Transformers Music Video(Linkin Park What I've Done)

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.

When sleeping it is impossible to sleep with out your baby blanket. Blankets can be your savior when your having a bad day. They even can give you the feeling of quality material brushing past your face. Blankets are can't be separeted from their owner without prying it away from them.

That blanket has been my comfort since I was born and since I moved down here to Lincoln and didn't know anyone that I was sleep among. The blanket has been through so much that it has earned itself a name, "B." When sleeping every night that soft velvety feel has to be next to me or I can't sleep. My mom used to wrap me up tight in that blanket before it was time for bed. Wrapping me up prevented me from moving around in my sleep and waking up. Even when walking around the house that blanket never left my grasp. My mom threatened to take it way from me and I cried until she promised she would give it back after she washed it. My blanket could do every activity from playing video games to doing homework. That blanket was my best friend for many years and accompanied me to many places. It visited the ocean in San Diego, California and went snowmobilig in Greenland, Michigan. For the beginning of my life that blanket never left my sight.

That blanket has given me a since of pride for me even though it isn't very manly. "B," has been around forever and it would be a tragedy to do away with him. He even has a special place in my dorm room where he spends every night. It's right next to me where I can feel his soft, velvety touch against my skin. I wouldn't be able to survive without it. I even have 7 others at home that can replace the "B," if he need be. They couldn't take the place of my blue "B."

T.I.

Post #16 First Autobiography

As I loaded up my bowling equipment to go home for Thanksgiving Break I picked up and held the first bowling ball that I ever recieved, a Bruswick Total Inferno. This wasn't the first Inferno that I had purchased. In May of 2008 I it helped me win a state championship. Every time I pick it up I unconsciously run my fingers of the parallel cuts that cross the finger holes and get my Bruswick towel out and wipe the remaining oil residue off. I begin to think abou the good times and friends that I have made from using bowling balls almost every weekend. I also think about all the different oil types that my ball works well on, including the Viper and Cheetah patterns from the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association). In the state championships I was faced with a heavy oil pattern that forced me to use this ball. The ball is made for heavy oil and is made of particle resin to create more hook. Hook that is created by the friction between the ball and the lane. On that day in May I found the perfect line to the pocket, the space between the 1 and 3 pin. I could hit the same mark everytime and get the same result, a strike. I shot the best series of my life, a 704 for three games which comes out to an average of 235 per game. That score was good enough to win an individual state championship and a $100 scholarship. This wasn't the first time that this ball had helped me earn a state title. It also aided me in winning the 2005 and 2006 state team championships and got me back to my third title match. That bowling ball has been through a lot with me and got me a lot of scholarship money.

T.I.

Music Video Rhetorical Analysis

This video uses the rhetorical strategies of logos, pathos, and ethos. Each of these strategies shapes the video in every way. Without melding the strategies with his music the video wouldn't make sense. Most musicians are all about getting the ratings that allow them to make more money.

The video employs logos in the opening scenes of the video by using compare and contrast. He compares the life of an average fast food employee and that of a girl that is taken care of by him. He also employs description by telling the girl what he can get her if she is his girlfriend. He also uses cause and effect. He does this by saying if you are my girlfriend then you can have whatever you like. These implications of logos directly shape how T.I. puts his music video together.

The video appeals to pathos as well. The chorus appeals directly to pathos everytime that it appears in the lyrics and video. This is because money, diamonds, and expensive cars make everyone wish that was their life. It also has a sense of sexual appeal in it also. The clothes that the girl wears are awefully revealing. I know that girls also like to look at T.I. and drool over him. The video also appeals to pathos through the clothes that everyone wears. However I believe that the video exaggerates pathos by giving the audience a sense of false need. The lyrics say that you necessarily need diamonds, money, and expensive cars to survive in this world.

The video appeals to ethos along with logos and pathos. The appeal to ethos is seen in the products that T.I. promises his new girlfriend. All of the goods are made by brands that are typically of higher quality. These include Lamberguini and Rolls Royce. These brands are considered to be the highest quality of their products. These things appeal to the ethos of the video.

T.I.

Post #15 Music Video

This video and song directly relates to how I view things in my life. I try to make myself the, "Shining star," in everything I do. I also aspire to, "Go far," in all my sports, studies, and all other aspects of life. The song tells you to live your life. That's exactly what I do. I don't worry about anyone elses life and focus on mine. The harder I work the more benefits that I can reap. The more benefits the better quality of life that I can achieve. However, I don't try to make everyone know who I am. I like to know that people are watching me and noticing what I'm doing. Never do I let that go to my head, I just pass off events that occur in sports and school as anyone could've done it just as good or better then I. Those that are caught up in making their money are those that live life only to make make money and do nothing else. Most of them are involved in things that are illegal like Micheal Vick in dog fighting and countless others in steroid abuse. Money does crazy things to people. It makes them unlike their normal personality. I leave all those distractions on the field. Once I leave the playing field I don't think about my accomplishments I relish in the teams accomplishment. The best players are the ones that are team players. This video and song describe me very well both how I am and how I'm not. It also shows us how people caught up in all those things can act. They can act out of greed and personal motivation to get what they want. I am one that shines and one that goes far but I'm not one that steps on those that helped get me where I am today.

