Kite Runner 18-20

In the past chapters Amir has shown a lot of growth and progression. Amir has become a lot less selfish. After what he heard to Hassan and and his wife, shot and killed, he want to help Hassan's orphan son.

I thought it was ridiculous how much Kabul had changed when Amir returned. He did not even know this place any more. It was a place of chaos and catastrophe.

Unfortunately I see the story only getting more sad and depressing. Things may get better for a little but I think it is inevitable that the story will continue to be sad and we will see several characters hardships.

Kite Runner Chapter 8-9

1. AS i read on, I dislike Amir more and more he is not trying to make anything better with hassan. He is just being selfish and trying to forget about it himself. By trying to forget it he just makes things worse by acting like it never happened and it resulted in Hassan and Alli leaving Amir and Baba forever.

2. In the scene with the pomegreantes Amir wants to get a reaction out of Hassan and make Hassan lash out back at Amir. Hassan is a pacifist and won't react which just makes Amir feel worse.

3. We learn thatA mir is the worst of the three because he sees things being done and doesn't do anything about it. Although Assef is a very bad person Amir is worse.

I chose a picture of Ghjandi because Hassan is a pacifist and will never do anything to harm any one else. Just like Ghandi

3rd MP Reflection & 4th MP Preview

1. Looking back at my theme I am quite disappointed in myself. This is the worst grade I have gotten on a theme so far this year. I can't even read this theme readers writing so I don't even really know why she didn't like my theme. She circled all of the pronouns that I used so I guess she just didn't like the tense and way I stated it rather than actually disliking the journey that I chose.

2. I am very proud of my TMD project. My group worked very well together and I think that it was a great project to have. It let us show that we knew and understood the book and we were allowed to be as creative as we wanted.

3. I expect the 4th marking period to be fun. I know we will still have to do work and what not but I think it will be quite relaxing. I am excited to read the Kite Runner because I hear it is a great book. I want to learn a lot but have an extra chillin 4th marking period at the same time.

IR Blog Post- Picture

This scene was a very tense and serious moment in the book. This scene, as shown through the movie, was when there is a big argument between the attorney and the waitress of a diner. The attorney was being rude so the waitress lashed out. The attorney got angry so he threatened the waitress with his knife. The waitress became terrified as if she was having a flashback. You could inference from the novel that the waitress acted like she had been in that situation before. She must deal with drug addicts a lot at that diner. What I could not figure out however is was it the drug that drove the attorney to act that way or was he actually angry?

IR Blog Post 4- Quote

“They work in pairs,” said my attorney. “Sometimes in gangs. They’ll climb right into your bedroom and sit on your chest, with bowie knives.”(145)

I thought this was a very interesting conversation in the story. It was with the attorney, who is high on several drugs, talking to an oblivious police officer who has no idea that the man he is talking to is a crazy dangerous drug addict. It is instances like this that keeps the story on edge. These two men who are involved with so many drugs are at a police drug conference in Las Vegas. Taking risks is a huge theme in this novel and this is truly shown within this scene.

Ir Blog Post 4- Summary

The end of the novel was quite interesting, confusing, and intriguing all at the same time. The attorney and the narrator finally get rid of Lucy by paying a cab driver to take her to another hotel. She eventually calls them at the Flamingo but Dr. Gonzo makes up a story to get her off their backs and leave them alone. Right while Dr. Gonzo does this the narrator takes pure Adrenaline. This is the craziest drug any of them have done. They compare it to mescaline and say mescaline is nothing in comparison to this adrenaline. The narrator takes the drug and from then on the novel describes the crazy things he is seeing. Not only does the room change around him but so do the people he encounters. Peoples' appearances completely change proving that this drug can completely change someone's state of mind. Eventually the narrator wakes up with a completely ruined hotel room. He walks around with a tape recorder of what he heard while he was tripping on the many dangerous drugs that he used over the time period. While listening and recollecting the narrator goes through many flash backs and begins to remember his crazy drug experience. It is a miracle that the two were not arrested because they went all around Vegas drugged out of their mind, messing with different people such as Dr. Gonzo screaming at the couples in the car on the Las Vegas strip.

