Thomas Quach

[tommyiscool26]

Reading “Fight Club” Post #1

As I’m beginning to approach the climax of the book, I’ve noticed many things that Palahniuk brings up that allows the readers to understand the personality of the narrator. From where I’m at in the novel, I feel Palahniuk really wants the readers to deeply understand who the narrator is and his intentions through out the book. In other words, it’s about understanding the psychology of the characters. Palahniuk especially does this by shifting between different events and memories in the narrator’s mind as a way of providing context on why the narrator is the way he is. From the scene of where he’s held at gunpoint to his memories of going to various support groups, Palahniuk reveals that the narrator is wanting to live a lifestyle of danger and fear which ultimately uncovers the reasons of creating The Fight Club. I think that understanding this is really important because it allows the audience to develop a better connection with the narrator. It especially allowed me to side with the narrator and support his decisions which is what I believe Palahniuk intended for the readers to do.

[tommyiscool26]

Research Project Post #1: Choosing The Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I chose The Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk because of my interest with action-based novels. Watching the trailer with Mr. Kreinbring, I knew that this book was going to be loaded with action scenes. I’m also very impressed with the high ratings as well when seeing 92% of people on google enjoy this book because of its plot and scenes. Additionally, when reading the preview, the main idea of this “fight club” seems very intriguing and complex that I want to learn more about. This idea of having an organization that hires men with poor lives to fight as way to change their economical and social life is something that I want to read more about. I want to see how the book evolves this organization and its outcome at the end. And I’ve always loved watching movies that were action-based with a lot of fighting as well and when seeing this book, I believe that I will enjoy it just as much. Overall, I truly believe that I have chosen the perfect novel that aligns with my preferences and interest. 

[nicholasb9]

Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now - Most likely, you think we hated the elephant,

As I’m reading this it is very interesting to see the forecasting of what he thinks the future will hold. For example, “We still had the night sky back then, and like our ancestors, we admired its illuminated doodles of scorpion outlines and upside-down ladles.” These lines are assuming that the future won’t have beautiful blue skies and cool star constellations. This really reminds me of the real world because even though these things are not directly talked about today, the climate is still a big topic, so I believe that this poem talks about the results of climate change and the way we treat the world.  I really liked this poem because it really connects to my life. In 50 years I hope to be alive and I would like to see how accurate he is. I think the title of this poem wraps up the whole idea, I like how mystical it makes the whole thing feel. I think this allows the reader to really embrace the ideas that he is proposing making the poem even more interesting. 

[tommyiscool26]

I think that this poem is really interesting as it focuses on a really universal concept that applies to everyone. Talking about climate change, Olzmann is talking about an idea that also sparks controversy and allows the readers to develop discussion about his poem. This poem gets the readers thinking about the future through his uses of referencing the blue skies and constellations.

[nicholasb9]

Astronomers Locate a New Planet - Like the universe’s largest engagement ring, it twirls

I read the poem “Astronomers Locate a New Planet” by Matthew Olzmann and I really liked this poem because it was not an easy read and it had me wondering what a lot of it meant. But one passage: 

“Things grow everywhere, and so much is possible, 

but on the news tonight: a debate about who

can love each other forever and who cannot.”

I can understand this passage much more and it really stuck out to me. this passage talks about how love is flowing and always starting and ending everywhere but the public always undermines it with their views and creates a stigma that people get behind. One big thing that I really disliked about this poem was the openness and wonder that all the lines create, I think it creates a cool effect but it makes the poem a million times harder to understand. When I first read this poem it made me think of a time when I was younger when I didn’t understand the world, and I didn’t know how what certain things meant. I was up at my cottage and I was sitting outside on the lawn, late into the night, watching the stars hoping to see something far far away. I remember my mom telling me “do you see the milky way” and I just stared and stared until all the stars became one.

[tommyiscool26]

Wow nick I really like the connection that you have made here to a personal memory. It really shows that you made a deeper connection to the meaning of the poem. When I read through it as well, I was really confused but was able to somewhat have an understanding after reading the lines that you have quoted. I completely agree on how love is like a river and that the boulders and rocks that hinders its path, are the people that undermines and judges love.

