Eng 001: Language and Writing

project three

2008-05-04T17:38:00.027-05:00

My fondest memories of my young childhood involved one home in particular. This was not my first home, as I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and lived there for several years, and not my second home which was a duplex in North Platte. This home was my family’s first house together, as the four of us. Dark red brick encompassed the entirety of our home on West A Street with chocolate brown shutters on the front. Unique to the rest of the block, our house stood out among the red-bricked and white-painted others. My mother placed her wicker seats on the front porch as if to say that this was a comfortable and inviting home. We had a large back yard with a swing set, a plastic blue swimming pool, a dog kennel for our black lab puppy, and my mom’s garden. Our front yard was typical with a mailbox and dozens of flowers planted along the front. Only a happy and loving family could have inhabited such a home. The interior was gorgeously decorated by my mother’s homemade crafts. A fireplace was the centerpiece of our living room and gave the entire room a warm feeling, even when it wasn’t lit. My bedroom was large and full of my favorite things; a Fisher Price plastic table, Porcelain dolls on shelves, Barbie dolls and their bite-size accessories scattered all over my floor, and my closet full of puzzles and games. It was the only house that I had called home, since I could never remember my other houses at the age of four. The only home in which I remember my entire family together and happy as one.

"Home": Michael Buble'

It was my house on the weekends when my dad had visitation. A white-washed, two bedroom house without a yard, fence, or garage. It was a shack of sorts. The kitchen was large with many white cabinets and ruby red carpeting. The refrigerator was olive green and smelled like bleach the few times I was able to get the door open. A large air conditioner filled the dining room window that faced what was supposed to be a yard, but instead was covered in large metal supplies from the Nebraska Public Power District building next door. My father’s only possessions left from the divorce, a 25 inch RCA television and a five-disc CD player and stereo, stood in the living room without an entertainment center to organize them. A salmon-colored couch my grandmother had given him sat on the opposite side of the room, lonely and reflective of my father’s new life. My sister and I shared one of the bedrooms in which a wooden bunk bed with Pocahontas bedding, a small television and a Super Nintendo resided. Our closet was full of the many toys purchased by our dad to keep ourselves busy on those weekends, but mostly to keep our minds off of the fact that this was not our home. It was an awkward bedroom that was constantly cold and lonely. I was scared to sleep in that room because it was not my own, it was like a hotel room. But, it was not just my bedroom that I hated in that place; I disliked the entire shack house, not because it was old or dirty, but because it reminded me of how my parents tore our family apart. The house was full of negative thoughts and made me upset to be there because I knew that my mom would never walk through the front door. The worst feeling, however, was that from now on, my family would never be together in the home we once had.

"Boot Scootin' Boogie": Brooks & Dunn

My dancing career began at age five with two size 10 cowgirl boots. Made of rose pink leather, they had black stitching around the middle and a black heel. I hated those boots because they reminded me of my mother’s cowboy “friend”, a fellow that I disliked quite vigorously. Not only that, but I was forced to wear knee-high socks which made my feet sweat. The new leather gave me blisters on the back of my heels the first time I wore them on my birthday so, from that moment on, I refused to wear them ever again. But, at an age when my every action was controlled by those older than myself, my mother told me that I had to wear them to dinner with my grandma who purchased them for me. I dug for the pink boots that had yet to be scuffed, dirtied, or broken-in at all. They looked perfectly clean, and to my surprise, still fit my feet after several months. I felt the leather squeeze my heel and knew that I would get a blister. After dinner, I was asked to dance. I jumped up and the “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” began playing. My mom proceeded to teach me the Electric Slide dance little by little until I could do it on my own. “Heel, toe…” I had it down perfectly. I no longer felt the boots on my feet as I pranced around doing the Electric Slide. It was my first dance in my first pair of cowgirl boots and I felt snazzy and quite cowgirl-ish. After my night of dancing, I realized that I had scuffed the rose colored boots on the dance floor right at the tip of the toe. It was a small grey scuff about the size of a dime and it made me happy. I felt a sense of accomplishment at my ripened age of five as I had learned to dance in boots that I never thought I could be fond of.

"2 Become 1": Spice Girls

It was after my discovery of the Spice Girls on MTV, a channel that I was not allowed to watch, that I became obsessed. From that moment on, I conned my grandmother and my father into purchasing products with the Spice Girls on the cover. From jewelry to cassette tapes, Spice World the Movie to random accessories, I had it all. My favorite Spice Girls merchandise was my collection of “Spice It Up!” dolls. I had two of Sporty, Posh, Scary, and Baby, but I never found the Ginger Spice dolls. Apparently, she left the group therefore making her dolls rare and valuable. It saddened me for quite some time, but I had fun with my eight other Spice Girls.

I would dress those 11 inch dolls in their scandalous clothing consisting of zebra printed coats, platform boots, the shortest shorts imaginable and bustier bras. We would sing karaoke and pretend to be in London. Oh, it was a great time. Who needed friends when I had the neatest four girls by my side? Scary Spice was always my favorite because she was different from the other Spices. She wore her hair in Zulu knots on top of her head and really strange boots that rose to her knees. I remember trying to put my hair in those same knots before school, but for some reason my dad refused to allow it. So, I asked for platform shoes instead, but I never received those either. I think my dad was not fond my obsession with the Spice Girls, but little did he know that he was only supporting the habit when he bought me those dolls. Although I never turned into a Spice Girl at the age of ten, I am still their number one fan and “2 Become 1” is still my favorite song of theirs. However, now that I am mature enough to know what the song suggests, I wonder why the hell my father let me listen to that music!

"Stiletto Pumps": Crime Mob feat. Miss Aisha

My high school years were defined by several of these uniforms comprised of many different pieces for special occasions and although they were not stiletto pumps, they were still quite flashy. However, there is one uniform in particular that will always symbolize my most important high school days. My cheerleading uniform of my senior year, my captain year, was my favorite. Our school colors were blue, gold, and white. However, the gold was more of a golden yellow instead of a sparkly, disco-ball, solid gold. My shell, or top, was blue with a large white diamond on the front. NPHS was printed inside in gold and blue outlined letters. The shoulder straps had gold and white stripes about half an inch thick on each one. My skirt was solid blue with only gold and white stripes, exactly the same to those on the shell, around the bottom. On cold days, my squad and I wore an under liner which is just a fancy word for a turtle neck, long-sleeved spandex worn under the shell, along with blue polyester pants that were extremely unfashionable. The entire uniform was ridiculously blue, gold, and white. This allowed for my squad and I to stand out amongst our classmates, not only during games, but at school when we were forced by our Nazi coach to wear them on game days. This uniform, while uncomfortable at times, was a symbol for some of my most valuable memories whether they were on the bus, out of town, in the hallways or at practice. My high school days were based mostly on this uniform which gave me a status and a place to belong at school. Of course, I had friends who were not cheerleaders, in fact my best friends were the exact opposite from me, but it was my passion. Without my uniform, I would have been more comfortable, but also I would have been just like everyone else, which is incredibly boring.