T.I.

Post #14 Music Video

This video is edited in a way that connects the video to the lyrics of the song itself as is common in most music videos. The lighting for this song is bright and vibrant because the song is about having everything that you could ever want. When you associate having everything you could ever dream of you are often happy during the thought process. General happy thoughts are thought of as bright colors, this is why T.I. and his producers choose to set this video in the sunlight. Another way that the lighting is used to set the tone in the video is the dinner scene. Sunset is often seen as one of the most romantic times of the day. T.I. must believe this because he chooses to have dinner with his new girlfriend at sunset which sets the mood for the rest of the video. The audio and visual aspects of this video go hand in hand with one another. The visuals often take cues from the lyrics. When T.I. says, "Stacks on you," an image of a stack of $100 dollar bills is shown on the screen. There are many patterns in this video including: the chorus scenes, his girlfriend telling other guys to leave her alone, and the pool in the background. In the chorus T.I. repeats the words just like all songs do and the images that are associated with the chorus at the beginning are the exact same images every time the chorus is sung. T.I.'s girlfriend is constantly bothered by other men, however, he gives her everything she wants there for she always sends them away. Every time it's a different guy. Finally the T.I. is pictured in front of a pool for each verse of the song. I'm not sure why this is but every time he starts a new verse he is standing in front of the pool. From these examples you can tell that the video is composed of many different elements that with just one the video wouldn't be complete.

T.I.

Laocoon and his Rhetoric

The Laocoon Group is a story from the Hellenistic culture during the ancient Greek period of domination over the world. The story of the Laocoon Group is a common mythological story told from the ancient Greek world. Laocoon played a small role in the beginning of the Trojan War. He was the son of Capys, the brother of Anchises, and priest of Poseidon. Laocoon was the person responsible for warning the Trojan’s about allowing the Trojan Horse within the walls of the city of Troy. He is then said to have thrown his spear at the horse. For his action a giant serpent is sent to kill him. It is said that the goddess Athena is the one responsible for sending the serpent to kill Laocoon and his two sons. At the end of the story the Trojan Horse is allowed into the city where Greeks hiding inside the Horse jump out and sack the entire city of Troy.

The Greeks lived in a world dominated by myth and worship. They worshiped gods that represent phenomena that surrounded them in everyday life. These gods included: Zeus, King of the Gods, Hera, the Goddess of Marriage, and Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and Hades, God of the Underworld. Each God or Goddess had his or her own place that they ruled with complete dominance. Often times these great powers clashed and war would break out on Earth. There was a symbol given to each of the Gods to help identify them. When all the Gods needed to meet, their meeting place was atop Mt. Olympus, near the city of Olympia. These Gods dominated the first part of Greek culture and began to fade as free human thought began to develop.

The statue of Laocoon and his sons’ deaths has been created in two versions. First it was created in fine marble by the Greeks and later copied by the Romans in bronze. Marble is the term used for any type of rock that takes on a highly polished look. Bronze is a mixture of copper and tin that is highly prone to seawater corrosion. One possible explanation for the change from marble to copper is the availability of marble on the Greek mainland and on their surrounding islands. Marble wasn’t readily available to the Romans; therefore they switched to using Bronze to construct their sculptures.

Sculptures can conceal hidden meanings, messages, and themes. The statue of the Laocoon Group uses logos, pathos, and ethos to conceptualize the decision making of humans in times of war. The sculpture of the Laocoon Group expresses the growth of human artistic abilities by applying the strategies of logos, pathos, and ethos. Each of these traits is expressed in different aspects of the sculpture itself. These appeals directly affect how the art we see today was invented. From each of these strategies we can see how human artistic abilities and styles have been shaped from the beginning of artistry by logos, pathos, and ethos.

The rhetorical appeal to logos is applied in the sculpture through narration, classification and division, compare and contrast, and either/or. From these you can fully appreciate the sculpture in its entirety. The appeal by narration of the story is strictly dynamic. The story is constantly changing and sculpting the picture in our mind. This essentially shows us a certain point of time in which this sculpture is depicting. This gives us an extraction of the story of Laocoon. An extraction is an example of classification and division and aids the appeal to logos. The extraction is static unlike the story it doesn’t change and only tells us about a certain space in the story. The story and the extraction set up a binary of either/or. You can look at the sculpture and as dynamic, or looking at the whole story or you can look at it as static and only see the specific moment in the story that the sculpture is depicting. Finally, the last rhetorical appeal to logos used in this painting is compare and contrast. This is used in the mythological story of Laocoon and the realism of the sculpture itself. A mythological story is made up however the sculpture has a certain realism about it that makes you think that the artist had to be watching Laocoon and his son die to make such a life like sculpture. Logical appeal is all over in this sculpture whether it is obvious or hidden.

