When you want to know about capital letters you should find a good dictionary. Capitalizing proper nouns and words derived from them and do not capitalize common nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific persons, places, and things. All the other nouns are common nouns. Months, holidays, and days of the week are treated as proper nouns; the seasons and numbers of the days of the month are not.
In both titles and subtitles, major words such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs should be capitalized. Minor words such as articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized unless they are the first or last word of a title or subtitle. Obviously you want to capitalize the first word of a sentence. When a sentence appears within parentheses, capitalize the first word unless the parentheses appear within another sentence.
Another important thing to remember is to capitalize abbreviations for departments and agencies of government, other organizations, and corporations; capitalize the call letters of radio and television stations.
After reading this chapter I didn’t realize how much there was to know about capitalizing words and when no too. Now I will be able to carefully capitalize the right words and know the proper way of doing sentences.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
What is superstitions and why is it important in Part II?
In this chapter the word superstition gets used a lot and is very powerful with Kiyoshi’s mother and how she lives her life. The word superstition is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy, and spiritual beliefs. It is particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.
Kiyoshi’s mother had more superstitions than most people and would talk about dying and she believed it would happen. When she ended up in the hospital after she fainted for the second time she wanted the same bed as before because it was a lucky one. Her family believes that she does believe way too much in superstitions and that she over-worries about everything. It didn’t matter if it was food, health or word related she had a superstition about everything. An example of it being food related was when she talked about rice and how it always had to be scooped twice from the big bowl to your bowl. The double scooping protected the family from seeing a second mother, meaning your first mother wouldn’t die or run away. The word that she talks about is shi-ni-iku which means to go to die. This has to do with your age and that the bad luck came from the shi part of the word. It could be the number four or death. When father was forty two years old, mother worried because the number forty two was bad luck and it was pronounced shi-ni.
After reading this chapter I can’t believe how much his mother relied on superstitions. I don’t really believe in them but I do believe in karma. They were a big part in they way she lived and raised her family. Yes everyone thought she was crazy but this was her way of living. I think it is also a way for her to know when her time is up and that she would be leaving. The whole part on numbers and how they are bad luck I have heard that before but not the number forty two, it seems so random. Mothers have a way of living that sometimes we don’t understand but they have their reasons for doing it.
Kiyoshi’s mother had more superstitions than most people and would talk about dying and she believed it would happen. When she ended up in the hospital after she fainted for the second time she wanted the same bed as before because it was a lucky one. Her family believes that she does believe way too much in superstitions and that she over-worries about everything. It didn’t matter if it was food, health or word related she had a superstition about everything. An example of it being food related was when she talked about rice and how it always had to be scooped twice from the big bowl to your bowl. The double scooping protected the family from seeing a second mother, meaning your first mother wouldn’t die or run away. The word that she talks about is shi-ni-iku which means to go to die. This has to do with your age and that the bad luck came from the shi part of the word. It could be the number four or death. When father was forty two years old, mother worried because the number forty two was bad luck and it was pronounced shi-ni.
After reading this chapter I can’t believe how much his mother relied on superstitions. I don’t really believe in them but I do believe in karma. They were a big part in they way she lived and raised her family. Yes everyone thought she was crazy but this was her way of living. I think it is also a way for her to know when her time is up and that she would be leaving. The whole part on numbers and how they are bad luck I have heard that before but not the number forty two, it seems so random. Mothers have a way of living that sometimes we don’t understand but they have their reasons for doing it.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Chapter 34- The Semicolon
The semicolon is used to connect major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank. You want to use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction. Those words are: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. IF the clauses are closely related and the relation is clear without a conjunction, they may be linked with a semicolon instead. If you want to use a comma it creates a kind of run-on sentence known as comma slice.
Transitional expressions include conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases. They should not be confused with the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet, which are preceded by a comma when they link independent clauses.
You don’t want to use a semicolon when you are introducing a list or between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence.
