A Late-to-the-Party Review of The Hunger Games

The first of an incredibly popular trilogy, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games offers readers an exciting Battle Royale-esque “kill or be killed” storyline, in which the dystopian post-apocalyptic nation of Panem (set in what was North America) held an annual contest of strategy, strength, and most importantly, survival.

Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl from Panem’s District 12 (there are thirteen such districts, the last of which was bombed into oblivion), plays the role of hunter-gatherer for her poverty-stricken family. With her father killed in a mining accident and her mother and younger sister to take care of, she has to sneak into off-limits territory to hunt for game and plants alongside close friend Gale Hawthorne.

 

But when the selection for two randomly selected “tributes” for District 12 to compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games comes along, she volunteers to take the place of her 12-year-old sister Primrose, heading to The Capitol alongside local bread boy Peeta Mellark, Games alum Haymitch Abernathy, and the forever obnoxious Effie Trinket. Once they arrived at The Capitol, the two tributes were immediately whisked off to the opening ceremony stylists, who dressed them in a spectacular fire-themed costume, complete with semi-real fire lighting their capes.

 

In the days before the Games, the two had to take care of training in various survival skills, demonstrating their skills in front of judges, and being interviewed in front of a live studio audience. It was here where Katniss unwittingly shot an arrow into the apple in a roasted pig’s mouth to regain the attention of the distracted judges, earning her a preliminary score of 11 out of 12 possible points. During the interviews, Peeta professed his love for Katniss, who was initially shocked but went along with it later. These two moments earned the District 12 duo “sponsors” whose contributions help the tributes during the Games.

 

When the Games began, eleven of the twenty-four tributes were killed right off the bat in a bloodbath and race for supplies. Katniss played low after witnessing another tribute take her specialty weapon, a bow and twelve arrows, finding whatever she could find, which, unfortunately for her, did not include a source of water safe from the stronger “Career Tributes” of Districts 1, 2, and 4. Perseverance eventually paid off for her, as she found a small stream and some rabbits and “grooslings” caught in her snares.

 

While the Career Tributes had already formed an alliance, Katniss met up with a small District 11 tribute, Rue, whose knowledge of plants proved beneficial in the long run. But fighting the other tributes would not be easy. Among some of the tactics Katniss used: slicing a tracker jacker nest (extremely venomous wasps that relentlessly chased their targets) down to the ground, killing one tribute — who happened to have the bow and arrows — and harming several others, including Katniss herself; shooting arrows at a bag of apples to set off a field of reactivated landmines; and setting decoy fires to draw off the remaining tributes.

 
But soon enough, Rue was caught in a trap made by a District 9 tribute and eventually died from a spear wound inflicted by the same tribute. Katniss, in response, avenged Rue by shooting at the tribute and placing flowers on Rue’s fallen body, as a memento of her friendship and a way to provoke the Capitol. Then, the sudden rule change took into effect, allowing two tributes to win if they were from the same district. Encouraged, Katniss finds Peeta camouflaged and badly wounded and takes him to a cave. She then risks everything — her own life included — to retrieve medicine brought in by their sponsors from a high traffic area known as the Cornucopia for its place as the primary place supplies are dropped in.

 
When the pool of tributes was whittled down to only three: Katniss, Peeta, and the formidable Cato of District 2, the Gamemakers in control of every aspect of the environment decided to release a surprise for the three: the twenty-one deceased tributes reincarnated as killer, mutant wolves who know no bounds and feel no emotion except 100% pure hatred. Cato was immediately attacked, as Katniss and Peeta managed to avoid the pack, but only barely.

 
But then, the Gamemakers revoked the earlier ruling, intending to force the District 12 duo into a dramatic fight to the death. Instead, the two threatened to orchestrate a double suicide by eating poisonous “nightlock” berries… until the head of the Gamemakers frantically restored the two-winner rule, fearing ridicule from the Districts.

 
The victory for Katniss, however, was bittersweet, wary of what might become of her (knowing that Haymitch became a drunkard!), what might happen if she parted ways with Peeta, and also what the Capitol might do to her for formulating the double suicide idea.

 
This was probably one of the most entertaining novels I’ve read in a long time, and this time, I actually mean it. The concept, although not Collins’ original (rather, from a 1999 Japanese novel Battle Royale), is certainly shocking at first, but once you understand the circumstances about why the Games are held (to instill fear and prevent the Districts from rebelling), then the idea starts settling in.

 
What I really liked was how the descriptive language made you feel as if you were actually in the Games, with a bird’s-eye view on everything Katniss was doing. Heck, it’s as if you were Katniss! In addition, the way the backstories behind the main characters and life in District 12 were described definitely struck a chord inside my head. And although the ending seemed sweet for Katniss, it does trail off as if something significant will happen in Catching Fire. Overall, as many have said previously, it’s a very entertaining read.

The DIA: Letting Yourself Go

In a metropolis that has been on the downturn since the late 1960’s — losing more than half its population since its zenith and many buildings falling into disrepair — there is certainly a bright spot livening up this city that has been the victim of unfortunate decay: the Detroit Institute of Arts. Its vast collection of art from various painters, sculptors and the like rivals those of larger and more recognizable galleries. Although even the DIA isn’t safe from the effects of Detroit’s $500 million debt — it was almost shut down as a result — it still serves as a gateway into so many different eras and cultures and the art that defined them.

Among some of the DIA’s many featured works include masterpieces from such prolific and distinguished artists that have certainly made their names known in the art world and beyond — Caravaggio, Titian, Monet, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, and many more. Collections in the museums range from ancient Greek and Roman artifacts all the way to today’s modern and contemporary art — and everything in between. The life-size sculptures made of stone or ivory; the towering murals depicting Biblical scenes more often than not; the serene still-lifes of fields, forests, and even fruit baskets and flowers in a vase; the straightforward portraits of the painter himself or his acquaintances; artifacts from the daily lives of ancient and modern cultures; and some as simple as a thin white line running through a red background.

 

Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), Salvador Dalí. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950. © Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2012

I decided to visit during a time in which several temporary traveling exhibits were being featured: the Five Spanish Masterpieces (from Dali, Velazquez, El Greco, Goya, and Picasso), the Vermeer painting Woman Holding a Balance, and a collection of prints from Picasso and Matisse. Each of these works of art, coming from different periods and styles, are breathtaking in their own way: Dali and his grotesque depiction of “the giant” Spain eating away at itself, Picasso’s Blue Period portrayal of an imprisoned woman, Matisse’s simplistic and ambiguous cut-out prints, Vermeer’s image of a woman finding a life of balance… There was so much to absorb in the mere 45 minutes I spent in the temporary exhibits, and even though I only focused on each work for a few minutes, if not a few seconds, I could appreciate the thought and the execution behind them.

 

But even when these exhibits are long gone, there’s still a treasure trove of art in the regular galleries to appreciate. Among my favorites were Henri Matisse’s The Window, a revolutionary work designed to challenge basic laws of perspective; Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, an ordinary but effective contrast against his unstable mental health; John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark, depicting a story of Brook Watson falling overboard and saved from a nearby shark by his crew-mates; Claes Oldenburg’s Giant Three-Way Plug, a wooden sculpture the size of a nightstand depicting an electrical plug with two sockets on its sides.

 

Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1664, National Gallery of Art, Widener Collection

It was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view these masterpieces, some of which were loaned to the DIA from various museums across the U.S. and Europe, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Prado in Madrid. I feel quite fortunate to be able to view incredible works just a fifteen minute drive away from home that I would have to travel hundreds and even thousands of miles to see otherwise. And although only time can tell what the future brings for the DIA, I hope that that privilege of being able to view classic and modern artworks from your doorstep will survive for years to come.

