WB post 5

Dear Student of next Semester,

As I look back on this class I am actually quite proud of myself and how my writing ability has improved. I was worried about writing about for a public audience but after writing out many blogs I have become quite comfortable with it. If you are unsure about writing for an audience then this class will definatly be beneficial for you. You will be required to watch certain episodes of different T.V shows and then blog about them. At first I was unsure about blogging because I have never done it before but after writing out a few I actually started to enjoy it. It allows you to express your thoughts on different subjects and really state how you feel. It also allows you to read other people's blogs and see their opinions on different subjects.
In order to be successful in the assignments for English 110 make sure you listen in class and understand the assignments. If you are unsure about something then ask the teacher and be sure to check the daily schedule. Another important note is to stay on top of your work and don't put it off. If you leave things to the last minute then it makes it difficult to do them well. I'm sure you will enjoy English class as long as you stay on track and understand the assignments.

Good luck!
Kimberly Bowman

Farscape

I didn't really know what to expect when I heard we were watching farscape because i have never heard of it before. However, when we started watching it I actually really enjoyed it. It had a really creative plot that caught my attention right from the beginning. I wasn't expecting the spacecraft to get taken in by the black hole and transfered to a completely different galaxy. i thought it was interesting how the show differed from most Sci Fi shows we have watched because it started off in present day. The man from earth whose spaceship got taken in by the black hole is now lost in another galaxy. I liked that there was someone from earth who got caught up in this new place because it gives the audience something to relate to. We got to see how the man reacted when he first saw the aliens which was entertaining because I'm sure most people wonder how they would react if they ever saw an alien. I really liked watching this episode compared to other Sci Fi shows we have watched because I found it was quite creative. I have definatly become more interested in Science Fiction after watching shows I have never seen before like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

STNG

I thought this episode was somewhat interesting. I have never watched Star Trek in class and I still don’t find that I am really interested in this type of science fiction. This episode was different from the original Star Trek in that the characters are slightly different. BSG is different from Star Trek as well because the robots in BSG were evil and did not share a good relationship with humans. The robots in BSG looked exactly like humans and were able to disguise themselves. These shows defiantly make me wonder what life will be like with robots in the future because each show gave us a different perspective.

WB POST 4

I have never watched Star Trek before so I decided to start from the beginning and watch the very first episode The Man Trap. In the episode Captain Kirk and his crew arrive at a planet and meet with two women one of which Sergeant Mcoy used to be romantic with. Not too long into the episode one of the women notices that a crew member has been killed and she says that she saw him eat a plant that poisoned him. After Captain Kirk runs some tests on the dead crew member, he discovers that the man could not have died from the poisonous plant. We later find out that the women who calls herself Nacy is not who she says she is. Nancy is really a creature that lives off salt and has the ability to change forms whenever its wants which is why it disguised itself as Nancy. The creature went arounf attmepting to kill crew members but in the end, Lenard kills the creature and saves Captain Kirk.

Star Trek isn`t the type of science fiction I am super interested in mostly because there is a lack of action but I`m sure it appeals to many other people. I`ve noticed after looking at the different types of science fiction that I am more interested in the type that deals with vampires and werewolfs instead of space. I think that science fiction that deals with space is good if the show is exciting and the acting is good. Science fiction has evolved from shows like Star Trek up to more present modern day shows like Dollhouse. I find that shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer are popular becasue they are easy to relate to as the show is based on a girl in highschool. Shows like Star Trek have a more selected audience becasue many people aren`t interested in space travel or technology.

This was the first episode of Battlestar Galactica that I have ever watched and I surprisingly found it to be quite interesting. I was a little confused at the beginning but as I kept watching I actually found it quite intriguing. I have always been interested in technology, and when robots will be created which is why I enjoyed watching this episode. Technology is advancing at a fast pace every single year which is why a plot like this show may actually be a possibility someday. I thought the show had a very interesting plot by having a war going on between the humans and the human made robots-the cylons. The robot/human war reminded me a lot of Star Wars because there was also a war going on between robots and humans in this movie but there were differences that made it a unique science fiction show. One part that was quite shocking and really caught my attention was when one of the cylons killed a baby. This scene was disturbing and really showed the audience that the cylons have no emotion or care for what they do at all. It’s crazy to think that something us humans created could be capable of such evil and attack us. This show is interesting because it really makes us think about future technology and that we need to be careful about the robots that are created in the future. I think there should defiantly be a limit on how far artificial intelligence can go.

