Writing Projext #3: Soundtrack of my Life

Kenny Rogers, "The Greatest": Among the pictures of young kids playing teaball Kenny Rogers sings his classic song The Greatest. He uses images of today's youth to show how kids are fascinated by the majesty of the diamond. They play with balls, bats, gloves, and t-shirts that are way to big for them at this juncture in life. It is easy to recognize that these kids are t-ball players and can't hit a pitch yet. As a child, if there was a baseball field in the area that was where you would find me more often than not. Throwing the ball up to myself to hit as far as i possibly could. At that time video games were becoming more and more popular with the kids of that age. The baseball diamond was deserted most of the time. The chalk was scattered about and the bases were pulled from their plugs. No umpires were there and no opposing players in the outfield. That didn't matter, imaginary players play just as good as the opposing team when they need to. The Rawlings baseballs and Louisville Slugger baseball bats were the tools of the diamond and the players made it whole. The crowd in the stands made the whole world cheer and the atmosphere buzz. The world seemed to revolve around the game, America's favorite pastime.

Trace Adkins,
"Hey Batter, Batter Swing": has scenes where a hitter is facing a pitcher in a live ball situation. It's good practice for both the pitcher and the hitter. Interspersed within the video are clips of a girl watching the practice. These images present the viewer with a sense of competition for the girl in the stands. This feeling is one that all people have felt a situation like this before. When I younger and playing baseball I used to surround myself with the good players and make myself look good to impress girls. During this time the guys that hit the long ball, made all the plays, or were easily the best players on the team were the guys girls liked to be seen with. The players wore their jerseys to get themselves recognized and the girls always wanted to wear them. In games there were guys always glancing to the stands to see who was there watching them. Seeing the girl of their dreams made them play a great game. After the game taking them out to get something to eat after a big win. In the video both the pitcher and the batter take a peak at the girl watching the game. Finally the artist wins the girl rather than any of the baseball players. The competition, winning, and losing in both baseball and winning was a job in itself.

Alabama,
"Cheap Seats": incorporates scenes from the greatest baseball movies of all time. This includes: The Sandlot, Bad News Bears, The Natural, Major League, Bull Durham, and For the Love of the Game. During the song they show the best scenes from each of the movies. These movies have been deemed as classics and should be seen by all. The movies also show how the movie industry has developed over the years from The Natural to For the Love of the Game. During my childhood I used to watch these movies and dream of one day playing in the Big Leagues. Sitting in front of the T.V. sat all the movies. Picking from all these movies was a tough choice. Some of them are aimed at younger audiences while others are the sappy love stories that could be considered a chick flick and others are just good inspirational movies. The best movies are those that you can relate to personally. Who could disagree with America's favorite pasttime. There isn't a better thing to do on a rainy day than to sit inside and watch the best baseball movies of all time.

John Fogerty,

"Centerfield": shows video clips of television boradcasts of baseball games from early in MLB history and some of the best players in baseball history. The entire video is in black and white because of how old the footage is. The players in the video are those that made the game famous in America. The players are those that have made the hall of fame in Cooperstown the iconic place that it is. When I was a younger kid I beged my parents to take me to the local semi pro games. The Omaha Royals play in Rosenblatt Statdium in Omaha and whenever they played I drempt of one day playing infront of my hometown. The Royals were the pride and joy of Omaha and now they is talk of them leaving the city for good. The players on that team and all Major League teams are role models for the younger generation of players. They aren't the best people to look up to though. What they do on and off the field influences players to act like them. When they act out of line kids think that it's okay to act that way themselves. Dreams of growing up and playing in the Major Leagues is alive in all the American kids.

Nelly,
"Here Comes the BOOM": is a combination of clips from the Adam Sandler movie, The Longest Yard. A remake of the movie that stared Burt Reynolds. The clips are generally those of the big hits from the movie. Nelly the artist of this song is the Running Back for the convicts. As I started to get older my love for baseball began to decrease as I started to pick up the game of football. Football the brutal, heart-pounding, and gut renching sport of the "new" America. This video represents the game well, big hits, competition, and love of the game. Throughout the video you can see that football is not a weak mans sport. If it were that easy anyone could do it. Helmets, mouth pieces, shoulder pads, and padded pants are necessary to survive the game of football without injury. Even with this equipment all injuries cannot be avoided pain is a part of football that can't be avoided. Plays that no one could ever memorize combined with superior speed and strenght make football players the strongest of all athletes. Lifting and dieting play a large role in becoming the best player than someone can be. The sport of football began to attract my attention as I began to look at colleges.

