Blabbing Beach Blondie

Get up and Mooove!

2009-04-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

Any one vs. Anyone

2009-04-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know there was a difference between "any one" and "anyone"..So for all of you that are way behind and didn't know that either, here is the difference and the correct way to use each of them.

Anyone- means any person
ex: Any one of you could do this part of the project.

Any one- means any single person or thing out of a group of individuals or things
ex: Has anyone seen the new movie that just came out?

http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/CommonMistakes.htm#anyone

i.e. or e.g. ?

2009-04-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

A common mistake made in writing is getting i.e. confused with e.g.

i.e. means "that is" and e.g. means "for example".

A comma follows both of those abreviations as well which is also a common mistake.

Examples:

Use a writing utensil (e.g., pen or pencil).

It is cold outside (i.e., a jacket will be needed).

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39273376,00.htm

Modes...

2009-04-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

The two modes I am debating between using is the Cause and Effect mode and the Descriptive mode. The topic that I am writing on is Anorexia Nervosa.

For Cause and Effect mode I found the following website to be helpful:

http://www.howard.k12.md.us/mth/english_dept/adv-comp/eng_effect.html

For the Descriptive mode I found the following website to be helpful:

http://www.vannet.k12.wa.us/inctr/LaWEB/Descriptive.html

Purpose of a Preposition

2009-03-25T19:04:00.001-07:00

A preposition is designed to give more detail and information to a sentance.
A preposition gives information of time, location, and action and movement.
Many people say that it is improper to end a sentance with a preposition, however this is a highly controversial subject and not everyone may agree.

Some examples of senteces with and without prepositions are:

Without: Lets go there then.
With: Lets go BEHIND the building AT noon TO dumb the trash.

Without: Meet me there.
With: Meet me IN FRONT OF target BY five o'clock so we can go INTO the store together.

This website has a list on all of the prepositions of it incase any of you were wondering about more:
http://www2.actden.com/Writ_Den/tips/sentence/preposit.htm

Patty This is for YOU! :)

2009-03-20T20:17:00.001-07:00

So the question I narrowed down finally and decided to use and research for 12 long pages is:

How does excercies compare to claorie restriction in weightloss?

(Please make sure you give me suggestions if you have any or see any potential problems with this question) THANKS.

Some backgroud info and facts I learned is:
-many doctors and studys tend to say that excercise is enough to lose weight and that restricting calories isnt all that important.
-Cutting too many calories early in life can limit amount of muscle one can have later in life
- 55% of the adult population in the United States is obese or overweight
- excercise prevents dying of desease when older but does not make you life span any longer said one study. Hm...
- Calorie restriction creates changes in the bodys hormone leves that excercise does not do

Those were just a few fun facts i found... Below is listed some websites of studys I found interesting and helpful.

http://the-aps.org/press/journal/08/21.htm

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/001062.php

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/exandwtloss.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080916215209.htm

http://qualitycounts.com/fpcalorie.html

Would of Vs. Would have

2009-03-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

I commonly find myself (most of the time while text messaging) wondering if I should use would "of" or would "have" or could "of" vs. could "have". This is a hard one because although both words are completely different they sound the same so its easy so misuse them.

- Could of or Would of apparently don't make sence and are not grammically correct.

Correct Examples:

I could have ran that errand for you.

I would have gone to the gym with you if you invited me.

Here is a website with a few different examples (It is number 10). Hope this clarified for some of you out there that text like me! :)

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39273376,00.htm

Money and Succes... Two Ways a Woman can get Hurt

2009-03-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

The media influences the way people look at money and handle (spend) their own money. I do not think that this should be the case but since most people in American today choose to be lazy and uneducated it is the way it works. Instead of looking into other resources people rely directly on the media, they could tell us anything and most would listen. I think that this is the reason why the economy is worse off then it should be right now. Grant it, we all saw it coming, but more people are saving their money because the way media makes this crisis sound. In Money and Success written by Diana Kendall, she directly relates this concept to all of the different classes in society baised on money.

