Blog Post #7

Evaluative Question #2: Can we trust news media?:

I believe that we are able to trust news media in a way but all news is very bias. There is no possible way to tell a news story without being bias at all. The words you use, the way you speak, bod language, layout of the story. These all have an effect on how people read or listen the story. It makes a difference on what you think the story is about or really means. "Five years ago, Fox News Channel was launched on the idea that something was wrong with news media--that somehow, somewhere bias found its way into reporting. . . . And it's not just the way you tell a story that can get in the way of the truth. It's the stories you choose to tell" -Trace Gallagher, Fox news. http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/the-most-biased-name-in-news/. "And it's not just the way you tell a story that can get in the way of the truth. It's the stories you choose to tell."That is another point that is true. There are different forms of media that tell different stories based on the beliefs of the writers, producers etc. In the same article Fox says that they are the "only unbiased network". By saying that they are the only unbiased network is bias in and of itself.

I feel that news media is very biased but not so much so that it becomes untrue. They may stretch the truth or give different stories, but they don't change things to the point when they are no longer true and are untrustworthy. The best way to get news is to get it from multiple different sources and form your own opinion about what is true based on your information. The other problem with thinking about news media being untrustworthy and bias is that we are being biased just by thinking that. Every person is biased and looks at thinks with a biased point of view so it is all personal opinion on whether or not we can trust news media. Also, if you don't trust it, where else are you going to get your news from?

Shared Inquiry

Question #1, what is the relationship between Jack and his appearance? How does this relate to consumerism?- When Jack sees one of his coworkers at the supermarket he tells Jack that he is "a different person all together" (83) because he isn't wearing the same clothing he wears to teach. When Jack goes on his shopping trip and buys a lot of new clothing, he feels like he can hide behind the clothing he buys. The more he feels that his clothing makes others see him differently, it makes him consume more and buy more products.


Question #2, on page 92, Bee says that the airplane passengers went through the whole ordeal for nothing because there was no media coverage. Do you agree with this?- I do not agree with this. I do not think that media is the biggest thing in people's lives. This is saying that nothing matters if it isn't covered for the world to see but I do not think this is correct. When people have a big event happen in their lives, especially a disaster type situation, they will always remember it in their minds. It doesn't make a difference to the person if it is broadcast. If they do, I think that all they care about is attention.

Question #3, why do you think that Jack felt that Bee was trying to pry secret information from him?-

Question #4, what do you think Jack meant when he said death is strictly a professional matter in the classroom?- I think that Jack was saying that when death is discussed in the classroom it has to be talked about is a professional sense. You cannot put personal opinions into it. When talking about death in a classroom you need to not put your emotions into it.

Question 5, jack and Babette were both married before they met each other? How do you think they feel about each others ex's?- I do not think that Jack or Babette think about each others ex's. Throughout the book so far, Jack has not really mentioned Babette's ex's so I do not think it phases him. If he were to care and think about them, we would hear about it a lot in the book because all Jack talks about is what he is thinking.

Blog Post #6

I chose to do the effects of overexposure to media. This topic caught my eye because in my daily life I am constantly exposed to great amounts of media. Whether it be watching TV, reading one of the many People magazines I get or listening to the radio, media is always around me. There isn't a day where I don't learn something new because of media. This is what I first thought of when i read the topic. When you think more deeply into the topic, there is people who have so much media in their lives, it starts to form who they are as a person. They are so affected my what other people, especially famous people, are doing that it suddenly doesn't become their lives anymore, it becomes them trying to be someone else.

When I researched over exposure to media I found many different view points on the topic. Some said media helps us learn about life, which is something not taught in school, while others said that we are having way too much media in our lives and it is affecting us negatively. One study that i found interesting way saying that too much media can hurt a child's health. "Children and teens spend about as much time with media as they do sleeping, and the overexposure could take a toll on their health." The average 8-18 year old spends over seven hours of their day engaged in some type of media. Dr. Victor Strasburger of the University of New Mexico has been studying the overexposure to media in children and has came to some interesting conclusions. He found that the exposure can make kids prone to violence, early and unprotected sexual activity, alcohol and tobacco consumption and obesity. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/03/01/media-children-teens-health.html).

