Alina Geng 7-9 4/30/19

Aim: What value does society place on "honor?"

Do Now: Come up with a definition for honor
My group came up with:
(n.) Respect through benevolent actions
Some words associated with honor:
- Respect
- Morals
- Virtue

Whole Class Discussion:
What is honor and why is it valued?
Honor is created by having others regard you as worthy, giving you reputability and allowing you to move up the ranks. Honor can is subjective as a deed may be positively seen by one group but negatively by another.

How can honor be destroyed?
It can be lost if a person does what society deems wrong. As an example, war crimes and betrayals tend to be negatively perceived.

Who are some honorable people?
Soldiers since they risk their lives to protect the country
In general, anyone who stood up in the face of adversity to do the moral thing.

How easy is it to regain power?
Glass vase problem: You can rebuild a vase from its broken shards but cracks will still show.
As an example, Macbeth was regarded with honor for his noble actions during war. However, he lost and never regained honor after his killings and erratic behavior.

Common Features of a Shakespeare Comedy
Comedy through language: There are multiple meanings of the title Much Ado About Nothing.
1. In old English, the "Nothing" in Much Ado About Nothing sounded like "noting." This is another way to describe a women's parts.
2. In today's English, the title suggests there is a lot about something with no significance.

Love: This is a recurrent theme where characters overcome obstacles in their relationship and unite.

Complex Plots: His comedies usually contained more twists. However, there is a reoccurring pattern  of the climax being in the third act and the final scene being where the lovers declare their love.

Mistake Identities: Characters put on disguises of sometimes even the opposite gender.


Cuckold: A man whose wife has been unfaithful to everyone's knowledge but his.
This word originated from the Cuckoo bird who lays eggs in other egg's next so it don't have to take care of its own eggs.
There isn't a word for a woman whose husband has been unfaithful to everyone's knowledge but hers. During Shakespeare's time, there was a great importance on marriage and the legitimacy of children.

Sean Fisherman 7-8 4/29/19

Aim: What value does society place on "honor"?

Today we begin "Much Ado About Nothing".

Do Now: Respond to the following questions on a scale from 1-5-- (1-Strongly Disagree -- 5-Strongly Agree)

1. Honor can never be recovered once it has been lost. 3 (I was 50/50 on this one, because while it can be recovered, a stain will remain on your reputation)
2. Women have a more difficult time maintaining honor. 2 (I don't feel so strongly for this one as both women and men are obligated to many customs by society that can result in loss of reputation if broken, but women are, in my opinion, obligated to more of these standards.)
3. Every person wants to be loved. 4 (I agree with this statement because while everyone wants to be loved in different ways, whether it be by others or themselves, the motivation for many acts is still the underlying need for recognition and acceptance.)
4. Some people are just born into circumstances that will make them at a greater disadvantage in society. 3 (I could have went either way for this one, but I feel that it all depends upon how you use your environments to your advantage.)
5. People who speak and behave foolishly should be ignored. 4 (With repetition, those who speak and behave foolishly will simply be written off as crazy.)

FINAL PROJECT: MARKETING A USELESS PRODUCT. Mrs. Fusaro has given us the rest of the period to brainstorm for this project, in which we will present a ten minute infomercial to the class marketing a useless product. In a moment of pure and utter brilliance, Artem says: "An alarm that rings at random times at night."

Teresa Crisantos, #7-7, 4/18/19

4/18/19

Today we finished presenting our our 1984 lesson projects. Group three finished presenting their lesson about information and history manipulation. Then group four presented their lesson on physical control, and finally group five presented their lesson on technological manipulation.

Group three went first as they had to finish their presentation. We did the activity which is pictured below

To answer this activity a member from group six used information and twisted it to try to convince the rest of the class that it never occurred. They took information and portrayed it in a completely different way to the class to try to make them believe. This activity shows how in 1984 the party uses very similar techniques to make the people believe what they want. They manipulate history and only allow certain things to be know to the public which allows them to control them more easily.

After this activity the group summarized what was discussed throughout the lesson and go on to say how the manipulation of history goes on in real life and that we have to be aware of this.

This is the link to the full presentation- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Na4Q1RG73D2bJF62JjKty6unzrzkQWthfaotTukqaXw

After group three finished their presentation group five went on to present their lesson about physical control

For the do now we had a class discussion about whether or not someone did something again after they were punished for the same thing before. Based on the class discussion we came to the conclusion that depending of the severity of the action that was being punished most people would not do it again. In addition how the physical control of being punished allows for people to be more easily manipulated.

The definition of physical control is the ability to manipulate any movement of a person or control their every action. It can be done through the use of enforced activities or scare tactics. The purpose of physical control in 1984 is to enforce loyalty to the party. Some examples of this are the two minute, the physical jerks, the telescreens, and the ministry of love.

