Reading Response: In Cold Blood

I am re-reading the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which I read last year in English 3. I am on Chapter "Persons Unkown: Part 1 of 2." A group  from The Clutter's church goes to clean up the house, considering it their "Christian duty." Alvin Dewey is put in charge of the case. They still have no clues, except for a footprint. 

           

  "And yes, he did think it a 'queer coincidence' that Mr. Clutter should have taken out a fourth-thousand-dollar life- insurance policy, with double idemnity, within eight hours of his death."

The KBI suspects that there was more than one murderer and  that the murderers were closes its  the Clutter family because they seem to have known the layout of the house.  There are deep descriptions of the killings of each of the family members and the funeral is held. 

Multi Genre Research Proposal

For my research topic, I will be researching the animal entertainment industry, including first hand accounts, environmental effects, and branching off into the use of animals for therapy use and research purposes. For references, I can use my dog's vet, Pat Ziegler at Park crest Vet and maybe an animal obedience trainer. There are many documentaries on Netflix such as Blackfish, Whale Wars and Lion Ark which are all full of information. I want to mainly focus on Japanese whale killings, circus training and dog fighting. I want to know more about this topic because I have such a love for animals and I want to know what measures are being taken to protect these animals forced into the entertainment industry.

Multigenre paper response

As I looked through the options of multigenre papers to read, I quickly decided my project will not be literature based. Seeing as the paper will be 4 to 5 pages long, I want to write about a personal experience or a passion of mine. The paper I read was titled "Two" which was about growing up as an identical twin and shortly turned into an autobiography of the authors life. The entire document is 11 pages. Through out the story, Brittany inserts notes to her sister Bethany and tells the tale of beginning their lives after high school without their sibling, and how it made helped them grow into stronger adults. The story of the sisterhood between Bethany and Brittany was amazing and heartfelt and Brittany truly believed her sister was irreplaceable until she met her husband. "Zack will become my husband this summer. As intimate as that relationship is, though, there is still one role that he will never be able to fulfill; that of my identical twin sister." This was definitely a cool paper with an inspiring relationship and the pros and cons of holding the same identity.

United Nations Millenium Goals

I decided to read more on Problem 7; to ensure enviornmental stability. Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the porportion of the population of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. There was a featured story about sanitation in India "nearly half of India's 1.2 billion don't have access to toilets" resulting in the death of 1 out of every 10 persons. Some key points in advancing towards this goal have been:

• The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead of schedule.
• Between 1990 and 2012, 2.3 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.
• Over a quarter of the world’s population has gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, yet one billion people still resort to open defecation.
• The vast majority – 82 per cent – of people practicing open defecation now live in middle-income, populous countries. 

I felt passionate about this subject because I have always been more environmentally conscious than others I have been around. As a kid I would wake up early just to go downstairs and shut my sister's bedroom light off after she left for school, my friends are never allowed to litter, and I make sure to unplug anything I'm not using. I love being outside and want to keep the environment in top shape and it was nice to see the progress we have made in advancing the health of the environment.

Reading Response Makeup; Grammar

This article published in the Glendale News-Press summarizes the importance of the placement of prepositions and the intricate list of copular verbs. June Casagrande tells her story of being personally victimized for using the sentence "I feel bad" and ending her sentence with a preposition. Some may argue that the correct form of this sentence would be to say, "I feel badly." June sets the audience straight by informing them that in order to 'express remorse or sympathy, the grammatically correct form is “I feel bad”.

"Copular verbs convey being, seeming or the senses, including taste, feel and smell. Copular verbs don’t express action."

 
The other criticism she received regarding prepositions being a sign off to a sentence was counteracted by quotes from big time newsleaders.

"Not only is the preposition acceptable at the end, sometimes it is more effective in that spot than anywhere else.” — The Elements of Style

 This story seemed to be a defensive mechanism on June's part and all in all this just seemed to be another confirmation that English is the most confusing language ever. And maybe June has some insecurity issues she needs to talk to her doctor about. (Hopefully ending with a preposition didn't offend anyone)

Reading Response 2

1.) http://heropets.maker.good.is/projects/Walllythetouchdog
Wally is a Touch Therapy Dog and visits at Children's Hospital in St. Louis where he is a hero every week in the Oncology Unit. He helps kids receiving chemo treatment and is used as a distraction during the process. The proceeds would go to Support Dogs Inc. This story caught my attention because my dog is a trained therapy dog and I think it's incredible how healing animals can be.

2.) http://discovertheforest.maker.good.is/projects/Outdoor_App
The winner for the 'Get your community outdoors' challenge plans to 'host an event to promote unplugging from technology for a day while participating in enjoyable outdoor activities. There will be leaders for each of the activities to instruct, guide or help participants learn about nature & outdoor recreation'. I really like this idea because teenager, myself included, spend too much time glued to their phone which results in a higher obesity rate, if more people were in touch with nature, I think there would be more mentally and physically healthy young adults.

