Response to sam 12/16

I chose to respond to Sam's book post on the growth of Christopher.

 In the beginning of the book, Christopher was not able to process any emotion, he couldn’t tell when he was happy or sad, and when he tried to tell what other people felt, he would get frustrated and scream or groan.  At the very end of the book, we get a sure sign that his condition will get better when he is able to process the feeling of joy that came from passing his math exam and tell readers exactly how he felt.  I wish my group had a little more time to go over more though.  I don’t believe we covered other Characters in the story as much as we could.  I think his mom had also grown a lot since she left, and I think his dad had worsened after Christopher left.  Also I wished we spent more time discussing his social problems.  It seemed that whenever he tried to communicate with strangers they would get mad at him.  I am still curious about if people are aware of his disorder.

I agree with Sam that Christopher has grown over the course of the book. In the beginning, he would just groan to drown his problems out but as the book progressed, he started to become more and more adaptive to new challenges. When he has to find the train station, he breaks out of his comfort zone and asks a lady how to get there. Also, when he is at the train station, he gets his ticket and it is yellow. No matter how much he detests yellow, he has to deal with it to find his mother. After Christopher left, I definitely think he worsened. When Chris got back and started to trust him more, he felt better and realized it was good to spend time with family. I think that everyone grew in this story, even if they were not mentioned. Siobhan probably learned more about Chris, Ms. Alexander got to experience the company of an autistic kid, ad his father learned more about the importance of family trust.

Dog in nighttime post 3

After reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, I noticed a theme. I noticed that Chris gets to the same solution a regular person would just in a different way. For example, someone might find out their mom is alive just by someone telling them. Christopher had to go through the steps of solving Wellington's murder to find out his father lied to him. This is a big theme throughout the story. I have also noticed that each event leads up to the next. For example, Chris finds Wellington which leads him to an investigation which helps him find out that his mother is still alive and she had an affair with Mr. Shears.
I enjoyed the ending of this book because it was good to see that Chris trusted his dad more and he spent more time with him. Also, he got to spend time with his mother. I think this was a good ending because it was what Chris and his dad mostly wanted. Chris wanted to see his mother and Chris's dad got to spend more time with him and start to regain his trust.
I noticed that throughout the last section of the book, I felt badly for Chris's father. I felt bad because he was dealing with his child running away to the woman who left him for his neighbor.
Throughout the book, Chris slowly got over his fears. He is always getting out of his comfort zone. For example, when he is finding the train station, he has to talk to a stranger. Also, he gets a train ticket at the station and it is yellow, which he hates. No matter what, he has to take the ticket to find his mother.
I think this story has really good imagery. Because he is autistic, he pays a lot of attention to detail and remembers much of it. It gives the reader a good idea of what everything looks like and helps you focus on the plot instead of trying to imagine the imagery. Also, I like how the author includes random things that appear to have nothing to do with the story. Some infuse humor and some are just there because he wants to show what autistic people are like.

Response to Eric

  I chose to respond to Eric's post.

In my middle school, substitutes were also taking advantage of. Sometimes the substitute wouldn't know how the class works and people would making fun of them because of that. Usually the making fun part advantage wouldn't go to far, and the substitute would leave the day happy. But sometimes some students take it too far.  Sometimes an addicting feeling would come up and it's like they have to make fun of the substitute or they won't live happy. It's also like Luis said, about how some people try to impress their friends by doing so. It might be funny to the students but to the substitute, I think, it's really painful. Back when I was in 8th grade, I was part of a painful experience for a substitute. I'm really happy I'm in Asti now because the students here don't make fun of the substitutes. 

In every school, people take advantage of substitutes, even at Asti. Subs just get a note and the teacher says d this, but they dont know where things are, how things work, who acts up, or what to do if some one is acting up. Usually they dont do anything, but the occasional sub will send you to the office of give you a detention. Also, there is always that occasional cocky sub who thinks they run the school. These are annoying because they will give everyone detentions.
Also, when you have subs, no one gets any work done. Everyone is talking and the people who want to concentrate cant because everyone else is either in their face about something or talking so loud that no one can concentrate. Also, now in high school, if you can get something done in school, it is good. Also, most times, people do not make fun of subs. Some are just rude and annoying to the students and/or the sub and sometimes the sub does not get that they are making fun of them and they just laugh like they know whats going on. I dont always think this is funny but if I told the sub then everyone would hate me. Please comment or respond.

Dog nighttime book post #2

In our most recent discussion about The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night time, we talked about how we proved our prediction right about the mom being alive. We also discussed some things we have been noticing while reading the book. I said that i keep thinking that he is younger than fifteen years old and he seems like he is nine or ten. We also asked the question, how do most autistic people relate to Chris's character? We pointed out to each other that there are different levels of autism and autistic people his age do not probably act like that. We pointed out that Chris has more memory space in his brain than other people and that his brain works like a computer. In response to this, Ashli asked will his brain run out of space because he remembers almost everything. I thought this was a good question but I did not know how to answer it.
So far, I am enjoying this book. I like this author's style of writing because he explains things in detail from an autistic person's point of view which helps you learn how other people think.
I had many questions when i read this section of the book. First of all, will Ms. Alexander tell Chris's father he is running away? I think this because he told her he was running away and he was about to let her take care of his rat. I think it would be her responsibility to tell Chris's father about Chris running away because Chris could be in danger going to a foreign place. Also, Why is his mom's house his only option to be safe. Isn't the reason she left mostly because of Chris? I think that if Chris goes to his mom's house, she will send him back and he will be scared for his life.
I like many things about Chris's character. First of all, I like how he pays a lot of attention to detail. On page142, he tells how he would remember thirty eight things about a field and normal people would only remember small things such as what there are some cows. He would remember the exact number of cows and  their pattern. Also, I like how he is very logical. He takes logical steps some of which may be logical in his mind but not in other people's minds.

Response 12/4 why choose ipad?

