There are a couple of posts that I could try to redo, except I cannot think of anything for them. They were the autobiographical ones that I had so much difficulty with back in week 5, I think mostly. Since you didn't ask for a rewrite, I'll assume that it is okay if I don't try to get something on them, because I think at this point that I would only make them worse trying to redo them.
Thanks, I enjoyed the semester.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Week 10 Opinion Redo
A big problem that a lot of people have is stress. Many people are way overstressed. That stress is caused by them getting upset over things, often minor.
The best way to avoid stress is to take things lightly. But people need things to take seriously. They need things that they are devout about. So what I have found is the best thing is to try to only be serious about things that are within your control. At least, if they are in your control, then you can at least have done your best.
For example, being really into politics is rough because the candidate I like will lose, and I will get over it, but if I were seriously into politics, then it would be very disappointing.
For me, I can really notice this with things such as watching sports, as there are some sports teams that I like to watch. But watching sports is one of those things that the viewer has no control over. So it is very disappointing when the team does not do well, but there is nothing that I can do about it and in watching it am only setting myself up for disappointment. The best thing to do is to find something you can enjoy, like reading books. Or listening to music. Or playing sports. I try to keep everything more in terms of this sort of thing that I have some sort of control over.
There are some things that I cannot avoid, but if I do the best I can to prevent myself from getting upset over little things and to keep everything I can within my own personal control, then it makes everything just a little easier.
The best way to avoid stress is to take things lightly. But people need things to take seriously. They need things that they are devout about. So what I have found is the best thing is to try to only be serious about things that are within your control. At least, if they are in your control, then you can at least have done your best.
For example, being really into politics is rough because the candidate I like will lose, and I will get over it, but if I were seriously into politics, then it would be very disappointing.
For me, I can really notice this with things such as watching sports, as there are some sports teams that I like to watch. But watching sports is one of those things that the viewer has no control over. So it is very disappointing when the team does not do well, but there is nothing that I can do about it and in watching it am only setting myself up for disappointment. The best thing to do is to find something you can enjoy, like reading books. Or listening to music. Or playing sports. I try to keep everything more in terms of this sort of thing that I have some sort of control over.
There are some things that I cannot avoid, but if I do the best I can to prevent myself from getting upset over little things and to keep everything I can within my own personal control, then it makes everything just a little easier.
Week 15 Revision
We were driving to Bar Harbor to see my grandmother and her friends, Nita and Suzie. I had heard of them when they went on a wild drive across the country in an RV with my grandmother.
When we got to the apartment they were staying in, my grandmother took my mother in, as Nita and Suzie were not dressed yet.
They entered the rented room, where Suzie was getting things ready, and Nita was still in her nightgown eating a sticky bun.
"Oh, hi!" she said, "Come in, I'm just eating one of Jean's cookies."
They talked for a moment.
"I think I should get out of bed soon," Nita said, "I wonder what I should wear?"
"Clothes," Suzie replied.
"Yes, that sounds good," Nita replied.
"Better than that saran wrap you wore yesterday. People stared."
Once they got ready, they came outside. Suzie rode with my grandmother in her car, and Nita ended up coming with us.
Nita walked over and entered our car. She is about 84, and lively for her age considering she just recently had surgery.
"Hi!" she said, "I've seen you a lot in the pictures."
Felicia commented about how it has not been picnic weather.
"Yes," Nita replied, "But I prefer eating inside anyhow. Away from all the ants. And uncles. Oh, I'm going to love you, you haven't heard all of my old jokes."
Several minutes and jokes from Nita later, we arrived at the restaurant.
"Suzie and Jean aren't here yet," my mother said, "They should be here soon-"
We turned around, and Nita was already off into the restaurant. We hurried in after her.
"Table for seven," my mother said.
"Six," I corrected.
"That will be just a minute," the cashier said.
We stood off to the side so that people could get by us, and Nita found an empty seat to sit down in next to us, with her back to someone else. We stood waiting, and then my grandmother entered.
"You should come in a little farther, away from the doorway out of people's way." Felicia said to her.
She moved in closer to us, smushing me between her, my mother, and a vending machine. We stood like that for five minutes or so, until they got a table, with me standing on one foot trying to do my best "I'm as thin as a pencil" impression. I had had bad experiences with vending machines before, but this one certainly made the top five.
Nita sat at the end because she was claustrophobic, across from Suzie.
Suzie had long grey hair, and is in her sixties. On the RV trip, she refused to sit down, and ended up getting hurled into and taking out a table when they stopped suddenly. They ended up taping the leg of the table back on. They also ended up taping the RV together when it started falling apart.
