The Pura Principle

I liked this story a lot. All different types of people have a lot to say, but not everybody is a formal college-educated author. It is unique to hear such an emotional story come from such a colloquial writer. You would think that the reader wouldn't be able to take such a writer seriously, but I feel like the cursing and trash talk is something that many people can relate to. Because of this, it helps the reader connect with this specific illness narrative.

My favorite aspect of the story is how Rafa is sick, making it easy to feel sorry for him, but that he is an extremely unique character. Most writers glorify the sick, but this author included every flaw of his brother. Even though he showed that he loved his brother, sometimes it seemed as though he didn't like Rafa. I really enjoyed hearing such a unique perspective on such a common topic as cancer.

Waltz with Bashir

The scene that stood out to me the most in Waltz with Bashir was when the soldier ran into the line of fire and started dancing with his weapon. Based on the title, this was a critical point in the film, and it was done extremely tastefully. I have not seen many serious films that use animation, but this scene would not have worked any other way. The mixture between dancing and shooting was both abstract and perplexing. After getting angry enough to threaten his own friend, why did he suddenly start dancing? I especially loved the points where I couldn't tell whether he was trying to waltz or just evade the shower of bullets.

I was surprised that an animated film could portray the emotions and depth that it did. Usually animation seems to be used for humor. The one problem was that I was unable to identify people when they were showed at various ages. Other than that, the fluidity of the waltz showed me that animation can be extremely effective in portraying emotional imagery.

4 Annotations

1. Zeleny, Jeff. "Romney to Obama: 'Why Didn't You Call Me?'" Nytimes.com. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
This article said that President Obama has considered the health care law in Massachusetts passed by Mitt Romney as the model for the national plan. In response, Mitt Romney said that he disagreed with Obama's plan. He even said that had Obama called him, he "would have told him, 'What you're doing, Mr. President, is going to bankrupt us."

2. Shear, Michael D. "Boehner, McConnell Push Full Assault on Health Care Law." Nytimes.com. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
In both an article and a video, House Speaker John Boehner and Republican leader Mitch McConnell promise that they will continue pursuing "full repeal" of Obama's health care law. In response, President Obama put out a video in which he was talking to a person who benefited from the fact that the health care bill raised the age that kids can be on their parents health insurance.

3. "On Second Thought." Editorial. Nytimes.com. Web. 3 Apr. 2011.
"A federal district judge in Florida backed down, as he should have, from his effort to bully the Obama administration into halting implementation of the new health care reforms even before the issue of the law’s constitutionality is resolved by higher courts."

4. Eliminating Waste in Medicare Advantage Will Not Affect Benefits. The White House. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
In this video: "Mike Hash of the White House Office of Health Reform gets into deeper detail on how reform would eliminate wasteful subsidies to insurance companies in the Medicare Advantage program, without hurting benefits or care and leaving the trust fund intact. To the contrary, it will strengthen Medicare's long-term stability and save seniors money."

5. Davenport, Jim. "Appeals Court Speeds up Health Overhaul Appeal." Yahoo! News. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
This article talked about how a federal appeals court has decided that they are going to speed up the timetable for the consideration of a Florida judge's ruling that Obama's health care bill is unconstitutional.