The Monkey Wrench Gang Script Ad #2

Bridget Michalko
Monkey Wrench Gang Ad

BAM!
Is that an hairy eco-terrorist I hear?

It must be!
Edward Abbey brings a splash of reality to those who have the idea that blowing up bridges and bulldozers might a good idea.

With The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, we go along with an interesting group of people on their eco-terrorist journey.
We catch our breath and wait for the hiss of a fuse to turn into the scream of an explosion and we feel our toes itch with every police chase.
The Monkey Wrench Gang has us all on our tiptoes as we jump into the midst of Abbey's story, only to finish wanting more.

Our friend, George Hayduke, helps us all learn from his mistakes that blowing up things isn't always the answer.
Even though just one large bulldozer can make 800lbs of air pollution a year, will blowing them up or driving them off into a reservoir really help?

Maybe.
Although his way of thinking is a little off at times, with the help of his good friends, sometimes the clearest of ideas can come through.
Such as blowing up a coal mining belt, or a bulldozer, or even a helicopter!
If you think about it, ruining hundreds of tractors that all belong to one company could easily persuade them to stop their construction. And doesn't that stop the pollution in that area?

Even though blowing things up might not be the right answer, the journey The Monkey Wrench Gang takes you on is still a hell of a lot of fun!
So don't miss out!

Go out now and read The Monkey Wrench Gang so Abbey can catch you before you turn into a Hayduke.

Monkey Wrench Gang Script Ad #1

Bridget Michalko

Monkey Wrench Gang Ad

Ever wondered what it would be like to be an eco-terrorist?

Well stop wondering now!

The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey is an action packed novel that can show you all about eco-terrorism!

An unlikely group comes together for the sake of nature to save the land by exploding tractors and and coal mining belts.

And who doesn't like explosions?

The Monkey Wrench Gang keeps readers mesmerized with the story with wild goose-chases, thrilling explosions, and some romance drama. 

Every chase scene will have you sitting on the edge of your chair, while the romantic conflicts will leave you either throwing your book across the room out of frustration for the character's decision, or nodding in agreement with them. 

The story can also give you an insight on the mental steps one might take if they really wanted to be an eco-terrorist. 

While every character is "unique" in their own way, each has a pretty clear way of thinking.

Almost all of them understand that killing innocent people should be avoided, stupid actions that could get them caught are looked down upon, and helping the environment should be the top priority at all times! 

Why is saving the environment so important? 

It's where we live of course! Unless you like living in a pile of stinking trash, reading The Monkey Wrench Gang may be right for you.

About 55% of the 220 tons of waste produced in the U.S. goes into landfills. Not only do Abbey's characters understand this, but they take action! 

Ruining all of those tractors and blowing up coal transporting belts isn't all for nothing. 

They all understand that stopping those small things could lead to the demise of some companies that are responsible for a lot of the waste and pollution enveloping their beloved environment.

And you would understand that as well if you read The Monkey Wrench Gang!

So go out to your nearest bookstore and get a healthy dose of eco-terrorism in The Monkey Wrench Gang so you don't go out and make the same stupid mistakes as Abbey's characters do!

The Monkey Wrench Gang Ad

The Monkey Wrench Gang Ad

Artwork by Bridget Michalko

Goose Chase...errr...Eco-Terrorist Chase!

Throughout the book, I realized that a lot of fun reading it because of how many thrilling scenes it contained.

Throughout the book, little spurts of action mixed with comedy were thrown in.
I mean, how could you not have a little action when it comes to a group of (interesting) people trying to bomb bridges and roads?

Some of the scenes were very fun to read because the characters had to suddenly think of ways to escape or outsmart the "enemy". For me, in was intriguing to read because that type of thinking didn't seem very much like all of the characters.

A lazy Bonnie Abzug who complains of being bored but never says no to smoking a joint on the job suddenly has to run for her life to escape a helicopter.

For me, seeing this little wild goose chases were fun to read. It was almost like a little break from all of the hard critical thinking when it came to what should be bombed next and how it should be done.
All of the sudden characters are fleeing and I can almost imagine them running across the page in a desperate attempt to flee from the police.

Maybe the goose chases in the book aren't quite this literal...

Either way, I love how the author can easily weave a little bit of comedy into such a serious topic. It makes the book easy and fun to read and I don't get bored after reading the book for a long time.

