A Clockwork Orange

I read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It was an amazing read. I grew attached to Alex, the protagonist, as the story progressed; I was extremely attached at the end of the book even though it was  just about 200 pages long.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the "nadsat," a type of slang spoken by the Humble Narrator and the youth of the book. The first chapter was hard to get through, but as the book progressed I learned the slang and it made the book a lot more fun. I think the slang served three purposes. The first, and most superficial, purpose was just to make the book more fun to read. Learning new words is fun, at least to smart, awesome people. The second purpose is to immerse the reader in the dystopian world of the book. If it were written in normal English then it would have been harder to believe it were a dystopia. The slang makes it as if the Humble Narrator was regaling us with this story. The third purpose was hard to catch, but it really is effective. When Alex is unconditioned and is "ultra-violent" he speaks in the slang. When he gets conditioned by the government he changes to a "proper" way of speaking. Then when the conditioning is reversed he reverts back to the slang. Atta boy, Alex.

I would have to say the next thing that struck me was the ultra-violence. Alex and his gang are teens and they are beating people up on the street, raping people, and Alex killed a woman. In the beginning of the story the balance of power leans towards the gangs; they rape, steal, and assault while the police do not do much. At the end of the story Alex mentions how the ultra-violence has gone down and suggests the possible reason of the police getting a lot more violent. This lends to the government being the cause of the dystopia in this story. Either the government doesn't do its job and the ultra-violence is perpetrated by the gangs or the gangs die down and the government commits the violence. Burgess here might be commenting that there is always going to be violence one way or another, it is like the Law of Conservation of Violence. Burgess exaggerates the violence to make his commentary clearer.

The last thing that was important to me was Alex's prison time and his conditioning. In the prison pre-conditioning Alex is still violent - he and some cellmates kill a man, with Alex delivering the killing blow. It is obvious that Alex isn't changed at all. Then, when Alex is forcibly conditioned he becomes a polar opposite of his former self: sniveling at the feet of someone who is threatening him, and licking the feet of a good looking devotchka. What we see here are the opposite sides of a spectrum. When the person in jail has no government interaction or help they do not get better. But when they are completely forced into "getting help" they are no better than without the governments help. I think Burgess is saying that we shouldn't just toss prisoners in jail nor should we condition them too harshly. We need to find that sweet spot to make them a better person while still making sure that they know they did something wrong.


I really liked this book. I don't know if I should recommend the movie; I haven't scene it. That being said, I don't know if I should watch the movie. In Burgess' introduction he explains how he wrote the book with 21 chapters, and that the book makes sense if you read them all. It certainly made sense to me. Burgess goes on to explain that the first prints of his book did not have the 21st chapter - the publishing companies left it out. The movie was then made without the 21st chapter and Burgess explains that there is definitely a different feeling in the movie than from the full book. Oh well.

I would give this book a 10/10. Books are awesome.

Music!

Everyone loves music!

I like a lot of different types of music. I would have to say that hip-hop/rap is my favorite. Snoop has always been an inspiration to me along with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and all those fellas. I also like the Ying Yang Twins. Please don't judge me on that. 

I like the new stuff too! Some of the new songs have the deepest messages; "She has a big booty so I call her big booty." Now that is some deep shi- oh wait, stuff, because I can't swear on my blog. That's some deep stuff. 

I also like big band music. Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, etc. are some of the artists I like. Big band is good music to listen to when you are eating dinner with the family; it is a great backgrounf to eating and conversation.

Christmas music is also great! It's just all warm and fuzzy and makes you feel good, except for Christmas Shoes. I never got that song. It's about a kid spending his last money to buy shoes for his mom to wear in her coffin so she looks pretty. Dude, your mom isn't going to know what you bury her in. Other than that Christmas music is amazing. Bing Crosby is the man.

I don't really get country music. I have made a graphical representation of all the country songs in the world. If anyone would care to explain country music to me that would be appreciated.

The Next Surgery

So today I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon.

