EDITOR'S NOTE: Why the title "Oh! You Pretty Things"? I'm glad you asked. My mother's favorite movie is The Breakfast Club. The soundtrack for this movie begins and ends with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by the Simple Minds. I read that the Simple Minds had chosen their band name after a line in the David Bowie song "The Jean Genie." David Bowie often comes up in classroom discussion. His song "Oh! You Pretty Things" relates nicely to our classifcation essay. That sounds good to me. Now you know!
JAY'S FILM HISTORY RESEARCH PROJECT: This semester I asked my students to explore the real-life drama behind their favorite historical films. Students compared what they saw on the screen to what they researched in the campus databases. The result was a five-to-eight page MLA-formatted reseach paper. Above are three film history topics selected by past students: The Murder of Selena, The Sinking of the Titanic, Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier.
JAY'S STUDENT NEWS CONFERENCE My Fall 2022 students at IVC shared their favorite writing of the semester in front of a live audience in the library patio. We brought in a professional podium. We reserved a large screen for students to support their discussion with meaningful visuals. In a brief three to five minutes, they highlighted the most interesting aspects of their writing projects and writing experience. At the end of their "talk," they took questions from the audience.
JAY'S ORIGIN OF NEWS CONFERENCE IDEA: This Student News Conference idea came to me at the beginning of the Trump presidency -- from watching news clips of Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Sara Saunders, Rod Rosenstein, presenting important information to a roomful of reporters. And taking questions! I thought what a great format to generate and perpetuate student engagement at semester's end. The communication goes two ways. Everyone wins! I envision our Student News Conference as an exciting, non-threatening collaborative atmosphere to reinforce our semester learning and motivate my future students to do the same. I call it a “Celebration of Student Writing.” Above: Shekina Carillo.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I find MUSIC helps me connect with my students. We all come from diverse backgrounds. Our influences are different. Everyone has something to say. At the end of the semester we are all pretty exhausted from our writing projects, but, I find our discussions about music are always invigorating. Below I offer you excerpts from our Soundtrack to Our Reading. You will once again see David Bowie. We never tire of David Bowie.
BLOGS WE FOLLOW Each semester, I worry for the isolation of my students in our online classes. College should be about interaction. My goal for my students is to develop important interpersonal skills that will spur their growth in the classroom and the professional world. Hopefully, the writing activities I design will help them develop the confidence to collaborate with others and deepen their participation in their own communities. In my online classes, students share their work on our class discussion boards; they discuss the challenges of writing, encourage each other, and share their ideas. The result each semester is the creation of a new classrroom blog. Below, you can see the Blogs We Follow. Our writing brings us closer together.
(CLICK on the IMAGE of each BLOG to see STUDENT WORK).
QUOTE SANDWICH: At one point an employee of the white star line of the Titanic mentioned “Not even God himself could sink this ship” (Archives 11). The people who manufactured the ship were very confident and maybe even cocky. Despite the extremely high hopes and expectations for the ship, it went down like a rock. (From: Julian Beltran, "The Luxurious Wreckage.)
DEFINITION OF ENIGMA: Enigma is a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand. It also applies to behavior or patterns that are very difficult to interpret. An easier way to understand enigmas is by looking at examples of it such as "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Enigmas are things people try to solve every day. The word Enigma first appeared in 1449 and its origins are from Greek. It comes from a Greek word that means to speak in riddles. It was actually used to name a machine believed to be impossible to crack. Such as the Enigma machine, was considered so secure because it was able to hold crucial information that the Nazis kept secret. ( From: Fernanda Chavez-Ibarra. "A Conundrum of Riddles: Cracking the Battle of World War II").
CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire from the midwest and he is the embodiment of the Jazz Age. Behind his charming smile, manners and dapper suits, there is a misunderstood and lonely man. From a young age, he knew that he was destined for something greater than what was expected of him. Gatsby’s ambition can be considered as a representation of the American Dream, a common theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work, and this is highlighted in the green light that we see in the first and final scenes of the film. Green is often associated with power and greed, people have always wanted to be powerful and rich. ( From Camila Canez. "The Great Gatsby: A Portrait of the Jazz Age.")
