My Blog Reflection

      I still haven’t decided if I am into blogging or not. I think for a school assignment it’s a cool project because not a lot of teachers have to make a blog and post your thoughts about what were discussing in class on a blog. I have never made a blog before this class so this was my first time using one. I didn’t keep it very up to date through out the whole class but I liked the things that I put into my blog. I felt like I gave it the effort I wanted to and what came out of it was nice. I liked putting my real feeling about the homework and what we were discussing into the blog instead of a homework assignment. I liked the media blog that I put pictures from my iPhone. Overall I thought the blog was a good idea for an English class but it wasn’t my favorite thing of the class. I never fully got into the idea of blogging but now that I’m doing it I don’t see why it is so bad. I see why people like to do it everyday. I will probably not continue blogging but I am happy that I got to experience it from this class. 

The Namesake movie VS. The Namesake book

          I had mixed thoughts about the movie The Namesake compared to the book. I thought the book was so great because there was such fantastic detail and you could imagine almost every scene because the author would describe it to you so thoroughly. In the movie I was surprised because they had to cut so much of the book out of the movie to make it all fit and make the movie make sense. I thought they could have done a better job of putting more detail like the author had in the book.

            As for the parts that they did put good detail and followed the book I thought it was great. I thought the characters that played Ashima and Ashoke were exactly who I would have cast for that part. They fit the character description all the way from the way they looked from the way they acted. Also the man who played Gogol did a great job portraying Gogols life through the ups and downs. There were some parts of the movie that were straight from the book and I noticed that very easily because they did such a great job making it exactly like the book.

            Over all I thought the movie was a good movie but for me it didn’t make complete sense because they left out so much detail from the book. I would not recommend it to any of my friends unless they have read the book. I would recommend some of my friends to read the book and if they liked it, to watch the movie so you can see the characters you have always imagined on the big screen. 

Namesake Questions

As Gogol mourns his father’s death, what great qualities of his father’s character come to mind? What connection was there between him and his father that he now appreciates more than ever before? How might his father’s memory give him a firmer grasp on his own identity in the years to come?

When Gogol is mourning his fathers' death, he remembers all the great times he had with his father, all the time he was always there for Gogol. I feel like Gogol appreciates his father more now because he has become less embarrassed by his name and his family and he learns that his family is the closest thing possible to him and he can’t take that for granted because some day they won’t be there anymore. Gogol learns to appreciate his family and culture more after his fathers' death because he sees how important it was to him and is to his mother. 

The meaning of beautiful through my iPhone

            The one thing in life that will always make me feel better, always calm me down, always put a smile on my face, and will always be there for me is the beach. I love the beach more than almost anything else in life. I love the California Pacific Ocean and I love the New York Atlantic Ocean, any ocean anywhere is my favorite place in the world. There is something about the beach that calms me down and makes me take a step back from reality and let’s me relax. I have always found the waves crashing against the shore so soothing for me. Nothing else makes me happier then spending time in the sun on the beach frolicking in the water. All of the pictures shown in this blog I have taken on my iPhone. I find this pretty funny after reading the short essay by Andrew Sullivan about people living in the iWorld. I notice now that even when I am at the beach, relaxing and taking a break from the world I still have my iPhone out because I want to capture the beautiful moment I am experiencing.  Sullivan states in his short essay that people are missing out on life because they are plugged into their iPhones and not paying attention to the world around them. Sullivan didn’t think about using an iPhone to capture the moment in life that you are enjoying. I love the beach and I love my iPhone and together they make the best memories I will always be able to look back and reminisce on.

South Hampton Beach in New York over summer

Bodega Bay Beach in December, cold weather but still the beach is beautiful

Watching some friends Skim board at the beach at sunset

This is one of my most favorite  beach pictures I have ever taken, love how the waves look crashing onto shore

Enjoying the warm Atlanic Ocean water with my Mother, the one who gave me ocean fever 

What it takes to be a "Fiesel"

          Family to me means the people in your life that know you the best and are always there for you. Family is very important to me because they mean so much to me. I care a lot about my family and I know they care about me just as much. I would do anything for my family anytime, any day.  

