Wired Magazine Article "Gone"

I thought that the article we read this weekend was extremely interesting. It is crazy to think about how difficult it is to disappear in todays current society. The author of the article was extremely experienced and knowledgeable about how it would e best to not get "caught". The hunters were also very good at looking after him and using great technology and resources to find James Gatz. When some one goes by the name of James Gatz and completely changes their identity and living arrangements, it is very difficult to find some one. However Evan Ratliff did a great job in not leaving any traces of his whereabouts and went "gone" quite well.

The article also gave many different point of views. A lot of people were searching for Evan Ratliff and first hand accounts were given of the hunters and the ways they went about finding Ratliff. This story was a lot like "Into the Wild" because Ratliff just goes away like Chris McCandless. NO one knows where he went or what his plans were they both just independently went on and lived their lives the way they wanted to.

This article also left me with a lot of questions. I wonder if Ratliff traveled around more, whether that would have an impact on him being found or not. I also wonder if truly no one knew about his whereabouts and if he was the only one aware of where he was. I feel that disappearing in the United States in this day and age would be a very difficult thing to do. I feel that people can disappear at first but eventually every one will be found.

IR Blog Post 3- Grownups need to get over dread of big-screen 'Yogi Bear'

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40477300/ns/today-entertainment/

This article was all about how parents will be dreading to take their kids to the new animated film of the season "Yogi Bear". Apparently there have been many status updates and tweets about how the movie will be terrible and a repeat of Alvin and The Chipmunks. I actually do not see why these parents are so upset. I watched the trailer and I do not think that it will be as bad as every one thinks. It looks comical and I don't think it will be a complete bust. When there are movies with both animations and real actors it usually does not work out well but I believe that this will be funny and a good movie to watch with the family over the holidays.

IR Blog Post 3- Warming temps in South

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/16/winter.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

For this week my current event was all about the odd weather that has been happening all over our country. There is snow falling and expected in places such as Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This is actually unfortunate because areas like this are not accustomed this weather. There have been many accounts where people state they were losing control and sliding in the snow. There have been few accounts of power outages due to this absurd weather except several flights were cancelled due to the snow. I do not know how these areas will deal with more snow because they certainly do not have many snow plows in the area and most residents of the Southern states are not used to having snow.

IR Blog Post 3- HARVEY DUNN

For this independent blog post I decided to do my art topic on Harvey Dunn. His art instantly caught my attention. I noticed that it looked very realistic and his paintings were incredible. A common theme among his work was the setting. I lot of the paintings seemed to be painted representing desolate areas. I lot of the paintings were of different scenes in open fields. This is most likely because Harvey Dunn grew up as a prairie farmer.

Another key theme of his art was also war. There were no war scenes but the viewer can depict from the paintings that the setting was during a war time period. I wonder which wars these paintings represented and who and where they were. Harvey Dunn traveled a lot and had different occupations such as being a teacher. I think he was a very skilled artist and I hope to look at some more of his artwork.

Theme #3 Reflection

1. I did not do terrribly with this theme but I cerainly could have done better. I do not think I am bad at poems but I definitely have stronger areas in my writing. I felt a little lost while I was writing this and I feel like I did not really know what I was supposed to do or what the main objective was. I think I wrote the poem well but didn't really do the portray or describe the point I was trying to get across.

2. My tone could have been better and so could my imagery. I should have used more descriptive language and explained my points more thoroughly.

3. I should pay more attention to the FCAs and be sure to nderstand the complete purpose of the poem.

IR Blog Post 2- Is it time to call the Xbox Kinect a hit?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/11/30/kinect.hit.mashable/index.html?iref=allsearch

The recently released Kinect that came out for Xbox last month has already sold over 2.5 million units. It seems to be a great hit from Microsoft and will most likely be very successful throughout the holiday season. Sales are predicted to be over 5 million units by the time the holiday season. Kinect is a new addition to Xbox 360 to enhance the gaming experience with physical motion. When the Wii for Nintendo came out it was very popular because gamers could physically move the bodies along with the game which was very new for people. Next PS3 came out with Playstation Move which was the same concept. Now XBox has Kinect and is competing very well against the other two game systems. I am personally excited to see how Kinect works and I may be interested to use one in the future. I wonder if this article is accurate and Kinect will reach 5 million sales during the holiday season. We will have to wait and see.

