Final Blog Portfolio

Here is my final portfolio for class. Enjoy! Thanks for making English class so much fun!

Photo Analyses:
1.) Olde Time Store
2.) Picture This

Creative Pieces:
1.) There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel
2.) How?
3.) I Don't Remember

Letters:
1.) Letter to America
2.) The Desert Sucks

Group Effort:
1.) The Past Meets the Future

Different Types of Medium:
1.) War and Love
2.) Get Us Out of Iraq

My Own Design:
1.) Can You Have Peace Without War

Can You Have Peace Without War?

I completely designed this post. The task is to find a song that is somewhat war related, then type that title into google images and then find a picture that you think best represents that song and explain.

Youtube link to the song "Happiness is a Warm Gun" from the movie Across the Universe.

The song, "Happiness is a Warm Gun," in the film Across the Universe, which was originally composed and sung by The Beatles, could be interpreted as a soldier's perspective on war.

The song constantly talks about a person (a soldier) holding a gun and feeling safe. They know no one can harm them when they're holding the gun. The phrase "happiness is a warm gun" could mean that peace and happiness can only be achieved through war and fighting.

The picture I chose that I feel best reflects the song is the above picture of a gun in a museum. What really stands out is the gun as well as the flags of many different countries in the background. What the picture symbolizes is that war, fighting, and guns have made it possible for peace and happiness. The gun is the center of the picture as well as the center of the different countries flags'. This shows how wars play a key part in most nations and it is something they all have in common. One could argue that many issues have been solved by war such as Nazism and Terrorism have been solved or are being solved by war, and therefore plays a key part in establishing peace and happiness. As portrayed in the song and picture, "happiness is a warm gun" simply means that war establishes peace and happiness.

War and Love

This post analyzes a different type of medium from photography and literary works that can't be normally done in a formal setting. It analyzes a comic strip about war.

In this comic strip, a person (maybe a boy) is writing to the troops to thank them for defending the country, especially during the holidays when they would rather be home.

What the comic emphasizes is how brave the soldiers fighting for the country are and how thankful everyone is for their sacrifice. It also emphasizes the view that soldiers are considered sexy to girls. The girl in the comic makes her friend ask if there are any available guys that she could possibly date. It shows a common view that girls find men who are strong, fearless, and in uniform to be attractive and desirable.

Overall, the comic shows a very compassionate, thankful attitude towards the soldiers fighting.

Get Us Out of Iraq

Using the web blogs allowed me to use different mediums to analyze. In this post, I analyzed a facebook group about the current Iraq War.

Link to facebook group here

The purpose of the group "1,000,000 Students Against the Iraq War," is to demonstrate to the government as well as the rest of the country/world that there are many students in this country who are against the war in Iraq. The group is peacefully protesting the war in a new way. Whereas in the past people would hold demonstrations and attend anti-war rallies, many people are now using the internet to demonstrate against the war. This group is trying to show that there are a million students who oppose the war, who are showing their opposition to it by joining the group. Their goal is that the government will realize that many people are against the war, and then hopefully the government will then cave in to public demand and pull out of Iraq.

Although it is a very good idea to try and get a million students to join this facebook group, it will probably not succeed which will dilute the force and meaning behind the group. The reason for this is because there are countless other facebook groups that are trying to accomplish the same feat. Had there only been one facebook group trying to accomplish this, I believe that they could succeed and actually hold some power behind their message.

There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel

I used the topic of war to create three limericks.

Goodbye Stomach
I declared a huge war on my fat
It was everywhere, even where I sat
So I started to run
And it was actually fun
Until I tripped and went splat

Thank You
In the desert many soldiers are fighting
Some of them find it very exciting
They defend our nation
Under high frustration
That I can't even describe in my writing

Welcome Back
The war may be ending soon
It can come as early as June
And I'll be right there
With a wide-eye stare
To welcome back that brave platoon

The Desert Sucks

Dear Mom,

It's been about three months since I've arrived here in Iraq. I'm still having trouble adjusting to this kind of life. Maybe I will never adjust. The heat here is brutal. Sometimes I feel like I am going to evaporate and disappear. And then there are these huge sandstorms that turn day into night. The darkness frightens me.

