enviornment

C. Many biotic and abiotic factors can influence the Tropical Rainforest being both harmful and beneficial. Differing factors change the biome in different ways. Average precipitation is a gigantic factor in a tropical rainforest. The average rainfall is normally around 100 inches per year. A large increase or decrease in rain would cause the biome to struggle. The average temperature is normally around 68-95 degrees fahrenheit. A change in average temperature would drastically deteriorate the biome. A rainforest does not recieve a lot of wind throughout the course of a year. The soil composition dates back hundreds of years, and conatin all terrestrial life. The damp soil is the basis for all life in this particular biome. The geographic features that dominate are specifically trees because of their abundance. The solar radiation is strong considering the high temperatures a tropical rainforest possesses. These factors directly affect the biome.

Each of these factors affect adaptations of plants and animals because change in them would create problems for the advancement of species. Evolution would decrease if this biome changed drastically. The most influential factor is precipitation because rainfall is a necessity in a tropical rainforest. The whole biome operates with the right amount of rain each year.

ENglish Blog assignment 1984

Part A – The world in Dubai, and the happiest place on Earth (Denmark) contain utopian dynamics that set up a perfect world for their inhabitants. The world in Dubai contains a chain of islands branching to make the silhouette of the world. Inland Dubai is only 5-10 minutes from each island, so good and materials can be accessed that aren’t available on the islands. The expected crime rate will be very low, and the people living there will feel happy with their isolation from everyone. The happiest place on Earth is in Denmark based on surveys and information from every nation. The utopian dynamic in Denmark directly correlates to their idea of taxes. People in Denmark pay 50-70% of their entire income. Everyone in the nation feels as if the government has their back, and they have a great relationship. There are no real dystopian values with these two places, and they are ultimately the closest to a utopia as it gets.

Part B - Connecting the science fiction values of the thought police in George Orwell's 1984 to actual thought scanning technology like that of an fMRI portray the reality of advancing technology reading the minds of their patrons.

Part C -
1) Isolating the nation of Oceania in George Orwell's 1984 is a lot similar to the virtues of North Korea in the new millennia, although the vanishing of many bridges in North Korea provide a more serious approach.
2) Evaluating the poor living conditions in George Orwell's 1984 is no where near the harsh conditions of North Korea, in regard to the photo of a poor man extracting water from the Yalu River.
3) Containing reasonably inadequate policing and fire systems in George Orwell's 1984 compares slightly to the severity of not having proper fire officials in North Korea in regard to a man extinguishing a house fire by his lonesome.

Part D -
1) Testify by Rage Against the Machine makes distinct allusions to George Orwell's novel 1984. More importantly, the tune makes allusions to the world we live in today. For example, Rage Against the Machine alludes to our dependence on foreign oil. They sang, " Oily silence mocks the legless boys". This pinpoints the middle eastern tragedies that are occurring in regard to the oil crisis. Boys are getting killed, along with innocent women and children, and this dynamic is a lot like 1984.

2) Big Brother by Stevie Wonder makes connections to the text of George Orwell's 1984. Certain lyrics of this song contain direct examples from the book. For example, "You say that you're watching me on the tele". The telescreen in 1984 was a reoccurring theme, and showed that the government was watching over their people. Stevie Wonder alludes to the similarity with our government today, and how it is in 1984. Also, there were modern allusions in the lyrics. An example of this includes; "I live in the ghetto, you just come to visit me 'round election time." This demonstrates how politicians speak to the poor class during election time.

3) 2+2=5 by Radiohead demonstrates the theme of a dystopian setting in both our world today, and in George Orwell's 1984. The song portrays the theme of a math equation "going wrong". This is directly related to how our government works today, and the corruption it beholds. The world in 1984 is similar because of the Ministry of Truth, and the changing of history. This connection to the text is related to this famous Radiohead song.

Part E-
A song that connects to the text of 1984 is spies by Coldplay. The theme of never being able to express yourself and that everyone is always watching is evident in both of these pieces. The argument displayed is that you are never truly alone.