IR Blog Post 2- Ear relief: Congress acts to stifle loud TV ads

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40481562/ns/business-us_business/

For this weeks current event I decided to do an article on loud commercials. I know from a personal stand point I become very upset when i am watching TV and a commercial comes on and it even hurts my ears because it is so loud. Recently on Thursday a bill was passed that would prevent advertisers from raising the volume to catch the attention of the audience. The sponsor of the bill, Anna Eshoo, D, from California said she was fed up with so many "earsplitting experiences" that she knew she should act on this bill. The bill is currently on its way to President Obama for his signature. Unfortunately processes like these take awhile so if he does decide to sign it, it won't be until about a year later that these new policies come into affect. I was happy to read this article because the only thing I dislike more than commercials are loud commercials.

IR Blog Post 2- Art That Outclasses Its Subject Matter

For this weeks art related independent reading I decided to go through a bunch of comics. The article states that all though comics such as ones found in MAD magazine may seem "unintelligible" or not worthy of TV, there a many hidden messages. Comics can have a lot of meaning behind them even if they do not appear to have any point of message that they are trying to get across. A MAD magazine artist named Mort Drucker drew many famous comics such as Popeye but was also assigned to draw and write other comics to well represent American culture. Drucker puts a lot of detail in his comics and really tries to bring the drawings and dialogue of the characters to life. I wonder what exactly it was that made Popeye so popular. I think it is because he takes a sailing character to the extreme and back then, many people found this rough and tough sailing man amusing.

IR Blog Post 1- Tarheels Vs. Hofstra

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/gameflash/2010/11/18/63520_recap.html?eref=sihp

Recently the UNC Tarheels beat Hofstra 107-63. UNC's has a new freshman that many people are quite impressed with. Harrison Barnes scored 19 points in the game making all four of his three point opportunities. Coach Roy Williams his thrilled with his new star athlete and expects a lot out of him. Many people wonder how Harrison Barnes can deal with all this pressure but he just states that he just holds high expectations for himself and does the best that he can do. Overall with his passing defense and obviously shooting, Barnes played quite an impressive game and is a player that should be watched. I do not know how far UNC will go very far this year but I suspect when Barnes is an upperclassman UNC will be one of the top teams. It is impressive to see how much a young freshman can affect a team and although he is the youngest, the other players look up to him. The article never really describes Barne's high school career but I wish I could hear the story of how he got so good.

Ir Blog Post- Chevrolet Volt wins green Car Prize

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40259776/ns/business-going_green/

Recently at a car show in Los Angeles the Chevrolet Volt was given the award of best green Car. This was the first time an electric car was given the award so this was a great honor for Chevrolet. Chevrolet seems to be very key on helping the environment since they also donated $40 million to locally-based environmental projects across the U.S. I really want to know if this award will have other car companies stressing to make popular electric cars. In electric cars there is usually the worry of whether the car will run out of electricity or not. This car is built with a back up engine with gasoline in case it is needed. This is very useful because people will be more self assured that they can get where they want with out getting stuck. I wonder if Chevrolet will just try to promote their Volt or if they will try to make more electric cars.

IR Blog Post 1- VALENTIN SEROV

http://illustrationart.blogspot.com/

The blog post I chose to do this week for art was on a painter named Velentin Serov. He was a Russian painter who lived from 1865 - 1911. Although his paintings and finished works are very impressive, I agree with the blogger when they say that his sketches are very real looking and well done. The art done by Serov strongly shows his setting. Many people in the painting are wearing early 1900s style clothing. There was also even a painting of Joseph Stalin showing a little more of Serov's Russian background.

IM Introduction, Ellison Bio, and UbD Post

The first thing that stood out to me was the white page article about Ralph Ellison. Ralph Ellison was born in 1914 in Oklahoma. This probably payed a huge role in his life not only because of the the time period he was born but also the location. He most likely experienced a lot of discrimination and unfairness towards African Americans. Growing up living around discrimination, Ralph Ellison probably wrote this book, not necessarily to solve the problem, but to bring about the truth and have the public hear it from his point of view.

When Ralph Ellison wrote his book he really did not want to just rant and have a story full of anger. Not many people would respond in a positive way. When in vermont Ellison wrote down the words, "I am an invisible man". This saying turned into a 500 page novel full of stories of discrimination and African American hardship.

