Vocab #2

Accouterments:  additional items of dress or equipment.
It's common for people to bring accouterments such as jackets and blankets to football games.

Apogee:  the highest point of development; the climax.
Some people consider the apogee to be the best part of a story.

Apropos: at the right time; being appropriate and timely; concerning. 

Bicker:  to argue about petty and trivial matters.
My little sister is known to bicker when she is proven wrong.

Coalesce: come together and form one mass or whole
Mindmaps are used to coalesce and bring a better understanding to certain topics in the course.

contretemps: an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence.
The death of family member can be a difficult contretemps to accept.

Convolution: a coil or twist; confused matter or condition.

Cull: to obtain from a variety of sources.
It is recommended to cull information when writing.

Disparate: not allowing comparison.

Dogmatic:  based on assumption rather than observation.
Most opinions are dogmatic and difficult to change.

Licentious: lacking moral discipline.
Many criminals are licentious and don't see the consequences in their actions.

Mete: a boundary line; limit.
Rules are set to mete the amount of wrongdoing.

Noxious: poisonous or harmful.
Overdosing on medication can be noxious.

Polemic: an argument or controversy.
Politics are the cause of many of polemics between people.

Populous: having large population
Santa Maria is not a populous town.

Probity: confirmed integrity.

Repartee: a swift, witty reply.
I find it important to have a repartee in mind while in an argument.

Supervene: to follow immediately.
An essay for the summer reading supervened when summer ended.

Truncate: to cut short.
I find it enjoyable when classes are truncated due to minimum days.

Unimpeachable: unquestionable.
Dr. Preston's teaching methods are unimpeachable and undoubtedly helpful.

Beowulf Notes

Trista
* In fact, the barbarians live with us without discrimination And thet possess more than half of the houses which shelter us.

I find it hard to believe anyone could refrain from judging someone who stole their home.

Beowulf

*"Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime of Abel's death."

Is this poem based off the story of Cai and Abel?

"They gave thanks to God for their easy crossing."

It's odd seeing an English book with any type of religious reference, especially a school text book.

"Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I."

So far Beowulf comes off as very courageous and brave, i'm interested to see his fate.

"Grendel will carry our bloody Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones and smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls of his den."

"Her body fell To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight."

Killing two monsters in one visit, bravo. Bravo.

"Flames beat at the iron Shield, and for a time it held, protected Beowulf as he'd planned; then it began to melt,"

I'm assuming that wasn't apart of the plan?

"And for the first time in his life that famous prince Fought with fate against him, with glory Denied him."

Beowulf is like superman, He was the man of steel who was basically impossible to kill. Then a dragon weakened him with fire just as a villain would do to superman with Kryptonite. This is getting interesting.

"The old man's mouth was silent, spoke No more, had said as much as it could; He would sleep in the fire, soon. His soul Left his flesh, flew to glory."

I guess fear is a good thing, If Beowulf had learned how and when to pick his battles he would have still been king.

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT !

Interdependence: to rely on others; a relationship between others.

The biggest thing in nature is that they are all connected, otherwise known as, interdependent.

What is an opinion and how do we use them? 

- Everybody has their own reality and their own way of seeing things, it's uncommon and known to be difficult to make our reality and way of thinking apparent to others. One of the main elements denying someone else's outlook on a subject is pride, most "opinions" aren't swayed by pride and for this reason most people do not agree with "opinions" that are not their own.

-In most cases when individuals do not relate, agree or understand our "opinion" we state our entitlement to it as an cheap shot or way of defense, this is normally used to end a conversation that does not favor the speaker who is "stating their opinion".

There is only a "right" opinion if an opinion is right.

Regardless of what we may or may not agree with, there is value in everything someone says.
Well, unless they make a death threat or state something wildly out of proportion. .

Reflections on week 1

1. As stated last year, the only factor that will effect my participation in this class is myself. It has already been proven that the procrastination bug i had caught over the summer is still making its course(i believe that the phrase people use) throughout my body and i'm still attempting to recover from it. If i have any difficulties in this class there is no one to blame but myself.

2. In my previous years of education I was a victim of bullying, when i transitioned into high school I learned how to protect myself from it. I was bullied for various reasons such as the color of my skin and the way my body was shaped and because of those reasons I had a hard time accepting who I am. After many years and many tears that had passed me by I had decided to actually talk to someone and take my problem head on. I talked to my siblings, they had all been bullied for the same reasons, they had given me the key to overcoming many of my mental struggles. These two words have changed me in many ways, and though others may judge and criticize these "words of wisdom" i take great pride in them. The key to my ending the war on the battlefield of my mind were two simple (but raunchy) words.  F*ck It. (pardon my french). When doubt clouded my judgement and i couldn't find my way out,, I told my self "F*ck it". As difficult as things may have seemed i refused to go down without trying and "F*ck It" was basically my siblings way of saying Why not give it you best and better yourself? Why not try new things and challenge yourself in ways you didn't even know were possible? When push comes to shove, just f*ck it .

3. I'm excited to learn new skills and better myself as a student yet i'm still learning to overcome my what seems to be endless worry of passing this class. Though this class will be a tremendous challenge, I hope to learn skills that will put my mind to the test and prep me for college. Helping me find my passion would be a plus ! (:

Vocabulary #1

adumbrate: indicate faintly, foreshadow or symbolize
Many writers adumbrate in their stories to give hints to the readres

apotheosis: climax
After the apotheosis of a story, everything begins to wind  down.

ascetic: severe self-discipline from all forms of indulgence
People who fast develop a strong ascetics.

bauble: a small trinket
Some teachers offers baubles as rewards to get their students to participate.

beguile: charm or enchant
Many commercials attempt to beguile it's customers with lies to trick them into purchasing their product.

burgeon: to grow rapidly
I hope my knowledge will burgeon from the participation in this class.

complement: something that completes or brings perfection
Adding pudding to cupcake mix complements the flavor

contumacious: stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority
Many students at righetti are contumacious towards teachers due to lack of discipline.

curmudgeon: bad tempered or surly person
A lot of elderly people are curmudgeon.

didactic: intended to teach
Dr.Preston uses open source learning to b

disingenuous: not sincere
Bullies are disingenuous of others feelings.

exculpate : show or declare (someone) is not guilty
Many attempted to exculpate Trayvons innocence in the Zimmerman case.

faux pas: embarrassing/tactless  act or remark in a social situation ; slip of manners.
Many freshman struggled with faux pas the first week of school.

fulminate: and explosion or outburst
Anger has a tendency to fulminate your emotions.

fustian:  self important speech or writing

hauteur:  arrogance, disdainful pride
Mr. Darcy gave off a certain hauteur in the beginning of Pride and Prejudice.

inhibit: to restrain
I am trying to inhibit myself from going to bed instead of posting on my blog.

jeremiad: a long mournful complaint; lecture between right & wrong.
Every year Righetti students must attend a jeremaid assembly to notify the students of the rules.

opportunist: someone who takes advantage of situations for self gain
Many con artists have the mindset of an opportunist.

unconscionable: unreasonable, not guided by conscience
Deciding my homework wasn't a priority tonight was unconscionable.

Big Question #2

My second question was adopted from a classmate, 

Why is the world still so heavily swayed by racism ? Why do people fail to accept their racial accusations and actions towards certain people ? How is it that Zimmerman killed a minor pleading self defense and got off no charge, but a black woman fired a warning shot at her husband to protect herself from his abuse and got twenty years in jail even though the gun did not shoot anyone .? Why do so many people refuse to admit how the color of your skin does affect your life in society and why does the world still refuse to move past its racial history .?

Essay #1

"Exile i strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home; it's essential sadness can never be surmounted ." Edward Said has also stated that exile can become a "potent, even enriching" experience.  Barbra Kingsolvers' Poisonwood Bible is a great example of exile. Choosing to leave the comfort of their hometown in Georgia and take a risk and venture into Congo, Africa strips the Price family of their traditional and familiar customs. This abrupt change has an obvious affect on the eldest daughter Rachel Price.

At the age of fifteen, Rachel is taken away from her hometown at the very peak of her development. Disconnected from friends and family, Rachel has been remove from her familiar surroundings to pursue her fathers crazy idea to go spread the word of God to the people of Congo. New languages, surroundings, people, cultures and experiences are put on Rachel's plate as she is forced to adapt to a new habitat.

The move doesn't seem to benefit Rachel at first, the food is different and the people disgust her. Ms. Price's outlook widely differs from the rest of the people in the new country she now lives in. Rachel Price has a personality that values nothing more than material items and appearance. Due to these complications, Ms. Price seems to have a problem adjusting to her new surroundings. After thoroughly patronizing the women for their bearing of bare breasts, she continues to rave about how she dislikes her surroundings. Overall, she seems to have negative thoughts about being exiled from Georgia. The journey to Congo appears to have nothing but negative outcomes for Rachel and her family, not only are they in a foreign place but they also lose their youngest daughters life while staying there. The "compelling thought" of trying something new comes into the horrid reality of what it's really like to be stripped of your comfort. It appears to be almost apparent to the readers at this point, that when the chance arises, Rachel will be the first of her family to leave back to her homeland.

To much surprise there is an ironic twist to Rachel's unfortunate experience in exile. Though her character has ceased to render or change at all from the experience in Congo, Rachel remains in Africa with the same arrogant mindset as she came. This change in mindset was mainly influenced by her Husband(s) in which she decides to stay in Congo as the wife of a luxury hotel owner. Thus making Edward Said's final quote about exile being "potent, and enriching", a valid point.

Poetry #1

1. Charles Bukowski
2. It's ironic due to the fact that it is an advertisement. The poem is telling us to make our own decisions but commercial is trying to influence and tell us to buy their product. Bukowski's poem is all about freedom and self guided choices but the whole point of commercials is to get the viewer to purchase what they want and to make them buy something because they suggested the idea that they should. The whole commercial is a contradiction .
3. This reasoning on why this poem relates to the reputation of Charles Bukowski is found in his past. Bukoswki was an alcoholic whose past was littered in abuse and bullying, this poem is Bukowskis advice to his readers to live a better life than he did. Reading the poem, the amount of experience hidden deep into the words may not be transparent at first but after reading the poem over a few times it becomes obvious of Bukowskis words of wisdom. His youth was very controlled and his adulthood was messy and could not be tamed, this poem is his advice on balance and the key to a well lived life.
4. I am almost positive this assignment was given last year, i also took the liberty in checking the previous AP blog for help with number two and to aid my writers block due to a long educationally inactive summer.

Big Question.

What is true happiness and how do we achieve it ? How do we know that what we think is happiness, is truly making us happy ?