Blog Part B

So I am only 20 pages away from finishing my book. I feel as though I am inhaling it and I will be very sad when it is over!  For this blog post, I think I am going to analyze the main supporting character, Philip Weston.  When I first began reading my novel, I thought that Philip was just another nice guy who cared for Bette, which is most likely what the author wanted the reader to think at first. But as the book progressed, I started to get the impression that he was a real jerk.  He is currently Bette's "boyfriend", but goes around and flirts with other girls.  He treats Bette like crap, almost like hired help.  He asks for drinks, for her to go and get his car and the like.  About halfway through the book, Bette starts to realize that Philip isn't who she thinks he is and she starts to withdraw from him. There is one big obstacle, though.  She works for a huge party planning firm and they are planning a huge event that Philip is hosting. IF she broke up with him, they would lose the event, and Bette would lose her job.  Philip knows this and tries to get closer to Bette, making him a bigger jerk in my mind.   I don't know what happens next, but I'll keep you posted!

Let's get ready to bloggle! A

Vocab:

venomous-figurative (of a person or their behavior) full of malice or spite (125)

trustafarian- a rich, young person who adopts a bohemian lifestyle and lives in a non-affluent area. (108)

Figurative language

1) "He turned to look at Philip with a venomous expression and noticed me trying to hide off to the side"(125).  This is an example of figurative language because a venomous expression is a metaphor.

2) One of the supporting characters in the novel is Philip Weston. I think that he represents a sour Skittle because he seems sweet and cute on the outside, but inside he is is sour and not who you think he may be. 

3) Bungalow 8 is a very popular nightclub in the novel. I think that Bungalow 8 is a symbol for confusion because every time the coworkers leave the club, they never are sane.

Quote:

"'Was that your boyfriend?' Will asked, picking up his drink again and settling back into the chair.  'No,' I sighed, reaching for my own martini. 'It most definitely was not.'" This quote is significant in the book because Bette has to pretend that Philip is her boyfriend only for publicity and she is stuck between a rock and a hard place about what to do and how to react to the news.

Theme:

A theme I see emerging this week is not getting lost in the mix. Bette was once a free, independent women, but now she relies on others and is getting thrown into the hodgepodge of dependent people.

Everyone Worth Knowing, Post 7, A

Vocab:

1)spittle- saliva, ejected from mouth (62)

2)vehemently-showing strong feeling, forceful passionate or intense (30)

Figurative Language

1)"Plan on accompanying us to a little dinner party at Elaine's. Click."  This shows figurative language because it is an onomatopoeia. The "click" at the end of the sentence shows this.

2) "Haven't you heard? I'm at the vortex of the media world!"  This sentence is a good example of metaphor because Abigail compares herself to a vortex, signifying that she is everywhere.

3) "Oh God, you are totally missing the point here!  Isn't he totally fabulous?"  "Actually, I thought he was quite a jerk."  This is an example of irony because one girl thinks this one guy is jerk, while the other thinks he is dreamy.

Quote:

"My daughter? Twenty thousand dollars for a bag? You're kidding."(67)  This quote signifies Bette's entry into the new and more glamorous world.  She never has been interested in those "fashion" things, but now she was getting schooled in it.

Theme:

One theme I see emerging is staying true to yourself. Bette is losing herself in all the chaos that is her new job and the results aren't pretty.

Deluxe Post B Blog 6

Well another week, another blog.   I am over halfway through and I will admit that I did skip 2 chapters. I am enjoying my book, but I think that it would be better for me to finish it on my own time, rather than for a outside reading book.  I'm tired of writing boring posts about the same company and yadayadayada. With that said, I hope that this is my last post on Deluxe and next week I hope to write about my new book, Everyone Worth Knowing.  (Ms. Tholen....I'll talk to you tomorrow!)  So stay tuned!   While I was reading, I couldn't get over this Arnault guy. He was the head of the Louis Vuitton-Moet Henessey conglomerate. I know that he was trying to prepare the company for the future, but I just don't understand why he fired such great people. I went and did some research about designs before Arnault fired people and after, and by far I liked the "before" designs.  But then after I read some more, I realized that this one guy was responsible for so many future designer's success, like Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen.  My opinion was swayed by the end of chapter 8, so much to point where I actually liked this evil and deceiving Arnault!

