Osamah's blogs

semester reflection part 1

2010-06-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

What have you learned about the way you learn, work, and/or collaborate?

That I acquire my knowledge from in class lectures and from the books I read in class. I have learned that I am a visual learner. Once I see it I believe it. I work more diligently and I consider other ideas from fellow classmates. I tend to collaborate with friends in class. I also learn more from reading and annotating literary packets.

What project was most valuable to you, and what have you gained from it?

The slaughterhouse five project motivated me to create a mobile. I learned to manage my time more wisely. I completed my mobile two days ahead of the due date; just so that I could have time to work on something else like TPOLs. I also learned a valuable lesson and that is to anticipate any problems. I should always have a backup plan to solve the problem. I was going to create a diorama but I thought it would be difficult and time consuming. So I thought of something that was less confusing.

how they contrast with a less challenging experience.

Describe one valuable mistake you made this year.

The day when we first worked on the slaughterhouse five project. I should of been more productive. Instead of wasting valuable time working on my digital portfolio, I should of worked on my artist statement for my slaughterhouse five product. That time should of been used for writing my artist statement.

What is your greatest strength as a student in a project-based learning environment?

My greatest strength is my writing and critiquing. Over the duration of the school year, I have become a better critic and writer as well. Its because of all of the critiques we had to do in class. Also the teacher showed us examples of good critiques. I developed as a better writer by using the literary devises and the loop.

What challenges do you face as a student in a project-based learning environment?

By being the leader. I fail to take on a leadership role. This is a struggle of mine. I have always found that to be a challenge that I have yet to overcome. Its hard to keep a sharp eye on everyone and make sure they're doing their part.

Historical reflection blog

2010-06-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Franklin D. Roosevelt strikes me as an innovator for the future. Franklin had so many excellent characteristics instilled in him. He was certainly an articulate speaker and a great intellectual. Everyday before class he would remind us of what he once said during his presidency, "Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education."I talked to him about all of his great accomplishments after every lecture. He was an excellent economics professor at my college. After spending time in college, he moved on to do bigger and better things. He helped correct and sustain our american economy. People known him for his plans on recovering the economy in the 1940's, Franklin D Roosevelt helped reestablish the economy after the great depression by provided more suitable jobs to the public. Essentially, He changed the live hood of the citizens of America.

Literary Reflection

2010-06-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

If you could bring one character from any one book that we have read this year with you when you go to college, who would bring? Why?

I would have to say Jay Gatsby. Gatsby seems to be in search of a peaceful life. Some places were he is free. Some places were he doesn’t have to deal with the disloyalty and betrayal. He’s probably tired of dealing with Tom's bullshit. I would help get him away from myrtle’s husband. I would help him resolve his issue with trying to win Daisy’s heart. I'd probably convince him to start a new relationship with a college girl. As charming as he is, he should have no trouble finding someone else. After all there are plenty of attractive college women. He would probably get me into a prestigious college with his network of connections. I would probably make him my roommate or college professor. I can kind of relate to him. I’m sure we all had dealt with the same things he went through.

Trial Reflection

2010-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Post Trial Reflection

1. Summarize the facts about the case, as presented by the prosecution. Include relevant witnesses and testimony.

James Madison stated he was against illegal immigration and concluded that everyone has a right to a fair trial from the constitution. The prosecution defense said several things that they thought were unconstitutional. Raul Griphialdo explained how immigration was and still is essential to the United States. After WW2, he told us that the immigrants were contracted to work for in America. John Adam’s was also called up to the stand. She told us what she was significant for. Both sides did cross examination on the witness. Based off of the prosecution’s statements and examinations really helped formulate my decision. They also asked questions that led to explaining the amendments and how those amendments were relevant to the case.

2. Summarize the facts of the cases presented by the defense. Include relevant witnesses and testimony.

The defense, however, seemed to use a lot of repetition in their line of questioning. It seemed like they didn’t have a lot of questions. The defense kept asking if someone of the witness were slave owners, the prosecution objected to the defense because they were irrelevant. Also some of the questions from the defense could have been paraphrased or clarified. There were a few questions that were a bit vague. They could have gathered more evidence to support their ideas. I had trouble trying to follow what they were getting to. It’s not that I’m bias; I just didn’t think that they would convince me to vote for the state of Arizona

3. What was the most significant piece of evidence, in your personal opinion?

The prosecution had an array of significant pieces of evidence and it seemed like they were better organized and had relevant arguments to the case. They carved deeper into their witnesses’ thoughts. The most significant pieces were when the prosecution asked James Madison to read some of the amendments.

4. What was the most significant argument made, in your opinion?

The most significant argument made in my opinion, was when Calvin asked James Madison if he was a slave owner. Madison replied yes. The prosecution was kind of confused. I think they we’re expecting James Madison to say no. James Madison’s philosophical beliefs are implemented and are in the constitution.

5. What do you personally believe the correct verdict should be? Do you agree with the jury? Why or why not?

I believe the verdict is correct because I feel that it’s not fair to be pulled over on the side of the road just because you look like an immigrant. That’s a ridiculous and unjust. This law should not be enforced. The governor of Arizona is a bias republican conservative. What she is doing is not reasonable for the people of Arizona. What if someone who has the documentation to prove that he is a legal citizen of the United States of America is sent to jail or deported. Does that mean that everyone who looks like a foreigner

WW2 Letter

2010-04-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am going to be a U.S marine of a raider Battalion stationed in Okinawa off the south pacific occupied by Japanese forces. Its 1944 and I'm bandaging up the wounded and stocking up on ammunition. I'm going to talk about the last few months on Okinawa. I will be writing about the Empire of Japan and my opinions about it. my mission which is to rescue a reconnaissance team. My letter is going to have a warlike feel to it.

Letter

Draft 1

It’s been months; years it seems since I was stationed back on Pearl Harbor before the Japs demolished it. Now it’s just rubble. Now I’m thrown into the pacific war with all of the other war junkies. My jacket drenched in blood and the smell of turmoil makes me sick to my feet. I’ve seen it all from the banzi strikes to soldiers carrying dead weight. I thank god every that I’m alive. I lost a dear friend of mine. I didn’t see it coming, as a matter of fact we all didn’t see it coming. I’m fighting alongside General McArthur. We’re spending our last days on Okinawa. Nothing more than sand, trees and a small Japanese military base. I was briefed on my mission. We're being asked to rescue a reconnaissance team that left about a week ago. For all we know there already dead.

The last few months on Okinawa have taking their toll. Morale is low. Military supplies aren’t getting through. We can’t even mange to get the wounded out to safety. We’re running low on ammo. Good news is we rescued the reconnaissance team safe and sound. Pretty much everyday, we crawl through the mud and dirt while bullets whistle over our heads. Each day we carve deeper into the jungles of Okinawa, hoping that the Japanese don't slit our throats. We're making our final stand. This is the last time we put our lives on the line. The extraction point is a couple of klicks ahead. Today we're going home.

not done yet...

References

World War 2 books by Howard Zinn

WW2 Honors history

2010-04-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

One might think of World War I and II as barbaric conflicts with much bloodshed and loss of property and life. Despite how horrific they were, many great ideas emerged. They sparked global interest in politics, technology, allegiances, and international agencies. Many aspects of these wars set the foundation of things to come in the future. After World War I, The League of Nations strove for peace but never really managed to succeed. In order to stop disputes between nations, the League of Nations sought the assistance of neighboring countries. The United Nations is a modern-day version of the League of Nations with peacekeeping forces at its disposal. After World War I, the demands of the League of Nations created resentment in Germany. In time, this resentment gave Hitler the support he needed for the Nazi Party to succeed. Hitler’s Nazi Party wanted to conquer other European nations and establish a super race.

Alliances played a crucial role during both wars. The Axis powers against the Allies. Forming alliances between several large nations enabled the Allies to win the war. Conversely, President Bush’s doctrine of going it alone during the Iraq War without the support of major super powers has hurt American foreign policy abroad. Nations other than Great Britain were against America’s invasion of Iraq. Without their solid support, achieving victory has been elusive. Having a strong coalition of nations could have resulted in trade embargos or other ways to get Iraq to cooperate without the need to go to war. Currently, the presidency of Barack Obama is trying to get support from other countries to win the war in Afghanistan. He believes that it is in everyone’s best interest to fight terrorism. In order for this to happen, America has to enforce the three doctrines. These doctrines are used to create cooperative alliances with other countries. Establishing these alliances can influence foreign governments to become more democratic.

After World War II, the Marshal plan proposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshal was implemented to provide economic aid to rebuild Europe. After winning a war against another country, the winning side is obligated to liberate the country and help it rebuild. When World War II ended, Germany had to pay reparations for all of the damage to other countries’.

The liberation of Europe towards the end of World War II by Allied forces freed Jews that had been imprisoned in Concentration Camps. Before the war ended, millions of Jews had been killed by the Nazis.

The atomic bombs that were dropped in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrific enough to bring an end to World War II. Ever since, nations around the world have agreed to seek nonproliferation of atomic weapons because of the incredible destruction they can cause to mankind.

History has taught us that all war exacts a heavy price. Because of this, super powers have sought alliances that will insure their freedom from invasion. We must seek to prevent war through peaceful means and end the proliferation of nuclear weapons so that mankind will not destroy itself but live in peace.

Blog #15: WW2 technology

2010-04-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Technology

World War 2 introduced an array of deadly and destructive weapons. A very special weapon that was available to the modern infantry was the phosphorous grenade. In ground combat, a soldier would use a phosphorous grenade against a machine gun post during battle. Napalm was another useful and affective weapon. It was used to take out more than 1 enemy. Napalm was mostly used to burn enemies inside bunkers. There was also aerial combat in World War 2. Jet fighters carried bombs over countries and were used to destroy military bases. There was also tactical combat in which soldiers use to distract or eliminate the enemy. Soldiers would dig trenches to shield themselves from enemy gunfire. All of this stuff interests me. I’m eager to learn more about the technology.

Blog #14

2010-04-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

There was one interesting aspect that stood out to me. How the war began. I know that the war erupted after the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand’s death. I found it quite interesting because it triggered a very large and bloody war all over Europe. Everybody in ever part of the world was fighting.

I already learned about World War 1 last year. I am looking forward to learning more in depth about World War 2. I am very eager to learn about the frightening battles that took place during the war. I’m more interest in about the outcomes of each battle. I want to learn about the equipment and resources they used during the war.

This war was probably the most costly and destructive war of the 1900's. You can relate World War 2 to the war that is going on today. Financing the Iraq war was partially the reason why America is in an economic rescission.

Blog # 13

2010-03-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

How does Jim Casey's moral philosophy guide the novel as a whole?

In the novel, Jim Casey the ex-preacher feels an obligation to practice and preach Christianity to the people. The characters christen faith is constantly being tested by the obstacles they face. Jim considered being himself like Christ, a savor of the common man even though doing so put his life in jeopardy. He encourages Tom to become more socially conscious to help his fellow man. Jim Casey see’s the good in all men. Casey develops strong morality and shares a handful of similarities with Jesus Christ. The Joad’s belief, that justices will ultimately triumph keeps them from giving up. Casey exemplifies the suffering of Jesus by becoming a martyr. His words are meaningful throughout the story which makes him the moral force of the novel

Jim Casey considers all people as a whole to be good. In the story, he states, “All that lives is holy”. Jim wants the Joad’s to not let go of their christian values no matter what. Jim was asked to say grace at the dinner table and says, “ …I been in the hills, thinkin’, almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles. He says this because he wants the Joad's to know that he journeyed to the wilderness to seek answers to hidden questions thus made him feel like Jesus Christ. He does this to renew his faith. Furthermore, Casey provided comfort to them after the unfortunate death of Granma Joad, stating that, “every’body got to die” and helps them to understand and tolerate the inevitability of death.

