blog #17

"Albom argues that the O.J. Simpson trial was the most important event in the past two decades."

I would agree with Albom that it was a significant event for many reasons. A lot of things changed in society because of the trial. However i disagree with Albom's word choice. I would have used the word popularity, not important. People of America were interested in the case because of who O.J. was prier to the case. It was people's out most curiosity that made the case a bigger deal than it actually was. The more the trial would be televised and discussed on talk shows, the more interested the public grew. The case really wasn't important to anyone but O.J. and the family of Nicole. It was it's popularity that won over the general public to create such a significant impact on society.

blog #16

In "About Men" by Gretel Enrlich, Enrlich uses multiple tones to convey her view of a cowboy. She shifts back and forth between tones. She mentions many aspects to a cowboys life. From the tough image they live up to with their courage and bravery as if cowboys were hero's. She also mentions that they are loving and compassionate, by the way they love animals and have respect for other people. Such as the courteous act of shaking hands firmly and tipping your hat to a woman. The tone conveyed by Enrlich is what gives of the point she tries to make about cowboys. That their is more to them than just riding horses and being "macho".

blog #15

The three reasons given for the breakdown of secrecy are; the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Internet and the urge to confess one's hidden transgressions before an audience of strangers. I disagree with Sante about the dissolution of society. That happens to be more of a politically related and media stuff. That is a whole different category of secrets. Those are things that should be adressed to the people. Its not the same as secrets that are meant to never be exposed. However, I agree with Sante's other two arguments. The Internet is a nemesis in the sense that once something is exposed to the Internet, it is out there forever, and can therefore, can be a disadvantage at any given night. I also agree with the urge to confess one's secrets. The urge of exposing a big, juicy secret often is often something that people do not have will power to overcome. This is an opinion I have developed over a period of observation. Overall, I would say that I do agree with Sante about secrecy.

blog #14

My personal belief is no, personal values and ethics should not be taught in public schools. Now there is some specificity to be applied in this case. I think certain ethics and morals are obvious and should be taught and/or reminded to students in public schools. Such as not talking when the teacher is talking or treat people the way you would want to be treated. However, other things such as person beliefs in morals and ethics should not be taught in schools. These are things that really cannot be taught because they are opinions. Everyone has a different opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinions. If you tried to teach opinions, your setting yourself up for an ugly unwanted debate. Students should be able to learn as they grow and decide for themselves what their morals and ethics are. I think that people should have respect for the beliefs of others because like I said, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Also, a lot of ethics and morals that people posses are religiously related to their beliefs. Trying to teach students morals in public schools could confuse kids. If they are told something at their home or in church then told differently in public school, confusion and anger could occur. That is why it is a safer situation to avoid this subject being taught in public schools.

blog #13

All movies are generally classified into genres. However there is more to a movie than just it's genre. There are many ways to classify a movie. For example, I would say that the Zodiac Killer is a lot like the movie Ace Ventura pet detective. I made this connection because even though Zodiac Killer is a horror film based on actual events and Ace Ventura is a hilarious comedy staring the comedian we all know and love, Jim Carey, the both are about cracking a mystery by following clues and other pieces of evidence to crack the case. Or on the other hand you have Employee of the month and Coach Carter. Both totally different genres of movie that share a common purpose that if you work hard enough towards something then you can achieve it through perseverance and determination. Then you have movies like Gone Baby Gone which opens up the question, is doing the right thing always the right thing to do? I get that purpose from the movie Saving Private Ryan also. Regardless of the genre, movies usually have a point to them and if two movies share a similar purpose then they are considered to be similar movies.

blog #12

Self-Check
1. I feel that I have answered the prompt to the best of my ability.
2. Well, I have a thesis that states that Rodrigues uses contrasts, but I Didn't state why, I stated how.
3. My paragraphs do build on each other and they continue to build up untill I get to my conclusion where I tie it all together.
4. I had two main body paragraphs that suggested how Rodrigues "build the house". They are both two different ideas which include two concrete details.
5. I used a couple of quotes right out of the txt to make my argument more real.

Refelction
1. I think I answered the prompt well considering I only had a limited amount of time.
2. I don't think my intro went too well. My thesis is good but the background to introduce my essay didn't have a strong hook.
3. If given more time my essay would be better structured and well planned out. Because it was first timed essay, I kinda just threw some things together and did my best to make them work well.
4. No. My essay did not come out the way I planned it because I didn't really have time to plan it. there was almost no organisation in my essay.
5. As I was writing I realised how much I agree with Rodrigues about the bold statement of the plastic pink flamingo.
6. I need to take at least five minuets before I start writing to plan out what I intend to write. Just Make a brief and minor outline

blog #11

Culminating Writers Profile

1.When I started this class, I didn't realise there would be as much writing as there is. I was always told by previous english teachers to never use the word I in an essay, however in AP, all or moat essays are personal and therefore require the word I. I am having a hard time transitioning into telling structured personal stories.

