Final Blog

Well were finally done! After an entire semester of fairy tales I'm glad to take a break. But even after this semester I know I'll never be done reading fairy tales. This class has definitly tought me that so many stories are connected from fairy tales. I cant wait to keep reading more!

Final Thoughts on His Dark Materials

I really really liked the Dark Materials trilogy. It was such an easy light read that I found myself reading for hours and not even noticing. I would sit down expecting to read for only about an hour but when I finally looked at the clock almost 3 hours had passed.

The Golden Compass.
I thought this was a great book and when I started it I thought it was going to be a lot like the movie yet when I was finished it was completely different then the film. It was much darker and a lot less light hearted. The ending was also extremely different. In the film they all sail off happily on their way to save her father yet in the book she leads her best friend Roger into the hands of her father who kills him trying to open a portal into a new world. I also thought the interaction between Mrs. Coulters Daemon and her Uncle's was kinda strange.
Found this poem on Wiki


Into this wilde Abyss,
The Womb of nature and perhaps her Grave,
Of neither Sea, nor Shore, nor Air, nor Fire,
But all these in their pregnant causes mixt
Confus'dly, and which thus must ever fight,
Unless th' Almighty Maker them ordain
His dark materials to create more Worlds,
Into this wilde Abyss the warie fiend
Stood on the brink of Hell and look'd a while,
Pondering his Voyage; for no narrow frith
He had to cross.
— Book 2, lines 910–92

The Subtle Knife
I thought this book was way better then the first one. It definitely answered a lot more questions about Dust and Daemons. It seems like I was constantly tabbing pages and writing down questions. I also really like Will and I thought that it was interesting when Lyra knew she could trust will due to the fact that he was a murderer. She decided that murderers were trustworthy people and she felt safe around him. I have know idea why she thinks killers are trustworthy but whatever.
I also got super excited when the computer finally began talking to Mary on pg 481 and told her she could find the portal in Sunderland Ave. I thought that was so cool but it was way to late at night to tell anyone and no one would be as excited as me about it.

I also thought it was really gross when Iorek ate Lee Scoresby. I just thought it was kinda nasty.

The Amber Spyglass
This was the most confusing book in the series. I really didn't know who's side I was on anytime. I didnt know if I should be angry at Mrs. Coulter for keeping Lyra in the cave or if I should feel sorry for her because Lyra hates her so much. I think that Pill wants his readers to be questioning Mrs. Coulters love for Lyra so the reader can be thrown around just at much as Lyra. I also didn't even know how he parents felt about Lyra and the Authority and I was really shocked that they sacrificed their lives so Lyra can have a happy and full life. I never saw that coming and I was totally shocked. I doubted her feelings for lyra the entire book. But then when they turned out to be completely selfless I was glad that they truly loved her.
I was also glad he told us what Will's Daemon was, I was hoping that he would the entire book. I knew that it was going to be a cat.

I did really enjoy reading the books and I will definitely recommend them to my family and friends.

Final Thoughts on Alice In Sunderland

I just have to say I really did like the Alice in Sunderland novel. I loved how there was so much to look at and even after looking at the novel over and over there was still so much to see. The one thing though was it did get pretty boring after a while but there was just enough little side stories and interesting facts that kept me interested.
My favorite pages in the book were the paintings they dissected and looked at. There was so much in those paintings that I didn't notice half the details.
I also really liked the story about the Lambton Worm. I thought the drawings were great and extremely well done.
I really like the dream sequences he did and some of them were really interesting and made me think a little bit. A couple times I had to reread the pages and figure out how everything worked together. Like the scene where he walks into the theater and Tweedle Dee and Dum dress him up and he steps out on stage as the Rabbit guy from the beginning. Except when Tweedle Dee looks at the reader he looks kinda creepy.

Yet there was so much in the novel I don't think I could ever be done finding new things.

