Living Chris Mccandless’ Lifestyle

To many people, the idea of surviving alone in the wilderness seems just downright crazy. Chris Mccandless decided to not worry about what others thought, and so he decided to venture into the wild. If I were to ever follow in Chris’ footsteps, I would probably engage in many of the same activities that he experienced. My journey, however, would be much different overall from Chris’. I would try to more sensible than Chris was on his adventure.

I feel that Chris did many things during his lifetime, that I would also enjoy. One of the best parts of following in Chris’ footsteps would be meeting all sorts of new people. During Chris’ travels, he most likely met hundreds of people, and he seemed to form good friendships with many of them. This could possibly be the best part of going on a trip like Chris did. If I would ever decide on going “into the wild” this would definitely be one of the leading factors

If I were to ever go on a trip, many of my experiences would be very different from Chris’. One of my major differences is that I would never chose to go alone. I think that going alone is pretty reckless because you can’t get any help if something bad were to happen. I also feel that this is the main reason that Chris died on his journey. I would definitely make sure that I was with at least one other person. More people would make the trip safer as well as more fun.

I would also travel differently than Chris did. I would personally take my car, and I would never abandon it like Chris did with his car. I feel that hitchhiking is an ok way to travel, but it can also be very dangerous. Whenever Chris hitchhiked, he was basically at the mercy of whoever picked him up. Since he was a drifter, Chris could have been murdered and no one would ever know what had happened to him. I do, however, understand why Chris chose to abandon his car. He wanted total freedom, and he felt that his car was holding him back.

I also think that Alaska was a very bad place to go without the proper experience. I would probably go somewhere south where it was much warmer.Alaska would only be a place I would go if I was very experienced and familiar with the territory. I would also make sure to bring a guide with me, to help me out if something happened. I think that Chris’ underestimate of Alaska’s brutality is the main reason for his death. I also feel that a properly planned and prepared journey would make for a better time. Overall, that is one of the main differences between me and Chris. I would like to know whats happening next, while Chris liked to just wing it and live in the moment.

Chris McCandless and Zine Ideas

The book Into the Wild’s main character Chris McCandless was a very deep and complex person. Personally I have not yet decided exactly how I feel about him. On one hand, I admire him for following his dreams, and living his life to the fullest. On the other hand, I dislike him for completely deserting his family, and his reckless tendency of never being prepared for what lies ahead. At this point in the story, I see Chris as someone who is still searching for something but he doesnt know what it is yet. Chris’ journey seems comparable to a classic coming of age story, where the protagonist goes on a journey to find out who he really is.

I admire Chris for actually going out and living his dream. Everyone has dreams of what they want to do in their lifetime, but the vast majority of people never actually do anything about them. Chris was different than everyone else because he actually got up and experienced his dream. In his 2 year journey, Chris went through more thrilling experiences than most people do in their entire lifetime. For this reason, I somewhat understand why Chris lived the way he did.

I also feel that Chris went about his journey in a very foolish way. First of all, I completely disagree on his decision to cut off all ties with his family. He should have realized that even though he didn’t care about them, they still cared deeply for him. I think that this is a very selfish move that nobody should ever put their family through.

Chris also acted foolishly when he constantly insisted on never being prepared for entering the wild. He always seemed to just be winging it, and got lucky to survive as long as he did. A good example of this is when Chris is canoeing in the Colorado River. During this time, Chris becomes lost and ends up get lost in side canals until the canal peters out. Chris most likely would’ve died on that journey, but he luckily came across Mexican duck hunters who tell him how to get out of the wilderness. After this experience most people would learn, and prepare themselves better for the next time they entered the wilderness. Chris didn’t seem to learn anthing from this experience, and he instead ventured into Alaska ill prepared. Chris’ stubborness and lack of common sense are reeasons why I sometimes dislike him.

Zine
I am not 100% on my zine yet, but I do have an idea that I am leaning towards. I am fairly sure that I want my zine to be involved with music. My idea is that my zine will describe some of the best artists (in my opinion) from a few major genres. In this zine I will describe the band’s sound and image, as well why the reader should check out the artist. Some of the genres will probably include classic rock, alternative, punk, reggae, and rap. I personally like rock so my zine will probably lean towards more rock artists. I’m not a very good drawer so I will probably use a lot of graphics off of the internet.

The King of Kong

My articles dealt with one on one interviews with King of Kong creator, Seth Gordon. In these articles, Seth Gordon discusses some of the back story behind The King of Kong. After reading these articles, my opinion on the documentary didn’t change much. I then decided to read a few other sources just out of curiosity. These sources were twin galaxies forums, wikipedia, and imdb. These articles gave me a few reasons to question the film’s reliability.

