Oryx and Crake Reading #3

- Crake and Jimmy were at AnooYoo
- Crake and Jimmy toured the Rejoovensense Compound
- Crake introduced BlyssPluss pill that was a "one-time-does-it-all birth-control pill for male and female alike, thus automatically lowering the population level." (294)
- The purpose of the pill is to sterilize people without them knowing that so they can have sex with anyone they please without worrying about getting pregnant.
- This pill would be a global pill
- It would also protect them from sexually transmitted diseases
- Crake raided Extinctathon and managed to bring them under false documentation
- Jimmy saw the Crackers for the first time, they were naked in a room
- Jimmy and Oryx were back together again because she showed him how the monitors worked, told him that she was helping Crake give out the pills and was also working as an undercover sex worker
- Oryx was also the teacher of the Crackers
- It was only then that Jimmy realized that Crake was in love with Oryx
- While Jimmy longed to touch and be with Oryx, he took his mind off of her with other random women that he had no connection with
- He constantly shot himself up with "Crake's quicktime vaccine" (312)
- Finally, Oryx caught Jimmy and that was the first time they had sex
- Jimmy worried that Crake would be angry but Oryx assured him that he didn't know that anything was happening, instead, it was her duty to make Jimmy happy
- Oryx told Jimmy that if anything were to happen to either her or Crake that he needed to take the Crackers and keep them safe
- Jimmy was watching the monitor while Crake and Oryx were away when something terrible happened
- A worldwide plague had broke out and it was because of those pills
- Oryx contacted Jimmy and was Oryx saying it was the pills she was giving out and selling before the line broke and he wasn't able to contact her 
- Jimmy was monitoring the screen when he saw Crake and Oryx and he told him that he needed to let them in
- Jimmy was hesitant at first because he knew he wasn't allowed too so he brought a spray gun with him
- Oryx was leaning on Crake, he was covered in blood, you couldn't see her face
- As he opened the door, Crake said "I'm counting on you" (329) and slit her throat and Jimmy shot him
- A few days past, Jimmy decides it is time to make them leave and go to the water.
- He calls himself Snowman and teaches them things about what to be aware of etc.
- He leaves the beach to go searching and when he comes back, they tell him that a group of people asked and said they looking for him
- He goes to look at them and he is out- numbered and leaves them be

Quotes:
"Crake's quicktime vaccine" (312)
- little did Jimmy know that the vaccine was actual an anti-agent to the pill that Crake was distributing.
- Is there any vaccine left behind?

"one-time-does-it-all birth-control pill for male and female alike, thus automatically lowering the population level." (294)
- How did no one actually look into this experiment before distributing this pill?
-What else was in the pill?

"I'm counting on you" (329) 
- the last words from Crake to Jimmy, a man that was his best friend for years.
- how did Crake know he could rely on Jimmy
- how did he know that the pill would react that way?

Essay 4 Quotes 4/26

I have finished my essay and now it is time to edit it completely.

1. The first question that I asked Jenson was how long has he been practicing conserving water in his household. His response was “I have been actively conserving water for about the past 4 years [not counting the years that he wasn’t aware of him conservation practice].” His practice has helped keep the amount of wasted water to a bare minimum. 

2. He also told me that on average, “just one flush is two gallons of water” now multiple it by everyone in this country, which amounts to an incredibly large number of water used just for toilets alone. I now understand why they only flush the toilet when needed and it is an easy step to practice in households. I would definitely consider doing this in my future house because it is an easy way to conserve water but also it saves money on your monthly water bill. 

3.

Jenson started by

“Simply using any containers I could find to collect rain runoff; buckets, trash barrels, tubs, watering cans, etc. I also use the roof gutters and rather than going out to the street, I direct the rain water throughout the yard using trenches, rocks, and thick layers of mulch. The mulch and rocks help to absorb and slow the rain runoff and allows the water to soak into the ground better. Under the mulch is diverse habitat of beneficial microbes, insects, and fungi that help the surrounding vegetation and retain moisture.”

  He was able to demonstrate this invention which at first confused me but after the watching how it was done I was in amazed on how he was able to build this with very little room. 

Practice Write 4/26

Almost all of my writing is done for school with the exception of writing emails to people at work. I do a work study at the Veteran Services Center on campus and work 25 hours a week. I do not enjoy writing much and would not do it on my free time because I am usually consumed with work, training and school. I personally did not like the blogging we did this semester and would not consider being a blogger for other topics. When it comes to reading, I usually am reading for classes which leaves little to no time for me to read on my free time. I do enjoy reading a lot and am finding a way to incorporate more in my jam packed weekly schedule.