A survey given to teens got the opposite results. Teens in the study have said that media, especially social media, has helped them make and maintain friendships. It has also made kids feel more confident. Media is so informative in people lives. It teaches about what is going on in the world with news and magazines.

People in our society, especially teens and kids, are so consumed with media and technology that it is shaping who they are. Some media is a good thing for people but when they are exposed to too much media, it can harm them, physically, mentally and socially.

Blog Post #5

In Claire's blog she is discussing the happiness index in Bhutan. She brings up a great point about the difference between the society in Bhutan vs. America. She says " In America, our "success" depends on how much money you are making, and that is just the nature of the country. It's a competing country where money=power (usually). In a place like Bhutan, no offense but there probably isn't too much competing, and money doesn't equal power. I feel like they live off of a day to day basis, while America is always looking to tomorrow." I think this brings up a different point of view on the topic. I never thought about it in that way. America is a very technology based country, that's why i think we are always "looking to tomorrow". Bhutan is the opposite. Television was illegal in Bhutan until 1999. They are not looking to advance their technology, so they are more focused on happiness rather than money.

In Chase's blog, she is talking about the fashion industry. We watched a commercial about the fashion industry and a little girl and at the end it says talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does. Chase brings up a great point saying that make up is "a gateway to being really insecure about themselves." Kids are starting to care about makeup and clothing at such an early age. There is elementary kids putting on makeup to go to school and shopping at expensive clothing stores to buy cute clothes that they are just going to grow out of in a year. I think that media has a huge part in this. Kids see their favorite actresses and singers selling a product and immediately want to buy it because that person is so beautiful. Media can make people believe that they are ugly without the use of their product and it leads to insecurities. In a fashion and beauty sense, i think media is negatively affecting our society.

In Logan's blog he is talking about the advances of technology. Some people think that our society is too reliant on technology where as others make it their whole life. Logan says "I think yhat without the progression of technology we would be no where and without the continuation of it, we would be dead very soon. Things like sickness that arise from other sicknesses would have no cure and we wouldn't be very well off." When we first started talking about the influence of technology in our society i immediately thought about cell phones, computers and televisions. I never thought about how important some advances in our society are, especially medical. There are so many things that are being discovered about health that are groundbreaking, and they are all due to technology. We would not be a very healthy society without technology. This is something I never thought about until now. 

Blog Post #3: Advertisements

My first photo is an ad for Kemps milk. It shows David Beckham, a professional soccer player, holding a soccer ball on his hip with a milk mustache. Near his head it says "Goal by Beckham. Body by milk." Under him are the words "Heads up. Protein in milk helps build muscle and some studies suggest teens who choose to be leaner, staying active, eating right and drinking 3 glasses a day of low fat or fat free milk helps you look great. So grab a glass and get in the game."  David Beckham is standing shirtless in front of a gray background with grey jeans on. The color scheme is simple but sleek. The photo itself is very simple. It is just him. I like the simplicity of it because if there was too much going on it would distract from the photo, and you wouldn't be as likely to notice that he has a milk mustache.I think that the intended audience is mainey women but it can play to almost all people. Women notice David Beckham shirtless, parents notice that milk is healthy for you and children see their favorite soccer star drinks milk, which makes they want to buy milk.

I think this ad uses pathos, ethos and logos. When think of logos I think of logic. This ad represents logic because of the facts it gives. Milk makes people healthier and makes you look great. Pathos is connected to your emotions and interests. Kemps strategically used David Beckham so that when people saw this ad they would want to buy milk. Men see him as a cool, professional and might want to be like him.  I also think it is pathos directed towards women. David Beckham is beautiful and when you put a photo of him with his shirt off on an advertisement, it makes women like the product. Ethos represents the truthfulness of the product. A lot of people recognize David and idolize him. If he drinks milk and is a professional athlete, milk must be magical and do great things for people.