Jim Casey’s strong sense of justices also leads him to try and organize a riot to demand fair and decent wages. Jim Casey speaks of consequences to the people saying, "Tell 'em [the people who are picking peaches] they're starvin' us an' stabbin' theirselves in the back.’Cause sure as cowflops she'll drop to two an' a half jus' as soon as they clear us out,", he knew that as soon as the riot had completely ended the laborer’s salaries would decrease to unfair wages. Just like Jesus Christ, a staunch friend of Tom Joad, Jim Casey allegedly takes the blame for the attack on the deputy and thus sacrifices himself for Tom.

In conclusion, Jim Casey is a very spiritual man who drives the story with the good moral values of life. Whether it’s helping other to better understand them or to accept faith for what it is. He will always be known as that Christ figure of the novel. He lives up to his title. I guess you can say that he was triumphant in his quest in helping the Joad’s and the unfortunate soles of the story.

Blog #12

2010-03-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

What were "public works projects"? What famous ones were part of the New Deal? What public works projects would you recommend for our society today?

The Public Works Administration was developed to repair the nation's infrastructures like bridges, highways and public parks. You can generate more employment for the American people in the areas of green projects like self-sustaining projects of the future. During the New Deal, Congress appropriated millions of dollars to provide employment for the improvement of public buildings, rivers, harbors and highway construction. The Federal Emergency Relief Act appropriated 500 million for aid to the poor to be distributed by state and local governments. The Civilian Conservation Corps enrolled young men to work on fluid control, soil conservation, and forest projects under the direction of the way department.

Honor Novel #1

2010-03-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

Steinbeck’s Turtle

Osamah Elhams

Steinbeck’s Symbolism

Osamah Elhams

The turtle in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath symbolizes the perpetual struggle of the hard luck farmers will to survive against all odds. In Chapter three, the turtle that Steinbeck describes crossing the road overcomes obstacles that cross it’s path. It’s very life is in peril when a man tries to run it over. It is at the mercy of its surroundings and can do very little to escape its fate. Even so, the turtle struggles on.

Much like the farmers who are striving to get to California to start a new life, the turtle is also struggling to get to a safe place. Like the farmers, it encounters dangers along the way. Even though the farmers get beaten down in life, they like the turtle, persevere. Tom Joad’s character is much like the turtle on the road. They both show strength and tenacity when confronted by life’s difficulties. The turtle doesn’t give up when a passing car causes it to flip over. It struggles to get itself upright so it can continue it’s journey. Likewise Tom Joad doesn’t give up even though he experiences many hard times with his family. The Joad’s are forced to leave the land they grew up in order to survive. Drought has destroyed their ability to grow their crops and they have been forced into a desperate situation. Once fertile farmlands are turned to dust. People are being thrown out of their homes by greedy landowners and unsympathetic banks. Without an income, people find themselves without food or shelter. The turtle on the road is probably also seeking food and shelter. It must venture out in the world in order to find what it needs to survive. Doing so however, puts it at great risk to the dangers of it’s environment. Even though there are some kind people that try to avoid hitting the turtle when it crosses the road, there are those who would deliberately do it harm. The farmers on their journey encounter many hardships but they, like the turtle, have no other choice but to keep moving in order to survive.

Towards the end of the novel, as the Joads along with other families continue to struggle against the injustices of landowners who take advantage of them, Steinbeck also speaks of the “grapes of wrath” symbolizing the growing anger of the migrant families. Grapes that could have provided nourishment have instead been left to decay because of greed. Rich landowners unjustly seek to get farmers who have no other choice to work for very low wages. Because they are desperate and starving, migrant families will accept the low wages to feed their children. Even though bad things happen to them they try to show kindness to others that are also struggling. They suffer many misfortunes like the loss of several family members and pets throughout the story. The Joad family grandparents die during their move to find a better life in California. A baby is stillborn. Many things happen to test their endurance but through it all, they still survive and never lose their humanity.

Blog# 11

2010-03-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. President,

Mr. President, this is a very important letter that I would like you to read. We need to discuss America’s future. We need to end this economic crisis. I understand your efforts to restore the American economy are good but America is asking for more than just a stimulus package that helps the banks. We need to turn the tables and start convincing our enemies to stop hating us and become allies. That way we can use the money spent on the war effort towards stabilizing and growing our economy.

We need you to pass bills through congress and I hope that these bills will bring a positive change. Congress needs to stop this war against you and start acting towards the benefit of the people. Congress doesn’t seem to realize that they are only delaying the economic recovery. The American government is not as stable as it should be. America cannot afford to fail.
Let’s start with the banks, Mr. President. People are demanding reasonable mortgages from their banks to be able to stay in their homes. We need the banks cooperation to help them do this. Homeowners should be given a five year extension to make payments at their present rate to give them time to adjust to a higher interest rate or by selling their home if they need to and buying a home they can afford. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt, you should regulate the banks so they only make loans to people that can really afford to buy a home.

We need to create more jobs for the American people. We need to reward businesses that keep Americans working instead of taking their jobs to people outside the US. FDR saw that it was necessary to increase employment for the American people. People should be taught new skills that will help employ them for jobs of the future. Workers should be able to organize and demand decent wages and medical benefits.

The most important thing is to gain the support of the American people. They need you and you need them. Your powerful speeches will only have an effect on the people who believe your words. We need to convince those who don’t trust you with action not just words. FDR also liked to speak to the people directly through his “Fireside Chats”.

I hope you take my suggestions into consideration and know that I as well as other will be here to support your efforts. I know you cannot accomplish this on your own.

Sincerely,
Osamah Elhams

Works Cited

Feldmeth, Gregory. AP U.S. History. 8th ed. Piscataway, New Jersey: Research & Education Assoc., 2009. Print.
Hirsch, E. D. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Company: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. Print.

Parenti, Ph.D., Michael. Democracy for the Few. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print.

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.

Honors History Blog #1

2010-03-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. President,

Mr. President, this is a very important letter that I would like you to read. We need to discuss America’s future. We need to end this economic crisis. I understand your efforts to restore the American economy are good but America is asking for more than just a stimulus package that helps the banks. We need to turn the tables and start convincing our enemies to stop hating us and become allies. That way we can use the money spent on the war effort towards stabilizing and growing our economy.

We need you to pass bills through congress and I hope that these bills will bring a positive change. Congress needs to stop this war against you and start acting towards the benefit of the people. Congress doesn’t seem to realize that they are only delaying the economic recovery. The American government is not as stable as it should be. America cannot afford to fail.

Let’s start with the banks, Mr. President. People are demanding reasonable mortgages from their banks to be able to stay in their homes. We need the banks cooperation to help them do this. Homeowners should be given a five year extension to make payments at their present rate to give them time to adjust to a higher interest rate or by selling their home if they need to and buying a home they can afford. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt, you should regulate the banks so they only make loans to people that can really afford to buy a home.

We need to create more jobs for the American people. We need to reward businesses that keep Americans working instead of taking their jobs to people outside the US. FDR saw that it was necessary to increase employment for the American people. People should be taught new skills that will help employ them for jobs of the future. Workers should be able to organize and demand decent wages and medical benefits.

The most important thing is to gain the support of the American people. They need you and you need them. Your powerful speeches will only have an effect on the people who believe your words. We need to convince those who don’t trust you with action not just words. FDR also liked to speak to the people directly through his “Fireside Chats”.

I hope you take my suggestions into consideration and know that I as well as other will be here to support your efforts. I know you cannot accomplish this on your own.

Sincerely,
Osamah Elhams

Works Cited

Feldmeth, Gregory. AP U.S. History. 8th ed. Piscataway, New Jersey: Research & Education Assoc., 2009. Print.

Hirsch, E. D. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Company: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. Print.

Parenti, Ph.D., Michael. Democracy for the Few. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. Print.

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.

Blog #8

2010-02-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

I noticed that both FDR and Obama inherited the recession. One may agree, Barrack Obama and FDR have some similarities. Both of which had many interactions with the economy. In the 1930's, We had an in-class discussion on FDR's (Franklin .D Roosevelt) plans on reviving the economy from the Great Depression. FDR formulated a plan to grant $500 million to state agencies for direct relief. Our president, Obama recently introduced the stimulus package to the American Economy. His initial plan was to provide money for the economy to basically to get the economy back on its feet. Most people notice that Barrack Obama is highly respected in America much like FDR in 1930s. In relation, FDR began an organization called the WPA short for Works Progress Administration. Obama has his own organization called the Barrack Obama organization which facilitates the country.

Blog #7

2010-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

I don’t think there was a news corporation similar to mine back in the 1930s. However, if my company existed during the Great Depression then my company, without a doubt, would be on the brink of collapse. My company cannot afford to own part of the third floor of the building. If they lost the 3^rd floor then NBC 7/39 would have to start laying off certain employees. They would have to downsize the 3^rd floor. Cut back on funding. So my answer is NO. NBC would not survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. NBC wouldn't last one day during the Great Depression.

Blog #6

2010-02-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

For the Character sketch, I selected Casey because he has interesting beliefs. There a particular quote in the story. Where Casey tells Tom hes on parole and orders him to follow him.

Blog #5

2010-02-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

http://lupesandoval.blogspot.com/2010/02/photo-essay.html

Lupe's article it is well written. I like how she begins her article with a quote that was said by her mentor.

http://hthmaadle.blogspot.com/

I liked Audrey's article. Everything seems to flow nicely. When you read the article is as almost if your have a conversation with her.

http://yeseniaalvarado.blogspot.com/2010/02/semester-two-blog-3.html

I like how Yesenia added dialog to her article.

Internship Photo Essay

2010-02-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

(BLOGGER underlined each sentence and I don't know why)

Resting my elbows on the edge of the window, I could feel the gentle breeze touch my skin. The noise of horns honking and negligent drivers swearing at each other irritated my ears. Words begin to slip out of my mouth, “Do you think I’ll get a future job offer as a college student?” She strokes her wavy hair and then adjusts her eyeglasses, “Of course you will, I have no doubt about. If you make a good first impression and they will certainly think about offering you a summer time job”. As we drove aimlessly through the rush hour traffic, my mom paying attention to the road turns her head. She looks at me with envy accompanied by a smile. She was sort of jealous of me having the opportunity to intern at a place like the NBC 7/39 new station. We drove down the pavement into the through the concrete entrance of the parking structure

I could smell the foul stench of the exhaust from inside. I couldn’t last one minute. So I take a deep breath and exited the car. We reach the parking lobby and stretch my legs. I gasped for fresh air as soon as I walked into the room. My eye balls navigated the lobby in search of a dispenser machine or water fountain. I continued on pace and said my last goodbyes. I grabbed my NBC identification card hanging from my khakis. I scanned the card and punched in 3 inside the elevator. I waited for a while in the elevator. My head angled up and my eye balls were focused on the elevator meter… 1… 2… 3… bing! My mind clogged with so many thoughts about internship. I had no room to think of anything else.

I entered the 3^rd floor lobby, a tranquil place. I seamlessly chew on the decadent chocolate that I got from the counter. Just to ease the anxiety. I walk straight into the office and see my mentor and fellow interview in a meeting together. I join in to listen. “We’re required to do a project for internship” says one of the interns stomping his toe on the floor and folding his arms together. My mentor replied, “I have a great idea why don’t you develop a documentary of your own”. Everyone looked at each other to confirm it. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.. I mean we are capable of using certain programs”. I walked over to my cubical and]spin my chair around.

