What Is A Blog?

Since I have developed more of an understanding from using a blog for this whole semester, I now have a general idea of the functions of a blog. A blog is like a journal where you can pretty much write whatever you want and display whatever you want. You can choose to make it public or private. Blogs have been used for different purposes, from business, to school, or just for people to write whatever is on their mind. I have seen a lot of blogs where the person posts an issue or just a general problem and many people have responded with their opinions, giving possible solutions. From using a blog this semester, I thought the positive thing about it was that more people in the class participated. Whenever the class was assigned a reading and was to post a reflection on their understanding of what was read, you would be able to look at other peoples' blogs and read their interpretation of the reading. It relates to a discussion, and makes the discussion better when more people put their ideas out there. I've noticed that in class, whenever we have a discussion about what we've read, not a lot of people give feedback. Another good thing about blogging is that you also get quick feedback from your teacher and your classmates. It is also another way to comment to your classmates about their ideas and for them to comment on your ideas. It also lets your classmates and your teachers get to know you better and how you think. When Nick introduced us to blogging, I thought it was a different way of interacting in the classroom and doing our assignments. What I didn't like about blogging was that sometimes it would get a bit time consuming for some of the blog assignments because I have a hard time getting my thoughts down in writing, having to find the right words to say to make sense, to get my idea out to where when other people are reading my post, they can understand what I'm trying to say. Whereas in the class, I can break down certain elements from the idea that I'm trying to get across and other people can jump in, kind of helping to get out what I'm trying to say. I also think that sometimes with blog discussions, the person doesn't really get a full understanding of what they've read, whereas having a live discussion in class, people put their ideas out and the teacher kind of guides the students to think further outside the box. Besides using blogs in a school setting, I don't really use blogs outside of school for my own personal use. From using a blog for the first time in this class, I felt that it was a good experience, sharing ideas and being able to think critically to find a deeper meaning in the readings, but in the future, I will probably not continue to use blogs unless another class that I am taking is using blogs.

An Imperial Message

In Kafka's text "An Imperial Message", Kafka introduces the text talking about how an emperor is on his death bed and he wants a messenger to spread his message throughout the entire Empire. After the messenger has confirmed that he has understood the message, he begans on his venture to spread the message throughout the entire land. While on his venture, he has to step through obstacles that hold him back from spreading the message. While reading the preface, it makes it better to understand the text. The preface tells us through Kafka's text, the Emperor stands for God, and because God is dying, or becoming nonexistent, God wants to spread his message throughout the village but "the villagers are not close to god." Therefore, the messenger pushes and pushes through obstacles, though never arriving at the destination. The pretext also tells us that the people don't understand the situation and that couriers are shouting messages that are meaningless. I think this relates to the ways of how we come across signs in our life. When Kafka states that God, as an emperor, is trying to deliver to the people his message and that people come to misunderstand it, I think it relates to how God sends us signs in our life, whether it is good or bad. We have to look at each sign that God gives us and put the pieces together in order to better interpret the message that God is trying to tell us.

Discrimination is a Virtue

In "Discrimination is a Virtue", author Robert Keith Miller talks about how society has misused the word "discriminate" and how as time goes by that society has related the word with racism. Miller provides us with the dictionary definition of "discrimination" meaning "the ability to tell differences". He also provides many examples of how we discriminate such as the ways we choose which kind of foods to eat, and that discrimination doesn't always have to do with racism and prejudice. Another very effective example that relates to the presidential election is the example that Miller provides about King Lear and his daughters. King Lear tests each daughters' love for him, asking them "How much do you love me?" and listening to each of their responses. Because King Lear did not diffrentiate what was true love and what was false from his daughters' responses, he had "lost his kingdom and eventually his life". Therefore, when we listen to each presidential candidate and the issues they are presenting on their platforms, we need to diffrentiate between what each candidate is saying, not to just vote for a candidate because they are saying something that we want to hear. In today's society, many feel there is discrimination towards the two Democratic candidates, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, because one is female and the other is an African American. Many people are associating discrimination with gender and race. Although those candidates posses those traits, we can't go pretending "that there are no distinctions to be made". But if people can look past the biases and listen to these candidates' words, it will be to the benefit of society, voting for who they think is the best qualified. As Miller states at the end of his essay: "The ability to make intelligent judgements is essential both for the success of one's personal life and for the functioning of society as a whole."

Visual for argument

The image shows an example of someone who has been stripped away of their medals because they have used performance-enhancing drugs to improve their performance in the professional sport. This image of Kelli White, an American sprinter, was stripped away of her medals and had lost her chance of competing at the Athens Olympics in 2004. This image will be useful for my paper because it shows someone who was successful in her professional career, and by her decision to use performance-enhancing drugs, that has lead to a downfall in her career. It supports my argument, showing that there are consequences to using performance-enhancing drugs, whether it be the effects it has on a person's body, or the effects it has on a professional athlete in their career. It also lets teenagers who look up to these athletes see that if they too want to have a career as a professional athlete, that they should steer away from using performance-enhancing drugs because, like the example of Kelli White, they could lose it all. Not only is it cheating the sport, but the person is also cheating themselves by using performance-enhancing drugs.

"If Black Isn't A Language, then Tell Me, What Is?"

In this essay, author James Baldwin addresses the topic of language. He states that the language a person speaks reveals who he or she is. He states that language "is the most vivid and crucial key to identity. To open your mouth you have confessed your parents, your youth, your school, your self-esteem, and your future." Although there are common languages among certain locations, a person may be speaking a "subtly and different language" than one that is from another location. Baldwin provides an example of this through his observations of those who speak the French language; "A Frenchman living in Paris speaks a subtly and crucially different language from that of a man living in Marseilles; neither sounds very much a like from a man living in Quebec although the 'common' language in all these areas is French." Because each man is from a different area of the world, their way of speaking French is unique to them and their identity.

Baldwin also addresses the evolvement of the African American language and how it has influenced the language of the White Americans. He provides evidence of this with his example of how the White Americans have adopted the Jazz Age. Throughout history, African Americans have only been viewed as slaves to their masters; they are servants with nothing to contribute. Therefore, Baldwin addresses his argument: "If this absolutely unprecedented journey does not indicate that black English is a language, then I am curious to know what the definition of language is to be trusted." At the end of his essay, Balwin provides us with information that White Americans were not interested in educating African Americans; if a child was to be educated that he could no longer be black and that he knows he could never be White. But if the White American language is influenced by the African American language, why would an African American child need to be educated by a White American? The purpose of Baldwin's argument is to inform his audience about this issue and for the black English language to receive recognition.

Annotated Bibliography

Hanson, Mary E. Go! Fight! Win! Cheerleading in American Culture. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1995.

This book addresses many aspects of cheerleading. It informs us with the history of cheerleading, how it began and how it has evolved. This book also provides its audience with information on how cheerleading is linked with the media and advertising and also the symbols, meanings, and how people have come to interpret "the cheerleader".
Mary Ellen Hanson is the author of this book. She has been a cheerleader herself in the past and is now employed at the University of New Mexico. Through her experiences in cheerleading and the history of its past, she has conducted research in this area.
The purpose for publishing her book was for her audience to be informed of what cheerleading really is. She provides information covering history to its symbolism and meaning, and to its purpose in advertising. In addition, she has shown evidence from its evolvement how it can be associated as a sport.
This book was a very useful source to me. It provided lots of information that I could use to support my argument. This book covered lots of materials that went further into my topic.