Roger Waters: The Wall, Part 3 (Final)

Read PART 1 HERE
Read PART 2 HERE

After building his metaphorical “wall” of isolation with events from his past, Pink is now longing to break free from his self-imposed barrier. Then the dreamy synthesizers and vocals of ‘Comfortably Numb’ start to kick in, set to an equally dreamy animation of a wall slowly rotating and spiraling. During this song, Roger goes about the stage singing the majority of the vocals — while facing the wall. During the chorus in which Gilmour sang on the album version, a fellow by the name of Robbie Wyckoff sang in Gilmour’s place from atop the wall.In addition, the tour guitarist played on a platform overlooking the crowd. During the outro guitar solo, the scenery changed as Roger pounded on the wall, with animated bricks collapsing to give way to several pillars.

The sun came up behind the pillars, while a small choir provided backup for Robbie to sing ‘The Show Must Go On’, portraying Pink unsure of himself as he prepares to take the stage — in a surprising way for those unfamiliar to the album.

Once again, the familiar opening chords of the first ‘In The Flesh’ blared out, resounding through the arena, as this time, a giant inflatable pig was released, branded with graffiti and mishmash. Roger, now clad in a Nazi-esque uniform, sings what seem to be the same lyrics as the first installment, but soon taking a dark twist — “Pink isn’t well, he’s back at the hotel”, meaning Pink is still not in his normal state of mind, something to consider once he “commands” the audience to put “queers”, “coons”, “Jews”, and funnily enough, pot smokers, up against the wall. After the song’s last line, he pulls out a submachine gun from out of nowhere and starts firing into the crowd! — although there were no real bullets, just the sound effects.

Next, Roger dedicated this song to the paranoids — ‘Run Like Hell’ — as spotlights scanned the arena repeatedly as several things appeared on the wall over the course of the song. Among these were a darker twist to the iPod marketing scheme — iLead, iProtect, iFollow, and soon, iPay, shown next to a gravestone; as well as one of the final lines of George Orwell’s 1984:

“But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”

Basically, amidst his insanity, Pink has ironically turned into a figure similar to Adolf Hitler, the indirect cause of one of the first “bricks” in his wall… his father’s death in combat.

‘Waiting For The Worms’ then plays, as the background displayed several worms squirming in between the columns. After the soft verses, Roger pulls out a megaphone and starts ordering the people to carry out his “final solution”. His words soon turned into ramblings, as the crowd chant of “Hammer!” became increasingly louder, set to the iconic “marching hammers” animation from the film, until Roger screams ‘STOP!’ coming to a realization that he only has himself to blame for his wall, not the actions of others.

Then, the trippy kangaroo court scene of ‘The Trial’ begins to unfold, with Roger doing the voices of various characters, including the showman-like prosecutor, the stern and imposing judge, as well as his schoolmaster, his wife (with a strong accent!), and his mother. The judge’s sentence: “to be exposed before your [Pink’s] peers”. His command? “Tear down the wall!” The crowd soon joined in the chant of “Tear down the wall!” as a montage of scenes from the previous two hours began playing.

And then an explosion interrupted the climactic point of the set, as the wall actually came topping down, along with the release of red confetti.

Everything was silent for about a minute, until the strains of a mandolin became audible, starting ‘Outside the Wall’, with Roger remarking at the end, “Isn’t this where we came in?” The rest of the band joined him after a few minutes to make their bows and exit the stage.

I thought that this was more than just a “concert”. Heck, I don’t think you can even say that this was an ordinary concert. It was more of a spectacle — a well-orchestrated musical with awesome special effects and even the inclusion of off-stage props like the giant inflatables or the scale-model airplane. Roger didn’t need to interact with the audience that much. Rather, he let his works speak for themselves.

(10/10)

Roger Waters: The Wall, Part 2

 Read Part 1 HERE


We’re now at the point of the storyline where Pink slowly begins his downward spiral into isolation from the outside world. Along with earlier events and factors, like his father’s death in combat or his mother’s overprotective tendencies, some of the notable points here were the final “bricks in the wall” of self-imposed isolation.

The blues-rock style guitars started off ‘Young Lust’, remarkably more rock-and-roll sounding than any other song on the album. Here, Pink’s fame and fortune has brought on the inevitable craving for women and coitus, as clips of provocative naked women dancing were prominent in the background. The notable phone call at the end of the album version was played afterward, separate from the previous song.

Once you know what a collect call is, this call is somewhat amusing once you think about it enough.

 *random guy answers* ”Hello..?”
“Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd. Will you accept the charges from United States?”
*random guy hangs up*
“Oh, he hung up! That’s your residence, right? I wonder why he hung up? Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife there to answer?”
*operator tries again; random guy answers* ”Hello?”
“This is United States calling, are we reaching…”
*random guy hangs up again*
“See, he keeps hanging up! And it’s a man answering!”

Then, ‘One Of My Turns’ quietly starts off with a soft synthesizer drone at the beginning, along with dialogue between Pink and a groupie inside Pink’s vast apartment, although the background dialogue from the movie seems prominent as well. In the beginning of the song, Pink contemplates on how the love between him and his wife is slowly “turning gray”, but the sad dialogue gives way to another of Pink’s outbursts (apparently, this is only one of Pink’s “passing phases”). His actions and words are now violent in nature (“learning to fly”, as Pink put it, can be taken as jumping off the balcony), as scenes from the movie of Pink completely wrecking his apartment and possessions played in the background. In the end, the groupie is scared off, and Pink collapses into another soliloquy.

‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ is probably the most dissonant out of all the songs in the setlist, using augmented, minor seventh, and ninth chords. Even Roger’s voice quavers and oftentimes seems somewhat off pitch. Here, Pink’s conflicting emotions over his wife — loneliness and vengeance — clash, as his most sincere attempts at making amends transform into statements of violence, as in (When you know how I need you… to beat to a pulp on a Saturday night). The song ends in a drawn-out sequence of D minor and A minor chords, as it segues into ‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3’.

The final segment of ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ shows a deranged Pink refusing help from others, as Roger’s voice, as powerful as it already was, was accentuated by the piercing guitar chords and cymbal crashes. At this point, all of Pink’s past troubles are now “just bricks in the wall”, and the onstage wall that was only partly built at the start of the concert was one brick away from completion. The remaining gap was placed at Roger’s height, so that a small spotlight could shine on that very spot as he sang the last song before intermission.

As the rest of the instruments faded out, leaving only a quiet bass guitar, Roger sang his “goodbye” message to the outside world in — you guessed it — ‘Goodbye Cruel World’, as he placed the final brick in its gap.

When the lights were turned back on for the intermission, I was surprised but somewhat amused. (Actually, I wasn’t surprised at all.) Up near the roof of Joe Louis Arena was a huge cloud, presumably from pot smoke. Fun fact: two people in the row in front of me were actually passing around a joint, and my friends who also attended described a similar situation.

About fifteen minutes later, the quiet strains of ‘Hey You’ faded in from behind the wall. Note that the completed wall was at the height of the second balcony, and no one could see what was behind. This serves as an introduction piece to Act II, as Pink has now locked himself inside his apartment — the same one from ‘One Of My Turns’. But now, Pink begins to rethink his decision of isolating himself, as he tries to reach out to anyone — an idea reinforced in ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’, the next song.

The said song is highly instrumental, and features a quiet acoustic guitar with quieter accompaniment from the orchestra. Just one listen to the track and you’ll feel that haunting sensation of desolation coming from the melodies and overall lack of instruments or vocals or even sound effects. Note that at this point in time, everything is still going on from behind the wall, as Pink longs for someone to contact…

 …and that’s exactly what’s being implied in the next song, ‘Nobody Home’. With nothing else but a slow, bluesy piano, and later, the orchestra, as accompaniment, Pink starts listing off the few things he has left, since he’s lost nearly everything after his earlier outburst and his wife’s affair. There was a cleverly made inset of Pink’s apartment projected onto the wall, and Pink is shown with one of the only things he has left — his TV. Now, he is in an almost unconscious state, dozing off at the TV and/or doing drugs along with it.

