WB 5

Dear English 110.01 Student,

You are about to experience something where you will find hard to forget. I am going to guess that your first instinct on the topic of science fiction is not an interested one. Just give it some time because you will be glad you gave it all a chance. It is worth it, trust me! You will be watching many different shows on vampires, aliens, ships, robots, and slayers. After watching so many episodes, you will be required to write blogs on them. Yes, blogs! My first thought was that blogging is going to be so dorky and nerdy, but in fact, it is not. You will find it funny to read others' blogs and the comments.

Let's recall back to the first day of class. I did not know what to expect of this class. When I found out about the subject, I was thrilled because this is the kind of stuff I enjoy. Each person likes different things, but I have to say that you will enjoy this class and topic no matter what.

For the class, I had to work hard throughout the quarter. I checked the daily schedule every day to make sure that I was up to date with the assignments. I checked over my work and fix the errors right away instead of procrastinating. You must keep in mind that this class requires attention and dedication to your writings. It will be difficult to acquire that good grade if you plan on slacking. The best advice I can give you is that you stay on track and keep up with the work. You will need to work hard from the start! If you follow through with that, you will do just fine!

Altogether, English class will be really fun. You will have the chance to meet people and get to know a great teacher. The work load may get stressful, but there will be plenty of help and you will get through it. I promise. Best of luck to you!

Yours truly,

AnhThu Thai

Farscape Blog

I must say this is my first time watching this show and I found it not interesting or thrilling to my taste for science fiction at all. When the episode began, it seemed somewhat fascinating because I was wondering what the whole storyline was going to be about. This is important to me because I do not like when a show starts off completely boring and I can guess what will happen. It was until the part when the main guy got sucked into a whole different universe. I felt like the aliens, ships, and characters in general were out of sync throughout the episode. It was too much science and it was hard to watch because nothing connected. The only thing I seemed to grasp was that the ships were simply trying to escape each other. Overall, this Farscape episode had no significant details about it and I did not enjoy it.

Altogether, once I found out that English class was going to be about science fiction and relating it to subjects and assignments we were going to do, I was excited about it. I really enjoy the subject matter of sci-Fi. It is always interesting to me in some way. From this class, I somehow saw a whole another side to it because I actually had to go into depth about relating it to my life and the assignments I did for class. The shows we got to watch for class were neat and I found some shows that I would like to continue watching like Angel or Buffy. Basically, the topics of science fiction and modern mythology fits well into many things in life and are very relatable to our personal lives.

STNG Blog

This particular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was quite interesting to me. It was unique in a way that it showed how the humans had to work with robots or a non-human. I liked how the episode put forth the worthiness of being a man in general, human or not. Data may not be human, but he is just as intelligent and caring as any human being. He portrays characteristics of kindness and patience. These characteristics are majorly important when living in a world full of successful leaders and great missions in space. It was neat to see how the being of Data came into question whether he should be accepted for what he is no matter what. I am glad to know that the ending of the episode came out positively because Data is a "good man".

Comparing to the original Star Trek, the characters are slightly different. For example, Spock and Data are the two major inhuman beings. The role of Captain Picard and Kirk are somewhat different because of the way they act within the episode. Captain Picard seems more reserved and Kirk was more daring. However, both the original and STNG shows that robots are able to associate with humans.

Relating to BSG, I feel as though STNG is not very similar because of the roles that the robots play within the shows. The robots in BSG are evil and untrustworthy. Humans had to fight and suspect every robot they encountered because no one could be trusted! The robots blended in so well and they appeared to look like humans.

All three shows are fascinating in their own way and I enjoyed watching an episode or more from each. They make me wonder about the many possibilities of having robots within our society. From my perspective, I believe that robots are suitable for some situations but should not be messed around with because they can be dangerous and can get out of control. These episodes may just be television shows, but you never know what could happen.

