Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Feed Blog
I found Feed to be a very interesting novel, but it also seemed very bleak and pessimistic about our future. Everyone seemed to lack emotions, or rather, had very few emotions. Things that had been intimate were now casual things to which no thought was given. Many people expressed indignation, surprise and even anger at the fact that Titus left Violet. While I was fairly surprised at this turn of events, I was not “mad” at Titus for what he did, for I feel that any other person from that time would have done the same thing. They grew up in a society where they were taught to never be attached to someone. Their parents weren’t even together when the kids were first conceived. Sex was viewed as something purely for pleasure and never symbolized anything permanent. With most people in that society, her going into this recession of health would have symbolized the end of that relationship, and they would have moved on. Since will was a part of that group that would move on, he did as he was programmed to do, he moved on to find the next source of pleasure and fun. Violet thought everything should have meaning and that they would be together forever. Even in today’s culture that would be considered rushing, considering they had only been going out for a few months. In this time and day people often go out for a year or more before they decide to even be engaged, but Violet was only with Titus for a few months before she decided that they should be together. This kind of pressure and clinginess is what drove Titus away, he couldn’t stand being with her anymore because everything had to have a second layer of meaning, everything had to relate to them being together forever. She drove him away with her clinginess, so I believe that Titus should not be criticized for leaving her. I also believe that during this whole novel M.T. Anderson scorned free markets and covertly attacked corporations for what they do to the people. I found this to be absurd for the companies have done no true wrong. They’ve done what every person does, they have acted in their own self-interest by marketing to everyone they can. If those people are too weak to deny themselves what the company offers then it is their fault. The company merely provides the goods, it is the people who are too weak and give in and buy whatever the company says. I feel that this also relates back to the housing crisis, in that everyone has criticized the bank for giving out their loans, but have taken none of the blame on themselves or the government. How about criticizing the government for forcing through the CRA in the 1970s? Or the government for revising it in the 1990s to practically force banks to give loans to “disadvantaged people.” More so than the government, however, it is the people’s fault. Those who took mortgages (adjustable rate mortgages normally), failed to pay them, had their house foreclosed then proceeded to claim, “Oh the big mean bank took advantage of me!” No, you were gullible enough to take mortgage you couldn’t afford, just like in the book many people blame the companies without looking at themselves.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Black In America
Throughout the film statistics were constantly thrown at us showing how African Americans are more likely to go to jail or flunk out of high school or college. These are very sad statistics to hear, but I believe that a lot of these problems are self-inflicted problems. As it even said in the film, many African Americans do not do well in school because it is not considered black to get good grades when many of them are capable of achieving those good grades. Fixing errors in ideology such as this would lead to more African Americans graduating and being able to get better jobs instead of leaving high school and turning to a life of crime for money.
I am not saying that it is purely due to this ideology that African Americans seem more disadvantages, for I realize that there is still racism around today, but that small remainder of racism seems to be fading fast, as shown by the election of Barack Obama and the appointment of several other African Americans to high ranking positions within the government. To me, it seems to be not so much racism that holds African Americans back, but rather several mentalities, which have became ingrained within their culture. If these cycles were to be broken I believe that many of the startling statistics presented within the film would drop to much lower levels. Another of these problems is the amount of kids who grow up without father figures because the fathers don’t marry the mother before having the kid. A lot of the time this causes the dad to be distant and not have an influence on his sons’ life, which, though maybe not consciously influences the son who acts the way his dad did.
Finally, though many may disagree, I believe that affirmative action also has a negative effect upon the African American community because young students who might not be qualified for a certain college still get in. Not only does this mean that the college may be too hard and that they may fail where they would succeed at another college but it also would implant a doubt in their mind and in others minds. As the many who worked for a music company said, even if you do a good job, in the back of people’s mind will always lurk the suspicion that, “oh, he got the job because he is black,” so that a persons work may never be totally validated.
I realize that some of my opinions may come across to some people the wrong way and that I can never truly understand what African Americans in this country go through, but I still believe that many of the problems today are not due to racism, but rather due to flaws that became ingrained within the culture.
