Creative Writing Reflection Finale

So, my blog has decided to glitch out and won't let me use any of my pictures that I selected. Any time I try to do so results in the picture disappearing and creating a major problem. This problem is that, wherever my mouse is pointing to all of the text randomly indents and either slides down the page or slides up the page. It gives me a headache to try and fix, so everyone deal with it.

Question 1
I have done a lot of writing this class. Looking at it all, it doesn't seem like much, though. I mean I've filled out a full journal, but I just don't think I've done all that much. I've created countless story openings, I wrote ten pages of random characters that I may or may not use. I wrote out the assignments that we've had. I even had to write out an entire story in an hour because my friend didn't want to put forth the effort. And yet, I haven't written as much as I wanted to. What I'm really trying to say here is that I can always write more so I haven't written enough yet. I have never been able to complete a single story; I can never write beyond chapter three. I always lose interest and just stop to do something else. Now, though, I might be able to write beyond that, but who knows?

Question 2

I've read quite a lot over the semester. You may have seen me at some points with a book in my hands. I've read all sorts of different stories. One was about a guy who gets hit by a car. He dies, but then is allowed to come back to life after going through a trial to see if he deserves to come back. He comes back to life, but on the condition that he helps spirits who have escaped to the living world return to the afterlife. Another story I've read is about this kid who has been looked down on his entire life. He was born with a demon sealed inside him and everyone wants both him and the demon to go away. All that the kid wants is for people to acknowledge him a give him the respect every human deserves. One story I've read is about this guy who becomes someone who exercises demons who are hunting souls in the living world. As time goes by, the number of demons only increases. Then, the guy's friend is escorted back to the afterlife to be executed, so he follows her to prevent that from happening. One story I've just started is about a kid who has the spirit of an Egyptian pharaoh within him. And ancient battle involving conjuring monsters from stone tablets has been recreated in the form of a children's trading card game. The kid has to compete in a tournament of this game in order to rescue his grandfather. This proves difficult as certain people abuse the ancient powers from which this game was created in order to try and steal the souls of the kid, his pharaoh, and both of their friends. Now that I think about it, a lot of the stories I read have to do with such dark concepts. Oh well.

Question 3

As I recall, setting up my blog was a bit of a drag. It wasn't difficult or time consuming, I just didn't really want to do it. Writing a blog hasn't been something I had ever considered doing before. This experience, however, hasn't been very enlightening; it's been just like writing on my own, but with everyone in my class having the option to judge me for it. I came up with the name "Reece "The Taco Man" Yells at Cats" by just picking and choosing different words that were going through my head completely at random. My blog could have just as easily been named "Card Games on Motorcycles." I think a lot of my classmates ended up reading bits and pieces of my blog, but I doubt they'd do it outside of class. I mean, who would read a blog entitled "Reece "The Taco Man" Yells at Cats" without being told to for a grade? I'm not trying to be a downer, I just don't think people would be too interested in my work yet. I don't think I'll continue this blog after this semester. I may continue to blog, but not with this page. If I do continue, it would be about some of my work that I'm doing. I'm planning on creating a series of video game walk-throughs with commentary with my friends, so the blog would be about different things concerning that.

Question 4

Journaling has been a boring experience. I can understand why people keep records of what they write, but I just find it a chore. It hasn't been too much different from just writing for assignments in class. Mainly the only thing I see in my journal is assignments. I don't see my journal as actual writing. I doubt anybody would want to read my journal, honestly. I won't continue this journal. I'll continue to write, just not for a journal. The things I'll write about are discussed in Question 7, so please look there so I won't have to write it twice.

Question 5

Excerpt from the journal of the Taco Man.

This may not be a landscape, but a skyscape works just as well. To people who don't believe they are limited to just the ground level, the sky is as much a landscape as the land itself. Most people would consider these dark, heavy clouds to be bad weather, but rain - even an overcast sky - is peaceful of weather than a sunny sky.

Question 6

Excerpt from the blog of the Taco Man.

"What makes someone a "hottie" to you?"

To me, what matters is what's inside. Don't misunderstand me; I'm still about as shallow as the next guy, but I look for personality more than anything. The best way to explain is in the form of an analogy. Think of a jelly doughnut. When I buy a jelly doughnut from Krispy Kreme I don't actually care about the bread part. What I'm after is that strawberry filling. Maybe this isn't a very good analogy, but I think it gets the point across.

Question 7

I plan on writing for fun and becoming a novelist. I have a few ideas based on TV shows I watched as a kid and video games that I enjoy playing. For instance, some writing that I'm about to start has been inspired by a show that you might have heard about. It's called Yu-Gi-Oh, and it's a show about a card game. What I get the most out of writing creatively has to be rediscovering all sorts of things that I once knew. I recently started to watch that show again since I started to write regularly. I have found a game series that I haven't played since forever. I get a lot out of creative writing, I'm just too tired to think of what all it could be. One thing, though would be reassurance. I have posted things on this blog that represent some of what kind of writing I'd do, and I had no idea how well they would have been met. Then I see some people from this class post their comments and I realize that maybe, just maybe, I can be a writer. Thanks guys!

