Thinking map vocab- effeminate

This is my bubble map for the vocab word effeminate which can be defined as acting as a girl or woman would, do the things men don't do. In other words, to act like a women or girl. 

Blog #9 3/1/09

For the Bollywood text, I wanted to find something about the style of the movies that they/ that "area" makes, and the opinions of the movies from others. First off, we need to understand what Bollywood really means. The definition off of Wikipedia says, "Bollywood is only a part of the Indian film industry. It is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest in the world. However, unlike Hollywood, Bollywood does not exist as a physical place." I read an online article called "Bollywood/Hollywood" rarely succeeds at mingling styles. In this article, author Jolie Williamson, bashes the Bollywood film industry and how the movies are very predictable, and very disappointing. Also, it talks about how Bollywood films are not very good at mixing styles with American film, but that is what happens most of the time. The author seems to have a very biased view of Bollywood/Hollywood movies where the plots are predictable, with a clash of Westernized Indians and their traditional parents, as can be seen in many movies. Although the vast majority of Americans probably do find these movies not to their liking, I think the author is not true when she says, "American audiences don't appreciate what they view as the old-fashioned notion of musicals- that whole breaking into song thing." I personally disagree with her statement because many Americans actually do enjoy musicals and the, "whole breaking into song thing" since there happen to be many musicals across the Nation, for example, in Broadway. But, one thing I do have to agree on, is the fact that the plot of Bollywood movies are very predictable because they mainly have the same plot line! Just because Bollywood happens to be the largest film industry does not, in my opinion, give it an excuse for the bad acting it has. Even though the movie's are pure fun, the movies really don't require much skill for acting. This might be the point that the Author is trying to say, but, also that she does not like these movies in particular. Moreover, I enjoy Bollwood movies mixed with Hollywood aspects, but to a certain point, as does the Author. 

MLA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x.com

Blog #8 2/25/09

For my text about culture, I would like to use the Indian culture since we have just written a paper about it. I will use the book Nectar In A Sieve by Kamala, Markandaya. One major thing about Indian Culture is their different array of foods, which includes; rice, spices, fruit, dhal, chilies, fish, nuts, coconut milk, and herbs. This shows that there is also generally a lack of meat from the Indian Culture due to many being Hindu's. Food in Indian Culture generally plays more of a social role than in the U.S. culture. I think that American Culture really doesn't have a certain "type" of food because of all the different ethnicities and races that live in our Country. But, I am glad that we have all this diversity in our Nation because I enjoy being able to eat different types of foods from different cultures that I might not be able to eat in other country's. Another part of Indian culture is their different clothing style, which is very unique from other's. For example, the traditional Indian clothing that women wear includes a sari, jewlery, and a dhoti, (red dot on forehead). In more modern times such as today, Indian women do not always wear the traditional clothing as much as they did earlier on in civilization. In our culture, people do not generally wear types of traditional clothing of any type and wear and kind of clothing for that matter. Moreover, I believe that due to the preservation of traditional values, the Indian culture has been able to stay true to its roots unlike country's with mass immigration, such as America. 

Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar In A Sieve. New York: Signet Classic, 2002. 

Blog #7 2/22/09

For the blog about change I would like to talk about President Obama and how he is the first Black President in the History of the United States. I read about some of the changes he has made in the online article President Barack Obama. Firstly, Barack Obama is the first Black President ever in the United States. With his election, many people believe that things will be better for the future. No doubt, this is a huge change for America. Many people have had mixed feelings about his becoming president mainly over issues as in "is he really ready?." Moreover, some people opposed him to  being racial. I personally do not think it is acceptable to judge someone based on the color of their skin, but some people apparently still do. Another thing Obama's coming brought is a sense of pride for all the black persons in America, as if he has brought a stronger sense of nationalism to the United States. In addition, his win brought the end of the "Bush" reign and also the end of Republican presidents since the last couple of Elections. Since I am a democrat, I felt very relieved when he won because I just felt so angry that Republicans have been in the office for the last couple of elections. Furthermore, I believe that Barack Obama's wining the presidency has brought about a change of stronger belief in our nation, and more importantly, our leader. As Barack said, "If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

