Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Unrelated blog 2
My roommate just moved out today and almost all my other friends as well. This made me think a lot about moving out and studying for my calculus test tonight. In highschool we could enjoy the end of the year so much more. There was the last week of school where it was layed back and we got to kind of just hang out with friends and not worry about finals or anything. Then, there was finals week after that. The time was compartmentalized. A lot of these people I probably will never see again. We all say we're going to stay in touch but the reality of it is that we are all far too busy to do that. We want to hang out and spend our last few days all together before we separate for the summer, but we are all way to stressed out and studying like crazy to do that. There's obviously no way to change this but I just miss being able to just hang out without worrying to study for that calculus final that's still looming over my head right now.
Unrelated blog 1
Coming from New York down to Virginia, it's very interesting to see the different types of baseball fans when it comes to the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Since we aren't near NYC or Boston, it's a toss up to what people think. For some reason, I run into more Boston fans than Yankee fans and I get a lot of crap for it. Watching the Sox sweep the Yankees a few weeks ago was terrible of course, but watching it with four Boston fans and no other Yankees was even worse.
There are two types of fans: baseball fans and Red Sox fans. Red Sox nation is the most bandwagon thing I have ever seen. No one liked the Red Sox (unless you lived in Boston) until 2004 when they won their first world series since 1918 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Every single Sox fan says I like the Red Sox, and every team that plays the Yankees OR I like baseball...but I hate the Yankees...so I like Boston. It's so stupid. We have to defend our team when we shouldn't have to. 26 World Series to 7? I don't think that's close at all. Yes, we do have the most expensive roster, but the Red Sox are right behind us. When both fans watch a game, the yankees will get a hit and red sox fan pouts and complains and we just cheer for our team. But once red sox get the lead they not only cheer for their team but trash talk us the whole rest of the lead. It's ridiculous. Yes, I prefer the Yankees by a long shot, but I respect the Red Sox and still think they are a very good team. I am a baseball fan... not a Red Sox hater.
There are two types of fans: baseball fans and Red Sox fans. Red Sox nation is the most bandwagon thing I have ever seen. No one liked the Red Sox (unless you lived in Boston) until 2004 when they won their first world series since 1918 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Every single Sox fan says I like the Red Sox, and every team that plays the Yankees OR I like baseball...but I hate the Yankees...so I like Boston. It's so stupid. We have to defend our team when we shouldn't have to. 26 World Series to 7? I don't think that's close at all. Yes, we do have the most expensive roster, but the Red Sox are right behind us. When both fans watch a game, the yankees will get a hit and red sox fan pouts and complains and we just cheer for our team. But once red sox get the lead they not only cheer for their team but trash talk us the whole rest of the lead. It's ridiculous. Yes, I prefer the Yankees by a long shot, but I respect the Red Sox and still think they are a very good team. I am a baseball fan... not a Red Sox hater.
They Say, I Say Chapter 5 Ex. 1
Julie Charlip uses other people's opinions to qualify her statements. Her first sentence quotes Marx and Engel. She gives information from different views than her own. When talking about her own opinions, she uses general statements like "it seems that..." and "If only that were true..." She doesn't take her opinions out of thin air, but bases them off of other people and then broadens her statements.
Primary Sources
Boy Meets World. Created by Michael Jacobs. Perf. Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, William Daniels. ABC. 1993.
Boy Meets World was one of my all-time favorite shows when I was growing up. It was the highlight of my Friday night because at that time, it was on TGIF on ABC. Friday’s were a time for family. No one was working late, my sister didn’t have dance, and I didn’t have any sports practices. Every Friday we would eat dinner and then make popcorn and have our own little individual popcorn bowls and watch TGIF together. I feel like families don’t spend quality time together anymore and I think they should. This is one memory I will definitely treasure for my whole life.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar was the first book I could ever read. My mom told me that she used to read it to me when I was a baby and when I was old enough to start learning how to read, this was the book she taught me with. I think it’s a huge part of my childhood. This may be a little dramatic, but without this book, I may never have learned how to read.
