Ok, so I have been kinda busy lately, but now that my schedule has opened up, I have a lot of time on my hands. I am going to do a video blog on the book i read (monkey Bridge), life, and whatever else comes to mind. I am not going to just make a satisfactory video just for english class, I am going to do a full-on production and hopefully attract a large following.
Now this is no easy task, but I have the advantage of looking at other 'video bloggers' who have made it BIG and understand how they did it.
So here are the most famous people on YouTube:
KevJumba - most popular blogger, funny and entertaining
LonelyGirl15 - formerly most popular female blogger
digitalfilmmaker - THE Best comedian/blogger/film maker
sxephil - I don't know why people watch this!
charlieissocoollike - Some how this guy made it too!
All of these users, have achieved the status of YouTube stars, so they have obviously done something right. If I follow the guidelines set out by these YouTubers, then hopefully I will make it as well.
"Monkey Bridge"
book cover
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Finished 'Monkey Bridge'
I just finished reading Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao and let me tell you, it was quite an 'experience!' As I progressed though the pages I could barely pay attention to the monotonous, boring, and pointless details Mai (the main character) described about her family life in Vietnam. I dreaded nearly every moment I had to read the book, although some parts of it were only slightly bearable. I had thoughts of quitting, but luckily for me, I kept going to the very end.
On page 227, there begins a letter that Mai's Mother (Thanh) wrote to her daughter. This letter changed everything I though I knew and reversed my dismal opinion about the book. With the start of this passage I noticed a difference; this letter, stretching 28 pages, literally turned the book upside down and changed everything. Lan Cao plays the reader right into her grasp, and once she has you firmly in her grip, she shakes you into awe with this final letter detailing the real story of Mai's family that had remained hidden up to this point. All loose ends are tired together and the book comes full circle. (I actually liked the ending!)
Baba Quan, who is at first described as a kind and dedicated farmer is revealed as a cold-blooded Vietcong member who commits murder and turn on his country. Thanh's burn marks are actually from napalm and not from a kitchen fire, and her family history is one of hardship, death, murder, and cruelty.
A book I hated at first, had played me like a game and then unleashed the real story when I was off guard. I would give the book a rating of 3/5 because it is very slow and monotonous at first, but the last 40 pages just blows the reader away and takes back everything you though you knew. The reader is right there next to Mai as she reads her mother's letter to reveal that everything about her family history had been made up and the real story was far less appealing and upbeat.
Villagers Return to thier Destroyed Village
Throughout the book, the narrator is changed from Mai, to Thanh, and to Uncle Michael. Mai takes the perspective of a teenager who grew up in Vietnam during the conflict but wasn't able to take in and analyze the events around her as a child. Uncle Michael is a American Vietnam Vet who takes an outsiders perspective on their lives in Vietnam, and Thanh takes an insiders perspective on the events during the war. The change in narrator occurs though letters, and stories presented to Mai. Lan Cao uses these as a media though which to present her ideas and thoughts about Vietnam since the book is a partial Autobiography.
Although I didn't like the meat of the book, the ending was superb and allowed for closure and a deep understanding of the Vietnam conflict as an insider living it, and outsider observing it, and as a child trying to take it all in.
On page 227, there begins a letter that Mai's Mother (Thanh) wrote to her daughter. This letter changed everything I though I knew and reversed my dismal opinion about the book. With the start of this passage I noticed a difference; this letter, stretching 28 pages, literally turned the book upside down and changed everything. Lan Cao plays the reader right into her grasp, and once she has you firmly in her grip, she shakes you into awe with this final letter detailing the real story of Mai's family that had remained hidden up to this point. All loose ends are tired together and the book comes full circle. (I actually liked the ending!)
Baba Quan, who is at first described as a kind and dedicated farmer is revealed as a cold-blooded Vietcong member who commits murder and turn on his country. Thanh's burn marks are actually from napalm and not from a kitchen fire, and her family history is one of hardship, death, murder, and cruelty.