I  chose to respond to Billy's blog post

Why choose iPad ? Many have wondered about this and still have trouble finding why. Well, what is an iPad? An iPad is a tablet computer made by Apple. It is made for reading audio books,watching movies, browsing the web, listening to music, and most importantly playing games. An iPad is portable and a lot bigger than the Ipod touch or the Iphone, but it does mostly the same task like them. A iPad's starting price is 499 US dollars, a lot more compared to the Ipod touch, but also a lot better in many ways.The iPad has a multitouch surface, allowing you to touch the surface with two fingers and both fingers will work finely. The battery is said to last up to 10 hours of video, 140 hours of audio playback, or one month on standby.

 Why choose Ipad? It does the same thing (sometimes less) as many other tablets just for a higher price for the brand name. The blackberry playbook has live video chat, flash payer built in (which the IPAD does not have), youtube, blackberry compatibility, and any more features. I am responding to this because I wanted to show that there are other things you can get that do more than the Ipad but they aren't advertised for as much.Also, Samsung has come out with a product called the  galaxy tab that runs android OS. This does just about the same as the Ipad. I feel that many people just go for apple products now because they are more "reliable" whereas now almost every product you buy is reliable. Also, most phones come with multi touch and usually the battery stats on any thing are usually incorrect. You also said the Ipad does a lot more than the ipod touch, but  the things you mentioned are also avaliable on ipods and iphones running ios 4.0. Also, all apple products do not run flash. Now many of the phones priced the same as the iphone run flash which is very useful to have everywhere especially on the go.

Dog in the Night-Time post #1

After I finished the first assigned section of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, I found many connections within the book and also had some questions. I noticed throughout the book that Chris has trouble with emotion. On page 7, the police question him as to whether he killed the dog or not. He easily answers the questions about what he was doing there but when the cop asks him if he is upset about this, he becomes overwhelmed and puts his head on the grass. Throughout the book, he has had trouble with this. When Ms. Alexander told him his mother had an affair, he did not know what to feel because his mom is dead. I have also noticed that he is extremely logical. When he explains how Marylin Savant is correct, he lays out each step to prove his point, even when PhD's dismissed Savant's argument as incorrect. He also pays a lot of attention to detail. He describes peoples' shoelaces and also how they smell and many other things that are usually perceived as useless extra detail in a book. I think this adds to the story and helps the reader learn more about autistic people. I think this book's purpose is to promote tolerance and to teach people about kids with autism and how life can be hard for them.
I had many questions after i read the first section. First; Will his attention to detail help him in the investigation? Also; What is the difference between autistic people and people with OCD? Also, Did his dad use Chris's mother's death as an excuse to get her away because she was cheating? We talked about this in our discussion. Elton said that he does not believe that she really died but that was just a way for his dad to not tell chris that his mom cheated. I agree with him but they made it very believable that she died because it was from Chris's perspective. I also think that because Chris's mom had an affair with Mr.Shears, that maybe Chris's dad killed the dog.
So far, I  have enjoyed this book and I am happy with the way we are supposed to annotate because I get more out of the book.

The Kite Runner Essay

Colin Forbes

Mr. Sutherland

English, period 2

November 23, 2010

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, details the life of a young boy named Amir growing up in Afghanistan  during the Soviet Invasion. As a child, Amir has a strong friendship with his servant Hassan and spends his time playing with him as a boy. One day, during the Kite fighting championship, Amir wins and Hassan decides to run the kite for him. Hassan retrieves the kite but the bullies want it. Being loyal to Amir, Hassan refuses to give up his kite and instead gets raped by Assef. Amir sees the whole thing with his own eyes and does not do anything. Amir moves to America in the 1980’s and spends his life looking for redemption.

Throughout the book, Amir and Hassan’s relationship interested me. They were the best of friends during their childhood. After the rape, Amir and Hassan both begin to drift away emotionally. Amir wants Hassan to leave because of the guilt building up in him. In the back of his mind, he wants Hassan to stay because he is his best childhood friend. I think that the Author's purpose in this section of the story is to show the importance of friendship. For Amir, his friendship with Hassan has been necessary for him in his youth. Amir has trouble making friends because he is not good at many things. His father has tried many times to get him interested in Soccer and sports, but he is just not athletic, which is why he has Hassan. Hassan is illiterate but good at sports. Amir is the opposite. In this case, opposites attract. Amir is from a wealthy family and Hassan is not. They each have each other to entertain each other.

Amir frames Hassan for stealing his money and watch and tries to get him to leave because all the guilt has built up and since Hassan has been such a good friend, it is hard to live with him. Baba asks Hassan if he stole Amir’s watch.

“Yes”, Hassan says. I flinched like I had been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrifice for me.” (105)

In this quote, Amir feels full of regret for what he did. In his heart, he does not want Hassan to leave, yet at that moment he felt it was the best for both of them.

Amir finds out later in the book that Hassan is his brother and his father lied to him for his whole life. In our literature discussion, we discussed Amir's responsibility for Hassan's actions such as leaving and admitting to stealing the watch.

“I think that he is partly responsible because he hid the money in Hassan's room and framed him for something he did not do. Baba did not want to get rid of Ali and Hassan because Hassan was his son and Ali was like a brother to him. I think by now, Hassan has had enough of Amir not doing anything and feels he will have a better life away from him, however, he still feels loyal to Amir and misses him and they do not get to see each other again. Referring back to the part where Amir frames Hassan, i think this plays a part in leading to his death. If he had stayed with them, he would have probably lived a lot longer under the care of Baba and Amir.”

After the rape, Amir looked for redemption in many places. There were two things that fully redeemed him in his eyes. First, he saved Hassan’s son Sohrab from the Taliban and brought him to safety. Secondly, he got badly beat up by Assef. Since Hassan was raped by Assef in the childhood, Amir felt he deserved to be beat up.

