English 801A LAC

This forum will be used primarily for answering our blog entries. You have the capability to post in any language, genre, or form you choose. Although this is a relatively free space for voicing your ideas, opinions, etc. please be respectful of other's views and opinions. As scholars, we are obligated to share our critical thoughts, however, we are also aware that expressing ourselves requires evidence, observation, facts, sources, etc. at some length to strengthen our perspectives.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Shriners Hospital for Children vs. The Amputee Coalition of America

Brick, Elizabeth

English 801A

April 22, 2015

Shriners Hospital for Children vs. The Amputee Coalition of America

Two Facebook pages, similar goals, and two different ways of reaching that goal. These two pages are both set up for Amputee’s, they are used to bring awareness to the struggles of Amputee’s on a daily basis. Shriners Hospital for Children is a great non-profit organization that gives children under the age of eighteen, prosthetics or cosmetic surgeries. Shriners has a Facebook page mostly to show what is going on in each Shriners Hospital location. On the other hand there is an organization that is also non-profit called The Amputee Coalition of America. This organization doesn’t not physically provide prosthetics but is a community of amputee’s. Both of these pages are different but, they reach towards the same goal.

First, Shriners Hospital for Children has a fan page on Facebook it is run by the owners of the organization. When you first click on the page you see the cover photo, which is a few pictures of patients with a quote “Love is… See what love means to our patients at lovetotherescue.org.” This shows that Shriners has a big heart when it comes to their patients.

Their profile picture is one they've had as their brand picture for years. It’s a Shriner holding a child inside of a heart, it’s a very touching photo and it is made to have no faces. It’s been this picture for as long as I can remember, even before Facebook had been invented. Shriner’s posts several times a week to keep their followers updated on what is happening in their several locations. They also post pictures of stars visiting these locations, taking pictures with patients and staff, and giving donations to the hospital. The hospital asks for donations on Facebook but does not make it an often habit. They even throw concerts for people who donate to the hospital, if you donate so much money. Another thing Shriners does often is inform followers of new technology and surgeries they are trying across the country. Anyone can comment on the posts but you cannot post on the page for everyone to see, you must be the page creator to post pictures or statuses. Amputee’s that are looking for answers to questions they have about their prosthetics or anything else will need to make an appointment with a doctor. One thing that Shriners does is post the stories of lucky patients, how they lost their limb and how they've overcome a struggle. This motivates other amputee’s to better themselves or try harder in their own lives.

The Amputee Coalition of America also has a fan page on Facebook. The main difference between these two pages is Shriners does not allow you to post your own pictures or statuses but The Amputee Coalition does. The page is controlled by a few members of the organization but anyone can post on the page whenever they feel like it. The cover picture right now is an event they having coming up called “Show your Mettle” the picture includes a banner saying “April is Limb Loss Awareness Month” and pictures of amputees showing off their metal rods. This event was set up to give amputees confidence in showing their prosthetics, if it’s made to look like a real leg or it’s just a rod, be proud of who you are with it. Their profile picture is just their name with a cute graphic that almost resembles a windmill.

One thing I find helpful about this page is that the members will re-post what you had posted so that everyone who is following the page will see the post, instead of just a handful of people. When Amputee’s ask questions all of the followers can comment and give advice. Even though they are strangers, a lot of them have some really great advice that even prosthesis doctors haven’t thought of. This page seems to give amputee’s a better sense of belonging, it’s almost a little community. Other amputee’s also upload inspiring video’s, pictures, quotes, and stories. This is very important because they give motivation and inspiration to new and old amputees. A lot of the amputee’s post “reviews” or their experiences with certain technology or surgeries to either recommend or warn other amputees. I find this to be very helpful because if a certain liner brand is going to wear out after a few week’s it’s not a brand you want to be wearing. The spacing of these Facebook pages are the same because Facebook is set up to look the same. The way the pages differ is with what pictures they use and what is posted on the page. The Amputee Coalition of America has significantly more posts than Shriners Hospital because amputees are posting on it every hour of the day with new questions and video’s. The Amputee’s even post videos of themselves walking, whereas Shriners does not post videos like that.