3.) http://travel2change.maker.good.is/projects/Happiness?position=39&sort=popular
I liked this story about Traveling because, even though it didn;t win, it was a unique story that planned to capture the positive shots of Africa. "Everytime you see a commercial about children in Africa you most likely see starvation and poor living. You only get to see the bad side of things. If I were to film a third world country such as Africa, I would make sure to capture moments that some people would never know happens over there." It may seem heartless, but I get tired of seeing the videos of terrible conditions in Africa and I think this would be a refreshing point of view.

Pecha Kucha Criticism- Failure

I watched the Pecha Kucha based on failure. The author had great voice, and his stories had meaning. The author managed to work humor into the presentation as well as touching, serious, situations. The author was very cultured and seemed to know a lot about the meaning of failure and what is to come out of it. He told a story about the Hyatt he had been on the construction team for collapsing and killing 114 people and how that experience helped him develop as a person and learn from his mistakes.

The thing that bothered me about this specific Pecha Kucha was that during several slides, the author ran out of things to say and was silent until the next slide popped up. It sounded unprofessional and as if the author was unprepared, even though it could simply be that he was talking too fast. The pictures he used were personal and some from his own life and childhood, and gave the presentation a deeper feeling and sense of connection to the viewer. I have solid, descriptive ideas for 7 out of 8 of my informative slides and I think my challenge will be speaking in rhythm with the slides but also being too focused on my timing. I enjoyed this Pecha Kucha and I am excited to make my own. I have never encountered this form of presentation before, and it will be hard to adjust to not having words on each slide, but is something new and refreshing!

That's not my name!

What I found interesting about the Chinese culture is that most Chinese citizens choose to go by an American name or at least have an American name ready on standby. My autobiography correspondent started off her paper to me by saying

 "My name is Liu Di. And I also have an English name-Taylor."

Liu Di, or Taylor, claims that the Chinese choose an English name to make communication with non-Chinese people much easier, considering many non-Chinese speaking people find the names very hard to pronounce. In some families, names- both English and Chinese- are given to the child at birth. In other case's, like Taylor's, the person chooses the name of someone they admire, a similar name or simply a name they are fond of. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2014-10/29/content_18806030_4.htm

 Other Chinese citizens seem to despise the fact that they choose English names. A blogger on one forum said:

"Choosing English names can be dated back to when Overseas Chinese were enslaved by English man and had no choice but to adopt Western names. We are the Jews of Asia, persecuted because of our race, envied and despised because of our successes despite the obstacles laid against us."

In my opinion, I don't think it is a big deal for Chinese to have Western names. What do you think? Should English people have Chinese names for 'ease of communication?' Why not? I could get used to going by the name 克洛伊. I don't think that this shows a sign of inferiority to translate your name, it is just for the soul purpose of simplicity. It doesn't seem to bother Taylor, and considering all of her friends go by their English names as well, I don't think it is a discrimination against the Chinese. It is their choice after all, whether or not to pick an American name. 

Common Chinese Words

Sources:

"Why Do Chinese Choose 'weird' English Names?" [4]- Chinadaily.com.cn. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Autobiography Correspondent: Liu Di

Face-to-Face

All of the stories from the Face to Face website were interesting and influential to me. All of the interviewed seemed to have their rights violated and an invasion of their privacy. I thought it was chilling that multiple people said it was amazing how much the government knew about them and that they were racist against them just because of how their name is pronounced. All of the stories had hints of fear and invasion in them and make me feel embarrassed to be a 'white person.' Kinya's father was discriminated against just for being involved in Martial Arts and Kiyo had heard diary read by an FBI agent which seems completely unnecessary that the children had no sugar coating during the entire aftermath, they were harassed and they had nothing to do with the attacks. "You're a good family" is what the last FBI agent said to Kiyo's mother which disgusts me that they just left after destroying their home and without any explanation. Sayema Hameed had a good interview were she addressed that terrorists feel like they have nothing left to live for and she seemed to have a deeper understanding for them which is admirable and makes her a bigger person than myself because she feels sympathy and understanding for the terrorists and wants to take a different approach to stopping terrorism other than just killing them. Muhammad El Nasla- "We're not all terrorist's.." "I am not a terrorist I am an Arab American. All of these stories were effective and persuasive and even though it hurts to listen to these stories it is important in order to keep the past from repeating itself.

Response #4; Dave Barry & Plagiarism

             I believe that plagiarism can mean different things to different people. For example a teach might see getting ideas from a friend on what to write in your paper or taking a new spin on a popular tile but I think that the thoughts and writings of other people being available on the internet is more beneficial than it is negative. I even looked in the comments of the post about plagiarism to open up to different ideas and opinions. When you are reading someone else's ideas you are taking a step into their mind and thinking process and it can enlighten you on a new way to think or give you a better understanding on an opposite view from your own. As for completely copying someone's thought process and taking credit for yourself, I believe that is unethical but I also think that the consequences for cheating are extreme. If someone chooses to cheat that should be on their own conscience, maybe give the paper an F and move on. For the mark to go on your transcript seems ridiculous to me, I do believe in the statement "A cheater is only cheating themselves" because someone else's actions are none of your concern.

"Today’s students stand at the crossroads of a new way of conceiving texts and the people who create them and who quote them"

This quote just makes the author sound bitter about the development of technology and the ease of the internet.

