tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2857390796414294692024-03-19T03:16:53.341-05:00ENG 001: Language & WritingJennifer Wiederspan ENG 001 Blog, Fall 2008Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-14012147100436842132008-12-15T13:03:00.007-06:002008-12-20T00:37:21.158-06:00Soundtrack of Jennifer Wiederspan<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PLR82beHvI0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PLR82beHvI0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.bryanadams.com/">Bryan Adams</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Of-69-Bryan-Adams/dp/B0019370PK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229752869&sr=8-1">Summer of 69</a>”: The song starts out with the opening of Bryan Adams playing his guitar, and the lyric “I got my first real <a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/six-string-home-02.jpg">six string</a>.” The audience then chimes in to finish the lyrics for the artist. The song is about the Summer of <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/year/1969.html">69</a>, a summer the artist remembers vividly. Recalling a time when he had a band with some high school buddies, he then states that they all moved on to other things than just that summer band. He talks about it being the “best days of our lives.” Everyone has that one summer lives with them forever. The times you got into trouble doing things you weren’t supposed to be doing, staying out way too late, and the memories from the short time period that never seem to end. I recall my most memorable summer, it was the summer of 2007. I spent a lot of time with my friends, at my job, and the county fairs. As the song states, “that summer seemed to last forever” and that’s how it feels. Summer is a time that allows you to kick back and to whatever you want. It’s a time for jobs that seem to be of the worst kind, and fun nights that just don’t seem to happen during the regular school year. Summer also brings around the county fairs, which is a popular thing to attend in small rural towns in <a href="http://www.nebraska.gov/dynamicindex.html">Nebraska</a>. The point of the song is, summer can bring about the best days and memories of anyone’s life, because summers seem to last forever. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zx6GOBXoT3o&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zx6GOBXoT3o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.rascalflatts.com/home2.php">Rascal Flatts</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/These-Days/dp/B00138GMI2/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753012&sr=102-1">These Days</a>”: Watching lead singer <a href="http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Rascal-Flatts-Biography/B77E41F18573A39B48256950000DADE2">Gary Levox</a> somberly look down as he sings about running into an ex unexpectedly is what audiences see when listening to this sad love story song. Through the lyrics of the song, we understand that the man is still in love with with this girl who has moved on with her life, and is in fact getting married. This theme of missing someone is evident in many country songs. The band playing in the rain while singing about waking up to teardrops is a nice technique to show audiences that the artist is sad, despite how he is playing off being ok without her around. My best friend’s myspace still has the lyrics of this song on it, which is on the right side next to her profile picture. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/">Myspace</a> and <a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/facebook">Facebook</a> allow people to express themselves with profiles, music, and quotes. People are allowed to comment on these pages and view them. People have been so caught up in these online profiles that they have a tendency to have their statuses be lyrics to songs. The lyrics in this song can relate to people and describe how they may be feeling at that particular moment of their life. Myspace and Facebook are used as means of expression just as lyrics are. People can express their feelings better b y quoting a song lyric instead of actually putting how they feel as their status. Lyrics provide a disguise and are more acceptable as a mean of expression than actual words. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ESwTDIMzEZM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ESwTDIMzEZM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankiejonline.com/">Frankie J</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Obsesion-Amor-Featuring-Baby-Bash/dp/B00136NO08/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753079&sr=102-1">Obsession</a>”: A beautiful soothing vocal fills our head with thoughts of maybe being in love, but not so sure. The music video has the stereotype of the singer in a bed with a beautiful girl in just a bra and underwear that he is supposedly “in love” with. The chorus has the word “<a href="http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Amor">amor</a>” which in <a href="http://www.spanishdict.com/">Spanish</a> means love. The artist wonder if it really is love that he is feeling or if it is just an allusion. The idea of love, in the broad terms of love for someone in general, is something that is sometimes not expressed enough. The word amor in this song played a special part in my life, because it was what me and my best friend said to each other every time we would end a conversation. We started it in junior high, ending conversation with “amor ya” because we thought we were special for knowing amor meant love. Telling someone “I love you” doesn’t always have to mean being in love with someone, it just means caring about someone enough to love them. It is seen often in this world that parents don’t tell their kids they love them enough, or friends forget to mention it. It is often said after someone dies that they never really got to tell them how they felt. A tragedy shouldn’t have to happen for people to realize they love someone; it should just be something people often say to just secure those feelings of doubt. If you love someone, let them know it, because at some point, the chance to say it might not be there.<br />(The following video is the song but the actual video can't be embedded. I had an alternative but it doesn't format with the blog site. The video link on youtube is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOrY9M1SsK0">here</a>.)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCPVbYJoTv8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCPVbYJoTv8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.savingjane.com/">Saving Jane</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Next-Door/dp/B000V9HUZI/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753138&sr=102-1">Girl Next Door</a>": A tape real of typical high school scenes of students in desks and cheerleaders introduces us to the song of bitterness at the perfect high school girl. We have a two sided screen, one with a girl who is clumsy and dropping books down a sidewalk, and the other in a top down convertible that is your typical popular beauty queen. The video shows the girl envying this perfect girl, but towards the end of the song, the audience hears the lyrics “I spend all my time wishing that I was someone else.” This lyric is a message that we should accept who we are and stop being jealous of who we aren’t. This song outlines the details of both me and my best friend in high school. She would label me the “prom queen, cheerleader, <a href="http://www.vanbros.com/nebraska/">pageant</a> girl” while she was the girl next door. What we came to realize is that we both shared qualities of both stereotypes, as she later became a cheerleader and I was in band at one time. <a href="http://www.highschoolsports.net/portal.cfm?schoolid=NE6805013473&timeoffset=360">Small town high schools</a> don’t bear these stereotypes as much as bigger schools do. In small schools, people tend to be accepting of everyone because there aren’t enough people to have cliques. Everyone has to work together to be in school activities and there isn’t room for fighting or putting others down. The homecoming and prom queens are usually the nicest people in the school, and everyone is in band. Although the song talks about there being a perfect girl, in reality or at least in my reality, that girl doesn’t exist. <br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bg45rOnbnCA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bg45rOnbnCA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fmstatic.com/">FM Static</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tonight/dp/B000TEBXQC/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753183&sr=102-1">Tonight</a>”: The song does not actually have a true music video as the band is not well known, but the song is put to scenes from the movie “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281358/">A Walk to Remember</a>” which is based off the novel by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0817023/bio">Nicholas Sparks</a>. It is not the video that has the message of the song but the lyrics themselves. The song repeatedly uses the line “I remember…” We all have memories that we share with our friends and family, and this song touches is about remembering times after someone you love has passed on. My best friend and I sang this song repeatedly over the course of 6 months and it never had a real meaning to us except for catchy lyrics. She passed away in the summer of 2007, and the song became my anthem to remind me of all our memories because every lyric of the song applies to our relationship. We all deal with loss at some point in our life and it’s easy to remember the good times you had, rather than dwell on the bad times and grief. Remembering good talks, road trips, and the fun times help us cope with the fact that they are gone. The chorus line, “Tonight I’ve fallen and I can’t get up, I need your loving hands to come and pick me up, and every night I miss you, I can just look up, and know the stars are holding you” in itself guides the audience on how to cope through the hard times. Just remember that the ones that have passed away are somewhere watching over and making sure everything’s alright. <br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h8iWEktQhg0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h8iWEktQhg0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><a href="http://www.rascalflatts.com/home2.php">Rascal Flatts</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Hurts-The-Most/dp/B0013AGH2G/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753241&sr=102-1">What Hurts the Most</a>”: A girl is throwing things around a room, frantically trying to do anything to keep herself from breaking down. Lashing out at her father, saying its not true and blaiming him, she collapses into his arms and cries. The video takes us through a timeline of a girl and a boy, obviously in love, spending time together. At the end, we see the boy roll his truck into a ditch and he dies. The girl is reminded of him everywhere she goes, whether it be school, or the road where he died which has a crucifix to mark the spot. <a href="http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/car_accident_photo.html">Car accidents</a> are ever increasing in this country and taking many young children before they should. I have lost several friends in car accidents, and I have felt the pain of knowing someone is gone. I found my own friends in a smashed up, flipped over white <a href="http://www.allpar.com/neon/">Dodge Neon</a> at the bottom of a bridge. The car was white and small, the paint chipped away in many places. A car can hold many memories of fun times driving around, causing mayhem, and other sorts. Seeing a car wrecked to pieces isn’t a memory people often want to see, but it’s what sticks out more than the fun memories. The most vivid and realistic part of the music video is the truck rolling and glass shattering. The most real part of accepting a death is seeing the damaged car and knowing that it’s over. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0fnSawe9IkI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0fnSawe9IkI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kennychesney.com/LuckyOldSun/splash.html">Kenny Chesney</a>, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Who-Youd-Be-Today/dp/B00137IFY2/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229753283&sr=102-1">Who You’d Be Today</a>”: The white metal of a car crushed inward and bent out of its designated shape flashes at the beginning of this video. Glimpses of a graduation, two people looking at each other while one disappears, and people walking out of a fire gives the audience many images to go off of. The video is about death, and people dying to young. “It ain’t fair you died too young like a story that had just begun but death, tore the pages all away,” is a perfect way to tell everyone the cruelty of death and the effects it has on people. I recollect hearing this song first at a friend’s funeral 3 years ago, and then at my best friends. Seeing the graduation scene reminds me that both of my friends that passed away before graduation. <a href="http://bookstore.edinboro.edu/Storeimages/27-graduation.jpg">Graduation</a> is one of the biggest accomplishments in a person’s life. Getting to wear an ugly robe and cap that make people look silly is part of day that people cherish forever. Listening to a high school band play "<a href="http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2008/05/16/pomp-and-circumstance-the-graduation-son?blog=62">Pomp and Circumstance</a>" over and over until every student has gotten to walk into the gymnasium and up onto the stage is what makes the day memorable for many different reasons. It’s a time to look at all the work that has been done and look to a new journey of life. However, for some that journey ended before graduation day ever came. Their journey was cut off, and all the experiences that were left to be explored were no longer able to occur.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-74650930324305543252008-12-11T14:10:00.002-06:002008-12-11T14:44:07.945-06:00LAST BLOG POST EVER!When I came to Wesleyan, the one thing I was scared of was writing papers. I could write amamzing speeches, poetry, and fun narrative stories, but I have to admit that my style and advancement of writing was very low. When I got to here, I learned that I had some bad habits that needed to be broken. For instance, I have a habit of using the word "you" a lot. I finally broke that habit, although it still arises here and there. But I first noticed it in this class.<br /><br />I have always liked writing and seen it as something that I never really struggled with, just never felt that I was taught properly. I like writing observations and free writes, stuff that isn't so much structured. However, I extremely dislike rhetorical appeals. I think that every time I feel like I know what I'm talking about, I'm wrong. It was what I struggled with the most, but I think I did very well on my 2nd paper, "<a href="http://jenniferwiederspan.blogspot.com/2008/11/return-ye-children-of-men.html">Return Ye Children of Men</a>." I started to grasp what it meant to look at things rhetorically and its going on beyond what I would normally do while looking into a paper or picture or video. <br /><br />I have always been a last minute writer. I can't focus if I try to do it earlier than a couple days before it is due. But I have a process that I love and think it works great. I always write my papers in a 2 day process. I will write a majority of it in one night, usually I get to a point where I am tired of writing so I stop. The next day, I go back and read over what I have already wrote, make changes, and then continue to finish my paper. Once I am done, I read it once more. I do this for my rough drafts and final drafts, and I also edit after every peer review.<br />The peer reviews I thought would help a little more than they did. I tended not to find them as useful as the teacher's own critique. With my last writing project, I was not happy with my peer reviews. I hardly used them as a reference for changes in my paper. I benefited most from hearing what you, Josh Ware, had to say about my paper. I believe the reason I got a decent grade on my last paper was because I listened to your critique and applied as much of it that I could into my final draft.<br /><br />During the course, I felt that I excelled mostly in the area of description. My favorite blog post was to the video "<a href="http://jenniferwiederspan.blogspot.com/2008/09/observation-video-blog.html">What Hurts the Most</a>" and I think my observation was one of my best. I also thought our first writing project, "<a href="http://jenniferwiederspan.blogspot.com/2008/10/elephant-museum.html">The Elephant Museum</a>" had good writing in it. However, I learned that I struggle with responses. That was my main critique in the paper, and I knew writing the paper that it was something I struggled with. <br /><br />Although I did not like this section of the course, rhetorical appeals and analysis has definitely transferred over to other ares outside of English. I applied a lot of the concepts to my term paper for my LAS class. Unfortunately to all the speech kids that I judge for high school speech meets, I am now more picky when it comes to Oratory speeches. I look for rhetorical appeals used in the paper, what their argument is, and if it makes a point. The rhetoric process definitely helped me grow as a writer, and as a speech judge, despite my mumbles and grumbles about it. <br /><br />Overall, I feel that I have grown as a writer since I entered this class. I have learned about rhetoric and observation. I know that the concepts I have learned have made me a better writer and will stay with me throughout my years at Nebraska Wesleyan.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-89074960016862962122008-12-07T23:09:00.002-06:002008-12-07T23:44:27.752-06:00Object Post #3<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/hammock20company.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/hammock20company.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Loon Lake is located in Vergas, <a href="http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-8542&agency=NorthStar">Minnesota</a>. It is owned by a lady named Donna and her husband Mel. These two have known my family for many years, and its to their resort that we take our yearly vacation ever since I was born. It is here that my fondest childhood memories spark from, and a certain object of my grandfather's that I will never forget.<br /><br />Tied between two perfectly spaced trees is the <a href="http://www.hammocks.com/">hammock</a>. It is connected by two small trees that are planted right in front of the lot marked Bill and Dorothy Mohr, my grandparents. Anyone who would come in to dock their boats on the lake had to drive past their trailer and the concrete ramp was just feet away. Laying in the hammock, Grandpa could watch people come in for the week and then leave just 7 days later. He did this every day for many summers in a row. He was always peaceful, just sitting in the hammock, catching a nap or just waiting for visitors to walk by to talk about how many fish they caught or the weather. Old peole stuff mostly.<br /><br />For any kid, the hammock was a new play toy; an oversized swing if you will. The normal tire swing down the road or the rope swing by the beach just wasn't up to par. The hammock was a conquest, the first there was the one who got dibs. It was just perfect height for a small 7 year old to crawl into, lay back onto the plushy pillow and rock back and forth. Gripping into the perfectly weaved holes of the hammock, rubbing your fingers back and forth against the texture. Staring up into the canopy the outstretched over my grandparent's tan color trailer. Imaginations ran wild, of oversized fish that you would catch later that day, the smell of grandma's food wafting in the air below your nose. The sound of jet ski's going back and forth, causing waves to crash upon the shores. Everything is perfect, until you hear it. "Jennifer, get off it's my turn!" The arguing begins between sisters, the excuses of who's older and who deserves it more spurt out of both mouths. Finally, Grandpa comes stomping up the road from his dock, pushes us both asides, lays down in the hammock, and the fighting of who gets the hammock, is clearly over.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-50864689750837828362008-12-05T00:05:00.002-06:002008-12-07T18:49:02.812-06:002nd Object Observation<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/199720PONTIAC20GR20AM20RED20SDN202-.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 287px; height: 170px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/199720PONTIAC20GR20AM20RED20SDN202-.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />A parents worst fear could either be their kids graduating from high school, their first date, or leaving home. My parents worse fear? Their second daughter behind the wheel of a car. With little driving experience and a 16th birthday, it seemed their little girl was doomed for disasters, or an accident or two.<br /><br />My parents decided that after I ditched my first <a href="http://www.edmunds.com/pontiac/grandam/review.html">Pontiac Grand AM</a>, they should probably buy me one that looked exactly like it, just to keep my trend going. The second one lasted longer than the first one. It was born in 1992, had 4 doors, and blue tinted windows. It had a loud muffler just to make sure people could hear it coming down the road. The color of it was red, just like the Huskers. It lasted about 3 weeks before it encountered its first disaster. Getting t-boned by a Dodge Ram in <a href="http://www.fremontnebraska.com/">Fremont</a>, Nebraska. It survived, but had a 7 month recovery time in which its fender and back passenger door were completely replaced to make it look whole again. That was only it's first test.<br /><br />It went awhile without any major damages, and at least nothing hit it. Until one night, on a dark gravel road, a <a href="http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/leaf_spring_D1ZA-5556-SA.jpg">leif spring</a> decided to puncture its way through the passenger floor board. Nothing damaged, just a nice little whole to remind its driver what had happened. It also liked to get random flat tires at the worst possible times, just to make sure the driver didn't get the feeling that their luck was improving. Then one day, it decided to end its life.<br /><br />It was heading down the highway it was most familiar with, the road to David City. That's when it decided to stubbornly die in the middle of the road on a hill. Knowing its driver was a complete wimp and couldn't push it off the road, it decided it was the perfect ending to its life. Watching it take 3 hours to move the car onto a trailer to hall it back home was more than it could handle. He got his last laugh as he now sits on the street, just down the block from his owner's house. There he sits, waiting for the right time for someone to fix him back up so his torture on his owner can start all over again.