The sculpture also has a strong appeal to pathos. The static, extraction from the story of Laocoon shows emotions expressed on their faces make you feel a sense of compassion for them as you see them starting to draw their final breaths. There is also a sense of sympathy for Laocoon’s kids because their fate wasn’t decided by any choice they had made and they must watch their father die before they lose their lives as well. In this sculpture there is also the possibility of some sex appeal going on. None of the characters in the sculpture are wearing any clothes with the exception of a leaf covering their genitals. However I don’t think that this was the original intent of the sculptor it is a possible use of pathos. In the sculpture I believe the artist also tried to incorporate the scare tactic by showing that if you enrage the gods you will pay with your life. These pathetic structures are used to make the viewer feel for those that are suffering in the sculpture.

Ethos is also at work among the other elements of this sculpture. In this sculpture ethos has been used to show what happens to traitors. Laocoon was a traitor to the soldiers of Greece and the Athenian Goddess Athena. He crossed them and paid with the ultimate price…his life. In ancient Greece this sculpture of the story of Laocoon would’ve been similar to seeing a famous face on your television set. Every child, teen, and adult knew the story of Laocoon and his family and what they had done to earn the fate. In those days the story of Laocoon was as famous as any sport’s athlete in America. The element of ethos is hidden somewhat from the common viewer. However if we examine the credibility of the sculpture we will see that Laocoon damaged his credibility by giving out the information that he knew. The dynamic, story and the static, sculpture itself show misuse of ethos by the use of ad hominem. They attack Laocoon’s actions rather than attack the Greeks for planning a sneak attack on the Trojans. You must have a little bit of background information to pick out these subtleties in this sculpture.

From each of the three strategies above; logos, pathos, and ethos, it is evident that human decision making during times of war can lead to undesired outcomes, as is the case for Laocoon and his two sons. They meet a very unpleasant end for the decision that Laocoon made. Betraying those that raised you is never a good idea. Traitorous deeds have awful consequences that no one wants to consider because they never think that they will ever be caught. From the sculpture depicting the end of Laocoon’s life we can see how far artistry has come from the stiff, blocky sculptures of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians.

T.I.

Post #13 Cultural Context

This political cartoon is drawn to indicate a possible exit plan for our troops in Iraq. However it seems that in the past year or so that Iran has become a threat to the world. This may have just provided the United States with a removal plan for the troops still in Iraq. However, this plan doesn't necessarily state that the troops will be coming back to America. More than likely they are looking at a tour of duty in Iran.

A timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq has been a major concern for all during the Presidential election over the past year. It has been a hot topic in the Senate and the House of Representatives as well. Senator McCain was highly criticized for his plan for a timeline bill he supported. This timeline proposal has split Americans in half. Some want a hasty retreat out of Iraq while others call this a statistical loss. Either way you look at it someday we will have to pull our troops out of Iraq.

At a time when peace seems to be coming to the land of Iraq and things are starting to calm down a new crisis is rising. The Iraqi War has cost the United States money and lives. Now not as many lives are being lost in Iraq and people are starting to call for a withdraw of troops. However while this recall has been tossed around a new power or threat has risen. This power lies within the country of Iran.

Most of the tension between Iran and the United States comes mostly from the fact that Iran mastered a crucial step to producing nuclear weapons. A new leader has also helped to fuel the tension between the two countries, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He won the election for ruler of Iran in 2005. Ahmadinejad says, "If it weren't for American interference in the Middle East then there wouldn't be any stress between the nations." However he also says, "Both countries are seeking dignity, respect,and perfection." He soon became the face of defiance of the nuclear programs of the United States. The most shocking statement that Ahmadinejad said was, "The holocaust was a myth." This further enraged the U.S. and the entire world.

This cartoon symbolizes that America wants to pull its troops out of Iraq, where we have done much to save their country from it's hostile leader, Saddam Husein. Once we started to consider a timetable for troop withdrawal a new enemy poked it's head out from right next to Iraq, Iran. There is a possibility for hostilities to escalate and force the U.S. to move its troops right out of Iraq and into Iran.

For more information on what Ahmadinejad thinks and says about life and politics view his personal blog.

I'd like to give credit to the writers, photographers, and editors of the New York Times and to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, himself for the information in this Blog Post.

T.I.

Post #12 Free Write

Today on the phone my mom told me that one of our family friends was looking at buying a new car. When I asked her, "What kind of car?" She replied with, "A blue Toyota Prius," and gave a short laugh. As soon as she mentioned that little bitty car it immediately brought my mind to Jeff Dunham and his dolls.

