BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN 5

To build on post #4, about finally getting an idea of what the runaway lifestyle is like, Bock's descriptions give a vivid sense of how grotesquely they live their lives.  As an introduction to a scene of the bald headed girl's first night as a real runaway, Bock writes, "Certain boys resembled various punks she was used to, only her friends took time to make themselves look properly disheveled, these punks WERE disheveled, their edges harder their seams more frayed...A game of My Past Sucked the Worst was erupting, with tempers flaring over the hierarchy of incest abuses" (200).  The reality he creates is amazing, and the rough ways these kids live makes me think again, are people out there actually like that?  Our bubble of Edina is so safe and typical, and Bock's writing style creates a whole new world and culture that I was previously oblivious to.  The bald girl becomes friends with a pregnant teenager, and they get drunk and walk around Vegas together, "Now she chugged from a clear plastic botle, swallowing three, four gulps, before she gagged and then doubled over, spilling thick green liquid from her mount, down her chin and neck" (200).  Not only is the description disgusting, but the crime she is doing do her body and her baby is even more disturbing.  This makes me question whether runaways don't know any better than this, or if they think their lives are so far down the drain that they are unrecoverable.  It seems impossible for somebody like that to ever have the ability to lead a normal life, and makes these kids futures seem very dim.

The pregnant girl and bald girl talk about how they've seen themselves on milk cartons.  The milk carton serves as a place to raise awareness of a missing child, but their conversation brings the idea of the milk carton into a different light.  The pregnant girl said they stopped making her face on the cartons, and she was disappointed because "It was gonna be cool as fuck, 'cause i'd be giving my baby milk from the cartons with my own face.  Get it?  How cool is that?  Cool as fuck right?" (202)  This is almost as disturbing as her drinking while being pregnant, because it shows that she doesn't care about how her life is turning out, and that she is hopeless.  The world and lives of "runaways" is so bizarre and unbelievable to me, part of me feels bad for them, but part of me thinks it's horrible and they should know better.

BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN 4

This week's reading really opened my eyes to what the lives of runaways are like.  The author has developed characters, and their backgrounds, and has given us a good idea of the struggle Lorraine and Lincoln Ewing are going through as parents of a runaway.  This weeks reading had an awful lot about Lincoln's background, and his feelings about his son's disappearance.  His perspective is an interesting and drastic contrast to Lorraine's; Lorraine being almost phsycotic about her son's disappearance, while Lincoln takes us through his history of being a parent.  Lincoln relives the bad times, and how depressed he was about his family and the bad things of being a dad: "Yet for all the secret time he spend trying to learn how to play the boy's video games, for all the pride Lincoln took in his son's quick wit, there were evenings when Lincoln's migraines were pounding and his stomach was upset, and about the last thing he needed was to step inside his house and hear that little bastard's sass... You bet your ass there were evenings...and he was feeling on top of the world, and sure as hell he did not want to go home and have that feeling demolished.  During this past spring and summer, admittedly, more than a few sunsents had been under way when Lincoln had taken a detour on his way home, heading past Vixxen's, Little Darlings, the Can Can Room, and the Crazy Horse Too" (194-195).  I'm pretty sure all parents have times when they don't want to be around their kids, but Lincoln's experience should teach to not take kids for granted.  Family is extremely important, and Lincoln's experience in losing his child makes a person think again.  

beautiful children 3

By now, it's obvious that Beautiful Children won't make complete sense and will always be slightly confusing and seemingly incoherent until the end.  By now, Bing Biederboxx has lost his virginity to the stripper Cheri Blossom.  The normally "unromantic act of sex with a stripper" is made romantic for Bing, by his observation of Cheri, and he wants to know about how she got to this point.  Cheri explains how she got this way, to Bing:  "I was molested as an infant.  I was born into poverty and know nothing better.  I am a rebellious socialite sewing my wild oats.  A bored middleclass girl looking for kicks.  I am that misunderstood whore looking for love that you are always hearing about.  All my feelings of personal worth have been sublimated into my sexual identity...fated to selfdestruct.  I do this for kicks.  For money.  To meet sensitive hunks like you.  Why do you ask?  What's it to you?  You cannot have me.  You cannot learn my secrets..." (151).  Cherri's pain to nurture seems like an impossible task.  It makes a person understand that someones past affects their future to a very great extent.  Bing is being developed as a sensitive man, but this is contradicted by how he wants to experiment his possibly fatal tattoo idea on runaways.  I'm not sure if Bing is a manipulative character with malicious intentions, or an actual good guy.  