          I don’t feel like I am a certain person because of my last name Fiesel, but I feel like I do things a certain way because I am a Fiesel.  Everyone in my family has a really good work ethic; we all work very hard for what we get. All of us have jobs that we always give 110% towards. We are always putting in extra hours when other people are slacking off. Fiesel doesn’t mean anything cool in a different language but we are hard working people.

Is a TV in the bedroom really the worst thing possible?

 In the short essay “Turn Off the TV Before It Ruins Us” by David Nyhan, he discusses the effects television has on young kids today and how their life can be affected by it. “More than half of the American‘s kids have TV sets in their bedrooms, where they can pig out on whatever vile fare is lowest common denominator of the day.” I just got a TV set in my room no longer than 3 years ago; my parents never let me have one before because they knew it was bad for a young kid to grow up with a TV in their room.  Maybe I am a better person today because they never allowed me to watch as much TV as I wanted, I will never know if they were right or not. 

iProducts Taking Over The iWorld

The type of media consumer I am, is the one discussed in the short essay “Society is Dead: We Have Retreated into the iWorld” by Andrew Sullivan. I own an iPhone, and iMac, and an iPod and I constantly use all of them at the same time. I watch TV to hear about all the newest gossip on Kim Kardashian and how much money she is spending on her wedding. I am consumed in the world of technology and it started when I received my first iPod when I was 12. I have always loved to listen to music and an iPod made that easier for me, I could take all my favorite music with me on the go where ever I was. Apple has made me the technology user that I am today, that makes me have an iproduct attached to me at all times.

Money is my pursuit of happiness

Jeff Yeager’s opinion in “Less Is More” is that happiness is more important then money.  Yeager quit his job that he was extremely successful in and was making a lot of money. He decided to become a writer and is now happier then he could ever be just by living within his means and doing a job he loves.. My opinion is that money is happiness because I favor working and making money rather then anything else. I love to be making money and that makes me happy. 

Melting Pots are gross, I'd rather eat a salad bowl!

In the short essay by Hannibal B. Johnson, the author fights the saying of the American Dream and America being a huge melting pot full of different kind of people. Johnson states that a melting pot makes it seem like everyone coming to America should blend in with everyone else. The thing is, people from other countries and different races shouldn't be trying to blend in and fit in the American dream. The great part of America is that there is SO much diversity! Anywhere you look, you can see a blend of different colors of skin, different races, and different languages. If I wasn't born and raised in America, I feel like I would embrace where I am from. Show Americans how cool my country is and how my culture works compared to theirs. Johnson says in his short essay, "The concoction in our mythical melting pot looks, feels, and tastes like Pablum. Compare that with the richness and zest of the colorful assortment in my salad bowl. Each ingredient retains it's individual integrity. Each ingredient adds unmistakeable character to the whole. Together, they flavor a vibrant, all-American piece de resistance. Forget the melting pot. Make mine a salad bowl!" (Johnson, Page 210) I couldn't have put that in any better words, he explains it so clearly that all of the different kind of people shouldn't be melted together but put together in a big bowl to show all the different kind of people and flavors America has to offer. A salad bowl has lots of wonderful taste in every single bite. I love the new expression of America being a salad bowl, the only kind of melting pot I want to see is this! http://www.meltingpot.com/our-menu.aspx

Quotes from Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

            1) “But Rowdy hated me. And Roger hated me. I was good at being hated by guys who could kick my ass. It’s not a talent you really want to have. “ Page 68.

            I thought this quote was very funny. Junior was going through a hard time transferring between schools and he didn’t have many friends. The fact that he said guys who could kick his ass hated him was a talent he didn’t want to have cracked me up! He took something that was a struggle for him and made it into a joke. The quote shows the theme of Junior not fitting in anywhere. After he left Rowdy at the reservation, he no longer had his best friend. Then he went and knocked out the popular guy at his new school. Nothing was going right in the friend department for Junior.

