Final Portfolio

1. Response to Morgan's Post: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/04/response-to-morgans-post.html
(Photo Analysis)
2. Racism: The War at Home: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/04/racism-war-at-home-part-due-425.html
(Photo Analysis)(Group Collaboration)
3. World War III: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/world-war-3.html
(Creative Piece)(New Post)
4. Facebook War: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/facebook-war.html
(Creative Piece)(New Post)
5. Addressing America About War: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/04/addressing-america-about-war-410-in.html
(Letter)
6. Dear Soldier: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/dear-soldier.html
(Letter) (New Post)
7. Revolution: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post.html
(New Medium) (New Post)
8. She's So Heavy: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/shes-so-heavy.html
(New Post)
9.War Is Over! If You Want It:http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/04/war-is-over-if-you-want-it-happy.html
(Post of Own Design)
10.Rhetorics In the News:http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/04/httpwww.html
11. Eightteen: http://colleenadelson.blogspot.com/2008/05/eighteen-by-alice-cooper-im-in-middle.html

Thanks for the great semester Matt. I really feel I've learned more in your English course than any previous course I've taken. I've really improved my writing in these last few months and I really appreciate your guidance in that difficult pursuit!
PS. Good luck with your poetry!
PPS. I apologize I didn't add my last 3 blogs on this post this morning. I just did it now.

She's So Heavy

The famous song John Lennon wrote "I Want You, She's So Heavy," which illustrated his newfound love for Yoko Ono has always been seen for what it is, a song about lusting for a woman, that is, until "Across the Universe" came along. The woman no longer of flesh, but of solid steel.
In the film "Across the Universe," Max, a central character, has been drafted into the Vietnam war, and this scene in the film depicts the draft in a whole new light. In this scene, the words "I want you," no longer mean in a lusting or loving manner, but rather, I want you to drop your current life and go battle Vietcong you may personally have no quarrel with. I want you to sacrifice yourself, even though it may be against what you believe in.
The scene goes on to show the young men being drafted being pushed and pulled down a conveyor belt which is meant to be an assembly line. This assembly line is mass producing young toy soldiers to ship away to 'nam. A powerful illustration indeed, this scene provides the viewer with a literal image of what was going on during the draft. It wasn't a process where the individuals being drafted were treated with respect, but rather they were thrown on the assembly line with the rest of the faceless boys.
The scene goes on to show these young, mass produced soldiers carrying the statue of liberty, which is the symbol of everything that is just in this country. The lyric "She's So Heavy," goes on to obtain a new meaning; The statue is being carried by these young men and she is no longer providing them with light freedom, now she only provides hardship in great weight. This portion of the scene, I feel, is meant to depict that during the Vietnam war, the most important aspects of our country went out the window, the young people of America were no longer being trained to be the next leaders of our country, they were being trained to die before their 19th birthday.

Revolution

John Lennon, a man of peace, addresses his ideas of revolution is quite a "revolutionary" manner.
"Revolution 1" is a slower version of the popular single "Revolution" that was released about 3 months before "The White Album" in which this track is found.
The song, I feel provides the world with a breathe of fresh air. It's preaching to fight for what you believe in during a time when oppression was at it's peek. Whether your demons were provided by the Russian communist government, "chairman mao" ze dong, or the people who were forcing another bloody war on America, Lennon preached to free your mind of the institution. Revolution wasn't about anarchy or fighting back in Lennon's eyes, It was about freeing yourself from the inside. Lennon preached love and peace always, that's no question, and "Revolution 1"'s message is no different; If you pursue a revolution against evil with peace and love, It's going to be alright.

