2011 Brave New Dystopia

An article published today.

Syllogistic reasoning

I was searching for some information on syllogistic reasoning and came across a couple examples of syllogistic reasoning, which I found amusing. Just to let you know, these two examples are examples of incorrect syllogistic reasoning, or at least unreasonable ones.

Statement 1: All men are animals

Statement 2: Some animals are aggressive

Conclusion: Some men are aggressive

Statement 1: All men are animals

Statement 2: Some animals are female

Conclusion: Some men are female

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/types_reasoning/syllogistic_reasoning.htm

Technology talk today

Warren Olney's daily show, To the Point (KCRW 89.9 FM noon, available as a podcast) featured a fascinating conversation today called The Internet and the Human Brain.  Differing opinions and points of view -- really good.  A couple of books mentioned that would be good for a nonfiction book review project.  Check it out!

Check It Out!

My Blog and my first post. Comment; tell me what you think. Argue, Agree, Follow. (Read the NOTE.)

iamspeaking.blogspot.com

song with allusion to Brave New World

hi...i'm not sure if this is that relevant, but i found an interesting song that references Brave New World, or rather says "its a brave new world"....

Oxymorons

A literary term, illustrated.  Some of these are not really oxymoronic, but they are still (mostly) amusing.

Writing Tips

This was posted on a blog I follow...thought you might be interested in check these writing tips out.
Here's another good site called Advice to Writers.
Hey, whaddaya know?  Ran across another one:  Top 10 Tips for Better Writing

The Weekend Prompt, November 6-7

Carefully read the following letter from Charles Lamb to the English romantic poet William Wordsworth.  Then, paying particular attention to the tone of Lamb's letter, write an essay in which you analyze the techniques Lamb uses to decline Wordsworth's invitation.
Letter to William Wordsworth Letter LXXXV Charles Lamb 30th January 1801 I ought before this to have replied to your very kind invitation into Cumberland. With you and your sister I could gang anywhere; but I am afraid whether I shall ever be able to afford so desperate a journey. Separate from the pleasure of your company, I don't much care if I never see a mountain in my life. I have passed all my days in London, until I have formed as many and intense local attachments as any of you mountaineers can have done with dead Nature. The lighted shops of the Strand and Fleet Street; the innumerable trades, tradesmen, and customers, coaches, waggons, playhouses; all the bustle and wickedness round about Covent Garden; the very women of the Town; the watchmen, drunken scenes, rattles; life awake, if you awake, at all hours of the night; the impossibility of being dull in Fleet Street; the crowds, the very dirt and mud, the sun shining upon houses and pavements, the print shops, the old bookstalls, parsons cheapening books, coffee-houses, steams of soups from kitchens, the pantomimes - London itself a pantomime and a masquerade - all these things work themselves into my mind, and feed me, without a power of satiating me. The wonder of these sights impels me into night-walks about her crowded streets, and I often shed tears in the motley Strand from fulness of joy at so much life. All these emotions must be strange to you; so are your rural emotions to me.  But consider, what must I have been doing all my life, not to have lent great portions of my heart with usury to such scenes?   My attachments are all local, purely local. I have no passion (or have had none since I was in love, and then it was the spurious engendering of poetry and books) for groves and valleys. The rooms where I was born, the furniture which has been before my eyes all my life, a book-case which has followed me about like a faithful dog (only exceeding him in knowledge), wherever I have moved myself, old chairs, old tables, streets, squares, where I have sunned myself, my old school - these are my mistresses. Have I not enough, without your mountains? I do not envy you. I should pity you, did I not know that the mind will make friends of anything. Your sun, and moon, and skies, and hills, and lakes, affect me no more, or scarcely come to me in more venerable characters, than as a gilded room with tapestry and tapers, where I might live with handsome visible objects.

Whispering, Crying and Screaming

So, this is my piece on Hendrix's song, "The Wind Cries Mary." If I get a little too passionate in this analysis, it is probably due to the fact that: a) I actually played this song on my guitar before I went to school that day; b) this has been my favorite Hendrix piece; c) I flipped out when I was told the news of what we were doing in class. Carina Taylor knows what I'm talking about. Anyway.

