10-28-11 "This land is your land" by Woodie Guthrie

Guthrie's message is collectivist because he doesn't solely emphasize himself. He uses the phrase "this land was made for you and me" selflessly to show that he's not the only focus in the world.

This song is anit-government because Guthrie doesn't want the government to take his rights away. He doesn't think anyone can ever stop him. He doesn't care what the government thinks.

Journal- Aristotle's quote

"It is the mark of an eductaed mind to be able to entertain a thought withot accepting it."-Aristotle

I agree with this quote because having an open mind allows you to see multiple viewpoints on one particular subject. Those who are sternly opinionated tend not to consider other possibilities. Therefore, they lack the certain level of mental development that Aristotle describes.

Journal 10-26-11

Americans can sometimes be viewed as selfish and overly competitive. They can sometimess be hostile or superficial to members of other cultures. This may give off the impression that American friendships are not sincere. Capitalism has a major impact on that. In our money-driven society, friendship takes the back seat to success. Before you can worry about making friends, you have to make sure you put food on the table. This connects to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, where physiological needs take precedence before social needs.

Video Journal 10-25-11: Individual and Collectivist Cultures

1. Personality Traits:
Individual- hardworking, competitive, selfish
Collectivist- selfless, caring, social

2. I do think opinions for highly published PhD's are less likely to be challenged in both societies. However, the status given is very different. Individualist would see them both as leaders ans as competition, whereas collectivists would see them more as role models and colleagues.

3. A new teacher may find that she is no longer able to collaborate with other teachers on new assignments. Therefore, she would haveto come up with her own assignments in order to compete with the other teachers. This would cause her to be more private and selfish in her work.

4. A fellow colleague that shares the same career, interests, or beliefs. It has a negative connotation because instead of them being friends, they are merely colleagues in the same field.

1984 Book 2 Response

First of all, Winston is having difficult time accepting the words of Big Brother and The Party because he knows that they are full of lies. In fact, his profession is to replace the past truth with lies. He has bought into the system his entire life and now he is finally starting to realize that the government is lying to him. On the sixth day of hate week, for example, "at this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally". Obviously, Winston knows that this is a flat out lie by the government he works for. Just minutes earlier it was an established fact that Oceania had been at war with Eurasia. This is yet another attempt by the government to rewrite the past by substituting truth with lies.

Secondly, Winston's acts of mental questioning are not just acts of protests, they are by definition "thoughtcrime". Winston is generating thoughts that are detrimental to The Party's ideals. However, this is not only thoughtcrime. This is also "doublethink". For example, on page 176, Goldstein's book reads," Doublethink menas the power of holding teo contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. By generating contradictory thoughts while at the same time working for the Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith is comitting doublethink. While his protests might seem small to him, The Party views them as a major threat to their empire.

Lastly, Winston's rebellion and Occupy Wall Street, even with completely different motives, still share some of the basic principles of a "little guy" movement. Basically, both parties are fighting for equality.Winston and the 99% both claim to be under control by the bigger party. However, the adversity they both encounter is much different. Occupy Wall Street is simply over the fact that the rich are getting paid and the poor are missing out. Regardless of a lack of motive or reasoning, what the protestors really want is for the slope of income and tax breaks to be leveled so that they can make more money simply by standing with carboard signs in New York City. Winston Smith, on the other hand, is in danger of losing his grasp on what is real and what is a lie. The government keeps feeding him and everyone else rewritten past and flat out lies. However, Winston has no way of proving it. As far as everyone else knows, the new truth has always been the truth. Winston has finally had enough of it. He has come to the point that he would rather die than continue to be part of such a corrupt governmental system.

Listening Journal 10-21-11: "2+2=5" by Radiohead

This song is talking about how the narrator's world is full of lies and without truth. In his world, things aren't the way they should be. For example, "January has April's Showers" is a generally false statement made in the song. In reality, January is more of a snow and ice season than a rain season. This is also apparent in the title: "2+2=5", which is actually a false math equation.

The solemn and dreary tone the music creates helps push the message by showing that a life without truth is dark and lonely.

The 2+2=5 allusion goes back to 1984 when Winston said that if the government wanted to make 2+2=5, they could. This shows that the government has no regard for truth whatsoever.

