Zooming In

December 16, 2005

My Final Evaluation

I feel like I have learned a lot about communication from these MCC courses. I felt like the courses were based on how people talk to each other and how people interpret something from the way someone speaks or even from a visual image.

I think that the best moment was when we were able to do presentations about movies, and learn how actors are able to portray a certain person. We learned that usually what is portrayed about how a person acts is associated with stereotypes. I thought that it was great how everyone in the class was able to pick up these details from movies and pay attention to what the movie is trying to convey about people. I thought this was the best moment of the class, because everyone was able to present these ideas.

I don't think that I really acquired a new skill while being in this course, but I think that the skills that I already have were strengthened. I feel like I became more skilled in talking in class when I had the will to. When I felt like I had a good point to bring up in class I was able to do it and not feel like anyone would be too critical about my opinion. I felt like my opinion mattered and that other people were listening to what I had to say. I can say that this is one of the skills that I felt became stronger in this course.

Finally, a goal that I have set for myself is to try not to procrastinate with my work. Usually I have a good idea in my mind about a project that I am trying to accomplish, but I always get held back with a lot of other work. I think that I really need to find that balance in my work. When I can be able to do that then I think that my work will be even more effective. Overall this course has been a great experience.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2005

Chapter 3 Response "No Kinda Sense"

Comments:

1) It is interesting how in order to fit in to a certain social context, people will change their way of speech to fit the social standard. This example was given of Lisa Delpit's daughter Maya, who when moved from a predominantly white school to one that was predominantly black, changed her speech and primarily used African American English or Ebonics. I myself have been in this same situation, because I know that I speak differently to my black friends than I would my white friends. These are distinct differences that I notice in my speech.

2) Delpit mentions that speaking ebonics or having a "ghetto" dialect of english can hinder African Americans from being able to get good jobs or go to college, which was one of her major concerns about her own daughter. I think that to a certain extent this is true, because most occupational positions are based on the way you speak whether you have good work ethic or not. If a person cannot speak correctly according to that particular job, then they will be at risk of not being hired. This is a current issue that affects the lives of many African Americans.

3) In order for children to accurately learn standard English, they should not be punished for speaking in a manner that is seen as "gramatically incorrect" by their teachers. They should be given constructive criticism so that they know what to work on in their speech. Punishment because of linguistic mistakes inhibits children from learning. I think that if less children are considered outcasts, because of their language then it will be easier for them to learn standard English.

4) I think that it is easier for students to learn about something that they can relate to, but I don't think that it should be used as a way to make learning easier for them. Students, no matter what their background is, all have the ability to learn so the focus should be on allowing students the equal opportunity to learn and not trying to lower standards in order to improve test scores.

5) Culture is an influential part of our society. Everyone is faced with people from different cultures, as they identify with their own culture. Since culture is so important it should also be of great priority in schools, because addressing each students culture in particular will make them feel more a part of the school and want to be a participant in the learning experience. I think that many teachers fail to address this issue, which is why there are many students who perform poorly in school as a result of this. A loss of culture is a loss of connection, and that connection should be found by every student.

Questions:

1) Why do people decide to code-switch (change one's dialect)in language?

2) Was the ebonics controversy more of a racial issue or a linguistic issue?

3) How can teachers improve the way that children learn standard English? Is there any right way to go about this?

4) Is it more beneficial for teachers to teach students based on something that they can relate to, or is it a way for teachers to lower the standards for their students, because they consider them to be inferior on a certain level?

5) If the "language form, after all, is merely one small part of a desired curriculum", then why does it appear to be a major part of the curriculum in schools?

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

Chapter 5 Response "Some Basic Sociolinguistic Concepts"

Comments:

1) It was interesting how Michael Stubbs examined the relationship between language and education. This was based on the assumption that a language that deviates from what is deemed "standard english" leads to the educational failure of children. He showed how this assumption mostly comes from people who linguistically stereotype children and believe that they can associate their use of language with how well of an education they will be able to receive. I think that this is an unfair and misleading belief, because the way that a person speaks cannot affect the way that they learn. However, it is true that many people make judgements about others based on the way that they speak.

2) Stubbs mentions the social implications that are involved with a person's accent and dialect. I think that this is an important aspect, because it has a lot to do with how people are chosen for jobs or other things that are work-related. For example, people who are newscasters usually do not have accents and they all have a standard way of speaking. This is because it would be difficult for some people to understand them if they have a thick accent and were trying to present a news event. Even though these people are from different regions, they all sound the same which makes the delivering of news a lot eaisier.

3) I think that it is interesting that many people still go along with the myth that primitive languages still do exist. Even though some languages are not as widely used and are in danger of extinction, they should not be considered to be primitive. All languages have some level of complexity and are based on a particular linguistic system.

4) Stubbs mentions how hard it is to define the term "standard english". This is basically the form of English that is used as a form of communication among different languages and also that is taught in schools. English is used in this way almost as a currency, so that people can exchange information using a system that has a specific set of rules and governs linguistic interaction.

5) I think that it's sad how some teachers still have the attitude that some of their students may be educationally inferior based upon their linguistic ability. I think that this claim should be disregarded, especially if the student is of good academic standings and is able to prove that they are capable of learning. A person's level of comprehension should not be judged by their linguistic background.

Questions:

1) Why do people consider some languages "lazy"?

2) Is linguistic profiling really useful?

3) What makes linguistic stereotypes so powerful?

4) Why are some languages more functional or highly developed than others? How can you tell?

5) Why do we still use some words in our speech even though we were taught that they are not gramatically correct?

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2005

Response to Lauren's Question

1. Why does Baldwin believe that the era of black slavery in America would have been shorter if black people had been able to speak to each other?

I think that the answer to this question is that the era would have been shorter, because black people would have had more opportunities to communicate with each other. I learned that since slaves were taken from different parts of Africa that there were very distinct dialect and language differences that prevented them from being able to talk to each other.

Black English is partially a result of this miscommunication, because many slaves learned English from some whites who were willing to teach them, or from stolen books that were written in English. Sometimes, because most blacks were not allowed to be taught, they taught each other and found other ways of communicating. This is where a lot of black church hymns and black slang comes from.

