Blog #15

* Technology (like nuclear energy)

I think technology was interesting because it leads to a lot of other topics. I mean, not technology individually, but many things relating to it. For example, I liked the whole rational theory that since we have good technology and dangerous bombs, rational people wouldn't attack us. It sort of shows how important technology is. If we had bad weapons that weren't very intimidating, I suppose the method we're using now wouldn't work because there would be no leverage. Some of the things I know now was that the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was the first use of nuclear weapons. It wiped out like... 150 thousand people and left thousands more with radiation poisoning. It's amazing how something with that much destructive power actually exists.

Some things I would like to learn about technology is how is turned on the creator or the user. For example, I remember learning about Chlorine Gas used in the war, but sometimes, if the wind was towards the allied side, the people who let loose the gas would be the ones inflicted. I'm more interested in how these weapons are set up and what circumstances they must be in to be affective. What sort of weather? What kind of task are they best used for? Things like that, I think, would be interesting to now on a case by case basis.

Blog #14

1. What are the most interesting aspects of World Wars 1 and 2?
Haha, actually, one of the most interesting aspects of World War I that I remembered was how Franz Ferdinand died. The people who killed him were a bunch of newbies and amateurs. I find it interesting how they still managed to kill him even with all their slip-ups and mistakes. I also find it interesting how The Netherlands managed to stay neutral during World War I. They were in a great deal of action and they still remained neutral. It was unfortunate that they chose to participate in World War II.

This is just a personal observation, but I find it interesting and almost sad at how people were mostly used as test subjects. For example, when war planes were sent out to shoot targets, sometimes the mechanisms would be hard to navigate and make the success rate of a hit go down. In a way, human beings tested the effectiveness of a prototype plane in battle. They talked about aerial battle like it was common to find mistakes back then, mistakes that costed people their lives. One of the quotes I found describing the whole aerial battles was, "You were either an ace or a target. "

2. What do you hope to learn about these wars?
I hope to learn the reasoning behind wars. I mean, killing mass amounts of people is a pretty drastic measure. Killing one person seems like a last resort, but it sounds like people these days are mostly worried about how to kill people as a last resort. Shooting them seems first nature and now bombing seems to be question. I find it difficult to grasp the thought that people have to use that much force for what they want.

3. How/Why are these wars important today? How do they impact and/or inform our world today? Hint: Think about alliances, democracies around the world, cultures, international institutions, nuclear (and other) technologies, etc.

Wars are important today because of their impact. First of all, they impact lives. The casualty numbers keep going up. It's a number that never goes down. For all of those people who don't make it out fo the warzone, they have families. The death of a loved one is obviously something that would impact the lives of their family.

Technology also advances and brings forth new ideas and new tools to work with. This can work both positively and negatively. A good example of an advance would be tanks. Before, they were heavy, slow, and sank into soft ground. Due to the war, improvements were needed. With more investigation about tanks, they became more effective, faster, and overall useful on the battlefield.

Citations:

"www.funtrivia.com/en/History/World-War-I-779.html"

"First World War.com - Weapons of War." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. "http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/"

"11 Interesting Facts: World War II | Socyberty."Socyberty | Society on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. "http://socyberty.com/history/11-interesting-facts-world-war-ii/"

Blog #13: Grapes of Wrath Essay

In the beginning of a novel, the main character Tom Joad meets a man named Casy. They'd known each other previously, but they started to become good friends. Later in the book, Casy takes the blame for an incident regarding Tom's family, the Joads, and is killed. Even with his passing, Tom flourishes under the words and philosophy of Casy. Since Casy isn't the main character, he is often overlooked. Even so, he is one of the key motivators in this story. He helped Tom become the man he was in the end of the book, he portrays Steinbeck’s views on religion and humanity, and he inspires both readers and people in the book that people can control their lives.

Before chapter one began, there were author notes in the front of the book giving insight on the situation of the story and the characters. One of the things Steinbeck says about Casy is that, "... Casy's sojourn brings him to an understanding of "deep ecology," an egalitarian, bio-centric, nonsectarian view in which all living things are related and equally valued." From this quote, readers already know the reason why the author wrote Casy the way he did. Throughout the book, there are references to different religious ideas. Some other examples of that was Ma who yelled, "Puh-raise Gawd for Vittory!" and Mrs. Sandry who told Rose of Sharon that her baby would die if she kept committing "sin" by dancing so close to a member of the opposite sex. By showing Casy the was Steinbeck did, he told the reader his perspective on religion and how it influenced people at the time.

Casy took a large part in the character development of the people around him. He gave hope, enthusiasm, and inspired people to keep on moving. He was sort of like a teacher or a leader in this book. Which is ironic, considering how Casy said, "I love people. I want to lead them, but I don't know where to lead them to." He was one of the of biggest, perhaps the biggest, influence on Tom's life because he unintentionally gave ideas Tom had not considered before. Tom had just gotten out of jail in the first part of the book. He didn't really have direction. However, after he met Casy, his life started turning around. His mentality was different and he became less confused with himself. In the end of the book, Tom says, "Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’—I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry n’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build—why, I’ll be there. See? God, I’m talkin’ like Casy. Comes of thinkin’ about him so much. Seems like I can see him sometimes."

