time for a change

alrighty, so since this is no longer an assignment schoolish blog, I'm sure what I write on here, and how I write is going to change quite a bit. Actually, I've already had to correct myself on putting capital letters and stuff.  Apparently, as soon as it doesn't have to do with school, I go right back to my lazy typist self.  Whoops. But oh well.  But okay, my sister found this and it made me laugh...for those of you who haven't watched Harry Potter (sinners!!) or FRIENDS, this is probably not going to be as funny--although, I'm sure some of you will still laugh because you know it's supposed to be funny.

But okay, seriously, for those of you who are in love with HP, like I am, and think Phoebe is literately the best thing since chocolate, isn't this hilarious?? 

 

when one door closes, another opens

Well, the fact that so many of us have already posted our "weekend blog posts" is amazing.  The class is over, yet we still have come home and gone straight to "Yeah, Write" and started to blog.  To me, this is a clue that despite the slight drops in our GPA's, the late nights of finishing our papers the night before they're due after we've worked on them for weeks already, and let's not forget those tasks, that we all loved the class-- well most of us.  For this open topic post I think I'm going to just reflect upon the last semester.  For some reason, the semester seemed to go fast.  Too fast, actually.  I'm going to miss AP Comp so much.  As we neared the end of the semester, I started to get excited about never having to do tedious assignments that basically didn't affect my grade and actually having a life (just kidding, my second semester is worse, but oh well).  However, on Thursday, when the bell rang and the entirety of our class remained in C114 taking pictures to savor the memories from block 1, semester 1, I realized that this has been one of my favorite classes in my five semesters at the high school, and it will definitely be a class I miss like crazy.  All the new friends I've made in just one class is insane.  The fact that we had a facebook group that never failed to give me multiple notifications each night is great.  We all helped each other the whole way through what seemed like hell.  And I love that.  Whenever I saw any person from our class in the halls, we smiled and said hi.  It was every. single. person. I've never had a class as close as this one, and I doubt I ever will. So, thanks everyone for a great semester! And, Mrs. Cardona, thanks again!  You actually taught me so much this year.  You're an amazing teacher.  So as this class comes to an end, we all will begin new classes that torture us just as much, and I hope the skills we've learned in this class will help all of us.  I can't believe this is my last "weekend blog post".  Crazy.

Blog Presentation

 Personal post

Inspiration post

Photography post

Music post

shoe post

star wars post

Tips & Tricks

Thank you post

Dress for work

So we have to do this thing called an index poem...

Analysis (also see 'summary')
          not a summary
          what we spent the entire semester doing
Argument
          argument, visual
          argument, everything is a
Ashley (see 'Cardona')
          the best teacher ever
          the only teacher at WHS that is actually smart          
Bitzer
          Bitzer, "The Rhetorical Situation"
          the first essay we read
Blog
          Blog study project (also see 'procrastination')
          The thing we had to write on every weekend
          4 o'clock
Class
          Contained the best people ever
          Never failed in making me laugh
          The only class I didn't completely hate going to
Comic Sans
          Font I will always laugh at  
          Font I will never again use
          Used by a 40 year old, fat housewife with cats
Emoticon
          What we should never use
          What we use all the time
Essays (also see 'procrastination')
          there were 50 of them
          we wrote a whole lot of them
Facebook
          facebook group
          where we all went when we didn't know what we were supposed to do
Formative
          almost everything we did
          didn't matter 
Finals (also see 'procrastination')
          made us cry
          weren't as hard as we thought
Grades (see 'formative' and 'summative')
Humor
          the class was full of this
          what we all added to our essays
          max
Narrative (also see 'procrastination')
          the first paper we wrote
          made us all question ourselves
          made us all change our life stories
Orwell
          One of the first authors we read
          Orwell, "Why I Write"
Outliers
          the book most of us read for our second BLA
Procrastination
          blog study project
          what we all did          
Rhetoric
          Rhetorical analysis
          Rhetorical situation
          Rhetorical Question
                    the wrong definition of rhetoric
          What none of understood
          What some of us still don't understand (uh oh)
Sarcasm
          Max
          Sarcmark?
Shit
          Shit, Oh
                    the saying we all yelled (or wanted to yell) a whole bunch
          Shitty first drafts
Summary (also see 'analysis')
          easier than analysis
          not analysis
          part of BLA
Summative
          about four things total
          changed our grades completely
Tape, Mixed (also see 'procrastination')
          actually a CD
          a really weird project
Tasks
          definition of hate
          made us all try to murder eachother
Writing
          what we did oh so much
          writing, power

