Book Saved for Future Generations

The one book that I would want to save so other generations after me could read would be Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. To me, this is one of the best books of all time. It is a classic. Wuthering Heights is like the Gothic version of Twilight. It is about two families: the Earnshaws and the Lintons. The Earnshaws live in Thrushcross Grange and the Lintons live in Wuthering Heights, which is just a few miles away. The Earnshaws adopt a boy named Heathcliff who is a gypsy boy. He quickly makes friends with Catherine Earnshaw, the youngest daughter. However Heathcliff is bullied by her brother Hindley who is jealous because he has lost his father’s affection to Heathcliff.

As they grow older, Catherine moves in with the Lintons at Wuthering Heights and become a woman. When she comes back to Thrushcross Grange, she and Heathcliff slowly fall in love. However, Catherine does not openly express her affection for Heathcliff because of his social status. She ends up attracting the affection of Edgar Linton and persuades herself that he is better for her than Heathcliff because he is of his high social status. Catherine moves from Thrushcross Grange and into Wuthering Heights again.

Years go by and Heathcliff has become proprietor of Thrushcross Grange. He marries even though he still has feelings for Catherine. Catherine dies and Heathcliff takes her daughter Cathy in. He treats her badly because he reminds her of Catherine. Heathcliff is also being haunted by the spirit of Catherine who cannot rest until she and Heathcliff are together.

This is a great book and the meaning of it is so romantic. Heathcliff may have hated Catherine for a long time but he never stopped loving her. The book does end on a happy note so everyone should definitely read it.

Halloween/El Dia de Los Muertos

I have always loved Halloween. It is one of the best nights of the year because you get to dress up and go out either to a party or trick or treating or both.   I haven’t been trick or treating in a while but I used to go every year when I was little. My first even Halloween costume was a pumpkin then I remember being the pink Power Ranger for three years straight. As I got older I remember being Meg from Disney’s Hercules, a nurse, a witch, and then Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is so much fun dressing up and getting to be someone you are not for a night.

Since I am older, I have stopped going trick or treating. However, I plan on doing it in the future. I do love to see the little kids in my neighborhood, which there are not as many as considering we have all grown up and left the nest, trick or treat.

Halloween is also a great time during the year because that is when a lot of the networks on television bring back the old scary movies (I am not just talking about Halloween and its’ sequels.) I am talking about the classics like The Shining, House on Haunted Hill, and anything that involves Vincent Price. These are the true spine-tingling classics. I grew up watching these movies and have a great appreciation for them so it is exciting to have a chance to watch them again. It is also a tradition in my house that we have to watch It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown because I grew up obessed with the show and Snoppy.  

When I started to learn Spanish I grew an appreciation for El Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. This is a holiday the Spanish community celebrates from October 31^st to November 2^nd every year commemorating their dead ancestors. Instead of fearing the dead, they embrace death as a part of life. They believe that when you die you move on to bigger and better things. It’s an interesting celebration where they have an altar laid out in their homes with a picture of the deceased, food, flowers (Marigolds), candy, and the other things of the deceased. The Spanish community believes that during the night their ancestors’ spirits come back to Earth to eat and party. There are parades and parties from the streets into people’s homes and also in the cemetery. It is such a fascinating cultural event that I have gravitated to over the years.

 If you are interested about the history of El Dia de Los Muertos or anything else concerning this holiday click here:

                 http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/

Parking Problem

   The biggest thing that I have the desire to change at Wright State is the parking. There is not enough! Our college campus is a big commuter school.  I am a commuter so I have to get to school really early to get a parking spot without having to park in Lot 4 or heaven forbid Lot 20. What is even worse is having to schedule next quarter around when parking is available at school. So I have to schedule my first class really early so I don’t have to walk along way from my car and back. A solution would be to make more parking for students. People would have more places to park instead of stalking you to your car as you are leaving just so they can get your spot. Which I have to say is the creepiest thing ever. People just drive behind you so they can get your parking spot. That freaks me out. Parking is not the biggest deal in the world however in my opinion it is cheaper to commute then it is to stay on campus at least it is for me.

The Importance of Revision

Revision is extremely important when it comes to writing a paper. Whether it is a formal or informal paper revision matters. Personally, I usually feel confident about my original draft (like everyone else), I tend to feel that I have written the best paper that could have ever been written (along the lines of Aristotle). However, my confidence diminishes when I look at my papers more closely. I find even the simplest mistakes such as spelling errors (stupid spell check) and extra words that were not erased.