Meanwhile, Kenny and Newell are starting to realize how inexperienced they are, and their night of fun is starting to take a turn for the worse.  Kenny sees two homeless people, who he realizes he used to go to school with, and right then we are introduced to the final character that will be developed into the story of Newell's disappearance.  Newell is tricked by the seemingly very rough and hopeless people, and realizes the scheming gutter punk has robbed him.  Newell's regret and feeling of fear is triggered by this event, "Every answer was not any sort of answer.  Every path led down into a black hole.  Dull noise lulled throug his ears.  His mind raced and raced and ran in place.  And now Newell glanced over his shoulder, struggling for an escape hatch, some direction, a conclusion that did not end up being the obvious one, a result that left him anywhere but this pace" (178).  These boys are only teenagers, and the sketchy nature of Las Vegas will leave unexperienced people to shreds.  This description including "black hole" is very revealing of how their experience will end up.  There's no turning back now, and without his money and cell phone these boys are headed to danger more rapidly than before.

BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN 2

Beautiful Children is moving along hypnotically.  In the first part we were introduced to Bing, the comic book illustrator, Kenny, the shy and lonely artist, and Newell Ewing.  In the next section we meet a young anarchist, who looks at the world as a great conspiracy.  In our first meeting of this girl, an example of her extreme views is described in a somewhat humorous way, "Anyone who cared (any many who did not) had heard the girl with the shaved head explain that she'd pretty much existed on wheat and bottled water for three months now--and wheat was on shaky ground depending on how much she could download about this administrations policies toward corporate farm subsideis, and as for bottled water, two dollars for fucking water?  Totally elitist.  Another scam" (102).  Though I don't know much about this girl yet, the first impression Charles Bock has set up makes me wonder how she got so cynical and extreme.  My feelings of being naive were increased in this part because I had no idea that such extremes were out there--and at such an age!  Another character we meet is named Cheri Blossom, and is a stripper.  We are given vivid descriptions of her dancing, and learn that she pretends to be in a movie with all the sex and dancing she does: "Cheri could do theese things because she was performing not for the mark but for a movie.  And in this movie she was beyond sexy.  She was A STAR.  This is what she told herself" (112).  It's sad that Cheri has to pretend her life isn't her own, and that she's just acting.  I think that her search for salvation will be one of the most interesting, and so far she's the one I hope will find her way.  She's so unhappy and ashamed of what she does, so much that she has to feign being a movie star in her life.  The way that these characters will effect each other will be so interesting, and meeting these new characters who have lives I've never even imagined keeps me interesting in Charles Bock's book.

Another main part of the reading is how desperate and sad Ewell's parents are.  Lorraine has taken in many cats, and one could say it's to fill the emptiness Ewell has left in her heart, but I think it's just for something to care about and pass the time.  She's desperately searching, disregarding her husbands attempts to help, and her frustration continues to be fueled with every rejection she faces about Ewell.  I can't imagine the pain a parent would feel if their kid would run away, and I actually think Lorraine and her husband are holding up quite well considering what's happened.  They've tried to give Ewell a good life, and his obliviousness to the world is sickening when we see the foreshadowing of how bad it will end up for him.  

Beautiful Children Post #1

The book I chose to read for quarter 3 is titled Beautiful Children and is written by Charles Bock.  The book is about many "misfits runaways" described as "A comic book illustrator...; a shy and possibly distrubed young artist; a stripper who imagines moments from her life as if they were movie secnes; a bubbly teenage wiccan anarchist; a scheming gutter punk."  These characters will all be connected as the Ewing parents search for their missing son, the main character, Newell Ewing.  

