tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77100699225731551272024-03-07T20:57:30.398-08:00The AP English BlogA girl on a quest to make AP English EPICHeatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-38343822626651574442011-08-15T19:10:00.000-07:002011-08-15T19:12:56.476-07:00Heather's Perspective on Of Human Bondage<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am blogging this through a haze of a variety of medications, so forgive me, imaginary followers, if I am a bit confusing at times this evening. I am currently taking children's strength decongestant, Tylenol, Penicillin, half a sleeping pill every night, and as many cough drops as I can handle without choking on the Menthol. Aside from having the privilege of sitting next to a pile of tissues and cough drop wrappers, I am also not in the best mood. My school counselor is testing my patience by enrolling me (the student ranked 9th out of 453 students, who is stressed out enough as it is) in an online course and an extra class that I did not sign up for. On top of that, I'm not going to have one of the teachers I was really counting on having. And I've missed two days of swim practice, which is two days too many, and because of my dad's ability to plan secret vacations, I must miss two more this week.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Again, not in the best mood, but I will try to let go of any grudges against my counselor, father, and cold so as not to upset you poor, imaginary readers with the tales of my recent woes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It took me nearly a week of reading in every spare second of my time to finish Of Human Bondage. I am not accustomed to this length and was quite frustrated when it took longer than the usual three days of buckling down to finish a book. I was further surprised when I discussed the book with my peers and found that I am the only one who enjoyed it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The book takes place from 1885 onward. Think Jane Eyre. This story had basically the same plot. Kid's parents die, kid lives with aunt and uncle, kid gets sent to boarding school, kid hates boarding school until s/he makes some friends. I guess that is where the similarities end. Philip, the main character, leaves the school early to become a clerk. He discovers that he hates the job and decides to become an artist. He discovers that he's not a very good painter, and decides to become a doctor. He loses all of his money in the stock market and lives in poverty for a few years, until his uncle dies and leaves Philip enough money to finish his doctoring schoolishness and become an actual doctor. The book ends after Philip becomes engaged to a girl he does not love.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are some things that happen in between that have nothing to do with his career. While at a painting school in France, Philip befriends Fanny Price, a girl who everyone else hates. She begins to love him, and kills herself when she no longer has money for food. Apparently, this was a common tradition back then. Her death really affected Philip, and he spent the rest of the book reminiscing the day when he saw her body hanging from the ceiling, wondering why she hadn't asked him for food or money.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later, he falls in love with a waitress named Mildred. She's a perfect brat and treats him horribly, then marries another guy who has more money than Philip. She finds out that the other guy is actually already married and can only keep her as a mistress (Sister Carrie much?). Then she gets pregnant so the guy leaves her, and she comes crawling back to Philip, who houses her and continues to love her. Then she meets his best friend, decides that she loves him, and runs away when she finds that his best friend doesn't return her affection. Philip finds her months later and discovers that she is a prostitute. He no longer loves her, but again houses her and takes care of her child, until she tries to have sex with him. He refuses, and she thanks him for all his money and dedication by tearing up anything of value that he owns. They meet again later; Philip finds out that Mildred's baby has died and she is deathly ill.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Upon reading my description, I can't help but think that this book was pointless. A fun read, but pointless. Philip finds the "meaning of life" at some point in the book after a long struggle of looking for it. When I think of his conclusion, the phrase "dry philosophy" comes to mind, and nothing else. The meaning of life, according to Philip, was something like... Life is pointless, we are insignificant, and we'll only be happy if we choose to be that way, because we only matter in our own minds. Essentially, existentialism. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Usually, when I read a good book, I can sort of slip myself into the character's shoes. Experience their experiences. Think their thoughts. Etc. I could not do so with this book. I was constantly aware of the fact that the book has an author. I did not like that feeling; I usually like being one with the character and forgetting that the author exists (this is coming from someone who hopes to be a future published author... How sad). The author also felt the need to constantly remind me that Philip is shy. Philip, however, did not act very shy, in my opinion. I suppose Maugham believes that if you say something over and over, it will make what you say true. I think that's an actual philosophy...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I like the girl that Philip becomes engaged to (with the gallant, romantic proposal: "Say, Sally, I wonder if you'll marry me"), though. She is clear-minded and NOT really irritating, unlike Mildred.</span><br />