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-20490060264759230032008-12-03T21:35:00.003-06:002008-12-03T22:02:21.394-06:00Object Post #1 Crucifix<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/crucifix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/crucifix.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It's easy to think of all the neat gifts you will get on your confirmation day. Your mom will buy you a nice white dress, and the perfect shoes to match. You will have pretty hair and invite your whole family. You'll get the usually <a href="http://www.blackhillsgold.com/">Black Hills Gold</a> cross necklaces that you'll lose in a week because you can't keep jewelry, or a new flashy bible to go along with the 3 you already have. But there is one gift that you will get that will have deeper meaning than you could have ever imagined. For me, it was a simple silver <a href="http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txn/cross.htm">crucifix</a>.<br /><br />It wasn't anything real fancy, just plan gray medal, with a cute ribbon design wrapped around the center. It had a cirle hole at the top so you could hang it above your bed post when you slept so God would protect you. The Lutheran Churches of Nebraska gave each of the three kids in my confirmation class one. What the other two did with theirs I don't actually know. I hung mine above my bed against the echo blue paint for 3 years until I found a much better use for it.<br /><br />I took the crucifix with me along with several items that reminded me of her. I drove the 7 miles to the hill where the dead lay to rest. I pushed past the metal gate, walking around the graves making sure not to step on a single one. I walked until I reached the very back of the cemetary to the freshly dug soil where several flowers, windchimes, and solar panel lights outlined her grave. I knelt to the soil, and held the crucifix in my hand. I looked up at the sky and prayed to God to take care of my best friend and to protect her. I stuck the cross in the ground right next to the photo of us, so God would know to protect her in heaven, and me on earth.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-4493710323557935092008-12-01T20:25:00.002-06:002008-12-01T20:41:24.174-06:00Rhetorical ResponseIn the video and image chosen, there are many types of rhetorical appeals and situations that could arise out of the two. One could go with a <a href="http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/">logical fallacy</a> or a rhetorical situtation, but what pops out most is the use of <a href="http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html">pathos</a>. It's clear that this video and image appeals to many of our different emotions, and those will be touched on.<br /><br />The video itself gives us a pathetic appeal that we feel immediate grief for the boy because it at first appears that his girlfriend is merely ignoring him, but by paying attention to his tracks, we see that he is actually dead. She finds this out in a newspaper article which we see at the end of the video. Everyone could sympathize with someone that lost someone they were in love with and it hits our emotion of pity. We also are affected when we see the girl also die by running a red light and getting hit by a semi-truck. We all have experienced <a href="http://www.negligentdriving.com/">negligent driving</a>, and this killed her. We feel remorse that she had to end her life so early, but we understand the bigger picture that she will now be happier in heaven with her true love. <br /><br />The picture is a striking form of pathos because it is vivid and heart crushing. We have many thoughts run through our head, such as if anyone could survive an accident of that much damage, and if the pictures are actually disgusting. This picture doesn't so much appeal to us as it may repulse us or hurt us. Seeing this picture can bring traumatic memories of ones own accidents and deaths. It hits our emotions as being something we don't want to see or envision.<br /><br />Pathos is easily picked out in most situations but in this one, it is evident as being appealing and disgusting. We sympathize with the emotions of seeing someone die, but we don't like the reminder like the picture does with the crushed cars. The video and picture compliment each other very well with the use of pathos.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-21908053955898166392008-11-25T22:41:00.004-06:002008-11-25T23:38:58.944-06:00Reflection on Hybrid Text<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/car-accident.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/car-accident.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Nothing hit me more in this video than the image of the semi-truck hitting the jeep in the middle of an intersection. From multiple experiences, I have know what it is like the feel the crunking and impact of another vehicle hitting your car. I did not die in my encounters like the one in this video, but I have felt the effects of accidents. Many people in this world have either been in an accident or know someone that was in it. <br /><br />Out of every 4 people that are involved in an accident, at least one dies every hour according to <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Car-Accident-Statistics&id=125450">ezinearticles.com</a>. This statistic is alarming, especially since I have been that person more than once, and I lived. There are several ways to prevent car accidents. Seat belts, driving defensively, and driving safely. <a href="http://www.negligentdriving.com/">Negligent driving</a> was the cause of the accident in this video. I have been pulled over for a red light, and I was lucky to not get hit. We are not aware of our surroundings and are busy either thinking of other things, texting on phones, or reaching for things. Negligent driving may mean the little things, but its these things that can result in the worst deaths.<br /><br />I chose a random picture of two smashed cars because I think people needed to see how bad car accidents can really get. Although this picture is one that is considered not so bad, it still shows the damage car accidents can leave. The damage isn't only to the car. It can be to the driver in injuries and to the families if the accident involves death. In this video, the accident of the boy greatly affects the girl that she is too distracted to drive. Her death would have affected her boyfriend had he been alive. This video just tells us that we need to take care of ourselves, or we may hurt the people around us.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-80798888757864690892008-11-24T18:23:00.002-06:002008-11-24T18:43:59.196-06:00Observation on Hybrid Text<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3c9RmtC-8mI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3c9RmtC-8mI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />When choosing a music video that actually has a meaning, its hard to find one that visually has some in depth meaning. The video "Someday" by <a href="http://www.nickelback.com/">Nickelback</a> is one that I immediately thought of, because unless you pay attention to all the visual things within the video, you won't be able to see the real message.<br /><br />The video starts in the home of a boy and girl. The boy just sits there as the girl hysterically cries over a newspaper article. She slams it down spilling a glass of milk all over the floor. We see a glimpse of the newspapers title, and it says "man in bridge" and nothing else. The girl then walks through the pile of milk and leaves footprints towards the door, but when the boy walks through, there are no visual footprints where he walked, giving us our first clue that something is wrong.<br /><br />Our next visual is her getting into her car, and the boy is desperately trying to stop her, but she can't seem to hear him or is paying attention as she drives off down the street, leaving him behind. As he is chasing after the car, we see her glance into her review mirror, and where the boy should be chasing after her, is just the empty street. <br /><br />The use of a stoplight changing from yellow to red let's us guess that she is running a red light in her car. She is then hit by a semi-truck in the driver's seat. A crowd gathers around the vehicle to see what has happened, but emerging through the crowd, first as a small ball of light, and then into a human is the girl, walking from the accident. She embraces the boy and by looking at their faces, we can see that they are both at peace. At a nearby newspaper stand, we are shown the front page of the newspaper. On it is a picture of the boy and the heading of "Man dies in tragic bridge <a href="http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/fatal-accident-statistics.html">accident</a>".Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-83987654015955751152008-11-18T12:33:00.010-06:002008-11-23T23:30:04.294-06:00Return Ye Children of Men<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bigbang-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bigbang-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />If one was to look at the painting above, it could easily be deciphered as a painting of a sunset. No more thought would be needed to label a painting. But with this art, there is more than the eye can see. Return Ye Children of Men, created by <a href="http://www.ungravenimage.com/ungravenimagesho.php">Judy Rey Wasserman</a>, has a detailed story in every stroke of its creation. By taking a deeper look into the creation and meaning of this painting, one will discover the rhetorical appeals and logical fallacies that lie beneath the typical label of a painting. <br /><br /><br />Wasserman’s form of art is different than most artists. Creating this piece using <a href="http://www.ungravenimage.com/religiousart.php">Post Conceptual art theory of UnGraven Image</a>, Wasserman founded this new art form. She uses it to create wonderful works of art. Ungraven Image is a complex art system using strokes of the <a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/alephbet.htm">Hebrew Alphabet</a>. According to the UnGraven Image website copyright 2005, “in UnGraven Image paintings the 22 Hebrew letters, the permutations that the yuds and vavs become symbolize the intrinsic elemental waves. Since all the letters can be made of yuds and vavs the paintings may also be said to be based on a binary system.” (Wasserman)<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/hebrewc.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/hebrewc.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a> A <a href="http://www.dannyzeff.com/writings/essays/number.htm">binary system</a> means that there is a comparison between the spiritual world and the scientific world. Also, the Hebrew letters also represent numbers, giving the painting a numerical basis. (Wasserman) The binary system of the Hebrew language is very hard to understand because what you may think is text may be number. One can see the use of either-or argument to create a logical fallacy because one may automatically believe what they are seeing is text. They may just be seeing numbers put together to form sequences, it is hard to always decipher, which can lead to some ambiguity about what we are actually reading. Is it text or merely a sequence of numbers, and how can we ultimately tell the difference if all letters of the Hebrew alphabet represent a number? The answer is simple: one has to trust that what they are reading is the actual word of God and that the Hebrew letters that make up the text of Genesis are really words, not number sequences. <br /><br />When looking at the painting, it is hard to see the letters. They are overlapped and glossed together to create a picture. One may be looking at a sunset, but they are actually looking at the script from the <a href="http://www.bible.com/">Bible</a>. In Wasserman’s series of Sunrise/Sunset, all of her pieces are made of script from the chapter of Genesis. In this painting, the first two chapters are used, describing how God created the earth. <a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bible.