Honors History Blog #4

1. Discuss your successes as an honors student this past semester.
->As an honors student, my biggest success would be balancing all the work that needed to be done while being out sick and attempting to keep up to date with everything that was going on during class and all of the work from the decaf class as well. I managed to (somehow) keep up with all (if not most of) the work that was expected of me. Other successes would be learning more about historical events than I already knew, and managing to make essays sound like there was actually a point to reading them.

2. Discuss what you might have done differently if you do this past semester of honors over again.
->Not been sick as much! I missed so much work that I feel like it was almost pointless for me to be in class when I was in the first place, since I often missed out on the starts and ends of assignments and kind of just walked in while they were in progress. I could also try and communicate with Randy better about what kind of work that I missed and how I could get it done while keeping up with the decaf work.

3. Discuss your goals for honors in the second semester.
->Basically, everything that I listed above. BE THERE! It would help if I were in class more often. Also, I should focus on my work a little more instead of goofing off all the time, which I'll often do when I feel unmotivated (which is a lot when I'm sick). I think I'll also try and make sure I look through more sources for the historical work, especially when I am not present to learn about it.

4. If you could choose any parts of literature and history for our honors work, what would you pick and why?
->I would pick the terrible yet awesome fanfiction My Immortal. Insanity aside, I would totally pick Twilight. Why would I curse our class with reading such a terrible piece of literature? So we can take the story, find what's wrong with it, and make it better. It would be an impossible undertaking, yes, but it would be one that we, as Randy's honors students, would be able to do to cure the world of this dreaded Twi-hard disease!

...okay note to self never do blog entries while slightly hyper. I'm done now.

Nature Reading - Desert Solitaire

(did you know that I was always spelling that 'Solitare'?)

Wilderness. The word itself is music.

Desert Solitaire is a story that only concerns itself with passion - passion for the world around it, passion for a dislike of the things that it dislikes, and a passion for the story it has to tell. At many points in the novel, Abbey is faced with the ongoing struggle between civilization and wilderness. Abbey has an undying love for the natural world around him, and thus tends to reject the civilized world that so many other people chose to live in. However, the life in the wilderness is also a refreshing break from this civilization, so there is no doubt that Abbey begins to struggle between the choice of what he loves and what he loathes and fears.

Abbey has a love for the wilderness that is unrequited and endless in its bounds. He feels that nature is peaceful and should be left in peace, left so that people in the years to come can appreciate its beauty and elements for what it really is, instead of what it has been molded to be. During his stay in Moab, Utah, watching over the Arches National Monument, Abbey bonds with nature in a way that not many people would even consider. He becomes a part of it through a theory which he tests by - of all things - throwing a rock at and killing a rabbit. What makes it worse is that this was merely an experiment he performed to try and determine his place in the world that was around him, to find a place of belonging in a world of solitude.

I try but I cannot feel any sense of guilt. I examine my soul: white as snow. Check my hands: not a trace of blood. No longer do I feel so isolated from the sparse and furtive life around me, a stranger from another world. I have entered into this one. We are kindred all of us, killer and victim, predator and prey, me and the sly coyote, the soaring buzzard, the elegant gopher snake, the trembling cottontail, the foul worms that feed on our entrails, all of them, all of us. Long live diversity, long live the earth!
Rejoicing in my innocence and power I stride down the trail beneath the elephantine forms of melting sandstone, past the stark shadows of Double Arch. The experiment was a complete success; it will never be necessary to perform it again.
-Page 34

Blog #26- The Prospect of Competition

As of the day I am typing this, I am unsure where I can possibly enter an art piece that has a more symbolic meaning. It would not be wise, however, to enter it in anything until after the exhibition, in case the physical copy is needed at the exhibition and our exhibition's dates and needs conflict with the contest or exhibition or wherever it happens to end up. However, I have looked into some possible ideas for contests.

Prospectus: 12th Annual All Media Juried Online International Art Exhibition

Entry Fees:
A fee of $25 must accompany up to five slides or jpegs/tiffs; $5 for each additional. No maximum. Checks or POSTAL Money Orders or for artists outside the U.S. send an International POSTAL Money Order or a Cashier’s Check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. Bank, payable to: Upstream People Gallery. Western Union via www.westernunion.com or cash (where possible) may also be used. PayPal may be used with payments made to: shows@upstreampeoplegallery.com, with $2.00 added to cover PayPal's fee or $27 entry fee. Later entries after postmark deadline is $30; Later entries with PayPal is $32.
Forms are on the link.
Deadlines too.
There don't seem to be any visible requirements...
So thus I can't evaluate my work against them...

Cue Loony Toons "Th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks!"

Gatsby, The Great

5. Evaluate The Great Gatsby as a criticism of the corruption of the American Dream.

What is the American Dream? To put it simply, it is the idea that through hard work and perseverance, you gain money and become happy. Throughout the course of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, though, this so called American Dream is thrown on the dirt, stomped on, flattened by a steamroller, thrown in a fire, turned to ashes, fed to a dog, the following feces burned again, and thrown into a tornado to be scattered into the oceans across the world. Basically, it completely destroys the idea, by personifying it through Gatsby himself.

Gatsby himself started out as a lowly boy, who started to attend college but could not keep up with the bills and payments required to continue attending because the job he had taken up was, as he believed, below him. So he dropped out of college to become the image of what he wanted to be - a rich man with power and the capability to fulfill his destiny. And, in the process, he wishes to become a happy individual who can live life to its fullest, as a rich and powerful man. In the process, he meets Daisy, who he falls in love with and wants to share his destiny with.

Gatsby, however, looses Daisy because he has to go to war; and when he comes back, she has married Tom and has mostly forgotten about him - until he comes up in conversations, at least. Gatsby, who has accomplished all of the goals of the American Dream, on the other hand, is still missing two things - Daisy, and happiness. Through Nick, Gatsby manages to get closer to Daisy, and the end of the American Dream is finally in grasp - all he has to do is manage to convince Daisy that she doesn't love Tom and she loves him, and they can go off and be happy.

Wait. Crap.

Cue confrontation. Gatsby tries to get Daisy to tell Tom that she doesn't love him - but Daisy, much to his dismay, tells him that she loves both of them. This reacts in an argument, after which Tom insists that Gatsby allow him and Daisy to drive back in Gatsby's car. Daisy drives, and on the way back, hits Myrtle in Gatsby's car. There is a huge freakout, as the impact of killing someone sets in - especially someone like Myrtle, who had a connection to Tom. When George finds out about his wife's death, he eventually links it to Gatsby - the American Dream - and goes to his house...

Draws a gun...

...

