Friday, September 12, 2008

response to letter

Erik Flores wrote to Florence Scala and he is right about what he says abot her. he is saying about how the country has not change. People are the same, being awful to each other. she is mentioning that some African Americans were treated som what ok in Europe. but today people see African Americans as threats because som do good thingsbut others do bad things. she also talks about how her neighborhood got demolihed to put up UIC. It was good that they put up a good school but what about the people? if they dont want to move why make them move? Its better for the government to ask people if they want to move before they demolish anything.

Fernando Aguilar

From Olivia:

These are wonderful. You are all geniuses. Feel free to write responses to responses, random ideas, etc.

Response to a Letter

I read Vanessa Munoz's letter to Lucky Miller. She's right, it is very difficult to explain the strange quote Lucky Miller said: "The city is beautiful, yet it's ugly. Maybe it's the ugliness ofthe city that makes it so beautiful: within the ugliness there's a beauty."

That is true, but it's also kind of sad. She says that the few neighborhoods that enjoy their lives make the city so beautiful that they outshine the rest of the city, but we can't neglect or ignore the ugliness because that would be wrong. We have to acknowledge the ugliness for what it is, and then try to make it pretty again. If that makes sense.
My Name: Erik Flores
Author’s Name: Huda Biabani

The author wrote a letter to Eva Barnes. I think the authors’ thesis is that she was surprised by Barnes’ hardships and therefore found her the most interesting. It feels like the author is comfortable writing to this person and wants the person to feel comfortable as well and maybe open up to the author. The quotes seem to be just squeezed in there though. It made me think about child exploitations like in sweat shops and how Barnes did not get a job for wearing a presidential button. The author asks about how Barnes is so strong, how it felt to travel and work alone so young, and if life was as bad as history makes it out to be.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Response to Letter

”Human blood is all of a color”
This is the best proverb which describes my feeling about the Derrick’s letter to Mr. Lenard. Actually, I am so pleased to see how people began to respect different thoughts, opinions; and accept other human beings’ existence in spite of all differences which may exist between their ideologies toward life, politic, religion, social and economical issues, even sexual relationship. That was joyful to see, how Derrick expressed his sympathy to Lenard, however, he did not agree with Lenard’s opinion. Derrick offered his moral support to a person who afraid of introducing himself as he is. I really do surprise to see that Derrick tried to encourage Lenard to accept himself. I really appreciate this kind of manner of a person, who not only respects the others’ opinions but also try to help them. This is an important step toward stopping all fights between nations which has destroyed million of souls for many years. This is starting spot toward global unity and world peace.

Response to Letter

Mehrnoosh wrote a letter to Ms. Powers. She wrote to her saying that Ms. Powers isn't thinking in a different of unique way infact alot of people around us think the way she does. Mehrnoosh brings up some interesting point though. First she mentions how having an easy and comfortable life, and being popular and successful in your job which makes people respect you is not an advantage that will help Ms. Powers become a better person. She also says that to some people war has always been an enjoyment and that if we remove this thier lives will feel empty and useless. What i liked the about her letter was her last sentence where she was very honest and she told Ms. Powers that just because she said that by not caring about other peoples problems and thinking that she is above other people she is not being a good character. People like Ms. Powers need to hear the truth.

response to open letter

Letter to: Bonnie Dawson
Letter Response by: Jessica L. Schoeben

An interesting connection that Jessica makes pertains to Bonnie's busy lifestyle with single mothers today. There are many women out there who take on multiple roles for their families-they are not only mothers, but also wives, and have full time jobs outside of their homes. Jessica writes that taking on these multiple roles creates an independant, strong character. I believe this leads to women to overcoming social streotypes. They can hold jobs and support their family. There are many sacrifices that Bonnie makes, such as missing out on shopping downtown or even hearing of a popular department store, Marshall Field's. However, her priorities are family oriented.

Respose to Letter

Mr. Lenard is living a homosexual life. His family members are don't know about that and he does't like to tell them about it because he is thinking not to hurt their feelings. But in the letter Evdoxia is giving advice to Lenard is to come out in the world and tell their family members that he is gay and start living new life like others and also don't worry about what other people are thinking. That's your life you have to know how to handle it, how to live it and how to enjoy it. So don't worry who you are just start living it on your own way. I am agree that some people personally don't like gay or lesbian people, but in this case they are his family members so they do care about him so they won't feel like that. So i am personally agree with Evdoxia's opinion in this letter to Mr. Lenard.