After interviewing a few people, whom have Facebook pages, about the look of both pages I found that most people liked the Shriners Facebook page. I asked four people to answer this question “Just by looking at the two pages presented to you, which page would you be more likely to visit?” Three out of four participants agreed that the Shriners Facebook page looked nicer than the Amputee Coalition’s. A participant stated “I'd probably visit the first one because it gives more of a visual Image then to the other page which is just statuses about the place then to actually seeing what they are all about but that's just me though.” On the other hand another said that she enjoyed both pages “I like the look of both pages, because they all have pictures that captivate you.” I also asked my participants “After reading some of the posts, and comments, which page do you find more helpful?” All of the participants agreed that the Amputee Coalition was the more helpful page “I found the Amputee Coalition to be more helpful because they had more questions and answers whereas Shriners just has pictures of their hospital and famous people.” Another question I brought up in the interview process was “What caught your attention on both of the pages?” all of them said the pictures is what caught their attention on each Facebook page presented to them. I even dared to take it a little further and ask them to put themselves in an amputee’s shoes or legs or arms, “If you were an amputee which page do you think you would visit more?” All of the participants answered in favor of the Amputee Coalition, one explained “I'd visit the amputee coalition more probably because people ask frequent questions that they experience everyday like with pain, rashes, and etc or just with everyday life questions about amputees.”

Even though these two Facebook pages differ in many ways they are also similar. They are both reaching towards the same goal and they both have the same meaning. They both bring awareness to limb loss and try to get donations for needy children who can’t afford prosthetics. As a participant of my interview said “I feel that the Shriner's Hospitals page definitely raises more awareness. Shriner's shows more faces and children with public figures and talks about where they are located or will be located. Amputee Coalition's page definitely addresses amputees concerns through posts because most of the pictures and posts are about concerns or situations with amputees and people offering suggestions to resolve their concerns.” Both of these pages help take care of amputees in their time of need even though it is sometimes in different ways. Both organizations accept and ask for donations and they even work together on a summer program. Every summer The Amputee Coalition of America sets up a camp with the donations they have received over the year. Shriners Hospital and Hanger Clinics are the only organizations who are allowed to enroll children in this summer program. Even though these organizations are different they both work towards a larger goal and that’s to make amputees comfortable and make them feel better about their circumstance.

Closing up my interview I decided to ask my participants if they had ever heard of these organizations before, several answered yes and no. It seemed like they had heard of one organization but not both. Then I asked them “Do these organizations interest you?” a few of them said yes because they have a relative or someone close to them who is an amputee. One said “I am interested in these organizations not just because my granddaughter is an amputee but because these organizations help people and give them hope for the future,” I strongly agree with her reasoning. Before ending the interview I decided to ask two more important questions, the next question resulted in a variety of answers, “When, if ever, would you have visited these pages if they were not brought to your attention?” Two participant’s said “I would have eventually fallen on them since one of my relatives is an amputee,” another said “Probably never, unless I was searching for a friend in crisis. Then I might have stumbled upon them through Google.” Another said something very close to that participant “I would have only heard about it through television commercials.” I then brought my interview to a close by asking my participants “Now that you know a little background to each organization, which organization do you find more helpful to amputees?” Most of the feedback I received was along the lines of “Shriners, because they actually provide prosthetics, surgery’s and other things for the patients.” I also had a participant say she believes that both organizations are helpful “I think Shriners is an amazing hospital and helps the patients more than any other type of hospital would, but I also feel that The Amputee Coalition of America gives the patients an outlet. It’s a space where they can express themselves and find help easier, I also find it amazing that they set up summer camps for the children so that they can meet other kids just like them and know they aren’t alone in the world.” She makes an amazing point about the summer camp because, it is a place where children can go and be themselves without feeling like they are handicapped.

In conclusion, these two Facebook pages have a very deep meaning. The way they bring awareness to this meaning is in different ways but they both reach the same goal in the end and that’s to make amputees feel normal. One focuses on gaining donations through their Facebook page to be able to provide prosthetics to children. Whereas the other focuses on giving amputees advice that can be used in their daily lives and making them feel like they belong somewhere through their Facebook page. Being an amputee myself I find that I go on The Amputee Coalition much more often than Shriners Hospital. The only reason for that is because I get a lot of good advice from the other amputee’s and I like being able to answer some of their questions. I enjoy seeing Shriners Hospital for Children pop up on my dashboard because I like to see how they are doing. What is fun is when I see my old doctors preforming never done surgeries and I can look back and say “he worked on me.” In general I find the Amputee Coalition of American much more helpful just because it provides advice that I can use in my daily life without seeing my doctor. Both pages are amazing and stand for an amazing cause, I support both but, I feel that Shriners could create a page like the Amputee Coalition that helps amputees when they can’t go into the hospital for an appointment. The main point is that amputee's everywhere should have more resources, awareness and hope. This is what these two organizations do for amputee's it brings all of us hope.

