Blood Dazzler

-Break the piece down paragraph by paragraph (or section by section). How does each piece act as a "building block"? How does the writer create dramatic tension or interest through these building blocks?

I chose to answer this question according to the poem, Why New Orleans Is, on pg.6

As I was reading the first half of the book, this actual poem stood out to me the most. I thought it had the most attenting getting type of language and detailed words. Reading each stanza made it more easy to understand what the author's message was. The first paragraph introduces the stereotypical type of person or woman she is trying to explain. It tells us about where they are and what it's like. It's easy to conclude they are women and/or men in a bar in New Orleans. If you haven't been to New Orleans it would be difficult to depict that it was the setting without using the title for help. The first paragraph really gives us an overall perspective of the setting and place. It also introduces us to the phrase, " breasts swag in unison to You Can't Hurry Love" which is also mentioned in the ending paragraph. The first almost seems like they are there looking for love, but can't find it.

The second paragraph then goes on to tell us readers about the atmosphere and environment of New Orleans. I kind of laughed a little while reading this paragraph, I thought it described any typical get out of town weekend. It put a picture in my mind of three single women looking for love, taking a vacation from work to go to New Orleans and get away for the weekend, do some partying, and get too drunk.

The last paragraph is built upon the first two. The whole poem kind of tells us a story about the girls going to New Orleans, looking for love, drinking a lot, going home, and not conquering finding the love they wanted. The end paragraph is like the end of the story. It tells about them going home, and that everybody needs a crazy couple nights every once in a while. This particular poem really interested me. I didn't quite understand it the first time I read it, but after reading it in class I understood it more and what the author was saying.

3 50 Word Snapshots

Mexico: Last year for spring break I went to Mexico. It was a new experience and visual that I hadn't ever seen before. Everything was so fresh and clean looking( not like the sterotype of dirty Mexico that most people have.) It had such a relaxed look and it wasn't intimidating to be there. I wasn't afraid of what was around me since it looked so relaxed. The sun was always shining and it was always warm. The ocean was sky blue, not brown and dirty.

Colorado: I used to travel to CO with my family every year for Thanksgiving. Colorado usually looks the same year round, only this year it was a blizzard. Everything was a white out and the visibility was short. On the road it wasn't pretty, dirty snow and disgusting slush, but on the mountains was soft, cotton ball like snow laying on the mountains. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen.

Minnesota: I took a family vacation to Lake Vermillion in MN. It was the middle of August and sweltering hot. The view was nothing like the view in MX or CO. It had a way more relaxed view and atmosphere than MX did. It was silent during the day and silent during the evening. Looking out of our log cabins were docks and the lake. Every night you could watch the sunset right outside of the cabin and see the reflection on the lake. I had never experienced something like that before and it amazed me to see the reflection. When the sun was the highest, it covered the whole lake and when it was the lowest it only covered 1/4 of the lake. It was relaxing to watch and a wonderful sight to see.

Hometown Map

This is the map I chose to represent my hometown, Johnston, IA. There isn't much included in this map besides, the state, and a few towns labeled, Johnston, Lincoln, Omaha, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux Falls. The blue outlines on each side of the state represent rivers. A lot of stuff is not represented in the map. It is very vague and not much detail. It doesn't show roads, interstates, or highways. It doesn't include lakes or show elevation. When i clicked on this website this picture was found, it was a web page about the city of Des Moines an Johnston. The photo does a good job representing the town and the placement of it and it was a good picture for the web page, to inform people where it is located. I don't think that it goes too much into detail because it's more of an informative web page about the state of Iowa, rather than getting into depth about just the city of Johnston.

Questions for Bass and Williams

What or who inspired you to be a writer?

How do you think of the topics and ideas that you write about?

Johnston, IA Middle School

This is a picture of the 8th/9th grade building in Johnston, Iowa. This is where I attended grades 6-9. The year i was going into 8th grade the school decided to change it into an 8/9th grade building only. I attended this school four years, the longest I had attended of any of the elementary and high schools in Johnston. This image shows that my hometown was fairly large. Since it had to be changed into just an 8/9th grade building shows that it was overly populated with no room. After this made into the 8/9th grade building there was a 6/7th grade building being built. Our town was growing very rapidly, with just over 400 kids in my graduating class. This is represented to be a place of learning, I belive it was also a great place for social and sports interaction.

Terry Tempest Williams; Reading Like a Writer

-Find specific examples of absract and concrete language. What are the effects?

I found an example in the book using specific details; on page 740, she explains an experiement she recalled doing at the school she attended. The description was full of detail and is important to the text because it shows an analogy of the cup and water she did her experiment with to relate to the Great Salt Lake. The author gives a lot of good examples using abstract and detailed sentences. For example, when she is talking about the birds with their prey before them she says, "Adult burrowing owls will stand on top of the mound with their prey before them, usually small rodents, birds, or insects. The entrance is littered with bones and feathers. I recall finding a swatch of yellow feathers like a doormat across the threshold-meadowlark, maybe. These small owls pursue their prey religiously at dusk."I chose this paragraph to represent good absract ideas. It is a very detailed sentence, and paints a picture for the reader's mind.

100 Word Photo

Stacks of large corpse, not all but the head. One piled on another, dead, lifeless, helpless animal. Hunters watch without remorse. Maybe they kill for food. Show no courtesy, stand on top; king of the hill. Middle of nowhere, only few people surround, to show off their work or to others their a dissapointment. Stacks and stacks of nothing but death. Sad air; foggy and gloomy. Nobody can help the helpless buffalo now. Ground looks soft, fertilized and clear for hunting or storing. Lifeless, laying there like nothing. A huge graveyard of dead animals. But, what for? For what purpose?