Then, his questions become more numerous, as in the song ‘Vera’, recalling Vera Lynn, a 1940’s entertainer who provided optimism to the mainstream during World War II (I had to do some research on that one!). Pink now wonders if that optimism was in vain, recalling his father’s wartime death. However, uplifting video clips of soldiers from today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan being reunited with their children played in the background, kinda foreshadowing the next song.

Pink now knows that he is not alone in his thinking, as a choir of voices resound the titular phrase of ‘Bring the Boys Back Home’. The song was accompanied by a brass fanfare as well as a powerful quote, displayed on the wall in sequence as the song went on…

“Every gun made
Every warship launched
Every rocket fired
Signifies, in the final sense,
A THEFT
From those who hunger
And are not fed
Those who are cold
And not clothed.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

But as his past comes back to haunt him in the form of the voices of previous “bricks in the wall”: his schoolmaster, the phone call, and the groupie, he realizes that he is still deep in isolation. But all that was about to change. Among the amalgam of voices at the end of the song, I was able to make out a new voice: someone knocking on a door, then saying “Time to go!” as if it was a foreshadowing of what comes next.

Read PART 3 HERE

Roger Waters: The Wall

(Part one of a three-part series)

A spectacle based on the album of the same title, Roger Waters’ concert event The Wall brings the 1979 album to life on stage. Presenting the entire album in its full glory, Waters portrays the story of a rock musician building — and then breaking — his metaphorical ‘wall’ of isolation. Choreographed with painstaking focus on detail, this concert event certainly does a great job at presenting the album live.

The concert opened with the wall partially built. Then, there was a short introductory scene with soldiers talking, presumably from World War II, followed by the booming opening chords of ‘In The Flesh?’. The opening and closing segments of the song were accompanied by stellar pyrotechnics and fireworks. To top it off, a model airplane on a zip line swooped in and crashed into the set at the end of the song.

The loud nature of the opening act gave in to the quieter, more drawn-out laments about life in ‘The Thin Ice’. In this song, our main character, Pink, is born, but quickly realizes that life will not be as easy as some people often say it is.

Pink quickly learns this in ‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1’. The song is a flashback to the days of World War II, when Pink’s father leaves for war. He is killed in combat in Anzio in 1944, only five months after Pink’s birth, analogous to the death of Roger’s own father. As the song played, images of soldiers killed in combat from past and present wars were displayed.

The song then segued into the famous helicopter intro of ‘The Happiest Days of Our Lives’. Roger’s voice, mimicking that of a stern schoolmaster, pierces the air: “You! Yes, you! Stand… still laddie!” Later in the song, a giant inflatable figure of the iconic schoolmaster caricature from the motion picture came into view from behind the wall.

 As the previous song transitioned into ‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2’, the onstage wall became littered with snippets of graffiti. By the second verse, a group of local schoolchildren sang along with the lyrics, albeit not in the original British accent. The solo was extended significantly, and the song ended on a striking D minor power chord.

One of the new additions to the setlist was an alternate version of Another Brick In The Wall, sang in a much calmer style than Part 2. It served as a tribute to an innocent spectator in Britain (heading to one of The Wall shows) killed due to a bad case of police brutality and mistaken identity. Waters then sent a strong message to the Joe Louis Arena crowd: you can never trust the government and the police force.

 
The audience then cheered as the light acoustic strumming of ‘Mother’ faded in. Many supplements to the portrayal of the titular mother were present, including a towering figure of the mother from the motion picture, only shown briefly but with menacing red eyes piercing the dark. In addition, a graffiti message was present on the wall: the iconic “Big Brother” line from Orwell’s 1984, with a big red ‘M’ painted over the ‘Br’ in ‘Brother’. Several sayings in red then scrolled across the wall, often in other foreign languages, depicting the mother’s will to protect and reassure Pink.

Then, the quiet notes of ‘Goodbye Blue Sky’ faded in. Although this song was actually about the Blitz — the World War II bombings of Britain — the animation that went along with the song said otherwise. Instead of bombs, red symbols were dropped out of planes — including the Christian crucifix, the Star of David, the Islamic star and crescent, the Communist hammer and sickle, and many corporate logos, including those of Shell, Mercedes, and McDonald’s.

The wall then turned black, as two flowers emerged from opposite sides of the wall, marking the beginning of ‘Empty Spaces’. The animation was identical to the movie, with the image of the two flowers violently engaging in coitus (bonus: the flowers actually look like certain reproductive parts). Roger, as Pink, then contemplates on how he could complete his metaphorical “wall”, as a real and imposing wall wraps around a city in the background.

Soon after, the wall rushes through several scenes: a flower transforming into barbed wire, a baby turning into a policeman and bashing a homeless person’s skull in, and finally, the wall demolishing a cathedral, as its bricks formed into a neon casino-like structure. ‘What Shall We Do Now?’, the original basis for ‘Empty Spaces’, is a social commentary on mankind’s materialistic tendencies, and although less obvious, it is also a foreshadowing of Pink’s growing craving for material goods.

 Read PART 2 HERE

E-books: A Double-Edged Approach to Education

Today, new technology is developed to replace many aspects of everyday life, often with the intention of improving current methods, making them quicker or simpler. Just one look around a metropolitan area demonstrates this. The growing need for simplicity and speed has led to various advancements over the years. This mindset has reduced communication time from months to mere seconds, and has made information accessible with just a few keystrokes.

An example of relatively new technology is the e-book. E-books, whose influence and sales have increased in the past few years, are virtual copies of a book designed to be read on all kinds of devices, including computers, smartphones, and e-readers. These e-readers, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, are electronics exclusively designed for reading e-books and using the Internet. This novel idea has been met with both criticism and praise from all kinds of people, especially in the context of education.

Alas, technology cannot truly “replace” everything without retaining the same benefits of the original, and e-books are certainly no exception. Printed books are still an essential component of classroom education, and e-books still have many issues (e.g. practicality and cost-effectivity, accessibility, and their effect on the learning environment) preventing them from becoming widespread in schools. Despite this, e-readers still have exclusive and important benefits, like their portability and overall convenience.

In our technology-centric society, face-to-face interaction has been reduced by many of today’s new gadgets. Sure, it makes communication much quicker and research of information much easier, but it also encourages more time behind the screen of a laptop or a cell phone without true and genuine interaction. A disadvantage of online conversations (vis-a-vis personal interaction or face-to-face book discussion) is that it’s much harder to express or convey your thoughts clearly than it is in, say, a group discussion in school. I’ve contributed to forum discussions on the Internet before, and trying to come up with replies that won’t be misinterpreted is difficult.

Printed books, however, can encourage more personal discussions with others, with one primary example being a book club. Here, members actually take the time to meet each other and discuss their opinions on several aspects of the book in a manner similar to most classroom discussions. This also fosters collaborative thinking, providing several outside-the-box interpretations from a variety of opinions (which has happened in my class several times), as opposed to the commonplace views forced upon you by summary websites, such as SparkNotes. In addition, printed books can give a more “authentic” feel for the story as if it was a freshly written manuscript, which can also help readers envision what went on in the novel’s era and place themselves into the story.

Another drawback to e-books is its lack of practicality and cost-effectivity in developing or third-world settings. Even in the United States, the Amazon Kindle still costs at least USD $200 (approximately PHP 8540), and each new book often requires an additional purchase. This puts e-reader devices like the Kindle out of reach for most people in third-world settings. Additionally, the absence of both Internet access (despite the Kindle’s capability of using a wireless network) and electricity (in most areas) provide obstacles.

Let’s say that you somehow do own a Kindle but have little to no electricity access. There’s no way to access your e-books when the battery (with a typical lifespan of one to two months) finally runs out. Additionally, credit cards are often required for purchasing e-books, but nearly everyone in such environments lacks credit cards. And on top of that, let’s say you do have a credit card and can purchase e-books. But without some kind of coverage by an Internet service provider, there’s no way you could even download any of them! Without any of these three key components, such e-books are rendered either inaccessible or present for a limited amount of time. This means it will be several more years before we can truly see e-readers as the educational norm.

