MSB and A Walk In The Woods

In A Walk In the Woods, the author talked about all of these interesting facts and shocking things while telling his story about life on the trail. Some examples are 44-49 or 110-114. I think that I had a similar connection because through the research I did for MSB, I learned all kinds of new facts and some of them were shocking. Like the author, I knew about where I was talking about (he and the AT and me with the San Diego beaches) but through research and getting more involved (going to a Surfrider meeting, water testing, picking up trash on a boat) I gained a new awareness, concern and a type of respect for our beaches, and I think Bryson did the same.

Another connection that I had was through Bryson and Katzs actual journey they found all of these new places that they didnt know were a part of the trail. Throughout this project, I learned about all of these new beaches and coastal ecosystems that I didnt know were there. Just like how Bryson and Katz found the overly touristy national park (page 151), I found places like the river mouth, Imperial Beach, PB Point, etc.

Honors History- Personal Reflection

1. I think that my successes as an honors student were my essays in general, but in particular my first few history essays. I thought that my presidential endorsement was of my successes because I had never written anything like that and it was a challenge. In the end I think I made it sound good and like a real presidential endorsement. Another thing I consider a success was reading all of my honors literature books on time and writing good quality essays through the prompts. I didnt just write a book report, I gave background information on the story while still answering the prompt.

2. If I could do this semester over again, I would want to work on my thesis statements and make them more clear and concise. On the Gatsby essay, my thesis wasn't detailed enough and that is a problem I think I have had overall with thesis statements and essays this semester. Another thing I would do want to do over would be making sure that my essay stays on topic and connects back to my thesis. Sometimes I go off on tangents and they don't connect at all to the essay prompt or thesis statement.


3. My goals for honors next semester are to continue writing high quality essays, work on the things I would've done over again and improve my writing skills. To achieve my goals Im going to just keep doing what Im doing as far as essays go since my essays have all gotten pretty good scores. To work on my thesis statements and essay structure, I think its all about being more aware of your mistakes and what you can do to change them, and I am now. To improve my writing skills I will continue taking Randys feedback and learning new skills in his class. (:

4. I like how we get to chose our own literature for our honors books with some suggestions so I wouldn't pick anything in particular to do. For history, I would want to study about the Cold War since I just recently learned that it took part in the U.S. It is one of the wars I dont really know about, but everyone always makes references to it so it would be pretty cool to learn about it in depth.

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods is a story of two un-expected men hiking the renowned Appalachian Trail and living in the wilderness. Brysons and Katz’s relationship changes from virtually strangers, who may have known each other in another life, to a close bond and deep understanding of each other because they were hiking together, the physical demands of hiking the trail, and being in the wilderness.

Throughout the story, their relationship changes from that friend from long ago to a close bond and a tight friendship. When Bryson first mentions Katz in the story, he says “We had remained friends in a kind of theoretical sense, but our paths had diverged wildly.” Katz had been a drug dealer while Bryson had made a family and been an author. They have unbelievable experiences which made their friendship become stronger. Things like Mary Ellen, the crazy hiker who latched onto them, Katz getting in trouble with someone’s husband, saving Bryson when he fell into the water and just experiencing the Appalachian Trail and the towns in between completely changes their relationship and makes them closer friends than ever.

When they begin their journey on the trail, they have a hard time getting started. Out of the two men, Bryson was more physically fit, but hiking the Appalachian Trail is no walk in the park. Bryson after the first day said “I shed my pack and slumped heavily against a tree, astounded by the scale of my tiredness.” Katz was nowhere to be seen, so Bryson “walked and walked, down the hill and through the endless groves of trees, back over ground that I had gratefully put behind me forever” to find him. Later on in the book, they improved their daily distances and Katz begins to really get into hiking on the trail. “Katz had accumulated a small, appreciative crowd and was demonstrating the use and theory of various straps and toggles on this backpack. Their relationship changes through Katz’s changed attitude about hiking the trail, and the two men’s perseverance to keep going once Katz got into the Appalachian Trail.

Their relationship also changes through their attitudes on the wilderness and from being dependant on shelters and towns to being willing to pitch a tent in the open land. As they were first beginning their journey, they usually made their stops when they reached a shelter on the trail. “Dusk was settling in when we reached Birch Spring Gap Shelter”. On the last night of their first big journey, they get so irritated by ignorant hikers that stayed in the shelter that they were in that Katz said “Pitch my tent in the clearing. You coming?” The two hiking companions had an understanding of each other and had the same annoyances with the noisy ingnorant hikers on the trail. They had become nearly professional at living on the trail and stregthened their bond. Their relationship changed as their outlooks on the wilderness and living in the woods did.

Bryson and Katz go through a lot together and their relationship changes all throughout the story because of all of their experiences. A friendship bond was re-built from their adventure and the understanding that they sub-consciously had was very strong, they didn’t always need to be talking. Hiking the trail together gave them a shared perseverance and intense but positive experience. Bryson and Katz both changed while on the trail together and that was another factor that built up their relationship. Both also connected with the wilderness and the experience of outdoor living. A hiking partner that wasn’t expected ended up making the trip. Bryson, after the first adventure tried to go out hiking said “The view from the top was gorgeously panoramic, but it still didn’t feel right without Katz” Bryson and Katz’s relationship altered greatly, but was made nothing but stronger through the many factors on the trail.

A Walk In The Woods

2. I think that Bryson does these shifts in tone and subject because they make the book seem more real and more like a conversation. You actually get to connect with what he felt on the trail that was all real, and it didnt seem like a boring non fiction story. I really liked the ease less transition he would make from talking about funny things happening on the trail to statistics and history. This information wouldnt have been interesting alone, but Bryson writes like hes still having a conversation with you and it makes the information that much more real and serious.It was extremely effective in communicating his messages about the environment and the AT trail.

3. The relationship between Bryson and Katz starts out as a really awkward and poor one. Katz is just the fat guy who would be the extra baggage on the trail. You can tell they start to bond as soon as they get on the trail and they both learn that they threw away a lot of food. Their relationship completely transforms from two awkward friends who barely knew each other anymore to companions on the trail. Words didnt always need to be shared between them, because they connected on a mental level, knowing how tired the other was or how excited they were to get to a town. Even by the end of part one, the lazy Katz gets excited about hiking with Bryson.

MSB-Getting Our Final Product Out There

We are selling our lovely calendar to the public!

Gatsby Essay

Prompt: 1. Describe and analyze the significance of the last line of The Great Gatsby.

The novel The Great Gatsby has many references to the past and Gatsby’s battle with time. As you read the book, you see that he is stuck in the past, and it is almost always on his mind. At the end of the book you are left with, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The last line of the book has a lot of significance and is almost a reflection of Gatsby’s life. It leaves you with a metaphorical thought in your mind that connects directly back to many parts of the book.