After revising the paper, whether personal revision or from my peers, I find that my papers end up being more academically sound and less like a grade-schooler.  So I feel even more confident about my revised draft (s). I believe that the drafting process is a necessary one. We are all human and we make mistakes. Not everyone’s first draft is going to be perfect.  Not even the best writers get it right the first time.  I believe that the drafting process is making a difference in my writing. I take the comments from the teacher or my peers and make a mental note of the comments for future reference. The instructor’s comments are clear. I feel that the only difficulty I have with my papers is analyzing. I tend to over summarize everything and I do not analyze more. This is one of the things I am working on.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

This Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painting is titled “La Goulue”. It was painted in 1873. If you don’t understand French this translates into “The Glutton”. Back then, Moulin Rouge was referred to as a cabaret in Paris. Men liked to go and dance with the prostitutes, wine them and dine them. Toulouse-Lautrec painted pieces that depicted this. He painted piece of aristocratic society along with the lower class. He depicted the good time and the bad times. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in 1864 in Albi, Tarn, France. He began to paint at the age of eight years old. When he was 13 years old he broke his right thigh bone and then at 14, he broke his left one. He only grew to be five feet tall. Because he was so short he was teased so he turned to alcohol to numb himself.  He immersed himself into his art and became known as one of the greatest Post-Impressionist painters ever. He ranks up there will Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin. Later, he moved to London from Paris and made posters. Toulouse-Lautrec died from complications of alcoholism and syphilis in 1901.  In the 20 years of his career he painted 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters, and drew 5,084 drawings.

The purpose of this painting was for advertisement. This is a poster Toulouse-Lautrec painted to advertise that the Moulin Rouge was having a Masquerade Ball. The audience is the aristocratic gentlemen because they have the money to spend on the prostitutes. The genre is a poster. The poster is promoting the Ball. The medium is art.

SHUT OFF THAT DARN TELEVISION!!

I have to agree on this topic. iIf you take away television it does make a child healthier and more productive because they need to find something to do like play outside or read a book. However, some people make the excuse that kids would be on the computer or texting on their cell phones all day. Others might say that television is not just entertaining but it is educational. Some television is but not all.

Video games are another problem. Too many kids are playing them. All they talk about is Modern Warfare and the newest Halo game. Some kids get so into the game that they start to believe they are alien hunters here to save the planet. It is ridiculous. The consoles themselves do not help either. The best one is the Wii because it is interactive. Kids are getting up and actually doing the motions. A lot of the games are games like Just Dance which is my favorite. It is fun and a workout. However, constantly staring at the television screen is not a good idea. Kids also need that social interaction they get when they play outside with others and at school. Kids cannot grow up in an isolated environment because they are known to become socially  awkward in later years. Kids also need to pick things up, like a basketball or football so they get the feeling of what it is like to throw or dribble a ball. If they are staring at a television or even a computer screen they are not getting that. They only know how to pick things up with a joystick.

All in all, parents need to turn off the television and tell their children to find something else to do for a few hours a day that does not involve them staring at a screen.

Advertising's Influence

Advertising is huge. Whether we realize it or not, we all pay attention to advertisements in magazines, commercials, billboards, public transportation vehicles, it is there and it is not going anywhere. The power advertisements have a young people especially girls is a big deal. Young girls look at Victoria’s Secret ads, diet pill ads, cereal ads, etc. and see these women who are very thin and seem sexy. Young girls look at that and say this is what I have to look like to get attention from men. They do not realize that it should not matter how tall, short, thin, fat, or whatever you are. It sounds cliché, but it should matter about what is on the inside. Advertisers need to look at what they are doing to young people. Young people are becoming more self conscious of their bodies because they don’t look like a supermodel or cannot fit into size double 0 jeans. Young women need to also embrace their bodies no matter how they look and realize that looking like a supermodel isn’t going to happen. I remember earlier this year when a Lane Byrant commercial was banned from television because it was deemed inappropriate however it is okay to show a Victoria’s Secret commercial will thinner half naked supermodels. Geez! People need to feel sexy and confident by being themselves and loving themselves. Personally, I have had to do this. I don’t always like the way I look. Growing up I can remember dieting and trying to loose weight but I would eventually give up and then start again. It became a vicious cycle. However, I have learned from this and realize it is better to live a healthy lifestyle then to diet. This is what advertisers need to do to advertise their weight lose ideas

Here's a comparison between the Lane Bryant ad and a Victoria's Secret ad

Lane Bryant:

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ywQpPcUkY&feature=related

Victoria's Secret:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmNEG8IFd_Y&NR=1&feature=fvwp