It's a Melting Pot, Don't Ya Know???

The United States has always been a mash-up of cultures-even before it was established! Because so many cultures have traveled here to enjoy the opportunity that many of us still take for granted, our own culture, rather than assimilating them to fit our standards, changes itself. Evidence of this is a simple food court at a mall. At such locations, you will find Asian-inspired food, Mexican-inspired food, and sometimes even German-inspired food. The American melting pot kind of defines our own culture. Because our country was established by others, we didn't necessarily have the thousands of years enjoyed by others to establish our own defined culture. Instead, we borrowed from others. Well, I guess you could say our "true" culture is that of the Native Americans. But we kind of destroyed most of them, so they were only able to add a small amount of their culture to our great melting pot.
Because our culture is such a uniquely integrated product of so many others, it is no wonder that we can spread our wealthy influence around the world. The good thing about McDonalds is that it is universally liked. Almost everybody likes it. And it's simple. And it's the same everywhere. Our large corporations are unique and successful because of our melting pot status. Because we have a hub of cultures, we know what appeals to almost all of them. Therefore, we can create large corporations that work well to appeal to the masses.

World View

My position in the world is probably the greatest factor in deciding how I see it. I am a nineteen year old white male, attending a large, public university in the south. This tells me several things. I most likely come from a family with a good amount of money-at least upper-middle class. Either that or I am an extremely bright student with many scholarships. Unfortunately, it is the former. But anyway, it also tells me that I probably come from a republican family, which I do. Also, because I am male, I have a greater opportunity to earn higher positions in the world (statistically speaking). Obviously I could make assumptions about myself all day long. Some would be right and some would be wrong, but the fact is that society shapes much of who and what we are. It also shapes what we do, how we act, who we like, and what we like. For example, a child born into destitute is probably more likely to either not go to college or to drop out of high school than a child born into a wealthy family. Even though both children have a chance to succeed, the wealthy child will see the world as his her own. The poor child is more likely to simply give up. A child in China is given much less of a chance than one born in America. For them, it's either be a patty farmer, or become a successful business man. Our position in the world determines everything.

Chapter 7

Avoiding Plagiarism
To avoid plagiarism, you need to know how to actually use sources. Sources are not meant to provide all the information in a paper or rhetorical analysis. If this was the case, there would be no need to write the piece in the first place. The purpose of writing is to create, contribute, and learn. Think about the information you have gathered, and use it for your own argument. For my essay, I am writing about the change in religion over time in relation to the growth of science (roughly). For a search for a source, I wouldn't type "the change in religion over time in relation to the growth of science" into a search engine. If I did, and somehow miraculously came up with a result, I wouldn't really be able to use it. It would be too similar to my paper. What more could I say? Assuming that the source is thorough, not much. The key is to find sources that will contribute, and to take notes on these sources. For example, If I find a source on the Enlightenment, I would write down some of the points describing religion in the Enlightenment from that source. I would also search the source for other information that could be linked to the religious movements of the time.

Women and Men

There are many texts that cover this area of issues. These texts focus on any and every aspect of life that is seen as belonging only to men. Today, girls must be involved in sports and video games too. The common side of this argument- the one that is publicly and openly supported, is that women must be brought into these worlds. It seems only fair to include them in something that we love to do. Because we love to do it. Why shouldn't women be included in our fun stuff? But privately, I think that most guys dislike the idea of having women participate in activities that we love. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is because most guys want to get away from girls every now and then. This isn't to say that they're homosexuals or anything, but in order to feel the male camaraderie that we all need, women can't be included. We need our "guy time" to grow and feel connected to those similar to us. Women do the same thing with "girl nights" and shopping trips. The difference between guy time and girl time is that girls ALWAYS want to be a part of guy time. Guys, however, feel no need to go shopping. Another reason why guys don't want to have girls involved in sports or video games is because they are afraid that a girl will beat them. This would be the most embarrassing thing in the world.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 deals with finding sources, how to cite found sources, how to use sources, how to evaluate the validity of sources, and how to record research in a log. In my high school, we had to do a "Senior Project," which included a research paper. So I have some experience with researching and writing papers. One thing that will be new to me in this paper is the use of books as sources. I'm not really sure how to find books, but Chapter 5 offers useful hints and Ms. Kudeviz, who is the only person who will ever read this, showed us some useful tools in class. I think that my research topic will offer a lot for me to write about. I'm excited to get into my research. I hope that I can find some excellent sources to use for my paper and that I can read and develop my own opinion with. To be honest, I've been waiting for an assignment that I can use to write about my religious views and that I can use to explore how others view things as well. I think that I will find that the view of God is changing rapidly, especially in the youth of America. One example of this is one of my friends who has always been a devout christian. I recently asked her about her religious views and she told me that she didn't know anymore. This leads me to believe that the view is morphing in something else in society. I apologize for ranting, but there just isn't too much reflection to be had on chapter 5.

