Blog 75 (Made it!)

Dearest Future English 110 Students,
You are all in for such a glorious treat. Obviously, by treat, I mean writing an excruciating 250 words of blog everyday for an entire quarter! The best part is that not only do you get to force yourself to write an uninteresting blog about what you did that day, but you get the grand opportunity to read and comment on 25 other people's similarly uninteresting blogs. Sure, once in a blue moon someone will write a captivating blog and the comments will flow, but I have written countless comments that say something like "Oh yeah! That's so interesting", when nothing could be further from the truth.
You might be saying to yourself, "Wow! These blogs sound like such a treat, but I want MORE assignments that make me want to give up on academics for the rest of eternity!" Well look no further, you've got the Analytical Research Paper to look forward to! This one is great for all you people who have ever watched a science fiction show and thought, "I would really like to write a drawn-out, seven page paper on themes in this episode! If only I got to incorporate a few scientific articles into my analysis!"
As you can tell, I have had a great time in this class, and I look forward to spreading the news about the funnest class on campus!

Sincerely,
Matthew Brew

Blog 74

Science Fiction. I had been exposed to some science fiction before this class, mainly in the show Dr. Who. That is a very different type of show than the ones we have been watching. I guess what I think about science fiction is that I don't really like it, but I understand why people do. Its cool how in-depth people can get when learning about the shows, but thats just not for me. There is enough going on in most of those series to be able to write seven or eight page papers, which is certainly appealing to some people. It is good when the science fiction shows don't get caught up in the technicalities of the show, but they just let the characters interact as people would in real life. I was not really a fan of any of the shows that I watched at the beginning of the quarter, and I am certainly not going to continue watching. I watched a lot of Star Trek and a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I am glad to say that that will be the last I watch of those shows. Its been a good run, and my eyes have been opened as to why people enjoy watching the shows, but its just not my cup of tea. I have nothing against science fiction fans in anyway. The type of entertainment I like doesn't match up with the entertainment provided by shows like Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. I think this quarter coming to a close will mark the end of my sci-fi watching days, at least for a little while.

Matthew

Blog 73

I forgot to do yesterday's blog until just now, so I'm about to do two in a row. Tomorrow is going to be the last day of the blogs. Its been a long quarter, and I must say I am super excited to not have to write 250 words every day. I'm also really excited for my classes next quarter, but I'm thinking that I might have to switch them up. Right now I have Astronomy 161, Russian 250, and a class at my high school. I might go on to Math 152 after this quarter though. I looked at the Honors curriculum requirements and it looks like that even for a BA I need to go through Math 152. I'm actually really good at math, but I hate it with a burning passion. I don't like how concrete it is, and that there is only one right answer to any problem. I like fields where different people have different answers, and many things can be learned from the way people respond to the same question. I'm struggling to decide what I want to major in when I go to Ohio State, but I just want to make sure it is something I love rather than something that will make a lot of money, but if both of those happen I won't be complaining. Maybe I'll take an engineering class and I'll totally love it or something like that, but as of now I'm kind of sold out for the humanities. Only time will tell what I do with my life, but rest assured that it won't involve blogging.

Matthew

Blog 72

How crazy is it that we've done 72 blogs over the course of this quarter. When I started off I felt like I MIGHT have been able to consistently blog for about 30 days or so, but it really came a lot easier than I expected. The only thing is that I imagine blogs are only fun to read when people are blogging because they want to say something. We are only blogging because we're doing it for a grade. Then we're forced to make 100 comments on people's blogs, when they don't even care what we have to say. Its just a bunch of people forcing themselves to write stuff about themselves that might not even be true. Anyway, thats just me expressing my feelings about the blog.
I was just over at a friend's house sitting around playing catchphrase for about three hours. It really didn't seem like that long, but when I checked my clock it turned out to be. People came and went as we played, and some fell asleep in the middle of their turns to explain the clues, but it was a really great time. I love just going somewhere and chilling, especially when we don't feel like we need to go out and do something. That usually only happens when we seem to have enough people to keep ourselves entertained by simple things like playing hours of Catchphrase.

Blog 71

I did not like Caprica today. I just felt like the episode wasn't going anywhere the whole time we were watching. It was pretty cool to see the beginning of the Cylons but beyond that there wasn't much to it. I didn't really see any story progression as the episode went on. We found out that they worshipped the singular God, and it became pretty obvious that the guy killed himself as a martyr. Then the Dad discovered the virtual world thing and it just kind of seemed to come to a standstill. Maybe if we had kept watching we would have seen everything fall into place together, but for me there was no foreseeable way for them to do that. I feel like any reconciliation between the father who was wearing black gloves and his son was just going to be a forced, cheesy scene. They would probably get in some sort of fight and, even though they almost died, they came out on top together. I think that the girl who died on the train's friend was going to die at some point while the girl's dad is nearby trying to figure out the problem with the digitally projected girl. But what do I know? Maybe my ideas are better than what really happened and I should look into a career as a writer for TV. Or maybe I've just seen enough movies and shows to know what to expect, in which case I could write for a really boring show.

Matthew

Blog 70

I've been thinking of places I'd like to go around the world recently, and I've come up with a few priority options. First of all I would love to go to Rome. I have been to several cities in Italy, but never to what I think is the main one to go to. So much history is in that city, and I think it is one of the essential spots for World Travelers. I went to Venice, Italy when I was in elementary school and that was very nice, but I'd like to go back without parents and at my age. Another place I'd like to go to Athens, in Greece. I've been to some obscure island off the coast of Greece, but I have never been to Athens. I am particularly interested in Athens because of the Classical Myth class I have been taking. It would be cool to just do a Greek survey of all the big cities from myth. Another place I would like to go is Ireland. I went to Ireland for ten days over the summer, but I think it would be great to go back with my outdoorsy friends and hike some of the famous trails, maybe go up to Northern Ireland to see Giant's Causeway or something. It is really beautiful in Ireland, and I think it would make a great spot for a Honeymoon or something. Although that makes me think about the Bahamas. I've never gone on any Caribbean cruises or anything like that, but from what I hear they sound incredible. Let me know what you guys think of world travel.

Matthew

Blog 69

Forgot to do this last night. After English class I went straight over to my friends house and then home. I was going to do it, but I have been feeling really sick so I fell asleep as soon as I got home. I woke up to go to church at 6:15 and then didn't get home from there until 9:30, at which point I was going to do this blog but then fell asleep again. I seriously hate being sick. It makes all of my favorite things suck. Things like playing music are no fun when I'm not feeling healthy. I have a sore throat, stuffed up nose, and a killer headache all at once. I've been taking plenty of Sudafed and Advil, but I'm still not feeling very good. The side of my bed is littered with cough drop wrappers, used tissues, and decongestant spray. Even with this arsenal to draw upon, nothing seems to be phasing my sickness. It was a bad idea to go to class yesterday, but I thought it was important to go because of the group memo that we worked on. Today I just stayed home and was lazy all day. I slept through both of my classes, and I do feel a lot better, but still not good by any means. However, I did get a chance to work on my final paper for my Classics class, which I would have otherwise been doing in the early hours of the morning. So while being sick is absolutely horrid, something kind of good came out of it.

Matthew

Blog 68

I woke up today feeling terrible. I think it might be because of the night I spent in a house with no heating and no blanket. Actually that's definitely it. I got up at 7 to go to math, and I managed to stay awake for the first 25 minutes, but then it got really bad and I just went to sleep. I woke up at the end of class and then went to the Thompson library. At this point I was done for the day, but I had made plans to go get lunch with a friend on campus later, so I didn't want to leave and come back. I went to the map room at the library and slept for about two hours, then went and played cards with some people from my school on campus. Later I went out to lunch with my friend KC who has a lot of swipes left and not a lot of time. We went to Fresh Express, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first time there. They gave me more food than I could finish though. I went home after that and I've just been sitting around feeling terrible, and I'm just about ready to go to sleep. I have class early tomorrow, and theres nothing worse than being sick and having an early class. My first day back from Thanksgiving break was a snap back to reality. That is the absolute last thing I wanted out of today, but its what I got. Tomorrow will be a better day!

Matthew

Blog 67

Well, Thanksgiving break is over, and I am sad. My brother flew back out to Rhode Island for college this morning, but my uncle and aunt are here to stay until Wednesday. I liked having four days off more than I liked what I did with those four days. I feel refreshed and ready to finish the quarter strong. Just think, in two weeks we'll be done until 2011. If that doesn't give you drive to work your ass off for the next two weeks, then I don't know what will. Think about it; Christmas is in less than a month! So is New Year's! This is the best time of the year and I want to enjoy it with peace of mind. I want to know that I did the best that I could in all my classes.
Yesterday, I stayed the night at my friend Mitch's house, like I do two or three times a week. I went to sleep super tired, so I didn't realize how cold it was. I woke up at about 6 in the morning freezing cold. There was no way I was going back to sleep so I just drove home. The worst part was that I was super tired and I had to scrape all the frost off my car's windshield. Anyway, I went home and slept for an hour or two, then put WALL-E on, watched it for about an hour, and then fell back asleep for a few hours. Then I had lunch with my brother, who left for Brown University this morning.

Matthew

Blog 66

Well, I didn't do this blog yesterday. To start off, GO BUCKEYES. Michigan didn't stand a chance from the point Jordan Hall returned that kickoff for a touchdown on. I had breakfast at a friends house before the game, and then we moved on to someone else's house to watch the game itself. We had about 15 people in a pretty small living room watching the game. It was a good atmosphere and we had lots of fun. Its a great house to just hang out at, and after we were pretty far up I went into another room to chill while the game was going on. After watching the game, I went to Raising Cane's for some really good chicken. Then I had to go home. Every year me and my friends make lots of trips to Easton to get in the Christmas spirit, and literally every year since we started I have missed to first trip. It happened once again! My uncle was flying into town from Seattle so we went out to dinner with him. Unfortunately, when I met back up with all my friends, they were all saying I had missed one of the best nights they have had in a while. We still managed to have a good time though. We went to two of our friends 18th birthday parties, where there was lots of dancing and hanging out on the porch. It was a really good party and I was really tired by the end. I have been going to a lot more parties recently, and I have been having a good time even though I still don't drink.

Matthew

Blog 65

Tomorrow is Michigan vs Ohio State. I would go so far to say that not only is this rivalry the best in all of college football, it is the best rivalry in all of rivalries. Anything can happen in the Michigan Ohio State game, and that is why it is so incredible. At one point Michigan came into the OSU game undefeated six seasons in a row, and lost five of those games. The same has happened going the other way, although I like to ignore those years. Nothing is set in stone coming up to this game, and the intensity from both teams always leads to an exciting game. There is such great tradition with the game too. Every year I go to a friend's house, whose parents make breakfast for about 40 people, and we all just hang out before the game. Then once game time rolls around everyone goes their separate ways to watch the game. I try to avoid campus post-game because of all the violence and rioting that goes on. Basically, I'm excited for yet another installment of the greatest rivalry ever.
As long as we shut down Denard Robinson on the ground and start putting up points early, this game should be in the bag. Although, as I said, anything can happen. Jim Tressel hasn't made a habit of losing to Michigan, and he won't start tomorrow! I don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, I'm from Ohio.

Blog 64

Thanksgiving dinner is over. Main course and dessert have both been served and now I can put those is my past. I didn't eat anything except for three peanuts leading up to the meal, so I was very hungry. So much of everything and we only finished about half of the food. We had nine people over at our house and it was a good time. I was so full after the main course that I laid down on the floor in my living room and fell asleep. Someone woke me up when it was time for dessert, so all that basically happened was I ate, slept, and then ate more. Now I'm going to make it so my whole day was eat, sleep, eat, blog, sleep. Its only 9 o'clock and I am ready to pack it in for the night. I'm not doing any Black Friday shopping tomorrow. Well, I actually might go out to buy stuff, but I don't have any plans right now. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Today I got a letter in the mail from OSU. It turns out that it was my acceptance letter! So, unless my plans change, I will officially be a Buckeye in the Autumn quarter of 2011! I was pretty excited about this and still am, but I know that I still need to finish all my other applications. I think there will definitely be something different about going to OSU as a college student as opposed to how it is now that will be very cool, so I guess I'll see you guys around campus next year!

Matthew

Blog 63

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. I had one of the longest days I've had in a while today. I was planning on skipping class this morning, but I decided not to. This turned out to be a bad move because I ended up leaving early and going out to breakfast with some friends in my class. Then I ran into a friend of mine on campus and we went to Cup O' Joe and got hot chocolate and then I drove him home. After that it was about 11:15 and I decided to go home for a while. After chilling at home for a while I went out to lunch at Thai's Asian Bistro with a friend, and it was incredible. I'd never had it before, but its only 6 or 7 dollars and you get given so much food, and its really good too. After I was done with lunch I went to my friend Luke's house to play some video games, and we just hung out for a while. Luke's roommates are some of my favorite people to be around, and I really enjoyed going over there. After I had been at his house for a while I hung out with my friends Sam, Daniel, and Ben and we hung out for a long time. We ended up playing Clubs Trump, which is easily the funnest card game I know, and I pulled out the win. Soon after that my best friend came over and we chilled for a few more hours, and then I headed home. When I got home, I was greeted by my aunt and brother, who had both flown in from their respective homes. Now I'm tired and getting ready for Thanksgiving, so I'll try to check in tomorrow.

Matthew

Blog 62

So, I'm sitting here in my room and, instead of being at Mirror Lake dying of hypothermia, I am writing a blog. Battlestar Galactica in class today wasn't too bad. I didn't like it as much as I liked the first time we watched it, mainly because I was so tired and kept almost falling asleep. It was pretty exciting for when I was awake, and the way that we found out all the people who were actually Cylons at the end was really well done in my opinion. We saw all the stories come together and fit into the main story arc, which I thought was very cool. I also really like the way they turned Earth into a sort of myth, and it becomes something that relates to real life. It lets us think that the Battlestar Galactica ship is going to show up any minute, in completion of their long journey to find our legendary colony. It was a cool addition to the story.
I really think the episode could have been a lot shorter, a lot of it seemed drawn out and it had long standstills at times. At least now if I ever hear someone talking about Battlestar Galactica, I'll have some basis to interact with them. I might, but probably won't, watch it again with a friend or something, especially if we feel a need to totally nerd out, which we can all use every once in a while. I'll see you guys when we get back from break!

Matthew

Blog 61

I had a nice, long day today. I got up to go to Calculus where we had a review session that left me feeling good about the midterm tomorrow night. After that I decided not to go to Classics and I just took the bus back to my car and drove home. I chilled at home and napped for a little bit, but then I started feeling like a couch potato so I went for a run. I ran four miles around Clintonville, and I really enjoyed it, although not at the time. At about mile 3 I started really feeling tired. I felt like I was about to throw up two or three times, but it was fine in the end. I loved the feeling of being exhausted for the rest of the day though, and it makes me feel accomplished. After I got back I went to my friends house to hang out. We were having an early Thanksgiving dinner there with all our friends at 6, but I got there at 4 just to hang out with all the guys there. I picked up one of my friends from the dorm and went to the grocery store to buy a pumpkin roll for the dinner. We got there at 6 and had a truly delicious meal. Everything was good that was on the table, which is nice for me because I usually pick and choose what to eat from the table. After we all had dinner, we just hung out for a few hours chilling by a bonfire. Then I came home to write this blog, and now I'm going to sleep.

Matthew

Blog 60

Thanksgiving week is upon us. I think I might take this time to figure out my day by day schedule, and all of you will know where I'll be at any given point this week! This holiday marks for me the beginning of my favorite time of the year; the period that begins on the day of my first Thanksgiving meal and lasts until New Year's Day. So, here I go:
Monday: I have Calculus in the morning, where I will definitely go and pay attention because of the midterm (see Tuesday). Then I might go to Classics, but there is little incentive to continue attendance because the only remaining assignments are a quiz that will not count for anything, a final that I do not have to take, and a paper that I already have enough information about to write. Then, I will go home, make myself look nice, and go over to my friend's house to eat a Thanksgiving Dinner with some great friends from my church.
Tuesday: Go to Calculus recitation, pay attention. Might go to Classics (reasons above). Go to English in the afternoon and watch Battlestar Galactica. Then I will go home to study and come back to campus at 6:30 to take my third Calculus midterm. Afterwards I will go to church and debate whether or not to jump into Mirror Lake.
Wednesday: Go to Calculus, zone out beyond belief. No class in Classics. My aunt and brother are flying in for Thanksgiving, so I might go and pick them up. Possibly going for a run with some friends and maybe watching Harry Potter.
Thursday: Turkey Day! Spend all day at home, end up regretting what I do to my body.
Friday: Possible Black Friday shopping, but maybe not. Friday is still up in the air.

I just wanted to make sure you guys knew what I was up to this week in case there is an emergency and you need to reach me.

Matthew

Blog 59

We're already almost at 60 blogs. Isn't that crazy. It seems not very long ago when we were just starting up our blogs. I remember when we were first doing them I was really dreading it, but once I got into a rhythm it was fine. Now I have what seems to be Senioritis with the blogs. I never want to do them and have no problem turning them in late anymore. I don't really mind as long as my final grade in the class is good. I still haven't gotten back my Commonplace grade, but I'm not too worried about that. The way I see it is that since I'm not doing ARP revisions, I'm either going to just revise Commonplace or just let it stay the way it is, hopefully the score is high enough to justify the latter. I'm really excited to not have classes Thursday or Friday. I need a good break from school, especially since I have a midterm on tuesday night in math. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to go to the Mirror Lake jump Tuesday night. I hear its fun, but I also hear that you need to quite intoxicated to stay in the water for very long. Some of my friends are going to try to put a sailboat in the water, so that could be really fun if it gets cleared by everyone along the way. Let me know what you guys think about Mirror Lake jumping. Also, Go Buckeyes!

Matthew

Blog 58

Another Friday. Another missed blog. I am getting to a point of apathy with the blogs anyway, and my grade will hopefully be high enough to excuse a few late or missing blogs. Last night I went to a bonfire at a friend's house and had a really fun time just relaxing by the fireside. There was a lot of buzz concerning Four Lokos, a drink which is banned so the supply remaining is all that will get made. People are going out and buying cases and cases of these, even though you'd think people would stop drinking something that was banned by the government. Apparently one of these drinks has the equivalent of something like 6 beers, 3 cups of coffee, and an energy drink. That does not sound like my cup of tea, but I don't drink anyway so it makes no difference to me.
I'm really excited and nervous about the Iowa game. They're a good team, but I think if we play like we did in the second half against Penn State, we should be golden. I really hate watching the Buckeyes play sometimes, just because I always feel like we have so much riding on the game. When we're always expected to win its no fun when we do and its crushing when we lose. Thats why its better to be the underdogs, and thats why I love watching the Cleveland Browns. If we lose, then that is exactly what I expected, and if we win it is reason to celebrate!

Matthew

Blog 57

Alright, so we watched the Battlestar Galactica thing in class, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lot more exciting than I thought it would be, but I think it would have been better if we had some background knowledge on the show before watching it. I can't really remember everyone's names, but I think its cool how they have a lot of different stories going on at the same time, all of which are affected in some way by the Cylon attack. We have the story of the programmer who gave the Cylon baby killer woman the defense codes, the story of the father stepping down, the story of the passenger ship, the story of the plane that picked up survivors, and the story of the commander's son coming out to Galactica. I'm sure as the show goes on that all the stories are going to come together, and it should be pretty exciting. I really don't mind watching science fiction in a casual mindset, I just don't like how involved with TV shows people end up getting. I definitely won't mind finishing off Battlestar Galactica in class on Tuesday, and I'm glad we'll probably have our commonplace paper back by then so I can get started, because Lord knows mine was terrible.
Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep tonight. I mean real, 8 hour sleep. I'm excited.

Matthew

Blog 56

This week I'm starting to feel glad the quarter is nearly done with. I'm going to be really relieved when I turn in the Commonplace paper tomorrow and we have basically smooth sailing from that point on, even while I have stuff to worry about in other classes. It will be a challenge to keep remembering to do the blogs everyday even when my other classes, especially math, are just getting to the finals and stuff. After I got home from school today I did my practice memo and then did a lot of revisions to my Commonplace paper. Then I felt like I deserved a break and slept for two hours. This got me thinking, does two hours count as a sleep, or just a nap? I told a few people I napped for two hours, and they said that would be more of a sleep, so I would like my English class' opinion on this matter. Regardless, it was awesome and I feel really awake and ready to work right now even though its midnight. Tomorrow should be a pretty easy day. I have a math quiz in the morning that doesn't really count for anything because I am satisfied with my five highest quiz scores so far, and only the five highest count. Then I have a Classics quiz that is always really easy and then I just get to come to English class and watch an episode of Battlestar Galactica while all I will really be doing is commenting on all your blogs for an hour and forty eight minutes. See you guys tomorrow!

Matthew

Blog 55

Go Ohio State! Watching Jared Sullinger play makes me really proud of my school district. My home high school is Whetstone High School, and he plays for Northland. I've seen him play and I've even met him a few times, and one of my friends even blocked him in a game. Now I get to see him on the national stage, shutting down people who were specially picked from high school to play for their colleges. Not only that, he chose my favorite team to play for! His first two games at Ohio State ended with him getting double doubles, and he scored 26 points and got 10 rebounds against the number 10 team in the nation. For a freshman that is unheard of! This guy has such a presence on the court that he also sets up his teammates to put up big numbers. Keep in mind, we are only two games into the season and he's only going to get better. I am going to try to get my hands on some tickets, because this kid is too good to not see in person.
In other news, I had a pretty long day today. I didn't end up going home until 10:15. Tonight I went to Steak 'n' Shake for the first time ever and I must say I had no idea what I was missing. I got a peppermint shake that was incredible. I'm not excited for when I'm a college student and I can't drive anywhere, because I probably wouldn't be able to get all the way out to Steak 'n' Shake very easily. Let me know how you guys have handled not having a car.

Matthew

Blog 54

Another blog totally slipped my mind yesterday, and the day before. Actually, I remember as I was working on my commonplace paper yesterday, I was thinking every couple of sentences, "Once I've done some work on this, I'll do my blog for today!" However much I lied to myself, I obviously did not follow through and I doing it no while I'm supposed to be doing something else. Yesterday I had my banquet for the soccer team, and that was a lot of fun. We had one of our parents make a highlight video for everyone on the team, and we also made a montage of all our goals. It was good to see all the guys from the soccer team that I had not seen for a while. We passed out a bunch of awards for the team, and I won an award with my friend Matt Barnum called the Brian and Bryan Award. Its for two people who were good friends with everyone on the team, and I was really glad that I won the award. The craziest thing is that both the people who won the award have the initials MB and we both have a sibling named Jamie, although his is a sister, and they have both done a little bit of education at Brown University.
A girl walked into my class today with a South Butt jacket on and I thought that was really disappointing. Why would someone spend so much money on something that is not even funny? People these days don't know what to spend their money on.

Matthew

Blog 52

Go Buckeyes! I went to the game today because I managed to buy a ticket from one of my friends. I can't buy tickets because I'm technically not a student at OSU, I'm just enrolled in the academy program. Today was awesome though. I went up to a friend's house before the game and watched some other Big 10 match ups before we headed down to the Horseshoe. The group of people that my ticket was with has six people in it, and three of them lost faith and left at halftime. Me and the other two guys stayed until the end, and it was so much fun. There was a Penn State fan two rows behind me and we made sure to make him regret sitting in the student section without OSU colors on. The best moment of the game was when Pryor threw the ball into the end zone and it bounced off Posey and Sanzenbacher caught it; we were going wild in the stands.
After the game one of my friends with way too many swipes took me to the Mirror Lake Creamery and just told me to get whatever I wanted. I ended up getting two or three swipes worth of food, but he said that it really didn't matter because there was no way he could finish all of them. I'm excited to be a full time student with all those swipes, and by that time I'll have a Buck ID that can get me into the RPAC as well!

Matthew

Blog 51

The reason I didn't do this blog yesterday is simple; Nazi Zombies. I don't know if any of you are familiar with the Call of Duty games, but a new one just came out with a new installment of the Nazi Zombies game mode. In my opinion, this by itself is more fun than the rest of the game. The concept is that you're in a theater during some kind of zombie apocalypse. There are four windows initially that zombies slowly break down and come through, and you and your partner have to survive for as long as possible. Last night we actually got four people together and we managed to make it to the 11th round. As you go into later rounds, there are more and more zombies and you gradually move around the theater by paying credits you earn to open doors and get new weapons. One of the keys to doing well is finding the mystery box. The mystery box gives a random weapon, anything from a weak handgun to the ray gun, which kills anything in one hit. It is always a challenge to find the mystery box though because every time you play it changes location. Also, its nice because teamwork is absolutely essential. Without a teammate, it is totally expected that you would lose in the first two or three rounds, simply because there are too many zombies coming in and too many windows to watch.
I think I've effectively made everyone in this class think I'm a nerd, and however true that may be, I think its time to stop. For any of you who get a chance, do the world a favor and kill Nazi Zombies!

Blog 50

Today was a pretty good day, really glad we didn't have class. I stayed over at my friend Mitch's house and  I watched the movie Dawn of the Dead for the first time. For any of you who haven't seen it, it is a really good movie with lots of good action and drama amidst lots of zombie killing. After I watched that it was about 4:30, which was the latest I've stayed up in a really long tie, so I just went to sleep. In the morning I went for a run with a couple of my friends around campus, and we ran on a route that my friend had calculated to be a 5k, so it was a pretty exhausting run. For most of today I was just sitting around, napping, and watching TV, which may sound like a boring day, but thats exactly the kind of thing I like to do after I've been active for a day or two.
I submitted my application for OSU last night, which is pretty exciting. Now I just have four or five more to do, depending on what I feel like. I really am content with going to OSU, but my parents want me to make sure I have options when the time comes to choose where I'm going to college. I don't really see the point because I already go to OSU and if something's not broken, why try to fix it? However, I guess some of the schools on my list are stretches, so I might go if I get in.

Matthew

Blog 49

I am really excited to not go to class tomorrow, and I realize that me not making it out to class on Tuesday means I'm missing an entire week of English class and, to be honest, I don't mind very much at all. Right now I'm watching Notorious, a slightly fictionalized biography of Notorious BIG. Its a really good movie and he really does have a crazy life story. Also, he made some really influential hip-hop songs during his career. The movies not over yet, so I can't really blog about what I thought about the movie yet, but maybe that will be tomorrow.
I scheduled for next quarter, and I am only taking ten credit hours at OSU and then one class at my high school. The OSU classes are Russian 250 and Astronomy 161, which I am in with two of my friends. I am really excited for Russian and it should be a pretty easy quarter. I also just submitted my OSU application, so thats one application off the check list.
I've decided that I haven't been meeting enough new people in all my college classes, and whats the fun in just going to class without having any friends there. So I'm going to try to work on that next quarter, and even the remainder of this quarter. That's all!

Matthew

Blog 48

Well I missed class today but evidently the blog assignment is different from the syllabus. Can someone let me know what we're meant to blog about for the next few days?
I got my ACT score in today and I ended up with a 32! This is a one point improvement over last time and this means I can qualify for a full ride to OSU. This is exciting for me because I was really hoping to make it over my previous score, and I did. Things have just generally been looking up for me recently, and I can't really say why. I'm doing well in all my classes and I just don't feel the same stress that I usually have in my life. I'm going to be really glad when the quarter is over, but there are some things before that to look forward to. I really love Thanksgiving, and my aunt and uncle are flying in from Seattle to eat with us, which will be really fun. Also, one of my better friends who goes to Boston University is coming back for the break, and I'm really excited to see him. Whenever I hang out with him, we end up jamming with whatever instruments we can find lying around. He's a really good guitarist, and I play a little bit of whatever I can find lying around. Usually the only person I can jam with is my mom, but I don't always enjoy that. Also, what's better than eating too much food with your family?

Matthew

Blog 47

Alright guys, I'm feeling nice and not tired because of the hour that we gained for sleep, so this should be a pretty painless blog entry. First off, ACT scores start coming in tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited for that. No matter what happens, I'll have a score I'm content with that will let me get into OSU. I worked on my OSU application today and all I have left to do is find out the exact date of my graduation and then press the submit button. I get to schedule my classes for next quarter on Wednesday, and I'm pretty excited for that. It should be a good quarter; I won't schedule anything too hard because I am glad that I am passing Calculus with a pretty high score in the class. Things have generally been going pretty well this past weekend, and I hope I can keep that up.
I read an article today that my friend posted on Facebook about head injuries in the NFL. If you haven't been following, there has been a huge crackdown on helmet hits in the NFL and people are getting lots of fines. This is pretty recent, but there is a coroner who has been examining NFL player's brains for a long time who has basically been shunned by the NFL because they do not like the implications of his findings. I always love reading a long article because I feel well educated and accomplished when I finish.
That's all I have for today, but I leave you with a great new song my friend sent to me. Very chill and folky.
Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Matthew

Blog 46

Have any of you guys seen those Formspring things? I think that formspring is one of the worst ideas our generation has come up with. I don't have enough ideas about it for 250 words, so feel free to comment on this short introduction. Letting ANYONE anonymously ask questions is such a tremendously terrible idea. People can EASILY be harassed online and there is no way to block people or stop it.
In other news, I find out about a concert I might go to tomorrow. Ben Folds is playing at the LC and I think it would be really fun to go. My brother has seen him in concert 3 or 4 times and says that he is a really good performer. Hopefully I can find someone to go with me before the show tomorrow.
Yesterday I took the SAT in the morning, and then I was done for the day. I did not want to go out and do anything so I just went over to a friends house and did absolutely nothing from about 1:30 PM until 2:00 AM, at which point I went to sleep. I can honestly say it was one of the best days I've had in a long time, because even though we weren't doing anything, I didn't want to do anything. I woke up too early to take a test that was too long, so I felt like I deserved a day of zero-productivity, and that's what I got. Eight more words to go, and I'm done.

Blog 45: Whoops!

I realized the blog for yesterday was the title exercise, so I'm doing that today. The title for my paper is "A Great Divide". I kind of like this even though I came up with it in class when she told us we had to write it on the board. However, it sounds like its too vague. So, I think I'm going to with something like "The Rich's Understanding of the Poor". However, I also don't like this, but I thought of it in about 30 seconds, so I'll probably end up finding another one. Anyway, here is the opening paragraph to my commonplace paper, subject to change,

Picture a celebrity. This celebrity comes from a rich family, has tons of money, and hasn’t really worked for anything in their lives. They live in Beverly Hills and get paid millions of dollars to live their life in front of a video camera. One day this celebrity realizes that they aren’t in tune with the lower class, and they have a change of heart. They start to donate to charity, give speeches to the lower class; maybe even visit a third world country. After they have started this huge public campaign to help out the lower class, they start to proclaim that they “get” the lower class. In reality, all they really did was address the problem in ways that made their own image look better. They still do not know what it’s like to not know the next time they will eat, live on minimum wage, or not make payments on a house. All they know is what it’s like to give money to the lower class and talk to them in impersonal venues. The only person who really benefits is the celebrity; people are more likely to adore them because they have shown a care for the lower class. 

I promise it makes sense in the end.

Matthew

Blog 44

Alright blog world, this is the worst time to do one yet. I have the SAT Subject Tests at 7:45 tomorrow morning and there is and I would rather do anything than this blog right now. Usually I have some new music topic or TV show to talk about, but today I'm just blanking. I got my math midterm back yesterday, but I forgot to blog yesterday so you guys didn't know! Sorry to leave all my emotionally involved readers in the dark. My original score for the test was a 76, which is decent considering the class average was a 74, but after I looked over my test my score was fixed and made to an 80. It seems like they rushed a lot of the grades. Someone else from my high school's original score was a 69, but they caught two grading mistakes and got it bumped way up to a 94. I think they may have just gotten really tired grading all of them or something. The big upside of my math class is that if I do well on one more quiz, then my recitation score for the class will basically be a 100.
I got to hang out with one of my friends I haven't seen in a while today. It was really fun to reconnect and I forgot how much fun I have whenever I'm with him, so thats good. It seems like he wants to go to Ohio State also next year, so I'll look forward to hanging out with him a lot on campus.
250!

Matthew

Blog 42

Progress on the Commonplace draft is minimal. I copied and pasted one of the parts of the blog entry we did in class last time and then added two paragraphs. I've got a good chunk of free time tomorrow where I'll try to knock that out.
Today I knocked out a big part of my OSU application. All I still have to do is find my social security number and write a 300 word essay. It will not be hard to write a 300 word essay about why I want to go to OSU at all, and I won't have incorporate any lies into it, unlike almost every other paper I've ever written about why I deserve / want something. OSU is where my friends are, its where my home is, and its also a great place to learn. Not to mention the 50% off tuition I get because my dad is faculty.
I revisited an album I had lying around and was very pleased. Its called "Around the Well" and its by Iron & Wine. Its a compilation of previously unreleased songs and b-sides that never really reached his audience. Its his longest album and it has some really great songs on it like; "Belated Promise Ring", "Kingdom of the Animals", "Love Vigilantes", and some other pretty famous songs like "Such Great Heights" and "The Trapeze Swinger". Most of his previous albums contained a really specific theme, but since this one has been in making for his entire career, the listener really gets to experience the whole spectrum of Iron & Wine, from his early, lo-fi, muted sound to his more bright modern material. Definitely worth a listen and it serves as a good introduction to Iron & Wine if any of you are interested.

Blog 41

Blogs always have a way of hiding themselves from my mind until I am warm under my bed covers.
I took a math midterm today, which is really one of the worst things to have any day. I'm not bad at math, but its just such a trek to get to campus at night. My test was at 6:30 and since I don't live on campus I had to drive all the way down, pay $4 for parking, and then take a math test. I think I did pretty well on the test except for one of the questions. I did the whole problem in a way that I realized was wrong the instant I turned it in, but then it was too late, I wasn't allowed to redo any questions because I had "officially turned it in". I definitely didn't do as well on this one as I did on the last, but with a curve I should be able to finish the class with an A. I also got my ARP score back today and I got a 35/40. This is better than I expected. We had the work day last thursday and that is when I added two or three pages to my second draft. I then had the ARP on my to do list for a few weeks until friday rolled around and I realized I hadn't done anything. I added one more paragraph of utter BS and turned it in, expecting to get something like a 20 or 25. I'm not complaining though.

Blog 40

Alright, well the Giants just won the World Series and I decided that this is officially the world series that I have cared the least about ever. Neither of the teams were one that I root for, and it was basically domination by the Giants throughout. No exciting seventh games, just blowout after blowout. Oh well, maybe next year will be better.
I think I've talked about my love of folk music a few too many times on these blogs, but I think I'm going to add yet another rant. For any of my avid blog readers, of which there are probably zero, you might know that I really like a guy named Josh Ritter. Well I just got his newest album and it has a really good song on it called "Change of Time". I've been investigating to find out if he'll ever get near Columbus, and I found a possibility. He's playing on November 15 in Cleveland, and I'm actively trying to convince any of my friends that he's good enough to warrant a road trip. So far I have been very unsuccessful. From what I hear he is a very good person to see live, but I guess I might get to find out for myself. Also, I found out far too late that Bob Dylan on his Never-Ending Tour is doing a show in Columbus on Thursday at the Schott. Maybe its good that I don't see him so that the lasting image of him in my mind is a young revolutionary rather than an old man with a truly terrible voice. Also, for any one who wants to get a one night incredible introduction the world of Folk Music, there is something for you. My family is friends with Bill Cohen from NPR and every year he does a "60's coffeehouse" where he goes through all the huge folk icons in an incredible performance.

Finally, here's a video that proves that music used to be so much more than it is now.
Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man

Blog 39

I'm just really enjoying HBO Sunday night programming tonight. I don't really have too much homework to do so I can just relax and watch this TV. There are two shows that I really love on Sunday nights; one is called Bored to Death and the other is Eastbound and Down. Bored to Death is about a failing writer turned private detective. Its a really great show and I feel like I have a lot in common with the main character, with the exception that he is constantly stoned while on the job.  This was a good episode because they got to show that the producers really don't take the show too seriously. They took the main problem of one of the characters that has been a huge plot line this season and just completely turned it around by boiling it down to a simple mistake.
The other show is Eastbound and Down. It is about a pitcher who used to be in the major leagues trying to get back. Things are finally looking up for Kenny Powers again. After the first season, he fled to Mexico to escape the life that he had, but now that he has his pitch back he is going back to the United States to work back into the majors. The main character is just such a ridiculous man that everything he says is really funny. If any of you guys have seen this shows, let me know what you think of them because I love to talk about and watch TV.

Blog 38

I really want to finish this blog as fast as I can. My parents are having a party at our house today, so I'm exhausting my phone's contact list trying to find something else to do. My dad is inviting a lot of people over from his department at OSU, so the entire night will be full of me telling people where I'm applying to college unless I can get out of here soon. Luckily, I have church at 7 tonight so that will give me an excuse to leave, but the sooner the better. I went to another Halloween party yesterday, dressed as the same thing as last night, and the reviews were just as good. We had about 150 people over at my friend's house and they got two kegs of beer, which I'm sure would be fun if I actually drank alcohol. I don't mind drinking at all, but I'm definitely waiting until I'm 18 to drink at parties just so people don't get in huge trouble if a minor has alcohol. Thats 172 words. I have found a word count tool online so I don't have to type it into a word document, I just have to keep pressing word count to see how many word I am at. Its always so disappointing when I'm done with all my ideas and I'm not at 250. Like just then, it was at 224, which is not nearly enough! This is another late blog so I will have to do another one when I get back from church.

