"Shooting Dad"

       Sarah Vowell's "Shooting Dad" was a kind of lighthearted tale about how the daughter of a gunsmith comes to know herself a bit better while finding some common ground with her pops. I find that most reporters and media figures tend to lean left politically, as was definiteley the case in this story. I thought it was awesome that Sarah mentioned reading Ginsberg novels while her dad would be downstairs making gun barrels. I could really picture their house in Montana while listening to this lecture. What I really enjoyed about this story was that there seemed to be such a lightness to their talk of death. It seemed surreal, and genuine at the same time that Sarah's father would have his ashes blown out of a cannon he made. What a tale. What a scene. Sarah who was the obvious rebel in the family discovers that she is just like her pops. She suddenly realizes that she likes her little toys as much as he does, and that they are both artists and slightly rogueish.The music in the background seemed to amplify the setting, along with Sarah's voice which seemed casual and submissive, but straight forward and a little playful to.
      I asked myself after listening to this, what kind of memorable ritual will I have when my dad passes?
we only see each other a couple times a year. He is a retired commercial fisherman living in Bodega Bay. It was a long time before I discovered how much I was like him, which makes me think of my rebellious years and in thinking about those times I reflect back on Sarah's story and remember my own overwhelming epiphany- that I need to be near or in the ocean my whole life. It seems like I'm drawn to it sometimes more than others.  Even later, when asking about my dads parents and grandparents I came to find out that his father captained a steamboat in Alaska and his grandfather was a fisherman as well. Most of my rebellious years I didn't want to be anything like my parents, not that I'm a fisherman now, but it was strange how once I realized why that part of me was the way I was I was totally accepting of it, and in that way It seems that Sarah's story was similar probably to the way a lot of people probably feel once their rebellious years are over and they come to understand where and who they come from.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 3

      Chapter 3 In "Rules for Writers" by Diana Hacker takes us into the details of revising and cosmetically editing our essays. When I say "Cosmetically" I mean the details of spelling, proper grammar, and sentence structure. The nuts and bolts of your essay are there, now you need to step back to the curb and see how it looks through the eyes of the buyer (I watched too many real estate shows).
      Diana starts with clarifying global revisions. There is a detailed checklist of global revisions that includes purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content and point of view. Proofreading for mispellings and grammar errors is very important. When I read something that has mispellings and grammar issues it makes it difficult to stay focused on the writer's message, like when your talking with someone and there is a booger hanging out of their nose. Proofreading and making the necessary changes can make a huge difference to the audience. It makes the difference between a rough draft and your final essay.
      Section 3b challenges us to make our paragraphs and sentences more streamlined, and crisper. The importance of peer review is discussed here as well. In this case the reviewers are only asked to specifically review the writers global changes. The writer then took some reviewers suggestions and proceeded with clarifying some aspects of his essay as well as focusing on different areas that need more support. This is awesome. We use this in our class and it really helps.Its like you have a team of writers working on one paper. I always thought I needed to perform my work independently to bring out my own flavors but when you have a lot of critics you can get some oppurtunities to amplify your flavors you might not have thought of before.
     Proofreading, revising and peer reviews are the three hot topics I connect with in this chapter. I have and will continue to use all of the weapons to conquer my future essays. The peer reviews are the most fun with people you don't really know because you really get an araound the world set of viewpoints.

Coming Home Again by Chang-rae Lee

Wow "Coming Home Again" by Chang-rae Lee was a very intense essay. Cancer is one of those terrible things in life that we suddenly lose our loved ones to like car accidents or heart attacks. It does not pick a specific person based on any known traits except in obvious cases like smoking.

What’s the importance of food in this essay? 