I am not saying that it is purely due to this ideology that African Americans seem more disadvantages, for I realize that there is still racism around today, but that small remainder of racism seems to be fading fast, as shown by the election of Barack Obama and the appointment of several other African Americans to high ranking positions within the government. To me, it seems to be not so much racism that holds African Americans back, but rather several mentalities, which have became ingrained within their culture. If these cycles were to be broken I believe that many of the startling statistics presented within the film would drop to much lower levels. Another of these problems is the amount of kids who grow up without father figures because the fathers don’t marry the mother before having the kid. A lot of the time this causes the dad to be distant and not have an influence on his sons’ life, which, though maybe not consciously influences the son who acts the way his dad did.
Finally, though many may disagree, I believe that affirmative action also has a negative effect upon the African American community because young students who might not be qualified for a certain college still get in. Not only does this mean that the college may be too hard and that they may fail where they would succeed at another college but it also would implant a doubt in their mind and in others minds. As the many who worked for a music company said, even if you do a good job, in the back of people’s mind will always lurk the suspicion that, “oh, he got the job because he is black,” so that a persons work may never be totally validated.
I realize that some of my opinions may come across to some people the wrong way and that I can never truly understand what African Americans in this country go through, but I still believe that many of the problems today are not due to racism, but rather due to flaws that became ingrained within the culture.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Epistolary Novel
I believe that reading an epistolary novel is a good experience. It is very different than a normal novel, but I believe that it is different in a good way. I did not think I would enjoy this novel very much because the last book that I read that was an epistolary novel was Dracula by Bram Stoker. Instead, this book has been very interesting to read and what makes it even better is that, even though it is a fiction book it has many references to things that happened in the past that it forces you to look closely. You must also scrutinize the book carefully to be able to pick up on what happens to all the characters. A simple news article or mail between “The Green Hornet” and “The Shadow” could have a large impact on the novel, or it could just be a funny side comment such as Ms. Aubaugh actually turning out to be a Nazi spy.
You had to pay close attention to many things throughout the novel in order to pick up on all the small details that were revealed, such as Joey Margolis mailing Hazel MacKay about Charlie Banks’ brother and saying something along the lines of “he probably feels guilty.” Though this is a very small comment, it is very important to the book because it reveals that Harlan Bank’s death might have been a result of something irresponsible that Charlie Banks did. These small details are sometimes hard to catch, but it makes the novel much more interesting than a normal novel, which would generally come out in some other way or just blatantly announce in some fashion that Harlan’s death was possible due to something that Charlie Banks did.
I believe that the book has been enhanced due to its epistolary style, because you have a wonderful plotline that is full of intricacies that you must be able to see and whenever you see something that hints at a joke or a fact that would come back later in the book you will either get a laugh or start to wonder about how this little detail will affect the characters later on. I think that the epistolary style also makes connecting with the characters of the novel easier because you get to see their true emotions expressed within the letters that they write. You are not told by the author “Joey felt sad,” but rather you see Joey write a letter in which he expresses the grief he feels.
I really enjoy reading this book, and I feel that the epistolary style is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. The characters seem so much more real and you are able to connect much easier than with other novels and I’m happy that the author chose this style of writing.
You had to pay close attention to many things throughout the novel in order to pick up on all the small details that were revealed, such as Joey Margolis mailing Hazel MacKay about Charlie Banks’ brother and saying something along the lines of “he probably feels guilty.” Though this is a very small comment, it is very important to the book because it reveals that Harlan Bank’s death might have been a result of something irresponsible that Charlie Banks did. These small details are sometimes hard to catch, but it makes the novel much more interesting than a normal novel, which would generally come out in some other way or just blatantly announce in some fashion that Harlan’s death was possible due to something that Charlie Banks did.
I believe that the book has been enhanced due to its epistolary style, because you have a wonderful plotline that is full of intricacies that you must be able to see and whenever you see something that hints at a joke or a fact that would come back later in the book you will either get a laugh or start to wonder about how this little detail will affect the characters later on. I think that the epistolary style also makes connecting with the characters of the novel easier because you get to see their true emotions expressed within the letters that they write. You are not told by the author “Joey felt sad,” but rather you see Joey write a letter in which he expresses the grief he feels.
