Post #10

This week I read an article titled "In Early Education, Obama Stirs Great Hope" by Sam Dillon. With the US education system declining rapidly over the last few years, it is good to see something that is hopeful from the Obama organization. He is proposing to give $10 billion dollars to the early education fund. This would greatly increase the country's ability to provide a solid education early on in a child's life. The current Head Start program is only $7 billion and covers about 900,000 kids. More than doubling the money given to this section of education would enormously change the setting of early education. If we are not able to provide young children with a good education from the start, they will have to be playing catch up for the rest of their childhood, and that will not help them as citizens of this country, or help us in our competition with the rest of the world, especially the Asian countries. We need to be able to plan for the future of this country, and invest in the kids that will be running this country in 30 years.

Post #9

This week I decided to read an article in the New York Times, about solar power. Now that the prices of electricity are rising, and the greater effects of global warming are looming on the horizon, many people are beginning to turn to using solar panels. With so many people needing solar panels installed on their house, now there are people who are needed to install them. This is in turn creating jobs for many people, and also greatly helping the environment. The setbacks that are preventing everyone from turning to solar panels, are the costs. A raw cost of about $60,000 is how much it costs to outfit a home. There are many rebates that states give to those people who do invest in this green technology, which end up driving the price down to about $20,000. This is a huge improvement, and definitely makes this a possibility for more people, but it is still pretty expensive. Hopefully, in the coming years, a new cheaper way to outfit homes with solar panels will come out, so we all can enjoy environmentally friendly electricity.

Post #8

This week I read an article in the New York Times about the Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, and the recent scandal he is involved in. Now that Barack Obama has won the presidency, his Senate seat will be open, and so, Rod was trying to auction it off, for political favors, or donations to his campaign for his reelection. I find this very interesting, because I lived in Illinois for 8 years, and I saw him be elected. Apparently, he had been involved in many scandals before, the authorities were just never able to get evidence against him. I think that it is sad that this happened to the governor of a state, but I also feel that he should be punished for the wrong things that he has done.

Post #7

This weekend I chose to read an article about the economic crisis, and how Best Buy is dealing with it. With Circuit City recently filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, Best Buy has to be on their toes, and try and stay above the water until these economic hardships pass. One way that the author says that this can be done, has already happened, their success during the Black Friday sales. They also have to make sure that they keep their prices and products competitive with other chains, to make sure that they are at least staying with them, even if they can't beat them. I think that Best Buy will be able to succeed in these tough times, because they are a favorite and regular store for anyone that purchases gadgets, games, etc. They have always been my source of entertainment related paraphernalia, and they always will be, because they have the products I am looking for, and they are an extremely dependable store.

Post #6

This week I read an article in the New York Times about how the cost of college is rising at an alarming rate. This is even more dangerous now, because we are in a recession, and that causes the prices to seem higher than they are. There are also very dangerous trends that are continuing, such as the amount of people that have to borrow money has doubled in the last 10 years. I think that there needs to be a solution to this problem, because not only middle class or rich people should have the opportunity to go to college, but the less fortunate also. If we keep feeding this trend for more years to come, higher education will become a rare commodity, when we should be pushing for it to become a necessity in today's world, so that we can compete with other countries, and improve the lives of everyone in our country.

Post #5

After finishing the Iliad, I have met my requirement of 250 pages for this quarter, so I have decided to read more newspaper articles about politics. This week, I read an article titled Clinton-Obama Detente: From Top Rival to Top Aide by Elisabeth Bumiller. This article caught my attention, because I am very interested by Obama's choice of Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State. I think that this is a very good choice on his part, because now he is able to appease the Clinton supporters, and also she will be good at the job. Many leaders around the world like the Clinton's, and she was very popular as First Lady. I think that Obama is bringing a lot of diversity to his cabinet, but the people he is bringing are very intelligent, and I think that they will be able to help him greatly in his upcoming presidency.

Post #4

In this post I have finished the Iliad, and overall I enjoyed it. The characters were very interesting to see develop, mainly Odysseus though. I really enjoyed the evolution of Odysseus as a character, because I was able to get a much better background of him. Having the additional information of him, such as actual depictions of his heroism in battle, help me better understand people's adoration of him in The Odyssey. I was usually confused at how so many people could like him so much, and I was unable to think of any act of his, that would make him so well liked, and revered by so many people everywhere. Overall, I think that this was a good book, and now I understand the Odyssey much better, and I may have to read it again. I recommend this book to anyone who has, or is going to read the Odyssey.

Post #3

In the beginning of books five and six, a man named Diomedes is injured. After being injured, he prays to Athena, and asks her for help, so that he can get revenge. Athena gives him the ability of super strength. With this he kills many Trojans. This event gave me an interesting thought, about how the Gods intervene so much in the story, and their interventions really affect how the war sways between the two sides. Whenever something momentous happens in the epic, it is usually due to something the Gods have done. I think that it is extremely interesting that the Gods want to influence humanity so much, when you would think that they would want them to be able to settle things for themselves. I am still enjoying the book, but I still hold my gripes about too much fighting, and not enough attention to the development of a better plot or characters.

