God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian

God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian

In this short concept novel, Kurt Vonnegut writes from a medical center in Huntsville texas. Where he hires Dr. Jack Kevorkian, A very famous Dr. specializing in supervised deaths, to perform controlled lethal injection experiments on the author. He does so in order to travel into the afterlife to experience and document what it is like when someone dies.  After a near death experience, Vonnegut gets the idea that maybe he could take vacation trips to the Pearly Gates. But the main reason Vonnegut choses to kill himself over and over again is so he can interview those who have passed away. Some of his interviewees include Saint Peter, who oversees the entrance to heaven, Adolf Hitler, Sir Issac Newton, James Earl Ray, Admitted killer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an extremely unpleasant discussion with William Shakespeare. If your asking yourself how is it that Adolf Hitler made the cut into heaven, according to Saint Peter, there is no Hell. There is only an afterlife. We also learn that you can be whatever age you want to be in the afterlife.

I find this concept very interesting. Imagine having the opportunity to walk down what Vonnegut describes as the “Blue Tunnel” and talk to anybody who has ever graced the earth. think of the things you could learn, the people you would meet. It is a thing that literally everybody that has ever lived has thought about. What happens after we die? And the beautiful thing is that nobody knows. Nobody will ever know. until we die, only then will we see what there is after this thing called life. 

All in all, this book has a really thought provoking theme. The interviews are very interesting, and Vonnegut’s writing ties the book together beautifully. He brilliantly blends death with comedy, and in turn has attracted me to his style. I have already found myself owning two others of his books. I give this book 4 Big Wangs out of 5.

S: Kurt Vonnegut

O: To Interview past lives.

A: Those interested in the afterlife.

P: To gain Knowledge about what happens after we die.

S: The Dead

Tone: Kurt Vonnegut seems to be excited and curious throughout the book.

IV

IV

It is not very often the a young man such as myself finds a writer that he can connect to. You see, I have never been much of a reader. It was always hard for me to have interest in a book. They never really grabbed me. During the first quarter of this year, my good friend and the girl next door Annie Elizabeth Aries informed me that she was currently reading a book that the brilliant and dashing Mr. Potts turned her onto. It was called The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman. (see below for report) She talked this book up so much to me that I decided to read it for second quarter. I enjoyed the writing style so much that I looked for other books by this Author. Turns out, Klosterman has quite the track record. The book I landed on for this quarter Is called IV A Decade Of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.

This novel is unlike most books I've ever read. It consists of three sections. Things that are true, Things that Might Be True, and Something that isn't true At All. The first section consists of interviews and profiles of everything ranging from athletes to actors to musicians. I really enjoy the way he constructs his interviews. He is able to provide multiple perspectives. He successfully befriends his subjects while simultaneously being able to ask critiquing questions. These pages are also loaded with footnotes and secondary thoughts Klosterman had after the fact. The second section is made up of opinion articles. These essays also have footnotes based on his present thought process. The cool part about this section, is that the stories are preceded with hypothetical questions. These questions are used to open your eyes to the section you are about to read. One of the Questions I found interesting was one in which Mr. Klosterman asked his readers to envision themselves away on business, and receiving news that the plane your spouse was on went down in the middle of the ocean. After a month of mourning, you see a national headline that there were survivors found from your spouses plane. After investigation, you find that your wife lived through the crash and survived on a nearby island with one other person. In the press conference you notice this person is very attractive, you also learn that these two only survived because they had each other. After finally reuniting with your spouse, you question the idea of asking if she stayed faithful. Would it be more appropriate to never ask? Would cheating be justified in these circumstances? Klosterman then rolls into a story relating relationships. In the third and final section, There is a beginning of a fictional short story. This is a departure for Klosterman in the sense that he usually writes in non-fiction. The main character, jack, is rumored to have similar traits to Klosterman. He claims the character is completely fictional.