We devoted so much time on consecutively completing the documentary. We got a chance to videotape ourselves for our intern interviews. I looked over my own interview and edited it a little using a program that I am most familiar with. I also had to keep up with the daily blogs for Randy. In all honestly I had a handful on my plate because I had to write a marketing 2 page proposal, prefect the documentary, package laptops and blog.

We began videotaping our working on dissecting computer units. I’m wielding the camera this time keeping a steady hand of the shot. I walked behind some of the interns. We captured all sorts of footage of the NBC building. We even found b-roll of footage of the building. We compiled all of the footage and started the first phase of the documentary which would the introduction. We then watched some of what we had so far and edited it.

Blog# 3

2010-02-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

-This pictures all about cooperation.

-This picture is more about being helpful to your fellow interns.

-This picture basically means that I have established a network of connections.

-I introduced myself to many different people who actually work at the NBC building.

-This picture has Marty levine, Sai, marcus and I.

-I learned how to properly operate most of the machines in the studios.

-I was eager to learn how to use all of them.

-This image obviously means that I am extremely busy.

-Multi-tasking

-I care about my work and thats why I brought my own personal computer to work.

-Me accomplishing my goals

Mentor interview

2010-02-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

NBC’s computer whiz teaches four young interns how to be tech savvy.

By: Osamah Elhams

Off of 225 Broadway, I jogged across Broadway Circle, dodging the incoming taxis. I jump over the corroded red curb and onto the sidewalk. I think to myself, “Is this really it?” On the gigantic grey slab of concrete stands the enormous NBC building. I could feel the freezing cold temperature from the air touching my soft skin. I passed by businessmen, investigators, and lawyers walking casually in and out of the building through the glass paneled doors. A nice bespectacled old man kindly holds the door for me. I thank him. Inside the building, the cold brown pale marble covers the entire lobby way. I immediately sprint towards the stainless steel elevator in a hurry as the doors begin to steadily close shut. The elevator was crowded with people. It gets stuffy inside and I slowly take off my leather coat. I arrive at the 3^rd floor lobby. The lobby, a tranquil place; I look around and see college interns staring directly at me. I could already feel the tension stirring up in the room. I finally see a familiar face. An elderly man in his mid 30s befriends me. He gives me a firm hand shake accompanied with a smile. Words begin to slip off my tongue, “Do you mind if I interview you for a school project… do you have time?” He replies enthusiastically, “I’ve got time for an interview, she’ll we?” Craig quickly reaches into his light brown khakis and grabs a badge with the words, “NBC” imprinted on the card. He guides me into this peaceful room, with piles of machinery lying onto of the desks. It was kind of like a garbage dump. He carries a cup of coffee from Starbucks in one hand. We walk straight in front of the cubical offices. Craig then slips the plastic badge into his pocket and grabs a hold of his blackberry cell phone. He walks in front of me along the blue hallway and blissfully greets, Bill, the head of technical operations. Then he takes his leisurely walk into the 3^rd floor cubical offices. As Craig continues his pace and stumbles upon Dave McKinnon. The portraits of NBC’s critically acclaimed hit drama shows, Chuck, ER, Seinfeld, The Office and Heroes line the ocean blue halls as we walk by.

Craig Merry is formally considered the head honcho of the technical department. With his open personality, Craig entertains people with his entire arsenal of enthralling stories about the NBC 7/39 news station. Stories like working with incompetent people in different NBC news stations across America. Merry has an understanding of the hardware aspects of manufacturing. Craig normally wears a stylish dark brown sweater with diamonds and a white collar sticking out. His NBC 7/39 badge hangs from the right side of his olive colored khakis. With a degree in computer manufacturing, Craig Merry is more than capable of productively repairing CPUs and all sorts of computer equipment.

Interview with Craig Merry

What skills are necessary for your position?

My background is in manufacturing, it is not in IT. I got started because the manufacturing company I worked for needed an IT guy and they didn’t want to hire one. I got skills in IT just from on to job training. What is required to keep my job is you have to have PC upgrade and build up skills. You have to have the ability to analysis network operations as far as how computers attach together. You have to the ability to integrate software into PCs and into the network and be able to understand the hardware aspects of all that.

What exactly do you do?

My core responsibility is to make sure all that all of the clients which are all of the users on the machines here have everything they need for day-to-day operations. Keep the servers running, the network running and software upgrades.

Did your interns help you with your daily work?

You guys did a couple of good installs. All of the machines that we installed and upgrade downstairs in the news room were up and running. They had no problem with start-up and I’ve done a check of the clients down there that have the machines been very happy with the process. I would say this was a success.

Is there anything you would do differently knowing what you know now?

Yeah, knowing what I know as far as education goes, I probably would have got a degree in technology because my degree is not technology. Another thing I would probably do is gear up more for software.

Blog# 2 mentor interview

2010-02-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

Craig Merry

Off of 225 Broadway, I jog across Third Avenue, dodging the incoming yellow taxis. I jump over the corroded red curb and onto the sidewalk. I think to myself, “Is this really my site”. On the gigantic grey slab of concrete stands the enormous NBC building. I could feel the freezing cold temperature from the air touching my soft skin, as I pass by businessmen, investigators, and lawyers walking casually in and out of the building through the glass paneled doors. A nice bespectacled old man kindly holds the door for me. Inside the NBC building, the cold brown pale marble covers the entire lobby way. I immediately run towards the stainless steel elevator in hurry as the doors begin to gradually open. The elevator crowed with people. It gets stuffy inside and I slowly take off my leather coat. I arrive at the 3rd floor lobby. A tranquil place, I look around and see college interns staring directly at me. I could already feel the tension stirring up in the room. I finally see a familiar face. An elderly man in his mid 30s befriends me. The first question I ask him was, “Are you ready for the interview”. He replies, “I’ve got time for an interview, she’ll we?” He guides me into this peaceful room, with piles of machinery lies on the desks.

Craig Merry, gently reaches into the pockets of his light brown khakis and pulls out an NBC 7/39 badge with one hand. He carries a cup of coffee from Starbucks in the other. He walks straight in front of the cubical offices. He then slips the plastic badge into his pocket and grabs a hold of his cell phone. Craig Merry then walks along the hallway and blissfully greets, Bill, the head of technical operations.
A tall, clean shaven man in his mid 20s with a buzz cut hairdo takes his leisurely walk into the 3rd floor cubical offices. Craig Merry is formally considered the head honcho of the technical department. With his open personality, Craig entertains people with his entire arsenal of enthralling stories about the NBC 7/39 new station. Stories like working with incompetent people in different NBC news stations across America. Merry has an understanding of the hardware aspects of manufacturing. Craig normally wears a stylish dark brown sweater with diamonds and a white collar sticking out. His NBC 7/39 badge hangs from the right side of his olive colored khakis. With a degree in computer manufacturing, Craig Merry is more than capable of productively repairing CPUs and all sorts of computer equipment.

As Craig continues his pace and stumbles upon Dave McKinnon, the technical manger. The portraits of NBC’s critically acclaimed hit drama shows, Chuck, ER, Seinfeld, The Office and Heroes line the halls as he walks casually by.

OE: What skills are necessary for your position?

CM: My background is in manufacturing, it is not in IT. I got started because the manufacturing company I worked for needed an IT guy and they didn’t want to hire one. I got skills in IT just from on to job training. What is required to keep my job is you have to have PC upgrade and build up skills. You have to have the ability to analysis network operations as far as how computers attach together. You have to the ability to integrate software into PCs and into the network and be able to understand the hardware aspects of all that.

OE: What exactly do you do?

CM: My core responsibility is to make sure all that all of the clients which are all of the users on the machines here have everything they need for day-to-day operations. Keep the servers running, the network running and software upgrades.

OE: Did your interns help you with your daily work?

CM: You guys did a couple of good installs. All of the machines that we installed and upgrade downstairs in the news room were up and running. They had no problem with start-up and I’ve done a check of the the clients down there that have the machines were very happy with the process. I would say this was a success.

OE: Is there anything you would do differently knowing what you know now?

CM: Yeah, knowing what I know as far as education goes, I probably would have got a degree in technology because my degree is not technology. Another thing I would probably do is gear up more for software.

Interviews

2010-02-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

Professional interviews:

Interview with Jon Stewart

Interview with Barrack Obama

An interview is an informative conversation about something. In order to produce a good interview, you have to make sure that the person is comfortable. You want to obtain a lot of solid responses to every single question. You want to make sure that your audience understands what the interviewee is talking about. Motivate the interviewee to elaborate on their answers. Throw a couple of jokes into the interview to ease the mood.

Internship #13

2010-01-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

The most enjoyable aspect of this internship was watching the new crew prepare for the 4 'o'clock news. That was probably the highlight of that day when I saw them provide the news. I actually got a chance to introduce myself to Marty Levine and Susan. We sat there while they were on air. I just thought that that experience was just great. Seeing them give the news in person. I always wanted to know how they know when to start filming or stop filming.

Internship #12

2010-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

As a group we worked together to finish every component of our documentary. We collaborated on certain parts of the projector whether it was trying to gain access to a camera from the lockup or come up with a storyboard and script. We always came through. We all had confidence in our assign roles and had fun. Everyone looked interested in what they were working on. I worked mostly on the script for the documentary, Sai and Marcus worked on editing the captured footage of the NBC building. Over the duration of this project, I would have to say we had a stable and active work. We all weren't afraid to ask for help from each other. I would have to say we each had an equal amount of work to do for our documentary.

Internship #10

2010-01-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Internship #10
Hey everyone, this entry is a three-parter, so make sure you do all of them.
First, post a picture that sums up your day (make sure you get permission for the pic!).
Second, post a caption in which you use the pic to get into a discussion the following: What new questions has your internship inspired you to ask about our world? What has it made you wonder about? What are you moved to go out and do or learn about on your own time?
Third, post at least five possible questions that you'd like to ask your mentor (or other important coworker) in your upcoming interview. Your questions should be based on yesterday's blog post. If you did not do yesterday's blog post, then you should do it as background for this post.

Picture

Explain to me what you everyday schedule look like thought the week?
What skills of your own do you use at work?
Have you acquired any useful skills in the past few weeks?
What was the first day at work like?
Have you encountered any challenges?
Tell me alittle bit about your job?

Internship #9

2010-01-21T03:45:00.000-08:00

Please post a summary of your week at internship. What were the highlights? What were the challenges? What was memorable and why?

The highlight of this week would have to be starting up our documentary. We each had a major role in creating our documentary. I wrote the wonderful script for the documentary. Sai and Marcus, who are experienced with a lot of the mac software worked on editing the first part of the documentary using a particular video editing software called Final Cut Pro. Marcus worked mostly on creating a soundtrack for our documentary using a specific software excursively for the Mac. There were challenges that we had to face, one them was trying to get our hands on a decent camera for our documentary. We had trouble trying to access one of the cameras in the NBC lockup (lockup: where they keep most of there news equipment). We were not able to use the NBC cameras because they were all reserved for the week. All of the interns and I had a short meeting on what we should do to resolve this issue. So we all wanted Sai to bring his own camera from home. In addition, we were able to access the NBC archives, where they have all of the footage of the building. We thought it would be nice to have past footage of the NBC building in our documentary.

Internship #8

2010-01-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

Choice A: What characteristic and qualities do you see in the people at your internship that you'd like to develop in yourself? Some of these qualities and characteristics that people could have, so look around and think of a few good ones that you see in the people you work with.

I see a lot of qualities in the people I work with. Especially, Kreg. I see a lot of great qualities in him. One, he is very assertive, formal, and tech savvy. I would like to develop these qualities myself. Because If I have the qualities people will look up to me. They will see that I am taking my work very seriously. I also want to mention that I see leadership in him, a skill that I am lacking. I would like to put my foot forward and take on the leadership role. If I become a leader then people will not think of me as a push over. Someone who can be taken advantage of. I want to develop these qualities because it will increase my popularity in the work environment. People would ask me for directions and follow me as a role model.

