The name of this crazy man escapes me at the moment, however I was pleasantly surprised by his lecture regarding the changing of the English language.
The man made some very valid points, and many things that I could definitely relate to. He talked about how English never really was supposed to be a language, it was just derived from Anglo-Saxon German and French. I found that pretty interesting, I had never heard that before. It does make sense though. When you think about some of the "big" words we know in English, they're similar to some French words. Everyone always says that French is the most beautiful language to speak or to listen to, so that is probably why.
Also, he said that most people today don't even speak English the way it is supposed to be spoken. Our sentences and words are jumbled together; sometimes you can tell what the person is actually trying to say, sometimes you can't. Something I noticed with this is that if you've ever spoken to a foreign exchange student or someone from a different country, you have to really enunciate your words in order for them to understand. If you speak quickly and jumble everything together like we are used to doing, they won't understand what you're saying. But if you speak more slowly and enunciate, chances are that he or she will understand. Part of this may just be that they don't know English as well as we do, but I think that the main problem is our tendency to jumble words. The same goes for when a foreign exchange student it speaking to you. They often enunciate their words a lot, because when they were taught how to speak English as a second or third language, they were actually taught it the right way. Imagine that, foreigners speak better English than we do.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The N-Word
While I was reading the essay by Emily Bernard, Teaching the N-Word, several connections and thoughts came to mind. The most prominent of these thoughts was what I know and have heard regarding the word, "nigger". I am not a fan of the word, and I think I probably have similar thoughts to the people in Emily's African American Studies class.
One memory that came to mind immediately happened when Emily was talking about her husband's second cousin who used the word when he was a child. It seems to me that the word was used much more frequently in the past than it is used now. I know this because the only time I have ever heard a white person call someone a "nigger" was when my grandpa said it.
My grandpa is about 87 years old now, and he is your typical crotchety old man. He lived during the time period when it wasn't ok for black and white people to converse. It is obvious to me that he is racist, and it isn't just towards African Americans.
I remember a couple of years ago my brother was playing in an AAU basketball tournament in downtown Milwaukee. My brother was one of two white kids on his team, and about 95% of the players on all of the other teams at the tournament were black as well. For some unknown reason, my dad thought it would be a good idea to take my grandpa along to this tournament. It wasn't a good idea. Throughout every game, my grandpa was making comments about this "nigger" and that "nigger". The people sitting around us (mainly African American) were shooting my dad looks telling him to shut my grandpa up. This could have been an incredibly dangerous situation for us, but thankfully none of the people who heard my grandpa using this word did anything about it.
The other time I remember my grandpa using the word was last fall when Obama was running for president. My dad's siblings are split among Republicans and Democrats, and my grandpa was clearly on the Republican side. He used some choice words while having a discussion with my dad regarding Obama.
While I'm not fond of the word "nigger", I do realize that there are some people who still use the word today. Many of my brother's friends are black, and they say it to each other all the time. In the words of one of my brother's black friends, "It is ok for us to call each other nigger. I wouldn't mind if you called me nigger, because we're friends. But if some random white dude on the street called me a nigger, I would beat the shit out of him." Basically, this just affirms my thoughts on the use of the word, and how it generally isn't a word that you will hear come out of a white person's mouth.
One memory that came to mind immediately happened when Emily was talking about her husband's second cousin who used the word when he was a child. It seems to me that the word was used much more frequently in the past than it is used now. I know this because the only time I have ever heard a white person call someone a "nigger" was when my grandpa said it.
My grandpa is about 87 years old now, and he is your typical crotchety old man. He lived during the time period when it wasn't ok for black and white people to converse. It is obvious to me that he is racist, and it isn't just towards African Americans.
I remember a couple of years ago my brother was playing in an AAU basketball tournament in downtown Milwaukee. My brother was one of two white kids on his team, and about 95% of the players on all of the other teams at the tournament were black as well. For some unknown reason, my dad thought it would be a good idea to take my grandpa along to this tournament. It wasn't a good idea. Throughout every game, my grandpa was making comments about this "nigger" and that "nigger". The people sitting around us (mainly African American) were shooting my dad looks telling him to shut my grandpa up. This could have been an incredibly dangerous situation for us, but thankfully none of the people who heard my grandpa using this word did anything about it.
The other time I remember my grandpa using the word was last fall when Obama was running for president. My dad's siblings are split among Republicans and Democrats, and my grandpa was clearly on the Republican side. He used some choice words while having a discussion with my dad regarding Obama.
