Blog #6

         Everyone lives a different life, therefore categorizes the things in their life differently from one another. People classify things by priority, how much they like something, moral values, relationships, or many other things. Personally, I classify things in my life by priority. I prioritize what I spend more time studying or working on in school. I prioritize who I spend more time with out of both my friends and family. I prioritize my time in general.

          When I'm at school, or working on homework, I do the work that is most important to get done first, and then continue on with my work as the due dates get farther away. Within my prioritizing, I don't only prioritize by due dates, but also by what is the easiest to do, and what I'm most comfortable with doing and understanding. For example, if I know in one night I  need to do Spanish homework, English homework, and chemistry homework, I'd do the Spanish first because it's the easiest and wouldn't take very long. Then I'd go on to my English because most homework is either nightly assignments, or assignments that are due soon, whereas my chemistry work usually isn't due for weeks at a time, so I'd do that last.

          The same idea for prioritizing goes for friends and family. I spend the time with whose most important first, then find other time for people who are distant family or maybe even just acquaintances. My immediate family and close friends are over everything and everyone else, because they're so important to me. They're all the reason I am where I am today and part of the reason I am who I am. Of course I do have other friends and family that I like to see, even though they aren't a main priority in my life.

          Prioritizing can be extremely stressful if you don't also manage your time wisely, because it's all about importance. If something, like maybe stretching your muscles to get your splits, is so important to you, you might not get anything else you need to do completed or done right until you reach whatever goal you're aiming for.

          No matter whether prioritizing works most successfully or not, to me it's the best method of classification in my own life. The value of importance effects everything in my life, everything I do. In my mind, if it's important it needs to be done. If it's not so important, it can wait.

Blog #5

Blog #4

                Every kid is infatuated with and passionate about something at one point or another. Most little girls love playing with their Barbies or dress up clothes. Most little boys like playing with action figures or toy cars. One thing that interests all kids though, at some time, are superheroes. Superheroes come in all different forms, with all different abilities. Just like children. This attracts all different types of kids, and people in general, to the characters. The most prominent question of every superhero and comic lover seems to be,  "Who is your favorite superhero?" Two of the most common answers would be Batman or Spiderman. Being some of the more popular superheroes, they both have great qualities. They're not only popular for the things they can do, but the message of hope and goodness they spread throughout the world to keep it safe. They spend their time saving the cities they live in, and helping to restore order and justice in the lives of people around them.

            Spiderman and Batman both wear costumes that cover their faces, they both have nicknames, they both have enemies, and they both have friends/companions. The basics. Within these objects, the uniqueness of each hero comes together. Spiderman's costume is blue and red, which conveys his instability and mood swings from depressed to angry. His mask completely covers his face, because he needs something to shield him from the terrors in his life. Batman, on the other hand, wears a full black suit which accentuates his muscles and body strength. The solid dark tone send a fearful vibe to the criminals he fights, and shows his stability in crime fighting and within himself. His mask covers half of his face, he can stand on his own, but needs a secret identity to allow him to continue doing what he does. In the sense of enemies, they're basically the same. In friendships though, they differ. Batman's main friend is Alfred Pennyworth, his butler. Once Robin becomes Batman's sidekick, they too become friends. Spiderman, however, maintains a small group of friends mainly including Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson.

            They don't necessarily have the same crime fighting tools, but they have some form of them. Spiderman uses his web shooters for a variety of things. He can use them to shoot ropes to swing from between building to building in the city, to shoot a net-like structure to capture enemies, to shoot a strand that can grab and throw inanimate objects at his enemies during a battle, and he can shoot the web to distort an enemy for a moment to recover, or merely get away. This is his only weapon, but it encompasses many beneficial maneuvers. Where Spiderman lacks in equipment, Batman thrives. He wears a utility belt containing helpful weapons such as a 'batline' to move about the tops of buildings, lock picking tools to get into buildings, and teargas pellets to stun his enemies. He drives a 'batmobile' that allows him to quickly transport from ends of the city, or get away from his enemies. Batman uses his 'batcave', located in a series of underground caves and tunnels under his house, as his secret headquarters

            They are exactly the same at the basic core of their characters. Even going on a personal level, they are similar. They were both orphans. They both witnessed the murder of someone close to them in their childhood years; Batman saw a mugger murder his parents, Spiderman saw a thief kill his uncle. They both took a keen interest in science. They both were under suspicion as being a villain, due to their every now and then law breaking choices. In a lot of ways, neither of them acted positively, as you would expect a hero would. They both possess some really bad qualities, and give off a negative energy a lot of the time.

            From his traumatizing childhood experience, Batman grew into a dark, vigilant man. Despite his good intentions in using violence for justice, Batman isn't synonymous with good ideas or decisions. For his superhero person, Bruce Wayne, his secret identity, trains not only physically, but intellectually as well to bring himself up to par for fighting crime, and uses his strength, size, and frightening bat suit in attempt to scare criminals, or anyone who would threaten him. In addition to the identity of Batman, Wayne created a somewhat secret identity, or secret personality, for himself. He portrayed himself as an air-headed, selfish, playboy billionaire to avoid suspicion of being batman. These all seem like acceptable attributes, but he actually killed his enemies and the criminals around him. He feels no regret after killing them, and just continues on to kill every other 'bad' person. He does this in the comics, in movies, in everything. His negativity is harsh and even evil at times.

            Spiderman, aka Peter Parker, grows to be a self-sufficient, unstable, confused young man. he didn't choose to become powerful, and even after he discovers his powers he doesn't necessarily want them. Before the spider bite accident, Parker was just an average high school 'nerd'. Smart and awkward with glasses. He studied hard, and knew he wanted to be, and would be, successful in his life. After the bite, he didn't know what was going on with his life. Some days he wanted to use his powers for good, and other days he'd hate his 'gift'. If he had the choice, he would just get rid of it, but he can't so he lives with it. He fights for the good of the city, and does so because "with great powers, comes great responsibility."

            Though Both Batman and Spiderman fight for the common good of the people, and are both extremely popular superheroes, Spiderman is better. He fights crime because a bite from the radioactive spider gave him his spider like powers. He fights for worthy reasons. Batman chose to fight. He chose to not only go after all of his enemies, but even to kill some of them. Had Batman been a more pure superhero, he would be the better superhero.

Blog #2

                In our society today, politics play a particularly large role in the everyday life. Since so many new things related to politics happen every day, everyone follows political news. Many political ideas/issues have come up within the past few years. Everyone is interested. Even if you’re talking about the first African American president, the continuing war in Iraq, or the controversy about the death penalty. Politics grab the attention of people in not only our society, but societies all over the world.

An even bigger part of life in our society is music. Music brings people together, and influences lives. People can connect through music, or relate to artists through their music. Since emotions can so easily be conveyed through music, people correlate because of the music they listen to. Music not only influences who you relate to, but how you feel and even, sometimes, what you do. Music is extremely persuasive, and therefore can easily be tied into politics to make people of the world view things how artists want them to. It’s not all about persuasion though; sometimes artists just want to share their thoughts and feelings with the world.

Together, politics and pop music could take over the media in itself. Not many songs directly focused on politics are well written or catchy, but some artists pull the two ideas together very nicely to create something people will agree with. In 2003 The Black Eyes Peas wrote a song called, “Where is the love?” about the events on 9/11 and the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. In part of the song they say, “Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism, but we still got terrorists here livin' … But if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate, and to discriminate only generates hate”. The group wrote the song to show people that to live in a world of peace, without terrorist attacks, and hatred, you need to spread love. The song quickly became popular after it was released, and impacted the lives of people closely related to these things. So, obviously society agreed with these political ideas, or they would not have listened to it so much.

Some political propaganda is even displayed through music. In Russia, a man named Alexander Yelin wrote a song about Vladimir Putin. Yelin originally wrote the song because of a bet with his friends; however the song is widely known in Russia, and even sung at Putin’s political rallies. The song amplifies Putin’s masculinity, and makes him interesting to the young people of Russia.

Though popular music and politics seem very different, they can be one in the same. Many artists use politics as a template for their music, or use it to display their views of politics and authority in their lives and the world. Music can help persuade people’s political beliefs, while their political beliefs can influence what type of music they listen to. There is no doubt that politics can be related to pop music.

Blog #1

In a world where books are constantly being written, published, read, and critiqued throughout the world, writers must rely on readers for support. The readers of the world are the reason writers have their jobs, and can do what they love to do for a living. They control what’s popular, what works, and what will never even come close to being a best seller. Not only are there various genres of books to read from, but magazines, newspapers, journal articles, and blogs too.

As a reader, I usually go for fiction. I really like reading books like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, even though they don’t have much moral value or insight on the world. They don’t teach you anything really, but I find them interesting. I’m especially fond of books that are in a series. You can really get into what’s going on, and get a feel for the characters. The longer the books, the more in depth you can go.

Every now and again I’ll become interested in a non-fiction book, but not too often. Historical types of non-fiction books bore me. I just don’t feel any relation between myself and the book. I prefer books that I can connect to on a personal level. Or books that include some sort of great life tragedy. The book A Child Called It by David Pelzer is an example of a non-fiction book that kept my interest the whole time. Though the plot of the story, and the way the boy was treated by his mother was horrific, it captured my complete attention. It tugged at my emotions, and made me feel like I knew the boy. Books that get personal and appeal to the emotions are the best, because they make you feel strong connections to the characters, the author, and/or the book itself.

On a side note, I also enjoy reading magazines like Seventeen, People, and Teen Vogue. It’s nice to see that even people that seem to be so high and mighty go through everyday struggles in life. It’s also funny just to read about the silly, irrational things celebrities do from time to time. Magazines are nice to look at too, and can sometimes just help you unwind after a stressful day.

I think the most important thing about being a reader is learning new things, and expanding your mind. Most of the time reading is just a pass time, or a luxury, but it’s a great way to learn about cultures of the world, and life in general. After reading a book, the reader should be able to sit down and think, “Wow, I never thought of things that way.” Or something like insightful like that.

Likewise, reading is good for seeing the world through another’s eyes. Seeing a different perspective of opinions, beliefs, and cultures. Seeing life in a way you never even imagined before. In addition, being a good reader helps you to be a good writer. The more you read, the more styles of writing you see and can even possibly use to make your own writing better.

Reading is great and enjoyable, but I don’t think I’m the best at it. Sometimes, well actually a lot of the time, I read something and it’s as if it literally went in one ear and straight through the other. Some people can read something once and have a complete literary analysis formed in their head, and I just can’t do that. I’m not a perfect reader or analyzer of books, but I’m not horrible either. I just wish reading comprehension would be easier or come more naturally to me.