Punishment is used in controlling the people of Oceania by having them tortured for a couple of months or sometimes years. This causes for people to have fear towards having ideas that do not align with that of the party. The people of Oceania are tortured until they confess what they have done and love big brother. Winston’s behavior before being brought to the ministry of love is that of a rebel. He has many thoughts that are against the party but did not dare say them aloud. Meanwhile    in the place he starts to confess to everything and begins to start thinking like the r est and begins to love big brother. He goes from thinking 2+2=4 to aligning with the party and thinking 2+2=5

Here is the link for the full presentation-
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11VV9zzfT8uQqiVUW8DQsLq1o28jwRSVO902jR9gOGo0

The final group to present was group five and their presentation was on technological manipulation.

For the Do Now as a class we discussed the many ways we could use technology to manipulate the people and sway them to our side. A couple students said that we could use tracking devices on peoples phones as now in this day people always are on their phones. In addition to tracking them you could also use the cameras to look at people at all times and make sure they are following what you say. You could also use the microphone in order to share with people the information you wanted.

For the class activity we used https://www.nationstates.net/ to create our own nation to see what effects the limitations we set on peopl had on the nation as a whole. We were able to see as the more control we had over the people the less ideas they had and less rights.

In this slide were able to see how technology was controlled in 1984 and what the effects were. Most people lived in fear and did not have privacy and the right to think of their own ideas. The telescreens were vital so the party could keep a close watch on the people and to make sure they  were not having ideas that threatened their power. In the next two slides we were able to see how this relates to things that are happing in real life. For example how in china a lot things are blocked on the internet by the government to make sure people do not know information threy want to keep a secret.  In addition china is developing new surveillance programs which could recognize people and the way they walk and through high level facial recognition software. We also saw how in the Soviet Union they controlled their people through propaganda distributed by radio, television, and posters.

Many students argued that any government should not have extensive control of technology and media. This is due to the fact that everyone should have a right to their privacy and if people are monitored all the time they do not have this therefore they can not do as they please and have their own train of thought. If this is the case a society will never be able to change because the people will always do and think what the leaders want them to.

Here is the link for the full presentation-
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15P0A_XHLXrJ17Dt1MbYpzseTghxTNJrHyddl81ypues

Kailey Christensen, #7-6, 4/17/19

4/17/19

Today we continued our 1984 lesson presentations from yesterday. Group 6 finished their presentation on Psychological Manipulation, Group 1 did their presentation on Political Control (totalitarianism), and Group 3 started their presentation on Information and History Manipulation.

My group did Political Control and this was our presentation
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19OmwAFDXdgGDzbOR8hxZoCghTr-aqKhCE4MWticXoBU

Group 6: Psychological Manipulation

My group discussed that the Party takes advantage of the Oceania citizens’ minds by using doublethink and crimestop to condition the people’s minds into thinking that whatever the Party thinks is the best and also to stop them from even thinking about conspiring against the Party. They also manipulate the people’s memories to the point where they dont even remember what actually happened or not.  

Most people argued that our government should not use psychological control to make society a better place because then we wouldn’t be able to question the world or the government around us. However, people did think that it could be successful because people’s memories are easily manipulated. Another point was brought up  that we could not define what made society a better place because each person would have a different viewpoint. 

For the summary, we discussed the overall meaning of psychological manipulation and how it aids the Party in being so successful. They related their do now experiment back to 1984 and their use of psychological manipulation as well. 

Group 3: Information and History Manipulation

For the Do Now, groups were given different topics to research and discuss with the class what they found

Groups 1 and 2 said that the Soviet Union censored many books and classic literature because t did not agree with the Party’s ideas, the people of the Soviet Union were not allowed to read these books
Groups 4 and 5 said that Tiananmen Square was a good example of Chinese manipulation because the government rewrote what actually happened in Tiananmen Square. The government also banned many websites and most popular search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Group 6 said that St Valentine was the god of fertility and many nations used to perform sacrifices to him and there were many rituals in which women seeking fertility were beaten.

Group 3 discussed how in the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin would physically remove people from photographs that he killed to make it seem as if they never existed in the first place. This was very similar to how the Party vaporized citizen that they felt were a threat to the Party, just as Stalin felt these people were a threat to his rule.

Sucko Mode Pd 8- Vampire Project

The Life of John Polizzotto

Period 8

Sucko Mode

David Abramson, Kristian Marino, Arbel Meta, Michael Robinson, Taylor Teusch, Meghna Wagley

Vampire’s Ethnicity: Italian-American (born in Staten Island)

John Polizzotto grew up on the South Shore of Staten Island. Growing up in the 90s, he became engrossed with the goth-vampire subculture in the city (Manhattan). On his days off from work, he would make his way to The Court of Lazarus, “a Metropolitan Vampire Society” and party with his fellow “vampires” (Veritas). One night, however, one of these “vampires” turned out to be a real vampire! John was transformed, fulfilling his dreams, and now he roams the streets of Staten Island searching for his next meal.

