Choose any 1 classmate of project 4 that wrote about an entirely different set of authors and
use the following format in a blog post.
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
I chose to comment on Jeana Wiemeyer's 4a Group#3 blog on the stories of F. Dumas, D. Major, M. Chabon, and K. Goldmark. I enjoyed reading all the stories and I was able to relate to most of them but ultimately I decided to focus on Bienvenidos a Newport Beach by Firoozeh Dumas.
2. What is something this classmate said about the choice that relates to any of the assignments in projects 2-3?
It was interesting that Jeana pointed out in the summary that the author's new place in Newport Beach overlooked a KFC. The quote is kind of cliche, I think it points out how mainstream America is, we are obsessed with fast food places that there is always a few closeby in the city, i.e. the Starbucks around every corner. I think there were several students chose Newport Beach as one of beaches to compare to in our "beaches" blog and we learned about how many people assume that there's lots of wealthy people and they're very snobby as we've seen on shows like The O.C. and Laguna Beach and Arrested Development filmed many of their scenes at that location.
3. What is something different this classmate said about their choice that you did not realize before when you completed projects 2-3?
I did not realize that the streets in the neighborhood the author lived in had all Spanish names and began with "vista" yet these homes only had views of the others that looked just like them! I think it'd be interesting to know who & how these people come up w/these names and most of them have a common theme throughout the neighborhood. I know a neighborhood where the street names share the common theme of tennis like Doubles, Arthur Ashe, Matchpoint, and Deuce. and another one that shares a Native American theme like Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, Mohawk, and Sioux, it has been nicknamed "Indian Village".
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
I think these stories also further show us how widespread diversity can be, no matter where we grew up, how we were raised, what friends we had, or where we've moved to & what we become, we all have our own unique experiences that are very special to us. Every assignment/component that we've done is a piece of the puzzle which ultimately comes together as the state of California. Not only have we learned about California through our own research and reading the personal experiences of the authors but also through our interaction w/each other we've learned much more about the state we live in & about each other b/c many students read the same stories but focused on different aspects to the story which I thought was very interesting & Friere would have been proud! It's as though we all came together, threw our thoughts & opinions(ingredients) into a big pot, mixed them together & produced a wonderful new stew!
5. How has project 2-3 helped you with the readings of the textbook?
I have lived in California all my life & have travelled to numerous cities but I never thought about how diverse California could be. I mean I knew certain things based on other people's experiences and whatnot but even then I only heard about a few cities in general. The way we approached these cities through our research & reading My California, I felt as if we took a more in-depth look and that's something I probably would've never done on a normal basis in my own life. I gained a lot of knowledge and insight upon completing these project components and these last two projects made me really want to read the book in its entirety b/c they seem so intriguing and it'll be interesting to see what I got out of it versus what other students did. Through this class, I feel like I learned so much about the inner beauty of California and it has made me appreciate living here more!
Monday, November 17, 2008
5b: REFLECTION of Project 4
Choose any 1 classmate of project 4 that wrote about an entirely different set of authors and
use the following format in a blog post.
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
I chose Christina Ambrosini from group#2 and her blog on My California authors Everett, Martinez, Morrison, and See. I particularly chose her blog on Percival Everett's "909"
2. What is something this classmate said about the choice that relates to any of the assignments in projects 2-3?
Christina mentions that the author describes the simplicity of her hometown and how much she appreciates the place for what it is. The author loves to ride her mule, Monk up to the hills and overlook the chaos of the life below, the constantly crowded 606 freeway. When Christina was growing up, she used to go to a ranch in the hills that gave her the same feeling as the author when she was overlooking the city, a sense of tranquility. Even though the ranch was only 5 minutes away, it was like a mini get-away from the constant hustle of the inner city. In project 3a, Christina discusses what one might expect in L.A., a very big city, full of people almost shoulder to shoulder and definitely always filled with cars bumper to bumper. The author discusses the importance of zip codes and the people that reside in them, and we recognize this significance because as Christina and other students have written, what we know from the media(tv shows, magazines, movies) is that L.A. is mostly consumed by materialism. If you live in L.A., what matters is what car you drive, what house you live in, where you shop, etc.
3. What is something different this classmate said about their choice that you did not realize before when you completed projects 2-3?
I'd have to say that I always had this mindset that Palm Springs was a vacation spot and that no one really lived there permanently. Christina also mentions the author relating to the "Badlands" to "a guy named Bob, familiar and simple", I've had the same thought before and it was a little good feeling, like I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks random, sort of weird thoughts. I have to say that I didn't know people still ride mules, especially in So. Cal., it's just a puzzling picture in my mind. I've only been to L.A. twice that I can remember, once when I was very young and last year when I went to Disneyland, so I basically have to hear and read everyone else's experiences; most of everything Christina wrote about in regards to L.A. in project 3a was the same perceptions I had previously.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Depending on certain situations, I always say it's great to hear what other people's opinions and ideas are because we can bring different thoughts to the table whether it be the same subject or various subjects just as we have done in this assignment. Due to the fact that I did not read the stories Christina read, I had to relie on her perspective and what she focused on may not have been what I or another student would've focused on but it's her perspective. And to me that's the importance of interaction and enhancing our learning experience. We may have spotted something that the other did not, so together we can exchange our ideas and make the story whole, like pieces of a puzzle. Just like different authors wrote about different places of CA, different students analyzed and discussed different perspectives. I enjoyed reading Christina's 5a blog and it made me want to read more of the stories so I can have my own perspective too!
5. How has project 2-3 helped you with the readings of the textbook?
I think that through our various assignments I've learned how one topic can be pulled in more directions than I ever thought possible. I've had somewhat of a difficulty previously doing research assignments or coming up with ideas to write about a topic in 5-6 pages and I think that by taking different aspects piece by piece, I've gotten a deeper understanding of the topic as well as how to approach future analyses. I also really enjoyed the interaction we had with our students because I learned a lot of new ideas and perspectives, we all had certain pieces that stood out more than others. Reading our classmates' blogs and commenting on them was really important to me b/c it enabled us to get a firmer grasp on different ideas and opened our eyes to different/same concepts. I don't think I would've had the same perspective as I do now about CA if I had done the research on my own, in fact I liked it better sharing it with others.
use the following format in a blog post.
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
I chose Christina Ambrosini from group#2 and her blog on My California authors Everett, Martinez, Morrison, and See. I particularly chose her blog on Percival Everett's "909"
2. What is something this classmate said about the choice that relates to any of the assignments in projects 2-3?
Christina mentions that the author describes the simplicity of her hometown and how much she appreciates the place for what it is. The author loves to ride her mule, Monk up to the hills and overlook the chaos of the life below, the constantly crowded 606 freeway. When Christina was growing up, she used to go to a ranch in the hills that gave her the same feeling as the author when she was overlooking the city, a sense of tranquility. Even though the ranch was only 5 minutes away, it was like a mini get-away from the constant hustle of the inner city. In project 3a, Christina discusses what one might expect in L.A., a very big city, full of people almost shoulder to shoulder and definitely always filled with cars bumper to bumper. The author discusses the importance of zip codes and the people that reside in them, and we recognize this significance because as Christina and other students have written, what we know from the media(tv shows, magazines, movies) is that L.A. is mostly consumed by materialism. If you live in L.A., what matters is what car you drive, what house you live in, where you shop, etc.
3. What is something different this classmate said about their choice that you did not realize before when you completed projects 2-3?
I'd have to say that I always had this mindset that Palm Springs was a vacation spot and that no one really lived there permanently. Christina also mentions the author relating to the "Badlands" to "a guy named Bob, familiar and simple", I've had the same thought before and it was a little good feeling, like I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks random, sort of weird thoughts. I have to say that I didn't know people still ride mules, especially in So. Cal., it's just a puzzling picture in my mind. I've only been to L.A. twice that I can remember, once when I was very young and last year when I went to Disneyland, so I basically have to hear and read everyone else's experiences; most of everything Christina wrote about in regards to L.A. in project 3a was the same perceptions I had previously.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Depending on certain situations, I always say it's great to hear what other people's opinions and ideas are because we can bring different thoughts to the table whether it be the same subject or various subjects just as we have done in this assignment. Due to the fact that I did not read the stories Christina read, I had to relie on her perspective and what she focused on may not have been what I or another student would've focused on but it's her perspective. And to me that's the importance of interaction and enhancing our learning experience. We may have spotted something that the other did not, so together we can exchange our ideas and make the story whole, like pieces of a puzzle. Just like different authors wrote about different places of CA, different students analyzed and discussed different perspectives. I enjoyed reading Christina's 5a blog and it made me want to read more of the stories so I can have my own perspective too!
