HW#42 The Third and FInal Podcast

http://www.gabcast.com/casts/8538/episodes/1196706498.mp3

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks Again For Listening.

Sincerely,
Rachel

Hw#37 My Second Podcast

Hope u enjoyed my first podcast here is a second one, Mine is Episode 29
http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=51002&castPage=&autoplay=true

HW#36 Podcast on Baghdad Burning

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=49823&castPage=

This is the link to my podcast. I hope you enjoy it

HW# 35 The End of the Blog as we Know it!!

Dear Readers,
I have learned a lot from maintaining my own personal blog for the last 13 weeks of class. Mostly I have learned how easy it is to blog in the first place. I thought it was going to be a hard process which would take a long time but I found it very fun and interesting. Many of the homework assignment have allowed me to expand my knowledge on the world around me and how greatly everyone is affected by everyone else. I hope people will be able to learn a lot from my posts and my blog. I hope that they will take into their own account and look up and discover some of the topics that I have written about in my blog. I feel the best work that I posted on my blog had to be the letter we had to write to Riverbend, the author of Baghdad Burning. I really enjoyed this assignment because I was also able to voice my strong opinion as well as use the information I read in the book. I think I will keep my blog, when the class is finished but I’m not quiet sure what exactly I will write in it. I find it very fun and interesting; blogging that is and I think it will be a very new and exciting way to communicate with people. I would also like to thanks my readers.. if I have any for putting up with my crappy spelling and sometimes my fragment sentences. Hope you enjoyed what you read and will expand your education in some of the topics discussed in my blog.
Sincerely,
Rachel

HW#34 Gold and the Date Palms

Golds role in the family savings in Iraq is that gold is the family's savings. It's been like that since 1990 beause the Iraqi, which was $3 kept fluctuating like crazy (Riverbend,100). Because of this many Iraqis transfered their savings into gold so that the value wouldn't change. Right before the war most Iragis pulled their money and invested in gold. Gold in Iraq is called zeeneh by the local women (Riverbend,100). It is used for show and also is greatly used when families are in financial trouble. So gold is very valuable because it is the family's life savings. So when Riverbend's aunt is freaking out so much that the Americans would come and raid the house because it is her life savings!!! Much like gold, date palms are greatly teasured by Iraqi citizens. Date palms are important to Iraqis because they like "an oases in the desert," they allow the Iraqis to hope for good times (Riverbend,103). The palm trees are also very useful as they are beautiful. They can be used for making a syrup called dibiss. This is eaten with rice in some places and eaten with bread and butter in others (Riverbend,104). Another item that can be produced by date palms is vinegar which is called khal in Iraq. Every part of a palm tree can be usefull to an Iraqi citizen therefore they treasure them very much. Now with the cutting of the date palms in Dhuluaya many citizens are at a lost, and are afraid of the repercusions.

HW #33 Education Podcast

The podcast that I decided to watch was “Challenges at a Girls School In Baghdad.” It is part of a series called Alive in Baghdad Life from Iragis to you and it was published on May twenty-first in 2007. The link to the podcast is http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/ if want to check it out for yourself. The general topic of the podcast was about the struggle of getting the children there safely and being able to hold a normal educational practice. In order to hold a regular schedule all the girls need to be able to make it to every class and because of the war going on around them it is very difficult to have this happen. So many of the teachers just teach the classes as normal even if multiple students aren’t there. This though allows those who didn’t get to school that day to fall behind and defiantly affects their grades and work. Many different students and teacher appear. One teacher had a red shirt on that had white stripes on it. She also was wearing a white hijab, red lip stick and a gold ring. She had very small eyebrows and was sitting when she was talking to the camera. The scenery inside and outside of the school was very plain. All the walls on the outside were plain white as were the inside. There wasn’t a lot on the walls, no posters and pictures as there would be in an American school. The only thing I saw on a wall was a map and it was painted on the outside wall of the school. There are many things a viewer will learn from watching this podcast. First off is that fact that Iraqi education is struggling but you will also discover that dispite all odds many young girls and children want to go to school. I think this podcast makes a much bigger effect on people than the videos they show us on the news and such. It is more direct to the problems in Iraq and not just more footage on bombing and attacking. I think this podcast is very memorial because of the children’s faces, they look so eager to learn and yet they are so crippled by what they lack in tools and time.

