Last blog of the year!~!!!!!

SOOOO HAPPY TO BE DONE! It is bittersweet, but still - I'm glad we're about to start a new chapter of our lives. Obama isn't coming to our school :( boohoo

This week!

Hooray, we have gone almost to the end of our senior year! I am still doing well in school. We watched some presentations today for people's inquiry projects, that was interesting. Right now I'm listening to some hip-hop. That isn't exciting, but I'm stoked by it. My show opens on the 14th! COME SEE IT THAT NIGHT! :)

This weeky deeky

Everyone seems to be deciding where they are going to college! It's very interesting to see where everyone will end up come next fall. We are finishing up our abstracts and projects currently. Actually right now, Danny is talking on the phone to a man named Bruce that we will be interviewing for our project.

Braaaahwp!

Bloggy Doggy

I officially committed to USC this week! Now to deal with the rest of the college experience - taking tests and stuff. I'm currently looking for a roommate and it's very stressful. For some reason it's a lot like dating. I'm sure everything will work out for the best, though.

Anyways, next week will be truly getting down to the final steps of our inquiry project. I'm currently reading at Rainbow's End and it's very interesting. I hope to finish it within the next few days.

This week

This week we wrapped up the Twelfth night project. We weren't able to do ours because both of my teammates were not here, but we will do the project sometime this week. We also are expecting to get our new book in this week! I am excited to wrap up our singularity unit, it should be very interesting. I'm happy to be back from spring break, and am excited to hear about where everyone decides to go to college. It's crazy how close May 1st, decision day, is. It's incredible that this year is coming to a close.

Spring Break!

I'm going to Greece and briefly to Turkey with school, departing next Wednesday.

Here's my Future Shock essay. I think I put more work into my Singularity essay because I enjoyed the book more. This essay, though it did take me a while to formulate, I don't like quite as much.

As a society, we dedicate the majority of our thought toward the world of tomorrow. In the late
20th century, many filmmakers and authors profited from what they believed was going to occur in the
2000’s. Despite 2001 Space Odyssey did not actually happen, some of the thoughts of technological
futurists during the early 1970’s still hold true today. In retrospect here are many fallacies in their
arguments when compared to the state of modern society. This can be noticed most prominently in Future
Shock by Alvin Toffler,. the second novel in our study of futurist’s theories from both past and present.
After reading the Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by modern day futurist icon
Ray Kurzweil, we chose to read a book that could be labeled as a little more dated. The goal of reading
this book was to find how theories change over time, and also somehow relate his theories to a broader
audience in layman's terms.
“Future shock”, the title of the second book in our a term coined by author Alvin Toffler,
essentially describes a condition that society will be afflicted when the pace of societal and technological
change is simply too fast for humans to comprehend and cope with. Toffler describes this as
being “information overload”, quoted directly from his novel as being “[Future shock is] the shattering
stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too
short a time.”. The theme of Toffler’s novel is the transition between an industrial society and a postmodern
society centered around information technology - in the novel, he describes this imminent
period as being the state of a “super-industrial society”. The “disease of change” that comes along with
rapid technological change comes with an overwhelming amount of symptoms, such as stress, anxiety
and general restless behavior and tendencies. He compares these uncomfortable feelings to someone
undergoing culture shock - a sense of being an outsider, or being thrust into a whole new world without
a map. The main difference between these two is that culture shock is ephemeral. Toffler believes the
effects of future shock to be permanent.
The author states that despite the fact that our society is indeed ever-changing, that in recent
years (in context, this would be in relation to the late 60’s and early 70’s) that the pace at which things
are advancing and changing has been greatly accelerated. This, for me, immediately drew a parallel
to our previous novel and Kurzweil’s theory of the Law of Accelerating returns, where he states that
technological growth is increasing exponentially. Toffler even goes as far to say that if there would be a
graph of the change, the end would “nearly go straight up the page”. This equates directly to Kurzweil’s
theory - which adds to its burgeoning credibility. If it can be upheld for over forty years, the theory must
have a great deal of truth to it.
Though the pace of change seems to be inarguably exponential, an often debated topic between
futurists is the nature of the change - good or evil? Both authors that we have read could not have more
different opinions. While Kurzweil praises the singularity and technological change, stating that we must
improve it and never seek to hinder it, Toffler believes that technology is imposing on our moral, cultural
and religious values. In Future Shock, the author’s conservative tendencies were blatant and, at times,
overwhelming. Future Shock delves into is the lack of human relationships and morality that come along
with a rapid pace technological change. He believes that technology corrupts important institutions that
define our morality and religious values as human beings. The whole novel seems to be regarding change
from a truly right-wing ultra-christian point of view. Whilst reading the book, I was disturbed by his
tirades against such things as birth control. This made me take his scientific views and opinions on the
negativity of change with a grain of salt. The main difference between Toffler and Kurzweil is the attitude
they have towards change. While they touch upon many of the same topics, such as the pace of change,
biological developments and artificial intelligence, Toffler somehow manages to regard all of these things
with an overly fearful attitude. Kurzweil is enthusiastic about the impending singularity, while Toffler is
overly pessimistic about the change that, presumably, is to come. To me, it seems that he definitely had
a social, religious and political agenda behind his book which only became more apparent the further
you delved into the text. I preferred Kurzweil’s more objective and realistic take on the future, because
somehow he still managed to make it all seem positive.
Toffler’s predictions proved to be both right and wrong in many ways, but it was his stance that
proved Future Shock to be a less enjoyable read than Singularity. The novel however did prove to be a
different stance on the same issue, which will be helpful in formulating final conclusions and answering
our essential question.