[tommyiscool26]

Mentor Poet #6 “An Absurd Pastime”

This by far is one of my most favorite poems by Ben Wilkinson. He applies a universal concept into a short and straightforward piece of writing. When I first initially read this, I was confused on what he was trying to convey. However, it was until he said, “It’s easier to keep on than to quit, It eats up every minute of every day” revealed to me that he was relating it to life itself and not a specific action or event. After realizing this overall picture, I was able to understand the other points that he brings up about life. They all made sense because I was able to personally relate them to my life as well. It was understanding that everyone has the mindset of trying to create a world without any mishaps or problems, but in reality, these issues are inevitable. People need to understand a perfect life is impossible, something that I can see Wilkinson is trying to exaggerate. I also see that Wilkinson added a sort of counter argument to this piece as he italicizes the famous phrase, “practice makes perfect” as way to talk about a common misconception people could have on his argument, but it confuses me to how he never really refutes or denies this phrase. Wilkinson rather admits and says, “can’t argue with it” but really what I think is that he wants the readers to infer that this common phrase doesn’t apply to life. people can’t practice “life” to make it perfect. 

I think that this image that I’ve pasted is an accurate visual of what Wilkinson is portraying. It can be seen that this wealthy man may seem to have a perfect life with his lavish attire and abundance of cash. People may imagine his life as being perfect without any flaws. However in reality, it can be seen that he is possibly depressed and stresses about his life. It shows that his life isn’t as perfect as people may see it as. (311)

[tommyiscool26]

Mentor Poet Post #5

For my fifth mentor poet post, I decided to share Ben Wilkinson’s “River Don.” I chose this poem because I wanted to challenge myself conceptually with a more complex piece of writing. After glancing at this poem, I was initially puzzled and didn’t understand what Wilkinson wanted to portray. As seen above, I jotted down many parts of the poem that confused me. However, after closely reading a sentence at a time, I was able to understand that Wilkinson is using the “River Don” as a metaphor to a dangerous figure that represents his worst nightmare. I can also see that he personifies the “River Don” as a way to describe it as character. As Wilkinson says, “the thought of what we might wake to the dream of mine...” reveals evidence that the “River Don” played a prominent role in this dream, a dream that he feared. He goes on to describe how this River Don actually never happened and that his house sat in piece. Aside from this understanding though, I am still very confused on the overall theme of this poem and the significance of this nightmare. He mentions how it was a dream that has been on/off for weeks which shows the importance of this thought but he never really mentions why it was so important. 

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/weather/further-danger-life-warning-place-river-don-flooding-misery-continues-920383 

Attached is an article about the River Don. It turns out that it was a channel in Europe built during the Byzantine Empire for trade. However, it sparks a large issue today as it tends to severely flood which causes danger for many residents. After searching about this, I can see that Wilkinson’s purpose of this poem is more clear as he explicitly is talking about the flooding issue with the River Don. (286)

[tommyiscool26]

Mentor Poet #4

Every poem by Ben Wilkinson is unique and captivating such as this one. In this poem titled, “Where I Run From” Wilkinson is conveying the nature of running and its purpose. In my opinion, I thought that this poem was very confusing but I had a sense that it had a really big meaning. Some parts where I was confused were when he repeats the first and last phrases when he says, “What I talk about when I talk bout.” My predictions are that he is trying to portray that  “talking” about the sport of running is irrelevant and has no meaning, but rather running is all about yourself. In other words, running is not a fight between others but a battle verses yourself and your mental capacity in conquering the challenge.

I was able to unravel this theme by understanding some of the figurative moves that he uses such as repetition. It can be seen that Wilkinson constantly uses the word “running” at the beginning of each of his sentences showing how he wants to emphasize the meaning of this sport. My prediction is that he wants to drill the idea of what running really means into the readers’ minds, something that really changed my perception on running when reading this poem. 

The quote below by Michael Jordan is one that I believe exemplifies the meaning that Wilkinson is trying to portray, that running is your mental capacity of overcoming the challenge through yourself and to believe in what you can do. 

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[tommyiscool26]

Poet Cheat: Patrick Rosal’s “Violets”

When choosing another poet to analyze, I found that Patrick Rosal was the most interesting. When reading this poem, I thought that there were many abstract ideas and themes that really shined.  One of these themes is the thought about a corrupt society. He uses the violet as a metaphor in describing the “American epoch” and on how people simply sit around and observe. People let this violet sprout and continue to grow in comparison to letting the epoch spread. I really thought that this was a really clever way in expressing what the majority does in society. 

