HW 37: Podcast two! Eid

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=51170&castPage=

Episode 41!

HW: 36 Pod Cast Number 1

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=49510&castPage=

I am Episode 6

HW 35: The End is Near

I’ve been writing this blog for about 13 weeks now. This is actually my first blog that I have ever written. I am very proud of the work I’ve done because I thought that blogging was going to be really hard. Actually, in the beginning of the semester, I didn’t even know what blogging was. I’ve learned a lot since then. Making this blog was actually very easy. I learned how to post and group my pod. Blogging is actually easier than making papers. It was easy to keep up the blog. I liked responding to books that I have read because I get to write my own opinion. Whether or not people agree or disagree. I would like it people commented on my posts. That would be awesome. Even if their opinion was different from mine. I know my parents and family are going to want to see this blog and all the work I have been doing. I want people to read it and maybe just get a sense of what I am talking about and maybe buy one of the books I posted about or watch a blog that I watched. I think the best blog I did was one on Riverbend because I really enjoyed reading it and I do have a strong opinion about the readings. I actually really liked writing all of the blogs. The best thing that I liked about the assignments is that there really wasn’t any specific amount of words that was needed. My professor had us use a 150-400 word constraint. But if I didn’t really have a huge opinion about that topic, then I can lean toward the 150 range. But when I liked to write more, I wrote as much as I wanted. I also liked the fact that it was informal writing. So I didn’t have to stress about writing formally because that is not my strong point. I probably will keep this blog just for historical purposes. I want to remember what I wrote about but I don’t think that I will write more. But, to all my readers…feel free to comment on my blogs if you want to!! Thanks for reading!

HW 34: Traditions as a Way of Life

In Baghdad Burning the role of gold in the Iraqi family means everything. Usually, the Iraqi people, especially during the war, took their money out of the bank and turned into gold. By doing this, it shows how wealthy they really are and if there are problems among the family, the gold can always be turned back into money if needed. Riverbend says that the troops usually takes the gold and jewels because they think that Iraqis are not people who own fine jewels like that (Riverbend). Riverbend’s aunt actually made her and her cousin wear the jewelry because they saw tanks on their main street, and the last thing she wanted was her jewelry to be confiscated from a raid. This gold is a possession that has been either passed down from generations. Riverbend states about her aunt “The ’mistress’ called out that we could laugh all we wanted but since the jewelry was everything she had since 1965, we had better be careful” (Riverbend 102). They were very important. No matter what the family was doing that day, they would all meet up for evening tea. The tea is not just bagged tea, its more special than that. Actually it offends the Iraqi people if someone uses the bagged tea. Tea is part of the everyday life in Iraq. “People drink tea with breakfast, they drink tea at midday, they drink tea in the evening and often drink tea with dinner” (Riverbend 109). They all gather around a tea-like table and talk about issues that are happening. It is a place and time were the whole family can get together and drink homemade tea and converse. It is family bonding time that is traditional.

HW 33: Work vs Fun

The episode that I watched was “Iraqi Teens Work to Help Their Families”. The series title is Alive in Baghdad: Life From Iraqis to You. It was published on 10-15-07. The link to this video is: http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/10/15/iraqi-teens-work-to-help-their-families/. The whole video is based on these boys who help out their father in making furniture such as: Beds, Tables, and Chairs. They say that it is hard to find work because you really can’t go outside that often. Also, the job that the boys do is very risky, because they have to make this furniture outside. It states that “50% of Iraqis are jobless”. Some of these young men are: Hussein Kamal (15 years old), Mustafa Melak Fathullah Ali (14 years old), Yousif (college student). Yousif is currently unemployed and has to endure tons of surgeries because he was born with a skin disorder. He goes to college at the College of Agriculture in Abu Ghraib. He usually just sits at his computer all day. The background is mostly trees and dirt road. There is mostly brick buildings and white plastered walls. Sometimes the boys are interviewed on a couch. But, they are mostly outside. It might show the viewer what life is like for these young teens. Instead of playing games, they have to work. The videos I’ve seen before is mostly the same, except in this video, we are in the backyard almost. Other videos, are in the street. The most memorable thing I find is watching these kids at work. I cannot believe that these kids make furniture by hand. That is crazy!

HW 32: Empty School

I decided to focus on shopping for school supplies. I was really touched because I act the same way when I go school shopping. I loved having all my supplies organized and getting new pencils and notebooks. She smelt the erasers too! The children were really excited to go see their friends and use the new school supplies. The schools have been replaced but there were still not that many kids in the classrooms. The classrooms felt empty. Since the children really didn’t have a summer because they were mostly indoors and not allowed to go outside and play. The children were really excited and anxious to see their friends. There were no desks or chairs in the classroom. It was a big deal to go shopping. Even though E and her cousin had to wait outside the stationary store. (Riverbend 94-97). Riverbend out of all the people were excited to see the bright colors all lined up in rows so organized. It gave her some relief because outside wasn’t as pretty.

