tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17015493545846070872024-02-19T01:23:40.153-08:00505 Elm Ave.505ElmAvenueRoom205ImperialBeachCalifornia91932the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-59364229273778443102017-10-21T11:43:00.002-07:002017-10-21T11:43:46.155-07:00great-ish gatsby<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/58Se6jB94jw" width="560"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-27763497917620425652017-03-01T08:54:00.001-08:002017-03-01T09:01:07.749-08:00Fiction in our post-truth era by Adam Kirsch<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/books/lie-to-me-fiction-in-the-post-truth-era.html?_r=1">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/books/lie-to-me-fiction-in-the-post-truth-era.html?_r=1</a><br />
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(from the column)</div>
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Artificiality is what makes reality television enjoyable, even though these same shows, if advertised as fiction, would appear banal, repetitive and undramatic. Reality is the ingredient that turns a bad fiction into an enthralling one.</div>
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<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 17px;">The problem with our “post-truth” politics is that a large share of the population has moved beyond true and false. They thrill precisely to the falsehood of a statement, because it shows that the speaker has the power to reshape reality in line with their own fantasies of self-righteous beleaguerment. To call novelists liars is naïve, because it mistakes their intention; they never wanted to be believed in the first place. The same is true of demagogues.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 17px;">From its beginning, the novel has tested the distinction between truth, fiction and lie; now the collapse of those distinctions has given us the age of Trump. We are entering a period in which the very idea of literature may come to seem a luxury, a distraction from political struggle. But the opposite is true: No matter how irrelevant hardheaded people may believe it to be, literature continually proves itself a sensitive instrument, a leading indicator of changes that will manifest themselves in society and culture. Today as always, the imagination is our best guide to what reality has in store.</span>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-49464275502579019572016-09-07T14:04:00.005-07:002016-09-07T14:04:43.095-07:00CRQs for Ehrenreich's "What I've Learned from Men"<b>CRQs: “What I’ve Learned from Men” by Barbara Ehrenreich</b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><b> </b></span> mcrawford<br />
<br />
Essay appears on pages 83-87 of <i>Patterns of Exposition</i><br />
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<br />
1)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who wrote this? Where did it first appear? How would you describe the genre of this document? For whom was it written? Review a few of the things revealed about the writer. Which of these things most contributes to her ethos.<br />
<br />
2)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In what section of the textbook does this essay appear? Why do you think it was used here? <br />
<br />
3)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(paragraph 1) How does Ehrenreich open this essay? For what reason might she do this? Explain.<br />
<br />
4)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ehrenreich’s thesis is introduced—though not fully developed—in paragraph 2. After reading paragraph 2 what do you expect this essay to argue?<br />
<br />
5)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(paragraph 3) The writer introduces this as “an example from [her] own experience.” What do we call such examples when doing rhetorical analysis? Why does she use this? Is it effective?<br />
<br />
6)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Explain the relationship between paragraph 4 and paragraph 3. Is the writer’s definition of “ladylikeness” is more clear because it is preceded by the episode described in the previous paragraph? Explain.<br />
<br />
7)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first two words of paragraph 5 make clear it’s purpose. Explain.<br />
<br />
8)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paragraph 6 examines more deeply this ‘contrast.’ How does the writer use differing responses to recognition in the workplace to make her point?<br />
<br />
9)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paragraphs 7-11 might be described as a call to action. What actions does the writer ask women to take? List and explain.<br />
<br />
10)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In paragraph 12 and 13 she brings the reader’s attention back to the story she describes in paragraph 3. Why? How does she use this to make her conclusion more effective? Explain the connection between paragraphs 12 and 13 and her earlier definition of “ladylikeness.” <br />
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the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-8024572468530432032016-09-02T11:39:00.001-07:002016-09-02T11:40:34.314-07:00Exam: Scarlet Letter chapters 1-12<b><u>Read carefully, make notes and prepare to write about the following items:</u></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The rose at the threshold of the prison door. Anne Hutchinson. Sweet moral blossom? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pearl's name. It's significance. (Biblical and natural)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pearl’s response when asked who made her. Significance. (connections to first item)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chillingworth. His relationship to Dimmesdale. Differing opinions of him among the townsfolk.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The conversation about the weeds and hidden sin in chapter 10. The subtext. Dramatic irony. The burrs.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The scaffold scene in chapter 12. Compare to the scaffold scene in chapter 2.</b><br />
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<br />the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-75662484638880148762016-08-11T15:23:00.002-07:002016-08-11T15:23:50.526-07:00The Crucible CRQs Act 3A)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When and where does Miller set Act 3? How does he set the scene? How does he describe the room? How might the set contribute to the tone of this part of the play?<br />
B)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How does Miller describe Judge Hathorne and Judge Danforth?<br />
C)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Explain Hathorne’s logic as he questions Martha Corey. When she denies knowing anything about witchcraft, how does Hathorne respond? Does this make sense? What does this reveal?<br />
D)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who does Proctor bring to the court? What does she say? How does Danforth respond?<br />
E)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Plow on Sunday!” (95) What does this mean? Who says it and why? What is being discussed?<br />
F)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What does Parris say about Cain and Abel? Why? What is his point?<br />
G)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Danforth reveals that Elizabeth Proctor has claimed to be pregnant. He then offers John Proctor a kind of deal. What does he offer? How does Proctor respond? Why does he respond in this way? What does Danforth mean then when he says, “Then your purpose is somewhat larger.” (97)<br />
H)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What happens when John Proctor and Francis Nurse submit a “testament” signed by 91 people? Who are these people and why did they sign this document? How does Danforth respond to this document? What does he decide to do with these people?<br />
I)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What kind of document does Giles Corey try to submit to the court? What happens to him?<br />
J)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Describe Reverend Hale’s changing sense of what’s happening. How does he feel about Rebecca Nurse having been condemned? (see page 104)<br />
K)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On page 105 Danforth explains the logic of his procedure for investigating witchcraft. How does he see it? What might be the problem with this logic?<br />
L)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How does Abigail respond to the content of Mary Warren’s deposition? When she does this how does John Proctor respond?<br />
M)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Near the end of this act, Elizabeth is brought in and questioned. In the end she lies. What does she lie about? Why? What will happen now as a result of this?<br />
N)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why does Hale quit the court?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-86805228719721187722016-08-11T15:21:00.006-07:002016-08-11T15:21:58.395-07:00The Crucible CRQs Act 2
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<!--StartFragment-->
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">A)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">When and where does Miller set Act
2? How does he set the scene? How does he describe the room. What takes place—before any of the
dialogue—that might help an attentive audience understand the relationship
between the Proctors?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">B)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Copy down two or three sentences that
reveal how Proctor’s earlier indiscretion with Abigail still hangs over the
relationship between Proctor and his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">C)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">What differences are there between
the court’s disposition toward Goody Osburn and its disposition toward Goody
Good? Of what are they
accused? Why will one hang but not
the other?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">D)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">“I saved her life today!” (page 63) Who says this?
About whom? What is then
revealed? What, after learning
this does Elizabeth Proctor urge her husband to do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">E)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Rev. Hale comes to visit then
“without the court’s authority.”
Why has he come? What does
he want to know about the Proctors?
How does he go about investigating this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">F)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">What does Proctor say about “golden
candlesticks”? What does he mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">G)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Which of the Ten Commandments does
Proctor fail to remember? Is this
significant? Why? Or why not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">H)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">How does Rev. Hale respond when
Proctor reveals that Abigail told him that this all “had naught to do with
witchcraft?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">I)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">When Giles Corey and Francis Nurse
come in we learn that others have been accused and arrested? Who? How does Hale respond?
How does Proctor respond?
Elizabeth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">J)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Explain why the doll (the poppet)
plays such an important role. Who
made it? To whom was it
given? Why does Cheever get so
worked up about it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">K)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Why is Mary Warren scared to testify
about the poppet? What does she
tell Proctor to persuade him not to testify against Abigail? How does Proctor respond?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 38.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -20.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-bidi-font-family: "American Typewriter"; mso-fareast-font-family: "American Typewriter";">L)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">What does Proctor seem willing to do
as the curtain falls on Act 2?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-15109120054789717972016-08-09T09:49:00.000-07:002016-08-11T15:24:45.026-07:00Want to get a good grade in the old man's class? Earn it.<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 20.0pt;">How to get an excellent score on an exam or assignment
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 20.0pt;">Prompt:
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its significance artistically.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">C (average) </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The
fire escape shows you that they live in a poor neighborhood that they want to
escape from.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">B (good) </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The
fire escape is symbolic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It comes
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</span>Tom talks to the audience in the beginning from there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amanda wishes on the moon on the fire
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">A (excellent) </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "american typewriter"; font-size: 16.0pt;">In
the stage directions on page 3 Williams explains that the fire escape is a “touch
of accidental poetic truth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
explains that people living in such circumstances long for escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Scene 4 Tom loses his key through a
crack in the fire escape landing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This suggests that he’s lost or is looking for a ‘key’ to escape his
family obligations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom and his
mother—and later Tom and Jim—talk on the fire escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wingfields—especially Amanda—often refer to the fire
escape euphemistically as something more pleasant like a terrace or a porch. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-77676088415403899362016-08-09T09:15:00.001-07:002016-08-11T15:28:44.760-07:00Syllabus AP English language and composition<b>Syllabus:</b><br />
<b>AP English Language and Composition</b><br />
<br />
“The narrative impulse is always with us; we couldn't imagine ourselves through a day without it.” –Robert Coover<br />
<br />
A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly. –George Orwell<br />
<br />
There is something else which has the power to awaken us to the truth. It is the works of writers of genius. They give us, in the guise of fiction, something equivalent to the actual density of the real, that density which life offers us every day but which we are unable to grasp because we are amusing ourselves with lies. –Simone Weil<br />
<br />
<b>Central Text:</b> Patterns of Exposition, Decker and Schwegler, Eds. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1998. Required every day of class unless otherwise indicated.<br />
<br />
<b>Prerequisites </b>(Recommended): English Proficiency (score of 380 or better) on the CA High School Exit Exam; willingness take on the challenge of doing college level reading and writing while here in high school; a commitment to maintain excellent attendance and to adhere to all assignment due dates.<br />
<br />
<b>Course Description: </b> AP English Language and Composition is a college level course aligned with the College Board AP requirements. Disciplined and honest participation in this course will prepare students for the challenging AP English Language and Composition test administered in May. Substantial time, effort and commitment are required to participate meaningfully in this course. Daily reading and frequent, challenging writing assignments will be required. Those unwilling to do college level work both in and outside of the classroom should not be enrolled; the course will not serve those who do not do all the assigned reading and writing assignments.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Expectations:</b><br />
Your instructor will work to create an environment of active, meaningful critical discourse; you will also have to do your part to work toward this goal. Reading, discussing, analyzing and writing about persuasive prose will be the heart of this course, and as part of the junior year curriculum, we will also read some important novels and plays and other works of American Literature. You are not enrolled in this class to learn how the instructor interprets the assigned works but to learn how to do your own interpretive and analytical work. Expect daily reading requirements and occasional quizzes to hold students accountable for the reading. (If discussion reveals unprepared students, quiz frequency and value will increase.) You are expected to read carefully and critically, in a way that will generate questions and insight about the text assigned. All unfamiliar words or ideas should be looked up in the appropriate resource. Readings not easily understood must be read again more carefully before coming to class.<br />
