Maus

The book Maus was very different than the book we just read, Into the Wild.  The obvious reason being that it is in the form of a comic book.  This book could have been written in a normal form with no pictures and could still have been easy to understand.  I feel that writing this book in comic book form helped understand the main points better.  I know that with pictures, I understand everything better.  It’s an image in your head of what is going on.  Also, since it is a comic book, it is more layed back to read and it reminds me of when i used to read comic books when I was little.  I enjoyed reading this book mainly because it is in the form of a comic book.  If the comic book was in the form of just a normal book with no pictures, I probably would have complained about it because I wouldnt want to have read it.  I feel that having this book in the form of a comic book was an excellent idea and is better off than if it were in the normal book form.  I feel that the author got his main points and theme across better with the graphics involved in the book.

I feel that there are a couple of good books that I have read that would work so well as a comic.  But since it is so fresh in my head, I would have to say that Into the Wild would work good as a comic.  It could show pictures of everywhere McCandless went.  Also, since it was all about traveling, it would have maps from where he went each time he moved, which they kind of did on the novel.  During McCandless’s adventures, I am unfamiliar with the lingo used in the wild so pictures would have helped me understand what he was doing and going through.  They made the book into a movie, so making it into a comic book could easily be done.  Plus, with the comic book, I think that the book would have a wider fan base towards younger kids.

Going into the Wild.

        If I were to go into the wild like what Chris did, I would do some things similar and some things different.  First I would bring a friend with, so there would be two of us which I feel would be safer and a better experience because I would be with my best friend.  When I would travel, I would make sure I knew the basics to survival and maybe take a class.  I would make sure I have enough supplies to stay healthy and strong.  I would be sure to have some money so in case I need to buy something, I could go into the store, no problem, and buy any supplies.  I would carry a gun big enough to kill any animal that I might eat or to kill the animal for my protection and not get killed by it.  I would also have a picture of my family and a digital camera, notebook, and an emergency phone in case if I get into some trouble and I need help.

          The places I would travel to would be different than Chris.  If I were to go into the wild I would want to see the whole world.  I would go to many places that Chris didn’t go to because it seems that Chris just likes the west coast.  I probably wouldn’t go anywhere that was really that cold like Alaska because I feel I would have trouble trying to survive because of how cold it was.  The way I would travel would be in a car to get from one place to another.  First I would drive to the West coast and check out the Rocky Mountains and climb them and adventure through them.  Then I would head down south and pass through Arizona with the Grand Canyon on my way to Mexico.  Then I would hop on a boat and go to Australia and while I would be on the boat, I would go fishing along the way.  I would check out Australia and then go to Europe.  I would go to the Alps and then go to the Black Forest.  Then I would travel to Africa and check out the deserts and the tropical rain forests that it there.  After I am in Africa, I would take a boat over the South America and see the land over there.  After I am done in South America, I would travel back north and stop by some Islands and stay on the beach for a while.  After I have been on the beach, I would go back north and travel up the east coast of America.  Finally, I would travel up to Niagara Falls and then make my way back home.  I really wouldn’t have a time frame to get this done, but I am assuming that it would take about 25 years or so.  Also, just like Chris I would start my adventure when I graduate from college at the age of 22.  I would travel around the world to see some of the famous landmarks.  I feel my adventures would be more successful than Chris’s because I would have a friend to travel with, I would have enough money saved up, I would have taken classes on survival, and in case if I get in trouble, I would have my emergency phone to call for help.

Into the Wild and Possible Zine ideas.

    My views of Chris McCandless have been changing while I keep reading more and more chapters.  At first, I gave Chris a lot of respect for what he was doing because I don’t think I would ever be able to do what he has done.  Also, I felt sympathy for him and sorrow after his death.  After reading about his first few adventures, I saw Chris as this crazy guy who believed in living in the wild.  Some examples were he burned the only money he had, left his car, left all his possessions, and most importantly he left his family.  I gave Chris so much respect because he totally cut himself off from society and is living like an animal in the wild. 

      After I read on, and read the next chapters, my views of Chris McCandless have changed.  I almost view him as a stupid and careless person who doesn’t learn from his mistakes and he also contradicts the beliefs he said he had in the beginning of the book.  One way I see Chris as being stupid is that one time he would have died in the desert after he abandoned his car, but someone saw him and picked him up on his boat.  I felt that Chris lived his life as if he didn’t care if he would die.  An example from the book is when he finally arrives in Alaska and he writes a letter to Westerberg and in it he said, “It might be a very long time before I return South.  If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again, i want you to know you’re a great man.  I now walk into the wild” (page #69).  This shows that he has the attitude that he might not make it out alive and this is almost like his suicide note.  In addition, I feel that Chris contradicts a lot of his beliefs about being out in the wild.  He doesn’t want to have any money because he likes the thrill of knowing that he has nothing to fall back to.  He doesn’t like the government and breaks a lot of laws that they have.  Some examples are that Chris burns his money early in the book, then later on we find out he gets a job working at McDonald’s.  Also, when he finds some people that like him, he stays with them in their home and works for them.  That doesn’t seem too much of living in the wild.  It seems more like Chris is a bum and when he can’t survive in the wild, he runs back to society.  Also, to live in the wild, i don’t think you’re aloud to get rides from people and that you’re supposed to walk or canoe like he did at the beginning of the book.  I feel that Chris has a lot of guts to do what he’s  doing but he isn’t fully 100% committed.  That is what I think about Chris.