Jeff Dunham is a ventrilaquist and he is so good that he has been featured on Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live, and even been able to create his own DVD's of his shows. Jeff has visited the great state of Nebraska at least twice that I know of. Both times he made a stop at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Omaha.

In this video you don't get to see any of his dolls or puppets or whatever you want to call them because it is the prelude to his show which sparked my memory of his video. His skits are full of one liners that would make anyone laugh. His jokes are funny yet very tasteful. He doesn't cross the line on topics that he brings up. He doesn't poke fun at just one group of people he targets all groups of people with his jokes. His jokes are often related to current issues that are in our world at the time. This includes gas prices and terrorism.

Jeff Dunham has seven dolls in his collection. These include Peanut, the weird purple guy from space that is personally my favorite , Walter, the senile old man, Achmed, the dead terrorist, Bubba J, the trailor park guy, Sweet Daddy D, Jeff's manager, Melvin the Superhero, the fat superhero with no powers, and finally Jose the Jalapeno on a Stick, no explaination necessary. Each of his characters has its own personality. They are easily relateable and everyone can pick out someone like them in their own life. Walter reminds me so much of what my grandfather was.

Back to the story about my family friend, he also owns a chihuahua. Immediately I begin to question the credibility of our friend. It makes me wonder if his new Prius is blue, if it has christmas stickers on the back, and if he lets his wife drive the big SUV home while he drives his new Prius.

T.I.

Post #11 Free Write

**I wouldn't recommend watching this video in its entirety because it is a 45 minute video. It's just a little insight to who I am and where I came from.**

Let's start with the basics, this video is of my high school football team. I went to Plattsmouth High School in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. For those of you who don't know where that's at it is 20 minutes south of Omaha. It is a highlight video from our 2006 season or my junior year. Our team is blue and white, our jerseys are all blue, all white, white with blue pants, or blue with white pants. I wear number 31, the same number that I wear here at Wesleyan.

I chose this video not only because I'm in it but because it has some of my fondest memories within it as well as a group of people that I will never forget. The friendships and bonds that you create during a football career are unforgettable. Although moving forward from those relationships is tough you will make new ones. Here at Wesleyan I've already started to create new bonds with the kids on the football team here. Those bonds that I make will last me a life time and so will the memories that will be forged from the practices and games.

The football team is who I am and what has characterized me since I got to high school. People used to always come up to me and say, "Hey your number 31 right? Well you had a really awesome game last night." No one will remember who scored and who didn't but they will remember watching as the game slowly progressed and fun was had by all those who stood, watched, and cheered. I'm sure many of you have experienced many of these things at your respective high schools as well. Don't ever forget those memories but don't forget to make new ones here.

Life isn't all about what accomplishments you achieve right away. The ones that stick are the ones that you have to work to earn. In this video you don't see much of me in the first two or three games. Part of that is due to injury, I rolled my ankle the week of the first game and part of that is because I wasn't a starter to begin with. At a school like mine not everyone gets to play, only the best at each position get the opportunity to play in varsity competition. To start the season I wasn't good enough. Through hard work and sheer determination I got to that starter status. That is evident as you see more and more of me in the clip as games go by. There is something to the saying, "Hard work gets the job done." If you work hard and believe in your talents you can earn any spot or job you want. This can be applied in any aspect of life not just sports.

T.I.

Post #10 Vice Presidential Debate

The first way that Sarah Palin appeals to logos in her rebuttal to Joe Biden's answer to the question is when she says, "The good thing about working with Senator McCain is that he doesn't tell one group one thing and a different group another thing." This appeals to logos because why would you do something like that. It would be unethical and it would eventually bring his whole campaign to a screeching halt. Another way in which she appeals to logos is when she talks about the energy bill that Barak Obama voted for. She says, "That bill that your running mate voted for is what gave the oil companies that big tax break." This is absolutely crazy because the oil companies don't need a tax break. They don't need any tax breaks they are having record profits yearly with the inflated price of gas. This may also appeal to pathos in some degree because is also sides with the grievances that the American public is having with rising gas prices. She says that she told the oil companies in her state that they weren't going to get the relief of those tax breaks because she deemed it unnecessary. She wanted some of that money that they were gaining so rapidly to be given back to the people of Alaska. She also applies to this style of rhetoric when she says, "There is nothing that I have promised that I would take back because of the financial crisis we're in....and I don't think that John McCain has made any promises that he would take back either." This is because they shouldn't have to take anything off of their campaign because of the financial crisis. They should be able to complete things that are necessary for our country at a low cost. They can get things done quickly and efficiently.

There is another aspect that I think is worth mentioning here and that is the appearance of Sarah Palin. Notice that she is wearing a United States flag pinned to her suit jacket. I think this implies a little bit of pathos and ethos. This suggests pathos because she is an American citizen like all the people she is trying to represent in the White House. I think that it suggest ethos because she is trying to convey to the people that she is a true American and only votes for things that are helpful and necessary for the people of the United States of America.