HW #32 Aquila Al-Hashimi

Aquila Al-Hashimi is a women who was attacked on September 20th 2003. "She lives in Jihad Quarter and was leaving for work when two pick up trucks with armed men cut off her car and opened fire on her and her brothers" (Riverbend,75). Armed men ran out of their homes to see what all the comotion was about, and started fighting with the gang. Aquila was taken to the hosiptal she was in a very ctritical state but she was abole to stablize. They brought her to the Al-Yarmuk hospital and later transfered to the Bagdad Airport hospital. She was wounded in multiple spots on her body such as: foot, shoulder, and stomach. In this entry Riverbend stated that it was very sad that Aquila was wounded because she was one of the "Decent members of the council." This showed that no matter who you are as a women you are still in extreme danger. Aquila was involved with many foreign affairs and lived in Iraq. The gang that attacked Aquila wasn't known so Ahmad Al-Chalabi began an investigation. But like many other people he had his biased opinion on who was at fault. He thought that Saddam and his loyalists were responsible for the incident. Aquila had many enemies who didn't agree with a women being able to have so much control so many of her fellow council men opposed her. One of the reasons they didn't like her was that she was also a prominent part of the former government and that she didn't ware a hijab. There were many differnet views on who was truely at fault for the attack but no one has been arrested for theie actions.

Hw #31 The Amriyah Shelter Bombing

I decided to research the Amriyah shelter bombing on February 13th which is mentioned in Bagdad Burning written by Riverbend (Riverbend,46). I found this topic very interesting because she compared this bombing to the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11. This shelter was home to many Iraqi citizens during the Iran-Iraq and the Gulf war (Wikipedia). The United States was the country behind the bombing; they thought the shelter was being used as a military command site. They sent over two laser-guided also known as “smart bombs” in 1991 (Wikipedia). The attack occurred at four in the morning, the first bomb went through ten feet of concrete and the second bomb went right through the hole that the first bomb created. People located in the upper level of the shelter were incinerated by the heat, while the shelter’s water tank killed everyone in the lower level. The bombing killed 400 people, mostly women and children (Wikipedia). The men and boys over fifteen left the shelter in order to give the women some privacy. The shelter’s debris was sent flying into many other surrounding houses. This horrific event caused many families to loose their love ones. The shelter is now a memorial for the people who died in it. Their photos are located inside the shelter. This relates to the book because it shows yet again another side of a different war. It allows us Americans/ readers to see the Iraqi side of the Amriyah shelter bombing. It also lets us realize that we all feel and hurt for love ones whether we are Iraqi or American. As stated in Bagdad Burning, “Its strange how horror obliterates ethnic differences- all faces look the same when they are witnessing the death of loved ones” (Riverbend,48). I think it good to hear the other side of the bombing because it allows us to realize that we are all human and we feel pain no matter what color or religion we are.

Works Cited:
Wikipedia, Amiriyah Shelter Bombing, November 11, 2007
Wikipedia Foundation Inc.

HW#30 Speech Two on Animation

Today I attended a second speech for Keene States Citizenship Symposium. Like the first speech it was located in the Main threatre of the Redfern Arts Center. This speech was called "Animation as Political and Socail Constructions." But unlike the first speech, it had multiple speakers. First was Jiwon Ahn who is a Keene State College instructor of film studies. Sander Lee was second to speak and he is a KSC professor of philosophy. Last to speak was Mark Timney who is an associate professor of Journalism. These three people all spoke about the same topic but all had many different ways of going about it. First of Ahn spoke about actual Anime art and drawing. She spoke about how Anime artist protray what they see in the media into their drawings of women. An example of an Anime that shows a women/young girl, in nature bond to a tree. This demenstrates how Anime "challenges everyday life" as Ahn mentioned in her speech. This type of Animation is called Japenese Punk art and it is the most successful anime out there. Sander the second speaker of the night talked about how a disney propergander cartoon and another cartoon effect how people during WWII were brainwashed into thinking a certian way. The first example is of Donald duck, who is working in a factory making weapons for Nazis' in Germany. This cartoon's sybolizes that even a duck with a temper will easily comply to Hitler and his armies. In the end of this short cartooon, it shows Donald waking up from a dream and all around him is American flags and symbols. He states that he is glad to be in the United States of America. This shows that only American can stop the rise of Hitler. This is encouaraging people to give up their liberty to make sure that Hitler is brought down from power. The other short cartoon was of Bugs Bunny who was caught by a Nazi. He was brought to Hitler and just as they were going to look in the bag to see the wonderful American rabbit, out pops Joeseph Stalin. Hitler and the Nazi jump back in fear this shows that the USA is not the only country that can confront Hitler. It shows Hitler as a person who can easily be defeated. The last speaker Mark Tiney talked about the Comedy Central show South Park and how it is an example of Model citizens. As soon as Mark stated that I had to laugh, for south park and model citizens in the same sentence just sounded appauling to me but once you going lookin for the model citizens in the show you do find very good examples. South park incourporates satire into the show. "Satire is the use of ridicule or scorn often in a humerous or witty way to expose vices and follies" said Mark. These three speeches showed how people can be expressed, brainwashed and model citizens. I found this speech much better than the first one because it allowed me to learn that animation truely effects and presents our views and the world around us.