Blog #6 2/18/09

For the hope blog I wanted to write about a 25 year old women by the name of Emily Hoskins. I read about her inspiring story of dealing with spinal cancer and paralysis from the hips down in this online article titled, Neuroblastoma Survivor a Champion with a Heart of Gold. From the early age of 3 days, she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the spinal cord. Luckily, since she started chemo at the age of 3 days, by the age of 2 she was able to walk with walking braces. In her high school years, she fell in love with basketball even though she was not very good. Eventually, with determination and practice, she made the U of Illinois team and, from there, she went to the 2004 Athens olympics. Her team won the gold. In addition, her team won the gold in the recent Beijing Olympics. In my opinion, her story is one of complete dedication and hope for the future. She never did give up hope on her dreams of becoming an olympic athlete even though she was half-paralyzed. This, and all of her hard work paid off, which is how she accomplished all she has in her lifetime. Furthermore, her hope and determination gave her an outstanding positive attitude that gave the people around her inspiration that they could do anything they wanted to do. This especially made her parents proud of her. If I were in her place I don't know if I could have been as brave or determined as she was. Also, I don't know if I could have kept my hope up all the way through to the present like Emily did because it just seems as if there would be nothing to look forward to. But, she made the most of her situation which is why her story truly inspires me, and, gives inspiration to everyone else in the world. After all, as Emily says, "You can do anything- if you have the drive and desire. Never give up hope. Whether it's sports or music or school, just keep working hard, and you can never tell what doors are going to open for you." 

Blog #5 2/15/09

Religion is a huge subject! So, I chose to write about the Lutheran Religion and the Lutheran history. The Lutheran article I read was about the three things I mentioned above. I am half Lutheran, a quarter Orthodox, and another quarter Jewish due to the fact that my dad is Lutheran while my mom is half Orthodox, half Jewish. I am more into the Lutheran religion than the other two and I mostly do go to Lutheran churches. However, I do have many criticisms of the Lutheran religion. In the article it says that "Lutheranism simplifies Catholic practices," but it is much more reformed and much different than Catholicism. For example, Lutheranism believers completely look down upon any type of ornamental decoration or worshiping of saints while the opposite is true in Catholicism. Also, another criticism I have is that Martin Luther himself believed that everything is based off of scripture (sola scriptura) in the Bible and that people are saved only through their faith (sola fide), not by works they do. Because of this, he discouraged pagan philosophers to experiment in the sciences or any type of new knowledge for that matter. If people would have listened to this even more, there would be a much less developed world than there is today. Copernicus had  gone against Luther when he found out that the sun did not revolve around the earth. Luther told him that it could not be so because in the bible it said "Joshua bade the Sun not stand still." If Copernicus had not gone against Luther, who knows what our solar system beliefs would be to this day! Mainly, Lutheranism was founded by Martin Luther. Surprisingly, he was a Catholic before he split off of the Church to find his more pure form of religion, free of the waste of the ornamental and sinful Catholic church. In European History, we learned that Luther was so enraged by the Catholic religion that he posted his 95-Theses on the wall of a church in Germany, his home country in hopes that the Church would reform its practice and preaching to be more accurate with the sayings in the Bible. I personally agree with Lutheran's rejection of 5 sacraments and in only keeping Baptism and Holy Communion because during the time purgatory (waiting to go to heaven- very long) was deemed to be able to be shortened for loved ones who had died by purchasing indulgences. Indulgences were originally just a way for the Catholic church to get money from people, and Luther exposed this in his 95-Thesis. I think that that was a wrong thing to do and that is why I believe that indulgences should not be a sacrament. I support his decision in keeping Baptism because it can be seen as God giving his blessings so that the person came become a member of Christ's Body on earth. Also, I support his decision in keeping Holy Communion (aka the Eucharist- was the belief that giving bread and wine are in the form of the Christ's body and blood) because it is the real presence of God's forgiveness. 

Blog Post #4 2/11/09

For the blog about gender and gender specific roles, I opted to do a piece about women roles in anesthesiology, one of my favorite medical fields. In the online article I read, it talked about why there is such a lower amount of women enrolled in the field of anesthesiology and the factors that contribute to it. Sure, it is fairly obvious that women participation has been low in the mid-late 1900's but now in the 21st century there is an increasing boom and in many other aspects, women enrollment is higher than male in some medical fields. On the other hand, the article hits home when it shows that the field of anesthesiology is frighteningly male, which means that women might feel nervous with not so many women in the field. Another thing I agree with is when it talks about the tedious work hours of an anesthetist. Few people understand how many years of school it takes just to get to be an anesthetist, not alone how many hours and years they have to work without pay in residency. Typically anesthetists work an upwards of a 5o hour week and, they get crazy hours of the day too which means that you don't really get to choose when you want to work. Women have families and or children to look after so the work hours might also be another negative factor. I think that the American Board of Anesthesiology should implement part-time training during residency because it could attract more potential anesthetists of all genders and, moreover, it proved to work in other fields. Furthermore, I agree when the anesthetists of the article write, "some of the factors that may influence women on the choice of anesthesiology as a career can be addressed  by considering flexible scheduling options, educating students about the Physician-Patient Relationship in Anesthesiology,  provide more women role  models/instructors, and to anticipate issues important to women in selecting anesthesiology."  One last point that I think is important is sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Since there are more males, it is probable that they would harass women more often than not. If I were in the place of a women anesthesiologist, I would not tolerate the discrimination and would advocate for awareness of the problems facing women today not only in anesthetics, but in the general medical world. 

