I was thinking about leaving this blog post blank to get across the point that I don't write.
When I was younger I loved to write. I was in creative writing classes in summer school. As I got older, my interest shifted to visual story telling: painting.
I suppose my inability to write is because all of my intelligence lies within my eyes and ears. I am a visual and auditory learner. I also have an extreme case of ADD, and cannot sit down and read something to save my life. As a result of my reading habits being almost non-existent, I do not have the natural flowing skills of a writer.
I guess the way I write is just getting all my thoughts down on paper; no organization required. My favorite writing I've done has been the entries in my notebook (I guess you could call it a diary, but I didn't want to sound like a bad Britney Spears song.) I am the queen of making lists, and I wish I could just make lists for the rest of my life, none of this analytical-paragraph-organized-paper crap. I often have writer's block, and it causes me to have extreme frustration, which turns into extreme procrastination, which ends with extreme stress.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
FEAR: It's my middle name
Hello, my name is Bridget Fear Schwefel. That's right, fear is my middle name. Ever since I was a young girl, I've passed through numerous fears. I'd be lying if I said these fears were rational and that I wasn't embarrased by them. I hope you're comfortable right now, because I have a long interesting piece of reading I'm about to dish out to you. Here are the fears I've been succumbed to over the years:
Dogs (and animals in general) : From ages 4-12 I was deathly afraid of dogs. Everytime I was insight of a dog, I immediately thought that it was going to kill me.
Large Mascot Costumes: I couldn't go to Disney World until I was 8. Mickey Mouse freaked me out. Don't even get me started on Bucky Badger. Let's just say I've been to very few badger games.
Volleyballs: I honestly was one of the only girls who didn't do volleyball in middle school. Reason being; I was afraid of the ball. The thought of a leather ball coming towards my face full speed just freaks me out. So as a result; I duck and run away when ever I see that ball coming towards my face.
Vomit: Emetophobia. Yep, I looked it up. I went to C.H. Bird Elementary and I'm pretty sure that whatever they were serving us there was contaminated because they're was always a kid throwing up. The noise is what really gets to me. When I was in 6th grade, me and my friend went to our town's summer festival. We went on the Tilt-a-Whirl. You can probably assume how this story ends.
Falling: In 10th grade, I fell backwards off of a railing 3 feet tall. That doesn't seem so bad at all, but it really hurt, not to mention I cracked my head open.
Staples: See above.
Blood: This isn't really a fear. It just grosses me out.
Being Trapped: Last Halloween, I went to the Haunted Forest. I thought I'd be okay. I was just going to close my eyes the entire time. I realized that that was not going to work after I ran into a tree and hit my head. At that moment I started breathing rapidly and bawling my eyes out. I had an anxiety attack. There a no turning back and the only way I could get out would be to forge ahead. This haunted forest felt like it was a mile long. A mile full of crying and screaming and not being able to see. This fear is derived from claustrophobia I believe. I really hate crowds, and morphsuits.
Dying Alone/Too Young: I think many people have a fear of death. A silly fear actually, once you're dead, you have no emotions. I believe these people actually have the fear of not living life to the fullest. I have many goals and many dreams, and the thought of my life ending before any of those were accomplished makes me nervous. I am also afraid of never finding my soulmate and never having kids. I do not want to be an old cat lady who dies in her apartment and no one finds her body for a week. That's my number one fear.
Dogs (and animals in general) : From ages 4-12 I was deathly afraid of dogs. Everytime I was insight of a dog, I immediately thought that it was going to kill me.
Large Mascot Costumes: I couldn't go to Disney World until I was 8. Mickey Mouse freaked me out. Don't even get me started on Bucky Badger. Let's just say I've been to very few badger games.
Volleyballs: I honestly was one of the only girls who didn't do volleyball in middle school. Reason being; I was afraid of the ball. The thought of a leather ball coming towards my face full speed just freaks me out. So as a result; I duck and run away when ever I see that ball coming towards my face.
Vomit: Emetophobia. Yep, I looked it up. I went to C.H. Bird Elementary and I'm pretty sure that whatever they were serving us there was contaminated because they're was always a kid throwing up. The noise is what really gets to me. When I was in 6th grade, me and my friend went to our town's summer festival. We went on the Tilt-a-Whirl. You can probably assume how this story ends.
Falling: In 10th grade, I fell backwards off of a railing 3 feet tall. That doesn't seem so bad at all, but it really hurt, not to mention I cracked my head open.
Staples: See above.
Blood: This isn't really a fear. It just grosses me out.
Being Trapped: Last Halloween, I went to the Haunted Forest. I thought I'd be okay. I was just going to close my eyes the entire time. I realized that that was not going to work after I ran into a tree and hit my head. At that moment I started breathing rapidly and bawling my eyes out. I had an anxiety attack. There a no turning back and the only way I could get out would be to forge ahead. This haunted forest felt like it was a mile long. A mile full of crying and screaming and not being able to see. This fear is derived from claustrophobia I believe. I really hate crowds, and morphsuits.