In Two ways a Woman can get Hurt, written by Jean Kilbourne, the main topic of discussion is also about media and how it influences peoples choices just as in Money and Success. Kilbourne talks about how the media makes it seem like woman are less superior to men and that it is directly seen in our society. She says how if a woman is raped it is almost always directly said to be her fault because of the situation she let herself get into instead of the mans fault for having no morals. In some ways I found myself agreeing with Kilbourne, however, in other areas, I did not agree with her.

Kilbourne said that the media is the reason so many woman are raped and seen to be vulnerable and that woman are many times taken advantage of by men. However, I do not see this as being a mans fault, it is womans fault for allowing them to be portrayed this way. Woman are the ones that allow their bodys to be photographed in sexual ways. Men don't force them to do so. If woman did not allow themselves to be seen this way, then men would not feel the ability to take advantage of woman and see them as objects. Men would never put up with a woman telling him he was a "Slut" or anything like that, so woman do not allow themselves to think of men in that way.

I do think that through woman allowing themselves to advertise in this way it does directly affect the way woman feel about themselves. Woman feel this sence to be skinny or dress in a certain way in order to be noticed or accepted by men. Woman feel this way because of the victoria secret models or the commercials they see where all these men are googling over this girl with cleavage and a mini skirt with stick legs. Its sad that the world has come to this. It is sad that woman because of these commercials feel that they need to look and be fake to be noticed. It is sad that woman cannot be strong and stand up for themsleves as a whole and not allow most men to boss them around, ect.

In conclusion, I do not think that we can blame men for woman getting a bad reputation, we must blame the source. The woman who allow themsleves to be looked at and touched like that.

20 Questions of Health Care

2009-03-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

1. What will happen to the Doctors if National Health care comes into play and how will it effect the way treatments are done.
2. What are the causes and effects of balemia and anorexia and why is it most commonly found in woman more then men?
3. Why are so many people in America considered to be obese and why is it continueing to grow in number?
4. What is a considered to be a healthy and unhealthy BMI (whether too low or too high) and what percentage of Americans are considered to be healthy?
5. What effect does an abortion have on a womens mental health and physical health long term?
6. Will the economy have a negative effect on the quality of health care that is recieved or impact the growth of technology in health care?
7. What is the difference between fast and slow twitch muscles and how are they used in everyday activities?
8. Is high fructose corn syrup bad for the human body to digest?
9. Do nations with a national health care system prefer and agree with it and believe that it has significantly improved their quality of care?
10. Can birth control really cause a significant amount of weight gain, if so why?
11. What are the main causes of skin cancer and how can it be prevented and treated?
12. Is the economy effecting the number of doctors there will be in the near future?
13. Why is a glass of wine a day considered to significantly help ones health?
14. What is in cherrios that allows them to advertise that if you eat a bowl a day it can lower ones cholesteral?
15. Where did the old saying, "an apple a day will keep the doctor away" derive from and it is a true statement?
16. Why is smoking to addictive and what long term effects can it have on ones body?
17. Is there anything in a Diet Soda that can prevent one from losing weight, and is the artificial sweetener in it bad for you?
18. Is getting ten minutes of sun between the hours of 10 and 2 healthy?
19. Why do so many people think that health care needs to be reformed and will a reform really help the problem at hand?
20. What effect, good and bad, do carbohydrates have on the body, and why do all protien diets allow one to lose weight eating basically as much as they want?

Capitalization

2009-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Capitalizing words may seem simple but really it is one of the more common mistakes in writing. I frequently find myself forgetting to not capitalize words. In researching exactly what is supposed to be capitalized I found that there were words that I did not even know needed to be capitalized.
Here are some rules of capitalizing that may make some of you realize it is not as basic as you think.
- Proper pronouns always need to be capitalized.
ex. These include names, cities, states, animals and I.

- Days of the week or the month.
ex. Monday or June. (These do not include the seasons such as spring).