RESEARCH PARAGRAPH: New genres, bands, styles, songs shaped the way people remember the 70s. Punk was the most influential genre of that time making it a staple in New York & London. Bands like the Ramones, Blondie, & New York Dolls were taking over the punk scene in America while the Sex Pistols & The Clash were influencing the punk scene in the UK. I think if punk was the main focus of music somewhere else like in Los Angeles during the 70s the outcome of it influenced culture would be different.In the mid to late 70s is when punk became popular in other places. After the 70s the music scene totally changed with Rock & Heavy Metal being the main focuses of music and most of those bands involved in those genres of music came out of Los Angeles. (From: Hannah Gutierrez. "The Influence of Punk: The Good and the Bad Times of the 70s")
MOVIE POSTER ANALYSIS: The blue sky and sunset show can resemble hope for whatever situation this man is going through. The man riding on his horse holding the flag can resemble someone on their way to fight for something. I believe that the creator of this poster wants his audience to sympathize with the character on the cover; his eyes reflect sadness or hopelessness. The poster shows a man, we don't know what has caused him to look this way. What is being left out is that this man's life has been turned upside down. He has lost his home, his memories, and his employees to a cruel man who is the leader of the British army. ( From: Kimberly Baitres. "The American Revolution: The Fight for Independence.")
SOUNDTRACK OF OUR READING: Despite being born in the United States and growing up all his life in this country, writer Alex Espinoza had the courage and interest to search out his Mexican roots, where his family came from. The song "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen speaks not only for many Americans, but many Mexicans and their families. In his essay, "An American in Mexico," Alex Espinoza describes these feelings for his own origins that he did not know. Like Bruce when he talks about his hometown and everything that happens and how in the end he teaches that origin to his own son, Alex discovers his native home and how his parents suffered to get to the place where they are now. (From Jonathan Garcia. " Bruce Springsteen sings to Alex Espinoza in "American in Mexico"
JAY'S MIND MAPS To organize our research, I ask my students to create MIND MAPS of their writing. They like this assignment. The Mind Map helps them focus on the Big Picture of of their research projects. Some use HEADINGS in their MLA OUTLINES to divide their maps - That Works! Branches, lines, arrows, and colors can be used to show connections and relationships between ideas. The best part, of course, is the opportunity to share both our knowledge and creativity on classroom discussion boards.
WHAT'S NEXT? In the spring, I assign David Hwang's controversial play M. Butterfly. Set during the Vietnam War era, it’s a love story between a Western man and an Eastern woman. The year is 1961, and President Kennedy is sending troops overseas to check the Chinese National influence in the region. I try to present a historical perspective, but most of the class seems focused upon Race and racism. Sex and sexism. We closely follow the relationships in the story to write about injustice, discrimination, harm, dominance, suffering and misery. Many of my students think the “male lead” Rene in the play is a real cabrón. He’s like a predator, they say. He feels a power in the dynamic of his relationship with Song. The play’s author David Hwang explores the stereotypes that underlie and distort relations between Eastern and Western culture, and between men and women.All Rene wanted in his dreary life was to LOVE and be LOVED: "You see," he says, "I have known, and been loved by the Perfect Woman..." What's wrong with that?
WHAT'S NEXT? (Part Deux): My writing assignments often skip and jump from one class to another. For example, in one class, we write about the death of Marlyn M in our exploration of the sixties. In another, we write about Marilyn when we research mental health issues. This semester, I expect to see students write about President Kennedy, for a variety of differen reasons. In English 105, my students will present their essays in project research binders at the end of the semester. OLD-SCHOOL! It's going to be fun!
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: When you read, do you ever tap your foot? Does music ever spark an idea in your head? Joyce Carol Oates wrote "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" after hearing Bob Dylan on the radio. This short story we read in many of my classes is all about a young and pretty high school girl named Connie. Everything is about Connie's selfishness. Connie loves her music and her mirror; she doesn't seem to care about anyone or anything else. JCO touches our hearts. We all have known Connies in our lives. We all know what's going to happen to Connie. The only one who doesn't see what's coming is Connie herself. Spoiler Alert: The results are sad and tragic.
This Time It's Personal
This summer we are publishing our classification essays. The idea of assigning a classification essay first came to me when I shared a short video of a Marilyn Monroe collector to my English composition classes In our reading of William Inge's play Bus Stop, I showed a few clips from Marilyn Monroe's film version, and then a lttle later, I shared interesting tidbits about Marilyn's life and work (see above). The collector in the video had amassed a collection of Marilyn Memorabilia over fifty years, and he was now ready to sell on the open market. He had bought Marilyn's refrigerator at a yard sale. He could identify it with a photo from the crime scene published in the newspaper the day after Marilyn's death. He had a Marilyn dress he bought in the sixties for a few hundred dollars that he was now going to sell for $90,000. The money was not what interested to me, however; it was the passion that this guy showed for his collection. The journalists who interviewed him sat open-mouthed the entire span of the video. The collector did all the talking, and we did all the listening. When my students responded in a lively classroom discussion by sharing collections they have started at home, I knew I was on to something. This type of interaction doesn't happen every day. I'm betting that the opportunity for my students to share and classify their own personal collections will open new doors for their writing. ABOVE: That's me in my Mexicali home garden. In my model for my classification essay, I break down and categorize the plants and shrubs in front of my house.
