Caucasia = Frustrating

So I'm basically struggling way too much with this book. No, I'm not saying I hate it like a majority of the class does. I merely hate how much we're told to read in such a short period of time.

I'll admit I'm behind in the reading and I have no idea when I'm going to catch up.

At the moment the book seems to be going nowhere really special. I don't think it's bad. I just think there are more fascinating books we could have picked for the subject of race and judgment. But that's just my opinion.

I guess I'll just have to put up with it for the next few days.

Cherry Bomb!

I really enjoyed giving my presentation for the cool writing assignment. I've known the song "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways for quite some time now. The song had always inspired me to go for what I believe in. I can't even imagine how many times I've played it whenever I'm in the mood to fight of what is right.

The song, in my opinion, can be an inspiration to anyone who just pays attention to the lyrics. Women, especially women like Jean Kilbourne, should tip their hats off to The Runaways. After all, they were the first girls to say through the power of music that the female race kicks ass and any man that disrespects a girl so poorly deserves a swift kick in the $&%#s!

Even men can find this song to be inspirational. The rules of life are simple. Take a chance. Follow your goals. And break down any walls that get in your way.

The Runaways put up with it all: girls can't rock. "Girls are only good at making their men a sandwich or satisfying them in the bedroom. Girls should just shut up, put on their sunflower dresses, and save the rock scene for the boys." They were rejected and ridiculed and still these girls fought on because they wanted to do the thing they loved most: ROCK OUT LOUD!

So you think it's tough? Are you going to let people keep pushing you down until you stop trying to get up? Or are you going to get in some faces and start pushing back?

Props to The Runaways.

Killing Us Softly

I find it really interesting that we started this brief unit on how women are depicted in advertising only a short while after my cool writing presentation. All my thoughts that The Runaways had inspired me to think of have returned after watching this video.

I found maybe 95% of the video to be quite inspiring and mind-opening to the subject of sexism. The other 5% of the video seemed to be a little too preachy about feminism. By that, I mean at least two of the advertisements shown made me think this is just another way women try to sound like the only victims of society and men are just evil.

But mostly, I enjoyed this presentation. Even as a member of the male community, I do have to give women their props for standing up for what they think is right. No specific race or gender should have to be depicted as objects. No one should have to be put on this planet just so they can satisfy others.

The whole segment on how women and men are portrayed through modeling wasn't 100% original, but it was 100% realistic. No one looks that perfect all the time. And anyone who thinks that is how you reach ultimate happiness, get ready to be disappointed.

My Monologue

So I basically can't say I like the monologue I wrote. The reason for this is because I didn't write enough. I felt like I held back too much in some important areas. I'm not even sure if the things I said in the monologue made any sense.

The speech didn't go anywhere. There were all kinds of things I'm sure I would have loved to have Spencer (the boy that talks in the monologue) talk about. All I did was make him come off as some pissy little boy that only likes to complain about the kids around him. (Holden?)

Spencer is a fictional character from a short story I came across. I found him to be very entertaining and relatable. His snarky attitude and sarcastic wit was what made me want to have him be the speaker of the monologue.

If I could make any changes, I'd probably end up adding a lot more information about Spencer's personal life. But hey, maybe Mr. Kunkle will like it.

School Days by The Runaways

Used to be the trouble maker
Hated homework, was a sweet heartbreaker
But now I have my dream I'm so rowdy for eighteen
Never read a single book
Hated homework and the dirty looks
Now I live my life
There's a lot I seen at eighteen
School days, school days
I'm older, now what will I find
School day, school days
Starting to slip I'm losin' my mind
Used to be the wild one
Hated class only lived for fun
I'm mean an' got my schemes
At the crazy age of eighteen
Never made the honor roll
Hated rules what I was told
Now I am almost free It's a dangerous scene when you're eighteen
School days, school days
I'm older, now what will I find
School days, school days
Starting to slip I'm losin' my mind

This song is not only really BA...it expresses the teenager perfectly. Deep down, we all have those days where we just don't want to be at school and we just want to party. It's not a bad thing. Nothing is bad as long as it's fun...for me.

Holden's Experience with Sunny and Maurice

Asking a prostitue to come to your hotel room is one thing; but how do you handle being pressed up against the wall because you are being forced to pay the prostitute more money than you agreed?

Holden had quite an experience being forced to pay a woman extra money for a night that never happened. When he first met Sunny, he assumed she was nervous. But now Sunny is expressing an intereting change in dominace and confidence. She takes five more dollars out of Holden's wallet as he is being cornered by the large Maurice.

Maurice was the one that got Holden a prostitue in the first place. But Holden didn't realize until the next day that Maurice and Sunny were working together. This basically makes Maurice Sunny's pimp.

Holden didn't see that coming...

The Catcher In the Rye (So Far)

As Mr. Kunkle already knows, I've decided to annotate my copy of the book with sticky notes. I've always wanted to own my very own copy of The Catcher In the Rye and I didn't want to mark it up with a bunch of words that I'm only putting in the book for a class. So after we finish this book, I'll be able to remove all the sticky notes and the book will be free of vandalism.

Back to the book, I'm enjoying it. Though the main character's personality isn't my favorite, J.D. Salinger has a special skill of keeping the reader engaged in the story. Nothing too jaw-dropping has happened in the book yet, but I'm still intrigued by the storyline.

Holden is definitely a complex character. Under all the crude remarks about other people and why his life is so terrible, you can see that there is something wrong with the boy. His psychological troubles are the source of why he reads off as a haphazard character. His mental flaws are what really draws you in as a reader. Sometimes you think his cynical attitude can be entertaining. Other times you question if the boy belongs in a room with spongy walls. Either way he is just a mere reflection of how we as people think. We say one thing but we mean the other. We criticize those around us, yet every now and then we dump on ourselves. We judge. We lie. We snark. Holden is just are more dramatized version of ourselves.

I'm still trying to find how this book inspired that psycho to kill John Lennon. So far the worst I think a person would want to do after reading this book would be to swear uncontrollably.

Anyway, the book is fun so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends.