Letter to Next Semester's Class

Letter To Next Semester’s Class

In A Blog of One’s Own we spent a maximum of forty minutes on each blog assignment. The main focus of the assignments is the reading aspects. You need to do them or else you won’t comprehend the in-class discussions as well as gaining a better understanding of the topics. It is crucial that you do the reading because you can then help answer questions in class as well as be able to continue on with the assignments. Often times, you might feel stressed because of the workload. For example, the number of books you have to read at once. This becomes difficult when trying to manage your time, and make sure that you complete the homework as well as worrying about homework for your other classes.
The instructor expected a lot from the class. We would start class right on time and we were never let out early. This was so that she could give us all the needed material as well as making sure we went over the reading. Her expectations were high but reasonable. This is a writing class. There is going to be a lot of reading and writing. However, she would go over each reading assignment, and answer any questions you might have. This is why participating in class was very important to her. She would often encourage the class to get involved and would praise group discussions. This class was very affective and useful. It teaches you a lot about your self worth and about pushing yourself to the limit.

HW 42: Third and Final Podcast!!!

The Delta pod is having some problems posting their podcast online. The members of the Delta Pod will bring their laptops to class and present it then. Thanks

HW 40: Second Podcast on Baghdad Burning

The Delta pod is having some problems posting their podcast online. The members of the Delta Pod will bring their laptops to class and present it then. Thanks

HW:36: My First Podcast

The Delta pod is having some problems posting their podcast online. The members of the Delta Pod will bring their laptops to class and present it then. Thanks

HW 35: Letter to my blog readers: almost over

I can't believe that this is almost one of my last blog posts. This class has been an eye-opening experience for me. I never realized that blogging was such an important part of people's daily lives. It amazes me that I wasn't aware of the blogging community and all that it offers. Maintaing my blog over the past thirteen weeks of class has been somewhat difficult but it's also good because it has allowed me to stay focused and write my posts on a daily basis. Either now or in the future, I hope that someone who reads my blog posts will be able to learn a little bit about me and what i'm all about. I believe that blogging is important in that sense, it connects people, and is a record of how you feel at a certain time or place. It's almost comforting to know that what you read will be kept safe, and able to look back on. I'm very proud of my blog and feel that people who read it will understand how important it really is to me. I am most proud of opening up my soul and being able to talk about things that I normally wouldn't be able to. I am somewhat of a shy person so I usually am not willing to state my mind or opinions. However, with blogging, I have found that my personality has changed. I stand up for what I believe in and how I feel because what I say and what I believe is what really matters most. I am hoping that I will maintain my blog and begin to ask my own questions and post my own blogs without the assitstance of others. I wasn't able to really get a lot of comments so i'm not sure if people have viewed my blog, but I hope to continue it. I don't want to delete it because I am very proud of what I have written about. I wish to tell my readers that I hope that they have learned a lot through reading my blogs and have found them to be very informational and interesting to read. I have really put myself out there and I hope that it shows in my posts.

HW 34: Importance of Evening Tea

In the evening, most Iraqi families gather together for evening tea. "It's hardly as formal as it sounds... No matter how busy the day, everyone sits around in the living room, waiting for tea" (Riverbend 108) Riverbend goes on to explain the importance of tea in her culture. She states, that, "Iraqi tea isn't a simple matter of teacups and teabags. " (Riverbend 108) She says that it is an insult to serve "teabag tea" as she refers to it, because it speaks of a complete lack of appreciation for the valuable beverage. Having tea in her culture is a chance for everyone to slow down their day, and take time to talk and hangout with their families. It defines them and is what brings them together each and every day. It is part of their tradition and routines. In her post, Riverbend in a lot of detail, explains the process of making tea. What is very important is that this process is different for each family. Every family has their own, personal, way of making it.

"First a kettle of water is put on the burner to boil. Next, the boiling water and a certain amount of tealeaves are combined in a separate teapot and put on a low burner just until the tealeaves rise to the top and threaten to "boil over." Finally, the teapot is set on top of the tea kettle on a low burner and allowed to "hihder" or settle" (Riverbend 109)

One of the things they sell the most in their culture is tea. They sell it at the market and Riverbend recalls buying the tea. Then, with her family, she comes back and starts the process of making it. From there, they make the coffee before they start formal conversations. For her and her family, the tea is an event which brings her family together and is something they can look forward to each and every day. Also, every time they do sit down for tea, their is a different topic discussion so you look forward to it.

HW 33: Respond to a Podcast, Challenges at a Girl's School in Bahdad

I am responding to Challenges at a Girls School in Baghdad. The series title is "Alive in Baghdad. The link is Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad. The main focus of this podcast is about getting a decent education. In this series they interview a few girls who are in the eighth grade as well as their teachers. The questions are pretty basic and pretty normal such as how far their school is from their home and if there are any type of explosions that occur near their home as well as around their school. This podcast really made me think because one of the girls explains how her school is extremely far from her school and her parents even try to discourage her from going because it is difficult to get there each day for school. The walls of the girls school are very plain and this podcast is most likely filmed in the girl's school as well as in the streets of Baghdad. In America, I know that I especially take my education for granted. Most days I wake up and I don't even want to go to school, let alone get a good education. It seems that my education is something that was given to me and by no means has a significant affect on me. However, going to school and getting a good education is crucial to getting a job when you're older. I can't imagine what these boys and girls have to go through. It really makes me appreciate my education and the life I am living so much more. It is gratifying to know that I am so blessed.

