9/11 and where I was, or where I should have been

9/11 most of us were in middle schooler or younger and we were confused when the two towers fell. In preparation for this story its noted you might want a stiff drink, skip the Mai Tai or the Wiskey and coke. Go with a Gin and Tonic or a Long Island, or better yet fuck all those and crack a beer. As I was saying on 9/11/2001 I was in the bathroom getting ready for my senior year of high school hoping we didn't have a pop quiz and that I could get a date for this weekend. Or I could just stay at home and play video games until my eyes melted.

Well my mom came into my room and yelled "Erik Logan Kubik get your ass out here!" Well it was something like that. I ran into the den where the news was on. The first tower was belching smoke like crazy and I watched it fall.

After I drove to school and headed to class, I remember the building being eerie silent. There as no laughter or loud talking. In every class we talked about what was going on and what this meant.

I remember I was angry, as were some of my friends. We wanted to know who was responsible and when we found out we wanted them to suffer the worst way. Hell, I wanted all of them to be nuked with biological weapons and to die a horrible slow death. I'm sure I said some nasty slang toward who did this. Many of my friends who were seniors that year enlisted, they wanted to go to battle with the enemies of the U.S. The president painted a picture of what must be done and we cheered him on. Only to find ourselves stuck in a giant litter box half a world away.

At first I was angry and sad, then I was happy we were going after them, now I could care lees with all the mess we've gotten ourselves in. Since we are too busy over there to focus on issues in our own country. Next time just bomb the hell out of it like we should have done in 'Nam.


And on a side note one song for the blog
Story of the Year-We don't care anymore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRQAVW3_4To

Also keep your eyes open on my other blog if you will (free stuff for nothing)
http://freestuff4nothing.blogspot.com/

Comics vs literature or as I liked to say boring vs fun

Well can Comics be considered literature? I feel that comics with their pictures, graphics, and doodles could be literature. Dictionary.com says literature is "..writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.."

So comics have writing in them, there is expression and form to the writing and to the art. I guess some of them could be considered essays or novels in an unconventional sense. There are some universal characteristics. Hell most kids know who Superman and Batman are, well at least kids in the modern world. I'm sure the Communist countries of the last-half century had comics glorifying their leaders and bashing the west. Comics share a lot of these features and some of them have very in depth stories.

Now the debate between graphic novels and comics might get nasty. I have a feeling more people would consider graphic novels as literature vs comics. Comics tend to be shorter and run in series. Graphic novels feel like more work has gone into them, and seem to tell a complete story, most of the time, well I guess not always.

What about the idea of entertainment? Most of us are entertained by literature, can't comics do the same on a diffrent level. Some may argue comics are only for kids and are dumbed down. That's not always true sometimes comics and graphic novels deal with real world issues just in a different sense. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I think some comics could be considered literature. If someone made "Crime and Punishment" into a graphic novel I still wouldn't read it, why cause its boring.

Graphic novels that I enjoy Punisher, Walking Dead(black/white art with lots of zombies), Marvel Zombies, and a few more I've forgotten.

Song/video for the blog Stone Temple Pilots- Interstate Love Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGVobPA6b4Q

Also in further debate for next week which is better, Keystone Ice or Keystone Light, both taste bad, cost about the same, but one will make you hit the floor faster. So many choices and so little time.

My view on Persepolis without a beer

Persepolis is an interesting novel in itself, more like an interesting concept in itself. Take one part coming of age story, one part graphic novel, one part 1984/Stalinist/Maoist regime and toss it in a blender. Results are in, drum roll please, and the blend equals this novel. Could this tale be told without the use of comic book panels and word bubbles, of course. Now would this make it a better story. NO! There are too many books that go into someone's life that have been written without the use of visual aids. Bring on the graphic novel, it makes it easier to read and frankly more fun. We get to see it and read it and not just have our over stimulated brains attempt to fill it with pictures of kittens with guns. (Don’t ask) So the visuals help make or break the story and in this case, delicious thought of beer are overridden with Iranian officials acting as if they belonged in Orwell’s novel 1984.

