Monday, December 5, 2011

Self Searching..

I can't find anything on myself, but there's a doctor in San Diego with my name(it's mine) and an attorney in some far away land. Even used a people searching tool and found nothing.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thinking Outside the Box

Our thinking really isn’t something that we think about. No attention is paid to the validity of the things accepted as fact or to if upon further evaluation there is more to be learned. There are things that limit our thinking; and those are the things that Plato and Sartre both try to evaluate.
                In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave there are prisoners whose reality is created by others, and they are locked in place, and the only way to see for themselves what is out there is to break free, brave the unfamiliar sunlight and have the will to leave the cave they feel so safe in, then they can know reality. This tells a lot about how Plato thinks about how others think, there is the commonly accepted thing, that everyone feels safe accepting; but that isn’t necessarily the truth. And that it takes a special kind of person who can be brave enough to go away from the crowd and the comfort of these thoughts and develop their own.  Plato’s use of metaphors is how he effectively conveys his ideas about thinking, and Sartre isn’t all too different in his ways.
                Sartre’s “No Exit” follows three people who are damned to Hell; but is isn’t a normal Hell, they are in a normal room with others, at first they don’t think it will be so bad. Then they began to loathe each other, and they are unable to rest, so they are forced to live with each other all of the time, leading to Sartre’s most famous quote, “people are hell.” Sartre sees others as the limitations to our thinking, similar to Plato. There is also another scene that struck me, where the door opens, but they are too stubborn to go through the door possibly being freed.  Though it is different from The Cave, it has some striking similarities.
                Plato’s prisoners are able to leave the cave, but choose not to, because they are too afraid of what might be out there, just as the visitors in “No Exit” who don’t leave the room because they are too stubborn. These are two things that can hold back thought. Then there is the big thing, which is others; both of the stories have people what is holding back the growth and mental freedom of them. Though Plato and Sartre are different in their philosophical views and from completely different eras, they both saw what can hold back people from thinking. 


AP Term: Dialect



Different people from different places all talk differently. Even if the language itself is the same, the words, structure and tone can vary greatly. You can see differences in looking from one side of California to the other, let alone the various regions of the US. Dialects are the unique changes to language that differentiate regions, professions and social classes from each other.

American English Dialects

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Literature Analysis #3

1.   1.    Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller follows Willy, a salesman who wants his family to live and be the American Dream.  Willy strives for success and for everyone to like him, but is disheartened by his son Biff who doesn’t. Biff was really good at football in high school and could’ve played in college, but chose to not go to summer school and improve his grades.  Willy’s wife wants him to try and talk to his boss to allow him to not have to commute so far because she thinks it’s too hard on him, but when he tries to persuade his boss he fires him.  Now Willy is unemployed and thinks that his chance at success is over with and becomes suicidal, eventually killing himself in a car crash so that his money can get insurance money.
2.   2.    Don’t have unrealistic or impossible goals. Willy wants his life to be perfect, and in that perfect life wants others to change who they are to fit the mold that he has created in his mind. He see’s success as the only reason to do something, even though success has evaded him, and it is because of his unrealistic aspirations that he ends up killing himself.
3.     3.  The tone is a sad and serious one. The story revolves around a man’s downward spiral into taking his own life it’s understandable that the tone is what it is.
“After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than you are alive.” This is a sad quote from the story where Willy begins to think that his life insurance is worth more to his family than his life.
“Dad is never so happy as when he’s looking forward to something!” This quote shows how Willy doesn’t like the life he IS living, but instead only looks to what could be in the future.
“No man only needs a little salary.” This quote shows the greed in the play, and how Willy and some of the other characters are fueled but nothing but physical desires and social acceptance.
4.       4. Some literary techniques used in the play are metaphors, flashbacks, irony, symbolism and imagery. Frequently during the play the audience is sent back to events in the past, may it be Biff in high school or events in Willy’s life. It helps clarify why Willy wants what he wants and is so angry that is isn’t how he dreams it should be.
“You can’t eat the orange and throw away the peel – a man is not a piece of fruit.” Here is an example of a metaphor in the play. Here Willy talks about how you cannot use people and then leave them using an orange as a medium; it also shows the theme, because he feels as though he is being used, and is comparing himself to fruit.
“Nothing’s planted, I don’t have a thing in the ground.” Willy frequently talks about seeds and how he needs to plant some. The seeds seem to be symbolic of him thinking that he hasn’t provided his family with a future, he hasn’t provided for them; and failure is something that he loathes because it’s the opposite of what he wants.
Lastly is irony, and there are many examples of this is the play. But the most prevalent is Willy’s funeral. Willy talks about how he was successful and that in order to be successful everyone had to like you; but at his funeral hardly shows up. There is irony in a man who preaches that he is successful and that he is because people like him, having no one like him and therefore being unsuccessful.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Performative Utterance Essay (Hamlet Edition)

