Author Archives: Cesar P.

The Penalty of Death & Execution

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Observations:

  • Its a dreadful job for those who perform the Death Penalty
  • It does not deter other criminals from committing the same crimes
  • Catharsis is the main objective of it
  • Catharsis is used to square things even / Eye for an eye
  • It isn’t looked bad upon by natures men
  • The criminal suffers while the case is being solved

Compelling Moments:

  • I found it interesting when H.L. Mencken wrote about people who have to perform the execution. I had never thought about execution from the point of view of the executioners.
  • How its not done for the safety of the public, but more for the catharsis received by the victims

Questions to Author:

  • Are the executioners interviewed and ask on what they think about the job?

Authors Purpose:

  • I believe the Author wrote this article in order to share to the reader the different views on the Death Penalty. Though many people may agree or disagree with the death penalty, there are ultimately valid reasons as to why death by capital punishment is just or unjust. In short words, capital punish is just because it brings a sense of relief, known as “catharsis” to the victims. On the other hand it is seen as unjust because it morally wrong to take the life of a human being for the feeling of pleasure.

Shitty First Drafts

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Observations:

  • All writers write shitty first drafts
  • Most writers don’t really know what they’ll write about
  • First drafts are meant to get out all of your thoughts on paper
  • Even the most terrible of first drafts can hide something good to write about
  • Professional writers have trouble with writing as well
  • To write well written paper, you would usually need to write about 2 drafts first

Compelling moments:

  • I found it compelling when Anne said she would panic before writing every review, even though she had been doing this for years and was well experienced
  • I found it interesting how this article was published by Anne Lamott and the article still contained a handful of grammar errors which shows how she still had mistakes in her writing

Question for Author:

Did she purposely write this article with grammar errors to convince readers that even professional writers write shitty drafts?

Authors Purpose:

I believe that Anne Lamott wrote this article to explain to the reader and all writers that everyone writes shitty first drafts. The article describes the struggles that a professional  writer like herself goes through writing reviews which helps the reading make a connection to their own experiences when writing.

Peak Performance

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Observations:

  • Repeatedly practicing something makes you better at it
  • Performance is becoming more and more competitive throughout the years
  • Coaching methods have to do with better training
  • Memory plays a high role in mastering certain activities
  • Mastering certain aspects of your memory in a certain area is what help you master something

Compelling moments:

  • I was intrigued by the fact that the Olympics gold medalist from 100 years ago would barely qualify for the current Olympics
  • The fact that muscle memory can be applied to almost any activity

Question to Author:

How much time would take the average human being to master a skill using the techniques of muscle memory?

Authors Purpose:

I believe that Goleman wrote this article with hopes of letting young people as well as parents know that there is always a way for someone to become better at something, and that way is by practicing that activity as much as you can. This article was also written to inform people that even if they believe that they are good at something, they can always get better. The article was also written with the purpose of showing people how times have changed and that people now a days perform better than others. As I read this article it made me think about Michael Jordan, and how everyone, inluding myself, believes that he was the greatest basketball player that ever played the game. Thinking more deeply, is there a possibility that someone else will surpass Jordan’s legacy one day?

Neighborhood v. Times Square

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Times Square v. Neighborhood
My Neighborhood- My Neighborhood, located on 191st & Broadway in Manhattan, is one of the busiest streets in the Washington Heights area. As you walk into my neighborhood you immediately feel the heated energy of hard working individuals in their respective stores going by on their day to day routine. Cars are always passing by, and People are always walking on the sidewalk. In addition to being a busy street for the fact that I live on Broadway and having so many small businesses, my neighborhood is located in between two very important train lines and bus routes. The 1 train is located on 190 & Broadway and the A train located on 191 & Bennet Avenue,the next avenue to the West of Broadway.The M100 and Bx7 buses are right across the street from my building. My neighborhood is very active and awake. At night, almost nothing has changed except for increased volume. My neighborhood contains 3 bars, and 2 restaurants, and 1 Cigar smoke shop which results in very loud music being played starting at 7pm, and a Cuban Cigar aroma from time to time.