I always have a hard time on using semicolons because I don’t ever know if that is where they are suppose to go. After reading this chapter I figured out that in some situations I was using them wrong and do need to fix them around when writing. This chapter was very helpful and I will use it as a reference for future work.
Transitional expressions include conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases. They should not be confused with the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet, which are preceded by a comma when they link independent clauses.
You don’t want to use a semicolon when you are introducing a list or between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence.
I always have a hard time on using semicolons because I don’t ever know if that is where they are suppose to go. After reading this chapter I figured out that in some situations I was using them wrong and do need to fix them around when writing. This chapter was very helpful and I will use it as a reference for future work.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Plantations
An agricultural system, generally a monoculture, for the production of tropical and subtropical crops, especially bananas, coffee, cocoa, cotton, palm oil, rubber, sisal, spices, sugar, and tea that are cultivated by resident laborers, which in former times were slaves. Old-style plantations, generally in Latin America, were developed to support the lavish lifestyle of their owners, but new-style plantations were often developed by colonial powers, and thus may be seen as a spatial expression of imperalism and capitalism.
Plantations were strategically located throughout the Hawaiian Islands for reasons including: fertile soil area, level topography, sufficient water for irrigation, and a mild climate with little annual variation. These plantations transformed the land primarily to suit water needs: construction of tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, reservoir construction, and well digging. Water was always a serious concern for plantation managers and owners. In the early 1900s it took one ton of water to produce one pound of refined sugar. This inefficient use of water and the relative lack of fresh water in the island environment were fiercely compounding environmental degradation. Sugar processing places significant demands on resources including irrigation, coal, iron, wood, steam, and railroads for transportation.
In contrast to the pensionados, most of the Filipino migrants to the United States during the colonial period came as cheap labor. During the first half of the twentieth century, Hawaii and California had agricultural economies requiring a constant supply of inexpensive, immigrant labor. Hawaii’s economy focused on sugar growing supported by plantation labor.
Hawaii sugar planters preferred to import Filipino labor for several reasons. First, since the HSPA paid the Filipinos the lowest wage among the different ethnic groups in the plantation, it was cheaper to import Filipino laborers even if they were provided free passage to Hawaii. Second, since the Philippines were a U.S. colony and the Filipinos were technically U.S. nationals due to their colonial status, from the legal standpoint it was practical to hire Filipinos. As U.S. nationals, there were not covered by the exclusion laws barring the importation of the other so-called "Orientals," mainly Chinese and Japanese. Third, Filipinos were viewed as leverage, an alternative labor to use against Japanese workers who were staging strikes to improve their conditions in the plantations. Fourth, because the Philippines were an agrarian country exposed to sugar growing, the HSPA felt that the Filipinos were suitable as sakadas. But sugar was not grown in Ilocos, thus Ilocanos, who comprised the bulk of the Filipino sakadas, were not really exposed to the harsh working conditions. Fifth, the Filipinos were perceived to be docile, subservient, and uneducated and, therefore, would not join labor unions and be prone to strikes. Finally, the Filipinos proved to be industrious and hardworking.
In cases of strikes, one ethnic group would be used as scab labor to break the strike of another ethnic group. Living arrangements, job assignments, and wages were also based on ethnicity. Caucasians were higher paid, considered skilled workers, and assigned supervisory positions. The lowest paid white worker was the plantation police who earned $140 a month. In contrast, the Japanese and the Filipinos were assigned the backbreaking work in the fields. They worked at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, 27 days a month for 90 cents a day or $20/month.
The Hawaiian plantations states that the workers’ response was resistance which took several forms. Workers resorted to violence like committing arson and assaulting the luna. A subtle form of response was recalcitrance such as work slowdown, intentional laziness, and inefficiency. Workers took turns serving as lookouts for the luna while the rest stopped working, smoked, and "talked story.