Deluxe Post A Blog 5

Vocab:

staid: sedate, respectable and unadventurous (150)

anathema: something or someone that one vehemently dislikes (169)

Figurative Language:

1)In the sixth chapter, Arnault was ruthless, firing people who deserved to stay in the growing conglomerate. The irony is that the love of his life loved the designs of the previous heads of fashions, and they ultimately divorced.  

2) "Fashion is like an art form, in the sense that it is very subjective"(99) This is an example of a simile because it uses like.

3)In the 7th chapter, the author visits the workshop where Hermes bags are made and describes in vivid detail the luxurious conditions the "craftsmen work in.  It is fascinating how complex it is to produce one thing.

Quote:

"At the end of this whirlwind of power, I realized that I killed off intelligent heads of fashion, but at the same time I introduced these old houses of fashion to the future generation. And for that I am proud"(110)  This is Arnault speaking about the head position he was in while managing LVMH and him reflecting on what happened during the years.

Theme:

One theme I see emerging is that luxury is a cult, not just a lifestyle.

Calling all A-List fans!

I thought this article was really interesting...never knew this before!

Zoey Dean

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zoey Dean is a fictional character put forth by Warner Books as the "author" of The A-List, a New York Times Best Selling series ofYoung adult books.[1] The Dean books are actually written by a well-known young adult writing married couple, which is why both the girl and the guy point of view is so strong. They know the ins and outs of Hollywood very, very well and currently also write for a top-rated TV show. "Zoey", however, is on vacation on a small Caribbean island. It has also been said that Zoey Dean grew up in Beverly Hills and now lives in Palm Beach.[2].

The Dean ghostwriter is working on the next A-List novel and has recently finished a different book, How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls.

Deluxe: Blog 4, Post B

Three words: cult of luxury

Deluxe: Blog 3, Post A

Vocab for the week:

Lilt (69)- a pleasant, gently swinging rhythm in a song or tune

amelioration(75)- make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better

Figurative language:

1)"Dior's leather was as fake as acrylic nails"(76)  This is a simile because it uses "as".

2)"I would've never bought Givenchy. I wouldn't have even paid a penny for it, but now I would never sell it. Not even for hundreds of millions of dollars"(63). This is an example of irony because Arnault (read post #4 for info on him) loves that Givenchy turned into a gold mine.

3)"This bag, this one bag, represented all we were as a company" (67). This example shows figurative language as a symbol because the bag is representing Louis Vuitton as a growing company.

Quote:

"I don't want to sell. The company is priceless"(56) Although this quote is similar to the one in figurative language, it shows a different side to Arnault.  He really was a strong business man who had very good ideas. He was young and what was needed for LVMH to succeed. 

Theme:

A theme that I see emerging is that sometimes taking chances is a good thing, which could mean success. 

Deluxe:Blog 2 Part B

 So far so good!  I am loving my new book. Granted, it’s not a page turner, but the random things that I am learning are really interesting. There are about 350 pages in my book and I am on page 50, so I have a ways to go. I am currently on page 54. Chapter 1is all about Louis Vuitton. Did you know that when the Nazis arrived in Paris during WW1, all of the couture houses shut down except for Louis Vuitton? (pg 27)  In 1977, Vuitton was only making 1.2 million dollars a year. The problem was that they weren’t able to sell ready-to-wear goods. Everything they made was handmade in a small shop in Paris. They then decided that Vuitton needed to step out of the family to find a younger head of the company. By 1984,  sales had increased 15 times, to about $143 million, and profits by almost thirty times, to about $22 million. (pg 36)   Then, Vuitton hit a goldmine. They merged with Moet-Hennesey to form the now very powerful LVMH group, in 1986.  What I find the most fascinating, though is that Vuitton is able to mark up their goods to thirteen times the manufacturing costs.  I can’t wait to read more and I promise that I am going to dig deep and really reflect in my next B blog. Thanks for reading! 

Deluxe: Blog 1, Post A

Well I am on Chapter 1 of my wonderful new book, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. So far, I have learned a lot about the early days of fashion.   

