Merlin

By Henry Carlile b. 1934 Henry Carlile

And once out walking at night

I stumbled across the speckled body

of a small hawk,

the hasp of its wings closed.

One note, one note.

It sings in the rills between words,

between hopes.

It sleeps between leaves in a book,

gathers like dust on the piano.

I heard it once on a green hill

in Aberdeen in short puffs of wind

stirring the new grass among stones.

Prayer could not alter it

nor clods breaking upon bronze.

More On Lullaby. . .

after reading more the book begins to make more sense consequently, books tend to do that. I'm not sure where i ended last time, but I'll start again at chapter 4. chapter four consist of many vital things that are major parts in the book. it starts with the journalist investigating "crib deaths" which means when a baby dies randomly for no specific reason. his assignment consist of the cause of these deaths and any other patterns he can find in them and then writing a story about them. soon enough he finds the cause and decides that it is caused by a song that is commonly read to baby's in Africa. these babies are dieing of sicknesses and this became the way to cause painless death to them and ending their suffering. his way to test this song and see if it works is reading it to he boss, and seeing if he dies the next day.
 the following week, three days after reading it to his boss, nobody has seen his boss, Duncan, around anywhere. the national editor, Henderson, is walking around the office yelling and seaching for duncan because his street newspaper is due in 20 minutes. while all this is happening Streator, the journalist, is pondeering the playout of this song thoughtout the world. he cant tell anyone about it because they would have to read it. and he is imaginging a wourld without music, books, radio, newspaper and everone wearing ear plugs to block out the songs that might kill them. every place that has any type of media outlet would have to have airport-like secuirty guards that filter the books, internet, and other media so nobody gets killed by the song. Well I'm still not sure if Duncan is dead, but i'm almost sure he is. this means there will be another post explaining more about the book.

Close Reading Bingo...

Common Weaknesses:

1.  Salinger uses words with mainly negative connotations that are easy to understand yet are somewhat hostile.  He also uses dull sarcasm like when he describes his parents as "nice".-rule 6 and rule 8   http://bradey.blogspot.com/
2. Salinger first describes the parents as “touchy as hell”. -Rule 8      http://letsgetawesome5.blogspot.com/
3. Starting at the LOW side of the y axis, Nic Sheff bluntly uses vulgar language to remember a time he had with a previous girlfriend.
   http://littleduckkie3.blogspot.com/
4. Common weakness #4: "Throughout this except, the vocabualary is easy to read, allowing the common people to read the book, without having a lot of education."
   http://barrellxc2012.blogspot.com/
   

Practice Diction Analysis...

In This excerpt from The Mezzanine has a precise a dignified suggestiveness ad refinement. Nicholson Baker describes The businesslike movements of the "black rubber handrails" and meticulous "brushed-steel side-panels." The rushed feeling of urgency when he starts to step on the elevator depicts the harsh sounds of rush hour in a mall on Christmas eve. The breezy feeling of ease when he notices the "Long glossy highlights" in the the cracks that hang among escalators. His clam, but intense attention to detail leaves readers intimidated yet expectant for the forth coming of his next step.

New Book...

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk is one of the strangest books I've started, I'm only on chapter 3, but the book starts with a prologue that is about two ghost hunters/psychics that work for a Realtor. Their job is to investigate houses that are haunted and then wait till the people move out and then resell the house. In chapter one they blatantly ignore the prologue and talk about a journalist. I mean don't get me wrong the journalist is interesting and all, but they totally switched the story line.

The Journalist talks about how everything happens after the fact, every story that is, and how presentation is everything. if you don't present something right you can easily give the wrong first impression.Chapter 2 is more on the journalist and how she had a crappy teacher that taught he a valuable lesson in reporting stories. within the lesson is a baby that choked on an ornament which is kinda strange. You can read it if your interested, but its at your own risk. Chapter 3 is another swap of people this one is unexplained. is starts off with the inner thoughts of somebody who lives in an apartment building with really loud neighbors that they call "sound-oholics". I think their have too much free time if they have to worry about that, to tell you the truth. The guy goes to the store limping for some reason or another and the guy at the cash register hands him a tightly wrapped bag of something and says "that will be a hundred and forty-nine dollars."  This makes me think that he is some sort of druggie, but despite cruel thoughts he gets back to he apartment and walks in complaing about the loud drum beats he can hear though the walls. This part i think is strange, he goes to the bathroom, locks the door and turns off the lights so now he is in pitch black darkness. he sits on the toliet and yanks the bag out and onto the floor and pulls out a miniture building of some sort. he takes it into the kitchen and puts it all together, its turns out to be a house, and by the time he is done its 4 in the morning and the pounding music is gone and all that is left is the claming sound of selience. so on that note he takes off his sock and puts the freshly made house on the ground. without second guessing he stomps away at the house, no matter how bad it hurts he keeps on stomping. and then the chapter ends. I'll keep reading a tell you maore about it on another day.

