Weekly Reading Entry-Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics

One of my favourite songs, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics can sorta of scary sounding and like a song that's just made because the writers need something to sing. My friend Marina says this, adding on about how the music video on Youtube® helps her statement with Annie Lennox raising her arms, looking like she's sacrificing something to a god, while standing in a meadow with a swarm of cows. Of course, I could agree if she was talking about Marilyn Manson's version of the song, but I enjoy Sweet Dreams. If I had to point out a life lesson to the song, I would say, "Sweet Dreams are made of the years." Many of the lyrics online say "Sweet Dreams are made of this", but I think it's "Sweet Dreams are made of the years."

Sweet dreams ARE made of the years, with hard work (ugh) and little pay. Until you get your dream.

Sweet dreams are made of the years
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something

But you don't have to travel the world or the seven seas or anything. If you REALLY want to have a bunch of cows, buy or rent some land, and work hard to keep crops and animals alive.

I, personally, would like to be a clothing designer, or a lawyer, or a gardener. I sketch ideas for clothes and sew, like to fight for people and have my opinion heard, and to take care of plants. The farthest I've ever been is to Paris (it's farther than London... right?) and I think there are a few more than seven seas... maybe.

Weekly Reading Entry-The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow

Have you ever been to a magical land no one's ever heard of before? Betcha haven't! But Yoko Nakajima has.

In The Twelve Kingdoms, Yoko arrives in Kou, one of the kingdoms, and she is chased and captured several times. Luckily, to the help of a blue healing gem, her trusty sword, and the hinman Joyu, she is able to fend of her foes and the demons that attack her.

Yoko is followed by a blue, pessimistic monkey. This monkey tries to tell Yoko what to do, saying how it would be so much quicker if she killed herself.

I think that the blue monkey is like a creature of Yoko's bad thoughts, like a hallucination. It's like how in cartoons, there's an angel on one of the character's shoulders and a devil on the other. The monkey sort of represents the devil, and Yoko is trying to be optimistic and be the angel, wanting to find some way back to Japan. Yoko often quarrels with the monkey and slashes her sword at him, missing. She is losing hope. But then, Yoko meets a kind beastling, who she actually starts trusting, regardless the two other times she was deceived by people of Kou. One night, Yoko and the monkey are talking while Rakushun, the beastling, is hurt. The monkey tells her to run, and she does, but then realizes she shouldn't have because she trusts Rakushun. The monkey starts taunting her, and, frustrated, Yoko swings her sword. The monkey is gone. After that, Yoko meets up with Rakushun and stops doubting his help entirely.

Weekly Reading Entry~Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club is a very funny anime and manga. It's about a group of teenagers who form a club to entertain girls. In this Host Club, there is a pair of twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. They are identical, and nearly always speaking in unison, or finishing each others sentences. It's like they can read each others minds or something.

I always thought that being a single child would be nice since I'd get more attention and my brother wouldn't be there. But then I might get lonely, so after I watched OHSHC, I began to think what it wold be like to have a twin EXACTLY like me.

When I told my mother, "I wish I had a twin exactly like me, like Hikaru and Kaoru," not knowing who they were, replied,

"I'm glad you don't have a twin, 'cuz I can barely stand one of you."

That still didn't put an end to my dreams. I still want a twin, even though it's impossible.

Weekly Reading Entry~Farewell To Manzanar

My grandfather was an immigrant, like Jeanne, the author and main character in Farewell To Manzanar, and her family. My grandfather came to America a few years after Jeanne Wakatsuki and her family had to board Manzanar, and my mother never told me if he had to go to a camp like Manzanar, but I don't think he did. Maybe it was just that Jeanne Wakatsuki had to go to Manzanar because she was Japanese and her story takes place during World War II.
But, then again, in a book called Esperanza Rising, the main character leaves her home to go to a camp. But in that, I suppose it was just because Esperanza and her mother were running away. And maybe it was during a war.

I forgot.

