Monday, May 6, 2013

write a final (Final: Why I Write)



I write to escape:
I write to escape from the heart breaking reality of the evening news. I write to escape the looming sadness of family dying. I write to escape from the chaos of change. I write to escape reality and go into a different plane where I can deal with those things. I write to escape consequences. I write to escape interaction and poor decisions. I write to escape the stark boldness of the present. I write to escape my nightmares. I write to escape my failures.
I write to learn:
I write to learn about the world. I write to learn through journalism. I write to learn about voting. I write to learn all the sides of a story. I write to learn how to understand things. I write to learn why I behave as I do. I write to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others. I write to learn about Gandhi and Child Brides in Yemen and why Henry VIII had six wives. I write to learn the motives behind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work and to dissect Oedipus. I write to learn about literature. I write to learn why this or that is important.
I write:
I write to say thank you. I write to unleash the multitude of ideas in my head. I write to soothe my worries. I write to acknowledge my fears. I write to solve my problems before they become tangible. I write to change the world. I write to decide. I write to not decide. I write to procrastinate. I write to be better. I write for the sole sake of my own fickle god complex. I write to be happy. I write because I'm sad. I write change even though it is impossible. I write out of stagnation. I write to change. I write because I read. I write to find the end of the sentence. I write the truth. I write because... Pirates! I write to satisfy the voice in my head. I write for praise. I write to avoid the answer and to arrive at one I never imagined.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

write a well thought out post (Reading Response #6)



Ah, the Internet. "Helping" with homework since we've started school. It's hard to avoid simply Google-ing the information from a phone or computer. The act of physically turning a page and reading information is going the way of stone tablets (replaced with digital tablets) and cave writing. Is it an upgrade? Or is it just laziness?

"But these cases — typical ones, according to writing tutors and officials responsible for discipline at the three schools who described the plagiarism — suggest that many students simply do not grasp that using words they did not write is a serious misdeed."

Because it's so easy to copy and paste, to Google and get the perfectly-worded answer, it's easy to think it's okay. We get constant streams of regurgitated information through the news (every channel with the same story) through twitter (copying someone's funny post) and other places around us, it becomes commonplace to "borrow" and "take" the "fair play" information around us.

Without an author or "property of" pasted blatantly across any information on any given website, it is taken as public knowledge or free for the taking.

“Because you’re not walking into a library, you’re not physically holding the article, which takes you closer to ‘this doesn’t belong to me,’ ” she said. Online, “everything can belong to you really easily.”

Illegally streaming movies or downloading music (please, we've all done it) without any consequences is just a stepping stone to downloading and essay or copying a few paragraphs here and there.

The ideal of original ideas and simple work has disappeared in a maelstrom of free information online. The lesson here is damage control and prevention. Don't do it, you'll get caught if you do. This is something you get online that has actual consequences.

In San Antonio last fall, I attended a lesson about Copyright Laws. Dull, you would think, but I learned a lot and the presenter kept our attention. Once anyone writes or creates anything - it becomes their intellectual and personal property. You can't legally take it without A) their express permission B) giving them credit and/or compensation C) it coming from a legal source with built in permission.

Watch what you copy,
Cheers,
Michelle

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

look at other projects

  • What is the project topic? 
  •  Mythology to Reality

  • What are the genres and how effective are they?  Why?  How many different pieces and genres did the author include?
  •  Scene, poem, inner thoughts, visuals,  fact boxes, short story, and some were repeated.
    The project looks like it goes together. The several genres diplay wide viewpoints.

  • Which of the genres incorporates research?
  •  The facts, thescene and poem.

  • Which of the genres are purely the author's artistic license or imagination? 
  • Visuals, inner thoughts, story

  • How does the author transition between pieces?
  • Straight transition

  • How effective are the transitions and why?
  • There weren't any noticible ones

  • Overall, what are your impressions of the author's style, voice, creativity, depth of information?  Did you learn any new information?
  • I knew most of it but I think the inner thoughts ad story were interesting.

  • What do you notice about formatting, font, page layout, page elements, style, and appeal?
  • It looked very neat.

  • What ideas can you take away for your project?
  • To be neat, concise and to the point.

    Friday, April 5, 2013

    article response #who cares I want to graduate


    "...repeating something 3 times has 90% of the persuasive value of 3 different people saying it once." BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

    This article so far is particularly boring. Yes, it's important for advertising to be memorable for it to work. I really liked how this guy spent several paragraphs to say that.

    Okay, repeat stuff to make it memorable. Fantastic - something I never knew befor- wait a second!

    This was the most pointless article ever. If this guy can drag out these points for a whole book and people actually buy it, I weep more for humanity.

