Home Sweet Home 

Just an UPdate

So I got my hair cut. Its pretty short but I like it..Refreshing, new, RED! Heh.

Um, well today they moved Dad to the Rehab Center. I dont know how that went because I havent heard from him yet today BUT I can say that the doctors are amazed at his improvement happening so fast. Thank God! And thankyou everyone who prayed.

Today, Pam W. brought over some food for us. Crystal told me she was only going to bring us something for dinner because they're wanting to help us out, but Pam brought over so much! I feel like she went grocery shopping for us! Oye, I can honestly say Crystal and I felt overwhelmed. Praise God for our church.

So this Spring break I havent done much. Ive been doing my reading (Turn of the Screw) for English and taking lots of random picures. Ive done some work on the March Issue of RY Magazine.. But I dont have that much to put in it because I havent been writing much lately and nobody has given me anything for it. Though, that could very well be my fault because I havent asked! Oh well, I skipped January and February.. I think I have the November and December at school. Ah well. I'll write later.. I dont have much else to say for now.

Except...

NANO technology!

NANO TECHNOLOGY: A look into the future

According to Erik this is the future. I was thinking I should put something in the stock market for it then, because according to Eriks view of the future, I could be rich. Hah.

Anyway, nothing is really new I guess. I had finals Wednesday and Thursday but Im thinking Im going to get straight C's at best on them because I cant concentrate. Theres too much going on to be honest. Like last night we visited Dad at the hospital, and though his skin looks healthier, his breathing doesnt seem to have improved at all; even after the Traceotomy. So at this point I really dont know what is going to happen. Hopefully Mr. Coakley (my English teacher) will wave me through the second half of english even if Im not passing with the required B- for the advanced english class.

The trials of Milfer Loodens: Journey to Nolybab Wen -REPRINT-

a large log in a small forest lived a Lunker. Not a dirty log, with worms and maggots crawling inside and the smell of rotted wet wood; nor a dry log with decaying wood and ants and spiders living among it.

This log was the perfect size and temperature for a Lunker to live. It had a small circular door attached at the end that was painted orange with a brass knob in the center. If one walked inside, one would see a long hall-type area with wooden floors, yellow walls, and a lot of paintings; many - of which - matched up to one another. On either side of the hall there laid four doors. Each door contained a small label in the center that declared its purpose. As you walk down, the first door to the left -which was purple - read 'Tonlar'; and to the right- which was green - read "Selitneg." The second door to the left - which was orange - read ˜Lunker"; and to the right - which was blue - read "Menkar."

The Lunkers were the least respected of the four. They were known to be rude, cruel creatures that loved to play tricks on people. But anyone who gets to know a Lunker knows that is not quite the case.

Take Cawfie Loodens - for example - who gets along with all the Selitneg's and Tonlars and Menkars. He loves to play dirty tricks, like planting explosive dirt in the Menkars beds - the Menkars are obsessive compulsive about cleaning, so when the dirt bomb explodes in their bed they nearly go mad -but it's obvious to them that he only means for good fun.

But I am not here to talk about the quarrels and friendships between the Lunkers and the Menkars or the Tonlars and the Selitneg's. Oh no, I am here to tell you the courageous tale of Milfer Loodens. Milfer Loodens was the nephew to Cawfie and has lived with him since before he can remember. Milfer has asked Cawfie where his real parents are and how they ended up in Noitalever Logs - the log they live in - but Cawfie always finds a way to deflect the questions and tells stories of his childhood.

All of Milfer's friends told him he belonged in Nolybab Wen, where his parents originated. They said he was a bad kid because of the jokes his uncle played on their parents but that they would accept him anyway because they pitied him. He accepted whatever gratitude they gave him but did not want to settle for just the way it is anymore.

Here is where the story starts. Milfer Loodens, nephew of Cawfie and townsman of Noitalever Logs at age 78 -which is equivalent to 15 in human years - began his journey to Nolybab Wen where he expected to find some answers.

He packed an orange bandanna full of clothes and food and a bit of money to get him along the way. Though he did not know where it was, or how to get there, he was determined to get there no matter what circumstances did present. He had never left Noitalever Logs before but the concept did not scare him but it excited him. He would be the first Lunker to leave.