WB 4 - Star Trek Classics

Star Trek: This Side of Paradise



I watched the season one episode twenty-five of Star Trek : This Side of Paradise. It starts out with the Enterprise going to Omicron Ceti 3 because they heard that the people there are infected with some kind of alien exposure. Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sulu are the main men who arrives on the planet and analyzes that everyone there are doing well with no dangers involved. They run certain tests and Leila Kalomi comes into the picture to help them out. She talks to Spock and, somehow, he is sprayed by the alien spore. Throughout the rest of the episode, Captain Kirk and the crew tries to determine ways of helping Spock and the planet. Leila also tries her best to help Spock because the two of them develop a sort of chemistry. In the end, Spock becomes himself once again and tells everyone that this was the first time he has ever felt the aspect of happiness in his life.

Comparing this classic episode to today's many shows, there are many differences and some similarities that I see. I feel like this Star Trek episode was very focused on the science fiction aspect of how a typical space show should be like. It was about ships, planets, and aliens. There was little romance involved! The only romance seen within this episode was between Spock and Leila. Unlike the classics, the current science fiction shows I have watched are different. They have the aim of total revenge to the other side. There are also a ton of romance and sex scenes involved. For instance, Firefly and BSG shows various sex scenes such as Mal and his females or the woman robot in BSG. To me, this is just a way to attract the audience. Besides the sex scenes and hardcore focus on revenge, I believe that the aim of current science fiction shows are to make them seem more realistic as well. Watching the shows nowadays, you can relate to the characters and the situations you are watching.
I do see similarities with then and now science fiction of what I just watched and the current shows I have seen. They share intense story lines in each episode about some kind of deal involving aliens or invadors. Firefly, BSG, and Star Trek shows that everyone is fighting invadors from robots to aliens. Compared to Angel, Charmed, or Buffy I observe that the classics have romance dealing with different "powers" or kinds of being. For an example, Spock is not fully human and Leila is not his kind. In Charmed, Piper is a witch and Leo is an angel. All the lovers in the different shows are taking huge risks to be with one another.

BSG miniseries

This is my first time ever watching any sort of Battlestar Galactica episode or series. I thought it was going to be just like Star Wars and have all these wild spaceships and things flying everywhere. It was surprisingly very interesting and it kept my attention the whole time.

At first, I was confused about what was going on within this miniseries. I did not know who was who or what the problem was. Eventually, I see that the humans are in a huge battle against the cyclones. It was interesting to see how Number Six was put into role within the miniseries.

One part that was completely disturbing to me was when the cyclon killed the innocent baby in the stroller. I did not see that coming at all. It was crazy how she can easily do that with feeling no love or compassion for what she did.

Besides some wild parts, I notice the amount of sex scenes. They were kind of unnecessary and random. I felt like they were thrown into the series to spice up some action for the audience. These sex scenes had no relevance whatsoever. Some scenes also seemed slow and dragged out as well. My attention was kept most of the time, but some parts seemed to be pointless and confusing.

Even with some down sides to the BSG miniseries, I enjoyed watching it. The material and style of it was compelling to me. I thought the acting was good, which is important to me because I cannot stand bad acting. Starbuck was exactly how I pictured her to be from reading Leslie’s paper. I would love to finish watching the rest of the miniseries because the action was intense. Plus, I see the point that the producers are trying to get across to the audience which is to not mess around with technology for personal gain.

Poem: "Hug O'War"

Hug O'War

by Shel Silverstein /from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1974)

I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

Growing up, I loved to read poems by Shel Silverstein. He is a brilliant poet and he brings joy to life. The things he says within his poems are wonderful and creative beyond words. I chose to blog about this short poem called "Hug O'War". Although it is very short, the poem can be described with a million words. When I read it, I think of all the happy things in my life that has occured. I think about the people in my life who makes me feel great and happy to be alive!
For instance,my family makes me laugh and giggle and my friends make me smile with the many stories they tell me. I couldn't be more grateful for the life that I have before me.

Sometimes, people take certain situations or things too seriously. People need to relax! The point in life is to be happy and enjoy it while you can! I feel that Silverstein's message in this particular poem is for people to appreciate the laughter and joy that life brings, especially with the loving people that are involved.

