Blog #2

The setting of the novel is in Starkfield, Massachusetts, and it is during the winter. The setting impacts the characters by making them do things they wouldn't do without the snow that is in Starksfield. For example, if it wasn't Winter Ethan wouldn't or couldn't have asked Mattie to go sledding at night with the moon if there wasn't any snow. So the winter helped Ethan by asking her to go down a sled one day. Also the narrator would have never probably have met Ethan because during the only time in winter there are snow storms in Starksfield. The setting impacts everyone by the decisions they end up making and the choices they have to look at. Also another thing is that if it wasn't Winter Mattie couldn't have asked Ethan to commit suicide with her on the sled. So it does impact the characters because the choices they made. If it wasn't that season then they wouldn't have ended where they ended as cripples. In every novel or play the setting is always important because if it was a different setting then the play or novel would have been different and would have lead to different scenes.

BLOG #1

"Against the dark of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held her lamp..."
This quote is important because it reveals the features of Zeena, Ethan's wife, of being old,bony, and ugly. Zeena's features are describe in a negative way in which the reader shouldn't be attracted to. Being ugly is the worse thing to be describe as or looked at, Ethan just doesn't seem to be attracted to her because her old age. This is why Ethan then falls in love with Mattie because she is young and gorgeous. Zeena can't top looking or being like Mattie. All that Zeena has for Ethan is convention and Ethan's inertia. This helps Zeena by preventing Ethan from fulfilling his dreams and passions. not only does it reveal old,bony, and ugliness it also reveals sickness and death. When old age comes that's the time to worry about dying and what to do if it happens. Once the narrator talks about the hollow and prominences in her face, its ring of crimping , it is emphasizes the ugliness Zeena has. Being a picture of death strongly shows that it is opposing life in general. I just feel sorry for Zeena for being that ugly and for Ethan, good gracious your with that. I guess he is making the right move in order to be with Mattie instead of death.

"Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich: Chunk 2

Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" explores the life and condition of working as a maid in Maine. She uses her experiences to tell how hard its also to work as a maid, come on barbara was picking up pubes, the detail she used made it seem it was disgusting. She struggles in this chunk of trying to maintain who she is, but people critisize her and loses her ability to stay in control and breaks off. She finds the "working poor" to be difficult because people believe their pain is solved by taking Excedrin and Advil everyday, when she said this her tone is frustrating and mad because she's tired of the owners of the hotels she has been working at. Her purpose is to make an impact and help the "working poor" be looked upon in a different point of view because they work hard, but get payed a pretty low wage barely surviving in society. Her audience is the general middle class and high class worker because they need to see that their are people with worse jobs than them and at least have pity for them.

1.Does Barbara wants us to show pity towards the "working poor" or change the system?

2. Do you think Barbara can survive because she seems to be struggling trying to survive?

"Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich: Chunk 1

"Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich explores the life of the low wage poverty of Americans. She joins the low wage poverty and disquises her identity in order to see the lives of many hardworkers that are in the struggle of surviving with their low pay of $6-$7 an hour. She keeps the reader attention by actually being a worker in a hotel or waitress and going through what these workers go through to feel the vibe that people in America are being taken by advangtage. She uses life experiences to prove that the working system is unfair and corrupted. She explains the lives and goes through every moment a disadvantage worker would go through trying to survive in the world.  She doesn't enjoy what she is doing going through this prosses( everyday) but is urged to reveile and help this people. She has in mind to the general worker because she is informing the workers about places/ jobs that are in harsh living wages that are tough to survive in. Her purpose is to enlighten the reader about these jobs that don't care about how much or who works and are being payed only about $6-$7 an hour. 

1. How does the author show she cares about changing the system?

2.How will Barbara change the way we see low wage workers now?