In writing this book, Khaled Hosseini had a specific purpose. He wanted to show Afghan culture and the horrors of the Taliban. He says in an interview in 2007 when speaking about the Taliban that, “ In Afghanistan, under the Taliban, women were denied education, right to work, move freely, or access adequate healthcare.”

Here, he shows that women are treated horribly and he shows that in the book. He also mentioned that change needs to come from within

I think that he symbolizes the Taliban in the beginning as them being like the bullies. They are injecting fear in to society to keep certain people oppressed, just like Assef, Wali, and Kamal. They bully Hassan and Amir because they are different.

“He tipped his chin to Hassan. “Hey, flat-nose,” he said. “How is Babalu? Have you heard the news, boys, the king is gone. Good riddance.” (39)

Here he  points out differences that they have and why he his bullying them. Hassan is a Hazara and he is being made fun of for his stereotypical features. Hazaras are minorities in Afghanistan and therefore not treated as well as the majority of people. He is also ridiculed because his eyes are a little different.

He also wanted to show Afghan culture in the story. He shows that in Afghanistan and many countries, they still have some traditions that might never end.

“I want you to go khastegari. I want you to ask General Taheri for his daughter’s hand.”

Baba’s dry lips stretched into a smile. “Are you sure?”

This quote shows the traditions they have in Afghanistan. In the book, Amir has his father ask Soraya’s father for Soraya’s hand in marriage. They do not let the woman choose who she wants to marry. In Afghan culture, they have the father decide who his daughter will marry.

The evolution of Amir and Hassan’ friendship forms the core of The Kite Runner. Their closeness or distance from each other is where Hosseini delivers his most powerful messages. We also see the relationship between the bullies and the later emergence of the Taliban; it’s through these characters that Hosseini paints the backdrop of Afghani political culture. Afghan traditionas and culture are in fact on display throughout the novel, which shows us Hosseini’s true purpose: to portray his country through its struggles.

Kite runner #3

In our literature discussion, we discussed Amir's responsibility for Hassan's actions such as leaving. I think that he is partly responsible because he hid the money in Hassan's room and framed him for something he did not do. Baba did not want to get rid of Ali and Hassan because Hassan was his son and Ali was like a brother to him. I think by now, Hassan has had enough of Amir not doing anything and feels he will have a better life away from him, however, he still feels loyal to Amir and misses him and they do not get to see each other again.
Referring back to the part where Amir frames Hassan, i think this plays a part in leading to his death. If he had stayed with them, he would have probably lived a lot longer under the care of Baba and Amir.
After I finished the book, I thoughtof many questions. First of all; Does the Taliban symbolize the bullies Amir and Hassan had as kids and do their actions represent what they did earlier? For instance, they raped Hassan in his childhood and now they kill him. They beat Amir up in his childhood physically and emotionally and do te same later. I feel like everything in this book happens in twos. First, they kite run in the beginning and end of the book. Also, Amir gets bullied by Assef twice.
In this book, I noticed many attempts at redemption from Amir. First, he throws fruit at Hassan to get him to throw it at him. He has many other attempts such as finding Hassan's son but he is truly redeemed in his eyes when he is being beaten up by assef. He feels he is mostly redeemed because what was done to Hassan in Amir's eyes, equaled what happened with the Taliban and assef. Also, he is fully redeemed at the end of the story when he runs the kite for Sohrab. I enjoyed the ending because he ended it with everyone happy and Sohrab finally happy too. He shows that he doesn't care about anything more than his nephew Sohrab by running the kite.

response

The Wade Phillips era in Dallas is over.

The Cowboys fired Phillips as head coach Monday, FOXSports.com has confirmed. Phillips told people at Cowboys headquarters he was fired. He's owed at least $3 million for 2011."We are grateful to Wade and his contribution to the Cowboys, leading us," team owner Jerry Jones said at a Monday news conference. "We also clearly understand we are not where we want to be at this time, and that's an understatement. We share the responsibility — all of us."

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett takes over as interim head coach. "He does have the opportunity to get the job long-term," Jones said. "I do believe Jason has the temperament and disposition to affect a culture change.

The season began with promise and high expectations, spurred by the fact Dallas is the site of Super Bowl XLV and  the Cowboys were hoping to become the first team to play in the Big Show in its home stadium. But instead of focusing in on "firsts," the Cowboys are suffering through a lot of worsts.

I chose to respond to this article because I agree with the cowboys decision to fire head coach Wade Philips. Even though he has done so well in the past , he only has a 1 and 7 record for this year. They had the chance to be in the superbowl in their own home stadium but they messed it up. I think they could have done this earlier and kept their chance at getting to the playoffs. I think that having an offensive coordinator as a head coach will benefit them because their offense is not very good and they will get more work if the head coach is an oc. I think the dallas coybows are going through the season like the 49ers. they are making stupid mistakes and not playing their best in the fourth quarter and throughout the whole game. Wade was a good coach before this season, 33-15 before this season, but he needs to prove he is a good coach to get his job back. please feel free to comment.

kite runner response #2

After reading the second section we were assigned, i know this is a chilling tale of modern Afghanistan. The Taliban have control and are making it place of genocide and hate.
I have just read that Amir is going to Kabul to get Hassan's orphaned son. When Rahim Khan first asks him to this, he refuses. In our literature circle discussion, we contemplated the idea that he was scared of Kabul, and all of the terrible things happening. Or, that he did not want to get Hassan's son because he did not want to have feelings of guilt. I believe that he refuses in the beginning for both reasons. He is scared of the Taliban and also  has feelings of guilt from watching Hassan's rape and now Hassan is dead. Since Hassan is dead, he can't get closure from him and there will always be a an emptiness inside of him. I think, initially, because he refused he is selfish. He only cares for himself and doesnt want to help Hassan's child because he fears for himself. Just because he is afraid of Kabul doesnt mean he should not help a friend.
In our discussion, we also talked about  how and why Baba did not tell Hassan and Amir about their relationship. We came up with a few responses. First, it might be that Baba let Ali adopt Hassan because he  was sterile, and he did not want their father-son relationship to be messed up. Second, it might be that he didnt want another son. We dismissed this idea quickly.
When i read, many questions come into my head. First of all, why does he always hesitate when people ask if Hassan is a friend? I do not think that it is about status now that he is older, rather resentment from not helping him. This time, he thinks Hassan might not think of him as a friend. My second question is why would Baba hide the fact that Hassan is his brother? Why was he selfish enough to hide the fact that Amir had a brother?
please comment or respond.

response to billy

  I chose to respond to Billy's post. Another on Justin Beiber. 

