Blog Reflection

  The blog assignments this year are very complicated to explain my feelings for. In a way, it was beneficial in it that they helped me express my ideas and thoughts on my reading. It also helped me familiarize myself with online school assignments (no matter how tedious and stubborn they can be). Adding onto that, I found the blog to be kind of a burden to remember and commit to memory, especially on days where I had more larger projects or assignments to worry about. The blog really forced me to be more responsible, and I can almost compare it to having a pet. If you cared for the blog, you had no problem with your grades. If your miss them consistently or didn't even care, you'd drop in grades. Personally overall, the blog was a huge pain in the butt, but I'm glad I went through it or else I wouldn't have a better sense of consequence or responsibility from the experience. Not to mention the writing skills I had acquired.
  In regard to insight with general Internet use and media, the blog didn't really help me or inform me on how teens use their freedom on the Internet. I felt the the blog had restrictions to what we could write about and how we wrote it. We couldn't talk about basketball per say, because this was a reading blog. Had this been just a free blog for anything, there'd be much more variety within the content of each blog. Not to mention the strict grammar rules instituted. It doesn't bother me really since its only right to have good grammar, but people like to talk on text talk so maybe that would've inspired some variety.
  In conclusion to my ideas, I didn't hate the blog for its academic and moral benefits, but it was kind of annoying with all due respect. It did open my mind to reading more so. I actually enjoyed the reading "Of Mice and Men," and "The Great Gatsby." I appreciate how it opened my mind. I didn't like how on top of it we had to be; it caused a lot of inconvenience.  It couldn't really give me insight on how teens use the Internet since it was so formal and academic so there's not much to say about that. All in all, the blog was a scary part of  ELA, but it made me better.

Lennie's Behavior.

  Lennie's behavior plays a big part in the plot of "Of Mice and Men,". In what I've ready so far, Lennie's obsession of grasping and holding soft objects has gotten him in trouble in the past. For example, he grazed a woman's soft dress once and was immediately infatuated with the material. Once sucked in, he kept holding on and get grasping it until the woman could break free. Later on that day, the woman would get men to go and look for George and Lennie so they could "discipline," him. However, the lady had claimed Lennie had raped her, so they had to flee or else Lennie would surely be killed. This was the sole reason of coming to the new ranch and leaving that town of Weed. One other thing I noticed was that George is constantly keeping Lennie in place, hoping to avoid a serious mishap that would force them to relocated once again.

  Lennie's burden on George can be see as two different ideas. The first thing it could be is the bond that holds the friendship between George and Lennie. Furthermore, the burden Lennie has on George is the result of Lennie's behavior mostly. It's obvious George wants to keep his jobs and hates moving around the land. As a result, George is very high-strung and uptight. However, George stands to put up with Lennie because Lennie is all he has and likewise. Though George would rather have Lennie be a normally witted man, he doesn't care about his disabilities and puts up with him anyhow. It's almost like a guardian/child duality is being represented by these two men. Why does George do it? It's the experiences they share, good and bad, that keep George around. It's the same way with real people. We all bond through shared emotions and experiences and through them, we become closer.  In this case, it's the close-calls and run-ins with the law that keep this dynamic duo intact.

Of Mice and Men

Recently, I have begun reading the American class, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. So far, it tells the story if two unique, different men who have been brought together by fate. George is a small, street smart man who knows his way around a ranch and has a profound vision of the future. Lennie is a large, child-minded man who is George's companion and lives by hopeful philosophies. Their most commonly shared one is that they will both own their own ranch, make their own money, and that Lennie will specifically tend to the rabbits. This is due to Lennie's obsession with stroking soft things. This is seen in the initial pages when George discovers that Lennie has had a dead mouse carcass in his pocket from crushing its skull in the act of caressing it.
George and Lennie themselves are a large symbol of friendship as both of the men truly value each others. George loves Lennie, and Lennie loves George as if they were brothers. This relationship is developed early in the book. For example, when Lennie emptily and dumbly threatens to leave George and live in a cave on his own after George has a little tantrum, George apologizes and admits he need Lennie around because he "wants," him around. Also, George looks after Lennie and makes sure he stays out of troubles. This is because Lennie's obsession with stroking soft objects can be fatal to those who are unaware of his problem, and choose to let him touch their soft clothing. To me, George and Lennie are share a strong bond and both benefit each other mutually.