This quote is comparing the lives of Gatsby and even Nick to boats, rowing hard against the current trying to get back to the past. It is a constant struggle, and even “beating on” never gets them there. Throughout the book, although we all understand you cannot get back to the past, Gatsby is always thinking he can get there. It is an uphill battle, being “boats against the current” never shows that getting there is simple. On top of working hard you have many other obstacles. Ocean currents are powerful and can sweep you away, just like the forward progression of time and you end up even further away from your goal, and for Gatsby that goal was the past.

The placement of this line shows how significant it is to the whole novel. Since it was the last line, not only does it leave you with something to think about, but it shows how Nick feels because he says “we” as he wraps up a reflection of his life on West Egg and Gatsby’s funeral. I also think that the placement of this line shows that if Gatsby was still alive at the end of the book, he would still be beating on against the current and even in death; he might still be doing so. Being wrapped up in the past, or something else could be what ends your life. Even if we don’t know it, we all are beating against the current for something. Gatsby’s whole purpose in his adult life was to get Daisy and as soon as he gets close everything falls apart, showing that maybe no one is ever meant to prosper that much and get the girl or what they want the most.

Throughout the book, there are many places where Gatsby struggles against the current of time continuing on and they connect to the last line. Right before Gatsby dies on page 161, one of his servants lets him know that he was going to drain the pool since “Leaves’ll start falling pretty soon.” And Gatsby says “Don’t do it today. . .You know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer?” This whole story is set in the summer, where lavish parties are going on and he even gets to be with Daisy again. Everything starts looking up for Gatsby towards the end of this seemingly endless summer. When it comes time to wind down and do something as simple as drain the pool, you can tell he is holding on to the season through the pool, he doesn’t want to move into the unknowns of fall, or move into the future. He was content living in the past, and now maybe even the present with Daisy by his side, but even this summer would eventually become a part of the past. This directly connects to the significant line at the end of the book, even when Gatsby has what he had been waiting for, he would’ve continued going back to the past over and over again.

One of my favorite lines from a summer camp song is “the seasons they go round and round. . .we’re captured on a carousel of time, we can’t return we can only look behind from where we came” I think this song is a perfect way to describe how time and the past effects most of us, and Nick for the most part. Even the present eventually becomes the past, so Gatsby, even with Daisy, still would always be trying to get back. The last line leaves you thinking about what could have been, and how the story would have continued, but it has a clear message that shows things would have stayed the same. This last line had a perfect connection to Gatsby’s situation throughout the book and his struggle against the current of time. As soon as you read the line, the significance stands out immensely; it leaves you thinking about all of the different times where Gatsby had been beating on, a boat “against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current Events-MSB

1.Sewage Spill

A sewage spill in Mission Valley led on Wednesday to a coastal pollution alert in Ocean Beach, about five miles to the west.

*An hour after the spill, 1,370 gallons of sewage had spilled into the river


2. Hold Onto Your Butt

An awarness event that was meant to educate people about how to dispose of cigarette safely and how the ones thrown on the ground can effect the ocean and wildlife.

*Cigarette butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world.
*They account for nearly one in every three items collected during Surfrider cleanups


3. EPA to place limits on power plant water pollution

For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to limit the quantity of toxic metals that coal-fired power plants release into waterways.

*I thought it was really interesting the the EPA hasnt had a toxic metal standard in 30 years. I can look further into other EPA policies


4. San Diego Water Deal

Early yesterday morning, the Legislature signed off on what can only be described as a landmark package to help safeguard one of this state’s most precious commodities: water.

*This will mean a more reliable water supply for Southern California because water can be pumped from north to south without disturbing the salmon, delta smelt and other wildlife in the Delta


5. La Jolla Seals

A judge ruled Friday that harbor seals that have colonized the cove in La Jolla for more than a decade can remain there. That overruled an earlier decision to have the city remove the seals because their waste bacteria was dangerous for humans.

*Seals began moving into the cove in the 1990s, and their population can be as high as 200 at times.

Honors-The Roaring Twenties

In the 1920's the United States was on the rise in industrialization, technology, the economy and the overall moral of the American people. Between 1922 and 1927, the economy grew 7 percent a year which was “the largest peacetime rate ever.” The times were named the roaring twenties, and “If anything roared in the “Roaring Twenties,” it was the industry and commerce.” America was in the going through a large change that would have a lasting effect on the country.

One of the most significant changes was the development of technology. New machines were being created and were being widely used in factories and business places. Some of the new machines included steam turbines, electric motors, belt conveyors, and many others. The radio was also created in the twenties, and it ended up being one of the most important technologies of the time to the American people. Other things being manufactured at this time include; wristwatches, cigarette lighters, film and frozen food. More and more things were being invented at this time, so the labor force was growing to keep up with demand, despite the new term “technological unemployment”.

Another important change was prohibition, the banning of making and selling liquor. In 1920, this law went into effect after reformers had been trying to reduce the consumption of alcohol. Citizens were still allowed to drink, just not make, sell, transport or import any kind of “intoxicating beverage”. It was widely backed by Catholics, Protestants, corporate executives and labor leaders because people during that time they firmly believed that “it corroded family life and weakened society.” This did not stop most people from drinking, even though some estimates said that consumption was down by as much as fifty percent. A new industry was created from prohibition, there was a lot of profit to be made in the alcohol bootlegging business. “Thousands of poor immigrants looked to illegal bootlegging to move them out of the slums.” The flow of money and making a living became more prominent and people of all classes were benefiting.

An additional change that had a lasting effect on the United States, was the amount of time people spent working versus how much time people spent doing recreational things. In 1920, the average hours a person would work a week was 47.2, and by 1930 it had decreased to 42. The time spent on amusement and recreation went up an overwhelming 300 percent. Spectator sports became a favorite American pass time, from wrestling to college football. Sports stars like Jack Dempsey in wrestling, or Babe Ruth in baseball had Americans paying millions of dollars to watch them do their sport. Also at this time, Hollywood started making motion pictures regularly, and almost all Americans went to the movies. Additionally, dancing became popular at parties, which put the jazz age in full swing. Americans were focusing less on work, and more on spending money and having a good time and seemingly nothing could bring them down.

The roaring twenties were times filled with materialism, new technological advances, bootlegging, having a good time and economic growth. Industries were growing, and everyone was expanding and buying more. The automobile and construction industries were two of the biggest “boom industries”. By 1929, there were 26 million cars, one for every five people. But it was not just these industries on the rise, everyone was thriving. People spent less time working and more time watching movies and sports, dancing and listening to the radio. Things like celebrities and sports stars became popular because media was also starting to become more widespread. The enormous changes of the roaring twenties sent the United States in a direction of forward progress economically and socially. Some of the inventions, machines, and mentalities still have an American culture today.