HW 32: Summarizing Riverbend

I read the following pages required for class, pages 70 to 97. One of the main things that Riverbend talks about in these posts is Aquila Al-Hashimi. On her september 21, 2003 post she writes about how there was an attempt on Akila Al-Hashimi's life. She mentiones how she had heard about it for a long time and were hearing it on the news. Riverbend states, "She lives in Jihad Quarter and was leaving for work yesterday when two pick-up trucks with armed men cut off her car and opened fire on her and her "bodyguards" - her brothers." (Riverbend 75) She said from there that the neighbors and the gang began shooting at each other. Akila was taken to Al-Yarmuk hospital. She had to have her stomache operated on and was then shipped off in an American army ambulance. This post was very emotional to read because Riverbend mentiones that, "It's depressing because she was actually one of the decent members on the council" (Riverbend 75). She was living in Iraq and worked extensively in foreign affairs in the past. She goes on to explain how everyone thinks there's different people who could have done this to her. She says, "Of course, right off, before they even started investigations said, it was Saddam and his loyalists!" (Riverbend 75) However, she says there has been bitterness towards her by some of the more extreme members of the Governing Council. The most important part of her post was her sincerity for her and for her health. She says, "I really hope they find whoever did this, and I hope the punishment is severe" (Riverbend 76).

HW 31: Responding to Riverbend

For this post, I read the required pages of Baghdad Burning and came across one of the posts on page 54. It was about a man named Abu Ra'ad and how he was killed. I was very interested in the story she told about him and decided to go and research him on the internet. In her blog post, Riverbend writes that his name means "father of Ra'ad." He died on April 10. He had a wife and three kids. She says, "At 10 am, he got into an old Toyota, said a prayer, and headed out to see his family. He never came back" (Riverbend 42) . When I researched about him the articles that came up where about his death and how they are laying out new and improved rationales for why we invaded Iraq. Riverbend's post is about the civilizans that were being taken hostage and how she was experiencing everything first hand. I personally found this post to be particularly interesing, especially about the man she mentions, because it is a different side of the story. Also, Riverbend talked about how she visited his wife and the results of his death. The information that I found on the interenet didn't really speak about his wife or family in detail. However, it was more factual, similar to the facts stated in her post. Her post explained how they traced his routes and where he had been in the following places before he died. I found the information to be very helpful because it allowed me to see another side, and see how people over there were also kidnapped. The title of the website, was lies.com » The Death of Abu Ra’ad.

HW 30: Symposium; Thursday

Today I attended a symposium at noon. The symposium that I went to on Thursday was about a very important man named Tom Lantos. He was a U.S. representative and holocause suvivor. This symposium in particular was extremely interesting to me. The very important part of this symposium was learning that Tom Lantos is the only person in the U.S. to have survived the holocaust and become a congressman. The main speaker for the event was his daughter Katrina Sweat, who introduced him. Being his daughter, she told us a lot of facts about his life. For example, she said that he came to the U.S. after the Second World War at 19. He started off with absolutley nothing and ended up with everything. His speech was very interesting because he has a very positive outlook and attitude on us Americans and on the world today. I enjoyed sitting through this symposium because he was very motivational and intelligent about it. For example, he states, “People whom we have done so much for forgot about all the positive things and are only remembering the negative things”. He believes in our country and with all that he went through it is nice to see that he still has so much respect for us and really values what matters most in his life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and him.

HW 30: Citizen Journalist: Tuesday

Today I attended the symposium for the noon to one thirty session. It was part of the Keene State College Citizenship Symposium. I found this lecture to be especially intriguing. The title of the session was "What Kind of Democracy Do We Want." The main topic was about the presidential race, how we vote, how politics is changing, and how young adults are becoming more and more interested. Today was the Fifth Symposium of World Affairs. Three thousand copies of the United States documents were copied. The provost spoke first. He introduced the Mayor and spoke about how the state of New Hampshire itself is a community. The mayor spoke and stated that today, Tuesday November 6, will official be known as "Citizenship Day" in Keene, New Hampshire. His hand and official seal was on the document and he physically presented it to the college. After the Mayor the first speaker, Mike Welsh spoke about how his students feel about politics. This was very intriguing because I could relate to many of the things he talked about. For example, he explained how young people are motivated to vote because of the impact on the votes that occurred in Florida. He also stated that they feel that when things get close in an election, the numbers become less important and the two sides efforts become more important. Young people feel that politics and power are what really matters most. He then introduced the main speaker of the event, Nancy Tobi. She is the founder of blockboxvoting.org. Her organization advocated hand counting ballots. She is a New Hampshire resident and founder of the, "Democracy of New Hampshire, Election Defense Alliance." The name of her lecture was "Citizens Gone Wild: Taking Control of Our Democracy." She began by relating how the wind at her back is Moses. She is a descendent of Aaron and described how Moses was a leader of a democratic movement. One of her main topics was on the government and constitution.

"Government is the servant of the people, and not the master of them. The people in delegating authority do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. We insist on remaining informed so that we may retain rights." - Bev Harris

Her main argument was on that of secrets and how through the development of checks and balances their is transparency among government. She stated that the government derives its power from the people. She also compared the constitution and government to that of New Hampshire. In one slide she presented many different articles of the constitution which all state that government power derives form the people. The government must be open, truthful, and excessive to the people. She kept restating how all the power resides in the people. One of the other most important things I found interesting was when she stated, “Politicians are like diapers." What she meant by that is that they need to be changed regularly. There are a lot of crimes that occur in the elections and changes need to be made now, before things get much worse. As she said, "There is sunlight at the end of the tunnel." It just might take us a while to get there, but we will and can make a difference.