Another really interesting aspect about Rosal is his large use of literary devices. Besides the big metaphor about violets, It can be seen that Rosal uses a lot of imagery in the beginning of the poem. Rosal describes the cold winters by descriptively talking about his warmth and what he did to combat the cold. I believe that this is a really good way towards introducing the poem by first describing the winter then later shifting towards the springtime. He also uses even more imagery later on when he describes the taste of the violet. He explains how the violet was rotten with musk smelling like old cologne. Rosal wants the readers to visualize the violet as sorrow and depressing. 

When I compare the writing styles of my poet (Ben Wilkinson) to Patrick Rosal, I can definitely see that Patrick Rosal uses a lot more literary techniques in writing his poetry. Ben Wilkinson seems to write his poems in a style of dialogue and telling a story. However, both authors seem to always express importance in a single word/phrase that emphasizes the meaning of the poem. Overall, I really enjoy the stylistic techniques and styles of both authors in writing poetry. 

The link I have provided is an image of a collage of news reporting companies that represents the American epoch to how people passively watch and observe as the corruption becomes worse in society. I really think that this was one of the biggest themes of the poem. 

https://crimeresearch.org/2019/10/crime-prevention-research-center-in-the-news-us-news-world-report-the-blaze-breitbart-epoch-times-and-much-more/

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[tommyiscool26]

Poetry Blog 2

In this blog post, I want to start off by discussing the title as I believe it has a lot of significance to the meaning of the poem. When Wilkinson mentions how he says that his dad gets up on Sundays “too” shows how every weekday his dad probably gets up really early as well. This is significant as it allows the readers to assume that his dad is passionate at what he's doing. 

When reading this poem, I was confused near the end on why Wilkinson mentioned that no one could've held him back if he had gone that early. Even though this could’ve meant anything, I assumed that it was probably because his mom was either very strict or that there was something in the household that held him back from leaving.

When I first stumbled upon this poem, I instantly related it back to Robert Hayden’s poem titled, “Those Winter Sundays” where he discusses how his dad got up early every morning as well. But rather getting up early to go on a morning run, Hayden describes how his father was taking care of the household for the comfort of Hayden. I instantly made a connection on how both fathers had there own passionate motives as they never took any days off from what they were doing. It shows that they were passionate and loved what they did. However, what Robert Hayden’s father did was out for the love of his son, but rather what Wilkinson’s father did was out of self interests. Which brings me to the question of why did Wilkinson’s father have to be secretive about where he had gone and what he did? Because thinking about this poem in a larger context, It can be seen that this whole idea of his father going our for morning runs could be false and simply an assumption by Wilkinson. 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46461/those-winter-sundays -Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden.

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[tommyiscool26]

Ben Wilkinson’s “The Catch”

“The catch was what you could never let go. It’s what you carried, and still do.”

This poem by Ben Wilkinson really clicked after reading this line. I really think that Wilkinson purposely placed this line last to overall wrap up and ultimately reveal what “The Catch” signifies. It can be seen how he really builds up the poem by using alliteration as his main technique to eliminate all possible theories and ideas on what “The Catch” could be. I really liked how he used examples when explaining the catch that were understandable to any reader to relate too. This allowed me to really picture what the catch would mean and its significance. The structure of this poem really caught my attention as well on how he slowly builds up the meaning then reveals the truth at the end like a movie or book. However, my least favorite part would have to be how Wilkinson doesn’t add in his own voice into the poem but rather he begins the poem by saying, “For You” which means that what he’s describing only applies to the readers. I wish that he added in how “The Catch” applies to him. However, this could possibly mean that he purposely was trying to target a specific person or that he could be passively talking about himself.

Some problems that arise when trying to analyze this poem was really trying to understand what Wilkinson was saying near the end of the alliteration when he says,

“Nor what cleaves the heart in two, that left your throat parched and mute for taking pill after yellow-green pill, the black-blue taste the price you paid to kill the two-parts sadness to one-part anger.”

It really took me at least five times to read this line and form an idea of what it really means. It was just the way of the wording and rhyme that he used to made it difficult to understand the meaning. However, I believe that it is the most important example that Wilkinson uses to describe “The Catch” as it is the most detailed and was placed at the end. In my opinion, I think that this line is talking about a suicidal thought regarding a pill that was used to “kill” sadness and anger that Wilkinson probably had. Thus, “the catch” could probably mean something that is something that is way bigger either a personal trait and characteristic that is permanently attached to a person’s life. 

