4/3/2020 Anthony Cheng PD 7

4/3/2020

Anthony Cheng PD 7

Blogger #8

Modern Mythology 2020

What is it like working from home?                                                                                               

To me, working from home feels relaxing and calming, but at the same time mundane and

tedious. It feels nice to work at your own pace and to not feel rushed but as I’m doing the

same exact things every day and staying in one place, everything feels monotonous. I’ll

wake up and feel like I’m just going through the motions instead of really doing anything meaningful. 

What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?                       

From the reactions I have seen online and in my community, I have learned how

compassionate people are to those that are in need. I have seen several videos and articles

detailing the efforts of food bank workers, doctors, and nurses doing what they can despite

the risk they pose to their own health. In my own community, I have seen restaurants

offering free meals to children out of the goodness of their hearts and neighbors doing

what they can for each other. 

Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening now                                        

I think that in these difficult times, we must be more connected than ever and do all that

we can in order to get through this. Through our collaborative efforts, we can minimize

the damage done by the virus and quicken the recovery. Doing simple things like staying

home or ordering food from your local restaurant that is suffering are the little things we

can do to do our part.

     

4/3/20 Julie Kutuzoff Pd5

Julie Kutuzoff
4/3/20
PD 5
Blogger #13

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?
I’d heard of 1984 several times before we began reading it in class, but after reading it I am noticing a lot of things that seem to link to either 1984 or ideas discussed in it. For one, the surveillance state certainly feels more realistic to our modern audience than it did in 1949, especially now that it is not only somewhat possible, but that to some extents it does exist actively, and there is a present day discourse about how far it will go. Originally intended as a cautionary tale against fascism and totalitarianism, it can still be used for commentary in any society. After finishing my AP world essay today on the extent of change of the French Revolution and the communist chinese revolution, after discussing the anatomy of an uprising for a solid two pages, I noticed some similarities to 1984. For instance, the main reason for the French revolt was unfair taxing, with the third estate that consisted of peasants and made up 98% of the population paying all the taxes and living in poverty, while the first and second estate that was considered the upper class payed none. Within 1984, a similar situation occurs with the party living in luxury, while the people are living in dire circumstances. It also brings up the point of the government’s manipulation of its citizens and the truth. The popular phrases “he who holds the pen writes history/the victor writes history” seems to take on a whole new meaning after this novel, and leaves me wondering how much of the history taught to us is influenced by propaganda? With the current state of the global affairs due to the corona virus, it is difficult to see to the truth in the midst of so many different sources with different goals reporting on it.

What is it like working from home?
There are definitely both good and bad parts to online learning. While initially I found it simple to manage the workload, each week it feels the workload gets a bit heavier and thus harder to manage. I find myself engaging with the material much more since I have been able to set my own pace and on my own time, since sometimes it is difficult for me to concentrate so early in the morning. The social aspect of learning has continued into online learning for me, for instance sometimes I will FaceTime my peer while going through lessons together for better understanding and to discuss the content. However there is also a certain level of stress at the online aspect, with so many posts and emails each day, it is easy to lose track of something. The testing aspect that is supposed to be implemented is so far rather confusing, and each teacher seems to take it completely differently. Overall, online schooling seems not to be that different from regular schooling fundamentally, however it does bring about different lifestyle aspects and changes your daily routine entirely.

Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.
It feels very strange to be living through a worldwide crisis that is surely to go down in history. Quarantine has changed everyone’s life significantly, and has even affected how my education and life will go on for a while. Not knowing when the quarantine will be lifted is probably the scariest part for me. Since this crisis requires you to be inside for such a long period of time, with the only link to the outside world being the news, it feels a bit surreal. Today there was even an emergency alert on my phone that asked for medical volunteers in New York City, which made me a bit anxious considering it implies that New York is not armed to defend itself against this virus. New York currently being the epicenter of the pandemic in America, is hard to even conceptualize. Personally I am trying to stay aware of the dangerous while not panicking, because I feel panicking in this situation would make it not only worse but more dangerous for everyone.

Emma Cheung 4/1/20 Period 2 - Blog #3

Considering the situation right now, I’m feeling kind of cooped up at home. The feeling is less intense when I manage to put my mind off it, but to be honest, I’m more mad about certain things I’ve heard people do. I heard that down in Miami, they still haven’t closed the beaches to tourists. Maybe they have at the time that I’m writing this (I haven’t checked up on it) but it really makes me mad that people aren’t taking this seriously enough. Similarly, I saw that the other day when there was a big ship docking near where the Intrepid is, there was a huge crowd of people just standing there watching the even without any regard to what we have been warned not to do. It’s frustrating.