    Thursday, March 28, 2013

    cynicism (Reading Response #4)

    
    
    Snaps to this guy- he knows what's going on. I agree with his summation of math and chemistry. They're not my thing. I'm a thinker, an imaginer- not a retainer of facts. English and Psychology FTW (for the win).

    The thousands of hours learning things I will never actualy use in real  life is a downside of general education and teaching to the test. The "fun" classes I'm involved in are relevant to my interests (while making me  insanely stressed out of my mind, but more on that later). I do not, however, see myself "solving the problem using matrices without a calculator" in my day-to-day adult life. I know how to use a calculator and add 2 and 2 - I'm set for EBay transactions. Bam.

    As for Moby Dick, the whale doesn't represent the Republic of Ireland. I believe it embodies the fatal flaw of mankind in reation to the common slice of key lime pie. (Someone please give me an A now.) This is exactly what we're doing in English now - interpreting our author's books using research and such. Apparently, the moor in The Hound of the Baskervilles represents not only foriegn land, but Hell itself.

    Exciting stuff.

    Anywho, I will close with a list of things that suck.
    
    *curls up into a ball of feels*
    
    -English paper due in a week and a half
    -History project due not long after
    -This giant project soon
    -General graduation stress - including but not limited to senior activities
    -The fact that an entire issue of The Parkviewer has to be started and finished in a matter of three weeks
    -Family crap
    -Money crap
    -What is sleep
    -What is food
    -Just about everything else ever

    Have a happy day,
    Michelle




    Wednesday, March 20, 2013

    rules are meant to be REALLY broken -see what I did there?- (Response #3)

    Ms. James,

    Justin is not lying- the creepy sub is creepily creeping on your belongings. Then he walks to a random point in the room and stares. Like an undertaker.

    Anyway, lets ignore that creepy guy and get to the good stuff.


     
    1. Don't split infinitives
    I agree with his argument. As a trekkie, I also appreciate the Star Trek shou out: "to boldly go where no man has gone before." I think that splitting an infinitive makes the sentence more descriptive and exciting.

    2. Don't end a sentence with a preposition
    I hate it when I notice sentences ending with a preposition- but just because I have grown up hearing ths rule.  I've never thought too much about this but I don't think it's a big deal unless you use it too frequently.

    3. Which vs That - again, I don't think it's a big deal either. It's a choice of style.

    4. Starting a sentence with a conjunction
    Until very recently, due to this class, I never started a sentence with And. It just SCREAMS wrong to me. And I probably won't be using it much. (see what I did there?)

    5. Don't use the passive voice
    Just don't. Unless you're being intentionally vague.

    6. Singular verb things
    Yeah. Do that.

    7.Word choice
    "What are you reading?"
    "Words, words, words."
    Use the right one.

    Cheers,
    Michelle

    Monday, March 18, 2013

    gremmer & stuf (Article Response #2)

    A horrible mistake at a local Pet Warehouse
    I agree with a lot of his opinions on the matter. I judge people based on grammar constantly. I learned most of my grammar skills through reading a lot in elementary and middle school. The knowledge of basic rules doubled with Journalism I. As far as I'm concerned, grammar is an easy way to grade intelligence (which is sort of horrible to say) at least in formal writing.

    I still have problems with some of the rules. Lie : Lay : Lied constantly trip me up. I hesitate to use any of them and re-word my sentence to accommodate my gap of understanding. When in doubt, leave it out. English is a difficult language to fully grasp - even if you're a native speaker - but some things should never be a problem after third grade. For example:

    You're           Your
    Our               Are
    Their   There   They're
    Witch            Which

    There's a never ending list of these. Learn them - that's right, pay attention in English for a bit  -  or be judged.

    Cheers,
    Michelle

    Thursday, February 28, 2013

    make extensive lists (Five Lists)

    List ten to twenty question categories
    1. Education
    2. Field of Study
    3. What interested you about it
    4. How do you feel about it
    5. Why are you still doing this
    6. Best part of the job
    7. Worst part of the job
    8. Advice for me
    9. How does this help
    10. Why

    Make a list of five or more things that you can do to make your informant feel comfortable, powerful, and open to your interview
    1. Adress them formally
    2. Ask advice
    3. Be polite
    4. Everyone loves to talk about themselves...
    5. So ask open ended questions

    List three or more things that you can do in case your informant doesn’t have a lot to say about the topic.
    1. Change topic
    2. Ask someone else
    3. Re-think your approach

    Make a list of ten to fifteen factual details that you might want to know related to your topic such as: historical facts, multiple perspectives, geography, daily life, economic factors, weather, current events, fashions, local events, state events, national events, how to information, materials, prices, national trends, origin, changes over time, future plans, etc.
    1. Historical facts
    2.Multiple perspectives
    3. Pay
    4. Daily life
    5. Changes in treatment
    6. New diagnosis
    7. New treatment
    8. Different forms of treatment
    9. Career path
    10. Something else

     Make a list of five or more academic topics that a sociologist, psychologist, or folklorist might study about this group, person, or place. Your textbooks or professional journals for other fields might give you some ideas.
    1. Well, my topic is psychology so I'd imagine that they would research/talk about everything related to their specific field.

