hi. red haired person’s blog…

so i was searching for mr. wasserman’s infamous facebook. not that he would wish to be friends with me on it hahaa… so i typed in google and his blog came up. i read quite a lot of it. it find it admirable that he could write on such a basis and take the time from this non stop work life that we all seem to have. he is lucky to be going to sweden. i wish i could go somewhere different and actually live. anyway, with everything in my life, i feel that i failed to use the blogs to my advantage. and probably to how mr. wasserman would have appreciated from his students. and a lot of people didn’t really get into posting them. maybe it would have worked better if the classes were smaller. people would be able to communicate more and everything would be more person. i remember, back in 5th grade, the only year i went to private school, with 14 people in my grade, i loved learning so much more, almost because it felt more personal and purposeful.

However, i really wish that i had used the blog more, looking back at the year. i feel like i lost my chance. i feel this way about about a lot of things. it is interesting to think how people choose, or don’t choose to live their lives. How much of it is controlled by others..from teachers and their hw, to piers (INFLUENCE. like how disgusting it is that pretty much everyone i know goes outside and smokes those THINGS everyday.) and that random person who smiled at you. and by your own mind. our ambitions, priorities, and desires. i feel the way i don’t want to feel all the time, and like that part of my mind has a grip on my life.

Anyway. the odyssey project. i feel that it will be finished, and it will somehow get done by tuesday. Upon the fact alone that so many people didn’t even BOTHER to show up to the filming at peoples houses, people haven’t shown the same efforts that we put everywhere else. Personally, throughout the project i almost wished there was more i could do. i was reluctant to have a large part, in fear of miserably failing in memorizing the lines, especially around finals and all. and as for personal opinions on the project, i felt like whenever i said something no one even bothered to listen, and that their way was better. and then everyone finished writing the script on that day, which i had no idea was even going to happen. maybe its because i am so out of it. maybe its because my body which i have no control over insists on making me fall asleep when i don’t want to. but either way, its too late now. Undertaking this project was quite brave of the teachers–having so many students. that in itself will improve the movie, which i am sure will come out fine in the end. i am excited to see it.

The first was much more informative then the second source about Odysseus in the Iliad. It gave an overall summary of the Trojan war, hence the name. It emphasizes how cunning Odysseus is, with his many tricks. For me, at this point, this most confusing thing is keeping track of all the names. This is probably because there are so many people involved, and they do not have particularly common names for a person living in America in the 21st century. I  believe that a “Trojan War” did exist, however, parts involving the gods were not true, even if people had seen them to be true at this time. This is obviously because I don’t believe in the ancient Greek Gods. Just as there was a Jesus, there most likely was a Helen, Paris, and Agamemnon. This might be such a well known story because it was a popular oral story in the times, and so the book was of particular interest to the common people. It helped continue to pass down the story. Many of the concepts in the epics are still used today, and have influenced literature since. For example, the Trojan horse, was most likely a revelation at the time. Odysseus could be affected by his experiences in the war because he must have been anxious to finally come home. In addition, as a result of such success in the war, pride would accompany him through his journies.

it is surprising how much more powerful a primary source can be. you can understand and maybe be sympathetic with a secondary source, but reading something like the slave narratives lets you feel what the person was feeling, it allows for so much more thought.  Something that really shocks or touches me is defiantly going to stay in my memory longer, opposed to a textbook or something like that. this goes for satire as well.

for example, i feel kind of stupid right now because i just realized that i have been spelling surprising wrong my whole life. hopefully this current feeling will help me remember to spell it right from now on….

i feel like it was a fairly good semester. i liked that the classes were little about the actual content, and more about the themes that come from it. i felt that we spent a lot of time with what the writer was trying to portray. i found the evil “unit” particularly interesting because it wasn’t something that i would expect to be done , especially in such depth, in English class. i don’t want to ask for more work really, but i do miss vocab. i find it nice to be able to use new words in my vocabulary, and say things in a different way. i hope that i am able to participate more next semester and use my blog more. SHAME ON TARDY BLOGGERS!! ….

we were to predict what we will encounter in these slave narritives. I can predict only very dramatic, disturbing articles, maybe even some satire.

I misunderstood the assignment and ended up watching this for over an hour. I was expecting a satire, and it defietnly was. He took the  way people look at things was turned around and dramatic statemts were made. For example, how drafting everyone in the war would solve the problem, but obviously it would not. It amsued me when he made a strange face and said something like “Oh no the anti-war children are blogging!.” I found myself chuckling a few times throughout these clips. Even though violence does work, peaceful protesting should as well after the examples of Martin Luther. There are peace walks and all, but things like that really aren’t going to change the government’s mind.

It is obvious that the current plan for Iraq is leading in an endless unsuccessful direction. Making alternative methods was a very good idea, and they seem to be well thought out. This was the first time I had heard anything about dealing with the issues involving surrouding countries. This makes good sense considering they have influence in Iraq and can help determine the future there. Apparently the Arab-Israel conflict is a large one in this region and therefor it should defiently be recognized.