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</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-56755280729087832402011-07-22T21:44:00.000-07:002011-07-22T21:44:32.405-07:00Heather's Perspective on Brave New World<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Good evening, imaginary viewers! I'm SO sorry that I haven't blogged in almost 7 months. I'm sure you cried and cried in my absence, wondering where I could have gone and why I abandoned you. I love you so much and I'll try not to let it happen again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since it's been so long, I suppose I'll give you a little update. Savanna is definitely not blogging again, as she is not taking AP English next year and we are no longer friends because of it (lololol, Heather made a funny). We may, however, be receiving a new blogger. I am encouraging my friend Lauren to try her hand at writing. She is the Grammar Queen of the high school, my best friend, quite beautiful, and possibly majoring in Journalism. If she does join us, I must insist that you welcome her with a plethora of applause and flowers and such.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By the way, I would really like to start another blog, but I have no idea what to blog about. So if any of you imaginary viewers have an idea, feel free to let me know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, <i>Brave New World</i> is one of the seven books on my summer reading list. I've only actually read 2 books... Yes, I am aware that I am in trouble. I do not care.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am not normally a fan of science fiction. This book, however, was pretty good. It was written well, and the author did a fantastic job of describing how he views the future. The plot could have used better transitions, though. I have the opposite problem when writing... I always want to skip the exposition and go straight to developing the plot. We need to find a happy medium here, people.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The book started out with the explanation of the process of manufacturing babies. I admit that I was confused to begin with; I had absolutely no idea what was going on. When I finally realized that the characters were discussing the manufacturization (Chrome says that's not a word... =[ oh well) of children, I suppressed the urge to yell, "that's sick!" And I don't mean "sick" in that good way, the way that means "cool." I mean "sick" like puking up your guts and bark-coughing kind of sick. It was also a little disgustingly fascinating. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So they put the manufactured fetuses through vats of alcohol, and left them there for certain amounts of time, depending on their predetermined caste. They were Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, or Epsilons. I appreciated the fact that they used the Greek alphabet as the basis of their caste system, because I didn't have to do any memorizing. I don't much like books that require me to think. I like to just zone out and go into reading mode. Anyway, the Epsilons were the lowest caste, obviously, which made me a little sad because I think the word "Epsilon" sounds really cool. Go on, imaginary readers. Say "Epsilon" out loud. Cool, right?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So the Epsilons are left in the alcohol the longest, which damages their brains. Then, when the Epsilons are old enough, they perform the lowliest, simplest jobs that the community requires. When the kids (of all castes) are babies, they're conditioned to believe, love, or hate certain things. For example, they didn't want people reading, so they put a book in front of a baby and then shocked the baby as soon as the baby touched the book. Doing this several times a week for a few years would make just about anyone cringe at the sight of a book. When they're old enough to comprehend speech, the children are subjected to sleep-teaching (there is a word for that in the book, but I don't remember it). They put a little "whispering box" under the pillow of each child. The box tells the kids all sorts of things, and the children grow up believing the statements that the box communicates. For example, Beta kids were told something like this:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I am quite glad that I am a Beta. Those Deltas and Epsilons are dirty and only useful for primitive jobs. I am important, but I do not have to work quite as hard as the Alphas. I really am quite glad that I am a Beta."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Again, these things disgusted as well as fascinated me, but the author spent too long dwelling on the exposition of the future and not enough time on the characters or plots. The characters were very well indirectly described, but not much was done to directly describe them. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The story starts out with Lenina as the main character, then switches to Bernard, then to "the Savage." (In this book, it is socially unacceptable to be with only one person, or to be with one person for too long. People are expected to sleep with as many people as they can.) Lenina is a woman (a Beta, I think?) who is caught up in the expectations of society, but unconsciously wants more than pleasure 24/7. Bernard is an Alpha, but is small in size and therefore sneered upon by his fellow Alphas. He does not like golfing. (GASP! How inappropriate and socially unacceptable!) The reader gets the idea that he is in love with Lenina, but later he gains popularity and forgets about love and any of his own original ideas. The Savage, John, comes from the reservation where there are... Indians, I suppose. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When they talked about the reservation, I expected it to be a place where normal people lived. A place where you and I might live. They said that there were rumors of Christianity and marriage and having babies and families (*shudder*). The reservation was really a place where they worshiped God but also other gods, where they whipped one another as sacrifices to gods, and where they had absolutely no personal hygiene. Ugh.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">John despised living in the rez because the other kids hated him. His mother was from "civilization," but had gotten lost and ended up in the reservation. She couldn't go back to society because she'd gotten pregnant. (the horror!) Bernard went to visit the rez, heard about John, and decided to take him back to society for testing. This was the source of Bernard's popularity... He brought an animal back from the zoo! How enthralling! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Long story short, John's mother died and he got sick and tired of society. So he ran away to this lighthouse where he whipped himself whenever he caught himself thinking of Lenina. (who he was in love with, by the way... And she loved him in return, but had the wrong idea of love. She thought love just meant that she wanted to sleep with him... reminds me of some people I know...) He grew his own food and hunted what he couldn't grow. He was hounded by the then-modern day paparazzi, which drove him insane. Then Lenina came to visit him, and John went into a panicked frenzy and began screeching, "you whore!" and such, and whipping himself over and over. The public thought this was hilarious, because they are conditioned to think that pain and death are insignificant or even, in some cases, humorous. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The people all finally left John's hideout, and someone came to look for him in the morning. He had hanged himself by the lighthouse's light.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The end.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">...Yeah, the end. I wasn't very disappointed by the end, though, because a) society was so screwed up that there couldn't possibly be any remedy to the mess that was made, and b) I prepared myself for at least one person's death, because, well, why else would my English teacher assign it to us?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I REALLY liked the way that the author presented John's death. He said something about how you could see his feet (which were not moving), and then you could see his feet swinging from one side to the other, and back again. I had to read it twice before I figured out that he'd killed himself. I thought it was quite horrible and very poetic.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then I spent two hours brooding about h</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ow I will never, ever be as poetic or as good at developing characters and setting as <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Aldous Huxley is.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">I find it a bit ironic that I was more upset that a published author is a better writer than I am than by the horrific death of one of the main characters.</span></span></span><br />
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</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-50641232520096284592011-01-08T23:59:00.000-08:002011-07-22T21:50:54.405-07:00Heather's Perspective on Their Eyes Were Watching God<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Savanna? Savannnnnnaaaaaa??? Oh no, guys, I think we've lost her. For good. Now it's just me and you faithful imaginary followers. I love you guys so much! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">On to the business at hand.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">In this book, the main character, Janie, gets married three times. That's right... <i>tres.</i> Technically, the last two don't count, because she never divorced her first hubby. I find all of her marriages to be ironic in an incredibly amusing way. She is forced to marry her first husband because her grandma caught her KISSING some "negro trash" over the fence... THE HORROR!!! Well, that slut deserved it! Kissing random guys under such romantic circumstances! So her grandmother shipped her off to Logan's abode, a middle-aged black man who forces her to do <i>men's work</i>. Again... THE HORROR!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">It was around this point in the book that I finally realized... Heyyyy, Janie is black! The author does not do a good job of emphasizing this, which is ironic because the book is supposed to be about black women independence and all that. Which brings me to the reason that her second marriage was ironic. She ran off with Jody, who treated her like a queen... A queen who is not allowed to do anything for herself and must always follow the man's orders. So Janie spends her first marriage acting like a man with her man work, and her second marriage acting like a woman in her rightful place, only doing women's work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Her third marriage is happier. After Jody dies, Janie does this thing where she takes some time to figure out who she really is and how she loves being single. The guys of the town are like "hey dude, that's not cool... She's hidin' that FIIIIIIIINE ass, selfish brat!"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">But thennnn comes along Tea Cake. This marriage is ironic because she was like "yeah, single woman power!" (power to that, man =]), and then a guy named <i>Tea Cake</i> comes along and steals her heart. Also, he is twelve years younger. That's right... <i>doce.</i> Personally, the age would be enough of a turn-off for me to shove him out my door the moment he started flirting with me. If that isn't enough, his name is TEA CAKE (did I mention that?). Oh, and he's penniless. You know, some things are just better rich: men, chocolate, cake, coffee, and men. And chocolate. So he's twelve years younger, his name and his financial status are not full of chocolate or wealth (because tea cakes are not chocolate, sadly), and he is TWELVE YEARS YOUNGER. Think about it... When she was hitting puberty, he was probably just coming out of the womb.