Style Mapping...

The Excert from The Mud Below Annie Pnoulx's exact denotative connotation placed with a well elevated discriptive language. The adealine injected cheering of the crowd and violent spasisms of the bull give a noisy claging sound to this excert. the bluntness of a troting horse through the western plains shows the low diction and connotative somberness and the harsh night silence leaves you wondering about the lone cowboy in Blood Medidian by Cormac McCarthy. The last excert from Survivor by Palahniuk Has a powerfulfully high elevation fortified by a strong connotative tone and ended with a blunt sound leaving anyone who reads this picking their jaw up of the floor.    

Quarterly...

This 9 weeks I've have finished only one book ,but i read two, which is a lot for me sadly enough. the book i finished was survivor and that was a very very good book. it makes you think differently because the main character grew up in a different world than most people in the entire world. He grew up in a cult and slowly be comes the last one alive in the cult due to the progression of the book. the whole book reads backwards because it starts on page 245 or something close to that and  reads all the way too page one. this is my favorite book so far. the other book I've read is art of war and that was pretty good it was really simple yet extremely complex in many ways. the book is read in a numbered list explaining tactics and the "ways" a war should be handled. Sun Tuz wrote this book like 3000 years ago so it sometimes can get confusing. And i also added a monkey to make this more interesting. 

Currently...

(1.) "Where right at the beginning of the end." Tender Branson "Survivor"

(2.) "The good fighters of old first put
    themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then
    waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."-Sun Tzu "Art Of War"

(3.) "Maneuvering with an army is advantageous;
    with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous."-Sun Tzu "Art Of War"

I like these because they all make you think in a different way than the average person does. The first one is my faviorte because its short and to the point, but doesnt lack in wisdom. The 3rd one is also simple and very direct also.

Pages This Sem.-552
Pgs(week 5)- 133

Books Read:

1. Survivor

2. Redwall

Class Claims

 

1. Homesteads winter guard performance, Breakbeats Pulse of the Underground, uses bright energetic performance, aggressive clean movement, intensive strong upbeat dance, and confident clean posture to woo the audience watching. - Outspoken Silence

express [a sense of aggressive romance and intense ghoulishness.]-DolphinCat

The majestic, distinctive color with the deep, wild detail add to the heavy contrast and proud focus of this lion, a dignified and appreciative beast who hunted his prey out of resigned necessity, and for a disgruntled, hungry family.- i need a nap

In this photo it seems that a group friends are marking the end of an era or the start of something new, the arms outstretched are either reaching for something that's gone or welcoming something that is coming. -Blogs with friends

Solo Claim

Elements:

Use of Space:
 distinct, motionless, aggressive, precise

Color:
 dull, light, clear, poised, clever

Area Of Focus:
 hollow, silent, bitter, impossible

Small Details/Slogan:
distinct, outstanding, inquisitive, powerful, few, sharp

Tone:
vibrant
witty
sensationalistic
bitter
taunting

Claim:

The Movie poster for Thirteen's  use of vibrant wit in the small minuet details of the poster really show the distinct cleverness that this movie brings to the table. The precise use of space and the taunting motionlessness bring rise to a sensationalistic bitterness residing within the poster.

Poem of the month

What It Does

By David Ferry b. 1924 David Ferry

The sea bit,

As they said it would,

And the hill slid,

As they said it would,

And the poor dead

Nodded agog

The poor head.

O topmost lofty

Tower of Troy,

The poem apparently

Speaks with joy

Of terrible things.

Where is the pleasure

The poetry brings?

Tell if you can,

What does it make?

A city of man

That will not shake,

Or if it shake,

Shake with the splendor

Of the poem’s pleasure.

 

Currently. . .

(1.) "Then I was an agoraphobic. I was a panic disorder."-Tender Branson "Survivor"

(2.) "There's a gas station going to explode next week."-Tender Branson "Survivor"

(3.) "Where right at the beginning of the end." Tender Branson "Survivor"

My favorite one is probably The first one because of the way he uses the metaphor. it makes him seem philosophical and deep thinking. The 2nd one is really blatant which makes it kind of funny and that all I really have to say about that.

Pages read this week:
200-100 pgs
100 pgs
"Survivor"-Chuck Palahniuk

double-headed...

