HW 27: First two blogs

After reading the book Baghdad burning i realized actually how hard it really must be to live in a world and undergoing those circumstances on a daily basis. I think it will be interesting to actually see how it will feel to be a girl just like me and my friends living in a totally different world surrounded by the war. Riverbend made an online blog to share her experiences about the war with everyone which shows how brave she is for telling first hand what it is like for her to go outside her house. The book ties in with this class because it is about a young women who is living in Iraq where the media isn't big and she is starting a digital revolution with her blog and in this class we are required to create and keep our blogs up to date.

HW 25: Baghad Burning

In the first chapter of Baghad Burning talks about the war we are currenty fighting in Iraq and also the history behind it and why we are there right now. Riverbend is a girl who is living in Iraq during the war and she tells us her side of the story about what it is like to see this actually going on. In the introduction it talks about the actually war in Iraq and its more history rather then how its effecting people. I feel as if they did a great job in both parts and the war is a big part of our everylives and it effects everyone in a differnt way and I know that my effects and concerns are some of the same ones that she mentations in her text.

HW 24: A Room of My Own

In my room compared to a room of a man, it would be very different. Sexism is still trying to be progressed everyday and let men and women be equal for once. For some issues it’s ok for men to do one thing but the second a women does it we will be judged because it is inappropriate for us and not lady like. It has increased greatly in the effort that women are allowed to do more things and can take a more serious and political role in the society. I know that the world is different and for women we are often looked down on things for the same things that men do on a daily basis. An example is at my house my brother is allowed to have girls in his room with the door closed but my parents tell me that if were in my room the door has to be open which isn’t fair just because he is a guy and it’s ok for him because he is a boy. The quote, “there is no precise height of women” (Woolf, 85) is saying that women are capable of doing anything and should have the right to be just as great as men in their lives. Another quote “that is to say men are only writing with the male side of their brains” (Woolf 101) which is saying that men are only writing towards them and they don’t think that women were in actuality know what they are talking about and understand the full effects of the information.

Apologies to Virginia Woold. HW 23

With Apologized to Virginia Woolf

In the blog titled singing with the enemy on the Feministe blog (http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/10/22/singing-with-the-enemy/) Lethal Fixx didn’t have anything good to say about women and being able to take on a stand by their own. It even stated that one said women don’t make good rock music and they are just shaggy themselves. I don’t feel that this is right because we should all be treated equally and be able to participate in the same events and have the same values no matter our gender. Such as when I got in trouble for walking on the pathway because I was a women and only the men were allowed to. She said that women wouldn’t be able to survive and make money in the rap field which is totally not true because we really are as great as men and the same.
I think it shouldn’t matter who we are to decide what we are good at and where our lives will bring us one day. We all need the same opportunity and have the same chances to succeed in what we feel we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.

HW 22:Patriarchy in our Society

In chapter two of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is talking about how England has a Patriarchy and is under the control of one person. The term Patriarchy is a social system in which mean are regaurded as the authority within the family and society, and in which power and possessions are passes on from father to son. I belibe this because in england they do have a king and queen who are in charge and sort of overlook everything else that is going on at the time and basically rule the country.
On page 33 in chapter two bottom half of the page it talks about how the professor is the power and the money of the influence. He was the foregin secretary, and the judge, he owned the racehorses and yacht; and it continued going on about everything else that he owned and was in charge of. and she also staed that, ‘with the exceptin of the fog he basically controled everything else.’ To me that sentence right there shows how much power one man can hold on his own.
After looking at the New York Times I feel that yes if someone was looking at that it would give the united states the image that we are a Patriarchy because in most articles it talks about one person dealing with an issue and never a group of people or even the normal indivdiulas who are walking on the street next to you.

HW 21: Dear Jenn

Hi Jenn,
In chapter one of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own Virginia has been asked to speak on the topic of women and fiction. She talks about her main thesis statement and reflects on it in which the statement was "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She talks about how she and other women are not allowed to do many of the things that males are allowed to do. An example of this is that when she was walking on the grass a university security guard came over to her and told her that women are not allowed to walk on the grass and she must move to the gravel. And also another is when she recalls and essay that she once read in which the author stated in her own person experience "ladies are only admitted to the library if accompanied by a Fellow of the College or furnished with a letter of introduction." The narrator of the book talks about the start of a women’s college and how there was little political support and not to many followers.
As I read this chapter it really hit me to see how this actually was really happening and I couldn’t believe it. This might be an important reading in an English class because it talks about real events that made an impact on our lives today and it also gets you thinking outside of the box about the situations in which women just like us went through not too long ago.
Good luck with the reading and let me know if you need more help,
Lori

HW 19: Drenzer & Farrell's Influence on the Web

In the foreign policy article called, “Web of Influence” by Daniel Drenzer and Henry Farrell it talked about the importance between international blogs and media coverage. I feel that the important paragraph in the article was on page 84 the last paragraphs starting with blogs (are short for ‘weblogs,’) In the article they talked about how blogs are increasing enormously each year. Drenzer and Farrell stated that in 1999 there were about 50 blogs and in 2004 between 2.4 million and 4.1 million. In other words blogs are being used everywhere and more and more kids are using blogs to express themselves and say things they are unable to say to their friends, also adults are using them to gain more information on certain issues from other peoples experiences and feelings. It stated what the definition of a blog really was and I feel that was important because many people have a misconception of what a blog actually is and it helps them to see what they might be participating in. the definition they used is a periodically updated journal, providing online commentary with minimal or no external editing. My point is that blogs are a big part of our generation. I believe that blogs in which peers have their own experiences stated will help the most and have a great influence on the way we believe and act.

