HW27: Baghdad Bibliography

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005.

This book Baghdad Burning who is female blogger who writes about her daily life and struggles that are happening. The book is based on these blogs that Riverbend (as she identifies herself) has written through her days in Iraq. This book is meant for people who truly care about what is going on in Iraq, and take in information from someone with personal experience. The book is not about bashing on the Americans, it is about coming at peace with very many different issues that are happening in society today. It is like a journal, she goes through it day by day and tells the world about issues that she and many other face. She translated the book into English just so Americans can see what these people have to face, and to consider ourselves lucky. We do not have to wake up worrying whether our children are going to make it home safely after school, or if we are going to get hit by a bomb in the middle of the night. She blogs so that people can relate to her with these issues and state their outlook on it. Blogs like these are viewed by people nationally in the U.S., one viewer being myself. In my A Blog Of One's Own class in college we are taught to create our own blogs, view others blogs, and read about the different blogging out there. This has tremendously impacted me, because I am writing a topic essay on racism and the blogosphere and this was an example that I used. When I looked at the cover of the book, I already knew that what I was about to read was going to be very impacting. The color scheme and pictures are very down lifting, and the introduction explains what you are about to encounter.

HW 25: Responding to Riverbend

In the introduction of Baghdad Burning, it explains the affect the the war is having to Iraqi people. Riverbend explicitly explains the terror that Iraq is going through, they were having enough problems before when the war wasn't going on but it is taking a toll on all of the citizens who live there. The Gulf War had already put their country behind in developing, and it has never recovered from all of that damage. Emphasising that " Food supplies were reduced, amd by the mid-1990's, one-third of the country's children under the age of five were malnourished" (Riverbend, xv), the country suffered from many deaths and the poverty rate increased. Many outbreaks of disease were exposed, due to poor health and healthcare. During the Gulf War the sewages were destroyed and it limited their water resources.The country had a downfall from there, but was in the process of rebuilding until another war approached in 2003. This demolished the country even more, and inevitably put the people at very dangerous risks. There is very limited education in Iraq now, and what there is to offer people are afraid to send their children. There is the fear that someone may kidnap them or kill them even. Before, women and men were beginning to accept eachother but now it has fallen apart. The invasion of the U.S. to Iraq is putting their country at serious risk for many things. Americans are demolishing them, and Iraq had an idea. They wanted to limit the damage that we are doing to them by having volunteers patrol their weapons and other dangerous substances. There were not enough people to volunteer and take part in this action, so they will have to do their best. The devostation that these people are going through is crutial. If Riverbend had never expressed her thoughts through writing, than us Americans would be left unknowledgable about the tragedies and experiences of an Iraqi's lifestyle right now.
My own memories of the US invasion will impact my life forever. Although it does not impact my everyday life of having to go outside of my home not knowing whether I will make it back alive or not, it has left many imprints in my mind and emotions. I know people who have gone into Iraq to fight for their country, and have not returned home. Many of my friends left for the marines, army, and national guard after graduating high school. It leaves me with the thoughts and wonders of why people must be put through such torture and hatred. The thought in mind of wondering whether I will see them again or not is very upsetting. For all of the hatred America has towards Iraq, I do not take part in any of it. I may have some form of hatred for the people who took part in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but the people of Iraq had no say in it. I feel as if the war in Iraq should come to an end, because all that it's causing is more hatred to innocent people.

HW 24: Do you have a room of your own?

Reading chapter five and six of A room of One's Own, women and history have come a long way. Women are now able to write the same amount of books as men, and are not limited on what to write about. Women have the ability to speak open mindedly about anything they desire, just as well as men. The over empowerment that men had towards women, made women become stronger over the decades. This made women come to conclusion that expressing their thoughts in writing become as powerful. It is said in chapter five ""If she has a room to herself,of which I am not sure; if she has five hundred a year of her own- but that remains to be proved-then I think something of a great importance has happened" (Woolf, 84). It is stating that if a woman has a room to think and write in, than many significant things will happen in the production of writing. Mary Carmichael had a theory that each persons mind has a bit of male and female elements within it. " Made me also ask whether there are two sexes in the mind corresponding to the two sexes in the body, and whether they also require to be united in order to get complete satisfaction and happiness" (Woolf, 98). Maybe men and women do have the same elements within, and that is why over time it has come to realization that they should be viewed as equal. Since this book has been published, sexism has improved greatly. People are now understanding and accepting the fact that both males and females have their advantages and disadvantages. They have realized that there are things that men are capable of that females aren't and vice versa.
Having a room of your own is a place to get away and take a mind vacation and be able to think endlessly about the possibilities. I have a room of my own, and it is my dorm. When I sit in front of the computer and write my blogs, it allows me to forget about the real world and become closer with myself. Having my own "room" to be able to think (an write) unanswered thoughts is awesome. I have my own space to think whatever I want.