The Great Gatsby

  "The Great Gatsby," in itself is a mysterious and interesting story. In fact, the man the book is named for is as mysterious and interesting as the story. Jay Gatsby is known for being an eccentric millionaire whose source of fortune is unknown. He also holds several parties at his unprecedentedly large mansion and basically splurges on every occasion. Many characters in the book, especially our esteemed narrator Nick Caraway. I believe that Jay Gatsby is seen as a very mysterious person because of all the rumors spread around him haven't been cleared by himself, he seems to have many secrets, and has a very clouded past.
  Rumors that surround Gatsby include that he was an alcohol bootlegger, that he killed a man, he was an Oxford graduate who came from a wealthy family, etc. Such accusations are highly controversial for anyone. It's even worse if you're acquainted with several powerful, rich people who are large blabbermouths. Also, being involved with such people could have attracted several individuals who do not like Gatsby, and make up stories to take away his king-of-the-hill status. What's more is that Gatsby has never really come out to defend himself or take a stand against such rumors. This is most likely due to his devotion to secrecy. How do I know he's very secretive? Well, for one he lives in a large mansion on his on in Long Island, NY. Yes, he has friends but they're not very involved in his personal life. He also has no wife, kids, girlfriend, etc. Also, his dialogue serves to show how he can easily avoid confrontation of his personal life. Which now leads me to the reluctance to reveal much if anything about his past. So far, he has only revealed and confirmed he had a very wealthy family and that he went to Oxford prior to his run in World War 1 as a Lieutenant. What's more is that he used to be courted and in love with the wife of Tom Buchanan, a hot headed millionaire who uses violence to get his way.

Romeo and Juliet: How Hate, Rivalry, and Consequence Bring the Lover's Their Demise

  Hate in itself is a terrible thing. Whether justified or not, it can lead to poor decisions with dire or specifically criminal consequences. Throw a rivalry into the mix, and you've got a Romeo and Juliet-like situation, literally. Hate, rivalry, and consequence are all major factors to the plot of Romeo and Juliet, especially resulting in the act of being the driving force for several unfortunate events. If we think abut this further, this is how most tragedies occur. The hate, rivalry, and consequence in Romeo and Juliet are all that makes the play a tragedy, for without it, the whole play would end at Romeo and Juliet's wedding. William Shakespeare  incorporates the themes of hate, rivalry, and consequence to reinforce the dangers and dire fate associated with the three by making us feel pure sorrow in the concluding act of Romeo and Juliet.

  Rivalry is apparent between all the members of the Capulet and Montague families, except for between Romeo and Juliet of course. The first major, plot affecting instance of rivalry is presented to us in the very first scene of the first act. A pair of Capulet goons confront and taunt two other Montague kinsman until a street fight is instigated. Tybalt then continues the fight and basically gives away the fact that both families are in a dire, fatal feud. From that point on, Tybalt basically embodies the Capulet's hate for the Montagues. This is especially true when Tybalt quotes, "...I hate the word/ As I hate I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee."(1. 5. 69-71). 

  Then comes the idea of hate that is sprouted from these roots of rivalry. For example, Tybalt proclaims his strong hate for Romeo as he spots him at the Capulet party, but his uncle, Lord Capulet resists him, as Tybalt quotes "I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall/ Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt'rest gall."(1.5.102-103). This directly foreshadows the street fight instigated by Tybalt in Act 3. After Mercutio is killed in the duel between him and Tybalt, Romeo is sent into a hysterical rage. From this point on until he kills Tybalt literally minutes later, the hate between Tybalt and Romeo is mutual. This is seen in Romeo's quote: "...Staying for thine to keep him company./ Either thou or I, or both, must go with him."(3.1.133-134). This is basically Romeo saying he wants to avenge Mercutio through fighting Tybalt and taking his life, even if it means his is taken as well. When Romeo in fact does succeed at this, big, fatal consequences surely follow.
  Consequence is the final major theme to direct the plot of Romeo and Juliet. Although it breaks the chronological set of themes found in the plot, Friar Laurence early on warns of possible consequence coming from Romeo and Juliet marrying so early and young. For example, he says "These violent delights have violent ends/ And in their triumph die, like fire and powder."(2.6.8-9). More so in Act 4, that consequence starts to materialize and become a reality. This is seen through the events following Tybalt's murder by Romeo's hands, as he is banished from Verona. Prior to Romeo's departure from Verona, Friar Laurence proposes Romeo goes to stay in Mantua until he can convince the Prince to lift Romeo's banishment.  Although it seems like harmless idea, it proves to have great misfortune as Juliet is to be married to the County Paris within two days. Another plan produced by the Friar is for Juliet to fake her death so Romeo can meet her at her tomb and they can run off somewhere together. However, Romeo is never warned of such a plan since Friar John who was supposed to send the message caught the plague. This has fatal consequences now, as Romeo believes he has found Juliet dead in her tomb, and they both commit suicide from that point on. I believe Romeo killing Tybalt almost immediately set a series of consequential events to unfold, leading to eventual suicide of both lovers
  Romeo and Juliet may be a tragedy of a love that was meant to be but was thrown away by irony and misfortune, however it's more than just a sad love story. The plot of the play itself is embodied by three central themes: Rivalry, Hate, and Consequence (almost chronologically in that order). If anything, the saddest part of all was the amount of coincidental misfortune and death it took for the two families to stop feuding. The Prince put it best as he said, "Where be these enemies- Capulet, Montague,/ See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,/ That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love,/ And I, for winking at your discords too,/ Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished."(5.3.301-305). A feuding rivalry fueled the hate of a relentless villain. When good intent was believed to justify the villain's execution, fatal consequences were set in motion. Such has led to the death of a pair of star-crossed lovers. Maybe it is in fact true that may never actually be a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

