Blog 5 pages 255-358

These one hundred pages carry many controversies and secrets that help develop the story. While looking for Caroline, David gets the idea to visit his old house which leads him to the discovery of the 16 year old pregnant run away named Rosemary. She ran away from home after becoming pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, so David decided to bring her home to give her a place to live as well as somewhere to raise her soon to be born child. The next chapter opens up explaining how Norah has had multiple affairs on David starting with Howard and then having 4 others. Throughout the rest of the passages, David moves out into a split house with him on one side and Rosemary on the other, Norah falls in love with a french man named Frederic and Paul does tours across the US playing the guitar at random clubs. One significant passage in this section is, "I gave away our daughter. He signed and put the pen down. He couldn't do this; he could hardly imagine anymore what his life would be without the weight of this hidden knowledge." This quote occurs when David goes to his old house, Norah's current house, while she's in France to look around. He ends up fixing the pipes downstairs and something tells him he should leave a note telling her the truth about her daughter who is currently still alive. Although he ends up chickening out and leaves a note that says, "I fixed the pipe."

Blog 6 pages 359-401

During this last section of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, all the events come together and all of the mysteries are solved leaving the reader feeling satisfied. Norah goes over to David's house to collect any of his belongings she wishes to keep because he sadly passed away. While looking through things he finds his photography of random women and children and she gets very upset causing her to bring them outside and burn them. While this occurs Caroline comes over to David's house and welcome's for Norah to be able to meet Phoebe so they can connect after all their years apart. As far as Paul's world go, him and Michelle are martial issues concerning having child though both of their careers are just taking off. He leaves her and goes to visit her mom and help her clean out her dads stuff. It's here that they decide to visit Caroline and meet Phoebe for the first time. In this section of the book one of the most significant quotes is, "Phoebe took hold of Caroline's hand. "This is my mother," she said" (page 387). The reason why this quote is significant is because even in the presence of her real mom Norah, Phoebe's mom that has helped her grow and become who she is today is Caroline. This deeply affects Norah and it makes her question David's decision to give her up in the beginning leading to many questions that will never be solved as a result of David's death. 

Blog 4 pages 189-254

During this section in the book many important events occurred that helped shape the novel and give it more things to analyze. For example Paul grows up and decides he wants to make his own life decisions and wants to attend Julliard for his musical talents on the guitar. While back in Pittsberg, Caroline talks to Al about what will become of Phoebe's future and as to how she will manage it. A few years later Caroline goes to David's photography show where he was scheduled to show off his artwork. Him and Caroline talk and she agrees to stay after the show so they can catch up and go to dinner although she breaks his promise and he never hears from her again. One quote that is specifically important is when Caroline thinks, "She'd spent too much of her young life waiting-for recognition, for adventure, for love. It wasn't until she'd turned with Phoebe in her arms and left the home in Louisville, not until she packed up her things and moved away, that her life had really begun." This quote symbolized that she no longer needed the support of anyone but herself to live a stable life and care for Phoebe and her needs. Her life was in her own hands and no one would be able to take this from her. I feel that her life officially started with the addition of Phoebe and her challenges, which gave her something to live and care for therefore improving her life. 

BLOG 3 pages 123-188

Many important events occur in this section such as: Norah gets a job, Paul attends school, Caroline continues the fight for equal education for specially challenged children, Al asks her to marry him and after the third time she agrees AND while Norah and David are on vacation with much older Paul, they meet a man named Howard who Norah begins to fall in love with. One quote that sticks out is when Norah is explaining how see feels when she's hugging Howard, "Norah let her breath out, slowly, slowly, wondering if Howard could feel the wild rapid pulsing of her blood." The fact that Howard is making Norah's pulse increase shows that she has feelings towards him and that she feels connected to him in more ways than just a friendship. It's significant because David is not the loving affectionate guy she fell in love with oh so long ago and it shows that she wants someone else in her life. Throughout the remainder of their vacation Norah secretly sees Howard at his vacation home and they continue to get closer and closer. This leads me to wonder how far their "friendship" will last especially since Howard is in the middle of a divorce himself and Norah questions daily why she is still married to David. 

