TO ACT OR NOT TO ACT

The biggest difference in Hamlets speech and Steve's speech is that Hamlet takes the role of the guy that gave up and Steve plays the role of the person that always took the risk. Overall Hamlet seems to be the one that's afraid of taking a risk, he entitles people to give up when things start looking bad or things simply start getting too tough to handle. In reality it more than likely just seems like a lot to do but can be taken step by step. That is the way Steve thinks, he believes that taking a risk is better than just quitting. He speaks through experience which leads me to believe that he knows more than Hamlet ever did and has the benefit of the doubt when it comes to risk taking. It is in fact the fear factor that stops all of us from taking all the risks we want to take, but they are all worth the risk if we truly believe they are. 

DEAR STEVE

Well after reading Steve's article in the section The Value of Life I have come to a conclusion, foolishness and curiosity aren't always leading to nothing. I mean Steve here dropped out of an expensive school because he couldn't find any inspiration there, and instead went with his friend to work in his parents garage on a project that everyone more than likely thought wasn't going to work. Although in the end Steve ended up starting a $2 billion business that all started with him saying, what if. This gets me thinking, what if the basic way of thinking isn't fully true? The basic way of thinking is that after high school everyone will go to college and be successful. Well in this case he went but dropped out and still made something of his life. Although this may be a rare case it still makes me wonder if everyone were to try to pursue their life changing ideas would most of us make it like Steve made it? We won't know because too many of us are afraid to take a risk. Although sometimes risks are worth taking. 

THE VALUE OF LIFE

(a) After reading the section I really like the idea of reading for understanding. It seems like we can all read but not all of us can comprehend what we read over the past few days and just seemed to keep reading knowing we don't fully understand what is happening. 

(b) I would like to squire the skill about the so called life schedule. It seems like everything in our lives needs to be ranked and set to a point where we can choose what is most important to us. We are dong something similar with the TIP's but this one seems to get into full detail. 

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

Throughout this year I want to achieve my smart goal of learning when I have finally reached the future me I'm always trying to picture. Honestly I look into the future and see myself still getting ready for the future. By that time I would more than likely have forgotten that when I'm in college I would already be living out as the future me. Which brings about a question, how will I know when I have reached the future me? Is it not possible that I would continuously think about another future me and not realize that by the time I am out of college I would already be the future me? Now this may only make sense to me, but that's something I wonder about. 

Vocabulary:Fall #6

accede- agree to demand, request, or treaty
The authorities didn't accede to the strikers' demands.
brandish- wave or flourish as a threat or in anger or excitement
comprise- consist of; be made up of
The country comprises twenty states.
deft- neatly skillful and quick in one's movements
The deft piece of footwork was one to be admired.
destitute- without the basic necessities of life
Every charity will care about destitute children.
explicit- stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt
The speaker's intentions were not made explicit.
extirpate- root out and destroy completely
The use of every legal measure to extirpate this horrible evil from the land.
inopportune- occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
A storm blew up at an inopportune moment.
ironic- happening in the opposite way to what is expected
It was ironic that now that everyone had plenty of money for food they wouldn't go buy it.
musty- having a stale, moldy, or damp smell
A dark musty library was filled with old books.
officious- assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way
A policemen came to move them on, an officious, spiteful man.
ominous- giving the impression that something had or unpleasant is going to happen
There were omnious dark clouds gathering this morning.
pinnacle- the most successful point; the culmination
The man had reached the pinnacle of his career.
premeditated- think out or plan beforehand
The criminal had premeditated the robbery.
rampant- of something unwelcome or unpleasant
Political violence was rampant in the US.  
solace- comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness
She sought solace in her religion.
stately- having a dignified, unhurried, and grand manner
The man has a tall and stately wife.
supple- bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible
She has very supple fingers.
suppress- forcibly put an end to
The uprising was savagely suppressed.
venal- showing or motivated by susceptibility or bribery
Why should these venal politicians care how they are related 

adroit- clever or skillful in using the hands or mind
He was adroit at tax avoidance.
amicable- having a spirit of friendliness; without serious disagreement
There will be an amicable settlement of the dispute.
averse- having a strong dislike of or opposition to something
As a former CIA director, he is not averse to secrecy.
belligerent- hostile and aggressive
A bull-necked, belligerent old man.
benevolent- well meaning and kindly
She had a benevolent smile.
cursory- hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed
A cursory glance at the figures.
duplicity- deceitfulness; double- dealing
This man was duplicitous, never knew how to tell the truth. 
extol- praise enthusiastically
He extolled the virtues of the Russian people.
feasible- possible to do easily or conveniently
It is not feasible to put most finds from excavations on public display.
grimace- an ugly, twisted expression on a persons face, typically of disgust, pain, or wry amusement
She gave a grimace of pain.
holocaust- destruction or slaughter on a mass scale
There have been several threats for a nuclear holocaust.
impervious- unable to be affected by
He worked, apparently impervious to the heat.
impetus- the force or energy with which a body moves
Hit the booster coil before the flywheel loses all its impetus.
jeopardy- danger of loss, harm, or failure
Michael's job was in jeopardy.
meticulous- showing great attention to detail
He had always been so meticulous about his appearance.
nostalgia- a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past
I was overcome with acute nostalgia for my days in college.
quintessence- the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class
He was the quintessence of political professionalism.
retrogress- go back to an earlier state, typically a worse one
She retrogressed to the starting point of her rehabilitation.
scrutinize- examine or inspect closely and thoroughly
Customers were warned to scrutinize the small print.
tepid- showing little enthusiasm
The applause was tepid.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Pros: 

-you don't have to wait for anyone else, making your own choices means you decide what you want to do when you want to do it 

-you have the freedom to be creative, you set your own limits and there could be no limits if you want it that way 

-ultimately it does seem easier since you create your own pathway instead of waiting for someone else to create a path for you 

Cons: 

-when given the option to make your own choice there is a struggle to get started because there is no topic present 

-if you are making your own choice there is a chance not many people or absolutely nobody will agree with your choice leaving you to back up the choice and do it all on your own 

In the end I'd say I'd prefer to make my own choice because I like the idea of letting my choices be creative and be able to make my own pathway. 

NO CHILD LEFT UNTABLETED

This whole idea seems to be one step further than what this class seems to be doing. In this class we are allowed to use our electronic resources to learn and create our own ideas on just about everything. Now in this article the schools of Guilford are being given tablets as an actual learning tool, this to me is an idea that seems to have been talked about for a long time. Now since they're given the opportunity I think they should actually use it. I mean if you have the ability to use a resource wouldn't you use it? Wouldn't you take full advantage of every resource possible? Well this is how I see these people in Guilford, they are being given a chance that hardly anyone else is getting so I believe they should just take it despite how the author feels about electronics. We are in a new age of technology and if we don't take advantage of all that we have now we aren't going to get as much experience out of our world as we could. Don't you agree? 

Vocabulary: Fall #5

adroit- clever or skillful in using the hands or mind
He was adroit at tax avoidance.
amicable- having a spirit of friendliness; without serious disagreement
There will be an amicable settlement of the dispute.
averse- having a strong dislike of or opposition to something
As a former CIA director, he is not averse to secrecy.
belligerent- hostile and aggressive
A bull-necked, belligerent old man.
benevolent- well meaning and kindly
She had a benevolent smile.
cursory- hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed
A cursory glance at the figures.
duplicity- deceitfulness; double- dealing
This man was duplicitous, never knew how to tell the truth. 
extol- praise enthusiastically
He extolled the virtues of the Russian people.
feasible- possible to do easily or conveniently
It is not feasible to put most finds from excavations on public display.
grimace- an ugly, twisted expression on a persons face, typically of disgust, pain, or wry amusement
She gave a grimace of pain.
holocaust- destruction or slaughter on a mass scale
There have been several threats for a nuclear holocaust.
impervious- unable to be affected by
He worked, apparently impervious to the heat.
impetus- the force or energy with which a body moves
Hit the booster coil before the flywheel loses all its impetus.
jeopardy- danger of loss, harm, or failure
Michael's job was in jeopardy.
meticulous- showing great attention to detail
He had always been so meticulous about his appearance.
nostalgia- a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past
I was overcome with acute nostalgia for my days in college.
quintessence- the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class
He was the quintessence of political professionalism.
retrogress- go back to an earlier state, typically a worse one
She retrogressed to the starting point of her rehabilitation.
scrutinize- examine or inspect closely and thoroughly
Customers were warned to scrutinize the small print.
tepid- showing little enthusiasm
The applause was tepid.

Literary Analysis #1

Jorge Garcia

Period 0

Literature Analysis

Book: Flat Broke in the Free Market How Globalization Fleeced Working People

Author: Jon Jeter

Topic(s) and/or Event(s)

1. (a) My book is about a man who grew up during the economic crisis. Throughout the book we see him grow up and we see how he deals with all of the hard times handed to him as a child and an adult. He always seemed to be poor, living on conditions that a normal person could not even think of, also we see that he grows up pretty much being an orphan. Tough times made him mature fast, and he never really had a childhood.

(b) Jon Jeter wrote about his life which took place during the economic crisis and because of that grew up in poverty.

2. I think that Jon Jeter wrote about his life because it helped shape who he is and why he became that way. He believed that how he grew up was important enough to make a whole story about because he was a black man living in a white mans’ world and at the same time facing many problems with the one thing everyone needs, money.

3. I chose this book in particular for several reasons. First off when I first saw the book at my local library the title itself reeled me in. In addition to that I also saw that the author was a black man, now I liked the idea of that because I have read many stories about a crisis that were all written by white folks and I was interested to see these same situations seen through the eyes of a person of color (who at the time were not equal to the white man). Then once I started the book I started realizing that I have read about those events before, but all seen through the eyes of people that were actually given all their rights and not through those of a man who really had no rights. What made me want to keep going is my curiosity as to how those events effected his life considering he was not seen the same as a white man.

4. Overall I did find this book to be realistic, I see most of his experiences as being able to happen to anyone. I can relate because my parents went through things like this too. When I was young my parents didn’t always have enough to make ends meet and had to cut back on a lot. They would go days without food yet made sure I was properly fed, in fact they at some points begged for money from their friends or relatives just to keep getting by. So I can honestly say that everything that happened to Jeter could easily happen to anyone, even nowadays.

People

1. Throughout these nonfiction books it is true that it is all told by how the author sees it happening, and there is always the chance that the author doesn’t remember exactly what happened so they would change up the story a little bit to get their main points across. Jeter’s choices in particular tell me that he was one that took notice of everything that went on around him by just noticing the actions of others. He was a man who noticed everything. Now with all the observing he chose to write about this because he wanted everyone to see things through his eyes, to see how the world could really be.

2. To begin with I always see the Jon Jeter himself as a little guy, he had a strong mental mind but as a kid he seemed like the little guy. Then as a young man he grew up with a dramatic change and hard a hard workers look to him, he was in pretty good physical shape and still kept his mind strong. He was a guy who kept to himself most of the time, and we would learn plenty about him just by the way he described things and acted towards others, in other words he was an indirect character. Also the economist that is mentioned, Nouriel Roubini. He is one who is very intelligent, he is a tall man who is on the thinner side but doesn’t seem to mind. He is a guy who gets along with people but at the same time knows how to act when around a certain type of people. He is not mentioned more than twice so he is one I would use direct characterization.

3. Well Jeter was interesting to write about because of course he is the author and wrote this whole book. He has so many back stories that made up his person and was still able to become a pretty well known author who is educated and everything. Also I wrote about Nouriel because I liked the fact that he was remembered by a phrase he said, “the worst housing bust ever” after a house bust that affected a great amount of people. By just being there and saying that phrase on a day to be remembered it became a phrase many now remember and more importantly now seem to remember the guy who said it. That just caught my eye.

Style

1. Jeter used a journalistic style to write this book, its noticeable by the way he tells the story since he doesn’t seem to know what will happen next even though he really does. He goes about as if he is reliving all these events as they go.

2. For the most part Jeter used pretty lengthy descriptions to describe his surroundings and overall it helped me get a good image of what he was really seeing and it let me use my imagination to create the scenes he was in.

3. The author starts to create a mood when he describes the area he was surrounded by. The way he describes things always makes the imagination believe that the area was a bad place, that someone was watching them all, and that he was only there temporarily.

4. Throughout the story I could tell that the authors attitude toward his life was very passionate, he truly cared about what happened to him throughout his life. Just think about it, he took the time to go back to all those memories that were clearly painful to him and write them each down on paper and in detail. This is why I can say he is passionate about what he writes, because he was able to write them all down to his audience.