The lines that stands out in this poem are "Where everyone hugs, Instead of tugs". This is my favorite part of the poem. It is cute and uses words that are easily relatable for kids. It conveys that there should not ever be any unhappy feelings, but everyone should have positive thoughts!

Buffy: Normal Again

I thought this episode of Buffy was quite different from all the other episodes because it involved her fighting an inner demon. There was the monster, but the whole episode primarily focused on Buffy herself. "Normal Again" was about Buffy going back and thinking about her past when she was in a mental institute. She had to fight between what was real and what was an illusion. I can see how Buffy had a difficult time accepting what had happened to her in her early life and how it scarred her. Many people experience things in their life where you do not want to remember, but it somehow comes back to haunt you. By fighting her false thoughts and visions, Buffy was able to defeat the monster and save her friends and family. This shows that Buffy does have the strength to overcome anything.

The Last of the Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans is one of my favorite movies! I use to watch this random movie almost every night. It is about the war between the French and British, but also tied in with different Indian tribes. The characters in the movie are portrayed like how they should be and everyone just fits into their part. I also enjoy how the music is played within the movie. The song "I Will Find You" is a great song where it gives off a deep vibe for what is going on in the movie. It feels powerful when you listen to it let along watch the movie at the same time. I feel that music is important in The Last of the Mohicans because some parts in the movie are so quiet and steady that a song simply makes the scene pop. The romance in this movie is quite amazing as well because it is not too much and is touching to watch. A part in the movie that I particularly find standing out is when Hawkeye and Cora share a moment in the cave before he has to jump out of the waterfall to find a way to save everyone. It is definitely a deep scene in the movie that shows Hawkeye's commitment to his friends and family, even when he must put his own life at risk. Overall, I recommend watching this movie if you have not. It is an older movie and may seem boring, but has great action and romance tied within it.

More CP Issues

I finished my CP draft, but I feel like my paper focuses too much on my Analytical Research Paper. I related my two topics, Angel and criminals in general, but re-reading it reveals a bunch of stuff on Angel. I also think that I could include more examples to back up my point, but am stuck. 

CP paper problems

I am writing my CP paper and I am having some difficulties putting parts from my ARP into this paper. I am relating Angel and jail criminals in my paper by focusing on the choice to be the "good guy" or the "bad guy". For instance in my paper, I say " Angel picked his destiny by doing good deeds for the L.A. city and proving that he is not the bad vampire..."
It is basically going to be focusing on the choice of deciding whether to continue doing the wrong actions or to redeem oneself by starting over with a new and positive life. I am stumped on examples, so if anyone has any ideas, please share!

Possible CP Topic?

Relating :Angel/ Jail Criminals

Vampires are suppose to be the bad guys but Angel decides to challenge that fact by choosing to help the "helpless" people. He went from a torturous past to a whole new beginning of saving the innocent people in the city of L.A. Like Angel, jail criminals have the opportunity to redeem themselves, maybe not fully but to an extent. Just because they committed a crime does not mean they do not have another chance to prove themselves better. It is a single choice for everyone to decide what they personally will do to be a better person.

Another Small Problem

I am basically done with my paper, but feel like one quote does not fit into my paper after reading it over.

According to the opinion of Battis, “You can be a werewolf, a vampire, an ex-vengeance-demon, a witch, a covert government agent-you can even be a queer, which is still a stumbling block for most primetime offerings” (147).

This seems like a good quote, but I dont know if I tied it in correctly. I talk about how Angel is a vampire and vampires are normally seen as the "bad guy". Any other thoughts on this?

More Paper Problems!

I have been working on my paper and rearranged a few paragraphs along with sentences. I just changed many things in my paper and it still seems to be a little out of place. My introduction is starting out strong, but the rest of the body needs organization. How can I find a better way to do this? I watched my episode again and I also watched another episode of Angel to get more ideas which helped me with gaining more understanding. I am going to integrate more quotes because it is definitely helping me build off from them. However,what is the best way to conclude the paper? I am stuck towards the end of my paper right now because I cannot find the correct way to conclude my topic.

