One and the Same

"Well, Christmas is upon us once again", as the great Charlie Brown once said. That also means that everyone is playing Christmas music everywhere, in the stores, in the streets, in homes, everywhere. One song and video in particular stood out to me: David Bowie and Bing Crosby singing a medley of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth." It is quite obvious why this performance stood out to me, just from the names of the performers, but the entire pretense of the song houses a deeper meaning than just the fact two legends are performing a song together.

Bing Crosby made his fame in the thirties and forties with his music known today as big band music or as a "crooner," with songs such as "White Christmas," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and "Danny Boy," while David Bowie made his fame as a glam rocker in the seventies and eighties, with songs such as "Suffragette City," "Let's Dance," and "Heroes," basically the parallel opposite of Crosby. What makes this performance so interesting lies within the mutual respect that the two singers have for each other, despite one being old and the other being relatively modern. Despite the age differences, the singers represented popular music at their time in the world, and even though they may have different mediums to their music, both singers are more alike than most people could see from their music.

By the singers coming together and collaborating, they showed how, even with vast differences, people can come together and work together and respect each other. Now, I don't want to come off as one of those crazy people saying, "no more trouble, no more wars, love for everyone," because that probably is not possible, but this performance showed how different age groups, or countries, or ethnicities can come together and work with each other. The way that Bing Crosby and David Bowie blend the Christmas standards using their characteristic voices unveils the songs in a new, slightly contradictory light, almost like, "What is this? I don't know how to explain the sounds I am hearing!" But maybe this fact is why the song has endured over the years.

The symbolic meaning of the performance gives anyone who watches the video or hears the song a feeling of hope that one day the world will get over themselves and work together. Wait, I just found another of the meanings of Christmas; Bring on the holiday special.

Twelve Sentence Short Story

An Audience with the King

The legendary B.B. King has become one of the last remaining original bluesman, his singing as forceful and renowned today as it ever was, his phrasing and vibrato on his guitar Lucille as recognizable as an old friend, and his tone as characteristic music itself. Most people only hear a legend such as this through CD's or through videos; I, on the other hand, have been within throwing distance of the man himself. A stroke of luck, similar to a choir of angels singing, revealed to my parents and my aunt that B.B. was going to be in Fayetteville in September, and we immediately started waiting to get tickets. Once the tickets were bought, the dreadful waiting game began, slogging through the weeks, over the days, to the date, and against all odds (I mean, B.B. is eighty-four years old; you never know when he may check out). I waited and waited and finally the day came to leave for Fayetteville. Enough of this. I was ready to see B.B., still hoping that nothing would go wrong, that B.B. would not die before I could see him, and that the show would be everything I hoped it would be. An old saying goes, "Seek, and thou shall receive awesome tickets." Play Lucille and sing the blues, B.B. passionately did. Was the concert everything I hoped it would be? Seeing as how I was amazed, and inspired, and awe-struck, I would say that the show was what I hoped to see. While he may not have played the whole show, a result of thirty-plus years of diabetes, he never was without some insight brought forth on Lucille or through his words, he was never without his characteristic charm, like that of a caring grandfather wanting to share his wisdom to the audience, revealing to all at the show that no matter how old he may be or whoever comes along after him, B.B. King will always be the King of the Blues.

Good Versus Evil: A cliche or a reality?

Good and Evil. Light and Dark. All throughout books, throughout movies, throughout just about any form of media in the world, the "good guys" and the "bad guys" face off in an epic showdown to decide the fate of the world. Most stories of any kind that are written today involve a fairly clear cut good and bad, where the victory of one side is the exact opposite of what the outcome would have been if the other side had won. But is this the way in the real world? Usually, the world is not completely black and white. There are some gray areas in life, where the outcome of one side winning is the same as if the other side had won. The real contest is to discover where these areas are and how to make the right decisions.

