What do you call a pollinator who was just released from prison?????

A FREEBIE!!!!! (Get it?  Bc it's a bee that is free lol)

The IOC to a tolerable degree

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8gJL5Fe7uUzNHp3MVBKRVJELVk

Hopefully that's ^^ where you'll find my recording (you might need to download it to play it).
And now for the other stuff.

Annotations:

Notes:

Grading:

Don't judge a book by its cover...

    Obviously all of the covers contain the name of the book, Never Let Me Go, and the authors name, Kazuo Ishiguro.  All four have different cover art, yet for the most part, they all portray similar ideas.  They all portray an idea of being trapped, either by a physical or mental barrier.  They use nature and barbed wire as physical barriers.  And this along with the title, implies that the story is about someone who will never be let go from their prison, whether it be physical or otherwise.  
  The two covers I will be comparing are below:
          
       When I see the picture on the left, the first thing I think of is imprisonment, the barbed wire makes me think of a barbed wire fence either designed to hold people in, or keep people out.  It uses a cool color scheme which gives a negative connotation to the page.  When I see the picture on the left I think of a false sense of hope.  There is a boat on the shore of a vast expanse of water, the water is a physical barrier but the boat provides a way to escape.  However, upon closer examination I noticed that there are no oars with the boat, and therefore it would not be possible to use the boat to escape.  The false hope comes from the boat offering an escape but not actually providing one.  This picture uses a warmer set of colors, and a yellow hue in the sky to provide a sense of hope.  Without reading the novel, the first picture would make me think that the book has something to do with the health of prisoners.  The barbed wire makes out the shape of a humans vital organs, but after reading the book, I know that it is referring to the clones and the donation of their organs.  Also, the barbed wire signifies the clones lack of choice in the matter, they're sole purpose is to donate their organs.  The second picture makes me think the book would be about escaping from some sort of physical distress.  However, its relationship to the text is that it represent the illusion of choice that the clones are given.  When they are raised they are taught to be creative and imaginative, yet when they fully mature they are harvested for their organs.  They grow up thinking they will become productive members of society, when in reality they will only serve one purpose.  The clones are being portrayed from the viewpoint of normal humans in the leftmost picture.  They see the clones simply as growing vital organs that need to be contained until they are harvested.  While in the other picture, we are looking from the clones perspective, at their false sense of hope.  The boat is a metaphor for their illusion of choice and free will.  The leftmost picture hints at a culture of seeing humans as objects, and using them for personal gain.  This comes from the fact that it portrays the clones simply by their vital organs.  The other picture hints at a lying and deceit.  This is because it portrays a boat that offers freedom across the water, but in reality does not allow anyone to leave.  Both covers provide an image of a barrier, and no way to escape.  They are shown from opposite perspectives using contrasting color schemes to portray the feelings of the clones versus those of the regular humans.

Who is Ted and why is he talking?

As you can probably already tell I am quickly losing my enthusiasm for these things.  I wasted all my energy coming up with the title and I'm just gonna get an 80 on it anyway so heres another mediocre post.  Enjoy.

https://www.ted.com/talks/aspen_baker_a_better_way_to_talk_about_abortion/transcript?language=en

That's the Ted talk^ 

     In the Ted Talk the speaker, Aspen Baker, discusses how and why controversial topics, like abortion, are difficult to talk about.  She stresses the importance of sharing personal stories about these issues, and how important it is to be a good listener to someone sharing their personal story.  The term she used was pro-voice, Baker and her organization called Exhale listen to people, so that their voice is heard, and they can finally feel like someone cares.  She talks about what it takes to be a good listener, and that it's not about agreeing with the storyteller, but it's about understanding them and putting yourself in their shoes, and that's where she says that empathy starts.  

     In her talk, Baker heavily uses both ethos in pathos, in a very successful way.  She opens up by sharing a very personal story about her own abortion, and how it has affected her.  This use of ethos gives her credibility because she's actually had an abortion, and she has that first hand experience that helps her connect to other women going through the same thing.  Even though I have never been in that situation, her talking about how much having her pro-voice friend there to listen to her helped her, has caused me to believe in and support being pro-voice.  She also appeals to the audiences emotions using pathos when she talks about abortion and violence toward women.  Due to the various camera angles, I know that her audience was profoundly middle aged women, and her emotional appeal would definitely connect with them.  She mentioned that pro-voice makes it possible for everyone to be treated with respect, which will connect with many people emotionally because respect for others of the opposite sex and/or race is not as present as it should be in this country.  It is clearly an emotional topic that she is appealing to, as seen by the Women's March on Washington yesterday.  The video was recorded before the march but this just shows that it is still very fresh.  

