Does being the most intolerable person in town sound like an impossible task? No need to worry! The title everyone has dreamed of can now be easily reached with seven simple steps guaranteed.
1. Talk about people in a negative way when they are not around (also known as "talking bad about people behind their back"). If there is something negative that wee need say about a particular person, we need to say it! Talking about a person behind his or her back should be easy to accomplish; the habit comes natural to the human race.
2. The world has so many problems, but we intolerable people do not have the time to fix these problems. That should be the job of someone tolerable. Our job includes condemning people to their issues, since these problems do not apply to us. Basically, we should only complain to people about the problems of the world and make no motion to fix the problem.
3. Those darned tolerable people cannot tolerate us lying to them. Lies do not hurt anyone. In fact, lies help people. People cannot handle the truth, so we are secretly helping them by covering up all of the truth that they cannot handle. Along with habit one, this habit also comes natural, so there should be no difficulty with this one. And, though this particular habit happens to be the one of the easier ones, this could make one very intolerable.
4. Only do just enough to get by; there is no need to put some actual effort into work. This bugs more people than most would think.
5. Forget being considerate of another person's feelings; being mean is far too fun. If someone seems to be having a hard time with his or her life, do not hold back any insults. Remember: Kick people when they are down.
6. I do not understand why people think their problems are more important than mine, because they are not. I never want to hear someone's problems; they are too boring to listen to! If some idiot comes to me with his or her problem, I either ignore them or refer to habit five. As long as a problem does not affect me, the problem does not exist.
7. People like to get into deep conversations for some odd reason. Deep conversations are too difficult to deal and take up too much of our time to relax and check our facebook, so these need to be avoided at all costs. Be as shallow as possible.
WARNING: THESE HABITS COULD LEAD TO SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS AMONG MANY
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Shining
Who would have thought that one of Stephen King's most horrifying novels could have been inspired by a simple John Lennon song? Actually, the lyric, "We all shine on..." only inspired the title, The Shining. Stephen King has yet to not amaze me with his works of writing and his ability to captivate me with suspense from start to finish of his books.
Jack Torrance, a recently fired English teacher and former alcoholic, gets the perfect opportunity to work on writing his new novel when he is offered a job at the Overlook Hotel, an isolated hotel located in Colorado, as the caretaker. Jack's wife, Wendy, and his son, Danny, immediately move to the Overlook Hotel. Danny has the ability to get information about objects, people, locations, or physical events through means other than the known human senses, making him sensitive to supernatural forces. Not long after the family's arrival to the hotel, Danny meets Dick Halloran, who shares Danny's ability. Before Dick's departure, the two talk about their power and the hotel's chilling history. Dick warns Danny of the dangers of room 217. What happens from then on only gets eerier as Danny finds out through his premonitions about the dangers of the hotel. He sees ghosts and life-scaring visions, but assures himself that they are not dangerous in the present. He cannot tell his parents about it, because he knows how important the job is to his dad. The house tries, but fails to posses little Danny, so who does the house go to next?
The characters, though they have names similar to that of a children's book, seem very real because of their struggles, such as being an alcoholic. The Torrance family seems real to the readers with the recovering-alcoholic father with a scary temper, the determined mother that would do anything for her family, and the strange child with the imaginary friend.
King's writing style from Carrie portrays in the Shining. He still puts the character's thoughts into parenthesis, though the story is written in third person. This time, however, seems to be in a different tone than Carrie. Instead of a vengeful tone, I feel anger through out the whole book (I have been reading many angry books lately). Stephen King remains keen with his detail usage.
This book has a lot of suspense, especially during the last few chapters, so I recommend this for suspense-lovers and horror gurus. This belongs on my list of favorite books of all time, so I will read this novel numerous times.