"Learning to Fly": Tom Petty

To most, a kite is nothing but a piece of plastic with yarn attached, occasionally tossed into the air to ultimately hit the ground or be imprisoned by a tree. For children, it is quite amusing as they can control the colorful object 50 feet above them by just the movement of a string with the wind as their guide. I have a special and unique kite back home tucked away in my closet. It has not seen light in six years, but I remember my very own hands putting the pieces together with my classmates at my side. Constructed with plastic white straws and brilliantly colored tissue paper, my kite took an entire week of science class to make. Each piece glued and placed strategically onto another into pyramid shapes. The pyramids were small, consisting of a skeleton of straws covered with sheets of turquoise, yellow, orange and magenta tissue paper. These were then tied together in a group of four to form one large tetrahedral kite. The first time I flew my kite, I crashed it into the playground blacktop, due to the fact that I just threw it abruptly into the air without giving it a little guidance. The scars from that fall are still present on the edges of my kite where the turquoise paper is torn and Scotch-taped back together. With only one flight, my kite was thrown into the closet where it has yet to see sunlight since that spring day in eighth grade. At my graduation in May of 2007, as my class song was played loudly over the football field, I listened to Tom Petty’s lyrics and thought of my kite. I remembered its first flight, having never touched the wind before. My kite had flown, just as I had flown after graduation, without guidance for the real world.

"Brat Pack": The Rocket Summer

The residents of North Platte, Nebraska refer to them as the “ones”. They are a set of one-way streets running through the entire city—one heading north, and one south. The “ones” are a nuisance to travelers as they can only get to Wendy’s on the southbound one-way, and the shopping mall on the northbound one-way, with several stop lights in between. These inconveniences make the “ones” truly unique, but that is not all the “ones” are known for. On Fridays and Saturdays, the youngsters of North Platte, in a lack of anything better to do, race up and down the “ones” blaring loud music, screaming, and honking at passersby. At stop lights, it is possible to see people run out of cars and jump back in just as the light flashes green, switching spots in the car as their bodies are crunched by others in the nearest proximity. With friends packed tight like sardines in the passenger seats, it is quite the sight to see. To people not living in North Platte, this might seem like a strange activity and I will be one to admit that it is odd to think about driving in a large circle up and down North Platte for hours. However, I enjoyed many of those nights with my closest of friends, my “brat pack”, as we honked and sang along to our favorite songs, half-hanging out the windows with the white dashed lines just feet from our faces. Like Bryce Avary’s lyrics say “I don’t want to get stuck in here, when I am 34 just talking about high school years”, I know that when I go back to North Platte I am more mature than when I left. I do not automatically jump in my car, blasting my music as I once did because everything has changed since high school. While my friends and I are more distant than before and less likely to ever “cruise the ones” I still like to think about the good ol’ days when life was about having carefree fun with friends on those two streets.

"She Blinded Me With Science": Thomas Dolby

One whole year of college has passed, or rather sped, by. I think about everyone I have met, the classes I despised, the professors that were kind and those who were not, and the experiences I have shared with others. As I packed away my belongings into boxes and large back Rubermaid tubs, I glanced at my chemistry goggles. At $13.50, quite the pricey pair of eyewear, I was peeved when I had to purchase them from the bookstore. Lime green Sellstrom Brand goggles with four black vents on the corners and a matching lime green elastic band to hold them onto my face; they were my only companion throughout every three hour lab. Every Wednesday afternoon, I would venture to lab not knowing exactly what would be expected or what chemicals I would be using, but I knew my goggles would be in my drawer. I pulled them out of my drawer, expanded the elastic and fit them snugly to my face. My goggles protected my eyes with hard plastic that stuck to my skin like a magnet. After every lab, I would throw them back in to the drawer, anxious to leave the terrible lab setting, but the goggle marks would still remain with a large red ring around my eyes and cheeks from where those goggles once were. While I never respected their protection or handled them with care, I look back on those goggles and realize that they hold all of my memories from General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry 1 this past year. Knowing that I will not be taking chemistry again at NWU makes me happy, but I am sure that I will want to put those goggles on in the future just to remember how they feel.

barf-nugget

2008-04-22T19:17:00.003-05:00

"Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard

Q: What has nine arms and sucks?

A: Def Leppard

If you didn't understand that joke of mine, then you probably are not a big Def Leppard fan. There are five members of this kick-ass '80s band, but unfortunately their drummer only has one arm. It's okay to laugh, I always do. I'm actually not a big fan of Def Leppard because they are terrible, especially this song. Everytime I go to a public function or school dance, this song is most definately on the playlist, and everytime I am reminded of my father's disgusting taste in music. My dad is 6'2" and a "big boned" guy. He's really big into hunting and fishing and manly stuff like steak and baked potatoes. So, growing up with my dad raising me was a little different since he was a bachelor of sorts. You could say that my childhood was, well, manly. I remember the Christmas of my 7th grade year in middle school. I asked the big guy for a new winter coat. Whenever we would go to JCPenney, I would walk my dad by the girl's section and point to the coat I wanted. It was a dark purple marshmallow coat with golden buttons. It had an elastic waist with a large hood. Basically, it was the bomb. So, Christmas rolled around and I just knew I was going to get that coat because it was the only item on my Christmas list and with my stellar-awesome grades I knew Santa had my back. I opened my large box to uncover a coat. I threw a fit and ran into my room crying. This coat was an Extra-Large black and grey Adidas coat and it was hideous. I couldn't stop crying and I hated my dad at the moment. I didn't just hate it because it was black and grey, but because the most nerdy kid in my class had the exact same coat. Never would I step foot in public with that thing on my back! My dad refused to take it back so, for the rest of the winter I froze my butt off in my old coat that didn't really fit because I would not be caught dead in the Adidas coat. I am haunted by the expensive coat that never touched my back. It was from that moment on that I realized my dad had terrible taste in not only music, but clothing as well.

Floofy Bangs

2008-04-22T16:34:00.003-05:00

"We Compliment Each Other Like Colors" by PlayRadioPlay!

This song is currently one of my favorites. I have a difficult time choosing a favorite song because I'm constantly listening to new music. I find this song to be relaxing and very unique. I had not seen this video until I searched the song on YouTube, but I liked the music video even more. It has a techno-indie-emo appearance and Daniel Hunter, the lead singer, always makes me giggle. He is nerdy with red hair longer than mine. It's always wierd for me to see guys with hair that's longer than mine because it's abnormal. Guys are just supposed to have shorter hair than girls. It is the nerdy red hair that reminds me of my hair as a young child. At the age of five, as I entered kindergarten, my hair was to by butt and platinum blonde. The front half of my hair was nothing but bangs that my mom chose to "floof" every morning. She would curl them by layers until I had a stack of curls on my forehead. Then, she would take a comb and tease them until I had an extra three inches added to my height. When they were at the perfect altitude, my mom would surround me with a cloud of hair spray that smelled cheap. I was too young to realize that my mother was tormenting me. I looked like a minature '80s chick as I left for school in my light-up shoes and Saved By The Bell backpack. I was bitchin'. Although my hair was not red like the lead singer from PlayRadioPlay!, I can definately say it was nerdy as I look back on it now. Poofy-Floofy bangs and long permed hair in the back screams "nerdy", but I'm glad to know that there are people who are proud of their not-so-attractive hair-dos. This might even inspire me to chop off my bangs and go floof-crazy!

