Panera? ABSOLUTELY

HELLO :)


So I haven't blogged in a few weeks, but I also haven't gone out to eat anywhere - so you haven't missed anything. However, since today and tonight was such a rainy and lazy day, my roommate and I decided to make our way over to PANERA for some yummy soup, and awesome bread to go with it! Panera Bread, which is located on Route 3, is a great little restaurant with awesome soup, sandwiches, bread, pastries, and drinks. Although a regular meal, whether its soup and a sandwich, or soup in a bread bowl, or whatever, the price is usually between $8 and $12. Although that may seem a little steep just for soup and a sandwich, it's definitely worth it. The people there, LEGIT, ALWAYS are smiling, and very happy. The atmosphere is very comfy and relaxing. You find people doing business, students doing homework, or just people hanging out and talking. So! If you're in the mood for some good  warn food, a great chill place to just hangout for a little bit, make your way over to Panera! 


:) ENJOY!

feedback to my feedback

Thank you all who commented on my one and only post.. haha... and I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who feels this way about barnaby's food. Other than that I'll do my best to keep the restaurant reviews coming... as long as I continue to not empty my bank account or gain 25lbs...

Oh COSI...

I'm just gonna go ahead and throw it out there that I am TOTALLY slacking with this blog...but not so much dining out...which probably isn't so much of a good thing. Anyway! Last week, after a long debate about what we were in the mood for, and how big of a hit our bank accounts could take - which wasn't a big one - my friend Sarah and I ended up at Cosi - a cute little restaurant located on Route 1 (in the big shopping center with Target!). Cosi, which is very similiar to Panera, has GREAT ceasar salad! ...The dressing is what does it justice. Besides that, and from what I've tried off the menu, they have great pizza, surprisingly, and also great chicken parm sandwiches; which are all healthier then what you'd get at a pizza shop. The atmosphere at Cosi is great. It's really chill, they have different types tables, booths, and chairs set up for whatever kind of mood you're in... (you know.. grubbin' - obviously need a table.. or just cool big chairs for coffee and conversation!) One of my favorite things about Cosi is that you can order s'mores. S'more what? (Sandlot anyone?) No. Actual s'mores that you make in the summer! They bring you a mini fire pit type setup with all the necessities needed - which is fun if you're looking to go out and get a snack and hangout with friends - but not get a bunch of food and just be in a comfortable environment! So! If you're looking for pretty cheap, but good, but on the healthier side of food, to dine out at for a night...grab some friends and try Cosi! ... PS - they have awesome lemonade...just sayin...

That's all for now...

All comments are welcome! :)

RANT or RAVE?

Barnaby's of West Chester is such a struggle to those who like to dine out like Sarah and I. Although Barnaby's is mostly known for there bar and weekend scene for the college students of this town, it's also a chain restaurant. To start off with the positive, Barnaby's of West Chester has a pretty awesome bar setup. They have the downstairs bar area, the outside bar, the two big bars upstairs, and then two or three other bar areas upstairs. This makes for a great night out of drinking. However, the food isn't anything special. Although they have 'half off apps' nights, and pretty good happy hour deals... Barnaby's wouldn't be my first place to go to for a night out. There basic food like wings, fries, chicken fingers are pretty good... but as for there other meals, like burgers or pasta... they're kind of dropping the ball. Obviously some people would disagree with this statement, but after dining at some of the other restaurants in West Chester, like Landmark, or Iron Hill, Barnaby's is my choice of bar, or place to go to on the weekend for drinks, not for food.

WELCOME MESSGE!

Hi!

I originally started this blog for another computer class last semester. Our main projects, which included making videos and podcasts, were to be posted on here. With my new assignment for ENG320, I decided to keep this blog, mainly because I can't remember how to set everything up like I did before, and continue in a completely different direction. Last year I lived with three seniors, who are now all graduated, and we used to go out to dinner about once a week to all new places. Because I don't see my old roomies as much, we try to plan dinner once a week to catch up on what's going on in each others lives. SO... since my old roommate Sarah should be a food critic, or have her own cooking show on the food network, I've decided to call this blog, "Dinner For Two," which will be focussed around dining out in West Chester, and sometimes other places with her! My hope is to share our dining experience with you, provide you with some new, or already known but really good, places of where to eat, suggestions on what's good and how the atmosphere is. So if you enjoy going out to eat, and finding new places... maybe this blog will be of some assistance!