What break? Justin Bieber will never give you a break, he will never stop signing his amazing songs with his amazing voice. You said that Sam and I...

 will both be very lonely if we keep trying to singing Justin Bieber's songs, because if you do then (one) you will be devastated and live a pessimistic life when he dies and (two) you'll probably want to sing his songs for a living or something, but you would barely get any money and end up as a hobo on the street.

     First, Justin Bieber is only like 2 years older than us, so by the time he is dead we are probably gonna have 2 more years to live. Anyways, by that time I would be over him and probably be obsessed with another teenage prodigy. If he dies I will be sad, but I will continue to sing his wonderful songs with joy. Second, I only sing his songs because I like them. I never said I wanted to be like him. If I did wanted to try to be like him and go on American Idol or something, I bet you I would already have a job. So I don't know what you are talking about some hobo on the streets, because that ain't gonna be me.

 In His response, Jesse said that Sam and you will be very lonely if you keep singing Justin BEiber songs. He took it a little to far with the hobo but i agree with this. Justin Beiber: http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/category/compete/#
Justin beiber sings songs abut "true" love. I dont see the reason why boys are obsessed with him. Also girls. His voice is higher than most of the population and he doesn't even sing well. His voice is just pitch corrected. When Justin Beiber's voice changes, his career will  change it. Also, you say you would have a job if you were trying to be like him. i Don't get this. Also, don't forget to click on the link of Justin Beiber. Please comment with your thoughts.

response to Ivan 11/5

I responded to Ivans post

Not only could Facebook be harmful in ways of robbery of things, identity theft, and people getting stalked and searched and rape. Facebook could also get into someone’s mind and begging to addict them, making it a priority for people to get on a computer and start posting. With posting comes some consequences such as bullying and also people knowing the every movement that a person is taking where they live and are in the moment when they are alone, when they are in the bathroom, eating and everything else that they are doing.  People take advantage and now creepers don’t have to leave for little kids to chase they just hop on a computer! Does this give too much power to pedophiles???????? PLEASE RESPOND UR THOUGHTS ABOUT GIVING PEDOPHILES AN ADVANTAGE!

 I want to respond to this post because I agree with it. I think facebook needs to step up its privacy settings because in the modern age, anyone can search for you, find out where you live, and stare at pictures of you at one click. With facebook, I dont think bullying is a big issue but I think if someone is going to post something about another person, that person that it is about should approve it first. I think bullying comes more with formspring. On that, you can ask any anonymous question and the people can respond. This can lead to bullying, however, if you lack self esteem or confidence you may not want to create one. 

Also, ivan mentioned that creepers can look at your profile and stalk you. There are settings you can set to only let friends see your profile. If you add a pedophile, you can still remove them, even though I dont know anyone who would add a pedophile in the first place. In the end, I think facebook only gives pedophiles a small advantage, because they can stalk you on facebook. On the postive side though, the more time they are on facebook, the less time they may be looking for you in real life.

Please respond with your thoughts.

The Kite Runner 11/1/10

 When I read the Kite Runner, many questions come in to my mind. For instance, Why did Amir want Hassan to leave? Also, why did he not help Hassan? Everything would have turned out much better if he had tried to help or ran to get help. On  page 72, right before Hassan gets raped, Assef questions Hassan's loyalty to Amir. He says, " But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this:  would he do the same for you?" "We are friends," Hassan says. " don't fool yourself and think your something your not." Amir is listening to this whole conversation. For me, that would immediately make we want to help Hassan, not that I wouldn't anyway. I am surprised that this does not convince Amir to help his friend, whether he be his friend or not. 

I think that the Author's purpose in this section of the story is to show the importance of friendship. For Amir, his friendship with Hassan has been necessary for him in his youth. Amir has trouble making friends because he is not good at many things. His father has tried many times to get him interested in Soccer and sports, but he is just not athletic, which is why he has Hassan. Hassan is illiterate but good at sports. Amir is the opposite. In this case, opposites attract. amir is from a wealthy family and Hassan is not. They each have each other to entertain each other. 

For this author's style of writing, i like the way he describes critical moments in the  story in depth and uses a lot of diolauge. 

One question I forgot to mention in the first paragraph is How did Hassan feel after the rape. I think this question is a level two question because it can be answered by reading between the lines. The answer never presents itself in the text. I think Hassan felt depressed after the rape, however, I was surprised when he wanted to play with Amir again. I am not surprised when Amir did not want to play because he had just witnessed something terrible. I am surprised, however, when Amir wanted Hassan and his family to leave.

Reflective essay

In the beginning of the quarter, Mr. Sutherland told us we would be blogging and doing most of our assignments on our blogs. At first, the idea did not seem too appealing. However as the year went on, each post got easier. Everybody’s  writing was connected with each others and it made it easier for people to develop opinions on my writing. This year, I have blogged about topics such as responses to posts about Justin Beiber, football, and essays about books. Over the quarter, I have improved my writing and learned about the differences between open-ended and academic writing. Additionally, I have analyzed my classmates writing in response posts.

My favorite post that I responded to was Sam’s post on Justin Beiber. I chose to respond to this post because it sounded ridiculous. He had no proof to back up his facts and his points sounded completely illogical.

