Lisa Patton

I attended the reading of Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton. It made me feel warm inside when she told us that she was a bed and breakfast owner in Vermont. It immediately reminded me of White Christmas and Christmas in Connecticut. If you haven't seen any of these, than you need to, they are classics. Not only did she make the atmosphere emotional, but she also brought out facts that I did not know. She told us that you cannot bury anything in winter up north, I thought this was interesting since that seems like something that you would know. Her love for her dog also made me think of all the dogs that my family owned that have gone on to a better place. The book seems like a good read, but I'm not in the mood to read that kind of book.

Thank God

I am done with my English and UNHP papers, but I still have to write another UNHP paper. 400 words is nothing compared to the 2,830 word English paper and the 1,660 word UNHP paper I just finished today. I am so sick and tired of writing, my English paper was so thick that I almost could not get the stapler to punch through all 11 pages... I hope this is all worth it, because I was about to give up before I finished my English paper. I am sad yet happy to be writing my final blog.... until next semester. I am ready for the winter break.

Outside Event 4

I attended the readings from the Memphis Creative Writing program (?) The first reading was about a woman who had a baby, but sadly it was premature. The baby struggled and had to be given support for it to stay alive. Eventually the mother saw a baby who was struggling just like hers. Her baby eventually recovered and she had to deal with not being able to be with her baby very often while watching the other baby wither away. The hope that stayed alive in herself had died in the family of the other baby. The main emphasis of her writing was how she had to deal with seeing other people suffer while she has hope. It was tough to listen to at moments. The other story I am blogging about is the writing about a young man's life in his hometown. The story begins in North Webster, Indiana, where the young man is attending a karate lesson. In the town there is a club known as Stimmelators named after the owner Samuel Stimmel, one of the dancers from Stimmelators is also attending the karate class. The young man ends up meeting her and helps her with her lessons. Later, he and a few of his friends decide to use the abandoned bank next to Stimmelators as a fort to throw water balloons at the various patrons coming in and out of the club. It ends up that the commotion attracts none other than Sam Stimmel himself, Sam get his shoes wet from a missed throw and he yells and then returns inside. It ends up that the dancer that the young man befriended show up and is hit with a water balloon thrown by his friend. They panic and run to their car and continue to make a hasty getaway. The third story is not even worth mentioning, it was very disturbing....

Outside Event 3

My third outside event was held at the Otherlands Cafe on 641 South Cooper Street. It was a great atmosphere filled with people who seemed pretty comfortable. I have to say that the chair I sat in did not make me feel comfortable. But I digress, the story that was read was a nonfiction creative writing. The writing was based off of a personal experience that the author had about a taxi cab stopping in the middle of the intersection of Poplar and Walnut Grove. She went on to write about a man that created an art structure that is located near the intersection. The Pangean Disk was created by Roy Tamboli in 1992. It went on to become the largest steel sculpture in Memphis. The author went on to explain the significance of the various parts of the structure. The two parts that stuck out the most were the babies made of wax and plaster in the support strut and the prayer rods that protruded skywards from various major cities around the world located on the sculpture. the only part of the story that really confused me was the random story about Pandora and the box that held all the evils of the world. In my opinion she did not need to go that in depth with the Roman gods. Overall I enjoyed the story.

Football

There have been some great football games on recently, the Titans made an amazing comeback against the Cardinals when he drove his team on a 99 yard drive down the field with about 2 minutes left in the game. The Titans were down by 4 and had no time to get another possession, so they needed a touchdown to win. The drive was nerve wracking, they had to convert three 4th downs to get to the endzone. The last play of the drive was a 4th and goal from the 10 yard line. Vince recieved the snap and fell back to finally throw a high pass to a jumping Kenny Britt. He received the ball, tucked it, and took a big hit before falling to the turf still holding the ball. The Titans had done it, they had come back and won. Other mentionables include: the Colts making a 21-0 run in a span of 5:32 to turn the game around and defeat the Houston Texans, and the last minute touchdown for Atlanta in their game against the Bucs. All the time I was watching the Titans game, I was supposed to be finishing my anthropology report, but that could wait, and it sure did.