Poem "One Inch Tall" by Shel Silverstein

One Inch Tall

If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.

If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.

You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--
'Cause I'm just one inch tall).

Shel Silverstein



I have always enjoyed reading poems by Shel Silverstein ever since I was in elementary school. I think they are really creative and fun to read which is what interests me when I look at poems. I also like reading serious poems with a deeper meaning but I like how the peoms by Shel Silverstein are fun and lighthearted. This poem in particular is quite creative and it caught my attention when I saw the title. It describes what life would be like for someone who is one inch tall and some of the challenges they would have to face. I love reading these kinds of poems becasue they are so random and fun that it forces people to use their imagination. Its a good idea to not get caught up in the seriousness of life and bring some childhood memories back by reading the witty and funny poems of Shel Silverstein.

"Normal Again"

This episode of Buffy was interesting in that it was about Buffy fighting her inner self instead of some other villan. She believed she was in a mental insitution and that her life in Sunnydale was not real. It was a unique plotline in that it really makes the audience question what is real and what is not. Buffy was having a hard time trying to figure out her situation and if the life she has known in Sunnydale was real or just her imagination. She started to think about her life in general and how the idea of vampires and demons seemed fake and that she actually was a sick patient in a mental insitution. Sometimes we get this idea in life where we arent sure if what we are going through is actually reality or if it is just our imagination.

Favorite T.V Show- Entourage

I'd have to say that "Entourage" is one of the funniest show's I've ever seen. The show's storyline is based on Mark Walberg's rise to fame and his experiences in becoming a well known movie star. The series is about Vincent Chase, a good-looking, young actor whose career is on the rise. Vince's three best friends Eric, Johnny and Turtle are all from Queens, New York, and help Vince in his journey to becoming an A-list movie star in Hollywood California. I find the show to be so funny because of the four main guys and the witty comments they make throughout each episode. It gives the audience an inside look on what the life of a celebrity looks like and the people they encounter and deal with. I think the show did a really good job of casting the main characters becasue I find the characters in the show to be the best part. One of the funniest guys in the show is Vincent's manager Ari who is always on Vince's case about something. I think this show is so popular to people, becasue it gives viewers a chance to look at the celebrity life. Everything seems so easy and fun in the show becasue all the guys do is go to celebrity parties, buy nice cars and meet new people. However the show also gives viewers a look at the pressures of maintaining the status as an A-list movie star and the difficulties that come along with it. Entourage is really entertaining and funny and I would definatly recommend it if you haven't seen it before!

Commonplace Paper Problem

One of the biggest problems I am having with my paper is converting my analytical reserach topic into my commonplace topic. I feel like I am still wrting as though it is my analytical research paper and not my commonplace one. I need to change my style of writing to a more persuasive form instead of being so imformative and descriptive. In my research paper I really focused on a specific scene in the episode of Buffy so it makes it difficult to find a more broad topic from the scene I looked at. I've decided to look at how the role of women in society has changed over the past 50 years. This relates back to Buffy becasue she is a role model for young women and proves that they can have a significant, powerful roles in movies. Women 50 years ago were not looked at in this way at all and never would have any sort of role like Buffy's.

Commonplace Topic?

So Im thinking of using the idea of female empowerment as a main theme for my paper. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer we see how females are in control and are the confident, powerful ones especially in the first episode, "Welcome to Hellmouth." One of the main reasons Buffy the Vampire Slayer is such a hit show is becasue of her female power status as the hero. People like watching movies or shows where the girls are the ones who are fighting evil and taking control. It is this quality of female confidence and power that is attractive to people. It proves that girls don't always have to be the weak and powerless ones that must be saved. In many horror movies for example, we see how there is always that dumb blonde girl that gets killed. Buffy's role as the vampire slayer completely changed this sterotype of the dumb blonde, weak girl into something much more exciting to watch. Buffy is a positive role model for young women and proves that a girl that is strong and knows how take charge, can be something that is attractive.

Citation for quote

Hazelk."Reader I destroyed him." Article Buffyverse entry. 30th October 2009 http://hazelk.dreamwidth.org/56203.html?mode=reply

Quote from Paper

I definalty need help with integrating quotes and how to build up to a quote. If anyone has anytips on how to do it, let me know!