She ordered pancakes and eggs, and was disappointed that I wasn't going to help her eat them, as if I didn't help her, she was afraid she would eat them all herself. Which she did.
My grandmother stretched her surprisingly long legs out far enough that I ended up sticking my feet as far under my seat as possible to avoid hers. My grandmother seemed to enjoy being with Nita and Suzie a lot. She usually is talkative, but when they were around she seemed to just be fascinated listening to their back and forth joking attacks at each other.
"Where are the straws?" Suzie asked, and they all fell to laughing. In New Mexico, Suzie had stuck the paper package from the straw up her nose, making my grandmother swear violently in surprise.
Nita went out to take a cigarette.
"I'm down to one a day," she said. "I've quit tons of times. I'm an expert quitter."
"You must also be an expert starter," I said.
"We don't talk about that part," she replied.
When we left, Nita wanted to brush her teeth, so we went back to their apartment, where I fixed Suzie's ipad so that it connected to the internet. Which was somewhat ironic, as I had never really even seen one before.
We left to my grandmother's apartment, and on getting out, Nita borrowed my arm, to walk to the building.
It was the first time I had ever leant my arm to someone, and it was a little different.
"Make a muscle," she said. "Come on legs."
She was panting a bit, so I asked her if she wanted to rest for a minute.
"Oh no, I'm fine. I'll make it. I'll just pant a lot, like this."
She started gasping really heavily on purpose, as a joke.
"Come on legs."
We reached my grandmother's apartment, and Nita sat down in a chair. Suzie showed us her iphone's radar application, that showed that the rain had just passed over us.
Nita requested a sculpted bear that she had made out of wood that she had apparently given to my grandmother at some point. I retrieved it for her, and she looked at it.
"What is it supposed to be?" Suzie asked.
"It's a medicine bear," Suzie replied. "It helps you when you don't feel good."
"Does it help mentally ill people like me?" Suzie asked.
"Maybe not for a case so severe as yours."
Suzie went on to tell us about how her husband had been accumulating cats. He had found one that was not doing too well, then found another one. He had named them all and could not go away too long or he would be afraid the cats would get hungry.
"My husband doesn't have any cats," Nita said, "We just have each other," hugging herself.
"Oh, isn't that nice," Suzie said.
"But he isn't that good in bed," Nita added, "Oops! I didn't say that!"
We were sitting on the couch, Nita was at a chair at the table, and Suzie was in a chair next to the couch. Nita was still gasping pretty badly, and my grandmother offered her something to drink.
"No, I'll be fine. I just need to rest."
"You could rest on the couch, you could lay down on it."
"No thanks," Nita replied, "All those legs would be bumpy. I could just lay down here on the table with my medicine bear."
After talking with them a while longer, they left to go shopping and whale watching, and that concluded my interesting elderly person watching for the year.
When we got to the apartment they were staying in, my grandmother took my mother in, as Nita and Suzie were not dressed yet.
They entered the rented room, where Suzie was getting things ready, and Nita was still in her nightgown eating a sticky bun.
"Oh, hi!" she said, "Come in, I'm just eating one of Jean's cookies."
They talked for a moment.
"I think I should get out of bed soon," Nita said, "I wonder what I should wear?"
"Clothes," Suzie replied.
"Yes, that sounds good," Nita replied.
"Better than that saran wrap you wore yesterday. People stared."
Once they got ready, they came outside. Suzie rode with my grandmother in her car, and Nita ended up coming with us.
Nita walked over and entered our car. She is about 84, and lively for her age considering she just recently had surgery.
"Hi!" she said, "I've seen you a lot in the pictures."
Felicia commented about how it has not been picnic weather.
"Yes," Nita replied, "But I prefer eating inside anyhow. Away from all the ants. And uncles. Oh, I'm going to love you, you haven't heard all of my old jokes."
Several minutes and jokes from Nita later, we arrived at the restaurant.
"Suzie and Jean aren't here yet," my mother said, "They should be here soon-"
We turned around, and Nita was already off into the restaurant. We hurried in after her.
"Table for seven," my mother said.
"Six," I corrected.
"That will be just a minute," the cashier said.
We stood off to the side so that people could get by us, and Nita found an empty seat to sit down in next to us, with her back to someone else. We stood waiting, and then my grandmother entered.
"You should come in a little farther, away from the doorway out of people's way." Felicia said to her.
She moved in closer to us, smushing me between her, my mother, and a vending machine. We stood like that for five minutes or so, until they got a table, with me standing on one foot trying to do my best "I'm as thin as a pencil" impression. I had had bad experiences with vending machines before, but this one certainly made the top five.
