Reading Life

My reading life so far is filled with good books. All the books I've read so far I enjoyed reading. The only book I want to read this year is called The Monkey Wrench Gang. Its about Eco-terrorists that really care about the environment and will do anything to protect the environment. I am really interested in reading that book but only after I finish reading the J.D Salinger collection. My book talk yesterday went o.k except that I didn't bring a good "hook" to the class. Besides all that I did pretty good in my book talk and it was pretty interesting to hear what other people read about. The book talk was really easy but only if you read the book if you didn't read the second book then it would be really hard and challenging.

Indie Book Connection

Right now I am reading a book called "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge". The best part of the book to me was when don Juan, a "brujo", and Carlos went to one of don Juan's friend's house and gave Carlos seven odd looking items. They felt like the pulp of walnuts, brown, hard and dry. They were called peyote buttons. As he chewed the buttons his mouth became numb with so much bitterness. Don Juan offered him tequila just to wash away the bitterness but to not drink it at all, just to rinse it in his mouth. Carlos had a strange desire to throw up. Don Juan brought out a big sauce pan filled with water and a cup or can. He offered Carlos a cup of water and as he drank his desire to vomit had vanished. By that time all sounds around him had disappeared. Then he tried to look for Don Juan but noticed that his vision diminished to a circular area in front of his eyes. He could literally sweep the whole ground with a slight movement of his head. He had forgotten about his urge to look for Don Juan and focused on how his vision had turned, exploring the outside. It was all suddenly dark and dim and only the city's lights can be seen. But within his circular vision everything was clear. As Carlos was looking at the porch where don Juan and his friends were sitting against, he looked to the saucepan were there was a medium-size black dog who was approaching the saucepan and began to drink from it. Carlos shoved him away from his water and suddenly he saw that the dog had become transparent he saw the water flowing down the dog's throat and into his body, flowing evenly through his entire length and then shooting out through each of his hairs. It traveled through each individual hair and then projecting out of the hairs to form a long, white, silky mane. Then it felt like a tunnel had formed around him and found himself trying to stand up but hit his head on the metal roof, he saw a small round opening in the end and crawled toward it. When he reached the end of the tunnel and was outside he found himself soaking wet and cold. He rolled back to rest and saw the black dog again. Every memory came back to him at once and remembered that he was looking for don Juan and the others. He looked back but couldn't distinguish anyone or anything. All he could see was the dog whose body was still transparent and the water radiated light in his body lighting him like a bonfire. He saw the saucepan in the floor again and sank his face in the water and started drinking with the dog his hands on the floor. As he drank he could see the water traveling through his veins and making hues of red, green, and yellow. He drank more and more until he was all aglow. He drank until he saw the water projecting out of every pore and create a silky fiber, Carlos acquired a silky mane similar to the dog's mane. He felt an extreme urge of happiness fill his whole body and ran with the dog toward a sort of yellow warmth that came from some indefinite place. And there he played with the dog until he knew his secrets and the dog knew his. They took turns manipulating each other in a sort of puppet show. So if Carlos twiddles his toes the dog would kick his feet, every time the dog moved his head Carlos had a sudden urge to jump. Then by flapping his ears side to side he made Carlos scratch his head with his feet. The action to Carlos was unbearably funny. The euphoria that possessed him was indescribable. He laughed until it was impossible to breathe. He had the clear sensation of not being able to open his eyes then it seemed as though he was looking through a tank of water. He felt that it was a long and very painful state filled with the anxiety of not being able to wake up but being awake. Then slowly the world became clear and focused. His vision turned to normal and with it came a conscious act of turning around looking for a marvelous being. The passage from his normal state had taken place almost without him realizing it: he was aware; his thoughts and feelings were that of awareness, and the passing was smooth and clear. But the second change, the awakening to serious, sober consciousness, was shocking.He had forgotten he was a man!The sadness of such a situation was so intense that he cried. Later on in the week the men and don Juan, told Carlos what had really happened. They explained to him that he had been "taken" when they heard Carlos puking, they said he must have puked about 10 times. Then they all moved next to him and saw that Carlos was stiff and having convulsions. For a very long time, while lying on his back he moved his mouth as though talking. Then he started to bump his head on the floor until don Juan put an old hat on him to stop. He then shivered and whined in the floor for hours. Mostly everybody fell asleep then but one of them heard him puffing and groaning. Then he screamed and everyone woke up. He made a dash for the water, knocked the pan over, and began to swim in the puddle. Don Juan brought more water . He sat quietly in front of the saucepan Then jumped up and took off all his clothes. He was kneeling in front of the water, drinking in big gulps. Then he just sat there and stared into space. They though he was going to be there forever. everyone fell asleep, until he jumped up again, howling, and took after the dog. The black dog got scared and howled too, and ran to the back of the house. By that time everyone woke up. Carlos came back from the other side of the house chasing the dog. The dog was running ahead of Carlos, barking and howling. They must have gone around the house about twenty times, running in circles, barking like a dog. They were afraid people were going to be curious, there are no neighbors close by but Carlos' howling was so loud it could have been heard for miles. He caught up to the dog and brought it on to the porch in his arms. Then he began to play with the dog. He wrestled with him and they bit each other. Then he ran to the water with the dog. He ran five or six times in the water with the dog. It went on for hours. He sounded so much like a dog that the men couldn't tell them apart. Then Carlos choked. He began to cry very strangely then it sounded as though he was biting his own tongue. Don Juan then opened Carlos' jaws and poured water all over his face. Finally he started to shiver and have convulsions all over again and stayed motionless for a long time. Don Juan said it was all over. By then it was morning so they covered Carlos with a blanket and left him to sleep on the porch. They all started to laugh very loudly and said to Carlos that they kept him in the porch because they were afraid he was going to pee all over the house. One of the man said that he pissed all over his dog and thats why the dog was running away from him because he was pissing on him.The guy then said after a laugh the his dog got even and pissed at Carlos. They all roared with laughter. Driving back to don Juan's place Carlos asked if it was all true and don Juan tried to explain to him that it wasn't just a dog it was "mescalito". The most unbelievable part of the book was when they told that he had been peeing all over his dog and the dog peed all over him.

