Jarrrdan's English III Blog

Dear Michael,

Mary Shelley’s concluding chapters were quite eventful to say the least.  It was interesting that the towns people were so opposed to any attempt Victor threw on the table to try and bring justice to his situation. These final chapters were  chocked full of suspense and moments with high intensity. I feel as though victor catalyzed most of the suspenseful feeling in his anticipation of the monsters attack. Personally, I did not think the court ruling was going to fall on Victor’s side of the line, but that’s just me. Shelley creatively added some curvature to these remaining pages to intricately put the reader in a versatile position. By this I mean that it seemed to be her goal to lead the reader through the dark and have them in a state of suspenseful inquiry.  There was a definite positive point at which things seem to flow as they should, as Victor and his father were traveling home. This section of the story was almost like a diversion for me. It stole my focus away from the horror stricken monster. What did you feel as you were reading the latter end of these chapters?

After much anticipation and suspense, the gruesome moment finally revealed it self at the climax of the scene. Elizabeths death was placed in the best place it could’ve been. This was not a complete shock to me but definitely widened my eyes. This last portion of Frankenstein was nothing but a 10 the whole way through and left me wanting more.

                                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                                                         Jordan

Bronchitis has been a frequent friend of mind for a few years now and tends to visit me when I least expect it to or need it to. In the past, Bronchitis has not been too kinder of a friend by leaving me with some healthy substance burdening my lungs to exhaustion. Story of My life.

At least once a year I slowly come down with what first appears to be the common cold, but slowly my health deterierates to the point where I am coughing up thick muckis, coughing uncontrolably and never ceasing to wipe my nose. Having the schedule I do, I tend to wait till it is quite severe to make a trip to the ENT where I am repeatedley told I am ignorant and foolish for waiting this long. Bronchitis is an illness that yields many miserable and contagious sideaffects that inhibit one from functioning in most cases. Most mornings, I am practically unable to breathe and my throat is literally raw from coughing all night. Excrutiating. Bronchitis is not something to toy with becuase if ignored it can ultimately end with a bad case of pnuemonia.

In my case, I fail to acknowledge the fact that I am ill in the begginng stages and let the sickness progress until the point of missing school and significantly falling behind in work as I am now. I feel as though I am on the upclimb from being sick but am still about 3-4 days behind in work in all of my classes which is tragic. The days I did attend school seemed to make me more ill and not advance me at all due to the black cloud hanging over my head in everyclass keeping me from paying fully attention. My body needed recooperation, as in sleep, which I denyed it the first few days. I am again staying up late trying to catch up but what else must one do. I am getting there. This week will most likely be rough.

Soooo my Itunes has a little over 1300 songs in it, I dont know if that is a lot or none or whatever. The titles to my playlists are pretty generic, such as: Rap, New, Fun Junk, Country, Techno…etc. I’d say I have a balanced amount of tracks distributed into the 9 playlist I currently have, some of those being CD’s people have made for me on rare occasions. Right now, Owl City has been a frequent download and I love all his stuff, and surprising the less mainstream ones are the best, like “Meteor Shower” and “Swimming in Miami”. On the more instrumental side I’m an avid listener of the decemberists, the brevery, snow patrol, family force five etc. I really would classify my itunes as a “randomn yet entertaining” collection of tunes. Ask me to make you a CD and you will agree.

Movement, in general plays a huge part in what music I listen to. The activity or setting in which I am involved usually selects the genre and or tempo of the music and how loud I listen to it. I do dance, and like it, so music that pieces together choreographically is what I tend to lean towards. Hip Hop/Rap is fun. Some of my fav’s would have to be Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Ying Yang Twins, Gucci M, 3 6 Mafia, Ludacris, Lil Boosie etc. I do love music, and I love dancing to it even more. Yeah…

Soooooooooo…..the rumors were not ENTIRELY true.

The first nine weeks of junior year, gone, already?!?! Wow, where does time go. I guess I could describe a portion of the last two and half months a blur but most of it was quite productive and eventful, ultimately English III. I can honestly say I have never seen a teacher be more on top of her job and able to cram so much content into a one quarter time frame. Stating that English III has been easy so far would be asinine, but It was not the endless purgatory that deprives you of all sleep that most described it to be,  yet. Anxiety gone? Not completely but that is a result of my own procrastination and lack of initiative to take advantage of the oh so precious time we are given to work at school. Yes, I could have been a tad more efficient in assuring I was as prepared as one can be for class each day but oh well, Ill have another shot second quarter. I can definitely feel a climb in the level of difficulty in the material we are being exposed to and working with. What we have already covered strongly foreshadows what is to come and what kind of work Mrs. Duke is going to expect from us. Then again her class is full of surprises everyday so I probably have not the slightest clue what I have ahead of me.

