Slapstick

In pages 60-90 of "Slapstick," Vonnegut mainly continues to describe the childhood of Daffodil Swain.  Vonnegut says that Daffodil and his twin sister are like two humans of the same mind, and cannot perform when split apart from one another.  Daffodil and his sister realize that their parents are under a lot of stress because they think that Daffodil and his sister are mentally challenged, which they are not.  Daffodil and his sister begin to act like normal human beings in front of their parents and friends, but the reactions expressed by their parents and friends are mainly shocked, rather than the sudden initial happiness that was expected.  Daffodil and his sister are confused as to why their parents are still under stress and unhappy about their children, even though Daffodil and his sister begin to act like their intelligent selves, which is what they thought would please their parents, rather than increase their confusion and stress.

Slapstick

In pages 30-60, Vonnegut mainly writes about the childhood of Daffodil Swain, the main character.  Swain and his identical twin sister were born with an odd set of features, such as abnormally large heads and six toes and fingers.  People didn't believe that the twins would live past sixteen, but they actually turned out to be very intelligent humans.  Daffodil and his sister would act like they were mentally challenged in front of people for humor, but in private, they would read books and self-educate themselves.  People finally discovered that the Swain twins were actually quite brilliant when the twins were caught reading sophisticated books in the family library.  

In the opening sentence of chapter 6, Vonnegut writes: "Perhaps some people are really born unhappy."  I think that this sentence relates to both the book and Vonnegut's life.  In the prologue, Vonnegut's childhood is often described as "sad" or "unhappy."  This is interesting because Vonnegut also stated that "Slapstick" was the closest thing he would write to a biography of his life.  I think this quote shows a lot about Daffodil Swain's depressed character in "Slapstick," and also that Vonnegut is not naturally a happy person in his life.

Slapstick

The novel that I have chosen to read for this quarter is "Slapstick," by Kurt Vonnegut.  The prologue, which occupies the first 21 pages of "Slapstick," is mainly about how Vonnegut came to writing "Slapstick."  Vonnegut explains, in the prologue, that he began writing the book on a plane going to his aunt's funeral.  Vonnegut also goes off on many tangents about his childhood and life as a writer in the prologue.  The actual novel begins on page 23, with the introduction of the main character, Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain.  Swain, commonly referred to as, "Daffodil," was the last and tallest president of the United States of America.  Daffodil resides with his daughter (Melody) and daughter's lover (Isadore) in the overgrown jungle which used to be Manhattan.  The book is set sometime in the distant future when a disease known as "the green death" brakes out, and the whole island of Manhattan must be quarantined from the rest of the United States.  Daffodil has the whole Empire State Building to himself, Melody, and Isadore; with their nearest neighbor, Vera (a slave owner), living 1.5 kilometers away.  Vonnegut writes in a humorous and jolly style, often writing "Hi ho" after many outrageous and amusing paragraphs.  So far, "Slapstick" seems to be a peculiar and entertaining novel with a twisted plot.

Not Really an Alaskan Mountain Man

Doug Fine's "Not Really an Alaskan Mountain Man" is yet another experiment of Doug Fine, this time seeing if he (Doug), a city dweller, can live like a true outdoors-man in southern Alaska.  In the first 30 pages of the book, Doug moves into a small cabin along Fritz Creek with his dog.  Doug finds out that his neighbors consider him to be a Cheechako: an impersonator of a true Alaskan, a con.  Doug makes it his goal to be considered a "true Alaskan", but for a city dweller who has never fired up a chain-saw, Doug has a long way to go before he can be called a "true Alaskan."  Doug's first step to rid himself of the name Cheechako is to properly heat and insulate his house, but the only source of heat Doug can use is a fireplace.  This means that if Doug wants to be reasonably warm, he has to chop down a tree, divide it into segments, and divide those segments into even smaller portions of wood, but for a New Yorker who is used to flicking a switch and becoming instantly toasty, all the work just to get some warmth seems like a stretch to Doug.  Although Doug is already thinking about returning home to a more modern part of the U.S., Doug's determined soul keeps him going through the brutal winter, desiring to become a "true Alaskan." 

The Greatest All-Time Baseball Record Book

This week, I read the Greatest "All-Time Baseball Record Book" by Joseph L. Reichler.  In this book, there are thousands of records, from the simplest of records, like most home runs, to the most awkward of records, like most double plays by a second baseman in a year.  This book contains not only records, but pictures with captions as well.  The book was published in 1981, so it is very interesting to see how outdated the records are.  With all of these incredibly irrelevant records in the book, it makes you realize how much information is recorded and kept from each Major League Baseball game.

The book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist," by Robert Fenner is about how to maintain a healthy aquarium and about all types of saltwater fish.  The book starts out by listing the necessary supplies to start a saltwater aquarium.  As the book progresses, it begins to talk about many classifications of tropical saltwater fish that can survive in a suitable aquarium.  Many pictures with captions are provided for the readers enjoyment.  For each classification of fish (about 30 classifications given), Robert Fenner writes about the fish's general behavior, diet, illness, and which fish they can tolerate.  "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" lists each name of fish for every classification of fish, and whether they are or are not good choices for an aquarium. Also, there are many types of suitable coral and invertebrates listed that are suitable for an aquarium.  The book is quite useful and helpful to the success of any beginning aquarist.

Adventure Magazine (October 2008)

Instant Japan:

The article titled "Instant Japan" in "Adventure Magazine" is about the many different parts of Japan.  The article talks about many places ranging from national parks of the north, to the warm tropical waters of the south of Japan.  In Southern Japan, there are many places where the water visibility is nearly 100 feet in the warm, tropical waters.  Okinawa is a popular spot for diving in Japan, where you can see hammerhead sharks and whales migrating.  In the middle of Japan, there are many elaborate Buddhist temples where the magazine talks about the people and their Buddhist culture.  Northern Japan has many national parks that are far from the booming city life of Tokyo.  The magazine shows many places with lush vegetation and gaping waterfalls.  Overall, I learned that Japan is a very interesting country with many different cultures, climates, and ecosystems.