*447 pages*
Jack Torrance, a recently fired English teacher and former alcoholic, gets the perfect opportunity to work on writing his new novel when he is offered a job at the Overlook Hotel, an isolated hotel located in Colorado, as the caretaker. Jack's wife, Wendy, and his son, Danny, immediately move to the Overlook Hotel. Danny has the ability to get information about objects, people, locations, or physical events through means other than the known human senses, making him sensitive to supernatural forces. Not long after the family's arrival to the hotel, Danny meets Dick Halloran, who shares Danny's ability. Before Dick's departure, the two talk about their power and the hotel's chilling history. Dick warns Danny of the dangers of room 217. What happens from then on only gets eerier as Danny finds out through his premonitions about the dangers of the hotel. He sees ghosts and life-scaring visions, but assures himself that they are not dangerous in the present. He cannot tell his parents about it, because he knows how important the job is to his dad. The house tries, but fails to posses little Danny, so who does the house go to next?
The characters, though they have names similar to that of a children's book, seem very real because of their struggles, such as being an alcoholic. The Torrance family seems real to the readers with the recovering-alcoholic father with a scary temper, the determined mother that would do anything for her family, and the strange child with the imaginary friend.
King's writing style from Carrie portrays in the Shining. He still puts the character's thoughts into parenthesis, though the story is written in third person. This time, however, seems to be in a different tone than Carrie. Instead of a vengeful tone, I feel anger through out the whole book (I have been reading many angry books lately). Stephen King remains keen with his detail usage.
This book has a lot of suspense, especially during the last few chapters, so I recommend this for suspense-lovers and horror gurus. This belongs on my list of favorite books of all time, so I will read this novel numerous times.
*447 pages*
Carrie.
"They had taken her again, gulled her again, made her the butt again. The horror of it should have been monotonous, but it was not; they had gotten her up here, up here in front of the whole school, and had repeated the shower-room scene...only the voice had said
(my god that's blood)
something too awful to be contemplated. If she opened her eyes and it was true, oh, what then? What then?" Stephen King's first published novel, Carrie, chilled my bones until I finally put the book down at page 199. The night I read Carrie was a "night to remember."
Stephen King used a different writing style than most authors. He made up articles in magazines, interviews, and quotes from books to make this story seem believable, though it was about a teenager with telekinesis. King uses crisp details very often; he has a reputation for taking up multiple pages just to describe one item. I did not encounter a multi-page description, however, I did encounter a full paragraph of description, but Carrie was only the first book King published. Another weird writing technique I caught was how King put down Carrie's thoughts in parenthesis, while he wrote the story in third person. I felt Stephen King's anger and desire for some sort of vengeance through each word of the book. He possibly has a slightly sympathetic voice (only towards Carrie) throughout the novel as well.
Though King did not introduce all of the characters with as much personality as the previous two authors, I still felt as if I can clearly picture them in my head (and, no, the images are not of Sissy Spacek, who played Carrie in the 1976 film). He did introduce Carrie, obviously the main character, very well. The strange thing was that the reader relates to the protagonist and antagonists. Most unpopular outcasts would relate to Carrie, while everyone else would relate to the other students that constantly ridicule Carrie. The characters seem realistic to me, because of their cruelty that regular teenagers possess.
I recommend this book to readers who like a good thriller and will not be easy to offend. I do warn readers that this book contains very mature content. That aside, this book is great, especially for a first published novel. Stephen King's has a very unique writing style and anyone who appreciates an eccentric writing style should read at least one of his books.
(my god that's blood)
something too awful to be contemplated. If she opened her eyes and it was true, oh, what then? What then?" Stephen King's first published novel, Carrie, chilled my bones until I finally put the book down at page 199. The night I read Carrie was a "night to remember."
Stephen King used a different writing style than most authors. He made up articles in magazines, interviews, and quotes from books to make this story seem believable, though it was about a teenager with telekinesis. King uses crisp details very often; he has a reputation for taking up multiple pages just to describe one item. I did not encounter a multi-page description, however, I did encounter a full paragraph of description, but Carrie was only the first book King published. Another weird writing technique I caught was how King put down Carrie's thoughts in parenthesis, while he wrote the story in third person. I felt Stephen King's anger and desire for some sort of vengeance through each word of the book. He possibly has a slightly sympathetic voice (only towards Carrie) throughout the novel as well.