I think this ad was someone persuasive in getting me to buy their product. I like David Beckham and i think he is very attractive so the photo appeals to me but it isn't super obvious what the ad is for. All we know is that is 'got milk', that David drinks it and that it is healthy for you. It is hard to fit every detail into a photo advertisement so I think they did a good job using their pathos, ethos and logos to persuade me into buying their product. 

My next advertisement is an ad promoting Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner. It involves Joe Mauer. It starts with Joe and a teammate talking about Joe not having dandruff because of the shampoo and progresses to Mauer surrounded by girls playing with his hair, all thanks to wonderful Head and Shoulders shampoo. I think that the target audience is men. It is saying that if you use Head and Shoulders you will get girls. I think they get men to buy their product but they leave out women. Head and Shoulders is a shampoo and conditioner for women too.

This commercial uses logos and ethos to get people to buy their product. It uses logos because Joe says it gives him a healthy scalp, great looking hair and it stops dandruff. People with dandruff would be sure to buy it. It uses ethos by using Joe Mauer. Joe Mauer has great hair, and if he is saying that Head and Shoulders is great he must be right. I mean, it is Joe Mauer we're talking about. You have to believe him.

I really like this commercial. I think it is greatly put together because it mixes up famous people, facts and humor. I love Joe Mauer a lot. He is my favorite athlete so this persuades me because he is in it. Also it makes me laugh, which is something that I think all commercials should have.

Blog Post #2 - Happiness

According to dictionary.com, the official definition of happiness is the state of being delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing. I can agree with this definition. When i think of happiness I think of my family, sports and camping/canoeing. I am very happy when I am with my family or playing softball, volleyball or basketball. During the spring, the sun is shining, I am outside and i am doing the thing that I love. When I get a hit or throw someone out at a base it is the best feeling. Or in basketball when I drain a three, SWISH and the crowd goes wild. Another time I am probably at my very happiest is when I am camping and canoeing in the Boundary Waters or Quetico. Just being outside all the time forces me to be happy. It is so beautiful. I love nature. There is no stress and you can be your true self to the few people you see.

 I like the idea of doing a happiness index. I don't think the happiest thing in life is having money or the best economy. If I was the leader of a country i would want my country to be as happy as they could in every possible way and to have people walking down the street smiling and being friendly to one another, not just to be rich. I think the best way to measure a nation's happiness is to do a mix of a happiness survey and an income survey. Money can make people happy but it also important to learn about what makes them the sad to stop those things from happening.


The story "I've Been Called A Luddite" is a story about a man who lives his life happily without technology. This man is a writer who hand writes his stories, goes out and buys one envelope at a time and mails everything. I think it implies that you do not need to have technology to be happy. I can understand where he is coming from and i agree with the idea that people don't need advanced things to be happy but I am not one of those people. I use technology daily, like right now for example blogging, and I think it is a very useful tool but I don't need it. I like to get away from it at times and just do everything with what you have from nature. A person can do things that are considered "old fashioned" and still do those things just as usefully.

When I think of happiness I do not think of technology. I think of doing the thing you love around the people you love, whether technology is involved or not. I believe that happiness is one of the most important things in a person's life.

Quetico Provincial Park, Canada

Quetico Provincial Park, Canada

Blog Post #1

My name is Natalie Holdahl and I am a junior at Washburn High School. I love sports, dolphins and Beyonce. I use a lot of technology in my life but it is mostly just the mainstream technology that a lot of people my age use. I have tv's at my house, an Iphone and a laptop. I think technology is a huge part of my life while I am at home. I am usually on my phone texting, using the internet or just playing games. When i get home I am on my laptop watching shows or movies on Netflix, on social media websites or doing homework with it. I use technology a lot but i am not addicted like some people. I am able to be without technology, and sometimes i think it is nice to get away. I go on camping trips during the summer and I am away from all media and technology. There is no drama from social media and you don't get sucked into the social world. I believe that technology is so important because it makes our everyday lives easier. It is easier to find information and to communicate.