Most media buys into the cliched version of good and evil- the heroes have to accomplish an impossible task against all odds, and, if not, the whole world will fall into chaos and suffering. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo has to destroy the One Ring, or Sauron will rise to power again and enslave Middle Earth; In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker has to defeat the Emperor to bring balance to the Force, otherwise the Empire will remain in power and the Rebels are doomed; Batman has to stop the Joker because many people will be killed, and on and on. It is fairly easy to tell who the good guys and who the bad guys are in these situations, but maybe not as easy in reality.

Is a revolution to overthrow an incompetent ruler justified when the new rulers use the exact same techniques as the previous ruler to maintain order? Is someone who saves a child from a burning building doing a good deed if they set the fire in the first place? Numerous times police shootings get caught up in this scenario. The police do their job and have to take a drastic measure to keep others safe, but all of the people who love to stir up trouble cry foul and say that the police should be charged for hurting the criminal. They did a wrong to do a right. Wars are also another gray area. Each side usually has their own agenda for coming into the war, but the reasons may be to gain more resources or one side said that the other sides ruler smelled funny. The reasons are not always the cut and dry, "They are evil; We are good, so let's stop them before the world ends." Each group may say that they are doing good and that the other side is evil, therefore needing to be stopped, but both sides may threaten to cross the treacherous bridge between right and wrong.

One of the best examples of toeing the line while trying to deliver justice and do what is right occurs in The Dark Knight. One of the key themes in the movie is how much you can do to accomplish what is right before you begin to become what you are trying to stop. There seems to be a limit where good becomes evil and everything becomes very hazy, with both sides coming together. To find the Joker, Batman has to use high-tech satellites and spy cameras to search Gotham City, violating the privacy of everyone in the city and certainly breaking a few laws. But it was all done to catch a killer. Anything done in the name of good can be done in the name of evil I suppose. Sounds very cliched, but is often true, especially in the real world.

While there may not be any true right or wrong in the world, there are some decisions that are more right or more wrong than others. Saving someone from dying is usually a good decision to make in any scenario, with trying to kill the person is usually the wrong choice to make in a situation. The only problem is that the world is not completely black or completely white, but has different tones and meanings. So, yes, good versus evil is a cliche, but is still a very enjoyable one at that. If all of life's problems could be solved by throwing a ring into a volcano, the world would be a much easier place to live. But nothing is ever that simple, making the world we live in the world it is.

Independent Reading book list

For the second quarter independent reading, I have decided to set my sights on reading at least three different titles. This has been a long and arduous search through Amazon, Goodreads, and Mrs. Huff's library, but I think I have assembled the absolute greatest reading list of all time. My selections are:

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings are a series of books that are just so amazing and riveting, it is almost required to read the books at least once in life. So, that is what I am doing. After already finishing The Fellowship of the Ring, the next book in the saga is The Two Towers, so, this is what I will read next. The interest I have in reading this book mainly stems from seeing the movies that were released several years ago. My decision to read the books was similar to, "Well, if the books are half as good as the movies, then the books will be great." While the books and movies may differ on some aspects, I have not been disappointed at all in anyway. Also, I do not have to worry about getting a copy of this book or The Return of the King, since I already have the entire series and can jump right in whenever I please.


The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
My reasoning for choosing The Return of the King is similar to my reasoning for reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The only difference is that The Return of the King is my favorite movie in the entire series, and one of my favorites of all time. Permanent goosebumps are present all over through most of the movie, and come on, who hasn't imagined themselves in the movie, participating in the major scenes. Well, if no one else has then, I will admit that I have done this on multiple occasions. Also, I will have finally finished the entire series, completing my quest of finishing all of the books.


Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Like many people all over the world, I am extremely excited about Mockingjay. I am also one of the few who hasn't read it yet. However, this does not bother me as long as I can find the book and read it. Jumping onto the bandwagon for something that is extremely popular is not something that I do very often, but The Hunger Games is definitely worth the jump. Unlike many new books being released today (cough, Twilight, cough), The Hunger Games are very good and entertaining to read, with a deep plot and twists and turns during every chapter. The speed with which I read these books surprised me, mainly since the last time I read a book that quick was when the last Harry Potter book was released. All in all, I am excited. I will have to look to see if Mrs. Huff has a copy of the book when I am in class next, and then I can finally see how Panem blows up in civil war.

This is my reading wish list for this quarter, with fingers crossed that I will be able to finish all of the books on the list. If not, well, the world should not end. However, if the world does end, then my bad.

2nd Quarter reading list

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring; Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. Print.

After his uncle Bilbo disappears at his eleventy-first birthday party and goes on a journey into the wilderness, Frodo Baggins becomes both the master of Bag End and of something worth far more: a ring that Bilbo has had for years that grants the wearer with the power to turn invisible. Frodo keeps the ring a secret for several years, until Gandalf the Gray comes to Bag End and reveals to Frodo that the ring he possesses is much more than a simply magic ring, but is a ring filled with the deadly power of Sauron, and is the one ring that can control all of the other rings of power. Frodo then begins a journey with Sam Gamgee, and later on Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took, that takes them across the Shire, into the lands beyond, meeting many allies (Tom Bombadil, Strider or Aragorn) and also many enemies (the Ringwraiths) along the way, finally coming to Rivendell. There, Frodo is made the Ringbearer and a Fellowship is formed to escort Frodo to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the ring. Tragedy and misfortune cause the breaking of the Fellowship at a crossroads in the journey, hurting the chances of everyone to continue.
One element of this book that stood out to me were the diverse settings of the book, with everything from the haunted pit of a Barrow-wight to the splendor of Rivendell to the empty ruins of Moria. No two locations are alike in any way, with details jumping out of the pages and into the reader's mind with such ease almost as if Tolkien were painting in the mind. 2 books


Tolkien, J.R.R. The Return of the King; Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. Print.
After Rohan and the Ent's victory over Isengard, Gandalf and Pippin travel to Minas Tirith in Gondor to protect the rest of Rohan from the full brunt of Sauron's wrath. Gandalf and Pippin arrive shortly before the army of Sauron began the siege of Gondor, forcing the steward of Gondor to call on Rohan for help in the battle. Aragorn, in an act to fulfill the prophecy of the king, along with Gimli, Legolas, and a host of Rangers from the North who come to aid Aragorn, take the Paths of the Dead through the mountains to reach aid to help liberate Gondor. The Rohirrim ride to aid Gondor and the Battle of the Pellanor Fields commences, with King Theoden being killed by the Lord of the Nazgul, and him being killed by Eowyn, the King's daughter. Aragorn appears with the banner of the King, revealed to be Aragorn himself, and a host of warriors from the surrounding areas of Gondor, taking back the city. Aragorn then marches out with the entire host from Rohan and Gondor to engage Sauron at Mordor, mainly to give Frodo and Sam time to destroy the Ring. Sam rescues Frodo from the orcs and the two continue to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring.
An element of this book that stood out to me was growth and progression of the characters, in particular Sam and Aragorn. In The Fellowhip of the Ring, Sam was very nervous most of the time and depended a lot on Frodo for help with decisions, but by the end of this book, he had morphed into a warrior who had a strong enough will to push Frodo through to the last phase of the journey and then help retake the Shire. Like every underdog story ever told, Sam starts as the guy no one wants to be, but then becomes the hero and the one everyone wants to be. Aragorn had a slightly different character development. Originally just a strange Ranger, Frodo met in Bree, Aragorn becomes a figurehead for the forces of good in the book and eventually king. Aragorn reminded me of the over-achieving, spotless character who just becomes more and more impressive as the book continues. 2 books


