Welcome to today's in-class webquest. This is designed to help you practice and become comfortable with using our class website for various assignments and activities. Be sure to read all instructions and complete your work in a saved Word document first.Part 1. Click here to view a performance by one of my favorite spoken-word poets, Taylor Mali (you will need headphones.) This poem, entitled "Totally Like Whatever," is all about the importance of speaking with conviction and strongly articulating your ideas. Provide a detailed paragraph response to this poem that includes:
*Your opinion of the poem. Do you like this poem? Why or why not?
*Do you agree or disagree with Taylor Mali when he says that we are an inarticulate generation? Why?
*Why do you think that, in general, we have become so accustomed to speaking in the manner that he is describing?
*In your opinion, what should be done in our society to help correct this habit (or do you think that there is nothing we can do, and that it is simply how our language is evolving?) What could YOU do personally to correct this habit?
Part 2. Some creative writing. Browse through the hundreds of photographs available on The Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" site. Select six of your favorite images. For each image, develop, edit and proofread a descriptive paragraph (of at least five sentences.) Your paragraph can take any form you wish - it can be a detailed description of the image, a personal narrative that the image inspires, a fictional snapshot, etc.
Good luck! Post your responses as a comment to this post. This assignment is due at the end of class today. =)
I like the poem because Taylor Mali speaks the truth about what is going on in the American language how everything just suddenly becomes brief and abbreviated no longer in the English language are you going to find a single person that doesn’t know a definition of a single word that is no more than 2 syllables long at this speaks volumes for our generation (the generation of BRB’s and LOL’s. I think the reason why we speak in this forum is because the room for articulate words and vocabulary is no longer “convenient” in the literal sense and can no longer be used in a facet of everyday life ever. I think in society we need to push for further understanding in the English language for the children now and our children’s’ children. The things that I’m doing to improve are my use of parenthetical language of the LOL’s and shortened words.
ReplyDeleteByron Harjo
Trenton Howe
ReplyDeletePart one
My opinion of this poem was that I think he is right in what hes saying. I liked it because it was funny and true at the same time.
I agree to a point on what he is saying because most of this generation is stupid and not intelligent enough to be articulate.
I think this because I go to high school and see the students and listen to how they talk. And we have become accustomed to that way of speaking because we hear it everyday.
I personally think that we cant do anything to help these people because they are so use to talking that way and it is very hard for them to change.
I personally try to be as articulate and intelligent as I can be and I try to think before speaking.
Part two
the ice hotel I think this is a very powerful picture because it shows the true intelligence of people. The angle they took this picture at was very good because it shows the entire hotel. The process for making this cost probably millions of dollars, but the revenue they make makes up for all of it. This place has become a popular tourist’s trap, calling in people from all over the world.
this diver warms his body up by rolling in the powder snow after jumping into an ice cold river, seems redundant but really it dries the body and then he can get his clothes back on and warm by the fire. The timing for this picture is I think perfect because it looks like it was right after he rolled around and got up. In china this is a really big competition. These men train for years getting their bodies ready for the dive.
this third picture really made me think wow, because I know that for a fact to carve an even tiny ice sculpture it takes hours. So to have them carve three perfect looking and giant ones is just amazing. I love the person jumping at this angle it looks like he is balanced on the sculptures. It make me wonder how much time it took to make all these and place them. Also how long they lasted.
my forth picture is more of the hotel it looks like. It also has the sculptures carving more ice and adding more to the hotel. There rainbow lights give the ice color and personality, it makes them look alien and out of this world. It just amazes me that humans can create thing of such beauty.
I really love this picture because its Christmas in the summer. I mean its our summer and not theirs but its just a cool thought. Even though they don’t have a traditional pine tree it still looks festive and bright on that tree there. I love how they light there buildings too its very bright and a warm happy feeling.
this last picture I really think is a cool take on ancient rome. They have carved out the battle coliseum the way it still looks today. Its just amazing that you could spend time doing that or thinking of something that big. It looks like you could actually go in the thing, If they carved out the place. I would love to go see these in person they are just phenomenal
Part 1
ReplyDeleteI thought the poem he recited was amazing. It caught your attention by the way he was saying it, and it also used words and situations that you can understand. I thought it was very funny and extremely entertaining. I do agree with him that our generation is an inarticulate generation. We are so messed up with how we say thing that we don’t sound normal. We try to say things to make us look a certain way in which we are not. We should say what we mean in the way we want instead of the way people think it should be. I think we speak in that manner because our generation is so fixed on being the smartest and the best spoken and known. I really don’t think there is any way we can fix this problem either. Our generation has been doing it so long and even if you do get a few here and there to fix it, it’s so well imbedded in our head that we will refer back to it.