Question 8

All right, guys, time to wrap this up. I won't take too long to try and inspire you guys and give my words encouragement. I just have this eighty-seven page speech prepared. A-hem, "Four score and seven years ago, when I was seventeen years of age, I went into a high school writing class. This was the first time any of my writing had ever been seen by the entire class. I realized, as soon as we sat down that first day, that everyone could look at any piece of my writing at any time they wished. I didn't care, I just wrote as I would on my own. It came time for the blogs to be created, so I typed the first thing that came to mind. I kept doing that, until finally, I had managed to make it to the end of first quarter. Now it is the end of second quarter, and I'm right back where I started: sitting in an uncomfortable chair, writing the first things that come to mind, wondering how my work will be met by the others here. Being self-conscious as I am, it is a little difficult for me to allow others to judge me based on my work. Yet, here I am. Typing up everything on my mind without so much as a second thought. If I can do it, so can you." So, did I exaggerate a little? That wasn't quite eighty-seven pages, huh? Well, the point is still there. Don't worry about how people will respond to what you do. Just go out there and do it.

I am Not a Sheep

About a Boy Writing Prompt

 

“I am not a sheep”

I sit around all day doing nothing. I watch the same football game for the twenty-seventh time, wondering when the box will record something worth watching. See the team whom I know nothing about score another touchdown, I am filled with a sudden longing for pizza. I look inside my wallet and find around twenty bucks.

I grab my red jacket and my sunglasses and begin to head out. I realize, before opening the front door to my apartment, that people really don’t like me. I grab my beam katana and clip it to by belt. For those of you who don’t know, a beam katana is just like a light saber, but more katana-like. And if you don’t know what a light saber is, then you must live under a rock.

I leave my apartment and walk over to my motorcycle. This old hunk of junk is older than I am, but it still runs. But it looks like the local street thugs have been at it again with their pipes and beam katana. Looks like I’ll have to take this to Rikku at the auto shop later; she’ll be thrilled to know here work has been trashed yet again.

I hop on the old clunker and drive off towards the nearest Pizza Suplex I know of. It’s a two minute drive. With nobody around, I drive on through the red lights. Even if people were around, nobody would care; the police were disbanded over six years ago. Still though, I don’t like looking like a hoodlum in front of others. When I get to the Pizza Suplex, I walk past a group of the street thugs who’ve been causing trouble lately.

Sora behind the counter says the pizza will take about ten minutes to cook, then she takes my money. A good way to keep people from running out on the bill is to take their wallets and return it after they get their food. If it will take ten minutes, I might as well get away from the scent of pizza grease. I walk back outside.

Standing next to my bike, the thugs are all laughing. My bike is on the ground with a few more dents and cuts in it. It will be a pain to ride home now. I have some time to kill; I might as well waste it on them.

I call out to the thugs and ask what’s going on. One spits on the ground and all of them pull out their pipes and beam swords. One stays out of it. For no other reason that I spoke to them, the thugs are going to beat me.

Not on my watch. These guys are just like high school bullies; they’re too scared to do anything on their own, so they gang up on one person in a large group. These guys are such cowards, so much like sheep. Well, I am not a sheep. I am a wolf, and I’ll get these guys to leave people alone one way or another.

For the next seven or eight minutes, I smack these thugs around. With the twelve of them on the ground whimpering like little pups, I turn to that last guy who stayed out of it. He’s says something, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. One thing I did catch was “Sanosuke,” my name. The thugs know who I am; so them trashing my bike wasn’t just random acts of violence. Before I react, he runs away.

I turn back to the Pizza Suplex, wondering if my pizza’s done yet. Sora says something about how it was odd to see thugs get beat up, and she goes on for the next couple of minutes about how she’s never seen anyone stop with just beating them. Ever since people stopped caring, the death toll has risen, she says. She hands me my pizza and gives me a Pizza Suplex gift card good for one free pizza and tells me to come again.

I head back to my apartment, glad that the thugs didn’t touch my bike’s seat rest. Another day goes by and still crime runs the world. I have to make a difference. I am not a sheep. A sheep would just sit around all day and let the world stay the way it is. I’m not going to sit by and let people suffer any longer. I’m going to bring order back!

But first, I have a pizza to attend to. Maybe I’ll bring order back tomorrow…

What If...?

What If..

 

"If you had to choose between staying behind to let your friend get away from danger or leaving your friend behind to face the danger, what would you choose and for what reason?"

