Top Ten

Top Ten
1. The Annas
The Annas, previously known as the Meringues and the Penny Loafers, are a fictional girl group from the 1960s. Anna Dubower sang lead vocals and her sister Trudy Dubower and their cousin Doris (Sweet) McClain. The Annas had two number 1 records though soon fell off the charts as the British Invasion swept through the U.S. The Annas tried one last shot at a number 1 hit with Love Will Cut You Like a Knife but the song didn’t receive its dues until 30 years later.
2. Dink Stephenson
Dink is the main character of Meet the Annas. We follow him throughout his years in the 1960’s with the Group and also during present times. Dink was one of two song writers for the group The Annas. Dink has an introverted personality and doesn’t like confrontation. Dink had relations with both Trudy and Anna Dubower and fell deeply in love with Anna. One night Dink proposed to Anna on the rooftop of his apartment. After Anna’s death Dink became in Arizona.
3. Anna Dubower
Anna is the lead singer of the girl group The Annas. Anna is described as mysterious yet energetic and intriguing. Anna was somewhat promiscuous and had the men around her memorized. Anna died in January 1967 when the Annas producer forced Anna to get an unconventional abortion. Anna was poisoned by the mixture of medication intended to kill the baby inside her.
4. Death
Throughout the book, Dink has to deal with the deaths of people close to him. First, Dink’s mother is shot during a robbery close to her New York City apartment. Anna Dubower dies less than a year later from a drug overdose before she has a chance to respond to Dink’s outstanding proposal. Punky Solomon, the Annas boy genius producer, was shot in front of Dink’s eyes in Dink’s hotel room 30 years later.
5. Anna’s Secrecy
Anna was a very confidential person. She didn’t like to burden others with her problems. Through out the book we begin to discover more about her life. Anna had a child when she was 17. She put the baby girl up for adoption and never saw little Jennifer again. Anna was also pregnant when she died. The father of Anna’s baby is a mystery until Dink gets a hold of Anna’s diary from the year leading up to her death.
6. Love Will Cut You Like a Knife
This was the last record the Annas made before Anna Dubower’s death. The words are ironic because they mirror what Dink feels about Anna. At the time of the record’s release, it didn’t do very well on the charts but 30 years later it’s now all over the media.
7. Punky Solomon
Punky Solomon is the Anna’s producer. Punky doesn’t have a very complex vocabulary but is a musical genius. He is described as almost having a 6th sense for music. He can hear things that turn his particular music into something greater. Punky is cool and calm but if he’s worked up he’s uncontrollable. Punky is shot and killed by Manny Gold over the truth of Anna’s death.
8. Rock and Roll
As the British Invasion took over the United States, there was little room for anything else. Early during their first tour, the Beatles opened for the Annas concerts. As the Beatles and the Rolling Stones began to increase in popularity, the Annas’ music was pushed aside and dropped from the charts.
9. Scenery
Meet the Annas takes place in both New York and Los Angeles in the mid 1960s. It also takes place in New York during present day. These cities during the 1960s were mysterious and glamorous. The lives of rock stars in Los Angeles were a surreal series of parties and hotel rooms during this time.
10. Justice
Currently, Dink is suing Manny Gold and Punky Solomon for the royalties to Love Will Cut You Like a Knife. The record reads that Punky and Manny had an equal contribution to writing Knife along with Dink and Princess. Dink is now fighting to prove that they were not contributors to the recent hit. Dink’s case is strong and though in the book the verdict is not clearly stated, it’s assumed that Dink will win.

Debate Blog

amount of allowance- usually happens at home between you and your parents. The purpose is to convince and compromise a price for doing chores or such. Sometimes there is a favorable agreement made but it's not certain. I think the parent obviously has a more weighted agruement in this debate since they're the ones with the money so they can manipulate the price a little easier. the debate is unstructured

curfew time- this happens at home. The purpose is to gain independence and to also gain trust. Not always does it arrive at a better decision because usually parents are stuck in their ways but sometimes all you have to do is ask for it. The debate is unstructureded. I don't think this would change the outcome because i'm positive there are no ''formal'' arguements about curfew

Week 1 Post B

Dear Mr. Robert Dunn,
Your book so far is interesting. I like the way that you relate what is going on now in the year 2007 to the things that went on back in the 60's. I've actually always wished that I lived in the 60's just for the music and 60’s music is the main subject of this book. I really like Dink’s wit and I also think that Princess seems very smart. I don’t really like Punky, though. I think that he seems a bit too sleazy. With Punky, I can’t take him seriously but I think that is something that you did intentionally. Also Manny Gold bothers me. When Dink and Princess first see the Meringues, the way you wrote Dink’s reaction was really great. I loved the emotion in your words when you described the group. I was surprised when Dink and Princess chose the Harlequins over the Meringues but obviously that won’t last long. I hope that Dink finds someone to love him because he seems so entrapped in his work and unhappy at times. Dink and Princess I think would be a good couple but I know that wouldn’t work out. I can’t wait to learn more about the mysterious Anna Dubower and her alleged affair with John Lennon. I love the Beatles more than anything in the entire world. They’re hands down my favorite band of all time. To tell you the truth the only reason I chose this book is because on the back it says Anna has “ affair with John Lennon”.