HW 23: Responding As Virginia Woolf

Apologies to Virginia Woolf:
As I spent an endless amount of time reading about how women should act in the article "Those gossipy female prison guards", I trembled across many empty thoughts. Why should women have to "be one of the boys" (line 2 in article)? It just boggles my mind that people have thoughts to critique women in such a manner. In depth, thinking to myself the reasoning that there is such a handbook for female prison guards to abide by. The selfishness that must be in one's mind to think of such a thing to create for these females. The question arose in my mind, why don't men have a special handbook? This is merely unnesseccary for any different sex to have seperate rules to abide by for the same mannerisms. Each individual should have the same respect and outlooks of other people. It is only known that if each person succeeds at becoming a guard, that they each had to accomplish the same set of goals. Merely this means that males and females must have some of the same assets, and truely this means that neither sex is more dominant. Females must hold their thoughts and desires together. " And what holds them together in these rare instances of survival is something that one calls integrity". (Woolf, 72)More follow-ups on the article may be found at: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/10/22/those-gossipy-female-prison-guards/

HW22: Responding to Virginia Woolf chapter 2

In this particular chapter in A Room Of One's Own I found many examples of patriarchy. On page 25 she began asking herself questions after her luncheon at Oxbridge (men only college). She wondered why men drank wine and women chose to drink water... or was that a choice??? There are some advantages that men have other than woman in England, and she began to explore that. "Why was one sex so prosperous and the other so poor?" (Woolf, 25). These questions may be in each females mind, and it needs to come to closure why? She was also boggled by the fact that men are more interested in women than women in men. She wanted to further her research on this topic and came across very many different perspectives. It states the people really don't choose who to like or dislike, nonetheless others put the thought of what/who to like in your head. So, if men overrule women than people's outlook on men will be much stronger. Generally speaking, people will have more respect for males and that is not fair. People should be treated equal. As I was searching the New York Times website, there merely was not talk about sexism in the United States. I am sure that there is some issues of it in society, but not articles displayed in this newspaper. Slowly, sexism is maturing over time and eventually (by prediction) it will all be put behind us. There are other things to worry about other than who is better. "In a century's time very possibly they will have changed completely. Moreover, in a hundred years ,I thought, reaching my own doorstep, women will have ceased to be the protected sex." (Woolf, 40) She is saying that people will more or less be equal in the long run.

HW21: Responding to Virginia Woolf

Dear Brother,
I have indeed read the first chapter of Virgina Wolf's A Room of One's Own, and I will be able to give you some advice. In the beginning of the chapter she says that each woman needs a room to write fiction in, and it is a mystery! She is saying that woman need some time to themselves and need a little space from people sometimes. In this chapter it talks about how females and male writers are not treated equally and taken as serious. The chapter relates a lot to sexism, she states as she was saying that women should have a room to write fiction in that you also have to be able to afford the room as well. This is a disadvantage to women, because it is harder for them to have the ability to pay for it. When it comes to males, they have more of an advantage. She is using this example to relate to it as a whole, women are not as fortunate as men and they do not have as many advantages as them. This chapter was astonishing to me, because it sets a perspective on reality. Since I am a female, this chapter was very important to me. It helps me understand the different moralities and standards that men and woman have to live by. I hope that my summary and thoughts of the chapter will help you understand the logic behind the chapter and will help you with your paper.
Sincerely,
Renee

HW19: Graff Chapter 10 to Drezner and Farrell's "Web of Influence"

When reading the "web of Influence" by Drezner and Farrwell, I chose the paragraph talking about all of the international blog sites. They were stating that "although Alam Pax paved the way for Iraqi bloggers, he has stopped blogging himself, and only around seventy Iraqi blogs have picked up where he left off" (Kline and Burstein,96). This is important, because if there is little information on the war in Iraq this means that the less information people know about it. The news does not reveal that much "information" about it, so people need to find alternative ways to get it. There are also other blogs for many different countries, it is always important to know what is happening in the world today. Consider that there was no blogs about different countries, for example the daily news and newspapers have a lot of important information to give to society and they can't get to all of it. It is important for other sources to be able to provide people with the information. If blogs don't have the capability of doing so, then people will have to find another way to get the information that they are looking for. Even more important, people should get involved and help provide important information to blog sites so that people will have easier access to the world's daily news. If people followed through and did this, then it would be a lot easier to keep track of what is happening around the globe. My conclusion, then, is that people should be aware of what is happening today in society. People should not just be aware of what is happening close to home, but what is happening everywhere in the world. What may happen somewhere else may affect you later on down the road.