After viewing many horror movies and seeing the same innocent looking, dumb blonde girl getting killed by the monsters, Whedon came up with the idea for Buffy. He states,“It was pretty much the blonde girl in the alley in the horror movie who keeps getting killed...I felt bad for her, but she was always much more interesting to me than other women. She was fun, she had sex, she was vivacious. But then she would get punished for it.” It was this thought that sparked Joss Whedon’s mind and gave him the idea to create something different. He turned the good-looking and blonde cheerleader, who seemed innocent, into a killing machine known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Paper Problems :(

One of my biggest problems in my paper is the organization of it becasue I sometimes get off my main topic. I really need to think about the main idea for my paper so that when I am writing I can stick to that one point and not go off about other unrelated things. I need to go into more detail with the main scene in my paper and give a better explanation of what it is about. I need to figure out how I am going to arrange all my ideas and make them fit into my main topic. Another problem I am having is getting good resources for the topic of my paper. I am trying to look for some quotations that have to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My main focus of my paper is how vampires are different and what makes it ok to kill them. If anyone has seen anything good can you let me know!!

WB prompt 3- Teeth Whitening

I am looking at a couple articles that persuade people to get teeth whitening products. The first site is very imformative in its persuasion as it uses quite a bit of research to support the fact that teeth whiteners work. It uses a lot of detail in its explanation about each specific teeth whitening product. First it talks about two types of tooth stains, extrinsic and intrinsic that can occur. This was intersting as it gave me same background information about teeth which is important when buying a cosmetic product. I felt it wasn't overlly trying to persuade me that teeth whitening is the best the ever which is good in that it wasn't too overwhemling. Many advertisments overdo it on on why their product is the best and don't give enough background information about their product. I'm sure that if I had any questions about teeth whitening this would be a good site as it is very imformative and easy to understand. This site also has a picture of a blonde, good-looking girl smiling who is advertsing for teeth whitening which is another persauding factor for the audience. This is the form of marketing where the good looking girl appeals to the audience which then helps promote the product.
The next site is different from the first as it uses statistics as a way of persuading people to use teeth whitening. It talks about how important it is for people in today's society to have a nice white smile. It also goes on about how movie stars and famous singers have influenced people to have whiter teeth. "The whiter-than white smiles flashed on magazine pages and movie screens by superstars like Brad, Britney and Beyonce influence our desire to perfect our pearly whites." This is a smart article becasue it uses statistics to back up its statement that having white teeth is good becasue it will make a person more attractive and all the celebrities are doing it too. Although this statement might not be true, most people believe it becasue the article uses poll percentages to back up its statements.

Citations:

Dyett, Linda. Teeth Whitening: . How it works and what it does. 2006-2009 Ceatus Media Group LLC. May 2009. http://www.yourdentistryguide.com/teeth-whitening/

"Street Cents: Teeth Whitening Products." CBS 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/streetcents/guide/2004/02/s03_01.html

"Stuck in a moment" by U2

One of my all time favourite bands is U2 I have yet to hear a bad song by them. Their music is easy to relate to especially the song " Stuck in a moment." Everyone goes through hard times in their life but it is important to not let yourself stay fixed on that moment. There comes a time when we need to move on and stop worrying about something in the past. Everyone faces challeneges in their life and not everything always goes the way we want it to, but it is important to learn from mistakes, accept them and move on with life. The only way people can grow as individuals is by learning from past mistakes and moving on to make them better. As U2 says in their song, " You've got to get yourself together you've got stuck in a moment and you can get out of it." When something gets tough and people can't handle something we tend to let other things go and just worry about that one thing. It is alright to think about it but if you dwell on it and it affects eveything else going on in your life then nothing else can get done. We have to remember that things don't always go as we planned or would like them to and that we need to accept it and move on. As U2 puts it, "It's just a moment, this time will pass."