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 320px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bible.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The earth was created by the spoken word of God, which was recorded in Hebrew letters. Quoted from Wasserman herself, “I work to depict what we don't see - the underlying reality of the universe, which is both physical and scientific, yet has a spiritual genesis. The letters interweave, are glazed one over another, and tumble in jumble that adds up to an image. This references the tiny membranes, that link until they form into particles, then atoms, then energy and matter, etc.” The objective of the painting is to create something out of words, which is essentially how God created the universe, along with the scientific concepts of creation. This fundamentally creates an analogy simply because one can’t see the words in the painting, yet they know they are there but only because the author says that’s how she created it. In the case of God, no one actually heard his words because no one was there, yet people believe that the word of God created the earth. As mentioned before, the book of Genesis is the structure of the painting. The story of <a href="http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/synopsis/genesis/genesis1.html">Genesis</a> starts with the earth being void and blank. A synopsis of the creation from Stem Publishing states “The first four days, God brings light and order out of darkness and confusion: light, the first day; the expanse as a scene of heavenly power over the earth, the second day; then He divided what was formed and orderly, on the one hand, from the moving powerful but shapeless mass of waters, on the other, and then ornamented the ordered habitable scene with beauty and fruitfulness on the third. The symbols of directing power were set visibly in their places on the fourth.” Just as the book of bible tells people that God created the earth, Wasserman says she created this painting with words also. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> The use of pathos can be seen in the aspect of using religion to create the piece. The title of the work itself is a quote from <a href="http://nasb.scripturetext.com/psalms/90.htm">Psalm 90:3</a> “You turn man back into dust, And say, “Return, O children of men.” For the very religious, seeing an artwork that is made of words from the Bible can give them a calm feeling, and a deep understanding of what is trying to be messaged. Many people who have some background of religion know the story of how God created the earth. Once people realize that this artwork is made of those words, their emotions change to appreciate the creation of the art. A small connection can be made to the painting just based on the small idea that there is religious intent in creating the piece, which is actually what Wasserman intends to do. <br /><br />The other rhetorical appeal that can be examined is ethos. Wasserman establishes her credibility with the fact that she created the Post Conceptual art theory of Ungraven Image. <a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/JudyReyWassermansmall.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 96px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/JudyReyWassermansmall.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> The unique style in which her artwork is made was invented by her. According to Wasserman’s website copyright 2008, “UnGraven Image art has its roots in movements such as <a href="http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c19th/impressionism.htm">Impressionism</a>, <a href="http://www.epcomm.com/center/point/point.htm">Pointillism</a>, <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/abstract-expressionism">Abstract Expressionism</a> and <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm">Cubism</a>, all of which strove to show another side of reality, which was not necessarily religious. The theories of Word art, Abstract expressionism and <a href="http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/minimalism.html">Minimalism</a> further influenced and helped Judy Rey conceive the UnGraven Image theory and movement.” It is apparent that her artwork not only influences people’s emotions, it also influences art concepts that have been alive for many years. The first art form one may think of is Pointillism. It’s the use of several dots in one area to create a picture, which can tie into the concept of Ungraven because it is the same idea except using letters to create a picture. Impressionism can really be seen because of the use of light and the sun. Impressionism was a movement involving the idea of visual science and tampering with the effect of light. All of these concepts tie into this painting which is why it is so unique. Wasserman is a powerful artist and shows it through her ability to move people and ideas.<br /><br /><br /> At first glance, one would never guess how complex a simple painting could be. Every single stroke used to create this piece was thought out, and has a meaning. What makes Wasserman’s UnGraven Image art so effective and meaningful is that it is something no one has done before. She broke beyond the boundaries of normal artwork to give us a new movement; using texts and the particles that make up each stroke to create a painting. Wasserman’s artwork goes to show that you can’t really understand something until you take the time to find the deeper meaning.<br /><br /><br />S<em><strong>ources</strong></em><br /><br />Darby, J.N.. "Genesis." Synopsis. Stem Publishing Company. 16 Nov 2008 <http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/synopsis/genesis/genesis1.html>. <br /><br />Wasserman, Judy Rey. "Artist's Bio." Post Conceptual Ungraven Image. 2005. 16 Nov 2008 <http://www.ungravenimage.com/judyreywasserman.php>.<br /><br />Wasserman, Judy Rey. "Manifesto." Post Conceptual Ungraven Image. 2008. 16 Nov 2008 <http://www.ungravenimage.com/images/Manifesto%20of%20UnGraven%20Image%20Art.pdf>.<br /><br />Wasserman, Judy Rey. "Genesis: The Sunset - Sunrise Series." Post Conceptual Ungraven Image. 2005. 16 Nov 2008 <http://www.ungravenimage.com/sunrisesunset.php>.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-17480867658035855112008-11-09T22:12:00.005-06:002008-11-09T22:52:45.289-06:0021st Century Art<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bigbangsmall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/bigbangsmall.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />The painting above, which was painted by <a href="http://www.ungravenimage.com/ungravenimagesho.php">Judy Rey Wasserman</a>, is a painting of deep meaning, which is not exactly seen by the human eye. The painting, <em>Return Ye Children of Men</em>, was painted in 2006 in the new form of art called Post Conceptual Art, which was founded by Wasserman herself. This art form is one of many symbols and true artwork.<br /><br />According to <em>Art Theory and Show Reviews</em> accessed September 10, 2008, “Post Conceptual Art is a Big Bang in the theory and history of art as it focuses on the stroke, the smallest unit of meaning created with the smallest unit of physical movement by the artist, as the primary significance in a work. This is the opposite of the idea of the concept that the stroke serves to create the image. Inherent in the work and in both the scientific understanding of the Big Bang and the biblical theology is that the intent and realization of the end result is present at the beginning.” Post Conceptual Art is a newly found art that combines two meanings within the artwork. When you first gaze at the work, you see a sun in a blue sky, masked by a dark image. You immediately think of the big bang or some other catastrophe. It symbolizes the creation of our planet, what we live on today. Scientists believe in this explanation for the creation of earth, however it is not the only theory, which is the other symbol Wasserman wanted to portray.<br /><br />Post Conceptual Art uses words and symbols to create paintings and pictures. In this particular piece, we can see the image symbolizes the <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/big-bang-theory.htm">Big Bang Theory</a>. The words and symbols used to creat it through strokes and overlapping words and letters are retrieved from the Bible. The books of Gensis 1-2:7, Deut 6:4, and Psalm 90 are all used to create the piece you see. The relevance is that these books describe how God created Earth and everything in it. Using that theory, Wasserman created the painting using those words to depict a new image that represents the scientific theory of how the earth came to be. It is ironic that we only see one representation and symbol, and that's visually. But there is another symbol underlying the artwork and that's the symbol of words and text that created the piece.<br /><br />This piece of art shows us that there is greater meaning to everything that is created. What we see on the outside is not always what is real. At first glance, I thought it was just a picture of a sunset, which shows my ignorance. It’s much more than that; it’s the creation of earth, using whichever theory you personally choose to believe. It combines science and religion, which is exactly what Wasserman intended to do.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-67801949607360261332008-10-30T21:41:00.003-05:002008-11-05T14:18:58.706-06:00Free Write Blog #2<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VIdbYjmbFzo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VIdbYjmbFzo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />I received this video in an email and it truly hit my heart. This video speaks volumes, and anyone that sees it will be affected in one way or another. If they aren't, they must not have a heart.<br /><br />I was raised that having an abortion is wrong. My mother is a nurse and sees many children die due to cancer and other diseases, at young ages. The significance is that these early diseased babies got a chance at life, even if it was plagued immediately by sickness. Abortion is wrong, in any form it takes.<br /><br />This video focuses on partial birth abortion, and I admit prior to this video that my knowledge on this particular form was limited. After hearing the video, I was shattered. In <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6vnOaq7nWU">partial birth abortions</a>, the babies are sometimes killed inside the womb or actually born and left unattended. They induce labor on the mother deliver the child, and watch it die. Sometimes the babies are alive for minutes, or as long as 8 hours. A lot can happen in eight hours, as I've witnessed many times in my life. These babies don't even get a choice, they are born, meaning they are citizens of the United States. What about their rights? Isn't this murder?