Last Thoughts on Through the Looking Glass

This was also my second time reading Through the Looking Glass and I must say I think I like it a little better then the first one. There are a few things I like better. I like how there is an underlying theme throughout the story, I like the chess game thats always present and also I like how Alice takes a more independent stance. In Wonderland Alice was just a little scared girl and in this one she was independent and more determined. There was also a goal she was striving for the entire book. No matter that this book was just as chaotic there was still a method to her maddness. Unlike the other one you knew where it was headed and could follow the story a little better. The entire story she is moving forward to becoming a queen and you could track her movements.

One of my favoriet parts in the story is the fight between the Unicorn and the Lion. I just thought it was hilarious how they fight so hard for a crown that neither one of them could have. And I like how the king just laughs it off and thinks nothing of it.

Final Thoughts on Alice

Well with this being my third time reading Alice in Wonderland I didnt expect to learn anything new or see anything differently, but after our class discussions and reading some blogs I figured I really couldn't expect not to learn anything new. I never read very deeply into much of the stories like Tweedle Dee and Dum and Humpty Dumpty. I didnt really think about any of the characters and where they came from, I thought it was interesting that the Dodo bird originated from Lewis Carroll and his stutter. And the struggle between the artist Tenniel and Carroll. I never knew that Carroll was so picky and even took out a chapter because he wasn't satisfied with his drawings called the Wasp and the Wig.

I think my favorite character in the book is Bill the Lizard. When ever I think of Bill I cant help but think of the Bill from the movie, this little green chimney sweeping lizard with an English accent who's just along for the ride. I picture him being pulled up the chimney by the Dodo bird and being shoved in to help push Alice out of the house.

The only thing that has'nt changed after reading Alice is I still really dont like it. I hated the movie as a child and I thought I would like the book better because books are always better then the film but I didnt like it any better. I guess I just dont like how chaotic it is but I cant complain because thats what the book is suppose to be like but I get way to distracted and stop reading. The one good thing about the sporadic movement of the book is that it keeps the reader guessing and you never know whats going to be coming next.

When blogging about Dreams I came across a website about dream interpretations and dream dictionaries. I thought it would be interesting if anyone wanted to find out what their dreams mean. Click here.

Alice Poetry

I found this poem while internet surfing and thought it was good.

Alice
Alice was a friend of mine
until she disappeared
She followed a forbidden path
the one I've always feared
The rabbit who was running fast
was white and very hurried
Alice wondered after him
and thats when I got worried
So curious was Alice she did not even see
And tumbled deep into a hole
beside a maple tree
She had to find the rabbit
to see why he was rushed
By the time she landed upside-down
Her face was slightly flushed
On this quest her whole world changed
she lost all track of time
She hung around strange people
who only spoke in rhyme
Friendships didn't last and
Un birthdays called for tea
She had to try and ditch two boys
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
She wandered through a garden
and the flowers called her names
They thought she was a deadly weed
and would not play her games
Once she met a Caterpillar
who smoked a big strange pipe
She recited poems to him,
but all he did was gripe
He told her to eat mushrooms
to change the way she was
Alice knew not how to be
and ate them just because
The ups and downs were tiring
and Alice wanted out
The madness that surrounded her
just made her want to shout
Finally she found her way
into the light once more
And now her story can be bought
at every Disney store

By Breelynn

So Brittini and I were watching TV and since we couldn't get The Little Mermaid to work we decided to put in Happily Never After. A movie where the story of Cinderella is completely altered and the wicked stepmother takes control. I just thought it would be fitting, if were going to be busy blogging about fairy tales all night, why don't we watch some.

Beast Husband

So I was wondering the other day while watching TV why the idea of the Beast Husband could be attractive to anyone. Why would a woman fall in love with some one so verbally abusive and ugly. But then as I began to think about it there are tons of movies and books based on the idea of a woman breaking the hard shell of the beast and making him fall in love with her. Some examples are the famous Pride and Prejudice from Jane Austin, where Elizabeth turns the rock hard Mr. Darcy into puddy. It Happend One Night, The Princess Bride, and Wuthering Heights.