Jimi Hendrix's blues single "The Wind Cries Mary" is a poetic and nostalgic piece about a broken relationship. Hendrix, influenced by the cryptic musings of Bob Dylan, recreates the folk singer's songwriting style in the form of metaphors and imagery. In the first verse, the "jacks...in their boxes" and "the clowns...gone to bed" reflects the happiness that has disappeared. The second stanza reveals the purpose of the song. The crying queen and the spouseless king connotates Hendrix and his ex-lover, and the emotional breakup that has resulted. The rest of the lyrics use surreal imagery of blue traffic lights and the wisdom of the wind. The continual mention of Mary grows from a whisper to a scream, implying the increasing strain of the relationship. In addition to the lyrics, Hendrix fully implements his much-regarded guitar virtuosity. His fretwork is subtle, consisting of a three-chord motif that is the main hook of the song. The guitar, along with the soft cymbal rushes, creates the feeling of a lazy afternoon breeze. The calmness of the music provides a contrast to Hendrix's eccentric lyrics. The beautiful result is a smooth blues classic that remains a thoughtful pondering of a simple break-up.

The Wind Cries For Me

You said to post this sooooo I guess I will:

Losing a loved one creates feelings of loneliness and hopelessness for all people. Jimi Hendrix’s use of personification, diction, and emphasis in his song “The Wind Cries Mary” describe the longing feelings his protagonist experiences at the loss of a beloved woman named Mary. He describes his happiness as “staggering” (line 3) to give the impression, through personification, that his own feelings are hurt. The past is gone and his future will never be the same. “The traffic lights, they turn blue tomorrow,” (line 11). He fears a sad future, with no purpose, and so he uses the term “blue” traffic lights to express his pain and worry that the future will never be like the past but that, though things will be different, it will be the same life just like how a simple color change on a traffic light wouldn’t be the end of the world, it’d just take time to get used to. In each stanza of the song the Hendrix uses more personification, this time of the wind, to show his own feelings at the time: “screaming”, “crying”, and “whispering”. Hendrix is referring to his sobs and whispers to the empty room around him as he mourns the loss of Mary, and that the wind carries them—therefore “whispering” and “crying” with him. As the song is sung Hendrix emphasizes phrases like “queen is weeping” (line 8) and “has no wife” (line 9) to point out the separateness of the king and queen. He pauses before saying “is dead” to focus on the fact that his life can not ever go back to the way it was before. In the last stanza he proclaims “Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past?” hopefully, but then slows down his pace and lowers his pitch for the reply, pausing at “no” and “last” to emphasize the finality of the wind.

Texting While Driving

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything we've talked about for a long time, if at all, but I figure I might as well show it. I came across a video about "texting while driving" today during my internet surfing. It's rather graphic, though it is a dramatization. It was released as a PSA by Wales and one of the points the newsanchor brings up is what should be allowed on national/public television and what shouldn't. Do you think it is too graphic? Or do you think it really makes a provocative statement that will grab peoples attention?
This is the "safe" version "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOTbAbKoL28" and this is the full version "http://espanol.video.yahoo.com/watch/5768870/15107011".
I personally think it brings up a good point about how something as simple and stupid as a little text could ruin many different lives and that that one little text can wait.

Stages of Grief

Jimi Hendrix's song "The Wind Cries Mary" is a depressing song about an object of affection named Mary. At first, I did not think the song was about a lover because the lyrics are not romantic or lustful. Rather, I assumed the song referred to Mary as a mother. The song possesses childish lyrics: "After all the After all the jacks are in their boxes, and the clowns have all gone to bed." I took this line literally, and imagined a young boy crying for his mother when she leaves to go to work or somewhere else. However, as the song progressed, I changed my mind about the meaning of the song and I jumped on the "Mary was a lover" bandwagon. Viewing Mary as a lover rather than a mother is especially evident in the line, "The traffic lights, they turn blue tomorrow and shine their emptiness down on my bed." The words "emptiness" and "bed" can only suggest sexual play.

After much thought, I've concluded that "The Wind Cries Mary" is a song about the stages of grief. The stages include: Denial, Depression, Anger and Acceptance. In the last line of the first stanza, the wind whispers Mary and whispering can be an action performed by those who don't want to hear the truth; in the second stanza the wind cries Mary, which links with depression; in the third stanza, the wind screams for Mary, which shows obvious anger; and in the last stanza, the wind cries for Mary again, accepting that she is gone. Maybe this seemingly depressing song is about acceptance and moving on, but still possessing feelings of eternal love for this "Mary" character.