The Differences of Social Media

The Differences of Social Media

Instagram and Facebook are social media sites that are used on a daily basis. These are like our morning newspaper, what we check when we first awaken. Using these sites we can find out what is trending, current events, and can make other effective uses of them.

Facebook was created on February 2004 it was initially created for Harvard Students but then expanded worldwide and people from ages 13 and up started creating accounts and is now used for connecting with others. Instagram was created on October 2010 and is used for Photo and Video Sharing, You can get very creative with this using filters and apps. Most people I interviewed also like the features of instagram they say they can get more creative with it using filters and all these different fun stuff.

Instagram Features

Facebook Features

With Facebook you can post pictures, videos, and create posts.You can’t really get creative the the pictures on facebook because it does not have the same features and it is not mainly used for pictures but for post. Instagram is more visual, mainly for pictures, Facebook has more context and is more for post or messages.

These sites give us the ability to create an image for ourselves and put our information out there. Facebook is something you can be more personal with. People tend to put more out there like how are they feeling? Thoughts, opinions or anything that comes to mind really. Something they share in common is you can decide if you want privacy or not. Facebook also has some really cool features like it shows us the pictures we are tagged in and it is a great conversation starter to talk about what happened the moment or that day when the photo was taken. Instagram can be more public since you can follow anyone or everyone based on your interest. In the Interview I asked which site do you feel you can express yourself more and she said

“Instagram, because a picture is worth a thousand words I can post something and it will have different meanings to everyone.”

You can post anything a picture of weather, quote, or even food. Another thing they said is the these sites do affect their mood. For example,

“If I’m having a bad day I sometimes just look through pictures on Instagram and some make me laugh or sometime the daily quotes get me in a good mood and I feel like they challenge me to become better.”

There all you can see is what the person post’s and what they like, It is basically based on numbers or what is trending. You can find out anything on instagram from beauty tips, cars, workouts, to news, artist, and more. Instagram has also changed with in time now a days people use it to increase business. The more people Repost the more it will most likely be seen and then other people will start telling other followers how good an item is, With facebook you can share a page or create one but it won’t go out there as much. Another thing I always see in instagram is people asking about peoples like “Does this Really Work?” or “What do you guys think about this?”. It also has a higher chance to be viewed than facebook because on facebook you can just go see your messages or what has been posted on your page some people might go see what you post by scrolling or some might just keep scrolling and ignore it.

The Power of Hashtags

Instagram can also give you more information on a certain topic than Facebook. For Example on instagram if you want information on Dodgers you can just put “#Dodgers” and all types of things will come out. You can search anything with a hashtag and all kinds of post will come out. On the other hand for facebook you would have to like their page and you will only see what they want to post and what others comments on the pictures. When you search on these sites you get different information and one is always easier and simpler than the other.

Also personally Im one who likes to keep up with celebrities. I like to know where are they going to have events and where are they going to be at. Instagram makes it easier for me to find out because I can see their posts or if not I follow their promoters and they give all the information I need. I also noticed that on facebook they are not really active and just put certain stuff. So I feel like we don’t get enough information. I interviewed people asking what do they use instagram for and majority said they use it to keep up with Fandoms, celebrities, and just to entertain them when they are bored. They also agree that most Artists are more active on Instagram than Facebook,

The good thing about facebook is that you can message. You can tell if someone is online or if they haven't been active lately so you can try other ways. Majority of the people also said that they mainly use facebook to keep up with friends because if they direct message on instagram the “Feel” is different and they don’t feel like it is as serious. Over all they are both great social pages for forms of communication. Everyone has a different use to it. Most people's preference was Instagram because of the more you can do and see than Facebook. I find facebook more useful for friends and Instagram for more than just friends but for everyone.

