So I haven't really done that much on my senior project, but I will try to describe what I have done to make it sound somewhat progressive.
First, I changed my project slightly. I was going to relandscape both my front and back yards, but now I am only doing the front yard. I got it approved by Mr. Gilbert a while ago. This is not (entirely) out of laziness. We got chickens since the last time I wrote an update about my senior project. And they poop everywhere and eat everything. They live in the backyard, and their pooping and eating would ruin pretty landscaping possibilities. Also, my dad built this large clunky fence through the middle of the backyard to keep their feathers and poop in one section. And I don't like the fence and there is a bunch of other ugly and complicated stuff in the backyard, so it seems too ambitious. Doing just the front yard will allow me to be more focused and do a better job.
I haven't done any physical landscaping work. But I have been to several senior project workshops, which were helpful, especially because Mrs. Guerard helped me find that there is a local Native Plant Society (I am doing my research paper on native plants). And actually I am meeting with my mentor tomorrow during my free fifth period. Also I watched a couple HGTV landscaping shows, which were somewhat inspiring, but also made me wish that I had a work crew that could do a yard in three days.
Honestly, most of what I have done is push this to the back of mind and decide to focus on college essays instead. But I am excited to learn how to get started when I meet with my mentor tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
On Gore Vidal's "Drugs"
I accept the main idea of Vidal's statement, that "each man has the right to do what he wants with his own life," "as long as he does not interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness." Whatever one believes to be essential to their pursuit of happiness, even if it is irresponsible or not respectable, should be accepted if it does not inhibit the similar search of other humans.
I would completely accept the statement if the actions of individuals could be completely without influence on others, but with drugs and other illegal activities, this ideal is not generally the case. Drugs cause fractures in families, and harm to those who must provide the money for another's addictions. In these cases, I do not accept Vidal's assumption that people with easy access to drugs are not necessarily threats to their neighbors. Drug use will always attract the attention of others, and outsiders may be thrust into their acquaintances' downward spirals with illegal drugs.
The easy access certain people will have to drugs will be displayed to everyone around them. This will disgust some and intrigue others. Teenage choices to use drugs "can have both immediate and long-term health consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities (National Survey on Drug Use and Health)." They may have made these choices based on the actions of their chosen role models. Those chosen role models, drug users by choice, are influenced the pursuit of happiness of their followers and by extension, their follower's families, and followers of their followers, and so on and so forth. In this way of constant influence, drugs have the ability to take over entire communities, such as it did in South Central Los Angeles. Any drug use takes a lot of emotional effort on the members of families and friend circles who want to prevent it.
There is also the obvious monetary cost. Even if drugs are legalized and "sold at cost," as Vidal proposes, there is still money involved, even if not at steep cartel prices. Currently, people spend billions on drugs each year, and the number is ever increasing. Money people should save or spend on food, will be spent on drugs to ease the pain of hunger or lack of shelter. The homeless generally have a disproportionate amount of drug use. Those who crave drugs, need money, and they will sometimes get that money from others, affecting those other people's resources for the pursuit of happiness.
I would completely accept the statement if the actions of individuals could be completely without influence on others, but with drugs and other illegal activities, this ideal is not generally the case. Drugs cause fractures in families, and harm to those who must provide the money for another's addictions. In these cases, I do not accept Vidal's assumption that people with easy access to drugs are not necessarily threats to their neighbors. Drug use will always attract the attention of others, and outsiders may be thrust into their acquaintances' downward spirals with illegal drugs.
The easy access certain people will have to drugs will be displayed to everyone around them. This will disgust some and intrigue others. Teenage choices to use drugs "can have both immediate and long-term health consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities (National Survey on Drug Use and Health)." They may have made these choices based on the actions of their chosen role models. Those chosen role models, drug users by choice, are influenced the pursuit of happiness of their followers and by extension, their follower's families, and followers of their followers, and so on and so forth. In this way of constant influence, drugs have the ability to take over entire communities, such as it did in South Central Los Angeles. Any drug use takes a lot of emotional effort on the members of families and friend circles who want to prevent it.