CRAAP Test

In "Dihydrogen Monoxide in the Dairy Industry", Tom Way discusses the issue about dihydrogen monoxide in milk. The purpose for the website is to inform readers about the risks of dihydrogen monoxide(DHMO), but according to the CRAAP test, this website does not pass the test and is unreliable. On the homepage of this website, the date of when it was last updated is displayed at the bottom of the page, showing that it was last updated on March 11, 2008. This shows that this website is still current. The ideas present on the page are not consistent, therefore showing no relevance to the issue at hand. The first five paragraphs go into the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, that it is a contaminant in milk. Then the next paragraphs go into the use of a photograph of a cow taken from another corporation. The author of the website is Tom Way. According to the website www.cvc.villanova.edu, it states that Tom Way specializes in the field of computer science. To make sure that it was the Tom Way I was looking for, I went through the website and sure enough, the website provided a link to the dhmo.org website. Because Tom Way specializes in the field of computer science, he does not have the qualifications to talk about health. Therefore, Tom Way quotes Dr. Donna Maria Waltz, who specializes in the field of dairy nutrition. In the article, there is a link under Dr. Waltz's name to her webpage. On her webpage, she claims that she has a bachelors, masters, and a Ph.D degree under the title of her name. She gives us a link to the company where she had worked before, but the link is not functional. She also gives us two links to the schools from where she got her degrees, but only one is functional. Dr. Waltz does not provide a lot of information about her and at the end of what she has posted, she states "That's all I'm going to say about myself and my vocation. :-)" which doesn't show seriousness about her profession. Most of the links to the special reports on the homepage do not make much sense (for example DHMO plays a role in the formation of cancer), considering that dihydrogen monoxide(DHMO) is just another name for water. According to the American Chemistry Council, dihydrogen means two hydrogen atoms and monoxide means one oxygen atom and therefore comprises H2O. Although the information provided sounds intellectual and is supported by one source, that one source is unreliable and there are no other sources to back up the claim. As a result, because the contents of this webpage does not pass the criteria of a reliable source, this website is a bunch of crap!

Logical Fallacies

The article I chose to analyze is "Cure More, Spend Less" by Tommy G. Thompson. This article goes into detail about the need for our presidential candidates to put focus towards health care as one of the ways our government can perform more efficiently. Because he is a Republican, he especially feels that the Republican Party has a strong position on the issue of health. Thompson also states his opinion on other topics that he feels people should focus on such as problems with the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), setting goals to find cures for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer, and the possibility of creating a flat tax.
Although this article is mainly of Thompson's opinion, it does carry some logical fallacies. In the article, Thompson jumps from health care to the FDA, then to the cures for certain cancers, and then taxes. This shows the use of the Non sequitar fallacy. The article does not follow from the previous statements. The author goes from one point to another point and leaps to another point that had nothing to do with the original argument. The author has left out information that could have linked those ideas together. In addition to the Non sequitar fallacy, the Red Herring fallacy is also demonstrated in this article. As the author introduces another topic, he gets the reader off track at what the real issue at hand is.
The end of the article states that Thompson is a former Republican governor of Wisconsin and secretary of health and human services. Upon reading this, many people would think that Thompson is a reliable source because of his credentials. Where he argues that campaigns should look at the possibility of creating a flat tax to replace our progressive tax, he assumes that our taxing system now is counterproductive. He does not provide evidence of how or why it is counterproductive. Therefore, this demonstrates the Appeal to Improper Authority fallacy. Thompson is an expertise in the field of health but argues about taxes.

Middle-schoolers get the pill

In this article, the main issue addressed is whether or not it would be a good idea to let middle schoolers have access to contraceptives. One perspective of this argument is that "Some children are having sex anyways...so shouldn't we keep them as safe as possible?" This perspective is supported by providing information that King Middle School is made up of poor and immigrant students; some of the girls who attend this middle school are already sexually active. Because they are poor, they are not able to afford "the same kind of health services available to teenage girls who can afford private gynecologists". Therefore the district wants to make these kinds of services available to these girls. While in the process of obtaining birth control, the Boston Globe states, "No one, moreover, is simply handing these girls the pill. Girls requesting birth control must 'first travel a long--even arduos--road of conselling'", where they are informed by the nurses of the risks of underage sex.
The counterargument is that 11 year-olds shouldn't be having sex anyways. This perspective is supported by arguing that providing contraceptives is like encouraging middle schoolers to have sex, as stated using the analogy "It's no less absurd than dealing with the reality of teen smoking by handing out low-tar cigarettes to the seventh grade," said M.D. Harmon in the Portland Press Herald. But both perspectives level off, as stated in the article "the evidence supports a 'combined approach'...urging kids to delay sex until they're older, but also helping them to avoid getting pregnant or a STD if they listen to their hormones, instead of to lectures by adults".
One perspective that was overlooked was the part of the parents within this issue. Although while obtaining birth control, the nurses do urge those girls to speak to their parents, but those girls are still able to receive birth control without the consent of their parents. I think at that young of an age, the role of the parents should be taken into consideration, especially since sex is a sensitive, but also serious issue. It could lead to many threats, such as STDs, and responsibilities for the action. Although the girls will be informed of the risks of their actions by the nurses, their parents should also play a part in educating their daughters about sex.

