Liza’s Blog

Difficulties come in many different forms. Problems can come from others, such as discrimination, or from yourself. They can be pressured into somebody, and in situations like that, it is hard to overcome. Anyone who does is a strong willed person and an example for anyone. Of the many troubles, addiction is especially hard to get past because it was self-induced and addiction tends to stay with a person.

Thinking on the topic of addiction, which I consider a very difficult situation, I can thinkof many different people. Some who didn’t get over their problems, some died, and some worked through it and were able to overcome their addictions.

At the moment I am thinking of an actor, Robert Downey, Jr., who was known for, during his prime years, was a drug addict. It affected his career, he struggled to get out of it, and he even endured jailtime for the things his addiction made him do. Prior to and following his addiction he is known for the characters he played and the talent he has. I admire him for what he accomplished. He worked and worked and he got over his problem. He has recently gained more fame for the movies he has made, acquiring an oscar nomination for a role in a comedy. He is very skilled at acting, portraying Charlie Chaplin also gaining an oscar nomination, and being renouned for playing Tony Stark (Iron Man). He will be playing Sherlock Holmes soon. He has had a complete turn around in his life, getting married, and acting in multiple very successful movies.

Thinking of Charlie Chaplin, he is another man who overcame difficulties. Being a major politically satirist through the movies he made, he was persecuted, being accused of being a communist. Chaplin was an actor, director, producer, writer, and composer of his movies. I admire hi solely for that. But he also commented on social issues through his movies, taking the risk and making a statement. Even though one of his movies ridiculed facsism (and Hitler), he was accused of being a communist and was threatened to be blacklisted. After everything he did for America, they treated him wrongly. To get past this, before the government could deport him, he left himself. They didn’t respect him and he overcame his problem by taking an initiative. You need to admire that. Later he would return and win an honorary oscar, finally getting the prais ehe deserved.

There are many other “greats” who overcame an addiction, or a problem, and the list is too long to name. And, they are not only actors

“Eating Together” and “Eating Alone”
By. Li-young Lee

These two poems together, create a sense of completeness.
In the first it shows the way of live shortly after the death of a loved one. Together the family coped with the loss of the father. When he thinks of his father in this poem, it is very empty feeling. Though he compares his father to the road without travellers, he also says it is lonely for no one. Does this mean no one is there for it to feel lonely? Or does he mean that no on eneeds to be there because this place was not meant for life. It reminds me of the play “Our Town” in that for the deceased souls, the graveyard was filled but in a content sort of way. But, for the living it was very sad, and lonely because they are reminiscing their lost ones. This is how I think he meant the ‘snow-covered road’ to be seen.
In the second poem, it is a few years after his father passed away. When he thinks of his father in this poem he is remembering the nice times he and his father shared. It makes us see he is understanding of everything that has happened and he is going to respect his father and the memories the man has of him. When he talks about seeing his father there was hope that it might have been true, but that was followed with reality. And he finishes with saying, ‘And my own lonliness. What momre could I, a young man, want.’ This was confusing to me at first. Why would he want lonliness? Is it because he is trying to connect with his father, thinking that his father is lonely as well. If that was the case I would say he should realize that though he lost his father he shouldn’t put himself in a sad situation like this. He should use the help of friends and family to get past it. But, he might of said this with an acceptance of his situation and an understanding that he needs to appreciate everything he has, such as the peas, onions, shrimp, and perhaps lonliness. If this is the case, I would say that though he is a young man, and he is very wise.

I think both the second poem also procures a sort of hope. This is because of the many references to the color green. When I think of green I think of: peace, hope, life, and so much more. The second poem had the onions (green as we know from the first poem), the pears, the trees, the ‘flickering, deep green shade’, and the green peas all show his hopefulness of maybe seeing his father one more time. The green also represented his movement past the shock of his father’s death into an acceptance. His life back with him again. And with this idea I decided that the last line of the second poem means that he did accept what had happened to him and that he is now seeing things with a new light. His father has changed him.

