Letter to Myself

Dear Tough Guy,

You may think that you are some hot stuff because you walk around with a scar on your arm that has a story to go with it. You will immediately regret it as soon as it is done. Although some of your friends will think you are stronger or tougher than they did before, it does not matter. You my friend are very stupid. However, here are some tips to help you take your mind off doing it so your arm will be scar free for the rest of your life.

First, these are tips based solely on prevention of this stupid act. The first thing that needs to get hit into your mind is the fact that you do not have to do this. There is no obligation for anyone in the world to burn their arm because someone says it is the only way to prove that you are not a “bad word”. The best thing to do is ignore what they are saying even though you know you can take the pain. You must be forewarned that the pain is not going to be the problem. The real problem is going to be that ugly scar that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

You have always been an independent thinker and leader. Why give into something that you know you already are. Put the lighter down, and tell those who doubt you that if they still think you are a weak person, then fight about it. You have to be smart and block out those who want to bring you down to their level. They are not worth hurting yourself, even though you know you can take the pain. In the end, it is all about your brothers and how they perceive you. They look up to you and look at everything that happens around you. When they see you hurt, it scares them because they think of you as untouchable, and then they think that they have to depend on themselves the way you do! Be smart and keep their trust by being a good example and not hurting yourself because of what your so called “friends” say.

Lastly, put yourself around people who will encourage you to make the right decisions, and do not tell you to do stupid things. You must place yourself with people that enlighten you and make you a better person just by being around them. In the end, it will all pay off and you will not have to try and explain to your parents why your arm is like that.

Sincerely, Dylan J. Kizy

Pop Culture Assignment

The artifact that I have chosen is the show The Sopranos. This show would be considered an artifact of popular culture; also it was extremely popular for its time. The Sopranos was a show that would be categorized as a television artifact. This artifact was very well known by almost everyone I know, and I am sure throughout the country. It was on television for several years, and the last season had a notorious ending in 2006.

Everyone loves a mob movie! There really are few reasons why this show became popular in our culture. That reason is simply that everyone roots for the mob, and there have not been any legitimate mob movies or things that people could watch and root for. Most of the best mob movies were in the seventies and nineties. They were a huge hit in our society because of how entertaining they are.

This show was most popular with the younger and older male population. It appealed to the young guys who wanted to see a modern perspective of what the organized crime of today looked like. The older audience had a natural appeal to the show because of how much history and how great of a reputation organized crime had in their time. In general, the entire concept and plot of the show appealed to men through the action, guns, and women. The show did not exactly target a specific race or class. It can be thought that it targeted those who were somewhat wealthy while it was still going on television. The reason this conclusion can be drawn is because the show was aired on HBO, and I did not even have this channel.

Throughout the history of drama and entertainment, the Oscar has always been taken home by the movies that depict the gangsters. The film that shows the lifestyle of hardcore murderers and heartless businessmen that have it all always brings in an audience. This specific television show brought all of the drama of the lifestyle of a modern gangster. It was a movie that viewers could follow over years and years as the life and story developed. The audience was able to see the cast members grow and deal with the tragedies that ensued during airing of the show. Everyone knows in a mob movie or show the main character is the “bad guy”, but the audience still ends up rooting for him. He is the bad guy that the audience wants to win, but still does questionable things that make the audience want to turn on him. This show makes Tony Soprano seem like a guy no one would want to mess with, but at the same time the audience can’t help but feel bad for him and the hardships he faces in his life. Also, it was humorous to watch, being invited into this world where these Italians say funny expressions they only understand. It made the viewer feel like they were a part of this exclusive culture or language, the viewer felt accepted into a crew virtually. The Sopranos was a hit to the audience almost immediately. Everyone liked the show and thought that it had a great story. For me, the show pretty much spread through word of mouth. After people started talking about the show all the time, the memorabilia began to show up everywhere and on commercials.

This artifact has been a trend since the greatest depiction of the mob life from the Godfather Trilogy. That gave the world incite to what the world was all about, and how these people operated. When people saw that this topic was a trending and entertaining theme others followed and the audience loved it. However, this show offered something that most of all the other movies could not. It gave the viewer the opportunity to see the modern perspective on what happened to the mob after the Godfather.

The issues that this artifact raises are the idea of organized crime being okay and murder being fine as long as there is a code. People usually look down on the mobsters, and they think that they are complete thugs. There are those who understand the drama and entertainment behind the show, however, others cannot stand the fact that kids and young adults implore the life of easy money and the hard life.

This artifact falls under the low class of popular culture. The depiction of murder and theft gives the idea of lower culture. The men’s actions of the show convey to others that they are scum, but for some reason entertaining. Higher class culture would not accept extortion and murder as a legitimate form of making money. One factor however that could qualify it as a high class artifact is the fact that it was only shown on HBO. This is one fact that cannot be overlooked because usually the wealthier have exclusive channels like that.

The only possible gain society may have gotten from The Sopranos would be perspective from the life of a thug, but even deeper, they also learned that no matter what walk of life a person comes from, they still have to survive like everyone else. The show just conveyed how Tony Soprano took care of the obstacles and troubles in his life his way, and in some cases they could have been applied to the viewer’s life. For example, in Tony’s life his mother really gave him no credit for anything that he did. He went through his entire life on the show dealing with this, and he tried to learn how to get over it.

Education Needs a Digital Upgrade

1.   1.  In the elementary level, I feel that our teachers spent way too much time worrying about teaching cursive. We were told by each teacher in elementary school that we needed cursive because we would be forced to write in cursive once we reached the middle school level. This turned out not to be true at all, in fact, we were told just to write with what we were comfortable with. Whenever there was a major paper to write we had to type it. I think they should have focused on the moving technology and had us use the internet to keep up with class and enrich what we studied. If I were to send an email to my teachers, I would tell them that they should force their students to use the internet for sources and research. They should also teach them how to use and determine what credible sources are online.

2.     2. In the business field, any technology that can speed up communication and the ability to conference between others will be crucial to success. The ability to communicate with partners and others in business is key to know what exactly is going on. Also, in some cases, it allows business to get done without having to fly out and deal with annoying conference calls, when instead; you can sit in the boardroom and stream a meeting live as if everyone were in the same place. Lastly, I am learning how to figure things out for myself here at Oakland by using the internet to find information that I may not be able to find in my books. I do think that Oakland is teaching and preparing us for this technological age that the world is approaching. I am sure as I continue to pursue my major at Oakland I will learn more about adapting to the technological advances that continue to be created.

3.     3.Yes, I feel a lot more relaxed and free when writing in a blog or email. When I am writing on a blog, I feel that there is not pressure on my shoulders. Writing a blog is supposed to allow the writer to feel like they should be free to express whatever is on his or her mind. I feel like my blog is a place where I do not have to stress myself out over citing sources correctly, or being graded on a paper that has to have a specific response. I have an audience that is interested in learning about me as a writer rather than what facts I have to provide in an assigned paper.

4.     4.If I were a teacher of a math class, I would teach the students how to use technology to do projects and assignments. I would use new ways to teach students math through the use of hands on technology. For example, the use of tablets that are synced to the same network of the class would allow me to look at the students’ work in class. I could use this type of technology to play games and correct students even easier. This would be ideal to use to make a teaching environment much more enriched and effective.

5.     5.The tone of this piece seems to be very stern and a little sarcastic toward the educational system of today. I completely agree with the tone of this thesis. In today’s world, education is what gives people the opportunity to succeed and be what they want to be. If education is below par, and children don’t have as good as a chance to be what they want to be, then this just is not fair to any child. The question then becomes, what job allows you to work as dumb as you are, and that is not the American dream.

Literacy Timeline

Through my life I have grown physically and mentally. From day one, literacy was key to communicating and growing to learn how I wanted to communicate.

•  Growing up at the ages of around three or four, I learned my literacy through language and expression. I grew up hearing a little vulgar language and how to be tough. This taught me how to be straight forward. This was the foundation of what became of my personality in my writing and speech.
• At four and five, I would watch Sesame Street which gave me my first background with letters and numbers. However, not only did it teach literacy in letters and numbers, but also how to be social and kind to others.
• In my family, there was a lot of arguing that went on between members. Watching I learned how to argue and use logic to win arguments. This effected me down the road by allowing me to be persuasive in my composition and how I spoke to people.
• Another event that made me literate was watching movies. Believe it or not, but watching intense movies only mature people understand at my elementary level also taught me how to convey yourself. I used to imitate the people I saw in these movies I watched when I was six and seven years old.
• In fourth to seventh grade, my dad would take me along to business meetings with partners and others knowing I was listening. This taught me the language of business and how to interact with other officials of business.
• In seventh and eighth grade, I learned the literacy of values of electronics and the language of sales. This was an overlap of how I learned to be persuasive from the past.
• In my freshman year, my father and I would talk business and what certain things meant, like abbreviations and how to read deals and official paperwork.
• Sophomore year to present, I would read business articles that had to do with the legitimate corporate world, and how to sell things to kids like electronics. Also, I think of and research ideas for business with the "lingo" that goes along with it.

Through this time line, it is evident that my true literacy that I tried to target went beyond reading or writing fundamentals. Instead, they proved how I became a good speaker and businessman over time through these events.

Questions from Today's Readings

Questions from Today’s Readings:

1. When reading digital texts, there is a sort of way that people expect to perceive certain words. This is cool and dangerous at the same time. When reading digital text, there are many things that can affect the way a person reads or understands what is being said. For example, the same phrases with the exact same punctuation could be misunderstood dramatically. If someone were to say “Shut up!” it could mean two or more different things. Someone could take it as an excited positive remark about something unbelievable that just happened, or the person could feel like it legitimately means to shut up and leave the person alone. There is a huge difference between the two. In print, usually there is an explanation of the context by the writer. This allows the reader to know what is really being said so there is no misconception.

2. No, they are essentially linked because the participant must be as digitally and critically literate as the active person in order to understand what they are saying. If that person cannot understand how to follow what someone says on facebook or any other literature that use digital text, they would be completely in the dark. Also, through participating one learns by watching and reading what is in front of them.

3. Of course, it is actually very easy to nail what actions people like myself do that constitutes contribution, consumption, and distribution. When I like or comment on a status or photo, I am personally sharing my opinion of something with everyone else who can see it. When I deliberately scroll through my news feed, I am reading and consuming the work and contributed things my friends have to share with everyone else. Lastly, distribution is specifically tagging or posting a work on someone else’s wall. This aspect of facebook now makes me think of it as a giant hub with a collaboration of works coming together. It is a central station where millions of thoughts come together as one with every person’s thoughts included.

4. His definition of digital literacy is basically surrounded upon the idea of connection. The connection of ideas and new text language continuously changes as time goes on. Through a connection that is brought forward from the digital world, there is a digital world that keeps all who are in it informed.

letter to incoming freshman

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Why is writing important?

Business! Let's get down to it. It is not easy to throw yourself out into the business world if you are afraid of being disliked, or you just don't know how to carry your personality in front of important people. Most say that public speaking is huge and quite possibly the most important part of the business world that I desire to be a part of. In my opinion, this is not completely true. Over the course of my academic and work life, I have found that I am a good public speaker and a passionate writer. When I write, I sit and think. I think of how small my life is and where I hope it ends up one day. I feel the whole world is this one inspirational story of hardship and disappointment that we all have to go through. One day, I pray, plead, and beg myself and whatever is out there that I reach what I want to do. People say, "Want to make God laugh, tell him your plans". I laugh in their faces and say I don't care. It is my life, there is only one dream of happiness I want to reach in paradise on earth. Writing right here, or anywhere, to myself makes me feel like I'm almost there. I can see it, its in my grasp! No offense to my professors, but I feel like I wish I was already there and all the time I spend in class is just wasting my time. I want to achieve what no man has achieved in this world yet! Writing is like a euphoric drug, that takes me to where I can find myself and what I want to be. In essence, it is through my writing where I will become a better public speaker, and hopefully an even better businessman.