 

        With how broad  the topic can be for a zine, I feel it is hard to pick one topic that I really like.  At first I was thinking about doing it about some sport and how to do something in that sport.  Doing the sport topic is not fully out of the picture but I was thinking about doing something on food.  I am either going to do my zine on how to make some sort of food, or I am going to do it on fast food restaurants and how they are so bad for you.  So as of right now, I am stuck between some ideas but hopefully I chose the right one that I will be able to express the best.

King of Kong

       After reading the articles in the Twin Galaxies Official Statement, my views have changed about what really happened in the movie.  In these articles they wrote about all the scenes they didn’t show in the movie.  Walter Day is the one that wrote all of these articles and I feel that I can trust what he has to say, but I can’t trust him 100 percent.  The articles talked about all the big controversies and everyone, Walter Day had something against what really happened.  Maybe it’s true what he says, or maybe it’s not.  Walter Day showed some of the emails that were sent between he and Steve, which I can believe.  In the movie, Billy Mitchell was played as a guy who always wants to be in first and has the whole Twin Galaxies helping him to make sure it stays that way.  But in the articles, Walter said that Billy called and congratulated Steve on getting the new high score.  Walter Day did a great job at covering up for Billy and portraying him to seem like a nice guy, unless that is how he really is.  Also, another big thing that the movie didn’t show was when Billy submitted his tape and Walter recorded his new record on the website, they didn’t show what happened 48 hours after that.  Walter thought about what he did by accepting the tape so quickly that he was going to take it down and discard the score but before he could do so, Robert Mruczek took the score down and agreed that it was a mistake.  After they took the score down, Walter emailed Steve apologizing for the mishap.  Also, another big controversy that the movie showed was when the Twin Galaxy inspectors broke into Steve’s house.  According to Walter, this never happened.  The guys that went to Steve’s house were just two other Donkey Kong players and heard about Steve and wanted to meet him.  He was not home when he got there so Steve’s wife told them to wait in the car, but then she left and their grandma then thought it would be polite to let them in the house.  She gave them a quarter to play Donkey Kong and then Steve walked in the garage to find them playing his game.  Steve was nothing but friendly and polite.  They all played Donkey Kong together and Steve even gave them a tour of his house.  Later, the two guys asked if they could take a picture of his PCB board and Steve kindly showed them and they did not rip open his machine like they said in the movie. 

      After reading these articles, my views have changed about the movie but not 100 percent.  I’m not fully committed to believing everythign that Walter Day had to say because I watched the movie and saw what they showed me.  I know some things may be true, but I don’t know which ones and I don’t know why the producers would make up this many lies.  I know they would make some lies in the movie to help make the movie sell, but why would all the actors let them do that.  Why would Billy let them portray himself like that.  I am just stuck in the middle of what to believe.

Movies

          I have watched many movies in my life and I have noticed that I like to watch more comedy movies than any other ones.  I also like to watch action and suspense movies too but I am more of a comedy guy.  I also enjoy movies of all the genre too.  Most of the comedy movies I watch are really stupid and have no meaning but they always make me laugh.  After I watch a movie that is funny, I have noticed that I quote them all the time with my friends.  For example, we will see a movie and say some line from the movie but we don’t just say it because it’s from the movie, we say it regularly and context. 

      Some of my favorite movies are all from different genre.  I couldn’t just pick 5 of my favorite movies because they are all good.  Just to name a few of my favorite movies, they are Batman, Goodfellas, The Godfather, A Bronx Tale,  Fight Club, Good Will Hunting, Matrix, The Departed, Boondocks Saints, Superbad, Step Brothers, Wedding Crashers, Super Troopers, and The Big Lebowski.  I know I have excluded many of my favorite movies, especially the comedy ones, but these are just some off the top of my head that have very good plots and are movies I can watch over and over. 

      If I had to pick to of my favorite movies that I have seen that have changed my thoughts on some things and got me thinking.  I would have to pick either Good Will Hunting and A Bronx Tale.  Good Will Hunting is a very pshcohological film and got me thinking.  I think that this movie impacted me because a close family member is just like Will.  He is very hard to understand and is very troubling.  I think that that is one of the reasons why it has impacted me because I have been able to related to it very well.  Also, I am a fan of Matt Damen and think he is a great actor.  On the other hand, I really enjoy the movie A Bronx Tale.  This movie impacted me by showing me that you can get a lot of power in life by knowing the right people.  The movie asks a lot of it is better to be loved or to be feared.  In the movie they say it would be great to be both feared and loved but that would be difficult.  They say that fear last longer than love and having people that fear you are more loyal to you.  I agree with this only if the person being feared is of more power like your boss.  If you are a boss, you don’t want the your employees to be your friends but you want them to fear you so that there is always a purpose for you.  You have to treat your employees good, but not too good otherwise they will have no need for you.  You give them just enough where they need you, but don’t hate you.  A Bronx tale is a very powerful movie in my eyes and teaches me about loyalty.