Gatsby embodies the American Dream as someone that works hard to accomplish something he can never have. He is also selfish in the regard that he wants everything to go his way. He wants Daisy all to himself, he wants to complete his amazing destiny as a powerful man... and what does he get for it? He loses Daisy, even when he gives everything for her, and he even takes the fall after Daisy (accidentally) kills Myrtle. Gatsby represents the flawed vision that we know as the American Dream... that thing that we will never reach, no matter how hard we try.

Honors History Blog #3

Every time period has its peaks and perks. It is only natural that many changes can come around, even during a short period of ten or so years. There have been many examples of such prominent changes, but by far the most incredible of these time periods was the Roaring 20's, which brought about many changes to life as people of that time period knew it. From commercial music to Women gaining the right to vote, to the beginning of Prohibition and the Lost Generation, the 1920's had a lot to show for itself as far as changing the way people lived.

It is not like the banning of a certain substance had not been tried before - and the American government should know that when something is banned, it only becomes more sought after. The banning of alcohol could essentially be considered the rise of the mafia, in the sense that it gave them business and a way to become rich quite easily - thus influencing other, ordinary people to get involved in it. Many people with wealth also enjoyed having parties, in which alcohol was abundant, and thus the people who were in charge of these shady businesses were able to make a huge profit, and were also smart enough not to be caught by the government.

Other industries that popped up during this time period were commercial music groups. Jazz became a prominent musical genre in the 1920's, and in an effort to make it more popular, record companies began to come to life, giving this music a way to be heard by everyone else. Radio broadcasts were heard for the first time by the people of the country, a way to just listen and get away from everything else that was going on in their lives at that time. Jazz essentially started the movement that is modern music nowadays, creating ways of displaying music that nobody had ever even thought of using before.

Music wasn't the only new innovation that the 1920's brought about. Women's rights sprang up, and people began fighting for their rights as women and equal citizens of the United States. For the first time, women were standing up for equality and rights that were normally only reserved for men - the right to work, the right to be free from the prisons that were their households, and most importantly, the right to vote. This was an important movement because, before this, men were basically the dominant species and women had no say in anything that went on in the country, at all. (unless they got the STICK OF JUSTICE.)

Despite all these advancements, though, the Roaring Twenties was still known as the Lost Generation. The Roaring Twenties came right after World War I, known then as the Great War, and advancements made in technology, like aircraft, which were originally to carry people from place to place, were suddenly used to carry bombs from country to country. This sudden shell shock once the war was over - the "What do we do now?" mainframe that came afterward - was what gave the Roaring Twenties the nickname the Lost Generation. Despite all of the advances made during that time, people were still lost, and clueless as to where the future would take them. It's not that hard to believe, really - If you thought these essays were to be turned in for grades, and then Randy used them in a history novel and gave you no credit for the writing whatsoever, you'd be lost too.

Source:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1920timeline.htm

Blog #23- In Which Articles Were Read

1 Million Pounds Of Trash Removed From San Diego River

-> This event was basically a huge trash cleanup in the San Diego River. It details what kind of things that were pulled out, from things that are 'regular' to things that are single-time finds (like a small slot machine!). It estimates how much trash they pull out each month- I believe the number was something like 5000 lbs!

-> The most important information was what kind of things got dumped into the water, how much of it was dumped into the water, and how it all flowed straight downstream into the ocean.

Things you wouldn't BELIEVE you would find floating down a river.

"Shopping carts and tires and refrigerators, kind of the things you expect," Hutsel says. "But then you also get these small little slot machines and other things that happen. It's kind of bizarre each time we kind of find new things we've never seen before along the river."

-> If anything, I would have to say that this is missing what kind of effect that these things have on the animals, people and water before they get cleaned up, and where they get picked up in the first place (not to mention how far they've traveled before they do).
-> I changed my question to one relating to trash/waste and how it affects the animals like birds and stuff. Thus, knowing what kind of trash goes through the river, and how much of it does go through in the first place (or is taken out) will be handy in answering my essential question over the course of the project.

Blog #22- In Which Organizations are Researched

ORGANIZATION NUMERO UNO
Name: United Port of San Diego

Mission Statement: One of the Port of San Diego's many responsibilities is to protect the bay and its resources. We invite you to look through our website to see how the Port is strengthening its role as an environmental steward and find out what you can do to help.

->This is either a local or state issue; the poaching of an endangered species of sea turtles, which is trying to be banned by this group.
->This is probably a federal government thing, because the group is working with the navy to record information on different birds and fish that live in the area.

ORGANIZATION NUMERO DOS
Name: San Diego Clean Coalition
Mission Statement: The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition is a collaboration of local non-profit organizations and city agencies focused on coastal stewardship, raising awareness of beach litter issues, and preventing marine debris.

->This article details plans that the organization has to work with the local governments to make the water a better place.
->This article gives plans for cleanup ideas on Independence Day (and forward) that would require government input to put into effect.

Blog #21- In Which We Are Distant

Nick and Gatsby are both detached in the sense that they don't seem to enjoy getting in on the party action; they kind of just sit back and try to avoid the parties, and would much rather just sit and idly talk to one another if they didn't have other things to do. However, Nick's disease is much worse than Gatsby's. While Gatsby finds it hard to trust other people, and is (relatively) good at speaking to people, Nick just kind of says "I don't want to be involved in this, for I must maintain my neutrality despite this poise saying that I'm better than everyone and can judge them based on what's going on around me." And yet I don't think anyone else would make a good narrator, sadly, so we're stuck with the slightly egotistical guy who thinks he's the most honest person in the world.

Blog #20 - In Which Narration is Done

The narrator is Nick Fuzzypants, the one who only loves.

No, I'm kidding.

The narrator is Nick Carraway, who, like most people of any given time, believes himself to be an honest person. However, through the book, you can see that he tends to look at people differently than he might think he does - he looks at Tom as someone who is dominant and absolutely has to be in charge, and he looks at Daisy as someone... eh, he knows her, but he kinda wishes he didn't... at least, that's the message that I pick up. He also seems to have feelings for Jordan, and doesn't quite know Jay just yet.

I think it gives the air of mystery. It gives the idea that you're actually experiencing it, rather than just watching it unfold, and the 'Great Gatsby' is completely shrouded in mystery. You don't even get an idea of what he looks like, and with someone like Nick, you get a kind of neutral position as far as West/East Egg goes. He is also descriptive but that's just the writing so it doesn't really count...

Blog #19- In Which Professional Examples are Critiqued

1. The most successful element of this work sample is the smoothness involved in the animation of this video. Naturally, stop motion is very hard to work with, especially when there are so many images involved in the making of the video. It is hard to believe in a video this smooth that it was not just filmed and everything was moving on its own.