    Tuesday, February 26, 2013

    find ideas. (Link to a Multi-Genre blog)

    Here's the link.

    Enjoy,
    Michelle

    research research research (Multi-Genre Project Proposal)

    It's decided. Yay, I guess.

    Type: Career Intrest

    Names: Dr. Kelly Ward (via email) and

    Stories/Events/Insider Info: I'll have to do more research to go off of primary sources of patients and doctors to create my project.

    Personally Meaningful: I find this topic to be very interesting and it applies to my personal interest in Psychology.

    Alternatively: I will do the project about music if psychology  doesn't pan out like I  hope it will.

    After some deep thought and meditation, I've decided to go with the subject of Psychology. I think I'll do the research portion on the history of mental hospital ethics and treatments.

    Other portions will vary - perhaps some letters to and from patients, an analysis of a specfic case or treatment, some insane ramblings, creative writing, etc.

    Sounds like fun.

    Cheers,
    Michelle

    Friday, February 22, 2013

    think of things (Ideas for the Multigenre Project)

    1. Something Psychology related. Possibly history of? Possibly a specific disease/affliction?

    2. Music. Specifically orchestral or viola in general. Could have some cool sound projects. Again, possibly history of / specific event.

    3.London. I'm obsessed with the city, but I don't know nearly enough about it. But what to choose?

    I need some help, what to do? What not to do, and why? I'll be thinking about it this weekend I suppose.

    Cheers,
    Michelle

    reflect (Reflection on the pop culture project)

    Here's my lovely freewrite on writing a paper about Mean Girls. I began researching by looking up some legit reviews on the movie. It helped to know the professional's opinion. I printed them off and highlighted the important bits to form my own opinion.

    This paper made me realize how movies can subconciously affect the audience and influence their perspective and other deep stuff as such.

    Anywho, it was easy to construct the paper with my personal evidence and the quotes from the reviews. It was interesting. And I got to watch Mean Girls  a few times.

    Go watch it,
    Michelle

    

    Tuesday, February 19, 2013

    read a lot (Article 1 Response)

    HAL

    Below lies my response to the extremely long article I was forced to read. About..... attention span and such. Enjoy.

    The first line grabbed my attention because I've seen 2001: A Space Odyssey so the quotes went through my mind like HAL's voice. Creepy. I'm hoping the rest of the article makes obscure references I may understand.

    Wow. I absolutely agree with his views on his mind changing. It used to be that you couldn't see me without a book in my hand. Now? I've barely finished one in the school year. It may be a part of growing up, of having other things to do. School to worry about, responsibilities weighing down. I'm still working to get out of this slump.

    Maybe the Internet is to blame.

    I skim things to get information. Journalism's inverted pyramids have corrupted me. I seriously doubt if anyone is going to read this entire blog post!

    addicted to easy
    "It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense."

    Absolutely.

    I just caught myself skimming through the next four paragraphs, and I have no will to go back and read it.

    Just read something about Google HQ being a church and the ambition of Google to have quick and easy information out to internet users. All hail Google.

    I think the author of this article is skeptical of his skepticism... But is still standing firm with it. Yet telling us to be skeptical about it. Now who's attention span is messed up?

    AND HE BRINGS IT BACK TO HAL called it. That part of the movie is creepy, and sad. HAL is afraid (even in his creepy computer voice) and you feel for him. You feel for a machine that was trying to kill you.

    Wow, tangent. The Space Odyssey reference distracted me the whole time. Despite having the LONGEST and MOST BORING beginning, the movie has a lot to say about technology being capable of bringing pain and destruction - even on the mind.

    Cheers if you read this entire thing,
    Michelle

    P.S. I consciously wrote a few sentences beginning with "and" and "but" to break that imaginary rule that has been dictating my idea of the proper sentence most of my life.

    Friday, January 25, 2013

    hate the system (Reading Response #2)


     




    "For now, Rudy and Liesel made their way onto Himmel Street in the rain.
    He was the crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world.
    She was the book thief without the words.
    Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain."
    (p. 80)






    In The Book Thief, as I continue to read it, the story of Liesel Meminger becomes more and more fascinating. She is the book thief - but she cannot read (as of yet). Her education was never present enough when her brother was still alive (and her family together) that when she started living with her foster parents, she was put in a much lower grade than she should have been.

    She calls it the 'midget' class.

    After several months of the midget class, she was put into her proper grade level (after a tantrum) - but her skills don't match up.

    She still can't read.