Internship #7

2010-01-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

My fellow internees and I worked together to assemble monitors and mail laptops through Fed Ex to New York, for our mentor. We worked together to accomplish our tasks here at the NBC building. We recently fixed alotof the CPUs from the sale department. After we were done replacing the video cards in the CPUs with new video cards. We will begin by gathering the required equipments for our film. We had technical difficulties with backing up work files onto an external storage devise. We had some problems with trying to transfer work files into those store devises and we over came these challenges by asking for assistance from Kreg, who has alot of experience with computers. My role in all of this was to return the new CPUs to the employees in the sales and graphics department. I plugged in the ethernet cable, mouse and computer wires, and etc.

2010-01-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

Project title:
NBC internship documentary

Project description:
We are going to gather some technical equipement and use it to put together a documentary one what we have done so far here at the NBC building.

Project schedule: We are going to be conductively, working on it starting on monday of next week. My fellow internees are diliberating a plan on how we are going to shoot our documentary.

Project documentation: How will you keep track of your work? How will others know about it? What will you have to show when internship is over? Please note that some internship projects cannot be fully documented for legal reasons or because of organizational regulations (i.e., if you are working on an ongoing case at a law firm or working on a project that will receive a patent, etc.).

Internship #3

2010-01-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

1. What academic skills could you use on the job?
I can use my journalism skills to write the script for our nbc documentary project. I did alot of heavy lifting today. We packaged some laptops and desktop monitors and shipped them downstairs to the first floor. There were 16 Dell laptops that we had to package. We also handed out keyboards to the employees downstairs because some of the keyboards had their letters missing. We also had to assemble monitors that just came in from Fed Ez for the sales representives in our building.
2. What forms of collaboration could you use in a project?
Maybe I could sit down with my fellow internees to collaborate a plan on what equipement we should use for our NBC documentry. We'll probably need to use final cut pro to edit the video and use a camera to shoot the different areas inside the NBC news station. Divid up the work amongs the group members.
3. What technical skills can you use at your internship?
I'm familiar with several different programs such as final cut pro, InDesign and etc. I know how to operate a camera and other techincal machines. I helped one of the employees connect their computer keyboard and mouse to the CSU.
4. What new things can you learn while working at your site?
How conductively make a runoff before the 4 'o'clock news. Its basically a script that lets all the other employees know where the cameras should be position and where the teleprompters should go for the four 'o'clock news.
5. How can you exhibit, showcase or otherwise share your work?
I would have to say we could create a documentry for the students at hthma to see. It might interest some people into working out NBC. Its a great way to encourage people who our interested in broadcast journalism.
6. How can your work or your skills & abilities help your company or organization?
Well, my tape wrapping skills did come in handy for Greg, the IT guy.

Internship #2

2010-01-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

What have you actively done to start off on the right note?
I kept a notebook for writing notes on what they do there at the NBC building and helped move packaged computers.

What have you actively done to create interesting opportunities for yourself?
I went to the first floor of the build to meet with the video editors and asked questions about what their expectation are at NBC.

What have you actively done to advance the interests of your mentor and/or site?
I spoke with my intern about my computer skills and what I would like to do over the duration of the internship.

What can you do in the immediate future to improve yourself and your experience in the above area?
I need to improve on my computer progamming skills.

Internship #1

2010-01-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

1. When did you wake up?
I woke up early in the morning at 6:56.

2. What did you have for breakfast?
I ate a bowl of cheerios cereal.

3. How did you get to internship? How long did it take? How did it go?
My mom drove me to my site in down town. The drive from my house to my internship site was 30 minutes. It went well, surprisingly, I learned many things about the different stations in the NBC news station. I had many questions for the video editor, and the director of the control room.

4. What did you do when you first arrived at internship? Who did you see? Who did you talk to?
I saw my fellow internees in the lobby of the NBC building. My mentor introduced us to her co-workers around the office. They gave us a tour of all of the rooms inside. From the News studio to the command station.

5. Where do you work (in the company, in the building, etc.)? What is your area like?
They didn’t specify what my job was. The first day was sort of like an orientation for all the interns. We will get a chance to familiarize ourselves with the news software.

6. What did you do for lunch?
Right across the street there is a mall called “Horton Plaza”. I ate a caprici salad with a bottle of water at the food court area.

7. What did you do during the afternoon?
We continued working with our mentors on revising a runoff script. We used a software called I-News, which had all of the top stories.

8. What type of work do you see yourself doing in the next few days?
I'm probably going spend my time on editing or working with the teleprompter. I can also see myself in the next few days working on additional work from the mentors.

9. What do you feel prepared to do? What do you think you'll do well?
I feel prepared to focus on my work at the NBC building. I am ready to operate a teleprompter or act like a coordinator.

10. What are you going to need to learn to succeed at your internship?
I'm going to have to familiarize myself with the NBC software. NBC computers run programs like I-news, outlook program, and final cut.

11. What makes you excited about working there?
What really stirs up the excitement for me is when they prepare the NBC studio and provide viewers with the weather and ground-breaking news.

12. What makes you nervous about working there?
Whats really nerve racking for me is not knowing how well my fellow internees work. What I mean is have they failed to do the task at hand when working on past school projects. Are they ready to put their foot down and handle the pressure.

13. When did you get home? What was your afternoon/evening commute like?
Unfortunately, I didn't get home until 7:30. My mom who works on the 9th floor of the NBC building, was at a trial.

Blog #30

2009-12-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

1. Analyze specific qualities that make a person fit to successfully pursue extreme adventures in the natural world, but also could potentially lead to disaster.

The main character of the story, Chris McCandless had many personal qualities. He was courageous and extremely confident in his risky adventures. He found himself fighting for his life in life threatening situations. He was almost capable of achieve his expectations of reaching Alaska. A hitchhiker that transcended beyond extreme limits. Doing things that no man would ever do.

2. Describe specific connections between both Into Thin Air and Into the Wild and your experiences in the many aspects of MSB.

Both stories have die hard and risky characters wrestling many challenges. Despite their unpreparedness, they always seem to successful. One might say that they're doing what they love the most. What they the love the most is experiencing extremely difficult obstacles in their travels.

Blog 29: Nature writing

2009-12-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

There is nothing admirable about Chris’ solitary wild life. Chris Candless’ died of starvation, due to the lack of equipment needed to survive the harsh and rugged conditions of Alaska. He refused help from friendly characters he encountered in the story. Chris Candless, a recent graduate of Emory University decided to embark on a journey to experience total freedom. He decides to leave behind his family, friends and the security of a home, everyday conveniences and a successful career. He decides go on a cross country backpacking trip through the Alaskan wilderness alone. He hopes to get by on his wits and the kindness of strangers. Although he meets some people along the way who care about him and decide to help him out, he leaves them to continue his quest for self fulfillment.

Chris, the main character, goes beyond limits, and finds himself hitchhiking up to Alaska. Catching a free ride up to Denali National park, he meets up with a confused and friendly electrician, Jim Gillian. He first encounters him four miles outside of Fairbanks. He cannot help but wonder why this young man is traveling to Alaska. Jim Gillian out of the kindness of his heart tells Chris that he can drive him up further and purchase the proper equipment for hunting. He feels that Chris will not survive with his .22 caliber rifle. In this story, he says that if they boy attempts to kill a large animal like a bear, for instance, he will only evoke anger from the bear and is likely to get severely injured. Chris idiotically, refuses what Jim Gillian has to offer to him. Chris is naive and an amateur at hunting; doesn’t know how to be an experienced hunter.

In the beginning of the story, it mentions that Chris died in a sleeping bag inside an old 1930’s rusty bus. He tore a page off this book he was reading and wrote an S.O.S note. Chris died before anyone found him. Chris not knowing what the wildness has in store for him dies. This means that Chris was not prepared. He brought endless amounts of pain to his family and friends. In the story they say that the most plausible case of his death was starvation. They’re correct. Also the extremely cold temperatures could have killed him too.

He throws himself into danger. Some might say that he is impulsive and others might say he is a brave man. Chris McCandless didn’t realize that he was leading himself towards his death. The question still remains, why would he want to live a lonely life in the wild? He has a successful life and a caring family. He isolates himself from his life achievements to go live in the Alaskan wilderness hunting down game and reading books. What is so special about what he is doing? There’s nothing positive about what he intended to do in the outskirts of the cold Alaskan terrain.

Harbor Seals in La Jolla

2009-12-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

The fecal matter from the harbor seals in La Jolla does affect human activity. In 1931; the La Jolla Cove was dedicated to the children of San Diego by Ellen B. Scripps. A colony of Pacific harbor seals began to colonize the cove in the mid 1990’s. Seals inhabiting the cove used it to rest, socialize, give birth and nurture their young. The sea wall provided protection from strong ocean currents and provided a peaceful location for them to breed. Travel to La Jolla and rest your arms on the corroded railing at the top of the sea wall jutting out into the open sea. Don’t be frightened, the harbor seals below will not bite you. The wall is approximately 10 feet high above them. Unfortunately, harbor seals release fecal matter into the water which can adversely affect any human who comes in contact with it. The harbor seals can excrete bacteria in their urine. The water has a heavy concentration of bacteria in it so people are more likely to develop infections if they swim in it. If the water is swallowed, there is a potential risk of Colitis. There are signs warning people not to swim in the cove with the seals. The seals presence has stirred up controversy with the locals. What used to be called the “La Jolla Children’s Pool” is now referred to as the “La Jolla Seal Cove”.

Not only can a person come down with an inner ear infection from swimming in contaminated water, one can contract Colitis. This illness can be caused by a parasite present in contaminated water. It is an inflammatory disease that can affect the large intestine. It can infect the inside lining of the intestinal walls. General symptoms include intense abdominal pain, fatigue, fever and diarrhea. Infected persons can be bothered by cramps, gas, bloating, indigestion and heartburn. Since Colitis can cause a serious infection, antibiotics can be administered to help get rid of the disease. Engaging in water sports or activities which exposes a person to fecal matter left in sea water by seals can result in getting this disease. In severe cases, a person can be hospitalized. Swimmers are often not aware of the contamination in sea water which is the result of sea lions and harbor seals contaminating beaches all along the coast. In severe cases, it can cause loss of appetite and weight loss. Symptoms can usually appear a few days after a person has been exposed to contaminated water. Children can be particularly susceptible to becoming ill with this disease as their immune systems are not fully developed.

After the arrival of the seals, marine biologists studying the harbor seals conducted important tests concerning the concentration of bacterial levels in the water. Bacterial contamination of sea water by the marine life can cause serious diseases for humans and other mammals. One such serious disease is Leptospirosis. It was first described by a German doctor, Adolf Weil, in 1886. In the beginning, it can cause flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. Seals can be carriers of these bacteria without showing symptoms. Swimmers and surfers are at high risk of getting this disease if they swallow contaminated water or splash infected water into their eyes or nose. The bacteria can pass through a person’s mucus membranes or cuts in the skin. This disease is not only present in infected marine animals but it can also be spread by infected rodents, cats, dogs or other mammals. The main reason children should not swim in the contaminated water of the cove is because of the potential illnesses children can get from exposure to contaminated water.

