Friday, January 27, 2017

Gatsby Chapter 2 Notes


  • Tom Buchanan made it obvious to everyone that he has a mistress in New York.
  • Tom wanted Nick to meet his girl.
  • anemic- pail
  • Wilson needs something from Tom but Tom doesn't need anything from Wilson.
  • stout- strength, muscle, big
  • Wilson believes his wife goes to New York to visit her sister. 
  • Tom drinks a lot which could mean that he's not happy.
  • Myrtle is Tom's lover and she occasionally lives in the apartment Tom pays for.
  • Catherine is Myrtle's sister.
  • proprietary- ownership

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The Great Gatsby Notes 1, 2


  • Supercilious- behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.
  • Epigraph- a brief quote at the beginning of a chapter that is suggestive to its theme.
Characters:

  • Nick (narrator)- lives in Long Island, tries not to judge people 
  • Daisy- looks forward to things, misses them, is never satisfied
  • Tom Buchanan- has a cruel body, is sort of like a bully
  • Miss Baker- always bored / tired

Monday, January 16, 2017

Everything is a Remix


  • Remix: to combine or edit existing materials to create something new; the arrangement and transformation of samples.
  • Remix originally applied to music.
  • Anybody can remix anything and distribute it globally instantly.
  • Some remixes are better than others.
  • The light bulb is a popular metaphor for creativity. 
  • The truth behind most creations is not that they happen all at once, instead it is more like small ideas clump together to form something bigger.
  • There are three basic elements for creating something.
  • Domain Knowledge, which can be acquired through copying.
  •  Transformation, which is time consuming and labor intensive but can produce better results.
  •  Combinations, which is taking existing stuff and merging them together especially if they are not related.
  • Basically the three steps for creating are Copy, Transform, and Combine
  • Loss Aversion is when people are more focused on avoiding losses than acquiring gains.
  • Ideas are not property which means you can't really steal an idea. It's more like copying.
  • There would be many complications if we considered ideas property.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Music as Literature

Yes! We can consider music as literature because every song has some sort of background and central message. When you hear a song you can figure out what the artist's tone is and the mood they are trying to convey to the readers. A song is a way of telling a story, just that instead of reading it you are listening to it. Most people, if not all, listen to music occasionally whether it's to feel better or just enjoy the rhythm. In my opinion, the difference between a novel, rap, poem, song, opera, and a symphony is that way that it is told. These are all different forms of literature that are expressed differently.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Hello 2017!

At the beginning of 2016 I wasn't as worried with my classes as I am now. Sophomore year wasn't easy but it was easier than his year so far. I have become more disciplined since then because my classes now require me to pay more attention and do a lot of work out of class. I also have become more social since many of my classes require me to partner up or work in groups with other students to work on a project. Overall I would say that I have become more involved in my classes and focused in school this year more than last year.