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Confuse-cius’ Wisdom – Jim

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Jim

Hey Jim!

Sorry to hear about the recent ghoulishness. You’re not the first person to ask me about this – though you are the first to do it on what appears to be cardboard. Everything all right over there, Jim?

Anyway, here’s the deal.

Libraries are a little freaky because they are — haunted by the ghosts of wannabe writers.

Let me give you a moment for that to sink in.

Ready?

Okay, let’s keep going.

Every literary wannabe, at some time or another, sat in a library, looked around at all the great works that have been written over the years and thought… I can write stuff better than all of this!

And with that, they set off to… do nothing. For years. But then one day, it finally happened – they opened a word document and got to work on… well, some random thing that nobody ever read.

Fast forward a few years, the book is still unfinished, never to be published. The writer? Even though they never finished their book, they still hold to their idea that their book would have been better than anything else in the library.

So now that they’re floating around, all ghoulish and such, they haunt the library, making everyone feel creeped out, even though nothing seems to be happening.

But for what purpose? There is no purpose, only hurt feelings – just like most books.

Until next time, keep it factual out there!

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Ender’s Game – Reaction-to-the-Book

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I recently finished reading Ender’s Game for the first time, and (Remember I told you my intial reactions in the post The Hottest New Book – Ender’s Game?) will now submit my… reaction-to-the-book post.

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Now, before we go any further, let me caution you that there will be spoilers in this post; if you haven’t read Ender’s Game, go do so, and then come back – to tell me what you think about the book.

With all of that out of the way, let’s jump right in.

The Ending

The first part of the ending: After realizing that Ender had been commanding actual troops to fight against the Buggers during what he thought were training sessions, I was surprised, but also a little disappointed. The twist let me down – just a bit – because I was really looking forward to seeing Ender doing battle with the Buggers. I wanted to see what the Buggers looked like, and I wanted to feel the intensity of him going into battle, knowing that all of humanity was riding on the outcome; that never happened.

The second part of the ending: I was also surprised that Ender went with Valentine. I figured Ender wanted to get back to Earth, so he would find a way, independently, to get there. I also figured that he would have thought that his relationship with Valentine was gone, and that he wouldn’t go with her. In  a way, I’m happy that he did go with her, though, because I’m sure he found some sort of happiness and connection with her that he had missed throughout his years of training.

The third part of the ending: When Ender found the video game’s landscape recreated in real life, on the bugger world, I anticipated the revelation that the video game had been real life, too – of course, that ended up not happening. I was surprised that it ended up being a way for the Buggers to communicate with Ender, and for them to ask Ender to continue their civilization.

The Characters

All in all, I really liked the characters, but I want to know more about them. Now, I can see how it might have been intentional for us to only know bits and pieces of what Peter and Valentine were up to while Ender was training, because the reader only gets to know a bit more than Ender, and that puts us in the proximity of being in Ender’s shoes – which is cool – but I would like to know what happened with Ender’s parents, how Peter became the hegemon, what he was like as leader, and what Valentine’s relationships were like with people outside of her immediate family and the members of the military she interacted with.

Recommend?

Absolutely! Ender’s Game sucked me in faster than most other books, and I really enjoyed the world that it brought me into. When it comes to fiction, I don’t think there’s anything better that a work can do.

Now you tell me: have you read Ender’s Game? If so, were you surprised by the ending, the first time you read it? 

The Hottest New Book – Ender’s Game

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Hey, have you ever heard about this hot, new book called Ender’s Game?

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I’m currently reading Ender’s Game for the first time. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it (so far); if you have read it, you may be saying ’bout time – what took you so long.

Remember, I haven’t always being okay with science fiction or nerdy stuff (being okay with liking what you like was discussed in the post Whoever You Are, Accept Yourself*).

So, having recently re-read Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park is discussed in the very funny post Top 5 Reasons Jurassic Park is Probably the Best Movie Ever), my wife, without hesitation, handed me Ender’s Game, a popular book on her side of the family, and said I should read it.

So, I am. I’m right around half way through, and that means that it’s the perfect time for some…

Initial Reactions:

Serious Reaction:

I really like it. It is science fiction, sure, but it doesn’t feel like it. It’s character centered, so even though there are lazer battles, that’s not the be-all and end-all. And, spoiler alert, they’ve talked a lot about buggers (where I am in the book), but I haven’t actually seen one.

So, I’m looking forward to that, and to finding out where Card is going to end the book. With a war? With the siblings back together? With Ender in a hugely significant leadership position? With an infuriating cliff-hanger? Only time will tell!

Joke Reaction:

So, let me get this straight… Ender is the runt of the litter, plays video games all the time, is fantastic at lazer tag (and well respected because of it), and is best friends with his sister. Talk about nerd fantasy!

Stay tuned for a reaction-to-the-book post as soon as I get it finished!

Have you read Ender’s Game? What do you think about it?

Confuse-cius’ Wisdom – Cindi

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The Letter

Our letter for today comes from Cindi. In an email, Cindi wrote:

Hey Confuse-cius,

How was basketball invented?

Thanks!

Cindi

The Response

Thanks for your email, Cindi!

Basketball was first invented by bigfoot.

Find it hard to believe? Well, don’t! Let me explain; you’ll be surprised how logical it is!