Reaction to “Out Out”.
By. Robert Frost

This poem is a very quick one. Though it is lengthy, its storytelling eggs you on to read faster, impatient to discover the ending. And, when you get to the end, it is done, finite, nada mas, no more. When you ponder its meaning , especially that of the last line, you are moved by it.

This telling of an anecdote of a boy who, injured by a saw, looses his life, was not just a well-written tragedy. This is because, in its last line Frost writes, ‘And they, since they were not the one dead, turned to thier affairs’. This shows a completion to the story, after much suspense. The boy died, and his family moved on. They kept living. But, is that really the case? This poem can be taken two ways if it concerns his family. They could’ve returned to their lives thinking the boy would’ve wanted it that way. Or, they might have returned because they do not want to think of the terrible loss they must now endure. Either way, they did start living again.   

This powerful piece makes one think about the major effect of loosing someone is, and how there are always many options of what to do in the situation. With this poem, you see that life is a wonderful thing, and the little things you always remember, may be you last things in life. And, with that you are content. But, it also shows that with such miniscule things a part of your life, you can take them for granted because life is short and it is impossible to stop it from ending, such as the family’s lovly surrounding which they are always to busy working to enjoy. So, this poem could be viewed in a pessamistic way. And, I cannot prevent myself from referencing one of the greatest poets and authors we know, Shakespeare. When it was made apparent to me the likeness between the title of this poem and a famous monologue of the great Shakespearian play Macbeth, I reread the poem in excitement and very quickly saw this poem to be mixing with the lines from the play. In Macbeth, when Macbeth discusses Lady Macbeth’s death, he uses the words, ‘Out out, breif candle.’ And, from this lies the pessamistic take on the poem “Out Out”. With the words of Macbeth swirling through my head, I could not help but think of what Macbeth thought about the death of his loved one. He said life was worthless, short, and he quickly moved on after his wife had died, because it is not always worth it to worry about. And so, the poem now held a new meaning for me. What if those family members had returned to their lives thinking that their loss was so miniature when compared to the big picture of things. Then, all of this boy’s life was worthless. If those who knew him best treated him as Lady Macbeth was “mourned”, then he would not truly be remembered as one who passes away should be.

Being so young, and doing such hard work, you feel shock and sadness when he is proclaimed dead just as his family could have. The snarling, rattling evil machine he had to use at such an age was the villian. Because of that saw, he would no longer be living. When first cut by the saw the boy laughed, because he did not at first feel pain or the awaiting future. But, when realization took him over, he knew that not only his hand might be leaving him, but in accompianment his life. He would not be able to do the things others could do. Along with his already harsh life he would have to endure more of a struggle. While screaming to his sister the desire not to loose his hand, he never once thought he might die. The worst he had to woory was a hand and a life in which he lives, not in which he dies. And as the reader, you are with him. You did not expect the outcome, and niether did his family. 

But I concluded that this would be a warmer ending, because they did care about him. I believe not only out of hope for a softer ending, but with the knowledge that he trusted his sister, even if he did loose the hand he wanted to keep.

There are still multiple possibilities in which to look at this poem. The people returning to their lives, could have been the boy’s doctor, or the other wood workers. They could’ve turned from his death with regret in the loss but knowledge that there are more things to do. Or maybe without any feelings at all on the subject. One thing is for certain, when the boy and the people around him were in the beautiful secenery of Vermont, they boy did not get the chance to experience it because his story was cut short, as it ought not to have been.

For this blog I am going to answer number cinco: “Agree or disagree: People can overcome their own problems.”

When first read, my direct answer was yes. If someone works hard enough, they could overcome a problem of theirs. But, then I started to dwell into this idea. And, sadly it occured to me, that sometimes you must accept that problems happen all the time. You could get rid of one, but in this act unknowingly create another. This is what so bothered me. Never could you solve all your own problems. Their are too many. And, you do need help in certain situations.

But, this is far too pessamistic for my liking. I would much rather prefer to take this question in a different direction. Let’s say I go with yes you definately can overcome your own problems. It’s true to say this, but you just have to think of it in…steps. You can’t solve all your problems at once. You need to take them step by step. And, slowly overcome each separate problem. Then, by the time you are done you have lived a life of challenges and rewards.

