Reading and My Trend

It's Saturday and I have been sitting at this computer for quite a while. While my schedule has been quite packed and I nearly decided to accompany Holland's Science Olympiad team, I still managed to find some reading. (I usually leave the house at 7:35 AM and get back and around 8:45 PM) I didn't actually go to SO, but I hope the team did well. Anyway, reading: Play scripts, play posters, the little papers with the cast list, the cheat sheet of what scene comes next, etc. Kidding. Although I think I have read all of those. And I saw Susan and Anna at the play! (Ignoring the fact that they know many other people who were also part of the cast)
     Real reading: The END of the Seekers series. I have had the book for so long and not a chance to read it. It's currently sitting sort of near my bed in hopes that I will finish it sometime soon. I am still curious how this will all work out. There are three different types of bears and a shape-shifting bear, right? So how is it all going to end up happily?  I am more than halfway through and wondering if the ending will be very strange. I found only the first book and this book are really enjoyable, because all the ones in between were somewhat similar. There's so much travelling that problems just start getting reused: hunger, tension, where are we going? I don't think there's a chapter that doesn't discuss the lack of food or the joy of finding some. Luckily, the first and the last are not so much of going somewhere as figuring things out. The beginning was neat because each bear had a different background and they each still had their own story to follow, but once all four come together, the story is basically the same other than the shift in the point of view.
     The other thing that bothered me was the idea as a whole. These are bears who are supposed to be facing serious problems, mostly because their homes are being destroyed and they are wandering. Other than the fact they talk to each other and travel together, they seem like relatively normal bears. But then the authors just pulled out this idea of a magic, shape-shifting bear and it doesn't fit very well. I sort of believed that these bears were there and travelling around, especially since they add a map of Canada and list all these very specific places they went through. Facts were used specifically about each kind of bear to make everything seem realistic. So why did there have to be a magical bear? It's not terrible, but it just bothered me a bit.
     Other reading: What is the What. My mom got it from the library and we are both reading it! We just started, so there's not much to say yet. But I am very excited.
     Trend reading this week has been less than other weeks. There was one article that I found in class last week before my eyes were completely screwy from that screen. More and more my topic comes together and then separates. I honestly try to throw other minimalist shoes into the mix, but it's really so hard to. It's becoming barefoot on one side and Five Fingers on the other, because it's so hard to look for both at the same time. But in the article I mentioned I did find something that said that sales tripled since Born to Run was published. I also read little bits of the book online, and read a bit more about it. I'm trying now to really find facts that will help support it, because even though every article refers to it as a rising star in the running world, there aren't that great of facts so far. I think this essay will turn out pretty well!

This Week Was Strange

That means I really don't want to think about next week. Research for my trend? Well yesterday I spent the whole day (ish) at a forensics tournament because ever since I was about seven I have been at the ones in Holland, selling food. No one has worked longer than my mom and I. Most parents stay for one or two years and then let someone else take charge. So every year they go to my mom for advice and totally disregard it. (I may or may not be coming to a point here) Anyway, they let my mom and I take over the cash registers, and we are hopeful that they listened to our advice that the would need ridiculous amounts of ones and quarters because kids come with twenties for a bag of chips (50 cents). Of course, we open up our registers to find one quarter roll to split between both of us, and a total of zero tens, three fives, and twenty-some ones. We are trying to warn the lady in charge that as soon as the lunch crowd hits (anytime in the next few minutes) we will be toast because we have enough change for roughly two kids with twenties. So it was quite annoying and a lot of people now think I am bad at math because I had to keep asking my mom if she had any change and many people thought I just didn't know how to give them change for a twenty. (No, believe it or not, I actually can tell you that I should give you eighteen dollars, but of course I don't have it!) So one poor kid waited for about ten minutes until we could get change for him and a few left without fifty cents they should have had. My point: after seeing a lot of kids go through I did not see any of them wearing Five Fingers or going barefoot. But then again no one was running and I don't think you're allowed to wear things connected to your topic. As weird as that may sound, it is extremely possible that someone might have been giving a speech about the shoes. But then again there are thousands of other topics they might have been doing and some of then weren't even giving prepared speeches. So that's why I didn't post yesterday. Otherwise I have done some additional reading for my topic. I need to start a new paragraph.
     Research this week has been a lot of reading. I've been spending a lot of time with Runner's World (A running magazine) that has different stories about minimalist shoes and some about barefoot running. I found this sort of surprising considering all the ads for running shoes in there. I also found a Popular Science article about bad news for the running shoe. That was pretty exciting. A lot of the things I find link back to two things. Either they read/heard about the barefoot professor and the Harvard study, or they read Born to Run. (I'm not discussing Bruce Springsteen) So I decided it was probably the tiniest bit important to learn about this book. I found a website for the book and what did I find? A list of ten big newspapers that wrote about running barefoot. How lucky! (There is also one of these on the Virbram website for all the times newspapers mentioned FiveFingers) I sort of looked through those and a lot were interviews with the author, Christopher McDougall. Then I found an almost hour long (52 min) Google Talk with the author which I am still working my way through because it's obviously pretty long. So far it's quite interesting and I don't really want to have to pause it. One thing that's been hard is not trying to make this into a persuasive essay. I think it's really easy to just find out why it's good more than why it's growing more popular and where the trend is growing more popular. But it is really weird to think about these people that were told not to run because of injuries and that they would hurt themselves and then they learn about running barefoot and try out shoes like the Five Fingers and suddenly there's no pain. It's also been hard to think about because of something I just heard the author of Born to Run. He just read something that an editor from Runner's World said about how we were not 'engineered' to run long distances barefoot. So I'm sort of curious as to how the magazine has put out multiple articles about how shoes aren't necessarily a good thing and some people might benefit from not using them. I think as of now I have a lot of proof for my trend. :)