HW 30c: Blogging in Media and Journalism

The symposium on Friday (11/9), was about blogging. There were actually three speakers instead of four. The three speakers were Mike Caulfield, a Blue Hampshire Blogger, Jim Rousmaniere, a Keene Sentinel Executive, and Emile Netzhammer, a KSC academic and vice president. The first speaker talked about the change in mainstream media. He talked about the I-Phone and how “we can all be early adapters”. The media used now is more interactive and by sharing more information than usual. He also talked about our attitude in politics as well. Students today don’t think that politics is a way of changing the world. Mike talked about blogging in terms of journalists. He asked “are bloggers journalist?” He stated “Blogging is something you do, not who you are.” In blogging there is still skills and research involved. But, blogging is personal. Jim talked about the differences between blogging and journaling. Blogging has a disclosure, a room, with a special flavor in which the reader is use to. Whereas journaling is more public. It is opinion vs. fact. He liked how Mike posted a blog and he could actually picture the scene. Blogging takes a lot of digging of information and progressive steps.

HW 30b: The Use of Animation!

I went to the Thursday(11/8) citizenship symposium at 3:30. The title of this session was Animation: a message to citizens. The three speakers that spoke were Jiwon Ann, Sander Lee, Mark Timney. Jiwon Ann is a KSC instructor of film, Sander Lee is a KSC professor of philosophy, and Mark Timney is a KSC associate in journalism. The first presentation was about Anime Art and ways of seeing. She states in her presentation that “In any event, citizenship is no longer easily based on soil or blood”(Miller). She talked about fan culture and the art of communication in Japan. There were two female artists but I couldn’t understand her heavy accent. She talked about punk art and the differences between men and woman paintings. Here is a good quote I gathered at her presentation: “ Men act and woman appear”, “woman watch themselves being looked at..”(Berger). Another presenter based his presentation on a cartoon with Donald Duck and Hitler. The cartoon says “Hail Hitler”. Donald awakes from this dream and he sees a shadow of Hitler. But, it actually was the statue of Liberty. He was also dressed in Star Spangled Pj’s. It was a very powerful cartoon. He also had another cartoon about Bugs Bunny. There is the two theories of evils in both films. Mark Timney presented a slide show about South Park. He explained how the show is so popular because of the: controversy, vulgarity, attacks in religion, sexual content, and exploitation of sensitive issues. South Park racks in over 4 million total viewers. He explains how 55% has a moral lesson and we should all be active citizens.

HW 30: Citzenship at Keene

I went to the symposium at 5:00 in the mountain view room. This is Keene State College’s Fifth Biennial World Affairs Symposium. This year, they decided to do Citizenship. A symposium is a basically when someone comes in and speaks about that subject. It is free and open to the public. Anyone can go and listen. There is a list of subject also. I went to one about high school and college students being involved in community service and politics. The title of this speech was youth and civic education. The speaker was a cooperate communication teacher at University of Rhode Island. Her name was Val Endress. She basically had two main points. The first thing that she talked about was how much involvement students get in community service. She said that “One out of four schools require volunteer work.” She posed problems why students don’t get involved as much as they would like. One of the reasons were that college students focus on school so there is not much time to volunteer. Whereas some people actually use volunteer work for a resume builder. The other main point she mentioned was how little high school and college students know about politics. I was really surprised when she said that “2/3rds of students play an active role of getting involved.” Overall I liked the subject because it related to me. It was interesting to watch.

HW 28: Riverbend...You inspire me!

Dear, Riverbend. Wow. I am speechless. For so many years, the US has hid us Americans away from what is going on. The media has defiantly portrayed different meanings to us. It really is hard for me to put my feelings into words. Let me start off by saying how brave and noble you are. I believe that everyone in the US should your blogs or this book. Today after reading your book from August 2003, I put up an away message. An away message is something from AIM which is a computer networking service. This is what my away message said…“I highly suggest that people read "Baghdad Burning" by: Riverbend. It is a girl blog from Iraq and It realllly makes me think..and since everyone lives in this country and cares about our future as Americans and other futures in the world, then YOU too should read it.” I didn’t just put this away message up because I HAVE to write a post for my class. I really want people to KNOW what is going on! Most Americans here are going on with their daily routines and thinking nothing of it. This really makes me angry. Some people might not agree with me, but I want this war to end more and more each day. I thought that after we found out that their were no WOMD (weapons of mass destruction), we should get out. We have no business in Iraq. I think that Bush is stupid. I think that he is trying to portray America as the super hero trying to “save the Iraqis“. I believe that is ridiculous. The Bush Administration needs to get off their high horse. Why is it that you have to be jobless or wear something that you don’t want to wear? Why is it that you have to go to bed fully dressed because you don’t know when there will be an attack? It sickens me to think that us as citizens are powerless. Or at least that is how I feel. I feel as though we were put under a trance. Hidden from reality. And yes, the news here should show the Iraqis terror and not only our troops. I wish I could write so much more. I am revolted. Let me tell you, Riverbend, that you are not alone in your feelings. We, here, feel you too.