Reflection of Rhetorical Analysis

When I started planning and writing my rhetorical analysis, I had a hard time because I was not familiar with the type of paper we had to write. In high school, the writing assignments that I was mostly assigned were persuasive essays and research papers. I was not familiar with ethos, pathos, and logos. So as I was reading Cro-Magnon Karma: One Dude and his Body Image Issues, I wasn't sure at first what kind of appeals Godsey used in his essay or even what to look for in the text. I read the text over and over and took down lots of notes on the text. I went to the Writing Resource Center and they were a great help! My tutor helped me to understand each appeal. In addition, the activities done in class and the assigned readings were also of great help. I especially thought the most challenging was when we had to read "Passing Before Life's Very Eyes" and having to analyze the pictures. After having a good understanding of what falls under each appeal, writing the paper was also challenging. I looked over the sample paper in the CILCTE book so I could see how to format and organize my paper. Looking over the sample paper helped me to organize my paper, how to get my paper to flow from one idea to the next. But I think the most challenging part was to find what was stated in the text to support my ideas. Finally, I think most of us had some difficulty with grammar. I know I did, considering how I had a lot of mistakes in my conventions when my rough draft was handed back to me. After going over my paper and fixing up the kinks, it turned out to be a very well written paper. I feel that I've learned a lot from writing this paper. I learned a new type of writing that I've never done before. Also, I feel proud of myself for completing this paper. I did have difficulty at first writing the paper. I didn't think my paper would have been up to standards, but in the end it turned out ok.

"Allegory of the Cave" and "The Banking Concept of Education"

In "Allegory of the Cave", Plato mentions details of comparing two realities, one of being a prisoner in a dark cave and the other of being out in the light, seeing the outside surroundings. He mentions how in each setting there is a certain perspective. For example, since the prisoners are only allowed to face forward and were chained up, they did not get the chance to see the true object. They only saw the shadows of the object and therefore had to memorize the shadows of the object to recall it. Where as if one were exposed to the light and the outside surroundings would have a different perspective than that of a prisoner. Plato also mentions how one would think that their reality is more true than another reality. Because they do not expose themselves to other realities, they limit themselves from taking in new information. Therefore, by being more open minded to different perspectives lets us take in new information, expanding our knowledge.
In "The Banking Concept of Education", Freire goes into detail about two different concepts of learning between the teacher and student. The Banking Concept views the teacher as having all the knowledge and that the student knows nothing. The student's role is to listen, memorize, and repeat the information. The second concept that Freire goes into is the Problem-Posing Education Concept. This concept opposes the banking concept. It no longer poses the student as just a listener, but lets the student interact with the teacher. It lets the student ask questions to have a better understanding of the content. In addition, questioning the world around us makes us more in tune with ourself and our reality, therefore expanding our knowledge.
In both texts, both authors seem to be aiming towards the same idea, knowledge and experiences. The main emphasis is the perception of our reality to expand our knowlege. By memorizing information and being told what our reality is does not let us learn or experience things for ourselves. If we are more open minded to different perspectives and we question the world around us, we can become more educated and in tuned to our surroundings instead of just adapting to the world.

Anxious America: Smyrna, Tennessee; Foreign Investment brings a town jobs--and worries too

This article tells us about how the Japanese make, Nissan, decides to build its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee where it created thousands of jobs for the people of Smyrna. "With 5,700 employees, Nissan remains Smyrna's largest employer...". But from the competition in the auto industry, Nissan decided to offer a buyout plan. This cut 770 jobs at Smyrna and the hiring of temporary workers has the full-time workers concerned they'll be "pushed out to make room for less expensive labor". Rick Bratcher, who opened up a car dealership in 1992, sees how American companies have moved to foreign destination. Although Nissan says that they do not plan to shut down their plant at Smyrna, Bratcher and other people of Smyrna are concerned that Nissan might resort to moving over seas.
Although many companies start out in the United States, they end up taking their business over seas so that they can make more profit by paying workers less. As said by GM lobbyist Tom Kay, "Businesses need to stay competitive in today's economic climate". But in certain countries such as Asia, the U.S. currency is worth more. So Japan might have wanted to build the Nissan plant in the U.S. so that they would make more profit.
This article relates to the documentary "Roger and Me" because they both had a similarity in their story, that an automobile plant provided the people in the city their jobs. As stated at the beginning of the documentary by Michael Moore, "Roger Smith's plan was to close 11 GM plants, move to Mexico and build 11 plants there, paying workers 70-74 cents an hour", which relates to how Nissan is hiring temporary workers for less expensive labor.