I really enjoy reading this book, and I feel that the epistolary style is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. The characters seem so much more real and you are able to connect much easier than with other novels and I’m happy that the author chose this style of writing.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Blackhawk Down Blog
The book that I decided to read for the independent reading project was Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden. This book has been very interesting to me since I am interested in military events (at least the ones that have occurred World War II and after). It has been very interesting so far, and I have also watched the movie, which was very good but considered by many to downsize parts of the true events of the day. The book details the events of the first Battle of Mogadishu (which went under the code name Gothic Serpent). They entered the Bakara and anticipated a quick one hour mission which would end in the capture of two tier one aides of Mohammad Farrah Aidid with very few injuries to American forces. Local spies had reported where the two personalities would be meeting and the Army had soon set up a plan. Members of the Army Rangers would set up positions on corners of the block where the building was to prevent anyone from entering. Elite Delta force troopers would then enter the building using flash bang grenades, stunning the people and getting them on the grounds before they could react, as they had been taught to do.
This would be most easily done using helicopters, which normal pilots would be hard pressed to navigate in the narrow allies of the Bakara market. However, the army had the 160th division (also known as the Night Stalkers) which was an elite force of pilots who had even trained themselves to fly during the night. The Rangers would be brought in on MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters while the Delta force flew in on the smaller MH-6 Little Birds (which would be armed with mini guns and 2.75 inch rockets). At the same time a ground force would leave for the base and meet up at the house where the prisoners would be loaded on and taken back to base. All of this went terribly wrong when two the Blackhawks got shot down by Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s). The army started talking massive casualties as they fought to the crash sights while all of the market continued to rise against them. Eventually they got to the crash sights after suffering casualties to find many of the pilots dead. After all that they had to set up posts for the night where they had to defend themselves from the constant Somali attacks, eventually being rescued by the UN peace keepers also in a peaceful part of Somalia. At the end many of the Rangers and Delta forces couldn’t fit in the cars and had to run the distance to the stadium, while being shot at, after a night of constant fighting. This magnificent run became known as the Mogadishu Mile. I was greatly disturbed by the fact that people called US forces out for accidentally hitting women and children, when in fact, these women and children were running towards the fighting, running towards the Americans and thus blocking the Somali fighters from being hit. They involved themselves in the fight, when kids sit on top of a Somali shooter to protect him they involved themselves and made themselves combatants.
This book really brought to light the massive sacrifices our armed forces make for us. Many suffered debilitating wounds such as having their finger shot off, or suffered through unendurable pain while they slowly died after trying to save one of their friends. Not only has this book been very interesting, but it has made me respect those who serve our country much more than before.
This would be most easily done using helicopters, which normal pilots would be hard pressed to navigate in the narrow allies of the Bakara market. However, the army had the 160th division (also known as the Night Stalkers) which was an elite force of pilots who had even trained themselves to fly during the night. The Rangers would be brought in on MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters while the Delta force flew in on the smaller MH-6 Little Birds (which would be armed with mini guns and 2.75 inch rockets). At the same time a ground force would leave for the base and meet up at the house where the prisoners would be loaded on and taken back to base. All of this went terribly wrong when two the Blackhawks got shot down by Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s). The army started talking massive casualties as they fought to the crash sights while all of the market continued to rise against them. Eventually they got to the crash sights after suffering casualties to find many of the pilots dead. After all that they had to set up posts for the night where they had to defend themselves from the constant Somali attacks, eventually being rescued by the UN peace keepers also in a peaceful part of Somalia. At the end many of the Rangers and Delta forces couldn’t fit in the cars and had to run the distance to the stadium, while being shot at, after a night of constant fighting. This magnificent run became known as the Mogadishu Mile. I was greatly disturbed by the fact that people called US forces out for accidentally hitting women and children, when in fact, these women and children were running towards the fighting, running towards the Americans and thus blocking the Somali fighters from being hit. They involved themselves in the fight, when kids sit on top of a Somali shooter to protect him they involved themselves and made themselves combatants.
This book really brought to light the massive sacrifices our armed forces make for us. Many suffered debilitating wounds such as having their finger shot off, or suffered through unendurable pain while they slowly died after trying to save one of their friends. Not only has this book been very interesting, but it has made me respect those who serve our country much more than before.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Pursuit of Knowledge
Schools are very important in a person’s desire to obtain knowledge. While it is true that some people are born with an innate hunger for knowledge, many others get inspired to learn from what their teachers tell them, or what they read in books. This is why many schools now seek ways to inspire kids, not just to do well in school but to also continue their education afterwards, whether by reading books or going to universities.