I think that Baldwin is basically trying to make the point that slavery wouldn't have lasted so long if black slaves had been given more opportunities to become educated.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)

James Baldwin Article

This article is very powerful and makes a variety of claims concerning dialects differences and then relating it to race. One of the most powerful statements in this article was "a country unable to face why so many of the non-white are in prison, or on the needle, or standing, futureless, in the streets--it may very well be that both the child, and his elder, have concluded that they have nothing whatever to learn from the people of a country that has managed to learn so little." I came up with two different interpretations of this statement. The first was that colored people are at a disadvantage, because they have no one to teach them. The second was that colored people do not want to learn from people who have learned nothing about different races. There are also many other interpretations of this quote. I think that for the most part this quote is not true, because many people of color have opportunities, however there is still disparity over the education of minorities.

Baldwin makes the point that even though people speak the same language (the example that he used was French), it is still difficult for people to understand each other, because of different dialects. This can cause frustration among people, or dialect superiority, where people consider their dialect to be superior to other dialects. This superiority complex is a flaw that people have, and use to sometimes look down upon other people's manner of speaking. This issue is also connected to race.

Baldwin also explains that Black English was influential in the english used by white americans. He claims that white americans adopted some words that were later used in music, like that of jazz. I think that this is true to to a certain extent and some genres of music are a good example to show this. This is true for R&B where words are shortened "going clubbing" becomes "goin' clubbin'". Usually R&B singers of all races use these contructs. This is also true for white rappers.

Another quote from Balwdin's article says "the brutal truth is that the bulk of the white people in America never had any interest in educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes". I think that this quote was far from the truth, because it makes it appear as though white people had no desire to educate black people. This some white people, and not white people as a whole. I think that Baldwin should have also addressed some positive issues in his article, about the achievements of colored people as a result of their education and language.

Questions

1) What does Baldwin mean by the quote "the other is refusing to be defined by a language that has never been able to recognize him."?

2) What are the realities that people have to articulate and control?

3) Why is language a "political instrument"?

4) How is black language a "glimpse of reality"?

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

Twilight in Los Angeles

Twilight in Los Angeles was basically a depiction of different races of people in Los Angeles during the riots and beating of Rodney King in 1992. This depiction was achieved by Anne Deavre Smith in this film by playing the role of several people who were involved in either the riot or events that were carried out during that time. I thought that her depiction of people that she had interviewed during the riot was very interesting. She portrayed the anger and confusion that was occuring during that time and all of the emotions that were prevalent at the time.

It was easy to tell what race she was portraying, because of the speech that she used when she was trying to be black, korean, or mexican, and the actions that she used to express the emotion of that person. She would speak more nasally and stand up straighter when she was trying to portray a white person. When she was trying to imitate a black person she would slouch more and have looser movements in her shoulders and hands. She would also mispronounce some words or talk in slang. For a mexican person, she would speak in an accent and place more emphasis on words with "r's" in her speech. She would also throw her hands around a lot more to prove a point or get the audiences attention.

Anne Smith was efficient at getting her message across, except for the fact that it sometimes became confusing when trying to figure out what person she was trying to imitate. This was because she would try to imitate several people at one time, and go back and forth between them. This kind of made her performance confusing and I couldn't follow what she was trying to say. Smith showed in this movie that the riots affected the morale of the community and turned races against each other. Everyone was affected in some way, and it showed that racial tension still did exist and that there was room for improvement.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 10:21 PM | Comments (1)

November 28, 2005

Thesis Statement

My thesis statement was that the differences of the syntax in songs among different genres of music, produces different meanings in songs which classify the genre.

--Yasmin

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

November 27, 2005

Thanksgiving

I had an interesting thanksgiving. This year was my first thanksgiving away from home, and it was very difficult for me. First I was stuck in the La Guardia Airport in New York for a while. I got there at 5 pm and my plane was delayed until 11 pm. That was the down part of my thanksgiving. I was also missing my family back home in California, so that made me feel down a little as well.

The highlight of my thanksgiving was eating. I spent time with my boyfriends mom, and she made this scrumptous homemade maccoroni and cheese. It was the best dish that I had that day. Also going shopping for those great after thanksgiving day sales was great. People did go a little crazy at the mall though, because of the holiday rush and didn't show much consideration for other shoppers when they were shopping. It was actually kind of scary, because people were acting like animals in some stores. But in all it was fun.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 09:11 PM | Comments (2)

Chapter 2 Practices of Looking

It is interesting how people can create subcultures from cultures that have already been defined by society. This shows how creativity is continuous and continues to produce new standards of social images. At the high school that I attended in San Diego, California, had many social "cliques", which are commonly shown in movies that involve high schools. There were cliques consisting of goths, punks, popular cheerleaders, jocks, homosexuals, and not so popular people.

I never really tried to fit into any social clique that was at my school, and I just decided to be myself. I got along with people from all different cliques and didn't feel like I was isolated from anyone. I think that by some people trying to fit into a clique to be unique from a standard image, or to be rebellious usually ends up placing them into another standard determined by the clique that they become a part of.

In different ways everyone is a part of a certain image, whether they want to be or not. However, there is always room to be unique.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2005

Advertisements

Advertisements are so influential today and can convey so many different meanings. When we were watching the video in Ellen's class about advertisements and how women are either overexposed or degraded, more than men. I thought that this was a very interesting topic, because I had never really put much thought into how that could happen. When I look at magazines or billboards that have women on them to sell beer or clothing, most of the time I don't even really think twice about what the advertisement is really saying about women.

What was really disturbing that I learned from the video was that women are most often defined as objects in advertisements. They usually have their hands or something over their mouths, which that women do not have anything important to say and that they are just supposed to be looked at and admired. This is typically seen in models who are known for their bodies. There are even some images that just display women's body, which shows that women can be used for pleasure and that who they reallly are is not important. I was very shocked when I realized that most of this is true and I never saw how advertisment used women to their advantage to simply sell a product. I thought that this showed how material and superficial our society has become. The quality of the person selling a product in an advertisement is not even taken into account, so long as people continue to buy that product.

I think that this video has opened me up to things that I did not realize at first about advertisements. Now I think that I will be more aware of these images.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 05:19 PM | Comments (1)

November 19, 2005

The Story of My Body

The Story of My Body by Judith Ortiz Cofer, a short story in Chapter 4 of Seeing and Writing, was a descriptive story about a Puerto Rican woman's attempt to identify with American Culture, but not leave her Puerto Rican heritage behind. She was proud of where she came from, but yet she wanted to erase the traces of being ethnic and just "belong" with everyone else. I thought that this story was very empowering, because it embraced the idea of how people try to fit in or subject themselves to a standard that they think they have to match up to.

