Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Wonders of Our World
All my life and today, still, I want to travel across the world. In my lifetime I’ve been to about 6 other countries and there’s still a lot of the world I wish to see. Places like Asia and Europe are continents I haven’t set foot on yet and I’d love to see places like France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Ireland, Greece, and even the Czech Republic when he gets safer. All the Asian countries as well seem very cool and interesting like China and Japan, Indonesia, and maybe India. People always claim to want to visit different parts of the world but most of the time they don’t even know why; they just want to be able to. I enjoy seeing old historical things like the homes of Pablo Neruda in Chile, South America and the ruins down in Mexico. In Asia I can see all the really cool Monk/ Buddhist Temples and the magnificence of the countries. I like going back to seeing what life was like in the past, the Pyramids (http://youtube.com/watch?v=K5GPpVCtH5A) and the ruins of ancient cultures truly amaze me and draw me in. There are a lot of things in this world to be explored and they’re loads of fun. But, even with all these adventures I know it’s important to be safe in the other countries. I have to watch what I eat and drink nothing except bottled beverages and what places I visit. There’s many ways to easily be sick and in places like Africa I have to be really careful that if I visit that continent I watch for disease carrying mosquitoes that can deposit parasites into my body. There’s a lot of culture, art, and different atmospheres that these countries have to offer and also, maybe I’ll pick up on the languages a little because knowing as many different languages possible.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Poetry Critique
To Help the Monkey Cross the River,Thomas Lux
which he must cross, by swimming, for fruits and nuts, to help him I sit with my rifle on a platform high in a tree, same side of the river as the hungry monkey. How does this assist him? When he swims for itI look first upriver: predators move faster with the current than against it. If a crocodile is aimed from upriver to eat the monkey and an anaconda from downriver burns with the same ambition, I do the math, algebra, angles, rate-of-monkey ,croc- and snake-speed, and if, i fit looks as though the anaconda or the croc will reach the monkey before he attains the river’s far bank, I raise my rifle and fire one, two, three, even four times into the river just behind the monkey to hurry him up a little. Shoot the snake, the crocodile? They’re just doing their jobs, but the monkey, the monkey has little hands like a child’s, and the smart ones, in a cage, can be taught to smile.
(http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/058.html)
The reason why I chose “To Help the Monkey Cross the River,” by Thomas Lux was for various reasons. The first that even led me to open up the poem was the title itself. The title seemed interesting and fun and I wanted to check it out. The poem rhymed here and there which was fun to read and the light mood and almost comical story told by it. The title describes what the poem is telling the readers and seeing the word monkey in the title of a poem seems to always be an eye catcher. One of the things that first jumped out to me was rhyme, and the lack of it. At certain lines the author would make rhyme where as other lines he wouldn’t. The rhyming seems to be used primarily to end an idea with an “ah ha” kind of moment. Like an extra something that shows he’s proven his point and successfully told his story. Also, the monkey for the author may be a metaphor to people. Things are always pestering us and bothering us and sometimes we can be oblivious to everything around us like the monkey to the predator and even with someone guiding us or helping us they can’t do everything for us. At the end when he says, “...and the smart ones, in a cage, can be taught to smile,” the author communicates that only when settled down and taught how to act/behave can we be “smarter” as the monkey who learned to smile. The tone is light and playful but the words are chosen carefully. There’s no shift in the poem because the narrator is steady and still like most people patiently waiting with a gun and looking to aim for targets(in this case snakes and crocs). The words are simple, shorter words, and minimal alliteration help the poem also run at a face pace removing deep and emotional effects from the poem. Though I do not know much about the poet, the poem seems more like an observation of a monkey in it’s surroundings with someone over top watching over him and a practical application to humans.
which he must cross, by swimming, for fruits and nuts, to help him I sit with my rifle on a platform high in a tree, same side of the river as the hungry monkey. How does this assist him? When he swims for itI look first upriver: predators move faster with the current than against it. If a crocodile is aimed from upriver to eat the monkey and an anaconda from downriver burns with the same ambition, I do the math, algebra, angles, rate-of-monkey ,croc- and snake-speed, and if, i fit looks as though the anaconda or the croc will reach the monkey before he attains the river’s far bank, I raise my rifle and fire one, two, three, even four times into the river just behind the monkey to hurry him up a little. Shoot the snake, the crocodile? They’re just doing their jobs, but the monkey, the monkey has little hands like a child’s, and the smart ones, in a cage, can be taught to smile.