On his way out, his three best friends, Leikeze, Arze, and Wehttam decided they couldn't bear to watch him make a fool of himself alone and insisted they join him; though Milfer knew they really just wanted to get in on the adventure of their lifetimes. Leikeze packed his red bandanna chock full of food and drinks. Arze packed his green bandanna to the brim with weaponry and money. Wehttam did not take his blue bandanna though; he merely took a book with him.

The four friends stopped at the large orange door to Noitalever Logs and, without saying a word, said more than they'd ever spoken to one another before.

The journey began. They had to go through Natas falls, travel around Mount Nomed, go under Lufnis Forest and journey through Nevaeh Valley before arriving at Nolybab Wen. They had no idea what sort of dangers, trials, and tribulations lay ahead. They did not know what sort of wars and battles may be waging on in those places. They did know which way to go. All they knew was they were in this together, completely oblivious to the world around them, and they had one thing on their side that not many people would have. Yaweh.

DADS CURRENT CONDITION

Okay, so I have a reason for not posting in a long time! Two weeks ago I was home sick for three days with a fever. The week after that I was bogged down with homework. This week, Dads been in the hospital unconscious and I didnt feel like posting. Im actually just posting this in a request for prayer.

The doctors figured out he has COPD. (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) They were intebating him (putting a tube down his throat) all week but on Friday, when we visited him with ma', the had excabated it (taken the tube out) But Friday night Im pretty sure they had to intebate it again because he was huffing and puffing; his lungs cant work on their own. They were going to preform a tracheotomy on Monday but my Aunt Linda called last night and left a message saying they might preform it today, Saturday. So just pray guys, Thankyou much!

Essay on Huckleberry Finn

I think people who say the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is trash are often times ignorant to the book entirely. Huckleberry Finn provides a strong sense of realism, it allows students to think on their own, it’s challenging to read through, and most refutes against it have little to no relevance. Toni Morrison said “The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn is that it is the argument it raises.”

When people go to school, they should be taught the truth– not sugar coated. Banning Huckleberry Finn from students in high schools is doing just that-- sugar coating reality. A scholar from ‘Born to Trouble’ mentioned when Mark Twain wrote the book in 1876, it was around the time racism expanded. Another interesting note in ‘Born to Trouble’ said that when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he had slaves with him. It should be clear to the readers why Twain chose to use the ‘N’ word so often; and the reason I conclude with this bit of information- also said in ‘Born to Trouble’- is that he was trying to bring the novel into a more realistic state.

Twain showed how stupid and unexplainable racism is. Near the end of the novel, Twain wrote an interesting comment made by Aunt Sally. Huck was telling her that a black man died and Aunt Sally said she was glad nobody got hurt. It is not stated directly, but when the reader sees this passage they can’t help but laugh. It seems too pathetic and unbelievable that people could be so close minded and racist toward a man of darker skin. Without reading the book, that reaction from the reader could not have developed because in order to gain that understanding of the passage, one has to grow closer to Jim’s character. The argument about using the ‘N’ word is therefore irrelevant because the context which it was used in was not that of racism but realism.

Furthermore, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn forces the reader to think on a level higher than the average reader. Similar to the comment made by Aunt Sally, another interesting quality of the book is how the reader has to look into what Mark Twain was trying to get across in his writings without actually saying what he wanted. At the time the book was written it was highly uncommon for a book that was unfavorable toward society to be published. For this reason, Twain used symbolism to get his views across to the world. I think -based on the information I obtained from ‘Born to Trouble’, discussions in class, and my own response to the book- he allowed Huck Finn to travel along the river with Jim in order that society would have no foothold over how they reacted to one another.

As the story went on, and as society’s grasp on the characters thoughts began to fade, it became clear how different a white man can look at a man of color once society left the picture. Toni Morrison, a lady who read Huckleberry Finn four times and wrote a criticism on the book, said “If the runaway Huck discovered on the island had been a white convict with protective paternal instincts, none of this would work, for there could be no guarantee of control and no games-playing nonsense concerning his release at the end.” She later said, “For Huck, Jim in a father-for-free.” I think that brings up a good point; that in order for Huck to really look at Jim as a person, as a father figure, he had to first, have no real basis for what a father should be-- because his father was a drunk, and second, to not have a firm hold on what society tells people is right and wrong. Furthermore, Twain showed the change made in Huck -once society wasn’t always there anymore- when he had Huck rip the letter of confession to Aunt Sally up because he cared for Jim.

