2001: A Space Odyssey paper

The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey was a new experience for me. It was the first real science fiction movie I have ever watched, and it was hard for me to get into the plot. The movie begins with a group of primates who find a big, black "wall" that fascinates them. They begin to examine and it and then finally touch it. The film then moves to a more present-day scene where a scientist, Dr. Floyd, is preparing his astronauts for a space mission.

The astronauts do not fully understand their mission, but they willingly accept. They are sent into space as a team of 5 humans and one machine; the machine was the only one who had the full knowledge of their mission. The movie then progresses to a group of astronauts finding another one of the black "walls". To the viewer, the purpose of the "wall" still remains a mystery.

After about a year and a half on their mission, the machine named HAL starts to malfunction and the astronauts try to fix it. HAL seems to go back to normal, but soon begins to show signs of mutiny again. He knows that the astronauts are planning to disconnect him if he does not properly help them, and he kills all but one of the humans. Dave, who was the only man to survive, tries to prevent HAL from becoming too powerful, and eventually disconnects HAL. Right after disconnecting HAL, Dave finds out the real purpose of their mission.

Dave embarks on a journey to Jupiter to try and discover the purpose of the "walls" that were being found throughout evolution. On his way to Jupiter, he goes through a tunnel of time travel, and ends up arriving as an old man. After what I believe to be his death, he transforms into a fetus and becomes known as the "star child". According to Ed Williamson, the purpose of the movie is to showhow man will progress from a time of tool usage to a time when we will be interacting with "something else".

I did not like the movie very much, first of all because it was a sciene fiction movie; it did not hold my attention very well. I found the lack of commentary hard to follow, and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. Most of the time, I found myself trying to piece together the different scenes because they would switch so quickly. I would try to figure out why the "walls" were such an important part of the movie, and then it would switch to a different scene altogether.

I did have to do a little research on the film to see if I could get any background information. When I read the article by Ed Williamson, the "walls" made more sense to me. He described them as a sort of catalyst to speed up evolution. I though back to the parts where it would cut from the primates looking at the "wall" to the astronauts in space; then finally to the end when Dave is laying on his deathbed with the final "wall" in front of him and he becomes the "star child".

Once I realized that Kubrick was trying to portray evolution and the use of tools and technology, it became easier to follow what was happening in the film. I think Kubrick did a good job trying to predict things that would happen in the future, and the plot became more interesting. Once I understood more of his intentions, it was easier for me to see what the "walls" stood for. I realized that the "wall" was a symbol for evolution. I didn't like the fact that I wasn't able to see that on my own.

I don't think I enjoyed this movie very much because it was hard for me to see the "big picture" of all that was going on. The lack of commentary and quick switching of scenes made it hard for me to focus and piece together the plot. If it had not been for the movie synopsis and the article from Ed Williamson, I still don't think I would understand the main point of the movie.

Home Stretch

We had project presentations in class today. It was neat to see how everyone's projects turned out and to see the final product. I feel that we still have things that could be changed about our site to make it more interesting and useful to people, and we will continue to work it out. Our group did not present today, but we are going to next week. I feel that our information could be useful, but we have to come up with a way to make it better. We may even continue to work after the project is over.

Facebook Project Update

Today is one of the last days to work on our project. We are going to be doing revisions to our website we created, and putting on the finishing touches. The only thing we really need to do now is put a picture on our home page and check to make sure all of our grammar and wording is correct. We worked individually for the first week and a half and then we worked together a few times to finish our site. We think it will be pretty helpful to people who do not know much about Facebook.

Product Update 3

Now that we are about two and a half weeks into our group projects, our website is starting to come together. We are adding more of the information that we found on our topic, and we are going to start adding pictures hopefully soon. We are planning to take some of our own pictures to avoid copyright issues. We may try to use some of the pictures from the website we were shown at the presentation last Thursday. It is also getting easier for each of us to do more to our page because we can see examples of what our other group members are adding to their part of the website.

Project Update

We are in the second week of our group projects, and we are in the beginning stages of creating our website. So far we have a home page created and we are each working on our individual pages. Information is slowly coming together, and we have to watch out for infringement problems. We have figured out what kind of pictures we can use, but we are having a hard time trying to decide what information to use. Some of the information we have gathered overlaps each others' work, so we have to decide who should use it in their section and what is relevant enough to put on our site. So far the project is going well, though.

Group Project

We are just starting on our group project for English. So far we have set up a website to give information about Facebook. We split up subtopics and each of us are going to work on one. The website will have things related to using Facebook and privacy issues, as well as who owns the things you post and how to safely use the website. We have already run into issues pertaining to copyright problems, but Mrs. Evans helped us find different places to find pictures and information. We will be working on the website both together as a group, and also individually for each of our pages.

Road Map to Writing

Today's reading from chapters 28 and 29 in our English book, the Norton Field Guide to Writing, were about the importance of setting up our writing. We should have a strong opening to grab our reader's attention and a great ending to keep them interested. Having a clear beginning and end also helps our reader stayed focused and wanting to read more.

Another thing that helps when we are writing is to give the reader an idea of what they will be reading about. Setting up a guideline or a "map" will help the reader decide if they are interested in beginning the paper as well as help them along while reading it. The "map" will help them in-the-know. It is very helpful to readers to properly set up your paper so that it as easy and interesting for them to read.

