Howdles from Josh

Howdles (howdy + toodles), my fellow classmates. This is Josh B. coming at you from the other side of...well...the world, as it happens. You remember me, right? Josh? Don't tell you forgot. I'd hate to have to use CAPITAL LETTERS to express my displeasure.

I'm currently in a place called Banaue, which is renowned for rice terraces - and little else. Apparently that alone is enough to garner it the nickname "the Eigth Wonder of the World" although this is based on testimony from its own tourism-dependent natives, and so, may be slightly biased.

Actually, despite the 9 hour drive to get here, part of which was up practically vertical roads that could've been pulled right out of some kind of action-adventure film, I have to say the view from our pretty nice hotel is really ridiculously pretty. Its like the mountainside is auditioning for a postcard or something. I really felt like saying, "Geez, mountainside, get over yourself. You have no business looking like that."

The mountains are a nice break from...well...everywhere else in the Philippines. I mean the cities here are INSANELY crowded. There is motor vehicle activity on every road, 24 hours a day, and here the word "motor-vehicle" can easily be substitued for "environmentally-unfriendly death trap." Seriously, the cars are all hand-made, and the fumes here are so bad its like having your mouth around an exhaust engine all the time. But I'm making this place sound bad and its not. Despite ridiculous overcrowding, poor sanitation, bizarre television shows, and sweltering heat, its really pretty awesome. Mostly because of the food. And if anyone wants a souvenir, feel free to ask. Your request will be thoughtfully considered and then promptly ignored.

Well, i suppose that's enough for today. Hope you're having fun with all that "work" stuff you have to do. Suckers.

And now as, they say in the Philippines:
Ah, screw it. I don't know how to say anything in filipino.

Howdles from Josh "the Scrumptulescent" Blanco.

Friday The 15th

Friday we had a short period. With little time, I quickly began my reading. The Final Flight by Linda Jo Jackson; the poem that was read at my Aunt Darlene's funeral (may she rest in peace). There was no review blog following my reading but Aline did go to the front and give a review based on what she remembered from wednesday's class. After Aline's review, we got into the pancake and had what would be the last of few more Life of Pi discussions. The topic: Part III. To begin the discussion, the class talked about belief in God and Heaven and life after death. We then talked about the Japanese men in Part III and how they were only interested in the sinking of the ship when pi was telling them his story about his Journey in the Pacific. With that being said, the novel should already be read (ah, a rhyme). Speaking of reading novels, the book exchange should be coming up soon....right?

Excerpt: Dante's, The Divine Comedy

The time was earliest morning. I discerned
The sun mount with those stars that ever climb
Beside him, since God's Love had yearned
And moved those lovely things; so that the prime
Of day, and the sweetness of the season's air,
Inspired good hopes in me at the same time
Towards this beast of the bright fur; but there
Were none to quell my fear of the next sight:
A lion that appeared with ravenous stare,
And head erect, before me, in its might
So that the air itself began to quake,
It seemed, with fear, and trembled into the light.
And, with it, came a she-wolf that seemed to ache
With craving in her leaness; she has compelled
Many to live in sorrow for her sake.
The terror of that visage I beheld
Brought so much heaviness I felt hope drain
Of ever rising till that brute were quelled.
And, as a person to keen to make some gain,
When comes a time he see what loss he'll meet,
His thoughts all turn to sadness, tears and pain,
Like that, the restless beast mad eme, and beat
Me backward step by step, till its defiance
Down where the sun is silent, forced my retreat.

The FinaI Flight

The Final Flight

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard him call;

I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared a laugh, a kiss;
Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.

Perhaps my time seems all to brief;
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Author:Linda Jo Jackson

Review for Monday December 12, 2006

Last class i did my piece of quuality writing on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. We discussed the book exchange for a few minutes the we moved into our discssion circle. As you should know by now we are reading The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. So far the everyone seems to be loving the book. We discussed Mr. and Mr. Kumar and the impact they both had on Pi. We also talked alot about the various religions that Pi believes in. Most of us were a little confused about all the gods Pi prayed to and we learned a little about the Qu'ran. Originally the religion was inteded to be very peaceful, however because of current events people precieve things the wrong way and look down on muslims. We also talked about Pi's father and his method of showing his sons how dangerous all the animals where. It was a little scary but forshadowed the future of the book. Today we have to turn in the essays on our golden line from The Grapes of Wrath.

the city of falling angels, by john berendt

"Loneliness is not being alone; it's loving others to no avail."

