December 01, 2005

james baldwin response

“A Frenchman living in Paris speaks a subtly and crucially different language from that of the man living in Marseilles; neither sounds very much like a man living in Quebec; and they would all have great difficulty in apprehending what the man from Guadeloupe, or Martinique, is saying, to say nothing of the man from Senegal – although the “common” language of all these areas is French.” I think that this point made by James Baldwin is very accurate and true. People can speak the same language, but it can be totally different in different areas of the world or even the same city. I found this to be true in my life in a few areas. The other day in class when we were searching for articles online for certain topics, I came across an online quiz about what kind of English I speak. It asked questions like “What do you call the thing you put groceries in and push around the store” and “does the second syllable in pajamas sound more like the sound in jam or the ‘a’ sound in father?” I answered to what I normally call things and how I normally pronounce things. Then Katie did it, and she had different answers than me. What I thought was weird is that we only live about 20 minutes away from each other. She called something ( I forget what is was) something that I would never call the same thing, and granted I would probably be able to figure out what she meant by how she would be using it in a sentence, it was still different. She is speaking the same language, and I could understand her, it was just the word choices and the way she worded things that were different and confusing. I have also seen examples of this during my studies of Spanish. There are many different dialects and styles of the Spanish language. When I was learning it in high school, we would occasionally watch Spanish movies. My teacher would always give us a list of vocabulary words that we would never have seen before because they were slang or words used only in the upper part of Spain and not spoken in the, I guess, to call it for lack of words “general Spanish language.” Also, in our text books there would always be culture pages about different Spanish speaking areas and words that they use that are not used by other Spanish speaking areas. I find it very hard to understand movies in Spanish when there is slang being used or different words that aren’t used normally, just as Baldwin points out that it is hard for one man to understand fully another man speaking the same language but from a different area. In general, a language has more than one dialect and more than one correct way of speaking. This is evident through the English language, French, Spanish, and I’m sure a lot of other languages. I think that this is a main point that Baldwin is making. However, I was confused about some of the other points that he was making. Some questions that I have are: Is he trying to say that we, as white people, do not understand the black language? I don’t fully understand the main topic, what is it? Why is he bringing up slavery? Is he saying that slavery was the birth of African American language?

Posted by lcisnelson at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)

chapter 5 questions and comments

Comments:

I agree with the statement "It is almost impossible, for example, to hear someone speak without immediately drawing conclusions, possibly very accurate, about his social class background, level of education and what part of the country he comes from." I find myself doing this often, and I actually did it the other day while at a store.

I can't imagine being evaluated academically based on my speech and my looks. It amazes me that in a Canadian study this has been shown to be true. I know people that sounds intelligent but in reality are just plain stupid and I think it is unfair to judge someone based on how they sound. I am not one with a good vocabulary (I am very bad at "big words") and so does that mean that because I don't use these big words and sound extremely intelligent, that I'm not?

I am one to say "sort of" while speaking to somebody. I was suprised that the girls, who were only 14, thought that the speakers were badly brought up, but yet use the words themselves.

I agree and am glad to hear that linguists believe that no language or dialect is superior or inferior and that they all are there to suit the needs of the community in which they are found.

I think that more and more these days what is considered "bad English" (slang, colloquialisms, etc.) is being found to be somewhat acceptable. In our class with Nanette, it is acceptable and we use slang and colloquialism all the time. I think that it brings thing more down to earth and makes it easier.

Questions:

Should there be only one, acceptable, English for all purposes? Is that fair?

What would the world be like if everyone spoke proper English all the time and there was no variety?

Why is it called "standard English" and not just english or something else? What makes it standard, especially since people are from different backgrounds and cultures and what not.

Who ever came up with what is "good English" and "bad English"?

how wouild this author feel about chapter 3 and the ebonics debate?

Posted by lcisnelson at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

Chapter 3 comments and questions

Comments:

It was very sad to hear how Maya was treated while in the predominatly white schools and how she didn't have many friends.

When I first read that Maya's language basically "changed" so qucikly when she started school at the charter school, I was shocked.

I thought that the paragraph about how she can "code switch" was very interesting. I think that it is true that when you are speaking in an interview for a job, or for a school, your presentation and how you speak is very important. I think that sometimes I "code switch." When I call someone on the phone, whether it be a company for something or my friends and their paretns pick up, my voice changes and I speak more clearly and slowly.

I don't agree with the comment "Students rarely get to talk in calssrooms." I think that classrooms these days are atleast, if not more, 50% of the time filled up by the students speaking. All throughout highschool and even middle school for me, participation was a big part of school. I don't remember one class where the students didn't speak for atleast half of the class each day.

WIth the comment about "say it right or don't say it at all" I was shocked to hear that teachers would even consider saying this to a student. Isn't a teachers job to teach? If a student does something wrong, aren't they supposed to correct them so the student learns?

Questions:

How come nobody asked what African American linguists thought during the ebonics debate?

where did all the "codes" come from for code switching?

If we were to go to an african american school, where they predomitly speak ebonics, would we be able to understand and to excel?

Do some schools combine standard english with everyday spoken english, tie them together and show the differences between the two and when to use proper english and so forth?

do children at predominatly african american schools learn more about African American culture and history then in a predominatly white school?