Is it Art

Gary Moeller’s article, “ Is it Art?”, with his comparisons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Beatles movie of 1968 “Yellow Submarine”, and then to the film “The Wizard of Oz”, are a stretch.His comments, these straight jacketed characters are nowhere close to the hair-raising monkeys on the fright scale and they really are not even as foreboding as the clowns of the Yellow Submarine” are not convincing. His attempts to bring together some common ground between these visual works that are separated by time and years of special effects and societal change are weak. Of course, there is a common thread in each of these – all have villains and the desire of good to conqueor evil. To say that these films are high art, such as a Van Gogh or an Andy Warhol is not a fair comparison. These pop culture works may be a whole other category of art- it is a matter of personal perception and to some extent the education and beliefs of the person viewing it. However, to compare the Meanie Clowns of the Yellow Submarine, or the Flying Monkeys from The Wizard of Oz to the evil grinning Gentlemen of the Buffy episode “Hush” serves no purpose. Each may be a type of horror art—spooky mind provoking art, with the fear factor in each unrelated to the others. All forms of these films are art- some stimulate and drive a culture, and all incorporate both the threatening and the sweet. Too much evaluation of an art form, such as what Moeller had done, whether it is Buffy on its own or against another, takes away from experiencing the art as a whole, whether it is shocking, satisfying or leaves you wanting.

Fear the princess screamed

Wilcox’s article on the T.V. series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, specifically the “Hush” section is a provocative depiction of this television series. He makes detailed analogies of the episode with his comparison of it to a good fairytale, i.e. the princess, the evil doer, the hero, and the resolution.The evil all white gentlemen in this episode are wearing suits, evoking a power, money connection to the viewer, almost a bad boy group of guys to be dealt with by an empowered female."We are shown these dead, white, well to do upper class, old fashioned males spreading out across the town and taking over.” This quote is fascinating because typical fairytales whether creepy or not may have had good looking, white well-off, males in the story. As youngsters, viewers can identify strongly with that type of guy power, and more specifically girls who identify a certain type of white male in a sexual fantasy. This could be in the form of the good person Riley, Buffy’s love interest, to the floating suited gentlemen entering your bedroom, the opposing bad villain. As viewers watching the series know, the show is full of emotional hits. Buffy had a sexual relationship with Angel, a vampire/still with a soul kind of guy. Her departure here from adolescent girl, to adult in college shows another emotional connection a female audience would identify with. Buffy has dreams that prepare the viewer for intrigue to follow. In her dream she kisses Riley, her sexual interest and a good boy. After kissing him, the monster white males come and she has the power to destroy them –this too is seductive and compelling. She realizes later after she and Riley have destroyed the menace, that the substance of the relationship was not just the kissing and fighting. It is interesting that it is not just the white male villains who take on the fairytale role and cut your heart out.

Grimm

I thought it was interesting how this article compared fairytales to the Buffy episodes. Many ideas for fairytales are incorporated into Buffy episodes by making them a little more creepy. After reading the article I was shocked at how many fairytales have quite scary plot lines. One of the creepiest episodes in the series was the silent one "Hush." The whole episode is based on a fairytale plotline which is quite scary. I never would have thought that a fairytale that was meant for children could be quite so scary. "The Gentlemen, who are said to come to a town, steal the voices of the citizen's, then proceed to cut out the hearts of seven unlucky residents. It seems weird that this kind of plot line would be for children.

"Hush"

I found this episode to be quite suspensful and exciting to watch. It had a really creative and spooky plotline which kept me interested throughout the whole show. I had never really thought about the significance of having a whole town not being able to talk but I thought it was a good point becasue it shows how something like that can make people panic instead of dealing with it which can casue chaos. I thought the Gentlemen were pretty creepy and their way of taking peoples voices away was a good strategy on their part. It makes it extremely difficult for people to communicate effectively when they cannot talk. When the people were in trouble they couldn't scream or yell or get any sort of help. One of the scence's I found interesting was when Zander thought that Spike had attacked his girlfriend and so he went after him. Before this scene the girl didn't think that Zander really loved her or cared about her. Sometimes it takes a traumatic event for people to really appreciate and care about the ones that are important to them. If he really did love her he should have told her the truth and not taken her for granted. Similarly, when Buffy is patrolling the streets looking out for the Gentlemen she runs into Riley. They end up kissing becasue they really do care about eachother but are scared and don't know what is going to happen. Before this, Buffy and Riley never told eachother how they felt becasue they were too nervous. Sometimes it takes the fear of losing someone to get people to show how they feel.