Post #2

I have continued to read The Iliad for this week's post, and I am still enjoying it. There is a lot of action so far in the book, and I enjoy it, but it is beginning to become repetitive. There is basically constant killing, and a lot of it is pointless, and could have been substituted for something that would add more to the plot, or more additions to the actual story and not just the war part. I think that the validity of the story could be greatly increased if there was more substance added, and less blood, gore, and stabbing. In the second chapter, more intervention of the Gods happens, and this time it is Zeus. He talks to Agamemnon in his dream, which misleads him in his goals, changing the Greek army and their strength. So far I like the book.

Q2 Post #1

This week I have begun to read the Iliad. The book begins, with the story of Achilles, who is a revered hero of the Trojan war, and is so, because of his bravery and valor. Agamemnon, is the leader of a group called the Achaens. They then decide to take two women prisoner, to aid in their war effort. This is frowned upon by the Gods, so a plague is sent upon the entire army of Greece. The plague that Apollo causes, kills many soldiers, and weakens the Greek army. The Greek army then finds out that the plague was sent on them by a God, and Agamemnon is thrown into a rage. Achilles and Agamemnon become angry with each other, and nearly fight each other, but the Gods intervene, and prevent the fight from happening. They got into the fight, because Achilles threatened to pull all of his troops out of the battle, and Agamemnon was angry about this.

Post #10

Today I decided to read more of the Odyssey that we are not going to read in class. I read books 12, 13, and 14. They were very interesting, and hopefully will make more sense after I have read the books that lead up to these. The story continues Odysseus' journey, and he finally ends up in Ithaca. After reading these books, I have met my quota of 250 pages this quarter.

Post #9

This week I chose to read some of The Odyssey that we aren't going to be reading in class. I read books 7 and 8, and they were both very interesting. In the beginning of the seventh book, Odysseus is going to the palace of Alcinous, where there are a people called the Phaeacians. He also meets a girl, that says she can help him. But what Odysseus doesn't know is that the girl is really Athena in disguise. Having Athena guide him, she is able to hide him from the Phaeacians, whom, had he not been disguised, he would have been harassed by them. Odysseus then goes to the palace, where the King and Queen agree to help him get home, but first he tells them his situation. The King of the Kingdom likes Odysseus so much, that he says that Odysseus can marry his daughter if he wants to.

Post #8

This week I decided to read another political article from the New York Times, titled In Bush Stronghold, Obama pulls even with McCain by Catherine Seelye. This article discusses how Obama is beginning to force John McCain to defend states that he should be automatically winning, based on the numbers from the last election. This prevents him from being able to campaign in battleground swing states that he needs to win to win the election. The author of this article believes that the cause of this extreme change in heart comes from the concern with the current economic condition, which leads many people to support Barack Obama. Other factors are McCain's negative campaign, and Obama's massive amounts of money and television ads. An example of this is the thirty minute block of time that Obama bought during prime time a week before the election will take place, and no one knows what he's going to do with it.

Movie Hero Artifacts

The ways that I classified my artifacts are people who are heroes through good, and people who are heroes through evil. An example of someone who is a hero through evil, is Don Corleone, because he is able to provide for his family and the people he cares about, but he does it through killing, and running a family of the mob. Someone who is a hero through good is Han Solo, because he sacrifices what he thought was his life, for the fact of the mission of helping the Rebels. Some qualities of a hero are:

• Willingness to scarifice
• Compassion
• Caring
• Performing acts of Heroism
• Helping other people
  

I believe that Captain Miller is a hero, because he gives his life, so that Private Ryan can return home, because his mother had already lost three sons in the war. He led his squad far and wide searching for Private Ryan, then when they found him, he is shot and killed protecting Private Ryan.

I believe that James Bond is a hero, because he sacrifices his life, so that he can stop evil people from destroying the world. He always is hurt and maimed when he is on a mission.

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_hero.html
This list of heroes is here, because it has a good indicator of how many good movie heroes there are.


These movies are here, because Han Solo and Don Corleone are both heroes, who make many sacrifices so that they can protect those that they love.


Atticus Finch is here, because he sacrifices his reputation and his popularity with the townspeople, so that he can support what he believes is right. He also helps a man with no one else that would be his lawyer. Atticus receives a lot of persecution for his representing of a black man, but he stands up for his beliefs.

While studying movie heroes, I discovered that there are two types of heroes, people who are heroic through good, and those who are heroic through evil. But both of these groups of people have the same characteristics of caring for others, being compassionate, caring, and willing to make sacrifices, even if it involves their life. All of these people are heroes for these reasons, and should be revered as so.

Post #7 (LATE BECAUSE OUT OF TOWN)

This week I decided to read another article in the New York Times titled Endorsement Puts Spotlight on a Legacy by Elisabeth Bumiller. This article is discussing the endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell. This happened on Meet the Press today, and it shows how Powell believes Obama is a better candidate than McCain. Powell says that Obama is the candidate that offers more change, and will put the country in a better direction than McCain would. The endorsement by Powell will dispell many of the negative comments about Obama "palling around with terrorists" because a man of Powell's military staure supports him. It also can help Obama prove he has enough experience and leadership ability to be the next president. So far this quarter I have read about 150 pages, in books and my favorite type of reading, newspaper articles.