A book I hated at first, had played me like a game and then unleashed the real story when I was off guard. I would give the book a rating of 3/5 because it is very slow and monotonous at first, but the last 40 pages just blows the reader away and takes back everything you though you knew. The reader is right there next to Mai as she reads her mother's letter to reveal that everything about her family history had been made up and the real story was far less appealing and upbeat.
Villagers Return to thier Destroyed Village
Throughout the book, the narrator is changed from Mai, to Thanh, and to Uncle Michael. Mai takes the perspective of a teenager who grew up in Vietnam during the conflict but wasn't able to take in and analyze the events around her as a child. Uncle Michael is a American Vietnam Vet who takes an outsiders perspective on their lives in Vietnam, and Thanh takes an insiders perspective on the events during the war. The change in narrator occurs though letters, and stories presented to Mai. Lan Cao uses these as a media though which to present her ideas and thoughts about Vietnam since the book is a partial Autobiography. Although I didn't like the meat of the book, the ending was superb and allowed for closure and a deep understanding of the Vietnam conflict as an insider living it, and outsider observing it, and as a child trying to take it all in.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Monkey Bridge - Part 2 (links not working!)
So what is Monkey Bridge really about? I guess I am supposed to be telling you, but I am not sure I really know. It has kind of turned into a diary of events proceeding in a continuous flow, without a separation in journal entries. The continuous flow of ideas connects the past and future. Mai, the narrator in the beginning of the book essentially sets out to learn about her family history and its deep connections to the conflict of Vietnam. Now living in America, she struggles to connect to her Vietnamese roots and understand where she came from. “In America, Borders tended to seem easier to cross, the future itself raucous with possibilities (Cao 27).” Although Mai thinks borders are easier to cross, it is also easier to get lost and forget who you are and where you came from.
I am a little more then halfway through the book. At some points, the narrator changes from Mai, the young Vietnamese American girl to Mai’s Mother, Thanh. After Thanh gets released form the hospital she starts to adapt to the life of a Vietnamese American in “Little Saigon.” At the same time Mai, who is growing up rather quickly, discovers that see can learned about her family history and her mysterious elatives. In my opinion, the most important realization for Mai comes when she says:
"Inside my new tongue, my real tongue, was an astonishing new power. For my mother and her Vietnamese neighbors, I became the keeper of the word, the only one with access to the light-world. Like Adam, I had the God-given right to name all the fowls of the air and all the beasts of the field. The right to name, I quickly discover, also meant the right to stand guard over language and the right to claim unadulterated authority." (Cao 37).
Mai realizes the power of language at this point and uses it to peer into her family past and the Vietnam conflict. In chapter four, Mai uses her newfound skill to read a secret letter she finds that her mother wrote to relatives in Vietnam. Just before she begins her journey into her mother’s past she proclaims, “I took a deep gulp of air and watched myself contemplate the possibility of touching, actually touching, this untouchable part of my mother’s nighttime life.” (Cao 46)
The first letter stretches for 13 pages and is written in italics. There is a change of narrators to the perspective of Mai’s mother, who wrote these letters years ago. Lan Cao employs these letters as a means of flashing back to the past in order to examine events that had gone on in Vietnam before Mai was even born (Basically a time machine).
Overall, I think Monkey Bridge is an interesting story, but lacks the punch of an action-adventure book to keep me reading, and is not sad and gruesome enough to make me feel sorry for the characters involved. I do not feel connected to the events happening in the book. In fact, I feel as if I am excluded from their lives and am just peering as an outsider. It provides me with a new insight into the plight of Vietnamese Americans during this time period, but I don’t know that it is really as extraordinary as the critics proclaim. I will keep reading and do a lively video Blog over my break…after I finish the book!