                The saying goes that words have power, and the theory of performative utterance seems to solidify that conception. In Hamlet we see many examples of the powers words can have on ourselves and others, but it’s not only in Hamlet where we see this, it is relevant to people outside of the Shakespearian world as well.  We sometimes forget the powers we possess through our words, but performative utterance reminds us of it.
                For a majority of the play, Hamlet doesn’t physically act to acquire what he wants, but instead uses his words to deceive and manipulate. It takes Hamlet a long time to actually act upon the oath he swore to the ghost of his father, but there of plenty of examples before this where we see him create action and further his thinking using nothing but his words. Hamlet creates the illusion that he has gone mad without ever really doing anything, but through the way he speaks and fear he creates in others minds he looks through the eyes of others to have gone mad. This is one example of Hamlet’s use of performative utterance; without ever acting, he acts. This is a pivotal part of the play, because he without doing anything to incriminate himself, he fakes his own madness allowing him to do and say the things necessary to exert his revenge. Another example is when Hamlet talks to people who aren’t as high in society as himself, he like to remind them of that. Sarcasm and witty assaults on others intellects is one way Hamlet likes to exert his dominance over others. Overall Hamlet uses words as a means to passively (or passive aggressively) create action without literally creating the action.
                It is common place for someone to say that they should’ve done something or that they will do it in the future. These are two examples of self-overhearing that people can see in their normal lives. Telling yourself you’ll do something or promising to someone else that you will is good ways to have yourself get things done. Looking at the past and telling yourself that you’ll do something different is a good way to further your thinking and yourself. Sometimes the things we need to grow is just ourselves.
                Words can do more than they’re given credit for, they can motivate, unencourage, help others or hurt them. Sometimes acting isn’t necessary an effective grasp of language is all you need. Hamlet exhibits this throughout the play and people outside of Hamlet do as well. The line between a talker and a doer is no so clear when the talker can do without doing. They can create an illusion of madness, motivate themselves and much more. Sometimes speaking is all the action that you need to take.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Language in Literature

Language is that which makes humans human. Communication is what allows humans to convey their needs, desires and feeling so much more effectively than other creatures. Different people use it differently and for different reasons, and it’s apparent when comparing characters like Hamlet, to those found in the epics. Hamlet uses language as a means to get out his emotions and to deceive his companions, while epic heroes, such as Beowulf, are more stoic and noble with their language.
                Hamlet is a character who isn’t really concerned with keeping an image of honor and mental and emotional strength, but is in fact looking for just the opposite. While Hamlet is really insane, it is important for him to look like an emotional wreck, and for much of the play that is what he uses language to do. For instance in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy, he gives Claudius the impression that he cannot even decide whether he should continue on with life. There is another example later with Ophelia, where he portrays his mental instability by verbally assaulting her. This Hamlet isn’t really the real Hamlet, but instead is Hamlet using language as a means to achieve his goal of revenge. This isn’t something you would find epic heroes partaking in with language.
                Heroes such as Beowulf aren’t those you would find using language to persuade people to do their bidding. But instead would use language to sway people using their positive assets, like nobility and accounts of previous deeds. Such as when Beowulf comes to ask permission from the Danes to kill Grendel, he tells of his reputation and hopes that is enough, but unlike Hamlet they don’t use it as a tool of manipulation. Also epic heroes aren’t those you would expect to be expressing their emotions to others, but instead keep them to themselves; and so that is what they do, they really don’t use it language as a tool of self-expression.
                While we all use language, we don’t all use it in the same way. Some people, like Hamlet, use language as a means of manipulation and deception; and others, such as epic heroes, use language to tell of their feats and honor, and use that as means of persuasion. Language is something that’s nature reflects the nature of the speaker. So while everyone may speak the same, no person is the same, so no person will use language the same. People have certain things such as their self-image, mindset and aspirations that affect the way they use language and the nature of the usage. Hamlet and Beowulf are very different characters in very different situations, and therefore use language in almost polar natures.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Major Concept This Class Taught Me