Television Outside the Box

Josh Levin's 2009 article,''Television Outside the Box", from the Atlantic monthly, he exhibits the new way of seeing things in the: big screen; tv's; computers; and gaming in the near future. "3-D" its called-the new dimension- of enjoying media. The author introduces the reader with the 3-D commercial of Sobe that was played during the Super Bowl. He then states that 3-D was not the thing back in the days every decade it would come out, but then disappear until it shows up again. Now that the media has brought it out again, DreamWorks and Disney’s Pixar will be releasing all of its features in three dimensions. He concludes by saying that once 3-D gets its real attention then people will be on their way to the big screens and 3-D entertainment at home sooner or later. I'm so great that they will be coming out with this huge new technology, basically modify it to surpass and get the audience attention. His purpose is to give the reader the idea that 3-D is not dead yet, but rising from its tomb to please the audience.He seems to have an audince in mind who enjoy technology or enjoy the media out in the world because he seems all hype up all about it.

1.Are YOU ready for the change?

2.How will this affect people in a negative way?

Should Obama Think Twice about Pot?

Joshua Green's 2009 article from the Atlantic monthly instructs if Barack Obama should think twice about legalizing marijuana to grow the economy. Mr. Green first stated that today Barack emphasized in his virtual town hall meeting that legalizing marijuana wouldn't be the right way to put the U.S back on its tracks. I thought it might be a great idea because several of people buy weed from other sources and they keep buying from those the illegal way. For example in the article I read last week "Cannabusiness" it stated that just in California itself generates $100 million in sales tax of medical marijuana, imagine the the full package we will get from legalizing marijuana. Green thinks he shouldn't have killed the dream of legalizing marijuana, but he should think it twice because it can save this country less than a second. His purpose is to give the reader a thought if Obama should change his mind about marijuana and the economy. He seems to have a political and common person in mind who is concerned about their future.

1.Is Joshua Green right about Obama thinking twice?

2. Will Obama change his mind about legalizing marijuana? 

Cannabusiness

Joshua Green's 2009 article "Cannabusiness" from the Atlantic Monthly enlightens that Marijuana is not a terrible drug because it makes biliions in sales and millions in sale taxes. The author first states that in 1996 proposition 215 was passed in order to legalize medical marijuana by introducing the start of legal use in California for medical puposes. He then utilizes a recent study about the growth of marijuana and of how much its bounty is and how much sales tax it can get. He also uses a statement of an expert saying "Marijuana has evolved from a countercultural experience to an over-the-counter experience” inferring the use of marijuana has changed over the years and that it will keep changing until it is accepted by everyone. If the government decides to legalize marijuana for economic purposes then it will prevail to fix the recession we are in because $14 billion dollars is a huge amount for 20 million pot plants that Californians grow and  it also gets about $100 million in sales tax. This amount of money createa an image of how much money if all 50 states sold marijuana, adding up to a whopping $700 billion and $5 billion in sales tax ending the recession we are in  and using the money for useful purposes like renewal energy, etc. His purpose is to decrease the bad reputation marijuana has on people in order to convince society that the sale of marijuana is a great business that can fic our economic issues. He seems to have a concerned audience in mind because he is trying to open the mind of people who are concern about making it through the recent economic issues through the cannabusiness.

1.How would people approach the legalization of marijuana in order to fix the economic issues in the United States?

2.How would Joshua Green teach people the legal and business aspects of running a dispensary if some people see it as a bad action?

SLATE MAGAZINE "Who Decides Which Drugs Athletes Can Take?"

Why Olympians can't get high.
By Brian Palmer
Posted Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, at 6:57 PM ET

On Sunday, a British tabloid published a November photo of Olympic champion Michael Phelps smoking a bong. Fortunately for Phelps, the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibits marijuana only during competition periods. How does a drug make it onto WADA's list of banned substances?