Posted at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
On the final day of the semester, I asked students to present their classification essays in an event I call our Student News Conference. Ariana was one of the first to volunteer. I suggested she bring samples of her work to share with the class. When she stepped up to the podium, I asked her where were her visual props. What was she going to show to the class? That's when she took off her shirt.
Everywhere I go I always see at least one person with tattoos on their body. People all over the world decorate their bodies with art temporarily or even permanently. Tattoos have been said to be around even 5000 years ago! I see many different types of tattoos on everyone, portraits, lettering and numbering, even traditional tattoos. I myself have a couple of tattoos and I love them. Although many people may draw the wrong conclusions about my tattoos, they express the pride in who I am and what I love. Tattoos are very cool because Tattoos are a mark, figure, design or word intentionally fixed into a skin with needle and ink. I have 5 tattoos right now and I plan on getting more. The biggest tattoo I have right now is a woman’s face with payasa makeup on her face and she’s holding 5 spade cards in her hand. She holds a 10, Jack, Queen,King and a joker card on top. I have this tattoo on the right side of my stomach. It took me about 4 hours to get it finished. This tattoo is called a portrait tattoo. Portrait can be a tattoo of someone’s face who you love, lost, someone you admire or just think it’s cool. For me the tattoo on my side isn’t someone I know, my artist chose a random woman but she’s pretty and my idea of the tattoo was just to have a payasa on the side of my stomach holding cards. To me this tattoo is just something I’ve wanted and it’s one of my favorites. My most heartfelt tattoo I have is "1971" tatted on the right side of my neck. This tattoo is important to me because it is my mom’s year when she was born. My mom is a single mom and raised me and my sister, did everything for us. I believe getting my mom’s year was a way to show her that I appreciate her and it was the least I can do. Those types of tattoos are called lettering. Tattoos can be a way for someone to express how they feel, or what they are interested in. The types of tattoos I see the most are traditional, portraits and lettering and numbering tattoos.
Traditional tattoos are something important that have been passed down from person to person. They can be anything from simple words to a big portrait or even symbols that tell a story. These types of tattoos have been around since 3300 B.C. It can be traced back ages and ages. Not everyone is into the idea of getting traditional tattoos but it is important to a lot of people, tribes and families. Some people are attracted to the idea of getting tattooed to remember their travels or history. Traditional tattoos can be passed down from mom to daughter and continue a family cycle. Or, it can be a cultural thing. For example a lot of Mexicans have pride and honor in getting a traditional tattoo of The Aztecs. This style of tattooing is influenced by the historical, political and religious heritage of Mexico and began near the 12th century, including symbols and images to symbolize the pride of their roots and honor their ancestors. Some people may argue and claim that is not something that should be put on the body. They are not one to say anything because it is not their body and people should be allowed to express something that is important to them. Traditional tattoos will always be something that is passed down and kept alive because it is important to many people because of the meaning, symbol or purpose behind it.
To see Ariana's complete classification essay, please click here: Ariana S.
Posted at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
For this assignment, I asked students to look into their closets. Sandra looked into her heart. Not only did she write an insightful essay, she celebrated the memory of her father.
Unfortunately, not every person in the planet is fortunate to own a pair of shoes. But the majority does. So many different brands and colors to choose from. Shoes have evolved over time. They were designed to be worn on our feet creating a protector barrier from objects that could harm us. Do your shoes have any meaning to you, or do they only protect your feet? There is no doubt shoes were designed to protect our feet from the hot, cold, and any object that could cause an injury. But for me shoes have become more than just protection. It all started when I was just 12 years old, and my father was still alive. My parents bought me my first pair of high wedges. I was the happiest girl on this planet. I wore those shoes all the time to the point it irritated my father. He would tell me to wear something else and I hated it because I wanted to wear my shoes even to my sleep. Even though, my father would get on my case for wearing the same shoes all the time those memories are dear to my heart as he was still alive. And that’s how my first high wedges became the first pair of shoes of my collection.
There is no doubt that shoes have been an essential object for our feet. Allowing us humans to walk on hot or cold ground protecting us from sharp objects that could harm our skin. Shoes were introduced to humans in (c. 1600 – 1200 bce) by the mountain people of Iran. Humans were smart to discover that their feet needed something to protect them from the cold and hot weather. The first shoes made were made by a simple wraparound of leather and held together on the foot with rawhide lacings. Later, humans used animal fur to keep their feet warm and for better comfort. The first high heels were made by the Persian soldiers that helped their feet stay in their stirrups and gave them stability to shoot their bows and arrows. Who would of thought high heels were worn by men first. Shoes might be a fashion statement or a collector’s object. For me shoes are more than that. My collection of shoes brings me valuable memories.
