You Just Don’t Understand

Since we were assigned to read the Debra Tannen book I at first was a little skeptical. But after reading it all I agreed with half of what was written and didn’t agree with the other half. The things I agreed with were the ideas about report and rapport-talk as well as parts of the idea that men express their emotions differently. But I think that a majority of the book was repetitive. It mostly focused on the differences between the genders; I would have found it more interesting if instead of repeating the difference theme they explained some of the similarities as well. That’s why I think that a lot of the book was mostly complaints and one sided. I guess that the big picture was plain to see but I would have found it more believable and understandable. I mean that of course the differences she speaks of are true but to expect me to believe that all men and women converse like that, pleeeease. What about kids and their parents or any other family member?

Fight Club

            The movie Fight Club at first to me was confusing. But after watching it a second time I finally got the idea. What I found most interesting was that Tyler was really a figment of someone’s imagination. Also it made me wonder if it was possible for someone to possibly go that long with out anybody saying anything about it? The whole idea though of giving up materialistic things was quite clear. The thing I thought that went a little to far was the whole spree of vandalism. I mean it was all for the good of destroying reliance on materialism but the damage and destruction might have gone a bit to far. I also found it hard to believe that the police couldn’t find out who all of these guys were. And the part with the bar owner who was obviously a mobster, how could he just give up so easily against a mad man who was using the psychological card to spook him into submission. In all though I found that the movie was entertaining and made a good about how people have become addicted to getting things that they don’t need.   

Elizabeth Kolbert

During the two o’clock meeting Kolbert mostly answered questions from the audience, most of which were about past experiences. But I can’t really say much becuase I was only there for about forty minutes due to classes. The two o’clock seemed more like a TV interview to me. Really I liked the one on one meeting we had better. First it was kind of informal and it was more related to our class work. During that meeting we got actual feedback on our ideas were able to find out more information on what we should do.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe

Reading Part 2 about man was informative and little dry. When I read the first couple of chapters I found out about a lot historical events that I had no idea would have any relation to Global Warming. Then the rest of the book went on to talk about how much of an impact the U.S. would have if it were to change its habits towards the environment. I thought that the examples on the different groups and their efforts was a good touch to how there are people in the U.S. that are actually doing something. The thing I didn’t like about the book was how it broke the aspects down into nature and man parts. I think that it could have used some of that “to the extreme” that you find in fiction. I think it would stress the importance of the matter and purhaps show a bit of the consequeces of our actions. That’s why I think movies and video documentaries work best out of the world of the media today. They give you room to go that extra distance and add a little extremity to what ever your trying to get across. It’s like they say “seeing is believing”.

Cat’s Cradle

            In reading Cat’s Cradle I at first believed it was a book on religion, though it kind of was. I felt it had so many twists and turns through out it that when the ending happed it took me surprise a little. At first I thought that everything would lead up to some conspiracy and the good Professor Hoeniker would still be alive. I had no idea that it would all end up freezing the entire world. After reading the entire book I felt that only the ending had any real meaning. I also thought it was kind of stupid that nobody thought it was dangerous, even remotely to have something that freezes all the moisture it touches on an island in the middle of the ocean! What makes it worse is that it’s an island that is underdeveloped and lacking in almost every aspect of life.

            In short I felt the story was good, but a little on the extreme side. It talked went on about all sorts of things that were related to the creator of Ice-Nine but not into itself. I mean it didn’t leave any hints about the fact that the Russians and Americans both also possessed pieces of it, or at least slightly obvious hints. But what I do like is that it doesn’t specifically say what is the condition of the rest of the world. With that kind of ending it leaves room for one to speculate or make up ones own ending. It also makes you think what one would do in that situation.

Remember the Titans

In response to the film Remember the Titians I overall had a generally good reaction to it. I liked their idea of breaking through the race barriers by offering a common goal for each and every member of the team. I also liked the portrayal of the racism during that time period; it gave a strong feeling of what the time was like back then. It gave a strong sense of emotion towards the audience and could almost make you feel like you could relate in some way.

Some of the my dislikes were that they only showed the racist tensions between white people and African Americans. Where were the Asians? Most movies always have an Asian in them, even if they’re just lingering in the background somewhere. Not only that where were the Latinos, the Jewish people, and all the other discriminated races. I guess I could say the same for Crash, but in that movie all the stories seemed to closely related. I felt though that the feelings of equality between the players were a bit sped up, but also of course it is a movie so I guess they had to. I do believe that it was only because of winning that any of them did decide to do anything.  