5. How has project 2-3 helped you with the readings of the textbook?
I think that through our various assignments I've learned how one topic can be pulled in more directions than I ever thought possible. I've had somewhat of a difficulty previously doing research assignments or coming up with ideas to write about a topic in 5-6 pages and I think that by taking different aspects piece by piece, I've gotten a deeper understanding of the topic as well as how to approach future analyses. I also really enjoyed the interaction we had with our students because I learned a lot of new ideas and perspectives, we all had certain pieces that stood out more than others. Reading our classmates' blogs and commenting on them was really important to me b/c it enabled us to get a firmer grasp on different ideas and opened our eyes to different/same concepts. I don't think I would've had the same perspective as I do now about CA if I had done the research on my own, in fact I liked it better sharing it with others.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
5a: Group #2(Waldie, Haslam, Do & Powazek)
PROJECT 5 COMPONENT A
a. During this week, we are sharing the readings of the textbook:
* Group 2 If your last name starts with letters G-O, READ the following author stories in MY CALIFORNIA: Waldie, Haslam, Do, Powazek
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
An Ordinary Place by D.J. Waldie
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
We all have memories of the neighborhood we grew up in and how the area and the people shaped those memories. This story is a tale of growing up in "suburbia", what it meant to live a suburban life then and the difference now. Many of us have differentiating opinions when it comes to defining "suburbia" but usually it includes very expensive cars, a large, expensive house, and the residents are an elite class of people. In Lakewood, this suburban lifestyle is still "pretty much the same for everybody, no matter how much you think you're worth." (pg.149-150)
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Where I live is where most Californians live-in a tract house on a block of more tract houses in a neighborhood hardly distinguishable from the next and all of them extending as far as the street grid allows..."(pg.147) Before the economic slump it seemed as if houses were sprouting up everywhere in order to accomodate the people moving to California. I think most places that were just abandoned flatland for most of my childhood have been replaced with new houses in the last five years. Some of these houses were built so quickly that they end up having numerous problems that usually occur on a older home. I live in a fairly new middle-class neighborhood, built within the last four years and by trying to build as many houses as they could on the lot, they sacrificed our streets and made them very narrow.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"...there are plenty of toxic places to live in gated enclaves and the McMansion wastelands of Los Angeles. Places like that have too much-isolation in one and mere square footage in the other-but, paradoxically, not enough." (pg.149) I think that too many people have this state of mind, bigger is always better. People live beyond their means to feel a sense of high status. "Growing up in Lakewood, the only sign of a man's success I can remember was the frequency with which a new car appeared in a neighbor's driveway." (pg.149) It's an interesting perspective on suburbia, I think that if we applied the concept to life today, many urban residents would be considered very successful and some surburban residents would be considered not quite as successful.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I had never heard of Lakewood before reading this story.
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Almost Home by Gerald Haslam
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about a couple who return to their hometown time after time to reminisce in the memories of growing up there. The husband remembers growing up in a town full of oil refineries and the smell of sulfur so distinctive that he thought every place else smelled funny.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Although all our family there is now gone, my wife and I return to Oildale frequently because we must, and each time we walk its streets and alleys and fields, we savor them...memory and sense merging: 'That park, it was an oil sump, remember?...' " I think that change happens so much and so fast a lot of times that we do have to savor our memories. We all have different memories, some we hold on to very dearly because remembering them makes us smile and gives us a peace of mind so to speak.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"During those years, I often rode my bike a mile from our neighborhood to an unreal realm I called 'Tarzan's House'-great shading trees dangling vines, dense brush through which animals scurried..."(pg.155) As I read this paragraph I was picturing the Tarzan House as being like a huge treehouse in the middle of an enormous jungle with a boy resembling movie character Tarzan swinging from tree to tree. It seems like a great place to get away from reality although I don't know how harsh reality can really be at such a young age. I wonder if this Tarzan House still exists these days, and what it looks like now that time has changed.
"...hills streaming constantly as though Hell has sprung a leak, hot vapors are pumped underground..."(pg. 154) This was a new and interesting metaphor the author depicted. I instantly pictured a valley of volcanoes spewing clouds of smoke, one of them dripping hot lava through a crack on the side. I picture oil rigs more like a geyser than a volcano.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I did not know that Bakersfield was named after a guy named Thomas Baker who migrated there in 1863 and that it was originally called Kern Island. I imagine Bakersfield as an inland area so I can't picture the "...islands, really-were formed by the entrapped distributary channels of the Kern River..."(pg.155) When I think of Bakersfield, I think of this massive desolate area with lots of flatland, great potential for agriculture, but not much as a place to live.
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
My Little Saigon by Anh Do
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
Usually everyone knows of a Chinatown, Japantown, or even Little Italy(all located in San Francisco). These places earned their nickname from the culture and people within these areas. The residents, various businesses and the organizations share a piece of their heritage, their homeland's culture w/the rest of society. In "My Little Saigon", Anh talks growing up in an immigrant family and community in Orange County. She shares the stories about the journey of Vietnamese refugees that escaped the turmoil in Vietnam, hoping to build a better life in the U.S. Many chose to reside in California, particularly Southern California, "seduced by the sun and block after block of buildable land", (pg.160) Anh's father started the nation's first Vietnamese-language newspaper and distributed them door-to-door. He wrote about the journey and the struggle of the refugees coming to a new land, trying to understand this foreign language and the culture yet not forgetting their own. They found comfort in sticking together as they made their cultural mark on society. As more refugees came, the population grew larger and more Vietnamese-owned businesses sprouted up competing for customers, these included floral shops, markets, travel agencies, etc. They wanted to provide a "cultural and commercial hub" for the Vietnamese people which today serves about "four hundred thousand Vietnamese" in Southern California. As the story ends, Anh notes that part of the culture changed with the time, younger generations are more absorbed into the American culture than the culture of their ancestors, so much that many don't speak Vietnamese, but no matter what the elder residents will always reminisce in the memories of their homeland.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
Choosing a "favorite" sentence proved quite difficult since I found many parts to be equally tantalizing. In the end I chose "Tradition survives. But it's a delicate balance".(pg.162) Everyone has a tradition, whether it's a family tradition, personal tradition, cultural tradition, school tradition etc.; these traditions consists of customs, beliefs, rituals, etc. that were passed down from generation to generation, whether they continue to be a tradition depends on their significance to the ones they are passed onto. That is the struggle with today's youth, ensuring that they understand both the culture of their ancestors as well as the culture they live in now. As we have seen possibly in our own lives, traditions can be altered or abandoned completely based on their impact on our lives and our own beliefs. Anh notes that she sees more and more Vietnamese kids that don't speak Vietnamese, maybe cultural tradition is being abandoned but language is only one aspect of the culture. I have friends and family that don't speak their parents' native languages but practice other traditional customs to acknowledge their heritage. I think that as long as the elders don't give up on teaching us their cultural traditions and the importance to keep them, those traditions will survive.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
Within the reading, I related to various experiences depicted by the author. "For dinner, we sat down with huge crowds eating huge meals of catfish, jasmine rice and sweet and sour tomato soup..."(pg.160-161) I felt as if I could be at the dinner table with them b/c that is the scene of my family's dinner table! Although we don't have "huge crowds", we eat the same dishes, which are very good! " 'You have everything you need from the bank to the fortune teller to Little Saigon Traffic School,' I tell my cousin."(pg.162) Little Saigon reminds me exactly of Chinatown in San Francisco, one can find exactly the same things, instead of Vietnamese, it's Chinese, banks w/tellers that are primarily Asian and speak Chinese, schools that teach the Chinese language and tradition, etc. "One difference: Those who don't have drivers' licenses have to memorize the bus routes, rather than flag down a bicycle taxi."(pg.162) Many Chinese residents eagerly wait for the buses to take them around to their various destinations. If anyone has ever tried to take a bus in Chinatown or around San Francisco, it is usually very crowded on the bus, so much that riders are squished against each other and as you walk by, some riders have their faces squished to the window.
I related to the author's own cultural experiences and the changes in tradition from generation to generation because I have had many of those same experiences.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I did not know the nation's first Vietnamese-language newspaper started in California, that is such a great historic moment for the Vietnamese as well as the U.S. It is an amazing accomplishment for Anh's father to start the printing company and to deliver "the initial two thousand copies door-to-door" which he inked the "accent marks by hand"(pg. 160) showed true dedication and passion. I'm glad that his success continued to grow; today Nguoi Viet Daily News is "the oldest and largest Vietnamese-language newspaper in the United States"(pg. 163) and is also printed in English. California has so much history that even Californians don't know about!
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
The Nicest Person in San Francisco by Derek M. Powazek
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This story is about a young adult who grew up in Southern California but had his heart set on attending college in Santa Cruz and upon a road trip with his father, found something better and has never looked back. "It was better than I imagined it..."(pg.166) this place was San Francisco. The author illustrates the experiences he had in his quest for adventure. His first visit was a quick one b/c they were on their way to Berkeley and decided to make a quick stop. But the short trip that included his first veggie burrito was enough to draw him in. Sometimes when we are young, we are naive so when someone tells us not to do something, we do it. I guess the rebellion gives us a sense of power. So when his father leaves him at the hotel w/his car keys and a warning of 'Be good, Derek. And whatever you do, don't go to San Francisco,'(pg.167) the only thing on his mind was "...I was ready for adventure. And I was gonna get it." (pg.167) What happens on this adventure is like a story out of an action movie, he gets lost on his way to SF trying to find the burrito shop but is drawn to a psychedelic shop and forgets time so he ends up getting a ticket. Not wanting his father to find out where he'd been, he quickly takes care of it but this task in itself proves to be life changing. "I walked out of there a new man-a San Franciscan" (pg.172)
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"I was in awe. All these people. All these colors. It was better than I imagined it. I decided then and there that someday I would live here..."(pg.166) That's pretty much the same thought I had when I was younger and I too, moved to SF to explore the city and see if it lived up to my imagination. I have never met anyone yet that doesn't believe SF is full of neverending adventure and excitement; boring and SF do not go in the same sentence. San Francisco offers endless possibilities for people of all interests, whether it's trying different cuisines(American, Asian Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc.), shopping or attending special events, it's a place to meet old friends and make new ones. SF is a place where you never really feel out of place because somewhere there are people just like you. As many times as I've gone to SF in my lifetime, I still haven't explored it all and revisiting the same areas never gets old. In fact, I was just there yesterday!
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"My heart sank as I passed sign after sign that screamed 'No Right Turn.' " I could perfectly see this scene in my mind except the signs in SF read "No Left Turn" as I wind through the various streets and weirdly angled traffic lights. I swear some intersections have confusing traffic lights so non-SF drivers don't know whether to stop at the red light diagonally to the right or the red light diagonally to the left when they're going straight. "So I got lost. Real lost. Real fast."(pg.168) I can't recount how many times I've gotten lost in San Francisco and it's easy to get "real lost, real fast" b/c there's a lot of windy streets, dead end streets or streets with nowhere to turn in sight. That is one of my pet peeves of SF, their roads are still confusing after all these years and finding parking is an equally agonizing task, whether it's finding street parking where it's not "street cleaning day" or paying $3 or more an hour for parking in a garage. I always say that I'll take the ferry and ride the bus next time around to avoid these headaches but I haven't yet and it hasn't deterred me from going back b/c my quest for adventure surpasses the minor obstacles thrown inbetween.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I had a bit of trouble finding something I didn't know before I read the story because I've been to San Francisco so many times, I can understand and relate to what the author is depicting. Granted that(and thankfully) I have never been approached by a hooker or someone trying to sell me drugs, nor have I ever had the urge to go to "THE PYSCHEDELIC SHOP" b/c frankly there wouldn't be anything I'd be interested in but I know that these things do exist in the city. I've either driven by them or heard stories from other people, besides, what city doesn't have these people or businesses? I have also never experienced the panic of potentially getting caught for an illegal substance but I guess it gives me another reason not to ever experience it.
Although I did not know that Market Street "looked like the biggest street on the map." (pg.167) and I'd like to know if the burrito shop serving veggie burritos is still in business. The very few times I have looked at a map of San Francisco, it seems fairly easy to get to different destinations but it's very different when I'm on the road actually trying to get there. Next time I look at a map of SF, I plan to see if what the author said was true or not.
a. During this week, we are sharing the readings of the textbook:
* Group 2 If your last name starts with letters G-O, READ the following author stories in MY CALIFORNIA: Waldie, Haslam, Do, Powazek
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
An Ordinary Place by D.J. Waldie
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
We all have memories of the neighborhood we grew up in and how the area and the people shaped those memories. This story is a tale of growing up in "suburbia", what it meant to live a suburban life then and the difference now. Many of us have differentiating opinions when it comes to defining "suburbia" but usually it includes very expensive cars, a large, expensive house, and the residents are an elite class of people. In Lakewood, this suburban lifestyle is still "pretty much the same for everybody, no matter how much you think you're worth." (pg.149-150)
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Where I live is where most Californians live-in a tract house on a block of more tract houses in a neighborhood hardly distinguishable from the next and all of them extending as far as the street grid allows..."(pg.147) Before the economic slump it seemed as if houses were sprouting up everywhere in order to accomodate the people moving to California. I think most places that were just abandoned flatland for most of my childhood have been replaced with new houses in the last five years. Some of these houses were built so quickly that they end up having numerous problems that usually occur on a older home. I live in a fairly new middle-class neighborhood, built within the last four years and by trying to build as many houses as they could on the lot, they sacrificed our streets and made them very narrow.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"...there are plenty of toxic places to live in gated enclaves and the McMansion wastelands of Los Angeles. Places like that have too much-isolation in one and mere square footage in the other-but, paradoxically, not enough." (pg.149) I think that too many people have this state of mind, bigger is always better. People live beyond their means to feel a sense of high status. "Growing up in Lakewood, the only sign of a man's success I can remember was the frequency with which a new car appeared in a neighbor's driveway." (pg.149) It's an interesting perspective on suburbia, I think that if we applied the concept to life today, many urban residents would be considered very successful and some surburban residents would be considered not quite as successful.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I had never heard of Lakewood before reading this story.
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Almost Home by Gerald Haslam
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about a couple who return to their hometown time after time to reminisce in the memories of growing up there. The husband remembers growing up in a town full of oil refineries and the smell of sulfur so distinctive that he thought every place else smelled funny.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Although all our family there is now gone, my wife and I return to Oildale frequently because we must, and each time we walk its streets and alleys and fields, we savor them...memory and sense merging: 'That park, it was an oil sump, remember?...' " I think that change happens so much and so fast a lot of times that we do have to savor our memories. We all have different memories, some we hold on to very dearly because remembering them makes us smile and gives us a peace of mind so to speak.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"During those years, I often rode my bike a mile from our neighborhood to an unreal realm I called 'Tarzan's House'-great shading trees dangling vines, dense brush through which animals scurried..."(pg.155) As I read this paragraph I was picturing the Tarzan House as being like a huge treehouse in the middle of an enormous jungle with a boy resembling movie character Tarzan swinging from tree to tree. It seems like a great place to get away from reality although I don't know how harsh reality can really be at such a young age. I wonder if this Tarzan House still exists these days, and what it looks like now that time has changed.
"...hills streaming constantly as though Hell has sprung a leak, hot vapors are pumped underground..."(pg. 154) This was a new and interesting metaphor the author depicted. I instantly pictured a valley of volcanoes spewing clouds of smoke, one of them dripping hot lava through a crack on the side. I picture oil rigs more like a geyser than a volcano.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I did not know that Bakersfield was named after a guy named Thomas Baker who migrated there in 1863 and that it was originally called Kern Island. I imagine Bakersfield as an inland area so I can't picture the "...islands, really-were formed by the entrapped distributary channels of the Kern River..."(pg.155) When I think of Bakersfield, I think of this massive desolate area with lots of flatland, great potential for agriculture, but not much as a place to live.
