A New Facebook Friend: Ellen DeGeneres

If I were given the opportunity to have someone famous as a facebook friend, I would like it to be Ellen DeGeneres. When I moved to college, I started to share a room with a friend of mine from back home. She is an avid fan of Ellen’s show and watches it daily at four o’clock. Without realizing it, I caught myself consumed in Ellen’s performances and I thoroughly enjoy her giving attitude.
“Live, dance, conquer” are the three words Ellen believes everyone should live by. Somehow in each show she assists at least one, if not numerous, viewers in need by giving them the gift of money or a simple get away if they are under stressful situations. At the beginning of each show she dances through the crowd, lifting spirits and creating an atmosphere impossible not to enjoy.
Not only do I enjoy her show, but after watching it I have become more aware of her involvement in other activities. She has appeared in many commercials and played the voice of Dory in the kids film Finding Nemo. Ellen is currently the fourth judge on America Idol and her presence brings not only truthfulness to the contestants, but also a taste of humor to everyone watching. She largely promotes rescuing animals instead of purchasing the normal puppy fresh from the litter. This perfectly mirrors her personality as a caring woman willing to make any situation a better one.
As a facebook friend of Ellen, I would have the opportunity to gain a better knowledge of everything Ellen promotes or participates in as far as helping others. Although she may not be a world changing individual, like Martin Luther King Jr. or Albert Einstein, I’m interested in her attempt to slowly, yet effectively, make the world a more enjoyable place.

Money or Brains?

Have you ever wondered which will make you happier in the long run, money or brains? Many individuals throughout the world base their search for the right mate on whether they have money or not. Although this may sound like a satisfying plan, it will most likely backfire in the long run. To me, brains are the more logical choice because knowledge can take you anywhere. In today’s world the majority of high school graduates continue their education into college so that they can become more knowledgeable in a certain field of study. Once they obtain a degree they seek employment which later provides money. Although this sounds like a long, hard process, it comes with a huge sense of accomplishment for the individual. Not only have they earned their position, they can provide for themselves and also others if needed.
Individuals who are wealthy are often times given whatever they want. Even to me this sounds enjoyable, but I’m sure people like this have no work ethic. Recently on the Tyra show a woman guest appeared who admitted to marrying her husband solely for this money. She referred to his appearance as that of a lawn gnome, but commented on his flawless work ethic and ability to provide for her and their numerous children. The presence of money is obviously enough to satisfy this woman, but is it enough to satisfy you?
Where I come from, we’re taught to work hard and earn whatever is it we desire. I would rather work hard to get a knowledgeable understanding of the world than be handed everything. Let’s face it, those who are given everything usually lose interest in everything that isn’t materialistic and spend no time working to better society or help others.

The Notebook

The Notebook starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands is a compelling love story in both the present and the past. An aged Noah Calhoun (James Garner) begins the movie by making regular visits to his female patron Allie Calhoun, revealing to her the account of an oh-so-in-love couple from an old notebook. The scene is first revealed as an old nursing home, but as Noah tells the story flashbacks appear of the young couple. Depictions are presented of everything this couple endured from their first date to their first time making love. Viewers get to know everything about Noah and Allie. For example, Allie comes from a wealthy family and plans to receive top notch education at a college far away when the time comes. Noah on the other hand completes hard labor at a mill in town and makes minimum wage. Needless to say, Allie’s parents fell that she can do better than Noah and encourage her to avoid him.
They get their wish when Allie goes off to college far away, and she and Noah lose all contact. Even though Noah writes Allie every day, her mother steals them so that Allie will forget him and find someone else to love. Lon Hammond becomes her next love, and as the story progresses they get engaged to be married. In the meantime Noah returns from serving in the war and begins working to repair the old house where he and Allie first made love. He completes everything just the way she pictured her dream home, with a white wraparound porch and a room on the top floor for her to paint. Allie sees word of this in the paper and goes to see Noah asking him why he never wrote her. This ‘dreamy’ couple falls back in love and decides to spend the rest of their life together in Noah’s new home.
As part of the audience, I not only enjoyed the love of Noah and Allie back in their prime, but also as Noah cared for Allie in the nursing home despite her lack of memory. At the end of the movie Noah and Allie die together in the same hospital bed as they hold hands. I can’t think of a much better ending to portray the power of love or how some things are just meant to be.

Life

The movie “Life” starring Eddie Murphy (Ray) and Martin Lawrence (Claude) really took me by surprise. When I first selected this movie in class to complete my review on, I was told that the two characters were imprisoned for 65 years. When I think of imprisonment for such a long period of time, I definitely do not foresee it the way this movie depicted it.

The daily life in prison for Ray and Claude is actually somewhat enjoyable, and their accommodations are fairly respectable. They get to enjoy sporting activities together and with other inmates, along with barbeques and other festivities. Viewers get a sense that they are living in mild luxury because when something bad actually does happen, or they receive punishment, the movie fast forwards to several years later.

