Credo

I believe in second chances. I've only been alive for 18 years on this planet earth but I can already see that people make mistakes. It is all a part of learning. Without making mistakes, a person cannot really ever become an adult. Of course when growing up, when you make a mistake you get punished. It sucks and you hate your parents for doing this. In the end it is all for the greater good. When you make a mistake your parents won't disown you. They will always love you no matter what you do, at least my parents. As you get older, so will your problems. You will get more mature and serious as well as your mistakes. One must always remember that there is always room for redemption. You may do something stupid and rash one day. However tomorrow is a new day. With the new day you can try to better yourself. With making mistakes one must learn that one is not judged by the mistakes he has made, one is judged by how he conducts himself afterward. I do not believe in zero tolerance. By telling a person if you do this once you're are in trouble is not a healthy learning experience. The only way a person can learn is when they serve their punishment and go on with their lives. Humans are naturally curious, crazy and wild at times. Even the best of people let their inhibitions go at one point in time. If they get caught does this make them bad people. Should living 18 years by the rules and 1 minute not by the rules affect somebody for the rest of their lives. I don't think so. They should be punished but they should always have a 2nd chance to show the world what they are really made of. 

How my argument paper compare with my "Rogerian argument"

My argument paper compares and contrasts with a rogerian argument. I really don't have much of a common ground when I am writing to a republican to vote democrat. In my paper I am really just trying to tell him the pros of voting for Barack Obama over John McCain. I guess there can be some common agreement when I say that America needs some change. However, there isn't agreement when I talk about who should bring about the change. There definitely isn't any agreement between me and the republican over Barack Obama. I do in fact try to explore all sides to the situation. I compare and contrast Obama and McCain and try to show why Obama's plan is better for the country. With doing this I think I effectively reasoned and presented my position like in the rogerian argument. In the end I think my argument essay is for the most part different from a rogerian argument.

Nuit of the living dead/ Sei Shonagon "Hateful Things"

I don't have much to say about this read. It was mainly boring and went no where the entire time. All the guy really did was talk about a man stuck in the chimney, drowned a mouse and helped a man out with his directions. I can understand the weirdness of the whole situation seeing the story took place at 3 in the morning, but it wasn't really suspensefull at all. There really wasn't much to hateful things as well. All it was is someone talking about what he cannot stand from people and such. He also talks about situations that he detests. There are important morals but it it isn't necessary to read.

How to date a Brown girl, Black girl...../ Professions for Women

How to date a Brown girl.... was a pretty good. It definitely reminded me of things I thought about before I really dated girls. I always thought how far will they want to go and things like that. However, I thought it was a boring read. Even though it was short, I didn't find much of it interesting. I also didn't learn how to date a brown, black, white or halfie girl, so it was kinda upsetting. I thought Professions for Women was okay. It was very vague, maybe because I only read 2 pages of the whole thing. It was very boring to read but maybe it seems that way due to the font of the text book. In the 2 pages I read it started to give me a sense of how V Woolf got started in writing and her early life.

Chuck Klosterman Handout

I Thought this was a great read. It was very funny to read the 23 questions he would ask a person before he knew he loved them. I admit most of the questions were very ridiculous. However, many of the them had morals to them that when your lover answered the questions you could get a full sense of what really matters to them. You can also figure out things you never knew about your loved one which could help you learn more about people. When one usually asks these questions giving the other little time to think, the first answer is usually the truthful answer. Since these questions are so bizarre a person couldn't think of a fake answer even thought there really isn't a "wrong answer" to these questions. I don't think I would ever ask my partner these questions but maybe a couple just for laughs.

Extra Credit

My idea for a good argument essay could  be who is the better superhero. This may be a lame or non important idea for an argument essay but it could really stir some peoples imaginations and have them write a great argument. You could say who is better spiderman or superman. Or batman or the flash. It could be anybody. You could also take it in the direction of who acted as batman or superman better. It could be something like was George Clooney a better batman or Christian Bale (really no argument there). Anyway the person would want to set it up they could do it there own way. As long as they have facts about the superhero's they should be able to write intelligent essays about them. It may not be a contraversial serious essay, but I think a theme like this one could really steer students into a creative thinking that could help them write better essays.

My name is I am living/ The little horse is newLY

I thought both of these poems were weird and difficult to understand. With e. e. cummings piece he sets up his whole poem very oddly. He has lets his words drag on to the next line of the piece. When he had the world welcoming. He had welcom on one line and ing on another. When you read it the first time it was very hard to understand. The Anne Lee Walters poem was even more confusing because it is so hard to follow. One line she is speaking of one thing, the next it is completely different. For example on sentence would say "My home is all directions and is everlasting." Then the next line would say, "Instructed and carried to you by the wind." I mean how could a regular reader follow that. Sure it probably has some sort of crazy theme to it but to the average reader like myself it is hard to follow. 

Debate Watch

Even though I am already an avid watcher of the debates and msnbc (I know I'm a nerd) me and my suitmate went to check out this debate watch. I will tell you it was easy to relate to people there because there were not a lot of Mccain fans. Not like that was any surprise to me since we live on such a liberal campus. It was nice to sit down, watch, and discuss the debate with others. I didn't stay the whole time because the debate was getting pretty boring. However, I thought that the Debate watch was a nice thing to have. It was pleasant and a good way to meet new people.