In comparison to what has been expected of me in English particularly in past years, English III has definitely risen the bar a significant distance. I have also found that most of my thoughts that accumulate about work pertaining to school are ultimately about this class and how I can prevent falling behind. Which effortless to do in all honesty. I think that is the straw that breaks the camels back for most people. Working tentatively and remaining on task can be a struggle but something that is vital to staying above the water in English III. Heart Of Darkness, the matriarch piece of material for this quarter has created a wide range of feeling for me. This may not necessarily be the genre I am the most fond of but I definitely have a great appreciation for this modern work and authors that have the ability to compose this way.

Easy, NO. Impossible, NO. Challenging, YES. Do-able, YES!

Key Modernist Ideas/concepts:

• Stream of consciousness
• Dark illustration in literature and visual art
• Frequent references to death, weather literal or a hyperbole
• Critical analysis of literature and other art forms
• Deviation from frequent ways of thinking, theorizing, writing etc.
• Abstract
• Questioning of  and contradiction of “old” theories/concepts
• Allusions to Modernistic figures
• Isolation
• Discontinuous Narrative

My Personal Theory: A way of perception, writing, theorizing, and artistically composing that exemplifies characteristics of modern day and is typically unique in tradition.

Heart Of Darkness-

• Distinct characteristics of modernism
• Streams of consciousness and references to death are clearly displayed throughout the novel through instances such as the death of the Helmsman, ultimately Kurtz, and other pilgrims/slaves on the steamer.
• Marlow’s Ideas and the path of his decisions strongly depict a struggle between old and modern times. Marlow does in fact take the “cannibals” as slaves and enslave them on his steamer but on the other hand he sympathizes with them and makes several attempts to put himself in their shoes. At the time the story is occurring, this would have been considered out of the norm or wrong for a man who has the upper hand to kindle a sort of connection to those who are subservient.

Poems and Works of Art reviewed in Class-

• Each piece of work we studied exuded different characteristics and had different perpesctives of modernism
• The visual art’s that we covered generally were abstract and collaged a number of objects/colors/designes to create an effect that can be interpreted in countless ways.
• The poems and narratives were unique in one way but a common ground was definately present in that an absurd amount of allsuions were placed throughout each. For example, Dante’s Inferno in “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Elliot.

I hope this is helpful to those of you who took some time to check it out. I did my best to put into words what feelings and perceptions I have gotten throughout the duration of this modern unit. GOOD LUCK ON THE TEST!

Seeing Kurtz in such a condition is crippling my own state as well. As things are taking a slight down turn I am still hopeful I will enrich in his company and genius without fail. The station is left to my memory and I will certainly never forget the sight of my slaves carrying Kurtz from that place of sickness and evil. Safe in a solitary he is left to heal, dear god. Ugh, Who does this manager guy think he is? I cant believe he actually has the nerve to confront me about he absurd issue with  in hopes I will join him in his ludicrous state of ignorance. Wow, I am disgusted, never will I betray what I have worked so long for, even if it means sacrificing connections that could be vital to my survival and success.

As I proceeded to accompany the man of the hour who happened to be aboard my steamer, God imagine that, I was utterly shocked to find the invalid missing from his resting place. WHERE IS HE? WHERE COULD HE HAVE GONE? MAYBE HE IS DEAD? COULD HE HAVE MADE IT OFF THE BOAT? This is not happening, this is not happening, oh what must I do. Into the woods. Dangerous? Of course, but I must find him.

Amongst the bushes and vines there is Kurtz on all fours traipsing along. WHY? HOW? We will never make it back, I can assure one that. After an attempt to argue and disagree I gain the upper hand and we proceed back to the steamer where Kurtz eventually is back to immobility as he should be. 

Satisfied? I cannot conclude. The person who has been the focal point of my intellect for oh so long now is diseased and I will be soon if I do not return to civilization in a jiffy. What remains I have of my so called relation ship with this administrative genius is far inferior to the connection I actually had that cannot be explained. What a journey this had been and one that has educated me in a way that surpasses any form of instruction by far. I feel that I was most a live and also closest to death throughout the duration of this dark, eventful journey.

PILOBOLUS!-CLICK THIS LINK!

