A Peak Inside

A peek inside to find a peak

[kathief4]

Finally!   Here is my skydive video as promised.  I didn't get to go on my actual 50th birthday due to weather.  The next weekend was also poor weather and then the drop zone was closed for the holidays.  I finally jumped on 4 Jan.  It was COLD... I had on 4 layers under my jumpsuit including my winter coat (I look like the Staypuft marshmallow man!); it was scary... especially when I was at the door with my toes over the open doorway before "Go!"; but it was ssssoooo much fun!  I will do another tandem when the weather is nicer.... about 70 degrees & blue skies.  YOLO!

[nitsirkeellehcim]

I have not been the best student this semester. I would say that 95% of the class I was behind in the reading. I have half the Tumblr posts that I need, and I confess to only getting to chapter three of A Visit from the Goon Squad when we were talking about it in class. Despite all of that I...

[kathief4]

I will definitely agree with you that none of the books in this class will make it to my top 10.  I have learned that I like a straight timeline with maybe a little background info on characters to tell how they got in their current situation.  I do not like the jumping around in time, never knowing who is talking, or the ones that made no sense.  I am NOT a post-modern girl.  I am ok being a traditionalist in this arena.  I like the way the class was run much like a book club where you read a portion and then discuss it.  The discussions helped to clarify the material a lot and I enjoyed hearing everyone’s perspectives.  Good Luck on the Final!

[kathief4]

FOURTEEN

I have really have enjoyed this class.  I like the way it way taught.  I like the people in this class.  I really liked our discussions that would point out a different perspective on a character or situation in our readings.  The discussions would really help clarify some material.  I like Professor Clark and the way she explained things and considered everyone’s ideas.   I did not like all the books we read.  The worst part of the class was reading from the Postmodernism text book.  Although the stories there were short, I can say I did not like them. Good Luck to everyone on your finals and futures!  12/5/13

[kathief4]

Fourteen.  I have really have enjoyed this class.  I like the way it way taught.  I like the people in this class.  I really liked our discussions that would point out a different perspective on a character or situation in our readings.  The discussions would really help clarify some material.  I like Professor Clark and the way she explained things and considered everyone’s ideas.   I did not like all the books we read.  The worst part of the class was reading from the Postmodernism text book.  Although the stories there were short, I can say I did not like them. Good Luck to everyone on your finals and futures!  12/5/13

[lbblr]

The creepy thing about this book, is its got my head whirling.

Even with everyone trying to place each other in post-apocoliptic shoes, and standing up for the cannibals. I would never. Nor would i off myself. My morals and beliefs are too strong to stray from them in any given circumstance.

…

[modubbs]

Yeah when they brought up that plane crash where the people that survived started eating the dead, like come on. They could have found SOMETHING to eat I’m sure if they tried hard enough. That freaks me out, I think I’d rather starve to death than to eat another human being. Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Shoot I’m sure they could have founds bugs crawling around somewhere.

[kathief4]

The movie you are referring to is “Alive”.  It came out in 1993 based on the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972.  The survivors of the crash resorted to cannibalism because the mountain top was snow covered and there was no food.  They were stranded for two months.  They would have all died if they hadn’t resorted to eating parts of their dead fellow passengers.  I can’t imagine having to ever make a decision like that.  Either die, or do the unimaginable.  I am sure their family members were glad to know their love ones survived and were in fact alive, but knowing what they did to live would be hard to deal with. 

[kathief4]

Thirteen  

  Good vs. evil.  A major theme in ‘The Road’ is good vs. evil.  Good vs. evil isn’t as black and white in a post-apocalyptic world.  For instance, stealing is normally wrong, but when you are taking from someone who is presumed dead for survival, it doesn’t seem wrong.  The boy is always making sure he and his father keep being the “good guys”.  They are the good guys because they carry the fire and the good guys always keep going.  They also don’t eat people.  The father is protecting them from “the bad guys”.  The boy is losing his innocence along the road.  The boy comes to realize that when his dad took the clothes from the thief who stole everything they had, that they had effectively killed the man.  I can’t imagine having all the rules changed and trying to grasp a new sense of right and wrong in a survivalist world.  11/22/13

[lbblr]

I am pretty far behind on the road and plan to get caught up by tomorrow, but this blog is due today. So with that being said the only thing I feel i can ramble on is the fact that the mother commits suicide. I don’t care what given circumstance stands, that is not okay.

Every...

