Rook Chess Piece

In the second unit of the course Rapid Prototyping, we studied Riemann sums, Conic sections, Forced perspective, Functions, Visible human project, PLA plastic, ABS plastic and learned how the 3D printer works. The things we focused more on 3D printing, how it works, what parts does it have and what kind of plastic the printer uses. We talked a lot about Forced perspective and how viewing something from different angles makes you see different things. Also learning about the visible human project was one of the key point of this project because it slices up the human body and takes a picture of every slice. For our action project, we were assigned a chess piece to create. I was assigned the rook with my partner. We went thought the process of innovating or creating something.  We went through the sketch process, the first clay model, the cardboard model and finally the end product 3D model. During this project, I had difficulties with getting the clay look like a rook and creating my piece on Tinkercad because every time I turned the view the pieces weren't on top of each other. I am proud of my 3D print and my Prezi.

Life Is Easier With Technology

In the course Rapid prototyping, in the first unit we studied how to calculate distance, what is a 3D graph and how to make one. We al so learned about machines that makes our lives easier for example, the silhouette cameo, the water jet and the laser cutter. For our action project we choose two letters from the alphabet and choose two number 1-5. I choose the letter lowercase "k" and "l" and I choose the numbers 2 and 5. According to the numbers that was the materials we has to use or incorporate in our letters. I got vinyl and fabric, but last minute the fabric wasn't able to be used so I change to cardstock. During this project we had to create the letter twice one made by hand and the other using the machine cameo. I had fun doing this project and I am proud of my letter "k."

Why is there traffic in Chicago?

In the third unit of the course Rhetoric we began studying how rhetoric can e used to unite people around a single cause, as the colonist began to do leading up to the Revolution in the America. Our last Action project, we chose a social issue and chose a way to represent it through an art form. I chose the issue of better roads because I am driven every where and there's always traffic because of construction going on around the city. I chose to make a screen print to make stickers, which have a construction sign in the background with words saying, “Expect Delays In Our CITY.” Doing this project was difficult for me because it’s something that I relate to, but there isn’t much information about it. Also the screenprint was something I have never done before, so it was a difficult and precise process. I learned how to screenprint and I enjoyed making art.

KIS. Sticker. 2015

Better Roads
KIS
Screen, Paint, labels, printer, slogan, sign
2in by 3in
October 20, 2015

I am KIS and I am bringing attention to better roads for drivers who use the highway a lot. I chose this topic because I drive a lot on the highways and on many occasions there have been traffic because of construction on an exit, which also causes detours. I don’t like that because I believe we can get to our destination quicker when the roads are fixed, smooth, and fast. Potholes and long construction jobs on the streets create traffic and pollution. This does not apply to everyone, but it does apply to people who drive everyday on the highways. Traffic creates headaches, people get impatient, frustrated and their hypertension can go way up. If the exit you have to take is closed for construction and you have to take a detour, that takes more time and makes you late.

When it comes to potholes, people have to go over them slowly and each car passes,and until it’s your turn you get frustrated and want to get out of the highway and go to the street. But it’s the same maybe even worse because the potholes are bigger or there are more. “Chicago drivers lose an average of 70 hours a year because of traffic” (Medill News). This issue doesn’t just affect individuals, but cost the city a lot of money as a whole “All the congestion on Chicago-area roads sucked up more than $6 billion in fuel in 2011” (WBEZ).

In my project I used the appeals pathos when connecting to my audience and getting them to reflect on it, if they haven't already. Logos when giving facts about the traffic in Chicago and what causes it. My whole project is a hypophora because my title is a question and my project answers it and extends on it.

To express many people's frustrations with city’s streets, traffic and construction work, I decided to use a street artform. I made stickers that have a construction sign in the background and words that say, “Expect Delays In Our CITY.” I used screen printing to print my words on my labels. I chose to make stickers because it’s an easy and powerful way to get my message across by putting in places that are popular and where people won’t miss seeing them. I plan to put my stickers in busy places like malls and bus stops.

KIS. Sticker. 2015

Bentley, Chris. “When is Chicago-area traffic the worst?” WBEZ. Jan 9, 2015. Web. Oct 20, 2015.

Tekippe, Abe. “The Anatomy of a traffic jam.” Medill Reports Chicago. Feb 16, 2011. Web. Oct 20, 2015.

Vanessa's Bike

In the second unit of the course Design and Engineering we studied gear ratios, the power rule, area, volume, slopes, derivatives, potential energy and kinetic energy. We also learned about the parts of a bike, types of bikes and what impact they have on the rider. All of these concepts are hard in their own way, but I was able to pull through with extra help. We focused a lot on bikes because this course is about innovating, meaning that we are going to innovate bikes. The FE's that we had like going to the bike shop, Dyson and Alan were very helpful because we not only learned about bikes, but we learned some history of it, how to make things and the process of building something new. For our action project we worked in partners, and were assigned a person who bikes everyday and that needs a new bike. I got Vanessa who takes her brother every morning to a daycare before going to school. We needed to innovate a bike that fits her needs and make a prototype of it. During this project I had difficulty making the prototype and I learned pre-calculus. If you want to know more about this awesome bike please look down below for more details about it.