Video Game Genders

Should video games be changed and developed to be more appealing to women?
I don't think so. I invite girls to come and play video games. I'm not the type to say something like "girls stay in the kitchen/mall/beauty parlor while we play video games and hunt." I wouldn't say that. But do we really need video games FOR girls? No. Video games are video games. Once they are labeled as "girl video games," they are no longer video games. If a girl likes to play video games, I'm happy about that. I like playing video games with girls in much the same way that girls enjoy having a boy that loves shopping come with them to the mall. Boys don't generally enjoy going to the mall. I definitely don't. And it isn't out of some misplaced feeling of manliness or toughness. I don't like the mall because it makes my feet hurt to walk all over the place and it's boring and repetitive and I don't like spending money! But is everybody scrambling to change malls all over the United States to be more appealing to men? No! The reason for that is because the only gender issue that society sees as important is making women feel as if they are more equal to men! We only want to include women in man-things and we don't care if it works the other way around. Today, women are respected for breaking gender barriers. Men are just ridiculed and assumed to be homosexual. Which shouldn't even be considered a bad thing in the first place!

Essay pt. 2

I don't know if we actually have a blog due tomorrow. But I guess I'll write one anyway, just in case. In my essay, I really tried to take apart the image that I selected, analyzing every tiny detail, and exploring every possible meaning of every detail. In this, I don't think I was as thorough as I could be. I think that, if I were to use more space, I could expand all (or most) of my ideas.
I could also introduce new topics. One thought just occurred to me: does the age of the model have an effect on the audience? The answer, of course, is yes. While the shadows make it somewhat difficult to tell, it can be assumed that the model is in his early thirties or late twenties. For many college students, this age appears to be the peak of life. Many students in college, especially those that would be working out at this specific gym, are eighteen to twenty years of age. They are not able to drink yet. Because of this, they look at people over twenty-one with envy and respect. eighteen to twenty year-olds are usually trying to make friends with those over twenty-one. Therefore, a lot of humble servitude is offered in return for alcohol. The appeal for those who are twenty-one and up is also evident in the model's age. Those who are older that twenty-one years look at people about to turn thirty with envy because the latter has been out of college for some time now. They seemingly have everything figured out in life. Compared to  a college student who is close to graduating and who has no idea what will become of himself in the next few years, the life of stability enjoyed by a thirty-year-old has to be very appealing.

I really like writing. Unfortunately, as an engineering major, I won't be doing too much of it in the future. Oh well.

Facebook

Every time Facebook is brought up in discussion in school, it is almost always viewed negatively. In class discussions, I mean. People always seem to complain that "we are losing our ability to communicate with one another" which I suppose may be happening to some. But it certainly isn't happening to me. Facebook, for me, is a great tool to keep in touch with people far away. People who say that we should communicate with people face-to-face all the time obviously don't have friends or family that are far away. If I tried to communicate with people who are far away only through face-to-face interaction, I wouldn't be able to communicate with anybody I knew from high school or growing up. I would barely ever talk to my siblings and my parents would be distant memories. I think that long-distance communications being sped up to only seconds of travel time is a good thing. Also, people were complaining in my sociology class that, because of online social sites, we don't communicate through letters anymore. Why would anyone ever want to do that. The thought of snail-mail just makes me sick. I can just zap an email. Plus I don't want to have to use paper and a stamp. People like to pretend to be old-fashioned. I guess it's because they think it's cool. But it makes me mad.

Writing My Essay

So I just sat down one night and decided to just write the thing. I went to the library where it would be nice and quiet. Amazingly, I wasn't even distracted by the internet that night. I drank down a tall cup of coffee and was ready to go. In order to write my essay, I obviously started with a good, old-fashioned, introduction paragraph. This was the easy part. From that point on, every time I started a new paragraph, or a new idea I would open my picture, put it on full screen, close my eyes, and think. When I came up with a new idea, I would open my eyes, close the picture, and just write until I ran out of things to write about that idea. Then I would go on to a new paragraph. It probably looked odd in the library for people sitting behind me. I had to open a picture of a very attractive male figure and stare at it for a while. Oh well. I guess it doesn't really matter if people think I'm weird. Well, overall, the experience of my first college paper was pretty similar to most of my high school papers. I did feel like I had more freedom and room to write about a larger variety of topics. I wasn't contained to writing one little thing like I was in high school.