Video Journal 10-19-11: Globalization

Conflict: The main conflict identified in the video is that Western Globalization is starting to overshadow indigenous cultures such as the culture of Muslim women. The reason this is a conflict is because the western culture does not agree with some of the customs women from Muslim parts of the world have. For example, the speaker mentions that women who wear a scarf to cover their face are generally discriminated against in Western cultures. The speaker proceeds to mention that women can sometimes be denied opportunities such as health care and education simply because they are muslims. When the speaker said that globalization flows one way, she meant that indigenous people must either conform to Western society or suffer the consequences of missing out on valuable opportunities. However, the speaker says that in her home in Saudi Arabia, she actually likes wearing the traditional dress because she can weak whatever she wants underneath. She also says that Muslims/Westerners live by two texts: The Quran and the Constitution.

First 88 Pages of "1984": Governmental Structure

In Orwell's 1984, the government is very invasive into making sure everyone follows the rules and that the government is always right. For example, the use of telescreens that pick up video and sound in every building is a complete violation of privacy only in place to protect the government from rebellion against The Party. If this weren't enough, Big Brother even uses the Ministry of Truth to rewrite incorrect statements made by the government in order to keep a sense of artificial trust with the citizens. However, this causes the government to substitute the truth for lies. Winston is one of the few people left who can still even distinguish the truth from the lies.

Writing Journal 10-11-11

1. Utopia- a feeling of a perfect world with no issues whatsoever

2.My ideal world is one with no hunger, war, pollution, or terrorism. In my world, no one would die young. Everyone would be able to sleep easy at night without worrying about being robbed, losing their houis, or not having enough to eat. No one would ever be harmed by anyone or anything. Everyone would have the freedom to live peacefully without fear. The world would be ever expanding, with new adventures, discoveries, and experiences.

3. My main song in the soundtrack would be "Somewhere over the Rainbow"

Listening Journal 9-30-11: "You were right"

3 claims with facts:

1. Comparison is the main literary device in the song.
-"All we are is dust in the wind"
-"We are all just bricks in the wall"

2. The music in the song gives off a helpless tone.
-There is a high pitched guitar in the background.

3. The song was effectinve in giving off a negative tone.
-The song combines comparisons with a mix of loud and soft musical compositions.

Art Journal: "Young Life" by Bo Bartlett

3 Claims with supporting fact:s
1. The man is a hunter
-He is holding a hunting rifle
2. The boy does not aspire to be a hunter
-He is not in an attacking position
3. The painting is taken on the edge of a forest/mountain landscape.
-The reflection of the hupcaps shows a  bunch of shrub looking fixtures.

In "Young Life", the boy does not aspire to be a hunter. First of all, the man represents hunting because he has a rifle and hunter's clothing. Likewise, the boy is separated in the painting from the main with those items. Secondly, the boy is not holding a rifle or dangerous weapon. Lastly, the boy is in a defensive stance rather than an attacking position. These facts all help show that the boys is not interested in becoming a hunter.

Listening Journal 9-26-11: "Shame" by the Avett Brothers

Subject- Forgiveness
Tone- Helpless

3 words that help push the tone:
-lift
-float
-fade
These help emphasize the burden of shame and how the speaker is floating away from a relationship

"Reading Critically" Summary

The intro of the passage educates the reader on how to get the most out of the piece. It advises the readers to eliminate all distractions and read in a quiet place. The first part of "Reading an Essay" is to examine the preliminaries. These can be simple like Title and Author. However, they can also include where and when the work was published. The passage then guides readers to "The Broken Chain" by M.F.K. Fisher. Readers are advised not to start off examining the piece, but to read "what Fisher has to say". The essay itself dealed with the subject of punishment on children by their parents. Fisher recalls her childhood when she was spanked, and said she was never actually beaten, however. After the selection, the passage advises readers to write while reading and gives tips on summarizing. The passage then switiches to the topic of critical thinking methods. These included Analysis, Inference, Synthesis, and Evaluation. It goes on to talk about Meaning, Writing Strategy, Language, and Visual Images.The passage advises readers to: get the big picture, Analyze, Infer, Synthesize, and Evaluate when reading.

