Stacy Sullivan

I think before coming I was most excited to hear from Stacy Sullivan. I wanted to know more about her being involved in Kosovo and wanted to know more about the lawsuit she was involved in. When Stacy read the part about the cousin sending all of those materials over sees, I was wondering how he never got caught or how all those materials were never found over there. Stacy also talked about how he was sending certain guns over and saying they were for famous elephant hunters. It is insane how people can make up lies and get away with so much stuff. Then Stacy talked about the lawsuit. Well, actually she more laughed at the lawsuit. The guy who is suing her for her story in the New York Magazine (I think that is the name of the magazine) has filed over 150 lawsuits. That is crazy! Stacy talked about how the magazine was backing her 100% and that they got a lawyer and everything covered as soon as they heard about it. I think that it is great that this magazine is doing this for her because she wrote that story for them, not knowing that it would turn out like this.

Josh Prager

I was interested to hear from Josh Prager’s novel about the famous home-run and the cheating done by the Giant’s team. I am not much of a baseball fan so I did not know anything about the incident. One of the most fascinating things that Josh talked about was how he found and actually got to see all of the materials used I in the cheating process. Josh was able to actually see the telescope they used and meet some of the people that were working. I also enjoyed what Josh had to say about Bobby Thompson and the cheating he was involved in. Although Bobby was wrong for cheating, he was also kind of forced into it since his manager wanted him to. Bobby was only trying to serve his team and do what was best for them even though it was not the best decision. When the question about who all three of the writer’s geared their novels to came up, I was a little surprised at their answers. All three said that they did not really think about their audience or who they were writing this book for. I had always thought that most writer’s would think about this before hand. But when they talked about it, it made more sense. I think now that a writer should focus more on novel and make it incredible because then the readers will come. The readers will always find the novel, especially if it is something they enjoy learning about.

Christine Keneally

First off, the Galloway Mansion was beautiful and massive! Christine Keneally started off with talking about her book on language and its origin. I am not someone who really gives these kind of things thought. I just think well somewhere along the lines, people began talking. But when Christine began reading and talking a little bit about her work it caught my attention. She used animals to reference to and related their actions to our own human actions. I thought the research she had found out about the dolphin was the most interesting. She said that dolphins eat their fish cut up into three parts. The dolphin would only eat the first two parts and would eat the tail but a certain part ( I can’t remember what it is called) had to be stripped from it. So one day the trainer accidently left the part on the tail. Well, when the dolphin ate it, it began to act weird and swam away and did a vertical jump. So then one day, the trainer left the part on the tail on purpose and the dolphin responded the same way. I think it is fascinating how even though we can not communicate with animals the same way we communicate with other humans; there is still some for of communication.

Cherry Picking

We all know we are guilty of cherry picking. We all want our evidence to stand out and grab the reader’s attention. If I am writing a persuasive paper, I know that I want to get the information that stands out and makes my side look good.
When I looked up cherry picking, of course, Wikipedia came up so I first looked at that site. Wikipedia says that it is using information to support a specific side while ignoring the opposing side. Then I went to this blog site. They were talking about how politicians cherry pick a lot. I had never really thought about it before but of course politicians are going to want to make their campaign look better than their opponent’s campaign. A perfect example is the commercial s that the candidates release. Most candidates will make a commercial that shows a negative aspect of their opponent, so that they will look better. These candidates probably do the same things as their opponents they are just trying to show how wonderful they are and how horrible the other candidate is. I do not think cherry picking is that bad because we are all guilty of it. We all want what is best for ourselves, or something we support so we are going to want to make it look good.

Weekend!

I had an extremely exciting weekend! My sister, who lives in Nashville and her boyfriend, came in town for Easter. Well they did not just come in town for Easter, but Kyle, my sister’s boyfriend, was proposing Saturday night. He was so excited! They had been talking about getting married and stuff so Christy, my sister, told him to make sure the proposal was a huge surprise. So he had it all planned out. We were all going to go downtown and since he had never been to the Peabody, he had said he wanted to see it and that is where he planned to propose. He wanted my parents, his dad, and me there because he knew that it would throw Christy off and they had talked about how they wanted pictures of it. So as they are taking some pictures, he discretely pulls the ring out and holds it on her side. Then, when she was not really paying attention he got down on his knee! It was so cute and of course she said yes and started crying! I am really happy for them and really excited about all the planning since the wedding is on July 12^th, which is so soon!!

No child Left Behind research

The No Child Left Behind act was signed with good intentions. No Child Left Behind is divided into four main sections: stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven educational methods, and more choices for parents. With this act, the states are having proficiency tests to see where each student stands to see where extra help needs to be placed. “Under No Child Left Behind, every state is required to 1) set standards for grade-level achievement and 2) develop a system to measure the progress of all students and subgroups of students in meeting those state-determined grade-level standards” (Archived 10). All students, no matter their race, religion, or diablilities are held accountable for what they have learned (Archived 10). Another aspect of No Child Left Behind, is that the schools get to decide where the money received needs to be used. For instance, some schools have better sports programs while others have better music programs, so the individual schools can place the money where most needed. This act is researching many different methods of learning as well as methods of teaching in order to make learning easier for the student. All students learn differently; therefore, teachers need to be able to accommodate each students’ learning abilities (Four). No Child Left Behind also allows parents to place their children in different schools, if their child’s school is not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress or other standards within the act.

Sex Offenders

So today before my Weather and Climate class I thought I would get a newspaper to look at. The first thing that caught my attention were the words “Sex Offenders”. Right above these words was a map of the area around the university with markings of offenses against children, sexual battery, rape, and other offenses. As I began reading the article I realized how many sexual offenders were around The University of Memphis. I think many of us assume that sexual offenders are creepy looking older men but this is not always the case. A sexual offender could be any one! They also said that there is a registered sex offender currently enrolled in the university! I think this is extremely scary because I do not think that we are cautious enough. I know that most of the time I am not being cautious and just do not think about what I am doing and watching my surroundings. I think that many times we do not expect anything bad to happen to ourselves, but I think we need to start being more careful and being more aware of our surroundings so something like this does not happen. I also think that the police need to focus more on this situation before it gets out of hand.

Propaganda Analysis

Memphis City Schools Banner: Every Day, Every Child, College Bound.
I often think that people believe that you have to be highly intelligent to go to college. This is not the case anymore. Anyone can now have the opportunity to attend college. Money should no longer be an issue. There are scholarships and financial aid now offered so that everyone can have the opportunity. I think the writer is trying to say that every child is capable of attending college as long as they are willing to work hard to achieve new goals. This artifact shows how much our culture values education. Not only do people want you to graduate from high school, they now expect you to further your education in college. Education is now the key to success. Many jobs now will only hire employees who have graduated from college. As years pass, we must continue to expand our knowledge and grow in our education so that we can keep up with the rest of the world. Our globe will continue to expand as long as our education continues to grow. In conclusion, this artifact is a target to young men and women graduating high school. The artist ultimately wanted to tell the viewer that no matter who they are or where they came from, they can go to college. There are no limits in life and as long as you keep pushing you will continue in getting somewhere. Those who push hard will be successful and will be the ones who will be pushing the young adults to further their education in the generations to come. Although some may have to work harder than others, everyone has the ability to be successful in their education past high school.

Floyd Skloot 2

Today in class we went to listen to Floyd Skloot’s interview. When I heard we were going, I was kind of excited because I really enjoyed listening to him last night. I think that one of the first things that caught my attention was when the guy interviewing him thanked him for coming even though he was not felling well. When he had talked about his sickness the night before, I guess I did not really think about the strain that it puts on his everyday life. Floyd talked about how he could not remember the questions that he was being asked, so do not repeat them. For him to remember things, he said he had to really trace back. Since we do not even have to think about it and we just automatically do it, I guess I did not think about how tired he is probably from just trying to remember everything. I really enjoyed listening to Floyd talk about his process. I thought it was cool that he has pretty much the same process no matter what he is writing whether a memoir, poem, or novel. I think that it is talent to be able to write all of those different types of things. Floyd also talks a lot about how everything going on around you is a story. He says that he always keeps a notepad and pen to write down ideas. From his reading and interview, he seems like he is an interesting writer and I would really enjoy reading one of his works.

Floyd Skloot

So last night I went downtown to hear Floyd Skloot speak for the River City Writer’s Series. Well to begin, Sarah and I were running a little late so we decided to just park real fast and we would find it. Well we parked at the corner of Union and Main and did not realize how far down it was so we were like running to get there! It was really funny! Then once we get there we realized that the reception was first and it did not really matter if we were late. Anyways, I was not very excited about going in the first place, but once I got there and Floyd began speaking, I actually enjoyed it. I thought that it was so interesting that it was Rebekah Skloot’s, the director of the series, father. It made me fell more connected to him since it was her father. When he began reading his poems I really began to listen. When Floyd began to talk about his brain damage, it really caught my attention. He talked about how when you are sick for a really long time your symptoms begin to take over you. This is so true! I know with my own mom, who suffered from breast cancer, would always be tired and worn out and that would run her daily life. Most people who are sick do not realize that these symptoms are running their life. Overall, I really enjoyed Floyd’s reading and speaking.

Weekend!

So this is my last blog and I figured I would write about how excited I am that it is the weekend! Even though this week was not too bad, I need another break from school. I did have a really good week though because I got to drop my UNHP class that I was not doing very well in nor did I like. Anyways, I have a had a super busy week too because Sunday is Pi Phi Karaoke! So we have been practicing all week long! We have girls that are going to be singing and then we have girls like me, who do not sing, who hard core dance in the background! It has been so fun but I am super sore and tired! I used to cheer ALONG time ago so I remembered the days of learning eight counts to songs but I forgot how much work it actually is. I also do not think I have worked out some of the muscles I am using in a long time because I have been so sore all week! Anyways I have a really busy weekend because we have practice for that all weekend and I have to babysit Saturday night! I glad it’s the weekend but it will be a busy one!

Schools

I ran across a blog on the Smart City Memphis blogs about our schools priorities. This caught my attention not only because I am doing school assessment but also because I was watching part of the news last night and overheard them talking about how the Memphis City Schools needed more money. I just can not understand why they are doing so horrible and more money while the Shelby County Schools get less money and are doing much better grades wise and according to No Child Left Behind. I do think that we need to figure something out. There is too much violence and other horrible things going on in our schools. Going back to priorities though, shouldn’t the top priority be these children’s education and their future? I do not understand why the focus has come off of the child’s education so much. I think that I the classroom now days, teachers have to focus too much on behavior and test taking skills that they do not even get to half the stuff the children are actually supposed to learn. A lot of this starts back at the home. If parents would become more involved with their children, then we would probably have less problems with behavior. If teachers did not have to focus so much on the principles of No Child Left Behind, then the students would get to learn more from the textbooks. I think we just ultimately need to reevaluate what is going on inside the classrooms.

Stadium

I was reading a blog on the Smart City Memphis blog about the idea of an on campus stadium. They were talking about how The University of Memphis opposed the idea. They said that when they spoke about it, it almost sounded scripted, like they had been practicing it. I know it would cost a lot of money and some people think that we should use that money for more educational purposes but I honestly think an on-campus stadium is a great idea. I understand that the point of going to college is not for sports but rather academics, I also know how students are. If the students are not involved and do not enjoy the university, then why would they want to go to class and excel. I really think that this proposal of a new on-campus stadium would attract a lot more new students. The University of Memphis is already a great school so why not make it better? We all know that our football program is not the best and this new stadium would really help out the program as well as attract a lot more new fans. I think this stadium would bring more people out to the games, which means more money for the school!

Moment of Truth

So I do not know if any of you all have watched the show Moment of Truth but I have watched it now the past two weeks and I can not believe how crazy that show is! The questions are not just general yes and no questions but they are questions that can ruin marriages and hurt people for a really long time! Like tonight they asked the guy if he had ever had sexual relations with his wife’s sister. Why would you want to answer that in front of your wife if you know you did it. I know you can win a lot of money, but who are you going to enjoy all that money with if you have ruined all your relationships with other people. The contestants who go on this show are just asking for trouble! They must either really need to get stuff off their chest or are desperate for money. I know the show is probably staged but I still do not know why someone would want to go on this show unless they are just in the mood to hurt people. I am not a real crazy person and have not done a lot of extravagant things like some of these people, but I would still not want to answer some of these questions on national television

Spring Break

Spring Break for many is a time to hit the beach, but for me it was a time to relax, visit old friends, and make some extra money. To begin my Spring Break, I attended the Rascal Flatts concert at the FedEx Forum. It was amazing! Then I headed to Ole Miss for the weekend to catch up with four of my best friends from high school. Leaving high school and going to college is such a different experience and leaving your friends can make it that much more difficult. So a visit was much needed. Just hanging out and meeting all her new friends and sorority sisters made me feel like I was still an important part of her life. I also hung out with my mom some over the break. I know this may seem lame but we are very close and now that I live out on my own we do not get to spend as much time together as we used to. We both love to shop so of course we went shopping but we also went to dinner one night too. Spring Break was overall fun and relaxing. It was definitely a much needed break from school!