My first comment is from Sebastian's blog. His post was about his mash-up project and how the meaning behind it really resonated with him.
I definitely feel the same way about my mash-up. It gave new meaning to a lot of great things, meaning I would never have found if not for this project, not to mention that it's always fun to incorporate what you love into schoolwork. What other kind of project would allow me to cite a video game? Anyways, it's cool to know that someone else enjoyed/found meaning from the mash-up project just as much as I did.
My second comment is from Eliana's blog. Her post was a dialectic about bliss vs. darkness, and how she would have chosen to stay in the Matrix.
Watching "The Matrix" really made me think like you did. Besides considering the way of life in each reality, there was no sensory difference between the two, so either was a viable reality in my opinion. Also, the machines could have been a lot harsher by possibly either forcing us to be conscious of the real world while being used as a human battery, or not even having any sort of consciousness. If Morpheus presented me with the choice Neo had to make, I would have chosen the blue pill and told him to free me from the Matrix when there was a world worth living in, because until the machines are defeated, the only purpose of living in the real world is to fight them; unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who's willing to do that.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Dialectics: Freedom and Security
Freedom is a concept that has sparked many a revolution, waged many a war, and motivated countless people across the globe. Freedom is one of the biggest ideals that people strive for, one of the governing principles of what we call the "free" world.
Security, however, is what makes us feel safe at night. It is what lets us know we can walk out the doors of our houses and nothing will threaten our well-being. Security is what governs our society, as without security, there is no society.
In The Matrix, Neo is offered a choice by Morpheus. He can take the red pill and experience the freedom of the real world, away from the lie he's being fed by the machines; or he can take the blue pill, which makes him wake up in bed with no memory of meeting Morpheus, thus guaranteeing him a secure life within the Matrix.
As of recently, these two ideas have been very prevalent during the gun control debates. One side argues for security, the other for freedom. It's surprising that such grand human ideas can clash so much. Or do they?
In a way, freedom and security are intertwined. In this country people have the freedom to join the police, the firemen, or the army, with the sole purpose of ensuring our security and safety. In this country we also have the security of knowing that these same men and women are protecting our freedom.
The same logic could be applied to the gun control debates. For those who fear that the government wants to take their guns, they can be given the security that such a thing will never happen. As for those who demand stricter gun control, they can be given the freedom to feel safer through laws regulating the buying and selling of guns. In a democracy, compromises must be made.
My 7th grade social studies teacher once said that our rights are limited by the rights of others. When it comes to freedom and security, this may be the one thing that can unite the two ideas. It may just be what we need to save ourselves.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Metacognition: Jane Eyre Mashup
When I first heard about the Jane Eyre mashup project, I was rather perplexed. It was rather different from any essay, test, or blog I had ever done for English. I had heard of mashups, but I had never been required to make one. My curiosity allowed me to enter this project with a positive outlook and a desire to see where my work would take me.
I began by creating an outline for my mashup that listed every source I was to use. I began by figuring out the necessary sub-themes within my main theme (love). I then combined all of these ideas into a short yet to-the-point subtitle for my presentation. Each time I found a new source, I would add it and any other required information to the outline. I must say I had a lot of fun finding my outside sources, because I was able to take things I enjoy and use them for school, and that kind of process usually has worked out for me. I even cited a quote from a video game! When else would I ever get to do that?
After I had found all of my sources, I began to put them all together in a PowerPoint. I originally planned to make a video, but I grew too impatient with the video-editing software on my computer. Luckily I was able to compromise by setting the slides to move automatically. I spent time organizing my sources so that they would appear in the best order possible. Putting everything in order was surprisingly easy considering how many different places I found my sources. I was even able to have some fun with music, as three of my outside sources were songs (one for each sub-theme . I would put my favorite lyrics from the song on a slide, and I would play the song in the background of any slides that were under the same sub-theme as the song. This was probably my favorite part of my final product.
In total, I was quite surprised by how easy some aspects of this project came to me. I feel that mashups are something that comes naturally to me, as I commonly make connections between different ideas every day. Being a musician, I was able to create a good flow between the different elements of my mashup because I could figure out what two ideas sounded good next to each other. In my opinion, the only thing that would make my mashup better is more time to work! It would also be fun to use more outside sources because they were some of my favorites. All in all, the Jane Eyre mashup was a project that I would love to do again.
I began by creating an outline for my mashup that listed every source I was to use. I began by figuring out the necessary sub-themes within my main theme (love). I then combined all of these ideas into a short yet to-the-point subtitle for my presentation. Each time I found a new source, I would add it and any other required information to the outline. I must say I had a lot of fun finding my outside sources, because I was able to take things I enjoy and use them for school, and that kind of process usually has worked out for me. I even cited a quote from a video game! When else would I ever get to do that?
