Winter Break

My winter break this year was way too short.  I feel like it flew by and before I knew it, I was waking up at 6:50 this morning, when my average wake up time during break was about one in the afternoon. I hate the transition back to school after break. Every other break seems to be different, but winter break is just hard to get away from. 
    
At the beginning of  my winter break, all I really did was hang out with my two brothers because they were both around. Chad, my oldest brother, came home from San Diego for about a week, so I tried to spend as much time with him as possible.  We played a bunch of video games and just kinda hung around the house for the most part, which is what we always end up doing when he comes home.  I found myself going over to my brother Scott's house quite a bit too, even though he lives really close to our house. 

On Christmas Eve, my family and I had dinner at home. Like every year, we had honey baked ham, and it was delicious as usual. After that, we watched The Nation Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is always a staple for Christmas Eve night.  Christmas day felt like a repeat of Christmas Eve because we pretty much did the same stuff, yet, it's still my favorite day of the year by far.

After my brother's left, I mostly hung around with my friends.  Overall, break was pretty boring, but I still in no way what-so-ever wanted to go back to school.  I would really rather be sleeping right now than writing this blog.

Thanksgiving Break

Over Thanksgiving Break this year, I did a few things.  For Thanksgiving Day, I went to Lima to visit my Dad's side of the family.  We usually go there every year. Typically, we go to my Aunt Kathy's house for dinner, but this year we went to The St. Johns Church in downtown Lima.  The food is always delicious, especially my cousin Stacy's Oreo dessert pie. When we got home, we watched some NFL football games and then just spent time together.
    For the Ohio State game, I went to my brother Scott's new apartment to watch it with him. He just moved there last week, but he lives by himself, so I try to go there to keep him company as much as I can. He lives with his dog, Tucker, who also keeps him company.
     I spent a lot of time with friends during break as well. One of my favorite things in the world is just hanging out with them.
     To me, these are the most important things to do over Break.  Spending time with people you care about and being thankful are essential to a good Thanksgiving Break.

Satire

How does this clip deviate (depart) fromt eh formula of a typical fairy tale?

This clip is different from normal fairy tales because it uses exaggeration, incongruity, reversal, and parody.  An example of exaggeration is when Fiona turns out to be a very formidable fighter.  Incongruity is used because there is an ogre and donkey in the same setting, and reversal is used because a princess is fighting her own battle when normally she would have an army to fight for her. Finally, parody is used because the Merry Men were imitating characters from Robin Hood.

Wife essay

1. Does this essay have an explicitly stated thesis? If so, what is it? If you believe the thesis is implied, paraphrase it in your own words.
No. Society has a deformed view on wives.

2. Throughout the essay, Brady repeats the words “I want a wife.” What is the effect of this repetition? To further emphasize her point.

3. Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines. Why not?
Brady doesn't want to use gender words. Instead, she wants to emphasize the point that the "wife" stereotype should be redefined.

4. Do you think Brady really wants the kind of wife she describes—does this ideal spouse

actually exist? Explain why you think Brady wrote this essay.

No she doesn't actually want the wife she describes.  The ideal spouse doesn't exist either.  She wrote this essay to try and redefine the meaning of a "wife." 

5. How does Brady define what it means to be a “wife”? How does she organize the many services a wife provides her husband and family? What do you think of Brady’s characterization of a wife and her responsibilities? How do you think she wants her readers to respond to this characterization? Why?
Brady defines the "wife" as being a "do-it-all" in this writing. She organizes the services in order of necessity.  I think that her portrayal of this kind of wife is unrealistic.  I also feel that she wants her readers to change their perspective on wives, because people view wives as "do-it-alls" and as people who should be at a man's every whim.

6. Write a letter to Brady responding to “I Want a Wife.” Let her know what you admire or don’t admire about the essay and the extent to which you consider it effective and/or persuasive.

Dear Brady,

I feel that your persuasive essay, Why I Want a Wife, did an effective job at persuading me to rethink about how we portray wives in our society today. I think that everyone should reconsider how they view women in general. While women have gained many more rights today, they still don't fully get the respect they deserve at times. Wives especially, are viewed as having to be "superwoman" and are expected to be perfect. I just hope those who think this way change their perspective.

Sincerely,
Eric

7. Write your own piece entitled “I Want a/an X.” You can use Brady’s essay as a model, and in the process, imitate some of her stylistic techniques. Or, alternatively, write an essay about the role of a “wife” in the early twenty-first century, explaining how a wife’s responsibilities complement and are complemented by those of a spouse.

The Role of a "Wife"

The role of a wife in today's society has changed since past centuries.  Back then, wives were mostly stay at home moms that took care of the children, cooked, and cleaned, while the men went out and worked. Today, some women are now the ones who go out and work, while the men take the opposite role.  The view of the wife in general, however, has still not changed much. The role of the wife is used in a stereotypical way and the things that pertain to that role are never associated with men, but only to women. Instead, the role of the man and the woman in a marriage should complement each other.  For example, if the wife feels like she needs a night to go out with her friends, the husband could stay at home and baby-sit the children. In conclusion, there needs to be a balance in marriages and each spouse should contribute to the well being of the relationship and of each other.

Light switch

     The light switch on the wall was too far for me to reach, so my surroundings were still unknown.  I was strapped to chair by may wrists, ankles, and chest.  I also noticed that the chair was bolted to the ground so there was no possible means of escape for me.  At that moment, I realized that I was about to be interrogated by means of torture. 
     I've been an under cover agent for the U.S. government for a decade now.  Most of my work has dealt with China and their threat of a nuclear attack and world domination.  In all of my years as a spy, I've never once been exploited by the enemy, but now, I've found myself in a very sticky situation.
     Still immobilized by the straps, I heard a door open.  A man entered the room, but I couldn't tell who it was because there was still no light.  He mumbled something in Chinese, so I could tell he was not here to set me free.  He approached me and placed a cold blade up to my face and said in rudimentary English, "Who are you?" I didn't reply.  At that moment, I could tell he was going to strike me with his knife, but then all of a sudden, the door burst open again and gun shots fired.  The lights then turned on, and the Chinese man layed on the ground with a pool of blood next to him.  My comrades had come to save me...

Halloween Story

The zombie apocalypse was nearing. The clock was ticking and it was only a matter of days before the zombies would take over the city.  Everyone screamed with horror as they thought of the idea of being eaten by a zombie. However, little did anyone know that all the zombies wanted was to go trick or treating and eat orange candy. After the zombies raided the grocery stores for all of the Halloween costumes, they all went off into the various neighborhoods of the city.  All dressed up in their spooky outfits, they begged for all sorts of candy and chocolate.  Everyone was so surprised by how great their costumes were, that they gave them extra candy. The zombies then got stomach aches from eating too many sweets and all died.

MLK Jr. Arguments

They Say:  You were illegally protesting.
MLK Jr.: "I'm here in Birmingham [in jail] because injustice is here."

They Say:   Separate but equal laws are justified in our country
MLK Jr.:   "Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."

They Say:  Nonviolent campaigns will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly.
MLK Jr.:  "In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps:  collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action."

They Say:  We deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham.
MLK Jr.:  "It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure  left the negro community with no alternative."

They Say:  Your activity in Birmingham is extreme.
MLK Jr.:   "At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist."