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MMWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

May 24th, 2009 by

haha no… my first advice to you is to throw everything you have previously heard about Mrs.Duke out the window. She is not EVIL or so hard that you want to pee your pants… I will try to answer some common questions

Does Mrs. Duke grade hard?

You get the grade you deserve. plain and simple. If you put forth effort you will get a good grade no mater what. I have heard her say this herself many times this year and it is absolutely true. She isnt stupid, she knows everything, so dont try and take short cuts. and if you are trying really hard, but your product still isnt as good as others, she will see that.  Basically it is really hard not to make a good grade, unless you just dont even attempt…. I am a terrible procrastinator, but Mrs. Duke really only cares if you get it done, even if its a few days late. But try not to keep in mind that she will except late work, because then you will continue to get behind.. like i have plenty of times this year

Do we have lots of homework?

YES YES YES YES YES… im not going to lie to you, she does assign a lot of homework. But the reason most people complain about it is because they wait till the last minute to do it. Like blogging, YOU HAVE ALL WEEK but most people wait until late Sunday night or Monday morning to do it and thats what really stresses people.  From  experience, it is a whole lot better when you have you have done your homework before the day its due. YOU WILL ONLY TORTURE YOURSELF!! when she assigns something DO IT!!!! READ BLOG WRITE!!!

What is her teaching style?

well… that is the million dollar question… there is no answer to this question. Mrs.Duke  has out performed every teacher i have ever had. She uses different teaching techniques almost everyday! You must remember that she CARES ABOUT YOU!! although it is easy to forget, most teachers spend lots of time preparing to help you learn. Mrs. Duke comes to class for YOU! BE RESPECTFUL!!! … i know that I myself have taken her for granted, but she is awesome

things to remember:

- DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! if you dont read or have something prepared for class it will be very obvious and most likely other classmates will be effected by your unpreparedness.

-DO NOT FORGET ABOUT BLOGS!! — it really KILLS you in the long run. and they can actually be fun if you do them before the night they are due. be really creative with your free blogs, do not use every blog to complain about how your life is sucking that day or how blogs suck or how English sick… write about things that you enjoy doing outside of school or subjects you are interested in. DO NOT RANT!!

-PARTICIPATE IN CLASS: not only will this help you better understand the books you will be reading, but keep in mind that you get a GRADE EVERYDAY on your participation. so dont slack off in class, SHE WILL KNOW. dont be shy! if you have a question, ASK IT. even if a comment is kinda off track, SAY IT (be careful, it is very easy to go completely off track)

STUDY: remember that Mrs.Dukes class is different from others and so are the quizzes and tests. make sure you completely understand the meaning of things rather than the tiny useless details

OPINIONS: most of the activities done in and out of class have to do with your opinion and ideas. dont be afraid to have a different opinion

RESPECT: Mrs.Duke does a lot for her students, the amount of work that goes into grading these blogs and all of the very in depth projects is insane!! remember that she WANTS to teach YOU and does a lot for YOU! respect your classmates too. Most work is done together, so dont mess someone else’s grade up

HAVE FUN!!!!!  English can be fun…. especially when Duke is the ringmaster

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Dear Simon Russell Beale,

May 24th, 2009 by

let me first off say WOW. of course being a lazy ignorant teenager i took no notice to the voice that was reading aloud our Hamlet in class. After getting used to your voice as Hamlet’s it greatly shocked me to hear it while watching Act 5 from the 1996 Hamlet movie coming from the Gravedigger. Its strange when your mental schema is completely turned around. Your voice IS Hamlet to me. and you are a wonderful Hamlet. I was amazed at your resume when i researched your career and even more interesting i found that you performed in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead  in your earlier years. i wondered why such an accomplished actor was in a voice recording of a book. I had never actually appreciated the talent that goes into those tapes i pick up at the library, but you have done so many things and played so many famous characters and you were the main voice i listened to. from now on i will not merley go oblivious to the effort and talent that goes into audio books.

Although you were probably the best audio character i have ever listened to. It is very difficult to get across everything you feel and want through just words, but you really put emotion behind the lines on the page as i read along with you. your scenes varied dramatically through the book going from crying to screaming in anger to crazy spouts about nonscents, but allseemed to flow gracefully together with the power of your voice.

thank you,

Elisabeth

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Dear Kenneth Branagh,

May 24th, 2009 by

first off i have to say congrats! At first i was sceptical of you being the director and the main role… but it seems you have managed to pull it off. It is hard to be able to criticize oneself in order to improve, but you are not a beginner, so naturally you probably already had a set of standards and techniques that have proven to be efficient. I was pleased with your performance and the directing choices you made, while some seemed to be rather presumptuous, although you had every right to interpret the play however you wanted in order to help portray the masterpiece that Shakespeare handed down. From what i saw you made several outstanding choices, such as the grave scene being at night and Hamlets extreme fighting and long range sword throwing skills. I couldn’t help thinking that you tried to make your character look really cool in the last scene. You played him well, that sparkle in your eye when you grinned only added to his overall crazy, lovable, passionate personality. Some might say that you looked too old for the role, but I think that you were  youthful and emotional enough to overlook age. While reading Hamlet in class, he had never really seemed real to me, but watching you really helped me grasp that there was a man behind all of those words, who really was going through such heartships. Hamlet has always been an icon in the Arts world, shakespear managed to create such a character who came on stage and expressed the extacies and agonies of every adolecent in a matter of ten words, and i think you did a wonderful job help carry on his masterpiece.

A fellow thespian

 

P.S. Your hair was quite shocking at first, but it grew on me :] and you were freaking awesome in that last scene!!