I am a little more then halfway through the book. At some points, the narrator changes from Mai, the young Vietnamese American girl to Mai’s Mother, Thanh. After Thanh gets released form the hospital she starts to adapt to the life of a Vietnamese American in “Little Saigon.” At the same time Mai, who is growing up rather quickly, discovers that see can learned about her family history and her mysterious elatives. In my opinion, the most important realization for Mai comes when she says:
"Inside my new tongue, my real tongue, was an astonishing new power. For my mother and her Vietnamese neighbors, I became the keeper of the word, the only one with access to the light-world. Like Adam, I had the God-given right to name all the fowls of the air and all the beasts of the field. The right to name, I quickly discover, also meant the right to stand guard over language and the right to claim unadulterated authority." (Cao 37).
Mai realizes the power of language at this point and uses it to peer into her family past and the Vietnam conflict. In chapter four, Mai uses her newfound skill to read a secret letter she finds that her mother wrote to relatives in Vietnam. Just before she begins her journey into her mother’s past she proclaims, “I took a deep gulp of air and watched myself contemplate the possibility of touching, actually touching, this untouchable part of my mother’s nighttime life.” (Cao 46)
The first letter stretches for 13 pages and is written in italics. There is a change of narrators to the perspective of Mai’s mother, who wrote these letters years ago. Lan Cao employs these letters as a means of flashing back to the past in order to examine events that had gone on in Vietnam before Mai was even born (Basically a time machine).
Overall, I think Monkey Bridge is an interesting story, but lacks the punch of an action-adventure book to keep me reading, and is not sad and gruesome enough to make me feel sorry for the characters involved. I do not feel connected to the events happening in the book. In fact, I feel as if I am excluded from their lives and am just peering as an outsider. It provides me with a new insight into the plight of Vietnamese Americans during this time period, but I don’t know that it is really as extraordinary as the critics proclaim. I will keep reading and do a lively video Blog over my break…after I finish the book!
Monday, February 11, 2008
SCHEDULE WITH STYLE...
Aight peeps! Coach says I need to add some stylez to this blog, so lets do it! Now we got some STYLEZ up in this blog! For this post, I am also going to try to write stuff to piss you off, that way you keep reading....
"Your mamma so ugly, when she walked into the Haunted House, she came back out with a Job Application!"
...Now i gottcha!
Aight, so basically, I am really a disorganized person who can't stay on task so im makin a SCHEDULE! Its the last week before break so I am goning to work hard this week, and then do absolutely nothing productve during break.
Monday: Read, read and read some more....
Tuesday: Make a video blog at home (and READ a lil bit)
Wednesday: choose a project to complete for the first grade (and...READ)
Thursday: Do the project in class and after school
Friday: Finish the project and pick a new book.
--------
Sat: chill
Sun: hang out
Mon: chill some more
Tues: do nothing
Wed: DANCE
Thurs: sleep
Fri: chill again
Sat: chill again
Sun: remember to do homework at 11PM
If you read this far, i guess i did a pretty good job!
Here is another..."yo mamma is so ugly, people at the Zoo pay cash so they DON't have to see her......!
"Your mamma so ugly, when she walked into the Haunted House, she came back out with a Job Application!"
...Now i gottcha!
Aight, so basically, I am really a disorganized person who can't stay on task so im makin a SCHEDULE! Its the last week before break so I am goning to work hard this week, and then do absolutely nothing productve during break.
Monday: Read, read and read some more....
Tuesday: Make a video blog at home (and READ a lil bit)
Wednesday: choose a project to complete for the first grade (and...READ)
Thursday: Do the project in class and after school
Friday: Finish the project and pick a new book.
--------
Sat: chill
Sun: hang out
Mon: chill some more
Tues: do nothing
Wed: DANCE
Thurs: sleep
Fri: chill again
Sat: chill again
Sun: remember to do homework at 11PM
If you read this far, i guess i did a pretty good job!
Here is another..."yo mamma is so ugly, people at the Zoo pay cash so they DON't have to see her......!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
'Monkey Bridge' Analysis
I have been reading ‘Monkey Bridge’ for the past three days in class, although I often get distracted by one of my classmates who sits to the left of me. He constantly makes controversial and irrelevant remarks. In addition, I am often obstructed by the temptation to add features to my blog such as my cherished blog ‘view-counter.’