At night is when I'm most scared. That's when they like to attack us. They come out of nowhere and just start shooting at our camp. I lay in my bed every night thinking "Is it going to be me tonight?" I never know what's going to happen. That's the scariest thing here. No one knows what is going to happen. A normal drive could turn into a battle. Hell, even the bathroom can turn into your coffin. That's what happened to my friend Joe last week. He went to the bathroom to take a piss and the next thing you know, a grenade just explodes him to pieces. It's really scary.

But don't worry mom, it's not always like that here. Me and the guys try to have fun when we can. Just the other day we were playing some football and I scored a couple touchdowns for my team. We made the losing team get us water for a whole week. It was great. And when I leave to complete my missions I get this adrenaline rush that just makes me feel so alive. I feel good that I'm protecting the Iraqi's from these militias.

Well that's about all I have to say for now. I shouldn't be here much longer. They told us that a lot of troops are getting sent back to the U.S. so hopefully that includes me. See you soon! I love you!

Love,
Soldier William M. Lindelof

Simple Days

"Swing Life Away" by Rise Against

Link to video here

“We live on front porches,
and swing life away.”

Sounds like my life before college.
Life was simple, everything was planned out.
There were no surprises; I just let time go by.
The biggest decisions we had to make were whose house we’d have a bonfire at.
Me and my friends would just sit around and laugh.

“We get by just fine here on minimum wage.”

Ah working at the theme park.
My pay wasn’t great…actually it was minimum wage.
But that didn’t matter, I loved my job.
Every day was fun and had exciting surprises.
And now I’m going to spend the rest of my life working in a theme park.

“I've got some friends,
some that I hardly know.
We've had some times,
I wouldn't trade for the world.”

My friends are the best.
We had amazing times together and always found something to laugh at.
We’ve endured crazy teachers and laughed at them,
We’ve had crazy pool parties that always ended up getting busted,
And most of all we stuck together through everything to have fun.

“The winters so cold,
the summers over to soon.
So let's pack our bags
and settle down where palm trees grow.”

Ah, the prospect of going somewhere warm for college.
Away from the harsh Chicago winters and crazy snowstorms.
A place where I can wear shorts year round.
Such a blissful time, so happy that I’d be going somewhere warm.
I had my life set, and things were perfect.

Simple Days.

Group Poem

four leaf clovers

she is lucky finding love
and tomorrow is here again
morning meadows

they walk with animals
wild broccoli pieces fell apart
and the children
laugh at green leaves

it was funny
cause she stole money
running after the bunny
a big bad bear dancing
and then he giggled

and the world molded
we jumped farther still
however could not reach
the dreams we dreamed

-team cloonan

Strawberry Fields Forever

Video is here

With little background information, the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles seems to have little to do with war. In fact, the song's title simply comes from the Strawberry Field Salvation Army Children's Home, which was just around the corner from where John Lennon grew up in Liverpool. This song was first released on the album Magical Mystery Tour, and is seen one of The Beatles greatest hits. This song is filled with nonsensical lyrics that are organized in a stream of consciousness style. The listener is presented with lines such as, "No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low that is you can't, you know, tune in…" Not surprisingly, this song is associated with The Beatles' heavy LSD use. Drugs influenced many of their songs and melodies as the band sought to create beautiful music out of the fear and hostility of the Vietnam War.

Much analysis of this song is often centered around the Strawberry Field Salvation Army Children's Home. This orphanage obviously played a huge role in John Lennon's childhood as he grew up in Liverpool. During his youth, Liverpool was very much home to the working class. Industrialization was taking hold in the old slave port city and the difficulties of life were very much a reality for its workers. Through lyrics such as "living is easy" and "nothing is real and nothing to get hung about," Lennon references the hardships of this city in this particular song.