Posted by lcisnelson at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2005

my thesis... :)

The social environment and the targeted audience of news casters and radio anchors influence the way they speak and the topics they discuss.

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)

thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving break!!! I know I did, and I ate wayyy too much! But it was soo good. I was fortunate to go home for the holidays, considering I only live 45 minutes north of here. I remembered to try longer pauses and whatnot, on the car ride back to school, so I didn't get the chance to test it out. But, I went shopping Friday morning, at 4:00 in the morning (Yes, I am a nut..but I got really good deals!) There were sooo many people, my first stop was Best Buy, and there were people that had RV's and ate Thanksgiving dinner in the parking lot on Thursday! While I was standing outside waiting to get into Sears (my next stop) there was someone from South Carolina in front of me and we were talking. I noticed her dialect and how different it was from mine and from what I'm so used to hearing. She was very, very loud as well.

Just randomness.

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:03 AM | Comments (1)

November 15, 2005

conversation

I was somewhere today, and I noticed that there was this one girl who ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS interupted everybody when they were talking. She always had to get her thoughts in, and could never wait. She didn't have long pauses and when other people tried to jump in and say what they thought, she just kept talking and didn't pay attention to them. I know she is from New Hampshire, but her mother grew up in New York, and I think she spent a lot of time there growing up. So I was thinking that maybe she talks really fast and has really short pauses because of the New York dialect, but it was really noticeable. Or maybe it's just becuase she is rude? I don't know. But it really caught my attention today.

Posted by lcisnelson at 07:16 PM | Comments (1)

MFA Questions

  1. The museum feels like a safe place to me, a place of art, and a place where one can express himself/herself as an artist and as a viewer. The floors, walls, and architecture made me feel like I was in a place where I never am. It is all so beautiful and big, so creatively designed. It’s all one big piece of art put together to make one big work of art. However, when I was in the Ansel Adams exhibit, I felt over crowded, but that’s just because there were so many people in there. But once I moved to a place where there weren’t as many people, it was relaxing and quite enjoyable.

  2. I went into the MFA thinking, okay, let me just look and get out of here. I like going to Museums, but I’m never one to look at things for more than a minute or two, unless it’s something that absolutely blows me away. I find the things in museums, paintings, statues, etc. all to be so interesting and intriguing, but I’m not one to look at them all and interpret them and stand in front of them for 5 minutes or so. I guess my assumptions about this exhibit were that there would be photographs, and they would be nice and probably of some things I have seen before, but just that, photographs. But, I was taken away by the photos that Ansel Adams took. They are so different, but yet so similar. A lot of them are photographs that if you don’t snap the camera at that particular time and second, the picture would be totally different. I thought, before I actually went into the exhibit, that they would just be regular black and white photographs, things that are clear cut and you could tell exactly what the picture is and what its meaning is, but I was wrong.

  3. Landscape- Roaring River Falls, Kings River Canyon, California. About 1925; printed in 1927 I think that nature was important to Ansel Adams in the particular image. He was trying to capture a moment in nature, one that you don’t see everyday and that you need to go looking for in order to see it. Also, I think peace is important to Adams in this photograph. The river is not calm, but by looking at it, a sense of peace comes over you. I think he is trying to say that time rushes by quickly and that it is real, not something that is just made up. He shows a river rushing through a canyon which can represent many things. But I think for this particular image, he is trying to communicate time as a passage and as movement. Everything moves over time and gradually over time things change and become different. He uses representation because this river in a canyon is what he sees and what he knows to be a river in a canyon. He uses this because this is what a river and a canyon resemble to him based on his experiences. If this photograph resembled a lake to him and his experiences of lakes, he would have probably called the photograph something different. The river symbolizes time and how it is rushing by us.

  4. Maynard Dixon, artist, Tuscan, Arizona. 1945 I think that failing health and age was important to Ansel Adams in the photograph. This is shown by the wrinkles on the man and how he is in a shadow. His age is defined by these wrinkles and the shadow symbolizes that he is not going to be here much longer, he is already have covered by the shadow. This man is sitting down and looking out a screen window. He is behind the screen which can mean that he is taking it easy now, watching from the inside because he is too old to go out and experience it himself now. I think Adams is trying to communicate that people all have a time and they need to just take a step back at the end, relax, and enjoy the rest of their days. Also, I think he is trying to say that as you grow old, things seem to slow down. I think that taking one last glimpse as the world and what is important to you is another thing that Adams is trying to show in this photo. The old man represents old age for Adams and this is how he uses representation in the photograph. However, the old man also is a symbol. He is a symbol of relaxation and a symbol for the time in life when it is your time to sit back and pass. He uses abstraction by the shadows and the screen.

  5. Freeway Interchange, Los Angeles. 1967 I think that this picture is abstract in a few ways. Adams is trying to show that life is important in the photograph. Life goes rushing by and passes really quickly, as shown by the cars on a freeway, where speeds are pretty fast. He is trying to communicate that everything is fast paced and tangled together. One way, leads you to another and another, bringing you on life’s journey. I think he is trying to say that we need to slow down and take the road less traveled. The picture represents a free way and the business of people in our world today. It symbolizes time and how people are just rushing to get to their next stop. It is abstract because the picture is all tangled together, going this way and that.

