DON'T DO IT!!!

Don't do what? Don't cut school sports. I am strongly against this idea, along with countless other students and past students of the East Side Union High School District. I have a friend who goes to Evergreen Valley High School at the moment, and he tells me their reasoning behind cutting sports is to make the school like schools way back when, when sports didn't really exist in high school. In other words, they want to make the student body focus more on education than sports. I was a student at EVHS only just a year ago and I remember not only the principal having EVHS sports memorabilia in her office, but probably 90% of the faculty and staff also supported our school's sports teams.

There is no reason to lie, the blame goes to the budget. Yes, cutting school sports may inevitably happen unless they devise a way to save it (which they are trying to do, there has been talk about having students pay to play), but can you imagine a high school with out sports? No more going out to the field for the homecoming game, no more cheering on your friends with custom made signs, no more feeling proud of yourself cause you made county. That's only the personal stuff. Imagine the students who bank on their sports resume to get them into college, students who keep their GPA at a low but necessary 2.0 in order to play sports (it gets them to actually graduate high school).

I always thought I could go back to the field and watch another football game with my old friends from EVHS, but it looks like I won't be doing that. I'll have to visit them in their classrooms and then I'd get kicked out because I'm stranger danger on campus.

(sob)

LINK

Emergency Post

Hey this post is for Cathy...Professor Gabor. I've been trying since last night and this morning to get my printer fixed and I have a bunch of hard copies...the problem is that they all look like crap. It looks like my printer regurgitated text on printer paper. Ill bring in the "hard copies" but here\s the interview in fully legible text.

Andrew Thai
English 1B/ Gabor
2/21/09
Interview: Page 112



AT: What is your understanding of Advocacy?



RO: Well, I don’t really care strong enough about anything to be an advocate for it. I guess if you mean advocacy as support, I guess I’m an advocate for World of Warcraft haha. I know what it means to be an advocate for something, like gay rights, but I don’t really know what the definition of advocacy is, but I understand it. You know what I mean?



AT: When and how have you participated in public or civic life?



RO: Oh my god dude, I don’t give back to my community at all. I don’t really give back to my community because well, economically speaking I do what’s in my best interests. And there’s nothing really wrong with that. That’s what drives our Economy. I thought about doing public or civic activities, actually I can’t say I really have haha. I think I was in the recycling club for a little bit, but that was kinda because my girlfriend was in it, but ultimately I’ve never really done anything like that.



AT: Why have you chosen the actions you have?



RO: Well like I said, people respond to incentives and I’m just that type of person. I never really thought about leading a public or civic life, or giving back. Its all about economics, doing what’s best in your favor. I just feel like I don’t really feel strongly about anything, I’m not really an opinionated person. I kinda keep to my own.

"Please squash me."

I remember that line from Pixars Bug's Life when Flik (I think that was his name?) asked the giant beetle to squash his head, promptly placing his own head under the beetle's foot. Well that's how I felt after reading After Seattle: Anarchists get Organized. I really read between the lines and by that I mean the blanks were more interesting to me than the story...okay that was a bit harsh but in all honesty this definitely wasn't one of my favorite readings. AVODAH was a better reading and I'm not saying that because it's short. I'm saying that because it's short and gets the point to me faster and better than After Seattle. I feel like my assigned reading could have gotten the point across in less words.

And JOY! More questions.

Well I felt the the two readings conveyed a similar theme, of course that theme is advocacy. Both convey a sense of supporting what you believe in, or fighting for a cause. Beck and her story seem to convey a sense of organized advocacy with all those groups and stuff formed, while the AVODAH website conveys a sense of community; providing history, information, and actual opinionated alumni profiles. AVODAH seems to be like a "Join me and help yourself and your community group" while beck seems to lead and create organizations. Well, I feel like in Beck's story the people she helps, it seems like it shows the various people she meets during her escapades, however in AVODAH we see alumni profiles and such and how AVODAH has helped them. I think in general both have the same type of advocacy except in AVODAH I guess you'd have to be a bit more independent than if you were in an actual, physical organization. In all honesty I don't really know what to say anymore except that I thought my reading was boring. Sorry Cathy? Haha.

I love the Rain...

NOT. But I know it's good for the environment so why do I complain? The answer is quite simple really. Soggy socks. If my socks could stay waterproof in the rain with me not having to dig through storage for rain boots I would love the rain, in fact the rain and I would be BFF's.