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
My Little Saigon by Anh Do
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
Usually everyone knows of a Chinatown, Japantown, or even Little Italy(all located in San Francisco). These places earned their nickname from the culture and people within these areas. The residents, various businesses and the organizations share a piece of their heritage, their homeland's culture w/the rest of society. In "My Little Saigon", Anh talks growing up in an immigrant family and community in Orange County. She shares the stories about the journey of Vietnamese refugees that escaped the turmoil in Vietnam, hoping to build a better life in the U.S. Many chose to reside in California, particularly Southern California, "seduced by the sun and block after block of buildable land", (pg.160) Anh's father started the nation's first Vietnamese-language newspaper and distributed them door-to-door. He wrote about the journey and the struggle of the refugees coming to a new land, trying to understand this foreign language and the culture yet not forgetting their own. They found comfort in sticking together as they made their cultural mark on society. As more refugees came, the population grew larger and more Vietnamese-owned businesses sprouted up competing for customers, these included floral shops, markets, travel agencies, etc. They wanted to provide a "cultural and commercial hub" for the Vietnamese people which today serves about "four hundred thousand Vietnamese" in Southern California. As the story ends, Anh notes that part of the culture changed with the time, younger generations are more absorbed into the American culture than the culture of their ancestors, so much that many don't speak Vietnamese, but no matter what the elder residents will always reminisce in the memories of their homeland.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
Choosing a "favorite" sentence proved quite difficult since I found many parts to be equally tantalizing. In the end I chose "Tradition survives. But it's a delicate balance".(pg.162) Everyone has a tradition, whether it's a family tradition, personal tradition, cultural tradition, school tradition etc.; these traditions consists of customs, beliefs, rituals, etc. that were passed down from generation to generation, whether they continue to be a tradition depends on their significance to the ones they are passed onto. That is the struggle with today's youth, ensuring that they understand both the culture of their ancestors as well as the culture they live in now. As we have seen possibly in our own lives, traditions can be altered or abandoned completely based on their impact on our lives and our own beliefs. Anh notes that she sees more and more Vietnamese kids that don't speak Vietnamese, maybe cultural tradition is being abandoned but language is only one aspect of the culture. I have friends and family that don't speak their parents' native languages but practice other traditional customs to acknowledge their heritage. I think that as long as the elders don't give up on teaching us their cultural traditions and the importance to keep them, those traditions will survive.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
Within the reading, I related to various experiences depicted by the author. "For dinner, we sat down with huge crowds eating huge meals of catfish, jasmine rice and sweet and sour tomato soup..."(pg.160-161) I felt as if I could be at the dinner table with them b/c that is the scene of my family's dinner table! Although we don't have "huge crowds", we eat the same dishes, which are very good! " 'You have everything you need from the bank to the fortune teller to Little Saigon Traffic School,' I tell my cousin."(pg.162) Little Saigon reminds me exactly of Chinatown in San Francisco, one can find exactly the same things, instead of Vietnamese, it's Chinese, banks w/tellers that are primarily Asian and speak Chinese, schools that teach the Chinese language and tradition, etc. "One difference: Those who don't have drivers' licenses have to memorize the bus routes, rather than flag down a bicycle taxi."(pg.162) Many Chinese residents eagerly wait for the buses to take them around to their various destinations. If anyone has ever tried to take a bus in Chinatown or around San Francisco, it is usually very crowded on the bus, so much that riders are squished against each other and as you walk by, some riders have their faces squished to the window.
I related to the author's own cultural experiences and the changes in tradition from generation to generation because I have had many of those same experiences.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I did not know the nation's first Vietnamese-language newspaper started in California, that is such a great historic moment for the Vietnamese as well as the U.S. It is an amazing accomplishment for Anh's father to start the printing company and to deliver "the initial two thousand copies door-to-door" which he inked the "accent marks by hand"(pg. 160) showed true dedication and passion. I'm glad that his success continued to grow; today Nguoi Viet Daily News is "the oldest and largest Vietnamese-language newspaper in the United States"(pg. 163) and is also printed in English. California has so much history that even Californians don't know about!
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1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
The Nicest Person in San Francisco by Derek M. Powazek
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This story is about a young adult who grew up in Southern California but had his heart set on attending college in Santa Cruz and upon a road trip with his father, found something better and has never looked back. "It was better than I imagined it..."(pg.166) this place was San Francisco. The author illustrates the experiences he had in his quest for adventure. His first visit was a quick one b/c they were on their way to Berkeley and decided to make a quick stop. But the short trip that included his first veggie burrito was enough to draw him in. Sometimes when we are young, we are naive so when someone tells us not to do something, we do it. I guess the rebellion gives us a sense of power. So when his father leaves him at the hotel w/his car keys and a warning of 'Be good, Derek. And whatever you do, don't go to San Francisco,'(pg.167) the only thing on his mind was "...I was ready for adventure. And I was gonna get it." (pg.167) What happens on this adventure is like a story out of an action movie, he gets lost on his way to SF trying to find the burrito shop but is drawn to a psychedelic shop and forgets time so he ends up getting a ticket. Not wanting his father to find out where he'd been, he quickly takes care of it but this task in itself proves to be life changing. "I walked out of there a new man-a San Franciscan" (pg.172)
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"I was in awe. All these people. All these colors. It was better than I imagined it. I decided then and there that someday I would live here..."(pg.166) That's pretty much the same thought I had when I was younger and I too, moved to SF to explore the city and see if it lived up to my imagination. I have never met anyone yet that doesn't believe SF is full of neverending adventure and excitement; boring and SF do not go in the same sentence. San Francisco offers endless possibilities for people of all interests, whether it's trying different cuisines(American, Asian Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc.), shopping or attending special events, it's a place to meet old friends and make new ones. SF is a place where you never really feel out of place because somewhere there are people just like you. As many times as I've gone to SF in my lifetime, I still haven't explored it all and revisiting the same areas never gets old. In fact, I was just there yesterday!
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"My heart sank as I passed sign after sign that screamed 'No Right Turn.' " I could perfectly see this scene in my mind except the signs in SF read "No Left Turn" as I wind through the various streets and weirdly angled traffic lights. I swear some intersections have confusing traffic lights so non-SF drivers don't know whether to stop at the red light diagonally to the right or the red light diagonally to the left when they're going straight. "So I got lost. Real lost. Real fast."(pg.168) I can't recount how many times I've gotten lost in San Francisco and it's easy to get "real lost, real fast" b/c there's a lot of windy streets, dead end streets or streets with nowhere to turn in sight. That is one of my pet peeves of SF, their roads are still confusing after all these years and finding parking is an equally agonizing task, whether it's finding street parking where it's not "street cleaning day" or paying $3 or more an hour for parking in a garage. I always say that I'll take the ferry and ride the bus next time around to avoid these headaches but I haven't yet and it hasn't deterred me from going back b/c my quest for adventure surpasses the minor obstacles thrown inbetween.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I had a bit of trouble finding something I didn't know before I read the story because I've been to San Francisco so many times, I can understand and relate to what the author is depicting. Granted that(and thankfully) I have never been approached by a hooker or someone trying to sell me drugs, nor have I ever had the urge to go to "THE PYSCHEDELIC SHOP" b/c frankly there wouldn't be anything I'd be interested in but I know that these things do exist in the city. I've either driven by them or heard stories from other people, besides, what city doesn't have these people or businesses? I have also never experienced the panic of potentially getting caught for an illegal substance but I guess it gives me another reason not to ever experience it.
Although I did not know that Market Street "looked like the biggest street on the map." (pg.167) and I'd like to know if the burrito shop serving veggie burritos is still in business. The very few times I have looked at a map of San Francisco, it seems fairly easy to get to different destinations but it's very different when I'm on the road actually trying to get there. Next time I look at a map of SF, I plan to see if what the author said was true or not.
Friday, November 7, 2008
4C: REFLECTION 2
Choose any 1 classmate of project 3 that wrote about your same topic in any one component (a World Cities, b Beaches, c Inland Areas) and briefly compare/contrast their choices using the following format in a blog post:
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
Again I chose Rebekah's blog to compare/contrast previous entries because she was the only one that chose the same topics as I did in two separate project components. In assignment 3b, we were asked to compare two different beaches in California; Rebekah and I chose Pebble Beach as one of our comparison topics.
http://rebekah89.blogspot.com/2008/10/3b-beaches.html
2. What is something similar this classmate said about the choice?
Many will agree, as Rebekah and I did that beaches are synonymous to California; when people think of California, they think of warm, sunny beaches filled with people that surf and tan all day. We had several similarities in our Pebble Beach analysis; noting Pebble Beach as a place that draws thousands of tourists year-round with its white sand beach & famous Pebble Beach golf course that hosts several well-known golf competitions each year. Many people go to Southern California because its known for its warm weather and lots of beaches. We also agreed a majority of people view Pebble Beach as a place/"hangout" for the rich and famous(celebrity residents include comedian George Lopez and actor-director Clint Eastwood) and avid golfers. I mean, who doesn't think of going to the beach when its summertime or hot weather?
