Thursday, November 15, 2007

HW 35: Letter to My Blog Readers

Its hard to believe that I have created my very own blog. At the beginning of my "A Blog of One's Own" class, I was very unfamiliar with the objective of blogging and even unclear of how to use and write a blog. A blog is an online social networking device that enables you to write your feelings, thoughts, and experiences. As well, you can access blogging through communicating with companies and classrooms, such as I have. The ability to instantly access another blog and comment upon another blog puzzles me as to think of the constant upgrade in technology. I love how you can comment and read any ones blog's to gain knowledge and ideas about their own thoughts. From reading "Blog" by David Kline and Dan Burnstein, I learned more than I ever thought was possible about blogs. Blogs is a great device for companies to get others to hear there opinions and receive feedback in return to better help their company. Blogging has become a widely used device on the Internet, and I can now see why. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all "Blog", "A Room of One's Own", and "Baghdad Burning", but think that the average person would benefit and find most interesting the accounts of the Iraq war that I have written about in "Baghdad Burning". I know that if I stumbled across a blog on the Iraq war, I would most likely pause to read through it. Many Americans, like myself, are unaware of the occurrences in our present war. I have learned, and am still learning about the terror that Iraqi's have to live through, which has been presented to me through Riverbend's own blogs. I have enjoyed creating my ITW blog which I intend to keep, and once this class is over I may take on creating my very own personal blog.

HW 34: Tea Time and Gold

After reading Riverbend's blog from October 9 through October 29 in "Baghdad Burning", I learned a lot about Iraqi's custom of having evening tea and the role of gold in family savings. Having evening tea in an Iraq family is an important everyday occurrence that brings the family together to sit at the table and discuss their day. People also drink tea with their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unlike in the US and other parts of the country, when your mother asks you how school and hanging out with your friends was, Iraqi's tend to have a bit different of a conversation over tea. Whether they have a busy schedule or not, Iraqi families sip tea as they speak of the most recent happenings of the war, including abductions, hijackings, and Riverbend's most recent tea conversation of the Turkish Troops. The tea that they drink, which comes in numerous types, is not the typical tea, with teacups and teabags, drank by thousands around the world. "If you serve "teabag tea" to an Iraqi, you risk scorn and disdain- a teabag is an insult to tea connoisseurs". (Riverbend 108) The process of making tea for an Iraqi is a pretty simple three-stage process. Riverbend stated that out of the numerous types of tea available, the best come from Ceylon. The tea is served in "istakans", which are small glasses made of thin glass and resemble the number 8. The tea is perfected to look clear and strong, coming out to appear as a reddish-brown color. Once the tea is made, the family can now sit and speak of the current events. On the way home with her family, Riverbend spotted an armored car with a large beige-green tank and they suddenly feared they'd soon be going through a checkpoint on the streets or in their house. Riverbend's aunt was carrying all of her gold jewelry. The role of gold in an Iraqi family is very important and a large part of their culture and has increased in the role of family savings since 1990 when the Iraqi Dinar was constantly changing. "Iraqi people don't own gold because they are either spectacularly wealthy, or they have recently been on a looting spree". (Riverbend 100) Iraqi's began to take out money from the bank and convert their money to gold through jewelry, because gold will always hold the same value. Iraqi women call gold "zeeneh ou 7*azeeneh (khazeeneh)" which is translated to "ornaments and savings". Gold is both worn and kept away, and when a family is struggling with money, gold is often sold between people. When an Iraqi couple is married, gold is given to each other, and children are also commonly given gold as a gift. Riverbend's family feared being searched for the sake that they would take their gold because the troops argued that people like "that" (an Iraqi) could not own such a valuable object. Although, for many and most Iraqi's gold is an important role in family savings and is very important to them.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

HW 32: Responding to Riverbend

After reading Riverbend's posts from September 19 to October 5, 2003 of "Baghdad Burning", I had a much better understanding of burqas, habibs, and veils. On Wednesday October 1, Riverbend further explained the commentary on "Iraq Family Ties Complicate American Efforts for Change", written by John Tierney that was posted in The New York Times. Stanley Kurtz stated that the vieling is used to prevent others who are not of the same religion from competing with another woman's cousins for marriage. Riverbend argued that cousins have whatsoever nothing to do with the purpose of wearing a viel, and his explanation of it can only be interpreted as an insult. "I have a question: why is Dr. Kurtz using the word "viel" in relation to Iraq? Very, very few females wore veils or burqas prior to the occupation" (Riverbend 92). From this Riverbend argues Kurtz's explanation and sums up that his words wore an assumption more than fact. A viel, the English version of the word, is a piece of cloth that covers the entire face and head. Known in Iraq as the burqa or khimar covers predominately the hole face, sometimes with the exception of the eyes. The hijab is a headscarf that comes in various colors that can be worn many different ways. Muslim females wear veil's for religious values, not because of the Stanley Kurtz's assumption that their cousins make them wear it. The headscarf's that they wear provide comfort and security to themselves and their religion. Riverbend summed up the explanation of the veil, burqas, and habibs, as the same as a Christian revealing and presenting the cross, or a Jew wearing a yarmulke.

