Thursday, February 4, 2016
Journal 3 theo
I love holding on, every time we read a story I think to myself There's no way a story could beat this one but often I'm proven wrong. For this essay I would like to research Sylvia Rivera and inspector pine. I think the stonwall riots were one of the most significant in the equal rights movement and I would like to read other accounts of that night and try to find out that it was that really started this particular riot.
Journal Three from Dillan
Hey everyone,
Part 1
I've really been enjoying the reading, so far. I think nearly every person we've read about has been pretty interesting to learn about, and it has been fun talking about them in class. I enjoy the fact that these people can seem so weird and off the beaten trail but at the same time their lives tie into the bigger picture of America.
I think Holding On is at its strongest with how brief the articles seem to be. Each passage is a very easy read, but each one is filled with a lot of information that permits us to experience all of these interesting lives. I think that there isn't any large glaring weaknesses, so far.
While reading the book I try to write inside of it even though it goes against everything I learned when it came to reading/sharing books. Also, I try to keep my mind active by thinking about the lives of these people. I think about: where they're from, what they've done, and where they're going to be in their futures past and article's ending.
Part 2
I was assigned to talk about Donald Bean during class, and I was happy to get him. I guess the biggest theme that stuck out to me was Bean's never giving up on his dream of having a dinosaur park. He spent 20 years saving up for it, and once he had the money he spent over 100,000 dollars to make the park, and even though the park isn't a financial success he still loves it.
To me, Bean shows some serious dedication. I've never spent that much time in my life wanting anything, so I can't even imagine what Bean went through with the waiting or preparation. His story makes me think about my own commitments in my life and how I should approach/think about them. Like we stated in class, I think that his photo really summarizes Bean's character. Both the story and the photo depict a quite man who may be a bit too innocent or childlike for his own good. Just by looking at his posture I can see that he seems very shy and nervous, which only pushes my thoughts on him being childlike.
Isay did a very good job writing this. I say this because he did a great job writing about Bean without looking down on him. One could say that Bean is a failure because his park was a financial flop, but Isay simply attempts to show Bean as the dreamer that he was. He could of easily mocked Bean, or he could have said, "Bean was a weirdo sitting in the woods with dinosaurs that he spent too much money to have that aren't making him any money as they collect dust." Instead he was very gentle about the whole situation writing, "The masses did not seem to share Bean's fervor for creatures prehistoric. There were no lines at the ticket office." He then ends writing about Bean's everlasting admiration of the dinos
Part 1
I've really been enjoying the reading, so far. I think nearly every person we've read about has been pretty interesting to learn about, and it has been fun talking about them in class. I enjoy the fact that these people can seem so weird and off the beaten trail but at the same time their lives tie into the bigger picture of America.
I think Holding On is at its strongest with how brief the articles seem to be. Each passage is a very easy read, but each one is filled with a lot of information that permits us to experience all of these interesting lives. I think that there isn't any large glaring weaknesses, so far.
While reading the book I try to write inside of it even though it goes against everything I learned when it came to reading/sharing books. Also, I try to keep my mind active by thinking about the lives of these people. I think about: where they're from, what they've done, and where they're going to be in their futures past and article's ending.
Part 2
I was assigned to talk about Donald Bean during class, and I was happy to get him. I guess the biggest theme that stuck out to me was Bean's never giving up on his dream of having a dinosaur park. He spent 20 years saving up for it, and once he had the money he spent over 100,000 dollars to make the park, and even though the park isn't a financial success he still loves it.
To me, Bean shows some serious dedication. I've never spent that much time in my life wanting anything, so I can't even imagine what Bean went through with the waiting or preparation. His story makes me think about my own commitments in my life and how I should approach/think about them. Like we stated in class, I think that his photo really summarizes Bean's character. Both the story and the photo depict a quite man who may be a bit too innocent or childlike for his own good. Just by looking at his posture I can see that he seems very shy and nervous, which only pushes my thoughts on him being childlike.