Week 1 Post A

encumbered(21)- To put a heavy load on; burden
cascade(25)- an arrangement of a lightweight fabric in folds falling one over another in random or zigzag fashion

One theme that is emerging is the conflict in integrity. This is because the trial in the book is fighting for the rights to the Annas' songs and who deserves the money for the songs.

Meet the Annas

• Meet the Annas by Robert Dunn
• Copyright 2007
• Fiction
• 315 pages
• The book is a "muscial novel" and as of right now I'm not sure quite what that means but it should be challenging for me since it's a new style of writing. Meet the Annas is a drama as well as a "musical". There's also some mystery tied in too. I think the combination of all three will make an interesting book that should be very challenging.
• One reason I chose Meet the Annas was because I love 60's rock, which the book is centered on. Also, in the summary on the back it mentioned something about an "affair with John Lennon" which was actually the definite decieding factor as to why I chose this book over others.

The Sea Inside

The Sea Inside was a very compelling movie and it's heartbreaking to know that someone actually went through life as Ramon did. I liked the movie a lot. I can't imagine what it would be like to live life as a quadriplegic. I think that Ramon's request was valid. Even though i believe that suicide is wrong, someone in as much pain as Ramon should be able to make their own choice. I think that the friends who agreed to help him really did love him. They wanted the best for him and wanted to help carry out his wishes. I think that the people who refused to help him loved him too but in a more selfish way of love.

Both Ramon and Jean-Dominique were quadriplegic but they had their differences. Well first off, Ramon still had movement in his head and was able to speak where as Jean-Dominique was only able to blink his eye. Jean Dominique also didn't have the same open desire to die as Ramon did. Jean-Dominique understood that he was going to die soon but he had had no wish to speed up the process. I think that Ramon's story was very sad and depressing and talking only in the present where as Jean-Dominique's was more here's how it is now and here's how it was before. J.D.'s story was more powerful for me just for the fact that he wrote the story himself and had to blink out every letter of the memoir.

Final Post

Marya enjoys her school work and finds life as an independent very satisfying. She begins to write for the U's newspaper. Marya starts to mess around with a guy named Mark who is a photographer at the paper. They eventually move in together though there is a 7 year age difference between the two of them. Tensions rise as their relationship progresses. Marya's mom thinks that American University in Washington D.C. is a good place for Marya to go to college. She sends Marya out to D.C to see how she likes it and Marya falls in love with the hustle of the city. She idealizes the fantasy of slipping into the enormous crowd to disappear. Back in Minnesota she and Mark mutually break up and go their separate ways. Marya is living in D.C within the next month. At AU Marya is studying journalism and working on a local political newspaper. Her dorm room mate moved out after a week which was a huge relief since Marya could now have her individual peace. At first, Marya is going out with people to parties or clubs but she becomes more and more of a workaholic which doesn't give her much time for friends and also for food she tells herself. Marya is at one point living on less than 200 calories a day yet she walks to and from her paper's office which is 24 blocks away. Her look is slowly deteriorating and any muscle or fat she once had has completely been eaten away at. Marya begins to have a hard time breathing normally and her heart beat is irregular. One day on the way back form work Marya falls and is unable to get up because her body is too weak. Marya has dropped to 60 pounds. For four days Marya goes to visit Lora in Massachusetts. The two seem just the same as they left off. Lora talks very loudly and fast about what is going on with her life but when she asks how Marya is doing, Marya tends to avoid the question. Marya can't look Lora straight in the eyes anymore since she is so ashamed. When Marya gets back to D.C she is 54 pounds. Marya's mother comes to visit her and when Marya goes to greet her, she passes out. In the E.R. the doctors gave Marya one week to live.

Present day: Marya is still struggling with her image and still constantly scrutinizing her body. She is married to Julian, her adolescent love. He too is not far out of the wrath of Marya's fire as he is the one she questions on whether or not she looks like she's gained weight. Marya will never be completely normal and she has a permanent heart murmur to prove this.