BLOG 2 pgs. 70-122

"But what if they simply erased those growth and development charts, with their precise, constricting points and curves? What if they kept their expectations but erased the time line? What harm could it do? Why not try?" (page 98)

In the section titled March 1965 it begins with Caroline who ended up being a nurse for a retired doctor in Pittsberg. Doro, Leo March's daughter, was a PhD and was one of Caroline's only friends in this new town. When Phoebe ever has problem's Doro is always there to help out and cure her. The next day her friend Sandra comes over so Tim, her son, and Phoebe can play. Caroline met Sandra once while intensively studying about Down's syndrome and getting extremely frustrted in the process. Ever since they decided to have playdates and learn more about this disease to improve their children's mental health. This is nicely described in the quote above. 

BOOK REFLECTION

For outside reading I'm reading a book called The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. The main reason why I'm reading it is because it has been sitting on my book shelf for a really long time and I've always been curious about it. My mom has been recommending it for about a year but I always get sidetracked by other random novels or the novels that we have to read for school. On both the front and back covers of the book are quotes from other authors praising the book. Also, this book is extremely worn in for the amount of times my mom has read it so from the first section it's already promising to be a great read. 

Outside Reading: Blog 1

For outside reading, I'm reading a book called The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. This novel is about a doctor by the name of Dr. David Henry and his wife Norah who live in the year 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky. One day during the middle of a blizzard, his wife starts to go into labor causing them to drive to his clinic that he works at to deliver their child. The doctor they called in got stuck in the snow leaving just Dr. Henry and his nurse that works for him to deliver this baby. Unknown to him, his wife had twins but one was born mentally challenged which he didn't want to have to struggle with during his life so he gave the baby to Caroline, the nurse, and told her to take it to a clinic. In the mean time he has to tell his wife that one of the twins died. She decides to have a church service for it and invite all her friends to mourn the death of the baby. When she tells her husband he replies, "You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Norah. Which, I suppose, its understandable." This quote symbolizes that Dr. Henry thinks his wife is making a big deal out of nothing when really it is totally understandable since she needs a way to overcome the death of a child. 

blog numero quince: Overcoming Odds

From personal experience, playing any type a game of any type of sport is almost impossible unless you have subs. In a soccer game, the MetroStars found themselves in this predicament when 9 of their players couldn't play. Out of these 9 players, 5 were national team call-ups and 4 on the regular roster were injured. Their opponents? The LA Galaxy with a record of (6-4-3) beating the MetroStars (4-3-4). One of the new subs was Kenny Arena, son of Bruce Arena the coach of the United States national team. He scored one of the two goals the Stars scored on the Galaxy while beating them 2-1. At halftime when reporters went up to him to chat about his goal he rushed into the locker room to sow up a scratch on his head showing that he felt it was a great honor to get to play in this game. That goal was his first ever in a professional soccer game. 

Popper, Steve. "SOCCER;Player Shortage Overcome." NY TIMES. 20 Jun 2004. 22 Mar 2009.        http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/sports/soccer-player-shortage-overcome.html? n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/P/Popper,%20Steve&scp=9&sq=overcoming%20odds&st=cse

blog numero catorce: Love

Throughout the entertainment industry the line between gay and "bromance" comes almost similar in acting scenarios. In the upcoming movie "I Love You, Man"Paul Rudd and Jason Segel take their bromance to a new level where Paul needs a new best man for his wedding and Jason's relationship with his fiancee is threatened by going on to many "man-dates". Throughout the comedy these incredible actors come as close to the gay act as possible making it as uncomfortable for themselves as for the people watching them act. They have had many experiences in other films and TV shows where getting close to a male counterpart was just part of the job. "Don't call it a bromance. We hate that word." is what the actors commonly express to people while proclaiming their sexuality as 100% straight. Although they both agree that in these roles its made them realize the greatness of having someone to talk to about male issues and to people who aren't necessarily women. This movie "I Love You, Man" comes out in theaters this Friday. 

