Mom,Doug is a good babysitter.

When we talked about the gender stereotypes and roles in class today I was reminded of a conversation I had with my mom the other day. It was last minute and we were franticly looking for a babysitter for my brother because our usual one had called in sick. I started going through my phone calling every person I knew to be available, and all of a sudden it hit me. Doug! He would be perfect, he’s always saying how bored he is and he lives right down the street and I KNOW he wouldn’t mind. When I pitched the idea to my mom she blankly stared at me for a good 5 minutes, and then walked away. Apparently my mom had thought I was being sarcastic and was offended that I wasn’t taking the task seriously. My mom’s lack of confidence in our neighbor was hard for me to grasp because we all know Doug to be moiré responsible than myself, if anything I am probably a bad influence on him. Despite this my mom was simply “not comfortable” with the situation. When talking about gender stereotypes we hear the same old story that women get paid 3 cents less than men per hour and that woman should stay at home all day and pop out babies. We rarely hear about the things that guys have to go through. So instead, my mom stayed home from work, and I hung out with Doug at the mall.

Why women are better than men...

Female V. Male

Why Is It Always The Media's Fault?

In almost every documentary, news clip, etc that discusses violence in children they drag in the media. What has the media ever really done? Wow, violent video games, fake characters killing the enemy or aliens or mythical creature, because Fox news, and CNN doesn't repeatedly show real people killing other real people. Or wait wait, it must me the lyrics from a rap song, or punk band, that must be the reason why some 13 year old boy took the life of another human being. It has nothing to do with our government reinforcing violence, by getting involved in pointless war. No it has to be Martin Scorsese's fault, because Goodfellas always make me want to murder people, abuse my boyfriend. Now that i think about it I feel stupid for even thinking that it could be anyone but the medias fault. It's not drugs, or abusive parents, it's the film industry, the record companies, and Grand Theft Auto's influence. I just wonder how all these kids are getting ahold of such violent material? Probably their parents, but it's not their fault they don't monitor their children's activities. It's the medias fault all the way, because look how long people have been killing eachother and look how long we've have major motion picture films. I mean honestly we never killed eachother for no reason before sega genisis came out.

Thoughts on Morals

Today, we were discussing the two essays, “Women’s Magazines Flip Past Feminism” by Alex Kuczynski and “How Boys Became Men” by Jon Katz. Each author was the same gender in which they were writing about. I agree with Kuczynski’s article in that magazines are more focused on body image, pleasing your partner, and how a family should act. The magazines only focus on one cookie cutter image, but in the world today, everyone is different from one another; they can’t always fit into that one perfect image. I believe that if the magazines didn’t focus on body images and sexual relations, then women wouldn’t be so self conscious; instead women could focus on other issues whether it is political or economic. Jon Katz’s essay is the opposite of Kuczynski’s essay because Katz is talking about the stages of men. Katz explains that at a young age boys are taught to be tough and to be a “man” not a “sissy”. Boys would rather fight each other than express their feelings through words. It seems as if both essays are trying to express that no one is the same person and each person has their own personal feelings. I have to be honest though because I do read those convincing woman magazines, but I have come more accustomed to ignoring some of the topics dealing with body images. I get to the point where I stop caring about what other people believe what the best body or the perfect makeup is suppose to be. What does everyone else think? Are these stereotypes true for everyone? Do you fit into any of these stereotypes?

Elementary School Lessons

Fahrenheit 9/11, directed by Michael Moore, and “Unfairenheit 9/11,” written by Christopher Hitchens, have one glaring commonality- bipartisanism. Both pieces reflect only one side of the story in an exceedingly frank way. Fahrenheit 9/11 is openly Democrat, while “Unfairenheit 9/11” is openly Republican. I don’t hold either party close to my heart, but pieces of work such as these make me strongly dislike both. Many Americans complain about politics; bipartisanism is a reason why. These already heated pieces fueled more intense debate and argument between the already dissonant parties. Moore and Hitchens are showing Americans that even after a national crisis, the two main parties will point fingers and bicker as young children do. When Americans were calling for unity and truth, these men were causing a ruckus.
What would have made either piece better was if someone had presented an argument that went against their own- even if the argument was later disproved with concrete evidence. Both men are utterly and bitterly opposed to opening up to the possibility that the other man might have a couple rational points. Neither man is completely right, nor is either completely wrong. Children learn at a young age that they can’t always have their way because they are not always right. People learn to compromise.
Perhaps these men should go back to elementary school and learn to play nice.

What Was Moore Thinking?