The Jordan Rules

     Recently, I finished the book "The Jordan Rules," by Sam Smith. From it, I learned several things that I not only didnt know about the Chicago Bulls, I also learned about specific things that occur throughout the league itself. To be completely honest, it changed the way I thought of a lot of things about the NBA and its legends. For example, although most great players are portrayed as ideal role models, several players had particular qualities about them that made them hard to deal with at times. I believe that Sam Smith sought out to  inform us of these kinds of things throughout the book so  at the end we could conclude and see how things compare to our expectations and inferences.
     Michael Jordan was the best player to play the game. He started his career in the early eighties and from the on skyrocketed. However, the road to greatness for him and the Bulls was very rough and tougher than most people know.  For example, Jordan received a lot of critiscm for the number of shots he constantly took, some games completely relying on him shooting an unfundamental amount of shots. However, it was severely exaggerated as Michael had been an underrated passer, who liked to penetrate and the pass out the ball to open men.  Another unknown aspect of the NBA is the true advantage of playing on your home court. For example, game balls are either overly or underly pumpmed with air, according to the preference of the home team. Magic Johnson used to prefer a high dribble, so the Lakers always pumped their balls up to 11-17 pounds of air.

The Jordan Rules: The Winning Formula

    "The Jordan Rules," is a story of how the 1991 Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship. However, things started out very rough. Problems that intruded with the chemistry between players on that team mainly include money, playing time, and downright ego displacement. For example, Michael Jordan can be very controlling and intolerable of the faults of others. This caused several conflicts between players such as Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, and Stacey King. Also, the stubborn antics of former Bull's  general manager, Jerry Krause, made being on the team Itself hard to enjoy with the constant difficulties in trying to negotiate contracts. Scottie Pippem himself was the sixth highest paid athlete on the team, although his play was worth much more. These problems and more probably serve to explain why the Bulls only went 2-3 in their first five games that season. I believe that several things must go right in order for a team to do well,.
    Months into the season, improving an excellent record of 37-14, the Bulls as a team resolved most of their chemistry problems. Jordan, although very overconfident, began to see the error of his rants and acted towards helping the team rather than putting it down. He evolved as a leader, and that made things much easier for the coaching staff and players alike. This conflict and resolution situation contains a commentary on life itself. For example, you can't let yourself try to control extraneous things without a negative consequence. If we just let things resolve themselves or if we do things in a reasonable way, then all problems would be resolved.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

    "The Last Olympian," by Rick Riordan is a very interesting book in several ways. Being the final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians pentology, it closes out and finalizes the series. It also concludes several conflicts within the story. However, when one reads this book and comes to the end, the surprising g twist in which Luke Castellem, the son of Hermes, sacrifices his life to rid his body and the world of the should of Kronos, who was planning a full on attack of Mount Olympus. This somewhat renders the fact that Percy was the actual hero of the Great Propechy. This Propechy is super relative to the "Hero's Journey," storyline authors like to use. I find that this leaves the reader unaware that a plot twist can be iminent, since they assume that the relativity between the prophecy and the Hero's Journey is so close.
 