HDTV - Black Friday

On Black Friday, I went out to Costco and bought an HDTV. The decision took a large amount of research and time. It was not the TV I was originally looking at. The TV I was originally looking at was the Sony XBR at Best Buy, but the price went up $100 before I could purchase it. This changed my mind since I could buy an HDTV from Costco for less money that was 5" bigger than the XBR. I ended up purchasing the Vizio XVT 37". It supports full 1080p with a 120Hz processor for smoother operation. On top of all that it has Smooth Motion Technology, a 50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, and it is only 2.2" thick. This thing is super thin and I had no problem finding a way to fit in the place of my old CRT model. Another amazing thing the HDTV companies have accomplished is how much lighter the TV's are getting now. My old TV required two people to lift and move, my new TV could be carried by only one person while still in the box. The picture is absolutely beautiful and now I can watch HD in my room as well as play my xbox 360 in full HD without having to hook it up to my HDTV in the playroom. I hope this TV lasts me a long time because I plan on putting in my dorm room when I move into the honors dorm after it opens in the fall of 2010.

Thanksgiving

My thanksgiving was very fun. Other than having to work a ton I enjoyed eating a great dinner with most of my family. The cousins came over, and I expected chaos, but luckily the kids grew up enough that they did not run around. The day was unexpectedly quiet, and I only had to work from 12-5. The best part of my meal had to be the macaroni and cheese and the dressing. If I had to pick between the two I would definitely pick the dressing. It's days like Thanksgiving that makes me thankful that I have a small family. Most of the thanksgivings I can remember were when we had tons of people over and many small kids running around my house screaming at the tops of their lungs. The change was good, and I think with all of the college stress, the silence this year was very welcome.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is approaching quickly, a little too quickly it seems. The days have been flying by as it gets closer to the end of my first semester as a freshman at the University of Memphis. It seems like it was only yesterday that I walked into my first class as a college freshman, now that I am used to it, it is not that scary. I only hope that all the papers that are due near the end of the semester do not cause me any problems. There is also the outside events due in UNHP and English. I have yet to do 3 outside events in English, 2 of which have to be authors, and the 2 outside events about globalization is UNHP. I'm sure I will get through the exams and papers ok.

Malco Craziness

Malco was insane last weekend, there were hundreds of people there to see the opening of New Moon and The Blind Side. Now, I don't know how good the movies are because I have not seen them yet, but I have already started to hate them. The sheer amount of people was astounding, The Blind Side sold out an hour and a half before the 7 o'clock sets on Friday and Saturday. I had to work almost 20 hours last weekend, which does not sound like much, but you have to remember that a weekend is two and a half days. That means that I almost worked an entire day out of my two and a half days of the weekend. Working at malco is not that bad, it is just very tiring when there is an anticipated release, and there were two very largely anticipated releases last weekend. Plus all that work means a very big paycheck, can't wait to spend it all on my HDTV...

HDTV's

For Black Friday, I am thinking of buying an HDTV for my room. I can't seem to make up my mind about which one to buy, but I have narrowed it down to a full 1080p LCD. There are pros and cons for each model and some just don't make the cut. I am currently looking at buying a 32" for around $600. There are two HDTV's that I am currently looking at: Philips 32" 1080p 120Hz (32PFL6704D/F7) for $570 at Target and a Sony Bravia XBR 1080p 120Hz (KDL-32XBR9) for $600 at Best Buy. If you have any suggestions for anything, just let me know. I don't want to pay extra just for a name brand TV, so i'm leaning towards the Philips, but the XBR does sound pretty neat.

Ownership and Use of Tissue Specimens for Research

Ownership and Use of Tissue Specimens for Research

Rina Hakimian, JD, MPH; David Korn, MD

JAMA. 2004;292:2500-2505.