<br />
<b>Course Objectives</b><br />
(adapted from and aligned with the College Board course description)<br />
After genuine participation in this course, the student should be able to:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>consider the important questions asked in some examples of classic American Literature;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>recognize major genre distinctions in American Literature;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>demonstrate fluency in discussing and writing about literature;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>analyze and interpret samples of effective writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>write for a variety of purposes;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary sources, cogent explanations, and clear transitions;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>write thoughtfully about their own process of composition;<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>analyze image as text; and<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers.<br />
<br />
<b>Reading and Writing</b><br />
Literature. Students can expect at least one novel or play per six weeks in addition to the varied examples of expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that will be the core of this course.<br />
<br />
Writing assignments: essays, papers, in-class timed writing, and exams. <br />
Your work toward the above objectives will be facilitated and assessed in a variety of ways and at various stages of the writing process. You will, in other words, work on many different types of writing assignments and will be required to follow each major assignment through several stages of revision.<br />
<br />
Major writing assignments will require a proposal to be submitted for instructor feedback. The proposal, when approved, will be followed by a draft to be reviewed by the instructor, or your peers, or both. The focus of writing feedback will change to coincide with the writing conventions emphasized in the instructional units for each six-week period. Finished drafts will be accompanied by annotated drafts and scored by your instructor. In-class timed writing assignments may be scored as written (AP scoring guide or Cal State English Placement Test Scoring Guide) or adapted for use as a first draft for a more polished essay. A researched argument paper will be required at the close of the first six-week period of the spring semester. Informal journal writing will also be required.<br />
<br />
Overview of major writing assignments, writing workshop emphases and corresponding instructor/peer editor feedback focus:<br />
<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 1, weeks 1-6: Personal, expository essay. Balancing generalizations and specific detail. Diction and syntax—wide ranging vocabulary, sentence structure variety.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 1, weeks 7-12: Analytical essay. Meaningful analysis; logical organization and coherence; the vocabulary of literary analysis; appropriate and effective quotation from text.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 1, weeks 13-18: Rhetorical samples assignment. Argument—effective use of various rhetorical strategies; awareness of purpose and audience.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 2, weeks 1-6: “How to Tell a True War Story.” Appropriate choice, use and citation of sources; M.L.A. documentation<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 2, weeks 7-12: Poem analysis paper. Diction revisited (in the context of reading and writing essays on poetry); development of style and voice; control of tone.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Semester 2, weeks 13-18: “City of Dreams” paper. Student autonomy and familiarity with the process of drafting and revision.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Independent Reading Requirements and the “IRA.”</b> In addition to reading the assigned class literature for each six-week study period, you will also be required to read independently. Students will read two books per six weeks. The first will be chosen by the student. The second will be chosen from a recommended list created by the instructor. The books on the recommended list may or may not be connected to the particular theme of study. At times the list is a means to broaden the student’s exposure to books we cannot fit in the course. The IRA, or independent reading accountability document will be submitted for each book read. The IRA is not a formal essay but an informal document designed to give the student the opportunity to demonstrate familiarity with the chosen book and claim credit for independent reading.<br />
<br />
<b>Poem of the Week.</b> Billy Collins, a former Poet Laureate, was fond of saying, “high school is where poems go to die.” He argues that too often students are not allowed to enjoy poems, but are asked only to coldly analyze them. In “Introduction to Poetry” he compares this analysis to torture.<br />
<br />
But all they want to do<br />
is tie the poem to a chair with rope<br />
and torture a confession out of it.<br />
<br />
They begin beating it with a hose<br />
to find out what it really means.<br />
<br />
Well, you will be asked to analyze (not torture) a poem in this course, but not until the spring. In the meantime your instructor will endeavor to introduce and read aloud at least one chosen poem per week. We will forego formal analysis for these first readings. Students will keep their copies of each poem of the week and choose one from the collection for the poetry analysis paper that will be assigned during the second six weeks of semester two. Finally we will think about a response to Billy Collins and determine whether analysis, when done well, diminishes or enhances one’s enjoyment of poetry.<br />
<br />
<b>Course Planner: </b><br />
The following schedule (six weeks per page) is subject to some change, but one can expect to read the works indicated and participate in the writing exercises indicated for each six-week period. Each six-week period is organized around a particular curricular emphasis and/or thematic core but the materials examined may not be limited to those strictly engaged with the indicated theme.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 1, Weeks 1-6: Women and Men</b><br />
This first unit of study will focus on personal expository prose and in particular on the effective use of example, classification and comparison. Essays examined will mostly focus on discussions of gender. Essays written will focus on personal narrative, expository purpose, and introductory (guided) literary analysis. As our class literature, we will read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett.<br />
<br />
We will examine the following essays from our textbook:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ehrenrich, “What I’ve Learned from Men”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Buczynski, “Iron Bonding”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Viorst, “What, Me? Showing Off?”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sanders, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Walker, “Am I Blue?”<br />
