Blog #43

The Beatles influenced my father during his youth. He grew up in Detroit with motown and great musical groups. He was very involved with music and even going to concerts at a local dance hall. He saw Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix and other great musicians that he hadn't even heard of before. The Beatles was one of his favorite bands and he remembers waiting in line to buy their record and hear their new songs. The Beatles were a huge band in more ways then we even know. They have influenced other music and musicians and even the public. They were the, "most popular rock band of the era." (Powerpoint Lecture Part Two, Lecture 14.) The band became an idol for my dad and made a huge impact on music. My dad went to a concert of theirs but said he couldn't even hear them perform because they girls were singing so loudly-they became the teen obsession. 

Blog #42

Here are some primary documents from my research into my family history. I have a lot of newspaper headlines from the actual event that happened. 

American Airline Crash 
This was a major airplane crash that left no survivors behind. President Kennedy became involved and contaced the Federal Aviation Agency and enlisting their help to prevent this from ever happening again.
Kennedy Assassination 
This happened right as my father came to America. Here he was in a new country living his life on the promise of a better future and the president is shot to death. Of course we all know about Kennedy's assassination and how Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder and later shot. 
What stands out to me the most is the fact that my father came to America for a better life but one of his first memories was the assassination of Kennedy. It didn't matter where in the country or even the world you were, that was a major and shocking event that happened. My father remembers being at gym class in school. Now I think I might want to interview my dad about school and what it was like when he first started going there and Kennedy assassination can be tied into that since he found out as he was at school.

Blog #41

"As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped the, on his pants, and resumed his activities."

This quote comes from To Kill A Mockingbird. I decided to go with this quote because the scissor scene of the kids- Jem, Scout, and Dill- creating a play about their neighbors, the Radley's had stood out to me. I thought it was a very vivid description and a wild rumor to spread around the town.

With this quote I want to take a more literal or even graphic approach about the scissors. I might play around with the idea of bloody scissors or open scissors read to cut. I want to take key words from the sentence and put them in the scissors or have them form the scissors.

Blog #40

My engine for my article is how can my experience change my own perspective? How can people fall into a life of crime? Can I overcome my fears and just enjoy internship?

Honors Essay #8

Harper Lee uses literary devises such as, paradox, contrast, and character development in To Kill A Mockingbird, to develop a theme that characters have the ability to successfully work through social issues and prejudices in their personal lives, even if they cannot do that in the courtroom. Lee allows us into a world where social injustices our brought to the readers attention through racism, social class, and a mysterious neighbor.  Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, spearheads the injustice train—it seems only fitting, as he is a lawyer.

Blog #39

My quote is "Heads," from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It comes up right in the beginning of the play and is kind of the joke to start off the play. It continues on throughout the play and I decided to pick this quote because of its humor within the play.

Blog #38

Here is the article I chose.

I decided on this article because we have been talking a lot about Foxconn. I was first exposed to Foxconn when we read an article about Apple and where their products are made. It talked about the cost of production and how other countries are able to produce products faster and for a cheaper rate. But Foxconn seemed to be overworking and not fairly treating their employees. Employees reportedly had to work two shifts in a row, which is upwards, if not, twenty-four hours. They were also not paid for overtime and had to live on work grounds. The work environment reached such an extreme that Foxconn had to put nets around the buildings to prevent any further suicides. There had been more than thirteen in the previous year.

Blog #37

A great forum post allows for a discussion to take place between many people where different ideas can be thrown out about a question. A forum post that asks a question is great when the question is actually meaningful and can lead to a discussion that causes deep thinking. A forum that also brings up a view or opinion on a character or a specific part of the story is also a great post when there is supporting evidence and details for people to post their own opinions on.

Blog #36

Chapter 1:
"No thanks," said Miss Baker  to the four cocktails just in from the pantry, "I'm absolutely in training." Her host looked at her incredulously. "You are!" He took down his drink as if it were a drop in the bottom of a glass.

This except is in reference to the dinner party at Tom and Daisy's house. The book was written in 1922, a time when prohibition was in full swing. Prohibition was when the sale of alcohol was banned and illegal. Of course some alcohol was still made and known as moonshine. But at this party I do not believe that the Buchanan's were serving moonshine or even had it. Tom was very, very wealthy, and he probably had many connections and all the finances in the world to be able to get his hands on alcohol. Wealthy people had the ability to have alcohol because of their social connections and of course their money. 

