A Quote

I came across a quote by Walt Whitman, I liked it and thought I should share it on this blog:

"This is What you Shall Do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning god, have patience and indulgence toward people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your soul, and in your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in it's words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body..."

I liked this quote because I thought it was beautifully written, it also reminded me of the writing exercise we had in class where we had to write a run-on sentence. I've only read one poem by Walt Whiteman, after reading this quote I'd like to find more of his poems and read up more about him.

Research Process

I am researching the heat island effect, what it is and what measures can be taken to reverse the process. The research is going good, I found a lot of information on what this is and the science behind it. I also read over the simple measures that can be taken to reverse or stop this process. One I agree with is planting more vegetation in the city, tall trees, and roof top plants. The information I acquired had some alarming statistics like the temperature raises 1 degree every decade in the cities and warmer temperatures contribute to the ozone system making the smog increase. I find this subject interesting, and how simple the measures cities can take to reverse the heat island effect are.

#3

I am brainstorming topics on essay #4, I'm trying not to pick too broad of a topic, and so far I have nothing. I was happy to see I got a B+ on the first essay, I really wish I could have put more detail into it or spent a little more time on it, without the extension I'm sure my grade would have been a lot lower, so I'm thankful for that. I also have an idea on how my upcoming essay will be graded, so that will help me while I'm writing it.

Post #2

I am doing my second essay assignment on the killing of animals for fur. Reading through the articles has been a bit difficult because of the cruelty that happens to the animals who are breed then killed for their fur. The methods used are very disturbing like electrocution, breaking their necks, and the clubbing to death of baby seals in Canada, some are still alive while being skinned. In "Fur Farms" animals are being raised in captivity with little room to stretch and awful conditions. There is disease, cannibalism, self mutilation, stress, fear, and physiological and physical hardships. All this for what?? so a jacket can have a little fur trim on the cuffs or collars. Fur is tacky and unnecessary, so I believe killing animals for their fur should be banned.

First Post

I am still confused as to what is expected for the first assignment. So far I choose a magazine, and right now I'm looking for an article to write my letter on. The reflection essay of the letter is what is confusing me, but reading through previous blog posts is helping me better understand the assignment. Right now I am starting my rough draft and hoping that I do this assignment right. I am using all the notes I took in class and the description of this assignment on the gateway102 blog to help me along.