Ray and Claude were both unjustly arrested for killing Clarence William III while bootlegging in Mississippi. The movie serves as an example that many innocent people do receive punishment for charges that don’t even pertain to them, but at the same time, shines a light upon the unfairness. Somehow, even though the two men were forced to live the remainder of their lives in jail, they found a way to get through it together.

As far as the classification of this film, I can understand how it is classified as a comedy, however not once did I find myself laughing hysterically. At the start of the movie, with the introduction of Ray’s dream of ‘Rays Boom Boom Room,’ viewers could sense the kind of relationship Claude and Ray were going to endure throughout the movie. A mildly, humorous yet ridiculous bond that somehow lasted over the decades to follow.
Mostly I would grin at the bickering of the two men as they tried to find another escape from prison, or simply in their everyday conversations.

Waiting on a Woman By: Brad Paisley, ft Andy Griffith

As the title of the song implies, more often than not men find themselves waiting on a woman. The music video begins by portraying how aggravated one man (Brad Paisley) becomes as he attempts to patiently wait for his wife outside of a shopping mall. He attempts to call her and send her picture messages as more and more time passes.
Andy Griffith, a well-known TV actor who had his own show, soon arrives at the same bench as Brad and asks him if he’s waiting on a woman. Mr. Griffith, a man in his eighties with white hair, could obviously tell from experience and the familiar look of frustration in Mr. Paisley’s face that his wife had kept him waiting for too long.
The video includes flashbacks of Griffith’s wife at a young age taking her time to get ready and look perfect for big events such as their first date and wedding day. People in the background at the mall are visibly coming and going as the previously angered, Mr. Paisley laughs while enjoying Mr. Griffiths history of waiting on his woman. Now time doesn’t even seem to matter to Paisley.
The punch line that Griffith is trying to deliver to viewers is that no matter how many times you have to or how long you have to wait, it will be worth it in the long run. Included in the lyrics of the song is: “I read somewhere statistics show, the man’s always the first to go and that makes sense because I know she won’t be ready. So when it finally comes my time, and I get to the other side, I’ll find myself a bench if they’ve got any. I hope she takes her time, because I don’t mind waiting on a woman.” At his time, Griffith is getting all dressed up in a white suit. Later he appears on a bench in ‘the other side’ in his white apparel, patiently waiting on his woman with a grin from ear to ear. Obviously his time was up and he was prepared to wait one last time for his woman.

Advertisement Today

Advertisements in today’s world have become a little ridiculous. No matter what the ad is promoting or how old the models portrayed are, a sexual content is somehow always incorporated. As we saw with the video in class, females are believed to be the more passive individual when compared to the male. They always relay the message that innocence is their best bet in finding true love because they will then be more vulnerable. Half-naked women with the ‘perfect’ body type are seen everywhere from TV commercials to bus advertisements. Take for instance Abercrombie & Fitch shopping bags. Beautiful models are depicted with six packs, and flawless stomachs. Perhaps designers of these bags plan to con the consumer into purchasing Abercrombie clothing so they will look beautiful and be desired by the opposite sex. Whatever happened to the inner beauty of the individual? Does every male desire a skinny model with the perfect everything? Obviously body types are largely a result of genetics and only a small percentage of Americans have the ‘perfect’ body. In a sense, advertisements are just getting men’s hopes up and causing women to believe that they are in fact, undesirable. Instead, advertising agencies should base ads on more lasting characteristics.
Maybe if more ‘meaty’ models would be used portraying kindness and stableness, problems such as anorexia and bulimia wouldn’t be so major in today’s society. Girls begin to feel the need to lose weight and obtain the perfect body type at such a young age and give anything to feel desired. Although advertisements aren’t the only cause of such conflicts, they widely contribute to it and something should be done to fix their message.

Reflections on Summary and Textual Analysis

Finished at last! After much review and revision of my primary drafts, I can finally say I have a complete final draft for my textual analysis and summary. Although I had a rough start, I can honestly the process of polishing up my reports gave me the opportunity to gain some new knowledge and skills in the writing area. When I completed my first draft of the textual analysis, I felt ok about the draft but knew it could get better. I didn’t know how to go about doing so, and ended up just waiting for advice from my classmates. After Tuesday’s trade and read in class, I took my group members opinions and applied them to my second sloppy copy. The excess summary in my textual analysis turned into less summarizing and more of a break down explanation. Also I edited a few grammar errors and polished up some of my word choice.
After my conference with Mrs. Barker on Thursday I realized I needed to address the audience. I did just that and felt my report was much more improved. Since the readers now knew Carter’s background and purpose in writing the article, the analysis took on a whole new meaning. Even though I didn’t think the rhetorical situations were of mighty importance, after completing each of the writing assignments I feel the complete opposite. Hopefully with future writing assignments I will remember to use all of the new techniques and verb usage that I discovered in the process of writing my summary and textual analysis.