After analyzing and gaining a deeper understanding of the purpose of the poem, I can relate the song titled, “Taking a Walk” by Trippie Redd. This song describes how Redd contemplates on suicide but describes on what he would be losing if he did. He explains how his successes and achievements would be thrown away if he did which goes back to how “the catch” could possibly be describing these things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrr22q3BljM - Taking a Walk

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[tommyiscool26]

My Mentor Poet- Ben Wilkinson

Ben Wilkinson really caught my eye when he had recently written a poem on a sport that I really love. Wilkinson’s poem on tennis was an instant draw in for me as it’s one of my main sports. Aside from tennis, I also saw that some of his poems were related to life and everyday concepts that apply to everyone. Some of these poems include “The Catch” and “Days.” He describes concepts that really opened my mind to rethink the little aspects of my life that have a significant amount of importance. Looking at some other poets such as Chase Bergunn and Steph Burt, I really couldn't connect aswell or have as much interest as I did with Ben Wilkinson. The genres and the topics that Ben Wilkinson writes ultimately influenced my decision on choosing him as my mentor poet. Below is his most recent poem titled, “The Champion” which relates to the intensive nature of tennis. He scales down to the simple forehand shot but exaggerates the complexity and the necessary aspects a player must have for success.

The Champion

Because what I love best is the sweat,

swift force of will supplanting strength,

forehand cross-court with enough spin

to take your head off. Watch the racquet

warp above his glare, fighter pilot’s

propeller throttling on the ascent,

dent after dent in his opponent’s

confidence, winners he’s no right to hit.

Who wouldn’t want to watch that, grit

and graft above effortless grace?

Beauty’s for amateurs; success a story

of setback, repetition. Persistence

makes the moment you’ll watch again

and again, a burst of chalk or clay

as time and space bend to make way.

[sidd612]

For my last secondary post, I would like to bring up the idea of the ‘end result’. Throughout my entire reading journey, blogging, and understanding the negatives of the politcal world right now, I constantly discussed Trump this, Trump that, and in regards to to Michael Lewis’s writing, I discussed the administration as a whole and the problems within them. However I picked this video to represent the finale of all of this. This video explains, through thick and thin, 3 ways this presidency theoretically should end, without any tampering or intervention of course that we have seen in the past. 

[tommyiscool26]

I think that this was a great ending and proposal to how President Trump should end. Rather than forcing or impeaching, this was a great theory/method on how Trump should end peacefully without causing any conflict. In my opinion, I think that this was your best secondary source as it sums up your view behind president Trump.

[sidd612]

“What are the consequences if the people given control over our government have no idea how it works?”

After completing the book, The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis, I must say that I have many opinions on several different aspects of this reading. Michael Lewis asks this question in the beginning of the book, and at first I took it as a technique that Lewis uses to draw in his readers, but he wasnt kidding. Throughout this book entirely, he dismantled the Trump administration, from the inside out. I would personally say that I am pretty involved in knowing what goes on, on both sides of the politcal spectrum, and in politics overall, but there are things in this book that shocked me, things about the Trump administration I didnt even know. I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Lewis’s writing, as his use of several different techniques made his writing not boring, and even though breaking down the Trump administration may seem somewhat of an easy thing to do, he did it on a completely different level.

Coming back to the question Michael Lewis started this book with; really, what are the consequences if something like this is true?

Well here is my opinion. Obviously, if the people given control over our government were given control in the first place, they were chosen to do so by people that believed they would do a good job. The question in itself is exagerrated, as anyone who gets power like this should have some idea of how it works. However the consequences of not knowing how it completely works can vary, with some being not as bad, and some being absolutely horrible. Lewis ellaborates on the results throughout the book, and I will just sum it up, as most of the results simply being where the government “does its best for the country”, while subtly at the very minimum, unimportant cost of the American citizens, who they are supposed to be representing. 

[tommyiscool26]

I think that anyone who decides to nominate themselves for leadership should meet certain requirements before being able to have the general public’s opinion about it. The consequence of having an inexperienced leader can result in a higher chance of corruption/mistakes. Relating this to Donal Trump, does Michael Lewis see Trump as an inexperienced leader that was mistakenly nominated as president?

[sidd612]

While enjoying @tommyiscool26 ‘s wonderful content, I came across one his secondary posts where he researched his author and did so to understand more of his book, and sparked the idea in my head to do nothing but the same. Watching this video helped me learn more about why Michael Lewis had written his book, and he ellaborates on some things that made some questionable thoughts I had whilst reading the book, much easier to understand. Understanding where each book comes from, and comprehending the overall reasoning behind it(because come on, there has to be a reason behind everything), can really make it easier to learn and overall enjoy the reading experience more. 

