Crank

Crank is a cautionary tale by Ellen Hopkins. Although it is a fictional novel, the book is based on events that are similar to that of the author's daughter. This book gets you thinking about the choices you make when under the influence of drugs and shows the dark world of the drug industry. Crank is a page turner that will keep you entertained and curious until the very last page. The format of writing is different each page, and is written with a unique form of poetry. This allows a very fast read and introduces a new form of writing. This novel teaches good life lessons, and shows experiences any teenager can face. 


I'm intentionally not going to say much about the plot beyond the obvious meth addiction, because I feel there is more of an effect, a stronger impact if you don't know what's coming beforehand. I respect that Hopkins doesn't pull her punches, and she doesn't sugar coat the truth at all. It is one of the reasons she is so frequently banned, but it is also why her books are able to reach so many people. When Hopkins is talking about Kristina's experiences with the drugs, her highs are high and her lows are low. Too many books skirt around the truth, they try to convince you to stay away from drugs by lying about how good they feel the first few times, and then turning around are trying to hide how detrimental the side effects are, because they don't feel like our young people can handle it. Hopkins does none of that. She tells it like it is and makes no apologies for it.


This book really drives home the fact of how easy it is for a completely normal person to find themselves caught in a downward spiral like what happened to Kristina. The other thing that is really pressed home is how the people who know and love Kristina act. Many of her friends just can't deal with her anymore, so they chose not to. Her mother tries to help, but doesn't have a grip on how much trouble Kristina is in; as a result, Kristina ends up incredibly isolated. Really in the end, the only person who can really help her is herself. Given the subject matter, this is a book for older teens, or maybe a cautionary tale for younger teens. Just be aware that there is some violence, rape, and (of course) lots of drug usage throughout this book. 

Overall, the book was a good and fast read. Hopkin's writing style is creative, intriguing, and unique.  While I overall enjoyed the story and characters, I felt that at sometimes, the story seemed too banal and predictable, with nothing new to offer to the plate. I felt that this was a cautionary tale about drugs, but I could just watch a p.s.a. to get the same idea: Drugs our bad. I felt that i've known that for the better part of my life. Does this book convince me not to take drugs? Sure, and that is what it was aiming to do, but will I remember Kristina/Bree's struggles? No. So, take it as you will. 7.5/10. 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close #2

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly close," is has an original plot with an original twist--as well as a most imaginative perspective on the very real tragedy of 9/11. Not only is this an interesting and mentally challenging book, it presents this great loss that we all suffered in the perspective of a determined and resilient child--this child could almost be symbolic of us all as a nation, as we each found ways and continue to find ways to cope with our great losses and our lessor ones. The story of Oskar Shell and his search for a connection to his dead father is just the beginning; the story is about family and relationships, and what it means to be someone's father or mother or son. It's about why living is so much scarier than dying. On a few rare occasions, the story seems artificial and unrealistic, but most of the time, the emotion is so real that you have to stop for a minute and compose yourself.


Foer has a wonderful way with humor and fantasy--using it to have the reader understand which characters are likable with the author, as well as enriching the story line. It is great fun to read this book, though it's very sad. However,  Foer slips in the tender and heartbreaking parts subtly, while casually mentioning "the day before the bad day" as the day before the father was killed at the Trade Center bombing. He uses magic realism, fantasy, unique and well written characters, and has a way of expressing true and real feelings in his drawing of 9 year old Oskar Schell, who we accept as "precocious".


What's so intriguing about this book is that even doorknobs and keyholes have multiple meanings. One-word biographies are matched against one-word obituary summaries. Books serve as walls, diaries, and means of communication, while telephones become typewriters for the mute. Time is ever-present, which is measured precisely, but flowing loosely, frozen in images and recorded voices just as the book's characters wish to freeze of reverse time itself. A charming fable about Manhattan's lost sixth borough links Central Park to a myth of childhood dreams. And then there are Oskar's dark/anxiety filled inventions: his birdseed shirt, an ambulance that sends messages to everyone the patient knows as it passes their windows, the gun whose handle senses when you are angry so it won't fire, buildings that raise and lower themselves instead of using elevators, and best of all, his pillows that funnel everyone's tears into the reservoir in Central Park (when something really bad happened, a loud siren would tell everyone to go to Central Park to put sandbags around the reservoir).