Those kinds of scenes remind me of a movie called Rat Race. In the movie there are people that are randomly chosen and are given the opportunity to $2 million. The money is in a locker at a train station in Silver City, New Mexico and all of the characters are given the same key to the locker. Whoever gets to the locker first gets to keep it all! 

Throughout the movie, small little goose chases from other characters or the police keep the audiences attention and you can't help but laugh. 

The movie is a kind of silly-stupid, but I think it's funny and the way the characters think reminds me of the characters in my book.

Both sets of characters have a kind of serious way of thinking so that they can get to and complete their goal, but at the same time they fail to look ahead for some things and they can end up getting themselves into a lot of trouble. 

All in all, the book is very fun for me to read and I can't wait to read more! It's a good book and I would suggest it to any reader that enjoys a little bit of (almost) slap-stick comedy.

Do Monkeys Get Haircuts?

I wonder if monkeys ever get haircuts?
I mean, if they're so much like humans, does their...fur...er....uh....hair grow long like a person's?
Surely it must get in their eyes?
Or do monkeys like it when it blows out behind them with the gentle breeze in the evenings?

Maybe monkeys don't need haircuts. Maybe, for monkeys, long...fur/hair is fashionable.
Like this little guy.

Best Haircut of Little Monkey. N.d. Google Images. Amusingtime.com. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.

Then there are times when humans (who look like a gorilla of a person) need a haircut, no matter how monkey-like they may look. 

While I was reading The monkey Wrench Gang, I would say that I have a few questions for Edward Abbey.

if I ever met him, I think I would ask him a few questions about his characters themselves.

Firstly, how did he come up with these characters? Was it a spur of them moment kind of thing, or did he see some weird people that he thought might act as eco-terrorists?

The little group that he put together certainly wouldn't look like the type of people to be eco-terrorists, so what made him think of them like that? 

Usually an old doctor with a young girlfriend wouldn't have a hobby of burning billboards, or a war veteran wouldn't care much about bare deserts. Yet, the characters he chose all passionately care for their environment despite their looks. 

Secondly, is Hayduke ever going to get a haircut? I mean, I'm more than half way through the book and he hasn't done a single thing to look more like a human. In my mind, Hayduke looks more like like bigfoot than a normal man. If you're committing crimes, wouldn't you want to look unsuspicious. 

If you put Seldom Seen and Hayduke side by side and had to guess which one was more likely to be an eco-terrorist, who wouldn't choose Hayduke? 

I remember them mentioning a haircut for Hayduke so that he could sneak into a business, but no one has even lifted a finger to go through with that idea. 

I'm waiting for the day that bushy beard of his gets shaved off, I really am.

Lastly, what does Bonnie see this whole adventure as? As I read, it seems like Bonnie is only doing this entire thing for fun. 

She actually says "I'm bored" to herself at one point in the book, so does she think of this as something fun to pass the time? 

Even before it all started, she only burned billboards down because Dr. Sarvis liked to and she wanted to be with him. 

Every single character in the book has expressed their huge love for the environment except for her. She seems to be portrayed as someone who likes having things pretty natural, but she wouldn't have come up with the idea of bombing bridges on her own. I wonder how much she really wants to do all of this, and if it's for the environment, or for fun?

If I had to recommend this book to someone, I would definitely say it's a good book. The story is fun to go along with and it gives the reader a way to see things from a different perspective. It has enough problem solving to keep the reader's mind active, but there are moments where your mind can just go along for a fun goose chase without having to think too hard. It's a good story that is fun to read, but it has a splash of reality thrown in to keep the reader thinking. Altogether it's a great book and I think a lot of people would have fun reading it.

Even though the story is good, however, the reader would have to be okay with harsher language. Our monkey-boy, Hayduke, happens to have a very foul mouth. His speech has at least one cuss in every sentence he spits out and his way of thinking can be...on the harsher side.

The book doesn't seem to be directed at a younger audience, but instead seems to be for young adults to adults that can handle crude language and ideas. 

Even with the slightly explicit ideas, the book is still good and I am thoroughly enjoying the book the more I read. 

A Gang of Monkeys with Wrenches???

Can you even imagine a gang of monkeys with wrenches? 

Would they fix cars? Or throw the wrenches like they do with everything else that gets into their furry little hands? 

If there ever was a real group of monkeys with wrenches, all I can say is that a helmet would be my new best friend. Why? Because I don't think a monkey is gonna sit around and fix cars. 