2. The basic message of the work is "Our product is awesome and you should buy it because we have cool games based on movies", even though everyone knows that games made off of movies are not very good at all. I know this because it is an XBox commercial and that's what just about any commercial for any given game system entails, because in any commercial for a game system you have to have games being played on it that makes you say that these games are better than what the other system offers so I should play it instead.

3. The intended audience is, as with any game system or game commercial, people who love to play video games or are looking for a game system to play. The aimed demographic is probably teenagers and younger kids, because of the games advertised (Spider Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek), and what demographic those movies were aimed at. People that age would recognize those movies and say "Hey, I liked those movies, I should get that system so I can play those games!"

4. The commercial mostly consists of animation of the figures from each game moving around, in green clay whereas the guy doing the 'animation' is wearing white. Green and white are XBox's main colors, and the animated figures are showing what games the XBox has to offer people who decide to buy it. At the end, of course, it states the message loud and clear, though, for those of us who have an IQ equivalent to that of a fifth grader (no I'm kidding).

5. The clean animation of stop motion indicates hours and hours of photography work (when you look at the making of the video, it mentions that it took about 3 and a half years). Because so many photographs were taken, it makes it look like everything really is moving cleanly and smoothly. The only problem is that occasionally the guy in the background moves a bit to the left or right, which kind of throws everything off in the video if you're looking hard enough.

6. I picked this piece because I have intentions to make some sort of animated stop motion video in photoshop, and I'm looking around for examples that portray smooth animation so I can get an idea of what exactly I want to do in the video, and how I can pull it all together, even if I don't end up using spoken words in the video.

Wellington, Garden Fork

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is certainly a strange book worth reading. The cover features all lowercase text with a poodle pictured upside-down, the chapters are labeled with prime numbers because the author does not like any other number, there are often interludes where the main character will go off on a tangent to explain some obscure math concept (though this is most likely because he either has Asperser’s Syndrome or Autism) or go into detail about something that has nothing to do with the story, and is writing a book about an investigation of the murder of the next door neighbor’s dog. Yeah… it’s exactly what it says on the tin.

It is also through these tangents, or slips of genius, in which the main character, whose name is Christopher John Francis Boone, makes predictions that can solve the case he is investigating. For instance, he goes into a brief rant about how the author of Sherlock Holmes joined a spiritual society, and how some small children took pictures of some paper fairies in their backyard and everyone believed they were real. He ties this together by giving a quote: “Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. Which is Latin and it means No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. Which means that a murder victim is usually killed by someone known to them and fairies are made out of paper and you can’t talk to someone who is dead.”

Boone has a lot of character development in the book, namely because he is either Autistic or has Asperser’s Syndrome and has to learn to grow socially while adjusting to the strange ups and downs of society. He has strange habits such as hiding in small places to feel more comfortable (evidently, he is not claustrophobic) and counting colored cars to see what kind of a day he will have. He knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. Over the course of the story he has to adjust to the ways that people and society function; at the start of the book, it is mentioned that he would carry around a piece of paper with faces on it to try to identify what kind of emotions people were feeling, but someone helped him realize that this was a bad thing to do because it would make them feel uncomfortable (illustrated with a face). So Boone tore up the paper and didn’t use it anymore so people wouldn’t feel that way. He has to adjust to the way that people feel, even though he doesn’t understand those things, and the book illustrates his struggles to adjust to society as he tries to solve the mystery of the murder of the dog.

Boone travels from his hometown to London and back again, in an effort to try and figure out who murdered the neighbor’s dog, and ends up finding out about sexual relationships that his parents are having without the other. It is written in first person, which means we get to explore the interesting perks of Boone without seeing it from a third person omniscient view that knows everything before it happens, and thus we get to go through the process of solving the murder of the dog next door with Boone. It turns out his father murdered the dog, in an attempt to get the neighbor’s, who he was having an affair with’s, attention because she would only talk about that stupid dog.

Mark Haddon is a brilliant writer in the sense that he takes a character not many people could relate to and gives him such life and such personality that even if you have nothing in common with him you can’t help but feel what he feels as he goes through trying to discover just what is going on in his family and in his life. From when he is awake at 3 or 4 in the morning and goes outside on walks so he can feel like he is all alone in the world to taking a test to be placed in an advanced class because he really is a smart boy and points out facts that ordinary people just don’t seem to notice. Whether you love the writing or you hate the writing, you can’t help but fall in love with the story about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Blog #17- In Which A List is Made

ORGANIZATION 3
The following is a list of organizations I could work with for the MStB project.

1. Tree People
Website
Contact Page
Tree People is an organization dedicated to the bettering of our planet. They have a division dedicated to solutions to many water problems, including runoff into the rivers, bays, streams, oceans, etc. Some of their ideas include 'Graywater' solutions, and reusing the water that has already been used for other purposes. As far as who I'd want to interview, I would probably want to interview someone who's in charge of that category; or who works with that category, to see what they say about the water in San Diego County. 'Media Inquiries' might be a good place to start, and I could go from there.

2. San Diego County Water Authority
Website
I would want to speak to the person who monitors our water and see what they have to think about the way we treat it ; and in asking them about the way we treat it, ask them if there is any way to fix this problem. It would be a good idea to get information on the quality of the water, how people treat it, and how we can stop them from treating it this way.

3. Project Clean Water
Website
Pueblo Watershed Page
I was looking into the Pueblo Watershed, because that is the watershed that I live in. Naturally, people who have taken it upon themselves to make sure that the water is clean and are monitoring the watersheds would have information on what kind of stuff ends up in said watersheds and thus would have ideas on how we can possibly fix it.

GOVERNMENT:
The following is a list of governmental figures or agencies that I could look into to see how they affect the water, or probably more accurately, how they don't affect the water.

1. City of San Diego | Water Department
Water Department Webpage
The Water Department in the city of San Diego is most likely in charge of... well, that's the thing, I'd like to see what they actually do. All I've ever seen from them is notices that say "This water is contaminated, don't go into it." And I don't think people even heed those warnings. So I'd like to see what they actually DO, and if they don't do anything, I could add how that affects the water.

2. San Dieguito Water District
Figure Webpage
I am not sure what this counts as but it looks like a governmental figure of some sort, and that means I could question his motives and what he wants from world domination... wait, wrong topic. Anyway, I could ask him what he thinks about the water situation and what kind of things he thinks could fix it or absolutely destroy it to aid his plans for total aquatic domination.

3. County of San Diego
Long Link Coverage is a GO
This would probably fit under the classification of 'Meant to be taking care of the water but is failing to do so'... or something. I'm not sure. Either way, it would make for good research to see what they have to say about the water in San Diego County, be it near where I live or in some other area close by. It would also be good for potential information seeking to see what kind of stuff would come up from their research, as comparisons to what I come up with in mine.

