agreener211-blog

[agreener211-blog]

Free Blog #5

Ah, 2:00 am. The perfect time to engage in a deep thought for my last blog post. But what deep thought could possibly be worth my last blog post? There is only one thought I can address for such a monumental occurrence: what came first?

The age-old question. Did the chicken or the egg come first? This doesn’t seem like that big of a problem at first, until you actually spare a moment to think about it. If chickens come from eggs, and eggs come from chickens, we’re stuck with a paradox of a situation. Which one could have possibly come first? Did a chicken just evolve from some lower class of a creature to become the first feathered, clucking, egg-laying machine? Did a chain of random mutations and natural selection lead to the production of the first egg? But if the latter is true, does that not make the creature to lay the first egg a chicken? So does this mean that the chicken came first? If so, where did this chicken come from? As we know it, Chicken cannot exist without Egg, and Egg cannot exist without Chicken. But how much do we really know? Chickens must have come from something, unless the first cell formed on earth was an entire chicken (which is highly unlikely). So where does this paradox end? Or rather, where does it begin? What kicked off this whole situation? This mystery may as well be referred to as a tootsie pop, because when looking for the answer, well...the world may never know.

[agreener211-blog]

Movie review:

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

I have to admit, when I first saw that this movie came out, I avoided it like the plague. I thought it looked childish and I didn’t want anything to do with it at the time. It wasn’t until 4 years after it came out that I watched it for the first time, and boy was I missing out before.

Let’s start with the visual effects. The art in this follows the animated movie trend of having overly emphasized features, and an aspect that seriously needs some touching up is the hair. The hair on people tends to be extremely grainy and it doesn’t fit the smooth flow of the rest of the art in the movie. Where this area is extremely lacking, the beauty in the rest of the movie makes up for it. There are moments painted into this animation that are absolutely stunning and make it well worth the watch.

Next I’ll focus on the characters. This movie is very entertaining and a large portion of the credit goes to the unique voices that were cast for each character. The strong, booming voice of Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) next to the soft, charming voice of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) creates the perfect juxtaposition of sound. This movie is filled with entertaining and unique voices that make all the more enjoyable to watch. However, I can’t forget to mention the most enjoyable of all of the characters: Toothless. This odd creature brings dragons to life because of the way it mimics everything we see in everyday cats. From his playful attitude, to his dangerous curiosity, Toothless is the perfect representation for everything we need in a dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon is an animated movie that earns a 9/10 rating. The valuable lessons it teaches through its great plot mixed with the gorgeous visual effects and the interesting characterization make up for the questionable hair graphics in some scenes. The quirky dynamic duo of Hiccup and Toothless is something that every person should witness, so go out there and check out this movie!

[agreener211-blog]

How to Long Tail Cast On (Knitting)

Have you ever had a flare of inspiration and creativity hit you but you don’t know what to do with it? Have you ever wanted to make your own clothes or accessories but you don’t know how? Have you ever just been bored and need to do something to pass the time? Well, knitting is a great way to solve all of these problems! You may think: “knitting is for old people! Why would I want to do that?”, but the grandmas know where it’s at! Knitting is a fun, creative way to spend your time and with practice you can make tons of unique items for you or your friends and family!

Things you’ll need:

A skein of yarn 1 straight knitting needle

(represented by string and a pencil in this demonstration)

Knitting terms: Cast on - the process used to put yarn on a knitting needle to begin knitting Tail end - the end of the yarn. This end will not be used to build up the work Working end - the strand that leads to the ball of yarn. This strand will be used to create the work

Step 1 (Form a Triangle):

This first step will teach you how to properly get the yarn on a needle so that you can begin your masterpiece. This process is known as casting on. There are multiple ways of casting on, but the method this tutorial uses is called the Long Tail Cast On.

To begin the long tail cast on, form a triangle with the yarn draped over your hand. I’ll use my left hand for the example. Take the tail end of the yarn and hang it over your thumb so that it falls on the left side, then drape the working end over your index finger.

With the yarn hanging over you thumb and finger, take each end and grasp them together between your 3 free fingers and your palm. This should form the triangle needed to perform the Long Tail Cast On.

Step 2 (Cast On)

Now for the hard part: getting the yarn onto the needle. With the triangle of yarn formed, take your knitting needle and string it under the triangle like so:

Then, use your finger to hold the yarn on the needle while you pull it downwards, creating a loop around your thumb.

For the next step, push the needle up through the loop around your thumb and bring it directly over to the loop now formed around your index finger.

Whereas you went up through the loop in the thumb, you are going to go down through the loop around your index finger.

