How to Think According to Sherlock Holmes

One more. Just one more blog and then I'm done.

Oh, hey guys, sorry I was just thinking to myself; it's the final blog post of the semester so I'm going to have to make this one count. For this post I will be telling you guys about the second book in the Sherlock Holmes Collection which is The Sign of Four. For those who haven't read this book, which I'd expect to be not many of you, here is a link to a summary on GoodReads. The Sign of Four follows a somewhat similar plot line to the first book but has a lot more… suspense. 

You open the book and one of the first things you read about is that the greatest detective ever is feeling melancholy and doing cocaine 3 times a day; I mean what heck. What could be causing him to do this? You then turn a couple pages and then you realize that he is depressed that there hasn't been a case for him recently. I mean God bless, get a hobby or something. 

It is around that time a pretty lady comes in requesting to see Holmes; you probably could imagine how excited he would feel after hearing the “delighting” news from the woman. From here onward the plot starts to thicken and we are approached with a disappearance, murder and an Indian treasure.  After reading the first 70 pages I found this quote said by Holmes that I wanted to share with you guys:  “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" (Doyle, 67)  This quote stood out to me because it comes to show how much detail we are missing in our lives. How many decisions do you make a day? 5? 10? We make so many decisions a day but don't stop to think what would happen if we chose the other choice or something similar to that. 

The Sign of Four is one of the few novels that can keep me interested. I hope that you all are going to read it sometime in the future.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Hey guys guess what... FOUR WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT. Once those 4 weeks are done then we're off for summer vacation.  But until then we're in school, so let's skip the rest of the introduction and get on with the blog post.

So for this blog post I decided that I'd go up into my room and see what books that I had and all of sudden a book from the top shelf fell on my foot. When I looked down it was a copy of Sherlock Holmes, this one that had all the stories of Sherlock Holmes. I bought this book 2 years ago and I still haven't read the entire thing. I've always been a fan of Sherlock Holmes and you probably knew that by my previous posts.  Sherlock Holmes is one of the few detectives that actually use logic when solving crimes instead of just "Oh, what are the chances that I happened to stumble onto the identity of the criminal."

So now is the golden chance that I've been waiting for to read this. We're suppose to choose a book that we wanted to read so here I go; I present to you: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Other Stories.

Blog Post

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." 

This quote above was said by an inspirational man, probably one of the greatest in the 20th century. Everyone who is reading this post, take some time and think about what this quote is saying and more also who said it and because I am in a giving mood I'll give 3 answer choices.

A) Martin Luther King Jr.
B) Mahatma Gandhi
C) Mother Theresa

Take your pick.

Well by now I hope that you all took the time to think about which one of the three said the quote, if you said A then.... you're wrong. If you said C then.... you're also wrong. The correct answer was B Mahatma Gandhi. So if you said B give yourself a pat on the back.

Now you all must be wondering why the heck I am asking you to think and asking you this question. Well now you'll get your answer. Over the previous week or two I've been reading a biography of Gandhi's;  Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire by Rajmohan Gandhi, an yes Rajmohan Gandhi is related to Mahatma Gandhi, his grandson to be exact.

This book goes through an accurate and credible source of Gandhi's life and beliefs. Gandhi was one who did not hate his enemy nor did he use any means of violence against them like other freedom fighters did. The quote above illustrates his idea of non violence and also on how to turn hatred for one into a new found relation with that person. Forgiving is one thing people struggled to do back then and even now, those who are able to do so are able to move on and accomplish great things.

I would recommend a lot of people to go and pick up this book and take the time to read it. This is all I have to say for this blog.  Namaste.

Column Thoughts

Well for this blog post I decided to dedicate it a set of column that was assigned for reading. The columns I read ranged from a wide variety of topics. From Winter Olympics to royal weddings. Image conscious people to dog loving ones. If someone were to come up to me and say, "Hey which one was your favorite? Didn't like?", well I'll tell you that in just a moment, but for those who haven't read the columns, click on this link and read pages 1-14 then come back.

So I am going to assume that you read the columns thought about the question posed above. Now I'll give you my response. For my favorite I'd have to say, Winter Olympics: When USA hockey team beat Soviets in 1980, we knew it would last forever. This is in reference to the hockey match that took place against the US and the Soviets, 1980.  This one I liked because it bring back the topic the American Spirit or the American Dream,  and how it makes this specific sports event a more memorable one.