I'm so lonesome I could cry....Mary.

In the past two days we have read and analyzed two depressing songs. "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams and " The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix. Hearing these songs once was enough for me. If I had to hear it anymore I might start crying....just kidding. The tone in Hank William's song is expressed through diction. The diction in William's song evokes sad feelings. Some sad words in this song include lonesome, die, cry, and weep. The way that these words are used and arranged make it obvious that this is a depressing song. In Hendrix's song, the tone is depressing and sad as well. Throughout his song, he basically says that all the fun is over. When the happy times are gone, the loneliness begins to settle in. When the "jacks are in their boxes" and the "clowns have all gone to bed" you are no longer entertained or happy. Once you begin to miss the past, the feeling of nostalgia takes over you. In my opinion, the wind represents a person crying for the past and the fun times which represent Mary. The wind crying for Mary is a man crying for an ex girlfriend perhaps. A king has lost his wife and a queen is weeping. When the "traffic lights turn blue" and "he sounds too blue to fly," there are no more smiles. Maybe one thing that Williams and Hendrix should consider is that the fun times may be over, but the door is open for new opportunities....new fun...a new queen, even? Well it might be too soon for that, but some time alone may be better for these sensitive men.

Royal Breakup Causes Melancholy.

In Jimi Hendrix's song titled "The Wind Cries Mary", a very sad and dismal mood is set in place. Hendrix uses very dark and gloomy phrases that gives his audience the visual of a place that would appear to be a ghost town. By saying that "The jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed", Hendrix is able to illustrate a place that is void of any spirit and fun. The phrase, "A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life" validates the idea that life now is not the same as it was then. Perhaps this is because "A queen is weeping" and "A king has no wife". Did the king and queen go through a breakup? Is the whole town affected by this royal separation? A place that used to be lively is now in a state of depression.

The wind Cries Mary

David Grkinich p.4
The wind cries Mary
The wind cries Mary is a song written by Jimi Hendrix about a clearly painful breakup between two lovers; this subject is particularly emotional and has extra resonance to me because I absolutely loathe the thought of not being with my girlfriend. Through an informal tone, Hendrix conveys his sad story through vivid images, personification and tone, “ the broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life” this statement emphasizes the sadness in the song by painting a picture of a lonely, sad man sweeping up his life like a broken window and using a distraught tone. Personification like “Happiness staggering down the street” conjures an image not of happiness merely walking down the street but staggering, and tripping over itself as it leaves a man standing alone on his door step, though carefully selected diction like this Hendrix leaves an emotional resonance particularly to myself and perfectly describes the situation of a man losing his lover.
Hendrix ends each stanza with “and the wind … Mary” alternating different verbs in place of … for different effects, like using screams to show how much he misses his love or whispers to show how broken he is. This repetition ends each stanza which creates an especially lasting effect because it’s the last thing we hear (and he pauses for dramatic effect in the song for this reason) as we go into the next stanza. Hendrix’s sentences are short and choppy which creates the image of a broken man to sad or possibly crying, incapable of using correct speech. “After all the jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed” is a particularly vivid image that is emotionally evocative, meaning all the fun is over and the end of the day is upon him. Only using a single punctuation of any form throughout his song, a question mark which is used after he asks “will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past?”, Hendrix asks if the girl will even remember him, she whom he loved so much and held so dear will even remember his name; the question mark is used for emphasis.

Please tell me if there is anything awkward in my analysis, if I don't get the chance to thank you in person please let me thank you now.

Thank you.

Language Clinic: Diction

These are the period 4 sentences!

Art removes the tumor of politics, pollution, and poverty, allowing humans to focus on feeling.

Art heals the bland sickness that is everyday life.

Art is a necessity; it fortifies the blood, and without it, the emotion thins and thus is anemic.

Art revives the dying heart of someone experiencing a life without joy.

Morphine is an opiate far better suited to soothing pain than any form of art, for art can not calm the throbbing of the heart.

Art is a shot of adrenaline in a world that constantly injects anesthesia.

The world has been diagnosed with the cancer of hate and mistrust, which can only be cured with the universal medicine called art.

Art is the healing of the soul, the treatment from the cruel world, and the ability to be unique.