I think that Lucy is a great symbol used I the novel for paranoia. She is just like the hitch hiker from the beginning of the story. When the narrator and his attorney run into either of them they freak out and just drive the other direction. Another symbol used in the novel was the two different nice cars that they got. It’s a symbol for living the good life and having a lot of freedom to do whatever they please.

This novel about two characters traveling is very similar to many of the books we have already read for our senior year. A key theme in the novels we have read so far is trips and all about traveling. During these trips and journeys that the characters take, whether it be physical or mental, it always lands them somewhere other than where they started. In the motorcycle diaries Ernesto turns into Che. In Invisible Man the narrator completely changes throughout the novel. In Fear and Loathing the narrator and Dr. Gonzo experience so much throughout their trip and basically lose their minds by the end of the book.

IR Blog Post- Picture

Here is a picture of the narrator in the movie at the police convention. It is a little ridiculous because all of these dressed up officers are in this nice hotel resort and then the narrator strolls in with several different drugs in his system and he looks like a hippie. He is not dressed nicely at all and is not trying to fake who he is at all. I find this funny because it is surprising neither him nor the narrator have gotten caught yet because they seem to stand out so much. The narrator and attorney really risk a lot by doing what they do and don't seem to be too afraid to take their chances.

IR Blog Post 3- Quote

"She was not right for us-not in this fragile situation" (Page 115)

This is a great quote to describe how the narrator and now the attorney feel about Lucy. The attorney definitely made a mistake for picking her up because they believe that now they can get caught for drugs and kidnap. They were already doing highly dangerous drugs at a police convention. It was risky enough as it was and now they have to worry about this young girl and if she will complicate their situation even further.

IR Blog Post- Summary

This section of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was extremely exciting but in a much different way than usual. Earlier in the book the characters were just parading around Las Vegas on all different types of drugs. It was exciting to see the different ways they would react to these drugs. The narrator and attorney are reunited and back at it in Las Vegas. They are still doing drugs but the descriptions of their trips aren't as vivid as before. Now the main context of the story is about how they feel about different things. For instance the character Lucy is introduced in this section. She was a nice church girl that happened to get picked up by the attorney and now she is tripping on acid and a complete mess. The characters eventually try to ditch her because they believe she will get them caught by the law.

Another reason this section is exciting is because the main two characters are doing wild drugs at a police conference. There are police officers from all over the country at the Flamingo in Las Vegas and these two crazy characters are tripping on various drugs in the presence of the officers.

I feel that Lucy represents the two characters getting caught. I believe she is a bad omen and her presence will bring the two bad fortune. I just get a feeling that with her around, the narrator and the attorney will run out of luck soon enough. This symbol relates closely to the theme that all fun has to come to an end. I believe that the two characters will eventually have to be serious, stop taking drugs, and fix the problems that they have created.

RAFT Peru

A poem from Ernesto to me about the people of Peru

Hello Carl Krause.
These people of Peru do not even have a house.
It is so sad
I am not feeling rad.

We have been traveling all around
From Estaque to Cuzco
I have slept on the ground
Alberto is with me like my bro

There are so many Indian people here
Expanding my horizon is nothing to fear
At this point i don't know if ill go back
living in Argentina again seems pretty wack

This land is full of irony
With a beautiful landscape but poverty all over
Its a nice place to be but at the same time it is not
I don't know how i'll leave them behind
It makes me feel fortunate for the life I was given

We run into trouble with many issues
but find different ways to fix it
like when we needed a cure
and used coco leaves

Native indians are so spiritual
they live life like ive never seen before
they live off our planet and mother nature
they want nothing more

society is corrupt
it needs to be fixed
problems will always erupt
unless we make a change

RAFT Chile

A letter to Mr. Gabriele from me about lessons learned

Dear Mr. Gabriele,

As we read on in our current novel, The Motorcycle Diaries, I am learning a lot along with the characters of the story. I really did not know much at all about South America in the beginning but I am starting to realize what culture and life style is like or was like in Chile and Argentina during the 60s. Ernesto and Alberto are also learning a lot too. Ernesto seems to be getting a lot more involved and interested with the people as he moves on. He is living his life like the other people meaning that he is sort of 'slumming it'. Ernesto grew up in a wealthy family in a pretty decent area so for him to go through this is very different and he is gaining a lot of knowledge. I am excited to see how the story progresses and what else Ernesto and I will learn.

