Shakespeare's Mistress' Eyes (Materiality)

Shakespeare in his sonnet, "My Mistress' Eyes," talks about how his mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.  He uses many different analogies to compare certain things.  His diction is different than most writers in the world today.  When comparing Billy Collins' "Litany" piece to Shakespeare's poem, I'd say that, in a way, they are similar.  Both poets use sarcasm in their poems to emphasizes certain lines.  Collins' use of diction is a tad more modern than that of Shakespeare's as well.  How both authors describe their poems and use powerful words is what makes them similar poets.

Dickinson's Freshness (Materiality)

Dickinson's poem is fresh by the wording of it.  She uses words that makes the reader think but that are easy enough to understand.  It also has a flow when you're reading it, which makes it sound peaceful and "fresh." The diction in this poem allows for the reader to think about what Dickinson is trying to say and possibly put themselves in the poem.

"Litany" (Materiality)

Billy Collins reading and performance of language allows me to understand the poem better while adding some comedy to it.  People become more interested in readings when there is some type of comedy involved.  If I was to read this poem without watching the video, I would have a totally different take on it. By listening to Billy Collins, I understand where the sarcasm is and understand what he is trying to show the reader.  Listening to poets read the poems allows for the person to get a better understand of the diction.  This just shows the power of word choice and the power of verve.

Flashy Words (Materiality)

Shihan uses a good amount of flash to employ his poem.  He argues that words are a powerful tool that people use.  The truth can sometimes be mislead and can sometimes hurt by the words that we use.  We need to take these words to heart and understand what we did and try to rectify the situation.  He is very enthusiastic on this topic of choice and has strong feelings on it, which shows in his diction in this poem.

Reading Taylor Mali's Poem (Materiality)

Here is a list of some of the things I recognized while reading this poem:

1) Society has become accustomed to this way of speaking.

2) We need to understand that our way of speaking is only affecting our lives and future generations lives for the worse.

3) The only way to fix this is to speak out to society to get them to understand.

4) This situation can be fix, with the help from every person.

5) We were not always like this, which means we can go back to the way we used to be.

Watching Taylor Mali's Video (Materiality)

Here are a list of some of the things I recognized while watching this video:

1) Re-iterrates how most people talk now-a-days.
2) Trys to get people to understand that we are constantly talking like this and do not realize it.
3) We have lost touch of what is proper English.
4) Taylor Mali's tone of voice made you understand what he was talking about.
5) He emphasized key words and phrases to make the listener more attentive.
6) Powerful speaker

Beginning of Project 1

Technology plays a role in every one's everyday life.  Without technology, we would all be lost and confused, not knowing what we would do to survive.  Some people believe that with new advances in technology, people's critical thinking and reading skills will slowly vanish.  Relying on these advances will make us dependable on computers and lack common knowledge if we were to ever need it in a time where computers crash.  While some people really believe that technology is affecting our lives negatively, there are some, like myself, who feel that it is only making us more intelligent and making our lives simpler than they've ever been before. It allows us to research whatever we want, quickly, and obtain the information that we want to obtain, rather than have to read through everything in order to find the section that we are looking for.

Everyone has there own personal opinion on this topic.  Authors like Adam Gopnik, Gary Small, Gigi Vorgan, Nicholas Carr, and Michael Wesch all have their own opinions about the advances in technology and the effects that is it having on our lives.  Usually, these opinions are based upon the type of person someone is and the period of time when they grew up.  Older people are starting to open up to the technological changes and evolve into this new world.  They are beginning to understand the new forms of communication, like instant messaging, e-mailing, and texting, and are slowly beginning to "flush out" the old ways of communicating from their brains.  Society is not going to go back to the old forms of communication so the only thing for them to do is to understand these changes and "go with the flow."

Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan stated that the Internet allows us to shift through "large amounts of information quickly and decide what we feel is important and what is not important."  This is exactly why I feel that the Internet has done nothing but benefit us.  Who wants to sit down in a library anymore and sift through research books all day looking for information?  Americans lives are way to busy to be doing this. With society today, we are constantly running around doing millions of errands all day long.  When we need to research something, we want to do it quickly so we can go on to our next errand.  The Internet allows us to do this.

People like Nicholas Carr and Michael Wesch have different views on this matter.  Nicholas Carr feels that the Internet is only "making us stupid."  Carr, and I'm sure other people like Carr, say that the Internet is "chipping away our capacity for concentration and contemplation."  He feels that the result of using the Internet is our attention is scattered and our concentration is diffused.  While I can agree to this to some extent, I do not agree with it enough to say that the Internet and other technological advances affects our lives negatively.  Of course, from time to time, we become distracted by social networks, YouTube videos, instant messaging, video chats, and video games while on the computer.  To me, it doesn't affect the way I think, read, and/or write.  It all depends on the type of person you are.

Across the Web are many advertisements and many links to different websites.  When we click on one link, it gives us an option for another link that we might be interested in, and by seeing it, we click that link as well.  Michael Wesch makes an argument that in a way, the "machine" is using us.  He argues that the nature of reading, writing, and thinking is changing and only affecting us negatively.  In his video, he states, in his point of view, that we have become dependent of the Web 2.0 and has changed the way we view the world and our thinking process.  The computer, to him, is using us to its advantage when in reality, it should be the other way around.  Just as I stated about Carr, I disagree with Wesch.  The computer has only benefited us in so many ways like being able to pay bills online, shop online, order movies, communicate with people from a distance, etc. Our lives have become so hectic that we never have a chance to relax.  The computer gives us that opportunity to relax since we can complete a majority of our tasks from our couch at home.

