Reflection: ENGL101S

When I first signed up for this class, I thought it'd be a typical English class -- read book, write paper on book, read another book, compare two books, etc, but it proved to be much more challenging.  I enjoyed choosing my own paper topic for once (even though by the third essay I got tired of it) because it gave me the power to do whatever I wanted with it.  This is how I usually feel about English:

Carolyn's teaching style is very unique and I feel like my writing and editing skills improved throughout the semester.  Rather than acting as a teacher, she acted more as a mentor and individually guiding us through our own problems with writing.  I'm glad that this English class was actually engaging and thought-provoking.  I will definitely miss everyone!

xkcd: Advanced Technology

Reflection: The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a story about a woman's confinement and her journey to get better from her temporary nervous depression.  In the beginning it was rather confusing to understand because the story was written in a journal entry format.  The narrator mentions names and events that I don't exactly recall, so I usually assume that this or that happened.  But later on the story was easier to understand as the woman became more psychotic. Throughout the story I became angry at the doctor husband.  He treated the narrator more like a patient than a wife, and he seemed to convince her that he knew what was best for her simply because he was the doctor.  It was frustrating to see how her train of thought changed because of John.  She would write about what she thought about herself, then what John told her about her condition, then she would change her mind about herself, making it seem like John is always right about his diagnoses.  I think that Gilman's writing style helps her message (that resting will not cure her condition) get across to the audience.  The story is written in first person, so the audience reads the story as if he/she is the one going mad in the room and imagining the woman behind the wallpaper.  The journal entry style shows us step by step how the woman's mental condition progressively changed over time since it is told in her perspective.

Reflection: Waltz with Bashir (2008)

The scene from 28:00 to 29:00 starts with a line of tanks peacefully driving and the narrator saying, "When you are inside the tank you always feel completely safe. The tank is a gigantic enclosed vehicle, inside the tank it will protect it."  It follows with one tank crushing a bunch of parked cars and ends with the camera angle following the bullet that kills the commander.

This particular scene stood out to me because of how little narration was involved and how much detail there was with the art.  When the tank starts running over the cars and the narrator says his one line, the scene is in the perspective from inside the large tank.  The audience expects the tank to be indestructible and the people inside of it to be immortal.  The cheerful music makes the scene almost happy and somewhat humorous, so nobody expects anything to go wrong.  Then all of a sudden, you (the audience) are the bullet accelerating towards the tank.  This is where I think animation helps the film get its point across - that anything can happen in a war.  You know you're the bullet, you know someone's about to die, yet when it actually happens, you're surprised.

xkcd: War

Reddit

My daily dose of laughter :)

Newspaper Humor

Measles, Vaccines, and Japan

The article I mentioned in class: Measles Scare Hits 3 U.S. Airports

While I was reading the article, the Measles scare video was playing, and when it was done it automatically jumped to the next video: Fraudulent Vaccine Research Exposed, the topic from Willrich's article.  It shows interviews with Dr. Wakefield, other doctors/researchers, and families impacted by the fake research, including one mother who is convinced vaccines gave her child autism.

On another note, I really admire Japan's engineers and their advanced technology.  But even though Japan’s Strict Building Codes Saved Lives, there was still a vast amount of damage done: Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami and Hundreds flee in Japan after Shinmoedake volcano begins spewing ash, boulders

I know very few people actually read this blog, but donate!
Google Crisis Response: Japanese Red Cross Society

Don't be like this guy:

xkcd: Charity

Reflection: John Q (2002)

The scene in which John and Denise Archibald are hearing the news about Michael from the hospital employees stood out for me.  The setting of the scene is a conference room with a rather large table for five people.  When they first sit down, we can see the tension that is about to arise because of where they sit: the Archibald's on one side and supervisor Rebecca Payne, Dr. Raymond Turner, and Dr. Ellen Klein on the other.

Dr. Turner straightforwardly tells the Archibald's what is wrong with his heart, "There are septal defects here, here, and here, which have induced a myopathy resulting pulmonary edema, and malignant ventricular ectopy."  Clearly, the Archibald's are not going to understand those medical terms, and John even asks him to rephrase in layman's terms.  The ethos in this scene is overwhelming.  Two doctors are telling John and Denise that Mike is dying. John and Denise are going to believe the doctors that have professional background knowledge about health.  The pathos hits the audience when we see Denise break down into tears and John's eyes start to water.  The audience can relate to this scene because everyone either knows the pain of losing a loved one or they can imagine how painful it must be to lose someone they love.  When Payne tries to convince the Archibalds that they should accept Mike's short future and say goodbye, the tension builds between the Archibalds and the hospital.  The audience also feels some frustration with Payne because of her lack of sympathy and consideration towards the Archibalds and their nine year old son.  But even though she is trying to make them let him go, John asks Dr. Turner what he would do if it was his son instead, which brings back the ethos of the scene.  Given the two options, both with very high risks of death, John turns towards the doctor for advice because of his status and education.

xkcd: Surgery

Research Log: Sources

1. Booth et al. "A case-control study of benign ovarian tumors." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 46 (1992): 528-531. Print.

This case study in London investiages "the association between reproductive, contraceptive, and menstrual factors and the risk of benign ovarian tumours."  The results show age trends and the affect of oral contraceptives on ovarian tumours.

2. Parazzini et al. "Risk Factors for Functional Ovartian Cysts." Epidemiology 7.5 (1996): 547-549. Print.

This article is another case study that took place in Southern Europe that evaluates risk factors of ovarian cysts and compares women with functional ovarian cysts.

xkcd: Researcher Translation