Thursday, February 28, 2008
2/28/08 Warm Up
I agree that a worthy cause won't be sunk by an inept poster, but it won't succeed because of a good poster either. I can't think of any examples that have made me think about an issue differently. Maybe I am more of a free thinker and less gullible compared to the average person, who these posters are trying to speak to. If there is an issue that a poster is trying to inform or persuade me on, I probably already have my own information and opinion about it, maybe I am just stubborn.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Homework for 2/26/08
Car Culture:
To me, my vehicle is just transportation and nothing more, but maybe that would change if I had more money or options choosing a car. Cars do say a lot about their owners, but mostly about what they can afford and what they value.
It is interesting to compare the Prius and the Hummer, they are complete opposites on so many levels. One is small and efficient, and conscientious of the environment, while the other is larger, a sign of wealth and excess, a symbol that reflects the American population's views. So what if it has poor gas mileage and gas prices are pretty much always rising, you can show off your success and money by driving that monstrosity that no one should really be driving in the first place. This first article mainly focuses on celebrities and these two cars, but I would rather hear more about the average person who purchases one of these two cars.
The second article focuses on women's influence on car design, but it starts out by pointing out how they are statistically make up a larger portion of automobile buyers, or at least those who finance them. The article states that since women are buying cars, they want to try and meet their needs best, when it really comes down to these companies trying to find ways to sell more cars. As I read the whole thing I felt that all the features on the car designed for and by women was very comparable to the "pink" cars and then at the end the author made the same analogy. I feel that it is very sexist and wrong to think about "women who want what a man wants in a car" or "what does the everywoman want in a car" but instead these companies should focus on what anyone would want in a car, regardless of any demographic, and just making something that is a good product.
I think the odd car designs mentioned in the third article definitely show the trend of car designers making modern and odd shaped cars that are eye-catching, and rememberable, even if some people call them ugly. I do not find it hard to believe at all that a car with a unique design sells more than a plain car. Since more car makers are making unique designs, there are more options to choose from today than there were before, so I guess this is good and people get their sense of originality, and the companies are making big bucks.
To me, my vehicle is just transportation and nothing more, but maybe that would change if I had more money or options choosing a car. Cars do say a lot about their owners, but mostly about what they can afford and what they value.
It is interesting to compare the Prius and the Hummer, they are complete opposites on so many levels. One is small and efficient, and conscientious of the environment, while the other is larger, a sign of wealth and excess, a symbol that reflects the American population's views. So what if it has poor gas mileage and gas prices are pretty much always rising, you can show off your success and money by driving that monstrosity that no one should really be driving in the first place. This first article mainly focuses on celebrities and these two cars, but I would rather hear more about the average person who purchases one of these two cars.
The second article focuses on women's influence on car design, but it starts out by pointing out how they are statistically make up a larger portion of automobile buyers, or at least those who finance them. The article states that since women are buying cars, they want to try and meet their needs best, when it really comes down to these companies trying to find ways to sell more cars. As I read the whole thing I felt that all the features on the car designed for and by women was very comparable to the "pink" cars and then at the end the author made the same analogy. I feel that it is very sexist and wrong to think about "women who want what a man wants in a car" or "what does the everywoman want in a car" but instead these companies should focus on what anyone would want in a car, regardless of any demographic, and just making something that is a good product.
I think the odd car designs mentioned in the third article definitely show the trend of car designers making modern and odd shaped cars that are eye-catching, and rememberable, even if some people call them ugly. I do not find it hard to believe at all that a car with a unique design sells more than a plain car. Since more car makers are making unique designs, there are more options to choose from today than there were before, so I guess this is good and people get their sense of originality, and the companies are making big bucks.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Topic Proposal
1. Return Baggage by Wislawa Szymborska
2. It is a tragedy that some children have died young and will be missing out on a lot of things in life.
3. I think the first three stanzas are the most important to this text.
4. "Like wealthy people passing slums" "Here lie little Zosia, Zacek, Dominik" "Malgorzata.." "Rafalek.." "Zuzia..." "stripped of the sun, the moon, the clouds, the turning seasons." "Didn't stash much in their return bags.." "Small scale naughtiness.." "Before they grew to.." "Darkness, a light bulb's flash, then dark again?" "KOSMOS MAKROS CHRONOS PARADOKSOS"
5. No
6. The features described in 4 contribute to message by making you think about what is being said, give you a better image, and accent the seriousness of the situation.
Theses:
In this poem the narrator speaks as if he is walking through a cemetary and is thinking about the children that have died young, the value of life, the things that they are missing, how they died, and the brevity of life.
2. It is a tragedy that some children have died young and will be missing out on a lot of things in life.
3. I think the first three stanzas are the most important to this text.
4. "Like wealthy people passing slums" "Here lie little Zosia, Zacek, Dominik" "Malgorzata.." "Rafalek.." "Zuzia..." "stripped of the sun, the moon, the clouds, the turning seasons." "Didn't stash much in their return bags.." "Small scale naughtiness.." "Before they grew to.." "Darkness, a light bulb's flash, then dark again?" "KOSMOS MAKROS CHRONOS PARADOKSOS"
5. No
6. The features described in 4 contribute to message by making you think about what is being said, give you a better image, and accent the seriousness of the situation.
Theses:
In this poem the narrator speaks as if he is walking through a cemetary and is thinking about the children that have died young, the value of life, the things that they are missing, how they died, and the brevity of life.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Homework for 2/07/08
Inhabiting and Transforming a Poem:
1.
Character
by Taslima Nasrim
You're a girl
and you'd better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.
