Behind the Lens

This was one of the most fun experiences/ assignments that I had to take on this year. Ms. Gamzon had the students in the class pair up in groups and create a commercial on any chosen topic. Our topic happened to be Converse sneakers. In our commercial, we had to use advertising techniques in order to entice viewers to buy the product. The following link shows our group commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ZoFjcq_Mw&list=HL1339523839&feature=mh_lolz

Query Letter

Another assignment that our sophomore class took was to write a query letter which is also something that many newspapers require in order to get an article published. A query letter consists of a writer writing to the publisher to talk about what their article will consist of and why the article should be published.

300 Word Article

Ms. Gamzon had each student write a 300 word article to introduce us each to the possible tasks that could be assigned to us if we decided to pursue a career in journalism. The following article is my 300 word article which contains information on piercings.

Understanding Photo Composition

Photojournalists' use many techniques to capture something specifically in a photo. Many use the rule of thirds, leading lines, setting the main image off-center, symmetry and patterns, viewpoint, background, depth, framing, cropping and experimentation. Ms. Gamzon had us study the photographs of famous or well-known photographers and take note of the composition of the photo. The following link demonstrates some of Margaret Bourke-White's most famous photos and it also explains what techniques were used and how.

http://prezi.com/9u8y7za-4qnk/margaret-bourke-white-prezi/

From the Eyes of a Photojournalist

To learn from a journalists' point of view, Ms. Gamzon gave us the assignment to get behind the lens and use photo techniques to capture something in our own eyes and to understand a photo journalists' task in a different perspective. The following link shows my experience in taking the role of a photojournalists. The photos are based on the theme of graffiti.

http://prezi.com/rcbtlec74tra/graffiti/

Name All the Animals by Alison Smith(Part 3)

So far, the book is...interesting. I don't really find any part of the book to be difficult to read nor do I find it easy to read. To me, it's just like any other book I've ever read. A character that I seemed to start liking in the novel is Teresa. I liked her because she's very daring and different. She seems to be the one who is helping Alison forget the pain and misery from the death of Roy. I think the author includes Teresa in the novel to keep the story from getting so bland and to show how much Teresa changes Alison. Alison soon discovers things about herself that she never knew and she begins to feel things that she has never felt. Alison discovers that she is Lesbian and she experiences the feelings that one feels when making love. There aren't many characters that are described besides Alison's parents, Teresa, Alison and Roy so I can't really say that I dislike any of the characters. But so far, I guess that the story is somewhat progressing because Alison is making changes in her life and the subject is gradually moving away from Roy's death. So...I guess I should keep reading. Bye :)

Name All the Animals by Alison Smith(Part 2)

I'd have to say that Alison uses a lot of characterization throughout the novel. Often, when introducing a character, she describes their appearance, gestures/actions and conversations. For example, she describes Teresa by telling the reader that she has massive curls with a wide face. She also describes how she watched Teresa with sketchpad on her lap. This introduces Teresa as an artist. I think that Alison made Teresa kind of mysterious or shy because of the fact that Teresa doesn't want to share her drawings with Alison. Another example is Alison's father. He often calls Alison 'baby' showing that he is caring.  When Alison's mother and father let the nuns know to keep a close watch on Alison when they went on their trip to Toronto, it shows that they are protective. Throughout the story, when Alison's parents do things to show that they are grieving for Roy, they tend to come to Alison, as if to make sure that the only thing that they have left, is still there. Overall, I think Alison does a great job in introducing the characters' personalities as well as their image.

Name All the Animals by Alison Smith

Hmm...Well, so far, I'm not too intrigued or interested in the story. I was interested at first because I liked how the action happened so early in the story, but now that I go on, it seems as if the whole story is going to revolve around Roy's death. I wouldn't mind if the story was going to revolve around Roy...if he was ALIVE. It's different when he's dead. I don't want to read about someone's life...There won't be any action going on. Just thoughts and memories about him. I really hope that as the story goes on that Alison's character will become more developed and it won't be so much about Roy. Off to do work now :)

Sylvia Plath's Poetry Response

"Admonition"
- I really liked this poem, however it was really dark. All three stanzas consist of an 'if and then' situation. Each have to do with hurting a living object and what the effect would be. For example, the first stanza says that if you cut the tongue of the bird, you will hurt their vocal cords. The one that moved me the most was the last stanza in which she says that if you attempt to cut out a person's heart, you will stop the syncopation of two hearts. Overall, I really liked the structure and the point of the poem :)

"The Applicant"
- From what I understood in this poem, it seems to me like Sylvia is trying to say that if she changes herself and empties her mind out (in other words, being dumb), would a guy marry her. She talks about having fake body parts and she talks about having empty insides. This poem for me depicts reality because today, girls go through great measures in order to find 'love.' I also liked this poem because I could easily connect.

"April 18th"
- Uhh....This one was kinda confusing too, but I kinda thought that it was about her wanting to forget about something or somone in the past. She says that no matter what happens, like pregnancy or constipation, she would still not remember what happened in the dreadful memories from before.