Ok short summary to start this off, tender branson, the main chapter of the story is explaining his life story into the flight recorder of flight 2039. He is the now the last surviving member of the creedish death cult, and the plane is cruising to its inevitable fate of crash landing somewhere in the Australian outback. over the last ten years he has been under the close watch of the Federal Survivor Retention Program. this is a program the government has set up to try and keep the last members of the death cult alive, because they all killed themselves in a mass suicide called The Deliverance. this is, according to the creedish death cult, when god calls gives the sign that we should deliver ourselves to heaven though suicide of coarse. he had his number accidentally placed in the paper under "suicide hot line" so he constantly receives these calls of common people with guns to their heads ready to pull the trigger, he always tells them to do it and sadly enough they do. he got one call from a guy named Trevor Hollis who has a long history of suicide in the family and tender tells him to do it, so he does. he is stealing fake flowers at the mausoleum, for the house he takes care of, and he decides to look for Trevor's tomb. He finds it with ease and he hears a woman walking down the hall way, this just happens to be Trevor's sister and she thinks that tender was Trevor's boyfriend. he doesn't tell her the true story though, but after he gets home he receives a call and it happens to be Trevor's sister, Fertility Hollis, she says that she is going to kill herself but tender talks her out of it. she tell him about the "Guy" she met at the mausoleum and how weird he was. tender talks her into taking he out on a date, so she does. after this date she calls the hot line again this time just to talk to tender, except she doesn't know that she is talking to him. she says how weird he is and keeps insulting him. he talks her into another date where she tells tender about how her brother had these dreams about future disasters and how the would show up to the places where the disasters happened, just to watch them. she starts to like tender more and more, they go to a department store and a huge fire starts they almost are engulfed by flames when they halt Right before them. Fertility tells him that she saw that in one of her dreams just like her brother did. tender makes a calender of when all of  the disasters are going to happen. tender is also dealing with the Media following him around because he is the last survivor of the death cult in the world. And i haven't read past that....     

Back to the book...

I left off last time talking about the murders that were happening within the few creedish Church members that still alive. I've got to the part where tender is now one of the last 5 surviving Creedish Church members in the U.S. his caseworker has giving up on him, after a long ten years of trying to change him. Well that's my update for today....

Friday Post

This is all about the personality test I took on Friday two weeks ago. I got ENFP Which means that i"m an idealist and they also call it A "champion" witch i"m far from. The sweet thing about that is only 3% of the world population obtains this result which makes me feel great about myself. The strangest thing about all of the stuff they said i was that its all true. Normally there is a couple parts to personality tests that make them More generalized, but that aspect did not appear in this explanation of the personality type. I really like this test i feel almost like its very accurate, but i would have to see others take it too. Only then I can see if this test actually is accurate.

Currently...

Books I've read this week:
Art of war-Sun Tzu
Survivor-palahniuk

Pages: 108 pages this week
Pages this semester: 311+108= 419


Favorite sentences:
(1.)"one would hoodwink the enemy with disalution"-Sun Tzu "Art of War"

(2.)"Maneuvering with an army is advantageous;
    with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous."-"Art Of War"

(3.)"You eat sorbert by licking it out of the bowl, Dog-dish fashion." -Survivor

My number one faviorte secntance is Number 1 because I just loved the word "Hoodwinked".
Number 3 is just funny to think about and Number 2 is cool for useing such long words.

More about Survivor. . .

I'm finally starting to understand what this story is about or at least what is going on within the story. Turns out that somehow though the first couple of chapters i missed that Tender Branson, the main charter, is a member of the creedish death cult. I'm unsure about how i missed this because its so obvious to anyone who reads this book. This cult is based off off all those people that "drank the kool-aid" which was how it was explained to us when we were younger. Tender was supposed to take his own life when all of the other members did it around the U.S. but was stopped and now has to attend therapy were he is learning to accept his new life, if you can even call it a "new life". So Evey week he meets wit his caseworker and asks how many creedish "survivors" their are left, there are less than 200 left and They think the creedish church leaders are murdering the "survivors" so they can all go to heaven together.So his caseworker is trying to warn him about the "Fake Suicides" that keep happening around the U.S. that are not compared to the Normal suicides that never show any signs of stopping.

Back to The Art Of War. . .

I finally started the next chapter in "art of war" and you probably know what its called because I've said it so many times. For the people who don't know its called "maneuvering" and its about war tactics. At the beginning of the chapter he makes a point toward harmony and its place in the war zone. he says without it the army and the country will fall to their knees in defeat. one tactic he notes is about confusing the enemy and making them seem like you are far away so they let there guard down, and then swiftly closing that distance and arriving at the battle ground first. this makes sense to me, but you would think that that would tire an army out quickly. according to him "the one prepared for battle is less likely to be exhausted than the one that hurries into the battle".
This book is confusing because every time he tries to explain a long distance he measures it in "Li" which is apparently how they measured things 2 thousand years ago. They also explain things with "Chinese" metaphors which don't really make any sense to Americans. Here is an example of one "we shall be like to rats fighting in a whole-and the pluckier one will win!". please leave a comment if that makes ANY sense.

survivor. . .