I think that a lot of people are in this same situation no matter what race, age, or gender they pertain to. It is natural for people to want to belong to something and not feel like they are lost or alone. Race is one of the biggest factors of fitting in for most people. For example in this story Judith was a Puerto Rican woman trying to fit in with white and Italian races. Even though she was intelligent and did well in school, she was not respected, because of her race. I think that it's pretty sad how these type of situations are still prominent in certain areas and people have to be subjected to racial criticism, and not respected as a human being. We are still a long way from escaping these type of situations.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2005

MFA Assignment

1. The wooden floors under my feet as I walked through the exhibit gave me sense of sturdiness. The wood was solid and simple, which gave the photographs being exhibited an even stronger sense of simplicity. This allowed me to just relax and focus on the images that were before me. There were no busy patterns in the room to distract me from what I was there for, looking at images. Even the walls were white enough so that the photographs on the wall actually stood out more and more attention was drawn to them. Some photographs were on the walls on the side of the room and others with a small portion of wall in the center of the room. The small strips of wall in the center of the room gave the exhibit a sense of distance and solidarity, so that the photographs were far enough away from each other to truly appreciate them. Everything about the exhibit had a quiet appeal so that I wasn't distracted by any other interference. The best word to describe the tone of the experience is "still", with nothing drawing away the essence of the art.

2. When I first walked into the exhibit and read a portion of the biography about the artist, Ansel Adams, I assumed that he only focused on nature and the changes that occur. When I started looking at the photographs at the entrance of the exhibit, I noticed that most of the photographs were about the appreciation of nature and noticing the change in weather. However, when I started working my way through the exhibit I saw how Adams not only captured different aspects of nature, but that he also captured people's emotions or images that brought about a sense of emotion. No photograph that Adams took was void of emotion, and all of them evoked some sense of feeling. Adams could do this by capturing images of people, buildings, homes, fences, and roads. The variety in his work, shows that he is not biased by a certain type of photography, but that he has a broad range in his art.

3. The Ansel Adams photograph that I thought was a landscape was called "Moonrise" taken in 1941, which was photographed in Hernandez, New Mexico. It shows a scenery with hills in the background and tiny homes spread about the land, while the sun is barely visible behind the mountains. Adams captures the sun just as it is about to set on the horizon. Adams took this photograph while he was traveling in his car through New Mexico and quickly took out his camera, being fortunate enough to get a picture of the sun just about to dissapear in the horizon. What is important in this image is the sun. The way it casts its final glimmers of light across semantic aspect of the sun setting behing the mountains, the literal interpretation of the sun and mountains, and the emotional aspect of that the setting sun brings across to the viewer.

4. The photograph that I considered to be a portrait was "Trailer Camp Children" taken in Richmond, California in 1946. This photograph was taken of three children. An older male child holding a younger male child, and a small baby girl standing next to them. The photo brought about a concerned sense of emotion for me. I wondered what state the children were in, since there didn't appear to be any parents with them. They seemed to be left all alone to fend for themselves, having no one else to depend on. The place they were photographed in appeared to be their home. It was torn down and beaten up, but it seemed to be enough to get them through another day. Adams captures the weary expression of the oldest male child, showing that he is the one responsible for the younger children and has to take care of them. He evokes the tragic situation that many people forget about, and pretty much brings it to the observer's attention.

5. An abstract photograph by Adams was "Leaves", which was taken at Mills College in Oakland, CA. This photograph showed an array of leaves representative of how Adams enjoyed portraying nature. The designs of the leaves were different, some round and some more pointed than the others. Each of the lines within the leaves could be seen giving the photograph a stronger sense of design. This photograph was taken so well that most people that view it mistake it for an actual painting. The fact that the picture resembles a painting without it being Adams actual intention gives it an abstract appeal. The photograph has an ambiguous representation of a photograph and a painting, which Adams conveys as life being the template for art.

6. The photograph that spoke to me the most out of this exhibit was "Freeway Interchange" which was taken in Los Angeles, CA in 1967. This photograph was so simple, but I was able to draw so many emotions from it. It was really just a picture of one of the freeways in Los Angeles taken from a birds eye view. I could stare at this picutre for hours and feel something different the whole time. The words that came to mind when I observed this picture were "rushing, puntual, small, large, confusing, mixed-up, cyclical." Sometimes when I looked at the photo I just saw then cars on the freeway trying to get from one point to the other. Then I thought of being on an airplane and seeing these cars, so tiny, reminding me of seeing ants on their way to an anthill. Finally I thought of being confused not knowing where to get off on the freeway being stuck in traffic during "rush hour" and not being able to get off of the freeway. I think that I connected most to this photograph, because it was something that I had experienced so I could relate to what Adams was trying to show.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 05:43 PM | Comments (4)

November 08, 2005

Slam Poetry

A Rise and Then A Fall

A rise and then a fall, sometimes you don’t know who to call when it happens. You’re up and then you’re down, that’s all there is to it. The oppressor and the oppressed, no need to second guess the oppressors wrong. Taking your fall to justify their rise, there can’t be a compromise. Nothing but lies, deceit and fault, to determine who it is that’s meant to be caught.

Caught up in the cycle of “being” a certain way. Black, White, Asian, or Latino races, we all have the same faces. Faces that express emotion, sadness, love and hate. But yet we’re so quick to designate someone’s actions because of their race. Don’t we get it yet? People rise and they fall, mistakes that people make have nothing to do with race at all.

We’re all people, we see, we taste and we feel. That should be enough to give people an appeal to the truth. The truth being that people are not so different. We all rise fall the same, so there really is no one to blame. We should truly be ashamed for calling someone a racist, when sometimes we act the same way. One day we’ll all have to pay for our rises and falls, but for now we just have to keep getting back up.

Posted by lcisperez at 07:18 PM | Comments (3)

November 05, 2005

Postmodernism and Popular Culture

After reading chapter 7 of Practices of Looking, I thought about the topic of postmodernism and wondered how can we really say that something is more modern. I thought this, because in our culture most of the time we say that something is modern and that it is new, but sometimes it is merely a replica of something that was already invented or thought up. Many things are repeated in our culture, especially style, in which people try to imitate someone else's style.