After I had found all of my sources, I began to put them all together in a PowerPoint. I originally planned to make a video, but I grew too impatient with the video-editing software on my computer. Luckily I was able to compromise by setting the slides to move automatically. I spent time organizing my sources so that they would appear in the best order possible. Putting everything in order was surprisingly easy considering how many different places I found my sources. I was even able to have some fun with music, as three of my outside sources were songs (one for each sub-theme . I would put my favorite lyrics from the song on a slide, and I would play the song in the background of any slides that were under the same sub-theme as the song. This was probably my favorite part of my final product.
In total, I was quite surprised by how easy some aspects of this project came to me. I feel that mashups are something that comes naturally to me, as I commonly make connections between different ideas every day. Being a musician, I was able to create a good flow between the different elements of my mashup because I could figure out what two ideas sounded good next to each other. In my opinion, the only thing that would make my mashup better is more time to work! It would also be fun to use more outside sources because they were some of my favorites. All in all, the Jane Eyre mashup was a project that I would love to do again.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Metacognition: My Short Story
I have to say I was pretty excited for the short story unit in English. It felt like a breath of fresh air after the arduous task of writing my poem. While the experience has been better, it was a lot different than I expected.
The short story process really began when we read a few stories and learned just exactly what a short story is. Whether we read about a crazy grandpa retelling a story to his grandson or someone trying to describe cathedrals to a blind man, each story had one thing in common: pressure. Something about the narrator's situation had to put him/her in a tough place. The more stories I read, the more apparent this became.
When the time came for me to write my short story fragment, I was ready to go. I knew exactly what I was going to write about, and nobody was about to tell me otherwise. Writing my fragment was a blissful experience, as I was able to let out pure creative energy onto the paper. I even used some visuals to help me paint a picture with words. Looking back, I have to say that this fragment was the foundation of my short story.
My story fragment was definitely a good start, and there were a lot of directions I could go with it. The pressure, the characters, and many other story elements had a lot of possibilities. When it came time for me to complete the third step and write a four-page draft, I felt prepared. The added space gave the story some room to breathe, and many important parts of my story were created during this step.
When I moved on to the fourth step, I was introduced to the "pressure meter", a quantity that was supposed to gauge how much pressure I was putting on my main character. On the third step I scored somewhat low, my fragment only garnering a "4". This time around I was motivated to put more pressure into my story. This became a little tough the way my story had previously turned out. While the story did have a narrator, it mainly focused on the story told by another supporting character. This made the issue of pressure tough because it was hard to decide whom I should put pressure on. This definitely showed in my completed fourth step draft.
The fourth step did not yield as promising results as I had hoped. I only moved from a "4" to a "6" on the pressure meter. While I was at least in the top half of the meter, it still wasn't enough. The fifth step was where I made some of the biggest changes to the main story, changes that in my opinion should have been made during the previous steps. Large parts of the story became small chunks that contributed to a new ending. It was also during this step that I was finally able to come up with the title that was truly best for my story. While much of the changes made during step five were rather belated, they were the most important in improving my story.
As I write this blog, I have yet to begin step six, in which I will revise the ending of my story and turn in the final draft. Frankly, I am a little nervous for this step, as I have made so many changes already that this draft may push me over the edge, or at least get me close.
All in all, the short story process so far has been quite a ride, and I've learned quite a lot about the way I think. I think that many important changes came during the later steps because my brain wasn't ready for these changes until I got to these steps. It's almost as if I subconsciously knew that my story wasn't ready for major change until it had a solid foundation.
While it's had its share of stress, the short story unit has been one of my favorite units this year. I can't wait to finish!
The short story process really began when we read a few stories and learned just exactly what a short story is. Whether we read about a crazy grandpa retelling a story to his grandson or someone trying to describe cathedrals to a blind man, each story had one thing in common: pressure. Something about the narrator's situation had to put him/her in a tough place. The more stories I read, the more apparent this became.
When the time came for me to write my short story fragment, I was ready to go. I knew exactly what I was going to write about, and nobody was about to tell me otherwise. Writing my fragment was a blissful experience, as I was able to let out pure creative energy onto the paper. I even used some visuals to help me paint a picture with words. Looking back, I have to say that this fragment was the foundation of my short story.
My story fragment was definitely a good start, and there were a lot of directions I could go with it. The pressure, the characters, and many other story elements had a lot of possibilities. When it came time for me to complete the third step and write a four-page draft, I felt prepared. The added space gave the story some room to breathe, and many important parts of my story were created during this step.
When I moved on to the fourth step, I was introduced to the "pressure meter", a quantity that was supposed to gauge how much pressure I was putting on my main character. On the third step I scored somewhat low, my fragment only garnering a "4". This time around I was motivated to put more pressure into my story. This became a little tough the way my story had previously turned out. While the story did have a narrator, it mainly focused on the story told by another supporting character. This made the issue of pressure tough because it was hard to decide whom I should put pressure on. This definitely showed in my completed fourth step draft.