My life is boring and I have nothing to write about.

2008-04-19T13:14:00.002-05:00

The title says everything. My life is dull and I feel incompetant because I have not found a single thing to write in this blog for 45 minutes. So, today I will write about how boring my life is and how I wish it were. So, let me just start by saying that I hate school, even college, and I want to go home. I want to be back in high school where assignments were easy, teachers were lazy, and I saw all of my friends in one day. I have not found a single person this school year that could replace any of my friends from high school and I'm pretty sure I was supposed to. Everyone said how college would be great and I would forget those people from high school because they didnt' matter. On the contrary, I wish I could forget a lot of people I met this year. So, being back in high school would totally rock right now, especially since tonight is my high school's prom and I absolutely ate that kind of stuff up in high school. I also wish I were home because I would have a room, the size of the one I'm sharing right now, to myself not to mention a bathroom and shower to myself as well. About two thirds of the people that live on my floor are obnoxiously loud, but only when I'm trying to concentrate or sleep. Their drunken moments are also obnoxious. So, my entire point is basically that I want to go home and quit college. The grades are not what they used to be and my friends are so far away that I want to cry. I hate this place, but on the up-side, I am sure next year will go better, so I guess I'll come back. sigh...

My eggo is definately NOT preggo...

2008-04-16T20:25:00.003-05:00

After watching my new favorite movie, Juno, starring Ellen Page and Michael Cera, I was inspired to write about pregnancy and my feelings on the topic. From what I hear, pregnancy is somewhat uncomfortable, painful, and inconvenient. From cravings to puking your brains out and swollen feet, not to mention the humongous tumor-like growth that develops, it just does not sound like fun. And, I never really understood why it had to last for nine months to begin with. But, anyway, this movie has given me a new perspective on the topic at hand. If you haven't seen it, it's about a sixteen year old girl, Juno, who becomes pregnant after having boredom sex with her best friend. She goes through with the entire pregnancy but decides to give it up for adoption to a young couple. It has intensely dry humor and a great plot. It also serves as a great way to teach kids that having sex comes with consequences without actually coming out and saying "hey, sex is bad."

Since fourth grade I have been taught that sex is bad and it only leads to pregnancy. I've also been taught to shun those who become pregnant before marriage because they are big fat sinners that should burn in the firey pits of Hell. Well, even in high school it was preached that pregnancy often leads to an infant and that abortions are wrong yadda yadda yadda. Luckily, my views have been slightly altered in that sense before viewing Juno. I always thought "gosh, if I got pregnant, I would never get an abortion. I would keep it because I made a huge mistake." But, now, upon watching the greatest movie ever, I have realized that there's no way I could ever raise a baby right now. As Ellen Page would say "I am illequipt." Pregnancy is a terrible curse that only adults should deal with, at least that's what I believe. A baby does not deserve parents that are going to secretly hate it, because I know I would hate my baby if I were forced to keep it. So, that's why I believe it is a terrible curse for young people. For adults, it is a blessing because they are mature and prepared to take care of another human being. As for young people, our role in society is to make mistakes and learn from them. Of course, getting pregnant is quite the grandiose mistake and shouldn't be taken lightly, but at the same time, I don't think it's right to judge young women for the mistakes they once made. Sure, loads of other people disagree with me that pregnancy is beautiful and should not be terminated because of selfish reasons, but I don't care. I still think pregnancy is gross and painful (even though i've never experienced it) and perhaps one day I will embark on the terrible journey of pregnancy. Until then, I think abortions are a cool way of controlling the population and giving people a second chance after making a mistake. I'm still not sure if I would abort my fetus or donate it selflessly to a family in need, but I'm not planning on making that decision anytime soon. Thanks Juno, you are the perfect form of abstinence.

Rhetorical Essay. 4.12.08

2008-04-08T08:33:00.011-05:00

Since the 1970s, Victoria’s Secret has amazed Americans with its fashionable couture in lingerie. Its founder, Roy Raymond, introduced a world of glamour, beauty, and youthful romance that appealed to most women at the time(LingerieUncovered.com). Today, Victoria’s Secret is the leading retailer of lingerie and beauty products(Limited Brands.com). This accomplishment, however, could not have been done without the help of celebrated supermodels and world-famous fashion shows. In the eyes of Americans, Victoria’s Secret has made glamorous lingerie available to every woman, while still maintaining itself as an icon of sexiness.

The Victoria’s Secret Commercial above uses several rhetorical appeals and strategies to sell its product. The company leans strongly on the appeal of ethos to establish itself as a high-fashioned and glamorous brand. The use of imagery, celebrities like Jimmy Hendrix and the Angels, and the red herring produce the credibility for Victoria’s Secret while cause and effect allow the audience to capture the benefits of the Victoria’s Secret bra. Also seen in the commercial is the use of pathos to inflict a sense of arousal among the audience. The sensual dancing of the models makes the ad appeal to both men and women, but through different routes, as compare and contrast are used to define the “perfect woman”. The advertisement neglects the appeal of logos but makes up for it with the many strategies that support ethos and pathos. Similarly, all of these appeals and strategies structure Victoria’s Secret’s ability to capture the attention of the audience through the use of sexual seduction.

It is with the help of a question and answer method that Victoria’s Secret is able to advertise their product and their women, establishing ethos for their company. “What is Sexy?” is the first text to appear, aside from the letters. It fills the entire screen which proves it to be the focal point of the advertisement. This is followed by the models dancing around erotically in nothing but lingerie, as Jimmy Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” plays in the background, creating a perfect strip club scene. The use of Jimmy Hendrix's star appeal to sell their product without him actually being in the commercial was a clever way of establishing ethos for the Victoria's Secret company as a hip and trendy brand. To accompany the song, Las Vegas-style lights flash around the Angels' compartments as they swing around stripper poles and sway their hips. This Las Vegas strip club visual along with the audio effects instill within the audience an answer as to what is sexy. No words are needed to answer the question because the models say it all with their bodies. However, the word “sexy” appears in several places during the erotic dance scene only to reinforce the main idea of the advertisement—Victoria’s Secret defines “sexy”. This question and answer method, along with the imagery that accompanies, immediately generate ethos for the Victoria’s Secret brand by answering their own question through visual stimuli.

Victoria’s Secret relies heavily upon its ethical appeal with the audience and most definately with the use of their models to portray this. While many of us already know that Victoria’s Secret is a very sexy brand, the company does not want the consumer to forget it for it is through ethos that they remain the number one brand in lingerie. Therefore, from the first second all the way to the end, the supermodels, also known as the Victoria’s Secret Angels, are arranged in separate compartments with large letters “S”, “E”, “X” and “Y” with neon lights flashing around them. These bright letters illustrate to the audience that the Victoria’s Secret brand is "sexy" and the product they will advertise (since the audience is not immediately introduced to the product) in this commercial will be sexy as well. This strategy immediately establishes the credibility for Victoria’s Secret as a glamorous and sexy brand that will not disappoint its customer. Usually the word "sexy" refers to the appeal of pathos, and indeed it does in this commercial, but it also helps establish credibility for Victoria's Secret. As a company that focuses largely on lingerie, Victoria's Secret wants to be known as the brand that is unlike any other--the best and sexiest brand in lingerie and they do this through imagery. They establish their credibility, as they have for many years, through the use of their supermodels. Not once in the commercial do they explain the details of their Secret Embrace Push-up bra or how it is unlike any other because, in this commercial, the Victoria's Secret brand is focusing on selling their image rather than their product. In order to sell this image, they rely heavily on the sexiest women they can find to model their product and sell the image of "sexy" for the Victoria's Secret brand. It also helps that they have letters spelling out the word "sexy" to remind the consumer why he or she should want to buy a product from Victoria's Secret. Thus, it is through strict imagery and star power that the Victoria's Secret company establishes its credibility as the number one sexiest brand of lingerie in this commercial.