Quote/Supportive Sentences

I picked a paragraph with some quotes and sentences that back it up. It is within the middle body of my paper.

The whole significance of the second episode is that Angel was successful for his task of destroying a demon. Angel realizes that he does have the power to do good things and deeds for people who need the help. He understands that he does not have to hide from the world forever because of his previous life. Compared with the first episode, Angel is still uncomfortable accepting the new life he has come onto in L.A. It seems that with his friends, Doyle and Cordelia, Angel has developed a trust for them and is slowly opening up. Especially after the love relationship between him and Buffy, Angel has not fully recovered. For him not to have a beating heart, Angel still ended up with a broken heart. He thought he found a life set for him and, instead, ended up with a life filled with remorse and pain.

As I continued to write, I found more supportive examples to relate to what I am trying to say.

Paper Problems

I have some great ideas for my paper, but my problem is putting it all together. I am still having some difficulties with my thesis statement. For this reason, I cannot focus on the main topic. However, I think that once I have my thesis, it will help me grasp more ideas and details into my paper. I found most of my significant parts, but they need to be organized within my paper.

I also need to make better use of my sources within my paper because I am not explaining them very well. For instance I say, "In the second episode of “Lonely Hearts”, Angel is confronted with a situation where a chain of killings involve people who are single. " This paragraph was too general and short. I barely explained the episode and it seems confusing if the reader has not seen the second episode of Angel.

My transitions can also be better from paragraph to paragraph. Some sentences seem to be personal opinions and the goal is to avoid that. For example I write, " I analyze that Angel looks strong and aggressive on the outside." This is clearly what I think and most of my sentences are using this personal pronoun. I will definitely improve this mistake on the final paper.

WB 3: Are You A LEADER ?

I have been researching about the topic of leadership and how it is seen in today's society. There are two website articles I found relating to my topic, both of which have a strong tone of confidence.The articles talk about failing leadership and how to become a better leader. One author,Mark Sanborn, writes about some reasons why leaders fail. He uses creative text to outline the main reasons to why leaders in our society are slow failing. There are six main reasons, bold and capitalized, saying leaders fail because they forget their focus, there is poor communication, fear of not succeeding, reputation is slipping, he/she is unable to care for his/herself, or lost love. He explains each reason using well-known leaders, such as Donald Trump or President Richard Nixon, saying,"Donald Trump, paragon of the real estate world, files for bankruptcy. Richard Nixon, 37th U.S. President, resigns the presidency over the Watergate scandal" (Online). Sanborn clearly states that these people worked hard to the highest point and made a mistake which risked almost everything they had.

As for Niamh Arthur's article, he writes a more steady article about becoming a better leader. Arthur uses a simple outlook on his main points and minimal graphic design. He presents his argument in a numerical order. I like the tone he uses because it is more motivating. Arthur belives, "All great leaders start with a vision" (Online). The rest of his points back up this particular saying because good leaders need to be followers first in order to have an idea of what to do in general. People have to want to be a leader and it comes with commitment.

The first article seemed to be better at persuasion because Sanborn gave prime examples where the public can relate to. Arthur's article was simple and to the point, but too general. However, I see that to be a leader, you have to be yourself. From both articles, they aim to say that anyone can be a leader. It is the effort that counts.


Arthur, Niamh. " 5 Steps to Become a Leader, When You Feel Like a Follower." Self Growth. 1996. Selfgrowth.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2009.<http://http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/5steps_to_become_a_leader_when_you_feel_like_a_follower#>.

