Night
by Elie Wiesel

Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a true story of what happen to the author at a young age during the time of the Nazi era. the author uses plenty of literary devices in this book but the ones that stuck out to me were character, point of view, and setting. I feel that these literary techniques are the most obvious but at the same time some of the most important. Without these literary devices the story wouldn't be as powerful as it is. These literary devices help make the theme of the book which is a young man's hard life in a Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.
The first literary device is character. The main character in the story is Eliezer, in the story he is younger, and his father. Eliezer is that protagonist of the story. He tells the story of Night through his own experiences but makes it as if it happen to Elizer. Another important chracter in the story is Elizer's father. Although the story does not focus on him, Elie describes how the father stays with Elizer even in the concentration camp.
Point of view is in what version the story is told. It is who the narrator of the story is. In this book, the narrator would be the protagonist, Eliezer. The story is told from his point of view and gives his own perspective. He talks about moments that has happen to him. One part in particular I remember reading is when he tells his feelings about the lady on the train who is crying and screaming loud on the way to the concentration camp.
The last literary device used that is important to the story is the setting. The setting first takes place where Eliezer and his family grew up which is Transylavia, Hungary. The family is then in a Gestapo and soon after travels to different concentration camps throughout Poland and Germany. The setting is important to the story because it helps show the terror that filled Eliezer. The book Night is a powerful true story that capitivates readers with literary devices used. Aside from the ones stated above, there are plenty more!

Thanksgiving Blog!

What are you thankful for this year?
I am thankful this year and every year for my family and friends.

Three Things I Plan to Accomplish:
1. Begin writing my artist statement
2. Have my design penciled on to my canvases
3. Start painting

I have all this down on my schedule already. I figure that all of the things listed above are very capable to do as long as I make time to try to achieve them. I think if I get these three things done it will take a lot of stress off of trying to do everything close to when it is due.

H2O Project

While researching and finding more information for my project I am finding out a lot more facts about plastic. I find a lot of stuff I read off of Surfriders Foundation's "Rise Above Plastics" campaign very interesting. On their blog they have ons of facts and interesting videos involving plastic and how it effects the ocean. One of the most interesting pieces of information I found was how much oil we spend on making plastic water bottles every year. Their blog entry states:

"The Pacific Institute calculated that it takes 3.264 fl oz. of petroleum to make the average plastic bottle"

I never really though about what it takes to make a plastic disposable bottle. The Rise Above Plastics campaign is filled with other interesting facts about plastic and how it effects how environment.

Something that surprises me about this project is how easy it can actually be. When the project was first introduced I thought it would be relatively difficult to finish all the requirements in a high quality fashion in the amount of time given. As I continue progressing to my final product I see how much easier it is to finish when you stay organized and have a schedule of when you want to get stuff done.

My next step is to gather all the materials and information to write my artist statement and make my painting. What I want to try to do is gather all my information to be able to write my artist statement. But what I would like to do before I write the statement is make my painting so I can reflect on the process and everything else as well. Ideally I would like to have my painting done by the end of Thanksgiving Break.

Young Voters Vote

Recently, we watched Barrack Obama take the role for presidency which is a first ever in US history. Having a colored man run for president and winning not only shows how democracy has changed over the years but it can also go to show how things all over the US have changed. In the NY Times article by Orlando Patterson, he talks about how over the years the voters of America have changed as well.

Something that has said to be changed is the number of "young voters" in America. In an article I found by it states that the 2008 election brought in 133 million voters between the age of 18-29. It also states how the younger voters are more prone to vote for the democratic party.

"Sixty-six percent voted for Obama and 32 percent voted for McCain."

A part in the article I found was that the reason why some young voters don't vote is simply because they don't feel it would change anything.

"Other young voters say they didn’t vote because they felt their vote would not count, due to the fact that their states’ electoral votes were going to the opposing party."

I find this interesting. I think it is great how over the years there have been more younger people voting. If I were able to vote I definitly would, I think that young voters can also impact the way America is run if they would just vote. I feel that this election was different and it reached out to younger voters more so then any other presidential election because we in the US we have never had a black president. I feel that maybe it spoke to the younger generation more so because it would be a change for America and that made them step up and vote.