Source of information and statistics:

James West Davidson, William Gienapp, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark Lytle, Michael Stoff. "Chapter 24- The New Era." Nation of Nations. McGraw-Hill:Boston, 2006.

Hold Onto Your Butt Awareness Day

Hold Onto Your Butt Awareness Day

The event I chose to post was the Hold Onto Your Butt Awareness Day that the Surfrider foundation is holding. At this event, people will be standing at busy intersections near beaches holding signs, passing out ashtrays, stickers and raise overall awareness to the people walking and driving by. They will also be cleaning the areas they are at and keeping tack of how many cigarette butts they find.

I think the most important information was the facts and the whole purpose of the awareness day. I thought it was very interesting to learn that cigarette butts are the most littered item in the United States. It was also important that they gave background information on the issue as a whole, not just how it effected the beaches and water.

Exact percentages of the amounts of cigarette butts in our oceans. They did have a good ratio (every 1 in 3 pieces of trash picked up is a cigarette butt at beach cleanups) They also didn't mention which beach has the biggest cigarette butt problem.

This plays into my Media Saves the Beach work because I think it would be interesting to include "did you know" fact about beach litter and/or cigarette butts.

MSB Organizations

Surfrider Foundation
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.

Important Interactions
(with different levels of government)

**CA Beach Monitoring Funding Restored

*The Surfriders foundation and several chapters, (San Diego included) worked to restore the funding for the California beach water quality water monitoring program. Several organizations urged the California legislature to restore the funding, and Surfrider urged their members to call their elected officials. They had the funding restored for 2008 and part of 2009. The description of this accomplishment also mentions that there was an option to extend the funding through 2010.


link to information...scroll down to number 105


**City of San Diego Sewage Settlement
In 2001 the Surfrider Foundation and San Diego Coastkeeper sued the City of San Diego for chronic sewage spills. When this happened, the city was averaging nearly a sewage spill a day and they had spilled more than 45 million gallons of sewage into local waters during the five years prior. The suit was meant to bring the city into compliance with the law and to improve the quality of our waters after a spill.

On May 22, 2007, the San Diego City Council approved a final settlement. The settlement forced the City to invest almost 1 billion dollars into the sewage infrastructure.

link to information...scroll down to number 76



WiLDCOAST

WiLDCOAST protects and preserves coastal ecosystems and wildlife in the Californias and Latin America by building grassroots support, conducting media campaigns and establishing protected areas.

Important Interactions
(with different levels of government)

**WiLDCOAST is funded by several government angencies, including the City Of San Diego, Port of San Diego, San Diego Airport Authority and Combined Federal Campaign.

A link to a list of their supporters

**In early 2008, WiLDCOAST began a partnership with Mexico’s National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (CONANP)to protect coastal areas in Northwestern Mexico. Since then, they have made progress to preserve the coastlines of Laguna San Ignacio, Bahia Magdalena, the Valle de los Cirios and the islands of the Gulf of California.

link to the story

The Great Gatsby-Nick and Gatsby

Gatsby and Nick are both somewhat detached from their surroundings. Compare and contrast this sense of detachment. How are they similar and/or different in this respect?

Out of the two men, Nick is more detached from the whole party scene and Gatsby is the one who runs it. I think that Gatsby is detached from the social interaction part of the party, he is always mysterious and no one really knows him besides Nick. They both are pretty socially akward, and keep to themselves. Neither one of them gives off the personality of the life of the party even when Gatsby is hosting. At the first party Nick goes to, Gatsby doesn't even introduce himself.

I think their detachments are different because Nick was almost thrown into the high life, and at this point in the book he is still mocking it a bit. While on the other hand Gatsby is definitely a part of the high life and the social scene, so he wasnt thrown into it, but he doesn't look down upon it the way Nick does.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 1

The narrator is one of the characters named Nick Carraway, his perspective seems very negative towards all of the social and money standards over on the east coast. He seems like a very simple man who doesnt know the ins and outs of the social society, and is very condescending (it seems like he feels like hes not as arrogant) or envious about it. He doesnt seem very social either.

He shows the outsider perspective, which matches really well with his personality and outlook on everyone and everything in west and east egg. His descriptions have a lot of intellectual thought and he seems to always be almost subtly analyzing whats going on, so you get a very real and straight picture of the places and the people. He relates more with people who might be reading the book, the person who may have some money, but is just working to get somewhere in life, and gets thrown into the high society life even when he doesnt want to.

MSB- A Professional Example

The most successful element of this professional tide calendar was the tide graph part of it. It was very detailed and used different colors to show different parts of the tide. They also included a blown up picture of one of the days so you can see where the best fishing times are, when not to go fishing and the rise and set of the sun and moon.

The message was just to show a tide calendar for fishing with helpful ideal fishing times, and good and bad days to go out. I know this is the message because they even have a little fish icon labeling when the fishing is good or bad.

I think fisherman were the intended users of this calendar because this tide calender has a lot to do with fishing and it also has that good or bad fishing day icon and the ideal times to go out and fish.

The small image in the calendar gives you the first hint that this calendar was meant for people on boats. As I have mentioned in the past two questions, the largest element that helps deliver the message for me is the little fish icon labeling which days are good and which days are bad. The shaded regions also look like they would be helpful to deliever the message of when to go fishing and when the sun is rising and setting.

The creator of this work used fish icons to have the reader get the information they need at a glance in a very easy to show way, and it is helpful if you dont know how to read all of the different shaded regions and graphs. I think this technique was used to be helpful and simplify the calendar.

I chose this work sample because I really started thinking about the tide part of our calendar on Friday. I think it is going to be very important that we do that part of the calendar right and in a timely fashion. It was helpful to look at an extremely detailed and professional example to give me an idea of what a full on tide calendar looks like.

Honors- The Scarlet Letter

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, initially it seems like a very calm and somewhat average book from the 1800's. As you read further into the story, you are drawn into the scandalous plot and uncivilized actions. The civilized story for this novel is about a woman who commits adultery, has a child and is sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life. As a reader you don’t expect the crazy plots and twists and without them, the story wouldn’t have the same effect or the irony that makes you think.

This book was set in the 17th century in colonial Boston. Adultery was one of the worst crimes you could commit and it held some of the harsher punishments. People were also very religious and thought highly of their priests. As soon as the book begins you already are aware of Hester Prynne, her act of adultery and her resulting child. You continue to read, turning each page trying to figure out who the father is, and why Hester is so desperate to keep his identity a secret.