Meg.

Multi-Modal Project: The Road Not Taken

MULTI-MODAL PROJECT:

1.     The directions for our multi-modal project were to take a piece of traditional literature, and create a non-discursive piece. I chose to make a video, that included music, on imovie - which is available on imac computers. I put the words to images and music, and pieced it altogether to create a movie. I chose Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," and it allowed my imagination to work and be as creative as I wanted to be. I used a lot of 'woodsy' and forest pictures to express what the words were saying. I also did a short analysis of the poem - which would be more of a traditional piece of an English project, and I really enjoyed having both elements. I got to really pick out lines from the poem and think about them, and then chose images that I thought related perfectly to what was being said. This allowed all parts of my brain to get involved with the project.

2.     The teaching standard that fits best with this project would be encouraging students to customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. After being introduced to tons of new technology and websites that work with the technology hand in hand, we got to pick what we wanted to use and make it our own. Although we were given a specific project to do, we were given ample room to make it our own and do what we want. It is obvious that every student learns differently, and also every student has a different style. This project was directed at these facts.

3.     It is important to carry out this standard in the classroom because these facts will always stay true - that every student will learn different and every student will have a different personality and style. Letting students express themselves gets them engaged in the classroom and learning.

Podcast: This West Chester Life - JAKE'S BAR

PODCAST PROJECT - THIS WEST CHESTER LIFE: JAKE'S BAR

1.     For our multi-modal project, we were asked to first listen to a podcast, then create our own. A podcast is like a TV show, but recorded and listened to - like the radio. Podcast are easily accessed by itunes, and other sites. The theme for our podcast was "This Is West Chester." We had to choose something unique about West Chester, interview people if necessary, or create dialogue about what our topic was so that other people could listen to it. My group chose Jake's Bar, which is a famous dive bar right in the heart of West Chester. The story behind Jake's Bar dates back to when it was opened in the 1930s - and the history of it is just amazing, not mentioning the owner, Jake, and his son, Raz. Although neither Jake or Raz wanted to be recorded for the interview, they were more then willing to tell us the history behind the bar. By using 'garageband' on the iMac computer provided by the school, we were able to piece together sounds and music we recorded, and we were also able to piece together the story we recorded from the information we received. Finally, by uploading the recording to bluefire, a website specifically for recordings, we created our podcast.

2. To collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation would be the best teaching standard that we used. There is no question that we collaborated with students, since we worked in groups. In relation to peers, we got to discuss our projects in class with our classmates and great feedback was given - whether giving ideas to help a group or proposing problems that may occur that a group may not have thought of. Because we were asked to do something that related to West Chester, interaction with our community members was a must. Furthermore, we used ipod touch devices to record and garageband on the imac computers to create our podcasts.

3.     By encouraging group work amongst my students and letting them interact with new technological devices, I believe I would be upholding this standard. Furthermore, getting my students engaged with the world that they live in, and the community in which they live, is very important. There are many ways to come up with safe, creative projects for my students where they can get to know whats happening in there community, and hopefully do something good or at least informative and interesting for other community members.


PODCAST - Jake's Bar 

Know Your Meme:

KNOW YOUR MEME



1.     The purpose of this project was to take a popular internet video, saying, or trend, that has gained tons of popularity in society. Our group chose to make a 'knowyourmeme' video about Beyonce Knowle's popular music video, "Single Ladies." This video became very popular because it's a very intense dance video; and more importantly it sends a very blunt message to everyone about single ladies and confidence. Numerous people have tried on there own to imitate Beyonce's moves - which gave us great videos to work with. Not only have average people at home tried to do Beyonce's moves, popular artists and TV shows have also taken an interest in her video, so her video has become viral over the internet and in the entertainment world. Like any other 'knowyourmeme' video, our video showed how the "Single Ladies" video progressed and became so popular.

2.     The best teaching standard that would apply to this video would be developing technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress. This relates because we were allowed to choose our own video idea, and then after we finished the project and watched it, we assessed the video ourselves. Furthermore, we were introduced to new websites and digital devices to work with and video tape. After learning how to use these new devices, we also needed to learn about new websites to upload the videos onto and learn new programs to edit the videos. All of these new things that we learned can only help us in a classroom - and will make learning for our students more advanced and exciting.


