The Audacity of Hope, Post #1

My choice for outside reading this quarter was Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope. In it, Obama discusses his own past as well as his opinions on the future of the United States. At first, however, Obama doesn’t talk about the immediate concerns of the country. He decides to first address his own life and how it has changed his interpretation of events. One of the first things he says in his book is how he came to be a senator from Illinois. Of course, Barack didn’t start out running for the US senate. Instead, he first ran for the Illinois state senate. He describes the lengths he went to get votes saying, “I went to block club meetings and church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If two guys were standing on a corner, I would cross the street to hand them campaign literature” (1). Barack wasn’t some celebrity with hundreds of staffers. If he wanted the word of his candidacy to get out he would have to do it himself. I believe that kind of self-reliance is crucial to what he does in his current presidency. Luckily, he fostered enough believe in his constituency to have him elected to state senate. Later, though, he wasn’t so lucky. He failed in his first attempt at US senate. For his second attempt, Barack describes his efforts, “…I had to rely on friends or acquaintances open their houses to whoever might come, or arrange for my visit to their church, union hall, bridge group, or Rotary club. Sometimes, after several hours of driving, I would find just two or three people waiting for me around a kitchen table” (6). Obama didn’t start out with a massive following, but instead had to work for every last vote. As a result, I would say that Obama has a better understanding of the middle class because of his experiences along the campaign trail, and it was this understanding that helped him make choices in the senate.

Farther into the book, Obama expresses his interpretation of what is happening to the United States today. He starts off very quickly analyzing how party lines have split the country. Obama calls it a broken country saying, “It’s what keeps us locked in ‘either/or’ thinking: the notion that we can have only big government or no government; the assumption that we must tolerate forty-six million without health insurance or embrace ‘socialized medicine’” (40). Too many people are of the opinion that either we have a completely liberal way of thinking or have a completely conservative way. Rather than pick the most party-associated choice, the country should pick the best option for the situation. Looking at what he says, Obama’s future presidential staff will most certainly have a balance of opinions. He describes how ridiculous the stalemate that has come up between parties saying, “We paint our faces red or blue and cheer our side and boo their side, and if it takes a late hit or a cheap shot to beat the other team, so be it, for winning is all that matters” (41). All the negativity in Congress has had negative effects. The clash of liberals and conservatives, then, only helps to hurt the country. From where I stand, I have much more confidence in the politician who can make good decisions based on what is good for the country rather than an individual party.

Poem: Ozymandias

Well, I’ve decided to look toward poetry for this next post. The poem, Ozymandias, was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poem itself describes a ruin in the middle of the desert, and only a few broken pillars can be seen in the sand. The only clearly visible thing to be seen is a pedestal which read, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair”(Verses 10-11). These words only serve to highlight the fact of how far the ruins are from their former gandeur. The poem finishes with a further elaboration on the stretches of desert extending into the horizon. Overall, the idea expressed is that nothing lasts forever, and I found that I really enjoyed this poem.

Poem found at:http://holyjoe.net/poetry/shelley.htm

Exposure Basics: Correctly Expose Your Photographs

I went looking on the internet for an appropriate article that would fit the current unit of analyzing photographs. While looking, I stubbled into a website dedicated to photography, photo.net, and found many helpful articles. The article I picked out was dedicated to photograph exposure and shutter speed. The author, Bryan F. Peterson, elaborated on how a myriad of different effects can be acheived based on the amount of light and the shutter speed used by the camera. He then moved on to talk about how a photographer can use faster shutter speeds to capture motion shots in great detail, and how the use of a low shutter speed can create interesting streaks in the photo. After talking about both ends of the spectrum, the author points out the positives and negatives of both. I found this all very interesting, and I hope people will be able to take advantage of the advice listed in the article.




http://photo.net/learn/basic-photo-tips/correct-exposure/

Death and New Life

Can China Save the Global Economy?

Earlier I read an article from my favorite liberal media source, MSNBC. Well, on their website I found this article, and what it stated was really surprising. To begin with, the article stated how it would be possible for China to create a massive bailout to the world economy. Based on the fact that the Chinese have a two trillion dollar reserve and controls many of the world’s markets, this idea is plausible. China’s economy is orientated around exports, and this is a big factor to how it rests in the world’s economy. Following this, the Chinese people have a savings rate of about thirty percent. In that they save three dollars out of ten. Compare this to zero or even negative percent rate in the US, and you can see the difference. However, China owns over a trillion dollars in US debt, and they’re not interested in buying much more.

Article: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/09/1522548.aspx

Odyssey Question #2: Is Odysseus a Hero?

In Homer’s poem, The Odyssey, The main character Odysseus is shown as a hero for modern times. Homer really does this in a number of ways. The main aspect of Odysseus that Homer concentrates on is his guile and his ability to seek the truth in others. He does this with Penelope to see if she has been faithful to him, and tests her until he is satisfied. He decides that she is innocent and has remained loyal to him and becomes a figurehead in the poem for determining innocence; he is the judge of people. Odysseus does this again with his farter, Laertes. In his father’s orchard, Odysseus tests father to see if he has indeed remained a good man. Laertes has been good, and Odysseus has once again fulfilled his role as the judge in the story.

Looking at the other hand, Odysseus is not the soulless person shown above. No, he feels terrible when he talks to his wife in disguise, but he does so regardless because he has to find the truth. This shows a real human character behind Odysseus. Again with his father, Odysseus is broken up about disguising himself, and reveals himself when he is sure of his father’s good will. Odysseus is not perfect, but that’s what people are. Is the fact that Odysseus is able to overcome these feelings of sorrow that makes him a real modern hero.

Palin vs. Biden: Polite yet pointed -- and no gaffes

This is an article that I found on the Star Tribune Website. As you’ve seen, the Vice Presidential debates took place on Thursday evening. After the debate, I found this article which tried to put the results of the debate into simpler terms. The first main idea that the article expressed was that Sarah Palin had done better that most people thought she would, and much better that how she had done in interviews previously in the campaign. The author of the article reasoned that although she was not as good of a debater as Joe Biden, she didn’t collapse in the debate. This, he said, was a positive thing for the Republicans. Then moving to the Democratic side, the author of the article mentioned that Joe Biden tended not to address his arguments at Sarah Paliun, but instead he addressed them directly at John McCain. With that in mind, Biden went and elaborated on all the failed policies of George Bush and how McCain was not a reformer. Moving forward, Biden then made logical statements based on facts about the economy. It was here that Palin didn’t do as well as she could have. Palin tended not to respond directly to the question. No, she would change the subject, and usually turned it toward her job in Alaska or to McCain’s ability to fight a war. On the subject of the war, Biden clearly proved that the war was really in Afghanistan, and Palin was a little outmaneuvered here. All in all, the author responded to the debate well. Giving the win to Biden, he still acknowledged that Palin had done a modest job of holding her own.

Article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/30087889.html?elr=KArksUUUU