The workers complained of inadequate wages, poor housing, abusive plantation foreman or luna, strict plantation police, and general isolation. Plantation work was extremely difficult since it involved planting, hoeing, and carrying sugar cane. The Ilocanos were not used to this rigid, punishing working schedule. In Iloancos, they did not have to work as many hours and were not subject to a strict system, where the luna went around with a black whip and forced them to work strenuously for so many hours. The luna was backed by a police force capable of breaking down workers' resistance.
Plantations were strategically located throughout the Hawaiian Islands for reasons including: fertile soil area, level topography, sufficient water for irrigation, and a mild climate with little annual variation. These plantations transformed the land primarily to suit water needs: construction of tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, reservoir construction, and well digging. Water was always a serious concern for plantation managers and owners. In the early 1900s it took one ton of water to produce one pound of refined sugar. This inefficient use of water and the relative lack of fresh water in the island environment were fiercely compounding environmental degradation. Sugar processing places significant demands on resources including irrigation, coal, iron, wood, steam, and railroads for transportation.
In contrast to the pensionados, most of the Filipino migrants to the United States during the colonial period came as cheap labor. During the first half of the twentieth century, Hawaii and California had agricultural economies requiring a constant supply of inexpensive, immigrant labor. Hawaii’s economy focused on sugar growing supported by plantation labor.
Hawaii sugar planters preferred to import Filipino labor for several reasons. First, since the HSPA paid the Filipinos the lowest wage among the different ethnic groups in the plantation, it was cheaper to import Filipino laborers even if they were provided free passage to Hawaii. Second, since the Philippines were a U.S. colony and the Filipinos were technically U.S. nationals due to their colonial status, from the legal standpoint it was practical to hire Filipinos. As U.S. nationals, there were not covered by the exclusion laws barring the importation of the other so-called "Orientals," mainly Chinese and Japanese. Third, Filipinos were viewed as leverage, an alternative labor to use against Japanese workers who were staging strikes to improve their conditions in the plantations. Fourth, because the Philippines were an agrarian country exposed to sugar growing, the HSPA felt that the Filipinos were suitable as sakadas. But sugar was not grown in Ilocos, thus Ilocanos, who comprised the bulk of the Filipino sakadas, were not really exposed to the harsh working conditions. Fifth, the Filipinos were perceived to be docile, subservient, and uneducated and, therefore, would not join labor unions and be prone to strikes. Finally, the Filipinos proved to be industrious and hardworking.
In cases of strikes, one ethnic group would be used as scab labor to break the strike of another ethnic group. Living arrangements, job assignments, and wages were also based on ethnicity. Caucasians were higher paid, considered skilled workers, and assigned supervisory positions. The lowest paid white worker was the plantation police who earned $140 a month. In contrast, the Japanese and the Filipinos were assigned the backbreaking work in the fields. They worked at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, 27 days a month for 90 cents a day or $20/month.
The Hawaiian plantations states that the workers’ response was resistance which took several forms. Workers resorted to violence like committing arson and assaulting the luna. A subtle form of response was recalcitrance such as work slowdown, intentional laziness, and inefficiency. Workers took turns serving as lookouts for the luna while the rest stopped working, smoked, and "talked story.
The workers complained of inadequate wages, poor housing, abusive plantation foreman or luna, strict plantation police, and general isolation. Plantation work was extremely difficult since it involved planting, hoeing, and carrying sugar cane. The Ilocanos were not used to this rigid, punishing working schedule. In Iloancos, they did not have to work as many hours and were not subject to a strict system, where the luna went around with a black whip and forced them to work strenuously for so many hours. The luna was backed by a police force capable of breaking down workers' resistance.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Extra Credit: Writing About Films
The first challenge there is to writing about films has to start with the familiarity of the film that you have. Film is so familiar and so prevalent in our lives that we are often lulled into passive viewing or into simple entertainment. Sometimes we can be so caught up in the film that we skip out on the camera work, composition, editing, lighting, and sound. The production can also have struggles that we miss including rewrites, the drama of the project financed, and the casting challenges. As you analyze and write about the film remember that you aren’t writing a review. Those reviews are generally subjective: they explore an individual’s response to a film and so do not require research or analysis.