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

The day has come, and now BLA is over for good.  Sad or not?  Well, that is up to you, I guess.  But here we go.  Like a lot of the class, I read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  I'm not going to lie, after my last BLA book, The Female Brain, I was worried that this book wouldn't live up to it.  Oh boy, was I wrong.  Outliers, although completely different than my previous book, was amazing.  The focus of Gladwell's book was to explain the reasons why certain people succeed over others in our world.  Before I read the book, I just assumed there weren't any specific reasons for gain or loss; that it just sort of... happened.  But Gladwell completely dismissed these ideas by giving numerous anecdotes, statistics, and examples.  The examples he presented ranged all the way from why the best hockey players are born in the fall to the life story of some of the greatest minds in our society today.  By doing this, he creates a book that can appeal to almost every single person out there.  And even if you aren't familiar with the present topic, Gladwell has inserted "side bars" to help explain, in further detail, certain terms or situations referred to throughout the book.  By doing this, he can use a more educated diction, but still allowing the reader to understand and comprehend what he is writing about.  This diction, colloquial or educated, at no point is aimed to make Gladwell seem like a superior to the reader.  The statistics, whether in charts or in blocks of text, accomplish this task as well.  They are placed in places where they are necessary, and are not meant to make it seem as though Gladwell is an expert in every topic he discusses.  Yet, at the same time, the reader trusts Gladwell; he has built up his credibility well.  I really enjoyed every aspect of this book.  Gladwell did a fantastic job gaining my attention, as well as keeping that attention all the way to the last page.  If you often wonder how or why things happen, like I do, Outliers, is the perfect read for you.  So go read it.  You'll love it.  I did.

don't just forgive and forget

So, basically the prompt is... take a position on if JFK's quote, "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names" applies to today.  Give examples.

So, here I go.

     I strongly believe that this quote applies to life today in many aspects.  Of course, John F. Kennedy's meaning of this was in politics and foreign affairs.  The way I see it, the quote can apply in the same types of places today, while also applying in everyday activities and everyday actions of every single person. 
     The way it can be seen in foreign  affairs and politics today seems quite self-explainable and flagrant.  Most people are aware of the crisis our country is in with many countries around the world such as North Korea, Iraq, and Iran.  Numerous other countries are at war or in disagreements with others, also.  The way the quote would go along with this is to not hold "grudges" on people that have hurt or disagreed with your country in the past.  Holding these grudges will not get you anywhere.  Many countries are under new leaderships from fifty years ago, so forgiveness is crucial for these places.  Once a country has come to an argument, that argument is not forgotten at all, so room for forgiveness is not given.  Many times, that makes matters worse.  However, nothing changes; forgiveness is not handed to anyone; blame continues to be placed for the past.  As for the second part of the quote, "but never forget their names," that also applies here.  Let's say we begin to forgive Russia, for the nuclear arms war.  It would be impossible to forget what has happened there, and it wouldn't be in our best interest to forget either.  If we would forget who did all this, in future generations, the same type of actions could take place, but if we did not remember what Russia was capable of, the future generations could underestimate and become a victim.  This may seem quite far-fetched, but it shows how Kennedy's quote would apply today in more specific foreign affairs.
     While the foreign affairs idea applies more to countries as a whole, I believe the quote does apply to every single person today.  The same framework goes along with this idea: forgive and remember; don't hold grudges.  People everyday commit actions that might be considered offensive or disagreeable with someone else.  Let us take a bully for example.  In middle school, Eric keeps to himself a lot, and begins to be bullied by Jim.  Jim is just a heartless person.  By the end of eighth grade, Eric decides that forgiving Jim is the best thing to do.  Maybe Jim has had a rough life, leading him to his bullying.  And Eric might not even see Jim at all in the gigantic place that is Wayzata High School.  Eric forgives him, but realizes that he will never forget Jim.  This is good because by the time senior year comes along, Eric finds that he has MoPro with Jim.  He glances at the seating chart, and sees that his seat is right next to Jim.  He sits down and sees that Jim is bullying the smaller boy on the other side; Jim hasn't changed at all.  But, because Eric remembers this big bully and what he has done, he knows to avoid Jim, so he does not become the victim of his endeavours once again.  If he would have forgotten Jim, he could have easily fallen into the control of him, but he didn't.  What Kennedy said, many years ago, would help any person in a similar situation.
     Many people use the phrase, "forgive and forget," but Kennedy's version of this is more, "Forgive, but remember."  I believe his quote can apply in a positive manner to anyone, anytime, anyplace.
    