Blog #35

What has stood out to me the most about The Great Gatsby has been the amount of information I have already learned about each character within the first ten or so pages. Fitzgerald does an incredible job of defining each character without blatantly saying this is the characteristic of this character. The way he writes and how he describes peoples' actions and how they think of themselves allows for the reader to dissect and understand what kind of character everyone is. 

Blog #34

What has stood out the most to me during the Newspaper mini-project has been all the stories that I have heard about the struggles that people have faced. I hadn't realized the hardships that people went though and the fight that was put up in order to be given what we see as basic rights. It is incredible to think that people gave their lives for eight hour work days and fair pay. It was them that allowed us to be where we are today.

The newspaper that stood out the most to be was Diego's group. Diego did a phenomenal  job of designing his spread. I could tell how much effort was put into the layout. He stayed after school and worked hard and also added special details that stood out. You can see the little design elements of people or arrows that added more effect and a graphic element to the paper. Visually it is very nice to look at and is impressive with all he was able to accomplish in such a short time.

Blog #33

One of the most interesting resources that I find was this website right here. I loved this one because it provided me with biographies of the eight anarchists charged with the bombing at the Haymarket Square. It also provided the testimony from the trial which was helpful for my article because I talked about the trial of the four anarchists.

Blog #32

If i lived in the late 1700's in colonial America I would like to live in Boston, Massachusetts because of the fast paced lifestyle and drama. It would be fun and interesting to be in a time when history was made, like the Boston Massacre. I need a place where I could be occupied and interested. As a woman I would be married by my 20's and starting a family. I love my family and would gladly take care of my household and children. My husband would be out fishing and farming in order to provide for us. Along with that I would learn how to cook and make my own soaps, my family is crafty so I would excel in that area. I would be at home with my children who would eventually help with daily chores and gardening vegetables and fruits that we would then use when cooking.

Blog #32

My internship was with a criminal defense attorney. If I was in the 1700's in colonial America there would be criminal defense lawyers but not women lawyers. Therefore I am going to act like her and I would be men in the 1700's. The best example of a defense attorney is John Adams. He famously defended the soldiers and the captain involved in the Boston Massacre. Much like my mentor, he defended those who were seen as bad and were not in favor to win. In fact, no one wanted to take the case but Adams decided he would. Marcee often takes cases that no one else will or will work hard for them, regardless of popular opinion. In the case of the Boston Massacre no one was in favor of the British but that didn't stop Adams from defending them based on the principle that everyone deserves the right to a fair trial.

Blog #31

What has stood out to me the most about the historical readings this semester were the different views of the world I have been exposed to and the new information. In the article about iPod's I was most surprised to learn about Foxconn. I already knew about sweatshops and the harsh conditions workers in other countries are put through, but to hear about Foxconn blew my mind. The fact that the building has to be surrounded in nets because of all the suicides that were occurring was absolutely insane. I had never heard of that before. If a problem is becoming so severe that nets are having to be put up to prevent suicides, something needs to be done. Putting up nets is only stopping them from being able to jump, not from being able to take their lives other ways or to do anything to prevent and help how employees are feeling. This shows me the lack or care and concern for workers in large production factories. Money and production seems to be the one thing that matters. Mass production and volume is what is needed. And it doesn't matter about how the employees are feeling. When suicides are happening they put up nets. Nets. It's appalling to me to think that that is someone's idea of a solution. But this is what I've been realizing through the readings. People care about power and money and that is what keeps the world moving. 

Blog #30

Goals:

1. I want to either take an SAT class and/or meet with Randy in order to improve my reading and writing score on the SAT before spring break starts.

2. By the end of the semester I would like to be able to write articles in the style of The New Yorker and be able to do this on my own. I want to continue with honors and meeting with Randy for critique.

3. For a weekly goal I would like to try and finish the majority of my homework and essays before the due dates. If things are due Friday I want to have it done by Wednesday or Thursday so that I am not rushing and have time to edit or go to office hours.