What possibly made was just as interesting as people's ideas was how they decided to present them. Everyone had a different approach to their material. What was nice is that there is no one right way to present. Some people chose to do powerpoint while others really just got up and spoke passionately about their project. I thought every way has pros and cons, but that they were all very effective.

I think I'm really gonna enjoy the next couple of classes seeing what people have to say!

Everything from the design to the plan behind the laptops really make them accessible. The friendly green color invites children in welcoming them. The internet problem has been solved and is easy for kids anywhere to access the internet. They can be used in the sunlight. They are easy for kids to use and carry around. Hearing all this is extremely exciting. Because I do really think that it is about education and not just technology. However, in this case, technology helps further kids' education worldwide, so the two really come together.

I think the next step is - how does the world get these laptops out to children everywhere. And the "Give one Get one" program has answered that question. I'm not sure if that is the best answer. Or if it will work. I can see it seeming pretentious and almost like Western Countries are trying to "save the world" but I can also see it having a significant impact. Who knows. I feel like only time will tell.

Finally I would like to say that research has dominated my life so much - that it forces me to loose track of time... For example, the fact that it is Wednesday and I should have written about this research on Monday on my blog I did not realize. I have been in research coma! ( I know...excuses...excuses..) But it's kind of true!!

I want to plow through it all positively. I really do. But that’s unrealistic. There are just too many things on my mind. And then I feel like an idiot because I see people like Thomas Friedman, a great journalist, doing great work. His documentary reached out to people and looked at a situation from different perspectives. To be honest, I don’t even know what point I want to make or what connection to my life and stress this has. I just know that it adds to my confusion.

Sadly, I can’t say Friedman’s video made me stop and re-evaluate my stress and life and be grateful. I am grateful for everything, but this blog isn’t going to have a corny realization ending because it just wouldn’t be true. I’m in the same place I was when I started. Except I don’t really know where that place is or what I need to do next.

Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” takes a slightly different approach. His tone seems to be much more conversational and personal. He uses stories and conversations to make his points not just numbers.

What would be more appealing to you?

1. Worldwide millions have people have started text-messaging more and more.

Or

2. My teenage daughter is constantly on her phone text messaging. The phone bills have increased rapidly. Other parents are experiencing the same problems with their children and phone bills.

Simplistic, I know. But it kind of makes the point. I don’t really know what is best. Informal versus formal is a tricky choice. A choice that needs to be made based on the material being covered.

For me, I found Friedman’s reading more effective than the “Did You Know” video. This is because I didn’t feel over whelmed, scared, and preached at. Admittedly, it may certainly be the point of the “Did You Know” video to have this intimidating effect on people. But I appreciated Friedman’s approach to the globalization of technology much more.

He explained WHY this was happening and the EFFECTS. He offered to provide solutions and explanations. For me, this is much more valuable than numbers and statistics. And I think this is at the heart of the difference between the two works.

Why is it SO much easier to edit other people's work and NOT your own?

The Thursday before we left for Spring Break we had group peer editing. I think it's a great idea, and I definitely feel like I benefit from other people's suggestions and ideas. HOWEVER. When reading Jaclyn and Jay's papers, I was full of ideas. About everything - in my head - I knew what could phrased better, what was awkward, what made sense, what didn't make sense. I understood their papers.

I would like to know how this skill can be taken and applied when editing my own work. When I read my paper, as I have done TOO many times by today, it seems fine. I don't think its particularly good. But I don't know where to GO, what to DO. I don't see how to improve what I myself have written.

This is very unfortunate, don't you think? It's almost as if I am being stubborn by not changing so much.
But I'm trying, I am! I'm really not a stubborn person. Well, only when it comes to politics...

Tell me I am not alone?

But for some reason on this past weekend and Monday afternoon, I have found it impossible to write a draft of paper 2. I've thought about it continuously but no original thoughts come out. I feel passionately about the ads that I picked but I cannot for some reason write about them. Even though I feel there is so much to say!

So I figured hey maybe a minute blog stream of consciousness might help. Dont laugh..

Advertising. Selling. What the viewer wants... desire - is it necessary? do they need it? must be made necessary. not selling real product selling life through celebrities models relationships love lust beauty

effect on society - conned into buying what we dont really need. how do we fall for this? so obvious yet not so. made subtle connections not out in the open. ads become socially accepted. so much exposure. this exposure changes our ideals for life. personal goals and desires dictated by advertisements.

Pathetically, my minute just ended and that is all I have...

Oh well, I'll just keep going till 5 pm Tuesday.

Anyway, I got back to my room. And I decided to turn on the television and BAM. Right in my face is an ad for Pantene shampoo with some celebrity that I probably should know but don’t. Surprisingly, the ad didn’t focus on her hair a lot. More like her perfect white teeth, long legs, and flawless skin. Hmmm. Now this ad is supposed to be targeted towards women, but I just felt annoyed watching it. In my head, I was screaming: “you’ve been manipulated so you look amazing! It’s not real!”

It may just be me, but I think that more and more people are starting to realize this. And with writers like Romaine, the obvious is becoming clearer and clearer. These ads do not represent real life. Because of this. I really do think that the advertisement industry has to change. It has to adapt to what appeals to US. So if we realize the problems with certain ads, they will be modified. Kind-of crazily optimistic, I know. But hey, sometimes you have to be.

I feel confident in saying that this is the MOST I have worked on one single piece of writing. Recap on what we did: 2 short essays that kind of were pre-writing activities for the long essay, a explanation paragraph and mindmap, a rough draft, followed by peer evaluations, a final draft, and then a self-assessment!! Well, I hope it turns out midly decent!!

Anyway, the point of listing all of this is kind of my realization of what writing is – it’s a lot more complicated than I thought. It’s not really just WRITING. It’s organizing, thinking, brainstorming, revising, and re-writing, and re-working, and assessing. So really a writer is all of these things. Not just a writer. Confusing, yes? I think so. Hopefully once we do this more it will all become clearer. But wow is it exhausting

I recently ordered the book of MY FAIR LADY on Amazon. Long story, but as a musical theatre major, I have to complete a huge research project on this one musical. Just as an experiment, I took a look at the margins inside this used script that I got for $1.99. After looking at the markings, it became obvious to me that the person who owned this book was actually IN the show PLAYING Eliza Doolittle.

The margins were covered with….

- X D.S. L. (fancy actor language for cross downstage left)

- All different kinds of Subtext interpretations: from jealously and anger to excitement and anticipation

- Beat marks breaking up the text. (These marks help track emotional changes and pauses in a character’s lines.)

The play became alive for me. It not only jumped off of the page, but I was experiencing someone else’s rehearsal process and interpretations of the main character. I’m not sure if there is a better way to really become familiar with a play other than perform in it or see it live on stage. Unfortunately, I will not have that opportunity in the next few months, so this used book is my best bet.

The power that books have to pass on other stories and not just their own is remarkable. I feel like if I read Evening Train, I would really be able to see the fear and thoughts of the grey-haired woman through her territorial marks on the book. This seems kind of outlandish, but Mcclanhan and MY FAIR LADY convinced me. Mcclanhan says, “I never saw books as dead, finished texts. They were living, breathing entities, unexplored territories…” (pg.103)

This whole blog idea I have also never thought about before. It feels kind of strange right now to just be casually writing out my thoughts about class. I normally just process stuff in my head. Hopefully, by writing stuff down, I’ll be able to make more sense of all the questions and nonsense that just goes around in my head!