KIS & TS. Sketch. 2015

KIS & TS. Vanessa's bike. 2015.

In this unit we studied the wheel in motion, what energy it creates before and after (potential energy and kinetic energy), ratios, velocity, mass, weight, speed and the formulas that go with them. The purpose of this project is to innovate or create a whole new bike for someone. We were assigned people and we got Vanessa.Vanessa is a 17 year old, she lives by the United Center and she bikes 4 miles to school. Everyday when she goes to school she has to drop off her baby brother at a daycare then she goes to school. She takes roads under the train so it’s loud, there are many potholes and she leaves her bike in front of her house locked to a pole because she doesn’t have space to put it in. I am proud of our final design; it meets Vanessa's needs and had some cool upgrades that we added. In the process of making this project I learned that a bike’s frame doesn't have to be traditional, it can be any shape but it just needs to be stable, hold things together and distribute the weight evenly. Also technology is being included into bikes which I didn’t know, but I like. Also the aerodynamic bikes are cool because it makes you gain more speed and the material it’s made out of is comfortable.

KIS & TS. Bike Structure. 2015

The bike that we created for Vanessa has a shield protector for the baby in the back and a comfortable seat. It has mountain bike tires for the potholes she goes through everyday. It has a thick wire inside the frame so it can lock between the bike and the pole so no one can steal it. It also has a basket in front for Vanessa's book bag or anything else. It provides a gel seat and gel handles for the long bike ride and it has three different ways she can grab the handlebar so she can accommodate to however her hands feel. From the interview I conducted my friend said “Bullhorn handles are the most effective but many say drop handles look the best.” Our bike also has a soundproof shield for her baby brother when they ride under the tracks. Vanessa should trust our design because it’s modern, it helps her in her daily routine and it will make her life easier so she can focus on important things. Getting to the math behind a bicycle, Vanessa takes 23 minutes to get to school. Vanesa would take 10.43mph (miles per hour) and 4.66 mps (meters per second). The wheel’s diameter is 28 in. and the circumference of the wheel is 87.92 in. The wheel will rotate 2882 times during her journey and the model that we built is 14 times smaller than an actual bike. For the gears the bike has a small cog in back and big cog in in front because that way she can decide at what speed she wants to go in order to get a smooth ride and the gear ratio is 1:2, there is 30 teeth in the small gear and 60 teeth in the big gear. In terms of energy Vanessa has more potential energy when she is on top of a hill and has more kinetic energy when she goes down a hill. In the process of innovating it was really hard to come up with a way to make the loud train noises go away when a train passes because we didn’t want to transform the bike into a car so I decided that Vanessa can handle the noise but her baby brother can’t because babies have sensitive ears. We created a sound-proof shield around the baby's seat so he doesn’t hear the noises and it protects him.

KIS & TS.Over view. 2015.

High School

In the second unit of the course Rhetoric we sturdied history. We looked at Columbus discovery, we read his diaries and we read some different point of views articles. Some people don't like Columbus day because he treated the Natives brutally and they suggest to change the name to New Discover, Native day and similar things. We also read the doctrine of discovery that allowed people to "discover lands" meaning conquer other lands that aren't Christians. We had an activity where we had to write a paragraph writing if we like Columbus day or not. This is a big controversy and we saw people taking action on how it shouldn't be named Columbus day. For our action project we chose a speech, song or poem and we analyzed it using the rhetorical techniques. I chose a song that focused on isolation because I feel like that is a topic that everyone can connect to and has gone through.

Super Pickaxe

In the first unit of the course Design and Engineering, we learned lots of math. For example we learned the rates equation and formulas for volume and area. We learned about what is a lever, a wedge and an inclined plane and their purpose, as well as vectors, Trigonometry and the equation for work. Leading towards our action project we interviewed a gardener and I interviewed my dad. We interviewed them to see which tools they like, which ones they don't like and which ones they prefer. We also went to a Home Depot for an FE and there we learned about gardening tools, how they have improved over time and what they are used for. For our action project we picked a tool from Home Depot and our challenge was to modify it for the elderly to use. I chose the pickaxe because it was interesting and no one else seemed to notice it. It was a big challenge to figure out how to make the pickaxe lighter, but that still had the same effect to break things and I am proud of my final design.

KIS&WV(2015)Storyboard 1.

KIS&WV(2015)Storyboard 2.