In 1998, there was a triathlon and 834 people swam in contaminated water, 98 people (12%) developed Leptospirosis infections. This illness is also known as Weil’s disease. Leptospirosis can cause mild to severe illness. Symptoms can appear a few weeks after swimming in contaminated water. Leptospirosis is caused by a microorganism, the spirochete bacterium. Symptoms can affect almost every major organ and can cause kidney failure, hemorrhage, acute respiratory distress and even an inflammation of the heart muscle called myocarditis. There is an article from the Monterey Herald about Leptospirosis in seals and below that is an article from a website called Up to Date. This is a website that educates doctors about this disease. It’s a known fact that Weil’s disease can spread at an alarming rate and can severely affect large swarms of marine life every year. There was an outbreak in 2004 in which 45 % of all seals tested were diagnosed with Leptospirosis – compared to 4.5 % of seals tested in 2003. Therefore, it’s best to stay away from the water that could be contaminated by seals.

This colony of Pacific harbor seals has been laying around on the shores of the Children’s Pool for a quite a number of years. I am eager to learn more about the consequences of their presence at the La Jolla Cove. This has become a big issue among some members of the public. Their presence has stirred up some trouble. La Jolla councilman, Scott Peters, would like for the Cove to be used by both people and Harbor Seals. That may not be possible because seals are shy by nature and do like to be approached by humans. They are primarily protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Act. Some people have been debating whether or not the seals should remain in the children’s pool or leave. No one wants to swim in the water when you can have a potential risk of fatal diseases like Colitis and Leptospirosis. Some people are trying to reclaim the Children’s pool for use by humans who want to go there to sunbathe, swim and snorkel. Some have even suggested using the recording of barking dogs so that the noise can drive the seals away. A superior court judge, Timothy Taylor, recently ruled that the seals can remain. Some animal rights activists who support marine life were very happy that the seals were allowed to stay. This area should be turned into a wildlife sanctuary for people from all over the world to visit. Up to 100,000 people per month flock to the Children’s Pool Beach to see the seals up close.

Citations:

1. Elhams, Osamah K. Media Saves the testing Data. Raw data. La Jolla, San Diego. 26 Nov. 2009.

2. Lipin, Howard, ed. "Seals have their day at court: a 'great victory'" Letters to the editor [San Diego] 18 Nov. 2009, Morning ed., B7 sec.: 1-1.

3. Stock, D., ed. "Children's Pool, La Jolla, California." Children's Pool, La Jolla, California [La Jolla] 8 Nov. 2009: 1-2. Print.

Blog #27

2009-12-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

Krakauer observes that it is not “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders.” Explain whether McCandless would agree with Krakauer.

Despite how insane McCandess is, it sounds like an idiotic idea, abandoning your own life. Leaving your parents even though your not on good terms with them. What he did sounds a little immature for his age. If I was placed in his shoes and I had to think to myself whether or not I wanted to leave my family forever or just stay. I would definitely stay and try and resolve my own life conflicts. McClandess is drawn to his pursuit of traveling along a highway or ending up in someones house. Its obvious that McClandess strongly believes in what he is doing. His elders must think he is a lunatic running around acting like a hobo. I know that McClandess must think that he is extremely happy.

Photo contest

2009-12-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

Nature Conservancy website

http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=contest_ph6

The nature photo contest is where you can submit photos and win prizes. Most of the photos you find on the website have to do with nature. There are no restrictions to what you can put on to the website. If you want to submit a photo you have to type a description of what the photo is and where you took the photo. There is no fee on this website. On this website you will find different photos of the wild. I decided to submit my seal pictures on to the website so that other people can look at them. I submitted 4 photos. You can also send in votes on what pictures you like. If you want to submit a photo you have to meet the requirements on the website. Your picture must meet at least five requirements before submitting.

Seals in La jolla

2009-11-30T19:18:00.000-08:00

How does fecal matter from the seals on Seal Cove adversely affect the human activity, specifically children, in La Jolla?

Rest your arms onto the corroded railing on top of the wall jutting out into the open sea. Don’t be frightened, the sea lions below will not bite your limbs off. The old decomposed brick wall is roughly 10 feet high. What concerns most of us is why can’t any human being swim freely in the shallow end of the water alongside the seals? Because the seals have bacteria and it can spread in the water. The sea lions excrete the bacteria in their urine. The water has a heavy concentration of bacteria in it so people are more likely to develop infections such as ear and outer infections. If the water is swallowed there is a potential risk of colitis. There are public signs pinned to the rail on top of the wall as an indication not to swim in the cove with the seals. This issue has stirred up attention with the locals. What use to be called the “Children’s pool” is now referred to as “seal cove”.

After the arrival of the seals, biologist have conducted important test concerning the bacteria concentration inside the water. It’s a known fact that the sea lions frequently carry bacteria they excrete from their urine. The urination process either takes place on the shore or in the open water. This is called leptospirosis and sometimes causes disease in sea lions and other times they are carriers of this bacteria without it causing disease. If large numbers of sea lions urinate in the same water, the water can be contaminated and pass through a person’s mucus membranes (mouth, nose), eyes, or cuts in his or her skin. This infection is not only seen from sea lions, but many rodents, cats, dogs and other animals can spread it. The main reason why the children’s pool cannot be accessed is because of the potential diseases that the children can get from swimming into the water. The seals are not an issue, they she’ll live on the seal cover for as long as they want.

In 1998 there was a triathlon and 834 people swam in contaminated water, 98 (12%) developed leptospirosis infection. Leptospirosis can cause mild to severe illness. The symptoms can affect almost every organ and can cause kidney failure, hemorrhage, acute respiratory distress and even an infection of the heart muscle called myocarditis. There is an article from the Monterey Herald about leptospirosis in sea lions and below that an article from a website called UptoDate which is a website for doctors and talks about leptospirosis.

Its quite comforting standing on the ledge and absorbing the cool breeze, but do you ever think about what your learn in bio class. Harmful microscopic organisms in the water originating from seal poop. The question is should we not interfere with the seals and there daily activities. Locals believe that the water is a bad clarity to it because of the seal poop and bacteria swarming around.

The Great Gatsby essay

2009-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Describe and analyze the significance of the last line of The Great Gatsby.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Money can’t buy you everything. Gatsby sort of comes to the realization that the only cure to his emptiness was to merely impress the likes of Daisy. One see’s that this passage is quite explanatory to the reader. Despite Gatsby’s hardships, Nick guides us through the story with Gatsby’s main priority of winning Daisy back and his motivation behind his acquisition of his enormous wealth from criminal activity. Gatsby’s dream shatters at the hands of Wilson as he shoots Gatsby, instantly killing him in the pool and then shoots himself. His dream fails to become a reality judging from past events with Tom Buchanan. Nick, the narrator of the story feels so disgusted with the people associated in the Great Gatsby, except for Gatsby, he realizes that the dream that Gatsby wants was corrupted by dishonesty. Gatsby’s death begins to festers Nick to point where he moves back to the Midwest to get away from it all. With the metaphorical words used in the passage, we come to the realization that people find it difficult to achieve their dream of success. The green light in the beginning of the passage is a light of guidance for Gatsby who is one of those people.

This very last line of the passage states,” Gatsby believed in the green light”, the “green light” is the light that is describe as barely visible from Gatsby’s west egg gothic mansion. The “green light” to Gatsby is sort of like his guidance; luring him to his goal. The phrase the “green light” has a significant connotation in the story; it provides Gatsby with hope and dreams of the future. He sees a relationship with Daisy that is destine to be. The green light is almost like a symbol for him. The green light has been mentioned quite a few times through the novel, in chapter 1 and chapter 9. In chapter one when the story commences, Gatsby isolated by the inevitable darkness, finds himself reaching out towards the light. Daisy’s mansion is situated on the East Egg where the green light is radiant. The green light sort of powers his motivation. He pushes the limit with spending a ridiculous amount of money on his elaborate parties that he celebrates every weekend. It’s quite obvious to the reader that he is trying to be the mysterious host of the parties, trying so diligently to win Daisy’s heart back.

“tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms father…” In the pursuit of accomplishing his goal, we will never give up the goal that stretches forever forward. This specific sentence connects with Gatsby’s struggle of obtaining the American dream. Nick respects the melancholy in Gatsby that he learns from his study of Gatsby’s life. It means that there is always time to try harder. Gatsby’s reveals to Nick that he and Daisy actually were in love. He wants to fulfill his dream of obtaining Daisy’s love. Gatsby’s is empty inside. His wealth cannot refurbish his happiness. Nick is Gatsby’s confidant, a good friend of his. Through nick narration of the story he sees Daisy married to Tom Buchanan. The last part of this quotation from the last page of the book, let us know that in hard times, like Gatsby, we can run faster and stretch out our arms father.

In conclusion, we understand that the significant of the last line because it leaves the read with some optimism. Gatsby, despite his hardships with Tom Buchanan, never got a chance to share his life with her. Daisy, in my opinion, I feel that he is a self-absorb person. It was confusing for us to understand if she really had love for Gatsby or not. Was she with Tom Buchanan just for the finance backup and the enormous house on long Island? Competition sparked up, when Tom and Gatsby began to fight over Daisy. Nick must feel awkward in these situations with the love triangle in the story. I can understand why the last line is so significant because Nick is trying to convey a message to the reader; that it might be impossible to make your goal a reality, but restore that energy within and don’t.

Optional assignment

2009-11-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

I looked through my blogs and one honors essay, in particular, really caught my attention. The Huckleberry Finn essay by Mark Twain, this essay is an excellent example of writing in my opinion because it has a clear thesis statement along with the three clear and direct supporting paragraph's arguing to help support the thesis statement. I just thought it would be an excellent piece of reference for my writing skills. Every sentence properly transitions to the next sentence in every paragraph. I thought of using the same style of writing for my MSB picture captions. In addition, for my 250 word picture captions, I'm thinking I should elaborate on what the meaning of this picture or that picture so that people have a full understanding of the picture's meaning.

The following link will take you to my essay: Huck Finn Essay

Honors History Writing #3

2009-11-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

The Roaring Twenties (1920s)

The early 20’s introduced an array of new ground-breaking inventions and brought about many changes to the American society. The Roaring 20’s was referred to as the Jazz age, hence the word; “Roaring”. American industries introduced the flow of innovative technologies that altered the American society such as the invention of automobile. Many of these inventions like the Ford Model T car and convenient kitchen appliances proved useful to American families living in both rural and urban areas. The migration of Mexican and Puerto Ricans and immigrants from counties oversees began to settle into the major urban cities such as Los Angeles, San Antonio and Denver, seeking employment.

The Automobile, surprisingly, was the principal driving force of the American economy during the 1920s. More than eight million motor vehicles were registered in the United States and twenty-six million in 1929. The purchase output of these automobiles sky rocketed to three million dollars in 1923. Henry Ford, a famous American producer, distributed automobiles for driving to certain places at a reasonable price for the public during the 1920s. However, in 1925, the price of a Ford T model reduced to $290, less than three months’ pay for an average worker. The Fort T model had an engine capable of running on gasoline. The manufacturing of the automobiles helped simulate the productivity of the industries producing steel, rubber, and glass as well as gasoline and that led to highway construction. The United States became a nation of paved roads for the gasoline powered automobiles.

Mexican and Puerto Ricans originated from South America, were Agricultural laborers that migrated to the southwestern states of America. They scattered into places like San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Denver, Colorado, looking for employment to feed their families. Like other immigrants, they obtained low-paying jobs and lived with their families in poor neighborhoods, which they called barrios. A huge wave of Puerto Rican immigrants arrived onto the mainland and some went to New York City. In New York they worked in restaurants and in domestic work.