I believe there is a reason why many child stars are disliked.  It is because everyone is jealous of their fame, their money, their social life, and how easy it is for them to get girls, or boys.  Get the message guys! Many girls like Justin Bieber, maybe if you started at least pretending you like him girls might just respect you a little more.  I also don't understand why people think he can't sing very well.  Is it just because he has a high voice, I bet if a girl the exact same age as him with the exact same voice would be loved for their talent.  I also think guys have a hard time liking him because they think its cool to hate.

I had a good time responding to this post, which is why it is my favorite. I know Sam and it seems like he is a Justin Beiber fan just because no one else is, and he believes it will benefit him. I think truthfully, that he does not really like him. I also, chose to respond to this post because Sam is one of my best friends and I thought he was really opinionated when he was trying to use factual evidence to support his claim. My inspiration for this piece came from the massive amounts of people who like Justin Beiber. I wanted to show the differences between him and some of the more talented stars. Also, I wanted to spark controversy, to see their opinions, and find new topics to respond to.

Having the ability to write openly on a blog has definitely changed the way I view writing in school. For every grade, I viewed writing as something you are forced to do for a grade. Now with my blog, I feel like writing is not so much a chore, but a way to express myself. In regular wring and English classes, writing is structured and the grading is almost robotic.It is graded the same each time for each essay.

First, Justin Beiber is barely a child, so i don't know how he can be classified as a "child star." When is the last time you heard someone call Justin Bieber a child?

Also, you say many child stars are disliked. Last time i checked, not many people hated Micheal Jackson as a child. I dont remember people saying they hate the Olsen twins on the show "Full House". Micheal Jackson was a child star,, not justin bieber. Also, the  songs Justin Beiber sings do not appeal to most guys or at least aren't supposed to. He sings about "true love" at age 16 or 17. One of the main points you make is that "all" boys hate him. I think boys dont hate him just dont appreciate hhim. Some might, and that is perfectly ok. At the end of Billy's post, he says if he hasn't influenced the bieber haters, than think of how many more girls he could get than you. I don't think this is a valid argument to persuade anyone to like him even more.

Looking back at this essay, I remember how I had fun on it. It would not have been accepted in a normal, structured writing class. I believe that Mr. Sutherland’s class is a class in which to express yourself and at the same time improve your writing academically. Many English teachers would have just thrown this away as garbage but with the freedom of blogging, I can express my views however i choose. I chose this response because this is the one I had the most fun on. I had an easy time finding inconsistencies throughout the post, and responding and attacking them in my post. I chose to focus on this one post for the whole essay because it is the one I am most proud of. I had a good time writing it, and I did not view writing this as a must-do kind of thing.

For the second quarter, I have many goals to improve my writing academically. First of all, I would like to stop procrastinating. I usually wait until Thursday or Friday  night to finish and polish my blog posts. For my writing to be satisfactory, I usually have to plan to make my writing better. Another goal I have is to get more response posts. I received  total of 3 this quarter. I am interested to know what people think about my writing and the topics I write about, even if I write a response to a response. Also, I would like to improve the content of my writing. This goes hand in hand of not procrastinating. The last goal I plan to achieve is topic related. I would like to write about things that are current, so they may appeal to other students leading to more responses.The only times I got responses were when i wrote about something current or controversial. All of these work with each other when creating an exemplary essay. My final goal is to make my writing better organized. Sometimes, I just do 1 or 2 big paragraphs. I need to separate ideas and create an organized structure so it is easier for the reader to to follow.

of mice and men

Of Mice and Men Conflict essay

John Steinbeck’s 1937 realistic fiction novella, Of Mice and Men tells the story of two men, George and Lennie struggling to find work during  the great depression. These two men struggle to hold a job because of Lennie’s simplistic personality. Lennie is mentally challenged so he cannot tell right from wrong in many situations. When they get a job, George and Lennie are thrust into many conflicts. There are two major layers of conflict that each relate to the characters. It has one major conflict and one sub conflict.The main type of conflict is character vs self because Lennie and George have to deal with their own problems many times throughout the story. Lennie has to deal with not being able to react correctly in awkward situations. George also has to deal with his own feelings and his stress with Lennie. The sub-conflict in this story is character vs. society because Lennie has to deal with society’s discrimination.

George begins to confide in his overseer, Slim, and says that Lennie does anything he tells him to do. For Lennie, this can be dangerous because he does not know how to react the way a non mentally challenged person would.

“I turns to Lennie, and says jump in, and he jumps. Couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could go in and get him. An’ he was so damn nice for pulling him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in." (40)

This is character vs. self for Lennie because he has a hard time controlling what he does and if it should be done. Also, he has a hard time doing what is correct. Lennie deals with internal problems like this all throughout the story. This quote is trying to emphasize Lennie’s innocence. He does not know what to do in some situations such as the incident in Weed when he pulled the woman’s dress. Or when he killed Curley’s wife in the same situation. The quote shows that Lennie does not mean what he does and he has some issues that are hard to control.

Early in the story, George is discussing the future with Lennie, as he has many times before.

Geogre went on, “They ain’t got nothing to look forward to.” “With us it ain’t like that, we got a future. Were gonna have a little house and a couple acres and  cow and some pigs. An’ live off the fatta the land!”, Lennie shouted. (14)

This quote shows character vs. society because George is saying they have a future. They have to work very hard and they are very poor so it will probably not happen. They basically have to fight against society to make this dream come true. Also, they have to face society’s discrimination against Lennie while trying to make money in the great depression.

Also, many people aren’t aware of the mental diseases people are born with. Lennie is born with one of these and society does not accept him for it. Society is not very accepting in this time period to many people including disabled and people of color such as minorities. The boss pointed a playful finger at Lennie. “He ain’t much of a talker is he?” (20)

In this quote, George and Lennie are meeting the boss. The boss keeps asking Lennie to talk. George knows that Lennie has mental problems but even though the signs are obvious, society is ignorant.

While George takes a break to go into town, Lennie is talking to Crooks. For them, they both go through character vs. self conflicts. Crooks is African American  and already goes through discrimination. He is just putting himself down and he keeps telling himself he is not as good as everybody else.