How Much Values Has Your Home... N.d. Google Images.Insiderlouisville.com. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

The Monkey Wrench Gang however isn't a book about monkeys throwing wrenches at people. If there was a book on that, I'm pretty sure I'd read it. Maybe even buy it?

This book, however, isn't about that. This book focuses on a group of eco-terrorists.

A gang made up of people who all have a fierce love for something. 

The environment. 

Even though the things they are doing aren't always considered "good", I admire how loyal they are to their beliefs. Things that block their path are simply moved, obstacles are beaten, and no person can stop them. 

They love the environment so much, they fight for it. They have the strength to fight for what they love.

I truly admire this in them, no matter how straggly their personality and history is. 

At the same time, I do despise some things about them.

Aren't they hypocrites? 

A man named Hayduke is one of the most annoying men you could possible meet. His a veteran bum that loves the environment. 

Oh, how he must love his environment! I can tell he loves it a lot, he even decorates it with empty beer cans? 

It has to look beautiful decorated like that, right?

He has such a strong love for the environment, but he shows his love by littering roads he doesn't like. Isn't the road on top of a part of the environment? Why put more human made things on that part of the environment if you're angry about a road on top of it? He's only adding to the thing he hates the most. 

I don't like how so many of the characters don't think about what they're doing. None of them think into the future. 

They devise these intricate plans of how to stop people from making bridges and roads. 

Once they stop those machines, won't they only sit and decompose? They'll Rust away and empty out whatever oils and chemicals are left in them into the soil of their oh-so-beloved land. What then? 

The characters in the book are getting "rid" of one problem, while only creating another for the future.

When they break the tractors that work on the road, they're practically asking the company to go and ask the factories to make more. Do they not realize that a huge part of their environment is being ruined by mass production and factories? 

When they bomb bridges, what happens to all of the rubble that no one wants to pick up?

When they burn billboards, what about all of the burnt remains and gases from the oils used to create the fires? 

Broken Bridges. N.d. Google Images. Estranged Families. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Everything that they are doing is going to backfire on them. I just don't understand why they can't realize that. 

Because of this, I think that they're obviously going to have some trouble. No one is thinking of consequences for the Earth, so what's to stop them from not thinking about consequences from other people? 

The author seems to be foreshadowing that a lot of the things they are going to try are either not going to work, or that what they're doing is going to come back to haunt them.

The story isn't only about eco-terrorism, however. One "couple" in the gang isn't doing very well.

And the woman, Abzug, seems to have an eye on the other men in the group. Is Seldom, the nature guide, the right one for her?  Or what about the bum Hayduke, that drifts in the back of her mind for some odd reason? Personally, I think that this is foreshadowing of something happening.

Maybe Seldom liking her, then she likes Hayduke and the group has troubles? Something is going to happen that will set off the entire group, and Abzug might just be the person that starts it. 

Reflection 5/5- Children of Immigrants - Documentary

Video: Children of Immigrants - Documentary
Channel: MsHistoryDocumentary w

Bridget Michalko
8/20/2014 Reflection 5

Children of Immigrants

           There is a lot of talk going around about immigrants and immigrants who are children. But what ever happened to the children of the immigrants that came earlier? Even if they were born in the U.S., surely their lives would be different because of who their parents were and used to be? How do the children of immigrants look at the world? In the documentary called Children of Immigrants, a few people are interviewed about how they live as a child of an immigrant. 

           Being an immigrant is always hard. Rarely can immigrants easily assimilate a new place and culture. It takes time and a lot of patience. Learning a new language, following new rules, understanding new cultures. Everything is different. Immigrants will often struggle to make a good life for themselves when they first migrate into a new country. They have to figure out how to live life in a different place than they are used to. Then, on top of that, they will usually try to make a family or help their family in this new situation. Not only is it hard to take care of themselves, they have to try to work for their loved ones as well. For the immigrants that were able to live successfully in a new country, such as the U.S., they made families and thrived in their new life. Having children that were born in the U.S. can be helpful. Because the child was born in the U.S., it doesn't have to go through so many trials like their parents had to. They would be a United States citizen and their lives would hopefully be easier. Even with all of these advantages, simply being the child of an immigrant can change how a person lives their life. Someone who looks different or is taught to act different from a young age can't help but feel like they themselves are different? The children of immigrants are often times easily recognized (though not always) and can end up living a life as if they were an immigrant themselves. But how do people handle this?
           In the story The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande was not a child of an immigrant. Instead, she was an immigrant herself. Although she had siblings that were technically children of immigrants, it was a different situation than many of the children of immigrants today. While her mother was an immigrant, when she had children in the U.S., they were not immigrants. Reyna's children when she grew older would also be considered children of an immigrant. Even though they were all in the same family, there were children of immigrants in different generations of the family, even though a lot of the migrating occurred at the same time. 