The fourth step did not yield as promising results as I had hoped. I only moved from a "4" to a "6" on the pressure meter. While I was at least in the top half of the meter, it still wasn't enough. The fifth step was where I made some of the biggest changes to the main story, changes that in my opinion should have been made during the previous steps. Large parts of the story became small chunks that contributed to a new ending. It was also during this step that I was finally able to come up with the title that was truly best for my story. While much of the changes made during step five were rather belated, they were the most important in improving my story.
As I write this blog, I have yet to begin step six, in which I will revise the ending of my story and turn in the final draft. Frankly, I am a little nervous for this step, as I have made so many changes already that this draft may push me over the edge, or at least get me close.
All in all, the short story process so far has been quite a ride, and I've learned quite a lot about the way I think. I think that many important changes came during the later steps because my brain wasn't ready for these changes until I got to these steps. It's almost as if I subconsciously knew that my story wasn't ready for major change until it had a solid foundation.
While it's had its share of stress, the short story unit has been one of my favorite units this year. I can't wait to finish!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
It Matters: Heart of Darkness and 19th-Century Imperialism
The desire to control others has existed for all of human history. People have always wanted to be able to say that they are the ones with power, and quite often this power goes to people's heads. This idea is prevalent in 19th-century imperialism along with the numerous works of literature that came out of it, such as Heart of Darkness.
In Heart of Darkness, the character Kurtz becomes obsessed with his newfound power upon entering the Congo and turns the local tribes into his personal servants. He even commits serious atrocities such as surrounding the walls of his house with the severed heads of Africans. Upon trying to leave his newly-formed kingdom, Kurtz has a hard time abandoning his position of power.
During the 1800s, colonialism was reborn in the form of 19th-century imperialism. Various European powers claimed colonies all around the globe, primarily in Africa and Asia. By the time that the 1900s rolled around, almost all of Africa had been divided into colonial possessions. These colonies were usually formed for military reasons, economic reasons, or simply for prestige. In some colonies, like the Belgian Congo, the natives were subjected to atrocities such as the amputation of hands as a punishment.
While imperialism may seem like a thing of the past, it is still alive today in the form of conflicts such as the Afghanistan War. Just as European countries created colonies to control resources, a big part of the Afghanistan War was the amount of untapped oil reserves in Afghanistan, and as usual, severe atrocities have been committed during the U.S. military's time in Afghanistan (see the attached article). As of recently, Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai demanded that U.S. troops leave the Wardak province due to accusations of U.S. soldiers causing Afghan allies to torture other Afghans in the area, and this isn't the first time that this kind of abuse has been reported. In the past, U.S. soldiers have burned Qurans in military bases and reportedly murdered countless civilians.
Many people don't want to do anything about this war because they believe that the atrocities of imperialism are long gone. This is because they have no idea what really is happening. If more people were informed of the major downsides of the Afghanistan War, maybe we could change our ways by attempting to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible and trying to prevent imperialist wars from happening in the future.
Some people may think that imperialism is a thing of the past, but in reality, it still exists in our world today.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Connection: Heart of Darkness and The Dark Knight
Heart of Darkness is a novel that continues to be relevant even after over a century after its publication, and while there are some obvious elements that are easy to find in modern day pop culture, there are still some ideas that are not that easy to spot. Upon thinking about its modern relevance, I found a surprising connection between the book and the feature film "The Dark Knight".
One of the most important characters in Heart of Darkness is the man known as Kurtz. Hailing from Belgium, he was sent to establish a station at Kisangani along the Congo River. He had a very positive reputation among those who met him and was almost idolized by some. Unfortunately, his time in the depths of the Congo proved to be too much for him, as he went crazy and retreated into the darkness of the forest, allying himself with the native tribes. After Kurtz falls into bad health and dies, the protagonist Marlow goes to visit his wife and must defend his reputation in front of her, lying about his last words to make him sound like the man she married.
The Dark Knight contains many elements similar to this. The character Harvey Dent is the new District Attorney of Gotham City and is adored by everyone. He's put so many criminals behind bars that he is pretty much considered Gotham's superhero. In a freak accident, half of Harvey's face becomes scarred and his girlfriend Rachel is killed. Eventually Harvey becomes corrupted by the Joker, the main villain of the movie, and goes on a mad rampage killing everyone he believes was responsible for Rachel's death. Batman, aka Gotham's other superhero, eventually hunts down the newly named Two-Face after he captures the commissioner and his family. After he and Batman fall off a ledge, Two-Face is killed by the impact. Realizing that the Joker will have done exactly what he wants if Two-Face's reputation is tarnished, Batman lies and assumes responsibility for Two-Face's murders so that the public always sees him as the hero he once was.