<br />
Handouts: Editorials from Maureen Dowd, David Brooks, Bob Herbert, and Katha Pollitt, and an excerpt by Jonathan Franzen on adolescence. Ad campaign analysis: Dove “Real Beauty.”<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
Personal Essay: Draft due week 2 for instructor feedback.<br />
Peer review week 3. Final draft due week 5.<br />
(Feedback focus: balancing generalizations and specific detail. Diction and syntax.)<br />
<br />
In-class timed writing: Lady Montague (on education of women) and Chesterton (advice to his son) from released AP exam prompts. <br />
<br />
Scarlet Letter Exams: In-class essays at midpoint (ch.s 1-12) and at conclusion of novel.<br />
<br />
Independent Reading Accountability #1 and #2: Due at week 3 (open) and week 6 (recommended).<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List: <br />
Mark Twain<br />
Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God)<br />
Henry James<br />
Willa Cather<br />
William Dean Howells (The Rise of Silas Lapham)<br />
Kate Chopin (The Awakening)<br />
Melville (Billy Budd)<br />
Washington Irving (The Sketch Book)<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 1,Weeks 7-12: How Did this Happen?</b><br />
Listen to Nick Carraway.<br />
When I came back from the East last Autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.<br />
How did he come to adopt this attitude? Riotous excursions? Privileged glimpses? What’s he talking about? What happened? And, can people in crowded cities be compared to rats in crowded enclosures? Or can I really learn something by reading about dolphin courtship?<br />
<br />
In this unit of study we will focus on process analysis, cause and effect, description and narration. We will read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Book of Harlem” by Zora Neale Hurston. We will listen to a recorded reading of “A Rose for Miss Emily” by William Faulkner.<br />
<br />
We will examine the following essays from our textbook:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Raybon, “Letting in Light”, <br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wolfe, “Oh Rotten Gotham” <br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rose, “Writing around Rules” <br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kowinski, “Kids in the Mall”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>White, “Once More to the Lake”<br />
<br />
Handouts: Sarah Margaret Fuller’s “Short Essay on Critics,” Terry McMillan’s “The Movie that Changed My Life,” “So How Did I Get Here?” by Rosemary Bray, and “Dolphin Courtship,” by Natalie Angier.<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
Gatsby Paper: Literary Analysis. Proposals with annotated passages of concern (based on list of suggested topics/titles) due week 9 for feedback and approval by instructor. Draft due week 10. Finished Essay due week 11.<br />
(Feedback Focus: meaningful analysis, logical organization and coherence. The vocabulary of literary analysis. Appropriate quotation from text.)<br />
<br />
In class timed writing: Lewis Lapham (on the American faith in money) and William Hazlett (on poverty) from released AP exam prompts.<br />
<br />
I.R.A. #3 and #4: due week 9 (open) and week 12 (rec. list).<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List:<br />
<br />
Faulkner<br />
Ellison<br />
Steinbeck<br />
Wright<br />
Hemmingway<br />
Wharton<br />
Charlotte P. <br />
Gilman<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 1, Weeks 13-18: “Never before have I written so long a letter.”</b><br />
In this unit of study we will focus on complex argument and formal rhetoric. We will practice with the language of rhetorical analysis. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the various rhetorical strategies covered (as organized in our text) by modeling them in a project called the “rhetorical samples” paper. In order to keep the focus on persuasive strategy rather than content, students will choose a simple point to make and use ten different strategies to persuade the reader of the validity of this simple assertion. The two-hour final exam will require students to analyze and evaluate the rhetorical strategies used in Dr. King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.”<br />
<br />
We will examine the following essays from our textbook:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(All section introductions on the various patterns of exposition and sample paragraphs)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>MLK Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”<br />
<br />
Class Literature: Julius Caesar<br />
Handouts: Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, Lewis Lapham on Democracy.<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
Rhetorical Samples paper: Proposal due week 14. Draft due week 15. Finished paper due week 17. (Peer Revision Focus: Effective use of rhetoric. Development of style and voice. Control of tone.)<br />
<br />
Assertion Journal: Informal practice with argumentation. Students will explain, then defend challenge or qualify arguments presented. One argument; one typed page per week.<br />
<br />
In class timed writing: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Shakespeare (Lear or Julius Caesar) from released AP exams.<br />
<br />
IRA #5 and #6: due week 15 (open) and week 18 (rec. list).<br />
<br />
Semester Final: In class. Rhetorical analysis and self-evaluation.<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List:<br />
<br />
Arthur Miller<br />
James Baldwin<br />
Toni Morrison<br />
Alice Walker<br />
J. D. Salinger<br />
Sylvia Plath<br />
Rudolfo Anaya<br />
Carson McCullers<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 2, Weeks 1-6: </b> “How to tell a true war story” or, “It wasn’t a war story, it was a love story.”<br />
This unit of study examines the questions suggested in “How to Tell a True War Story” from Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Are there different kinds of truth? Can we identify or make claims for differences between artistic truth and journalistic truth without being relativistic? The researched argument paper assignment for this period of study will examine these and related questions while requiring students to demonstrate the ability to evaluate and use effectively both primary and secondary sources. Students will present their own arguments that include analysis and synthesis of ideas from a variety of sources. We will also cover appropriate MLA citation format, and students will be required to demonstrate its use in their papers. We will also view and discuss Errol Morris’s documentary The Fog of War, paying particular attention to the directorial choices made about the imagery used to accompany the interview of Robert MacNamara. Photojournalism and current television reporting from the conflict in Iraq will also be examined as part of our effort to think about the rhetorical power of visual texts.<br />
<br />