HW 28: Open Letter to Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,

You wrote about the war of August 2003. Personally, the war is something hard to relate to being on this side of it. All we can do is watch the news, listen to the radio, and hear the horrifying stories. There is no way of knowing the facts from the lies. The one thing that I do feel is that I am personally connected with you because I have seen how it has affected many people on this side of the world as well. Although, I have not personally gone throught it up close and first hand as you have, I still can sense the pain. I really apologize and feel sorry that you had to go through all that you did. Being that I am a young girl myself, I feel that we probably might have gone through the same things. I didn't have any families involved in the war, but I did see how many of my friends and neighbors lives were changed by the impacts of the war. It was a brutal affair and one that affected each and every person it touched. It's unique how much the war can bring people together. By reading your book I feel a special connection to you. I have never really been one that is for violence and fighting but you need to protect those you love around you. You're writing is especially unique because you lived through the war and I got to see how it impacted your daily life. I cannot imagine going through what you went through and lived through. It really touches my heart because it is so much easier to be on this side of everthing and see what is happening and feel the pain. However, to read about it, especially someone that is so similar to myself really touches my heart. You're blog "Baghdad Burning" is especially important because I can tell that you put a lot of effort in to explaining your story. A lot of people will be able to feel you're pain and relate to you and I think that is something extremely powerful.

HW 27: Annotated Bibliography of Baghdad Burning

Riverbend. "Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog From Iraq." New York: The Feministe Press (feministepress.org) 2003.

The book, "Baghdad Burning" written by a girl named Riverbend is a very imformitive because it takes you on a journery through her lifef the life. The young girl, or author, refers to herself as Riverbend and she began reporting her experiences as a civilian observer in Baghadad through the use of blogging in the beginning of August of 2003. The whole book is a serious of blog posts in which she explains what is happeneing around her. This is very important to our class because the class is primarily focused on blogging and women. Also, in the class, "A Blog of One's Own" we have been learning the positive impacts that blogging creates. Especially with a touching subject such as the war, blogging allows people to state their opinions on the war through a post and have others comment and share their feedback as well. This book is really interesting to read because it is wrtitten by a young girl who, she herself, saw eye witness accounts and states things in her posts which would have been otherwise unknown to the average American. I also believe that the book is powerful because it is written by a girl author. Often times, war stories are told by the strong men that fought in battle, but this book is different. It is told from someone who is Iraqi and was there when everything was going on. Also, this "blogging book" reflects on events that were both personal and political. She sometimes will write about the impact the war had on her family and other times, about how it affects the social problems and different views. She writes to defend her culture and even describes how it is similar in some ways. Why anti-Americanism is basically not fair or equal, and how much it angers people in her culture to see things this way, and still going on. The benefits of this type of book is that great deal and amount of insight that once can learn from such great writing. On the other hand, it does present the challenge of fully allowing yourself to be emersed in to the writing and take everything that she is saying and writing about as honest and truthful.

HW 25: Responding to Riverbend

The foreward is a very short description written by Ahdaf Soueif explainining the blog of Riverbend. It is written before the introduction which gives some background information. He focuses on the blog, "Baghdad Burning" written by Riverbend. It allows the reader to associate more on the emotional level than the physical with the war in Iraq. Her blog is also important because she incorporates the reader in to her daily life and throught the posts is able to share some of her family history as well. He then goes on to explain the purpose of the book and how there is a fair amount of politics when it comes to the issue of war and this book. The book is meant to change the minds of those people who do not know or understand the Arab and Muslim people living in the world around us. The introduction on the other hand, is written by a man named James Ridgeway. He goes in to much further detail about the young women, "Riverbend" who calls her blog "Baghdad Burning." His main point was to emphasis her background and culture which is what makes her so unique and what captivates others to read her blog. He describes the reasons for our American troops going overseas and fighting in the war for oil, and other such things. He then does a flashback to the Gulf War and after to show how over the years our country has continued to fight violently with others, and how the results are devastating. More importantly, the 1991 Gulf War left Saddam Hussein in power, which we all know, ultimately led him to punish the Iraqis and commite further attacks and damage. Finally, what he almost talks the most about is the 2003 War. He states that the Bush administration determined the war to be a "mission that was accomplished." However, this is not the case at all. "The United States never gained enough control to restore any sort of order" Ridgeway 16) What shocked me the most was the facts and details that he listed. The maximum number of civillian deaths was 17,000 by late October of 2004. I remember that when we first went in to Iraq there was a lot of confusion and fear because as a country we did not know what we were up against facing. In the text most of things that describe the war are very factual and descriptive. What was very interesting for me to read was about Saddam and how he was a Sunni Muslem. Ridgeway states, "Saddam is a Sunni Muslem, and his political apparatus was largely managed by a middle class of educated Sunnis, most of whom lived in an area around Baghdad referred to as the "Sunni Triange" (Ridgewater 22) Personally, not knowing that much about the war, my own opinions of it are very different than what I read because I gained so much more knowledge about it than I had ever known before.

HW 24: A Room of One's Own

How I have a room of my own is on a deeper level then just the physical. I believe that I do have a room of my own. Virginia Woolf described this in chapter five when she stated, "For women have sat indoors all these millions of years, so that by this time the very walls are permeated by their creative force" ( Woolf, 87) For women, this enables them to have thier own creative power, and it is this power which is a woman's own room. She also talks about the importance of women not being ignorant but taking a stance for themselves. It is her goal that we act for what is right and just for us. In chapter six, Woolf states that, "There must be freedom and there must be peace. Not a wheel must grate, not a light glimmer. The curtains must be close drawn. The writer, I thought, once his experience is over, must lie back and let his mind celebrate his nuptials in darkeness" (Woolf, 104). It is not the importance of materialsm that makes up a person's room it's their own opinions and ideas that make it their own. Woolf wants for a woman her room to be a reflection of who she is. My basic room has four walls, furniture, is very color and has familiar things. However, on a deeper level my room is my own space. A place for me to explore and let my mind wander off. In the last two chapters of the book, Virginia Woolf spoke a lot about the difference between men and woman and the difference between the sexes. I personally agree that each of us have our "own room". However, it is different for each and every person because it is whateverwe want it to be. I personally agree with the narrator in that women have had a lot less freedom then men have, especially when it comes to writing and expressing their own thoughts. Therefore my very own room is where i can think deep about everything that has happened over the past few years and how it has shaped me as well.