<br /><br />Although the videos intent was to demote <a href="http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php">Obama</a>, I refuse to look at that aspect because it is not important. What is important is that this is real. Its not a made up campaign attack to make the Republicans look better or hurt Obama's character, its evidence that babies are getting murdered. I know I'm not a mother and I have never been in the situation of pregnancy, but I shouldn't have to be to know that this is wrong. But not only is it wrong that the mother consents, but that the doctors AGREE to perform this horrible operation. <br /><br />I know I can't change the laws on abortion, and I know that this won't stop unless our Congress comes together to create a law. Since this hasn't happened in years, I have a feeling I might not ever see the day it passes. But I just want other people to understand what is happening, and realize that this is unmoral, and it is murder.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-7479146299179770352008-10-30T13:20:00.002-05:002008-10-30T21:30:04.312-05:00Free Write Blog<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JlWPX-pjPcc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JlWPX-pjPcc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />Browsing YouTube, I came across a clip of one of my all time favorite movies. This movie is <a href="http://www.dirtydancing.com/site.php">Dirty Dancing</a>. I understand this could put a label of being a sap on my part, but this movie is amazing for many reasons. <br /><br />Being a girl, I know what it is like to make the transition from being Daddy's little girl, to being an independent woman who is ready to face this world. In Dirty Dancing, we see Baby (Jennifer Grey) make this transition, by falling for dance instructor Johnny Castle (<a href="http://www.patrickswayze.net/">Patrick Swayze</a>). The two meet at a faculty dance party which is forbidden to visitors. Baby is then exposed to the new way of dancing in the 60's. After sharing a dance with Johnny, and watching him dance with his partner, Penny, she is mesmerized to learn more about the dancing couple. After discovering Penny's surprise pregnancy, she agrees to do a dance competition with Johnny in Penny's place in order for Penny to have an abortion. After complications and Baby's father having to help Penny with her failed abortion, Baby has a night with Johnny that sparks their relationship.<br />The rest of the movie details their ongoing secrecy of their relationship. Knowing its wrong because staff is not allowed to get involved with visitors, the two must hide their dance lessons and alone time from everyone. However, Baby finally admits to her father about their relationship in order to provide an alibi for Johnny. However, this actually gets him fired, and he must leave before the final show of summer, where he usually does a dance number. We see Baby's devastation, but she attends the end show anyways. <br /><br />At the show, Johnny emerges and delivers the famous line, "No body puts Baby in a corner." They then perform their dance together, in front of everyone, which is what my video clip is of. This dance is one of the most memorable dance scenes of all dance movies because it requires grace and its one of passion. They dance to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. Of course no one can forget the famous ending, where Johnny lifts Baby above his head, and she is gracefully outstretched in midair. Afterwards, she finally gets her father's approval for Johnny.<br /><br />This movie is historical, with the recent 20th anniversary DVD release, and Swayze's recent diagnose of cancer, no one can forget this movie. Whether you've seen it or not, everyone can recall it by name. But for those who haven't seen it, you are truly missing a classic love story movie.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-4484388819202554152008-10-26T14:14:00.003-05:002008-10-26T21:53:47.432-05:00Sarah Palin's Response (Ethos)<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ovk1AoJZwpg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ovk1AoJZwpg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />In this video, both candidates were both asked what are promises they have made to the people that they might not be able to keep. Joe Biden was the first to respond, followed by Palin. She opened her statement with "John McCain doesn't tell one thing to one group and then turn around and tell another thing to another group." Palin immediately uses the concept of <em>ethos</em> in her opening statement. She gives credibility to her partner in the race for presidency. She establishes that she is running alongside McCain because he does what he says he'll do and not switch sides. It appeals to his character by putting a sense of trust in him that he will not lie, and that he does what he says he will do. <br /><br />Following this sentence, she then focuses on the topic of energy. She looks at Joe Biden and reminds him that Obama voted for a tax break in 2005 for big oil companies. This is a form of logos because it tells us exactly how Obama voted on this particular energy plan. She then directly goes into description about her own efforts in <a href="http://www.state.ak.us/">Alaska</a>. She states that she had to personally confront the oil companies and tell them that it wouldn’t happen in her state. She promotes herself by appealing her efforts as a Governor and standing up to the oil companies. She uses ethos once again to show her authority and that she is a strong woman who can stand up to the big CEO’s of <a href="http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/gFM/home_Contact_Us/homepage.asp">Exxon</a> and multiple oil companies. <br /><br />She also uses pathos largely when she states “the people are going to come first.” To any American, that is exactly what the people want to hear. It shows us that in this case, she was focused on making sure that the people wouldn’t suffer from the tax break, and that the people were going to get value from those resources, not the oil companies. However, it does illustrate that she is concerned about the well-being of the people and this is also another form of ethos. It enables us to see that her focus is to make sure that the citizens of Alaska are happy and that she is doing what is best for them, even if it means the oil companies are not happy with her. She ends that part of her response, saying “I, then, had to turn around as a Governor of an energy producing state and kinda, undo in my own area of expertise, and that’s energy.” This is the most effective and obvious form of ethos that Palin uses, because she tells us that she is an expert in the field of energy and she understands what needs to be done. If you are an expertise in a field, you usually know what you are talking about.<br /><br />The end of the video, Palin uses ethos one last time in a statement about McCain’s and her campaign promises. She states there isn’t a lot she has promised, only running for the past 5 weeks, but she wants, “to do what is right for the American people, put government back on the side of the people, stop the greed and corruption on wall street, and the rescue plan has gotta include that massive oversight that Americans are expecting and deserving.” We see that she is confident in what she and McCain have promised to do and that each of them has not promised anything that they can’t or won’t fulfill if they are the ones to win the presidency.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-43565342725405568022008-10-20T12:51:00.003-05:002008-10-21T13:12:08.484-05:00Hofstra Presidential Debate (Abortion)<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f_CxQzm42hE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f_CxQzm42hE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />I think this topic is one that allows us to effectively see how both candidates used logos, pathos, and ethos is their arguments over abortion. It’s obviously a topic that hits each individual different and obviously divides us all, and these two candidates both have strong feelings on this argument, however they are both different.<br />Pathos are used right off the bat. He states perfectly that we need to change the culture of America by persuading young woman that during their difficult time of pregnancy, adoption is the best alternative and that abortion is not their only option. McCain also kind of jokes and makes a comment that Obama will respond with something relating to <em><a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=410&invol=113">Roe vs. Wade</a></em>, which in a way mocks Obama because he later does make a reference to the court case. Obama then responds that he wouldn't "vote to withhold lifesaving treatment from an infant." He also says that an alternative needs to be present for the mother's health, which is a form of pathos because it responds to the emotional needs of a woman who might consider having an abortion, and it also makes abortion sound like it will save a life, instead of just ending one. <br />Another example of pathos is the story of McCain and his wife adopting their child. This appeals to people and displays why he is so <a href="http://www.abortionfacts.com/life_or_choice/prolife_information.asp">pro-abortion</a>. He has a very strong opinion about it because he adopted his child, and if it would have been aborted, he might not have a child. This will appeal to those who are pro-abortion because it shows that without abortion and adoption as the way to go about with the child, he got a child. <br />Logos is obviously the most used of rhetorical appeals, since both states facts numerous times throughout the debate. Starting with McCain, he states the accounts of when Obama voted certain bills, did not vote, or voted present. He states exactly Obama’s record and exactly how he voted each time. Obama then responses to defend why he voted the way he did, and the exact guidelines for each law that he either voted for, against, or present. <br />Ethos is a tough appeal to exactly target in this debate, but I think it can be traced through the stances of both candidates on the issue. McCain makes himself seem like the better guy because he is pro-abortion, and Obama makes himself sound not so bad because he wants to ban partial birth abortions, but allow an option for the health of the mother. Both try to display their stances as what should be done, and it’s up to the audience to make their opinion.<br />The topic of abortion is a touchy subject that most people don’t like to talk about because it raises arguments and tempers fly. Most people believe it is unmoral, and that by performing an abortion or by having it, you are committing murder. But others believe that it’s better to not bring a child into this world if the mother can’t take care of it, or there’s the issue of abortion will protect the health of the mother. Depending on your moral beliefs and what you think is acceptable, it is up to the voters to decide what is more acceptable.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-87988246638562262512008-10-16T12:18:00.002-05:002008-10-16T12:31:49.749-05:00Questions for Chapters 1 & 2 on Rhetoric1. What form of visual rhetoric do each one of us have in our dorm rooms, t-shirts, etc. on a daily basis?<br /><br />2. What are some different ways we can use the rhetoric to get our point across,other than visual means?<br /><br />3. How do our current politicians use the rhetoric to convey their ideas to voters?<br /><br />4. Name one ad that uses the rhetoric efficiently, and why does it work? How does it persuade its consumers to buy its product?<br /><br />5. Give one example of each of the following and why it can be categorized as one of the three: logos, pathos, and ethos.<br /><br />6. What is another example of parody, other than marlboro and truth commercials?Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-10187229434352081292008-10-06T19:17:00.016-05:002008-10-12T22:01:51.488-05:00The Elephant Museum<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5mNYaMrKPWiaYQbBwIrJfoencH_-_jbNyaRyUTVUHoV0rcTbqyyUbXYSjzMt6jFgmfVBQ_9hBjHArMS3d-1mIIi4yec1gVlCdZLH1vPbXKktm26-iivzvJK6XDE4WI6fttPdWIhK4mA/s1600-h/054.