Where I'm From

I am from somewhere that only I can claim as home. This is a place that I have spent nineteen years of my life returning to. It is masked by the colors gray and dark blue. There are windows to allow glimpses of the outside world in. My place sits in a rectangular frame on top of a hill. I have spent the good times and the bad times of my life at this place. This is my home. It may look average, or normal on the outside, but on the inside everything is unique. Every room in my home tells a different story of my life.

This place played a unique role in the different stages of my life. During my younger years I spent much time out in my nice, open, green yard.  My musical career started at my grand piano at the age of four. I watched a lot of Arthur at the old television in my family room. I grew up, and the role of my home changed. It was no longer my playground. My personality began to show as I redecorated my room with bright colors, and in a weird pattern. I stopped spending as much time outside, and more time inside. I spent time in our furnished basement which included a school room for studying and playing.

I continued to grow, which has led me to today.  I redecorated my room once again, complete with everything music. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food, and enjoying meals with the family. The television room in my basement is a place where I relax, or my escape for when I am sick. My yard is now my puppy’s playground. The piano room is where I continue to develop as a musician.  My house is somewhere only I can claim as home. Each room holds its own memories over the past nineteen years that only I have.  These rooms are my place, and where I am from.

Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein gave an effective presentation about the oil spill. It was effective due to her credibility, her visuals, and her facts. I feel that she is credible because she gave credit for her information to the scientists who have been researching the effects of the oil spill.  Her visuals added a lot to the presentation. They helped her get her point across to the audience, and as a viewer they evoked some emotion. She started her presentation by focussing on the small things that most people forget about. When examining disasters as a country we look at the big losses and the huge changes, but Klein focused in on the things we do not first look at. These facts also help her case, because they are not unbelievable facts, they are facts that as people we may have forgotten about. Klein is tackling a very important topic, and as a speaker she is able to lighten the mood occasionally throughout her speech, which as a viewer makes me more comfortable. In order for a listener, or a viewer, to be effected by a presentation I feel that they need to be comfortable, trust the source, and gain information about the topic. I gained all of these from Naomi Klein's presentation.

Photo Project

            The natural beauty of the land is seen as beautiful throughout the world. Even though today’s technology has changed the appearance of the world, it is still beautiful. These photos display the natural beauty of the world and the changed appearance of it due to industrialization. These photos were taken in Arizona and Hawaii. 

            These photos start with the natural landscape of the beautiful land, and progress as they move to the industrialization of the land. There are many simple photos of trees, flowers, cacti, and animals, and then there are various photos of beaches. Then I took photos of simple objects combined with industrialization to show the changes the environment has gone through over time.  I feel that the photos display the beauty that these states and their environment have to offer. 

            The collection of photos I have put together shows the similarities between Arizona and Hawaii.  The nature of both states has been obscured by the advancement of technology.  In one photo from Hawaii there are bushes that have been shaped to say Aloha which has continued to make the nature beautiful.  There are some photos of palm trees that are obscured by power lines, and although some may think it takes away from nature’s beauty, I think there is a sense of beauty there.  The environment has changed over time, but the changes show the changes our world has gone through, both good and bad. I wanted to display these changes throughout my photos, and capture the different angles of beauty that can still be seen in them.

Silent Spring

As I read this article I was able to make a couple connections to my personal life. The first one is about a camera that is set up in Northern Iowa that monitors a family of eagles. It is linked to a website that is very popular, and has been featuring this family for many months. When I first learned of this website I wondered why it was such a big deal, but after reading this article I understand that it is rare for eagles to survive. The newly hatched eagles have been doing great so far, and hopefully they will beat the odds. The second connection I made was that the crows in Ames don't seem to be effected by any of this. It is sad that so many animals are dying and going extinct because of humans and the chemicals they use, but living in Ames with all of these crows it is hard to see the reality. This article does a great job of presenting and argument and facts, and has shown me some things I wasn't necessarily aware of.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

There were a lot of details that caught my eye in this reading.  This reading was very similar to the Stuff Video we watched in class. As consumers it showed us the full picture of what was going on, instead of what we thought was going on. I didn't know that corn could be so expensive, and that a lot of people/animals can suffer from the consequences of corn-fed cows. As I read the article I was confused as to why the author could see the harm his steer were causing, and not remove his steer from that facility. I think this article does present people with quite a dilemma, but like the ending of the article I feel like most people will go back to eating corn-fed cows, including myself.

Chapter 7- The Everyday Writer

A good essay is organized, and is written so that the reader can understand it. I think I could use outlines to my advantage when writing essays. I tend to outline things in my mind, but by writing it down with specific examples I want to include can help me get to the point without dragging on. I like the formal outline and the linear organization options, because it shows the flow of things.