HW#30 Speech One on Voting and Fairness!

Today in Keene State College's Citizenship Symposium, I attended a speech in the Main theatre. This speech was called: Voting Theory and the Question of Fairness it was presented by Vincent Ferlini. Ferlini is the assocate professor of Mathematics here at Keene. It was a very formal, and educational speech. It focused on the different methods of voting and how it is and is not fair. There are many political and fun ways of voting such as presidential campaign and American Idol or Surivior. Voting is a way of allowing the majority to help make decisions for a certain campaign. There was a brief history that Ferlini mentioned, such as that during the 509 BCE in Greece they developed the voting tactics that are stilled used today. There were many methods mentioned in Vincent's speech. One was the plurality method where the canidate with the most number of first place votes is the winner of the campaign. Another method is the Majority method which the most used and most known method. The Borda method was developed by Jean-Charles de Borda during the 18th century. This method relies on a number scale, the candiadate with the most votes receives four points, second three, third two and etc. "The Method of Pairwise comparision determines to what extent each candidate is or isn't preferred over each of the other candidates." An interesting fact that I learned during the speech was that in order to win the election 270 votes are needed from the Electoral College. The conclusions that were made from this speech are that different methods develop different results. Also that each method exhibits characteristics associated with fairness and unfairness of a voting method.

Hw#28 Letter to Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,
Your blog really educates me about the other side of the Iraqi war. It makes me feel very uneducated when you talk about all the politics and such of your country. I don't feel like I know anything about the American's occupation of Iraq. I never knew that women actually had jobs and were able to walk around without their hijab or headscarf. I had no idea that they now don't have jobs because it is unsafe for them or their companies don't want to be responsible for what happens to them. Also I totally didn't realize that women had to have a man walk her everywhere because of her safety not so that the man can control her. They are looking out for her well being and so she doesn't get abducted or hurt. I had such a wrong view of why women have to be escorted around. This just shows how clueless and brainwashed us Americans are by the media. Half of the information you talk about in your blog I had no idea was happening. Your book/blog has opened up my eyes and allowed me to see the other effects the war has on Iraqi families. I totally agree with the statement you made on August 22 2003 saying "We're all the victims of decisions made by the Bush administration." I feel that all Americans and Iraqis are suffering because of one man's decisions. The American soldiers are suffering because they don't want to be in Iraq and the Iraqis don't want them there in the first place. So much damage and death has occured and nothing has really come out of it all, it seems never ending. I also had no idea about the nine, one month ruling presidents of Iraq. I really feel plain stupid and like a child when it comes to what is happening in Iraq. The news here in America only shows our views of everything. I really wished they would show us what is really going on over there. I think more Iraqi people should be doing what your doing, expressing what you have had to live with. I think more Americans would understand and want to pull out of Iraq if more knowledge was shared about what our men being there does to the everyday society. I want to thank you for sharing your stories and your knowledge on what is going on, to help us understand. I really apreciate it and it makes me want to get out troops out of their ten times more than i ever wanted to before.

Sincerely,
Rachel

HW#27 Annotated Bibliography of Baghdad Burning

Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog from Iraq, 2005
The Feminist Press at the City University of NY, NY
The author wrote Baghdad Burning, to show people in the United States and other countries what is truly going on in Iraq and what is happening to the women there. This book fits into the workings of this course because it shows the degrading of Iraqi women and people. Our class focuses on how the internet is degrading to certain people. This book represents an example of how women are degraded in a certain country. The audience for this book is everyday people, made for both men and women. It was made to allow people in general to see and understand what is really going on in Iraq. The sources of the author, Riverbend are personal opinion and knowledge. But she also uses other online sources such as www.yellowtimes.org and www.iraqsnuclearmirage.com along with many others (Riverbend, 157). I think in general, from this book, I will learn through the eyes of the writer just how much the war in Iraq affects her and her people. I will learn this through her terrible experiences, through terror and neglect. Her terror of being bombed or killed and her neglect through the lack of water and electricity. I will learn through her education and knowledge of what she knows is going on around her. The two neglects listed above are just two of many challenges that Riverbend has to encounter during her life. Another challenge she has to be afraid of is being abducted. Also they have to be careful of gas because some gas that is being sold on the black market is sometimes mixed with kerosene (Riverbend, 186). I’ve never heard of a book written like this before, it is a documentary done by the women, herself. It allows people to connect with the writer because they know it is coming right from her heart and her mind. It shows the truth of the War in Iraq and just how horrible it is. It also allows us to see how much the War is negatively affecting the people of Iraq. I think I will learn a lot from this book and will be able to use that knowledge to help other people understand that the American’s aren’t helping.