- All holidays should be capitalized.
ex. Thanksgiving

-Any Religion:
ex. Christain or Catholic

- The last one is geographic sites:
ex. North, East, South and West.

Hopefully some of these tips possibly helped some of you and you learned something. The one that I did not know is that geographic sites should be capitalized.

Here is a website with some other tips and reasons to capitalize a word:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/342849/learning_how_to_capitalize_words_properly.html?cat=4

Life with no Motivation

2009-02-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

I agree with the introduction to this story in that anyone who is considering not going to college or furthering their education in any way should read this story first. "Serving in Florida" does a great job and depicting how working your life away really would feel. The language used makes the reader feel stressed and haphazard.

I can relate to this story in being a working college student. Even though I am furthing my education, I still feel like I am going, going, going and my life is GONE! I am trying to find a balance between working, going to classes, doing homework, going to the gym and still trying to find time to have a semi-social life. However, it does not seem to be working in my favor. I know that working and going to college and dealing with every day life is stressful, and I knew that before I started attending college and supporting myself but I also knew that my life without an education would be miserable and like a whirlpool spiraling downward. To better my life in the future, I decided to sacrafice now so I can have a worry free life with a job I love and earned later.

I think that the point of this experiment was to show people what there life could ultimately be like if they do not try to motivate themselves and try to be the best they can be. I think that she was hoping to learn what life really feels like when you just float by working your life away just to barely make ends meet. I found her apprach very effective, possibly because I have been there and feel as if I am there right now in my life. But at least I can stay posative about my situation because I know one day it will pay off, where in her situation it was a never ending day to day cycle with no benefit other than being able to make rent for that month.

How to use Parenthesis (...Fun Stuff)

2009-02-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

So when researching how to use parenthesis I found that there are most commonly three different reasons and ways to use them.

1. The first reason to use parenthesis is to include words that may not fit in a sentance but reveal some important information to the reader so they are needed in the sentance.

Ex: When teaching younger children (younger meaning ages 5 to 7), one must remember to always be patient.

2. The second most common reason to use parenthesis is to be used around numbers or letters to devide them from a sentence or word. These are most commonly found on tests and outlines.

Ex: 1) Animal
2) Reptile
3) Bird

3. The third way to use parenthesis is to add examples to a text.

Ex: Daily aerobic activity (dance, biking and running) are all great ways to stay in shape and keep healthy.

Keep in mind these are not the only reasons that parenthesis can be used. They are just the most commonly found ones. Here is a website for further explanation on the subject:

http://www.libraryonline.com/default.asp?pID=38

Looking into Poetry

2009-02-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

In writing of all sorts, politics definetly has an influence. What people write about is problems that they are faced with or problems they see the world faced with which directly relates back to politics. The way people get their ideas out to the world and in politics in through writing. In both the poems "Money" and "From Seven Floors Up", one can directly assume how the writing feels about hot topics involving politics and some of their decision making.

In "Money", author Dana Gioia writes of all the things money is called, used for and the reasons humans crave it. You get the feeling when reading this poem that the author does not like how influencial money is on the world and how desperately the world needs it. She writes, "Makes both ends meet", meaning if there is no money, ends cannot meet and one can lose their house, car or not be able to put food on the table. This relates back to politics because many times the subject comes up of what our political leaders are going to do to make money more widely available so that everyone is able to make their ends meet.

In "From Seven Floors Up" written by Sharon Olds, she discusses how it may appear to observe a homeless man or woman. She uses symbolism to make it appear that the person looking at the homeless from seven floors up is superior to that of the man pushing a cart seven floors down. Olds uses words like "no", "not", "homeless", and "dreading" to depict how horrible of a situation it must be to be homeless and how helpless one may feel. This relates back to politics because people are always wondering what the government should do to prevent people from becoming so poor that they are homeless. Many think that homeless shelters just is not enough and that money should be taken from the rich and given to the poor. Others think that there should be more job opportunities opened up so that many more could recieve the ability to work and earn money on their own. Either way, Olds is trying to get her point across that she feels something needs to be done about this situation.