To understand something, you really have to know how it works. Not just to see something and accept it, but to question it and want to learn why it is the why it is. Comprehending how something works can be much more complex than understanding the finished product, but if you know how something works or why it is made in a certain way over the other, you can better understand why the person made it the way they did, and it can help you to better your own pursuits. Lots of people can drive a car, but some don't know how the engine really works. Now this won't stop you from using the completed product, but when your car breaks down and you need to fix it, you're stuck.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Guest Speaker Roy Christopher

Main Points of Roy's Interview

  • "The medium is the message"
  • Don't let technology victimize you
  • Older generations need to learn to trust the younger ones, even though that's never how has been or will be. With change comes fear.
  • "Program or be programmed" Know how things work or you will be at mercy to those who do
  • Technology is becoming a part of life, but you don't have to adopt all of it.
  • "Multitasking is a myth" even with all the technology we have, there are still somethings that cannot really be done

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Literature Analysis #2

1.    1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck tells the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie.  Lennie is a little slow and acts as though he was a child, but is very large and strong; so George does all of the talking and tries to get opportunities for them. George and Lennie’s dream is to get enough money to buy a ranch, full of rabbits as far as the eye can see. This hope is sort of what keeps them going.  In the beginning of the book they are on the way to another ranch for a new job after they were forced to leave their last job because Lennie was accused of raping a girl in the town. They find new work and hope that this place will work out better. But Lennie’s strength and mental boundaries cause him to kill his puppy, crush a man’s hand, and eventually kill the ranch owner’s son’s wife. After George learns that Lennie killed Curley’s wife he finds him at the clearing that he told him to run to if anything went wrong, and while telling him about the ranch they’ll get full of rabbits, he kills his best friend in order to save him from the things that would’ve happened had he not done that.

2.    2.The theme of the story is about the American dream. All of the characters in the story in one way or another dream that one day their hard work will pay off and they can live their dreams, but they all have something holding them back. They look at the dream as a means to keep going, even though they all in the back of their minds know they won’t get it.

3.  3. The tone seems to be a tragic one. They have dreams and aspirations, but they are stuck working on a ranch, and have things holding them back from that dream.
“Well, we aint got any,’ George exploded. ‘Whatever we aint got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.”
Here we see George’s dilemma, his tragedy. Lennie is his best friend but he is also what is holding him back. He can’t have his friend and what he wants, he can only have one.
“I remember the rabbits, George.”
The hell with the rabbits that’s all you can ever remember is them rabbits.”
Here we see a bit of the dream that George and Lennie dream of that they cannot get. They work and dream but they know they cannot get their dream.
“Lennie said, ‘George.”
“Yeah?”
“I done another bad thing.”
“It don’t make no difference,’  George said, and he fell silent again.”
Here we see George give up, after the thing that Lennie has done he realizes that their dream is now all but gone and there is no way for them to get it back, a really tragic quote.

4.   4. Of Mice and Men uses many literary elements and techniques to create the tragic tone and theme; among them are symbolism, setting, imagery, syntax and similes.
“OK Someday—were gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—“
“An’ live off the fatta the lan’,”
Here we see the symbol of the American dream that keeps George and Lennie going. Their dream of owning a ranch, the imagery and similes that they use throughout the story really make the reader envision and understand why they want what they want, but also understand why it’s unattainable.
“I tell you I aint used to livin’ like this. I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” She said darkly, “Maybe I will yet.” And then her words tumbled out in a passion of sommunication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away. “I lived in Salinas,” she said. “Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show came though, an’ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t let me. She says because I was on’y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I’d went, I couldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet.”
Here we see Curley’s wife tell about her shot at living her dream and how she missed it. It shows how she could’ve attained her goal, but her mother held her back, and now she is stuck in Salinas, living on her husband’s family ranch. She could’ve been the actress she dreamed of but lost out. I also chose this because I chose this because it mentions the setting. During the 1930’s in the Central Valley of California many people worked as migrant workers, dreaming of something more and many failed, just as George and Lennie did.
“A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.
Here we see an example of Steinbeck’s great syntax, imagery and symbolism. Lennie just floats along and doesn’t really know or understand the dangers of the world, and eventually the evils of the world catch up to him, and Lennie has to kill him so he can die peacefully. Like the snake being plucked from the water, Lennie is killed without having a chance to think about what is happening. 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Tools That Change the Way We Think

Answer this not-so-simple question: How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think? Focus on your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sense of time and priorities, and the subjects/topics that interest you most. If you find "thinking about your thinking" difficult to assess, try the following strategies: compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed; compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today; read up on what education leaders and thinkers have to say about generational differences in thinking (and remember to cite your sources).


