Work In Progress...

Post the following information to your blog:

• What you've done so far;
• What you still need to accomplish in the two weeks we have left;
• How your work will benefit you and others.
• PLEASE NOTE: failure to post will result in a status meeting Wednesday in class to determine whether you are capable of controlling your own destiny.

-What have you done so far?
So far I haven't really done much to be honest... I've thought of ways to incorporate photography into my last few weeks of this course (and hopefully to continue after graduation) but I haven't set anything in motion yet. I really need to get on the ball with that...

-What do you still need to accomplish in the two weeks we have left?
Easy said. I need to set things in motion.

-How your work will benefit others?
My work will (hopefully) benefit the Documentary team in adding another element (stills) to their work. Also, my work will benefit the people who see what we're doing, and who see "We Are Superman" to aid in the process of artistically showing the world what we're doing, and how we plan on changing what we know as the educational system set in place today.

AP Test Prep

This past week has been somewhat... stressful over the AP related items.. to say the least. There's so much to do, it feels, and the clock, as we all know, is ticking. Ticking away faster than I seem to realize at this moment. This week I have mostly been working with Lit Terms, as to the quizzes that keep popping up (including the one tomorrow!) but I've been focusing at least... 3 days this past week going over either actual literature, or notes, that I will be tested on, whether that's physical books, physical notes, my blog, or other people's blogs. Trying to get myself familiar with the stuff I SHOULD really know that this point. Then I go back to studying those lit terms.... I've never taken the AP Exam before, so I'm not entirely sure of what I'm walking into, but I DO know that those Lit Terms will help me understand what's being asked of me, and if anything, I want to at least be able to understand the questions being asked of me. Sorry this kind of turned into one diary entry, rather than a "week journal," but.... here's to effort?

Macbeth Quiz

Proof of the Macbeth Notes

So here is the beginning of my Macbeth notes. Dr.Preston, please check your email for the reason I didn't post all of it. I'm just posting before midnight that I do, indeed have work to show for myself. The rest of it is just written in pen. Thank you.

Macbeth Notes

Act 1 Scene 1

·         3 witches

Act 1 Scene 2

·         Thane of Cawdor- traitor

·         Macbeth- war hero/ thane of Glamis

·         Macbeth becomes thane of Cawdor to take place of traitor (witches forsee in next scene)

Act 1 Scene 3

·         When thunder rolls, witches appear

·         Banquo questions their mortality, comparing them to something unhuman

·         Witches proclaim Macbeth will one day be King

·         Macbeth isn’t weary of the witches, while Banquo is

Act 1 Scene 4

·         Malcom (King’s son) heir to throne

·         Stands in the way Macbeth & crown

Act 1 Scene 5

·         Lady Macbeth points out, Macbeth is ambitious… (familiar? Caesar)

·         Thinks he’s too kind to become King- so she’ll convince him

·         Put femininity aside to do what is necessary

·         Lady M has plans to kill Duncan that evening

Act 1 Scene 6

·         King comes to Macbeth’s castle and is greeted

Act 1 Scene 7

·         Macbeth worried about setting in a stream of consequences for killing the King

·         No other reason to kill the King other than self-ambition

·         No longer intends on killing Duncan – Lady M pissed- questions his manhood

·         Plan: while Duncan sleeps, she will give his chamberlains wine to make them drunk, and then she and Macbeth can slip in and murder Duncan. They will smear the blood of Duncan on the sleeping chamberlains to cast the guilt upon them.

Noteworthy Work

The Catcher in the Rye

Just For Fun...

A Poem Worth Loving...

WIND ON A HILL
by  Alan Alexander Milne 

No one can tell me,
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.

It's flying from somewhere
As fast as it can,
I couldn't keep up with it,
Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding
The string of my kite,
It would blow with the wind
For a day and a night.

And then when I found it,
Wherever it blew,
I should know that the wind
Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them
Where the wind goes...
But where the wind comes from
Nobody knows. 

I really like this poem. Always have. This was the first poem that I was told to memorize. It was for my 1st grade poem recital. I was the only kid in the class who memorized the whole poem, and was a single act. (Not that I'm bragging or anything! #swag) Whenever I think of the word "poetry" this one always comes to mind. And it kind of had a little lesson it it too... You can learn things from the end.