Class Literature: Fallen Angels; The Things They Carried<br />
Handouts: David James Duncan “When Compassion becomes Dissent” Speech excerpts by Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Kerry, et al; current editorials.<br />
Film viewing: Fog of War directed by Errol Morris (Robert S. MacNamara).<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
“How to Tell a True War Story” paper. Proposal, outline, provisional works cited list and research notecards due week 3. Draft for peer review due week 4. Paper due week 5. (Feedback Focus: appropriate choice, use and citation of sources. MLA citation format.) <br />
<br />
In class timed writing: Susan Sontag on photography, and Sophocles (“the only crime is pride”) from released AP exams.<br />
<br />
Reading Quizzes: Coordinated with reading schedule (distributed week 1).<br />
<br />
IRA #1 and #2 due week 3 (open) and week 6 (rec. list).<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List: <br />
<br />
Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five)<br />
Joseph Heller (Catch 22)<br />
O’Brien (any)<br />
Leslie Marmon Silko (Ceremony)<br />
Bobbi Ann Mason (In Country)<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 2,Weeks 7-12: Poetry and writing about poetry</b><br />
I can't write a poem to manipulate you; it will not succeed. Perhaps you have read such poems and decided you don't care for poetry; something turned you away. I can't write a poem from dishonest motives; it will betray its shoddy provenance, like an ill-made tool, a scissors, a drill, it will not serve its purpose, it will come apart in your hands at the point of stress. I can't write a poem simply from good intentions, wanting to set things right, make it all better; the energy will leak out of it, it will end by meaning less than it says. –Adrienne Rich<br />
<br />
In this six-week survey of some contemporary American poetry and essays on poetics, we will re-examine some of the poems distributed and read aloud earlier as “poems of the week.” Students will practice close reading and annotation of poetry and will write a paper on a chosen poem. We will also examine irony, satire and parody, reading articles from The Onion (an online satirical news source) and Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Our in-class dramatic reading of The Glass Menagerie will serve to enhance our practice of close reading and interpretation of significant poetic imagery.<br />
<br />
Class Literature: The Glass Menagerie (we will set aside time for a dramatic reading and pay particular attention to the playwright’s notes on what is meant by “memory play.”)<br />
Handouts: “Someone is Writing a Poem” by Adrienne Rich; “The Making of Poems” by Gregory Orr; Poetry packet, released materials from College Board for work on test taking strategies.<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
Poem Analysis Paper: Proposal and outline due week 9. Draft due week 10. Finished paper due week 11. (Feedback focus: diction, tone, style, voice.)<br />
<br />
In class timed writing: Herbert/Seaver letters (dispute between the Coca-Cola company and Grove Press over “It’s the real thing.”) and “Magna-Soles” (mock press release from The Onion) both from released AP exam prompts. <br />
<br />
Exam: The Glass Menagerie. In-class essay.<br />
<br />
I.R.A. #3 and #4: due week 9 (open) and week 12 (rec. list).<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List:<br />
Margaret Atwood<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cormac McCarthy<br />
Grace Paley <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Terry Tempest Williams<br />
Ken Kesey<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Donald Barthelme<br />
Louise Erdrich<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sandra Cisneros<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Semester 2,Weeks 13-18: The City of Dreams</b><br />
This final unit of study takes its name from the title of a song featured on the soundtrack of the film True Stories by David Byrne. Critiques of consumer culture have become part of consumer culture to the point that products are sold that in away that seems to promise—rather paradoxically—that one can resist consumer culture by consuming. This unit of study asks students to examine consumer culture and advertising and ask themselves questions about their role in the construction of the “city of dreams.” What are we building? What role do we play in building it? How often are we addressed as consumers? How often are we addressed as citizens or members of a meaningful community? Will the efforts to standardize education give us more thoughtful citizens or better-programmed consumers?<br />
<br />
Class Literature and Film: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and True Stories directed by David Byrne, 1986.<br />
<br />
Handouts:<br />
Roland Marchand, “The Parable of the Democracy of Goods.”<br />
Jack Solomon, “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising.”<br />
Lewis Lapham, “Balzac’s Garret”<br />
John Taylor Gatto “Against School”<br />
David Brooks “Noncomformity is Skin Deep”<br />
Assorted advertising samples<br />
<br />
Assignments:<br />
“City of Dreams” paper due at week 17. (Documentation of drafting and revision required but students will coordinate their own peer/parent/tutor/mentor review process to demonstrate autonomy and familiarity with the now familiar stages of the writing process.)<br />
<br />
IRA #5 and #6: due week 15 (open) and week 18 (rec. list).<br />
<br />
Journal: Informal advertising analysis journal.<br />
<br />
Final Exam: 2-hour/2 part in class essay. Ad analysis and response to Gatto’s “Against School” argument.<br />
<br />
Independent Reading List: <br />
<br />
White Noise by Don DeLillo;<br />
Vonnegut <br />
Saul Bellow<br />
Phillip Roth<br />
John Updike<br />
Jonathan Franzen<br />
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer;<br />
Barbara Kingsolver<br />
Phillip K. Dick<br />
George Saunders<br />
<br />
<br />
Grades: Students grades will be determined by means of the following assessments:<br />
<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Timed, in-class writing<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quizzes and exams<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Formal papers (accompanied by process documentation, typed, of varying lengths up to 5 pages)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One researched argument paper (using multiple sources)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Informal writing assignments (assertion journals, etc.)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>IRAs (Independent reading accountability)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Participation in discussion, writing workshops and attendance.<br />
<br />
<br />
Regarding preparation, a final word: If you are not prepared* to take this course, please do not try to take it. Students who try to get by without reading, who depend on the work of others, who plagiarize from the internet, who beg to turn in last minute “make up work” long after the assignment is relevant to work in class, who miss class often, who . . . you know how to go on, will not do well in this class and, more importantly, will rob serious students of an important opportunity to learn. Such selfishness or thoughtlessness cannot be tolerated.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
