Op-ed Piece

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/opinion/kristof-the-birth-control-solution.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Above is the link to the op-ed piece I found, The Birth Control Solution by Nicolas D. Kristof. In the article he talks about how the Earth's population is increasing at an exponential rate and that birth control would slow down the population increase. He explains that it would reduce poverty and climate change.

I think it is a worthwhile example of persuasive journalism because of the many sources he regarded throughout the article. Also he explains different point of views on the topic of birth control, such as those women in Africa who didn't even know such a thing existed before Kristof told them. His tone and style also lend themselves to the overall persuasiveness of the article. He is charming and clever in some of his phrases, such as "Amen! Contraceptives no more cause sex than umbrellas cause rain." You want to hear what he has to say and get engaged in the argument as a result.

Sound and Fury

I enjoyed Sound and Fury. It depicted two related families who were dealing with their children's deafness.

What I found interesting about the film was that it showed that there is never a right or wrong in a situation. The basic argument in the film was whether or not the children of the family should get surgery to get a cochlear implant. To some members of the whole family, the cochlear implant was a threat to deaf culture.
On the other hand, though, getting the cochlear implant would open up a world of opportunity to the deaf children.

In the end, one family decided to get the implant and one not, but neither was right and neither was wrong. I think that it was a perfect example of the gray instead of black and white idea. Sound and Fury was a good film.

My Biggest Fear

When the topic of fear comes up, I know without a doubt what mine is.

Eels. Silly? Yeah. Unreasonable? Probably. Real? You bet. I imagine that my fear of eels stems from The Princess Bride, one of my favorite movies that I watched incessantly in my youth. Princess Buttercup, at one point, launches herself off the side of her captors' boat into black waters. Her squeaky-voiced theif warns her of them... She keeps swimming... You see the humps of their back surface and submerge again, and all of a sudden, their high-pitched squeals... Shrieking Eeels!

(At this point I hide under a blanket, clutching the person closest to me or a large pillow).

Eels make me so uncomfortable, every time the word comes up I have to touch or rub the arches of my feet. I have no idea why, I just have an overwhelming compulsion to do so. As I write, my feet are writhing against each other under my desk to make me feel better and finish writing this blog. I suppose it's the fear that they're going to bite my feet. That probably comes from years of swim team and the occasional creeping thought that there was something behind me as I crossed into the deep end.

I love the ocean more than anything and just try to block the thought from my head. In a sort of weird obsession I've had with eel-kind, I researched them and know that they live in little eel caves or eel pits in reefs, so I won't have to worry about them on the coast, probably.

I also know they can grow to be 13 feet long, which makes me want to cry and rub the arches of my feet all day.

A Song for the Times

I like the subject of this blog, but I do find it answered already by the citizens of America. What other song could represent life in America right now like the No. 1 song on the Weekly Top 40?

Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) is the most requested song currently and it definitely says a lot about America this day and age and the people in it. With striking themes, such as...

-Many Americans' struggle with money "Yeah we maxed our credit cards/Got kicked out of the bars/So we hit the boulevard"
-Amnesia "It's a blacked out blur/But I'm pretty sure it ruled"
-Love "There's a stranger in my bed," "Think we kissed but I forgot"

and many more.

I'm really glad Katy Perry is the voice of today and that Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) is our message.

Writing Style

The summation of the things I've written previously:
1. Essays in 1-3-1 format for the writing assessment or other required classes.
2. Messy diary entries with smudged ink and crooked lines.
3. Weak poetry, given up on halfway through a stanza (usually marred with heavy cross-outs).
4. Blogs for AP Comp.

So I admit that I am no expert at the art of writing, and I really don't have much of a style or worked out way to write. AP Comp is a clean slate, a way to form my own writing strategy and style.

I will say, however, that when I have written in the past, it's been complimented on its voice, so maybe that's one thing I have going for me.

Inaugural Words Activity

This activity gave me a series of insights into the worlds of politics in accordance to the time and context of each address. Despite the changes, however, there are many words and values that have stuck with each president, and with America, since our nation began.

I liked that each current events really came through in every address. For example, some of James Garfield's most frequently used words were 'constitutions', 'law', 'authority', 'race', 'suffrage', and 'Negro'. Obviously these are in reference to the fact that all former slaves were free and had the right to vote. Also notable, Bill Clinton's address that began his second term. He talked about 'dream' and 'children' and '20th' and '21st' and 'century', as the turn of the century was near.

But another thing I greatly enjoyed- how since the first address in 1789, our country's presidents have kept the same words/hopes for America. 'Peace' and 'freedom' both appear often in Thomas Jefferson's (1801), Harry S. Truman's (1949), and Barack Obama's (2009) speeches. Those, and others such as 'justice', 'power', 'spirit', and 'hope' have appeared numerous times over the past 200+ years, and I think that says a lot about our nation's values.