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R&G #4

May 12th, 2009 by

Metafiction, dramatic Irony, self-reflexivity, fate, life and death, goofyness, and inter-textuality are all present in our forth reading of R&G.

The one that is SOO obvious and almost making me want to yell is dramatic Irony. In this reading R & G are even more stupid than i thought they were… hard to believe I know. Their death is basically shown to them and many other things that will happen are seen in The Murder of Gonzago. Well I already knew that they were going to die, but it has become even more obvious. haha but I sometimes enjoy there stupid antics… they provide some comic relief in this very morbid story. It just cracks me up when they do something like drop their pants or go in the wrong direction, it feels so out of place compared to our Hamlet readings.

But other than that, of course the reading is still a bit confusing… especially when R & G get confused about stuff and just start a questioning rant. But that is just banter. Also I find it interesting to hear more about the players, while in Hamlet the Players do not really have many lines, in R & G we get to learn a bit more about them.

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Drama is such an broadly used word…

Apr 21st, 2009 by

well this post is obviously about actual literary dramas. When most individuals think of the word drama they think of middle/high school friends who bicker all of the time about nonsense. well that could be considered a type of drama.. but the drama discussed is more of the theatrical world. Drama is a word used to describe a variety of performing arts. Drama doesn’t have to be a sad or tear jerking piece. I personally am around theatrical people everyday, even if they don’t admit it to themselves. The most famous plays are majorly from the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare is like god to actors. His plays are both terrifying and brilliant at the same time. His words will carry on for many many years to come. Although Shakespeare was not the first or last, dramas have been around for thousands of years. Even if you dont consider them technically plays… even when the land was covered with tribal like communities, they performed drama. Story telling has been passed down through the generations becoming a critical point to our society.

I am not what you would call an expert at theater… but i do sure know alot about it. I have been involved in theater for years now and have seen some very interesting things. I have come to know all about how the stage works and how to best portray a scene. there are many rules to blocking that the common person would not know. many things are put into consideration when blocking a scene that the audience is not aware of. I am fully aware of all the things that are put into backstage work, sound, and lighting. i think that from knowing these things i have both lost some of the audience gullibility and gained scepticism of others stage work.

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BEST DANG PAPER EVER!!! and it only took me 6 hours….

Apr 9th, 2009 by

Elisabeth Alost

Stem Cell Research

Longeway March 8, 2009

Thousands of people are dying every year from diseases that are preventable, but the government and activist are unwilling to help. Stem cell research is vital to develop treatments for extremely common illnesses. Anything from Breast cancer to Lou Gehrig’s disease can be helped by the use of stem cell therapy. Yet this seemingly visionary treatment opportunity to save thousands from pain and suffering is seen as murder and an act against God by many prolife activists. Even now that scientists have found ways to create stem cells from the patients themselves, stem cell research is constantly debated. Sadly since this scientific discovery of these wonder cells that they are finding new uses for constantly, the application of the treatments have not spread. (1) The government has difficulty in deciding whether or not such research should be funded or not. The fear of angry pro-life citizen’s and religious figures going against the government is too strong, even if it means helping thousands of people waiting for a cure.

Stem cells have been a topic of debate for years but what exactly are stem cells? Stem cells are unspecialized cells found in most multi-cellular organisms. They are cells that have the ability to replenish themselves by cell division and even differentiate into other more specific types of cells.  They can grow into specialized cells such as those found in various tissues and muscles.  Most derive from blastocyte, which is the beginning of an embryo only a few days old, and consist close to one hundred cells, and these cells will eventually divide into the two hundred and twenty different types of cells in your body. (2) New research has shown that we can now even use adult cells, but they do not grow as well as embryonic. The highly plastic adult stem cells are in both children and adults, most commonly found in a variety of places including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow . (3)The body uses these stem cells to replenish other cells and manage regenerative organs such as blood and skin. Most research is done on discarded biological material that would most likely be incinerated, to treat people who have little hope and are more than willing to risk their bodies to possibly get them cured and to further science. Stem cell research does not end with humans, they have been performing stem cell treatment on animals for years. In the horse racing business they harvest stem cells from race horses, “they recommended harvesting umbilical-cord cells at foaling or, failing that, collecting cells from bone marrow when the animal is a yearling or a young racehorse. That way, if a horse injures itself in training or racing, the cells will be available to treat the problem.”,(4). Even when treatments do not go as planned scientists learn something and then contribute to the overall knowledge we are developing about stem cells and how they function.  And this research has helped with creating treatments of many diseases and allowed for the start of healing for those with the diseases. Not only that but they can actually grow back tissues and organs.(5) Breast cancer patients who have had one or both breasts amputated can suffer from a great deal of psychological pain because of the missing breasts. The self conscious patients can have new breast tissue grown from stem cells that won’t be rejected by the body like a fake tissue would. (6) However, to really develop these potential treatments, there must be a determined commitment from the Federal Government, which should be unbiased in matters of the public health.

Although the issue is not about whether it is worth while or not for the government to fund it, it is the morality. “Embryonic stem cells are blank cells found in four- to five-day-old embryos, which have the ability to turn into any cell in the body. However, when stem cells are removed, the embryo is destroyed — which has made this one of the most controversial medical research fields in the past decade.” (7). Activists claim that it doesn’t do enough to stop abortions and should not allow for any government funding because it destroys human beings, no matter if it’s under public funds or government.  Much has been proven for the abilities of stem cells; one of the newest is the creation of a human embryo entirely from stem cells 8).  This sets forth a new set of problems in that people have been against human cloning, because it creates the moral problem of whether or not we have the rights to play God.  Another problem with the stem cells is that if they are studied by mixing them with another organism, the new organism could become more humanlike and that is another moral problem that bothers many people.