In class we watched three commercial clips about beauty. One of the videos we watched was showing us how bad the beauty industry is with all the photoshopping, plastic surgery, and hating your body. It talked about how we should talk to our children before the beauty industry does and that it is killing our society. The next commercial was going against that commercial and mocking it. It was talking about how dove is taking palm oil and killing the forests and destroying this little girl's home. I agree that the beauty industry is hurting people in our society, especially teenage girls and killing self esteem.

Blog Post #6: Parent Interview

The hardest interview i have done has been the one with my own mother, Ann Holdahl. Knowing her so well already made it difficult to ask interesting questions. I also think it was hard to keep the interview professional because it was in such a comfortable setting.

When I first started the interview, I got pretty general answers. I would expect that from a stranger, but not from my own mom. She gave answers that seemed similar to the strangers I interviewed, like that family and friends matter but once we started going more into depth and got into the core of the interview it got more personal. She told me stories about growing up with 5 brothers, and I learned that her biggest dream she wants to accomplish in her lifetime is the same as mine, to travel.

Something that was great to learn is that my mom really loves and takes pride in her job. She is a Public Defender for Hennepin County, which is a lawyer for people who cannot afford to get their own lawyers. Her favorite part about her job is she gets to help other everyday. She got into talking about working with homeless, addicted and mentally ill criminals. It gets very hard, but she wouldn't change her job in a second because she is able to help people who would otherwise be hopeless. It was great to hear that my mom loves to do her job for other people, not for herself.

When i asked people "how does who you are differ from how you are perceived?" everyone had different answers but this one was the most unique one i have heard. When i asked my mom this question her answer was just "It doesn't." I was very thrown back and surprised by this answer. Most people thing everyone sees them differently than they truly are but my mom believes she shows everyone who she truly is and was very happy about it to.

Something that really sums up who Ann Holdahl is is "dog lover." She loves dogs and really showed me this in our interview.

When she told me she wanted to have our family dog, Rory, in her picture she decided to write "dogs are people too!" or her board i thought it was perfect in describing who she it. At home my mom talks to Rory almost as much as she does to me. She treats her like a human. She also told me that something she loves to do and is really relaxing and stress relieving for her is going on walks with our dog. Their will never be a time in her life when she doesn't own a dog.

Another thing this interview did was bring out a very goofy and silly side of my mom. She would laugh at all her responses and think of funny stories and answers to give me. She told me "to add in there that I dance JUST like Beyonce" and proceeded to dance and laugh very hard. She even made me ask my dog the questions while she responded, pretending my dog could talk.

This interview was great, but still challenging. It was hard to ask new questions to someone who was already so familiar to me. It was nice to talk to my mom in a professional setting because she told me things that I wouldn't normally hear. My mom is a very goofy, hard working person who loves to help other. Most of all, she is a family and dog lover and always will be. 

Blog Post #5: Fireman Mike

Fireman Mike:

On Friday, April 27, our class took a trip down Nicollet Ave to interview people for our blogs. While walking we realized we would be walking past the fire station. I thought that there would be some very interesting people there so we decided to make that our first interview. When we first walked in, there was a very nice fireman who opened the door for us. We told him about our project and he introduced us to Mike and said he would be the one doing the interview with us.

Right off the bat, Mike gave us very literal answers. When I asked him what he was, he said firefighter, as if it wasn't already obvious. When I looked up at him to expand, expecting him to give more answer but he just gave me a blank stare and said "next question!" The whole time we were talking to him he gave us general, answers that were not personal at all.