  6. A painting that spoke to me is the same one that I chose to write about for the landscape. Roaring River Falls, Kings River Canyon, California. This photograph is one that I could look at forever. It always seems to be moving and every time I look at it I see something new. I first saw rocks and a mountain with water rushing through it. Then I saw time and how it just passes us by. After that I realized that it could represent destruction because it is so strong and powerful. However, it can also symbolize peace and calamity. I saw something new every time I looked at this photograph. When I saw it as peace and calamity, it meant that I need to take things in and treasure the little things and moments like this. It meant that I need to search for these unusual things that aren’t evident in everyday life. When I saw it as destruction it meant that this powerful thing can ruin everything around it and that I need to be careful for what’s around me and what goes on in the world. I think this is a “work of art” because it is so beautiful and has so many hidden meanings to it. Also, it is a “work of art” because it can relate to everyone in at least one way.

Posted by lcisnelson at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2005

Dialects

I don't notice my dialect that much but I am often told that I have a big Boston accent. I grew up in Haverhill, MA my whole life, right on the border of NH and only 40 minutes away from Boston. Both of my parents are from outside of Boston, Saugus and Lynn. So I spent a lot of time in those two cities visting family and such. I think that is where I get my Boston accent from, saying "pahk ya caa in haavad yad" instead of the normal way. I am told that I talk fast also, which is another common part of the New England Boston area dialect. I tend to use "wicked" too much as alot of people do and i add extra emphasis to different parts of words that normally aren't emphasized. For example I catch myself saying "miYEN" instead of "mine."

I agree that social factors influence people's dialects. For me, I talk differently to my friends then I do to my parents than I do to a person I don't know. When I answer the phone at work, I use a hgiher pitched, softer voice and I don't sound like me noramlly. When I'm in class, I don't speak slang words or like I would with just friends (or atleast I try not to) but rather I try to present myself more formally and I do that by changing the way I speak and what words I use. I also agree that there are dialects such as "Sufer dude" and "valley girl" My friends and I used to joke that I sounded like a valley girl when I was younger.

Posted by lcisnelson at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2005

Midsemester eval.

Three things that I liked and thought were helpful so far...

  1. The idea that we can get peer feedback on mostly everything that we do, espcially our papers, is good because it is nice to know what other peers think of your paper, too. It's kind of like getting a different perspective on things because the peers are our age, know what we're going through, because they are kind of going through it to, and I think that it is helpful.
  2. The fact that people can comment on the blog because it feels good to get a good comment from somebody knowing that they feel the same way, or enjoyed something that you wrote.
  3. Not being graded on work and papers helps. It makes it easier to write what I am thinking because I am not worried about "oh, is this going to get me a B or and A or what?"

One thing not helpful...

  1. I don't like the fact that when I get a paper back, it always seems to be bad comments. There may be one or two good things, but the negative comments overpower the good and the good are often over looked. Not saying that my papers are wonderful, because I know there can be many many improvements and that the comments are there to help and to be feedback in how to improve the paper, but sometimes it stresses me out because I feel like it's not good enough. And then to get another paper back within the next few days with the same type of comments just adds on to that feeling. I think maybe if the first comment on the front page of the paper, in the top margin, was a good one, even just saying "Good try, blah blah blah" and then go into the negative would be better.

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

November 07, 2005

SLAM DUNK!

I had to write Haiku's back in like 4th grade and I haven't done it in so long so I attmepted to write one...it took me forever even though it is only three lines...so here it is...

(It's called Slam Dunk)

Letting the ball go

As you jump high in the air

Slam bam thank you m'am

The last line is what comes to my mind when I think of the word "slam" thats where my inspiration came from! :)

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:55 PM | Comments (1)

Ansel Adams

I really liked the Ansel Adams exhibit at the museum. It was quite interesting to see all of his photographs, and not one of them was the same as another. Every one had its own uniqueness about it and were very different. I especially enjoyed the landscapes becasue they are so relaxing and it makes me wonder how he ever captured things like this on a camera. I wish I could.

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2005

Harvey

I was in the drawing group also. I think Katie did a good job explaining our process of coming up with what to draw and when, so I won't say anything on that. When I looked at the words and the drawings together, I was confused. But after taking it all in, I thought that it was possible, just having a man standing there doing different hand gestures and facial expressions while talking. That's how everyday life really is, so it is kind of real, unlike a lot of other comics. When you look at the words and the pictures together I thought about the expressions and gestures and if they really did go with the words, and they really did.

After seeing the movie, nothing really changed my mind. I imagined Harvey to sound somelike like his character in the movie and to look like that. Also, after seeing the comic drawing, I imagined him to act the way he did, goofy and weird-like.

After seeing the real people that the comic, movie, and story are about, it was just weird to me. It was different having a real life person as a comic, a comic in a movie, and so on. Nothing really changed my mind about anything, it just opened it up further to understand the whole comic and the person.

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:01 AM | Comments (1)

November 01, 2005

Postcard

The postcard I chose in class is of Courtney Love in Los Angeles, California. It was taken by Annie Leibovitz.