I think the river represented a freedom of self-thought; the shore represented a life with society constantly edging in on a persons right to its own opinion. Others may disagree but that is the beauty in the way Mark Twain wrote the book. It is entirely up for debate- and for that reason- the reader is forced to think on a higher level and has to try to decipher the symbolism behind the events because the point he was trying to get across was not written directly. One thing Twain did write directly about his purpose was in the Notice, which said: “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” More over, Mark Twain knew, beforehand, the novel would be controversial because of its content. Just as the shore edges against the river, society edges against peoples thoughts- and for this reason Mark Twain voiced that in the beginning of his book.

“You don’t know me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,’ but that ain’t no matter,” Huck said to kick off The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain wrote the novel in a way that, again, displayed realism to it’s time. A fair share of the language used in the novel shaped that of an uneducated person. The use of the ‘N’ word in the novel was also true to its time and gave the reader a better feeling as to what society was like and the influence it had on the people. Toni Morrison said, “...when scenes and incidents swell the heart unbearably precisely because unarticulated and force an act of imagination almost against the will.” The reader of the book has to think on a higher level because it is challenging to read. It should be a required reading book in high schools because it does force us readers to think about what we are reading and also to read between the lines.

A common argument used in ‘Born to Trouble’ against the book was how white students are more likely to use the ‘N’ word after having read it over 200 times in the book. Some good insight into that was made by a scholar, seen in ‘Born to Trouble,’ who said: “It only causes things if there are things waiting to happen.” Toni Morrison said “My fury at the maze of deceit, the risk of personal harm that a white child is forced to negotiate in a race-inflected society, is dissipated by the exquisite uses to white Twain puts that maze, that risk.” Again, I think the argument about using the ‘N’ word is therefore irrelevant because the context which it was used in was not that of racism but realism.

Toni Morrison said “The brilliance of Huckleberry Finn is that it is the argument it raises.” The fruits the novel produces are more advantageous than the problems it arises. High school students should be required to read it because it provides a strong sense of realism, it allows students to think on their own, its challenging to read through, and most arguments against it have little to no relevance. The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is not worthless material that is to be disposed of, as the overall Americans critical reaction proved it to be in 1885. I think The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the quintessential novel of its time and maybe even of this time.

NYC Scrapbook2 

NYC Scrapbook  

As one door shuts, another opens: Goodbye February, Hello March

Yo, so February was totally rawkin but thank God it's over! ^_^ I would definitely say the highlights include Tiffany and Kami coming to Roots and my going to Kami's youth group. Plus the Deeper Study has been really awesome so far (I like the idea that Im not the only one who prints out bible books and highlights; even more so that it's encouraged.) Also, Froot Loops was so great this week. I prayed about our topic for about a month or two and God totally answered by having us do that study, or talk about it atleast. Something interesting I realized was: in FrootLoops we talked about James 3:1-12,18 and in Romans 1:28-31 it is very similar. Very cool. Um, this month a hundred people joined MySpace.com so Im not all alone on there anymore! Anyone who reads this should totally join because we rock over at myspace and its the new THEING (heidi.. lol) Its supposed to be another journaling site but its just where we socialize. Our principle at school joined (though some suspect its a fake) WELLLL!

We've got Czech for the Church this summer. Chicago for half of Roots and Franklin Park for the other half of Roots. Texas at the end of the summer for Roots. And Romania next summer for Roots.

Ive got Roots, Deeper, Rock, Froot Loops, Highlighting Romans, and Weekly James. ::bends arm, pulls back, fist clenched, utters "yes.." under breath:: If you cant figure out that motion, think hard.. Try it.. You'll get it, and if not, I gotta work on my descriptioins.

Looking Up (Nay, Crys, Jill, Kami) 

Emma 

Kami