Sanborn, Mark."Why Leaders Fail." Leading Articles. 2007. Leadership Now. Web. 23 Oct. 2009.
<http://www. leadershipnow.com/sanborn.html.>

"When The Stars Go Blue" by The Corrs and U2

U2 is one of my favorite bands that I enjoy listening to. I found interest in U2 because my family is a huge fan of them and it eventually grew on me. One of the songs that I love is called "When The Stars Go Blue". It is a beautiful song and the beat is mesmerizing. The song is also quite romantic and I never get tired of listening to it.
In the beginning of the song, it is about dancing on the streets with wooden shoes in a wedding gown."Dancing where the stars go blue/Dancing where the evening fell/Dancing in your wooden shoes/In a wedding gown." Right away, the song is already filled with love. This is a dreamy picture when I imagine the lyrics in reality.
There is a part in the lyrics where I find it standing out compared to the other words in the song. "Are you happy now?". I thought about this and I can relate to this. Everyone has gone through a relationship and they are both good and bad. Sometimes, we just have to really think about the life before us and the people in it. That is when we appreciate what we all have and realize that, yes, we are happy!
In the chorus, it says "Where do you go when you're lonely?/Where do you go when you're blue?." Again, this part makes us think about our lives and the people we care about. We look to the people we can depend on. When I feel down, I talk to my family about it because they are the people I can always rely on when I am stuck in any given situation. Whether it is a family member or a significant other, we all should understand that no matter what, we are not alone.

Fear: The Princess Screamed Once

Compared to previous episodes, Buffy has transformed from this young teenage girl into a mature woman in college. I see that she has this strange dream and an interest for Riley. Buffy tries to make sense of it right away. The voices of the town are suddenly stolen and people are forced to find a different way to communicate to each other. Instantly, I see Buffy striving to solve for the solution. She is commited to what she is set for and Buffy puts every ounce of her heart into being the slayer. Buffy does find a way to beat the Gentlemen and the article explains the little details I missed when I watched "Hush".

In order to defeat the Gentlemen, a human voice must be screamed or the voice of the princess is supposed to be screamed. As Wilcox says in the article,"Buffy is a princess. Yes, she is beautiful; yes, she is willing to die for her people" (Wilcox 149). This is true because Buffy is willing to put up her life for the town. Luckily, she has Riley there to help her. However, with or without Riley, she would have gone through with trying to defeat the Gentlemen. I feel that it is quite brave for Buffy, especially since the day she chose to take up the job as a slayer.

Moeller- Is it Art

The episode of "Hush" is unique apart from all other episodes in Buffy. Not only does it incorporate artistic thinking to have created the storyline, but it captures the whole meaning behind art. Most of the episodes are about demons and monsters of the original sort. Here, writers decided to include fairytale creatures that are the "monster" type known as The Gentlemen. The reason I think this idea is altogether artistic is because, at first thought, I would not have guessed any Buffy episode would deal with fairytale creatures. The whole silent act was clever because it was something new for the audience. It was difficult for me to watch the show because I found it challenging to watch something with little noise compared to a normal show with loud action. As Moeller writes,"It is visually sound and somewhat challenging in terms of not falling too deeply into the pit of TV sameness-to a moderate degree" (Moeller 106). That is what art is all about, new things and brilliant ideas!

Bridges- Grimm Realities

When a person comes to a particular age and feels all grown up, certain things begin to seem childish. There are no more fairytales or bedtime stories, and monsters turn into silly stories. Almost every day, adults have to make big decisions and they have huge responsibilities. Where in this case, Buffy Summers was still a young teenage girl still trying to figure out her identity. She knew she was still a child! For instance, Buffy said,"We both know there are real monsters" (Bridges 93).

However, Buffy was confronted with a decision that would change her life. She agreed to be a slayer, which made her have to grow up almost right away. From episode to episode, you see Buffy mature from this vulnerable girl to a fearless woman ready to fight any evil force. Of course Buffy had a chance to live up her teenage years, she just lived it up in a special way by doing good for the world.

Buffy Episode "Hush"

As I was watching this episode, I see that Buffy has matured from that average high school girl into this woman in college. Buffy has taken up the pathway that was set for her and she has grown into her powers that she did not believe she capable of.