Studium- This picture is in black and white. The photo is taken on a patio, outside of someones home. In the middle of the picture is a woman, dressed in a silk robe, sitting down in a lawn chair. She has one leg positioned on the ground and the other is bent at her knee and on the cushion of the chair. Her toenails are painted and she has a tattoo around her left ankle. Her right arm is resting on the arm rest and in her right hand she is holding a cup, kind of titled, with some kind of liquid in it. Her other arm is bent upward toward her face and is covrering her left eye. Her right eye seems to be squinted and she has a weird smirk on her face. On the right of her is a stone wall with some flower pots and a wood post. On the left of her is a small round table with a ash tray and a small plate on top. Next to the table you see a portion of another lawn chair. Both the lawn chair that this woman is on and the table are on wheels. Behind the lawn chairs and the table, there are windows which seem to be apart of doors that lead into a house.

Punctum- It seems as if this woman just woke up and has gone outside on her patio for her morning tea or coffee. It is a beautiful day outside because she is only in a simple rove, and it is sunny. Her arm is covering her face to keep the sun out of her eyes. She seems relaxed and is just taking a moment to wake up and to enjoy some time to herself before her busy day at work. It also looks as if she is looking at something in wonder, or is thinking about something in her head. She might live on a lake and is enjoying the view and is looking at some birds or something out on the lake. I think this postcard shows that this woman is taking some time to take in the beauty of the world before her day gets hectic and back to fast-paced reality.

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:56 AM | Comments (910)

October 31, 2005

Eliza

Eliza is weird, and doesn't ever make sense. When I asked something or said something she always just took words that I used and put them in some form of phrase or another question.

I realized that she doesn't want to talk about herself and that she will not answer my questions but rather just says "well why do you want to know?" or something like that. I got really frustrated with Eliza!!

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2005

Class today

I thought the photos that we viewed in class today, that were actually paintings were so amazing. How one can create something like that blows me away. I wish I could. Also, the photos that were actually made up of different, small things, like the one with the abstract pieces, were quite interesting as well. It's so weird how we can be so far away from something and see a representation of a person or whatever is being pictured, but yet when we are close up to the picture we see the individual colors, or pieces that make up this whole thing. Just a random side thought, but I thought those pictures/photos/paintings were different and quite amazing, I've never really seen anything like them before.

Posted by lcisnelson at 02:14 PM | Comments (3)

October 24, 2005

Rachel

Eliza reminds me, as many of you, of the Smarter Child on AOL also. I think it is so weird how people can come up with these things to respond to humans about certain things. Although, I thought that this Eliza was pretty dumb, it is still quite interesting. I used smarter child when i was younger and it amazed me. I would make up stupid things and ask them and just laugh at the responses I'd get. Another one that I loved using is Santa Claus. I do this every Christmas...haha I actually still do, and I make sure I'm on the good list and not the bad. It is just so interesting how stupid these things are, but they are so entertaining (well some of them).

Posted by lcisnelson at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2005

Persepolis part 2

I really liked the comic about the book Persepoils by Jennifer Camper. I agree with her and thought that how she described the book was pretty accurate. One particular part that I liked was when one character commented about there not being enough women making comics and the other character responded saying that women don't have what it takes to be cartoonists because they don't have wives to support them. I thought that was funny..hah just a random side note. But anyways, I thought that when Camper points out that she, the author of Persepolis, "really captures the way kids figure out the grown-up world slowly and clumsily and with humor and pain" is true. Marjane is a child growing up during a time where things kept changing and she did not fully understand right away, and the book reveals that but not in a boring way. When I first picked up the book to begin reading I was like oh man, I do not want to read this. But I really enjoyed it and like Christina said in class, you did not need to know the backround of Iran and what happened to understand the book. It really was a good read!

Posted by lcisnelson at 04:17 PM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2005

Persep.

I really liked Persepolis! I found it so much more interesting than a typical novel because I saw pictures of things happeneing. It was like a picture book from when I was little where you saw the characters and what was going on in the story. I never read a graphic novel before so it was totally new to me. I really enjoyed it though, not only because if was a graphic novel, but it was really interesting to learn about Iran and how that girl lived. I always try to imagine what life would be like living during a war like that and then I remember that we are in a war now, but we don't see the fighting in our streets or people protesting and getting killed because of it. I can't even begin to imagine how different and how I would feel have I lived or if I live in something like that. Overall, I really enjoyed the story!

Posted by lcisnelson at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

Gestures..finally

I finally noticed someones gestures!! It took awhile but I did it. I felt stupid though because I felt like I wasn't looking them in the eye, because it was a one on one conversation, and I felt rude. Also, for me, I lost track of the conversation, but I did realize that with stronger words in sentences, there were bigger gestures. It is so weird how that happens and I think it is so weird that I never noticed them and that I had to actually sit there and concentrate really hard to pick them up. I guess we're just so used to seeing them everyday that they don't even phase us. After seeing this person using gestures I didn't keep noticing them like some other people said. I just went back to my old way of listening to people talk without recognizing that they were using gestures. THis was a complicated thing for me to do, and I'm in a way glad that it was because it distracted me alot and I think if I was a person to notice them all the time I would constantly be distracted.