Before I forget! This coming Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March 24, 25, 26, and 27) our school will have a performance of The Music Man! It's in the Holland High performing arts center at 7:00 on Thur. Fri. and Sat. and 2 pm on Sun. Tickets will go on sale an hour before and doors open at 6:30! (Or 1:30 on Sunday) Some of you will remember Delaney from last year's class and will recognize her as the leading female role: Marian! I will also be in it as one of the old ladies who walks around and is annoyed with everything that happens until I become irrationally excited. (That's the best way to describe it because almost no one has a real name for their character and if they do it's one that you never really hear) Anyway, you are all invited and I think if you came you'd enjoy it!

And Now For Some Experimenting

This can be so frustrating! It's sometimes hard to tell what is an interesting article and what is just trying to get me to buy a shoe. I looked for articles on barefoot running and minimalist shoes for a while on the computer. Then my mom came in and told me that my brother had sent her an article about it from a study  a while ago. I have been watching video after video after video on YouTube on running barefoot. I found a particularly interesting video that I, unfortunately, didn't ever finish. It pointed out a few things. When wearing running shoes, you generally land on your heel. If you were to take off those shoes and just jump up and down on your heel, it would be difficult because there's not much cushion or anything to make your feet bounce back. (Okay, it's nearly impossible to jump on just your heels) Jumping completely on the toes is a little easier, but there's not much cushion. But, if you try on the forefoot (middle to front), it's easy! (Now half of you feel really embarrassed because you just tried jumping just using your heels and it didn't work.) I thought that was an interesting point to make, although I'm not sure who runs on their toes. So that was pretty weird to think about.
     Then I read a few different news articles in different papers. The website for one of the shoes has links to just about every article written about them. I have been trying to find some studies here and there, and I've found a few. The one I am looking at now is a study from a professor at Harvard, which is actually quite interesting! There is a video that was posted of an interview/ explanation with this man on YouTube, and I think I get why these shoes are so popular. When you prove that heel-striking causes a sharp shock to your body, you have people saying "Oh! Then I better not use shoes!" But then people start to doubt that running barefoot is a good idea. What if I step on something? So then these shoe people jump in and say "Hey! Look at this amazing shoe!" and the attention is brought to a shoe where you move more naturally. (Forefoot strike) Yes, reading and watching for my trend essay.

(And now that I have been looking up this topic I am starting to really want a pair of minimalist shoes. I would probably feel strange using them, since I don't run that much, yet. Thank goodness this isn't a persuasive essay.)

