End of Engl101S

Before entering this class, all I could think about was how much I was going to dread writing loads of papers throughout the term But now as we approach the final day, I'm realizing how much I actually enjoyed this class. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would've been, we even had an awesome teacher ^^. The assignments we had all helped to make my writing skills significantly better. Even though they were stressful to write at the time, I'm thankful for the skills I learned through them. In conclusion, I have learned to like academic writing up to a certain extent and not hate it with a passion. :] That has got to be one of the greatest achievement of this year for me. :D

Pura says...

"The Pura Principle" by Junot Díaz

My first impression of this short story: the author is very straight-forward with their language(s). That was a bit of a throw-off since I wasn't really expecting that. Anyways, as I was reading I thought maybe this would end up being one of those life changing stories with a gleeful ending and such. A sibling in tragedy with a pot-head brother and a mother gone church-crazy. So I kept on reading, waiting for the story to take a turn for the miracle to happen and got nothing. I really thought this 'miracle' would happen when the character Tammy Franco was introduced but that didn't go anywhere.
Okay, so maybe I didn't really get the point of this story. What exactly was the author trying to get at? Was it maybe that illness doesn't change a person? Or that women can be conniving* witches? Or was he trying to portray a mother's blinded love? Did I miss a part in the story here?? Alright, I have too many questions. Any thoughts?

*I don't think Pura Adames was really a conniving type of character but I couldn't think of the 'right' word.

A dance with lost fantasy...

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

I don't whether this film was to show the horrors of war as many war movies do or to emphasize the aftermath of war on the location and the people who were a part of it. But the work with animation didn't seem to hinder the depth of the movie in my opinion. First off I thought because of the animation, the transitions between scenes from 'reality' to the flashbacks were really smooth. There was a part near the beginning of the film where the music became bright and 'exciting' that I left me confused. But then I thought the film was making a mockery of the war, where everything was shot at and blown up with no real intention or purpose. Even in these scenes, without the animation it probably would've been difficult to capture the 'ease' of such destructive explosions on film.

John Q

In the film John Q (2002), I thought there were many scenes that could be marked as ‘memorable’ such as when John Archibald shouts to Lt. Grimes the words “I am not going to bury my son, my son is going to bury me!” But another scene before that, that kept replaying in my head was when John and Denise Archibald were sitting across the table from Dr. Turner and Rebecca Payne to discuss the money needed for their son’s operation. I don’t know if this was the correct rhetorical appeal that was used but I thought that Payne was relying heavily on logos. She just kept belting out information on information to the Archibald’s expense barriers. It was probably out of her professional costume that required her to come off so strict but she seemed so cold to the fact that a little boy was about to die. This scene seemed important to me for it was where Michael's parents hit a roadblock to save his life because of the money factor. It wasn't even that a donor wasn't available, it was that he couldn't even begin to search for a donor until he had enough money. Money became a greater factor than the life of a human being.

[Sidenote: The scene that I am referring to. I'm not sure why the clip is titled "John Q clip 1987" but it's from the right movie so, there you go.]

Research Log

Sources that I intend to use for the Experience and Other Evidence paper! MLA style~

1. Brown, Walter A. "Ancient Sleep in Modern Times." Scientific American Mind 17.6 (2006): 14-15. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. EBSCO. Web. 2 Mar. 2011

This article focuses on a sleeping cycle that in modern times is thought to be a problem and even an illness called insomnia. But gives examples and proof of sleeping schedules that were similar to "insomniac" being common in past times. Also the article reviews on experiments that were performed with extended hours of darkness to study the human sleep patterns. This article will allow me to make comparisons to sleeping cycles that were common before and now seen as problematic due to the human lives of modern days.

2. Martinez, Denis, and Maria do Carmo Sfreddo Lenz. "Circadian rhythm sleep disorders" Indian Journal Medical Research 131.2 (2010): 141-149. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. Mar. 2011

In this article, the common conditions of circadian rhythm sleep disorders that lie between the sleeping periods and the 24-hour environmental cycle are reviewed. Circadian rhythms are changes that respond primarily to the light and darkness of an organism's environment. These rhythms are related to our biological clocks as they are driven by our biological clocks. This article will allow me to make connections to our physical and social environments that have an affect on our sleeping cycles.

Philadelphia

In the film, Philadelphia (1993) directed by Jonathan Demme, the scene that stood out the most to me had to have been the night after the costume party at Beckett's house where he and Miller were left alone to review some Q&A's for the court. Beckett seems to be taken away by the lyrics of the opera singer and starts reciting them for Miller to hear (is this a soliloquy?). The lights are flashing through shades of red as the camera drops views of Beckett being moved by the song as he accepts his time of death and of Miller who just stares stunned at this person who used to disgust him but now understands his feeling of loss. It was such an intense scene bursting with emotions that have been locked up and put behind throughout the whole film until this point. Then Miller is shown coming home, hugging his baby girl and lying beside his wife, while the same opera music is still playing in the background as if he's taken away by his own emotions as he lies still besides his wife. I found myself a bit confused yet intrigued by this scene for the subtle yet strong, dramtic expressions.