The Advancements of taking a Simple Photo

///Under the Cap\\\

The Advancements of taking a Simple Photo

Written by: Aaron Wiggs

Some people don’t notice how technology has changed the simplest things that we do. Taking photos, developing them and sharing them are dramatic changes. Before we used bulky or disposable cameras in the past and now we just need to take out our cell phones. Photos were something that took weeks to develop and now they only take less than a second. People would make copies of their photos, make album books and scrap books and share the physical prints with their family and friends. Now we tag the person, email or hashtag the photo so others can see it.

Humans have always love taking pictures of events, people and interesting things that happen. We have always treasured pictures and shared them with our families and friends. From the rise of digital photos we have been making baby photo albums, disposable cameras, developing photos, putting pictures on our walls and on the internet.

Photography has develop new popular ways to share your photos. Instagram and Snapchat are one the most popular apps used. Both apps have great success and both are very similar but also very different in what the application is used for.

"In 1975, roughly 155 years after the first cameras were being experimented with, Eastman Kodak Company invented the first digital camera. Eastman engineer Steven J. Sasson was tasked with building a complete camera using an electronic sensor to capture optical information and digitally store the captured images "(Gustavson, 2009).

In the early 90s, cameras were manufactured so that were easy to handle and had great picture quality. People were taking a lot of photos when cameras became more accessible to everyone. The film camera allows people to take a photo, and record the photo on film roll. Film usually had a number of photos that you could take. Usually you could take 24 or 36 photos. There was no way to review your shot until the film had been developed. Developing your films usually meant visiting a store and dropping off the roll. Then you had to wait a few days to collect your physical prints. You would get a single copy of each photo, plus the negatives of the film roll, which were needed if you wanted to make extra copies at a later date. Then you would send the picture by mail or physically hand them pictures you wanted to give to people.

With these photos people would make photo albums, share portraits of the children and show pictures of their vacation to others. Do you remember all the embarrassing baby pictures that parents won’t stop showing everyone? So embarrassing, but at most times it was enjoyable to be around your friends and family and talking about all the memories that these picture brought to light.

“ I use Snapchat and Instagram a lot but I also print, develop my photos and take pictures with my Nikon D60 camera and Agfa Isola camera but I use my Nikon D60 more often because it doesn't need that much maintenance and it takes better quality pictures than my phone."

Later on we would use digital cameras that would let us put pictures on USB, floppy disks, CD, and computers. 20 years ago the process of taking, processing, and distributing a photo could take weeks or longer. Now, all you have to do is pull out your smartphone, snap a high-resolution photo and add a few filters to it. The evolution of new ways to share images kept on evolving.

Photo sharing companies started to grow fast through the boom of social networking. The two biggest apps that I know of are Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram launched its app in the apple store to be available only on iPhone in 2010. This app helped our photos look very professional with many different choices to edit our pictures. Later on they would also allow people to share videos. It would grow to be really popular and be bought by Facebook for 2 billion dollars.

“The extraordinary success of Instagram corroborates the recent Pew report which states that photos and videos have become the key social currencies online” (Rainie, Brenner, and Purcell 2012).

Why is the Instagram app is so popular? its square photos and easy it to use photo taking, filtering and navigation. The home bar on the bottom can take you anywhere need to go a from popular photos, to photos that your friends liked, to your profile or back home to you photo feed of all of your friends. With a clear white screen the page is very inviting and you can find time passing by faster when you are liking all those pictures on Instagram.

“Instagram is the app that I use more often because I can look at events, models, cars and celebrities that I’m interested in."

Instagram can be compared to how we once kept scrap books. These pictures were events that we went to or pictures that we took with friends.

In the summer of 2011 there was another photo and video sharing app that got just started. The name of this company was Snapchat. Two student of Stanford started this app; Evan Spiegel & Bobby Murphy made Snapchat very different from other photo and video sharing apps. This app would only show the photo for a specific time and then disappear like it was never there. This app was used for many different things. Teachers would send an assignment that was missed by absents students. People would send picture that show a quick gesture or just to tell some information right quick.

“It seems odd that at the beginning of the Internet everyone decided everything should stick around forever. I think our application makes communication a lot more human and natural.” – (Spiegel Billy Gallagher).