HW 23: Responding as Virginia Woolf

"With Apologizes to Virginia Woolf"

When I came across a website on the computer titled Jezebel at http://jezebel.com/. Here there was one article in particular which caught my attention. It was titled, "Otherwise Engaged" and I was throughly disgusted with what I read. Is it still the exception for women to be so mistreated compared to men? It is not up to the man to choose her life. As it was in my time, it was the exception for women of the upper and middle class to choose their own husbands, and when the husband had been assigned, he was lord and master, so far at least as law and custom could make him. All the conditions of her life, all her own instincts, were hostile to the state of mind which is needed to set free whatever is in the brain. However now the man is taking his power to far. The woman needs room to breathe. We should be thankful all women do not get caught up in such foolish games. Although I fear of women being degraded in writing I am pleasantly happy and suprise to see women being able to choose their own husband. Arranged marriage is a thing of the past and something that doesn't occur very much anymore. I still strongly believe that it the woman is important in her own right too. Imaginatively she is of the highest importance; practically she is completley insignificant. It saddens me to see the way in which my actions, and woman are still being mistreated. I still deeply feel that their right is being taken for granted, that the right of freedom is being too easily overlooked. Fiction is like a spider's web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. Just because theses mere mishaps are occuring more and more they eventually will lead to something dangerous that will and can spiral out of control. I hope that day never comes.

HW 22: Chapter Two (Woolf) Under the Rule of Patriarchy

The definition of Patriarchary is a society in which fathers are the powerful responsible heads of their families and households, and by extention, a society in whcih men hold a disproportionately large share of power. After reading chapter two of, "A Room of One's Own" it was very clear that Virginia Woolf supported this very well in her writing as well. The point of her paper is how men have everything and women have nothing compared to them. She states, "Nobody in their senses would fail to detect the dominance of the professor. His was the power and the money and the influence (Woolf)." In other words, it is quite clear that man have all the important things and rights such as power and money and it seems foolish of a woman to try and fight for the same things. Due to this, she is talking and proving how England is a partiarchy. According to Virginia Woolf women seem to be the center or main source of everything that is going on or needs to be talked about, and it is the men that take the inititive to make it noteable and obvious to others. For example, in this chapter it was all about women and one prime situation in which they were in a divorce court and a particular female actress was being devalued. After I read this chapter, I went on the internet and went to the New York Times website. However, I found the site to be extremely different than what I had just read in chapter two. I personally believe that, it wouldn't give a "transient visitor to our planet the impression that the United States is a patriarchy" because it is too hard to tell. The website mainly had topics and pictures that were government related, as they should be. It discussed speeches, elections, and everyday events and situation between the United States and our foreign counterparts. One of the major differences that I would like to state, is that compared to the book the United States has taken great leaps and overcome a lot. In the first chapter of the book, the main character or narrator is unable to walk on a certain part of the path because at that time, women we're not allowed to walk there, only men. Being a woman myself, I know that although there are still some minor differences between men and woman, overall we have been given the right to vote, own property and have good paying jobs that are of the same equality as men. Eventually, I believe that patriarchy will be diminished to nothing.

HW 21: Chapter 1, A Room of One's Own (Woolf)

Dear younger brother,
After reading chapter one in, "A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf it is very clear the importance of the chapter and how Woolf tries to explore the idea of women and fiction. In this chapter, Woolf was asked to speak on the topic of Women and Fiction. This is the beginning of the chapter where she suggests her thesis that, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She says, she must take a detour through fiction: "I propose making use of all the liberties and licenses of a novelist, to tell you the story of the two days that preceded my coming here—how, bowed down by the weight of the subject which you have laid upon my shoulders, I pondered it, and made it work in and out of my daily life." After this, the essay is written in narrative. The narrator in the story sits on the banks of a river at Oxbridge pondering the question of women and fiction. She compares it to a metaphor by comparing her ideas to fishing. As soon as she gets a "bite" a university security guard enforces the rule that women are not allowed to walk onto the grass. She hurries back to her place on the gravel path and says that her "little fish" of an idea was lost. From there, she views the univeristy and surrounding buildings. She describes the wealthy, "And thus by degrees was lit, half-way down the spine, which is the seat of the soul, ...the profound, subtle, and subterranean glow which is the rich yellow flame of rational conversation." Her attention is then distracted by the sight of "a cat without a tail, something very unusual to see to the common eye. However, it triggers her brain to a time before a war. She also, describes a meal at a place called Fernham. She continues to jump from one place to another. However, i really enjoyed the end of the chapter because it is when the narrator ponders why whether or not women have always been poor. She then thinks how different things would be, "If only Mrs. Seton and her mother and her mother before her had learnt the great art of making money and had left their money" for the education of their daughters. The importance of this quote is that it emphasizes the transformation of our social classes, especially women, over time. I believe that this chapter was extremely informational for people to read because it entitles them to ponder the same questions and ideas that the narrator possesses. It also would be influential for someone who is interested in English and writing because she references many different authors and books in her examples. Many people could relate to these and be able to make their own opinions about her thesis.