Additionally, this scene from "Across the Universe" depicts dripping strawberry juice, an extremely significant symbol in terms of conveying this song's meaning. While strawberries are normally associated with springtime, sweetness, and life, this scene uses the sugary fruit for a much different purpose. In complete contrast, the strawberry juice arguably symbolizes blood. Symbolically, the video depicts fields filled not with delicious fruit, but instead with the blood of thousands of soldiers in Vietnam. Another striking image from this scene occurs as the film's main character, Jude, nails multiple rows of strawberries on a board. After clips of soldiers in Vietnam are flashed on the screen, the camera pans down the rows of strawberries, revealing that they have begun to excrete red juice. As each strawberry begins to give off its juice, a new solider has been killed in war. Then, in perhaps an even more direct approach to this symbolism, the strawberries are depicted as bombs falling towards earth, ready to indiscriminately cause mayhem and destruction.
Without the context provided by the images in "Across the Universe," this song may lack meaning in terms of protesting war. However, when coupled with the striking images of smashed strawberries, dying soldiers, and combat zones, "Strawberry Fields Forever" develops into a much more significant piece of musical art.

Anything to Escape

At first glance, this picture might seem like a normal office with people sitting down. Upon closer inspection however, it is clear this picture is far from normal. Taken during World War II, this picture shows a couple of Nazi officials who have taken poison so that they would not have to be captured by American soldiers. This picture was taken from a sort of "birds-eye view" angle that overlooks the entire room. This allows the viewer to see the entire setting without anything blocking its view. What this does is it shifts some attention away from the subject of the picture (the three dead people) and allows the viewer to take in the whole setting. This further emphasizes the shocking difference in the picture. Part of it seems like a normal scene –an office with a desk, chairs, and other office supplies. This contrasts sharply with the three Nazi officials who are lying dead in the office. This sharp contrast has a large emotional and shocking impact on the viewer, as it takes them by surprise and really makes them question what is normal and what is not.

Further, the photograph's color and use of lighting acts to guide the viewer's interpretation of this photo as one that is not necessarily attempting to magnify the horrific nature of this scene. First, the brightest area of the photograph draws the viewer's attention away from the main subject, as if attempting to soften the shock that one might experience upon viewing the death of these three officers. Equally noticeable is the fact that the officers' clothing seems to blend perfectly with the furniture in which they are sprawled. Indeed, the photograph seems intent on portraying the three Germans as nothing more than extensions of the furniture rather than emphasizing their death. Due to the camera's unique angle, none of the three figures cast any sort of shadow on their surroundings. In fact, only the chairs and drapes provide any sort of dark lighting, again stressing the photographer's intent to provide normalcy to an otherwise bizarre scene.

Our Personal Wars

After reading Trey's post where he analyzed a song regarding a person's personal wars, I was immediately reminded of the song "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace. Here are the lyrics for reference:

This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong
Who would have guessed it
I will not leave alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like it's not too late
It's never too late

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late

No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it
And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late

The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get back
The life we had
Won't be ours again

This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late (It's never too late)
It's not too late
It's never too late

The music video is here and I would recommend watching it because it kind of shows what the song is trying to say.

Throughout the song, the artist is trying to convince someone else not to kill themselves just because their life changed. He tries to reassure this person by saying things will get better and it's never too late to change things.

Basically, the song is talking about how our lives change and will always change. They might change for the worse or they might just not be how we wanted them to be. But no matter what happens, things have a way of working themselves out, so don't focus on the negatives and let them affect you. It's also saying it's never too late to change. It's never too late to change the direction in your life, to change your attitude about different things, and to change your mind about harming yourself.

The artist goes in depth about our own personal wars deep inside. In this instance the artist is talking about the effects of having a life you did not want. The war inside this person is trying to decide if the life they are living is worth it anymore, or if they should just end it. The artist tries to convince them that it's not too late to change and things will be alright. He strikes a hopeful tone with the person saying their lives will turn around and things will get better because it's not too late.

I agree with the message of this song-you can always change a negative aspect of your life. Whether that means adopting a new attitude towards a subject, picking a different direction to head into, or trying to find the positives in a situation, things CAN get better and it is never too late to change them. This song reminds me of Junior year in high school. My friends and I were having trouble adjusting to our insane workload (thanks to AP classes) and balancing that with clubs and our social lives. There were times where we just wanted to give up and just quit our clubs or take a day off school. But instead we just knuckled down, decided life could be worse, and just focused on the positive and fun aspects of that year. Because we changed our attitude, our Junior year turned out to be one of the most fun and challenging years ever, and we all became closer as friends because we stuck together and got through the year.