Abstract

How does music affect the mind and/or thought processes?


We've always known that music affects people. It can either jazz someone up, or swing someone to sleep. Music has been apart of our society for centuries. But what does music specifically do to our brains? What does it precisely do to the way we think?
If music helps me sit and study, and focus on my work, but doesn't help the student next to me, what is it doing for them? How does music affect THEIR brains, and treat mine differently? If we can hone in on what makes music flow, we can ultimately use it to our advantage.
In order to get information, I plan on seeking information from not only the Internet, but some real life experts on the topic such as: a band teacher, a rock band member, a music store owner, and a music fanatic. Combining my online efforts, and the ideas of my real life examples, I hope to prove what music can do for the brain, and how we can tap into that scale, and use it to our own advantage.

My Big Question

How does music affect the mind and/or thought processes?

"Tools That Change the Way We Think."

The Internet, and technology in general have really changed how people learn and think today. When my parents were in school, and they wanted to find out more information on a topic, they didn't have Google at their fingertips. They had to go and find some sort of reading material on the subject, and look it up "the long way." Now, when I have a question about something, one of two thoughts come to my head: Either, "I'm going to Google this when I get the chance," or, "I'm going to ChaCha this on my phone, because I'm to lazy to get online and look for myself." We have so much information that is, "just a click away." But now I'm learning of new walls that I need to overcome... such things as algorithims and filter bubbles, and this kind of stops my love for the Internet, or at least makes me question it. When I think of people talking about the Internet, I think of the phrase "broadening our minds to all the information that's out there." That's all that people would talk about when the Internet first came to be. And now all to come and find out that we don't have ALL of the information... just what our math equation supplies us with. I enjoyed a quote from Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin said in the article: "Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information." But is all this advancement in Google's effiency taking away some of the potential that the Internet has?

To Facebook, Or Not to Facebook?

My initial response to Facebook, was "HOLY COW THIS IS AWESOME!" It was my freshmen year when I was finally able to make a Facebook, and all my friends already had one and had been talking about how awesome it was. I was so excited to be able to communicate to my friends yet another, way.

The benefits to Facebook, I think, are the social networking perks. I've have had study groups over Facebook, and I've been able to keep up with friends and family that either live too far away, or I don't get to see very often. I really like that all my friends are "just a click away." But recently in class, I've been thinking about all the neagitive things that come with Facebook. The fact that I can't completly control my personal privacy settings is really starting to hit me... I used to think that, oh who cares? Only people that I add can see all of my personal information... But now I'm hearing that that's not the case. It kind of freaks me out that any random stranger can type in "Jessica Catron" and find out all of my infomation. I'm just glad I don't have a smart phone with GPS capabilities.

The article, "Why Facebook Is After Your Kids," really opened my eyes to the big deal of Internet Safety and kids. I knew that people under the age of 13 had Facebooks. I mean, my cousin made a Facebook for her 10 month old baby... So I knew that they were out there. But I didn't know that the numbers of just how many kids had Facebooks at such a young age, was so drastic. The fact that ANYONE out there in the world can look up these children and find out anything they want to about them, is a very scary thought.

(Don't) Be Hamlet

Prompt: Now that you've mastered the text of "To be, or not to be..." reflect on Hamlet's dilemma and help him make up his mind. Use the text of the play and your own logic to support your opinion.

          During Act 3, Scene i, Hamlet is faced with a life or death situation... literally. Through the script so far, Hamlet has had to deal with a murderer of an uncle, a ghost expierence that informs him of the hideous intentions of his Uncle, and whatever feelings are flooding his head over the beautiful Ophelia. During the infamous, "To be, or not to be..." speech, Hamlet has narrowed his options down to a meager two choices. On one hand, he can end all this EARTHLY suffering, and take his life by his own dagger. In other words, his first option to end all the pain he is going through, is to commit suicide. On the other hand, Hamlet can live on, and find some way to avenge his father's untimely death. He can learn to live with all the hurt and all the pain that he is currently expierencing, and push forward to hopefully better days, where his devious uncle pays for what he has done. The question Hamlet is facing, is whether or not to commit one of the unforgiveable sins, or to deal with pain and suffering, and deface his Uncle, taking whatever means necessary.

