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https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance: Medicare costs at a glance | Medicare

A Blog About Writing

     I have always wanted to be a writer, and until now I have never done anything to really develop that dream. I have written 8 short plays and have volunteers, which are also my friends, perform them for others at a conference we attend once a year. This class has helped me understand the art of writing a little better, and writing a blog has helped tremendously with the process of creative writing. The blog I found and am choosing to write about has to do with writing a blog. The web site's name is Blogging for Dummies at http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/ This has been a helpful tool in learning to blog with this class as well as my family and friends. Thanks to this class I have tapped into another form of creative writing, and I intend on continuing to blog. The most interesting thing I have discovered is the ability to have ads run with my blog, and maybe someday make a little extra money selling advertisement space.
    Of course I still need to educate myself on how all of this works together, but having another form of writing at my fingertips; that can be view instantly by others and even paid for with advertisement is an exciting possibility. I also have a script for a movie that is almost finished, but is way too long to post anywhere. I do believe that my writing will take practice to hone, and like anything worthwhile will take the rest of my life to develop. I am happy to know that I am at least on my way, and I am finally doing something real about following my dreams. I will return to the Blogger for Dummies for much needed advice and direction because I think it is one of the most helpful blogs that I have found, and in keeping up with technology I can use all the help I can get. Anyone interested in becoming a better Blogger should keep blogging along with me, and we can learn together.

Unit 3 Blog - Why There Are Pages And Why They Must Turn

I like pages in books.  I like flipping back and forth between pages and highlighting what I think is important but books can be bulky, heavy and take up space.  Having more than one or two opened for reference along with some written notes, and your office can begin to look and feel messy and cluttered.  That being said, I agree with Robert Bringhurst when he wrote "Books are not confined to their material instantiations.  They are present in oral as well as written cultures.  Indeed, they appear to be, for human species, a cultural universal" (1).  This being written 3 years ago, still rings true.  Books are not obsolete, even though they may appear that way when taking an online class.  All of my online classes have required me to buy a corresponding text book, and for that I am grateful because like I mentioned, I like turning pages in a book.  When Bringhurst wrote this article he acknowledged that electronic books were brand new in 2008 " Electronic books are still in their infancy"  (25).  Bringhurst thought they were crude and didn't have much of a future.  Unfortunately for him he was very wrong, electronic books are popular and cute.  I predict that at sometime in the future I will receive on as a gift from a well-intentioned loved one.  I can see the usefulness and benefits of carrying a Kindle, or something like it.  Having hundreds of books stored electronically seems neat and efficient.  I have gotten used to storing information on the computer, so I suppose the leap would feel the same when storing books.
     I feel I am always playing catch up with technology, because it is constantly changing.  I will enjoy using an electronic book when I get one, but will also enjoy the benefits of keeping my old books and turning pages instead of clicking. Until I am really comfortable with machines (which in my case may be never) I am prone to believe the old way is still the best way however cumbersome it may appear.  Simplicity and common sense scream to me that having all knowledge and information in one place would be the smart way to go but I agree with Bringhurst when he predicts that nothing will replace books all together.  Electronic books will turn out to be another medium from which we read, just like written books complimented oral storytelling instead of replacing it (25).

Works Cited



Bringhurst, Robert. “Why There Are Pages and Why They Must Turn.”
     World Literature Today (2008): EBSCO. University of Oklahoma 24 Feb. 2011

Blog Assignment Unit 2

I absolutely disagree with the point that school officials don't have the authority to regulate students' off campus blogging.  I do agree with the counterpoint argument that school officials should have broad leeway in regulating student blogs. In dealing with todays' climate of bullying, and the devastating aftermath of "so-called cyber-bulling" (Hudson, 70). I believe it is the schools responsibility to protect their students (and teachers) from being preyed upon in the form of cyber harassment by mean, aggressive, losers they are forced into going to public school with. In my opinion, rights to privacy stop the minute you plaster your privacy on the Internet. I found the viewpoint that students have rights to privacy compelling, and while I would agree with that viewpoint say 10 years ago, today things have definitely changed. You cannot tell me that something written on a public blog is 100 percent protected by free speech if it singles out and harasses private people in a world wide forum. Individuals need to exercise good judgment and restraint when speaking or writing publicly about others. According to Hudson, many believe that student blogs are like journals, and that schools should not be able to punish students for "expressions created entirely off campus" (62). Well, I believe that a blog is not like a journal. Private journals are kept in private. Online journals are anything but private. What is the point in letting snotty high school student's harass their teachers and classmates on the worldwide stage of the Internet? Wouldn't it be better to give them minor consequences now? Instead of major consequences later?  Like a traffic ticket before a car crash? Maybe in a couple of years they will have matured enough to realise that the world is not fair, does not owe them anything, and opinions are almost useless without an education. Punishing students who bully over the Internet is the right thing to do for the bullied student, and the only rational option in dealing with a school bully. Hoping they will stop bullying on their own is like hoping a snake won't bite on it's own. Are we so afraid of the bully's attorneys that he/she is given free reign over the school via the Internet? Besides, it is the schools obligation to protect all of their students (and I believe staff) from harassment. "The paramount duty of school officials is to provide a safe learning environment for their students" (Hudson, 71). That environment does not stop at the doorstep of the school, because school relationships do not stop there anymore. Bullying has no curfew, and does not stop at a certain hour of day, or in a certain location of a city  because most bully's now have access to the Internet. With teens feeling empowered by their rights to bully their teachers, principals, and fellow students, schools face new challenges they had better be prepared for. I hope high schools around the country are prepared to fight for their right to protect their staff as well as their students from ugly harassment by malicious youth. These rights far outweigh the bullies right to harass their school and teachers under the banner of free speech. As long as these troubled kids are in public school, and under age I think the school officials have every right to protect their staff, and good kids from the bully's reckless taunting via the Internet. There is such a thing as good, and bad in this world. Giving bad kids a free pass in this area teaches them nothing. When they are grown the world will give them quit a shock, and maybe then they will have their eyes opened to the destruction their words can cause.

First Blog Assignment

George Orwell made many great points in his "Politics and the English Language" (1946) essay. I was captivated by his simple, clear, easy to understand everyday language. The fact that he was able to draw in my attention, and give me many great examples of his point about bad writing (that I totally agreed with) proves he was a wonderful communicator of the English language. He had me nodding my head and laughing loudly at some of the absurd examples of bad writing that were written by people with respectable titles and positions. I loved his point about them being too lazy to actually figure out what the words meant. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to political "double speak" and felt like I was being bamboozled. But, because I perceived them as being someone with an overall higher ranking in life, I was left feeling inadequate and bewildered. Now I understand that this form of language is meant to confuse and quiet those of us who would like real answers to our questions. What about those who use bad language skills to cover up their own ineptness? To me, that is just sad. If that's all they can muster, I give those prideful enough to hide their ignorance with meaningless words a pass. They probably don't sleep well at night anyway. Let's all be who we are, be honest about what we say, and try to say it plain English (so we don't need a lawyer for interpretation). I believe Orwell was right when he said the English language is in trouble. Too much dishonesty, too many cover ups. I also believe he was right in saying that clear thinking "is the next step to political regeneration" (para.2). Surely clear thinking leads to clear understanding, and a natural outgrowth of that would be clear communication. I don't think all politicians hide behind bad language. I do believe some of them who are less ethical and misguided use it as protection against their dishonest motives, giving them time to figure out their next move or vote. I also agree with Orwells contention that this problem is reversible. Orwells essay has inspired me to pay attention to the way I communicate. I appreciate knowing that smaller words are best, and that many words are not better, but simply too many.