Zobeide Invisible Cities

Above is my very awesome English project. For my project I had to take a book that was in the textbook, but had not read. Then I had to study about it, write a paper on it and give a presentation to my class. We were allowed to get creative and do what we want.

So I decided to do a puppet show. Yes it is silly and no its not supposed to look professional. It was my 1st time doing a puppet show and making a movie. I was very excited and the fact that I got an "A" on it just makes me even more happy.

For my topic I focused on Italo Calvino's Invisible City http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Calvino

Invisible Cities is about a conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan feels that his empire is failing and so he has Marco Polo tell him stories of the many wonderful places that he has been to. But the more Marco Polo tells Khan stories, the more the emperor begins to doubt Polo. About what?? Well that's something you will have to find out. :D

Now here is the back ground story to this video to see where I got the idea from. Remember the movie is not an actual representation of this part:

From there, after six days and seven nights, you arrive at Zobeide, the white city, well exposed to the moon, with streets wound about themselves as in a skein. They tell this tale of its foundation: men of various nations had an identical dream. They saw a woman running at night through an unknown city; she was seen from behind, with long hair, and she was naked. They dreamed of pursuing her. As they twisted and turned, each of them lost her. After the dream, they set out in search of that city; they never found it, but they found one another; they decided to build a city like the one in the dream. In laying out the streets, each followed the course of his pursuit; at the spot where they had lost the fugitive's trail, they arranged spaces and walls differently from the dream, so she would be unable to escape again.

This was the city of Zobeide, where they settled, waiting for that scene to be repeated one night. None of them, asleep or awake, ever saw the woman again. The city's streets were streets where they went to work every day, with no link any more to the dreamed chase. Which, for that matter, had long been forgotten.

New men arrived from other lands, having had a dream like theirs, and in the city of Zobeide, they recognized something from the streets of the dream, and they changed the positions of arcades and stairways to resemble more closely the path of the pursued woman and so, at the spot where she had vanished, there would remain no avenue of escape.

The first to arrive could not understand what drew these people to Zobeide, this ugly city, this trap.

This is only a part of the book and the part of the story. You will just have to find out what the actual conversation that took place between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo.

I hope you all like it. You can go to the youtube and leave comments there if you want to.

Enjoy!!

Stuck in a Rut

For the past month I have been feeling stuck in a funk. I have gotten behind in my classes, my grades haven't been as up to my standards and I feel overwhelmed by it all.

Reasons for being behind:

1.) Bound to happen, after all more homework is assigned throughout the semester and so occasionally something will slip through the cracks.

2.) My boyfriend was visited me for 2 1/2 weeks.... I love him, but because I enjoy so much time with him, he can also be a distraction. A good one, but also bad because I have other things I have to work on as well.

3.) Thinking that I have enough time to do everything I want.

4.) Extracurricular Activities, same as above. I just have to remember to prioritize.

5.) Bad Habits die Hard! After all this is the 1st time I am really trying to put effort into my schooling, not procrastinate and still have fun. I'm not used to that.

So my awesome game plan is this.....I'm doing it on here to keep myself accountable, if people know it, I will think, "Oh shot," I really have to do this.

1.) Finish My English Proposal

2.) Study French Vocabulary

3.)Finish Puppet Show Script for English Project

4.) Finish Designing and making Puppets

5.) Finish Set/Scenery

6.) Read over Madame Bovary

7.) Read over the Death of Ivan Ilyich

8.) Study for French Test

9.) Study For World Lit

10.) Put together movie project for english- reason for all the puppet talk

11.) Finish reading Ch.9 for World Religions

12.) Get ahead in math

Wow I have a lot to do. I know I can do it I just have to kick my butt into gear, motivate myself and remember my goals. Right now My goal is to get all A's so that way I will be able to get a job next semester without it upsetting my parents. My parents are very much that I should focus on just my grades, but with how things are changing, I know that there are many companies/ business, etc that won't hire someone unless they have had job/ leadership experience of sorts.

I try telling this to my parents, but I don't think they understand or they honestly believe that they will look at my grades more. Oh well I shall just work within their rules.

Anywho I have a goal and a mission. By this time next week I will post my awesome project up that I will have presented to my Lit. class. Wish me luck!