Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to everyone! And thank you to the Wednesday student who had his entire posse do a "drive by" Merry Christmas while I was outside doing pullups.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
To Give Up My Seat Or Not...
So I was sitting on a regular seat (not a priority seat) on the MRT.* I had my backpack, my basketball, and a hot coffee with me. (I was not drinking the coffee. I see people bring drinks onto the MRT all the time, so I assume drinks are okay as long as you don't drink them while you are on the MRT.)
On the way home, an older man and his wife entered the train. The old man was wearing a shirt and pants that were made of the same material. The shirt and pants both were black with grey stripes, and like many old people (and one of my students), his pants were pulled way up, past his navel. He looked kind of funny. He had a piece of luggage on wheels. I would guess that he was in his mid- to late 60s at most. He didn't seem physically decrepit. His wife seemed a bit less rugged physically. One of her eyes didn't work well.
The old man stood in front of me for one stop, and then he moved to the glass partition next to my seat and leaned against it. I wondered if I should offer my seat. His wife was far away; she was standing and holding onto the bar on the ceiling. She seemed fine with where she was. I thought that I posed a significant risk to other train riders if I were to stand up. There was a good chance that I would drop my basketball or spill my coffee. Comparatively, the old man didn't seem at risk of falling down or getting tired.
The two women next to me on the row of seats talked to each other animatedly. The woman right next to me had two bags full of bakery goods. The woman to her right was unencumbered. The man in the seat across from me was studying; all he had was a book and a small bag.
Despite the inconvenience it would have caused me, I strongly considered giving my seat to the old man. Should I have? Should someone near me have offered the seat instead of me? It's strange that a situation like this can seem so difficult. (I also felt bad when I got up to leave, for the old man immediately took my seat, as if he were waiting all the time for me to get up.) I'm sure, though, that, had I given the man my seat, I would have spilled hot coffee on his wife and perhaps hit her in the face with my basketball on accident, so I think I made the right choice.
*Starting a sentence with "so" is a form of storytelling "in media res" or "in the middle of things." This mean you start telling the story after things have already started to happen. In this case, I start my story after already getting on the MRT; normally, I would start by telling you, "I got on the MRT."
On the way home, an older man and his wife entered the train. The old man was wearing a shirt and pants that were made of the same material. The shirt and pants both were black with grey stripes, and like many old people (and one of my students), his pants were pulled way up, past his navel. He looked kind of funny. He had a piece of luggage on wheels. I would guess that he was in his mid- to late 60s at most. He didn't seem physically decrepit. His wife seemed a bit less rugged physically. One of her eyes didn't work well.
The old man stood in front of me for one stop, and then he moved to the glass partition next to my seat and leaned against it. I wondered if I should offer my seat. His wife was far away; she was standing and holding onto the bar on the ceiling. She seemed fine with where she was. I thought that I posed a significant risk to other train riders if I were to stand up. There was a good chance that I would drop my basketball or spill my coffee. Comparatively, the old man didn't seem at risk of falling down or getting tired.
The two women next to me on the row of seats talked to each other animatedly. The woman right next to me had two bags full of bakery goods. The woman to her right was unencumbered. The man in the seat across from me was studying; all he had was a book and a small bag.
Despite the inconvenience it would have caused me, I strongly considered giving my seat to the old man. Should I have? Should someone near me have offered the seat instead of me? It's strange that a situation like this can seem so difficult. (I also felt bad when I got up to leave, for the old man immediately took my seat, as if he were waiting all the time for me to get up.) I'm sure, though, that, had I given the man my seat, I would have spilled hot coffee on his wife and perhaps hit her in the face with my basketball on accident, so I think I made the right choice.
*Starting a sentence with "so" is a form of storytelling "in media res" or "in the middle of things." This mean you start telling the story after things have already started to happen. In this case, I start my story after already getting on the MRT; normally, I would start by telling you, "I got on the MRT."
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Discussion / Writing Topic
A lot of students introduce "pop music" as their favorite music. The "pop" in pop music simply means popular. So, in essence, "pop music" simply means "music that is popular". Do you think that "pop music" can be a genre? Or does a song belong to another genre and is then also popular? Do popular songs--regardless of the other genre they belong to--all have similar characteristics?
Consider how to argue in favor of "pop music" as a genre; then think about how to argue that "pop music" is not a genre but simply a description of a song's popularity.
If you say, "My favorite music is pop music," are you saying, "I like what everyone else likes"?
Consider how to argue in favor of "pop music" as a genre; then think about how to argue that "pop music" is not a genre but simply a description of a song's popularity.
If you say, "My favorite music is pop music," are you saying, "I like what everyone else likes"?
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