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Despite all this, they fall in love and move to... OKEECHOBEE!!!!! The tiny little town with no prospects that now sits on top of Lake Okeechobee once HAD prospects, dude! They lived in a shack and planted some beans and got stinkin' rich and made a bunch of friends, and life was great until they saw some Indians.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Now, Indians are (were?) smart when it comes to things like the weather. In my opinion, we need to get rid of weathermen and just stick a Native American in front of the green screen when it's time for the 10-day forecast. And maybe also a translator, because what if they don't speak English, or their accent is too thick for the only people who watch the weather (people of the old variety) to understand? I bet that's the only reason they don't hire Native Americans to do the weather forecast... They'd have to pay two people to do the job instead of one. Also, the translator would get in the way of the beautiful map of Florida with the colorful masses of randomness flowing over it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">ANYWAYYYYY, the Indians were migrating away from Okechobee (they spelled it with only three "e"s in the book... weird) and warned Tea Cake about a hurricane coming. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">HELLO, YOU'D THINK THEY'D LEAVE, BUT NOOOO, THEY DIDN'T AND--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Well, this nice domino effect happens:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">The Indians tell them about a "big storm," but they don't migrate with their neighbors like a sensible person would do. Instead, they wait until the "big storm" hits to try and get away. So they're outside in the middle of a hurricane, and suddenly the lake comes towards them. Meaning the LAKE is attacking them (...wtf?). They try to get to high ground, but Janie can't swim very well so she starts drowning a little. Tea Cake, who is on dry land and who is not drowning but is very tired, shouts at her to grab on to this random cow floating nearby. She grabs the cow, and there is a dog already on the cow. The dog gets super pissed and attacks her, but Tea Cake saves her and kills the dog and drags Janie ashore.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">...The dog had bitten his face, and he refused to get a doctor because that's what men do, and apparently the dog had rabies, so a month later Tea Cake attempted to kill Janie. So, doing what all good wives would do, Janie shot her husband and put him out of his misery, then was put on trial for his murder. The jury decided she was innocent.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">In short: hurricane comes, they start to drown, mad dog bites Tea Cake, Tea Cake gets rabies, Tea Cake attempts to kill Janie through his madness, and Janie shoots Tea Cake. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">I really admire this domino effect. I probably would have decided it was time for him to die, then been like "then the hurricane knocked off the roof and Tea Cake was swept away, never to be seen again" or "then the hurricane knocked a ridiculously large piece of metal into Tea Cake and his bones all crushed together and he died." The series of events the author created was really clever.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">I loved the plot of this book, but the dialect drove me crazy. There were a lot of creditable philosophies... For example: "there are years that ask questions and years that answer." I happened to be reading this on January 1st, so that really got me thinking about 2010 and what it did for me... I was happy to find that it was a year of answers for me. I love it when books make me think about things in my life and give me epiphanies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">This is kind of a random spot to stop, but I can't think about anything else to discuss. Soooo adios =]</span></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-5414856983576869862010-12-19T23:57:00.000-08:002011-07-22T21:54:45.087-07:00Heather's Perspective on The Great Gatsby<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Okay, this blog might be a little confusing, because I can't actually remember <i>The Great Gatsby</i> that well. I do remember that I liked it. I liked it a lot. The main character, Nick, reminded me of someone I know, Nic.</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Funny, right? I think so. Anyway, this guy is pretty much the epitome of an unbiased third party, which sounds exactly like the Nic I know! I find it kind of ironic that the main character is a third party... Not judging, though, I loved it.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One thing I didn't like about this book was the continued symbolism of the EYES. I guess the first time it was introduced, I wasn't really paying attention to that part, or something, because I was confused about it for the rest of the book. Imaginary followers: they are supposed to symbolize God, sort of judging us when we do things wrong, or something. I think I put something similar to that on my quiz; at any rate, I got a 100. I think.