In class notes 4/21

What to look for when I am revising my essay:

1. Process: What do you look at first? Second?
-What don't you look at?
-How is the digital feedback different?

2. Rhetorical: Was my intended messaged well recieved?

3. Practical: Was my feedback helpful?
-Do you have a sense of Common Error Analysis?
-What will you do? Plan for Essay 5.

Practice Write 4/21

At this point in the semester it is non stop with school, work study, training, and trying to take time for myself. In this class, I am feeling a little overwhelmed with essay number 4, but I know once I get some free time, I will be able to write my essay. With my other classes, I will be done with midterms tonight and then more homework and studying. It will be nonstop with school for these next 3.5 weeks left. Although I am exhausted and ready for summer, I will be taking nine units, so I will be up here for half of my summer. The goals that I set for myself this semester is just to pass my classes with the highest grade I can receive, know that I have tried my hardest and next semester I need to work harder. 

Oryx and Crake Reading pt 2

  

In the second segment that we were reading, it starts off with Crake and Jimmy keeping in touch through email because Jimmy was attending Martha Graham. The boys had a little competition [what it seemed like] because Jimmy had a little more an advantage with the girls and his school was more important than Crake. Once the holidays came by, Jimmy decided to visit Crake. Through the security into Watson-Crick, two CorpSeCorps men pulled Jimmy aside and asked him, “You seen your runaway mother lately?” “No” (197) replied Jimmy, who was being truthful. Once Jimmy cleared security, Crake and him reunited. “Compared with Martha Graham [Jimmy’s school], Watson-Crick was a palace”(199) when it came to everything. Jimmy and Crake toured the school the next day, talking about projects, new inventions and what was going on in their lives. The first thing they saw was the “Décor Botanicals… developing Smart Wallpaper that would change colour on the walls of your room to compliment your mood” (201). They then went to NeoAgriculturals and they were creating chickens. Instead of the whole chicken, they were just chicken parts, with high growth rate built in so that you did not need to add growth hormones. Because the animals were made to not feel anything, “animal- welfare freaks won’t be able to say a word, because this thing feels no pain’ (203) [which is what is kind of happening in today’s world]. The last place that they looked at was the BioDefences where they created a dog pound, which were guard dogs that were made for dog security.  The next day the guys talked about if they had any girlfriends, if the money ran out at Helth Wyzer, and lastly they saw a video with Jimmy’s mother and Uncle Pete in it. Although both in shock, they knew that they could not tell a single soul and figured out that his father was murdered. On their last night together, they played a game that they used to when they were younger called “Extinctathon” (214), which was a web interaction with all sorts of defunct animals and plants. Once they were on the web, Crake pulled a picture of Oryx which made Jimmy have a feelings arise such as “his own guilt, his own shame, his own desire” (215).  At last, it was time for Jimmy to leave and Crake and him started to talk about dreams. Jimmy constantly remembered his dreams. Crake on the other hand never remembered his dreams; instead Snowman remembers them. It made sense to Jimmy why Crake screamed so much at night. He would be so immersed in the moment that he would lose it. In chapter nine, Snowman is wondering if different people are still alive, if so where are they? Snowman wonders to the Compounds when there is the deserted town where life once was. His main goal is to find food, during that time he cuts his foot on glass and that piece is wedged in his foot. Suddenly a twister hits, lights go out, and he feels that Oryx is now with him. Back to Jimmy and he is finally graduated and starting his life. He has become addicted to sex. After he moves to the junior apartment in the Anoo Yoo Compound, which were an small room, kitchen and bathroom. Once he was promoted, he went off and bought things for his house. Crake had found out that Uncle Pete died suddenly, believing it was sabotage. The CorpSeCorps never stopped tracking Jimmy. Once day they interviewed him and he saw his mother being shot to death. Anger filled his body and they could tell by the monitors. Snowman finds a radio after the twister was gone and someone answered it on the other side. The voice kept repeating “kkkkk” (273) “I’m here! I’m here!” the voice shouted.

Quotes:
 "I never remember my dreams," said Crake.
- Why doesn't he remember his dreams? Are they even dreams?

"So Crake never remembered his dreams. It's Snowman that remembers them instead. Worse than remembers: he's immersed in them, he'd wading through them, he's stuck in them. Every moment he's lived in the past few months was dreamed first by Crake. No wonder Crake screamed so much." (218)
- Will this be answered on why he never remembers them? Is this a game stimulation, is this even happening? Is his memory constantly erased so he doesn't remember them?


Questions:
1. Why does Crake have a picture of Oryx in his video game?
2. Was the voices that he heard from the radio real or was it his imagination?
3. Why did the CorpSeCorps wait so long to show Jimmy the video of his mom being shot?