Former president, Bill Clinton, under intense pressure from the public and Congress, allowed stem cell research to stop.  This put a stop on all federal funding for stem cell research, but in 2000 researchers found a loophole in the law that could allow the foetus to be destroyed as long as it was with private funds, and then experimented on with government funds. Then Bush came into office and the issue still hung over head. He approved limited funding because stem cell research offered great promise for the cure of diseases and disorders. And many rallied behind his choice to keep the strict limits of government. But many ridiculed his decision by pointing out the multitude of individuals in the middle east who had died because of his war over oil, but that his morals obviously different about killing  the unborn. When Obama cam into office in 2009 he lifted the Bush administrations strict limits on stem cell research. He said that his administration would make decisions based on scientific facts and toward the benefit to the community. Addressing his audience at the press release, “‘I understand their concerns, and we must respect their point of view.’ But Mr. Obama went on to say that the majority of Americans ‘have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research; that the potential it offers is great, and with proper guidelines and strict oversight the perils can be avoided.’. (9) Obama made sure to communicate that he was not in any way promoting human cloning. Many unanswerable questions can only determine whether or not the research is right or wrong. Are the frozen embryos human life and therefore something precious to be protected?  If they’re going to be destroyed anyway, shouldn’t they be used for a greater good, for research that has the potential to save and improve other lives? Many things to encourage each president which way he would sway.

Stem cells can develop into different cell types. They may offer a renewable source of replacement cells to treat diseases, conditions, and disabilities. But does the killing of day old embryos like killing a living being? These are very important moral questions, but they should not be argued over in Congress, by politicians who consist of lobbyists. They should instead be debated and determined by the scientific community. With out government funding we create an environment where educated professionals avoid beneficial public service because their work would be ordered by whatever party was in office, rather than the good of all citizens.  This would be the greatest disservice ever committed upon the American Public. The government should support stem cell research clinics with federal funds and help promote the health of millions of people, to save the lives of many, instead of the unborn few. Why not use the resources we have available to us today? Many frozen embryos would go to waste if the government did not support the research centres. Stem cells are miracles to humanity, and are able to save thousands.  Religion and political problems should not prevent us from saving the people who are in desperate need of these stem cells.  Stem cell research may be an moral problem for some, but the prospects of growth and of treatment for the people in pain far exceed any moral debate. Government funding should provide for stem cell research in order to offer the next person who needs help the treatment they desperately need.

Notes Page

  • 1. Patrick Thatcher. “REACHING FOR A CURE: Adult stem cell treatment gives multiple sclerosis patient new life.” Daily Press (Victorville, CA), March 22, 2009. http://web.ebscohost.com (accessed March 24, 2009).
  • 2. Bethesda MD. “Stem Cell Information.” The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research. http://stemcells.nih.gov (accessed April 7, 2009).
  • 3. Ibid, Bethesda.
  • 4. Tracy Gantz. “Stem-Cell Research: Potential Benefits.” bloodgorse.com. http://www.bloodhorse.com/‌horse-racing/‌articles/‌49797/‌stem-cell-research-potential-benefits?id=49797 (accessed March 24, 2009).
  • 5. Steven Reinberg,. “Embryonic Stem Cells Yield Full Range of Heart Tissues”. 22 November 2007 <www.livescience.com/healthday/536245.html>.(accessed March24, 2009)
  • 6. Marilynn Marchione. “Stem Cells Used to Fix Breast Defects”. 16 December 2008. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_he_me/mini_breast_implants (accessed April 7, 2009)
  • 7. Miriam Falco. “FDA approves human embryonic stem cell study.” CNNhealth. http://www.cnn.com (accessed March 24, 2009).
  • 8. Malcom Ritter. “Cloned Embryos”. 17 January 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_sc/cloned_embryos>.( accessed April 7, 2009)
  • 9. Sheryl Gay Stolberg. “Obama Lifts Bush’s Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research .” New York Times, March 9, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com (accessed March 24, 2009).

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STUDY

Apr 7th, 2009 by

well although it is not wednesday night of last week…. i havent taken the test yet and have had my study sheets for the tales anyway. It would only help me study if I  compose a blog with my gathered information. well here you are

  • Know tales, tellers, genres
  • Key issues discussed for each tale
  • Review characters from General Prologue and understand how Chaucer portrays them (see filmstrip, too)
  • Cultural/Historical issues and how they are represented
  • literary/structural details

things to remember about Chaucer and CT: (1342-1400)

- used FRAME NARRATIVE

- Born into middle class

- First to establish Middle English in the literary world (standard dialect)

- Raised speaking French

- Wrote CT at end of Medieval ages

- Represented ALL classes

- Written for ear

- Was UNFINISHED!!! Intended to have 120 tales (30ppl 2 tales)

Key issues:
Miller: class, religion
Wife: class, women’s rights, religion, marriage
Pardoner: corruption in the church, class
Franklin: chivalry, science/magic, religion

A “Boo” on pretty much everyone except for the clerk, knight, squire, and parson. — Well the wife, Franklin, yeoman, and cook got an “ehh”

Franklin:

- He is basically a lawyer, but he was not born of the nobility. I generally was surprised at his status, because I normally think of lawyers as higher up people.

- He kinda reminds me of a Santa clause/grandpa

- He believes that the only path to happiness is to enjoy life’s pleasures, he is a householder, saint of hospitality.

- As for religion, He didn’t seem strongly Christian. There are no God or biblical mentioning throughout his passage. He seemed too interested in money and worldly things.