2. My strength as a writer has always been creativity. I have always been told that I have a creative mind so when I am writing, I like to take that creative mind of mine and run with it.

3. My weakness is probably commentary. I have never been very good at supporting my statements. I feel that I can strengthen my disability to write strong commentary just by looking at me concrete details and elaborating them, however it is harder to do it than to think of doing it.

Evaluating Your Writing Process

1. If given another chance to edit my essay i would make it more concrete. I would take my topic of bipolar and create a better light to it because after turning in the old one I wasn't to happy with it.

2. The easiest element to improve my essay was the purpose. A peer told me the purpose of my essay wasn't clear so I revised it to make my purpose set in stone.

3. The biggest problem I had when writing the definition essay was an idea. Once I got my idea the hardest part was the structure. when revising the essay the hardest part again was getting the structure just right to satisfy my desired structure.

Evaluating Your Successes

1. My most successful revision happened in the conclusion. I had a hard time deciding how I wanted to wrap up my essay. It took maybe forty-five minuets along to revise my conclusion.

2. well, I attempted to include imagery and language that would give off a poetic vibe. I was unsuccessful and strove for a more informative lack of advanced language. 

3. I considered the fact that someone in my class would read my essay, however that had little effect. so I broadened my audience to people that could relate to my topic.

Being Honest with Self

1. the most intimidating part of this essay was the prompt itself. When I read the prompt, I thought it was impossible-make the intangible, tangible. I stressed over it a little bit the overcame it because I knew it wasn't worth it to blow this assignment.

2. All of them really. Like I mentioned before, I had never before written an essay that required me to talk about myself or my opinions, so I didn't really know what I was doing. I used all the Essay's we went over in class as inspiration and guidelines for my essay.

3.  I definitely used other students work to help me with mine. for example their essay structures. I didn't know how to structure my essay so I used classmates as examples.

4. I learned from a peer that i included to much information that was not necessary and did not relate to my thesis nor my topic.

5. I feel very accomplished after turning in that essay. I do not see myself as a professional at all but instead, I see myself with a ton of improvement opportunities for this class.

blog #10

Does anybody know what it means to be a "nobody"? If you ask a person that question, then your asking somebody, not nobody. "Nobodiness" is all in your head. Your only a nobody if you allow yourself to become a nobody.

Being a nobody doesn't mean your lonely, depressed, sad, or invisible, it just means your in denial. If you exist you are obviously somebody. This is what I mean when I say it is all in your head. If you believe in yourself then you will have more confidence in yourself but if you don't think your important, then how can anyone else think your important. A "Nobody" is just a figment of your imagination, because if you exist then you're not nobody. No person in life is going to waist their time taking you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously. "Nobodiness" is simply a term referring to those who wish they were nobody.

blog #9

The book Tuesday's with Morrie was a sad, touching story. I loved Morrie's positive and enthusiastic attitude towards his disease, which he displayed throughout the whole story. Even though Morrie was mournful and sad about his future death, he never let it stop him from living. That is one thing that I will take with me from this book. It is ok to be sad that your dying, but if you are too sad about it, then you will never appreciate the life that you lived or see your life through to the end. It is important to live your life all the way until the day you die because you only get one chance at life. This is something that I absolutely agree with Morrie about. However I disagree with Morrie when he says that the meaning of life is to love and cherish others. I personally don't think that the meaning of life is to build relationships and to forgive people and create a bond with people or to love all your family and friends. I agree that these things are big parts of your life, but not the sole meanning. I don't think life has a meaning. We live, we die, that is the natural order of things. I agree that loving others and having some form of social life is very important to a successful life, however it won't kill you to live your life as a recluse either if that is what you want to do. We only have our one life, live it to the fullest, where ever that road may take you. The only key advice I would give to people after reading this book is to make everyday count.

blog #8

The word snatch implies a very negative connotation. To be used in a positive way is a form of English that I personally have never heard. When I think of the word "snatch", I think of someone taking something whether or not it belongs to them. Suzie "snatched" the book away from Bill. Now I don't know if it was Suzie's book or Bill's book, however the verb "snatched" makes Suzie sound guilty regardless because she is the one who "snatched" it. Or Joe "snatched" the puppy away from the killer bulldog. Even though Joe is saving the puppy, the word "snatched" implies a negative action as if he was steeling the puppy. "Snatched" is a word that gives off a vibe of theft or greediness. Such as, I "snatched" what belonged to me in the first place. It may have belonged to him/her, but by using the word "snatched" he/she sounds very eager or impatient when getting his/her things back. <Snatch: to take, get, or secure hastily or suddenly> In no way does this definition imply theft or greed, but the connotation of it does. 

