Top Ten List Blog

Top 10 List for A Charmed Life by Liza Campbell
Father’s Problems
Through out the book her father battles alcoholism which leads to domestic violence, and anger management and financial problems. Alcoholism is the main focus in which she talks about her father in the book. In the book she describes her father with a drink in his, passed out from drinking, or drunk. His drinking worsens with money problems and having to have tours by visitors in their home to make money. When the alcoholism worsened violence wasn’t far behind. He was always attempting to put karate moves on his wife while he was under the influence.

Cawdor Castle
This is the one of the main settings in the book. It was one of her two homes that she grew up in. Cawdor Castle is located in Nairn, Scotland. It was passed down from each Thane of Scotland. It was originally built in 1454 by the first thane of Scotland William. Its claim to fame was that Shakespeare based one of his most famous plays off the castle Macbeth.

Liza Campbell
She is the author of the book A Charmed Life and she is telling the story about her childhood growing up in that type of royalty. She was the daughter of the 25th Thane of Scotland. She grew up between two castles in Scotland and attended boarding school for most of her education. After she grew up she lived in Kenya with her husband and had two children, but years later divorced him.


Parents Divorce
Her parents divorce was both a happy and sad experience for the family. After years of fighting, cheating and silence between the two her mother finally compiled enough courage to leave her husband after being married for 22 years. The children had been waiting for this so they could finally stop worrying that their mom would be endangered. The sad part of this was their family became more disconnected after this. Holidays were never the same after that because they were split between their parents homes.

Thanes of Scotland
Liza Campell’s father was the 25th Thane of Cawdor. A thane had the same ranking of the son of nobleman’s or also known as a lord in the feudal system. The first thane of Cawdor was Donald who became the thane in the year 1295. After he father died her brother Colin became the 26th thane but they no longer live in the Cawdor Castle because it is now used as museum.

Boarding School
Liza’s education consisted of going to multiple boarding schools over the years. She was first sent to boarding school she was about 8 years old. Her older sister Emma also attended the same boarding school as her Hanford. In the first few months there Liza had gotten terribly sick with hay fever. Then when she was 11 she was sent to another boarding school this time without her sister with her called Cobham Hall an all girls school. She graduated early from Cobham Hall.

Family Vacations
This memory of Liza’s was her favorite and one of the only happy one’s of her whole family together having fun. Every year they would go up north to visit their grandparents. They would always leave in the night time so they could drive while the kids were sleeping which of course didn’t happen. The trip took about 11 hours to get there and the children were only allowed to ask “are we nearly there”(106) 5 times during their trip. During the trip they would sleep and wave to cars and make silly faces at them.

Aikido
One year when Liza came home from boarding school because it was the holidays she found someone new staying with them. Her father had hired a martial arts teacher to teach him and live with them. His name was Tia Honsai and he taught her father a special type of martial arts aikido. This type was of marital arts was used for defending and to give the energy to the defender’s side.

Death of Grandfather
The death of her grandfather Jack happened when Liza was about 9 and attending Hanford. The death of her grandfather came as a shock when he died suddenly of a heart attack. Her grandfather’s funeral was the first funeral Liza had gone to. The funeral was very large and tons of people attended because he was the 24th Thane of Cawdor, which made her father then next thane of Cawdor. This is the start of her father’s problems because of his new job and responsibility.

Life After Cawdor
After she moved away from Cawdor she went to live in Kenya where her sister Emma and her husband David. While exploring a little village Shela with Emma and David she met her future husband to be Will. After falling in love with Kenya and Willie she decided to live there after it took awhile in contacting her family to tell them the news. She and Willie spent a couple of months exploring Egypt and got to learn more about the religion Islam. Then they moved to a remote island where they didn’t have a telephone and to fish for food everyday. They had two children and a couple of years later they got divorced. Now she lives in London, England with her children.