At night, before I went to bed, my mom would always read me a story. My favorite, which I made her read every night, was Love You Forever. I just thought it was funny how the little baby would chuck stuff down the toilet and the mom wouldn’t get mad. I wished that my mom wouldn’t get mad when I did that (and yes I tested it out). The only bad thing about it was that every time my mom read the story she cried and I never knew why. Obviously, now I know. She didn’t want my sister and me to grow up. She wanted us to stay little forever but I knew that the title of the book was right; she would always love us forever.
I remember waking up every morning at the crack of dawn to watch my favorite TV shows before I had to go to the babysitter. I still to this day have no idea how children can get up so early and have that much energy all day. But anyways, one of my favorite shows was Sharon, Lois, and Bram’s Elephant Show. It came on right after Mr. Roger’s changed his sweater and said goodbye to the neighborhood. I knew I would see him tomorrow anyway. Sharon, Lois, and Bram always kick started my day with songs and jokes that I would later talk to my friends about before naptime. This show was definitely one of the highlights of my childhood.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
They Say, I Say - Chapter 4 ex.1
In the passage from "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" written by Jean Anyon, she discusses what scholars say about the differences of education within social classes. For example, Bowles and Gintis state "the working classes for docility and obedience, the managerial classes for initiative and personal assertiveness", meaning that the upper class are trained for the higher up, harder jobsm while the middle to lower classes are trained and educated for the less demanding, easier jobs. Anyon agrees with this statement, however she disagrees with it as well. She says that "there has been little or no attempt to investigate these ideas empirically in elementary or secondary schools and classrooms in this country." So Jean Anyon is both agreeing and disagreeing.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Exercise 7.j in C@VT
1 - "Fighting the Downfall: Youth and Rebellion Between 1987 and 1997" most resembles an article from a magazine. The layout of this paper is something you would see in a magazine like Rolling Stone or People. The way the author has specific quotes bold and in a bigger font in random parts of the paper makes the paper stand out more as a magazine article. The way the pictures are layed out and captioned makes the paper resemble a magazine article as well.
2 - The way the paper is portrayed definitely affects the way the audience reads it. The audience may stop at a specific point to study the pictures and read the captions. Also, the way the certain phrases are bigger and bold may cause the reader to stop and ponder what the author is saying.
3 - The paper would probably be a lot more boring to look at and the reader may not read all the way through. Because the author put pictures and phrases within the writing, it is more visually appealing to the reader and in turn makes the reader want to continue reading.
2 - The way the paper is portrayed definitely affects the way the audience reads it. The audience may stop at a specific point to study the pictures and read the captions. Also, the way the certain phrases are bigger and bold may cause the reader to stop and ponder what the author is saying.
3 - The paper would probably be a lot more boring to look at and the reader may not read all the way through. Because the author put pictures and phrases within the writing, it is more visually appealing to the reader and in turn makes the reader want to continue reading.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Persepolis Movie Review
I have never really heard of “Persepolis” until I was in English 1106. I thought it was really interesting, yet somewhat strange, that such a serious topic was portrayed in a graphic novel. After reading, however, I was blown away. I think this is probably one of the best ways to depict a situation like this. Since I had never heard of the novel, I definitely didn’t know there was a movie to go along with it.
I’m not going to lie, I had very different expectations of this film. I thought it was going to be a lot different than it actually was. When the lights dimmed down and the projector started running, I was expecting real, live people to pop up and start telling the story of a little girl caught in the middle of the Iranian revolution. I was hugely mistaken. It was like the comic all over again. I was a little disappointed because I didn’t think that the film would be all that great animated. It didn’t even seem animated compared to the amazing digital graphics we have today. It was almost as if it was the comic in a flipbook style. The way the pictures moved throughout the film was like a bunch of drawings shown really fast one after the other.
After I got over the fact that there weren’t actual people in the film, I began to watch it a little bit closer. The way the movie was portrayed isn’t really the traditional way of showing a film. This ties in to the reasoning for the graphic novel as well. It makes you think a little more than you would for a blockbuster film.
The film was clearly made for a French audience, yet somehow I feel like the subtitles made the movie that much better. I felt like I had to concentrate that much more on the movie and the meaning, rather than just becoming a vegetable right when the movie starts rolling.