The story alternates between different characters' stories, and in the first 60 pages we've been introduced to Newell Ewing, a twelve year old boy who loves comic books, and is a rebellious boy who is friends with Kenny.  Kenny is an older teenager, who is a very talented nude comic book illustrator.  Kenny and Newell have a plan to go out one night...the night that Newell goes missing.  Kenny comes in contact with Bing Biederboxx, an awkward 24 year old man who realizes his unsuccessful nude comic book series, who at a short run-in tells Kenny that he has talent.  We are also told about the relationship between Newell and his parents, he talks back to his parents and makes inappropriate remarks; behavior in which his parents think are due to his 'tween age.  The relationship between Lorraine and Lincoln Ewing is losing sexual activity, and Lincoln is seemingly walking on eggshells around Lorraine.

This novel is creepy and makes me feel uneasy and naive.  I'm sure part of this feeling is due to my lack of knowledge of the culture of Las Vegas, but most of it is due to Bing Biederboxx.  When the columbine event is broadcasted, Bing realizes how much alike the boys who commited the horrible slaughter he is: "...he also possessed a firsthand undeerstanding of the ways in which an act of destruction can be viewed as a piece of creation, the means by which an act of violence might translate into a perfect piece of art...he did not tell anyone that he'd watched the real-life slaughter play itself out while surrounded by the same neighbors who's doppelgangers were to be chased through his computer game's virtual hallways...Bing had identically rendered, specifically so he could inflict bloody damage upon their images" (20).  Another part where Biederboxx terrifies me is in a chatroom with his friends he comes up with a genius idea to create 3-d tattoos.  These tattoos would call for, "not one but FIFTEEN electricity-laden needles injected marginally toxic chemicals into LAYERS of skin" ( 61).  And when asking where they could experiment their idea his friend suggests, "Runaways dude.  Nobody cares about runaways" (61).  The fact that we know Newell will come in contact with this man, and that Newell is a runaway is absolutely terrifying.  The sick and twisted mind of Biederboxx is a serious and dangerous threat to Newell, and makes the reader begin to understand the danger of the characters.

Another character who seems less threatening is Newell's friend Kenny.  His shy nature hides his disturbed mind, but he also puts butterflies in my stomach.  During an argument with his mom, Newell jokingly says about Kenny, "'A total perv...serious.  He's gonna take me out tonight and abuse me" (32).  However, later on the the novel Kenny is rummaging through his dad's porn collection, making artistic touch ups on the naked models,  Bock writes, "And he was not ashamed of being a perv who rummaged through his dad's cardboard boxes for dirty magazines; indeed, in this realm of his own creation Kenny did not worry about the currents that run between a naked woman, the guy doing her, and the noyeur getting off the scene" (36).  This shows Newell's naivety, and though he jokes about things like this they could seriously happen.  So far this novel has been scary, and makes me want to continue to read about what will happen to Newell, and how all of the disturbed characters will play out in the story.  

Traitor? Whistleblower? OTW

In On the Waterfront, the difference between Traitors and Whistleblowers isn't very clearly defined other than by the character Terry.  Terry goes against the unethical mob to stick up for the people they are oppressing.  Although the mob considers this act to be one of a traitor, this is where instead he should be considered a Whistleblower, because he is standing up for more than himself and is trying to benefit many other people.  A whistleblower's actions usually stem from something personal, but the realization that other people have been affected by the same corruption is what pushes the whistleblower to act.  In Terry's case, the murder of his brother is what starts his revenge.  Everybody agreeing is what keeps him going on his difficult journey to defeat the mob.  

I think the difference between a Traitor and a Whistleblower is that a whistleblower's actions are benefitting not only themselves, and stand up against something on a large scale, such as a problem in society.  A Traitor acts out of a mean nature, trying to get someone in trouble just to get them in trouble.  Something that a traitor would do is help someone steal a pencil, and then tell on the person they were helping.  A whistleblower in this situation would argue against the high price of a pencil to help everyone else.

A Million Little Pieces 6

The book A Million Little Pieces is a graphic and touching autobiography by James Frey about his time in rehab.  He's been through many, many ups and downs, wanting to leave rehab, suffering emotional and physical pain, renaissance in family life and with his friends, etc.  The last section includes two major tests for James.  One, before he is released from rehab, is when he is on a quest to find Lily and finds himself resisting the power of drugs during the journey.  After he is released, while out with his brother he orders a drink and refuses to drink it.  James is sober, and his self blazed path worked out for him in the end.  He's still sober, and after reading the entire account, I have slightly mixed feelings about James.