TALE:

- Honor/Chivalric duties, Magic, Man’s Dominance

- Characters: Averagus-husband, Dorigen-wife, Aurelius-lover

- Courtly romance, but they were married

- BRETON LAI: brief romance of Celtic decent

- HONOR and CHIVALRY!!!! -all characters

- Magic vs. Science

- Magic: looked down upon, FEAR of unknown. Most commonly just science yet to be discovered (the ocean tides mad the rocks disappear)

Miller

- He’s loud, OBNOXIOUS, drunk, and obscene

- He is somewhat of a bully: big & strong, he takes what he wants because he intimidates everyone.

- He does not seem to have any values or religious morals.

- He tells dirty stories and steals from his customers by buying cheap corn and selling it high.

TALE:

- The Miller is dirty, immoral, and funny, and so is his tale. It is meant to appeal to the lower class, because he is lower class and proud of it.

- Characters: John-husband, Alisoun-wife, Nicholas-boarder/lover, Absolon-clerk/wanna-be lover

- FABLIAU: complete opposite of a courtly romance, trickery, gullibility, opportunism, infidelity

- Religion: 2nd coming of Noah’s ark (common)

- CLASS CLASHING!! – in his tale (three lovers) and he goes out of turn story telling

Wife of Bath

- Well of course most people first think of the Wife of Bath as a gold-digger. She has had 5 husbands and most of whom she just used to get money. She is very experienced in her field, she is very comfortable in her sexuality from years of practice.

- She has been all over the world, she is very religious and had been on many pilgrimages before.

- She seems very confident and in control of her life and husbands. It is mentioned that she is a wonderful cloth maker

- She despite her gap in her teeth and aging body is very charming. Young boys often ask her for help in love and enjoy hearing her speak

TALE: romance

- The lesson of the story is that a man should always give his wife control in the marriage, as the knight in the tale does who then lives happily ever after.

- This belief is what truly defines the Wife. The wife’s life has consisted of her being in control of her husbands and using each of them to get what she wanted.( She prides herself in her ability to get a man to do anything she wants)

- Characters: the young knight-goes on a mission to find out what women want most, and the old woman- knows the correct answer…

- Religion: is a constant through out the prologue and tale. Wife’s view on marriage, virginity, and sex. Many biblical references to figures with many wives and also of wicked wives(book)

- CONTROL!!!!! She better dang get it!!!

Pardoner

- BOOOOOOOO

- “money is the root of all evil”

- Pardoner: someone who sells things and tells stories that promise salvation

- preaches about sin to everyone, but he lies and steals himself.

- obsessed with his image and tries to be fashionable

- Despite his preaching, he still uses his power to get what he wants

TALE:

- The tale is very much like a sermon, which fits because he is a priest. The idea of the story is that selfishness never pays off, which is a typical subject of preaching. It is Ironic that he is preaching this because he himself is selfish and greedy.

- Characters: Three rioters-find the gold, Old man-doomed to walk the earth for eternity (wandering jew)

- The rioters indulge in the vices : Gluttony, Drunkenness, Gambling, Swearing. –> (IRONY)

- EXEMPLUM : moral story, fable

- Hell as digestion…. Oaths? Lack of faith

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THE FINAL 2 GROUP

Apr 7th, 2009 by

well The wife of Bath’s group was mine. I thought our presentation went along smoothly and we had little difficultly in getting our information out to the class (which can be difficult at times especially with our class). We hadnt actually gone over what exactly we were going to do in class, but we had the power point and our other activities to show the class, so it was not hard to use our time efficiently. Gabby had composed our powerpoint and although not everyone had seen the slides i think that everyone in the group added information and our finding from group discussions into the presentation during class.  There were time when it felt like the class was not exactly fully understanding what we were talking about…idk maybe it was because they hadnt read or maybe just because we were boring and we had lost their attention… whatever. Our pants were a great conclusion to the presentation, not only did they express the main points of the tale and prologue, but were fun and creative, proving something for our visual students.

As for the other group… please do not take offense, but im not really going to filter much because I have been feeling awful and im tired

The last group to present was the Pardoner’s group. I had thought it would be hard for someone to have stage fright in front of a crowd less than 20 ppl… but apparently i was mistaken because it just so happened that all four group member were stricken with horrible stage fright during their class presentation. I love how Mrs.Duke just comes in and states that stage fright is selfishness. and for certain thats what it was. Well of course they eventually got over the sudden stage fright and went on with their presentation, but they never really had full control of the class and could never seem to organise between themselves. With our class, the last thing you want to do as the teacher type figure is show a weakness, because then you will never hold their attention for more that the five seconds their eyes glazeover as they stare. As for the occasional audience member who actually wanted to know more about the Pardoner, I was deprived of the knowledge they could have taught the class. They obviously had spent some time on thier posters, but I feel they did not say everything they could have to help me understand everything.  They did attempt to go into some of their indepth research, such as Janies discussion on Death as digestion, but sadly she had little to back it up. Certainly if the group would have been more organised and composed, we could have gone into discussion about certain areas of the text, but no such luck. SO… i resorted to just simply making sure that i copied down everything they had on their posters, but for some reason i had a difficult time communicating to the group members that i would like to be able to see the poster in order to read, eventually Eliot, my thoughtful neighbor, made clear to the entire class that everyone should move out of the way of the poster… alas this did aloe me to quickly write down most of the quotes and such until the brownies emerged… although this was a thoughtful activity, it was not a good idea to have shown the class before the presentation.  Overall i feel that I did not get all of the needed information and that the group could have done a much better job at presenting it.

sincerely,

the grumpy, tired, and sick  Elisabeth

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REVIEW OF FRANKLIN…and what Ive heard of Miller

Mar 30th, 2009 by

Well this past week of English was very short… i only had two days, what with wellness and math convention i only was able to see the Franklin’s presentation.