Outside Reading 7 Post B

Personal Reaction:
This final section of the book wrapped up her feelings about her father, and said that even though he had his flaws, he also had his good qualities as well. Overall this book in my opinion was kind of dull, and very repetitive. She talked endlessly about her hate towards her father, and is having a hard time letting go of her terrible childhood. Then she would go into these boring sections about her family tree which dated back into the 1200’s which was very confusing at parts and very complicated. Although in the end she talks about how she moved on from her life at Cawdor, and found a new life away from it all. She realized she could sort of start her life over in a way, and start her own family. Her father’s life ends which you would expect would make her feel relieved, but they never really cleared ends, or forgive and forget. When she found out her father had died it was days after his death because she had been living with her family in a remote island in Kenya. So she missed her own father’s funeral, and goes to visit and finds out her father left everything to his new wife, and leaves a fountain pen to each of his daughters and one house to his only son. So as I said before overall the book was kind of dull, and complicated but had some good messages that everyone could relate to in their own life.

Outside Reading 7 Post A

Vocabulary:
absconding: to leave suddenly, or secretively(297)
primogeniture: first born child of a family with the same parents(307)

Emergering Theme:
One theme that has been emerging in this section is that even though there are rough patches in life, you can get through them and move on with your life.

Outside Reading 6 Post B

Personal Reaction:
This section was very similar to the other sections in this book. It talks extensively about her father’s abuse of alcohol, and his mistreatment of his family. I have found this book to be very repetitive and focusing just on her father, and expressing her anger towards him over and over again. Although she did talk about her school in this section she talks a little bit more about it. Her parents weren’t really involved in her education, but she was very successful and graduated a year early, but was very uncertain of her future. During those years her mother finally gathered enough courage to leave her husband, and his problems behind. Liza was relieved that her mother and her family was now safe, and they could partially move on from in their lives. Also they learned much more about their father, and his affairs he had while he was married to her mother. Now these “affairs” didn’t have to be private because he was no longer married. He had a couple of women which he rotated and of course didn’t know about each other, which was typical of her father. But finally he settled down again and remarried one of the affairs and her name was Angelika. The most difficult thing about the separation of her parents was holidays and splitting them up between her parents. Her father made things difficult once again her in life, but fighting over that would spend Christmas Eve with him, or Christmas Day. Her father once again was making her life difficult, and couldn’t seem to spend one minute thinking about his family rather than himself.

Outside Reading 6 Post A

Vocabulary
exasperated: to annoy or irrate alot(235)
ethereal: delicate, light, heavenly(247)

Figurative Language:
"As if she was a parrot in a comedy sketch"(235)
This is an example of a simile because it uses like or as to compare two unlike things.

Outside Reading 5 Post B

Response:
In this section of the book her father is having yet another problem, and having trouble with his money. He was having trouble managing it, and spending it unwisely. One of the main issues that this arose from was that when he received the property Cawdor, he didn’t know how to manage its expenses, and was a huge amount of responsibility he wasn’t ready for. A solution that helped their money troubles was that they opened parts of the castle Cawdor to the public, and had daily tours in the castle. This was covering the expenses for the castle. Many new things were added to the castle so when people were visiting the castle was still secured. They put in many new cameras, and put signs around the property to explain certain parts of the property. This all happened while Liza was still at boarding school, but her parents kept her informed during this whole process and when she got home she got to experience it herself. While she was in Cawdor during her breaks when the tours were open people would always ask her questions, and was forced to wear traditional Scottish outfits during her stay. In the summers they weren’t at Cawdor very much because they were traveling a lot so they didn’t have to deal with the tourists. They would attend these lavish parties, and they Liza would wear ball gowns and have to use dance cards. Liza wasn’t that fond of these types of parties but still danced with as many boys as she could to please her parents.