Feelings on Completing a Rough Draft

Since this is the first revision of a rough draft I've had to complete in a college English course, understandably I ran into a few difficulties. When writing my analysis for the first time, I believe I was somewhat uncertain of what was expected of me. My first draft was short and very in depth.
When I received Mrs. Barker’s analysis of my text, I got a much better understanding of what she expected. Her side notes and suggestions helped me to reconstruct my paragraphs successfully to compose a much better summary. Against what I originally thought, the verbs located in “They Say, I Say” really did assist me in the revision process. Not only did they make my essay stronger, they added emphasis on the different points Caroline Kennedy was trying to get across to the readers.
Another difficulty I found while doing the summary was picking out what specific information I deemed important for readers of my writing to be familiar with. If I didn’t provide the appropriate messages from the original essay, viewers wouldn’t receive a fair understanding of what “A President like My Father” is all about. In order to solve this, I carefully reread the passage a couple of times highlighting key points as I read. Next, I reread the highlighted points, bolding what I thought was most important. Finally I took the bold information and incorporated it in my final draft.
Before printing my new draft, I proof read the information and felt much better about my new summary.

Haiti

No matter what channel you’re on or which radio station you’re listening to, the topic of Haiti is bound to appear. Countless numbers of Haitians have been lost due to the tragedy of an earthquake, and are in major need of all the help they can get.
Homes, schools, hospitals, towns, and families have been shattered. As you’ve most probably already heard, burials are by the hundreds. Government dump trucks have been dumping the bodies without the ability for proper burial or identification.
In the midst of all this mayhem, I feel the Haitians are showing inspiring amounts of strength. Even though the majority of them have lost nearly everything, they are reaching out to help one another everyday. As an American, thousands of miles away, I’ll admit I automatically feel sorry and put the label “poor” on Haiti whenever I participate in a conversation over the tragedy. However, I feel they would rather us not view them as poor at a time like this, but rather admire their patience and faith in overcoming this disaster.
I think all that we are trying to do for the Haitians right now is wonderful and hope the support our troops are presenting gets the job done. Medical assistance will be needed over there for quite awhile. Food, clothing, and water will also be of great need. I feel everyone who can offer any help, big or small, should do so. Millions of fund have already been raised, but millions more will be needed to restore the country.

"Fifteen" Songwriter: Taylor Swift

In the latest Taylor Swift album, “Fearless”, there is a song titled ‘Fifteen’. This piece explores and relates Taylor’s feelings to many young teenage girls throughout the world who are entering their first year of high school. As they take this big step in their life all that seems to matter, or be of most importance is boys. Since she is a young girl herself, Ms. Swift appears to be an appropriate role model to these teenagers. After all, she has most likely experienced these same feelings within the recent past.
Included in the song lyrics, Taylor says ‘Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you’re going to believe them.’ Through this, she introduces the vulnerability of these young teenage girls. Later in the song she talks about going on the very first date, and the young boy has a car which causes the girl to feel all grown up and in love. At the end of the evening, the girls’ head is spinning around, and Taylor makes is sound as if her life is complete. However, she goes on to imply that even though the fifteen year old is so happy now, she will do greater things in her life than date the ‘boy on the football team.’
The character in the songs friend, Abigail, fell in love with a boy who ended up breaking up with her at the same time the original character was falling in love with someone else. In conclusion, the young girl realizes that she should have been more careful and ‘looked before she fell.’ One might suggest that Taylor’s hidden punch line would be to take everything slowly in high school, so you won’t have to worry about regrets later. At fifteen you’re young, vulnerable, and bound to make a mistake if you act without thinking through a situation.

The Last Supper

As a high school art history student, I had the opportunity to undergo much study and interpretation of the 15th century mural painting “The Last Supper” created by Leonardo da Vinci. This well-known painter created this work for his patron Duke, and inside of it depicted the scene where Jesus told his twelve apostles that one of them would betray him.
Each apostle has a different reaction, and da Vinci portrays the range of shock and anger in each individual. Although previous paintings done by various artist show depictions of this, Leonardo was the first to have all apostles seated on one side of the table so viewers can easily see each reaction. Depending on how familiar you are with the bible, reflects how your interpretation of each reaction will be. As most would previously know, Judas betrays Jesus. Without previous knowledge, one could most probably guess the betrayer to be Judas. He is the only member to have his elbow on the table and looks very withdrawn from the rest of the apostles. He is holding a money bag, which could signify his importance as treasurer or a form of payment for betraying Jesus.
Currently this painting is displayed in Milan, Italy and has undergone many restorations. In 1999 it was put back onto display; however visitations had to be previously booked and could only last up to fifteen minutes each.
This is my favorite painting, and is displayed in the kitchen at my home. My entire family including aunts, cousins, and grandmother have this painting on display in their home, and I think that if you take some time, this painting will inspire you too!