Post 6- Sonnet Parody

Recalling the notes from our introduction to Comedy, a parody is a style of comedy that mocks a subject through imitation. A good example would be Weird Al Yankovic's song 'Smells Like Nirvana,' which is a parody of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' In this case, the song by Weird Al imitates the instruments and lyrics of Nirvana's original to a comedic effect.

For this week's blog, you will be posting a parody of Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18'

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate;

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Your sonnet must be in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) and 14 lines long (3 quatrains and a couplet) with the following rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 

Here is an example:

A Sonnet for Sherbert

Shall I compare thee to a chocolate cake?
Thou art more fruity and more exotic.
Good cake is often difficult to make
Especially for me, I'm moronic...
Sometime I will find a good recipe
And make the best cake in the whole wide world,
But until then we'll have to wait and see
And to sherbert land I will be hurled.
But my dreams of chocolate will never fade
With sherbert ready in my freezer,
It is easier to get delayed
If only making cake were easier!
So long as I continue on the path
I'll eat sherbert, and await chocolate's wrath.


Sonnets are due by 3pm, Friday 1/10/14.

blog #5

Sock monkey outraged because airport takes toy gun from him
source
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/10/21849757-tsa-confiscates-sock-monkeys-toy-gun?lite

This sock monkey named George is in fiery rage because the airport of St.Louis took his toy gun even though he proved it was fake by letting security take it apart. They didn't even put it back together they just threw it away. Then he was tasered and taken out in handcuffs. We go live with him in St.Louis correctional facility where he sits in solitaire with his straight jacket. officer john brings him out so we can have a word with him. As we sit and ask him questions he dosnt answer until he asks the officer to take the jacket off the facility agrees he gets it off sits for a minute then he sprints toward the window and screams I WANT MY GUN NOW! and hit his head off the bars on the window and knocks himself out flat. They put his jacket back on then we get forced out. We go talk to Georges owner Antoinette. When we asked her about him she cried and said she knew something was going to happen but she didnt know when. He was acting weird lately talking crazy she said and i quote "I just didnt expect him to snap like that" then she told us we had to leave so i came here to post this amazing story.

Post 5- News Story Parody

Journalism is a style of writing used to report news and current events.  The basics of good journalism come down to grabbing the readers’ attention,  being descriptive, and answering the “big” questions that everyone wants to know, the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND HOW of an event.

For this week’s blog you are going to write a news story parody by describing a comedic event you witnessed or heard about over Thanksgiving break. Using a journalistic style, report the story as if it is a news item (i.e. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, etc.). That means, you must answer the big questions above to tell your readers what happened.  You also have to write it in a way that will capture our attention; perhaps using a big headline or an interesting first line/lead.

Posts are to be 300-400 words and are due Monday, 12/16/13.

Post 4- Food!

For our fourth blog post, we will be discussing one of my favorite subjects of all time: FOOD! With Thanksgiving approaching, now is a good time to reflect on the food that makes us feel good. What type of food do you like the most and why? Do you like homemade food, food from a certain restaurant, or fast food? How do you make your favorite dish? Share a recipe if you can.Be descriptive and enjoy!

Blog Posts are to be 300-400 words. Due Tuesday, 11/26 by 3pm.

Post 3- Pet Peeves

As we study and discuss the idea of hatred and its negative effects in Arthur C. Clarke's short story, 'Hate,' for this weeks blog I'd like you to reflect on your pet peeves in the form of a constructive, persuasive short essay. A pet peeve is a particular annoyance that a person finds unique to their own personality. Read the article on Public Grooming for an example of pet peeves.

Using the article as an example, write a descriptive, persuasive essay explaining one of your pet peeves.

• Write a few descriptive sentences about why this particular thing really irks you.
• Think of one to three examples of times when you observed someone engaging in this behavior. When did it happen? Where did it take place? What exactly did the person do? Describe the scene as vividly as you can.
• Have you ever addressed the person doing this thing directly? If so, what did you say, and what happened? If not, why not?
• What are some reasons why people engage in this behavior? Are they aware that it is bothersome to others?
• What factors might foster this behavior? How might people be dissuaded from engaging in this behavior?
• How can you overcome your pet peeve?

Responses should be 300-500 words. Submissions must be school appropriate. Only speak of people in general when using examples.

Due by Friday, 11/8/13. Absolutely no late submissions.

Post 2: Boys vs. Girl

For your blog this week, I'd like you to consider our reading of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and think about how life on the island would have been different if the children who were refugees there had been girls rather than boys.  Please think about their personal interactions, their systems of leadership, food gathering, obtaining shelter, etc. Imagine how the story of Lord of the Flies would have changed. Responses must be appropriate!

Write at least 200-300 words.  Remember that MS Word has a word count feature as well as spell check and grammar check.  Please skip a line between each paragraph and be sure to sign each post.

Posts are due by 3pm Friday, 10/18.

Post 1- Deserted Island

Imagine that you are stuck on a deserted island with little hope of rescue, much like the characters in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. What three things do you wish you would have with you in this situation? Explain what three things would be most important to you and why they are important. For example, is there a certain item that you would want that would help ensure survival, or is there anything else you can think of that would help make life on a deserted island a little more comfortable/enjoyable?

Be creative in your responses, and of course, be sure to follow the rules of standard written English. Your responses must be at least 200 words. This post will be due Friday, 9/27, by 3PM.