Lost in Wonerland

Rodriguez response

ljaquish — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 01:12:38 +0000

This piece was hard for me to read at first but then it began to spark my interest. I totally understand having to live two lives in one life. I was a completly different person in school then I was at home. At home I was quiet and never spoke to my parents unless it as about my chores for the night. At school I was also quiet however I still talked more than at home. I was only quiet in class. When I was with my friends i was a normal kid. I really don’t believe that you should have to change who you are and where you come from for anyone. Also to be ashamed of your past is awful. People should be proud to show who they are and their heritage. I don’t know anythign about my families history and I hate it. I only wish that I could know even a little about the part of the world my family cam from. we all shoudl be proud of our culture no matter what.

Love Letters Response

ljaquish — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:52:19 +0000

I thought that Love Letters was a very interesting. I enjoyed reading this story very much. I kind of understand why Megan didn’t really want to send the letters. She went through all that she did to write them becuase it helped her express her feelings about things. I know for me writing allows me to get over problems I have in life. It is a way of self expression and sometimes you just don’t wan tot share your feelings. I think that it is good how she was bal to overcome such a crappy life and come out on top. This story allows us to know that no matter how bad things get we always have soemthing to look forward to. I love how she went from being a prostitue to being a teacher. When I read of stories like this I think of all the teachers that I had in life and how maybe one day they were prostitues. I am so glad that Megan was able to get past her past and do something good with her life.

Hunger is Ideology reponse

ljaquish — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:32:32 +0000

How can the world be so effected by one subject? Weight. I think that the world is too busy worrying about weight when we should be worrying about the more important things in life like the homeless and the poor. There seems to be more and more cases of anorexia and bulimia in the world everyday. This is a shame. Girls and boys should not feel like they need to drastically lose weight to be beautiful. I feel to fix this problem it will take a lot of effort and change. We need to begin with advertisements and TV commericails. If we can make it aware to the world that we are all beautiful no matter our size.

Nickled and Dimed Response

ljaquish — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:36:01 +0000

I found the book to be kind of boring. It didn’t really catch my attention in anyway. I never really like books about the real world. I am a firm believer in having a minimum wage, however I think that is should be higher. The wage they have now does not meet the amount that Americans need to survive. It is too low. It is a shame to think that in America where you are supposed to be free and be able to live happy there are hundreds of thousands of people are considered poor. Books like this one are good to read, btu I think it would effect me more if I were interested in it more. It didn’t really atteract me enough.

Should our money be used to educate 19 to 29 year olds about abstinence

ljaquish — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:05:32 +0000

The boring 20s: No sex for you!

I think that his is a little outrageous. Who is the government to tell us when we can have sex and when we can’t? I don’t think that they should be able to. The worst part is they are spending more money to educate the 19 to 29 year olds about abstinence when they already got it in high school. Also by age 19 over half of Americans have already had sex. I understand those that want to commit to abstinence but do we really need to spend more government money on educating them. Think about it by age 19 most of us have decided what we are out for in life, so will more education for this age range really change anyone’s mind.

The blog talks about an increase in single mothers across America and I for one know that this is true. However, don’t think that abstinence education for 19 to 29 year olds will fix this problem. I think that we should increase abstinence education in middle and high schools. It is more important to get the information to people when they are young and still trying to discover themselves and who they want to be. I know that in high-school I was more impressionable then I am now and plan to be in the future.

Cobain vs. Elvis

ljaquish — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:53:56 +0000

Cobain bumps off Elvis as top-earning dead celeb

Tue Oct 24, 2:34 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley ceded his crown to Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain on Forbes.com’s list as the top-earning dead celebrity

The list, published on Tuesday, said grunge rocker Cobain earned $50 million between October 2005 and October 2006. Presley wound up in the No. 2 slot with $42 million, down from last year’s $45 million.

Forbes.com bases its dollar amounts on licensing deals for using the deceased celebrities’ work or image in advertising or elsewhere.
My response to this article is that I don’t think that we need to measure the amount of money that some musicians make after their deaths. Should we really be concerned with the money they make. I don’t think that they are. This is actually a little disturbing, to think that we in America are concerned with the money a dead musician makes. No matter how much money they make we should only be concerned with what they gave to us when they were here. We should know what their music does for us, not how much money their heirs are getting. Even though Elvis was beaten as top earner this year, I won’t be thinking any less of him. He was an amazing musician who brought so much to the music world. He was a very influential musician. He was one to start a new path rather than follow one that was already paved for him. And we know his legacy will go one no matter how much money he is now making, because he everywhere. He is on mugs, posters, and even garbage cans. I also think Kurt Cobain was a great musician. He influenced many young grunge rockers. His music has spoke to me as well as millions around the world. I really don’t think that with all the problems in America we should be worried about how much money a dead musician makes.

Theme song of Me

ljaquish — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:46:48 +0000

If I had a theme song it would be “Tiny Dancer” By Elton John. There is a long story behind this song. However, my main reason for picking this song is because of my wild and random behavior. I have on many occasions found myself dancing in the most awkward of spots. I dance down hallways and in the middle of the street sometimes. I dance anywhere just because I feel like it. When I dance I don’t dance a normal modern style. I have fun with it and just fool around. I poorly attempt ballet moves and sometimes put a few interpretive moves in. Also, my grandfather used to sing this song to me when he put me to bed at night. That is one of the reasons why I personally really like it.

Here is the song:

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad
Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums
But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can’t hear me
When I say softly, slowly
Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today
Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Brothers and Keepers Response

ljaquish — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:31:30 +0000

When I walked into the library I wasn’t sure what I was going in for. I knew that I would be asking the librarian for a packet to copy and read. I just didn’t know what it was going to be about. When I opened the folder and saw a stack of white paper I thought to myself, “Wow, do I really have to read this?”. I copied the papers and walked back to my dorm. The packet sat untouched for the longest time becasue of how much I was dreading having to read it. Finally I started to read. I was captivated within the first paragraph. It all seemd so real to be. I know the person that is always getting in trouble not neccesarily for something he intentionally did wrong. Robby reminded me os a good friend that was getting visited by the authorities on a weekly basis. He usually was just in the worng place at the wrong time, or with the wrong people.

All together I thought the story was very good. It was the type of reading that I enjoy to read on my spare time. I’m glad to see that it was a good read and that my expectations were wrong.

Too Bad for Popeye

ljaquish — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 21:03:24 +0000

Federal health officials await test results from California farms

CNN.com – Investigators hope testing will reveal source of spinach E. coli – Sep 19, 2006

Investigations on the E-coli outbreak continue in California. Health officails have narrowed the source of the bad spinach to California’s Salina’s Valley. Many of the contaminations of lettuce and spinach ove the past ten years have been linked back to Salinas Valley. Poor farming techniques are not the casue of the E-coli outbreak or any other outbreak linked to the Salinas Valley. Officials believe that it could just be something in the water or fertilization methods used by the farmers.

My response to this article is one of relief. I do not eat spinach so I am not worried for my own health. However I am concerned for the health of others. If we live in such a developed country then I believe that we should not have this problem about conamination of our goods. We should be able to produce and eat good without the growing concern for contracting a deadly virus or disease. At first they told us not to eat cow, then it was chicken, and now it’s greens, what is next??? Are we only going to be able to eat the boxed food produced by the growing food corporations?? Are we reduced to eating foods high in perservatives and fat??? Food that is made in a lab rather than grown by our neighbors??

Live From Death Row

ljaquish — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 20:42:07 +0000

“Live From Death Row” is the story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black man imprisoned for killing a police officer. It tells about his time spent on death row. He spent day after day thinking that the next could be his last.

I thought that the story was moving. I enjoyed reading the excerpts that we had to and am even now considering reading the book. Abu-Jamal’s story allowed me to realize how awful one’s life on death row can be and how awful the death penalty is. I was never a huge fan of the death penalty anyway. I do believe that it is a good solution in some cases however, with the increasing number of cold cases being reopened I think that less people should be put on death row. Over the past years more and more people are being proved innocent in cold cases. This includes some people that have already been executed. The only time a person should be executed is if all the evidence shows they are guilty and there is no doubt. Some people do deserve the death penalty but other do not. I just think that the judicial system should be more conservative on handing out that sentencing.