On Romeo and Juliet

     I would like to start off by answering the question of what I would change if writing the play. I think I would end up doing everything differently, but not because I wanted to. If I wrote this play, no one would want to read it because somehow I do not seem to be able to write like Shakespeare. But besides that slightly important detail, I don't think I would change anything. I think everyone agrees that the language in this play is beautiful. Changing it to make it easier for younger people to understand would ruin it. The one thing I might do is change the Prologue. Why remind them what happens in the end? I would keep all the explanations of what's going on (These two families are fighting...) What if someone was hearing this story for the first time? I would want it to be a surprise for them, so although I would want them to know what was happening, why spoil the end by telling them the ending? I don't think I would be happy by changing the end, so that they end up alive. It was really frustrating to have everyone come at the wrong time, but I don't want them to run away, either. It was somehow very satisfying to see them all dead. Maybe because I knew that they were supposed to die. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't change the Prologue. (In case you haven't noticed, I am not good at making decisions.)
     What did I like? There's not much I didn't like, actually. As I mentioned before, although I may not have always understood exactly what was happening, the language was still charming. The very first line I noticed was from Juliet at the end of the first Act. (Now I have to find it so I don't screw it up)

My only love, sprung from my only hate!

Too early seen unknown, and known too late!

Prodigious birth of love it is to me

That I must love a loathed enemy.

     While I had to read it more than once to understand completely, I still thought it was amazing! Then, after we finished that, it was pointed out that it was in iambic pentameter. Now, it's not only touching, but there is a further appreciation for the writing. (It would take me quite a while to come up with a rhyme like that)

     My favorite character was probably Friar Lawrence. He always helped out both Romeo and Juliet, and was trying to help the families by marrying them. He stopped both of them from killing themselves before the end. And he said things like "Holy Saint Francis!" He was the only one who is on both sides, really. Romeo and Juliet were wrapped up in themselves. The Capulets and the Montagues hated each other. Mecrutio sided more with the Montagues. Paris and Escalus didn't really help anyone, and Friar John screws everything up for everyone. How could you not like Friar Lawrence? Sure, it's frustrating that he can't save them, and that he couldn't send the letter properly. But I imagined the ending without Friar Lawrence, and it doesn't look too good. Who would be there that knew their story? There was the letter from Romeo, which basically killed him mother, and there was the nurse, who knew a little about the marriage but really thought Juliet had died. So who better to tell the story than our friend the Friar? Sure, he gives Juliet a highly suspicious potion, but it does what he promised. Our job is not to question why this little man is brewing strange potions in his cell, but to appreciate that he has them on hand, just in case someone needs to appear to be dead.

     After him, I don't know who I like better than others. Nurse was sort of strange, sometimes funny, but strange. Juliet more sensible than many of her relatives (any Capulet) and the Montagues, but she went a little crazy after Act II. There seems to be no point where she is not crying or yelling after that. She cries when she hears Romeo is banished, when she sees Friar Lawrence, and then is 'dead' until she actually dies. It's not the best way to be remembered. What she did say in the first two acts was usually either carefully thought or sounded delicate and beautiful. Romeo always seems to be running somewhere, acting quickly, or jumping around. Strangely enough, I always thought of him to be the more relaxed one. Then there's Mecrutio. At first he was slightly scary and strange. But now I just remember him, thanks to Stephanie, as a strange bird. He just said all this strange things. Sometimes they were funny and strange, and sometimes they were just strange. And everyone else was not that great. Paris and Escalus: not that great. Paris was sort of pushy and loud. Escalus didn't do that much, other than ride in at opportune moments. And how could anyones' favorite character be Tybalt? (My apologies to the person who had to be Tybalt. Anna, I believe) He ruined it for the poor Romeo and Juliet. He did make the story more interesting, but that doesn't mean I have to appreciate it. Let's see, who else? There are little people, like Peter, and the Musicians, and the Apothecary. I'm sure that they all would have been great had they been particularly easily remembered by me. Peter stood there a lot. (None of the servants are that memorable, except for the biting of the thumbs) I don't remember much of the Musicians, other than they wouldn't play a song for Peter. The Apothecary just sold him the poison, reluctantly. So they don't really compete for that spot. Then there's Benvolio. He's just a mischievous friend of Romeo. I thought he was a little more adventurous than Romeo, but not as crazy as Mecrutio. He always seemed to want to cheer Romeo up, get him into a better mood. I bet he was probably pretty sad after both Mecrutio and Romeo died.

     Is there anything else? Struggles? Obviously, line by line wasn't always clear. I think I probably got most of the picture, though. It made sense. Sometimes it was better to have to read a little slower, because it was easier to pick up little details, and appreciate the quality of the writing more.

