The Book That Remains



"I know," he said, breaking our embrace. "Inshallah, we'll celebrate later. Right now, I'm going to run that blue kite for you," he said. He dropped the spool and took off running, the hem of his green chapan dragging in the snow behind him. "Hassan!" I called. "Come back with it!" He was already turning the street corner, his rubber boots kicking up snow. He stopped, turned. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "For you a thousand times over!" he said. Then he smiled his Hassan smile and disappeared around the corner. The next time I saw him smile unabashedly like that was twenty-six years later, in a faded Polaroid photograph. This is a section from the book Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, that describes its entirety. This is a scene that depicts the two boys Hassan and Amir that had just won the community kite race (a huge event that had obtainable records set). Hassan, Amir's servant, (and secret friend) "runs" the kite for him. During the said kite races children would fly kites and attempt to cut down the kites of other children around the community. Once the last kite had fallen, children would run and follow it through the air with the intent of catching it when it hit the ground. This tradition was met with a tragedy that would soon forever change these boys and the remainder of their lives as well as the lives of those around them. This book is an amazing (but believable) tale of friendship, betrayal, warfare, and the divine respect that is earned developed, and maintained between two people through the most difficult of times. I would save this book for anyone in the post apocalyptic world because it shows so many true values. I was required to read this novel for my AP English class senior year and it is by far the absolute best book that has ever entered my mind and thoughts. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but one should be ready to experience the hardships and mature tragedies that these characters endure throughout.



Movies....

I absolutely love cuddling up to watch a movie at any given time! My favorites are old movies, ones with Audrey Hepburn, and my absolute favorite is "Breakfast At Tiffany's." I was just going to write about this movie, but I have been dying to watch another favorite of mine, "Fried Green Tomatoes," so I will be discussing it instead.
"Fried Green Tomatoes" came out in 1991 and is a drama-comedy film based off of the novel by Fannie Flagg. The movie tells of a longtime struggle in a unhappy marriage with the help of an unexpected friend. Cathy Bates' character meets Jessica Tandy's character in a nursing home and what seems as a short visit turns into a daily stop for Cathy Bates. Tandy begins on a story of her friends life and keeps Bates more than interested in her tale. This tale sends Bates on a real discovery of herself and her marriage. Tandy never reveals her character of her tale and it is left as a mystery in the end.
I don't want to tell much of the plot because it is legitimately an amazing story of self discovery and new beginnings that I believe everyone should experience at least once.

Technology

Technology is part of almost every move we make today. People are constantly texting, surfing the web, and even simply talking on the phone. These innovations of the internet are nothing but good, but the way that we make use of this is not always in our best interest. We can use many different search engines in order to utilize our search and all of our results. We can ask questions on public sites and get feedback from other individuals with the same interests. We can find the weather and any other data and news with just a click, it is absolutely amazing. There is however a major downfall to the way we use this development, social networks. These can be amazing tools and they can also be really harmful to us. We can use these for accessing people who we might otherwise never talk to, or to relay information back and forth with other classmates and co workers. It is great until we obsess over it and are eventually addicted to the sites. It is an awful way to waste time and be much less productive than we would be without it.
Another complaint I hear mostly from my grandparents is how much time we spend texting rather than partaking in one on one socializing. I think it is very important that we put down our phones every once in awhile. I have fallen victim to this epidemic in the past, but now I don't rely on it near as much. I think speaking to a person is completely unavoidable and most important for people to partake in.
Technology and be helpful or harmful depending on how an individual makes use of the product.

If It Were Only A Dream...

In my Philosophy class we have been discussing Socrates and Descartes since the beginning of the term and until now I have been kind of bored with the matter. We began mid last week discovering what is and is not real based on these people's opinions and nothing could hold my attention better.
Have you ever had a dream and woke up believing that in the dream you had been fully awake? How do we know right now that we aren't merely taking part in that? Descartes believes that this goes unanswered; however, we must begin at the foundation to describe what may and may not be real. At the base, we must first know that we exist. Descartes believes that we can trust this because we doubt. Doubting being a form of thinking. Things that think is that which we, as humans, are broken down.
This thought process has thrown me since last week. I can only think what is and is not real. I have began to think, beyond the class what this might mean. I am constantly thinking and questioning what is and what is not. I am perplexed to say the least and can not seem to put down the book until I am sure of one thing; whether or not I am real and the life I live is real.
I do not think that my life is necessarily a dream, but I can't help but to question. I love to not know and don't get me wrong, I am interested in this topic, but I will not panic and think about this the rest of my life. I am curious to know the answer, but I truly won't ever reach a straightforward solution.

An Advance?

The recent death of Osama Bin Laden has struck the interests and hearts of many (almost all) Americans. Whether an individual is celebrating or mourning the loss of this man, all are affected by the news. Monday morning I listened to the radio on my way home from school. It was like any other day, mostly conversation by the hosts rather than music. But then I realized the topics were all political. I decided to listen to each to hear what they had to say.
On 99.1 all the callers that phoned in seemed indefinitely overjoyed and ecstatic with the news. Soldiers were calling in, telling their stories of Iraq, and their satisfaction with the termination of this man. Families of soldiers who were killed in the war called in and stated, "This is what we (and our relatives) fought for, and we can not be happier with the results."Some cheered and some wept with joy.
I then listened to 102.9, this was a whole other world. One lady called in and argued, "We are acting just like them now, like a third world country, we are celebrating a death. This is what they did after the suicide bombers, celebrated the death of Americans, we are no better." This shocked me, I do not agree with this statement at all and I changed the radio station.
Next I turned to 97.9 and 94.5, these had mixed opinions and I was content listening to them for the rest of my trip. I have mixed opinions about the death. I can't say that I am overly joyed, but I am not mourning in the least.