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The title of this book is misleading. Gatsby is not really the main character at all, but he is part of a ridiculous love affair with Daisy, who is married to this Tom character, who is having an affair with a woman whose name I can't remember (which is a shame because you'd think a person should remember the name of a character who dies... oops, did I spoil the end for you? LOLJK, you aren't even reading the book), who is married to, um, another person whose name I can't quite remember (but he isn't important, so it's okay), and who is killed by Gatsby's car, which is actually being driven by Daisy at the time, who doesn't stop because she is scared, and therefore lets everyone in the novel think that Gatsby killed What's-Her-Face-Who-Died via hit-and-run; Daisy, being a sort-of selfish brat, lets Gatsby get killed by What's-Her-Face-Who-Died's husband, and selfishly runs off with her own hubby to Who-Knows-Where. And that basically sums up the plot of the book, minus the whole "bootlegging" deal that Gatsby was involved in (which caused no one to show up to his funeral for fear of people thinking they were affiliated with such a bad person, but let's face it, he was STANKIN' RICH while he was alive).</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In case you imaginary readers were thinking, a long sentence like that overwhelming one you read just a bit ago is called a "polysyndeton." They are very difficult to create, and I am afraid that I have provided a poor example, because polysyndetons are supposed to be grammatically correct and I am almost certain that there are a few mistakes in that one. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">^^^THAT sentence, however, was quite a good example, albeit not as long as I maybe would have preferred it to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, back to our book! Well, Gatsby was a little clingy, which irritated me because HELLO, DAISY WAS MARRIED. True, Tom was a jerk and he---</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">HOLY SHENANIGANS I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Okay, so What's-Her-Face-Who-Died's husband killed Gatsby while Gatsby was in his pool. He had not used the pool all summer, and it was now September (I think, maybe October). Over the summer, he kept telling Nick that he needed to use his pool, because it was sitting there going to waste, but he never actually used it. Now, Gatsby knew Daisy before she got married. He was a soldier, and he left for war while they were still in love, came back and she was married... Just like a Nicholas Sparks book, except it was written much better and ended with everyone dying instead of the girl calling off the wedding and throwing herself into the arms of her forgotten lover. So anyway, I think that his pool represented all the things that he never got to do with Daisy. All the love they could have had, all the times they never shared, and then he died wallowing in it... Literally, in the pool. And it's appropriate that he died in it, because he pretty much knew at this point that Daisy was about to leave with her husband.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That makes me kind of sad, actually. I think that epiphany was so great that I should just stop right here, especially because you poor, imaginary soul of a reader are probably staring with wide eyes at your computer screen wondering <b><i>what exactly Heather is smoking.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In truth, I am smoking nothing. I never have (yay!), because drugs are bad. Really, I am just.. Well, it's almost 3AM and I have nothing better to do with my time because I'm not exactly tired and it's Christmas Break. So I am blogging instead of trying to force myself to spend a few hours tossing and turning, attempting to overthrow my insomnia for once.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Insomnia sucks balls, you guys. It really does.</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-14637622259218671342010-11-28T18:19:00.000-08:002010-11-28T18:19:06.067-08:00Heather's Perspective on The Red Badge of Courage<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Hmm... Haven't heard from Savanna in a while. Savannaaaaa, where are youuuuuu??</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Ah well. <u>The Red Badge of Courage</u>:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">In my opinion, it was written very boringly. There was some cool symbolism, which was... Well, cool. For example Henry wanted a wound to prove to everyone that he was fighting his part: a "red badge of courage." But for the most part, it was basically a hodgepodge of random battles. The battles didn't even have real meaning; he explained nothing about who they were fighting or what they were fighting for. The author just babbled on about the fighting, and the people around Henry being wounded. He said nothing about patriotism, standing up for what you believe in, fighting for your country, etc.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">He did, however, talk a lot about fighting for the other people in Henry's regiment. Some patriotism.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Sorry, imaginary followers... My writing is just not up to snuff today. Let's pretend I wrote a great review about the things that I liked and was bothered by in this book, and move on with life.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Heather out.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-90720611708433113752010-11-07T18:25:00.000-08:002011-07-22T22:04:22.418-07:00Heather's Perspective on Sister Carrie<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello, imaginary viewers! =] I know that you've missed me, but have no fear... I will be blogging much more often now that the "new boyfriend" to whom Savanna alluded to earlier decided that he is no longer interested in a relationship.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find it quite ironic that at this moment, I am blogging the book we read last week, instead of reading the book that we have a quiz on on Tuesday. The irony is increased when you take into account that my research paper for that class is based on the book we're reading (<i>The House of the Seven Gables</i>, in case you were wondering).