The big similarity between these two plots is that they both feature a great man turned bad by the alluring power of darkness. Due to their reputations, nobody ever expected them to become monsters, but the conditions were just right for it to occur. Both men had a woman they loved and were motivated by her in many of their actions. Upon both Kurtz and Dent's deaths, the main protagonists had to defend the men's reputations in front of who mattered most.
The relationship between these two works is important to me because it shows how important the ideas in Heart of Darkness still are. I would have never expected to see these themes in a movie like The Dark Knight, but after thinking about it a little, it made perfect sense. This enduring relevance is one of the many reasons why I love Heart of Darkness, and it will continue to be one of my favorite books.
One of the most important characters in Heart of Darkness is the man known as Kurtz. Hailing from Belgium, he was sent to establish a station at Kisangani along the Congo River. He had a very positive reputation among those who met him and was almost idolized by some. Unfortunately, his time in the depths of the Congo proved to be too much for him, as he went crazy and retreated into the darkness of the forest, allying himself with the native tribes. After Kurtz falls into bad health and dies, the protagonist Marlow goes to visit his wife and must defend his reputation in front of her, lying about his last words to make him sound like the man she married.
The Dark Knight contains many elements similar to this. The character Harvey Dent is the new District Attorney of Gotham City and is adored by everyone. He's put so many criminals behind bars that he is pretty much considered Gotham's superhero. In a freak accident, half of Harvey's face becomes scarred and his girlfriend Rachel is killed. Eventually Harvey becomes corrupted by the Joker, the main villain of the movie, and goes on a mad rampage killing everyone he believes was responsible for Rachel's death. Batman, aka Gotham's other superhero, eventually hunts down the newly named Two-Face after he captures the commissioner and his family. After he and Batman fall off a ledge, Two-Face is killed by the impact. Realizing that the Joker will have done exactly what he wants if Two-Face's reputation is tarnished, Batman lies and assumes responsibility for Two-Face's murders so that the public always sees him as the hero he once was.
The big similarity between these two plots is that they both feature a great man turned bad by the alluring power of darkness. Due to their reputations, nobody ever expected them to become monsters, but the conditions were just right for it to occur. Both men had a woman they loved and were motivated by her in many of their actions. Upon both Kurtz and Dent's deaths, the main protagonists had to defend the men's reputations in front of who mattered most.
The relationship between these two works is important to me because it shows how important the ideas in Heart of Darkness still are. I would have never expected to see these themes in a movie like The Dark Knight, but after thinking about it a little, it made perfect sense. This enduring relevance is one of the many reasons why I love Heart of Darkness, and it will continue to be one of my favorite books.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Blogging Around 2
My first comment is from Andy's blog. His blog post was entitled "Get Organized: My Youtube Channel". It was about the process of organizing the videos on his YouTube channel.
I must say I admire your courage. It takes a lot of guts to put your ideas out there because you may be worried that nobody will listen. While you may not be a mega-million view superstar, your videos have been pretty successful for the average YouTuber. Also, if so many people are watching your videos, you are obviously making something that matters to someone. In the grand scheme of things, your videos are a part of the collective history of the human race, just as every other YouTube video is, so keep making history. One more thing: I WILL FIND YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
My second comment is from Sebas's blog. His blog post was entitled "Metacognition: Writing a Poem". The post was about the arduous journey of writing his poem.
I feel your pain, dude. For me, writing my poem was an endless stream of requests for "fresh language" and long hours at the computer thinking of ways to make my poem better. Even though I only got a B on my poem, I'm still proud of it because of all the hard work I put into it, and you should be proud of your poem no matter what grade it received because it is what you wanted it to be. My poem is exactly what I want it to be, and I personally think it was A-worthy, but that's just me. Honestly, and this goes out to everyone, as long as your poem is A-worthy in your eyes, it is exactly what it should be.
I must say I admire your courage. It takes a lot of guts to put your ideas out there because you may be worried that nobody will listen. While you may not be a mega-million view superstar, your videos have been pretty successful for the average YouTuber. Also, if so many people are watching your videos, you are obviously making something that matters to someone. In the grand scheme of things, your videos are a part of the collective history of the human race, just as every other YouTube video is, so keep making history. One more thing: I WILL FIND YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
My second comment is from Sebas's blog. His blog post was entitled "Metacognition: Writing a Poem". The post was about the arduous journey of writing his poem.
I feel your pain, dude. For me, writing my poem was an endless stream of requests for "fresh language" and long hours at the computer thinking of ways to make my poem better. Even though I only got a B on my poem, I'm still proud of it because of all the hard work I put into it, and you should be proud of your poem no matter what grade it received because it is what you wanted it to be. My poem is exactly what I want it to be, and I personally think it was A-worthy, but that's just me. Honestly, and this goes out to everyone, as long as your poem is A-worthy in your eyes, it is exactly what it should be.
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