Scientists want better systems for clinically annotated tissue samples. They can use these systems and samples to do much needed research on human diseases. The diseases could be cured very quickly if it was not for the federal regulations and the ownership rights of the specimens. There is no definitive case to tell doctors and scientists the boundaries of their work with tissue samples. It all remains undefined and contentious. Recent examination of these issues by a US federal court ended up with a ruling that individuals do not retain the rights of ownership over their biological materials that have been contributed to research, regardless of whether the company receives capital or not.

drama

Why do so many people watch soap operas? Do they not get enough drama in their lives as it is? I know I have plenty of drama to last me a long time at Malco. Nothing stays a secret at Malco Theaters. There is always something going on that creates tension and turmoil. I could not handle watching anything that is based purely off of ridiculous drama like the soap operas do. It just seems so stupid, but I guess that is what women live off of, drama and gossip.

STS-129

One of the few last missions into space for the Atlantis space shuttle just occurred at 1:28 CST. Atlantis was launched for a 11 day mission which includes three space walks and carries spare parts for the International Space Station (ISS). The shuttle is manned by Commander Charlie Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore, Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher, and Randy Bresnik. The mission will end with the return to Earth after the spare parts, including many important parts such as a gyroscope, have been put on the station and they will return Nicole Stott who has been aboard the ISS since August. After this mission there are only 4 other space shuttle launches scheduled before the space shuttle design is decommissioned in 2010 to make way for the Ares experimental rocket that will hopefully be fully functional by 2012. It will be sad to see the shuttle go, but the new Ares rocket looks pretty neat. Just as the Saturn V was replaced by the Space Transportation System (STS Shuttle), so will the Ares rockets replace the Shuttle.

Spring Semester 2010

My spring semester is going to be packed. I am taking Gen Chem 2, Gen Chem 2 lab honors, Bio 1, bio 1 lab, elementary calculus, elementary german 2, and English, it is going to be very harsh. Seventeen hours isn't my idea of a relaxing semester, but I need to get some Gen Eds out of the way before I start getting into specialized classes. I am not terribly excited about having two science labs in the same semester, but I am sure that I will make it. Is anyone doing the same thing as me? I sure hope I get easy teachers for all of my classes, but that is probably not going to happen. Oh well, that's college for you.

Neurostimulation of the Brain to Supress Parkinson's Disease

Most of this work in progress went in one ear and out the other, it was very hard to follow with all of the big words. I will summarize what I could understand. The part of the brain that makes a neurons known as the dopamine secreting cells in the pars compacta region of the substantia nigra, named for the black area where it is found in the brain. The pathway that these neurons are responsible to send signals along is the main pathway to the ventral nervous system. The blocking or loss of these neurons is a serious problem, a problem commonly known as Parkinson's disease. A subject who is suffering from Parkinson's, those of which include Michael J. Fox and Muhammed Ali, can take dopamine pills to supplement the loss of the neurons. But after a while the dopamine stops working and an alternative must be found. Lately, they have tried installing a neurostimulator to run electricity through the brain at the location where the neurons are supposed to be, this counteracts the effects of the Parkinson's disease. The power of the shock and the frequency needs to be changed every once in a while. The controlling unit was placed in the chest of the subject, but the team who is working on the new neurostimulator have an ingenious plan. They plan to put a microprocessor inside the case that can read certain codes that the sending device tells it to do. A bluetooth capable device is attached to the processor and stimulator so that a doctor may wirelessly change the settings of the stimulator without having to take the object out of the subject. This also lessens the frequency in which the battery fueling the stimulator needs to be replaced. They tested a couple prototypes on mice with mixed results, but it is only in the prototype stage. Hopefully they can perfect this device so that they may be able to alleviate many Parkinson's disease patients of their symptoms after the dopamine supplements fail to solve the problem. There is much money in the future of this device if they can get it working properly.

Puree'd Foods

The first works in progress that I attended dealt with the puree'd foods that are given to the elderly at old folks homes or the sick at hospitals. The man and woman, whose names escape me, where working together to create a dish of puree that not only tasted as good as the standard food, but also looked representable. Most people who have seen puree'd food realize that the food is nothing but that item mashed up and mixed with a liquid to create a paste. The designers were able to create a sandwich and stir fry dish that not only looked edible, but tasted amazing. This, I thought, is a true breakthrough in the food industry. When someone is not well enough to enjoy standard food as we are, should they be forced to eat slop all day? No, they should be able to enjoy their own meals just as they were before the foods were softened. I think that this work in progress has much potential and can be a great money maker.