Veritas. “The Court of Lazarus: New York’s Metropolitan Vampire Society.” Vampires.com, https://www.vampires.com/the-court-of-lazarus-new-yorks-metropolitan-vampire-society/.

Vampire’s Abilities: Can shapeshift into a seagull. Can scale any hill in Staten Island without catching a breath. Has the ability of hypnosis.

One of the John’s most powerful abilities is shapeshifting into a seagull. In Keri Arthur’s Riley Jenson Guardians Series, the protagonist, Riley, is able to shapeshift into birds, notably into a seagull. This power allows John to blend in with the other winged animals on the Island. The Staten Island terrain makes John’s agility as a vampire a must-have ability. According to Bram Stoker's Dracula, superhuman agility and speed are one of many capabilities the protagonist has. This ability allows John to scale the hills of Staten Island. In the Wizards of Waverly Place series, vampires have the ability of hypnosis, which has become extremely handy for John during dinner time.

Arthur, Keri. Full Moon Rising. Bantam Dell, 06 Dec. 2006.

“Dracula.” Monster Wiki, https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Dracula#Powers_and_abilities.

“Juliet Van Heusen.” Wizards of Waverly Place  Wiki, https://wizardsofwaverlyplace.fandom.com/wiki/Juliet_van_Heusen#Powers.

“Riley Jenson Guardian Series.” Urban Fantasy Wiki,

            https://urbanfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Riley_Jenson_Guardian_series.

Vampire’s Weaknesses: Silver, UV Light , pumpkin

John’s greatest weakness is silver. According to “Vampires and Silver,” silver both burns and paralyzes a vampire (Vicky). If a vampire is exposed to silver, the paralyzing effect causes him to be unable to take the silver off. Many vampires, such as those in True Blood are threatened by silver. UV light is another one of John’s weaknesses. According to “Ultraviolet (UV) Light”, like many vampires, John experiences xeroderma pigmentosum, which is the inability to repair cellular damage after exposure to UV light (Rogerma). Furthermore, John finds pumpkin abhorrent. This leads to fall being his least favorite season because of all of the pumpkin. For some reason, vampires such as those in Wizards of Waverly Place, find pumpkin absolutely repulsive. The scent of pumpkin can ward off John from sucking your blood, which again is why fall is the most dangerous time of John’s year.

“Juliet Van Heusen.” Wizards of Waverly Place  Wiki, https://wizardsofwaverlyplace.fandom.com/wiki/Juliet_van_Heusen.

.

“Ultraviolet (UV) Light.” Vampire Combat Club, 01 Sep. 2012,

           http://vampirecombatclub.com/uv-light/.

“Vampire.”True Blood Wiki, https://trueblood.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire#Common_Weaknesses.

Vicky & Mike.”Vampires and Silver.” gods-and-monsters.com,

           http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampires-and-silver.html.

Vampire’s Reproduction: By consuming human blood that was drained, otherwise known as “true blood”.

John’s kind reproduces by having mortals drink pre-drained blood. Humans stand no chance against the seductive and permanently transformative effects of true blood and are therefore immediately transfigured into vampires upon consumption. Vampire reproduction via consumption of pre-drained human blood by another vampire is seen throughout the Underworld film series. Vampires do not need to bite the host in order to turn them; a transfusion of blood is enough.

“Vampire.” Underworld Wiki, https://underworld.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire#Reproduction.

Vampire’s Camouflage: Vampires don’t smell good, so they spray themselves with a lot of body spray before they leave the house. He always wears his Mets snapback to hide his alopecia and to cover his face and head from sunlight. He wears dark Timberlands, dark sweatpants, and a dark t shirt to blend into the New York crowd and the night. He actually is not impervious to holy symbols and visits church so that people don’t suspect him. He also eats a lot of garlic bread from Denino’s to throw people off his vampirism.

Vampires have been known to smell like death or like ammonia (Lomax). According to “The Science of Vampirism”, vampires don’t urinate often which causes a growth of toxins in the bloodstream. The toxins and bacteria cause vampires to have a bad smell, which is why John cloaks himself with a body spray before he leaves the house. Vampires such as Juliet van Heusenhave been said to smell like death, which is why she cloaks herself with a vanilla scented perfume. Furthermore, according to the “Science of Vampirism”, hair growth dramatically slows for vampires. When they lose their hair, it takes much longer to grow back (Lomax). To hide his alopecia and to blend in with his peers, John wears his New York Mets snapback wherever he goes. In order to blend into the night, John wears dark colors, dark sweatpants, dark t shirt, and of course, dark Timberlands. Lastly, luckily for John, he is not vulnerable to garlic or holy symbols, as many think. After being turned into  vampire, John visits church more often. He makes sure to always order extra garlic bread when he goes to Deninos, to throw everyone off his scent of vampirism.

Don. “Timbs.” Know Your Meme, 01 Mar. 2018, https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/timbs.

“Juliet Van Heusen.” Wizards of Waverly Place  Wiki, https://wizardsofwaverlyplace.fandom.com/wiki/Juliet_van_Heusen.