James is smart, and self-willed.  But after reading the comments on my last post, my view of him is slightly different.  Yes, he conquered his addiction, but then again, he was the one who let himself do it in the first place.  I'm proud that he stayed sober, but there is still a possibility of relapse.  In the very last pages of the book, little summaries of how his friends and other patients lives are included.  So many of them relapsed, or were found dead in crack houses, etc. and it makes me think that rehab isn't very effective.  It will be interesting to see if we hear any more from or about James, and I'm curious as to if it will be positive, or negative.  His story is truly amazing and touching, but I do have a bit of doubt about the whole story and his future success.

A Million Little Pieces 4 (Ethical)

James Frey in A Million Little Pieces is a drug addict, an alcoholic, a drug dealer, and a criminal. Recently in the memoir, James was sentenced to three years in jail. Although we aren't told much about what society thinks about James, I think it's safe to assume people would view him as a very ethically wrong person. However, I believe that people shouldn't judge until they've walked two moons in someone else's shoes. People who aren't addicted can't comprehend the mind of an addict. James knows that he's made bad decisions, and writes, "Don't...Need this bullshit to know i'm out of control" (200). His ability to be truthful with himself let's us know that he doesn't break the rules of society because he wants to, but rather because he must, due to the addiciton.
He writes about how his truly obsessed mind works, "The life of the Addict is always the same. THere is no excitement, no glamour, no fun. THere are no good times, there is no joy, there is no happiness. There is no future and no escape. THere is only an obsession. An all0encompassing, fully enveloping, completely overwhelming obsession" (178). He also describes himself, "In the terror of my addicted mind, all is Black" (200). James' illegal activity and bad decision making shouldn't be excused, but the reasons for his actions can be explained because of the way his mind works. People who are addicted can't stop themselves from doing everything and anything to get themselves drugs. Though it's ethically wrong, these people who that it's ethically wrong, and James getting himself on the right track and hopefully being able to resist the temptations will turn him into a morally correct citizen.

A Million Little Pieces 3

This week's reading from James Frey's memoir A Million Little Pieces told how James life was changing in rehab. Because James refuses the conventional treatments, we perceive his actions as "taking one step forward and two steps back." However, though he doesn't go along with the typical ways, I think he's making a lot of progress using his own tools. Though his counselors don't seem to be relating much to him, he's being impacted in less traditional ways, such as through a book called "Tao" and simply by other addicts in the center. James describes Tao, "These things, these poems, these words, these meanings, they make sense to me. They do no tell me to do anything or be antying or believe in anything or become anything. They don't jdge me or try to convince me..." (201). In the story of his life, James refuses to use the suggested "The Twelve Steps," and tells everyone he will do what he needs to. Though everyone is skeptical of him, his acceptance of the Tao gives us reason to believe he can change using his own way. The other main thing that makes us think James can stay sober by blazing his own trail is how he relates with the other addicts. This section of the book really heats up between James and a girl he met at the rehab center, Lily. During one of their secret late-night dates James writes about Lilly, "I stare at her, let my smile fad it won't fade inside. I have never felt so safe or calm. This hard, damaged, drug-Addicted Badass Girl sitting in front of me with her black hair and her braided pigtails and her clear water blue eyes and her scars her scars the scars on her wrist nakes beneath a plastic watch makes me feel safe and calm" (235). Though there is a rule about no dating in rehab, James' breaking of the rule is okay because he truly believes he needs her to help him do what he must do.
This section is also very important because James' parents come to the center. He dreads "the Family Program" because he's always hated his parents. James writes about this feeling, "I sit and I watch them. The Fury is in me nad has risen it is peaking. I don't understand why this happens, but every time I'm near them, it does happen. THey try to love me, I hurt them. They try to be decent and reasonable, I won't be decent or reasonable. They try to help me, I resent them for it. I don't understand why. They are my Parents. THey are doing the best they can do" (252). Despite how difficult is is to be around them, they make a lot of progress by sharing their feelings with each other, and ultimately by James' decision to sincerely try to be better to them. The meeting with his parents ends with a hug, "I step forward, put one of my arms around each of them, and they each put one of their arms around me. We pull each of us pulls and we hug each other...The Fury flares and i am momtarily uncomfortable, but the strength I am giving and the strength I am taking kills it" (308). James patching things up with his parents is important to the book because family is so important in life. I think that this will really help James to reach his goal, and he keeps tying the loose ends of his life, and putting things back together. His unconventional and independant ideas may seem wrong, but I think he's a strong and smart man who knows what he's doing, and will prove everyone wrong.

