Sentence Fixes

Link

Research Paper Update

1) My topic is the causes and effects of the Arab Spring.
2) Opposing Viewpoints Center: Arab Spring was initiated by a desire for social justice This article makes the argument that the Arab Spring was triggered by a desire for democracy. It goes on to analyze the feelings of the demonstrators and the reasons for the shift.
 Opposing Viewpoints Center: Social Media Ignited the Arab Spring
This article describes the ways social media was used during the Arab Spring and argues that without social networking it is unlikely the arab spring would've taken place.
Opposing Viewpoints Center: The Arab Spring has destabilized the Middle East This article looks at the effects of the Arab Spring rather than the causes and argues that the Arab Spring has had a destabilizing effect on the Middle East.
Human Rights Watch: Tunisia should investigate attacks
This article by the Human Rights Watch attacks Tunisia for human rights violations over a year after their pro-democratization shift.
New York Times Editorial: Making the revolution in Libya work This article describes some of the predicted future challenges Libya will face post-democratization

Finding an anti-gay marriage article

here

Complaining!

It's my birthday dinner, every year we go to the special sushi place. I order the dragon roll, and the wild roll. The wild roll arrives fine: It has crab, avocado and salmon. But the dragon roll arrives and immediately I notice it has cucumber on it in addition to the crab, unagi and avocado. I could call the waiter over right now tell him the mistake and it would be corrected instantly. He would apologize profusely and we might get a free side of something delicious. However deep down inside I do not want to challenge the authority. A million scenarios flash through my head. The waiter could laugh hysterically and pull out a copy of the menu and say oh no, it does have cucumber in it, then the entire gallery would point and laugh at me. The waiter could fall over crying saying that if he got one more order wrong this week he would be fired. The waiter could look me dead in the eye and say, what do you have to complain about, millions of people are starving right now and then slap me across the face. All I know is nothing bad will happen to me if I suck it up and pick out the cucumbers. I lack the assertiveness to change anything.

Definition essay

here

Senior Project Update

I have not done much with my senior project since the initial post. It has been a low priority because I have been working on college stuff, my eagle project and the lead role in the school play. I bought an astronomy book, looked at the stars on a couple of occasions and can now identify a couple of constellations. I also have been paying attention to the moon. Other than that I haven't put any time into this.

The thing I need to work on is finding a mentor for this project. I already approached my chemistry teacher from last year and he said he'd do it, but he wasn't that knowledgable on the subject. So I think I will talk to my physics teacher next see if he is more knowledgable and ask him if he would be willing to do it. Then it's a matter of setting up and completing the interview. Nothing like a deadline to get you going!

On "Drugs"

     What a peculiar title for this post! No I'm not on drugs, rather I am commenting on the essay "Drugs" written by Gore Vidal in 1970.
     In regard to Vidal's statement that drugs should be legalized because "each man has the right to do what he wants with his own life...as long as he doesn't interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness", I agree with the statement but with this added corollary: as the preamble of the U.S. Constitution states, one of the purposes of the union we have formed is to "promote the general welfare" therefore I would add a corollary as follows: "each man has the right to do what he wants with his own life...as long as he doesn't interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness" AND as long as he is aware of the risks associated with his actions. I believe one of the functions of government is to enlighten our citizens so they can make better decisions and this certainly aplies to the case of legalizing drugs.
     Now, Within this statement there is an assumption that drug users with legal, readily available, drugs are not going to interfere with their "neighbor's pursuit of happiness." A study by the Bureau of Justice indicates that over half of violent crimes by state prison inmates were committed while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. While this study is out of date, it is no secret that for years we have been drawing connections between drugs and violence. Violence certainly interferes with a "neighbor's pusuit of happiness" or even promoting the general welfare and establishing domestic tranquility. It's tough to tell if it would help if drugs were completely legalized. For example alcohol and cigarettes are legal and plenty of crimes and deaths occur from people under the influence of alcohol. Here in the Napa Valley we have a monthly DUI list in a couple of our papers that is full of names. We are lucky there are not more deaths.
     Research from the University of Berkeley indicates that legalizing drugs   or enforcing the strict regulations we currently have are not solutions. Rather the solution can be seen as somewhere in the middle. When looking at history and compromise, it makes sense that the answer to our drug problem lies in the middle and the university cites many countries with policies in the middle as prime examples.
     Whatever the case something must change. The US has the largest prison population total and the highest per capita. Many of these inmates are in for drug-related crimes including the abomination of justice occuring with Clarence Aaron. Let us look to the middle for our solution.
    