You can navigate through the Snapchat app through swiping left to right and even down to get to the different screens. One screen you can see an individual picture feeds another screen is there for you to take the photo. Then you have a screen for you to search for more friends and to discover feeds from companies like ESPN, Comedy Central, CNN and other major networks.

“Snapchat is more of daily thing for me because I keep in touch with friends see what they are doing daily in their Snapchat story without texting them”

Snapchat would be example of the individual photos that you would send to friends through mail or just handing to them.

“Personally I love taking photos, I use both of these apps but still I am in love with taking pictures with a camera film rolls or even instant developing cameras like Polaroid.”

These cameras are still used by many who love photography. It shows how we will never forget the past times and the techniques and uniqueness that it brought. It also showed how we have changed photography forever with our creativity and technological advancements.

Work Cited
Gustavson, T. (2009). Camera: a history of photography from daguerreotype to digital (pp. 334-351). New York: Sterling Innovation.

Rainie, L.; Brenner, J.; and Purcell, K. 2012. Photos and videos as social currency online. Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Billy Gallagher, 2012 No, Snapchat Isn’t About Sexting, Says Co-Founder Evan Spiegel. http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/12/snapchat-not-sexting/

Facebook vs Texting

Facebook vs. Text

Throughout the past decade, Social Media has become our main source of

communication for both the young and the older generation. Social networking has

become the primary way to keep in touch with close friends or new acquaintances living

next door or throughout the world. A recent survey conducted by the L.A. Times asked 10

participants what social media network they’d prefer to use Facebook or Texting. The

participants range in ages 18 through 50 all were asked the same questions.

Purpose

According to the study, Texting is a more intimate, one-on-one method of

communicating with people. For example, if you are on the go or simply cannot make a

call because you’re in a situation where it would be unacceptable to talk on the phone; maybe

you are in a meeting, a doctor’s appointment, or any place where talking aloud could be a

distraction to others, you can always text. In other instances, texting might just be a cure for

boredom and a chance to catch up with a friend. Texting is a form of asking the person you are

connecting with for a quick or “as soon as possible” response, without actually making a phone

call. Like participant Jacklynn Smith wrote, “It can be quick and convenient” or Robin Pico, “Light

conversations quick!” The duration of a texted conversation can be as quick as a few minutes

or can last hours depending on the subjects and time available for both parties. On the negative

side of texting during the study, it was found that users of texting are losing there grammar

skills from spelling to punctuation as mention by participant Karen Neuhaus, “I hate having to

go back when words are spelled wrong, to time consuming. Using spell check doesn’t get

everything right”. The intervals in-between text was also a cause of concern as mentioned by

Illah Schalles, “The lag between texts can make conversations confusing”

Facebook is a more diverse way to communicate. Unlike texting, Facebook has

more features allowing you to create a user profile, also known as a Facebook page. After

creating a profile, you have the option of allowing other “users” to see your profile depending

on your security/ privacy settings. Once you have allowed “friends” to view your Facebook

page, you can communicate by posting what you desire on your face book page. Jacklynn

Smith writes, “it’s a great way for me to keep in contact with my family out of state, and

country and see what’s going on in their lives”. All your “friends” will be able to see only what

you want them to see. Like texting, Facebook has a messaging feature that allows you to hold a

one-on-one conversation in the form of texting. In addition, Facebook also has the option to

make a private phone call with a friend via their site. In turn, something that many user do not

like about face book is the lack of privacy. Jorge Alvarado writes, “Facebook is too public and

it expose you un-professionally. People with professional careers should avoid it”.

Audience

Communicating via text is a more intimate form of conversing with friends, or

whomever it is you choose to text. For instance texting your girlfriend, “Hi honey, how is your

day going?” By texting that alone, your girlfriend will instantly know that you were thinking of

her in that specific moment, instantly bringing a smile to her face. You can also text a simple

“what you doing” to a friend to check and see what he is up to. In both cases, if the person is

available and can reply, a conversation will begin.

Communicating via Facebook on the other hand, can be a lot different in many ways.