Some entertainer's like Madonna and Gwen Stefani have a Marilyn Monroe type of look, which shows that Monroe had an impact on entertainers and was the image of hollywood glam. She was pretty much an icon for many entertainers to follow. Our society is somewhat based on the reproduction of style, because it defines who is important and who has a certain status. Usually people today do not invent new objects of style, but try to transform old ones so that they can become popular again. This goes to show that no matter how "old-school" something may seem, it can always become popular again once people consider it to be socially acceptable again.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 08:05 PM | Comments (1)

October 25, 2005

Social Context as Determined by Photography

After re-reading part of chapter 4 of Practices of Looking I came to the conclusion that our social context is indeed determined by our sense of Photography. I think that this has a lot to do with media influences that are pretty much enforced upon our society in a somewhat discreet manner. Magazines are definitely a source of strong media influence and pictures are able to easily influence people, which in term social context.

Social context is really just ideas and perceptions that individuals have about appearances, actions, and practices. Basically pictures can represent all of these ideas in one. This can be especially expressed in terms of advertisements. Advertisment display life as people think that it should be. Like people having perfect bodies and figures, and also clothing. This creates people who think that they have to resemble this image, which is a part of a superimposed social context. Our social context is determined by pictures, because just like the phrase "monkey see, monkey do", people usually to tend to do what they see, especially if it is promoted on a mass scale.

Our social context is determined by mimicking ideas or perceptions. This is why people change their style of hair, dress, and the usual places where they hang out. Pictures determine most of these aspects, because they show what is fashionable and what should not be done. Where people should live and where people have no business being. Without pictures most of the ideas that we have today would not be as well known, except for the fact that technology has advanced so that we not only have photographs about what's going on around the world and locally, but that we have moving images that we can see live and understand what social context our world is becoming a part of. Today this is definitely shown through the more liberal ideals that American society represents.

--Yasmin

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

October 20, 2005

God and Marjane

In Persepolis there are are many signs and symbols that all have a certain meaning. I thought that one of the most apparent symbols in this book was that of God. God was drawn as being a white man with long white hair and a long white beard. God symbolized comfort for Marjane in her time of need, which was whenever she needed understanding about something. The fact that God is used as a symbol in this book shows that Marjane valued her religious beliefs and turned to God whenever she had a problem. God was like Marjane's best friend and when she couldn't talk to her parents she could talk to him. God also symbolized protection from the harm of the Revolution for Marjane. He allowed her to feel safe when she thought that she was in danger. This symbol is important in the book, because it shows the need for wanting to be protected and being able to have someone to turn to.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2005

Group 1

Group 1: Information about Iran just before 1979 (during the rule of theShah, pre-revolution). Concentrate on the effects inside Iran.

Persian History Before 1979

In the second millennia B.C., Aryans invaded the Iranian plateau and divided into tribes that distinguished from each other by different dialects. The two most famous of tribes were the Persians and the Medes. The Persians settled in the province of Fars and in the Bakhtiari Mountains and achieved unity under the leadership of Achaemenes, whose descendant, Cyrus II, brought the Achaemenian Empire onto the center stage of world history. Cyrus overthrew the Median empire and seized Ecbatana (Place of Assembly), which became his capital. Because he spared the defeated ruler, respected all religions, and brought nobles and civilian officials, both Median and Persian, into the government of his kingdom, he continued to expand his empire over all the kingdoms of the Near and Middle East through peace.

The Mongol conquest of the Persian world brought with it terrible destruction and large-scale massacres. The east of Iran fell in 1380 and north-western Iran went through a different historical development. The Safavids were successful in bringing the whole of the Iranian plateau under unified control. They made Iran a "national state" in the modern sense of the word and traded with Europe, transforming the new capital, Isfahan, into one of the greatest cities of Persia. The presence at the Safavid court of foreign envoys and the growing number of merchants and travellers in Iran was later to have a great influence on the arts and literature in Europe. The cultural growth was accompanied by considerable development in all forms of art.

Afghan rule in eastern Iran lasted only a short period of time (1722-1729); the second ruler was overthrown by Nader Khan of the Safavid Dynasty. In 1795 the Qajar leader Agha Muhammed Khan, won and established the new Qajar dynasty bringing the whole country under his authority and was crowned "Shah" (king) in Tehran in 1796. Dissatisfied with the incompetence and corruption of the government revolts formed by various secret societies and religious groups.

Protests

In Iran from 1963-1967, there was economic growth in the country and opposition towards Mohammed Reza (Shah). The Shah was also opposed by religious figures and urban middle class people as well. He had gained power 1941, and he used his secret police as a method of controlling people within Iran. Only the wealthy were able to benefit from the Shah’s power.

With his power, the Shah imprisoned hundreds of political activist’s, he enforced strict censorship laws, killed and arrested protestors, and also attacked theology students who were attempting to stop a liquor store from opening. In 1978 there were lots of protests due to a libelous story about Khomeini. Overall there had been millions of protests in Tehran. Shah also had conflicts with muslims regarding such things as alcohol, sex and gambling. There was also lots of poverty in the country of Iran and very poor living conditions, where most of the poor lived in slums or rural areas outside of the large cities. The price of oil also continued to climb and about $300 million was spent on the celebration of the 2500 year anniversary of the Persian Empire in Persepolis.

In 1977 Jimmy Carter said he's cut arms shipments because of human rights issues inside Iran, therefore 300 prisoners were released and laws became more lenient, going against the beliefs of the Muslims. Protests began then for these reasons, and for the concept of freedom of thought. Early protests were led by Mehdi Bazargan and the "Freedom Movement", with support from the people of Iran and abroad. Al Shari'ati, an orthodox Shia, was also a radical leader whose murder added to the tension. Khomeini's son died of unknown causes, but the Shah's forces were blamed and this escalated hostile feelings towards the Shah.

In 1978 many protests were triggered by a libel printed about Khomeini in the official press, and because of the libelous story, there were many protests, one being where some student protesters were killed by members of the army. On this day, there was a memorial service for these martyrs. The army became even more violent and killed hundreds of the people at the memorial services. Many protests around the nation and images of the Shah were destroyed. There was also lots of unemployment because of the unrest in Iran. On Dececmber 12, 2 million protesters crammed into Azadi Square in Tehran. To protest against the Shah. Members of the army began to switch sides and protest as well, although other members of the army were very violent towards the protesters. Shah was finally forced to flee the country January of 1979.