Not only do the models play an important role in the establishment of ethos, but they stand as a red herring for the “sexy” theme of the commercial, distracting the audience instead of focusing on the Secret Embrace Push-Up Bra. Sure, their pole dancing establishes ethos for the company through illustration, but it also acts as a red herring. It is not until 26 seconds into the commercial that the audience is told exactly what is being sold. The first half of the ad focuses on the overly-tan Angels dancing around and ultimately distracting the audience from the main point of the ad—to sell a product. 30 seconds into the commercial the following text appears, “New! Very Sexy! Secret Embrace Push-Up”, which tells the audience that the bra worn by the Angels is “sexy” and they are not as significant as implied. However, this is not true. The models play a very important role in the advertisement of the bra by tying it to sex appeal. Without someone wearing it, a bra is just a bra. No one can tell if a bra is sexy based on its color or how much lace is on it. A bra’s sex appeal is only measured when someone else is wearing it. Thus, the models come into the picture. The Angels model the bra for the audience by wearing little-to-nothing and dancing around erotically to produce the red herring and promote the actual product.

Cause and effect are used throughout the commercial to add to the ethos of Victoria’s Secret by capturing the benefits of the bra being advertised. The Angels, once again, come into play as they are modeling the bra being worn and, help create this cause and effect strategy. If old, saggy-breasted women were modeling the bra in this same “sex” themed scenario, the number of bras sold by Victoria’s Secret would plummet. As sad and superficial as that statement may be, it is true in American society and therefore, companies must play along with it. Victoria’s Secret uses the most physically attractive, which would be young and “gifted”, females for their advertisements because they know that American women want to look just like those models. They use the Angels to instill within the audience that if one buys a Victoria’s Secret “Secret Embrace Push-Up bra”, one will feel as sexy as the supermodels in the commercial. Although it seems like a dumb strategy because hardly anyone will actually look like the models, it works for the company. So many women in the audience are pulled by this cause and effect strategy into buying new bras that they feel will make them sexier, thus establishing more ethical credibility for Victoria’s Secret as a sexy and desirable brand.

Within the commercial is the use of compare and contrast for the final appeal of pathos. Throughout the entire commercial, the Angels, symbolizing the perfect woman, move suggestively creating a sexual appeal of pathos to target the audience. However, this is done differently for each gender. The Angels dancing seductively on the word “sexy” within their compartments creates a sexual mood for men. Of course, most men when watching this commercial would be aroused by “perfect” women dancing like strippers in little-to-nothing. This is just a common fact that men fantasize about overly-tan, large-breasted, and slender women. This visual ultimately makes them more likely to buy the product for their partners because they want their partners to look as sexy and nearly-perfect as the Angels. The rhetorical strategy of compare and contrast is utilized here as the idea of a “perfect woman” is greatly emphasized in the Victoria’s Secret advertisement. Men compare the women they know to this image of a woman that does not exist as it is a universal fact that real women do not look like the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Even the models are not perfect in reality as they are digitally enhanced and drowned in make-up for every photo shoot and public appearance they have. Most women in the audience catch on to this idea that nearly every woman is not “perfect” even though men are not as quick to grasp the concept. Therefore, Victoria’s Secret captures the women’s attention through close-up visuals of the bra itself. They see how comfortable the Angels are in their “New! Secret Embrace Bra” and how sexy it makes the models feel. As the commercial progresses, they see the bra and how it creates sex appeal which increases their desire for the bra and ultimately their desire to feel sexy. Most women may still view this commercial as degrading toward the female gender, while others change their minds as the product is brought into the picture. The sex appeal created targets both men and women in separate ways, ultimately creating pathos for both audiences.

For several decades now, Victoria’s Secret has used the same rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos to establish its credibility as a sexy brand of lingerie that cannot be found elsewhere. Even the Angels play a significant role in the commercial rather than just eye candy for the male audience. The multiple strategies used enhance the theme of sexiness within the argument and make up for the lack of a logical appeal. These strategies also tie the different routes taken by the appeal of pathos for both male and female audiences to one central idea of sexiness. As the number one brand of lingerie in America, the appeals and strategies used in each commercial are obviously effective. They are actually so effective that they convince the audience that sex sells, even though no one likes to admit it, and evoke the need to feel sexy in every woman.

Works Cited
Limited Brands. 2007. 5 April 2008 http://www.limitedbrands.com/brands/vs/index.jsp.

Lingerie Uncovered. 2003. 5 April 2008 www.lingerie-uncovered.com/labels/victorias-secret-past.htm.

John McCain Knows His Rhetoric! mmhmm.

2008-03-27T18:48:00.003-05:00

Promoting Adoption

"In 1993, John McCain and his wife, Cindy, adopted a little girl from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. She has been a blessing to the McCain family and helped make adoption advocacy a personal issue for the Senator.

The McCain family experience is not unique; millions of families have had their lives transformed by the adoption of a child. As president, motivated by his personal experience, John McCain will seek ways to promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy. In the past, he cosponsored legislation to prohibit discrimination against families with adopted children, to provide adoption education, and to permit tax deductions for qualified adoption expenses, as well as to remove barriers to interracial and inter-ethnic adoptions. "

Within this passage, the McCain campaign uses several rhetorical strategies and appeals to convince us, the voters, to check "yes" for Senator McCain. The first paragraph introduces us to a narration of the McCain family's adoption of their daughter. It is with this narration that the McCains are able to relate to the audience or at least other parents of adopted children and convince us that he cares deeply about the topic because he is an adoptive parent. This ultimately gives the appeal of ethos to the McCain campaign because he gives the audience a specific reason as to why adoption advocacy is important to him. Also used in the first paragraph is cause and effect. After the adoption of their daughter, John McCain found the process to be extremely important, enough so that he uses it as part of his campaign. It is assumed through this paragraph that the adoption of a child will change one's views to be the same as John McCain's-- that adoption should be the first choice among crisis pregancies.

The second paragraph focuses mostly on the appeal of pathos by generating the feeling of security among voters. An illustration is provided within the first sentence to make us Americans feel better about adoption, "The McCain family experience is not unique; millions of families have had their lives transformed by the adoption of a child." This sentence suggests that adoption is popular and the very best choice anyone could make because it changes lives and makes everything better. The conformity that is exhibited through our nation is illustrated here and is a good tactic for the McCain campaign because if many people think something is great, others will too, and everyone will be happy. The McCain campaign also uses pathos through the use of description in the passage. They describe to us how John McCain will target adoption and make it more convenient to women experiencing crisis pregnancies. Examples are also given as ways to ensure that adoptions will be better options for women such as tax deductions for adoption expenses and adoption education for those who are uninformed. These details provide pathos because people like to feel as if they know everything, and with this passage, it appears that the McCain campaign has given precise examples as to how adoption can be the very best option.