All in all, this book is a solid read. I would strongly suggest this book to anybody that enjoys music. Klosterman loves to write about artists and their inside stories. Also if your a deep thinker, The rhetorical questions provide some cool situations to think about. I would give this book four Big Wangs out of five.

S: Chuck Klosterman

O: To share the authors stories

A: Lovers of music/introspective thinkers

P: To let people in on the world of entertainment

S: The subject changes constantly throughout the book

Tone: Interested and insightful

The Visible Man

The Visible Man

The Visible Man is an entertaining and thought provoking book by modern successful writer Chuck Klosterman. I constantly find myself deep in thought between chapters while reading this book. It has such interesting themes and stories and with the way Klosterman writes, he is quickly becoming a favorite writer of mine.

The Visible Man is told from the position of a therapist named Victoria Vick. Victoria finds her entire professional life being turned upside down by a brand new patient named “Y___”. Y___ has an interesting field of study. He believes that people can only be the person they truly are when they are alone. When they don't have to constantly be impressing and acting for the amusement of the people around them. In order to do this, Y___ uses a suit he personally created to break into peoples homes, sit in a corner of a room, and simply observe for hours on end. The way he does this is interesting. Y___ has conditioned his body to survive off around 500 calories a day and he takes constant amphetamines to stay sharp on his observations.

Y___ chose to seek Victoria’s profession for interesting purposes. During their sessions, He specifically requests that she not talk. rather she just sits and listens to these compelling and intimate stories of regular everyday people spending time on their own. The entire book consists of Y___’s monologues, and Victoria’s notes and observations between therapy sessions.

This writing arises some seriously stimulating conversation between me and the people I talk to this book about. In the novel, Y___ explains that not enough people cherish their time alone. They think of it as though it doesn't count. People only consider their time on this earth valid if they’re spending time with other people. I find it interesting because I personally feel alone time is when you really define yourself as an individual. You choose to do things for yourself. Nowadays, a person can choose to build themselves and read an article or play the guitar. Or that same person can just choose to sit there, eat and watch 2 and a half seasons of Arrested Development (Personal Example). Everything about success has to do with personal drive and how badly you want something in life. So find importance in your alone time. It is an important part of who you are.

S: Victoria Vick
O: This story is set in modern time
A: Those interested in therapy, psychology, or human behavior
P: to tell the story of Y___
S: Y___’s expeiriences and memories

Tone: Victoria is constantly interested in everything Y___ is saying. Nothing ever gets old for her.

Good Songs

Songs I like

All I need - Radiohead

Sing about me I'm dying - Kendrick Lamar

Rhinestone Eyes - The Gorillaz

Wolfgangs 5th Symphony - Wolfgang Gartner

Every single song the Pharcyde ever made

Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

Whats Golden - Jurrassic 5

Dance Yourself Clean - LCD Soundsystem

Gun Shy - Grizzly Bear

911 - Public Enemy

Aquemini - Outkast

The Entire Beatles Discography

Is This it? - The Strokes

Man on the Moon - Kid Cudi

T.R.O.Y - Pete Rock & CL Smooth

What You Need - The Weeknd (Sexy)

Like It Like That - Tribe Called Quest

Fu-Gee-La - The Fugees

Embody - SebastiAn

Southern Point - Grizzly Bear

Black Magic - The White Stripes

Intro - M83

November Has Come - The Gorillaz

Is This Love? - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Who Makes Your Money - Spoon

Pink Matter - Frank Ocean

Rusted Wheel - Silversun Pickups

My Girl - The Temptations

:)

Why Obama should win

Obama 

Dear undecided voter, here are the reasons why I think Barack Obama is your best choice for the upcoming election. President Obama finds great importance in our education system, he wants to make it easier for less privileged kids to make it to college. In his eyes, anybody that works hard should be able to achieve their goals. Obama sees the influence a good teacher can have on a student. He values small classes and the future of our country.

