Things Really Do Fall Apart

This is the second time that I have read the book by Chinua Achebe, the first being my freshmen year in English. I must still say that it is a difficult read. It's written in a broken English like manner; the narration is clearly coming from someone with a foreign grammatical and phenatical background. This is good though, for it makes the book so much more authentic. Once the reader picks through the language style (with the help of an included but still limited glossary at the back of the book), the underlying message is a universal story of greed and power. Look around. It's everywhere and everywhere. And Achebe brings it to us in the form of primitive African tribe, an issue that the majority of us are uneducated about. But you would have to be a blind man not to see it. While reading, I myself was not that interested; the plot was slow moving and the verbal complexity constantly urged me to put the book down. But I had to write this blog, so I stayed the course. A father disregards his sons friendship and love to maintain his social image. This is not suprising. But in the simplicity and innocence of tribal life, it is so much more touching and effective then, lets say, a generic story about a middleclass man struggling with money and his relationships towards his sons (a hint at Death of a Salesman though a great stageplay). It's things like these that we see everyday. But skinny twelve year old boys named Nwoye make everything much more interesting. But regarding something more relevant...greed. Greed dictates the actions of a big chunk of society. Washington State University has a nice publication discussing greed and it's beginnings. From reading this alone, greed is apparently somewhat biological. Human behavior is biological. People behave based on a chemical balancing of the biological and pyschological constructs. Greed is a part of everyone, just to different degrees. It takes a person's mental strength to overcome the temptations of greed, and to emerge from life without the real things that matter falling apart.

Technology is Everywhere

For starters, I figured that I'd throw up Birth of An Idea, the film that me, Ross, Darren, and Jake made for the Apple Insomniac Film Festival, but then got disqualified from for using copyrighted music without giving the required forewarning. I still think we made a kick ass video, and I wanted to see how it would look on a blog :)

When I sat down to blog this morning, I said to myself, "What could I possibly write about today?" And I'm still thinking that right now. I've finished reading all four books for the projects, and I've managed to write most of my previous blogs on subjects related to them, but today I honestly can't think of anything. I'm listening to Andrew WK right now. He's an incredible artist, if you've never heard of him you should check out his work (Party Hard and She is Beautiful are both sweet songs). But anyway, regarding, school, and English and books (you know, all that good fun stuff), I feel some sort of unifying trend represented by all of the books I've read; and I'm sure others in the class may feel the same way. I guess you could think of it like Stanley Milgram's theory of six point relations. Milgram, who is well known for the manipulative Milgram Experiment, did a study demonstrating how everyone is connected through everyone else in the world through a system of six people. For example, I may be friends with a person who is friendly with a man in showbiz, who has a friend in California, who in turn is going out with the daughter of a producer, who is friendly with Judd Apatow, who is recently very close with Seth Rogen. So through six people, I am actually somehow connected to Seth Rogen. This idea seems quite useless, but it is true. So with it in mind, I present a question; can main character Simon in The Sunflower be connected to someone in Herland or even to Alex in a Clockwork Orange? I know that for the most part these books are fictional, but if you use your imagination, it's very possible for them to be connected. Kind of like in Birth of An Idea. If you took the three minutes to watch the prodigal flick, you'll realize how inventor "Cenzo" was connected to Steve "firepits" Jobs simply by a floating piece of paper, and an idea that became a revolution.