*How does one know if he or she is not prepared? <br />
<br />
Check your reading scores on standardized tests. You should read above grade level. (It’s a college class.) If you have not passed the high school exit exam you may not take this class. Examine your reading history. This is not a course to introduce you to the reading of literature—you should have a rich reading life before taking this course. Examine your willingness to make this commitment. The time and energy required to carefully read works like those listed above is substantial. Do you have that kind of time? Examine your academic record/habits. Are you often absent? Did you read all of the assigned texts in your English class last year? Do you enjoy reading? Writing? Are you ever tempted to plagiarize?<br />
<br />
Answer these questions honestly then make a mature decision. I will not make this decision for you; I will not be able to hold your hand all year if you are not prepared.<br />
<br />
<br />
Working Bibliography<br />
In addition to our text, Patterns of Exposition, the instructor has made use of the following texts in preparing for or developing curriculum for this course:<br />
<br />
Cohen, Samuel, Ed. 50 Essays. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004.<br />
<br />
Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon. Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000.<br />
<br />
Rich, Adrienne. What is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993.<br />
<br />
Roskelly, Hephzibah and David Jolliffe, Eds. Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.<br />
<br />
Rottenberg, Annette T, Ed. Elements of Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.<br />
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Trimmer, Joseph and Maxine Hairston, Eds. The Riverside Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.<br />
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Yagelski, Robert P. and Robert K. Miller, Eds. The Informed Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.<br />
<br />
On-line resources:<br />
AP Central at College Board.com New York. 2007.<br />
<http: apcentral.collegeboard.com=""></http:><br />
<br />
Arts and Letters Daily: A Service of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Ed.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dennis Dutton. Washington, D.C. 2007. <http: www.aldaily.com=""></http:><br />
<br />
The Center for Media Literacy. Los Angeles. 2007.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><http: www.medialit.org=""></http:><br />
<br />
Harper’s Magazine at Harpers.org. Ed. Rodger D. Hodge. 2007<br />
<br />
<br />
History and Politics Out Loud. Ed. Jerry Goldman. 2002<br />
Northwestern University. < http://www.hpol.org/><br />
<br />
National Public Radio. Washington DC. 2007. <http: www.npr.org=""></http:><br />
<br />
Poetry Daily. Ed. Diane Boller and Don Selby. Charlottesville, VA. 2007.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>http://www.poems.com/<br />
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the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-25006406581164707412016-04-08T08:10:00.001-07:002016-04-08T08:10:59.275-07:00important new link for war story project<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWbUQva4PE6bv4TF_XwpO938GKWqFax76sd00WKAZsesLLllFvIzlVXrMfz-4j8dn8spIpoDgBdsUFyGnPswVleI1ig5x5f8JVHt92cq4T5CqdMNNePHxgTKEl80IfgLnEaSMr917wELa/s1600/ChicagoPolarBearClub-028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWbUQva4PE6bv4TF_XwpO938GKWqFax76sd00WKAZsesLLllFvIzlVXrMfz-4j8dn8spIpoDgBdsUFyGnPswVleI1ig5x5f8JVHt92cq4T5CqdMNNePHxgTKEl80IfgLnEaSMr917wELa/s400/ChicagoPolarBearClub-028.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/19042/postwar-young-people-fanning">click here</a></div>
the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-12982206638666349382016-03-12T18:22:00.002-08:002016-03-12T18:22:10.422-08:00"I have harmed the innocent . . . but I look for ways to atone."<span style="background-color: #222222; color: #989898; font-family: monospace , serif; font-size: 14px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/414582/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="640"></iframe></span>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-4604530862409149962016-03-12T18:18:00.002-08:002016-03-14T09:02:28.796-07:00preparing for the war story project? Listen to this Radiolab segment.<iframe frameborder="0" height="130" scrolling="no" src="https://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/radiolab/#file=%2Faudio%2Fxspf%2F449398%2F" width="600"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-35654919923482165852015-11-30T14:31:00.002-08:002015-11-30T14:31:23.613-08:00MLK Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S83jYXYTwHw?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="640"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-82954894935879942402015-11-29T17:38:00.001-08:002015-11-29T17:38:42.887-08:00College, Inc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OsnMxuSrsCzIQqQEjhfJnkuWll0BNqbsDx2oSYWhsTsajFZy_ep5zW9M8_vTKLSVmb2QkVZ0B4wotlH_d5wscw9Mqt3fMf-mzWMlphE0dMhnd5ERJL4UU-dL_ajJlcg7XyukxEOBia60/s1600/201030usc914.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OsnMxuSrsCzIQqQEjhfJnkuWll0BNqbsDx2oSYWhsTsajFZy_ep5zW9M8_vTKLSVmb2QkVZ0B4wotlH_d5wscw9Mqt3fMf-mzWMlphE0dMhnd5ERJL4UU-dL_ajJlcg7XyukxEOBia60/s1600/201030usc914.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/view/">Click HERE to go to College, Inc on PBS Frontline</a>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-64747908802889899102015-11-17T10:15:00.002-08:002015-11-17T10:15:41.716-08:00Gatsby related news from a few years ago.<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2011/04/lands_end_potential_buchanan_m.html">The "Buchanan" mansion at Land's End demolished. </a>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-45281823098567013772015-11-09T16:05:00.002-08:002015-11-09T16:05:26.222-08:00john green on gatsby. <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xw9Au9OoN88?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-71597322159351614152015-05-29T09:25:00.002-07:002015-05-29T09:25:07.646-07:00David Byrne interviews David Byrne<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dE-mxVxFXLg?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-91567310390003339662015-05-29T09:22:00.003-07:002015-05-29T09:22:48.677-07:00David Byrne at screening of "True Stories" on Texas landscape and culturetaped sideways and hard to hear, but . . . hmmmmm.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZMrNEBmiODM?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-21091745291706370092015-05-12T14:05:00.004-07:002015-05-12T14:10:17.223-07:00From "The Onion." Two important stories for students about to take the "city of dreams" final.