 It was time to take Mike's picture. We asked him where he wanted to pose and he had no opinion at all. I think this picture describes how the interview went. He wrote firefighter on his board, has on his gear and is standing near the firetruck. He was a literal person.

I think this project was very fun. It was nice to go explore the neighborhood and talk to people that you wouldn't normally talk to. I think it brought people out of their shell having them talk to strangers and I met some really nice people.

Blog Post #4: Mr. Sabur

Mr. Sabur has been a chemistry teacher for 27 years and has been teaching at Washburn High School since 1997. He has been my teacher all year but i have never talked to him in a professional, personal and interview themed way. It showed me a different side of him and helped me better understand him as a person, not just as a teacher.

Mr. Sabur is an African American male, but he converted to Islam. During our interview,  he spoke very strongly about prejudice. When I asked him, "does who you are differ from how you are perceived?" he responded with saying that people in our society today judge people too soon. We think we know people before we actually sit down and learn who they really are. Faruq Abdal-Sabur. When people look at him and learn his name, they automatically judge him. He has had others come up to him and ask where he is from. He was born in Florida. "I am American, just like you. Just because I practice Islam, doesn't mean I'm not American." he told me.

Mr. Sabur is a very passionate teacher and person. He said his goal in life is to help people that truly need help. He cares more about helping other than helping himself. When i heard this, I felt it deep down. It is nice to know that Mr. Sabur is a person who is willing to give everything they have for others.

This was a great interview to do. I took a person that I see everyday at school and talked to him in a different setting. It took something normal and let me see one of my teachers in a different light and I learned a lot of great things about him.

Blog Post #3: Peer Commenting

http://ashymama.blogspot.com/
 In Ashley Murphy's blog, Ashymama, she talks about the concept of otherness. She said "The way you view yourself should define who you are." I strongly agree with this. So many people today change for society. They see the way other people act or dress and try to become that person, especially in media. I think what Ashley is trying to say is that you shouldn't let society and other people shape who you are, it should be you who defines yourself.

Blog Post #2: Michael McKinney

"Never let your schooling interfere

with your education."

Michael McKinney is an intelligent, music loving 10th grader at Washburn High School. It was very interesting talking to Michael with given questions to discuss because it brought up topics that the two of us would not normally discuss.While I was talking with Michael, I learned that his is a big thinker. People see him as someone who is very into his schooling and is always working, but also as immature. That isn't all there is to him. He is studious, and can sometimes be a little immature, but he always makes a point to have fun. Michael's board read "Never let your schooling interfere with your education."- Mark Twain. I believe this quote is saying that there is other kinds of smart than just book smart. You need experiences to truly be educated, you can't rely only on what you learn in school. Talking to Michael led me to realize that Michael has strong beliefs, voices what he thinks and is very smart, in things other than just school. It was wonderful to learn more about Michael McKinney.

Blog Post #1: The Art of Photography

Option 3: The Art of Photography

Who owns the meaning of a photograph?  The subject?  The viewer?  Or, the artist?

Wing said, “I like when photographs are ambiguous.”  What does he mean by that?  Do you agree?  

How might a camera and a photograph “make the familiar unfamiliar”?  How might they help you to see in a new way?

What did Wing mean when he said, “When I am reading a photograph, I’m reading a story?”

What a “good” photograph?

The viewer and the artist own the meaning of a photograph. The artist is the one who puts out the original meaning of the photograph but each viewer has their own individual interpretation of each photograph.

 When an artist is taking a photograph or making a project they make it from their heart. When they take the photo they plan out each lighting and setting based on their personality. The artist will always know the meaning of the photograph and own that meaning because they are the one who created it and they are the one who knows just what it means.

The viewer also owns the meaning of the photograph. When the viewer is looking at a photograph they get to believe whatever they want about it. Everything is up for individual interpretation and every person sees a photograph differently. 

When looking at a photograph it is much more than just a picture. It is a story. There is a story behind every photograph and by looking at the smallest details you can learn something about the person, place or thing in that photo.