Turns out it's AIDS.

Haha, no. Everything is going fine with the stoma and my recovery. I have also gained weight and the doctor is pleased with that. I need to gain more weight to be stronger for the second surgery.

Speaking of the second surgery, it is tentatively scheduled for Spring Break. While all you rich kids will be gallivanting around Mexico and the Bahamas I will be stuck in the hospital. The surgeon said the surgery will be anywhere from four to ten hours. The recovery time in the hospital is supposed to be a week.

In this surgery they will be creating a "j-pouch," which is basically a mini-colon. I will still have to poop in a bag though.

I guess an upside of this is that I will have some cool looking scars when this is all over.

Treatise On Gum

Right now I am chewing on some Big League Chew: Ground Ball Grape bubblegum.

There are four types of gum. Minty, fruity, Blandy-McBland, and other.

Minty is obviously mint flavors. We have peppermint, smooth mint, wintermint, spearmint, swordmint, etc. I think the mint type is great! It freshens your breath and helps that 2:30 feeling. I can chew the same piece of minty gum for the entire day and it gives my mouth something to do.The only downside to minty gum is when you drink water with minty gum it feels as if someone stabbed your mouth with an icicle. Personally I recommend Extra brand.

Fruity is composed of fruit flavors. Grape, apple, watermelon, etc. Fruity gum is alright in my opinion. I find that it generally loses its flavor more quickly than minty gum, and who wants gum that's lost its flavor? It also doesn't make your breath smell that much better. However, fruity gum tends to form better bubbles than minty gum. I recommend Big League Chew for your fruity gum needs.

Blandy-McBland is just a boring type. Bubblegum and Juicy Fruit belong here. Bubblegum is just a sweet flavor with no real notes to it; it leaves the palate yearning for something sorely lacking. Juicy Fruit is also like that. It is both "minty" and "fruity", but it doesn't focus on either so it seems like a lame attempt. I recommend not chewing this gum.

Other is an interesting category. The Extra gum "dessert flavors" fall into this category.

      "But Ben!" you might say, "All these flavors are fundamentally fruity!"
      "Hush, hush," I whisper, stroking your cheek. "It's alright. Everything is going to be fine."

Yes, the dessert flavors are fruity, but they are so much more than that. Take the "Apple Pie" dessert flavor.You bite into it, masticating its rubbery goodness. The apple flavor hits you first. It's not just apple, though; you notice that there are undertones of cooked spice in the apple. Next is the crispy crust of the pie. It is baked to perfection, perfectly dancing around your tongue with the apple flavor. I recommend the Extra Dessert series for the "other" category.


I really like gum.

On Candy

Right now I am eating Smarties. They are pretty bland but I take what I can get. 

I would have to say, out of the two types of candy, my favorite is chocolate. The other is obviously the fruity type. On one hand, Skittles and Spree and Starburst are great but I get tired of those after a little bit, and they aren't that filling. On the other hand I have different fingers. 

But actually, on the other hand, chocolate is so much more complex than the fruity types. You can add nuts, pretzels, caramel, nougat, and pretty much any food to chocolate. In fact, my favorite candy, Take Five, is composed of chocolate, pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter. Get it? There are FIVE components and it is called Take FIVE. 

Hierarchy of Candy:

1. Snickers, Kit Kat, Skittles, Starburst, Take Five, These Mofos

2. M&Ms, Smarties, Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Milky Way, Three Musketeers

3. Lollipops

If you like Tootsie Rolls you need to evaluate what's going on in your life.

Today's Shenanigans

Today I did make-up work.

I wrote a letter to an unfriendly audience for AP Lang. If anyone wants to read it for fun or to give me a critique, or both, just send me a message. You can use facebook, texting, pidgeon, smoke signal, whatever.

I also started reading, and got through a lot of, Clockwork Orange. I have to read it for my English elective, Dystopian Literature. It's a good book but is slightly disturbing. Like seeing a creepy clown get hit by a car. It's nice to look at, and you understand why it is a good thing, but overall it still disturbs you.