I think that these things are essential to the speeches that these candidates give because they inform the people on the issues and what side that each candidate represents. Without appealing to logos, pathos, and ethos they would never be able to successfully get their opinion and point across. The use of these three types of rhetoric are evidence that often times propaganda is used to sway our votes. People's minds can be swayed easily by certain expressions of rhetoric. Often times what these candidates are telling us is totally and fully propaganda to get us to vote for them and not the other candidate. They may not even believe in what they are saying. This is why it is important for you, as a good voter, to research about each candidate so that you can see what they truly believe in so that you can make an informed vote.

T.I.

Post #9 Presidential Debate

Senator McCain appeals to logos over this issue when he says, "We can offshore drill now, we've got to do it now, we'll reduce the cost of a barrel of oil because we show the rest of the world we have a supply of our own." This appeals to logos because it's logical that we use our own oil that we can harvest from our own land to reduce the price of our rapidly rising gas prices. Gas prices hamper many people who drive gas-guzzling vehicles to and from work. He also appeals to logos when he talks about free trade. He says, "It costs our companies a billion dollars to get their goods into Colombia but it's free for their companies to get their goods into our country." Does that make any sense at all? Why should our companies pay that much if theirs aren't? Senator Obama appeals to logos when he responds by saying, "We've got to have a president who recognizes the benefits of free trade but is also going to enforce unfair trade agreements and is going to stand up to other countries." Logos is used here because it makes sense that a president should support the ones that are fair and stop the ones that are unfair. If it is unfair then someone isn't benefiting and it should be where both partners are benefiting. He also uses logos when he says, "We must also hold them (the auto industry) accountable to start producing the highly fuel efficient cars of the future." Who better to hold accountable than the people building our cars? They are the ones that can save us from high gas prices by creating cars that don't use as much gas. He also uses logos when he mentions the building of wind turbines and solar panels to create more energy.

Senator McCain appeals to pathos when he talks about the rising gas prices because Americans are feeling like they won't be able to afford their gas bills eventually. He sympathizes with the American people saying, "If we start drilling offshore we can lower gas prices." Senator Obama uses pathos when he says, "Transportation accounts for 30% of our total enegy consumption." This is because he also sympathizes with the American people and their energy bills. He also uses it when he says, "It will creat 5,000 jobs in the midwest where we can re-tool these plants and create wind farms and solar farms," because he feels for the people that can't get a job because companies are having to make cutbacks because they are losing money.

Both candidates appeal to ethoes when they talk about each other. They criticize each others view points and actions calling each other liers and hypocrites. They talk down to each other as if they have nothing in common what-so-ever and like they aren't worthy of being president. They say that because of the way that they voted on certain bills is the way they think on certain issues. Often times they only disagree with only certain parts of the bill but agree with the overall concept of the bill. They use ethos in a degrading way towards one another.

The context of this event is to tell the audience what each candidate believes on certain issues. Often times these views are masked by the continuous criticizing of one another. They spend too much time tell the audience why the other person is unworthy of being president rather than telling why they should be president. If they took more time telling us why they are the better candidate then more would come out of these debates. The real facts have to be looked up on the internet if someone wants to know the true facts. If someone can find out all the facts from one of these debates then they are a politcal genious. In any case in these debates regularly appeal to logos, pathos, and ethos because they are very effective means of getting points across to different groups of people.

T.I.

Post #8 Rhetoric Questions

Chapter 1

1. If the discipline of rhetoric is just emerging then how can we account for Aristotle giving it a characteristic and Hitler used it so very well?

2. When rhetoric is used in speeches from politicians how can we know what they're saying is the truth?

3. How does an author get his/her true point across when you have all these different interpretations of their writing floating about?

Chapter 2

1. If there are disclaimers like, "These results not typical." present in adds then how is it that they can be effective?

2. Can we look at issues of authority over evidence in other ways? Such as politicians or ads that have these results not typical in them.

3. Does rhetoric only deal with advertisements and comics? What else can it be used for? What other value does it have?

T.I.

Experiencing the Zoo

The minute I stepped out of my car I could hear the distinct sounds of monkeys hooting and hollering as they played amongst each other. Without warning, an ear piercing whistle blows very close to where I parked my car. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo Train thunders past, just feet from the parking lot. As I approached the gates, I could hear music that put a spring in my step as I went to investigate this new zoo. At the gate, the lady said, “Just one?” I replied with a hushed, “Yes,” as I unwillingly handed her my hard earned money. As I entered the main area of the zoo, the first thing I encountered was the map. I took a close look at the map to see where the animals that interested me most were located in this unfamiliar zoo.

