ol blue eyes

There is so much to pull from, just with the icons, its crazy, and some old home remedies that I had forgotten until I started reading the book- I remember classmates who used to get the" Vicks treatment", and then you have to ask her mom didn't you expect her to puke after that?? the dolls, the dandelions- they're weeds that grow where ever they are, kind of like the kids in the story, they grow with no tending into what they will be.
There was a page almost devoted to being put out and being out of doors that I think still has a revelence in todays society.
My favorite is still the passage on family,It is so true, we all have people in our lives that we tend to remember a little better or worse than what reality saw- human nature.

thesis

I think I am going to use the quote on page 34 about family.
"each member of the family in his own cell of consciousness,each making his own patchwork quilt of reality--collecting fragments of experience here,pieces of information there. From the tiny impressions gleaned from one another,they created a sense of belonging and tried to make do with the way they found each other." There is just so much to work with in the story with this-its almost too easy-so The Bluest Eye is it, for me.

envy is ignorance

Just this little piece connected Yangs work and this work by Emerson, it hit it right on the head, by so envying the white kids at his school-even the mean ones, he was being ignorant of the culture that gave the rest of the world so much. He wants to "fit in" but at what cost? Sometimes you have to sacrifice something of you to get ahead, but it should never be the whole of you.

American born Chinese

This one was easier to follow than some of the other texts we have coming up, whether its the color or just getting used to seeing this form. It's, in a way, a classic tale of childhood, any ethnic body could have been substituted and it would have worked...ok minus the monkeys maybe.
On pages 32-33 this kind of plays out. You have the typical play ground bully with his followers, using things he probably heard from a parent (stay away from my dog) and then there is the one who looks like he wants to stand up to the bully, but just doesn't quite have it in him. We see him look back with an expression that almost says 'sorry'. We've seen this play out in reality. We all knew the bully and the kid being picked on. The cultural difference here could have been a physical difference or one of dialect, so the message can resonate through a wide variety of people. The underlying current of feeling left out is one many kids go through.

open message to my classmates

Hi everyone, I apologise if I was snippy this week. When Ike tore through Texas he went through home. I spent last weekend with the weather channel, by sunday I had heard from part of the family, but not from an aunt and uncle that I love and miss dearly. I knew they were low on cash after just evacuating for the last one so no one was sure if they would sit it out or go. The mayor had said stay unless you are water front- that was stupid...as you can see. I just had a phone call from a friend who spent 3 days paddling about the various shelters, she found them and now that I know they are safe-I may return to some semblence of normal. These were all taken between monday and wednesday...I guess the bright side is-no more draught conditions.

Bell Hooks

I can easily see why she chose the selection from Braveheart, there was this belief that it was based on some aspect of history that was factual. In reality there was never a "first night" right used by the overlords,but the movie played out better than the truth of an early death of a king with no heirs.
On the other-hand,I totally disagree with her views that images used to portray violence. even sexual violence against women is in some way related to the images viewed- what a freakin cop out. I can really get on a soap box here but will restrain myself...to some degree. It just harkens back to actually having to take responsibility for their actions-blame something or some one else for the reality is that you ultimately had the choice to make and either made a good one or one that just missed the mark totally. How many times have we heard of some kid who committed suicide and it was blamed on the music they listened to??Too many. Where were the parents? who knows but instead of saying," I never saw the signs" and accepting that they are only human- its easier to point a finger or a lawyer in another direction. And it is a whole generation coming up- self esteem has taken over reality, lets make sure little susie and johnny feel good if they are serial killers in the making or can't read five words together in a simple sentence because we know it couldn't be that they didn't do the work to learn- heaven forbid....yeah yeah I know, I said I wasn't going to climb all the way up on my soap box.lol
If you looked closely at her she was even a contradiction that I feel was done on purpose- cornrows,jewish stars, and an educated voice..I think she likes to confuse those that would simply take her at face value. I think she gives too much credit to white men( sorry guys) and to just what they can make the viewing population buy into. Are there some stereo types in the movies and tv shows, oh yeah, will there always be? most likely.

Bang's American Gothic

 If you look at this in Bang's way, it is total contradiction. The top is cluttered without much room for light, or the feelings she says is supposed to be evoked by this.The building/house is a contrast in shapes that are supposed to signify either a safe feeling or one of some kind of aggression. The house it self is also this way, the more church-like curve to the windows,coupled with the steep pitch of the roof. 

The center is supposed to be the center that draws you to it, however with the extraneous clutter in the surrounding area, it serves more as a distraction almost, like you are trying to see around them. He is done, I think larger, not so much he takes the stand out front as a leader. The woman I almost think is gazing off, in her own little world of might have been. I do think they are husband and wife, from the style of clothing worn, it would place them in a time period where it was not uncommon for men to marry younger women.

 The style of dress too, the colors are similar which is supposed to be comforting,almost come off as foreboding instead. So for me, going on Bang's principles, this is an artist form of double-speak.

in class 2

A real book, other than the obvious of being pages with a bound cover, is the culmination of someone else's dream. They had the idea and took it from this seed through the stages to where it has become this vehicle that can transport one from what maybe a mundane place in their life or a boring day to someplace exotic.

Through a book you can gain an insight into the lives of those not just doing the writing but the ones being written about, through the worlds of sci-fi (which baffles me) and into places and times long past.

It requires one to sit, concentrate, think, even feel and yet it doesn't tell the reader how or what they  should think or feel. It can be an escape, a resource,or whatever the reader so chooses for that experience to be.

A real book holds more than just the plot and characters, but it's what we choose to make of it.

Are some books so chock full of the author that they become tedious- oh God yes!, but that is why we usually have the choice to put that book aside and pick up another. They can be big thick things that would make a great door stop, or something you can stuff in a back pocket, I do not believe that it takes thousands of pages to be a great read. I do believe it takes the careful weaving of the elements by the writer to make you want to know more...that is where the difference lies. For me, a book, a really good book will have this.

Article

Hmmm, I got maybe 5 lines in and began to think"jabberwocky", the methods used to describe the methods was an exercise in double speak...just say what you mean and get over it. There is no way anyone with a brain could imagine that all of us in a class would learn the same way,at the same speed,etc. So with that in mind, one also would have to see it as a given- we each read something and our perseption will color how we view it. I think they are trying to make it more complicated than it truly is.
Maybe I should have thrown something in my profile about being opinionated-lol

What is an American

An American takes pride not just in their country,but in the aspects that make us unique -as a place seen as the mother of freedom,equality(which is still a work in progress)and justice. It is being able to know you can disagree with something the government does or says and not be persecuted. For me, it is also standing behind the military to support not just the men and women who serve but the families who wait at home.
It is our job to find ways to better the nation through bettering our own lives. Taking a stand on issues we see as important, taking advantage of the little things with huge ramifications-like voting. It's finding a way to make a difference not globally but here.
Its easy to go to cliches', I think how we view this depends on our ages, and its not a slam on the younger set,its the times we grew up in that shape how we view the world in general. I remember doing air raid drills, could you even imagine kids in our elementary schools doing this now?? Not hardly.

1st assignment

Historical /biological is a given, I have a book sitting with a publisher now waiting on us to quit quibbling over the contracts, but I do tend to stay with in certain parameters and eras. Recently a friend threw a book at me that is so totaly out of my "normal" areas- and then she added I could write better,which got me to go investigate, so I guess maybe popular culture. These two offer a multitude of options and perspectives also.

Lit Int.

Ok, yes the picture is my big fuzzy baby, Sasha was my early grad present from ACC. I go home;which is about 5 hours away every weekend that I can to see her and harass my guys(aka the husband and son)