The purpose of this assignment is to modify a gardening tool for the elderly. My tool is a pickaxe and I brainstormed ideas for the elderly to use without getting hurt. For this project empathy played a huge part in designing for someone else. My definition for empathy is understanding someone else's feelings like if you are in their shoes and empathy relates to the project by taking into consideration the elderly and their needs. From the interviews I have conducted I learned that tools help and can have many uses even if one doesn't like the tool. I also learned that gardening is never over. My interviewee said “A tool I find helpful is the shovel because it can move the dirt around and dig holes for the plants.” This helped me in the design process by showing me what tool is a necessity. Besides my interview I did research on my tool, the pickaxe. There haven't been many variations, it's meant for heavy duty work and it's not a common gardening tool. The difference between the original pickaxe and the improved one in stores is just the size, handle material and weight. The way I modified to tool was that I kept the same basic idea of a pickaxe, but it has a telescope-like handle, it has a shovel at the top and the weight can be adjusted by putting water in the head. The way the new tool works is by using the pick to break something and use the shovel to move it. Depending on the object you want to break the weight on the head can be adjustable. Focusing on the parts of the tool, the pickaxe splits things apart and breaks them. To clean the mess the shovel comes in handy. To adjust the weight the person can add different amounts of water into the head and to store it in small places or make it take up less space the handles can get smaller (when needed it gets big). Our tool uses wedges a lot because the pickaxe has one pointy side and the other is flat, but still has the triangle form. The shovel has a point and it also moves things around. With that our tool is great because it can adjust to however the person wants it, it is two tools in one and it looks cooler and occupies less space.

                                           

KIS(2015)Super Pickaxe.

Jobs After College

In the first unit of the course Rhetoric, we studied what are appeals and how effective they are. Appeals are Pathos, Logos and Ethos. We also learn devices and how to use them. Devices are Allusion, Anaphora, Analogy, Hyperbole, Simile and Metaphor. We also learned sound devices, which are Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Consonance and Accent. We used these devices and appeals when analyzing a political debate. For our action project, we chose a topic that we are passionate or feel strong about it. I chose Jobs after college because I see many students working in areas that they didn't study. With a topic we have to use the appeals and devices to make a good speech. During this project I found it difficult to find a topic, but at the end I found one and I am proud of the logos I used in my speech. Interested in listening to my speech? Check it out below.




Ladies and Gentlemen, first I would like to thank you for watching this video. It shows that you are interested in the education of our young adults who are graduating from college, but don’t have a job waiting.

Did you know in 2012 only 14 percent of college seniors had career-type jobs ready for them after their graduation?, then you must wonder if that is 14 percent of them what happened to the rest? these graduates finish college with a four-year degree and end up working a low, minimum wage job. That is bad because it is a waste of their talent, their degree, and their knowledge--all things people can learn from or put to use.

What concerns me is that 18 percent of male, college seniors and only 11 percent of female seniors eventually finds jobs. Let me tell you that those percentages are low and they need to go up, drastically and immediately. These statistics apply to just students who have a major in science, technology or math, imagine the liberal art students and the employment struggles they face upon graduation! It must be harder for them to find a job that pays good and that they like because there seem to be fewer jobs out there anyway that seek students with degrees. So the situation is bad all around.

The world is full of surprises and just three years ago 25 percent of students were lucky to be able to get an internship and develop it into a real job . I have heard of an organization that helps these students and it’s called AfterCollege. This organization helps students discover their career paths and pairs new job seekers with opportunities that fit their degrees, skills and interests. AfterCollege has 4,000,000 entry-level jobs and internships and contacts with over 2,000 colleges. This is a great resource for college seniors in need of support to get a job before they graduate. Having these types of organizations really helps form the students’ futures. Ladies and gentlemen this is how we start helping our communities, our city, our country by helping the future generation, who will become us in a few years.

Owens, Eric. “Just 14 PERCENT Of This Year’s College Grads Have Real Jobs Waiting.” THE Daily Caller. May 15, 2015. Web. September 17, 2015.

“We have a lofty vision: to help every college student and recent graduate discover their career path.” AfterCollege. Web. September 16, 2015.

My Music

For most of my life I have gone to a music program that is free. This organization is called The Peoples Music School. People are able to enter this school at age 5 and goes onto the age 18. This program runs during the school year it starts two weeks after students start school in September and finishes about a month before school finishes. In this school you get the opportunity to learn about music history, how to read it, how to play an instrument and you develop a musical ear. The first instrument that I learned how to play was the piano and I have played it for a long time. About two years ago or so I changed instruments, switching from piano to harp and now I am playing the harp which I enjoy. A mandatory thing in this school is theory (which is learning about music), currently I am in theory I, but I will soon be going into theory J. Theory starts from basic to more complex and there is only theory up to K. Another mandatory thing that we have to perform in front if an audience to show our knowledge of our instrument and we make a fundraiser that day for the school. There is a performance called juries, where we perform a warm up and a pieces that we learned. Perform them in front of our teacher and a couple other teachers. The purpose of this is to get evaluated from teachers that don't spend time with you and can see how you have grown. Other performances that we do is Performathon, the Spring concert and the Winter concert. In these concerts we perform in front of the whole school including parents and family. In Performathon I sing because I am taking voice lessons and I play the harp. I am also part of an assemble witch is choir because it's mandatory and we sing for the Spring concert. Right now the program is about to end so this Saturday is the Spring concert and I will be singing in the choir as the opening. I have a fun experience learning and playing my instrument.