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2005

Comic analysis

Rachel Nelson October 21, 2005

The comic I chose to analyze is “B.C.” by Johnny Hart. This comic is an interdependent comic. A person would not understand the joke without the words and the pictures because they rely on each other. This comic has eight panels and they move from moment to moment. The comic seems to take place within a certain amount of time, and although it is not evident how much time is in between each panel, the reader can understand that time is passing by. This is because, for example, as you move from the first panel to the second the words change, showing that there is time between each thought. Also, when moving from other panels, the way the woman that is pictured is positioned gives off the feeling of anxiety and impatience. This is obvious because the odd shape that is pointing outward, which is her nose, is propped high up in the air and the circles, which I know to be her eyes, and the tiny, black circles inside the larger one’s, which I know to be her pupils, are looking upward. In the sixth panel, Hart is trying to make the reader understand that there are feelings of impatience and aggravation. He uses the word “WELL…” in all capital letters, much bigger than the other words in the comic. Also, the letters are the color red which is bold and implies anger, rather than being a cool color which would symbolize calmness. Also in this panel, the facial expression of the woman gives off these feelings of frustration and anxiety. Her mouth, which is made by a curved line, is open with her teeth showing. Her eyes are made up of just a little black speck now, rather than large circles, and aren’t as wide but rather kind of squinted, giving this message as well. One other sign that Hart uses is “zip ribbons” in the seventh panel. These “zip ribbons” let the reader know that the star is coming out for the first time. Also the word “Pook” written right next to the star and the “zip ribbons” allow the reader to have an idea of how the star sounded when it came out.

Posted by lcisnelson at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2005

Rachel

I have yet to notice people's gestures. I don't know what's going on, you all seem to be able to not not notice them. I said to myself the other day "I'm going to focus on her gestures during the conversation" but I couldn't, I did for like a minute and that was it. Maybe I need to focus more, I'll keep trying! But are there any hints???

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:08 AM | Comments (4)

October 07, 2005

Rachel

I thought that the articles we had to read were interesting. I never thought of how wordsa nd pictures go together, and how things have changed over the years. I enjoyed it..

(just a side note)

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

October 06, 2005

Comic reading

I really enjoyed the reading "Show and Tell" by McCloud. It was so much more interesting than just reading a normal essay or piece of work by someone. It caught my attention in the beginning and kept me interested throughout. I couldn't help but think of all of us back in Ellen's class when we had to try and break down the pictures for the first time. It reminded me of the boy showing his robot during show and tell and the teacher was trying to get him to say something other than "it uhh has one of these and it can do this becuase..uhhh" and how we were like "she's dancing because we see it..she just is!" The comic brought up alot of interesting points about writing dealing with pictures and words. I enjoyed this piece.

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:27 AM | Comments (5102)

October 04, 2005

Number 1 for homework 3

I think that there are several of advantages in having morphological modifications to words in a language which makes the language easier to learn. People don't just learn words in a matter of a minute. In order to actually remember the meaning of a word it might take a few minutes for one person, but I know for myself it takes several of times reading the definition and using it in context. If people have a sense of what prefixes, suffixes, and circumfixes, you can create many words from just one root word. For example, I know what happy means, but if I say unhappy, I know that it is the opposite of happy becuase of the prefix un-...also I know that happyness is the noun form of happy because of the suffix -ness. These added suffixes and such allow our language to be more fun and diverse. It allows people to create words if they are stumped and can't think of the correct term, they can just turn a root word into that adjective or noun. I think without this ability to do this, our language would be pretty dull and consist of a million more words than it already does and make it even more complex.

Posted by lcisnelson at 04:07 PM | Comments (1)

October 03, 2005

Tannen article

I thought that this article was really interesting. I agree with what Tannen says about the male and female differences in many aspects. WHen she talks about how men are more reluctant to ask for directions than women, I think we all can attest to this. I always tell my father, my brother, my boyfriend, a male friend, if they don't know where we are going to just stop and ask for directions and mainly the response I get is "where can I stop...we will just find it." But I stop in a heartbeat.

Another point that Tannen brings up that I found interesting was the fact that peoples style of language are so different and sometimes can be misinterpreted. I never thought of that before. To know that just because someone pauses longer than I would isn't because they don't know what to say but because of their style of speaking really interested me. From now on I'll remember that and not just try to fill in the gap and think that the person I'm speaking to is not interested like the person in her example did and thought. Also it was interesting reading about how one person goes about explaining something because he or she feels that that is the best way to go about it but the other person takes it wrongly and misunderstands. I can't think of an example right now but I know I have probably done this a million times.

Overall, I thought this article was quite interesting and it really has opened my eyes up to different views on things.

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:49 AM | Comments (1)

October 01, 2005

First Draft for Seeing

In Annie Dillard’s “Seeing,” she writes “What you see if what you get.” Although I’ve heard this saying many times before, and it can be considered a universally known proverb, Dillard brings the meaning to life in this essay. However, this meaning is not evident by just one quick read, but rather it is semantic and you need to interpret it and allow it to make sense in your own life.