There is also the obvious monetary cost. Even if drugs are legalized and "sold at cost," as Vidal proposes, there is still money involved, even if not at steep cartel prices. Currently, people spend billions on drugs each year, and the number is ever increasing. Money people should save or spend on food, will be spent on drugs to ease the pain of hunger or lack of shelter. The homeless generally have a disproportionate amount of drug use. Those who crave drugs, need money, and they will sometimes get that money from others, affecting those other people's resources for the pursuit of happiness.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
On "Politics and the English Language"
George Orwell comments on how the English language has evolved with politics; politicians use the increasingly ambigious and superfluous words of the modern English language. I see this change in language everywhere, not just in politics. People use euphemisms to hide the pain of the truth. Students switch their original word choices for college vocabuluary from a thesaurus. Politicians hide a lack of facts under inspiring speech. But at some point, it has to be about the content, not the flowery diction.
Orwell uses lots of example throughout this essay, and the examples are essential to backing up his point. He uses long lists of italicized phrases and words to show examples of the problems he his describing. Some of these phrases are outdated, but since he has such long lists, modern readers will find at least one example that has stuck around in the everychanging English language. The five examples of passages placed between paragraphs 3 and 4 were particularly good in showing the excessive and vague nature of high language. As I read those passages outloud, I still found myself confused and tuned out.
The juxtaposition of Orwell's language with his example passages provided a good comparison and contrast for language; while I could not comprehend some of the examples, I definitely got Orwell's point. Another excellent comparison and contrast was between the verse from Ecclesiastes and Orwell's modern interpretation of it (par. 9-10).
Orwell also uses classification to show the many ways the language has changed. He divides the essay into these topics: Dying Metaphors, Operators or Verbal False Links, Prententious Diction, and Meaningless Diction. My favorite was "Prententious Diction." I know I have been guilty of trying to use fancy jargon, and almost everyone has. People use prententious diction to try to sound smarter, but it really just makes everything harder to understand. No one wants to read an essay while stopping to grab the dictionary every other sentence. Just talk normal and tell the truth; it makes it easier for all of us.
Orwell uses lots of example throughout this essay, and the examples are essential to backing up his point. He uses long lists of italicized phrases and words to show examples of the problems he his describing. Some of these phrases are outdated, but since he has such long lists, modern readers will find at least one example that has stuck around in the everychanging English language. The five examples of passages placed between paragraphs 3 and 4 were particularly good in showing the excessive and vague nature of high language. As I read those passages outloud, I still found myself confused and tuned out.
The juxtaposition of Orwell's language with his example passages provided a good comparison and contrast for language; while I could not comprehend some of the examples, I definitely got Orwell's point. Another excellent comparison and contrast was between the verse from Ecclesiastes and Orwell's modern interpretation of it (par. 9-10).
Orwell also uses classification to show the many ways the language has changed. He divides the essay into these topics: Dying Metaphors, Operators or Verbal False Links, Prententious Diction, and Meaningless Diction. My favorite was "Prententious Diction." I know I have been guilty of trying to use fancy jargon, and almost everyone has. People use prententious diction to try to sound smarter, but it really just makes everything harder to understand. No one wants to read an essay while stopping to grab the dictionary every other sentence. Just talk normal and tell the truth; it makes it easier for all of us.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Young Bloggers
I looked up the top teenage blogs, and this is my favorite one that I found.
This is why it's cool:
1) She's only 13, and she started the blog when she was 9!
2) It has a mix of a lot of different things: fashion, photography, art, music, and her musings on life.
3) It starts playing music when you scroll down. And she quotes a lot of music, which I am a fan of.
4) She puts in quotes and pictures very well.
5) The sidebar is really excellent. It has a clock, links to her interviews and recognition, an ask box, drawings people have made of her, her favorite blogs and artists, and sorted topics of her blog.
6) It shows that you don't have to have perfect English in blog posts. She doesn't have the best grammar, but it's still fun to read.
This is why it's cool:
1) She's only 13, and she started the blog when she was 9!
2) It has a mix of a lot of different things: fashion, photography, art, music, and her musings on life.
3) It starts playing music when you scroll down. And she quotes a lot of music, which I am a fan of.
4) She puts in quotes and pictures very well.
5) The sidebar is really excellent. It has a clock, links to her interviews and recognition, an ask box, drawings people have made of her, her favorite blogs and artists, and sorted topics of her blog.
6) It shows that you don't have to have perfect English in blog posts. She doesn't have the best grammar, but it's still fun to read.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Research Paper Topic
1. Topic: Racism in Sports (and I can narrow it down to just soccer if I should)
2. Recently there has been a couple of high profile cases of professional soccer players racially abusing players on the field. The Football Association has been working on charging these players. Their still is a lot that cannot be stopped, however, because the managers, the faces of the soccer clubs, are always white men, and other examples.