Blog post #3 2/8/09

This blog is about a culture different from our own. I chose to research Spanish culture, ie Spain because I might go there this summer. The aspect of culture I focused on is the different types of languages spoken in Spain. In the online article I read,  it talked about how there are a total of 7 different main dialects of the Spanish language and they are; Castilian, Galician, Catalan, Euskera, Aragon, Asturias, and Valenciana. But, there are many more sub-types! Imagine how different that would be if in the U.S. there were that many different types of english. I think that it would be difficult to live in Spain because you have to learn the type of dialect of Spanish language for the area you live in, plus you also have to learn the main Castilian dialect also. I also think that since there are that many dialects, trade is hindered because of the language barrier. It wouldn't be a big factor but throughout the different dialects words are not the same as others and the pronunciation is very different too. Overall, different dialects in Spain are very different from our culture in the U.S. Sometimes it can be a barrier to achieve things, and sometimes it can be a good thing in that people can share their different ways of communication to make the world a more interesting place. 

Blog #2 2/4/09

The book that I am currently reading is The Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. In this book, the main character Tally Youngblood, tries to overcome a struggle in her life. In her world, everyone is "pretty" as in they have surgery to make them perfect and their brains are altered so that they will want to be pretty. Pretty means that you do not think hard about anything, but everyone starts out ugly. Before Tally became pretty she joined the Smokies, a runaway group of uglies, and they made a cure to being pretty-minded. After getting the surgery, Tally took the pills with her boyfriend Zane so that they would be cured. The pill works, and Tally tries to get everyone to be "bubbly" which means making yourself ugly minded through high adrenaline activities(you can think clearly). The Specials, a group that keeps the pretties pretty-minded so that they do not leave the city and roam the earth, finds out what Tally is doing and tries to stop her. Tally has to run away from the city, not an easy feat, and find the Smokies to tell them that the cure has worked. After she does that, Tally and the Smokies lure people to the outer edges of the city and giving all the pretties pills. Soon enough, everyone is ugly-minded and they combat the Specials. Tally overcomes the struggle of trying to make all the pretties ugly-minded so that they can think for themselves by running away to the smoke, outsmarting the Specials, and by the help of loyal friends. I think that Tally was very brave and courageous to go against the Specials just to save other people while putting her life at risk. What makes this a struggle is that Tally had to endure the cold, starvation, and wilderness while trying to outrun the Specials to find the Smokies. On the other hand, Tally put some of her closest friend's at risk when she asked for Zane and Shay to help her get the pills, find the Smokies, set up decoy's for the Specials, and distribute pills to other pretties. If the Specials would have found out about them helping Tally, they would have had major brain surgery or sent to a type of solitary jail for life, either of which is not very appealing. 

MLA for The Pretties: 

Westerfeld, Scott. The Pretties. Simon Pulse, 2004. (note The Pretties should be underlined but blogger does not let me do that)

 

Reading blog 1 natural disasters- 2/1/09

For the natural disasters blog, I researched Monsoons. An article that I found called Indian Monsoons Intensifying, Hazard Risks Increasing, Study Says, is about how the Monsoons in India are getting worse since 50 years ago. I think that all of this increasing of Monsoons is causing more devastation to the people of India and their way of life. In comparison, for the book we are reading Nectar In A Sieve, the Monsoons affect Kamalas' and everyone else's lives who have to endure them because through all the flooding, crops are ruined, homes are wiped out, possessions are gone, money is lost, and family is killed. In contrast to Nectar In A Sieve, as mentioned earlier, the Monsoons are getting much worse so the proportions of destruction are becoming bigger which means that life today in India has much more of a chance of Monsoons and destruction as opposed to Kamalas India. In addition, the article said that regular rains needed to help with crops and such is decreasing while heavier rains are increasing which will definitely be a big problem in the future and now. 

MLA for Nectar In A Sieve:

Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar In A Sieve. Signet Classic, 2002. (N.I.A.S should be underlined not bold but blogger does not have the underlining capability)