Super Bowl

While watching the super bowl yesterday, a few thoughts crossed my mind. First, if you plan on singing the national anthem on the most watched sporting event in the world, make sure you know the words. Also, I read that 400 or so ticket holders who paid to see the game could not because the stadium failed to install the temporary seating in time. Honestly, if your going to charge over 300 dollars for a ticket, you should at least ensure that those who buy the ticket actually get to see the game. Crazy concept. Overall, I found most of the commercials fairly funny, my favorites being the doritos ones. Finally, I thought the game itself to be fairly boring, save the last five minutes or so. Maybe its because I do not have strong feelings for either team, or that I generally follow NFL less than say college football. Either way, I still view the Super Bowl as a national holiday and will continue to watch the games for many years to come.

Snow Days

As a result of the recent blizzard, we were fortunate enough to miss three consecutive days of school and had a two hour delay thrown in. While I love being able to sleep in during the school year and refrain from homework during the week, the additional days we have to now make up have me slightly nervous. First of all, I am not afraid to admit that every day during the blizzard I was wishing for a cancellation. Call it instant gratification, but the idea of having a day off school when we are not suposed to is always a thrill. However, I can not help but think how my feelings towards this will change during the first week of June. With finals and the hot weather, I can see myself wishing that we had school those last two days we got off so we could still get out on schedule. Yet, maybe as seniors, we will enjoy the last few days as high schoolers because of the friends we will so soon leave behind.

No Country for Old Men

During this winter break, my cousin was over at my house so we decided to watch a movie. After staring at a good number of movies at blockbuster, we decided to get "No Country for Old Men." Both of us had heard that it had won numerous Academy Awards, and had been based off of a book written by Cormac Maccarthy, one of my favorite authors. So, that night, we watched the movie, and both of us were blown away. Although gory at times, the movie was excellent: great acting, great suspense, and an amazing storyline. Especially intriguing was the main antagonist of the film, Anton Chigurh. A killer and hitman, Chigurh appears completely unstoppable. Yet, as the movie points out, he is not without principles. Chigurh will only kill someone if he believes they have done something unjust. For everyone else he comes across, Chigurh allows the person to pick head or tails on a coin toss, and the result of the toss will determine their fate. Overall, the movie turned out to be one of my all-time favorites, and I currently find myself reading the book by Cormac Maccarthy in which the movie heavily follows.

Music

Like most teenagers, listening to music is a large part of my life. Unlike most teenagers, the variety of the music that I listen to is quite large. My favorite genre of music has always been classic rock. Aerosmith, Guns and Roses, Kansas, Journey, and Boston are all bands that frequent my ipod nano. However, I also like alternative, country rock (especially Credence Clearwater Revival) , metal, and more modern rock. Like most kids my age, I also enjoy hip hop and rap, but to a lesser degree than rock. I find myself listening to this most when I am in the car, 107.9 being my station of choice. Finally, I also listen to a degree of bluegrass, especially in the summer when I feel it is most appropriate. Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe are perfect for any hot June night.

Hooked- A Refection of the Past

In the student essay "Hooked", the author describes his childhood passion of fishing with a nostalgia that transitions to present day where, while reflecting upon the past, he passionately mentions how it impacted his current life. The reader's journey begins with a new bike which opened the world to him. With the bike he was able to discover life outside of the same neighborhood where he spent his whole life. The optimistic and euphoric mood continues when he discovers his secrete fishing spot. He compares this spot to what he thinks heaven would look like and continues to lightheartedly describe how he would cast his line until he heard a familiar "kerplunk" when it hit the water. The jubilation felt during the first bass catch encourages the young angler to then begin collecting a all sorts of fishing supplies. The enormous amount of his collection is emphasized by listing all the different types of hooks, baits, and reels. However, to his great dismay, his entire collection is stolen one weekend when he forgets to take it home from the lake. In a bittersweet moment of reflection, the author comments how it took him so long to save the money to buy everything only to have it stole again. Fortunately, he realizes that it wasn't so much about the gear but about creating the memories through his love of fishing. 

Seniors

As a senior, I feel a growing lack of motivation in generally every aspect of my school life. I get up later, procrastinate more, read less, and study less. Generally a pretty motivated person, I thought that the so called "Senioritis" was ridiculous last year when the now graduated seniors claimed it to be real. I can now see that they were right. As of now, I still continue to do all of my homework. Yet, I fear this trend may not continue at the current pace my case of Senioritis is progressing. For the sake of my grades and consequently the sake of my own self due to the reaction of my parents if my grades suffer, I hope I can find a cure to this case.

Painting with Neil Blog Response

In “Painting with Neil” the rich descriptions regarding Neil’s constant changing g attitudes reveals an aggravated impatience which greatly affects the overall perception of the character. Throughout the night, Neil’s attitude is in a constant state of change. The opening lines where Neil shows great displeasure regarding the condition of his hot dog foreshadows how he will treat the rest of the night. Although Neil becomes excited during the opening moments of the game, his state of mind changes with every goal. This climaxes with the final goal scored by Canterbury after which Neil leaves before the game is even over. Through the descriptions of Neil, the writer is able to capture the mindset of any teenager at a certain point in their lives. Almost everyone knows someone like the person the author was describing or has acted like that character before. All in all, the voyage to the soccer game with Neil is great commentary on what anyone could have experienced.  

Ready For Spring

Even though the recent cold weather was gracious enough to bless us with a day off, I am getting quite sick of winter. As much as I love having to get up early and defrost my car before leaving for school, I am really looking forward to those 60 to 70 degree days of April. I am even willing to compromise a few rainy days if it means seeing the sun out at 7 pm instead of darkness beginning at 5. Until then, I guess I will just have to put up with the snow, ice, and wind...

Ground Zero Response

In Ground Zero by Suzanne Berne, the unassuming descriptions of the World Trade Center memorial as viewed from face value underscores the mournful seriousness that the bleak scene represents to those who view it. When Berne first arrives at Ground Zero, she states that it appears like any other bustling New York construction site. The "pound of jackhammers" and the "steady beep-beep-beep of trucks backing up" suggest an ordinary scene with little importance other than a simple construction site. However, after recollecting the events from 9/11, Berne begins to see what she expected to from the beginning: sorrowful reminders of the tragic event  that occurred. Suddenly, "skyscrapers shrouded in black plastic" and "cracked masonry" become eerily visible. By juxtaposing the descriptions of a normal construction site with the uneasy signs of disaster, Berne paints a picture of two worlds: the present where ticket salesmen work in "cheerfully painted kiosks" and one of constant reminder of the past where firefighters preform an honor guard for someone's remains. All in all, these worlds coexist through the act of visiting the site which Berne states is "wide emptiness where so many were lost."