Lomax, Robert. “The Science of Vampirism. Extended Edition: Part IV.” The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency, https://www.fvza.org/vscience4.html.

“Reasons Why Vampires Wear Black Clothing on Film.” Mud Mosh,  

            https://mudmosh.com/reasons-why-vampires-wear-black-clothing-on-film/.

Vampire’s Home: Being a new vampire, John has not yet amassed enough wealth to live the typically luxurious life vampires have. Therefore, John moves around the Island, living in abandoned houses for months at a time. He currently resides in the burnt down house in West Brighton. Having xeroderma pigmentosum, John spends most of his time in the comfort of his dark and somewhat empty home. He sleeps in a coffin that has a fake Supreme logo taped to the door, because he couldn’t yet afford the authentic Supreme Coffin.

Vampires are almost in every case viewed to live in luxury. Vampires in stories typically live in mansions or higher class housing as well as sleep in coffins in order to preserve and maintain the powers they have. John isn't fazed by his lack of luxurious lifestyle and seems to enjoy the thrill of house jumping and living on the move. He loves Supreme merch, but he can't afford it, so he built his own makeshift coffin with the “Supreme” logo on the door.

“Where Do Vampires Live and Sleep?” Reference, IAC Publishing, 

             www.reference.com/art-literature/vampires-live-sleep-75a8b1ca3157a965.

https://stockx.com/news/supreme-coffin-keychain/

Vampire’s Preferences: Doesn’t like fall, loves any drinks with pineapple juice, and doesn’t like to count.

As aforementioned and cited, some vampires find pumpkin disgusting, and John avoids the flavor at all costs (making Thanksgiving dinners his least favorite celebration). “Vampire’s Dream” is an accurate name for John’s favorite drink consisting of pomegranate juice, pineapple juice, and grenadine. He often orders it parties with his vampire buddies.

Vampires feel compelled to count things, so they can be deterred by a victim who, for example, throws seeds on the ground, because they will be obligated to stand there and count them all. Having this weakness gives him a considerable distaste for anything to do with numbers.

Crump, Rebecca. “Vampire's Dream.” Ezra Pound Cake, www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/14357.

Lehnardt, Karin. “41 Interesting Facts about Vampires.” Interesting Facts, 20 Jan. 2017, www.factretriever.com/vampire-facts.

(Optional) Add Your Own: John owns a pet squid who resides in the north shore Staten Island waters.

John loves his squid, and uses it both as a comfort animal and as protection. Vampire’s such as Sesame Street’s Count Von Count have been known to also have tentacled pets. Once, John set the squid loose on a Staten Island Ferry boat in a fit of anger over the amount of tourists visiting his home, Staten Island. This incident is known as the Staten Island Ferry Disaster. To keep his pet out of the public eye John no longer asks him to attack ferry boats.

“Count Von Count.” Muppet Wiki, https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Count_von_Count

“Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial Museum” Super Fun Co., www.sioctopusdisaster.com/home.html

Brandon Chiapperino 4/16 Blog 7-5

Brandon Chiapperino
4/16/2019


Today, we presented our 1984 Lesson projects. Each group presented and discussed topics that apply to 1984, such as psychological manipulation, control of technology, and language control. My group’s topic was physical control.

Group 2 went first, presenting about language control. The do now was to explain the exact way you take to get to school in only 30 seconds. Then, we did it again but could not use the words left, right, forward, compass directions, or angles. It was a lot harder to communicate where you were going without using these words.

Crimestop is when people in 1984 are taught to not analyze or criticize anything considered complex. Blackwhite is the belief that whatever the Party says becomes automatically true, and anything they did not say, never happened.

Then we played pictionary, where someone picked a word out of a hat and had 30 seconds to draw it out. The words were all complex ideas, like opportunity and sympathy, that were hard to explain without words.

Without language, eventually entire concepts, directions, and thoughts would not be able to be expressed in the same way. The people in 1984 have almost no way to understand or interpret what somebody is trying to discuss.


The next group presented about psychological manipulation.

This morning, an email was sent out to the entire class to pick Answer A for the presentation.
In class, we answered a question of “Which line is longer?” and the obvious answer was B, but a majority of the class did not choose B. The purpose of the experiment was to see if the class would blindly follow the Party’s orders and accept whatever they said was correct.

Big Brother uses psychological control in 1984 to instill fear into the public. All the telescreens and cameras establish to the people that he is constantly watching your every move, and you dare not do any thought crime around him.

