Blogging

Blogging is an unconventional way, classroom wise, of sharing our opinions and practicing our writting. I agree that it is a creative and a great idea. However, just the fact that it is all through the computer, with no actual tangible assignments to turn in, makes it so easy to put off and put off until you evenually convince yourself that it's too late to do at all.

A positive aspects of blogging is that you can bring in so much more then just your own ideas. You can link articles and videos and websites that illustrate something further and help to clarify your point, or maybe even refute it. Also, my favorite feature is the pictures, they adds life to your ideas and add a scapegoat from boredom. The attachments that you can add to your website are also fun. They allow you to personalize your space for people to analyze and critique.

After writing a post my feelings could go either way. I could be very proud of my latest creation and be excited to share it with the world. Or, if i didn't put forth all my effort i could hate it and not want anyone to read it. This is a bad feeling and often deters me from posting. The fact that anyone can see my work is exciting yet terrifying at the same time. Blogging goes way beyond just writing your opinions for practice in your AP class. It is linked to the outside world and is open for criticism. Maybe i am just looking too far into it but that often inhibits my motivation to blog. Like i said though, when i am very proud of my writing then it feels good to display. Maybe it's an esteem issue.

Blogging has the potential to be fun. It is a step in a positive direction for our technology advancing schools.

I Don't Want to Be Crazy

PUSH, the publisher of this book, is dedicated to new authors and getting their voices out. Some of the books are fiction some non fiction and some are a mix of the two. The goal is for the stories to sound real and for the reader to believe what they are reading. PUSH is always looking for new writers and encourages anybody to submit their own work. They are having a 2009 PUSH novel writing contest. These are to rules and regulations. These books are heartbreaking, interesting, insightful, and very easy to relate to.

I Don't Want to Be Crazy is one of the books that I have read from this publisher. It is a poetry memoir written by Samantha Schultz. In this book she takes you on a journey that you feel like you are taking yourself. You become Samantha and experience her words as if they were your own. She tells the story of her terrifying panic attacks that never seem to go away. Her life resolves around the question of when is the next one coming. The way Schultz tells her story leaves the reader feeling her anxiety and relief and happiness.

The story starts with Samantha excited and getting ready to move on to college. She is ready to start a new life all on her own. When Schultz gets to college everything goes great for awhile. Until she is in the middle of a lecture something starts to happen. She feels like her hands are shaking uncontrollably. She looks around to see if anyone notices but no one does. Then she thinks she is going crazy. She gets really hot and her heart is beating fast. She feels like on the inside she is going crazy but has to keep her outside composed. She leaves the lecture hall and doesn't go back. This happens several times within the next few days and Samantha decides to go to the school psychiatrist. She gets prescribed medication but still lives with the fear of another attack happening.

The book goes through Samantha's life and talks about how she copes with these attacks. She talks about the guys she hooks up with and all of the friends she makes in college. The story follows her all the way through her college career and then afterwards also. I loved the way this book was written and it was very easy to read. I couldn't put it down and i didn't unless i absolutely had to (because i had to walk to my next class).

Here are some titles of other books published by PUSH
Kissing the Rain - Kevin Brooks

Martyn Pig - Kevin Brooks
The Dating Diaries - Kristen Kemp

I Will Survive - Kristen Kemp
Cut - Patricia McCormick

Crashing - Chris Wooding

Kerosene - Chris Wooding

Pure Sunshine - Brian James

You Remind Me of You - Eireann Corrigan

The Wackness

This is a Drama film that is about a drug dealing teenager who is socially outcasted and lacking in confidence. The unique part about this movie is that it was made in 2008 but it takes place in 1994. Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) roams the streets of new york, streaming with Hip Hop, selling marijuana from an ice cream cart. He exchanges drugs for therapy session with Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) who is a therapist who seems to have more problems of his own then his patients.

Luke thinks he is depressed and asks Dr. Squires to prescibe him antidepressants. He tells Luke that it's because of his lack of relationships and he needs to "get with" a girl. Luke has never had a girlfriend until, he developes a crush on Dr. Squires step daughter. They spend the whole summer together because all of her friends are out of town. Stephanie tells Luke that he is depressed because he looks at the "wackness" in life while she looks at the "dopeness". Luke tells her that he loves her and then she leaves him.

Now he is even more depressed and Dr. Squires and him become closer friends. They start hanging out and going to bars together. They teach each other things and loath in their own misery together. The ending is a great way to conclude the movie and leaves the viewer feeling full filled.

Whenever i mentioned this movie to my friends they always look at me funny because of the title. However, The Wackness is the perfect title for this movie. It accentuates it's vintage aspects and the theme the movie follows. You can't judge a book by its cover. This movie has been very successful with viewers and won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Overview