Opposing arguments are not directly addressed in John McCain's campaign passage on adoption, but in one statement we are able to see how his opposers may feel on the issue. "As president, motivated by his personal experience, John McCain will seek ways to promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy." Within this statement, McCain's campaign uses the words "first option" meaning that there are other options not spoken of in the passage. Now, we all know about abortion, but it is not mentioned in the passage as if to give us the sense that to John McCain there is NO other option aside from adoption. It can easily be assumed that his opponents must agree or mention abortion in their campaign issues, but it is made perfectly clear in this statement that John McCain believes in no other option besides adoption and he will make it the first choice among us voters.

rhetorical critique 3.16.08

2008-03-16T22:39:00.002-05:00

mac v. pc ad

This entire ad focuses distinctly on two types of appeals. The first, and most apparent appeal of course is pathos. The entire commercial is meant to make the audience laugh whether or not they own a pc or a Mac computer. They do this through the analogy of the two characters. Each man represents a different type of computer which is made apparent at the very beginning when they introduce themselves. The pc man is overweight, bald, and uptight which makes him the goofier of the two men. The mac guy is young, hip, and confident in front of his competitor allowing him to poke fun at the pc man. Another analogy used is of the movies and their appearances. The Mac home movie was represented by a model, Gisele Bundchen, which suggests that Mac home movies are much better looking than those of pcs. The pc movie is represented by a man that from the looks of it appears to be homeless. This suggests that pc home movies are of lesser quality and have poor aesthetics. These analogies are used only to help the audience visualize the differences between Macs and pcs through appearance, not on actual quality. The second rhetorical appeal utilized in this ad is ethos. This ad is used to create a certain crdibility for mac computers that will make the audience choose them over pcs. They use comparison-contrast in several of their commercials to make the Macs mor appealing. In this one, they compared the computers' movie making abilities. The Mac computer's movie was ulitmately shown as superior over the pcs in hopes to persuade viewers that Macs are overall the best computers to buy. This compare-contrast is done through the home movie analogy explained above. They allow the audience to compare and contrast the movies based on the appearances of the represented model and homeless fellow, not with an actual verbal appeal. This ad also uses an illustration as to how owning a computer can impact one's life. The Mac owner would ultimately have much cooler applications that are easier to use than that of a pc, and the pc owner would be behind the times with a computer that works less effectively than that of a Mac. All of this is illustrated by the actor Justin Long, who is used as an example of authority over evidence. If the audience does not know Justin's name, they have surely seen him in funny movies or on the arm of Drew Barymore thus making him a pop culture icon in the US. He of course represents the Mac computers that are implied to be revolutionary, high-tech and futuristic, easier to work, and exploding with really neat features that everyone must have. The PC guy is a nobody actor who is only known for these commercials. This distracts the audience for a moment as they figure out who the heck this Mac guy is, which gives the Mac computers a head start at the very beginning of the ad. The young actor gives the mac company a name or icon for themselves as a cool and hip company which is all they are really driving for in this commercial because they know, ulitmately, that this image of appeal will sell thousands of computers.

rhetorical commercial. 3.11.08

2008-03-11T15:57:00.002-05:00

mac v. pc ad
The commercial begins with the two familiar faces of the "Mac" and "PC". The Mac guy appears to be in his twenties and dressed in casual business attire. He represents the college student or young adult with revolutionary ideas and a new way of thinking about the world. He says his "name" with confidence as if he has nothing to hide. The other man, "PC", is older as one can tell by his receeding hairline. His appearance is that of a business man in his forties that is stuck in his ways. The PC man represents a computer that is outdated and certainly lacking similar to his man who lacks the suave attitude of his competitor, Mac. However, the PC man attempts to show the Mac guy up with is movie-making abilities but is immediately shot down as the Mac guy responds with "I made mine with iMovie---it was really easy". In the background is the simple tune of bells. They remind me of the Jeopardy music in an odd way because they give the audience a feeling of suspense. Still confident, the PC man says he will look at the Mac guy's movie, but is dumbfounded as Gisele Bundchen walks in wearing a low-cut sundress and says in her sexy accent, "I am a Mac home movie". The PC man stands in awe, looks at the audience, and becomes quiet due to the fact that he has been overpowered by the young and hip Mac guy. As to humiliate the PC man further, the Mac guy insists on seeing the PC movie. Enters a homeless-looking man wearing a blonde wig and the same sundress as Gisele as to prove that he is the ugly and less aesthetically pleasing of the two. He represents the PC computers as a whole and gives the symbol that PCs are fake and inferior to Macs. The commercial, while quite hilarious, is a simple depiction of rhetoric in full form.

reflection. 3.8.08

2008-03-08T16:54:00.002-06:00

The Zaireeka experiment promotes abstraction and contemplation through the art of music with its funky drum beats, choir, acoustic guitar melodies, and the occasional loud noise, for the lack of a better term. While some of The Flaming Lips’ tracks are hypnotic, others are irritating to the point that you want to turn off the stereo. The same is true with any type of art; painting, sculpting, sketching—they can all be interpreted in different ways simultaneously and yet, all are considered art. Some may enjoy a peaceful and serene oil painting that focuses on a turquoise pond with boats afloat and a sunset off in the distance. At the same time, others may prefer the abstract painting or sculpture that requires as much thought and imagination as Zaireeka to develop a central idea of the piece. Abstract artists force their audience to think outside of the box and use their eyes to develop inspiration. One painting can spark sadness in one individual and happiness in another. The fact is, art is interpreted individually and that is what makes it art. The obnoxious sounds of swarming bees may have been background noise to some, while it was loud and overbearing to me. It is all in the way you take in the music and sift through the sounds you dislike. Other tracks were completely wonderful with acoustic guitar, singing that I could understand, and piano or drums playing all together. It is by the magic of music and other arts that we discover our individuality among the other six billion people in the world and expression through the arts that we are able to choose what we like and why we dislike others. For this reason, all of us are individuals and our inspirations different from those around us. Zaireeka may have inspired some to drown out what they thought was noise and others to completely soak in the multiple sounds and appreciate them as the art of our world.

Zaireeeeeeeeka*

2008-03-05T21:46:00.002-06:00

Eighteen college students sit in a circle on the second floor in the building known as Old Main. We look at one another, not knowing what to expect as Joshua, the instructor, makes the final adjustments to the experiment that would begin shortly. The Flaming Lips is the band that began this experiment but I have neither heard of them or done this project before, therefore leaving me in a stage of stupor for the first minutes of class. Four outrageously different stereos are plugged into the walls surrounding the silent students. The silence is broken by a deep voice speaking almost simultaneously on each stereo, "T-t-t-track one". I am not impressed with the experiment until the same voice says "This is cd 1, cd 2, cd 3, and cd 4" on each stereo in sequence. I am creeped out to say the least. I was ready for this strange experience to begin. A technological beat starts out and drums accompany from the first stereo on my right known as "cd 1". Bells chime in like whistling birds in the spring from cd 4 and a women's choir sings "ahh" in a crescendo and decrescendo for the rest of the track. Everyone in class stares off into space as they try to capture the essence of this experiment thrust upon us. The track ends with an acoustic guitar and a man singing slowly. "End of Track One" abruptly puts closure on the first part of our journey. I now know what to expect for the next tracks to accompany this.