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Times Square- Similar to my neighborhood, times square is a busy street filled with individuals and businesses all over. The cars are passing up and honking and slithering themselves around the heavy traffic. Times square smells like a kitchen, in a good way. The smell of food in the air, coming from restaurants, makes you hungry almost instantly. Theres also a lot of advertisement, promoting movies, tv shows, and more restaurants. The neighborhood is also very loud. Theres also a lot of tourists and people walking up and down.

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Mother Tongue – Cesar Peña

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Observations:

  • She describes languages as being a tool and the english language as being a collection of tools
  • The english she talks to others is different from the english she talks at home
  • Her mother talks a very direct type of english, using very little “and” or “like”
  • She was embarrassed of her mothers broken english
  • People treated her mother differently almost as an outsider because she didn’t speak perfect english
  • Math is precise, while there is no perfect english

Compelling Moments:

  1. I found it interesting how Amy Tan used the word “broken” to describe her mothers english because its exactly what it sounds like to the listener as well. Her mother’s english is strongly focused on describing an image she sees in her head, using very little words.
  2. She used associative analogies to get through her english examinations, which i found very interesting because it more vividly shows me the type of person she is. She doesn’t think of things in one way like math, but in numerous possible ways as in writing.

Question to Author:

Did she choose to pursue a career in Writing mainly to prove that Asian Americans were capable of writing perfect english? Or because she was very passionate about writing ?

Author’s Purpose:

I believe the Author’s Purpose in this piece of writing is to connect not only with Asian American families that can relate to this situation, but families from all types of countries that have had a similar experience. Everyone has a unique way speaking english at home or with friends than they have when speaking in public or for a formal audience. This is what Amy Tan was trying to say when she said “In all my Englishes.” Although the language is the same, the way you may speak it with a different group of people may vary due to the way you grew up speaking it. I also believe that Amy Tan was writing to a smaller audience for people who are pressured into choosing careers based on their best skill. Amy Tan explains that no one should choose a career based on what they are good at, but on what they enjoy doing, just as she did with writing.

 

 

I Have a Dream – Cesar Pena

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Oberservations:

  • He repeats “One hundred years later” at the beginning of the each sentence in the third paragraph
  • He used the phrase “insufficient funds in a check” to show something was missing in the black community
  • Summer was used to describe uncomfortable heat, and autumn, the season which is not so cold nor hot, the season of balance and equality
  • He emphasizes the importance of not using violence in their protest for freedom
  • Not all of the white community is racist, many have came to support the black community this day
  • He goes on to list what the black community finds unfair in society by beginning each sentence with “We cannot be satisfied”
  • He used heat or fire to describe injustice and coolness or water to describe justice and freedom

Compelling Moments:

  1. I found it interesting how in the beginning of the speech Martin Luther King states how One hundred years later things still haven’t changed for the black community and he goes on to repeat this throughout the entire third paragraph as if he was saying that One hundred years is a very long time and even after one hundred years, things such as segregation and discrimination haven’t changed in the United States.
  2. When Martin Luther King states, “The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.” This caught my attention because it is trying to explain that the Black community is going through a very difficult time because of white people and even with all of that, he has to be honest and admit that not all whites are all against blacks, and that there is evidence of that due to the great amount of white present in his speech to listen.

Question of the text:

Does Martin Luther King believe that there is One and only god? Since he states that all Catholics, Chrstians, protestants, etc. will all join together in the heavens of the lord.

Authors Purpose:

I believe the Authors Purpose in this speech is to send a message to a large community of people consisting of whites and blacks. He writes this speech in hopes of sending an equal message across to both blacks and whites, that is that all men are created equal and should be treated equal, as brothers. The message he sends to the white community is that Black people are also humans, and deserve to be treated with their promised unalienable rights. The message he sends to the black community is that they must fight for their rights and never turn back or give up. Though their passion for freedom is well too strong, they must never break their civilized ways and go on to start chaos in the community. King writes this speech with hopes of making both communities understand that they must both play their part in making this dream of freedom come true for all.