3. What is something different this classmate said about the choice?
There wasn't really any difference in our opinions about Pebble Beach. In Rebekah's blog, she mentioned Pebble Beach as being business oriented and a rather large town. In terms of relating to business, I mention that Pebble Beach is a corporation owned by a company rather than a city. It is lined with famous golf courses, hotels, and shops. With Pebble Beach being more of a tourist attraction rather than a city, there wasn't a lot of information about Pebble Beach so it was difficult to find differentiating opinions; most of PB are golf courses.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Once again we were asked to interact w/our classmates by reading and commenting on each other's blogs; the purpose being to learn from each other and expand our knowledge and diversity. Many of my classmates chose the same topics to compare in different components so they had a lot of different blogs to compare their own to, but Rebekah was the only one that wrote on the same topics as I did in two of my blogs so while I did not diversify my learning through reading different blogs from different classmates, rather I took a more in-depth look at Rebekah's blog. Although we picked the same topic of Pebble Beach and we shared a lot of the same ideas, everyone thinks PB has warm weather, full of rich & famous people, lots of golfers, etc. the way we introduced the information was a little different. I felt I represented PB in a way that readers would understand PB has other things to offer like art galleries, a wildlife reserve, popular Monterey Bay aquarium, a 17 mile scenic drive and visitors even have a chance to go whale watching. Either way I think we both were able to scratch the surface and bring some insight to readers that Pebble Beach isn't just a big famous golf course.
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
Again I chose Rebekah's blog to compare/contrast previous entries because she was the only one that chose the same topics as I did in two separate project components. In assignment 3b, we were asked to compare two different beaches in California; Rebekah and I chose Pebble Beach as one of our comparison topics.
http://rebekah89.blogspot.com/2008/10/3b-beaches.html
2. What is something similar this classmate said about the choice?
Many will agree, as Rebekah and I did that beaches are synonymous to California; when people think of California, they think of warm, sunny beaches filled with people that surf and tan all day. We had several similarities in our Pebble Beach analysis; noting Pebble Beach as a place that draws thousands of tourists year-round with its white sand beach & famous Pebble Beach golf course that hosts several well-known golf competitions each year. Many people go to Southern California because its known for its warm weather and lots of beaches. We also agreed a majority of people view Pebble Beach as a place/"hangout" for the rich and famous(celebrity residents include comedian George Lopez and actor-director Clint Eastwood) and avid golfers. I mean, who doesn't think of going to the beach when its summertime or hot weather?
3. What is something different this classmate said about the choice?
There wasn't really any difference in our opinions about Pebble Beach. In Rebekah's blog, she mentioned Pebble Beach as being business oriented and a rather large town. In terms of relating to business, I mention that Pebble Beach is a corporation owned by a company rather than a city. It is lined with famous golf courses, hotels, and shops. With Pebble Beach being more of a tourist attraction rather than a city, there wasn't a lot of information about Pebble Beach so it was difficult to find differentiating opinions; most of PB are golf courses.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Once again we were asked to interact w/our classmates by reading and commenting on each other's blogs; the purpose being to learn from each other and expand our knowledge and diversity. Many of my classmates chose the same topics to compare in different components so they had a lot of different blogs to compare their own to, but Rebekah was the only one that wrote on the same topics as I did in two of my blogs so while I did not diversify my learning through reading different blogs from different classmates, rather I took a more in-depth look at Rebekah's blog. Although we picked the same topic of Pebble Beach and we shared a lot of the same ideas, everyone thinks PB has warm weather, full of rich & famous people, lots of golfers, etc. the way we introduced the information was a little different. I felt I represented PB in a way that readers would understand PB has other things to offer like art galleries, a wildlife reserve, popular Monterey Bay aquarium, a 17 mile scenic drive and visitors even have a chance to go whale watching. Either way I think we both were able to scratch the surface and bring some insight to readers that Pebble Beach isn't just a big famous golf course.
Assignment 4B: REFLECTION 1
REFLECTION
Choose any 1 classmate of project 3 that wrote about your same topic in any one component (a World Cities, b Beaches, c Inland Areas) and briefly compare/contrast their choices using the following format in a blog post:
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
My classmate Rebekah and I both chose the city of Redding as a comparison to other inland cities for project component 3c: Inland Areas.
http://rebekah89.blogspot.com/2008/10/3c-inland-areas.html
2. What is something similar this classmate said about the choice?
In both of our blogs, we mention the assumption that Redding is a large town. We also note that Redding resides along the Sacramento River and is known for its Christian schools, Redding Adventist Academy, Shasta Bible, and Simpson College. The other inland cities we chose to compare Redding to in the assignment are located in San Joaquin County and these cities were well known for its agriculture.
3. What is something different this classmate said about the choice?
In Rebekah's blog she mentioned that people assume Redding residents are mostly Republican and when the town was compared to a big city, L.A. was used whereas I used the assumption that Redding was a more rural, conservative town known for its previous lumber industry.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Freire emphasized the need to interact with each other to discuss our ideas and share our opinions enabling us to learn from each other and that is what we did with this reflection assignment. First we had to read our classmates' blog to find one that wrote about the same topic as we did in our own blog, which gave me a lot of insight on different ideas. It took me quite awhile to find a classmate with similar focal points because when I did previous blogs I wanted to really expand my learning and think "outside the box" so to speak. Rebekah and I found a few similarities and differences in our study of Redding. I focused mainly on the natural beauty of the town such as noting the Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Burney Waterfalls, and most fam
ously, Mount Shasta, and Lake Shasta. I chose to focus on those characteristics because its hard to find a town these days that still retains some of its originality and hasn't been overrun by large strip malls & new condos. My blog was similar to Rebekah's in that we both wrote about many of the same ideas including its land size, location, conservative culture religiously and politically. She mentioned Redding's recent rumblings about becoming an independent state naming it Jefferson which I didn't include in my blog. I enjoyed reading her blog because I learned a couple facts I didn't find or learn from my own research and I think that's what makes it interesting because it's intriguing to see what people can come up with when given one main idea as a focal point.
Choose any 1 classmate of project 3 that wrote about your same topic in any one component (a World Cities, b Beaches, c Inland Areas) and briefly compare/contrast their choices using the following format in a blog post:
1. Who is your classmate, what is the component category, what is the name of the choice?
My classmate Rebekah and I both chose the city of Redding as a comparison to other inland cities for project component 3c: Inland Areas.
http://rebekah89.blogspot.com/2008/10/3c-inland-areas.html
2. What is something similar this classmate said about the choice?
In both of our blogs, we mention the assumption that Redding is a large town. We also note that Redding resides along the Sacramento River and is known for its Christian schools, Redding Adventist Academy, Shasta Bible, and Simpson College. The other inland cities we chose to compare Redding to in the assignment are located in San Joaquin County and these cities were well known for its agriculture.
3. What is something different this classmate said about the choice?
In Rebekah's blog she mentioned that people assume Redding residents are mostly Republican and when the town was compared to a big city, L.A. was used whereas I used the assumption that Redding was a more rural, conservative town known for its previous lumber industry.
4. How would you relate this to Freire's ideas regarding dialogue? For example, you went in thinking one idea, your classmate had a different idea. What new idea emerged from this process?
Freire emphasized the need to interact with each other to discuss our ideas and share our opinions enabling us to learn from each other and that is what we did with this reflection assignment. First we had to read our classmates' blog to find one that wrote about the same topic as we did in our own blog, which gave me a lot of insight on different ideas. It took me quite awhile to find a classmate with similar focal points because when I did previous blogs I wanted to really expand my learning and think "outside the box" so to speak. Rebekah and I found a few similarities and differences in our study of Redding. I focused mainly on the natural beauty of the town such as noting the Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Burney Waterfalls, and most fam
ously, Mount Shasta, and Lake Shasta. I chose to focus on those characteristics because its hard to find a town these days that still retains some of its originality and hasn't been overrun by large strip malls & new condos. My blog was similar to Rebekah's in that we both wrote about many of the same ideas including its land size, location, conservative culture religiously and politically. She mentioned Redding's recent rumblings about becoming an independent state naming it Jefferson which I didn't include in my blog. I enjoyed reading her blog because I learned a couple facts I didn't find or learn from my own research and I think that's what makes it interesting because it's intriguing to see what people can come up with when given one main idea as a focal point.
