Sunday, June 5, 2011

Macbeth Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=angelamaphone7#grid/uploads

Vanessa Clarke
Angela Trasolini
Ardelia Tay
Desiree Chiu
Kasey Schell

Sunday, May 15, 2011

"Only look up clear; To alter favour ever is to fear..."

When shall we meet again,
In thunder, lightening or in rain?
When the hurlyburly's done?
When the battle's lost and won?
No, that will be eve the set of sun.
Doubtful he stood,
smoked with bloody execution;
He shall live a man forbid,
imperfect,
and look not like inhabitants o' the earth.
For he has eaten the insane root
that takes the reason prisoner.
This strange intelligence,
supernatural soliciting,
cannot be ill; cannot be good.
As nothing is but what is not.
Truths are told to the
self-same tune and words.
So why do you start
and seem to fear,
things that do sound so fair?
If you can look into the seeds of time,
that oftentimes win us to our harm,
the instrument of darkness shall betray us.
He can report of the revolt;
he has more than mortal knowledge.
Discomfort swells his lavish spirit
and carved out his passage.
What he hath lost, another hath won,
it unseam'd him and choked their art,

For fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Unoka, The Misunderstood Dreamer


*Unoka, talking to another villager named Okoye*

Why hello there it is nice to see you Okoye. I sure hope you haven’t come to discuss the impending war. As you know I grow so tired of that subject...

No, I do not see myself as a coward or frail just because I do not like blood. Rather, I take pride in being gentle & a craftsman with my words...

Oh, well as for my debts, I know I like to indulge but I do not believe it is a crime to immerse myself in the delights of palm wine & other good food & drink. I chose to live the life of a dreamer. It is not my fault I am just not suited for this chauvinistic culture. Is it such a bad thing that I prefer to dream & live life on my own whims & desires rather than follow a harsh & structured routine?...

Okoye, I can’t pay you back at the moment as you can see I have many other debts that are much more demanding & consist of bigger amounts. Let us talk for a while about something cheerful, like music! Sometimes I feel as if music is my only friend. The melody of song is the only thing that brings me immense joy. My flute is what I love most. If only others in the village would understand where I am coming from. Perhaps they could see that they can enjoy many things without working so hard or being so rigid. I fear this for my son Okonkwo, he works very hard & I am very proud. But I fear that he will become a strict man with an iron fist...

Yes he will gain many titles, but it makes me sad to think that he is ashamed of his own father. I would like for him to understand & relate to people more, to be a more compassionate man. I see his proud heart, but I fear in the end he will be alone…

Yes I know Okoye it is a shame. Oh you must go? I see, take care & come share some kola nut with me anytime.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Unaltered Opinions

In my opinion the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was not an enjoyable read although it was eye-opening. The book doesn't fall along a very structured plot line and goes off in rambling stories that don't usually have much to do with the novel itself. I found the sentence structure, choice of words and writing style unappealing. However in Achebe's defence, the book shed some light on a culture that many North Americans are rarely exposed to. The novel was enlightening to an interesting culture, but the presentation of events within the book are colourless and dramatic events are downplayed and understated in a stale fashion. Prior to reading the novel I did not believe in a lot of elements to the Igbo peoples' culture, like killing twin babies for example. Granted, the Igbo culture is exotic and intriguing my opinion of their culture is unaltered by the book despite the education and explanation it has provided.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Not To Escape, But To Find Reality

Chris McCandless is the main character in the novel, Into the Wild. Chris faces many challenges throughout his odyssey against his environment, other characters and his self. Most often, Chris finds himself in his solitude yet is surrounded by the wilderness. During his adventure he reaches many obstacles regarding the environment in which he must overcome. Chris once found himself in a dingy little canoe paddling his way through the ocean near the shores of El Golfo de Santa Clara, when "wind and tidal rips conspired to carry him out to sea" (page 36). With all the difficulties Chris must endure in his atmosphere, at times his frustration also mounts within himself. For the duration of the novel Chris seems to be trying to fulfill a missing need. He struck many people as a "kid who was looking for something, looking for something, but didn't know what it was" (page 42). In effort to fill this void, Chris keeps a journal with him on his enterprise to which he refers to himself by a different name and in the form of third person, almost as if he was living out his wildest dreams of a hazardous journey and recording it every leg of the trip. Chris' desire to leave the world he knew behind stemmed from the expectations of a society to which he viewed as in denial. In his effort to avoid the completion of these expectations, Chris abandons everything he knows to seek a new path of freedom. I find that his desires match mine. When my closest friend and stepbrother passed away in 2009 and I found myself sitting in a classroom day after day in high school contemplating my life due to the recent events I have braved, my daily routine seemed rather trivial and I realized I had to escape. My family and I made a getaway to Samara Beach, Costa Rica. There we stayed at a friends home and lived as locals for nearly a month. Alike Chris, I found that an escape from my environment to create new surroundings was exactly what I needed to find reality again. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Post-Colonialism and the Challenges It Faces


            Post-Colonialism is a theory, which refers to the time after colonialism. Colonialism occurs when one country takes over another and pronounces the defeated country one of their colonies. Most often, colonies were completely taken over and controlled by the conquering country, squashing the indigenous country’s customs, rights, religion and culture among many other things. Not only is colonialism related to post-colonialism, but decolonization is as well. Decolonization is the process where formerly colonized countries regain their independence and all misconceptions during colonial times are abolished. Post-colonialism was regarded in the twentieth century and now, colonial countries are starting to decolonize despite the many difficulties they face. Africa for example was greatly colonized by Britain and the native cultures’ suffering is the most significant. Many colonies of Nigeria, such as the Igbo people, have been smothered by Britain and are now regaining their identity once more. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, he tells stories of the Igbo people and in his efforts he has gained awareness from the globe about his true culture. Many other influential authors such as Nguigi wa Thiong’o of Kenya have expressed their origins in text and have received notice from the world of their people. Decolonization is a long and difficult process, but hopefully the citizens of the planet are able to shed light on their ignorance and take it upon themselves to become further educated of other regions in the world that are now in the post-colonial era.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Have My "Soul To Squeeze"

With a fan base of millions of people, the Red Hot Chili Peppers must be the best poets and rock musicians of all time. Furthermore, only the coolest people listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also, they have performed at countless reputable venues, been featured in The Simpsons as themselves and have performed with many other legendary groups such as Nirvana. What have the Jonas Brothers done to make themselves so popular? They suck. Everyone who listens to the Jonas Brothers is silly. Fairly soon, if something is not done to stop the Jonas Brother craze girls everywhere will become obsessed, do anything that the Jonas Brothers command them and they will take over the entire planet. Vanessa Guan enjoys the Jonas Brothers a lot, but Vanessa Guan is a bubbly teenage girl, so you shouldn't listen to her. Guan will try to convert you into listening to the Jonas Brothers, but as we all know the Red Hot Chili Peppers is the best band of all time, so Vanessa Guan should be forever silenced in order to protect the fragile and easily influenced ears of the public and its youth. To further support the conviction of Vanessa Guan, the fact that she states, "EVERY girl in the world loves them" is a false claim as I am a girl and I do not love the Jonas Brothers so her argument is invalid. True story bro...

Note: Vanessa Guan was not harmed in the process of writing this paragraph.

:)