Editorial Honors Essay

Editorial: The Foolish Ideals of William Jennings Bryan
by Nikita Atrash October 18th – October 22nd

As a nation, we as a people must band together to solve common issues within our states. It is only through a combined efforts which our greatest accomplishments come to pass. Then why should it be that our country is locked in such turmoil? Surely, the economy is to blame, what with bimetallism in the forms of the Gold Standard and Free Silver, as well as the economic depression left over from the Panic of 1893. With the Presidential Elections on their way, we as a country must pick a man to lead us through these times… and that man is not William Jennings Bryan.

The belief that we can trust in his ‘Free Silver’ is abhorrent, ridiculous, and just plain silly. Those in support of Free Silver often say that, because we have more silver than gold, it is more efficient to use as money. However, this is exactly why we cannot use silver. When it comes to the creation of money, you are allowed to create as much money as you have the resources for. Because there is much more silver than gold, a 16-1 ratio, as those in support would brag, much more money than we already have would be created. However, when a lot of money is created in a very short amount of time, as is generally culture when trying to create more money, the value of that money will go down, and in turn, inflation will go up, resulting in an even worse situation than the country was in to begin with.

The idea of 16-1, which is used to boast the effectiveness of free silver, is also yet another reason why free silver is a bad idea. 16-1 means that 16 ounces of silver were to be equal in value to one ounce of gold. If free silver were instigated, we’d suddenly have 16 times more money than we did before, and we’d have absolutely nothing to do with it, because the sudden amount of money would make said money completely worthless. And what happens when we run out of silver? We’ll suddenly have a blatant shortage of inflated money, and the value of it will suddenly go skyrocketing, resulting in an even bigger economic crisis than we had in the first place.

The belief behind free silver is that it will cure our economic crisis and allow the people who are poor to make a living in these harsh times. However, this would also mean that the people who have the money and are already rich would become poor, and then they would be able to find money to make them rich while the people who became rich become poor again. The cycle would continually repeat, until we inevitably run out of money to become rich with, and end up with one group of rich people and one group of poor people all over again… most likely with the people who were rich in the first place being the group with all the money and power once again.

William Jennings Bryan has supported Free Silver as the means of fixing all of our economic-related issues. However, in praising it, he has forgotten to check it for even the simplest of errors. Bryan has ensured his loss in the election by praising an idea that simply will not work and will only get the economy into a worse state than it was to begin with. By proposing quick-solve ideas, Bryan has proved his incompetence as a financial manager and therefore shown that he is in no position to be running the country in these times of great crisis. So when election day comes around, and you are looking at your ballot before you vote, please think of our future as a country and do not vote for William Jennings Bryan.

Sources:
-Frank Atrash
-http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html
-http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h763.html

Blog #16- In which copy-pasting is done

From Kim's idea #1, I thought that it might be a good idea to incorporate quality work into my piece... no, I'm kidding, my ideas all have to do with hand drawn stuff. But in all seriousness, it would be in my best interest to make sure that anything I produce for the project is of the utmost quality so my work does not look amateurish and like I am still in 10th grade.

Blog Post
(just so you know, I now support Kim x Eleni.)

From Jasmine J's Blog 15, I realized that it would be fun to play with a timeline idea in my project. To show how things change over time, it would be interesting to see what kind of ideas would come out of using a timeline to show how the quality of the beach and water has changed over the years, or to show a short timeline of how things change through one or more people's influence.

Blog Post
(I would assume the 1993 comes from her birth year, but...)

From Lynn's Possible MSB Products, I learned that I should take into account technique and certain ways of doing things when I work on my final product. Instead of just recklessly taking pictures, I should focus things like lighting or shot angles into my product. It would work more effectively and I could get some decent photography from the occasion.

Blog Post

Honors History Bashing of Politicians Draft

Please note that this is a rough draft that is intended to be terrible. I am simply getting my thoughts down on paper before I fine-tune it into a decent looking essay. I find this works well, rather than just trying to write something decent in a rough draft and struggling to get ideas down.

Editorial: The Foolish Ideas of William Jennings Bryan
By Nikita Atrash
The power of free silver is amazing! That is, if you honestly believe there is an infinite amount of silver in the world. Silver is a rare artifact, not to mention it's shiny so it's sought after by the shiny thieves of the world. They are known as the Silver Thieves! And Silver is rare so it's worth lots of money, but if you start using Silver all over the country people will get paychecks of two cents! A whole two cents! You can buy candy with that and get your teeth rotted and then go to the dentist but YOU HAVE NO MONEY BECAUSE YOU SPENT IT ON CANDY! Amazing, am I right? Silver is not an infinite resource, believe it or not! It is finite, and when it runs out, what are you going to do? Not to mention that it's been defeated in the past when it's been brought up in politics. There is no middle ground with Free Silver! The rich people get nothing and the poor people get everything. Then the poor people get rich and the rich people get poor, and it reverses, and it goes on until there is no silver left! And what happens when there is no silver left? FREE SILVER CAN NO LONGER BE ALIVE! And we are all in a national debt crisis because the means of money is suddenly gone!

Monsieur William Jennings Bryan is a fool to think that people will go along with his prohibitionist ideals. Some of our best ideas come from alcohol, and the sheer joy of drinking alcohol, as well as the fact that people often make friends in public places, especially bars. Some of the most productive members of society might even come around from mishaps with alcohol! I am sure the sheer joys of drinking alcohol outweigh any potential benefits from banning it, not to mention that society would probably just continue on drinking it anyway, even if it were illegal. Because that's how things work, if something is illegal, it's just more likely that people will want it. After the Civil War, voting became legal for black people, and it became illegal to try and halt their votes based on race. And yet, people in the South created laws that would still halt their votes - you had to be literate, or your grandfather had to be able to vote, and so on. Making the purchase and drinking of alcohol illegal would make it even more sought after than it originally was. Also obligatory Captain Jack Sparrow line: "But why is the rum gone?"

Also, if we elect William Jennings Bryan, we will all die fiery deaths because he is an advocate of Presbyterianism. Don't ask me why, it's probably something along the lines of us being a country where you have freedom of religion and anyone in the christian faith has a tendency to force their views on other people (God, Jesus Christ, etc). And I know that's not something from 1896 but DAMNIT I WILL FIND SOME WAY TO LINK IT. Or maybe not. But still.

AND THAT IS ALL FOR THIS VERY BAD DRAFT ENJOY YOUR DAY GOOD SIR AND/OR MA'AM.