Private schools are very good at inspiring kids because they have more resources available to them and, because they are a smaller school, can do more things that reflect what their students’ desire. If they are currently studying a certain subject, in say, History and it reminds a student of something else or it parallels to something else then they can possibly take the time to look at that idea or assign homework or extra credit for that particular subject.
The problem with public schools is that they lack the money and resources that private schools do. They also have a far larger class size and thus cannot vary their schedule as much. That would cause a school class to get further ahead or behind the other classes. Also, the teachers won’t be as willing to divert the class for the interest of a few students. The other thing is that the teachers lack the same kind of enthusiasm that private school teachers have because they had already been paid. The money of the taxpayer pays the public school teachers and faculty workers. Since they are assured their pay, no matter how their class does, they don’t have a desire to make sure that class does well or is interested in the learning. This is one of the vital problems with our public school systems. Private school teachers, however, can get easily fired for not living up to standards, have higher standards to live up to, and don’t get paid by taxpayers. Instead, they get paid by the students or the students parents so if the parents or students realize that the teachers aren’t doing well then they can choose to leave that school, thus influencing the teachers pay.
Those teachers that are so dedicated to their students that they will help to excite the students do so by taking time to do the things that the students want to do. The parents join the teachers in this by telling the student how much the education they receive means and how important it is to continue that education in order to have a good life.
Due to the lack of motivation in our public schools, our students of today are facing problems with lack of motivation. With a few changes this could be remedied, though the change would not be immediate. These schools have a profound effect on the students desire to learn, and should be reminded of that more often. That might inspire them to work harder to inspire their kids and help our future.
Private schools are very good at inspiring kids because they have more resources available to them and, because they are a smaller school, can do more things that reflect what their students’ desire. If they are currently studying a certain subject, in say, History and it reminds a student of something else or it parallels to something else then they can possibly take the time to look at that idea or assign homework or extra credit for that particular subject.
The problem with public schools is that they lack the money and resources that private schools do. They also have a far larger class size and thus cannot vary their schedule as much. That would cause a school class to get further ahead or behind the other classes. Also, the teachers won’t be as willing to divert the class for the interest of a few students. The other thing is that the teachers lack the same kind of enthusiasm that private school teachers have because they had already been paid. The money of the taxpayer pays the public school teachers and faculty workers. Since they are assured their pay, no matter how their class does, they don’t have a desire to make sure that class does well or is interested in the learning. This is one of the vital problems with our public school systems. Private school teachers, however, can get easily fired for not living up to standards, have higher standards to live up to, and don’t get paid by taxpayers. Instead, they get paid by the students or the students parents so if the parents or students realize that the teachers aren’t doing well then they can choose to leave that school, thus influencing the teachers pay.
Those teachers that are so dedicated to their students that they will help to excite the students do so by taking time to do the things that the students want to do. The parents join the teachers in this by telling the student how much the education they receive means and how important it is to continue that education in order to have a good life.
Due to the lack of motivation in our public schools, our students of today are facing problems with lack of motivation. With a few changes this could be remedied, though the change would not be immediate. These schools have a profound effect on the students desire to learn, and should be reminded of that more often. That might inspire them to work harder to inspire their kids and help our future.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
US Government Blog
1) My US Senators are: Evan Bayh (Democrat) and Richard Lugar (Republican)
2) My US Congressman, based on where i live is: Andre Carson (Democrat)
3) My State Senator, based on where i live is: Mike Delph (Republican)
4) My State Congresswoman, based on where i live is: Vanessa Summers (Democrat)
5) Mitch Daniels is up for reelection as Governor.
Andre Carson is up for reelection as Congressman.
Vanessa Summers is up for reelection as State Congresswoman.
6) Answered in questions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 (in the parenthesis by their names)
7) Mitch Daniels (Republican), Jill Long Thompson (Democrat) and Andy Horning (LIbertarian)
2) My US Congressman, based on where i live is: Andre Carson (Democrat)
3) My State Senator, based on where i live is: Mike Delph (Republican)
4) My State Congresswoman, based on where i live is: Vanessa Summers (Democrat)
5) Mitch Daniels is up for reelection as Governor.
Andre Carson is up for reelection as Congressman.