HW 33: Alive in Baghdad

I recently viewed the podcast that was titled, "Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad". It was from "Alive in Baghdad", and was published on 5/21/07, and can be viewed at http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/. This podcast gave a short account of the troubles in education in Iraqi schools. One specific school that the podcast focused on was Al-Safini Middle School, which is located in Adhamiya, but serves to educate young girls from all over Baghdad. The podcast speaks of the increasing amount of violence in Iraq which has impacted the struggle to move forward throughout the school year. Yet when the students and teachers were interviewed they spoke of their refusal to give up. There are 225 students who attend the school, who are presented with violence just on the way to school, when the streets are packed and white Americans are searching the area. The teachers come from a wide range of experience, all who are striving to give the children something they deserve. The problems of violence do not just pertain to Adhamiya, but arise all over the place in Iraq schools. One young girl spoke of how she has gotten used to the shootings and violence that surround her country, and is not fearful of this violence. Another girl spoke how she could not one day attend school while Americans were searching her district. The numbers of students have dropped in schools, and many students are being forced to quit schools by choice, through their parents, or through the violence. The students are in a classroom, all in school uniforms, and most wearing veils as well. At the beginning and end of the podcast there was a brief view of the streets right outside of the school, while the children were gathered around outside before school. A viewer may learn a lot about this podcast, I had, and was not aware of the streets being crowded and the amount of decreasing students attending school daily. One memorable thing that I found was how one student said that she was not scared of the violence that is surrounded throughout her community and society.

HW 31: Responding to Riverbend.

After reading through Riverbend's entries from August 31 to September 16, 2003 of "Baghdad Burning", I came across a post on September 7, that spoke more of Rumsfeld's accounts in Iraq. Rumsfeld spoke poorly of Iraqi's and the country of Iraq comparing Iraq to the city of Chicago, which bothered Riverbend. Riverbend spoke of the several attacks on the American forces and continued into her emails that she received from people who sympathize with her and her thoughts and views of Rumsfeld's actions. One email agreed with Rumsfeld's ways and spoke of him as a heroic character. It explained that the Iraqi's should be ashamed of themselves, like Riverbend, for their own actions. "It also claims that I must be a Ba'athist because, of course, who else *except* a Ba'athist would be against this noble war?!" (Riverbend 52). I had never heard of Ba'athist's, so I further looked into this to find out who they were, and why the email-er would make such a comment towards Riverbend. Also known as the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, were founded in 1945 as a left-wing, secular Arab nationalist political party. They had various branches in Arab countries, yet the most prominent branches remained in Syria and Iraq. In 1966, the Syria and Iraqi branches split into two and became rivals. The Ba'athists gained control of Iraq and ran the country on two separate occasions. The Arabic word Ba'th which is connected to the term Ba'athist, means "resurrection". This largely connects to the accounts of the book as a hole, and comes to terms with a large part of Iraq's past history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%27athist

HW 30b: Citizenship Symposium

On Thursday, November 8, I attended "Animation as Political and Social Constructions", which was held in the Redfern Arts Center, as part of the Keene State College Citizenship Symposium. There were three speakers at the event, all who were Keene State College professors, including Jiwon Ahn, Sander Lee, and Mark Timney. Jiwon Ahn was the first speaker, but unfortunately i had just been arriving from another class, while he was wrapping his speech up. Sander Lee spoke next, as she spoke of the actual art of the Anime designs and drawings, and the ways that you can perceive it and understand the nature of the art. She described the flat style that is used in Anime art, which describes the woman's body's that are used as a symbol, rather than the negative perspectives that can be derived from the art. The woman's bodies used in art, as she went through a slide show of various pieces or art that I found quite interesting, were displayed through provocative clothing, "school-girl uniforms" as Lee described it, or no clothing at all. The woman were displayed in nature and many were displayed with violence. One piece of art that stuck out to me was a woman who was naked, with a large knife to her neck, with blood coming out from everywhere. These images that she showed us were presented to challenge the views that are characterized through the Western culture. The last speak was Mark Timney, who spoke of WWII cartoons, and Walt Disney's objective to portray and incorporate the Holocaust Studies into the television shows. He showed us a clip of a Disney cartoon that featured Donald Duck in a factory in Germany, as a Natzi citizen. The purpose of this cartoon was to show the audience the effects that the hard labor of making bombs all day long adapting to Hitler's demands have a psychological effect on Donald Duck, and many of the once Natzi's under Hitler's control. Donald Duck becomes increasingly stressed throughout the span of the clip as he continually screams "How Hitler" and awakes from what I believe was a dream, if I interpreted the clip correctly, to being surrounded by US symbols of government. Timney explained that this clip expocates Germany and their only thing more powerful than German acts is another stronger state, in this case the US. Mark Timney also showed us a clip from South Park, which h as been aired on television since 1977 which expresses vulgarity, attacks on religion, exploitation on sensitive issues, and blatant sexual content. I found interesting when Mark Timney explained that "shit was once used in South Park 163 times in the span of 30 minutes". Mark Timney showed us a bit longer of a clip from South Park that was based on the issues of 9/11. This show that is most viewed by 18-24 year olds, is willing to get involved, showing good citizenship even though it shows citizens willing to hurt each other through violence and bad words. South Park presents moral issues regarding crime, science, public health, etc.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

