When Manana is too Soon: Kurt Kleiner

Tis selection was all about procrastinating. Procrastinating is everywhere and has been going on since even the great scientists of Rome when the empire was a great empire. Everyone procrastinates even without thinking. We all put things off and say we’ll do it later, or tomorrow, or next week, etc.. I even procrastinated doing this blog. I procrastinate on doing my math homework doing it right before class. I procrastinate doing many things just like everyone else does. Procrastination is inevitable, really. It is an evil evil thing that people can’t escape even if you try so desperately hard not to procrastinate you will end up doing so anyways. Sometimes, you even have to carefully monitor yourself every day just to make sure you don’t get too caught up in procrastinating. I’m pretty sure if there was no such thing, the world would probably be a better place in terms of economy. People put off doing their taxes and when it comes to the very last minuet they rush to do their taxes and make mistake after mistake. Think about how it might be if there were no mistakes. Money would probably be in a better place with everyone right now.

Entropy: K. C. Cole

this reading selection kind of caught my eye. Entropy has many different definition. I think that the closest definition that i had found was: a measure of the randomness of the microscopic constituents of a thermodynamic system. it basically means to me that stuff happens. that is what i personally got from the selection. Stuff happens and you have to deal with it. in the beginning the author states all these things that have gone wrong for them just in one day. then the author goes on to talk about how thing begin to age over time and this is how and why stuff happens. i really don't have much to say about this piece of writing but i did enjoy this writing piece.

Se Habla Entitlement: Star Parker

I personally agree with everything Star Parker has to say in this piece of writing. when she talks about the protesters protesting in Spanish, why would you speak Spanish for your legal rights to be a United States Citizen? its a contradiction. if you want to be an American citizen you have to know how to like speak English first off. its also required to be legal to know American history and what not. they make Americans sound so horrible not letting them into our country but in reality its for control. if there is no control the United States wouldn't be the same. it would probably be overunned by other cultures.

The Border on Our Backs: Roberto Rodriguz

I completely do not agree with what Mr. Roberto Rodriguz has to say. At all. he wrote this piece with a hard head. i understrand he has a strong opinion about these things but you also have to write some things like this with an open mind. he makes it seem like the american government is beating these illegal immigrants to death. we are not. if you want to be a legal immigrant do what you need to do to become one. there are no shortcuts in life. just get the papers to fill out and do it. i do have some sympathy for the people who do get kicked out and what not but still. if you want to become a legal immigrant do what you have to. do not be lazy and get mad when you get arrested.

Beauty and the Beast: Dave Barry

I do not agree with this essay one bit. Women take care of themselves. is that such a crime? It take a lot of work to be a girl and we do it because we like to. Women like to be told they look beautiful by men, it's what gives them some sort of self confidence. If someone asks you "how do i look?" you're not-what he says- in big trouble. Just tell us the truth but not in a mean way. You wouldn't be like "that makes you look terribly fat" but maybe say "I'm not too...lets say fond of how this looks on you" and then say "but i like this dress on you; you should wear that" tell us what you like. Congrats you're a man and you like dressing sloppy and you don't have to do your hair every morning or care what you look like. that is your prerogative. Let women do their thing as they have been for centuries and you can do your thing like you have for centuries.

Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising: McClintock

In this passage it talks about the evils of advertising. Yes, i agree that some advertising is bad but not all of it. Under the section name calling it says that foreign cars are called "imported" well, what else are they? they're foreign so they're not made here. It's not a good argument. Advertising has its perks for example local channels are good for local businesses and restaurants and what not. Where as national T.V is for bigger things like for example, Swiffer commercials and Target and Wal Mart because they're all over the United Stated. Advertising also has its downs. For example, trying to sell things to little kids that they don't really need like toys and those "magic markers". Some commercials even sell things using sex. they use a half naked woman to sell things like deodorant or maybe something like some kind of food. Not all advertising is evil. I remember in my Government class last year we had an entire two chapters on advertising and it taught me a lot and although some advertising might be racy, it's wrong to say ALL advertising is evil.

Bombs Bursting in Air: Beth Johnson

well, in reading "Bombs Bursting in Air" i became a little sad as anyone would in reading this. If this happened to me i would have no idea what to do. I'd have no idea how to cope with thoes things. even though some of the things didn't directly affect her. I remember there were three people my sophomore year of high school that died and one in particular really effected a friend of mine. There is a foundation for him. I have no idea how he died so hopefully that foundation goes to charity or something. My friend has bracelets and there is some kind of get together on his death anniversary where all his friends gather and remember him. Also, my senior year around this time a friend of mine died in a car accident. she went to another school so we weren't close anymore but it still got me really sad. Like, i couldn't comprehend it or my brain wouldn't process it. She was texting and driving on her way to school. Of course it was her fault but it still effected me. There was this one girl whom i saw driving to work every day with the girls initials on the back window of the car. "CC" was everywhere and it reminded me of the fun times i had with her. Still, even today, writing about this it's hard for me to process the fact that she's dead.