The most surprising thing that I discovered is that Billy Mitchell reclaimed his record after the movie was filmed. According to wikipedia, Billy Mitchell reclaimed his title in public on July 26, 2007. Wikipedia states that Billy managed to get a score of 1,005,200. This changes my view of Billy a little bit because he proved he can still play in public. I still think that he is a jerk, and I hope that Steve can beat his record again. I believe that during filming, Billy wouldn’t play Steve because he knew that he wasn’t as good as Steve. Billy probably practiced all the time after filming, so he could get back up to his level.

Seth Gordon’s interviews didn’t surprise me much. I was surprised, however, when Gordon stated that it took over three hours just to get to a kill screen. This means that Steve or Billy could practice for most of the day and only get 3 or 4 games in. This shows just how dedicated these two guys are to Donkey Kong. I was also surprised by the fact that a remake is going to be made. In my opinion, a remake would be extremely hard to accomplish. I don’t believe actors could make the film as interesting as the real people who were involved.

Twin Galaxies response to the film was also somewhat surprising to me. Twin Galaxies claims that Steve Wiebe had already been the Donkey Kong champion for 3 years prior to the film. According to Twin Galaxies, Steve had submitted another score before his controversial score discussed in the film. This means that the director edited the movie to make it look like Steve was the underdog the entire time when he really wasn’t. Overall, I don’t think that this is a major issue because he just left out some details. It would’ve been a lot different if he would’ve fabricated story and added them into the film.

Some of Twin galaxies claims are a little harder to believe. Walter Day from Twin Galaxies claims that Steve was welcomed by all of the gamers at Billy’s restaurant. This seems like a flat out lie to me. You can clearly hear and see Steve Sanders tell Billy on the phone that Steve was not invited. Walter Day also claims that Billy and Steve were on friendly terms, and that they spoke often. Later, in the same statement, Walter admits that Billy didn’t like to talk to Steve because of his affiliation with Roy Schildt. I think that Walter is a good guy, but he is trying too hard too make everyone happy.

Overall, these interviews didn’t change my perspective very much. Basically, no matter how you look at it, Billy is a jerk and Steve is a nice guy. The directors may have edited certain scenes to make the story more interesting, but everything that happened was caught on camera. You can’t argue against something if you are watching it happen right in front of your eyes.

Films

In our current society, TV and movies have become a major part of American life. Most Americans watch movies on a regular basis, and could tell you the entire plot of some of thier favorites. They could also tell you about some movies that have significantly impacted their life in both positive and negative ways. I personally know of a few movies that have made permanent impressions on my life. One of these movies that greatly influenced my life was the film Space Jam.

Out of all the movies I watched when I was young, Space Jam definitely had the biggest impact on my young life. Space Jam is specifically aimed at kids, which worked perfectly for me because I was 7 when it came out. The movie is basically about Michael Jordan trying to help the Looney Tunes by winning a game of basketball. One of the most inspiring scenes for me was the opening sequence when a young Michael Jordan is playing basketball with his dad. Michael tells his dad that he is going to practice everyday and make the NBA someday. The movie then opens and cuts to a bunch of actual clips of Michael Jordan’s basketball career.

From an early age, I had always been interested in basketball. In fact, my whole family has always been a big basketball family. My dad played at the University of Evansville and my older brother played at the University of Southern Indiana. Because of these influences, I was already a huge fan of basketball before watching Space Jam. I remember being young and seeing previews for the movie, and imagining that it was going to be awesome. Being 7 years old, the teaming up of Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan seemed like the recipe for a perfect movie.

After watching Space Jam, I became obsessed with the game of basketball. I remember going outside and playing in my backyard at every chance I could get. I played on my first organized team in the 2nd grade, and I continued to play until my freshman year in high school. The reason I stopped playing basketball was because I dislocated my knee in practice, which basically ruined my season. I then tried to come back my junior year, but I ended up dislocating my other knee playing baseball (in gym class) during tryouts. This hasn’t stopped me from still playing basketball on a regular basis with some of my friends.

Overall, the movie Space Jam had a huge positive impact on my life. The whole knee ordeal may have been a little negative, but just being able to go out there and play was worth it. I know that I will be a lifelong fan of basketball, and Space Jam definitely helped establish my love of the sport. It’s strange how much movies can help shape us into the people that we become. I hope to continue play and watch basketball for the rest of my life.

Tattoo

I’ve always thought that it would pretty sweet to get a tattoo. The big question is what should I get a tattoo of? If i would get a tattoo, it would definitely have to be something that meant something to me. I wouldn’t settle for one of those generic tattoos that everyone seems to get. My tattoo would have to be something special that I would look at and be proud.