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5mNYaMrKPWiaYQbBwIrJfoencH_-_jbNyaRyUTVUHoV0rcTbqyyUbXYSjzMt6jFgmfVBQ_9hBjHArMS3d-1mIIi4yec1gVlCdZLH1vPbXKktm26-iivzvJK6XDE4WI6fttPdWIhK4mA/s320/054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254207061551688530" /></a><br />As I walk down 14th and Vine in downtown Lincoln, I was looking for one thing: the big <a href="http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/about_elephants.htm">elephant</a> in front of the museum. As I drew nearer to my destination, the beautiful gray statue came into view. An outstretched elephant, with its tusks reaching to the street and its paw stopped in midair, filled my eyes with a sight almost too large to take in with one look. The elephant greeted me with a smile, and wide eyes, as if to prompt me inside to look at what other interesting creatures I might come across in Morrill Hall. If I would tell someone in Nebraska to go visit the Elephant Museum, a number of people would know that I am talking about the museum in <a href="http://www.lincoln.org/">Lincoln</a>. But if I told them to visit <a href="http://www-museum.unl.edu/index.html">Morrill Hall</a>, I am guessing more people would recognize elephant museum than Morrill Hall. Unfortunately, I am one that only knows the museum as the elephant museum.<br /><br /> Walking up the many concrete steps to the door, avoiding cigarette butts and gum smashes beneath my feet, I entered Morrill Hall to see my first skeleton. In front of the skeleton was a tag in all capital letters the bore the name: <a href="http://www.tscwa.org/wildlife/rare_or_extinct_03.html">two-horned Rhinoceros</a>. The creature’s body stood tall upon an uneven clayed surface, flawlessly reconstructed from its original form. It's brown brittle bones rightly shaped, with its slightly curved ribs perfectly contoured back to its original masterpiece. It was in a case along with many other creatures that extended down a long carpeted hallway. Paralleling with the case of skeletal creatures was a timeline, with miniature descriptions of fossils of teeth and heads. I slowly grazed by, my feet shuffling and echoing off the empty walls of the hallway. There was not a soul in sight to disrupt my admiration of what I was to see next.<br /> <br />I entered what was titled <a href="http://www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Mesozoic.htm">Mesozoic</a> Gallery. I had heared the word mention several times in science, but for my lack of interest in the field of study, I couldn’t quite remember what time period that meant. As I entered the dimly lit section, it was evident that this room was set off and different for a reason. It was like entering a movie theatre just before the previews are about to start. The room was cold, and the air conditioner was the only sound buzzing around. As I take one step in, a massive dinosaur stares straight into my eyes. I immediately recount the dinosaur from the children movie “<a href="http://www.landbeforetime.com/">The Land before Time</a>.” It was Sarah, the fierce dinosaur that always wanted to fight; only this one was a bit larger. As often called a “three horn,” this dinosaur would catch anyone’s eye instantly. As you look at its face, you can see its empty eye sockets and razor sharp nose place in the middle of its head. Its skull stretches back until it branches off into three separate bones, two on the outside shaped as horns. They connect together in the middle to form a T, creating the creature’s signature skull. Its long body and forever stretching, bony tail makes wonder how something could grow to be that large, and be made of that many different bones. I also have to question what it would be like if this dinosaur had never become extinct, and it wandered around our cities and prairies. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBM8yUOvC0nbe7C_eAeuwbNil6vxh_qZo-I0TK9boorwKTl5-I6GMoRRYfsiq9pPzWhY5YlG5fu13-YGOORrIsYqOu2F-CcQlufeKJr4dGKJD4bsHaqTdoV-EQct3aeuYKY5SAl7DLS2I/s1600-h/052.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBM8yUOvC0nbe7C_eAeuwbNil6vxh_qZo-I0TK9boorwKTl5-I6GMoRRYfsiq9pPzWhY5YlG5fu13-YGOORrIsYqOu2F-CcQlufeKJr4dGKJD4bsHaqTdoV-EQct3aeuYKY5SAl7DLS2I/s320/052.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254207222443524002" /></a><br /><br /> After my awe of the three horn, I continue on and immediately notice what is under my feet. Not only is half of my size 6 foot on carpet, but the other half of it is on a glass case. I pick up my foot to see a glass display of a fish cemented in rock. As I continue to look down and walk forward, I see more cases of tooth sharks, stomach stones, and shark teeth. I look up to discover a large fish skeleton on the wall. Ranging about 7 feet long, the first thing I notice it is tail fin. It has to be 3 feet wide, and forms the shape of a V. I follow the bones of the body to the head where I am mystified by the razor sharp teeth. As I look around at all the other fossils of small fish, I can’t help but wonder if this fish itself fed on the species of fish beneath my shoes? Did this fish maybe contribute to the fish extinction? These questions will never be answered, but sometimes thinking about these things make you realize the true beauty of seeing something that will never be seen in life form again.<br /><br /> I carry on through the museum halls glancing at the mini displays layering the hallway walls until I catch a glimpse of a skeleton as I am passing by the room. Curiosity getting the best of me, I veer right into the room and am presented with a skeleton I recognize. I see a <a href="http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0200/stories/0201_0101_02.html">camel</a>, of all creatures. I approach the camel, an animal that I have personally seen up close and personal, except the one I saw was alive, and this was a skeleton. Like all the other skeletons, the bones were a shade of brown and the camel was put back together again like a 1000 piece puzzle. It was strung up to the ceiling for support, although how it manages to stay upright is beyond my understanding. It toes sink into what ironically is sand, which seems appropriate since most camels live in the sandy desert. As I read the descriptions on the case surround the camel, I learn that camel skeletons are often found around Nebraska, this being one of them. <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZ9hfZROeoYiKR7jsVCKAXGmcuHgx53tBbQnMMokhOGP3YXk_70P3Pbzu6OHbMfqjrXOPPVLQNa8jqezsvBcG-bYSeMI5ubSyhAV6-nNDDumPZ5uJMP5rjXxsxgT63PCBnuUzrRYSaU/s1600-h/048.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZ9hfZROeoYiKR7jsVCKAXGmcuHgx53tBbQnMMokhOGP3YXk_70P3Pbzu6OHbMfqjrXOPPVLQNa8jqezsvBcG-bYSeMI5ubSyhAV6-nNDDumPZ5uJMP5rjXxsxgT63PCBnuUzrRYSaU/s200/048.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254207800828147794" /></a> In the room of the camel, I come across my most disturbing skeletons yet. In a case stretching from wall to wall, are multiple skeletons of Nebraska farm life animals.. Horses, chickens, goats, sheep, geese, ducks are the one we are used to seeing. But a disturbing sight was the skeleton of a dog As I looked at it, a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach emerged. For some reason, seeing an animal that I have as a pet in skeletal form didn’t rest to easy with me. That should have been my cue to exit but I then came across a cat skeleton chasing a tiny mouse. If I thought seeing the dog was worse, it suddenly occured to me that this display was a little immoral. It is odd that I care if I see a cat or a dog as a skeleton but seeing a mammoth, rhinoceros, or dinosaur doesn’t have a major affect? Is it because I know these aren’t extinct? But then I remind myself that I also saw a camel, an animal that I have actually ridden, but yet that has no affect on me. It’s funny how our minds perceive different things. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7m_7tL11ghUHx0H2qR2gUnX1CDKqg8UYT_T0H5Hygs_C4qRUkAykLWabERA9izBIk9Xg6Bm82JaYUvuKWb0aUUqIBpwgGJd8EaDgjFcYviVMhhevchbk3shSro5SvNKc3S_QW2T-Y8E/s1600-h/049.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7m_7tL11ghUHx0H2qR2gUnX1CDKqg8UYT_T0H5Hygs_C4qRUkAykLWabERA9izBIk9Xg6Bm82JaYUvuKWb0aUUqIBpwgGJd8EaDgjFcYviVMhhevchbk3shSro5SvNKc3S_QW2T-Y8E/s200/049.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254208400691124882" /></a> I come to realize that although I may think of the cat and dog as an immoral display, there may be a time when they become extinct, and the only way for the future generation to know what they look like is by having a skeleton of them in a museum. <br /><br />In my rush out of the room, I was abruptly stopped by another towering image of an enormous elephant. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqPVNvzB9We06l3b-9LA4OG6FCeHetx78E2FiRWK3m690cwoQ54uX8vkcLpOCMh74ASe3kgbez-9yveXnN6B47x4uW0xRKq1IxLLaYSENaVv1NY5_HSOhnJhYbfw3GrcMjOlQhe-XDkQ/s1600-h/047.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqPVNvzB9We06l3b-9LA4OG6FCeHetx78E2FiRWK3m690cwoQ54uX8vkcLpOCMh74ASe3kgbez-9yveXnN6B47x4uW0xRKq1IxLLaYSENaVv1NY5_HSOhnJhYbfw3GrcMjOlQhe-XDkQ/s200/047.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254209443980953234" /></a>On my left were several structures of the largest elephants and <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mammoth/about_mammoths.html">mammoths</a> this world could behold. Each of them had thick tusks the reached out far past their bodies, and trunks that I envisioned made sounds louder than any trumpet man could create. As I pass each elephant, I take the time to read the little descriptions beneath. It was when I reached the mammoths that I read about their extinction. Out of all the skeletons in that gallery, only two of the 20 or so elephants are not yet extinct. They are gone forever, the only thing that is left is their skeletons. I understand that this fact is true about all dinosaurs, but it struck another nerve that extinction is irreversible, and cannot be changed. So many things from our past, our history are gone forever, because humans did not take care of what we have. We take nature and its beautiful creatures for granted, and we are ignorant of the future costs. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dGkADfM50kearyRV0J0hQF3yMvEnsT4wX3CTmmB9sn7c_ev6tFVC0bk4ZjJXfzOlTVIcd4Vl6nakjayyKkQOOIpbeO6ASlVk5Z1Dq7KLhF6p8tumS2VFpjmuhR5-i_uXplb_W8KVQnM/s1600-h/046.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dGkADfM50kearyRV0J0hQF3yMvEnsT4wX3CTmmB9sn7c_ev6tFVC0bk4ZjJXfzOlTVIcd4Vl6nakjayyKkQOOIpbeO6ASlVk5Z1Dq7KLhF6p8tumS2VFpjmuhR5-i_uXplb_W8KVQnM/s320/046.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254209808807275970" /></a> <br /> On my exiting of the building, I came across a mother and two children. The little girl was dressed in a brown dress and pink stockings, the boy in a husker jersey for the game later in the night. “Mom look at the elephant! Mom look at the elephant!” The little girl kept repeating until her mother finally acknowledged her. “Yes sweetie, it’s very big.” They then make their way into the <a href="http://www-museum.unl.edu/shop/index.html">gift shop</a> to look at the multicolored stuffed animals and figurines. I guess understanding the true beauty of the museum comes with age. Some day, when they are 18, like myself, and they revisit the museum, they will understand the meaning of extinction. They will realize that these animals will never been seen again in actual real life form. The only thing that is left is their bones. But until then, the gift shop will just have to do. <br /><br /> Thinking about the museum, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would not want to visit this remarkable place. It is history, proof that animals of that size and dinosaurs really existed. It is hard to imagine what our world would be like if we still had flying dinosaurs, or large mammoths roaming through our cities and land. We can't envision it and we never will, because they are gone, forever. But part of them still live on, in our museums, in glass display cases so adults and children can admire their large beauty. Most people don’t name Morrill Hall when they speak of things significant to Nebraska, but I bet if you walked up to the museum, you would be greeted with the same welcoming smile as I did from that elephant, and curiosity would take you where you may at one time, never considered going.