Commas Yeah!

Online Learning

Online classes are a great way to learn more skills for a better future.  Online classes are great because it lets you learn at your own pace.  You don't have a set schedule that you have to adhere to, unlike normal classes.  Some of the benefits are that you can get online and do an assignment after work, or while you are at work.   It does have some downsides though.  You have to be diligent in your studies or they don't get done.  If you don't have the will power to keep up with them, you have a hard time with keeping up in the class.  I think the technology that benefited me the most is learning to write a blog.  I have never done that before and it was a pleasant experience.  It will still stay up and I will continue to update it on a regular basis.  Thank you everyone for your comments and help.
Image take from http://phys.org/news168788004.html

Reflection On the Course

I have really enjoyed English 102 over the last semester.  It is has been a great learning experience.  I think the best thing that I learned was reading analytically.  It has changed the way I process text, in a good way.  It will help me with future text and other classes, as well.  Future papers will benefit from this knowledge greatly.  It will take my writing to another level, and make the classes that I take in the future easier.  The readings in the class have affected me in mixed ways.  I really enjoyed Winter's Bone, but the other readings weren't as enjoyable to me.  Bartelby wasn't was somewhat dry, while Up in the Air, was just downright slow.  I think I've met the outcomes, for the most part.  I really wish I could have spent more time working on the class material, but other time constraints came into play.  My writing process was very unorganized at the beginning of the class. The have taken a turn towards the organized side, over the course of the semester.  My biggest hurdle that I had to overcome, was organization of my thesis.  I had trouble making statements, and not really wanting to take a stand.  I overcame that by listening to the advise of the instructor.  Making a clear point, that can be argued, is the biggest advice that I needed to hear.  The class was great instruction towards a future of learning and thinking analytically.  Thank you Instructor Cline.  

  

The tale of two tales

Really Rough Draft.  

Chad Anderson          

English 102

Instructor Laura Cline            

22 April 2012

The Tale of Two Tales

                Up in the Air, has two different versions, the movie and the book.  Both are good tales in their own right, but they are fundamentally different in the points they are trying to get across.  They were written at different times in different social and political climates.  Both works show those attitudes in their style of storytelling.  The book written in 2001 is a third person narrative of adventure in the life of a traveling businessman struggling  with ambitions that never pan out, relationship problems, and an obsession with getting one million sky miles; while dealing with a life threating disease that he ignores.  The movie filmed in 2009 is a romantic comedy trying to place value on stability, commitment, and family life.  They both have underlying subtext lined throughout, but they don’t have the same agendas whatsoever.  They do share one basic point, the main character, Ryan Bingham, is a selfish, egocentric, yet well-spoken individual.  The two stories were written differently, because of economic downturns starting in 2005, the outlook on businessmen based on those economic downturns, theatrical changes that emphasize a softer main character and supporting characters, and a change in commitment views and family life.

            The economy before 2001, the year the book was written, was going through a huge boom in large part due to the starting businesses on the Internet.  The U.S. and other countries were utilizing a new tool that revolutionized the way companies did business.  All you had to do to start a company was make a web page and hope it did well.  Business was booming, jobs were plentiful and money was being spent.  This all came to an end after the book was written, the dot-com bubble burst which sent the economy into a downward spiral that last to this day. 

            The writing of the movie was severely affected by this downturn in the economy.  One instance is the difference in that in the movie Ryan Bingham places his job in high regard.  He wants to keep his job from being taken over by the advancement of videoconferencing.  In the book Ryan doesn’t care about his job whatsoever.  In fact he has a quit date that he hasn’t even told his boss about.  This is significant because of the joblessness of the American people at the time the movie was written.  The writer, Jason Reitman, didn’t want to portray someone that wasn’t grateful for having a job, because so many people didn’t have one in the first place.  He also wanted to make Ryan look stronger in the eyes of the audience.

            Businessmen in 2009 weren’t highly regarded, because of the state of the economy.  They had driven the U.S. into a hole too big to fill, even though the government dumped huge sums of money in the form of bailouts to the lending and financial institutions.  Lots of innocent people lost their life savings to faceless businessmen, investing their money unwisely.  The movie’s goal was to portray a human side to businessmen; even the ones that fired people for a living.  This is where the character Natalie comes in to play.  She is the character that questions the lifestyle that Ryan is living.  She tries to implement the videoconferencing style to CTC, the company where Ryan works.  Even though she is trying to streamline business, she is the character that in the end shows the most humanity.  Ryan does his job with cold calculation, while Natalie doesn’t know what she is getting in to.  She finally quits after a suicide, which derails the program she was trying to put in place.  This shows the human aspect of the characters that are working in a company that’s whole goal is to keep the job of firing people faceless. 