A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties by Suze Rotolo

My reading choice this summer was Suze Rotolo's A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich VIllage in the Sixties. It was both engaging and poignant, a story of a very special girl in a very special time, yet relatable in the extent that most go through the confusion and doubts in youth and with their first love. 

It described her childhood living with American Communist parents, the son and daughter of Italian immigrants. It was very enlightening to read about a Communist family in the 50s that was not dangerous or evil at all.

The book gave a clear and beautiful view of the sixties in the epicenter of the growing folk scene. Even more interesting, it was written by a young woman who saw it all first-hand. She was close with innumerable influential artists of the era, one of which was Bob Dylan. Rotolo and Dylan began a relationship in 1961 and continued until 1964. Much of the book involves Dylan and her observations of him as he rose to an inconceivable fame. All through this, however, Rotolo stuck true to herself and never let the person she loved influence her decisions. She left for a six month visit to Italy where she studied. Dylan was left depressed in the Village, writing famous songs such as "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", and "Boots of Spanish Leather". She actually influenced him in that she introduced him into the racial equality and anti-nuclear organizations she was involved with, leading to several protest songs being written and performed by him in the early sixties. It was incredibly refreshing to read a love story that did not involve a man sweeping a woman off her feet and "allowing" her to spend the rest of her life with him. What an honor! Suze was way cool in that way.

Their eventual break up in 1964 was not the end of the book, which pleased me. In went on to describe her travels to Cuba when it was illegal for Americans to do so as a protest operation. 

Suze was an incredible and independent woman who stood for what she believed in and became an idol for me immediately upon finishing the book. And while I have enjoyed discovering about Bob Dylan through his music, articles, and other mediums, it was a much more in depth discovery of him and his young adulthood through the eyes of not only someone who was there first hand, but someone who knew him intimately. I adored this book start to finish.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

This article by Nicholas Carr was incredibly relevant and gave me a lot of interesting thoughts to ponder.
I was definitely raised up an Internet kid. It was always at my disposal, meeting whatever need I had: getting in contact with people, sharing photos and videos, hours of entertainment, and accessing any information I was in need of. It's incredibly hard to imagine my life without this amazing tool.
That's why I have to, for the most part, defend the Internet. I completely understand that the accessibility of the Internet has perhaps lead to a vast majority of us taking for granted the ease in which we achieve information, and that the short, to-the-point, efficient articles on the Web have left us with shortened attention spans, unable to completely immerse ourselves in prose.
However, the Internet is revolutionary. The amount of information we can intake is lightyears ahead of technology advancements passed. Not only can we receive info, we can output it, upping the television. You literally have the world in front of you when you sit down in front of a monitor and click that little icon. The world will never be the same.
Carr brings up many good points, and I too grieve with him about the loss of concentration we have toward great works. It is something we give up for an advancement... And perhaps it is not necessarily an 'advancement' per se, it is just a change. Instead of relying on the comparatively small information residing in our own brains and being able to engage in deep prose, we have easy access to a wealth of knowledge unlike any before.
I am grateful for the Internet and what it has brought to humans. As with every other technologic advancement, just as Carr describes in his article, it brings with it certain sacrifices of ideals we held before. I believe it is for the greater good, just as writing and printing were. We'll all see in time, of course. Unless we all turn into robot-controlled droids before then... Ha ha.

Skunk Dreams

I really enjoyed this essay. I thought it cropped up quite a few thoughts and questions for me and was written beautifully.
The writing- that was phenomenal. The way she described any given thing was exceptional. Occasionally I find a writer that puts emotions and thoughts parallel to mine in writing and I am pleasantly stunned. Her description of the young boars was probably my favorite: "The young skittered along, lumps of muscled fat on tiny hooves. They reminded me of snowsuited toddlers on new skates." That's just awesome.
A major theme in this essay was death. Her thoughts are quite similar to mine. I find myself constantly wishing there was something after death, as she described in the essay, but my reason stops me at the door, so to speak. I always come up undecided. Anyway, I found her excerpts on death pretty interesting, and identified with her longing to be a skunk, weirdly enough. Or at least someone who lives in total confidence and "serene belligerence--past hunters, past death overhead, past death all around."
Another section of writing brought up some thoughts in me. Erdrich writes about not knowing what the skunk snuggled up to her was dreaming about...  I mean, what does anyone dream? We can never really know. Not any other species, not any other human, not our best friends, family members, not anyone. You never know what's going on with anyone but yourself. There's always more to the story than you see or could ever see.  Not really an important theme throughout, but it just sent me on a wave of thought that I guess is worth mentioning.
I really enjoyed the bit about obstacles and how they relate to life and our dreams. I won't elaborate too much, as I'd just be reiterating was was written. But I will say they were a couple of cool thoughts: "The obstacles that we overcome define us," and "A good question to ask of a dream is: What are the obstacles that have been removed to make this extraordinary scene possible?"
On a lighter note... I would choose to be a lion if I had to be a different animal than a human. They are way cool!