FRANKLIN”S TALE: This group i think did farley well over all, but could have done better in areas. For their presentation they showed a PowerPoint, covering the main points of the tale. The Franklin’s tale is a Breton lai.  A Breton lai is a style of courtly romance, but as the group explained even though it was a courtly romance, it had one main difference from others. The Maiden in this story was married.  Her husband had gone off to do knightly things, and then she had pursuers. The most striking subject of discussion was Science vs. magic. the tale openly accepts wizardry, but at the time magic was highly criticized, not only because of its strangeness, but because people could not handle the mystery of the unknown. Although in most cases of medieval magic, it was plain science that no one could grasp. I certainly believe myself that magic is only science that we have not evolved to understand, our knowledge of the world is so minuscule that undoubtedly man will never even know a considerable fraction of what is to be known of our world. certainly this topic has an infinite number of questions and discussion to be had. certainly this group was smart to point out its importance to the tale.  The discussion circles didnt go as well as they had planned, but i think it was a good experience for everyone, it’s not as easy as it looks to make a good discussion. Everyone in the group appeared to have some knowledge of the tale, but edward seemed to talk the most.

As for the millers tale from what ive heard, it went surprisingly well, despite thier rocky start. It was probably the best tale for the group. how often do you get to read a dirty story  for homework? Im sorry i missed the class when everyone actually participated… hopefully ours will go well. I can only hope that some people read the long wife of bath’s tale.

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Birth control — wife of Bath

Mar 23rd, 2009 by

While reading the Wife of Bath it pondered me how she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Birth control has always been around, just not very effective or safe methods. Many different herbs and concoctions have been thought up over the ages. I was amazed at the different things they made pregnant girls drink, spread ,and shove in places… Anything from drinking mercury to shoving plants up their … no go hole.  During Chaucer’s   time the black plague had reeked the land and people were trying to repopulate Europe. So birth control was not a high priority at the time. But medical books contain many varying types of birth control. Of course there is the always present option of abortion, which was much riskier. Sometimes the girl that was pregnant would drink poisons and other concoctions to create miscarriage, but on most occasions the mother would be harmed in the process…  Although I do not know why the Wife of Bath chose not to have children, there would have been multiple birth control options available to her. Whether it be an oil rub to kill the sperm or a concoction to drink the next day she would have easily been able to attain with her wealth and status.

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Wife of Bath

Mar 16th, 2009 by

The wife of Bath is a very complex person. although to the casual onlooker, she is just a ***** and a gold digger. But really she is a bit deeper. the Wife of Bath is really a relatable person… well i mean she actually has feelings and has a logical thought process that she explains.

While of course at first, my group and I all agreed that she was mainly interested in the money from her first three husbands. They all were older, rich, and submissive.  She plainly states that she would bribe them in bed with her body in order to get riches (ie. not have sex with them until they gave her what she wanted) she went into the details…

she says that she had 3 “good” husbands and 2 “bad”he first three (old,rich) were the good ones and her last two were bad. all we know about her forth husband is that they partiedALOT when together, they drank, danced, but he had a mistress. and we guess that’s why he is considered bad, his lady friend. he dies and she barely cries

Of all the husbands she talked most about the 5th one. He was the only one that she married for love, not money or status. He was poor, but she loved him and he was good in bed, so she liked that… although he was wicked and beat her, he believed that women are evil and are main reason for man’s downfall. He was 20 and she 40, but she felt like she could control him. but she was wrong. He read from the book of wicked wives (all biblical and historically bad wives). they fight a lot and she even blames him for her loss of hearing because he hit her so hard

In my group we discussed her background for a majority of the time. the most important thing to take note of from the tale is that : Women want to be in control! we discussed that the Wife of Bath is an early women’s rights activist. we do not know if Chaucer purposely did that… but she is constantly promoting women’s power and that women really do have power in a relationship (seen in her first 3 husbands in bed). she can use her sexual power to gain control and tells her tale in order to tip off the men listeners.

As for our project, we discussed a few things in class to look into. such as: drawling or dressing up as each husband. we also talked about researching marriages, women rights of the time, and birth control (because we do not think she has any kids, but has obviously had lots of sex…)

 

 

 

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Feb 20th, 2009 by

No, not the 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film starring Clint Eastwood….

Although interesting enough the word epic is appropriate in the description of that movie

but no my blog has nothing to do with that movie or epics… well u might consider it an epic…idk

ANYWAY Although i am pretty strict on not using my free blogs to talk about myself, this will be an exception. well I would like to inform you of my Wednesday this week at school. I had been feeling bad on Monday but Tuesday and Wednesday i was feeling pretty ok. the day started off great, I woke up early and had plenty of time to get ready, which is a rare occasion. Its mardi gras for one, so im generally high spirited. The day went by wonderfully, I had all of my homework completed for all of my classes, I received the highest grade i have ever gotten in Longeways class on a test we took, The Math test was postponed over the holidays, although chapel was extremely long and someone smelled pretty bad somewhere close by…  Its my last class, English, i had all my hw done and was ready for class so i thought it would be a breeze till the end of the day. And we ended up getting to go to the computer lab, which i find exciting :) So now comes the bad, Mrs. Duke has left to go to some meeting or something, and i start to feel a little weird. I try to concentrate on writing my assignment. I eventually decide that I might be sick and get up quickly telling greg im going to the nurse. Walking quickly through the library a step out side the doors and my stomach lurches…. and i throw up. One of my greatest fears is throwing up at school, and sure enough, it happened.  and that as you could imagine is the ugly. Unfortunately the nurse was far from comforting, she was actually kinda grossed out.. haha i find it funny now but at the time it was horrifying! I actually went back up to retrieve my books and wasn’t surprised to realize no one had even noticed i had gotten up and rushed off… So thus ends my perfect day and starts my worst.