The lone creature that he is, bigfoot has always suffered from social anxiety. Though he doesn’t feel comfortable interacting with others, bigfoot is aware, of course, that he would be happier with relationships.

In an attempt to make some bigfoot buddies, bigfoot tried taking up sports. First, seeing as he was in Canada, he tried to take up hockey, but he couldn’t find any ice skates that would fit his big feet (he ain’t called bigfoot for nothing!). Next, he tried football, but he found that he was too powerful to compete with the other guys and not make them mad. Hey, he can’t play, he’s not even human! they’d cry. After a few other attempts, bigfoot gave up on any existing sports and decided that he should create one of his own.

Bigfoot realized that games that are played with balls (such as soccer or football) are really popular, so he created a ball that would be big enough for him to play with. Then he had to create something to do with ball. He decided that a net like soccer would be too much of a hassle to lug around, so he put a peach basket, that he found at a nearby campground, up on a tree and tried to toss the ball into the basket. It was doable, but tough (aka FUN!).

Bigfoot then came up with a few rules for the game, and was ready to go, the game was complete.

Bigfoot invited some people to play with him. After they got over their fear and apprehension, they gave in and followed bigfoot. Bigfoot explained the rules, and pretty soon the first game was underway. A few minutes into the game, the guys realized they were having a great time.

After returning from the woods, the guys couldn’t believe what they’d done; they had played the greatest game of all time!

When they made it home, they told all of their friends about the new game. Initially they called it Bigfoot-Ball, but were forced to change the name to basketball by a shady government agency. With the new name, the game spread quickly, first through the United States, and then through the rest of the world, thanks to the world wars.

Now Basketball is one of the most popular sports in existence, and it all started with one bigfoot and one dream of forging closer social relationships.

Until next time, keep it factual out there!

Confuse-cius' Signature

 

What Do Popular Characters Say About Our Culture in 2014?

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Love ’em or not, we all know who they are – certain fictional characters. Certain real people, too – but that’s another post for another day. Fictional characters say a lot about the person who created them. Really popular fictional characters say a lot about the culture that loves them, the culture’s values and sense of self. Bugs Bunny, Harry Potter, and Katniss Everdeen are great examples of how popular characters tell us a lot about popular culture.

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Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny was created in 1940, shortly before the United States joined the fighting in World War II. So what does the popularity of Bugs tell us about the culture?

Well, Bugs was always super-confident. Even when he faced near destruction at the hands of a hunter, he wasn’t worried. Instead, he toyed with the would-be-destroyer. This at the time when the citizens of the United States could list off plenty of reasons to curl up in our shell and shake.

It’s easy to see why a brave character would appeal to such a concerned group.

And to make things better, not only was Bugs confident, but in the end he won.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter’s first book was published in 1997, and his popularity started to grow. But it wasn’t until 2002 that the first film was released and Harry Potter became a household name.

So what does Harry’s popularity tell us about the culture of the early 2000s?

Well, there was a lot of… craziness at that time. The world that we lived in shortly after September 11th was uncertain and scary – it was the perfect time to get lost in a fantasy. And the world of Harry Potter offered everyone just that.

Harry (just like Bella in the Twilight series) acted as a sort of blank canvas upon which readers could paint themselves.

I think we all imagined what it would be like if we had received that letter inviting us to Hogwarts for study and adventure. And then, at each turn, we questioned what we would do.

Katniss Everdeen

And now, in 2014, things have changed a bit. It seems that in the U.S., it is so common for people to live on credit, to not accept responsibility, and to not take action into their own hands. Enter Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games series.

What does Katniss say about us?

Katniss lives in a less-than-ideal world. But she accepts that and moves on, making the most of it.

Katniss is thrown into negative situations, where she interacts with people she would rather not encounter. But she accepts that, too. She only continues on in her journey, knowing that hoping for things to be better won’t change anything.

Ultimately, she accepts responsibility. She doesn’t whine about not getting to have a perfect childhood. She doesn’t sit around wishing that things could be different. She just accepts reality and moves on.

I think that says a lot about us that this character is popular in our society. It gives me hope that we will accept that things aren’t as perfect as we had hoped that it would be, but that we are on an adventure, and that we can be brave enough to continue along.

What do you think about popular characters reflecting popular culture?

Can you think of other examples of characters reflecting popular culture?

 

Confuse-cius’ Wisdom – Lucas

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Hey, Lucas. Thanks for the email!

Cheeseburgers are actually a bit tricky, so I’m glad you brought it up!

The secret to cheeseburger deliciousness comes from… bacon. Even if it’s not a bacon cheeseburger? Totally. Here’s how:

All cheeseburgers are loaded with bacon on a microscopic level. This was discovered by the great cheeseburger scientist Albert Einsteinburger (Look it up. It’s real. But not really.)

Albert Einsteinburger struggled for years to understand the high-level concepts of mathematics that would allow him to… look into a microscope and discover that DUN! DUN! DUN! all cheeseburgers are made up of millions and millions of tiny bits of bacon. Those bits of bacon, though invisible to the naked eye, are what give the power of sheer deliciousness to burgers.

So, now that we know that cheeseburgers are made up of bacon, what happens when you put bacon on a cheeseburger?!

Well, it’s more delicious, of course! Unless the bacon is gross. But even then, it’s still a little bit delish.

And now you know why cheeseburgers are so tasty.

Until next time, keep it factual out there!

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