What I Think About Twilight

Alright here it is. What I think about the book Twilight.

I believe literature is a reflection of the interests of the people in the time period the book is written. It is written with skill and with a purpose. There have been many arguments on what makes good literature and what makes just a bad book. Right now there has been a lot of talk about if the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer is considered good literature or not. Although I would not say Twilight is intellectually on the same level as other romances such as books written by Jane Austin or funny romantic plays by Oscar Wilde it is a great reflection of what our time wants to read right now.

In my senior year of high school my A.P. English teacher put on our summer reading list Twilight right between The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Catcher in the Rye. At first I was very offended by this and I could not understand why on earth she would put a vampire teen romance even on the same page as these amazing classics. But then I began to realize the importance of this book is not in the skill or intelligence; it’s in the importance it is to the people. Stephanie Meyer created a story that spoke out to everyone and became a world-wide phenomenon.

In the story a regular teenage girl (Bella) meets this amazingly good looking, wealthy, smart and witty vampire named Edward. They fall in love and have to go through some hard times to stay together. I do not think that it is only the obsession with Edward Cullen that draws people in, but the idea of an eternal love and someone to be with you and care for you forever. I believe we live in a time full of romantics and Stephanie Meyer wrote the perfect book for the time. The book is not particularly well written or very deep but it does deal with emotions and that I think is a very important part in a book. The reader in any book needs to be able to connect, at least on some level, with the main character in the book and be able to feel some of the same emotions or at least see where they are coming from. Stephanie Meyer creates this relationship between book and reader very well. The main character and narrator of the book, Bella, is a very realistic person. She is easy to understand and feel for. I do not think that I would consider Twilight as a great piece of literature and eventually considered a classic, but I do believe it has made a name for itself and will be remembered for a long time. So my hats off to you Stephanie Meyer.

Create

This is an amazing video. It's clips form Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk about creativity. It's phenomenal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

Or

http://www.mormonvidz.com/video/40/Dieter-F-Uchtdorf--CREATE

Blast From the Past

There is a weird feeling I get every time I am about to see someone who I haven’t seen for a long time, and have been close to in the past. It’s almost like the quite static and complete peace you feel before a storm hits. It felt exactly like that today when I was walking over to visit an old friend. We were very close a few years back but now things have changed dramatically. Talking to them felt very familiar and it still flowed the same way as it used to, but it also felt awkward. It was nice to see them again because I missed how much they smiled. At the same time though, the level of comfort that they talked to me with made me feel uncomfortable. It seemed as though they didn’t want to warm up before diving right into how it used to be. Now that I’ve seen them again, I know I will probably see them more (mostly because they are moving block away from me). I don’t know how ready I really am or if I even want to. I guess all I have to do is step back, breath and think. Is this a friendly ghost or a demon of the past? I guess well see.

Pink

There are many words that describe the color pink, but the one that I think is used most often it girly. I think too many people look at the color pink and think this. I agree that it is more of a feminine color and by all means I am not saying dress the men in it. What I am trying to say is have we been underestimating the power of pink? Did you know that bright pinks stimulate energy and can increase the blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate. Pink can also encourage action and confidence. Pink has also been used in prison holding cells to effectively reduce erratic behavior. Crazy huh? Also in Japan, the color pink has a masculine association. The annual spring blooming of the pink-blossomed cherry trees (the Sakura) is said to represent the young Japanese warriors who fell in battle in the prime of life (the Samurai). I find this amazing! So good luck to you pink!