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I blame my English teacher for my life's problems.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sooo anyway, the point of me being here. Sister Carrie was one of those books that looks totally innocent. I picked it up, thinking "this is going to be one of those 1800s stories where the main character gets a job and buys new dresses with her money and is super excited about it, but reservedly so because it is the 1800s and showing emotion is improper."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I was partly correct. Carrie does get a job, and she does buy new clothes with her money, but her second "job" (after losing her first due to a cold, if that makes sense to you. It doesn't really to me, but maybe I'm just being close-minded) is, in fact, as a mistress to a man named Drouet.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interesting turn for this book! I found myself cringing a little at this point, wondering how this book was really going to turn out.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it continues, the reader gets the idea that Carrie really only likes Drouet for his money. That greedy little brat proves this idea right when she decides she's going to fall in love with Hurstwood, Drouet's friend, who is wealthier than Drouet. Stupid Hurstwood loves her back, though, even though he's married with two kids (which Carrie does not know), and having an affair would lose him his job as well as a family and social status.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Hurstwood and Carrie run away together, after Hurstwood steals ten grand from his bosses, and they get "married" in Montreal.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course the marriage falls apart eventually, because Hurstwood and Carrie are both incredibly stupid. Hurstwood doesn't have a job, and doesn't bother to try and find one. Carrie gets tired of his laziness and becomes an actress. She ends up being promoted several times and then becomes famous. After a while of putting up with Hurstwood's laziness (and ugliness: after a while he stops grooming himself... ewww), Carrie leaves him and becomes roomies with Lola, an actress friend of hers.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story could have ended here, and I could have rolled my eyes at everyone's stupidity and moved on with my life. But noooo, there has to be more to the book...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hurstwood becomes a beggar without Carrie's money, and eventually commits suicide. Carrie never finds out. Drouet comes to visit her, trying to win her back, and of course she refuses. The book ends with Carrie saying that she knows something is missing from her life, and she's not sure what it is.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are my thoughts on this book:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Obviously, I think Carrie is stupid. The sad thing is, she reminds me of myself from a while ago. I choose to not explain this any further.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Okay, Hurstwood is a douche, but... he killed himself =[ and then Carrie never found out?! What is this shenanigans?!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Drouet is a manwhore. When he was first "wooing" Carrie, I was yelling, "I KNOW THOSE SIGNS! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, WOMAN! I KNOW WHAT HE WANTS! SAME AS EVERY OTHER GUY ON THIS PLANET!" (only to look up and find that my journalism class was staring at me a little weirdly... Don't worry, though, they're used to random oddities from me).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) If Carrie doesn't know what she's missing by the end of the story, then she truly is an idiot. It's obvious that she's missing....</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">her...</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">VIRGINITY!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, in all seriousness though, she let a bunch of guys take advantage of her in exchange for money and clothes. That should be degrading to even your average everyday whore.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book was easy to get into, for me, but after a while I facepalmed so many times at the characters' stupidity that I eventually had to admit that the book was dumb.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-57087905832812342852010-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:002010-09-12T18:31:13.924-07:00Heather's Perspective on The Crucible<div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This was one of the few things that we read in AP English that I actually wanted to read all the way through. So I did! And it was great! There were a few parts that drove me crazy, though... Like they spent a million years going on and onnnnn about whatever character was about to be introduced... It was really not necessary. Other than that... I loved it. I'm not much of a "play-liker", for want of a better term (yes, I know it would be easy to reword that but you know what? I don't really feel like it), but this one is definitely worth reading. It's one of the classics that is actually awesome.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On to the characters... Well, Mary Warren drove me crazy. She betrayed Elizabeth by pretending to see a giant bird or whatever, which was really stupid... And as for Abigail, I hope she DIED on whatever stupid ship she decided to run away. That girl wreaked more havoc than a gang of monkeys in a store full of bananas. </div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I loved Elizabeth, though. There are two things more important to me, above all else: honesty, and love of family and friends. She possessed those qualities better than any real person I've ever met. When asked if her husband had committed adultery, she couldn't answer because she had to choose between those two qualities. When she did answer, she doomed her and her husband to either hanging or a long jail time, but I respect the way she did it.