As the second track begins similar to the last, I scan the class room. I observe my chums; half lying on the floor from backaches and the others leaning against the desks that were placed along the sides of the classroom walls. I look to my left and see Kaley writing her thoughts and to my right and see my neighbor asleep ont he floor. His face is buried in this composition notebook and his pencil lies beside his face as to inform me that he is not writing, but indulging in a cat nap. I giggle to myself and glace around the room some more. Joshua meanders around the room checking the volumes on each stereo. I am interrupted by the deep voice "end of track two". I missed the entire sencond track as I observed my peers. I feel like a failure.

The third and fourth tracks are similar to one another with mechanical sounds that reverberate against the walls of our simple classroom. Full of static and swarming bees, the fourth track makes me angry and I am frustrated that the track has not ended. I am not indulged or captivated by any of this experiment while the annoying sound of bees and static overcome the room. At this time, the stereos are beginning to become very out of sync with one another. The beats are off and the choir voices sign words that I cannot understand as their echo fills the room much faster than an actual echo ever could.

Tracks five and six are peaceful songs that bring me back to a sense of saneness. Acoustic guitars, drums and piano all empower the tracks. I once again scan the classroom and acknowledge my peers. Nearly everyone is on their stomachs occasionally bringing their pencils to the paper while taking long periods of time to close their eyes. I look to my right and my neighbor, who shall remain nameless, has yet to have woken from his slumber. Just then, he raises his head and I see the dark red lines on his face from the composition notebook. It makes me laugh, almost outloud, and I try to keep myself professional as the rest of track six plays.

Track seven once again fills the room with static noise that is so unbearable that I feel like pulling the cords on each stereo system. However, the end of the track is peaceful with umming and a soft melody. Track eight ends the experiment with a story about a suffed animal. I drown out the deep voice that tells the story because I am not interested. The stereos sounds completely terrible and I cannot help but stare at the clock. I am not enjoying the experiment. All I can think about is getting out of the classroom. The terrrible noises of static and bees swarming will stay with me for the rest of the day and for this I am unhappy and impatient.

.observation and reflection.:.tranquility.

2008-03-01T17:46:00.005-06:00

The different aromas of freshly brewed coffee trigger my senses as I leave the bitter outdoors and enter the Starbucks Coffee shop located on 33rd and O Streets in the heart of Lincoln, Nebraska. No candle, potpourri, or Glade Plug-In could duplicate the smell of a coffee shop. Hazelnut, cappuccino, whipped soymilk, pastries, and syrups of all kinds mixed together to create the most delicious fragrance. It is unlike any other smell in the world; uniquely captivating and soothing my soul as I go further into the store. I walk past several couples sitting in close proximity not noticing my presence as they stare into one another’s eyes. The sound of espresso machines grows louder. Approaching the counter at the same time as I, the overly cheerful Starbucks employee, Luke, proceeds to ask how my evening is prior to taking my order. After responding with a robotic, “great, thanks”, I order a Tall Skinny Caramel Latte without hesitation.

This is followed by the most difficult decision of the night--- where to sit. The store has two separate seating sections on opposite sides of the door. To the left is the larger of the two sections in which two sides encompass large windows where one can see the darting traffic of both major streets and the orderly parking lot. One other wall holds four very elaborate mirrors that give the room the essence of elegance. The other section is quite secluded with only a grand mural on the east wall. It is a triptych; each piece separated by only an inch or two of wall space. Painted is a Greek goddess statue with extravagant slate blue doves flying around her. The painting itself is rather abstract with no real setting or theme. Waves of blue, green, and mauve overlap creating a giant stroke of color on each panel. Without definite features aside from the ivory goddess and her flock of doves, the mural adds peacefulness to the room. Both seating areas include large armchairs cushioned with strange, yet artistic designs and small tables for two made with darkly stained oak wood. Each wall is painted in autumn hues with pumpkin, chocolate brown, red, tan, or creamy beige. The colors of coffee splash the walls giving the store a relaxing appeal as coffee triggers not only the olfactory, but the visual senses as well. Looking around and strategically placing myself far from the love-filled eyes of those couples I passed earlier, I find the most interesting and unoccupied chair, a black high-backed armchair, and begin to walk towards it.

I pass a scruffy-looking man in a navy blue sweater vest sitting in the corner opposite the door with a laptop on the table in front of him. He looks like a studious graduate student or a writer typing mechanically on his computer as if he has been sitting there for days with coffee as his only source of energy. He does not notice my stare, but instead types unconsciously. His coat and tan messenger bag are placed on the chair across from him as if to say “I do not want company”. There are moments when I feel very similar to this stranger of a man. At times, I like to be alone where I can focus on my own thoughts and where no one else can disrupt my meditation. Having a roommate at college can make this process quite difficult where privacy is encountered only during showers. It is for this reason that I find myself in coffee shops. They have a way of triggering all of my senses and placing me in a calm and relaxed state of being. “Tall Skinny Caramel Latte!”--my thought is broken by Luke announcing the completion of my drink of choice.

I have gone through many favorite Starbucks concoctions in the past, but at the moment my senses prefer the warm caramel taste mixed in with a shot of espresso and Starbucks brand coffee topped off with whipped soy milk. There is nothing comparable to the consoling pleasure of coffee. I recall the very first coffee I drank. It was a Caramel Mocha Latte. From then on, I have been intrigued by the different mixtures available to me at various coffee shops. Not all coffee must be steaming hot; it can be made into a frappuccino which I find to be quite refreshing in the summer months. There is nothing like the refreshing taste of a cold, icy drink when the weather is scalding hot. Even the cold coffees have a way of calming me. Despite the possibilities around me, I always find a favorite drink that I can rely on if I am indecisive.

I hold my latte, careful not to spill it, as I meander my way back to the high-backed black chair. I can smell the scent of caramel and whipped soy foam. The cardboard sleeve on the cup keeps me from burning my hands, but I can still feel the heat radiate from inside. I sit and gently sip the latte as to not burn my lips. It tastes just like the first time, not too strong with just enough caramel to make it sweet. I notice the sophisticated golden vines on the strange red and black rug beneath me. It is attractive and expensive looking, but does not seem to belong with the other furniture in Starbucks. I stare at the weaving gold vines with large leaves. I can feel myself relax as the coffee takes over my senses. Then a rush of cold air awakes me as a girl enters carrying a laptop case. I recognize her as one of my classmates. She notices me, but does not say “hello”. Instead, we exchange glances. She sits on the opposite side of the store from me; flips open her white MacBook, and begins to type. I return to my latte on the coffee table in front of me and am once again taken into a soft trance.