The first animal exhibit I encountered on my stroll through the zoo was the Bald Eagle exhibit. The exhibit was a very small enclosure. To reach the viewing area, you had to open a door. Inside this door, was an area to listen to the calls that Bald Eagles make when communicating with each other. Beyond this feature, there was another door through which you stepped to stand on the viewing area for this exhibit. Inside the habitat, sat two majestic and beautiful Bald Eagles. Both sat on a make shift nest that had been created by the zoo staff. Next to the nest, was a shelter for the eagles to use during harsh weather conditions. A member of the zoo staff stepped onto the viewing area with me and said, “Isn’t it sad, to see these beautiful birds just sitting in here?” At first I was taken back by the stranger’s comments but finally I mustered a reply, “It’s very sad. How did these two get here?” He replied quickly, “These two have been hurt in the wild. One was shot and lost part of its wing and the other was injured and will never be able to survive in the wild.” I stood there and look at the beautiful birds for a while not saying anything. Finally I commented, “A bird as majestic as these shouldn’t be subject to that type of human abuse.” The young man told me, “It happens all the time.” I told the man thank you for sharing that information with me and moved on to the next exhibit on my list to visit.

As I approached the tank to view the River Otter, I saw him swimming laps, gracefully in his pool. Every once in a while he would pop his head out of the water to catch a breath of air. He would swim from the edge of the water, under a log in the pool, and then push himself off the side wall headed back to the edge of the water where he would immediately start his paddling again. As he swam, he streamlined his body and used his powerful hind legs to propel himself swiftly through the water. As I watched him swim his laps, something caught my eye near the front of his tank. It was a dull red ball that had multiple, small tooth marks on it from playful bites provided by the otter. He seemed uninterested in the ball and more interested in watching what the passersby and I were doing. Every time he swam passed the glass, he would look out at the people and children walking by adn then glance at me sitting and watching. As I got up and decided to move on to another exhibit, the playful otter got out of the water and followed me to the opposite side of his enclosure. Maybe he was asking me to stay and watch his beautiful swimming techniques. He slowly turned and got back into the pool, he realized that I wasn’t going to return to my resting place where I had watched him swim multiple laps around his pool ealier.

From the Otter pool I moved to the area of the zoo called the First Hand Farm. The First Hand Farm had a strong smell that could be easily associated with any farm, that of manure. It was putrid and hung in the air and masked any good scent in the area. The smell was almost overwhelming. There were a lot of things for younger kids to do in this area. First of all, everyone could feel the texture of pelts from the different kinds of animals. The kids could have animal tattoos painted on their faces for fifty cents. Kids could enjoy a leisurely ride on a donkey or horse of their choice for a small fee. Also in the First Hand Farm, there were enclosures for animals such as goats, llamas, chickens, donkeys, and horses. There were four enclosures, three of them held chickens, llamas, and goats, and the fourth held the horses and donkeys. Between the three enclosures holding the chickens, llamas, and goats a wooden walking bridge had been erected for the goats to cross back and forth between the different enclosures. Most of the goats preferred to sit and sun on the walkway, while others walked over them between the different pens. On the floor of the enclosures, goats herded around little openings in the fence where kids could feed them by hand and pet them. For fifty cents, one could purchase food pellets that the goats consumed rather quickly and looked at the children pleadingly for more. The kids turned to ask their parents for two more quarters. The human kids ran to and from their parents very quickly, almost at a dead sprint, back to the little machine that dispensed the pellets. The First Hand Farm was very child oriented and fit the zoo well. The kids got a little overwhelming after a while and I decided to move on to other exhibits in the zoo that might be a little more interesting to me.

The next exhibit that caught my attention was the Harbor Seal pool. Two seals were swimming quick laps around the pool only pausing to take momentary breaths of air. They used their powerful tails and flippers to propel themselves about the pool. As I sat on the bench and watched them swim their numerous laps, I could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore and other seals barking. I looked around to see a speaker placed on top of the pool house just beyond the enclosure. In the center of the pool was a rock for the seals to bask in the sun on. On this beautiful summer day, neither was interested in sitting and enjoying the sun. They were both enjoying their dip in the pool. As I sat watching the seals, there was something in the bushes that caught my eye. It was a bird, not just a common sparrow that you see every day but a big bird.

It took me less than a minute to realize what that bird was that I was looking at, it was a peacock. Actually it was two peacocks, one male and one female. The male had its big, long train of blue, black, and green feathers flowing behind it, while the female was plain brown. The male seemed intent on trying to catch the female’s attention, slowly moving towards her as she ate. He tried everything except spreading his giant fan of feathers, his signature mating call. A small boy walked by and startled the male and he gave out a loud call that could be heard throughout the park. Then a pesky squirrel caught my attention, as he hurriedly ran across the path in front of a group of people walking between exhibits. I noticed that he had a nut in his mouth as he ran. He stopped once he reached the other side of the path as if to pray to God, thanking him for allowing him to cross without becoming road kill. After his quick prayer, he proceeded to the base of a tree trunk and began to dig a hole in which to bury his newly found nut. He dug for a minute or so and decided that the hole was deep enough and carefully placed the nut inside the hole and covered it with dirt. There were also various other birds that were allowed to roam free about the park. Small food dishes had been set out sporadically about the park for these birds to eat.