One of my main tattoo ideas would probably involve music. Music is an important part of my life, so I feel that this would be a great tattoo idea. My music related tattoo would probably involve something with my favorite band Sublime. Sublime’s coolest piece of artwork that is associated with them is the cover of their first album “Forty Ounces to Freedom”. The cover has a picture of sun with a face on it. This sun is sometimes called the sad sun by fans of Sublime. If Iwere to choose a tattoo involving Sublime, I would definitely go with the sad sun.

A important part of getting a tattoo is deciding where to put it. It’s going to be there for the rest of your life, so you might as well make sure it is in the right spot. I have a few ideas for where I would put this sad sun tattoo. My first idea would be to go all out and make the tattoo cover my whole back. My second idea would be to get the tattoo on one of my shoulders. My last idea would be to get the tattoo on my chest. Out of these three ideas, I think that I like the idea of a shoulder tattoo best. I feel that the other two ideas might be a little extreme.

There are some types of tattoos that I would never get. First of all, There is absolutely no chance I would ever get one of those tribal armband tattoos. These tattoos are definitely the most generic tattoos there are, and it seems like everbody and their brother has one. These tatoos arent very original and they don’t even look that good. I feel that the reason these tattoos are so popular is because some people think that it makes them look cool.

Another type of tattoo I would probably never get would be one associated with religion. I am not a very religious person, but that is not the reason I wouldn’t get one. The main reason I wouldn’t get a religious tattoo is because I feel that people who are unsure of what tattoo to get, always seem to settle for a religious tattoo. I think that religious tattoos are sweet tattoos if you actually are into your religion. If you aren’t a religious person, however, I dont think you should get a religious tattoo just because you really want to have some kind of tattoo.

I think tattoos are awesome, and I could possibly see myself with a tattoo sometime in the future. My advice to anyone out there wanting to get a tattoo is to make sure it is meaningful. I think that a tattoo should be something that you look at and feel proud that you got. A good thing to think about is that once you get a tattoo, you’re stuck with it until you die. It would suck to be ninety years old and have regrets about getting a stupid tattoo.

Examples of Paraphrases, Quotations, and Summaries

Paraphrase:
Roger Sipher feels that American education is in bad shape due to the decline in standardized test scores.

Quotation:
Roger Sipher claims that “Abolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends” (page 1).

Summary:
Roger Sipher feels that Amercia should do away with mandatory public school. He claims that students who don’t want to be in school are just bringing down the other students that are there to learn. He also explains that these uncommitted students will eventually drop out of school anyway. This idea of nonmandatory public school will encourage a better learning environment for the committed students. He also feels that the government could save money by not forcing children to enter public school.

The Art of Tailgating

Everyone has their own personal hobbies or subcultures that they are apart of. Some of these groups are large and widespread, while others are small and may seem strange to the general public. I myself am a member of a few subcultures. Out of all of the subcultures I am involved in, I would have to say that my favorite is definitely tailgating.

Tailgating is basically when people gather together and socialize before a event. Tailgating is most associated with football games, but it has spread to all sports and even other events such as concerts. The term itself comes from a trucks “tailgate”  which people often sit on during tailgating. I can assure you, however, that tailgating is much more than a bunch of people sitting on the back of a truck talking before a sporting event. Most hardcore fans go all out when it comes to tailgating.

Fans usually come from all over the country just to experience tailgating. In fact, many fans don’t even enter the sporting event, choosing instead to sit in the parking lot and tailgate all day. Many fans choose to bring up a TV and watch the game, or some fans choose to go old school and bring up a radio and listen to the game. Tailgaters usually bring up all sorts of food and forms of entertainment just for one day of tailgating. Most people bring grills and grill out with burgers and hot dogs. Other delicacies include chips, soda, and alcohol (for those  who are over 21 of course).

The awesome game of bag toss is usually a staple at most tailgates. Quite possibly the greatest game ever invented, the simple game of bag toss (or cornhole) involves throwing bags at a ramp with holes in it. Each time you or your partner get the bag in one of the holes, you receive points. The goal is to be the first team to get to a certain amount of points without going over. If you can manage this, you win the game. Cornhole may not seem like the most amazing game, but I can assure you that it gets pretty intense.

Some of my earliest and most fond memories involve going to tailgates to support our local football team, the Jasper Wildcats. I remember going most weeks and listening to my parents and their friends discuss  the latest sports headlines. I also remember the old timers telling drunken stories about the good old days when they used to play football. They would usually end up telling tall tales about how much better their old time teams were then the teams of the present day. I now know that most of these stories were greatly exaggerated or didn’t happen at all.

The art of tailgating is a large and mainstream subculture that is continuing to grow in popularity. I think that the reason tailgating has become so popular is the wide variety of people who can come and enjoy it. It doesn’t matter if your a die hard sports fan, or if you just want to hang out with your buddies. I would encourage everyone to try it at least once. You’ll never know if you like it or not unless you give it a shot.

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