Young Voters Article
An Eternal Revolution

Final Project Examples

My first project idea that I want to focus on is making an awareness shirt for the turtles in the San Diego Bay. The shirt shown to the left is an example of what I want the shirt to look like. Three aspects of it that I really like that I want my finishing product to have is the design that is wearable, it has a message, and simple and not overly done.

I want my final product to be much like this example. Since I want to focus my project on a specific species of marine life in a specif location in San Diego my ideas for my own shirt is to have a turtle holding plastic bags filled with plastic bottles and having the turtle wearing a shirt that says "Keep SD Bay Clean". It's going to be a very simple design with a clear message.

Along with the shirt I want there to be a short little write up explaining what exactly the shirt stands for and why we should be concerned for this problem happening now. An example would be like something this shoe company TOMS does. If you click here you can read what their cause is and what they do to help a problem that effects kids and adults of countries who are not as fortunate as the US to have shoes.

What I really like about their writing is that is clear and to the point. It states facts and isn;t a big long novel that no one wants to read. Much like that, I want my write up to be maybe a page explaining why I am focusing on sea turtles in SD Bay. I want it to include facts, ways to help, and the future of these creatures. I feel that all this is including in my TOMS example and this is what I want to use to guide my final product along.

Review of the Election

The person I personally would have voted for if I could didn't win, although I kind of knew that Obama would win. I am not mad that he won, I just hope that he can shape up America like he promised.
I guess what I feel is that I hope he lives up to his word.

Something that came out of the election that I do not agree with however is Prop 4. I think that because now teenagers do not have the freedom to get an abortion without their parents finding out they may result to getting an abortion in an unsafe environment such as in a different country where the environment isn't so sanitary and they may be prone to infection. When teenage girls were able to get an abortion on their own without their parents consent or without them finding out, then they had more options because they were still able to get an abortion here in the US where clinics are more sanitary and it is safer for the young girl.

What I hope for America is that we are able to steer away from foreign oil and fossil fuels in general and are able to make renewable energy sources a primary source of energy rather then fossil fuels. I hope that we can do this because by doing this it can effect global warming by slowing it down. I want this because I want a cleaner environment and leave a US that is at least livable for my future children and their children. That is one of my hopes for the new country as Obama runs it.

One of my concerns as Obama is the new president is that he may get assassinated because he is the first black president. There are already people who were found plotting trying to kill Obama so that is one of my concerns.

I feel that my own level of civic knowledge has gone up dramatically. Before I never even payed attention to what goes on in the world, but as we started discussing current events in class I have come to find it interesting and most of the time scandalous which is always fun to talk about and be knowledgable of. Something I feel that really helps me understand what is going on in the world are the blogs we do. I think that the blogs gives us a chance to be able to give our own opinion and perspective on the issues at hand. It makes us think about what is going on in the world and gives us a new way to look at things, our own unique way of looking at things.

I think that something we can do more often is have the class discussion on issues like what we had on Wednesday. To me, not only is it a fun way to discuss things but it also lets us physically hear each other out rather then just reading it on a blog. Because of what we have discussed in class I feel that when I hear or when someone asks me about current events, I am able to have a conversation with that person. I like that I am able to engage in conversations because before I wasn't able to so much and it made me feel somewhat stupid. I know feel well educated when I speak with those individuals and it is a pleasent feeling.

How are the sea turtles effected by plastic debris in San Diego Bay?

Thoughts of our Final Product:
We want to create a high quality and well thought out turtle awareness short video for the public. The video will be based on the ideas of how species of turtles are dying off, how turtles have a shorter life span with plastic in the ocean, etc. In addition to that, we also want to produce a calender dedicated to turtles entirely; how they are effected by human life, when they mate, when they come up to lay their eggs, and most importantly how pollution effects them.

Social Issues that connect to this topic:
-public awareness/public education
-solutions on how to decrease the amount of plastic bags in the ocean from private companies(grocery stores, all stores)
-how the people(visitors and residents) view this issue and how THEY help to not contribute to it We plan on going to various locations to talk to experts about how the turtles are effected as well as the facts on how plastic gets into the ocean and how we can help eliminate the plastic.