Here, Buffy and her friends are confronted with a particular situation where everyone in the town has lost their voice. I found this hard to watch the episode because it is altogether strange to watch something silent. This brings up a huge problem because,without communication, it is difficult to get anything done. Communication is a big part of living within a society because it brings people closer and everyone has the opportunity to talk things out. For instance,Buffy and Willow decides to better their communication by buying dry erase boards. The girls can write out what they are trying to say. Even the town went through a moment of panic, but people found ways to keep their communication alive.

With her friends and Riley, Buffy is able to figure out that the Gentlemen are the enemies in the town. They are fairytale creatures and come into a town to steal voices so that people cannot scream. In the night, the Gentlemen come out and cut out hearts of the people in town. Their goal is to cut out at least seven hearts.

To kill the Gentlemen, a human voice must be heard and screamed out. Together, Buffy and Riley work together to fight against this evil force. They are surprised to find each other at the same place, but are grateful for each other's presence because teamwork is much better than accomplishing a mission alone.

I know that a life without communicating to one another would be impossible to live in because this is how we make each day work. It is good to see that the town worked together, especially Buffy and her friends. The best way was to remain calm and find the solution, which Buffy succeeded at. Now that Riley and Buffy know who they really are, I wonder if they are interested in being in a relationship because Riley did say Buffy was "special".

Freewriting 2

"Angel experienced both redemption and romance in the arms of one least likely to love a bloodsucker-vampire slayer Buffy Summers, and in the process learned that a heart without a beat can still be broken" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer:Buffy and Angel #1 Romance Hall of Fame Sci-Fi Couples Category).

The relationship between Buffy and Angel is beyond incredible because she slays vampires and Angel is a vampire in this situation. It is remarkable of how Buffy gave her heart to him and this was probably a huge moment for the both of them. Angel returned his love for her and they somehow knew the consequences for their decision that were coming. Angel and Buffy wanted it to work out, but they saw the pain that was coming to get them. Love is an emotion you cannot block out. It is a passion that a person has to decide either to take it all in or suffer with the rejection. Here, Buffy and Angel took that risk to save themselves from wondering what life would be like if they turned such an opportunity down.

Freewriting 1

Angel came from this life of regrets and remorse. He is a vampire with a regained soul. Even with his courageous figure and mighty powers, Angel's state of mind seeks a million answers. He is looking for redemption because he is not that normal vampire who is evil. Angel lived through all these experiences involving power, life, and love.

Angel has friends that are behind him. Boyle and Cordelia have been helping him with helping the helpless. These missions to help people are dangerous and his friends are willing to take that risk with him. The way Angel views it is that he could be on the verge of losing another person he cares about. After the love relationship he had with Buffy, Angel is still re-cooperating. The feelings he had for her were beyond anything he thought it could be and it was romance to its highest point.

Sisterly Love

For my blog, I decided to write about my baby sister. She is about sixteen years younger than I am and fifteen years younger than my brother. She is my full sister if anyone was wondering that. Her name is Anh-Thi. My family was running out of names, so they played around with my name and found something they like.

I remember the day when I found out my mom was going to have another baby. This news was very shocking for everyone! My family is huge already and we were going to have another member. I do recall everyone being excited because I know I was. However, my mom was terrified because she could only think of one thing which was the labor pains.

My favorite memory of Anh-Thi was the day she was born because I was extremely ecstatic to see what she looked like. From the day she was born, Anh-Thu is a wonderful baby and she barely cried, even when she was hungry or in need of a diaper change. I always put her to sleep by dancing with her.

After she grew out of being a baby, Anh-Thi started to talk, walk, and notice things around her. My friends were always around to spoil her and shower her with lots of love. She is very mature for her age. Nowadays, she talks with an attitude and her facial expressions are priceless because they make me laugh out of control. Anh-Thi can be mean and she is tough. For a petite girl, she will tell you what is exactly on her mind.

I am glad I have her in my life because it is one of the greatest changes for the family and it is nice to have a new member join the family. I love having her in my life because it is fun to have a sister and she looks up to me frequently. With all of the silly faces she makes and the dramatic attitudes she gives me, I truly love her! She makes my life impossible to be bored!

