pleaaaaaaaaaaase click that ^
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I just thought this was really...interesting.
So, I was reading some posts on TheOnion (because Mrs. Griffin recommended it.) It is HILARIOUS if you get the jokes. Anyway, I saw this and I just thought of what a "fail" the whole situation was:
Controversy #5 Bruno Mars and Cocaine. Shocker? I know.
Controversy #5:
Bruno Mars and cocaine possession
Title of Article: Bruno Mars taking plea deal in Vegas cocaine case
http://new.music.yahoo.com/bruno-mars/news/bruno-mars-taking-plea-deal-in-vegas-cocaine-case--62005578
Author: PST
Date of Publication: January 28, 2011
Time Accessed: 10:22 PM
We were all led on by his beautiful mellifluous voice. We all sing his songs. We all love him. Similarly, were all cheated. Yes: cheated. Why did Bruno Mars have to ruin the fantasy he engendered in the minds of millions of female diehards? I’m sure we all shared the initial thoughts that generally held a strong sense of denial and rage at the very accusation that Mars would attempt such a change of heart. After reading and digesting the evidence and how Mars was caught with 2.6 grams of cocaine, I couldn’t avoid the rush of disappointment and the feeling of betrayal that lodged itself in my throat. It was stated in the article that Mars claimed that “he'd never used drugs before.” Yep, like the authorities haven’t heard that one before. That was a fabulous attempt to lighten the already burdensome problem you strapped on yourself Mars.
Although I am a fan of his music, I have to confess that the plea deal that he was given was too generous. Cocaine possession is a serious offense and letting a celebrity off with nothing but a slap on the wrist and a “don’t do that again” lecture makes me realize sadly at how our government has degraded throughout the years. The article stated quite nonchalantly. “Mars' real name is Peter Hernandez. Defense lawyers David Chesnoff and Blair Berk said that if he pays a $2,000 fine, performs 200 hours of community service, completes drug counseling and stays out of trouble for a year, no conviction will remain on his record. I was hurt that his name was another lie (even though that was naturally a given in the music industry); nonetheless, I still felt another wave of sorrow pierce my soul. Through all the evidence that proved that yes, Mars is an excellent manipulator of emotions; yes, Mars is an awesome artist; yes, Mars has resorted to drugs and a pansy plea deal, It all comes down to this: I strongly assert that there must’ve been something dreadfully wrong which forced Mars to resort to such demeaning actions, but further measures must be taken to assure the public that celebrities won’t be given leniency from the law because they’re U.S. citizens just like me. Moreover, correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember that “all men are created equal,” but that’s for another controversy.
Controversy #4
Hey guys, I know I know...
Title of Article: “Chicago man wears Packers tie to work, is promptly fired”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Chicago-man-wears-Packers-tie-to-work-is-prompt?urn=nfl-311976
I have't been keeping up on the blogs recently due to an onslaught of tennis matches and marine awareness events, but I am here now to catch up.
Controversy #4:
Man fired for wearing Green Bay Packers Tie
Title of Article: “Chicago man wears Packers tie to work, is promptly fired”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Chicago-man-wears-Packers-tie-to-work-is-prompt?urn=nfl-311976
Author: MJD
Date of Publication: January 25, 2011
Time Accessed: 10:03 pm
Date Accessed: January 25, 2011
After reading and accessing the article I’ve read and watching the video that came with the article, I sat a moment to think over what I had just learned. One thing I was educated on in AP American Government is that the media is always biased. Where is the relevance between knowing that the media is biased and this man getting fired over wearing a Green Bay Packers tie? The article I read did not further supply its readers with more information regarding
John Stone (the man fired) and his background information. Even though the article almost lured me into its deceptive clutches, I knew better than to walk right into believing everything that the media says because, like I said: the media is always biased. After realizing that I had no idea what John Stone’s “work ethic” was, I had no right to ridiculously point fingers of who made a fault in judgment here. Maybe John Stone was already on the precipice of receiving that ineluctably horrific pink slip, or maybe the general manager of the car dealership, Jerry Roberts unjustly fired John Stone just because the dealership supported the rival of the Green Bay Packers, who, after some degree of research on my part, happen to be the Chicago Bears. Roberts boldly claims, “I don't feel that it was appropriate for him to go directly in contrast with an advertising campaign that we spent a lot of money on.” The question remains: was it just to fire a man because he was wearing a tie that your dealership disapproved of? I assert strongly that not enough information is given to justify any of my assertion fairly.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Controversy of the Week Essay #3: Teen pregnancy perpetuates D.C. poverty
This article off The Washington Post entitled, “Teen pregnancy perpetuates D.C. poverty,” is an issue that we have all come to know very well. It is definitely a controversial issue placed in individuals, whether they be the pregnant teen, fathering teen, parent/parents of the teen, friends, etc. The idea strikes their families, including younger siblings, and their peers as well. This Washington Post article, in particular, has given the statistics of just one state in the nation, Washington, D.C.