One type of film paper is called formal analysis which requires that viewer breaks the film down into its component parts and discusses how those parts contribute to the whole. It can be looked at like taking apart a tractor in a field: you lay out the parts, try to understand the function and purpose of each part, and then put them all back together.
An important research tip is to not rely on the Internet. While the Internet can provide some interesting information about film, it generally doesn’t provide you with the thoughtful analysis that will be useful to you in your work. There are some great writing tips that were in the paper and they were to focus on your topic, write a good thesis sentence, settle on a structure, write clear and coherent paragraphs, and tend to matters of grammar and style.
Overall this paper was great because it was a refresher to what we have been reading except I was able to understand it a little better. I will use this information to help me with essay three because I was having trouble with the structure and sequencing of events. Also I need to focus on my thesis and incorporating it into my essay more since it was so powerful. Another good tip that will help me with the essay is not to summarize the film so much but analyze it in the topic I am choosing to write about. Again there are challenges to writing a paper about films but this article was great in helping us get around those areas.
One type of film paper is called formal analysis which requires that viewer breaks the film down into its component parts and discusses how those parts contribute to the whole. It can be looked at like taking apart a tractor in a field: you lay out the parts, try to understand the function and purpose of each part, and then put them all back together.
An important research tip is to not rely on the Internet. While the Internet can provide some interesting information about film, it generally doesn’t provide you with the thoughtful analysis that will be useful to you in your work. There are some great writing tips that were in the paper and they were to focus on your topic, write a good thesis sentence, settle on a structure, write clear and coherent paragraphs, and tend to matters of grammar and style.
Overall this paper was great because it was a refresher to what we have been reading except I was able to understand it a little better. I will use this information to help me with essay three because I was having trouble with the structure and sequencing of events. Also I need to focus on my thesis and incorporating it into my essay more since it was so powerful. Another good tip that will help me with the essay is not to summarize the film so much but analyze it in the topic I am choosing to write about. Again there are challenges to writing a paper about films but this article was great in helping us get around those areas.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Essay 3 Draft- The Importance of Friendship
In the movie Smoke Signals we meet cousins Thomas and Victor who have had tramactic experiences happen in both their lives. Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire and Victor’s parents separated and later on his father died. When you have something that serious happen to you all you want is someone to talk to or just to listen to your needs. Even though Thomas and Victor were two different people they had a bond that was more like a love hate relationship. Victor’s personailty was a tough guy who didn’t take any crap and Thomas was a storyteller and a nerd. In the movie you see the importance of friendship and how it helps us grow and become sucessful in life. There are some points in maintaing a great friendship and they are; being a good listener, keeping commitments, giving support, and being there through trail and tribulations. Many people will walk in and out of your life; but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
Once Victor found out about his father’s death the first one there was Thomas to see if he had found out about his dad. The story that Thomas told Victor was that he knew he was dead through the wind and he saw Victor’s mom crying. A friend would be the first one there to help comfort you but Victor got mad and bunched Thomas in the face for trying to tell him a story. At that point he was annoyed of his presnece and telling stories, all he wanted to do was run away. Part of friendship is giving support when needed and at that point I don’t think Victor was ready for it. There was a call from Susy who was Victor’s dad’s friend from Phoneix to let them know that there was stuff to be picked up and a truck to be driven back. Victor had no idea how he would afford to go down there until Thomas offered to give him the money to go. He had to think about it because he would be dealing with the annoying stories the whole way but at the same time Thomas was nice enough to give him the money. Thomas knew Victor accepted his offer when he showed up at the house.