[kathief4]

Under “normal” circumstances, I would agree with the both of you that suicide is WRONG and selfish, however these are NOT normal circumstances.  In a post-apocalyptic world where resources are limited and you live in fear every day of being eaten, raped, tortured, and/or impregnated by “monsters” and having your husband and child possibly witness that, or them being killed (and then eaten) so that the “bad guys” can have their way with you would be emotionally draining.  You can’t do anything to change your situation or improve your odds.  You are a target, you are hunted, you are a danger your family.  Suicide in this circumstance is forgivable.

[kathief4]

Twelve. 

End of the road.  I also wanted to write about the wife who assumedly commits suicide.  If I put myself in her shoes, I can see why she thought it was the best thing she could do for her family.  I believe she couldn’t see a good outcome for them if she stayed with them.  If she stayed, she would probably put them in graver danger.  Not only would her being alive use more of their resources, but if she had high anxiety, she could unwittingly reveal their hidden locations.  Watching someone you love suffer is most unbearable.  Maybe she couldn’t watch her child suffer and die.  I would die before seeing my child used as a sex toy for grown men.  Maybe she wanted to save her husband and child from seeing her tortured and gang-raped over and over.  I would die before seeing my child used as a sex toy for grown men.  I hate suicide, it has touched my life.  I have always said that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.  Her situation wasn’t temporary.  11/17/13

[lbblr]

Out of all the books we’ve read so far I’d have to say that Visit from the Goon Squad is my favorite. Or atleast grabs most of my interest compared to the others. Needless to say i haven’t disliked any novel in particular, this is just more down to earth and easy to visualize as you read...

[kathief4]

I have mixed feelings about this book.  I like it, but something about the ending just leaves me feeling the story isn’t finished.  I like all the different POVs.  I like the characters and their background stories.  Prof. Clark mentioned the last chapter is “technical”, maybe that’s the reason I feel it doesn’t end right.  I liked the character Rob, also.  Jennifer Egan did a good job with the idea that just because you start to turn your life around, doesn’t mean time is left on your clock.  We all travel different paths in this life and we spend our time differently, but it doesn’t wait for any one of us. 

[kathief4]

Eleven

Avril Lavigne's song, ‘Here's to Never Growing Up’, is a great example of most of the main characters in “A Visit from the Goon Squad”.  Lou used young girls to hold onto his youth.  Bennie used gold flakes in his coffee to try and restore his youthful virility.  The characters in this book are related to the music industry and music has always been a creative way to voice human emotion.  The passage of time happens to those of us lucky enough to experience it, but time is not kind.  We fight to hold onto our youth, but as long as we live, it is a losing battle.  11/8/13.

[alyssarlp]

11.1.13 Gosh, so far this book reminds me so much of myself when I was younger (I’m sure you can’t really tell by looking at me now), other than the snorting cocaine and sleeping with older men. But other than that, when I read the story, more so about when they were in their teens, I think...

[kathief4]

I think we all go through somewhat of a rebellious stage as teens.  I remember sneaking around drinking, smoking, and dating who I wasn’t allowed to.  My father was very strict when I was growing up and he was Stubborn and I must admit, I did try to out-stubborn him.  I was so busy doing what I was told not to do that I didn’t figure out who I was, just who I wasn’t.  I wasn’t him.  I definitely walked my own path, and it wasn’t an easy one.  Maybe if I had stop rebelling long enough to know that he had my best interests at heart, I could have saved myself some heartache.   To quote Elvis, “…The record shows I took the blows and did it my way.”

[kathief4]

Ten

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”- Dr. Seuss.  I think we all do this to a certain extent.  No matter how uniquely individual each one of us is, no one likes being left on the outside.   A common theme in ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ so far seems to be fitting in.  Rhea talks about being a fake punker and that only Scotty is real.  The whole band of the Flaming Dildos is trying to fit in the punk scene.  Alice comes from a rich family, but wants to find her own niche within her group of friends.  I think at this point in my life, I relate mostly to Stephanie, Bennie’s wife.  Bennie and Stephanie, being newly rich, move to an upscale neighborhood of old money people and she tries to fit in.  When I married my military husband, I had 2 kids, he had 4.  We got custody of all 6 kids and moved to Guam.  I didn’t have experience as a military spouse, so all of a sudden, I was an officer’s wife, a Mom to 6 kids, and had moved half-way around the world.  I tried to fit in with other officer’s wives, but I just didn’t, so I focused on blending my new family.  I made the wisest choice because our kids are still in my life and the others with whom I didn’t fit in are not a part of my life.  Being me is important.  11/2/13.