Build Your Own Vampire Project - Team 2 - Bleh Bleh Bleh

Build Your Own Vampire Project

Objective: The goal of this project is for your team to create the rules and attributes of your own vampire universe. While creativity is necessary, research is actually the focal point. The caveat is that your vampire universe must be based on research your team completes about stories associated with vampires from any point in time, history, folklore, or fiction. Team Name: Bleh, Bleh, BlehClass Period: 5Team Members: Gayane Gevorkyan, Michelle Wong, Ashley Yim, Elena Wu, Xin Yi Wang, Mitchell Ruan Student Blogger Email: gayane.gevorkyan@sitechhs.com
Vampire’s Ethnicity: (Mitchell)

1. French and British, Name: Hunter Ainsley

Justification: During the 18th century, Southeastern Europe and Transylvania tales and folklore of vampires began to spread and soon spread into England and Germany. The spread of this myth caused mass panic and there were plenty of “vampire encounters” experienced during these times. There were many superstitions around the vampires due to the village areas spreading these reports and what they did to the undead, which was digging them up from the graves and sometimes staking them… Our vampire was turned by a British vampire but raised with another vampire that fell in love with the British parent whose origin is from France. They decided to raise a child a few years after falling in love and decided to take a human child from their parents for themselves and began to raise this child mentally for this vampire change. Citation:
“Vampire Folklore by Region.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region)

Vampire’s Abilities: (Gayane)

1. Mind Compulsion
2. Super strength, speed, and senses
3. Turn into a Bat (have all abilities of bats)

Justification: Our vampire will be able to use mind compulsion to convince people of thoughts, create false beliefs or memories to help conceal the truth from the human world. He will also acquire all the superhuman abilities most vampire stories suggest vampires have. Those include supernatural strength, and speed to a point where it seems almost like teleportation.

His senses will also be heightened. He is able to hear at long distances and still be able to discern what the speaker is saying. Lastly, he will be able to, in true Dracula form, turn into a bat and with that have all the abilities bats have, such as flying and being able to navigate through the dark. Citations: Editors, History.com. “Vampire History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history#section_2./ (https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/vampire-history#section_2) “List of Vampire Powers and Abilities in Fiction.” Narik Chase, 24 Oct. 2017, narikchase.com/index.php/2016/10/05/list-of-vampire-powers-and-abilities-in-fiction/. (https://narikchase.com/index.php/2016/10/05/list-of-vampire-powers-and-abilities-in-fiction/) “Vampire.” Hotel Transylvania Wiki, hoteltransylvania.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire. (https://hoteltransylvania.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire)
Vampire’s Weakness(es): (Xin Yi)

1. Holy/Blessed Items
2. Silver
3. Direct Sunlight
4. Fire

Justification: Vampires are usually referred to as damned or soulless due to how they were created and their lifestyles after their creation. Due to this, items considered to be holy in the Christian faith are often used for protection against a vampire. As such things like silver, symbolic of “incorruptible” purity, serve as protection against vampires as they can’t be reflected upon the metal and are weakened by it. Mirrors, specifically those crafted in older periods, are also said to be unable to reflect vampires due to their silver backing. Fire, symbolic of cleansing and renewal in many cultures, is also capable of killing vampires. Direct sunlight, similarly to fire, is also capable of weakening a vampire although not to as large of an effect. Citations: Harris, Tom. “How Vampires Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/vampire.html. (https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/vampire.html) “What Don't Vampires Like?” Gods And Monsters - Ancient to Modern Mythology, www.gods-and-monsters.com/what-dont-vampires-like.html. (http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/what-dont-vampires-like.html) Admin. “Metal Symbolism.” Ancient Symbols, www.ancient-symbols.com/metal-symbolism.html. (https://www.ancient-symbols.com/metal-symbolism.html) Remington, Xavier. “Why Do Vampires Burst Into Flames In Sunlight?” Ask Mystic Investigations, 12 Aug. 2017, mysticinvestigations.com/paranormal/vampire-sunlight/. (http://mysticinvestigations.com/paranormal/vampire-sunlight/)
Vampire’s Reproduction: (Elena)

1. Reproduce by transferring the ‘reproductive bacteria’ often through biting

Justification: Given that vampires are technically dead, they cannot perform regular human functions like reproduction. Nonetheless, every species must be able to reproduce and continue their lineage, the vampires do that by spreading their bacteria and infecting other people, thereby turning them. However, there have been myths of vampires mating with humans, so if he so chooses he can have a child with a human female called a hybrid. Hybrids do not possess the curse of immortality and are in fact closer to their human nature. Citations: “Vampire Offspring.” Gods And Monsters - Ancient to Modern Mythology, www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampire-offspring.html. (http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampire-offspring.html) Silver, Marc. “Vampire-Human Offspring of Folklore Offer Insights into the Hybrid Baby of 'Breaking Dawn'.” National Geographic Society Newsroom, 14 Dec. 2017, blog.nationalgeographic.org/2011/12/05/vampire-human-offspring-of-folklore-offer-insights-into-the-hybrid-baby-of-breaking-dawn/ (https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2011/12/05/vampire-human-offspring-of-folklore-offer-insights-into-the-hybrid-baby-of-breaking-dawn/) Vampire’s Camouflage: (Ashley)