The Lorax and Moutain Road Players

The Lorax is book that just makes you feel sympathy. It relates to many on different levels. I guess that’s why we read it to so many children last Proj. Renn. I felt kind of silly at first, but I admit that it was enjoyable. In a sense the Lorax seemed like a warning to the youth about the effects of pollution. I think that it was good to read such a story to children. In meeting with the children that day made me think back to when I was kid and how I used to go on field trips and have events put on in our auditorium. Now that I think of it, the world would be in a better position if as children we learned more about the environment and global warming. I think maybe we would now have a more serious attitude towards energy and impact we have on the globe. By seeing those children that day also make me think of the impact they may have and yet have on the world as a whole, perhaps a positive impact or perhaps negative. In all I believe I had a good time, I got a lot of laughs, got in touch with my inner child, and got some more laughs.

Proj. Ren. “Crash”

My general reaction to “Crash” is for the movie. What I mean is that some of the different ideas are blown way out of proportion, but in a lot of ways are true. For example when Sandra Bullock believes that she is going to get robbed when the two guys go by. That part I think is a horrible but common stereotype among people today, meaning that out of fear some people think that if they walk out in the streets that they could get robbed. Or when the shop owner assumes that the Latino repairman is trying to con him, or when the producer guy thinks the actors playing African-Americans should act like they are from the “hood”. This trend of stereotyping can be linked to almost every race in the world. Asians are stereotyped as being good in math or technology fields, Middle-Eastern people are stereotyped as terrorists, Italians as great cooks, African-Americans as gangsters, and so forth. The movie tends to look towards the negative aspects of racism today, which is kind of hard to argue with. Also I kind of think that they may have over did it with the racism ideas. True that a good portion of the population thinks this way, but not everybody does. In truth I believe that the movie has not covered the blending of cultures today.

Ecotopia

First off I would like to say that the book was a good read. In fact, I would like to think that a majority of the things that Callenbach wrote about are possible. The whole idea of an electro-magnetic train system that traverses the entire country is quite possible. Also the facts are true about Japan and other European countries using this type of transportation. If the US did convert to this kind of travel it would reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and oil. It’s like a new form of public transportation. The thing that got me was that some of the emotions and interactions between the Ecotopians seemed unlikely. The way the Ecotopians live is plausible, but the fact that they live in a society where there is no competition is not possible. Granted I believe that sure there maybe a peaceful environment, but still it’s human nature to compete amongst each other, even if it’s a kind of minute competition. I found it kind of weird though that though there is no criminal violence and no physically violent sports that there are war-games that involve spears and what not. I guess that’s the barbaric competitive side of humans I was looking for. The atmosphere seems like one that would most enjoyable. I feel that they kind of lack in some areas but they make up for it in other areas. The medical aspect of Ecotopia was impressive in that their hospitals don’t seem to be as overcrowded and expenssive like those that we have. Still it just seems a little to on the extreme side. The school system was a pleasant atmosphere that promoted learning freely, but the fact that a majority of the education was (for lack of a better words) being in the Scouts. Everything was so lax and care-free that it just wasn’t possible. Another thought I had was since they are nature based, why didn’t they invest in silk. It’s a natural material that comes from a silk worm so why didn’t they use that. I also want to know what happend to the big businesses that based themselves out of that part of the country? Surely they wouldn’t just give up that easily or even allow such an enviorment to exist in the first place. There deffinately was some conglomerate out there that would not just lay down and let some people take control of their profits and products. As we can clearly see now in todays government that big business fights harder than anybody or anything to survive and prosper. 

Field Notes From a Catastrophe

The point of “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” is to push the point of Global Warming across. It comes off as kind of a documentary kind of thing. The first part seems to stress the impact on nature and those who rely on nature. There is some story to the first part and the chapters give you different points of view on the effects of global warming to the enviorment. So far the book seems to make you go on a guilt trip after reading each chapter. Really I think that there are just a lot of stats from different specialists around the world. It makes you think about the impact we have on everything, but just doesn’t tell you what you can do about it. I guess that’s in the chapters to come. Really though I just can’t find it believable. Maybe that’s what the problem is with the rest of the world. We just don’t want to believe it, so we make excuses to put off the facts.