War

Forest Gump.


"Mama said, lifes like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get." Forest Gump said. The film Forest Gump, is the ultimate representation of war. It may not be super heavy and depressing but at the same time it still reminds me of war all the time. Forest is sent to war in Vietnam where he meets his best friend Bubba. During the war scenes that they show there, Forest gets shot in the ass, Bubba gets shot and dies, and his Lutenet Dan gets both of his legs removed. When I think about the war that they protray in this movie, and how it is lighter and not as heavy as say Saving Private Ryan which is really heavy and more depressing, I think I like it better because it doesn't make you feel as sad I guess. It also has very funny parts to it, that are hilarious. Everybody has different opinions on war, it will always be that way. Although, I believe that war is not the way to go. PEACE

Holidays

Miracle on 34th Street.


When I think about the holidays, I think about the film, Miracle on 34th Street. Directed by Les Mayfield. It is about a little girl who doesn't know whether or not to believe in santa claus, and throughout the story she begins to believe in him again. She believes that just knowing that he is real is the best present of all. Whenever I watch this movie it reminds me of when I was a little kid, and started to doubt that santa claus was real. when I was about the same age as the little girl in the story, I started to doubt whether or not santa was real and I asked everybody and their mother basically if he was real or not and everybody said of course he is! So after that I believed that he was real until I actually figured it out. I wish he was real, he makes the holidays so joyus. I love christm

Bollywood

Bride and Prejudice.

Bollywood, a type of film production in India. During class we vied the film, Bride and Prejudice, a make on a bollywood film. Although it was not a true bollywood film, because therefore it would have been around four hours long, it still had the same general pattern. The film reminded me very much of the novel we read in class, Nectar in a Sieve, during the film i found myself comparing and contrasting them multiple times. The characters were similar. The character from the novel, Rukumani and the character from the film, Lailita were very similar despite having a few differences. They are both Indian, literate, and traditional, althought Lailita is absolutely stunning while Rukumani is just a plan average women. They are many other similarities and differences from the novel and the movie as well.

Culture

Once again I was watching TV today flipping through channels, and I began watching E. As I was watching, I thought to myself what we consider important. Celebrity fashions, latest trends, must haves, newest cars, etc. The show went over the normall celebrity trends, and showed everything from the Oscars and every single latest must have trend you need to have. As I watched I got a funny feeling, thinking about what our priorities are. As I did this, I compared the culture of America to the other different cultures around the world. I thought about the book we juts finished in class, Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markanydama. The characters in the novel live in India, and live in severe poverty. They live their life to the fullest, and appreciate everyday they live. Every little tiny thing they get in life, they work their ass off for, the earn what they get, nothing is handed to them for free. They feel lucky to even be alive, living a life of suffering and starvation. While in America, we live a life of adundance, and feel like we need to have all these unneccesary luxuries and get upset when we don't get them. When I think about this, I feel as if we are spoiled, not everybody in America, but our country as a whole. I think about culture and appreciating things alot.

I watched this show on television, on channel 49, Mondays @ 9.

Change

Frey, James. My Friend Leonard. 1. New York: Penguin, 2001.

As I continue to read My Friend Leonard, I continue to realize it is all about change. James, the recovering drug addict and alcoholic, turning his life around to live a sober life because if he doesn't his chances of surviving are slim to none. When I first began reading A Million Little Pieces, I immediately made a connection to my life. I have two older cousins, who are both recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. As I continue reading this book, I become scared, scared of what my own cousins are going through. The scared times, the temptations and heartache. It breaks my heart to think about what they have been through, the choices that they have made, and how they were wasting their life away for so long. As I look at them now, I see Corey, the older one (27) who is turning his life around, he is in culinary school and looks to open his own resturant sometime soon. He is changing his life for the better, and becoming the person that we all knew that he could always be. While I look at Pete, the younger one (24) my heart breaks. His story doesn't have as much of a happy ending. He was sober for around a year, he was doing okay and everybody was excited. His daughter, Gabbie (3) who he named after me, loved her dad more than anything. When one day, he dissapeared. He was juts gone, no call, no nothing, just gone. He went to his parents house when he knew they were gone, stole their personal items, and sold them. His sobriety was lost, and he was gone. I wish I could say that things have changed, but they haven't. He still vanishes, abandoning everybody and everything, taking no responsibility. My big cousin, who I loved with all my heart, was changed and not for the better. As I read along in the story, I would find myself crying at times, wishing that Pete could have changed for the better and found his way to a better life. I wish he knew, how much I love him, how much we all love him, we just want him back. James had his family, they loved him but they couldnt support him until he changed his life around. I continue reading, almsot done and read the journey of James as it fills me with emotion. I have faith in Pete and wish he knew how much I am worried about him. I love you Pete, and wherever you are, I hope you're okay.

