Flirting with Urbanismo by Patt Morrison
I like Majorie's desciption of the story, she did a great job making me feel as though I read the passge myself.
Fliriting with Urbanismo is about downtown Los Angeles and how it has evolved through the years. There is a new immigrant in downtown Los Angeles with money and education and they are refered to as "Angelenos" these people have moved int lofts in the downtown warehouses and walk thier dogs with cups of coffee in their hands, the author almost makes them sound like superheros. I too loved the author's sentence "part circus, part museum" as a description for downtown Los Angeles. It is full of culture and diversity which makes it a natural tourist attraction. I plan to visit Los Angeles this summer and will remember the comments in the story.
Monday, July 21, 2008
5b Reflections Lauren Duensing Group 1
The Line by Ruben Martinez
I enjoyed how Lauren Duensing described the author's accounts of what goes on after dark at the Tijuana border. The underground marketplace where you can find anything from food, drugs alcohol and even sex for the right price. I didn't realize they (the Mexicans at the border towns) were being affected by our economic troubles, but I guess it would makes sense because I'm sure they are very dependant on the US dollar. Even jobs for those who sneak across in the dark to work in the United States and then return to their homes in Mexico would be drastically affected since our unemployment levels are so high.
I enjoyed how Lauren Duensing described the author's accounts of what goes on after dark at the Tijuana border. The underground marketplace where you can find anything from food, drugs alcohol and even sex for the right price. I didn't realize they (the Mexicans at the border towns) were being affected by our economic troubles, but I guess it would makes sense because I'm sure they are very dependant on the US dollar. Even jobs for those who sneak across in the dark to work in the United States and then return to their homes in Mexico would be drastically affected since our unemployment levels are so high.
5a Group 2
An Ordinary Place by D.J. Waldie
This was story of growing up in a suburban neighborhood called Lakewood in Los Angeles County.
Author, Waldie describes his home, his community with fond memories of a working class neighborhood consisting of 40% of the population being under 14 years old. All young families. This area was criticized by the news because of it's rapid growth. Five hundred homes a week were being built which made it an affordable neighborhood for the working class.
The reading made me think of when I moved Petaluma in 1992 from San Francisco and I felt as though I had become a suburban dweller but, it was nice to move into a tract with young families and things in common.
My favorite line was: "Perhaps, like me, they've found a place that permits restless people to be still." page 150
I never realized how quickly tract homes could be built.
Almost Home by Gerald Haslam
This story was of a young man growing up in northern Bakersfield when Bakersfield was in it's prime with oil production and cultivating. He had fond memories of the land before the Isabella Dam was built and stopped the flow from the high sierras through Kern County.
My favorite sentence or quote is actually the title "Almost Home" page 153 this brings back childhood memories for coming home from a long road trip from San Francisco to New York and back. When we would be getting close to home I would say to my father "almost home daddy" and he would reply "almost home Dolly". It became our family tradition.
The author appears to be saddened from how the town was once flourishing and now has become stagnant. The author wrote one line that summed up the whole story; "Despite the absence of buildings, the nearby fields and hills are as developed as Downtown Bakersfield" page 155. By this statement he meant the land created jobs by it's natural resources it provided such as oil and agriculture.
I always thought of Bakersfield as a stop between here and Southern California and never knew it was an oil producer years ago.
My Little Saigon by Anh Do
This is a story of a young refugee girl from Vietnam now living in Orange County in an area called Little Saigon. This area become home to many of the "boat people" fleeing Vietnam in the 70's. They chose this area for the warm climate and flat land for building but mostly because they had each other. The familiarity of other Vietnamese made so many stay and call that area home.
My favorite sentence was; "Tradition survives. But it is a delicate balance." page 162
The author speaks so proudly of her Vietnamese heritage and this city Little Saigon allows them to keep their culture with all the store selling traditional foods, dry goods and service available in their native tongue.
I never knew there was a Little Saigon in Southern California, I had only heard of all the controversy over San Jose wanting an area's name to be changed to Little Saigon.
The Nicest Person in San Francisco by Derek M. Powazek
This story was about a 17 year old boy's adventure in San Francisco for the day while his father was in a business conference in Berkley and had no idea his son had taken his BMW and driven to San Francisco. This young man loved the diversity, the phychadellic shops, the hookers in teh Tenderloin and the Mexican burrito shops that makes San Francisco such and eclectic city. Now the author lives in San Francisco because that trip made him fall in love with the city.
My favorite sentence was; "I'd do anything to get up to the Big City." page 165
This story made me think of the first time I cam to Petaluma by boat up the Petaluma river from San Francisco and fell in love with the small town feel and then moved year 2 years later.