Outside Reading 5 Post A

Vocabulary:
profligacy: shameless, reckless(200)
cognitive: perception, knowledgeable(232)

Quote:
"I'm going to chop you in half,' he hissed. Thatch had helped him learn how to handle knives, but an unarmed wife was clearly not quite the target the aikido master had intended." (231)

This quote is significant because it is showing the violence going on in the house between the parents, and how the family is putting up with it and not doing anything about it. The father pushes them, and does things to them that would normally be unforgivable, but they can't seem to leave him.

Outside Reading 4 Post B

Personal Reaction:During this section of reading they were a couple of quotes that really caught my attention and makes me think more about this topic even though today you wouldn’t think it exists. “My father, for instance, always arranged to fly separately from Colin, but not from us. I vaguely understood that Colin was the ‘heir’, but it was wholly abstract concept.”(180) This quote from the book is referencing about how she and her sisters could not become a Thane of Cawdor and that their births were almost not that important in terms of nobility. The first born male was the one who was to become the next Thane, and the families would keep having children till they had a boy. There was another quote she talks about her fathers will. “A small nest egg had been set aside for the three girls, which went towards our education and a future roof over our heads, but otherwise we were excluded from his will.”(182) This is showing woman leaving in a patriarchal society, which we don’t see today, but still exists within some countries royalty. They don’t even get an equal amount of their father’s will because they are girls. It seems unfair, and women are not lower than men in any way. Her father would talk to her about marrying a man of status and money, and that would be considered a successful life for her. She never did listen to her father about that, even at a young age she knew she could do better and he was wrong. So in this section woman’s rights are implied and it shows the life of woman and how they are treated in a royal family.

Outside Reading 4 Post A

Vocabulary:
dexterity:(165) skill in using hands or body:agility
volatile:(175) dissolving or evaporating rapidly

Figurative Language:
"I was intrigued by this heavy-lidded creature, wreathed in smoke and propped up in snowy sheets like a wrinkled dijnn."(171)
This is an example of a simile because compares to unlike object using the word like.

"It was tricky work, like trying to juggle souffles in front of a hostile audience."(177)
This is an example of a simile because compares to unlike objects using the word like.

"If you're not careful you'll be shacked up with a diddicoy and a brood of dribbling cretins."(185)
This is using imagery because its using imagination and its not going to happen.

Outside Reading 3 Post B

Personal Reaction:
In this section on the book she talks about family vacations her family use to take to visit her grandparents when they are still living. This memory was on the more memorable and better memories. The whole family was together and they would get all packed in the car together, and play road kill counting games (106). She described her visits to her grandparents, where their nursery contained toys that her father had played with. She described her grandfather Jack as not the typical grandpa. When you think of grandpa’s you think of going fishing, playing together, and sharing meals together. Jack didn’t like to talk and learn about his grandchildren, the only time he ever said something to them was when they were doing something wrong. He was Scottish so he was always a kilt, with showy socks and a tweed jacket. (111) While she and her sister were at boarding school they received the surprising news that their grandfather died of a heart attack. They found out her father had become the next Thane in the Cawdor estate and they flew home for the funeral. They were home for the first time in a while, since the holidays. There were all sorts of relatives there, ones that had seen before or in a while. She had looked upon her father dealing with this grief in a different now that she was older saying that it must had been hard for him to receive this new title and dealing with his own father’s death.(126) This is what lead to the drinking problem, and of her father’s own personal problems that he unfortunately took out on his family sometimes. This was a hard time for their family, and this is where the start of her father’s problems began.

Outside Reading 3 Post A

Vocabulary:
flamboyant:adj, bold, brilliant, showy(110)
curmudgeon: noun: bad tempered, difficult person(134)

Quote:
"He could do very little socially unless he had a stiff drink first, but it never just one, and as four went to five and to six, the alcohol in his system magnified rather than smoothed his moods."(134)

This quote is describing her father's drinking problem when she was a child. In the pages before she talks about the family history of being heavy drinkers. This quote is significant because it describes the type of atmosphere she lived in, and how affected her childhood, and how she was raised.