They were on their way to Phoneix on the bus when Victor gave Thomas some great advice about not to trust anyone. He was being a good friend after Thomas believed a story that a girl told on the bus and right away Victor knew it wasn’t true. Being a good listener is a key point in the importance of friendship. Yeah Victor had to listen to all of Thomas’ stories but they all had a important meaning behind them. When the bus stopped for a break Victor tried telling Thomas that he needed to change his apperancce and try to not look like a nerd. Thomas took his advice and changed into a different looking person but still had his persoanlity as a stroyteller. Victor knew that if he changed people would look at him differently and not as a weird person. In my life growing up with my girl friends we were always giving eachother advice on what we needed to keep things going and to me that was a major importance to friendship. You need to trust your friends and what they say and you never want to doubt them. We always need to be a good listener and remember what our friends tell us because it can be valuable information for the future.
When they got to the home of Victor’s dad Susy was there to greet them. Right away Victor stood back and just wanted to get it over with but Thomas took the inituative to meet Susy and get to know her. This was important not only to get to know her but because she told Victor all the stories about him that his dad told her. When you meet someone new for the first time you may have a hard time believing what they say but Susy was trying to tell Victor that his father loved him and he told her all the fun they use to have. It is important as you grow up to have a clsoe friendship with your parents. Once Victor walked into his dad’s trailer it was hard for him due to the smell and all the memories he had with his dad. Some of those memories weren’t good ones but once he saw the picture with the word home on the back he got a better understanding of his dad and the love he had for him.
The way home from Phoenix Thomas and Victor had a long way to go before reaching home which left a lot of time to relive the trip and the past. After the adventure they went on together Victor changed his view on Thomas and considered him to be a friend. When in Phoenix Victor found out the truth on what happened the night Thomas’ parents were killed and that Victor’s father actually started the fire with fireworks. As Victor was dropping Thomas off at home he apologized to him and told him that his dad didn’t mean to start the fire, Thomas agreed that he knew he didn’t. Victor shared the ashes of his father with Thomas since he was like a father figure to him and Thomas did go on the adventure with him. Standing by your friends during hard times shows true friendship between each other and you can live with that memory forever.
Overall friendships are very important to have in your life even though you will always meet new people and others will always leave. Understandings and being sensitive is also very important because this is to maintain your bond which had been developed. You need to bear in mind that “true friends are hard to come by”. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!
Once Victor found out about his father’s death the first one there was Thomas to see if he had found out about his dad. The story that Thomas told Victor was that he knew he was dead through the wind and he saw Victor’s mom crying. A friend would be the first one there to help comfort you but Victor got mad and bunched Thomas in the face for trying to tell him a story. At that point he was annoyed of his presnece and telling stories, all he wanted to do was run away. Part of friendship is giving support when needed and at that point I don’t think Victor was ready for it. There was a call from Susy who was Victor’s dad’s friend from Phoneix to let them know that there was stuff to be picked up and a truck to be driven back. Victor had no idea how he would afford to go down there until Thomas offered to give him the money to go. He had to think about it because he would be dealing with the annoying stories the whole way but at the same time Thomas was nice enough to give him the money. Thomas knew Victor accepted his offer when he showed up at the house.
They were on their way to Phoneix on the bus when Victor gave Thomas some great advice about not to trust anyone. He was being a good friend after Thomas believed a story that a girl told on the bus and right away Victor knew it wasn’t true. Being a good listener is a key point in the importance of friendship. Yeah Victor had to listen to all of Thomas’ stories but they all had a important meaning behind them. When the bus stopped for a break Victor tried telling Thomas that he needed to change his apperancce and try to not look like a nerd. Thomas took his advice and changed into a different looking person but still had his persoanlity as a stroyteller. Victor knew that if he changed people would look at him differently and not as a weird person. In my life growing up with my girl friends we were always giving eachother advice on what we needed to keep things going and to me that was a major importance to friendship. You need to trust your friends and what they say and you never want to doubt them. We always need to be a good listener and remember what our friends tell us because it can be valuable information for the future.