Childhood Obesity Prevention

In the third unit of the course Cure, we studied prevention and how we can prevent damage to our health. We also watched a movie called Parched Adam's who was doctor, but not just an ordinary doctor he connected with the patients and helped them emotionally too. From that movie out action project was inspired. We had to chose a medical problem, prevent it and we had to make a video with the same character. I chose to focus on childhood obesity and I played the doctor and the patient. This project was a little difficult for me when it came to recording, but I learned how to get into role.

Women vs. Men in the 1940's

For the third Matriarch of the unit Drama, we studied lots historical moments were women were oppressed and seen as women who are controlled by their husbands. In this unit we read the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry which was written from a part of Hansberry's life when she was young. We also did some additional research in what was going on in that time when she she wrote the book and in the time she wrote the book in. In that time the wans't any right for women and neither for black people. Also around that time the Civil right movement happened and the women's right movements. Since in that time women couldn't lead and weren't smart, they weren't a threat ti men. To change that up a little Hansberry made the main character a women that was portray as a matriarch. Matriarchs are strong, powerful, loving and caring women. For our action project we chose a character that we want to address from the book and a scene were they weren't at their best. I chose Beneatha because although she wasn't much of a main character she still fought for her dream which was to become a doctor. The scene I picked was when Beneatha fell for mens expectations instead of fighting for what she wants. I made a mini script of this scene including the prologue and choruses. My story is about women fighting for what they want and not let others control them or stop them from getting there.

In the eye of the goddess

In the second unit of the course Drama, we studied playwrights and we looks at lots of examples. In the unit we read lots of plays including The little Foxes and A Dolls House. We studied the stage direction, the characters descriptions and different meaning of scene-ring. For the unit we had the chance to go see the play of Marie Antoinette at stepped wolf, which was really good and we also go the chance to see the play at the Goodman theater. For our action project, we made our own play with three or more character. We had to have our selves, Nora and a historical figure or mythical creature. I chose the mythical creature Freyja a goddess of love and she is a warrior because she was everything a man wouldn't want a women to become. I also chose an extra character Alexandra from the little foxes and Ms. Linden from A Dolls House. During this project I had difficulty putting into words my script. Also I learned how to write a script with stage descriptions.

Diabetes

In the second unit of the course Cure, we studied bacteria specifically penicillin and how it helped to save people. Looking at that we looked at western medicine and how it has the same effect as prescribed medicine. For our action project, we chose a disease to investigate medicine for it, but not only medicine but other alternatives too. I chose to investigate Diabetes Type 1 because I have heard of it a lot but I didn't actually know what it was. I have a prescription medicine, an rx medicine and two alternatives in helping control Diabetes. The creative part of this project was that we made a medicine box including all of the information we found for the disease. A challenge for me in this project was finding information that not only tell me what I want but to have evidence support it. At the end of this project I learned a lot about Diabetes Type 1.

Spine

In the first unit of the course Cure, we studied cells and surgeries that need to be done fast. As an example of surgery we watched a surgery in the knee in 3D and it looked really painful. When looking into surgeries we also look at the cells that are being affected, the tissue the process, what will be use to cell the incision and what you have to do at home to help heal yourself. In our action project we included all of those things in the specific surgery we chose. I chose Neurosurgery on the spine more specifically in the lumbar part. I created a prezi to show my research on the spine and if anybody have spine problems they might have to have a spine surgery.

To Petruchio

In the first unit of our course Drama we studied Shakespeare, specifically one of his plays "Taming Of The Shrew." We also looked at the Elizabethan Era which was named after Queen Elizabeth the first. We looked at gender roles in that time two and how women were portrayed. How family worked together and the reason why people kept being poor. For our action project we made a sonnet which Shakespear did back then. The reason he did it was because it was popular and he took advantage of that to eran some money. We made to sonnet directly to a character from Taming Of A Shrew and give them advice on how tho find themselves again. I directed my sonnet to Petruchio because he and I have different opinions on gender roles, so I challenged him into reflecting and change for the good. During this project I had difficulty getting my sonnet together. I learned how to make a point through a sonnet.




Written Sonnet

Petruchio, you pretended to woo Kate for the gold
but the truth is you were lonely and getting old
the suitors around you praised your ability to tame her
tried so hard to fit the role, you cracked your exterior

Now that you have her, do you think Katharina was disdain of marriage?
in your heart you promised her love, baby, and a carriage
Your words “To this most patient, sweet and virtuous wife.” you say to her sarcastically
it is clear to me, that you mean that sincerely and romantically

You lived up to the expectations of patriarchy, how to be a man
Be rude and a swine, you were taught that’s how you hold the power in your hands
But now I tell you, you can rule with kindness
Respect her, please her, and treat her like she’s priceless

Aim to be in merriment with her, let your loyal Katharina keep her opinion
You are no less a man, now as an equal couple, rejoice in your union

Measles Epidemic!

