Thursday 31 March 2011

public class English{
   
    static HashTable<String> sentences = new HashTable<String>();   

    private static BlogPost<String> createPost(int assignnum){
        String quote = "
            Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons.
            They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing.
            All they do is show you've been to college.";

        BlogPost<String> post = ""

        ;

        post += "semicolons are transvestite hermaphrodites according to vonnegut\n";
        post += "other than showing that youve gone to college, they are useless\n";
        post += "i sort of agree with vonnegut\n";
        post += "the semicolon is indeed one of the more advanced types of punctuation\n";
        post += "not only that, but using it definitely does show off intelligence\n";
        post += "i mean you can still get your message across without semicolons\n";
        post += "really, they arent even close to being necessary\n";
        post += "periods and apostrophes are used much more often than semicolons yet apparently even those arent necessary\n";
        post += "strange that semicolons exist if theyre not a necessity\n";
        post += "while perhaps sometimes a writer might find it advantagous to use one, there has to be an alternate way of saying what needs to be said\n";
        post += "yeah in english, in writing, theyre useless\n";
        post += "and of course vonnegut agrees, he doesnt use them in his writing at all\n";
        post += "his humorous quote and his writing match up\n";

        post += "theres more to the quote than just semicolons though\n";
        post += "vonnegut is saying that people need to cut out all of the meaningless fluff\n";
        post += "he is very strict about that idea in his writing, as he is extremely brief when he writes\n";
        post += "the plot can go forward by a huge amount in 2 sentences\n";
        post += "some of his words are longer than his sentences (for example, tralfamadore and so it goes)\n";
        post += "i think its pretty neat that a quote like that can speak so much about his writing style\n";
        post += "that underlines even more his desire to get the point across quickly, and shows his skill at doing it\n";
        post += "i must agree with him on getting rid of all the unnecessary junk\n";
        post += "ive been told that i am very blunt and to the point and due to that i can relate to vonnegut\n";
        post += "usually im more concise orally than in written work\n";
        post += "usually\n";

        post += "ps i still like semicolons, just not in english (comp sci anyone?)\n";
        return post.contains(transvestitehermaphrodite) ? post: null;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args){
            System.out.println("Hello world! Check out my latest blogpost below: \n%s",createPost(2));
    }
}










- jakevin

Wednesday 16 March 2011

vonnegut makes me bust a gut
kurt vonnegut is absolutely hilarious in my opinion
throughout the novel, his voice never changes
it just seems that for about 200 pages he just talks in the same monotone voice
there's nothing wrong with that, i mean i like it very much
the reason i find him so amusing is that he'll crack a dark joke without skipping a beat
he just says it and moves on
vonnegut does not emphasize his wit and he does not wait around for the reader to get the joke
and thats how i like my humor


ive been frantically trying to find an example from the book, but for the life of me i cant
i feel silly but i think we have discussed vonnegut's dark humor enough in class
perhaps its a given that vonnegut has a twisted sense of humor and perhaps i dont need to justify it
mhmmmm yes thats it...

now anybody that knows me well should know i have a different sense of humor
i find it very amusing to look at someone, tell them something terrible, and observe their reaction
i make inside jokes with myself and i chuckle to myself all the time
vonnegut and i share that sense of humor and thats probably why i find him so funny
just the idea of saying 'the plane crashed... everybody was killed but billy...[meanwhile] his wife died' with an expression-less face makes me laugh
i know that most people cant fathom why anyone might laugh at something like that, but vonnegut and i think alike
this novel was a pleasure to read because it was so amusing to me
vonnegut has a way of writing that i can relate to and that makes me laugh
and of course dont get me wrong i still laugh at most things
knock knock jokes, puns, dirty jokes, family guy, slapstick comedy, you name it, whatever it is ill probably laugh
unless its not funny.






- jakevin