As I mentioned before, Casy inspired a lot of people. Tom said, "That Casy. He might have been a preacher but he seen things clear. He was like a lantern. He helped me to see things clear." He was also the type of character that asked thought provoking questions and statements. An example of one was, "Maybe there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue, they's just what people does. Some things folks do is nice and some ain't so nice, and that's all any man's got a right to say." Instead of basing everything on what other people knew, he based things on what he knew. Another quote from Casy was, "Tom, you gotta learn like I'm learnin'. I don't know it right yet myself. That's why I can't ever be a preacher again. Preachers gotta know. I don't know. I gotta ask." This is where he admiringly admits that not everyone knows everything. Even preachers, they've got to ask. This was another statement that pulled out people's beliefs. This was one of the aspects of the book that made it mind bottling, that made people want to keep reading.

Casy was used as a character, but also as an inspirational person. Many say he had accomplished enlightenment. Without Casy, this book wouldn't have any another conflict. It had many problems on a world-wide scale, but Casy was the one who brought out the conflict in people. From this, you realize the importance of every character and the individual personalities of them all.

Blog #12:

"Public Works Projects" that were ran by the government to serve the public. An example of those were the NRA (National Recovery Act) and TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). The NRA was in charge of government control over the price of products, insurance, etc. However, this project was outlawed in 1934 because the public felt as if the president had too much power over them. The TVA provided jobs to people during the Great Depression. The present day government is doing something similar by trying to set prices. Another project that is still used today is the Social Security.

I think the TVA would be helpful. Actually, both the NRA and the TVA would be helpful. The TVA would be helpful because lots of people are unemployed. Even people with bachelor degrees are working in jobs below then. Our unemployment rate is decreasing day by day. Sooner or later, if we don't even out the prices, so many more companies will go out of business and that would take away the jobs from more people. The NRA would be helpful because there is so much inflation in private companies. Everything is more expensive, with the rising percentage in tax too.

Blog #11

Write an open letter to a particular leader (or leading group of people) in which you outline specific advice to improve the American/Californian/local/other economy. Choose a leader that represents a group or place that you are interested in—you might pick the President, the Governor, a corporate leader, local government officials, small businesses, etc.

Dear President,
I realize it has passed a year since you've been elected. Even so, I don't see huge change in the country. Gas prices have gone up, then gone down, but then they go back to how they were. Prices on basic supplies are slowly but surely rising and tax has become even more noticeable. I've frequently purchased a 25 cent water bottle from Trader Joe's, however, the tax has gone from five cents a bottle to nine. I can only imagine how tough tax must be on the heavier consumers.

Due to the constant spending, debts and loans have increased significantly. I now worry about the financial stability of how I'm living now. It persuades me to consider going to school and having a job at the same time, having very little time to work on the ideas I have for business. Many people are starting to feel this way. With the unemployment rate going up and jobs becoming scarce, who knows when adults will start aggressively fighting with children for jobs. People with Bachelor and Doctorate degrees are forced to work in areas that is below their intelligence level. Makes you wonder, "What was the point of going to school and spending all the time and money? For what, a job that is lower then your educational standard?"

I propose you directly talk to the banks. If we are to pass blame the banks for the recession, why aren't we guiding them in the direction to fix it? By talking to the banks and guiding them with the resources, I believe that they will pull themselves out of the slums. Instead of giving them a large amount of money to do whatever they want with, give them the money but on a leash. Mis-communication will be the downfall to America and I hope not to reach the dangerous point. If things are seperated, that will only hurt us. But to able us to move forward and pull ourselves out of the recession, work and clear communication from all parts of the economy are needed.

The free time you have to read this is scarce. I keep it simple, a thought that I hope you carry with you while you're persuading Congress to get on board with the changes. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Audrey Le

Blog #10

Do you believe that the Grapes of Wrath successfully establishes sympathy for the plight of Dust Bowl farmers? Why or why not?
In a way, I feel sympathy for them to be going through such toil and hardship, but in another way they seem to have the attitude, "Oh, it happens." I guess I can understand the hardship because, well, they sort of just threw their mother, which Ma knew was dead, into the trunk. Events like this is abnormal to the present day person, so I understand that they went through an extent of hardship we're not accustom to. I think it's just the way I process things. I know it's sad, yes, I know people went through hardship, yes, but I don't feel so much sympathy in this case. The book is more easy going with that feeling, "Yeah, it just happened." so that's the mentality I get from it. When something bad happens or I see the situation they're in, I think, "Bah, it just happened." Overall, I'm think that way any way so the whole thought of sympathy in general is something I don't do. Additionally, I don't favor this book that much which adds to me not having a lot to say about this book.

Blog #9

Post a thoughtful reflection on how you have performed within the numerous freedoms associated with Ampersand. Then post a thoughtful reflection on how you have performed within the numerous structures associated with Ampersand.

I have performed pretty well for Ampersand. Because of the freedom, I could do my own thing and make my article abstract like my photo essay. I think that shows me as a writer the most because I don't like writing such structured pieces like what schools ask for. When it's an article about experience, I speak about it well because I know myself well and I know how i took an experience. I think the freedom was useful creative-wise because you got to pick the genre you are good at.

I don't know if I noticed any structure in Ampersand. There are a lot of talk about how it was going to be, but I haven't seen myself actively understanding the structure. More then anything, I think it is a very free flowing assignment. You sort of just write what you want. I like not having the structure, except it sometimes makes you unsure of what you're writing, which is what I have encountered. This is why I'm using my photo essay for Ampersand instead of completely starting off new on something. The thing that was irritating was that I was excited to start Ampersand, but there was so much delay in starting it. After a while, I just didn't want to do it anymore.