HW 30: Citizen Symposium

On Tuesday, November 6 I attended a session at the Keene State College Citizenship Symposium, called "Voting Theory and the Questions of Fairness", which was presented by a mathematics professor at KSC, Vincent Ferlini. He spoke of the different kinds of voting methods, presenting them through a power point, with vivid description and visuals. These voting methods that best describe the will of the people, were for the most part free of flaws regarding fairness and unfairness, and have tend to work well. These different methods included the Plurality Method, the Jean-Charles de Borda, Plurality with Elimanation Method (also known as Instant Runoff Voting) and Method of Pairwise Comparisons. The different methods produced different results and each method exhibits characteristics associated with the fairness and unfairness of a voting method. Each slide presented a model diagram of the voting method described by the number of voters as well as the 1rst, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices that were elected. One thing I found interesting was when Vincent Ferlini spoke of the Keene Mayoral Election. He described how there are two rounds of voting, which can create problems since it is expensive and time consuming, yet the outcome may be more prominent. In the first round each voter votes for his or her first choice of mayor, yet no candidate wins in this round. In the second and last round, the top two finishers in the first round compete in the second round to finalize the winner. In one of Vincent Ferlini's first slides he explained a term, "ostraka", which was also gone over again in the end of the session. “A voter would use a broken pot called an ostraka to record a vote, which is the root of the modern world ostracize" (Vincent Ferlini). The setting of the session seemed like a rather small audience for such a large auditorium, and he made a few connections to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. He wrapped up the session on voting theories and the questions of fairness by encouraging everyone to vote and to not assume that these new methods are stupid, but instead to be open to new things.

HW 28: Dear Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,
As my reading of your book "Baghdad Burning" has progressed, I have developed many feelings and emotions that contribute to your experiences in Iraq. Your accounts of the 2003 war have informed me of more information and understanding of the war than would ever be shown through a US news channel or Internet site. Living in the opposing country that has conflicted with Iraq, I now have a more direct understanding of the other side of the war. Hearing your personal side of these unnecessary events saddens me. I feel sorrow and distress for the loved ones you and your country have lost. I know it must be hard, but you and every fellow citizen are brave for the grief put upon you. I sit back and think of how the war has effected me and the ones that I have lost in the events of 9/11, but then I think of the tremendous pain that your country must feel everyday while you sit in fear and anticipation that you will make it to the end of the day alive. I found it interesting and informative when you explained that the war began as a war on weapons of mass destruction, yet none were found, so the war then transformed into a "War against Terrorism", yet no links were made to Al-Queda or Osama Bin Laden, so the war is now just a "Liberation". You continued to state that "Call it whatever you want- to me it's an occupation" (Riverbend 15). Both my troops and your troops are out there everyday, fighting for our country, and in a very large way, it now is there occupation, it is their job to invade each others country and life to the fullest, a horrible but true statement. While reading your book I think how almost every citizen in our country has continued to live each day to its fullest, laughing, joking, and vaguely stopping to think about what is really going on right now; your book has informed me of this. It is mind-boggling to think that the women of your country cannot step foot out of the house without a male escort, and how the women to men ratio with occupations were 50:50, yet woman have now been deprived of this opportunity. The Iraqi population now has 65% of you unemployed, which to me seems like a serious problem. I am sorry that you cannot wake up each day and attend your job that you once loved, leaving you to sit and worry each day about the safety of you and your family. Lastly, I would like to speak of your government problems you have discussed, in other words the "Nine Puppets" that run the Iraqi world. Though I have disagreed with much of what Bush has said and his decisions, I am confused at the way your government is run. A country that is governed by a different president each month seems like some kind of big mess if you ask me. Despite the complications of the government, you are one brave citizen to jot your experiences and feelings down of your day to day living. I want to thank you for informing me of your anguish and distress that this war has compelled against you. Keep being strong Riverbend!
Sincerely, Alicia

Thursday, November 1, 2007

HW 27: Baghdad Burning will be beneficial

I am very excited to continue to read "Baghdad Burning". I think the style of the book is presented very well. The book is about a twenty-four year old Iraqi girl, who goes by the name of Riverbend, living and encountering the war before her eyes. From what I have read so far she will be reenacting what she sees each day. I believe this book fits perfectly into the course of the class. The Iraq war that is occurring has affected many, but at the same time many people look past the conflicts that have arose. Iraqi's are discriminated against in airports, in society, and day to day life. A bystander like Riverbend will enhance our learning on the war as well as the anguish and terror other Iraqi's like her have to experience all the time. It is narrated by a woman, who is discriminated against for her race and culture, and this ties into the theme of our blogging class. This book will benefit our class greatly as Riverbend walks us through part of her life and world.
Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

HW 25: A Look into "Baghdad Burning"