A glooming peace this morning with it brings.

The sun for sorrow will not show his head.

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;

Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished;

For never was a story of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

From Romeo and Juliet Act V, Scene III,  (317-322)

Romeo and Juliet Acts 4 and 5

     It seems an end has come to Romeo and Juliet, and a tragic one at that. It starts with a frantic Juliet, going to Friar Lawrence. Somehow he manages to keep her from killing herself, which he is pretty good at, since he stopped Romeo before. Then he pulls out a weird potion sort of thing for Juliet to drink. If I were Juliet, I would question what would make me look like I was dead when I wasn't, but it is a pretty good way out, providing Romeo gets the message to come and get her. And she does question it, what if the friar wants to kills her? (No) But what if she lies there and goes crazy? She definitely freaks out, but in the end, she goes home, and 'dies'. She gets out of the wedding and put into the tomb, and lies there for a while. Meanwhile, the Friar is waiting for Romeo to come, and then John comes and tells him he didn't give him the letter. So he was going to hide Juliet in his cell, which doesn't work when Romeo gets there first, kills Paris, kills himself, and then Juliet wakes up and kills herself.  I thought it was sort of funny how she gets mad at him for drinking all the poison. (You didn't leave any for me?) Then everyone from everywhere comes running in, and the two families are friendly again.
     I was honestly surprised to find Paris there. It would make sense he was there, but I still didn't expect him to be there or to suddenly want to fight Romeo. Why is Romeo always the better swordsman? What if Paris just pulled out his sword and sliced Romeo up? But no, Romeo is, of course, the superior swordsman and kills Paris. I thought it was a little strange and a little funny when it just says 'He dies'. I think it's just so you know he's not lying on the floor, dying while everyone is running around, worrying about Romeo and Juliet. I also was surprised to hear Paris was related to Benvolio, I think he said. He should feel bad. WAIT! If Paris was related to Benvolio, then isn't he a Montague and should not be marrying Juliet? That's so weird! Why isn't that a big deal?
     That's the other thing that doesn't seem fair. Why does Lady Capulet get to live when Lady Montague  dies? She should die of happiness because there is no longer a feud, but instead she dies of grief from Romeo. Did anyone else catch that? Not much chance for a good relationship anymore. Poor Lady Montague.
     I was actually surprisingly okay with the ending. At first I was mad Friar Lawrence comes in right after Romeo dies, but then I felt better when they said he had been there for a while. One thing bothered me: Why couldn't the friar get there faster? It seems like Romeo, coming from another city, would take longer than Friar Lawrence coming from nearby, but I guess it had to happen. I liked the last two lines about Juliet and her Romeo, and it was very satisfying to see everyone happy with each other, even if Lady Montague died and didn't quite make it there.

Other than that, I also finished a book called Stealing Death, that I may or may not have mentioned before. I takes place in, as far as I know, an imaginary place, but still based on a desert-based land, (Saharan Africa?) It's about a young man named Kipp, whose family is lost in a fire at his house, but he has to take care of his sister, who survives. Then the debt collectors come and he has to go and work at the rich landlord's house, on his farm. Unfortunately, he loves his daughter, Zalika, and his braid has been shorn by a witch, which is embarrassing for a man to be seen without a braid. His religion is a little strange, and I don't completely understand it, but much of the story has to do with the Gwali and a sack called the Kwaja. So the Gwali is a man who rides of a mystical ghost horse with a pack of dogs, and collects dead peoples' souls in this sack, or the Kwaja. Kipp is angry that he couldn't stop the Gwali from taking his family, so he swears to steal the Kwaja from the Gwali. So he goes to the witch to figure this out, who gives him a potion sort of thing to help steal the soul sack. A lot happens in between, he steals the sack, Zalika almost dies, he saves her by not letting the sack take her soul, but at the same time, he's being dragged by the magic of the sack, which wants to collect souls. It was surprisingly able to really catch and keep my attention, and I really liked how the author had this whole culture for the people who lived there, not just one predictable sort of idea. And there is a series of different problems that Kipp faces, making the book a bit more interesting. Quite good. :)

The Third Part of Romeo and Juliet

Excitement, excitement! What's going to happen? Somehow I feel the ending wouldn't have felt so obvious if they hadn't pointed it out in the beginning. (Okay, duh) What I mean is, I don't think I would expect them  to die in the end if it wasn't the best known love story in history. And I'm still sort of hoping it won't happen. But then again, there wasn't really any other way to fix the fight between the two families. So sad, so sad. A lot of bad things happened. Mercutio died, poor guy, and Romeo gets mad and ends up killing  Tybalt, and that gets him shoved out of Verona. Mercutio was weird and sort of frightening, but I think it's still a little for him to die. It's all sort of painful to read, really.

