May 16, 2005

Back to the Game

So, it's almost time for our final inclass projects.  My group is going to be presenting on the American Dream.  I think it's a really interesting subject, and that there is a ton of information to be found about it.  I mean, the American dream has changed so much over time, yet has stayed so much the same.  This is really taking me back to AP US History last year.  Hope every goup is enjoying working on this project and will have great presentations when we start presenting in only three days.

May 12, 2005

Wiki!

I was doing research last night for the big final project thing, and I found a great website that suggests other places to find more info.  Not only is it a good place to start, it has a weird name.

www.wikipedia.org

The AP's

So, it's almost the end of the second and final week of AP testing.  How has the testing been in general for everyone?  What tests have you guys taken? 

I chose to take AP English Language, AP English Literature, and AP Psychology this year after AP US history last year, so when I enter college, I'll already technically be done with one semester of college.

The prices of the AP tests though are getting pretty high, and at most schools you have to have pretty decent scores on them to get any credit.  Do you guys still think it's worth taking the tests given that information?

May 07, 2005

Question #3

Alright, it's been 48 hours, so I guess it's okay to post this now (if anyone even looks at the blog anymore.) What character did everyone do for the third essay on the AP? I did Christmas from LIA, but it was somewhat of a stretch. Did anyone have a character who perfectly fit the question?

May 05, 2005

THE AP IS OVER! HOORAY! HOORAY!

I think this post is self-explanatory.

Simpsons of the week: Bart Gets a big brother named Tom to get back at Homer for being a lousy dad. Bart tells Tom that he was given away in a game of blackjack because Homer was drunk. Tom and Homer meet.

Tom: Bart, you know not to talk with strangers.

Homer: For your information, I happen to be his dad.

Tom: The drunken gambler?

Homer (in a jolly voice): Yes. And who might you be?

April 26, 2005

Oh Man, a week sure flies by

Wow! I am anxiously anticipating tomorrow's rush to finish my Beloved paper, mostly because I feel completely uninspired to write about Beloved now that the AP's are coming around. Is anyone else getting writer's block? I know that writing these essays will help for the prompt, but I just cannot get excited. Any tips? Anybody?

Simpson's of the Day: Barney Gumble is drinking beer straight out of a tap.

Barney: Uh oh. I think my heart just stopped.

Waits for a couple seconds.

Barney: Ah, there it goes.

Resumes drinking.

Oh - and another thing.

Does anyone else find it hilarious that our blog is blocked by the in school bad website blocking program?

April 21, 2005

Farewell to the Blog - my last post

Is it just me or is anyone else excited that this is our last book, let alone last paper.

We are all about to move on to bigger and better things. All of my classes are preparing for the AP tests so I’m just on here to see what’s new. Plus I really don’t want the blog to just die. Bernie I actually might say I’ll miss the Blog L, naw just playing. But hey thanks for allowing me the opportunity to express my self to my classmates and not be embarrassed and have the time to gather my thoughts.

Check out this website; I think you'll find it interesting....

Schwartz

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

April 17, 2005

Just a Question

What do people think about the "blog optional" fourth quarter? It doesn't really affect me, as I blog whenever a thought pops into my head.  Will the blog survive, or will it become stale with disuse?  Find out by writing and reading comments.

Simpsons of the day:  Homer, moonlighting as a krusty look-alike, is abducted by the mafia because Krusty has not paid off gambling debts to the mob boss.

Homer: But wait. You can't kill me for being Krusty. I'm not him. I'm Homer Simpson.

Fat Tony: The same Homer Simpson who crashed his car through the wall of our club?

Homer: Uh... actually my name is Barney. Barney Gumble.

Legs: The same Barney Gumble who keeps taking pictures of my sister?

Homer: Uh, actually my real name is uh, think Krusty, think, Joe Valachi.

Louie: The same Joe Valachi who squealed to the Senate Committee about organized crime?

Homer: Benedict Arnold.

Legs: The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender West Point to the hated British?

Homer: D'oh!

April 14, 2005

DUDE, WE'RE ABOUT TO GRADUATE

Here is a merged college thread, with permalinks to Meaghan and Luke's threads.  If you haven't posted on either one of those, shame on you, and post here!

Luke's original college thread:  http://criticsandbuilders.typepad.com/collegeenglish10/2005/02/edmunds_hypocri.html

Meaghan's revival of the subject: http://criticsandbuilders.typepad.com/collegeenglish10/2005/04/the_hookup_for_.html

Done? Nope

Well, here we are.  All done with reading Beloved and just waiting for two more groups to present and our essay to be assigned.  This year has gone by so incredibly quickly, yet so completely slowly at the same time.  I think this is the hardest time of the year though, especially since this book and the last one we read were both the longest and had to be read in the shortest amounts of time.  Not the greatest for a person suffering from terrible senioritis.  I'm not sure there's anyone who doesn't have the terrible disease anymore.  Anyway, how is everyone doing thinking about ideas for the paper?  Thanks to the group that presented today for giving us a nice heads up on it!