<b>Mother Still Searching For Preschool That Focuses Exclusively On Her Son</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXn7etGA2wWTRxnyLe77X5Q89xi96rKPQgBFWPuYkdio5T9oHSLOgKHb0_Qa3m6Yyr-tdiDJisiwedNJ-nYuPl7zTPjXFp8ny2UYr2eJ2tCBtkps4d5uaeYHkNBXLANSVkIUYgw3GBcfqg/s1600/1200-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXn7etGA2wWTRxnyLe77X5Q89xi96rKPQgBFWPuYkdio5T9oHSLOgKHb0_Qa3m6Yyr-tdiDJisiwedNJ-nYuPl7zTPjXFp8ny2UYr2eJ2tCBtkps4d5uaeYHkNBXLANSVkIUYgw3GBcfqg/s640/1200-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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BOULDER, CO—Expressing frustration over the dearth of options that met her high standards, local mother Shannon Gail confirmed Monday that she was still looking for a preschool that would focus exclusively on her son. “I’ve been searching for months, but it’s been so difficult to find a program that devotes all its resources to my child, and only my child,” said Gail, who added that a shocking number of preschools in the area employed teachers who divide their attention between more than one student instead of dedicating all their time to the education, care, and positive mental stimulation of her son. “I think it’s my responsibility as a parent to choose a school with an educational philosophy that is personalized to the specific needs and interests of my child alone. I just don’t feel comfortable leaving my Skyler in a place where he is not the center of attention at every moment of every day.” Gail, who reiterated the importance of choosing a preschool that concentrated solely on her child, said the next few years would be incredibly formative in determining the kind of person he would grow up to be.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theonion.com/article/mother-still-searching-preschool-focuses-exclusive-50387">http://www.theonion.com/article/mother-still-searching-preschool-focuses-exclusive-50387</a><br />
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<b>Pantene Releases New Complicated 1-In-2 Shampoo</b><br />
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NEWS IN BRIEF<br />
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May 12, 2015<br />
VOL 51 ISSUE 19 <br />
Business · Products · Lifestyle · Beauty<br />
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CINCINNATI—Touting it as its most challenging hair-care product to date, Procter & Gamble announced Monday a new complicated 1-in-2 version of its Pantene shampoo. “Our new Pro-V 1-in-2 line gives women the shiny, luxurious hair of the original Pantene but with a superfluous extra step added to the process,” spokeswoman Tiffany Piette said of the Pro-V 50-50 shampoo, which comes packaged in two separate tubes of solvent and glycol meant to be mixed together in a precise 5-to-3 ratio along with warm water. “Its added complexity allows you to get luxurious, salon-quality looks while also forcing you to spend an extra two minutes in the shower.” Piette added that an even more difficult-to-use conditioner was in the works, consisting of two bottles that would never be sold at the same store.<br />
<br />the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-37137983230090352652015-05-11T07:10:00.003-07:002015-05-11T07:10:33.107-07:00are you preparing for the AP exam?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVSwxTw6GUmGNgqS5HaL1v5b4TcIJFrahdY3y7t2d5NY1933oZlyViBCJEtAtiHS7iGcFFeWtda6lDQgudR0hXlpuG0NU2pOZkVb8pDOxH4tlDZ-fpNb97KMFw0aBJd1qF35pULK_UqJu/s1600/IMAG0442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVSwxTw6GUmGNgqS5HaL1v5b4TcIJFrahdY3y7t2d5NY1933oZlyViBCJEtAtiHS7iGcFFeWtda6lDQgudR0hXlpuG0NU2pOZkVb8pDOxH4tlDZ-fpNb97KMFw0aBJd1qF35pULK_UqJu/s640/IMAG0442.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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College Board practice exams link <a href="https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-english-language-and-composition/exam-practice">HERE.</a><br />
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Create your college board account <a href="https://account.collegeboard.org/iamweb/smartRegister;jsessionid=LklDSop9l22frbme8Rh0qbS4uUjR-uPpzvtuZRmJ4s_s5NDbXdSP!964288562?appId=0&DURL=https%3A%2F%2Fbigfuture.collegeboard.org%2Fmy-organizer">HERE.</a><br />
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A teacher in Colorado has some good materials <a href="http://mrgunnar.net/ap.cfm?subpage=555850">HERE</a>.<br />
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the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-79972422471669242015-04-06T14:17:00.001-07:002015-04-06T14:23:49.425-07:00 A Fine Line: The Art of the Clothesline (compelling photos for those thinking about the poem of spring break)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QIyZUn_XGl4wzFX5UWenLAKByj9JQrnsDfaHoZ7WZ_CSVZJ7uWzn89oOYejh6h4aGBQCBXhwtonG04i-phLY5b390LCDDPVmQ2KcAips6TqJ_g-n4nPwiVPPFGE2HpXbaprkz7A83in9/s1600/mny16911.jpg" height="482" width="640" /></div>
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<a href="http://mcnyblog.org/2012/08/07/a-fine-line-the-art-of-the-clothesline/#comment-37108">http://mcnyblog.org/2012/08/07/a-fine-line-the-art-of-the-clothesline/#comment-37108</a></div>
Click the link above to see related photos and comment at the Museum of the City of New York Blog.<br />
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the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-28825273277524399742015-03-11T09:57:00.003-07:002015-03-11T09:57:57.734-07:00Do we diminish heroism--and suspend responsible critical thinking--when we call everybody in uniform a hero? (excerpt by D. Masciotra at Salon.com)<div style="border: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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(image from a chevrolet commercial added by this blogger)</div>
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You don’t protect my freedom: Our childish insistence on calling soldiers heroes deadens real democracy </h1>
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It's been 70 years since we fought a war about freedom. Forced troop worship and compulsory patriotism must end </h2>
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<span class="byline" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: BentonSansBold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 10px 0px 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gaTrackLinkEvent" data-ga-track-json="["author","click", "David Masciotra"]" href="http://www.salon.com/writer/david_masciotra/" rel="author" style="border: 0px; color: black; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">DAVID MASCIOTRA</a></span></div>
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Put a man in uniform, preferably a white man, give him a gun, and Americans will worship him. It is a particularly childish trait, of a childlike culture, that insists on anointing all active military members and police officers as “heroes.” The rhetorical sloppiness and intellectual shallowness of affixing such a reverent label to everyone in the military or law enforcement betrays a frightening cultural streak of nationalism, chauvinism, authoritarianism and totalitarianism, but it also makes honest and serious conversations necessary for the maintenance and enhancement of a fragile democracy nearly impossible.</div>