*****SORRY ABOUT SPACING****

Dis week

We have read the end of TN and finished the movie. We also watched She's The Man. This movie was a very interesting interpretation of the play. It was very strange. Anywho, I also had a very fantastic time this week with our cooking project. There was a lot of great food. I am also reading future shock, which should be interesting. We have an essay on wednesday.

Right now I'm sitting in advisory

Tomorrow and Friday, I will not be in school. I'm going up to Los Angeles to do an interview with USC. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time. We're leaving tonight. Before that, though, I have to do a callback for an audition for a show called Children of Eden. If I get in, I'll post more about it. This week in English, we read more about 12th night and Stephanie did a really good job of convincing us that she found a love letter, but really it was one she had made herself supposedly from Malvolio. Anyways, that's all from me for now. I'm posting this blog earlier on in the week (also known as today) so that I don't have to be on the computer while I'm gone. Anyways, wish me luck!

Twelfth Night

Today we watched a section of Twelfth Night, with Helen Hunt as Viola and Kyra Sedgewick as Olivia. It was pretty odd. Helen Hunt was not a very good Viola. I have ever seen a lot of better Viola's grace the stage - no offense. I am currently working on paraphrasing the scenes from the show and adding some direction to them. I think that it is fun but that's just me. Later!

This week

We started Twelfth Night this week, which is legit because I love shakespeare and Twelfth Night. I have seen the show many times so basically it is all kind of review for me, although I do hope that we watch the film version (I believe it was a BBC version) because it's super good. Anyways, I really like Shakespeare and I hope that people in my class are enjoying it as well.

Emma at the Globe and other fun stuff!

We went to see Jane Austen's Emma: a Musical Comedy at the Old Globe. It was legit. I really enjoyed how much fun the actors seemed to have with us as an audience. I really enjoyed the fervor of their performance, and the music was great. We tied it in to our romantic comedy unit and what the implications of the play were. I really enjoyed the story, and how Jane Austen came to life through their performance. Usually, I would find Jane Austen pieces innately boring and outdated, but this play was classic. I liked it a lot.

Feb 4

Hey everyone. I'm updating with another blog post. Next week we are going to go see Emma at the Old Globe. I'm really excited to see it, being that I love theatre. We are also having another field trip, and next week is spirit week. It should be pretty intense. In english, we're just learning about romantic comedy, and I believe we are starting to read a Shakespeare play soon. It should be pretty sweet.

GOODREADS

Check out my books on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/profile/naomimcfearsun

This week

I emailed some scientists to see if they would be willing to talk to us about the singularity and the future of neuroscience. I don't know how that will go, but we have one response so far! I'll update with the questions I ask him and his responses. We'll see. I have really awful senioritis. Like it's terrible. I need to seek help, hahaha. Anyways, we have a 3 day weekend so that's awesome!