Conjuctional Expression

2009-02-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

So I decided to take the teachers idea and do my grammer post on Conjuctional Expressions. When I researched this I found that there are different expressions for different types of writing. The one I decided to concentrate on was Ephasis. So there are some conjuctional expressions that will help you to put an emphasis on what you are trying to say.

These words include:
- Indeed - I assume
- in fact - I believe
- in any event - I mean
- in my opinion

By using these words you will effectively transition from one topic of paragraph to the next along with put emphasis on your point of view.

http://isu.indstate.edu/writing/handouts/setii/prints/SETII28AP.html

The website above gives other types of conjuctional expressions that will be helpful.

How to do Compound Sentences Right.. :D

2009-02-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

A compound sentence is one of the most common errors in writing and is many times, when proof read, overlooked. A compound sentence is two mini sentences that are connected. Each has its own subject and verb, however they are incomplete sentences if left alone, and a run on if not properly put into sequence. Compound sentences are linked with a COMMA. To make the two incomplete sentences into a compound you may want to also include a linking work in order to show there relationship together and why you made the two into one compound sentence.

Linking Words: AND, BUT, OR and SO
You will use each of these under different cercumstances depending on how you are trying to link the sentences whether they have an equal idea or a different one, ect.

Examples of compound sentences:

* I don't want to eat, and I don't want to drink either.

* You can cry like a baby, or you can clean your room like an adult.

* I need to go to the store, but i feel too sick to drive.

*I like chocolate, so I will help you bake the chocolate chip cookies.

Need more tips? Here is a GREAT website...

http://www.esc.edu/ESConline/Across_ESC/WritersComplex.nsf/3a61b0fa73fb9d7f8525671d0049f39d/e42f0742452027ba852569f5005c1c0d?OpenDocument

The Little Joy's of a Teacher

2009-02-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

The one class in high school of senior year i dreaded taking the most was Economics and American Government. This class was combined into one, focusing on economics the first semester and american government the second. I never could quite figure out why exactly the last year of high school which is supposed to be easy and fun, they require taking the hardest history class.

The fist day of this dreadful class my teacher introduced himself by saying, "Now long ago back when dinasoares roamed the earth, I was once one of you pot smoking, know it all, stubborn students slumped over in a chair". He emediately had all eyes on him...this teacher had something. He knew what kept our attention even though he was centuries older then us students. He also knew not only how to appeal to our ears, but also our young eyes. He wore almost everyday a hawaiin button up shirt, always colorful, bright and fun to look at. He was a tall slender man who looked about 50 but presented himself as though he were twenty-one. My thoughts had suddenly changed about this dreadful class.

This teacher insisteded on not only teaching us "pot smoking, know it all, stubborn students" about the required curriculum but also about life and making it in the real world. He brought up college and reminded us that it isnt for everyone, that there were other options that required only a trade school or even on the job training that would pay sometimes just as much. This old man had something all of us wanted... to care.

Why Average?

2009-02-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

In reading "I just wanna be average" I found it interesting that Rose pointed out why she found this statement to be so interesting to her, but did not pursue it much in her writing. I think this is because she does not want to do the thinking for the reader, she does not want to tell the reader what they should think, or why they should think that. Rose instead wants the reader to walk away with a question as to why she named this story, "I just wanna be average", yet only briefly spoke directly on the topic.

After reading I was brainstorming and trying to figure out what Rose may have meant by average or why she decided to only talk about high school experiences in her book about wanting to be average. I think this is do to how high school is and how it makes young teenagers feel about themselves. Like rose said, it is a time of confusion when kids are trying to establish who they are and who they want to be, deal with hormones, teachers, stress and also peers. This is a time when experiencing new things is both a plus and a minus. I think, alot of kids tend to try things they shouldn't because they just want to be normal or accepted. All a teenager wants is to be average. The last thing I wanted to do in high school was stick out; whether for the good or the bad.