The first example of a crazy idea that doesn’t fit was when she was out on public display, she sees her husband, a man missing for several years. This was part of the crazy plot because instead of revealing himself, he says “it is my purpose to live and die unknown” and to “beware!” because the father of the babies “fame, his position, his life will be in my hands.” The husband wanted to remain anonymous so he could have his crazy revenge and have the fathers mind and soul in his control.

The uncivilized part of the plot comes when you learn that the young and respected pastor is the father, something completely uncivilized and unheard of in that time period. Without the progression of the story and learning about each character, and the crazy idea that a priest would commit adultery, the story wouldn’t have any value or make you want to turn the pages.

As the story goes on you watch as the priest gets ill, in his mind and heart out of guilt for not showing his true colors and from having her husband secretly be living with him and getting his revenge by “having his soul” “His nerve seemed absolutely destroyed. His moral force was abased into more than childish weaknesses.”The battles he has within himself really make you feel weighed down by what he is going through.

This novel is written to be wild and out there because it keeps you interested and some of the ridiculousness makes you really think. I think the novel was written about such unacceptable things because the author wanted to show that these things still were happening secretly and the people involved were greatly effected. This novel gives you a look into how people who committed these crimes felt, even if it was a bit extreme.

Throughout the story you see how Hester Prynn has this weight pulling her down that “was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude!”. You see how the pastor has his own scarlet letter in his mind, and how the revenge of the secret husband ends up killing both of them in the end. With the ideas of the devil and witchcraft, mixed in with the pastor, adultery and the pure coincidence that the husband would come home the day of his wife’s punishment, make this story one of the most unconventional and uncivilized books of its time. That was what made you want to keep reading more. These wild ideas were the solid structure of the book and without them The Scarlet Letter wouldn’t be such an excellent novel.

Newspaper Project and MSB

I learned a lot about how to get a project that involves a lot of different components done on a tight schedule. I think this is going to apply a lot to MSB since I am in the calender group. I learned not to wait until we have class time to start working on the final piece and to look at the requirements before the last minute. I also learned that you always need to keep up with your group members and make sure everyone is equally contributing. I think for MSB I will let my peers step up when I start to feel over worked instead of just freaking out like I did in the newspaper project. The final thing I learned, which I think was a major lesson for me, was to make sure you are always logged into your account and that you know where you files are saved and double triple save them in a bunch of different places, and always have a flash drive because they are much more reliable.

MSB People

Organizations

Unified Port Of San Diego
http://www.portofsandiego.org/environment.html
We might want to interview someone from this organization because Im sure they know a lot about San Diegos beaches and interesting facts that we could use for our captions or did you know section. They also are potential sponsors,so they're good people to be in contact with anyway.

SeaWorld
http://www.seaworld.com/sitepage.aspx?PageID=80
We could interview someone from SeaWorld because they would know about the animals native to San Diego that might be mentioned in our calender. They would also probably know about important endangered species. They are also potential sponsors.

San Diego Coast Keeper
http://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/
Since we work with this organization for the biology testing, I thought they might be a good resource for facts on beach pollution and tips or interesting San Diego facts that we could include in the did you know section or even the caption. They also are potential sponsors.


Government People

SD City Council-Kevin Faulconer
He is my districts city council man and he is in control of OB and the point so we might talk to him about what he thinks about the beaches or try to convince him to care more about protecting the beaches after seeing our calender?

SD City Council

I might want to look at their history on environmental/beach issues and include those standings in our did you know section or in the captions.

SD City Council-Ben Hueso (City Council President)

The president of the city council could show an influential vote on beach issues that we could mention in the calender, and part of his district is also IB where the Tijuana Valley water quality issue has been going on and we could get a quote from him for a caption or a did you know fact about his stand and what action hes taken on the issue.

Honors-William McKinley Endorsement

The presidency of the United States is no small job to be messed around with. Our next president must be able to bring our country up out of our economic depression and be widely supported by the people.

Our recommendation in the upcoming election is William McKinley. We believe that McKinley will be the fresh face and party that our country needs now more than ever. The decision is clear, the Democratic Party hasn’t helped over the past eight years, and it is time for a change in the White House. He truly connects with the people of the United States, by holding events at his own home and openly greeting thousands of Americans.

At the past Republican Convention, the wealthy Cleveland businessman Marcus Alonzo Hanna ensured the nomination of his friend William McKinley as the "the advance agent of prosperity." We believe that he was completely correct; William McKinley will help America prosper.

On the other hand, people within the Democratic Party, including President Grover Cleveland, don’t approve of their nominee, William Jennings Bryan. Some have even abandoned the party or joined a new one, which isn’t a positive outlook on Bryan’s part or on his party’s confidence in him.

In this election, voters are watching the candidates on their ideas for the declining economy, currency and what they plan to do with the new possessions and territories that are now a part of the United States. Through our analysis, we have found that McKinley has fresh ideas on all subjects that will improve our country.

William McKinley has been involved in politics since he was 34, when he became a member of congress. One of his colleagues, Robert M. La Follette, Sr, said that he "represented the newer view," and "on the great new questions .. was generally on the side of the public and against private interests." Eventually he went on to become Ohio’s governor. Through of all this experience, he is the right candidate for the United States.

There are some similarities between Mr. McKinley and his opponent Mr. Bryan, both are concerned with the economic state and what the standards should be. One of the major differences is The Republican party along with McKinley, have the plans and foundations that will protect American industry and its workers, by using gold. Bryan’s plans on the other hand, are unstable by using both gold and silver, which is sure to cause problems in the long run.

McKinley said “I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform.” He stands strong on issues and presents new approaches to the problems Democrats have failed to overcome in the presidential position.

Bryan and McKinley are also very similar people; both have strong personalities and have a strong presence in a room. They both studied law before going into politics, but our trust is in McKinley for his sharp intellect and persistence that helped him to move through the ranks of politics so quickly. He has been the member of sub committees, in Congress while Bryan has not.

Another thing to be highlighted is McKinley’s military service. He fought for the Union Army, serving from 1861 up until the end of the war. He was a soldier on the front lines, and rose through the ranks to become a major, an impressive accomplishment.

McKinley has revolutionized the idea of campaigning by advertising and really speaking out to the American people. At times he would give 30 speeches a day, a task left only for those who are truly dedicated to becoming the president and bettering our country.

He is comfortable speaking to his supporters, and it is seen by all that he has great plans to improve our progressive nation. Not many say, “I have never been in doubt since I was old enough to think intelligently that I would someday be made president.” This confidence and natural feeling separates him from Democratic nominee Bryan.

The main question leading up to this election, is who is going to help our economy thrive and handle foreign trading and policy well. We are confident that William McKinley is the right choice. At this progressive turning point in our great nation, we need McKinley to be the President of the United States.