Working from home is alright. I can do things at my own pace and I do feel like my overall quality of work has improved (aside from being late on this blog, for which I’m really sorry!). It is harder to keep track of the days and this week passed by so quick that I can’t believe it Friday already when it felt like it was Monday just yesterday. The days are blending together and I don’t feel as productive or active as I used to be, but having stuff to work on is better than nothing to do.

I’ve been really liking the reading so far and have somewhat taken to reading ahead (not too far ahead, but still). I’ve been finding Claudia to be a really interesting character – aside from the taking-away-of-a-woman’s-potential- slash-sexual-euphemism that one of the lessons highlighted. She is strange in-between of Lestat’s regard to humans and Louis’s moral compass, a contradiction in the fact that she is a woman in a child’s body. At first I thought her to lean more towards Lestat, but then she plotted to kill him with Louis and succeeded to do so (as far as I can tell now). So in many ways, she really is the daughter of both Lestat and Louis, beyond the cover that they created.

Before I close this out, I think there needs to be at least a word on Louis and his mental state. Every time I think that the poor man can’t get a worse existential crisis, somehow he just manages to do so. It doesn’t even have to be as explicit as that scene where he gets burnt by Babette and he just stands there saying “what am I”. He’s talking about his thoughts but I get the feeling that he’s freaking out as he’s telling it to the boy and trying not to make it obvious that he is freaking out.

All in all, life at home is okay, I still think people are stupid and terrible, and Louis, I love you but please go to a therapist you need it.

4/3/20 Daniel Knutsen Period 8

4/3/20

Daniel Knutsen, Pd 8

Blogger #10

Modern Mythology 2020

Learning from Home-

Remote learning has been an interesting experience. It has its pros and cons, much like regular school, but it cannot replace the learning experience that we get at school. Not having the same kind of in person learning experience can make our learning experience a little more difficult. However, the system that the school has set up for our remote learning seems to be working very well. Only having 3 classes a day, with longer class periods, allows us as students to be able to focus on less subjects at once. This means we can devote more focus to each subject. It is less overwhelming and easier for students to be able to make up for the less intensive studying we are doing at home. 

The stress factor is much less working from home. Deadlines are much much easier to meet and the workload is not nearly as intensive. This isn’t necessarily because of a lack of work, but the extended amounts of time we have to complete it. 

How what we are learning applies to the world around us-

The way the world around us is handling the virus is a great real life application of the morality lesson we completed this week. 

A topic that could be talked about is the policy of social distancing that has been put into place, which has ultimately caused our remote learning. Social distancing is calling for people to stay inside, and only go out for essential reasons. However, there are still plenty of people going out for fun, or to be with other people, or simply because they don’t care. This is a very good opportunity to apply our lesson on morals to real life. 

-This brings up the question, is it an immoral decision to leave your house and socialize with others?

Most would probably say that it is, and that the moral decision would be to stay at home and away from others, to help keep the virus from spreading. However, maybe not everybody sees it that way. This is a good topic for debate or discussion, which ties in very nicely with what we learned in our lesson. 

Personal thoughts-

Personally, I think that we as a school, and as people, are making the best of a bad situation. The way we are handling how we continue our education is good, and is the best it can be until things get better. The overall experience, in my opinion, is not as enjoyable as normal school. Being able to be with your friends, and interact with others in person I feel makes for a much warmer and enjoyable learning experience. Learning from the comfort of your home is nice, and has it’s conveniences, but it is just not the same. I think that it is very hard to get the same enriching learning experience at home that we get in school, so I personally am looking forward to hopefully getting that back soon. However, tying back to our morality lesson, I do think this is the right choice for the time being. I think the moral decision was to close schools and keep people away from each other. I think it was the right thing to do, and in the end will be beneficial, even if it doesn’t seem very desirable at the time. 