Tolkien, J.R.R. The Two Towers; Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. Print.
Shortly after Frodo escapes from Boromir and leaves the Fellowship, the remaining members are attacked by a company of orcs and Uruk-hai, dividing the Fellowship, with Boromir being killed in the battle and Merry and Pippin being captured by the orcs. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli all give chase to the orcs across the plains, meeting the Riders of Rohan (the Rohirrim) along the way, who destroyed the orcs the night before on the border to Fangorn Forest. Not knowing that Merry and Pippin had escaped into the Forest and had met the Ent Treebeard, and were planning a siege on the wizard Saruman's fortress, Isengard, Aragorn and his companions went into the forest to search for Merry and Pippin, where they meet Gandalf, reborn after his ordeal with the Balrog, who takes them to Rohan to help King Theoden fend off the forces of Isengard. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who has been following them for many miles, and persuade him to become their guide to take them to Mordor. Gollum leads them to Mordor, but upon finding the Gates closed, he leads them around the gates and walls through Ithilien. Once there the hobbits meet Faramir, the brother of Boromir and a captain of Gondor, who helps them on their journey. Gollum then leads Frodo and Sam to the Pass of Cirith Ungol, where tragedy strikes yet again for Frodo and Sam.
An element of this book that stood out to me was the contrast of Isengard to the Ents. Similar to today, the Ents were the protectors of nature, like environmentalists, and Isengard were the big business leaders that used the land to suit their purposes and did not care about the rest of the world. Saruman knew he would anger the Ents, but he became so consumed with greed and gaining power, that he did not she how his lack of concern would be his downfall, similar to today's society. I do not think that the trees, however, will come alive and destroy our fortress, but you never know. 2 books

Independent reading reflection

Over the past quarter, independent reading has been the assignment that has been slowly but surely leading to the conclusion for this nine weeks. The conclusion is probably this, so the excitement just left the room. Anyway, independent reading expands the mind, allowing the reader to visit new worlds that are waiting impatiently to be explored. There have been three habits that Mrs. Huff has attempted to instill in all of her students so far this year: reading regularly, keeping track of the amount of reading by using a reading log, and keeping a reading journal, with some taking more effect than others.

Regular reading is crucial to the assignment, and is one of the few habits involved with this assignment that can actually be done enthusiastically. Just about every day I am able to read for at least twenty minutes. This amount of time seems amazing considering all of the other homework and non-related school activities I have to give time to accomplish, but that is why there are weekends (mainly so I can tell my parents I am doing homework when I am procrastinating from doing other homework). The regular reading has also helped me to read more books and to also read other books that I may not have read otherwise. Take for instance The Hunger Games series. I never really understood what the big deal and hype about the books until I actually started reading them, turning even a hardened skeptic like myself into a fan of the series. I always enjoy reading most any book with a good story, and the fact that reading is an assignment just makes the situation even better.

Along with reading outside of class, to prove that the books we say we have read were read, the amount of time read and the thoughts about the reading have been recorded in our reading logs and our reading journals. While the reading log has not altered much about how I read, the reading journals almost hinder the reading experience. Possibly because I am not used to logging my thoughts while I read, this portion of the assignment has not been easy or fun. Sometimes a book is just better to take at face value and not over-analyze the themes and characters, often driving the reader crazy trying to discover these. However, like most events and struggles in life, the reading journals will have a bigger impact on me as a reader and help to instill the skill to analyze texts quicker and easier.

One of the major goals for my next quarter reading will be to journal more often and have more analytical thoughts about my reading. While I did a decent job, in my eyes at least, of inking deep thoughts, Mrs. Huff will probably think otherwise. Also, I will make sure to date all of my entries to the journal, not just the last five or six. As for books, I hope to finish The Lord of the Rings series, and also to read Mockingjay and find out how the rebellion goes down.

All in all, I do enjoy reading, but am not the biggest fan of the reading journals. However, I may eventually come to enjoy inking my thoughts by some strange twist of fate.