HW# 25 Summary of the Introduction

The forward of the book "Baghdad Burning" demenstrates the point of view and where the author Riverbend is coming from. The author, who is from Iraq talks about her views on the war and how much it effects the women of her country. The forward tells the reader that the book is shown in the position of humanity and on the side of life (Riverbend). The introduction talks more about the actual main character and writer of the blog and book. It gives what little background we actually know about the character such as her name,age and where she lives. This twenty year old from Baghdad writes in perfect English and writes on her blog at least once a day. The introduction gives the reader background information and historical facts about Iraq and the war over their oil. It talks about American and English participation in the war and fighting with getting the oil. "American government and industry issed warnings to the public of the impending dire shortage of petroleum, paving the way for higher prices to support more U.S. exploration and development (Riverbend xiii)." This shows how much other countries wanted and would fight for Iraq's oil. The introduction gives a brief summary of historical facts from the Gulf War to 2003 war. Liberating Iraq, this last section talks about how Iraq used to be and how women were on their way to equality. Now women aren't able to walk the streets alone or even have a job of their own. I remember the American invasion and occupation in Iraq and how I didn't exactly understand why we were there. I now know how much our occupation in Iraq wasn't helpful and wasn't needed. It just made things worse and I think it made the fighting in Iraq worse then they actually were. My impression of the U.S. in Iraq is the same as the writer of this book. I don't think we should be there and I think that the Iraqi cititzens didn't benifit from us being there. This forward and introduction is very formative and it helps the reader to understand where the writer is coming from and what she has gone through.

HW# 24 Not Just a Dorm Room!!

I am able to have a room of my own because of the women in history. I live in 203B in Randall. This room is not just a place for me to sleep and eat. This room allows me to be out on my own, even if I live with two roomates, discovering the world. Unlike many of the women from the past who had to live in their parent's house and or work in a sweatshop. I am able to be out on my own, working for my benifit and for my personal experience. I am in control of my life and what I want to do with it. Women now a days are changing the world unlike in the book "A Room of One's Own." Virginia describes in chapter five that "One could not go to the map and say Columbus discovered America and Columbus was a women; or take an apple and remark, Newton discovered the laws of gravitation and Newton was a women; or look into the sky and say and say aeroplanes are flying over-head and aeroplanes were invented by women (Woolf 85)." Women now are able to use their minds to educate others and invent useful objects. "The mind is resonant and porous; that it transmits emotion without impediment; that it is naturally creative, incandesent and undivided (Woolf,98)." Women back then weren't able to use there minds to be creative or to be intelligent. We ,as women, have made a lot of progress since the days of "A Room of One's Own." We are now changing the way we are looked at and the way we effect the world. Now we are in control over our lives and what we want out of them.

Hw#23 Pantyhose and the Right of Women

"WITH APOLOGIES TO VIRGINIA WOOLF"
As I read this particular article from the blog Jezebel, I was amazed at how much things haven't changed since I wrote the book, "A Room of One's Own." Women are still being put down even if it is just over what they are and are not able to ware to work. In this article, Jenifer ,from Wonkette, states, that two women, who work in two seperate senator's offices are treated so differently. This is true because, in one office the women are allowed to wear jeans and chuck taylors, while the other is forced to ware heals and pantyhose. I find it very appauling that certain people that have autority over women, will make up such ridiculous rules. Jenifer describes how the women are even forced to ware panyhose in the summer and even under pantsuits. I went on to wonder if honestly any man would dare to live on day in our shoes (Woolf,14). And if from this they would learn to stop and check the feelings of others around them before they just come up with these outrageous rules (Woolf, 14). Now that women are able to have jobs and make a life for themselves now doesn't mean you should tie her down to a formal attire. Men and people of authority will find any excuse to try and control us, women. We shall not let them, for our intelligence has grown and it will be passed down from mother to daughter (Woolf, 21). The daughters of tomorrow will be supplied with the right finances to start their life right and effect the outlook on our sex for the better (Woolf 21). This article demenstrates just one of the little hills we must climb to get to be able to see eye to eye with the men of the next century. Women will conquor and women will lead.