     I'm going to be honest when I analyze my relationship with the talk, the main reason I clicked on that particular video is because it was one of the shorter videos that I saw.  However, it was definitely not the shortest video on there, and I did choose it for a reason.  Firstly, it discusses abortion, and this is a very controversial topic that I knew I would be able to write a lot about.  It is something that makes you question what's right or wrong, and the level of control that the government should have over women's health.  I am not sure how it will connect to texts that we will study in the future but it does connect to the duality of human nature.  It connects because both sides have a specific view of good and evil in when discussing this issue. 

That is all. 

But wait, there's more!

Mrs. G I gots an assignment 4 u.  Watch this ted talk and report back.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_ronson_strange_answers_to_the_psychopath_test

I didn't watch it but it talks about the line between crazy and sane... hmm

*Some pun about Jekyll and Hyde*

Step 1)

In this analysis I will be comparing the characterization of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The text for Mr. Hyde comes from chapter 1 and the text for Dr. Jekyll comes from chapter 6. Originally I was going to type the two quotes out for you, but the second one was kinda long, and I'm not that committed so you'll just have to imagine that they're there. The author Robert Louis Stevenson used a similar style with contrasting effect to characterize each character. The contrasting characterization is shown by Stevenson's description of the characters, in short, Mr. Hyde is "downright detestable" while Dr. Jekyll is a "familiar guest and friend" (Stevenson 5,22). Jekyll is described quite clearly, he is a well liked and held in high standing with his two close friends. He was known for his charity and religion, meaning he was a man of good morals. Hyde on the other hand receives no such description. Stevenson uses a series of contradictions that leave a general feeling of distaste. He is not described in a meaningful way, rather it is made known that the presence of Mr. Hyde is not pleasurable.

Through both descriptions, Stevenson uses the same style to characterize Jekyll and Hyde. They contain long drawn out sentences connected with many commas and semicolons. An interesting thing to note in the descriptions is the contradictions Stevenson makes surrounding these commas and semicolons. It is most evident when Mr. Enfield said that Mr. Hyde is "an extraordinary looking man, yet I really can name nothing out of the way," (Stevenson 5). The contradictions provide an air of suspicion and mystery, and they are a part of Stevenson's style. This idea of two contrasting ideas being present touches on the duality of good versus evil, and how the line between the two can be blurred. Overall, Stevenson uses his unique style of long drawn out syntax to describe the two characters in opposing ways, which like the contradictions, symbolizes the duality of human nature.

Step 2)

The purpose of this poem is to show the contradicting states of mind between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  One constantly longing for the release of being able to sin without consequence and the other freely able to do so.  It shows the duality of human nature by questioning the reason that Jekyll has become such a well renowned citizen, is it because he is inherently good?  Or because he is scared of the consequences?

A Poem for Two Voices

Jekyll Hyde

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

I am I am

Loved

Hated

Friend of many

I abide alone

Rich in my life of

Well standing

Poor in lower class

No wealth to speak of

So many rules and

My reputation to uphold

Everyone hates me I feel no

Remorse

I hate

I do not notice

Judgement of others Judgement of others

Oh how I love to be

Oh how I want to be

FREE FREE

Netflix and Kill ;)

I was gonna say something clever about Lady Macbeth but let's be honest.. Winter break is in three days and we're all exhausted, so this is as much of an intro as you're gonna get.
So here ya go.. Lady Macbeth's Netflix Queue:

1) Burn Notice:

Well I had to include this one because its one of my all time favorite shows, but also because Lady Macbeth would really enjoy it too (hmm... coincidence??).  The main character Michael Weston is an ex-spy, who now has to make a living by doing jobs outside of the law.  This connects to the Lady herself because she was willing to do whatever it took to get in power, she manipulated her boo thang and was willing to lie and kill to be queen.  This parallels Michael who is willing to do anything to find out who burned him.