Language Clinic: Diction

Period 2 Sentences using a medical term to characterize art:

Art is the medicine that can call us back from the edge of numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another.

Art is our inoculation, preventing our absorption into a cold systematic world.

Though sometimes confusing and abstract, art is a contagious disease that can infect anyone who gets too close.

Without the therapeutic remedy of art, there would be no agent to deliver humanity from its terminal decline from feeling and sentiment.

Rationality and sense are contagious; art and imagination is medicine.

When they took away her art it was as if her soul had been amputated, and no one could tell from the autopsy what had killed her.

Art is the Cat Scan that shows what is truly within.

Art is the medication that encourages humanity to reach beyond limits.

Art is a drug, which, if taken in large doses, can induce a different reality and form of thinking.

Scrubs make us uniform; art is the cure.

Art is soma.

Hank Williams' Sorrowful Song.

By using sad and sorrowful diction in his song titled "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", writer Hank Williams presents a depressing mood to his audience. He repeatedly says the title phrase throughout the song, putting emphasis on the state of being in which he is in. Williams cleverly uses words such as "weep", "die", "cloud", and "cry" to illustrate an image of someone who clearly is in a state of depression. By using sad and gloomy lyrics, Williams is able to underscore the theme of the pain that one goes through after losing their lover. He shows how lonely one can be, after they feel like they have lost the most important person in the world.

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Mournful and sorrowful diction contribute powerfully to the sad, lonely tone of country music Hank Williams' iconic song, "I'm so lonesome I could cry," as Williams bemoans the most universal of all themes:  the loss of a lover. 
The song opens with the cry of a bird, who the singer identifies as "lonesome" and as "too blue" to even fly -- the natural activity of birds.  He follows this by describing the passing of a "midnight" train; the lateness of the hour combines with the words "whining low" to evoke a long and empty night, devoid of love or company.

Pencil pushers excited for new Blackwing - The Boston Globe

hello, Mrs. Fletcher, this is the pencil that i was telling you about a few days ago. i never thought that people could be so excited about a pencil.

Pencil pushers excited for new Blackwing - The Boston Globe

Brave New World on Facebook

For Wednesday, 10/13

Gosh, how can it be Wednesday already?  Time moves quickly, and then it moves too slowly.
For Wednesday, 10/13, be sure to bring

1. Everyday Use (unless I have your copy in the classroom already)
2. your notebook (Cheyenne Nation, I have yours)
3. a column written by your columnist
4. your copy of Gregory Rodriguez's 10/4/10 column, "The lost spirit of election day"

Thanks, students.  See you later.

Tyler Clementi

Saw this blog post a minute ago and thought I'd share. I'm a mother, and a teacher to young people, and honestly, kids can just break your heart sometimes.  You sometimes lack the perspective that just one more decade of life can provide.

You know how little kids run around being adorable all of the time, but they don't know they are being adorable?  Old teenagers (16-19) are a little like that, too.

Chatroom Honesty

So the following is a snippet of a facebook chat me and Joaquim had the other day. Surprisingly, this is actually a common thing between us. Talking politics all the time. We're both leftists, but to different degrees. Just thought it'd be interesting to see how others thought about this as most teenagers don't really talk politics these days.

welcome back homie

yeah i think ima do a fox news person for my columnist

lol

go for it

maybe it will enlighten you

and youll end up turning into a republican

or

maybe then you will see that im right

and we need a revolution in progressivism

and elitism is bad

i know that republicanism is bad

im not changing

although i am a moderate liberal so i do believe in some republican ideals

like strong immigration control

hm i think you gotta be some what controlling with immigration

its just logical

we cant support millions of immigrants

but like i was explaining to my sister

after watching hotel rwanda

we dont have the ability to support their social welfare there just arnt enough resources jobs and such

basically

what i was saying was after watching hotel rwanda, i explained to her that we culdn't have saved all those people

by bringing us military in because we can't just support millions of africans

they're are genocides all around africa we can't save them all

no

no no no

quang thats realistic

im a f*#%ing realist!

9:32pm

but its hipocracy

if the American republicans

who think that america is like the shit

and they can justify a major military operation in iraq and the rest of the middle east and this "war on terrorism" which is turning out to be a war on islam

then should be able to justify a military movement into rwanda to stop genocide

the fact is that our government

is all about money

if we had some sort of economic interest in rwanda that was threatened they would have swooped in

just like in the middle east

oil oil oil

ww1

if the allies lost

americans would never be payed back those billions of dollars they loaned to the british french and italians

and i think that even if democrats take over

it would still be the same

it would be better for social welfare

but like thats just the way our society is

what was the word postman used?