Respone to Letter

I enjoyed reading Fernando Aguilar's letter to Bonnie Dawson. He really showed her empathy. After reading Bonnie Dawson's story and viewing Fernando's letter, I really believe his comments are right on target. I have only one criticism against his paper. In the first paragraph he states that Bonnie is very strong and never stops, but the quote following his statement has nothing to do with her being strong ("I've heard tell of it. Don't worry about it. I got no time to worry about it. I got too much work to do" (104). Bonnie's quote refers to her response involving the Bomb. Aside from that the paper really focused on how Bonnie is powerless in her current situation.

Response Letter

I read E.M."s letter about Kid Pharaoh. I like how she quoted him, " Guys like me are the nucleus of the street.", Everybody is scared because they watch all the nonsense on television.", and " Do you believe in god? I really don't. Who was Jesus Christ?" These quotes give people who haven't read the story an idea of what type of guy Kid Pharaoh is. I think she did a good job of quoting Kid Pharaoh and giving her opinion about him after each quote. I think she could have better describe his character. You know he's rich, snobby, a bully, and racist, but overall I thought it was a good letter.

Unrelated, but useful

A recent study of the American publishing industry estimates that from forest to landfill, the book business emitted about 12.4 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2006. Resize that carbon footprint by opting for used textbooks. Web sites such as Bookbyte.com, Campus Book Swap, and Buy Used Textbooks offer opportunities to buy and sell books. Want to your purchasing power to do double-duty? Pick up that required copy of The Catcher in the Rye from Better World Books and your money will help fund literacy programs worldwide. Better World Books also accepts donations of "no value" books; according to their Web site, they've saved 6,500 tons of books from landfills.

Mr. Lenard Storry

Mr. Lenard is a single homosexual who lives a secret life. His mother and sister are unaware of that, because he is determined not to hurt their feelings. The advice which Derrick R. gives to Mr. Lenard is to come out of the closet and tell his family that he is gay and start living his life. Derrick is giving reasons why Mr. Lenard should confront his family, because Derrick himself had experienced similar things in his life. I personally agree that life is terrible thing to waste and our sexual preferences and life styles are up to us to decide on. If someone is uncomfortable around gay people that is perhaps because someone themselves have some unresolved issues. There should be no reason why some people should live in shadows.

R.S.
Sanel Karic

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Looks like . . .

. . . this is starting to work . . .

Scroll down for directions on your first posting. Make sure that you respond to the e-mail you get/are going to get, so that you register yourself as an author on the blog.

Telling stories, thinking about Oral History

storycorps.net

Things to work on for Friday

If you are using a book other than DH for grammar and mechanics, here's a list of topics to read about:

Use of quotation marks
Sentence structure
Research preparation and organization
Supporting a thesis

Something of interest

The Hispanic Heritage Month Committee invites NEIU students to participate in the:

Essay or Creative Activity Contest

-Theme: "Political Activism in the Latino Community"
-Prize: $200 Beck?s Bookstore gift certificate
-Submissions begin: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
-Submissions end: Wednesday, October 1, 2008
-Essays: Spanish or English, approximately 1,200 words
-Creative Project: Video, photography, sculpture, painting, graphic design, music, poetry please call for specifications.
All submissions should be original and address the theme.
All submissions should include a typed note with name, NEIU ID number and contact information.
-Direct inquiries and submissions to: Angela Vidal-Rodriguez, McNair Scholars Program, room B-141, a-vidalrodriguez@neiu.edu or 773-442-4254
Winner will be announced at the Hispanic Heritage Alumni Celebration, Friday, October 3, 2008 from 6-10 PM in Alumni Hall where all students are invited to attend.
Posted by: Angela Vidal-Rodriguez

Monday, September 8, 2008

If you're ready to post . . .

Read the letter you got from a classmate. What's the writer's thesis? Which one of Stud Terkel's subjects is it addressed to? What is your reaction? What themes come up when you think it over? What questions are raised? Just a paragraph. Write the author's name and your name somewhere in there.

Dorothea Lange

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/writers/lange/power_1

Some news of interest

Paste this link into your browser:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/education/08students.html?_r=1&oref=slogin