Reaction: The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts

       With this article, the author wanted people to become aware that writers put a lot of thought in their writing.  Everything that we read that has been published could have been revised a hundred times before we saw it.  The author wanted us to know this, because if he had not said this, then we never would have known.  In revising drafts, I think that everyone has a different style of doing so.  In the article, a process that some authors follow is described.  But again, everyone has their own way of doing things.  For me, when I revise, the first thing that I do is look for grammatical errors.  Next I check my first paragraph, making sure that it clearly states the point of my essay and is an effective introduction to the body.  Next, I check that all of my points are on point, and then I look for an effective and conclusive conclusion.  I check my voice and the audience, but most of all, my thought organization.  With all my works, I hope that my reader understands my thought process.  I hope to say everything that I want to say as best I can.  The author says that revising can happen forever because a piece is never as perfect as the writer would want.  So really, the only thing absolutely similar about writer's writing process is that revision is inevitable and is key to exceptional writing.

Reaction: Cinematypes -- Susan Allen Toth + My Favorite Movie Genre :)

       This was a funny article to read.  It really proves that a lot can be told about a person from their interests, like  movie preferences.  The author describes what a person that enjoys films redeeming social value, art films, and entertaining  films is like.  We even learn what a person that like old Technicolor films is like.  Personally, the type if movie that I like is the type that balances action and thought.  These are those films that keep you thinking, but not the too-mind-boggling-that-it-is-annoying kind, and  at the same time, has action, and not the mindless explosion type of action either.  Movies like these are those done by my favorite director, Christopher Nolan.  His movies like The Prestige, Memento, the Batman movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and Inception are exactly the kinds of movies I am referring to.  I wonder what my movie preference says about me. 

Reaction: Doublespeak --William Lutz

         I am learning more and more that English is truly so much more complex than I thought.  It is a very powerful tool to those that know it well.  For example, the use of doublespeak can be both useful and deceptive depending on situation or intent. One can use doublespeak to make people do things all because they have no idea what is meant by the speaker.  I believe that the best way to counter doublespeak i really, knowledge of the language.  If you can truly comprehend everything a person is saying then there is no way you can be fooled.  As a result, I have concluded that I want to continue to learn the secrets of English for the more I know, the less likely i will be deceived and more likely I will be able to use the language for good.

The Filipino Woman: Cory and Leonor, Gabriela and Imelda

      I really liked reading this article.  It shows all the different things that a woman is faced with and the ways they can react.  Leonor was a woman who did what she was told even if it meant that she would give up happiness.  Cory was a woman who was not afraid to step completely out of her comfort zone to free her nation.  Gabriela, similar to Cory, was also a woman led, but she led in a different way.  She did something that men would think was an incapability of women.  She actually led an army. Imelda was a woman who harbored off her husband to support the arts.  An observation I made was that, among all of the examples the author made, Imelda was the only one with a husband that she loved by her side.  I liked this article because I could find a little inspiration in all of them.  Leonor in her willingness to sacrifice, Cory in her doing that is right even if it was something not in her line of work, Gabriela in her courage, and Imelda in finding power for herself.  Really, I know that a woman is capable of great things and so, I am proud to be a Filipino woman.

Reaction: Sexism and Language-- Alleen Pace Nilsen

         This reading is all about how there are terms in the English language that show sexism.  So many negative terms have words in it that refer to a female.  At the same time, there are terms that seem mostly male that are positive.  Also, it is obvious that young females are favored to older females.  Another reason language is sexist to the author is that some terms, when used to refer to men are positive; however, when the same term is used for women, it is negative.  The author describes it as "glorifying men". The author gave many proofs and examples and so I find myself more likely agreeing with the author.  In the end, I do think that the English language shows some sexism against women.

Reaction: Happy Feet: The Pleasures of Teen Dance Movies

     I agree with the author of this article completely.  Pretty much all teen dance movies are the same or have similar themes.  Despite this people still watch them.  Personally, I think that it is because of the dancing.  People really just enjoy watching dance movies to see the dancing.  Usually, when I watch dance movies, I completely ignore the cliche storyline just as long as, in the end, the dance numbers were nice.  Sometimes, I even skip through the movie and only watch the dance numbers.  I believe that it is right to say that as long as there are people that enjoy dance, dance movies will be successful.