          The question burning poor Hamlet's mind, is which of the two evils he should commit. Which one would be right, or at least less wrong? To die, to slip into this "endless sleep," would be a way to escape from his suffering... right? This is where Hamlet begins to question the certinty of death. "To die, to sleep- to sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause." (page 89) What if, even in death, the mind is left to waunder and to dream? What if even death can't surpress the endless thoughts that happen in moments of solitude? This can't be the correct choice. Even if he were to escape the saddness that comes with being damned in a seemingly meaningless life, there's no way he can be assured the endless thoughts of life will cease. He may be forced to succomb to thinking about what could of happened, for an etertunity. Hamlet's only option left, is to push forward through these hard times, and expose his Uncle for that he truly is: a murderer.

          Hamlet's final option is to push on; to move forward from the pit his life stands at, at the current moment, and find the "light at the end of the tunnel." This of couse, proves hard for our protagonist. After "the fair Ophelia" walks in on Hamlet's speech on his inner turmoil, he speaks his mind to her, and tells her she should go to a nunnery, for his sin would taint her. "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it wwere better if my mother had not bourne me: I am vert proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offense at my back than I have thought to put them in, imagination to give the shape, or time to act them in. Why should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven?" (page 91) His sins which are spiriling through his mind at this moment in time, are driving him mad. And to act upon his instinct to unviel his Uncle's true colors, would only add to the list. Not to mention, what kind of dangerous situation this can throw Hamlet into... After admitting to knowing about the murder, there's no knowing what his Uncle, the King of Denmark, will want to do with him. But Hamlet must push forward with his plans, no matter the circumstance. Hamlet must avenge his father, and bring light to the murder of his beloved father, King Hamlet.

Literature Analysis Questions

THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini

1. The Kite Runner is a story about making mistakes, and redemption. As a child, Amir made some pretty big mistakes, especially a big one towards his best friend, and as we later find out, blood brother, Hassan. The story tells of Amir's struggle with coming to terms that, everything he did, is over now and that he cannot change the past, but he can try to make up for it in his future. The Kite Runner is the story of Amir going back to his homeland to find and save his nephew Sohrab, and ammend the sins he commited against his late brother.

2. The theme of the novel can be summed up by a character by the name of, Rahim Khan. "There is a way to be good again."

3. The tone of The Kite Runner is ironic, emotional, and cruel.
                  -irony, because of things like, Assef actually losing an eye ( "If you make a move, they'll have to change your nickname from Assef 'The Ear Eater' to'One-Eyed Assef,' because I have this rock pointed straight at your left eye." pg 42) Baba scolding Amir for not treating Hassan correctly ("But in none of his did Baba ever refer to Ali as a friend" pg 25) and Amir getting a scar on his lip, just like his little brother Hassan. ("The impact had cut your lip in two, he had said, clean down the middle. Clean down the middle. Like a harelip." pg 297)
                  -emotional because of storyline where Amir wants to make amends for hurting Hassan like he did and taking in his son Sohrab. ("Sohrab, I can't give you your old life back, I wish to God I could. But I can take you with me. That was what I was coming in the bathroom to tell you. You have a visa to go to America, to live with me and my wife. It's true. I promise." pg 355)
                  -cruel, because of the raw scenes that are included, such as the rape scene. "Asself knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the recognition in it. It was a look I've seen before. It was the look of the lamb." pg 76)

4.Symbolysim- pomergrante tree: the tree thrived with the friendship of Hassan and Amir, and once their friendship started deterioating, so did the tree. ( "There was a pomergranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names in it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.' Those words made it formal: the tree was ours." pg 27)

Foreshawdoing to open up the book ( "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." pg 1)

Imagery- to describe the kite store ( "But he was also the city's most famous kite maker, working out of a tiny hovel on Jadeh Maywand,  the crowded street south of the muddy banks of the Kabul River. I remember you had to couch to enter the prison cell-sized store, and then had to lift a trap door to creep down a set of wooden stepsto the dank basement where Safio stored his coveted kites." pg 51)