All My Sons

The characters choices and actions in All My Sons directly relate to whether they want to benefit their family, or benefit society.  The glaring example of a character whose purpose is to protect and benefit his family is Joe Keller.  He says "For you, a business for you!"  after his son confronts him about the crime he committed.  He thinks that because he was protecting and benefitting his family, it justifies his horrible actions.  Although he wants to support his family (with especially finance/keeping the business) his son disagrees and thinks the opposite: that one should follow the rules of society above anything else, including family.  Chris gets very upset with his father, and just the thought that his dad "killed hundreds of men" is repulsive.  The dynamic differences between the two bring about a very emotionally-charged conflict, and these conflicting views of what is important, family or society, is a center of discussion in today's society as well.

I think that the needs of society are almost always more important and should be obeyed most of the time.  Although family is above all for many people, hurting people for your family is across the line.  Major offenses against society are never justifiable, however doing something harmless against society in order to benefit family is sometimes okay.  Depending on the issue, Society should be, and normally is above all and should always be obeyed.

A Million Little Pieces 2

As I continued reading the autobiography A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, the changes in his behaviors and thoughts were remarkable. The first hundred pages vividly depicted James throwing up, having brutal surgeries and a horrible detox. This weeks reading was a change in pace, James wrote about himself aknowledging and appreciating other people, and becoming a slightly less negative and harsh person.
During this section, James tried to leave the rehab center to use drugs and alcohol until he dies. He's stopped by a man named Leonard, who convinces him to stay for just 24 more hours. This day that he promised to stay ended up being crucial to his development in rehab. During this day, he enjoys watching a football game with fellow patients, has positive interactions with many other patients, and things start looking up for him. Then, visitors come for him and he writes, "I do not look forward to seeing People from my past. They rarely have kind things to say to me and I have always done something to deserve their disdain" (125). His brother and two friends come to visit him, and are very positive, forgiving, hopeful, and sincerely glad to see him. After they voice their emotion-filled concerns and hope to James, he writes about his brother, "He starts to break and seeing him start to break makes me start to break and I don't want that. He steps forward and he puts his arms around me and he hugs me and I hug him and it feels good and strong and pure and real. This is my Brother, my Blood, the only thing in this World created from that which i was created from, the Person in this World who knows me best, the Person who would miss me most if I was gone. That he cared enough to come here and that he cares enough to nearly break in front of me means something" (133). Just knowing that someone cares for James gives him a reason to fight his disease and stay alive, and makes him appreciate something in life. Before he went to rehab, James wouldn't have accepted love from anyone, and his enjoyment from the visit shows us his growth in recognizing people and his effect on them. Also, because they forgot the problems in the past, James realizes that maybe he actually can start over.
James lets people impact him during this section. He listens to a fellow patient's story about when he hit bottom, and symathizes with him, "I wonder where he is and what he's thinking, and as I replay his story in my mind, it becomes more and more devastating. Although he wasn't on SSkid Row or in a Ghetto or in a Crackhouse, and although he still has a job and a Family and a life, he lost the most important thing a human being can lose, which was dignity" (156). Previously, James blocked out others stories or lectures, but when he finally allowed himself to listen, his feelings toward this man show his awareness of other people. James story and acceptance of other people tell us that he is a good man, who has just done bad things. Hope for James improves during this section, and reading this book makes me want him to succeed more and more.

A Million Little Pieces 1

For quarter 2, I'm reading A Million Little pieces, by James Frey.  This book is about James's six weeks in rehab.  This book was recommended to me by many people, and it's easy to see why because of the excitement and graphic descriptions.

