Monday, May 16, 2022

Rejecting Dollhood

 This is my second project for the class called Drama. In our second unit called Doll, we talked about what dolls are, how they're portrayed in fiction, and in real life. We also read A Doll's House where we read about Nora and her experiences in a world of doll's. Dolls themselves could be women who are possessed by someone, treated some way by specific people, and many other different reasons. In the play, we were able to see Nora struggle with these norms put onto her which ended with her wanting to leave them for something better. We also went to go see The Tragedy of Christophe which talked about racism, slavery, and many other topics that we still deal with in our lives. We also had a talk back with the actors and got to learn about what they enjoyed most throughout making the play. For this action project we were assigned to create a small play that was supposed to be a continuation after A Doll's House. My play's title is Rejecting Dollhood and it talks about how Nora has changed after A Doll's House. By this point, Nora has became a more independent women and has self doubts about writing a book about her stories of being portrayed by others. Nora best friend Marcella, is a Matron who has lived independently since her husband's death. My gender roles mainly fit how it was back in the 1870's and the world that Nora lived in. Because of that, I will be portraying myself as a different person who will help nora with other things.

Here's my video below:


Here's my Script:




Throughout this course I thought it was interesting looking at social norms and how they can be portrayed in different ways. I also enjoyed writing an original play so I know how to work in celtx in the near future. I don't usually write myself into the stories I create so this was something new. One thing that was difficult was how to wrap up the play in a telling way. Sometimes it took me a while to figure out how to write on the platform at the start. If I was to do this again I might try to pick a different women to have as my second character besides Marcella because it might be eaiser to write about a women I have more information about.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Shin Splints and how to treat them


 Treating Shin Splints


"new frisbee wrap" by Phil Denton is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.

This is my second action project for my class, Cure. Throughout this unit titled Treatment, we’ve been learning about how different treatments work inside of the body. Some of those medications are analgesics, antibiotics, and laxatives. We also learned about the differences between substances, drugs, and medications and why people might take them at one point or the other. We also did an experiment with different antibiotics to see which ones might be the best to fight germs. After the experiment, we went over conic sections and even went to MSI for a heart diagnostic lab. Leading to our action project, we are supposed to research a symptom that might happen in the body and figure out what types of treatments would be best to cure that symptom. I decided to do shin splints as my symptom and wanted to present it through a slideshow. Here’s a link to my slideshow below:

 

Overall, I did enjoy working on this action project because it pushed me to do a lot of interesting learning how different treatments may affect the body in good ways and bad. One of the difficult things about this action project was that sometimes it was very hard to find good information for certain treatments and medications. This caused me to look on more websites besides the first few I researched. If I was to do this project again, I might consider looking into a different symptom to try and get new results.


Sources: 

  • Bone, M. and J. T. (2021, August 29). What ice packs to use for injuries. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/does-it-matter-what-type-of-ice-pack-you-use-for-an-injury/ 

  • Do you have a go-to pharmacy? (n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.goodrx.com/ibuprofen?dosage=800mg&form=tablet&label_override=ibuprofen&quantity=30&sort_type=popularity 

  • Orthoinfo. (2019, August 19). Shin splints - orthoinfo - Aaos. OrthoInfo. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/shin-splints/ 

  • Mayo Clinic researchers. (2021, October 16). Shin Splints. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shin-splints/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354110 

  • Wheeler, MD, T. (n.d.). Shin splints: Causes, treatment, recovery, and prevention. WebMD. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/shin-splints 


Thursday, May 5, 2022

Arts and Crafting Quitapenas



Arts and Crafting Quitapenas


This is my action project for my Spanish class. In the last few weeks, we’ve been learning about how to use the Spanish preterit, present tense, and describing people in different ways using the pretirct. We also learned about how to describe different stores and characteristics of different people. With this action project the goal was to create a quitapena doll using arts and crafts materials. After creating the doll we had to describe the doll’s characteristics and other things about it.

What I found most challenging about this project was creating the actual doll itself. My sample drawing came out completely different than what I actually created so that was a huge change. Even though it took a lot of time, I'm most proud of how I was able to make it turn out pretty well. 

Here's my concept drawing:


RBL,Quitapena concept drawing, 2022


Here’s my completed Quitapena below:


RBL,Quitapena doll, 2022


La muñeca Quitapena lleva pantalones verdes, camisa morada, dos zapatos azules, reloj rojo, bufanda amarilla y rosada

La camisa morada estȧ hecha de seda

Los pantalones verdes estȧn hechas de telas blandas.

La Quitapenas escribe

A La Quitapenas le gusta reloj rojo

La Quitapenas muestra que estȧ feliz

La Quitapena bebe agua del la menana

La Quitapena estuvo confianzas

Monday, May 2, 2022

Relationship Review - Othello and Iago

 Relationship Review - Othello and Iago

 

This is my first blog post for my Healthy Relationships in Shakespeare class. In this class, we’ve been learning about different character relationships in Shakespeare plays. Throughout this unit we did this by reading the play Othello. In the play there are many different relationships between lovers, acquaintances, and frenemies. As the play goes on, we get to see how these relationships clash with each other leading to tragedy. The purpose of this action project is to find the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships in Othello. In this blog, I’ll be looking into the relationship between Othello and Iago. I’ll also be looking at how that affects the rest of the play.


"2 hearts in love" by Leonard J Matthews is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.