* To read Sandra's complete classification essay, please click here: Heels
Posted at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
As Xiomaria's plants grow, so does her writing. She pays close attention to both. In her classification essay, she shares her insight for growing plants indoors. She believes her love and energy impacts the plants. We are all connected.
My mother always kept plants around the home when I was growing up, and she always let me help her take care of them. Many households have plants that spread positivity and vitality throughout the home. The Earth is a part of something so precious that some people take it for granted. The first thing I look for when entering other families' houses is whether or not they have any plants around. I find great comfort in having plants in my home, particularly Pothos, Snake Plant (also known as Mother-in-Law's Tongue), and Monstera Deliciosa. I usually take visitors to my restroom, where most of my plants are, to look at how much they have grown or how lovely they are. I get a lot of satisfaction from propagating them from the root and repotting them since I can offer them to other members of my family. Having plants give a space or room a boost of energy. I enjoy seeing my plants and their development. Additionally, the fact that they are still alive is an accomplishment. Although most people find caring for plants to be a reasonably popular activity, some people don't like having that burden. Plants can be difficult because each one seems to have a unique personality. It's important to pay attention to their preferences, such as whether to water them too little or too much. As crazy as it seems, I enjoy getting to know plants because I believe that when they are vibrant, they radiate a positive aura. Plants do not communicate with humans through of human language; rather, they do it through intentions and energy. I assure you that I am not crazy when I say this. Pothos, Snake plant, and Monstera Deliciosa become a large smile on my face as I display my plants. I spend a lot of my time taking care of them. I have the choice to maintain good intentions because of how the energy I emit impacts the plants around me.
There are lots of different kinds of pothos plants. Tropical plants that are simple to maintain indoors include these long-trailing vine plants with heart-shaped leaves. The majority of them are placed in gorgeous hanging pots. Having a Pothos in the space gives the space a sense of atmosphere that makes it feel more alive. I know who names a plant since Valentina is the name I gave to my pothos. It was the first plant that I could take care of on my own, and the fact that it is in my bathroom further defines it as a possession. Light is something that consistently reaches my plant, which is crucial for all plants. We need sunlight just as much as plants do. Pothos are noted for purifying indoor air and eliminating pollutants (Food Thesis). Propagation is my favorite aspect of having a Pothos. A new plant is reproduced through the process of propagation. One of the simplest and most enjoyable things to do while owning a Pothos is to propagate it. Simply cut a Pothos below the leaves and submerge it in water to encourage root growth. Once the roots have grown, you can repot the plant to create a new baby plant. One of the most dramatic plants is the pothos, which has a variety of ways to express what it needs to keep flourishing. For instance, when the leaves turn yellow, it could be a sign of stress, when they turn brown, it means they need more water, and when the leaves appear weak, it means too much water was provided to them. When given the proper care, pothos grows continuously, making them simple to own.
Pothos require lots of care and attention but the Snake plant is an impossible-to-kill plant unless you absolutely neglect it. A snake plant has dark green leaves that are speckled with yellow and white stripes. The stiff leaves grow from eight inches to two feet in length. Snake plants remove pollutants from the air much like the chemicals in household cleaners. It is said to be a natural air filter that releases oxygen at night while you sleep, supporting quality sleep. A snake plant I recently acquired stands beautifully in the sunlight. I don't water my snake plant very often, yet it doesn't seem stressed or thirsty. This type of plant can be used as horticultural treatment, enhancing the surroundings and promoting mental health. Taking care of and having a snake plant around is incredibly therapeutic, making it a perfect houseplant. Snake plants are not only simple to maintain, but also unkillable.
To read Xiomaria's complete classfication essay, please click here: House Plants
Posted at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Earlier in the semester, I bumped into Josh before class. He was dressed in button-down shirt and a nice pair of slacks – like he was heading to an interview in a café, restaurant, or retail store. But he wasn’t. He was coming from a communications class where he presented a three-minute speech to his teacher and classmates. I commend his instructor’s lesson plans. Inside the classroom, beyond the reading and writing, students can benefit by presenting themselves as professional, mature, and serious enough to commit to a job. Below Josh, presents his watch collection to our English 110 class on the last day of the semester. Smooth!