The film starts off in present time. The characters are in color, and if you haven’t read the book, you don’t really know what’s going on. Then, Marji starts to recall the past, and that is when the story really starts. It all starts when she is a little girl. The revolution hasn’t quite started yet, but people are starting to rise up. The story goes on to tell about Marji’s life as she becomes a young woman.
The comic is quite different than the film. Of course, not everything that is written down on paper will be in the film, but there are some things that aren’t in the text either. For example, some of the language in the movie is a little more on the explicit side, whereas the text might not be able to show that.
Some scenes in the movie were a lot more drawn out than in the text. For example, when the police pulled Marji’s family over and followed them to their house, the film took more time to explain what actually happened. The novel just said that they emptied the bottles, and that was it. On the contrary, there are many scenes that are more drawn out in the text. When Marji’s family is visiting with their family friends, and the husband is telling everyone about his torture in jail, we get a lot more description in the comic.
An actual movie critic would probably have a lot more to say about this than any amateur Virginia Tech freshman. However, we have all read the book and watched the movie, which makes our credibility fairly outstanding. I would definitely recommend either the graphic novel or the film to anyone, not just people who like graphic novels, or the Iranian revolution. This novel and/or film should be read and/or watched sometime in a person’s life.
I’m not going to lie, I had very different expectations of this film. I thought it was going to be a lot different than it actually was. When the lights dimmed down and the projector started running, I was expecting real, live people to pop up and start telling the story of a little girl caught in the middle of the Iranian revolution. I was hugely mistaken. It was like the comic all over again. I was a little disappointed because I didn’t think that the film would be all that great animated. It didn’t even seem animated compared to the amazing digital graphics we have today. It was almost as if it was the comic in a flipbook style. The way the pictures moved throughout the film was like a bunch of drawings shown really fast one after the other.
After I got over the fact that there weren’t actual people in the film, I began to watch it a little bit closer. The way the movie was portrayed isn’t really the traditional way of showing a film. This ties in to the reasoning for the graphic novel as well. It makes you think a little more than you would for a blockbuster film.
The film was clearly made for a French audience, yet somehow I feel like the subtitles made the movie that much better. I felt like I had to concentrate that much more on the movie and the meaning, rather than just becoming a vegetable right when the movie starts rolling.
The film starts off in present time. The characters are in color, and if you haven’t read the book, you don’t really know what’s going on. Then, Marji starts to recall the past, and that is when the story really starts. It all starts when she is a little girl. The revolution hasn’t quite started yet, but people are starting to rise up. The story goes on to tell about Marji’s life as she becomes a young woman.
The comic is quite different than the film. Of course, not everything that is written down on paper will be in the film, but there are some things that aren’t in the text either. For example, some of the language in the movie is a little more on the explicit side, whereas the text might not be able to show that.
Some scenes in the movie were a lot more drawn out than in the text. For example, when the police pulled Marji’s family over and followed them to their house, the film took more time to explain what actually happened. The novel just said that they emptied the bottles, and that was it. On the contrary, there are many scenes that are more drawn out in the text. When Marji’s family is visiting with their family friends, and the husband is telling everyone about his torture in jail, we get a lot more description in the comic.
An actual movie critic would probably have a lot more to say about this than any amateur Virginia Tech freshman. However, we have all read the book and watched the movie, which makes our credibility fairly outstanding. I would definitely recommend either the graphic novel or the film to anyone, not just people who like graphic novels, or the Iranian revolution. This novel and/or film should be read and/or watched sometime in a person’s life.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Suggestions for Writing 2
Both reviews for the movie Spider-Man 2 were very thorough, yet came from very different angles. Gilchrist first described the way in which you should go about writing a movie review, then moved into summarizing the actual film. Later, he expressed his own personal views about the movie with different examples. However, right from the start, Ebert jumped into how great he thought the film was. He expressed his love of the movie and then moved on to give some background information and his opinions of the first film. Later, he summarized the film, very thoroughly I might add, and then brings it back around with his enthusiasm to recommend this film to anyone and everyone.