Shh

It was very difficult not talking for the Day of Silence yesterday.  Even though over 90% of communication is nonverbal, there is a plethora of things in each day that require us to talk.  Simple hello's, asking/answering questions, or participating in a class discussion.  I feel that we have an extremely vocal student body in general, which is of course a great thing. 

I'm a gregarious person, so it was interesting to notice how difficult it was to communicate with people nonverbally yesterday.  Writing stuff down seemed to work okay.  Without the power of words, it's much more difficult to communicate with other people since speech is such a primary medium.  I think it's great though how in school we learn so much about emphasis on writing and text are symbiotic to speaking. 

April 13, 2005

Bitter-Sweet

Well, it's getting down to the last few weeks of school, especially since after the AP things shouldn't be too overbearing, and I would be the first to admit I can not wait to be done with everything!  I am so sick of going home at night and stressing about what homework I didn't feel like doing and worrying about having to do it during school (I know, bad study technique, but hey, I have no motivation).  I already decided where I am going to college ( most likely, U of I) and I am ready to graduate and move on with  my life.  Aside from that, it will be incredibly sad leaving everyone and going our own separate ways, but that just seems to be a part of the process.  In lots of ways these next few weeks are going to be bitter-sweet.  I know this is kind of lame, but good luck to everyone!  I'm sure you will all do extremely well!!

(I couldn't think of anything else to blog about!)   

I just finished Beloved, which I really enjoyed, and have a few lingering questions...

What do you think Morrison is saying about community in Beloved? Sethe, the outsider, is reduced to a gaunt wreck. "This Sethe had lost her wits, finally, as Janey knew she would—trying to do it all alone" (pg. 299). Is a part of Morrison's theme that people cannot survive without community? And does Sethe deserve to be ostracized from the community because of her perceived pride? She does take it into her own hands to kill one of her children, and it is prideful to make oneself judge of life and death, but she apparently intended to kill all of the children and then herself, and only out of love, because she felt being devastated by slavery was worse than death. She also attempts to live alone with her children, but that's her only choice: she has been rejected by the community, and by Paul D once he finally learns what she has done.

On pg. 300, Denver is struck by the image of a coinholder in the shape of a disturbing-looking black boy, with "At Yo Service" inscribed below it. I think this is intended to make us question our ideas about the Bodwins, who had appeared to be morally unimpeachable abolitionists. Are they as guilty of racism as the slaveholders? If so, this would be another case of Morrison exposing cracks in an ideal, a technique of hers that Bernie mentioned in class earlier this week. The seemingly ideal ex-slave community is actually fragile, with Sethe quickly ostracized, the seemingly ideal situation at Sweet Home under Mr. Garner (it's ridiculous to a call a slave-driven farm ideal, but Sweet Home under Garner is held up as enlightened, better-than-average slavery) might actually be hardly better than another plantation for the slaves, as Paul D asks at one point if they were only men because Mr. Garner declared it, and now these seemingly ideal abolitionists might just be paternalistic, condescending folks helping slaves only because they pity these people that are, in their minds, inferior.

One last point about the novel: I liked the ending. Morrison ties her strands up conclusively, without having to resort to some sort of far-fetched twist or dramatic revelation. Denver is venturing out into the world, Paul D and Sethe are reunited, with the possibility of Sethe coming back to her senses and to the present to realize that she is "her own best thing," and the community as a whole came together to drive out the ghost of slavery, Beloved, so that there can be some sort of future—a "tomorrow," as Paul D puts it. But what did you think of the last two pages? "It was not a story to pass on," Morrison writes, after she has just passed the story on. Beloved (slavery) is too painful to remember, but it's important for the story to be passed on. Is this how the last two pages should be read (as dear SparkNotes, for one, claims)? And do you think Morrison made a good choice in closing the book this way, with a vague, poetic metaphor?

Bernie also mentioned that he'd like to get some posts on the blog about India. I'm not sure how to tie the trip to Beloved in a way that's not too painfully ridiculous (though they do have a caste system that continues to haunt the country), but it'd be cool to get some blog threads running about the trip.

So if anyone has any ideas about Morrison's attitude towards community, the "At Yo Service" coinholder, or the ending, or any questions about India, post!

May 2005

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