Farewell To Manzanar is "As haunting as the Diary of Anne Frank," says the back of the book. And now that I'm half way through the book, I can see that it is really quite sad. It's one of those autobiographies that makes you think "Holy crap, this seriously happened to someone?" Or like the movie Les Choristes, (which I love, by the way) the frightening French film. And whose music I'm listening to right now.
So, the next time you think "My life is so terrible" "Boring" "BLAHHHHH", think about how truely horrible OTHER people's lives are or have been.

Weekly Reading Entry~Ash

I know this may seem like a very strange way to start a response to a book, but I LOVE BREAD! To me, bread and starchy stuff like pasta and rice is the most delicious food EVER! It's basically all I ever eat.

In Ash, Ash's mother passes away. When this happens, Ash can't taste the bread she's eating. I don't ever remember not being able to taste anything. Maybe it's not even possible, not to be able to taste something... unless it's water. Maybe it's just a form of speech, and I will never know. I think about things like that a lot. Like, "It happens to other people, not me. Am I THAT different, or is it ALL A LIE?" Stuff like that. Like sugar rushes. I fake those, for people who are thinking, "I just saw her all hyper the other day."

When my aunt died, I don't remember not being able to taste anything. Maybe it's different, though, since my aunt and I didn't really know each other.

Losing family and loved ones is very hard, so authors exaggerate with food? I don't understand that at all, except that it's CONFUSING. Do you?

Weekly Reading Entry-Fox

Many old fashioned children's picture books start off with the phrase " Once upon a time", like Cinderella, or Snow White. But nowadays, picture books are becoming more than just books that a small child would read. Instead of carrying the moral "If you find a man to take care of you, your life will be complete", there are morals and themes that are more meaningful.

In the beginning of the picture book Fox, one-eyed Dog is carrying Magpie in between his big yet gentle jaws the cave he calls home. Magpie's wing had gotten burnt, and she couldn't fly anymore. In despair of not being to fly, Magpie faints. When she awakes days later, Dog takes Magpie to a lake nearby, and tells her to tell him what she sees. Of course, Magpie sees the reflection of herself on Dog's back. They are together and always will be.

"You will be my wings and I will be your missing eye." This sentence rings out multiple times in Fox.

Soon, Fox is acquainted with Dog and Magpie. He says them running looks extraordinary. Dog welcomes Fox to live in his cave with Magpie. But Magpie is scared of Fox. To her, his stench of envy and loneliness fills the cave at night. Then one night while Dog is asleep, Fox tells Magpie to go with him, that Dog's running is nothing compared to his. Magpie replies, "Dog is my wings and I am his missing eye." Fox repeats his question twice more, once while Dog was at a pond, then again that night. That time, since that morning she hadn't felt like she was flying, Magpie replied "I am ready."

Fox ran so fast it DID feel like Magpie was running! But then, in a cave in the desert, Fox left Magpie there, he said

"Now you and Dog will know what it is like to be alone."

Usually, Fox would be considered the "bad guy" but I feel bad for him. No one knows what his life story was. He could of had a loving family that suddenly died from disease and he, for some reason, didn't get it, or his family was killed by humans or something. It's Fox's fault for having so much envy, but no one knows what happened to him to be like that.

Weekly Reading Entry-Snail Mail No More

Everybody has a problem with something; people they can't understand, things that happen to them, etc,. Elizabeth has family problems- recently, her father became addicted to alcohol, an alcoholic. He is ruining everything for Elizabeth, her little sister and her mother. Luckily, Elizabeth has a friend who she writes to a lot, now e-mails, though.
I also have a few friends who live somewhere else in the world. We send letters to each other and have fun. But we aren't really as close as Elizabeth and her friend Tara are. They talk to each other ALL the time. They also see each other a lot. I've never met my friends, they live in South Korea and Japan. Even though it's a bit strange talking to someone you don't know from meeting them, it's fun to have a connection when you HAVEN'T met them, too, because lots of things are different and you get to learn about their culture and how they live.
I also feel bad for Elizabeth and her family. It must be really hard to have your father become an alcoholic all off a sudden, then pass away from getting into a car crash. I hope (and I don't doubt) that will not happen to any of my parents anytime soon.