My thoughts...

This week in class, we spent a lot of time discussing homeless people..? Yeah. Homeless people. I didn't even think I could spend a whole week talking about them, but I did and I'm not gonna lie I really enjoyed it. We read a series of articles for homework all with different ideas and then in class we started watching the film, the soloist.

Here are my opinions on each reading and the movie:

Million-Dollar Murray: This reading was an excerpt from a book written by Malcolm Gladwell. First of all, I must say that I really enjoy Gladwell's writing style. I am reading "Outliers" for my BLA and I'm really liking it. This reading was Gladwell telling a story about Murray Barr, a homeless man with enormous potential. He was a homeless man who under close supervision had the potential to become a functioning member of society. Gladwell's argument was that just giving a couple bucks to homeless people won't solve the problem long term. The point is that it is better to SOLVE homelessness rather than MANAGE it. Gladwell talked about a scenario where apartments were given to homeless people as long they followed the rules. This sparked an idea for a company that I could start. Basically, it's gonna be a company (funded by, I don't know who yet) where homeless people will come in and get an apartment. Along with this apartment, they will start attending classes where they learn everyday skills like interview skills, using computers, etc. The company would partner with some other organization that would provide jobs for the homeless people. Once the homeless people start making some money, a little bit of each paycheck will be deducted for "rent". As more and more money is accumulated, the cost of rent will be higher and higher until the "no longer homeless people" are capable of living on their own. I honestly think this could be the best idea ever and I could become super rich from a company like this but let's be honest, it will never happen. Not all homeless people want to be helped, so that is what makes this situation so difficult.

Dumpster Diving: First of all, groooossss. I can never ever think about digging through dumpsters to get food. However, I gotta owe it to this guy, his writing style is really good. It's crazy how he can make an informative article from something as weird as dumpster diving. In a way, I felt bad for this guy but at the same time I was like "hey, whatever works for you". This article was actually really helpful if I were to ever become homeless. I learned that canned foods are almost always good, and good food is often thrown away by college students around breaks and holidays. So, if I were to ever be in the position to dumpster dive, I know that I can rely on this article. But, I think it's crazy how in depth and almost "professional" this guy is and he gets dysentery about once a month. That is something that I would NOT be able to handle. Like I said. GROSS.

The Soloist: This movie is seriously hitting some spots. It is an amazing film! First of all, can we talk about what a great actor Jamie Foxx is? I can only imagine the skill that is required to play a schizophrenic. I think this movie is trying to prove that not everybody who lives on the streets is an alcoholic or drug addict and it's wrong to think like that. This movie shows very clearly that some of the most talented people can end up homeless because of certain circumstances. For me, I felt like this movie was another classic example of "don't judge a book by its cover". Because, when you see a person on the streets you're automatically like "it's their own fault" or "not my problem". But this movie shows that it's often not anybody's fault and some of the most talented people will end up on the streets. Like I said, I am feeling really moved by this film and I can't wait to see the ending! 

Rhetorical Mode Answers!

Congrats to those who got all 5 Rhetorical Modes right!
The answers were as follows:

1) Definition
2) Example
3) Description
4) Cause and Effect
5) Narration

Which Rhetorical Mode am I using?

Try to guess which rhetorical mode I'm using!

Answers will be posted later.

COURAGE!

1. Courage is the ability to do something that one is afraid of. Courage can be both physical and moral. Physical courage can be seen in times of physical pain, death, loss, or hardship while moral courage is the ability to do the right thing. To be courageous means to do something that you know is difficult for you.  In the western tradition, thoughts of courage have been linked with philosophers such as Aristotle and Aquinas. In the east, Tao Te Ching gave his ideas on courage.

2. The Cowardly Lion is a prominent character in the story of Wizard of Oz. He was portrayed as being scared of everything, even Dorothy’s little dog Toto. Since the Lion was able to stand up against his fears he shows courage. In the movie when the Lion goes inside the Witch’s castle to save Dorothy he is showing an incredible sign of courage because he is doing something that he is afraid of.

3.He had been afraid of fire since the age of 3. He wouldn’t go to bonfires with his friends or let his mom light candles inside the house because the warm, thick air around the fire made him feel overwhelmed. He didn’t like the smell of ash going up his nose or the warm air against his body, but he knew that when he saw that burning building he had to run in and help. So he threw of his jacket and faced his fears. The smoke hit his face and jabbed at his eyes like knives. He couldn’t breathe because the smoke was being shoved down his throat. But he finally got to a little girl in her room, picked her up and carried her out. He had finally faced his fears in the most intense way possible.