Picture an item that is elegant and at the same time functional. For me, this item was watches. Watches have always fascinated me since I was a little kid. We have your standard digital watch, quartz watch, and my favorite, automatic watch. Watches have always had my appeal because of the specific appearance that it gives you or portrays. In my mind wearing a watch portrays, elegance, attention to detail, awareness, and style. The difference between digital, quartz and automatic watches is that the first two solely rely on their power from a battery. In contrast, the automatic watch generates its power from wrist movement. Digital watches tend to be more rugged while automatic, and quartz watches tend to be more fragile and elegant. My desire to collect watches stems from my curiosity and interest. I remember the first watch that I got like it was yesterday. It was a white digital watch made by a company called G-Shock. What was interesting about this watch was that it charged itself via the sun, and that little simple fact was enough to wow me. My collection signifies achievements and specific moments in my life, so wearing them reminds me of the accomplishments that I had completed. It also serves as a reminder of the period that I was going through. It seems funny to say but the thing that is supposed to tell me the future time often reminds me of the past. I plan to continue collecting watches as they stand for like I mentioned earlier, accomplishments or important instances in my life that I would like to remember. They are like trophies that I get to wear, attached with a great story. My watches represent who I am and where I’m going in life.
The right watch for the right occasion. This all ties back to my description of my three different types of watches. Those would be the digital, the automatic, and to be more specific the automatic submariner. If I am feeling productive and casual I will use my Fitbit digital smartwatch. If I am feeling lucky or I want to enhance my style, for example, I will use my dressier automatic watch that was gifted to me by my mother. And if I feel like wearing a watch but something that's not so simple yet elegant, I will throw on the submariner because it's elegant yet super functional and accurate. I wouldn’t say I am fascinated by watches but I certainly have respect and appreciation for them as they serve me a constant reminder of why I have them, which is one of the main reasons why I will continue to collect and admire them.
* To read Josh's complete classification essay, please click here: Watches
Posted at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
I was first exposed to Nike Air Jordans in 1975, maybe. It was the finals of a high school holiday tournament. The players on the opposing team all wore the same shoe: green Nike high tops with white stripes. Of course we lost. The other team just looked better and jumped higher. Below, Miles describes the Nike culture in his classification essay. He writes with great insight and appreciation of his favorite shoes.
My mom always said shoes are the first thing someone sees when they look at you, so as a kid I would always clean my shoes to make sure I looked fresh. Growing up I couldn't afford the Jordans so when I got older, I would start saving money to buy them. I collect Jordans because they are a perfect mix of my favorite things sports and fashion. There are many Jordans to choose from and they are all respected even if they’re not someone else's cup of tea. Me and my dad share a room where we store all our Jordan's with about 60 pairs of Jordans ranging from the retro Jordan 1's to 14's. We even have my first pair of Jordans when I was a baby, they were the Jordan 11's. My favorite pair in my collection must be my "deep royal 12's" they were on of the first pairs I bought myself. Information most people wouldn't know is that 1,200 people yearly die over a pair of Jordans. People often see my collection and call me spoiled but I have shoes that are in perfect condition from when I was 12 that I took good care of. Getting new shoes for school I would try to keep them in perfect condition and would bring two pairs of shoes for recess so I wouldn't dirty my nice shoes. Kids especially at that age weren't thinking about stuff like that and that extra 30 seconds to change my shoes gave me the opportunity to have the collection I do today. Challenges with having a collection is resellers, people buy shoes in bulk and them sell them for 5 times the price. That's where I draw the line, I never spend over 300 for a pair. Living in Portland and it being the head of Nike I often find deals that other people don't. I am thankful for every shoe in my collection, and I've grown to buy shoes based of what I like instead of what's "hyped up''. I know I inspired some of my friends to just bring an extra pair of shoes it saves money in the long run. People collect for different reasons, but I respect all collections. Collections of anything, not just shoes, can help us find our identity.
A brand-new pair of Jordans made you feel like the king of the world... Until you consider it cost upwards of 200 dollars over retail to get a pair. In middle school I went to a predominantly white school and wearing Jordans I was looked at as ''ghetto.'' My flashy shoes made me stand out from the usual Converse or Vans, and I was judged for that. Now I feel like I almost got my culture ripped from me. Being a black man in America we don't have a culture, as we got ours stripped from us. Jordans gave people a sense of culture and unity. There was built up hype culture over Jordans that made shoes that usually cost $190 shoot up to $500 dollars! These people are often called Culture Vultures. Overnight shoes became commoditized. What is that you may be asking? "Commoditization is the process of converting products or services into standardized, marketable objects. This process tends to strip away unique or identifying qualities of the commodity in favor of identical, lower cost items that can be interchanged with one another." These shoes once had a purpose or a certain event Jordan wore them to that made them wanted; now they are just looked at as a shoe you can sell for over double the price. I think this is important to realize in not just shoes but in cultures in general. That's the beauty of having a collection is having things that are hard to get, but these shoes are mass produced and are still being made to this day.