Reflection Blog Unit 3

In this unit, I thought that writing a research paper would be easier, but it was not. I found such huge research papers that it was hard to narrow it down with writing and I followed your advice and only wrote about one. In the beginning of this essay, I was confused on what we were actually trying to focus on and write about. After constantly re reading and finding key points I was able to focus more on my main topic of this semester long paper. In the end, this was not my favorite unit because of the week long spring break and I felt rushed with this essay.

Practice Write 4/19

Over the weekend I went home for a family funeral so I was able to interview my friend for about 10 minutes because that was all the time I had available. I have never conducted an interview before and I believe that I did a decent job for my first time. The conversation flowed easy and natural; there were no off topic because the interview was so quick. As of right now, that is all I have done because I am stressed out with school and my family back down in Southern California. I know I need to begin my essay but I need to re read the guidelines in order for me to start. I also am hoping that I can use one of the topics that we learned in the reading how to embed quotes in block narratives. Other than that, I feel a little confident about writing the essay and I hope that is the case.

Practice Write 4/12

The process that I have been going through that is leading up to the interview has not been easy. I have never conducted an interview before and I am still currently trying to figure out questions that I want to ask. All of the school officials that I have emailed have not contacted me back, which leaves me to ask all my questions to a friend who currently practices saving water in any way possible. I know that interviewing him, I will be in a more comfortable environment and do not need to stress out about messing up because he is family. I just need to make sure that I ask the correct questions but I do not know how much I need to ask. Although this is my first interview, I feel more confident than I thought I would.

Fieldworking for 4/19

In this reading, we learn how to "cite your published and unpublished written data sources accurately for your reader" (1). Citing correctly ensures that you are punished for plagiarizing or making up false information.  As writers, we need to "create texts that embrace our informants' diverse voices and also include our own" (1). By writing with diverse voices, your readers can see the interchanging of your two conversation. There are three different but efficient techniques that you can use while writing your essay to make sure that both of your voices are heard during the conversation. Those three techniques are "1. Burrowing techniques from fiction; 2. Quoting within a transcript; and 3. Summarizing dialogue" (1,2). The main point of this reading is to teach and give use techniques when writing your essay to ensure that all voices will be heard and there is a smooth but distinct transition between each voice.

Questions:
1. I have never done an essay that involves annotating a interview and making sure your voice is also heard. Will we be able to look at examples in class?

Fieldworking 4/12

During an interview, you should keep in mind that when you are interviewing, you are listening to their side of the story instead of yours. You want to push your thoughts behind and listen to what they have to say. When asking questions, you want your questions to have a lot of meaning behind them which can lead to an in depth conversation. Two types of questions are "closed questions and open questions"(pg.3). Closed questions are often "yield single phrases as answers and can shut down further talk" (pg. 3). You do not want to have to many closed questions because that will stop a conversation continuously which makes the interview choppy and unprofessional. Open questions help "elicit your informant's perspective and allow more conversational exchange" (pg. 3). There will not be single answers so it allows your conversation to flow and you can engage in a lively conversation. There is also a way to make sure you are recording and transcribing your interview to ensure you do not leave out any valuable information that you can use in your essay. You may use an inexpensive recorder which will fit your needs perfectly, as long as you can hear your interviewee clearly. By being prepared before hand, your interview will flow more smooth and it makes you more professional. You should go over questions a few times, be willing to change your questions in case the conversation changes and be ready to take notes that are key during the interview. You should also plan on taking notes while you are conducting an interview just in case your recorder stops working or just to remind yourself of key points that you do not want to leave out. In box 22, they go over key points in the reading to make sure that you fully understand what you need to do to get the most out of your interview. The main point of this reading is to make sure you know what types of questions that you want to ask, how to record your conversation and to be confident during your interview.

Questions:
1. I am still going over what types of questions that I want to ask during the interview, is there any pointers you could give?

practice write 4/7

In my words, to annotate something is to go throughout the article you are reading and throughly understand what they mean. You look throughout the article, highlighting, leaving side notes, and really understand what you are reading. A bibliography is when you read and article and write a summary about it. You aren't as in depth with it as you would be when you are annotating, you are skimming it. 

Together they mean that you can write a bibliography more in depth after you annotate it fully. For example, what we did with our reasearch papers and we constantly researched different articles and our goals were to find the authors main arguments, how their argument connects to ours, finding strong and useful quotes, restate your thesis, and lastly citations.  

Practice Write 4/5

As of right now, I have written 4 pages but only on one research article. I re read your email multiple times and you recommended me sticking to just one research article. I wasn't sure if I should add another one and figure out how they relate to one another and my thesis statement. I was looking for a "Cowspiracy" article on the school library site but they do not have any. I am still concerned that I am not writing what you want us too, but it is also not clear on what you want us to write about. If you coulr clearify in class that will be so helpful. As of right now, I need to re write part of my essay and add more information from a different source.