           One person that was interviewed in the documentary was a woman named Martha. Martha was always aware that her parents were immigrants and would often watch and learn about how they felt about that. She noticed that her father would feel ashamed that he was polish, and would try to erase that part of himself sometimes. Other times, he would feel like being an immigrant wasn't good enough and he would be unhappy about it. When Martha was younger, she didn't understand why he felt this way. Why was he ashamed of where he'd come from? Wasn't Poland a good place? Why was it so bad? She didn't understand that it wasn't always the fact that he was Polish that upset him. It was more the fact that he was Polish, and no longer in Poland. Being an immigrant can make people treat others differently, see others differently. Because of this, her father didn't feel like he was a man. He felt belittled and powerless. Unfortunately, it took Martha until she was much older to realize this. She herself was always proud of her heritage and history. Instead of being weighed down by it like her father was, she was curious about it and wanted to learn more. She wanted to learn more about how her ancestors lived their lives and how they saw the world. She wanted to find out what kind of place her ancestors lived in compared to what kind of place she lived in. She would be curious as to why her parents migrated, and if they felt like they made the right decision. Even though her life was slightly different that those that weren't children of immigrants, Martha chose to look at that fact optimistically and make it a chance of opportunity.

           On the other hand, a woman named Margaret was the child of Korean immigrants. She would see how her parents treated her and the people around them because they were immigrants. She would recall how her mother would meet other people that weren't immigrants and push her to the front and claim that she was "American". While Martha was curious about her parents' past, Margaret simply saw it as an opportunity for something else. She took all of her "immigrant memories" and made them into comedy sketches. She is currently a very well liked comedian that uses her status as a child of an immigrant to her advantage. She recalls how people treat her different because she looks different. How people would go to her for body modifications, or nail art just because she was Asian or Korean. Or she would recall how people made stereotypes about her for being Korean, even though she was born in the United States. All of this took a lot of getting used to when she was younger, but she only looked at it as an opportunity to tell her story and make people laugh. 

           Throughout the U.S. there are many people who are children of immigrants. Just like immigrants, they are treated differently, but that isn't always looked down upon. Some immigrants are proud to be immigrants, while others try their hardest to hide that fact. Their children are the same. Even though there is a difference in the generations, the fact that being different causes others to treat them differently doesn't change. It's simply a matter of how that is handled. Many children of immigrants may not enjoy being treated differently, but that doesn't stop them. Most children of immigrants aren't ashamed of that fact, but look at it through new eyes. Even though their parents may not like the fact that they are immigrants, their children don't always follow in their parents' footsteps on how they view their status.
           When I watched this documentary, it did stir up a question or two. Not for the people in the documentary or the people that made the documentary, but to everyone else. Each of the people that were interviewed recalled people treating them differently because of their parents' status in the country. Immigrant or not, because they looked different, they were treated differently. Why do people really do that? They are American citizens, aren't they? If they were treated differently because of their parents' status, would telling them that they were born in the U.S. immediately make them stop? Martha's family was Polish. People from Poland happen to look a lot like American born people. Why? Because almost everyone in the U.S. is from some place in Europe. Besides the accent, why bother treating them different if they don't even look different? On the other hand, Margaret definitely looks different, but she's really no different from Martha. This is a confusing question because Martha may have been treated differently because of her or her parents' accents. But no one would have known she was the child of an immigrant by her looks. That would mean that looks don't matter, and behavior is what triggers people into thinking that someone is an immigrant or the relative of an immigrant. All the while, Margaret didn't have an accent or anything, but she looked Korean. That would mean that looks do matter and that accents didn't have anything to do with it. Anyone that looks different is treated differently, but if you're different, doesn't that always mean you're most likely an immigrant or the child of one? So, in the end, the two do have a connection somehow, don't they? Unfortunately, watching this video only made this question all the more confusing. Technically, I would be considered an immigrant as well because I was born in China and adopted and brought into the U.S. by my adopted parents. But there are some people that are completely American and they simply look Asian (etc.). I always feel like deep down, treating people because they are from a different place has something to do with how people are taught about immigrants, but I haven't quite reached an answer yet. This question simply remains confusing for me.