In regards to the future of the country, we need a president that can think ahead and plan for the well being of our country. In his presidency so far, he has more than doubled production of renewable energy in wind and solar, while also investing in 15,000 clean energy projects all over the country.  The president has taken monumental steps to reduce carbon pollution in the United States. Barack Obama is working to preserve our environment for our children to enjoy after us.

Another area in which Obama shines is foreign policy. He made the bold move to organize a raid on bin laden’s lair to take him out. In the middle east, he is now transferring the power to the Afghani people. And our troops will officially be out of the middle east by 2014. Obama is making an international effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

All in all, I think Barack Obama is your best bet for the Presidential election this year, He will Help with our education, work towards the future of our earth, and he knows what he's doing in terms of national affairs. 

PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II

PT 109

The reason I chose PT 109 was because I find John F Kennedy to be one of the greatest presidents This country has ever seen. I also find the story this book is written about very fascinating. This book really interested me because I really enjoy learning about history, and they way things happened.

PT 109 is the story of a young Kennedy becoming a man. Back in 1943, John Kennedy was 25 years old and the captain of a small Pt boat in the navy. He and his crew were stationed In the solomon islands Northeast of Australia. The crew was working with the native solomon people to watch for Japanese carriers dropping troops off two islands over.

       One night, Kennedy's crew and four other boats were on a short mission to take out Japanese carriers. It was around 2AM, the night was very dark, and the fog was thick. Kennedy's boat is idling on one engine. Out of nowhere, Japanese destroyer Amagiri slams against the small boat, basically splitting it in half. Two crew members die immediately. Kennedy orders the rest of the crew to jump overboard. The ship explodes and one man is badly burned. John puts the mans life jacket strap in his mouth and gathers his remaining crew on a floating torpedo tube. John Kennedy and his crew were in the water for ten hours strait. Kennedy realizes he needs to get his men to dry land. Despite his bad back, he leads his crew to a small isolated island called plum pudding island. The crew stays a night on the island then realizes their is no water source. His crew then swims to a larger island with water and some food. At this point, the rescue mission was called off because crew members on the other boats claimed they say an explosion. The men were presumed dead. John decided to swim from island to island though enemy waters in search of a friendly search party. After an unsuccessful venture, he returns to the island with his crew.

      After waiting 3 and a half days, the crew has almost given up, when they see a small wooden boat being rowed in their direction. It is two Solomon natives on one last search mission for the 109 crew. The men didn't speak english so Kennedy had to carve a message on a coconut. The next day, a rescue party picks up the crew. 11 Men ended up surviving the ordeal. Once back at camp, John writes a letter to his family back at home. Referring to the men that presumed kennedy to be dead, he says "I guess they misjudged the durability of a Kennedy."

SOAPSTone Analysis

Speaker: Robert J. Donavan 

Occasion: Celebrating our 35th president

Audience:  Anybody interested in J.F.K.'s history or his road to becoming the President of the United States.

Purpose: To Inform People of the Kennedy's Heroic story involving his time in the war.

Subject: John Kennedy's survival story.

Tone:  Stressed

I Do So Like Green Eggs and Ham, Thank you! Thank you Sam-I-Am

        Every once in a while, we come across a book that changes us, changes our outlook on life, and the way we choose to treat the ones around us. This book for me, was Green eggs and ham by arguably the best poet of all time, Sir Doctor Seuss. This short tale taught lessons, at the same time as warmed hearts.

        The book is basically a Conversation between two Seuss inspired characters. Sam, or as many know him Sam-I-Am, desperately tries to get an unnamed character to try his green eggs and ham. He repeatedly declines the generous offer. But Sam-I-Am persists. He offers numerous situations in witch his friend could try the peculiar dish, but the man does not budge. After countless wacky proposals, The unnamed man decides to try these "Green Eggs and Ham" only to discover that he actually really enjoys them.

        This Book taught me some serious morals as Im sure it did many other children durring story time. As my loving Mommy read this book to me, I learned it is not fair to judge a book by its cover. Even if something isnt what your used to, give it a try and all may work out for the better.