Poverty and the Division of Social Class in Iran

Poverty in Iran resulted was obvious by the lack of access to essential services and goods, like health services and water that was safe to drink. There was overcrowding, many homeless, and lots of health problems. Children were severely underweight, and many adults were estimated to die before they reached age 45. Different areas in and the entire cities themselves, contrasted greatly in quality, and resulted in residential segregation. This lead to an increase in the amount of violence against women, and against the poor; making the poverty much worse.

Social class depended on political connections, not so much on wealth. If you were able to make high-level decisions, you had high prestige. Wealth was still important, but it was closely related with access to politics. For example, politically affluent people, like in the Senate (Majlis), were also owners of big industrial and commercial businesses. You had to be part of a high-class family to access political power, and therefore elite families were tied together by marriages.

Later on before the revolution, the importance of wealth was less important, and it the wealthy upper classes were no longer always the ones with political power. Instead, religious power was the requirement for entry into the elite society. This way, the new members with political power were not members of the old social elite.

The middle class included several different kinds of people: small business owners, bazaar merchants, professionals, teachers, and military officers, to name a few. The middle class was divided between those who had a “Western” education and had a secular outlook, and those religious citizens who were suspicious of the “western” education. There was a high value placed on getting a foreign education, and the political elite who were educated were forced to take Islamic courses in order to keep their jobs.

The working class consisted of many different kinds of workers, including those in the oil industry, construction, mechanics, and artisans. The amount of factory workers dominated however, and represented 25% of the total employee work force of Iran. In this class there was a hierarchy based on a person’s labor skills. Skilled construction workers, like carpenters, for example, made more money than, and looked down upon the large number of unskilled workers.

The three main factors that distinguished members in the lower class were their work of manual labor, poor living conditions, and high illiteracy rate. Even in this group, the members were divided. There were lower class citizens who had jobs, being street cleaners, servants, porters, gardeners, laundry workers, etc; and then there were those who did not have any employment.

For those unemployed, and even some of the members who did have jobs, the lower class performed a lot of begging. Out of disparity, some resorted to smuggling, selling drugs, prostitution, and gambling.

Religious figures

In 1921 Reza Pahlavi began the Pahlavi Dynasty. He was forced to abdicate in 1941 by Britain and the USSR for his relations with Germany. His son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was permitted to assume the throne. Reza Shah commandeered great power although he was easily manipulated. In the 1950’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had been designated a supreme religious leader and in 1964 his outspoken condemnation of the Shah resulted in his exile. He settled in Iraq until Saddam Hussein forced him to leave.

In 1967 Reza Shah crowns himself Emperor of Iran, which caused resentment in many sectors of society the intellectual, academic, religious and political. The Shah believed himself in the lineage of the Kings of the ancient Persian Empire and among other things replaced the Islamic calendar with an “imperial” one. Religious leaders feared loosing their traditional authority and claimed the Shah was in violation of the constitution which, with a representative government, limited the Kings power.

With the discovery of oil and the revenues it produced the Shah modernized Iran socially and economically but not democratically. The Shah suppressed opponents most noticeably and violently with the intelligence agency SAVAK. In the mid-1970’s this reached a pinnacle and the Islamic leaders, most noticeably Ayatollah Khomeini used Islamic principles to focus this discontent and called for an overthrow of the Shah. This occurred in 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from France to be Chief of State and ultimate ruler of a new theocratic republic guided by Islamic principles.

--Yasmin

Group members: Allie, Emmy, Nanette, and Ariel

Posted by lcisperez at 08:36 AM | Comments (1)

October 16, 2005

Comic Analysis

Nancy is an interesting comic, because it has to do with a young girl and her interesting thoughts. The specific comic strip that I chose written by Guy and Brad Gilchrist has to do with Nancy in her bed attempting to fall asleep, but having trouble in doing so since she thinks that she has forgotten to do something. Nancy decides to count sheep to help her fall asleep easier, but it only reminds her of what she forgot to do which was her geometry homework.

The syntactic and semantic levels of this comic concern the lines arranged in circular shapes that make up Nancy’s hair, her bow, her shoulders, her eyes, her eyebrows, her mouth, and her teddy bear. These lines show continuity in the drawings in each panel, outlining where the parts of Nancy’s body begin and end. There are also various straight lines that are drawn on Nancy’s face to indicate the presence of a small chin and a small nose. Lines and dots also indicate the design of her bedspread, and her pajamas. There are tiny lines to show that Nancy’s hair has a texture, because the lines are arranged in a finite manner. The composition of a circle and straight lines on Nancy’s hair make up a bow, which means that Nancy is a young girl. All of these lines make up the figure of a young girl that the reader is able to recognize. The lines that make up the sheep in the third panel each represent the shapes of a circle, a square and a triangle. Also the colors black and white distinguish Nancy as a separate object than her pillow and the background of her room, so that the reader isn’t confused about which object is which.

The words in this comic are very important for its meaning. In the first panel Nancy says “I can’t sleep” and then pauses. The pause is shown by the “--- “ in the sentence. Also all of the letters in each of the four panels of the comic are in capital letters to place emphasis on each word that Nancy is saying. The third panel has an absence of words, but the picture of geometrically shaped sheep jumping over a fence within semicircular lines means that Nancy is dreaming about geometry while she’s trying to count sheep. The final panel has the words “I forgot to do my geometry homework” all bolded and in capital letters to show that Nancy is yelling. The appearance of the words gives the reader the impression that Nancy is yelling without having to see an exclamation mark at the end of the phrase.

This is an interdependent comic, because it depends on both pictures and words contain a meaning for the reader. The words explain that Nancy is thinking about something that she may have forgotten to do, and the pictures show what she is thinking about. Without the words the reader could tell that Nancy is worried about something, because of the drawing of her mouth in a semicircle, and that she is frantic in the last panel since there are frantic white lines drawn against a black background, and her teddy bear’s arms are drawn backwards so it looks like she’s shaking it. The actual subject of the comic, however, would be unclear with the absence of words.

This comic only consists of four separate panels that are all in black and white. The first two panels show a subject to subject transition in which Nancy is lying in her bead thinking about what she has forgotten to do, and then makes the decision to count sheep. The last two panels show an action to action panel transition in which Nancy is dreaming about sheep shaped as geometric figures, and then she wakes up abruptly realizing that she has forgotten to do her homework.

The comic is able to have the affect that it does, because it consists of both words and pictures that convey a meaning. The drawing of the lines and circles is also more simplified in this comic. This is shown by Nancy’s eyes and mouth which are nothing more than black circular blobs. This further stresses the childlike quality of the comic. All of these aspects coordinate to give the overall effect of the comic.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 08:14 PM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2005

My own gestures

I know that on my last post I wrote about gestures that I had observed from other people, but I also decided to think about and take notice of my own gestures. I realized that I also share some common gestures with other people that I noticed.