Themes 1 and 2 Reflection

I did pretty well with my first theme and only a little off of my goal for the second theme. I was not surprised with these grades at all actually. I was very pleased with my first theme because I really wanted to write a great college essay. I got an 85 on my resume and cover letter theme. I wish I had made some less mistakes but otherwise I am pleased. I did well following the FCAs but my style and wording needs to improve. I could make my sentences flow better.

I should use more imagery and deep thought in my essays. Although i follow most of the FCAs well there is flaw in my writing that must be improved.

Overall I need to be able to put the reader in my shoes and shower them deeper thought. For my college essays I need to really how the college who I am. For the second theme I did well on my resume but I struggled in my cover letter. This lets me know what I need to work on.

The Great Gatsby

http://prezi.com/ihts1tqdca3k/the-great-gatsby-project/

Through the occurrences of the 1920s and the Great Gatsby it is apparent that when one lingers in the past, hides behind lies, and lives a reckless lifestyle, corruption is inevitable.

In our project our main goal was to show different things that cause corruption in The Great Gatsby. We showed many quotes and pictures of Gatsby and the people around him and how it lead to the outcome.

We used prezi for our project and it was a great tool to use. After watching the tutorial it was easy to use. It is makes the presentation of our ideas very interesting. I loved this tool because the way it zooms and moves around i very cool to see.

We put all of our information on a google doc and then it was easy to add everything to the Prezi. The whole project went well because we split up the work in an organized matter. We could have used our time more productively. Although we ended up finishing easily, we could have spaced it out more and done less work on Sunday.

IR Project #1- Digital Storytelling

For my independent reading project I chose to read A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/all/a-farewell-to-arms-4935877

Questions

1. I chose to do a scrap book for my IRB project. I made it as though it was the main Character, Lietenant Henry who made the scrap book. Most of the scrapbook was about WW1 and Catherine, whom he fell in love with throughout the story. I found a lot of pictures from WW1 that represent the characters in the story. A very meanigful page in my scrap book is page 4. I have many different thing about the war and how it was so terrible from Lietenant Henry's point of view. Another very meanigful page was the last page about Catherine. The ending of this novel was very sad and Henry lot both his wife and his child at the same time.

2. I like using mixbook a lot. They had a lot of great things on it such as the stickers. The sticker made the scrapbook seem very realistic. Mixbook was very easy to use and it was nice to be creative. I actually did not mind doing this project at all. I got to learn ow to use a new website and it was pretty interesting.

3. Overall i give this book a C+. It was a very well written book but it was not really my style. This book was a lot about romance and death so I did not really enjoy what the book was about. I enjoy books that are very thrilling and exciting and less about relationships and bad things that happen to people. The writing was very descriptive and easy to understand but I really wish that it wasn't about such a depressing topic.

Chapter 9- Gatsby Reflections (Greatness)

There are a lot of different meanings of the word"great". Depending on the context and the way that people perceive the word, it could mean a whole variety of things. There are people that were great that were some of the worst people to have ever lived. This may sound funny or contradicting but terrible people were great. For instance, Adolf Hitler was one of the greatest people to have ever lived. He accomplished things that no one ever thought was possible by changing a countries entire state of mind. He was an awful person but was great at the same time.
Jay Gatsby was also great, but in a completely different way than Hitler or say a great sports player. He was great in the way that he changed his life. F. Scott Fitzgerald started off having the reader think he was great for his money, but this is not the reason Gatsby was great. He was great because he lived the way he wanted. He went from being an underclass citizen in the middle of the country to an extremely wealthy entrepreneur in the most booming city in the world. Jay Gatsby was the type of person who; when he wanted something, he would go after it and get it. He wanted to have a lot of money so he made that happen quite well and he also wanted Daisy, so he wooed her back during the romantic summer that they had together.I believe that fitzgerald had Gatsby's father come into scene in the last chapter because he wanted to show the reader the before and after. He showed the reader what James Gatz's life was like before he became Jay Gatsby.

Independent Reading- MP (Post #2)

I enjoy A Farewell To Arms so far. It is very interesting to see how characters and people lived and survived in the 1920s, especially in the war. The story takes place in Italy during the war. There are many soldiers and characters in the novel, but only two play hug significant roles. There is Henry, who is America and drives the ambulance car in the war. Then there is the women that he is in love with, her name is Catherine Barkley. She is an English nurse also very involved with the war. When they begin talking they try their best to not talk about the war since it is always on their minds. A major theme of the novel is love. It shows the progression of Catherine and Henry's relationship. Catherine starts off disliking Henry because he is very "pushy" but she learns to like him. I am excited to see how the plot plays out and what happens.