King of House, "Can You Feel It": is a compiliation of highlights from memerable Husker games and greats. These clips pump up the crowd and make them even louder than they were before. The song itself is an easy one for people to jump up and down to as they watch the pre-game and game festivities. The video also raises the moral of the players to aspire to the greatness of those on the screen as they play. A rich tradition of winning has been set up in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football team. As I began to look at the colleges I might be attending playing football was one of my main concerns. I wanted to be a contributer and my goal was to make it as a Division I athlete. When evaluating abilities the first people you compare to are the greats of your favorite school. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln plays the best players from the state of Nebraska. Those kids are the elite group that only the best get to be a part of. From there others are placed at schools of lesser caliber programs. Deciding on which program you will fit in best with is a tough decision. There are so many factors that play into where you will play to your best potential. These are the difficult decisions to make but are also the most important ones. Selecting the right place is one of the toughest decisions but one of the best decisions of your life.

Zac Efron,
"We're All in This Together": is a clip from the popular High School Musical which was a hit on the Disney Channel. The actors talk about the importance of all working together. When they all work together they can accomplish anything they want to. Nothing stands in their way. As I've learned over the years of playing sports and being a part of teams the team is the most important aspect of sports. Being a part of a team is one of the greatest responsibilities that one can assume during their playing career. Every person on a team has a role whether that be blocking, scoring, defending, handing out water, or announcing the game. Without any of those parts the team would fail to function properly. If a team is successful then all these individuals work together as one to accomplish a common goal. The bonds that are formed in teams are ones that are never broken. Friendships that are formed last forever and the games are remembered just as they were yesterday. A member on the team must always hold the others around him accountable for their actions and their role on the team. The values that I have learned from being part of a team will be those that remain with me as long as I'm in the work force.

T.I.

Final Blog Post

This class has been very beneficial to me as a writer and a person. I see myself as a below-average writer mainly because English is my worst subject. However this class has changed my attitude towards writing and how much better of a writer I have become. Before I came to this class the only thing I knew how to write were five paragraph essays. This class has taught me to not be limited to five paragraphs but use as many as I need to get my point across. This class has also allowed me to start writing about things that I would never normally write about. I started out writing about things that made me laugh, then moved to things I was involved in, and finally about things that were important to society.

I have learned that I write top to bottom in my papers, I put more emphasis on the beginning of the paper rather than at the end. This is something that I, as a writer need to address. I also view the subject matter of my writing to narrowly. I need to let my mind open up and see the entire piece that I am writing about. This is clearly evident in my 2nd Writing Project, where I focused on too few things and completely left out some major portions of my rhetorical analysis.

Peer reviewing was probably the most important part of this class for me. My writing was never the best. When my peers gave me feedback I took that feedback and incorporated it into my writing. Without that feedback I think that my papers would've been much worse than they were. Conferencing with Professor Ware in class was also very beneficial for my writing as well because it gave me an insight into what he and other professors are looking for and also showed me the faults in my writing. These conferences also hurt me in a way because I tried to focus on everything he and others suggested I do when I need to stick to a single topic and expand. Peer reviewing is an essential part of this class and helps a lot with the writing process.

I think that "good writing" incorporates good spelling, grammar, organization, and understanding of the type of writing your doing. Without these things you're just free writing. Often times free writing isn't the best way to go and you should consider writing in a different style. My own writing has come a long way since the beginning of the year. I could never have written a rhetorical analysis without the help provided from envisions or Professor Ware. Now that I have learned all these strategies for writing I can read other people's writing with my new knowledge in mind.

I have been able to use my knowledge from this class outside of class. I've used my observational skills at places like football games and the zoo. I've begun to look at paintings, sculptures, music videos, movies, and pictures in a completely different way than what I had done previously. Now I start looking immediately for how the object tries to grasp the attention of the viewer by implying logos, ethos, or pathos. Most recently I have begun to look at the objects that define who I am as a person and how they make me up. All of these things I have learned in this class and am now applying to the world around me.

T.I.