But even if all these factors are present, especially in developed countries like the U.S., $200 for an e-reader just doesn’t seem worth it. Not only that, but you’d have to pay nearly ten dollars for every book you have to read for school — around the same price that bookstores sell them. In many cases, rather than having each student obtain their own copy of a certain book, teachers provide the copies of novels and textbooks. But the most cost-effective alternative for many students, however, is the public library.

Public libraries offer a variety of books from all kinds of topics for checkout, all at little or no cost to you. These libraries, especially in a certain metropolitan area, are often part of a library network, in which one portable and convenient “library card” can be used to borrow from a massive collection of novels, references, periodicals, etc. from multiple facilities in surrounding areas. Even if you can’t find the exact book you want to read, it’s almost certain that you’ll find an alternative reading from a similar genre or topic. When I was preparing for competitions and tests such as the National Geographic Bee, the Brain Bee, and the ACT and SAT college admission tests, the exact reference books I wanted weren’t present, but there were several other references that still helped. Whether you’re researching a topic or just looking to relax, libraries provide a much cheaper solution.

In addition, many e-readers are slowly straying from their original purposes (reading e-books and browsing the Internet) and beginning to make other applications, such as those for Facebook, available. This demonstrates how products such as Amazon’s newly released Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet are slowly metamorphosing e-readers into tablet devices (e.g. the iPad), therefore losing their original purpose as electronics exclusively for reading virtual books. The additional apps would easily detract from the user’s focus, and would be like having someone trying to read a book while a TV or a computer is right in front of him or her — not just at home, but also in places like the school library. This can lead to low grades or a lack of understanding of certain topics, and in my case, has disrupted my focus several times while studying, causing unwanted results on tests.

Although e-books do have their flaws, some of their features provide ease of access and convenience. For example, many e-readers have accessibility options that make it much less strenuous to read text, such as increasing the text size or using high contrast, both especially helpful for the visually impaired. Moreover, the screen and backlight provide enough light in the dark and reduce glare when reading outside. E-readers are also much more lightweight and take up less space than printed books, eliminating the hassle of having to carry multitudes of paperbacks and textbooks that can cause unnecessary strain to the body. Additionally, one single e-reader can hold hundreds to thousands of novels, newspapers, magazines, etc. in the volume of a thin paperback, also saving several trees in the process. This way, you can still catch up on any curricular or leisurely readings anywhere — from the beach to a long car trip — a convenient aspect I have taken advantage of while traveling. And with trusted references such as Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and becoming available exclusively on the World Wide Web, e-readers may soon see these collections going on sale as easy-access reference guides.

In conclusion, both printed books and e-books have their own unique advantages. On one hand, printed books foster face-to-face interaction and collaboration, and are still more practical and cost-effective than their alternatives. On the other hand, e-books are much more portable and convenient than printed books, and can help save the environment as well. There’s no telling what new ideas will be the next revolution in e-books, but for now, I believe that the benefits of e-readers simply cannot outweigh those of printed books.

4.30.2012

My GeoBee Experience: A Look into the Past and Present

I recently watched this year’s National Geographic Bee that I recorded on my DVR, inspiring me to reminisce and write about my experiences at the 2009 GeoBee, as well as my observations on this year’s competition. I can say that a lot of things about the competition have changed, but if there’s one thing that’s remained static since 2009 (and possibly throughout the entire history of the competition), it’s the contestants’ continued enthusiasm and passion about geography.

The GeoBee 2.0

Some things I immediately noticed were the new electronic displays, which replaced the previous letter cut-outs against a backlight. But the Grosvenor Auditorium wasn’t the only thing refurbished, as a new scoring system was put into effect.

This year, National Geographic did away with the long-standing two-strike rule for elimination in favor of a scoring system similar to that of the National Geographic World Championship. Questions are now worth a certain value of points, differing by round and type of question. In addition, if a contestant answers correctly, then a set amount of points is added to their score, with no deductions for wrong answers.

Sometimes, a question came with multiple clues or various views of one map, albeit with the trade-off of less points for each clue or map used. Oftentimes, they also came with a bonus question related to the answer choices, although it came with the risk of losing one point if answered incorrectly.

In total, there were fourteen rounds of questions this year, and the contestants with the two lowest scores were eliminated from the competition at the end of rounds 5, 9, 12, and 14. The two remaining contestants then square off in a championship round with five regular questions and multiple tiebreaker questions, with one point per question. If a winner is not determined by the end for the first five questions, the round goes into sudden death, with the first to answer incorrectly relegated to second place.

The Competition

The Top Ten finalists included veterans Vansh Jain of Wisconsin, Anthony Cheng of Utah, and Karthik Karnik of Massachusetts, as well as Neelam Sandhu of New Hampshire, the younger sister of another successful GeoBee finalist Milan Sandhu, among others. They endured fourteen intense rounds of questioning, demonstrating their knowledge on topics related to the habitats of a species of lemur, the origins of a traditional Indian dance, and the site of the Titanic shipwreck — all with sufficient geographical clues, of course! (I have personally known Vansh from my time at the GeoBee, as well as Milan from being teammates at the 2009 National Geographic World Championship in Mexico.)

After the dust settled, 14-year-old Rahul Nagvekar of Texas emerged victorious, claiming the grand prize: a $25,000 scholarship, a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, and an all-expenses paid trip to the Galapagos Islands. Vansh Jain finished second, and California’s Varun Mahadevan took third.

As a former National Geographic Bee contestant, I thought this year’s questions were slightly easier (just my opinion since the questions that stumped me in 2009 might be easier for others) than 2009’s (in which I placed 5th in the Nationals), although the championship round questions were still very tough. In addition, I thought the new system was an improvement from the previous two-strike rule, providing more opportunities that future finalists can use to their advantage.

“One and Done” at the GeoBee

I was at a disadvantage when it came to preparing for the GeoBee. My elementary school never participated in the GeoBee or any other academic competitions, and when I entered middle school, I was immediately promoted to 8th grade, making my first (and only) year in middle school the only opportunity I had to enter the competition. Realizing that I was up against tough and much more experienced competitors (I was only 11 at the time!), I made the most out of that single opportunity, ruling the Michigan State Bee and eventually reaching 5th place in the National GeoBee’s top ten. (I also made it to Team USA at the National Geographic World Championship, but we’ll save that story for another day.)

I prepared (without a coach or any assistance from the school, except for maybe registering for the GeoBee ;D) using previous national champion Andrew Wojtanik’s guide Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, containing comprehensive facts on each country (e.g. major cities, population, highest and lowest points, major industries), while also browsing through several atlases for more information on any geographical feature I came across when reading. In addition, I also watched DVDs and documentaries about various countries and perused through travel books and issues of National Geographic magazine.

However, this preparation didn’t seem like a chore at all. Instead, I viewed it as a chance to improve my knowledge on something that has fascinated me since my early days: I have been interested in globes and maps since I was two years old, and that interest, although not in use right now, still lingers inside me. 

The Fun Times…

Despite getting caught up in the pressure to strive for the best possible position at the GeoBee, I still had a lot of fun participating, especially with some of the things that happened on the side.

I can still remember how great it felt to have all that pent-up pressure released once I emerged victorious at the 2009 State Finals at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Even the ride back home was an awesome moment for me at that time. Eating a celebratory vanilla ice cream cone from McDonald’s while listening to Queen and James Taylor, among others, in the car… good times.

Another one was at the Nationals an afternoon trip to a small outpost in Maryland, a half-an-hour drive from Washington, D.C. This rural section of land contained various playground staples, like tetherball, mini golf, and basketball. The workers there also served a delectable selection of comfort food. It was also here where I met for the second time Ken Jennings of Jeopardy! fame (Fun fact: he later describes me as “four-foot nothing” but “energetic” kid in his book on geography, Maphead, from my exploits on the basketball court).