MSB Comments

From Tierras blog, I noticed she posted a link about pollution and its causes, effects and solutions. I think that her main questions about pollution could be applied to the calender for some good "did you know" facts and captions in the calender, since we want this to have some environmental consciousness and teach people about things they didnt know. I think it will be good if we look at more websites for good information to put in the calender.


From Bens blog, I really liked the questions he was asking and it gave me an idea for the calender. Maybe we can somehow incorporate students main questions and ideas into the calender, and even include some pictures or final products somewhere in the calender. Everyone has different questions and instead of just using them in the calender we could feature that persons project in the caption or did you know or something along those lines.

From Jasmines blog, I saw that she might want to do a photo essay and she mentions "evidence from the text portion" I think that in our calender we can apply this same idea and make sure our captions have good evidence or information about the beach, its water quality history and enviornmental information. She also talks about sea life and the beach, which I think would be a great concept to have in the calender also so people can see all the cool animal life living in San Diego!

Main Question-MSB

What kind of things are going on/living at our beaches and what can we do to help improve them and the environment?

-What kind of animals live at our beaches?
-What things can we do to help our beaches/ enviornment?
-What issues are going on?
-How can we educate the people buying our calenders about the beaches, issues and what they can do to help?

Resources::
MSB calender from last year
other professional tide calenders or tide graphs
an educational professional calender

Ideas:

-layout
-photography ideas
-did you know fact ideas
-holidays to include
-where to inculde mini picutres
-how long captions should be
-information to put in the front and on the back
-sponsorship ideas

Calender!

My final product is going to be the tide calender including the tide graph and cool student photos and sponsors!

I have been looking through last years calender and I also want to look at the style of other calenders.

I have already taken ideas from last years calender and the one done at HTH, they are:

-have did you know facts that relate to the topic
-some ideas for holidays to include/ more to add
-smaller pictures that relate to the large calender picture
-sponsorships

Our Local Beach

"the often-neglected southwest corner of San Diego County that for more than 70 years has been fouled by raw sewage, garbage and mud when rains cause the clogged waterway to flood. Homes, horse ranches and farms dot the largely undeveloped area."

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/04/water-exec-leaving-legacy-teamwork/?metro&zIndex=176989

The issue that I read about was all of the pollution in the Tijuana River mouth and how it has been collecting there for more than seventy years. One man took action when it came to the pollution, even though it wasn't necessarily ours.

The only thing I thought were missing from this article was the amount of pollution there was, and the dangerous bacterias. Although it said over 70 years there was'nt that famous picture of the pollution or even an estimate.

I would look more into the water pollution and what people on both sides of the border are working to do, and go more in depth about their ideas for the future. I would also talk about the different things found in the water, not just general things like diseases and bottles.

Beloved

  In the novel Beloved many different kinds of cultures collide and not just your typical white or black conflict. There are many different kinds of different cultures that can effect characters in different ways. The idea of love and the different interpretations of it was the foundation of the story and the most important idea. There were also collisions of beliefs when it comes to slavery, parenting, a mother daughter relationship, American culture, love, spirits and especially the interpretations of values.

    This book was written in the time period where slaves still existed in the South and the characters were trying to escape. The main character Sethe lived on a farm with five other slave men and their owner Mr. Garner was pretty nice to them compared to other slave owners. “A boss who showed him them how to shoot and listed to what they had to say. A mistress who made their soap and never raised her voice.” Although this may not seem like your standard perception of love, their slave owners actually treated them like people and cared about them. This has an effect on the slaves throughout the story, they would look back on their days as a slave and the owners that they actually cared about. Some were disapproving of how kindly they treated their slaves, but they continued to anyway and it showed that people can be loving and nice even when it is looked down upon.

    One of the major cultural conflicts in this book was the way that the main character Sethe loved and took care of her children. She ending up killing one of her kids, justifying it as “how if I hadn't killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen to her” In Sethe's mind, she didn't want her children to be “dirtied” by white people, and she thought they were coming to kill one of her kids. “Whites might dirty her all right, but not her best thing, her beautiful, magical best thing- the part of her that was clean.” This cultural conflict really effected Sethe and her other daughter Denver because they lived without talking to other people in the town for 18 years. Sethe's morals were definitely out of the normal idea of love and parenting and everyone shunned her because of that. You could tell that she loved her kids, and before you find about her killing one of them, you see her as that loving mom who was always trying to do what was best for her kids. As you read the book, the author makes you begin to question her love and sanity, but she just had a different idea of what love and caring for your kids meant.

    The daughter that was supposedly killed, Beloved comes back, alive and well and ruins Sethe's life. She demanded expensive things, constant love and she laid on plenty of guilt trips. Sethe felt guilty for killing her daughter, and to make it up to her, she tried to do everything to gain her love back. This type of love was something completely different, and although Beloved thought it was justified it made Sethe depressed and sick and to most, love is not making someone miserable, no matter what they've done to you.

Because of what her mother had done, Denver never left her house, and always was fearing her mom was going to kill her. When they get to a point of starvation in the book, Denver took action. This conflict was one that she had within herself because she was always afraid of what others thought of her and her mother.“I spent all of my outside self loving Ma’am so she wouldn't kill me.” Although she was deeply afraid of leaving the house, she did so to help save her mom when Beloved was ruining her life. Denver goes out and talks to other people around the neighborhood and gets food, and more importantly tells people what’s going on in her home with her mother and sister who had “risen from the dead.” This was a major development in the book because she was growing up enough to get a job and take care of the family when they just didn't care about her. And eventually the people of her town banded together to save her mother despite what she had done to Beloved. Even though everyone thought Sethe was crazy and a bad parent, they all came together in an almost loving way to save her and scare Beloved away.

    Through all of these different kinds of cultural collisions in the book, the characters were greatly effected and it put them in the positions they were in. From more events she hated white people and that prompted her to kill her daughter, out of what she considered love. And in the end, her other daughter Denver really showed pure love by taking care of both Sethe and Beloved when they didn't care about her anymore and the town came together to save someone they had shunned for 18 years, they had always loved her a little bit all along. All of these collisions didn't just effect the person directly involved, and they all had a major impact on the story. What you do, and what conflicts you get in will always have an effect on the people around you, whether you think about it or not. Love is not just one term with one definition, they are many different kinds of love and reading thing book, I learned that there are many different ways to show them. Love is ever changing, and how you show it is too.

Media Saves The Beach Questions

1. How does the condition of the water effect the life in the tide pools?
-I thought of this question because when I was a child, I loved going down the the tide pools in sunset cliffs and OB. Since the water sometimes never drains out of the tide pool (when its low tide) I want to see if that effects the wildlife living in these tidepools.