Gatsby- Chapter 3

Living the good life to means to be rich. Not rich in wealth and money but to be rich in friends and happiness. I think in order to live a good life you have to have people around you who care for you. Your family should stay connected with you. The main point in life is to be happy and to have purpose. If you are unhappy and you do not benefit society at all, then you are not living the good life. I feel that living the good life in the 1920s was very similar to what it is now. However i feel that the 1920s was more about having fun and going to parties all the time while in modern day society, people work hard and play hard at the same time.

UbD & F. Scott Fitzgerald

After reading the UbD and the biography on F. Scott Fitzgerald, I am very excited to read The Great Gatsby. I can see through the Great Gatsby preview paper that this book will be a lot about America and trying to live the American dream. A lot of the essential questions for The Great Gatsby have to do with America and making the most of some one's life. I fee that money will also be a key factor in this book. In the bio it states that F. Scott Fitzgerald had man issues with money and finances. I feel that the Great Gatsby will be about money issues in America and doing the best you can do and try to be successful. I also feel that romance will also be a key theme in the tory, considering the author had many issues with women and relationships. I feel that reading the background knowledge before reading the book is going to be very helpful. I now understand more about the book and the person who wrote the book.

Independent Reading- MP 1

A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
Page 1-50 ( September 28)
Page 51-100 ( October 4)
Page 101-200 (OCtober 12)
Page 201-250 (October 15)
Page 250-332 (October 22)
Project due October 28

Setting: The settting described in A Farewell To Arms has not been fully described yet. It speaks of large plains and mountains so it most likely is somewhere in the midwest of the United States. I would also say that the time period of this is most likely in the early 1900s not only because we have to have an old book, but because it talks about horse back riding and a lot of agriculture business.

Plot- The war also plays a huge role in this story, WW1. It affects the lives of the characters and and everything that takes place in the story.

Characters-The main character is the narrator, it is a first person story. Another character is Miss Barkley, the narrator seems to have some affection for her. Currently they are in a hospital and there a many nurses and doctors.

Theme- A huge theme in the story seems to be, affects of the war. The war changes many peoples ideas and actions in the story so far in the very beginning, so it will most likely play a huge role throughout the entire story.

Hills Like White Elephants

This short story seemed simple due to repetition and vocabulary but actually has a lot of deeper meaning in it. In the beginning of the story the reader is not sure exactly where the two characters take place. The reader later finds out that the two characters have been through many experiences together and have a large past. " We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before" (Hemingway). Some indications of this are how informally they speak with one another and how they had many bags from many different areas.

A huge repetition in the story is how the characters keep reminding each other than they will always be together, and how much they love each other. Although both characters keep mentioning how they will be okay and they will be happy; the reader is left uncertain if what they are saying is true. They seem to bicker a lot in the text and are uneasy. The reader can also detect that some thing is wrong with the characters by their uncommon dialog. "Then I'll do it, because i don't care about me" (Hemingway).

This story left me wishing that it had been longer, it was very interesting to read, not because it was exciting or thrilling, but because of its odd dialog and the way it is written. This story is very easy to understand and read but still has a lot of deeper meaning that take place between the characters.

What is Your Flavor?

I like to watch many different types of movies. My favorite type of movie will always be comedies. I love those feel good movies that make you laugh and can brighten your spirits. I am also a huge fan of action movies and even some sci-fi. One of my favorite movies is District 9, i also like star wars, spy movies, or basically any type of action packed thriller. I like scary movies but i do not like many. What i mean by this is i really enjoy very scary movies that are well written and produced professionally, but there is nothing worse than a bad scary movie. They are very easy to come across and when the acting is terrible and is not scary, i can not stand to watch it.
My favorite types of books are usually the action packed ones. My favorite novels are ones where i can just get sucked into the story because it is so exciting and thrilling. I have read several funny stories but thrillers are much more fun to read.
I have never really listened to any stories except for harry potter on tape and that was really good. Although i really did like story books with pictures when i was little, so i like to listen to those stories.