During the week I noticed that when I was talking to one of my friends Shannon about where to find good places to dance that I would point and gesture with my hands to imitate how far something the place was from Simmons. I think that I did this, because I was trying to picture in my mind how far I would have to travel to get there and which direction I would traveling. I also used a circular motion with my finger in order to indicate that I would like to continue dancing. I think that many people use these two types of gestures, because pointing in a certain direction indicates distance, and a circular motion means something will continue.

Gestures have so meanings and they're interesting to watch.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2005

Thoughts about "Crash"

I think that "Crash" is one of the most layered movies that I've seen pertaining to cultures. The interesting aspect of this movie is that even though its main focus is on the "crash" of cultures, there are so many deeper meanings to the movie that the audience can pick up from the scenes. The screenwriter was very effective in portraying members of different cultures and the various interactions that occur between people.

The main idea of "Crash" is there is no one right interpretation of the movie. It can break bias' that the audience may already have towards the film, or beliefs that may be questioned after watching it. The title specifically promotes the point of the film, which is to "crash" barriers pertaining to stereotypes and perspectives and make room for influence.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 10:18 PM | Comments (2)

Body Language

When talking to other people, many of us use gestures. Sometimes it is practically inevitable. This is because gestures are useful to us as aids to bring across a certain point, or to put emphasis on something that we are trying to say. I noticed that when people are having a conversation, they usually open their hands up and put them in front of themselves at a certain distance to present a topic. If somebody is talking about something that is continuous, they usually move their hands in a circular motion that keeps going forward to represent the continuity of something. If a person wants to talk about distinct objects the sort of make a gestures like chopping something on a chopping block, and chop in certain places. Also when someone wants to relate something to themselves they usually point to themselves or move their hands in a circular motion towards themselves. These are only some noticeable gestures that people use when they are trying to explain something, but there are so many others that can be noticed as well. I think that gestures are so important as a means of representation, because sometimes words are not enough to explain something to someone. Gestures can reveal body language and a variety of emotions, and even though many gestures are the same, there are gestures that are unique to each person. --Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 09:59 PM

October 07, 2005

Words and Pictures

Words and pictures can have so many different meanings. They can mean something solitarily or they can mean something in combination with each other. This is what makes their meaning have such variety.

I think that both words and pictures can be powerful in their own way. Words tell the reader exactly what is meant to be interpreted, like for instance "the sky is blue". If this statement is read, then the person reading it will know that the sky is blue. If someone see's a picture of the sky that might not be so blue, maybe grey, the picture would have a completely different meaning. The picture could mean that it was a gloomy day or that maybe it was about to rain. In this case the picture and words have very different meanings. When a picture and words are together, the words can sometimes explain what is going on in the picture. This can be beneficial for anyone.

I also love how the reading on words illustrated that photographs can at times be subjective. A photograph is essentially a capture of a moment in reality. However a painting is a copy of reality. The difference in these two can be extremely different or very similar. They can either cause descrepencies or very realistic imitations. There is so much variety to words and pictures that two people can interprete so many different meanings from the same subject.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 06:28 PM | Comments (2)

October 06, 2005

Seeing Is a Free Gift

There is so much to see in life that sight in itself is a gift that is unfortunately not given to everyone. It is a sense that allows individuals to take in all kinds of visual images and interpret them from their own perception. In Annie Dillard’s essay “Seeing” she says “there are lot things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises”, meaning that seeing entails giving and that someone can receive that “gift” freely. Dillard wants her readers to realize the beauty of sight, and how seeing images can be on more than one level. I believe that sight can reveal hidden meaning in images that people see everyday and that with patience someone could be amazed at what they see.

Annie Dillard is right in saying that “there are lots of things to see”, because the world is full of visual images. People blessed with sight wake up every morning seeing their bed, shoes or window. These are everyday images that people do not really appreciate. Dillard shows appreciation for nature and how it can be full of surprises. A person could be looking at a tree and not see anything except for a tree with a brown trunk and green leaves. If that person looked closer and observed the tree for a while, they might be able to see ants slowly climbing up and down the tree maybe on their way to their anthill or a bird sitting in a nest. Most people do not even notice these occurrences and simply pass them by. Dillard sees this as a “gift” that is offered to us and that all we have to do is notice. Noticing what we see is important in appreciating our sight, because if people do not take the opportunity to notice something important may pass them by.

I agree with what Dillard is saying, and I believe that it means that people should not let life pass them by. Even when a person is consumed with meaningless visual images from media sources, they should have the desire to escape from that influence and see something that they haven’t seen before. People should venture outside of what they are used to seeing like reality television shows, busy traffic, street signs, and brick buildings. Going outside of a shut in establishment, and sitting on a bench at the park can allow someone to watch what happens in their surroundings the longer they sit there. They could see a biker pass on a bike with the wheels moving at a continuous speed and the bikers’ head focused on the path they wish to pursue. A bird may fly by, flapping its wings slowly up and down until if finds a nearby perch and decides to stop before it takes off to find the next perch. A plane might even pass by, looking as though it’s almost frozen in time until it seems to speed up and disappears in the clouds. Most people do not notice any of these things, because they do not consider it important to see. I think that time should be taken out to truly see these things, and wonder why a plane seems to move slowly in the sky, a bird can fly seamlessly and land with such grace, or a biker can ride so meaningfully from one point to another.

If people focus on concrete images like the tree, they will only be able to see a tree. If a person is able to detach themselves from the concrete image of a tree they may see what the tree has to offer, like the many creatures that may inhabit it. It is taking the time to find the hidden “gifts” of sight that make life so interesting. These “gifts” in sight are not just going to appear, but they just have to be found. There is so much to see in life that something new can be found everyday, all a person has to do is keep their eyes open.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 12:18 AM | Comments (1)

October 04, 2005

Women and Men

The tannen article had a lot of answers to assumptions that most people have about men and women in a business environment. We always hear about incidences were there are women who feel as though they need to be represented in court, because they think that they have not been properly acknowledged by their male counterparts in the workplace.

The communication between men and women does have a lot to do with how men and women are raised differently. Women are raised in a more nurturing environment where competition is not as respected and giving praise to someone is something that is rewarded. Men are the complete opposite where they enjoy competition and learn not to be put down by others but to take control in a situation. I think that this does affect men and women when they are interacting with each other.

