30 ROCK

• I think the reason we were supposed to watch this episode of 30 Rock, is that the difference between “razes” still exists today. Also the fact that prejudice still is a big problem, and even if the world has developed throughout time, it’s still too easy to judge people that are different. One other reason was probably that people in today’s society try, but not always manages to treat everyone equal, and we can easily see that in the episode. When one of the main characters is supposed to “deliver” a package to her neighbour, and sees that he is from the middle-east and that his wall covered with world maps, she automatically thinks about terrorists. At the same time, we have to admitter that many things in the apartment, and the neighbour’s behaviour in many ways misleading. Still, if it would have been an American, or a European, she probably wouldn’t have reacted the way she did.  

      

• I think it’s good to use humour to approach sensitive topics, but at the same time there are some points that point to the opposite. There are several reasons why I think that humour is a good way to show this topic. One of them is that the use of humour makes the topic more daily-based, which means that it doesn’t occur so unfamiliar. Also humour makes more people understand how stupid the fact that people are treated different, caused their skin-color, nationality, religion, gender etc. really is, and that how wrong things can go if we don’t think about what we’re saying, before we think. Another reason that underlines my point of view is that humour usually attracts many people, especially the younger generations. Humour also encourages more people to react.
• On the other side, people can react on the fact that such a sensible theme, is presented in such an unserious way. Many people think that this kind of theme, should be handled in a serious and formal way, and not be presented in a humoristic way. 

      

Invisible people

The first thing I thought when I saw those video clips, was how people survives out there, without a home or any other belongings than their clothing. Of course, some of the homeless people live in a homeless shelter, but most of the shelter places has what they call "10 or 30 days in and 30 days out". That means after staying there 10 or 30 days you get kicked out and cannot return until after 30 days. It's impossible to do something that can change your situation in ten days, omitted the fact that you, after staying at the shelter for ten or thirty days, have to go out, living on the streets for thirty days before you are allowed to get back in the shelter.
My second thought was that this can happen to everyone, and that it can happen overnight, while you are sleeping. After watching those clips, and knowing what people have been through, I always have to think about what I would have done if something like this would happen to me.
The reasons for why this happens are boundless, but in most cases, money is the trigger. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your own money, but if the country you live in, suffers a financial volatility, then this will affect the companies all over the country too. At one point, the “weaker” companies gos bankrut or at least fire some of their employees. If you are one of those employees, and you cannot accomplish to get a new source of income, there’s nothing left in the end, and it’s just a matter of time before you’re in the same situation as the “invisible people.             

The fact that all of the clips are set in America, and that the statements from the “invisible people” all in one way are different, but at the same time also equally, gives me the impression that America got several problems, but in the end, they do affect normal people like you and me, with one result; homelessness.

Another thing that these stories can tell us about American culture and society is that ignore the fact that there are homeless people, and instead of changing it, they all just passing by, not concerned about what is going to happen with them. This is written on the invisible people blog:

“Once on the street, people started to walk past him, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist… much like they do a piece of trash on the sidewalk. It’s not that people are bad, but if we make eye contact, or engage in conversation, then we have to admit they exist and that we might have a basic human need to care. But it’s so much easier to simply close our eyes and shield our hearts to their existence”  

One of the stories on the blog really caught my attention; Ron, a 65 year old retired man, who lives on the streets in St. Louis, Missouri. Ron lived with his nephew when suddenly his social security disability payments were stopped. He could fight them back, but the only way to do that was with a lawyer, and because he didn’t have any money for legal help, Ron ended up on the streets, with nothing left. In addition to that, Ron needs medical help, but since he can’t afford any medical assistance, he’s going around questioning what the next day will bring and if he’s still going to be alive, or if someone finds him dead in the morning.

WRITING TASKS

Which of these last words made most of an impression on you? Why? What do you think this person was feeling at that moment

“I wish I could die more than once to tell you how sorry I am” are the last words that made most of an impression on me, because I think that the fact that the person wants to “punish” himself more than once for the think he did, is a sign for regret and mashed up feelings. I think that it must be hard to know that you are going to die within a few minutes after saying those words, and I think that the fact that he chose to use the lasts words in his life to say those words is a sign that this was very important for him.        

Death penalty – pros and cons. Make a list. Are you for or against the death penalty, personally?
Pros:
Criminals are taken away from the society
The government/ country doesn’t have to use resources on taking care of criminals
Cons:
You can never be sure that the prisoner really is the perpetrator. There are many examples for the wrong man got killed.
For some criminals, the death penalty is no punishment, but rather a release from it.
Death isn’t always the right alternative. There are several cases where other kinds of punishment have been useful too.   

What is another word (synonym) used in the text for the death penalty?

Capital punishment, is another word for death penalty.  

How many states in the US have a law permitting the death penalty and what percentage of the total number of US states does this represent?

Thirty-five states have a law permitting capital punishment, but it’s only practices in approximately half of them.   

Which method is used as the primary form of execution?

Lethal injection is the primary form of execution practiced by the most of the states.

What are some of the arguments mentioned that support capital punishment?

The eye for an eye from the Bible – Many people demands death penalty, to get a kind of revenge for their loss, and that is carried out in the way that the person who killed, gets killed.

Death penalty deters crime. That’s because no one/ very few would commit a capital offence, if they knew that they would be put to death (although statistics shows the opposite).

Capital punishment keeps offenders from returning to society and committing new crimes

It’s cheaper to use death penalty, because keeping criminals in prison is expensive

What are the arguments expressing opposition?