later that afternoon i actually tried to go and study with Jules and Elise, but sure enough after half an hour of good work I had to go home… it continued in this fashion… I wont go into it for your sake haha

Idk this may sound weird, but up until this wed i had been woken from my sleep with terrible leg cramps this i think was a warning of the worst leg cramps i have ever had. Wed night was mostly spent on the coach awake in extreme leg pain from stupid cramps!! grr i hate them sooo much. it feels like someone is stabbing you and you can’t scream or stop it :o it bothers me even to write about it…. eeeergh but thankfully im feeling better and have not had any leg spasms within the past 20 or so hours so i think ill be good for a while. :]

sry to bore you with my day gone bad…. just felt like telling you. I will probably have a more informational blog next time :]

~~ ugh just got home from Southdowns, exhausted, and headed for bed <3 Spanishtown tomorrow!! yeaa

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Recapitulation of the past 5 inconsecutive sun hours of the English period of gathering

Feb 18th, 2009 by

well last week we spend a majority of our time discussing Perceval and watching the 1974 Monty Python production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We discussed the different aspects of both concerning: culture, oral tradition, elements of fiction, nobility, RELIGION, chivalry, language, ballads, quests/ journeys, medieval/ postmodern elements, ect.

Perceval has many of the said influences and others. We discussed in class our first readings and our overall first impressions of the ballad, medieval times, and Perceval himself.  We went over the major thing to look at from the first reading were: lineage, religion, the king’s court, woman’s roles, characterization(unexpected), description, tracking quest, humor, and narration (oral)

then we were granted the ultimate gift : we got to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grailin class!!! haha well I have always loved there movies, while the others are somewhat intolerable because of the BRITISH HUMOR overload, Holy monty pythongrail was the best out all of their movies, by my opinion… well i think it was very interesting to get to actually know the background to the movie and kinda understand where they get there plot. while although the movie is based on the same story, it is quite different(story-line wise) from Perceval. It was important that everyone understand that the movie not only had medieval influence, but also it is bursting with Postmodern elements: pastiche (mixing of media), humor, challenging society/religion, supernatural elements, self-awareness, meta fiction, ect. 

During the movie we filled out a chart, filling in the details of the movie’s eof, journey, postmodern, and medieval elements. In class after we were each assigned jobs to complete to review the movie, most people were given individual scenes to summarize and interpret, a few people were given the task to write lectures to discuss certain aspects of the movie, and I was set to determine the quality of the film (where i gave the pros and cons basically of the movie)…

on Friday we finished up Monty python work and began to create a PowerPointabout Perceval and his journey… connecting the movie and the ballad in the many aspects listed above. 

thus ends the week and I go to the Orion parade and stay out really late and go to IHOP at 2 in the morning, only to find it packed , but i got  a caramel, banana, cheescake, wonderful piece of heaven all to myself and was happy :]

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Roses, it’s important to know what ur flowers are saying

Feb 10th, 2009 by

well I have decided to Inform my reader about the “meanings” of each of the rose colors. For each rose conveys a different feeling and represents how you view your relationship with the person you are sending them to.

ok well first of we have the RED rose. For ages the red rose has symbolized deep love. there will be no misunderstandings if you send these lovey roses to someone they obviously say “I LOVE YOU”

then comes the elegant white rose. This rose is most common at weddings because of the white color…. it is seen as pure love (purity of the woman). These roses are also appropriate for celebrating any new beginning. (childbirth maybe?)

the mysterious yellow rose has been seen to have mixed emotions. While generally it is used to express friendship, but can be usedroses for various other events such as a homecoming of a loved one.

ORANGE!! this bright lively flower is most commonly used to express great enthusiasm or desire. While red and white roses both mean everlasting and pure love, Orange reads as BURNING LOVE. appropriate for a “spicy” relationship. Although can also be sent to express general excitement for an event.

the lovely lavender rose. Purple is the color of royalty, so if you want your loved one to feel like an queen/king purple is the way to go. Most often seen in “love at first sight” relationships, often new love

Peach, while very close to orange, it conveys a whole different meaning. You would send peach roses to someone you are very grateful to communicate sincerity. Best to use if sent to a fellow employee or boss,  a good color for the ideal teacher’s gift

And  now for the simple, always appropriate PINK rose. This playful rose can be used to convey an assortment of feelings for an individual. anywhere from admiration, joy, to thanks, the pink says it all. of course the varying shades can convey slightly different meanings, but generally the pink is the safest way to go. They could be from a father to daughter, young love, even to a close friend, pink is the best to choose if you are unsure of your status or just want to make a safe decision.

P.S. my favorite is white and lavender roses ;]

hope this is helpful for you poor souls who have no clue how to express your feelings. don’t be lame and get ur girlfriend/boyfriend candy and a card, roses show them that you really care and actually thought about your gift… of course chocolate never hurts too :)

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what Quest? we’re on a quest? WHAT!?

Feb 2nd, 2009 by

Big Momma’s house: haha i know this is probably the last thing you would have thought about… :]

Quester: Malcolm Turner

Original quest: his latest assignment is to trap a brutal bank robber who is suspected to be coming down to visit his ex-girlfriend and her son, Trent. Now, Malcolm must somehow find a way to nab his criminal.

challenges and trials: He is forced to go deep undercover disguised as Sherry Pierce’s long-lost grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce (aka Big Momma), for when sherry comes to stay because Big Momma leaves town unexpectedly. He also has to play two different characters for Sherry, one as Big Momma and he also himself, Malcolm, the “repair man/next door neighbor”

the real meaning of his quest: As he continues to stay with Sherry and Trent they form a tight relationship. He makes a difference in everyone’s lives as “the new Big Momma”. Through the “repair man Malcolm” he gets emotionally involved with sherry. In the end he accomplishes his fist mission but gets much more out of the quest than previously thought.

