were unhappy with what had happened with the man. They seemed like they had to figure out what was the problem. Weeks later they found out that he was a thief, that came from another part of their town. There had been complains of him stealing things, and being a constant worry to other people. They had to deal with this, and eventually come up with a way to prevent him from coming onto their property, and into their home. Now they also had to make him not want to be on their property.

Samantha Hunt

Overall, Samantha Hunts readings were very luring. Although reading the stories on my own made them terribly confusing, Samantha Hunt's appearance last week helped clarify my confusion on some of the stories. What really made me wonder and left me on edge was when Norma was about to kill her husbands sister. I liked how she left the reader on a cliffhanger but at the same time I really wanted to know what happened. When Samantha Hunt read a part of her story it really showed us as a class how an author thinks and how she reads the story as she envisioned it to be read. I am thankful for her coming to QCC and giving me the opportunity to hear her read.

A Love Story

The brief heading involving hormones and receptors are mostly based on middle-aged couple, in most of these couples life's after they have kids they sex life's becomes non-existence because they are busy working and providing for their families. Forgetting that they are individuals with needs and wants. This causes a lot of conflict between middle-aged couple. I think the writer's is trying to tell her readers that it does not matter how old you are. You still have those feelings of being wanted and needed.

Arranged Marriage

Stealthy glances
At one another
The first time they met
Anxious smile
No words spoken yet.

Friends and discord
Came i-two-a bin
One's family
The others is in an uproar.

Big- bellied uncles
With funny jokes in abundance
Some below the belt
All wanting more

The ladies tittle-tattle
In a quiet tone;
Children not welcomed
Men do not enter.

In total ruckus
The couple secretly
A signal from the eyes
As the couple connected
To each other.

Hands joined
Flew apart;
Blushing in the face
An awkward start.

A tongued-tied silence
Prolonged the air ;
Far from talking
What a dumbfounded pair.

A Love Story

In "A Love Story" There are a series of brief stories near the end w/ headings that are kind of hormones and other receptors that play a part in the female body. What are these headings for? What do these various stories have to do w/ the main story that the narrator is telling? Did the wife ask her husband to go outside and check for intruders or did she just kick him out? When she lets him back in, why do they decide to leave the door open?

New Yorker Interview

When Samantha Hunt's story, "A Love Story," was published in The New Yorker last year, they also published this brief interview w/ her. Check it out!

The yellow

The Yellow has a strange plot.  I think I have to reread the story again for better understanding. The female character, a mother loved her pet dog, but why did she want the guy to kill her dog? Is is it too much to work to take care of her pet? I have so many questions about the story. It states that the dog came back to life again while they were making out? That part made me lost.

Samantha Hunt

Overall I felt the dark dark has complex stories that have to be reread the stories to gain some kind of perspective. Honestly even after rereading the "the story of" I was still lost. I was concerned on whether norma actually murdered dirty norma, but after hearing ms.hunts explanation I became at ease knowing that she only imagined it. In the end no one was really harmed. Also there was some confusion with the story "All Hands" I was a bit lost on the reasoning for having all three of the narrators having slightly similar stories, but once again after hearing ms.hunts explanation it made a lot of sense.IIt didn't make any sense in the first few times of reading it because they all were inspired by her opinion and stories she has personally heard from the original source. There is no way I could have known or rather comprehend clearly how the stories were relevant to each other if she did not take the time to do so. I really appreciated that she took out time of her day to give us some insight on her stories because I believe it will make it easier to read the rest of the stories in the dark dark knowing a little bit of her thought process.

Samantha Hunt

My first impression about Samanta Hunt was her hair. Because in the book and in the blog image it looks so beautiful and I thought that was photoshop or something. But after seeing Hunt in person, her hair looks the same as in the blog and book picture but more gorgeous. Also, I like her humor and how she keeps smiling and telling jokes because it shows that she's a happy person. Because in the blog image she doesn't look like a joyful person. Or maybe she was just pretending to be humorous?