Part 2
Pic 1 It’s a hug ice castle in the middle of the arctic. It’s got a lot of colors, and a lot of ice. I mean there is even an ice wall that stretches all the way up to it. There is a lot of lights on it, and it looks to be a few floors tall. I mean I wonder how long it took for them to build this thing. Better yet I wonder how long it will even stay up. What is the purpose of this ice castle in the middle of no wear?
Pic 2 It looks like there are fireworks going off in front of Big Ben (the clock tower in London). There is a bunch of red fireworks could have been going off and lighting up the sky. It looks like a new year’s celebration. The cool part is there is a fares wheel that looks like you could have sat in and watched the shows go on. It is amazing to be able to see the fireworks go off from this picture in such amazing detail.
Pic 3 It looks like there is a bunch of penguins looking at a few presents. There are two of them, and one looks to be taller than the other one. There is one present that’s white with Christmas trees, and another that’s green with Santa on it. Also there is a polar bear on the top raped with a ribbon. By the absence of snow I can’t tell if they are in an arctic area or not.
Pic 4 There seems to be a lot of chine’s people working in a shop. There are tons of them packing objects into boxes. They all seem to be wearing Christmas object so it’s a good guess that it is Christmas time there. They are most likely making objects that will be shipped off to another place around the globe for people to buy for Christmas. From what I can tell it looks like most of the objects are food.
Pic 5 There is just tons of deer in this picture. They all seem to be looking at the person who is taking their picture. They are all standing in a lot of snow. There are no trees around them so I don’t think they’re in a forest area. They are those brown haired deer with the white dots on them and small eyes. The snow looks deep just because it looks like it goes half way up their legs.
Pic 6 There is a guy snowboarding on top of a mountain. He is just doing regular snowboarding though. He has what looks like a parasail in his hands and the wind are pulling him across this mountain edge. It looks to be very sunny out, and the mountain he is on looks to be very tall. There is fresh snow on the ground since its thick and there is no snow tracks in it.
Cody F.
Justin Ellis
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
1. My opinion on the poem is that it is funny but that’s it, there is no real meaning to it but as a comical poem. I don’t agree that we are an inarticulate at all because inarticulate means to be deprived of the use of speech or words and we have plenty of that. Look at all the strikes and speeches that republicans have made to show that they disagree with certain things that the Obama Administration has done. The reason we have become so accustom to speaking the way Taylor Mali believes because people are afraid to speak out their beliefs and certain people take advantage of that and start to want to control you ( the people). People just need to start standing up what they believe for and that will scare away the people that want to control you (the people). Because We The People of the United States of America will always be stronger when we are one united country.
2. President Obama’s decision to add another 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan confuses me. When President Obama was running for president, he promised that unlike Bush he would slowly start to pull out the troops of Afghanistan by sometime around this time. Why can’t Obama be a man like Theodore Roosevelt and actually visit Afghanistan or something to actually experience what the American troops are experiencing there and then just maybe he might actually realize what he is putting these troops through for no reason.
Remember when Barack Obama promised that health care reform would be hashed out in the open, with C-SPAN cameras present to show the negotiations to the American people? Well, Washington reporters remember. They reminded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about that promise and asked whether she would honor C-SPAN's request to film the closed-door negotiations."There are a number of things he was for on the campaign trail," she said of President Obama. Pelosi was specifically referring to the President's promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. The tax on "Cadillac health care plans" included in the Senate health care bill, and advocated by Obama, breaks that promise, they say. That is absolutely true. As many labor unions have pointed out, that tax will hit millions of middle-class Americans. Now that Nancy Pelosi admits it's a tax on the middle class, what will her New Hampshire minions Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter do if that remains in the final bill? Will she and Hodes vote for that middle-class tax hike? Will they criticize their President for breaking his promises on tax hikes and transparency? Or will they again vote the party line and pretend that they're representing New Hampshire rather than the Democratic Party? Oh, and the C-SPAN cameras will not be allowed in. So much for that promise, too.
Chad Neese
ReplyDeletePer.4
Part 1
I thought that the poem was very good, and very accurate to how people speak today. I agree with Mali because many people now speak just to speak and don’t speak with a purpose. I think people have started talking like that because they think it makes them sound smart or sound like they know what they are talking about but really they just sound dumb. I don’t think that anything can be done to help correct how people speak. Dumb people will sound dumb and smart people will sound smart it’s just how we are. Personally I don’t talk like that because I think it makes me sound dumber than I really am.