3. One resource I know I will use is the book Soccernomics. They had a section on the history of racism in soccer. There is probably a lot of material out there and cases I have not heard of, and I will find them and use them as resources.
4. I can't believe that these professionals would do stuff like the cases I mentioned earlier. And what I read in Soccernomics interested me to learn more.
5. People have probably done racism in sports, but the recent cases made a new perspective into the fact that IT'S STILL THERE in sports.
6. Should I narrow it to just soccer, or should I find some of the best cases across sports?
2. Recently there has been a couple of high profile cases of professional soccer players racially abusing players on the field. The Football Association has been working on charging these players. Their still is a lot that cannot be stopped, however, because the managers, the faces of the soccer clubs, are always white men, and other examples.
3. One resource I know I will use is the book Soccernomics. They had a section on the history of racism in soccer. There is probably a lot of material out there and cases I have not heard of, and I will find them and use them as resources.
4. I can't believe that these professionals would do stuff like the cases I mentioned earlier. And what I read in Soccernomics interested me to learn more.
5. People have probably done racism in sports, but the recent cases made a new perspective into the fact that IT'S STILL THERE in sports.
6. Should I narrow it to just soccer, or should I find some of the best cases across sports?
Classification of Players
When players are employees of a football club, they have more work-disrupting problems than the regular sick days and vacation days. They miss their scoring opportunities, they get injured, and they lose their spot in the first team. In soccer, there are a few types of players, and most of the classifications are very annoying.
Players that are Injured
Injuries are part of the game. When soccer is a job, bodies are the equipment and they periodically break down. A manager could have found a fantastic team, but when more than half of the starting defenders are injured, there is a major problem. That particular problem plagued Arsenal for much of last year, resulting in many goals against.
The timing of injuries can also frustrate a player's opportunity to hold a spot in the starting line-up, while letting someone else take advantage of their mishap. Bacary Sagna has been out with a leg break for a long time. He used to be a star defender, but his replacement, Carl Jenkinson, may be competition for his regular spot as right defender.
The timing of injuries can also be frustrating to everyone involved. When star center midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, left Arsenal, fans thought youngster Jack Wilshere might be able to take his place. Even the English national team has been placing their hopes on Wilshere for the 2014 World Cup. However, after his excellent form when he first joined the starting team, Wilshere has been injured for FOREVER. It may take along time to return to his top status, a frustrating disruption to his bright future.
Players that Could Be Playing Better
Perhaps more annoying than injuries, bad spells of soccer are cruel and confidence-thrashing. In this category, players have no excuse for their misplays except for their own lack of skill and fortune. They can fall into this category by transfering to a new team, being beat out for a position by a new signing, or sitting on the fence between substitute and starter.
Olivier Giroud transfered to Arsenal this summer from Montpellier. Although he scored 25 goals in his French season, he only finally scored his first Premier League goal last weekend. Fans hope this will jump-start his striking power, and bring his potential to the Arsenal level.
Personally, I am most sad to see Theo Walcott slip through the cracks. His inconsistency has recently lead him to the bench. He played a lot more last season than he does now, probably as a result of the latest summer signings. His lack of play has aroused transfer rumors, but with a goal and an assist last weekend, maybe he can make his way back up the ladder.
Players that We are Actually Happy With
We praise those players who are actually in form and have stayed away from injuries. These players cement their place in the starting line-up and push themselves into the fantastic highlight reels.
Let me sing my praises to Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, and Mikel Arteta, and let me pray to the soccer gods that these players stay high and far beyond the previous categories.
Players that are Injured
Injuries are part of the game. When soccer is a job, bodies are the equipment and they periodically break down. A manager could have found a fantastic team, but when more than half of the starting defenders are injured, there is a major problem. That particular problem plagued Arsenal for much of last year, resulting in many goals against.
The timing of injuries can also frustrate a player's opportunity to hold a spot in the starting line-up, while letting someone else take advantage of their mishap. Bacary Sagna has been out with a leg break for a long time. He used to be a star defender, but his replacement, Carl Jenkinson, may be competition for his regular spot as right defender.
The timing of injuries can also be frustrating to everyone involved. When star center midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, left Arsenal, fans thought youngster Jack Wilshere might be able to take his place. Even the English national team has been placing their hopes on Wilshere for the 2014 World Cup. However, after his excellent form when he first joined the starting team, Wilshere has been injured for FOREVER. It may take along time to return to his top status, a frustrating disruption to his bright future.