The post proclaims that teen pregnancy is a “one-way ticket to persistent poverty,” and that, “teen pregnancy… is a driving force behind the rolls of the District's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and…the origin of many of the children placed in the city's foster-care system.” The article reinstates that 17,000 families in the District are enrolled in TANF, and that over 50% of the TANF recipients had started their families when they were teens. It is clear that, because this unfortunate issue is so widespread, it is not only aimed to those in Washington, D.C. but also to those in nations around the world, especially in the U.S. Therefore, this article hits those everywhere who encounter the issue or who feel for those involved.
Why get active on this controversy? Paragraph seven expands concern with more details, exposing that, in 2009, the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency served a total of 3, 841 abused, neglected, or abandoned children. Approximately 76%, 2, 903, of those children were born to teen parents or parents who’ve had previous children as teens. Executive Director of DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Brenda Rhodes Miller, extends the issue range and tells us that children in foster care are much more likely than other youth to be classified with an emotional or behavioral disorder and to be placed in special education programs.
The article rightfully concludes that the poverty does not only take effect in terms of income, but also in unstable child development that hinders the lives of the boys and girls, and one example would be the structure of their homes and families. Miller’s last statement exclaims, “Spending money on the front end for high-quality programs and services that motivate young people to postpone pregnancy until they've gotten an education and grown up is a much smarter investment than trying to pick up the pieces on the back end.” Moreover, the country is losing this “back end”; the nation’s funding sources in deficit.
In my opinion, teens are in dire need of being informed of the setbacks and consequences that are a result of teen pregnancy. In my home, as young as my younger siblings are, with the exception of me, the 16-year-old, we are constantly reminded that for as long as we are not going in the direction of completing our college education and stabilizing our lives, we are not to conduct or associate with such behavioral levels. As teens, we must really pay close attention to the well-to-do adults in our lives and the advice they give us. I have learned to always listen closely and reason with their statements because they are old enough to know and see the extensions to the young life we are seeing in “OUR” eyes with such a naïve scope. I’d take advantage of what they have to say until it’s my turn to face it all myself.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010704249_2.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
The Washington Post
by Colbert I. King
Published: Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Washington Post
by Colbert I. King
Published: Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Christmas Poem to My Classmates...Happy Holidays!
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.
A dash of Christmas food,
(Amazing how a piece of pie
Improves our attitude!)
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior: Prose Analysis #2 of 2
Pg. 171; Paragraph 3
My mouth went permanently crooked with effort, turned down on the left side and straight on the right. How strange that the emigrant villagers are shouters, hollering face to face. My father asks, "Why is it I can hear Chinese from blocks away? Is it that I understand the language? Or is it they talk loud?" They turn the radio up full blast to hear the operas, which do not seem to hurt their ears. And they yell over the singers that wail over the drums, everybody talking at once, big arm gestures, spit flying. You can see the disgust on American faces looking at women like that. It isn't just the loudness. It is the way Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian.
Analysis:
This piece of passage firstly helps us see the symbolism of how a Chinese emigrant is portrayed through American eyes. The presented diction plays the imagery very well, especially where it repeats about the Chinese shouting being able to be heard blocks away, the big arm gestures, and the spitting. I myself see this in movies, as well and (with no offense intended) I can agree with what this passage is implying. But because these emigrated individuals are different, there is no reason for us to discriminate, nor for them to alter themselves because of discrimination. I gained this idea in my readings, and must I say, society has changed and acceptance is here.