Link to ICE 10/17

The Character of Thomas Jefferson

On "Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell

      I found this essay to be extremely dated and hard to understand, yet there were a few things in it that we could all take with us to improve our writing. 

      For one he talks about eliminating overused phrases and idioms and mocks people for using such phrases when they do not actually know what each individual word means or where the idiom came from. He then went onto illustrate using examples, how popular idioms are less descriptive because they mold something into a specific category due to the writer's laziness. Whereas if the writer were to take time to describe the object in it's uniqueness, the description would be much more apt.

     Another thing he talks about is avoiding the passive voice. This is something that was no doubt stressed to us in AP literature last year and Orwell does a good job of describing why the passive voice is misleading.

      Finally Orwell talks about "pretentious diction" (a phrase that perfectly describes his point) or words that use assumptions or slanted views of a particular subject or false authority.

      In summary, Orwell urges writers to be specific, be concrete, write exactly what they mean and avoid staying confined to the societal norms of writing.

Grantland.com's Hollywood Prospectus Blog

Grantland.com's Hollywood Prospectus Blog is a quality blog! This blog is effective and entertaining for numerous reasons.
1) It is updated frequently and there is a lot of content. Every weekday there are probably a half dozen new posts on the blog.
2) The blog is diverse and it effectively uses different media. There are links to youtube videos, there are videos created by the Grantland site. There are links to original podcasts, there is quality writing with images created by their design team. Oh and there are links to their facebook and twitter pages.
3) It has consistency to it. No matter what article you click on the sidebar still has links to the top stories, and the top bar has links to all the different features offered by the website. The color scheme is red and white. The logo is the same throughout, the font is the same, the links are always in read and certain features occur on specific weekdays (for example the podcast for hollywood prospectus in general is on Tuesdays and the reality-tv friday podcast is always on fridays)
4) There is quality writing from numerous writers. Something that sets the Hollywood Prospectus blog above other pop culture blogs is that there are numerous voices and angles instead of just one. Sometimes they run features where two writers exchange emails. These discussions along with their podcasts where they argue back and forth provide multiple angles on particular subjects. The writing is very clever and funny and the writers are from diverse backgrounds.
5) The Blog uses tags, headlines and links to make things easy to find.
6) They also analyze past pop culture. The blog does a magnificent job of looking at current events such as the Emmy's oscar's, the newest summer blockbuster or Quentin Tarantino trailer, but rather than just be content with the current news, they also go back and look at previous eras, which allows younger folk to become more culturally literate.
7) There is a sense of reader involvement. All the writer's twitter handles are available and sometimes they reference tweets in their columns. Also there are polls given out such as the Sequeltology bracket which determined which movie sequel was the greatest of all time (If your curious and too lazy to click the link The Empire Strikes Back beat The Godfather II in the finale).
All in all Hollywood Prospectus is a quality blog and an easy way to lose hours of your life.