The food in this essay, to me , represents the family life and the traditions that are lost through time. There are many families that take great care to preserve their recipes. Its like a wedding ring that has been passed from mother to daughter through generations. Chang's mother who had come from Korea had grown up in Korea and had probably been taught all the magics of cooking by her mother. Chang doesn't go into specifics about his sister, but it sounds like he was the one most interested in cooking, so he would be the one to take over the tradition to pass on to his family. The kitchen was the place where the family could learn and talk and be one with their customs. This was where the magic happened. I think the U.S. must be the place where the saying "Too many cooks in the kitchen came from" because everywhere else I've been cooking is a family affair.
Chang describes the importance of food further, "During the following days, it was always the cooking that started our conversations. She'd hold an inquest over the cold leftovers we ate at lunch, discussing each dish in terms of its balance of flavors or what might have been prepared differently....I wish I had paid more attention....After her death when my father and I were the only ones left in the house, drifting through the rooms like ghosts, I sometimes tried to make that meal for him....but nothing turned out quite right, not the color-not the smell."(P34).This shows not only how much the life of his mother was missed during their family time, but also how important it was for them to keep with their traditions as it pertains to keeping the memories of loved ones close. While reading this, I really had the sense that Chang's mother was using the cooking as a way to stay in his and his father's life after she was gone. It is a very sad story, but a very good essay the way Chang is able to move back and forth like you would with real memories, not a linear time scale but through different important actions that happen in life.

Writing Topic Summary Chapter 2

             Chapter 2 of "Rules for Writers"  by Diana Hacker covers how to begin Drafting your essay. It is important to gather your ideas and organize them before worrying about your sentence structure and choice of words. For Americans, we like to have a very clear thesis statement so our main point is understood right out of the gate, according to Ms. Hacker. Apparently, there are foreign countries who's writing of essays is more acceptable with the thesis being very subtly called into existence as the reader progresses. I liked the quote that Diana uses in this chapter from Joan Didion who says "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means". I never put it in those words but I tend to do that everytime I write.
             Figuring out your thesis statement maybe the most difficult. You need to grab the readers attention in a way that shows your intention and also your integrity. If I'm reading something, I want to believe that the author actually believes what they are writing. Once you have your thesis in your head, you can then work on your revisions of your thesis statement. Remember that drafting is just the age of discovery for your paper. You can go back and forth fine tuning your thesis statement as you go. I have sometimes begun writing with my thesis statement laid out and then in the process of writing found I couldn't support it enough with the body of my essay so I have to go back and maybe open up the scope of my statement or narrow it into a focus that I can support.
             The body of your draft is the Meat of the paper. You have given the reader your idea now tell them the reason, or describe the effects, or use your critical thinking to dissect your subject. This is really where I pay a lot of attaention to my audience. How do I want the reader to feel? Do I want them to discover something new? or do I focus on showing evidence for something that maybe questionable? There are many roads to take here and you can spend a lot of time just focusing on your supporting paragraghs.
            My favorite part of anything I have ever written is the End. It feels great when you can find that perfect balance in your last paragragh to leave the reader with a specific emotion or train of thought. I think this is what politicians study most when they are out stumping. What information or feeling do I want the reader to walk away with? Is it mystery that calls them to investigate? Is it a sense of closure that there shouldn't be anymore questions on the subject after they read my paper? You have many choices to play with here.
              I always use these guidelines for my papers. I spend a lot of time reading and re-reading my papers until I find that flow that causes and easy, chewable read for the audience. I like when there is almost a poetic aspect to the way words, paragraghs, and the thesis all work together in synergy. This chapter reaffirmed some things like using different ideas for hooking the reader.

1st Draft Essay Cloud Study

         In my life I’ve had some rare opportunities to hunt for pictures in the cloud formations, and last September while vacationing in Florida, I learned that it doesn’t require a lot of skill or knowledge, but it does require plenty of relaxation and something we often take for granted, time. There is much to be said for showing something for all the hard that you do as the weeks and months float by. It is difficult, however, to say describe in so many words those things you do that take up your time but produce othing except lovely memories and wonderful pictures.