1. Blend into the crowd
2. ‘Glamour’ people (compulsion)

Justification: Throughout history, people have always wondered about a vampire’s ability to camouflage. They often believed that real vampires can turn to bats because they are similar in the sense that they both drink blood and thrive in the dark. However, our version of a vampire cannot shapeshift. Instead, he blends into the busy crowds and pretends to be a human. He does what he likes and no one will suspect him because he is able to control their minds. He looks deep into their eyes and can alter or remove certain memories, new false realities. This ability is necessary for a vampire to survive. Citation: Vampire Powers, infinitysrising.tripod.com/id5.html. (http://infinitysrising.tripod.com/id5.html) “Vampire.” The Vampire Diaries Wiki, vampirediaries.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire. (https://vampirediaries.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire)
Vampire’s Home: (Ashley)

1. Our vampire originated from a small village in Highgates, London. He now lives near Oxford city.

Justification: Highgates was known for its mysterious and gothic cemetery. The first known sighting of a vampire was in 1963 when a couple encountered a 7 to 8 feet tall dark figure. Soon after, more and more vampire sightings began to emerge. It is said that he was awakened by modern Satanists. Declan Walsh, a witness, claimed that this figure glides and make no sound. “He wore a long black coat and a top hat… looked Victorian and appeared all black.” In addition, a movie, Taste the Blood of Dracula, was partly filmed here in the Highgates Cemetery.
Our vampire now lives in Oxford to escape from hunters. Oxford draws attention for its famous University and cool attractions. Every year 7 million tourists visit making it easy for our vampire to blend into the crowd. He lives in a decent middle-class apartment and has gathered money in the years. With his compulsion ability, he can easily infiltrate hospitals or blood banks for food. He lives on the twentieth-floor penthouse all to himself. It's dark and very minimalist. If you walk towards an old bookshelf you can push it open into a secret room filled with old antiques and a refrigerator filled with blood. He kept old photos of his old friends and misses them dearly. The only thing he does as a hobby is reading books because there's an infinite amount to entertain him. Citations: The Unredacted. “The Highgate Vampire: Horror of the Dead.” Theunredacted.com, The Unredacted, 5 Dec. 2016, theunredacted.com/the-highgate-vampire-horror-of-the-dead/. (https://theunredacted.com/the-highgate-vampire-horror-of-the-dead/ ) “Visiting Oxford City.” Visit Oxford From London - How To, What To Expect And See, www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/oxford.htm. (https://www.londontoolkit.com/whattodo/oxford.htm ) Vampire’s Preferences: (Michelle)

1. Our vampire prefers sleeping in coffins and moving locations.

Justification: It is widely known that many vampires tend to sleep in coffins. This is shown in one of the most famous vampire movies, Dracula (1931). It emphasizes as a reminder that they are dead, even if modern times makes them out to be beautiful or blend in with humans. Coffins are now widely associated with vampires. It also tends to protect them from the sunlight that could burn them, so for many vampires, coffins play a big roll in their survival. Another preference our vampire has is moving locations for many different reasons like to keep a low profile and to not draw suspicion from people who live in the area or even just to find more of their kind. Vampires are known to be immortal and not age like people do, so they have to move place after place to not be caught. Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice, displays this, where Louis tends to go place to place to find other vampires like him. Citations: Wachtel, Allison. “How Coffins Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 28 June 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/coffin6.htm. (https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/coffin6.htm ) “Vampires Sleep in Coffins.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=yxut05s7iwajjfwlf58pyp1r. (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=yxut05s7iwajjfwlf58pyp1r ) “Vampire Location.” Gods And Monsters - Ancient to Modern Mythology, www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampire-location.html. (http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampire-location.html )


We hope you enjoyed our vampire!
THE END

Build Your Own Vampire Project - Digging Our Own Graves

Staten Island Technical H.S.                                                          Gods, Monsters, & the Apocalypse

Mr. Mark Erlenwein, Principal                                                    Mrs. Kristen Fusaro-Pizzo, Instructor

Build Your Own Vampire Project

Objective: The goal of this project is for your team to create the rules and attributes of your own vampire universe. While creativity is necessary, research is actually the focal point. The caveat is that your vampire universe must be based on research your team completes about stories associated with vampires from any point in time, history, folklore, or fiction.

Rules: Make a COPY of this document and place it in the appropriate folder. Each question must be completed.  In the area of “justification,” you will include BOTH your written analysis (can be 1-2 sentences) AND a citation to your research. Please use MLA format AND make the title a hyperlink so this also serves as a hyperdoc.  Finally, one student from your team should be selected as the “Student Blogger.” He/she will receive special instructions from me on GLOBALLY PUBLISHING your final work product on my school blog.

Grading: Your grade is holistic based on 1) Research, 2) Teamwork, 3) Creativity, 4) Timeliness.   Teams will SHARE grades, so it is imperative you SHARE the work. 