"Buffy doesn't want to be the Slayer, but she chooses how to be the Slayer." I thought this was an interesting quote becasue although Buffy can't get rid of her being the vampire slayer, she can choose how well of a job she does of being it. She has control over control over who she kills and who she protects and whether or not she even wants to fulfil her duty as the slayer. Buffy has to have the motivation to be the vampire slayer otherwise there is no point in having one. After watching the first episdoe "Welcome to Hellmouth" I noticed that Buffy accepted the roles as the slayer when she found out that her friends were in trouble. She knew she had no choice but to protect her friends becasue nobody else was capable of stopping the vampires but her. Buffy doesn't want to be the Vampire Slayer but she does want to look out for her friends. This feeling of protection that she had motivated her to go after the vampires and stop them from hurting her friends.

Citaitons:
http://www.slayageonline.com/essays/slayage3/sabbott.htm

Free Writing 1

One of the things I found quite interesting after watching both Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is how Joss Whedon the creator of both these T.V shows uses women. After doing some research, I found that he likes women to have powerful roles and have them be the ones who are threating. In many horror movies these days it seems like there is always a sterotype on blonde, good-looking girls as being dumb. In most of these horror movies it always ends up being the blonde girl who acts stupid and gets killed becasue she is considered powerless. I like how Joss Whedon uses females in a stronger way and makes them be the threatening ones. Joss goes against this cliche of the dumb blonde girl always getting killed, and makes her the powerful one. Instead of the girl acting dumb and weak she is now strong and intelligent. This is why I enjoy Buffy's character and the role she plays as the Vampire Slayer. Although she doesn't look like a threatening person, she isn't the typical blonde sterotype. Instead, she is smart, strong and the perfect example for female empowerment. Even though Buffy is inocent looking, she is really the biggest threat to all the vampires. I think this is why the show was so successful becasue it shows girls in a new way which is differnt from other sterotypical shows which makes it unique and exciting to watch.

Shuswap Lake!!

For my blog, I decided to talk about one of my favourtie places in the world which is Shuswap Lake. It is located in the interior region of British Columbia in Canada about 4 hours out of Vancouver. My family and I have been going there every summer for about 15 years as we own a cabin on the lake. It is probably one of the most beautiful places to visit and I would recommend it if you have never been to B.C before! I have so many childhood memories growing up there and I am so fortunate to be able to spend my summers on a lake with family and friends. It always gets really hot in the summer and there is always so much to do. One of my favourite things is wakesurfing behind a boat which my brother is really good at. If you've never done it before it's a lot like surfing but instead of using the ocean waves, you surf on the wake of the boat. You start in the water and use a rope as the boat pulls you up, then when you feel comfortable on the wake, you let go of the rope and start surfing! It takes a lot of skill to not have to use the rope and some people can even do tricks such as a 360 on the board. There are plenty of other things to do on the lake such as wakeboarding and tubing which are also tons of fun. In my opinion, the best part about going to Shuswap Lake is just being able to relax and enjoy spending time with my family becasue we all have really busy schedules. It is the one time of year where we can all come together with friends, enjoy the lake, and have a good time together!

Location Analysis

For my location analysis I have chosen my tiny, cozy dorm room. I must say that I did an amazing job of redecorationg the place as it was quite ancient and rough-looking to begin with. My room is quite crowded with little space as I have a roomate with about as many clothes as I do. You enter the room and the first thing you see are two, small twin beds with colourful bed covers. Looking to your right you would see a tiny fridge with my cluttered desk consisting of school books, food and my computer. The main focus of the room are the pictures and decorations which cover the walls. This does make the room seem a little smaller but it gives it a nice welcoming and cozy feeling. Some of the decorations on the wall include pictures from home, surfing posters and Ohio State pictures. When friends visit our room they are all quite impressed with how cute the room looks and how comfortable it is. The surfing posters and colourful bed covers give the room a beachy feeling which is really important to me. My hometown is located on the coast of B.C so being around the ocean is something I miss quite a bit which is why it was so important for me to have part of home with me in my room. It gives it a comforting feel and people that come over seem to really enjoy it even if the space is very small. It is important to make your dorm personalizedto fit your interests becasue it is the place where you should feel the most comfortable and at ease. Your dorm is a place to relax and be with friends which is why you should make it feel like a place of your own becasue it really is your home.