Though this book is flawed, no other book has really dived deep into the psychological affect 9/11 has on children, and I give Foer props for that. However, I think this is quite an interesting read, as the author's style of writing is very different and unique. At the same time, Foer's intense creativity does allow a certain vagueness to spread throughout the narrative. All in all, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is an ambitious, yet flawed book tries to capture the sorrow, guilt and loss of 9/11, in an original way. 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," by Jonathan Safran Foer is a book following the adventures of Oskar Schell after his dad died due to 9/ll.   Oskar Shell is an intelligent and curious kid who tries to use logic and rational to solve his problems, but can't use logic to solve the suffering he feels from his father's death. One day, Oskar discovers a key in a broken vase that inspires him to go all around NYC to find info on that key. 


As Oskar explores Manhattan, Foer also reaches throughout history to other horrific attacks that shattered people's lives, including his traumatized grandparents, which is parallel to Oskar's suffering. Their lives are tragically connected, and while their relationship is sparse, tense, and full of rigid rules, there's a higher connection that connects them together in a way that makes sense. Horrifying imagery of the Dresden bombings, and the fallout of it all make the book extremely intriguing. Though the book is sprinkled with letters and stories from before Oskar's time, the boy's quest is the center of the book. And through his journey, he'll hope to learn a little bit about humanity, too. Historically, only a short time has passed since 9/11, and in some ways "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" reopens the wounds. 


Oskar's story can be moving, because there are some wonderful and truly brilliant passages. But for me, it was marred by both his precociousness and his preciousness. One without the other would have simply destroyed the narrative, but both together make Oskar Schell relatable to me. For example, the story was a rare one in that it captured the extreme closeness between a father and son. Yes, it was laugh out loud funny in parts, but it was also a gut wrenching sobbing at other times. The kid is dying inside over the loss of his dad - he just wants his pain to be validated, and wants to tell his story.


All in all, this book delivers on the quirky writing style of Foer, and the story's sentimentalism told through Oskar's suffering.  All though the book changes between Oskar's adventures and his grandparent's notes and letters, there's always a clear narrative between the two. So far, it's fair to say that this book is not perfect, but I cannot deny how much feeling this book has already evoked in me. Re-living the 9/11 attacks through the point of view of Dad in the book was brutal. Half way through the book, I will give it an 8.5/10. 

Thank God I'm a Vegetarian!

In an article by Nicholas Kristof, entitled "Is an Egg for Breakfast Worth this?" he writes about an undercover investigation of Kreider Farms, which produces 4.5 million eggs each day for major supermarkets. From footage, pictures, and even a testimonial by one of the farms's employees, it is easy to say that it's not one their top priorities for Kreider Farms to follow health regulations. The investigations entails that the location of where they produce eggs is a cess-pool of ammonia, manure pits, and rotting hens. The processes of compilling the hens were so inhumane, that up to 11 hens were shoved into a tiny, tiny cage, and some were even decapitated by automatic feeding carts that run between the cages. 

In this article, the author shows that the whole egg operation at Kreider Farms are cruel and intolerable. For example, there's evidence in the investigation suggesting that, "An automatic cart that runs between the cages sometimes decapitates hens as they're eating." The author chose this piece of evidence to demonstrate the terrible and inhumane living conditions of the hens, and suggest why Kreider Farms's practices are so evil and even grotesque. Also, the author writes, " Mice sometimes ran down egg conveyer belts, barns were thick with flies and manure in three barns tested positive for salmonella, he said." The author chose this piece of evidence to show the disgusting conditions of Kreider Farms, and why it's terrible that their widely eaten products may be tainted with salmonella, and maybe even e.coli. In all, the author did a great job of selecting evidence from the investigation, and presenting them in a way that argues how terrible the operations at Kreider Farms are. 

In conclusion, this article expertly depicts the awful practices of Kreider Farms, and sheds some light on why they are so cruel and inhumane (I'm so happy that I'm a vegetarian). This development also makes us think twice before we eat something, and where it has originated from. These days, you never know where your food comes from. I try to eat and drink as many organic products as possible, but that still doesn't guarantee that the conditions are always save and clean. These articles are great, because they shed light on sensitive, sometimes controversial topics that affect all of us. 

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/opinion/kristof-is-an-egg-for-breakfast-worth-this.html?ref=nicholasdkristof

The Tribeca Film Festival

"A Festival With Broader Horizons," by Stephen Holden, is an article about the up coming "Tribeca Film Festival," starting on Wednesday and lasting two weeks in New York City. The article is also a summary of all the highlights of the film festival, and a descriptive outlook on why it's better than ever. The article also mentions that the the competition of the festival is a lot tougher this year, which is most likely due to the heavier emphasis on quality films. Another change is in the programming of the festival, which is  led by a team of highly creative individuals, who are each experienced with the film festival circuit. With the higher demands and expectations of the film festival, there are also some excellent films that meet and surpass those high expectations.

