For the Comp II students who’ve chosen to write the music paper, watch the following video clip and allow it to inform the way you process and craft what you do composing your essay.
Comp II students, click here for the PBS website People Like Us and poke around.
Now go here, click on “Essays” and read any three of the seven essays you find there–keeping in mind you will use quotes from the essays in your upcoming paper.
We will try to finish the film Monday and discuss the assignment.
Know “that look” girls get when they want you to ask them out? Me neither. Annnyway… whether you had a great Valentine’s Day or not, here’s my gift to you: no assignment this week!
Yo! Here’s the third online assignment for Spring 2010.
Wanna know what’s gonna happen this year? Me, too. I think Miss Cleo’s in prison now, or something. But here’s what the Russian newspaper/news organization Pravda is predicting will happen in 2010.
[There are some translation difficulties. I did the best I could.]
America
In a word, slow strangulation. First will come the socialized medicine, followed by the cap and trade and finally the forced increase in interest rates, as no one will want to buy the debt of the world’s biggest beggar who is busy murdering its own economy.
Many companies will flee the US, shifting their registrations and headquarters from America to other nations with lower levels of insane regulation and taxation. Further, the crunch will force one state after another to bankrupt. The American federal government will find itself in a situation of either letting the suffering spread, before their parliamentary elections or printing money and spending with abandon to avoid the pain around election time and off set it a bit further. Thus will start the final phase of run away inflation.
The American Marxists will face a third “radical” party of conservatives, who will threaten their One Party Two Branch monopoly and will in the end require strong security and military reactions.
Disaster in Afghanistan and renewed major unrest in Iraq will only spur the feeling of instability as additionally, Mexico’s civil war will continue to spill over into America.
Strong independence movements–those wanting to break away from the United States–will become mainstream in Texas, southern California, Alaska and much of the old Confederacy. Pro independence terrorism will start to appear, along side a vast upsurge of SJS (Sudden Jihad Syndrome) amongst the Islamic members of America.
Russia
Russia came through the economic collapse relatively without major pain and exited recession in 3qtr. Russia will face further crisis in 2010, spurred by outside forces, however stability will reign again. The economy will briefly reenter recession and the government will be forced spend much of its remaining reserves to uphold the nation. Revenues will also go down, as world economic demand sinks.
However, being largely self sustaining, Russia will continue through and will continue to lower taxes and regulation on small businesses. Immigration from the EU and the US as well as companies flocking to open new facilities to escape the government strangulation of business in America and Europe and the vast areas of unrest, will pickup.
The collapse of Ukraine and the upcoming war with Georgia will present new opportunities, as well as improving ties with China and Japan. Ukraine will split and much of it will be on its way to absorption into Russia, as is Abkhazia and S.Ossessia. Georgia will be a protectorate.
War and civil war in Mexico, Venezuela and the Persian Gulf will push oil prices up even as demand continues to fall and Russia will be the only safe source on a large scale.
Persian Gulf
The entirety of the region will fall into an all out civil war and disruption, a catastrophe for the region, but because of which oil will grow quickly in price, while world jihad, with Saudi money busy at home, will fall off. The final break downs have already begun with Dubai’s default on its debts, which will spread and the open war in Yemen between Shia and Yemenis/Saudi Sunnis with Washington’s direct military backing and engagement.
The war will spread, first with demonstrations and then fighting by Shia in Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE. UAE’s slave labour of Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos and Afghans will also rise up and demolish the government and Sunni Arab control in the region. Iran will aid all of these directly with intelligence, military and money.
Saudi Arabia will redirect its Jihadist elements at Iran, causing various wide spread mass casualty terror attacks and will attempt to destroy Iran’s ports. Between the two, the Straights of Hormuz will be closed and neutral shipping will be endangered. US elements will be engaged with Iran on and off without any full declaration of war, as a break down at home and in the Gulf of Mexico taxes available assets.
Iraq will again explode into full scale civil war as Iran activates its assets and launches a fight to pin down US elements.
Afghanistan
US/NATO forces will be unable to control the nation even with extra military assets. The fighting will escalate and so will casualties. The drive to reduce casualties by pulling in the out flung bases will result in the Taliban holding all of the countryside by night, in the central and southern provinces. Russian support will never materialize, as Russian public opinion is strongly against aiding the Americans or NATO. NATO’s strain will be such that one nation after another will declare an end to the commitments and begin withdrawals.
China
This is the year that China will face the canary in the mine and ignore it’s hanging corpse.