Blog 37

I don't want to do this blog! This is a busy weekend and I have lots of things to do. The last thing I want to is to spend time in my room typing into my computer a blog entry that people will only read so they can comment on it to earn more points. But anyway. now that I've started I might as well finish. Yesterday a went to a Halloween party in Westerville. We had a big building and most of it was just a dance floor. I really think that dance parties are only awkward if you make them awkward. I like to make a complete fool of myself when I'm dancing. Even though I probably look like a stumbling ogre when I dance, it is a lot of fun and it is much more enjoyable than sitting around the edges of the party. I went as a Greek God. I had a toga on with a wreath on my head and I even had a trident. The person I was going with was dressed the same and we had made a lightning bolt, but they forgot to bring it so I didn't take my trident in. There were some really creative costumes there. There were two people dressed as the BP Oil Spill which I thought was really funny. The best costume I saw though was someone dressed as Bob Ross. It was a completely perfect costume and they won an iPod because of it.

Blog 36

In my ninth grade English class, we were given the assignment to write a personal narrative from the perspective of a fictional character. For a long time, I couldn’t come up with a single idea. I thought it would be too easy to write it as a sports star or a successful business man, so instead I tried to go down a different road. My idea was to write as someone struggling to get out of a bad neighborhood but not succeeding. I thought that this would be a really insightful story where I shed light on the problems of the lower class in America to secure an easy A. The next problem I encountered was that I simply did not know where to start. There are no origin stories as to how people end up in the lower class; it is just what they were born into. I kept on working on my paper and I remember when I hit the two page mark I was satisfied. I went to read over my work before I submitted the assignment online, but then I realized something; I had written a terrible story. It was very easy to tell from reading the story that I had no idea what the lower class went through, and I imagined it would be even less convincing if someone who had actually experienced some sort of hardship read it. It dawned on me that however much I wanted to understand the perils of the lower class, I couldn’t. However much I claimed that I knew where they were coming from; I didn’t. However much I said I wasn’t like the rest of the upper class who can’t sympathize with the poor; I was. This goes for politicians too. They not only say, but they believe that they understand what people go through in the lowest classes. They are too detached from the poor to be capable of delivering them the sympathy they deserve.

                Picture a celebrity. This celebrity comes from a rich family, has tons of money, and hasn’t really worked for anything in their lives. They live in Beverly Hills and get paid millions of dollars to live their life in front of a video camera. One day this celebrity realizes that they aren’t in tune with the lower class, and they have a change of heart. They start to donate to charity, give speeches to the lower class; maybe even visit a third world country. After they have started this huge public campaign to help out the lower class, they start to proclaim that they get the lower class. In reality, all they really did was address the problem in ways that made their own image look better. They still don’t know what it’s like to not know the next time they will eat, live on minimum wage, or not make payments on a house. All they know is what it’s like to give money to the lower class and talk to them in impersonal venues. The only person who really benefits is the celebrity. People are more likely to adore them because they have shown a care for the lower class. This is applicable to politicians. It is a rarity to have a politician who honestly can say they understand the experiences of the lower class. Most of them are totally out of touch. They come from rich families and all they had to do was make it through luxurious private schools all their lives.

Blog 35

I read an article on Commonplace called "Why Rap is Going Down Down Down Down Down". I really do agree with the idea behind this. The author shows that hip hop sales have declined a lot in recent years, and he begins trying to spell out why. He explains that the trend is now that the beat makes the song rather than the rhymes in it. As long as the beat is solid, the rapper can talk about the usual topics; how many women he gets, all the cars he drives, how much money he makes, etc. Whatever happened to the intelligent songs that had something to say? What happened to music that actually meant something? However, I do think there are some exceptions to this trend. Newer rappers gaining popularity are the ones with a message to send. Listen to "Take a Minute" by K'naan, "Dumb it Down" by Lupe Fiasco, or nearly any of Kanye's new "Good Friday" songs. We still have people who know how to rap to get a message out rather than rap to get money. Admittedly, we still have people like Lil' Wayne who don't really have anything to say other than how awesome they are. I think the Lil' Waynes of the world aren't the people who are gaining popularity nowadays. People are realizing where rap is and they want to see it restored to the former glory; NWA, Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, Tupac, etc. We've seen rappers change themselves from being rappers with a purpose just to fit into their new market (50 Cent, Eminem), but if they can change one way, they should be able to go back.

Matthew

Blog 34

Well I realized as I was going to sleep at 12:45 last night that I didn't do this blog. I think it was a good move to save it for today, because I actually got a good amount of sleep. Anyway, for my Commonplace thing I'm still trying to decided exactly what I want to do. I'm either going to go with something very serious or something very not serious. The first idea I thought of was that the government, or anyone in positions of power, can rarely truly understand the common man, let alone the lower class. Most people in government come from wealthy backgrounds and haven't had to really fight for anything in their lives. This is the same for me. I come from an upper-middle class white family. I haven't been subject to discrimination and I don't know what its like to not know when you're next going to get to eat. Imagine what its like for the government. Most politicians grew up in private schools, had wealthy parents, and went to nice, Ivy-league schools. They don't exactly understand the perils of the lower class because they have never experienced it themselves.
My other idea for the Commonplace paper was to write about why Star Trek got cancelled. Its not exactly timely or relevant, so I probably won't do it. I just thought, "I could write about all these serious issues, or I could try to make English class fun!" As of now it looks like I'll be going with the not fun option.

Blog 33

Well, today I took a trip to the Apple Store to try to get my computer's Airport fixed so I can actually use it on campus. Since it broke I've been reduced to the corner of my basement where our Internet modem is so I can hook up straight to the Internet. It turns out that there is no immediate fix so they are taking it in for more repairs. Fortunately, I don't need my computer very much because the only document that I have to store is my Analytical Research Paper, and I have that on my flash drive. Unfortunately I have to find real things to do now that I don't have soccer practice everyday AND I don't have a computer to waste hours away on. I'm probably going to something like go to the RPAC or read books, things that should be above the computer in priority anyway.
I don't know what to write about because I feel like there is nothing really on my mind. I was so used to letting soccer take up all the thoughts in my head that now I don't know what to do with myself. I've been reading "Notes From Underground" by Fyodor Dostoevsky in my free time the past couple nights and really enjoy it. Anyone who likes kind of abstract, weird, philosophical literature should pick it up, but I think that is a pretty tiny fragment of our English class, possibly limited to only me.
Another thing is that I've been applying to colleges. I started my applications for OSU, Purdue, Columbia, and Brown over the past few days and have been plugging away at those. Its kind of a boring process, even though I understand what a big decision it is to make.

Matthew

Blog 32

I'm trying to think of what I want to schedule for next quarter. With my high school, I can only schedule classes that count as a GEC credit towards something, but it seems like I might be able to get some sort of exception to that. Recently I've been reading some books by Fyodor Dostoevsky (or at least trying), and I realized I could be doing it for a grade with Russian 250: Masterpieces of 19th Century Literature, but I'm taking a class right now that counts for that same GEC. Also, if I go to OSU next year, then I will qualify for Honors and I'll be able to take Russian 250H, which I might like even more. I also might take Physics 131 to get rid of one of my physical science GECs. The main reason I signed up for Calculus this quarter was to do Physics 131 next and then Intro to Architecture. I might still do that but I also think I might go on to take Social Science classes next quarter. I want to make sure I have at least one interesting class each quarter, and Classics is what I'm doing right now. I might want to do the Russian Class next or maybe something totally different! I've always thought I might like Astronomy of Anthropology, but I also don't know what I ever want, so I guess I'll just make a last minute decision! I guess I'll just let you guys know when I make a decision, whenever that may be.

Blog 31

This has probably been the longest day I've had in a long time. I woke up at 7 in the morning to go to Watterson High School in order to take the ACT. Last time I took it I got a 31, and I think that I have probably improved on that score by one or two points, but I could be wrong. It was terrible to take a five hour test though, and I was so tired afterwards that I didn't want to do anything. I took a nap from 2 to 4:15, when I had to leave for my soccer game. We left from Whetstone at 4:45 to catch the bus to Dublin Jerome High School. The drive took a really long time because the bus driver drove in a huge circle twice before realizing where we were. We got to Jerome at 5:40, and in the state playoffs you are only allowed one hour of warmup, so we couldn't actually step onto the field until 6:00, which was kind of a boring wait. Once the game started, it was pretty fun. The first half ended up tied 0-0, which was a lot better than we were expected to do. We were playing well though and so were they. They scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half, and a third with fifteen minutes left. None of the goals were really off our mistakes, we just didn't have situations turn out how we wanted. We scored a goal with eight minutes left, but we couldn't keep going. So at the end we lost 3-1, but we had a blast on the field. The season is officially over, but we went out to Roosters one last time as a team to celebrate our season.