In third unit of the course Disease, we studied how virus spread. An example is Pandemic, Epidemic, Endemic and more. We also learned math, the R0 value and Graphing( slope, point-slope and y-intercept form). We used the R0 value in our project and it explains how the virus will spread in terms of people infecting others. For our action project, we chose an outbreak that happen some time ago and we did a script explaining the virus, what place the outbreak occur, how and why. I chose the Measles outbreak of 1875 in Fiji because Fiji seems like a beautiful place that someday I would like to visit and to present my information on Measles I did a newscast script. During this project I had a hard time trying not to put too much information in my script and making it entertaining. When I was doing this project I was surprised with what Measles can cause, how serious it is and how it affected Fijians in that time.



Breaking News!

Today is a terrible day, Its 1875 and there has been an outbreak. The virus that is spreading is Measles, it’s spreading all over Fiji. If you’re a Fijian be careful and stay safe. Measles was discovered by a Persian doctor in the 9th century. In 1757 Francis Home, a Scottish physician discovered that Measles is caused by an infectious agent in the blood. This virus was brought to Fiji when the King Cakobau sailed to Sydney, Australia in December because he and some other Fijian chiefs signed the Deed of Cession which handed Fiji to Great Britain. When he came back the virus was in his ship. The virus wasn’t brought by an animal, but the people on the ship already had it. Measles can be spread by caught, sneeze and by touching the people who have it. The symptoms of Measles doesn’t appear until 7 to 14 days after getting it, meaning that you can spread it without knowing because the virus can live on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours. The way you know you have it is by you having high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, watery eyes and skin rash. Measles became an epidemic because Fiji is made of 850 islands, but only 100 islands are inhabited and those islands trade resources to one another. Also since Fijians are isolated from the world, their immune system isn’t that strong as to someone who lives in the US or Europe. Also by the looks of it this epidemic lots Fijians are going to meet their deaths. Beside the cause of the trading ships carrying Measles, the MMR vaccines weren’t invented so Fiji didn’t have it. The MMR vaccine stands for Measles, Mumps and Rubella. This vaccine wasn’t invented until 1963 when there was so many Measles outbreaks happening all over the world. So what they did do to treat it was lots of bed rest, drinking fluids to prevent dehydration, taking ibuprofen to ease the fever and taking vitamin A supplement. Although this treatment didn’t work at least the people didn’t have a painful death. The R0 value is 12-18 meaning that one person can spread the virus between 12 people and 18 new people.

In the graph above you can see that Australia and Philippines are close to Fiji so these two country will represent Fiji. As you can see from 1995 to 2008 there is spikes of epidemic outbreaking. In Philippines there is lots of outbreaks so then there could be a possibility of viruses traveling to Fiji.

What you see is the latest updates of outbreaks of Measles. In 2008 there barely any outbreaks but starting in 2009 there has been more outbreaks. As you can see in 2009 and 2010 the outbreaks happens more in Africa. Then in 2011 it starts spreading to other countries. For example, France, Spain and the US.  

Ways to prevent the epidemic from spreading more is to first isolate the people who have the virus, use the home treatment and look for any other vaccines that can help get rid of Measles. By the looks of the epidemic spreading I would estimate one-third of the Fijian population will die.




Doucleff, Michaeleen. “How Vaccine Fears Fueled The Resurgence Of Preventable Diseases.” NPR. N.p. January 25, 2014. Web. March 19, 2015.

Gapminder World. Web. March 20, 2015.

“Measles History.” CDC. N.p. November 3, 2014. Web. March 22, 2015.

“Measles in Fiji, 1875.” Weebly. N.p. Web. March 19, 2015.

Books have messages

In the third unit of the course Forbidden Books, we studied diversity and focused on 3 particular books that were banned. One of them was the book called Color Purple, another one is Fahrenheit 451 and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-TIme Indian. We were assigned to read one of those books who were banned when they came out. Four our action project we chose one of those, read it and analyze it in different ways. I chose the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian because I have roots of Native Indians and I chose the analyze it through a diversity way, meaning that I will find part in the book that promotes diversity and how the main character is used to do that. During this project I had some difficulty in making my essay points fit together and I learned how to do in text citation.

Wikipedia

ADHD

In the second unit of the course Disease, we studied mental disorder. How some disease can affect the brain and the persons body. We specifically looked at Schizophrenia and OCD as examples. Schizophrenia is a disorder where you have negative voices in your head and has a big influence in your decisions. OCD is when someone has to do something repeatedly like checking the door lock to be safe, although the person don't want to the brain does it. For our action project we chose a mental disorder and do a simulation where other people can experience what people with the mental disorder you choose feels. I chose ADHD because someone close to me has it. During this project I had some difficulties in creating my simulation but at the end it wasn't that bad. I learned that ADHD can be combined with ADD and that their is lots of treatments for it.

Scientific Definition: A childhood mental disorder with onset before 7 years of age and involving impaired or diminished attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Also called hyperactive child syndrome in the twentieth century.

My definition: Someone who needs guidance in completing their everyday tasks and understanding of how their brain works differently than others.
 