Dillard tries to explain this quote by using her childhood as a prime example. She writes about her joy of placing pennies in a Sycamore tree root or in a hole in the ground, hoping that someone would share her joy when finding it. “But-and this is the point- who gets excited by a mere penny?” (Dillard 95) This is true, who gets excited about the little, everyday things that happen in life? This is the point that Dillard is trying to make and explain.

These pennies, although they seem to be worthless, can actually be the make-it or break-it point for a person. Whether it is a homeless person scrounging for anything he or she can find, a wealthy person who has a hobby of collecting coins and hoping to find one that is worth some money, or an everyday, average person that is glancing at the ground and sees a penny on “heads” and is excited because he or she feels like they will have good luck for the rest of the day. These pennies are what you see, a copper colored circle with the face of Abraham Lincoln, some covered in dirt and some shiny and new. However, what you get is not just based on its visual syntax but what it symbolizes and represents for you and what you make of it.

This message that Dillard makes is extremely important. It doesn’t apply to just herself or to only one person, but rather to everyone. You can’t open your eyes wide to just the broad picture and expect to get a full sense of life. It’s the small details that should be the focus point and the little things are what give life meaning. This message means one thing for me but can mean something totally different for another person. It is based on your views and culture. You can go through life not taking the time to notice what is around you, but then again “What you see is what you get.”

Posted by lcisnelson at 03:22 PM | Comments (1)

September 29, 2005

mimesis or social construction

I think that the wolrd around us is created by mimesis in a lot of ways. We use our language, our sights, what we know about the world, what surrounds us, etc. to create our own world. But we don't create this language, these ideas, sights, surroundings ourselves. Society and people from generations ago create this and we are merely imitating them. As others have mentioned, the items that are stereotypical of people with money (such as purses, clothes, cars, watches, jewerly) are imitated by people everyday. We need to have this certain car because so and so has it, or we need to have these clothes because it is what's in style. This is how we create ourselves, by imitation. I'm not saying that everyone imitates one thing and everyone is the same person. There are so many things to imitate in the world, it could be one person imitating a certain thing, or it could be 500,000 people. Everyone wants to fit in to something and I think to do this you need to imitate ways that you agree with and like and go from there.

It's not just clothes or items that can be imitated. There are also words and signs as well. I know many people that in their group of friends have certain words that are used so often and that is apart of who they are. They might have heard this wrod from a celebrity or an older brother or sister and now they are imitating it.

Posted by lcisnelson at 03:54 PM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2005

Picture anaylsis!

This painting has a picture of a television. I know that there is a television becuase the lines make a square shape and I know from experience that that is what a televsion looks like. In the television there is night time. The colors used, especially the black and dark blue give this off. The way these colors are shaded together and allow you to see nothing except those things which are brighter allow me to know that it is night. Another item that clues in to it being night time is the moon being so bright. The backwards C like shape and the color, white-ish yellow, gives the idea that it is the moon. The moon is shining brightly against the dark background, another thing indicating that it is night time. The mood of the picture in the television seems to be mysterious. This is becuase of the bright light that lights up the middle. There are shadows on the ground, which you can see because of the contrast of colors. It is as if there is something coming out from the left side of the picture from the lighted area that gives it this mysterious feel. There is also a common fate of the light and shadow becuase they seem to be going in the same direction making it mysterious as well.

Random Side Note.... I just saw this picture and when I went to go look at it again..it was gone?? I seriously saw it..am i losing my mind?? Well thats my post about the picture..if it was the correct one. Maybe Ellen decided to change it?? I don't know but it was definitaly there.

Posted by lcisnelson at 03:13 PM | Comments (1)

CHapter 1 POL

I noticed that alot of the picutres in this book they used to represent things, I have seen before. That was weird becuase I'm not a big artsy-type person and don't look at images often except while in school. I remember seeing like 4 of the pictures in my junior year english class. It was just strange because I knew right away what they were going to say.

I liked the metaphor paper, it was quite interesting to realize that practically all of our sentences can be metaphors. I never thought of that, when I think of metaphor I always think of this thing that I now have to come up with in my head and it's going to take forever. But, it was interesting to hear a different view.

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2005

Genie

Searching information about Genie in calss today was very interesting. The website that I first found I think is very informative on matters that were not discussed in the documentary. If you want to check out the website feel free..the URL is: www3.georgetown.edu/research/nrcbl/hsbioethics/units/unit3_4.html

The article talks about how the social worker actually first saw Genie. I didn't realize that the mother escaped with Genie and ended up bringing her out in public. The social worker assumed she was six or seven years old and had autism. That is amazing considering she was thirteen. I have been told that I look like I'm still 15 or so but I'm only 18 not 23. Another thing that shocked me was the part where the father would sit with his loaded shotgun on his lap and wouldn't allow his wife or son to speak or to even leave the house most of the time. How awful, I can't even imagine what it would be like to be stuck in one place. It's bad enough for me waking up on a Saturday morning in my dorm room and wanting to get up and go out to my living room and sit on the couch to finish waking up but I can't because I'm not at home. I wouldn't be able to stay in one room for such a long period of time. It's so sad reading and watching the story on this girl. How can people be so cruel? especially to their own child, their own blood. It confuses me and I'm sure it will for a very very long time.