The sounds of the acoustic guitar fill the room in a melody unfamiliar to me. The light plucking of the strings and squeals of fingers moving across the finger board are so intricate. Jack Johnson’s voice softly singing the melody of a song I have never heard from his new album “Sleep through the Static”. I sit on the soft cushion of my high-backed chair and close my eyes. The notes of the guitar drown out all of the voices in the room. I listen to the song until the very end, which leaves me wanting more. A jazz flute annoyingly takes over the room and I can feel my ears ring. The terribly high pitched noise that erupts through the instrument makes me want to leave, but I cannot. I focus on a black shelf that sits across the room from me only 10 feet away. I had not seen it when I first sat down or even the second time, but now I see it. The top two shelves contain dozens of bags of Starbucks Latin America brewed coffee. They are placed so strategically that they do not look to be for sale, only for aesthetical purposes. The bottom two shelves of are much larger and contain very expensive stainless steel coffee makers. Such merchandise takes away from the comfortable mood of Starbucks as I am reminded that it is a store, not just a lounge. The disgustingly loud jazz music fades and I hear another Jack Johnson song in the speaker above me and I am serene.

Serenity, such as that provided at a local coffee shop, is found uniquely within individuals. While my tranquility is that of a Starbucks, others may prefer the peaceful scenery of a pond or the porch of his or her very own house. None the less, the search for perfect serenity is unique for each person and once found, cannot be replaced. All of my senses are engaged when I enter a coffee shop. It is not just the music or smells that relax me, but all of the senses that ignite my soul. The smells of coffee, music playing overhead, taste of caramel, warmth and comfort in the furniture and the visual stimuli all account for my tranquility. It is not silence that I seek outside the walls of my dorm room, but a place to relax and soak in everything around me. Such a unique experience could never be found elsewhere, and it is this that leads me to my desired coffee drink.

I smell the caramel syrup gathered at the bottom of my cup as I approach the last sips of my Tall-sized latte. I am restful and all of my senses satisfied. I gather my belongings and rise from my overly comfortable high-backed black chair. I take one last gulp of my luke-warm latte and toss it in the black metal trash can next to me. As I leave Starbucks, the cold, fresh air bites my face and hands. I want to return to the warmth and coziness of my lounge and the aromas that tingle my senses, but I instead turn the key to my car, and regress back into the real world.

playground diagram

2008-02-21T20:31:00.004-06:00

This lovely picture was drawn by the best artist I know at the moment, Ms. Kara Maddox. Her interpretation of a park was quite detailed and interesting. However, I had the pleasure of labeling the diagram myself. Some of the objects were labeled correctly, or what one might think is correct, while others were only named by the feeling interpreted from that object. Others were given random names such as "acid rain clouds" because that is the concept I paired with the drawing. I liked how Kara's diagram had many different parts that kept me occupied while examining her work. The cotton candy tree of Hershey kisses was amazingly beautiful. While one might say that the picture is of a pear tree, I thought the pears resembled Hershey kisses and the tree was much too fluffy to be an actual tree, and therefore it was named "cotton candy". The child at the botton left of the diagram was quite fun to label. Instead of giving the child very boring labels such as "balloon", "boy", and "ice cream", I decided that the balloon was not full of air, but of pudding, and who is to say that I am wrong? One arrow pointed to the boy, but I found that it was more precisely pointing to his boobies. This was not inappropriate because he was, after all, eating a giant mound of ice cream which, as we all know, will lead to obesity and his sudden death from a clogged artery. Other aspects of the drawing were very similar in that I gave the diagram a little twist from what most people may view as the correct labelings. I enjoyed this activity because it was interesting and I know that I would have thought it elementary and just plain dumb to do such an activity in class. Therefore, I congratulate Kara on an awesome diagram filled with fun and excitement!

Well. Well. Well.

2008-02-19T21:58:00.002-06:00

If I just so happen to jump into an empty and nearly-bottomless well of darkness, I would like to bring along these five albums:

"Do You Feel" by The Rocket Summer

"Continuum" by John Mayer

"Where You Want To Be" by Taking Back Sunday

"Leaving Through The Window" by Something Corporate

"Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness" by Coheed & Cambria

There is no specific value to any of these albums except that they are my current favorites. Some are a few years old, but I still like them as much as I did when they were released. They are all different types of rock music. While Coheed & Cambria are a little heavier, I still enjoy chilling out to John Mayer. John Mayer, even though he's been popular for a few years now, is a really awesome guitarist and I don't think anyone should be allowed to argue. His music is relaxing and mind-blowing to listen to. Coheed & Cambria is probably the most interesting band I have found in my 18 years of life. The band's albums are based on comic books that Claudio Sanchez (the lead guitarist) drew himself. I think that is true talent, but his talents do not lie just within the comic world. Claudio is also a very rocking dude. His hair is out of this world and so are his guitar playing abilities. The Rocket Summer is fun to listen to and one might even say that it is emo, but I do not mind because everyone has a right to be a little sad or emotional sometimes. While Taking Back Sunday is currently popular, I would like to go on the record and say that I liked them before MTV put them on their little countdown thingy. I do not enjoy Taking Back Sunday's new album as much as their angry and punk-rockish ones of the past. I have found that as most bands begin to conform to society's pop culture standards, their music does not remain the same, and while change can be good, most of the time it is not. However, I still listen to TBS's earlier works because they rock. Something Corporate is an awesome band with a lead singer who had cancer, which is the main reason why I like them. No, I'm just kidding. I love Something Corporate's music because it makes me feel happy but they also have some pretty deep ballads that are awesome such as "Konstantine" which is not featured on the album I selected. So, the real reason I picked these albums was only so that I could rock out on my "ghetto-blaster" until I died of starvation. I do not have a deep and meaningful background with any of these albums, they are just my current favorites. So, if you ask me in a week, my mind will probably change, but for right now, I am satisfied with my choices.

coffee. . .

2008-02-17T21:44:00.002-06:00

I never thought, in a million years, that one sip could change my life. It was not just the taste; it was the aroma and the warm, soothing sensation. I seriously think I have an addiction to coffee. I have only been drinking it for a couple years now, ever since Starbucks maneuvered its way into my sweet and innocent town of North Platte. I was skeptical at first because I had heard the rumors of coffee's effects on the mind and body. But the sleek design of the building drew me closer with its new tan exterior and hunter green trim as I drove past each day on my way to school. My friends also put pressure on me to test this new pop culture phenomenon. It was not until a month after Starbucks moved in next to the local Pizza Hut that I was drug there by my best friends to taste what would become my sweetest sin. I ordered conservatively, the average mocha caramel latte that I knew I might enjoy. After all, it was the coffee I was afraid of, not some chocolate syrup. The first taste was heaven, literally. The warm liquid ran down my throat and I instantly wanted more, not because of the caffeine, but because my choclolately concoction was fabulous. I found myself stopping by Starbucks nearly every day after school or even during my lunch break for frappuccinos, lattes, or cappuccinos. I wanted to try anything that would soothe my soul like that very first taste. Now that I am in college, I have become more of a frontiersman in my dorm room. I have a coffee maker and a large jug of French vanilla creamer, because I have yet to bring myself to tasting straight coffee, with which I make my own coffee from time to time. However, I still find myself venturing to the ol’ Starbucks because no one can make a latte like those geniuses.