“The white kids come to play at our place. Sometimes I went to play with them. My ol’ man didn’t like that. I know now why he didn’t like that.” (71)

In this quote, he is putting himself down. He is saying that just because he is black, he cannot succeed in life. This is important because he is going through character vs. self. He does not think he can go places and he is letting himself bring himself down.

In this novella, the main conflict of character vs. self is widely displayed throughout the story. They show that Lennie has many problems in his mind and throughout himself. He mostly has to deal with internal conflicts. Also, George has to deal with conflicts with himself, such as his dream to move to a house and own rabbits and other animals. It is also character vs. society because Lennie is discriminated against in the unnaccepting society of the 1930’s.

Response to Devin

Response to Devins post
 In the AFC East, the circumstances are difficult, but I pick the Jets to win this one.They have arguably the best defense in the NFL. That doesn't mean they have no offense at all as they can score a decent amount of points. For the afc north, I pick the steelers to win. They have a quarterback that led them to the Super Bowl two years ago. Afc south is a tough one, but I go with the colts. Peyton Manning is just too good. For the afc west, I'm hoping Oakland will win, but I believe the chargers will take the division like the past few years. Oakland, however, would pose the biggest threat to the chargers.
        To the nfc east, the giants take this one. Eli Manning (quarterback) brought his team to the Super Bowl within the last five years. The criteria to win the nfc north is huge, but I take the packers. They're building a great team around Aaron Rodgers. The afc south isn't such a hard choice. I choose the saints. They were champions last year. The nfc west is possibly the weakest division in football. The 49ers will be the team to beat. Mike Singletary will lead them to the playoffs.
        Wild cards would be the texans and the vikings. Texans are a surprise team and vikings will barely get into the playoffs.


In the beginning, you say that the jets will win the AFC east. What? The patriots have the best offense in the NFL and an improving defense. Tom Brady has reached 100 wins recently and has done it faster than any other Quarterback in the NFL. they have the best offense with wes welker, tom brady, and many others. 
For the AFC north, i agree. Even with his suspension his backup has been decent and there defense is still sufficient to get to the playoffs. In the AFC south, i pick the titans. They have a good coach, a decent offense and a good defense. You also say the 49ers will be the team to beat. So far, if i am correct, they are 0-4. Last time i checked, that is not a very organized team. Yes, i know they are better under Mike Singletary than under Mike Nolan, but they still have a few offensive and defensive changes to make. You also give no substantial evidence to what you say, such as the TExans are a surprise team. How?

Of mice and men economy free post

In many ways, the situation in the book, "Of mice and Men" is very similar to the recession we are going through today. The great depression started in 1929. It took a whole world war to get out of it. Now, in 2008, the stock market crashed again. Not as bad as 1929, but still enough for banks such as Washington Mutual to fail, and for hundreds of thousands of jobs to be lost. George and Lennie are in the same situation as many farmworkers. They are also migrants so it could be hard for them to land a job. In this economy, many people have lost their jobs, just like in the great depression. Right now, we are in a recession. This isnt as bad a a depression but it is still bad. George and Lennie are victims of the dust bowl. The dust bowl happened when people used the lad too much and took out protective grass. Soon, the ground turned to unfertile sand and dust and nothing could be planted on it.
In the book, they often fantasize about having their own place with rabbits, chickens, a stove, and many other amenities. Being poor, George realizes this cannot happen. When they meet a new person named Candy, he offers to help them finance their dream if he can live with them in their new home. They only have to work another month to pay for it. The trouble is, they get in trouble with Curley and him and Lennie get into a fight. This jeopradizes their chances for getting the land and the house where they can live off the "fatta" the land, says Lennie.
Today, many farmworkers are looking for jobs. the migrant farmworkers are out of jobs and are looking for new ones. Many companies have laid people off and over 10% of people are out of jobs today in the United States.
In the book "Of MIce and Men", people everywhere are feeling the sting of the economy. People work on farms for a month the quit to find better pay or they are just worn out.

Response (10/1)

I chose to respond to sam's response post to Billy's post.
I chose to respond to Sam's response to Billy's post because i disagree with it.


I believe there is a reason why many child stars are disliked.  It is because everyone is jealous of their fame, their money, their social life, and how easy it is for them to get girls, or boys.  Get the message guys! Many girls like Justin Bieber, maybe if you started at least pretending you like him girls might just respect you a little more.  I also don't understand why people think he can't sing very well.  Is it just because he has a high voice, I bet if a girl the exact same age as him with the exact same voice would be loved for their talent.  I also think guys have a hard time liking him because they think its cool to hate.  Well I can tell you its not.
First, Justin Beiber is barely a child, so i don't know how he can be classified as a "child star." When is the last time you heard someone call Justin Bieber a child? 
Also, you say many child stars are disliked. Last time i checked, not many people hated Micheal Jackson as a child. I dont remember people saying they hate the Olsen twins on the show "Full House". Micheal Jackson was a child star,, not justin bieber. Also, the  songs Justin Beiber sings do not appeal to most guys or at least aren't supposed to. He sings about "true love" at age 16 or 17. One of the main points you make is that "all" boys hate him.   I think boys dont hate him just dont appreciate hhim. Some might, and that is perfectly ok. At the end of Billy's post, he says if he hasn't influenced the bieber haters, than think of how many more girls he could get than you. I don't think this is a valid argument to persuade anyone to like him even more. Sam also mentions that it is not cool to hate. Who decides what is "cool" or not? Please feel free to comment.

Favorite shows: response to Elton

I  chose to respond to elton's blog post.

My favorite show is whatever I like, I vary on what I love and hate but I usually get so glued into one show that I will watch till the end even if it doesn’t seem to interesting to me personally. But I guess my favorite show would be School Rumble a anime I watched which is a romantic comedy. Suggesting to myself my favorite type is romantic comedy for one thing I love funny things but also I love to watch people fall in love for some reason.