The reviews channeled in on a lot of the same things. Each talked about the relationship of the movie to the original comic, the special effects, and plot development. However, they each had very different opinions about those things. I felt like Gilchrist picked out every possible little flaw for each of these, whereas Ebert praised them continuously. I think it's safe to say that the only thing these two critics agreed on was that the movie was about a superhero named Spider-Man.
Gilchrist describes the camera's being "no more free than here", meaning that the cameras jumped into the action a little too much. Also, he describes the script in the non action scenes to be slow moving and some scenes as almost pointless. Ebert, on the other hand, thinks the action scenes are better than ever. The way Spidey moves through the skyscrapers is less comic like and more real life. And the way he praises the non action scenes, you would think that he wanted to jump into the scenes himself. He loved the subtle details that made the movie more in depth and added more drama to the mix.
In the end, it all depends on what a person likes. Do you like the deeper, dramatic scenes in action films, or would you rather it be pure action and nothing else? Do you want the special effects to be as real as ever, or would you have them have a direct connection to the 1970s comic? Again, it all comes down to what you prefer. The critics did a very good job of challenging the reader to think for him- or herself, wondering if they actually enjoyed the second Spider-Man movie, or if they should wait for Spider-Man 3 so they can rekindle the respect that Spidey deserves.
The reviews channeled in on a lot of the same things. Each talked about the relationship of the movie to the original comic, the special effects, and plot development. However, they each had very different opinions about those things. I felt like Gilchrist picked out every possible little flaw for each of these, whereas Ebert praised them continuously. I think it's safe to say that the only thing these two critics agreed on was that the movie was about a superhero named Spider-Man.
Gilchrist describes the camera's being "no more free than here", meaning that the cameras jumped into the action a little too much. Also, he describes the script in the non action scenes to be slow moving and some scenes as almost pointless. Ebert, on the other hand, thinks the action scenes are better than ever. The way Spidey moves through the skyscrapers is less comic like and more real life. And the way he praises the non action scenes, you would think that he wanted to jump into the scenes himself. He loved the subtle details that made the movie more in depth and added more drama to the mix.
In the end, it all depends on what a person likes. Do you like the deeper, dramatic scenes in action films, or would you rather it be pure action and nothing else? Do you want the special effects to be as real as ever, or would you have them have a direct connection to the 1970s comic? Again, it all comes down to what you prefer. The critics did a very good job of challenging the reader to think for him- or herself, wondering if they actually enjoyed the second Spider-Man movie, or if they should wait for Spider-Man 3 so they can rekindle the respect that Spidey deserves.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Persepolis
I never knew a whole lot about the Iranian revolution until I read Persepolis. I was shocked at how brutal and violent it was. I mean of course I knew that a lot of people died and it lasted a long time, but I didn't know that it was so horrific.
Reading the graphic novel completely changed my outlook. I think that it got the point across a lot stronger than a regular prose would simply because of the graphics. It is a lot more blunt and to the point. In the graphics, the author depicts things literally exactly how she sees them.
I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. To be honest, I actually thought it was going to be real actors and not just a cartoon. It was a lot different than other animated films that I have seen. I'm pretty sure that all the cartoons I've seen do not scream prostitute and cuss words randomly. It showed a lot more than the novel because it can fill in those gutters. The film also shows a lot more detail that the novel doesn't necessarily have time for. I liked the movie. I would probably watch it again and possibly read the graphic novel again too.
Reading the graphic novel completely changed my outlook. I think that it got the point across a lot stronger than a regular prose would simply because of the graphics. It is a lot more blunt and to the point. In the graphics, the author depicts things literally exactly how she sees them.
I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. To be honest, I actually thought it was going to be real actors and not just a cartoon. It was a lot different than other animated films that I have seen. I'm pretty sure that all the cartoons I've seen do not scream prostitute and cuss words randomly. It showed a lot more than the novel because it can fill in those gutters. The film also shows a lot more detail that the novel doesn't necessarily have time for. I liked the movie. I would probably watch it again and possibly read the graphic novel again too.
Friday, February 6, 2009
They Say I Say Ch 1 Ex 1
A) Recent studies show that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.
B) The editor believes the novel has certain flaws
C) Many people think football is boring.
D)Many women think that male students dominate class discussions.
E) Many critics believe that the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships..