This book is questionably the strangest book I've ever read and its also not a good book to read if you have a headache because it just makes you question the author to often. And just some advice to any one else writing a blog post, its not a good idea to write anything when you have a headache because it just makes it 20 times worse. So back to the book, first the book is backwards, because it starts at chapter 47 and on page 285. This is one of the reasons I'm so interested in the book, and the other reason is that the main character is has a "one of a kind" personality. he tells this story about where he grew up and his brother telling him "stories" from the "outside world". they are forced to live in this church district which sounds like a culted community from the way they describe it in the book. they are only allowed a chance to escape when they reach the age of 17. him and his brother take this chance as soon as possible he never says any else about his brother except that he was  naive and stupid. Well he gets a job cleaning up after other people in their houses which i can tell is going to be some type of metaphor later in the book.
   It fast forwards to about 10 years later where he still holds the house maid job. he frequently adds comments like "ask me how to get blood stains out of wallpaper?" and "ask me how fix stab wounds in suits?" he says these things because he has had to learn how to accomplish these tasks in his experience as a house maid. many of the things are very strange, but a few are helpful and some what handy to a very industrious person i guess. this book does have its comical moment's, but some of the stuff he says is nothing but sick and disturbing. If anyone is debating reading this book, they definitely should because it is totally worth reading.

Currently. . .

Books I've read this week:
Art of war-Sun Tzu
Survivor-palahniuk

Pages: 311 pages this week

Favorite sentences:
(1.)"By means of these seven considerations I can
    forecast victory or defeat."-Sun Tzu "Art of War"

(2.)"Sun Tzu said:  The good fighters of old first put
    themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then
    waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy." "Art Of War"

(3.)"In battle, there are not more than two methods
    of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two
    in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers." "Art Of War" Sun Tzu

The second sentence is my favorite Because it seems like I could actually use that in life.The third one is sweet because it makes warfare seem almost simple. And the first one almost seems like a weather forecast and that's why I like it.

New book. . .

I got stuck on a new book today and its confusing, but its also very interesting too. its called "survivor" and its about this guy who hijacks this plane and is heading toward his inevitable fate because he killed every body on board and let the captain parachute out. That's as far as i got today, but I'll read more tomorrow and update whoever is reading this with more of the story. I' tell you the author name too, so you can read it if you want. "survivor"-Palahniuk he also wrote "Fight Club" if that helps your search for a good book.

I said that I was going to talk about the next chapter called maneuvering in my last post, but I decided that I was just going to explain the previous chapters. The most helpful chapter for me so far was the chapter call "weak and strong points". It explains how and what to attack if you have a weak or strong enemy and no matter the size of the enemy's forces. This book almost has to much information to take in. I think I might have to reread the book if I want to understand it fully.
I feel so wise when I'm reading it I defintely feel like a wise chief. And yes that's where got the blogs title. I'm thinking that I'll read "war and peace" next. And I'm going to actually read chapter 6 and hopefully understand it. I'm going to change my goal for book, it was to just read it for class, but now it's going to be concentrating on learning and understanding it. And I think I'll throw a sweet quote in too. This is one of my favorites "He who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven, making it impossible for the enemy to guard against him. This being so, the places that I shall attack are precisely those that the enemy cannot defend...He who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth, making it impossible for the enemy to estimate his whereabouts. This being so, the places that I shall hold are precisely those that the enemy cannot attack."- sun tzu

First post. . .

I'm Reading Art of War by: Sun Tzu Also known as the book that was literally written on scrolls all the way in 2nd century B.C. Today it is still one of the most popular books for military personnel and war strategist around the world. This book has 13 chapters all covering the basics of war strategy and the ideals of generalship. I've only read about 6 chapters, but so far the book has been incredibly interesting to read. The book does get very confusing because it’s translated from 1000 year old scrolls by wise Chinese generals. And that was only the process to translate it to simplified Chinese. The process continues from this point to have the book translated into English. Which has left quite a lot of errors still in the text because the Chinese language does not translate fluidly into the English language? I've read about 277 pages in the last couple of days and that’s excluding the 256 page intro to the book. That has to be the longest intro I have ever read in any book by a long shot. I'll post more about the next chapter I’m reading tomorrow. It’s called Maneuvering it should be the best one yet.