9:40pm

.....idk

lol okay

what was i going to say?

but yeah in 1993 black hawk down, that entire mission was compltely humanitarian

and 10 people died

thats why America rarely deals with african affairs anymore

Something I just found that made me pause. And think.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing?

Fletcher Tracks Ferguson

I wrote this in 2007.

In addition to being a regular Monday writer on the Op-Ed pages of the Los Angeles Times, Niall Ferguson is a Harvard history professor—which may explain the elevated diction and didactic tone he employs when writing his fact-dense columns about contemporary global politics.  His topics are diverse and surprising, yet he provides sufficient background information and context to enable a careful reader to consider circumstances, repercussions and consequences of our emerging global society that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.  Ferguson writes for an elite audience: thoughtful, well educated, political and cosmopolitan.  In two of the three columns I am working with, Ferguson challenges and ultimately eschews the usual Eurocentric, (Anglocentric?) point of view. He does not hesitate to criticize the powers-that-be and recent foreign policy decisions in both Great Britain and the United States, and yet he seems conservative and measured in his views.  When he writes about the war in Iraq, for example, he acknowledges and describes many tactical mistakes that the West has made in this disastrous war, and yet he is critical of Clinton’s withdrawal of troops from Somalia, calling the removal as “cut and run,” a phrase that evokes foolish cowardice.  Ferguson is a thinking man who resists easy classification.

In his January 1 column entitled, “Auld lang syne for English speakers”, he opens with a rhetorical question — “I was going to wish you a Happy New Year, but why bother?” — and immediately establishes a conversational tone, yet he asks a question that borders on rudeness.  After all, January 1 is a holiday, and readers have been bombarded by happy greetings for days, even weeks.  So why is this guy withholding his wish for my happiness?  He goes on to explain that for 40% of the world’s population, it is not a new year — not yet.  Muslims will celebrate the new year, 1428, on January 20.  And 1.3 Chinese people — and he’s only counting those folks who actually live in the People’s Republic of China — will usher in the Year of the Dog on February 18.  As he goes on to explain the traditional song sung at New Years celebrations by Anglos — and here he includes the UK, Australia, New Zealand, portions of Canada, and of course, the USA — he points out that irony of this nostalgic tune is that it was written in Olds Scots language.  We don’t even understand what the song says — auld lang syne? — but we think it bids a sentimental good-bye to the old year?  Old friends?  Something old.  This is precisely his point, and he goes on to lump Anglo dominance, including the English language, into the pile of old things we may as well sing our sentimental good-bye song to.  Here Ferguson carefully buttresses his point with statistics, facts, and descriptions that clearly describe the waning of what “the American writer James C. Bennett has called ‘the Anglosphere’.”  Ferguson goes on to explain that perhaps, with “three centuries of commerce, conquest, migration and missionary work,” it may be more accurate to describe the Anglo phenomenon as a “diaspora.”  and then asserts what many might consider an alarming viewpoint, and he does it with the lightest touch of humor:

The key point, however, is that this Anglo diaspora’s glory days lie precisely in ‘old long since.’…Demography isn’t always destiny.  For the English-speaking peoples, however, it looks a lot like doom…To me, the Anglosphere and Anglo diaspora resemble the ruins of Nineveh and Tyre exhibits in the great Museum of Defunct Empires.

Ferguson spends necessary time writing definitions of phrases such as “Anglosphere” and  “Anglo diaspora” — and freely utilizes statistics and facts to further explain and support his claims.  These are important moves rhetorically as they enable the reader to both follow and consider the veracity of his points. 

Further, Ferguson’s regular use of the balanced, well modulated sentence is sometimes punctuated with a short, punchy line, to indicate the writer’s surprise, or his own conviction:

It would be cheering to believe, with Bennett and Roberts, that there is still a future for [the Anglosphere’s] distinctive culture (as opposed to its conveniently easy language.)  But I doubt it.

