The Grand Finale-Write

Write

Pencil.

Key.

Writing to say what you wish you could say.

Writing to say what you feel.

Words float in your mind,

Unspeakable.

So you write.

No structure, no format, no rules.

Express what you need to express

In the way you wish to express it.

You may have words,

Beautiful, diverse words in an expansive vocabulary.

But what if you cannot express your feelings?

You may know this and yet you can do nothing to change it.

So you create.

You create characters that you can attach your feelings to.

Who you want to be:

Heroine, explorer, genius, center of attention, desired, wanted

Beautiful.

The pale, freckled red-head that hunts vampires to save the innocent.

The raven haired girl with green eyes who learns of her witch heritage and her magic.

The ebony skinned girl that sees into the future with her bright blue eyes.

The curly-haired brunette who chases her wolf brothers at night.

You may have words,

Expressive words for intense emotions.

But you cannot say them, cannot tell others what may be inside of you.

So you write.

You write your sorrows, your despairs, your angers, your desperations.

Taking those feelings and weaving them into something beautiful,

Something worth time and effort,

Something that others can read,

Understand.

Something they can compare to themselves

Instantly knowing, without a second explanation, what you mean.

And they know what you’re saying

Without you saying it.

Article Response/Mutigenre Project Dissection: Mythology to Reality

·         What is the project topic? 
-Teaching and finding out who you are and what you want to be.
·         What are the genres and how effective are they?  Why?  How many different pieces and genres did the author include?
-Emails, a poem, inner dialog, dialog, 2 different journal entries, drawings, and definitions/terms. Most of them were effective in their explanations but a few were cluttering because they were side notes added in to the main text. There was also a mistake in word choice (their not there).
·         Which of the genres incorporates research?
-Field journal entries and her lesson plans for the class could be counted on as research while the definitions and terms were research.
·         Which of the genres are purely the author's artistic license or imagination?
- Her dream journals were completely fictional to go along with her theme and the drawings she did were completely artistic.
·         How does the author transition between pieces?
-The author used multiple genres to transition with. She alternated using her drawings, terms, definitions, and journal entries.
·         How effective are the transitions and why?
-The transitions were effective in the fact that they kept you moving through all of the genres but they were slightly distracting at times because some of them were completely in the voice of the writer’s inner dialog.
·         Overall, what are your impressions of the author's style, voice, creativity, depth of information?  Did you learn any new information?
-This was mostly a project on what the writer learned for herself and about herself so I did not learn any new information, no. I liked her style and creativity but I do think that the project could have been put together better.
·         What do you notice about formatting, font, page layout, page elements, style, and appeal?
-The whole project was very personalized and didn’t follow any actual format that someone other than the author would be able to tell (unless you dissected each piece and the project for a pattern). Nothing was very formal and that did follow the “purpose” of the project because everything in the project was a personal experience of the author’s.
·         What ideas can you take away for your project?
-From this project, I’ve really realized that I can loosen my format and put more of my voice, personality, and creativity in the set-up of my over-all project. I can more easily follow the “let contents dictate format” rule.

 Caption: Sketch comparable to one drawn by the author in her project

Article Response: "Memorable and Persuasive"

“Modern corporations have spent billions trying to hone in on which words will persuade people to remember and purchase their products. Their expensive studies have shown that the use of the figures “leads to more liking for the ad, a more positive brand attitude, and better recall of ad headlines.”

“Studies reveal that “virtually all of our abstract conceptualization and reasoning is structured by metaphor.” A single, well-crafted metaphor, like a well-crafted building, can endure for ages, as when Churchill said in 1946, “an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”

These quotes are very true. If a person were to hear an advertisement on television, an ad that had a very “round-about” way of getting to the point of what is being advertized, that person would pay more attention and try to figure out the meaning; all the while they know that the meaning will be explained in the end. This person would also remember that ad better than just seeing an ad, let’s say for soap, that directly advertized…well, soap.

“The most important figures for making phrases memorable are the figures of repetition, especially rhyme and alliteration. This key goal of repetition has been understood for millennia, hence the Latin expression Repetitio mater memoriae, “Repetition is the mother of memory.”

            This quote is also true. If you hear a number on a commercial and the voice-over repeats the number three or four times, you might find yourself later thinking of that number. You might not remember from where it came but is it there? Yes. That’s just a very small example. How do I firmly make my point? My case and point? Here you are:

 8675309.

You cannot say that you saw that number and didn’t sing the tune. Checkmate.

                                                                                                 

"I am stuck on band-aids..."                                                                                                 

Article Response #3

I think that Dave Barry's view of college is a little over-dramatized but in fact, quite honest. High school is really similar to his description as well; Like the phrase, "High school just prepares you for college."