Roaring 20s was one of the most unforgettable eras because of the jazz music and culture. Most of the black people originated from the county side, about 1.5 million journeyed into the cities during the early 20s. The black community had a lot of musicians, writers and intellectuals. These famous black musicians developed a music genre called Jazz and blues music. People in the 20s enjoyed the widespread popularity of Jazz music which led to the opening of clubs and bars. Unfortunately, the Ku Klux Klan held a lot of anti-black activities in places like the south. These activities had to do with lynching and torturing innocent black people out of hatred. Despite these hardships with the hardships with Ku Klux Klan, a lot of people were listening to the jazz music by black musicians.

One sees that the Roaring 20s contributed some many useful inventions that still exist today. The idea of the Ford model T branched off into newer sources of transportation, like subway trains, motorcycles, and maybe even planes. American industries still produce steel, rubber and other materials for new inventions like the cell phone and hp laptops. The culture and the jazz are still incorporated into many of the modern music that we hear and see on the radio and television, today.

Blog #23: Environment Current Events

2009-11-12T15:56:00.000-08:00

I can't post the link to the article. Its a newspaper that I have at home.

Newspaper, Our Region: Nov 9, 09 "Scientists take aim at cigarettes" by Mike Lee

Cigarettes can not only kill people, they can also kill the marine life. This particular article is about the people who carelessly litter dozens of cigarette buts everyday on our beautiful beaches. People need to be conscious of what happens when a fish is exposed to a cigarette. We need to make the public aware of this issue by telling them to reduce the amount of cigarettes being littered on our beaches everyday. They should immediately dispose of any trash into the nearest trash can.

Regional director of the smoker's rights group Citizens Freedom Alliance in Ventura Country, Robert Best," This is just another attack on smokers and an attack on the entire tobacco industry, including farmers and distributors, in the midst of an economic crisis.". I thought that this specific information from the article is important to me and everyone who is trying to convince people to eliminate cigarettes from our beaches, that we should try and explain why cigarettes are bad for the marine life and why people don't want to be swimming in polluted water.

The information missing from the article is; how can we either stand up and convince people to litter on the beaches or try and clean up the beaches and help protect the marine life. Reduce the amount of like plastic bags and other trash. Should we raise the cost of certain things like plastic bags so that we can reduce the amount of people buying them everyday.

The subject is kind of similar to my topic for media saves the beach because I'm focusing my eyes on the fecal matter from seal's and how it can effect surfers or children who like to play in the water. I'm also researching the controversy in Seal Cove; should the seals live on the cove or should we kick 'em out?

Blog# 22: MSB organization

2009-11-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

Name of organization: Surfrider

Mission statement: "The BWTF has demonstrated success by raising public awareness of coastal water pollution levels. The joint efforts have precipitated the establishment of a very successful local government water quality monitoring system, which issues timely advisories to surfers and beach goers alerting them to unsafe conditions at specific surf breaks."

Surf-rider foundation alongside the San Diego coast-keeper sued the City of San Diego for violating the federal clean water act. The City Council took the issue into consideration; and they supported Surfrider and Coastkeeper. The lawsuit mainly focused on the on this history of the cities sewage spills.

The City Council finally took action in helped get to the bottom of this issue, after the production of a Water Reuse Study having to do with numerous meetings, technical advisory committee, and community leaders.

Blog #21: The great Gatsby 1-4ch

2009-11-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Jay Gatsby is a wealthy person. He is described as a vulgar and dishonest rich man. His dreams become a reality. Its obvious that Jay Gatsby likes to show off his wealth; he tends to throw elaborate parties every weekend at his Gothic mansion in West Egg. At one of the Gatsby parties, Jordan Baker reveals to Nick that Gatsby was a German spy in the world war 1. I'm assuming he is considered what they call in the fictional story, "New money". Gatsby's parties incorporates 1920 wealth and glamour in to focus.

Nick Carraway, graduated from Yale located in New Haven, Connecticut and , like Gatsby, served as a soldier in world war 1 (1914-1918). He moves to New York city to learn about Bond business in the 1920s. Nick moves to long Island and lives in a fictional town called West egg. Nick is old money and wants to be new money.

Blog #20: Great Gatsby

2009-11-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

The guy who is doing the narration for the story is Nick. Nick seems be an average guy, if he wasn't narrating the story then he wouldn't qualify to be one of the main characters in the Great Gatsby. However, Nick is kind of the main character but he doesn't explain enough about himself or Gatsby.

The author feels that Nick should narrate the entire story because Nick is sort of the observer. Nick describes the scenery, appearances of the characters and the emotions that are going on in a positive or negative tone. Its almost like he is gossiping with the reader, y'know having a one on one conversation about these peoples livelihood.

Blog #19: video

2009-11-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

The idea of having all of the left over garbage emerging from the sea and the guy running away.

The message of this video is that people should stop throwing useless junk into the ocean. They should realize that their endangering the sea life.

The general audience is the people who spend their time at the beach or any local residence.

I think the creativity, narration, sound effects and acting overall make this video come together in a professional manner.

He delivers the message in a funny way, having the guy throw a dirty wet shoe into the ocean and then the shoe hitting him in the face. Also having the leftover trash emerge from the water and fall on to the shore.

In the heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

2009-10-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

In the Heart of the Sea
by Osamah Elham

The rollercoaster of human experiences are described in the book In the Heart of the Sea by Author Nathaniel Philbrick. Mr. Philbrick did a lot of research on a fateful event of the whaling ship the Essex that left Nantucket harbor to go on a whaling expedition in 1819. The book keeps the readers interest with detailed accounts of a horrific encounter with a huge sperm whale. It leaves the reader to wonder whether the whale sunk the ship in revenge for the brutal killing of its kind by the crew. It depicts how the unimaginable can happen when nature turns against man and leaves him fighting for his life. Survivors are left to try to find land in three small harpoon boats after the sea swallows their boat. It is a story about survival against the worst odds. Men are forced to do things that they would never dream of doing.

At first, the reader begins to think that the book is merely describing a typical day in the life of a crew that is going out to hunt whales as they have done for ages. The boat follows pods of whales deep into the South Pacific. The book uses a lot of nautical terms and describes what it is like to be out at sea for long periods of time on a crowded boat. When the crew hauls in the whales they have captured, they have to open them up and take out the blubber. A fire on deck to burn the oil from the blubber creates black, disgusting smell. The constant rocking of the boat makes it hard to work cutting up the blubber. Whaling seems like a dirty, smelly difficult job.

The crew captain is a young man, George Pollard. He has a young cousin, Owen Coffin, who is joining him on the trip. He feels tremendously guilty when he is unable to protect him as they struggle to survive. It comes down to every man for himself. At first the men are glad to find land on a small island, Henderson’s Island. Eventually though, they eat all they can eat on the island and some of the crew decide to go back out into the sea to find someone to rescue them. Only three remain on the island to an uncertain fate. The worst is yet to come as the men leave the island and decide to head to South America. Many died and desperation overtook the ones that were left.

Great book by the way...

Blog #18

2009-10-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

I would like to incorporate my writing skills into my photo essay. I am very familiar with the program, InDesign; using the program I could produce a high quality final product for the MSB project. From my newspaper, I know that the sub title contains all of the information about the time the newspaper was published.

I am a detail oriented person, I tend to prefect my work. Its a good and bad habit of mine. I am tech savvy, I know how to use a wide range of progams, from Indesign to photoshop.

Blog #17:

2009-10-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

https://www.surfrider.org/surfrider_membership/join/membership3.cfm

Surf rider organizes beach clean ups for local beaches in San Diego. They make sure every little piece of trash, whether its plastic or not, it goes into the trash can.

http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index

Keep America Clean also organizes beach clean ups for all local beaches making beaches more clean.

http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/55d03a6ef20059ade3baebeb53147abb

Beach clean ups are organized on this website

http://www.coastkeeper.org/coastkeeper/work/projects/water-monitoring.asp?gclid=CKTcgKu94J0CFSWlagodV32mMQ#beachdebris

This website observes how dirty the river runoff is and they help prevent it from getting into the oceans.

http://www.sdck.ambsolutions.com/content/programs/beachClean/overview.htm

People who care about our beaches get together and clean up all of the left over trash.

Honors History Writing #2

2009-10-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Honors History writing 2#

America is currently experiencing another terrible recession. Unemployment has soared. The economy is causing instability and blame is being placed on our president, Grover Cleveland. Economists are referring to it as the Panic of 1893. The most essential question that we must ask ourselves is, whether the answer to this economic downfall will be added to each of the two candidate’s plates? Will it affect the day-to-day well-being of the livelihood of American citizens? What will our upcoming 25th president do to solve these issues? Where is our man of great ideologies who is able to come to rapid conclusions on ending the insanity of our economic downfall? People are leaning towards William McKinley for these answers. William McKinley looks like the perfect choice.

A former governor of Ohio, William McKinley who is currently running for the position of President of the United States in a highly anticipated election orginated the McKinley Tariff of 1890. William McKinley has pledged an oath to help end the recession by imposing this tariff. McKinley advocates a heavy tariff on goods and commodities being imported into the United States. The tariff has helped American businesses sell their goods to American consumers at a fair price. McKinley states that he wants to eliminate the thought of purchasing certain materials for less overseas as this will only hurt the American economy. His initial goal is extending his hand of friendship to the president of Carnegie Steel Mill and other companies to achieve this goal. “We need to increase business in our companies… buying for cheap prices overseas has come to a halt and does not help the American economy”, says McKinley, being questioned by reporters, yesterday morning. Foreign producers operating factories overseas are required to pay a 48.4% tariff to ship their products into the country for sale. Cheap material will no longer be appealing to American consumers. U.S businesses are now able to compete aggressively with foreign made goods. As a result of the Tariff, American companies have been doing well so far and have gained prosperity. This prosperity has translated into more workers being hired by U.S companies. However, the tariff has brought new troubles for farmers in rural areas. McKinley is also backing the idea of maintaining the gold standard because he feels if we resort to silver, inflation will have a negative effect on the economy.

McKinley is a proponent of a strong American military. To that end, he wishes to annex the two independent kingdoms of Hawaii and the Philippines. Mr. McKinley also desires to expand American military might into Guam, Puerto Rica and Cuba. “I advocate this more than anything else… that the key ingredient to strengthening our naval forces is to establish a secure military base on Hawaii” declared, William McKinley, at a press conference in the urban area of Ohio. President Cleveland frowned upon McKinley’s policies. McKinley thought that it was in the best interest of the country. Cleveland did not realize that European nations like Britain would gladly annex small primitive places like Hawaii for their own benefit. McKinley strongly believes that American superiority in the Pacific is greatly dependent on a naval base located in Hawaii.

Laborers see McKinley as a supporter who respectfully promotes cultural diversity. In the eyes of McKinley, company workers are free to preserve their ethnic identities in America. “Before I thought I was going to be ostracized from conversations regarding my religion and ethnic values… I feel more comfortable to work alongside my American friends” said an immigrant laborer. “Immigrants don’t have to be secretive about their immigrant heritage” said one of the workers, operating an industrialized machine for producing steel for the company. Andrew Carnegie of American steel, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan have contributed heavily to McKinley’s campaign to support American businesses. Campaign manager, Mark Hanna, has journeyed across the states of America, recruiting voters and sending out invitations to accompany him back to Canton, Ohio, where William McKinley gives his speeches from his front porch. In the meantime, his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, has been traveling by train across America campaigning in the rural areas in the mid west, west and the south. A large German American voting block supports McKinley. Several skilled factory workers, middle class, railroad workers and large scale farmers are behind him.