While I'm not fond of the word "nigger", I do realize that there are some people who still use the word today. Many of my brother's friends are black, and they say it to each other all the time. In the words of one of my brother's black friends, "It is ok for us to call each other nigger. I wouldn't mind if you called me nigger, because we're friends. But if some random white dude on the street called me a nigger, I would beat the shit out of him." Basically, this just affirms my thoughts on the use of the word, and how it generally isn't a word that you will hear come out of a white person's mouth.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fears
Anyone who has ever seen the movie "Disturbia" will remember the scene when Cale is looking through the window at his neighbor, Robert Turner's house. Turner is a murderer, and Cale is witnessing what he thinks is going to be a murder. Cale looks up through the window, and sees Turner staring back at him.
This particular part of the movies gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, it still gives me the heebie-jeebies.
The nightmare is recurring, one that doesn't actually occur during a dream. It occurs every time I am home alone, and I go to my bedroom (which is in the basement) to go to bed. I approach the window to close the blinds, and every time I do I picture a person on the other side of the window, holding a knife, staring back at me. I rationalize with myself every time I think of this-- I live in McFarland. I've got neighbors on both sides and front and back of my house, therefore the chances of an actual murderer waiting outside of my window are slim. Nevertheless, the fear is still there, waving its knife.
This fear was only strengthened during one occasion a couple of years ago. Long story short, I was at a hotel in Green Bay when someone (who we now know was the hotel's security guard) broke into our hotel room while we were sleeping. Although I didn't actually look out the balcony door and see him looking back at me, I know that the balcony door is how he got into the room, and this thought is very unnerving.
Because of this fear, every time I go to close the blinds, I make sure to keep the lights in my room off. If the lights are on, I can't see what is outside until I get right next to the window. However, if the lights are off, I can see outside before I get to the window.
Watch out murderers, I know you're out there.
This particular part of the movies gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, it still gives me the heebie-jeebies.
The nightmare is recurring, one that doesn't actually occur during a dream. It occurs every time I am home alone, and I go to my bedroom (which is in the basement) to go to bed. I approach the window to close the blinds, and every time I do I picture a person on the other side of the window, holding a knife, staring back at me. I rationalize with myself every time I think of this-- I live in McFarland. I've got neighbors on both sides and front and back of my house, therefore the chances of an actual murderer waiting outside of my window are slim. Nevertheless, the fear is still there, waving its knife.
This fear was only strengthened during one occasion a couple of years ago. Long story short, I was at a hotel in Green Bay when someone (who we now know was the hotel's security guard) broke into our hotel room while we were sleeping. Although I didn't actually look out the balcony door and see him looking back at me, I know that the balcony door is how he got into the room, and this thought is very unnerving.
Because of this fear, every time I go to close the blinds, I make sure to keep the lights in my room off. If the lights are on, I can't see what is outside until I get right next to the window. However, if the lights are off, I can see outside before I get to the window.
Watch out murderers, I know you're out there.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
ramblings/connections-- 9/11, genre, arguments
Today in class we discussed the multiple types of genres and which was the most effective. When we were told to think of a topic that is described or illustrated using multiple different genres it made me think of the September 11 tragedy.
Last Friday was September 11, so on that day I saw several things in remembrance of the day and the lives lost. One thing in particular I saw that I thought was incredibly interesting was a show on the Discovery channel. I didn't start watching this until about 12:30 AM, and I only watched it because miraculously my parents were still awake and they were watching it with my brother. Once I sat down, I was immediately drawn in for about two hours.
The show was a compilation of different videos that people had taken on September 11 (2001). The videos started around 8 AM (NY time) when the first plane hit the Trade Center. They showed both crashes, and hundreds of different views from all of the people who had been taping it that day. There were people who submitted videos from New Jersey, and those were pretty interesting because they were watching from across the river and could still see everything perfectly clear.
The videos continued to document the happenings of the rest of the day. There were some taken by people inside of one of the Trade Centers as people were herding out of the stairwells and from the subway systems underneath the Trade Center. Other videos were taken by people in buildings a few blocks away from the Trade Centers. These people could see everything, including the people on the top floors of the towers jumping out their windows. The next view was of the towers actually crashing down. The people who were in the streets walking away from the towers started sprinting, but no one could see a thing due to the enormous black clouds of smoke, dust, and debris that were engulfing them. The videographers themselves started screaming things like "shut the window!" and "duck!" and "stand back!" during this portion of the show. In one of the videos the windows that the camera person was standing behind were completely smashed in once the tower fell and the dust cloud erupted.
Throughout this whole show, none of my family members said a word. We were all so into what was happening on TV. Watching the show brought back the memories of that day. I remember being in fourth grade, Mr. Buhalog's class. Some parents started pulling kids out of school, and the teachers told us that something horrible had happened but they couldn't tell us what it was. I walked home from school with my neighbor, and her mom told us what had happened. I didn't really realize how big it was until I turned on the news and saw the videos of people jumping out of the windows from the top of the buildings.
My point in bringing all of this up again was that I thought the History channel did a fantastic job of getting people to think about September 11, and remember the day. Up until that point, I knew that it was September 11, but I hadn't really thought about everything that happened that day and how immensely things were changed in America after it. The show had the definite aspect of pathos, because it "tugged on the heartstrings" of the viewers and really got through to you.
Last Friday was September 11, so on that day I saw several things in remembrance of the day and the lives lost. One thing in particular I saw that I thought was incredibly interesting was a show on the Discovery channel. I didn't start watching this until about 12:30 AM, and I only watched it because miraculously my parents were still awake and they were watching it with my brother. Once I sat down, I was immediately drawn in for about two hours.
The show was a compilation of different videos that people had taken on September 11 (2001). The videos started around 8 AM (NY time) when the first plane hit the Trade Center. They showed both crashes, and hundreds of different views from all of the people who had been taping it that day. There were people who submitted videos from New Jersey, and those were pretty interesting because they were watching from across the river and could still see everything perfectly clear.
The videos continued to document the happenings of the rest of the day. There were some taken by people inside of one of the Trade Centers as people were herding out of the stairwells and from the subway systems underneath the Trade Center. Other videos were taken by people in buildings a few blocks away from the Trade Centers. These people could see everything, including the people on the top floors of the towers jumping out their windows. The next view was of the towers actually crashing down. The people who were in the streets walking away from the towers started sprinting, but no one could see a thing due to the enormous black clouds of smoke, dust, and debris that were engulfing them. The videographers themselves started screaming things like "shut the window!" and "duck!" and "stand back!" during this portion of the show. In one of the videos the windows that the camera person was standing behind were completely smashed in once the tower fell and the dust cloud erupted.
Throughout this whole show, none of my family members said a word. We were all so into what was happening on TV. Watching the show brought back the memories of that day. I remember being in fourth grade, Mr. Buhalog's class. Some parents started pulling kids out of school, and the teachers told us that something horrible had happened but they couldn't tell us what it was. I walked home from school with my neighbor, and her mom told us what had happened. I didn't really realize how big it was until I turned on the news and saw the videos of people jumping out of the windows from the top of the buildings.
My point in bringing all of this up again was that I thought the History channel did a fantastic job of getting people to think about September 11, and remember the day. Up until that point, I knew that it was September 11, but I hadn't really thought about everything that happened that day and how immensely things were changed in America after it. The show had the definite aspect of pathos, because it "tugged on the heartstrings" of the viewers and really got through to you.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A connection to the critical analysis paper...
I sat at my kitchen table on Monday night thinking for what seemed like an endless amount of time trying to come up with something to write about in my critical analysis paper. I then remembered a story I had heard about in the news recently. The story was about a girl named Jaycee Lee Dugard.
Jaycee Lee Dugard had been kidnapped when she was 11 years old in California. Her dad saw it happen, and apparently rode his bike after the car trying to catch her. My initial thought when I heard about that was why on earth would he try to ride his bike after her? He should have drove after her if anything, and if he didn't have a car available he should have gone inside and immediately called 911. He could have told the police what direction the car was headed and what it looked like, then they would have had a better chance of catching the car.
Clearly, chasing the car on his bike was highly ineffective for Dugard's father. She was kidnapped and it took them eighteen years to find her. During those eighteen years she lived with a couple named the Garridos, just a few hours from where she was kidnapped at. She was undoubtedly raped by Phillip Garrido, and she had the first of her two children when she was just 14 years old. She had another child, also fathered by Garrido, when she was 19.
When I was researching the story online, there were quotes on the FBI website from the neighbors of the Garridos. The neighbors said that they had no idea that there was anyone living in the Garridos' home besides Phillip and his wife Nancy. How could there be three young girls living next to you or across the street from you for eighteen years and no one ever saw them? Clearly someone was trying to protect the Garridos, because another quote from a different neighbor said that Jaycee Lee had answered the front door at the Garridos' house, and when asked she said that she was their daughter Allissa.
Not to mention, the Garridos had two large tents and a shed all fenced in the backyard where Dugard and her two daughters were living. Wouldn't you think that if you saw that your neighbors had all of that in their backyard, you would get a little suspicious? Apparently the police had come to the Garridos' house a few times, but never thought to look inside the tents or shed in the backyard. Phillip Garrido was on parole for previously kidnapping and raping a young girl, and the police didn't think to check the backyard???
Don't get me wrong, it's good that Dugard and her two daughters are now safely away from the Garridos' clutches and both Garridos are in prison with bail set at a million dollars. However, something about this story just doesn't seem right to me. There were so many things that the police should have noted as suspicious, that would have been clues that the Garridos were harboring three young girls in the backyard. How or why the police didn't catch that is absurd to me.