Pistol: Alcoholism and its Affect on Pete

    Alcohol is bad for anyone in Amy amounts. People die periodically from overdoing it, drinking and driving, etc. However, although at its worst, people enjoy it most. What kind of people exactly? Well, wealthy people, including athletes. It takes horrible affect on their bodies, and one person who can tell you that best is Pete Maravich. According to the book, "Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich"  Pete downright loved to drink. He did it for several reasons. He did it to wash away lost games (there were a lot in his first pro years), he did it leisurely, and he did it to overcome unwanted emotion. This  is not only a bad idea from a psychological standpoint, but from a physical standpoint as well. The book went into painful detail Pete's next games, with him scoring way below his point average due to "medical complications,".
    One severe example of Pete's malnutrition was when he developed an infection in his throat, similar to streptococcus, but more severe with several more symptoms. As he tried to soldier his way through games, he often was hurting and couldn't produce to even his minimal expectations. In that stretch of games with the throat infection, he averaged10.2 points a game on 33% shooting, very well below his standards. Does this go to show that when you need it, you're body deserves the utmost care? That's a given priority if you plan on living a long happy life. However, if you're going to let alcohol slowly destroy you by overdoing to a point where your liver needs to be replaced, your life is as good as done because alcoholics will always hit the ground running, if they can actually run. So as always, when the time comes, please drink responsibly.

The Jordan Rules: How to Win

    "The Jordan Rules," by Sam Smith is a very informational yet resounding book in my opinion. While directly commentating on the Chicago Bull's 1990-1991 championship season, Smith also goes deeper and explains and complicates the relationship between management and the players themselves. This is deeply important, considering every ball player nowadays follows money more so their loyalty to the team. Unless the team is committed to keeping their best players paid, then players will listen to consider teams that offer multi-million dollar contracts. However, if players are not worth the money or off-court-drama, they'll let them go. This was a large problem for the Bulls prior to their 1991 championship run. As anyone with a common knowledge of basketball would now, Michael Jordan was not only the best player of his era, but of all time as well. He definitely knew it too, as he was never satisfied with his salary or with his teammates.
    Jordan was just beginning his prime run as a NBA player, having been in the league since 1984. His teammates were never up to his caliber, however this never necessarily meant they didn't give as much as he did each game. According to Smith, in the early years of Jordan's prime, he usually managed to upset teammates by making negative remarks and commentary on their game. "Careless and lethargic," is how he once described the overall team play after being swept by the Detroit Pistons one playoff run. In fact, in the late 80s, the Bulls saw the playoffs so few times as they recorded several 50+ loss seasons that decade alone. Only in 1989 did they reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in seven games to Detroit again. The past failure of the Bulls is heavily due to the fact that Jordan was just a rookie, the management was still in the middle of a rebuilding stage, and generally there was poor coaching. By 1991, this was all resolved by getting rid of Jerry Reinsdorf, who's offensive gameplan was basically was to ride Jordan each and every game, acquiring supporting talent to help out Jordan (i.e. Scottie Pippen), and by hiring the renowned coach, Phil Jackson, who went on to make the Bull's game a team game with a triangle offense dominant offensive game, rather than just Jordan trying his best to dunk on someone.
    Now why is this important? Well, to me it gave greater insight on to a very strategic, yet free flowing contest. Being familiar with the triangle offense, I found that it made sense that Jackson had used it for the Bull's. Jordan, who was always getting bodied wherever he was on the court, was now able to breathe a little and others could get the ball. This also sends a message of a spread out effort rather than just depending on one, core effort. Strength comes in numbers, and that had to be learned in order to win.