Blog 30

I'm just trying to get this blog out of the way before its too late. Today I have possibly my last soccer practice ever seeing as if we lose tomorrow thats it for our season. I think it will most likely be a really easy day just so we're all well rested when we go up against Dublin Jerome tomorrow night. Tonight I'm gonna go to sleep pretty early because I've got the ACT for a third and hopefully final time tomorrow morning.  I'm totally content with my score, but my parents want me to take it again to make sure I have plenty of options of where to go at the end of this year. I currently have a 31 on the ACT, which is good enough for me to qualify for honors next year if I go to OSU. However, if I can get up to a 32 then I'll be eligible for a full ride to OSU. Its not too big a deal if I don't though because my dad works at the university so I will get half tuition if I go anyway. Also, I think it says something that my parents can afford to send my brother to Brown University, which costs approximately $55,000 a year. I think I will do better on the ACT this time, because both other times I've taken it I haven't been in a math class, and right now I'm taking Calc. 151 and doing pretty well. Math is definitely fresh in my mind right now, so it is good to be taking it. In a few weeks I'm also taking the SAT subject tests in Literature and Math II. Well, I'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow.

Blog 29: Paper excerpt

Tell me what you think! This is the beginning of the "Why it matters" section:
Writers, producers, and directors use fiction to apply real themes to imaginary situations. In order to make compelling television shows, the show has to be relevant to the present. When there are strong ties to the present, the show becomes something that is compelling to watch and will bring in good ratings for the show. The Cloud Minders was released in 1969. In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson has already signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, but there was still a lot of discrimination, and the topic of equal rights was fresh in most people’s minds. This fact legitimizes The Cloud Minders as an accurate portrayal of the kind of discrimination that was going on in the world. The producers of Star Trek wanted to make something that was timely and that’s themes would be applicable to the world that people were living in. The parallels between The Cloud Minders and the Caste System in India are no coincidence; The Cloud Minders was made to reflect real discrimination that was going on in America, and the proper way to approach it.
Being able to watch this episode and comprehend the themes objectively better equips us to understand our own world objectively. When we see both sides of the discrimination on Ardana without any bias, we can easily recognize that there is a huge social injustice being done to the Troglytes.

Matthew

Blog 28

I'm feeling good today English class. I just got back from my soccer team's first game of the state playoffs, and we won. Its the first time our school has won a playoff game since 2002, and it was also at home for the first time since 2000. We played Central Crossing from Grove City. They were a fast and physical team, but they weren't organized enough to create any actual plays; they just tried to kick it over our defense and hope our players didn't get to the ball first. Fortunately, the one time their player got to the ball first, he shot it way over the goal. Our defense played one of the best games yet this season, mainly because of my friend Stefan playing as sweeper; the last line of defense.
The final score of the game was 3-0, and it was really good to get a shutout in our first playoff win in so long. We are going to have a lot of momentum going into our next game against Dublin Jerome. To be honest, Dublin Jerome should crush us, but it will be an interesting game. We are playing away, on Jerome's turf field which is really nice. We have a lot of momentum going into this game, and the way we've been playing the second half of this season has been really impressive. We beat the rival Clintonville team, Watterson, two weeks ago in what proved to be the biggest upset of the season. They came in expecting to walk all over us, but we played really hard and beat them 2-1. Hopefully Jerome thinks they're gonna have a walk in the park with us, because we know we have nothing to lose and we're gonna play hard.

Blog 27

I just wrote a paper for my Classics class, and right when I was going to sleep for the night, I thought "Don't I have to do a blog for today?".  I'm pretty upset with my memory right now. I really would have preferred to realize I  didn't do it in the morning, and then say "Well there's no point in doing it now" (hopefully I'd forget you can do it late for half-credit). Then I'd get to not do a blog all together. Unfortunately, I'm not strong willed enough to realize I have an assignment due and then not do it.
Well, there is something to talk about. There's a show I watch on Sunday nights called "Bored to Death". Its about a struggling writer who advertises himself as an unlicensed private detective on Craigslist. Thats not what's important though. I had just finished watching a good episode, and as the credits rolled a song played that I really liked the sound of. I looked up the name of the song, listened to it a few times, and then began to explore the artist. His name is Josh Ritter, and I think he's like a modern Bob Dylan, except good at singing. I bought a few of his albums and am really digging them. If you want, listen to the song "The Temptation of Adam". Its a really powerful song, that addresses a big issue in our lives while also telling a love story. The song I heard in the credits was called "Long Shadows" and that one is really catchy too. Definitely check them out if you like folk music.

Blog 26

I'm running out of ideas. Movie Review, Concert Experience, and Car theft story are basically the three most interesting things I can produce, so I think things will go downhill from here. I think this blog will have a lot of typos because I just had soccer practice for two hours in rain and cold, and my hands are quite numb. Sorry in advance.
I have a paper due for my Classics class on Thursday. Its only two pages, 1.5 space, but I really don't want to start. I know it will be easy to finish, but I just can't find the motivation to write the first sentence. I also have a big set of homework problems due in Calculus on Friday, but, what do you know, I don't want to work on that either. I just want to sleep and while I'm asleep have someone else do all my assignments. Usually after the first couple weeks of classes I just get really stressed out. Even though my work is super manageable, I just don't want to do any of it. Not that I ever want to do work, but this is different somehow. I try to justify to myself why it would make sense to just not do the assignment at all, but I know that I'll do them at some point, even if it means doing a paper and 30 problems in one night. Fortunately, this assignment gives me a chance to complain, which seems to be something I am more than willing to do whenever I can!

Blog 25

I just say that new-ish movie Machete! That movie was so unbelievably awesome. If any of you go to see it, don't do in expecting it to be somewhat realistic, it is a completely over the top action movie, and I loved every second of it. To illustrate this point, at one point in the movie, the main character, Machete takes out someone's intestine, jumps out a window and uses the intestine to break into the window on the floor below. There are so many scenes that left me in total disbelief! It is also a very star-studded cast. WIth the exception, of Machete, every other character is played by a famous actor / actress. With Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, and even Cheech Martin (from Cheech and Chong), this movie delivers memorable characters because we recognize the actors and actresses.
Well, that wasn't enough words, and now I have to think about something else to write.
I don't think I'm interesting enough to write 250 words about whatever I want everyday. Now I'm counting how many words I'm at after every sentence so I can get this over with as soon as possible. I still haven't eaten breakfast, and its 11:30 in the morning. There's a bowl of cereal with my name on it in the kitchen, and all I have to get through before I'm there is this accursed blog entry. Fifteen words to go, make that eleven, actually eight, hold on, six, now just three.

Blog 24!

Well, I forgot to do this yesterday, but thats no big problem. However, there have been some big developments in the life of Matthew Brew recently. As I was going out to my car yesterday morning to drive over to a friends house, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I get into my car, put the keys in the ignition, then I realize that the glove box is open. No big deal, I just reach over and close it, but then I see tons of glass shattered on my passenger seat. I look up to find out that the window was smashed in. My next instinct was to make sure my iPod was still there, but it most definitely was not there. Fortunately, I'm a high schooler that lives with my parents so I won't have to pay for anything! We called in the window repair people, and my car has a nice, brand new, shiny window for me to admire. On the other hand, my car doesn't have any music capabilities anymore so I have just been listening to the radio. After one day of having just the radio to listen to, I have probably heard the same 3 songs about 15 times. However, my wealthy parents will provide me with a new iPod soon enough, and I'll be back in business. One thing is that the day before the robbery, I had gone to a car wash. I think that had my car not been so sparkly clean from the car wash, the car thief wouldn't have seen it and thought, "What a great looking, clean car! I bet there are valuable things inside that I can steal!"

Blog 23: Anything?

This is so new! We get to write about whatever we want! It doesn’t have to be about English or assignments! Well I guess I can write about whatever is on my mind, so I’ll do just that!
Last night I went to the Iron & Wine concert at the Student Union. I have been wanting to see Iron & Wine since I was a freshmen in high school. They came once before the summer after my freshmen year, but I missed it because I was on a trip to China with my high school. After going to the concert last night, I would have gladly missed out on going to China to see a performance like that. I like to think I’m a pretty chilled out person, and no music is comparable in chill out-ness to Iron & Wine. He has so much material that there’s no way he could ever play all his songs, but all the songs I was hyped for coming in, with one major exception, he played. As he walked off the stage at the end of his set, I was left with my two favorite songs still not played, Resurrection Fern and Love Vigilantes. Fortunately, we were a good enough crowd to persuade him to come back for an encore, and he played an incredible version of Resurrection Fern. I think its really cool how he changes the songs up when he plays solo. Its totally understandable; most of his tracks are multi-layered and use a couple guitars to record the whole thing, but all he had up there was himself, and his friend Rob Burger, a multi-instrumentalist. I was so incredibly excited to hear that he was coming to town, and I was also incredibly excited that it was completely free to go to! If you have never listened to Iron & Wine, I suggest you fix that right now!
Matthew

Blog 22: Abstract

In the Star Trek episode The Cloud Minders, we see a world, Ardana, torn into two distinct classes. One of these classes lives in a floating city, representative of the upper class, and the other is characterized by miners that live on the surface, representative of the lower class. The classism that exists on this planet is a result of unequal opportunity across the two classes to prove themselves and also the upper class’ unwillingness to change what is going so well for them. We see these ideas demonstrated throughout the episode, with scenes where the upper class refuses to use logic in order to keep the lower class in the place they are. This episode has close parallels in our world. The Cloud Minders was released towards the end of the Civil Rights Movement, so it was obviously created with some parallels to the recent surge for black rights in mind. However, there is still discrimination in this world that is very important to be aware of. The Caste system in India is similar in concept to the classism on Ardana. Both systems are ancient in origin, but still have huge effects on society in the present. However, rather than having just two class distinctions, India has four main castes, and a lot of variance among those castes. Although The Cloud Minders was originally intended to be nothing more than good, relevant television, we can see how the work of a crew in the 1960’s still gives us valuable insight into modern discriminations.

Matthew

Blog 21: More Quotes!