Continue this downward motion back through the thumb loop and then slide your thumb out of the yarn.

The yarn will be pulled to the needle to create two loops. Congratulations, you have just learned how to cast on!

Step 3 (Repeat):

Repeat this process until you have the correct amount of stitches cast on to your needle.

Follow these steps and with a little practice you’ll be a knitting master!

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #10

This Winter semester flew by pretty quickly, but a lot of growth happened during it. Throughout the English 211 course I watched my skills develop. I put a lot of effort into my coursework, and with each assignment I was able to learn new techniques to improve my writing with. This class was a great aid in understanding the different genres of essays, and it really helped me get a grasp on how to write argumentative vs. research papers. Of course the semester wasn’t lacking in any setbacks.  An issue I had with this course was the tendency for there to be a lack of effort put into some of the peer edits I received. A majority of people did a great job with reviewing my papers, but some people didn’t even seem to read the paper I had written. This was very frustrating when I was looking for ways to improve my work and instead only found silence. Another hinderance I faced was a consequence of my own actions. I often found myself working on assignments at the last minute. Even though they resulted in acceptable essays, they could have been much more skillfully written if I hadn’t procrastinated until the deadline was nearly upon me. I am determined to become a better writer, and to do so I must take the necessary first step, which is to work on breaking my bad habit of procrastination. This course has helped me realize now more than ever that it is not okay to skate by on my rushed projects. In order to be satisfied with my skills as a writer, I will actually dedicate time to improve my writing.

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #9

Like Orwell, I spent a great deal of my childhood inside my imagination. Most of my creativity came from my time vacationing in my mind and was manifested in writings and short stories. When I wrote these, I never had any intention of anyone reading them. In a sense, writing was a way for me to make the stories in my head become a reality, or as close to reality as they could be. Seeing the words on the page filled me with pride, and there was a time I thought that I may one day make my stories public and become a writer.

That was all in the past though. As time went on I lost touch with my childhood imagination. My stories were no longer filled with wonderful adventures and happy endings; they became more cynical, mature, and quite frankly dull. With that change I suppose my writing was the closest to an actual writer’s work than it ever had been before.

“All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.” In this statement, Orwell is basically saying that writers love to hear themselves talk...in a written sense. You kind of have to in order to make it far. They’re selfish in the fact that each idea of theirs must be unique and that no one else is allowed to borrow from them without some form of lawsuit following it. Writers could also be seen as lazy since their career is centered around them sitting in front of a desk putting words on paper, but I disagree with this because it takes a great deal of dedication and effort to actually make progress. For the final part about their motives being a mystery, he says this because you can never be certain for what reasons a person writes their stories, unless they state so directly. My motives for writing are still shrouded in mystery, even from myself, and I can’t wait for the day to come when I can understand the purpose of my writing again.

[agreener211-blog]

Journal: Living with the Stranger in my Home (AKA Dealing with an Insane Kitten)

A note before I start: I wrote this mainly in past tense, so it might sound like I’m leading up to a sad ending where the kitten dies or something. Don’t worry though because he’s alive and well and just as crazy as ever.

Another note: This post is basically just a way for me to post a bunch of pictures of my cats so if you want to see them keep reading!

Growing up I dreamed of finding an abandoned kitten so I could take it home and care for it. Each year for Christmas and my birthday I asked my parents for a kitten (we had an adult cat but I really wanted a cute, fluffy kitten too), and each year I was disappointed. Eventually I got to the age when I knew the kitten wasn’t coming and I’d just have to wait until I lived on my own to get one. Until then, I lived with this lazy grump and loved him nonetheless.

Eventually I left for college, and not a month later I got a text from my mom. I opened it to find this picture of some random kitten.

Turns out my mom had found a kitten in the woods by our house and took him home. I couldn’t believe my luck. 18 years of wanting a kitten and as soon as I move away one shows up.

I was surprisingly not excited to meet this new houseguest when I went home for break. Yes, he was adorable, but my whole life I had looked forward to raising a kitten and this one was going to grow up without me. He would be a stranger in my own house.

Thanksgiving break came, and suddenly I found myself dealing with this absolute menace. It was like this cat was living off of red bull or something. You don’t understand. He was LITERALLY bouncing off of the walls. He’d be sitting down one minute then he’d suddenly run around the room, picking up speed until he’d launch himself towards the wall and do a legitimate wall jump. I can’t even begin to understand what was going on inside his head.

And that was only the beginning of it. He had many crazy antics that made absolutely no sense to me. I’m still looking for answers as to why I was woken up one time at 3:00 am by some strange scraping sound. What was the sound you ask?