Monday, November 3, 2008
4a: Group #2
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Ode to CalTrans by Hector Tobar
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about Tobar's experience of traveling along LA's roadways when he was young before they were the hectic, polluting, dangerous freeways they've become as Tobar also mentions in the story. He talks about his appreciation for the idea behind constructing freeways, making a more direct path to get from pt A to pt B and cutting travel time but sometimes what was made to make our lives easier, makes it more complicated. With construction of the freeways came a lot of cars and caused major traffic congestion and a lot of accidents as the author so vividly depicts the scenes. The cars also caused major pollution as seen in the science experiment the author's teacher did in elementary school where a piece of Vaseline covered paper collected enough dust that it was black in a few days. The author's story of these freeways almost makes a reader think twice about driving on them because it seems like the driver would be taking a risk of hitting some other car or getting hit every time.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
I found many tidbits of this story that really drew me in to read further but the most profound details that really made me ponder what the author was trying to portray was the introduction, particularly the first three sentences. He has this dream of "standing over the Hollywood Freeway and the traffic runs backwards. The Suburbans race in the direction of their taillights, young men cling from the overpasses and swallow up the scribbles on the road signs into the graffiti-erasing cans...teams of skilled technicians slowly dismantle the Cathedral overlooking the freeway, covering the site with an asphalt parking lot...The cars begin to shrink in size, as do their drivers, until man and woman and machine fit inside the lanes better." (Pg.51)
As I read this passage, I felt like I could see exactly what Tobar was describing(I've never really been there in real life) but in my mind, everything was in slow motion as if we were in some kind of time-warp and someone had pressed the rewind button. Visualizing the depiction really helps me make sense of what I'm reading, and this illustration was very amusing to me. I also found it unusual that the author chose to open the story this way because usually stories of the past don't describe this sort of transition stage or in the manner that Tobar depicted it. It was such an interesting opening that I had to read more!
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
Tobar's memories on the traffic roads of other countries like Uruguay or Iraq, brought back memories of when I travelled on the roads of other countries as well, particularly Vietnam. I can remember seeing cars playing this same game of trying to pass the slow driver in front by crossing into oncoming traffic, and because there aren't really any traffic lights in the villages, pedestrians, cars, scooters, bikes travel together which basically causes a lot of chaos. I saw accidents everytime we were on the road, it was horrible. I don't think what I saw was as bad compared to the author's depiction of the crashes he witnessed like the sports car flipping in the air or the "...accordion-pressed pickup truck." (pg.54)
The author also explains his parents' lack of an automobile when they first arrived to the US and how "in early twenty-first century Los Angeles, this was an especially helpless and pitiful state." (pg.58) I think many of us get into our cars each day and drive off to whatever destination we need to go on these endless roadways with no thought as to what we'd do without these commodities. We're so dependent on certain things that sometimes we don't appreciate them as much as we should.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
If it is true, I didn't know CalTrans "placed signs with a picture of a white CalTrans helmet on the roadside..."(pg.54) as memorial for the workers that were killed while trying to build the LA freeways. "...then there were too many signs and CalTrans took them down because a highway shouldn't look like a cemetery."(pg.54) This illustration drives the fear of travelling along these LA freeways deeper into the mind and heart. Was it these tragedies that started the lower speed limit in construction zones and double fines for lawbreakers?
Another tidbit I did not know which the author also describes is the rules of the road, or shall I say lack of road rules in other countries he's travelled in, ie "Iraqis often will take a one-hundred-kilometer-per-hour southbound detour on the northbound lanes to avoid the craters cut into the roadway by American ordinance, plunging into the oncoming traffic as if that were a perfectly normal thing to do." (pg. 53) Although California does have rules that drivers must follow or risk being pulled over by the Highway Patrol, every day many drivers disobey the rules and pull the same tricks as the Iraqi drivers and unfortunately some don't make it back on the other side alive, yet many others don't heed the warning.
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home by Thomas Steinbeck
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
Steinbeck was reluctant at first to share what he calls his "California treasures" for fear that it will just become one of those places "suddenly crowded with ecologically insensitive tourists.."(pg.61) but as time went on he changed his mind. He starts by giving the reader some Spanish literary history which eventually leads to Montalvo's vision of this "utopian island set in the western sea."(pg.64) which he named California. And due to this myth, many explorers wanted to find this precious land including Cortez and Thomas Jefferson. Steinbeck believes that many people are still eager to visit California because they are so intrigued by this supposed magical paradise as influenced by the old myth. He also believes that some California natives try to chase the same illusive dream. Steinbeck illustrates his paradise, the Big Sur, and his memories there as well as the tales of his grandmother's experience at the same locale.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Of course, we hard-strung old natives know better, or at least think we do, but that's an illusion of no lesser dimensions than the original myth. For it's a reality that those of us who can remember the California of forty or fifty years ago cling to our own memory-myths more tenaciously than anyone else." (pg.65) I still have my own memories of where I grew up before it became more commercialized as it is now and I don't think they're any less significant because they don't date back 4-5 decades ago. I cherish these memories more and more as new shops and businesses pop up everywhere every few months. I agree with Steinbeck that our memories are better than these illusions people have of California, some of which I don't understand but those stories are probably variations of the old California myth, "lush and fruitful paradise, a utopian island.."(pg.64) I guess the best thing is that some of us got to experience the real beauty of a town and its uniqueness before they all begin to blend together into the mix of modernization, skyscrapers, major chain shops, crowded streets and bustling nightlife.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"It's akin to traveling a familiar road, only to find that what had been a lovely pasture last month has been transformed into a full-blown mega-shopping center in an instant. What happened? Where was I when they pulled off that one?" (pg.66) I could relate to this scene very well, as I mentioned earlier I may not have been on this Earth for that long but it is enough time where I have seen numerous changes right before my eyes. I can remember when the city of Windsor was just a piece of land, it hadn't even been declared a city yet and now it has its own high school, numerous restaurants, large shopping centers, etc. I can also remember Downtown Santa Rosa before the nightclubs and the bars, when my mom trusted that I'd be safe walking around 4th street to different shops when I was a teenager. I used to like going downtown when I was younger, now I don't go as much because there's too many crazy drunk people.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know there was a myth about California nor did I know this myth came about from romance novel and California was just this imaginary place of utopia but somehow people made this particular place seem real and went in search of it. Even Thomas Jefferson was so intrigued by this hypothetical utopia that he sent Lewis and Clark in search of this precious land. I think it's quite remarkable that such a small detail in an entire novel can make quite a stir and end up being the beginning of a beautiful history. I wonder what would have happened if Montalvo had never written about this "paradise", how would the discovery of California be different?
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
According to Edward Humes, Seal Beach is the last town that has not been succumbed to commercialization and large corporations despite its past. He's glad to see that Seal Beach still has that quaint, small town feeling where people are friendly to each other and people can find a peaceful place on the beach where there's no cellphones ringing. Seal Beach has managed to somewhat fend off the commercialization for now but due to the city's need for additional revenue, this town may be forced to turn it back into a tourist attraction like the old days and what the town's sister cities like Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have become.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"...I had on some old jeans and a sweatshirt and I'm not even sure I had shaved...I had run out without my wallet and didn't have the five-dollar-purchase price on me, and I started to slide the little book back across the counter, she just waved me off and said, 'Take it. Come back and pay whenever you get a chance.'
Imagine walking into City Hall in LA or Santa Monica or Santa Ana or anywhere else this side of Mayberry and having a clerk(once one finally deigns to saunter over and acknowledge your existence)...this just does not happen in this century in this part of the world-except, in Seal Beach, it does." (pg.69-70) I have to agree with Humes, I think that being able to have this kind of trust amongst people or even being friendly is such a great relief, even a surprise because I can relate to Humes' saying that in other cities, metropolitan cities particularly, it's rare to get such kind service. Usually these people, many of whom work in customer service act like helping you is a waste of time in their precious lives. Seriously seems chivalry and whatnot is a thing of the distant past, nobody remembers what its like to be kind and friendly. I think about stories of the milkman going into people's homes and putting the milk in the fridge; nowadays we wouldn't dare let people we didn't know in our homes, especially when we're not present. The past seemed so simple and it seems that everything has been complicated as time went on or maybe it's just perceptions of a good life have changed.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"People actually walk here. We leave our cars at home and stroll to the non-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school..." (pg.70) I can remember that time before the Starbucks invasion and I remember when I was in pre-school our class went downtown 4th street to trick or treat but I don't think they do that anymore. Seems like Seal Beach was such a serene place to live, it's a wonder why the place would change.