--Mario Stefani, venetian poet

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The autumn leaves blew over the moonlight pavement in such a way as to make the girl who was moving there seem fixed to a sliding walk, letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward. Her head was half bent to watch her shoes stir the circling leaves. Her face was slender and milk-white, and in it was a kind of gentle hunger that touched over everything with tireless curiosity. It was a look, almost, of plae surprise; the dark eyes were so fixed to the world that no move escaped them. Her dress was white and it whispered. He almost thought he heard the motions of her hand as she walked, and the infinitely small sound now, the white stir of her face turning when she discovered she was a moment away from a man who stood in the middle of the pavement waiting.
The trees overhead made a great sound of letting down their dry rain. The girl stopped and looked as if she might pull back in surprise, but instead stood regarding Montag with eyes so dark and shining and alive, that he felt he had said something quite wonderful.

Review for 8 Dec

Since Josh hates it when people say "I started the day with my piece of quality writing" on their review I'll do it just to spite him. :) I started the day off with my piece of quality writing :) , Metaphors by Sylvia Plath. And then Josh shared another one of his unique reviews. Then Ms. Hillestad being as nice as she is, encouraged Brittany to do a little song and dance number for the promotion of Annie. Then we got into our discussion circle and talked about Life of Pi. We started off by discussing the author's note. Ms. Hillestad set us straight about how the little chapters that are italicized are when the author is talking about his encounter with Pi. And the regular chapters are written in Pi's point of view. We talked about the zoology and religion and how they tie together in the book. We also got ourselves into a conversation about the animals which turned into a conversation about sloths which made us realize that we didn't really know what a sloth looked like other than the one on Ice Age which, compared to the pictures Meghan pulled up, aren't really the same thing. The class ended with Ms. Hillestad assigning the rest of Part One to be read by Monday. xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Review Dec, 06

Let’s take a moment to speak hypothetically:

Hypothetically, let’s say that last class period (which we’ll assume could’ve been a B day) started off with a certain imaginary student (whom we’ll dub “Joshuo Blanca,” for purely speculative purposes) actually remembering to do the theoretical quality-writing post he may or may not have been assigned, and perhaps doing it with such skill and eloquence that his imaginary classmates could possibly have been moved to hypothetical tears. Next, to further our purely imaginative scenario, let us assume that an essay test about a made-up book which we’ll call The Angry Fruit, by Johnny Steinbecker, might have purportedly been on the theoretical teacher’s hypothetical agenda for this imaginary class period, but that some ridiculously improbable occurrence (completely hypothetical, of course), such as the aforementioned hypothetical essays spontaneously bursting into purely theoretical flames, prevented this fictional test from taking place. Speaking in a wholly imaginative context, let’s pretend that perhaps this fictional teacher (A Mrs. Mountainstead, for lack of a better name) interprets the possible spontaneous combustion as an omen from a theoretical “higher-power” of some sort, which I feel compelled to call “Dog.” Perhaps she decides, as a result, that instead of her imaginary test, she will reward all her “studious” and “hard-working” students (work with me here) with some hypothetical gelato (let’s also assume, for the heck of it, that this just happens to be the day that the Italian government declares will be National Free Gelato Day for all perpetuity).

Now, hypothetically, what flavor ice-cream would you get?

Unfortunately, I have it on good authority (namely my own) that last class period actually began with some forgetful (but otherwise fantastic) student (me) failing to deliver their piece-of-quality writing at all. This was apparently followed by a Grapes of Wrath essay test (the kind that doesn’t spontaneously combust) which I’m sure we all passed with flying colors *cough*. Afterwards, we drew names for our book-giving game, which is kind of like a Secret Santa thing, except instead of presents we get…novels… Yay. Finally, we were handed our next reading assignment, Life of Pi, a book about an Indian boy stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger for company. No, really.

Metaphors by Sylvia Plath

Metaphors

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.

Sylvia Plath

Review

Today, on this lovely sunny day (finally), the most noticeable thing about class was that Mrs. Hillestad was absent, as were members of the baskeball team & cheer squad. After a mad rush for food and hot chocolate, we began the day with my reading of an excerpt from Utopia by Lincoln Child. Then it was circle time! We opted though, to circlify on the couches in back, rather than our desks. We wrote down a golden line of ours on a piece of paper. We then passed it to the person next to us and they had to write down an interpretation of the line and a real life example. After most everyone was done writing, we passed on the papers again. We finished right before the bell, and then had a fire drill. And in case you wondered, the lifts at Piancavallo are open! I hope everyone had a good weekend! And now onward to class...