3c Inland Cities: Sacramento and Bakersfield

Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points

3c Inland Areas: Sacramento and Bakersfield

Contains a web link to your locations. (eg you can use the tools in your blog where you paste your work; there is a little icon that looks like a link) .25 points

www.sacbee.com

www.bakersfield.com

http://www.wikipedia.org/search-redirect.php?search=bakersfield&language=en&go=++%E2%86%92++&go=Go

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=sacramento&go=Go

Contains an explanation regarding how this component (any aspect of it; eg content of videos, content of websites) connects to your study of humanities. .25 point

Unfortunately, I’ve been using a computer that doesn’t allow for Youtube or any kind of streaming. The two cities that I’m reviewing this week are both located in the central valley. Sacramento is the state capitol, which means that it is the political, social, economic hub of the state. Both are large cities, which draw large immigrant populations and as such alter the cultural make up of the state.

Contains the following elements that will be used in upcoming projects for analytical purposes:
What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location: 1 point

I know that before I moved to Sacramento, I always held a stereotype of all Central Valley cities as being “rednecky.” I always assumed that the central valley was filled with Republicans. I think of people in the Central Valley as being poor. Often when visiting family in the Central Valley, we would joke about how the Central Valley is the armpit of California. I think that some of the stereotypes I have about the Central Valley come from depictions of “Okeys” from The Grapes of Wrath.

List 3 things that make each location similar: 1 point

Bakersfield and Sacramento make up two of the three largest inland cities in California.
Large portions of the economies of both Bakersfield and Sacramento are from agriculture.
Both Sacramento and Bakersfield are ethnically diverse.

List 3 things that make each location so different: 1 point

Bakersfield has a large petroleum industry whereas Sacramento does not.
Sacramento’s was originally a gold mining town whereas Bakersfield was not associated with the Gold Rush.
Sacramento is the state capitol, which means that it is where the state legislation happens. Bakersfield is not in the same position.

Questioning: What else would you like to know about these places? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. .5 point

Bakersfield, in addition to being a very large city, has large agricultural and petroleum industries. How does Bakersfield seeing itself shifting its major agricultural and petroleum industries in the future to adjust to the fine balance between the economic and ecological concerns?

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

The piece of information from last week comes from Liz’ blog. She stated, “Huntington Beach is parallel to a coastal wetland.” I never knew this about Huntington Beach. I always had imagined that it was surrounded by suburban sprawl because it is in Southern California, but it turns out that there is also a wetland.

http://lizhuman7.blogspot.com/2009/03/assignment-3b-beaches-bodega-bay-vs.html

3b Beaches, Seal Beach and Bodega Bay

Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points

3B Beaches, Seal Beach and Bodega Bay

Contains a web link to your locations. (eg you can use the tools in your blog where you paste your work; there is a little icon that looks like a link) .25 points

http://www.wikipedia.org/search-redirect.php?search=bodega+bay&language=en&go=++%E2%86%92++&go=Go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=seal+beach&go=Go

http://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us/

http://www.bodegabay.com/

Contains an explanation regarding how this component (any aspect of it; eg content of videos, content of websites) connects to your study of humanities. .25 point

The reason these two locations connect to humanities is that California is very much defined by its beach culture. When people think of California, they think of the ocean. These small towns offer us a glimpse of what California was before it became huge and commercialized. In this sense it can give us, culturally, a sense of our roots. These two locations also, because of their beauty, tend to be favorite spots of artists. Both towns have also been used for film making.

Contains the following elements that will be used in upcoming projects for analytical purposes:
What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location: 1 point

Honestly, I don’t know the answer to this question. I had never heard of Seal Beach before doing this project. People have stereotypes about Southern Californian beaches in general. They tend to think of palm trees and movie stars. Now that I know about Seal Beach, those are the types of stereotypes I would associate with that town.

From what I gather from my relatives, the stereotypes that people have of Bodega Bay tend to be related to the fact that Bodega Bay is in Sonoma County which is in the wine country. When my relatives think of Bodega Bay, they think of an upscale, ritzy food and wine Mecca on the ocean.

List 3 things that make each location similar: 1 point

1. Both towns are small, Bodega Bay being much smaller than Seal Beach.
2. Both towns are beach towns.
3. Both towns are reliant on tourism.

List 3 things that make each location so different: 1 point

1. Seal Beach is a Southern California beach community, whereas Bodega Bay is a Northern California beach community which means a difference in climate and culture.
2. Seal Beach built up around a Naval air station and munitions development, whereas Bodega Bay built up around fishing and vacationing.
3. Seal Beach is much closer to a metropolitan area than Bodega Bay is.