Another piece I found interesting to comment on was "The city is hard up for cash-there are million dollar homes, but no money to pick up beach litter or to keep City Hall open a full five days-and so the push for progress...is rearing up...in its haste to expand the tax base." (pg.76) I think it's such a tragedy when a place needs money they're so eager to say out with old and in with the new with little or no regard to the preservation of history. I understand the importance of revenue but what difference is it going to make if every city has the same personality? What is going to set them apart from each other? As Humes says, it's only a matter of time.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Seal Beach "started where its sister beach towns have ended up, the first town served by the Red Car Line, bringing in the beach-bound hordes beginning in 1904...By 1920...a must-stop for weekend beach goers with a quarter to burn on the trolley, as well as for the stars of the silent screen arriving in their roadsters and limos." (pg.74-75) I think it's interesting to think about how Seal Beach isn't what it was, a popular vacation destination but its trying to revive it by modernizing it with cell phone shops and chain stores. For the most part, before we started researching California and its culture, I thought most beaches in SoCal were filled with strip malls and popular restaurants, places where the trendiest people hung out; I didn't think there was a beach left that still had its original roots.
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Surfacing by Matt Warshaw
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about a surfer who wants to take on this major wave that supposed to be one of the biggest waves outside of Hawaii. His name is Jay Moriarity and he's part of a group of well known surfers from Santa Cruz called the Vermin. These waves produced international headlines and would bring a lot of publicity to surfing at Half Moon Bay, which up until 1994, wasn't on the surfing map. On the other hand Santa Cruz claimed it was the world's greatest surf city. In fact, in 1885, three Hawaiian teens crafted their own surfboards and became the first surfers in Santa Cruz and in America. Warshaw goes on to explain the history of Half Moon Bay up until surf culture became part of what it is today. He notes that Pillar Point got its nickname Maverick's from a local surfer's dog who also liked to surf. Warshaw continues the story of Moriarity preparing to ride the wave even after seeing another surfer go down and he ends up going down himself, his surfboard broken into two pieces, he's at the ocean floor but he manages to swim up to the surface and to the shore. He has no serious injuries and after a short break, he decides to go back in the water. The story ends with Moriarity catching eight more waves and making them all.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"After tossing the pieces of his broken board onto the deck of Lizzie-Lynn, he took a short breather, grabbed his reserve board, ran a bar of sticky wax across the top for traction, and paddled back into the lineup.
Forty-five minutes later he caught another wave, nearly as big as the first one, and made it. In the next five hours he caught eight more waves and made them all."(pg.88) That is what I call courage and what some might call stupidity because who would want to repeat a near-death experience? Moriarity seems like one of those people who live by the belief that we only live once so we might as well enjoy it to the fullest every day we can so we have no regrets when it's over. Sometimes I wish I could be that person, I think too much about the future and how I should save up and build for a better future but sometimes I think about what happens if I don't make it to the future, will I have regrets because there were things I didn't accomplish yet?
Anyway I picked the passage as my favorite because Moriarity didn't let anything get in the way of what he wanted to accomplish and when fear challenged him, he faced it with a lot of courage and he wasn't easily defeated. He knew he could face that wave and he proved it.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"What Half Moon Bay locals were not doing was paying any attention to the fact that Moriarity, Slater and the rest were at that moment tilting against waves bigger than anything surfers had ever faced anywhere in the world outside of Hawaii. Maverick's would in the days ahead produce international headlines..." (pg.83) I can't remember if it was Half Moon Bay but I remember vaguely in the last few years there was a surf competition in the Bay Area that drew such a crowd people were selling tickets to see it and they showed it on the big screen in the SF Giants stadium(AT&T ballpark). I think it was then when I thought "Wow, northern California, the Bay Area is getting attention for surfing??!!?? that's so cool!" Usually surfing is a SoCal trend so hearing about surfing drawing a crowd in the Bay Area was really exciting. Other than that the only stories we hear about surfing is when surfers get bit by sharks.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Half Moon Bay was a place for surfers or that Santa Cruz had a special history with surfing or that Maverick's got the nickname from a dog that loved surfing. I never heard of Pillar Point Harbor, let alone the nickname Maverick's but I thought it was really cute. I've seen dogs surf on television but not in real life, I think it'd be pretty amazing to watch. I usually don't hear surfing as a major spectator sport in the Bay Area. I didn't know Half Moon Bay had such a long history that dates so far back. I figured it was somewhat newer like Daly City or Colma.
Ode to CalTrans by Hector Tobar
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about Tobar's experience of traveling along LA's roadways when he was young before they were the hectic, polluting, dangerous freeways they've become as Tobar also mentions in the story. He talks about his appreciation for the idea behind constructing freeways, making a more direct path to get from pt A to pt B and cutting travel time but sometimes what was made to make our lives easier, makes it more complicated. With construction of the freeways came a lot of cars and caused major traffic congestion and a lot of accidents as the author so vividly depicts the scenes. The cars also caused major pollution as seen in the science experiment the author's teacher did in elementary school where a piece of Vaseline covered paper collected enough dust that it was black in a few days. The author's story of these freeways almost makes a reader think twice about driving on them because it seems like the driver would be taking a risk of hitting some other car or getting hit every time.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
I found many tidbits of this story that really drew me in to read further but the most profound details that really made me ponder what the author was trying to portray was the introduction, particularly the first three sentences. He has this dream of "standing over the Hollywood Freeway and the traffic runs backwards. The Suburbans race in the direction of their taillights, young men cling from the overpasses and swallow up the scribbles on the road signs into the graffiti-erasing cans...teams of skilled technicians slowly dismantle the Cathedral overlooking the freeway, covering the site with an asphalt parking lot...The cars begin to shrink in size, as do their drivers, until man and woman and machine fit inside the lanes better." (Pg.51)
As I read this passage, I felt like I could see exactly what Tobar was describing(I've never really been there in real life) but in my mind, everything was in slow motion as if we were in some kind of time-warp and someone had pressed the rewind button. Visualizing the depiction really helps me make sense of what I'm reading, and this illustration was very amusing to me. I also found it unusual that the author chose to open the story this way because usually stories of the past don't describe this sort of transition stage or in the manner that Tobar depicted it. It was such an interesting opening that I had to read more!
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
Tobar's memories on the traffic roads of other countries like Uruguay or Iraq, brought back memories of when I travelled on the roads of other countries as well, particularly Vietnam. I can remember seeing cars playing this same game of trying to pass the slow driver in front by crossing into oncoming traffic, and because there aren't really any traffic lights in the villages, pedestrians, cars, scooters, bikes travel together which basically causes a lot of chaos. I saw accidents everytime we were on the road, it was horrible. I don't think what I saw was as bad compared to the author's depiction of the crashes he witnessed like the sports car flipping in the air or the "...accordion-pressed pickup truck." (pg.54)
The author also explains his parents' lack of an automobile when they first arrived to the US and how "in early twenty-first century Los Angeles, this was an especially helpless and pitiful state." (pg.58) I think many of us get into our cars each day and drive off to whatever destination we need to go on these endless roadways with no thought as to what we'd do without these commodities. We're so dependent on certain things that sometimes we don't appreciate them as much as we should.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
If it is true, I didn't know CalTrans "placed signs with a picture of a white CalTrans helmet on the roadside..."(pg.54) as memorial for the workers that were killed while trying to build the LA freeways. "...then there were too many signs and CalTrans took them down because a highway shouldn't look like a cemetery."(pg.54) This illustration drives the fear of travelling along these LA freeways deeper into the mind and heart. Was it these tragedies that started the lower speed limit in construction zones and double fines for lawbreakers?
Another tidbit I did not know which the author also describes is the rules of the road, or shall I say lack of road rules in other countries he's travelled in, ie "Iraqis often will take a one-hundred-kilometer-per-hour southbound detour on the northbound lanes to avoid the craters cut into the roadway by American ordinance, plunging into the oncoming traffic as if that were a perfectly normal thing to do." (pg. 53) Although California does have rules that drivers must follow or risk being pulled over by the Highway Patrol, every day many drivers disobey the rules and pull the same tricks as the Iraqi drivers and unfortunately some don't make it back on the other side alive, yet many others don't heed the warning.