My Life in 3rd Person – Cesar Peña

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He doesn’t always believe he’s been living for 19 years, Because he only remembers his life starting at the age of 5. Fourteen long years ago, a small dominican boy arrived to the stage known as New York City. He refers to New York City as a stage, because he was always told this was the place to show your talents to the world, and hopefully succeed.

When he first came to New York City, he wasn’t sure on what his talent was specifically, and if he would gain success through his talent. But his parents explained to him that there was one answer for certain success, and it was to get an education. Ever since Cesar was a young boy, the idea of going to school was drilled in his head. But Cesar was far too young to quite understand why something so boring as school, was needed or was rather important for his future. Cesar focused on the better or what he thought were the more pleasurable things in life, sports. Cesar fell in Love with the sport of basketball at the age of 9 years old. He found it quite disappointing that his 3rd grade gym teacher did not allow third graders to play with regular sized basketball, for “safety purposes.” This still didn’t stop him from playing the sport. With false rubbery basketballs Cesar managed to practice the sport he loved to play. Cesar had dreams of making it far with his basketball talents, but he wasn’t always sure if this stage was the right one for this.

 

 

Superman & Me – Cesar Peña

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Observations:

  • He wasn’t exactly interested in the Super hero “superman”, the comic book just happened to be what he first read
  • He decided to love reading because his father loved to read
  • He began to see things rationally, or in paragraphs and compare the real world life as a story written in paragraphs
  • He first learned to read by interpreting pictures in his own words
  • He talks about his person as being seen as a stereotype in the community that he grew up in
  • He chose to prove that stereotype wrong
  • He seems to be the first of his kind to do what he has done and break the stereotype of his Indian culture

2 Compelling Moments:

  • I found it Interesting when he said “Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians.” Indians like himself were expected to fail as if it was the norm to follow what every indian has been doing for years, which is fail, and when they did fail they were applauded as if there was nothing better they could have done.
  • I also found it compelling when he repeated, “I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life.” He was trying to save his life from the life that awaited him; A poor indian who doesn’t succeed in the big world full of knowledge that everyone was capable of learning something from and just obeying the orders and negative criticism of the non-indians.

Question about the text:

  • Did he choose to read everything that he can get his hands on because he thought everything he read was some type of knowledge?

Author’s Purpose:

I believe Sherman Alexie’s main purpose in this text is to emphasize how important it is to become who you want to become and not live by the norm or the stereotype that society places on our cultures. There are many people who don’t know how to start stepping out of that stereotypical zone simply because they don’t how to take the first step. In this reading Alexie explains that the first step doesn’t have to be the most difficult one. In his case, the first step was simply picking up a random comic book and start interpreting pictures. Alexie tries to further pass this idea by going back to his older schools and trying to teach the children who are now in the position he was many years ago, that the key to all knowledge is in Books.

I Remember – Cesar Peña

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1) I remember when i spilled pancake syrup on my jeans when i was in kindergarten. My dad had to meet me in the principals office and bring me new pants.

2) I remember when my feet were a lot smaller and i was able to buy all the Jordan sneakers because they were cheaper in kids sizes.

3) I remember when pork fried rice with chicken wings at the Chinese spot was only 4 dollars.

4) I remember playing for the little league baseball team around my house when i dreamed of becoming a baseball player.

5) I remember when I thought the sidekick cellphone was the coolest thing ever.

6) I remember when math homework used to be as easy as 2+2.

7) I remember when i was able to buy chips, a juice, and a candy with only 1 dollar.

8) I remember when Power Rangers was my favorite TV show.

9) I remember when crayons was a required material for a class.

10) I remember when a Happy Meal was all that i needed to satisfy my hunger.