HW#22 Irony, Women and Books

There were multiple examples of irony and sarcasm in chapter two, of A Room of One's Own, written by Virginia Woolf. First, "The swing-doors swung open; and there stood under the vast dome, as if one were a thought in a huge bald forehead which is so splendidly encircled by a band of famous names (Woolf 28)." I think this quote demonstrates sarcasm because of the mentioning of the bald forhead and how splendid it is. I think that Woolf really was thinking about how much it isn's splendid and how it is full of useless famous names. A second example of irony is located on page twenty nine and it is presented as follows: " Wise men never say anything else apparently." I think this is an example because men dont only write about women and the ways of women, they just write more than women write about men. It was sarcastic and over embellished. I believe that Woolf was thinking that all she can find in books is men writing about women, so she showed her frustration through sarcasm. Another interesting sarcastic quote was " One would have accepted the fact, as one accepts the fact that a pea is green or a canary yellow (Woolf, 34)." This is sarcastic because it is the truth, men write whatever they want about women but women aren't allowed to write about men at all. A fourth and final quotation that uses a sarcastic tone is "We should still be scratching the outlines of deer on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheep-skins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste (Woolf, 35)." This demenstrates Woolf's hostility towards how women are viewed. She doesnt truely think that women should go back to doing what she stated but she is trying to prove a point. She is trying to say that women are important to, that we do make a difference and without women they world would not be. Chapter two shows many examples of women and how they use sarcasm in what they say to the world.

Hw# 21 Big Sister To the Rescue!!

Dear Little Sis,
I know this chapter is very hard to understand, because of its strong use of language. I am hear to help you understand better what has happened in the first chapter of the book called “A Room of One’s Own” which is written by Virginia Woolf. This chapter starts off by introducing the main character of this book that is named Mary Beton, she is staying in a hotel near the Cambridge University. She talks about the library at the local college and how a women is not able to go in without a man by her side or if she doesn’t have a letter from the dean. During the whole first chapter she talks about the downside of women and what they have to deal with, with not being educated. She also talks about how if their mothers had left their daughters money and land then the women of today would be better off. She is on her way to a luncheon but she is earlier so she spends her time enjoying the fantastic view of the chapel. She describes the amazing food that she eats at lunch. She also discusses the poetry of Christina Rossetti and how beautiful it is. Through out the whole chapter she discusses the fact that women are valued less. I think this means that during the rest of the book their will be a struggle for value and approval of Mary and women in general. I think your teacher would consider this book important because it will allow you to see what differences women had to deal with back in the time period of this book. This will allow you to get a personal view of a women’s struggle to develop a educated mind in the world of men. I really enjoyed this chapter and I feel that I will enjoy this book. It was kind of hard to get into in the beginning but once a couple pages went by I found it very interesting. Hope of was helpful with any confusions you had with this chapter. If there are any more question feel free to email me.
Sincerely,
Your Big Sister

HW#19 The Web Of Influence

The paragraph that I chose from the chapter “Web of Influence” is on the bottom of page 91. It is the last paragraph on the page and it continues onto the next page. This part of the chapter shows that blogs are much easier to fix and correct over and over. For example, it states that journalism has spun out of control because they are unable to maintain the truth up to date. The blogs on the internet, allow a person to add more onto and correct something if they misinterpret what they heard or read. In other words, the media and journalists today are unable to maintain the constant changing factors that effect everyday news. They are unable to keep an up to date evaluation of the new information coming into the media world. It states in the paragraph that bloggers “Have become so adept at fact-checking the media that they’ve spawned many other high-profile retractions and corrections.” They have the ability and the resources to check and recheck their information. They are able to produce a very up to date and informative post. My conclusion, then, is that blogs are easier to be trusted because they have more resources to back up what they are stating.

HW#17b Making the Vote!

I think the Daily Kos blog would be more influential than the Wonkette blog. I think this is true because it lends support and information. It is also against the war in Iraq, so the views will be biased to one side. I am against the war in Iraq so this site would help me to figure out which candidate would be in my best interests. They would be on my side, so their views would be easy to understand and relate to. Another thing that is helpful is stated in the following quote:
“The most important thing in political campaigns is to strengthen your connection to the activist base and then mobilize them.”
You are able to find many of today’s activists on blogs such as Daily Kos. They allow you to connect and figure out what your views are. Unlike the Wonkette blog which is more of a gossip/ making fun of politicians. It is aimed at “deflating the egos of Washington’s brotherhood of babbling politicians and journalists.” These two blogs will help you in two different ways. I find that the Daily Kos will help me to make my decision when I go to make my vote.