Part 2
1.This man is the backbone of the American people. He is the person that cleans up the streets after the New Year’s entire confetti fell. But this isn’t the only person who does this, many people go unnoticed everyday for the job that they do. Without these people life today would not be possible. It’s the people who clean up after everyone else who are too lazy to clean up after themselves. People need to start being responsible and clean up after themselves. Why should someone else have to clean your mess when you can take 30seconds out of your busy day to walk to a trashcan. Any business now has a trash can and I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind if you used it.
2.This is what more Americans need to be like, caring and giving. But why should it only be around the holidays? People everyday need things and if you’re living a good life and have a little extra money why should you not spread the wealth around? There are some people who don’t deserve the handouts, but people who have made an effort should be rewarded for trying, even if they fail. People need to realize that not everyone is just going to give up and rely on the government for free handouts. Many people are trying to get what they need and just can’t.
3.This picture is pretty sad, nobody should have to spend Christmas alone. Christmas isn’t about the presents but more so about being with friends and family and the people you care about. People have lost sight about what really matters, everyone is worried about who has the best “stuff” but you can’t take things with you to the grave and when you realize that “stuff” doesn’t matter that’s when you can finally start to enjoy life.
4.I thought that this picture was pretty funny. The penguins have absolutely no idea what’s going on. I’m proud of them for not tearing into the presents like most people would. They have some self control and I think that people need to rely more on their instincts rather than just going on what they think they know. Our instincts are the most useful trait we have and people need to trust them more.
5.This looks like so much fun, the mountain is calling my name. I love to snowboard but I’m ready for winter to be over so I can go fishing. I love to fish and it is the most fun thing I do. I’m really excited for March because I only have to come the first week and then the days around csaps but after that I leave for Mexico for a week. After that week I come back and leave for Texas to go fishing with my dad all week.
Chad Neese
Part one
ReplyDeleteYes, I like this poem because what he is trying to say is put into simpler terms. However his poem still has very unique points mixed in with humor. We are a very inarticulate, I agree. We do not know how to express ourselves in a manner that appeals to how we were taught by are grandfathers. Also our vocabulary now a days is a lot less complex and slangish. We have come more accustom to speaking in this manner because we have, over the years come up with our own words and changing other words around as well as how we say those words or sentences (for example without the English accent). Personally I don’t think that there can be anything done about this habit because it is just simply how our language is evolving, and personally I wouldn’t do anything myself to start correcting this habit. However, I do from time to time correct myself and other on their sentence wording.
Part 2
1. This picture reminds me of childhood. When we were in elementary school when we didn’t have to have any cares in the world besides just the chores our mother gave us, and how we could wait just for those winter and summer breaks to come. We could go outside and play for hours with others and let our imaginations run wild. We never had to worry about what else was going on outside of our own little worlds.
2. Who in their right mind would want to go swimming in ice water!! I could do more harm to their body than good. I just could not even imagine getting into that water. Let alone swimming in it! Just looking at that picture it makes my skin crawl.
3. Without knowing that this picture was taken of a snow covered tree in front of the white house. The picture brought up memories of Christmas at home. Waking up on Christmas morning just hopping there was snow. The picture also brings a sense of peace and beauty. Just what that time of year is supposed to bring.
4. The deer sticking his head out of the bushes put the image of hunting in my head. How it really is a game. You have to be really quiet and calm and very, VERY patient when hunting. Especially for deer, buck, cow, ect. it can be very annoying.
5. Is picture is mind boggling. It is amazing how artistic people can be! It must have to take a lot of time to build/sculpt something out of snow. The man is putting so much detail into this sculpture it is amazing! I could never do something like that.
6. How sad! There is a dog trapped in an lake that is full of ice and his owners are trying to get him out. If that was my dog I would be so worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle trying to get him out. It would break my heart if I couldn’t get him out.
I did like the poem because not only was it funny, but it’s completely true. We as Americans are very inarticulate considering we use text speak and some people don’t even know what some text speak means. Text speak makes us sound stupid and illiterate. I think we talk like this because it makes speaking seem easier, but in all actuality Americans are just plain lazy! I really don’t know what there is to do, but myself I’m just going to stop using text speak unless I am texting.
ReplyDeleteREUTERS/Maldives government: I thought this was a cool picture because it’s people underwater. There aren’t very many underwater cameras and it not only that they are underwater, but they are also signing papers under water. In a way I thought it was weird but it was still interesting.
AP Photo/Ben Curtis: I like this picture because to me the caption doesn’t have much to do with the picture. The person in this picture has made a heart with their hands, which to me symbolizes love. They also have green on their arms and wrists. To me them having the green ribbon on their arms and wrists doesn’t symbolize Iran because I’m not from Iran. To me it symbolizes the Irish because I just so happen to be an eighth Irish.
REUTERS/Aly Song: I now view people that live in china very differently. They are completely crazy. They go swimming outside during the winter. That is very brave and something I would never do.
REUTERS/Aly Song: I’m starting to realize I am semi selfish. The Chinese share their wedding day with several other brides and grooms. They even share the ceremony. I guess its just a Chinese tradition but it’s just something I would never do.
STR/AFP/Getty images: this picture is entirely ice with lights inside. There are ice buildings. Not only are these buildings as tall as they are there is also a miniature Great Wall of China made of ice and lit up. I would never have the patience to make an ice sculpture. It would take way too long, especially since I’m not very artistic.
REUTERS/Sheng Li: I think it would be incredibly cool to go down an ice slide. Now I really would like to go to China. I would especially like to go to China for the winter time. That would be so very fun. I would love to see their winter ice festivals in person. It would be incredibly fun not only to be in China but to be able to see amazing ice sculptures like that.
Heaven White
PART 1
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really like this poem because Taylor Mali used a lot of words that I couldn’t understand. He used a lot of big words and on some parts I couldn’t really tell what he was saying. I agree with him that we are an inarticulate generation because most people talk improperly. They don’t use that comma as a pause; it doesn’t really mean an anything to them. And a lot of people use the abbreviations like “idk” and “OMG” even when they’re speaking in person. I think we’ve become so accustomed to it because none of our surrounding peers told us not to talk like that. Nobody has really said that it’s wrong. I honestly don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop this from happening. I don’t think there’s anything I personally could do because no one would be able to keep up with me if I started speaking properly all the time.
PART 2
The first picture is a sculpture of an ice trail that leads to a square room. Behind the whole sculpture is what looks like another sculpture but it’s a castle like thing. This sculpture is a very cool way of making such an enormous sculpture out of ice. It makes me think about like what else they can make out of ice. It’s amazing how they cut each piece of ice into a little square and made it all fit together it just looks great.
The third picture is a temple like sculpture and it really caught my eye. I noticed this one because there is a picture before that shows the people working on it, but this one shows the final piece. I liked how they made it to scale. It looks like it’s a real temple.
The fourth picture is a picture of one of China’s late leaders. This picture caught my eye because it’s so exact. It makes it seem like that guy is really looking right at you. It shows how he was probably an older guy because he’s balding.
The sixth picture is of a swimmer getting ready to jump into the Songhua River. My first thought when I read the caption was “what an idiot.” That place looks like one of the coldest places in the world. There was even ice on a ladder leading out of the river and he’s getting ready to jump into it.
The eighth picture is of a pagoda being built out of snow. There are two floors and a round figure at the top. The pagoda seems like it is to scale and it’s really that big in real life. Also, the people working on this sculpture kind of seem like they aren’t as big as it which helps the whole scale.
The ninth picture is of a bride lying in the snow after a ceremony. She’s wearing a white dress with ruffles on it. She has a bouquet of red roses. She’s wearing a red jacket and pink gloves. She’s also wearing a tiara.
COREY L.
Jaimie Payne
ReplyDelete1/7/10
P. 4
Part One:
1. I do like this poem because it is definitely true, but it also has some comedic values to it too.
2. I agree with him on that. I mean all you have to do is look at a text message that one of sends. We don’t even spell out words anymore. It is sad some days to listen to how kids speak with each other or other people.
3. I think we became so accustomed with it because it is easy and comfortable. We abbreviate half of our words to make it easier, but I think the real problem started with the text message. When you only have 160 characters to get your message across some things can be left out.
4. I think unless we get rid of all instant messaging or text messaging our new language will be around forever. To personally correct the problem you can leave the text talk to your phone, and try to use fluent sentences while speaking with other people. Try using new words and eliminate the word “like” about 3 times from every sentence.
Part Two:
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
When I saw this picture I thought it was amazing. I mean it was all made out of ice which is incredible because its huge! I also liked all the colors they incorporated into it because at night it made it that much more beautiful. I honestly don’t really like the design of it too much, but that may also just be the picture since they never do them any justice. But overall I think it would have been an exciting festival to be at.
Three Days in Iran
I really enjoyed this picture because it was one of those pictures that really said 1000 words. I mean it was showing resistance to the corruption that is Iran. It is a picture of women which do not carry the same status in Iran that we do over here. Although they really don’t look too upset over his death. I think it is a positive step in the right direction for Iran, but you can only fix correcting so much.
Christmas 2009
This picture stuck out to me because out of probably thousands of candles they managed to get just one and were able to focus on it. It was interesting for me because they were able to focus on the individual as well as the masses, but make it look really really cool at the same time. This picture reminded me of when my family use to go to the midnight service on Christmas. Not only is Christmas Eve my birthday, but it is also Christmas so it is a really important day.
Snowy Scene
I love it because even though these are inner city kids they still know how to play in the snow. It also can show that they are happy with all the snow they got from the big storm. I also like the “In the moment” type of picture where you can get all the action going on like the girl throwing the snow up in the air. It reminds me of childhood when nothing really matters and when life was easy. I think we all need to go back to childhood sometimes.
The Decade in News photographs
This picture is probably one of the biggest event in this decade besides 9/11. This was a really important step in Iraq when the statue of Saddam Hussein came down. It meant a lot to the people of Iraq, but it gave us the sense of accomplishment and reassurance that we were actually moving in a positive direction. I know I haven’t forgot seeing this on the t.v. screen. This is definitely something I will probably being telling my kids about that will become “ancient history”,
2009 in photos (1 of 3)
Another moment I will be telling my children about was the election of our first black president. The cool part….I got to see him speak when he came to our school! If I could have voted in this election he would have been my candidate. Although recently I don’t think people are giving him the credit he deserves. They are tearing him down because nothing in the U.S. is improving, but he probably has one of the hardest and worst jobs ever. In the words of Dane Cook, “He might be the first U.S. President to assassinate himself.”
Web Fun poem/pictures post
ReplyDelete1. In Taylor Mali’s poem, he explains how today’s society has an inability to communicate in the manner we used to in the time of Shakespeare. I found his poem to be very accurate and interesting. It is very true that in today’s society, as a whole, we speak with no true feeling. Half of what is said is “dumbed down” to say the least. In his poem, Taylor suggested the idea of jumping on someone else’s bandwagon, and he used the term “like” a lot. This specific idea of the bandwagon explains that nobody expresses his or her own feelings or thoughts anymore. I agree completely with the fact that today’s language has become less complex and individualized. Individuals don’t seem to know if what they are saying is right, so they constantly question their own words. I feel that for our society, the language we speak comes at a young age. As children and pre-teens, we are taught simplified words, and from that point on, we are not introduced to vocabulary that is more intellectual. I feel like this habit can be corrected, but it will take a lot of work from the school boards. If students are taught a more advanced vocabulary at a younger age, they would feel stronger about their personal comments, and not question what they feel. For individuals at a higher age, including me, if we were to research and study more advanced words, we would become a more intellectual society with more opinion and self-willingness to speak our minds.
2. Image one: In the candle image, one memory that comes to mind is sitting at a graveyard for mass. It was such an inspirational mass where everyone carried a candle. This candle light mass is an annual mass, and it gives the members of the church a chance to pray for the deceased. I remember how emotional this mass was. There were tears of joy, pain, and sadness. Nevertheless, above all, it showed the beauty and grace of God’s creation.
Image Two: From the image of Hurricane Katrina, I remember a memory of my dad. The week of my birthday, my dad went to New Orleans to help clean up. He was called to do so because he knows construction and he is in a moving business. I remember very well the day that he told me he would not be home for my birthday. That was a hard day for me, knowing that he wouldn’t be home, but I was able to remember that he was helping people who really needed it.
Image Three: In image 17, a young boy finally gets the chance to see light. He is in the Helen Keller Center, and his teacher introduced him to light. His face shows great excitement and awe to the part of the world that he did not know. Without Helen Keller and her teacher Anne, this young boy may not have had a chance to see what he had seen in this image. This truly shows the world that life is special, and each person has a purpose.
Image Four: Image 36 brings me back to the time when I was in gymnastics. I remember when I used to get the chalk and get ready for the beam. It was my least favorite section of gymnastics. This image though, shows the intense feelings of gymnastics. I remember when I had a competition, and I was able to get through my whole beam routine without messing up. This is one day that I will always remember.
Image Five: In the image of the world trade center, I remember the day that the event happened. I was in fourth grade, and I was walking my dog before school. When I got home, my mom had the news on, and there were people crying. I didn’t know what was going on until I got to school. Several students were in tears, and the teachers had the news on as well. This is when I found out about the terrible tragedy. All I could do was cry, pray, and hope that all of those who were involved somehow would rest in peace or be safe.
Alicia Clouse