See, that last statement was a very happy one, very optomistic. But, sadly it is hard to think this way because there are so many problems all around you. And, the problems of others who are close, are also your own problems in a way. You care about them, so you care about their problems. So it seems, even if you conquer your own problems, there are always some lurking around the unexpected corner.

That, was a downer of a paragraph I must say, but it is also relevant to the question.
So, let’s revise those into one. People can overcome their own problems without help. It just takes persistance and determination and hope. But, of course do not think you have no problems left, because you live in a big world, were you also happen to love. Whether that be things or people, or animals; you love them. So, while you will always have conflicts that need resolving, so do the problems of the things you love.

All in all, you will always have problems, but do not think so sadly because you can fix them on your own. And, all these conflicts really do lead to good things in your life. Never think you are stuck in a situation, place, or mood, because everyone changes all the time. There is no stopping that.

I AGREE AND DISAGREE. There are many sides to this.

I decided to write about nuber 3:

When do you feel you stopped being a child? How did you know?

I have to say that I have definately not stopped being a child. No one “grows out” of being a child. Everyone retains child like behavior when they grow up. You are always getting older, and maturing, and experienciing. BUT! All of that combined could not kick out all of the child in you. The attributes most loved in children by…non-children, is their innocence, caring, and passion for things. So, how can you stop feeling like a child if in everyday life you show those three traits. No one could learn everything in the world so that they are no longer innocent (which I always take to mean not knowing something). And, you will always be loving your family. And if not, you friends. And, if not themm…then movie stars, anyone. You always care about at least one thing. Everyone holds something dear to them. The last part, passion, is also everywhere. If you have a hobby, friend, family, item that you love so much you have a passion for it. Children show passion in most of the things they do.
And, if you aren’t innocent, caring, or passionate…then you are a murderous villian. But, even they have a passion for something, which is scary but true. You are not human if you don’t show these feelings and expressions. So, anyone human always has a little child in them.
But, in recent events even robots show those human characteristics (WALL-E) .

I mean, you can take this more literally. Someone can feel unlike a child in that they don’t need to rely on a parent or guardian. You’d know when you can be responsible for you actions. But, this is sort of the standard in society. If a child experiences something where they need to survive, they will be able to do it alone. Even if they are young. I was listening to the radio statioin NPR (I think New York Public Radio) and there was this interview. A boy survived for a few month’s without his mother because his mother was tooken away for I don’t remember why. But, he didn’t want to go to a help house away from her because he was so sure she would be able to come back. He lived in this house for a good amount of months. She managed to get money by selling items, and things he made. And, he knew what to do and to keep food in good supply. He became responsible for himself until his mom returned. He was still a child when it happened.

No one really grows up.

Act II Scene II (a.k.a. the Duncan-gets-murdered-scene)

Lady M. The alcohol has made them drunk, but has given me courage:
It has made them sleepy and unaware, but has pumped me up. –Wait! –Silence!
It was just an owl screaming, the bell ringing,
Which ends the day. He is doing it.
The doors are open; and the guards
Have changed their strong presence to snores: I have drugged
their drinks,
Death and life are with them,
Whether they will be living or dying later.

Macb. Who’s there?

Lady M. Oh no! I am afraid they might wake up,
And it is not done: we are attempting to murder but it has not been done yet. –Yes!- I have put the daggers in the right spot;
He couldn’t miss them. –If he did not look so much like
My dad while sleeping, I would have done it. –My Husband!

[Enter Macbeth]

Macb. I have done it. –Did you also hear a noise?

Lady M. I heard owls screeching, and crickets chirping.
Didn’t you say something?

Macb. When?

Lady M. Now.

Macb. As I was coming down the stairs?

Lady M. Yes.

Macb. Listen!
Who sleeps in the second room?

Lady M.Donalbain.

Macb. This is a sad sight.

Lady M.  It is stupid to think that this is a sad sight.