"The Jordan Rules" by Sam Smith

    This week, I read "The Jordan Rules," by Sam Smith. Although I only recently started it, I already appreciate the information and the style that Smith writes with. For example, the book is centered around the  1990 NBA season,  most particularly centered around that season's championship team: The Chicago Bulls. I mean, initially I was more so attracted to the book because Michael Jordan was on the cover, and I had finally found a book to be enthusiastic about, but still, I learned a lot of things I never actually knew or figured about "the greatest to ever play the game,".  Yes, everyone knows that Michael Jordan didn't make his high school varsity team the first time around. However no one really empathized with the fact that he worked so hard just to make his team the next year, he woke up every morning at seven o'clock each morning to workout with the varsity coach until that next year he made it. The public only knew him for his flashy dunks, his abilities, his shoes, and his movie "SpaceJam,". They didn't realize that it was failure and the comeback that brought him to believe in himself and get to where he was.
    I believe that since this is such a frequent topic in the book, I feel its meant to be almost a message. As a matter of fact, if its not a message then I don't know what is. If we try to establish a world-to-book connection, I believe that people usually are prone to just quitting after emotional and what they believe is terrible failure. If you think about Michael Jordan, who locked himself in his room and cried himself to sleep that night, and how he failed, he wasn't like most people. Thats why he's so unique though, he went in stronger and faster where others would've just stopped to avoid the pain. However, Jordan shows us, or me at least, that anything can done and it doesn't matter how long it takes or if you fail at it at first. The work put in before it is what takes you up to the highest pedestal. Sam Smith wants his audience to realize this, because he totally knows, and anyone who knows anything about Michael Jordan knows, that what he did was inspirational to the biggest basketball stars today. If the kids who read this apply the same effort and work to everything they do, they can be great in their own way. A kid with terrible grades could turn things around and be a straight A student the next time out. A poor citizen could make it to the middle class and even beyond if he works hard at his goals and tries. The message, so far, in this book is undoubtedly the fact that hard work sets you free.

Blog Review- Terri's Pride and Prejudice

http://jaarb.blogspot.com/2013/02/pride-and-prejudice.html
    For this blog review week, I read Terri's recent post about the old time classic of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Although I never read the book, Terri's post gave me a decent overview of the basic plot and character makeup of the book. I thought she kept her opinions well state while giving interesting information about the book. For example, she gave many examples of names of characters, then she made some sort of connection between her and the character. However, she doesn't only talk about the book itself. She also points out sophisticated themes that she perceived in the book. A good example of this is the theme of love that she points out. She explains that it's a very difficult phenomenon to understand for anybody however it takes time to develop and explain. She mentions too that the book did a good job of doing so, and I can't say I don't agree considering that when I think of "Pride and Prejudice,"  I think of a story of love and that book being one of the best romance novels of all time. Not every book gets a movie adaptation, and according to Terri, P&P sounds very worth of one.
    Alright, although I liked Terri's post, I also have some constructive criticism for her future posts. Having read through 2-3 of her posts already, I believe that this one might've been a bit short. I think there could've been a bit more elaboration in a few places. Also, some of the things she said may have been a bit repetetive, however not too much to disrupt the flow of the post. There was also a bit of no real conclusion to the post, she ended the post on an idea and I thought at one point she was going to sum up the whole book. I thought that would've been appropriate and really good because she brought up a lot of great ideas.
    Overall, I thought Terri's post was good, but a little more elaboration and a conclusion could've made it even better. She made a lot of great connections and made me think about things I never really commit to thought, let alone relevance. However, bringing  all these ideas together in a conclusion would've made a large difference for the better. It's not bad at all that she didn't have it, it would've made me feel a bit jealous though, but in a good way. Good job Terri!

The Issue and Theme of Race in "Pistol," by Matt Kreigel

    This week, I continued reading "Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich" by Matt Kreigel. While reading, I had come across a issue that never was mentioned before as literally game-changing factor: race. In fact, I remember being surprised at how none of Pete's or Press' lives hadn't encountered race issues, since at this time Americans held much tension between each other whether one was black, white, Latino  etc. Needless to say, there might be a few reasons for this. One being that between Press and his son, they didn't care what kind of person played their beloved game, as long as they had someone good to play. Do I agree with this? Totally, the fact that African-Americans couldn't play in front-runner leagues such as the NBA or the ABA for such a long time was because of the tension off the court in the culture of the U.S. For the Maraviches, life beyond basketball was almost irrelevant. Its quoted several times in the book itself that Press wasn't racially biased as a coach, player, or person at all. In fact, he made a point of recruiting or trying to recruit several colored players to the college teams he coached such as Clemson and Louisiana State University.
     Pete as well felt indifferent toward race. He loved the game, as his dad did, and never refused to play because he had to play with or against someone of another race. In the book, it even says that Press encouraged Pete to take on all challenges and challenge the impossible. Also, had Pete had any racial issues with other players that affected how he played, I could most likely predict that his father would be furious to hear that Pete wouldn't play a game due to one's race. Keep in mind also that Pete was Press' ideal son. He was his crafted in his image and became actually the first basketball player to sign a million-dollar contract with the NBA, a phenomenon Press predicted when the kid was barely in high school.
    The NBA around the time of Pete Maravich had already a racially integrated number of players. If Pete had any racial issues or prejudices, would've he had played in the NBA? Not at all. This was the time where colored people and white people both came together to play basketball. In the end, that's all Pete ever wanted to do. I think the very fact that Pete's mindset and conscious was always overlooking irrelevant things such as prejudice is actually beautiful. The '60s and '70s weren't exactly a golden age in racial tandem. I'm not saying everyone was racially opinionated, but kids were being raised to think a certain way of others and themselves, and they still do. However, as the status quo matured and people became more aware, it was people who saw past race and prejudice who are responsible for the "moving on," of things. So, in the case of Pete Maravich, was race actually an issue? No, and never was. One might make a joke or two, but in good fun. Pete just wanted to play, and a racist bigot wasn't going to hold him back and people weren't going to convince him to think poorly of those unlike him racially.