Primary Source 2

I have also looked at the second episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it has given me some good ideas on what I might do for my paper. From watching the first two episodes I have come to the conclusion that people will always have some sort of highschool drama or problem to deal with no matter who you are. I noticed that Buffy always seems to be concerned about being a Vampire Slayer becasue she is worried about how it will affect her school life. In the first episode she denies being a Vampire Slayer when the librarian asks her, becasue she doesn't want to take on that responsibility again. In the second episode when the principle catches Buffy trying to leave the school she is given a lecture about how this could ruin her chances of staying there. He explains to her that if she gets into any mischief again at her new school she'll be kicked out, just like what happened to her at her old school. I can sympathize with Buffy in that not only does she have a huge responsibility in being a Vampire Slayer but she must also deal with everyday highschool problems and rules. I also noticed that when Buffy goes down into Hellmouth to try and save the guy, she tells Angel that she has to save him becasue he is a "potential friend." This shows me that Buffy is concerned about making friends and fitting in, which is just another highschool worry like a lot of people have.

Primary Source 1

I was a little unsure about Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I first heard of it, but now that I've watched the first episode I actually found it to be quite entertaining. I really like the idea of having a girl as the vampire slayer becasue it shows that girls don't always have to be the one in trouble. Girls can be the hero or the powerfull one. A girl with an appearance and character like Buffy, wouldn't seem like a threat to most people at all. She's blonde, little and wears cute tredny clothes you definatly wouldn't think she would be capable of killing someone, let alone a vampire. Buffy also has a sweet, bubbly personality so you wouldn't think she would know anything about killing. I like this idea becasue it proves that even good-looking, nice girls can still be tough and powerful. An important scene in the episode was when Buffy was being followed into the alley by a stranger. We see that she knows she is being followed and hides by standing on top of a bar in the alley. Before this scene I had never seen Buffy's abilities as a vampire slayer but this was important becasue it showed the viewers her strengh and capability. The main theme of the show is that not everything is as it seems which I think makes the show suspensful and exciting.

But she was naked

So this week we've mostly been talking about how girls are powerful and that they aren't always as they seem. This article proves that seduction can be quite powerful in getting you what you want. Both Inara and Saffron use seduction in differnet ways for differnet reasons. I found it interesting that Inara was able to recognize the seduction tactics and flattery methods of Saffron becasue Inara herself uses them on her clients. This was significant in that it shows that you cannot try to play a player. Inara was able to recognize the seduction tactic becasue she is trained in it. Unlike Saffron who uses seduction to rob people, Inara uses it as part of her job. She appeals to her clients by sympathizing with them and using flattery to make them feel wanted and special. A good example of this in the article was when she chose to be with "Fess" instead of having his father hire her becasue she knew that it made him embarassed. Another flattery tactic was when she chose a woman, she made sure to re enforce that most of her clients are male to flatter the woman and make her feel unique and special. "If I chose a woman she tends to be extrordinary in some way." Inara is very good at appealing to people's emotions and making them feel better about themselves.

"Our Mrs. Reynolds"

I really enjoyed watching this episode becasue I found it to be quite unpredictable and suspenseful. I noticed that when the slave girl "Safron" who happened to be Mal's wife, came on board that neither Zoey or the companion lady found it to be funny. They both seemed a little shocked and suspicious of the girl and didn't know whether or not to trust her. In my opinion the girl seemed innocent, lost and was just trying to help out. She was very polite and sweet in making the captain dinner and being very friendly to all of the crew members. The scence that I found shocking was when Safron turned on the captain and ended up poisoning him. Safron was very good at persuading people to think she was some poor, innocent slave girl becasue of how kind and gentle her manorisms were. However, this proves that even innocent, sweet people can't always be trusted if you don't know them because they could be hiding something. A girl like Safron would never be thought of as a threat which in turn proved to be worng. Safron made the episode quite entertaining becasue she added the element of suspense when she turned out to be someone completely differnet from what I had viewed her as in the beginning.

Highschool is Hell

I found this article to be quite intriguing and witty as it used metaphors to compare reality to fiction. I've never watched "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before but I find it funny that through all the monsters, vampires and demons at her highschool, Buffy can still worry about not having a date for prom. I find it ironic that someone who already has so much to be fearful of, can still be concerned about the meaningless, everyday highschool drama. This is definatly an interesting point becasue it allows the viewers of the show to be able to relate to Buffy on the same highschool level. The viewers can see that she not only has to deal with her highschool being on top of hellmouth, but she also has to worry about the marks that she gets on exams. I'm sure that this show was a popular one becasue the viewers could sympathize with Buffy knowing that she has to deal with a more extreme version of highschool drama involving zombies and werewolf's. Buffy proves to viewers that their concerns about highschool are difficult but nothing compared to the problems she has to encounter. I especially found the part on pg. 290 to be quite entertaining because it puts a funny twist on reality and fiction. It talks about an episode where a mother takes over her daughter's body so she can live again in her glory days as a highschooler cheerleader. In reality, there are many moms in today's society who act as though they wish they were young and back in highschool again. Obviously a mom taking over her daughter's body is fictional and more extreme but I did find it quite funny.