Macb. One was laughing in his sleep, and one yelled,
‘Murder!’
Then they woke each other: I stood and heard them;
They said only prayers, and went
Back to sleep.

Lady M. There are two people in one room.

Macb. One said, ‘God bless us!’ and the other one, ‘Amen,’
They might of seen my hands covered in this guilty blood.
Listening to them is such fear, I could not say, ‘Amen,’
When they said ‘God bless us.’

Lady M. Don’t think about it so much.

Macb. But at the time and place I could not say ‘Amen’?
When I really needed the blessing, and ‘Amen’
Was only stuck in my throat never to come out.

Lady M. What we have done must not be thought
About: it will make us go mad.

Macb. I thought I heard a voice saying, ‘Sleep no more!
Macbeth murders Sleep,’ –the innocent Sleep;
Sleep, that calms you and helps you,
The end of everyday, the healing of the worker,
The mind, and Nature itself,
The main food in life’s feast;–

Lady M. What are you talking about?

Macb. It said, ‘Sleep no more!’ to everyone in the house:
‘Thane of Glamis has murdered Sleep, and so Thane of Cawdor
Must never sleep, Macbeth should never sleep!’

Lady M. Who has said this? Why, Macbeth,
You are making yourself weaker, to think
Of such sick things. Go, get water,
And wash this evidence from you hands.
Why did you bring the daggers from the murder scene?
They must be next to Duncan: go, and smear
Blood on the drunken warriors around Duncan.

Macb. I won’t go there;
I am scared to think about what I did;
I can’t bare to look at it once more.

Lady M. You are not being helpful!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping, and the dead,
Are only sights; it is childish
That you fear a sight. Since there is blood on the daggers,
I will smudge the faces of the drunken warriors,
Because they must look guilty.

[Exits Lady M.]

Macb. Where is that knocking coming from?
How come I feel that every noise upsets and scares me?
And my hands? They are so hard to look at.
Will even an ocean be able to clean the
Blood from my hands? No, my hand could
Be under many seas and,
It would only make the entire sea turnfrom its normal green to red with blood.

[Re-enters Lady M.]

Lady M. I have blood on my hands too; and I am shamefully
Appearing to be so pure. I hear knocking
At the southern door: –we must go back to our room.
A little water cleans our hands and hides the murder:
It is so easy! Your fear
Has kept you from doing anything. –Man! More knocking.
Put on your pajamas, in case someone needs to see us,
And make us seem like bystanders. –Do not think so much about this.

Macb. To know that I have killed him, it would be better to not know my own self.
Wake the king with that knocking: I would if you could do it!

This is my literal translation persay from the Old English to more understandable Modern English. I might do another version that is even more modern.

This scene is very important because it is not only the scene where Macbeth begins his quest of murder, and the King who is portrayed as kind, generous, and noble is killed, but also where we see Macbeth filled with guilt. This is where all of the guilt he has begun to cumulate from this plan which has been brewing is at its peak. Here he is the most regretful of his actions. But soon enough he is accustomed to murder, still feeling guilty, but yet he is still able to murder again. From the end of this scene, he turns from regret of the murder, to murderous and suspicious, with a side of guilt. He will be filled with guilt throughout the play, but apparently not enough because he is fine with killing again. This is also the point where Lady Macbeth seems to have lost the power which she had once gripped over Macbeth. Up to this point she made him commit the deed. But after this, he is in control of himself and his actions. More or less, he becomes this sort of evil on his own. But, with this freedom from Lady Macbeth with come his becoming insane.