process analysis!...numero dos

     The stereotype I chose to focus on for my “Visual Argument” is stereotypes of black people.  This generalization centers upon the idea that blacks cannot be successful.  The claim of my piece of work is that black people as a whole are not at all unsuccessful, as the stereotype suggests.  In this argument, there are a few warrants that need to be recognized.  One main warrant is the idea of a definition of “successful”.  For my argument, it is assumed that the definition of successful is maintaining a respectable and rewarding job.  Another assumption made is that the figures shown in the work are people that are known by the audience.  If the images displayed unknown people, it would decrease the effectiveness of my argument.  In this case, my primary audience is a group of peers of my generation.  Because of this, I chose, for my video, people that are known by people of my age group.  This way, the audience can easier relate to and connect with the argument at hand.  Another warrant of my argument is the idea that everyone watching knows this stereotype.  The argument would become unclear if the stereotype of blacks is not known by the audience.  It is essential that the audience knows that blacks are said to be unsuccessful, so that my argument makes sense and comes through strongly.

 

     Each picture I chose has a specific reason for being in the work.  The order was also very important, too.  The first nine photos were chosen to illustrate the current stereotype of blacks.  One or two of the pictures are grouped together to show a part of the whole of the stereotype they are stuck with.  The first three pictures are meant to show the section of the stereotype that is poverty.  The first one shows a single, black man slouched on a sidewalk.  He has barely anything with him, and looks poor, which is how we think of poverty and homelessness.  The second and third pictures show a black mother and her kids.  This shows the idea that the mother needs to beg and work hard to support herself and her children.  In the pictures, all of the people have a vacant or depressed facial expression, which helps to create the image of hardship for the families, especially of single mothers.  The idea of single mothers is often associated with black mothers, which is illustrated in these two photos, also.  Another piece to the stereotype puzzle is that black men get with many women.  This is shown in the next picture; a black man with two black women on either side of him.  This fits together to show this part of the stereotype, along with the photos that demonstrate the “black thug”.  This is the last piece to the stereotype jigsaw, and the one that fits most closely with unsuccessfulness.  The pictures I chose show black gang members, complete with saggy pants, bling, drugs, and not-so-nice hand expressions.  The faces of all the figures in the pictures are blank and devious looking- like they are up to no good.  This is how the typical black man is depicted in our community.  The image of the newspaper clipping, about the “Memphis mob”, also shows how people generally think of violence and blacks together.  These nine pictures together make up the complete stereotype of blacks. 

 