    She is learning - somewhat in class but mainly in her home. Her 'father' Hans Hubermann teaches her
    during the night, in-between her nightmares and his accordion solos.

    Gah.

    The book overall has so much going on that it's hard to explain the feeling of a book narrated by Death. The beginning just started to have a wow-this-is-going-very-slow feel, but I turned the page and that was the end of part one.

    Sorry if this doesn't make sense, words seem to fail me today.

    Michelle

    Thursday, January 17, 2013

    write a Proposal

    I will write an essay on the movie /Mean Girls/. It is one of the most popular cult movies of our generation and demonstrates the common bullying that goes on in high school.

    In this essay, I will argue that the movie presents the real-life issues of 'beauty' and bullying (albeit in a satirical way) to an audience who can relate - and how those issues can be overcome as a part of growing up. In /Mean Girls/, the high school is practically segregated into cliques - the nerds, the sluts, the jocks and, most prominently, the plastics. The plastics are the three most 'beautiful' girls in school, complete with lower-than-average IQs and a taste for gossip. And they're mean. Hence the name /Mean Girls/. The protagonist of the story invades the plastics in order to destroy their popularity while goaded by her friends. After some crazy hijinks, the plastics aren't what they used to be and everyone learns a lesson.

    I will begin this essay with a quote by the character Janis about all of the different cliques within the high school. I'll go on to explain the stereotyping issue that affects everyone today (although not to cinematic proportions) and I will summarize the plot of /Mean Girls/ in the following paragraph. My thesis statement will be something along the lines of: "The film /Mean Girls/ exposes the biggest problem facing teen and young adults today - the judgement and mocking of others - and demonstrates the possible results of bullying and how to resolve it - all in a comedic, accessible way." I will follow the summarization with my argument on the portrayal of cliques and bullying and how it relates to modern culture today.

    - Does /Mean Girls/ teach you any moral or lesson even though it is a comedic and exaggerated film?

    - Do you relate to any of the characters in /Mean Girls/? Why or why not.

    Thanks for the help,
    Cheers,
    Michelle

    Thursday, January 10, 2013

    see Death (Reading Response #1)

    The Book Thief
    by Markus Zusak


    A few weeks ago I recieved The Book Thief for Christmas. I picked it out at the book fair on December 8th while stuck working the craft fair. I've seen several people reading it (Sarah Clark among them) which made me want to pick it up.

    The cover looks intereting enough - a row of dominos with one about to be tipped over - forboding a string of events starting at a certain time or place. The back, of course, is filled with critics reviews and awards won. underneath that lies the description, starting off with four simple sentences - "It's 1929. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still." What? Death? Is this a weird emo book? How could Death be a character? All immediate throughts when I read that.

    From the description I learn that the book is actually about a girl - Liesel Meminger - and her stealing books. Her brother died, tragically, and she was sent off to a foster family.

    The book thus far is narrated by Death himself. An interesting viewpoint if I ever saw one. Death makes interruptions in the text by inserting information, translations, half-jokes and small side stories to make the story understandable. Some are long, some are short, and all are attention-grabbing.

    As Liesel adapts to her new life, she meets a boy named Rudy whom she quickly befriends. He shows her around the town one day and this is where they go last:

    "***THE LAST STOP***
    The road of yellow stars.

    It was a place nobody wanted to stay and look at, but almost everyone did. Shaped like a long, broken arm, the road contained several houses with lacerated windows and bruised walls. The Star of David was painted on their doors. Those houses were almost like lepers... At the bottom, some people were moving around. The drizzle made them look like ghosts. Not humans, but shapes, moving about beneath the lead-colored clouds."

    I love this description. It provokes a feeling of despair, of desolation and pain. The "lacerated windows and bruised walls" lined the "long, broken arm" of a street with people milling about, oppressed under the heavy "lead" sky.

    Zusak has a way with descriptions and metaphors everywhere in his writing, it's easy to understand and relate to.

    This book?

    Read it.

    Cheers,      
    Michelle

    Wednesday, January 2, 2013

    2013

    Reading goals: I formed a list of books I hope to read this year. Among them were the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (probably to be saved for summer), the Book Thief, Divergence, and a few more. I have seriously neglected my free reading over the past few years and I miss the feeling of a book in my hand.

    First Book of the Year: The Book Thief - I have heard many good things about this book, and I got it for Christmas, so I will start it in a day or two.

    Things I Would Like to do After High School:

    Summer 2013: I plan to be working somewhere (a goal I plan to reach before summertime) and hopefully travel somewhere (in the U.S.) and continue writing.

    10 Years after High School: I hope to have a steady job in my career field (psychology) and be independent. I don't know where I'll be living - hopefully somewhere new and exciting ( I don't think I can stay here my whole life).

    Beyond: This is really vague, but I want to be rich, obviously. I want to have the means to travel the world and be happy. I'll have a family.