Nita sat at the end because she was claustrophobic, across from Suzie.
Suzie had long grey hair, and is in her sixties. On the RV trip, she refused to sit down, and ended up getting hurled into and taking out a table when they stopped suddenly. They ended up taping the leg of the table back on. They also ended up taping the RV together when it started falling apart.
She ordered pancakes and eggs, and was disappointed that I wasn't going to help her eat them, as if I didn't help her, she was afraid she would eat them all herself. Which she did.
My grandmother stretched her surprisingly long legs out far enough that I ended up sticking my feet as far under my seat as possible to avoid hers. My grandmother seemed to enjoy being with Nita and Suzie a lot. She usually is talkative, but when they were around she seemed to just be fascinated listening to their back and forth joking attacks at each other.
"Where are the straws?" Suzie asked, and they all fell to laughing. In New Mexico, Suzie had stuck the paper package from the straw up her nose, making my grandmother swear violently in surprise.
Nita went out to take a cigarette.
"I'm down to one a day," she said. "I've quit tons of times. I'm an expert quitter."
"You must also be an expert starter," I said.
"We don't talk about that part," she replied.
When we left, Nita wanted to brush her teeth, so we went back to their apartment, where I fixed Suzie's ipad so that it connected to the internet. Which was somewhat ironic, as I had never really even seen one before.
We left to my grandmother's apartment, and on getting out, Nita borrowed my arm, to walk to the building.
It was the first time I had ever leant my arm to someone, and it was a little different.
"Make a muscle," she said. "Come on legs."
She was panting a bit, so I asked her if she wanted to rest for a minute.
"Oh no, I'm fine. I'll make it. I'll just pant a lot, like this."
She started gasping really heavily on purpose, as a joke.
"Come on legs."
We reached my grandmother's apartment, and Nita sat down in a chair. Suzie showed us her iphone's radar application, that showed that the rain had just passed over us.
Nita requested a sculpted bear that she had made out of wood that she had apparently given to my grandmother at some point. I retrieved it for her, and she looked at it.
"What is it supposed to be?" Suzie asked.
"It's a medicine bear," Suzie replied. "It helps you when you don't feel good."
"Does it help mentally ill people like me?" Suzie asked.
"Maybe not for a case so severe as yours."
Suzie went on to tell us about how her husband had been accumulating cats. He had found one that was not doing too well, then found another one. He had named them all and could not go away too long or he would be afraid the cats would get hungry.
"My husband doesn't have any cats," Nita said, "We just have each other," hugging herself.
"Oh, isn't that nice," Suzie said.
"But he isn't that good in bed," Nita added, "Oops! I didn't say that!"
We were sitting on the couch, Nita was at a chair at the table, and Suzie was in a chair next to the couch. Nita was still gasping pretty badly, and my grandmother offered her something to drink.
"No, I'll be fine. I just need to rest."
"You could rest on the couch, you could lay down on it."
"No thanks," Nita replied, "All those legs would be bumpy. I could just lay down here on the table with my medicine bear."
After talking with them a while longer, they left to go shopping and whale watching, and that concluded my interesting elderly person watching for the year.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Week 14 Mini Research
I have always liked reading books that are older. Mainly from around 1900 into the 1930s. Throughout my reading of these books, I have found many authors that I found interesting, such as Jeffery Farnol, J. Jefferson Farjeon (who was descended from Thomas Jefferson), J.S. Fletcher, E. Phillips Oppenheim (who invented spy fiction), and Mary Roberts Rinehart (who invented "the butler did it").
Of these authors, I have read the majority of their books, and really enjoyed them. But a while ago I wondered if any movies had been made out of them. The authors are not very well known now, even though they were well liked in the time; Fletcher was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's (Sherlock Holmes' author) main mystery competitor, and a good amount of people in the time considered him better (as I do). Oppenheim was on the cover of the 1927 Time Magazine, called "The Prince of Storytellers."
Considering that they had so much attention then, I would think some movies must have been made from them. So I start researching on the internet, on my laptop with it's left bracket and comma keys about to come off.
What I found was that a good amount of movies were made from these authors' books. Rinehart's book's "Tish", and "The Bat" were made into movies, "The Bat" multiple times.
Farnol had some of his books made into movies, among them "The Amateur Gentleman" three times, including a silent movie in the early 1920s. He also had his book "Murder By Nail" used for a British murder television program in the sixties, featuring Farnol's favorite character, Bow Street Runner Jasper Shrig.