Jaycee Lee Dugard had been kidnapped when she was 11 years old in California. Her dad saw it happen, and apparently rode his bike after the car trying to catch her. My initial thought when I heard about that was why on earth would he try to ride his bike after her? He should have drove after her if anything, and if he didn't have a car available he should have gone inside and immediately called 911. He could have told the police what direction the car was headed and what it looked like, then they would have had a better chance of catching the car.
Clearly, chasing the car on his bike was highly ineffective for Dugard's father. She was kidnapped and it took them eighteen years to find her. During those eighteen years she lived with a couple named the Garridos, just a few hours from where she was kidnapped at. She was undoubtedly raped by Phillip Garrido, and she had the first of her two children when she was just 14 years old. She had another child, also fathered by Garrido, when she was 19.
When I was researching the story online, there were quotes on the FBI website from the neighbors of the Garridos. The neighbors said that they had no idea that there was anyone living in the Garridos' home besides Phillip and his wife Nancy. How could there be three young girls living next to you or across the street from you for eighteen years and no one ever saw them? Clearly someone was trying to protect the Garridos, because another quote from a different neighbor said that Jaycee Lee had answered the front door at the Garridos' house, and when asked she said that she was their daughter Allissa.
Not to mention, the Garridos had two large tents and a shed all fenced in the backyard where Dugard and her two daughters were living. Wouldn't you think that if you saw that your neighbors had all of that in their backyard, you would get a little suspicious? Apparently the police had come to the Garridos' house a few times, but never thought to look inside the tents or shed in the backyard. Phillip Garrido was on parole for previously kidnapping and raping a young girl, and the police didn't think to check the backyard???
Don't get me wrong, it's good that Dugard and her two daughters are now safely away from the Garridos' clutches and both Garridos are in prison with bail set at a million dollars. However, something about this story just doesn't seem right to me. There were so many things that the police should have noted as suspicious, that would have been clues that the Garridos were harboring three young girls in the backyard. How or why the police didn't catch that is absurd to me.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Writing Style
I don't know that I have a very specific writing style yet. It is something that I'm still trying to figure out how to make better and make more of my own.
I know that when I'm writing something for a class that I don't like, my writing definitely lacks. I write much better when I am interested in the topic I'm writing about. I've found that I can actually write pretty well when I like what I'm writing about; the thoughts just keep coming and I can get the paper or assignment done very quickly. On the other hand, if I have to write about something that I really could care less about, all I'm thinking about is getting it over with.
Some things I struggle with when writing are introductions and conclusions. Some people always come up with creative, funny intros that make you actually want to read their papers. I am not that person. My intros are usually boring and cliche, because I never know what to write. I feel that I'm even worse at writing conclusions. They tend to be about a sentence long, and then I ramble on about something else completely irrelevant and stupid because I don't want a conclusion that is only a sentence long. If I could just write the middle paragraphs and skip the intro and conclusion, my writing would probably be a lot better.
I write best when I have music or t.v. or something else going on in the background. If it's dead silent and I'm trying to write, all I'll think about is the silence and the fact that I'm bored and don't really feel like writing at the moment. Also, in the essay we read last night the author said that you should find where you like to write and what you like to write on or with. I definitely choose my computer. That room is more secluded from the rest of my family, and I hate handwriting papers because it gets messy and my hand starts to hurt after a while.
Other than that, I don't really know how to describe my writing style. I don't really do anything too different or exciting. I like to include humor and sarcasm in my writing, but that isn't always possible depending on what I'm writing about. Like right now for instance.
I know that when I'm writing something for a class that I don't like, my writing definitely lacks. I write much better when I am interested in the topic I'm writing about. I've found that I can actually write pretty well when I like what I'm writing about; the thoughts just keep coming and I can get the paper or assignment done very quickly. On the other hand, if I have to write about something that I really could care less about, all I'm thinking about is getting it over with.
Some things I struggle with when writing are introductions and conclusions. Some people always come up with creative, funny intros that make you actually want to read their papers. I am not that person. My intros are usually boring and cliche, because I never know what to write. I feel that I'm even worse at writing conclusions. They tend to be about a sentence long, and then I ramble on about something else completely irrelevant and stupid because I don't want a conclusion that is only a sentence long. If I could just write the middle paragraphs and skip the intro and conclusion, my writing would probably be a lot better.
I write best when I have music or t.v. or something else going on in the background. If it's dead silent and I'm trying to write, all I'll think about is the silence and the fact that I'm bored and don't really feel like writing at the moment. Also, in the essay we read last night the author said that you should find where you like to write and what you like to write on or with. I definitely choose my computer. That room is more secluded from the rest of my family, and I hate handwriting papers because it gets messy and my hand starts to hurt after a while.
Other than that, I don't really know how to describe my writing style. I don't really do anything too different or exciting. I like to include humor and sarcasm in my writing, but that isn't always possible depending on what I'm writing about. Like right now for instance.
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