The End Is Near

When I think about it, it’s hard for me to believe I am one week away from completing my freshmen year of college. The road has been filled with its ups and downs, but in the end I know it will all be worth it. Now asked to evaluate my growth as a writer, a few things come to mind. By being in Mrs. Irving’s English 1101 and 1102 classes, I have grown to appreciate the process of revision. In the past, it was rare for me to revise a piece of my writing once I believed it was completed. Throughout this year, I have changed that. Within this semester specifically, I have learned the basics to writing an argument and spotting one among other pieces of literature. Although I know what an argument entails, I often struggle with expressing my own arguments throughout my writing. Hopefully, this will change throughout my many years of college to come. Along with learning the basics to an argument, I also gained important knowledge concerning sources and source material. I know that information will help me greatly in the years ahead. Another thing that comes to mind when thinking about this course is the actual blog assignments. I think they make the course more enjoyable and allow us to see and discuss how “everything is an argument”. It is interesting to read everyone’s blogs and to see how we often view the exact same thing in so many ways.

The one piece of technology I CAN live without are video games (systems, games, etc.). I admit as a child, I owed and played SEGA. I even had a few Gameboys. Sonic the Hedgehog, Frogger, and Pokémon were a few of my favorite games. Back then I felt I couldn’t live without them.

Now, video games are starting to disgust me. I have felt this way for quite some time. However, my so-called hatred seems to be increasing with time. On Tuesday, during peer-review I had the opportunity to read Chase Crawford’s paper concerning video game addition. I was very pleased to witness someone (specifically a teenage male) bring attention to the topic and in general the affects of video game usage. It made me happy to discover, I wasn’t the only one who sees a major problem facing our youth and nation.

I could go on and on about how video game usage has gotten out of hand but I’m not. Instead, I’m here to suggest a few ideas to take the place of playing video games as a past time. One, read a book. I bet if my parents encouraged this I would be a much better reader and/ or speller. Two, exercise. Sitting in front of a T.V or computer is not good for your physical health. However, participating in sports or other recreational activities is.


^Really???

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Have you ever watched MTV’s The Hills?

Considering its popularity more and likely you have. I too have watched the “reality” T.V show. For those of you, who have not experienced The Hills, allow me to summarize it within one phase. It’s about the lives of a few young L.A residents who live the life of the rich and encounter drama along the way. For more information visit the shows website http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/the_hills/series.jhtml.

Just recently, last fall, I became a fan of the show shortly after my roommate forced the “sweet life” upon me. Since then I have continued watching it into its new season which just began on Monday. Although I’m a huge fan, while watching the show I always find myself questioning the truth and images behind it. I often ask myself: “who really lives like that?”, “how are they so rich?”, and “who gets chances like those?”. Questions that I cannot answer and leave me day dreaming. By believing the show represents its characters in their real life, I wonder how much of the show is taped only to increase and keep its audience.

Headlines

The Onion: America’s Finest News Source


“Morning Show Host Starts Charity To Rid World Of Flying Debris”

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/morning_show_host_starts_charity?utm_source=a-section

This headline introduces a chip from the Onion News Network and show Today Now. Host Tracy Gill presents a piece she conducted to raise money and awareness for her new charity. The headline argues a morning show host is working toward eliminating flying debris within the world, the clip supports the headline and it’s statement.

“The Only Way Out Of This Crisis Is To Build More Houses”

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/the_only_way_out_of_this_crisis?utm_source=b-section

The headline opens up a debate concerning the resent economic crisis. The writer (Tony Sasnett) of this article seems to believe that if American builders construct more houses within our country, the economic crisis will eliminate its self. By reading the article, viewers can conclude Sasnett strongly believes this is the only and best solution for our problem. On a side note: I strongly disagree.

“Marc Stein Treated For OCD After Latest NBA Power Rankings List Teams From Dirtiest To Cleanest”

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/marc_stein_treated_for_ocd?utm_source=a-section

The headline is in reaction to a previous segment Stein did ‘related’ to the NBA. It brings enlightenment to the unnecessary comments the announcer made. The headline does justice to nock Stein’s report. Seriously.. how does discussing basketball even begin to relate to team cleanness!

The Wall Street Journal


“The Cheers And Jeers For A Costly New Ballpark”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123863009166180633.html

This headline attracts its intended audience in a way other articles do not. The words “cheers and jeers” immediately trigger a subject based on sports or entertainment. The article discusses a questionable topic concerning the opening of a new ballpark in Boston. The economic crisis is also center attention of this article.

