I saw this video on YouTube and was shocked at what I saw! Obama isn't who he says he is! He can talk about change, he can rationalize about his decisions, but what he has done in the past is too horrific to save him now. Please watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIdbYjmbFzo
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Pyramid of Abstraction
Ok, I don't know about anyone else, but this pyramid of abstraction that we're learning in Socratic is bugging the heck out of me. I kinda feel like it's limiting my writing.
Over the summer, I read half a dozen books on how to improve your writing (because I'm writing a novel). None of them mentioned the pyramid of abstraction, and these are best selling authors. Something that most of them said was that good authors usually break the rules of writing and find their own style.
I get what the pyramid's trying to do though. It's trying to get the writer to descibe what they're writing about. Yeah, I get that, but not all things are to be described, or should be described later when the description can be shown. I personally hate descriptions. There's books that'll pick up and the first chapter or two is just descriptions. That's bores me to death. Or, if at one paticular part in the book the author decideds to start rambling out the descriptions. Usually, from what I've read, it's best to descrid things by showing them with actions, and at diferent times.
For example, instead of, 'Ally had black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and scars all over her body,' One could say, 'Ally neverously ran her fingers through her black hair, a habit she picked up from when she was around her abusive brother. She looked in the mirror, her crystal eyes staring back at her. As she gazed in the mirror she marveled because all of her life she never thought the scars covering her body would go away.'
Again, I don't know if it's just me as far as this pyramid thing goes, it's just something that bugs me. If anyone disagrees with my opinion or feels the need to chew me out for what I've siad, be my guest. Also, if you agree with me, it'd be nice if you said something too.
Thanks!
Over the summer, I read half a dozen books on how to improve your writing (because I'm writing a novel). None of them mentioned the pyramid of abstraction, and these are best selling authors. Something that most of them said was that good authors usually break the rules of writing and find their own style.
I get what the pyramid's trying to do though. It's trying to get the writer to descibe what they're writing about. Yeah, I get that, but not all things are to be described, or should be described later when the description can be shown. I personally hate descriptions. There's books that'll pick up and the first chapter or two is just descriptions. That's bores me to death. Or, if at one paticular part in the book the author decideds to start rambling out the descriptions. Usually, from what I've read, it's best to descrid things by showing them with actions, and at diferent times.
For example, instead of, 'Ally had black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and scars all over her body,' One could say, 'Ally neverously ran her fingers through her black hair, a habit she picked up from when she was around her abusive brother. She looked in the mirror, her crystal eyes staring back at her. As she gazed in the mirror she marveled because all of her life she never thought the scars covering her body would go away.'
Again, I don't know if it's just me as far as this pyramid thing goes, it's just something that bugs me. If anyone disagrees with my opinion or feels the need to chew me out for what I've siad, be my guest. Also, if you agree with me, it'd be nice if you said something too.
Thanks!
Friday, 29 August 2008
Beowulf
I've enjoyed Beowulf so far. It's been really interesting. I found line 418 funny when he's talking about his awesome strength. Kinda sounded like something Arnold Swartzenager would say in a movie. (Did I spell that right?)
The fight with Grendel was interesting how Grendel hadn't been so frightened before. It kinda showed how important Beowulf was.
For some reason I have never liked Minstrels or Bards in Literature. They just bug me. Always talking about some king who conquered some nation and they ramble on about it for hours.
The fight with Grendel was interesting how Grendel hadn't been so frightened before. It kinda showed how important Beowulf was.
For some reason I have never liked Minstrels or Bards in Literature. They just bug me. Always talking about some king who conquered some nation and they ramble on about it for hours.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Book Morals
Today in Socratic, we talked about book and movie morals and what would we call a good book or movie.
Books, I think are harder to judge because they have no ratings on them so when you pick it up you won't be able to see whether or not it'll contain explicit sexual content which I have no desire to read about. But usually, the ones I read are pretty good...meaning that there's no explicit sex, strong foul language or explicit gory violence.
As far as movies are concerned, I've been taught (relecently) by my dad that not all R movies are bad. What I mean by that is no sex, no strong laguage, same thing as the book. There are alot of good historical movies that are R rated but are acctually pretty good since it's showing you exactly what happened...for the most part. Those of who know me know I'm LDS and must be thinking now, "Alex! You Sinner! The Prophets have said not to watch R rated movies!" Yeah. I know. But what I've figured is they say that so no one takes it the wrong way. My family just chooses to use decernment in R rated movies whether or not it should be watched.