Hope

Frey, James. My Friend Leonard . New York : Riverhead Books, 2005.

Hope, intransitive verb1: to cherish a desire with anticipation. What does hope mean to you? My Friend Leonard shows the utmost of hope in a man's life. James Frey, recovering drug addict and alcoholic sturuggles through desires and temptations everyday of his life. While he struggles through these desires he faces heartache along the way, the love of his life Lily, taking her life. James was just released out of jail and was on his way to see her, when he received a frantic phone call from Lily. "My grandma died, what am I going to do now? I need you here James, you are all that I have that, I can't do this without you." (18) The phone call made Jame's heart drop, he was on his way but wouldn't be there for about 9 hours. He speed, and when he got there..he found out that Lily didn't wait for him, she had taken her own life, she hung herself in the shower. The tragedy drove James to a breaking point, he went down the street and bought a large bottle of alcohol..he sat in his car and stared at it. Was it worth it? Throwing everything you have worked for, to just throw it away? His unfailing faith carried him through, he left that bottle of alcohol in his apartment starring at him in the face, and it kept him going everyday, knowing he didn't want to go back. While I was reading, the novel seemed to be easy to contrast with Nectar in a Sieve, the novel we just finished in class. When I was thinking about it, when James goes through a loss of a loved one, he is heart broken and can barely do anything, and risks giving up his sobriety while when Rukmani goes through a loss of a loved one, she moves on right away, excepting the fact that there is nothing she can do about it. The different hope that each of them has, they each have a goal that they want to reach. Rukmani, wants to live a happy healthy life and return home to her family, while James wants to live a sober, clean life, and they are both willing to do what it takes to get that, and their hope is what pushes them to get through the heartache.

Religion

Frey, James. My Friend Leonard . New York : Riverhead Books, 2005.

Religion, spirituality, believing, not beliefing. These topics are strong subjects with wtrong opionions. Recently I have started reading the sequel to A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, My Friend Leonard. I was going to begin this book a while back when I first finished A Million Little Pieces but I was distracted. Though now that I have started, it is hard to put it down. The rugidness of the language and the story leaves you with chills. While James is continuing his journey with sobriety, religion enters his life. Everybody trying to get him to believe in God. "It will help you get through, this journey, believe me son. Nobody can give you what God can." (183) People pushed him towards religion more and more. He wasn't having it, one bit. He was not going to have people force him to believe, if he was going to believe he wanted to discover it on his own. Can somebody make you believe? Can you truly believe if its forced? The question comes to my mind from time to time while reading. The thought of having religion pushed on you, believe this, believe that. I don't think it could work, at least not on me. As James went on with his journey, he discovered God in his own way. Not forced, not pushed, but on his own terms. he discovered it slowly, but it helped him learn about himself. When I think about this in comparison to my life, I remember when I was little I had a nanny, her name was Laura. She was a very nice girl, who had recently transformed her life and become a strong student at the University of Minnesota. I was 6 years old at the time, and she sat me down one day, telling me about religion and God. "You have to believe Gabbie, your life won't be the same without God looking down on you." Once again, I was only 6 years old. At 6 years old, the information overwhelmed me, confusing me and making me think. I went to my mom and asked, "Mom do I have to believe in God?" She looked at me confused, my family is Catholic but they would never force it on me. I told her about Laura telling me I had to believe, she look at me concerned, than she talked to Laura to next week and said that she wouldn't need her anymore. I felt bad, but at the same time I was only 6, and I didn't need anybody pushing God on me. As I connect this to my life, I find myself relating to Jame's situation and i understand where he is coming from. Don't push religion on somebody, let them discover it on their own terms.