Vocab

1) bourgeoisie-the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes. (pg 25)

2) akimbo-with hands on the hips and elbows turned outwards. (pg 3o)

Figurative Language

Still working on it....will edit tomorrow

Quote  

"More than two hundred thousand women worldwide wore couture in the 1950s. it was an expected part of a bourgeois woman's everyday life. Today, in comparison, a mere two hundred women worldwide buy haute couture" (pg 29). This quote is significant because it shows that luxury has now become more accessible to those who maybe couldn't afford it when it was so expensive. The people who used to buy haute couture don't want to but it anymore because it isn't as special.

Theme

One emerging theme I see is that luxury isn't "luxury" anymore, it is more McDonald's luxury.

New book

New book new book new book new book new book

It snowed today. :) But I missed it.  

Dunder Mifflin

After you watch our video, click here and check out our branch page!

The sea inside

1) I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was very deep and it was cool watching a movie in spanish. I understand why it won so many awards.  I do think it was right for him to ask for assisted suicide. He had been paralyzed for 28 years already, and that was half his life. He had a lot of time to think and ponder. When he made his decision, he wanted everyone to go along with him and he didn't like it when the courts said no. I wasn't surprised that the courts said no because Ramon was setting the precedent for future cases, and the court wasn't ready to change the view on assisted suicide.  When Ramon decided to continue to plead for assisted suicide, I wasn't surprised and even less excited when he decided to follow through with the poisoning. I support his decision and was happy to see him finally get what he wanted. I think that the friends who were willing to help him were good friends and truly loved him and wanted the best for him.

2) One main difference that I saw in The Sea Inside was that it showed his life in detail, and didn't really tell stories, whereas in Diving Bell, Bauby told random stories and occasionally went back and told other stories from earlier in life.  Another difference was Bauby couldn't speak and Ramon could.  I thought that The Sea Inside was more powerful because it showed all of his struggles and I seem to connect better to movies than books.

3)

Free gift with purchase part 6

Ok so I realized now that I haven't been posting as much as I should so here goes another post for my book.  I have learned many things that will be of great importance to me in the future.  For this post I am going to make a long list of all the valuable and necessary information that I will need later in life.

 1) Hair pieces attract more guys than plastic surgery

 2) Wear silver, not white, if you want to show off a tan

 3) Too much make-up is always a fiasco, where as over dressing is never bad.

 4) When wearing make-up, only focus on either the lips or the eyes, never both. This leads to number 3 up there.

 5) Eyeliner always looks better than eye shadow

 6) Even though everyone in the beauty industry says there is a red lipstick for everyone, there really isn't

 7) "Vintage" clothing can come from the Salvation Army

 8) Creme de la Mer is worth the money

 9)Manicures aren't worth it

 and finally...

 10) beauty products make the best gifts

See wasn't that facinating? I could go on and on with all the wonderful things I have learned in this book... In other book news...I just started reading Stephen Colbert's I am America and so can you and I am loving it!   So if you need a humorous read, pick up a copy

Another day

Another day, another blog.... so over the weekend I happily finished Diving Bell and decided to dive back into Free Gift.  I am right now pretty into it. I know last week I said it was slow, it is now getting much better!  I just read probably my favorite chapter thus far.....it was about the Donald, you know, Donald Trump? Well, she has meet him multiple times because of tennis tournaments and his fragrance launches, and really rags on him in her book. She tells one story when she was at the US Open and sat in the same box as him. All he did was demand things from people or his then-wife (not sure which one?)  or his innocent children. She really described him as an airhead. That got me thinking about someone famous whom I would like to meet and how they would act. After thinking for a while, I decided that I would most like to meet Brad Pitt. I know a typical answer, but he is all for affordable housing and is even going back to school for his architecture degree!  I think he would be a great person to talk to, seeming we share some of the same interests like architecture and eco-friendly housing.   Those are my thoughts, until next time, Alex

Week 2, Post 2

Ahh, another day, another post.  Well I am now onto the middle of chapter 5. It's funny because I can never seem to start a blog at the beginning of the chapter...it always starts in the middle. So here is a cliff noteish summary of what I have read.  So in the book, she sometimes puts these random grey snippets of text into the pages. They sometimes have beauty tips or just her thoughts on hot beauty topics.  In Chapter 5, the majority of the chapter is spent talking about models and the obsession to be thin. She tells a short story about a model she knew that was both anorexic and bulimic. The model was so repulsed by the other models on the runway, she got over her eating disorders. I thought that was pretty cool.  Another story she told was about a Lucky fashion shoot where they turned models away because they had no curves and were too bone thin for the clothes. It's a strange world we live in. Next blog should be about Chapter 6/7, but also watch for postings on the last Gossip Girl!!  Adios, Alex

Chapter 4, part 3?