Ganley, Doug. "Rudd, Segel show 'Love' for each other." CNN. 17 March 2009. 17 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/17/love.you.rudd.segel/index.html

blog numero trece: War

Just in today, 4 American soldiers were killed in the Iraq War in Afghanistan. The cause: a roadside bombing in one of the worst of several attacks on the United States troops. The attack was initiated by the Taliban who have increased their threats against outside forces exclaiming they'll use more force if they have to to remove outside threats. As well as this incident, just days before a suicide bomber attacked on a roadside bombing outside a high school. This attack killed 2 Afghan citizens and wounded many other bystanders. The wounded consisted of merchant workers who own shops on the street this occurred. One worker exclaimed how they were working and all of a sudden heard a huge explosion. When they looked outside they saw three family members lying on the streets with blood pouring out of them. As days go on the war in Iraq continues as the longest wars ever with multiple deaths and casualties that leave people questioning if the war was a good thing after all. 

Rahimi, Sangar. "4 U.S. Soldiers killed in Afghanistan." NY Times. 15 March 2009. 15 March 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/world/asia/16afghan.html?_r=1&hp

blog numero doce: Colonialism

In France, there is a wall called the Wall of the Disappeared with names of Pied Noirs on it. The Pied Noirs were French colonists who were located in Algeria, Africa. After France was ruled by Charles de Gaulle, millions of pied noirs were murdered or were forced to flee to neighboring cities to try to stay alive. These people wanted rights among Africa and colonized in its colonies to promote these colonies fully developing. A series of wars occurred because of the French goverment not supporting the citizens of france helping the Algerians. This led to thousands of deaths which are now displayed on the Wall of the Disappeared. 

Kimmelman, Micheal. "In France, a War of Memories Over Memories of War." NY Times. 4 March 2009. 10 March 2009. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/arts/design/05abroad.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

blog numero once: Global Issue

Throughout the world, a cut back in jobs is leaving the world in a major economic crisis. Although, job experts say that you should ignore the news about job loss and continue to find a job because there are 1000s out there. They advise the unemployed to look into jobs that are in the stable industry meaning any in the education, health care and government genres. On the contrary, jobs such as construction, banking and manufacturing could be more risky and leave you with a less likely chance of having a long term job. One suggestion is to move to the south. The south is overflowing with jobs because of the health care industry of the old people who move there. The upper midwest such as New York are the worst places to look because thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost and it has an extremely high unemployment rate. Not only does this occur in the U.S. but other countries are dealing with unemployment as well. 

Sutter, John. "To find a job, ignore doom-and-gloom news, experts say." CNN. 6 March 2009. 8 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/05/job.search.tips.industry/index.html

blog numero diez: Holidays

On CNN I read a commentary about Valentine's Day and the stupidity of it. First of all, he states how the holiday really has no meaning it is just a commercial holiday so retailers can make money. Prices skyrocket and advertisers spend huge sums of money to advertise their products to men and women looking to buy their loved ones gifts. Roland exclaims how that how is buying a gift or sending someone flowers on a different day makes it any less special than if it was sent on Valentine's Day. With the suffering economy, spending money on Valentine's Day is an act of stupidity according to Martin and says that this is not the way to bring up the screwed up economic structure of the U.S. This day is seen as an excuse to take your loved one out to dinner or buy them something that shows you appreciate them when really this should occur normally throughout the year. According to Roland, Valentine's Day is a worthless holiday just to increase profits of vendors which in a way I somewhat agree with. 

Roland, Martin. "Commentary: Don't be my Valentine." CNN. 11 February 2009. 3 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/11/martin.valentine/index.html? iref=newssearch

blog numero nueve: Bollywood

Though Slumdog Millionaire was originally seen to be a total box office flop, it magically ended up with 8 Oscars! With it's success led to people questioning if Bollywood movies will start to become even more popular in the United States then they already are. Even though its not 100% Bollywood there are numerous aspects of Bollywood found in the film that keep it more on the traditional Indian side rather than American life. Many indian actors/actresses have made their way to Hollywood such as Aishwarya Rai who was featured in Bride and Prejudice which we just recently watched in class. The idea of Bollywood completely moving to Hollywood is a little unreasonable figuring one of their main beliefs is no kissing. This tends to throw off audiences and it decreases their interest in these types of movies. 