HW# 18 Barbies and Credit Cards For Girls

The blog that I chose to critic is Jezabel. The post that was my least favorite post was titled Priceless: Have you seen the New Barbie Toy, fashion.. This post is located on the website: http://consumerist.com/consumer/indoctrination/barbie-teaches-credit-cards-101-you-never-run-out-of-money-308326.php . This article talks about the new Barbie toy that features “a built-in credit card swiper and a life-size credit card for young children to use when buying outfits for their dolls.” This is just outrageous. I think it is just ridiculous what the media and today’s companies are producing. This little toy will get girls to think that it is okay and fun to spend money on the credit card. The post also states that the outfits that the girls can buy with their credit card are very expensive, like 100 to 300 dollars. Also stated in the article is that once the card’s balance hits zero, it resets itself. This allows the children to continue to keep shopping. This doesn’t allow a realistic attitude for the children, and then when they get older they will think that their card will just reset itself. I disagree with this new toy and it being given to little girls. I believe it will cause multiple problems with the children able to balance their credit card in the future.

Hw # 16 The Five Pilliars of Conversational Software!

The five Pillars were developed by Scoble. He says "these are the five things that made blogging hot." The Five pillars of conversational Software go as follows: First is the "ease of publishing. This means that it is very simple and affordable to have your own blog and to explore other blogs. Secondly there is "discoverability", in simpler terms this means that it is easy to be discovered and discover other blogs. This enables you to be seem for what your interested in or your views on a certain topic. Thirdly there is the "cross-site conversation." This comes from the comments that are giving back and forth from different bloggers. The bloggers are able to communicate without even seeing each other. Anyone can post anything on any one's blog. The fourth pillar is "permalinking." This allows you to link straight to a certain post. The fifth and final pillar is "syndiction." The last pillar is also located in the last "S" of RSS. These five pillars are very important to the increasingly popular blogging community.

HW#17 Mum's the Word: Are Childless Women Hostile to Working Moms?

I chose the Jezabel blog to report on today. The post I chose is titled Mum’s the Word: Are Childless Women Hostile to Working Moms. The website where this can be found is as follows: http://jezebel.com/gossip/mums-the-word/are-childless-women-hostile-to-working-moms-301574.php I chose this post because I thought it was interesting. Ben Black was mentioned in the blog, he is the founder of the UK child-care company who produced “The Working Mothers’ Report.” It showed how working mothers can be hated by workers that aren’t moms. It also brought up an interesting thought about how today’s society doesn’t account for families and parenting. The world just keeps spinning and the day must go on. It talks about how the non moms have to pick up the slack when the moms are away picking up kids or going to rehearsals. But did the workers ever think that they are not even close to what the mother workers have to go through in a day. We all shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The mother worker is at work at home and at work. She has to keep track of her kids and their activities while keeping up with her workload from work. Women are just fighting against each other when they should be supporting each other. As it is stated in the quote from the report:
“The report paints a picture of women undermining and undercutting each other, vying for advancement and some times filled with resentment.”
In response to the above quote a UK feminist Louise Livesey posted her reaction on her blog called The F Word. I found her reaction very amusing and true in all ways possible.
“Why (oh why, oh why) is it that it's women being compared to women here?" But we know exactly why: Because we're all guilty of what Tina Fey, in Mean Girls, called "girl on girl crime". In some ways, the world is the same it was in 4th grade: Catty, sneaky, full of judgments, gloating over microvictories and contests of one-upmanship.”
It is amazing how such a silly statement that was found in a movie would be so true and so hurtful. We all are victims and we all are the victimizers. Is it a flaw in society or just a flaw in us? That is the question and how are we able to fix this hostility? These are many questions we have not yet been able to answer.

HW#14 Response to Joi Ito

Ultimately Joi Ito has always been a leading player in the world of blogging. As a result, he has been able to develop a well balanced community online,in his blog called Joi Ito's Web. Specifically he states “himself as the custodian of the community, enabling people to come but it really is kind of like a party in his living room.” Actually I agree with him being the custodian because he cleans up what people say and how they say it. As a result he is able to portray a community because he tells them to be respectful of his wishes and views. After all Joi writes about just about anything, he enjoys reading people’s views, and learning from the peoples’ knowledge. Along the same lines of any other community based region. However, it is always unsure if the information given is actually true. In addition, Joi states that the availability of one’s voice being heard, will allow more folk art and folk music back into play. On the other hand I feel it will allow many pointless voices to be heard. As a result more unimportant problems will arise and become popular. Of course we will never know until the whole world of blogging progress even more.

Hw#13 Importance of Blogging on Buisness

I think the impact of blogging on business, is more important than the impact of blogging on communication. I think this because I feel that the business blogs affect the outcome of people’s opinions more. They write about a certain company that they think has a bad product and people believe them. More people believe them because they have evidence to back up their views. This greatly effects how companies should monitor business blogs. They should do this because if they don’t monitor and react to people’s blogs, it could become dangerous for the companies well being. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the companies’ popularity. Business blogs are growing at a massive amount. As it states in Blogs will Change your Business, “Technorati says 23,000 blogs are being built every day; the Business Week story ups that to 40,000.” The growing of these blogs means that more companies will be at risk for a decrease in popularity. This risk of exposure is something that companies need to keep taps on.