Chemistry Exam

Well we all have a chemistry exam this Wednesday that I am not prepared for. I have a bad habit of procrastinating with Chemistry. I think it is really funny that the homework for chapter 6 is due after the exam. We need to have a study group and get some studying done for Wednesday because, after that midterm, I could use a good exam grade. I am pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that I am not looking forward to this exam. I hope we all do well and can continue to do well in Chemistry.

Body Parts: Property Rights and the Ownership of Human Biological Materials

By E. Richard Gold

http://books.google.com/books?id=YHne2bkHd9AC&dq=human+tissue++property+rights&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C. 20007
Published in 1996

The body has value for everyone, whether it be because it is the physical form through which we act, a source of pride, a reflection of God, or a means through which we can express sharing. We also inherently value the DNA that we carry down from the generations. Human health is valuable, it is a state of being in which we suffer neither pain nor illness. It is also a state of being in which we can accomplish valuable tasks. Thus, the preservation of health becomes not only a task for one's self, but also for one's family and community. There is a fundamental difference between the way we value our bodies as a whole and the parts that make our body a whole. Scientists have found ways to transform our components through biotechnology. Since components are not generally found separate from the body in nature, people do not see the relation between the transformed and untransformed body parts. This difference leads to many not understanding how to value those parts after transformation. The transformation process may not only change the component itself but the ways in which we value it after transformation. Take an example of blood being transformed into blood plasma and into certain enzymes found within the blood. Blood is the symbol of life, even though the blood contains these enzymes and plasma, they are not seen as necessary components of life. We must find a way to bridge the gap between the way we see transformed and untransformed components.

english movie

The movie we watched in English was about the genetic diversity of humans today and where we originated from. The area that we originated from was central Africa. From there we spread and eventually became diverse through many years of being separated in different climates. The climates shaped our bodies to what we needed to survive. In the movie, a geneticist was walking through a fair in Queens where he took DNA samples from random people who were willing to give up their DNA. What mad that place so amazing was the mix of peoples from all over the world. What was even more interesting was finding out where all of these people originated. This all was accomplished through looking at specific genes and finding the signs that led the scientists to be able to tell where they came from. The movie makes me want to find out who my ancestors are and where my genes originated. I don't care as much for the origination part as much as I would like to find out who my recent ancestors are.

indoor follies

So today I had my first indoor game. This is a follow up of my last indoor blog post. The team that we played had almost 15 members, most of which were seniors and two were actually UofM soccer players. Having varsity players on the intramural team is not allowed, but apparently the player in question had recently "quit" the soccer team. Yeah, right. Only 4 players showed up and we played our hardest but to no avail. The conditioning of our team was poor and they wore us out pretty quickly into the game. The final score ended up being 12-2 with a mercy rule coming into effect after 5 minutes into the 2nd half. The mercy rule was 10 goals up, they reached it rather quickly. I was very angry about only 4 players showing up when my roster is filled with over 15 names, but that just goes to show how much freakin homework is being given. Whatever, more people will show next time and we will have subs so we don't tire out so quick.

annotated

Tissue Economies: Blood, Organs, and Cell Lines in Late Capitalism
By Catherine Waldby and Robert Mitchell
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8223-3770-3
Price $21.95, pp. 231
Reviewed by Heather Bennett
Journal of High Technology Law
Suffolk University Law School
https://www.law.suffolk.edu/highlights/stuorgs/jhtl/book_reviews/2006_2007/Heather%20Bennett%20Book%20Review.pdf

Many Americans around the New York City area rallied together to help in any way they could. The form most helped in was giving blood. The blood donations could not be all used, some were wasted. The gift - commodity debate continues throughout the paper. The paper writes about how a U.K. Stem Cell Bank and how it operates on a daily basis. They say that all rights to own the tissues are lost when the donor signs over the tissue under a consent agreement. Stem cells are a hot topic in this debate over whether people should be allowed to keep their tissues. They believe the scientists should be able to make all the money they can off of signed tissues due to the capitalist state of mind.