Warning: Propaganda

         I can not think of a better term for this type of propaganda than a direct command.  This means that in this type of propaganda, the audience is not given much of a choice other than buying into whatever product is being sold.  It means that the option is not simply the better choice, but rather the only option, consequently meaning, the only thing that can be done.  A perfect example for this would be the Nike ads and their tagline Just Do It.  This has no questions asked, simply a command.

Dog Years

            I feel most connected to someone when I watch them face an obstacle dead on.  In those moments, all I see in their eyes are determination and focus.  It is in these moments that I see their strength.  Never would I have thought that I would feel that same gripping sensation from anything not human.  Honestly, why would I think that there could be any other being on earth that could bring that same amount of emotion to me?  Why would I think that something other than man could be strong?  It was because I was looking but I was not seeing.

            Our dog, Pep, had been with the family since I was 5.  He had lived a happy life in his youth, making his rounds around the neighborhood and impregnating all the other dogs.  He had his fair share of walks, or maybe it would be more appropriate to call them dog chases.  He was a ball of energy that we could hardly contain. He lived like he could not lose, he was strong. But just like me and my siblings were, he was getting older.  We reached a position where we no longer took him out for walks.  We no longer played outside for hours, tiring ourselves out. Pep had reached a standstill.  It was a nadir in his life where he simply watched the days pass, hoping to do something exciting, but too old to actually do anything.  He was 11 years old and just getting older.  Then, the fateful day had come where watching another day pass by was not going to happen.  Pep was dying.

            I do not think that many dog owners have really watched their dog die.  My siblings and I did though.  We were totally aware of what was happening.  Pep could not stand up, so we all just lied there next to him.  I always knew that he was officially a part of our family, but it was only when he was dying did I realize that he knew it too.  He would not let go.  I saw him suffering.  I saw him crying out.  But he was not allowing himself to take that last breath while we were still around him.    

           For about an hour, we just told him that it was all right, we were going to be okay.  But he just would not.  It was almost as if I could hear him saying "No, not while you all are here, not while you all are watching, I am not weak."  The look in his eyes had more vitality than I think I will ever see in a human's eyes. There were no doubts in them, it was untainted vigor.  He did not want us to see him die.  So we left him, and he died.  But that look in his eyes, full of strength, full of force, will never fade away from my memories. I saw strength in its purest form that day, and I saw it in a dog.

Reaction: Two Views of the Mississppi--Mark Twain

    Twain made a very interesting comparison of the Mississippi River and a book.  He says that those who are unfamiliar to the realities of the danger of the river are like illiterate people who do not understand the text in a book.  He gave many comparisons like punctuation, italics and capitals to describe the river.  Also he did not ever mention that the river being described was the Mississippi River, it was only implied in the title of the reading.  I found this very smart.

  The essay opened my eyes to two things.  Firstly, that it helps for us to look at things in this world in different perspectives to make everything more interesting.  The other is that things that may have seemed wonderful before may turn out to be not so wonderful when we learn more about it. 

   This second point is a curious one.   It makes me wonder whether trying to fully understand things would be a good thing or a bad thing.  Do I want to maintain the mystery in things and risk not uncovering hidden wonders in things? Or would I like to learn everything in depth about a thing and risk finding out things that I might not like about it?

Reaction: The Ngong Farm

    The Ngong Farm was very descriptive Africa.  After reading the excerpt, I felt like I had just come from a tour through Africa.  I learned much about its geography, the imagery of its cities, some of it culture and the lifestyle.  With all of these things implanted in my head after just reading the selection, I believe that it would be right to say that the author was successful in making an effective descriptive essay of her farm.

Reaction: Photographs of my Parents -- Maxine Hong Kingston

     In this day and age, pictures have become very popular.  It is now so easy for us to document our lives on a daily basis.  Back then, randomly taking pictures was not too common.  

 
     In this selection, Kingston talked of the things she noticed from looking at the few pictures of her parents she had.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Consequently, Kingston put tens of thousands of words into those photos of her parents.  She inferred a lot of things about her parents and how they adjusted to the change in setting from China to the US.                                                                                                             
   I guess that the same can be said for me when looking through my parents' old photos.  I could observe a lot about the fashion, the fun things to do, the environment.  Many things have changed yet there is still some odd connection to the present that can be felt. Because of this connection, I feel like I would like to take many pictures of the things that go on around me so that, in the future, people could connect themselves to my past as well.