I think that all we have to do is try to think of other ways of communication that don't always have to do with trying to find better ideas than someone else or trying to be better than someone else. There is a time to give complements to someone, give structured criticism to someone, or step up the pace by coming forth with a good idea about something. In order to change this men and women should just try to get out of their comfort zone and try to communicate in a different way. Although to avoid being too aggressive, people should judge the reactions of the person that they're communicating with and know when they should step back. Communication can involve so many situations, and everyone has there own way and right to communicate in a particular way.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 09:49 PM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2005

Picture?

Where is the picture, shouldn't it be posted on the blog? Is it under a specific category?

Posted by lcisperez at 04:37 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2005

Semiotics

To me visual semiotics and iconography are two complex approaches in being able to interpret the meaning of a visual image. I think that it can be difficult at times to use these methods, because some visual images have multiple meanings that are sometimes hard to categorize specifically. So many meanings can be taken up by various individuals depending on their culture and the time period in which the grew up in. These are some of the factors that can influence the perception of any visual image.

I thought that it was interesting how we categorize wealth and a higher status, versus poverty and a lower status. This can be taken from the clothes that someone is wearing, their physical form, their features, and also what possessions they have. This can all be taken from a visual image.

I was not aware that food was so symbolic on many levels. Like in the 1930's is was used to represent the laziness of African-Americans, or it was used at a biblical allusion. This shows that food is a factor in our perception of wealth, social status, and religious references. This is why the media has such influence in people's decision making and thoughts, because they are able to communicate effectively through visual images.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)

Ch 1 of Practices of Looking

I never really realized that seeing and looking are considered to be two distinct practices. Seeing is more of just observing and taking in object that we may see on an everyday basis, while looking involves interpreting something that we see, exploring it in depth and trying to understand its significance. I think that I spend time seeing objects more than looking at them. I just sort of glance at something and not really pay attention to it or try to analyze it. This chapter gave me a lot of insight into how objects are viewed, and after reading it, I realize that a lot of the visual images that I see constantly are meant to be percieved on a whole other level than I have perceieved them.

For example, in Andy Warhol's work Marilyn Diptych (1962), he created multiple depictions of Marilyn Monroe's face on a very colorful grid. I thought that this was an interesting depiction of art, because it mimics the trends of society, which is mainly to repeat a visual image frequently in order to have an influence on a specific audience. This is so true for the teen generation today, because celebrities are of major influence in the media, and many teens want to resemble those celebrities or "become" them. Now that plastic surgery is so available in today's society, these endeavors are made even more realistically possible.

After reading this chapter it just makes me want to sit back for a while and think about how quickly society is changing, and how much of a powerful influence that visual images have on us. Sometimes it can be too much to absorb.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2005

Chapter 2 of Language

Question #3

Q: 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?

A:In the Japanese writing system it would be more difficult to read or understand Kana, if someone had left hemisphere damage. This would be because Kana is based on the sound system of the language (spelling corresponds to sound), and the left hemisphere of the brain deals with understanding language based on words. Written material was to be processed in the left hemisphere to be understood. This portion of the brain directly relates to linguistic naming.

Reading the Kanji language would be more difficult if a person had right hemisphere damage, because Kanji involves symbols where words are represented by pictures. This would occur, because the right hemisphere deals with interpreting visual information and making sense of it. In all actuality both hemispheres work together to interpret both visual and linguistical information.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Practices of Looking (Introduction)

The practices of looking introduction was very interesting. It explained how our culture today is definitely a visual one. This is due to the popularity of television, computers, and the media. People commonly use images to express themselves everyday.

I thought that it was interesting how the older definition of culture involved "fine" arts like painting, literature, music and philosophy, which was primarily reserved for people of a higher class. The new definition of culture is shared practices of a group, community, or society through visual aural, and textual world of representations. This new definition involves a much broader range of ideas, showing that "culture is progress".

The exciting thing about culture is that it is constantly changing and will never remain the same. Culture is now much more diverse, although it does focus primarily on visual images. In our society today we communicate visually, it is just something that is natural to us. I know that I watch a ton of television and get most of my information there relating to what is going on in the world, or what are the latest fashion trends. This is just our way of communicating, and I know that as time goes on culture will progress even more and who knows where we'll be.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

"Seeing"--Annie Dillard

The writing of Annie Dillard was very intriguing, because of the way that she used nature and biblical references at the same time in order to bring across and idea. I think that the idea that she was trying to bring across was that people usually take everyday occurences for granted and are not appreciative of their vision.

She expresses her enthusiasm for life by proclaiming how exciting it is to see something in its true form and not focus on the superficiality of an object. She explains how the world is full of these things, and that people just have to capture them and not allow them to just pass by. She also states that everything is not always what it seems and places a tension on the contrast between light and dark.

This made me think about what I tend to see on a daily basis. I have realized that sometimes I just don't pay that much attention to nature and its beauty. It is something that is all around, but I fail to notice its intricacies. When you take the time to really look at something, you may notice that it will look different than the way you pictured it. I acknowledge the fact that I shouldn't take my vision for granted, but appreciate every moment of it.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2005

What is Language?

Language is classified as a form of communication that occurs among different cultures throughout the human race, and different species among animals. Language is composed of the knowledge of linguistics, the knowledge of sounds, and also the knowledge of words. All of these components are crucial to the understanding of language and its innerworkings. Without the capacity to produce these qualities, language would be difficult to comprehend. Languages are very creative and unique in their structure, but they are also very complex. The complexity of language is absorbed by young children who are later able to understand its rules.

The complexity of language, however, cannot be understood by animals. Even though there are some animals like parrots that are able to repeat human words in different languages, or dogs who are able to respond to commands in different languages, that does not mean that they are able to comprehend the grammatical rules of human language. They are able to absorb words and produce responses as a result, but humans should not consider that to mean that animals can understand human language.

Learning New Words vs. Learning New Sentences

The sentences "I learned a new word today" and "I learned a new sentence today" are not equally probable. This is because it is more difficult to learn a new sentence than a new word. You can learn a new word everyday, because they are constantly being made up and different people use different words to express emotion, or to describe something.

There are certain environments where certain words should be used. For example, when I am with my friends and I am in a more relaxed environment, I may use words such as "like" when I am explaining something or "whoa" when something seems strange or is completely out of proportion.