My "Spiderman"

2008-02-13T21:04:00.004-06:00

"As Long as We Got Each Other" by B.J. Thomas & Jennifer Warnes

"...Spiderman was the coolest guy on the planet. When I was in grade school, his cartoon would be on from 3:30 to 4:00, and my principle reason for not wanting to be kept after school was so that I could make it home before the show started." - Jeff White

While Jeff had the experience as a child of watching the Spiderman cartoons after school, I distinctly remember hurrying home to watch my own favorite television show. At exactly 3:30pm, I would turn on my tv to the infamous Disney Channel where I began to unconsciously sing the theme song shown in the video above. Your curiosity is so terribly elevated at this point that you are just dying to know what magnificent show I must be talking about. Well, the masterpiece of which I speak is none other than "Growing Pains". After I belted out the lyrics, it began; the comedic one-liners, the tear-jerking moments, and of course, the moral values learned in each episode. To me, this one half hour not only highlighted my afternoons, but changed my life. The series was of a family, the Seavers, who had four children, Mike, Carol, Ben, and Chrissy. The father, Dr. Jason Seaver, played by Alan Thicke was a psychologist who practiced at home and the mother, Maggie, played by Joanna Kerns was a television news reporter. The series encompassed the Seaver family through their ups and downs and gave some pretty incredible laughs as well. I found this television program to be very educational in a sense that the Seavers taught me life-lessons that I was not learning at home. Growing up in a divorced setting as one may call it, my parents were not very eager to explain morals and values. Therefore, I had to discover my own as an elementary age student. I think I learned a lot from "Growing Pains" and I wish it were still on the air. Sadly, it got cancelled, and my life has never been the same since. Perhaps when I am a rich doctor-ish type person I will be able to afford all the seasons on DVD!

2.08.08 Video Post

2008-02-07T14:27:00.000-06:00

"Nobody's Perfect" by Hannah Montana from her album "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus"

I would like to start off by saying that Hannah Montana (AKA Miley Cyrus) is the best pop star on the face of this planet. Not only is she a fantastic role model for young girls, but she knows how to have fun, and her talent by far outweighs that of former pop stars (I won't mention any names). It may seem a little immature for me to be so impressed with Ms. Montana's skills since she is a 15 year old Disney Channel star, but I happen to find her television show hilariously amusing and her music highly motivational. Almost all of her songs are about proving to yourself that you are a great person and having fun is always a top priority. Unlike most popular culture celebrities today, Miley Cyrus is not pregnant, addicted to mind-altering substances, or out partying until she gets arrested. She is a "down-home" country girl who expresses her ideas and feelings through her music. The great thing about Miley Cyrus' television show is that she has an alter-ego of sorts when she performs as Hannah Montana, which I think is amazingly exciting. I sometimes wish I had an alter-ego. Also, she gets to work with her incredibly famous father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Now, I am not a fan of country music by any means, but when I was younger and had no say in the radio station decision in the car, I found myself jamming out to "Achy-Breaky Heart". That song was famous for a little while, but do not be so quick to judge Miley's singing ability. She is extremely talented and I would like to venture so far as to say there is no pop star at this moment in time that holds as much talent has Miley's ol' blue jeans. Sure, I used to be a fan of Britney Spears in the day, but just look at her and her little Nickelodean star sister, Jamie Lynn, now. I think I made my point. So, whether you believe that Hannah Montana is the best on the planet or not, the truth remains that she totally rocks!

2.07.08 Assignment

2008-02-06T13:05:00.000-06:00

"There's a certain aspect of science that could be set in the same light as an essay, being that there's no real evidence other than the writers knowledge and opinion." - Travis Goes

Travis' essay on a quotation taken from Mr. Edward Hoagland was quite interesting to me because he tied science and esssays together. Science is the study of how something works and in a sense, essays could be considered a science. The art of writing an essay is complex and takes many steps similar to making a scientific hypothesis. A final essay is one that has been edited and drafted several times until the final product is concise. The same is true of a scientific experiment. Scientists make general hypotheses and try to falsify them through experiments that are detailed and precise, limiting the amount of mistakes made. Then, the final outcome of the experiment is usually something unexpected by the scientist, but is accepted none-the-less. As discussed before in class, essays should not contain ideas in which the writer knows exactly what and how something will be said at the very end of the essay. The essay, just like the scientific experiment, should be a journey that takes the writer in many different and unexpected directions. This makes the process of writing an essay and the performance of an experiment alike. However, they are also alike in the sense that the outcome of either work is almost always taken as fact by the reader without skepticism. This is dangerous of the reader, but is absolutely true of both cases. After reading an essay, or any story for that matter, that may be labeled as non-fiction, the audience accepts whatever was said in the piece as fact. There is no evidence of the happening, but the reader trusts the writer's knowledge and opinion as fact as stated in Travis' essay. The same incidence is true for science. Any hypothesis that has not been proven false is considered to be a theory but many people misuse this word. They accept the theory as a true statement that cannot be broken. However, the exact opposite is true. A scientific theory is only a well-supported guess about something and can only be supported by scientists' knowledge and opinons about how our world works. So, in the end, science and essays are very similar in their processes and the understanding that is taken by us, the reader, as truth.

Quotation from Atwan 02

2008-01-31T14:15:00.000-06:00

"For me, the ideal essay is not an assignment, to be dispatched efficiently and intelligently, but an exploration, a questioning, an introspection. I want to see a piece of the essayist. I want to see a mind at work, imagining, spinning, struggling to understand. If the essayist has all the answers, then he isn't struggling to grasp, and I won't either." -Alan Lightman.

In the above quotation, Alan Lightman gave an interesting definition of the word “essay”. An essay does not have to be an academic piece that is assigned by the teacher with multiple guidelines. One does not have to research a topic to find the answers to what he or she is looking for in order to write an essay. An essay is simply the inner workings of the writer in order to find the answers he or she was looking for in the first place. They must look inside themselves and discover the true meaning of whatever their topic is. I never would have defined an essay in this fashion, but since reading these “Atwan” excerpts for class, I have realized than an essay can be as simple as journal writing or as academic as a report. An essay does not need a structure such as the Five-Paragraph Essay, which is something new to me. Just one year ago in English class, when I heard the word “essay” I knew that my teacher was expecting five paragraphs in which I stated within the first paragraph exactly what the piece was about and how I would approach my topic. To put it simply, I already knew the answers in the conclusion of my essay before I even began writing my second paragraph. I was never fond of this bland way of writing and after reading this quote from Alan Lightman, along with many others, I have discovered that there are many ways to approach an essay. The best essays are those in which the writer struggles to understand his idea or thesis, yet keeps his audience interested through the twists and turns of his thoughts. I really agree with Lightman’s statement that “if the essayist has all the answers, then he isn’t struggling to grasp, and I won’t either.” An essay is not uniform in that a bit of the writer’s personality is put into the piece in order to make it unlike any other writing genre. An essay is unique and as Lightman put it, “an exploration”.

Test Post

2008-01-24T14:27:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to our course's Main Page.