Part F-
The correlation between linguistic nuances and newspeak and doublethink is very clear. We make distinct inferences when we speak, and interact with other people. Many different words have different meanings, and this is also clear in newspeak. This idea in 1984 is a lot like what we are doing to the English language. Pretty soon, we will be abbreviating words more than was ever though of. This is a large problem, and 1984 makes clear warnings of this.

drama performance critique

RealCyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand and directed by David Lereaux, is a play that incorporates elements of drama and comedy. Some main actors include; Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner, Daniel Sun, Max Baker, Jaloux, Stephen Balantzian, and Anthony Burges. The play was performed in Paris in 2009. The story includes a lonely warrior named Cyrano de Bergerac, on his siege for both valor and the lady of his dreams. Cyrano, Roxanne's suitor, was given the duty to help Baron Christian de Neuvillete woe Roxanne far better than Cyrano could have imagined. He assumes this position, and the story revolves around this dynamic.

The story starts in a theater in Paris in the 1640's. A play begins in the theater, and Cyrano introduces himself by stabbing a person in the play. He then alludes to Roxanne and her beauty, and vividly describes his love for his cousin. Christian comes into focus, and asks for Cyrano's help to acquire Roxanne's love. Cyrano's intelligence and Christian's good looks were their best bet to win her over. However, Christian ultimately found out that Cyrano loves her as well. Christian woe's her to be his lady until the siege occurs. He dies in battle, and Roxanne receives information about the whole plan the two men had. She finds out fifteen years later that she indeed loved the words of Cyrano, and felt an emotional connection towards him. Throughout all of this turmoil, Cyrano dies from getting hit in the head with wood, and neither of the men end up with Roxanne. The story worked well as a whole, and had constant funny and dramatic moments to it. The punchlines of jokes were performed well; especially with the character of Cyrano. The development of a well executed script was evident.  It was entertaining throughout the course of the play, and kept the audience attentive. 

The performers included a variety of people with many different roles. Kevin Kline for example played Cyrano de Bergerac was very believable and accurately depicted the character. Jennifer Garner also did this with the character of Roxanne. They both had a believable performance, and articulated well to the audience. The two were loud, and always faced the viewers. The characters body movements and style stayed true to both the characters of Cyrano and Roxanne. 

The play established a mood of humor, and anticipation. Throughout the whole performance it kept the audience on the edge of their seat. The set also created a mood of the time period in the 1600's. The lighting conveyed appropriate elements, and emphasized certain characters frequently when they spoke. Costumes and makeup were accurate in terms of the time period as well. The overall noise and sound effects contributed to the anticipation of the play. They always performed music, and if it was a musical I believe the orchestra played well. 

The play provided many effects for the audience. Throughout the whole performance the audience was interested in what was going on, and were attentive. I liked certain aspects of the show as a whole. I believed it would've been better without Roxanne having so much involvement with the plot. I also believe that the war scene should've been easier to see what was going on. Overall, the play kept me entertained and is recommendable.  

Preston Meyers

Keenan Coffey

10/5/14

Drama A

Character Analysis Can't Hardly Wait

Mrs. Rockne

Preston Meyers is one of the main characters in the film, Can't Hardly Wait. He is a great example of a typical high school student with both dreams of being what is considered "cool", and successful. Preston's character displayed the whole dynamic of how high school works, and the hardships that each and every student faces. He is unique in the sense that he was not like everyone else in his highschool, and he strongly conveyed this. Preston Meyers is hopelessly in love with a popular girl at his school, and had a goal to finally pour out his emotions to her before he left for college. He had many goals throughout the film, and showed the audience his bravery, courage, and determination.

Preston

Beowulf and chaucer work

Keenan Coffey

Beowulf

 

1)      A caesura is categorized as a pause or break in the text to provide emphasis or some meaning. “They were easy to find who elsewhere sought in room remote their rest at night, bed in the bowers, when that bale was shown, was seen in sooth, with surest token, -- the hall-thane's hate.” The double hyphen in the middle of the sentence is a caesura.

2)      A kenning is a compound expression in Old English and has metaphorical meaning. A few examples include an “oar’s-steed” which means a ship, “a breaker or rings” is a king, and “battle sweat” which means blood.

3)      The combination of Old English, Anglo Saxon values and beliefs, and the rise of Christianity create a sense of foreign history in Beowulf. The Anglo Saxon’s were a very barbaric group of people that pilgrimaged any village in sight. Their speech and language normally included very vulgar terms that always related to war in some way, shape, or form. An example of this language includes, “To Hrothgar was given such glory of war, such honor of combat, that all his kin obeyed him gladly till great grew his band of youthful comrades.”