Deadline: 4/12

Team Name: Digging Our Own Graves	Class Period: 1
Team Members: Clarisa Yee, Teresa Chen, Yu Fei Lin, Yerim Lee, Thomas Zheng, Tommy Lin
Student Blogger Email: Clarisa.yee@sitechhs.com

Vampire’s Ethnicity: Romanian

Justification: The earliest vampire legends originated in Romania with 2 different types of vampires to as the Strigoi. The living strigoi vampires are believed to have two hearts or soul and can appear like regular humans during the day (sunlight does take a toll on their bodies) and at night they send out their souls to prey on livestock and human blood (Long, Romania, Dracula and Vampires. Fact, Fiction and Origins) . Romania folklore also believed in the dead strigoi which are reanimated corpse with a stronger bloodlust and lack of mentality. Romanian vampires are believed to have distinguishing characteristics such as being born out of wedlock, has red hair and blue eyes, died before being baptized, born early, unnatural death, and was bitten (Romania). Works Cited- Long, Alyson, et al. “Romania, Dracula and Vampires. Fact, Fiction and Origins.” World Travel Family, 23 Mar. 2019, worldtravelfamily.com/romania-dracula-vampires-fact-fiction-origins-of-count-dracula/. “Romania.” Vampire Legends Around the World, vampiresaroundtheworld.weebly.com/romania.html. “Vampire Folklore by Region.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region#Romania.

Vampire’s Abilities: Shapeshifting: ability to transform into animals Invisibility Superhuman strength and agility Command over animals (ex. rats, owls, bats, moths, foxes, wolves) Hypnotize victims Power increases with age and consuming human blood Voice imitation and Telekinesis develops as it ages

Justification: The Romanian Vampire, Strigoi, have been associated with the ability to transform into animals and become invisible (“Strigoi”). These characteristics were prominent aspects of Romanian oral tradition regarding vampires, such as the story of the Croatian Jure Grando Alilovic in the late 1600s (“Strigoi”). Many of our vampire’s abilities are derived from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (published 1897) which describes the tale of Count Dracula, a Transylvanian vampire (“Count Dracula”). According to the novel, Dracula’s superhuman strength matches those of 20 strong men and he had an ability to climb vertical surfaces in ways that seemed to “defy gravity” (“Count Dracula”). He has limited command of animals which he attempted to use to fend off his enemies and can also hypnotize his victim, largely Mina in the novel (“Count Dracula”). Additionally, our vampire’s ability would be greater if it drinks human blood rather than animal blood and also strengthen with age as shown in the TV Series The Vampire Diaries (“Super Strength”). Furthermore, as our vampire ages, it will gain the ability to imitate voices of others and utilize telekinesis as shown in the HBO series True Blood (“Vampire”).   Works Cited "Count Dracula." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Apr. 2019. Web. 10 Apr. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula "Strigoi." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Apr. 2019. Web. 10 Apr. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigoi “Super Strength.” Vampire Diaries, https://vampirediaries.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Strength. Accessed April 10, 2019. “Vampire.” True Blood, https://trueblood.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire. Accessed April 10, 2019.

Vampire’s Weakness(es):    Weak to sunlight Silver burns skin Cannot enter a house without invitation Impaling Decapitation Fire

Justification: These weaknesses are compiled from three sources, which are the Greek myth of Ambrogio and Selene, the book Dracula by Bram Stoker, and the book I am Legend by Richard Matheson. In the myth of Ambrogio and Selene, Ambrogio is turned into a vampire-like creature that continues to love Selene. In the processes of trying to get together with Selene, he is cursed by both Artemis and Apollo to be burned by silver and sunlight respectively (Gibson). In the book Dracula by Bram Stoker, there are various weakness that are distinctively mentioned in the book. The two I compiled from the work are the inability to enter a house without invitation and decapitation. Unless a vampire is specifically invited into a residence, they will be unable to  enter, thus restricting their mobility (Harris). The last two weakness of fire and being impaled come from the book I am Legend by Richard Matheson. In I am Legend the main character has to survive in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by a vampire-like disease called Vampiris. Vampiris works as an infection and turns its host into a vampire-like monster that feeds on blood. In his process of survival he discovers ways of killing the infected- burning and stabbing (Editors, IMDb) Works Cited Gibson, Lyn. “Ambrogio: A Greek Vampire Origination Theory . . .” Author Lyn Gibson, 27 Sept. 2014, authorlyngibson.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/ambrogio-a-greek-vampire-origination-thery/ Harris, Tom. “How Vampires Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/vampire.htm Editors, “I Am Legend.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/plotsummary

Vampire’s Reproduction: Reproduction with humans creating Dhampir. Contracting Vampirism