When I first came to Boston, I had never heard of the word "wicked" or thought that anyone use the word "sketchy". Even though I know what these words are meant to describe. I don't use them myself and consider them to be foreign, just as if someone was learning the slang of a foreign language. This has to do with regional location, but on a broader range new words can be learned constantly through the media.

Learning a new sentence is more difficult than words, because I do not spend time memorizing numerous sentences in books that I read or in conversations with other people. The only opportunity that I have had to memorize sentences has been when I have wanted to memorize quotes that were significant from a book. Also I find myself recalling phrases from people who have told me empowering things and its just stayed with me forever.

-Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at 07:13 PM | Comments (3)

September 10, 2005

"Boricua"

Culture is an interesting word to ponder upon and define. It essentially entails an individuals beliefs, their customs, traditions, perception, and overall lifestyle.

I consider myself priviledged to be a part of two different cultures. One of my cultures entails being an American, specifically African-American from San Diego, California. I am proud to be African-American and appreciate the opportunities that I have today, such as being able to recieve an education and be treated equally like every individual should. I am proud of achievements that African-Americans have made such as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Emmett Till, Rosa Parks and many others that deserve to recognized.

In African-American culture it is common to love to dance and move to the rythym of a popular hip-hop song like that of Missy Elliot or the Ying-Yang twins. It is also common to get your hair braided in various styles and there are amazing techniques to doing so. The barber shop and hair salon are common meeting places to talk about drama on the street or what is going on in the neighborhood.

Sadly African-Americans are more likely to have children earlier, commit more crimes, and become involved in gangs ending their hopes and their dreams. I've seen it happen all to often even in my own family. But I consider myself bless as an African-American to overcome the obstacles that I've seen many others fail to overcome.

Being a San Diegan is also part of my culture. I was born and raised in San Diego and love to eat Mexican food. A large part of my time living there was spent relaxing at the beach, riding my bike at Coronado Island, hanging out at the park (or occassional trips to the zoo), enjoying the neverending sunshine, and appreciating the picturesque view of the sunset. This was my life as a San Diegan.

Another part of my culture is being Puerto Rican. My mother is African-American and my father is 1/2 African-American and 1/2 Puerto Rican. So I am 3/4 African-American and 1/4 Puerto Rican. Boricua in Spanish means Black and Puerto Rican, which is what classifies me.

The sad thing is that I do not know much about my Puerto Rican culture, because my parents are divorced and I have lived with my mother my whole life. I became better connected when I met my Puerto Rican grandmother Zayda, who taught me how to make "Arroz con Pollo" and "Platanos", which are very tasty Puerto Rican dishes. I am fluent in Spanish and love everything about the Spanish language.

I am proud to be Puerto Rican, but discouraged that I do not know as much as I should about what it is to be Puerto Rican. I hope that in the future I will contact my Puerto Rican family and become closer to another part of my culture.

Posted by lcisperez at 08:09 PM | Comments (7)

"The Light of My Room"

It is so green, so bright and so clear. That is the purpose of my lamp. So precisely built and meant to bring light into my world. Without its light my room would be dark and void. I would stumble at an attempt to find items in my room or my bed for that matter. Its bountiful light consumes every one of my senses bringing me a feeling of warmth like the sunrise on a cold morning.

The green color of my lamp gives me a serene feeling, as I use its light to write or read. I love the atmosphere that it creates, one of comfort and calm in a moment filled with darkness. I love the clicking sound that the button on my lamp makes when I turn it off and on. Every time I turn the light off and on, the transition from light to dark creates a mood change. In the darkness I can’t see and am unsure of where I’m going, but in the light everything is clear and certain, the way I like it.

Its feel is so smooth and its neck can flex and bend as I wish. I control the direction of its movement and the focus of its light. My hand guides its direction, and adjusts it to where light is needed.

If it was edible I would imagine it to taste like a green apple. It would be so sour, sweet, and good. Its color brings me into a whole world of green, in its serenity and stillness. Its rounded bottom is so firmly placed on the windowsill in its proper place, never moving unless I somehow manage to knock it over or move it from its position.

It brings me memories of home when being along in the dark, I was frightened at the sounds I heard at times of the leaky faucet or a creak from a nearby door, but I always knew that my lamp was there to light up my room. It was always within arms reach and gave me a sense of comfort. Now it continues to do so.

I replace the bulb to continue its continuous flow of light, for without it my vision would falter. Not only does it bring me light, but with it I can diminish the light as I slowly drift off to a calm and peaceful rest.

Posted by lcisperez at 04:20 PM | Comments (3)

September 09, 2005

"Enjoying LCIS"

I am enjoying the Learning Community Integrated Seminar very much. I love how I have started to learn how to pick apart certain characteristics of something as simple as a work of art and see it for what it really is. Although it can be difficult to focus on the literal terms of certain objects it is interesting and it can have a greater meaning than may have been intended.

In case anyone is wondering what I'm talking about, I am referring to the picture that was shown in the "zooming in" class session of a man and woman dancing together. The picture was so intricate and detailed, and seemed simple at first although it was interpreted by several people in class to have very different meanings. I found this to be very interesting and explored ideas that I would probably never have explored if studying this picture on my own. I enjoy learning how to think in different ways, and I am anticipating what is to come in this class.

Posted by lcisperez at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2005

Loving Oranges

Being from California where oranges are so plentiful, I connected to this essay. The sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch of the orange was so fervent through Woiwode's words.

I felt almost connected to his loving sentiments of the orange. Woiwode basically personified the orange giving it life and meaning in his world as a child.

I thought that it was so interesting that a person could love an inatimate object so much and appreciate its very existence. It makes me feel guilty for not appreciating certain things in life like I should, and it makes me think that I should make an effort towards doing so.

I enjoyed this essay.

Posted by lcisperez at 04:22 PM | Comments (2)

September 07, 2005

Hello

Hi just seeing if this works out.

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

July 13, 2005

My Introduction

Yasmin Perez: Living in sunny San Diego, California the sun has always set beautifully from my perception. It sets slowly and gracefully, with vast amounts of pink, orange, and yellow, that spread across the seemingly neverending horizon. The colors spread across the boats tied down at the docks and the homes all arranged in the same order. This sight gives me appreciation for my vision.

Maya Angelou: You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, i'll rise.

Hello everyone, I look forward to meeting all of you soon!

Posted by lcisperez at 10:10 AM | Comments (3)