He was LICKING THE WALL. I was woken up at 3 in the morning because this kitten had some weird wall fetish that he had to share with me.

Unfortunately, that was not the last time I had a rude awakening. Many nights I was jolted awake by something poking my stomach. Let me rephrase that. I was woken up very suddenly because Todd (the kitten) started jabbing me with his paws, using the full force of his body to land the blows. The first time this happened I was confused and I figured he was just being a brat. I quickly found out though that all of these unprovoked nighttime ambushes were just his attempts at getting under the covers.

So apparently he had an affixation with walls AND blankets. Great. So what other antics did I have to prepare for?

Well, there were the multiple times I found him in the Christmas tree.

As well as the relentless attacks on my older cat, Sunny.

Over the few weeks that I got to know Todd, I came to a pretty solid conclusion: This cat is crazy.

But he’s also part of the family now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[agreener211-blog]

Bloost #8

Throughout Sacco’s Palestine, there is the recurring question of how Sacco’s reporting is going to aid anyone in the troubles they are facing. On two occasions he is directly confronted about this, and we see him stumbling for an answer in both situations, and honestly I can’t say I’d react much differently if I was in his shoes. Seeing the Palestinians ask what good Sacco does makes me feel guilty. Sacco used his skills as a reporter and artist to bring light to this conflict in order to help people in the best way he could, and people read his publishings with sympathy and pity. But what more do we do? What more can we do? I’m not over there fighting their war with them like Rachel Corrie was, I’m sitting in my comfy bed reading about the terrible things that are happening to people and accepting it as a fact that I can’t change. I know there are things I could do to show my support, yet I don’t do anything, and neither do most people who read Palestine. It’s this exact reaction of guilt that I think Sacco was intending to create by including these scenes. Although most people still won’t act on the feelings they get from this book, there is always the chance that someone may be spurred into action to change the world. Even if they don’t help with the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, there are many issues today that still face this problem of people knowing about the issue but not doing anything to change it, and this is exactly what Sacco wants to change.

[agreener211-blog]

4 Signs You Might Secretly be an Expert Procrastinator

Procrastination is a problem that many people face on a daily basis. We all have made jokes about how bad we are at getting things done in a timely manner, but some people may not realize that their inefficiency is due to procrastination. How can someone not know that they’re a procrastinator? What if you’re a procrastinator and don’t even know it? Here are the signs to look out for to see if you are secretly a procrastinator:

You plan your day out to a T Proud of your organization skills? Well they may actually just be a result of your procrastination. Do you know exactly how long it takes for you to walk / drive from your home to school or work in all levels of traffic? Does this knowledge cause you to leave at the latest you possibly can without being late every day? Do you spend a large amount of time planning out your tasks for the day, only to find that the time you spend planning prevents you from doing the things you needed to do? This over-planning may actually be due to you procrastinating so much that you know exactly how long you can put things off for while still finishing things on time.

You actually do your chores This is possibly the weirdest sign that you could be a professional procrastinator, but it’s one of the easiest to spot. If you spend most of your day being lazy and avoiding your responsibilities, and then suddenly decide to clean the entire house, you’re probably a procrastinator. It may feel like you’re being productive,  but don’t be fooled! Because once you finish cleaning, your homework will still be waiting for you like it was before. Procrastination through productivity is very common, and it’s something that us Procrastinators have mastered.

You get sudden bursts of creativity at the worst times Have you ever had a speech to write, but you were suddenly overcome with the urge to bake, knit, draw, paint, write a story, or do some odd combination of all of the above? Well, this is often a sign of procrastination. Be careful with this type of procrastination, because soon enough, you’ll find your house is filled to the brim with cupcakes and paintings, and neither of those will help you with your speech.

You take relaxing to a whole new level This sign may not be as hard to spot as others, but it’s still a major problem for procrastinators. You tell yourself you’re going to start working...right after this quick video of a cute kitten that’s scared of a cucumber. You need to psych yourself up to work hard by taking a moment to relax. But before you know it, you’re sitting on the couch already three season into Friends and you don’t show signs of stopping anytime soon.

Does this sound like you? Do you do one or more of these things to the point where it affects your productivity? Well, unfortunately you may be a procrastinator. Don’t worry though, not all hope is lost yet! Now that you know the problem, you can face it head on and kick it’s butt… starting tomorrow.

[agreener211-blog]

Blog #6: Ban on Laptops

I read an article featured on BBC’s news website discussing the concerns of parents about the recent ban of laptops on some US and UK airplanes. The article mentions the worries that some parents have about how they will keep their children calm and occupied on long flights. Following this, they recommend a few ways in which to subdue children without the use of electronics.