The starting of the book sets the tone for a brutal story.  James allows us to see how severe his condition is.  When talking with a doctor at the center, this conversation with a doctor sets the stage for the story, "At fifteen I was drinking every day, at eighteen I was drinking and doing drugs every day.  It has gotten much much heavier since then" (28).  After reading about how usage, I became anxious and nervous.  James's honestly reveals to us that he's not in denial about needing help, and that he realizes how bad his problem is.  The first 100 pages include alot of descriptions about his detox and withdrawl, "I haven't had a drink in three days and I haven't done coke in five so the sickness isn't as bad as normal, but I'm starting to feel sick in other ways... I wonder what is hapenning to me" (33).  Also included in James withdrawl are dreams, "I had a dream, a bad dream, and it completely fucked me up.

When Alcoholics and Addicts stop drinking and using drugs, their subconsvious minds still crave them.  That craving is sometimes manifested in dreams that can seem startlingly real and, in a sense, are real" (53).  These quotes give us insight on how long and hard Jame's journey will be, and it makes me question whether or not he'll be able to handle the recovery. 

In A Million Little Pieces, James continually shows us how tough he is.  James has an accident at the beginning of the book, and it misplaces his teeth.  He has a procedure to cap teeth, replace them, and have root canals.  The doctor says right before the procedure, "This is going to be incredibly painful.  Because your'e currently a Patient at a Drug Treatment Center, we can't use any anesthesia, local or general, and when we're done, we can't give you any painkillers" (64).  During the procedure, James explains his feelings, "The sander vounces slightly and white electric pain hits my mouth and the sander comes bakcn and holds and pain spreads through my body from the top down and every muscle in my body flexes and I squeeze the balls and my eyes start to tear and the hair on the back of my neck stands straight and my tooth fucking hurts like the point of a bayonet is being driven through it" (65).  The procedure ends and James paints because of the pain.  His willingness to continue with the extremely painful surgery tells us that he's perseverant, and i think this trait will get him through rehab.  The book is sickening and interesting, and it makes me want to keep reading in hopes that James will Recover.

A Million Little Pieces #1

The economy and starbucks

Because my mom is an investor for companies in distressed debt, our house has been filled with talk about the economic crisis.  So this week I read an article entitled, "Starbucks' business may have bottomed in Q4."  The article is about how the bad economy is affecting their sales.  The crisis has made the company's reputation go sour, and people are starting to really recognize how expensive their coffee is.  They're refusing to cut their prices, and in stead they've closed 600 starbucks stores and are laying off many workers.  Although the economic crisis is horrible and is making life harder for some people, I think that there is a positive side to it.  Just like people are recognizing how expensive starbucks really is, we'll start to see what is necessary and what is outrageous.  

Homer, an old-fashioned sexist.

Homer is a plain old-fashioned sexist.  He is constantly depicting women as stay at home, good for the sole purpose of seduction, his characters pass judgement based on beauty, and believes men are superior to women.  One very evident example of Homer's sexism is proved through Odysseus, women should stay at home, and take care of the house and their kids.  While Odysseus is on his fascinating journey home, Penelope is at home all the while weaving, and waiting.  Although Penelope is puts together a cunning plot to hold off the suitors, she does so by a very stereotypical activity of a woman--weaving.  If Homer was an early feminist, he would have written about Penelope heroically rescuing her husband, and her own brave adventures instead of waiting at the loom.  

Another reason that Homer should be considered sexist is because of his opinion that woman are mainly good for sex.  Odysseus' stops in the Odyssey involve sex with a woman and then a departure.  In modern day, this would be viewed as very sexist, as it should be even thousands of years ago.  Homer's characters base many things on beauty alone.  The suitors are willing to stay at Penelope's house to gain her approval because of their desire to be with a women as beautiful as her.  Most of the time that woman are in The Odyssey and The Iliad, they are being seduced, or being judged on their beauty.  Also, Homer's descriptions of women are normally only about appearance, and don't involve any attention to intelligence or strength.

The most clear way that Homer is proved to be a sexist is because of his on-going illustrations of men being superior to women.  Homer's plots are all about men and their heroic stories. The Odyssey is about one man's journey home.  He makes this man very exciting, wise, strong, shrewd, and all-around amazing.  The Iliad is about men gaining glory and fighting manly battles.  Nowhere in these stories are there women suiting up for battle, although it's proven that women can be spectacular in war from other accounts.  Men's superiority is also seen in Olympus.  One could argue that Athena and other goddesses are good at hunting, wise, strong, and intelligent.  However, these skills and attributes are never used fully to their potential because they always need to check in with Zeus, and are always punished by Zeus for their actions.  For example, Hera can't help in the battle, she has to go through Poseidon, and outflank Zeus to get her way.  Athena and Hera are punished brutally because of their failure to be on Zeus' side.  