Sincerely,
Carl Krause

IR Blog Post 2- Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-mLuLnN2xw

This video is just like the book describes it. I feel that the movie did a great job because it is extremely similiar to the book. When they do ether the book describes how they couldn't walk or control themselves. If ether is really like this in real life then it is a crazy drug that only crazy people would do. It is very wild that any one would ever do such a thing, but at the same time I think is is extremely interesting that a substance could do this to peoples' brains and make them behave in such a way.

IR Blog Post 2- Summary

I have finished part one of the book. A lot of crazy things happened to the characters while they were in Las Vegas. They do many different types of drugs such as cocaine, mescaline, ether, etc. The craziest drug scene thus far in the novel was the ether trip. They end up going to a circus and uff ether before walking in. They could hardly walk because ether does not allow the brain to connect with the rest of the body. They did a great job in the movie to show what it would be like to walk around while tripping on ether. Once they go in the circus it is really crazy to read about what they experience and how they behave. I can't even imagine what they were thinking. After the circus they go back to their hotel room. The attorney takes a lot of acid and sits in the bath tub. He threatens to kill the narrator so the narrator locks him in the bath room to let him wear off his trip. When the narrator wakes up the bathroom is open and the attorney is gone. The narrator gets really paranoid so takes the car and drives out of Vegas eventually meeting the cop. Then he calls the attorney and the attorney tells him to go back to Vegas so he begins his route back to Vegas.

IR Blog Post 2- Quote

" I know, Im guilty. I understand that. I knew it was a crime, but I did it anyway." " Thats a strange attitude" he said.

I thought that this was a very interesting point in the story. This was when the narrator had been driving on his own ever since his attorney left. He was on the run without paying his hotel bill. He had a car full of drugs and was drunk and gets pulled over by a cop. I thought this was strange because right before he was pulled over he had extreme paranoia, but after he gets pulled over he seems to just not care, as the cop pulls up he just stand there leaning against the car with a beer. I don't know whether it was just the narrator just giving up and accepting jail or what hi thought process was. However in this situation, it seems to work because the cop gives him a break and lets him go.

RAFT Argentina

3643

Me writing a poem to the wild card(Che) about lessons learned.

Hello Che, how is your day.
Are you wonering what is coming your way?

How is La Ponderosa?
Since your out of school I guess you won't see a Dixon Ticonderoga

What is essential in life.
Being a doctor or learning whats right?
What is right is wrong
and what you don't know you have to learn

What will you learn on your great trip
will you become soft
maybe even hold a tighter grip

In a year will Alberto still be our friend
Will a time come for separations
When will Che and Alberto's friendship come to an end

I wonder who you will meet
How will you change the way you think
I know it is coming
i guess with all this travel you r going to stink

will that stink bring you wisdom
living as a traveler in the dirt
you will learn what south america is really like
rub off that blood on your shirt

Raft Introduction

Role: You
Audience: Classmates
Format: Tweet
Topic: What do you expect to study this M.P.

#Wissahickonclassmates we will learn all bout adventure N progression. How 2find urself and all dat good stuff. We b lernin bout dat dude dey call Che. Its like first he was Ernesto N den he Che! Whattup wit dat!

TMD Preview

1. I am very excited to read the motorcycle diaries. Since this is a travel diary I expect a lot of this book to be personal to Ernesto Che Guevarra. I am sure I will hear about all of his ideas and feelings and what he was thinking when he goes through different situations. I am thrilled to see how Ernesto turns into Che over time.

2. I am sure the characters in the story will have travel issues such as their bikes breaking down, because things always go wrong during long trips like this. I also expect it to be difficult for the characters to adapt to so many changing surroundings but they will learn how to cope with each area they travel to.

3. I feel that this will be much more realistic to me because I know that it is a true story. I am sure it will be very intense and intriguing just like the other books.