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-78822656809863015272008-10-05T15:07:00.002-05:002008-10-05T15:31:17.536-05:00Cubing Exercise1. Generalizing: consider what you have learned from the event or experience that will be the occasion for your reflections. What ideas does it suggest to you? What does it suggest about people in general or about the society in which you live?<br />From visiting the museum, I learned that there are a lot of things I don't know about. Some creatures were found so long ago in history, millions of years ago. A lot of the skeletons I observed were found in Nebraska. I didn't know that we had such archeological digs in our state, and unless people visit the museum, I don't think they would know any of that information. I think what I will reflect most on is the elephant gallery because it had the most impact on me because most of those creatures are extinct, where as the camels and fish we still have today.<br /><br />2. Giving examples: illustrate your ideas with specific examples. What examples would best help your readers understand your ideas?<br />My main focus is going to be the elephants because outside of the hall is a statue of an elephant. I want to describe in vivid details what the skeletal structures of these creatures look like because it is fascinating and beyond my understand how a creature can become that big. I want people to grasp the size of these animals and understand that they aren't here anymore. <br /><br />3. Comparing & contrasting: think of a subject that could be compared with yours & explore the similarities & the differences. <br />I think I could compare the mammoths to the elephants because they are different, even though people mistake them for being the same. I could focus on the details of the mammoth and then focus on the details of an elephant. Mammoths are larger in size, have bigger tusks, and also the teeth are not the same. Mammoths are extinct completely, but two species of elephants still exist. <br /><br />4. Extending: take your subject to its logical limits & speculate about its implications. Where does it lead?<br />The elephants gallery is part of the museum, and the museum is made up of several galleries. Each gallery has a significance in the development of life and our history. The Museum showcases what used to inhabit Nebraska before any civilization ever reached this land. The Museum expresses the wild life and a deeper meaning to Nebraska, and something we could ultimately be proud of. <br /><br />5. Analyzing: take apart your subject. What is it made of? How are the parts related to one another? Are they all of equal importance? <br />The elephants structure is made of bones, crafted together to reform the body. The elphant was dug up, and each bone had to be put together in the right spot. After being buried for thousands or millions of years, these bones can be brittle. Its important to realize that the museum showcases all of these creatures, animals that were once alive, but their body's and bones have been preserved so that everyone can see them. Maybe not the real animal itself, but with bones as evidence, we can prove that these creatures actually existed at one point in time. <br /><br />6. Applying: think about your subject in practical terms. How can you use it or act on it? What difference would it make to you & to others?<br />Its hard to exactly act on the museum, but what could be done is informing people that this museum does exist. It is vital that we have something like this in Nebraska to showcase our true self. People just think of Nebraska as corn and football, but that is not it. We have history, lots of it. We have skeletons of dinosaurs dating to prehistoric times, skeletons of humans and dogs.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-32264718576683382552008-10-02T13:38:00.002-05:002008-10-05T13:41:17.415-05:00Video Blog and Response (Perfect by Simple Plan)<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VzdbLcmXwcY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VzdbLcmXwcY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />I chose the video Perfect by <a href="http://www.simpleplan.com/">Simple</a> Plan because it has a message in its lyrics that many people can relate to. The song is about not being perfect, but trying everything in your power to make your parents proud of you. The video shows us a glimpse into several kids lives. We have a girl who has pictures all over her walls, dresses in dark clothes, and looks depressed. We have the athlete, scribbling a note, with trophies and hoops surrounding his room. We see an artist, with portraits of artwork, and an immaculately clean room. We see a teenager with fighting parents in the doorway of his rock band poster room. Each character in the video represents the true life story of each artist of the band Simple Plan. Success doesn't always mean you have a perfect life, or that you were always perfect before fame. As the video progresses, we see the kids get angry and start destroying their rooms. What I think is symbolic in this video is that it starts raining after the kids are done throwing things about their room, and there is a slow guitar solo before the rain hits. We then see many different kids, including the artists themselves, standing in the rooms of the kids. The message of this video is amazing, because everyone goes through that pain, no matter how "perfect" your family may be, at one point in your life, you will experience that feeling that nothing you do is ever good enough. This video just shows that its ok not to be perfect, because there are hundreds of kids out there who feel the same way you do. Simple Plan set up a <a href="http://www.simpleplanfoundation.org/index.php/app/index/11/0/en">foundation</a> in 2005 dedicated to helping teenagers in need who struggle with the difficulities of every day life. With this video and their foundation, they offer a release to teenagers everywhere.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-65487225176605690382008-09-28T11:39:00.003-05:002008-09-28T20:36:10.683-05:00Observation Video Blog<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QJEs1TyzL_A&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QJEs1TyzL_A&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />In one moment your whole world stops. Everything that mattered a second ago, you forget. Your stomach drops to the ground, your throat tightens up, and the tears start to flow. You have thousands of questions banging between the lobes of your brain. Your temples start pounding, and you being to feel angry. Why would this happen? It's someones fault. You lash out at the first person you see, and blame them. You scream, you hit, your emotions are raging, building up inside of you, until suddenly, its over. All you feel is the tears soaking your skin, and your body just shakes.<br />You try to go back to your normal routine. You walk into class with your head down, but the stares from everywhere burn into your body, almost reaching and tearing your soul. You look around, and you realize what is missing. They're not there, and the room feels empty. And then it starts all over. The tears flow like a river into an ocean, the anger boils up, and you have to just leave.<br />You sit alone in your room, with nothing but the sounds of your own sobs and teardrops hitting your clothes. You have to be with them, you have to go there, because you think you can reverse it. You run, screaming, crying, wishing you could stop them from ever leaving that day. Your legs burn as you run down the battered and cracked asphalt of the local highway, not stopping until you reach the spot. You collapse, every muscle, organ, just fall to the ground. The cross stares you in the face, taunting you until you realize why its there. You close your heavy eyelids and picture that old truck, rolling, the shattering sound of glass, and your body flailing from door to door until it stops. You feel your body tighten as you look up into a gloomy gray sky of clouds. As you feel the wind go through your hair and your body shivers, you realize that it will never be the same, and your life, your future, will never be what you expected. What hurts the most, is not being able to see that person again.<br /><br /><br />The content and meaning of the video is a story about a girl who loses her boyfriend in a car crash. We see her anger and sadness throughout the video and at one point we get a glimpse into how she and her boyfriend acted together. My observation wasn't on the song or the lyrics, but on the clips of the girl and her struggle through her loss. Losing someone has so many emotions, and they start off powerful and uncontrollable. You find yourself either lashing out, or crying for hours. They continuously build up until that one moment when you realize they are gone, and you never got to say what you wanted to. And that is what happens with this story. While I wrote my observation, I made sure to keep in mind that I was building up to that reality moment, and making sure the reader felt the pain that the girl was feeling.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-88235329744391749342008-09-22T17:16:00.004-05:002008-09-22T21:55:24.912-05:002nd Video/Image Post (Michael Phelps)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXoA3QucK5njf4IgEQiclyeKnn16hLfw2XjeV00Gw2pfiv9tC4SDYywSHDblhUCZCoHo1XTpZsUhyphenhyphennlbHfnaTwmTbZqBdLmb7TLjGdy4OZitHPmgDoeNi2WmhcyWpI0tblKMrU4FwDdc/s1600-h/Michael+Phelps.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXoA3QucK5njf4IgEQiclyeKnn16hLfw2XjeV00Gw2pfiv9tC4SDYywSHDblhUCZCoHo1XTpZsUhyphenhyphennlbHfnaTwmTbZqBdLmb7TLjGdy4OZitHPmgDoeNi2WmhcyWpI0tblKMrU4FwDdc/s320/Michael+Phelps.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248974196274804098" /></a><br /><br />When you think of sports, its easy to pick out those common sports and the athletes that were made legends by the sport. Babe Ruth in baseball, Brett Farve in football, Tiger Woods in golf, Michael Jordan in basketball, and the list continues for each sport. However, there is one athlete that just set the standards for legendary athlete. His name is Michael <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=2/bio/">Phelps</a>.<br />In the image, we see Phelps walking under water carrying an object. His activity shows his strength and drive. To walk underwater is not as easy task as I recount from experience. But nothing can stop Phelps. The advertisement is for <a href="https://shop.swimroom.com/shop/image.php?type=T&id=17">Speedo</a> swimwear which is Phelps official sponsor and apparel during the Olympic Games. In the corner we see the words, "8-time Olympic Medalist." Phelps set the bar for excellence high not only in the most Olympic medals ever, but also in swimming. He broke several records and proved to be just of an athlete to swimming as Michael Jordan is to basketball. There were several races where it looked impossible that Phelps would win, but somehow he always won in the end. He didn’t just win all 8 races by himself. He had help from other teammates in relays which meant winning 8 wasn’t entirely in his control. However, Phelps did what no one else has been able to do, and he won 8 Olympic gold medals.