Homer's writing and characters always argue that men are better than women.  This is disappointing that there aren't more accounts of women in ancient Greece, because of Homer's dominant epic poetry about men and their superiority.  

Weekend Glory

Weekend Glory

Some clitchy folks

don't know the facts,

posin' and preenin'

and puttin' on acts,

stretchin' their backs.

They move into condos 

up over the ranks,

pawn their souls 

to the local banks.

Buying big cars

they can't afford,

ridin' around town

actin' bored.

If they want to learn how to live life right

they ought to study me on Saturday night.

My job at the plant 

ain't the biggest bet,

but i pay my bills

and stay out of debt.

I get my hair done

for my own self's sake,

so i don't have to pick

and I don't have to rake.

Take the church money out

and head cross town

to my friend girl's house

where we plan our round.

We meet our men and go to a joint

where the music is blue

and to the point.

Folks write about me.

They just can't see

how i work all week

at the factory.

Then get spruced up 

and laugh and dance

And turn away from worry 

with sassy glance.

They accuse me of livin'

from day to day,

but who aret hey kiddin'?

So are they.

My life ain't heaven

but it sure ain't hell.

I'm not on top 

but i call it swell

if I'm able to work

and get paid right

and have the luck to be Black

on a Saturday Night.

This poem is by my favorite poet, Maya Angelou.  I see Maya Angelou as a very bold, confident, and down to earth woman.  The poem starts off by her criticizing the "upper class," but then she goes on to say that she's glad to be how she and that she'd rather haver her ways than theirs, "but if they want to learn to live life right, they ought to study me on a saturday night."  She then continues on to describe her not very rewarding job but not in a way of complaint or disappointment, "my job at the plant ain't the biggest bet, but i pay my bills and stay out of debt."  Then she paints a picture of her fun weekend life after her week at the factory, and that people might not understand how she works so hard and plays so hard, but that she loves her life and maybe even feels superior to the "upper class" because she's so content and happy with the life she leads, and doesn't need all the fancy stuff to have fun.  This poem summarizes and exemplifies her attributes in a beautiful way.  I wish that I could be more like Maya by being so content and happy with what I have.  Society could be greatly benefited in many ways if we were to share Maya's views on life.  This poem actually reminds me of weekend life in Edina.  However, our weekends are more like the people's that she criticizes, "ridin' around town, actin' bored."  I'm jealous that she can let loose in such a simple way, when a lot of people in our area are bored with whatever they do during the weekends.  Maya Angelou is an inspiration, and this poem summarizes her content and confident life.

Angelou, Maya. "Weekend Glory." Poem Hunter.  2 October 2008.  

Bill Gates new program to feed the hungry

The endless and increasing problem of poverty is an issue that I deeply care about and am interested in.  I read an article about Bill Gates' new program to relieve poverty in Africa by focusing on helping small farmers in Africa.  Bill Gates and Howard Buffett are giving over 75 million dollars to African farmers, in hopes that they will use this money to grow crops for the U.N.'s World Food Program, thereby feeding their starving neighbors.  The money given by Gates and Buffett won't necessarily just be used to buy crops.  The money will be used to educate these farmers so they can get off to a better start, and maintain their success.  This is a brand new idea on how to solve hunger.  This article was very interesting and relieving to read.  The idea that the richest man in America is still down to earth enough to put so much time and money into this worth while cause is refreshing.  It's so easy to only think about yourself sometimes, which is why Bill Gates should be looked up to and applauded for his example of selflessness.  Another reason that this is relieving to me is because Bill Gates is obviously a very smart and successful man, and I have confidence that he can innovate a program that could be revolutionary.  I believe that Bill Gates combination of money, humbleness, intelligence will create a very high impact program.

Walt, Vivienne. "Can Bill Gates Help Africa Feed Itself?" Time world. 24 September. 2008. Time. 25 Sept. 2008.

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