Ok so here goes blog posting numero quatro. Thus far I am reading Chapter 4 and am almost done with it.  I am really surprised by how random it is and none of her stories are very cohesive. That sort of bums me out because I like having a plot to follow and find out new details along the way. I don't really see a point in reading a book with a bunch of tiny, 1 paragraph stories, unless it is a comedian telling something to laugh at.   But I still am hoping that the book will get better as I keep reading and dig further into her life.   We'll see and I will keep you posted.  Until next time, Alex

The Office

I must admit it was the best season premiere ever and check out Creed's blog!

Free Gifts

Today is blog posting number 2 on my memoir. So far, I have read up to chapter 4. it really isn;t that interesting, but I have been thinking a lot about what she is writing about. Chapter 3 was all about her homelife and family. She explained that growing up was a hard experience, mostly because of her parents. She was never really a girly girl until she got much older. Her childhood consisted of traveling across the country, hiking and mountain climbing. There was nothing her parents liked better than being outdoors,while she was the opposite. Her parents and grandparents were all scientists or research people and in her career, she was going to stay as far away from it as she could.
This got me thinking that although she thought her childhood was tough, I would think she would have enjoyed learning what not to do when she had her own kids. Well that is it for chapter 3. Until next time...

i'm thinking...

So  I am on page 35 of my memoir.  I am not too far yet and I know I should be further, but I am having a hard time getting into it.  I'm into chapter 2, about part 6.  The first pages that I have read were interesting, yes, but I really like books that have a true plot and develop along the way. FGwP just doesn't have that bell going off in my head. This doesn't mean I am going to shut my mind and stop reading it, no no, I won't do that. I am going to keep an optimistic look on it and keep reading. 

  Here's a short summary of what i have read thus far: In chapter 1, Jean Godfrey June explains how she is not a beautiful person and that to her, inner beauty counts the most. She had always wondered why we all come from basically the same DNA and yet all look so different. Growing up as a child, she had a boys' short haircut and was often mistaken for a boy. This didn't help her self-confidence at all.    In chapter 2, it is a complete change from the first chapter. She talks about beauty and there is a short mention of her job as a beauty editor. One thing I enjoyed reading was that when her magazine would put horrendous rejects out for people to take, people would take them and they would be gone in an hour.  My favorite part of chapter 2 had to be when she talked about people in the corporate world and how they would turn into cannibals just for free stuff.

I'm off for now...I'll post again tomorrow!   Alex

Check this out!

This is probably my favorite new(ish) architecture firm in the Twin Cities.  They create these very cute, ultra-modern, "cabins"/homes.  Click around and download the brochure...it's really fun to pick and choose what your dream weeHouse would look like!  

Here's the link, copy and paste it into your address bar...

http://weehouses.com/index.htm

 

To see that amazing brochure, click under weeHouse info.

And for even for weeAmazment, check out a very local weeHouse that is brand new!  Copy and paste this link...

http://www.urbanweehouse.com

Free Gift with Purchase

The autobiography/memoir I have chosen to read is called Free Gift With Purchase. It is about a woman who grows up as a tomboy, but strikes it big as a beauty editor at a big wig fashion magazine.  This book chronicles the crazy things that happen behind the scenes in the fashion world.  Should be interesting! 

This I Believe Essay assignment

Author:Michelle Gardner-Quinn
Title: A Reverence for All Life
Her belief: She believes in reverence for all life

Michelle Gardner-Quinn wrote this essay and turned it in for a class assignment. Just two days, she was abducted and murdered. Her essay touched on the fact that we are very ignorant with our world. We dump chemicals in the water and don't really pay attention to what happens to the climate and animals around us. I loved hearing about her growing up and enjoying slimy things rather than shying away from them. She believes that it was her mission to help restore the planet back to it's beauty and splendor that it was. It really got me thinking that we should continue to restore our earth and make it a better place for all!

Stay tuned...there's more to come!   But for now here is this...

Welcome to my Blog!