Mainly in that it allows you to notify all friends about what you are doing, have done, or will

be doing later. You can wake up in the morning and post on your profile “Good morning

everyone, hope you all have a good day.” That post will be shared with all of your friends on

Facebook. Illah Schalles explains it best, “I enjoy the ease of sharing special moments and

events with friends and family both local and distant.” It is more a forum to put thoughts out

for others to see and vice-versa than to carry on conversations; however, a post may lead to.

Source & Upload

When communicating via text you have the ability to send pictures, images, videos,

memes, and music and insert attachments as described by Nina Hirales, “I enjoy that I get to

send pictures, and emoji’s faces”. The only requirement is a cell phone with a cellular service

plan. It is as simple and convenient as that. Internet access is not required.

When communicating via Facebook you can all also upload pictures, memes, videos,

music, images, and attach links but with much more space - up to one gigabyte. In addition,

there is also an application or “app” that can be uploaded to your cell phone, making it much

easier and faster to use Facebook (versus utilizing your personal computer or laptop). To use

Facebook, you are required to have an internet connection. Without internet, you cannot use

Facebook. If you have cell phone service you must have internet connection as well.

Conclusion

Both Texting and Facebook are useful forms of social media that allow people to

network staying in touch with others. Although Facebook offers more options, the

survey concluded that 8 out of 10 participants preferred to text instead of using Facebook.

Facebook and texting are phenomenal and enjoyed by many. No more than fifteen years ago,

we would not have imaged communicating would be so simple and immediate; by pressing

send, within seconds people around the world share their thoughts and best of all, both medias

can be accessed from the palm of your hand.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Blogger Entry #4

Fill out the consent form posted under handouts in google docs with information about the items you are comparing and contrasting
create 3-6 interview questions

I suggest copy and pasting your consent form onto blogger so it is easier to upload your work. The interview questions can be typed below or above the consent form.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Blogger Entry #3

Due: Sunday, March 22nd

You may choose any "reading" you like. This may include but is not limited to:

novel (I suggest doing a chapter)
short story
newspaper article
magazine article
poem (may be hard- probably need a longer poem)
television show
film
blog
online article (buzzfeed, the onion, yahoo news, huffingtonpost, etc.)
Facebook article or post
Instagram and the blurb that describes the image
graphic novel
comic books
manga
reports
textbook chapters

Once you select a reading, fill out the "Active Reading Handout" posted in google docs under the "handout" folder. You can then copy and paste the information, once you have filled it all out, in your blogger post.

In your post, please include the title and author of your reading. If possible, please also include a synopsis/brief summary from the reading (several have this already written and you can find it online- don't forget to cite the source, please).

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Amanda's Reading List

My list of titles plus some commentary plus some images

A practical guide to personal freedom: The Four Agreements, Wisdom book by Don Miguel Ruiz
Soulful Recipes: Building Healthy Traditions
Haley's Hints by Graham and Rosemary Haley
New Complete Guide to home Repair & Improvement
The Spanish, Middle Eastern & African Cookbook
Good Life Cooking- Jacques Pepin
Mexican Cookbook
Best Quick Fixes: 180 recipes for the way you really cook
The Complete Idiot's Guide to: Total Nutrition
The Complete Idiot's Guide to: Low-Sodium Meals
The Complete Idiot's Guide to: Good Fat, Good Carb Meals

Most of the cook books above I've barely even tried :( however I am a great cook either way. no seriously, a really good cook.

Lucy- Jamaica Kincaid
The Inferno- Dante Allegheri
Trespass- Flecher Knebel
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
The Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell
The Man of Feeling- Henry Mackenzie
Dead to the world- charlaine harris
club dead-charlaine harris ** so this series is known as the Sookie Stackhouse Series and you guys might know it from the HBO show Trueblood which was based off of these
dead as a doornail-charlaine harris
all together dead- charlaine harris
definitely dead-charlaine harris
dead until dark- charlaine harris
living dead in dallas- charlaine harris
The red and the black- Stendhal
The Amber Spy Glass- Phillip Pullman ** extremely powerful triology- banned in several states and seemingly a children's story but it's really about religion and politics and crazy stuff. GREAT read.
City of Ashes- Cassandra Clare
The Penelopiad- Margaret Atwood *** LOVE Margaret
The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
Saving Fish from drowing- Amy Tan
Persuasion- Jane Austen
The Sun also Rises- Ernest Hemingway
Lord Jim-Joseph Conrad
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Interpreter of Maladies- Jhumpa Lahiri
The Cenci- Percy Shelley
Moll Flanders- Daniel Defoe
Body Language 101- David Lambert
The Lieutenant of Inshore- Martin McDonagh
The God of Small Things- Arundhati Roy
The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare- Russ McDonald
The Fallen Part 1- Thomas Sniegoski
The Fallen Part 2- Thomas Sniegoski