Isay did a very good job writing this. I say this because he did a great job writing about Bean without looking down on him. One could say that Bean is a failure because his park was a financial flop, but Isay simply attempts to show Bean as the dreamer that he was. He could of easily mocked Bean, or he could have said, "Bean was a weirdo sitting in the woods with dinosaurs that he spent too much money to have that aren't making him any money as they collect dust." Instead he was very gentle about the whole situation writing, "The masses did not seem to share Bean's fervor for creatures prehistoric. There were no lines at the ticket office." He then ends writing about Bean's everlasting admiration of the dinos
Journal Three - Omar Shehadeh
Holding On is definitely a very interesting book. I feel like if some random guy made a dinosaur amusement park with his life savings it would have at least became a twitter meme, spanning across the entirety of social media or at least some information that the media would have reported on, even if not covering that much of the story, at least talking about this incredibly interesting man and his story. This book continues to surprise me with stories such as Donald Bean's dinosaur park or Robert Shield's never ending journal. Each one of the stories covers someone who is a genius, or a trend setter in their own rights and I love learning about all of these people. One of the weaknesses I find with Holding On is that i'm often times wanting to learn even more about all of the people Isay is writing about. If some of the stories gave more of a background and not just brief glimpses at these truly unique people then I feel as though it would make the book a much stronger read for myself.
The strategy I have been using the most to read more actively in Holding On has been to simply write notes down in a separate piece of paper about everything that I find to be extra interesting or that would hold importance to the overall message or theme of the story.
Tommie Bass has definitely been the story to intrigue me the most throughout this book so far. I think one of the biggest themes with this story is that anyone can be a expert in their own right, whether they are an average joe or doctor with a degree from one of the most prestigious medical schools. From the short glimpse into Tommie Bass's life I feel as though we share the same type of morals as one another. If a child were coming to me in need, I would do whatever it is I could to help them and not think a second of a reward for doing it and I find this trait in Tommie to be truly admirable. Tommie definetely has incredible morals but this man is also a genius in his own right often times out witting the town doctor in his past to save lives when the doctor himself, with the medical degree, could do nothing. I find this incredibly interesting as I am a pre-med student and I feel as though natural remedies should definetely be a subject taught more in schools. Hell, if a self proclaimed hill-billy is saving lives where a doctor would condemn them to death, obviously there is a flaw in the educational system for doctors that is being overlooked. Tommie Bass's picture really helps set this idea of a simple, ordinary man who is saving lives and very well educated in his own right on medicinal herbs. Looking more closely at the picture for Tommie Bass, I notice his desk in the background and the area around him is extremely cluttered. It probably means this man keeps himself very busy or maybe he possibly commits himself to research to discover more herbs or their affects on humans. "We don't claim to be a doctor. Don't have no doctor's license," This language sticks out to me heavily as it just shows how Tommie is this simple man, not very highly educated grammatically and more than likely in school what soever, talking about himself in second person the majority of the time, yet he is incredibly smart when it comes to medicinal herbs and healing ailments which is a very deep contrast that most people would never expect from, from a man like this. I noticed that Isay definitely made it a point to contrast this man with real doctors and I think he did so excellently. This simple man is really in his own rights holding his ground with educated doctors and I think it speaks volumes about his character.
The strategy I have been using the most to read more actively in Holding On has been to simply write notes down in a separate piece of paper about everything that I find to be extra interesting or that would hold importance to the overall message or theme of the story.