Dying Alone/Too Young: I think many people have a fear of death. A silly fear actually, once you're dead, you have no emotions. I believe these people actually have the fear of not living life to the fullest. I have many goals and many dreams, and the thought of my life ending before any of those were accomplished makes me nervous. I am also afraid of never finding my soulmate and never having kids. I do not want to be an old cat lady who dies in her apartment and no one finds her body for a week. That's my number one fear.
Cultural Trends: Shades
This cultural artifact is not life changing or absolutely necessary for survival, but it something that's always nice to own. Sunglasses have been a simple thing part of American culture for years, but have changed year by year. Do you remember the 90's? The size of sunglasses were the size of what regular lense glasses were. Year by year, the size of sunglasses have gotten bigger and bigger. They can be found on almost anyone, but I believe the most you see would be on the faces of celebrities. There are infinite combinations of colors, shapes, and sizes.
Let's not forget sunglasses #1 purpose: to shield eyes from the sun. But is that the main reason people buy sunglasses? If that we're the case, every person would have only have one pair. Try finding a person that only has one pair. I guarantee you probably won't find one. Sunglasses have become a staple fashion item (even though most of the time, they just make you look like a bug.)
Sunglasses are supposed to be protection for your eyes, but could it be argued that they are protection from people? When you want to be mysterious in disguise, sunglasses may be your tool to keep you hidden. Sunglasses are also a mechanism to give you "swagg." Do you ever see people wearing sunglasses at night? Normal people think, why on earth is that person wearing sunglasses? How can they see? It's what the cool kids do I guess.
When you analyze something, it opens your mind to a whole new perspective. It turns 2D thoughts into 3D. Sunglasses can be protection mechanisms, disguise mechanisms, or swagg mechanisms.
Let's not forget sunglasses #1 purpose: to shield eyes from the sun. But is that the main reason people buy sunglasses? If that we're the case, every person would have only have one pair. Try finding a person that only has one pair. I guarantee you probably won't find one. Sunglasses have become a staple fashion item (even though most of the time, they just make you look like a bug.)
Sunglasses are supposed to be protection for your eyes, but could it be argued that they are protection from people? When you want to be mysterious in disguise, sunglasses may be your tool to keep you hidden. Sunglasses are also a mechanism to give you "swagg." Do you ever see people wearing sunglasses at night? Normal people think, why on earth is that person wearing sunglasses? How can they see? It's what the cool kids do I guess.
When you analyze something, it opens your mind to a whole new perspective. It turns 2D thoughts into 3D. Sunglasses can be protection mechanisms, disguise mechanisms, or swagg mechanisms.
Political Dimensions of Language
We all love Barack Obama's enchanting voice that he uses in all of his speeches. His speeches contain different subject matter, but they're are all connected in some way. As tradition serves, all presidents give speeches about similar subject matter. History changes though. Barack Obama uses the word nation a lot, which makes sense...because we live in a nation. I found it interesting that every single president from 1973 until president has used the word America the most. I wonder why in years prior they didn't use the word.
George W. Bush used the word freedom 27 times. I believe it was because he sent so many troops to Iraq and the word freedom was his way of convincing the nation that we were okay. We're we really okay though?
George W. Bush used the word freedom 27 times. I believe it was because he sent so many troops to Iraq and the word freedom was his way of convincing the nation that we were okay. We're we really okay though?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wollstonecraft
After reading the first couple pages of "The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discussed", I disagreed with Mary Wollstonecraft. I didn't understand what the big deal was. Then I finally read the top of the essay. To the right of the author's name read the dates 1759-1797. I found a greater understanding of the writing knowing that it was a period piece.
Wollstonecraft brought up some good points. She at one point described husbands as "overgrown children." When you think of women before suffrage or other rights, what were they expected of? To clean the house and make dinner. Yes, men went off to work, but once they entered the house again, everything had to be done for them. They were so helpless, just like children. "All the difference that I can discern, arises from the superior advantage of liberty, which enables the former to see more life." It is said in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." Is that strictly only for the male gender? Or does that refer to all of mankind? Women are expected to be beautiful and fertile, if they are not... they're good for nothing.
She used the word "virtue" a lot in her essay. Virtue is the conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles. Virtue was a goal for women, the "more useless members of society." Look at how far we have come. Women are allowed to vote, run for president, and fight for our country. We have all of the same rights as men. I first misunderstood this article because I thought it was modern. I believed that this woman wrote 19 pages complaining how women have it so bad. Once I realized that this was before all that, I became grateful. If it wasn't for this woman writing down her amazing thoughts on paper, we might be still where they were back then. So I just wanted to say, YOU GO GIRL!
Wollstonecraft brought up some good points. She at one point described husbands as "overgrown children." When you think of women before suffrage or other rights, what were they expected of? To clean the house and make dinner. Yes, men went off to work, but once they entered the house again, everything had to be done for them. They were so helpless, just like children. "All the difference that I can discern, arises from the superior advantage of liberty, which enables the former to see more life." It is said in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." Is that strictly only for the male gender? Or does that refer to all of mankind? Women are expected to be beautiful and fertile, if they are not... they're good for nothing.