Michael Wesch's Digital World

Michael Wesch is trying to make a point to the viewer about the nature of reading, writing, and thinking in the Web 2.0.  He is arguing that the nature of reading, writing, and thinking is changing in our everyday lives and affecting the way we think, read, and write.  We constantly rely on information off of the Internet as well as conduct most of our reading on the Web.  We use the Web for almost everything, like paying bills, reading newspaper articles, researching information, and purchasing goods and services.  Also, the Web has come to a point where anyone can post their opinions on anything and everyone can have access to it.  With this being said, we don't always know what is accurate and what is inaccurate.

Is the machine using us? We have come to a point in our lives where we rely on the computer on a day to day basis. In the world today, we use what will get the job done quicker and when it comes to reading, writing, and researching, the computer and the Internet are the things that complete these tasks quickly and efficiently.  Computers even remember all the information we have searched in prior uses. So to answer that question, the machine is using us.

Some may argue that this "machine" that is using us is a bad thing.  I would have to disagree with these people.  I feel that the Web 2.0 and the computer are excellent forms of research and are things that help every person get their job done quicker.  Is it a bad thing that we rely on them to the point where we can not live without them? No because just like cars, these inventions have become something that we use on a day to day basis and would just make life more difficult if we never had them.  Why make our lives more difficult when we have a resource right in front of us that is designed to make things simpler.

Peer Review

After reading Chris' writing about Gopnik, I have received a better understanding on the difference between good and "less than good" writing.  After reading Chris' writing, I have realized that the reader has a particular role while reading.  The reader is the person who decides whether the writing is good or just less than good.  I feel that the reader owns a good portion of the text.  The reader is the one that is going to discreet it and tell their point of view on the writing.  The reader, to me, doesn't participate in the text too much.  A reader will thoroughly read the text, sometimes twice, and edit it to their discretion.  To me, this is not participating in the text.  The writer has much more participation in the text since it is coming from them.

Even though I feel the reader doesn't participate in the text, the reader does belong in the text.  The reader needs to put their own personal experiences in the text to get a better understanding of what the writer is trying to say.  Usually, the reader will interpret the reading differently than what the writer intentionally had in mind.  With this being said, I feel that the reader does belong in the text.

Questions about Nicholas Carr's article.

Here are the six questions that I have about Carr's claims:

1) Does reading off the Internet distract readers?
2) Could we, the people, go back to a world where there were no computers?
3) Is our intelligence lacking because of search engines?
4) Is it easier to read on the Web or in a book?
5) Are writers beginning to use the Internet more than reference books?
6) Will books become non-existent in the next decade?


I feel that Carr and Gopnik have the same views, in a way.  Both authors feel that the Internet has had an effect on the people who use it.  Both of these people feel that the Internet is affecting the way that we think, write, and view literature.  To me, I feel that the Internet is one of the greatest inventions.  It makes researching simpler, quicker, and easily accessible.  Not everything we see on the Internet is true but for the most part, a good majority of the information on the Web is correct.  Carr and Gopnik feel that the Internet is changing the way we think and write.  I feel that this is a false statement.  Although the Internet has its negatives, overall, the Internet has more advantages than disadvantages.

First Thoughts Response

1) I thought that this assignment was something different.  I wasn't quite sure why I was writing this analysis in a crayon.  I was also thinking how I was going to fit three paragraphs onto the front half of the construction paper. As far as the writing portion, I didn't feel myself thinking any differently on the information or find myself coming up with different ideas.  Despite having to write this assignment in crayon, I took this assignment seriously, as if it was any other analysis I would have to write.  The one thing that had bothered me was the smudging of the crayon from time to time.

2) Students      Adjectives Describing    What makes page so [adjective]  Why page is so [adjective]
         5                      Bland, Plain                     One color used, no detail                  No emotion in writing
         6                      Colorful                 Important words are in different color         Emphasized key words
         9                 Detailed, Emotional              Good use of vocabulary                 Told reader view on lying
        11                    Organized              Explains confusing sections of poem       Written straight across page
        14                    Interesting               Created a picture at bottom of page       Picture shows meaning too
        17                 Helpful, Neat    Explains each stanza of poem, neat handwriting      Great penmanship
         2                    Different             Each section of analysis had different color    Set up of page is different

3) If there was a culture that only used crayon as writing implements, the world as we know it would be much different.  A culture would be very proud of it's creativity.  Also, writing would be very selective and we would most likely see more expression through pictures.  Cultures would have to choose carefully what they want to express and how they want to express it.  The way that we write would change forever if this was to go into effect.

4) Some general observations about writing implements and bodies I would want to venture is:
        -
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    Some general observations about writing implements and thinks I would want to venture is:
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Pantene Commercial

Pantene Commercial

In this Pantene commercial, I've noticed that there is a classic high school rivalry.  The deaf girl is constantly being bullied by the more talented and well respected girl at the high school. There comes a time when the deaf girl becomes very depressed, lowering her own self-esteem.  She feels like she doesn't belong and doesn't understand why she is different from others.  She keeps getting picked on when she is at her all-time low by the kids at school.  This scenario is not an uncommon thing in most high schools.    

When it comes to high school rivalries, the person that usually gets picked on will somehow come out on top in the end.  In this scenario, the deaf girl practices her hardest to learn the violin, despite her disabilities to hear and talk.  To her, music is her way of expressing herself.  Every person releases their emotion differently, based on what is best for them. For the deaf girl, she releases all of her anger and sadness through music.  In the end, the deaf girl rises to the occasion and wins the classic music competition, defeating the person who has tormented her throughout high school.  This showed that she didn't allow the bullying to get her down, but it only pushed her to want to strive to be even better.