Enter: This Article.

Now we all know its been raining like hell for the past couple of weeks, as much as I dislike the rain, it's a nice change of pace and its beneficial to us during our time of drought...mmm not really. According to this article the weeks of rain barely did anything to help improve the water situation we are in, the article notes that California is certain to go through mandatory summer-time water rationing. This is not only for all the struggling farmers around San Jose or the Bay Area, but all of California, according to the article it's the worst we've ever had it. The article then goes on to mention the plight of farmers and our condition, statistics and comparisons to past droughts. Why does this interest me so much? Well even though I'm not the biggest fan of rain I do take interest into anything that can help our city, area, and state during this water crisis. Heck, if I'm making sure I turn the water faucet off when brushing my teeth and rain (outside) is filling our reservoirs, I guess i can safely say the rain and I are on the same team. It's important to know about California's water situation. It's time we start doing something for everyone and start saving some H20.

Rising Gas Prices: GTFO!

Link to the article

I chose this article because not only does the subject affect me (a driver) but millions of people in the whole of California. Although gas prices seemed to lower a bit for about 3 months, Californians (especially Bay-Areans) are noticing that gas prices are rising up. The article backs up this claim with numbers, facts and opinions. Something that really caught my attention was that companies have to buy our (California's) gas for about 50 cents higher than the national price.

This article interests me because I'd like to know the reasons why gas prices are rising and falling and how our community feels about it. The author further increases my interest by adding in quotes and thoughts from the people of the Bay Area. Many are outraged, as for me, I may not feel the same. Maybe I'm just glad gas isn't $4.00 a gallon anymore. Id rather be paying half of that than double.

Link to outside source.

This article goes beyond San Jose and the Bay Area, even diving into the economic stimulus package for the country. Though both articles have their similarities, they remain different because the article from MSNBC caters to readers from around the country, rather than readers from San Jose. It's interesting to catch both points of view, however both interest me equally, and I'd like to see the gas prices of California compared to those of other states, or even countries.

Response to Chapter 13

I thought the chapter was interesting. It really helped me to understand the ideas behind analyzing editorials and/or opinion pieces. Page 407 really broke down composing/analyzing ethos. The page gives you a step by step guide that really helps you understand this chapter more and the various readings/pieces/editorials that it contains. Also, learning about Pathos and the emotions the pathos should convey was also very interesting.

I really liked the piece about being against affirmative action. The author had a really good stance and when I looked at the actual reading, I felt like it was from a text book, rather than a magazine. It felt more like a story than anything. The author included a lot of background about himself, the university, and the case in action. This chapter made me think of all the editorials I've ever read and how the ideas in this chapter could apply to them. The text in the sidebars were really helpful and it made me brainstorm about a lot of ideas, relative to the analysis of the piece of course.

All in all, this chapter was useful and was a valuable tool, I'll definitely be using it in this class, if I ever need it.

Response to Lore.

I picked Knit Blogging: Considering an Online Community. I really liked this essay and I chose it because I could relate to the author, Amy E. Earhart. I remember a time when I thought people who blogged were absolutely crazy, revealing deep personal secrets to an obviously public online journal. I have even seen the mass insanity caused by having these blogs in the wrong hand. Broken hearts, fading friendships, I’ve seen it all happen. Yet I was still drawn to blogging, there was just something fun and addicting about reading what people had to say about themselves or their day. It was also somewhat fun when I wrote about things, maybe not about my personal life, but a review for a restaurant or a tutorial on how to play Blackbird by The Beatles. The author chose knitting as her subject and she would blog about it for other knitters to read. She also mentions that after blogging about knitting all day she would return to tactile activities (knitting). Then blogging pushed her back into the digital world. It really is similar to my case. I was a regular poster on music discussion forum. After blogging/writing forum posts about good music, guitars, and guitar tabs all day I would feel the need to return back to my guitar and play the music I was talking about. That wouldn’t last long however as I would soon find myself blogging again about music with other people. It was a nice experience and I completely agree with the author. Blogging creates a sense of community and sharing your knowledge to the “world” is a lot easier through blogs than writing a page in your journal, making 6 billion copies, climbing on top of Mt. Everest, then tossing it and hoping somebody would catch one.