Before diving into ‘Monkey Bridge,’ I did a quick Wikipedia search on the Author and the book in general. What I found greatly helped me digest my reading.
I used youtube to watch historical videos to refresh my knowledge on the events during this time period:
The Author, Lan Cao was born in Vietnam and lived the war as a child. She moved to the USA when she was a teenager. According to Wikipedia, Monkey Bridge is concidered to be "the first novel by a Vietnamese American about the war experience and its aftermath." As I read the opening to the book, I realized that this book was based on realistic events Cao herself experienced while growing up in Vietnam.
For this blog post, I would like to focus on the meaning of the opening in the story and how it progresses in the early chapters in terms of Lan Cao’s goal of writing the book. In the prelude, a quote from T.S. Elliot says…
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock)
And I will Show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at Evening rising to meet you;
I will sho you fear in a handful of dust
Based on background research and reading the back cover, I think Lan Cao is trying to connect past and present though this book. A young girl in the story immegrates from Vietnam to America and this book will tell of how her past and present connect. A shadow that stides behind you is the past, and a shadow rising to meet you is the future.
With the very first chapter, Cao avoids a fancy opening with a detailed discription of the plot. The book starts with a shock, “The smell of blood, warm and wet, rose from the floor and setteled into the solemn stillness of the hospital air. With this opening, Lan Cao is marking the tone of the book and setting the expectations that this will be a serious book with grosome and sad moments. As I read this first line, I realized there is no action-adventure aspect to the book as I had originally expected based on the cover. Although I was disappointed, I was drawn into the story and keep my eyes glued to the pages. I could sympathize with the narrorator who is only an innocent child trying to take in everything that is happening around her. For example, her innocense is illustartes when she says, “Someday maybe we’ll have airplanes that go from Saigon to Washington. And maybe my grandfather will be able to fly over here, just like that (Cao 7)”
I will try to finish the book by Friday and post another blog about it on Thursday, and a final Monkey Bridge Blog over the break reflecting about the entire story. I will try to keep the distractions to a minimum and read ½ hour each day outside of class.
Before diving into ‘Monkey Bridge,’ I did a quick Wikipedia search on the Author and the book in general. What I found greatly helped me digest my reading.
I used youtube to watch historical videos to refresh my knowledge on the events during this time period:
The Author, Lan Cao was born in Vietnam and lived the war as a child. She moved to the USA when she was a teenager. According to Wikipedia, Monkey Bridge is concidered to be "the first novel by a Vietnamese American about the war experience and its aftermath." As I read the opening to the book, I realized that this book was based on realistic events Cao herself experienced while growing up in Vietnam.
For this blog post, I would like to focus on the meaning of the opening in the story and how it progresses in the early chapters in terms of Lan Cao’s goal of writing the book. In the prelude, a quote from T.S. Elliot says…
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock)
And I will Show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at Evening rising to meet you;
I will sho you fear in a handful of dust
Based on background research and reading the back cover, I think Lan Cao is trying to connect past and present though this book. A young girl in the story immegrates from Vietnam to America and this book will tell of how her past and present connect. A shadow that stides behind you is the past, and a shadow rising to meet you is the future.
With the very first chapter, Cao avoids a fancy opening with a detailed discription of the plot. The book starts with a shock, “The smell of blood, warm and wet, rose from the floor and setteled into the solemn stillness of the hospital air. With this opening, Lan Cao is marking the tone of the book and setting the expectations that this will be a serious book with grosome and sad moments. As I read this first line, I realized there is no action-adventure aspect to the book as I had originally expected based on the cover. Although I was disappointed, I was drawn into the story and keep my eyes glued to the pages. I could sympathize with the narrorator who is only an innocent child trying to take in everything that is happening around her. For example, her innocense is illustartes when she says, “Someday maybe we’ll have airplanes that go from Saigon to Washington. And maybe my grandfather will be able to fly over here, just like that (Cao 7)”
I will try to finish the book by Friday and post another blog about it on Thursday, and a final Monkey Bridge Blog over the break reflecting about the entire story. I will try to keep the distractions to a minimum and read ½ hour each day outside of class.