"Sometimes, when I'm trying to remember something important like whether my wife told me to get tuna packed in oil or tuna packed in water, Vaughan and Crashaw just pop up in my mind, right there in the supermarket. It's a terrible waste of brain cells."

I have so many moments like the one in this quote; trying to remember what time I go in for work next week and just getting a pharaonic number of things I've memorized in school. Coracobrachialis, subclavian artery, endoplasmic reticulum, simple squamos epithelium, tricuspid valve, and mastication. I shuffle my brain a little more and do you know what I get? The lyrics to "I Dreamed a Dream", "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", "When I Have Sung my Songs", "When Love is Kind", and the music to "Synergies", "Ukranian Bell Carol", "Art In the Park", and "Gaelich Blessing". I end up just frowning and needing to call-in to work.

Article Response #2

 "In my new book, How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them, things like wordiness, poor word choice, awkwardness, and bad spelling — which have nothing to do with grammar — take up the bulk of my attention."

I competely agree with the statement that Mr. Yagoda made. Most people, while writing and sometimes while speaking, use such poorly strung together phrases that it's difficult to even pick out if there are any grammar mistakes present. Not to say that I am excluded from this statement; my English is in no way perfect and it's likely that I will make at least one grammar mistake in this post. The rules that Mr. Yagoda posted are as follows:

1. The subjunctive
2. Bad parallelism
3. Verb problems
4. Pronoun problems
5. "Dangling"
6. The semicolon
7. Words

1, 2, and 5. I think that most people don't even think about the subjunctive on a daily basis. They don't really consider "was" and "were" unless the subject is plural. This is similar for parallelism and "dangling" conversations where we don't consider the order of the things in which we speak of.

3. I have extreme problems with this grammar rule. I often interchange "lay" and "lie" depending on which sounds better in my sentence. Others seem to do this as well.

4. When I was in grade school, it was pounded into me to always say something like "Suzie and I" not "Suzie and me", so I tend to use that universally and not situation based.

5. Like commas, either people don't know how to use semicolons or they overuse them to "spice up" their writing.

6. Now-a-days people write like they speak and they don't necessarily speak...correctly.

Multigenre Project Proposal (wouldn't let me post)

My project is a personal interest project. During this I can interview numerous people fore my topic can involve straight opinions. I can interview my boyfriend, Collin Jones, and my mother, Michelle Hagar. I will interview my mother and Collin in the next two weeks depending on my work schedule. Both of these people are Christian and I believe they will have very religious meaningful answers. But, with the topic being as broad as stating their own opinions, they might not know what to say.

I chose this topic because not only am I writing a story about it with a good friend of mine, but because I find it honestly fascinating. The history behind it goes farther than just a few religions and deeper than just a few years in the past. For an alternate project, I can do research on the paranormal.

 

Questions:

1.      When you picture an angel, what do you see?

2.      What are some angels that you know by name?

3.      What kinds of angels do you know about?

4.      What types of things do angels do?

5.      Where did you learn about angels?

6.      What other things do you think of when you think of angels?

7.      What does the Bible say about angels?

8.      Have you had any experiences related to angels?

9.      How do you feel about angels?

10.  How have angels been portrayed by the media?

 

Increase comfort:

1.      Be at the informants “home turf”.

2.      Start off with religion and not angels specifically.

3.      Thoroughly explain what my topic will be about.

4.      Volunteer information about angels.

5.      Volunteer information about myself.

 

Factual details:

1.      How far back to angels originate?

2.      How many religions are angels a part of?

3.      What religions are angels a part of?

4.      What are a few angels common throughout the religions they are involved in?

5.      What are the range of jobs or tasks that angels perform?

6.      What are the history of some of the common angels?

7.      What is the order of angels in “rank”?

8.      How many different types of angels are there?

9.      Are there any angels with negative connotations?

10.  Are there any angels that live outside of Heaven?

 

Academic topics:

1.      Tales of angels.

2.      Religious facts about angels.

3.      Verbal passing of religious histories.

4.      Musical literature containing angels.

5.      Artwork portaying angels.

Article One Response

Throughout the reading of this article, I found myself thinking it extremely ironic; it was written about how people are reading less and less and even have trouble focusing on long or in depth pieces, and yet the article is about eleven paragraphs long. This statement aside, I do agree with what the article is saying. Many students do not use books to look up information since they have internet search engines and if asked, they read less in general. I fall into this new age rut every now and again because it is extremely convenient to use GOOGLE instead of getting out a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia. When using these books, you have to be able to search for what you need and delve into the writing of them to find useful information. When on the internet, most of the time, the search engine will find what you need without too much effort on your part.  I believe that this creates a disconnection in the brain and is leading to what the article was talking about, “We are how we read.” Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged, the scattering of our thoughts and shorter attention spans.