Tarzan

Quester: Jane Porter (and her father)

Original Quest: She is on adventure  to Africa with her father to observe the gorillas that make it their home.

Challenges and trials: well first off, when she first meets Tarzan she is being chased by a horde of angry baboons. She is both thankful and extremely frightened of him. The lead hunter that came with Jane and the professor, Clayton, aspires to kill Tarzan’s gorilla family. Jane and her father teach Tarzan about the world and how to speak. They start to fall in love. Clayton starts to get impatient and Kerchak, the lead male gorilla, is killed. He leaves Tarzan in control of the gorillas.

the real meaning of Jane’s quest: She came to Africa to observe the gorillas, but ended up becoming one herself. She has decided that Africa is her home and She and her father both stay and live happily with Tarzan. Tarzan and Jane continue to fall deeper in love…. then comes Tarzan 2 :]

Nemo

Quester: Marlin (the father)

Original Quest: See Marlin’s wife, Coral, is killed by a barracuda along with all of their eggs, except for one. Marlin’s main goal in life is to keep Nemo, the last egg, as safe as he can. His mission is abruptly taken to a whole new level when Nemo is kidnapped by a weird, fish-stealing dentist and He has To travel across the ocean to find him.

Challenges and Trials: He meets Dory, who has very short term memory and quite annoying, but she helps him in certain situations. Well first off Marlin has NO idea where the boat went, but them he finds the mask. They have to go through lots of dangerous situations including: Sharks in a mine field, a deep sea monster, the inside of a whale, a jelly fish cloud, a pelican’s mouth, and a fishing net. He even gets to surf with Sea turtles…but that was fun :]

real quest: He journeys to find his son… he ends up facing his fears and breaking away from his boring safe lifestyle. He also comes to realize that Nemo can have more freedom. The whole experience strengthens the father/son relationship and he gains many valuable friends.

…. i have more, but i still have not written my Gov paper

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pygmy marmoset :} <3

Jan 28th, 2009 by

well ive decided that from now on my free posts will all be about interesting animals. So i find animals that have current news articles. So today you will get to learn all about the Pygmy Marmoset :] ~~~~

It has been commonly known that humans develop accents or dialects with in the same language, while up until recently it was not known to be true with animals.  in recent studies researchers found the very first evidence of regional vocal differences in a very cute south American primate. Yup you guessed it! The Pygmy Marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea) is a monkey native to the rainforest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru. It is THE smallest monkey, with its body length ranging from 14 to 16 cm and males weighing around 140 grams  and females only 120 grams.  So if you think about it this way, compared to the average human baby this full grown monkey is only half it’s length (including tail) and weighs about 1/25 its weight. FULL GROWN!!  They are omnivorous animals, feeding on fruit, leaves, insects, and sometimes even small reptiles. tame marmosets actually can eat most things humans eat. Because of their small weight they are capable of reaching the very highest leaves of a tree, and take advantage of the out of reach food sources there. However much of their diet comes from tapping trees for sap. They spend most of their time gouging tree bark with their specialized incisors to get to the extra yummy sap. In captivity they have been known to live up to 11 years.

~~ so what the Researchers found was : “The variations could be linked to habitat, with different pitches and durations being useful in different densities of forest,” said lead researcher Stella de la Torre, an ecologist at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. She also suggests that it is also possible that the differences are the result of social interactions.  “Accents help people to identify others of the same social group, and things may not be much different for marmosets,”. This could also be very useful when mating because a male could determine that area a female was from by the dialect of her call. ( i.e. to prevent inbreeding)

-  i personally am amazed by the researchers determination because it is very hard to observe Pygmy Marmosets in the wild because of their size and speed.

yum…sap :]

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Seymour Vs. Twoey

Jan 28th, 2009 by

well I decided to write about how In Little Shop of Horrors, Seymour is a hero. His story has some of both Otto Rank and Joseph Campbell. i will expand on each

Rank: life of a hero

First off Seymour is of mysterious birth. He is taken in by Mushnik at a young age to work in his flower shop. Seymour definitely has no super human abilities… or even great human abilities at that. Skid Rowe is not the best place to be. Basically there are bums on the street and urchins wandering about. Technically Mushnik didn’t adopt Seymour, so in order for Mushnik not to get a child labor or abuse lawsuit on his hands, Seymour is strongly encouraged to stay out of the public eye. and basically He was treated like scum… Seymour has no clear idea of what he wants to do to enrich his life. then comes along Audrey II (or Twoey). The plant represents his new goal, and everyone is supporting him all of a sudden. Mushnik adopts him and Audrey starts to notice him. THEN the darkness comes! Audrey II is becoming more demanding, its thirst is becoming stronger for BLOOD. Seymour ventures over to the dark side, killing People to feed the fast growing plant. Seymour continues to Be pressured by the press, Audrey ,and Mushnik. All Seymour wants is to be happy and have Audrey to himself. In the end yes he does endure physical and psychological wounds: everyone he loves is eaten, then he is eaten…