Debate Blog

Political
-They usually occur on Television
-It serves a purpose to help people decide who to vote for, and look at qualities they like in a potential leader.
-It does help arrive at a better descion to help those choose their political leaders.
-This debate is structured, which helps the descion making process because it puts time limits and gives topics to dicuss. It helps give equal opportuites to each side.

Class
-They occur in school during a classroom
-It serves a purpose to help students learn the basics of debate and to help students learn both sides to an argument.
-It doesn't really help arrive at a decision because they aren't meant to see who's right and wrong, its just to learn how to do it.
-This debate is structured, because it lets everyone have a chance to talk and doesn't let one person dominate it.

Friend
-They can occur in person, on the phone, instant message, text message, etc.
-It serves a purpose to settle an argument and to have people express their feelings towards something.
-It does help arrive at a decision or comparison because it helps both people express their feelings and ideas and helps everyone understand.
-This debate is unstructured, this affects the decision making process by having it slow down. It also gives people to talk whenever they want, and doesn't set time limits.

Outside Reading 2 Post B

So far in the story she has described the scene and her family history, which is very important to understand how her family has the wealth and their nobility. In this next section she starts talking about her early childhood, and how her parents treated her among her other siblings and some of her parent’s bad habits. In the book she describes her father putting himself in danger with these car races that he does while he’s drinking He suffered many accidents and they got worse and worse. His final accident was almost deadly when his car did 3 somersaults and he went through the sunroof. He suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs, and a broken nose. I think he is putting himself in danger and doesn’t care and isn’t thinking of his family. He isn’t thinking of what would happen to his family if he were to die, and doesn’t care that he is putting his family through. At the age of 8 she and her sister Emma go to the boarding school named Hanford. It was nice to have each there, while they were away from their parents at such a young age. Her parents were preoccupied with other things so they would send their children to boarding school. Her father was always off in Wales doing work, and even forgot her birthday one year while she was at boarding school. Her mother kept having more children, and was preoccupied with them. Also one of the kids had some health problems and was in the hospital for a few months. I think her parents don’t care of all of their children and are neglected. They send away their children so they don’t have to deal with them and their needs. So far I’m getting the idea her life may have seen liked a fairy tale, but in reality was not.

Outside Reading 2 Post A

Vocabulary84

southpaw: it is a left handed person(55)

untrammelled: limited, not confined. (55)

Figurative Language Examples:
116
"The coastline there is made up of coves and caves and limestone cliffs pierced by swallow holes that boom like gigantic didgeridoos when the surf hits them at high tide."(48)
This is an example of a simile, because it uses the word like to compare two different things.

"And if I am a black lamb then you are a black ram."(58)
This is an example of personification because it is describing a human as an animal.

"Laura was still lying like a shrivelled leaf in a Cardiff hospital."(98)
This is an example of a simile because it uses the word like to describe two unlike objects.

Outside Reading 1 Post B

Thoughtful Response:
So far in the book A Charmed Life it’s about a girl named Liza Campbell who was the last child born in the Cawdor Castle in Scotland. It starts out in present day where Liza is living on Sumba, an island in Indonesia with her husband and two children. She receives notification that her father died three days earlier. She was in a remote area so she didn’t receive it till the day of the funeral, so she was unable to make it. She did however go to visit his grave and go back to revisit Cawdor, the castle where she grew up. While she is up there she remembers the last time she saw her father. On pages 28-31 it describes the memory of her going to say goodbye to her father before she moved to Indonesia and how he treated her with no respect, and she and her siblings were doing all of this work for him. The couple of days she was there he was either drunk or in a terrible mood. When she announces she was leaving she says one final thing to her father “I love you with all of my heart, Pa.”(31) I think her father should be grateful that he is living and successful because of his family’s history and should appreciate it more. He is been handed a great hand of cards because he owns tons of land and castles. He treats his family with no respect and is always in a bad mood. Even though there last encounter together wasn’t extremely positive, he does leave her a voicemail after she leaves to tell her he misses her and wishes she could have stayed longer(32).