Secondly, in America, this is the perceived Chinese. But, back at their home, the Chinese are strict and skilled. There shall be no reason for chaos. There is order and expectations. Why now in America are they depicted as these types of human beings? The passage reads, "It isn't just the loudness. It is the way the Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian." It seems as if coming to America has changed the Chinese point of view-from ordered to chaotic, from traditional to optional, from directed to wanting to feel "American-feminine." Describing your own people as "chingchong ugly" is another hint that Kingston was probably not as proud being a Chinese in America as she would be if she were back in China.
In conclusion, this passage vaguely, but surely presses into the Chinese's image in America and adds another puzzle piece to the idea of Chinese emigrants' struggles and changes in direction to the American way.
My mouth went permanently crooked with effort, turned down on the left side and straight on the right. How strange that the emigrant villagers are shouters, hollering face to face. My father asks, "Why is it I can hear Chinese from blocks away? Is it that I understand the language? Or is it they talk loud?" They turn the radio up full blast to hear the operas, which do not seem to hurt their ears. And they yell over the singers that wail over the drums, everybody talking at once, big arm gestures, spit flying. You can see the disgust on American faces looking at women like that. It isn't just the loudness. It is the way Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian.
Analysis:
This piece of passage firstly helps us see the symbolism of how a Chinese emigrant is portrayed through American eyes. The presented diction plays the imagery very well, especially where it repeats about the Chinese shouting being able to be heard blocks away, the big arm gestures, and the spitting. I myself see this in movies, as well and (with no offense intended) I can agree with what this passage is implying. But because these emigrated individuals are different, there is no reason for us to discriminate, nor for them to alter themselves because of discrimination. I gained this idea in my readings, and must I say, society has changed and acceptance is here.
Secondly, in America, this is the perceived Chinese. But, back at their home, the Chinese are strict and skilled. There shall be no reason for chaos. There is order and expectations. Why now in America are they depicted as these types of human beings? The passage reads, "It isn't just the loudness. It is the way the Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly, to American ears, not beautiful like Japanese sayonara words with the consonants and vowels as regular as Italian." It seems as if coming to America has changed the Chinese point of view-from ordered to chaotic, from traditional to optional, from directed to wanting to feel "American-feminine." Describing your own people as "chingchong ugly" is another hint that Kingston was probably not as proud being a Chinese in America as she would be if she were back in China.
In conclusion, this passage vaguely, but surely presses into the Chinese's image in America and adds another puzzle piece to the idea of Chinese emigrants' struggles and changes in direction to the American way.
I.R.#2-The Woman Warrior:Reader Response #4 of 4
This last section of my reading is primarily focused on the final chapter, titled, "A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe." The whole story has come together in determining the truths of Chinese emigrants to America. In the place of a girl-throughout the expanse of the story- a lot of the passages define shame; how you are admitted into a shameful bubble and how you are treated because of it.
A term repeated in the story is "American-feminine." Kingston, being a Chinese girl born in America, always felt the need to fit into the picture in American life. In my previous post, I mentioned recently reading of how the Asian-American emigrants are the fastest growing discriminated-against ethnic group. To collect information from the passages in the story, Chinese girls were under pressure just for being girls. Girls, in China, were considered the least favored sex, who would either become wives or slaves. I've come to realize that Kingston's fantasies of being a warrior were a sign of hope and dignity. I sense that it signified strength. Kingston did not want to be put down. If anything she may have wanted recognition and honor, because it is what she deserved, same for other Chinese girls. Chinese girls were constantly put straight to shame because they were girls. Boys were given the ultimate pride: the toys, the outings with uncle, the training, etc. Girls were the servants getting ready to be married to men with money who would go out to work and send the women money while she cared for her family. I cannot agree with this. However, all this "women-being-lower" talk has been a part of cultures worldwide. Men were always the dominant sex.