Do you believe in prophecies?
I do not necessarily believe in “prophecies”. Someone can have the luck of predicting something is going to happen, with it actually occurring. But, it is luck. Everything changes slightly from what is expected, if not greatly. Nothing in the world is set in stone, so it is rarely possible to predict the exact turn of events that will happen.
Do you believe that we are all in a battle of good vs. evil?
I do believe that everyone has choices. Everyone can choose between what is right and what is wrong. So, yes, I do believe we are in a battle between good and evil. We can either go the good or evil way. But, there are not concrete sides that everyone in the world is on. We all do both good and bad things.
How do you decide what is good and what is evil?
You decide what is good and what is evil by the effects of the act. If it results in bad consequences, that is typically a bad (“evil”) thing. If it will have a good outcome, that is a good act. But, more often are the things which are both good and evil. In these situations, there may be more good than bad, or vice versa. In those times, it can be judged good or bad by whichever is more prominent. There are also times when it is so even, no one could decide where to categorize it, good or evil.
Do you believe in the adage, “You reap what you sow’?
Yes I do believe that “you reap what you sow”. What happens to you is the affected by what you have chosen. If you buy a jaw-breaker, and you break your jaw, it is because you bought the jaw breaker. Not because the sweet, enticing candy was too hard. If you had gone with the banana instead, quite a healthier choice, the also sweet but far mushier banana would not have broken your jaw, but instead fill you with vitamins. So, yes, you do reap what you sow. Whatever the situation may be, you got yourself there somehow.
Do you believe that fate directs our lives or that our actions alone do? To what extent do you believe this? Why?
I don’t think fate directs our lives. Of course, it has something to do with it, but our actions and choices decide what you life will be like. I believe this semi-strongly. It is obvious that fate can be blamed for situations. But, for example, if you got hit by a bus, you could say it was fate that I was on the street at the exact moment that the bus was there. But, was it fate that you decided to step on the street at that moment? Was it fate that you wanted to cross to get to the ice cream store for your favorite rocky road cone? I am not so sure. I guess via common sense I believe this. You own actions as the director of our lives is more concrete than just fate. Fate might have been the reason you were craving rocky road ice cream, but the idea to follow through with that craving was the real reason you crossed the street. Either way you think of it, you were still hit by the bus. Fate should not be a scapegoat for you when you know you did not look both ways.
Do you listen to your conscience?
I do listen to my conscience. This is because I grew up learning what was right and wrong, so my conscience is easy to decipher. Since I can so quickly hear it, I know that I have to do what is right. And, if I don’t listen to it, wouldn’t that just add to more to your conscience, making it louder, more noticeable?

First the war
then the war novel
then the war movie
and then, on the rare occasion, the war movie a parody.

The movie I decided to critique is not the second or the third, but the forth. The movie I chose was Tropic Thunder, not a war movie, but a joke of the typical war movie. The movie was written, directed, and starred Ben Stiller. I have seen many of Stiller’s movies, and he is a good comedian. But, it was beyond my expectation to learn that he wrote, directed, and starred in a movie. Of course when I heard, I looked into. To my surprise the movie had much more to offer. Stiller’s co-stars were none other then the talented Robert Downey Jr. and the hysterical Jack Black. And purely off of the mention of these names I decided I had to see the movie. Downey, as we all know was in Iron Man. He did a very good job; he made the comic book character which I had read his own. I later saw Chaplin and discovered more of his skill as an actor. Jack Black I had seen in many of his comedies. He will always be funny to me, and though many critique him for using his comic/musical ideas too often, I think it makes him unique and that much more special as a comedian. So, over Christmas break I finally got the chance to see Tropic Thunder, and I have to say it is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, and will always be. It was very well done and perfectly combined the three different comic styles of Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black. They all easily held their own.
The movie was about three actors making a war movie. What caught me right away was the beginning. They made three fake previews for the three actors who Stiller, Downey, and Black were playing. That was so different and funny; you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Now, before I go on any further here it is the spoiler alert:
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
Ok, so now that that is that…The movie had an amazing way of traveling through the plot. It starts off with the actors on set, and we see on part of the film they are making called Tropic Thunder. Stiller, Downey, and Black are playing three soldiers and there is a sequence they allow you to see were Downey saves the dying Stiller and Black is courageously shooting the enemy to protect Downey from a helicopter. The movie progresses to the set of the filming of this war movie, to seeing the director moving the main characters to a real location in order to procure better acting, to a real heroine factory in Cambodia, to Stiller being held hostage and for ransom by the drug lord. Over the course of all of that, the actors have to hold their own through the jungle they were put in to act and make it to some form of a home. Of course, without the exception of some of the funniest comedy I have ever seen.
You may think, “you are only 15 almost 16, how could you possibly compare comedy??” I would have to say to that, “Well anonymous critique ‘my brother a third year in film school agreed, he has seen a large amount of movies. Oh, and by the way my mother agreed to:)”.
Along with the great performances of these main stars, Tom Cruise, Bill Hader, and Matthew McConaughey also made their way to the screen just adding more to the already great movie. What I loved about it the most was the ending. The actors being put into a real war-like situation end their experience with Black in the helicopter protecting Downey as he goes to save Stiller from the bombarding group of men from the drug factory. It goes full circle and is nonstop funny. I very much recommend it.
Don’t forget to watch the clip! It gets cut off, but doesn’t matter too much. Yea the clip is PG 13 like the movie, I hop that’s ok.