Micheal Moore's controversial film reflects his ability to use extreme methods to attack President Bush. The message Moore was trying to portray is that if George Bush wasn't elected in the first place, then 9/11 wouldn't have occurred. Moore used sensory details in his film through different music clips, comidic comments from President Bush, and photographs. While watching the film, I found Moore's documentary to be over the top and unnecessary. His piece doesn't amount to rational discourse because he is too biased toward President Bush being the only culprit of not preventing 9/11. I don't agree with his approach to portraying his feelings in his documentary. The music was unnecessary and somewhat offensive because it defeated the purpose of the true facts. The music almost discredited Moore's creditablity because it was childish. I did agree with Moore's main point that Bush didn't work as a President should have, but I was distracted by the extra nonsense. It was one thing to discredit President Bush, but it was another to degrade the President with untrue facts. Micheal Moore's documentary went to the extreme in the absolute inappropiate way. Therefore, it doesn't appear to have credibility or rationality.

Reflection on "On Native Soil"

While watching the movie "On Native Soil," I was taken back by the mistakes made by our own country. I don't believe the 9-11 attack was the country's entire fault, but clearly the rules and regulations were not followed. I felt the soundtract was over the top and shouldn't have ehanced the horrible terrorist attack. I found myself getting more frustrated and upset with the dramatic music in the background especially when the planes hit the towers. The images of the people jumping from the tops of the twin towers really hit home for me. I couldn't bear watching the people suffering so much that they would have to jump off a building that magnitude in height. The images and personal stories that were presented in the movie made me more aware of the fact that 9-11 was more than just a terroist attack; it was an attack on our security and crisis departments. Does anyone feel the same way or do they feel that the attack was unpreventable?

playing in the shadows-wiltz

It only occurs once in a blue moon when I actually enjoy a reading assignment. Yet when I read this essay, it was pretty cool. I liked the way Wiltz incorporated pop culture into her essay such as, the Oscars, U2 and Alicia Keys.
It's a weird thought that after a huge trauma, like 9/11, that we, as Americans only need a diversion to get clear our heads. Now, I am not bashing diversions becuase I think that they are a great way to get the stress off, but it's weird to think that we are more vulnerable in a time of crisis and that the ever-changing spirit of pop culture can help form our thoughts, similar to brainwashing.
On the other hand, I think that it is good that America can rally around with our patriotism in a time of crisis with songs and shows focused on America. But look at our patriotism today, most people want the current President out. If we were true patriots of America, this would not be true. I like this current state, because it is not just black and white, it is a little bit of everything.

Students lack a decent vocabulary

The students of our generation lack an extensive vocabulary. We tend to use words that are below our intellectal level instead of using the energy to think of what the correct word to use would be. For example, we might say "This is so annoying" instead of saying "This is dreadfully irksome" or "This is terribly vexatious." Some students wouldn't even say annoying, but would instead prefer "grrr" or "ahh." Also, we create words to fit our needs when we don't know a word that fits. Unfortunately, no one seems to understand that we can't do this forever. We can feasibly use our "new" words in conversations with our friends. Nevertheless, job interviews and introductions can become dismal situations when we fall into the habit of using made up words. An easy way to gain respect in a new place with new people is to at least appear to be intellectual. As many famous people have said in their day (Geogre Elliot, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, etc), "it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." We need to learn the language to gain respect in our field of choice.

It is a basic requirement of many colleges that we study a foregin language for, at minimum, two years. Much of the first two years of any language is memorizing vocabulary. The same is true of English. It is also true that as one progresses through the different levels of a foregin language, the words become more diverse. Never is it appropriate to describe a tempestuous person as a ugh person in Spanish. Thus, why do we not feel below par when we do it in English?

This lack of vocabulary presents itself in many of our papers for school. Every year English teachers give the same speech about how papers cannot contain "u" instead of "you" and the like. In this speech, many of them include the idea that using bigger, better words will improve anyone's writing. Probably, this message never makes it to our brains because it is the first day of school and we have heard the speech numerous times. I ask us now, to honestly consider how developing a more comprehensive vocabulary could improve writing and speaking.

Vocabulary lists are never enjoyable, but I have found an amusing way to learn new words to incorporate into my life. I pick a favorite word for a short amount of time- sometimes a day, sometimes a week, sometimes even longer. The point of doing this is that I work this word into my daily vocabulary. Last year, one of my words was pensive- meaning thoughtful. Now, I use this word without even thinking about having to choose it over thoughtful. This week, my word is tempestuous- meaning of or relating to a violent storm. Hopefully, I will find plently of uses for my newest word.