Research Paper Topic: Arab Spring

1) For my research paper topic I will be researching the "Arab Spring" or the transition of Islamic nations from dictatorship to democracy in the past 3 years.
2) There is so much that is controversial about this topic. For one it is contemporary so everyone has different views about what caused it. People also don't know what's next and what it means for the country-to-country relationships in the middle east.
3) I will be using news articles, editorials, magazine articles. There is a plethra of resources available online on this topic. Many writers have made a reputation on this topic and other writers with a reputation have tackled this topic.
4) To me the Middle East is the most fascinating and important region of the world right now. Things are constantly evolving there and the oil they have is extremely important to the world. I am doing this paper because I am curious, right now I have a barely formulated opinion and I would like to see what else is out there and see what opinion I emerge with after significant research.
5) I don't think this topic is particularly popular, it is fairly new. And whatever the case I feel that my opinion and research will differ greatly than someone else in the class who tries it, because I have my own analysis and they would have theirs.
6) Do you think this topic is too broad?

STRESS!

STRESS!

One of the most popular psychology topics is stress. My peers and I encounter it on a daily basis as top-tier-college-bound seniors at high school. We take multiple college-level courses, (AP) cram our schedules with sports, clubs, music lessons, community service and yet it may never be enough.

Walk into any of my classes and you'll find a room full of highly motivated brilliant kids who are being pushed to the brink. So Where does this stress come from? How do we deal with it? And why do we have stress? The answers can be found in the psychiatric field.

The National Institute of Mental Health classifies stress as a Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Symptoms of a GAD are excessive worrying and anxiety about everyday obstacles and the future for a prolonged period of time (6 or more months). Sound Familiar? I'll go on. GAD is most likely to affect people from late childhood to early adulthood. It is as we are developing into the person we will become for the rest of our lives that we are most vulnerable to excessive stress.

An illuminating study by the American Psychological Association reveals some shocking statistics and many of the causes of stress. According to the APA in 2011, 22% of Americans rated their stress level as 8 or higher on a scale of one to ten with the mean level being 5.2. What causes this stress? According to this survey :

"Significant sources of stress include money (75 percent), work (70 percent), the economy (67 percent), relationships (58 percent), family responsibilities (57 percent), family health problems (53 percent), personal health concerns (53 percent), job stability (49 percent), housing costs (49 percent) and personal safety (32 percent)."
So clearly money has the biggest impact on stress, followed by family, health, and personal safety.

This begs the question: what is stress biologically and why do we have it? According to Web MD: Stress is a heightened state of awareness that comes when we are asked to do more than we typically would. Our heart races faster, we breathe faster and function better. Stress is useful in times of crisis because it allows us to escape danger, and be most productive when our life or career is on the line. Unfortunately too much stress can keep this heightened sense of awareness up even at night and keep us from properly recovering. Eventually our bodies and minds wear down as the stress takes its toll. 

So what can we do about stress? The University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center in summary suggests being social, exercising, taking short brain breaks, and most importantly managing time better. We humans are very much creatures dependent on eachother. Being social is a great way to relieve some stress. Taking care of your body will make you feel better as then you only have to worry about mental stress. But the biggest thing is to limit your activities. Quantity over Quality! The more you try to cram in the less effective you are going to be at each individual thing. So if you can, limit your activities, take a deep breath and do some yoga, your body and mind will thank you.

Division/Analysis

Boy

I want a husband

I want a husband who earns all the money in the family, allowing me to spend time at home with my children who I treasure more than anything or anyone that came before them. I want a husband who comes home on time, leaves work at work and smiles the second he walks in the door. I would love a husband who comes home and plays outside with the kids, does all the heavy lifting, does all the yard-work, offers to cook dinner and do the dishes despite just getting home from a long day. If he asked me about my day and listened intently that wouldn't hurt.
I would love if he played a musical instrument or sang for me. If he was constantly creative and romantic with our dates I would feel special. If he wrote me poetry and bought me flowers just because then he'd have my favor.
If he never showed a hint of jealousy when I chatted with other men at dinner parties that would be just wonderful. I'd love for him to be kind, handsome, with a good taste in fashion and decor. I want a husband who is knowledgable about nearly everything, from the sinks to our cars. I want a husband who reads in his spare time.
I want a husband who is social, funny and impressive to everyone I show him off to, but not so much that he diminishes me.
I want a husband who is clean and neat. He insists on doing his own laundry, grooms himself obsessively, has no hints of facial hair and cares about how dry or moist his skin is.
I want a husband who takes pride in all of his little achievements but has no grand ambitions. He would be content with being with me.
I want him to tell me every day how much he loves me. I want him to be sentimental. I want to sit with him pouring over photo albums. I want to sit through romantic comedies with him and for him to cry in them occasionally. I want him to never be embarrassed of me.
I want him to understand me, to read my mind and moods. I want him to comfort me in my sad times. I want him to be there for me.