KIS. ADHD Flier. 2015

Turkey vs. Freedom of Speech

In the second unit of the course Forbidden Books, we studied banned books throughout history and the figure of god for lots of religions. We read lots of readings from the Christian bible and the Muslim Koran. All of these investigations led to answering the question of why books are burned, banned and censored. For our action project we chose a country, a situation in that country and a book that has been censored in that country. I chose the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991 in Turkey and I decided to focus on the author of articles and books, Baskin Oran. The way I presented my work was that I did a prezi.

Hypertension

In the first unit of the course Disease, we studied body disease but more specifically the different types of cancer that we can get in our body. We also studied the body systems that we have and how diseases can effect those parts either it's cancer or other diseases. For our action project, we chose a disease that someone that we know has and then interview them. I chose hypertension because my three of my family member has it. I chose to interview one of the that is really close to me, so I can understand what she is going through. Throughout this project I learned so much from my mom and how it affects her. I had difficulties in drawing my person and the parts where the disease affected her.

Hilda

Hilda is in her 30’s and has two children. She was diagnosed with Hypertension two years ago but she does not know how long she has had it. The first symptoms that she had without knowing was that her sensible eyes would her so much with the light and that let to having terrible headaches most of the time, along with nausea. One day she was feeling so bad that she went to the doctor and the doctor told her she had Hypertension (High Blood Pressure).

It is still a question today weather Hilda got Hypertension genetically because her mother and grandmother have Hypertension too. Although the doctor hasn't told her it genetically the pattern of it being is clear. The family history is very clear that most likely is genetic saying that both of her children or one of them might have the possibility of having hypertension.

After Hilda’s diagnoses more of her symptoms started to kick in. She kept getting headaches, she would get dizzy, nausea, her eyes kept hurting, few times she would have chest pain and she doesn't feel like doing anything because her body is tired or her brain is too focused on the pain that does not allow her to feel energized .

He life has changed a lot since she got diagnose of hypertension. She realized that this disease is a silent killer sickness and that she has to be very careful with it. Now she appreciates and enjoys her life and family more. The first thing she did in order to adapt to her new life with hypertension. She learned how to manage her stress, she wont worry for things she can not change and she changed her lifestyle.

Unfortunately hypertension doesn’t have a cure. Hilda haves to live with it for the rest of her life, but she can do something about it. She can control her High Blood Pressure, she can eat more healthier foods and by that she can lose weight. She can also control her stress at work and in her personal life. Hilda does not take medication, according to her “ At the moment I am not taking any medication because once you start taking it, it’ll be for the rest of my life and that’s what happened with my mother.” Hilda lives with her struggles to keep her pressure under control because she prefers to live like that than to count on medication that may cause some side effects.

Hypertension 

Hypertension can occur anywhere and to anyone it just depends on where you life, your gender and your race. For example, a study conducted by Dr. Levine shows that there is a 46% risk of hypertension occurring black women than in black men. Also Birmingham, Alabama has a higher risk of hypertension than Chicago, Minneapolis, and Oakland, California because Birmingham has a higher 20-year incidence of hypertension by 33.6 % while Chicago has 23.4%, Minneapolis has 19% and Oakland has 27.4%.

Hypertension is caused smoking, having too much salt in the diet, the lack of physical activity, stress, older age, genetics, chronic kidney disease, too much alcohol consumption, being overweight or obese, adrenal and thyroid disorders.

The symptoms that people should look out for are severe headaches, vision problems, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, irregular heartbeat, blood in the urine, and fatigue or confusion. A crisis of hypertension can lead to a heart attack or stroke and if untreated it can lead to serious diseases, including stroke, heart disease, kidney failure and eye problems.





Hypertension starts off in the cardiovascular system. The heart t is the first to organ to have problem then moves into the arteries. This disease can cause coronary artery disease, enlarged heart and heart failure. Healthy arteries are strong, elastic, flexible and the inner lining is smooth so that blood flows to organs and tissues to give nutrients and oxygen. With hypertension there is too much pressure of blood flowing and it cause problem such as aneurysm, artery damage and narrowing.

With damaged arteries the nervous system is affected, specifically your brain because your brain depends on the blood to work properly. High blood pressure can cause severe problem such as transient ischemic attack, strokes, dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Also by having injured blood vessels going to your kidneys, which this is part of your endocrine system. It damages them and can cause kidney failure, kidney scarring, and kidney artery aneurysm.

As you can see hypertension may seem like it is not a big deal but it is because it affects important parts of your body that can lead you to serious consequences. If not treated this disease is not only damage your heart but also your brain and kidneys because they are all connected.





Jody Charnow. “Geography, Race, Gender Affect Hypertension Risk.” Renal and Urology News. N.p. Web. Feb 13, 2015.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “High blood pressure.” Mayo Clinic. N.p. Web. Feb 12, 2015.

What is Truth?