I never realized that Haight Street crossed Market Street as the author wrote and I grew up in San Francisco.
This was story of growing up in a suburban neighborhood called Lakewood in Los Angeles County.
Author, Waldie describes his home, his community with fond memories of a working class neighborhood consisting of 40% of the population being under 14 years old. All young families. This area was criticized by the news because of it's rapid growth. Five hundred homes a week were being built which made it an affordable neighborhood for the working class.
The reading made me think of when I moved Petaluma in 1992 from San Francisco and I felt as though I had become a suburban dweller but, it was nice to move into a tract with young families and things in common.
My favorite line was: "Perhaps, like me, they've found a place that permits restless people to be still." page 150
I never realized how quickly tract homes could be built.
Almost Home by Gerald Haslam
This story was of a young man growing up in northern Bakersfield when Bakersfield was in it's prime with oil production and cultivating. He had fond memories of the land before the Isabella Dam was built and stopped the flow from the high sierras through Kern County.
My favorite sentence or quote is actually the title "Almost Home" page 153 this brings back childhood memories for coming home from a long road trip from San Francisco to New York and back. When we would be getting close to home I would say to my father "almost home daddy" and he would reply "almost home Dolly". It became our family tradition.
The author appears to be saddened from how the town was once flourishing and now has become stagnant. The author wrote one line that summed up the whole story; "Despite the absence of buildings, the nearby fields and hills are as developed as Downtown Bakersfield" page 155. By this statement he meant the land created jobs by it's natural resources it provided such as oil and agriculture.
I always thought of Bakersfield as a stop between here and Southern California and never knew it was an oil producer years ago.
My Little Saigon by Anh Do
This is a story of a young refugee girl from Vietnam now living in Orange County in an area called Little Saigon. This area become home to many of the "boat people" fleeing Vietnam in the 70's. They chose this area for the warm climate and flat land for building but mostly because they had each other. The familiarity of other Vietnamese made so many stay and call that area home.
My favorite sentence was; "Tradition survives. But it is a delicate balance." page 162
The author speaks so proudly of her Vietnamese heritage and this city Little Saigon allows them to keep their culture with all the store selling traditional foods, dry goods and service available in their native tongue.
I never knew there was a Little Saigon in Southern California, I had only heard of all the controversy over San Jose wanting an area's name to be changed to Little Saigon.
The Nicest Person in San Francisco by Derek M. Powazek
This story was about a 17 year old boy's adventure in San Francisco for the day while his father was in a business conference in Berkley and had no idea his son had taken his BMW and driven to San Francisco. This young man loved the diversity, the phychadellic shops, the hookers in teh Tenderloin and the Mexican burrito shops that makes San Francisco such and eclectic city. Now the author lives in San Francisco because that trip made him fall in love with the city.
My favorite sentence was; "I'd do anything to get up to the Big City." page 165
This story made me think of the first time I cam to Petaluma by boat up the Petaluma river from San Francisco and fell in love with the small town feel and then moved year 2 years later.
I never realized that Haight Street crossed Market Street as the author wrote and I grew up in San Francisco.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
4a Group #2 Humes
The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes
This essay was about the un-touched beauty of Seal Beach in Orange County. The author is able to make you feel as though you are seeing what he is describing. Seal Beach is very unique because it is Southern California but luckily has not been affected by all the rapid growth. Humes feels the only thing that has "saved " this beach community is that the Old Downtown is not on Pacific Coast Highway, but set back a few blocks inland, so it has not yet been discovered.
My favorite sentence was: "Take it. Come back and pay whenever you get a chance. This what we call the Seal Beach Way." Page 69-70. I thought that was so cool of the clerk to have trust and give someone the benefit of the doubt, this is so unheard of nowadays, I wish it wasn't.
The one thing that I learned from reading this essay is now I want to visit Seal Beach and plan to drive down once I am done with summer school.
4b Reflections revised Group 2 Steinbeck
Bievenidos A Newport Beach by Firoozeh Dumas
Cindi Schuler did a nice job of describing what the author was trying to convey. Newport Beach sound like a very "cookie cutter" community, all the houses were painted the same colors and had to keep their doors closed, with a lot of odd rules such as your garbage cans cannot be put out more than 24 hours before the scheduled pick-up and must be put away immediately after pick-up. In some ways I understand why the rules are needed, but maybe they are a little over board with them. Newport Beach sounds like a very wealthy community and this is why there is so many rules. The author had to move many times and I believe that Newport Beach was her eighth move.