I like to consider myself a sneaker head; I respect all shoes and don't just collect a certain shoe or style of shoe. I wasn't always like this, and I grew to like different shoes when it became difficult to buy Jordans. My collection ranges from sneakers to loafers and a buy what I like and not the label. I think sneakers heads are very distinguishable from the other two categories because we buy what we enjoy instead of what's hyped up. Sneaker heads are often seen as more fashionable and are more involved in that sense. A common misconception with Sneaker heads is they only like Jordans, so I think this is important because you can even be a sneaker head. Anyone can be a sneaker head especially if you take care of your shoes. To become a sneaker head, I think you should read about some different styles that you enjoy and then find your price range. You can tell a sneaker head is a sneaker head if they wear their shoes! They understand shoes are meant to be worn and not kept in boxes deep in your closet. If I have a pair, I notice I don't wear that much I will sell them to for a reasonable price. A famous sneaker head you might recognize is Mark Wahlberg, He fits my example of a sneaker head and has a sneaker collection of over 100k. Nelly 2002 track Air Force One is good song that represents the culture he raps about how every time he buys pair of Air Force Ones, he buys two pairs so when they get dirty hell have a backup pair. And I think everyone wants to look good because when you look good you feel good!
Posted at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Arlette presented her vegan diet at our Year-End Student News Conference. She was the one responsible for our ordering at least one vegan pizza. Jaja. Arlette believes popular misconceptions of the vegan diet scare people away from living exciting and interesting lifestyles. Her essay clarifies the myths surrounding the vegan diet. She looks to famous vegan actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Hudson for inspiration and guidance. They haven't done so bad in giving up meat. After my students read Arlette's essay, I expect we will have to order more vegan pizzas next semester.
Although veganism may sound boring to many people, many of your life's answers may be found behind a vegan lifestyle. Due to his health concerns in the 1800’s, Dr. William Lambe, experimented to eat only plants. In 1806 Dr. Lambe became one of the first "plant-based vegans" by rejecting dairy and meat products. He later learned most chronic illnesses such as acne, and allergy reactions known as lactose intolerance symptoms have disappeared after a few weeks of adopting a plant-based diet. 30 years ago in 1987. At that time, people began to consider giving up meat, dairy ,and other processed meals in exchange for only consuming whole foods, now known as a "Plant-Based Diet." People were also concerned that the earth will eventually turn into a gigantic graveyard in 100 years. In the 1970's when plastic products were heavily promoted, that's when they invented eco-friendly products to preserve the planet. Lastly, another thing people were concerned about were the safety of animals. Since it was more popular to eat a meat diet. Then the idea of animal rights was invented in the 1970’s. The main purpose of this idea was to protect all animals from a horrendous farm life. My classification essay is composed of 3 different types of vegans. Veganism has been around since the 1900's. Yet, the different lifestyles dictated by veganism have not been heavily promoted. I've always been intrigued by vegans, how they got their protein, and their nutrients. The Activist, The Plant-Based, and The Environmentalist are three primary vegan types that base their diets on vegetables and fruits -- they are all here to stay and live long healthy lives.
Environmentalists seek to preserve the earth and keep it clean. Environmentalists all look different. Some choose to volunteer at the earth's clean up events. Others abstain from using plastic, fossil fuel, gas, aluminum, reinforced concrete, steel, lead, and cotton, yes cotton can be bad for the environment. Because it is such a widely grown crop, cotton requires more pesticides and insecticides than any other crop, which can then pollute thousands of liters of drinking water. Another environmentalist chooses to spend their day planting 100 trees. Furthermore, all environmentalists live their life differently, they all share one big common goal. Leonardo DiCaprio, a famous celebrity actor is also an environmental activist. He uses his spare time to produce documentaries that revolve around solving the climate crisis. The article called “What To Expect From This Year’s International Climate Talks” stated he created an organization called "Global Green USA." Their main purpose is to plant new trees to replace the ones that have been cut down or burned in huge fires. In the article "10 Ways Leonardo DiCaprio Is Working To Save The Planet Every Day" ,confirms he produces documentaries to change people's point of view. This one documentary film that he narrated called “The 11th Hour” produced in 2007, basically displays how us humans impact all ecosystems, animals, plants, and weather ecosystems. Additionally what actions can be taken to slow the damage before it is too late to save the earth. In the blog “What Has Leonardo DiCaprio Done For Climate change?” Leonardo DiCaprio is shown to have funded over 200 projects, one of them called Oceans 5. One of their goals is to end overfishing, by management fisheries reforms. Its purpose is to protect more marine areas. In conclusion, Leonardo DiCaprio has taken more extreme measures to make a difference. He supports various projects, and foundations, creates documentary films to change people's perspective to bring awareness. Lastly, he donated over $3 million dollars to several other organizations.
Posted at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
I love reading student anecdotes about their learning from parents. Julian's father inspired his passion for music when he handed over some of his favorite vinyls. From my dad, I know about Artie Shaw and Bennie Goodman. Jaja. It's all GOOD. It's all in the FAMILY. In his classification essay, Julian breaks down the subtle qualties of listening to his viny albums on the family stereo.