HW 19: Applying Graff Chapter 10 to Drenzer & Farrell's "Web of Influence"

I choose to pick a paragraph from "Web of Influence" which is about blogging and how it ties in politics and the media's reaction to it. The paragraph described how, "The most noteworthy was CBS News' acknowledgement that it could not authenticate documents it had used in a story about President George W. Bush's National Guard Service that bloggers had identified as foreigners." (Burstein and Kline 90) The importance of the paragraph is that it showed the parallels in the decline of journalism and the post also goes on to explain whyt here are so many problem between what the media broadcasts and the actual truth, which is often posted on blogs for people to comment on. "Their often blatant partianship discredits them in many newsrooms." (Burstein and Kline) In other words, the main point that I got from reading this paragraph, and mainly why I chose to post a comment on it was because it was explaining how blogs influence people and provide information that most people won't normally tend to focus on, let alone, read about. "It was really just the first time people could read about them." (Burstein and Kline 90) I found this to be very true. Often what people read in posts on a particular blog is something that attracts their attention or is part of another post so they wouldn't necessarily have choosen to read about it. My point is, that I personally feel that blogs are very important for this reason. Yes, blogs have their own problems but for the most part these problems are what people want to know about. For example, a Professor at Yale University named Jack Balkin said, "The blogoshpere has some built-in correction mechanisms for ideaological bias, as "bloggers who write about political subjects cannot avoid addressing (and, more importantly, linking to) arguments made by people with different views." (Burstein and Kline 90-91) Everyone wants to read about the faults or problems that are occuring in the world. It is what draws people in and somehow makes them feel better about their own lives. Drenzel and Farell both state that, "The reason is that much of the blogoshpere is devoted to critizing what other people have to say." (Burstein and Kline 91)

HW 18: Least Favorite Blog Post of the Week

When I went to the link for, “Blogs I’m Watching” I clicked on the link to one of the blogs that I've been watching. The name of the blog was Feministe at http://feministe.powweb.com. I went through the posts over the last seven days and came across a post about the war in Iraq. The title of the post was, “Torture in the USA” filed under Racism, Torture, Assholes, Crime, Race & Ethnicity. It was a very serious issue and extremely hard to stomache when reading. The post described how there is a lot more violence and problems going on in American then we are even aware of. In the post, it states, “People kept in secret foreign prisons without access to lawyers or rule of law aren’t the only ones being tortured – our domestic prison stystem condones torture and abuse as well.” (Jill- Feministe) The post then goes on to describe how prisoners are being treated unfairly in prisons. Personally, I am someone with very mixed opinions on the war in Iraq but I know for a fact that I completely disagree with the way in which our military was sent over to Iraq and the way that they are being treated and handled. We need to respect them for human beings and realize that they are giving up their lives to protect the lives of others and their country. I didn’t really enjoy the post, not necessarily for the way in which she spoke about the war and the people who fight in it everyday, but just the gruesome and disgusting tactics. It is hard to say what is true and what is not but it is definitely somewhat unbelievable to believe that anyone could ever be treated this way. The post really made me rethink my thought on the war in Iraq.

HW 17B: Applying Graff Chapter 9 to Zuniga

After reading the two blogs there was one blog in particular that motivated me the most. The blog that would most likely influence the way I would vote in a coming election would be, "Blogging the Presidency" with Markos Moulitsas Zuniga. He states that, "The name of the company is Armstrong Zuniga (armstrongzuniga.com) and Jerome and I do what we call "netroots consulting"- building and leveraging online communities- for political campaigns and interest groups." (Burstein and Kline 44) I really liked this blog opposed to the other blog because its primary focus was on that of the elections and political campaigns. Zuniga states, "It's all very stealthy, you know, because nobody wants to come out and take on the consultancies publicity." (Burstein and Kline 45) I really liked this blog because Zuniga realizes that the topics he is writing about are very controversial and that most people probably will not like the things that he says. However, he is willing to take that chance. His blog is extremely informational and contains a lot of valuable information. Furthemore, many of the political activists go on these sites, especially blogs such as his which is a political blog. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his blog and then going to the actual site because it gave me a clear overview of everything that he was about and believes in. I also learned a lot about politics and how his blog was a way for other people to stay connected with one another and form opinions about their favorite political leaders.

Hw 17: Favorite Blog Post of the Week

I browsed through the posts of the last seven days on my list of three, "Blogs I'm watching" and chose to read posts on Jezebel's weblog at http://jezebel.com/. On her weblog I came across one post in particular about celebrities. Jezebel's is mainly about celebrities or Hollywood and all of the gossip that goes on related to it, which is mainly why I am interested in her site. The title of the post I found most intriguing was, "Britney Spears Chooses Starbucks Over Court-Date." The post described how Britney Spears has lost custody of her two young boys, Sean Preston and Jaden James. " After three hours in court (Kevin Federline showed up, Britney Spears did not) a family court judge decided that Kevin will retain custody of the kids. For now Britney is allowed monitored visitation. There will be another hearing on Oct. 16." (Jezebel) It was sad for me to read the post because it seems that so many of the celebrities that we are meant to look up to as young people are failing us. I will admit that I was a huge fan of Britney Spears and her music when I was a teen, and even up until recently. However, it wasn't until all the recent news and scandalous things that she has been doing that has really turned me off from her. In the post, other people commented on what they thought of her as well, for example, Perez Hilton who is a noted celebrity trash talker. "Is Britney checking in to a Caribbean rehab facility this weekend," he jokes for how calm she could be at a stressful time like this." I completley agree with him. You would assume that with her world falling apart, and now, losing her kids, Britney would have a wake up call and try to turn her life around. Is their hope left for this fallen star? Only time will tell but for right now, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be barely visible.

