I feel like I'm running on fumes this week. My students graduate tonight and I have a classroom to pack up tomorrow. It will be the usual magic trick. All that stuff originally came out of my closet, therefore it should all fit back into the closet. Right?
I need a bag of holding. And a few extra hours in the day. Hmmm . . . that makes me think. Think about all those science fiction and fantasy books you've read. All of them have some really neat toys, don't they? I mean, who wouldn't rather be beamed somewhere instead of dealing with the hassles in the airport? I'm just happy they're not making everyone take their shoes off anymore. That's always been fun. And disgusting. When I travel I travel during the summer (the whole teaching gig is not conducive to travel in the off-season) so I'm always in sandals. Never think of that when I'm pulling myself together at four am, but when I'm in that line and I have to stand barefoot on that floor . . . insert horrified shudder here. I think I need to check my shots.
A transporter--that could be fun. Creepy too, though. All your atoms scattered and transferred miles in a few seconds. I keep thinking about how I get cellphone interference when I drive past the high school. What would that do to your atoms? What would happen if they weren't all put back in the right order? Overthinking this way too much, I think.
What other toys would you want? JD Robb has PPCs, personal palm computers. I think we already have those. Anyone with an iPhone is walking around with one of those in their pockets. Things that feed info directly into the system seem to be the next step. In FEED and in UNDER THE NEVER SKY, both futuristic societies have technology that zips right into the brain. FEED, literally has a feed into the neural centers. It gives information, entertainment and education. Most importantly, it gives you purchasing information. The world of FEED is based on complete consumerism. You get the impression the world is falling apart around the main character's ears, but hey, there's a sale at this store. Cool! In UNDER THE NEVER SKY, the world as we know has already ended. Those who live in the Pods, self-contained little worlds, each have a Smarteye which allows them to live primarily in these virtual worlds in their own heads.
Both pretty creepy if you ask me, but then again I also never forsaw a time when the kids can't go anywhere without some sort of technological device attached to their hands. Think about it. When was the last time you actually had a conversation with someone? Too often they're focused on the small screen in their hand or their back pocket is beeping. shrilling or chirping. Ever had dinner with someone who has to check their device? Try talking to a teenager--they all usually have something in the background. Many seem physically incapable of doing only one thing at a time. There's an old quote I recall--don't know exactly where I got it from, but it comes to mind whenever I think of my students texting, listening to music, surfing th Web, AND trying to do their homework. Multitasking is doing several things badly at once.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Words! Words! Words!
I was watching my four year old daughter the other day. Some of her friends were coming over to play with her and she was bent over the coffee table frantically scribbling away on a pad of paper with a pen. She told me she was making a list of everything they were going to play. When I looked over her shoulder I saw random letters and lines. She so badly wants to be able to write and read.
Do you remember that time? I don't. I really don't ever remember no knowing how to read, how to write. It's amazing watching her discover letters and sounds and start to put them together. I recently got her a little series of books with sight words and she loves to read to me.
I've been reading this book this week--it's called DARKNESS FALLS by Jessica Sorensen. I picked it up for my Kindle for $1.99 because I'm a sucker for vampire books and post-apocalyptic fiction and this one has both combined. In it, is a world controlled by the Highers, a "perfect" race that keeps humanity contained by not allowing them to learn how to read.
It reminds me a little of The Giver with a little bit of the politics of The Hunger Games. I have to admit, one book into the trilogy, and I'm hooked. I really want to know what's going to happen next. The exiled were all thrown out of the Colony because they were some sort of thorn in the Highers' sides. Then there's the machinations of Monarch, the Colony's doctor, who genetically engineered most of those who were exiled from the Colony which brings up the question on whether or not they were actually exiled or thrown out into the "old world" with an agenda of Monarch's own? It's interesting and right now, I have more questions than answers and the next book isn't out until the end of the month. The exiled have a book that they think might be one of the keys to saving their world, but none of them know how to read it.
Reading seems to be key to the plot of this series, at least I think it is. Reading is also key to so many of us. Think about it. What if you couldn't read? Think of all the adventures, the characters and friends you would have missed out on. Just something to ponder the next time you stand in front of your book shelf and wonder where you want to go today?
Do you remember that time? I don't. I really don't ever remember no knowing how to read, how to write. It's amazing watching her discover letters and sounds and start to put them together. I recently got her a little series of books with sight words and she loves to read to me.
I've been reading this book this week--it's called DARKNESS FALLS by Jessica Sorensen. I picked it up for my Kindle for $1.99 because I'm a sucker for vampire books and post-apocalyptic fiction and this one has both combined. In it, is a world controlled by the Highers, a "perfect" race that keeps humanity contained by not allowing them to learn how to read.
It reminds me a little of The Giver with a little bit of the politics of The Hunger Games. I have to admit, one book into the trilogy, and I'm hooked. I really want to know what's going to happen next. The exiled were all thrown out of the Colony because they were some sort of thorn in the Highers' sides. Then there's the machinations of Monarch, the Colony's doctor, who genetically engineered most of those who were exiled from the Colony which brings up the question on whether or not they were actually exiled or thrown out into the "old world" with an agenda of Monarch's own? It's interesting and right now, I have more questions than answers and the next book isn't out until the end of the month. The exiled have a book that they think might be one of the keys to saving their world, but none of them know how to read it.
Reading seems to be key to the plot of this series, at least I think it is. Reading is also key to so many of us. Think about it. What if you couldn't read? Think of all the adventures, the characters and friends you would have missed out on. Just something to ponder the next time you stand in front of your book shelf and wonder where you want to go today?
Monday, April 23, 2012
Who Wants a Knight in Shining Armor Anyway?
Alright, full disclosure here . . . I gave damsels in distress a bit of a drubbing in my last blog post and I do stand by every word I said. I am so happy to see some strong heroines out there kicking butt, but I am also a sucker, every now and a then, for a well done D.I.D. tale. In fact, I use the line myself in the the blurb on the back of MY book--"She's a damsel in distres . . . " Of course, it's a little tongue in cheek and ten minutes after meeting the hero my heroine maces him. So . . .
On to the gentlemen. We'll stick with the principals of the three stories I culled out last time--Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight. Interesting to note that there are more guys in the stories than girls. Hmmm. Maybe that clues into not only the knight in shining armor fantasies as we speculated last time, but the desire to be persued? Something to think on.
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I know, they aren't both vying for Hermione's hand, and for the longest time Ron didn't know he was in the running, though I admit to finding the Lavender scenes in both the book and movie hilarious. They, however, are the men of the hour. I think the Harry Potter books are unique of the three series we're discussing--we watched these characters grow up and that adds a dimension to the novels the other two don't have. Harry was the ultimate underdog and he found his classic sidekick in Ron. Though, we discover as the books move on that Ron is more complicated than we thought. His jealousy, his feelings of inadequecy, his fear all make him a rather compelling character. We see, in the final book, him actually walk away from his friends, but in true heroic fashion he returns. Ron is a secondary character, as is Hermione, actually, but his genuine-ness (I think I made up that word) is what we really hold on to. He's a more understandable character from the audience's perspective, I think. Not all of us can be as herioc and self-sacrificing as Harry. We're more like Ron. We're scared, we're a little jealous, but we'd like to think that in the end we'd do exactly what Ron did and stand up.
Team Edward or Team Jacob? I read the books. I think I saw two of the movies, maybe three, and if I had to choose a side, I'd go with the guy with the pulse every time. Now, don't get me wrong, I used to like a good vampire book. One of my favorites is Sunshine by Robin McKinley. She does a wonderful job of embracing the otherwordly attraction of the vampire, but there's always that thread of fight or flight in our heroine. He's attractive, he's mesmerizing . . . deep down I know I'm a snack! Edward--no real freak factor there. Yeah, there are a lot of long humming glances where you're wondering if he's debating on whether or not to kiss Bella or serve up with some sort of garnish, but they come off as being silly instead of pulse pounding. Poor Jacob. I say poor Jacob because my girls couldn't stand him. Thought he was being such a jerk when Bella was the one jerking him around, using him. Who wouldn't be a jerk when someone's pulling you close with one hand and shoving you away with another? Talk about mixed signals! I wouldn't answer the phone either. I don't know, this triangle just didn't work for me. Edward was a mix of teenage angst and world weary knowledge that just didn't mesh well. I've seen it work well before, but I just didn't see it here. I suppose I was just busy wondering how they were going to make a movie out these books.