http://wf2la4.webfeat.org/

Roger and Me

I think the purpose for Michael Moore making his documentary "Roger and Me" was to inform and give people insight about what happened at the time GM closed in Flint. At that time, the news about the closing of GM and the lay-off of 30,000 people was nation wide, but people were only hearing about it. By making this documentary, Moore let people actually see what was going on, letting people have a visual perspective of this tragedy. By interviewing people, using their expert testimony, and having his film crew showing the visual evidence of what was happening in Flint, Moore effectively appeals to his audience by using logos.
Some visual evidence he provides on his documentary were that after GM closed, the city started to look poor, since the lay-off affected the majority of people living in Flint. The crime rate had gone up and he shows us that there weren't enough jail cells for the incoming inmates. People had to look for alternative modes of making money. Moore interviews a few people about their alternative such as the color consultant, the lady who raised bunnies and butchered them, and the manager of the Taco Bell. In addition, from Moore's interviews of people who were ex-GM workers, from their tones and their facial expressions, you can sense a feeling of anger from them which I feel leads to Moore's use of pathos.
This documentary affected us emotionally as well. Although most of us weren't there when this tragedy happened, by watching this documentary and seeing what the people of Flint had to go through, it almost makes us feel sorry for them. I think that Moore used this appeal to relate to his audience emotionally. As he uses logos and pathos he effectively raises awareness and informs his audience about the situation in Flint.

Passing Before Life's Very Eyes

I didn't really understand this comic at first. But after looking over it several times, my interpretation of the comic strip is that an old man dies and sees his life playing like a film right before his eyes. There is an image of him as a boy that explains to the older man what is happening. It is as if the boy and the older man take the journey towards death together.
At the beginning of the comic strip, the old man is on a hospital bed and it looks as if something is coming out of him. As what most people have been told about death, that when someone dies, their soul is seperated from their body. In that first (p.216), without using any words, I feel that that is what Wolfgang wanted us to interpret from the picture, that the old man's soul is seperated from his body. The next few images are of the old man flying by different scenes, some with people in them. I think that from these pictures, it shows his soul taking him on a journey through his life, but the old man sees this happening as if from an outsider's point of view. The old man then sees himself as a child and they come face to face. The child then explains to the old man that their heart just stopped and they they're basically strolling down memory lane before they come to their final stop, their final ending when everything fades away.
There are many different views that people have about what happens to the soul when we die. I feel that Wolfgang's use of visual pathos lets us see how he visualizes the journey towards death. He uses images as if to describe a scene towards death; the image showing is that of our lives passing before our very eyes, as shown in the comic from how the old man flies through different places. I also think that his use of words explains his interpretation of the stage before and at death. For example, the author has the child saying, "So, our brain has us mixed up in cocktail of serotonin and endorphins which creates for us a little 'film' to watch while life is yanked from our body" (p.227) and "Some folks choose 'the light at the end of the tunnel/dead relatives' package. Others ride an albino tiger into the sky with Elvis. We've opted for the 'Good ol' life before our very eyes memory lane special" (p.229).