Glarp nnananana

As a guy, I guess I never realized how strongly girls feel about the advertisements that hurt their self-esteem. The reading today about Dove's campaign to shift the perspective of advertising was interesting to me. One thing that irked me, however, was the failure to mention how such advertising does affect males. The campaign was obviously more relevant to females, as it involves a hair care company, but many articles focus only on how females are affected. I basically wrote my paper on how advertisements make men feel less capable or strong so I won't go too much into it here. The thing is, I personally feel like less of a man when I see guys who are "roided up" or when I see a movie with one of those "ripped" actors. The fact that men feel this way is often overlooked because men are less likely to voice their complaints about such issues. The reason for this is because it is much less acceptable socially for a man to complain at all. Which is another double standard that goes overlooked. Society would look at a man who complains about such things as weak. He would probably be accused of being homosexual or something, too. Women have it lucky; they can actually complain about oppression and difficulties. Men are trapped by societies rules. They are forced to tough it out. Which I guess just makes us more manly. Which is a joke. Hmmmm...

More Like "Metube"

Well, to start off, I would like to say that I definitely didn't choose this article because it was the shortest and I was too lazy to read all the other ones. I read all the other ones, I promise. I did choose this one because it was short, though. I like shorter pieces, because it leaves more room for me to talk. Without the author elaborating on the subject, I can share some of my own thoughts without actually repeating what he or she said.
That being said, I would like to talk about youtube! I love youtube. I can spend hours on that website. It is entertaining to get little glimpses into other people's lives. Like Michael Strangelove says in his article, we all can relate to these people-even the most strange. "Star Wars Kid" is just some kid twirling around a stick, pretending to be a Jedi. But, really, who hasn't fantasized about being a Jedi? I know I have. Not only have I fantasized about it, but I've also twirled around my fair share of sticks, defeating invisible droids, saving invisible civilians. So much fun! Just as fun at 18 as it was at 8! We've all been there. And that is definitely the appeal of youtube. You watch videos of little kids being cute, and you can remember your own childhood videos.
I actually don't have much more to say. I just really agree with Strangelove. I also like his last name. But I really enjoyed this article. The brevity makes it almost poetic. He says so much with so few words. That is really the measure of a great writer. At least it is for me.
Okay. Cool.

Go Ahead and Smile. Please.

In Lenore Skenazy's "Don't Smile for the Camera," the essence of American photography is viciously and  unfairly attacked. Skenazy argues that photo albums today are basically lies. She says that, because we choose to photograph and record memories that are generally happy, we are leaving out the memories that portray "real life." Well, I have some news for her- NOBODY CARES ABOUT REAL LIFE! REAL LIFE IS BORING! Have you ever seen a movie that shows a person go through his or her daily routine at work, detailing every second of every thing he or she does? NO! Because that would be the most boring, long, and pointless movie of all time. And if it has already been made-no wonder I haven't heard of it! It probably sucks! Skenazy argues that  "Kodak moments" are unreliable in portraying truths about life. I, for one, am thankful for this fact. If I had someone following me, taking pictures all the time, I would get really angry. After the third or fourth shot of me scratching my crotch or picking my nose, I would simply steal the camera and destroy it! I am glad that the custom is to put flattering or happy memories inside of photo albums. Otherwise, I would have zero friends. Much less a girlfriend. I would be about as desirable as that dog that one all those "Ugly Dog" competitions.
Sure, we don't have any pictures of "real life," but do we even really want any? I'd much rather see my loved ones and remember them happy and healthy, than to see them sickly and dying.
My personal opinions aside, Skenazy mainly uses pathos to develop her ideas. First, she uses a very informal style, probably to make an immediate connection with her readers. By establishing a kind of "relationship" with her audience, she removes herself from a pedestal, and tries to attain level ground with them. That way, they are more likely to relate to her, and therefore, to believe her argument. In her friendly and informal dialogue with her readers, she uses humor to develop her argument. Skenazy's intended audience is probably just an everyday person, which explains why she uses such an informal style in her writing.
While I disagree with the main point of this article, the argument is well developed and the devices used are used effectively and efficiently. Also, many people will find it very entertaining and somewhat heart-warming.