If you've got no character
you'll turn back,
and if not
you'll keep going
as you're going now.
2. I'm not a girl but this is still interesting to me, especially how it categorizes men and how they treat women. I think this poem is sexist against men, assuming all men are sexist against women. I do understand how some men treat women, these are men who have no character in my opinion. If the girl has character then she will react to it in a different way than one who does not.
3. Don't forget that you're a girl when you go into the world and see how men treat you. The further you go, the worse they become, but if you have character, you won't be affected by this.
4. The narrator is an unknown guiding figure that is giving advice to a young/younger girl. Maybe the voice is one that speaks from experience to her daughter.
5. The theme of the poem is character, and this is given away by the name of the poem and the last stanza. Character is being yourself and going against the wrong in the world.
Sonny's Blues:
This story plays off a lot of keywords like darkness, laughter/smile, children, and music. To me it is about being young and happy as a child, then growing up to realize the darkness and sadness in the world and life and of your eventual death. Music is often referred to when Sonny is around or being spoken about, since he is the musician in the story. Darkness is referred to throughout the story and not only about nighttime, sadness is referred to as darkness. The beginning of the story talks about children's laughter and then later there are flashbacks to the narrator's childhood.
1.
Character
by Taslima Nasrim
You're a girl
and you'd better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.
If you've got no character
you'll turn back,
and if not
you'll keep going
as you're going now.
2. I'm not a girl but this is still interesting to me, especially how it categorizes men and how they treat women. I think this poem is sexist against men, assuming all men are sexist against women. I do understand how some men treat women, these are men who have no character in my opinion. If the girl has character then she will react to it in a different way than one who does not.
3. Don't forget that you're a girl when you go into the world and see how men treat you. The further you go, the worse they become, but if you have character, you won't be affected by this.
4. The narrator is an unknown guiding figure that is giving advice to a young/younger girl. Maybe the voice is one that speaks from experience to her daughter.
5. The theme of the poem is character, and this is given away by the name of the poem and the last stanza. Character is being yourself and going against the wrong in the world.
Sonny's Blues:
This story plays off a lot of keywords like darkness, laughter/smile, children, and music. To me it is about being young and happy as a child, then growing up to realize the darkness and sadness in the world and life and of your eventual death. Music is often referred to when Sonny is around or being spoken about, since he is the musician in the story. Darkness is referred to throughout the story and not only about nighttime, sadness is referred to as darkness. The beginning of the story talks about children's laughter and then later there are flashbacks to the narrator's childhood.
Homework for 02/05/08
Videotape:
This is an interesting short story and I really enjoyed the way it was written. It had a dark realistic feel and the words show and evoke emotion and maybe even memories from the reader. You feel as if you are the girl filming the video tape and as if you are the man watching the videotape. The man watches the video tape over and over when it is shown on tv because people like to see violence and gore. Television has become increasingly violent over the years and Horror movies are filled with much more gore than before because of this.
Sonny's Blues:
This story is called Sonny's blues, and it is about A man and his brother's lives and their relationship, and its about Sonny's sadness, and the narrator's own. Sonny is a jazz musician who becomes a drug addict. The narrator and his brother Sonny both have lived lives full of death and sadness. From the death of their parents, to the death of the narrator's daughter. The narrator talks of his life, his brothers life and their fights. It's a very sad story and was almost difficult to read because of this. At the end of the story the Narrator sees Sonny play the piano and how it makes him feel, he really puts his soul into his playing becomes really happy when he gets back into playing. Music plays a big role in this story and its referenced many times, and so is the word darkness. That's what I got out of this story, music and darkness.
Lost in The Funhouse:
This is a very confusing to read story. I think there were a lot of metaphors and analogies I probably did not get when I read it either. The story is about a 13 year old boy and his family trip to Ocean City, where believe it or not he gets lost in the funhouse. The write breaks the fourth wall a lot in the story and talks about the writing, what is being done with it, and criticizes it. There are a lot of things that go on in the writing that I don't think actually happened either, so that also makes it confusing. This story definitely takes more than one reading to fully comprehend.
This is an interesting short story and I really enjoyed the way it was written. It had a dark realistic feel and the words show and evoke emotion and maybe even memories from the reader. You feel as if you are the girl filming the video tape and as if you are the man watching the videotape. The man watches the video tape over and over when it is shown on tv because people like to see violence and gore. Television has become increasingly violent over the years and Horror movies are filled with much more gore than before because of this.
Sonny's Blues:
This story is called Sonny's blues, and it is about A man and his brother's lives and their relationship, and its about Sonny's sadness, and the narrator's own. Sonny is a jazz musician who becomes a drug addict. The narrator and his brother Sonny both have lived lives full of death and sadness. From the death of their parents, to the death of the narrator's daughter. The narrator talks of his life, his brothers life and their fights. It's a very sad story and was almost difficult to read because of this. At the end of the story the Narrator sees Sonny play the piano and how it makes him feel, he really puts his soul into his playing becomes really happy when he gets back into playing. Music plays a big role in this story and its referenced many times, and so is the word darkness. That's what I got out of this story, music and darkness.
Lost in The Funhouse:
This is a very confusing to read story. I think there were a lot of metaphors and analogies I probably did not get when I read it either. The story is about a 13 year old boy and his family trip to Ocean City, where believe it or not he gets lost in the funhouse. The write breaks the fourth wall a lot in the story and talks about the writing, what is being done with it, and criticizes it. There are a lot of things that go on in the writing that I don't think actually happened either, so that also makes it confusing. This story definitely takes more than one reading to fully comprehend.
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