WB Prompt 2: Thompson Library

Observing this beautiful building with fine details along the walls and structured pathways leading to the entrance gave me this huge vision of imagining what it was like on the inside. Thompson Library was a 1913 building and has been newly renovated into a fine place for academic studies. There are about 1,800 study seats all over the library and more than 250 computers for use. Along with that, there is a cafe inside for the purpose of providing students and staff to relax with the time they are there. Each floor or level within the building is unique in its own way. The tallest level in the library is the eleventh floor. This floor is quite peaceful and has an exquisite view of The Ohio State University campus. The designs on the walls and elevator doors are amazing with words writting in different languages.

Many OSU students come together to study here and share a special bond, whether it is socially or academically. The library has an extremely welcoming atmosphere. Students are encouraged to come to Thompson Library and use the various numbers of resources available because it will be beneficial towards themselves as well as classes. I notice that students challenge themselves to come to the library as a way to accomplish their homework because they seem to focus better here rather than somewhere else. Along with the challenge, I see that motivation plays an important role because by watching your peers and students, a person will have that motivation to do the same and reach for a goal.

Of course, some people do not always come to Thompson Library for schoolwork. As I sat in the main room, there were at least four groups of students chatting away about what they did on the weekend or what they plan on doing for the next weekend. This can lean towards something as both positive and negative. Students should understand that it is critical to study and use the library wisely, but also to have a good time while they are there.

Primary Source 2: Expecting

My second primary source is episode twelve of Angel. In this episode, Cordelia decides to go out for fun on this particular night and meets a guy name Wilson. They engage in some deep conversation,which leads her to taking him back to her apartment. Cordelia and Wilson enjoys a night together where everything seems to be perfect. However, she wakes up the next day with a pregnant belly. Angel and Wesley figures out that the Haxil demon is the father and destroys it by freezing it with liquid nitrogen.



I found this episode surprising that Cordelia was the victim. It is interesting to see that with her outgoing personality, Cordelia is still forced to face a critical event where she is pregnant with demon children. Luckily, she has Angel and Wesley at her side. I see that Angel has somewhat changed from the first episode to this episode because his attitude has softened. As he helps more people, that positive feeling seems to help put his mind at rest and tell him that he is a "good person". I also realize that Angel and Cordelia may appear to be completely diffferent people, but they somehow share a will to find out their true identity and what they want in their life. This concludes some thoughts for future episodes such as what did Cordelia learn from this event and how will she mature as a character in Angel?

Primary Source 1: Lonely Hearts

I watched the second episode of Angel because the start of it caught my interest. It starts with Sharon, a woman who seems innocent, shy, and lonely. She meets a man name Martin in a bar. Martin acts like a typical guy who only has one thing in mind and that is sex. My thought was she was the victim of the whole episode and the person Angel and his friends were looking for. Surpisingly, she is the one who takes advantage of Martin. The tricky thing is that when you keep watching the episode, you see it is just a monster looking for the right body to consume.
However, the significance of the episode is similiar to that of Firefly. It relates to the topic of women using seduction as a way get what they want. Women are shown in both shows as the person who seems like the victim, but really, she is the bad person.

"But She Was Naked..."

Upon watching the video in class, it shows that women are beings full of secrets. Both Saffron and Inara share the art of seduction as a way of accomplishing their tasks. In the video, Saffron obviously shows us that she has some intense skills on luring people. I, personally, did not see the bad side of Saffron because she seemed to be the most innocent person trying to survive.

Relating the video with the article, Saffron and Inara are good at what they do and the significant part is that they finish their job every time. For instance, the situation with Inara and Fess was astounding! She spoke her words wisely, another skill which Saffron also has, and was able to comfort Fess and change his self-esteem.

Fortunately, for Saffron and Inara, they will continue with their ways of seduction because it is easy for them to and people cannot resist it. It is even difficult for Mal to resist Saffron's tricks. The question is how far will Mal go before he risks and jeopardizes his crew?