Man's Best Friend

Kalif our current dog

Haskins and Shoki our first dogs

Bronte our dog that passed away about 6 month ago

There are so many things in this world that can lift you up and make you feel good. For me one of those things are my family’s dogs. Over the years my family has owned a blue and gold macaw, 3 hedgehogs, 1 rabbit, 2 guinea pigs, hermit crabs, countless numbers of fish and more. But the one animal that we have had that is unlike any other is our dogs. There are many reasons for me to dislike dogs, from the scar on my upper lip from 5 stitches from a dog bite, to the many chewed up pairs of shoes I have had. But, none of that maters when you’re looking into a dog’s eyes. A dog doesn’t care what you look like or how much money you make. They don’t care about the stock market, the economy, or politics. A dog doesn’t even care about how many friends you have or where you work. A dog only cares about love. A dog loves love. They crave hugs, pats, scratches and someone to care for them, and when you give that to them, they return it in as many ways possible. Some people might get sick of the drool, the hair everywhere, the barking and more but they more than make up for it in so many other ways. When I come home our huge German Shepherd Kalif is always waiting at the door, pounding his tail against the wall, ready for me to be home. There is nothing comparable to the love I feel when I walk in the door and see my dog waiting and so happy to see me. There is nothing to compare to the feeling I get when I am laying on the couch watching a movie and my dog comes and puts his head on my lap and looks up at me with his huge eyes or the way he follows me around the house from room to room when i’ve had a bad day. Dogs are always there for you. They live to love you. I am so glad that I have grown up with dogs in my house. They are one of my best comforts and I am so glad that I have had the experience and privilege to care for an animal so kind-hearted, tender and compassionate. There is no other animal quite like the dog, and I hope everyone has the experience of being loved by such a selfless creature.

Attraction

There are many millions of things in this world that I am afraid I will never understand. I believe one of those things to be attraction. Why are certain people attracted to other kinds of people? Why are we all drawn to certain characteristics in people of the opposite (or same) sex? Is it just a natural instinct to be attracted to someone who is in better shape or may look better than others because we want to pass on good genes? Could it be that people like others that are more aesthetically pleasing just for the luxury? Why do we all like certain things? And why are we also sometime attracted to the exact opposite of what we are? I think at least some of the reason for this is excitement and thrill. I believe most of us don’t like to be with someone who is exactly like us. This takes away some (or a lot) of the excitement. If you had everything in common you really wouldn’t have anything to talk about. For example, I am a dancer and I have dated other dancers in the past and found it much less exciting talking about anything that even remotely related to dance with them. I much prefer telling someone about dance who doesn’t know that much about it, I prefer it even though they might not appreciate how many awards i’ve won or my accomplishments. I believe they will look at it with an eye not tainted by bias or/and an annoying large amount of knowledge about dance. I think that’s what we all want. We all want a someone like a very complicated and amazing book. Once we have it and have read it we understand it for the most part but we keep finding new things through out the book that keeps us coming back for more. Now feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we all want a little spontaneity in life.

Being Green

There are many different ways to be green, also know as being eco-friendly. I have decided that every once in a while I will be writing short posts on how to be more green. They will include things from growing green to making homemade green cleaners and more. Today I just wanted to write about a T.V. show called Stuff Happens. It’s a fun show where Bill Nye explains what happens when we use things and where it goes when we’re done with it and the impact it has on the environment. In this show Bill goes through different rooms in the house and how we can change small and large things in each room from what to look out for in toothpaste to how you can recycle jeans and use as insulation in your walls. It’s a great show and is found on Planet Green a network owned by Discovery Channel. Another show on that channel that I love and will write more in detail about later is called World’s Greenest Homes. They are both great shows that give amazing ideas on being green. I hope you check them out!

Songs That Remind Me of You

1.I’ll Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie

Warren Daynes-I made this our song when I was 16 and you had to remind me a month or so ago. What a great song. Thanks for reminding me.

2.I’m Shaken by Rooney

Amy Patten: My awesome cousin took me to their concert when I was obsessed with them and the O.C.

3.Blue Light by Bloc Party

Amber Ziegler- I was totally in love with this song one night and you burnt it for me when I think we both should have been doing homework.

4.The Compromise by The Format

Breanna Taylor: You put this song on a mix for me once and now they are one of my favorite bands. Thanks!

5.Jimmy Eat World- Hear You Me

Richard Knudsen: I remember many times sitting and talking to you listening to this song. What great days.

6.Flower of Scotland- The Corries

Cheryl Duerden (my mother): My mother explained the amazing story of this song to my family while driving through Scotland and everyone in my family cried while listening to it. I will never forget that.

