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.