Jones for Drugs, HW18

One article that was my least favorite in the past seven days was an article on the Jezebels blog website titled Jones for Drugs. The link is http://jezebel.com/gossip/jones-for-drugs/-307514.php. The article talks about how Marion Jones has been on steroids for the past three years without knowing it. This article makes me sad because for an athlete who is as good and well known as her is having to be in drugs in order to get the body and look that she wanted to be in Maxim, I feel as if that is taking your whole life and flushing it down the toilet because you are ruining your body that is so capable for the best achievement you can have and soon you will be no longer to receive that. One person responded to the blog by saying, “Her story is that her trainer dosed her, telling her it was flaxseed oil,” that statement really hit me because if someone is going to do that to you they honestly don’t care enough about that person and the condition that you body may end up in.

Sex, Lies and Political Scrapes, HW 17B

Ana Marie Cox’s blog Wonkette and interview, ‘Sex, Lies, and Political Scrapes’ would most likely influence the way I would vote in an upcoming election because I feel as if her writing is easier to understand on the same level in which that young teens are at. The setup of her blog is very eye catching and I like that it her videos and pictures because that tends to catch my attention and drag me into an article that without seeing a picture I probably wouldn’t of read. Ana Marie is not very self conscious because she speaks how she feels on issues when in the past she got fired from all her other jobs because of her actions on duty. Most of her articles are student centered with topics and issues that we can relate to and ones that we enjoy reading about. In the interview she said that she likes to be able to comment on things and say exactly what I think which shows that she is a bold person and will go beyond the rules and ‘normal’ standards to get her point across. When I was reading the interview it was easier to connect with her words and responses which let me enjoy the interview more rather than the interview with Markos Moulitas Zuniga.

HW 17: Femenisitng Blog

I thought the article on the Femenisting blog called wal-mart thinks stalking is a joke by Jessica on Products (http://feministing.com/archives/007832.html). The blog is talking about how wal mart put out a shirt with the saying, “some call it stalking, I call it ‘Love.’” The shirts are giving off a false idea about how stalking is just another way to show love. Many women got offended about this issue and didn’t believe it was right to be selling or even promoting these types of shirts. The article stated a quote that I felt was very true and made an impact while I was reading was, "People don't realize how serious stalking is," she said. "You constantly live in fear, look over your shoulder and suffer from psychological and physical symptoms due to the stress of the stalker." That quote is so true because if someone loved you they would allow you to have your own life and have some sort of freedom allowing you to do certain things without your significant other knowing your step by step moves. This post made an impact on me and really opened my eyes and think that stalking is serious and you should never be stalked by someone who loves you.

HW 16: Jezebel follows most of Scobles' Rules

In Jezebels blog she is following many of Scobles’ rules of engagement. In her blogs she is telling the truth and she is also using a human voice she is talking in her own words as if she was telling us each the story which tends to grab our attention more and is an easier way for us to understand what she is exactly trying to get across. As looking over her blogs it tends to seem that she is very fast and posting and updating new topics on her blogs daily. You can see this because when you search updates in the past 24 hours many come up which shows you that she is always updating and posting new information.
I feel that these 20 principles of the Corporate Weblog are applicable to bloggers because they are telling you how to achieve the best blogs and it is also stating how to gain a better reputation of others who will read your blogs daily. Its almost as if they standards that Scoble states are like the rules of blogging and if you follow these you will be happy with your results and be very successful. He is someone who has been in the field before and knows firsthand what will make it successful and what will cause you or fall behind and now get as many readers as you wish.

HW 14:Take an Obsession then feed it

In the article ‘Take An Obsession, Then Fed It!’ an interview with Nick Denton. For example Nick founded what is to be called the ‘empire of fledgling weblog industry.’ According to his interview he stated that he would rather look at editors rather than writers when it comes to hiring because he wants someone who can take the garage and make it funny. As a result of blogs being used in everywhere in the world around us on a daily basis the sites are growing at 20 percent per month. For example some sites are now brining in an average of $5,000 a month in ad revenue. Likewise blogs allow you to say how you feel about the situation in your own way regardless of what other people feel or say towards the same issue. In conclusion blogs will allow individual users to make their own “newspapers,” which will show their own personal creativity and issues on the popular topics.