Post #6 (LATE BECAUSE OUT OF TOWN)

I have now finished Night. I think that it was a fantastic book, because it was an extremely detailed story of Elie's survival at Auschwitz. But with all of the attentiveness to detail, comes a lot of depressing moments in the book. One of the saddest parts of the whole book is when his father and him are being separated into male and female lines, and does not know at the time that that is the last time he will ever see his mother and sister Tzipora again. Another part of the book that depressed me was the fact that Elie was only fifteen years old. I tried to imagine myself in that situation, and I couldn't, because it is just so horrific. If I was separated from my family, realizing that that was the last time I would see them, I would be so distraught. Overall, this is an excellent novel, and I recommend it to everyone.

Post #5 (LATE BECAUSE OUT OF TOWN)

I am still reading Night, and I am enjoying it a lot. The quote, "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never" is extremely meaningful in the book. This is because it tells how lasting the impressions of this Hell are. It is able to try and describe to people how bad the concentration camp was. I think that is a large part of the purpose of this book, to try and have people create a mental image of the camp, and how bad it is. This way, people can capture the emotion of the author and his troubles.

Post #4

I am currently reading Night by Elie Wiesel. The book is about a man's remembering of his experiences during the Holocaust. He is 15, when he brought into the concentration camp. One interesting thing I have noticed so far is how they would lie about their age. When Elie and his father were first admitted into the camp, they were told by a mysterious person to say that they are 18 and 40, when in reality they are 15 and 50. This was to ensure that they would not be sent to the gas chambers, because if their inability to work. I also am intrigued by the fact that all of the Jews in Auschwitz are so tightly unified, and friendly despite their dismal situation. Many of the other Jews would aid Elie and his father, by telling them good work groups, and what to do and what not to do, all of these things increased their chances of being able to survive.

Post #3

For my post today, I chose another New York Times article to read titled "In Poverty and Strife, Women Test Limits" by Carlotta Gall. This article discusses how many women are beginning to gain more rights in Afghanistan for the first time, one has even taken the role as a governor in the country, the first one ever. The Shiite Muslims are a much less conservative sect, and are more open to the idea of women working in places other than the home, making it much easier for them. But, this is a huge step for all of the women, because it is a step of progression, and hope for all of the other women in the country, that they too can have some of their repression lifted. Some things as small as driving a car are huge to women in Afghanistan, and other countries like it. Hopefully in time, all women in all countries will have the same rights and privileges as the men do in those countries.

Post #2

The piece of reading I decided to do my post on is an article in the New York Times on the voting of the bailout plan that is going to take place on Wednesday. The article is titled "Senate to Vote Wednesday on Bailout Plan" and is written by Carl Hulse and Robert Pear. The quote of "It was a delicate balancing act for the architects of the proposal who had to be careful that in adding elements to entice new support they did not lose the support they already had" is interesting because everyone wants to pass this bailout to try and jump start the economy, but they can't agree on something. This is because adding new provisions such as oversight on the use of the money coming in or other controversial parts may achieve support but also lose some. The people on the committees that are handling this issue have to be able to find a balance between having the most productive bill, but also getting enough support so that it can be passed. Many people are still questioning the fact of whether this bailout will even work, because President Hoover tried a similar plan during his presidency and it ended up forcing President Roosevelt to fix his attenpt at a solution for the banks.

Character Comparison

Hallie and Codi are very similar characters and share many of the same traits as characters, much of this is due to them being sisters, but even after they are no longer together they still exhibit many similar actions. Both Hallie and Codi are caring and show this in many of their actions throughout their lives described in the novel. Hallie shows here care by going down to Nicaragua and helping the people there plant their crops so that they will have enough food to eat and live. Codi shows here care by moving to Grace so that she can help here father, and she also ends up being in a relationship with Loyd where she shows care too. They also have differences between them like Codi being secretive and Hallie being adventurous. Hallie shows her being adventurous by traveling down to Nicaragua like I already mentioned. Codi is secretive when she hid the fact that she had a stillbirth when she was 15 and tried to keep it a secret by burying the baby in the middle of the night. Hallie and Codi were always talked about as extremely similar and almost one person because they were so close to each other and not very different at all. An example of this is when tey would sleep together, Doc Homer would always say how they looked like one person and would never have been able to know that they were two separate people, only their mother would have been able to.

The Devil in the White City

The book I've recently read is The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The book was a tale that contrasted good and evil. The story takes place during the World's fair in Chicago and tells the lives of a planner of the fair, and a murderer who is using the fair to attract his prey. The author was able to prove this thesis by showing the lives of these two men. I agree with the author's position because no matter how good something is, there are always going to be people who use it for their bad motives. I really enjoyed the piece because it was very educational about the time of the World's fair in Chicago, showing all of te preparation that went into it and how much the US wanted this to succeed so that we could show we are just as cultured as Paris. The book also had action that kept the book entertaining and interesting the whole time.