Time management

I am starting to wonder if I am going to just start running out of time to do homework. The amount of homework and regular work that I have to do increases with every week of my semester. I have no idea how I am going to keep up with both when I take about 17 hours of school work next semester. I am taking Biology I and Chemistry II next semester along with some other Gen Ed classes. In high school I could have my homework done almost before I even left the campus, now I am having trouble even finishing some of my assignments on time. But such is life in college, I hope this is all worth it.

Indoor Soccer

I am going to be playing indoor soccer this year for the intramural league at the University of Memphis. Our first game should be Monday, October 26th. I am looking forward to playing because I have not been able to play soccer for a very long time. I was too old to play for my old competitive team GT United last year. I miss playing soccer and hope that I am not too out of shape to play well and I really hope I don't let my team down. Well, we will see on Monday.

Armageddon

I just finished watching Armageddon, this movie was amazing. It made me realize how much I wanted to fly or even see a shuttle takeoff. The amount of power that the solid rocket boosters gives off is about 2.8 million foot pounds of thrust, that is simply amazing to me. I've always been interested in space travel, but I knew I would never make it do to my eyesight. The science behind it all is what makes it so interesting to me. All of the gravitational forces, pressures, structure composition, and all the physics behind space travel are just plain cool in my opinion. Apollo 13 is an amazing movie to watch if you like realistic space travel.

Property Rights?

Sounds Suspiciously like Property Treatment: Does Human Tissue Fit within the Common Law Concept of Property? - [2005] UTSLRev 3; (2005) 7 UTS Law Review 62

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UTSLRev/2005/3.html

University of Technology, Sydney Law Review

The article talks about the law set forth in Australia to limit the use of tissue samples. The Aussie's seem to be bothered by the fact that a part of the body can be seen as property. Their ethical guidelines are proposed by the National Health and Medical Research Council. They cannot enforce a law on anybody since they only propose ethics, so nobody can seek legal action against a person or institution who has misused their tissue. The courts just recently developed a general rule against property in human bodies and their parts, with some exceptions. A major exception allows human tissue to property only when it has been preserved through the application of work or skill. The situation about property rights of human tissue is growing in Australia and the courts cannot keep up. Example - Human tissue is now used to develop therapeutic products, yet the only controls on who may buy or sell are the Human Tissue Acts' prohibitions on sale without processing. When organs and bones are kept for any reason, if an individual asks for the return of loved ones body parts for burial or cremation, it is entirely up to the researcher or hospital to return the parts. There is no law requiring them to return the parts if they do not feel the need to. Another example of this predicament are the museums who hold the remains of the Aborigines. The natives want their ancestors remains back so that they may lay them to rest, but the museums refuse to give up the remains on the basis that showing their culture is more important than the resting place of their ancestors. I feel that they are crossing some lines and need to pass laws that allow a little slack for both sides. In the case of the Aborigines, they have every right to ask for their ancestors bones back so that they can follow through with their religious beliefs. The doctors and researchers should have to give the remains back to those who ask if it is validated in a court case.

Music

I am an avid music listener. I like to listen to anything from rap to hard rock, everything but country. I do not know what it is about country music, but I am not a fan. Maybe I just need to listen to it a lot like I did with rap. At first I hated rap and would never listen to it, but after being forced to listen to it when I uang around a friend who listened to it constantly, I became a fan of the beat and bass. It is fun to get pumped to hard rock or rap before I do any work or sports, just like the soldiers in Iraq from the excerpt on the main blog a couple of weeks ago. Some of the bands I am listening to currently are Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Cult, Faktion, The Guess Who, Incubus, Jimi Hendrix, Molly Hatchet, O.A.R., Rush, Steve Miller, Three Days Grace, Van Halen, The Who, and .38 Special. Those are only a few of the many that I listen to, but they are my current favorites.

Tissue as Property

Journal Article Excerpt

An Alternative to Property Rights in Human Tissue
by Margaret S. Swain, Randy W. Marusyk

The economy in the United States is a free market economy, the main idea behind the free market economy is to allow everyone to receive their fair amount of cash. This idea is being pushed into the legal system by patients who could have had monetary gain through research done on their own cells. But because the U.S. has not made any laws allowing the ownership of tissues, this is going to have to be pushed through the Supreme Court. Some people want only limited ownership, where they can receive money from the large amount that is usually gained through research on human tissues. Others want complete ownership where they can decide what can be researched with those cells, and how the money is distributed. In my opinion, we need to pass a limited ownership law that allows people to receive their fair share and still allow science to move unhindered.