The author of the article takes on the angle that while Tribeca may not be the most commercially successful of the festivals, it is one that offers some unique films that explore into that physical and psychological emotions of people. For example, the author writes "Tribeca may not be a commercially powerful clearinghouse like Toronto, but it is something equally useful: an unconstructed wild-card showcase in which happy surprises can come from anywhere, with minimal hype." The author writes this to explain to the readers that the Tribeca Film Festival offers an interesting experience for movie-goers, and  is uniquely different than its Film Festival counterparts, like Sundance and Cannes. The author also writes, " Although it is risky to generalize about submerged themes in any film festival, Tribeca, unlike Cannes, doesn’t have an auteur focus; the world according to Tribeca is one of porous borders, of people searching for their place, as they try to reinvent themselves in territory where the only constant is instability." The author writes this to show the personality of the types of films at Tribeca, and how they touch down on issues and emotional states that relates to a lot of people. In this article, the author tries to detail a possible rejuvenation of Tribeca, and why you shouldn't miss the opportunity to view the at times awesome and emotional films. 

The idea of a film festival so close to were I live is a great asset, and something that I should be thankful for. With film making being my passion, this is something of an ideal situation for me, because it's great to have the opportunity to see films that maybe aren't so well known, especially if it's from the indy community. It's also great to know that I can just hop on the subway, and see an amazing film before it has been picked up for theatrical release. In conclusion, this was a very informative article, yet it was inspiring to see films that were made in Brooklyn, and across all the boroughs of NYC. 


Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/movies/at-tribeca-film-festival-porous-borders-on-display.html?_r=1&ref=movies

"The Wilhelm Scream," by James Blake

"The Wilhelm Scream" by James Blake is a song about a man on the brinks of giving up his life. It's as if he is trapped in his own nightmarish dream, but he can't escape. The song starts out with a slow minimal drum beat, with an ambient electric rift in the background. Then the beat overlays with his voice, which is a slow, peaceful tremor. Every so often, it's as if the song comes to a halt, and it becomes swallowed by this massive dark hole. This song conjures up an image of a man falling down a hole. It's as if he's unable to move his body, so he's forever trapped in this vicious cycle of depression.

Lyrically, the song follows a repetitive pattern, where each stanza practically follows the same layout. He ends each stanza by saying that he's falling in.  The repetitiveness shows how he's trapped, and unable to escape from "fallin in." Also, the last line in the last sentence says, "I might as well fall in." This shows how he's unable to deal with the situation he's in, so he'll give in just to end his pain. I think he wrote this, because it elaborates on the idea of how this man is trapped in this endless cycle. In turn, he offers a solution by giving in to giving up. While a depressing ending, it shows how some people cope with their issues. In this case, he decides that this man copes by giving in. 

This song isn't about happy endings. Instead of saying that everything is all right, it's more about the real struggles of how people deal with their problems. It shows how everything in the world isn't perfect, because the world isn't that simple. In this scenario, it's difficult for the man in this situation to cope with his problems, In turn, it's creating this harmful circle that is trapping him from facing the truth. When the song comes to an end, there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, there's this eerie, abrupt stop, that leaves me wondering whether the man in this song overcomes his problems, or lets it consume him.  

Bon Iver- "Skinny Love"

"Skinny Love," by Bon Iver is about love, loss, and all things beautiful. One can't even fathom the utter beauty of this song- from the echoing lo-fy guitar melody, to the almost weeping and passionate voice of Justin Vernon. I can feel his pain; his loss. Every word sung gives me goosebumps, and spiritual empowerment- like non that I've ever experienced before. It's almost magical.

The lyrics speak of someone who is hurt; someone who is suffering. This is clearly expressed when he sings, "Pour a little salt, we were never here." It's as if someone is pouring salt on an open wound-that wound being his broken heart. It's as if he says the pain of you leaving is not enough, so you have to make it worse by torturing me for loving you. He also says, "Cut out all the ropes and let me fall." Listening to his voice, I can just sense his fear and desperation. While he still loves you, it's trying him mad. It's like he doesn't want to be committed to you, so you just have to let him go. Every time I listen to this song, I can connect and relate to these lyrics. I just want to curl up in a ball next to the fire, while listening to his voice on a cold winter day. 

This song is no average breakup song. You'll never here this grace and beauty coming out of the Biebs. When I hear Justin Vernon (Frontman) utter the lyrics, there's substance beneath these lyrics. When I hear Bieber singing songs similar to this (if that's what you can even call it) there's no substance, and no depth. Justin Vernon broke up with his girlfriend, broke up with his band, and moved to this wilderness. That gave him inspiration to write his song, and many others on his LP. This song is one of my favorites. The voice of Vernon is powerful, and the lyrics are just perfect.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssdgFoHLwnk