HW: 25 Summary

The forward of Riverbend’s Baghdad Burning, is well written by Ahdaf Soueif. Souief reports that Riverbend is an Iraqi citizen that has almost lost everything due to the war and is looking for refuge in her blog posts. She agrees with Riverbend in her opinion of the US and their involvement in Iraq. Soueif claims that the novel lacks geopolitical perspective; this is for good reason because Iraq is the setting of the book and opinions don’t venture outside of Iraq. She counters by reminding us that the mass media is full of outsiders opinions but what they don’t have is an insider in Iraq that can repot how the war Actually feels (Forward: viii-ix).
James Ridgeway the author of the introduction to Baghdad Burning. He believes that the US has been causing unnecessary casualties ever since the Persian Gulf War (Ridgeway: xiv). Giving a brief background on the past wars fought in Iraq, He basically argues that the US has been greedy for oil for decades and it has diminished Iraq’s economy and infrastructure. This is a reasonable argument considering three-quarters of Iraq’s GDP comes from oil (Ridgeway: xv). Violence and destruction are the main reasons why electricity is scarce throughout Iraq. Power may turn on once a day or week or, the US doesn’t give Iraq time to rebuild there grid. Also Ridgeway reports that 2004 1,000 Iraqi schools were in need of repair. The education budget was not enough to repair the schools, the teachers pay ate most of the budget (Ridgeway: xix). In conclusion Ridgeway underlines the religious battles that are being fought in Iraq. He informs the reader that Riverbend gives us a far better understanding of the religious hardships than the American Government (Ridgeway: xxii).

HW: 22 Men not God

I can see why narrator would say an outsider who read the newspaper would think that England is a patriarchy. She backs this up by stating that men own everything and run everything. They are the “power and the money” (page 33) they control all but the fog. She also speaks about the work done by men and woman and hoe they aren’t equal. The domestic work done by the woman is of no economic value to society and is taken for granted. The men are in charge of the financial aspect of life and all the woman need to do is take care of the home and children. She is feels lucky to have received inheritance from her aunt because other wise she would be poor. She feels that the reason for her aunt giving her the money is so that she can be free. She doesn’t have to be a victim of the patriarchy she lives in.

HW: 19 Man on the Street

After reading The Web of Influence I have discovered that the chapter is basically stating one specific point and backing it up with details. Page 89 describes blogs as the "man on the street", the insider information that the media doesn’t produce. New York Times executive editor has said in an interview that when he reads blogs he sometimes feels that the Times up. Most of the popular blogs that are on the web have valid information. The less popular blogs become hyperlinks on the rich web logs. Thus the readers can save time and go strait to the source and not have to view a million pages. It is important for the public to know that the newspapers and television are not the only sources of news. Web logs can give an unbiased opinion and a side of the story that Fox news or any other mainstream media source would not show or talk about.

School, Can You Make It There? HW: 33

Alive in Baghdad is a video website devoted to exposing the hardships in Bagdad through updated podcast. The video I just watched was Challenges at a Girls School in Baghdad - 05.21.2007, a short series of interviews with teachers and student at an all girls school in Baghdad. The students and teachers both agreed that the conditions are tough and the showing of girls dwindles each day because of wide spread violence. One student explains how her parents want her to drop out of school because the danger of traveling to school each day over powers the benefit of attending. The school its self is comparable to the old mills that I grew up next to that had broken windows and cracked foundations. The interior of the classroom was bland with not much on the walls except for dirt stains and broken concrete. The teachers insist on keeping the school in session despite the regular raids and occasional blasts nearby. What stuck me the most about the vide was the fact that they can find teachers willing to show up everyday never knowing if they will be shot at or bombed, and for what. So that they can teach the 10 students or so that could make to class today but might not be there for the next week because there family is arrested and she is abandon. I have only seen war footage of Iraq but I can imagine that the rest of the town where the school is located is badly beaten. This video can teach us that we should be ecstatic to use 2005 software for our computers because the schools in Iraq have chalk for recent technology.

Link: http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/

Tribal not Terrible HW: 32

I chose to summarize the topic of “Tribes and Cousins.” The whole marital situation in Iraq is puzzling to most, mainly because of interfamily marriages. Basically in some parts of Iraq the only people that are eligible to marry are you cousins. This is because in some parts the area could be inhabited by 4 to 5 major tribes and that’s it. So unless you want to marry your aunt and uncle or parents then the cousins are the only choice (Riverbend 87). So in reality it isn’t a big deal for cousins to marry because it is the way of life in those tribes and that is how the youth is taught as they grow up. Much too popular belief these tribes we speak of aren’t always the camel top dessert goers that people think they are. In fact many of the tribe members are wealthy well educated. “They drive around in Mercedes and live in sprawling villas fully furnished with Victorian furniture, Persian carpets, oil paintings, and air conditioners (Riverbend 88).” Most of the tribe members aren’t big fans of US involvement in Iraq. One of the most prominent members of sheikhs lost 18 family members form a missile fired upon him by US troops. Another lost 8 tribe members the same way. The American Gov. Wont let them participate in any matter having to do with the war; they just boss them around like children. The tribe members are pissed because they aren’t tyrant rebels who want to corrupt Iraq. Unfortunately the US troops do not have the ability to tell who is bad and who isn’t.(Riverbend 90, 91)

Explosion Backfires HW: 31

The topic I chose to research further was a suicide car bombing that happened in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, right out side the American Intelligence Headquarters, In 2003. The blast killed three people and injured forty-one. On page 61 in Baghdad Burning, Riverbend speaks about this occurrence as if it is business as usual. Online the Associated Press wrote an article about the bombing. The article was a full two pages long as opposed to the quick two sentence blurb that Riverbend wrote. This makes me feel like bombings of this nature are happening too often. The bomber drove the car right out side of the building in hope to kill a few American soldiers or just anyone American. Unfortunately the explosion wounded more Iraqi citizens then Americans. The article also states that officials near by sent out a message encouraging people to give blood in order to save the injured. I am pretty sure that the officials were American and yes they were helping the Iraqi people by promoting a blood drive. Its interesting to see how Riverbend portrays the story compared to how an American reporter responds to the events. No mention of American soldiers dying when Riverbend spoke, only the casualty of an Iraqi boy across the street. This on sided point of view repeats it’s self often within the novel. I’m sure the remainder of the reading will share theame theme.

Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1039273,00.html



Work cited:Associated Press. “Three killed in Irbil suicide bombing.” Guardian Unlimited. Wednesday September 10, <2003http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1039273,00.html>.

Redfern Art Extravaganza HW: 30

A few days ago Keene State College held a series of symposiums for the students and faculty. I first attended a lecture on voting fairness and all of the different types of voting and how they differ. The speaker Vince ferlini covered four different types of voting; plurality method, Plurality-With-Elimination, Pairwise Comparison, Borde Count Method. The symposium was in a way confusing to me, because of the way Ferlini explained each method. He made it seem that depending on which method someone picks they can sway the result. By the end of the presentation I wasn’t shore if voting is phony and these different ways can favor whom ever someone wants to be favored. Ferlini spoke with a deep knowledge of the subject, I went into the presentation knowing nothing and this might have made it more difficult for me to understand him.
The second symposium that I attended was, Animation as Political and Social Constructions. Jiwon Ahn, Sander Lee, and Mark Timney are the Keene State professors who presented the symposium. Unfortunately I missed the first speaker Jiwon Ahn, but I was able to see the other two presentations. The first presentation dealt with America’s portrayal of the rise of Hitler through children cartoons. He showed two short clips of cartoons that played during the time of the Holocaust, one of Bugs Bunny and one of Donald Duck. Both sent the message that America is better then the holocaust, and the only power that can stop Hitler. This message isn’t the best to be sending kids or to be joking around about. The last presentation by Mark Timney, discussed south park episodes including one that her showed the audience. He felt that the controversial show instills moral lessons in each episode. Not just simple lessons such as sharing and caring but also political lessons as well. The episode Timney showed was about the fight between peace and war protesters. The episode ends with both sides agreeing that it is ok to have debatable opinions. Even if the presentation didn’t have a point, it was still a good time to watch an episode of South Park.

A World Unknown HW: 28

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq. The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005. This book is series of blog posts by a 24 year old Iraqi girl who vents about the Iraqi war she and her family are in the middle of. First hand accounts of the war are exposed as she blogs when ever the electricity allows her too. She calls her self Riverbend and readers love her non mainstream blogs, unfiltered by media or politics. Speaking of politics, Riverbend speaks out about current politics as well as the day-to-day struggles that she encounters. Readers gain a true perspective of life in Iraq, the life that most never here about. Basically the picture of Iraq that is portrayed today is far fetched and more conservative then you would think. I will put it this why, Riverbed explains how she and her brother sit outside and can name the gun that is being fired solely by the noise.

As Real As It Gets__HW27

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq. The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005. This book is series of blog posts by a 24 year old Iraqi girl who vents about the Iraqi war she and her family are in the middle of. First hand accounts of the war are exposed as she blogs when ever the electricity allows her too. She calls her self Riverbend and readers love her non mainstream blogs, unfiltered by media or politics. Speaking of politics, Riverbend speaks out about current politics as well as the day-to-day struggles that she encounters. Readers gain a true perspective of life in Iraq, the life that most never here about. Basically the picture of Iraq that is portrayed today is far fetched and more conservative then you would think. I will put it this why, Riverbed explains how she and her brother sit outside and can name the gun that is being fired solely by the noise.

HW 23 Lance Bass should stay in space

With apologies to Virginia Woolf
First off this Lance Bass fellow is no one of any relevance. If he can have the chance to go to space then why can’t any other person out there. Lance to me is as important as the homeless man that I passed on the street corner today. This entire hype goes to prove that this country is a patriarchy. You don’t see Kelly Clarkson going to space or the spice girls asking to see mars. You want to know why? It’s because they aren’t allowed and the gentleman of society would allow them. Media these days is becoming a jumble of poor news and bull spit stories. These bad articles dangle over the heads of America waiting to get snatched up by the naive lookers. The world will never stop rotating on these false prejudices so the best we can do is sit in our bubble of hope and pray for the ones who have already popped theirs.

HW 21 This One's for you Timmy

Dear Timmy, I am glad to hear that you are reading A Room of One’s Own. I say this because I am also having trouble understanding what Virginia is talking about in the first chapter. I discussed it with a friend and I can help you understand as well. First off, you need to learn when the narrator is using symbolism to describe her feelings. Her “fishing” saga is simply her stating that she trying to think of an idea. She almost has an idea when a security guard interrupts her. She has a unique style of writing and you will soon be able to pick up on it. The narrator then goes to the library to read an essay about Oxbridge. She is turned away at the library because she is not accompanied by a member of the college. She stays out side and thinks about the university and the lunch they serve. After seeing a cat with no tale she begins to compare the lunch in war times to lunch now. She also compares the poetry difference before the war and now. The narrator missed the street to the girl’s college and she continues thinking except now about the lunch at the girl’s college. She ends up back at the room of her friend Mary Seton were they discuss the founding of the college. She wonders why woman have always been so poor. Mary then reminds her of the fact that women had no rights and were considered property in those days. The narrator ends the chapter thinking about the effects that the poverty has had on all woman, and how it would be different if they were not so poor. I hope this quick summarization will help you out Tim. Stay in touch bud.

HW 17b DailyKos for Politics

Zuniga and Cox both have informative blogs that can be used to influence a voter. Zuniga is former GI who is dedicated to politics and extremely knowledgeable about the topic. Cox is lame, she can’t hold a job and blogging is her life. She blogs about politics, and how they dress but she doest blog in adult manner. Zuniga has a solid back round; he seems to know what he is talking about. He has done consulting work in the past which helps him relate to political topics. His blog has grown rapidly within the last few years. The amount of visitors to his blog DailyKos, went form 8,000 to 625,000 in only two years. The reason being the 2002 election and the 2004 election. Many people hit his blog interested in what he had to say about the upcoming elections, therefore his numbers shot through the roof. For someone like me who doesn’t know crap about politics, I found DailyKos to be more helpful and informative then Cox blog.

HW 18 Scared For Life

Jezebel.com writes about some sketchy risky topics, but even I was surprised to see the article on there today. This particular article was about a man who was accused of raping ten young girls. Some say he raped more then 30 but only ten were being tried. First off, the title of the article is How To Rape 100(cute, educated, middle-class) Woman And Get Away With It. That is not an appropriate title for a serious case. The families of the girls and the girls themselves would be offended. The article itself is written with sarcasm, and a jezebel style. I don’t mind the fact that she is saying something about the case but it should be in a formal style. It is pushing the limits to poke fun at the girls who were raped, im sure I’m not the only person who feels this way. Jezebel should stick to Hollywood scandals and meaningless drama articles.

HW 17-A Dead Batteries can be Saved!

Did you know that you can revive a dead lap top battery by freezing it? Well a blog on Life Hacker (lifehacker.com) states that by freezing the battery for 14 to 15 hours you can revive it. Life Hacker is full of neat facts like this one. It is a small blog but is accompanied with a video of the instructions on how to revive the battery. That is the reason why I chose this blog because the vide is a great tool to express what you are trying to say. You can find this blog by going to following URL, http://lifehacker.com/software/batteries/revive-a-dead-laptop-battery-in-the-freezer-308225.php.I like the way life hacker blogs because they don’t bull shit they just give you the facts and that’s all I really want to read. I suggest you check out Life Hacker, there are a bunch of other neat things like the battery blog.

HW 16 -A Scobles' Manifesto is Great!

One of the web logs that I am watching is Joi Ito’s. One thing that I noticed was, Joi Ito uses a human voice in his writing. He doesn’t have professionals who edit his site or clean up his speech. For example he vents about his new purchase of a foldable bike. He speaks his mind and you can tell he is writing in a human way unaltered. “After taking it around the block, I'm glad I have it. I don't think I have the legs to control myself down steep hills yet.” As you can tell he is simply explaining his satisfaction with the product and his experiences. Joi acknowledges when he is wrong or when a plan didn’t go as imagined. He follows rule number eight that states if you screw up, acknowledge it. In one blog Joi explains that his vegan diet hasn’t worked they he was expecting, he had gained weight and got other unfavorable results. He decided he would embark on a six week Eat to Live detox program. He states he was wrong and comes up with a new plan to correct his mistakes. I would say that Joi speaks his mind and some times says things about people that are his opinion and some might not agree. He never goes over board though, which is a good thing. I would say that his blog follows the entire manifesto that Scoble has created. Scobles' manifesto is a great tool to use when creating a blog. It out lines all of the guidelines a blogger should follow.

No More Free Enterprise HW: 14

According to Ito the internet will soon be similar to cable television in the since that everything will be censored. Thus it will not be the free market that it is today. As a result of government involvement the internet could eventually run under a Microsoft system. In short this system will ask you if you still want to enter the site even though it is authorized by Microsoft. Consequently if you enter the site your Microsoft warranty will be terminated. Ultimately the entire population will be under similar forums f not by Microsoft then by other companies. Although the internet will be censored blogs will still be going strong, naturally the content in the blogs will be censored but legitimate cites will still be able to communicate to the public. In other words the freedom of speech can not be taken from the mouths of the people who are quote on quote “legit”.

Are Blogs Good For Business hw13

Blogs to some people may not be a big deal, but the fact of the matter is that they are a big deal and there popularity is increasing rapidly. According to Pew Research Center Survey, only 27 percent of internet users in America now bother to read blogs. This is s week percentage mainly because there are some 9 million blogs on line and 40,000 new ones every day. The blog world is changing fast, blogs used to be a form of communication free of business or profit making. Businesses are now using blogs for advertizing and profit; on the other side they are discovering employee blogs that discuss business plans and other classified information. Companies are now hiring a specialist, whose job is to monitor the employee blogs, looking for inappropriate posts. Google for example just fired a programmer named Mark Jen because he posted blogs talking about his first days in the Googleplex, stating that Google’s health plan was as generous as his last employer’s. He also argued that their free food offer was only an incentive to work past dinner. Google soon found this these blogs and Mark was made an example and was fired within two weeks of the discovery. If blogs are already making this kind of impact on the businesses then it will be interesting to see how blogs evolve in the future. Therefore the importance of blogs and business is far more important then there impact on strait communication.

hw: 11 HODER.COM

Hoder.com is led by Hossein Derakhshan from Canada. He writes in both English and Persian and encourages Iranians to vent about the Iran government. There are a bunch of Persian responses on his blog I couldn’t read any of the comments because they were all in Persian. The posts are about Iranian pop culture, politics, and technology. Hossein blogs in a informative style at the same time giving his opinions on the topic. His comments usually contain crude humor in more of a conversation style using profanity and puns. There are a handful of Iranian commenter’s who are disagreeing with Hossein and giving their prospective as a citizen of Iran. The blog may have been created so that Iranian citizens could speak openly about their government but it seems to now be Persians disagreeing with Hossein and telling him what the government really is all about. Of course many will probably disagree with this assertion that all the comments are people contradicting Hossein, and they are right as well because many of the comment agree with Hossein. I didn’t see any comments that could have thrown a citizen of Iran In jail like the reading suggests but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that I doesn’t happen. The Iran Gov. is way different then the American Government so I cant judge that.

While Waldman is probably wrong that she stopped blogging because it was holding her back as a writer, she is right that blogging is a totally different writing style then when she writes novels. She claims that her blogging was taking away from her career as a writer, but it seems crazy to think that she couldn’t multi task and do both at the same time. I agree with her comment that she got used to writing in the blogging style and that it could have stated to overlap with her form novel writing. She seemed to get extremely involved in blogging and I feel that she isn’t the blogger type, mainly because most people would be able to put work and play (blogging), on different playing fields. Waldman also mentions that stay home moms feel inferior and the blogs are a great way for support. This is great, and I can understand way Waldman took such an eager interest in the blogosphere. The blogs make it possible for her to talk to other woman going through the same issues as her. I am worried at the fact that Waldman is expressing so much information and that she is letting too much insight into her personal life. She is week for exiting the blogosphere and not being able to handle both blogging and her writing career.

HW: 10 Parental control over children internet surfing

Parents should definitely be watching what there children are writing on the inter net. Middle school children are especially vulnerable to online harassment. It is so hard to monitor all the things that your kids are going on line because it is readily available and parents don’t feel like sitting there watching there kids the entire time they are on line. Online journals are a great thing and can be used wisely and safely. Problems arise when kids start to express too many feelings and give out to much information. According to M. “This one girl, she was really upset, and she would write things that had happened to her that were really scary”(P:357). She goes on to say that this girl would talk about eating disorders and sex and everything she wanted to. This was scary for me as well because we are talking about 15 year old girls. I am fearful that creep people out there will take advantage of this girl and it could scar her for life. Parents need to monitor the sites that there kids are hitting so that they can talk to there kids about expressing to much info, and be aware of predators.

HW: 6 Final Paper Discussion

The social technologies that interested me the most where: blogs, instant messaging and social networking. I chose blogs mainly because we are reading material in class that I could use as a source e for information when it comes time to write the final paper. Instant messaging is so close to home that I am obviously interested. Same kid of deal with social networking, I use Facebook.com regularly and will be able to relate to the topic personally.Overcoming racism sounded interesting to me because I already know it occurs all over the world and I would like to find out how this relates to the internet. I have an interest in the issue of refugees because it is a real issue in America today. I’m sure the internet has a role in the issue. I will mainly be researching issues in the US; on the other hand I am curious in how Europe differs from the US.

HW:5b-Should we all have a say?

In this chapter Kline explains that freedom to express your self is growing more and more popular. People are experimenting by expressing them selves through blogs. They like the fact that they can push aside the mainstream politically driven media and they can view free form blogs. I agree that this is good thing to be able to see a different source of information. The only problem with blogs is that they don’t have the reputation and credibility that the main media has networks like CNN, FOX and NBC. One of the problems with blogging is that anyone can write them and it gives armature writers the power to seem more important then they really are. On the flip side you can’t deny the fact that there are many writers who have talent and haven’t been discovered, blogs give them a chance to get there name out to the public. They also encourage people of the arts to step up and put some of there work out. Kline has a point when he says, why should we have to deal with shitty poets making blogs when we already have to deal with crappy published poets. The bloggers get a sense of empowerment, and I argue that some people should not have this empowerment. Basically blogs are making it possible for all people to have an opinion and express it. Is this a good thing or a bad thing...Think about it!

HW:1 "Just Brushed Clean Feeling"

I decided to take a look at the gum brand Orbit. When I first think of orbit I would think that that they promise a clean and brighter smile. The commercials portray people who chew orbit gum end up with a visibly whiter smile. “For A Good Clean Feeling, No Matter What” this is the quote direct from the web site. I was kind of close but they took a different append said your mouth will feel clean. They promise a just brushed clean feeling in your mouth after. In my opinion the gum delivers its promise and you definitely get a clean feeling in you mouth after. The website also promises that the gum will help you be better prepared for life’s challenges if you choose to chew. That isn’t entirely true I don’t think, unless the life challenge is kissing a girl and you need just brushed clean breath.

HW1: reading responce to first chapter of Blog!

Chapter one simply in formed the reader of the rising influence that blogs are having on politics. Blogs have been around since the 60’s and there popularity is growing rapidly. The general public is tired of mainstream media and all of its bull shit. They feel they can’t trust what they see on the news and hear on the radio. Large populations of Americans are being drawn to the crude strait forward style of blogs. The blogs are free from editing and they display debate that is pact with real facts and information. Blogs are different from mainstream media because they aren’t solely written to shape opinion but to express someone else’s opinion in hope to inform the reader of issues that might not make it in the newspapers or the ten o-clock news. Blogs are powerful if used right and can dig up dirt and uncover facts that otherwise the public would never see. Blogs usage is growing and will soon be widely used by all Americans.