America can not continue to just possibly help with breakouts. We will keep sending troops, but this will never help solve the overall conflict. It is not our country, and we can not stay in this position forever. Therefor our role needs to be changed. Iraq needs to be able to hold responsibility. As it says, “The Iraqi government needs to show it own citizens–and the citizens of the United States and other countries–that is deserves continued support.” There must be a strong effort, and our country will assist. Too many times people just say “PULL OUT”, but we can’t, we went in there, and leaving it like this would be a complete failure. However, a new direction needs to be taken and hopefully Bush will realize this.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/racism.today.emails/index.html

According to these articles, racism seems like a much bigger issue to the black people becuase of experience, influence, or the slavery in US history.

“Lisa Matas of Gaithersburg, Maryland
Racism is the defining of a person, good or bad, by the color of their skin.”

I disagree with this person. I see racism as a discrimination of someone becuase of their skin, but not only their skin. Their skin color is the main thing to lead a person to asume another’s backround. However, when one thinks of a person in a racist way, black people for example, a lot of other things come to mind other then skin color. There are also general different physcial traits other then the skin tone.

“David Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah
Apparently, the way to tell if someone is racist is by looking at their skin color. If you are a Caucasian, you are a racist. If you are African or Latino, you have never had a racist thought in your life. In fact, you should probably be given preferential treatment to offset the racism you have experienced.”

This appeared to be a dramatic statement among the others. Following with the article’s standpoint, i would asume this person was white. It is extreme statement, but i see the truth in it. Asuming from my life, and this article, black people think alot more about racism more then white people in general. I don’t know about others, but black poeple have said quite a few racist things to me, quickly resorting to racism. I hate to say it…but sometimes i feel like they have become more racist then “we” are.

“Suzette Lay-Heard of Athens, Georgia
Racism is alive and well today. I do not understand why white people are blind to the fact that there is racism. On talk shows when white people are painted black and go out in the world, they clearly experience racism. They firmly admit that had they been white in certain circumstances, they would have been treated differently [better]. As a Black American, I have experienced racism on my job. There have been whites promoted over me with less experience and qualifications that I have. It hasn’t changed even though I have educated myself by earning a Master’s degree in Business Administration.”

I’m sure this is not an unusual circumstance among blacks. However, there are laws that ensure that a company is made up of a variety of backgrounds. There must be a certain number of people of specific races. This could also be a problem for a white person, more qualified for a job, but the other person has to be admitted instead.

Personally, I think where you are living, even by town, makes a difference. For example, in Yonkers, the town next to my other house, racism is much more privelant. The other town is a small liberal somewhat wealthy town, where racism is shunned upon. However, racism is still existent everywhere. One of the articles spoke about how a child is not born with any prejudices, this is true, and they are influeced by society. However, i do believe that wanting to be with your “own” kind is human nature.

apologize that i do not capitalize my I’s. Except for graded assignments, i strongly prefer the I when it is i.

Apparently, satire is something that surrounds everyone every day. The more i think about it the more I realize it’s presense. It can be seen in films, books, advertisement, magazines, plays; pretty much any form of human expression. I don’t know what to say about Borat or Scary Movie because I have seen neither of them, but I would be interested in seeing Borat because of it’s controversy. I think it would be hard for me to be offended by any satire becuase i tend to look at the world in a critical way. Even if it was pointing out something that personally relates to me, I do not think i would be offended. The world would be better if people would loosen up a bit, and not be so edgy about a dramatic statement or public issues. For example, in schools, the word “N*gger” is portrayed as bascially a curse to anyone who says it. Anyway, it seems the main sucess in satire is it makes more of a point by being put in humor and in a possibly shocking way. It also targets one specific thing. It will catch people’s attention, even if offending them. However, it must be done in a “witty” way to be appreciated. South Park, a very blunt form of satire, is defiently one of my favorite tv shows. I think that is done quite cleverly and manages to amuse me on many levels. The article “Please Talk to Your Cooler Children about Cigarettes.” <http://www.theonion.com/content/node/56014> is a good example of satire becuase it is so ironic. Philip Morris, being the owner of a tobacco company, writing to keep the cool children away from cigarettes? He obviously is saying this because he wants to seem like a better man and make it more likely for people to want to buy his cigarrettes. It is also silly to say that a “cooler” child is more vunerable then an “uncool” child. I would think it would be more likely for a child who wants to be “cooler” to get into it because it possibly makes them feel better about themselves. That article shows so much of what Americans are pulled into without realizing it. Just as cigarettes ads specifically target teenagers and young children, to get them hooked. The line “it is unnecessary for parents to discuss the dangers of cigarettes with lame children who like board games, science, and their parents.” is repulsive. I can’t believe someone would say such a thing in a newspaper article. However, i am not offended, it is funny.