 

I'm that guy who doesn't really like leaving friends behind. Even if the situatuion was frightening, even if it was dangerous, I would allow my friend to escape from danger. I don't really know why I would; I'd just do it without thinking. Then I'd start to question why I did it, yelling to myself, "What was your plan, Reece? WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN?!"

So, to sum up the answer, I'd stay behind really for no logical reason. Now, what would you say?

The Second of December

This post may be a little late... I have to think about these answers and all that...

12 of the best 2 lines of song lyrics or lines of poetry you can think of (credit the artist(s) on each)

Rearrange the lines to get a new story!

1. And there is a blackness inside me, That's breaking through                                 (Forever Blue - Miracle of Sound)
2. Maybe it's all just chemistry, You've made a monster outta me                            (Forever Blue - Miracle of Sound)
3. So long I waited for a chance to prove I was right, Don't let me down now with my fists are clenched for the fight                                                                                                      (The Crush - Miracle of Sound)
4. I wanna feel that power surge, Two minds that were made to merge                          (The Crush - Miracle of Sound)
5. And I dream of the sea broken machinery, And I dream of the sea there's no Rapture for me                                                                                                                                   (Little Sister - Miracle of Sound)
6. And I dream of the sky broken clouds drifting by, And I dream of the sky my utopian lie                                                                                                                                        (Dream of the Sky - Miracle of Sound)
7. Hi-tech cathedrals rise and fall in great ravines, Colossal steeples to the gods in the machine                                                                                                                                   (The New Black Gold - Miracle of Sound)
8. Innocence is wasted and I'm so sorry that you never can replace it, The darkest road ahead you're gonna have to face it cause I can always be there for now I'll do the best I can                                                                                                                                           (The Best I Can - Miracle of Sound)
9. What would you give of yourself to stay steadfast could you shed all of your ethics of your past, What would you give of yourself to be the best of us at last                         (The Best of Us - Miracle of Sound)
10. Cause the sad sad faces of the weary and worn, Live in bad bad places that are dreary and torn                                                                                                                             (Distant Honor - Miracle of Sound)
11. There is no gravity but I have somehow fallen so far, Dead spaces inside me my ghosts will haunt the furthest of stars                                                                                             (Hell in the Headspace - Miracle of Sound)
12. Turning back is bound to be, Just another calamity                                               (Calamity - Miracle of Sound)

Unfortunately, this is were this post ends. I know I was supposed to do two of the prompts, but I don't have answers for any of them. Either that or I don't have enough answers for them, and I'm not going to spout out a bunch of nonsense just to see if people are paying attention or not.

My Food Memory

My Food Memories

My beginnings

 

 

A long, long time ago, in this very same galaxy, I tried to cook food well before I was ready to. I believe that I had first tried when I was three years old. The result thereof could hardly be called food. I remember that my brother and mother both said that I was just wasting food. My confidence was shot, but my determination was bolstered.

For the longest time I would sit in the kitchen and watch my parents cook. It involved my father talking about work and my mother talking about what she saw on TV, a few arguments, something falling every now and then, a cat sticking its nose into the mixing bowl, and a number of questions being asked by me.

I'd watch as my parents would cook pasta, soup, casserole, and many other dishes. I'd learn what everything in that big red binder that they used to hold recipes in meant. I'd what the only food show I could tolerate; Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I'd watch, and I'd learn.

After ten years of watching all of these different things, I tried to cook again. This time, I ended up making real food, but my mother had told me that I was still wasting food. I was told that I should only help with making the food, not make it on my own.

I helped with making the food for about two years, until mother started to scream her head off at me every time I made a little mistake. Once, I accidentally grabbed the wrong type of barley for a soup she was wanting to cook, and it ended up taking her two extra hours to cook the soup. She started yelling at me, saying I was deliberately sabotaging her attempts to make friends and how I was a bad person for it.

Yup, that's how I was taught to cook.  had my own family look down on me and, in at least one case, call me a bad person. Now, I cook stir fry like now other. Beef stir fry, pork and leek dumplings, chicken spring rolls; these are the foods I can cook, to name only a few.

The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't or shouldn't do it. That's how I learned to cook; although my father did support me the entire time.

Movie Night

According to a survey the class and I* took, these are my movie-related results.
(*Not me and the class.)

1. I am moderate in activity and enthusiasm. I enjoy the company of others but I also value my privacy.
2. I am hard-headed, skeptical, proud, and competitive. I tend to express my anger directly.
3. I am dependable and moderately well-organized. I generally have clear goals and am able to set goals aside.
4. I am generally calm and able to deal with stress, but I sometimes experience feelings of guilt, anger, and sadness.
5. I am practical but willing to consider new ways of doing things. I try to seek a balance between the old and the new.

Wow. It's like the survey was in my mind or something; this sounds almost exactly like my self-image.
Now for the psychological reasons for why I watch movies.