HW#11 North Korea Zone Blog Exposed!

I chose the North Korea Zone blog, from Rebecca MacKinnon’s interview, because I thought it sounded interesting. The blogs website is as follows: http://nkzone.org/nkzone/ . This blog is written in a formal matter. This website keeps viewers informed of happenings in North Korea, and allows people to share what they know about North Korea. The blog has a picture as its banner. This banner shows a man pointing towards a group of soldiers. The soldiers look as if they were in battle. One of its viewers is a father of a one year old girl. He is married and blogs also about North Korea. He wants his daughter to be a cheerleader when she gets older. His name is Andy Jackson. His blog is called Flying Yangban. Another blogger that visits is Joe Katzman. He is the founder of the Winds of Change blog.
There are many topics talked about on the North Korea Zone blog. The newest entry is titled Tae Kwon Do Diplomacy. “In echoes of the Ping Pong Diplomacy with china in the 1970’s the North Korean National Tae Kwon do Demo team is coming to American for a good will tour” as the blog states. Another topic talked about on this blog is about DPRK’s UK embassy presenting an amazing art show. This was shown in London during July. It seems London residents greatly appreciate Korean art.
MacKinnon’s statements about the North Korean Zone blog were all positive. This blog encouraged Rebecca to further her education in blogging. This blog was the starting point and inspiration for Rebecca. It is persuaded in the book that this blog helps to connect people in different countries. It allows educated people to share information about North Korea. On the one hand, I agree with that quitting her job was risky business and very dangerous. But on the other hand, I still insist that without quitting she wouldn’t be able to have made that blog as educational as it is.

HW#9 Response To Waldman

September 20,2007
There are many interesting points that Ayelet Waldman makes in her interview. There is also a couple that I don’t really agree with. She is a woman, a mother, a loving wife and a blogger. She had been taking some time off work, so she saw it as the best time to start blogging. This led to an emotional avalanche.
Waldman is married to, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Michael Chabon. She has four children and is very hardworking. Waldman talks about her husband’s short story called “Along the Frontage Road.” This talks about a father and a son walking through a pumpkin patch, after the mother has just terminated a pregnancy. If her husband told her of this story, before he published it, and she wrote it in a blog, the short story wouldn’t exists. Ayelet herself writes, “It might have been moving, and it might have been raw and painful and on the nose, but then it would have been gone, and Michael would have never written that short story.” I agree with her, that it would have ruined her husband’s work. That if your not carful with what you write on you blog you could ruin someone else’s creativity.
One thing I greatly disagree with, is stated on the last page of the chapter “A weblog saved my life last night.” That statement is that “the web is one place where these educated women turn.” I feel that if they are educated women they should be able to find another more intelligent and helpful way than the internet. I also don’t agree with the fact that she is just talking about educated women. What about all the other women in the world? They also need help and guidance with their emotions and thoughts.

HW# 7 My So Called Blog

September, 17th 2007

I believe that parents shouldn’t be able to read and or control what their child writes online. I think the child has a right to get their emotions out publically. It allows others to connect with them and help them through a tough time in their life. Talking about their problems allows the child to vent and feel better. If a child knew that their parents would read what they are writing they would worry more about what they are saying and aren’t saying. A child has the right to speak his or her own thoughts without violation of privacy. While Emily Nussbaum was interviewing, J. He stated the following:
He called it “Better than therapy, a way to get out his true feelings- all the emotions he thought might get him in trouble if he expressed them in school or at home.” (Kline and Burstein 352)
Even from the child’s point of view he is very happy with the fact that he can let lose of his worries and just write. This supports my views that parents shouldn’t be allowed to monitor their child online. Online gives the child one place to place their true emotions about anyone or anything. It is a gift to be able to have the right to share one’s story.

HW#5b Trusting the Unknown

September, 13 2007
There isn’t really anything I greatly disagree with in the chapter “I Blog therefore I am.” One thing that I found questionable was the fact that they wrote about how the Newspaper and other media are not trusted anymore. I question this because how are people putting so much faith and trust into these blogger. David Kline argues that the “bloggers cite their information right on the page.” My reaction is that they could be lying, showing these false sights and convincing people to believe them. Kline reminds us, “that 62% of people believe that the press is biased in political reporting.” Each individual blogger online is biased to their own views and beliefs in the politics. They are all writing about what they think about a certain politician or what they are doing. I don’t understand what the big difference is between the biased views online and in regular media. Kline also reports that “the regular media has abused its power, and lost its readers respect.” We all don’t know what the blogger are hiding, we don’t know enough about blogging to start trusting them so much.