I'm not entirely sure if this was exactly what we were supposed to do, but I saw this comic, and I liked it because it kind of pokes fun at a type of person that really gets on my nerves! First, the context of this photo in it's location and time of release. This comic was released recently. People today feel, probably more than do people of past generations, that poaching is an incredibly heinous crime. It has become a larger issue in recent years as many animals are being put on the endangered list due to it. This comic uses that feeling to create an exaggerated example of the way that people try to justify things by saying that it was "meant to be" or that "everything happens for a reason". While it is okay to think that way about some things, many people take it way too far, as this comic suggests. 

The argument relies on pathos to communicate it's purpose. The reader feels upset about the graphic depiction of the rhino, then they read the character's reason for killing it, in addition to his justification and experiences anger or annoyance. The  reader then recognizes that type of justification. The reader realizes that this sounds like someone he knows or someone he's heard talking before. The point of the comic is then recognized, and a reaction follows. The reason I say "reaction", and leave that kind of generalized, is because, depending on the person, a reaction may range from being offended to hysterical laughter. Comics that use humor like this are often thought to be offensive or controversial. This could be seen as an attack on religion, as religious people are more likely to say that "it was meant to be" in situations. 

Like I said, I wasn't entirely sure if this was what I had to do. I might have just had to examine an ad. Or maybe I had to do the blog prompt on the syllabus. I don't know. But it is two in the morning. I'll figure it out when I wake up. Goodnight, beautiful world. 

Blog Prompt 2

I got this comic from a weekly comic website called Hipster Hitler. The Web URL is hipsterhitler.com. Basically, the author takes a historical figure and assigns him the "hipster" label. Hipster Hitler makes many comments that the real Hitler would never have even thought of. Therefore, the author taunts the "hipster" fad by displaying just how ridiculous it is. He uses the "what if" question to make commentary about something he thinks is ridiculous. Obviously, Hitler was an enthusiastic and passionate leader. Hipsters, on the other hand, find it uncool to be passionate about anything. They wouldn't be caught dead being patriotic or taking initiative. The authors main goal is to satirize the lifestyle of contemporary youth in their over-extending attempts to be original, authentic, and cool.

The main goal of the hipster is to be able to say 'I liked that before it was popular'. For this, they listen to very obscure bands-just in case they make it. The hipster also enjoys knowing of things that other people don't. This is another reason for listening to obscure bands. If anyone were to ask a hipster what he or she likes to listen to, he or she would name a few bands that nobody has ever heard of. They would then ask the questioner if he or she had ever heard of those bands and when the questioner said no, he or she would feel a large amount of pride. 

Hipster Hitler definitely shows many truths about the Hipster life. See his t-shirt- it has a clever, "punny" message that only few people would actually understand. Also, the last frame shows another hipster quality. Instead of invading Poland, Hitler suggests invading a different place instead. A place that the other character has "probably never heard of before". 

This cartoon wasn't really published in a relevant historical time. Except that this is kind of the height of hipster awareness in a way. I just heard about hipsters a little while ago.

Blog 1

Every day, every hour, every minute, we are unmercifully barraged by examples of rhetoric. Nearly every man-made design is intended to sway our opinions in one way or another. It has become so common to see rhetoric, that we hardly even realize that we are being persuaded. Advertisers have become so efficient and adept at what they do, that most of our desires are acquired subconsciously. To list rhetoric devices that I see every day would be excessive. I would be sitting here typing until next month. So I will list only a few things that I can examine as I sit at my desk. I see a Dr. Pepper can. The logo on the can is bright, easily recognizable, and easy to read. A printed "stamp" on the can reads "AUTHENTIC BLEND OF 23 FLAVORS" which creates the feeling that Dr. Pepper is a very authentic drink; a brand to be trusted. Under the logo appears "Est. 1885" which is popular among companies. Letting customers know that you've been around a long time can build a feeling of trust. Obviously, people would be less likely to buy a Dr. Pepper if the label said "Est. 2009". Dr. Pepper is not the only rhetoric device here, obviously. I have many others sitting all around me. I could explain them all in the same detail as my previous example, but that would simply be redundant. To name a few other things, however, I see my friend's ipod touch. With its sleek design and Apple logo, it is a forceful persuader. I would want to go buy one after seeing it once. It just looks...cool. I see an advertisement for some video games. Obviously with the purpose of arguing that E.B. Games is the smart place to buy games.

There are many examples of rhetoric. Most of the examples I covered here are visuals. Mostly advertisements. But rhetoric can come in a vast array of forms. From essays to simple pictures, rhetoric exists, and can be a powerful persuasive tool.