Is This Kansas: Claim

Eula Biss believes that the University of Iowa, and its students do not have the midwestern hospitality that she expected. Biss argues that the university doesn't care for anything more than itself, and that the students are too wrapped up in their college life. When the community is hit by a storm, Biss writes, "It was a version of the usual Thursday-night carnival, but set against the backdrop, this time, of disaster. And that backdrop revealed the carnival for what it was." Biss had some negative views against the type of community she found herself living in. In Is This Kansas, Eula Biss uses tone, imagery, and narration to describe her experiences and observations in Iowa City.

Grizzly Man

1. I believe that Herzog revealed Treadwell's death early in the film because it makes the viewer question what led up to this. It also changed the outline of the film. Herzog keeps information about Treadwell's life growing up until much later, because it allows the viewers to make their own assumptions before his credibility was questioned.
2. Using "I believe" as Herzog narrates the film makes his credibility questionable because he doesn't sound sure in himself. He enters the film when he listens to the audio of Treadwell's death, and by his reaction the viewers can tell how horrible it is.
3. Some of Treadwell's friends saw him as a mentally unstable guy, while others thought he was smarter than he was given credit for. The opinions about Treadwell were back and forth, much like Treadwell's personality. Herzog questioned Treadwell's intentions several times throughout the film which made Treadwell seem weird.
4. Treadwell thought he was "protecting" the bears, and doing good, but I think he was causing harm. Treadwell stayed in an area where the bears were protected, because it was a national state park. He made the bears think all humans were nice and wouldn't harm them, which could one day be the reason they die. Treadwell also violated several park rules, which could have harmed the bears as well. I believe Herzog made this film partially as a tribute to Treadwell, but also to show what he was doing wasn't helping.
5. Through the film you could tell that Treadwell was clearly more comfortable in the wild with the bears. Amie knew the difference between the human world and the animal world, but never brought him back before his death. Treadwell clearly crossed many lines that are unspoken between the human world and the animal world.
6.  "I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder." The world will always have hostility and murder, but that is what keeps the world in equilibrium. While Treadwell spent time with the bears you could tell he never thought anything bad would happen to his "friends." It was almost as if he failed to recognize predators.  He knew the human world was imperfect, but he wanted the bear world to be perfect which is impossible. This ties into the movie because although he felt things were better in the wild, Treadwell became part of the life cycle out there.
7. They didn't release the audio because it would be too emotional and horrible to listen to. There are certain people in this world that never need to hear it, and as viewers it isn't our place to hear Treadwell's and Amie's last minutes. Herzog presented the tape by him listening to it, and the coroner describing what was on it.
8. We learned the Treadwell had a safe upbringing, and when he was young he loved bears.  Once he went off to college things changed.  He began to take on different personas and spiraled out of control after he wasn't casted on Cheers. The fact that he had a normal upbringing and ended up being weird doesn't surprise me. As I was viewing this film I could tell he was mentally unstable. Herzog waited so long to show this because it questioned Treadwell's credibility.

Walden

There was one line that really grabbed my attention throughout this story. "But a man has no more to do with the style of architecture of his house than a tortoise with that of its shell..." Although some may think the author is talking about a house, I think this is a metaphor for genetics. A person can't design themselves physically, at least they couldn't back then.  I suppose now there is plastic surgery, and that can change the "architecture" of one's body, and there is always the healthy eating at exercising that can determine width of a body. The author also tells his story of how he built his house with his own hands. He found it a very valuable experience, and believes that by doing things yourself you learn more about the world than spending years at an institution. The entire piece was very philisophical, which made it challenging to try to figure out what he meant.
(Specific Details)

Ethel's Sestina

The first thing I read was the description of what this poem was referencing. That stuck with me throughout the entire poem.  The text in the poem sounded very hopeful that help would soon come, but because of the description I already knew the outcome. "Gon' be obedient in this here chair..." That is the very first line of the poem, and it made me think about how she had been restricted in her chair, and how the storm had restricted her further. The lack of help that reached her led her to her death in that chair. On the second page of the poem the author uses text that I found powerful. The way she describes the process of Ethel ascending to heaven is beautiful. I liked how she repeated "come," the voice of her lord. I also really appreciated the way she made it seem peaceful and that Ethel was happy, even though she had been suffering for days because of Hurricane Katrina.
(What specific details stay in your mind? Why? How do these small details lead to larger ideas?)