I spent most of my time there besting the frustratingly hard but entertaining mini golf course, and by the time it was time to leave, I was able to sink the golf ball in two strokes or less. But when I wasn’t playing mini golf, I was hanging around some of my fellow state finalists or playing basketball with them. I definitely wasn’t the best basketball player of the bunch, but I came pretty close, or so I thought.

There was also a really entertaining trolley tour of Washington, D.C. as well! You know those double-decker tours they have in New York or San Francisco (complete with the commentary), right? Well, this comes pretty close to that level of excitement, even if you do have to stay indoors. We passed by several notable landmarks, like the Smithsonian Museum, several foreign embassies, the Marine Corps War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial), and even the White House! We also shared stories about our experiences in our respective states’ Finals.

Another bout of fun during my D.C. trip was the souvenir exchange the night after the National Geographic Bee. It was interesting and somewhat entertaining to look through all the trinkets each finalist had to share. For one, the finalist from West Virginia had samples of coal encased in tiny glass jars, and many others had small bits of foodstuffs relating to their local cuisine (as for me, I brought in keychains with the map of Michigan imprinted on them). Then it got to the point where mostly everyone started playing catch to distribute their souvenirs (the floor was carpet, so things wouldn’t break easily) and everything became a right mess!

And to top it off, the thrill of meeting Alex Trebek is a sensation that can probably only be topped by actually winning the National GeoBee. Seriously. How would you react if you were within a two-meter radius of undoubtedly one of the most famous people in television history? Funnily, before the preliminary rounds, I chanced upon Alex Trebek as he was about to enter the National Geographic Headquarters. When I greeted him, he responded and mistakenly asked if I was Eric Yang (who went on to become the champion that year). Maybe it was because Eric used a picture from his younger years, or because my picture in that year’s book of contestants lacked those distinctive glasses. What’s even more interesting is that he is also one of the few people to pronounce my last name correctly on the first attempt.

A Few Memorable Questions

During the school stage of the GeoBee, we were asked about the location of Appomattox Court House, the site where Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union. Instead of responding with “Virginia”, like I should have, I answered with “North Carolina”. Although I knew at the time that Appomattox was in Virginia, I mistakenly thought of Guilford Court House, the site of a Revolutionary War battle (which the British won, by the way).

Another important question for me was my winning question at the 2009 State Finals, which asked to identify what Asian country was also known by the moniker “Land of the Morning Calm.” I correctly answered with “South Korea” while my opponent responded with “Japan”. The funny part is that I didn’t know this tidbit of trivia until the night before the competition, when my dad told me about various Asian country monikers, such as the “Land of Golden Pagodas”.

During the preliminary rounds of the national level, contestants were randomly placed into five groups and were each asked nine questions. I was one of only three contestants to answer all nine preliminary questions correctly, along with Illinois’ Siva Gangavarapu and North Carolina’s Shantan Krovvidi, if my memory serves me right. It was said that because of this, NGC had to change all the final’s questions, thus making the 2009 championship one of the hardest GeoBee finals ever.

Then there were the two questions that eliminated me from the National Geographic Bee: one asking about the site of an ancient relic on a Caribbean island (answered “Hispaniola”; correct answer was “Cuba”) and the next about identifying the city near Laguna Salada, Mexico’s lowest point (didn’t answer in time; correct answer was “Mexicali”). The Laguna Salada question lived on to become an inside joke in the family.

If only they would have asked about latitude/longitude positions of countries and cities, I might have been the champion (just kidding). But here’s a tip for future contestants: read everything on National Geographic’s website, since I was remiss on that one aspect, proving costly in the end.

Drawbacks of the Grade Level Limit

I personally believe that the ability to participate in the National Geographic Bee should be a matter of age, not grade level. Students in similar situations shouldn’t be barred from entering the Bee just because they may already be in high school at 12 years old. I would have appreciated taking the opportunities I missed because of my advanced grade level, although I probably wouldn’t have been around for this year’s Bee.

And for those saying it would be an unfair advantage for those with accelerated courses, I would have to disagree. The questions on each level of competition span a wide array of subjects that it would still be a challenge to study and master them all, no matter what level of education — even high school or higher — you’re at.

And finally…

All other thoughts aside, the National Geographic Bee has probably taken a turn for the better. This innovative system transformed the contest so that raw brainpower wouldn’t be the only thing necessary to emerge victorious. Risk-taking and sacrifices are now equally important, providing new challenges and opening new doors for future contestants.

Witch & Wizard: The Gift

James Patterson’s Witch and Wizard: The Gift takes younger audiences on a thrill ride as he portrays the problems of corruption, autocracy, and censorship in a unique fashion. He takes elements from other bestselling books such as Nineteen Eighty-Four and Fahrenheit 451 and then combines it with characteristics from today’s fantasy novels.

The novel depicts a world closed off by the “Shadowland” and therefore has limited boundaries. Most of this “over-world” has fallen at the hands of the New Order, that seeks to create a chaos-free society. At first, that idea sounds pretty good. But the N.O. (as it’s commonly referred to by the main characters) does this at the expense of several of the things we take for granted: books, movies, art, music, and even people’s imaginations. Creativity is now frowned upon in the society. The controlled areas begin to run on an extremely systematic schedule, and the populace starts to become more machine-like and monotone.

The story is told through the points of view of two people (alternating between characters every few chapters): Whitford (Whit) and Wisteria (Wisty) Allgood, who are on the run for supposedly possessing magical powers (only Wisty really possesses said powers, which would prove useful in several parts of the story). Both are members of “The Resistance”, a rebel group based in Freeland (the area of the over-world that has not yet been conquered by the New Order) mostly made up of young adults. The two narrowly escaped execution and were able to make it back to the base unharmed.

They and the other members then attempt to plan out their next operations against the New Order, one of which includes a concert at the Stockwood Festival in order to obtain new recruits for the Resistance. But they face major problems: a spy may be inside the Resistance and another may be posing as a musician in an unrelated act. Things instantly take a turn for the worse as aforementioned band member sets a trap to fool Wisty. In the process, Whit attempts to save her, but the two other band members take him down.

Both of them are now at a special facility back in New Order territory. The spy inside the Resistance served as their guide through the facility, which turns out to be a futuristic college. It is designed to produce the next generation of workers through a special, rigorous program. Whit and Wisty instantly become used to their new environment, all the while formulating an escape plan. They were almost successful until someone spots them, and they are sent into a cold, Death Row-style room. But the spy from earlier ends up helping them! Wisty turns Whit and herself into fish through a spell, as the spy ends up flushing them down a toilet.

The two end up in a river somewhere near the Freeland border. They manage to avoid detection, even as the spell wore off and they were back to their former selves. But they were aghast as they saw what happened to the Resistance. Some members were missing, gains from earlier operations were lost, and there were little hiding places. It seemed as if all hope was lost. But they end up receiving a tip from a friend back in New Order territory. Only Whit and Wisty advance to the ally’s location while the rest agree to stay behind.

The two make it to their friend’s house and stay there for a while. However, they were unable to completely avoid detection. The One, the supreme leader of the New Order, finds them. Now it is revealed that he has magical powers as well! He controls air, earth, and water, but Wisty controls fire. There’s only one problem: Wisty hasn’t grasped full control of her “gift”, but The One uses his mastery of the other three elements in order to prevent the two from escaping. Wisty is forced to “give up” her gift to The One, and they are taken to the public execution.

But instead of a gruesome execution description, Whit and Wisty are instantly whisked off to the Shadowland, in which the spirits of the deceased roam. There, they are reunited with the spirits of their previously executed parents, and they eventually find solace there.