American prosperity and future well-being depend on a charismatic candidate like William McKinley. His vast experience as a governor of Ohio and a United States senator gives him the unique ability to fulfill the demands of the Presidency. A distinguished veteran of the Civil War, McKinley has firsthand knowledge of the perils of conflict. His hope is that through a strong economy, America can become the great nation it was meant to be.

blog # 16: MSB ideas

2009-10-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

From Lupe's blog post, I saw that she has some unique ideas. Her idea of creating a recycled bottle cap sculpture of a fish is kind of interesting. I never thought of something like that. I can think of something similar to that and post it as an image for my website. Lupe's idea is very artistic.

www.lupesandoval.blogspot.com/

From Magda's blog post, I realized that she has some great ideas for the project. Her idea of taking pictures of the beach using fish eye lenses is actually a good idea. I can take a lot of photos of the scenery; having to do with toxic chemicals and pollution in the beach. Maybe I should think of creative ways to make my pictures stand out. I want to bring something unique to the table.

www.magdaaguirre.blogspot.com/

From Krause's blog post, I checked it out and he had some cool ideas for the project. His idea was simply a photo/Essay that has at least 6 pictures and for every high quality photo there would a short explanation. I'm thinking of making a picture book on my website.

www.davidkrausehublog.blogspot.com/

Blog # 15: Media Saves the Beach

2009-10-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

Whats the deal with our beaches?!
My brother's special camera can come in handy for this particular project. I can capture wide and high definition pictures of the ocean scenery. A creative and highly professional website containing important information on the governments approach on this issue with our beaches. Specifically, the website can provide information about what happens when sea life comes in contact with toxic waste chemicals. How we can save sea life from extinction.

I can add a documentary with a voice over for the website. In the documentary, their will be powerful images. These images can be very effective to the public. My documentary is going to be similar to a documentary like planet earth. The video will have someone explaining the issue with our beaches. The website would also contain essential updates. Hey, I might even throw in a forum so that people can share their thoughts and opinions on what we can do... if I can figure out how to make one...

Incorporated ideas for my website would be a documentary, media saves the beach forum, a link to my documentary and etc. I can get a solid high definition picture of sunset cliffs for my website background.

Biology blog

2009-10-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

(Randy ignore the bio blogs plz)

1. What is the, controversy or event in the story? What are the basic facts?

The headline says, that every beach in the county of San Diego received their report cards recently. All 78 monitored beaches received a A or B out of 79 beaches. treatment plants always grade beaches depending on the water quality.

2. What information is missing from the story?

This News story contains a lot of solid information on what is currently going on with the San Diego water quality. All the information I need; after resulting in state budge cuts, most of the state beaches are being monitored.

3. What would be the next steps if you were creating a follow up to this story?

I would explain more depth in about all the state beaches and what they received based off the quality of their water. For example, the results for today included the beaches, OB and PT. They both received B or C grade.

Bio blog

2009-10-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

Photosynthesis matters to me because its process is essential to life. What I am saying is that plants need photosynthesis to maintain their health. We need them to stay alive in exchange for oxygen, in return for carbon dixodie in which humans produce, daily. Plants and humans keep each other alive. If we destory all of the plants on earth then humanity would perish. Plants make the earth look healthly and bueatiful. Plants use the sunlight, which is passed down through the sky. Finally, the plants absorb the sunlight and go through the interesting process of photosynthesis. That is how chlorophyll is made and how plants get their pegment color.

Please click on the following link or copy it to the address box located at the top of the screen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHaw22XxM4s&feature=related

(blogger will not let me post videos!....)

Huck finn essay

2009-10-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

A good friend

by: Osamah Elhams

Hidden in the fine ink of the pages, a cultural collision takes place. Such a collision can call a character’s sense of identity out to question. In this case, it would be the uniqueness of a young white adolescent born in the deep Confederate south. The name of this fictional character is Huckleberry Finn. In this particular novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the main characters, Huckleberry and Jim are in a constant moral battle between right and wrong. Discreetly escaping the Confederate territory, Huckleberry Finn, referred to as “Huck” in the story, finds a wooden raft drifting along the Mississippi river; they commence on a long journey through the Deep South and encounter many dilemmas along the way.

Huckleberry is interpreted as a courageous, vigilant and a brilliant young character in the story. Huck always takes the initiative. He is very rebellious against the Confederacy and sees the idea of slavery in a different light. Jim is much older than Huck and is of African descent; a slave who is always anxious to leave the horrible South behind and wants to set forth to freedom. Huckleberry Finn want to help Jim seek freedom from the Southern Slave laws, despite the fact that he is violating the law. The entire story is evidence of this. When huck frightens way the pursuing slave hunters as Jim cowers in a small shack. Later on towards the end of the story, they encounter the two con artists, the Duke and the Dauphin. Hackberry justifies the behavior of the Duke and the Dauphin by stating that history has shown that nobles often lie, cheat and steal. Even so, Huck rescues the Wilks sisters from becoming victims of the Duke and the Dauphin. There are some situations when Huck is always rescuing Jim for whatever reason.

In the story, Huck resists being as he calls it, “sivilized”. Widow Douglas is kind of like Huck’s tutor. Despite her best efforts, Huck rejects her influence and teachings. He runs away from the Widow Douglas who tries to give him a Sunday school education. Huck and his extremely abusive and drunken father don’t have a normal father to son relationship. Feeling extreme hatred for his father, Huck runs away from his only family, Pap, his alcoholic father. He also lies to the Phelps family, in the novel, about being Tom Sawyer so that he can help help set his friend Jim free. Once Jim realizes he’s a free man, Huckleberry decides to head West instead of staying with Aunt Sally and rejoin the society.

Jim, the slave, violates the slave laws in the South by becoming “a runaway slave”. Jim hates living and working under horrible conditions in the South and is wants to begin a new peaceful life with his family. He does not want to be sold off and separated from his family so he befriends Huckleberry. He shelters Huck Finn in an attempt to help him hide from his loathsome father, Pap. He doesn’t reveal to Huckleberry the fact that that the dead body they found in the shack was really his dad’s corpse. When they encountered the two con artists, Jim goes along with the dishonest antics of the Duke and Dauphin because he is afraid that they might turn him over to the authorities as a “runaway slave”. Even thought he risked being captured, Jim returns to help Tom after he takes a bullet to the leg during the escape attempt.

In conclusion, this essay exemplifies the constant moral battle between right and wrong that these characters encounter throughout the novel. Every single walk of life is a constant battle of morality for Jim and Huck but goodness prevails.

Blog #11: Questions for Media Saves the BEach

2009-10-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

My three questions for media saves the beach are following...

1. How does polluted water effect sea animals?
I thought of this, because it is important that we have to keep or beaches clean.

2. What is being done by local authorities deter the water pollution?
We need to know what the local authorities are doing to help prevent water pollution. In what ways will they prevent water pollution.

3. What creative ways can the youth contribute?

I think it is important that the children should learn about what is currently going on in our society. Colleges like to see activities being done outside of school. They want to see that you have participated in important activities with the public.

2009-10-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Honors history writing (final draft)

2009-10-02T16:47:00.001-07:00

A “Modern” America
By Osamah Elhams

“A house divided against itself cannot stand”, argued the 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, pointing out that when a state secedes from the Union then the Union cannot stand. I certainly must take a stand. If it hadn’t been for the Civil War; a reflection of past governmental conflicts, a new “modern” America would not exist. The United States was once torn asunder, like a cataclysmic event, by the Union and Confederacy in 1861 before the Civil War. Slavery in the South was vigorously supported because southern society was mainly agricultural. The north was fighting not to save the old Union but to create a new nation. As many as half a million slaves fled to the union side from the south. Equality was meaningless before “modern” America. Political leaders had to rise up and advocate the principles of equality for all.

Historical people like Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King, and President Barrack Obama have enormously strengthened the African American society. Martin Luther King stressed the importance of equality and Americans had a new vision of America through his writings. Obama, half white and half black, was elected by America to become its first black President and that has brought down many racial barriers. His inauguration brightened the minds of many Americans by allowing a diverse President into office. If it hadn’t been for the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves wouldn’t be free men and women. If this proclamation had never been implemented, then someone like Barack Obama would never been elected. If the supporters of the Confederate states could have seen future events unfold as they have, they would have been angry. Obama’s inspirational story has made people believe in equality for all in America. This is proof that the Civil War created revolutionary changes for slaves in the South. Just as early American colonists were trying to overthrow British rule during the Revolutionary War, so too were Southern slaves trying to overthrow the tyranny of the white man.

The country remained whole in spite of the attempt by the Confederate states to tear the Union in half and secede from the United States of America. After the war, the states of the Confederacy were restored to the Union. A shattered country was rebuilt. Together, both black and white men remade America even better than before. President Lincoln pardoned many elite Confederate leaders in the hopes of unifying the nation. After Lincoln’s death, President Johnson demanded that the Confederate States ratify the proposed Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. Black men who were once considered slaves were now able to own land and prosper. Eventually, these new freedoms lead the way for many to get an education and be given the right to vote. In the beginning some states imposed “Black Codes”. These “Black Codes” were meant to put a limit on the individual rights of black men. After the Civil War many black men who had been freed wanted legal names and their marriages to be legalized. Newly freed, some black families became sharecroppers and shared profits of their crops with white land owners.

“Modern America” is now a product of what happened as the result of the Civil War that brought about enormous changes for its citizens. The idea of slavery in “modern America” is not acceptable. America still has conflicts erupting. There are still some advocates of slavery living in the South, individuals who are proud to wave the Confederate flag and challenge the freedoms of African Americans. “Modern America” is completely diverse. African Americans are able to achieve more than ever before. Now, they are no limitations to what they can do. Achieving the pivotal role of the President of the United States just shows how far African Americans have come since the days of the Civil War. Now all United States citizens are able to enjoy the same inalienable rights that were not guaranteed to all before the Civil War. Rights like access to courts, education, the right to own land and the right to vote. Martin Luther king’s dreams of America with equal rights for all, has come one step closer to becoming a reality. Unfortunately, Martin Luther king did not live to see his dream come true.

Through his role as leader of the greatest nation on earth, Barack Obama, has made every attempt to appoint and recruit persons of all diverse backgrounds to serve in the Judiciary and other influential government positions. His recent appointment of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor is evidence of this. He also appointed the first African American to the position of Attorney General. People of all nations have witnessed first- hand how the policies created to protect the rights of black men after the Civil War has become reality. (Epilogue)

Blog #10: Reconstruction

2009-09-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

The reconstruction era post-Civil war began in 1865 and ended in 1877. Everything from policies being implemented to the abolishment of slavery. Essentially, creating a new America.

Technically, the Civil War ended in 1865. Factions like Red Shirts and other hate groups began to form. These types of people are anti-government and want to implement their own policies. The KKK are the remnants of the confederacy. These remaining members of the confederacy are split up into groups and are considered paramilitary groups.

Essentially, reconstructing America and amending the U.S constitution. The idea of slavery was abolished when the emancipation proclamation was in effect.

There is an organization known as the Southern poverty law center. They battle against paramilitary groups; that try to discriminate against black citizens that were freed after the civil war and were given full legal rights after the reconstruction era. Whenever their is a southern poverty law victory, they take away the funding of some of these hate groups so that they can no longer operate, recruit new members to support their cause and spew their hatred.

Reuters New Service, Feb-26, 2009. Southern Poverty Law Center; hate group numbers up by 54% since 2000.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS222404+26-Feb-2009+PRN20090226

Blog #9: Media saves the beach 2

2009-09-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last year, for one world week, I was with a beach clean up crew with Chris Wakefield. We had to scan the beaches for litter. We found so many cigarette butts, bottle caps, bear bottles and etc. We picked up all the trash left on the beach and threw into these plastic bags. Its just terrible how we had to clean up someones else's mess. Think about the wildlife first before you make the wrong decision; littering our beautiful beaches. People should consider throwing away trash into the nearest recycling bins that they can find. One by one, we our saving our earth by keeping it clean.