HW 16B: The Five Pillars of "Discoverability and other Golden Qualitites"

Robert Scoble, who worked at Microsoft believes that there were five main things that made blogging "hot". To begin with, Scoble speaks of something that he refers to as "RSS." He says, " RSS is the technology that corporations should pay more attention to than even blogging." (Burstein and Kline 130) The initials RSS stand for "really simple syndication" which in other words means it allows a blogger to offer his Weblog for people to subscribe to, as well as to attach valuable links and news that he finds from other websites. Scoble believes that there are many different things that went along with RSS that hepled to make blogging "hot" or as popular has it has become today. He refers to this as the, "Five pillars of controversial software." The first pillar is "ease of publishing." In order to have an affective blog you must be able to publish blogs that people will want to read and that they can easily access to post comments on. The second pillar is "discoverablility." You must put your blog out there. First, start with interesting title, colors, and pictures to draw people to your site. Most often than not, people will end up at a certain blog because they came across something that they liked or were attracted to. The third pilar is "cross-site conversations." Often when writing on one person's blog, multiple people will comment on the same topic or idea and you've already initiated a conversation with them wihtout even knowing it. It's actually quite neat how one person's ideas and thoughts can be intrerrupted in many different ways by various people across the web. The fourth pillar is "permalinking" or linking on your site. For exampe, if you have a quote, or picture you should include a link so that the readers can read up on more about it or find other sources that are related to the same thing. It makes your opinion and ideas a lot more understandable and believable. The fifth pillar is "syndication" which is the last S of RSS. Scoble states on page 130, "Syndication started in the late 1990s, and it means that I could see a large number of sites, and not only that, but I got them on my terms." (Burstein and Kline 130) He also states that he never had to give any marketing information or his e-mail address which is a good safety feature. All of these five pillars are what Scoble believes helps someone to run a safe, organized and correct blog.

HW 14: Applying Transitions to "Take An Obsession, Then Feed It!"

Accordingly, when I chose to read, “Take an Obsession, Then Feed It” I was quite surprised by the words spoken by the man being interviewed. Therefore, Nick Denton, a thirty-six-year-old British expatriate and former Financial Times reporter, discusses in his interview the use of hiring unknown writers for his blog. After all, he knows that they are much “hungrier” to write in the blogs then he is. Moreover, he speaks of the importance of blogging and how he feels it is important, even to businesses. Actually, he states that, “over the next five years weblogs will aggregate much bigger audiences and have a larger impact on society and politics and culture and business as a result.” (Burstein and Kline 154) As a result what I found to be the most interesting was when he said that that a lot of bloggers don’t have any special expertise in any subject, or any special access to newsmakers, not that they close to the “street” of any situation or conflict.” Also, I agree with him because I feel that a lot of bloggers don’t really know a lot about the topics that they blog about because they are their own personal opinions or ideas and there’s no need for expertise or facts necessarily. Hence, the main point of his interview was when he states that he doesn’t think that these types of people will earn reader’s trust as being more authoritative than the New York Times.

HW 13: "Saying why Business Matters"

I personally feel that what is the most important is the impact of blogging on communication that is not business- or profit- related. I believe that self-expression is one of the larges forms of communications. In “Blogs will Change Your Life" Baker and Green both speak about blogging, “But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the internet itself." (Burstein and Kline 222) Blogs now a days are being used for everything you could possibly think of and imagine. For example, my discussion of social blogging is in fact addressing the larger matter of how social blogging is in its own way a platform for advertising one’s own ideas and opinions, but it is very different from that of business promoting. Social communicating and business promoting both have their obvious risks but it’s important to realize the real importance of a blog. It is not supposed to separate people but bring people together. Ultimately, what is at stake here is that I feel that there will be more to write about socially then about businesses. Business is something that is so traditional, and everyday- American that there really aren’t that many different view points on it. Baker and Green state that, “Companies over the past few centuries have gotten used to shaping their message. Now they’re losing control of it.” (Burstein and Kline 224) The unfourtanate situation that publishers have to go through is that they are losing their credit, because everyone is a “potential publisher.” Although social blogging that is non- business related may seem trival, it is in fact crucial in terms of today's concern over the larger matter of personal representation. The thoughts in my blog are mine alone, no one else’s. However business blogs are often business related and are intended to educate the mass media, but social networking sites primarily focus on social communication and situations.

HW 11:Applying Graff, Chapter 6 to "Making Global Voices Heard"

When reading the pages of, "Making Global Voices Heard," pages 325-333, there were various blogging websites that were introduced throughout the text. There was once in particular which I found to be very interesting. Mackinnon states that, “There are three Chinese-language blog hosting services that are run by Chinese companies, including one that is run by Isaac Mao.” (Burstein and Kline 328). He is probably the best known Chinese blogger outside of China because he blogs both in Chinese and in English. If you set up an account with Isaac Mao’s service, which is called BlogBus, and you post things using certain words that have been keyed into a program as triggering “objectable content,” then you won’t be able to post it and/or your blog will be blocked.” (Burstein and Kline 328) I found this to be extremely intriguing so I went to his site to research it and to view the responses made by bloggers. When I went to his site, it was very unlike how I imagined it to be. It appears to be very traditional and mundane. There weren’t a lot of colors and there were very few pictures, not too appealing at that. Yet some readers may challenge my view that it is not always the amount of color of appeal of the blog that interests and grabs someone’s attention. It is the words or text that captures the person’s attention. The background is white but the things that he talks about in his posts are what makes his words almost jump off of the page. Many of his posts are about basic and complex computer problems as well as the Chinese environment and culture the impact of Chinese events. After all, many believe that it is not the physical description that is what matters most. Indeed my own argument that the color of text of the bog is not as important as the actual words and issues expressed in the bog seems to ignore how adding colors and vibrancy could add and inspire more people to view his blog and respond to it. However, apparently there has been a great deal of controversy over what people are able to express and write on his blog. For example, Mackinnon states that, “There have been quite a lot of Chinese people who have gone to jail for things the have put on websites and that a lot of interesting speech has taken place in the Chinese blogoshpere and very lively stories about daily life.” (Burstein and Kline 328) After readings Mankinnon’s description of the blog and then going to the site, I found that there were a lot of similarities and that she was very accurate with her details.