7.Remember to Breathe by Dashboard Confessional

Eric Duerden (my brother): He dedicated this song to me and would always write lyrics from it at the bottom on each letter he sent me when he was at a treatment center for a year.

8. Falling Slowly from the movie Once

Tucker Samuelsen: Although there are thousands of songs that remind me of Bucket this one I think is possibly my favorite. We were so happy when it beat Enchanted!


9.Flightless Bird by Iron and Wine

Heather Bolton: Because I think she might love it as much as me and we played it at least 10 times tonight.

10.The Call by Regina Specktor

Marie Daynes Burt- I love singing this song with you, especially when Warren starts complaining and says, “Who sings this song? Because we should keep it that way”.

11.Your Call by Secondhand Serinate

Chelsey Larson: I remember on my 19th birthday when you took me out for breakfast we went back to my house and I played this song for you because I loved it so much and wanted to share it with someone who I loved:)

12.Little Red and Wolfie B by Seve Vs. Evan

Cherie Gallagher: She never complained when I played this song over and over and over again at our apartment and ranted about how great the band. She also was the one to give me enough confidence to wear my seve vs. evan shirt with a smiling lobster on it.

13.Believe by Yellowcard

Scott Knudsen: This was another song that I picked when I was 15 or so to be my song with Scott. What amazing days!

14.Forgotten by Avril Lavgine

Jessica Morgan: This song should remind me of sad days but it reminds me of a great friend who helped me through a hard time.

15.Zombie by The Cranberries

Nathan Burt: Because it was fun to listen and sing to it while we kicked trash in spades.

My Photo Portfolio

For my Humanities Class end project I decided to create my own photo portfolio. I took hundreds of pics that fit into different genres of photography and here are just a few of the many that I liked the most and wanted to share! Thanks!

Outgoing vs. Shy

outgoing? or
shy?








Most people try to categorize people in two different groups. One is the shy, and the other the outgoing. One of my friends mentioned the other day that he was a very shy person in high school and didn’t make any friends. He then told me that he also really disliked outgoing people because they look down on the shy and are very conceded. I find this funny because a lot of my friends who are outgoing look at shy people and think of them as very narcissistic. So where is this coming from? How are we misunderstanding each other so much? After talking with a bunch of friends who are shy and outgoing, from what they said shy people might look at the more outgoing and view their confidence as self absorption and that the outgoing, look at the shy, and believe the shy to think they are too good to socialize with others. It may seem so “high school” but, in every circumstance people always join and befriend people and groups who are similar to themselves. I do not think that this is out of pride but out of comfort. We are more comfortable with people who look similar to us, and act more like us. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mean to put people into only those two groups. Everyone is different and it's different for each person. So my goal for this next week is to jump out of my normal comfort zone and befriend someone completely opposite to me. Wish me luck!


P.S. I hope you like the new look of my blog:)

Most Amazing Things

Here is just a short list of 5 of the most amazing things this week (at least for me)



1.Food: Asiago Bagels with Strawberry Cream Cheese.

It sounds really gross but it’s so amazing! Best mistake I ever made


2.Book: The Love Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Berrett

Really great book full of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Berrett’s love letters written back and forth during there whole lives.


3.Song: I’d be Lying by Greg Laswell

won't you let me give you a hand
i have an extra I'm not using
won't you let me lighten your load
i mean after all your legs are shaking

and i can understand
all i need is your hand
oh won't you take the fall
it is me after all

I'd be lying
if i ran away
I'd be lying
if i ran another way
and so I'll stay

Amazing song! Such great lyrics! You should really check it out.

4.Amazing Story: Bella the dog and her best friend Tarra the Elephant. Take 2 min to watch it’s amazing!


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/02/assignment_america/main4696340.shtml

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjyb0t5Jm44





5. Clothing Item: Skinny Jeans!

They can really look great people just don't know the right way to wear them. You're not supposed to wear them skin tight unless your size 1 or smaller.