Fallen series is about fallen angels. these novels were some of the first I started reading about angelic beings. It's the weird retelling of biblical and mythological and imaginary stories of man but because of my catholic, christian, mixed background I really enjoy anything along these lines

Elvis Day by Day- Peter Guralnick & Ernest Jorgensen

my daddy's book actually. He loves Elvis.

The ugly duckling- ANderson Bogdanovic
Andrea Mitchell Talking Back- Andrea Mitchell
We who are alive and remain- Marcus Brotherton
Against All Enemies: Inside america's war on terror - Richard Clarke
What I wish you knew- American Girl
Secrets of the Tomb: Skulls & Bones - Alexandra Robbins

I'm secretly not so secretly fascinated by

Personality: A scientific Approach
Kaye Gibbons the life all around me by Ellen Foster
The Sword of Anton by Gene del vecchio
Cesar's Way- Cesar Milan
The Golden Compass- Phillip Pullman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
The Girl who played with Fire- Stieg Larsson
The Girl who kicked the hornet's nest- Stieg Larsson
Ransom - David Malouf
Blink- Malcolm Gladwell
A Tale Dark & Grimm- adam gidwitz
Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher
The Art of War- Sun Tau
City of Glass - Cassandra Clare
Brown Girl, Brown Stones- Paule Marshall
As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner
America is in the Hear- Carlos Buloson
The Fellowship of the Ring- J.R.R Tolkien
The Two Towers- J.R.R Tolkien
The Return of the Kind- JRR Tolkien
The Three Theban Plays- Sophocles
Impulse - Ellen Hopkins
Crank- Ellen Hopkins
Burned- Ellen Hopkins
Glass- Ellen Hopkins
Twilight- Stephanie Meyer
New Moon- Stephanie Meyer
Breaking Dawn- Stephanie Meyer
The Bedford introduction to Drama
The importance of being Earnest- Oscar Wilde
All the Women of the Bible- Lockyer
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - J. K Rowling
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets- J. K Rowling
harry potter and the prisoner of Azkaban- J. K Rowling
harry potter and the goblet of fire- J. K Rowling
harry potter and the order of the phoenix-J. K Rowling
harry potter and the half blood prince- J. K Rowling
harry potter and the deathly hallows- J. K Rowling
The DaVinci Code- Dan Brown
The Painter of Battles- Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Forgery of Venus- Michael Gruber
Trigonometry- Dressler & rich
Divine by Blood- P. C Cast
divine by mistake- P. C Cast
divine by choice-P. C Cast
Discipline & Punish- Michel Foucault
Writing: Unit Lessons in Composition
Basic Principles of American government
Ender in Exile- orson scott card
Ender's Game- Orson scott card
Ender's Shadow-Orson scott card
children of the mind-Orson scott card
shadow puppets-Orson scott card
shadow of the giant-Orson scott card
Xenocide-Orson scott card
A war of gifts- Orson scott card
pathfinder- orson scott card
Red Prophet- orson scott card
The StoneMason- Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian- Cormac McCarthy
The Vampyre and other tales of Macabre - Pollori
Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
The Classic Fairy Tales - Norton Edition
Me, MySpace, and I- Larry Rosen
Patterns of Exposition 18th Edition
Fault Lines: Debating the Issues in American Politics
Five weeks in a balloon, A journey to the center of the earth, from the earth to the moon, twenty thousand leagues under the sea, around the world in eighty days -Jules Verne
Sense & Sensiblity, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield PArk, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan- Jane Austen
Old & Middle English an Anthology
Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age
Norton Anthology of English Literature:The 20th century and after
Norton Anthology of English Literature:the middle ages
Norton Anthology of English Literature: the restoration and the 18th century
Norton Anthology of English Literature: the romantics
Norton Anthology of English Literature: American Literature
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius- Dave Eggers
Accounting: basic principles
Modern algebra
guinesss book of world records 15th edition
girl with a pearl earring tracy chevalier
work this one out- L.H Longley-Coolk
united states history: ideas in conflict
The Heir - barbara bradford
The Necessary Shakespeare - Bevington
The Hunchback of notre dame, les miserables, the man who laughs- Victor Hugo
Sacred Causes: the clash of religion and politics, fromt eh great war to the war on terror
The Gambler- Fydor Dostoyoevsky
The communist Manifesto and other Revolutionary
Holy Bible King James Version
Holy Bible New Living Translations
The Pillar s of the Earth- Ken Follet
the lime house text- will thomas
the secret history of the world - mary booth
The house on mango street- sandra cisneros
breath, eyes, memory- edwidge danticat
the kingdom come- will thomas
kite runner- khaled hosseine
Visually Guitar
The illustrated encyclopedia of the animal kingdom
Literary Theory an Anthology
The Lacuna- Barbara kingsolver
Feminine Mystique- Berry Freidan
Epitaph- james siegel
A secret affair- Barbara bradford
Freud A-Z - Heller
girl in landscape- jonathan lethem
where the truth lies- rupert holmes
For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf- Ntozake Shange
The last lecture- Randy Pausch
The U.S Constitution: Fascinating Facts about it
The taming of the Shrew- Shakespeare
humphrey Clinker- Tobias Smollet
Mary and Maria- Mary wollstonecraft
matilda - mary shelley
Drift - Rachel Maddow
Dying and Dignity: the meaning and control of a personal death- Melvin Krant
Vellum- Hal Duncan
Expository Writing- Fulton
Paradise Lost - Milton
Take one candle light a room - susan straight
the secret- rhonda byrne
Notes from the underground , The double - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Giant Book of Poetry
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
MockingJay- Suzanne Collins
50 shades of Grey - E.L james
50 shades of darker- E.L james
50 shades freed- E.L james
The Metamorphosis - Ovid
Cien anos de solead- Gabriel Marquez
the crying of lot 49- thomas pynchon
the help- kathryn stocked
tarzan of the apes- edgar burroughs
the fixer- bernard malamud
one flew over the cuckoo's nest- ken kesey
Orgasms: how to have them, give them, keep them --lou paget ( lmao *awkward* more awkward that this was in my mom's room and when I was taking books to my apartment from my parents house this got into one of the boxes lol )
phaedrus - Plato
A portrait of the artist as a young man- James Joyce
Dubliners- James Joyce
Game of Thrones- George R.R Martin
The Scarlett letter- Hawthorne
World War Z- Max Brooks
AS I live and breathe- rinehart
city of lost souls- cassandra clare
Stay Up! los angeles street art - James Daichendt
Psychological Reflections- C.G Jung