Justification: According to the source, humans can contract vampirism and undergo 4 stages to become a vampire. The virus takes about a week to turn a human into a vampire. Stage one is when the virus destroys the immune system and takes over. During stage 2, the human will symptoms like high fevers, dilated pupils, cough, chills, body and stomach ache, and irregular heartbeat. Stage 3 is when the human will start to gain vampire traits like the affinity towards blood and being afraid of sunlight. Stage 4 is when the human goes to sleep and wake up as a vampire.(“List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction”) Reproducing through a human is present in European Folklore and in the Vampire Diaries.(“List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction”) In both sources, vampires can reproduce with humans. In Romanian folklore, when humans and vampires reproduce, the can produce a Dhampir that can track and kill vampires.(“Vampires”) Works Cited: “Vampires.” Unnatural World Wiki, unnaturalworld.fandom.com/wiki/Vampires?fbclid=IwAR06HotkrhKtVeXazaoE9d-hF8NbdodqEstNPHSY9DeZvh4JopuyQToDJXw. https://unnaturalworld.fandom.com/wiki/Vampires?fbclid=IwAR06HotkrhKtVeXazaoE9d-hF8NbdodqEstNPHSY9DeZvh4JopuyQToDJXw “List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction

Vampire’s Camouflage: Pale Skin (whiter than regular humans) Handsome/ beautiful Charismatic personalities Shapeshift by choice into a bat or different animals Dark clothes to blend into shadows

Justification: In “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, Count Dracula is portrayed as a handsome and charismatic man with an aristocratic charm and our vampire will reflect the same characteristic (“Count Dracula”). This trait benefits the vampires by allowing them to walk amongst humans and undetected and often at times, their charisma can draw their prey in. In Romanian folklore, they the pricolici, a type of vampire that is believed to be a hybrid between a werewolf-vampire. The pricolici has the ability to control their shapeshifting transformation, unlike werewolves (Vampire Folklore by Region). Our vampire will be able to shapeshift into a bat or a different animal which gives them another advantage when hiding from humans. Our vampires will also wear dark clothes which allows them to blend into shadows since they are often capable of staying very still. (They also look hot, Damon Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries is a perfect example!) Work Cited “Count Dracula.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula. “Vampire Folklore by Region.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region#Romania.

Vampire’s Home: Black walls, ancient paintings, coffins Crimson red lights, chandeliers, candles, Bat figurines, bones, skulls, wine glasses Luxury items such as jewelry

Justification: These are the typical characteristics of a vampire’s home. According to the various sources, most of the furniture are usually in a Victorian style (from the influence of Dracula). The overall color theme is black, purple, or crimson red. The lighting inside the home would also be dark with various candles spread through the room. Objects such as bones or skulls also represented death (Leggett). Wine glasses are also used by vampires to drink human blood. According to Bram Stoker’s tale about Dracula, vampires needed to sleep in a coffin with soil. Sleeping in soil helps maintain their powers and immortality. (Where do Vampires Live and Sleep). Vampires also fancied lavish and luxurious items such as jewelry and cars according to the sources below (Shari). Works Cited Leggett, Rochelle. "How to Make a Vampire-Themed Room." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-vampirethemed-room-57810.html. Accessed 11 April 2019. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-vampirethemed-room-57810.html “Where do Vampires Live and Sleep.” Reference, 11 April 2019. https://www.reference.com/art-literature/vampires-live-sleep-75a8b1ca3157a965 Shari. “What Attracts Vampires.” godsandmonsters.com, 11 April 2019. http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/what-attracts-vampires.html

Vampire’s Preferences: Likes to prey on plump victims Likes Renaissance paintings and statues Likes to sleep Dislikes strong smells, especially garlic Dislikes horror movies

Justification: Unlike zombies, vampires retain their mind, so their preferences from when they were a human would carry over into their vampire lives (Kaka). Due to this, preferences can vary from vampire to vampire. Our vampire hunts big victims because he likes to eat, or in this case drink, a lot. Our vampire also likes to sleep. As previously stated, sleeping allows vampires to maintain their abilities and immortality. Our vampire also likes to look at paintings and sculptures. He frequented the art museum before he became a vampire. An interest in paintings, jewelry, and other luxury items are something many vampires tend to share. Another preference shared my most if not all vampires is the dislike of garlic. Any strong scent is disliked by vampires, but raw garlic especially because of its antibacterial properties, which counteracts the process of transmitting “vampire disease” where the exchange of bacteria in the blood in crucial in beginning the vampire-making process (Matthew). Garlic has also been seen as a way to ward off evil in many cultures such as the Chinese and Malaysian. Therefore, vampires, being seen as evil, would be hesitant to go near garlic. These are possible explanations to why vampires hate garlic. Also our vampire doesn't like horror movies because they’re too scary for him. He never liked them as a human either. Works Cited: Matthew Garlic Shaker. “A CLOVE OF GARLIC: 9 REASONS WHY VAMPIRES FEAR IT!” garlicshaker.com, found on https://garlicshaker.com/blog/a-clove-of-garlic-9-reasons-why-vampires-fear-it/ [February 02, 2018] Kaka (Pourgial). “What Don't Vampires Like?” gods-and-monsters.com, found on http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/what-dont-vampires-like.html []