Homework load

I am getting ridiculous amounts of homework, and the work load seems to grow after every week. Yesterday I had to finish my impossible chemistry homework. Today I have to finish all my blogs for this week, write a rough draft for a paper i havent even thought about yet, and finish my Darwin reading, and I have to work from 5-10 today at Malco. Tuesday night will be a fun one, I will start on my 1,500 word paper for UNHP, I will finish my chemistry lab, fill out my lab book, and do the prelab, and possibly work on the final draft of the analysis paper. Then on Wednesday I will write my mid-term paper for UNHP, the paper on the lecture, and the paper for the outside event, all for UNHP, and hopefully finish my paper for English. Too much work... I need Fall Break to come quick.

Top Gear

I just finished watching one of my favorite programs on TV. Top Gear appears on BBC America and is taped in Britain. The point of the show is to entertain people who enjoy learning about cars. The show has three funny hosts, Richard Hammond, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson. I find it funny that while watching the program, I think in British car lingo. Words are used differently in Britian, such as a bonnet, boot, windscreen, petrol, and topped up. These words mean hood, trunk, windshield, gasoline, and topped off, respectively. Sometimes they say these words and I understand what they are saying without realizing that they are using the British version of the words. Many foreign language teachers say that you are not truly fluent in a language until you can think in that language. I enjoy this show a lot and hope that many discover the things that make me enjoy it.

Streetcar Named Desire

This play was extremely enjoyable. It played with your emotions and made you want to yell at moments. Blanche annoyed me very much and I felt, at times, that Stanley was justified in yelling at her. Stanley played a surprisingly emotional character, he yelled, cried, smacked people, played cards, etc. Stanley did step over some lines during the play, like sleeping with Blanche, hitting Stella, and constantly yelling during the poker game. The way they worked around the entire play with just the tiny stage setup was nothing more than a miracle. It's pretty amazing when you can enjoy something that has the same background for almost 3 hours. The crew did an awesome job and kept the story moving along fluidly and enjoyably. There was also some humor mixed in which made it even more enjoyable. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience.

McCarthy

Mike Mccarthy is an example of a man who followed what he wanted to do and ended up finding a career in what he loved. He was very intellectual and he really pounded it on us that we live in a city that started rock and roll. He also stated that true pop culture died in 1977 when Elvis passed away. His main point was to tell us to find what makes you unique and push it and create from it. Don't be afraid and just chase what you want. Oh yeah, he also told us to drop out of school... But I don't know if I will do that, I'm just a horrible writer and I use my creativity differently. I'm not artistic at all, but whatever, that's why I'm a biology major.

Observation Proposal

My observation will be of my dogs in my backyard. There are two birdfeeders and a hummingbird feeder, so there might be birds that I can observe and write how they react with my dogs in the backyard. There is a pool, so I can write about how the pool reacts with the environment and what my dogs do around it. There is a garden and flower area in my backyard that contain wildlife such as bees and butterflies. There should be plenty to write about. Since it is my property, I do not have to worry about time constraint. As long as my dogs stay active outside I will have plenty to observe.

Music in Iraq

I listened to the podcast on our main blog and found the facts very interesting. Music has become a bigger part of our world than we may realize. Soldiers in Iraq listen to hard rock, rap, and metal, to get psyched up for combat. Combat is very stressful and it helps the soldiers to be emotionally and physically unattached from themselves. They no longer worry about themselves as they step outside of their normal mindset, this helps keep soldiers working. As combat gets more intense, the troops get more stressed, and listening to music prepares them for the intensity of the combat. Music can also be used to calm somebody after a stressful time. I just thought this was very interesting because I see athletes getting pumped for games by listening to loud music, and I have done this myself before soccer games. It all helps prepare you for what is coming up.