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As for her husband, Proctor... He did the right thing. And I love him for it. AND he had faith in his wife... He insisted that she would tell the truth, no matter what. That was.. well, cute. Granted, she lied and doomed them both, but who cares? They loved each other.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The end made me want to cry, though. Proctor did NOT deserve to die, and neither did Rachel. No one deserved it. Stupid Abigail killed off a bunch of people doing what she does best: bitchery.</div><span style="color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That's all I have to say.</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-40384281317186199072010-09-11T15:03:00.000-07:002010-09-11T15:03:53.565-07:00Savanna's Perspective on The Crucible<span style="color: red; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Hello again!I'm sorry Heather hasn't written much lately, but she hasn't gotten back to me on blogging either. So, while she has a blast at <em>Night of Joy</em> with her new boyfriend, I stay at home reading articles for AP U.S. History, reading <u>The Scarlett Letter</u> for AP Language, AND working on my concentrations for AP Art 2D. yes, there is such a thing as AP Art. It ROCKS, and I'm one of 9 people at our school picked to take it =D</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> BUT ANYWAY! Last week in AP English (aka Language) we read <u>The Crucible. </u>I thought it was a well written, very interesting play. However. I hate, no, I despise and loathe every single character in the book. Aside from John Proctor's wife, who no one (including me) remembers the name of later.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> I do not reccomend reading this play for pleasure, because it is not a fun story. Every single character has a bad quality. Except Proctor's wife. (I'll call her Elizabeth, it sounds right) Firstly, there's Abigail. SHE SUCKS. She's a little lying creeper who wants to steal John Proctor from poor, sickly Elizabeth. (Not like I'm sticking up for John either, that lying cheating unfaithful...)</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> There's the reverend, but he doesn't have the courage to stick up for Elizabeth when he knows what's right. There's the judges, but they're obviously idiots for going through with everything the girls say. There's the poor slave Tabitua, (I hope that's spelled right) who confesses but is too dumb to realize that she could have turned Abigail in all along. There's Mary, who could have turned Abigail in, but instead went along with the lies, just like the rest of those smelly girls. There's the townspeople- but hey, none of them helped either!</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> So in the end, John Proctor's butt is saved because his wife is prego and she won't be hung. Yet. And you think that it'll all be ok, but then HE gets exicuted too. And so he dies- I'll admit, I did kinda like him, even though he cheated on Elizabeth. He did love her. BUT instead of the ending you expect, ABIGAIL RUNS AWAY AND GETS AWAY WITH THE MURDERS OF WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE AND DOESN'T GET HUNG.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> <span style="font-size: large;">I HATE HER SO MUCH!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New;"> Well. Now that I'm done ripping my copy of <u>The Crucible </u>into shreds, I'll sign off. I hope Heather has something to say on this story... I'll be back next week when I finish <u>The Scarlett Letter.</u> Savanna out.</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-17860919758901327822010-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:002010-08-25T15:07:03.126-07:00Savanna's Perspective on The Gettysburg Address<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Hi! I changed my font color, I know, I'm sorry for the confusion. But today in AP English we read The Gettysburg Address out together, and reviewed it.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I decided that since the last post was entirely negative, and Aristotle sucks, I'd let you hear me write in a good mood, about none other than my favorite president, Mr. Abraham Lincoln! *crowd goes insane* That's right, he wrote the Gettysburg Address. If you didn't know that... let me ask "Why exactly are you reading an AP English Blog? Are you one of those really bored internet dweebs? Or have you been living under a rock?"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The speech starts out "Four score and seven years ago..."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">(yes, this is THAT speech, rock dwellers) Now if you didn't know, a score is actually 20 years, so everyone's favorite prez is actually saying "87 years ago" he just wanted to sound really awesome, which he accomplished well. He's referring to 1776, in which year, the Declaration of Independence was signed. In the beginning he uses the words <i><u>dedicated</u> </i>and <i><u>conceived</u> </i>a lot which makes me think that these were probably 2 of his favorite words. Good choice, Abe, dedicated is one of mine too!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Just kidding. He's actually using these words to invoke pathos, emotional response, from his audience. He must have read Aristotle too. He tells about the new country (America, duh) being in a "great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so concieved and dedicated, can long endure."