How?

This picture inspired me to write a poem from the perspective of the woman on the left hand side of the picture.










How could this have happened?
What atrocious sights
The fact that man could do this
Without the slightest fright

Halls and rooms are filled with stories
Of sickness and of pain
It's a wonder no one died
From simply going insane

All around me soldiers bustle
With urgency and regret
I guess they weren't expecting
Something the world will never forget

But up ahead, on the left, what is that pile of stuff?
Oh no.
Oh God.
Are those human bodies?

I can't even look
How amazingly upsetting
I can only put my head in my hand
As a long day starts setting

All those poor people
Is this the cost of war?
Can people really be this brutal?
How can they be so sore?

So many questions
Not enough answers
But one question remains in my head that will never go away
How could this have happened?

Team A

Caption:

What the f*ck am I doing here?!

Olde Time Store

"Slavery in the Civil War Era"

http://www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm

This documentary photo was taken in Georgia in 1864, just when the Civil War in America was slowly coming to an end. This picture is representational of a small town shopping area, but what sticks out is the store that says "Auction & Negro Sales." The entire picture captures a historic moment in U.S. history when the south was still engaged in the buying and selling of slaves. This practice was most common in the south (like Georgia) and was a main factor in the start of the civil war between the free-states of the north and the slave-states of the south. The Civil War did not end until 1865 and even then it took years for slavery to finally end in the south, so it is possible that this store for auctioning/selling slaves to white plantation owners was still in use.

What makes this photo so striking is the photographers use of direct approach and setting. The picture is taken in a straight-forward manner so that it looks like a normal street of stores. The setting is also that of a little street shopping area that has multiple town stores. The normalcy of all that provides a striking contrast to the store in the middle that auctions off slaves. In this day and age, seeing a setting like this is quite shocking. One would not expect to see a slavery store in the middle of a little shopping area. But that is what makes this photo so striking; it seems so normal yet it portrays a dark scar in U.S. history. At the same time, there seems to be a glimmer of hope in this picture. It looks as though there is barely anyone there, which could possibly mean that the sale of slaves has slowed down and possibly stopped all together. The fact that the foreground is so empty leads the viewer to believe this. Another characteristic of this photo that could lead a viewer to believe the slave auctions have ended at this location is the man that is sitting in front of the store. He is centered in the picture, but is small so he is hard to see at first, but once he is seen it appears as though he is a black man. If this is true, it shows the change that the Civil War caused by contrasting a free black man sitting in front of a store that use to sell blacks.

Overall, this representational/documentary photograph of a slave auction store in Georgia in 1864 represents a dark scar in America's past and provides a striking contrast between the normalcy of a shopping area to the atrocity of slave auctions.

The Past Meets the Future

Our group in class picked this picture to analyze about the current Iraq War.

In this photo taken on the day of the first Iraq elections in 2005, the family is the subject of this photograph. The background of the photo is blurry and the focus on the parents and child are clear because the photographer wanted to focus on the implications of the election for this family. The depth created in the photo with the unfocused background indicates an unclear future for the family and the country as a whole. This is an expressive documentary photo because it tells a story about this Iraqi family on the day of these historic elections. The vantage point of the photo is very direct, emphasizing the family again. The eyes of the viewer are immediately drawn to the young girl in the red dress against the washed out background, indicating a new future in a landscape that is desolate at this time. This girl represents a new beginning in the same way that the election does. Against a background of military occupation she confronts the future with bright hope. The background represents the murky and dangerous past, and the girl is representing the new and exciting future. The placement of the family on the left side uses the rule of thirds to draw focus not only to the subjects, but also to the background, because it tells a story too. The background, although out of focus, has a lot going on. Military tanks and empty streets give a context for this family’s story, and show the uncertainty of the day. Overall, this photograph represents a new future for Iraq in a time of war and uncertainty.

