Moulin Rouge

One of the songs used in the film “Moulin Rouge!” was “The Sound of Music,” sung famously by Julie Andrews in the movie we all know. A line used throughout “Moulin Rouge!” is “The hills are alive with the sound of music…” An example of this line’s usage is this.

“The Sound of Music” (the movie) was made in 1959 and is based off of the Trapp family, although the plotline was changed slightly for the musical and the movie. The actual Trapps didn’t approve of all of the changes. One that was necessary was that one of the Trapp daughter’s names was Marie, which would have been very confusing for the viewers. (As the main character’s name is also Marie von Trapp.) “The Sound of Music” takes place during World War II, 1939 to 1945. “Moulin Rouge!” takes place 40 years prior, in 1899, even though it was made much more recently in 2001.

“Moulin Rouge!”, in a sense, compared the Green Fairy to Marie von Trapp, as those are the two who sung the song, which is not a good comparison. The Green Fairy doesn’t compare to Marie, who was a very pure-hearted person as she took on the responsibilities of caring for such a large family. What makes “The Sound of Music” such a fantastic song is the scenery in which it was used and the brilliant singing Julie Andrews did for it. The meaning that was meant to be conveyed by “The Sound of Music” was lost in “Moulin Rouge!” and didn’t add to the film, but rather confused its viewers. Therefore, “Moulin Rouge!” is simulacrum, not pastiche like it was intended to be.

Amur Tiger Extinction

Amur tigers, among the five other surviving subspecies, have an endangered status. Tigers across the world are dying out, but the Amur tiger has some key issues that make it one of the more likely of the remaining subspecies to become extinct for good due to Asian’s lust for medicine from these tigers, habitat loss, and low genetic diversity.
Amur tigers have become extinct in China, Korea, and other Asian countries because the Chinese use parts of the Amur tiger for medicinal purposes. Hunters learned quickly that they could get rich selling these beasts to the Chinese. The tigers could bring in as much as $50,000 apiece. However, tiger hunting was banned in China due to the serious impact this was having on their population. However, poachers still try to break the law and get rich if they can catch a tiger.

Amur tigers have gone through serious habitat loss. These tigers once populated much of Asia as well as Russia, but no longer. They live only east of the Amur River in the wild and are split into two groups that seem to have no contact with one another. Although Russia is fairly unpopulated, more and more poachers are moving into tiger territory to find food for their families. Tigers are occasionally killing humans when they have no other meat since it’s their last resort. Habitat loss affects all tigers, even if they seem to live in an obscure location. However, Amur tigers are nomadic creatures and are able to adapt better than other animals.

In the 1940’s, it was discovered that Amur tigers had been so severely hunted that their numbers became about just 35 individuals in the entire world, which meant they have extremely low genetic diversity. Serious measures were taken to save the tigers. Their population has been steady at 500 tigers for many years now, but they’re still in danger. This is very bad since the genetics of the 35 tigers that remained could cause serious inbreeding. The two groups split that number in half, giving Amur tigers the lowest genetic diversity of any remaining tigers. However, Amur tigers born in captivity are said to show genetics no longer carried by those in the wild, which is a very promising sign. They’re also famous for having one of the biggest comebacks of all time, if not the single biggest.
Amur tigers have been very near extinction due to poaching for medicine, loss of habitat space, and a small genetic pool. Despite these difficulties and being endangered, they’ve made significant progress in their return over the last few years thanks to human cooperation and concern. If people continue to involve themselves in adding new genetics to the Amur tigers’ gene pool, they can possibly get off the endangered list.

Sources:

. “Endangered Species Alert: Amur Tigers Found to Have an Effective Wild Population of Just 35 : TreeHugger.” TreeHugger. Discovery Communications, LLC., 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/endangered-species-alert-amur-tigers-found-to-have-an-effective-wild-population-of-just-35.html>.

. “Siberian Tiger at Tigers in Crisis.” Tigers in Crisis. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://tigersincrisis.com/siberian_tiger.htm>.

Vaillant, John. The Tiger. New York: Random House, Inc., 2010. 88.

. “WWF – Tiger – Overview.” Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. N.p., 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/tigers/index.html>.

Count of Monte Cristo Movie #3

John’s Blog:

“In this photo Mr. Incredible is being imprisoned by the antagonist, Syndrome. In The Count of Monte Cristo Dantes is imrpisoned by the antagonist, Villefort. Both characters are in imprisoned for doing what they thought was right.”

Drew’s Blog:

“Source: Book

‘We are always in a hurry to be happy…; for when we have suffered a long time, we have great difficulty in believing in good fortune.’