AN INTERESTING STORY
(NON-ENGISH RELATED POST)
My new dance video has been filmed and it is currently being edited. I think it 'HOT AND KRAZY' so I am going to start distributing a rough version to my committee. The first person I will be giving a video is a girl from Pascack Valley that I don't know. Since people love to read about gossip and worthless BS, here is the story:
******************
After about 2 months of dancing secretly, I finally wanted to reveal my hidden talent. Because I was unsure of the reaction I would get, I wanted to debut at a dance were the people didn't know me. I heard that Pascack Valley was having a 'Holiday Ball Dance' so I hoped that the Valley Ice Hockey players could 'HOOK A BROTHA UP' with a date.
Needless to say, 'MY BROTHAZ DIDN'T COME THROUGH' so I took it into my own hands and asked a RANDOM girl I saw walk by the hockey bus. Shouting from the window with everyone watching, I introduced myself as 'Vinny' and asked her to the dance. She said YES!!!! I quickly replied with, 'OK BABE, LEMME GET UR NUMBA.' As a response to my comment she walked away.
(OUCH!...SHUTDOWN...haha)
I was unable to go to the dance, but I was determined to rebound from this harsh shutdown. A few days later, I got the idea to give the secret video of me dancing to this same girl who all the players though was cute...just for laughs.
One of the players on the team gave her my video and after a few days of anticipation, I got a txt message from her. I called to find out what she thought of my video. She said it was REALLY GOOD and wanted to see the next one. (BOO YEAH!!! WHOS THE MAN!!! OH YEAH....IM THE MAN!!!!)
So as the story goes, I still don't know this person, but I am giving it to her first because I don't know what the reaction will be, and a person you don't know isn’t afraid to be a harsh critic and tell you the truth.
************************
SO THERE YA GO...That is the story. Don't know why I wrote this, but it was kind of fun. I guess it was a needed break from reading and analyzing ‘Monkey Bridge.’
My new dance video has been filmed and it is currently being edited. I think it 'HOT AND KRAZY' so I am going to start distributing a rough version to my committee. The first person I will be giving a video is a girl from Pascack Valley that I don't know. Since people love to read about gossip and worthless BS, here is the story:
******************
After about 2 months of dancing secretly, I finally wanted to reveal my hidden talent. Because I was unsure of the reaction I would get, I wanted to debut at a dance were the people didn't know me. I heard that Pascack Valley was having a 'Holiday Ball Dance' so I hoped that the Valley Ice Hockey players could 'HOOK A BROTHA UP' with a date.
Needless to say, 'MY BROTHAZ DIDN'T COME THROUGH' so I took it into my own hands and asked a RANDOM girl I saw walk by the hockey bus. Shouting from the window with everyone watching, I introduced myself as 'Vinny' and asked her to the dance. She said YES!!!! I quickly replied with, 'OK BABE, LEMME GET UR NUMBA.' As a response to my comment she walked away.
(OUCH!...SHUTDOWN...haha)
I was unable to go to the dance, but I was determined to rebound from this harsh shutdown. A few days later, I got the idea to give the secret video of me dancing to this same girl who all the players though was cute...just for laughs.
One of the players on the team gave her my video and after a few days of anticipation, I got a txt message from her. I called to find out what she thought of my video. She said it was REALLY GOOD and wanted to see the next one. (BOO YEAH!!! WHOS THE MAN!!! OH YEAH....IM THE MAN!!!!)
So as the story goes, I still don't know this person, but I am giving it to her first because I don't know what the reaction will be, and a person you don't know isn’t afraid to be a harsh critic and tell you the truth.
************************
SO THERE YA GO...That is the story. Don't know why I wrote this, but it was kind of fun. I guess it was a needed break from reading and analyzing ‘Monkey Bridge.’
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