             As for Dave Barry's article on college, I could connect with the sarcastic and witty tone he used to describe the 'best four years of your life.' The summary's of different classes were actually funny and I could relate to them with just high school classes...

                              "Basically, you learn two kinds of things in college:
                               1. Things you will need to know in later life (two hours).                                2. Things you will not need to know in later life (1,998 hours)."

In the midst of college application week and the stress of senior year the light heartedness of the paper was a nice break to read something about college that doesn't weigh heavy on you or make a giant deal out of choosing a university, but, in a way making fun of the idea of college.

Book Response #3; Sell Out

                             

      

      I recently started a new book called 'Sell Out' by Ebony Joy Wilkens. The book starts out describing Natasha, "a dark skinned and big boned" freshman girl that lived in a majorly white community. Her family tries to shape themselves to the society around them and fit in with the white community by buying the newest Michael Kors purse and enrolling their daughter in ballet. Natasha's grandmother, Tilly, comes to visit and watch Natasha's last ballet recital. Tilly has the idea that African Americans and White people are two completely different species. She believes Natasha shouldn't be in ballet and living in a preppy town that 'didn't have enough jerk chicken.' This led me to the thought that the only real racist so far is Tilly herself. Natasha says "I was different from the other dancers... the girls never cared. They were my friends."

This picture shows segregation protests in the 

50s

      Natasha goes to Harlem with her grandmother and learns more about her self and her history as an African American. The title of the book now makes sense. "Sell Out", which to me means trying to be someone you are not. Tilly wants Natasha to 'act like an African American' instead of the white suburb neighbors she has. Which is like a large scale of segregation and seems to make White and Black people to different categories which I think is a completely stereotypical statement, no matter what color someone is, they should be able to act however they want.

The colored picture shows protest after the Ferguson shooting in 2014

These pictures represent that even after 60 years, there are still problems with the battle of racism. But could it also root from the African Americans themselves?

Book response #2

     The author of the book Don't Turn Around, is Michelle Gagnon. Gagnon is a fairly new novelist and has a reputation for crime fiction books. She has published multiple thrillers and murder mystery's ranging from college campus murder to abductions by Mexican drug cartels. Each of her stories, except for Don't Turn Around can be based off of terrifying true stories, and many of them are based off of corrupt government involvement. Gagnon caters her books towards young adults and more specifically- mystery enthusiasts, and her writing can most likely be compared to that of David Belbin and his trilogy; Point Crime.

        In Don't Turn Around, Michelle Gagnon uses 'text talk' and instant message font to keep the reader interested. Sometimes, it is hard to focus on the text when it is all one uniform type, filling page, after page. The im'ing and texts break up the story and give it a casual, more relatable feel, which I really like.  

      Don't Turn Around, is full of suspense and has a huge plot line, so it makes sense that it was split up into multiple books. There are 2 other books relating to 'Project PERSEF0NE', making for a trilogy. The book is still really interesting and shocking, and I think it takes a great writer to keep a reader on their toes up until the very end of the book. I look forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy and hope they are as enjoyable as this one was.

Book response

       In the beginning of Don't Turn Around, two characters are introduced; Noa and Peter. Noa wakes up and is in a strange warehouse with an incision on her chest, and she doesn't know how she got there, it tells the story of how she escapes. Meanwhile, Peter hacks into his dad's computer and finds a file labeled "Project Persephone." He tries to hack into the website but then something terrifying happens. "The  question was, could anything Bob was involved with possibly be worth the time commitment?   
Probably not, Peter decided. With a yawn, he powered down the laptop.
 A minute later, his front door was kicked in."

       Noa escapes the warehouse and makes her way back into her neighborhood in Boston, where she tries to piece together what happened. She gets an anonymous email with a coded message about meeting somewhere to discuss 'a paper'. Ironically the email is from Peter and the characters are apparently soon going to meet face to face.

      As the story goes on, Noa continues to run from the men dressed as security guards and finally rents an apartment for a night where she hacks into the same website Peter did, to see what she could find. The files end up being about her, like I had suspected.                                                                                                    The Sci-Fi aspect of the book makes it difficult to relate to the characters. Noa is fostered and Peter is ignored by his parents, so the characters themselves can connect. For someone who has lived their entire life with both parents in the picture I can't  relate to the 'abandoned' or 'independent' aspects of the book.

101 Things About Me

1.) I am terrified of heights and rollercoasters, although I force myself to ride them.


2.) Centipedes are the thing I hate most in this life.


3.) I've played every (female) sport except for softball.


4.) I love to travel, I'm going to Europe this coming spring break.


5.) My favorite color is turquoise, and it's the color of my bedroom.


6.) My best friend is Ellie Tate.


7.) I have to have a cup of tea every night before bed or I wont fall asleep.


8.) I am one of the most clumsy people I know.


9.) My favorite restaurant is Qdoba.


10.) I work at Chick-fil-A.


11.) I used to play the violin.


12.) I'd like to go to MSU for who knows what degree, next fall.


13.) I am a good reader, but a terrible writer


14.) I hate onions with a passion.


15.) I love my dogs more than anything