3/23 Spring Break Post

Over Spring Break I attended the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. I haven't been to the zoo for a very long time and it was different to see how alike most of the animals interact with each other a lot like humans do. Most of all, the monkeys and gorillas "play" with each other a lot like a human would interact with another human. The two gorillas in the cage helped one another by cleaning them and playing with them. The two kinds of animals were very helpful to each other. The monkeys helped the little ones clean themselves, help them up the trees, be motherly, and show their little monkeys where the water and food is. It was neat seeing them all acting like we would to our kids or how our parents would take care of us.

Wendell Berry Response

I enjoyed reading this poem. The overall message I got from it was basically live your life to the fullest, and do things you would never dream of doing in your normal life. He talks about doing things to please others, not just yourself. What I got out of it was to do something spontaneous, something nobody would see coming. He makes it all seem so easy and so surreal. The poem was very real and inspiring to me.

Wildness Symposium

I chose to go see Rick Bass on Sunday night during the Wildness Symposium. I chose to go to his reading becasuse in class when we read Ninemile Wolves, his piece was one of the most I got engaged in. At the reading, Bass read two stories from his new book. He read, "Eating" and "Titan". I enjoyed his last reading the best, Titan. It was about going to the ocean and viewing a rare occasion called Jubilee. The reading caught my attention the most because he used more of a intriguing way to get my attention somehow. I had never been to a poetry reading or the Wildness Symposium before, but I actually kind of enjoyed it. I chose to go to Rick Bass, because out of all the writers coming to the Wildness Symposium, he stuck out the most when I was reading about him in American Earth. His readings were a lot different than those of others we read. His was a lot more detailed and is more elaborate with his descriptions which makes it easier for me, as a reader, to comprehend what he is saying. Overall, I enjoyed listening to Rick Bass speak and in the future I would probably go see him again.

Blood Dazzler

-Break the piece down paragraph by paragraph (or section by section). How does each piece act as a "building block"? How does the writer create dramatic tension or interest through these building blocks?

I chose to answer this question according to the poem, Why New Orleans Is, on pg.6

As I was reading the first half of the book, this actual poem stood out to me the most. I thought it had the most attenting getting type of language and detailed words. Reading each stanza made it more easy to understand what the author's message was. The first paragraph introduces the stereotypical type of person or woman she is trying to explain. It tells us about where they are and what it's like. It's easy to conclude they are women and/or men in a bar in New Orleans. If you haven't been to New Orleans it would be difficult to depict that it was the setting without using the title for help. The first paragraph really gives us an overall perspective of the setting and place. It also introduces us to the phrase, " breasts swag in unison to You Can't Hurry Love" which is also mentioned in the ending paragraph. The first almost seems like they are there looking for love, but can't find it.

The second paragraph then goes on to tell us readers about the atmosphere and environment of New Orleans. I kind of laughed a little while reading this paragraph, I thought it described any typical get out of town weekend. It put a picture in my mind of three single women looking for love, taking a vacation from work to go to New Orleans and get away for the weekend, do some partying, and get too drunk.

The last paragraph is built upon the first two. The whole poem kind of tells us a story about the girls going to New Orleans, looking for love, drinking a lot, going home, and not conquering finding the love they wanted. The end paragraph is like the end of the story. It tells about them going home, and that everybody needs a crazy couple nights every once in a while. This particular poem really interested me. I didn't quite understand it the first time I read it, but after reading it in class I understood it more and what the author was saying.

3 50 Word Snapshots

Mexico: Last year for spring break I went to Mexico. It was a new experience and visual that I hadn't ever seen before. Everything was so fresh and clean looking( not like the sterotype of dirty Mexico that most people have.) It had such a relaxed look and it wasn't intimidating to be there. I wasn't afraid of what was around me since it looked so relaxed. The sun was always shining and it was always warm. The ocean was sky blue, not brown and dirty.

Colorado: I used to travel to CO with my family every year for Thanksgiving. Colorado usually looks the same year round, only this year it was a blizzard. Everything was a white out and the visibility was short. On the road it wasn't pretty, dirty snow and disgusting slush, but on the mountains was soft, cotton ball like snow laying on the mountains. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen.

Minnesota: I took a family vacation to Lake Vermillion in MN. It was the middle of August and sweltering hot. The view was nothing like the view in MX or CO. It had a way more relaxed view and atmosphere than MX did. It was silent during the day and silent during the evening. Looking out of our log cabins were docks and the lake. Every night you could watch the sunset right outside of the cabin and see the reflection on the lake. I had never experienced something like that before and it amazed me to see the reflection. When the sun was the highest, it covered the whole lake and when it was the lowest it only covered 1/4 of the lake. It was relaxing to watch and a wonderful sight to see.

Hometown Map

This is the map I chose to represent my hometown, Johnston, IA. There isn't much included in this map besides, the state, and a few towns labeled, Johnston, Lincoln, Omaha, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux Falls. The blue outlines on each side of the state represent rivers. A lot of stuff is not represented in the map. It is very vague and not much detail. It doesn't show roads, interstates, or highways. It doesn't include lakes or show elevation. When i clicked on this website this picture was found, it was a web page about the city of Des Moines an Johnston. The photo does a good job representing the town and the placement of it and it was a good picture for the web page, to inform people where it is located. I don't think that it goes too much into detail because it's more of an informative web page about the state of Iowa, rather than getting into depth about just the city of Johnston.

Questions for Bass and Williams

What or who inspired you to be a writer?

How do you think of the topics and ideas that you write about?