Well, I'm writing this for no other reason than that I'm forcing myself to. If you have been reading this, then you realize that I haven't updated it for almost a week (perhaps more?), and I find that unfortuneate.
You see, writing this is something that I want to do, I want to both be able to tell loved ones about my life, without actually talking to them. (wait, that came out wrong). So, mom and dad, the next time you ask me "why don't you ever write?" remember this: this is me writing to you two and sean and all my friends.
So, now that we are done with the sentimental stuff, (I really hope that brings a tear to somebody's eye) here's a couple of things that happened to me since the last time I updated the page. Enjoy:
Well, first of all, I took a couple of long walks, first finding out how to get to the downtown crossing area by foot (which saves me $2 worth of T fare each trip). Once there, I found myself in the bargain books portion of Borders, where I bought 2 books. The first was "Into the Darkness" by Harry Turtledove. It's basically a retelling of World War I in a fantasy setting. Dragons instead of tanks, spells instead of mustard gas, etc. I haven't actually started reading it yet, but it was cheap.
The second book was "Shaping a Nation" by Caret Wiseman. It is a non-fiction book about 20th century architecture (oddly enough, the first chapter was about the late 19th century, when skyscrapers first appeared.) Anyway, if your interested in architecture, which I kind of am, it's pretty good. But, back to my story.
Well, on friday, I decided to see how far I could walk. I went down Boyleston, to Washington, and eventually the Faneul Hall Quincy Markey area. I decided to go a bit further, and eventually found myself walking towards Charleston. I said to myself "it would be cool if I climbed the Bunker Hill monument," so, I climbed up all 294 stairs, then back down, and home. I've come to the realization that almost everything is within walking distance.
Now, at this point in time, you are probably asking if I have any real social life. The answer is of course, not much. However, I have watched a couple of movies at my friend Shannons room. First, I got invited to watch Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which was highly recommended by Shannon. However, when we actually saw it, she said that she remembered it better, with better special effects, etc. I didn't think it was that great, and that to truly appreciate a fine work of literature, one must read the book. (note, I am going to immediately contradict that point).
Shannon has a class called "Exploring the Humanities through Film" which is basically a class about movies, I guess. Anyway, the film she had to watch was a 1989 adpaptation of the play "Henry V" by Shakespeare. Since I had nothing better to do, I watched it with her. Despite her constantly pausing and rewinding the film in order to see how it differed from the actuall play, I really enjoyed it. Especially the speach Henry gives when the English are outnumbered 5 to 1. And, I came to a realization of sorts. Shakespeare was never meant to be read, but to be watched.
Each actor plays each character in a completely different voice and style, and they add so much to the dialogue that it would be almost impossible for a person to provide them while reading a play by itself. Thus, what I learned is this "Never watch a movie in place of a great piece of literature, because there is so much they must leave out, unless it's a play, in which case you should only watch the movie (or play), because there is so much that you leave out." (I should note, however, that the movie did indeed leave out certain parts of the play, including several which are supposedly very important when forming an image of Henry.) (I should also note that "Henry V" won the Oscar for best costume design)
Hmmm, how much more do I need to say. Well, I have a calc prodject due friday, an appointment tomorrow morning (for life insureance), I dinner with my father and brother on thursday, and I'm going home friday. I'm sure that there is more that I could write, but I feel that I need to get to bed soon, so, good night, and may the lord bless you and keep you.
Back to the journal