I hate anything controversial. Mainly because of the actual meaning of the topic. CONTROVERSY. trouble. Annoying. Affirmative action is so annoying because people want equality, but when we set up a structure to maintain the "equality," they get upset about it. There is no way to conform humans. They want a perfect world that is not possible. And if people didnt take race, height, weight, strength, and skills into consideration, than we would have young, weak women working at a department store stocking and big strong men working at the jewelry counter at JC Penney. There are reasons they ask those questions. Like what your race is. They obviously need to get someone hispanic working at every single store, restaurant, office builiding, and even McDonald's in hialeah since spanish is the main language. Its not to discriminate or anything. And why would you hire someone less qualified for a job just because you need to make your business "equal?" Thats dumb. I would hire the more skilled applicant. Duh. Its better for business and customer service.

Allen Pace Nilen, Sexism in English.

The author makes some strong points and provides overwhelming details to back up her side. She has a valid point, but i dont think im too interested in this essay. Its annoying to me to bring up such a dumb point. She is contradicting human nature. Its like we want to control everything so much that it fires back on us. Supposedly, we make words have meanings. But we are the ones who make up the words. So if we're so worried about the connotation and the structure of the word, than why did we make it like that. Besides, im not too sure people are really worried about how we talk and the words we use. We're so used to saying and using them that we dont really pay attention to the "sex" of the word, if it even has any.

E.M. Forster, My Wood

This essay relates directly with how people changed when they own more property or land, or own more expensive things than others. He emphasizes the effect that property has on people. How people become more cocky when they own more things. And how they get this desire to own more and more. They want to own more and bigger things. And they want people to know its theirs. It belongs to them. Nobody else. And it also makes you feel like you need to do something to it. Make it perfect. And you might not be sure how or what to do but you feel the need to do something.

Cinematyes, By Susan Allen Toth.

In this essay, the author categorizes all the men she dates. She categorizes them by their movie choices, about where they park, about what they eat. One of them is like a nerd and another one is a pretty boy who is a player. She describes what they do and classifies them by their actions. In the end, she really doesnt like either of them. She doesnt believe any of them are right for her. So she goes home alone. But hey, thats what makes her happy. I like this essay because it shows how strong she is and how she isnt going to settle for less than what she wants.

Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies.

This essay is so honestly written. I think just as he does. As the saying goes, "great minds think alike." I think people do crave movies that create a false world of their imagination. Since everyone is really actually a little insane in some sort of way, our imaginations run endlessly in our minds. What we think and what we wish to do, illegal things, horrible things, that we cant because of the consequences of reality, are all portrayed in horror movies. Even little things, like hurting people when they hurt us, or living on another planet because aliens have attacked our own. All things we think about and wish to do but cant. We crave horror movies as an emotional release.

A Fable for Tomorrow, by Rachel Carson.

This story is sort of sad. The way she compares in great detail the beautiful, sunny, flowery little town to the disgusting, gloomy, sad aftermath. At first you dont really notice what she is trying to do, or what she is even talking about. But as you read the story and come to the conclusion, you notice how bad humans are destroying the earth. Although this story is fiction, it happens in reality. People do destroy the earth. And i wish that the town she described existed, but i havent heard or seen any like it.

Embalming in the USA, by Jessica Mitford.

This essay is so weird. Its disturbing. To just think about the process of embalming a dead human being. All the removal of the bloody, gushy insides. The insertion of the embalming liquid. The preparation and attatchment of severed and missing body parts. The make-up. Its quite disgusting and morbid. But the detail and order in the essay is really amazing.

The Death of the Moth, By Virginia Woolf.

I love the description in this essay. The way she highlights the moths attributes. The way she describes so in depth the colors and the actions of the moth. She tells about how the birds are outside flying and how she compares regular moths tp the moth in her house. It is kind of sad how she tells about how the moth tries so hard to escape and resume his little life outside. How he keeps crashing into the window and finally, lays down and dies. He sort of gives up hopelessly. Like she says at the end, the moth finally lets death consume him. as if death was stronger than he was.

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

This is my favorite essay in the entire book! It is extremely sarcastic and funny, which is definitely my style. He talks about how we should have children and SELL THEM! Of course he is just tryong to make a joke about our socety, but in a diabolic way, it makes a lot of sense. He makes fun of rich people and talks about how rich people don't care or are aware of the less fortunate. He makes the comment that rich people are so full of themselves that they would even purchase childrens meat to eat. I think the more fortunate or lucky or richer people should help those less fortunate than them. And stop being so damn spoiled and self centered. Because they will go to hell.