Outside Reading 1 Part A

Vocabulary:
sarong:noun: it is a garment or piece of clothing that wraps around the waist(14)
umpteen:adjective: many, large amount(47)

Significant Quote:
"I realized, suddenly that after the initial physical impact of overwhelming grief, a tiny spark of ambivalence had guttered into life. Part of me felt vertiginous from loss; but part of me felt thankful that this intimidating central figure in my life was gone."(25)

This quote is describing Liza's reaction of the death of her father. She's having mixed emotions about his death. First of all shes sad and mourning his death because no matter what he does to you he's her father. But then she is having feelings now that she is cut off from him and she can forget what he did to her and move on in her life.

Outside Reading Blog

A Charmed Life Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle
By: Liza Campbell
Published in: 2006
Nonfiction
321 pages
"Once upon a time Scotland, it must have been unimaginable that feuds and obsessive cattle rustling would one day be seen as finite cultural tics. Treachery, clan warfare and shifting allegiances were like oats and whisky to the populace."(33)
I chose this book because when i read the insert in the cover it looked interesting and had a lot of things that seemed to spark my mind and wanted to read more about it. It is like a real "fairy tale" told from someone inside of the castle. That story line appealed to me.

Sea Inside Post 3

In the movie The Sea Inside the director uses a variety of camera angles to set many different moods throughout it. In particular when they were trying to set the scene at the beginning they used an extra long shot and a truck shot to show the mountains and the sea to show where the movie was going to take place. Also a memorable scene is when you first meet Ramon they want to show his condition they first start at doing a close up shot of his when its shaking and the only thing moving on his body. Then the do a truck shot down to his where they do an extra close up shot of this hand and to show he has no movement in it. I also found in the movie they would do close up shots when a person's reactions were important. Finally the last scene that is memorable to me is when they do an extra long shot of the sea at the end to show Ramon's love for it and that's where his accident and everything started.

Sea Inside Post 2

The movie The Sea Inside and the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly both were very similar and different. For similarties both involved a man who was a quadrelpgic trying to figure out if live was worth living anymore. They both are in life altering positions and have new lifestyles. Also after both have been put in this siutation they write books and try to put something out there to be remembered for. For Ramon in the Sea Inside he writes a book of poems he has written for over the course of a couple years. For Jean in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly he writes his book about what's its like to have locked in syndrome. Also both are different Jean also has locked in syndrome which means he cannot talk or move his body, but his mind is in perfect working order. His only means of communication is his left eyelid. He doesn't really dicuss suicude he just hates having not having control over anything and can't do anything by himself. Ramon is a quadreplgic who is in this state he hates. He wants to die so he doesn't have to suffer and take the burden off his family. He hires a lawyer to help him win his case but he doesn not. He creates a plan to have his friends one by one help him so noone can be traced. I think they are both powerful, but the movie seemed to have more of an impact because I understood the idea better. You could visually see him dying unlike the book which was harder to visual.

Sea Inside Post 1

My general reaction to the film it was a very interesting film. I really enjoyed it because it had a good story line to it, and it really happened so you could relate to it. Ramon in the film wanted to get permission for someone to kill because he cannot do it himself because he is a quadriplegic. He is trying to get the court to approve his case, so then the person who helps him doesn't go to jail for murder. I think in his case he really wanted to die, he was a quadriplegic and couldn't do anything by himself. He would sit in bed day after day and do nothing. He felt like his life was pretty much over and he was waiting to die. I think if someone under his circumstances should have the right to die. He has a qualified reason and should have the right to do so. I think his friends were just supporting his decision even though they it was very hard for them to say goodbye. They were just trying to help end the pain of their dear friend.