I chose to respond to elton because i thought it was interesting what he said about how you get hooked to a show even if it isnt interesting. This is true for me too. I watch shows sometimes just to watch them. They may not be entertaining or funny but sometimes i just watch them. Also, I think it is interesting that me and elton like almost  completely different shows. He likes Anime and I  like Comedy. A few of my favorite shows are South Park and  Family guy. I do have more but i explain those two more in depth down below.

I have many favorite shows that I like to watch i my spare time.

The first one is South Park. It is a raunchy show about 4 4th grade boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle broflowskki, Kenny Mckormick, and Eric Cartman. who do  stuff together. They cuss and make jokes but  everyone needs a little laugh once in a while. This show references things that happen in the  real world and pokes fun at  them. Because of its humor, it has encountered some contreversy. 

The second one is family guy. This show is like south park, but is not as contreversial. It follows a family in Quahog, RI. Peter Griffin, the father, is the stupid one. No one likes Meg, the daughter, and Stewie, the baby, is an evil genius. Chris is the other son and he is no to smart. 

My other favorite shows are the office, 24, glee, and Big brother.

QWFWQ

Colin Forbes

Sutherland, 2nd period

9/28/10

QWFWQ

Qwfwq just found out that his ex- fiancee is going to marry his uncle. This is upsetting to him but he accepts it. “They all had something, I know, that made them somehow superior to me, sublime, something that made me, compared to them, mediocre, and yet i wouldn’t have traded places with any of them.” In this quote, the author is trying to show that Qwfwq is happy with who he is and he doesn’t want to change.

In this quote, Q just meets the new ones. Q is still a dinosaur, but the new are scared of dinosaurs. Q looks scared. “You looked as if you had seen a... dinosaur, but in that laughter, I sensed for the first time a bit of apprehension. Their good humor was a bit forced.” In this quote, the author is trying to connect to real life. He is saying that people do not get other people, whether they are a different race, color, or creed. He is saying people are ignorant of each other and other cultures. This is an example of people thinking badly of other people.

Before this quote, the new ones find out dinosaurs are about to attack. They do not know for sure if they are dinosaurs but are preparing for the worst. “ It was if the new ones wanted at the same time to defend themselves, to flee, to wipe out the enemy, and to be defeated. This uncertainty was reflected in in the disorder of their defense preperations.” This is important because it relates to real life in a couple ways. It shows the readiness of some countries if an attack were to take place, and it also shows how people misunderstand others.

Ivans post

 I chose to respond to ivan's post.

Ivan:When a person enters a store they become a different person, and everything in their mind is set to buy things and add many things to their closet. Ann addict may waste from a range of $150 and sooooo on they can go on forever. And the sad thing about people that are making the purchase is that they are not making their purchase with their own money, they would rather use their Credit Card!  So many people are in a large amount of debt because of  Credit Card purchases made from buying clothes.  People do not know how to control themselves and their urges for wasting money. many people buy a bulk amount of clothing but also they waste a greater amount because they would rather spend it on brand name clothing instead of same material clothes that are cheaper. Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy more clothes that are cheaper that would average the same amount of buying a lower amount of brand name clothing? 

 Colin: This is important because it shows that poeple spend alot on name brand clothes when they can just buy generic brands. This is true for alot of stuff. At safeway, the safeway brand is cheaper, and usually jnot any different. This is just like the response in the reader. It showed how people carea bout designer and name brand things just for status. Some people, however, chose to save money on things like clothes, food, and other things. Also, poeple abuse credit cards. They trick themselves into believing that it has unlimited money, but when the bills come, they get a reality check. People can get addicted to shopping just like anything else and it can cause people to go deep into debt. Also, Ivan says in the middle of the quote that people cant resist the urge to spend money. I agree with this statement in some cases because not all people have the urge to spend too much money. Also, he asks whether you would rather have cheaper clothes or pricey name brand clothes. He brings up a good point because it is what everybody does, and has a really hard time stopping. It is hard for people to say no to a "Coach" label than to some fake thing that looks just like it.It is the same FRAMEWORK. It is all about reputation, HENCE, the reason people buy these things.

Asti size response

I chose to respond to amber's post regarding asti's size.
Today, we had a PTSA meeting at school, and we came to the topic of the possible size increase for ASTI.  Mr. Fong talked about how AUSD was planning to increase ASTI's size to 400 students, but the grades levels would be from seventh grade to twelfth grade.  The students would not be at the portable campus only, but supposedly, we would have the seventh and eight graders at a different campus, and the ninth through twelfth graders at the ASTI and COA campus.  Even though it is somewhat a good and a bad thing to be able to increase the size of ASTI, I personally would like it better if we could keep the ASTI size the same as it is now.

As many of you know, there have been major budget cuts this year, and the Parcel Tax did not get passed, so a lot of the funding for schools has been drastically lowered, and we do not have as many funds to pay for textbooks and teachers.

I chose ASTI because of its small size.  Its small size it what makes it a good school. Everybody gets more attention and personal help in getting to college. If ASTI was to increase, it would cost more for the district. They are alreadyn in the middle of a big budget crisis and California is in the middle of a huge budget crisis. ASti needs to stay the way it is now. It can increase to maybe 200 or 225 but and more is too much. Asti is a small family and it should stay that way. Most people know each other and it should stay that way. Even the principal knows everyone. That does not happen at a big school such as alameda high. Since the principal knows everyone, it is a more enjoyable environment. Everybody is nice and caring to each other. Also, ASTI does not have sufficient space for more people. The class sizes will increase, therefore, defeating the purpose by which this school was founded. It was founded to create an academic, small learning environment with more personal help. Also, it was founded to help kids get to college, whether they are first generation college bound or not, it help to have a head start in the competitive game of life.