Tattoo

If I were to get a tattoo I would get 1 of 2 things.  The first one is a little more serious and a little more reasonable of getting.  I would get a cross on the left side of my chest right over my heart.  I feel that it would have more of a meaning to it since it has to do with my religion.  The tattoo would a fairly big size and would be very detailed.  The cross would have cross stitching in it have a cool pattern going through the cross.  The colors of this cross would be a fade from black to white.  Wrapped around the outside of the cross would be the rosary.  In the cross of the rosary would be my moms initials.  I feel that this tattoo would have a lot of meaning into it for me.  I would feel that I also had God right there over my heart watching over me. 

The second tattoo I would get which is a little more laid back and less serious would be a tattoo of a skull with a hockey helmet on it.  This tattoo would go on my upper right arm right on the bicep.  The meaning for this one would be for the reason of what I have done my whole life.  I have been playing hockey since I was 5 years old.  I love this sport and would love to still play competitively.  The tattoo would be of a skull that has a slight smirk on his face so it doesn’t look so mean but more like a jokster.  He would look like he was all bruised up like he just got in a fight with a black eye.  The helmet wouldn’t have it’s strap buckled so it would just be dangling down from the side of the helmet.  There would be lightly faded hockey sticks in an X behind the skull head and there would also be a faded puck right in the middle of them on the bottom between the blades.  On the front of the helmet wear the brand name goes, I would put the name of my hometown, Chicago, because that’s who I have played for my whole life.  This tattoo would also all be in black and white color.  This tattoo would look real cool and would be something I would show off all the time.

Since my mom does not really approve of tattoos, I think I would get the first one of the cross because it has a little more meaning to it and it even has her initials on the cross.  But then again, if I get the cross and like it a lot and so would my mom, I think she would give in a little bit and not care as much if I were to get another one.  So I would probably get the cross first then wait a little while and then get the skull hockey head after that because I’m sure that once I get 1 tattoo, I will get multiple more.

Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation

Quotation: What Rodger Sipher says about schools is, “Schools should be for education. At present, they are only tangentially so. They have attempted to serve an all-encompassing social function, trying to be all things to all people. In the process they have failed miserably at what they were originally formed to accomplish” (Page#1).

Paraphrase:  Rodger Sipher wrote about how the law of mandatory attendance should be changed at all schools to be optional if you want to attend school or not and let those who are really committed to go to school (Page#1).

Summary: Rodger Sipher makes an argument that attending school should be optional.  He feels that the schools have attempted to make it like a social function and in the process they have failed miserably at what they wanted to accomplish.  Rodger has 6 main arguments about optional attendance.  Rodger wants to get rid of the attendance mandatory laws and only let those who are really committed to learn, attend school (Page #1).

Subcultures

         A subculture that I grew up into was being a huge sports fan.  I love all sports and are willing to watch any sport or play any.  Growing up my whole family has played multiple of sports.  I have all older brothers so I when I was little I was introduced to all kinds of sports before I could even play them.  I was introduced to baseball, t-ball,  soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, basketball, football, hockey, wrestling, baseball, and even cheer leading.  So before I was able to play the sports, I was able to pick out the one that i liked the most.  So when I first started playing, I played t-ball, soccer, and basketball.  Then when I got older into Jr. High School, i started playing hockey, basketball, and baseball.  Then in high school, it was getting very competitive and I played at high levels of hockey, golf and tennis.  To this day I still play plenty of sports for fun with my friends and I really enjoy playing it.  I feel that my whole family has influenced this subculture on me by playing sports with them when we were little, and when my parents signed me up for the Darien Youth Club League that we have in our home town. 

     I also enjoy watching all professional sports on television and going to the games.  I watch sports center all the time so I am all up to date with the new news and updates in all the leagues.  When I am with my friends we watch it and all just talk about whats going on and get into arguments about who is the best team and which sport is better than another and who is the best player in all the sports.  I like to watch all sports but the ones I enjoy the most are football, hockey, and baseball.  I am from Chicago so my favorite teams are the Bears, Blackhawks, and the White Sox.  The biggest arguments me and my friends get into is between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs.  I have always been a Sox fan my whole life so that is where my heart is at.  But I will still root for the Cubs if they ever make it to the Word Series but that is very doubtful since it has been over 100 years since they have won.  Before I came to college I would go to a lot of sport events.  I would probably go to 15 MLB games, 20 NHL games, and I still have not gone to a NFL game but I have been to plenty of NCAA football games.  But now that I am at Purdue, I went to almost all of the home football games.  Also since being here, I started to enjoy watching basketball and I have gone to 5 games since being here and they are all very fun. 

     There are some people that are opposite of me and don’t like sports at all.  Some of my friends don’t play any sports and say that school is more important and focus on that instead.  They say that the odds of someone being payed for playing a sport is very small, so they focus on school more to get a degree and make a lot of money.  I mean I know I wont play any professional sports, but I still enjoy it and focus on school at the same time.

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