However, who decides what is average or normal? Who decides that a C is an average grade or being 6 foot is an average height? Why can't there be no average or normal? Different is normal, no two people are alike. This is a concept that I, like other people in this story, did not grasp in high school and consequently it led me to do things that I thought was just the average thing to do. Kids should not be taught to be normal, being average is not average; being different is average and is what should be strived for and accepted most. Thats what makes you.. you. Whether you do not get the best grades or are the track star of school.

..........Ellipsis..........

2009-02-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

How to use an ellipsis... that is the question. I am always using these dots whether it is in a text to a friend, and email to a teacher or pretty much any other form of communication through writing (as i am sure many of you may have noticed). So, here is how you really use an ellipsis.

There are a few different rules on using an ellipsis:

1. Replaces words left out in the middle of a quote or obviouse text.

ex: "I pledge allegiance to... America."

2. Shows that a thought or list should continue in the same pattern:

ex. A is for apple, B is for box, C is for cow...

3. A period, followed by three ellipsis points shows that words have been left out at the end of a sentence, paragraph, or longer piece of writing.

ex. I plege allegiance to the flag...

Hopefully this helps everyone. I know it helped me. So as you might notice, in the first sentence of this post, I used an ellipsis wrong, so now you know HOW to correctly use one, and HOW NOT to use one!

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/ellipse.asp

The Colon:

2009-01-28T16:18:00.001-08:00

I tend to never end up susing colons in my writing becuase I have no idea where they are supposed to be...but I am sure I have had plenty of opportunities to use them.

Here are some good rules on when and how to use one:

1. You can use a colon to seperate two parts of a sentence, especially if the second part is adding to the first.
ex. One of my favorite sports to play in water polo: in high school it got very competitive and almost vicious.

2. A colon can also be used in listing things.
ex. I will be teaching you today how to: 1. read, 2. write, and 3. count.

3. A colon is used when wrting a formal letter.
ex. Dear Mr. Trimble:

Hopefull this helped all of you. If you still have some more questions or would like to see some other examples, visit this website (it was very helpful).

http://www.ehow.com/how_5954_colon.html

America... The Proud and The Uneducated..

2009-01-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Before reading "Idiot Nation", I was warned that it may offend me, however whether i agreed or disagreed with Moore I found it very commical and entertaining to read. I must say though, I did agree with Moore and his irony more times then not. This could partially be due to the fact that I grew up in Southern California in a fairly large and still grwoing city. My high school was highly over populated The name of my high school was Etiwanda, we somehow got the nick-name of "Ghetto-wanda" (I think you can see where I am going with this). Etiwanda was highly over populated, my graduating class alone was close to, if not more then, 800 students with about 50 students not graduating (possibly more).

Due to my high school being so crowded and overpopulated the standards of the school were lowered. The bathrooms were always trashed, gum all over the floor, trash anywhere and everywhere and vandalized buildings. These are some of the exact things Morre was disgusing. When our tax money should be going to the schools in need, it is instead going towards unnecessary funds.

Moore also disgussed standardized testing. In California in a teacher raised there classes testing scores above a certain amout, they would get a bonus at the end of the year. Consequently, thats all the teachers would focus on. If a certain type of math was not on that test, the teacher would chose to either briefly go over it, or not teach it at all. This method does help the students become better testers, but not does advance there knowledge the way schooling is supposed to.

Overall, I think that Moore hit the nail right on the head (those of you from smaller, well kept schools may disagree), our societys school sstems are seriously lacking. This causes our politicains to not know as much as they should or as much as we think they should know in order to hold that kind of office becuase we are not educated enough ourselves. If the school systems aren't improved our society's knowledge will continue to stay at a stand-still or possibly even decrease while other nations continue to grow and improve.