Vanessa Summers is up for reelection as State Congresswoman.
6) Answered in questions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 (in the parenthesis by their names)
7) Mitch Daniels (Republican), Jill Long Thompson (Democrat) and Andy Horning (LIbertarian)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
American Freedoms Blog
The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights gave American citizens many rights. These included but were not limited to the right to free speech, the right to freedom of religion and the right to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Not everyone is equal in this country financial, however, with regards to Constitutional rights, everyone is equal. Every now and then there are legal battles where people feel their rights were infringed upon (such as Ferguson vs. The City of Charleston) but these get ironed out and such cases can then be called upon in the future to further everyone’s equal rights.
These equal rights are what allow people to be free and choose what they want to do. This freedom should not be taken away because people might then be forced to do things that they would not enjoy, and since you only live once, why do something you This right to freedom is considered inherent in America, which is why it is considered such a great nation and a bastion for those wishing to escape prejudice and slavery. People who are constantly oppressed are also more likely to rise up and overthrow their masters, whereas people who are free can pursue their dreams and become what they want. Freedom should be inherent in every nation, but regrettably it’s not and that is why the thirteen colonies broke off from the British Empire.
My rights are all that are listed in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, the Amendments and more. They include freedom of speech, religion and assembly as well as the right to bear arms and resist self- incrimination. These are the reasons that I enjoy being an American so much and love the country I am in. My rights have never truly been infringed upon or taken away but I have felt that people have not respected my opinions on what my rights are. Whether it is my stance on gun control or gay rights people will always argue. This irritates me that they go to the extent to try and convince me that I am wrong without fully checking out their own ideas, but it is their right to do so based on the First Amendment.
Due to their rights within the First Amendment it is sometimes hard to convince people that they are wrong or that the way they are putting their ideas out there are wrong. This is because there is no way to stop them from saying it. They can say whatever they want and when you argue or tell them not to say it they can simply respond with “It’s my First Amendment right,” which also tends to lead to the problem that people do not think about what they are saying before they say it. Because they have the protection of the First Amendment they can say whatever they want without thinking about it and eventually get used to it, saying whatever comes to mind without fully examining the idea because they really don’t have to.
People have always had the ability to overthrow their government, as long as they do so in large enough numbers. This isn’t something that should be done on a whim, however, only being done when the government is completely and truly oppressing either all of its citizens or a large portion of them. This revoking of human’s rights is a viable reason to revolt because humans should never have to live without their inherent rights.
These equal rights are what allow people to be free and choose what they want to do. This freedom should not be taken away because people might then be forced to do things that they would not enjoy, and since you only live once, why do something you This right to freedom is considered inherent in America, which is why it is considered such a great nation and a bastion for those wishing to escape prejudice and slavery. People who are constantly oppressed are also more likely to rise up and overthrow their masters, whereas people who are free can pursue their dreams and become what they want. Freedom should be inherent in every nation, but regrettably it’s not and that is why the thirteen colonies broke off from the British Empire.
My rights are all that are listed in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, the Amendments and more. They include freedom of speech, religion and assembly as well as the right to bear arms and resist self- incrimination. These are the reasons that I enjoy being an American so much and love the country I am in. My rights have never truly been infringed upon or taken away but I have felt that people have not respected my opinions on what my rights are. Whether it is my stance on gun control or gay rights people will always argue. This irritates me that they go to the extent to try and convince me that I am wrong without fully checking out their own ideas, but it is their right to do so based on the First Amendment.
Due to their rights within the First Amendment it is sometimes hard to convince people that they are wrong or that the way they are putting their ideas out there are wrong. This is because there is no way to stop them from saying it. They can say whatever they want and when you argue or tell them not to say it they can simply respond with “It’s my First Amendment right,” which also tends to lead to the problem that people do not think about what they are saying before they say it. Because they have the protection of the First Amendment they can say whatever they want without thinking about it and eventually get used to it, saying whatever comes to mind without fully examining the idea because they really don’t have to.
People have always had the ability to overthrow their government, as long as they do so in large enough numbers. This isn’t something that should be done on a whim, however, only being done when the government is completely and truly oppressing either all of its citizens or a large portion of them. This revoking of human’s rights is a viable reason to revolt because humans should never have to live without their inherent rights.
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