5 This author in particular did not leave me with many resources, however I do not think that it would’ve mattered because I already had a good idea of what I thought about the book. The book was a good one and it really gave me a better idea of how the world can really be when the only thing that’s different is the color of your skin, and it is cruel.

Enduring Memory

            From this book I do expect to remember this lesson, the lesson being never take a good thing for granted because anything can happen and it can happen to you. Now I learned this from the book, but not just in one specific spot but in the whole book. There just seems to be a domino effect that happens after you start hitting hard times, there just seems to be more and more problems as the book demonstrates. I remember there was a time where I was getting ready for an important test in school and I stopped studying for it. After I pretty much gave up I began to get this weird feeling in my gut, to this day I’m not sure if it was guilt but I know that after I got that feeling I also started to lose focus on other things. Finally after that I started getting into fights with my parents and my girlfriend, then I started thinking what was happening to me. That things just kind of started going downhill. What I’m getting at is that I made one bad decision and it led to more bad things to happen. This book showed me that and I know that I won’t forget that any time soon. 

Vocabulary: Fall #4

accede- agree to demand, request, or treaty
The authorities didn't accede to the strikers' demands.
brandish- wave or flourish as a threat or in anger or excitement

comprise- consist of; be made up of
The country comprises twenty states.
deft- neatly skillful and quick in one's movements
The deft piece of footwork was one to be admired.
destitute- without the basic necessities of life
Every charity will care about destitute children.
explicit- stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt
The speaker's intentions were not made explicit.
extirpate- root out and destroy completely
The use of every legal measure to extirpate this horrible evil from the land.
inopportune- occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
A storm blew up at an inopportune moment.
ironic- happening in the opposite way to what is expected
It was ironic that now that everyone had plenty of money for food they wouldn't go buy it.
musty- having a stale, moldy, or damp smell
A dark musty library was filled with old books.
officious- assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way
A policemen came to move them on, an officious, spiteful man.
ominous- giving the impression that something had or unpleasant is going to happen
There were omnious dark clouds gathering this morning.
pinnacle- the most successful point; the culmination
The man had reached the pinnacle of his career.
premeditated- think out or plan beforehand
The criminal had premeditated the robbery.
rampant- of something unwelcome or unpleasant
Political violence was rampant in the US.  
solace- comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness
She sought solace in her religion.
stately- having a dignified, unhurried, and grand manner
The man has a tall and stately wife.
supple- bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible
She has very supple fingers.
suppress- forcibly put an end to
The uprising was savagely suppressed.
venal- showing or motivated by susceptibility or bribery
Why should these venal politicians care how they are related?

Vocabulary: Fall #3

accomplice- a person who helps another commit a crime
The man is being seen as an accomplice to the robbing of this bank.
annihilate- destroy utterly; obliterate
A bomb of this type could annihilate them all.
arbitrary- based on random choice or personal whim, rather than reason
The mans mealtimes were entirely arbitrary.
brazen- bold and without shame
He went about his legal business with a brazen assurance.
catalyst- a person or thing that precipitates an event
The governor's speech acted as a catalyst for debate.
exodus- a mass departure of people, esp. emigrants
An exodus would be when the Israelites departed from Egypt.
facilitate- make an action or process easy or easier
Schools were located on the same campus to facilitate the sharing of resources.
incorrigible- not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed
She is an incorrigible flirt.
latent- existing but not yet developed or manifested; hidden; concealed
Discovering her latent talent is in progress.
militant- combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause, typically favoring extreme, violent, or confrontational methods
This man is a real militant nationalist.
morose- sullen and ill-tempered
The man is very morose when it comes to taxes.
opaque- not able to be seen through; not transparent
The windows were opaque with steam.
paramount- more important than anything else; supreme
Everybody has that one thing they consider paramount.
prattle- talk at length in a foolish or inconsequential way
She began to prattle on about her weekend.
rebut- claim or prove that evidence is false
He had to rebut charges of acting for the convenience of his political friends.
reprimand- a rebuke
Officials were dismissed or reprimanded for poor work.
servitude- the state of being a slave or completely subject to someone more powerful
There was much servitude back in the times before WWI.
slapdash- done too hurriedly and carelessly
He gave a slapdash performance.
stagnant- showing no activity; dull and sluggish
Many economies are stagnant.
succumb- fail to resist( pressure, temp. , or some other negative force)
He has become the latest to succumb to the strain.