Wednesday, September 28, 2011

"Young Life" by Bo Bartlett

Bo Bartlett's "Young Life" depicts the child protecting himself from the adult. There are facts thats support this depiction. One is that the child is positioned away from the adults, and not by them. His back is also to them. Another fact is the way the child is holding onto the stick; he looks as if he is scared.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Reading Critically Response

Before reading the actual essay, one should go through "the preliminaries", including analyzing the tile, the author, where the work was published, and when it was published. Next, one should read the essay/writing, annotating it with underlines, circles, highlights, and explanations in the margins. The reader should have a pencil with them the whole time. Afterwards, there should be summarizing, including two final products, the first being a recap of the paragraphs, and the second being a shortened version of the first one. Then, one will go through analysis, inference, and synthesis (which all become just analysis as one, because they are all so similar). There are many things that the reader can analyze, like the language of the writing. These steps can help readers like us become better writers for the future, and be able to comprehend and think critically.

Monday, September 26, 2011

"Shame"

1. The subject is shame in a failed relaitonship.
    The tone is sorrowful and regretful, but determined.
2. Three Words:
    Promise: His previous relationship failed, and the singer wants a second chance to change things. By using "promise" he assures his significant other that he will change and not make the same mistakes. This goes with the determined tone.
    Overwhelming: "Overwhelming" describes all that the singer has to bear from the relationship. He has to deal with everything that he did to lose his lover, leaving him with regret. This goes with the regretful tone.
    Cold: His heart is cold now that there is nothing there to warm it up. His heart is now basically a piece of ice. This goes with the sorrowful tone.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out SOAPSTone

The subject of Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is the interpretation of men’s and women’s attitudes towards different aspects, like cleaning or sports, and how they compare. This interpretation is illustrated by Barry’s examples of sensitiveness of women and men. He says that women are sensitive to things like cleanliness, while men are sensitive to things like sports.  This supports his interpretation.
            “Batting” was written in 1988 in his Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits. The essay’s time of creation is displayed when Barry talks about the importance of the World Series, which is a popular modern sport, but was even more popular back in the 80’s. The probable place of the essay’s creation is America, because of the World Series game that he is talking about.
            Dave Barry’s specific audience is for “Batting” is men or women who want a laugh, and who want to be able to learn about the opposite gender’s point of view. The author’s target audience is exhibited by how men and women act in opposite ways in situations.
            Dave Barry’s purpose in “Batting” is to inform readers about the peculiar habits of men and women. This informing is revealed by how he gives out his points; he does this by not making either gender look like the “bad guy”, but instead, giving out equal information about both.
            Dave Barry, who is a humorist and has established himself as prize winning journalist, is the speaker of the essay (from a male’s perspective). He is speaking about how he thinks it interesting how men and women have different attitudes to certain situations in life.
            Barry shows a humorous tone about gender specific attitudes in “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out. This tone is expressed by his light-hearted jokes about Pompeii and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and his word choice. Some of these word choices include: “important project on the Etch-a-Sketch”, “she gives me this look that she has perfected” and “they could crush my skull like a dead grape”. These help make up his humorous and light-hearted tone.

Monday, September 19, 2011

American Tongues and Voice

1. Voice is how someone sounds in a piece of writing or audily.
2. Something that I say would be "oookay" when I think that something somebody has said was weird.
3. Whenever I am talking or writing something that might lead to someone getting mad, I beat around the bush to make the "impact" lighter.
4. Voice is important in nonfiction because it helps us to identify with the author. Every writer has their own specific voice which is unique to them. It helps us understand what the writer is trying to say.
5. The more we write, the more our voice develops. It also adapts to the tone of the essay; for example, a darker toned paper would have a different voice from a lighter toned paper.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Pain v. Beatles v. Dubstep- "Eleanor Rigby"

1. I liked the dubstep version better because the remix sounds nice to me with the voices mixed in. Also, it slows down the song whe it comes to the chorus, making it sound cooler. (However, the Beatles version was a close second!)
2. The Beatles version is more pleasing to listen to because the melody is sweeter and more mellow sounding when compared to the Pain version. It is more classic sounding when compared to the Dubstep version as well.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Kandinsky v. Pollock

1. I liked Kandinsky's better because of the colors and the shapes. They are bright and busy. I also like the fact that it is not uniform in any way.
2. The Pollock is more pleasing because the colors are more neutralm and there is more uniformity. While I personally like the Kandinsky better, it is very busy, and upon looking at it for awhile, one can get a headache.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sign Language Short Film

1. Single Effect: Enjoy all the little things in life, and go for what you want.
2a. The music: It is smooth and simple, and keeps the mood light.
  b. Background: The busy street allows him to explain to explain the "little beautiful things"
  c. Dialogue: It is funny, and also keeps the mood light and optimistic
3. I would change the facial expressions, because the men sign holders around him look like they're not friends with him, They make him look like he was pretending that they were friends, until the very end. The faces would change to at least being more friendly-looking, with them perhaps waving to the main character as well.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"Shooting an Elephant" SOAPSTone

The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is the journey of a man’s killing of an elephant for him to somewhat “fit in” with the rest of the Burma natives. This journey is illustrated by when he is contemplating whether or not to kill the elephant. He says that they watched him excitedly as they expected him to shoot the elephant, and that moment would be the only one he would get to prove himself and not be a standout.
             “Shooting an Elephant” was written during the 1930’s. The essay’s time of creation is displayed when he talks about the importance of the elephant, comparing its shooting to “destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery”. The probable place of the essay’s creation is Moulmein, in Lower Burma. I know this because Orwell says this right at the beginning of the essay.
            George Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is those who feel left out or discriminated against within a group that they interact with daily. The author’s target audience is exhibited by how he is jeered at and made fun of in Burma, and then, by shooting the elephant, attempted to be accepted better.
            Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to narrate his story of the killing of this important elephant. This narration is revealed by how he is telling his feelings during the ordeal, and how it is in a story-like format.
            George Orwell, who sailed to Burma in 1922 as a young man, is the speaker of this essay. He is speaking about how fitting in with the natives is very important to him.
            Orwell shows a pitiful and aggressive attitude about fitting in in “Shooting an Elephant”. These attitudes are expressed by how the author claims that nobody in Burma likes him, backed by his examples of the jeering at him, and how he graphically “kills” the elephant. This represents his pitiful tone because it causes the audience to feel sorry for him in his situations. The second example represents the aggressive tone because it shows how he desperately wanted the elephant to die (to put out of its misery). These tones serve the purpose in the essay of adding feeling to the essay for the audience to stay engaged.

Harry Nilsson "Good Old Desk"

1. S-a reliable source, his desk (literally), God (figuratively)
    O-in the 70's
    A-to anyone without something reliable or dependable
    P-to explain the perfect parter
    S-Nilsson, one who has had unreliable partners in the past
    T-happy, comforting, affectionate, friendly
2. He is talking about how amongst all the un-trustworthy people in his life, he has a rock to comfort him, the being a desk, his writing, or God.
3. Three Lines in the song with reference to God
       -My old desk doesn't need a rest
       -To keep my hopes alive
       -We never say a word, but its perfectly alright with me
   

Sunday, September 4, 2011

"The Runaway" by Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was a painter who existed during the 1950's. One of his major paintings, "The Runaway", was created in 1958, and depicts a young boy-presumably the runaway-consulting with a policeman in a diner. There are many different interpretations of the painting's meaning, but there is one that can be mainly interpreted. The 1950's was a time of a rising rift in America that was important to many. This can be taken back to the painting, but not how one would think. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950's-an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were in America but rather how they are.