Process Analysis

Learning the Steps of the Step

Comparison/Contrast: Track and Cross Country

Link

"Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain" Response #4 Critical Writing

In Mitford's essay on the process of enbalming, she makes the reasonable assumption that most Americans do not  know what it takes to make a body ready for a funeral. She firmly believes that the process of enbalming is revolting and disrespectful of the dead and if Americans knew the process they would not agree with it. She portrays the enbalmers as shadowy, deceptive figures not to be trusted.
     Mitford assumes that most Americans are ignorant of enbalming. In paragraph four Mitford critiques the ignorance of Americans saying "Americans...each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars [for enbalming]...Not one in ten thousand has any idea of what actually takes place." This argument is a fair one; funerals are expensive and when one pays for something expensive, one usually tends to research it.
      Mitford portrays the enbalmers in a negative light. In the final paragraph, she sums up the job: "He has relieved the family of every detail, he has revamped the corpse to look like a living doll...he has put on a well-oiled performance in which the concept of death has played no part whatsoever." Her grotesque details of the process itself and her repetivie mention of the enbalmer's having "intestinal fortitude" make the reader sick to their stomach.
    

Statement Inspiration Essay

Handwritten Letters (Inspired by "Electronic mail provides a form of communication that letters and telephone don't") Note: Following the images there is a verbatim transcript for easier readability.

Structural Element of "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society"

     The structural element of "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society" that jumped out most to me was the testimonies and real-life stories of illiterate people. The testimonies make the story more accessible to the reader and really give the reader a good kick in the mouth. For example in paragraph 22, the writer tells the story of "A women in detroit [who] brought home a gallon of Crisco for her children's dinner. She thought that she had bought the chicken that was pictured on the label. She had enough Crisco now to last a year- but no more money to go back and buy the food for dinner." This real-life example makes the problem of illiteracy personal to the reader. It shows that there are people behind the statistics. Besides telling the story of people, Kozol also occasionally uses there direct words as in paragraph 15 where he quotes a woman in Washington DC as saying "We signed things we didn't know what they were." These voices and stories are sprinkled throughout the passage and were the most striking and powerful thing about the writing. It is one thing to talk of statistics, it is another thing entirely to show the people whose lives are affected.

Narrative Essay Link

Working (Style Imitation of Digging)

Psychology!