The Moynihan Report

2009-01-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

The Moynihan Report was written by Daniel Patrick Moyniham who was the senator of New York. In it he described how he felt about black citizens and their culture and made things that were opinionated seem factual. Some of the opinions brought up were how unorganzied, disfunctional, poor, and uneducated black citizens were. His most prominent accusation however was that the African American culture was dominated by females verses the American culture which was dominated by males. This statement brought up the most controversy in his whole book. The Moynihan Report was full of flaws and misinterpretations. This is significant because it shows how many Americans judged blacks for things they did not even know or understand about them, they were all negative assumptions.
Since the Moynihan Report was so controversal, an anthropoligist, Carol Stack decided to find out the facts on black familys and dedicated part of her life to living in The Flats with many black citizens. In doing so Stack found out that the Black Culture was nothing the Moynihan Report made it sound like. It was not dominated by females nor males, it relied on both figures to survive. They worked in networks of people which consisted of family, extended family, and non-member family. In these networks in where decisions were made together. With out one member of these networks, all others would not survive. They were also not unorganized, they were they opposite. In the flats blacks relied on "swapping" which is an organized form of sharing and repaying. Members would share what they had an abundance of and get things or help in areas they did not have, such as child care or money for rent. This was another way in which they worked together so they could all survive.
Although the flaws in the Moynihan report were proved to be misleading and false, it was very influential. I believe the reason for this is because Americans wanted to be sheltered and kept niave. They knew most black familys at the time were poor and struggling. So, instead of helping or trying to find the reason to the problem, they found something to blame it on. They blamed it on the fact that the blacks were "disorganized" and "female dominated". This gave others comfort in the fact that the blame was off of their shoulders and onto someone else's.

There....wait no Their...i mean...?!

2009-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

I am constantly using the wrong "there" or "their", I know once upon a time I learned the difference between the two. However, over the years it has slipped my mind. (oops) So for all of you that are right there with me...let me help ya out!

There is used to refer to a place and can also be used as a pronoun.
An example is... That place over there is a good place to eat.

Their is a plural possesive pronoun. (say what?) It basically refers to more then one person and what they have "possesion" of.
An example is... It is their house, not mine.

So hopefully that clarified things more for those who seemed to have forgotten. If not here is a website that may help...
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/their.html

To Have Health Insurance or Not to Have Health Insurance....That is the Question!

2009-01-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed this political cartoon most likely because of my job. I work as a medical assistent at a dermatologist's office so I deal daily with insurance companies and pre-authorizations. It is amazing to me the things insurances will not cover because it is considered "benign". Did you know insurance companies won't cover the treatment of acne after the age of 24? So, I guess that your acne is just magically supposed to disappear at age 24 and never come back (I wish).
This comic does a good job of putting things not only honestly but humorously as well. This man is worried sick that his health insurance plan will not be enough for him and his family, and his wife is telling him that "worried sick" is not a covered treatment under there plan. Medicare (a plan for those 65 an older or the disabled) basically sets the bar for all insurance companies. They say how much of a certain procedure they will cover and thats it. They don't care how much time the Doctor spent or didn't spend with the patient or how much it cost the Doctor to perform the procedure. An example of this is in the office I work in we deal heavily with skin cancers. One treatment we do is to "freeze off" (using liquid nitrogen) the pre-cancerous cells to reduce the risk of one of them turning into an actually cancer. Most of our patients have so many of these I wish we could just dunk them in a bath of Liquid Nitrogen, however, Medicare will only cover the treatment of fifteen of these pre-cancers. Now most Doctors since they are only getting paid for fifteen, will only treat fifteen. Thankfully the Dr. I work for treats as many as he see's or the patient can tolerate.

Health?? Whats that?

2009-01-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

This was my favorite political cartoon becuase it demonstrates my feelings exactly on the ignorance of our society on a healthy living style. This doesn't mean that you must be a size two to be healthy. Being healthy does not have a size, it has a way of living. It is eating healthy (fast food not included), watching your sodium intake, keeping an eye on calories and sugar intake, ect.