Tommie Bass has definitely been the story to intrigue me the most throughout this book so far. I think one of the biggest themes with this story is that anyone can be a expert in their own right, whether they are an average joe or doctor with a degree from one of the most prestigious medical schools. From the short glimpse into Tommie Bass's life I feel as though we share the same type of morals as one another. If a child were coming to me in need, I would do whatever it is I could to help them and not think a second of a reward for doing it and I find this trait in Tommie to be truly admirable. Tommie definetely has incredible morals but this man is also a genius in his own right often times out witting the town doctor in his past to save lives when the doctor himself, with the medical degree, could do nothing. I find this incredibly interesting as I am a pre-med student and I feel as though natural remedies should definetely be a subject taught more in schools. Hell, if a self proclaimed hill-billy is saving lives where a doctor would condemn them to death, obviously there is a flaw in the educational system for doctors that is being overlooked. Tommie Bass's picture really helps set this idea of a simple, ordinary man who is saving lives and very well educated in his own right on medicinal herbs. Looking more closely at the picture for Tommie Bass, I notice his desk in the background and the area around him is extremely cluttered. It probably means this man keeps himself very busy or maybe he possibly commits himself to research to discover more herbs or their affects on humans. "We don't claim to be a doctor. Don't have no doctor's license," This language sticks out to me heavily as it just shows how Tommie is this simple man, not very highly educated grammatically and more than likely in school what soever, talking about himself in second person the majority of the time, yet he is incredibly smart when it comes to medicinal herbs and healing ailments which is a very deep contrast that most people would never expect from, from a man like this. I noticed that Isay definitely made it a point to contrast this man with real doctors and I think he did so excellently. This simple man is really in his own rights holding his ground with educated doctors and I think it speaks volumes about his character.
Journal Three: Holding On Response - Randi Goney
The strengths for me so far in Holding On include the different writing structures used and the multitude of pictures. Writing structures such as the profile on Robert Shields, where parts of his diary are written exactly as it is in person. Another example is Miles Mahan's profile. David Isay switches it up by including dialogue between him and Miles. The different styles develop characterization on the interviewees, and even Isay himself. The other strength of multiple pictures also contributes to characterization. Having more than one picture really gives us as readers a better understanding of who these people are and what their life is dedicated to.
On the other hand, a weakness would be the lengths of the profiles. They range from nine pages to one page. I think there shouldn't be as big of a difference in pages and more of an average length. This would then secure that everyone is receiving the same benefits of being featured in the book. This could also be seen as a strength in some ways. I mean as long as David Isay is portraying these people correctly and including all the information needed for the reader to connect, there isn't much of a problem.
The profile that struck me was the Folk Doctor, Tommie Bass. The idea of compassion and doing things for the greater good really stand out. This man is far from selfish and cares most about healing the wounded with the herbs he grows himself. While reading this profile, it was almost like reality hitting me in the face. I just thought back to all the times I have been selfish and how all of it was uncalled for. The second picture in Tommie's profile gives a great visual on him and his glorious yard of herbs. It all goes to show that there are people out there that do not just care about themselves and there own successes, but others as well. The line on page 66 really stood out to me, "We didn't make any money out of it, but we was just so glad he was better, you see." This supports the idea that Tommie Bass is truly genuine and definitely not selfish.
Journal 3- Matthew
I am enjoying reading Holding On. I like the variety of people that the author wrote about. I also like the interesting pictures that go with each of the stories. One weakness I see in this book is that it sometimes it doesn't tell you very much about the person beyond the story it's telling. I've used underlining to be active in my reading.
I thought the story about Donald Bean was interesting. I think the important themes of this story are dreams and imagination. Bean decided that he wanted to build a dinosaur park, so he did it. Even though the park hasn't been as successful as he had hoped for, but he continues to keep it going, because it's his dream. I liked the Isay wrote this story, because he included a lot of quotes from Bean. I liked this, because it made me feel like I was really hearing the story from Bean himself, rather than just reading it.
I thought the story about Donald Bean was interesting. I think the important themes of this story are dreams and imagination. Bean decided that he wanted to build a dinosaur park, so he did it. Even though the park hasn't been as successful as he had hoped for, but he continues to keep it going, because it's his dream. I liked the Isay wrote this story, because he included a lot of quotes from Bean. I liked this, because it made me feel like I was really hearing the story from Bean himself, rather than just reading it.