This article approaches the subject with a light, sarcastic tone that I whole heartedly agree with. Although the article doesn’t go into detail about why the ban was put in place, it was obviously created with our safety in mind. Since it doesn’t explain the exact reasons for this ban, I am left a little curious about what caused this sudden change, but I am not angry about it. For parents to be outraged about a harmless change that could help prevent terrorist attacks on flights is ridiculous and kind of selfish. I understand that it may be difficult to keep children at bay without the hypnotizing effects of electronics, but there are plenty of other (cheaper) ways of entertaining kids without disturbing others. Some of the methods the article lists are coloring, reading, making puzzles, or playing mini board games. These are all very fun ways of distracting kids and passing the time on long plane rides, and some of them even allow families to connect more. The article also mentions the fact that most larger flights have built in screens with a fairly generous selection of movies, tv shows, music, and games, so parents are not at a complete loss without their tablets and laptops.

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #5

In the writing, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Rachel Corrie teaches us that activism can take shape in many forms. Sometimes, being an activist will mean leading marches down city streets in order to gain freedom, but other times it means just being there for a group of people who need support. One main message Rachel Corrie portrays is that the most effective way of being an activist is through exposure. From the moment she set foot in Russia, something changed within her that drew her towards the places in the world that were most desperate for help. With her involvement in Israel, she showed that being directly involved in the situation is the quickest way to make a difference. Whether it’s carrying a coffin or leading a march, any form of support helps those in need. Though I do not have any particular movements that I am an activist for, I am always ready to lend a helping hand to those who have been wronged in some disgraceful way. Most of the time, activist groups are formed to aid those who cannot stand up for themselves. If I was to ignore the call to help people who are threatened, then I might as well be the one harming them. All it takes to become active is one simple step in the direction of fairness for all, which is the point Rachel Corrie is attempting to make, so when the time arises, I know I will be a shoulder to rely on for help.

Bonus: Great grandpa Harriet Tubman MLK Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Anne Frank

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #4: Preparing for Presentations

It’s that time of the semester where we must prepare ourselves to give presentations again, and if any of you are like me, this can be a nerve-wrecking process for you. However, with a few tips I have learned over the years, we can try to reduce the stress as much as possible and give a well-prepared presentation.

First, we should think about what makes a successful presentation. Surprisingly, some of the most important pieces in presenting are the visuals. The two most important aspects include:

Body language

Visual aids

Body language is extremely important when presenting. A person who looks nervous is far more likely to lose the audience’s attention than someone who embodies confidence. When speaking in front of a class, avoid fidgeting, some common examples being:

Swaying from side to side

Playing with / adjusting hair or accessories

Fidgeting with note cards

Crossing arms

Random movements around the room

Although it may seem like common sense to avoid these actions, many people instantly revert to their nervous habits as soon as they step in front of the class. Any movements that aren’t intended to draw the audience’s attention to the presentation instead end up distracting people from what you are saying. When someone sways constantly throughout their speech, I find it difficult to focus on their words because the movement is so distracting. That being said, a person standing as still as a statue can be just as frustrating. Movement in presentations can actually be very appealing, as long as it is used to accentuate a point you are making. Some examples of positive body language to focus on using are:

Maintaining eye contact with the audience

Open arms

Good posture

Hand motions towards visual aids

Looking confident

Of course, no presentation is complete without a visual aid! Even if you stand in front of the classroom and deliver your speech perfectly, the audience may still find it difficult to maintain their interest if nothing is used to catch their eyes. There are many creative ways to incorporate visuals into a speech, props being some of the more interesting ones. However, a more favored and simple method is to create (drumroll please).... a PowerPoint!

Some general guidelines when making a PowerPoint:

Less is more! - do not write full sentences!!

Include as many pictures as possible

Make the font big enough and easy to read

Perhaps the most important thing in delivering a fantastic presentation is preparation. In short, don’t put off working on your presentation until the day before it’s due. We’ve all been there before. We’re relaxing all week, thinking there’s plenty of time left to work on it. Fast forward to 2 am the day of the speech, and there we are, sleep deprived, running purely on caffeine, and pumping out a speech that is worth a solid C at best. Yeah, it’s not one of our finest moments.

Now, maybe by some miracle it wasn’t a complete train wreck, but the point is that you’ll do better if you prepare ahead of time.

You may be skilled in improvising (or impoversing, as Michael might say), but without taking time to properly research, write, and practice, your speech will be significantly worse. 