10 words

function
acquisition
commission
constraint
criteria
framework
reliance
civil
hence
entity

response #2 9/16

i chose to respond to Vic's blog post
Witnessing bullying or harassment is horrible to watch when it has happening to a close friend or a helpless person. A time when I have been part of an alliance that made someone feel bad was a regret and is a regret everyone will decide later on. Harassment towards that person was led to anger and hatred towards him. This made me feel better as it made him feel worse. With an alliance of people on my side in agreement made me feel right and the victim being hated not only by me, but everyone else. During this moment, I felt relief as everyone agreed with me, but looking back I feel I have lost a relationship that could’ve prospered throughout years and years of school. Doing this, I was flustered with a successful feeling, but I feel now that that harassment towards him was not worth losing a relationship with a human being and that I should make it up to him. There are others times being part of an alliance with someone else that made another person feel bad, but that was not real hatred towards the other person, but just being helpful to a friend in need of humans that agree with him. As humans, ganging up with an alliance to cause harassment to a specific person will not always give the relief that it gives during the moment.
       In his post Vic says that he felt really regretful for bullying. i have had the same experience. i feel bad for doing what i did. This happens with most people. In his post, he also says he felt relief when he noticed everyone agreed with him to hate the kid. This usually only lasts a little while but then after you regret it. Bullying is a simple thing that is easy to stop. with a little will power, everyone can be professional and tolerate everyone else.

response

I chose to respond to my debate opponent Bany's rebuttal. Here it is:
Medical Marijuana has helped some patients, ( yeah, only some NOT ALL PATIENTS). But, there can be some serious consequences that may occur if not taken with responsibility and common sense. People may become addicted to marijuana because of the THC, Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in cannabis. People who take the medicine think that they are feeling better, but really just feel high. It can also affect children by watching their parents take the ''medicine'' and think it is okay. It can also lead to others selling it to others who don't need it and earning profit. That is selling illegal marijuana and can affect people by just using it to sell it and not helping patients. Last of all. Marijuana is still a drug. You simply cannot change that. So, why would people want to add even ore side affects by using marijuana as a medicine, when already there is no cure for the patient.

Pro Rebuttal:

''Medical Marijuana helps patients with their pain'' (Con's opening Statement)

Here are my reasons with evidence and my feedback on them:

Medical Marijuana has been a legal medicine since 1996. It can help relief pain for some patients, not all, but can be taken as an advantage.


People become addicted to it after having the experience of supposedly feeling less pain, but really just feeling high.

THC, Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in cannibus.

Like any other powerful, mood altering substance, people who are prone to chemical dependency can become addicted to marijuana.

High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction, and research suggests that in vulnerable individuals, marijuana use may be a factor that increases risk for the disease. From- www.addict-help.com/ 




           Medical marijuana has been used as a medicine since 1996. If they knew it was bad for you, they would have illegalized it already as a medicine. Also, you bring up the points that it helps some patients. Doctors go to college for 8 or more years to get where they are now. They know how to prescribe it. It is not the most powerful drug and it is much safer than some traditional medicines. Also, it is mainly used for terminally ill patients. Are you saying they shouldn't have comfort? What if you were ill and needed medical marijuana? Think about that. 
           This also brings of the topic of legalization to the public. There would be an age requirement, just like medical marijuana, and it would be very expensive. this would boost the economy and reduce crime if marijuana is legalized. it is just a plant. Also, it has been researched many times to know if it is safe for the public or not.
            You also said it can get addicting. So can a lot of other stuff. Food for example. If you get hooked on Doritos that's bad. Alot of things are bad and addicting. What you are basically saying is that marijuana is as bad as doritos. Also, you did not cite where you got your information. This invalidates most of it, because you could have made it up. You also say people can sell it, but imagine if you were in that situation. Would you want comfort  or a little bit of quick cash? you probably chose the comfort. me too. Who would want to sell there comfort away if they are dying? What will they spend the money on? Even if they do spend it, they will probably die soon (no offense intended). You also said they are just feeling high. This is true with a lot of medicines. When i was in the hospital a year ago, they gave me strong meds. these didn't stop the pain, they just put in in a better state of mind and feeling and slowly surpressed the pain. 

Rebuttal

mr xuan helped click to got to his blog       David Hadorn, MD, PHD, said that he "has many patients with muscle spasms, nausea, anorexia and other unpleasant symptons obtain significant -- often remarkable -- relief from cannabis, well beyond what had been provided by traditional pain relievers." Cannabis has been used as medicine since the beginning of time. just because some people have misused this, this does not mean people should stop getting relief.
       Davis l bearman, md, said that he has never seen any documentd risks of cannibis. Some people say its a gateway drug to other drugs, but this has never been proven. The con side says this increases heartbeat, however this is wrong. it slows down the heartbeat to relieve muscles.
       Cannabis is mostly used for teminally ill patients. Are you saying terminally ill patients should not get the comfort that they deserve? Cannabis helps people more than traditional medicines.
    First fact is listed below: “EVIDENCE”
“Increased heartbeat.
Generally, it slows down in about 20 minutes.
Drop of the pressure in your eyeball.
Change of blood pressure.
Sense of cold or hot hands and feet.
Discoloration of the white of the eye to somewhat pink because of dilation of the vessels in the conjunctiva of the eye.
Relaxation of the muscles.
A dry mouth.”
this is the con sides "evidence" which they did not cite, and this has not been proven.
The hearbeat does not increase, it decreases. This is just for terminally ill patients, who use it in maturity. Also, the doctors know how much to prescribe, so they dont get too high and they use it correctly.

Opening statement

Pro: Medical Marijuana

We believe marijuana should be a medial option for “medical reasons”. We believe con is wrong and can’t beat us because people with medical problems need it to treat the pain. Joycelyn Elders, MD, former US Surgeon General, wrote that medical marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, and the “symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.” We believe that if medical people need the drugs to feel better or normal then they are able to recover with it, though it may be just a little addicting. If taken too much.this stuff can relieve many symptoms of stress and pain and can  be beneficial in many lives. Should Terminally ill people suffer if they are about to die, or should they be allowed comfort? you decide.