            Family values have always been a big issue, but they have a big influence in the writing of the movie.  In the book, Ryan doesn’t want a family, and really doesn’t want to deal with the family he has.  He is living a lifestyle in both the book and movie that is lonely and isolated.  It’s only in the movie that he has some regrets towards the end for living that lifestyle.  In the book he has no intention of having family or even a girlfriend.  In the movie his isolation is encompassed by the slogan for his lectures, “What’s in Your Backpack” (Reitman).  His slogan sums up the fear of commitment and settling down that he has.  He is living a live void of all possessions that most people hold high in value.  He is lacking any real connections with people in the world that most people live.  They strive for stable lives and personal relationships.  This is something that Ryan doesn’t even attempt to try.  He is escaping from a life that he is afraid to be involved with.  This point is what the movie tries to bring across.  A good example is when he is outside the restaurant talking to his sisters after the rehearsal dinner, he asks his sister who is walking her down the aisle.  She says that her fiancé’s uncle is doing the honor.  The reason he isn’t doing the honors, is because he is never around.  In the book it is altogether different; Ryan is the one that saves Julie from running away from her wedding.  He is the one that talks her into going back to her fiancé and going through with the wedding.  It is a reverse of the tale between the movie and book. 

            While the movie focuses on relations with other humans, the book is more of a rant telling all of the selfish thoughts of Ryan Bingham.  They are both works that are worth your time.  Although completely different they are both trying to enlighten your sense of the business world.  In the end, both works should be enjoyed separately because they don’t have anything to do with each other.  In this manner the reader or viewer truly enjoy the product of the creators vision.     

Up in the Air thesis paragraph

                Up in the Air, has two different versions, the movie and the book.  Both are good tales in their own right, but they are fundamentally different in the points they are trying to get across.  They were written at different times in different social and political climates.  Both works show those attitudes in their style of storytelling.  The book written in 2001 is a third person narrative of adventure in the life of a traveling businessman struggling  with ambitions that never pan out, relationship problems, and an obsession with getting one million sky miles; while dealing with a life threating disease that he ignores.  The movie filmed in 2009 is a romantic comedy trying to place value on stability, commitment, and family life.  They both have underlying subtext lined throughout, but they don’t have the same agendas whatsoever.  They do share one basic point, the main character, Ryan Bingham, is a selfish, egocentric, yet well-spoken individual.  This paper will discuss the differences and similarities between both works, and why the political climate, social changes, and economic instability shaped both works.  

IMAGE FROM
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/12/30/paper-money-and-the-constitution/money-toilet-paper/

A Shallow Whirlwind

Up in the Air is a mediocre novel about a middle aged businessman's journeys to attain one million frequent flyer miles.  This novel written in mostly third person, is really slow.  It goes through the daily life of Ryan Bingham, which is basically him traveling from one place to the next firing people.  The novel starts with an itinerary, that goes through countless cities and airports.  Some days he takes three flights just to get to a destination he had already visited.  His life is one big whirlwind of family obligations he forgets, job meetings he blows off, and life ambitions that don't pan out.  The book is mostly a rant reminiscent of a businessman's Catcher in the Rye.  It doesn't have the teenage angst, but it has what angst is substituted for later in life, selfishness.  He tirades on about how special his life and observations are.  It always seems to go back to the one million miles.  He has people around him that need him, but he is focused, obsessed.  A prime example is when the brides maid's car broke down, she needed the miles to get to his sister's wedding.  He down right refused.  With all this going on he is constantly juggling the stories of previous and present women.  He has more than a few.  The only one he really seems to have any sort of attachment to, is his ex wife.   Too bad she got away, or more like he pushed her away.  It was a very passive aggressive move, but nonetheless he succeeded at his goal.  He put distance between him and her literally and figuratively.  The story really doesn't pick up until page 222, when he is confronted by the publisher that he has committed plagiarism.  This dumbfounds Ryan.  He is convinced the world is out to get him at this point.  A huge paranoia stemming from a briefcase that mysteriously appears, a covert company that is supposedly playing tricks on him, and his present employer that is watching his every move on behalf of the airline company.  He is hitting a hole that is really hard to come out of. All of these situations, and the way he deals with them make it hard to sympathize with the character.  He is an egotistical, selfish man with a pill problem.  On the last page, the author finally sheds some light on why he is acting this way,  he has a brain tumor.  I really think that was a cop out ending.  It wasn't all that great of a book.  If leaving one unsatisfied was the author's intention, he did a great job.

Mid-term Is the Best Term

Dear Readers,
Since English 102 is about half way done, my teacher asked me to write a letter describing some different aspects of the class learning experience.  I've had some challenges, mostly learning to write and think analytically.  Thesis sentences have been a huge hurdle to overcome as well.  Lots of time has been spent on that one aspect, but they still elude me.  A huge success for me is still passing the class, at this point in time.  I guess I can attribute my success to the reading that has been assigned.  I wasn't that fond of Bartleby, but it has its place in literary history.  Winter's Bone was a jaw dropper, that still effects my sense of sympathy towards the character's situation.  I've been in a weird space mentally lately, and that made me appreciate the story that much more.  Getting into the lighter reading of Up in the Air, is a welcome change though.  The analysis of these readings is definitely different from the opinion pieces I've wrote in the past.  It's a change that I like.  I needed to get in the habit of reading material and trying to see the underlying meaning.  I look forward to making my thesis sentences better.  I am also going to try and stay ahead in the work load.  My goal is to bring my average up to an "A", and keep it there for the rest of the semester.  Hopefully, I will keep truckin' along the road that leads to success.
Over and Out,
Chad Anderson