When words fail, music speaks. The way this music has impacted my life is astronomical. It has led me through many happy and sad times. There is a bigger picture to just listening to the lyrics or the guitar. It helped me realize how I am not the only person going through hardships. When I'm stressed, I enjoy listening to my vinyl records because it helps me unwind. Something about simply putting it on the record player and listening to it makes me feel quite satisfied. Finding a certain album I desire from his collection has been one of my struggles. I go to the store in the hopes of finding it, and occasionally I am successful and other times I am unsuccessful. Going to the store and searching for a specific vinyl is a lot of fun, even though I might not find the album I'm looking for. A sensitive needle known as a stylus is used to read the physical record of the music that is imprinted on the vinyl disc because vinyl is an analog storage medium. The 12-inch 33-rpm LP, 7-inch 33-rpm EP, and 7-inch 45-rpm single make up the typical vinyl album.
The process of listening to a vinyl album is not as hard as it seems; it is quite easy. I usually listen to whatever mood I am feeling at the moment. For example, If I am feeling excited I can listen to a certain album that can set the tone for the rest of the day. I have a collection of vinyl albums from all my favorite bands. This collection began with my Dad giving me a couple of items that he's had in the past. I began to listen to the vinyls and I fell in love with the music and the genres. I gained a passion for music. I then began to start collecting on my own. Another reason why I love this collection and why it means so much to me is because a very special person that I love likes to give me vinyls. Every time she gives me one it's very special. She usually surprises me with the album that I'm listening to a lot at that time.
I've been greatly impacted by punk rock music. I was first exposed to this genre when I was a child by my father. It struck me as being incredibly original and fascinating. I fell in love with this music when I heard the guitar and percussion in the song. I can now hear and comprehend the style of this music because I am older. The bands in this genre are free to express whatever is on their minds without worrying about criticism. They have such a wide range of expression in their songs, and I really like that. When I'm listening to this, it's relaxing. Blink 182 was the first punk band I ever heard. I clearly remember hearing the bass riff introductions of the song “ Carousel.” I still listen to this song everyday. This music can be easily judged due to the distortion in the songs. The bands don't care that people think their music is obnoxious. This is what makes the genre so unique.
To read Julian's complete classification essay, please click here: Music Speaks
To see on of Julian's favorite bands, please click on the video below:
Posted at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
I don't think I've entered a McDonalds in about thirty years. According to Summer Lewison, I don't know what I have been missing. She's not talking about anything to eat; her essay is about Happy Meals Toys. As a young girl, her mother saw the toys as learning moments to discuss real-life issues; like nutrition, gender identification, and social norms. Summer looks back to these times with accute nostalgia. She has gleefully passed down her Happy Meals Toys to her own daughter. You don't have to leave Summer's house for a Happy Meal.
Unique collections such as Happy Meal Toys can ignite a sense of nostalgia in collectors and admirers. The market for happy meal toy collectibles is surprisingly booming. Some McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys are worth thousands of dollars. My Happy Meal Toy collection began when my mom started saving each toy I would get each time she bought me a Happy Meal for lunch or dinner. That was in the mid 1980s when happy meals were just becoming popular. Like a song, collectibles can have the ability to catapult person back to a specific time in their lives. In the case of Happy Meal Toys, a person may return to the simple times of their childhood. For me, toys like the Hamburglar, Grimace and the Food Changables send me back to age seven in the late 1980s. There, I’m remembered of the excitement I felt as the warm red box with the McDonald’s famous “arches” handles is handed to me by my mom in the car. The scent of the fresh crispy French fries fills my senses as I pull a fry out to taste while digging deeper in the box for the coveted prize: the Happy Meal toy. In these magical nostalgic moments, I don’t know the heaviness of the adult world and the heaviness of the adult world doesn’t know me. It feels light and easy. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine recognizes the nostalgia of these toys in a 2019 article about the 40th birthday of the Happy Meal. McDonald’s Australia’s marketing director Jo Feeney is quoted in the article recognizing the toys’ nostalgic component. “Happy Meal toys are nostalgic for Aussies of all ages,” says Feeney (Hobin, Hammond, Daniel, et al.)
So which toys are worth money? Ty Beanie Babies’ “Beanie Baby Boo’s” which debut in 1997 can be worth thousands if they’re in original packaging and grouped in the full set. But if you have the full set of toys from the Star Wars “Clone Wars” series from 2008, you could bank about $135. The 1980s favorite of mine — the McDonald’s Changeables - can go for $100 per toy. I suggest digging in your boxes of childhood toys to see which Happy Meal toys you may have. Not only will the nostalgia be fun to experience, but the toys may make you some serious cash on eBay.