When they got to the home of Victor’s dad Susy was there to greet them. Right away Victor stood back and just wanted to get it over with but Thomas took the inituative to meet Susy and get to know her. This was important not only to get to know her but because she told Victor all the stories about him that his dad told her. When you meet someone new for the first time you may have a hard time believing what they say but Susy was trying to tell Victor that his father loved him and he told her all the fun they use to have. It is important as you grow up to have a clsoe friendship with your parents. Once Victor walked into his dad’s trailer it was hard for him due to the smell and all the memories he had with his dad. Some of those memories weren’t good ones but once he saw the picture with the word home on the back he got a better understanding of his dad and the love he had for him.
The way home from Phoenix Thomas and Victor had a long way to go before reaching home which left a lot of time to relive the trip and the past. After the adventure they went on together Victor changed his view on Thomas and considered him to be a friend. When in Phoenix Victor found out the truth on what happened the night Thomas’ parents were killed and that Victor’s father actually started the fire with fireworks. As Victor was dropping Thomas off at home he apologized to him and told him that his dad didn’t mean to start the fire, Thomas agreed that he knew he didn’t. Victor shared the ashes of his father with Thomas since he was like a father figure to him and Thomas did go on the adventure with him. Standing by your friends during hard times shows true friendship between each other and you can live with that memory forever.
Overall friendships are very important to have in your life even though you will always meet new people and others will always leave. Understandings and being sensitive is also very important because this is to maintain your bond which had been developed. You need to bear in mind that “true friends are hard to come by”. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona Dialogue
What’s one difference between this reading and the movie version? How does the change affect the story, change the meaning and/or alter our perspectives of the characters?
This story was very interesting to read once you have seen the movie and see how many differences there were between the two. One difference that I saw was about how in the story it talks about Thomas’ parent’s death and what happened. In the story Thomas’ dad died in Okinawa in World War II fighting for his country and his mother died giving birth to him. She took her final breath pushing Thomas out. This is totally different than what the movie stated and was such a big part to the plot. Now in the movie version Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire that Victor’s dad started with fireworks.
This difference in the description of how they died does affect the story because it is the main reason for Victor and Thomas and their relationship. You don’t really know that they are cousins in the story but it points it out right away in the movie. The movie ends with Victor telling Thomas that his father didn’t mean to kill his parents and in the story the main topic is the relationship between the two boys. Thomas already knew at the end of the movie how his parents died. You never hear about Thomas’ parents as much in the story as you do in the movie. The perspectives on the characters don’t really change because Victor is still the tough one and Thomas is the annoying one with all the stories. The fire in the house to me is the signal of the whole movie just like when the girl in the movie burns down the trailer. The smallest details can change a story around and make it sound different. I do like both the story and the movie but do have to agree the movie was better. If we read the story before the movie I believe my opinion would be the same.
This story was very interesting to read once you have seen the movie and see how many differences there were between the two. One difference that I saw was about how in the story it talks about Thomas’ parent’s death and what happened. In the story Thomas’ dad died in Okinawa in World War II fighting for his country and his mother died giving birth to him. She took her final breath pushing Thomas out. This is totally different than what the movie stated and was such a big part to the plot. Now in the movie version Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire that Victor’s dad started with fireworks.
This difference in the description of how they died does affect the story because it is the main reason for Victor and Thomas and their relationship. You don’t really know that they are cousins in the story but it points it out right away in the movie. The movie ends with Victor telling Thomas that his father didn’t mean to kill his parents and in the story the main topic is the relationship between the two boys. Thomas already knew at the end of the movie how his parents died. You never hear about Thomas’ parents as much in the story as you do in the movie. The perspectives on the characters don’t really change because Victor is still the tough one and Thomas is the annoying one with all the stories. The fire in the house to me is the signal of the whole movie just like when the girl in the movie burns down the trailer. The smallest details can change a story around and make it sound different. I do like both the story and the movie but do have to agree the movie was better. If we read the story before the movie I believe my opinion would be the same.
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