Extensive use of technology in my mind doesn’t make you lazier. It’s more of a matter of convenience than a matter of interest. It would be illogical to skim through an encyclopedia when you can open the internet and after a search find the exact information if not more. This can make it more difficult to concentrate on something just because of the fact that in the back of your mind you see it as a waste of time to do it another way. It’s all a matter of how you use the tools that are given to you; people who get sidetracked whilst using the internet and technology probably would get more distracted if they had to do the same task at the library. The role of technology is to take something and refine it so that is becomes easier or more convenient and that is exactly what is happening here. While it may not always be the best information it is quick and easy to get. Now instead of having to look through the archives of a library to find obscure information about topics we don’t know much about, you can use your phone and the information you need, easier and faster. The only negative I can think of is that on the internet there are lots of articles where people interpret and give their opinion; instead of you reading the information and creating an opinion of your own. In that sense the internet does create an environment where thinking isn’t necessary, but also gives you an opportunity to look at something and understand where and when someone has put their opinions and ideas into the facts.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

In Search Of

 The video doesn't really make me think different about the information, when you read something you should think about who put it there and why. Anyone anywhere can write anything that they want and if you blindly accept it you're only hurting yourself.


I tried to be specific so that there wasn't as much for it to filter. If I just said Shakespeare is could show me anything, but I thought if I narrowed it down it would have to show me the more specific result. Other than that it didn't seem like there was much else you could change, my "bubble" has already been magically formulated around my computer and I don't know how to pop it...

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Notes on Hamlet

At the beginning of the play I looked at Hamlet differently. I thought he was just crazy, but now I see him more as an intelligent crazy. He's crazy about getting revenge, but how he goes about it is smart and he wants to make sure it is done precisely as he envisions it. I see Hamlet's plans going as planned, but that the repercussions of his actions may not turn out as well.

Who Was Shakespeare?

Shakespeare wasn't a nobleman, but seemed to have been more of a normal guy. He established himself as a good actor, poet and screen write and today we look at him as the best. When students think of Shakespeare they think of English that isn't English. His writings can be very confusing when you try and interpret his dialect and all you know if that which we speak now. You just have to approach his writings different, because sometimes they're very abstract and almost always have more meaning than you give them credit for. Sometimes it is just too different to comprehend, but you can normally think out what he probably would've said.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

At first glance Facebook appeared to be harmless and a little intimidating because of the face that EVERYONE can see it. This was one aspect that I never was fond of, that anyone who wants to see what you've said can. You can talk to your friends for what appears to be free. But you are in a way paying with your personal information. This doesn't seem like a very bad thing though; they have to make money and selling information about what kind of ads to show to a certain consumer doesn't seem very bad to me. The ads would be there anyway and you can ignore these just as easy as any others. It was interesting to me how many young people were on the site, under the age of 12, all the other information really seemed kind of obvious, they're a business.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Don't Be Hamlet

                In this soliloquy from the play, we see Hamlet’s mental struggle about whether or not he should continue on, or just end his life. He sees all the bad things happening to him and wonders why he should even go on living, and not just give up. That it was cowardly to fear death, but fails to ignore the cowardice that is present is he does decide to end his life.
                Hamlet has lots of problems, so much so that he sees life as hopeless and pointless, but killing himself isn’t a solution to them. Someone who really wasn’t a coward would fix the problems that were in front of them rather than kill themselves and hope that they will fix themselves. Avenging his father and taking the throne back would fix all the problems, which suicide would fix none of.
                Hamlet is an emotional wreck in this play. He sees all the wrong around him and thinks that there is no way for him to fix it. Instead of trying the stop all that is going on wrong around him from taking place, he just contemplates whether to kill himself, which accomplishes nothing. Suicide never really solves anything, and it wouldn’t make sense for it to here.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Literature Analysis

“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
1.     
 1. “The Road” is the story of an unnamed father and son on a journey towards the coast, which they see as a last refuge of hope. The post-apocalyptic world that they find themselves in is harsh and unforgiving, all they have is a gun with three bullet, a little bit of supplies and each other. On the trail they see the “bad people;” slavers and marauders who are trying to take advantage of each the people around them. They have to always be cautious in their travels towards the coast, but they eventually make it, and when they do it isn’t what they expected. It’s just as bleak and desolate as the rest, and shortly after reaching there the father died from illness mixed with physical injury. This leaves the boy with no hope, unsure of what to do he sits by his father’s dead body for fays until he is found by a man who says he will take him into his company of wanderers.
2.    
  2. The theme is about good vs. evil. The man and his son are like the last bastion of goodness that is left in the world. Everything around them has succumbed to the world around them. Cannibals, slavers and marauders are what they have to assume people are, and they struggle to even find food. But they don’t give in and eat others, or steal things or people. They try and stay as honest as they can in their attempt to survive in the post-apocalyptic world.
3.    
   3.The tone in this novel is one of hopelessness. Even when the father is telling his son that they will get through it, sometimes even he doubts their chances in his mind. The writing makes the entire story feel empty and as though the man and son and just delaying the inevitable.
“When were all gone at last then there’ll be nobody here but death and his days will be numbered too. He’ll be out in the road there with nothing to do and nobody to do it to. He’ll say; Where did everybody go? And that’s how it will be. What’s wrong with that?” This quote talks about how soon everyone will be gone, even death will be lost and hopeless.
“Do you think your fathers are watching? That they weigh you in the ledger book? Against what? There is no book and you fathers are dead in the ground.” This quote shows the man and how all his hope in even the divine is lost. The writing itself is so harsh and extreme that a looming hopelessness is left after reading it. “On this road there are no godspoke men. They are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world.” Here McCarthy does a lot with one line. The isolation that the man feels, the devastation the world has endured and the hopelessness that was left behind.
4.   
  4.  “The Road” uses many literary elements and techniques to create the gloomy and hopeless world that was so effectively captured; and show the struggle between good and evil. The syntax used,  setting, imagery, symbolism and use of similes.
“He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none. In the dream from which he’d wakened he had wandered in a cave where the child led him by the hand. Their light playing over the wet flowstone walls. Like pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of some granitic beast.” Here we see how McCarthy uses imagery to really give the reader a vivid image of the simple action of the man waking up. At the end of the quote we also see a simile that refers to the bible, this reference brought to us by the simile, shows how the world has become a place terrible enough to discourage anyone. The image of there no light in the sky and the reference showing how they’re like biblical figures, swallowed up in this new apocalyptic world help to convey the tone of hopelessness that is prevalent in this book.
“Look at me, the man said.
He turned and looked. He looked like he’d been crying.
Just tell me.
We wouldn’t ever eat anybody, would we?
No. Of course not.
Even if we were starving.
We’re starving now.
You said we weren’t
I said we weren’t dying. I didn’t say we weren’t starving.
But we wouldn’t
No. We wouldn’t.
No matter what.
No. No matter what
Because were the good guys.
Yes
And were carrying the fire.
And were carrying the fire. Yes
Okay” Here we see the boy wrestling again with morality and where they fall in the world. The imaginary fire that he is so concerned about seems to be one of the more important symbols in the book. It symbolizes love and goodness, something that seems to be all but lost to everyone but the man and his son. The words used here are very simple and to the point, but they’re dealing with a very complex issue. Good vs. evil is easy to notice as being important when the boy begins to think, why aren’t we like them if were in the same situation, what makes us different?
“He walked out into the road and stood. The silence. The salitter drying from the earth. The mudstained shapes of floating cities burned to the waterline. At a crossroads a ground set with dolmen stones where the spoken bones of oracles lay moldering. No sound but the wind. What will you say? A living man spoke these lines? He sharpened a quill with his small penknife to scribe these things in sloe or lampblack? At some reckonable and entabled moment? He is coming to steal my eyes. To seal my mouth with dirt.
This quote very effectively shows the eeriness and emptiness of the setting; there is no hope in this quote. Whenever the setting is described, it is about how it is dead, grey and ashy; the setting really contributes to why hopelessness is what is felt while the book is being read. Everything is gone,  it is a struggle to survive and everything is hostile.