The first sentence has a rhythmic, lulling quality that contrasts sharply with the abruptness of his line “But I doubt it.” This short sentence serves to wake the reader up — did we even realize we were asleep?  That we had been operating under the assumption that the 21^st century would look just like the 20^th,?  Just maybe more gadgety?  — to the idea that despite what we wish or hope for, and despite what we are comfortable with, we would be foolish to believe that Anglo culture will dominate the globe indefinitely.  Ferguson’s short little sentence smacks us alert

Track a Columnist

In keeping with the College Board’s stated goal of fostering a “well-informed citizenry,” let’s read some writers who are discussing policy, politics and culture.

PROCEDURE:

Step One:  Find your columnist.

This is going to take some patience on your part.  For a more meaningful learning experience, find a writer you can connect with, or a writer who riles you up.  Take your time.  Browse and read.  Be willing to sit and search.

Step Two:  Collect six.

Collect six current, consecutive columns by your author. A little later in this handout you will find a list of web sites to help you on your search, and some general advice.

Step Three:  Annotate.

Each article must be annotated.  Annotate for the following

·      Speaker’s tone

·      Rhetorical strategies

·      Organizational shifts

·      Appeals to logic or emotion

·      Main idea/argument; supporting evidence.  Examine how the argument is constructed.

Mark places in the text that evoke a reaction from you, be it laughter, anger, or confusion.

Step Four:  Write.

After annotating, write a brief response (one-half page to a page) that includes the following:

·      A brief summary of the author's main point

·      The most salient strategies employed by the author and what effect they have

·      The article's effect on you

Your first annotated article and one-page response will be due in class for workshop and peer response on ___________________  If you are struggling, I can give you some guidance then.

Step Five:  The Grand Finale.

The final task is to write AN ESSAY that delineates the following:

·      The author's general focus in columns (e.g. political, family, arts, social problems)

·      Three of the author's oft-used stylistic devices

·      An analysis of the efficacy of those devices

You are to judge the author's writing style as convincing or ineffective and explain why; it is not necessary that you agree with the writer if you feel that a point has been convincingly made. Specific examples must be provided from at least three of your collected columns.

Those Seeking a Favorable Grade Should Follow the Suggested Guidelines:

·      Essay length is expected to be between 500-750 words.   You are going to have to find something to talk about.  This essay is too long to fake.

·      Times Roman, 12-point type, double-spaced with one-inch margins.

·      Your name, date, and class will be single spaced in the top left hand corner of page one.

·      A right header will contain your last name and page number on every page.

·      Include a Works Cited page, citing all six editorials in proper MLA form.  I will look at this page like a HAWK.  Ten points knocked off for any MLA infraction.  (Yes, we will go over this ad nauseum.)

·      I expect you to include specific examples in the body of your essay as you discuss various stylistic devices, and their rhetorical effectiveness, and I want to see two to four internal citations for three reasons: (1) to show you know the citation form, (2) to show you know how to gracefully incorporate quotations, and (3) to allow you to reinforce the validity of your argument by referring to "proof."

·      This is a formal, analytical essay based entirely on primary resources (your six columns). You should write in the third person present tense, avoiding the passive voice.  In the final paragraph, you may switch and shift to first person to evaluate the readability of the columnist and to explain your personal response to the writer’s style, perspective, and topics.

·      Between now and the due date, we will be reviewing William Zinsser, Chapter 2 in Everyday Use, and George Orwell’s simple rules for writing.  Please diligently avoid empty phrases, clichés, jargon, and obfuscation.  Dig these out of your essays like something that has gone bad in your refrigerator.  Find it, make a face at it, and toss it.

·      Please attach your annotated articles to your essay, behind your Works Cited page.  For full credit, I am expecting to see well-annotated articles. Notes go in your notebooks, and I’d like you to show these to me as well.   

How to Start – Advice and Websites

I will add this info to the blog…

Jump in!  But try to choose a columnist based on something besides their face.  This is a good place to go if you already know a name.  It's kind of hard to start from scratch here.

http://www.blueagle.com/

Arts and Letters Daily

One of the most comprehensives site I've seen.  You can access a dozen newspapers, book

reviews, and at least 30 columnists of all political stripes.

The Internet Public Library

American Journalism Review

Click on Newspapers, and you’ll see over 1000 national newspapers that are online…

Don’t forget to Google.

Check out the Pulitzer Prize website, and track down the prize-winning journalists, like Ellen Goodman, Thomas L. Friedman,

I am just now getting to know Naomi Klein; right now, she’s on my radar and I’m reading whatever I can find.

