Infographic

Reflection
1. I thought that this topic would be interesting because both sides had many different points that could go either way for a great debate. It is also a big point of contention and heated topic in today’s political climate. I picked this side because many people would not think on this side, and I wanted to get a view on why the government acts this way and has this surveillance. I somewhat believe in this, but there are many downsides to this belief and I feel like there are a lot of flaws that could be exploited in an argument.
2. I think it was somewhat difficult to research just one side of the argument. I needed to find websites that were biased towards my position, and there were very few reliable sources that fit that description. It was hard to focus on just the one topic of research and stay consistent with all of it. It was easy to remain biased but is was hard to push through all of the negatives that my infographic could be pointed out from.
3. I felt that if my infographic had a darker color like it does, then it would fit much better with the material I presented. I found pictures of American theme and pictures relating to computers, because I felt like those two directly coincided with my topic. The biggest downside to my infographic is the lack of charts and graphs, because I just could not find any on the Internet that would have been effective and relevant.
4. I think my infographic is somewhat convincing, but it could have been improved in a major way. The first thing would have been actually figuring out how to work technology to post it onto blogger. It also does not help that there are no visuals to accompany my facts, and that the argument in itself did not really have statistics to go with it. I do think that the information I did present was effective and got people’s attention in many ways. It made a clear argument and pointed out reasons for why my side is right.

Narrators-2019

My favorite narrator out of any book I have read has to be Nick Carraway from the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book takes place in a rich New York neighborhood in the 1920’s where the narrator, Nick Carraway, is neighbors with the rich but mysterious Jay Gatsby, who constantly reaches out for a green light at the other side of the pier every night. As the story progresses, Nick learns more about Gatsby through their interactions and gets to know his true nature besides the one who throws crazy parties in his mansion almost every night. Nick is thrown right in the middle of a conflict that Gatsby has, and Nick is the one who gets a firsthand account into Gatsby’s true nature.

This narration by Nick Carraway is my favorite because he plays more of the role as a bystander who gets thrown into the turbulence of the 20’s. He tells the tale of an interesting development in the character and mystery of Jay Gatsby. I feel that other people will be drawn to Nick too because he is a character who seems relatable to most of the readers. Nick is an average guy who happens to live in a rich neighborhood for a summer, which can be understandable compared to a rich person who lives this as a daily life. He is also committed to finding the truth, which is the basis for what all readers want in a novel, especially one that is as intriguing as The Great Gatsby.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore Review

Griffin Neary
Mr. Davidson
Contemporary Literature Period 5
13 September 2019
AMDG
Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore Review
     
