The Ship who Sang

I have lots to say about Helva, to me she is just so complex! She has the tender heart needed to take great care of her passengers, she is so plugged in to what is happening all around her at all times emotionally because of how she watches body language and pays close attention to verbals. Helva is so open to helping with Romeo and Juliet even though she is a little concerned about the envelopes it is exciting to be part of the production. So Helva has all these great emotions and positive womenly ways about her right down to how she checks out every single male that come abboard her ship. There is a masculine side to Helva as well!! Helva does know how to think logically without emotions when she has to. Helva is not affraid to tell anyone where to go if there is a conflict that she will not tolerate. Helva in times of stress has great critical thinking and problem solving skills that end up literally saving the men on her ship. I love that there is no need for some man to save Helva. Yes she would love a regular Brawn to work with her but she's ok by herself, strong by herself like Katsa in Graceling. I am happy Helva decided not to live her life in the envelope!! She is the ship and the ship is her the combination really makes Helva the perfect balance between feminine and masculine

Helva

So I know I wrote the blog about Helva wanting to be as human as possible in the begining of the book, well that perception totally changed after reading a little further!! I now see that Helva is proud of who she is. When Helva has her inside decor refreshed and decorated so to speak she does this because she is proud of who and what she is and works ahrd to be the best she can be. I love how you could really take a look at why she invested so much on the inside of herself (ships decor) and not the outside. I get the fact that the passengers ride on the inside, comfort and all that jazz but I wonder if you could take that analogy and say that is McCaffrey saying keep your insides clean? Ha Ha I'm sure it means something. I think it just means Helva wants and cares enough to have her passengers be comfortable. I think it means Helva cares about how other people view her physically. I really think that is part of the reason Helva always had the good coffee available, for the same reason I shower every morning it's how you represent yourself to others.

The Ship That Sang

I already love Helva's spirit!!! I think Helva is this ship who is spooky smart and great at everything she does but there is so much more to her than that. The reason I say this is because from the beginning of the book you see how Helva looks at things just alittle differently than others in her position. Helva pays more attention to what is going on around her emotionally. Helva's curiosity and determination is what helps her learn how to sing. I really feel that Helva knows she has a job to do, she knows she is a ship and very strong but she wants people who fly with her on missions to treat her in a very humanistic way. Helva has such personality and really wants the people who fly with her to not just see her as a nice top of the line brain ship but as a person as well. I love how she is constantly assessing who comes abboard and whether she thinks they have good character or not. You really get the impression from early on that Helva wants to love and be loved and cherished. I also notice that because she is a female brain ship generally people are startled by just how sharp she is and they question her abilities as a ship. They ask Helva if she can perform tasks that they know any brainship could carry out maybe thinking initially that her ship will be weaker just because it's the singing ship with a female brain.

Star Trek

I have to admitt there were times throughout this movie where I had a hard time following what was going on. By the end of the movie it made sense and the plot seemed to come together. I figured my confusion stemmed from the fact that I was not very familiar with Star Trek and the history behind it. I realized that you really could watch this production and get the message without knowledge of the rest of the story.
Anyway what I wanted to talk about was the role of Dr. Picard. I really got a kick out of the fact that he was just this very intelligent aloof drunk looking to make some money by creating this ship that could travel faster than lightspeed. This regular guy in the future ends up to be this huge hero and because the future comes to him he is slapped in the face with this stardom and is very uncomfortable with having all these people oohing over him and his creation. He is looked at as an idol. When he finds out that there is a statue of him in the future world he just can't handle it because deep down he knows he really would not have been sucessful without Lilly. I think it makes him quite nervous to have to finish accomplishing the ship knowing that Lilly is not present to help him achieve that final goal. Dr. Picard really doesn't see his creation as something that will change the way things are in the future. Dr. Picard really is just living in the moment and thinking about gaining wealth so that he can continue to drink and be a free spirit. I believe when he realizes that the ship he and Lilly put together changes the future and has this great impact on space travel he freaks out alittle and comes to understand the importance of what he is doing. I also think it hits him hard at the end of the movie when the clingons come to visit, just how important Lilly really was to him and reaching their goal. I would have liked the ending better if they would have met the clingons together side by side, giving Lilly the credit she deserved.

