THIS IS ONLY A TEST

To me tests are a learning experience. It is an opportunity to take a subject and emphasize it with the purpose of doing good. Some people see them as a "bad" thing but I don't. They are a motivation to me. I don't want to do bad so that motivates me to do well and get work done. Using that concept, I applied it to In Loco Politico. After having some discussion, it was pointed out to me that we need to improve our mechanics so that we can give our blog a better appearance. For my test, I am going back through every article and editing for grammar and spelling.

Huxley Interview Response: WE ARE LIVING IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD

After watching Huxley talk and reading his book, I can say with certainty that I believe he was absolutely paranoid. He was a man that had some interesting views for his time, but ultimately I believe those views do not reflect our society today. Our use of technology mirrors that in Brave New World in various ways. Science and technology are pushing the boundaries of what previously was with things such as genetic engineering, nuclear weaponry and stem cell research. Yet I don't believe that our use in those fields will lead to a repressive government such as The World State. We have great thinkers and we have morals. There are people who are keeping science and technology confined to boundaries of morality and humanity. I don't see how one government could strip our humanity, and people would just let it happen. Thinking about this sort of reminds me of the world in James McTeigue's V for Vendetta, where an oppressive government uses technology and science to manipulate and control a society. They tried to strip many of the prisoners in their experimentation camps of their humanity, but the people fought back..they did not allow themselves to be turned into anything less than humans.

There is one interesting thing I saw between Huxley's Brave New World and our modern society...We also have to keep in mind that only parts of our modern world are dominated by science and technology, such as first world nations like the United States and China. Many African and South American societies still live as they were living before science and technology formed big parts of first world life. Technology and science are only available in some parts of the world, much like in Huxley's Brave New World. London (which is where most of the plot takes place) is a hub of technology and science, in contrast to the various reservations where "savages" live without the illumination of science and technology. We sort of seclude theses areas of the world (much like they did in BNW). As we move forward, we are leaving them behind and forgetting about them. We are consuming all the planets resources in our relentless pursuit of more, leaving them with the scraps of our ambition. In that sense, yeah, we are living in a Brave New World. 

My Thoughts on Brave New World

I'm not an experienced reader. I read for entertainment and I have no authority over what is considered "good" and "bad" literature. I just have opinions based on things I have experienced...and in my opinion, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has everything that makes literature great (to me).

After reading this book as an assignment, I can say that for the first time in awhile..I completed an assignment that didn't even feel like an assignment. I actually enjoyed it (apparently, this is unheard of in high school). The book was a page turner. As I got into the book, I found myself going beyond the assigned chapters. As everything progressed in the plot I was hooked on what would happen next.

Why? Why did this book hook me so much? First of all, Huxley created a complex world within the book. I like this in literature. I like intricate back-stories that are easy to understand yet fascinating. It makes me feel like I'm reading something of quality because of the work and dedication the author must have put into the plot. Secondly, the events within the book were bizarre yet plausible. Technically we could all fall victim to a consumer culture the way the denizens of the World State did. Thirdly, I loved all the dualism and symbolism used by Huxley to represent such complex and interesting things. I especially enjoyed his doubleness of character (Charles Dickens style). I found it fascinating how he used the names of the characters to represent actual people and thinkers of our own society such as Henry Ford and Karl Marx. It helped further the warning nature of the book.


For anyone that hasn't read it, I highly recommend.

RESOURCE OF THE DAY

So news...when it comes to news the American public generally prefers television. I have a few theories as to why. It's more engaging and requires no work from the viewer (other than putting popcorn in your mouth as you avidly watch). While going on the Internet, opening a search engine, typing, and then selecting the best news story is far more work. When we watch television we also get a whole hours worth of news in one sitting, while reading a website online takes more time and we may only be able to get through a few news stories (especially if the journalism reports are lengthy) before we run out of time and have to engage in another activity.

We lose so much when we decide to watch television for news. I say this because news/journalism websites typically have a comment section at the bottom of articles that you can use by signing in to the website itself or through your Facebook or Google+ account. These comment sections often times turn into interesting discussions between people all over the world. There is so much value in the comments. I encourage and challenge everyone to take time and visit these websites, take the time to thoroughly read the article, engage in discussions or simply read these comments that are often worth gold. Granted, some are utter trash and ignorant, but why not add humor to your day with other peoples stupidity?


Almost all major news/journalism websites have this comment feature. Visit your favorite one and check it out. Often when I am doing research for In Loco Politico articles, I read these and take them into account in my article. If you're also interested in online debates to enrich yourself, or simply have fun, try "Debate.org". This awesome website allows you to post your arguments on a certain topic. I highly encourage everyone to participate in just one online debate. Try them out! They really can become a cool tool for prospective/armature journalists or anyone interested in just spending some time online.

RESOURCE OF THE DAY

I've always been a huge fan of Dr. Cornel West. His very provocative style of speaking/writing has always intrigued me. Recently, a colleague of mine and I got a wild idea to invite him for an open source learning chat. After visiting his official website, I noticed his calendar was available for booking. I emailed him through his partner, Tavis Smiley, and extended an invitation. This has gone unresponded. But I have not yet given up with trying to contact him. I will be persistent because he is a man I'm very interested in. I am still trying to figure out different ways to get past the gate keepers and get the message directly to him. I have recently found his mailing address for Union Theological Seminar and I have the email address of his UTS assistant. I intend to write him a letter and write her an email where I again extend an invitation, hoping for some sort of answer this time from either her or him. I will continue to update everyone as this story unfolds.

LAUNCH

I'm going to utilize the Internet in a different way. The Internet has existed for a good amount of years now, but never has it been used the way I want to until recently. I want to use the Internet to continue to write articles for In Loco Politico. This is truly a new thing. Up until recently, if you wanted to publish anything it was difficult because writing was done almost exclusively through newspapers, magazines and books. Now, anyone can use the Internet to publish their writing and gain exposure and traffic. You don't need to go through all the traditional channels because now it is just a click away. 

In Loco Politico is a news/politics blogs where Javier, Mia and I can talk about the topics we feel are politically relevant to us in ours lives and making them simple and available to the students in our AP course, but also throughout the school and even the world if other people happen to stumble upon it.

I want to continue to write articles, while finding ways to expand the blog and increase the traffic source. 

BRAVE NEW ESSAY TOPIC

Prompt: Novels and plays often depict a character caught between colliding cultures whether national, regional, ethic, religious or institutional. Such collisions can call a characters sense of identity into question. Obviously, John is such character. Write a well organized essay in which you describe his various responses to the "brave new world" and explain their relevance to the work as a whole.

Source here.



The way I would go about answering this question is to begin a complete characterization of John. I would analyze who he was (physically and personality-wise) and what/who he represented. I would then identify this collision he was caught in between and try to tie its importance to the text. I would look for ways in which this collision enriched the text and things it revealed about the work as a whole. I would try to use as many quotes and textual support as possible to strengthen my argument. The best way to organize all those ideas would be through some sort of graphic organizer, perhaps like a small mind-map that could aid me as I wrote the essay.