2) Parks and Rec:

Great show 10/10, would recommend.  Especially to Lady Macbeth, who would really connect with Leslie Knope.  Leslie is the deputy director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department where she is very intent on micromanaging everything.  She might even give Kelly's favorite unsex me speech before going into work everyday because her staff won't be man enough to get everything done!  Added bonus, she freaks out when things don't go well.. aka when things go downhill in Act V and Lady Macbeth just kinda dies.  

3) Breaking Bad:

Classic Lady Macbeth right here.  I shouldn't even have to explain it, next.

4) Arrow:

The Arrow is a hooded vigilante that protects Starling city from evil.  However, no one knows that the hooded figure is Starlings favorite billionaire Oliver Queen who came back from the dead (long story, he was trapped on an island and turned into a ninja).  Anyway, as you can imagine money causes problems and Oliver's dear mommy isn't who she claims to be.  Lady Macbeth would really enjoy Oliver's Mom, Moira Queen, because she gets involved in a ghastly "undertaking" that tries to wipe out over half the cities inhabitants!  She is an crooked, lying, manipulative woman (wow I sound like Trump)  who begins to lose her mind after realizing what she's done.  Connects to Lady Macbeth and the guilt she felt that caused her to sleep walk and such.  

Back to #3 because I need the points...

For those of you who don't know the story, Walter White is a school teacher who has cancer.  He can't afford the treatments and must find more lucrative payment options.  And the obvious choice is of course, Meth (even though his brother is DEA, but whatever).  He pulls a true Lady Macbeth on his local dealer, you know the whole "you're really good at this, you could run this block better than that other guy, let's take over" sort of thing.  Basically he manipulates a former student into making meth with him and then selling it.  He rises to power using this kid as a puppet (like Lady Macbeth used Macbeth to gain power) but the whole thing was doomed to fail from the beginning because Walter had cancer, just like Macbeth was doomed to fail because of the prophecy by the three witches.  

Witch-slapped: Macbeth's fall from grace

Question 2.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton

The quote by Lord Acton bears a very striking resemblance to a quote from spiderman saying that "with great power comes great responsibility".  Both quotes talk about the corruptive nature of power and how it affects people.  Whether you are  a senior in high school or a playwright in the 16th century England named Shakespeare you will agree with Lord Acton's quote.  Shakespeare definitely would have agreed with Acton's quote based in his play Macbeth, the idea of gaining absolute power corrupts the main character Macbeth and causes him to commit some nasty actions.  

In my own experience power tends to have a negative affect on those who hold it.  Rather than to cite an example from my own life I would like to bring up how the power of the Ring of Power in the The Lord of the Rings corrupts anyone who wears it.  The ring enhanced the powers that the wearer already had, but it came at a cost.  The ring corrupted anyone who wore it into becoming evil and selfish to their own desires.  This was demonstrated by Gollum who would do anything to retrieve the ring.  This just shows that having large amounts of power is very dangerous and the wielder of absolute power will lose themself while trying to keep it.  

Based on Shakespeare's play, "MacBeth", he would have agreed with Acton's quote because of the way Macbeth is corrupted by power.  When MacBeth first hears from the witches that he will be thane of Cawdor, Glamis and be king he doesn't believe it, but when he becomes thane of Cawdor and Glamis, he begins to desire the throne.  The power of being the king of Scotland corrupts Macbeth before he even takes the throne, because he had to kill King Duncan to do so.  And he grows even more corrupt still when he orders his best friend Banquo to be killed, stating that he had to because the Witches "hailed him father to a line of kings.  Upon my [Macbeth's] head they placed a fruitless crown" (Act 3 Sc 1 lines 66-67).  He is so worried about holding onto the power he has as king that he is willing to kill his best friend and his best friend's son so that no one can take his spot on the throne.  Had it not been for the corrupting power of the throne he would never have killed his friend, who he fought alongside in many battles.  Shakespeare wrote in the play that Macbeth's position as king is the reason he killed Banquo so therefore Shakespeare definitely believed in the corruption caused by absolute power. 

Power is tricky, it is the thing most people will spend their entire life in search of (because wealth is a form of power), yet it is something that can rob us of who we really are.  Through Shakespeare's works it can be concluded that he too agreed with Lord Acton's adage, that "absolute power corrupts absolutely".