Yet another Blight Blog

As usual, I was reading The Blight Way by Patrick F McManus. However, one thing's been getting to me. I can't really follow the story much anymore. Maybe it's that I'm not near the good parts yet or that the story just drags on for ages. I really don't know, personally. But then again, who does know?

Blight Way Blog #2

The Blight Way may have had one part I chuckled about, but there was nothing else that caught my interest much. I may just not get the humor or the book may not really be of my interest. In fact, I was almost falling asleep. Then again, I was kind of comfortable reading it on the couch (in the Resource Room, not at home), so it probably isn't the book. Still, it's not the most interesting book I've read, but at least it's better than some stories we've read in class.

Finally, some humor!

As many of you don't know, I'm reading "The Blight Way" by Patrick F. McManus. It's supposedly a comic mystery, but I didn't really see the humor in it. That is, until page 27. There, I found the first humorous thing in the whole book. So Bo Tully, who is a sheriff, and his father, Pap as he's called, are on their way to solve a murder. They meet up with this group of guys who had car trouble. So Pap pours coffee into the battery terminals and tells the boys, "Anytime you need to stop to pee and your truck won't go afterwards, you try this." One of the guys, who is named Pete Barton, says "First time I ever seen coffee used to start a rig," and Pap says "Starts me every morning..." The funny part is that the coffee is being used to start up the truck and the clever comment by Pap is what brings in the humor. It's not all that funny, but I got a snicker out of it.

One Change in "Torn Thread"

Lately, I've been reading a book called "Torn Thread" which, like "Night," is about the Holocaust. Though a lot less graphic, change occurs in this book as well. One specific change is when Eva, the main character of the story, is put on a train to go to a Nazi camp. She is reminded of the ghetto, or attic, she used to live in, to hide from the Nazis. It is explained: "She remembered the dark room with its uneven floor and steeply pitched ceiling, the wooden crates that they used for furnature. She had cried for days when they'd first moved there. Now she gladly would have agreed to live in the ghetto for the rest of her life, if only she and Rachel could be back with Papa. (Issacs 48)" Basicly, Eva hated living in the ghetto at first, as it was a huge difference from living in their old house. However, being away from family for a long while, especially at her age of twelve, can change everything for anyone, not just Eva.

Different Cultures in Sonic Unleashed

I know what you are thinking. Another video game-related blog? Another Sonic blog? Just wait and you'll see why Sonic has to do with cultural differences. In the game Sonic Unleashed, the world is broken by Doctor Eggman, and Sonic has to restore it with the Chaos Emeralds' power, visiting different shrines around the world. Almost all different cultures in our world are represented in some way. For example, African culture is shown as a village in a continent called Mazuri, with African outfits, tents, food to buy with rings (the currency and the collectable/health item in the Sonic games) like yams and even the landscape is based off of the African Sahara. Other places that are replicated are the Middle East ("Shamar"), the Carribean islands ("Adabat"), Europe (Spagonia) and even New York City here in the US ("Empire City"), though the last one's only in the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of Unleashed. Though the style may be cartoony, how Sonic Unleashed places each culture is in ways that are non-offensive racial diversity and are pretty accurate to real life.

Japanese Culture - Family Structure

One culture that is different than us is the Japanese culture. Specifically, their family structure is one of the main differences. As one may know, in America, family members don't all live together at a certain age. In other words, grandparents don't usually live with the parents; like so, the children don't live with the parents usually after a certain age. In Japan, however, it's a different story. All three generations of grandparents, parents and children alike all live together.

Living Fully with Severe Visual Imparement (Living with a Difficulty)

(Sources: http://www.helium.com/items/95362-living-fully-with-severe-visual-impairment, http://www.writers.net/writers/55424?PHPSESSID=189dfa2806917356a5bd65ce73566891 and my memory (she is my friend after all))



As the assignment was to write about someone going through a difficulty, I decided on one of my best friends on the internet, Lauren Rodriguez. She was born prematurely and had to be put on a ventilator to breathe. Because of the oxygen, it destroyed her retinas (her eyes, for those who don't know) and gave her retinopathy of prematurity* (or ROP for short, as she puts it). Despite not being able to see out of one eye, she still does things that the average 24 year old (her age may not be that accurate here). Working at a day care center, going to the mall with friends and much more. Lauren has also written fan fiction and many stories, even one that got published, called "Finding Her Courage." Though it normally would be an inconvenience to most people, she believes that once she stops being able to see with both eyes, she'll then only see the truth. In addition, she is worried about that day, but also hopeful since she knows God will be there for her. I feel that Lauren's story is an interesting view on how one may be disabled and yet still be hopefull, even if worst comes to show.



* I had to research on the full name of the disability.