This is a classic example of how our society is and what its coming to. This mother is watching her son dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole of nothing but unhealthyness and obesity for the rest of his young life. This shows the ignorance of so many in our society today. If this childs mother would educate her son on nutrition and proper excercise or even encourage him forcefully to go outside and play instead of letting him watch T.V. and play video games (the easy way) he would not be in this predicament. Even worse, she is feeding him his Cholesterol medication in icecream and telling him they are sprinkles! Now Billy doesn't know he has a eating disorder.

Hyphen...Huh?

2009-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

I have always had a problem knowing when and how to use a hyphen and to be honest I do not thnk that I have ever had a teacher teach me the correct use. Apparently there are several ways to use a hypen so I will address the one i struggle with most.

One of the ways to correctly use a hyphen is to join two words so that they are a "single adjective" before a noun (person, place or thing for those of you who don't know). An example of this is, "In the real-world nothing is as easy as it looks". A website that shows several ways to correctly use a hyphen along with many examples is...

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_hyphen.html

Why the 1950's?

2009-01-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

In a literal sence, the author of "Looking for Work" is trying to let readers know the struggles that minorities had in the 1950's. He is showing young readers the things the poor and dicrimintated children did such as play in the mud or make rafts from milk cartons, or even look for work at a neighbors house just to have enough money to go to the public swimming pool. Now days children always want to stay inside and play video games or watch TV and parents seem to be okay with that. I recall the mother in "Looking for Work" telling her son several times that it was still daylight outside and he needed to go outside and play instead of watching TV.
In an Analytical sence, I think that the author is trying to get across a different meaning. He is trying to show us that having money and toys is not everything. Just as the kids in the TV seemed to be happy with all there toys and the family seemed to be "perfect" deep down the little boy knew that happiness did not come from possesions, it came from memories and creating those memories. The boy was happy and expressed so just playing in the mud or working to be able to go to the pool or that last dime he earned to finish off a perfect day! In my own experience I know that my memories and smiles all come from things I have done that did not cost money such as hiking or a home cooked family dinner at Thanksgiving. They are not from playing Wii or going shopping.
Now turing to look at "What we Really Miss About the 1950's". In a literal interpretation the author is simply comparing the 1950's to centuries prior and after that time period, stating why many say that the 1950's was the best era and few others beg to differ. The 1950's, as Coontz states was a time of come back and prosperity for several familys and individuals, however it was also a time of discrimination and sexism.
In an analytical interpretation Coontz is pointing out that the reason for the 1950's seeming so well was because of the disaster the country's state was before that era and also the depression that followed. The 1950's only seemed so much better and only to select races and individuals. Women were not completely happy not working and having to jump when there husbands told them to (ie the babie game) and African Americans were not happy being discriminated against and not having all the rights of a White man. I think that what the author is trying to get across to all readers is that no matter what time period you live in there will always be some good and some bad. For example right now the economy is going down and people are losing jobs and so forth, but we have better sanitation laws and better regulations, better health care and better technology then in the 1950's. I think it is all on how people look at things as to whether they are happy or not.

Proud to be an American....I think...

2009-01-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

To me, being an american citizen is an honor, a priveledge if you will. It is a lond of freedon bilt upon the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers. nI can truely say that I am, "proud to be an American"!
While reading the intro to "Rereading America" I howerever did start to question some old myths about our courntry such as "Land of the Free". Yes is a way it is a land of freedom. Freedom of speach, freedom to choose and freedom of religion. However, it is also a life bound to working and making money in order to obtain and live out these "freedoms". I guess one could say freedom doesn't come free.
I strongly believe that while reading this book it will strengthen my pride of being an American citizen and help me to realize how lucky I am on several different levels that I have never explored before. I will be open minded while reading so that I am able to consider and reconsider several different point of views. In doing this my knowledge will grow stronger of the things I want to stand for as an American.