Journal Three: Kristen
Part One: So far I think that the readings from Holding On are very interesting to say the least. The variety of different people and stories are kind of mind blowing. One minute you can be reading stories about people involved in civil rights movements and the next minute you could be reading about a doors salesman. That is what I love about this book though. It doesn't just tell stories about Heroes, but about just regular old Joe's as well. I think that the strengths of Holding On are how David Isay and Harvey Wang are able to capture these peoples lives and hopes in dreams in just a couple of pages. Another strength I think the book has is that even the shortest stories can have just as much impact as the longer ones. While I have been reading each story I have tried to underline lines that tend to summarize the whole story and lines that really made an impact on my thinking.
Part Two: One of the profiles that stuck out to me was the one about Tommie Bass (Folk Doctor). Bass was a herbist and he spent around seventy-two years digging up herbs and discovering what different herbs did to help people. Something very refreshing about this profile was that Bass had many people come to him to help them with their illnesses and Bass never wanted nor expected anything in return. One gentleman offered him five dollars, which was a good bit back then, to give him tea made from herbs to cure his daughter. Bass basically laughed at the poor man for thinking that he would take money just to save a little girls life. It shows how genuine and honest Bass was. He didn't care about money. He more cared about learning more and more and helping anybody that he came across. One phrase that stood out to me because it just made me laugh was, "I been into it, you see, for around seventy-two years. If a fella' don't learn something in that time, he might just as well quit!"
Part Two: One of the profiles that stuck out to me was the one about Tommie Bass (Folk Doctor). Bass was a herbist and he spent around seventy-two years digging up herbs and discovering what different herbs did to help people. Something very refreshing about this profile was that Bass had many people come to him to help them with their illnesses and Bass never wanted nor expected anything in return. One gentleman offered him five dollars, which was a good bit back then, to give him tea made from herbs to cure his daughter. Bass basically laughed at the poor man for thinking that he would take money just to save a little girls life. It shows how genuine and honest Bass was. He didn't care about money. He more cared about learning more and more and helping anybody that he came across. One phrase that stood out to me because it just made me laugh was, "I been into it, you see, for around seventy-two years. If a fella' don't learn something in that time, he might just as well quit!"
Journal Three- Devon
I really like how he has so many different profiles of people. I think that it keeps the book very interesting. I think the images that he uses are also very effective. If the picture of Rivera and Pine was not at the beginning of the profile we might think that they still hate each other to this day. I don't think that they should make the profiles so short. I wish that some of them could have been longer. May not eight pages like Rivera but maybe four. When I find something interesting as I'm reading I underline it.
Tommie Bass profile was very interesting to read. He wasn't a doctor with a degree but he knew herbs and the effects that they could have on people. This profile showed how ordinary people can still be very smart. You don't always have to have some type of degree to be a genius. This guy had people coming to him for advice. In my life I've met people that have no college experience and some of them don't have any high school experience. They are smart though about certain things. Tommie is "street smart" just like some of the people I've met. The photo at the beginning shows that he is organized but on the shelve there are books. He's educated enough to read. The photo shows how much of an ordinary person he was.
A line that stood out to me as I was reading was on page 67 - " I been into it, you see, for around seventy- two years. If a fella don't learn something in that time , he might just as well quit." I thought that this statement was very true. If your doing something and your not learning anything then you may want to change things up a little bit. I feel like as time goes on you should learn new things about whatever your doing.
Tommie Bass profile was very interesting to read. He wasn't a doctor with a degree but he knew herbs and the effects that they could have on people. This profile showed how ordinary people can still be very smart. You don't always have to have some type of degree to be a genius. This guy had people coming to him for advice. In my life I've met people that have no college experience and some of them don't have any high school experience. They are smart though about certain things. Tommie is "street smart" just like some of the people I've met. The photo at the beginning shows that he is organized but on the shelve there are books. He's educated enough to read. The photo shows how much of an ordinary person he was.
A line that stood out to me as I was reading was on page 67 - " I been into it, you see, for around seventy- two years. If a fella don't learn something in that time , he might just as well quit." I thought that this statement was very true. If your doing something and your not learning anything then you may want to change things up a little bit. I feel like as time goes on you should learn new things about whatever your doing.
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