"Our Mrs. Reynolds"

This episode was intense compared to the first one! I did not find it entertaining from the start. However, when the settlement party began and the crew was starting to drink, that was when my personal attention was caught. Mal was having a good time like the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, his actions brought consequences for him and the crew. A young woman, Saffron, explained to him that she was his new wife. Because her personality seemed to be shy and innocent, Saffron remained on the ship. With her tricky ways, she lured a few crew members including Mal into her trap. Saffron disconnected valuable wires aboard the ship and was able to accomplish whatever she came for because she was able to escape with the shuttle ship. I thought this whole act of Saffron was wild because I did not have the slightest attempt that she was capable of doing anything like this!

High School Is Hell

I have never had the interest in watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, this article has changed my perspective of the whole story about a teenage girl fighting off evil creatures of all sorts. It was helpful to have metaphors and comparisons tied in with the article. Coming from a person who has not seen this show, it was nice to be able to connect to the significance of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the help of the author. The author gave and explained the meanings behind the comparisons and metaphors such as young teenagers trying to find their true identity, but pretending to be a different person. Even today, there are many situations involving peer pressure and hidden identity. Here, Buffy's role in the show was to bring out these creatures and their real inner being. In some ways, she has the supernatural to fear, but instead, she worries about having a date for prom.
The author also mentioned high school love and relationships. The relationship with Angel and Buffy is definitely romance. Everyone has issues in this category and the author is making a point that when it comes to love, a person has to be his or her own self. In any given situation, it somehow comes back to being the true identity.

City of Angels

I chose to watch the first episode of Angel and it was deeply fanscinating. Angel is a man trying to live a life as close to normal. I think the scene when Angel is confronted by a stranger in his own home shows how much pain Angel has been through. The flashbacks of his past life and history portrays Angel's dedication of helping people who are experiencing trouble and pain, which it relates to his own issues. By helping people and fighting evil, his actions are a way of making up for the mistakes that he has made. This particular scence brings out Angel's courage, willingness, strength, and passion for the innocent people.

Blog ONE

Looking back in my life, reading has been one of my favorite hobbies to do. It was not something I felt like I was forced to do, such as in middle school or high school, because I always enjoyed reading every book assigned to me in class. Although some books were not interesting to me, I found a simple lesson in each book that taught me something unique. 

I use to read at least one book a day because I wanted to know the ending as soon as possible! The types of books I find intriguing are folklore, fantasy, mythology, and science fiction. These books are neat to me because they take me into a whole different kind of world. I completely block out everything that is going on around me when I pick up a book. Evermore, Revelation, Blue Blood Series, and Tantalize are among the recent books that I could not put down. 

I also read magazines like Popular Science, National Geographic, and Cricket. Cricket is a magazine for children and written by younger kids. I read it because many articles relate to my favorite category of reading. The magazines that I have been reading is another opportunity for me to explore the significance and relationship of SciFi.

Reading makes me want to take up some form of writing as an everyday hobby. Growing up, I did not enjoy writing but reading has definitely changed my whole perspective of it. Reading is my new form of a movie. 

Firefly

Watching this episode made me realize that life comes upon us with many tough decisions. Here, Mal has the big responsibility to decide whether to return the stolen cargo to the refugees or to receive money that is needed for fueling the ship and other necessary things for the crew.

I found the final scene where Mal and the crew had to work together to lose the other ship was intense. Even with Kaylee wounded, everyone remained calm and trusted each other. The crew members seemed to have some personal conflicts, but they were able to set that aside for the sake of each other. I believe trust is crucial and it is a key to success in any situation.

about AT

Hello everyone from English class! My name is AnhThu Thai. It seems like a complicated name to say, but it is easier than you think. I am from Columbus,Ohio and my ethnicity is Vietnamese. I plan to pursue a career in dentistry because I find it as a unique job. I am a current member of the Mount Leadership Society and a commuter student. My favorite sport is tennis and I enjoy traveling. I listen to every type of music except country. Chocolate and icecream are my favorite sweets. I volunteer at many places such as Ohio State Ross Heart Hospital, AACS, YWCA Bright Futures, and Cypress. I hope to get to know you all very well!