[tommyiscool26]

Yes I can also agree that learning more about the creator and author of your book can allow for better understanding on their point of view or argument that they are trying to make. It also allows you to know the background and history behind the author to know if they have experience behind what they are talking about.

[sidd612]

All The President’s Data

Michael Lewis develops his overall argument by breaking down and finding the flaws, obvious and unknown, in several ways. However one thing he does very well, is his use of statistics, because the truth is, numbers do not lie, people do. In the last chapter of “The Fifth Risk”, Lewis goes through many events where numbers where changed, stretched, or even displayed the dying economic future, but things like that were just disregarded. “How does 3.7 billion change to 700 million the next day, then to 2.9 billion the day after?” said Lewis when discussing the net worth of Trump’s secretary of commerce nominee. When he had to discuss his worth and where his money is, he had just avoided all follow up questions. The problem was, he was missing 3 billion dollars, Forbes wanted to be conservative about our new secretary of commerce’s life, and just set his worth at 2.9 billion. Like I had stated before, numbers do not lie, its the people behind displaying them that do, and thats the unfortunate truth.

Also, I found it very intresting that Michael Lewis next brought up the idea of ‘The fading American dream’, and it intrigued me, because what I learned from this was shocking. In 1940, 90 percent of children went on to make more money then their parents. In 1980, only 50 percent of children went on to do the same, and this trend seems to keep going. Lewis mentions how this is the result of how unequal the distribution of money in our country has been and is continuing to be. More and more of the capital gains are being captured by the very rich, the top 1%, while racial dynamics seemed to still play a major role on who was more likely to fall to the bottom or stay/rise to the top. He mentions how a white child born on the upper income of the spectrum is 5 times more likely to stay there then to fall to the bottom, while a black child in the same scenario is likely to fall to the bottom. I personally predicted that this how things would be, as the position each and every American are put in results in the positive or negative effects that occur in the future. I just wonder why Lewis brought this idea of socioeconomics into the conversation. Maybe to make a statement?

[tommyiscool26]

I think that Lewis’ argument is very pursudaing due to the evidence that he provides. I think that using statistics as his evidence provides concrete proof on why his argument is valid. I’m also confused on why he mentions, “the fading American dream” as it has very little correlation to Trump but more to past presidents and leaders. I wonder if Trump will take intiative to change this issue or influence it even more?

[sidd612]

I am using this as a secondary source, as it relates to the overall idea of my book, and its just extremely funny. This video used as an advertisment to display the “bigger picture”, since the advertisers are trying to sell a 360 camera, which can see and record all around. The message behind this is that there is a bigger picture to everything, including all of the claims Trump had made.

[tommyiscool26]

I actually find this commercial satirical and very humorous. Not only do they portray Trump in a very sarcastic way but they do it in a way in allowing them to promote their products as wel. It’s also very interesting how they disabled their comments which leads me to assume that their was probably large amount of negative reviews as this commercial was introduced way before Trumps nomination as president.

[sidd612]

Some things, unfortunately in the eyes of those in power, just don't matter.

Immigrants, wondering what their familes are going to do, people in poverty, worried for their children and lives, and even people invovled in the agricultural industry prepare for the worst. Sometimes its even the little things, that can cause the worst hits, even if its on your own citizens. 

‘Rural America’ didnt seem to have a say in in what went down in the Department of Agriculture. The honest truth is that you would to think that the more rural an American is, the more dependent they are for their way of life on the United States Government. The honest truth is that also the more rural of an American you are, the more likely you were to vote republican, to vote for Donald Trump. You would to think that that if Trump took office, he would do whatever he could to grow, strengthen, and improve things for those more ‘rural’ Americans. 

Oddly enough, soon into his presidency, Trump expressed his seriousness when it came to foreign affars, especially agricultural affairs, or trade. He also thought that removing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership was in the best intrest of the nation, while at the same time costing American farmers(lets keep in mind, like mentioned before, most likely voted for Trump, lol) 4.4 billion dollars a year. Soon, the office of Rural Development was removed as well with the educated people in this area, who were in charge of a 220 billion bank account. Moved to the office of the secretary, so they can have more money to spend, of course on things without the public knowing. As always. 

[tommyiscool26]

This is interesting because the majority of trumps voters were probably living the rural life and when Trump took office he actually hurt his voters by costing them more money. I wonder if after this, rural voters regret voting and nominating Trump as president? I also wonder if Trump has done anything so far to help and alleviate this mistake?