<br />The image does an amazing job of selling Speedo. Not only is there the endorsement of Phelps, there's the image that the suit is light weight, and worn by the best. If it's good enough to be worn by the greatest Olympic swimmer of all-time, it must be good apparel. What else is striking in the image is the water. It is clear and flowing, it looks easy to move through, and Phelps makes walking underwater look easy. Of course, if you were Michael Phelps, you could make it look easy too.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-31844435069740860322008-09-21T20:59:00.002-05:002008-09-21T22:59:22.968-05:00Video Blog (Cancer Awareness)<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ckDR75Cf9kQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ckDR75Cf9kQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />A soldier is the perfect word to describe those that undergo cancer. I chose this video because I have seen the effects of cancer on people, some being my own family. This video clearly has a message, and that is to show how strong cancer patients truly are. They are soldiers. At the beginning of the video, it states that 12,400 children will be diagnosed with cancer each year. This number is large, but what is worse, is the 2,300 children that will die. The facts are alarming, and way too high. If you click <a href="http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=5b25e64c5b470110VgnVCM1000001e0215acRCRD&vgnextchannel=4bbafe08dc835110VgnVCM1000001e0215acRCRD">here</a>, you will come upon a website that shows the survival rate of cancer patients. If you follow this <a href="http://www.childrenscancer.org/">link</a>, you will find answers of how to get involved and how to cope with cancer. <br />What strikes me in this video is the use of images and the music. The music is a piano arrangement, and in the lyrics they talk about Jesus going to rest in his manger, relating to Jesus as a child. It’s a sad song to add to the effect that what the video is displaying is traumatic. The images of the video are what really hit you. The various pictures of little kids, IV lines branching out from their bodies, scarves around their heads to hide the hair that can’t grow; but what is unique is that in most of these pictures, the children are smiling. They are going through an illness that very well may kill them and yet they seem to have the best attitudes on life. That is why I believe these children are soldiers. They endure hours of treatments, and some never get to see the day that they are cured.<br />The end of the video has a poem, and in that poem is my favorite quote of all time. “If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.” The poem and quote show that life is not in our hands, and sometimes treatment and love can’t save us. Sometimes, it’s just God’s plan.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-76771429676534207642008-09-14T21:25:00.002-05:002008-09-14T22:15:02.739-05:00Video Blog (Husker Tunnel Walk 9/11)<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmY3hrPauMI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmY3hrPauMI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />If I tried to find a video that could hit two important events in my life, I don't think another video could have fit. My whole life has been centered on Husker Football, and since 2001, the most memorable event in my lifetime was 9/11. Both have played a major part of my life. I've always followed the Huskers since August of 1990, and 9/11 truly hit home to me, and made me proud of my country. <br />The music of the tunnel walk is of course the forever famous “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project. Every Husker fan, and maybe even non-Husker fans will identify that song to Husker football. Before every home game, that song is played and the scarlet and cream Huskers run out before the roaring sea of red. <br />Not only is the music important, the use of images show Nebraska and the impact of 9/11. This video, as it starts out with the usual witty graphics provided by Husker Vision, displays the known attributes of Nebraska. We have corn and our combines which is our usual stereotype across the nation. But what else we have is our Henry Doorly Zoo, highways that are jam packed on game days, a beautifully architected building known as our State Capitol, a tradition of football at Memorial Stadium, and patriotism for our country. Symbols of the flag, “United We Stand”, and the military units that join the football players are what make this video meaningful. You know that it’s the usual tunnel walk, but this time is different. The visions of the firefighters and soldiers portray a message that we should not forget the events that have just occurred. Even last Thursday, we remembered 9/11 by having a special ceremony. This video shows that at that time, 9/11 was the most important event. Instead of the usual players running out, we only saw the military, which was what needed to be emphasized. When the announcer mentions that it was the most “emotional moment he’s ever seen,” we can then get the sense of feeling that this video was meant to hit emotions and a sense of pride in our country.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-2767344817661794082008-09-11T13:11:00.003-05:002008-09-11T13:32:58.845-05:00Diagrams<a href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/HeartDiagram.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 244px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px" height="349" alt="" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/HeartDiagram.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>What simply does a diagram do? Does it paint a picture for us, instead of us merely doing it ourselves? Does is explain to us thoroughly what it is trying to convey? Diagrams can be just pictures, with words labeling parts (see left). This diagram can be used as a means of teaching. Diagrams can be helpful, pointing out thing that you normally could not see. A heart, for example, is inside you, and in most normal circumstances, you will never see it. The diagram I chose shows us the interworkings of a heart and where everything is located. You could write a long explaination, stating exactly where the aorta is, what atery flows to what muscles, but how can I picture that without knowing exactly what a heart and the arteries look like? A diagram lets us see what we need to see in order to fully understand something. In my oppinion, this is a perfect diagram. It labels everything, so you can see where everything is located. It also has arrows, so you can see where the blood flow is going. It's amazing that just a little picture, a picture with arrows, and colors, and a couple labels can help us better understand something. Is that writing necessarily? In my mind, it could technically be writing. There's words, it explains something, it has a main focus, but is there a conclusion and ending? No, but it has some components of writing. So who's to say a diagram can't be labeled as writing? We have several diagrams in books, most of our textbooks for science, history, accounting, all have diagrams of some sort to organize information so that we can easily see it. In conclusion, I think perhaps a diagram just might be a form of writing.</div><div></div><div><a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.moonstruckmeadows.com/graphics/HeartDiagram.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.moonstruckmeadows.com/OFACardiac.htm&h=542&w=420&sz=66&hl=en&start=6&um=1&usg=__7wU-xWiwrgvqVbIcVqJcFdfCKU8=&tbnid=uqPW1sdONJKeqM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHeart%2Bdiagrams%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX">Heart</a> <a href="http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/Search.cfm">Diagram</a></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-5161029113937365232008-09-07T20:14:00.002-05:002008-09-08T20:34:50.926-05:00Quote ResponseWhat Lauren Slater describes in the beginning of her quote can relate to us all. "I picked up my pen again, and began to write..." We all have wrote numerous papers, stories, poems, or simple blog posts. We write to unleash anger, write for fun, or because our English teacher requires us to. However, not all writing is always seen. "...began to converse, showing, telling, pausing, contradicting, setting the frayed contents of my mind down on plain paper to be plainly seen by anyone who cared to look." Anyone can sit in the comfort of their home, write down several stories, blog thousands of posts, but what is the writing if no one cares to read it? It is there, written out for any eyes to see but sometimes it is not. Some writing can take years of perfection, every sentence thought out perfectly, hours of a person's life contemplating ideas, characters, facts, but what is all the work if no one reads it? Another thing that Lauren mentions is that essays are often misunderstood, and often confusing. It is not only hard to define what an essay is, as we have all tried to do in class, it is hard to classify it into a genre of writing. As Lauren puts it, it is non-fiction, but it is not always based on facts and just purely informative. Essays have opinions, reflections, and contradictions. Essays can tackle issues by voice of opinion, but are only read if someone is looking for it to be read. The main quote which initially attracted me to Lauren was as follows: "Essay writing is about transcribing the often convoluted process of thought, leaving your own brand of breadcrumbs in the forest so that those who want to can find their way to your door." In all of my reading of definitions of essays, this is the one that helps me understand essays the most. What I took from this quote, and her whole writing, is that an essay is a piece of writing, in which you incorporate your own thoughts, style of writing, and opinion, and then present it to people so that those who truly care and want to find it, will indeed, find it.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285739079641429469.post-92189640492346088442008-09-04T14:19:00.004-05:002008-09-04T14:38:34.942-05:00Blog Post 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/190px-LaurenSlater.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 214px;" src="http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr126/jwieders/190px-LaurenSlater.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>"I picked up my pen again and began to write, began to write directly, honestly, began to converse, showing, telling, pausing, contradicting, setting the frayed contents of my mind down on plain paper to be plainly seen by anyone who cared to look. That doesn't mean there isn't art and artifice involved in the writing of an essay. But it does mean that the art is in revealing the voice of the writer, as opposed to trying to transform it to suit the requirements of a fictional character or narrator. Essay writing is not about facts, although the essay may contain facts. Essay writing is about transcribing the often convoluted process of thought, leaving your own brand of breadcrumbs in the forest so that those who want to can find their way to your door." (Atwan 27)<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Slater">Lauren</a> <a href="http://www.laurenslater.com/">Slater</a><br /></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11534453310912492385noreply@blogger.com0