F) Some people believe that the templates in this book will stifle their creativity.
B) The editor believes the novel has certain flaws
C) Many people think football is boring.
D)Many women think that male students dominate class discussions.
E) Many critics believe that the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships..
F) Some people believe that the templates in this book will stifle their creativity.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Eisner and McCloud
After reading the Eisner and McCloud articles, I've changed my opinion on comic books. I always thought they were for little kids or, not to be stereotypical but, nerds. They always reminded me of those comic book conventions also. However, I never realized how many great movies that I have actually watched that are based on graphic novels. I actually didn't even know that there were graphic novels that weren't just like the comics that are in the newspaper every Sunday. Now, I've gained a lot more respect for this type of literature. It is a completely different way of describing details and feelings. I feel that it keeps the reader much more engaged because it's not just line after line of words on a page. I am looking forward to the change that this class has in store. I'm so used to having to read boring book after boring book in my English classes. This will be a nice adjustment from what I am used to.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
pg. 62 4.m - Exploring Your Own Writing Process
Depending on the topic, my essay writing will either start with a pen or a keyboard. If it's short and to the point, one to two pages, I will just type away. If it's a little bit longer and has more detail, I will create an outline on paper, writing down my main points, so I will remember everything I want to write about. I will sit at my desk if my room is quiet and put some music on.
I normally start off with an introduction that will capture the reader's attention. Although normally I always end up staring at my computer screen for at least a half hour. So then, I start to write the body of the essay, working on developing my main points and the other information in a very organized way. If something comes to me, I will go back to the introduction.
If there is a paragraph that has information that HAS to be in the essay, but I don't like the actual paragraph and how it was formatted, I will bold the paragraph and come back to it. If I'm stuck on something else or finished with the paper, I will go back to all the things I don't like and try to fix them.
Normally, I will write my entire paper out like it is the finished draft. That way, I will know exactly what I want to say and I can only get better from there. If my ideas aren't almost completely developed, I have a tendency of not remembering what I wanted to say.
I've never actually technically "workshopped" before. Normally, we just have peer review, where you switch papers with someone in your class and they critique it for you. Last semester, I had a really good peer review partner. We not only critiqued the normal grammatical errors and such, but we actually got together and bounced ideas off each other to make our papers better.
I normally start off with an introduction that will capture the reader's attention. Although normally I always end up staring at my computer screen for at least a half hour. So then, I start to write the body of the essay, working on developing my main points and the other information in a very organized way. If something comes to me, I will go back to the introduction.
If there is a paragraph that has information that HAS to be in the essay, but I don't like the actual paragraph and how it was formatted, I will bold the paragraph and come back to it. If I'm stuck on something else or finished with the paper, I will go back to all the things I don't like and try to fix them.
Normally, I will write my entire paper out like it is the finished draft. That way, I will know exactly what I want to say and I can only get better from there. If my ideas aren't almost completely developed, I have a tendency of not remembering what I wanted to say.
I've never actually technically "workshopped" before. Normally, we just have peer review, where you switch papers with someone in your class and they critique it for you. Last semester, I had a really good peer review partner. We not only critiqued the normal grammatical errors and such, but we actually got together and bounced ideas off each other to make our papers better.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Homework - January 26th
1) A workshop draft shouldn't necessarily have really good structure and good grammar. It should be more a mix of ideas in a general essay form. The main points and details should be there. The purpose is to put your ideas on paper and be able to have it critiqued for a better paper in the end. The audience should be whoever you are writing the final paper for, as well as the people in your workshop group. The purpose and audience for the workshop draft is different because it is more geared toward your peers as far as the audience goes. Also, the workshop draft, like I said before, is just a general essay form of all the information. The final draft should be geared toward a specific audience, not including your workshop group (unless that is the point of the essay). It should have all the important information, main points and details, in proper form, grammar, and structure.
2) If I was in a workshop group with the person who wrote Essay R, I would help him out with his paper by critiquing the spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, I would tell him that he should organize his information in a more "flowing" way so it will be easier to read and so it will make a lot more sense.