Blog #15- Possible MSB Products

Art Piece:
>A painting or colored picture depicting how polluted water affects the human body, whether through illnesses, therefore addressing the sub-question of "How does the water pollute us?".
>An example I could use is in this clip, featuring spiders getting high. This video provides a good example of the way that sudden changes to your body can affect your normal system of functioning.
>I could take the specific effects, only for an art piece I'd need a visual representation of them, and place them in the image to show how the body is affected.
>Instead of spiders for the Canadian Wildlife I would use people for the human... wildlife... or something along those lines anyway. This would be done to show the connection between humans and the water, similar to how they showed the similar effects spiders had to the drugs.
>I could also draw the picture in stages- for instance have a diagram or multiple pictures- that detail the adding in of the water and then how the body deteriorates from there. (For instance, the stages of giardia, etc.)

Stop Motion Video:
>A stop motion video depicting people polluting the water and then being affected by the pollution itself in the long run, also answering the question "How does the water pollute us?" but also answering "How do we pollute the water?"
> This video provides a good example of stop-motion, which I could apply the principles of to a stop motion video that I might make.
>The effect of swapping real items with drawings on the board would be interesting to experiment with and might make the video more meaningful.
>The consistency in the artwork would be a good idea to work with - inconsistency would not be a good thing to be working with, especially for stop motion, which would have to flow together well in order to make a good video.
>However, I would try and keep the camera more steady than it was in the video to make it look more professional - have a friend with a tripod or use one myself, for instance.

Blog #14- MSB Questions & Resources

Essential Question:
>Why and/or how does water get contaminated/polluted?

Sub-Quesions:
>How long does it last?
>How can it be reversed/fixed? Do people clean it up?
>How does the water pollute us?

Resources:
>Guest teachers from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs of sewage pipes that lead out into the bay/ocean
>Interviews with Surfrider
>First-hand accounts of people affected by the pollution
>Heal The Bay

Sentences:
>Reading reports off of groups like Heal the Bay or Surfrider's websites would contribute research to compare our results to. Depending on how results are compared, we could come up with different statistics about the water around us.

Blog #13- Industrialization & Water

"In California, solar developers have already been forced to switch to less water-intensive technologies when local officials have refused to turn on the tap. Other big solar projects are mired in disputes with state regulators over water consumption."
-http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/business/energy-environment/30water.html?hp

> The main issue is that people are trying to develop new ways of using energy, but those methods are requiring water for their operations. Solar power plants need to be cooled down with water, etc. Some people are upset that their water reserves would be used to make new energy (what's energy without water?), while others want to progress forward, and thus there is conflict. Industrialization is conflicting with people's needs as human beings.

>The thing missing is whether or not ocean water would be able to be used instead of the water we use to live by. It is also lacking in the fact that there are other ways to cool down things (wind, for one), or simply building structures out of things that do not heat up easily. Might cost more but would save money in the long run.

>The first thing I would do is pick a side- I would have to pick whether or not I wanted to defend the use of water for helping with alternative energy. Then I would state my argument and support my points with other evidence - with the energy made, we could clean out other water we're using to reuse on one side of the argument, and on the other we could find other ways to keep the plants cool and use that energy for other things.

To BeLoved

A brief note before we begin - The lack of punctuation/capitalization is intentional. It is done to mimic the style of the quote at the start of the analysis.

“I am Beloved and she is mine. I see her take flowers away from leaves she puts them in a round basket the leaves are not for her she fills the basket she opens the grass I would help her but the clouds are in the way how can I say things that are pictures I am separate from her there is no place where I stop her face is my own and I want to be there in the place where her face is and look at it too a hot thing”
-Beloved by Toni Morrison, Page 200

Culture shock. It is hard to bear hard to understand hard to deal with hard to let go of the reintroduction of someone you thought you had lost forever into your family the pain of losing someone having to feel the pain of having killed them having to feel the pain of taking care of them catering to their every need making sure they’re happy because when they’re happy you’re happy to be clashed by the moral decision of wanting to take care of someone you love pitted against the decision of being able to work to be able to take care of that someone but having to be away from them you do not want to be away from them you want to be with them protect them cherish them love them treasure them hold them be sure that they’re safe from the white man who wants to take them all away

murder is justified to ensure safety the only safe place is the other side where no white man no black man no white woman no black woman no thing no body no person can lay a finger on the thing that needs to be safe Sethe killed Beloved so she would be safe so nobody would reach her so that she could die and be with Beloved forever they would be safe from black man white man white woman black woman every thing every body every person who wanted to harm them They would be safe but Beloved didn’t want that she wanted her mother to feel guilt to become one with her mother to control her to make her feel the pain the suffering the loneliness the emptiness the loneliness

because of the inner conflict Denver had to leave the house and venture into the town outside she got a job working at a white household where she told them what was happening the town began to gather together after hearing Denver’s story realizing that they should help her and Sethe to defend themselves from the spirit perhaps it was Denver leaving home and thanking the town perhaps it was how they all know Baby Suggs who was Denver’s grandmother perhaps it was just everyone coming together for the sake of a fellow black person who needed their help but Denver was forced to grow to help her mother be freed to save her and to save herself and to release the spirit of Beloved and to strengthen the bond that her and her mother share

Bare feet and chamomile sap
Took off my shoes; took off my hat
Bare feet and chamomile sap
Gimmie back my shoes; gimme back my hat.

Lay my head on a potato sack,
Devil sneak up behind my back.
Steam engine got a lonesome whine;
Love that woman till you go stone blind.

Stone blind; stone blind.
Sweet Home gal make you lose your mind.
-Beloved by Toni Morrison, Page 249

Blog #11- In Which Questions Are Asked

Question #1-
-> How does pollution affect surfers?
-> Being in polluted waters as often as they are will naturally have negative impacts - apparently, Chris Olivas got sick last year and I know I got sick from swimming in Mission Bay.

Question #2-
-> How does pollution affect the animals, and vise versa?
-> Animals are affected by the trash on the beaches, but they also might be contributing to it or helping clean it up (by bringing it to their young, thereby making a cycle). It would be interesting to illustrate how these things are related.

Question #3-
-> How does all the pollution come back to us?
-> I think people would be more inclined to do something if there was some sort of visible consequence. And by visible, I mean something they can actually see - not people saying 'The water will run out' or people saying 'We'll all die', but something tangible, that people can actually be motivated by to say 'I should do something, if not for the environment then for myself.'

Honors History Writing #1

A False Ideology
by Nikita Atrash September 29th – October 2nd 2009

"It's about time. Someone who's white got to stand up and say, 'Our civil rights were violated,'" Hannah Westerman said today after a successful trial. Throughout the trial, she was confident, as if she thought she would be able to bend the trial in any way that she wanted. Once the trial had concluded, both the black boy’s mothers and the white women taking part in the trial burst into tears – all of them except for Hannah, that is. People in Billy’s Bar celebrated the verdict, down the street at Janie’s Market trucks pulled into the gas pump with rebel flags in their beds, and banners appeared in windows along the main street. It was a cause for celebration in the small town of Guthrie, Kentucky.