Though King did not introduce all of the characters with as much personality as the previous two authors, I still felt as if I can clearly picture them in my head (and, no, the images are not of Sissy Spacek, who played Carrie in the 1976 film). He did introduce Carrie, obviously the main character, very well. The strange thing was that the reader relates to the protagonist and antagonists. Most unpopular outcasts would relate to Carrie, while everyone else would relate to the other students that constantly ridicule Carrie. The characters seem realistic to me, because of their cruelty that regular teenagers possess.
I recommend this book to readers who like a good thriller and will not be easy to offend. I do warn readers that this book contains very mature content. That aside, this book is great, especially for a first published novel. Stephen King's has a very unique writing style and anyone who appreciates an eccentric writing style should read at least one of his books.
I'm the Invisible Man!
How can a person of complete competence go from an intelligent scientist who made a brilliant discover to a criminal with a lack of mental stability? Griffin, a scientist, theorized that if a person's refractive index is adjusted to that of air and did not reflect or absorb any light, then that person will become invisible. He tests his theory, and though his theory is a success, a horrifying outcome came about; Griffin turned himself invisible. H.G Wells' The Invisible Man made twists and turns from the beginning to end.
When reading The Invisible Man, I immediately noticed how Wells introduced his readers to the characters. Each character had individuality. The characters had their own style, their own appearance, their own personality, and their own past. Wells' detail on this story's characters can be compared to a great artist's skill of detail on his painting. Some barely use old English slang, such as Dr. Kemp, others use jargon in every other sentence, such as Mr. and Mrs. Hall.
The story began with Griffin's arrival at the Hall's inn, the Coach and Horses Inn, where he appeared as an unconventional and reclusive stranger to the citizens of Iping by covering up every inch of his skin. The stranger worked with chemicals and demanded to be left alone. Who would find that ordinary? At the same time all of this happens, mysterious robberies occurred in Iping, and none of the victims caught the sight of their thief. One morning, as Mr. and Mrs. Hall passed the stranger's room, they notice the stranger's clothing scattered all over the floor with no stranger in sight. The furniture appeared to come alive and leaped into mid-air to push the couple out of the room. Griffin then revealed his invisibility by ripping off his bandages and goggles to reveal that there was nothing under it all. The chaos started here when the police tried to catch Griffin, but he stripped himself of all his clothing and makes an escape. Griffin encountered Thomas Marvel during this escape, only to force Marvel into becoming his lab assistant by scaring Marvel with his invisibility. Marvel fled to an inn located at the seaside. When Griffin tries to break in to the inn, a man with a black beard shoots him. Griffin then escaped the scene to a house, that happened to belong to Dr. Kemp, an old friend of his, in order to tend to his wound. He recognized Dr. Kemp right away and revealed his identity to not only Kemp, but the reader (he was previously known as a mysterious stranger). And from that point on, I feel the reader should find out about by himself or herself.
I recommend this book to fans of sci-fi novels, because this is classical sci-fi! Not to mention, the "Father of Sci-Fi" wrote this story. Wells filled this story with chaos, suspense, insanity, and curiousity pickers, making the book quite a page turner. With the old English terms in this story, it can be a bit difficult to understand, so I recommend The Invisible Man for readers of a higher level.
When reading The Invisible Man, I immediately noticed how Wells introduced his readers to the characters. Each character had individuality. The characters had their own style, their own appearance, their own personality, and their own past. Wells' detail on this story's characters can be compared to a great artist's skill of detail on his painting. Some barely use old English slang, such as Dr. Kemp, others use jargon in every other sentence, such as Mr. and Mrs. Hall.
