Running in the Family: A Reflection on a Beautiful Memoir

I wrote this response log tonight for English 10.

Daniel Perkes
Period One
Ms. Orser
November 17, 2009

Running in the Family: A Reflection on a Beautiful Memoir
Running in the Family was written by Michael Ondaatje in 1982

For my regional novel, I chose Running in the Family, a wonderfully crafted memoir by Michael Ondaatje, writer of The English Patient. The book is about Ondaatje’s travels to Ceylon, on the island of Sri Lanka. Probably the funniest image I recall from the novel is when he writes about his grandmother, Lalla. “Lalla’s great claim to fame was that she was the first woman in Ceylon to have a mastectomy. It turned out to be unnecessary but she always claimed to support modern science…. the false breast would never be still for long.” (Page 123) I think that this story really shows that although there are a decent number of clichés and expected descriptions in this book (like smoking on a porch or using a shotgun to rid a house of a snake), it is ultimately an enchanting and rewarding reading experience that brings the reader into a new realm and allows you to enjoy the laughter and smell the smells of Ondaatje’s Sri Lanka. For example, the chapter entitled Lunch Conversation (Pages 105 to 109) is merely an account of a family member who’s telling a story that’s very confusing by virtue of its many generations and confusing family relationships. Again, I enjoyed reading this part of the book, as well as the cavalcades of Lalla’s fake breasts (she went through a few).
Another feature of Running in the Family that I’d like to mention is the perfect storytelling places that Ondaatje describes eloquently. In the chapter Jaffna Afternoons, he writes, “The walls, painted in recent years a warm rose-red, stretch awesome distances away to my left to my right and up towards a white ceiling. When the Dutch first built this house egg white was used to paint the walls.” (Page 24) This was a description of the old governor’s home in Jaffna, at the northern tip of Sri Lanka. Ondaatje later goes on to say that the morning had “been spent with my sister and my Aunt Phyllis trying to trace the maze of relationships in our ancestry.” (Page 25) The rest of that short chapter tells about how the stories were told, and how rich their experience was as they sat in the huge old building.
In conclusion, Running in the Family is a beautiful book about a family that’s as interesting and unique as the landscapes and experiences they go through in their lives. From fake body parts to floods and from cobras to silly photos, the Ondaatje family was wild, witty, humorous, intelligent, and vibrant. Michael Ondaatje makes a great point on page 179: He says that “during certain hours, at certain years in our lives, we see ourselves as remnants from the earlier generations that were destroyed.” I think that this quote is significant because he’s saying that we must view ourselves as pieces of our ancestors; new and unique, but also containing traits and traditions that have been in our families for years.

Why Do We Blog?

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with concerts, shows, and things of that nature.

What I'd like to discuss briefly today is motivation. For example, why do we blog? Maybe we blog for attention - we crave the minds of our readers, and the pleasure they get as they laugh or learn from our writing. Or maybe we're bored. I know that browsing the Internet does have its lulls. Does blogging give us something to do when we need an activity? Maybe so.

I think that I blog because I like the feeling of being part of a modern method of expression. I'd like to think I brighten someone's day a little bit when they read my posts. It's my mark on the Internet, and the world (in a small way).

So how about you? Why do you blog? If not, then why don't you blog? Do it!

:P

Uploading Music Videos

So, I just uploaded a video to YouTube (musicman0494) in which I sang "Fireflies" by Owl City. The reason I occasionally will post one or two videos of me singing is that I enjoy it, and I think that some people enjoy hearing it (although I do tend to drive my family crazy sometimes). What are your feelings about video uploading? Do you use sites other than YouTube? What types of videos do you post?

Writing Day 9.21.09

I wrote this piece in my English journal today, because Mondays are writing days. I thought I'd share it with you.

[Haven’t figured out a title yet]
Writing Day – September 21, 2009

I’m not really sure where this piece is going. Maybe it’ll go up, maybe down. Possibly to the left, possibly the right. Could it be that my writing will move mountains and build bridges? (Probably not; it’s just graphite and wood pulp.) Or maybe it’ll be boring, the most mind-boggling, tragic, terrible, monotonous, insanely stretched out piece of trash you’ll ever have the misfortune of experiencing. (Hopefully not; I’d like to think I didn’t waste my time.)
I think this piece should say a lot about my personality. No, no, that won’t work; that’d probably be boring, or at least clichéd. What if I talk about my social life? No, I wouldn’t suggest it. How about… my work life? What are you, 25?! You’re in high school, for goodness sake! Geez. Ok, ok… I got it! I can talk about roller coasters – everybody likes those! Yeah, but absolutely nobody likes reading about them. But - no exceptions! Humpf – you’re a more difficult internal opposing voice than I thought. I think I’m just going to continue writing without your input. But – my decision is final.
Ah, that’s better. Free from the restraints of my negative but still slightly comical internal voice, I can decide what this piece of writing should be about. But wait, I’ve already taken up a page and a half with my extravagant musings! I should instead busy myself with finding a rapid end to this piece. We wouldn’t want it to wander. Or ramble or rant. Or bore, drag on, continue relentlessly, or never stop. (Now wouldn’t that be an incredible waste of time.) No, I should stop it. Abruptly? Well, that might not satisfy the reader. What if I just inform you that then end is at the bottom of this page? Yes, I’ll just do that. Dear Reader: The end is at the bottom of this page. Thank you for reading; bye now!

The End

Relaxation

It's 12:26 in the morning, and crickets (I'm guessing that's what they are) are chirping outside, accompanying the fan of my laptop as they lull me into this state of peace and tranquility. Maybe it's my book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, that is the primary cause of my relaxtion.

Driverless Taxis

I love Engadget, a site that covers all kinds of gadget news, like these super-cool driverless taxis at London's Heathrow airport.

My Blog's Background

Do you have any suggestions for a background you'd like to see me use on this blog? Just let me know, and I'd be glad to consider it!

New York Times vs. other news sources

How do you think the New York Times (online or offline) compares to other news sources (on or offline). My dad says that the New York Times has been found to have a higher reading level than other newspapers. I tend to agree with this, and that's why it's one of the four pages I have set as my Firefox homepage, the other three being Pandora Internet Radio, Gmail, and Facebook.

My Screen-name

I would like to take a moment to explain to you the origin of my screen-name that I use for AIM, Twitter, YouTube, and a few other sites as well. I chose musicman0494 because I am a man (young man) who loves music, theatre, and performing. I was also born in April of 1994, so that’s how I chose the final numbers when musicman was already taken on AIM.

I’d be interested to hearing the explanations for your screen-names and Internet handles as well. Let me know!

The Word “Blog”

While writing my last blog post about healthcare, I noticed that Mozilla Firefox (or Blogger) thought that the word “blog” didn’t exist. This surprised me because I thought that an open source browser like Firefox, and/or a very Internet-savvy company like Google (which is a virtual staple of internet usage, as we all know) would correct a word that very much exemplifies the current role of the Internet in socialization, news distribution, and self-expression.

Health Care

I've heard a lot of the news and ideas that are currently circulating about health care, so I thought I'd write a small post on my new blog and see what you thought about it. I may also post some of my health care insurance ideas I have. To hear some of my ideas that I've already posted online in video form, check out my YouTube account. My username there, like on AIM and Twitter, is musicman0494. I look forward to having some conversation about health care!

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog. My name is Daniel Perkes and I live in the United States. I wonder how many people using Blogger live in the United States. If you have any idea, please let me know! My email address is danperkes@gmail.com, or you can chat with me on AIM. My screen-name is musicman0494.