Fletcher had some made into movies, such as "The Root of All Evil" in 1947.
The only problem with all of these, of course, is that no one knows about them anymore. And since no one knows about them anymore, they are practically impossible to find anywhere. What I was hoping for was one with someone a little better known, an actor or director that I would know now.
I found one with J. Jefferson Farjeon. Although maybe not quite as well known as the others, he was also a successful writer. Successful enough, apparently, for Albert Hitchcock to adapt one of Farjeon's plays into a movie. I found that "No. Seventeen" was adapted into a movie called "Number Seventeen" in 1932, directed by Albert Hitchcock. Hitchcock did not want to do this movie, and later admitted that it was a "Disaster". Most fans of Hitchcock were disappointed and surprised when it was released. Some critics have said of it that "It is fun to watch, though incomprehensible." It is a comedy thriller.
This is what I was searching for. Someone who people now (at least some people) know him. And some people know this movie, as it can be seen in its entirety on Youtube (I watched it and agreed with the critic).
Oppenheim was who I will try next. I find some information on him. "The Great Impersonation" was made into a movie three times, including once that was pretty much just WWII propaganda in 1944. I thought that this would make it easier to find, but I could only locate the first four minutes of it.
But considering that Oppenheim has 24 books made into films, there might be more. I finally find one that might be known well enough for me to locate it. It is "The Curious Quest" was published in 1919. In 1936, it was made into a movie starting- someone that I think most everyone has heard of- Cary Grant.
I found what I was looking for. The full movie has been posted many times on Youtube, and I can see a movie on a book that I enjoyed reading. The only problem is that even though the full movie has been posted, I find out looking at another site that the original British version was 80 minutes, but no one knows if a copy of that one even exists anymore. The shortened American version is 61 minutes.
So apparently they thought that Americans had shorter attention spans even then. What a surprise.
Of these authors, I have read the majority of their books, and really enjoyed them. But a while ago I wondered if any movies had been made out of them. The authors are not very well known now, even though they were well liked in the time; Fletcher was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's (Sherlock Holmes' author) main mystery competitor, and a good amount of people in the time considered him better (as I do). Oppenheim was on the cover of the 1927 Time Magazine, called "The Prince of Storytellers."
Considering that they had so much attention then, I would think some movies must have been made from them. So I start researching on the internet, on my laptop with it's left bracket and comma keys about to come off.
What I found was that a good amount of movies were made from these authors' books. Rinehart's book's "Tish", and "The Bat" were made into movies, "The Bat" multiple times.
Farnol had some of his books made into movies, among them "The Amateur Gentleman" three times, including a silent movie in the early 1920s. He also had his book "Murder By Nail" used for a British murder television program in the sixties, featuring Farnol's favorite character, Bow Street Runner Jasper Shrig.
Fletcher had some made into movies, such as "The Root of All Evil" in 1947.
The only problem with all of these, of course, is that no one knows about them anymore. And since no one knows about them anymore, they are practically impossible to find anywhere. What I was hoping for was one with someone a little better known, an actor or director that I would know now.
I found one with J. Jefferson Farjeon. Although maybe not quite as well known as the others, he was also a successful writer. Successful enough, apparently, for Albert Hitchcock to adapt one of Farjeon's plays into a movie. I found that "No. Seventeen" was adapted into a movie called "Number Seventeen" in 1932, directed by Albert Hitchcock. Hitchcock did not want to do this movie, and later admitted that it was a "Disaster". Most fans of Hitchcock were disappointed and surprised when it was released. Some critics have said of it that "It is fun to watch, though incomprehensible." It is a comedy thriller.
This is what I was searching for. Someone who people now (at least some people) know him. And some people know this movie, as it can be seen in its entirety on Youtube (I watched it and agreed with the critic).
Oppenheim was who I will try next. I find some information on him. "The Great Impersonation" was made into a movie three times, including once that was pretty much just WWII propaganda in 1944. I thought that this would make it easier to find, but I could only locate the first four minutes of it.
But considering that Oppenheim has 24 books made into films, there might be more. I finally find one that might be known well enough for me to locate it. It is "The Curious Quest" was published in 1919. In 1936, it was made into a movie starting- someone that I think most everyone has heard of- Cary Grant.
I found what I was looking for. The full movie has been posted many times on Youtube, and I can see a movie on a book that I enjoyed reading. The only problem is that even though the full movie has been posted, I find out looking at another site that the original British version was 80 minutes, but no one knows if a copy of that one even exists anymore. The shortened American version is 61 minutes.
So apparently they thought that Americans had shorter attention spans even then. What a surprise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)