Posted by lcisnelson at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 25, 2005

Question Number 3

Question 3...In Japanese, there are several writing systems. Kana is phonetic (like English – the spelling corresponds to sounds, more or less) and Kanji is symbolic (like Chinese – words are represented as pictures) Reading which language would be more affected by left brain damage (and back it up with reasons) and reading which language would be more affected by right brain damage?

Reading Kana would be more difficult if a person had left brain damage. This is becuase Kana is based on the sound system of the language and the left hemisphere of the brain is superior for linguistic processing and understanding language based on words alone. With the left hempisphere damaged, people would have a hard time hearing the language and relating them to the words.

Reading Kanji would be more difficult if a person had right brain damage. This is because Kanji is based on symbols corresponding with a word and not on the sounds of the language and the right hemisphere of the brain is superior for nonverbal information, so with this hemisphere damaged, people would have a harder time putting together these symbols and relating them to words.

Posted by lcisnelson at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Intro to POL

I think the introduction to this book was very interesting. I want to read it and I know I will get so much out of it. I am especially interested in Chapter 6. I took a course last year, Faith and Values in the Media, a religion course (I went to a Catholic high school) and it was really interesting. It wasn't even religious..but whatever...anyways it talked about what goes on in the media (on t.v., in magazines, newspapers, books, on the radio)and why companies portray things the way they do, how they go about it, what it does to human beings, how it effects people and the world around us, and how the world is changing and tells us that we need to take a step back and look at whats going on, and such. It was an interesting class and made my eyes open up to a see something that I've never seen before, but yet its been around me for so long, and I think this book will explain more about how things work in the visual media. I'm excited.

Posted by lcisnelson at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2005

optical illusion

The optical illusion that I chose can be found on http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/opticalillusionsimages2/shelveseye_trick.htm

I chose this illusion because it amazes me. I don't understand how these things work. When i looked from the left I saw four, when I looked from the right I saw three. So then I tried to slowly move from left to right and right to left to see if i could figure it out, but no, that didn't work. How people creat these things blows my mind. Another one that I have seen before but still cannot do correctly can be found at...http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/opticalillusionsimages2/saythe_colors.htm I never can do this right, i probably tried a million times while i was looking at it. It weird how one side of our brain tells us one thing and the other a different. WHen i slowed down and thought about what I was seeing and wanted to say I eventually got it, but it took a good 5-10 minutes. I want to see if you all can do it on your first try! class experiment!! :)

Rachel

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:03 PM | Comments (2)

September 18, 2005

Language

1.)Language is an amazing thing. It is the construct of the human race and for animals as well. Language is knowing sounds, meaning, words, symbols, hand motions, or expressions and putting them all together to create sentences and meaning that one group of people or animals can fully understand. Language is a shared thing between a group that creates who they are. Without language we wouldn't know how to communicate, and without communication, there would be no world today. The wolf in question number seven does definietly have a language similar to a human's. We use words, or for some expressions or hand motions, and the wolves use positions of their bodies. If other wolves can understand them and they are communicating with eachother, then yes, they are using language. However, in question number eight, I don't believe that these words being used as cues is teaching a dog a language. I would say it's teaching a dog the English language, which he will eventually become familiar with, and respond to the words. However, they are only words and meanings that he is learning and language is made up of more than words and meanings.

Language is not just mumble jumble. It is a big deal to people and animals everywhere. It isn't just words put together because they sound nice, or gestures followed by one another because they look good, it is the way of life for people and animals.

2.)I don't think the statements "I learned a new word today" and "I learned a new sentence today" are equally probable. A person can learn a new word in a day because they continually hear words they don't know whether it is on television, the radio, by a person they walked by in the street. But to leanr a new sentence I don't think makes sense. You put words together every day to make sentences and most of the sentences you make, you probably didn't hear before. Every sentence is unique and is created differently. IF you write and essay on a topic, you don't go to a sentence dictionary to look for sentences that are relevant to your topic. You just write, you creat new sentences, and these sentences are probably new sentences. But you didn't learn them, you made them.

Posted by lcisnelson at 12:24 PM | Comments (1)

September 13, 2005

Ode to a letter

I have a letter sitting on my desk waiting to be sent. It is in a thin, white envelope with an address and a return address written across it. A small, rectangular stamp is placed in the upper, right-hand corner.

When I pick the envelope up and tip it from side to side, the letter inside is like an hour glass, falling from one side to the other slowly. It is nice and smooth and sealed tightly. The letter is ready to go on its way.

This envelope will see so much more than one person can probably ever see. It will leave my desk and my home and travel to many places all within a matter of days. It will meet a few different post men or women, fall in a few different slots or bins, and be carried away and carefully placed in a mailbox. Then this letter will enter another world, someone else's house. Although this letter can not smell, hear, taste, or see, it will in a way hear, taste, smell, and see more things than most people ever will.

The letter smells like blue ink, the ink that was pressed so firmly against the white, lined paper that was written on by it. It doesn't have a distinct smell, just one of pen. The envelope has so many different smells that you could never possibly name them all because it has been so many places.

The letter is sparkly from the ink and looks pretty. However, over time the ink will soon fade and take age. But it will still be beautiful because of the words written on the paper.