This week I began reading "Baghdad Burning". The foreword was written by Ahdaf Soueif and was a brief introduction to Riverbend and the way that she will be narrating the book. Riverbend is in her mid-twenties and is living in Baghdad with her mother, father, and brother. She will be reporting accounts of the Iraq war from a real-life perspective, to the point that the reader can experience the anguish she feels as she sits on her roof each night with her brother "E" watching the Baghdad Burning. In the very first sentence of the Foreword it states, "I wish," says Riverbend, towards the end of her blog, "every person who emails me supporting the war, safe behind their computer, secure in their narrow mind and fixed views, could actually come and experience the war live." This introduces the reader that she will be bravely speaking of what she experiences living in Iraq, to give the reader, such as an American as I, a clearer view rather than what we see on TV. Soueif explains how the book is not about explaining the theory of how the war came out and George Bush's view on the war, as the media is already circled around questions of this, but about what is happening as we speak in Iraq. The Introduction gives a very detailed background of the history of events that has led us to where Iraq and the US are now, and how Riverbend's family is dealing with this sequence of events. Until I had read the introduction in "Baghdad Burning", I knew almost nothing about the events that led up to the war. I now feel almost guilty for being so blind as to what my country and our allies and enemies have encountered over the past years. He explains how many of the controversies that have arose have dealt with religious issues and how the US had planned sending troops to Iraq even before the events of 9/11. Riverbend speaks of the US in terms of trying to establish a pro-American "puppet" government. I learned that major components that have led to the Iraq War included the Gulf War, World War II, and the struggles that different groups of Muslims that live in Iraq have dealt with in order to stay safe. Riverbend and her family fear each day as they watch the war before their eyes, and now Riverbend is allowing us to see for our self the anguish and terror that as accumulated in their community.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

HW 24: Do you have a Room of One's Own?

Virginia Woolf pointed out at the beginning of the novel that in order to write fiction, you must have a room of your own. Throughout the novel I have acquired the knowledge of what it means to have a room of your own, and I do believe I have a room of my own. Women throughout the centuries have gradually gained acceptance in society. In the beginning of the novel Virginia Woolf presented many points that granted the inferiority of men. Women have slowly overcome the hole they have been stuck in for so long. They are slowly climbing out, discovering new possibilities and their capabilities. Women are proving to men, as well as themselves that they too have the capabilities to write fiction, and do what they were once not allowed to do. It is our responsibility as women to believe in what we do, and follow through on something to enhance your own abilities. Once you are confident in yourself, your mind opens up to endless possibilities. Women have been portrayed as a weak gender for so long, while men have empowered us for even longer. Woolf spoke of a reading, Diana of the Crossways, as she presented the relations of mothers and daughters in relations to men. "It was strange to think that all the great women of fiction were, until Jane Austen's day, not only seen by the other sex, but seen only in relation to the other sex. And how small a part of a woman's life is that; and how little can a man know even of that when he observes it through the black or rosy spectacles which sex puts on his nose" (page 82). Men have dominated the industry of jobs and the acceptance in society while women have constantly struggled with it. Women have adapted their own creative mind in which they can expand their horizon to speak their mind through their words. This was not always allowed. The relationship between women and their own room has slowly developed as more women have created their own room. They have adjusted to society and to themselves, in which they can be comfortable in who they are. A women who has a room of her own, as I do, has a sense of knowledge in which they do not feel dominated by men, but rather equal, allowing themselves to be an individual. Virginia Woolf begins to see and accept the relationship between men and women when she encounters a man and woman who are getting into a taxi. "Perhaps to think, as I had been thinking these two days, of one sex as distinct from the other is an effort. It interferes with the unity of the mind. Now that effort had ceased and that unity had been restored by seeing two people come together in a taxi-cab" (page 97). She experiences not only the unity of the mind, but the unity of two people. She concluded that the mind ponders to various such areas, and there is no single state of being. A woman has the right to feel, say, and do as she should. As i thought about my own room of my own, I found that it shows that I have my own creative mind which can lead me to my own experiences. As an individual it allows me to experience things that I would not have once been able to a number of years ago. The power of woman has come a long way throughout the years and has enabled me to challenge myself in ways that I once would not been able to.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

HW 23: With Apologies to Virginia Woolf

When viewing the website Jezebel I came upon some fascinating blogs, and I found that each one contained gossip and stories about women, which brings me back to when I encountered such headlines in the papers during my research of women and fiction years ago. I stumbled across one that caught my eye. The post, titled "Otherwise Engaged", found on http://jezebel.com/gossip/otherwise-engaged/-313922.php, spoke of a horrifying event. I'm not sure if the man was insane, or just down right like every other man. A 60-year old farmer proposed to a 28 year old woman in Malaysia, and if that doesnt show you anything yet, than keep listening. With respect to herself im sure, she denied the proposal, but the farmer did not cooperate with her decision. His male dominant side of himself slowly came out as he took on the antics of kidnapping her and forcing her into his car; a horrible unecessary event that would never result in a marriage. Thankfully, a witness reported the event to authorities, yet the man ended up releasing the woman with no harm done, and continued to submit himself to the police. This occurence shows the foremost willful side of men that come out when things do not go their way. As I browsed other posts I came across many that depicted women poorly, announcing the latest news in their life as if we all actually cared. Yet, do you see any of these women bringing out a psychotic side of them for the information about themselves posted for the world to see. A man ain't nothing but a hollow-minded freak to go through the footsteps of this 60-year old farmer.

