A blog post!
When I was little, I think Halloween was my favorite holiday. I mean, Christmas was a close second, and so were birthdays...but really, it wasn't til I got older that it really became less fun. And I think that's probably due to our move. And growing up of course.
When I lived in Evanston, from 2nd grade on, I went trick-or-treating at another friends' house. This friend was fortunate to live right on the border between Wilmette and Evanston, Wilmette being another suburb of Chicago, but a lot richer. It's true that if we were to take all the suburbs of Chicago and rank them based on "niceness" (i.e., wealth), Wilmette would come in second-to-last1 - right in front of Evanston - but still. Wilmette was nice.
So me and some other friends would go over, and we'd trick-or-treat with her and her siblings (there were three). And it was dark and the houses were all lit up and decorated, and they actually gave out pretty good candy. And then we'd go back to her house and sort our candy (that was, and still is, my favorite part of Halloween) and trade. That was the only time having an allergy came in handy - if I've never had a Reese's and the smell of them is actually kind of repulsive to me, then I have no problem get rid of it. You have no idea how many candy bars I couldn't eat2, with the result that I had got an enormous amount of normal Hershey's chocolate bars, which I can eat.
And then we moved here, and you know, I don't think it's so bad now, but it did mean that that first year I had no one to trick-or-treat with. And in the years after, it was cold, or I went with someone not-so-great, and then I was too old, and suddenly Christmas was more exciting.
This year's my last year trick-or-treating. I know a lot of people have probably already stopped going - I'm sure a lot stopped by 8th grade. But I love this holiday, and I want this one last time to say goodbye.
(Of course, it's not a forever goodbye - as soon as I have kids they're trick-or-treating. And when I'm old, my house is going to be amazing. And of course, til then there's Halloween parties.)
1 Actually, it might be third-to-last, because of Skokie...I don't know, I don't know all the suburbs that well.
2 No, seriously, guess how many. Try and list them all - not just candy bars, but candy in general.
Done?
Reese's
Payday
100 Grand
Twix
3 Musketeers
KitKat
Snickers
Hershey's with almonds
Almond Joy
Heath bar
Mr. Goodbar
Baby Ruth (Am I the only one who didn't know that's what they're really named? I always thought they were Babe Ruths.)
Butterfingers
Milky Way
Crunch
Mars bar
M & M's - both kinds
How'd you do?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Banned Book Week
I know I'm a week late for this, but it's only been recently that I've been reading the posts and discussion regarding banned books...
It's interesting (and aggravating) to read the comments especially, because that's where the real arguing comes in. Two main points seemed to come up a lot:
1. That parents should have control over what their children read.
2. That these people paid taxes for the library, and therefore should have an input in what books were there.
Can anyone already see the flaws in these arguments?
1. It's often repeated by those who are opposed to banning: yes, you have a right to limit what your child reads. But when you ban books, you're putting a limit on what other children can read; the library is not specifically your child's. And to those who say, well the child can get the book from a bookstore or Amazon, well, what happens when the child can't afford to buy the book?
2. There was one person in particular who was toting this argument; what he didn't seem to understand from all the various rebuttals was that he wasn't the only tax-payer; that everyone else who paid taxes also had an input, and why should his opinion be the most important?
I don't know; maybe right now I'm preaching to the choir. But it's worth it to talk about right? That was another point brought up: that many times censorship just goes unnoticed...that a complaint is lodged, and the book is just taken off the shelves, with no one the wiser. And what else is Banned Books Week for than raising awareness?
You can see what books have been challenged in our area here (they are four in Minnesota I believe).
Books read this school year: 4
Books currently reading: 9
Times I've been called Tavi by the dive coach: 9
It's interesting (and aggravating) to read the comments especially, because that's where the real arguing comes in. Two main points seemed to come up a lot:
1. That parents should have control over what their children read.
2. That these people paid taxes for the library, and therefore should have an input in what books were there.
Can anyone already see the flaws in these arguments?
1. It's often repeated by those who are opposed to banning: yes, you have a right to limit what your child reads. But when you ban books, you're putting a limit on what other children can read; the library is not specifically your child's. And to those who say, well the child can get the book from a bookstore or Amazon, well, what happens when the child can't afford to buy the book?
