IOP

My IOP was about dogs in the novel Disgrace. "The dogs in Disgrace represent the state to which South Africa and its people have been reduced to." Was my thesis. I started off by acting out the metamorphosis of a human into a dog while All I Need by Radiohead played the background. I used a power point presentation to guide both me and the audience through the presentation as smoothly as possible.

All forms of public speaking are healthy for students in high school because it has high importance in most high-end jobs. Preparing and watching all the Individual Oral Presentations really opened my eyes to how easy it is to seem boring in front of a crowd of students. I, personally, have a hard time speaking well in public about things Im not passionate about. I like that the IB has diversified its assessment methods because it gives fair chance for those that might not do so well in written tests, to get some grades as well. Im sure that most of my colleagues feel the same way about the IOP itself, what worries me however is the way we approached this project. Between the IOP proposal, IOP assigned dates, IOP assigned questions, evaluating answers, watching the presentation, righting comments, and self assessment the actual presentation is lost. Instead of this project being a chance to discuss different topics/takes on the novels it became a long check-list of different evaluation combinations. The presentations became robotic and empty like dictation. This however is not completely because it really shows you all the mistakes you might have done. I learned many things about public speaking and preparing for important presentations especially since I had to go through the process twice. It feels great on the other hand to be over and done with them.

Oracle Night

Oracle Night is a relatively easy-going novel. You don't really feel heightened moments of sadness or stress until the very end. I like these kinds of books because they keep my emotions at bay and give me time to think about the novel as a whole while reading it. I think, however that my biggest attraction to the novel was the mystery that paul austen built around the central plot. Everything from the blue notebook to Grace's dreams seem to leave a trace of mystery and ambiguity in the reader's mind. I think that Paul Auster did a good job at creating this air of uncertainty in this novel without cliche. It is unlike most novels in that sense because we never really loose touch of the reality of the story. Paul Auster remains true to realistic fiction and still manages to deliver a novel stimulating to the reader's imagination.

Reaction to The Rock of Tanios

Though Amin Maalouf never specifies the location of this book, it is not difficult to figure out that it is in a Middle Eastern setting. Since I have grown up in a middle eastern setting it is not difficult for me to be able to connect with manny aspects of this book. The characters' culture in this book is familiar to mine. Usage of arabic words such as "sheikh" in the book may be foreign to western readers, but I recognized it instantly as an honorific term. In fact, this term is still used today and can be bought and added to your passport here in Lebanon. Even the type of food that they eat is similar to ours nowadays in Lebanon for example the cheese that they ate is one of my grandfather's favorites. The people that live in the mountains in the book show how hierarchy was molded into their culture. The power of the sheikh in this book was opulent. Everyone in the village went and kissed his hand in the morning and he took a part of all their produce. Though the time the book is set in is probably long ago, remnants of this ancient arab culture is still found today which makes this book a whole lot easier to relate to.

Byron and His Poetry

No, Lord Byron’s Poetry was not eclipsed by his life. Him, being a public figure no doubt has helped his writings become known, but this is not a reason for us to undermine his works. I find his works and him equally interesting. They are closely related and I believe there is a reason for this. Lord Byron, I believe, enjoyed the attention. Many other authors that have been prosecuted by governments or society have been able to separate their works from their personal life. Don Juan, one of Byron’s most famous works acts as a front for him to rant about society and other themes affecting his life such as unfaithfulness.

My Haiku

The full moon looms
Spider feeds
Death is near

Makhloutah

Reaction to Disgrace

I generally enjoyed Disgrace, especially the beginning. It started off really fast pace with lots of events happening. The main character, David Lurie, is faced with a plethora of problems thrown at him in the first 5 chapters until he gets asked to resign from the university. I enjoyed watching him tackle these problems a lot because he doesn't seem to take them so seriously and keeps an educated sarcastic and cynical attitude. The writing style maintains a concise and even snappy tone which I appreciate greatly. After chapter five, however, J.M. Coetzee hits the breaks and the main events are spaced out drastically by pages of how David is feeling disheartened and gloomy.
The book certainly does deserve international acclaim because it is a deceivingly simple book but there are many underlying themes that aren't necessarily obvious.
I would recommend this book, especially to light readers such as myself. I would not give this book to some heavy reader because it will only frustrate them because there is no obvious point to the novel. Then again, if they were heavy readers they would probably be able to spot the point Im at a loss... Again.


Here's a picture of me reading Disgrace at the golf court.

Cairo

Shakespeare is not overrated!

Shakespeare is defiantly not overrated because he wrote many genius plays that have advanced the fields of theatre and literature. I do think that all the press and academic attention that is given to Shakespeare could pose as a disadvantage to the other writers of his time. Too much emphasis on Shakespeare could shun out student's exposure to other playwrights of his period. Regardless, saying that Shakespeare is simply not enough to truly understand Theatre and English literature because his works explored a wide range of themes and characters. Until today, there aren't many writers who have come up with the range and diversity of texts that have proven as entertaining to the general public as Shakespeare's. Shakespeare has become a brand name and an industry in the western world and not without reason.

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I will post pics of cairo tomorrow :D

Bored in the Library

Tracy
Tracy and I working hard on our math before the test...

Mesonnet

This is my sonnet. Hope its not too dramatic!

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Self Constraint
In murky night and dusky morning
In the fathoms of oceans he hides all day
Envying the eagles soaring
Incognito all the way

One little slip could mean demise
He constraints himself with iron
When they unearth his lies
Shadows will ring the siren

Arrows are blast through the air
Battle drums echo death is near
Eagle's claws will bear
His way forward is clear:

"Tis time to call out the shield,
We are impenetrable to anything they yield!"

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OMG, i just read it again... its sooo bad (sigh)
Since my sonnet isn't all that Im going to post some pictures to entertain the poor peeps that were nice enough to visit.
:D




Bored





My hawt leg.




Ah look we are happy again!







GREEN GOBLIN(S)



I uploaded this by mistake :S



Hadrien Nader and Baha play many songs I have never heard before at graffiti. Don't forget us little people when you become famous.

Sonnets bleh

Sonnets are not all that in my opinion. Yes, I do find their structure limiting and unnecessarily so. I like the way they can be used to send hidden messages the way Shakespeare did. Never thought of a penis as a bud...

Disgrace Chapter 1-4

1. The first line of the novel begins with "For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well." What is the "problem" that he has solved? Has he really solved it?

It seems apparent that he hasn't solved his sex problem really well, although it was fine for the time that Soraya was "working" for him. I think the reason that it sex has become a problem for David (No, Im not talking about myself in the 3rd person) is that he wants to satisfy his libido and at the same time not get attached to anyone. David recognizes that they come along hand in hand and starts to find it a nuisance to have to work so hard for it. He claimed he did not have problems getting sex when he wanted it before, but now it is much harder because he isn't as attractive.

These are pictures of me reading in...
The laundry, waiting for the washing machine to finish its cycle.
The Kitchen, getting fat on a jam-topped carb.
Enough read, Im off the gym.