O Brother Where Are Thou? connection...

The movie connects to The Alchemist because both main characters go after there treasure and don't give up. Some similarities between Everett and Santiago is that they don't give up and they continue to pursue the treasure. Differences not really besides the fact that Everett has a family already and tries to get his wife back, and Santiago is just a shepherd. In their pursuit to get to their treasure they meet alot of different people and go through so much but besides all the mischief they go through, they still don't give up.

Journal Connections

Right now I am reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, its about a guy named Christopher McCandless but later in the story he calls himself Alexander Supertramp. He connects to Santiago, in "The Alchemist", by how they are determined to pursue a certain goal or dream. Santiago's "dream", in this case, is to find his treasure by following omes around while Alexander's goal is to go to Alaska. Hes gone through so much just to get to Alaska, and in The Alchemist, Santiago is going through a lot to get to his treasure.

Picture Connection to The Alchemist...

I think this picture is similar to what we've been reading so far in The Alchemist because in part 2 all their doing is traveling in a group trying to reach the oasis and avoid war as they try to cross the desert.

The Alchemist.....

So far The Alchemist has been an interesting book and Santiago has changed since the beginning. Santiago now believes how the omens are good signs and how you should always pursue your dream. He now reacts to everything as if they were omens and every little thing is a sign. Santiago has almost become a little wiser telling people how to pursue their own dream.

The Letter to J.D Salinger...

Dear J.D Salinger,

Catcher in the Rye is a very good book and very interesting but what really doesnt make sense is some complicated words in the book that I have never heard of at all another thing is, I dont know how the title of the book links to the story most authors usually link the story and the title of the book but I dont know why the book is called "The Catcher in the Rye", other than that the book is very interesting and I understand whats going on as I'm reading the book. Thats what I enjoy most about the book that I can actually picture in my mind what Im reading in the book.

Sincerely,

Camilo Rangel

Highlights/Lowlights of reading this year...

Highlights of reading this year that I got to read some cool books like "Hole In My Life" by Jack Gantos it is a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. Another good book I got to read is "Nickel and Dime" by Gary Soto I liked that book but unfortunately I had to do a reading journal on it which is one of my lowlights of reading this year. Another lowlight of reading this year is having to do assignments on a book that I did like reading which was Heroes,Gods and Monsters of the Greek myths. We had to so much on that book that I got bored of Heroes and Gods from Greek myths. So far I've had more lowlights than highlights this year for reading but I still enjoy reading books that I pick.

I am reading.....