“Belly Up To The Bar And Buy Some Jeans”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123862311574879951.html

This is a very confusing headline. At first, I thought it was suggesting people should drink at bars in new jeans. Weird? Indeed. However, the article is discussing a trend among a men’s clothing boutique called Lost Boys. I do not think the headline is relevant.

“When He Was 46 It Was A Very Good Year”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123862611987180187.html

After reading this headline, one can assume the article is about an older man who recalls his ‘younger days’. In fact the article is about an older man, who is about to turn 90 years old. The man was the writer to “It Was A Very Good Year” a song he wrote years ago.

AJC

“Two Women Accuse Johns Creek Doctor Of Sexual Battery”
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/northfulton/stories/2009/04/01/doctor_arrested.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

This is a very straightforward headline. It states the issue, in a well understanding manner. The headline doesn’t cause confusion or misunderstanding of the issue following.

“Guy Gets Nabbed Driving Barstool Drunk”

http://www.ajc.com/video/content/video/?bcpid=1659825399&bclid=1716449804&bctid=18282080001

Talk about an appealing headline! After reading this, most individuals would like to read more. The headline stays true to its topic but in a comical manner.

“Nine Patients Made Nearly 2,700 ER Visits In Texas”

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Frequent_ER_Patients.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

After reading this headline, viewers are likely to question its statement. How in the world can nine people go to the ER that many times? By questioning the headline, viewers are likely to read the remaining piece.

The Great Gatsby

Many believe the “American Dream” solely relies on the presence of happiness and wealth. The film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby exhibits this pretrial at best. From the very beginning of the movie, the audience views the setting within Long Island, New York. The book/ film take place during the 1920’s, at this time the location symbolized a dream site to live at or even retreat too.

Another aspect of the film that portrays the “American Dream” comes from the occupations and wealth of the characters. Gatsby openly admits to coming from a long line of wealthy inheritance. Nick on the other hand had to work for everything he acquired. He earned a college education and worked hard as a bond salesman. Shown in the video, one can tell Nick is a firm believer in hard and honest work. During one particular scene, Gatsby begins to influence Nick to work with him on a project. Nick interjects by questioning Gatsby’s true position offer. Here, it seems Nick’s character believes that only hard work can earn happiness and success- opposed to inherited wealth.

The personal/ love lives of the characters also play a key part in the common meaning of the “American Dream”. From the outside looking in and without knowing a detailed bio of each character, the audience sees a perfect couple in the Buchanan’s. However, the story demonstrates a connection between wealth and love. The couple is obviously unhappy, as represented by their affairs. Yet, they remain together to portray an image of an all American picture perfect couple.

What'll Ya Have..

The Varsity is the bomb! With their chili dogs, onion rings, and world famous Frosted Orange the Varsity has become an Atlanta trademark. The restaurant begin its success over 80 years ago. As of then and now it is the world's largest drive-in. The restaurant chain consists of six locations spread out all over the metro Atlanta area. People all over the nation and world come to Atlanta in search of those three little words.. "What'll ya have". Often customers include well known actors and politicans. The Varsity even has an achieve that includes it's celeb vistors on the main Varsity wall (Downtown location). For entertainment purposes The Varsity holds art displays, often showcasing the artist and their work. Being a relative large restaurant (physically), it is also able to accommodate large parties and crowds. The friendly staff and enviroment makes anyones visit to the Varisity a delight.

Take Cover!.. Idol’s On.. Never mind!

Tonight, the weather has been terrible in Georgia. All evening long there have been tornado warnings and tornado watches among the metro Atlanta area and surrounding counties. The news channels have been covering the reports since early this afternoon. Still, as I sit to write this Glenn Burns is reporting a tornado forming in Newnan.

Ahh!! I just heard thunder, loud thunder! Now, it’s pouring the rain outside my dorm.
Back to being serious, my cable just went out. I realize this is no big deal, but I just remembered American Idol is on Fox. :)

Cable is back on. As life threatening tornados can be, the thirteen year old girl inside of me is more interested in watching American Idol than seeing if a funnel cloud is headed my way. I just got to see if that Danny guy makes the top twelve. He can sing. He’s kinda cute too.
Yay! Danny made it too the next round. It amazes me how much American Idol has become a part of American society. To some, the television show even helps justify their definition of the ‘American Dream’.