I think its just the idea that this one person who hates all others can only be soften by you is romantic and its an idea that women just seem to be attracted to. There are hundreds of romance novels that are surrounded around the idea that the scary man who is feared by all can be turned into soft romantic. Girls just want to be that one person that can make that change.

Even superhero's have their lady's that only get to know the real person underneath the costume. I think its also a power thing. This person who is feared and respected by all can be made to do anything you ask.

My favorite quote from My Big Fat Greek Weding is
"The man is the head of the family but the woman is the neck and she can turn the head any way she wants."

When I was in high school one of my favorite books was called the Sevenwaters Trilogy and I had no idea that it was a Grimm fairy tale until today
Daughter of the Forest Daughter of the Forest is based loosely on "The Six Swans" Sorcha must sew six shirts from a painful nettle plant in order to save her brothers from a witch's enchantment. They have been turned into Swans and can only be returned to their true forms if she creates a shirt for each brother with her own hands - and she must remain completely mute until the task is finished. But Sorcha falls in love, and this complicates her mission.

Six brothers have been turned into swans by their evil stepmother. They can only take their human forms for fifteen minutes every evening. In order to free them, their sister must make six shirts out of starwort for her brothers, and neither speak nor laugh for six years. A king finds her doing this, is taken by her beauty and marries her. When the Queen has given birth to their first child, the King's wicked mother takes away the child and accuses the Queen, and again with the second and the third. The third time, the Queen is sentenced to be burned at the stake. On the day of her execution, she has all but finished making the shirts for her brothers; only the last shirt misses a left arm. When she is brought to the stake she takes the shirts with her, and when she is about to be burned, six swans come flying through the air. She throws the shirts over her brothers and they regain their human form, except for the youngest brother, who is left with a swan's wing instead of a left arm (in some versions she does not finish the sixth shirt in time, and the youngest brother is left as a swan.) The Queen, now free to speak, can defend herself against the accusations. Her mother-in-law is burned at the stake instead.

I guess it just shows that everything stems from fairy tales and even unintentionally I cannot keep myself away from reading them.

Another one of my favorite fairy tales my mother used to read to me was The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Its about a King who has Twelve Daughter who sneak out of their rooms each night to dance and each night they wear out a pair of shoes. The King who is curious about how the girls wear out their shoes decides to hold a competition for the men in the kingdom. He says whoever can figure out what the girls do each night can marry which ever one he chooses.

I remember whenever my mom would read this to me, my sisters and I would dress up in her silk fabric and force my little brother to dance around the room with us. I always wanted to be one of those princesses who went dancing each night.

OZ

I was watching TV the other day while blogging and I turned on Romy and Micheles: In the beginning and figured just how close it is to the Wizard of OZ. Well Romy and Michele go to Hollywood to start a new career and becomes actresses. Then she meets a woman who is a complete witch and her cleaning lady throws out 2 red pairs of shoes. She demands they take them off and throughout the rest of the movie the woman is constantly trying to get her red shoes back. There are a few small hints other then the shoes, like when Romy says "Were not in Tuscon anymore."

Six degrees of Seperation

I was never very good at this game so I never wanted to play or even try so when we talked about it in class I thought it would be fun to play a little game by myself. I just went on IMDB and looked at an Will Ferrell and tried to connect him to a bunch of people. I thought he was perfect because he was on Saturday Night Live and everyone makes an appearance on SNL.

Group Work

Well now that our group presented their project I am glad that I can blog about it. I had a great time with my group and I think that we all did a wonderful job working together. I had a great time taking all the pictures, even though we overtook the Hauf for like the entire morning and I had to wear crazy makeup for a while.

Favorite Alice

I was reading the beginning of Alice and found my favorite part. It was the part about the snow falling and how beautiful it looks. I love the snow and this is exactly how the snow makes me feel.

Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if some one was kissing the window all over outside. I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."

Impossible Things

I was thinking about impossible things and it made me think about a few stupid things i did over the years.

One day my sister and I were at home watching the Amanda Bynes show on TV and the opening credits shows her flipping through the channels and then finally jumping into the TV. Well I had this brilliant Idea that I was going to try and jump through the TV as well. Well I didn't mean to actually jump into the TV I was going to pretend and try and make my sister laugh but I ran a little faster then I intended and smashed my head into the TV. It was pretty embarrassing and my sister just shook her head at me and laughed.

Another dumb moment I had was a few years ago when my other sister and I were watching the science channel. We were watching about astronauts and loosing muscle in space. Then out of nowhere I turn to my sister and ask her if they loose muscle why don't they just turn on the artificial gravity. I truly had no idea that artificial gravity didn't exist. I assumed if so many movies had it then it must be true. I was pretty ashamed but I'm not against laughing at myself.

I thought those were pretty funny and almost related to impossible things. Like artificial gravity and jumping into TV's.

His Dark Materials

So I was talking with my roomate Brittini the other day and we were trying to figure out what type of Deamon I would be and she decided that I would be a Tiger. I looked up a bunch of different animal personalities and I definitly think the Tiger fits me. I looked at the Chinese Zodiac and found the Tiger and I am also born in the year of the Tiger. Tigers are also my favorite animal so I was excited that she thought it fit.

Tiger personality traitsOne of the most dynamic signs in the Chinese zodiac, Tigers are by turns fascinating, commanding, and exasperating.
They are patient but short-tempered, calm but rebellious, petty but noble, fearsome but affectionate, free spirits but fiercely territorial.

With their many & various personality traits, Tigers are also - not surprisingly - noted for a marked reluctance to make up their minds.

What makes them magnetic and commanding figures is the absolute loyalty and affection they show for those they love. With a natural air of authority, Tigers easily earn the respect and admiration of those who love them in return.

While domesticated Tigers are quite happy among familiar surroundings, they are just as apt to fly off on an adventure at a moment's notice. Unpredictable and emotional, they can become quite fearless when standing up for themselves or others, and often hold definitive views on how to right the wrongs of society.

At work, Tigers show natural leadership ability, but prefer to work alone. They usually excel as business managers, social activists, explorers, or travel writers.

11/7
You dont think those are real tears do you? When we talked about this I remember thinking about the Matrix and how it is so closely tied to Alice in Wonderland. So I went online and found a few quotes from the Matrix.

Morpheus: I imagine that right now, you're feeling a bit like Alice. Hmm? Tumbling down the rabbit hole?

Neo: You could say that.
Morpheus: I see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, that's not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo? Neo: No.

Morpheus: Why not?

Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?
Morpheus: You've never used them before.

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

Morpheus: You've been living in a dream world, Neo.

Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that's air you're breathing now?

Morpheus: What is "real"? How do you define "real"?

11/7
Class Themes

History
Art
Dream
Myth
Coincidence

Tweedle Dee and Tweetle Dum

These are probably the most annoying characters in the History of fairy tales. Just something about them annoys me completly so I thought I would Blog about them. I dont know why I wanted to blog about them but I thought I would.

According to Wiki they first made their appearance in a poem by John Byrom.

Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee

In the Poem by Lewis Carroll they are annoying young boys but in the movie their like creepy old men. I just really dont like them and so i thought I would tell everyone.

I was reading Alice in Sunderland and my favorite part was the story about the Lambtom Worm. I thought it was interesting how the story of the Lambtom worm helped influence the Jabberwocky poem and maybe even the Lock Ness Monster. I think it was the only real thing that I remebered about the graphic novel. So I thought that I would do a little more research about the story and I found a song I thought that was interesting.

One Sunday mornin' Lambton went

A-fishing in the Wear;

An' catched a fish upon he's heuk

He thowt leuk't vary queer.