HW18: Least Favorite Blog Of the Week

While I was checking up on the blogs that I am watching I came across a very devastating blog. I found it on Feministe and the headline was On Rape and Power, it was about a man who was named the worst rapist in the state of Pennsylvania. He pleaded guilty of raping 30 women, but the police are sure that there are more victims out there. At one trial in Philadelphia a judge heard the same senario "the women blacked out at some point during their dates, and either woke up incapacitated to Marsali's assulting them, or in the morning naked" (Lines 6 & 7). It said in the article that some of the woman who had been raped by him later had sex with him willingly. He met some of these women on match.com. The scary thing is that he knew his victims, he got to know them well (maybe a little too well). I thought that this article was "bad" not because of the way that it was written, but because of the story itself. This is very sad, and it could happen to anyone. I know people who have been in similar situations and it is very scary. I suggest that if anyone wants to use online dating systems to be very careful of what you say. I would also tell a friend or a family member about it, so that someone knows what is going on, just in case that something happens.

HW 17B: Applying Graff chapter 9 to Cox o Zuniga

During my time reading these chapters I decided that the blog Daily Kos was more persuasive. This blog seems to be more serious than cox. The Cox blog seems to be more of a joke and seems to be more of a reality blog. There is a lot of important knowledge on the Daily Kos site. People seem to be very dependant on it seeming how they get about 500,00 visitors per day! It said in the interview with Zuniga that "I don't really have many swing voters reading DailyKos, and I don't really want them."(page 47 of Blog). He wants people who are democrats to visit his site and state their opinion, he also wants people who he can relate to and understand their point of view. He knows what he is talking about and is a very intelligent person. I agree with what he has to say, due to the fact of where I stand in politics. In my personal opinion, I think that DailyKos is a very dependable and knowledgeable site to visit. This site would influence the way that I would vote in a presidential election, because it is trustworthy and millions of people view it monthly so it must have great traits.

HW17:Blogs I'm watching

While creating my bloglines account I was assigned to watch three different blogs. I chose to follow up on the blogs jezebel, feministe, and salon: Broadcast. While searching all of these blog's posts there was one that particularly caught my eye. It was on the Salon:Broadcast page and the headline was "Daddy Issues", so I read it.. This article was about a married couple who could not get pregnant because the husband's sperm count was too low. They wanted a child real bad, so they decided to get a sperm donor.. Not a better person to ask than your father right?? Well that is what they did, and now she is pregnant with her father-in-law's child. This sounds pretty gross to me. Dodai explained in the dialogue, "A seventy-two year old man will now father his own grandchild" (in line three of the article). Hearing those words coming from someone sounds devastating to me. That is like having sex with your husband's father, and that is not something that I am particularly interested in.

HW 16 B: The Five Pillars of Conversational Software

In this reading I came across many different importances of blogging. The main importances that I took into consideration were referred to as The five pillars of conversational software. These five facts have their own signifigant importance to the blogging atmosphere.

The first pillar is ease of publishing. This is stating that publishing blogs is very easy and self explainitory. Publishing a blog is much easier that publishing a book pursay. This will make more people want to become professional bloggers due to having to know only very little knowledge of the process. This is also a more inexpensive way for people to have their voices heard.

The second pillar is discoverability. This allows other larger services discover the wonders of the blogosphere. It helps them maintain a status on the latest blogs and also may create a little competition between the two. Discovering new things on the web may also be exciting for people as well as creating tension for others.

The third pillar is cross-site conversations. This is a way for people on different networks or websites to collide their ideas and contrast them. It allows people to see what other opportunities are out on the web and it also is a good way to communicate with people using different publishing sites (such as myspace, facebook, etc.).

The fourth pillar is permalinking. On some of the blogs in the web, there may be URL's leading to other sites. This is an advantage for people to be open-minded and to see what else is out there. Having the opportunity to do this is incredible, because primarily people are usually very competitive and do not want people to view other sites. They assume that it will take viewers away from their site and promote them to the others.

The last but not least pillar is syndication. This started back in the '90's, but it was not as important as in today's society. Syndication allows people to view numerous amounts of sites. It is a very easy thing to upload (or download) to your computer. No one has to reveal any personal information about themselves and the folder organizes itself.

HW 14: Ito Transitionrama

As an illustration for all the readers of this blog, about 125,00 people visit Joi Ito's blog each and every month. Hence the fact that his first blog appeared in 1994, many people have become interested. That is, this has become a meeting place for people in the blogging atmosphere to elaborate their views. By contrast Joi is "involved in helping to shape global public policy when it comes to web-related issues" (Page 143).
Accordingly, he starts most of his blog posts as questions and they then lead to a dialogue. Along the same lines he talks about merely anything that expands his knowledge. Admittedly, Joi named his blog Joi Ito's Web, because it is like saying that he owns that blog and has to maintain it so be respectful. Granted that people pay money for some of their creative blogs and they do not charge people to view them, by this point people are more interested in what one another has to say. To put it bluntly "the consumer is now becoming the product" (Page 145). Nonetheless, Ito has compared this to folk music he states"we are now in a period where we are in a very constrained, narrow, mass communication method-television, newspapers-where you can try to tune the whole world into a very narrow band" (page 145). Along the same lines he is trying to say that people are all trying to fit in and like the same kinds of things, but is that very possible? Conversely this allows people to find different communities and people with the same (true) desires as you.

HW 14: Ito/Denton Transitionrama