Mold

Today I had the awesome priviledge of cleaning the forest hill malco's chairs from mold in one of it's theaters. One thing I learned is not to procrastinate because they told me I could come in to clean around 6 o'clock. I made the mistake of waiting until 7 to show up. The work sucked, it was tiring and disgusting, but I was being paid well for doing it. It also shows that I am willing to go the extra mile to my boss. I had to show up on a day I was not supposed to work, and I believe I did a good job. So I am hoping it helps go towards my promotion at work.

Conversation observation

The conversation was a little different from my point of view because I was not observing but participating. From my view, it seemed more like a interrogation, no offense to Elliot, but he didn't really ask that many questions, mostly he just answered my questions. The free discussion session was very interesting because we both seemed very timid and our body language showed that we did not wish to be there. As the exercise continued, we both became a little less reserved and more open to the conversation. We both found common ground or made observations to start a topic. My example of observation was that he was wearing a Volcom shirt and hat, and from my prior knowledge of the company Volcom, I knew he must either just like the brand or he skated. My deductions were correct when he answered that he had skated until they shut down the Skate Park of Memphis, or SPoM as he referred to it. Then I found out that he had recently played paintball, which was the topic of my autobiographical essay, so I talked about my paintball gun for a few sentences. A while later, Wendy Sumner-Winter started giving us topics to converse about. I did not mind the first topic, which was: "What is your favorite song?" Me being an avid music listener, I countered by saying that I could not answer with one single song, it really depends what mood you are in. Right then, the conversation took a turn for the worst, Mrs. Sumner-Winter started giving us very annoyingly wierd topics of which to speak about. Puppies were apparently a funny topic to talk about since she burst out laughing when I mentioned that my family owns two Pomeranians. The topics started to get very wierd as it went from donuts, Ireland, and then to llamas. It became a struggle just to find what to say about these awkward subjects, and the body language from the beginning of the conversation resumed as we sort of tried to shut ourselves out of the situation by shutting down, but that would not work. My main observation of the whole thing had to be that it was really awkward throughout the whole thong due to all the silent listeners who just happened to be taking notes on the whole conversation. Overall it was a great learning opportunity to tell about body language an how it coincides with how one feels.

The first time I listened and watched the video, I saw all the basic things that anyone would look for: he was hanging out with his mom in the kitchen, the mother was very stubborn, the guy did not want the fish, she tried to put facts into his head. She then began to doubt herself in a way as she remembered mercury poisoning. I thought it was funny that she wanted to go to a seafood restaurant after they found the other restaurant was full. When I watched with just the sound, I noticed that the guy had a northern accent and spoke fairly quickly. It was almost as if he had already had this conversation once before. I found that he did not use many pronouns, instead he just kept repeating everything he said. After I watched without the sound, it seemed as if the mom did not even pay attention to what he said. He also kept reading a piece of paper for a while before actually dropping to talk to his mom.
The second time I did the exercise, I found that I noticed deeper meaning within the drawings and words. An example would be the fact that the mother tries to appeal to her son's intellect, showing that he may be a grad student, or just very smart. The addition of the celery shows that she has already tried to make her son eat tuna fish, and he may of complained about it being too chewy, which accounts for her hinting that the celery adds more crunch to the tuna. I also found that the mother may be extremely stubborn, as she requests to go to a seafood restaurant even after his conversation to her about hating fish earlier that evening.

Time

I was just wondering how in the world I am going to keep up with all the homework when exams start coming up. Does anybody else have the same worries? Does anybody know how to look up Dr. Grubaugh's syllabus? What are we supposed to write about for next Tuesday? Anyway, I was just sitting at home wondering how I could blog from my iPhone, well I found a neat application that allows me to do just that. So here I am blogging while listening to Pink Floyd. Craziness... Well I guess that is all for now, until next time when I have to blog and can't think of anything to blog about.

My new blog post will be about my new season as a soccer referee at Germantown Baptist Church. Today I got the privilege to referee three Kindergarten through First Grade Co Ed games. It's really nice when you can make $60 from three games in about 4 hours, but it is also enjoyable to watch the young kids run after the ball and even kick it into their own goal. The latter actual happened today to a young boy who became confused during the excitement near his goal area and kicked the ball into his own goal. I felt very sorry for him, but I had to give the goal to the other team. Anyway, I enjoy reffing these and will continue to do so as long as I am paid.