IR Blog Post 3- Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Kx_t6ko1k

The movie is just like the book during this scene. The characters, especially the narrator, see ridiculous and insane things while they are on these drugs. The book does a great job to describe what the narrator is feeling and all the things he sees. I do not understand why any one would want to do any type of drug like this, especially if it does something like makes you imagine that every one in the room is a scary reptile, however it is interesting to know that these drugs can actually do that to your brain. I am excited to see what the narrator does next and what he sees as a result of it.

IR Blog Post 2- Summary

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is already very interesting. It is about two men, the narrator and his 'attorney'. These two men are extremely wild and unique characters. It seems that they are friends but they are mean to each other in some instances such as cursing at each other and putting guns in the others face. Maybe it is because they are tripping on crazy drugs the entire time. The book opens with them driving very fast in the desert on the way to Las Vegas. It describes that the narrator is a journalist and he has his attorney with him, if it is his real attorney. It describes that they have a suitcase full of wild and dangerous drugs such as Acid, Ether, Cocaine, Mescaline, etc. Not too much has happened in Vegas so far except the characters have successfully looked like fools in public. The book is very descriptive about what they are seeing and how they feel during their trips. I am excited to see what happens next and how the two will get themselves into trouble next.

IR Blog Post 1- Quote

"But when I woke up it was dawn and I was in downtown Vegas and for a minute, I didn't know what the hell i was doin here"

I thought that the story this man told was very intriguing. While a bunch of people were waiting at the bar during the motorcycle race this man comes up and screams to this whole crowd about what has happened to him the past 12 hours. He doesn't even seem to care who is listening but he tells every one that he had been traveling all night to come to Las Vegas. He says he was beat up by two men and that he felt he had to take a journey to Las Vegas to see the Mint 400 (the motorcycle race). This is great because this is a short descriptive story of a journey within the journey of the entire book about the main characters. This man needed to take a journey to feel better about himself and e thought it would make him feel better.

180' South Reflection

" The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to answer."

I think that this was the most important and meaningful quote in the entire documentary. It says that journeys are supposed to open your mind and broaden your horizon in ways that you could never expect. If you expect things to happen before they do, then life is not as exciting as the unknown future. I think living life spontaneously is the best way to live. Planning your entire life and knowing what is going to happen is boring and that certainly is not how I would like to live. People go on journeys to find themselves and this quote greatly represents understanding new things that you never even thought of before. A journey does not even have to be a trip across the world, it is the realization of what you want to do and how you want to live your life in the best way possible.

"Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all."

This quote is closely related to the previous one. I believe that you are supposed to explore and understand as many different things that you can. People are afraid of things that they don't understand or are used to; you must explore and conquer these fears to live your life with many experiences. Doug and Yvon are very wise men in my opinion because they have gone through and experienced so many different things all over the world. I am sure they were full of fear and misunderstanding of things such as people, cultures, locations, etc. But because they went out and experienced so many different things and learned so much about the world as a whole, they understand much more and have accomplished and conquered many of the fears they would have had if they had never gone through these crazy experiences.

Theme #4 Reflection

1. I did terribly with this theme. I did not think this was going to be one of my best themes but I thought my grade would be little bit higher. I had good points and ideas to prove my thesis.

2. Although I had good ideas the theme reader did not think that I did too well with writing my ideas in a way that is easy to understand. She did not like my style or how I wrote.

3. Next time I should take more time to write. I should think of all the different ways I can write a sentence or a point to make sure I write in the best way possible.

MP #2 Reflection- Looking Back and Moving Forward

1. I think that the second semester was extremely successful. Although Invisible Man wasn't my favorite book in the world it really showed me to look into it and think in depth. I learned that it is necessary to spend time to analyze because there could be a lot of hidden meaning. I do wish I spread my work out more because I honestly did find myself doing work the night before things were do, but I still worked hard and did everything to understand the material as best as I could.

2. I also tried really hard in the first marking period and I am happy the way things turned out for this as well. Like the second marking period I did work hard but procrastination and balancing my work from other classes were challenges for me. I could improve by setting up my timeline/agenda better to do the proper amount of work for each class every night, so things do not add up and I won't find myself doing things the night before they are due.