HW 22: Patriarchy is in England

After reading the second chapter in Virginia Woolfe's, "A Room of One's Own" I found that patriarchy is certainly still alive. Men are well known for and still hold the role of being the dominant figure. Virginia Woolfe argues and ponders this disposition through examining such questions which prove that there is patriarchy. When she makes her way to the British library she finds that there were numerous books written on females, and the lack of books written on males, yet the books on women speak of the inferiority of women in society. She becomes angry at the pieces of work she reads, because the author speaks in a certain tone and presents and depicts women on the low end of the hierarchy with men vs. women. When Woolfe read the headlines of a paper she spotted on the chair at the British museum she again had anger filled inside of her. Each headline presented a male dominant side, portraying women poorly. "The most transient visitor to this planet, I thought, who picked up this paper could not fail to be aware, even from this scattered testimony, that England is under the rule of patriarchy." (p. 33) She explains how men are portrayed in the paper as more important then women and have more power. The men in England are controlling what is written, which is often speaking poorly about women, like the author of the newspaper, of what is spoken. I went onto The New York Times website and found that England's way of perceiving women seems to be different then the way The New York Times portray women and men. There did not seem to be any controversial issues that would give a transient visitor to our planet the impression that the United States is a patriarchy, yet if a transient visitor was to have a glance at the way England presents their women, it would be evident that they are still under the rule of patriarchy.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

HW 21: Dear Little Sister

Dear Kelsey,
I'm sorry to hear that you did not understand the reading in "A Room of One's Own", it is a difficult read, but I hope I can help from what I got out of Chapter 1. Virginia Woolf begins the chapter sitting at a river bank at Oxbridge college in England. She makes her way over to the library yet is not allowed in because she is a woman and is not granted access into the building without the presence of a male. Virginia has lunch at the all male college where she is surrounded with a delicious variety of fine foods and then has dinner at the all female college and is given nothing but plain gravy soup. After dinner Virginia and her friend Mary talk in Mary's room. They talk about women and fiction, and Virginia's task to write about this. Virginia explains how "a women must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". This is important to understand because it pertains to being a successful writer. Women did not always have the opportunity to have some of the jobs they do now, instead they belonged at home taking adequate care of the house and family and preparing food. Men on the other hand, have always been the dominant figure of the household, making and bringing in the money. When Virginia Woolf states that "a women must have money and a room of her own", I interpreted this by meaning that a women must be financially stable, independent, and willing to challenge what others have denied in the past, the opportunity to write, or pertain a job that you love. This text seems difficult because it is in a different form of writing that we aren't usually very familiar with, being expressed through a narrative form. I believe that this text by Virginia Woolf may be considered an important piece of work because it is showing us the change through history that has occurred with males and females, and the opportunities they have received. Women did not used to have the chance to be a writer, or do any work at all. Our history has taught us the challenges and obstacles that women have experienced, and how far it has come, with equal opportunities. I believe that this is a good read, and certainly challenges you to understand the meaning of the text. I hope this helped and you have a better understanding of the chapter now!
Alicia

HW 19: Web of Influence

After reading "Web of Influence" by Daniel Drezner and Henry Farrell, I found that the blogoshpere is influencing the world of politics a great deal more than I once thought. The blogosphere provides bloggers with the advantage of instant access through the Internet. As explained in the paragraph on the bottom of page 88, bloggers have an advantage to the mainstream media with click of a button, while the mainstream media may take just a bit longer. Not only does the blogosphere serve as a fast and reliable source of communication, it also gives bloggers the opportunity to add in their own insight instead of a News show just stating the facts. As well, a blog will sum up the basis of the a story, without going into too much detail. The mainstream media is often looked down upon for any sort of biased report. The blogosphere allows bloggers to speak their mind, and have that biased position. As well, when a newspaper, magazine or another form of mainstream media makes a mistake in their writing, it does not look very professional. When you post a blog you have the ability to jump right back to the post you were just writing and fix your mistake. You can obtain information from these blogs about foreign countries, the war, political leaders, or simply local information according to which blogs you watch or are interested in. Politics are not just meant for meeting rooms or presidential elections. Everyone has a right to be involved and converse ideas and thoughts, and we can thank the blogosphere for their help!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

HW 18: Hackers Aren't Cool

After browsing through some of Wonkette's recent posts, I came across one that was very disturbing. The blog was named "Who Will Stop America's Real Terrorists?", and I instantly became interested in what the blog was about. On the website, found on http://wonkette.com/politics/dept'-of-internet-hate-machines/who-will-stop-americas-real-terrorists-308420.php, the blog has a short summary of the "real terrorists" and has a video attached. After reading the summary and watching the video I learned that there is a group that call themselves "Anonymous", who hack into peoples Myspace accounts, emails, and other online communications. They do this to random people, and if the people fight back, there are consequences such as death threats. They hack into accounts and receive peoples passwords, post inappropriate pictures on people's sites, and plant viruses on them. They have even hacked into children's online games and post racial and inappropriate things on them. This I found disturbing, but then I read and watched more and found that they go even farther and leave threats on family's answer machines because "Annoymous" has discovered many families phone numbers and addresses. I found this disturbing and scary because the people that they do this to are random, innocent people. Many hope that this group will get bored and tired of doing this "hobby", yet even with police and the FBI involved, they still continue. I was very bothered by this event and hope that it comes to a stop so that innocent people do not have to go through these unnecessary horrible events.