Reading Response #2 Dark Visions cont.

Alright- So, as an overdue and very late night blog, I shall continue on part two of Dark Visions.

"But that had been hi second murder. The first had been unintentional-the product of what happened when a strong mind came in contact with a weaker one. He'd been strong, and Iris-sweet Iris-had been weak. Fragile as a little white mouse, delicate as a flower. Her life nenergy had poured into him as if one of her arteries had been cut. And he-hadn't been able to stop it. Not until it was over and she was lying limp and motionless in his arms...I'd die if it would bring her back, he thought with a sudden clarity. And he couldn't take her place. His part was to lie here and think about the new murders, the ones that he was going to commit, inevitably, in the future...He as out of his sleeping bag in one lithe twist...Nobody was going to miss him. He looked around under the stars for someone to quench his thirst."

This quote is about Gabriel, who is a psychic that Kaitlyn met at the school. Gabriel had come in contact with the crystal that the schoolmaster owned and had become a stronger psychic but also became a "psychic vampire". This is where he needs to take life energy from others to survive. Throughout this section, once Kaitlyn found out about Gabriel's problem, she helps him by supplying him with some of her energy. She had conflicting feelings about this because she cares about Rob, but she soon falls for Garbriel as well. While dealing with all of this, the group is traveling to find a house that they all dreamed about. They believe that it will help them destroy the evil crystal, since they can all see the future. Through getting help from people along the way, the group makes it to the house only to find a group of passive villagers with good crystals.This group refuses to fight for good (they're passive) and end up having their crystals destroyed by the dark crystal. In the end of this portion, Gabriel runs away to fight on the side of the schoolmaster and the other group member get crystal shards to prepare and get Gabriel back.

Yeah....

So....I am definitely going to change my topic. Just wanted to fore-warn everyone.

Proposal?

            I believe that I shall be writing an essay on the TV show Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2. Teen Mom is a spin-off show from 16 and Pregnant and is about, obviously, pregnant teens and the problems that they face and even create for themselves. Teen Mom 2  is just a continuation of Teen Mom but with new mothers, allowing the viewers to become attached to more of their "favorite teen moms" while also allowing for the teens to be under more public scrutiny over the decisions that they make, whether they may be good or bad. In this essay, I will argue that Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2 glorifies teen pregnancy and that though it provides realistic challenges, the ways that the teens handle those challenges isn't necessarily realistic. The challenges shown like pregnancy, labor and delivery, financial issues, and relationship problems are things that any mother might face. These are hard enough without a camera constantly around you, but the money that the moms get to participate in the show enable them to make poor decisions. I'll try to begin my paper with some statistics about teen mothers and then add information about the mothers on the show and how they may or may not fit the percentages. This is where I would bring in my thesis on how the shows have effected global teen pregnancy since the begining of Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2.

Questions:

1. Do you think that a show about teen mothers, where the mothers do not have jobs and only receive their income from being on the show is an accurate depiction of teen mothers who are not on television?
2. Do you think that teen mothers not on television would make better decisions without the influence of the media and a world-wide public audience?

Dark Visions- Reading response #1 second semester

SPOILER ALERT --This book is seperated into three parts: The Strange Power, The Possessed, and The Passion. Part One: A girl named Kaitlyn Fairchild has grown up ostrasized by those in her hometown for being different. Kaitlyn is believed to be a witch because she recieves visions through the art that she creates, whether it be actual pieces or just doodles. These visions normally come true but it's before Kaitlyn can realize the meaning of them to stop or change them. Kaitlyn eventually figures out that she is a psychic and is asked to join a school for people with powers like hers. She goes to this school and meets four other students: Ana, Rob, Gabriel, and Lewis. They soon find out that the schoolmaster has a sinister plot to turn them into psychic weapons for his disposal. The five of them try to escape and bind their abilities together to do so. They figure out that the schoolmaster has a crystal to increase the power of psychic abilities but also brainwashes whomever uses it to follow the will of the crystal's owner. The five students escape and know that they must find a way to destroy the dark crystal before more bad things happen. They know that the schoolmaster will be after them...

  These pictures represent one of the sketches that Kaitlyn did before she went took the offer to go to a special school. The little girl's face was behind the web when Kaitlyn doodled the picture. Once Kaitlyn actually paid attention to what she was drawing, she realized what she had actually drawn. She looked at the paper in front of her and saw the little girl's face behind not a spider web, but a pane of shattered glass. It was a vision of what would come.