Socratic Seminar Reflection

After reading Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, our English class participated in a group conversation called a "Socratic Seminar." This seminar involved choosing two out of nine questions from a question list, picking through the book for details and quotes to help outline the point the participators are attempting to make, and then sitting in a group of tables in the middle of a ring of smaller tables with the other unfortunate souls who chose the same question. This situation not only makes the participants uncomfortable, with everyone sitting there with their eyes staring at you, but also can make the participants feel like they are in a gladiator arena, the only difference being that there were no lions or tigers trying to eat anybody. With that being said, the Socratic seminars are an unjust, cruel, and unusual way to analyze a novel. Now an argument, a strong and lengthy debate with opinions, would be the proper way to analyze a novel.

While the situation of the discussions was not the most enjoyable situation, the discussions did bring several interesting ideas to the table (no pun intended). One of the ideas that seems to be the most affecting is the similarities that have been noticed between our society today and the society of Brave New World. An example of this was discussed in question five about the consequences for individuals. In Brave New World, all of the so-called "individuals" were taken out of society and placed on islands, away from society, to keep them from corrupting the "normal" citizens of society. A similar thing happens to the individuals of today's society, not with real islands though, but with figurative islands, by alienating the different thinkers of society, and forcing them to form their own smaller communities with the other like-minded outcasts of society. An interesting view of this situation involved how a society without individuality would eventually become boring and monotonous, and how the individuals of society are always going to appear in society no matter what precautions are made, because there will always be people who think differently and look for new ways to think about a task. In a way, individuals are like the antidote to the Brave New World society; as long as there are plenty of individual thinkers, the conformity and creepy community aspect of the Brave New World society will have a much harder time coming to pass. Another interesting idea that was brought up was the topic immersed in question nine. The entire discussion about the effect of Shakespeare's words on John the Savage really showed a whole new level of the Savage that escaped from my understanding. The fact that the words made others and himself more realistic made more sense than it even should have made. Many occurrences in life are either not able to be expressed in words, but can be expressed in emotions, and vice-versa. But John finally found one of the few mediums in the world that could do both for him. This whole turn of events disproved the saying of "actions speak louder than words," meaning that if the words are not there to describe what a person is doing, they will not be able to do what they wanted to do in the first place. My mind was sufficiently blown by this revelation and has caused me to look at written words in a whole new light, and to finally understand the power of language and its lasting impact on the world as a whole. Without intelligent literature that tingles the emotions, society can not grow and develop properly, and our society will end up like the society of Brave New World, unable to deal with emotions and only able to express thoughts as childish phrases.

Understanding all of the many ideas being shot around the room like bullets during the Socratic Seminar is only half of the battle; the other, and sometimes more difficult aspect, is trying to participate in the conversation in a productive manner. Oftentimes, it is hard to know where to jump into the conversation, for fear of stepping on others feet, and how to present the ideas that need to be brought up. The conversation reminded me of an extremely polite race, with everyone wanting to take control, but afraid to take too much because we get counted off for hogging the conversation. All obstacles considered, I thought that my contributions to the conversation were fairly well done and inspiring. Also, I discovered that debate would be better suited to the situation than discussions, mainly because it is easier for most people to say what they wanted to without worrying about interrupting the current speaker. I am better at interrupting than I am at listening and waiting patiently for my turn. This aspect was the source of many a kindergarten time-out back in the day. One thing I did enjoy was discussing a book and getting several different views on the book, very similar to a giant brain-melding party of sorts. But if I had any input on the whole situation, my vote would go towards abolishing the whole Socratic Seminar concept.

The Socratic Seminar seems very daunting and horrible on the surface, but, once the deeper levels are explored, they prove what was originally thought. However, once the conversations have sunk into the consciousness and are looked upon with the right attitude, many previous overlooked details are brought to light. I'm not saying I enjoyed the Seminar, but it does have its benefits by adding to the understanding of the book.