blog #7

I read the book The Great Gatsby. I feel like he makes several small arguments throughout the entire book. However, I feel like his argument for the overall story is much bigger, money doesn't buy happiness. This is a very strong argument and he argues it through a small group of fictional characters. Gatsby was a very wealthy man who only achieved his wealth to impress Daisy. He spent many years of his adult life working to make money so that Daisy would love him. But in the end she did not love him. All that money he stove to make could not buy him the one thing that would truly make him happy, which was Daisy. Daisy is another example that money cannot buy happiness. Daisy was married to a very wealthy man named Tom. Although they were married, neither one was very happy. Daisy was so unhappy being married to Tom but she stayed with him regardless because he was rich. Being married to Tom allowed Daisy all the access to money and goods that she could ever desire, but she was not happy with Tom.

blog #6

People often look at bipolar disorder in a very negative way. They would that the constant mood swings and capability of snapping at any moment would be too much for them to handle. I for one have known a bipolar person in the past and she was a wonderful person. She was very patient and worked very hard to get along with people. What she went through everyday was a fight for happiness. She was only as happy as she let herself believe she was because of her condition. She would often hide out from people when she was in manic phase because she only wanted people to see the good happy side of her, not the depressant side. She just wanted to get along with people but because she was a severe bipolar she could not do that. She became a recluse. A recluse that would only come out in her happiest phases so that people wouldn't think she was crazy. she was very self-conscious about her condition when really she was just the average joe with mood swings. I have known her a while and I can honestly say that her mood swings are not as severe as people let her to believe. It wasn't her self-esteem that led her to be a recluse, it was the negative things people would say about her condition. Society led her out to be crazy and so that is how she viewed herself. Well I knew this woman for a long time and I can say that she was not crazy. She simply had a genetic medical condition that people take way too far.  

blog #4

Two thing that are different but ironically similar.

I would consider a rose to be in comparison to a tiger. although a rose and a tiger are completely different anatomically, physically, and have different ways of life, I would consider them to be similar because of one common characteristics. Both use naturally given sharp body parts or means of protection. A rose relies on it's thorns for protection and a tiger relies on it's sharp nails to protect him.

blog #5

Is the box man happy. I would think that that would be the only thing that matters. But instead, people often are more worried about how he lives his life, whether or not he is happy living it. His type of lifestyle is considered poor, but he is very rich within himself. in other word, the box man has a very spontaneous an positive attitude toward his lifestyle. He would prefer not to have people help him or pity him because he is living the life he chose. People in society would think that the box man was crazy for wanting a lifestyle like that, but as long as he is happy, then why would anyone else care what he does. Yet, they do.    

blog #3

One Book that I read this summer was the Great Gatsby. It was a tragic story filled with romance, irony, and conflict. The books imagery was very well descriptive about both the characters and the setting. Based on the descriptions of the characters that was given in the book, I felt like I knew the characters personally. Fitzgerald did an extraordinary job with the characters qualities and individualities.
The story has a very well organised structure. All the hints and foreshadowing to the end are very well worded in a way that the ending is not revealed but instead just suspected. However the end is truly shocking. this is a very well written novel and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read it.  

blog #2

The most recent non-fiction book I read was Guns, Germs, and Steel, written by Jared Diamond. It is a History reference that explains, in great detail, about the evolution of humanity and the fates of human society. The book starts off about 7million years ago when historians believe that the first human had evolved. Humans were evolved form apes and started out on the country of Africa. Diamond suggests that humans were capable enough to develop certain hand tool that were essential to survival. It was also said that humans started to build small rafts, which eventually evolved into boats, then eventually ships, that were used for humans to distant themselves among their specific races amongst the globe. The first humans ever to enter the continent of North America were people that crossed the Bering strait down from Asia into North America. all these different races of society started out with no more intelligence than the average animal, but as they evolved overtime they were able to accomplish so much more. All races of humans worked at different speeds of discovery. It wasn't until about 3000 B.C. when the first written language was put into action. Humans evolved from the usage of hand tool made out of sticks and stones, into what we are today. History plays an important part in all that we have discovered today, for example: Vaccines, I phones, nuclear technology. All these amazing inventions that came to be over a long period of people who worked hard searching for ways to improve society.    

blog #1

Who am I? Well, I can give you a hint:
I am generally a Kind person, I love Ice cream, I listen to all types of Music, I am a Passive person so that makes me easy to get Along with, I am a huge Redskins fan, Kit-kat's are my favorite candy bar, Elephants are my favorite animal, and I consider myself to be a very Reliable person.
                     -My name is Kim Parker.