2.What pollutants are going into our rivers/oceans?
-I think this will be an interesting question because although people know about some things that go into our waters, Im sure there are other factors that people dont know about. This question would be geared more towards the public to educate them, and even talk about how the sewage plant is allowed to pump things five miles out with a government permission.

3.Why are watersheds important?
-I think this question would be good for a project to help educate the public, and also so I can learn more. I had no idea what a watershed was before bio and I want to learn more about them and then get the information out to other people so we can take action to help save water. I think that people will care more when they get more information, not just from a bus as saying SAVE WATER.

Building Up America

In 1864, the city of Atlanta was begging for mercy from General Sherman and the Union Army. Shermans army was tearing through the South, destroying the Confederacy, saying he will not revoke his orders because they were to “prepare for the future struggles in which millions of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest. We must have peace, not only at Atlanta, but in all America. To secure this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country.” For Sherman, winning the war wasn’t all about slavery, it was about creating a better country for futures generations.

Ever since the beginning of America, in one way or another we have been on a search for equality and in some ways we still are. We would not be the country we are today without the Civil war and all of the conflicts within it. Those conflicts really started Americas ongoing search for equality. Prior to the war, the United States was stuck, they had had a young government and states that had completely different opinions and ways of living. Many were questioning whether the government should be in charge or not. From the Civil War, our government grew stronger and our laws became more solid. The economy had to be built back up and it was changed from the way it was prior to the war. And the understood values of each state were, in some cases changed. Everyone’s values were now supposed to align, America was starting to stand as one.

From the war, Abraham Lincoln began to see the United States as a collective whole and not as that group of states that associated with each other. He wanted equality for all and for the South and the North to reunite. People in the South were bitter, and some still are today. Through the generations people have passed on their feelings about the war, blacks and the Confederacy and that is still affecting us 150 years later. The search for equality still continues today, even after a major turning point in the creation of modern America. One example is a woman in Kentucky who was fighting to keep one high schools mascot a confederate rebel, she smiled sweetly and said “Slavery was not all that bad…Blacks just need to get over slavery…You cant live in the past.” Ironically, she herself was living in the past, still discriminating against blacks and trying to keep the representation of the confederate flag in our modern day schools.

The symbols from the war are still a part of our culture, even though most people may not even realize it. The Yankees baseball team, or high schools in the South named after confederate generals, the Civil war is still an influence. The notorious Confederate flag still is a widely used symbol is the South, still hanging on the grounds of the capitol building in South Carolina. However, the meaning of the flag has changed, it isn’t only the symbol of fighting for slavery or racism. Nowadays, the flag is more of a Southern heritage symbol. One heritage group leader calls the Confederate flag "A symbol of defiance, courage, bravery” People misunderstand the meaning because of the way white supremacist groups have abused the Confederate flag to make it a symbol of hate.

A large part of the search for equality was found in the outcome of the Civil War. Black people got rights, and weren’t in slavery anymore. In modern America, everyone is equal, and has equal rights and opportunities. These ideas aren’t things that arose in the 1960s along with the movement. After the Civil War, there was a Civil Rights bill trying to be passed, but President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill. Modern America was being born right when the Civil War ended, it just took longer for the ideas to pass through and be the law today.

General Sherman had a point when he refused to retreat from Atlanta. He wasn’t trying to terrorize the people, he was trying to erase everything and give the South a fresh start to benefit the generations to come. This was a part of Americas search for equality and a lot was found here. This war was also the turning point in American history that began a new era. What we now call “our nation”, was splitting at the seams. But without this war, modern America would never have been created and we would not be where we are today.



SOURCES

Horwitz, Tony. Confederates In The Attic. Pantheon, 1998
Reply from General Sherman to the City Leaders of Atlanta, September 12, 1864
(Found in the book Primary Sources of The Civil War)
Davidson, James. Nation of Nations. Boston: Mc Graw Hill, 2005

What's The Deal With Reconstruction

The reconstruction was the time after the Civil War when the South was destroyed and desperately needed help. The North had captured some of the major cities like Atlanta and most of the war was fought on the Southern half so there was nothing left in some places. The South was having problems with their economy, politics, and of course the social issues. The North tried to help the recently freed slaves with finding housing and land, which was handled really poorly. No one in the South wanted to give up some of their land, or land that could've potentially been theirs to people they still saw as poor slaves. Not only did they have problems with the racism, but also with the economy and all of the ruined communities. The union troops were posted in the South for a time, but with the compromise of 1877 they pulled out and all of the problems with race and rights began all over again.

It is relevant today because the South still is dealing with these problems. There is still racism in some places, and in some states the economy still is messed up. This is extremely similar to what happened in Afghanistan, except now we have gone back to try and fix the problem again and not walk away with a little compromise that really doesnt do anything.

"U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he understands Americans' impatience with the Afghanistan war and vowed to ask tough questions of his advisers as he weighs whether to send more troops there."
People are growing impatient, but I think what we need to realize is we cant leave it like the way the Union left the South when the problem was nowhere close to being solved.

Source:: Chiacu, Doina. "Obama says understands weariness with Afghan war." Reuters. 25 Sept. 2009. Accessed: 30 Sept. 2009. .

Media Saves the Beach in the News

"Wastewater began overflowing from a blocked sanitation line....By the time city crews got the problem under control about an hour later, roughly 1,370 gallons of sewage had spilled into a storm drain that empties into the San Diego River."

-http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Sewage-Spill-from-Mission-Valley-to-Ocean-Beach/qWYuIGp6oEeMp2ZNMf20lQ.cspx

The issue was a sewage spill that happened in San Diego just yesterday. This story relates to class because it relates to our water testing and bacteria levels. I think it will be interesting to see how contaminated the water at dog beach was. One project idea would be looking into the other sewage spills and how they have effected to waters and for how long. I think this will be something we can include in our Media Saves the Beach project because it is exactly what we really dont want to happen and now we can have results to show why, and how bad it really is. You can probably get more information by google searching this spill.

Media Saves The Beach Ideas

Since last years theme was awareness, I liked Randy's idea of actually putting these things into action and actually impacting city counsel decisions on these things. I also think that we should try to get the local media to report on what we find because then more San Diegans would be educated about our beaches.

Im not too sure what content interests me yet, I think maybe after going to the beach on Thursday I'll have a better idea. I'm pretty open to any interesting topic at this point.

I think that I would like to either do a photo essay or work on the calender for my project.

American Icons-The Final Products

My Artist Statement::

Not Your Typical Material Girl Emilie Colwell

Hiking for miles in the 90 degree heat with the sun pounding down, with humidity and carrying heavy gardening tools isn’t your typical everyday activity. Add washing 400 peoples dishes 3 times a day, inconsiderate of how much syrup they leave on the plate or how much food they leave on the floor— it doesn’t seem like something someone would willingly choose to do. One week of that and two weeks of being a counselor in training. Spending 24 hours a day taking care of up to twelve 7 to 9 year olds. Having to constantly deal with the whines and tears, the picky eaters, the ones who refused to change clothes and, of course, the ones who were afraid of any crawling creature.

