Storm of Steel: Ernst Junger

First there should be an umlat on Junger.

This book is about a German Soldier (Junger) who fought through World War One, and kept a very detailed journal about it. He fought in numerous of the famous battles throughout the war and wrote about the hardships and evils caused by war. What I love so much about this book is how simplistically Junger writes about war. He has just enough details in the writing that you can picture it in your head, yet the wording is so simplistic that a 12 year old could read it all (maybe not understand it), but I didn't have to find a dictionary to understand what they meant. I highly recommend it for anyone.

Mary Walstonecrap

I have had dealings with Ms. Walstonecrap in Academic Decathlon, and I have grown to hate her and her writings. It seems as though she grew up in a very hostile environment that grew to hate men. Yes feminists do have points, men do get treated a little better, but some of these are just outrageous. At one point she talks of the man eating from the tree of knowledge and the woman got drawn. WRONG!! Eve ate and Adam was drawn to it. She talks about how the common woman should rise up against wrong doing, but in her time period the language and vocabulary she uses wouldn't make sense to the common woman, let alone the fact you can barely read it now. Bland, boring, and just Blah!!

Google?

I agree and yet despise the thoughts proposed in this writing. The thought that reading things in a shorter amount of time and wanting information faster makes sense to me, and that the "deep reading" is leaving us is a good point. But being unable to focus long is not because of the internet. I was born with ADHD, I automatically lose focus. You can't blame google for a mental bonus that I have had my whole life. There are things that I can focus intensely on for hours, including reading, that does not mean that when I lose focus it's because of a website. It's true that I don't read deeply into writings, but that is because most of the writings that are now being published do not have the deep writing prowess that writers like John Steinbeck had. It is not so much that we are unable to read deeply, but we do not have enough writings that we can read deeply into. So it is not that google and the internet is making it worse. It is ourselves that cannot write or read deeply.

Skunks

This essay was both boring and weird. It seems as if the writer had to write about everything, literally, EVERYTHING!! Every agonizing detail, every weary feeling, and they loved to mention the odor of skunks. And they compared things that at times did not make sense. "I thought of a woman tossing, anchored in passion: calm one instant, full-throated the next,". Overall I really did think it was bland and quite boring.

Talk of the Town

These were quite interesting essays in my opinion. Adam makes a good point in saying "the point of law-making is to act as comprehensively as possible, in order to prevent the next one". Does this sound like something our government would do? Plan ahead? Adam quotes in his writing Virgina's governor talking about how people use these events as a political hobby horse, but then he continues to write on against the government using example much like the Virginia college tragedy. He writes almost hypocritically. In some ways he is just speaking mournfully and in others he is talking against everything our government does. Yes shootings are horrible, but we must think about the millions rather then just the 100's that die, that sounds horrid, and it is, but that's the truth.

Susan makes interesting points about the 9/11 attacks. She talks about how America is not ok and this was not pearl harbor. And I entirely agree with her. America today compared to Pearl Harbor had almost no response to the attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon. When Pearl Harbor was attacked a Japanese general was quoted saying, "I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant". We were attacked and the world then saw one of the greatest showing of arms in history. We reacted in anger. The whole nation jumped at the chance to go overseas and fight for our country. Now people say, "I want war!!! send the troops not me". How do you fight a war with that?

Intro

Ahh senior year has arrived; yet, I know I am in for a year of lots of hard work and tears.

You see I have forgotten myself already. My name is Alex Olson, some of you know me as AO; whichever you prefer. I am 17 at the moment and am involved in cross country, track, drum corps, school, academic decathlon, breathing, living, and one day dying. At the moment I feel that's all some of you need to know. If you want to know more about me, ask me. I don't bite much.