I found this story to be one of the few truly amazing sci-fi stories. It contains aspects from both real life and fantasy, but there’s really no over-thought sections, and there is a good balance between the two, unlike some other stories. Sure, the plot becomes hard to follow at times, but overall, this book was one of the best I’ve read so far.

- 4/24/2011 -

Leviathan

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the events of the past were carried out with seemingly strange concepts from the future? Scott Westerfeld does just that in his novel Leviathan, putting a whole new twist to World War I. In his book, the Great War is played out by the Allies (known as the "Darwinists", who use "fabricated" animals as their transportation), and the Central Powers (the "Clankers", who utilize futuristic machinery far more complex than today's technology). The book tells a story from two perspectives: Deryn Sharp's, a teenage girl disguised as a midshipman for the British; and Alek Ferdinand's, the runaway heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Deryn Sharp, who recently suffered through her father’s death, ends up studying the Darwinists’ fabricated animals in extreme detail and pursues a career as an airman, despite being barred from serving due to her gender. She then decides to join anyway, but in disguise and under a false name, Dylan Sharp. As part of being recently admitted into the army, she was able to receive the opportunity to ride one of the fabricated animals, a “Huxley” (a giant jellyfish-like transport similar to a hot-air balloon). However, a thunderstorm brews and the wind blows her off course toward France, but the gargantuan whale airship Leviathan and its crew rescue her and take her on board.

Meanwhile, Alek Ferdinand, the son of the deceased archduke of Austria-Hungary, is on the run from his own people, who have now turned against him. With only a few crew members and a run-down "Stormwalker" (one of the Clankers ingenuous creations, controlled by body movements), he manages to slip past several German machines and scouts, including the monstrous Herkules, an 8-legged contraption the size of a military base loaded with several turrets and weapons. He uses the advice of his small but smart crew to keep low when traveling, whether he is inside the Stormwalker or outside surrounded by civilization.

The two eventually meet as the Leviathan is bombarded with enemy bombs and falls to an extremely remote location in the Swiss Alps. With absolutely no food to keep the Leviathan and its crew running, the crew members have no choice but to ride out the conditions until rescue transportation arrives. However, Deryn, while looking for civilization past the crash zone, ends up meeting Alek, who happens to be passing through that section of the Alps. At first, the two have a conflict that nearly ended up with everyone in the crash zone perishing. However, they eventually find a way to cooperate and agree to aid the Leviathan for the time being.

Alek, under the guise of a local from a village not far from the crash site, was soon interrogated by the captain of the Leviathan as well as several high-ranking crew members, and they found that despite being from one of the Clanker nations, he did not pose any threat to the Leviathan. A few days later, both Deryn and Alek were heading towards the rescue ship to bring back necessities when enemy airplanes spot the Stormwalker and open fire on it. Alek uses his quick wits to avoid being hit while taking down all of the airplanes.

After returning to the Leviathan with all of the needed supplies, the two help with the repair job, along with the rest of the crew members, and soon, the airship is fully functional and ready to go. Alek says his final goodbyes as he flees further from his enemies as Deryn and the rest of the Leviathan's crew head toward Constantinople for reasons unknown (for now).

What I enjoy the most about this book is the obscure but unique genre of steampunk. Its key characteristic is the combination of past and future. These types of novels often change the era that the event took place, the atmosphere of the event, or both. They also take place in the very world that we live in, except with fantasized elements, as demonstrated in Leviathan. As a reader formerly unfamiliar to the exact characteristics of the steampunk genre, I am very impressed with the style of this novel, as it mixes fantasy and history into the equation. Had this same storyline been used without the elements of steampunk, it would not have the power it originally delivered.

TRON: Legacy

I recently got the chance to see TRON: Legacy in 3D at the nearby Henry Ford IMAX Theater, and now after watching the entire movie, I can say that it really wouldn't have mattered whether the movie was 3D or not. All that mattered is that the movie ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time. The 3D special effects were just icing on the cake.

The movie opens up in Center City with the main characters, Kevin Flynn and his son, Sam, in 1989, during the night before Kevin went missing. Kevin, the creator of the hit arcade game, Tron, was also the head of a large gaming company, Encom. After the day he went missing, the company's stocks declined sharply and caused discord within the company, as leadership shifted between members. Sam ends up running away from his home, and twenty years later, he heads out to Encom Tower to hack into their systems right before the first release of their new operating system. He ends up successful but does get caught in the process.

After spending a night in jail for breaking and entering, Sam returns to his flat in a remote part of Center City to find out that his father's assistant stopped by to tell him that he received a page from Kevin's office at the now abandoned arcade. The office's number was disconnected for twenty years, but Sam didn't seem to care. But Sam quickly changes his mind and heads out to the arcade, where he finds Kevin's secret office and, after fiddling around with an extremely outdated but fully operational computer screen, is transported to the world Kevin created -- The Grid. Almost immediately after he sets foot outside, two "guards" in black seize him by the arms and place him in an empty slot, along with seven other people.

Sam was confused at first as to where he was and why he had been taken by the guards. However, he quickly finds out where and why these mysterious people had taken him -- the hard way. He is lowered down to an underground bunker and is clad with a battle suit and an identity disc. He was then taken out into an arena where he faced various "Programs", under the guise of humans, also equipped with suits and identity discs. In the enclosed arenas, the identity discs were the weapons, and if the opponent was hit with an identity disc, then the opponent was "de-resoluted" and burst into several metallic cubes.

When Sam made it to the final round, Clu, the overseer, finds out that he was not a “Program”, but a “User”. Thus, he had to compete in the “Challenge of the Grid”, in which he faced his opponent from the final round in a “Light Match”. In the Light Match, both combatants are given a Light Cycle (similar to a motorcycle) and four teammates. In this game, the combatants attempt to destroy enemy Light Cycles by trapping them within boundaries, similar to the game Snake. When it was just Sam and his opponent left in the arena, and Sam was on the verge of losing, Quorra, Kevin’s “apprentice”, bursts in and lets Sam escape in Kevin’s Light Runner.

Sam and Quorra eventually arrive at Kevin’s residence outside of The Grid. There, Kevin explains why he could not return to the outside world and why it would be extremely dangerous to try and escape. Back in 1989, he created Clu and promised to make a perfect world with him. However, as Kevin discovered that “isomorphic algorithms” had came out of the blue, he and Clu had conflicting views on them. While Kevin viewed them as the perfect individuals, Clu viewed them as imperfections, and thus, eradicated all of them (except one, as revealed later), betrayed Kevin, and took control of The Grid. It is also revealed that Sam opened up a portal to the outside world when he entered, and that there is a way to the portal.

Knowing this, Sam sets out back into The Grid and meets someone he met during the “games”, who escorts him into a club. At the party, he meets Zuse, the only one who can access the portal. When Zuse realizes that he was the son of Kevin Flynn, he treats Sam like royalty and discusses the escape plan in his private lounge, but when Kevin and Quorra arrive, several programs controlled by Zuse swoop in and fight everyone off. During the fiasco, however, Quorra becomes injured and Zuse steals Kevin’s disc. Clu arrives at the scene later on, and Zuse tries to work out a deal for the disc, but Clu just takes it and blows up the club.

Meanwhile, Sam realizes that Zuse had taken Kevin’s disc, but Kevin jut shrugs it off. The three end up boarding a freight train-like vehicle to the portal. During the ride, Kevin tries to figure out how to repair Quorra’s damaged disc, which proved to be a complicated task, since the disc structure was fairly complex. However, Kevin manages to succeed anyway. While the three were on board the freight train, Clu orders a search for the three, and just when the trio saw the portal in reach, they soon realize a horrible nightmare: Clu is building an army of programs, with several shipments of new programs coming at that very moment. Clu even delivers a speech talking about how the programs have been restricted from entering the outside world like Kevin does, and promises that a new frontier will open up for them.