     I then displayed pictures that give reasons to support my claim of the black stereotype being incorrect.  The pictures are people that are recognizable and fit the social standard of successful.  The first picture I chose is Will Smith.  He is a good example of a black person that has excelled greatly to get to his position as a rapper and actor.  This illustrates the idea of becoming successful as a black.  The rest of the pictures I chose display the same type of idea.  Queen Latifa, also recognized by my target audience, is another example of a successful black person.  In this picture, she is in her Covergirl role, but the mind automatically thinks of other roles, as an actress and singer, that they have seen her in.  The next picture is of Bill Cosby.  Cosby was primarily a comedian—a very well know one, at that—but he was known for many other roles, also.  This shows success.  The picture of Morgan Freeman that I chose includes his Oscar Award.  This displays the idea of success as a black in winning a national award, which is prestigious.  Also, the fact that the audience can recognize him easily is a tip off of success.  The photos I chose of Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, and Usher portray the same type of success as an actor or singer type figure.  Tyra Banks is the next picture I chose for my video.  I chose her because, again, she is recognizable.  Tyra has excelled in many areas.  From her modeling career to humanitarian efforts, Tyra has demonstrated many types of success.  The next photo I included is one of Tony Dungy.  Dungy has displayed success by becoming a football coach, even after his struggle with play because of being black.  This shows success by his own means, also.  I only included one sports related photo because the idea of blacks playing sports also part of the stereotype.  Tony Dungy’s story is a story of determination to become successful, not just being placed in sports because of his race.  Next, in my work, I placed a picture of Martin Luther King Jr.  He is, of course, known by everyone, and shows a great deal of success.  His success deals, almost totally, with being black.  All of his causes dealt with race discrimination, which shows another aspect of black successfulness.  The next photo is of, not a specific person, but a black soldier, in the war.  I chose this because success doesn’t have to be an actor or singer.  Success, in this aspect, is helping the country as a whole.  She is amounting to a great deal of pride and honor in this position as a soldier.  Even though she is not recognized personally, her position is familiar to the audience of my argument.  The last two pictures I chose were of politicians.  There are many black politicians now, but I picked two that most people would recognize.  Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State, obviously has achieved great success.  Her success is similar to that of Barack Obama.  Both have obtained a one of the highest and most prestigious positions in our country.  It is monumental that they have reached these points because of their race.  This shows ultimate success for them and for our country as a whole.  As a whole, the first half of my pictures makes up the stereotype of black people.  The second half gives reasons on why this stereotype is wrong, making my argument.  I also chose to include two slides with text.  The first slide appears after the stereotypical pictures.  It is only half of the sentence that continues to the other slide.  This one refers to the stereotype saying, “If that was EVERY black…”  The next slide of text comes after the reasons for my argument.  It is the last slide, with the words, “…Then they wouldn’t exist.”  This refers to the pictures of all the successful black people that I displayed in the second half of my video.  These two text slides basically sum up the claim to my argument, with little words.    

 

     The music I chose for my visual argument is a song by Stevie Wonder, titled “Black Orchid”.  When I started looking for music for my project, I decided picking a song by a successful black artist would be a good idea.  I chose Stevie Wonder because his voice is usually recognizable to people.  His voice has a very distinct sound, and I believe he is an incredible singer.  The song “Black Orchid” talks about our world and how it needs to change.  He is referring to the depictions of generalized people and things, which I decided went along with the idea of black stereotypes.  Overall, his voice has a calming effect because it is a lower tone.  He also uses long drawn out words and phrases, which create a more serious and calm tone, which is acceptable for my topic.  In addition to the vocals, the music is very soft and is mainly strings.  The piano, that Wonder is known for playing, is very smooth and soft sounding.  This creates that calming feeling in the audience, also.  If I would have chosen a faster, more upbeat, selection for my video, the feeling and tone of the argument would have changed.  I feel like the meaning would not been as sentimental or serious with a happier sounding song. 

Works Cited

     
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2006/celebdatabase/willsmith/will_smith1_300_400.jpg

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/administration-official/ao_image/President_Official_Portrait_HiRes.jpg

 

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2006/celebdatabase/tyrabanks/tyra_banks1_300_400.jpg

 

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2010/startracks/101025/jennifer-hudson-435.jpg

 

http://e2de.com/morgan-freeman.html

 

http://www.havelshouseofhistory.com/Rice,%20Condoleezza.jpg

 

http://www.crttbuzzbin.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/martin-luther-king2-300x259.jpg

 

http://www.peeperstv.com/pictures/340949/billcosby.jpg

 

http://media.photobucket.com/image/stevie%20wonder/ejwilsonjr/influences/steviewonder.jpg

 

http://wordofmorgan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/thugs.jpg

 

http://www.churchofgodcarmichael.org/images/stories/homeless%20african%20american.jpg

 

http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/PSO1871.jpg

 

http://radiofacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/single-black-mother-2.jpg

 

http://newmexicoindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/memphis-mob-photo1.jpg

 

http://www.blackradionetwork.com/images/userfiles/smoke-black-girl.jpg

 

http://hairstylesarea.com/tag/usher-2010

 

http://www.celebrityendorsementads.com/celebrity-endorsements/celebrities/queen-latifah/images/queen-latifah-cover-girl.jpg

 

http://cdn.newsone.com/files/2009/02/nfl_g_dungy_580.jpg

 

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bvonbeauty.com/media/2011/05/man-women-450pk052411.jpg

 

http://bossip.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/method-man1.jpg

 

http://soldier.edublogs.org/files/2010/03/womanSoldier.jpg

 

http://bossip.files.wordpress.com/jimjones1