Khatami, Elham. "Is Bollywood coming to Hollywood?"CNN. 23 February 2009. 1 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/23/bollywood.hollywood/index.html?iref=newssearch

blog numero ocho: Culture

In Connecticut, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church pastored by Stephen DiGiovanni brought back the idea of confession booths. When DiGiovanni first entered the church, confessions were told in reconcilation rooms. These rooms were face to face confrontations between a member of the church and a priest. Many people thought that this was awkward and embarrassing and many either rarely did them or refused to do them in general. With the reintroduction of confession booths, about 450 people a week confess their sins to priests using this new way to confess sins. Sin confessing is available in 5 different languages: English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and French. St. John's church is trying to promote other churches to do the same so that people can more openly confess their wrongs they have committed. Some ways in which they are spreading the word is highway billboards, radio commercials and tons of paper handouts. 

Freedman, Samuel."In One Church, Confession Makes a Comeback." NY Times. 20 February 2009. 24 February 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/us/21religion.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=religion&st=cse

blog numero siete: Change

90210 is one of the wealthiest area codes in the entire United States. Although with the current economic slump occurring, even the top of the top finds itself in money troubles. In Beverly Hills, tax revenues will drop about 24 million dollars just in the next year of sales. This means huge budget costs will occur around the city. This is the largest cut that has occurred in Beverly Hills in all of its 93 years of being a city. One loan company was quoted saying they've never given out bigger loans ever before in its three generations of being a company. Another business owner said she had to cut prices as much as 85% to try to draw people into her store. For example shoes she had originally been selling for $1800 she is now selling for $280 even though she purchased them for $800. One economist explained how recessions crumble consumer spending which drops profits of companies. This shows how much change the screwed up economy is producing throughout the USA.

Conder, Chuck and Kara Finnstrom. "9021-Ouch: Recession trickling up to Beverly Hills." 21 Feb 2009 21 Feb 2009

blog numbero seis: Hope

Los Angeles, California sets the scene for 90% of the entertainment industry found in the U.S. Throughout time, people have moved here from their homelands to pursue acting or film careers. Carsten Kurpanek recently moved to LA with his girlfriend in order to start up a film directing career. He found getting jobs was nearly impossible and he had to take an internship that paid him no money. He did however manage to find an apartment that could be paid for by his girlfriends warehouse store job. At the University of Indiana, Joe Misiewicz from the department of communications warns his students of the struggles they may go through to find jobs in the tough entertainment industry. He said about 10-12 make the trek to LA in hopes of finding a good paying job and maybe even being lucky enough to becoming famous. With the huge competition factor, the entertaining business is one of the riskiest businesses out there but if you have hope you can someday achieve your dreams of becoming famous and recognized. 

Wilson, Jacque "Struggling filmmakers do what they have to do." CNN News. 18 February 2009. 18 February 2009. http://cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/18/struggling.in.hollywood/index.html?iref=newssearch

blog numero cinco: Religion/Spirituality

I read an article on New York Times.com called How India Reconciles Hindu values and biotech. In the U.S., stem cell research was banned in 2001 because of George Bush and the Republican Party's evangelical Christian religious beliefs. This gave pure joy to Indian researchers who excelled in stem cell research because they would have no one to compete with in their researching. In the Hindu religion, stem-cell research is allowed which could readily help everyone in the world by finding cures to some of the most common world diseases and cancers. In South Korea, one scientist used the Buddhist belief of reincarnation by cloning saying it recycled human life. Though Ghandi's religious beliefs would not allow such a thing, the new modernized version of Hinduism allows the development of nuclear weapons and biotechnology to increase its power throughout the world.