When I first stumbled upon this, I really was lost for words. At first glance, it seems very surreal and utterly impossible as if there is some sort of hoax or trick behind this. But little do we know that, among other talented dance companies, Pilobolus is a pioneer in its form of dance beginning in 1971. They have since been active in forming a world renowned institute. Pilobolus explores and conquers many new heights that dancers have never before. Creating shows and pieces that blow minds everyday. The artistic ability and creativity that is the driving force behind these amazing spectacles is world class. Better yet, the dancers and athletes that are featured in these beautiful collages exemplify athleticism and poise to the fullest. This company is envied by many and made up of few. I believe that such performers are a special breed of our race and have been blessed with natural talent and the inherent ability to pick up choreography almost instantly.

In my opinion, this is definitely a show that deserves high accolades and the performers should more than adequately paid. In one sense, I guess this could be considered a job, to some, but I can almost guarantee that each of Pilobolus’s company members would not rather be doing anything else and wouldn’t trade their job for the world. Speaking of earth, Pilobolus has recently been embarked on a world tour, performing many different shows in many different theatres. To me, this would be an ultimate experience, being somewhat of a dancer myself. This particular video took place around a year or so ago on the Conan O’Brien Show as you can see. Groups like these grasp my full intellect and interest and it is always a treat to get to witness such a jewel of a talent as this one.

To say I have not had the time, would be an incorrect statement. To say that procrastination has been amongst my many activities would be more on target. I have managed to venture into the very primal stages of this what seems to be, cataclysmic timeline though. From the start, the author has left an impression that depicts intense brooding amongst the setting and surroundings of the text. The beginning pages paint a picture of several characters that may or may not be vital to the rest of the novel, I guess we will see.

From an outside interpretation, the frontal images convey signs of rebellion and injustice. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me Satan is usually linked to some form of deceit or maliciousness. These elements make a novel that much more intriguing which is why I am in a stupor as to why I have not tackled more of this story. I am anxious and excited to really get into the deep work of Lovelace and come away with whatever the reader is supposed to interpret or experience.

Hasta Luego

As the channel proceeded in its winding meanders of gloom, there were noticeable signs of primal civilization avast the bank. Traces of gatherings, rituals, sacrificial ceremonies left behind abroad. Cannibals intrigue me to the fullest in that there perspective of the value of the human body is such a spectacle in contrast with mine, if that’s what we should call them, cannibals. The fog began to get heavier and heavier as we traped along. Even though virtually blind to what was twenty feet in front of me, my encounter with Kurtz seemingly felt closer and closer by the moment.

It was at once not safe to continue unless running aground was on the agenda contrary to my belief. I wonder what we should do if the natives attempt an attack. We must exude camaraderie to the fullest. I do not need one more deterrent to keep me from at last arriving at the station where Kurtz is supposedly residing. We must handle this with gentle limbs, moment by moment. Kurtz we are coming.

My Room: Queen size bed. Cherry wood dresser drawers. Night stand. Cherry wood Secretary/Homework desk. Walk-in Closet.  Four shelf book case. DVD rack.

My room is a space that belongs to me and in a way represents me as a whole. I take great pride in my room and insuring that it is nice and tidy on a monthly basis, if everything goes accordingly. Here lately my lack of sleep and other miscellaneousreasons have catalyzed me to neglect my living space a great deal. The past week or two, my floor area especially adjacent to my bed has been cluttered with random papers, books, pens, and packets, all still relevant to each of my classes. I guess the beginning of each school year tends to kick off with a little disorganization here and there, at least for me. Objects in array and out of order tend to tug at me a significant amount, enough to wear I will sacrifice an absurd amount of sleep in order to get things back in ship shape order. OCD? I don’t know, possibly. I am not this “anal” with everything though, just my belongings and places I have to function with and in on a daily basis. I have concurred that this was a paternal gene because my dad’s ways of cleaning and organizing are identical to mine.

This week was pretty long and exhausting and I was more than anxious to be able to relax, but also put my cleaning talents along with my dads to work. With out fail, yes, it was long and frustrating but quite satisfying when the beige carpet was once again visible next to my bed and working desk. There were at least four filled trash bags outside of my room chocked full of random junk that had needed to have been thrown away ages ago. Feeling accomplished and unusually productive, I decided to take on my closet, which is another full day of work in it self. My shoe rack, bent and worn was in my opinion the culprit of the clutter within my closet. Alas, we chunked it and now all twelve pairs reside neatly next to my supplies drawers. Two more trash bags had been filled when we finally threw the towel in on my closet. My closet now looked quite neat and usefully organized.

In full, what some people would have considered an extremely painful process and a hell in it self was actually not too bad for me. Accomplishing something that was oh so needed for a good while felt really refreshing. I now felt well prepared and motivated to continue on with my other obligations throughout the weekend. Everything that resides on the perimeter of my room is now easily accessed along with everything in my closet.

CLEAN ROOM=:D