3/30/20 Paulina Mastryukov PD1

Paulina Mastryukov Blogger #20

Interview with the Vampire is unlike any book I have read before. It is dark, and fully embraces it, creating a chilling, yet strangely captivating atmosphere. It has managed to bring out visceral, strong emotions from me, the various actions and thoughts of the characters profoundly affecting me. The vampire I like the most at this point is Louis, as he is not only very sympathetic, but it is very clear he does not stoop to the deepest depths of depravity like Lestat, and I respect that. In books or movies or any other similar piece of media, I usually feel more certain about the outcome if it is framed as narration, but with this book, despite this style, I do not have the foggiest clue how things will progress leading up to the “present”; I find that both intriguing and foreboding. While I don’t usually pay attention to the potential symbolism or motifs, I still find this book very well written. When reading about Lestat’s various horrendous actions and musing, I feel both impressed by Rice’s talent in conveying his lapse in sanity though also concerned how she managed to portray him so well.

Interview with the Vampire poses some complex questions of morality that one can not really explore in the realms of humanity. They can only be explored within the context of vampirism. Often, I have found the situations that these questions come up so to speak in the story both appalling and often require me to step away. Unsurprisingly, these situations often include Lestat, who remains an enigma to us, with the only assured things being that he is hedonistic, sadistic, psychopathic, and petulant. As I read, more of these complexities come up with Claudia, who is described to be physically a beautiful five year old, but her personality and tendencies are something completely different, giving an extra uncanny feeling whenever passages are dedicated to her. All in all, while this book is truly intriguing and rich in complexities, I do not see it as a book that I would have read if it had not been an assigned reading book.

Working from home is somehow both less stressful and more stressful than going to school as usual. Some of the less stressful points are that I don’t have to wake up so early each day; don’t have to deal with the commute to and from school; can technically work at my own pace; can eat snacks whenever I want; and can wear casual clothes all day. On the other hand, due to the quarantine I have been going a little stir crazy, plus it is difficult to do classwork to its fullest when I can not interact with my teachers and classmates in person. Nevertheless, I am making the best of these circumstances, and I feel like I have more or less acclimated to them. Overall, I feel more satisfied with my control and new ease in my school days, yet still a bit thrown off and stressed by the lack of structure.

In these crazy times we are living in, simply going by people’s reactions, I feel like I am learning a lot of what people really are like. I have learned that in spite of what we have been led to believe, there are many people from all walks of life that will step up to do the right thing, whether through donations, moral support, services, or aid. In addition, pandemic has blown socio-economic problems with everything from housing to healthcare wide open for the world to see. We’re seeing how exactly societies and governments all over the globe are responding to this novel virus, learning what kind of leaders we truly have and what we need.

3/30/20 Brian Cheng Period 8

3/30/20

Brian Cheng

Period 8

Modern Mythology 2020

Reading the chapters and going through the lessons, it really made me think of human nature and how for the most part we are very lazy and reactive. Through Louis’s interactions with Lestat I felt that Louis represented what most people are. Louis acts like he has the moral high ground over Lestat because he doesn’t enjoy killing and he always criticizes Lestat for his actions. However, Louis never has the courage to say no to Lestat and ends following him around. Also, Louis has kind of a morality scoreboard. He labels things as good and bad believing that bad actions can be absolved through  good actions or some sort of punishment. It shows how he’s still trying to retain his humanity even though as a vampire he would most likely not suffer any consequences for his actions. It almost feels like Louis is sticking around Lestat to make himself more justified. Louis knows that he takes lives but being with Lestat makes what he did a little better since Lestat actually enjoys killing. 

Like Louis, humans have a moral compass and we instinctively label some things as good or bad based on what we learned growing up and through social norms. But in reality there’s really no such thing as good or evil. Perspective is the most important thing. Most humans just go with the flow and let other factors control their lives. We pick and choose what we think is right or wrong to make ourselves feel better. When things go wrong we blame a higher power and we don’t actively try to enact change. 

In regards to working at home, everyday feels like a blur and there aren’t any days of the week. It’s just yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I get the weather report by how cold it is when I reluctantly throw off my covers. Working at home is comfortable but it’s very hard to stay motivated when it feels like nothing matters. Also, it’s tough to learn from digital only. Education feels off when there isn’t a human touch to it. Not being able to turn and talk is something I really miss, especially for this class. Bouncing ideas off each other makes the class enjoyable and I usually think deeper this way. With learning at home, it’s a challenge to really try to get meaning from the texts and think deeply. 