        Clay Jannon, a young unemployed man who is desperately looking for work, finds his need as a clerk at a bookstore. The owner of this all day bookstore is Mr. Penumbra, who Clay finds to have many secrets hidden. Unusual customers visiting the store seem to try to crack some sort of code, and Clay tries to get to the bottom of it through technology. With the help of Google tech guru Kat, he is able to create a 3D model of the store, including customers and an algorithm of what these customers will check out next. Impressed with his work, Clay soon sees a face, prompting him to see “The Founder”. Mr. Penumbra’s discovery of Clay’s accomplishment causes Clay to be sucked into a secret book society dedicated to cracking a code that holds something very valuable.
        The main character, Clay Jannon, is poorly written and his traits are inconsistent throughout the progression of the novel. Clay’s unfortunate layoff from New Bagel described in the beginning of the novel also gives a background of his knowledge of technology through him designing the website. However, he goes from designing a website which can be learned fairly easily, to somehow creating an advanced 3D model of a bookstore, also complete with an algorithm. Clay describes, “I transcribe more names, titles, and times from the logbook into my laptop. Then I start hacking” (Sloan 55). This concept that usually takes years of constant time on the computer is accomplished by Clay through Googling it and discerning the language code in minutes. While Clay is incredible at coding, his skills are nothing compared to that of Kat’s which makes his way of figuring things out inconsistent and also takes the things Kat does as something that can be picked up after a little practice. Clay’s mastery of a difficult skill is inconsistent with his seemingly curious clerk manner, and takes away from the characters who actually can code like Kat.
        While changing in setting can be a difficult thing for readers to follow along, Sloan crafts a comprehensible transition of setting that is vital to the story at the same time. The main setting takes place in San Francisco, but that quickly changes when Clay must travel to New York to meet Penumbra. The reason for bringing all of these characters to New York was to introduce the Unbroken Spine and how that society works. The change in setting also presents a contrast between the traditional nature of the society on the East, and the rising technological advancement that is happening in the West. This can be seen with Eric raging about the new books, “What is all of this? What is the meaning of this?” (Sloan 43). Eric, coming from the traditional ways of the East, cannot believe that Penumbra would make the minor mistake of selling new books in his store. This gives the readers a sharp introduction into the strictness of what the society will be and powerful forces that are in control of Penumbra’s operation in San Francisco from their headquarters in New York. The changing of setting gives new perspective into the plot of the book and is an area where Sloan can reveal the Unbroken Spine in a way that is relevant and understandable.
       Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore is a novel that must be read by a certain type of audience if it will gain good feedback. Readers who love a novel with strong support characters and a main character who saves the day at the very end, then this novel will be great. I would not recommend this book to readers who like one sole character who is in charge of all the situations and where there is only one destination for the setting. Despite all of this, the plot does have some very major twists and turns that I’m sure all readers would love. Overall I thought this was a great book to read, but it wasn’t an instant favorite of mine in a couple ways and could have done a better job in some areas.

Literacy Project Reflection

Griffin Neary
Mr. Davidson
Period 5
9-9-19
AMDG

Literacy Project Reflection

What I Chose

I chose the option of making a video project in order to advertise literacy in our school. I chose this over making a twitter promotion or creating a poster to hang around the school. The video was a sort of comical view on a traditional “cool” social setting. Instead of being made fun of for reading and having a passion for it, a random kid is bullied for not reading. These cool kids clearly have a deep appreciation for reading, and are offended by the fact that someone else just might not share that. This sarcastic video is something that students can relate to and is more visually appealing than the other project choices. The students are drawn to the humor and joke of the video and will be a fun way to recruit more people to have an appreciation for reading.

Project

Why I Chose This Project 

I chose to present the promotion of literacy in this way because I felt like it was a way for students to feel engaged into this topic. Although presenting historical authors would seem like a great way to inspire reading, it wouldn’t be that effective for this audience. Students want to see something more casual and creative, and I feel that this video accomplished that. In order to add some inspiration and positivity, I put in a quote from a modern author and my own little message. These two additions also go along with the overall comedic and optimistic feel of the video and are a good way to tie the loose ends of the project. I had to choose how I would advertise my project, which I did not do a very good job of. I also had to choose the setting of the shooting and who would be in it. I thought it would be fitting that the setting and the characters would be directly correlated with U of D. I think this may have been one of the most crucial parts of the video in terms of being able to relate to the students at the school.
Reflection 
I think that for the most part my project was adequate. I envisioned this project to be something different, but I’m satisfied with the end product. I think the amount of work I put into it is a reflection of the quality of the project. One of the main challenges of the project was trying to set up the technology and uploading it. Trying and sampling different editing apps for the video was a huge time consumer and took a lot of work to get the video just right. After trying these editing apps, all of them decreased the video quality, which seems like something that may be out of my control. Finding people to volunteer for being in the video also was a big challenge and I’m glad I was able to round up a group of people who were dedicated in their roles. As I have mentioned, advertising was a struggle and is the biggest area of this project that I failed in. Next time I will need to use more social media to expand people’s interest in the video. I think this project has served its purpose and more people will eventually see this and have a renewed sense of the importance of reading. I definently think that over time the effectiveness of this type of project will only increase. Using videos is a concept that peaks people’s interest and has an effect that translates well into a younger audience such as the students at U of D. 

Literacy Video Project

https://youtu.be/tftmc6VftFI