An Inspiration Location

                                                   

               One place of inspiration, for me, would be the books of Celia Rees. When I was in middle school at Carver, I would go to the library almost everyday to pick out books to read. I would pick out a couple and return a couple every time I went. I was working my way through a book shelf in that library when I found one of Rees' books. I loved it right away. I ended up pausing my work on the shelf to read all the books from her in Carver's library and the Greene County public library. Celia Rees is a historical fiction writer and actually inspired me to co-write the story I'm working on.

               "Celia Rees was born and brought up in Solihull, in the West Midlands. She taught for over ten years, teaching English in Coventry secondary schools, before she began to write. Celia Rees is one of Britain’s foremost writers for teenagers with an international readership and reputation. Her novel Witch Child has been published in 28 languages and is required reading in secondary schools in the UK. Although her recent novels have been historical, she has written about everything from vampires to Shakespeare. She began by writing edgy, gritty thrillers for teenagers."

Information from http://www.celiarees.com/

Reading Response #6- The Book of Angels

This book describes not only angels as a whole but their hierarchy and the differences between each type of angel. Angels can be divided by their closeness to God or by their influences on mankind.

Closest to God:

1. Seraphim- serve as caretakers at the foot of God and sing his praise with eternal vigor.

2. Cherubim- serve as the guardians of light and stars and the keepers of all knowledge and secrets.

3. Thrones- serve as those who concern themselves with celestial law and justice by the Lord. They ponder the initial disposition of any Godly decree and pass sentence upon the guilty.

4. Dominions/Dominations- serve as maintainers of communication lines between the spiritual and material worlds. They also maintain order and balance.

5Virtues- serve as channelers of the vast energies of The Creator who bestow Heavenly Miracles and Holy Blessings.

6. Powers/Potentates- serve as overseers of all laws binding the physical realm and are the guardians of peace, harmony, and order. They also patrol the borders of Heaven.

7. Principalities- serve as the bearers of social mores of the Earthly realm and arbiters of taste and inspiration.

8. Archangels- serve as the carriers of God’s will that relates to humans and bring answers to prayers.

9. Angels- serve as the guardians of humanity and the world. Guardian angels fall into this category.

        These nine orders are then divided into three houses:

1.           The Angels of Contemplation

2.          The Angels of the Cosmos

3.                The Angels of Earth

Influences on mankind:

1.        Angels of Power

2.      Angels of Healing

3.       Guardian Angles of the Home

4.      Building Angels

5.      Angels of Nature

6.      Angels of Music

7.       Angels of Beauty

Reading Response #5- The Chimes of Alyafaleyn

This book begins with a young boy named Tamborel growing up in the world of Alyafaleyn-The Region of Harmonies. In this world, golden spheres called heynim float in the air and are controlled by people. As these heynim float in the air, they rotate and bump into one another; this is how they make their chimes, and hence the title of the book. Each person draws in the flying orbs with their mind; the strength of their mind and power are reflected in the amount of heynim they have and the pitches they are able to produce. The stronger the person, the more heynim, the better the pitches, and the more complex chords the pitches are able to make.

            Tamborel, unlike many of the other children in the book, has yet to “call” his first heynim even though he is a very intelligent child. Nobody knows why this is, but everyone just says it is because he is somehow not ready. He is soon introduced to Caidrun, a infant girl who shows unhindered and instinctual draw over any heynim that are near her, even though she is not old enough to be able to do so. No one who hears about Caidrun can believe it, not even her parents who have their heynim pulled by her. When a group of people are near Caidrun, their swirling masses of heynim included, she pulls all of the golden orbs towards her without thinking about it…and Tamborel is the only one who is quick enough to respond…

Reading Response #4- The Host

I’ve spent my life walking the miles

Seeing the world

And everything around me

All, in the shoes of others

My life

So much longer than the lives of the others

Yet no more important

I see through their eyes

Hear with their ears

Touch with their fingers

Fore I cannot with my own

I am but a soul who needs a home

Who needs a host

I have traveled the expanse of the universe and back

Yet I have still not found any meaning in my life

Not in any of the lives that I have lived

Even though there were so many

So many lives, so many planets, so many existences

None touching me meaningfully

Never spending more than one lifetime on a planet

 Traveling

They call me Wanderer

Fore I have no real name

Each planet taking its own language and since I claim no planet,

I claim no language; claiming no name.

I don’t search for a home

I have temporary homes

Learning the idioms while I am where ever I am

They don’t claim me; I don’t claim them

I watch from a distance, once again

Now on this planet they call Earth

I look at the resistance of the organisms

Humans they’re called, and I feel a connection

I am accepted, even though they know who I am

What I am

And they house me-protect me

And for as long as I’ve lived

For everywhere I’ve been

I have finally found home

I am no longer Wanderer

I am Wanda; I am loved.