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home
By Thomas Steinbeck
This story was about the Spanish influences on California literature with a whimsical outlook. Steinbeck writes of his fond memories of the "good old California". He writes the way Alice in Wonderland was written.
My favorite sentence was: "Even though I cannot now call those secluded canyons and cliffs home, my abiding memories of this lonely span of California coastline holds my soul in thrall and delights the imagination beyond all else I know" page 67.
I enjoyed this sentence because I would feel the same way he does if I had grown up in beautiful Big Sur and seen all the growth and change.
The thing I learned from this story is that Thomas Steinbeck served in the Vietnam war and then returned to Vietnam as a "combat photographer", what an interesting man he is.
Cindi Schuler did a nice job of describing what the author was trying to convey. Newport Beach sound like a very "cookie cutter" community, all the houses were painted the same colors and had to keep their doors closed, with a lot of odd rules such as your garbage cans cannot be put out more than 24 hours before the scheduled pick-up and must be put away immediately after pick-up. In some ways I understand why the rules are needed, but maybe they are a little over board with them. Newport Beach sounds like a very wealthy community and this is why there is so many rules. The author had to move many times and I believe that Newport Beach was her eighth move.
Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of HomeBy Thomas Steinbeck
This story was about the Spanish influences on California literature with a whimsical outlook. Steinbeck writes of his fond memories of the "good old California". He writes the way Alice in Wonderland was written.
My favorite sentence was: "Even though I cannot now call those secluded canyons and cliffs home, my abiding memories of this lonely span of California coastline holds my soul in thrall and delights the imagination beyond all else I know" page 67.
I enjoyed this sentence because I would feel the same way he does if I had grown up in beautiful Big Sur and seen all the growth and change.
The thing I learned from this story is that Thomas Steinbeck served in the Vietnam war and then returned to Vietnam as a "combat photographer", what an interesting man he is.
4c Group Relections revised #2 Tobar
Transients In Paradise by Aimee liu
I read Ronnie Bowers description of the story. This story was about life in Beverly Hills. The author describes the contrast of people from housekeepers taking a bus to get to work and then there are "trophy wives" driving Range Rovers and cutting off Hondas with handicapp license plates. I think the author said it all in that description. There was another line that Ronnie enjoyed; "We are all transients of one kind of another. On our way into or out of wealth, into or out of sanity,beauty,love ,health or death." I agree and appreciate it also.
Ode to Caltrans
By Hector Tobar
Hector was the first generation American born. His parents were from Guatemala and settled in Southern California somewhere off the Hollywood Freeway. Hector became amazed with maps of Southern California and especially the freeways of Southern California while growing up.
My favorite statement was “where busses and tanker trucks could float for a moment or two in the California sky” page 58.
This story made me think of the freeways in San Francisco where I grew-up; it kind of brought back fond memories of my child hood.
The one thing that I didn’t know before I read this story was how many Caltrans workers have lost their lives on the freeways of Los Angeles. I never realized what a hazardous job that was.
I read Ronnie Bowers description of the story. This story was about life in Beverly Hills. The author describes the contrast of people from housekeepers taking a bus to get to work and then there are "trophy wives" driving Range Rovers and cutting off Hondas with handicapp license plates. I think the author said it all in that description. There was another line that Ronnie enjoyed; "We are all transients of one kind of another. On our way into or out of wealth, into or out of sanity,beauty,love ,health or death." I agree and appreciate it also.
Ode to CaltransBy Hector Tobar
Hector was the first generation American born. His parents were from Guatemala and settled in Southern California somewhere off the Hollywood Freeway. Hector became amazed with maps of Southern California and especially the freeways of Southern California while growing up.
My favorite statement was “where busses and tanker trucks could float for a moment or two in the California sky” page 58.
This story made me think of the freeways in San Francisco where I grew-up; it kind of brought back fond memories of my child hood.
The one thing that I didn’t know before I read this story was how many Caltrans workers have lost their lives on the freeways of Los Angeles. I never realized what a hazardous job that was.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
3c Inland Areas
Sacramento is the State Capital of California. There are two rivers that run through Sacramento, one is the Sacramento River and the American River, both have contributed to the city's commerce. Sacramento still has that old town feel in one area of the city call "Old Town" where the railroad still runs. The population is 454,330 and growing rapidly. Sacramento is very spread out, with 99 square miles of a combination of urban and rural areas. This city was also known as the "gateway to the gold country".
The City of Bakersfield is halfway between Los Angeles and Fresno. Bakersfield economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining and manufacturing. With a population of 328, 692 in 131 square miles, Bakersfield is considered the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S.
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