See my diigo profile here

This week

Over the weekend, I had an audition at UCLA. The college process is truly closing in upon us and it's definitely a surreal experience. As the end of the year approaches, our lives are truly laid out in front of us, depending on where we choose to attend school. I'm a little bit nervous, but hopefully everything will work out fine.

As for English? Well, we're having an exam on Beowulf and also we are beginning to read our choice study group novels. I have yet to acquire the Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (my first book). We will see when I get it. I'm a pretty fast reader, so a few nights of dedicated reading and I should be able to plow through it.

Beowulf

I read Beowulf in class this week. It was very long. Also rather unrealistic, considering Beowulf could breathe underwater for many hours. It was pretty interesting. We also watched a snippet of the movie, in which Grendel is a mucus covered giant baby. It's awesome. I love listening to people read outloud. Especially the ones we listened to because they all had sweet Scottish accents. Next week, I believe we start focusing more on reading our books! I'm reading the Singularity and suuuuuuch other novels.

New semester!

We watched this really awesome video in Friday's class about the origins of the English language from a college lecturer. We are also apparently going to begin reading Beowulf. I've done some research and read some excerpts of it. It seems to be quite a difficult read, being that it was the first book...ever. However, it is definitely easier to understand than Shakespeare (I love Shakespeare). I didn't see the Beowulf movie, but perhaps I will do so whilst we read the story in class....we will see

Happy week-after-winter-break!

End of the Semester Post

1) “Most Beautiful Work Award” - Which piece of writing (formal or informal) are you most proud of and why? What other skill or habit have you developed (maybe as a reader?) that you are proud of?

I believe that the best piece of writing that I did for English class this semester was my personal statement. I feel like I was really able to refine my writing style and make something that is able to be submitted on an application. The fact that we were forced to edit our papers made it so that we produced quality work. I feel that I have also developed analytical reading skills - specifically the ability to analyze poetry. I had never written a paper about a piece of poetry before, so this was new for me.

2) “Lesson Learned” - What content do you feel you have mastered? Or, which skill(s) did you enjoy learning and feel that you have had some success in developing? How so?

I feel that I have been exposed to a numerous amount of new content and material throughout the course of this semester. I believe that I have improved upon my ability to write formal and expository essays. My editing skills have also greatly improved.

3) “Lessons I’d Like to Learn” - Which skills would you like to develop before graduation? What content do you feel that you need to know in order to feel ready for college? Do you have any project ideas?

I would like to expand upon my ability to create an essay in a very short amount of time. I feel that this skill will help prepare me for college and my life after formal education. Although at times I see formal education as a conglomerate of herders shuffling sheep from one pen to the next, this class is most definitely one of the useful courses in school. I, however, do not have any project ideas. My apologies.

Dinosauria, We Essay. Tell me what you think!