HW 9: Applying Graff, Chapter 4 to Waldman or Huffington

After reading the two different articles written by Waldman and Huffington I decided to direct most of my attention to the internet with Ayelet Waldman and comment on it. I found this interview to be extremely interesting and even a little bit shocking. It is sad to think that someone’s own “personal laundry” could be opened up and ready by so many people online. More importantly, is the fact that she was so willing to explain everything that was going on in her life. Waldman confesses that she had never kept a journal or diary before and that even when she does write, it was usually for an audience. The main point or focus that came across in Waldman’s interview was how blogging is a crucial and positive thing for women to do, and it often connects them with one another and encourages them to be better mothers, wives and so forth. She states, “I think that there is something about the blogoshphere that lends itself to a kind of snarkiness.” (Kline and Burstein 310) I agree that putting yourself out their on the web, even through your thoughts and personal opinions can be detrimental because my experience writing posts on my own blog confirms it. What is hard for most people to understand is that we all have different ways of expressing how we truly feel, and that sometimes, their needs to be a resource or outlook for people to be able to let out what they’re feeling inside. I also disagree strongly when she says, “When you are a novelist you take personal experiences and you sit on them until they fester into something totally different.” (Kline and Burstein 311) Isn’t that the same for blogging though? Waldman’s claim that blogging is not the primary source for writing rests upon the questionable assumptions that you most likely need to be a novelist, or someone with such writing ability in order to inhibit the same amount of attention and feed back. Blogging is a great opportunity for people to write one thing and have many different responses come back in return. It often even sparks more intelligence and further discussion on the topic.

Hw 7: Applying Graff, Chapter 3 to "My So-called Blog"

Personally, being a teenager myself, I believe that it is crucial for parents to be monitoring what their children write online but I feel that there should be some boundaries as well. I feel that there is a lot of danger with parents allowing their kids access to the computer and online world, without adhering to certain rules and principles that they set up to go along with it. In “My So-called Blog” Emily Nussbaum states that, “Ninety percent of those with blogs are between the ages of 13 and 29.” (Kline and Burstein 349) Children among this age group often are unware and unexperienced when it comes to maturity and the real issues in the world. They are too naïve to fully participate and understand some of the things that are out their on the web. Parents need to allow their children space, but sometimes the comfort of having protection is better than none at all. Now, it is extremely easy for people to search, find and even communicate with one another. Emily Nussbaum herself writes, “The private experience of adolescence- a period traditionally marked by seizures of self-consciousness and personal confessions wrapped in layers and hidden in a sock drawer- has been made public.” (Kline and Burstein 351) No longer is the internet as safe as it once was. It is clear that world is a safe place and no matter what there is always going to be struggles and dangers, but when it comes to the vast and broad space of the internet, it seems endless. In other words, Emily Nussbaum belives that the problem that arises is when a “particularly scandalous site will gain a wider readership,” ( Kline and Burstein 358). For the most part, this site will attract the teenage group because they are naïve and unaware of certain places to go on the internet. Parents need to monitor their children, not to be overprotective and to control their life but to protect their children from the unknown, which even them, themselves are unaware of.

Hw: 6 Interest Statement for Semester-Long Project

For the pre-writing phase of my semester-long research and writing project there are various topics that interest me. The three main social computing technologies which I am most interested in right now are e-mail and e-mail lists, instant messaging, and social networking services. I am interested in e-mailing primarily because it seems that not many people tend to use e-mail as they had before. It almost has taken a back seat to some of the other ways of communicating on the web. Instant messaging is one of my personal favorites to learn more about, because I myself am always on the computer chatting with friends and I find it such an easy way to communicate. I am also very interested in social networking services such as facebook and myspace, because a lot of younger teens are starting to access these services and with all of the recent developments and circumstances of these that occur on the news it seems extremely dangerous for them to be on these types of sites, at such a young age. As for the marginalized groups that I am interested in, they include overcoming religious, overcoming inequities in access to education, rights and empowerment of poor or working- class people. I am a very religious person, and I find that religion does seem to be one of the biggest strifes or issues of differences among many people. Education is also something that I feel very strongly about and it hurts to know that some people are not able to receive the same education I do. I hope to learn more about the reasons why and see what I can do to help. Lastly, I am interested in rights and empowerment of poor or working-class people because I also feel that these people are treated differently because of the lifestyle they live. I’m thinking that some of the best geographical areas that I should start looking at are areas that I’m familiar with here in North America as well as far-off places located in Africa.