A day in August 1998

                               

 I saw

                                                                                                the silent tears flow

                                                                and had

                                                                                                no emotions to share

                                                                the sight

                                                                                                I could not bear

                                                                yet still

                                                                                                looked

                                                                he was

                                                                                                gone

Won't Be But A Minute- Patricia Smith

This poem is about leaving Luther B, a dog, behind as a family evacuates New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. There were a few lines in this poem that stuck out to me. "That dog done been rained on before..." I feel that this line is an example of how people underestimated Hurricane Katrina. The following lines says that they will leave some food and water out for him, and he will be fine. This line I feel underestimated the storm as well, "We gon' be back home soon this thing pass over." Most likely they would not have had a home to return to. Throughout this entire poem I feel like Smith is foreshadowing the damage that people aren't expecting. "You heard the man--he said Go--and you know white folks don't warn us 'bout nothing unless they scared too." This is a racist comment that I feel like we deserved. We (white people) told the people to leave everything behind, everything that they had worked for, but without helping them. Hurricane Katrina primarily effected the poor side of New Orleans, which made it difficult for people to leave. A lot of people had nowhere to go, or couldn't afford to leave. The ones who left had the attitude of, "We gon' just wait this storm out. Then we come back home. Get our dog." Although this poem is based around a dog, I feel like Luther B can be a metaphor for everything. People left all of their possessions behind assuming they could come back to get them and they would be fine. Smith may have chosen a dog to be the image in the essay because many people can connect to the emotional attachment people have with pets. In a like manner many people have emotional attach.ments to their possessions, all of which were lost in the storm

(Does any particular image run throughout the essay? If so, why does the author chose it? Does it have any “metaphorical significance”? Does it transform in any way from the beginning to the end of the essay?)

Is This Kansas

The piece, Is This Kansas by Eula Biss, takes place at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The first section of this article focused negatively on the college students. Biss focuses on the partying that was constantly taking place. As I read this section of her article I felt as though she was only looking at the negative things.  In the next section she briefly talked about her time teaching at Iowa. Once again the view is very negative. Biss states, "One didn't need to spend very long at that institution before realizing that the interests of everyone else--the funders, the administrators, the professors, the graduate students--came before the interests of the undergraduate students." She also talked about her time as a graduate student, and how she was seen as a child instead of an adult. These sections build on top of each other because they continue to show her frustration.  The next section of her piece explained how she had been more scared in Iowa City at times than she ever was in New York. Once again her view is negative and fearful. The next section discussed racism and sexism. As a teacher Biss found that her students were ignorant, and believed that racism and sexism no longer existed. All of Biss' complaints about Iowa are the little things that build up to the storm, and there was a storm coming that Iowa was not ready for.

Hurricane Katrina hit during Biss' time at Iowa, and when she heard the news she was devastated. Hurricane Katrina not only effected Louisiana, but the nation.  There were many rumors that spread around the nation, all of which were never confirmed. What was confirmed in Biss' eyes was the fear that white people still had of black people. This topic builds on the last section, because although her students could not see it, there is still racism present. Six months later a storm hit Iowa. A tornado made its path through Iowa City leaving a path of destruction, but by Biss' view, Iowa City was already destroyed. There were so many negative things she emphasized throughout her writing that when this section came up I shouldn't have been surprised. After the tornado the students took the opportunity to steal, vandalize, and party. "...the onlookers seemed to view the damaged downtown as an amusement park--walking through the storm's path of destruction like it was a new adventure ride." The college kids continued to focus on their lives while the city was in destruction. The final section of Biss' article states that Iowa City still hadn't recovered even though it had been months since the storm. The different sections of Is This Kansas add as building blocks.  Each section discusses a frustration or a problem Eula had with Iowa City and the University. She suggests that Iowa City was already in a state of destruction before the storm, and that it won't change.

(Break the piece down paragraph by paragraph (or section by section). How does each piece act as a “building block”? How does the writer create dramatic tension or interest through these building blocks?)

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

In Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, she recalls many of her memories.  There were a few details that stuck with me as I read the story, and that could later be related to another detail. Williams begins her story by talking about the Great Salt Lake.  She recalls an experiment she did in school involving water levels and how that effects the environment. Next she wrote about a family of owls that she would annually come across. She described their home, and what she felt when she discovered their home had been destroyed. Williams had a connection with these birds that is hard to describe. Williams then explained how she was raised and her beliefs. Growing up as a mormon Williams was always told that lineage matters. "As a people and as a family, we have a sense of history. And our history is tied to land." This sentence caught my eye because it relates to Williams and her family, as well as the owls. Williams spent a lot of her childhood watching birds in their habitat, and their history was clearly present in the land. Like the owls, Williams land was destroyed and she suffered. Utah had been used for years as an atomic bomb testing area.  This caused the women in her family to get cancer, and eventually die.  Throughout this piece it was very apparent to me that Terry had deep connections with her environment.  At times the environment was her spiritual place, and a place she learned about life, and at other times it was a place of destruction. The small details that Williams wrote about related to more than just herself or the owls. 


(What specific details stay in your mind? Why? How do these small details lead to larger ideas?)