For about a year I have gone between different things I've wanted to major in. I went from being interested in political science to engineering to architecture and over the summer I appear to have settled on psychology.
     People have always been very fascinating to me. When I was younger I would always wonder why people would do certain things and lately I've been trying more and more to discover why I do certain things. At the root of psychology is the very question: "Why do people do what they do?" My grandmother, uncle and aunt are all psychologists so perhaps I have a gene for it and I've always loved to listen to people talk and try and help them with their problems.
      Another thing that I've always loved are dreams. I am a firm believer that all dreams do have significance, however the meaning isn't always apparent or enlightening in the moment.  I keep a dream diary and I've tried to lucid dream before but only accomplished complete dominance of the dream once. For those who don't know lucid dreaming is when you are fully aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming. Some lucid dreamers can manipulate their environments, people, physics etc.
      The other thing I like about psychology is that it analyzes emotions not only by themselves but also how they relate to actions; two people may feel a similar way and be in a similar circumstance but emotions and feelings have various effects on each individual. Personally I'm someone who is motivated by guilt a lot at times so I'm curious about why it is that I feel that guilt.
     Psychology is by no means a black and white field. There are tons of theories that are highly controversial and while there is truth to almost every theory they don't always apply because each individual is unique. I like this because unlike math or physics, psychology is intentionally subjective and better adapts to the real world.
      Once I started considering psychology as a major, I started to look at career paths, graduate school etc. There are 3 main types of psychologists: 1) the researchers (do psychological experiments) 2) the applied psychologists (make suggestions to companies based on research) 3) Clinical psychologists (classic cliche image). In order to practice clinical psychology (which I think I'm interested in) the best chances are to take two years of graduate school for a masters degree and then four years of doctoral to attain the Doctorate of psychology (Psy. D) this is all in addition to a BA (4 years) in a psychology-related topic or a health-related topic. 10 more years of school might sound daunting to some of my peers but I thoroughly enjoy learning and there's always room for a gap year. Who knows where I'll end up in 11 years? If anything going straight through the ten years is probably the least likely outcome as I want to be married and have some children somewhere in there. The Psy. D would allow me to do my own research, practice psychology, teach, write (something else I love to do) and recommend people for psychiatrists (the ones who prescribe medication). I believe that the earnings would be enough for me to live a comfortable life even with family, keep me interested in what I was doing, allow me to travel every now and then and most importantly feel as though my life was purposeful and spent helping people. Who knows if that's where I'll end up. That's the beauty of life, it can take you some many different directions :)
-E.

E. Takes a Shot at "Greasy Lake"

      "Greasy Lake" by T.C. Boyle reads more like a nightmare than an account of failed teenage rebellion. The exaggerated descriptions and depictions add to the feel that the author is in over his head when it comes to being bad.
       The diction while describing the scenery adds to the ominous surreal tone. For example the author drops his keys "in the dark, rank, mysterious nighttime grass of Greasy Lake." Later when the author is running away from his immoral decision to attack a girl he describes the terrain as "feculent undergrowth at the lake's edge, insects flying up in my face, weeds whipping, frogs and snakes and red-eyed turtles splashing off into the night: I was already ankle-deep in muck and tepid water and still going strong." It would appear that every living and non-living object in the area has turned against the author much like it would in a dream. The objects are described the way they are because of the guilt the author feels. It as if the author made a questionable decision because he was in a dream-like trance and now he cannot wake up from this nightmare where every object scorns him for his choice.
      The narrator and his friends are clearly out of their element and attempting things that are out of character. In the first paragraph the narrator even admits that his group "struck elaborate poses to show that we didn't give a shit about anything." You can't buy cool. It's something some people have and others just don't and nothing they attempt from "striking elaborate poses," drinking "gin and grape juice" or throwing "two dozen raw eggs at mailboxes and hitchhikers" will change their status. In the end they aren't fully committed to it anyhow because when the going gets tough they run away from their nightmarish experience.
       It is not until this experience at greasy lake does the author realize the error in his ways and the consequences of his actions: "I contemplated suicide...scraped the recesses of my brain for some sort of excuse to give my parents...then I thought of the dead man. He was probably the only person worse off on the planet than I was...My car was wrecked; he was dead" Our teenage rebel reals that he is lucky to have lived and he wants out of this world he saw a glimpse of. He deeply is ashamed of his actions and fears the consequences, but is happy he was given a second chance. When the girls offer to party with him at the end he blows them off because he has learned his lesson.
     The author shows the consequences of acting out of character through his experiences at "Greasy Lake."

Description Essay: A track meet

The Day I Flew!