Cultural Baggage by Barbara Ehrenreich

I really liked this essay alot because I agree with her completely. I believe that you are your own culture. Like, not to say that culture has gone down the drain because you still have the influences of your origin, but when youre 18 I feel like you design your own culture. When youre 18 you decide what religion you wana be, what you wana do with your life, what types of food you wana eat, and anything else that comes your way. So youre influenced by your current surroundings and environment. I believe I am apart of the nothing culture also, although I am tremendously influenced by my immigrant cuban family.

College Pressures by William Zinsser

Being a college student, I can relate to the essay about the pressures college students face. The money issues, the amount of stress that comes with trying to balance our lives with our schoolwork. Sometimes its really difficult for some students and easier for others. Some kids have no idea whats going on, some are procrastinators and need alot of help changing from the igh school mindset to the mature, colege mindset. In this essay we see a few letters left to one of the deans at the school. Some are funny and some are not. He did a good job describing the dificulties some students face in college and I think a lot of students would agree and others can really understand what we students go through.

the lie detector..

The Lie Detector, by Lewis Thomas is a very peculiar and intersting article. He begins to explain how lying is stressful to humans, and that we are a moral species by compulsion, which I completely disagree with. Some people are just immoral and they never realize that lying is bad. I had an aquaintence like that once, where she lived in her own fantasy world, and lied without hesitation. She was like a chronic liar, she was such a liar she even lied to herslef. And worse of all, she believed all the lies she told. I couldn't tell if she was really sick and needed medical attention, but I'm absolutely sure that if you would connect her to a lie detector machine, that it would not be able to tell whether she was lying or not. So I definitely don't think hgthat we are moral by natire. I agree that a love detector wouldn't be a very useful machine, I believe a lie detector isn't either. I think that it's all in your mind and that your mind is more powerful than a machine.

Joycette vs. Christian. J/K. Neat vs. Sloppy People.

Neat vs. Sloppy people by Suzanne Britt was read in class by me and my best friend, Christian. We each fall into one of the categories, me being the neat one, Chris being the sloppy one. This is a funny story which is all true. Everything she described neat and sloppy people doing was true. And in part she was trying to defend herself and say that sloppy people are maybe not better, but are more sentimental I guess, and keep everything, while neat people throw everything away because they feel it is unnecessary to keep. Which is not true because I do keep everything that is important to me, its just in a box in my room. Nice. Neat. And organized. :]
AND CHRISTIANS ROOM ANNOYS ME.
EVERYTHING IS EVERYWHERE.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

How to give orders like a Woman. haha

How to Give Orders Like a Man by Deborah Tannen is an interesting essay. I like the way it goes in depth about how society looks at people and how we're supposed to act towards our "inferiors." I think that when people talk directly just because they're the president or something of a company that it's wrong because everybody is equal and nobody is anyone's slave. And I think that if someone who is under you whether by social or economic class or even job title, they should be able to speak up and say what they feel and give orders too, specially if the situation risks their lives and the lives of others. I don't think its wrong to speak indirectly either because it shows politeness and courtesy towards other people. And it will probably make them do it better than if you order them to do it.

why don't we complain? THE STORY. 8)

The story Why Don't we Complain really appeals to me. What William F. Bukley says and emphasizes in this story is true, that americans don't stand up for themselves. And that by the time people decide to actually stand up for their rights, we'll have flying cars and not need to say anything. He also uses an ironic example to add humor to the not-so-funny essay. He says that the first time he decided he would stand up for himself, which was a new year's resolution he made, that the guy he stood up to had just had a heart attack and he felt really bad and more embarrassed than before. I laughed when I read that because although it wasn't funny, it showed that maybe he shouldn't really try to stand up for himself ALL of the time.

marrying absurd!

This story was so funny. At first, the author started talking about the requirements you need to meet to be married in Las Vegas, which is only a marriage license that you can purchase for $5. So basically, if you're "poor" or you need to be married right away, or you're really drunk, you can get married to just about anyone at any time for $5. There is a deeper message in this story which she tries to display that the actual meaning of marriage has gone down the drain, which I totally agree with. People these days get married either too young on impulse, or get married to people just to say their married and receive a ring which they will later pawn right after they get divorced.

reaction to a story.

i read narration in the book and i was also so bored with my life that i read all 3 stories.
i really liked the chase story and for some sick reason, i liked the hanging story too.
i liked the fun and excitement that was described in the chase. it made me feel like i was really there. in the hanging i felt kind of how the author felt, maybe because thats the mood he set or maybe because inside of me, i feel sad at the fact that they are taking someones life away. the details written in both the stories are so in depth and amazing.

new kidd :)

hey i jus made my account at blogspot.
:)
this is pretty cool i guess.
like an online journal <33
great now everyone gets to see how i really feel about things :-/