Did you know?

When you get to the newspaper’s homepage, you may find the name of the specific author you wish to follow on the home page; otherwise, check the Editorials or Op-Ed. Archives can be searched on these sites, but many publications require payment for articles older than one or two weeks. Therefore, do not let this go until the due date.  Start now and keep up, or it will end up costing you money.

Left or Right?

If you're not sure of the columnist's political bent, you could check here for conservative opinion. There's an archive for each columnist and links to current columns. Some good conservative magazines are National Review and The Weekly Standard; the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times tend to be conservative.  Liberal columnists publish in The Nation, Salon, NY Times, and the Washington Post, among others. 

The New York Times   Click on Editorials/Op-Ed.

Maureen Dowd, Thomas L. Friedman, Bob Herbert, Paul Krugman, others

The Washington Post  Click on Opinions to see a list

of regular contributors like Jim Hoagland, William Raspberry, George F. Will

The Boston Globe  Click on Editorials/Op-Ed.

Ellen Goodman, Joan Vennochi

The Nation  Famously left. Calvin Trillin, Christopher Hitchens, Katha Pollitt (I sure like Katha Pollitt. She’s like ice water down the back.)

Chicago Sun-Times. Click on Commentary and use list of columnists.

 

Chicago Tribune  Click on  Columnists.

Miami Herald  Click on Opinion; Columnists are on the right; Click on Search/Archives for Carl Hiaasen (if you want to read him-don't know why he's not listed in columnists!).

The San Francisco Chronicle  Click on Columnists.

The Washington Times Click on Opinion/Editorial and scroll down to Regular columnists.

I haven’t even mentioned our beloved and beleaguered Los Angeles Times!  There are lots of great writers in the LA Times, and you can read it in traditional newsprint!

Quang Le!

I am sure this post will be of interest to more people than just QL, but I know Quang follows Jon Stewart and the Daily Show.  Terry Gross is airing a live interview she recorded with Stewart last week -- it's excellent!  I'm going to go figure out how to download it from the Fresh Air website.

Dear Students:

I recently updated the AP Nonfiction booklist (I mean, like earlier today).  If you want to browse the list and see if there's something that speaks to you, check it out!  It's over in the link list, third from the bottom.  That's the list you'll be choosing from to do your nonfiction book review later on in the year.

Humiliation.

While shooting an elephant is wrong on a moral and economic level, if we "put ourselves in Orwell's shoes" he does gain some justification. Imagine your boyfriend or girlfriend cheated on you. You confront the person he/she cheated on you with, and they punch you in the face. It's not easy to turn the other cheek now is it? Hardly anyone would walk away, losing their dignity and lover in front of your dozens of peers. Orwell wanted to keep his dignity, for it was at stake in front of the two thousand people he had amassed. The rowdy crowd was expecting a show, so he gave it to them. At the moment, pride is sometimes much more important than the consequences on hand. No one wants to be called a sissy. People would do anything to keep themselves from being publically humiliated. There was a story in the news about a college student who put a live webcam in his dorm room. At this time, the second roommate had asked for some privacy. He had brought in his "male companion". As a closeted gay male, his cover because of his roommate's insincerity. Furthermore, Orwell had to deal with the guilt of killing such a majestic creature, while the high school student would deal with suspension or expulsion. Unfortunately, the college student had jumped off of a bridge to escape this humiliation.

Jacoby and Religion

Susan Jacoby states that because of religions large role in our lives, it results in irrationality and belief in things that are scientifically proven wrong. In some ways, it is effecting education and making it one- sided because education will not challenge religious views because religion has such a large impact in our lives, even it if harbors hatred. Due to either one-sided, or absolutely no discussion at all of religion, we are taught no religious tolerance. For example, a six year old girl I was babysitting was talking faithfully about her religion and how it’s taught in her Christian school. When I happened to mention another religion, she became disgusted and knew only of the bad things this religion had done. I could easily tell there was already a deep hatred planted in her young little head for a religion that opposed hers, even at such an ignorant stage. I was shocked, to say the least, and I realized that her views are formed because at schools, we are not taught to tolerate other religions or we are not taught about other religions at all. Sure, our parents may tell us, but depending on the person, they probably have one sided views as well. We are never offered a unbiased, straight answer.