Why is the movie never as good as the book?

It seems like every time I read a great book and see the movie afterward, it is always a let down. I recently read the book "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. What a great book! It was a tragic yet captivating story, very emotionally stirring. It can be very cleansing to have a good cry with tears gushing like Old Faithful, and this book delivers! The tears were streaming steadily throughout the book, but it was the ending that got me. I was a soppy mess as I finished that book! But it was such a great ending, in my opinion. THEN I saw the movie.....and they completely changed the ending! Why did they do that? It was such a good ending in the book, I don't see why it needed to be changed. Not only do movie producers change the wonderful stories around when they convert them into movies, but it seems they are always horribly mis-casted. In the case of "My Sister's Keeper", I'd have to give it a B+ on casting. I've seen worse mis-casted characters in other movies made from books (don't even get me started on "Twilight")! I suppose our imaginations and real life can never match up in perfect harmony. I think I will just stick to the books because they are always better and the characters will look the way I want in my head. You can't beat your own imagination!

Reading: Fiction is educational too!

I am in the middle of reading the book, "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and I cannot put it down! It's got me avoiding my boyfriend and other activities I should be doing/working on because it is so addicting. All I want to do is finish it already and move on to "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author. I think about it all day and I ask everyone if they have read it. One day, I asked my sister if she had read the book, to which she replied, "I only read books that I learn something from." This statement made me a little angry because even though the book itself is considered fiction, it reads as if it were an actual story of a boy-turned-man's life growing up in Afghanistan and his move to America. I'm sure that this fictitious story is actually very similar to what life was like for Afghans during the 70's and 80's when the Soviet army invaded and when the Taliban rose to power. It combines an entertaining fictional story with real-life facts and experiences. The author, Khaled Hosseini, did actually grow up in Afghanistan and I would not be surprised if a few (if not more) events from his book really occurred in his life. So it really is not 100% fiction. I feel like I have learned a lot from reading this book and other fiction books that I have read purely for amusement. "The Kite Runner" gives you a first-person perspective of a typical Afghan's lifestyle. Where else can you learn that AND have a good time doing so? I do not personally know anyone from Afghanistan that could share their experiences with me. This is as close as it gets for me. I feel like it's helping me to get to know what other parts of the world are like without actually going there. Am I wrong to think that I might possibly be learning from an entertaining fiction book?

Procrastination

Procrastinate: -verb. Pronounced: Proh-kras-tuh-neyt. Meaning "to delay action" or "to put off until another day or time" according to Dictionary.com. Yes, that is what I've clearly done with the blog assignment. But, all hope is not lost! Because with every mistake a lesson is learned.
The lesson I've learned here today, obviously, is that it does not pay to procarastinate. And that lesson is better learned sooner than later, especially when it comes to college. This is where the term "snowball effect" comes into play. You turn in one assignment late, then while you are trying to finish up the fist one, another is piling up on top of you. And so on and so forth. The snowball keeps on building until it is big enough to bulldoze a house.
What's the solution? Schedule your time wisely. AVOID PROCRASTINATION AT ALL COSTS!If you find yourself procrastinating, don't deny it!You'll feel that stinging pang of guilt in your stomach while you are engaging in whatever activity is tearing you from your studies. Don't hide from your schoolwork. ATTACK IT! Be like Leonidas from "300" and show no fear!
I know this blog is terribly off topic from English, I'm sorry. I'll post again after a little reflection on what I feel particularly passionate about in this class. I'll try not to procrastinate!

Citation Frightation

English 102: Essay #2. The time is coming... to turn it in! As the countdown reaches its final hours, I find myself second-guessing everything I've done so far. Is my paper long enough, is it organized well, did my point come across clearly, and, duhn duhn duhhhnn..... ARE MY CITATIONS ACCURATE?! Are they taking over my paper (is the tail wagging the dog)? Did I choose the best sources? I'm a little concerned.... but with all the resources available to help me ensure that everything is correct, I should be just fine, right? I've got the library tutors and Professor J. to guide me, not to mention the awesome examples of citations in the book. Good luck to everyone else in Professor Jolly's Monday night English 102 class on their essays. Go forth and be confident about your papers and your citations!

A Grammar Story

During one of our first classes with Professor Jolly, he mentioned how people today use improper grammar so often that it is considered normal. Some specific examples that he found particularly irritating were sentences like, "There's a lot of people in this room" and "There's never been more reasons to buy a Toyota." Isn't it funny how most people would not see the error in these sentences?

What's even funnier is that the people who DO see the error in these sentences will still say them anyway! Why? Because society speaks incorrectly in casual conversation and majority rules. It just rubs off on you. It takes a lot of hard work to speak correctly in a social setting when everyone around is not. People might think you're "weird" because you are talking strangely. You also don't want to risk coming across to your buddies as an arrogant a-hole. So you "blend" by talking incorrectly.

I am one of those people. I always try to say true to my grammatically correct ways in which I was taught, but sometimes I find myself saying things I know are wrong the instant they leave my tongue. It's so annoying! But I am usually the only person who notices my error in those situations, so no real harm is done.

One of my personal pet peeves is hearing people say, "Me and her went out last night," or the common mistake of saying something like, "Her and I went out last night." The latter sounds correct, doesn't it? What happens when you take out the "and I" from the sentence?That's all you have to do to realize the error. "Her went out last night" does NOT sound correct. "She went out last night" does. Therefor, the correct sentence would be: "She and I went out last night." Nifty little trick, huh? That's what I was taught to do when I was a child and I have never forgotten.

Rarely do I come across someone in a social setting who appreciates my correct grammar usage. Last week, though, I was talking with a customer at the restaurant (I work at a breakfast restaurant), and he asked me, "Are you responsible for these delicious pancakes?" to which I responded, "I wish I could say I were." He immediately complimented my use of the word "were" as compared to most people who would have used the word "was" in that situation. It was nice to see that there's people out there (besides Engilsh professors) who appreciate the art of speaking properly.

(That last sentence was a test to see if you're paying attention) :)