...About Me

I love to rant. There are things that come up in conversion that always drive me towards going off on tangents, spitting out my opinions in a sometimes barbaric manner, though I usually keep cool, ranting with utmost sophistication. I think that for me, these common rants are a form of introspection. It's not uncommon to find someone I'm friends with, either from my previous life or my days today, who will make some comment like, "Ha. I love it when Cenzo goes off on his rants." It's just a part of me. It's my personality, my character. Right now, I'm a little confused about where I'm supposed to be. I usually find guidance through music, or abstract art, but recently these methods of relival haven't been working out too well for me. So I have turned to literature. Yes, I've turned to books. To be honest, I'm not fully satisfied by the mandotory collection offered in English, and I have read several of the pieces in my ealier years. But you have to get work done to get the grade you want. But in my scholastic readings I have noticed the prevelant idea of character development. Though each books plot varies greatly from the others, the characters sturggles and development over time, when stripped down to thier primitive forms, are very similar. In A Clockwork Orange estranged main character Alex engages in a full personality change for the better of society, yet destiny drives him back to his original violent self. In The Sunflower Simon Wiesenthal faces a personal struggle, dealing with the forgiveness of a party and a particular man that has treated him in the most unhumanly fashion. In Herland, there is an overall struggle trying to advertise the capabilties and equality of women. I know that this post is turning into a laundry list, but having all the scenerios back to back, fluff free, allows for the best possible comparison. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo faces a personal struggle, trying to protect his own name in the eyes of his community, rather than respecting a brotherly love developed by his very own son. These dilemmas all vary, but If you look at them through "simple goggles", as I like to call them, you will notice that the common trends simply involve characters battling personal issues, centered around a certain protagonist, creating the ambiance that a good novel should. Then you might just say, "Hey I could right a book." And you may just try. Good luck though, because when you sit down and stare at the blank computer screen, a rushing rage will overcome you. Because you may have some great ideas, but no way to communicate them to the computer sitting in front of you. I wish you good luck in your endevours; as Bono says, "One love,"... peace out, and remember just as all characters develop from similar correlating ideas, we are all people and must coexist.

Sunflowers Stand Tall

I started reading The Sunflower, and I am predicting that the book will deal greatly with the ideas of will power, character, and heart. Just from reading the blurb, it appears to be quite an interesting story, and I think it may be true (the name of the main character is the same as the name of the author). The story deals with the relationship of two strangers who firmly support different causes, one of them being the driving force behind the prejudice violent and hate crime of the Holocaust and the other being the victim. And at the end, the social bully asks for the hurt's forgiveness. I do not yet know if he gives it to him, but it brings up a good question. Can anyone possibly find the space in the heart to forgive someone who has hurt them so deeply, emotionally, spiritually, and physically? Can a person honestly let something so crushing walk freely, granting him a vocal pardon? I don't think I could ever forgive someone who tore apart my life and family in such a barbaric way. They say that it's good to forgive and forget, and I do agree with that, but the weight of this particular issue is so heavy, it's so unbelievable, that I don't think it's possible to let it be. I don't have any family ties to the Holocaust; I've just learned about it a lot in school. But if some group of people came into my life, killed my family, mocked and condoned my religion, imprisoned me, and broke me down until all I had left was the deepest darkest sanctuary of my own mind, I would never be able to forgive them. That's what I feel; no Gandhi, Confuscious, or Mother Theresea will ever be able to change my opinion in this aspect of personality. Call me cold, or call me bold. People should stand for what the believe in, regardless of the consequence. And to allow for someone to walk all over you and spit on you and to then say, " Oh don't worry about it buddy, it's ok," is like saying I am the ultimate example of a pushover, a heartless soul of a human being, and as long as violence is ceased, I am willing to be embarrassed and disrespected until the end of time. And when everything's over, the question you should be asking yourself is, do you have your very own face in this generic world?

Untiltled

I've been reading the book The Road, written by the acclaimed Cormac McCarthy (he wrote the book No Country for Old Men). I just wanted to take some timeto note how powerful this book really is. It is the story about a father and son in a post apocalyptic world, and the father goes through great trouble to protect his son and to survive. It shows a parental relationship that cannot be broken by anything; not by hunger, not by sickness, cold fear, undefendable violence. Its written simply, yet descriptively. And though it's not a required reading for this marking period, I am reading it because it is so enjoyable. As I write this post, a song just popped into my head; Father and Son , by the early Cat Stevens. Some may know him as Yusuf Islam, but you should recognize Cat Stevens. Cat was a great political folk artist; his music was innovative, original and moving, and before he went crazy and got exiled from our country, he wrote some very inspirational music and was a artistic icon of pop culture. Though I haven't finished reading The Road, I can make a repelling connection between this book and A Clockwork Orange. In The Road, the world is already torn apart by some unkown evil that has left everyone dead, and those alive are still being hunted. The victims are not just killed; they are tortured in a way unkown to the reader but still quite scary. The father and son are moving down the road, following a torn up map, trying to survive. A Clockwork Orange deals with the crumbling of society from its youth, but at a point where decent and honest living is still in existence. A Clockwork Orange is cold and dark, and I feel that the majority of readers do not connect on a personal level. McCarthy's book demonstrates the strongest of father son relationships, and a lot of people can appriciate that.