Dear Soldier,

I don't know you, i've never seen your face. I've never laughed with you, cried with you; I've never even met you.
But I want to thank you for being stronger than I ever could.
You individuals put your lives on the line for me and every other citizen in this country everyday. I don't support the War you currently face, I wish I could bring you back home where you belong, but the pursuit you have, the courageous pursuit of protecting me and my family, is something I appreciate in a way I cannot verbalize, or write out for that matter.
So please remember soldier, though we do not support the war, we, the citizens of America, support you. We are behind you and love you in ways you will never understand.
Please remember our love, that's all I ask, because that's all we have to give.
Peace & Love

Facebook War

The war on gas is a very prevalent one, especially in the United States. Gas is hitting an all time high, said to be on it's way to 4 dollars per unleaded gallon, and that's not even considering higher grades of gasoline. We need to do something about this excruciating, costly war we as citizens face daily; But, alas! a solution has been developed. In the facebook group "Gas war!!! please join and read!!! (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2373662794) " A solution has been developed in the form of boycotting certain gasoline giants rather than gasoline itself. The creator pleas that, if we boycott Exxon and Mobil, the two biggest gasoline providers in the country, that oil companies will be forced to understand that the buyer controls the market, not the seller. I think this idea is very intelligent, but unfortunately, a facebook group isn't enough to get the point across. There has been other plans in the past year, "Do not get gas day!" or "boycott driving your car day!," but those will never work because people will always think of convenience before economically helping our country. This idea is different because it doesn't ban us from using our cars, which are extremely necessary to most. This idea provides the concrete notion of what to do; if only the majority of facebook users were old enough to drive, we'd be back down to $1.50 a gallon in no time.

World War 3

World War 3 is something many ponder; World War 3 is also something that most ignore the likeliness of. 

A 3rd World War will occur, there is no question of that; and this is certain not because of the issues our world faces, but because of the people who have the power to make decisions regarding these world issues. A single pursuit will never cause a world war, but the man behind the pursuit will.

WW III won't be like the previous World Wars because the stakes will be higher this time around. World powers have access to new types of weaponry that those presidents and prime ministers of the 1940's could have not imagined. Again though, the issue isn't the weapons that have been invented in the last 70 years, but the willingness to use them.

Who is involved in World War III? Simple. America. America will be involved in the 3rd and last World War because America is powerful, no question, but America is also sometimes led down the wrong path by overly ambitious leaders who cannot see the error of their ways. Example: The war in Iraq. No one little citizen in this country voted for this very debated war, yet our children are dying there for a pursuit that many don't believe in. World War 3? No. But The issue of the War in Iraq is only foreshadowing mistakes to come.

Life after world war 3 will be minimal, short, and lacking what makes life on earth so beautiful. 

Now look at these depictions, eerily accurate approximations of what the final World War will be like, and ask yourself, aren't these causes and effects reason enough for peace? Or even aren't they reason enough to take the chances you never would think to because tomorrow may never come? My answer is Yes. 

"Eighteen" By Alice Cooper
I'm in the middle without any plans
I'm a boy and I'm a man

I'm eighteen
and I don't know what I want
Eighteen
I just don't know what I want
Eighteen
I gotta get away
I gotta get out of this place
I'll go runnin in outer space
Oh yeah

I got a
baby's brain and an old man's heart
Took eighteen years to get this far
Don't always know what I'm talkin' about
Feels like I'm livin in the middle of doubt
Cause I'm

Eighteen
I get confused every day
Eighteen
I just don't know what to say
Eighteen
I gotta get away

Lines form on my face and my hands
Lines form on the left and right
I'm in the middle
the middle of life
I'm a boy and I'm a man
I'm eighteen and I LIKE IT

I am eighteen
Is the artist reading my mind?
The great thing about this rock classic is that, it was true then it's true now.
Some may say that the adolescent years are the most confusing, middle school and what not, but it's clearly eighteen. Every aspect of your life has changed at this point, whether it be then with the war in vietnam, or now, with a whole new world called college.
This song describes an eighteen year old's feelings of confusion, torn between adolescence and adulthood. "I'm a boy and I'm a man."
It's true, I am. I am an adult by age, a legal adult off to college with the ability to run my own life as I want to, but I'm still a child in so many ways.
"I got a baby's brain and an old man's heart...took eighteen years to get this far"
My heart has experienced many things in these eighteen years, but even still my brain isn't wise. I still think like a child and it's hard to focus my adult resposibilities into my mind that's care-free, no worries of homework or tests; the mind of a child that just wants to have fun.
"i'm in the middle of life... I'm eighteen and I like it."
Even though eighteen may be a confusing time, it's the prime time! Everything you experience your first year of college, your confusion, your "adult status" combined with immature mentality; these things are what it's all about. This is a time where you can live as you please without being accountable for your actions. I love being eighteen.