When the passion of the Christ came out, there was a big outburst from the church members whether or not to watch it. The High Counselors considered it and told the church, "Use discernment."
Now, with that being said, would I go and watch a movie like Hot Fuzz? No. Because I have no reason to watch a vulgarous movie. Would I watch a movie like Braveheart? Definitley. Because It has historical value and was artfully done.
Books, I think are harder to judge because they have no ratings on them so when you pick it up you won't be able to see whether or not it'll contain explicit sexual content which I have no desire to read about. But usually, the ones I read are pretty good...meaning that there's no explicit sex, strong foul language or explicit gory violence.
As far as movies are concerned, I've been taught (relecently) by my dad that not all R movies are bad. What I mean by that is no sex, no strong laguage, same thing as the book. There are alot of good historical movies that are R rated but are acctually pretty good since it's showing you exactly what happened...for the most part. Those of who know me know I'm LDS and must be thinking now, "Alex! You Sinner! The Prophets have said not to watch R rated movies!" Yeah. I know. But what I've figured is they say that so no one takes it the wrong way. My family just chooses to use decernment in R rated movies whether or not it should be watched.
When the passion of the Christ came out, there was a big outburst from the church members whether or not to watch it. The High Counselors considered it and told the church, "Use discernment."
Now, with that being said, would I go and watch a movie like Hot Fuzz? No. Because I have no reason to watch a vulgarous movie. Would I watch a movie like Braveheart? Definitley. Because It has historical value and was artfully done.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Weird Dreams
Last night, I dreamed that I was going on a date. So I went to my closet to put some clothes on. Once I pulled my shorts up I realized I was dreaming, felt stupid, then went back to bed. Then I dreamed that the mall was filled with a bunch of insane people trying to kill the innocent within. This one guy came and kicked their butts. Then the dream went back ten years and showed me trainging the guy who kicked their butts. Then the dream changed and everyone around me was dying. I was dang depressing.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
A bit of my Work
I'm posting a piece from the very beginning of my book to see what you guys think. It's kind of like a poem I guess, but I'm not quite sure. Anyways, here it is.
Lost
They say that love is the best feeling in the whole world.
I still haven’t agreed with that yet.
I’m either crazy, or they’re wrong.
For the love I’m feeling is killing me.
I can’t sleep.
I can’t eat.
I feel agonizing pain when I’m away.
It’s driving me insane.
Her image constantly haunts me.
If this is love, then love is pain!
And still I want more.
I can’t imagine anything different.
I don’t want this feeling to stop.
If this is the price to pay for loving her, then I’d pay it a million times!
She’s beautiful. I can’t leave her. I’ve silently sworn to protect her.
Her pain is mine. Her joy is mine.
She has been forever fused to my heart.
I can’t leave her.
You’d think I’m crazy. Obsessed with a girl I just met.
You don’t have to fight for your air.
You don’t feel the pain of being away every day.
This is my fight. I don’t expect you to understand.
The moment I saw her, my heart was trapped, and it can’t let go.
She’s my pain.
She’s my joy.
She’s my Ecstasy.
Lost
They say that love is the best feeling in the whole world.
I still haven’t agreed with that yet.
I’m either crazy, or they’re wrong.
For the love I’m feeling is killing me.
I can’t sleep.
I can’t eat.
I feel agonizing pain when I’m away.
It’s driving me insane.
Her image constantly haunts me.
If this is love, then love is pain!
And still I want more.
I can’t imagine anything different.
I don’t want this feeling to stop.
If this is the price to pay for loving her, then I’d pay it a million times!
She’s beautiful. I can’t leave her. I’ve silently sworn to protect her.
Her pain is mine. Her joy is mine.
She has been forever fused to my heart.
I can’t leave her.
You’d think I’m crazy. Obsessed with a girl I just met.
You don’t have to fight for your air.
You don’t feel the pain of being away every day.
This is my fight. I don’t expect you to understand.
The moment I saw her, my heart was trapped, and it can’t let go.
She’s my pain.
She’s my joy.
She’s my Ecstasy.
Why Bother...?
-Why bother with history? Well it's where you came from. If there were no history, there would be no you. There also wouldn't be IPODs, cars, computers and other amazing things.
History has your own blood in it. How? Well who knows. You might be the descendant of some great king who was an icon in history. I myself happen to be one of Richard the lionhearted's descendants.
History can also show us why we do certain things such as pig out. Back in the day a meal was hard to come by so we'd eat as much as possible when we could. Unfortunately we still do that even though we (most of the civilized world) have a wealth of food.
-Why bother with Geography? Well, due to our technology and ability to quickly travel between countries, you'd look pretty stupid if you didn't know where someone was from. Say you're instant messaging with someone from, say, Dubai U.A.E. If you knew you're geography you'd know that he's living in one of the richest cities in the world and live by the ocean. Another example. Say you're chatting with someone who just moved from China. You notice their pinkie nails are longer than the others. If you'd learned about China's culture in geography, you'd know his nails are longer because it's a Chinese sign of not having to do manual labor, therefore being better than others.
-Why bother with Language Arts? It's a dying art! With our texting society, teenagers who use correct grammar or at least try to is really rare. If you master this art, you'll be more accomplished in your life, and be able to communicate in your own unique way which you'll pick up the more you practice this art.
-Why bother with Literature? Because there's some amazing stories out there. If you love to read, then you might be interested in what Old England loved to read. As with all evolving things, if there was no literature, there'd be no Twilight or Harry Potter. In fact, if there wasn't any literature before it'd probably be the only thing to read nowadays.
History has your own blood in it. How? Well who knows. You might be the descendant of some great king who was an icon in history. I myself happen to be one of Richard the lionhearted's descendants.
History can also show us why we do certain things such as pig out. Back in the day a meal was hard to come by so we'd eat as much as possible when we could. Unfortunately we still do that even though we (most of the civilized world) have a wealth of food.
-Why bother with Geography? Well, due to our technology and ability to quickly travel between countries, you'd look pretty stupid if you didn't know where someone was from. Say you're instant messaging with someone from, say, Dubai U.A.E. If you knew you're geography you'd know that he's living in one of the richest cities in the world and live by the ocean. Another example. Say you're chatting with someone who just moved from China. You notice their pinkie nails are longer than the others. If you'd learned about China's culture in geography, you'd know his nails are longer because it's a Chinese sign of not having to do manual labor, therefore being better than others.
-Why bother with Language Arts? It's a dying art! With our texting society, teenagers who use correct grammar or at least try to is really rare. If you master this art, you'll be more accomplished in your life, and be able to communicate in your own unique way which you'll pick up the more you practice this art.
-Why bother with Literature? Because there's some amazing stories out there. If you love to read, then you might be interested in what Old England loved to read. As with all evolving things, if there was no literature, there'd be no Twilight or Harry Potter. In fact, if there wasn't any literature before it'd probably be the only thing to read nowadays.
Blogs at the side of my page.
You may notice that i have other blog links at the side of my page. These will be updated through time. Most of these will be my fellow classmates. Anyways, feel free to click on them. Ian and Harrison are some of my friends from Maeser, Mr. Dye is my Socratic teacher, and D'Andrew is my amazing dad who does phenomenal photography. If you need photography for anything, contact him. He's the best at what he does, and you'll regret not going with him. I'll post some of my views on the photography world in the future.
Alex
Alex
Ideas About Socratic
Hey everyone! Just shooting some stuff about Socratic. Umm, I'm very excited to read some of the books Mr. Dye has chosen for us. The Divine Comedy, Les Mis. But I'm a little hesitant to read Beowulf cause the movie made it look dumb.
So anyways, I have a thought before I'm done. If you pay as little as possible for the things you buy, and are saving all the rest of your earnings when times are slow, what's eventualy going to happen? I'll answer that later.
Alex
So anyways, I have a thought before I'm done. If you pay as little as possible for the things you buy, and are saving all the rest of your earnings when times are slow, what's eventualy going to happen? I'll answer that later.
Alex
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Socratic 2008
Hey Everyone. This is the beginning of my blogging! I will mainly be using this for discussions for my Socratic class but every now and then I'll post some other stuff.
Alex
Alex
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