       We are lucky in this world, some of us. We have the ability to reward ourselves with the fruits of our labor most of the time. You may not, at first glance, see a reason to view the clouds for pictures. It may be that you can close your eyes and create your own clouds or pictures. I admit that this was my take on cloud pictures for many years. I would look up sometimes and say to myself "Wow, that cloud kinda looks like an elephant". If I ever said that out loud with someone standing near me, there would usually be disagreement on what the clouds picture actually was. I often felt that it was helpless to argue because by the time the next sentence would roll out of your mouth the elephant had turned into an ostrich. So, most of my life I had much more important things to worry about than clouds.

       While I was planning my vacation I wasn't really thinking of clouds or anything else besides finding a nice beach to shrug off all the built up overtime I had put in at work the past year, all the bad drivers who came close to killing me, all the late nights I spent wondering how to pay for this or that, all the stresses of politics, economics, and everything else that might have caused my shoulders to tighten, or my teeth to grind or my head to scratch. All these things were what a good 3 week vacation were going to cure, I was hoping anyway.

       It was the second day of my vacation in South Beach, Florida when I walked out onto the sand and could see nothing except the great deep blue sky splitting the lower half of the world with the brilliant aquamarine ocean. Breaking up these were clouds in the sky and tourists and sand in the ocean. I didn't realize how beautiful it would be, really one of the most breathtaking moments I've had in my life. I had to take a picture immediately. I wasn't sure if the landscape was to blame for all the love I was feeling. I think it also had much to do with knowing that I wouldn't have to sit in traffic or stand in line for three weeks. Through all of this emotion I was feeling as I walked toward the water, I kept feeling the need to look up. I looked at all the sky, with hotel rooftops behind me and only the Atlantic's horizon in front of me. I plopped my towel down about 20 feet from the shore, laid back with my dark sunglasses on and began to focus on the clouds.

      Clouds are constantly shifting water vapors in the sky. They are whispy and light sometimes, and dark and heavy other times. Florida is interesting because you can have 5 different types of clouds in the same view. I started playing the old cloud/animal picture imaging using my imagination. I fell asleep in approximately 10 minutes, and slept right there for about an hour, woke up with a slight headache and medium sunburn that I knew would cause some peeling. Everytime I laid back and looked up at the clouds while I was on vacation at that beach those three weeks I would try different imaging like people I knew, or machines, or make up new things alltogether.

      All of this cloud studying had one very important aspect to it. It relaxed me to the point of restfulness I had been unable to attain for about a year. When I awoke there was no alarm clock or cell phone ringing, only the lapping of the waves and the light breezes tickling my nose. I highly recommend that you try your own cloud study, it doesn't take much skill.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 1 Summary