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">What he means here is that a nation based on the words "all men created equal" may have a hard time surviving. He was right. This country faces a lot of turmoil for those exact words. Just look at petitions of basically any kind. Back then, it was for African American rights. Now, it's for gay rights. So many arguments have been pulled from these words, yet so many wrongs have been righted because of them.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lincoln then discussed how no matter what they do, they can not make Gettysburg a more hallowed ground than it already is, because of the sacrifices of American Soldiers on that soil. Then he says "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">OH THE IRONY! We'll remember Lincoln's words forever, although everyone has forgotten about the other speeches of that day. He tells us that we need to honor the men that died in Gettysburg, and he closes his short speech with what I call a VERY EPIC CLOSING LINE.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we highly resolve that those dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from earth."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">If you haven't ever read the whole speech, go read it, because it's an important part of history, and it's GOOD, and besides, it's short. Lincoln is awesome. Those guys in Gettysburg are awesome. Now go appreciate it.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Savanna out. </span></span></span><br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710069922573155127.post-70323558413514806442010-08-24T17:40:00.000-07:002010-08-25T15:17:26.962-07:00Heather & Savanna's Perspective on The Art of Rhetoric<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So Savanna and I decided that in order to make this year's AP English class epic, we should b<span style="background-color: white;">log about some of the books we read.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">The first blog we're doing together, since we're together right now... =D</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">The book we were supposed to read this summer was The <u>Art of Rhetoric</u>, by Aristotle. Technically, neither Savanna or I really read the whole book, but we </span></span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">just completed a project on it so we read enough to finish said project.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I, Heather, think that this was the most boring book in the history of the planet, with <span style="background-color: white;">perhaps</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> the exception of </span><u style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Billy Budd</u><span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> by Herman Mellville.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> While Aristotle makes some good points about speeches, and audiences of speeches, and the speakers of speeches, I feel that his ranting on and on about every point is completely unnecessary. In our presentation we commented several times about his repetition, which is even something discussed in the book as an element of emphasis.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our three main points of the presentation are "what makes an audience listen to a speaker or whatever", "pity makes people like you," and "the epiclogue"... excuse me, the <i>epilogue</i>. I'd go further into detail about these points, but I have a strange feeling that a) no one gives a crap, b) no one is reading this anyway, or c)...maybe I just don't feel like explaining every little thing.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><div>Anyway, onward to Savanna about her opinion and analysis of the book.</div><div><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Ok, so I read... pieces... of this stupid book. And you know what I think? I think it could be about a third of the size it is if Aristotle didn't repeat so much crap "for emphasis". Now put the book in plain english, and you've got a pamphlet instead of a book. You wanna know the basics? I'll tell you everything you can learn from <u>The Art of Rhetoric.</u> Right now. In an easy, numbered list.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">1-Speech takes an audience.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">2-For the audience to listen, you have to use Common Sense & Virtue.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">3-Good Will is the same thing as Virtue.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">4-Repeat stuff for emphasis.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">5-Pity makes people like you.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">6-People won't pity you if they're too happy or sad with their own lives. Find a content medium.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">7-Make your audience hate your opponent/whatever you're not rooting for.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">8-Make yourself look good.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">9-Repeat stuff for emphasis.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">10-Don't lie. They won't believe you.Besides, liars suck.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">11-Pray that you're lucky enough to find the perfect audience.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">12-Use EMOTIONAL PULL. (make em mad)</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">13-Have an epic closing statement... repeat some of your speech in it for emphasis!</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And there you have it. Unless you enjoy reading that puts the general public to sleep, don't read this. I'll just make you a pamphlet.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now go repeat something for emphasis.Savanna out.</span></div></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" type="hidden" /><br />
<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03730381667999709811noreply@blogger.com0