Then Juliet's parents decide that in a few days she's going to marry Paris. I love how Juliet reacts. Of course, she's really upset that her parents would do anything, but she covers everything so well. She's crying for 'Tybalt', which she was upset about at first, but then she decided that she needed to side with her husband, even though he was the person who killed him. I think she probably realized that it would be hard to hate Romeo, anyway. But then she says "I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear/ It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,/ Rather than Paris. These are news indeed!" I laughed at this, because it seems so obvious, but it really isn't for her mom. It seems like Romeo would be a weird person to bring up, but since she's 'crying about Tybalt', who was killed by Romeo, it's not strange. I still think it's strange how well Romeo fits as being hated by her, and then she says she would rather marry him than Paris. (Little does her mother know she's already married) How much I love Juliet.

Other than that, the story wasn't especially cheerful. We find out Romeo is jealous of the mice that will get to be with Juliet when he can't. Poor Romeo. I did always feel a little bit like the Capulets were the 'bad' people and the Montagues are 'good'. It's hard to love Tybalt, so I don't blame Juliet for not being that sad. It would be sad to know your cousin died, and you would generally be mad at the killer, but how do you excuse his killing Mecrutio without sort of excusing Romeo? At first Juliet is really upset that Tybalt died, and mad at Romeo, but then she sort of drops the anger and realizes it will be more painful to be without him. (She never really did see him as the murderer sort of guy) I feel like I should be angry that Romeo was so irrational to fight Tybalt and kill him, but I also feel like it would be hard to see your close friend die.

Well, anyway, I am still wishing that maybe everyone will live and Mercutio comes back to life. And that everyone will be happy and that Juliet's dad will realize that Paris is not the best person to marry. If only everything could end up happy.

Romeo and Juliet Act 2

So, this week I had almost nothing to do on Wednesday in the afternoon, other than homework for this class. So I read Romeo and Juliet. I was so focused on reading that I really over-read. (Meaning then end of Act 2 is long gone) But I will attempt to remember everything and talk about it. This week, it was both easier and more frustrating. But I think I got it. It's hard not to pay attention too much to one character. I'm trying to catch everything for my character, but then I tend to ignore other people. Not flat out ignore, but sort of focus more on one. I don't really know what to say. If I were Juliet, I would honestly 1) Be freaked out to find Romeo below my window and 2) Calm down. She is really freaks out when the nurse doesn't come back with news from Romeo. Honestly, even if it has been three hours, it's not that terrible to wait for news (She knows Romeo loves her already) I can just see the whole of Scene 2 being ruined by Juliet staying away from that window, or even him going to the wrong window. How does he know which window is hers? I still think it's weird he stood outside her window. Maybe she was really happy to see him there, but I can just see so many things happening. 1) Someone else looks out the window. 2) Someone notices Juliet talking to herself. 3) The window to Juliet's room doesn't open 4) Romeo or Juliet can't hear the other person without talking too loudly to be heard. It's just hard for me to place (Probably because the window to my bedroom is a) Basically behind a little tree b) looking out on what would be my neighbor's driveway c) Only the top half opens - to a screen (which rarely opens), which is still hard to hear out of and d) I share a room with my sister. Her bed blocks off any access to the window from my bed or the doorway. Yeah, it's a little hard for me to picture now, but it is not too difficult to imagine all of it as I'm reading.
     I'm also glad they both like each  other. Honestly, what is Romeo fell in love with Juliet, but she thought he was a terrible person? Then his heart would be broken twice, and the poor guy would feel terrible. I think it's better than they fall in love and die together than not falling in love and not dying together. What else? Romeo excusing his absence was interesting. They demand to know everywhere he's gone! I am puzzled to think how he managed to get out of that one. Then they go and get married. That also confuses me, they never show them getting married? You see them both go to the cell and they leave for the church, but it never continues on to the church. Oh well. Anyway, I do like this play, and I would like to finish it soon! (Unfortunately, I read most of the next Act... Sorry)