STiLL ALiCE Journal

Still Alice is a very intriguing novel. It helps me understand how people with alzheimer's cope with every day life. "As if she were riding a roller coaster with her eyes shut, she couldn’t predict which way she was being turned next” is like an endless struggle that Alice is fighting. She can't help the fact that she is forgetting the simplest things that she used to know off the top of her head.

Alzheimer's is predicted to effect 1 in 85 people by 2050, which is quite a high number. Unfortunately there is no cure at this point in time. Alice and her family will be greatly affected by this tragic disease. Sadly Alice must face that she will not be able to recognize her loved ones. Due to the disease the saying "Family comes first" is going to slowly fade away, not because Alice doesn't believe that, but because she will not be able to identify her own family.
 Personally I may not have alzheimers, but I can relate to how she feels.  Her life is  like a roller coaster spiraling out of control. 


We all have moments in life where we have to look down and see that our feet are still planted firmly on the ground. It can feel like walking down a windy path trying to reach you destination but being knocked of course. Yet knowing in the back of your mind you will never reach it. All our personal connections fade like a well-aged  piece of driftwood floating in the ocean. It will never sink but it will exist as a foreigner, far from home. Lost in a world of transition, yet knowing what awaits you.

Public Displays of disaffection

1. The three main points of  "Public displays of disaffection" are cellphones are unprofessional, an addiction, and clearly cause problems with communication. It is obvious how  the use of cellphones can be thought as  unprofessional or rude, considering people sometimes talk or text in inappropriate situations. "It says, to hell with you" states, Pamela Eyring, director of the Protocol School of Washington. On the other hand over cellphone usage can be referred to as addiction. Cellphones are a common problem in society today, it is evident that people are over using them and abusing the privilege of having a cellphone, especially students who cannot put them down. They all have addictive qualities in them the fact of the matter is that people have found another means of communication which has proven to be a problem. Which brings me to my next point, problems with communication. Two way conversation no longer exist. "Half alogue" mean basically only understanding half of the conversation while the other half is completely focused on the vibration coming from the device in your hand.


2. Personally I believe cellphone usage can be unprofessional, for example when you are in an important meeting for work, talking on your cellphone in the midst of a coworkers speech inappropriate. As well having your cellphone out  all the time with no regard for others in my opinion is considered an addiction. These electronic demons also cause problems with communication. why not talk to someone face to face?


3. On the other hand cellphones can be good at times. I believe that a cellphone owner has both advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages being, you don't have to find a payphone or a land line to call someone, you can keep in touch with family and friends easier as well as work, if you are lost you can be found if the authorities track your number. That is a very minimal list of  the good. But when students use cellphones to text another student while in school, or someones cellphone goes of in the middle of a public theatre the good vanishes. I do not think it is appropriate under these circumstances that anyone should be aloud to use a cellphone in such a irritating blunt manner. 

Historical Moment

If I were to choose a historical moment go back in time to see, I would choose the holocaust. I want to go end the rein of Hitler (although I doubt I could) and end the terror he struck into the hearts of those less fortunate. It pains me just thinking about all the abuse he put all those poor people through. Some words that linger in my head when i hear the word holocaust are death, blood, murder, pain, torture, and war. If those that were killed then, survived I wonder what the  world would be like today. To know that they had a chance to live a happy life far for Hitler’s torture camps would have made them a different person. The holocaust was a very historical time in history that everyone will hear about even in the future. After all the Past is what shapes the "Now." Unfortunately you can't change the past you just can look forward to what the future holds.

Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1

After Poisoning Duncan's guards Lady Macbeth awaits Macbeth's return eagerly from ending kind Duncans reign. Macbeth returns carrying two blood soaked daggers, that were used to murder King Duncan
while he was in a drunken slumber. Lady Macbeth awakes to see Macbeth stumble in the room covered in blood seemingly not his own. Unfortunately for lady Macbeth, She has to go back to the scene of the crime and place the daggers on the guards.

Macbeth Character Sketch:

• Scottish Nobel ~ works in the ranks of the king
• Thane of Glamis ~ Is the Thane of Glamis originally
• Thane of Cawdor ~ Becomes this after old Thane is hung
• Ambitious ~ When he decides he wants to be king he will do anything to become it.
• Courageous ~ Great war hero, fighting in King Duncans army
• Insecure ~ Sees Banquo in the mirror trying to strangle him after Banquo was murdered
• Indecisive ~Can't make up mind to kill Duncan or not
• Unpredictable ~  He is caught between his good and bad intentions

If I were to have directed the movie, it would not have gone exactly the planned. For one Macbeth wouldn't be as manly as he seems now, He would be very weak and wimpy until he became the Thane of Cawdor. In the beginning Macbeth would find the witches really attractive until he saw their true colors and that they wanted him dead. Secondly He would not have seen daggers but he would have seen shining spoons that later he would have used to kill King Duncan with. The floating spoons would have been  very confusing for the audience, but it would be very understandable for Macbeth. Duncan he would not be drunk when Macbeth was going to kill him, he would be perfectly awake and ready to have an epic slow motion ninja battle with Macbeth. But then would be killed by tripping over his stuffed bear rug and falling into his very own fire place. Then Macbeth would start to feel the power of his accomplishment's. That very next morning  The gaurds would wake up to the smell of fresh bacon but then realized it was Duncans roasting corpse in the fireplace. That night Malcom and Duncan would have ran way to china to open a sushi bar. This would mean that Macbeth is the next inline for the throne. But Banquo, Macbeths very best friend has his doubts about what happened. That very day Banquo was murdered At Macbeths first dinner as the new king he would see
Banquo in the mirror trying to poke him in the eyes with a hot pepper. This would make all his minions feel that their new king is mad.