3. Staying engaged as a senior in my second semester will be difficult but it is definitely necessary. I will need to spread out my work so I don't have to do it all at once. If I have to do a lot in a little time, I know that I really will not want to do anything so I will stay organized and on op of my work so I do not fall behind

IM Section VI

I think it was very interesting to read this section and see ho the story tied together. My prediction was some what right in that the brotherhood became corrupt. I thought the fight between all of Harlem in the end was extremely intense especially when Ras tried to have the narrator lynched in the middle of the city. That is crazy that a riot so big would happen like this. I thought it was wild how police officers are also corrupt and they stuck the narrator in a man hole. The part I was most confused about was why all of these people all of a sudden listened to Ras when earlier in the book he did not even have that many followers.

IR MP #2 Blog Assignment-Reflection

1. What is your reaction to the IR format and assignment we did this M.P.? Be specific as to likes, dislikes, etc...

I honestly loved having these blog posts as our IRB for this marking period rather than having to read another book. I find it frustrating when we are expected to read two books at the same time, because then it is harder to get into the story when there are two going on at the same time, because then you forget where you picked up.

2. What did you learn by following current blogs and websites?

Well I almost never look at art so it was cool to see many different painting and look at artist's work all over the world and from many different time periods. I also learned about what is going on in the world by doing current events so that was interesting as well.

3. What would you change for next year?

I would have more topic ideas to choose from for the articles, for instance, I would not have a topic solely on art. It was interesting to look at painting but difficult to write about in the blog because I felt as though I was just repeating what the art blog said.

4. Can you see yourself continuing with this on your own?

Honestly no. I might go to some of the websites ad research some similar things, but I would not go out of my way to blog about these topics.

IR Blog Post 4- 1 million butterbeers sold at Harry Potter attraction

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40948148/ns/travel-family_travel/

Recently in Orlando Florida at Disney world, a new attraction opened which is basically a giant recreation of different areas and setting that are in Harry Potter. In Hogsmead, a small town near Hogwarts school; chefs have created something called butterbeer. No one really knew what this was, but now it is available at the Hogwarts attraction in Orlando. Many people wanted to try it because it looked good in the movies so over 1 million butterbeers have been sold. I think it is great that people love harry Potter so much and Disney World did a great job to recreate the settings and enjoyments of the young wizards and witches that people adore so much.

IR Blog Post- How faith helped uncover a 'golden voice'

This weeks current event was definitely my favorite. I made me feel really happy as I watched videos and read the article about a homeless man from Columbus, Ohio. This man was a recovering alcoholic and his life was in shambles. However, due to his 'Golden Voice', it was only a matter of time before he became known. This man was briefly videotaped while he was standing at an intersection on an overcast day, hoping to find some money. This video tape of his incredible voice was put online and immediately became an internet sensation. He has been interviewed many several radio and news channels and has been offered many job opportunities. This is a great rags to riches story and is quite heartwarming.

IR Blog Post 4- Wealth of the New year

This week’s current event article pertaining to art definitely had the most unique pictures and paintings that I have seen yet for any of my blog posts. They are all very eye catching and made me think a lot in depth. The first painting of the three was a black and white painting. When I first looked at it all I noticed were the ox but then I looked more closely and there were men working in the back in a foresty area. The article gave information that the painter, Noel Sicles, was raised in poverty so maybe this could have been a scene from his memory that he had lived through.
The next painting done by Albert Dorne was my favorite of them all. It is a painting of a bunch of grown men around a bed, most likely of someone dying. I say this because the artist shows an arm in the bed of a man or women who appears to be very old and sickly. The colors in this painting are also very well down. For instance Dorne gives the arm in the bed a very noticeably red so that the viewer can notice it easily. Another thing that stands out to me are the wrinkles. Not only in the clothing but in all of the figures’ skin, wrinkles are noticeable and well defined.
This last painting in the sequence is very scary to me. It reminds me of demons and hell and I believe the author intended. There is no scene in the picture just a figure with a gas mask on and horns coming out of his head. He has the number 6 on his head and waist and he is playing with a ball. I think this painting is so scary to me because it looks so realistic and appears to be a human body.