HW 17B: Daily Kos v. Wonkette

After reading "Blogging the Presidency: An interview with Markos Moulitsas Zuniga" and "Sex, Lies, and Political Scrapes: An interview with Ana Marie Cox", I felt as if I was reading about two completely different kinds of blogs. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga's blog, Daily Kos, focuses clearly on providing information and insights to fully change the way citizens along with politicians view the political world. Daily Kos is filled with Zuniga's ventings of the injustices he sees in the political world. His blog is widely known, widely influenced, and and certainly a success. Daily Kos takes in over 500,000 visits a day, receiving much recognition for its serious honesty and achievement as a blog. Ana Marie Cox's blog is portrayed a bit differently than Daily Kos. From the title of the interview with Ana Marie I could almost immediately tell which blog is more impacting to the political world. Wonkette is a blog filled with gossip from the D.C. area which may change some people's views about an election, yet gossip is defined as the idle talk of rumors, so the effect that people can be influenced through Ana Marie's blogs is almost sad to hear about through the political world. It is certainly interesting and humorous to read, yet through her blogs and the interview it is evident that Ana Marie does not take her writing about politics that seriously. It seems as though Ana Marie views blogging more as a hobby while Markos views blogging as his job and passion. Therefore the Daily Kos would much likely influence me more than Wonkette would near a coming election. I would not base my views off of gossip and nonsense and would prefer to hear a more reasonable side of view where a point is proposed and argued.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

HW 17: Miss America

After browsing through many of the recent posts on Jezebel, I came across one particular post that struck me quickly in many ways. The post was labeled "Miss America: Busty, Bikini-Clad Internet Policebabe", found on http://jezebel.com/gossip/kids-play/miss-america-busty-bikini+clad-internet-policebabe-306729.php. I was intrigued by this blog because it relates directly to my semester-long research paper topic of "how the Internet is harmful to young teens". This blog described the new website that was just created by the Miss America Organization who came together with the Children's Educational Network in efforts to have a kid-friendly Internet browser that will protect children from the "dangers" of the Internet such as inappropriate sites and online predators. As described in the blog, the Miss America Kid-Safe Web Browser offers standard security and blocking mechanisms, only allowing the kids to view 10,318 websites out of the billions of sites on the Internet. Besides blocking kids from inappropriate sites, the website has some bizarre features as well. Some of them include Miss America, Lauren Nelson, popping up and walking across the screen every few minutes with a trivia question, Miss America reading your e-mails out loud for you, the ability to program Miss America to remind you of chores and homework that needs to be done, and if a kid is denied access to a specific site that may be inappropriate Miss America tells the child to go ask Mom or Dad first. I found this to be somewhat silly, yet I can see many young children along with their parents taking advantage of this new website. Many young girls and boys idolize pop-stars and celebrities, such as Miss America, and will find this website "hip" and "cool". Though Jezebel seems to disagree and finds this new web browser somewhat foolish. "We actually maintain that aspiring to a specific beauty standard in which you walk across a stage in a swimsuit and heels might actually be more dangerous to little girls, psychologically at least, than accidentally running across amateur porn online, but we digress." Jezebel makes a valid point, yet I believe this new web browser will keep kids safe while on the Internet and free from viewing "Miss America" in what might just be high heels and nothing else...

HW 16: The Five Pillars

After reading "Blogs: Humanizing the Face of Corporate America", an interview with Robert Scoble, Scoble presented a very good argument. The basic rule of blogging is to humanize it in order to succeed in the blogosphere. Scboble plays a large role in the blogosphere, supporting Microsoft as the tech evangelist. His ability to communicate with customers, give support and feedback has drawn in much attention. The evolution of blogging goes along with honesty and getting your voice out there. Through RSS, "really simple syndication", technology has given corporations the opportunity to make their company hot, like the five pillars that have made blogging hot. Scoble presented the five pillars involved in RSS as the "ease of publishing", "discoverability", "cross-site conversations", "permalinking", and "syndication". The first pillar, "the ease of publishing" refers to the simplisiness of creating a blog by the click of a button in order to publish your thoughts. The second pillar, "discoverability", refers to the ability to "tag" another blog or website on your own blog. With this tool you can easily be linked to other blogs related to yours in order to discover and browse other's thoughts. The third pillar, "cross-site conversations", refers to being able to track and view others blogs, who have also viewed yours. In this sense you can see who is interested and may have something to say about what is posted on your blog. The fourth pillar, "permalinking", is entering a URL, another website, into your blog so that you can easily access a post of blog you are talking about so others can easily view it as well. The fifth and last pillar is "syndication". Syndication comes directly from RSS, in which you can simply "watch" a favorite blog by adding them to your own site so that you can keep track of the various amounts of blogs you are interested in through a more organized way.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