She used the word "virtue" a lot in her essay. Virtue is the conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles. Virtue was a goal for women, the "more useless members of society." Look at how far we have come. Women are allowed to vote, run for president, and fight for our country. We have all of the same rights as men. I first misunderstood this article because I thought it was modern. I believed that this woman wrote 19 pages complaining how women have it so bad. Once I realized that this was before all that, I became grateful. If it wasn't for this woman writing down her amazing thoughts on paper, we might be still where they were back then. So I just wanted to say, YOU GO GIRL!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Deviant: The Shocking Story of Ed Gein
Instead of reading a nice non-fiction book, I decided to read a gruesome one. I had heard of Ed Gein before, but I was unaware of how disturbing this man actually was.
The story opens with the story of George Gein, Eddie's father. He was described as an "unfortunate bum" who married a difficult. Augusta Gein loved her children, but didn't show it. She was severly OCD; she would put her house cleaning before her sons. Eddie had a brother, Henry, who "mysteriously died" when he and Eddie were playing out in the woods. (I speculate that Ed actually killed him). Once Ed hit his mid-30's, all of Ed's family was dead, leaving him a sad, lonely man.
People in the Plainfield, Wisconsin area mysteriously started going missing. Detectives and citizens of the town had small speculation, but never accused Ed of the crime. Finally, sheriffs decided to search Ed's house, and they found things they never would imagine.
This book was quite well written. It was organized into three different sections. The beginning was Ed's childhood and foreshadowing as to why he was so psycho. The middle actually shared with the reader why Ed was so psycho. It was quite gruesome. The end section was the aftermath and trials. It was crazy to read about how someone so disturbing lived in my homestate. I do wish I would have read a more pleasant book, but this book was still quite entertaining.
The story opens with the story of George Gein, Eddie's father. He was described as an "unfortunate bum" who married a difficult. Augusta Gein loved her children, but didn't show it. She was severly OCD; she would put her house cleaning before her sons. Eddie had a brother, Henry, who "mysteriously died" when he and Eddie were playing out in the woods. (I speculate that Ed actually killed him). Once Ed hit his mid-30's, all of Ed's family was dead, leaving him a sad, lonely man.
People in the Plainfield, Wisconsin area mysteriously started going missing. Detectives and citizens of the town had small speculation, but never accused Ed of the crime. Finally, sheriffs decided to search Ed's house, and they found things they never would imagine.
This book was quite well written. It was organized into three different sections. The beginning was Ed's childhood and foreshadowing as to why he was so psycho. The middle actually shared with the reader why Ed was so psycho. It was quite gruesome. The end section was the aftermath and trials. It was crazy to read about how someone so disturbing lived in my homestate. I do wish I would have read a more pleasant book, but this book was still quite entertaining.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
The issue of Google and technology taking over human beings was brought in an interesting way in this article. Nicholas Carr's overall point of this essay was that humans are no longer capable of deep reading because the internet (especially google) has made us lazy.
Do I agree with his statement? Personally, yes I do. A lot of his points were valid and I shamefully say that a lot of them apply to me. "What the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation." True story. I'm trying to write this blog, but all that's on my mind is how much I want to check my facebook and tumblr. I sometimes think that I have ADD, but really that's just my excuse. I just have no concentration because the burden of the internet is always distracting me.
"Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski." Fabulous comparison. Google makes it a little too easy to find what you're looking for, which almost makes it inaccurate. When you google something, usually there's millions and sometimes billions of results. What percent of people actually look what's beyond the tenth page? Usually people will just decide on the first or second result rather than paging through and looking at the.. let's just say 584,236 result. Although Google is incredibly useful most of the time, I do not doubt that it's making us a little lazy.
At the same time, why is reading off of something electronic so bad? Is it different if I read The Great Gasby off of a Kindle instead of paper in a book? No... I'm still reading the same book, I'm just using my resources. What's so bad about that? Researchers are afraid that all this technology is forming "artificial brains." We have a vast network of information at the touch of a button. I call that progress... not a problem.
Do I agree with his statement? Personally, yes I do. A lot of his points were valid and I shamefully say that a lot of them apply to me. "What the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation." True story. I'm trying to write this blog, but all that's on my mind is how much I want to check my facebook and tumblr. I sometimes think that I have ADD, but really that's just my excuse. I just have no concentration because the burden of the internet is always distracting me.
"Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski." Fabulous comparison. Google makes it a little too easy to find what you're looking for, which almost makes it inaccurate. When you google something, usually there's millions and sometimes billions of results. What percent of people actually look what's beyond the tenth page? Usually people will just decide on the first or second result rather than paging through and looking at the.. let's just say 584,236 result. Although Google is incredibly useful most of the time, I do not doubt that it's making us a little lazy.
At the same time, why is reading off of something electronic so bad? Is it different if I read The Great Gasby off of a Kindle instead of paper in a book? No... I'm still reading the same book, I'm just using my resources. What's so bad about that? Researchers are afraid that all this technology is forming "artificial brains." We have a vast network of information at the touch of a button. I call that progress... not a problem.
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