 

Canterbury Tales

 

C1)  Chaucer characterizes many different characters throughout the novel Canterbury Tales. Three specific characters that interested me were the pardoner, the wife of bath, and the knight. The pardoner had many distinct things about him that made him unique. He is a really greedy person, that only thinks of himself. The way he makes his living is both deceiving and inconsiderate. He is in a high social class because of his variety of wealth. His appearance was "that of Jesus" and had long yellow hair. I believe his character is a priest or a pastor.

The wife of bath is also very unique. She had a lot of money, and was in a high social class. She had several husbands, but they all left her because she was so annoying. She is not the prettiest woman, and that is a reason why she cannot keep a husband. She made all of her clothes, and sold them to make money. She also travels to long distant lands.

The knight was a very honorable character. He was looked at as the most noble person there was. He always killed his foe, and was incredibly brave. He had a downfall though. He is full of himself, and very confident. Everyone does look up to him, but he looks at himself as a god.

C2) The men in the Canterbury Tales video are wearing street clothes and two of them were wearing hats. One of them was wearing a bucket hat, and the other was wearing a sideways hat. They looked like urban school teachers.

C3) The narrators voice sounds very close to a Russian or Germanic accent. He over pronounced his S sounds, and sounded very eerie. The emphasis on these words tell us that the narrator typically wouldn't be a guy to mess around with.

C4) In the Pardoner's Tale the tale of greed killing all three of the men in their search for death is ironic and terrible. They found death because of their search for gold. This was ironic because the pardoner takes things for his own "indulgences". The pardoner is a hypocrite, and Chaucer portrays this story to show how the pardoner does not have many morals.

C5)



50. Tell us about yourself. 

I am a very interesting individual. I like to go on long walks across the beach, and scented candles. I like the feeling of accomplishment you get after achieving your highest goal. I love the thought of a society that can collaborate and work as a whole. I am apposed to violence, and like to think of myself as a pacifist. I like to train and work out because it gives me a good work ethic, and teaches resilience. All I want in life is to make a difference to passing generations that could potentially benefit them. I have a pretty good grasp on what I want to be when I get older. I have always had motivation in everything I've done. I'm not one to sit back and wait for things to be spoonfed to me. I like doing things for myself without anyone's assistance. I work two stressful jobs and play two sports.

      I like the feeling of hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. I like hitting the deep three point jumpshot to win at the buzzer. I like to compete at the highest level I can. I enjoy practicing every day to keep getting better. I like going on long runs and seeing how fast I can go. I like the teachings of discipline and respect in these sports. 

     I like figuring out long math problems. I like the process, the sense of reward, and the logic behind it. I love writing long stories or columns and jotting down my thoughts onto paper. I like abstract design and art. I like to free my mind from distractions and focus on hard tasks that require my uttermost attention. I would love to someday go back in time and meet Einstein. I would be the kind of person staying after school studying extra if I didn't fully understand the concept. I want to someday teach a group of people something worth knowing. Someday I want to make a significant difference. 

     I like traveling and experiencing the world. I like seeing new culture and new ways of life. I love the differing languages and trying to figure out unfamiliar words. I like the ocean almost anything nautical. I like jet skiing and scuba diving. 

     I love my family and wouldn't be the same without them. Everything else in my life is not set in stone other than my family. They will always be there for me and I will do the same. Their love and support for me has made me the person I am today. I love spending time with my elders and learning their past experiences and how I can benefit from it. 

     I am a loving, caring person that wishes the best to everyone around me. I am very patient, and I am a strong believer in good things come to people who wait. I try my best to take nothing in my life for granted. I like becoming the man my parents hoped and dreamed I'd be. I like making them proud and having them by my side. 

     As you can tell, I am interesting. 

abortion

Keenan Coffey

Why do people freak out about abortion?

Abortion is a topic that is very controversial amongst the people of our time. More importantly, this controversy is important to the people it affects. In some states, women get to choose the option of keeping the child, or killing it before birth. This is not particularly interesting to me, but it affects a large group of people I associate myself with every day.

This could be discussed in a Sociology class as a discussion. We could talk about how it is unfair for multiple states to have different laws and such. We could also say how it is unfair to the individual. I would ask questions like “how do you feel about the topic?”

There are thousands of books and news stories on abortions and abortion philosophy. More importantly, so many people post their opinions on the web and what not. Some people include William Guttmacher who makes many distinct points regarding the subject. Thus, abortion is worth freaking out about.