"A Better Resurrection"
- I really liked this poem for some reason. I'm not sure what stood out to me but maybe it's just that I like what the poem was about. From my understanding, it was about her wanting to be born again because life at the moment for her wasn't going the way she had planned...or the way she expected or maybe wanted. It seems to me as she is fed up with everything and has no emotion left to show the way she feels.

"Mad Girls Love Song"
- I kinda liked this one too. She seems to be explaining how when she shuts her eyes, every bad thing in life seems to just go away, as if her eyes were doors to the world and she could block them out. And for some reason, when she says "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead", I kind've believe that she thinks she's 'pausing' the world. But then again, that's how I think about it when I read this poem :)

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

In the first chapter, the character of Esther is introduced. Esther is a college student working in New York as an editor for a magazine. Here, Esther worries too much, it seems. She does not seem to enjoy all of the luxurious clothing, parties and free trips, and in the very beginning of the chapter, she worries about the electrocution of the Rosenburgs. In New York, Esther stays at an all girls hotel named the Amazon with eleven other girls. Her main companion seems to be Doreen, a beautiful and carefree, young woman. When Betsey, another girl who stays at the Amazon with them, comes and asks Esther if she wants share a cab with her and she declines because Doreen tells her to. They then take a cab together and while Doreen and Esther are stuck in traffic, a man named Lenny convinces them to get out of the cab and have a couple of drinks with him and his friends. Doreen and Esther accept and soon Doreen and Lenny are flirting while Frankie is attempting to occupy Esther. Esther ignores him for the fact that he is extremely short and she hovers over him like a giant. Frankie leaves, noticing that he is there for no reason. Esther lies and says her name is Elly begins to order random drinks, hoping to find one that she likes. Soon, Doreen and "Elly" leave with Lenny. Well, that's how far I've gotten so far so...Bye :)

Unsettling America Poems Response

In my opinion, "Mnemonic" by Li-Young Lee, it was a bit confusing. I didn't quite grasp the meaning of the poem. I also felt that the poem wasn't exciting, resulting in me not being interested in paying attention to the poem. I couldn't relate to the poem, due to the fact that it was about a boy who praises his fathers blue sweater. I think O.o "English Speaking Persons Will Find Translations" by Michael S. Glaser depicts the way Americans view the Holocaust. Glaser also mentions how tourists crowd around as to not miss a thing, and they crowd around to take pictures with the ovens at Dachau. We should be ashamed of the reactions, but we aren't. Glaser also speaks of a movie that the narrator watches in a hotel room where Americans so inappropriate things to Native American women. In this poem, I believe that Glaser attempts to point out how we go on with our daily lives as if everything were okay, but we don't realize how difficult it must have been for those who were apart of a crisis. We only see that crisis as an "important piece of history", but we shouldn't be so insensitive and only look at it that way. Glaser beautifully succeeds in portraying this idea.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange- Part 3

I'm now on Chapter 8 and I still have to say that I am enjoying this book. The most important scene to me so far is the scene in which Charlie got in a fight with the whites at his new segregated school. This I feel will drive the rest of the story or at least it will drive the conflict of the story. I think that Jane is changing the most throughout the story because she seems to be paying more attention to the children and seems to be taking on the responsibility of having and maintaining a family. Also, I think That Betsey Brown is moving ahead of herself. She seems to be in a great rush to grow up which leads her to run away from home. She thinks she's got everything planned out but in reality, she has no clue what awaits her. I've left off on page 125. And I don't really know what else to say about the story so I've gotta go read some more.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange- Part 2

I really have to say, I'm starting to really enjoy this book. So far, I'm only up to chapter five and Shange is really developing the characters very well. I can most identify with the scene of Betsey's first kiss. I can feel the emotions as her lips first meet Eugene Boyde's lips. It reminds me of all of the feelings that flooded over me when my first kiss occurred. I would want to spend time with Betsey Brown the most because she seems extremely responsible for her age and very mature. Jane really bothers me because she seems to load all of her responsibilities on her oldest child, Betsey, and even has favoritism towards her. I think that Shange plays with the English grammar so that the reader can get a better feel for the characters as well as the time period. Overall, this book is becoming more intriguing throughout the chapters.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange

To be honest, so far, I don't like this book at all. I'm guessing that this is one of those books that start off REALLY slow, and the farther you read, the better it gets. Well...that's what I'm hoping. So far, I know that it's about this girl named Betsey who has a lot of siblings...I'm not really grasping the point of the book; If there is one so far. One thing that confused me was why the kids were calling their parents (Jane and Greer) by their names. From what I'm understanding, the children are still very young and I don't understand why the kids seem somewhat intimidated by their parents. Well, this post looks long enough and plus, this book is kinda confusing so far so I don't really have THAT much to say. Bye :)