For my thoughts on what is happening right now, I think people have to reconsider how they’re spreading the message of social distancing. I understand that everyone should stay home at all times unless it’s necessary. However, we also have to look at the other side. It’s easy for people with money and resources to say stay home. But there are plenty of people that grew up differently and aren’t as fortunate as us. They can’t afford rent or food if they stay home. If they can’t afford food or rent then they probably can’t afford entertainment which is something all humans need. Being stuck at home would be hell for them. I’m not saying that we should not be practicing social distancing. I’m saying that we should just be advocating for people to be smart and to educate themselves about the risks instead of shaming people for going out without knowing their situation. 

4/2/20 Michelle Kang Period 8

Michelle Kang PD8

Blogger #9

4/2/20 

Modern Mythology 2020

Write about your thoughts regarding the reading

Throughout my reading, I found small connections between vampires and Grendel. Lestat and Louis have very different mindsets on life, partially due to their experience as a vampire, but in a way, the two remind me of Grendel. In the interview, Louis talks about how difficult it was for him to come to terms with what he has become and we can see by his lack of drinking human blood. He often calls in his servants for assistance, only to be seen as a monster. Louis reminds me of young Grendel and when he tried to approach humans. Lestat, on the other hand, is the older/nihilistic Grendel. He does not care about who he kills, he simply does it because he is a vampire. 

During the beginning of my readings, I was able to understand Louis’s inability to kill humans or watch Lestat kill them. At the same time, I also thought it was cruel to kill animals but then I realized that Louis was doing a favor by killing the rats who are known to spread the plague. Lestat’s disregard for human life made him seem like the bad guy, but as I continued reading my opinions about him have changed. To me, Lestat is always trying to clean up after Louis, by killing any witnesses, which is the opposite of Lestat telling Louis that he is his slave. Being seen was the thing Lestat seemed to fear the most, mostly because people would run away screaming just like when the overseer or Babette saw Louis. It seemed that Lestat spent his years, living in fear of judgment so when Louis came along, he no longer had to hide his true nature. When you compare vampires to other predatory animals, they like to go solo. Hunting by themselves was the only way to guarantee their own survival. Lestat even points this out when he tells Louis that other vampires would “seek to kill you”. Although we don’t know if Lestat is telling the truth or lying so Louis can stay with him, it seems that he doesn’t want to be alone considering he had many chances to kill Louis. With his father gone, he was going to need Louis even more and that’s why I thought it was endearing how he wouldn’t let him leave. Although it may have been selfish for Lestat to keep Louis by throwing the responsibility of a vampire child onto him, I considered the idea of Lestat wanting to start his own family.

I feel that modern movies and shows have glorified vampires. After all who wouldn’t want to have superpowers and live forever but after reading this book, being a vampire is a punishment. It’s like reading a neverending story. I’d like to think of it as humans have a deadline to fulfill their purpose in life but vampires have all the time in the world and I think because of this, Lestat’s immortality holds him back from doing anything purposefully. You could think of it as procrastinating, teachers assigning due dates vs having all the time in the world. 

What is it like working from home?

During the first week of being home, I was able to get in a lot of sleep which means my days weren’t exactly long but nevertheless, I was able to catch on my hobbies such as drawing or watching movies. By the end of week two, I had already run out of things to do.  When we started REMOTE learning, I was glad to find out classes started at 9:00 am. So far, I have only been in a video call a few times. The online classes and assignments were flexible, most of my assignments are due by the end of the week which gave me time to plan out what I was going to do for the whole week. Despite having more time to complete my assignments, my entire family is home so I do see this as a setback especially since I share my room and the walls are not soundproof. In addition to that, unlike being at school, there are so many more distractions at home, such as video games and all the snacks lying around the house. As an introvert, I can say that I’m doing fine working from home but as the weather gets better I hope we can return to school. 

What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?

So far the number of coronavirus cases and deaths has been growing exponentially since day one. Today on April 1 there have been over 1 million cases worldwide and over 50,000 deaths worldwide. Of the 1million infected, 95% are in mild conditions while 5% are in serious/critical condition. The top countries with most cases of this pandemic are the US, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, France, and Iran. While there are 244,230 cases in the United States, in New York there is 92,381 cases which means for every 100,000 people 470.9 are infected. Other states with the highest number of cases include New Jersey, California, and Michigan. So far in my community, the supermarket near my house closed down the other day. My parents including many others in my community, were all at the supermarket that day waiting for hours in line. People remembered to stand 6 feet away from one another which resulted in the line stretching down the entire block.