Textbook Notes (p.4-14)

Historical Background

• Britain was conquered by many civilizations. First the Celts who were overpowered by the technologically advanced Romans who remained the rulers of the land for over 300 years
• Britain was then conquered by the Anglo-Saxons from Germany
• The Romans adopted Christianity as the religion of their civilization
• A long time after the Romans, the Danes from the east made their way through England and conquered the northern, eastern, and central regions of England
• The Normans also squeezed themselves in England and when King Edward died, William of Normandy took the throne
• Britain took on a feudal society :
• 
• The plantagenets ended up taking over the rule of England and kept feudalism as the structure of the government
• as time went on, the lower classes began to revolt and gain some respect and at least money for the jobs they were doing

Literature of the Period

• Anglo-Saxon literature was mainly poetry
• A popular example would be Beowulf but the author is unknown due to poor record keeping
• Many different works were produced from the Anglo-Saxons in mainly Latin and some in Old English
• Geoffrey Chaucer was a great poet from the Medieval Ages, he produced works that portrayed the life and times of the Middle Ages, knights doing good deeds, and romance
• Many plays were made after stories from the bible
• Johann Gutenburg created a printing press through typing which sparked new literary works
• Chaucer was just below and aristocrat in terms of social class which gave him a great viewpoint for his poetry
• Chaucer changed the game of literature for the Middle Ages
• He wrote about things that were compassionate and included humor in his work
• A great Celtic Hero named King Arthur was highly written about in Medieval Times as a heroic and courageous icon
• Historians aren't completely sure if King Arthur ever existed and some think he was just a fictional character like Spider-Man or Huckleberry Finn
• Tales of King Arthur spread all throughout Europe, changing the image of him
• the ballad was another popular expression of love or admiration
• A famous ballad is of Robin Hood, a bandit-like character that robbed the rich to help the poor

The Changing English Language

• around 449 B.C., the Celts, Danes, Angles, Normans, and Romans all occupied around the same area in Britain began mixing their languages together in a Frankenstein-like creation called "Englisc"
• After about 100 years, the Normans took over more of England and introduced more French influences on the growing language

Preparing to Read The Seafarer, The Wanderer, The Wife's Lament

• Britain's Anglo-Saxon's period had lots of entertainment in the forms of plays or storytellings
• many stories came about from legends or tall tales told down from generation to generation like the Native Americans
• In the Anglo-Saxon society, women had few rights, and men were the more dominant gender

"Blurred Lines" Parody

Thoroughly enjoying Weird Al Yankovic's new album. So educational! "Word Crimes" By Weird Al Yankovic

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

"Right to Your Opinion" Socratic Seminar Notes

• Though you may have an opinion, it is never valid to the argument
• You don't have the right to your opinion because what matters in an argument are facts
• Anytime someone tries to argue with you by using opinions, just be like:

• Other rights such as your rights to life is very debated
• people have a right not to kill others, but does that mean that they also have to make sure you are healthy, well-nourished, safe, ect.?
• if someone starts to cross the street while a car is speeding down the road at them, is it your duty to save them? 
• I believe yes in the moral sense but perhaps in this discussion over rights, no
• You would not only put yourself at risk, you would be "intruding" on their opinion that it is a safe time to cross the street
• Then again, the facts matter, not the opinions, therefore, you should save them
• BUT
• it is not your duty to do so
• Question: If someone starts to cross the street while a car is speeding down the road at them, should you save them or watch them get splattered all over the road?
• Answer: Yes
• Matters concerning the right to health are very similar 
• If someone enjoys injecting themselves with heroin, why shouldn't he/she be allowed to do so?
• The argument here is "It's my body I can do what I want with it."
• The law says no though, and society wants some freedom
• These kinds of things intrigue me because I think that you should be able to do whatever you want with your body because nobody makes the choices other than you, and you aren't affecting others by doing it
• Furthermore, you have to pay the consequences of your choices, no one else does

"The Laughing Heart" Recitation

"The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski

Reflections on Week 1

1. The only thing that might inhibit my participation on class is my sport. It is unlikely, but their might be days where I will have to miss school for tournaments, games, etc. Other than that, I am completely ready to participate to the max.
2. The greatest learning experience I've ever had was perhaps at the swim prelims last year. It was hosted at the Arroyo Grande pool and I had been training all season for the 200m Free. I had to get a time under 2:00 and my best time was a 2:05.7. I also promised my coach I would do it in under 2:00 because he needed me to score points for the team at the meet. So much fear and preparation went into the race and when I finally swam it, i got a 1:58.9. I learned that I could believe in myself and accomplish my goals as long as I could put in the work necessary.
3. In this class, I am most excited about all the collaboration we as students can use to our advantage on all the assignments we are given. I am concerned about keeping up with the blog, but I think I can handle it. I am most interested in learning about other topics like "The Right To Your Opinion" and how what we most commonly think isn't always true. I am also excited to learn how to become a better writer.

Vocab #1

adumbrate	verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of ex: I will adumbrate the movie to my friends and ruin the whole story for them.
apotheosis	noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal ex: Jestun's lawn is an apotheosis compared to his neighbors'.
ascetic	adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline ex: McGargol's ascetic attitude really put a damper on all the fun we were having at the party.
bauble	noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing ex: The attentive fan put Lil' Wayne on blast for wearing baubles all over himself.
beguile	verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness ex: Brie was beguiled by Ben's big bent broom. Weird.
burgeon	verb grow and flourish ex: The sweet smelling Musa had burgeoned in just a few weeks.
complement	noun something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to ex: The sharp cheddar cheese was the perfect complement to the juicy quarter-pound burger.
contumacious	adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient ex: Willy's contumacious personality made his parents regret ever meeting each other.
curmudgeon	noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas ex: They start out young and innocent, but seven decades go by like that-and you're left with a curmudgeon.
didactic	adj. instructive (especially excessively) ex: The didactic art teacher drove the students mad.
disingenuous	adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness ex: Don't be disingenuous, people want to know the real you. Ha!
exculpate	verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges ex: The criminal didn't even try to exculpate after being caught red-handed eating all the Krabby Patties in the food storage locker.
faux pas	noun  an embarrassing social mistake ex: Johnny's faux pas was noticed by EVERYONE.
fulminate	noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely ex: The perfect hit with the proton cannon from Luke's X-Wing caused the Death Star to fulminate and scatter debris all over space.
fustian	noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing ex: The only thing supporting Bane's weight as he dangled over the edge of the cliff was a fustian.
hauteur	noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors ex: She looked at him with the hauteur of someone who is accustomed to being instantly obeyed.
inhibit	verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority ex: My sister must inhibit her data usage or else she will run out before the month is up.
jeremiad	noun a long and mournful complaint ex: The parent's jeremiad was a huge waste of time for the teacher.
opportunist	adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle ex: It takes a true opportunist to think it is possible to correctly guess how many licks it takes to get to the center of a toostie pop.
unconscionable	adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience ex: His decision to swim across Crater Lake was unconscionable.

I CAN READ!

My time was 4'40'' with a whopping 23 mistakes! Not for those who are fainthearted, that's for sure.