Last of the “Good Life”? :(

In Eng 105 and Ams over the past semester, we have all watched and read about the good life.  We have thought about family being the sorce of the “Good Life”, and then to not being the sorce of the “Good Life.”  Some agree with family being the ultimate sorce of the “Good Life” because of past literature such as: “Rebel Without A Cause” “pleasantville” “Foxfire” and a few otohers.  Others have decided that family isn’t the sorce of the good life from readings and videos such as: “Cruddy“ and a few other readings.  After the semester and after reading and watching all the literature, I have changed my first initial idea of the “Good Life”.  I thought family was the idea of the “Good Life”.  Now after past readings and I thought about it, and I have realized that family is the sorce of the good life, along with health, wealth, and a good job.  Without all of these things, I think life wouldn’t be as good as it is.  With having each of these, or striving to reach some of them, it makes life much bringhter.  Having all of those is what the “Good Life” truly is.  What I want is to see what other people think about the good life.  If you read this please leave a comment including your ideal life and how you hope to reach it in the future, because hopefully all of us will eventually reach the good life.  Its been a fun semester guys, cya all around school and have a good winter break.

“The Royal Tenebaums”

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to watch one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life.  This movie was called “The Royal Tenebuams.”  This movie was about a family who was torn apart because of a divorce.  The mother took the kids and raised them herself.  They were successful at first, until one by one they all ended up experiencing event that changed their lives.  The father just as well went thorough a life changing experience.  He had been seperated from his family for many many year, and hadn’t seen them in a while.  One day, he heard news of his wife getting re-married and realized what he had been missing all thoes past years.  Things changed for him mainly because he realized he couldn’t have it.  He had had most anything he wanted in the past.  He used to be successful and had a huge house, a family, everything a man could ask for.  When he heard his wife was getting re-married, I think it was then that he realized he couldn’t have her.  It was the one thing he could never have if she got re-married to her accountant.  My thought is that, over thoes past 6 weeks that Royal got to spend with his family, even though he was living a lie, I think that Royal started only then, to live the good life.  He finally got to see his kids for who they really had become, and see what he walked out on thoes years before.  Over thoes six weeks was when Royal had finally reached the good lfe.  Unfortunatley it took so long for him to reach it because he died shortly after.  I think this was sort of similar to the other movie we watched called “American Beauty.”  The two main characters Lester and Royal go through a change in the movie and reach their good life late towards the end of the movie.  It takes a while for them to reach it, but in that short amount of time was the best of both of their lives.

Extra credit “Into the Wild”

From 4 to 6 pm on Friday the 16th, I had the pleasure of sitting in St. Josephs hall and listening to 3 people give their opinions on the book “Into the Wild.” To be completely honest, i fell asleep through the first 2 people talking, and it wasn’t until angela woke me up in the beginning of the third person talking that I actually got something out of it.  We got onto  the topic of the age that Chris did this journey.  The three people on stage felt that they were annoyed with him mainly beacsuse he was still young (age 24) and he had his entire life ahead of him.  He could have done anything he wanted to do and he ended up dieing in the end. They felt that he was immature and just did it out of the need to rebel.  Truth is though, his journey was planned, it wasn’t just something he woke up and did.  He had been thinking about it for some time before he actually went out and did it.  I think that he was mature at the age he did this, and he was just living his thought of the good life, no matter what other people thought about it.  Most of us thought it must have been miserable living the way he did, but in reality Chris didn’t really care.  He only cared about what he thought and not what others thought about him.  I think that this shows that Chris is a very strong person.  To just listen to himself and go along with it shows a lot of maturity.

Are Men Lazy?

During the past english class, we read the short story called Lost In the Kitchen, it talks about a man perspective of Thanksgiving.  He says what typically happens during a Thanksgiving day.  He talks about how his wife and his friends wife cook, while his friend and him watch the big game.  They eventually go to see if they can help in the kitchen, and they are told to watch the kids.  They then proceed to watch the kids, but get distracted and start to watch the game.  My thought about this is, are all men like this?  Do most men do nothing in their house, besides go to work?  If this is true, is this a man’s perspective of the good life? Are they happy with doing nothing all day while their wives cook and clean?  From my experience seeing it with my family, I think this is false.  When I was younger, my father worked two jobs, as well as helped to cook and take care of me and my little brother.  In all my life, I cannot think of one past experience where I felt that my father was lazy.  Then again, I look at my uncle, and I tend to think differently.  He is the exact opposite.  He hardly works, never cooks or cleans, and he seems to be living the good life.  This goes back to the thought that everyones good life is different.  My dad’s good life is working hard to support his family, while my uncles is doing nothing all day.  I think that you need to work for something, or else there will never be anything to work for.  If you have everything, then you will never earn something yourself, therefore you will never truly experience the good life.  My father one day will if he hasen’t already, but unfortunately my uncle won’t because he is lazy.

“Big Fish Lives On”

For thoes of you who read and finished the book “Big Fish” completely, you will know what happens at the end.  The father a seemly dyeing old man, suddenly turns into a fish as his son carries him to the dock.  He morphs into a fish and swims away into the sunset.  My question is, will the old man, or the big fish, ever reach the good life?  Since he lives forever because he is able to change his form, will he ever obtain the so called “Good Life” or will he never reach it?  Then again do you think that he has already reached the “Good Life” and that he is living it everyday of his life.  My personal opinion is that he have already reached the “Good Life” and that him living on forever doing good, or helping people out of situations is the “Good Life” for him.  I think he is special since in his eyes, helping people is his deffinition of the good life.  His son mentions that he has heard weird stories of a strange creature helping people at the end of the book.  Is that in fact his father living on his dream, or is it yet another person who has the similar ability to morph and live forever?