I have a variety of hobbies, and have recorded them via video…there are two different videos so watch Part 1 of my hobbies! Part 2 will be in a separate post. Nevermind it is in this blog.

Hobbies Part 1

Hobbies Part 2 

 
-liza

hay doce cosas…

First and foremost: This story is very upsetting.

Second and important to know: Dani was put through a traumatic and physically and mentally painful experience of abuse. She when found at the age of seven, counting five or six years of abuse, and put in a hospital to get well. She was adopted and is now on a track for success. She is becoming more herself and getting used to the things previously misunderstood. She has gotten farther than was expected and learning and comprehending better every day.

Third and very bothersome: Whether the mother of Dani could have prevented this or not it is destructive to know that years of abuse can make someone grow up so absently.

Forth and my observation: Dani’s situation was caused by the inadequacy of her mother to raise her properly. Dani is not the only one who needs help. Dani’s mother must see that if she does not understand how to take care of a young child or can not manage to give her living conditions to survive and develop properly, then the mother must do what is best. In this case, anything would have been better than Dani’s way of life up until age seven.

Fifth and quite a sad truth: I have decided that I have been either too naive or too hopeful. Regretfully this must be the only explanation. I was naive to think that no such abuse case existed as this and with such terrible outcomes, I was too hopeful in that every person in the world can read when someone is struggling or in pain. Obviously Dani’s mother did not notice her daughter was in pain trying to live without interaction or a proper home. Obviously there are people in this world that commit such abuse cases.

Sixth and a necessary statement: Either Dani’s mother didn’t notice her daughter was struggling with life and being deprived of normal life style or she didn’t care that Dani was undergoing such terror.

Seventh and a scary discovery: If Dani’s mother was the latter of the two options of reasoning in the statement six, then there exists such horrid people as too not care about children, and far worse her own child!

Eighth and a needed comment: The action in the seventh is, in my book, as horrid as crimes such as murder, terrorism, or racism. If she had the heart to ignore her own child, which resulted with a girl who could not speak, the mother has taken away the girl’s right to development and feeling. This is like murder’s stealing a person’s right to live, terrorism’s taking a society’s right to peace, and racism’s taking away a person’s right to being themselves.

Ninth and a little more hope: BUT, to stop the typing of such negative words, Dani’s mother said she had loved her, and said she is missing her, and said she wanted to keep her. She didn’t understand why the police took her away. So this shows that as said in the necessary statement number six, her mother didn’t understand that she was hurting her daughter.

Tenth and a point that must be made: This leaves hope and doubt. This is the overarching point I need to make. The article has both hope and doubt. In every aspect of the article is hope and doubt. But, this is apparent in all parts of life. Never be too hopeful or too doubtful, find a median.

Eleventh and final: This article has taught me a lot. It has opened my eyes more to a world of tragedy. As said in number ten, the article is the hopeful and doubtful, positive and negative. It is negative in that it is depressing and makes one feel like they wish they had never read it; yet positive in that at the same time you are glad that you have heard about this because you take much from it.

Twelfth and the actual final statement: This one article yields many morals.