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It has become impossible to go a week without reading a story about police brutality, abuse of power and misuse of authority. Michael Brown’s murder represents the tip of a body pile, and in just the past month, several videos have emerged of police assaulting people, including pregnant women, for reasons justifiable only to the insane.</div>
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It is equally challenging for anyone reasonable, and not drowning in the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, to stop saluting, and look at the servicemen of the American military with criticism and skepticism. There is a sexual assault epidemic in the military. In 2003, a Department of Defense study found that one-third of women seeking medical care in the VA system reported experiencing rape or sexual violence while in the military. Internal and external studies demonstrate that since the official study, numbers of sexual assaults within the military have only increased, especially with male victims. According to the Pentagon, 38 men are sexually assaulted every single day in the U.S. military. Given that rape and sexual assault are, traditionally, the most underreported crimes, the horrific statistics likely fail to capture the reality of the sexual dungeon that has become the United States military.</div>
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<a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/11/09/you_dont_protect_my_freedom_our_childish_insistence_on_calling_soldiers_heroes_deadens_real_democracy/">Continue reading at Salon.com</a></div>
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the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-51901140297969689702015-02-17T13:55:00.002-08:002015-02-17T13:55:59.465-08:00The Onion: Local Teen Would Choose Gun With Night Vision Laser Scope If He Joined Army<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzO_1o4n1E2gN2L2wbuz_553MchO47oGIem9_4QsuxaKTLAP2CqtADTSIcbYglLFR-XFf22CxJrywnupWCDWhbCytxCn45l7kTJ1MGt78TvVgkkNEDCArGmZBoeCGySe2VyF-jhwQCIbjs/s1600/700.hq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzO_1o4n1E2gN2L2wbuz_553MchO47oGIem9_4QsuxaKTLAP2CqtADTSIcbYglLFR-XFf22CxJrywnupWCDWhbCytxCn45l7kTJ1MGt78TvVgkkNEDCArGmZBoeCGySe2VyF-jhwQCIbjs/s1600/700.hq.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a class="type" data-prefetch="/articles/local-teen-would-choose-gun-with-night-vision-lase,38020/" href="http://www.theonion.com/features/news-in-brief/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #303030; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">NEWS IN BRIEF</a><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-transform: capitalize;"> • </span><span class="channels" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-transform: capitalize;"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/channels/local/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; text-decoration: none;">Local</a> • <a href="http://www.theonion.com/channels/teenagers/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; text-decoration: none;">Teenagers</a> • <a href="http://www.theonion.com/channels/military/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; text-decoration: none;">Military</a></span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-transform: capitalize;"> • </span><a class="issue" href="http://www.theonion.com/issue/5107/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: capitalize;">ISSUE 51•07</a><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-transform: capitalize;"> • </span><span class="pubdate" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-transform: capitalize;">Feb 16, 2015</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 28px;">ALLENTOWN, PA—Explaining how it would allow him to hunt terrorists from long distances in a variety of combat environments, local teen Alex Gibson informed reporters Monday that he would likely choose a gun with a night vision laser scope if he enlisted in the United States Army. “I used to think I’d want dual Uzis, but now I’m pretty sure I’d put that scope on an armor-piercing automatic rifle,” said the 15-year-old, adding that he would prefer his weapon also be fitted with a silencer and painted matte black to maximize his stealth during the special ops raids he elected to join. “It’s a good weapon for when I’m the demolition guy, but just in case I needed to snipe someone, I’d also want a backup .50-cal gun with an extra-long zoom lens. And obviously I thought about having a grenade launcher too, except in close quarters combat I’d much rather have a Glock with a customized grip.” Gibson added that he would also probably go through helicopter pilot training just in case he ever wants to fly an Apache during a mission.</span></div>
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http://www.theonion.com/articles/local-teen-would-choose-gun-with-night-vision-lase,38020/</div>
the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-79465038685133123562015-02-15T18:37:00.003-08:002015-02-15T18:37:58.088-08:0068.9 cents of every dollar for war <h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4goP1vJJjhOvF6rqOvL6kKfFjPPqtnrVY57AGDyKreF8wGuIyF-nifatvVDlYQccV4lUX0SW7sEj8MOnVWJR5dC4jBn7MeCbG_OEgwb-kHSBufenGjYUKLxpW_OJIhLaEt5X9vfoXk8pw/s1600/costofwar2815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4goP1vJJjhOvF6rqOvL6kKfFjPPqtnrVY57AGDyKreF8wGuIyF-nifatvVDlYQccV4lUX0SW7sEj8MOnVWJR5dC4jBn7MeCbG_OEgwb-kHSBufenGjYUKLxpW_OJIhLaEt5X9vfoXk8pw/s1600/costofwar2815.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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68.9% of every tax dollar you pay this April 15 that’s going to pay for America’s wars and its obsession with militarism.</h3>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;">No wonder our schools and universities, our parks, our roads, our once-vaunted global scientific leadership, our environment, our health and safety, our family budgets and even our life expectancy, have been going to hell! The only thing that’s really getting funded in this country is war.</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;">--Dave Lindorff</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/02/08/war-69%C2%A2-tax-dollars-goes/#.VNey2VGLeAs.mailto"><b>click here to read the article</b></a>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-47867593322628235822015-02-11T07:23:00.002-08:002015-02-11T07:23:18.204-08:00<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/video/world/video/2015/feb/10/father-martyred-drone-yemeni-teenager-records-life-similar-fate-cia" width="560"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701549354584607087.post-72799714146520749802015-02-02T20:09:00.000-08:002015-02-02T20:09:16.321-08:00LBJ "Why we are in Vietnam" 1965<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/k9KJyiXzp34?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>the cranky old man in room 205http://www.blogger.com/profile/08808737447847953555noreply@blogger.com0