Her age does affect the story a bit. If this was a 21 year old rehashing events in their life through a graphic novel there would be death lots of explosion and tons of gore, all to distract you away from the story which from an older perspective might seem tired and boring. But told from a pre-teen point of view readers get to see what she wants us to see and how she reacts to everything that is changing in her life. In other words readers get to see her grow

As for Marji being the main character yes. Is this a memoir? Yes most likely, just in a different form then most of us are used to. But I think the story is more about what is happening in Iran then about her life. In some parts it seems a little “Anne Frank-ish.” But the narrator’s life at times is overshadowed by what is going on with the country, or maybe there so intermixed like a good long island that you can’t tell the difference between the story and the flavors of booze. (Thanks goodness ‘cause whoever came up with the taste of gin should be hung from their thumbs and roasted alive).

As for changes in the novel Marji matures, she becomes rebellious to her parents and to the oppressive government. She becomes older, duh, but she also gains a sense of what is going on in the country and how’s it’s having an impact on the rest of the world. Overall it’s a fun read that kept me sober for the most of the time.

Song/video for the day Captain Dan-7 seas

(It's pirate rap!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCO2kBjsuFc

Why Ladies of Grace Adieu"made me want to drink more....

Let's see why I thought this piece sucked. First off I do not consider this piece to be anything close to fantasy, we have the mention of magic and the girls turn into owls. Well how is that interesting where are the epic battles and wizards blasting each other with fireballs, where are the alternate dimensions where dogs and cats talk and act like humans, when in reality they dine of human flesh? Where are the beautiful princesses that need to be rescued by a drunken knight in tarnished armor with a broken sword riding a goat instead of a horse?

If this is fantasy, Tolkien is probably rolling over in his grave, threatening to come back and eat our brains. for reading something that is the furthest thing from fantasy. I couldn't get into the story there was no hook and it felt awkward trying to sympathize with the characters.

So the parts which really sucked the beginning, the middle, and the end. There was little use of magic or mention of magic, the British call their wizards magicians, what the hell does that mean some sort of cheap guy on stage making rabbits pop out of his hat and sawing people in half just
for entertainment, now that's a musician. If they really wanted to escape these men they should have turned them into frogs and tortured them, or better yet blasted them with some cool curse or spell running their lives forever.

The only part I liked is when the turned into owls. But the dialogue would have better better if one of the girls, had turned into a dragon ate or burnt the other two ladies and had the three men for dessert.

Well I'm off too enjoy a few beers and read some fantasy about dragon slaying or gnome killing or dwarf bashing or something like that.

I decided to steal this from Carney Monoxide and post a video/song for the day. It will either fit the subject matter of the blog or just be random as hell.

So here it is Limp Bizkit-"My Way."

I'm out. so enjoy a cold one on me and remember writing this bad only makes you want to drink more.

Today assingment's or rather my attempt at them.

Alright, I'll admit I was hungover this morning, I blame my roommate. But here I go with one of the wonderful in class assignments we had. Also I didn't do prompt number 2 but I did 1 and 3.

The first prompt after looking out the window and deciding there wasn't that much to write about in the first place.

1. Student in an orange coat shuffles along the gravel-studded path among displaced red, brick buildings. His staggered steps show his regard for the ice and snow dominating the beaten footpaths. His thoughts are not of his exam in 10 minutes but of his current hangover which plagues him like bad breath making rational thinking impossible.

3rd prompt:

After hearing the news he walked outside. The sun had punched though the black cloud cover warming those who embraced it on this normally gloomy day. The red bricks of the building glistened with the beckoning light, causing it to ripple across the windows of the next to kin structures. I breathe the slightly chilled air feeling the embracing heat from the sun, getting me ready for the rest of my life.