The three organize a plan to escape to the portal, despite the low probabilities. They use Quorra as a diversion, while Kevin readies a jet plane and Sam retrieves the ring. Everyone in the plan know that the possibilities are low, but they carry on with it anyway. Kevin ends up forcing one of the programs to let him through, with a simple bonk to the program’s head. Sam fights off four of Clu’s cronies with magnificent style, and surprisingly, Clu’s chief assistant, Jarvis, ends up surrendering. Sam takes the captured disc and escapes to the flight deck with Quorra.

Clu, however, would not give up the disc that easily. He takes six of the jets for him and five other programs. When Kevin and Quorra end up seeing the pursuing jets, Sam is instantly assigned to the turret position and shoots down four of the planes with ease. The final two planes, the ones piloted by Clu and Tron (the other original creation), remained elusive until Tron decided to crash his plane into Clu’s. However, Clu survives and continues pursuing the trio.

Kevin, Sam, and Quorra eventually make it to the platform. But Clu got there first, and is the only obstacle between them and the portal. Kevin tries to explain the situation and why Kevin “betrayed” Clu. However, Clu did not believe Kevin’s apology and both sides fight each other. Kevin lets Sam and Quorra proceed to the portal and sacrifices himself. As the portal begins to close, Clu takes Kevin’s disc, only to find that he secretly swapped it with Quorra’s. Clu attempts to jump to the closing portal, but Kevin holds him back with a powerful force, which then destroys everything he created.

Sam finds himself back in the real world, and is greeted by Alan, Kevin’s assistant from earlier. Sam explains to him what happened inside the parallel universe of The Grid. He exits and finds Quorra next to Sam’s motorcycle. The two ride on the expressway and they finally get a feel for the outside world.

I am normally not someone who enjoys science fiction, but this movie was one of the few exceptions. The plot of the movie was cleverly written, and the special effects/CGI were spectacular. Some of the scenes were so intense that they made me glued to my seat despite my urge for popcorn and a soda refill. I would give this movie a four out of four stars. It is one of the truly magnificent movies of 2010.

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

 
I have recently started reading again, and one of the books I have read over this summer was a fairly unique book by J.R.R. Tolkien, titled The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. It is an English translation of two Norse poems, or lays: “The Lay of the Volsungs” and “The Lay of Gudrun”.

To most new readers, the overall sentence structure is interrupted, with seemingly out-of-place text fragments, but it is in Old English and so is merely the natural rhythm of the translation. In the preface of the book, the different types of rhythms are explained (there are six types of rhythms in all). These rhythms are made out of “strong” and “weak” elements, which can also be called “lifts” and “dips”.

For example, the phrase “knights in armor” has a “falling-falling” type of rhythm, in which the first syllables in the segments are the “strong“ elements, which are usually stressed and more high-pitched than the “weak“ elements, as in “knights in | armor”, with the italics indicating the strong portions. These rhythms may hinder many new readers, but it is just part of what makes Old English translations unique.

The first poem, The Lay of the Volsungs, is about the adventures and history of the Volsung family, as well as Sigmund and Sigurd. It describes the events of the tragedy between Sigurd and Brynhild (one of Odin’s finest Valkyries), as well as how it was linked to several other terrible events, like the needless slaying of the god Otr, the willful deed of Loki, and the extrication of Odin. In the end, all of these events set off a curse that ultimately leads to Sigurd’s death and Brynhild‘s suicide. Even though Odin equipped Sigurd with gear, a horse, and Brynhild (in order to punish the family of Hreidmar for the exaction of Otr’s ransom), in the end, all of his efforts go in vain.

This lay shows many real-life issues and feelings in its storyline, including trust, betrayal, vengeance, conflicting emotions, and the “you can’t have ‘em all” mentality. It mixes all of those issues and emotions into one poem-story that truly reaches into you and evokes feelings towards the characters and the storyline.

There is another poem, The Lay of Gudrun, and this one is about the maiden Gudrun, who is incapable of carrying out plans for almost anything, no matter what intentions Gudrun has for the outcome. Her mother, Grimhild, is the main antagonist in this story. She is skilled in reading minds and hearts and using their weaknesses, so it is no surprise that her will dominates both Gudrun and her older brother, Gunnar. Gunnar is an impatient character and often turns to violence in times of doubt.

Gudrun falls in love with Sigurd, but upon his death, unlike Brynhild, she did not take her own life. When provoked (in this poem-story, by Brynhild), she tends to be reckless, and her mistakes during these rampages sets off a calamitous series of events that ends in the slaying of the Niflung people by Attila and his Hun army (in this poem-story, Atli). Also, due to Atli’s rise in power, Gunnar soon realizes how much Sigurd could help him fend off the Huns.

This lay was meant to be a sequel to The Lay of the Volsungs and shows issues and emotions, such as manipulation, love, vengeance, the weakness of the human psyche, and the disastrous effects that happen as a result of them. Like its prequel, it also mixes them together into an influential poem-story.

In conclusion, this book, containing the two lays: The Lay of the Volsungs and The Lay of Gudrun, is a relatively unique piece of literature, containing Old English interpretations of the two lays. Although their format and diction may be confusing at first, if you can manage to interpret it correctly, it turns into a masterpiece with profound meaning.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is undoubtedly one of the most revealing movies I have seen so far. It paints a clear and accurate picture of the terror and the prejudice that the Nazis gave to the Jews during the World War II era. This "terror" was exemplified throughout the movie, in the forms of pro-Nazi propaganda, the "farm" which was actually a concentration camp, and the misgivings the Nazi party officials were distributing to their followers.

The movie opens up with Bruno, a naïve 8-year-old boy, playing in the streets of Berlin with his three friends on his way home from school. However, when he gets to his house, his mother informs him that the family will be moving to the German countryside the following day for the time being, due to the fact that it was too dangerous in Berlin. The next morning, Bruno played with his friends for one last time before he headed off to the countryside.

Upon arrival to the family's countryside home, Bruno, still lonely from being separated from his friends, reluctantly explores the house. He finds his own room and looks outside the window. From there, he saw what he had thought to be a farm from a gap between two trees. Excited at the thought of new friends to play with, he told his mother about the farm and asked her if he could go there. However, she declined to let him go there.

After more long, boring days in which there were little events of importance with the exception of Bruno meeting the house servant, Pavel (a Jewish doctor before he was shipped to the camp), and getting a new propaganda-filled instructor, he decides to venture out into the wilderness and to the farm. The task was not easy. He had been caught once, and getting past the back outhouse was complicated. However, after seeing a way out of the back outhouse, he continued heading toward the farm.

When he arrived at the farm, he noticed there was a tall barbed-wire fence
separating the wilderness from the farm. What's more, he noticed a Jewish child (named Shmuel [pronounced shMOLE]; revealed not too far from this point) about his age across the fence. He started a conversation with him, and they shared their names with each other. Bruno promised Shmuel that he would return and talk when he can.

His parents did not know about Shmuel at all, despite Bruno being caught stepping out of the backyard door, which was part of the route he took to get to the farm. As the days passed, Bruno asked Shmuel why he was wearing "pajamas" and about a "number game" involving the number on his shirt. He replied that it was supposed to be a uniform and that the number was just assigned to him upon entry. During this same discussion, Shmuel told him that the place was a concentration camp, not a farm, and that Jews were sent here regardless of profession or background.

As time passed, things only got worse for Bruno. Pavel, the servant, was mauled to death by an SS officer who served as his father's aide-de-camp/driver just because he accidentally tipped over his glass of wine during dinnertime. His sister, Gretel, was becoming a Nazi-freak and plastered pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi propaganda posters all over her bedroom wall. Bruno became curious about the smoke and odor coming from the concentration camp (which was actually made up of the Jews' dead bodies being incinerated). Probably the most crushing event of all was that Shmuel replaced Pavel as servant, so Bruno gave him some food; however, the same Nazi officer who mauled Pavel jumped to the conclusion that Shmuel was stealing food. Thus, he was beaten and received many visible injuries off-camera. As a result of his injuries, Bruno did not see Shmuel for several days on end despite visiting for all of those days. When he finally did see Shmuel again, he had a severe bruise around his right eye.

A few days later, he snuck and watched a short film from a window about the concentration camps, which was packed with a truckload of false advertising and misgivings, giving the viewers the impression that the camps were nice places, when in reality, they were the exact opposite. Bruno knew something was wrong with the Nazis.

In the end, the family had to leave the house, but he wanted to talk to Shmuel and play with him before going back to Berlin, and so, he ran away to the camps and disguised himself as a captive Jew. Also, Bruno helped Shmuel look around the camp for his father who had been missing for days.

His family was frantically searching for him, when at the same time, he was being led to the gas chambers with a literal herd of other Jews. When his father finally located his whereabouts, it was too late. Everyone in the gas chamber had been killed, including Bruno. His mother wept at the site where he had changed clothes and dug his way into the camp.

This story was a very clear example of the prejudice against the Jews, as well as friendship and how it can affect someone's actions, for better or for worse. It also conveys the image of how people from different races can form a lasting friendship very quickly, despite cultural and traditional tensions between the two races. Overall, it was a very heartwarming, and, in the end, heartbreaking, movie.

Odd and the Frost Giants

The book "Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman is a very short read, consisting of only 117 pages with large margins and text. However, it is a great story, and is sure to please younger audiences.

It tells a story during the Viking era about how Odd, a very unfortunate (his father died during a sea raid on Scotland and a tree fell on one of his legs) 12-year-old boy, while venturing out into the woods during an abnormally long winter, met up with three talking animals (a bear, an eagle, and a fox). The true forms of the said animals were actually the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Loki respectively. The reason why the three gods were transformed into animals and were in Midgard (the regular Earth) instead of Asgard (the city of gods) was because the Frost Giants, a group of giant humans with icicles and the like on their bodies, had banished them from Asgard (for reasons explained later in the story), and forced Heimdall (a god who had the power of transportation between the two worlds) to transport them to Midgard.

Odd took them to his home, where he took care of them for a night. The next morning, he decided to venture to Asgard in order to restore the gods' places there. However, getting to Asgard was very tricky during the wintertime, since you had to have a rainbow in order to get there, and all the water was frozen. However, Odd refused to give up, and after some experimentation with a frozen waterfall, different materials in an attempt to melt the ice, and a little help from the three banished gods, they were finally able to create a rainbow to Asgard.

Upon arrival to Asgard, Odd noticed the dimensions were twisted in a way: everyone was bigger here than they were on Midgard. After some refreshments and rest, Odd decided to venture to the Frost Giants' residency, Jotunheim (Giant's Place) to meet up with them and restore order to Asgard. One giant saw him and asked why he had come. He replied that he wanted the gods back in their proper places in Asgard. At first, the giant refused, since the gods had supposedly cheated the Frost Giants as a whole out of a dare (involving building a wall in a certain amount of time), but Odd stood his ground, and after repeatedly lengthening the discussion and changing the subject, he finally found something to satisfy him. Odd pulled out a wood carving that he found earlier while in the woods, even before he found the animals, and that satisfied the Frost Giant, and he left and let the gods have their places in Asgard.

At the table of gods and goddesses in Asgard, Odd was invited to a majestic feast, and all three gods in their animal forms were transformed into their original selves. Everyone at the feast thanked Odd for bringing back the three gods to Asgard once more. As a side result of the Frost Giants' retreat, the long winter in Midgard ended, and he finally went home without anyone in Midgard knowing about what happened right above their heads.

Overall, the book was a short but great read, and is useful if you want to fit a book into a tight schedule. Its length doesn't downplay its quality, and the storyline flowed smoothly. Also, for laughs, check out the text in parentheses in the author biography at the end of the book!

Avatar

A few days ago, I went to the movies to watch the new movie Avatar. Needless to say, I was very impressed with everything, from the stunning special effects to the engaging plot. Also, the themes the movie expresses using its characters and plot are very relevant to the state of the world or one's personal life. It is a movie of adventure, learning, gaining confidence, betrayal, and most of all, determination in many different forms.

The movie starts with several humans landing on a new planet called Pandora. Jake Sully, the main character, was one of them. The humans in place there had already built a research base. They were studying the Na'Vi, the native people, and their way of life. In order to accomplish this, the humans generate "Avatars", bodies similar to those of the Na'Vi controlled when a person "links" their nervous system to their corresponding Avatar through a machine, allowing him to report any findings from research while completely evading any suspicion.

During the first days of research, Jake's Avatar was separated from his colleagues by an enormous carnivorous beast. He was able to outrun it, but he soon got lost in the vast forest. However, he was saved by Neytiri, a female Na'Vi, and she took him to her clan, whose living quarters were inside the hollowed trunk of the giant "Hometree". At first, he was treated with hostility, but after Mo'at, Neytiri's mother and a prominent figure in the clan's life, said he was a sign from Eywa, the deity of all life in their clan. After that, Mo'at assigned Neytiri to the task of teaching Jake the ways of the clan.

At first, Jake was a bit shaky with their ways, such as "bonding" with animals to have control over them for as long as necessary. But with time, practice, and determination, he was able to master and memorize many aspects and values of the culture, such as the preservation of nature, the complex language, and their spiritual beliefs. With every new discovery, Jake reported his findings on the daily video log.

However, when Jake heard news about how the humans were going to destroy Hometree in order to mine a precious mineral, he was desperate. The humans in charge of the operation told Jake to talk the clan into leaving the area, since they would be crushed if they try to resist. However, when Jake tried, the clan refused to believe him and he was bound with ropes. Upon arrival of the airships the humans were using to destroy Hometree, the clan tried to pierce the steel and glass with their bows and arrows to no avail. After the airships made their assault on Hometree, Neytiri found out that her father was killed by a huge splinter of wood, and she told Jake never to go near her again.

Jake made his return to the clan on a majestic red ikran (bird-like creature) that only five people have tamed before and led the clan to a state of rebellion. They began to find other clans to fight against the humans who destroyed Hometree. These humans were now targeting the Tree of Souls, the clan's major spiritual center, and were also setting up armed offensives on land and in the air. The humans saw with their thermal radar scans that the number of Na'Vi in the area jumped by a huge margin. This was their signal to fight. Meanwhile, some of the humans who sympathized with the Na'Vi escaped in a helicopter and supported them in the fight.

The fight was long, intense, and was definitely not one-sided. Each side had their triumphs and failures. Many of the people Jake knew died in the battle, including Tsu'tey, the new clan leader, Trudy, a pilot who sympathinzed with the Na'Vi, and Neytiri was almost crushed by a dead animal. In the end, it was two (Jake and Neytiri) versus one (Col. Miles Quaritch). Jake was the one who fought Col. Quaritch and his machine for most of the fight, but in the end, it was Neytiri and her bow and arrow that sealed the fight with two shots to the chest.

Jake came out of a link machine transported via helicopter at the scene of the fight, and nearly died from lack of oxygen, but Neytiri found him in his human form and put the emergency oxygen mask on his face, reviving him. In the end, the spiritual leaders of the clan transported Jake's soul from his human body to his Avatar, and now, he was forever a Na'Vi.

As I said before, I really liked this movie for a number of things. First, James Cameron's imagination inspired him to make this movie, and I have to say that his imagination is incredible, from the very concept of the movie being set in a land only a select few can see, to the prehistoric-like animals and the vivid plants. I also like the message this movie sends to its viewers (that everything has consequences; demonstrated heavily in the second half of the movie). In addition, it subtly speaks out against deforestation, only seen in one part of the movie, but very powerful in its appeal. Also, the plot compels you not to leave your seat for any purpose, and you will often miss something big if you go out for a bathroom break or a new bag of popcorn. I give this movie a 5/5, since it is very good, and I don't see any ways in which it can become better.