4a Group # 3
1. Bienvendios a Newport Beach, by Firoozeh Dumas
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This reading follows the life to the author during a move from Whittier, CA to Newport Beach, CA. When he tells his friends at school of where he is moving, they all comment on how rich he must be. Currently in Whittier, he lives in a rental with a view of Taco Bell, KFC and Wienerschnitzel. His neighbors also let their dogs run around everyone’s lawns and leave ‘surprises’ and they also leave ‘junky, rust cars and tires’ on their lawns. When the family moves to Newport Beach, they join a subdivision that has a homeowner’s association. Because of the homeowner’s association, everything is different than in his last rental home. Owners pick up the ‘surprises’ left by the dogs, have gardeners that make sure landscapes are perfectly manicured, and there is a private pool every dozen streets for the resident to use, which Firoozeh, the author, takes advantage of, more than anyone in the entire neighborhood. As an adult, the author’s parents still live in the same house in Newport Beach, and recently had their house painted Navajo White.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
“Would it be painted eggshell, off-white, fawn or ecru? The Association decided. ” pg 90
4. What did the reading make you think of?.75 percent
The reading made me think of groups of home development that have homeowners associations and makes me wonder why anyone would want to move in to the area. The reading is happy because the family moves to a new area and gets to experience a new way of living, but it is sad because many people in the neighborhood think the family doesn’t belong because they assume the family is Spanish, when they are really Iranian.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I learned that there are many rules when you belong to a HOA. For instance, the outside of your house is regulated and you cannot make a change without asking permission first. Also there is no overnight parking on the streets, but many of the expensive cars rarely see sun anyways.
1. Cotton Candy Mirrors, by Devorah Major
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This story is about summer when a summer vacation lasted three solid months and you left as soon as you woke up and were not seen at home until the street lights came one. The story starts with one kid and tells of him and his friends crossing town to go to the Playland, or boardwalk. The Playland cost only 35 cents for a full day’s tuition, which could be found on the streets, was full of rides, carnival games, cotton candy, pink popcorn and a laughing sally, of course. The kids never had enough money for the less than thrilling rides, so the best attraction was the Fun House. The Fun House, never had a long line, and usually had a nice attendant who would let you in if you were a few cents short. The Fun House, was a house of mirrors, that would eventually have you running full force into a mirror and because of the lack of light, would have you guessing which way was out. The kids in the story love this especially because of the ‘metal disk’ in the last room, that about a dozen kids could fit on, and would start spinning. Some kids fell off right away, while others held on a bit longer, but eventually you would fall to the floor. After the silver disk was the wooden barrel that spun and while some would run across, others would try to stay on as long as possible. After the barrel, was the super wooden slide. You needed to take off your shoes and climb up 3 flights of stairs, where with a piece of burlap, you would fly down three hills of heavily lacquered wood, where your breath would be taken away. Even though the Fun House was torn down, summer memorys live on. Summer learnings included when to jump and when to stay still, far surpassed anything learned in school.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
“Education was cheaper and safer in the day… Summer was the official educational institutions of our childhood.” Pg 102-3
4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent
The reading made me think of my summers as a child and how much fun I had with the neighborhood friends in the cul-de-sac of our street doing everything from playing in the sprinklers to playing hide and seek when it was dark enough. Even though summer seems to sneak by every year, it is my favorite season because of the memories of ‘those summer nights’.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I never knew how much kids value summer. Where I grew up, we didn’t take the bus anywhere and frequently relied on our own imagination for entertainment. I now know that even just having the luxury spending 35 cents can bring upon some of life’s best memories.
1. Berkley by Micheal Chabon
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be sp ecific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This story is about the crazy city of Berkeley. The author describes the city in detail, as well as all the different people, ideas, professions and ideals that people assume as the norm, in a hilarious manner. In the beginning Chaben gives off the idea he dislikes the city, but in the end, he describes that he wouldn’t trade his city for any other town/city in the country.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
“Laid upon her remarkable setting between hills and bay, less consistenly fine but at its best no less charming, is the built environment of Berkley.” Pg 109
4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent
The reading, obviously, made me think of the city of Berkley. Because of my trips to Berkley, I was able to see the different aspects Chabon was describing, such as the Berkley Brown Shingle housing type that so many residents love; also, I can picture the open market just down from the University, buzzing with all of the different people Chabon describes, interacting with each other in a way different than anywhere else in the US.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know ? 1 percent
I learned how much residents of Berkley value the diverseness of the city. I knew Berkley is a city in its own in a way that nowhere on earth is similar. I love this about the city.
1. California Honky-tonk by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
2. Summarize the reading in one brief paragraph; be specific in your summary. Remember that your classmates will rely on you for this information. 2 percent
This story focuses around four young folksingers, in a band called El Rancho Motel, who loved performing popular songs and often played at different bars, wherever they can get a ‘gig’. The band was their lives’. They spent all of their time making music and rhinestone studded costumes. They had a gig at a bar, that they assumed was a regular old bar, but when they go there, they realized the club was a biker bar. The owner of the bar and the group talked about their experiences at different bars. Overall, the story is about the group who didn’t ‘make it big’ in the music scene, but the group made memories that lasted for the rest of their lives.
3. Which was your favorite sentence or paragraph (include entire quote; use quote marks and page number)? 1 percent
“El Rancho Motel! It’s a perfect name for our band. You know, ‘third rate romance, low-rent rendezvous’ – as he sang, the chorus of the Amazing Rhythm Aces song we’d chosen to kick off our first set. So El Rancho Motel we became.” Pg 117
4. What did the reading make you think of? .75 percent
The reading made me think of a band I once saw at a a local coffee house. The band was awful, as they sang only country songs, and lets face it, the crowd wasn’t the country-type. By the end of the night, the crowd dwindled down to less than a dozen people, but the band left stage with smiles on their faces. They had had fun and that was all that matters, just like El Rancho Motel.
5. What is one thing you did not know before you started the reading that you now know (again, be specific using concrete examples)? 1 percent
I learned there are not any rules when it comes to music. There is touring where you can get a gig and that is the ultimate goal. All you do is show up with the playlist, costumes, and an open mind. That to me is petrifying, but that is the music lifestyle.
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