Descriptive "Field Trip" Piece

The Palm Tree

Box-Man Post-Discussion Questions

1) One new thing I  learned about the essay from the discussion was how the season plays in a role in influencing how we view the box-man. The author chooses to not show the harshness of homelessness in winter so that the reader can understand the box-man's decision to accept loneliness.
2) I wish we had talked more about the two women mentioned later in the essay because I feel that they are the examples the author most wants the reader to see. We really didn't explore them in any depth.
3)  I wish I had said earlier "It's not what is said, but how it's said" because I felt like we spent too much time on the interpretation.

Take Home Essay #1

I am a Try-hard

Link to Long Form

Google Docs shared link to long form for "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman"

Looking to the Stars for my Senior Project

When it came time for me to choose my senior project at the end of last year I knew I wanted to use a completely fresh topic. I decided I would benefit more from the project if it was something I had next to zero experience with because by the end of it I would have a completely new skill. I felt if I had done something I was already passionate about and had put the hours into, I wouldn't gain nearly as much from the project.

At first I just didn't know what that topic would be. I thought about cooking, psychology, kayaking rock climbing, scuba diving. Then one day I thought about astronomy. My only experience with stargazing has been on camping trips with my parents and other knowledgable adults, and I by no means consider myself an expert on the subject or let alone proficient. I came to realize that this was something I'd always wanted to do, but just not quite enough to make time for. I figured this project would be the perfect opportunity to discover astronomy.

My project will be to take a large group of friends, family, adults, peers and fellow Napans on a night hike. I would like to be able to give a tour of the stars complete with scientific facts, legends, folklore and fun stories. By the end of this project I hope to be able to look at the stars and know their stories on any night in any area of the earth.

It's Me!

Hello, my name is E. I’m 17 years old, a licensed driver, licensed scuba diver, honors student, avid science-fiction reader, a Christian, a musician, boy scout and a writer.

I struggle with many of the things my peers struggle with such as schoolwork, friendships, losing things, being disorganized, my past, motivation, colleges, finding my calling.
I have lived in Napa all my life in the same house. I’m fortunate to have had a nurturing environment and not a lot of change. I have one sibling, a sister, age 22. She went to college in 2007 and I have been an only child since then. Our household has two pets: a dog named Chester and a bird named Budgie. Chester and I can often be seen on walks in my neighborhood in South Napa. Here is a cute picture of Chester after his surgery on his paw.

In my spare time I like to spend time with friends, family and God as well as pass time with other hobbies. It is my firm belief that we all have hobbies to pass our time with and no hobby is “better” than any other hobby regardless of what society says. Hobbies are essential to recharging. Personally, I have had many hobbies over the years such as stamp collecting, coin collecting, collecting sports cards, collecting other cards, model airplane building, playing the guitar, travelling and camping. The hobbies that I am currently interested in are stargazing, playing video games, reading, playing piano, scrap booking, hiking and listening to music.

In terms of extracurricular activities I put most of my time into two areas. Running and Boy Scouts. Running has been put on hold for me this past year because of some injuries I have had and a terrible car accident on April 24th, 2012. Boy Scouts is one of my true passions. I run troop 51 in Napa. My official position is Senior Patrol Leader which means I am responsible for planning all troop activity and running the activities. Currently I am working on my eagle scout project which will be to put a basketball hoop in at the homeless shelter on Old Sonoma Road. Here is a link to what I must fill out for the project and requirements (the booklet I use ). I would link my own, but it contains personal information of others.

I consider myself a very open, trusting person. There’s not a lot that I wouldn’t share about myself to a person I have known for more than a month. I’m also very dedicated to things I care about. I have kind of a strict moral code when it comes to breaking rules or breaking the law or doing something that would potentially upset someone else; I don’t like pranks, I won’t ditch class, I won’t go to a party or hang out unless I’ve been explicitly invited by one of the planners of the event. I also am a very non-confrontational person. I would have a hard time accepting that someone knew who I was and truly hated me. Perhaps this makes me a people-pleaser but this is the only way I know how to live since I carry a tremendous amount of guilt.

Overall, I’d say I’ve lived a happy, privileged life thus far and I have positioned myself for happiness in the future.