As I sat there and watched all these animals scurry back and forth, I began to think about how these animals ended up here. This made me wonder how the zoo keepers had decided what animals could wander freely throughout the park. Are all these animals, just like the bald eagles, here because they can’t survive in the wild on their own? I also began to think about how this zoo was different than other zoos that I had visited in the past, including the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and the San Diego Zoo. It made me question the institutional values of zoos and if they were limited by their monetary resources.

The peacocks and other birds are allowed to roam free because they can’t fly; their wings have been clipped or injured. Allowing some critters to roam free adds a feeling of freedom to the zoo. With animals that roam freely, we can see how they interact with people in the zoo. The zoo can’t allow all the other animals to roam the park because they would be a liability to the guests. Birds and squirrels don’t pose a threat because most often times they run when near a human. These decisions make the most sense; if animals like the leopard were allowed to move about freely, there would be injuries and deaths in the park, both human and animal. No zoo wants to deal with problems like that.

Quite a few of the animals that end up in zoos or preserves are the ones that have been injured so severely, that they wouldn’t be able to survive on their own any more. Like the bald eagles, many have injuries that limit their abilities to survive in the wild. Those two bald eagles can’t fly anymore which wouldn't allow them to hunt to survive and they'd be easy prey for predators, like wolves or foxes. If you can’t survive in the wild then there is no better place than a zoo to keep you safe, feed you, and provide you with a shelter. Each animal is brought to a zoo for different reasons. Whether they are injured or endangered species, these animals should feel as they have been given a second life.

I began to compare this zoo to the others that I had visited. This one was much smaller and had fewer exhibits than the others I had visited. Compared to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo was merely a petting zoo. It has less interactive things for people to do and the exhibits were less appealing and less dramatic. The Lincoln zoo was directed more towards kids than it was towards adults. Other zoos, try to aim for audiences of all ages, with exhibits that just blow your mind like the Desert Dome in Omaha or the elephant shows put on by the animals and zoo keepers at the San Diego Zoo. In part, I think these differences are directly affected by the available funding available . Money can bring certain animals to a zoo (like the Chinese pandads) and it can produce exhibits of higher quality. These high quality exhibits bring more and more people into the zoo to see these exhibits. Money also allows a zoo to provide better care to animals, provide better living conditions within the cages with more toys or more realistic environments, and hopefully these will provide a better situation for the animals . This zoo ranks poorly among other zoos across the nation mainly due to the audience that it draws and because of monetary issues.

Finally I began to wonder about the institution of a zoo. Was it solely for the entertainment of our youth or is there more behind the reasons for zoos? Zoos keep younger kids relatively entertained and they wear them out pretty easily. I believe there is another reason for zoos, one that is often over looked. These places are a center for learning; they can teach you about all the different species that are kept behind those bars. They can tell you interesting facts about animals you may never get the chance to learn about or see in your lifetime. Zoos provide us with a great place to gain knowledge about things that are unfamiliar to us. They are a fundamental learning site for us and the younger generations.

T.I.

Cubing Exercise

1. The cages that animals in the zoo are housed in are small and constricting. It suggests that zoo animals are for only our entertainment that they have no greater purpose. It also suggests to me that the cages these animals live in are too small for them to live comfortably. They should be luxurious with lots of room for animals to roam and play as they please. People in general take these animals for granted. They aren’t just for our entertainment; they are an educational resource as well.

2. The reindeer exhibit at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo is just big enough for the reindeer to make one lap around the enclosure in under a minute. There is no room for him to run about or play. The seal take hardly fits the two seals when swimming at the same time. They have to swim in a single file line to make room for one another. Their rock perch in the middle of the water has only enough room for the two of them to lie nearly on top of one another.

3. A kennel for dogs could be compared to my subject. A kennel has many small cages but for only one type of animal unlike the zoo where they have small cages for many types of animals. The animals in the zoo don’t get the proper amount of exercise and neither do the dogs in a kennel. However, the dogs are walked by workers at the kennel. Animals at the zoo don’t enjoy this leisure.

4. If animal habitats were built larger and species were mixed then a zoo would be much more interesting. The more interaction between animals the more people want to come to the zoo. With every animal separated from one another there is no interaction. Each animal must do something on its own to catch everyone’s attention. Larger exhibits with more inhabitants would reel in a bigger audience.

5. My subject is made of different enclosures with different animals in each enclosure. Each animal isn’t related to the next. However in certain buildings or areas animals may be related to one another. The monkeys might be located in a certain portion of the park and the reptiles might be housed in a specific building. Without each of these pieces the zoo isn’t worth coming to see. Certain animals bring in different audiences. Each animal is equally important as the one right next to him.