It gets approved by three committees in consultation with 1,700 governments and sports-governing bodies. The WADA list is updated annually. First, the WADA List Committee, composed of 12 toxicologists, pharmacists, lab directors, and physicians, evaluates substances that might be banned. To be considered, a substance must satisfy two of three criteria: the potential to enhance performance; significant risk to the athlete; and contravention of the spirit of sport (meaning it is illegal or could be construed as cheating). Once two criteria are satisfied, the committee considers other factors, including ubiquity, usage trends, commercial availability, and whether the substance is detectable. (Caffeine, for example, used to be on the list but was removed because it became too difficult for WADA to police and for the athletes to avoid.) No single factor is decisive. Certain substances have been banned before laboratory tests could detect them, while in other cases the List Committee waited for reliable tests to emerge.

Once the List Committee decides what substances should be newly banned, it circulates its list to 1,700 governments and sports-governing bodies for comment. After reviewing any comments, the committee submits the list to the WADA Health, Medical, and Research Committee. If that committee approves the list, it must then be approved by the WADA Executive Committee. The two reviewing committees have the authority to make changes without further review by the List Committee. The revised list must be approved in October, but it takes effect in January so that athletes have an opportunity to adapt to rule changes.

The current list (PDF) contains three categories: substances or methods prohibited at all times (such as steroids and blood doping), substances prohibited during competition periods (including stimulants like methamphetamine), and substances prohibited for particular sports (no alcohol in auto racing or, oddly, bowling).

Marijuana, which has been on the WADA list since the first draft in 2003, is prohibited because it poses a danger to the athlete and is illegal in most jurisdictions. It is, however, something of a special case among substances prohibited only during competition. Unlike stimulants or asthma drugs, there isn't much evidence that pot enhances performance, no matter when it is used. The List Committee likely declined to prohibit it year-round because of its ubiquity in many countries

An athlete with a condition requiring use of a banned substance can petition WADA for a therapeutic-use exemption. The petitioner must prove that 1) she has a medical condition and 2) there is no efficacious alternative to the banned substance. No athlete has sought a medicinal-marijuana exemption, but the petition would probably fail the second test.

6 Period Stiff Members......

Dear 6 period,

Here are the questions for your assignment, seems easier to find if all of them are here instead of looking for all of them.

1.How does Mary Roach appeal to you with her way of writing?

2.How does modern society see these surgeons working on cadavers for new techniques for the future?

3.Why do you think Ms. Roach enjoys doing what she is doing?


4.Do you believe we should use cadavers to improve (fix) the future or is it being cruel to the body? Explain. (Accidents, Murder Cases, etc)

5.How would you feel if your best friend was a cannibal but he was just raised and believed it wasn't wrong. What would you do?

6. Overall what grade would you give Mary Roach about her non-fiction text and would you have done what she did to write this book?  

STIFF pg. 157-247

Mary Roach's non-fiction "STIFF" analyzes crucifixion experiments, the search for the soul, the removal of the head, and cannibalism. First in chapter 7 she informs the reader about crucifixion and how and where they might have nailed Jesus  Christ in the hands in the right spot for him which could have supported all his wieght. I was astonished how one of the scientist devoted his study to find out all about crucifixion. Then in chapter 8 tells the reader about scientists trying to find out if there is a soul and where it lies in the body if there is one.  This chapter didn't get my attention at all but the only thing that was funny was that the liver was the one that was constructed in out bodies first before the heart and that all songs that were about the heart would be about the liver (my liver is in great pain for my love of my life).  Well when it came down to chapter 9 and 10 it was a little more interesting because scientist removed heads and tried to put them in whole new bodies for example they used dogs and it worked and in chapter 10 it was about cannibalism that in China people ate each other (disgusting) aned they said that a woman breast was delicious (puke)  but over all it cam to comparing America and China and the different culture and beliefs.  Finally I like how her rhetoric question, " Would any culture go so far as to use human flesh as food simply out of practicality?" made image how life would be eating each other and just made feel that I could have been dead already or eating someone to survive ( gross).

1. How would you feel if your best friend was a cannibal but he was just raised and believed it wasn't wrong. What would you do?

2. Overall what grade would you give Mary Roach about her non-fiction text and would you have done what she did to write this book?