When I’m asked what I did over this past summer, people never understand why I smile and say I spent three weeks on a mountain at a summer camp. One week washing dishes and clearing trails and two being a counselor in training and to top it off, they didn’t pay me, I actually paid them. For me it’s not about saying I did my fair share of community service or getting a guaranteed job for next summer, I just love being able to give back and most importantly, be a role model for my young campers. In their eyes, I was the coolest counselor ever, I had all the knowledge in the world and I could do it all.

In a way I think that I can do it all, and not just fit into the roles society puts women in such as cooking, cleaning or taking care of kids. I believe I can be the camp counselor who’s rugged and up for anything, the future medical researcher, the humanitarian and the girl who loves clothes and shopping. My personality and identity is multidimensional. I think that all of these different elements can be combined. Women who don’t fit into the society roles are true American icons to me. One person who I think really does it all and is a true American icon is Madonna.

As a world-renowned pop artist, dancer, actress, and humanitarian, Madonna doesn’t fit your average mom role. In Malawi, Africa; one of the poorest in the world, you would never expect to find the “material girl” Madonna trekking around to adopt a child and help other children. Madonna is an inspiration to me not because of all the albums she has sold, or all the money she has made, but because she is true to herself and helps others. I have been inspired by Madonna for doing so much for the children in Africa and all of the other humanitarians for going and helping directly where it is needed. And now more then ever, I want to go do the same thing. I hope to go to medical school and into research medicine and spend some time working in places that really need it. All of the humanitarians in our world have also been an inspiration for me, and for Madonna too. Without them no one would think to go out and help people less fortunate or have the great ideas to start a new cause that genuinely helps people.

As for now, I believe I am a mini humanitarian with my other multidimensional parts mixed in, not making a difference on a large scale yet, but making a difference at my camp. As well as being an inspiration for the girls I was a counselor for this past summer. Teaching them about the importance of doing something for someone when there is nothing in it for you, as Madonna and other humanitarians have taught me.

1. Tsiko, Sifelani. "Madonna Jetted into Malawi." Gibbs Magazine. 5 Oct. 2006.4 Sept. 2009. http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Madonna%20Flies%20to%20Malawi%20To%20Help.htm

Reflection- American Icons

1. I discovered that my writing can be improved a lot just by a few tips and tricks from Randy. The tricks Ive learned so far this year have helped me correct those awkward sounding parts in my writing. They have helped me find things that were wrong I wouldn't have looked for before, and it really makes a difference.Last year I learned all about how to write an essay and write professionally and so far Ive learned that my writing can still be professional but not in an informative essay kind of way. I learned how to connect more with my audience and bring everything full circle.

2. One specific technique that I used was "punctuate with power and purpose" (punctuation controls pace) I noticed that in my writing for this project I used a lot of commas to add effect. After learning about how punctuation controls pace I realized that all of those commas were slowing my reader down and making them more confused. I went back through my writing and figured out were commas were important or where they should be removed and how I could improve the flow of my writing. I think the effect was a cleaner piece that was easier to read while still having those important pauses.

3. If I had time to work on one more draft, I would work on another one of the techniques that Randy taught us which was "concerts not pancakes" That technique is basically to make sure your sentences start and end with strong words and I realize that throughout the writing of my artist statement I didn't think too much about that one because I was worried about everything else. Next draft I would really focus on that.

4. Hiking for miles in the 90 degree heat with the sun pounding down, with humidity and carrying heavy gardening tools isn't your typical everyday activity.
This sentence stood out to me, and to some of the people who critiqued my paper because it is the opening sentence and it also paints a solid image in your head. I had the sentence written in a different way to start off with and something just wasn't right about it. I think that from the "punctuate with power and purpose" and help from Hallie the sentence was fixed and turned into better writing while still having the strong imagery.

My American Icons Photo

Please give feedback!

The quality of the picture was reduced from uploading to blogger, but the background of the photo is a heard of animals in Africa, I was trying to show that Madonna isnt just the glamorous Louis Vuitton model, but the humanitarian too.

Here is the picture I was trying to re create of Madonna::

Writing and American Icons

Today I got feedback on my run-on sentences (which I tried to fix). I also got feedback about how my paper really didn't have much flow, or transitions and with help from Randy I tried to fix that in the draft below. Another thing I got feedback on was how much I talked about my icon.

For my artist's statement I want to continue editing and removing things from it to get it down to the one page limit and get rid of grammar errors and run on sentences. My main goal is to make sure my paper has smooth and logical transitions.


My New Draft::

In the 90 degree heat, the sun pounding down, with humidity, hiking for miles and carrying heavy gardening tools hardly seems like something anyone would want to do. Take that and add washing 400 peoples dishes 3 times every day, inconsiderate of how much syrup they leave on the plate or how much food they leave on the floor it doesn’t seem like something someone would willing chose to do. Take a week of doing that, and add two weeks of being a counselor in training, spending 24 hours a day taking care of up to 12 7 to 9 year olds. Constantly dealing with the whines, tears from being homesick, the picky eaters, the ones who refused to change clothes and, of course, the ones who were afraid of any crawling creature.

When Im asked what I did over this past summer, people never understand why I smile and say I spent three weeks on a mountain at a summer camp. One week washing dishes and clearing trails and two being a counselor in training and to top it off, I didn’t get paid, I actually paid them. For me, its not about saying I did my fair share of community service or getting a guaranteed job for next summer, I just love being able to give back and most importantly, help be a role model for my young campers. In their eyes, I was the coolest counselor ever, had all the knowledge in the world and I could do it all.

In a way, I think that I can do it all, and not just fit into the roles society puts women in. I believe I can be the camp counselor who’s rugged and up for anything, the future medical researcher, the humanitarian and the girl who loves clothes and shopping. My personality and identity is multidimensional. It isn’t just the medical researcher or just the materialistic girl or even the cook of the family, because even one of those would seem like enough for some people. I think that all of these different elements can be combined. I want to inspire my campers not to just be the girl who likes to do “girly” things but the one who likes to do a combination of everything. In recent years, more women are doing just that and it has really made them American icons in my eyes. One person who really does do it all is Madonna. I, like her have different parts of my identity that shine through depending on the people I am with. Madonna wouldn’t be the glamourous singer around her children, or while doing humanitarian work in Africa.