There is interesting trivia about McDonald’s Happy Meals toys. Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, Disney partnered with McDonalds to produce a Happy Meal toy collection dubbed “100 Years of Disney.” However, Disney severed its relationship with McDonald’s in 2006 because it was trying to promote healthier eating habits for children. The most rarest toys are the “St. Louis Test Market Transformers” which was available for a short period of time in the St. Louis, Missouri area in the mid-1980s. They looked like typical transformer toys that should have been able to mold into cars, trucks, etc. But these toys were just plastic figures. More interesting is the gender stereotyping McDonald’s displayed by offering the transformer toys to boys only and My Little Pony clip-on charms to girls. For me as a child, I would have preferred the transformer toy over the My Little Pony charm. That being said, my mom would have broken the "rules" and ordered a boys happy meal instead. She was also raising me as a single mother which was also frowned upon in the 1980s era. She was a rule breaker, indeed! It's interesting to note just how influential major companies like McDonald's were on society. Something as simple as a Happy Meal toy could influence both young and old minds into following certain gender norms. Other sectors like clothing/fashion and TV/film certainly had the same influential power. Fast forward to the early 2000s when my own daughter had a chance to sift through the toys and she gravitated to the cars and boys toys as well. This time around, society said that's perfectly acceptable (rarest.org).
To read Summer's complete classification essay, please click here: Happy Meals Toys.
Posted at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Below you can see Raul sharing part of his guitar collection with the rest of us at our Fall Semester Student News Conference on the library patio. We played "Name That Tune", and I think I won when I nailed his version "Panama" by Van Halen. Raul was first introduced to guitars and guitar styles in the backseat of his dad's car on family road trips. His dad liked to play his music loud. He would eventually help his son buy his first guitar. How cool is that?
Unfortunately, I don't have the money to be spending on multiple guitars, but I wish I could collect them. Unlike other things you could collect just for the looks of it, collecting guitars would mainly be for looks and sound. There are certain guitars that have a better sound while distorted or in the clean tone. This would be on all guitars like acoustic, electric, and a bass guitar. There are so many fascinating sounds you could come up with on a guitar and so many different styles and brands to collect, maybe not as cheap, but still very cool. My favorite guitarists like Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and James Hetfield (Metallica) all have guitars and unique styles and amplifiers that just make their guitars sound even better. But one unique style I am hoping to get as my first addition to a collection would be Gibson Trini Lopez Standard ES-335 which has a really nice style and sounds really good when distorted for most Foo Fighters songs. The guitar is my favorite instrument because of the numerous songs you can play or sound out by just changing a few settings on the amp.
Acoustic guitars could have a majestic, soothing, or calming tune to them -- if played by the right person. Acoustic guitars could be played to your liking whether you like picking the strings or using a pick. Kurt Cobain was an example of an acoustic player even though his most famous song he played on electric guitar. This would be "Smells Like Teen Spirit." You can hear him play acoustic on "Something in the Way" and "Dumb." These songs appear on the soundtrack of the newest Batman movie. The thing about playing acoustic guitar or starting with it is that you can then move on to electric. It is easier to "pick" on an acoustic. You actually use your fingers to pick the strings and create rhythms rather than playing chords. With chords, you just place your fingers on frets of the guitars to play a note which there are multiple notes to play. To not complicate the explanation of chords, even more, there are approximately 2210 different chords to play on a guitar which makes it even cooler. Harry Styles plays "From the Dining Table" now on an acoustic guitar.
How many times has the average human thought of being a rockstar. Have you ever dreamed of playing in a metal band or maybe just wanted to shred on a guitar like Van Halen. It is too hard to guess how many want that to happen. That's basically how electric guitars make you feel. You can sound just like James Hetfield (Metallica guitarist) with a little distortion and kick in the amplifier. Electric guitars are played the same way as acoustic but just have more of a kick when connected to the amplifier. Unlike Acoustic sometimes bands drop the tuning of the strings and they will end up having a D standard tuning which will sound lower and heavier. For example, you could listen to "Shepard of Fire" by Avenged Sevenfold which is an example of a D standard tuning but many people can't distinguish that. Electric guitars that are different from acoustic when you consider tappings. Tappings are a form of playing, not with a pick or by picking at the strings, but like acoustic. You actually tap the string on the fret you want to play. A good example of this would be "Eruption" by Eddie Van Halen which they consider one of the best for tapping solos going up the guitar with such speed. A movie that really got me into guitars and music, in general, was "School of Rock" the hit movie from 2003 starring Jack Black.
To read the Raul's complete classification essay, please click here: Guitars
To see one of Raul's favorite "pickers," please click on the video below:
Posted at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)