3.     When I have my own classroom, I believe I will continue to use this standard because its both educational, and exciting for students. Not only will my students be able to let there imaginations run wild using technology, they will also be learning, and it won't be tedious for them. Furthermore, self-evaluations are a great way to reflect on your work, and think about ways that you could have done things differently, or better. It is very important for students to reflect on there work so that they are constantly working to reach there fullest potential, which is why it is very important for educators to use and meet this standard.




Know Your Meme - SINGLE LADIES

Citations:

1. Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." Unbelievably Written. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.unbelievablywritten.com/?p=232>.



2. "Be Inspired to Do Great Things | Reading For Your Success." Reading for Your Success : Discovering Your Own Path to Personal Freedom. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.readingforyoursuccess.com/about/inspiration>.




3. "The Road Not Taken by ~Anachronist84 on DeviantART." Anachronist84 on DeviantART. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://anachronist84.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-Not-Taken-50928248?offset=10>.




4. "Homepage." The CMU Contributed Homepage. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~mgallowa/>.




5. "Fall Pictures: For Autumn Splendor Year Round." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.squidoo.com/fall-pictures>.


6. MUSIC - Hans Zimmer - "Cry"

Multi-Modal Poem: The Road Not Taken

I decided to do Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken."

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

 

 The Road Not Taken, is a poem that consists of four stanzas, five lines each and has a rhyming scheme of ABAAB. Most people have read this poem in school in an English class, or have seen it on a hallmark card, but never really find the real meaning of this poem. Robert Frost says in the poem, "Though as for that, the passing there had worn them really about the same." Speaking about both of the roads that he stands before, he sees that they are "worn the same," therefore, neither road is really less traveled. The decisions that we make in life are ultimately the "roads" we travel down. Later in the poem, he states how he will look back on this moment and he sighs. He realizes that at some point in his life, he may regret his decision of the road he took, or at least think about the other road and what that road may have taken him too. The last two lines of this poem leave a hopeful and inspiring feel for the reader; however, the poem is called, "The Road Not Taken," not, "The Road Less Traveled." This is a significant part of the meaning behind this poem. This suggest a theme of "Carpe Diem," or, seize the day. There is no RIGHT path but rather in that moment of having to decide, just the one you choose to take, and the one you don't.

 

 Murray states, "...students must learn how the imagination is required for logical, reasoned, claim-based argument; how the emotions are not only omnipresent but integral to image and textual production;" I believe that this poem is great for what Murray says. There are many descriptive sentences, and hidden themes that can make a students' imagination run wild. There is a lot of interpretation that can be taken away from, "The Road Not Taken," and with those interpretations, creativeness will happen. To further back up this theory, Murray also states, "All symbolization, including traditional notions of language, is based in image because our brains function through image." This means that when reading words, we immediately start picturing things in our head that we think the words are portraying. Overall, this written text can be made into an amazing multi-modal piece that can help students really get the true meaning of the poem.

 

Chapter 4 Question (Murray) :

According to Murray and his views on Writing/Invention Theory, what is symbolization?

A.  It is based around discursive meaning
B.  Symbolization are examples given in the text to describe a meaning
C.  It defines imagination
D.  Symbolization is based in image; it constructs reality for individuals

EPIC BEARD MAN: knowyourmeme.com

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/episodes?page=4

EVALUATION OF EPIC BEARD MAN knowyourmeme VIDEO:
Meg Moore

PERSPECTIVE: 18points

     In this particular meme video, it tells the story of the EPIC BEARD MAN on a city bus, and the brawl he gets in with an African American man. The overall presentation of the 'scientist' and how he tells the story is told in a serious tone, although the story can be found comical. The camera angles are pretty basic throughout the entire video and its a straight forward shot on the speaker the whole time, but I think it fits for how they want to tell the story, and the tone in which they want to tell the story. The scientist stands a little towards the right of the screen and in the backround on the left is a man at a computer. Everytime the camera comes back on the narrator, the man at the computer is doing something different, or wearing a mask or something. Although it make you think, "What is going on....why is he doing that?" and it may make you laugh, it's distracting from the narrator. After I watched the video a few times, I found myself hearing new things that the narrator was saying, that I missed before because I was distracted by the man at the computer. This is why I took 2points off of the perspective piece.