One that I didn't like that much was, What will Kate Middleton's wedding dress look like? To be completely frank at first I didn't put any extra thought to this than I needed to. Why would I care how Kate Middleton's wedding dress looks, it is not like I have been personally invited to that wedding, to give any thought to it nor am I going to find it online and watch it. There was a point in time when I wondered why the author would want to write about it, but I'll let you guys think about that.  

All I have to say is that columnist writing is really interesting and can be thought provoking, that is why I am excited to be going into this week reading more of these columns.

Fahrenheit 451 Theme Handout

In the wrong hands, technology can be dangerous.

Musa Khan,Aditya Vadlamani, Kevin Fedders, Zoe Grigsby, and Tyler Mattingley

Timeline:

• Montag uses kerosene to burn books
• 
  

  Seashells causing Mildred drug overdose

• The Hound hunts down Montag
• Parlor walls brainwashing people
• Books can be misused because they provide people with power
• Atomic bomb obliterating people

Textual examples from the book:

Event-Kerosene is used as a punishment for possessing novels

Quote: “WIth the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world the blood pounded in his head,..” (Bradbury, 1)

Event-Parlor walls brainwash citizens and dehumanizes them

Quote: “‘ You heave them into the ‘parlor’ and turn the switch. It’s like washing clothes; stuff laundry in and slam the lid’” (Bradbury, 93)

Event-Atomic bomb obliterates city

Quote: “...the scream of the jets that would follow, would say, after the deed, disintegrate, leave no stone on another, perish. Die.” (Bradbury,151)

Theme Questions:

Why is this theme important?

This theme is important to our understanding of the story because technology plays a key role and the primary reason for the change in humanity and the evolution into a dystopia.

How does it connect to modern society?

It connects to modern society because there are many technologies that are very similar to those presented in the novel and are having a similar effect on our population today.

Fahrenheit 451 Theme

Hopefully by now everyone has finished Fahrenheit 451 because I am going to include spoilers in this blog post. So if you have not finished Fahrenheit 451 than close this tab and look for someone else's blog to read and comment.

Hopefully those who are reading this have finished the book or those who don't care if they read spoilers. The book consists of many different themes but the theme I am going to talk to you about is, Technology misuse. Technology is used to control the masses in society. In the text there are both explicit and implicit technology misuses, but first let me tell you about the explicit one.  The explicit one consists of the Hound, which control people physically by injecting a certain poison to those who do acts that the government does not approve. The one that are more implicit are the ones that control mental aspects of life. Parlors controls people, like Millie, by feeding them information through the power of media, which we all know can be really persuasive.

These are the two biggest technology misuse example that can help get a feeling for how Montag's society controls its people.

Fahrenheit 451 Continuation

This semester we are reading Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury. On Friday we discussed how the poem Dover Beach written by Matthew Arnold impacted the story. In the book the poem is present when Guy returns from meeting Faber and gets into an argument with Mildred's friends, Mrs.Phelps and Mrs.Bowles. As a catalyst to the argument Guy reads the poem,  causing Mrs.Phelps to cry and Mrs.Bowles to get really angry, causing them both to leave. In this blog post I will be making a continuation of the story by predicting what will happen next.

After we left Mrs. Phelps kept on crying, I tried to comfort her, telling her that Guy was crazy or he was just kidding, but she wouldn't stop.

She said, "I don't know why I'm crying, it was too much. What Guy read was too much for me."

"Don't let it get to your head, he's crazy," I explained.

Once I dropped her off I went home myself. Why did he have to read that stupid poem? Why did the people have to write such things? I decided to forget about the whole situation by watching my "family".  I never felt this sad feeling before, not when my divorce happened or the death of my second husband occurred.

I got up from my seat, tired and depressed.  I opened the vial of sleeping pills and put some in my hand. I was unaware of how many I have taken, I laid down on the bed feeling drowsy. I put my Seashells in my ears and listened to some soft music. The telephone was just in arms reach, I picked it up and made a phone call.

"Hello, Fire department? I have some important information to share with you...."

After I put the phone down I cursed Guy and his poem, and went into a deep sleep.  That was it my life flashed before my eyes and it ended.