HW 14: Interview with Nick Denton

After reading "Take an Obsession, Then Feed It!", an interview with Nick Denton, I agreed with many of his statements. Although, Denton is in the blogging industry, he does not believe that weblogs are influential enough to take over other larger forms of communication and media... yet. For example he believes that blogging is an evolutionary process that can help, and at the same time, destroy companies. Ultimately, Denton believes that blogging can eventually become a revolution, although it is not something that can happen from one single blog, or simply overnight. Consequently, Denton's business perspective is to focus on a specific age group of eighteen to thirty-four year-olds, who in turn will bring in a larger audience to media buyers. As a result of these efforts over time, the business will grow, yet it is not as fast growing as everyone makes this "new" and beneficial use of technology out to be. Specifically, Denton states that, "The Truth is, weblogs are merely the latest iteration of independent Web media, and they're not rocket science." To take a case in point, Denton relates weblogs to the simplicity of checking your email; the ability to scroll down and read earlier sent letters, in terms of the capability of reading earlier written blog posts. As a result of Denton's beliefs on weblogs, I can side with his views because I believe that blogging has brought the political world a new use of communication, yet there is no way that the The New York Times will be diminishing any time soon due to the enormous increase of blogging.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

HW 13: Blogs Will Change Your Business

After reading "Blogs Will Change Your Business" by Stephen Baker and Heather Green, I came to the conclusion that the impact of blogging on businesses is more powerful than the impact of blogging on communication. Though I have more commonly heard of blogs by individuals for social and creative expressions, I believe that blogging in the business industry will have a great impact on their progress as a company. With the advance of blogging, the business is able to communicate ideas concerning improvements and ideas that will better benefit their sales. Blogging has given us all a great opportunity to have our say in what we believe, which can go both ways in blogging for business and blogging for communication. It is important for the business to have their consumers aware and up to date with the new and improved advances. With the advantage of blogging, the business is able to receive feedback on the products, which will enable the company to improve. Blogging is a new phenomenon, yet Jeff Weiner, Yahoo's senior Vice President stated in "Blogs Will Change Your Business" that it is just the beginning. "Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this". (page 229) The quick and instant access of spreading information from company to company and consumer to consumer is "an up-to the minute read on what the world is thinking." When in an industry that needs improving, or has already been improving, blogging provides the form of communication that can even greater improve your development and growth as a company. "As the bloggers read each other, comment, and link from one page to the next, they create a global conversation". (page 228) Ultimately, what is at stake here is the danger of when blogs "attack". Because blogging is an online communication tool, open to most of the world, different views come together and can create a conflict. It is the business's responsibility to monitor their comments and deal from there. Conflicts arise in any situation, but blogging gives the company a larger world wide view of a situation, which has a great impact.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

HW 11: Making Global Voices Heard

After reading the interview with Rebecca Mackinnon in "Making Global Voices Heard", I became more interested about the Chinese-language blogs that are controlled and monitored by Chinese companies. As I read that blogging has been increasing and becoming familiar and popular in China, I wanted to look farther into this. After looking up Isaac Mao's blog on http://isaacmao.com/meta, I was able to make many connections from MacKinnon's statements about the blog. The blog is pretty basic, providing no "eye-catching" designs or phrases. Yet as I browsed through each post, I found that Isaac Mao gives an easy understanding of what he is talking about. The topics he discuss deal mainly with issues in China, such as the World Economy Forum, P2P, and Flickr being banned. He also had posted about more general things such as when he spent a week at Kansas Lake, and problems he finds on the highly known web page, Google. As Rebecca Mackinnon had stated, his site had been previously blocked and temporarily shut down due to China's Internet Censoring system which triggered "objectionable content". Because blogging has its tendency to be known for your ability of free speech and to able to get your voice heard, bloggers now have to be cautious of what they say, or if they are saying too much. Mackinnon stated that you are not only reading about politics, and the vastly changing economy, you also come across posts about daily life, connecting to social and cultural life. I found this true in Isaac Mao's blog. While it is true that, Isaac Mao provides good insight on different happening in China, it does not necessarily follow that many will be prone to read his blog daily, due to his lack of enthusiasm in his great work.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

HW 9: Cyber Support

After reading Ayelet Waldman's "A Weblog Saved my Life Last Night" I had more of an understanding of why women like Waldman spend their time blogging and not pertaining to their duties of being a mother and supporting a family. Waldman was blogging and following an infertility and miscarriage weblog where the women that Waldman communicates with share their stories and open up to each other. Although not all of the women have experienced these problems, they are still showing showing a great deal of support and emotional understanding. Waldman is an author of six books, yet finds blogging "perfect" for herself. Waldman's theory of the blogosphere is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of genetic termination, miscarriages, and other birth problems that Waldman could relate to. The blogosphere gives these women from all around the world the opportunity to share and respond to each other, without the chance of running into them the next day at the local grocery store. I find appreciation in these women for the sense of support that they give, yet I believe that there is a line that needs to be drawn when revealing too much about yourself. Waldman blogged about her husband, her children, her sex life, all the way to her depression. Though she was undergoing a mild form of bipolar disorder, she should have seeked professional help. I found Waldman particularly lucky when she was in the position of nearly killing herself after having a suicidal reaction to one of her antidepressant drugs she was on. It was late at night, her husband was out of town, and she had no one to turn to. After blogging about her suicidal feelings, an immediate response was given from her friend in Israel, who knew Waldman was serious. If it was not for her fellow blogger, she may have not been stopped that night. Fortunately, the blogosphere has clearly proved in this circumstance that there are people out there who will listen, understand, and help you in any kind of condition.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

HW 7: Why Public?