It is easy to see that Ardana is not living in peace. They are divided between two worlds that are not willing to compromise and live together. The people of Stratos want to maintain the world they have created, while the Troglytes want to live off the tumultuous surface and live alongside the Stratos city dwellers. India can be looked at in a similar way. We see that there are different sides forming, none of which can come to a uniform agreement of the best course of action. However, unlike Stratos, where the world is divided into two distinct classes, India is divided into a handful of castes, all wanting different things from the others. David Gilmartin is a professor of history at the University of California at Berkely who specializes in modern South Asian history. In April 2010, Gilmartin said that for India “to achieve complete...unity, it is necessary that...caste...should be killed and effaced”(Gilmartin 409). When Indians identify themselves by what caste they are from, they are creating lines that are impossible to cross. In order to achieve any sort of social mobility, it is necessary to stop putting these lines up. Instead of Indians labeling themselves as Dalits or Brahmin, they should simply identify themselves as people trying to reach an agreement. Without the incorporation of caste into debate, a case for universal equal rights is much more viable. Just as on Ardana, the people need to stop identifying themselves as “city dweller” or “Troglyte”, they need to identify themselves as people of the planet Ardana.

Matthew

Blog 20

We saw how the Stratos city dwellers, claiming to live in a violence-free society, so quickly turned to torture when they were to deal with a Troglyte. Similarly, in India, it is rare for the Dalits to receive the full treatment prescribed to them by the law. Debjani Ganguly studies Caste discrimination with Australian National university. She tells us that "every day two Dalits are murdered, three Dalit women are raped, two Dalit houses are destroyed and eleven Dalits are beaten up. The general apathy of the state machinery to these heinous crimes, the complicity and incompetence of the medical establishment in the face if muders and rapes, and the blindness of the mainstream media to these depredations is also routine"(Ganguly 430). Although India bosts an effective system of justice, we see that when it comes to the Dalits, the system is all too willing to turn a blind eye. The people of Stratos are comparably willing to go against their own code of conduct in order to deal with the lower class. A society that takes pride in its logic and claims to have "eliminated violence" quickly resorts to violent torture to get information they need from the lower class. Both societies view their lowest class as somehow separate in value from the rest of the population. simply because they were not born into the "right" family.

Matthew

Blog 19

For my fourth article I read “Pain, Personhood and the Collective: Dalit Life Narratives”. This article talked about how Dalits are limited in progressing socially. Since the only means they have to represented officially come through the law, it is hard to understand the concept of a Dalit in the language of the law as an actual person, who is actively suffering in our world. There are laws enforced by the Indian Government that deal with “Dalit” as a term, and there are international laws that use “human” as a term. Both of these leave us with abstract concepts of what we are dealing with. We cannot recognize the personhood behind the object of the law because we do not understand the suffering and persecution experienced by an abstract term. The author proposes that we use one particular form of Dalit literature as a window into the personhood behind the abstract terms.
This literature is labeled “Life Narratives”. It is characterized as narratives told by Dalits and members of the community about the suffering that they have experienced. When we pair life narratives with an understanding of the law, we see that the life narrative turns out to be far more insightful that a line of law can ever be. After reading the article, I researched a few life narratives from Dalit people and they have transformed the way I see the problem. I knew that injustice was done, but I did not know it carried on to the point of murder, rape, and consistent beatings. The more I find out about the caste system’s discrimination, the more disturbed I become.

Matthew

Blog 18!

For my third research piece, I read a paper titled “Rule of Law, Rule of Life: Caste, Democracy, and the Courts in India”. This article talks heavily about some of the problems with India’s democracy. It goes into detail about some social forces that make a true democracy impossible. Social campaigns are forced to speak different messages to different peoples in order to have a chance at winning elections because of the vastly different mindsets between castes. The article says that in order for India “to achieve complete inner unity, it is necessary that...caste should be killed and effaced”. Without a united mindset that can all be appealed to in the same way, there is no way for a democracy to work across the country. We have seen India unite together under one common cause before; “To create Pakistan, all that was necessary, was “purity of intention and cleansing of the hear,” leaving “greed” and “fear”-along with “biradaris, tribes, personal animosities and rivalries” - behind.
I believe that this unification of caste must start from the top down. The government needs to, by any means necessary, eliminate legal caste discrimination and ensure that caste does not play a role in judicial rulings. This article speaks a lot about the judicial rulings, and how these are affected by caste. The judge has to address both the issue of how to properly defend the law in any situation, and also how to make sure that caste discrimination is not coming into play.

Matthew

Blog 17

I read the article “Caste and the Desire for Belonging”. It was published in December 2009 by Ursula Rao, and it has shown me further parallels between the caste system in India and the classism on the planet Ardana. This article looks at a particular case study of the Khatik community. The Khatiks are in the Dalit caste, and we can see how they use their community to come together and move forward. Although Dalits are the lowest caste, Rao says that “Dalits express pride in their heritage”. When a community exists that has been labeled by the outside world as less important than other communities, it is inevitable that the community will unite together and prove that they are just as valuable. People are proud to be who they, just as the Troglytes were not ashamed of the way they were looked upon by the people of Stratos.
Even with heavy caste discrimination reform, caste still “circumscribes duty” in a large way in India. The jobs that are available to Dalits are very different from those offered to the Brahmin. The Troglytes are similar. They are born as Troglytes, and the world they are born into leaves them destined to become a miner. Although there are no laws on Ardana that state a Troglyte must become a miner, it is accepted as fact by everyone, even down to the Troglytes.
The study that I looked at however, showed that the Khatiks use their strong unification to achieve “social mobility”. They fight for their rights by standinh together, just like the Troglytes did in The Cloud Minders.

Matthew

Blog 16: Research 1

The first article I’ve read is titled “Caste Discrimination and Minority Rights: The Case of India’s Dalits.” This article deals with how Dalits (formerly “Untouchables”), are still discriminated against in our society. Although there are strict laws against any kind of minority discrimination that are applied universally, some loopholes have been found. The Dalits are not officially recognized as a minority in their country, partly because the lowest caste makes up one sixth of the population of India, turning out to be approximately 167 million people. Even more specific laws have been made to eliminate caste discrimination, but it still plays a monumental role in society. The Dalits are much like the Troglytes in the Star Trek episode I am looking at; although there is no official policy in favor of discrimination against Dalits, in fact there are strong laws against any caste discrimination, it is still a huge social power where they live. The Troglytes are entitled to live in the city of Stratos by all means, but everyone knows that the way things actually are, not the way the law says it should be, is that Troglytes are miners and that Stratos city dwellers are intellectuals. It is just the same in the case of some parts of India, although there are laws against it, there is a idea shared by many people that the castes are not quite equal. I am very interested to see how more connections emerge between the episode of Star Trek and discrimination that goes on in our world.

Matthew

Blog 15: Research Ideas

Until today, I was planning on doing some kind of research about the Civil Rights Movement to tie in with my episode, but after reading the Commonplace chapter I think that I should focus on something more timely. The discrimination going on in the episode I watched was being actively performed, but it has traces very far back in history, for thousands of years. Similarly, the separation of the Caste system in India is a huge basis for discrimination in India today, but its origins go back so far that they are in fact completely unknown, made into a thing of legend.
Although India has made strides to correct the issue of severe Caste discrimination, it is still a powerful social force, and it is key to consider when looking at anything from treatment of people in rural India to how elections turn out. I think it will be interesting to see the parallels between the modern caste system in India and the way that the Troglytes were treated in The Cloud Minders.
Resources:

Waughray, Annapurna. "Caste Discrimination and Minority Rights: The Case of India's Dalits." International Journal on Minority & Group Rights 17.2 (2010): 327-353. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.

Rao, Ursula. "Caste and the Desire for Belonging." Asian Studies Review 33.4 (2009): 483-499. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.

GILMARTIN, DAVID. "AHR Forum: Rule of Law, Rule of Life: Caste, Democracy, and the Courts in India." American Historical Review 115.2 (2010): 406-427. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.

Ganguly, Debjani. "Pain, Personhood and the Collective: Dalit Life Narratives." Asian Studies Review 33.4 (2009): 429-442. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.

Waughray, Annapurna. "Caste Discrimination: A Twenty-First Century Challenge for UK Discrimination Law?." Modern Law Review 72.2 (2009): 182-219. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Oct. 2010.

Matthew

Blog 14: The Cloud Minders.....AGAIN!