On account of raising a Chinese daughter, Brave Orchid (Kingston's mother) had cut her daughter's tongue so that she would not get tongue-twisted as she was raised. This did not work in Kingston's favor, for she was tongue-twisted anyway. But, I just can't understand why a mother would do such a thing as drastic as that. Why couldn't the mother have the hope to be content, no matter how her daughter had turned out? I'd really like to do more research and find out how morals differed between the Chinese and Americans. There was also a moment in the book where Kingston confesses to her mother that she had taken the life of a spider. This immediately offset her mother and she spoke no more of it. How strict, really, is it in a Chinese household? I do remember having a classmate in elementary school. Her name was Hannah L. Because my mother is a teacher at my elementary school, she had a conference with this girl's mother at the time. The mother tells my mom that her daughters do not watch television. They listen to music and play instruments and no matter how rocket-high their grades were already, they received tutoring on the side for advancement. This amazed me. I continue to wonder about their state of mind, expectations , racial thoughts as they get competitive, etc.
All-in-all, I observed that Maxing Hong Kingston had come a long way in a hard life of being a Chinese emigrant to the United States of America. There was enough evidence to show that discretion was tight in the Chinese revealing themselves to the Americans. The Chinese children were asked not to disclose certain information to Americans. Evidently, growing up was already challenging because of that. What about making friends? Or sharing? This has been another interesting read and an addition to my position on feminism, and I have to say that I can definitely compare privileged girls in high society, to those in foreign countries who are trying to get past in America; changing, reinventing, and converting themselves. I pray that females never shy away from their dreams and goals in life. Females are not servants, or slaves, or strictly wives. Females are their own warriors who fight every day just for the simplest things. Through this we can become the true heroes because firstly analyze what's within.
A term repeated in the story is "American-feminine." Kingston, being a Chinese girl born in America, always felt the need to fit into the picture in American life. In my previous post, I mentioned recently reading of how the Asian-American emigrants are the fastest growing discriminated-against ethnic group. To collect information from the passages in the story, Chinese girls were under pressure just for being girls. Girls, in China, were considered the least favored sex, who would either become wives or slaves. I've come to realize that Kingston's fantasies of being a warrior were a sign of hope and dignity. I sense that it signified strength. Kingston did not want to be put down. If anything she may have wanted recognition and honor, because it is what she deserved, same for other Chinese girls. Chinese girls were constantly put straight to shame because they were girls. Boys were given the ultimate pride: the toys, the outings with uncle, the training, etc. Girls were the servants getting ready to be married to men with money who would go out to work and send the women money while she cared for her family. I cannot agree with this. However, all this "women-being-lower" talk has been a part of cultures worldwide. Men were always the dominant sex.
On account of raising a Chinese daughter, Brave Orchid (Kingston's mother) had cut her daughter's tongue so that she would not get tongue-twisted as she was raised. This did not work in Kingston's favor, for she was tongue-twisted anyway. But, I just can't understand why a mother would do such a thing as drastic as that. Why couldn't the mother have the hope to be content, no matter how her daughter had turned out? I'd really like to do more research and find out how morals differed between the Chinese and Americans. There was also a moment in the book where Kingston confesses to her mother that she had taken the life of a spider. This immediately offset her mother and she spoke no more of it. How strict, really, is it in a Chinese household? I do remember having a classmate in elementary school. Her name was Hannah L. Because my mother is a teacher at my elementary school, she had a conference with this girl's mother at the time. The mother tells my mom that her daughters do not watch television. They listen to music and play instruments and no matter how rocket-high their grades were already, they received tutoring on the side for advancement. This amazed me. I continue to wonder about their state of mind, expectations , racial thoughts as they get competitive, etc.
All-in-all, I observed that Maxing Hong Kingston had come a long way in a hard life of being a Chinese emigrant to the United States of America. There was enough evidence to show that discretion was tight in the Chinese revealing themselves to the Americans. The Chinese children were asked not to disclose certain information to Americans. Evidently, growing up was already challenging because of that. What about making friends? Or sharing? This has been another interesting read and an addition to my position on feminism, and I have to say that I can definitely compare privileged girls in high society, to those in foreign countries who are trying to get past in America; changing, reinventing, and converting themselves. I pray that females never shy away from their dreams and goals in life. Females are not servants, or slaves, or strictly wives. Females are their own warriors who fight every day just for the simplest things. Through this we can become the true heroes because firstly analyze what's within.
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