Players that Could Be Playing Better
Perhaps more annoying than injuries, bad spells of soccer are cruel and confidence-thrashing. In this category, players have no excuse for their misplays except for their own lack of skill and fortune. They can fall into this category by transfering to a new team, being beat out for a position by a new signing, or sitting on the fence between substitute and starter.
Olivier Giroud transfered to Arsenal this summer from Montpellier. Although he scored 25 goals in his French season, he only finally scored his first Premier League goal last weekend. Fans hope this will jump-start his striking power, and bring his potential to the Arsenal level.
Personally, I am most sad to see Theo Walcott slip through the cracks. His inconsistency has recently lead him to the bench. He played a lot more last season than he does now, probably as a result of the latest summer signings. His lack of play has aroused transfer rumors, but with a goal and an assist last weekend, maybe he can make his way back up the ladder.
Players that We are Actually Happy With
We praise those players who are actually in form and have stayed away from injuries. These players cement their place in the starting line-up and push themselves into the fantastic highlight reels.
Let me sing my praises to Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, and Mikel Arteta, and let me pray to the soccer gods that these players stay high and far beyond the previous categories.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
I Want A Husband
As I think about it, it would be nice to not have to work in my future. I want to be supported and be able to buy nice things, but not have to do the work for it. I would like to have a husband.
I want a husband that has the perfect job. I want a husband that completely supports me financially. He might have to spend a few extra hours in the office, but I guess I can tolerate that. I want a husband with lots of money. I want him to work and have pride in bringing in all the money while I am able to do as I please. Maybe I can take up baking or sewing. I want him to make so much money that he can later retire and then we can sit pleasantly on the porch and drink tea.
I want a husband that will do the dirty work, will clean the car and change the oil. I want to be able to remain on the porch without worries because my husband will be a handyman and will fix whatever brakes. I want a husband that will unclog the toilet and fix the fence. I want a husband who will protect me from everything and everyone that could hurt me. I want a husband who will go investigate when I hear frightening noises at night. I want a husband that will kill all the spiders. I want a husband that will hold me during scary movies.
I want a husband who will buy me nice things. I want a husband that will send me to the mall or to the spa. I want a husband that shows off his money by the things he buys me. But I also want to show him off, for if I have a husband I have succeeded as a woman. I want my husband to shower me in diamonds and affection. I want a husband so that I will not become a single old cat lady.
I want a husband that is the perfect gentlemen. I want a husband that still pulls out my chair and opens doors for me; I don't want the physical exertion of these meaningless tasks. I want a husband that buys me flowers and chocolate. I want a husband that takes me out to fancy dinners and shares his dessert. I want a husband that takes me to far away countries for beautiful vacations. I want a husband that will leave me basking on the beach while he goes on hikes and to museums. I want a husband who will suprise me with romantic gestures and remember our anniversary. I want a husband whose purpose in life is to make me happy.
My God, who wouldn't want a husband?
I want a husband that has the perfect job. I want a husband that completely supports me financially. He might have to spend a few extra hours in the office, but I guess I can tolerate that. I want a husband with lots of money. I want him to work and have pride in bringing in all the money while I am able to do as I please. Maybe I can take up baking or sewing. I want him to make so much money that he can later retire and then we can sit pleasantly on the porch and drink tea.
I want a husband that will do the dirty work, will clean the car and change the oil. I want to be able to remain on the porch without worries because my husband will be a handyman and will fix whatever brakes. I want a husband that will unclog the toilet and fix the fence. I want a husband who will protect me from everything and everyone that could hurt me. I want a husband who will go investigate when I hear frightening noises at night. I want a husband that will kill all the spiders. I want a husband that will hold me during scary movies.
I want a husband who will buy me nice things. I want a husband that will send me to the mall or to the spa. I want a husband that shows off his money by the things he buys me. But I also want to show him off, for if I have a husband I have succeeded as a woman. I want my husband to shower me in diamonds and affection. I want a husband so that I will not become a single old cat lady.
I want a husband that is the perfect gentlemen. I want a husband that still pulls out my chair and opens doors for me; I don't want the physical exertion of these meaningless tasks. I want a husband that buys me flowers and chocolate. I want a husband that takes me out to fancy dinners and shares his dessert. I want a husband that takes me to far away countries for beautiful vacations. I want a husband that will leave me basking on the beach while he goes on hikes and to museums. I want a husband who will suprise me with romantic gestures and remember our anniversary. I want a husband whose purpose in life is to make me happy.
My God, who wouldn't want a husband?
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