Innocent inmates can be executed, before they’ve got the chance to prove their innocence

it is “harsh and unusual” punishment and therefore against the eight changes in the Constitution

Why are many of the prisoners on death row black?

The reason for the fact that there are many black people in the death row, is their poor economic state. They cannot hire a good lawyer, and they may also face prejudiced juries.

Norsk oppgaver - Novelle

OPPGAVE A: Skriv et blogginnlegg der du forstørrer ett av følgende to øyeblikk:

Øyeblikk 1: Du sitter på bussen på veg heim fra skolen en ettermiddag. Du er trøtt etter en slitsom dag på skolen, og du ønsker at det skal være stille rundt deg. Men så kommer to eldre damer på, og setter seg på setene rett bak deg. De er av den meget pratsomme sorten.

Sliten, lei, trett, så ubeskriveleg korleis ein dag kan vere så utmattande, så utroleg mykje på ein gong. Eg er glad for at eg snart eg heim. Det var tomt på bussen i dag, noko som eg var veldig glad for. Eg hadde ikkje lyst til å høyre mykje bråk i dag, altfor trøtt og sliten til å høyre mykje støy. Rett før bussen skulle til å kjøre ut på vegen igjen, bremsa den hardt ned igjen, slik at eg nesten datt ned frå setet mitt. To eldre damer kom tungt pustande inn gjennom midtgangen, og eg håpa på at de ikkje skulle setje seg nærme meg, i og med at de ikkje akkurat var av den sorten som var glad i stillheita. Begge var utstyrt med kvar sin rullator, paraply og regnfrakk, noko som eg ikkje skjønte fordi sola sto på sitt høgaste i dag. Ja, det var faktisk det beste været på heile tre månadar. Eg kunne ikkje fatte kvifor de satt seg rett bak meg, når heile, og eg menar heile, bussen var tom?? Ikkje nok med at rullatorane lagde uhyre mykje bråk, nei, også mine to kjære sitjekomaratar snakket heile bussturen, og det på eit lyd nivå som ikkje var til å halde ut… I 34 minuttar måtte eg sitte å høre på kor dårleg det var at Magnus sa at dette kommer til å bli ein dag med mykje regn, og kor skuffa de var av dagens ungdom. Eg kjende korleis sinna kokte inni meg, utslitt, ferdig og lei, irritert over alt som kom i vegen min, det einaste eg ville, var å komme heim. Eg halde på å flytte meg, men da var det berre ein haldeplass til eg skulla av, så eg pakka saman tingande mine, trykte på knappen, og stod opp.     

OPPGAVE B:

Skriv et blogginnlegg der du ”viser” to ”fortellinger”:

a) Mikal er svært interessert i musikk.

Det finnast ikkje ein dag kor Mikal kommer rett heim frå jobb. De einaste gongane vi ser ham, er når han kommer heim seint på kveld med tre baggar full av instrumentar og høgtalarar. Ein skulle nesten tru at han var profesjonell, slik som han spelar med bandet sitt kvar dag, øver, og øver.. Han spelar fleire instrument, men det eine gir han aldri slipp på, det eine instrumentet er hans aller heilagaste, og det er nærmast slik at han søv med den om natta. Den tolv år gamle gitaren hans, som han hadde arva av faren var noko av det som betydde mest for ham, men ikkje bare gitaren er livet for ham. Spelar du ein song i hans nærvær, skal du ikkje vente lenge før Mikal har funnet fram det passande instrumentet og begynt å spele til musikken.     

b) Jeg sitter ute på en holme. Det blåser kraftig, og jeg er svært redd.

Kulde og einsamheit. Her sit eg, håret blåsar i ansiktet, bølgjene kastar vatnet som treffer steinane på meg, og eg sit berre der. Forlat, og ingen er rundt meg, heilt aleine utan nokon som kan trøste meg. Eg skjelvar og eg tørr ikkje sjå bak meg, det er som om ein blir jaga til verdas ende, utan nokon utvei står eg her, utan nokon nær meg. Vinden tek meg med, det er eg nesten sikker på, sitter berre her og ventar, krympar heile kroppen samen, for å ikkje fryse, vinden er eit kraftig fenomen, og her ute kjennast den som noko mykje kraftigare enn det eg hadde trudd….    

OPPGAVE D:

Husker du Hemingways seksordsnovelle ”For sale: Baby shoes, never worn”? Skriv to ulike åpninger på historien om dette: én hvor du bruker en presenterende start, og én hvor du bruker ”in medias res”.

Presenterande start:

Det var ein gong ein usedvanleg varm vårdag, sola strålte ned på den kvite sjukehusbygginga. Alle trudde at dette skulle bli ein vedunderleg dag, og eg trudde det same. Men det var ingenting som gikk som vi hadde forventa.. Ni månadar bar eg på det som vekst fram inni meg, ni lange, men utrolege månadar. Månadar fylt med både glede og smerte.

In medias res:

De rosa skoa låg ved kista. Knapt ein meter lang, kvit, og dekka med blommar. Rundt heile kista låg, det bukettar med banderoler der det stod helsingar frå kjente som kondolerte. Tårane trilla ned, ein etter ein, som ein foss utan retning. Eg kjente smerten i hjartet, og ville ikkje tru at det var sant, eg ville ikkje tro at det som eg hadde passa på, det som eg bar rundt på i ni månadar plutseleg skulle vere borte.