Right now in the class we are reading a book called the Alchemist about a shepherd named Santiago who has a recurring dream that's about a young kid who always takes him to some treasure in the Egyptian pyramids but right when hes gonna see the treasure he wakes up. So he goes to some gypsy lady who tells him that he has a slight chance that he will get the treasure. So he decides to go on an adventure and leave his sheep and as hes in a bar of some kind he meets up with an old mysterious guy that tells him hes a king and gives him stones that will answer Santiago's questions. So Santiago is now going on a search for his treasure based only on good omens. So far Santiago has had his money stolen but he realizes that he will make decisions on his own from now on.

Human Machines...?

"Those people were infested with carnivorous little corkscrews which would be seen only with a microscope. The victims' vertebrae were welded together after the corkscrews got through with the meat between. The syphilitics seemed tremendously dignified-erect, eyes straight ahead. I saw one stand on a curb at the corner of Meridian and Washington streets one time, underneath an overhanging clock in which my father designed. The intersection was known locally as "The Crossroads of America". This syphilitic man was thinking hard there, at the Crossroads of America, about how to get his legs to step off the curb and carry him across Washington Street. He shuddered gently, as though he had a small motor which was idling inside. Here was his problem: his brains, where the instructions to his legs originated, were being eaten clear through. Switches along the way were welded open or shut. This man looked like an old, old, man, although he might have been only thirty years old. He thought and thought. And then he kicked two times like a chorus girl. He certainly looked like a machine to me when I was a little boy. I tend to think of human beings as huge, rubbery test tubes, too, with chemical reactions seething inside." This is a little portion of what I am currently reading right now. Kurt Vonnegut talks about how he thinks everyone in the United States is a machine and how he saw people when he was little boy, like huge rubbery test tubes with a bunch of chemicals inside the tubes. This book talks about the problems in the United States and around the world especially of overpopulating in regions were there isnt even enough food to feed the population. The author explains the situation of overpopulating by describing a scene were someone is giving birth and only a mile away a man is dieing of starvation eating mud and gravel. This book has taught me how the world is slowly being worn out and overpopulated. So this book is really teaching me what is going on the world.

Dreams

I think that dreams all have a different kind of meaning. For example nightmares mean failure in business, disappointments, or like being bad in nutrition and health. I think Santiago was wise by deciding to follow the dream because I think they're like messages and they mean something. I would follow my dreams like Santiago did. I think dream interpretation is like a religion and only certain people believe in them. My family is a decendant from the Aztecs so i believe in kind of what Aztecs believe about dreams, that they were all messages each and every object in a dream means something different.

I am reading...

Right now I am reading Nickel and Dime by one of my favorite authors Gary Soto. This book is about three guys who struggle in their lifes as immigrants. One named Silver Mendez is struggling with his poetry,before he was really good at it and his poetry was well known but now hes old and is now struggling to find a nice place to sleep and most importantly some money!Then a man named Roberto was in a dead end job in a bank as a security guard but then one day his boss told him that he had a chance out there and shouldn't be working in the bank for the rest of his life so now with a check that supposedly carries thousands of dollars to help him out and look for a career he goes home and his roommate tells him he cant stay with him no more and kicks him out the house Roberto tells him he has a check to help him with the rent but it only has 300 hundred dollars. So now Roberto is in a crucial situation and ends up going homeless, selling Christmas wreaths to a fancy neighborhood, and the other guy named Gustavo who was Roberto's old colleague, is about to retire and lives alone in his house until one of his friends was deported by la migra and left his dog named flaco, unfortunately he cant keep any dogs were hes currently living at...and then besides the dirty dog now at his house and the landlord complaining that Gustavo can't have a dog in his house, Roberto decides that he wants to move in with Gus and so he does and now Gus is having trouble to get over the last two weeks he has for working at his job as a security guard in a bank..this relates to me because my parents are also struggling to support an eight member family and currently have no jobs.I think that life for immigrants are really hard and they struggle alot and I'm really into the rights of immigrants and stuff like that...and that's really all I'm reading right now and how that relates to me and my family.

About me

Well, my names Camilo Rangel and im 14 years old. My interests is the environment we live in like trees and stuff like that, especially the probem thats above Los Angeles' sky in other words when I grow up I wanna be a future environmentalists that hopefuly influences people to start caring about the world they live in or in other, other words im a TREEHUGGER!!!...and my favorite type of music is almost everything except for today's hip hop,rap, R&B, and Pop. One of my favorite hobbies is to play videogames, play football sometimes and eventually (if theres any planned event going on..) plant trees,and rarely if im really bored I draw some buildings like an architechture..and of course the building has to be eco-friendly and that's about it.