In the first unit of the course Forbidden Books, we studied the philosophical method of Socrates. Socrates was born 469 B.C. in Athens and he was told that he was the wisest man. Socrates didn't think it was true so he set out to find someone wiser then him. He used the socratic method; this method helped him find out if the wisest people known are really wise, so he observe them and asked them a lot of questions. He found no success but he found out that the reason why he is considered the wisest man is because he knew that he didn't know. Meaning that he did not think that he knew everything, if there was something he didn't know he would admit it and the others would not. For our action project, we chose a topic and find out the meaning of it. I chose Truth because it's a choice that we make everyday, the choice to speak the truth or lie. To fully understand the definition of truth I asked people I knew to tell me what they think it is. After that I picked a situation related to truth and made a script and that lead to making a video. Throughout this project I had difficulties with the script but that is the thing I am most proud of.



Script:

Siena: Hello Astrid how are you doing on this beautiful day in Blue Bell Chicago? You look troubled.

Astrid: Well… my cousin told me that my best friend is talking bad behind my back…. I don’t know who to believe. I don’t know who is telling the truth.

Siena: Well then what do you think is truth? And how do you know who is telling the truth?

Astrid: Everyone knows that truth is something that is believed to be true.

Siena: Believed to be true by whom? And how do you know what is true?

Astrid: By me! And I know it’s true because I know.

Siena: From your perspective what is truth? What do you feel when you know something is true?

Astrid: Truth is honesty in what someone tells you. Having honesty with people gives you confidence to tell them anything and you just feel happy.

Siena: Will you feel happy if someone tells you that your dog died? It’s the truth but it doesn’t make you happy.

Astrid: I would not be happy, I would be sad.

Siena: The truth doesn’t always make you feel happy. What evidence do you have of your cousin or best friend telling the truth? Does truth need evidence? If so what type of evidence?

Astrid: Siena these are really hard questions! I dont know what type of evidence I will need to discover to know if my cousin or best friend is telling the truth. I guess truth is more than a feeling because I feel confused about who is telling the truth.

Siena: What type of evidence do you think you will need to find out the truth? And how will you pursue it?

Astrid: I would put a recorder in both of their book bags, so in that way I can hear everything they say and the recording will be my evidence.

Siena: What if they are both telling the truth and the evidence show that? Do you believe that there are different interpretations of truth?

Astrid: Um…….I think you are right. There could be different versions of the truth.

Siena: What is true for one person might not be true for another, thats why evidence help us identify truth.

Astrid: I agree, thank you for helping me in this dilemma.

Siena: You are welcome, I am glad to help.

Astrid: Have a good day, bye.

Siena: Thank you, you too, bye.

Stand By Me Critique

In the third unit of the course Ollywood, we studied post-production and different ways to approach a film critique. Post-production includes music, sound effects, editing, and special effects. For our action project we had to make a podcast of a movie review, I chose the to critique the movie "Stand By Me" because I like the song and because I like journey movies. Through out this project I had difficulty choosing an approach and finding extra information. I learned different approaches to critique a film and how to use one.



Hello everyone! Thank you for tuning into my review of Stand By Me, its a Drama/ Adventure film inspired by a Stephen King novella. The director of this film is Rob Reiner and it was released on August 8,1986, The film stars River Phoenix who plays Chris Chambers, Will Wheaton who plays Gordie Lachance, Corey Feldman who plays Teddy Duchamp, and Jerry O’Connell who plays Vern Tessio.

I will critique the movie through a genetic approach. This approach follows the film through all stages of its creation and release which means I will be reviewing the film for elements of pre-production, production, and post-production.

The film is based on a short story called “The Body” by Stephen King. Stand By Me is narrated by Gordie Lachance who is writing a book about an adventure that he had with his three closest friends when he was 12 years old. Gordie along with Teddy, Chris and Vern embarked on a journey to find a dead body. The journey is emotional for all of the boys, especially for Gordie who learned that his best friend, Chris was capable of looking after him like his older brother Dennis,who passed away in an accident.

I will start by critiquing the use of set design, location, and cinematography. The movie is set in Castle Rock, a fictional town in Oregon created by Rob Reiner. Many of Stephen King’s novels that became movies used the set of Castle Rock because King liked how Reiner created the set. Many of the scenes were shot in different locations throughout Oregon and many of them had little value. The set designers and Rob Reiner created mostly everything that we saw on screen including the train tracks that the boys guide themselves through.

An example of this would be the tracks, they were actually just a dirt path to which the set-design crew added train tracks. One of my favorite scenes happens sometime in the middle of their journey and the boys find themselves on an elevated train track as a train is approaching. Chris and Teddy get to the other side, while the speeding train appears to be inches from Gordie and Vern who are running as fast as they can. This scene was very realistic and very suspenseful, even though the train was actually very far away from the two actors. Through the use of a 60omm long-focus lens, the cinematographers made the train appear much closer than it actually was.

There was a recurring prop and action from the actors that really stood out to me. Throughout the film, the 12-year-old boys are often seen smoking. Even though, the smoking was something that appeared in the background, it was important in telling the story of what young boys do when unsupervised. When watching the film, I was surprised that the young actors were directed to smoke. But, Rob Reiner, the director is actually an anti-smoker. The cigarettes were made from cabbage leaves. I thought the actors did a good job in the scenes they smoke because I believed they were actually smoking. I believed it because their faces expressed that if the adults can smoke then they can too.