Maus by Art Spigelman

     This week, I read  Maus by Art Spiegelman. Even though this is a re-read, I became aware of even more themes and saw a lot of purpose behind a lot more of the smaller more subtle things Art does in his book. There are many peculiar and questionable things in the book that I believe should have some sort of meaning or social message behind it. However, I also believe the book itself is a larger social message. This is due to the historical setting and meaning. The setting, for the most part being Eastern Europe during World War Two, in itself already hints at the nature and complexity of this story. Furthermore, Art's comic book style format and illustration give the book a gritty but slightly melancholic tone. In fact, grief and sadness is a large theme in the story. This is emphasized greatly by the inclusion of an unpublished, explicit short comic about the day Art's mother died entitled, "Nightmare on The Hell Planet". It features Art arriving bak to his home in Queens, New York. The comic features more realistic animations compared to the animalistic drawings representing different groups of people in the original story,
      Furthermore about the comic, it contains explicit details, from blood to hyperrealistic facial features. For example, Art's mother had committed a tragic suicide. The body that had been left unnoticed (she was home alone) was drawn in the boxed section. Very specific details include slits on the wrist of his mother, spilled pill bottles, and a naked corpse in a shower. This attention to disturbing detail was meant to almost scare the reader. To the point where they could feel how he felt that day, horrified and grief induced. The comic isn't the only example of grief and sadness and disturbing, mind twisting detail. Its in fact throughout the book. Spiegelman didn't hold back because he wanted to describe the world's worst horror to the best of his ability: the Holocaust. Yes, his father survives. The struggle, pain, and fear were all insurmountable for many, many others however.

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kreigel

    This week, I continued my book, "Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich,".  Previously, Kreigel told the upcomings of Pete's father, Press, as a high school and college coach. Furthermore, it shows more of Pete's life, especially how hard he worked as a youth to be the best high school basketball player he could, and eventually be became the best at the time. In fact, it's probably safe to say that it's emphasized greatly. For example, Kreigel could be talking about Press, then he'd mention how Pete would be at each practice that Press held with his teams. From there, Kreigel would go on long tangents about the many drills and routines Pete would do either alone or with his father, who encouraged him and sometimes pushed him to be a great player. After thinking about it, I had to conclude that maybe in fact that Kreigel meant to do this for a variety of reasons. These being that he wants to emphasize the hardship and difficulty of being great, he wants to teach the lesson of being responsible for your own personal goals,  and that he's trying to quantify the actual amount of work and dedication needed to go pro, something many youths nowadays don't realize.
    I would like to start on my last reason. Kids are immature, no matter however they present themselves. They believe they know everything, and sometimes I feel the same. Except the fact of the matter is that they don't. This, mixed with an misguided belief that they'll someday go pro could really influence their academics and social life. Some kids go as far as dropping out for, high school because they believe they're that good. Kreigel is trying to warn youths who read his book that its not easy and doesn't just happen by fate, it takes the full extent of ones body and mind. Moving along, I also believe Kreigel is trying to motivate those who are almost meeting their ultimate goal to push forward even more to fully achieve it. Some people in life come so close but then give up because they can't make the final push, so I especially like this theory. Lastly, Kreigel also wants to teach his readers that opportunity doesn't always come to them. They have to mostly make their own and take it when it there. This way, anyone one doing anything could be successful.