     While reading Chapter 1, "The Writing Process" in Diana Hacker's book "Rules For Writers", I'm reminded of looking at Google earth while still being in space and then zooming in on my target address. I mean that you can see all the components that make up the world, like the water, the clouds, and the land masses. This seems like the way you begin writing. You consider your subject, your audience, your evidence, your main Idea, your sources and your method of planning out the design of your paper. You then can zoom in to more detail and see the countries borders and the capital cities, along with islands and some different terrains. This is an analogy for Narrowing your subject to a topic, placing restrictions on your audience and focusing in on your purpose. This was for section 1A.
     Section 1B takes you into seeing your subject matter from different angles and developing your views from the different methods of outlining such as listing, clustering, freewriting, and talking and listening whereby you gain more knowledge and different points of view by engaging others to think about a subject with you.
     In section 1C Diana Hacker persues the art of Thesis statement creation and Tentative thesis statements and their uses.
     Sketching a plan and Developing an outline as in section 1D will help the writer see things from the 3700 foot view. The outline is the placement of the paragraphs so they have the greatest returns. Where would you like your punchline? where would you like the audience to have the Aha! here is the evidence and so forth.
     Drafting of your writing is covered in section 2a,b,and c. Again this is a view from above but with more attention placed in organizing your paragraghs and perhaps the placement of your thesis statement. Thesis statements should become clearer and grab the reader pulling them into the place of the author's intention. Working on the body of the paper will be the next step. Ask yourself "Do I have all the pieces that make sense following the thesis statement and preceeding my conclusion?" The body is the Beef of the paper and does all the explaining, or complaining for some. The last thing is your conclusion, with the expectation that it will be the final puzzle piece to back up your conclusion and hopefully make your audience feel a sense of completion or whatever sense you as the author intended to leave them with.
      Section 3 is where you can view your paper for the second time, in another light. See it and make necessary changes to all of the content. Add more color or contrast where needed. Polish up the grammar by revising and editing where necessary. Proofread until you smile.
      The google earth street view may be the equivalent to section 4 where you can dip into the paragraphs and sentences to check the flow.  The flow must always be directed using your Main Point. When reading from one sentence to another does it sound sweet in your mind or harsh and interruptive. As the author your intent may be the latter, maybe its a horror story or maybe you need a laid back simple tone or voice in your writing to give a type of description of a usual place or thing. You may find that sticking to your main point becomes difficult, or you may find you want your main point to shift slightly in one direction or another. I find this happens everytime I write. This view is also where you choose your 360 degree view. Would you like to see your paper from a narrative, an example,  a process, a comparison/contrast, an analogy, a cause and effect, a classification and division or a definition. All of these types of paragraphs and essays have their own unique sets of circumstances. Again check the flow and transition of your work. Is it having your intended effects? or do you need to add some new design reverting back to a previous section. Proofreading constantly will help you steadily mold your sculpture of writing into a work of art.
     All of these tools are the backbones writing a great paper. Subject matter itself never seems to be an issue because it is endless. This Chapter will help me write by going through the necessary structural methods of outlining which I haven't worked on enough. Its equivalent to using muscles that can help you run farther and faster the more excercise they get. Diana Hacker's lessons seem obvious and reliable, the standard by which great works of writing may be produced. I may not reference this chapter a lot but the lessons it provides are ones that I will use probably everytime I write.

How could it be dangerous to be smart? Sherman Alexie's "Superman and Me"

I must first of all begin by saying that "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie felt like a punch in the face to me for some reason. I enjoy reading about history, mostly early european history, and I usually stay away from early American history because there is a part of me that feels shame for what happened to the Native Americans during the Manifest Destiny era. I can't imagine the horrors involved with being fully uprooted from your culture and environment and placed in some of the least savory places to live. I doubt if my ancestors were involved with any of this personally but its not really about my ancestry from a specific country, but it is about my ancestry as a human. Throughout history there are examples of where Americans have stepped in and defended humanity where there have been injustices against humans. It was during America's Infancy that some of the greatest injustices were wrought. It is this legacy that Sherman Alexie is very aware and not so subtly punches you with in his writing.

       For a Native American to be smart, especially at a young age was a dangerous thing for Sherman. When you are aware and knowledgeable of many things around you you become dangerous because you may uncover truths as well as raise the bar for everyone around you. This could be very dangerous for you because there may be many others around you that don't want to have higher expectations from parents, teachers, or friends. You may uncover something, like the past, that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe our teacher is not expecting you to be intelligent and may even put you down as opposed to help bringing out your talents. Maybe your parents will resent you being smarter than them instead of being proud of you.
       When I was in school "Nerdy" was not cool and those kids were picked on the most. I think it was dangerous for them in different ways though. I think Sherman's danger was apparent within his entire community. There weren't any expectations of anyone becoming a somebody mostly due to the racism within our society. Sherman says that his family was poor by most peoples standards, but the fact that one of his parents could find a minimum wage job once in awhile meaned that they were middle class to reservation standards. If your smart then you would be expected to find your way out and bring yourself up to the normal standards of society. It woul also be dangerous to be smart if when in the process of becoming smart you realize how cruel our society can be as well as how easy it would be to just hang up your cletes and go home to join the others who couldn't make it. Its like being smart can also be your enemy. I am really happy to see that Sherman could pull through all this and build his own road.