My favorite Short List Links

September 11th recap - I think this article and image montage is sad and interesting at the same time.

Best Places around the World- I like this article because it makes me want to get out and travel around the world.

Rain - I love this site because it is so unique but such a simple and fun idea.


Leaving Rockwell - I think this blogger has a very creative idea which has a lot of potential if done well.

Angels and Demons 157-307

Basically, Robert Langdon, the main character if you didn't read my last post is following this path to various churches in the Vatican based on ancient journals written by Galileo. The Path leads Langdon to four locations in Rome, each associated with one of the primordial elements: 'Earth', 'Air', 'Fire', and 'Water'. Langdon finds one of the Preferiti, the four bishops who are favored to become pope, murdered in a way thematically related to each location's related element. The first cardinal was branded with an Earth ambigram and had soil forced down his throat; the second was branded with an air ambigram and had his lungs punctured; the third was branded with a fire ambigram and was burned alive; and the fourth was branded with a water ambigram and was left to drown at the bottom of a fountain.

After finding the bodies of the first two Preferiti, Langdon hurries to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Basilica and finds the Preferiti's abductor in the act of setting the third cardinal on fire. The kidnapper is an unnamed assassin who is working under the orders of the Illuminati master "Janus", whose true identity is unknown. Commander Olivetti is killed and the assassin kidnaps Vittoria. Langdon escapes and accosts the assassin at the final element's landmark (Water), but is unable to save the cardinal.

Langdon must complete the Path of Illumination in order to find the assassin and rescue Vittoria. His search leads him to Castel Sant'Angelo, that hides a tunnel leading directly into the pope's chambers in the Vatican. Langdon frees Vittoria, and together they send the assassin falling several hundred feet to his death. The two hurry back to St. Peter's Basilica, where they find that Kohler has arrived to confront the camerlengo in private. Langdon and Vittoria fear that Kohler is Janus, and that he has come to murder the camerlengo. Hearing the camerlengo scream in agony from being branded with the Illuminati Diamond, the Swiss Guards burst into the room and open fire on Kohler. Just before he dies, Kohler gives Langdon a videotape that he claims will explain everything. That is where I left off for this week. Cliffhanger? I know right. I cannot wait to keep reading this great book.
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My Short List

The Ivies Squash Back - The Trinity College squash team lost its first match in 252 straight games and 13 seasons earlier this month. This record, even for a smaller and lesser-known sport, is remarkable similar to Mariano Rivera's record for 602 career saves and other seemingly unbreakable sports records. To be completely honest, I have never played squash and have no idea what the rules or purpose of the game is, but I do feel that records like this shouldn't exist even in a less popular sport. I do not know if its a direct result of international recruiting or not, but I feel something should be done to prevent dynasties in sports.

Old Sports Logo's - Jed Jacobsohn analyzes the differences between historic sports team's logos and current ones. I found it interesting how plain and simple the older ones are, but how people still enjoy them. On the other hand, the current logo's are more violent and fierce attracting a more intense audience. I believe that as time has gone on, franchises have had to change their logos in order to accommodate for the fans and their increasing obsession over these professional teams.

A Few Good #1 Seeds - Grantland.com is one of the biggest sports blogging websites and their main blog is known as "the triangle." Yesterday's post concerned NCAA basketball and the tournament predictions as well as the possible teams for the #1 overall seed. The top four contenders currently are Baylor, North Carolina, Duke and Murray State. The interesting part of this topic is that anybody could take the win because there are so many solid teams such as Michigan State and Kansas.

My Favorite Blog so Far/Best Dead Poets Society Response

http://quasiurl.blogspot.com/
I think this blog, Chimerical Tales, does a great job of expressing unique and factual ideas. Bruce Willis, the author, also uses some of the vocab words that we learn in the posts which I think is very creative. My favorite line of this person's blog is comes from their Dead Poets Society response saying:

"Underclassmen look at the robotic mechanics of the already brainwashed upperclassmen and know soon the oppressive environment will morph them into zombified shells of their former selves."

I really enjoy how the sentence is worded and how they metaphorically describe the students as robots and give them the ability to morph other students into zombies. Ooo gives me the creeps. 

Lastly, I covet how much Bruce Willis reads and how motivated he/she is to read. If only I could be that motivated and want to read. Oh well, just keep trying.

Angels and Demons pgs 1-157

First of all, the movie Angels and Demons was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I loved the way that the director used the beautiful Vatican City to his advantage by showing many different views. I also loved how suspenseful the movie was but also how it contained some truth about the Catholic faith. After seeing the movie multiple times and putting it on my iPod for me to enjoy whenever I want, I felt I should read Angels and Demons.

The novel opens up as Robert Langdon, a professor and symbologist, travels to Vatican City to help stop an infamous and ancient secret society called the Illuminati from killing bishops during the period in which the new pope is elected. As Langdon travels around the city from church to church attempting to stop this group, the controversy between the Catholic Church and science. I think this is why I am so intrigued by this book because I am a science geek and a Catholic. The contrast is most vividly created simply through the character of Robert Langdon. He is an intellectual, a scientist, a professor. He does not believe in God simply because "[he] is not made to understand him. Faith is a gift [he] has yet to receive." However, the fact that he is helping the largest and most powerful source of Catholic faith in the world creates a connection to the faith that Langdon simply cannot ignore.