Lincoln: A Team Of Rivals

    This book, in itself is very confusing. Mostly being that its filled with such specific facts that are accurate down to what each of Lincoln's rivals wore on a regular basis. However, when I started to recognize the level of vocabulary and catch up to speed with where I was at by slowing my pace and retreading some pages, I managed I understand the overall purpose of the book. Although its Hirt self explanatory on the front cover, if you're not an experienced reader it'd be hard to understand that the book, at least from what I read so far, is a biography of Lincoln and his rivals during the time prior of the Republican National Convention and the nomination for Republican candidacy.
  Doris Kearns Goodwin goes in extremely deep with her attention to historical, emotional, and even physical aspects of these men. In a time of imminent Civil War, there are 5 capable and potential men who could've lead our country through a time of war: Abraham Lincoln, Edward Bates,  William H. Seward, and Salmon P. Chase. These men, although presented to have almost identical ideals (being of the Republican and Radical Republican parties), have very different lives, upbringings, and experience. For example, Edaward Bates I believe, according to the book, has more political experience being a long time statesman from Missouri. In comparison, Seward, former governor of New York, and Chase, former Ohio governor, had only been in office for a term or two before. Lincoln had even less experience.
  I honestly enjoy this book's attention to detail. To be more honest, I think it's the most detailed book I've ever read ever. It's incredibly accurate down to what each persons usual habits and most proud achievements were. I also took note of how large the book is itself, being longer than average textbooks being almost 1000 pages. I'm only on page 54. My dad got me this book for Christmas. Was I a bit mad? Yes, but only because it was so long. However, I cant complain anymore. This book is great.

"Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich" by Mark Kreigel

  Recently, I have started reading a biogrhy of former NBA star and legend Pete Maravich. The title "Pistol: The Life Of Pete Maravich," hints at the source of Maravich's success and fame up until his death in 1980. The book, although a biography, gives off a tone of education almost, even though most scholars would find the information uninteresting. However, for youths who play basketball, it seems to serve as an inspiration. Foremost, this is seen in the first three chapters or so as Kreigel describes the college career and the hard youth of Pete's father, Press Maravich. It accurately describes his life as a rags to riches and fame. From starting out as a small Serbian kid from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to being a high school and LSU college star, Press' story has to be considered more than just anecdote of Pete's early life.
  I also see the inclusion of Press' story as a setup to start the explanation of Pete's life. This is because the story itself indicated directly that Press wanted Pete to be brought up in his personal image. As for that, Press succeeded as his son became a national basketball star for his prolific scoring in college and amazing pro career as an Atlanta Hawk, Boston Celtic, and New Orleans/Utah Jazz player. I believe that the story of  Press' success affected how Pete turned out in it that Press wanted his son to feel the same happiness he did playing the game. I believe that this is really special because so many other people, young or old feel or felt the same way. To not see that the author may have soley wrote this book to inspire or fuel the mind of an aspiring youth is hard to do. I honestly believe that I enjoy this book for that very reason. It educates me on a small part of a large history of the great game that is basketball.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

  I have started a new book called "The Giver," by Lois Lowry. Even though I had read this book in the past in around fifth grade, I was able to establish newer ideas I had missed as a younger student. In addition, I've also been able to make valid connections from the world in the book and to our world.
  The book is mainly centered so far around an 11-year old boy named Jonas. In contrast to our world, boys and girls his age are referred as "Elevens,". This is according to each child's age up until age 12, where they are considered matured and adult enough to start working and "contributing to the community,". In fact, there is a ceremony of "stepping up," in age each year. In this book, Jonas is anxious for his 12 ceremony since 12s always get their job assignments that they carry out up until they are "released," from the community.      
  I found this organization of a community like this extremely peculiar. To me it seemed almost too organized as it it were set by strict law by a strict legislature or one who would rule with an iron fist. In fact, it maybe be even safe to say that Jonas' community, simply named so, is somewhat of an organized socialist dystopia. This is considering the following: the story gives lots of example as to how Jonas' world is unmilitarized however it is socialist. The government or whoever set the rules in Jonas' community is obviously trying to bring the community as close as possible. However, there are several restrictions that make this more than just a community therapy session. For example, there is no freedom of being rude or excessively upset. Although its an accepted emotion, you can express it in any other way besides saying "I'm mad,". Furthermore, The Community can control your natural hormonal urges. As opposed to our world where people can produce their own offspring, there is an organized method of artificial birth and distribution of newborn children to "family units,". So not only would natural reproduction be impossible, the act of desire for recreational intercourse is forbidden. Much like George Orwell's "1984," people are geared toward chastity. However in The Community, people begin taking pills that eliminate sexual attraction in all forms at an early age up until they get old.