The Final Choice

The experience that I have decided to write about will deal with the power and beauty of sleep. My most memorable experiences realted to this top dealt with the lack of sleep. These cases revolved around staying up past midnight doing things that could've and should've been done at an earlier time frame. Those "things" could have been studying for a test, writing up a paper, reading a book, or playing games online (all of which are being spoken through personal experience). In all of these situations the endings were similar around the next morning that came, a brain that would zone in and out of focus with no control.
What is sleep? -The natural period suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored. (Merriam-Webster)
What is then the 'essential' amount of sleep that is required? On whose scale?
What is it that causes us to stay up through the dark hours?
How did the invention of LIGHT change our lives? (question inspired by Ms.Carolyn Urena) For the better or for the worse?

The Experience

I've been forgetting and neglecting to do a lot of work assigned for this week. Couldn't think of a reason as to why without it being counted as just an excuse which is what everything usually ends up being. There was my confession. My apology should be made out in person, thinking that would make it more sincere.

Now onto the actual point of this blog entry-----------------
Potential Topics:

1) This topic relates to the interaction between parents and their children.
My parents have always been a part of the "working class" so even at a younger age (~elementary age) they would have to go to work early in the morning and come home late everynight. That would leave me with a lot of time alone at home just waiting and wondering when the time would pass.
This raised a couple questions in my head. A few of the firsts was "How does the time spent together with a child affect them?", "Is it positve or negative?" Too much time together with the child and perhaps they'd become too dependent on you but isn't that what a child is suppose to do? Depend on their parental figures? Then there's the affect of too little time spent together, would that make them turn away from their parents? Feeling neglected and such?
The academic audience that I thought could possibly have an interest in this topic were students who are learning about children themselves. Perhaps a study towards childcare or chlid development. Or even students who are pursuing careers in the field of psychology, becoming mental therapists.

2) This topic relates to whether television watching as a child is beneficial.
The questions that I asked myself as I thought of this topic were "What shows are qualified as "appropriate"?", "What is the "right amount"?", and "Should the children be watching for educational purposes or just for entertainment?" Then that pulled a red flag up questioning the problems that technology is bringing upon to the newer generation. Is allowing children to sit inside and watch television better than having them go outside and play? How does this action affect their health? Are they getting enough exercise?
I remember as a kid watching a show called "The Wheel of Fortune" with my grandmother each morning before school. There wasn't anything that I gained from the show itself other than that a man with white hair always gave away cars and beaches along with some pretty ladies. Then as I got a little older I started watching t.v. shows that involved the main characters fighting villians and beating each other up just to win a "battle". That pulled out 'fiftygabazillion' more questions through my head but I shall suppress my thoughts for now since this is a POTENTIAL topic.
(Academic Audience) The first half of the questions asked seemed for students more interested in child develpments and such. But the later half leaned towards the physical health towards a child which could bring interests of public health students who are concerned about subjects like child obesity.

3) This topic relates to the power and beauty of sleeping.
All students had to have experienced this at LEAST once. Whether it happened pulling an all-nighter studying for an exam the next day or to finish up a paper due in the morning or perhaps by going on raids online to defeat the alliance (WoW anyone?) it probably wasn't a happy ending, for me it definitely wasn't. The act of depriving your body of sleep has consequences that could be minor...or major. Minor problems would be dozing off, feeling lathargic which then could lead to major problems, especially if these things were to hit while going down the highway. Sleep deprivation also leads to health issues as the body doesn't get the full rest it requires to reboost itself to have enough energy for an active day. This raised questions such as "How hazardous is the act of sleep deprivation", "How much does it affect the victims health?" Then a final question of "Are students in educational institutes getting the proper amount rest for a full days' work?"
I thought that the academic audience for this topic would be easy to apply since its directed towards students in general and their daily environments.

A Confession vs. An Apology

In theory, a confession and an apology both seem to be expressions of an unmasking of one’s faults. The difference that lies between a confession and an apology is paper thin that they are often distinguished as the same. But the two words hold distinct characters when used in action. When a confession is made, a truth that was hidden away is revealed but does not always contain an expression of regret as an apology does. An apology is made in acknowledgement of one’s wrong doing that has caused trouble for another being and asks for their forgiveness. A confession just states who has done the misdeed.

mini-Autobiography

Hello there,

My name is Eranell, an 18 year old gal from the land called South Korea. Despite my ethnic origin, I have been living in the state of Maryland for more than 70% of my life. I graduated last summer from Old Mill Senior High, which by the way only “sounds” as though it’s surrounded by farmland. Currently, I am a “Letters&Science” freshman who is trying to major in Chemistry to prep up for the requirements to get into the UMD-School of Pharmacy. But that is all in the long run and my immediate goal for now is to try and pass through college with a smile. I am hoping that the experiences as a student of the University of Maryland will become many of the most memorable moments in my life.

To answer what kind of writer that I am didn’t seem too difficult at first but the more I thought about it I began to lose my answer. At first I thought I was a pretty good writer however I couldn’t define what “pretty good” meant exactly (still unsure of an exact definite for that). So, instead of answering “what kind of writer I am” I’ve decided to answer how I feel towards the subject of writing itself. And I can confidently say that writing is not my passion, not even close. This is especially true when the writing is a scheduled task. Not going to lie though, I do like writing little notes, letters and/or messages when I get a chance to talk with certain friends in order to keep in contact with them but other than that it’s a no-go. All in all, I find it difficult to write words out when it must follow a certain subject and can’t slip out of the outline pre-drawn which doesn’t mean that I hate “writing” altogether but just saying that I prefer it when it is a more personal and free type of writing. Hopefully this class will help me to like all types of writings and teach me to make a connection with the words that get written out even if they’re for an college course essay.