6. You can act on it by doing something about the living conditions of the animals in zoos. Tell someone that the habitats are too small and that animals are social and need friends. This will make the park much more enjoyable. People like to see animals interacting with one another. There is always a cluster of people around an exhibit when two or more of the animals are doing something worth watching.

T.I.

Post #7 Video

I chose this video for my post because it shows how many nerds there are out there in the world and how into their games they really are. This is a video of the game "World of Warcraft." "World of Warcraft" is a massively multiplayer online role playing game. In games such as this you create a character and fight him through many dungeons or worlds to make him stronger. Each world or dungeon however gets progressively harder and harder to beat. In "World of Warcraft" you can enter into dungeons with friends that also enjoy playing the game and set up strategies to defeat certain stages of the game. You can talk to friends that also play the game using special headsets that are provided by the "World of Warcraft" Corporation. In this video a large group of friends are taking on an especially menacing dungeon which they have tried and failed multiple times. This time they think that they have a great plan to defeat the dungeon with relative ease. However, one of the members of their party enters the dungeon early and gets them all killed. All the other members of the party are mad at the one who ran in early, throwing away their well planned attack. The frustration show by the other members of the group show how much people care about games. These people seemingly have no life, all they do is play video games, such as "World of Warcraft" all the time. People like this are often times labeled as geeks or computer nerds. This is especially funny because I am one of those people that takes video games very seriously, although I don't play "World of Warcraft" I understand why all the others are mad at him. You just can't abandon the plan.

T.I.

Post #6 Content and Form

I chose this video because the song has a great meaning behind it. On September 11th, 2001, four planes crashed that were hijacked by members of the Taliban, a group notorious for planning terrorist attacks. Each plan had a specific target. Two were slam into the side of two of the tallest buildings in New York, the World Trade Centers. Those towers that rise 1,360 feet into the air stood tall over the Manhatten sky line like watchmen over a precious piece of history. One was to hit the pentagon, and the last was to hit somewhere in Washington D.C., thankfully the last one never made it there. This song shows us how we, as a nation felt that day, like our homland was underfire, our people were blown away. For a while after the attack the government told us not to worry about Binladin. We felt as if we had been sucker punched. It wasn't fair, but let me tell you something, life isn't always fair. In time we knew what had to be done. We had to eliminate the source of all our devistation. We declared war on Osama Binladin and the Taliban. We looked though our black eye and kept it locked on those who had caused so much pain in our lives. Those attacks on September 11th, stopped everything. This included all sporting events, concerts, and such so that we could deal with our losses. That day and for several days to follow the world stood still. Those two towers that fell a reminder of what had happened and those that had been lost. Not one of them able to tell their loved ones goodbye. To this day we still haven't captured Osama but that day will come and America will get its redemtion for the terrorist attacks on September 11th. As Toby says, "We'll but a boot in their ***." Who are the ones that will do this you might ask? Our military will be the ones to do this. They will be the ones standing tall and watching over everything. The "Eagle Eye in the Sky." Our troops that we so diligently support will keep us safe from others who may try to attack us. America will not forget the devistation caused by those attacks and revenge will be on all of our minds until that day that we finally get revenge. May those who lost their lives that day rest in peace.

My form and my content are connected because the Twin Towers stood tall over Manhatten and the American peolpe stood tall to defend our nation. We have fought to thwart all terrorism. Starting in places like Afganistan and moving to Saddam Husein in Iraq. All those men and women who protect us from people like that stand just as tall as those two towers did. They stand even taller for the people that last their lives on that fateful day in 2001. Our troops are the ones who stand tall now. They are the watchmen of our country. They will remain that way for some time now.

T.I.

Post #5

This post is a little bit different than my previous ones. First of all it's different because I was one of the few who misinterpreted Professor Ware's instructions and second of all because it shows a little bit of my soft side rather than the side of me that wants to laugh at people all the time. I chose this video because Boy Meets World is probably my favorite show in the entire world and it is a clip of my absolute favorite episode. There are two reasons for why this episode is my favorite. One is when Cory tells Shawn that he can live without Lauren, but can't live without Topanga. I think this has a hidden meaning behind it, that when you have a good thing it's okay to try other things to see if you like them better. It will only show you how much of a good thing you really had. Just like Cory had with Topanga. It's okay to have some fun every once and a while. Live a little bit. See what life has to offer other than the life you repeat day after day. Step outside that comfort zone and do something that you wouldn't normally do. The second reason is how Eric is able to teach a class to immigrants about the United States even though he himself is ignorant. His explanation of what America is should be written down and idolized. He says, "We're all [everyone in America] from different backgrounds. We're like cards in a deck, some cards are black, some cards are red, some are kings and queens, and some are sixes and sevens. But even without one of those the cards don't work." That's what Eric says is America. This definition of America is one of pure genius. For once Eric is the smartest person in that room. Every time I hear the words that Eric said I get goosebumps all over because that statement is very powerful. It rings clear in my head because it truly is what America is all about.

T.I.