Clyde/Roberta Goodlife?

The following quote is from the book “Cruddy” by Lynda Barry, “And she romised she will give me the little push I need unless osomething happens and she gets together with Neil Young.  And so if you are reading this, if you are holding this book in your hands right now it means my plan worked completely, I am gone.  I am gone.  I got my happy ending” Pg 305.

When I had first read this, I thought that it didn’t make sense at all.  i thought to myself “how could Clyde/Roberta have lived a happy life with all that she had been through, then to get pushed infront of a train to committe sucide.”  I thought that it was a bad ending for the book, but as I read it again a few more times, it started to click in my mind.  I used to think that Clyde/Roberta had lived a terrible life, but then I thought that maybe it wasn’t all that bad to her.  We each interupt the so called good life in a different way.  Maybe the life that Clyde/Roberta had lived was the good for her.  Maybe she did enjoy going around with her dad, escaping the cops, murdering people to get the suit cases full of money for her dad.  Maybe she enjoyed being the so called “navy” killing her dad, then eventually killing herself.  To each person the good life is different in it’s own way.  This posses the question, in your own opinion, do you believe that Clyde/Roberta had infact lived the good life? 

Filesharing

Well this is annoying.  This is the second blog ive done where it just magically deletes itself.  Worst part is that I dont remember what I was talking about in this post, but wutever here goes.

In todays world, more and more things are becoming available to people with less effort required.  One thing inperticular is music.  Everybody loves music, but not all people want to pay for the music they want.  People don’t want to have to go to the store and buy an entire CD just for one or two songs.  So people tend to download music from websites such as Limewire, bearshare, or kazza.  People do this because its quick easy, and most importantly its free (even though its illegal.)  My thought is that, if more and more things are becoming available to people without having to move, will this be the source of the good life, instead of family or ones health?  Will people like the idea of being able to get what they want just from their computer without having to move at all?  Well for me that would be pretty boring.  I can’t sit still for a very long timebefore I get bored.  I can’t imagine people doing nothing all day and considering that the good life.  If people move less then they do now, they might start to develope obeses problems or something along thoes lines.  Then again in the future there might be a quick and easy cure for that.  Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t possibly live my life, waiting to reach the good life of sitting by my computer doing nothing.  Then again maybe some people can and will do that in the future.

“The Good Life”

Over the past eight weeks, we have watched movies and read books that are supposed to depict the good life.  The truth is, there is no good life.  People grow up, get an education, get a job, and work for about thirty years to retire to hopefully start the good life.  The good life is different to all people.  Some enjoy their family and that being with them is the good life enough.  Others want to be left alone, aloof if you will.  They enjoy peace and quite in their own house or wherever they choose to life.  It takes hard work, and a lot of time to eventually reach a persons so called “good life.”  With enough hard work and time, you can eventually reach the good life.  The main point of this blog is supposed to help us to figure out the good life for ourselves.  I think by writing this blog, it makes me appreciate how good the good life will be, when I get to that point in my life.  You shouldn’t throw you life away and wish for the good life at an early age, because lets face it, most kids don’t reach their good life at a young age.  Also don’t wish your life away wishing you were like just about to retire, because you will have missed all you life long lessons along the way.

Pleasantville

The following quote is from the movie “pleasantville,” “It’s always gonna be like this. I have the right house and the right life and the right car.” David replies saying “There is no right house, there is no right car.”

David has the right idea. To have the perfect life, some people think that they have to have the perfect house, or the perfect car, or even the perfect life, but they are not entirely right. To live a good life, people don’t need to have the best of everything. They don’t need the most expensive stuff that money can buy. To live a good life, it all depends on how a person interprets a good life. Some people are happy living together with a family, and making it day by day. Others enjoy having extra money to buy expensive things that may make them feel good, or cover up the fact that they don’t have that good of a life, they just have expensive cover items. Some people unfortunately in life don’t reach their good life, either not having money, or not having a loving family. There are obstacles that stop you from reaching the good life, but with time and patience the good life can be reached. David learns this at the end of the movie, from his experience in pleasantville.

“Pleasantville”

Towards the end of the movie “Pleasantville” by Gary Ross, George talks to his wife, Betty after he arrives home from work to find no dinner.  He talks to her and says “you’re gonna come home at six o’clock every night and have dinner ready on this table.”  To him, this is the only way he knows life.  He wakes up, eats breakfast, works, comes home and says ”honey, I’m home”  where he is greeted by his family, and a big dinner.  This to George is the good life.  This is how it has been for his entire life being married to Betty.  For people, the good life maybe be very similar, or very different, depending on how one looks at it.  For me, the good life is having a family, a big house, a brand new car, and maybe go on vacation every so often when I have the extra money to go somewhere with my family.  To George, all he knows is what he is used too, and that is getting a big family greeting when he walks in the door.  This is what the good life maybe be to George, a totally different idea of a good life between him and I.