2. There was one person in particular who was toting this argument; what he didn't seem to understand from all the various rebuttals was that he wasn't the only tax-payer; that everyone else who paid taxes also had an input, and why should his opinion be the most important?
I don't know; maybe right now I'm preaching to the choir. But it's worth it to talk about right? That was another point brought up: that many times censorship just goes unnoticed...that a complaint is lodged, and the book is just taken off the shelves, with no one the wiser. And what else is Banned Books Week for than raising awareness?
You can see what books have been challenged in our area here (they are four in Minnesota I believe).
Books read this school year: 4
Books currently reading: 9
Times I've been called Tavi by the dive coach: 9
Friday, October 2, 2009
What I Want to Write in my LRJs.
Sometimes on days when I've had little sleep, and we have to write and analyze in class, I go a little crazy. I always end up having to redo the work, or at least change it a quite a bit because what I've written is just...not something I'd ever turn in.
So for today, the LRJ questions were: What are the strengths of Odysseus? What are his weaknesses? How are his trials improving his character?
I start out normal. "Odysseus is smart; he managed to think of a way to get them out of the cave, and in a short amount of time...He has too much pride however..." And then, I started to run out of things to say, and this appears: "Also, he seems to have some issues with the ladies - they all want a piece of the O-Dog! I mean, Circe AND Calypso? A sorceress and a goddess? Both beautiful? I present to you, the world's first Mary Sue!
His trials are teaching him his weaknesses - he now knows that shouting "Nah-na nah-na boo boo, I tricked you! I'm amazing! I'm Odysseus and I'm awesome SUCKER!" is not a good idea (in fact, it's a HORRIBLE idea. Where's your amazing ability to come up with good plans gone Odysseus? I mean, you came up with the Trojan horse for crying out loud - I know everyone has their off days, but come ON.)
Also: Odysseus has problems with listening.
And then I drew a flamingo.
Books read since school started: ...does it only count if I've read the whole book in the school year? Yes? Then 2.
Books currently reading: 10
Episode of Lost I'm on: 2.22
ps. A note: Anyone in my class may remember when I compared Agamemnon to a child. Well you know what? I think they're all children. Agamemnon is all spiteful, going, "Well, if I can't have the truck, you can't have it either!" and Achilles is also spiteful, saying, "Mommy, make the other boys cry because they took my toy!" and Odysseus is sitting there taunting the giant, like, "Ha ha, you can't get me! Ha ha you're stuuuuuupid!" He might as well be thumbing his nose at the cyclops!
So for today, the LRJ questions were: What are the strengths of Odysseus? What are his weaknesses? How are his trials improving his character?
I start out normal. "Odysseus is smart; he managed to think of a way to get them out of the cave, and in a short amount of time...He has too much pride however..." And then, I started to run out of things to say, and this appears: "Also, he seems to have some issues with the ladies - they all want a piece of the O-Dog! I mean, Circe AND Calypso? A sorceress and a goddess? Both beautiful? I present to you, the world's first Mary Sue!
His trials are teaching him his weaknesses - he now knows that shouting "Nah-na nah-na boo boo, I tricked you! I'm amazing! I'm Odysseus and I'm awesome SUCKER!" is not a good idea (in fact, it's a HORRIBLE idea. Where's your amazing ability to come up with good plans gone Odysseus? I mean, you came up with the Trojan horse for crying out loud - I know everyone has their off days, but come ON.)
Also: Odysseus has problems with listening.
And then I drew a flamingo.
Books read since school started: ...does it only count if I've read the whole book in the school year? Yes? Then 2.
Books currently reading: 10
Episode of Lost I'm on: 2.22
ps. A note: Anyone in my class may remember when I compared Agamemnon to a child. Well you know what? I think they're all children. Agamemnon is all spiteful, going, "Well, if I can't have the truck, you can't have it either!" and Achilles is also spiteful, saying, "Mommy, make the other boys cry because they took my toy!" and Odysseus is sitting there taunting the giant, like, "Ha ha, you can't get me! Ha ha you're stuuuuuupid!" He might as well be thumbing his nose at the cyclops!
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