Campbell: Heroic Journey

Seymour’s world is generally normal before his journey begins (besides the fact that he is an mistreated orphan…). When Audrey II is first starting to draw attention he is called to the adventure. Of course after all of Seymour’s fingers are sore and dry, he starts to realize that the plant is only going to want more and more (maybe he realized it because the plant SANG it to him). He refuses to feed the plant anymore, but of course Seymour’s newly adopted father strongly influences his decision on feeding the plant. Seymour first crosses the threshold with his first kill, the dentist Orin. As the plants popularity increases, Seymour is tempted by many influential business individuals and Press reporters.  A setback to his journey is when Mushnik starts getting a little suspicious of Seymour’s proceedings and the sudden death of the Dentist (Audrey’s boyfriend). Seymour getting paranoid, feeds Mushnik to the plant. His next ordeal is when he catches the plant EATING AUDREY! but after he saves her, she decides it is the best thing to do, to feed herself to the plant. She supposes that she will go to a wonderous plant heaven (her dream home). ~~~ i guess you could tie his road back as his going insane from all the stress Audrey II is causing him. He starts to realize what is going to happen and in his last moments he is still fighting to kill the plant…but is eaten. I guess you could assume that he went to a happier place where he lived with Audrey forever in an afterlife … or it is just evil conquers all in the end, because Twoey takes over the world and everyone dies :]

haha THE END :D

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WHY READ BEOWULF ?

Jan 26th, 2009 by

well first off, Beowulf is SUCH a product of its time! you can see, hear, feel, smell, and understand the ancient culture.  the Book is full of cultural references. events, places, and people from ancient times.  The time period that Beowulf was supposed to have lived in was very similar to that is portrayed in the book, the war-like tribes would have cherished such an event. although Beowulf is a fictional character…. it is important to understand that the story of Beowulf was told orally for years upon years, just from reading it you get the feeling of what it would be like to sit by the fire listening to an elder tell you of the Great Magnificent warrior, the magical stories that amazed and influenced people.

why should we read it you ask? well Beowulf is THE oldest surviving Epic poem, and it dates even further back than it was written, passed down by oral tradition. It basically set the standards for a good epic heroic journey. you can take the form of Beowulf and find that it applies to almost EVRY heroic journey story written.  It is important to understand ancient culture and the way of oral tradition. Besides its a good story…. it reminds me of most of the books i normally read, if you ignore the sometimes round-about, poetic  language

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the Famous Blue-footed Booby

Jan 26th, 2009 by

most people would recognize the name Blue-footed Booby as the funny bird we made fun of in our Freshman year biology books because they had funny names. It was included in that book because of it’s inhabitance on the Galapaos Islands, which we were studying about. So I very randomly decided to look into the species.

Blue-footed Boobies are a sea bird. They live among the continental coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos Islands and parts of California. They spend most of their lives at sea and only come on land in order to breed along the rocky coasts. They kind of look similar to seagulls, weighing about 3lbs, females being slightly larger.  They have long sharp wings with a wedge shaped tail and a strong thick neck. They have excellent vision, eyes being on either side of the bill, pointingforward. Their beaks are built specifically for diving and their nostrils are closed, only breathing out of the side of their mouths. they will dive from extraordinary heights when hunting for food. they will actually dive under and swim after schools of fish, which is there main source of food. and of course they have large webbed, bright blue feet. the older females are the ones with the brightest feet, which is important in their mating ceremonies.

So spending most of their lives on water, when the seabirds come on land to nest and mate, they are as you could imagine a bit clumsy. so when the Spanish explores discovered this interesting and easily tamed bird, they thought it was rather stupid.. so hence the name Booby comes from the Spanish word “bobo” meaning stupid. this also explains why some people use the word “boob”in reference to someone who they think is stupid :]

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MY FIRST POWERLIFTING MEET [':o]

Jan 20th, 2009 by

ffffhhew!

well this past saturday was my first lifting meet. I have been to ones before but this was the first i was to participate in…. SO i got to school around 6:15 am and hopped on the bus. the over 2 hour ride was really boring… but when we finally got to Biloxi i wanted to get back on! haha well as you might can tell, i was a bit nervous.  but as soon as i realized that most people there had no idea what they were doing either i felt a bit better :]. well lets just say Mississippi runs a bit slower that other meets I’ve attended, so most of the day was spent waiting for my flight to go. hours upon hours just sitting… the meet was technically an ALL BOYS meet, but EHS’s 6 girls were kind of just crashing there party,we kind of were just thrown in among the boys in their weight classes. but it was all good, we had PLENTY of time in between lifts to relax. see at each meet everyone does 3 lifts each for Squat, Bench, and Dead. So once my group had finished Squat i just had to wait until it was our turn to bench. So yeah it was my first time to be out in public wearing my lifting suit, and lets just say they are not the most flattering things to wear, they are basically wrestling suits that are 2 sizes too small ( so imagine walking into an ALL BOYS meet wearing one of these things)…. but luckily my suit isnt that tight, robin’s and Katie’s both are and hurt them.. idk i think im going to dry mine so it will be tight and hurt like theirs (haha not because i just want to hurt, but because the tighter it is the more it helps you, the same goes for Bench shirts). so yeah the day went by slow , but i think it was a fantabulous first meet #1 because most people there were beginners, so i didnt feel as stupid #2 i wasnt really competing against anyone because it was a boys meet and they didnt really care about us  and #3 I made all of my lifts!! :] (thats a good thing)

~~~ so today we tried on our bench shirts…. well i still have the marks to show, (they basically constrict your arms so they wont bend backward, like in bench, so when you do the shirt leaves these awful marks on the backs of your arms) unfortunately i might be getting a yet even smaller shirt because coach didnt think it was tight enough…. jeez cant wait (sarcasm) … i sometimes am amazed of what we have to put up with i this sport, its almost torture!

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