But whatt'n a kind ov fish it was

Young Lambton cudden't tell-

He waddn't fash te carry'd hyem,

So he hoyed it doon a well
ChorusWhisht! lads, haad yor gobs,

An' aa'll tell ye aall an aaful story,

Whisht! lads, haad yor gobs,

An' Aa'll tel ye 'boot the worm.
Noo Lambton felt inclined te gan

An' fight i' foreign wars.

He joined a troop ov Knights that cared

For nowther woonds nor scars,

An' off he went te Palestine

Where queer things him befel,

An varry seun forgat aboot

The queer worm i' the well.
But the worm got fat an' growed an' growed,

An' growed an aaful size;

He'd greet big teeth, a greet big gob,

An greet big goggle eyes.

An' when at neets he craaled aboot

Te pick up bits o' news,

If he felt dry upon the road,

He milked a dozen coos.
This feorful worm would often feed

On caalves an' lambs an' sheep,

An' swally little bairns alive

When they laid doon te sleep.

An when he'd eaten aall he cud

An' he had had he's fill,

He craaled away an' lapped he's tail

Ten times roond Pensher Hill.
The news ov this myest aaful worm

An' his queer gannins on

Seun crossed the seas, gat te the ears

Ov brave an' bowld Sor John.

So hyem he cam an' catched the beast

An' cut 'im in twe haalves,

An' that seun stopped hes eatin' bairns

An' sheep an' lambs an' caalves.

So noo ye knaa hoo aall the foaks

On byeth sides ov the Wear

Lost lots o' sheep an' lots o' sleep

An leeved i' mortal feor.

So let's hev one te brave Sor John

That kept the bairns frae harm,

Saved coos an' calves by myekin' haalve
O' the famis Lambton Worm.

My Paper

So for my paper I wanted to write about curiosity and why its OK for young boys and men to be curious and its even encouraged. I thought about a bunch of different fairy tales where the boys are rewarded for their curiosity. I thought about Sleeping Beauty where the prince is curious about Briar Rose and goes into the castle to find her and ends up winning her love and Jack and the Beanstalk were going up into the clouds where he finds his fortune.
But after thinking about it I decided to write my paper on Time and Confusion. I wanted to write about how children think about Time. I worked in a day care over the summer so I was given the opportunity to hang out with kids for around 7 hours a day. It was fun to watch how they interacted with each other. They were always wanting to wear my watch and be grown ups and play doctor and write in little day planners. So I decided that I wanted to do something about how time and children interact.

I wrote about how Alice is always trying catch the white rabbit and how he symbolizes time and the modern adult. I thought it would be a fun paper and I had fun using time to my advantage.

Dreams

When I was in fourth grade my family moved from Germany and we stayed with my Grandma in North Carolina for a couple months while my dad drove up to Montana to find a house. He would call us each night before bedtime and tell us about Montana. Then one day I remember waking up and telling my mom about a dream I had.

My sisters and I were packing to go to Montana but my mom was staying behind to take care of our German Shepard Duchess. And because we didn't have a drivers licence or a car we had to find a way to drive to Montana. So we began building cars out of boxes but nothing seemed to work. Then I got the brilliant Idea of using our mattress. I don't know why that would work but it was the only thing that did. So I grabbed the mattress from my room and connected a few poles so I could pull it. Then we packed our stuff on the mattress and I started to pull it down the road and as I was pulling, the mattress began to lift of the ground. Then it started to fly.

It was great. I jumped on the mattress and started our flight to Montana. I remember having to stop and get food and then pull the mattress back into the air all the way to Montana. Then when we arrived I put the mattress back on my bed and woke up.

I remember telling my entire family about the dream and calling my dad as soon as I woke up. I think it might have been due to the fact that I was in love with the movie Little Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland. Now whenever we need a car or a ride somewhere someone will almost always mention my flying mattress.