Week 4

Checklist

_X_1. complete My California
_X_2. reading notes regarding My California, 2 parts
_X_3. essay regarding My California (This will be on the midterm: here, I am prepping you)
_X_4. 10 questions
_X_5. dialogue sample
_X_6. create blog post titled week 6
_X_7. submit blog post to class website

__1. complete My California

__2. reading notes regarding My California

Part One Notes

Story One:

1. Write the story title and author name.
"Transients in Paradise" by Aimee Liu.

2. Summarize the reading in one brief SENTENCE; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information.
Beverly Hills, although an area of wealth and prosperity, is a city of both desire and fear and hidden amongst the transient rich are also the homeless.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)?
"And there you have the essential current between desire and fear. Desire is merely the version that says, I want and am taking mine-and better me or us than them or you. While the inverse, better him or her or them than us, is simple code for fear." (Liu 33).

4. What did the reading make you think of IN ONE SENTENCE OR TWO? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... )
There is a part in the story where the author describes a conversation she overheard at a funeral between the city's "rich and beautiful" who were discussing working out and fitness while their close family member was being buried. This made me realize the true power of wealth and money and how completely deranged it is capable of making people.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)?
The author states that Beverly hills has no slums, no garbage dumps, no junkyards and no cemeteries. I did not know this prior to reading this story. I was really surprised that not only does this city deny a place for the poor or its deceased, but it does not even contain its own trash and sends it off to surrounding cities.

Story Two:

1. Write the story title and author name.
"The Last Little Beach Town" by Edward Humes.

2. Summarize the reading in one brief SENTENCE; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information.
While the rest of the Orange County and L.A. area has given into multi-million dollars homes, tourism and Corporate America, Seal Beach has stuck to its true beach town origins.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)?
"People actually walk here. We leave our cars at home and walk to the not-Starbucks coffee shop, amble to the Gap-less and Banana Republic-free Main Street, walk our kids to school, or simply put on e foot in front of the other until we reach the beach or the market or the playground. Sometimes we even talk to each other along the way, which turns out, after all, not to be unlawful in the car-centric SoCal." (Humes 70).

4. What did the reading make you think of IN ONE SENTENCE OR TWO? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... )
The way the author described Seal Beach reminded me of Bodega Bay. Both places seem peaceful and similar in size and unaffected by the trends other California beaches seem to be following.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)?
I did not know that Seal Beach was not a part of Los Angeles. The author stated that the founder of Seal Beach specifically made it that way, I did not know that either and thought that was very interesting.

Story Three:

1. Write the story title and author name..
"909" by Percival Everett.

2. Summarize the reading in one brief SENTENCE; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information.
Tucked in between the chaotic Los Angeles and the wealth of Palm Springs lies the Badlands, a quiet, "horsey" desert area as simple as its area code 909.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)?
"909 is a little like the name Bob. It's the same forwards and backwards...There's a friendly ring to Bob, a familiarity. You don't call him Robert, you call him Bob. Bob is your plumber, your cable installer, your mechanic. In my case, my farrier. Bob is blue-collar, sweaty, down-to-earth. And that's how the 213,310, 714, 323 and 626 see 909." (Everett 121).

4. What did the reading make you think of IN ONE SENTENCE OR TWO? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... )
The way the author describes saddling up his mule and riding off into the desert to the faint sound of country music reminds me of an old western movie; I certainly don't think of a current town located in between L.A. and Palm Springs!

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)?
I didn't know that the Mission Inn was located in this town and that before Palm Springs became popular, many celebrities would escape to this small town to relax.

Story Four:

1. Write the story title and author name.
"The Line" by Rubén Martinez

2. Summarize the reading in one brief SENTENCE; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information.
The author describes a time when families would gather at the Tijuana border playing soccer, trading goods and celebrating prior to crossing the border, which they had more than a 50% chance of success, back when the trip was more of a "fiesta" then the journey it has transformed into due to the legacy of Pete Wilson, or "Pito" Wilson as referred to by migrants.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)?
"The border wasn't a border. The line was broken. It was an idea, not a thing." (Martinez 129)

4. What did the reading make you think of IN ONE SENTENCE OR TWO? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... )
When Martinez discussed how much Pete Wilson's hated migrants yet he still hired one to clean his house, it made me think of the hypocrisy of anti-immigration. These people are against immigrants coming into our country, yet they will easily accept the fruits of their labor.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)?
I didn't realize that Pete Wilson had such a key role in the border reform. I knew that the border used to be much easier to cross than it is now, but I didn't realize that a single man and his discrimination towards immigrants played such an important part.

Story Five:

1. Write the story title and author name.
"Waters of Tranquility" by Carolyn See.

2. Summarize the reading in one brief SENTENCE; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information.
Hidden behind Sunset Boulevard lies the beautiful Lake Shrine of the Self Realization Fellowship, a place strictly for walking open to lovers, families, tourists or in the author's case, a place to escape to when preparing for the loss of a lover.

3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)?
"Wasn't it just too pretty for words? Kind of a sissy place? Beautiful, of course, but not real, not like..life?" (See 145).

4. What did the reading make you think of IN ONE SENTENCE OR TWO? (be specific eg "There is a bridge in SF that spans 4 miles from SF to Oakland and in the middle of the bridge it crosses an island called Treasure Island. This story makes me think of that specific little island where I can see the entire city and bay area. That city was also in the news recently where .... )
The way the author describes the beauty of this lake and how it is a place that many young lovers go to, it reminds me of a lake where I used to live. It was a very beautiful, romantic place that I used to go to with past boyfriends.

5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)?
The author says that tourists from Germany, France, Russia, Japan and India all come and visit this lake. She also mentions that there are monuments to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I did not realize that such a small place attracted so many tourists and was open to so many religions.