Naomi McPherson
Stephanie Lytle
English 4
4 Dec 2010

Sorrowful Deadliness: an analysis of Dinosauria, We

In Dinosauria, We by Charles Bukowski, he highlights the idea that as humans, are functioning within a modern dystopian society that we have inherited. He rages with misanthropy towards the human species in general, and hints that this is only one cycle of destruction that is doomed to be repeated.
The title of the poem, at first glance, is nonsensical. After reading the poem, the title suggests that we, as a society, are going to become extinct - and, in fact, be the cause of our own downfall and eventual destruction. The line “Born into” is repeated throughout the poem, suggesting that although we are not solely the causes of our grim societal state, we can do nothing to combat its digression because we are merely the inheritors. The concept of what the ‘this’ is can be interpreted many different ways. The readers individual concept of what the ‘this’ truly is helps to shape the poem as the reader views it.
The poem seems to take place in many different time periods - present, past and future. Bukowski addresses the futility of government and education in the first section “As political landscapes dissolve / As the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree / As the oily fish spit out their oily prey / As the sun is masked” The beginning of the poem seems to detail how the end begins, oddly enough. The downfall of political power, the uselessness of education and extreme pollution are all things that have been topics in dystopian literature. In this poem, Bukowski sets it in the present in order to drive in the fact that we, as we are, function within a dystopian setting. A real live 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451. Although he does not go into detail of the cause of the downfall, one can relate his tone to just a general feeling of misanthropy towards humankind. He conveys a feeling of negativity harbored towards people in general, possibly believing that their inherent flaws have always caused this world to be a dystopia.
The short, choppy and fragmented flow of the poem conveys the feeling of desperation that it intends to portray. Bukowski makes use of a list-like format, detailing the effects on humans, rather than the effects on the whole. He speaks in one section about drugs replacing God because God does not provide necessary support for the people within society. “The fingers reach for the throat / The gun / The knife / The bomb / The fingers reach toward an unresponsive god / The fingers reach for the bottle / The pill / The powder / We are born into this sorrowful deadliness”. He also depicts that humans will become inherently more violent towards each other as a means of coping, survival, recklessness. Murder will run rampant and people will have no morals or self-control. This section also foreshadows a downfall of the masses into drug dependence - much like the prominent use of the drug soma in Huxley’s Brave New World. The dependence on drugs, and the emphasis (or non-emphasis) on religion are both prominent topics within Dystopian literature. Just as soma was used to repress the presence of feelings within the World State society in Huxley’s novel (the drug once being referred to as “Christianity without tears”), Bukowski alludes that tangible, recognizable pills and other drugs will be used as a alternative to religion and the “unresponsive god”.
Bukowski concludes the poem by stating blatantly that the cycle is doomed to be repeated, whether it be by humans or another society of beings. He alludes to some sort of solace found in the aftermath of man’s self-created decimation in the final few lines of the poem; “And there will be the most beautiful silence never heard / Born out of that / The sun still hidden there / Awaiting the next chapter.” The circle of life and optimism are crushed by Bukowski’s blatant pessimism throughout this poem and his idea of, essentially, a cycle of destruction. The self-perpetuating, inherited flaw that mankind possesses creates his own destruction. The poem conveys an overall theme of helplessness, and the hopelessness of life itself – all qualities that are most certainly depicted in all dystopian novels.

Poem Analysis

Dinosauria, We

Born like this
Into this
As the chalk faces smile
As Mrs. Death laughs
As the elevators break
As political landscapes dissolve
As the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree
As the oily fish spit out their oily prey
As the sun is masked
We are
Born like this
Into this
Into these carefully mad wars
Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptiness
Into bars where people no longer speak to each other
Into fist fights that end as shootings and knifings
Born into this
Into hospitals which are so expensive that it's cheaper to die
Into lawyers who charge so much it's cheaper to plead guilty
Into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed
Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes
Born into this
Walking and living through this
Dying because of this
Muted because of this
Castrated
Debauched
Disinherited
Because of this
Fooled by this
Used by this
Pissed on by this
Made crazy and sick by this
Made violent
Made inhuman
By this
The heart is blackened
The fingers reach for the throat
The gun
The knife
The bomb
The fingers reach toward an unresponsive god
The fingers reach for the bottle
The pill
The powder
We are born into this sorrowful deadliness
We are born into a government 60 years in debt
That soon will be unable to even pay the interest on that debt
And the banks will burn
Money will be useless
There will be open and unpunished murder in the streets
It will be guns and roving mobs
Land will be useless
Food will become a diminishing return
Nuclear power will be taken over by the many
Explosions will continually shake the earth
Radiated robot men will stalk each other
The rich and the chosen will watch from space platforms
Dante's Inferno will be made to look like a children's playground
The sun will not be seen and it will always be night
Trees will die
All vegetation will die
Radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men
The sea will be poisoned
The lakes and rivers will vanish
Rain will be the new gold
The rotting bodies of men and animals will stink in the dark wind
The last few survivors will be overtaken by new and hideous diseases
And the space platforms will be destroyed by attrition
The petering out of supplies
The natural effect of general decay
And there will be the most beautiful silence never heard
Born out of that.
The sun still hidden there
Awaiting the next chapter.

This is the poem I will be using for my study, basically relating it to dystopia and dystopian literature. I have found this poem to be very compelling - it is in fact one of my new favorite poems, I think . I love the way he uses lines and repeats them throughout the poem (using prefixes and such). I have found this poem to be basically a portrait of the dystopian nature of our own society and the progression of our society towards its own destruction.