The Southland

The south is a place where many battle scenes have taken place. The remains of those scenes are very impressive. It lets people see the story of the past. The southerners have a different mindset. Even though they were enemies with the North and were defeated by them, they do not view themselves as defeated or wrong.
If you are from the North, you do not have the same visual perspective that the southerners have for their area. The northerners only see an area of defeat. They do not realize that the dream like images portrayed in poems are those of the landscape and charm of the south. When the author states "Little by little this dream world is being penetrated by the spirit of the North. The South is crumbling under the heel of the conqueror," I feel like the author is saying that nowadays, people only give recognition to those who are victorious.
Many of the places in the South hold memories of the war, as the author stated "Charleston is a beautiful memory, a corpse whose lower limbs have been resuscitated." He mentions many places that still hold the beauty and heart of the war, that it's like by looking at them, it takes you back into that time. For example, as he stated, "There are trees, plants, shrubs, flowers such as are seen nowhere else, and which are not only extraordinary beautiful but haunting and almost overwhelmingly nostalgic," he emphasizes on how seeing these images of these plants haunts the person about that time. Another example is where the author states, "Savanah is a living tomb about which there still clings a sensual aura as in old Corinth." The way he compares Savanah to an aura that still clings tells us that there's still something there, something from the past that still holds on, that makes it memorable, or in relation to the other quote, it makes it a haunting.
There are many great splendors that have developed, being influenced from places as Charleston, Savanah, and New Orleans. These great cities inspire people and arouse them with great emotion. One example that the author uses in relation to these cities is the statue of the Buddha at Avery Island. The statue of the Buddha is impressive, sitting tall and showing great poise. I feel that this statue inspires people to go on by representing hope, desire, courage, and belief.
I feel that in this essay, the author uses a great amount of ethos and pathos. His use of ethos lets us see that he is very interested in this particular subject. He shows a great amount of passion and is profoundly moved by the events of the south. His passion about this subject also leads us to the pathos he uses. His use of descriptive words lets his audience visualize the battle scenes and the places that he's been to. I also think it shows how inspired by the subject he is and how he wants his audience to be more informed about the South.

Website Analysis

The website I chose to analyze is nick.com. Many people are familiar with this website as it is also a television network. The website contains many items associated with the different shows that are on the nick channel, such as games, videos, and a link to shop for accessories associated with that show. There is also a link to view the schedule of airing times for the shows. I think this website mostly appeals to little kids but could also appeal to adults when they want to buy toys for their kids or as a gift to a child. But who am I to say, maybe some of the adults like to play the games on this site as well as the little kids, or like to watch the videos. I think this website mainly serves as entertainment, for playing games, or watching videos, or reading about the shows and the kid celebrities. It also serves as a way of advertising their television network. From the the way the website was put together, I feel that the tone of the site is less serious. The website contains pictures of the characters from the different shows, ranging from cartoon characters to actual people. The expressions of these characters are silly, making faces, and smiling, which I feel brings out a happy and humorous feeling from the audience.

Blog Analysis

The blog I chose to analyze was titled NAU Mitch. From the title, it tells us his name and that he is a student at NAU. The title could also mean that he really likes the school that he is attending or that he is an active participater at his school, like that he is in a club. The color of the profile is fairly simple, but it could also mean that the author likes the color black. Also there is some blue and yellow in the profile, which are NAU's school colors, which could also mean that he's representing his school in his profile. From the author's posts, it shows that he has a sense of humor and that he is looking forward to using a blog. In a post for a blogging assignment, he gets right to the point about what the reading was about, so it could also indicate that he is a straight forward person, who gets right to the point of the issue.

Tan's essay

Amy Tan is a Chinese American who succeeded in writing. Like she said, most Asian students are steered away from writing and towards math and science, but she took initiative and challenged herself by taking on a major in English, which has taken her so far in life to where now she is a successful author of several novels. Although she thinks of her mother and is writing to her mother in this essay, I think it also applies to all her readers because her purpose is she is trying to make a point about language. Not everyone speaks good English, as she uses the example that her mother's English is described as broken. She lets us see things through her eyes by letting people know about her experiences. I also think this essay lets the reader be more open minded about other cultures and their comfort languages.

What is a blog?

I'm not much of a person who blogs. Before reading the information provided on blogging, I just thought that a blog was a place on the web where you can just post anything that was on your mind. Alot of the blogs that I've seen have talked about events that have happened to the person or just something that was on the person's mind, as if the person wants to vent out their feelings. I've also seen blogs in the form of a forum, where one idea is posted and people post comments about it and it turns into a big discussion. What I did not know was that companies posted blogs. I've rarely seen companies trying to advertise themselves by posting blogs. I'm also very suprised that there's hate crimes in blogs. I didn't even think that these kinds of groups existed in blogs. It makes me mad that people would try to create a group like this and scheme evil plans or why people would even join groups like that. But after reading the information on blogs, I've now learned that blogs are used for multiple purposes.