Coast Keeper
-Can you give us an estimate on how much trash is in the ocean? What percent of that is plastic?
-Why is plastic so bad for the ocean and the marine life?
-How does the trash get there?
-Can you give us some tips on how we can eliminate plastic from getting into the ocean?

Birch Aquarium
-Why are sea turtles important to the ocean?
-How do sea turtles mate/what season(months) do they mate?
-In what season do turtles come up to lay their eggs?
-How long is the baby turtle inside the egg?
-Does the mother turtle come up and take care of the egg till they hatch?
-How do baby turtles grow up to live on their own?
-How are the newly born sea turtles effected by plastic in the ocean?
-What is the potential of certain species of sea turtles dying off due to the plastic debris in the ocean?
-Are there any species of sea turtles that are endangered already?

People of San Diego Bay(Visitors)
-How do you feel about plastic debris in the ocean?
-Do you know ways we can cut down on the pollution in the ocean?

People of San Diego Bay(Residents)
-How do you feel about the current state of San Diego Bay?

People of San Diego Bay(Venders)
-How do you feel about the current state of San Diego Bay?
-Do you use material that is more "environmentally friendly"?
-How do you feel about marine life(sea turtles)being effected by our pollution?
-Do you know ways we can cut down on pollution going into the ocean?
-How can you promote less pollution in the ocean?

Schedule:
This week start scheduling interviews for next week.
Start gathering information through interviews next week and take pictures for calender.
Week after start putting together calender; have at least three of the twelve months done.

Resources Needed:
Camera for pictures
InDesign
A printing company

How is the plankton affected by increasing acidity of the ocean in PB.

With the subject of global warming happening right now some may beg to differ that it is real. Something that has been discovered over the past years is that due to CO2 emissions rising it is not only effecting the temperature of our Earth but our oceans as well which can in turn, effect the marine life. In an article I read it stated: "Acidifying oceans will have major adverse effects on corals and other marine life, especially those that produce shells. The loss of many coral species will negatively impact the oceans and ocean-dependent economies"

A particular ocean organism that can be effected is plankton. Plankton plays a significant role in the ocean food chain. Smaller plankton are a primary food source for larger plankton, those plankton are food for even larger plankton, and from there it makes a snow ball effect until the largest predator of the ocean has their food. Not only is plankton important for food source but they also contribute greatly to global production. Phytoplankton absorb most of the CO2 emissions we emit. But with the increase of how much CO2 we are emitting the question is if the plankton will be able to take it all.

In an article I read it states that as the ocean becomes more acidic a carbon mineral called calcium carbonate can dissolve away. Part of the text states : "Calcium carbonate shells are also used by several groups of planktonic organisms, microscopic floating plants and animals that are critical and abundant components of the marine food web." My hypothesis is that if the plankton is effected by this, then other marine life may very well be too.

Carbon Dioxide in the Ocean(basics)
How Organisms Are Effected Article
Acidic Ocean Article
Plankton Article

How are the sea turtles effected by plastic debris in mission beach.

Plastic is not biodegradable meaning that if it gets into oceans or landfills they have a big impact on the surrounding environment because they will be there for a very long time. In an article by the San Diego Coast Keeper it states: "Fifty percent or more of marine litter is, in some form of plastic, whether it is bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, or plastic pellets"

A particular species that is affected by plastic and that I want to focus on is the sea turtles. Because of the large amount of plastic in the ocean turtles can be affected greatly. One way would be when they mistake the plastic particles floating around for food, when they swallow the plastic they can choke and die. Also, a topic I want to further explore is how the sea turtles live with plastic in the ocean. Some adapt to it such as when baby sea turtles form to the six pack plastic rings around their shell.

Also, because of all the plastic in the ocean some species of turtles are actually dying off. I plan on further investigating how sea turtles are effected by the plastic in mission beach.

Drowning in an Ocean of Plastic
Plastic and Sea Turtles
Plastic in the San Diego Ocean