Now, before I summarize Othello, let’s understand some factors for a healthy relationship. 


Communication - In a relationship, talking to one another about personal concerns or issues is important to see someone else's thoughts, or what’s on their mind.


Acceptance - Accepting one another for who they are such as their physical and emotional perspectives.


Time - Making time in a relationship is critical because if a person can’t spend time with another, the relationship will slowly fail. 


Respectful Conflicts - Everyone is going to have arguments here and there, the important thing is being able to understand the other person's side first before jumping towards conclusions. 


Enjoyment - Be able to enjoy having fun with a partner. If someone isn’t able to, that should be communicated in some way.


Now that we know a few things needed for a successful relationship, let’s summarize Othello, and see how this relationship is different. 


"Othello" by Portland Center Stage at The Armory is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.


The play starts with a conversation between two soldiers named Rodrigo and Iago. They become jealous of their leader, a black general named Othello for secretly marrying a beautiful white woman named Desdemona. Desdemona’s father Barbantio, finds out that Desdemona married Othello. Barbantio then has the couple explain their love, but Barbantio warns Othello to watch Desdemona and uses his father daughter relationship with her as an example. Iago was enraged before this because Othello promoted a different soldier named Cassio instead of himself. Iago then decides to set up a plan that would end in the deaths of the Moor (Othello), and Desdemona. So Iago goes on to lie, manipulate, and torture everyone around him in order to fullfil his goal. Once Othello realizes that he’s been manipulated by Iago for the entire story it’s all too late. Desdemona, Rodrigo, and Emilia all end up dying because of Iago. So, Othello stabs Iago and then takes his own life. After these events, Cassio becomes the new general and the story ends.


In Othello, Iago is Othello’s right hand man who constantly throws false information into his face. Because Iago exploited Othello, it caused his downfall in the story. Iago’s right hand man relationship with Othello is not healthy. This is because Iago wasn’t able to accept that he didn’t get promoted, Iago always gave very vague information to Othello about his relationship with Desdemona, and Iago exploited Othello with false “wisdom” causing him to jump to conclusions. 


"othello-iago" by stef wu is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.


My first reason for why Othello and Iago’s relationship wasn't healthy is because Iago couldn’t accept the reality of his situation. This shows up at the start of the play when Iago talks with Rodrigo about what he should do to get Desdemona to notice him. After Rodrigo leaves, Iago plots, “ The Moor is of free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by th’ noce As asses are. I have’t. It is engend’red. Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 399). At this moment Iago was filled with salt because Cassio received a promotion from Othello which Iago thought he deserved more. This caused Iago to experience  jealousy, rage, and many other feelings. These feelings are what caused Iago to start his plan to kill Cassio and destroy Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Because this anger fueled him, it led to the tragedies at the end. Now this could’ve been easily dealt with if Iago had just told Othello how he felt in the first place, rather than plotting Othello’s death behind his back. 


My second point regarding why their relationship is unhealthy is because Iago threw false information into Othello’s face. Let's look at an example of how they interacted with each other. In Act Three Scene Three, Iago told Othello that, “One of this kind is Cassio. In sleep I heard him say, “Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our love”; And then, sir would he gripe and wring my hand; Cry, “O sweet creature!”( Act  3, scene 3, line 418 ). This quote is an example of how Othello and Iago interacted because it shows how Iago would only bring information to Othello about Cassio and Desdemona. Othello didn’t look to others to confirm the information about his own relationship with Desdemona. This also illustrates the fact that Othello many times referred to Iago as “Honest Iago” even though Iago was manipulating Othello the whole time.


This is Othello after slapping Desdemona: "Othello, Lodovico, Desdemona, and Gratiano" by Mobtown Players is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.


The last point demonstrates why Othello and Iago’s relationship isn't healthy. Iago exploited Othello with false “wisdom” causing him to jump to conclusions.. Our example of this is in Act four Scene One when Othello states, “O devil, devil! If that each earth could teem with a woman's tears, Each drop she fails would prove a crocodile. Out of my sight!” (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 245). This quote takes place after Othello dismisses Desdemona because he thinks she’s cheated with Cassio when in reality, she hasn’t. Iago’s words cause Othello to jump to the conclusion of her cheating which leads to him killing her because of rage and jealousy. At this moment, if Othello could have communicated his issue with Desdemona more clearly instead of just acting out on his assumptions based on Iago’s lies to him he might have saved his marriage. If Othello did ask around about this situation, he could have found out Iago was manipulating him rather than just taking in all the information Iago gave to him.


In conclusion, Othello and Iago’s boss and right hand man relationship wasn’t healthy. Iago gave false information to Othello which caused Othello to make complete turnarounds in his behavior. Additionally, Iago wasn’t able to accept his spot in the first place.


__________________________________________________________________________


I did enjoy doing this project because it opened my eyes to how I might look at new relationships in the future, and improve the relationships I have with some of my friend’s and family members. If I were to do this project again I might look at a different relationship or do this in a new format. 


Sources:


  • 5 essentials for a healthy relationship. Health & Wellness Services. (2021, March 12). Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://www.colorado.edu/health/5-essentials-healthy-relationship 

  • Person. (2015, January 27). Relationships in othello. independent. Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/relationships-in-othello-30940458.html#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20personal%20relationship%20between,be%20entirely%20loyal%20to%20him. 



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