Happy Endings

I thought this story was very entertaining. Good work Temperance you are getting better at picking stories. I like how there are different scenarios to the story, but each scenario is linked to each other. It shows that there is not always a story book ending where "they both live happily ever after." It shows the savageness of men and that love doesn't always work out. Granted most of the time people wouldn't act so rashly like shooting themselves along with two others, or taking pills in thinking it would cause someone to be in love with you again. Also most of the time people don't have to deal with tidal waves, but I am sure cases like these stories have occurred before. They probably just weren't linked. Either way this story was very entertaining and different. 

I stand here ironing response

I really liked this story. I think it was very powerful and could be used by many young mother's out there these days. It really shows that not all parenting comes very easy and it is hard work to win your children over. It shows that sometimes things don't turn out the way you planned but to never give up because your child could do something unexpected and turn some heads. Just like Emily with her performances. This story shows that many children may live with depression and have problems that many adults have. This is because Emily's mother had no money. It really shows that if you are going to have a child you should be financially stable or else it is going to be a hardship on you and your kids for the rest of their lives. It really showed in this story.

The Tone change in "What You Pawn I Will Redeem"

After reading the beginning and end of this story I have noticed many changes in the tone of the of the speaker. First in the beginning he was talking about himself and how he was homeless and that there was nothing really special about him and there was nothing really interesting to hear about him. Then in the end of the story he is paying the man a substantial less amount of money that he owed to a man. Yet when the man saw that this man worked hard for it and tried his best he gave the homeless man his Grandmother's Regalia. In the end he was dancing on the streets, happy that something worked out for him and happy that there was some decent people in the world. I think that there was a very negative beginning and a very positive ending.  

The Girl Next Door Question #2:

2) What constitutes a good mother or parent? List your criteria for a good parent and discuss the ways in which the two mothers in this essay do or do not meet the criteria.

I think a good mother should be understanding and loving to a child. They should be protective but also willing to let their child go when the time is right. The should be able to understand when a child makes a mistake but also be firm when they need to be punished. They need to teach the child right from wrong, and give them examples of what they can and cannot do. They must be a good example for their child.

I think Sedaris' mom knows right from wrong and has taught it to her child. However I think that she has a problem from letting her go and she still continuously judges on her mistakes. This can be a good thing but it seems more like she rubs it in when her daughter makes a mistake. Brandi's mom constitutes everything that is wrong with a mom. She doesn't care about Brandi, she sets a bad example for her child and doesn't seem to care about her at all.

A Happy Death

I liked this story from the start mainly because the title was so bizarre. One doesn't see too many happy deaths anymore. This story is mainly about a woman talking about her fathers death and how little emotion she is feeling from it. She is a little confused by the aspect of her father killing himself which leaves her aloof about the whole situation. She is very upset and angry but also confused and doesn't know how to act. I like how she finds the whole funeral and grieving process annoying. I would agree that the whole process would bug me because just being around people who feel sorry for you all the time is annoying. Most importantly this story tells a lot about death and how it doesn't always have to be a tragedy. Also with is being a comic/graphic novel it makes it easier to see the reactions on everyones faces. It gives you a sense of the feel of the whole situation.

Chris Ware's Sketch Book

I really liked this article. One it was very short. More importantly though, there was a lot of information in this article and drawings. In this Article Chris differentiates drawings and comics. He describes comic making as more difficult because not only do you have to draw, you also have to add a story to it too. Instead of reading where your looking at words, or looking at pictures in drawings. In comics you are looking at both. I really agree with him because I think making comics is very difficult. It requires much imagination and thought. Not many people can do it, and the ones who can always make them interesting. If not in the words then in the drawings. I give a lot of credit to comic makers and a lot of credit to Chris. Keep it up man!

Persepolis pgs 3-32

I read these pages probably about 2 months ago, but I went back and skimmed through them to refresh my memory. I know when I learned I had to read this book for the summer I was not too enthusiastic towards reading it. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I don't know that it being a graphic novel had anything to do with it, but I really got into the book. I probably finished it with in 4 days of starting it. These first 30 pages are one of the reasons. The start of this book really sets the tone for the whole thing. Sure, beginnings of books are always boring, but get through it in this book and you will really enjoy the rest of the book. The start of this book shows the dark, unhappy, bad enviornment Satrapi is living in. The pictures are great and it is not too hard to follow either. It really is an amazing start to an amazing book.

Red Riding Hood: Anne Sexton Style

I thought it was interesting how Sexton changed up the story from the conventional Red Riding Hood Story. I love reading stories that give you something you don't expect. Unfortunately This story didn't really take me anywhere. I thought her rants in the middle of the story were unnecessary and stupid. If you want to switch up the Red Riding story I am all for that. Sexton just made the same story and added weird stories in the middle of it which I just thought was mindless and stupid. I could've written this story and I'm not that strong of a writer. When I read something I want it to wow me. If it doesn't I feel like it was a waste of time. It's just like watching a bad TV show.