For breakfast I had a bowl of cereal. For lunch I had pork roast and carrots. For dinner I had Pizza Bites. I should probably eat something more!



There were some good football games today. Go team!

Enchanted Castle and "Bad" Food

The people who are involved in this narration are me, my dad, my two sisters, my dad's girlfriend ;) and her daughter.

We went to the Blueberry Hill Cafe in LaGrange for breakfast. That place is really good and the food was yummy and woo hoo breakfast.

We then I went to Enchanted Castle for a present for my sister Gillian's birthday.

We played games! We went on the bumper cars and I fucked up the other kids in the bumper cars. We went laser-tagging and yet again I destroyed the younger kids. I ran around saying "pew pew pew" and it was really fun. We also went go-karting! It would have been more fun if we were allowed to bump other cards but unfortunately we weren't allowed to. Stupid commies.

When we got home we ordered Domino's because ordering pizza is fun, and I actually think that Domino's is good pizza.

You know what? I don't understand the people who go all "Domino's is shit ugghh it's so bad." It is pretty good pizza so chill out. Same with Taco Bell. People make SUPER FUNNY jokes about eating Taco Bell then pooping fire HAHA POOPING FIRE GET IT??? BAD MEXICAN FOOD HAHA LOL. I have never had a bad experience with Taco Bell. Hell, I had a disease where I literally pooped blood and Taco Bell never gave me a problem. It is cheap, so-so Mexican food. But I digress.

So we ordered Domino's. We then opened up some presents my sister had received in the mail. She got some dope clothing!! We ate the pizza after that. Then we opened up some Christmas presents. We don't open up all the Christmas presents on Christmas at my dad's house. So we opened up some presents. I got a wallet from my grandparents. It is leather and smells good. I also got some money from my great grandma and grandparents.

Overall it was a good day.

deep blog post

So today it hit me that I have a shitload of make-up work to complete due to missing school. It really sucks staring down a mountain of work. I missed a lot of work in all my classes and also have tests to make up.

I might sound like I am complaining but I don't really have another place to vent and writing out your problems online is a good idea haha amirite?!

If anybody from any of my classes has study guides please let me know.




I seem upbeat at school and I try to be funny to get others to laugh and feel better. But behind the smiling visage lies a shattered person. Ha no I'm kidding. Seriously though it's not all fun and games.

My Cat

My cat is the best. His name is Sam, and he is about a year-and-a-half old.

Sometimes he will go into the middle of the living room and just lick his asshole.

Here I am holding him.

Finals are over!

Today I took the AP Lang final. It is a huge relief knowing my finals are done because like OMG I studied like soooo much and like didn't sleep at all lol!!!

On an unrelated note, what classes are everybody taking next year? I am not really sure what to take.

Michigan won today! GO BLUE!!!

A$AP Rocky's debut album is hella dope. I advise everyone to check it out.

Peace my crackas

What I did today

Today I didn't really do anything. I slept in, ate breakfast, got a new sweatshirt at Dicks, met with Mrs. Kalafut, and then nothing else really.

I hope finals are going well for everybody. I have my Ap Lang final tomorrow, so if anyone took a picture of the test questions or wants to engage in academic dishonest just hit me up.

How about the NHL coming back? I can't wait until the 19th. Let's go Red Wings!

It snowed a bit earlier. I hope it snows more this winter.


What I am currently listening to - Dance (A$$) Remix

My Surgery and Disease

I had a disease called Ulcerative Colitis.

I diarrhead blood about 15-20 times a day.

I didn't respond to the medicines so I had to get my colon/large intestine removed.

Now my small intestine sticks out of my stomach and I poop out of it into a bag. It is not really fun.

If anyone wants to see a picture of my small intestine here it is. Here



This post isn't really deep or anything. My next posts will most likely be deeper, and probably funnier.

If anyone has questions about my disease/surgery, ask away.