I can't keep typing titles!!!!!! :( Picture time

Majority of the books below are my rhetoric and composition books. I love every single one of them. They aren't the writing books that most are used to, that whole strategy and readings style books. They are more theoretical and philosophical. More real. I have several here that are about location and space. See the red Lefebvre one? The politics of space. Spent the last two years knee dip in spatial rhetoric. How language can be expressed through location and architecture. Sounds weird, I know. But it's crazy to think how every aspect of our everyday lives are built for purposes beyond us. Crafted, constructed, and created to sustain our living and direct our individual and societal lives. The way streets create a grid. The way buildings and parks and apartments and houses collide and divide depending on the neighborhood. The names of streets and the amount of money that goes to each community to clean it up or leave it decaying in poverty. The liqueur stores and thrift shops and malls and Coach stores and cash and check and fancy restaurants and organic places and coffee shops... I rambling.

BECKETT.. All time favorite writer. He completes me... ever read something that resonates so bad, that hits home so hard you swear in another life you could of wrote those very words? ever read something so you, so YOU that you know without a doubt that the words before you were written in your mind before ink ever printed paper? Beckett does that to me. He makes me feel feelings I try to not feel.

Below you'll notice half of my brother, Daniel, and my puppy, Ringo who is in fact 11 years old.

Below is my Best Western Literature Encyclopedia Collection!!!! SOOOOOOO fucking badass. I picked it up at a thrift shop in Glendale a while back and it is the first major collection I own. I truly love this collection but I've yet to read it all :(