American Tongues 9-19-11

1. Voice- The way one expresses oneself in writing

2. "Y'know the ....." IT's just more convient than the phrase "Do you know....."

3. I tend to talk around religion and politics. They are generally very fragile topics among people.

4. a. Voice is important in non-fiction because it helps create professionalism.
    b. Casual Phrases, Vulgarity, Slang, etc.

5. Practice writing more non-fiction phrases.

SOAPSTone: Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out by Dave Barry

S- The subject of this essay is the roles/attractions of both the sexes. In the first part of the essay, Barry identifies that women are attracted to cleaning. He mentions the idea of women being able to see individual molecules of dirt. On the other hand, Barry points out that men are more attracted to sports. He particularly highlights a party in which all of the men ends up watching the World Series away from their wives in a separate room.

O- The occasion for the essay was the changing roles of men and women throughout history. The norm in historical precedents usually follows a constant system. Women run the house while the men are away. The men are the bread earners and do minimal cleaning. However, Barry mentions that the civilization in Pompeii actually had men as the house cleaners.

A- The audience is indeed members of both genders. However, it is more specific than that. The audience is people who think the opposing gender's way of life is primitive. For example, women typically don't have a high place in their heart for sports. Men, on the other hand, frown upon microscopic cleaning. Barry's audience is truly divided.

P- The purpose of the essay is simple. It is to show the opposite members of each sex that the other sex thinks their way of life is primitive, even though they think the same way towards them. Men think life revolves around sports and that cleaning is for the birds. Women don't usually care about sports, but take a sense of pride in having a clean living environment. There are two sides to every story.

S- The speaker is author Dave Barry. He has written multiple humorous essays. Many of them poke fun at certain aspects of life. These include the overuse of facts and American politics. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for "distinguished commentary".

Tone- Barry's tone has two parts. On one hand, Barry writes humorously about he and his other male acquaintances tried to get out of a group conversation with their wives so that they could see the World Series on TV. This act was both desparate and hilarious. On the other hand, Barry shows a feeling of sensibility in his essay. He pokes fun at himself by showcasing his lack of deatil in cleaning the bathroom and how he complains about doing it. However, he realizes the other side of the argument. Women take a sense of pride in cleaning, and that must be respected.

Listening Journal from 9-15-11: PAIN vs The Beatles vs Dubstep

My opinion: I liked the Dubstep version because I thought the music variety was good. I heard both an opera-like sound and a techno sounde in the piece.

Aesthetically Pleasing: The Beatles original version is the most aesthetically pleasing because of it's simplicity. The other two versions had to much going on. This took away from the talented vocals, thus making it less aesthetically pleasing.

Kandinsky vs Pollack: Art Journal 9-12-11

1. I liked the Kandinsky painting better because their is a greater variety of shapes and colors. I also prefer geometrical abstract art over freeform abstract because it is more finite.

2. The Kandinsky painting is also more pleasing to look at because of the feeling it generates in the mind. It is more positive than the barren feeling generated from the Pollack painting.

Film Journal 9-9-11

Single Effect: A sense of community

3 specific things:
-pleasant acoustics
-the messages on the signs
-relationship of the sign workers

One change: Having the facial expressions be more positive may have indicated a greater sense of community early on. Instead, the beginning of the film expressed some isolation that would later be wiped away at the end.

"The Importance of the Single Effect" by Edgar Allen Poe

Summary: Poe basically goes through the mental dynamics of poetry. He examines different kinds of poems such as epics and rhyming poems. He offers his opinions on the topics and compares them to each other.

What I noticed: Poe seems to care strongly about the nature of poetry. He is very in depth and tries to show his respect to the nature of poetry. This was something that I hadn't felt in Poe's work before reading this piece. Normally, he is very erratic mentally and gets paranoid easily in his poems. This was definitely something new to think about.

Listening Journal 9-6-11: "Good Old Desk" by Harry Nilsson

S- His Desk (God)
O- 1960's (time of religious uncertainty due to war)
A- Those who are not very religious
P- To show people the simple pleasures one can have with God
S- Harry Nilsson- somewhat popular singer in te 1960's and 1970's
Tone- Soft, Pleasant

He is basically talking about the simple joy he has with God on his side.