Autobiographies are important because it allows you to tell your own story. Only you know what you are thinking, so by writing your own story, you can include thoughts that you did not say out loud.
Biographies are told by a limited point of view, the person who is writing about you cannot tell the audience what you are thinking at the deepest points unless he asks, and even then, he cannot always present your thoughts the way you would like them to be presented.
This distinction can make all the difference in the world. Writing an autobiography allows you to tell a story within a story by showing your deepest emotions.
I would prefer to read an autobiography because you can learn more about someone by reading their own thoughts and not words written by someone else about that person. It seems more personal, like you are in a conversation in which the writer is telling you something.

HW 9/9/09

My first experience with paintball was a mix of many emotions for me. I had no idea how much it would hurt, or how much fun it would be to win (survive) a round. I started off my first game at the top of a hill and... long story short, I ended up being shot in the back of the head by my friend, who was on my team... at the time.
I like to get my adrenaline umping and enjoy putting myself in what may seem as danger, as long as it doesn't border on stupidity.
I would like to be perceived as someone who doesn't feel the fear of new experiences.
People feel anxious when they go into new experiences, but then they enjoy themselves after they get over the fear of what may happen. Part of the enjoyment is the unknown that you are approaching that really gets the adrenaline pumping.

English HW 9/8

Thinking about your past writing experience.
1. My last fairly complicated writing assignment was given to me in high school during my senior year by my English teacher Mrs. Hendrix. It was a research paper to be written about John Milton's Paradise Lost. This paper took almost a full month to prepare, edit, and get my final draft.
2. The steps I went through to prepare my paper were to research about John Milton's life and research about the book itself. Many famous writers have written books dedicated to explaining the meaning of Paradise Lost, so it was not too difficult to find plenty of quotes for the required amount we had to find that was relevant to our material. My purpose for writing the essay was that it was assigned to me and I assumed that the teacher knew much about John Milton and Paradise Lost as she had been giving out this assignment and teaching on his material for some years before I came to be in her class.
Analyze
1. split, lose, paused, considered, vanished, rounding, trailed, picked, follow, chased, smashed, entered, ran, coming, ran, wound, chased, chased, glanced, choking, strained, trained, fling, point, aim, dive, forget, go, chasing, impelled, compelled, follow, tore, running, improvising, running, choosing, failing, slow, discovering, exhilarated, dismayed, save, losing, chased, caught, caught, stopped.
2. paused, considered, vanished, rounding, trailed, picked, chased, smashed, entered, coming, chased, chased, glanced, choking, strained, trained, chasing, impelled, compelled, running, improvising, running, choosing, failing, discovering, exhilarated, dismayed, losing, chased, stopped.
3. We smashed through a gap in another hedge, entered a scruffy backyard and ran around its back porch and tight between houses to Edgerton Avenue; we ran across Edgerton to an alley and up our own sliding woodpile to the Hall's front yard; he kept coming.
Mikey and I had nowhere to go, in our own neighborhood or out of it, but away from this man who was chasing us.
pg. 24
1. city clothes, suit and tie, street shoes, thin man, all action, twenties, sainted, skinny, furious, red head.
2. perfunctorily, ordinary Pittsburgh accent, normal righteous anger, usual common sense.
3. A tired, thin, red headed man in his twenties running through back yards in his street shoes to catch two young kids. He was the driving force of the plot.
pg. 25
1. She used perfect snow and made into a perfect sphere so that no snow remained but it was all ice.
2. The cars are compared to targets wrapped in red ribbons. I think this shows how easy it was to hit their targets, which were the cars. It also shows experience, they all had the experience of throwing snow balls and were all good enough at it that they could not miss.
1. perfunctorily, chewing out, redundant, mere-formality, beside the point, glory, prolong the drama, cap its glory, brooded, dismembered, staked, spirit of fun, chew us out, exalting pursuit, righteous anger, usual common sense, sainted.
2. passionately, trapped, brooded, drama, spirit of fun, her describing of his accent shows that she can remember the event very well.