Blog #8: Media Saves the Beach

2009-09-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

For this project, I'm really interested in photography. In middle school, we had this thing called intersession. Mine was photography. I kind of like taking pictures using my creativity. I usually take pictures of random things and do some cool stuff in Photoshop. I don't know but I might just do a picture book or something for this project.

Blog #7: Final work

2009-09-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

Heritage

Silence engulfed the dining room, my head resting on the palm of my hand as I aimlessly twisted the spaghetti around my fork. My dad began to speak as everyone quieted down to listen. I heard a noise like the sound of a motorcycle engine as he cleared his throat. My eyes were focused on him as he began to speak about his early days in Palestine, neighboring the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan. I interrupted my father and said, “Dad, why did you leave Palestine?” He left Palestine because of the Israeli occupation, he answered. He left his country with tears in his eyes and headed for Saudi Arabia to study and lived there for a couple of years.

Shortly thereafter, my father booked a plane ticket to study in America. “Several million Palestinian refugees live in Jordan and Lebanon”, (Miller, 400). Some immigrated to America. I imagined what it would have been like coming to this country for the first time. It was a misty, gray day when his plane landed on the runway at New York’s airport. I later discovered that at the base of the Statue of Liberty there is a plaque with the Elhams family name. My father had mailed a $100 donation to the Statue of Liberty Fund to have the plaque made years after his arrival (Maestro), (Daniels). My father had mailed off a college application to the University of Berkley and was accepted. Unfortunately without sufficient money, he couldn’t attend Berkley and instead attended San Diego State University. College consumed all of his time.

One of my father’s major influences was his own grandfather. His grandfather, the mayor of the town where they lived was the law of the land. People looked up to him and sought his advice. An adventurous horseman, he was a self-made man who actually built his own house out of stone. One of my father’s dreams would have been to build his own home for his family. This could perhaps explain why I have always been interested in architecture.

He is particularly inspired by President Obama’s desire to extend the hand of friendship to Muslim nations. When I was eight years old, I traveled to Washington, D.C with my father to see the nation’s capitol. We visited many monuments and government buildings. I learned a lot about my country’s great history. The original Declaration of Independence is at the National Archives in Washington D.C. (Cheney, p.24).

I will make sure that the next generation will learn the importance of my cultural heritages, both Arabic and Hispanic. It is my responsibility to make sure that the next generation understands their identity. My father has been an inspiration that has made me want to triumph over adversity. He symbolizes a man who can make the American Dream a reality.

Works Cited

Cheney, Lynne. America: A Patriotic Primer. New York: Simon Schuster, 2002. Print.

Daniels, Roger. Coming to America, The History of Immigration and ethnicity in American Life. Print.

Maestro, Betsy. Coming to America, The Story of Immigration. Online. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. .

Miller, Barbara. Book: Cultural Anthropology, George Washington University. Print.

"Museum & Attractions." Washington.org - Official Tourism Site of Washington, DC. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. .

blog #6: Unknown title

2009-09-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Whenever, I begin writing, I tend to spill my ideas onto a blank sheet of paper. Once I have those ideas on paper I organize them. I always like to hook the reader in with my first sentence. Basically, my rough draft was vague. I also discovered that I forget to support my statements with solid evidence. After I completed draft one of the artist statement, I learned that I like to get in depth and find a hand full of evidence. I really think one of my strong points is using descriptive words so that the reader can paint a picture in their mind.

I did some minor changes to my artistic statement by changing the words that had -ing endings. From doing that I really enhanced my writing. Randy said in class that he hates words that have -ing endings. Now my artistic statement is clear and easy to understand. I learned that when you use -ing endings can making your writing choppy.

I would probably continue writing about what do to inspire the next generation. I would also try and use my useful techniques to enhance the paragraph.

The sentence uses descriptive words to get my point across. It really explains and paints a picture of what is happening at the time. This sentence grabs the attention of the reader because I think the reader like sentence that are very descriptive. When the reader can better understand what is currently going on. Its an excellent sentence to start off a story because of the way it is written. It also tells the reader that the author had a great choice of words.

Blog #5: American icon pictures

2009-09-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

Picture two

Picture one

Blog #4: Photo Techniques

2009-09-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Posed portraits:
Initially, I'm going to capture a photograph of myself and put something in the background of my picture. Or I might hold this rug in my hands for the picture so.

Side-lighting:
definitely, my picture could use some side-lighting. I want to make it more detailed and not blurry or anything. I need people to see my facial expression in that photograph and what I am holding in my hands.

Rule of Thirds:
I could use the rule of thirds because I am taking a picture of myself.

Blog #3: In-class critiques

2009-09-10T20:44:00.001-07:00

For my rough draft of the artist statement, I spilled my thoughts on paper. I organized those thoughts into four paragraphs. The student who critiqued my artist statement told me to revise my conclusion paragraph because it was a little choppy. I also need to spell the word, Mediterranean, correctly.

Most importantly, I definitely need to revise my conclusion paragraph. I should add some important quotes and tie them into my artist statement.

Draft 2

Silence engulfed the dining room, my head resting on the palm of my hand as I twisted the spaghetti with my fork. Clearly, I was bored. My older brother, Omar, was sitting between my dad and myself. My dad was seated on the far edge of the dinner table. The spaghetti and meat balls on my father’s plate instantly disappeared. My dad began to speak like the beginning of a presidential speech as everyone quiets down to listen. Before he begins to talk, I heard noise coming from his throat like the sound of a motorcycle engine. My eyes were focused on him and he began to speak about his early days in the land of Palestine, neighboring the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan. I cleared my thoughts, he continued talking.

Politely, I interrupted my father and said, “Dad, why did you leave Palestine?” He told me he left Palestine because of the Israeli occupation. He left his county with tears in his eyes and headed for Saudi Arabia and lived there for a couple of years. Shortly thereafter, my father booked a plane ticket from Saudi Arabia to America. I visualized his arrival in America. It was like I was invisible and following my father. It was a misty, grey day when his plane gradually landed on the airport runway. Later on that dark night, my father was sitting inside his apartment building finishing up a college application. He mailed it off to the University of Berkley and was accepted. Unfortunately without sufficient money, he couldn't’t attend Berkley and switched to SDSU. He wanted to have a great house, a nice car and essentially a successful life. He had trouble trying to keep up with his culture and religion. College consumed all his time. He was clearly trying to fit into the American lifestyle. It was like he left his original ways and pushed them aside. He struggled with his identity as much as I did until he realized that he is an American Palestinian.

My father’s major influence was his own grandfather. My grandfather, the mayor of the town where they lived was the law of the land. He was a strong advocate for peace. People looked up to him and sought his advice. An adventurous horse man , he was a self-made man who actually built his own home. One of my father’s dreams would have been to build his own home for his family. This could perhaps explain why I have always been interested in architecture.

My father has been quite an inspiration that has made me want to triumph over adversity. I know that evidently, he symbolizes a man who is exceptionally hard working. He has told me that I should teach the next generation the importance of my cultural heritages, both Arabic and Hispanic. I must take the responsibility to ensure that the next generation understands their identity.

Blog #2: Osamah's resoures

2009-09-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Native American resources...

For the American Indians, I am thinking about using a musical CD by an American Indian. This CD is called, "Nakai". It contains melodies using the flute and string instruments. These are classic Nakai melodies such as "Daybreak Vision" and "Canyon Reverie". There is another musical CD called, "Sacred Spirit" which contains the chants and dances of the native Americans. The National

Geographic website contains information about the early days of the native Americans. It explains the arrival of the American Indians in America. The following link, http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/history-kids/native-americans-kids.html, will take you there.

There is a book called, The MAKING of the WEST: peoples and cultures a concise history, that has information regarding American Indian history.

John Stewart resources...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5pK7sK0i4A&feature=related this video is an interview about John Stewart's popularity in America.

The website is the number one source to find daily show episodes and news about the show. This is where you can find lots of information

The Book, America by John Stewart, contains information regarding American politics and presidencies. Its a great resource for an American icon like John Stewart.

Blog #1: American Icons

2009-09-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

John Stewart

He represents the face of comedy. Each episode keeps me interested and makes me laugh hysterically.

I'm sure you all have seen, The Daily Show with John Stewart. His show airs on comedy central every night at 9:00 o'clock. This American politic satirist/writer/television host/actor/media critic and standup comedian to the left side of your computer screen, clutching the microphone in his hand, is John Stewart. He currently resides in the United States of America. Stewart began his work on the daily show in the early 1999s. Every episode, John likes to criticize all the news coverage from the news networks like NBC, CNN and Fox News channel from his “fake news” desk. When he’s on air, you hear John discuss politics the entire episode and, obviously, he is wearing the same exact clothing an ordinary anchorman would wear, a suit with a tie. Anyway, John would always ridicule George W. Bush’s presidency when Bush made mistakes like the Iraq war during his presidency.

The main reason why I chose him is because he is passionate about his career and he loves being on Entertainment Television. John definitely inspires me and his wide range of viewers not to be afraid to stand your ground when politicians make mistakes. We both are very critical observers of events such as the Fox media reporting that doesn't explain the entire story sometimes.

Karem Elhams

My dad, Karem Elhams, was an immigrant originally from Palestine. Palestine is located in the Middle East, neighboring Jordan and the Mediteranean Sea. My dad's name is not spelled Karem, it is actually, Kareem. Kareem is correctly prounced, Kah-REEM, meaning "generous and giving". Before his arrival into the states, he spent most of his childhood in Rafa, Palestine. In 1941, the Israeli occupation of Palestine occurred and my father journeyed to Saudi Arabia and lived there for a couple of years. He then left Saudi Arabia and traveled to the United States seeking education and a new life. I find it funny that people in America struggle to pronounce my dad’s name. Surprisingly, my dad, a mathematical genius, sent in his college application to Berkley University and was accepted. Unfortunately, he could not afford to go there.

Dad, who I have always had a strong and unbreakable bond with, truthfully inspires me to be more productive and reach for high expectations. I would like to quote what he said to me three years ago, “The only person who I want to be more successful than me is my own son”. This quote simply means that he only wants me to successfully surpass him in life.

American Indian

The American Indian symbolizes courage against adversity. They only took what they needed from the land and they lived in harmony with nature. They are the original survivalists and they make do with what they have. The American Indian are the indigenous people of early America. They fought for control over their lands with weapons against harsh enemies. They fought bravely against their adversaries. American Indians tried to avenge the death of familyand friends. The American Indian used the tip of a spear to pierce the flesh of a buffalo for clothing and food. They would hunt to feed their families. Some grew crops. American Indians used their many skills to skin animals. They pray to the animals for forgiveness. They built dwellings to shelter themselves from the cold harsh winters. They were akways optimistic, always trying to survive.

I can honestly say that these American Indians inspire me greatly. They are some of the most successful survivors who struggled against some of nature's harshest elements and learned to be very resourceful. They have proven to be very brave and intelligent survivors.

Beginning the school year

2009-08-31T17:58:00.001-07:00

I'm looking forward to the discussions and projects that we will be doing this year. I am very anxious to learn more and more from this class. One goal that I have yet to accomplish this year, is to take up a leadership role in a group project. That has always been a hard one to come by. Last year, sadly, I didn't accomplish this one simple goal of becoming a leader. The reason why is that I didn't have the self-assurance I have now. I now have the opportunity to become a successful leader.
Anyways, I have learned from passed mistakes, like forgeting to turn in a couple of assignments to my teachers and not realizing how these missing homeworks can severely effect my grade. Learning from these past mistakes has made me become a better student then before.

Osamah Elhams