2 pages
Mishra, Pankaj " How India Reconciles with Hindu Values and Biotech". New York Times. 21 August 2005. February 15 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/weekinreview/21mishra.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

blog numero cuatro: Gender Roles

Throughout the U.S., thousands of women immigrants are being held in Immigration centers. Around 300 were found to have no health care and were found to be mistreated while they lived in these conditions. Katrina Kane, the director of the detention and removal operations for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, argued that these reports were biased and untrue. She claims they only interviewed a small group of people and didn't get the full effect of what is actually occurring in these areas. On the other hand Nina Rabin, an immigration attorney, explains how they interviewed all sides of the argument and couldn't believe the situations these women had to suffer through. The Immigration centers have said they will improve the living conditions of its inhabitants by 2010. One severe case of mistreatment was the instance where one women complained of abdominal pain and 6 months later was found to have a cyst the size of a 5 month old fetus. I think that all over the world the treatment of women still remains an issue even though women are supposed to be treated equally to male species. 

blog numero tres: a culture different than your own

In Africa, one of the main sources of living is rice production. Rice is one of the main crops found in African regions where the environment and land make the perfect combination to produce rice. Last year, a global food crisis occurred when food prices skyrocketed and gave the crop growers little to no profit. In Africa, instead of living on a set salary as most people do in the U.S., people have to rely on what their crops produce and the prices of food throughout the world. One crop owner Mrs. Diop said, “I can double my money. Or I can lose everything.” With the huge risk factor comes scare in the rice market of Africa. If the crops do not succeed this year then the production of rice could dramatically decrease. Workers would become poor with no land because of the debts they are in to fund their crops and the production of rice could become very limited. This would greatly impact the world as we know it now.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-04-17-refashioning-burqa_x.htm
Guttenfelder, David "Breaking Taliban mold, women go into business in Afghanistan." USA Today. 17 April 2005. 11 February 2009.

blog numero dos: overcoming difficulties

Running water vs. rainwater, steak vs. bear meat. These are only some of the differences found in the small town of Akiachak, Alaska with a population of a mere 700 people. In this small town, the language of Yup'ik is spoken which a very unpopular language in the world. For a few years, the chiefs of the town have had a lawsuit to make voting ballots in the language of Yup'ik so the citizens of this town can vote. Being in Alaska, prices for things are already high enough, but in this town prices are almost twice that they are in Anchorage. Since prices are so high many people that live their are forced to move to Anchorage and leave their ancestral town. I think it's pretty sad that this little town lives off the bare minerals of life yet they still are forced to give up things or even move. This town shows how people don't need much to survive as long as they are happy with the little they have and are surrounded by the people they love. 

Berry, Dan "Remote and Struggling, but Still a Bit of America." New York Times. 5 October 2008. 4 February 2009 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/us/06land.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1 

blog numero uno: natural disasters

All over the United States, horrible ice storms have been occurring leaving cities covered in sheets of ice from the ground up. These ice storms took places in cities all over from Texas all the way to the tip of Maine. As a result of this, 17 people died and millions of people were left powerless in the cold winter with ice keeping them stuck inside. Not only did this storm bring a ton of ice, but alot of snow as well with 10-17 inches in some places of the U.S. With being able to drive being put at a standstill, cities everywhere became deserted with the inability to drive because of the icy roads. Weather is a huge factor of life and can make or break many situations. Storms can be deadly and or destructive leaving people sad and in trouble. 

"Winter Blast Blamed for damage, Deaths." CNN News. 29 January 2009. 1 February 2009.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/01/29/winter.weather/index.html#cnnSTCText

Blog 18 January 20th

Today I'm blogging about Obama's inauguration as the new president of the United States. First of all, there were over 3000 police and secret service agents protecting him from all angles and buildings making sure nothing would go wrong. This police force was not only for the president but also for all the other important guests for example Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Jimmy Carter, George Bush and many others. Secondly, there were probably about 5 million people crowded around the Washington Memorial to be apart of Barack's inauguration. It said on the news that 99% of the people wont be able to see or hear anything it's just the fact that they got to be somewhat apart of it that makes them feel it's worth it. Last but not least, I feel the need to say that this is one of the most future forward elections because Obama is the first black president of the United States. I think it will relieve some racial tension and will change elections for the years to come. 