I Don't Comprehend

In part four of the Norton Field Guide to Writing, we learn about what makes a good structure for rhetorical essays. They say that your beginning and ending depends on your rhetorical situation. I agree with this because you would not write about a chicken if the article you are analyzing is about shopping. We have all kinds of options to draw in our audience and help them understand what we are analyzing. The book tells us to use a short narrative or metaphor to relate to the article we are writing about. Other good ways to help you analyze your article would be to compare things or give examples of why you agree or disagree. I think those are good ways to help you understand what you are going to write about.

This Or That

Have you ever made a list of things comparing which one is better? I know I have. Many people compare and contrast things without even knowing it. Whether you are comparing which movie would be better to see or which restaurant you would like to eat at, we compare things all the time. The book talks about different kinds of comparing and contrasting.

One type of comparing and contrasting is by using the block method. This would be making a simple list of all the pros and cons of the two things you are comparing. The other method would be a point-by-point method which would be choosing only a few certain points to make your statement. I usually use the block method because it is easier for me to focus on all the the points in my two subjects rather than just a few general points. I use the block method on many things without even realizing it. I believe that it is helpful to make comparisons to help make choices easier.

A Little Help Please...

When it comes to reading out of a book for assignments, I get pretty lost. I am not very good at interpreting the meaning behind a story or picking out the theme of a person's writing. The section of reading for today says that we should skim through our reading to get an idea of what the general reading is about, and then go back and read it thoroughly. There are many things that can be beneficial about this process. Skimming through gives you the chance to find things that you may not understand and take notes. You can write down questions or make notes of a certain part that you may want to look at more in depth. I think that is a good way to handle readings such as these. You get a better understanding of what you are reading, and you feel better about it. I got some pretty good ideas about how to conquer the readings for this class.

Spelll Chek

This section of reading was about the importance of proofreading. I have written many papers in my school career, and one of the most important aspects of writing a paper is editing. Just because you think you know what you want to say does not mean that is how it turns out on your paper. And it definitely does not mean that is how other people will interpret it. I think that the book is absolutely right about having someone else read your paper and give their opinion. That is what helps you edit your paper. I wrote a paper one time and I did not think that I needed anyone else to read it; it was a good paper and I was set to turn it in. When I got it back, I had made all kinds of mistakes on grammar and spelling because I was relying on Spell Check. Now I know that even if I think a paper is good, I should still have it checked by someone else.

My Righting...I Mean Writing

Have you ever looked at a paper that you wrote years previously and wondered how you could have made so many mistakes on it? I know I have. Part of the problem is that I didn't know how to go about editing my paper. As many people believe, I thought that spell check would catch all my mistakes for me. And instead of rereading it for myself I just let my computer do all the work. Little did I know that the computer would not catch incorrect word usage.

I agree with the book that you should read your work many times before finally submitting it. And it is also a very good idea to have a friend or peer read it as well. They will be able to give you an outside opinion about what needs to be fixed or changed. An outside opinion can help make your paper a success!

To Write Or Not to Write

What makes a good story? When it comes to writing, many people think that good ideas come from outlines and pre-writing, and writing prompts. Most of the time, however, our great story ideas come when we least expect them. Chatting with friends or just thinking to yourself are a few ways that we came up with ideas. Sometimes the best writing comes from thinking on the spot. It may be just rambling to some, but writing down your random thoughts can lead to great structure points for a paper.

Editing is a complex process. I think it is good to have all different people edit papers. People you don't know very well can give you an outsider's opinion, and give you an idea of what details you need to add. Your friends can help you fill in the details that are missing from your work. They know you better so they are able to give more of an insider's perspective.

Pizza Anyone?

We have read many different types of literature in our lives. Whether it is just a friendly email saying hello, or a formal speech given by the President of a company, we have all encountered writing. But what makes the email so much different from the company speech? The answer is simple: detail. The speech is probably going to be filled with tedious details about next month's production projection, but who wants to sit and listen to that? It is much easier for people to enjoy reading when there is something interesting in its content.

Details are like the toppings on a pizza. It's all the toppings that make the pizza interesting, so why not add them? We can use various methods to make the "toppings" for our writing. Flashbacks, dialogue, and point of view are good ways to make our writing more interesting. So the next time we think about writing a paper, we should think "Do I want a boring piece of cheese pizza or a delicious piece of supreme?"

English Anyone??

"I suppose it was inevitable that as my word-base broadened, I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying. Anyone who has read a great deal can imagine the new world that opened." This statement by Malcolm X sums up our ability to read and write. As we grow, our vocabulary becomes more expanded; we also learn through social interaction. Growing up in the United States has made me more accustomed to the English language and the way it is used. There are many things that help me read and write using proper English rules. I first think about what I will write and then make a list of topics. Many times I write an outline to get my ideas organized and then I begin to write. I have learned that being prepared makes writing a lot easier.

I Can Read!!

In chapters five and six, Bullock and Goggin state that there are many different ways write and portray ideas. I think that the writers are correct in thinking that we have many options when it comes to writing. Whether we chose to write using formal essays or informal notes to friends, we have all sorts of options. I think these chapters were helpful in allowing us to see how many different varieties of writing are out there; even ones that we would not normally consider, such as leaving a to-do list for ourselves.

"This experience showed me just how differently my writing could be judged by various readers." This statement by Shannon Nichols proves the point that our audeince plays a big part in the way that we choose to write. If our audience is a group of preschoolers, they are not going to want to hear about the latest problems with the economy; on the other hand, economists are not going to choose to read a picture book.

The audience we are writing for will greatly affect the way we portray our thoughts. The quote above proves that everyone has different views on things, and will therefore except things from a different point of view.

My First Blog

This is my first time using a blog. I'm not sure how everything works; still trying to get used to it all.