Deerskin

So this book has a lot going on!! there were times in the begining after the rape that time was confusing to me but other than that I really enjoy the story. There is a part that is bothering me...where is the baby she gave birth to? Did I miss something? One moment Lissar is bleeding and screaming and thinking she is going to die and to make matters worse she runs outside in the middle of winter. What the hell! Anyway why and when did she wake up? Questions, yes,  I have many because I hated this part of the book. The time orientation was confusing and seriously who wakes up from that ordeal just fine except having a messy cabin. I understand that it is a fairy tale and she may have had a visit from her fairy god mother but this part of the book, to me, really fumbles. The other thing I thought was maybe she was just getting her period but then again she needs to get a grip getting your period should not cause that type of turmoil. Other than that I am really enjoying Deerskin

Graceling: Male vs Female Always Continuing

As I think about Graceling and continue to read and go back to areas I have marked in the novel there is one area that has been on my mind and would like to discuss.I find it interesting when Katsa and Po fight each other and it is clear that Katsa has beatin the crap out of Po (89) because he physically looks horrific, Katsa still tells him it was a draw. There are a few reasons why I think this happens. First I really think she is being so humble because Po is this very great fighter and Katsa doesn't want him to feel less or worse because he is a man that just got dominated by a women. Po really doesn't care that he lost to her but is very appologetic when Giddon notices the cut on her precious beautiful face. I think another reason Katsa states that it was a draw is because this way maybe she will be able to fight with Po in the future. It kinda keeps that door open.

I have a real problem with Giddon on these couple of pages. This is really the area of the book that I started to dislike his character. When Giddon takes one look at Katsa and sees that Po has damaged her face he automatically thinks it was from Po being too rough and trying to hurt Katsa. Even though Giddon is a wimp compared to Katsa he is going to try to kick Po's ass and stand up for his precious Katsa. This is bullshit and it makes Giddon totally look like a dork. Katsa sees right through him and is extremely angry that she has to sit and watch Giddon try to defend her when he knows there is no need to deffend her. I think this hurts Giddons pride deep down and because he wants to marry Katsa he more or less peacocks when Po comes into the scene. It is really a good example of character difference, Po is very mellow, patient, humble and has nothing to proove all this makes him a very positive exciting character. Giddon is insecure of his strength because he really doesn't like that Katsa is stronger than he. Giddon is quick to puff up and defend Katsa because that is how he shows he cares...the man protects innocent, naieve helpless women...yuck! This really makes me loose respect for Giddon. I also see his behavior as very stiffiling to Katsa and controlling.

Graceling

I love this book!! I am getting so much out of this story. In class we discussed how there was some gender and identity issues happening with Kasta. We also touched on the fact that she is so young and never really experienced anything other than being a killer. Now that she met Po I really believe we will see this book take a turn and Kasta's emotions will really start to blossom. I do see this happening already when Kasta and Po are eating lunch and the King comes to summon Kasta. She is automatically furious. Po sees this instantly and tries to calm her. Kasta in the end ends up hitting him so hard he falls off of his chair. This stike happens after Po says he will not fight her in anger. Po states you do not fight your friend in anger ever. Kasta has no idea what the hell he is talking about so she hits him anyway and when he does not defend himself Kasta automatically feels horrible for hurting him. Kasta now understands what he meant and swears she will never hit him in anger again. This to me is where their relationship is starting to form more than just combat and skills partners. I really think they are both attracted to one another but Kasta is experiencing all these emotions for the very first time in heer life so she has no idea what to do with all this new warm feeling stuff.