            2) “And that made me cry. Man, I’ve always cried too easily. I cry when I’m happy or sad. I cry when I’m angry. I cry because I’m crying. It’s weak. It’s the opposite of warrior.” Page 75.

            I liked this quote because it reminded me of myself. I cry over a lot of things that aren’t very necessary. When he says that crying is weak and it is the opposite of being a warrior makes me think about how I feel when I am crying and how I am being weak. I don’t always like when I cry because sometimes it is for dumb reasons. When I think I am crying for a dumb reason I know I am being weak.

This quote shows the theme of Junior trying to be the strong warrior he wants to be but never acts like it. 

            3) ““Where do you want to go?” I asked “Everywhere. I want to walk on the Great Wall of China. I want to walk to the top of pyramids in Egypt. I want to swim in every ocean. I want to climb Mount Everest. I want to go on an African safari. I want to ride a dogsled in Antarctica. I want all of it. Every single piece of everything.”” Page 111

            Penelope says this quote when Junior and her are talking about their dreams. When Penelope says this in the book Junior laughs at her at first, then he sees that she is being serious. Penelope wants to get out of the small town she was raised in and wants to travel the earth. I liked this quote because I want to travel the world more than anything else. That is one of my big dreams in life. When Penelope says this, I am reminded of dreams of my own.  I dream about swimming in an ocean like the picture above.

My Six Word Memoir

Don't tell me what to do.

Alexie Questions

1) Junior/Arnold is not the same person. Junior is the reservation boy who is shy, smart, and somewhat a dork to other Indians. Arnold is a completely different person then Junior. Arnold goes to Reardan but is the only Indian boy who attends that school. Arnold is outgoing, popular, and smart but not as smart as some of the other kids at hid school.

            Though Junior and Arnold are the same person, they share different lives.  Arnold was his birth name but on the reservation the Indians call him Junior for a nickname. Junior never broke out of his shell, always faded into the background and tried not to get beat up. When Junior went to Reardan, his teacher called out Arnold because that is his birth name. From then on, everyone at Reardan called him Arnold. At Reardan, Arnold was given another chance, no one looked at him at weak little Junior.  He was a new person and could portray himself as whatever he wanted himself to be portrayed as by his peers at his new school.

            5) Alcohol is a big part of this book. Junior faces alcoholics and alcoholism almost everyday. His father is a major alcoholic and practically every Indian on the reservation has a problem with alcoholism. Junior gets to witness all of the tragedies alcohol does to people so he swears he will never take a sip of alcohol. A lot of things need to happen to a person for them to never want to touch the drink in their life.

            Junior faced two big tragedies in his life that had to do with alcohol. His grandmother, who was one of his best friends and also one of the best grandmothers to ever live, died from a drunk driver hitting her on the side of the road. Even though she was not an alcoholic, she was walking home one night and a drunk driver hit and killed her. Junior was so sad after that happened he didn’t know if he could go on with his life. Only about a month later, Juniors’ sister died in a fire in her house. Juniors’ sister and her husband threw a party in their trailer one night. The oven was left on all the night and the trailer burned down with them married couple fast asleep. They were so drunk that the fire didn’t wake them and they died in their home. Alcohol has done a lot of bad things in Juniors life, it’s a good thing he will never touch it in his life. 

Fish Cheeks

I liked the way Amy Tan wrote about her embarrassing childhood with her Chinese family. Her describing words made it seem like I was there in her dining room watching the two different ethnic families enjoy a Christmas Eve dinner. She reminded me of my own childhood, growing up in a house with hippie parents. Going to the public schools in Sebastopol, your not around the other hippie kids that are in the charter schools. My friends had very straight parents and that is what I wanted. I was always embarrassed by the foods my parents bought, the clothes they wore, and the way they acted. Reading Fish Cheeks reminded me of how I use to be ashamed, now that I am older I see now I couldn't ask for any better parents.