The trial was to deem whether four young teenage black boys, all of who were tried as adults, would be put in jail. They were tried for the crimes of first-degree murder, civil rights intimidation, and aggravated attempted kidnapping. The trial had to be held in front of a judge without a jury because any potential viewers in the jury would be completely biased against the defense. Aside from two witnesses – Hannah Westerman, who was the victim’s wife, and Tony Andrews, who was a passenger in the car – there was no real evidence for the trial. Thus, the trial mostly revolved around “what Freddie’s attorney called ‘the cockroach defense.’ If you lack strong evidence that might exonerate your client, he told me, ‘you shit all over what the other side’s got.’” The defendants were found guilty on all charges, aside from one who was apparently 'just in it for the ride'.

The idea that the Civil War is the start of Modern America is entirely false. Ideologies, beliefs, even the way people act and think has not changed in many parts of the country. When a white man thinks badly of a black man, it is because of racism rather than the character of either man. When a black man shoots a white man in the southern town of Guthrie, the entire white population of the town jumps on the story and claims that he was the first to die for the rebel flag in over a hundred and thirty years. Ceremonies and festivals were held in his honor and his biography was even re-written to match his new ‘confederate style’. Next to Michael’s grave was “an iron cross identical to those marking the graves of actual rebel veterans, with C.S.A. on one side and 1861-1865 on the other, beside the Confederate motto, Deo Vindice. With God As Our Defender.” People may call this Modern America, but in actuality it is the same as so long ago.

If this were truly Modern America, people would not still continue to be affected by the civil war, even in the days that it has been declared over. Even people in the most secluded places in the country have some link to the civil war, even if it may not be as direct as someone else has. Relatives who died fighting what appears to be a pointless battle – even if many of the ideas brought in by the civil war are in effect today in places in the North, these are the places that originally believed in and fought for these ideas. The places they were trying to change still do not have those same ideals, do not treat black men in the way that they should, and would even yell ‘You lie’ at the president during a speech on health care – not because they disagree with him, but because of his skin color.

It is evident in the streets people walk on, the monuments that have been made both in honor of soldiers who fell in combat years ago and ordinary civilians who were killed in ‘honor of the confederates’, like Michael Westerman, and the special occasions that often grace the town- from cross burnings to concerts where bands will play ‘Dixie’, a popular song in the Confederate States of America from the Civil War.

“Look at this,” he said, opening an album of family history he’d been given by his sister, Brenda Arms. David ran his finger along a list of rebel ancestors: one captured, another shot dead at Gettysburg, and a private “killed in action, 24th May, 1862.” His age was listed as nineteen.”
“Just like Michael,” David said. He wiped his eyes. “They say that war ended a long time ago. But around here it’s like it’s still going on.”

Blog #10

Reconstruction is the era that took place for a few years after the Civil War. It is essentially what it is called - the Reconstruction. The South had been destroyed - both literally and figuratively. Buildings had to be rebuilt, government had to be reformed, and new constitutional laws had to be formed so that the Civil War wouldn't happen again. The good news is that buildings were rebuilt and we got amendments to the constitution to protect the rights of black people. But... that's about it. Leaders in the Reconstruction were anything but fit for the job, the South held a rather large grudge against the North for everything, Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws were popping up everywhere (separate but equal), the KKK was formed in that time, the Democrats of that time were basically doing whatever they wanted to, and this was pushed even further when the Republicans of that time were willing to do anything just to get Republican people in office to try and get things done. It is relevant today because people from that time managed to work their way into governmental positions, and even though they died, their ideals still live on in today's day and age - for instance, hate for people based on their race or color. In that sense, people from that part of the country might not realize that they're racist when they really are.

The Reconstruction is evident in modern society, as proved in the following article:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/09/28/let_549745.shtml
"And he is certainly not alone among his liberal colleagues in voicing that opinion: Conservatives are protesting Obama's policies; Obama is black; therefore, conservatives must be protesting Obama's policies because he is black."
The fact that people are automatically linking to this sort of thing simply proves the preconceived notion that a white man criticizing a black man's policies is racism. Any time a conflict arises between black man and white man, it seems that the obvious cause is racism and not personality, or actual policies. This is because of the historic factor of the way black and white people have treated each other, and because of the personality and attitude that each issue constantly receives.

Blog #9- Media Saves the Beach in the News

"Even with the recent storms, the risk of drought in Los Angeles is not over. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the water content in California’s mountain snowpack, a vital source of drinking water for the state, is at 55 percent of average for this time of year. The long-term forecast for our region is for increasing periods of dryness. At the same time, the rain that does fall is usually conveyed through storm drains out into the ocean where it creates a pollution hazard."

To go to the original article, click here.

The issue is that there is not enough water in LA and the water that does come is creating a hazard for the oceans and pollution. More information, naturally, can be found in the article, but it can also be found at TreePeople's website, the organization that is trying to provide more ways to make things more environmentally friendly for the world. The story relates to our class and Media Saves the Beach because it is essentially a project to help stop pollution and which would help with water-testing in the world.

Blog #8 - Media Saves The Beach Ideas

For Media Saves the Beach, I would definitely like to do something that involves incorporating artistic talent, and possibly work my way into how chemicals pollute the water and cause bacteria that, in turn, create illnesses. This is a field of interest to me because I once got an illness while swimming in Mission Bay and I got a staph infection after going to Sea World.

(I don't trust the water. >_>)

I would like to create something involving artwork, but I wouldn't mind doing something that has to do with writing either. I would not like to do a photo essay, though, and my opinion's split as far as a movie goes.

Blog #7 - Final Draft

Nikita Atrash

What True Friendship Is

As I opened the door and walked up the carpet stairs, the sound hit me like the blue table on my leg back in eighth grade.

That sound was silence.

There was no noise. No clickety-clacking of claws on the hardwood floor, no jingling of two collar tags hitting each other as he came down the stairs to greet us. My father was not home and my mother and I had just gotten home from dropping the noise-maker at the vet. The house was mysteriously quiet; there were no sounds to speak of. I was silent for a moment, before commenting to my mother, who had followed me in, “It’s lonely around here…”

What is it like to lose a friend? What does it take to be a friend? I find that in life, there is truly no human example of friendship. So instead of looking for something that is not there, I turn to an expression we have all heard many times – ‘Man’s best friend’. To look at the canine method of being a friend is something that I find rather incredible. A dog is always there for you, follows you around and never betrays you, and never questions you about anything. They also make incredible listeners – If you have something that you’d like to talk about, you can just sit down next to them and talk about it, and provided you’re giving them love and affection, they will sit there and listen to your problems. As a friend, I believe that being a listener is better than just constantly asking how a person is, as it does get rather annoying after some amount of time.