Blog 17 January 19th 2009

Today someone was telling me about a lawsuit against Macy's and Nordstroms. It was all about how someone got hurt in the cosmetics department a couple years ago back in 2003. It was finally settled back in 2005 and now from tomorrow until January 25th their offering a free cosmetic gift worth 15 dollars to anyone who asks for it at either Macy's or Nordstroms. I think its weird for a law suit to result in free products for anyone who enters the store even though they weren't effected at all! I have a feeling that they will run out of things very fast because with this crappy economy no one has money to buy things and anything that is given out for free runs our very quickly. I think it's cool they're doing this and i'm sure alot of people will take advantage of this offer. 

Blog 16 January 13th

This week I decided to blog about a book called Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. Its about an amish family who is living in the late 1990s in an otherwise normal city. In this novel the main character Katie Fisher is only 18 when she is pregnant with her first child. This is extremely unacceptable in the amish community so she murders after she gives birth although there is a twist. No one knew she was pregnant and she swears on her life that she did not commit the murder nor that she was even pregnant though technology said otherwise. Ellie Hathaway an attorney who used to be amish herself comes to down and gets herself involved in this case. It's full of interesting twists and turns that lead you wanting more and make you want to keep reading. It is a very good book and i would highly recommend it. 

Blog 15 January 11th

I read an article on  NewYorkTimes.com called "Led by Allen’s 36, Celtics Return to Winning Ways". In Sundays game, the Boston Celtics claimed victory over Toronto. This was their first win since they're four game losing streak. The win was mostly thanks to Ray Allen who scored a whooping 36 points including 8 three pointers which that alone is 24 points. The end score was 94-88 which was also thanks to Rajon Rando who scored 14 points and ex-Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett with 10 points. The article also featured many other teams and the players that helped them achieve victory. The Suns beat the Clippers mostly thanks to Amare Stoudemire who scored 24 points led them to a close victory at 109-103. The Lakers barely beat the Heat thanks to Andrew Bynum's 24 points leading them to a 108-105 victory. This is their 30th game they've won which is a first for a team in the Western Conference. Another close match was the Warriors vs. the Pacers which was 120-117. 

blog 14 January 6th

I read an article somewhere I don't remember where about a 6 year old who stole his parents car to drive to work. He missed his bus and his mother was home but she was sleeping. This drove the 6 year old boy to take his moms car keys jump in the car and drive to school. He started driving but while driving was swerving and running over the curb. About a few streets down he finally crashed into a street lamp pole. He wasn't wearing a seat belt which increased his injuries. He was rushed to the hospital but was later admitted into school that day. I think its incredible that a 6 year old would even think about driving a car to school let alone actually pursuing it. I think parents should be more careful where they leave their keys and also talk to their kids about NOT driving cars.

blog 13 January 4th

I read an article on cnn.com called "Actors' son Jett Travolta dies at 16". On friday January 2nd, Jett Travolta, John Travolta's 16 year old son, passed away in the Bahamas. He had a seizure and hit his head but the exact cause of death is unknown because his autopsy hasn't yet taken place. Jett Travolta suffered from a disease called Kawasaki disease that has caused him to have seizures throughout his lifetime. There is no known cause of this disease and it affects the blood vessels. Usually its only found in children ages 2-5 and it is very rarely seen in teenagers. Since the Travolta's were regular customers of the West End resort, they were close to the owners and workers. The resort was very sad about the news of his death and many were effected. I think it's really sad.

blog 12 January 4th

I read an article on cnn.com called "'Marley' on top for second straight week". For the first few days of 2009 movie sales are already sky rocketing. The new family flick Marley and Me has pulled in whooping $106.5 million dollars. Many other movies came somewhat close but none of them pasted the $100 million dollar mark except for Marley and Me. The others were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Valkyrie and Bedtime Stories. Bedtime Stories produced about $85 million even though critics bashed the movie and gave it horrible reviews. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button made $80 million dollars which is good for the producers because it was a very expensive movie to create. Valkyrie produced $60.7 million dollars so far which is surprising because it was very unknown before it came out in theaters.