Person speaking: Faria

This quote connects to John’s allusion because it shows how they were imprisoned by the antagonist, and being unhappy in prison.”

Reign of 100 Words: (From my blog)

Although there are clearly differences between the book and movie versions of The Count of Monte Cristo, for the most part, the movie has stayed true to the book.

However, despite having read the story and now seeing the movie, my opinions in my Reign of 100 Words post still display my beliefs. Revenge isn’t a good idea. Despite what’s happened to you, it’s best to let your feelings of wrath dissolve.

Count of Monte Cristo Movie #2

I used Andrea‘s post.

“Jack Sparrow gets arrested in Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl while he was trying to help someone, like Edmond Dantes gets arrested while he was trying to help someone. Jack was saving Elizabeth’s life, and Dantes was just trying to be nice and deliver a letter for someone. They also both escape from prison later.” -Andrea

In the following quote (from the book), Edmond is quoting Captain Leclere. This applies because it shows the reasons he wanted to deliver the letter, and also why it could lead to his imprisonment since Napoleon was trapped on the Isle of Elba.

” ‘After my death,’ he said, ‘you’ll take command of the ship, since you’re first mate. Head for the Isle of Elba, go ashore at Porto Ferraio, ask for the marshal and give him this letter. You may be given another letter or entrusted with a mission. That mission was to have been for me, but you’ll carry it out in my place and the honor will be yours.’ “

Count of Monte Cristo Movie #1

Manipulation

Villefort, when he saw who the letter Dantès was addressed to, managed to carefully manipulate the situation and ensure the word that his father was a traitor was kept secret. He ensured the matter was never looked into and burned the letter, which was the only proof. This is similar to what ‘Professor Moody’ does in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He gains people’s trust and uses it to send Harry to the graveyard to fight Voldemort at the end.

The apple with the red liquid represent manipulation by showing that with the liquid in it, the apple isn’t what it originally seemed to be. It has been manipulated.

Imprisonment

Both Katniss from the Hunger Games and Dantès were wrongfully imprisoned. Dantés was imprisoned because his enemies took him down and got him arrested, whereas Katniss was a random target. She’s imprisoned in the arena to kill her fellow tributes. Both go through pain because of it.

The caged bird clearly represents imprisonment by confining something meant to be free.

Sloth #2

Pledge: Taco knew what he had to do. He needed to get to North Caroline so he could start his Taco chain, Taco’s Tacos. Originally he was going to drive but he didn’t want to load up all his luggage and have to drive. He chose a train to hitchhike on.

Turn: Taco’s business trip brought him up a train in North Caroline. He met Hobo Larry in the back car. “You’re lazy as lasagna,” Taco said. “I’m not, Papa. I’ve got a Ferrari.” Larry passed out from a heroin overdose in a dumpster. Taco knew sloth wasn’t the way to go.

Prestige: Taco’s son, Giuseppe, revived Hobo Larry. Hobo Larry went into business with Taco. Taco’s Tacos became a world wide business. Taco was able to return to his family, Marguerite and Giuseppe, in his home in Italy when Taco’s Tacos opened there, too. Giuseppe stole the family fortune, and Larry continued to be lazy.

Note: North Caroline is not to be confused with North Carolina. North Caroline is a country, and is very different, despite its similar name.

AnticipatoryMonte #3

Some say that you have to punish those responsible if you are wronged. Odysseus, in “The Odyssey,” agreed with that statement. He took revenge on the enemies that attempted to seduce his wife and take over his home. This revenge was their lives and thus he vanquished his enemies.

I disagree with Odysseus. People will always do wrong things, but the right thing to do is learn to forgive them, else the entire world will end up in chaos. It will be an endless battle of one person getting revenge and the other person getting revenge in return.

^ Cause of revenge ^

Romeo & Juliet Project

Link here

I don’t know how to get the video itself onto my blog, but there it is.

Mind Map-Romeo and Juliet

Sources:

     

 

Sonnet

Magic is closer than most people think.

All that I need is a soft, fluffy bed.

I cease all movement and try not to blink.

Take a few deep breaths and empty my head.

Suddenly I’m flying over mountains,

Or battling pirates, slaying dragons

Sitting on clouds or splashing in fountains,

Possibly bringing home wealth in wagons.

Then the alarm sounds and I’m back at home,

Where people have jobs to serve Joseph’s pies.

Though in my memory there sits a gnome.

I see it again when next I close my eyes.

Dreams are domains of mystical wonder

Where thoughts echo as loudly as thunder.