(http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/058.html)
The reason why I chose “To Help the Monkey Cross the River,” by Thomas Lux was for various reasons. The first that even led me to open up the poem was the title itself. The title seemed interesting and fun and I wanted to check it out. The poem rhymed here and there which was fun to read and the light mood and almost comical story told by it. The title describes what the poem is telling the readers and seeing the word monkey in the title of a poem seems to always be an eye catcher. One of the things that first jumped out to me was rhyme, and the lack of it. At certain lines the author would make rhyme where as other lines he wouldn’t. The rhyming seems to be used primarily to end an idea with an “ah ha” kind of moment. Like an extra something that shows he’s proven his point and successfully told his story. Also, the monkey for the author may be a metaphor to people. Things are always pestering us and bothering us and sometimes we can be oblivious to everything around us like the monkey to the predator and even with someone guiding us or helping us they can’t do everything for us. At the end when he says, “...and the smart ones, in a cage, can be taught to smile,” the author communicates that only when settled down and taught how to act/behave can we be “smarter” as the monkey who learned to smile. The tone is light and playful but the words are chosen carefully. There’s no shift in the poem because the narrator is steady and still like most people patiently waiting with a gun and looking to aim for targets(in this case snakes and crocs). The words are simple, shorter words, and minimal alliteration help the poem also run at a face pace removing deep and emotional effects from the poem. Though I do not know much about the poet, the poem seems more like an observation of a monkey in it’s surroundings with someone over top watching over him and a practical application to humans.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Writing Territories
1. As a reader, my favorite kind of literature to read with out a doubt is Novels/ Short Stories. Fiction rather than non-fiction but some non-fiction novels like Miracle in the Andes, is a really well written story and is based on a true story. When writing, my favorite things to write are not plays and poems but short stories and novel type stories as well. I find this type of literature to be the most entertaining and intriguing. I’m not much of a writer at heart so besides typing to chat to people online and miscellaneous things here and there, writing isn’t too big of a part in my life. I really enjoy writing and/or reading mysteries, horror/ suspenseful stories, and action packed stories. The occasional drama isn’t too bad but sometimes it feels a bit slow.
2. One of the places I’d love to visit would be Japan or China. I really like the ancient culture embedded in those countries. From the origin of karate and the discipline and skill involved to the samurais of the past, the rich culture and scenic views all around China are well worth a trip. I have heard many things about those two countries; ancient Buddhist Temples, beautiful oceans, the famous little rafts with people selling things going down the rivers, and the country side is awesome. I’ve also heard how Japan has the bullet train which is the fastest on the earth and they also have the world’s largest building. I realize that in places like China, life isn’t very easy for everyone and there is plenty of instability and poverty but the country seems like an overwhelming breath of fresh air from the constant same routines and sights here in Minnesota. I’ve traveled several times out of the country and I love visiting those places and have seen my fair share of poverty and I’m not “shocked” by it and I rather see the true side of a country and fully experience it than just visiting the tourist attractions.
2. One of the places I’d love to visit would be Japan or China. I really like the ancient culture embedded in those countries. From the origin of karate and the discipline and skill involved to the samurais of the past, the rich culture and scenic views all around China are well worth a trip. I have heard many things about those two countries; ancient Buddhist Temples, beautiful oceans, the famous little rafts with people selling things going down the rivers, and the country side is awesome. I’ve also heard how Japan has the bullet train which is the fastest on the earth and they also have the world’s largest building. I realize that in places like China, life isn’t very easy for everyone and there is plenty of instability and poverty but the country seems like an overwhelming breath of fresh air from the constant same routines and sights here in Minnesota. I’ve traveled several times out of the country and I love visiting those places and have seen my fair share of poverty and I’m not “shocked” by it and I rather see the true side of a country and fully experience it than just visiting the tourist attractions.
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