"The Good Thief" by Hannah Tinti

In my opinion, The Good Thief was a little slow to kick off and actually get interesting. As I started to read farther into the book, I became intrigued and the story was extremely detailed. The gruesome events such as when the man in the red gloves cut off the bartenders hand. Or when they described the image of Benjamin after being beaten by Pilot and the other men. The descriptions of the setting were very realistic as well, and I think that the reason that I enjoyed this story so much was because when reading the novel, it seemed as if the story was pulling the reader in. I also think that the plot was interesting because very rarely do you ever read books about criminals using a child's disadvantage to their advantage. Overall, the book was great. Kudos to Hannah Tinti! :)

Top 5 Haiku :

1. Dead roses.
First petal
falls.

2. Sleepless nights.
Coffee cravings
Fuel the body.

3. Yellow sun,
Red skin,
sun burnt.

4. Snow falls.
Bitter breezes
bites toes.

5. Gloomy skies overhead.
Dreadful mourning
for days to come.

Well, my haiku's aren't all that great. Feedback would be nice. Thanks!

Haiku Guy Response

Hmm....I'm not quite sure what I thought of this book. It's definitely not one of my favorites. The book was confusing in some aspects. One thing that confused me the most was: I had no clue as to what the point of view of the story was. Some chapters spoke as if it was Buck-Teeth speaking while other chapters, the author was speaking to the reader, directly...I think. I also didn't understand the point of the story. Usually stories have a purpose or a message that's trying to be told to us. Maybe this book was supposed to help us write haiku's. I don't think it really worked for me. It just showed me that haiku's can be written about anything. Overall, I was confused by the book and I became frustrated very easily, leading to my endless breaks. 

10 Questions:

1. Who are the most important people in your life, and why?
My family are a few extremely important people in my life just because they've done more than I could ask for. They're my best friends that I could never lose. My friends are important but I have very few CLOSE ones. Djana Sefo, Ashli Giles, James Kegler, and Teodoro Santiago are important to me because they've been through everything with me from the start. And last person- my boyfriend Ray Rivera because although we've had our ups and downs, he's done nothing but love and protect me throughout the time that we've been together. Don't know where I'd be without these people!

2. When do you feel most afraid?
I feel most afraid when I feel that I'm around danger. Thus, the reason why I hate arguing, fighting, killing, stealing, etc.

3. What bores you, and why?
I get bored with dull things. I like color. I get bored with people who talk about themselves or about one topic a lot. To tell you the truth, I don't care. I get bored with not having anything to entertain me. And although I am a cheerleader for basketball, I get bored with basketball too.

4. How important is money to you?
Not that important. Even though it gets me everything I want, I'm easily entertained like a child. it doesn't take money for me to have fun.

5. If you could accomplish only one thing in your life, what would it be and why?
I would want to...Um make a positive impact on the world. I don't know how, though...

6. How important is food to you?
EXTREMELY. Food is what keeps me entertained, food helps me when I'm sad, food is there when I'm happy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with food. I would marry food if food was a person! :)

7. Do you have any bad habits?
I used to bite my nails but that habit seems to be "going away" so I guess not anymore.

8. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so where?
Ew. No tattoos. I don't find them appealing. On the other hand, I love piercings. I have 2 holes on each ear, an industrial on one, a cartilage piercing on the other, a belly ring and one more is (hopefully) on the way!

9. If you could be an animal, what would you be?
I would LOVE to be a tiger. They're fierce, cuddly, and gorgeous!

10. Do you believe in ghosts?
No. Only in the Super Mario game.

Texting Takes Over?

 

Don't get me wrong, I love texting. It's one of my main hobbies. However, texting is becoming too much of a problem in our society today. Laws have been passed regarding this issue, but it seems that laws are just not enough. Not too long ago, a law was passed stating that texting while driving is illegal. Many accidents have been caused by drives who have not been paying attention to the road, but have been paying attention to incoming text messages. Various injuries as well as deaths have been caused by this handheld device. Texting has also become an issue for pedestrians. People walking across the street are also distracted by texting and this causes accidents as well. They become distracted while crossing streets and walking on the sidewalk which causes car accidents and collision with humans. Not only has texting become an issue in the streets, but in school as well. Texting has been a cause of distraction nowadays. For someone to be focused on the lesson or what is being taught, the person must have no distractions. No talking, no games, no texting. From my experience, I can say that texting truly has an impact on our grades and our concentration. However, there seems no way to get around it. Soon, texting is going to be the base of our society. Texting is taking over the world.

10 Unknown Facts About Me!

Facts:
1. I have to sleep with a fan on no matter what the temperature may be.
2. I prefer bendy straws over the straight ones. No particular reason why, though.
3. If I make a drink where powder has to be mixed with a liquid like Kool-Aid or any other kind of juice, I have to drink it with a spoon.
4. I hate when people touch me with their feet. It's disgusting.
5. I don't know how to swim.
6. I'm afraid of heights.
7. I don't have a middle name.
8. Speaking of names, I hate mine.
9. I'm obsessed with Tinkerbell.
10. I've never tasted seafood except shrimp, fish, and octopus.