I am going to critique the use of film-cuts used in the film. At the start of their journey, Gordie goes to the store to buy food for his friends before starting their journey. After picking up the snacks, we see Gordie run back to the junkyard to find his friends jumping the fence of the junkyard. The scene starts with us looking at Gordie standing in the junkyard and through the use of the look-off film cut, the scene cuts to three friends climbing the fence. We see the scene through Gordie’s eyes, as if we’ve become Gordie in that moment and we can feel his disappointment with his friends for leaving him behind.

I really liked the scene where the young group of friends are on the train tracks walking, they put on the radio and the song Lollipop comes on. Vern and Teddy are ahead of Gordie and Chris. Vern has the radio so as soon as the song starts playing they make a choreography. Two steps to the right advancing and two steps left and when the pop sound happens they do it too, then continue doing the same thing. I thought that in this scene the actors did a good job in portraying their youth because they are not only going to see a dead body but they are spending time together as friends and discovering more who they are. Also this shows that kids can be fun, joke around, and express a little of themselves in acting.

Another prime example of the quality of acting and directing was in a scene when the group of boys are about halfway through their journey. In the campfire scene the boys are taking turns keeping watch for coyotes while the others sleep. When it was Chris turn to keep watch Gordie was having a nightmare so he woke up and kept watch with Chris.

Chris started telling Gordie how everyone think he is a thief and that when things go missing they blame him because of his family’s reputation. But he is not like that and he starts crying and saying that he want to go to a place where nobody knows him so he can start fresh. When filming this scene Chris faked cry but Reiner knew he could do better so he asked him to think of a time in his own life when an adult has let him down and use it.

Chris did but his emotions were too strong that the director had to comfort him after the scene was done. This shows that the actor put lots of his own emotions to the movie and also it shows that he actually relates to the character he is playing.

Also in this scene an effective film cut was when Gordie was telling a story he created to his friends about people bullied an overweight kid and how he got revenge. This scene used dialogue referent cut, the scene starts with Gordie starting to tell the storie then it cuts to the main character planning his revenge. I felt like that was a good cut because it made me see what the main character was doing and how his revenge ended up with everyone vomiting on each other.

Mostly all the music the director put in the movie was coming from the radio that Vern brought for their journey and they were just popular songs from that time like the songs Lollipop, Come go with me, Let the good times roll, and more. The only songs that didn't come from the radio was the song Stand by me and some instrumentals. The song Stand By Me would play when mostly every time they continue their journey. I also notice that when they played the song it would be different like it still has the same beat but something is added. The instrumentals would only play when dramatic things happened.

I give this movie 4.5 stars because it took me on a journey and it kept things real like the older guys bullied the younger ones and the way the actors acted. I liked it a lot and I recommend watching this movie especially if you like seeing calm adventure movies. Well thank you for listening my film review! Bye!

Fare Foods

In our course Fare we studied Italian and learned how to cook Italian food using the new vocabulary that we learned. In our last action project we created a community dinner, where we cook and serve people who attended our restaurant. My role for that day is to create the menu and be host. During this project I learned that making a menu is not hard as I thought it would be. Below you will find the menu, hope it looks appetizing to you.

Fare Foods

Antipasti/Appetizers

Supplí- Supplií is classic, commonly found in the region of Lazio, but also found elsewhere in Italy. The name Suppli originally comes from the French word for surprise, referring to the surprise which one would find in the center of these delicious rice balls.

                    

                 

Bruschetta- Bruschetta is a Tuscan tradition, it's a slice of toasted bread covered with garlic and slices of tomatoes on top with basil.

                                            

Primi/Entre


Parmigiana di Melanzane-It is originally from Sicily, but it is cooked all over Italy and can be an excellent vegetarian main course.

                                                              

                                   

Gnocchi con salsiccia italiano                   

Dolci/Dessert
Tiramisu- The name “tiramisu” translates into “pick-me-up”. There are two different reasons in why the dish has this name. The first reason is that the name mean “ pick me up,” referring to the two caffeinated ingredients that are in the dish, espresso and cocoa.The second reason is that since the dish is so delicious it makes peoples mouth watery and wanting it to eat the tiramisu. People don't know where Tiramisu comes from but there are theories. One theory is that a restaurant called Le Beccherie, in Treviso is most often created with having invented this heavenly dessert in 1971. Another theory is that tiramisu was created in the 17th century because of its layering , in that time there were similar desserts with lots of layering.

                                             

   Crostata

                                                 

Bevande/Beverages                    

• La limonata          
  
     
  My experience is the community day restaurant was amazing because although I was nervous to talk in front of people (I was the host) I liked to see the peoples faces when they try the food and the positive comments about the food. I liked that people actually learned the little Italian that the servers teach them. I also liked how we all as students from the fare class we helped one another in what was needed.