Cloud 9

          My feet pressed the blades of grass closer to the earth with each step. The sweet smell of pine and wildflowers filled my lungs. I felt the coolness of the damp breeze as it blew past me, making me feel oddly lighter.  I was high up in the city of Baguio, where the altitude gives a certain liberation that I do not feel in the streets of Manila.  I tilted my head upwards as I tried to catch more of that wind, and a tickling sensation of warmth came to my cheeks as it was touched by the sunlight.  I felt my whole being lift at the serenity of that moment.  It felt as though time were standing as still as I was. Seconds, which turned to minutes that felt like hours, past.  I had to wake up from this daze, but before I pulled myself back to reality, I made a silent prayer to God.  I said, "Thank You for giving me a taste of Heaven on Earth."

It's a Dog's Life..kinda

          The dog--Man's best friend. We have heard the phrase time and time again, and have reached a point where we just believe the saying, no questions asked.  But what if we do ask the question? I mean, how could an animal be your best friend? Would it give you good advice when you need it?  Would it care for you when your sick? Would it tell you that it loves you in a special way? If a dog could not do these, then how could it be anything like a friend?

          To find the answer to such questions, I took the time to actually observe the specimen.  I watched my dog.  I looked at our seven month old golden retriever, who seemed to be growing bigger and bigger each day.  I tried to see how she reacted, how she could possibly understand.  What does she do? What could she do for me to believe that she is "best-friend-material"?

          I watched how she walked around the house like she owned the place. Surveying every corner, leaving no surface untouched or no spot on the floor unsniffed.  I watched how she followed all of my brother's commands in the hopes of getting a treat for it.  I watched how her ears flopped, fur bounced and tail wagged as she ran towards me with the toy she had just retrieved in her mouth.  I watched and I noticed.  I noticed how she always seemed to be smiling at me.  I noticed how she always seemed to be waiting at the door when I arrived back from school.  I noticed how she always seemed to follow me from the buffet to the dinner table.  All these things, I watched and noticed, then I realized.

          It is not in that the dog intentionally gives me back some kind of emotional response that it becomes a best friend.  It is in the innocence and playfulness of her character that makes me appreciate the little joys of life.  They say "It's a dog's life" like its a bad thing, but that is not how I see it. My dog shows me how gleeful life can be. And these are the traits that I wish to see the most, above all, in a friendship, are they not?  My best friend is that person who I enjoy being around because s/he exudes happiness.  The simple presence of that person already lifts my spirits and makes me think of only good things. Consequently, the role of best friend, the role of bringer-of-life-to-life can be satisfied by virtually anyone who does that for me. It could be a family member, my neighbor, a stranger, or even my dog.  Friends make life interesting, so I just have to figure out who, or what, my friends are. As it follows, I guess the idea of my dog being my best friend is not too far-fetched now, is it?

Reaction: The Death of the Moth -- Virginia Woolf

           This essay talks of the time Woolf watched a moth die.  For many, this seems like a very irrelevant event, not even worth repeating to a friend who might listen, much more write about for many more to read.  However, when I read this essay, I knew that the author was trying to get a much bigger message across and this message most definitely came across to me.

          The author described the event. She saw a moth flying in the daylight, which was not a common thing for moths, and she saw it fall.  She watched as this little moth, tried and tried again to get up and fly again.  She kept watching and it kept falling, and the author described the event like all was lost for this moth.  Then suddenly, the moth, in a final attempt, was able to get off its back, it succeeded! But then, it continued to die.

          I think that my eyes were opened by the death of this little moth as the author's eyes were, hence her point for writing out this observation she had made.  For me, this moth can be compared to any one of us.  We could be small beings which are mostly left unnoticed by the rest of the universe, and sometimes left alone by even our own peers. However, despite how small and insignificant we may be to others, it does not mean that the struggles we face ourselves are invaluable.  I think the author wanted to emphasize this. That all struggles, big or small, are worth something, and most especially worth our best efforts.  The poor little moth in the story fought to the death to get back up, and even if we live our entire lives never having to face a situation as crucial as life or death literally, we should face each challenge as if it were so.  

          Honestly, I think that after reading this essay, some may feel like the moth, who tried its best to get up but still died in the end, proved that failure is possible even with our best efforts.  This is not what I took from it though.  I do not think that this moth failed because it died.  If anything, it left more of an impact with its death.  The author may not have written the essay if she had watched the moth try and try until it succeeded.  We have all heard that story before, and many may already find happy endings cliche. 

          But this story, the story of that insect, which no one really cared for, who was defeated only by death and not by fear of failure, is the kind of story which inspires one to seek triumph.