Finally, we have Gale and Peeta from The Hunger Games. I think I'm going to cry when I see my first Team Peeta or Team Gale shirt because that is so not what those books are about! The romance is a subplot and a political statement. Of course, I cried at the very end of the first book when Peeta realizes . . . no spoilers here! The hunter and the baker--could there have been a wider contrast between these characters? I think we all assumend that Gale would be chosen for the Games at the Reaping. That would have made sense, right? How much better that the unassuming baker be chosen? Gale has all those survival skills, a violent sense of outrage and a killer instinct. Peeta is the moral center of the book. The decent man who, no matter how the Capitol uses him as a pawn, wants to die on his own terms still himself. Though, in spite of all that, he's the most accomplished liar of the bunch who can spin a tale that has the Capitol audience right in the palm of his hand. I think one of the most interesting things through the entire series, particularly the first book, is that we, Katniss and the reader, never really know Peeta's motive. He's one of the most beautifully complex characters I've read in a long time.
So, we have the underdog and his sidekick, the world weary vampire undergoing a bout of teenage angst and his brooding canine companion, and we have the angry hunter and the complex baker . . . that's quite a crew. One thing I do notice, though, there's not a knight in shining armor in the lot. I wonder what that has to say about how literature is changing?
On to the gentlemen. We'll stick with the principals of the three stories I culled out last time--Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight. Interesting to note that there are more guys in the stories than girls. Hmmm. Maybe that clues into not only the knight in shining armor fantasies as we speculated last time, but the desire to be persued? Something to think on.
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I know, they aren't both vying for Hermione's hand, and for the longest time Ron didn't know he was in the running, though I admit to finding the Lavender scenes in both the book and movie hilarious. They, however, are the men of the hour. I think the Harry Potter books are unique of the three series we're discussing--we watched these characters grow up and that adds a dimension to the novels the other two don't have. Harry was the ultimate underdog and he found his classic sidekick in Ron. Though, we discover as the books move on that Ron is more complicated than we thought. His jealousy, his feelings of inadequecy, his fear all make him a rather compelling character. We see, in the final book, him actually walk away from his friends, but in true heroic fashion he returns. Ron is a secondary character, as is Hermione, actually, but his genuine-ness (I think I made up that word) is what we really hold on to. He's a more understandable character from the audience's perspective, I think. Not all of us can be as herioc and self-sacrificing as Harry. We're more like Ron. We're scared, we're a little jealous, but we'd like to think that in the end we'd do exactly what Ron did and stand up.
Team Edward or Team Jacob? I read the books. I think I saw two of the movies, maybe three, and if I had to choose a side, I'd go with the guy with the pulse every time. Now, don't get me wrong, I used to like a good vampire book. One of my favorites is Sunshine by Robin McKinley. She does a wonderful job of embracing the otherwordly attraction of the vampire, but there's always that thread of fight or flight in our heroine. He's attractive, he's mesmerizing . . . deep down I know I'm a snack! Edward--no real freak factor there. Yeah, there are a lot of long humming glances where you're wondering if he's debating on whether or not to kiss Bella or serve up with some sort of garnish, but they come off as being silly instead of pulse pounding. Poor Jacob. I say poor Jacob because my girls couldn't stand him. Thought he was being such a jerk when Bella was the one jerking him around, using him. Who wouldn't be a jerk when someone's pulling you close with one hand and shoving you away with another? Talk about mixed signals! I wouldn't answer the phone either. I don't know, this triangle just didn't work for me. Edward was a mix of teenage angst and world weary knowledge that just didn't mesh well. I've seen it work well before, but I just didn't see it here. I suppose I was just busy wondering how they were going to make a movie out these books.
Finally, we have Gale and Peeta from The Hunger Games. I think I'm going to cry when I see my first Team Peeta or Team Gale shirt because that is so not what those books are about! The romance is a subplot and a political statement. Of course, I cried at the very end of the first book when Peeta realizes . . . no spoilers here! The hunter and the baker--could there have been a wider contrast between these characters? I think we all assumend that Gale would be chosen for the Games at the Reaping. That would have made sense, right? How much better that the unassuming baker be chosen? Gale has all those survival skills, a violent sense of outrage and a killer instinct. Peeta is the moral center of the book. The decent man who, no matter how the Capitol uses him as a pawn, wants to die on his own terms still himself. Though, in spite of all that, he's the most accomplished liar of the bunch who can spin a tale that has the Capitol audience right in the palm of his hand. I think one of the most interesting things through the entire series, particularly the first book, is that we, Katniss and the reader, never really know Peeta's motive. He's one of the most beautifully complex characters I've read in a long time.
So, we have the underdog and his sidekick, the world weary vampire undergoing a bout of teenage angst and his brooding canine companion, and we have the angry hunter and the complex baker . . . that's quite a crew. One thing I do notice, though, there's not a knight in shining armor in the lot. I wonder what that has to say about how literature is changing?
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