JUXTAPOSTION: 20points

     The juxtapostion piece of this video was great, in my opinion. They first show the video, and then they take snapshots, or freeze frames, from the actual video and add a 'picture-taking' sound when they add it in. They also posted response videos and clipped them in and also related it to other videos that have been posted of similar situations. One part I thought was great actually related to the tenso video we saw in class. There was a girl on the bus who had on headphones and seemed un-phased by the whole fight happening in front of her. Someone took a freeze frame shot of her face and put it onto a video playing Plain White T's song, "Hey There Delilah," and other people have made parodies off it. This was a great commical add in, and also a great little sidenote that the average watcher wouldn't have even noticed if it wasn't pointed out. Furthermore, they had great backround music which also added a commical overall tone.

LAYERING: 20points

     The layering in this video was just enough. There wasn't too many extra videos, clips, or pictures. Furthermore, it all flowed together and there weren't random things popping up ... (minus the scientist at the computer). The music, extra videos that related, and even the clip of the girl who was unphased by the fight were all put together well and it was an easy video to watch and understand. Also when going back to watch again, there were things I found that I hadn't noticed before, like the girl who also was yelling racial comments in the original video, and who went on youtube to make a public apology for getting involved.

UNITY: 18points

     I would give unity an overall 18points. Everything definitely tied together and related back to the overall main point. The videos, music, pictures and parody videos that were posted in all related to the overall main point of the story. However, I would take away 2points because of the random guy at the computer throughout the video. As stated before, he kind of took the attention away from the narrator and he wasn't even doing anything that related to the bus video or what the narrator scientist was talking about. Maybe if the man at the computer, throughout the whole video, was trying to figure out how to grow AN EPIC BEARD, that would be funnier and make more sense as to why he was even in the shot...other then that, it was just random and unrelated.

SELF-ASSESSMENT: 19points

     All the written information for this video was good. It was easy to read, written correctly with no errors, and there was a lot to refer back too. Everything that was in the video was covered in the written part. The only part I didn't think was appropriate was the written dialogue. Foul language was exchanged between the two men in the video and it was written out on the website when it would have been starred off (A**), for example.

Autobiography

Name: Megan

Age: 20

Current Location: West Chester, PA

I was born on August 19th, 1990 and when I was three I moved to Norwood, Pennsylvania, where I grew up, went to school, and, when I'm not at my house here at school, I live today. I grew up in a pretty  basic household: Dad, Mom, Brother - Ryan, and when I was nine, my Nanny and Uncle Harold, who has special needs, moved in.

Growing up was pretty normal:

    School Monday - Friday

    Sports, like DANCE (my favorite), lacrosse, basketball or softball every night

    Play with friends

    Go places on the weekends

    Church on Sunday

    Repeat

I graduated from Interboro High School, which isn't a well-known High School, but I love it all the same. I was in Student Council, Class Congress and a bunch of other activities but lacrosse and dance team were my favorites things in High School.

After I graduated High School, I knew exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, and I couldn't have been more excited to finally come to West Chester University, where I've been since Fall 2008.

I love to talk and get to know people and I love to work with children. I've always wanted to work with children, but recently haven't been able to decide in which direction to take my dream. I am going to school to become an English teacher - but I want to get certified K-12. I also would love to pursue a career in becoming a child-life specialist. A child-life specialist is basically someone who works with kids with cancer in children's hospitals and you make cancer less scary for them. You also get to talk to and be involved with the family and help them through the rough times that are happening to them.

My dad is a cancer survivor, and within the past couple years I've lost some very close people to me to the fight against cancer. Therefore, I would love to be able to help others cope with that.

THON is a massive fundraiser that Penn State University does every year. They work with a foundation called 'The Diamond Fund' and this fund helps children and their families with getting through the fight and also being able to pay for things. Throughout the year, especially around this time, you may notice kids from PSU walking around major roads with cans asking for donations -- The Diamond Fund is where this money goes. PSU holds a 48hour dance-a-thon each year where the students of PSU, while attending classes and maintaining good grades, contribute all of there time to making THON a major success. Last year THON raised over 6million dollars for The Diamond Fund. THON is an amazing weekend where you get to see children who have survived cancer, you get to dance for them and also you get to hear amazing stories from the families. THON is probably the best thing that I have ever attended in my life and someday I would love to be apart of the nobel, major operation that The Diamond Fund does everyday.

I love all kinds of music. I love to drive and to take road trips. I love to dance and laugh and just enjoy life.

Random Fact: I would love to be a race car driver at some point in my life just for the fun of it.

I would love to study abroad in Australia and to also travel.

I could tell you much more about myself  but this blog is already long enough.