Most of us feel anxious just at the muttering of the word “presentation”; I know I certainly do. We don’t have to let our fear control us though as we head into our next presentation. By keeping this advice in mind, we can beat the fear once and for all and can deliver the best presentations possible!

[agreener211-blog]

Ad Analysis: Nationwide “Songs For All Your Sides: Leslie Odom, Jr. for Nationwide”

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #3: Writing the First Final Draft

In the words of Anne Lamott, “almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts���, which is a statement I find to be almost as far from the truth as it gets for me. While many people are able to write their first drafts quickly and without much attention to detail, it is necessary for me to review every word I type multiple times before continuing on to the next sentence. My first drafts may not be perfect, but they are far from terrible – they have to be in order for me to create an intelligible piece of writing. My writing process generally begins with avoiding the assignment altogether until it is not possible to put it off any longer. Such is the bane of procrastinators. Once I summon enough willpower to begin writing, I briefly brainstorm and plan the layout of the piece. Visualizing the layout of the paper before writing is beneficial to me and always results in a more natural flow in the writing than when I write without a pre planned layout. Using the ideas developed during the brainstorm and the layout as my template, I begin writing, editing each sentence to near perfection along the way. This method is much slower than the method presented by Anne Lamott, but it always yields higher quality papers than when I write without restraint. Without a doubt, I could produce better writing if I dedicated more time to writing it in advance, rather than using the negative effects of procrastination as my primary motivating forces. My goal in this course is to put an effort into starting – and potentially completing – my larger writing assignments well in advance in order to be able to have more time to review and revise the assignment before submitting it, and I am determined to achieve that goal.

Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”

https://educat.nmu.edu/moodle2/pluginfile.php/607775/mod_resource/content/1/1-Shitty%20First%20Drafts.pdf

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #2: Keep the World Beautiful - Stop the Stereotyping

Many of the advertisements circulating the world today use some form of stereotyping as a method of appealing to a certain type of audience in order to sell their product. Unfortunately, these stereotypes are often offensive and harmful to a large portion of people who see them. Upon stumbling across this “Keep Australia Beautiful” advertisement, I immediately recognized the body stereotyping that occurs in a majority of ads. The first problem that should be noted about a picture like this is the clear lack of focus on the actual product being sold. At first glance, this picture looks like an advertisement for a swimsuit or some kind of tanning product, based on the heavy focus on the nearly naked chest of the woman. Only after studying the photograph for a moment, the viewers are able to locate the protein bar that the ad is featuring. This low-carb protein bar is shoved into a corner and is about 1/12 the size of the full picture, perfectly hidden in order to display the true message this advertisement is sending. With the words “Keep Australia Beautiful” in large, bold letters placed next to a model’s perfect body, this company is clearly stating that the most important aspect of beauty only comes in the form of impossibly skinny and tanned bodies, which places an unrealistic expectation on bodies and the concept of beauty. This ad is clearly targeted at young women who have the desire to look “beautiful” like the model in the photograph. Advertisements like this prey on a person’s insecurities as a means of profiting off of them. One of the earliest ideas kids grasp in life is that every person’s body is different; however, advertisements enforce the idea that the only beautiful body type is one that is flawless, which can obviously only be achieved by using their product. Beauty should not be a measure of how fit a person is, which is why the only thing keeping Australia from being beautiful is disgusting body stereotyping like this.

Image retrieved from: https://genderbiasadvertisements.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/lo-carb-ad/

[agreener211-blog]

Blog Post #1: Who am I?

Let’s play a game of Guess Who. I am a freshman student enrolled in NMU’s English 211 course who is nearly 19 years old and is majoring in Biology. When I am not studying, I prefer to spend my time exploring nature, hanging out with friends, painting, playing French horn, and of course, watching Netflix. I am a superhero addict, a cat enthusiast, an artist, and most recently a Hamilton fanatic. I have no experience with a college English class prior to English 211, however I was a participant of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at my high school. I spent many nights writing essays and speeches while analyzing literature for this rigorous program, and eventually I was rewarded for my efforts with college credit. In the process, I learned many things about myself, for instance, I discovered that I am not a fast writer. I may not be able to compose essays quickly, but I use every second to revise my writing so it portrays my thoughts in an elegant and precise manner. For this reason, I enjoy analyzing text and discussing my opinions, but I do not particularly relish in-class timed writings. I am hopeful that this course will improve my skills while focusing on both my strengths and my weaknesses in order to bring out my best qualities in writing and communication. I am hopeful. I am adventurous. I am a daughter and a sister. I am a knitter. I am a musician. I am a Wildcat. I am Aleyna Greener.