China has taken bubble blowing to unprecedented levels. It has masked over capacity by doing something incredibly stupid, increasing that capacity further and further, and using the extra capacity in the creation of yet more capacity. Sure, this puts off judgment day by a few years, but it is coming and 2010 will be that day. World demand has not only not returned to the levels of 2007, and Chinese production capacity is well above what it was in 2007, but what demand has remained, is now being guarded by every economy to make sure its means of satisfying that demand, and thus providing jobs, stays at home. China, reacting like a blind sided, and spoiled brat who is used to everyone pandering to it, has swung out at the world and wound up in trade wars with the EU, US and Russia. Of course, this only further cuts demand for that ever expanding capacity. Judgment day is indeed here, as the majority of China’s citizens, who make up the shoeless peasants and the near slave labourers in the plants, will never be able to afford what they produce.
China will react to any growing disruptions the same way they have always, with bullets. For that reason, the Chinese central authorities will continue to hold power but there will be flare ups and open rebellion in one province after another. Beijing’s tactics will become as brutal as necessary to hold power.
Beijing will also use the opportunity of N.Korea’s collapse and the reunification of the Koreas to push American influence out of the region, working with the Korean government and the new socialists in Japan to rid the area of the Americans, in exchange to wide open market access in China.
So. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Are their predictions dead-on? Or were they smokin’ crack? Which predictions seem likely true to you? Why? Which ones do you see as VEry unlikely? Why?
One & a half – two pages. Due Monday.
Hi, guys. Campus is not cleared. I saw five students fall just walking to Wilson Hall this morning. I will be in class today but only to help those who want to work on assignments/want additional help. I will not be taking roll. Be safe.
Miss me!
The University is closed and so are we. I love snow days! No online assignment. Enjoy your weekend. Go drink some malt liquor hot chocolate. See you Monday. Behave.
Hi, everyone. Here is your second online assignment for Spring 2010.
According to Billboard, this was the #1 Pop song of 2009…
This was the #1 Hip-Hop song of 2009…
This was the #1 Country song of 2009…
And THIS is, of course, the greatest song of ALL time, you guys!
1. Watch the videos.
2. Google the lyrics.
3. Pick two of the songs and write about what’s going on in them. What are the songs about? What are the videos about? Do you think the videos are good fits with the songs? What do you think the songwriters were trying to get-at in their songs? How do these songs affect you? Are there any of the lyrics that stand out to you, that impact you in some way? Why? Why do you think THESE were the most popular songs of 2009? Do they deserve it? Why or why not?
One & a half – two pages. Due Monday, January 25.
Students, this is your first online assignment for Spring 2010.
Click here and read “Disorder Adds to Misery in Reeling Haiti; Red Cross Says Death Toll May Be 50,000.”
Now click here and view the slideshow, “Death Toll Mounts After Haiti Quake.”
Now click here and read some of the comments readers have left about Haiti.
Finally, click here and read the editorial, “Haiti’s Angry God.”
Your assignment, due Wednesday, January 20, is to type up your response to what you’ve seen and read. What struck you? What did you agree with? Did you disagree with anything in the articles? Did you agree with all of the reader’s comments you read, or did some bother you? Why? How did “Haiti’s Angry God” affect you? Did you find the editorial “spot-on,” or did it upset you in any way?
As I mentioned in class, I am interested in your genuine feelings/impressions/thoughts/etc. I am not interested in you trying to write an opinion that you think I’ll agree with.
One & a half – two pages, double spaced.
*Update, 8:30 A.M, January 15: The New York Times has changed some of the articles/information in the links above; however, the links should still take you to material regarding the earthquake in Haiti, any of which is fine to use in your writing.
Kip Kinkel, then & now
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8 o’clock & 1 o’clock classes:
In a well-written, mistake-free, five-page essay–your works cited page may serve as your fifth page–discuss violence/crime in society today (school violence, school shootings, the coarsening of our culture, etc.). What do you think are the reasons behind these horrific events? You may choose to discuss the effects of music, video games, television, drugs, guns, parents, morality, or anything you believe has played a role in the violent occurrences.
The A essay will include references to the film and the PBS website centered on the film (click here for it). Five sources minimum are required. Two sources must be non-Internet sources.
‘K, y’all. First, go here and watch this.
I know, right?! Don’t hate on me.
Now go read this…
Finally, my cousin Darrell is still single, girls…so…you know…holla atcha boy! Whoop!
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