The story began with Griffin's arrival at the Hall's inn, the Coach and Horses Inn, where he appeared as an unconventional and reclusive stranger to the citizens of Iping by covering up every inch of his skin. The stranger worked with chemicals and demanded to be left alone. Who would find that ordinary? At the same time all of this happens, mysterious robberies occurred in Iping, and none of the victims caught the sight of their thief. One morning, as Mr. and Mrs. Hall passed the stranger's room, they notice the stranger's clothing scattered all over the floor with no stranger in sight. The furniture appeared to come alive and leaped into mid-air to push the couple out of the room. Griffin then revealed his invisibility by ripping off his bandages and goggles to reveal that there was nothing under it all. The chaos started here when the police tried to catch Griffin, but he stripped himself of all his clothing and makes an escape. Griffin encountered Thomas Marvel during this escape, only to force Marvel into becoming his lab assistant by scaring Marvel with his invisibility. Marvel fled to an inn located at the seaside. When Griffin tries to break in to the inn, a man with a black beard shoots him. Griffin then escaped the scene to a house, that happened to belong to Dr. Kemp, an old friend of his, in order to tend to his wound. He recognized Dr. Kemp right away and revealed his identity to not only Kemp, but the reader (he was previously known as a mysterious stranger). And from that point on, I feel the reader should find out about by himself or herself.
I recommend this book to fans of sci-fi novels, because this is classical sci-fi! Not to mention, the "Father of Sci-Fi" wrote this story. Wells filled this story with chaos, suspense, insanity, and curiousity pickers, making the book quite a page turner. With the old English terms in this story, it can be a bit difficult to understand, so I recommend The Invisible Man for readers of a higher level.
SPEAK...the review..
“The ninth graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Goths, Shredders. I am clanless. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn’t go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to sit with.” Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak kept my attention with a relatable story line and dark humor.
A ninth grade girl by the name of Melinda Sordino tells us about the life of a teenage outcast. Melinda, like all of the characters, seemed like a realistic teenager with an issue that any teenager can have. Anderson defined all of the characters in this story so well; with great detail. She not only describes a character’s physical appearance to where the reader can get a clear picture of the character in his or her mind, but Anderson also describes the character’s behavior to where you feel as though you have met the character before. A variety of characters that are not hard to keep up with, unlike some books, assists in making this book an interesting read. It varies from Heather from Ohio, who is described as a fellow wounded zebra with nice shoes and $5,000 worth of orthodontia and desires to fit in to a crowd (preferably the Marthas) to Mr. Freeman, the hideous but laid-back art teacher with a grasshopper body and what looks like a credit card between his eyes as a nose. The reader can easily identify Melinda’s enemies, so some characters are more dislikable than others.
The story starts out with Melinda getting on the bus to go to her first day of high school. Every person including people who have never met her personally and her old friends will not talk to her. Because of her desperation to find friends, Melinda becomes friendly with Heather, the super self-centered new girl from Ohio. Heather immediately clings to Melinda. A former “solid B student”, her grades go down as she distances herself from friends and family. Melinda started skipping school with only own aspiration: to take a nap. She finds a hide-away, an abandoned janitor’s closet, to go to when she wants fulfill her aspiration or whenever she feels anxious. The janitor’s closet and Mr. Freeman’s class are the only places Melinda begins to feel secure. Throughout the book, the reason why Melinda is a social pariah is revealed. She called the cops at an end-of-summer party. Why she called the cops is revealed near the end of the story.
We should raise our voice and speak the truth no matter what. Melinda eventually speaks up and tells one of her friends the reason she called the cops the night of the party. After that point, life got easier for Melinda. The story shows that keeping the truth from everyone not only hurts us, but it hurts others.
All teenagers who feel like they do not fit in should read this book. I read Speak every year, because I get a better understanding of the book each time I turn the page. The plot never gets old, in fact; I enjoy the story more and more each time.
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