Bullet in the Brain!... OOUCH!

Bullet in the Brain shows us the last few minutes of Anders life in great detail. The author paints Anders as a cynical and almost unreal book critic that somehow feels the urge to rebel against armed robbers. His critical view of others’ speech and life in general is what causes Anders to get a “bullet in the brain.” The author uses the mystery of the brain and death to draw the reader in. By using “brain time” the bullet is slowed to allow author to describe vivid snip-its of Anders life. I like how the author included “what Anders did not remember given what he did remember.” The small forgotten memories show us a different side of Anders. Lighter, more human elements of family, love, and literature remind us of Anders past and just how real he was. What was remembered is a common enough childhood seen of baseball. In this memory Anders is reminded of his passion for words and love of language as he dies. It is fitting that his last memory is of analyzing dialects and speech, something that ultimately gets him killed.

I feel the author’s main intent for the story is to show how being over critical of life can cause trouble. Each of us has our own way of talking, writing, and going about life. I also feel that this may be the author’s way of making fun of editors and critics. A writer’s work is constantly critiqued and changed; this could be Wolff’s way of saying, “Back off, wrote it the way I want it.” This story made me look back over my life searching for small forgotten joys. I hope that my final thoughts will allow me to relive a wonderful time in my life.

Finally 10!!!

Blake Thompson was an average American ten-year-old boy. He lived in a normal town, on a normal street, with his fairly normal mother, stepfather, and baby sister. Blake had just begun the second half of his forth grade year when he turned ten. The big “double digit” birthday celebration was held at the local laser tag park. After an afternoon filled with epic games of capture the flag and king of the mountain the party goers sat down for pie and ice cream. “Yes pie,” Blake explained, “ Cake is too dry and has too much frosting and no fruit so that’s why we aren’t having cake!” Gifts of all kinds were opened and the customary “thank yous” were handed back in return. However, Blake was really only concerned the new set of pogs that his parents had bought and the two packs of Pokemon cards that Cooper, his best friend, gave him. Pogs and Pokemon were Blake’s favorite things to do at recess, well maybe beside foursquare. Soon after the presents were unwrapped the other forth graders’ parents began to pick their children up. When Blake and Cooper were the only kids left Blake’s parents drove them back to their normal neighborhood. The rest of the evening the two boys fished at the lake a few streets from theirs. When dark came the boys returned to their homes to find their parents doing normal adult things. Blake finished his homework that he had left until Sunday night before brushing his teeth for bed. While lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep, Blake smiled to himself, thinking how fun the next ten years would be!

Enthusiast 7

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The results to my Enneagram Test showed me to be a Type Seven. Sevens are considered to be the enthusiast. Enthusiasts tend to be quick thinking extroverts with creative and open minds. Members of this group are in a constant pursuit of adventure and entrainment. They are high energy, multi-taskers who often have a hard time finishing what they start. Sevens are easily distracted due to their fear of boredom. Because of this sevens must exercise patience and keep a flexible schedule. Other than boredom, sevens struggle with fears of limitation, being confined, and missing out. Sevens do not practice self-denial; instead they are concerned with stimulating the senses. The ideal self for a seven is to be and be seen as happy, optimistic, and on the go.

Do I agree with the results?... When the personality test was first assigned I was very skeptical. I have a hard time believing that something as complex and changing as a human’s physiological personality can be classified into one of nine categories. I also struggle with the notion that people always want to group other people. I believe that each of us have had so many unique life experiences that it is impossible to group some 6.7 billion people into just a few boxes. With that said, after taking the test I found my results to be surprisingly accurate. While reading about the enthusiast, type seven, I easily thought of examples in my life that fit this profile. The easiest way to put it is I am a thrill-seeker. I love the high of experiencing new and unknown things. Travel is my greatest passion, I can’t think of a better feeling that being in an unfamiliar place trying to figure things out. I am first in line when it comes to anything involving an adrenaline rush, whether it be skydiving or running from the police. I hate just sitting around, life can’t be wasted! I consider myself spontaneous, often times unsure of my next move. My plans are never concrete, if I have any at all. My friends know that if I bail on plans we have made its not anything against them, its just that I have found something more exciting to do. I have short attention span that causes me too have many unfinished projects lying around my house. And because of my short attention span I’m going to conclude by saying that this personality test has surprised me. I was shocked to see myself in the results but I am still not willing to say that my or anyone else’s personality is able to fit into one of nine segregated groups.

Blake 1st blog!!

I guess I will start with a basic introduction and then jabber about myself from there on. My name is Blake Thompson. I am from Absarokee, MT, a small town near Billings. I enjoy the outdoors, reading, swimming, sleeping and most of all travel! I have been very fortunate to have the chance to backpack thought Europe and Australia. I try to take life as it comes and enjoy every minute of it! Because of these experiences I feel that I am a well-rounded, relaxed person.

After graduating high school in 2008 I moved to Missoula with an open mind. Here I have met a great group of wild and crazy people from all over the country. Over the past two years we have explored Missoula and the surrounding area, finding some really beautiful and inspiring landscapes. The city itself I find very refreshing due to its free sprit in the midis of close-minded Montana. Sense coming to school I have decided on a political science major. I consider myself somewhat of a political junkie. For example last night I put this blog assignment off so that I could sit alone in my room watching the State of the Union address. That wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t turned down a six-pack of Blue Moon, my favorite, for a night of solitude behind a computer screen. With those random tidbits about myself out of the way, I hope that my next blog will be a bit more interesting. This being my first blog I know there is plenty of room for improvement and I welcome all advice.