As a world renowned pop artist, dancer, actress, and humanitarian, Madonna doesn’t fit your average mom role. In Malawi, Africa; one of the poorest in the world, you would never expect to find the “material girl” Madonna trekking around, adopting a child and helping other children. She manages to go do all of this while still being a mother and an artist. Madonna is an inspiration to me not because of all the albums she has sold, or all the money she has made, but the work she is doing in Africa. A place she never went to prior to donating her money.

I have been inspired by Madonna for doing so much for the children in Africa and all of the other humanitarians both well known and not known at all, for going and helping directly where it is needed, and now more then ever, I want to go do the same thing. I hope to go to medical school and into research medicine and spend some time working in places that really need it. Through Madonna I learned that you can help out a cause you at first, may know nothing about and end up feeling really passionate about it. All of the humanitarians in our world have also been an inspiration for me, and for Madonna too. Without them no one would think to go out and help people less fortunate or have the great ideas to start a new cause that genuinely helps people.

As for now, I believe I am a mini humanitarian, with my other multidimensional parts mixed in, not making a difference on a large scale yet, but making a difference at my camp. And being an inspiration for the girls I was a counselor for this past summer, teaching them about who actually does the dishes and who makes all of the trails walk-able for everyone. And as I’ll make them do a service project on an afternoon where they could be swimming, they’ll all look at me and scrunch up their faces in disgust. Just saying how they don’t want to be working and how doing dishes sounds like no fun, I’ll tell them how important it is to do something good when there’s nothing in it for you.

Photography

1. Rule of Thirds
I think that the rule of thirds is going to enhance my photo because it give all photos some proportion. I think that it makes every photo look more professional and composed without you really even noticing it.









2. Foreground and Background
Foreground and Background will enhance the photo because it gives the photo some depth and makes it look more real. In class Randy talked about how when you are just looking at something not everything around you is going to be in your foreground, and I think it should be the same way in a picture.









3. Posed Portraits
This is actually the picture I want to re-create for my project. I think that posed portraits can show a side of a person and you can use that to your advantage. Since this picture was used in as a print ad, it also adds a lot of glamor to the already glamorous Madonna.

Resources- American Icons

Coco Chanel
1. Movie:: Coco Before Chanel
I think that there is a lot of value in watching this movie because it goes through her life not only as a prominent fashion designer, but also as an orphan in France. Since she was such a pioneer in modern fashion, I think watching this movie will give me better in sight into where she got her inspiration from.

2. Magazine Article
I learned that Coco was one of Time Magazines 100 most important people of the 20th century and I think that reading the article will be valuable because I will learn more about her and how she was other peoples icons and inspirations.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/chanel.html

3. Website
I think this source will be helpful to me because it includes some pictures and the website is a museum so the article has more legitimacy. It also includes several pictures of pieces she created which gives me more insight into things she designed and the claim that she "knew how to design for women".
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chnl/hd_chnl.htm

Madonna
1. Interview
I think that this source will help me with my artist's statement because it is a lengthy interview about different aspects in her life. I dont know too much about her life and kids and from this interview I think Ill be able to learn more about the kind of person she is and maybe what prompted her to be a humanitarian.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chnl/hd_chnl.htm

2. Article
This source will be helpful because one of my main focuses is Madonna not only as the music star but also the humanitarian using her fame to raise money for kids in Africa. This website is an article talking about her trip to Malawi where she adopted her child. I think her trip there and what she has done is what really makes her an American icon.
http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Madonna%20Flies%20to%20Malawi%20To%20Help.htm

3. Website
Looking on Madonna.com will help give me a better understanding Madonna and her progression through music over the years. I thought it was pretty cool they have a full photo archive which will be useful to see her different looks over the years and to help get ideas for my self portrait.
www.madonna.com

American Icons

1Coco Chanel

In my eyes Coco Chanel represents fashion and class for the 20th century. Even though she died in 1971, her label continues to represent high fashion and classic looks. Coco was the first designer to ever introduce black as a color in fashion, as well as "the little black dress". She revolutionized mens wear on women, which is still a trend today. Even those who aren't fashion conscious know her signature double C logo. I think Coco Chanel was really important in American culture because she broke women out of the tight corsets and uncomfortable clothes. Things that she created were popular when they launched, and still are today. The fragrance Chanel no. 5 was designed in 1922 and is still widely known.


I was about 4 or 5 when Cocos work became important to me because my mom represented the Chanel brand makeup line. I never really learned about who she really was until a couple of years ago when I bought my first piece of Chanel jewelry, which actually turned out to be a necklace with her on it. I never really realized how much she impacted American fashion until recently, without her designs the basic and classic looks of the 20th and 21st century would be nonexistent.


2Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz is important to me because she has taken many pictures that have become well known in America. She was the last person to professionally photograph John Lennon (5 hours) before he was shot, and she was also the photographer for the controversial Miley Cyrus pictures that were on the cover of Vanity Fair. I am inspired by her work and all of the weird sets she has set up just to get that cool or quirky picture. All of her work stands out, and it is memorable. I also think she is a true American icon because she has been doing her work for nearly 40 years and that shows real dedication and passion which is something people strive for in their own job.

Annie inspired unique portraits that were very different from what was stereotypically on the cover of a magazine, or even on the inside. I don't think that anyone would be daring and have enough confidence to put Whoopi Goldburg nude in a bathtub of milk in a national magazine, but she did it. She always takes pride in her work and doesn't just see it as taking the cover shot for a magazine, you can see all of the effort and creative thought that goes into every photo.

3Madonna
I believe that Madonna is a true American icon for several reasons, one is, she is known worldwide for her music. Her icons are all kinds of different people ranging from Nancy Sinatra to Led Zeppelin for music and Judy Holliday to Marilyn Monroe for acting. She represents music from multiple generations and she has been a big part of American culture. She has produced many hits that have been played on the radio and MTV. She was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She represents America and American music truly as an icon worldwide. Even the classy French brand Louis Vuitton wanted her for an ad campign for one of their latest purse lines. (photo shown right)

In recent years, while continuing her music, she has also been rasing awareness about Africa, rasing money for orphans there and she has even adopted a child from there. She has been working closely with other big celebrities like Bono and Angelina Jolie to help raise money and really make a difference. Madonna not only represents music, but now she has taken on the role of a humanitarian, which truly makes her a good American icon to me.

Junior Year!

My overall goals for this year are::

- Do well in all of my classes and do honors
-Work on my reading skills, and read more books and have them be more challenging
-Work on my writing skills
-Get ready for the SAT
- Be on time to all of my classes
- Learn a lot about American history!

From this humanities class I want to work on group work and how the group works together. In the past I have usually ended up picking up the loose ends and done most of the project alone. This year I want to work to have that not happen anymore and make sure that everyone has input and does work. Since I don't know too much about American history outside of wars, I want to learn about all of the other things that have gone on in America. I also want to build onto my writing skills from last year, especially when it comes to essays.