Primary Source Video

Primary Source Video- Train Job

So I just finished watching the second episode of the first season of firefly. I've actually found the show to be quite entertaining and action packed. I definalty need a Science Fiction show to be filled with action and suspense otherwise I tend to get bored. An interesting character that was introduced into the show was Niska, who hired the Serenity crew to get the goods for him. He definatly seems like the type of person you wouldn't want to have on your bad side or mess up a deal with. The scene where he shows the dead guy hanging up by his feet to the crew was pretty disturbing. However, the captain seemed unaffected by this and went through with making the deal with Niska. There was one scene that I found quite interesting and proved my prediciton of the captains more sensitive side being revealed. This was when the captain and Zoey found out that their stolen goods were medicine which was not what they had intended to steal. The captain then decides that the medicine should be retuned, becasue he saw all the sick people that needed it on the train and sympathized with them. This scene was important to me becasue it showed a more emotional and modest side to the captain. The show ended on a dramatic note when we learn that Niska and his men are after the crew becasue they did not complete the job that he wanted them to.

Writing Blog 1

Writing Blog promt 1:

Hey everyone, so I'm sure you've all taken english in highschool, well my english class in highschool wasn't your typical class. Our class was made up of athletes with busy schedules. My english teacher would give us a list of assignments and then we were to complete them on our own time. This meant that we didn't have to work on english in every class. We never had any deadlines or due dates but we were expected to get the list of assignments done by the end of the school year. We occasionally would have group disscussions about certain topics and have some class essays but the majority of our work was done on our own time. I have already found english in collage, after only a few days, to be completley different from what I am used to. I now understand that english in collage isn't just reading and turning in essays, but it is more about analyzing and having group discussions to really understand certain topics. We will gain new ideas and opinions by listening to others and what they have to say. I have never been required to do any english work on a computer so this is also new to me. So far, I enjoy using a blog becasue it allows you to express your thoughts in a more casual manner compared to an essay format. I've never had any experience writing for a public audience but I'm sure that after getting more experience with it, I will feel more comfortable. I also think that using commonplace is a good idea becasue it will teach us to go beyond the writing we are used to in highschool. We will not only learn how to improve our accademic writing but we will learn how to relate and persuade the public in our writing as well which is very important for our future careers.

Serenity-
Overall, I thought Serenity was exciting to watch. It was a little slow at the beginning but as the show progresed it started to get more suspensful and dramatic. I thought there was a good amount of action throughout the course of the show which kept me interested. As more characters were introduced the plot became more intense and unexpected. The part where the doctor's sister was introduced was quite dramatic and surprising. I thought this made the plot much more exciting as I found out that the doctor's sister is a genious who is being tracked down by the "Alliance". This added some emotion to the storyline as well because the doctor's sister was held captive by the government and he was doing as much as he could to protect her. There were quite a few twists and turns in the plot line as well that added some suspense. A good example was when the government agent on board was held captive by the crew, and offered one of the crew members money to help him. This made the show a lot more intense becasue I didn't know if he was going to turn his back on the crew and follow the government agent or remain loyal to his captin. In the end, I really enjoyed watching "Firefly", and I would recomend for others to watch it.

Hey everyone, my name is Kimberly Bowman and I'm a Freshmen at the Ohio State University on a swimming scholarship. I'm looking to major in exercise science and hopefully own a business with my sister someday. I'm from Surrey, B.C in Canada which is really close to the U.S boarder on the west coast of Canada. I graduated from Semiahmoo Secondary where I was part of the highschool swim team for five years. I was also part of the highschool yearbook committee for two years. I have been swimming competitivly for over ten years and I am now nationally ranked in Canada. My favourite t.v show is Entourage and I pretty much like any kind of music from classic rock to rap. I look forward to meeting many new people this year!