2) If I was in a workshop group with the person who wrote Essay R, I would help him out with his paper by critiquing the spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, I would tell him that he should organize his information in a more "flowing" way so it will be easier to read and so it will make a lot more sense.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Evaluation of Essay R
Essay R was written to provide the differences between professional wrestling in the past and present. The information itself is well researched, but the way the writer formed that information into the paper wasn't that good. I would give the paper a C- for the reasons that follow.
The writer probably should've read the Composition at Virginia Tech book before writing the paper. There are many punctuation errors, mostly consisting of the lack of commas. Many of the compound sentences do not have commas conjoining them like they are supposed to. Also, sequence words are supposed to have commas following them and the writer did not put these him. There are a few spelling mistakes which hinder my ability to read through the paper without noticing. The writer also could have used a broader range of vocabulary. The format of the paper wasn't very well organized. It kind of jumped from topic to topic making it a little bit hard to follow.
The writer also could have used a lot more sources. There were only three citations in the paper which seems like he didn't source everything that he researched.
Overall, I could tell that the writer was very passionate about his topic. It was quite informative but because of all the grammatical errors, it wasn't able to receive a grade that, with a little more effort, could have been received.
The writer probably should've read the Composition at Virginia Tech book before writing the paper. There are many punctuation errors, mostly consisting of the lack of commas. Many of the compound sentences do not have commas conjoining them like they are supposed to. Also, sequence words are supposed to have commas following them and the writer did not put these him. There are a few spelling mistakes which hinder my ability to read through the paper without noticing. The writer also could have used a broader range of vocabulary. The format of the paper wasn't very well organized. It kind of jumped from topic to topic making it a little bit hard to follow.
The writer also could have used a lot more sources. There were only three citations in the paper which seems like he didn't source everything that he researched.
Overall, I could tell that the writer was very passionate about his topic. It was quite informative but because of all the grammatical errors, it wasn't able to receive a grade that, with a little more effort, could have been received.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Comp@VT Exercise 2H
1) I imagine that the rhetorical situation . The writer's main purposes seem to be to analyze Gabriel McVey's editorial that was featured in the Collegiate Times. His audience's are his teacher and anyone who didn't read the editorial. I know because the analysis he wrote was for his 1106 English class, also the way he wrote his analysis, it seemed like he was speaking to college students.
2) The genre conventions I recognized in the text are argument, editorial, and report. I wrote two argumentative papers last semester in English 1105. I have written a number of reports for Engineering last semester and in high school. I have read many different argumentative newspaper and magazine articles as well as several editorials and numerous reports. Reports are most familiar to me as a convention.
3) The writer might have used persuasion in his rhetorical analysis. Argument gives the facts about the editorial but doesn't necessarily tell you if the editorial is effective or not. Persuasion also gives the facts but depending on the authors standpoint on the editorial may state more boldly if the editorial was effective or not.
4)The author could have used a different media, e.g. television. He could have read the article and then stated his rhetorical analysis and opinion. This would target audiences that aren't necessarily college students. The author would need to engage his audience more than he would if he just wrote a paper.
5)A teacher might use editorial to teach or inform his/her class. A social worker might use argument to place someone in a spot where they should be rather than a place that isn't safe. A scientist would use a report to express data and maybe an experiment or theory.
2) The genre conventions I recognized in the text are argument, editorial, and report. I wrote two argumentative papers last semester in English 1105. I have written a number of reports for Engineering last semester and in high school. I have read many different argumentative newspaper and magazine articles as well as several editorials and numerous reports. Reports are most familiar to me as a convention.
3) The writer might have used persuasion in his rhetorical analysis. Argument gives the facts about the editorial but doesn't necessarily tell you if the editorial is effective or not. Persuasion also gives the facts but depending on the authors standpoint on the editorial may state more boldly if the editorial was effective or not.
4)The author could have used a different media, e.g. television. He could have read the article and then stated his rhetorical analysis and opinion. This would target audiences that aren't necessarily college students. The author would need to engage his audience more than he would if he just wrote a paper.
5)A teacher might use editorial to teach or inform his/her class. A social worker might use argument to place someone in a spot where they should be rather than a place that isn't safe. A scientist would use a report to express data and maybe an experiment or theory.
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