An eternal example of friendship is the bond that FDR shared with Murray the Outlaw of Falahill, or just plain ‘Fala’. Fala was codenamed as “The Informer” by the Secret Service because when the President went on trips, there were two things that gave away his presence in places – One was the wheelchair ramps that had to be built to accommodate his wheelchair, but these could be avoided by going in places with elevators. The other was Fala’s presence. Fala, like any dog, demanded walks after being cooped up in one place (namely trains). “The sight of a closed train standing at a siding, heavily guarded by military sentries, as a Secret Service agent walked a little Scotty dog was a dead giveaway to any American of the 1940s.”

There is nothing more important to anybody than a good friend. Many times, a canine comrade, who simply sits and listens, is the best friend you can have. That is why, while they may not be famous, every dog is an American Icon in his or her own right.

Sources

Unknown, "FDR's Fala, World's Most Famous Dog". Bushy Barney. 9.3.09

Memories from 8.25.09

American Icons Resources

Naturally, no project can be done without first doing research. Here are a few resources that I might be able to use for the American Icons project for two of the Icons in the previous blog entry.

For Murry the Outlaw of Falahill (AKA Fala):

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gztvtSyTdY
This is a video clip of FDR's "Fala" speech, in which he addressed Republican's claims during the election that he left Fala behind on the Aleutian Islands and used millions of taxpayer dollars to send a Destroyer back for him. The full speech can be read here, and the bit about Fala is toward the end.
2. http://bushybarney.tripod.com/fala.htm
A website dedicated to Fala himself, with many excerpts from news where Fala was mentioned alongside the President - features information that names such things as Fala being known as "The Informer" (letting the American Public know where FDR would be, since he never left his side), and many other articles featuring the little dog.
3. http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/
Eleanor Roosevelt frequently mentioned Fala in her newspaper column, "My Day". This is an archive of the entries that she made in that column (and a quick search for 'Fala' produces quite the results!).
4. http://www.thepatrioticgentleman.com/Mans-Best-Friend/FDRandFALA.html , http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/presidential-pups/presidential-pups-02.html , http://gofetchgifts.com/blog/for-fun/all-the-presidents-dogs/ and many more feature photographs of Fala in all his glory.

For Lightning

1. Interview with my mom and dad
I could use this to get on a kind of personal level (even though I was his owner) about Lightning and what happened to him.
2. Photos
We have quite a few photos of Lightning laying around the household that I could use.
3. Art
I once created a painting of Thunder and Lightning that I can use in some way.
4. Memories
Because Lightning only passed away recently, I can use memories of him to fuel things.

American Icons

Murray the Outlaw of Falahill, AKA Fala Roosevelt
Fala represents friendship. A dog is always known to be a man's best friend, and Fala is no exception. He shared a strong bond with Franklin D. Roosevelt, often traveling with him on presidential trips. He was a true companion to the president, and was always someone that could brighten his day after a long day making big decisions.
Fala was a dog, and thus it is rather hard to get into his mind and figure out what was important to him. It is possible that his master was always in his best interest, as they were never separated, even so much as being buried together. Other pleasures in Fala's life probably involved eating, sleeping, playing games and just running around and having a good time. Dogs can tend to be simplistic creatures and Fala, despite his position of power as the First Dog, was most likely no exception.
Fala was President FDR's dog, and of course had his place as the First Dog in the White House for five years before FDR died of a stroke. He also had a section of a speech dedicated to him, where Roosevelt addressed the accusations that Republicans were making that Fala had been left behind on an Aleutian island, and Roosevelt had used billions of dollars in taxpayer money to send a battleship back to get him. Fala was essentially part of FDR's image, and even has a statue depicting his liking near the one of Roosevelt himself.
I first discovered Fala one Monday evening, somewhere between the hours of eight and nine when I was watching a program on TV about Presidential Dogs. Fala had a whole section dedicated to him, and I soon fell in love with the small, lovable dog (but had a problem getting his gender right for a little while). As I began doing research on him as a possible candidate for this project, I discovered that he actually played a substantial role in history, and I decided that he would make an incredible (and very different) subject for this project.
Fala was the inspiration for a part of one of Roosevelt's speeches; he also played a substantial role in history for the White House and army. In the war, American soldiers would ask one another for the name of the President's dog, expecting the name 'Fala', to safeguard against German infiltration. Fala was also an honorary private in the US Army for "'contributing' $1 to the war effort for every day of the year and setting an example for others on the home front." Fala also traveled with the President to many of his meetings in other places, locations including the Atlantic Charter Conference in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland (with the President and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England), the Quebec Conferences, and many other places.
My relationship with Fala is an inspirational one. A dog is a great friend to have, and I often strive to be a good friend to other people, and I feel happy when I've helped other people. I want to be like Fala, in the sense that I can just always be there for someone when they need me, or just sit quietly (maybe not with my head on someone's lap) and let them talk to me, and I wouldn't be critical, I'd just sit there and listen, like a dog might do. I feel like I have a lot to learn about being a friend, and a dog like Fala would be able to teach me that sort of thing.


















Thunder-Plant
The rare Thunder-Plant, only found in one location on the entire planet, is a living creature who displays bravery, perseverance, and stalker-like traits. The object on his head, a semi-opaque cone with a black outline, is there in order to keep him from clawing at the stitches on his eye. But does he care? I say nay! He stands strong throughout having to wear the cone on his head! He continually takes on the challenges of life while wearing this semi-opaque cone with a black outline. He perseveres when he has to do the daily ordeals such as drink from his water bowl or walk around the house! And he still follows his one and only master, Delalle Atrash, everywhere she goes around the house! He is truly a being to look up to, with how strong his willpower is.
Thunder-Plant's life revolves around eating, walking around, laying around, and following Del around. He is a dog and enjoys the simple things in life, often longingly staring at the Atrash Family as they gather around the dinner table and eat their meal in the evening. He also enjoys Del's company, and will come down the stairs to greet her every day when she comes home, be it from a short trip or from a long day at work. Thunder-Plant also enjoys the company of other dogs, but not outside his own domain, where he is the king of the castle, as far as he's concerned.
Thunder-Plant is a natural example of the man (or woman's!) best friend 'dog stereotype'. He is a true companion, often coming into a room where a lonely person is and coming to keep him or her company. He is an example of, no matter how much bad a person or being does, they can always be forgiven if they are either adorable enough or do something to make up for it. It is also showing how you can be rewarded for a bad thing, be it through getting played with or simply knowing that you got that food out of the trash bin.
As a pet, Thunder-Plant has been in my life since I was a child of six or seven years. He has been in my life for a long time and is what you might call family, and is always someone who's there. It was recently observed when he was at the vet and Del and I came home from taking him there, and Frank was absent and Marc was at college, that the house was empty and there was no clacking of claws on the floor or jingling of collar tags indicating that Thunder-Plant was coming to say hello to his master(s). It is a sad state of affairs when you witness what will be when you no longer have a friendly face around the household, and naturally it is a lonely experience when he is not there to cuddle and love.
Thunder-Plant has inspired the family to train dogs better and make them more obedient. He has also inspired outside visitors to play with him when they see him, because he is just so gosh darn adorable. Thunder-Plant is the type of dog who gets what he wants by staring at people and begging for it, and is ever so adorable while doing it. He was the inspiration for a painting of him and his brother, created by Nikita Atrash.
Thunder-Plant is a loved member of our family, because he is a dog and all dogs deserve to be loved. He is always around us, be it watching from outside or sneaking up on us and begging for food (although, his plant extension makes it hard for him to sneak up on people). He also makes for a fun time, bonking into everything as he tries to greet us around the house.