American Idol is now in their eighth season of broadcasting. It has made the dreams of many come true and gave few the opportunity to create successful music careers. The show allows ‘normal’ everyday people the chance to prove their vocal talent and earn a recording contract. A recording contract that often leads to success and wealth.

I’ll Tell You My Dirty Little Secret

My initial reaction to opening http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ was immediate amusement and enjoyment. Being a user of MySpace and Facebook, I have seen/read many bumper stickers similar to the photos present. With this experience, I knew the photos combined with the text would demonstrate a humorous perspective to each ‘secret’.

The visuals on this site provide a visual approach to gain the interest of the viewers. Personally, while looking at the site, I felt some of the photos gave justice to the text, while some did not.

The importance of the written verses is to tell a story or in this case a secret. Without the texts, it would be impossible to understand the points behind each submission.

Between the verses and the photos, the one that speaks to me the most is the verses. I think this is because I feel the verses tell the story while the photos bring emphasis and humor.



The image above is the one that stuck out the most to me. I find it very humorous and believe this 'secret' is also shared with the majority of Americans nationwide. :D

"The Backstreet, Who?"

It is official, I’m getting old! Can you believe it has been fifteen years since the boy band Backstreet Boys began their first tour and thirteen years since “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” was blasting through our portable C.D players? I can’t! Just last night my roommate Brittany, who teaches at a local dance studio, randomly asked me “Did you know thirteen year olds don’t know who the Backstreet Boys are?” It caught me off guard. Then it hit me, “Wait, what? You mean THE Backstreet Boys, your students have never heard of them, ever?” Brittany being a self proclaimed BSB fanatic yelled, “I know rite”.

She then told me a story about her playing a Backstreet Boy song to her dance class. “Who is this?” asked one of her thirteen year old students. “The Backstreet Boys” commented Brittany. “The Backstreet, who?” said another student. By the tone of Brittany’s voice I could tell she was frustrated with the youth of today’s society. I too asked myself “how on Earth have they not heard of the Backstreet Boys, what about NSYNC, and the Spice Girls, anybody from the 90’s?” Then it hit me. The thirteen year old girls in Brittany’s dance class were born in the mid- 1990’s.

The music I spent hours if not days listening, singing, and dancing to with my Spice Girl hairbrush, was the music of the past. It was the music of my generation. Now, here is the part that depresses me. For the first time in my life, I have quoted a famous saying from my fifty- five year old mother “It was back in my day!”



-Boy band.. of MY generation!? :/

"You Have No Friends"

Prior to reading the article in it's self, I assumed it would detail an argument opposing the social network Facebook. To my surprise, my suspicions were inaccurate. While reading this article as a believer, I was open minded and held no judgement. I simply read it, with the intent to learn and comprehend the author's position toward Facebook. Manjoo presented an argument in support for the popular networking site. He listed many interesting facts about the site. Personally, the idea of "If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world," stuck out to me immediately. Manjoo continued his argument by presenting the many reasons why so many people have joined Facebook. He had responses from both 'Facebookers' and 'Non-Facebookers'. By including these, it allowed me has a believer, to see both sides concerning his argument.

I've become a doubter. After reading the article a second time through, a few things crossed my mind concerning Manjoo's position. Yes, he gave a argument in support of Facebook and did even justify a few opposing remarks. However, Manjoo failed to mention a few things. First off, no where did he mention the concept of fake profiles and the harm they can cause. Most people assume the good in others, thus believing a person in a photo is the real person behind the screen. There have been numerous occasions where pedophiles or 'creepers' have created both Facebook and even Myspace accounts claiming to be someone else. In some instances, these men and woman have caused emotional and physical harm to their 'friends'. On another much different note, Facebook can become addicting. Manjoo did discuss some information concerning this fact but did not identify the negatives that come with it. I for one have witnessed first hand a number of my fellow classmates engaging in Facebook activity for hourrrrss at a time. That's a huge distraction. Plus side effects from these actions can cause blindness and carpal tonal.

Definition of the "American Dream"

When the idea of the “American Dream” crosses my mind, I immediately begin to picture a gigantic house, white picket fence, a dog, and 2.5 kids. I think the American Dream is ideally that. It’s the thought that with self determination and perseverance anyone- in America, can achieve greatness. Greatness equaling material possessions and happiness.