The episode I am choosing for my ARP is The Cloud Minders, an episode of the original Star Trek series. In my first blog, I talked about how this episode is directly symbolic of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. This episode was filmed in November 1968, shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. It is a basic story of the haves against the have nots, and since the haves can only see their side of the story, they do not recognize what an injustice they are doing to the Troglytes of their planet. There are two classes on the planet Ardana, the people of Stratos and the Troglytes. The people of Stratos live in a city in the sky, above the rest of the world just as they view themselves as higher than the rest of their world’s people.
Just like the Civil Rights Movement, some people on both sides of the story were complacent with their situation, but there were a few key figures on either side that paved the way to a new understanding. The people of Stratos are scared as they realize the Troglytes may not be as evil a they thought, and they react with violence because they are afraid that the society that they have built is in jeopardy. Spock says “Those who receive the reward are completely separated from the people who shoulder the burden.” The Troglytes are the people who keep their society working with all the grunt work, and they are completely unappreciated by the upper class. Unequal opportunity to succeed is one of the key factors leading to the class separation, but also the fear held by the people of Stratos that their society will fall to pieces without the work of the Troglytes. I think this is a good episode to choose, and the real world connection will be quite easy to research.
Matthew

Blog 13: Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog

I watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long blog for my last episode selection. I have seen it before, and I must say it is one of my favorite videos on the Internet. However, before now I was just watching it for entertainment, but now that I look at it through the lens of what the theme is and what the show is trying to address, I feel that I can appreciate the show even more. As funny as it is, it does address some pretty big issues.
Dr. Horrible is a man who simply wants to join the Evil League of Evil and become world known as one of the most evil super-villains in the world. However, we can tell from the show that this motivation to do evil things does not come from a malicious personality, but Dr. Horrible just wants to be accepted and appreciate by people. Lots of people in real life will change who they are to fit in with a crowd that they want to fit in with.
We also see the motif that everyone ultimately wants the same sort of things out of life. Both Dr. Horrible and his nemesis Captain Hammer want more than anything else to have their mutual love interest fall in love with each one of them. We see that even though Captain Hammer fights for justice and Dr. Horrible fights to promote evil, they are both humans, and human nature is to want relationships. Dr. Horrible ends up killing the love interest and Captain Hammer and gets accepted into the Evil League of Evil, but he realized that he went too far in changing who he was to be happy with the new crowd he fit in with.

Matthew

Teacher's Pet

I just finished watching the episode Teacher’s Pet. This was episode four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it dealt with the common high school story of students having a crush on the teacher, however the teacher was actually a praying mantis and instead of students getting a detention they get beheaded. One thing I didn’t like about the episode was that there was no character development of the teacher, we just saw her impressing all the boys and then capturing someone and then being killed. We didn’t really learn anything about how she got to Sunnydale in the first place or why she picked the people that she picked to be her victims. The episode was still good but I felt that it didn’t really progress the overall story of the show, other than making it more obvious that Willow has some sort of feelings for Xander.
I thought it was interesting to see the differences in rationality between the boys who were in love and the girls who weren’t. Willow and Buffy stayed perfectly reasonable the entire time, and when they confronted Xander with all their evidence, he simply ignore them and kept on going after Ms. French. He assumed that Buffy was just jealous that another girl found him attractive, even though in reality he is the one who has a crush on Buffy. Even in the face of indisputable evidence, all the boys who were head over heels for Ms. French denied and justified in order to not let anything get in the way of a romance.

Matthew

Witch

I watched Witch, the third episode of Buffy for today’s blog. This is one of the episodes that the High School is Hell article talked about. Buffy is trying out for the cheerleading team and finds out that the team is very competitive. One of the girls on the team is trying to fill her mother’s shoes, but does not quite make the team. She is the third alternate, and as the episode goes on, three people from the cheerleading team are hurt in supernatural ways. Buffy and Giles realize there must be a witch at work, and through a few tests they find out that the girl is the witch. However, we find out that the girl’s mother is the actual witch and she switched bodies with her daughter to relive her glory years.
This episode deals with the real issue of people trying too hard to impress their parents and also to get on sports teams, although this does exaggerate it. People will hurt themselves trying to be good enough, and although they may not resort to spell casting, there is certainly some sabotage that can go on. I know lots of parents who try to live vicariously through their kids to some degree, whether it be through sports or academics. People often feel alienated from their parents when this is the case, because they don’t make any efforts to relate to the kid, they just make sure their kids live like they did. This is a good issue to have addressed by this show, because it allowed me to appreciate what the daughter must have been going through.

Matthew

The Harvest

I just finished watching The Harvest, the second episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I can easily see myself getting addicted to this show if I don’t watch myself. They do such a good job at combining the problems of high school and the problems of vampires that I can understand what the characters are going through a lot better than most science fiction shows. I thought there were two particular instances of this in The Harvest. During the school day, Buffy needs to leave to go save one of her friends from vampires, and as she is confidently walking out of the building, the principal stops her and tells her that she has to stay on school campus during the day. Then, the next instance was when Buffy was about to go out to a club to stop vampires from killing everyone. As she was getting dressed to go, Buffy’s mom walks in and tells her that she has to stay in for the night.
Both these instances go to show how well the show makes the real situations stand out by making them take precedence over the supernatural. We are reminded by these moments that just because this is a science fiction show with vampires, werewolves, and other mythical beasts, Buffy is still just a teenage girl with teenage girl problems. This gives us a new platform to relate to her character because we have all been teenagers and we can understand what she is going through more than we would have if she was purely a vampire slayer.

Matthew

Welcome to the Hellmouth

I watched Welcome to the Hellmouth, the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really wanted to watch an episode after watching the teaser in class and then reading a few blog posts about the show. After reading High School is Hell, I noticed more how they made Buffy more concerned with dealing with her personal life than she was with dealing with vampires. Her interactions with Giles were very uninterested when talking about the vampires, but when topics turned to her social life at the new school, she was very concerned and passionate.
One scene that I thought captured this very well was soon after Buffy discovered that the man Willow was trying to “seize the moment” with was a vampire. Buffy went down a hallway to find the vampire, and when someone snuck up close behind her, she spun around and put a stake up to her neck. However, it was not the vampire, it was actually the most popular girl in her new school. As she left the club, Giles asked her if the vampire was dead and she replied with something along the lines of “No, but my social life is another story”. This shows just what High School is Hell was talking about. By decreasing emphasis on the supernatural, the real stands out more. Since Buffy brushes off the question of whether she killed the vampire, we are given a better way to look in on her life and understand what she is going through as a character.
I wasn’t as enthralled by the first episode of Buffy as I expected, but I am going to watch a few more episodes to see if I get more into it.

Matthew

High School is Hell

I thought that the High School is Hell article was very interesting. A few posts I’ve seen about the show have seemed really exciting, and I thought the teaser we watched today was also very captivating. I’m glad I read this article before actually watching the show because now I think I have a better way to understand the show than I would have. The way that the mix of supernatural and real has been described to me sounds very original, and it should make a great show. I am excited to see how the monsters are used to drive home the typical high school stereotypes, and even make them stand out more.
As a high school student myself, I also think it will be interesting to see what the show’s producers think high school is really like, but from what I’ve read it sounds like they are on the ball with a lot of the ideas that they have had.
One of the parts of the article that interested me very much was the discussion of the use of irony. It seems like the producers want to stop the audience from focusing too much on the supernatural aspect of the show, and pay more of their attention towards the drama that the high schoolers are experiencing, which to some of them are the real monsters they have to deal with. By eliminating the fear of the supernatural, the fear that the characters have of the real situations they’re in is illuminated, and this makes me think that the producers of the show have a very specific purpose in mind when putting it together.

Matthew

The Cloud Minders

I just finished watching yet another Star Trek episode, The Cloud Minders. This episode features the Enterprise crew needing to pick up medical supplies from one planet to save another one’s bio-disaster, but they get caught up along the way. On Ardana, the planet where they were meant to pick up the supplies, Kirk and Spock are attacked and learn of the two classes on Ardana and the racism there is between them. Although this episode is heavy on action, the overarching theme is racism.
Some people on the planet live on Stratos, a city in the sky, and they are without violence and very enlightened. Others, the Troglytes, live in the mines, supplying Stratos with everything it needs to stay airborne. The people of Stratos say that the Troglytes are mentally inferior and that it is perfectly acceptable to treat them the way they do. However, gas released in the mines temporarily impair the Troglyte’s mental capacities, making them seem mentally inferior, even though they are just under the influence of the gas.
This episode makes me think of equal opportunity. The Troglytes are viewed as inferior because most have not been given a chance to be away form the gas. This is just the same as people in America during the Civil Rights Movement were viewed as inferior. They did not have the same opportunity, so they were not provided with the means to succeed. However, we see that Troglytes who grew up in Stratos turned out just the same as the people of Stratos because they are all from the same species.
Captain Kirk has a quote that sums up the theme of the episode. One of the Troglytes say to him, “It’s hard to believe that something which is neither seen nor felt can do so much harm.” To this Captain Kirk says, "That's true. But an idea can't be seen or felt. That's what's kept the Troglytes in the mines all these centuries, a mistaken idea."

Matthew

Train Job Take Two

One of the things that we mentioned a few times was Jayne’s selfishness in the Train Job. However, I think that the theme of morality among all the characters can be extended to Jayne as well. This is not to say he isn’t selfish sometimes, that is certain. The main example we looked at in class was that Jayne wanted to leave when Mal and Zoe were stuck in the town. We used this to show that he puts himself before others, but I think that this shows how his strong sense of right and wrong is definitely there, just different from everyone else’s on the ship.
One of the themes from the episode, as illustrated when Mal said “I don’t believe he does [have a choice]”, is that everyone had such a strong burden to do the right thing, that they only saw one possible course of action in most situations. When they were debating whether to leave the planet, Jayne was insistent on leaving without Mal and Zoe. This may seem selfish, but I think he was trying to protect the crew as a whole. He recognized that everyone, himself included, would be endangered if they chose to stay, so he argued for everyone to leave. However, even when everyone decided to stay, he still saved Mal from Crow. I believe that Jayne has a reluctance to do things for others, but when it comes down to it, he is ready and able.
This reluctance is illustrated in the bar fight scene. As the fight starts to form, Mal looks to Jayne and asks him to help, but Jayne says he will not participate because it wasn’t his fight. However, after the fight begins, we see Jayne fighting against all the Alliance supporters once the brawl broke out. We see that he knew the right thing was to help out Mal, and even though he was unwilling at first, after it started he felt that he needed to join in.
To summarize, I don’t think Jayne is the entirely selfish man that we chalked him up to be in class.

Matthew