HW#6 Getting An Idea

The Social computing technologies that I am most interested in are instant messaging, social networking services and IM plus Quick camera. I chose these three because I use them almost everyday. I chose instant messaging because it allows me to connect with my boyfriend who is back at home. We are allowed to chat, while I do homework and other schoolwork on my computer. I chose social networking services because I use facebook. This allows me to share photos and talk to my friends all over the world. I am able to talk to my friend who is going to school in New Orleans, and North Carolina. It is a way to keep in touch and to share what you like. Lastly I chose IM plus quick camera because this allows me to see and talk to my family right through my computer. I am also able to take photos and videos and email them to my family and friends
The kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups that I am most interested in finding out about are overcoming sexism, rights and empowerment of poor working-class people and issues of citizenship, rights and empowerment of undocumented residents. First I chose overcoming sexism because it is always a problem in today’s society. Women are still being treated terribly in some places of the US. Second I chose rights and empowerment of poor working-class people because I grew up in the working class. I had a job as soon as I was legally allowed to. My family is also from the working-class and I would like to learn how to help out the middle class. Lastly I choose the issues of citizenship. I chose this because my aunt’s nanny told me her story. Her story was that she still isn’t able to get her daughter over here to America. It is very sad to have a mother separated from her daughter.
Lastly the geographical areas that I would like to start looking into are South and Central America as well as Africa. I would like to understand the differences that technology has effect on different countries.

HW#4 "The Voice Of The Customer"

September 9, 2007
The brand that I have chosen for this assignment is Arizona Jeans Company. This company’s products are sold at JC Penny. This brand promise is that “No matter where you are you are always in Arizona.” This is shown around the website by the pictures. The pictures show people having fun and being happy. The backgrounds on these pictures are taken in what looks like Arizona. Either that or the pictures are in a similar color scheme as the lands of Arizona. Another quote from the website is that “Today’s the day to crank up the wow.” This quote promises that if you ware these clothes your life will contain much more wow in it. I am a customer of Arizona Jeans Company. I have bought multiple pairs of jeans and t-shirts from this company. I believe that this company lives by its wow promise. The pants always feel very worn in which is very comfortable. This comfort allows me to be comfortable with myself and my body. Some pants are very tight when you buy them which doesn’t allow the customer to be flexible in them. I feel that in Arizona Jeans, I am able to accomplish the highest wow potential.

HW#2 "Toward A More Participatory Democracy"

September 5, 2007
In the chapter “Toward a more participatory democracy”, written by David Kline, it states multiple ways that blogging has changed communication. One of the reasons blogging has increased is due to politics. During the 2004 presidential election the ten most popular blogs were being viewed by 28 million people. Even after the election of the president the blogs were still being viewed by a decent amount of people. Blogging in terms of politics is a good source of news and of multiple opinions. It allows people to gather data on their own and influence the opinions of their readers. Blogging also supplies an alternate source for information, rather than the television or the news papers. Today many people assume that what is stated on TV or in the paper is not true. To many times in the past have one thing been said to be true and then a week later, it turns out that wasn’t true at all. One factor that is not highly thought of, about television and the radio, is that they barely show any religious views or news. It is never posted or available for the world to see. With blogging people are also able to see and hear what is going on in the religious world.
I wonder how people can believe people online so much more than the television or the newspaper. It’s amazing to me that people will read and be so trusting to this unknown writer. I would have trouble myself believing blogs of today. I feel that people would take advantage of the very trusting readers and make something up.

HW#1 Is Going Global a Pipe Dream?

September 5, 2007
“Blogging is a key metaphor for interactivity, community-building, and genuine conversation: one to one, one to many, many to one, many to many.” This quote is found in the book Blog, which is writtin by David Kline and Dan Burstein. I found this idea very interesting because I have never even heard of anyone blogging before. If it such a key in community building why haven’t I heard more about it and more about people doing it? Now that I am aware of this key metaphor for communicating, it opens up a whole new way of talking.
Blogging is a whole new way to express one’s voice and to have the opportunity to be heard. “Years from now blogging will revolutionize the principles of community building” As it is stated in the book Blog. I agree with this statement. I feel that this new found technology will enable people to communicate on a much larger scale. I feel that people will be able to get their ideas out there, much easier than writing it in a magazine, because everyone has access to it. Unlike the magazine the blog is on the internet, it is very handy and available to anyone who enters the site.