HW 5b: Applying Graff Chapter 2 to "I Blof, Therefore I Am"

When reading the assigned reading of Chapter 2, “I Blog, Therefore I Am” I came across one paragraph in particular that I did not agree with. To summarize, in the paragraph, Kline claims that the public-media is going to be able to win back the trust and confidence of the public even with everything that is happening around it, for example the increase in people blogging and so forth. There is an example of a heading in the newspaper, Newsweek which covered one hundred years in the future that features and aerial view of the United States with the state of California split off from the mainland. The headline featured on it is, “California Island: More Popular Than Ever 62 Years After The Big Quake.” In conclusion, the print media believes that even after its 250-year-long run, it will continue for at least another century. For example, in this particular paragraph, Kline suggests that the magazine and newspaper industries have both launched multimillion-dollar image advertising campaigns to increase their popularity. One ad in the newspaper, Newsweek covers one hundred years in the future that features and aerial view of the United States with the state of California split off from the mainland. The headline featured on it is, “California Island: More Popular Than Ever 62 Years After The Big Quake.” In conclusion, the print media believes that even after its 250-year-long run, it will continue for at least another century. I disagree because I feel that it will still be slightly jeopardized by other media scandals and mistruths that people are led to read and view. I endorse the media for being one of the primary sources for retrieving information and displaying it to the public, but I don’t believe that the media will be able to keep up with all the other advances in technology. I question whether or not the media will be able to keep up with its amount of viewers, even if it continues to display unreliable information. Nonetheless, I personally feel that the media is going to continue to keep up with its reporting and continue doing what it does regardless of how it is being impacted. Both blogging and the media are something that I feel is going to continue the bond between individuals and the world around them, in a positive way. I just don’t necessarily agree with Kline or others who say that the media is going to progress as it has over the next few years, or even centuries.

HW 4: Responding to the "Voice of the Customer"

In "The Voice of the Customer," Greg Thomas is quotes as saying that, "Great brands are always built on promise." When I returned back to my room, I looked around at the brands of items I owned, particularly an item with a promising brand on it. What I found was my bottle of Propel Fitness Water, a type of flavored water, sitting on my desk. On the bottle it was described as promising to, “hydrate and nourish the active body with a splash of fruit flavor and essential vitamins, which aid in energy metabolism as part of a daily diet.” This water therefore promises good, strong health and fitness for the consumer. To test this, I went online and looked for the company brand website, and I was extremely intrigued by what I came across. On the website there was a slideshow of pictures ranging from a bunch of old men on motorcycles and a guy on a bicycle in the lead, to someone running followed by strong, sturdy horses. Based on these pictures, I believe that one can infer the promise to be a feeling of empowerment and stability, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and strong health no matter what your age. Based on these pictures, the consumer will become healthier, like someone with really good fitness. On the website, the main slogan or promise was, “Fit has a feeling.” The promise that the company website implies is that fitness has reactions and emotions, similar to humans do. The Propel Fitness water is more than just water it’s a lifestyle. By starting to drink this water, the consumer can start a new way of dieting and gain a healthy and fit body. In my experience, the product does deliver what it promises. It contains a lot of nutrients and vitamins that I would not normally consume as much of on a daily basis. Knowing that this water is good for me, I enjoy drinking it because I know that it is good for me. Also, because it is flavored water the taste is sensational and refreshing, making you want to continue drinking it.

HW 3: Response to "Toward a More Participatory Democracy"

The biggest issue that David Kline addresses in his writing is the media, more importantly how false the information tends to be. He suggests that we need to work together to put an end to it. He states, “But since the right wing already controls the media, we must use other means to educate the American people." When I was a child, I used to think that the world was a safe and simple place. I believe that the media is great, easy source for dishing out information and connecting people with the world around them. However, there is so much distorted information presented by the media that the public doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Although I should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that we must begin now to take matters into our own hands. We need to stop relying on everyone else and focus on the truth. One way of doing this, is by posting blogs. At the same time that I believe it’s a chance for people to take a stance and comment on the world they are living in, I also believe that if you are relaying information to the public it should be accurate. David also says that, "The media has lost a portion of the respect and trust it once held among the public and forty-five percent of Americans said they believe little or nothing of what they read in their daily newspapers." Nobody wants to read about ordinary, every day news but the more false something is the more people are intrigued to read about it, even when they know it isn’t necessarily true. So how do we find some common ground? Is their truly any way for us, the readers to voice our opinions? David says, “Political blogs also served as sometimes surprisingly effective opinion research tools that helped the various candidates test out ideas and campaign slogans. Blogging has helped in political elections by urging young people to vote and to become more aware of what is going on politically around them. Blogging in a sense is considered a media source but one that is useful, efficient, and has guidelines. I've always believed that in order to change a problem you need to seek the real issue. There is no way that we can completely alter the media issue but taking little steps makes a big difference.

added bold text (9/9/07)

HW 2: Blogging becoming an interactive, social conversation

This is how I relate one of Kline and Burstein's twelve principles/predictions to an interest or commitment of my own. I'm responding to David Kline and Dan Burstein's Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business and Culture. David Kline and Dan Burstein refer to blogging as, "The key metaphor for interactivity, community-building, and genuine conversation: one to one, one to many, many to one, many to many." When I was a child, I used to think that the world was a simple and safe little place without worries. Although I should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that this is still not the case. It has always been an interest of mine to meet new people, and like the old saying, “Knowledge is power.” The wide-range of options that blogging provides are endless and technology is radically changing how people live their lives. Like most teenagers, I spend a lot of time on the computer. Blogging however, is an educational and interactive experience with broad topics. I've always believe that one person's thoughts can transpire in to more than they ever expected. There have been numerous circumstances where a post on a certain global issue or topic, such as political elections, can completely alter the votes for that election. It seems silly to think that computers can change how we function as human beings, but in actuality computers are making it easier for people to communicate and connect with one another. David Kline and Dan Burstein state blogging is, "The killer App of the current generation of Web Innovation, just as e-mail and instant messaging were at the core of the last version." Blogging is a useful, "one place source" available to everyone to view. At the same time that I believe blogging offers the same technique as e-mail, I also believe that what makes it special is that people view posts on a blog because it sparks their interest, and they respond. E-mail and instant messaging are a back and forth conversation but usually over ordinary topics. For example, one person's ends up branching out as more and more people read or respond to it. Blogging is not only a way to meet people with similar stances on certain issues, but also a chance to state your ideas and opinions and hopefully change the way other people see the same or different things.

added bold text (9/9/07)