The "Values" Wasteland: Charles Sykes

It's safe to say almost everyone has cheated at least once in their life. It is also apparent in the pools and surveys the reading selection. I remember my Junior year of high school my entire math class cheated on every test. Mainly because the teacher never caught us. But also i didn't learn anything that he had taught us. one test specifically, we passed a paper with test answers all around the class room. One girl hid her paper in her pants and went to the bathroom, meeting her friend there that did well in the subject area and did the test for her. When the girl came back she passed her paper all around the room and every single person in the class copied it. Amazingly he didn't catch it and his T.A was just as bad correcting answers for this one girl so he didn't care either. Though cheating is bad i made a good friend out of it. I don't regret that class and the choices i made at all.

The Price We Pay: Adam Mayblum

Reading this brought me back to the day the World Trade Center fell. I was in fourth grade, my teachers name was Mrs. Foster. I liked her very much. All of a sudden one kid went home early and then not five minuets later another kid left, and another, and another, and another. I was confused and got jealous and wanted to go home early too but i knew that wouldn't happen for my mother also taught at my elementary school. I had no idea what was happening and neither did my teacher until a lady from the front office made an announcement over the intercom telling the teachers to turn on the T.V to the news. Just then my teacher and whoever else in the class that was left realized something was very wrong for they also asked us to have a moment of silence. It was a very sad day and after school ended i went home and continued watching the news with my family. We were all saddened and impacted that day and it's a day nobody will ever forget.

Flavio's Home

This was a sad selection. Its sad to know that this sort of stuff is actually happening today in our society. there are third-world countries everywhere these days. The doctors are the same way most likely. The hospitals have no funding and the doctors can not and will not help the people and they're left there to die because the villagers are poor and can not afford the proper care. Families are big and they can't afford child support and an hardly feed their families and make little to no money a day. It's a little harsh but if you can't support your family don't have children! poor Flavio will die at a very young age and he can't get any help. He's stuck taking care of his brothers and sister and taking care of his baby brother and it actually does happen in the world today. You think by 2010 there would be better living conditions but the sad truth is there isn't.

Sister Flowers

This reading caught my eye a little. I was curious as to the style Mrs. Flowers lived. Obviously it was elegant and proper. If I were Margurite I would have been nervous to walk and have a talk with her. For if someone approached me dressed like that, spoke clear as day like Mrs. Flowers I would just want to sit there and listen to her voice all day and admire her clothes and house. At one point Mrs. Flowers gave Margurite books to read aloud. Personally I would not read aloud. I’m more of a read to myself person. The little girl would have loved to go to school and learned and I think people these days take advantage of being able to go to school and not having to work at an early age or even at all to support their families. Up until college you go to school for free. College is when going to school really matters. You’re paying to be in your classes and to learn.

Shooting an Elephant: George Orwell

this reading selection was interesting. Not my favorite piece. This obviously took place in the early nineteen hundreds first because of the time George Orwell lived and secondly the feel and picture you get from the writing. I don't think he should have killed the poor elephant regardless of what the natives had to say. The elephant was peaceful and not hurting anyone at the time he shot at it so why shoot it? At the end of the writing he states "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool." why should you care what people think about you? especially by the people who have apparently ragged on you for quite some time. To me, if you're going to shoot an elephant you should know the right way to do it instead of letting it slowly die and suffer for an hour and a half and shooting it an extra few times only to put it in more pain than before. As you can tell I do not like animal cruelty and i do not agree at all with this story whether the author wanted to kill the elephant or not, he still did.

A Fable for Tomorrow: Rachel Carson

As I first started reading this selection i thought to myself, wow I'd like to live in a place that beautiful and simple; it seems so perfect.  As i read on it turned into a disaster.  I felt a little sad but it interested me more.  I wanted to know what happened.  It sounded a lot like the Black Plague to me.  All the animals dying, all the women, children and men dying just from being outside and then hours later dying.  At the end, the author mentions that the events have happened in the past.  The author also says "A grim specter has crept upon us almost as unnoticed, and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know."  One day in the future we will experience something along these lines.  Fir instance 2012;  the Apocalypse is the new most feared thing.  Personally i don't believe in it but there are people who are getting ready for the end of the world which is in a couple of years.

The Longman Reader: Chapter 1

Reading chapter one, i thought many things about it.  When it mentioned the essay on "how to Say Nothing in 500 Words" I thought it was interesting so i turned to page 316 to look at it.  It ended up being pretty interesting about why to abolish college football.  I also laughed at it because well, lets face it.  It's kind of funny.  Then i got to the section about evaluating the images in a book, writing piece, etc. and i didn't realize how important the pictures actually were.  The pictures can say so much about a writing or a story.  the journal entry question is an interesting question.  Television has positive and negative effects on children.  It's not all fighting, shooting, violence, sex, etc. there are educational programs such as the Discovery Channel or the History Channel.  The negative side is to actually get your children to sit and watch them and not cartoons.  I'm hoping that the last paragraph of chapter 1 is true and I'll be able to perfect my writing skills.