4. Feeling courageous is caused by facing your fears. When one finally does something that they have been afraid of for a long time that person will often times feel courageous and as though they can do anything. After finally completing the task that has plagued a person for many years, that individual will most likely feel very confident, happy, and proud of him or herself. After finishing that task, the person will most likely not have a problem doing it again because they are no longer scared.

5. My best friend was so incredibly afraid of Chuckey from Chuckey Cheese’s when we were little that it was hilarious. Everybody would always have their birthday’s there and she would obviously be invited. She would be having such a great time but when Chuckey came out she would run to her dad and start crying. I never understood why she was so scared because Chuckey was always so nice. But finally, when she turned 5 she decided she would have her party at Chuckey Cheese’s. We could sense the fear when it was almost time for Chuckey to come out, but when he finally did, she wasn’t scared. She had a great time with him, and didn’t want Chuckey to leave. She had such a great time that the next year, for her 6^th birthday, she had her party at Chuckey Cheese’s again.

Analyzing the Cowardly Lion

Blog Post numero dos is about analyzing speeches!!
As I understand it, AP Comp is about analyzing language and looking into the different techniques that are weaved into either written or spoken text. So far, a lot of emphasis has been put on rhetorical techniques so I will be analyzing the rhetorical techniques in the Cowardly Lions Speech on Courage from the Wizard of Oz.

I'm really excited because it's one of my favorite movies!

Time for some analyzing!

There is obvious repetition in the speech. The lion's main point is to show that Courage is a necessary attribute to have which is why he continuous to repeat the word.
I also noticed that in the second line "What makes a flag on the mast to wave" the syntax is a bit off. In other words, I don't think that in normal, everyday dialect a person would speak like that. I think the reason the Lion chose to say it like that is to add attention to his speech (or in reality because it rhymed with slave).
As the speech is being presented the audience can feel the courage building up inside of the lion. This can be seen because with every word and sentence his words become louder and more rough. This is to show the effects of courage. The Lion's courageous attitude can also be seen with the way he walks around and moves his cape all around the place. Finally, the Lion also makes an allusion to the 7 Wonder's of the World in his speech.

WHO AM I?

Hiiiii. So I'm writing my first blog for my AP Comp. class. It's pretty exciting because I have always wanted to start a blog and have millions of followers and become internet famous but it's obviously not going to happen because my life is truly boring. You shall see this in the following summary of my life.

I was born in the middle of the night, in the middle of February in the middle of Siberia. That's right. Novosibirsk, Russia is my place of birth. Whenever I tell people that I was born in Siberia everyone's like "OMG. Did you live in an igloo?! Did you see bears?!" NO. Novosibirsk in the 3rd biggest city in Russia and very modern as you can see in the following pictures. (Green building is the main train station - the apartment where I lived is to the right of it) So, when I was 2 and a half years old my parents and I moved to Minneapolis and I have been living here ever since.

My childhood was not that exciting. I just kinda hung around the house and bugged my parents. When I was 5 I started Kindergarten (i don't know if i spelled that right- don't judge) at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion school. Yep. So I'm fluent in 3 languages. I must say that it has proven to be very helpful and I'm so grateful to my parents for sending me to that school. I feel pretty special that I'm capable of communicating freely in those languages. During elementary school I started rhythmic gymnastics. It's more of a European sport and very few people actually understand the rigor and the work that the sport requires. I did gymnastics until I was 11 and then I fractured my back. WOOOOT! Back brace for 3 months. How exciting. When I finally got the brace off I couldn't even touch my toes so that was it for gymnastics. I was pretty bored just sitting around at home so I picked something unique but that didn't strain my back. So I started ballroom dancing! 

Ballroom dancing is another sport (yes, it actually is a sport) that very few people know about. I danced anywhere from 4-5 times a week for about 3 hours. I had a permanent dance partner named Geordie and we competed all over the country. We went to competitions in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, and Baltimore (Seattle and New York were my favorite). Just because I'm bored I will insert a link of me and Geordie dancing. NO laughing.

So yeah. That was me.... I actually quit dance 2 weeks before school started. I was super busy and I got a job at Caribou and I just didn't have the time to commit. It's sad not being able to go and just dance anymore but who knows, maybe I will pick it up again next summer just for fun.

Other than that, nothing too exciting has happened in my life so I guess I will just post a few pictures of myself and my boring life.

Spain 2012

My sister Vika and I in Mexico

Okay. So I just put way too much effort into writing this blog post and I still have other homework to do. So I'm gonna be done. Ok. Bye.