Posted by lcisnelson at 10:31 PM | Comments (4)

Rachel's Culture

I honestly can say that I've never really thought of my culture. Maybe it's because I don't have anything extraordinary that sets me apart from everybody else that I can think of off the top of my head. I am German and Polish from my mother’s side of the family. I've actually been to Germany and I love German food. But I don't celebrate any German holidays (if there are any?) or make a huge deal that I'm German. Being Polish isn't anything big for me also, but it is still part of my culture. On my dad's side of the family, I am Swedish. That is a huge part of my dad's family, especially the baking! (mmmm). They have a Swedish craft fair every year around Thanksgiving and I used to always help out at that so that was something big for me. But I guess I would say my culture is based on my friends, where I grew up, but mainly on my family.

My family is my backbone. I wouldn't be who I am without my mother and father, but especially without my older brother. He has high-functioning autism and is very hard to live with. If you all were to meet him, you wouldn't notice anything was wrong with him. He is an angel, a hard-worker, an honest, reliable, funny, young man outside of home. He is twenty-one years old and I'm eighteen, but in reality it feels as though I'm twenty-one and he is eighteen. My parents have brought him to so many doctors and they all said the same thing: he will not drive, he will always need to live at home or with someone, he this and that and this and that. But today, he has three jobs, he drives, pays his own bills, and so much more. My brother makes me who I am; he gives me hope and courage to go through every day. He has pulled through so much, thick and thin, big and small. I am always the one who he goes to when he has a problem or when my parents are being "stupid" and he needs someone to talk to. I have learnt patience, respect, faith, and so much more from him. I don't know if that is what culture is, but when I had to think of what sets me apart, what is the traditions, behaviors, what I'm born into, what the common goals are of my family, I think of him. My family has so many practices or set of behaviors that have become the norm in our house because of him. He is who makes my family's culture.

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:56 AM | Comments (5)

Prom Dress!

I was a broom in an empty closet and I carefully pealed one side of the banana. A caterpillar crawled into her cocoon. Prince Charming gave Cinderella the glass slipper. A cow after grazing and feeling like a bride on her wedding day. A ballerina pirouetting. The caterpillar emerges a beautiful butterfly and the glove fits.

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:50 AM | Comments (1)

September 09, 2005

Ode to and Orange

I'm not going to lie...I had to look up what ode meant. My vocabulary is not my strongest but I will admit to it. This essay made me think about differernt things. When Wiowode wrote "...finally, of an orange in your hand-this is it!-..." I literally said to myself "WOW." This person is extremely excited about oranges, the smell of them, how they feel, how they taste, etc. But what I get excited about is a new cell phone or the new style coming out at Old Navy or Gap. I don't find myself being so ecstatic about a simple piece of fruit. But after reading this essay, I wish I was. It's amazing how much we take for granted (or atleast what I take for granted), but the message I took out of this essay is that the simple things are enjoyable as well. I probably have learnt that lesson several of times, but it never sinks in so it is good to be reminded of that and that is what Wiolode did for me. However, it isn't a piece that I would normally read and I can't say that it is on the top of my list, it was a well-written, descriptive essay with a good message.

Posted by lcisnelson at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2005

1st class!

I was extremely nervous for todays class, more than my others. Maybe becuase its labeled "Honors" and that seems to hold higher expectations than other regular classes (atleast for me). But to be honest, it was so fun! I felt extremely comfortable and I even asked questions about stuff. Normally I wait for someone else to ask or I will ask someone else in the class that I know. I never ask questions...and that was a big thing for me. I'm so excited! I can't wait to get to know all of you so much better and to become a real "community." I haven't read the reading yet because I was busy but I'm actually excited to read it. See you all on Friday!

Posted by lcisnelson at 11:32 PM | Comments (3)

hello!!! :)

Hello everyone! sfhsjdhfskjfhskjfhsfiuisufiujvmbnvmnbm

Posted by lcisnelson at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2005

Feed

Hey, have any of you started to read Feed yet? and if so...do you like it after the first 5 chapters or so?? Thanks!

Posted by lcisnelson at 08:18 PM | Comments (5)

July 16, 2005

Rachel's Intro.

Hey everyone! I can't wait to meet you all, I'm so excited!! Here's my introduction... I've lived my entire life (18 years) in the same city (Haverhill, MA), on the same street (Sherwood Drive), in the same house (#43), in the same bedroom (the bright, yellow one), with the same window (facing the front yard), and the same view (the big, white, birch tree). But, after 18 years, I've realized that the birch tree is not just a tree, and not just my view of the front yard. The roots are a symbol of stability anchoring my heart to my home. The swaying branches, that received good use (and I mean good use), are the holders of my childhood memories. Even though the two main branches, that were constantly used (because they were low enough for us short kids), are no longer swaying, waking up every morning, opening my shade, and seeing that birch tree is still a beautiful and an amazing sight.

And for something that somebody has said that has touched and changed my life is... "Be yourself, you're the only one who can do it right." I don't know who the author is, but this quote is written on a book mark that I have. I received it a long, long time ago and I've used it many times not only for my own personal growth, but as advice for my friends, my retreat groups at school, and my family.

Posted by lcisnelson at 07:13 PM | Comments (1)