"Talk of the Town"

I found the essays within "Talk of the Town" interesting. Particularly the opposites of which the write-ups possess.
Sontag expresses disdain and skepticism of her own country in the face of America's greatest tragedy. She even goes as far as to say that Americans are the cowardly ones in the war against terrorism. It seems as though Sontag is more pressing the American public to look at both sides--although extremely hard to do after what she describes is an event that we see as "a "cowardly" attack on "civilization"...or "humanity"." Instead, however, Sontag opts to mention the United States continual bombing of Iraq. Her main message, I suppose, is that perhaps 9/11 wasn't a demonic attack with no basis... Could it be that the terrorists, of course not officially representative of the Iraqi nation or of the entire Muslim faith, were just trying to protect their nation and way of life, just as we try to protect ours?
She goes on to mention what she sees as ghastly leadership in the face of this event. It sort of reminds one of the 50s: the constant repition of "America is the greatest," and the aggressive attack on anything within our lines that isn't "American" enough for the frightened public. Within her essay, she scoffs at what public office has become shortly after September 11th: a tool to build American's confidence in their great country once again.
Sontag brings up a fresh opinion on the matter. I appreciate her not taking solace in the words she, like everyone else in America following 9/11 wanted to hear: Everything is O.K. I also appreciate her ability to see both sides of the spectrum on this. Just like any conflict, there is right and wrong on each side. Even in a conflict as close to our hearts as the one between our own hurt nation and a strange and dangerous enemy.

John Updike takes a more traditional look at the matter, but still an important and valid one. In his essay, he describes the feelings and unified nation after such a horrific event. He recalls familiar thoughts, sights, and emotions that passed through everyone old enough to understand what was happening. Like it wasn't real, like it was fixable. I recall that feeling, even as young as I was. My insistent question "but everything is okay now though, right Mom? Right, Dad?" probably haunted them. No one really knew. We all wanted to believe it was an easy fix, nothing too serious. But of course, the weight of the situation fell upon Americans as the south tower fell. In his essay, Updike walks through the never-ending media cover of the event, more and more information, images, stories that almost seem to turn into lore after being repeated so much, and the stream of despressing details. He concludes with a few paragraphs touching on the resiliance of the United States and our ability to come together against this tragedy--the main idea behind his essay.
I can also appreciate Updike's more common view. Although it doesn't spark as many thoughts and questions as Sontag's, it allows us to reflect upon the tragedy and reminds us of the lessons it taught us. We must have faith in our country. We must go on living, go on picking up the pieces. We cannot lose faith in our leaders, cerainly not at a time like this. We must come together. We are still us. We are still the U.S.

Both essays represent a very different viewpoint. Both are quite valid. I enjoyed reading this essay and the thoughts and questions that were raised while doing so.

About Me

My name is Hayley Bristol. I'm going to be a junior at McFarland High School this upcoming school year. My passions are music (singing and listening to, perhaps guitar if I get around to it), drama, watching great movies, making art, the French language, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, eating excellent food, Jones soda, learning about things/reading, and swimming in lakes. I spend my time trying to do the things I'm passionate for, teaching children how to swim, sleeping, eating hummus, and lounging around with "mah peeps."

In AP Comp, I'm hoping to learn about how to become a more skilled writer and a more knowledgeable reader. I'm also looking forward to the discussions held in class. 

To elaborate on my passions, I'll talk a little bit more about my favorites in music and movies. As for music, I greatly enjoy folk, rock, folk/rock, and as of late, jazz. However I do not limit myself to those genres. Some of my most frequently played artists are Ben Folds, Sigur Ros, Bob Dylan, First Aid Kit, Simon & Garfunkel, The Killers, Iron & Wine, Nirvana, and of course, The Beatles. Favorite movies include The Graduate, The Life Aquatic, The Shining, The Big Lebowski, and North by Northwest. As far as directors go, my loves are Wes Anderson, the Coen brothers, and Hitchcock. I'm crazy about TV shows, and my favorites are Weeds, Dexter, The Borgias, (yeah, pretty much anything from Showtime), The Simpsons, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and The Office.

I enjoy reading, as I mentioned, and I suppose that's pretty relevant to AP Comp. Ha-ha! I do enjoy a mix of non-fiction and fiction and plays. My favorite authors consist of Malcom Gladwell, Clive Barker, Edward Albee, and a host of memoirs. I plan on reading A Freewheelin' Time by Suze Rotolo for my non-fiction book this summer. 

To conclude, I'll say how excited I am for AP Comp this year! Woo-hoo!