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home by Thomas Steinbeck
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
Steinbeck was reluctant at first to share what he calls his "California treasures" for fear that it will just become one of those places "suddenly crowded with ecologically insensitive tourists.."(pg.61) but as time went on he changed his mind. He starts by giving the reader some Spanish literary history which eventually leads to Montalvo's vision of this "utopian island set in the western sea."(pg.64) which he named California. And due to this myth, many explorers wanted to find this precious land including Cortez and Thomas Jefferson. Steinbeck believes that many people are still eager to visit California because they are so intrigued by this supposed magical paradise as influenced by the old myth. He also believes that some California natives try to chase the same illusive dream. Steinbeck illustrates his paradise, the Big Sur, and his memories there as well as the tales of his grandmother's experience at the same locale.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"Of course, we hard-strung old natives know better, or at least think we do, but that's an illusion of no lesser dimensions than the original myth. For it's a reality that those of us who can remember the California of forty or fifty years ago cling to our own memory-myths more tenaciously than anyone else." (pg.65) I still have my own memories of where I grew up before it became more commercialized as it is now and I don't think they're any less significant because they don't date back 4-5 decades ago. I cherish these memories more and more as new shops and businesses pop up everywhere every few months. I agree with Steinbeck that our memories are better than these illusions people have of California, some of which I don't understand but those stories are probably variations of the old California myth, "lush and fruitful paradise, a utopian island.."(pg.64) I guess the best thing is that some of us got to experience the real beauty of a town and its uniqueness before they all begin to blend together into the mix of modernization, skyscrapers, major chain shops, crowded streets and bustling nightlife.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"It's akin to traveling a familiar road, only to find that what had been a lovely pasture last month has been transformed into a full-blown mega-shopping center in an instant. What happened? Where was I when they pulled off that one?" (pg.66) I could relate to this scene very well, as I mentioned earlier I may not have been on this Earth for that long but it is enough time where I have seen numerous changes right before my eyes. I can remember when the city of Windsor was just a piece of land, it hadn't even been declared a city yet and now it has its own high school, numerous restaurants, large shopping centers, etc. I can also remember Downtown Santa Rosa before the nightclubs and the bars, when my mom trusted that I'd be safe walking around 4th street to different shops when I was a teenager. I used to like going downtown when I was younger, now I don't go as much because there's too many crazy drunk people.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know there was a myth about California nor did I know this myth came about from romance novel and California was just this imaginary place of utopia but somehow people made this particular place seem real and went in search of it. Even Thomas Jefferson was so intrigued by this hypothetical utopia that he sent Lewis and Clark in search of this precious land. I think it's quite remarkable that such a small detail in an entire novel can make quite a stir and end up being the beginning of a beautiful history. I wonder what would have happened if Montalvo had never written about this "paradise", how would the discovery of California be different?
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
According to Edward Humes, Seal Beach is the last town that has not been succumbed to commercialization and large corporations despite its past. He's glad to see that Seal Beach still has that quaint, small town feeling where people are friendly to each other and people can find a peaceful place on the beach where there's no cellphones ringing. Seal Beach has managed to somewhat fend off the commercialization for now but due to the city's need for additional revenue, this town may be forced to turn it back into a tourist attraction like the old days and what the town's sister cities like Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have become.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"...I had on some old jeans and a sweatshirt and I'm not even sure I had shaved...I had run out without my wallet and didn't have the five-dollar-purchase price on me, and I started to slide the little book back across the counter, she just waved me off and said, 'Take it. Come back and pay whenever you get a chance.'
Imagine walking into City Hall in LA or Santa Monica or Santa Ana or anywhere else this side of Mayberry and having a clerk(once one finally deigns to saunter over and acknowledge your existence)...this just does not happen in this century in this part of the world-except, in Seal Beach, it does." (pg.69-70) I have to agree with Humes, I think that being able to have this kind of trust amongst people or even being friendly is such a great relief, even a surprise because I can relate to Humes' saying that in other cities, metropolitan cities particularly, it's rare to get such kind service. Usually these people, many of whom work in customer service act like helping you is a waste of time in their precious lives. Seriously seems chivalry and whatnot is a thing of the distant past, nobody remembers what its like to be kind and friendly. I think about stories of the milkman going into people's homes and putting the milk in the fridge; nowadays we wouldn't dare let people we didn't know in our homes, especially when we're not present. The past seemed so simple and it seems that everything has been complicated as time went on or maybe it's just perceptions of a good life have changed.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"People actually walk here. We leave our cars at home and stroll to the non-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school..." (pg.70) I can remember that time before the Starbucks invasion and I remember when I was in pre-school our class went downtown 4th street to trick or treat but I don't think they do that anymore. Seems like Seal Beach was such a serene place to live, it's a wonder why the place would change.
Another piece I found interesting to comment on was "The city is hard up for cash-there are million dollar homes, but no money to pick up beach litter or to keep City Hall open a full five days-and so the push for progress...is rearing up...in its haste to expand the tax base." (pg.76) I think it's such a tragedy when a place needs money they're so eager to say out with old and in with the new with little or no regard to the preservation of history. I understand the importance of revenue but what difference is it going to make if every city has the same personality? What is going to set them apart from each other? As Humes says, it's only a matter of time.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Seal Beach "started where its sister beach towns have ended up, the first town served by the Red Car Line, bringing in the beach-bound hordes beginning in 1904...By 1920...a must-stop for weekend beach goers with a quarter to burn on the trolley, as well as for the stars of the silent screen arriving in their roadsters and limos." (pg.74-75) I think it's interesting to think about how Seal Beach isn't what it was, a popular vacation destination but its trying to revive it by modernizing it with cell phone shops and chain stores. For the most part, before we started researching California and its culture, I thought most beaches in SoCal were filled with strip malls and popular restaurants, places where the trendiest people hung out; I didn't think there was a beach left that still had its original roots.
1. Write the story title and author name. .25 point
Surfacing by Matt Warshaw
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
The story is about a surfer who wants to take on this major wave that supposed to be one of the biggest waves outside of Hawaii. His name is Jay Moriarity and he's part of a group of well known surfers from Santa Cruz called the Vermin. These waves produced international headlines and would bring a lot of publicity to surfing at Half Moon Bay, which up until 1994, wasn't on the surfing map. On the other hand Santa Cruz claimed it was the world's greatest surf city. In fact, in 1885, three Hawaiian teens crafted their own surfboards and became the first surfers in Santa Cruz and in America. Warshaw goes on to explain the history of Half Moon Bay up until surf culture became part of what it is today. He notes that Pillar Point got its nickname Maverick's from a local surfer's dog who also liked to surf. Warshaw continues the story of Moriarity preparing to ride the wave even after seeing another surfer go down and he ends up going down himself, his surfboard broken into two pieces, he's at the ocean floor but he manages to swim up to the surface and to the shore. He has no serious injuries and after a short break, he decides to go back in the water. The story ends with Moriarity catching eight more waves and making them all.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
"After tossing the pieces of his broken board onto the deck of Lizzie-Lynn, he took a short breather, grabbed his reserve board, ran a bar of sticky wax across the top for traction, and paddled back into the lineup.
Forty-five minutes later he caught another wave, nearly as big as the first one, and made it. In the next five hours he caught eight more waves and made them all."(pg.88) That is what I call courage and what some might call stupidity because who would want to repeat a near-death experience? Moriarity seems like one of those people who live by the belief that we only live once so we might as well enjoy it to the fullest every day we can so we have no regrets when it's over. Sometimes I wish I could be that person, I think too much about the future and how I should save up and build for a better future but sometimes I think about what happens if I don't make it to the future, will I have regrets because there were things I didn't accomplish yet?
Anyway I picked the passage as my favorite because Moriarity didn't let anything get in the way of what he wanted to accomplish and when fear challenged him, he faced it with a lot of courage and he wasn't easily defeated. He knew he could face that wave and he proved it.
4. What did the reading make you think of? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... ) .75 percent
"What Half Moon Bay locals were not doing was paying any attention to the fact that Moriarity, Slater and the rest were at that moment tilting against waves bigger than anything surfers had ever faced anywhere in the world outside of Hawaii. Maverick's would in the days ahead produce international headlines..." (pg.83) I can't remember if it was Half Moon Bay but I remember vaguely in the last few years there was a surf competition in the Bay Area that drew such a crowd people were selling tickets to see it and they showed it on the big screen in the SF Giants stadium(AT&T ballpark). I think it was then when I thought "Wow, northern California, the Bay Area is getting attention for surfing??!!?? that's so cool!" Usually surfing is a SoCal trend so hearing about surfing drawing a crowd in the Bay Area was really exciting. Other than that the only stories we hear about surfing is when surfers get bit by sharks.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I didn't know that Half Moon Bay was a place for surfers or that Santa Cruz had a special history with surfing or that Maverick's got the nickname from a dog that loved surfing. I never heard of Pillar Point Harbor, let alone the nickname Maverick's but I thought it was really cute. I've seen dogs surf on television but not in real life, I think it'd be pretty amazing to watch. I usually don't hear surfing as a major spectator sport in the Bay Area. I didn't know Half Moon Bay had such a long history that dates so far back. I figured it was somewhat newer like Daly City or Colma.
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