This is weird, but some of you might like it.

http://cardhouse.com/x07/catcher1.htm


I was lucky to find a cartoon version of the Catcher in the Rye. Well, I'm lucky that we, as a class, have read beyond the first part of this cartoon. The cartoon shows little parts of several scenes. I don't really like the art. It's simple and boring, unlike the book. Holden looks way too happy in all of the pictures. The facial expressions don't match the text at all. This is silly. I thought some of you might get a kick out of this though. Enjoy.

Visions of Teenhood

I really enjoyed looking at all of those movies shown in that slideshow. I've seen most of them, but there are a few that I haven't seen yet. For the ones that I've seen, I think that the directors and writers do a pretty good job of describing childhood. Jim Starke and Holden are both examples of realistic teenagers in the '50s, but are they realistic today? I think the rebellious side of a teen is still alive today, but I don't feel like Jim Starke and Holden should be used as perfect examples of what teens are like today. Movies like Superbad are supposed to show the teen life of the youth today, but I still don't think it's very realistic. I don't really find the movies being made today to be very realistic.

While I was reading the Catcher in the Rye, I noticed something very similar to the film, the Graduate. When Holden had that prostitute come to his room, he acted the exact same way as the main character in the Graduate. They were both very nervous and a little freaked out. They were both virgins. They both were growing up in a way.

Visions of Childhood.

A kid's Childhood shown in a film can sometimes be unrealistic. There is one film though that sticks in my mind when it comes to childhood: A Christmas Story. The main character, Ralphie, is really realistc in my opinion. The film narrates his thoughts throughout the whole movie which shows the creative imagination of a kid. His imagination can sometimes be unreal, but it works because it shows what child imagines. A funny part of the story is when Ralphie is forced to wear the pink bunny outfit. This scene is funny but smart, because it shows a child's humiliation. There are other parts that deal with childhood as well. For example, when Ralphie is helping his dad with the car, a swear word slips out. This scene shows how kids mature. The parents were furious about it, but Ralphie wasn't too worked up over it.


Childhood is shown well in short stories. The four short stories that have been read in class really focused on childhood. The Sutton Pie Safe focused on a kid's confusion. The child in the story was confused at what was happening, but at the end of story, the child started to put the pieces together. I think that's what kids do. They put pieces together to make things work. That's what the kid in The Sutton Pie Safe did. The image of childhood in Bottle Caps was really powerful. The unusal of bottle caps was just one image of a child, but the ending was what really made the story powerful. When I read that the little brother was stealing the caps so that he could use them for his insect graveyard, I started to think. This story really showed how a kid's imagination works. A kids imagination can be creative and sometimes simple. It shows that kids have feelings for many things, even the small things. This short story was in fact very short, but the story was still very powerful. Some people don't think so, but it can't be denied that Bottle Caps really had a clear image of childhood.

My experience in WYSO (Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra

When I was in 8th grade, I auditioned for the percussion section in the WYSO organisation. I made it into the concert orchestra which was pretty cool I guess. The percussion ensemeble and orchestra rehearsals were held in the Humanities buliding at the University of Wisconsin. We practiced in the basement of the building. The walls were grey, and the floor was a dirty white. It was difficult to spend 7 hours in that basement: 6 a.m to 1 p.m. All of the other percussionists in my section were something else. I couldn't keep a steady conversation going with any of them. I remember when I got in an argument with a guy named Evan. I knew him as the tool. He was one of the many super ambitious middle schoolers at WYSO. He argued with me that "music with singers suck." I ended the conversation by asking him if he liked Beethoven's 9th symphony. He said that he was a fan, and that was enough for me to just throwdown. I educated him how Beethoven's 9th symphony has a singer in the final movement. He denied it. I knew it was true. Evan was a tool. He was just one of the irritating things about WYSO. Sometimes I didn't even want to be around my section; they were so annoying. I would leave and walk towards the record shop on State Street. I came back once with a Velvet Underground and Nico album, and it raised a lot of questions from my section that I just didn't bother answering. Another thing that bothered me was the musical tastes of all of the percussion kids. They all adored Mozart. "Mozart was the best composer. Mozart is the best piano player." I don't deny that Mozart was a genius, but come on. Explore a little more. It's like the parents of these kids were forcing these kids to play classical music. It's all they knew about. It was kinda sad in a way. I didn't want to be like them. I didn't want to hang around them. I never returened to WYSO after that season, but I really learned something. I'm never going to be like these guys. I have explored a lot of different music since then, and I feel educated because of it. It just felt like the kids at WYSO weren't growing up. I wanted to grow up. I found my own way with music, and it's been great ever since. I'm never going to look back to WYSO. It brings me chills just thinking about all of those kids playing their out of tune violas and violins.

I'm Leif.

Hello,
My name is Leif Larson. Most of the people in my college lit. class probably already know me. This is actually the second blog post I've typed about me. I made one for AP Comp as well. ANYWAYS, do you really need to know much about me? Not really. I like music a lot. It's safe to say that Bob Dylan is my favorite musical artist. This information is well-known. I also listen to artists such as the Carter Family, The Tallest Man on Earth, Fionn Regan, Fleet Foxes, Bill Evans, First Aid Kit, Woody Guthrie, and Brad Melhdau.

I enjoy movies. Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick are great film makers. You should check out their movies. The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, etc.

I like to read. George Orwell is an okay guy. I really like his stuff. 1984 and Animal Farm are great books. I also really like Chuck Klosterman. He's a pretty funny guy. He's well-known for his essays. They're hilarious. You should check him out.

I'm not a very athletic kid. I like the Buffalo Bills though. Go Bills!