Lightning
Lightning represents the struggle between life and death; how pain is hard to deal with but at the same time it can be dealt with and how when you are in pain it feels like nothing matters anymore, but everyone surrounds you with love and care when you are. This is because Lightning was dying; he had a cancer in his leg that, despite the medicine he was taking, could not help him deal with the pain that he was feeling.
Lightning cared for those around him, namely his brother and his owners. As time went on, he was in so much pain that he tried to push people away, but to no avail, because of their perseverance. Time was cruel to him and eventually the cancer and pain got so bad that he felt as if he had nothing important to him anymore, and he wouldn't even get up to greet his owners when they returned from a place they had been to - so for his sake, they put him down so he wouldn't be in pain any longer.
Lightning is important to American culture because so many people struggle to fight illnesses that hurt them everyday, and sometimes they are in so much pain that nothing matters to them anymore. It is a battle that is hard to watch but yet so few people know about, and he represents the awareness of that battle that everyday people have to deal with throughout their lives.
Lightning was a pet, and a member of our family. He was the brother to the rare Thunder-Plant, the older of the two, and was often around us all in the way that only a dog could be. He fought valiantly against illness, and this was inspiring to me that, despite being a dog, he could deal with that sort of thing, even if it wasn't very well.
When I first found out about his cancer, Lightning inspired me to create a fictional 'memorial' character, if you will, named Lightning Atto (aka Atto). He also inspired the family, in a way, because it's strange to come into the house and to not see him around after him being a pet for 10 or so years. Lightning was brave, and he fought valiantly against his cancer, but unfortunately he could not hold out any longer and the family decided that it was time to put him down.
Lightning was a pet, a brother to Thunder-Plant, and a close held family member. He has a special place in my heart because, while my brother picked Thunder-Plant, I picked Lightning. Lightning was, in that sense, my dog, and it was hard to know that he was in so much pain and there was really nothing I could do. He was not only a pet, but also a friend, who could just sit quietly and listen to you if you had troubles that you wanted to talk about.

Expectations for the Year

Our first assignment for this blog is to detail our expectations for the year. Our overall goals, what we hope to learn and what we hope to develop. I can only imagine that the entire class will have mixed expectations, so it is highly likely that no one's expectations will be met, unless there is one particular recurring theme that everyone seems to want to learn. However, for the sake of getting my thoughts down on paper, I will be filling this out with the utmost importance and detail. With any luck I will have it done before 11:00 PM tonight, which is a Monday, so I will have that much less work to do tomorrow because, judging by the workload I had today, I will not have time to fill out this blog at any point tomorrow, unless we are given class time to work on it, which I highly doubt, because I know Randy is a busy person and probably has a lot of knowledge which he wishes to pass down to our small, childish brains. Now, I've wasted an entire paragraph talking about things that are simply flowing from my mind into my fingers which soar across the keys which type into the computer, so I should probably stop, put a period in, and hit the enter key twice to start a new paragraph.

Now, the first question. My overall goals for this year are, essentially, to become a better writer. I wish to be able to get my thoughts down on paper without ending up going completely off topic with what I was originally speaking of, and I also wish to be able to fine-tune my own writing because, quite often, people seem to have a hard time finding massive errors that are wrong with it (simply errors on clarification, in which I know exactly what I mean in my head...). As we were taught by Lori last year, it will also be a good skill when it is 3:00 AM and you are sitting in a library during college and you have a term paper due that day and you have no one to review it but yourself. I also like some of my work to be a surprise, and I am highly critical of myself, so I think I would be the best critic when it comes to reviewing my work. Naturally, I want to hone these skills, and also improve my skills as a creative writer, because creative writing is something I do quite often - I just find it hard to stick with a story once I've started it. I get lucky if I come up with something that lasts more than ten or twenty pages, you know!

Now, I touched base on what I hope to develop in the prior paragraph, so I'll just skip that part and go straight to what I hope to learn. I hope to learn how I can incorporate things around me into my work, and show people exactly what I'm thinking or what I'm imagining at the time that I am letting my mind flow through my fingers onto the keyboard or into my pencil and onto the paper and/or word document and/or web page and/or blog and/or chat box and/or... well, I think you get the idea. I would like to learn to be as descriptive as I can, so when I am writing a story about characters I have created and developed, the reader can see their world exactly as they see it, and live their lives the way they've lived them. I would also like to know the balance between being too descriptive and not being descriptive enough- I absolutely hate it when I am writing stories with another person, and their character only speaks a line of text, or simply looks away from my own, but I can imagine it would also be rather frustrating to scroll through a wall of text of exactly what the character is doing or thinking. Essentially, I would like to learn how to be a good writer, to capture my reader's attention and get them to stick with me the whole time that I am writing the story, or they are reading it, and I would also like to hone my ability to focus, because that seems to be an even bigger problem for me - focusing on things that I am writing. I often tend to get bored of one thing and start another, only to get bored of that, and it just ends up becoming a vicious cycle... and then the things I want to work on I struggle to find the motivation for. That's definitely something I'd like to try and fix over the coming year.

I also expect to be challenged, but not only in an academic way. It would be nice to learn things that I did not know before, yes, but I would also like to challenge myself to learn new skills; like how to talk to people without just kind of sitting there awkwardly and zoning out, or how to take things with an open mind and not automatically assuming what someone is going to say... or not finding a subject in my mind and just wanting to stick with it. Humanities is the study of history and language arts, but the title leads one to believe that it is also the study of human nature, which in a way could be true because were it not for human nature, history and language arts would not exist at all. Essentially, I'd like to be challenged academically, to improve my writing skills, and to improve my people skills. If I could get that out of this year, then I would certainly be satisfied with myself.

...Hmm, what do you know, that went by a lot faster than I thought it would. I am glad I got it over with now, though, so come tomorrow I don't have to worry about this when I'm doing the work I know I'm going to get...

-Nikita out