1. My high score on the “pleasure seeking” dimension suggests that I am a hedonistic movie watcher – this means I enjoy films that give me pleasure or make me feel good. (70%)
2. The “nostalgia” dimension refers to the extent to which I watch movies in order to re-experience the past. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (65%)
3. The “catharsis” dimension refers to the extent to which I watch movies in order to feel miserable and suffer with the characters of the movie. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (Only 30%, by the way.)
4. My high score on the “aggressive” dimension suggests that I enjoy watching violent movies, such as action or war films. This may be because such movies help me release aggression and tension, though it could also indicate that I have an aggressive personality. (You don't say. 85%)
5. The “escapism” dimension refers to the extent to which I watch movies in order to escape or forget about reality. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (55%)
6. The “sensation seeking” dimension refers to the extent to which I watch movies in order to experience arousing or adrenalizing feelings. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (A perfect 50% on that one.)
7. The “artistic” dimension refers to the extent to which I am interested in aesthetically driven, conceptual, and highly creative films. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (55%)
8. The “information seeking” dimension refers to the extent to which I am a curious and intellectual movie watcher. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (55%)
9. The “boredom avoidance” dimension refers to the extent to which I watch films primarily as a means of avoiding boredom. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (45%)
10. The “socializing” dimension refers to the extent to which I am more interested in the company of others than the actual movie when watching a film. My score on this dimension is average or similar to most people. (50%)

Yes, I did copy and paste the results. I changed the you's into I's, and I fixed the grammar a little.

This seems very accurate for an online survey. Normally when I answer honestly the survey spouts out some b/s that doesn't make sense, but this survey actually seems correct. Most unusual, that.

On to the blog questions!

"What is your favorite movie and why?"

At this moment I'd have to say Pacific Rim. The Giant Robot Science Fiction genre is one of my favorites. This is the most recent film I've seen. I also like the idea of merging minds with somebody else to fight a monster known as a Kaiju*. Using a Jaeger**, a giant robot, to fight off aliens just seems so awesome, too. It also fits in with my thoughts on the irony that we know more about outer space than we do about our own ocean, so the first aliens we run across come from down there. Something I noted while I was watching the movie: the main character was quoting me, not the other way around. Since the movie takes place in 2020, then in 2025, I made a joke that the writers just guessed what I personally would be like in that time and based the main character around that.

(*Literal Japanese translation: Giant Beast.)

(** Literal German translation: Hunter. On a side note, jaegermeister, the alcoholic beverage, translates out to "Master Hunter.")

 

"What kinds of movie do you not care for?"

History movies and documentaries. I can't stand some pretentious like expletive droning on and on and on and on and on about something only a handful of people are actually interested in. Who cares what kind of bread was served during the Civil War's first years? How does that matter? And, most importantly, where did you guys get the funding for a movie like this?

 

"How often and where do you usually watch movies?"

I watch them whenever the mood strikes me. Or when I'm invited by one of my friends, or when something really interesting comes along. As for where, I'd sarcastically say "In front of a movie screen." In reality, I watch movies wherever they may be.

 

"What do you need to watch a movie?"

First of all, I need the movie. After that, I just need a drink and to keep my shoes on and I'm ready to go. The reason for the drink is self-explanatory; I need something to quench my thirst. As for the shoes, well THAT is a funny story. Remind me to tell you guys about it sometime...

 

"If my life story was made into a movie..."

See Pacific Rim. You'll have a pretty good idea of my life story then. I mean, the main character guy is pretty much me, so you don't really have to look much farther than this movie.

Dan in Real Life

Dan in Real Life

Questions and Answers

 

"Can you know in three days that you love someone?"

I think so absolutely. There is a reason why they call it "falling in love." It can happen spontaneously, without warning.

 

"What makes someone a "hottie" to you?"

To me, what matters is what's inside. Don't misunderstand me; I'm still about as shallow as the next guy, but I look for personality more than anything. The best way to explain is in the form of an analogy. Think of a jelly doughnut. When I buy a jelly doughnut from Krispy Kreme I don't actually care about the bread part. What I'm after is that strawberry filling.

 Maybe this isn't a very good analogy, but I think it gets the point across.

 

"Where was your best hiding spot as a kid playing Hide and Seek?"

I would hide under a pile of coats. Nobody could ever find me. I would actually grab a handful of coats from the closet and I'd toss them on the floor in the corner of somebody else's room and I'd hide under them. Nobody ever thought to look under the coats. Remember, kids: If you ever need to hide from the police, hide under coats.

 

FINAL QUESTION

"Do you think well travelled people like Marie are more interesting than the rest of us?"

Definitely. They are generally more cultured and more worldly than somebody who stays at home all day. Whether they have visited Japan or Middle Earth, either way it's the same.