[scoobyrocks44]

Personally I liked ELIC better than TTTC because I love the puzzle that Foer creates. Like at the end we find out that Thomas Schell Sr. was in the art store and that the reason everyone knew Oskar’s name was because of his mom. To me, these are the best kind of books. But as a written narrative,...

[kathief4]

I like your perspective of how the puzzles were being solved in ELIC.  I was not happy with all the loose ends in ELIC, like did Oskar learn that the renter was his grandfather and what happened with the grandparents.  I see your points of how all along some things made sense, but those things were not revealed to us by the unreliable narrator, Oskar, until the end of the book.  I think anyone who has experienced a devastating trauma could see that Oskar suffered from PTSD.

I agree that I liked TTTC better because it did have fewer distractions.    Some of the men in this story, like Bowkar, surely also suffered from PTSD. 

[kathief4]

Nine

What The Heck???  This is a picture of my “thinking cap”, which must not be working properly!  I am at a total loss for intelligent thought after reading Kathy Acker’s excerpt from “Great Expectations”.  I will really need someone to explain to me the meaning of this.  The non-related words thrown together must mean something, but I haven’t a clue how to decipher this one.  UGH!! I did not like this reading at all.  I could not relate.

The second reading was a much easier read-able story.  I could follow the thought processes of Douglas Coupland’s excerpt from ‘Generation X’.  It is post-modern in its pastiche, but it is a chronologically ordered story.  I liked this story best of the readings.  10/22/13

[itslovelyliterature-blog]

Well, I was so excited when we finally got to read Extremely Loud & Incredibly close. I had been waiting for that, and also waiting for everyone else to read the novel and finish so that everyone could openly discuss it (I had already read it numerous times previous to the course).

Oskar’s...

[kathief4]

I am sorry you had such a tragic loss as a child.  Children who lose parents and parents who lose children just turns worlds upside down.  I can see your perspective about maybe Oskar was “normal” until he lost his father.  He very well could have had Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  Thank you for that idea.  It makes Oskar a more sympathetic character rather than the slightly obnoxious and rather precocious child I had imagined.  I now can understand better why Oskar didn’t pick up the last phone call from his dad, nobody wants to hear their loved one is not ok or going to be ok. 

[kathief4]

Eight

1/2.  We have reached the halfway point of the class.  I wish you all good luck on your mid-term.  Looking back on the class so far, ‘The Things They Carried’ has been my favorite of our readings.  I liked it for several reasons.  First, because it was the easiest to follow.  Second, it gave insight to something I will never experience, although some of my family have been or currently are military members.  Lastly, I think the characters are relatable.  In looking forward to the rest of the semester, ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ looks interesting, but I think I am looking more forward to ‘The Road’ because it looks more traditional.  I am gaining some appreciation for post-modernism through this class, but I am not falling in love with it.  I am keeping an open mind and trying new things.

[starespera]

After reading “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” I began to realize that the style of writing and the pictures were more intriguing and had more impact than the story itself. I do not know if it was because the ending had no conclusion, but I think it was because the book had a lot of artistic qualities.  It was creative, fresh and it somehow linked to my favorite hobby: photography. In photography, there’s so much more to it than just the point and shoot, it is far more complex. There’s perspective, angles, lighting etc. that one has to consider. I can link photography to the novel for the simple fact that the author had taken a story and shot (wrote) it in different perspectives.  The author was also flexible with the style of writing and used different techniques, and like in photography, one can use different techniques to paint a specific scene or express a certain emotion. The pictures were just as intriguing as the style of writing. I am a very visual person so being able to see what Oskar was seeing was almost fortunate. The last pictures were the ones that had the greatest effect on me. Even though I was witnessing a man falling, the author’s twist of putting it backwards made the book even more beautiful. It looked like the man was going up to heaven, and that’s definitely comforting. 

[kathief4]

I really enjoyed reading your blog and how you tied the author’s use of mixed media and photography to your hobby.  Your point of perspective and angle in photography clearly shows your grasp of what Foer was to communicate to his readers.  In life, perspective determines how everyone sees things.  If an author wants to show the readers something, he must elicit the emotions that he is trying to convey.  Foer’s use of pictures in this book are excellent tools for communicating his story.  I also like the way he laid out the text on the pages.  I think you did a beautiful job in drawing the parallels.