Questioning: What else would you like to know about these places? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. .5 point

One of the things that I learned about Seal Beach is that it has managed to maintain its integrity as a small town despite the fact that it is adjacent to one of the largest cities in the world. What kind of advice for maintaining cultural integrity would the residents of Seal Beach offer to the residents of Bodega Bay as tourism and development in the twenty first century begin to strain the small town?

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

I checked out Katy’s blog from last week and found that Seattle was a gold rush town. I didn’t realize that. I mostly just have the stereotypes of Seattle as a grunge and coffee kind of town. I think that this is related to our foundation because we are focusing on California and what makes California unique. I'm familiar with just San Francisco because I grew up here, but it was interesting to see the development of another very similar city with a similar past in juxtaposition to what I'm familiar with.

3a World Cities Los Angeles and San Francisco

Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points

“3a World Cities Los Angeles and San Francisco”

Contains a web link to your locations. (eg you can use the tools in your blog where you paste your work; there is a little icon that looks like a link) .25 points

http://www.lastories.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=los+angeles&go=Go
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=san+francisco&go=Go

Contains an explanation regarding how this component (any aspect of it; eg content of videos, content of websites) connects to your study of humanities. .25 point

One of the very big things about both of these cities is that they are iconic. They are constantly in the news, many times because there is something either scandalous or innovative or both happening in one of the cities. There is a huge arts scene in both cities. While Los Angeles boasts a much larger film industry, the San Francisco Bay Area has also been home to influential and innovative filmmakers. The work that comes out of these areas affects how people see the world. Both are incredible melting pots of culture, political ideologies, and religions. Different social, political, and artistic movements arise organically from constant influence from all these diverse sources.

Contains the following elements that will be used in upcoming projects for analytical purposes:
What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location: 1 point

One of the things that people hold as a stereotype about Los Angeles is that it is all glitz and glamour and surfing. I don’t think people who haven’t been to Los Angeles realize how incredibly huge it is and how many different kinds of people and life styles there are. One of my favorite movies of all time is LA Story, which plays on all these stereotypes, but also celebrates the quirkiness off it all.

Some of the stereotypes that people harbor about San Francisco is that it has a lot of hippies because of the Summer of Love. I think a lot of people also see San Francisco as being a “gay” city. Recently South Park did a show about people who drive Priuses and they all move to San Francisco to be smug together and the city becomes covered in a thick “layer of smug.” From that I would guess that there is a sense that people in San Francisco are very environmentally conscientious, but may also be a bit pretentious.

List 3 things that make each location similar: 1 point

1. Both cities contribute heavily to the country’s artistic heritage.

2. Both cities are very diverse.

3. Both cities were originally sites of missions.

List 3 things that make each location so different: 1 point

1. Los Angeles is very sprawled out and huge whereas San Francisco is very compact and dense.

2. Los Angeles is notorious for having sunny, beautiful warm weather, while San Francisco is cold and foggy.

3. While Los Angeles derives a large portion of its economy from the movie industry, San Francisco derives a majority of its income from the high tech industry.

Questioning: What else would you like to know about these places? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know; yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. .5 point

My father was a child in Los Angeles during WWII. There are so many stories about L.A. that made it seem like it was a magical mysterious place, full of excitement and intrigue. Other people who are roughly the same age as my father in L.A. during that time speak of their experience the same way. Similarly, San Francisco was one of the major ports on the West Coast for soldiers to ship out during the war. Great ships were built in the bay. That said, what are the stories of the people in San Francisco during WWII? Was there the same kind of electricity, fear, hope, and nostalgia?

5. Using your classmate’s work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point

Katy’s Blog

I decided to respond to Katy’s blog entry from last week. She wrote about Yosemite. One of the things that I found out from her blog is that John Muir traveled there in the 1870’s. I thought he was in the Sierras closer to the turn of the century. That was interesting to learn. I actually work at Muir Woods during the summers, but embarrassingly, I have never actually read any of John Muir’s writing. I do know that the writings and work of John Muir are one of the main reasons we have a national parks system. One of the things that Katy pointed out in her blog is that people from all over the world enjoy Yosemite. That is something that is true of many of our national parks. The treasures that we have preserved are gifts that we share with the rest of the world. I think that it shapes how we are perceived by other nations, while at the same time reminding us of the political and cultural responsibility that we have to continue to strive to preserve these lands as well as our other natural resources.