On the other hand, a bond between the two radical beliefs is formed when Kohler, the director of a scientific research lab, says, "He was both. Men of science and religion are not unprecedented in history. Leonardo was one of them. He considered physics 'God's natural law.'" This fact that a man could be both a scientist and a Catholic at the same time was thought to be radical, but it showed that their could be a bridge between the two. I think that this discussion between the two is very interesting because of how common and insignificant this debate is now but how life changing and monumental it was back in Galileo's time.

Dead Poets Society Response

In the opening scene from Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society, the ordinary bleakness of the ceremony and the foreboding unease of the children underscores a pessimistic sorrow that the preparatory school is resuming. The majestic formality and army-like discipline of the entrance is at first celebratory exuberance, but as the process wears on, the children express an anxious and unsettling mood. The mural that is seen first in the movie proves the pessimism of the children by showing the same disheartened attitudes of students before. The playful sound of bagpipes and an organ as well as the overall success of the prep school suggest the kids should be ecstatic to go to return back to the school; however, the black clothing of the teachers and students and the flustered look of the children argues that the students are dreading the return to the institute. On the other hand, the new, young teacher proposes a small positive light in a seemingly dark tunnel.

Heat Rises pgs 1 - 165

While I was thinking about what to write, I stumbled upon nothing better than the word choice that Richard Castle uses throughout the book. My favorite selection of his word choice came early in the book when Nikki Heat expresses her extreme sadness because Jameson Rook, her love interest, is off in some foreign country possibly finding other women. Castle writes, "After she locked up, she raced to her bay window and waited, there watching vapor trail from the tailpipe of his waiting town car, wanting one last glimpse of him before he dissolved" (pg 21 Heat Rises - Richard Castle). I think the word dissolved stands out right away. Rather than using "left" or "departed," Castle uses a more permanent word implying that castle may never come back. The word dissolve refers to a unitary object that falls apart into smaller pieces that are not mean to come back to together. This act that Rook dissolves from Heat foreshadows a possible falling out between the couple. As the chapter goes on, the reader discovers that Rook has been socializing with other women which confirms the suspicions of Heat as well as the foreshadowing of the word "dissolve." This small example portrays the incomprehensible use of just one word. (Maybe this is how poets like Shakespeare and Walt Whitman are so popular and effective). That power of word choice is undefinable and unimaginable if used properly and mastered. However, the difficulty of that task is almost unreachable. If I take away one thing from reading this book, it would be noticing the true talent of authors today that because of my lack of reading I have yet to realize. Authors truly possess something special that most people do not even understand (including me). That is the power of words.

Nighthawks Analyzation

Elements to analyze/observations

1. Lighting effects - very bright inside the store, more dull and dreary on the streets, the building across the street appears uninhabited because of the shadows

2. People in the painting - one couple sitting at the bar appear indifferent, one man sitting alone appears sullen, the waiter appears content and attentive

3. The space in the painting - although there is only 3 people at the bar, the space appears crowded because of the small amount of space between the bar and the wall of the building, there is a lot of empty space between the bar and the other building

4. Color Scheme - bright, fanciful colors inside the bar, the colors of the other building are dull and brooding,

5. Actions in the painting - boring, not a lot of movement, the couple and the waiter appear to be talking, the man sitting alone doesn't appear to be doing anything

Claim - In "Nighthawks," Edward Hopper conveys a contrast between the bright seemingly lively shop with the dark, brooding tone of the empty building across the steet in order to express a sense of animated joviality and grim loneliness.

My Literacy Narrative

When you think about it, remembering the earliest point at which you started reading or having any memorable reading moments throughout your childhood is really quite difficult. The first and only thing I can remember from my reading deprived life is my mom reading some of the Narnia series to my brother, sister, and I. I was probably around 9 or 10 at the time and I didn't enjoy reading at all. However, there was something about the story or the way my mom read the books that compelled me to go to my sister's room with the rest of my family and to listen to the fictional tales.

Another reading tid-bit that I remember from my elementary school years is reading these sports mystery books - I forget what they are called. Anyways, I recall reading the entire series which was quite an accomplishment considering the large number of books in the series. However, this want to read surpassed me sometime through middle school.

I don't know if it was the extremely boring novels we were assigned such as Iron and Silk and The Chosen, or if it was an increased enjoyment of doing other things such as playing soccer, Xbox, or piano. Either way, some sort of drive has to take me over to be able to really "want" to read a book. With the increased amount of technology of today, it is hard to find that drive when "House" or "Modern Family" is on or I can walk downstairs and play Call of Duty for a while. Someday, I think I will find that urge to read whether it is in college or sometime later in life, but right now, that urge is long gone.

Even though I do not read much myself, I do believe that reading does play a large part in our society today. The sale of books and e-books makes up a large portion of the consumer economy today. Also, books, along with paintings, poems, and many other art forms, are one of the main ways that people express themselves as well as record history. Books allow writers and novelists to voice their opinion on anything or maybe they just want to entertain. Non-fiction books can also pass on information and history that we, the people of today, need to learn from in order to learn from the past. Even though books have not had a large impact on my life in particular, the ambiguity of books make them special and important to our society.