Picture This

In this picture entitled "Mikhail Trakhman" or "Nurse Sleeping" in English, the subject is the sleeping army nurse as she is the only person in the picture. She is focused in this picture using bullseye framing. The picture as a whole focuses on three things: the nurse, the gun, and the red medical cross. The background is even out of focus so that the audiences' attention is strictly on these objects. Focusing on these three objects gives the audience crucial information regarding the picture, as they know this is not just any nurse but an army nurse and she is in a war zone because she has a gun on her side.

The photograph is expressive in that it portrays in this nurse what I am sure most of the fighting countries felt as well; fatigued from fighting and ready to take a break and relax. But also, this photo portrays the need to always be prepared for anything that can come, as is shown by the gun that is readily available to the nurse's side should she need it.

This photo also shows the human aspect of war. Even though many think of war as this inhuman, mechanical fighting machine, it is in fact run by people. Those people are just like everyone else and need a break every once and a while to sleep and relax. The army nurse portrayed embodies that idea by showing that even during war, the people fighting the war are human and sleep just like normal humans do.

Letter to America

Dear America:

We are a nation at war, but yet we do not know how to talk about it properly. We argue about facts that are wrong or skewed. We read one article about war and think we know everything this is to know about it. We find it hard to think that someone could have an opposing view from our own. These are the issues that need to be resolved before effectively talking about war.

Not everything we do is wrong though. Our passion for war is great as it leads us to take a stand on the issue and have great debates and dialogs about it. This can be seen with the current Presidential nomination process, where record voter turnouts have caused the candidates to listen to the voters call for change in Iraq and the country's foreign policies. On the news and on websites people are constantly arguing about war and how they feel about the subject, causing the Presidential nominees to really listen and try to solve what we feel are the problems we face everyday.

But we still have a way to go in order to talk about war more effectively. Knowledge is a key component in being able to correctly talk about war. No matter where you stand, we need to understand both sides of an argument, as well as knowing exactly what war entails. We've seen this before, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states in his speech "A Time to Break the Silence: Beyond Vietnam," in regards to what was actually happening in Vietnam, "They [Vietnamese] watch as we poison their water, as we kill a million acres of their crops....They see children degraded by our soldiers as they beg for food." As with Vietnam, we need to see the actual occurrences of war to be able to get a better picture of what is going on. We need to be educated of actual events and how the opposing side sees us so that we can have more informed discussions about war. By knowing the facts, we will not have to have a one sided discussion and can instead use different perspectives and facts to better argue positions on war.

Let's stay passionate and become knowledgeable America.

matt rotandos 104 blog

www.104aboutwar.blogspot.com

Rhetorical Analysis of Iraq War News Piece

Petraeus to halt Iraq troop withdrawals in July

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080408/pl_nm/iraq_usa_petraeus_dc;_ylt=ApWL7QcaGhgX6ZQwhyyx1Qt34T0D

In this article, General Petraeus tells Congress that he will stop Iraq troop withdrawal in July. He explains that the security gains are too fragile to pull troops out now and would lead to destabilization. He explains that the progress they made has been very small and fragile and could be reversible if he were to withdrawal anymore troops. The three presidential hopefuls (Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain) all commented the general. McCain supports the war and General Petraeus’ decision and believes the U.S. is succeeding in Iraq, while Clinton and Obama are strongly opposed to the war and believe the troops should be withdrawn because they feel the U.S. is not succeeding in Iraq. Some Republicans also commented on their frustration with the war and the fact that there are no estimates on when the U.S. will be out of Iraq.

The author of this article establishes credibility for her piece by inserting many quotes from various politicians and army generals. This allows the audience to feel confident that she is reporting factual news and data. The author seems to be writing towards a more liberal/democrat/war opposing audience because of the way the article is written. Most quotes are from the democratic presidential candidates about how they believe troops need to be withdrawn from Iraq because it is a losing war. Also, the author uses phrases such as “war-weary Americans”, “fragile security gains”, and “even Republicans sounded frustrated” to emphasize what she feels the audience feels-that the war is a losing one and needs to end. The author also uses hard numbers to outline how many troops are in Iraq and how many soldiers have died because of the war. This gives the audience a negative connotation to the war because they see the devastating effects it has had.

I don't remember

I don't remember being fat before I lost weight senior year.
Always comparing myself to skinnier people.
Always being thought of as the "fat kid."
Always wanting to be skinnier but not having enough motivation to actually do it.
Always being tired from doing the simplest activities.
But now things are different. Thankfully.

I don't remember my dad getting a heart attack and dying when I was in 2nd grade.
Hearing that phone call early that morning.
Hearing my moms voice tremble when she told us.
Hearing the sounds of a funeral procession.
Hearing the sounds of tears and sorrow.
But now things are better. Thankfully.

I don't remember getting a C in calculus first semester.
Spending time studying on things I didn't understand.
Spending time going to tutoring on things I didn't understand.
Spending time talking to my teacher on things I didn't understand.
Spending time practicing things I still don't understand.
But now things are different. Thankfully.

I don't remember leaving Chicago to come to school.
Wishing I didn't have to leave my friends.
Wishing I didn't have to leave the city I love.
Wishing I didn't have to be bored as hell while being stuck in Tucson.
Wishing I could have went to a school in downtown Chicago and never left.
But in the fall things will be different. Thankfully.

I don't remember getting stung by a bee while driving home stuck in traffic.
Hurting my eye.
Hurting my mood.
Hurting my happiness.
Hurting my eye! It seriously hurt like hell.
I hate bees.

I remember...

I remember when I was turning 10 years old, my whole family and some of my friends went to our local theme park (Six Flags Great America) and it was the year they opened up their newest coaster that is 200ft high. My mom bought a hotel room near the park so we could go to the park for two days which I thought was so awesome. So my family and I went into the park the first day and we immediately ran towards the new tall coaster, Raging Bull. This was at a time though when I was just starting to not be afraid of roller coasters so I was unsure about riding, but my two older brothers forced me to go on. Well anyways we got strapped in and I was freaking out while going up the lift hill. It seriously seemed like it would never stop. And then once we got to the top, I grabbed my lap bar and screamed at the top of my lungs as the coaster plunged down the first drop. After that ride, I completely ended my fear of roller coasters and instead started to become obsessed with them. The rest of the day was a blur because all I can remember was that first ride of the day that forever changed my life. Not surprisingly, the next day all I rode was Raging Bull and I was the happiest 10 year old ever.

I remember a couple weeks ago I went to Orlando, Florida for a weekend to visit the school I'm transferring to in the fall (University of Central Florida). I stayed with some friends I knew in their dorm room while there. The campus I am going to be on though isn't on main campus, but rather 30 minutes away in the heart of all the theme parks and hotels in Orlando. The campus is only for hospitality management majors (which is what I'm going to be doing with a specialization in theme park management). This was really nice because everyone there had the same interests as me-theme parks and resorts. Well anyways this was seriously the best little vacation I ever had. One reason was that I love the school and the people that go there. Another reason I liked my little vacation was because all my friends work for the different theme parks there so even though I was only in Orland for 4 days, I was able to go to 5 different theme parks without paying to go into any of them. It was so awesome. One night we went to this comedy club at City Walk at the Universal Orlando resort. I seriously never laughed so hard, I loved it. And the rest of the nights after the theme parks we would go to the resort that was right next to the campus and just relax in the hot tub. I loved every minute of it and now I am really excited to leave the University of Arizona and go to the University of Central Florida and finally do things I like.

Homophonic Translation-Spanish Poem

Care oh, pair a term in air
Can do alloy Al board celeb bra duh the violence
Oh Leno duh peck owl core a zone Korea
Eh you dear a rear all Kay son airy
Pond Earl one page are I lov all mall bad oh
End plenty nuke a quitter a loss in for most end fad and do loss
Come prowl all vendor
Eh you darlin' a matter all Matt a door cuz a terrible
Why quiz air a yo sir Ben oh con me go
End to do.

First Post!

Hey everyone, here's my first post for my English 104 class. Enjoy.