Part Two Notes

1. Once you have finished your notes for the above readings, TELL US IN ONE PARAGRAPH: What similarities and differences do you see between each of the authors and the topics they chose to discuss (compare and contrast a message each author has regarding what My California means)
From the stories I read, it seems as if each authors definition of "Their California" pertains to one specific area of California as opposed to California as a whole. For example, Edward Humes's California is Seal Beach while Carolyn See's California is Lake Shrine. Each author took a specific place and their experiences with that place and applied that to their definitions of California. Although the topic of each story was some place in California, each story had a hidden message that was more of a lesson learned from that place than the place itself. Each place also seemed to have factors the represent the entire state as a whole in one particular place. So in a sense, their definitions are all similar, but at the same time different. Their styles of their definitions and they way they all defined California as a single place are all similar, but the content of their definitions all differ. For example, Percival Everett's "909" story defines his California as peace and simplicity tucked between chaos and wealth while Aimee Liu's California is defined as corruption by wealth.

2. I want you to briefly research one of the locations of the places you were assigned to read about in My California. Choose one location of your choice. It can be your favorite story from the book location. eg Seal Beach, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mavericks.

Tell us the story and author you read regarding the location you chose, links to the location you found on the Internet to shed more light on your choice, brief impressions regarding the information you found -- eg why you enjoyed the story or location and relate it to the link you found regarding the story location. This can be roughly a paragraph in length. We are doing this to get a feel for one another's interests which will also aid further understanding of your work in the essay you will write on your Midterm of this week. The midterm link will be in the EXAMS section of the class.

After reading "The Last Little Beach Town" by Edward Humes, I became very interested in Seal Beach. I was also curios if it is in fact still a beach town, or if it has become yet another victim of wealth and tourism. The city of Seal Beach has its own website, and according to that "Seal Beach has retained its quaint, small-town atmosphere". So, it seems that Edward Humes is correct in the sense that it has not become another California beach overran with tourists and million dollar housings. The beach has a Pier and a beach park, both of which sound very beautiful and interesting. The website, http://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us/, also features pictures of the beach which capture the little beach town aspect of Seal Beach.

3. Create 5 Multiple Choice questions (one per story) with 5 possible answers. Asterisk your answer.

1. In Transients in Paradise, Aimee Liu opens her short story with a quote from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. According to this quote, what are cities made of?
A. Hopes and dreams
B. The rich and the poor
C. The transients
D. Desires and fears **
E. None of the above

2. In his short story The Last Little Beach Town, what does Edward Humes state is the center of Old Town?
A. City Hall
B. Main Street **
C. The Seal Beach Pier
D. Pacific Coast Highway
E. Crystal Cove

3. According to Percival Everett in his story 909, what is the best area code to have?
A. 714
B. 213
C. 310 **
D. 626
E. 909

4. In his story The Line by Ruben Martinez, what is la cancha?
A. The border
B. A party
C. A soccer field that runs alongside the border **
D. The downtown area that runs along the border
E. Border patrol

5. According to Carolyn See in Waters of Tranquility, what are the five religions that there are monuments for at the entrance of Lake Shrine?
A. Islam
B. Christianity
C. Judaism
D. Buddhism and Hinduism
E. All of the above **

__4. Review 10 classmates work from week 3; choose one multiple choice 'test' question created by each of these 10 classmates (put name in parenthesis for each classmate question so we know the source). Cut and paste into blog post.

1. Which US college did Paulo Freire teach? (Carrie)
a. Harvard *
b. Cambridge
c. Princeton
d. Stanford
e. UCLA

2. How does Paulo Freire tend to argue? (Daye)
1. Either/or way **
2. Constructed
3. Non-formal
4. Predefined
5. Encounter

3. How many books did Paulo Freire write? (Justin)
a) 6
b) 2
c) 8
d) none of the above*

4. What is Freire's most popular publication? (Kerby)
A. Sliding into Home
B. The life of Paulo Freire
C. Life in Brazil
D. Being Exiled
E. Pedagogy of the oppressed

5. 3. What Country was Paulo Born in? (Lucy)
a. Mexico
b. Brazil *
c. Cuba
d. Venezuela

6. Liberation is a ________: the action and reflection of men upon their world in order to transform it. (Marcel)
a. Concept
b. Transformer
c. Dialogue
d. Privilege
e. Praxis*

7. When he was in exile, which country did Freire go to? (Michael)
A. Panama
B. Columbia
C. United States
D. Bolivia*

8. What school did Freire enroll in? (Natalie)
a) Recife City College
b) Harvard University
c) Cambridge University
d) University of Recife*
e) He never went to college

9. What is "the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed?" (Olivia)
A) to oppress their oppressors
B) to ignore their oppressors
C) to not be oppressed
D) to be oppressed again
E) to liberate themselves and their oppressors*

10. 8. Paulo was born into a _____ family? (Renee)
A. poor
B. wealthy
C. middle class*

__5. Create one sample of dialogue using structure
The following section is how we will practice dialogue on a weekly basis:


Using one of your classmates work, create an example dialogue using this structure below. You will use this same structure each week to formulate your sample dialogue entry (each week you will gain skills in this type of dialogue formulation which will have carry-over into your academic and professional career):

Dialogue Structure for Practice:
When I researched ________ I found ______________.
I noticed _________ had the same search result in that _____________.
I wonder if the topic we researched would have __________ in that ______________.

When I researched California Museums I found the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art which features 14,000 pieces of modern art in its actual Museum and several pieces online on its website.
I noticed Olivia had the same search result in that we both researched Modern Art and seem to agree that the websites were not super user friendly and the museums would be better in real life.
I wonder if the topic we researched would have been more enjoyable in person since the website was not very easily to navigate.