I believe that it is important for parents to monitor what their middle school children are doing on the Internet. Middle school is the age where children begin to experience and explore different opportunities that the Internet offers. During this age the children are undergoing many different changes including their bodies, their friendships, their experiences, and their work. With the Internet undergoing many new advances in social networking, this makes it very prone for them to get caught up in the act of LiveJournal, Xanga, or other such blog networks in which they can express their feelings and emotions. This would seem like a good idea in order to take stress off the children, yet why are these children posting their own life experiences for anyone to read, when they can just have their own personal journal or diary. In Emily Nussbaum's "My So-Called Blog" she explains that these children are indeed opening up a different side of them for all to see.
"A result of all this self-chronicling is that the private experience of adolescence-a period traditionally marked by seizures of self-consciousness and personal confessions wrapped in layers and hidden in a sock drawer-has been made public" (Kline and Burnstein 351)
Some say it is a desperate cry for attention while others may say it is just a way to relax and express their emotions running through their heads and to have other be able to relate and respond to their stories. Yet I have heard and seen of blogs in which children have ridiculed other children for the content that was in it. Why should parents be allowing their children to post this information on the Internet when it may just end up causing them more harm then they were already feeling. In order to avoid this, I believe that parents should have the right to view what their children are doing online for their own safety.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

HW 6: Interest Statement

For the Semester-Long Research Project, the social computing technologies that I am most interested in are chat rooms, texting, instant messaging, and social networking services. I am interested in these forms of social computing because I, as long with the majority of students my age, commonly use these forms of technology on a day-to-day basis. Instant messaging and texting has grown so large that even my mother has a screen name, and my father now texts! The kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups that I am most interested in are overcoming sexism, overcoming ageism, and overcoming racism. I am interested in these topics because I find them to still be a problem in our society. I am currently taking an Intro to Women's Studies class which discusses the inequalities based on gender, and I have become very interested and concerned with the fact that women are still not receiving the same forms of "treatment" that men are receiving. The geographical ares that I am interested in are North America and the US because I believe that the forms of social computing that I have interest in are most commonly used in these areas of the world. I look forward to further studying these topics!

HW 5b: I think, Therefore I Am

Before I begin may I state that I do not deny the fact that blogging has become a new easy and accessible form of publishing and communicating ideas and arguments that has vastly changed our society. As David Kline expresses in "I Blog, Therefore I am" all other sources of media in which we have relied on for many years, will soon be diminished with the constant growth of blogging. This I find hard to believe. Though the number of households that read the newspaper daily is decreasing annually, does not give support to say that we will soon see the end to this form of media. We live in a constantly growing and on the rise time period, which emphasizes the fact that new forms of technology and information will soon be processed into our daily lives. People who care about what is going on around them, will continue to read the newspaper daily, while others may find these new advantages, like blogging, as a benefit and better assistance. Blogging is simply receiving the information that they discuss, argue, and contemplate through other larger more commonly used media. Without the mainstream media providing us with these updates from around the world, blogging would not be able to publish their ideas and opinions online, because that is their source of information. Not everyone can relate to blogging, or have as much passion for blogging such as political leaders and followers do. I can not see basic forms of media in which we all have relied on for so many years to be cut off and eliminated just because of blogging.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

HW 4: The Voice of the Customer

Everyone hates rainy days. Lounging around, helplessly motivating yourself to get something accomplished. When I began David Kline’s “The Voice of the Customer”, I climbed up onto my bed shivering from the breeze of the rain, and my stomach began to rumble. I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus without eating. I looked outside and thought “there’s no way I am going to set forth on campus through the pouring rain to eat at the Dining Commons”. So I thought, “What’s quick, easy, and delicious?” Campbell’s “Just heat and Enjoy” soup. It was as easy as walking down the hall, popping it in the microwave and within 2 minutes you’re devouring something equivalent to your mom’s homemade soup. American's today tend to believe that a healthy balanced meal is essential to your health and well-being. Campbell's soup is not only contains all the good nutrition facts your mother would look for on the back of a box or can, but it is also delicious! Being in college and surrounded by the many distractions of friends, family, and the tremendous work load, there sometimes is not enough time to sit down and fit in a 20-30 minute meal. Campbell’s advertises this beneficial way of eating through advertisements, the affordable prices, and right on the front of the can. “M’mm! M’mm! Good to go!” is written on the can, something I decisively thought when I sat back down to read. Having already been cooked, you can still endure the same great taste as whether you were to wait 15 minutes to make un-cooked soup. This method of “cooking” is a great advantage for “on-the-go” people. Whether you are heating up Campbell’s soup for a child on the run to soccer practice, a father late for a meeting, a college student hurrying to class or simply, just an easy way to enjoy a great taste, Campbell’s Soup offer’s many varieties to satisfy your needs.