End Of Freshman Year

I can't believe that it is here but my fresman yeah of college is over with. Looking back it went really fast but I sure has some good times. I loved all the sports this year and the friends I have made. I know that I will always look back on this year with a smile in my face. I am excited about next year but know that in some way it will be different than this first year. Over all I love Clemson and know that the next 3 years here will be fantastic!

Summer Job

Since it is now summer for me and school has done it is time to find a job. This sounds way easier than it really is. First of all there are many different directions to go. However, this is only half the problem. The problem is fiding somewhere that will hire me soon and give me good pay. There are some other things that go along with a new job; like will they gove me time off when I need it, do they pay by the week, and if they will give the amount of hours that I desire. Hopefully I will be able to find a place that has all these things for my job this summer.

Golf Observation

Today was my first day of summer break and the first thing I did was go play golf at my local golf course. I was so excited to play but quiclky found out that the little golfing skill I had possesed was gone. I guess it was the 6 month lay off I had. However, it was still a bitter discovery that I faced. I can only hope that my brain will not do the same thing after the 4 month lay off it has ahead of it called summer.

Exam Week Stress

It always seem that at the end of the semester the grades you have worked so hard on the whole year come down to one test. My question is this really fare? is it really necessary for finals to carry so much weight? I feel that if you have shown for four months that you know the material and have learned it then you should not be required to take the final. If this strategy was used then the stress level in students would drop a great deal. 

Thoughts on the Other Groups Presentations

It was very interesting to see the other four groups give their presentations and present their arguments through different forms of media. One presentation that I found very interesting was the second groups presentation on fraternities. I think that they did a good job showing the positive side of fraternities and how they help out in the community and how they build strong leaders. I think that their use of different video and power point produced an affective presentation that helped me better understand greek life.

Initial Thoughts of Presentation

Today was the day that my group gave our presentation. There were a few thing that I was nervous about going in to it; a few of these concerns were if we would have sufficient length, if video links would work, and if my teammates could clearly present their information. Our presentation went smoothly and I feel good about how we presented our information. We used the right amount of time and everyone on my team used an equal amount of time when discussing their section of information. I was confident about my videos and felt good about showing them. The only disappointing thing was that they did not load right away, but this did not effect the presentation to much. I enjoyed presenting our work and believe that it will lead to a good overall grade in the class.

How our final presentation will look

-       We will have a flyer to hand out that will be followed by to brief movies. Finally we will discuss the things on the website.

-       They already know a lot about how to communicate with today’s technology but they do not know the history. I feel they will find it interesting to learn about the history of communication

-       We are trying to inform people about the change in technology communication of the years and how it is improved.

-       I feel like the videos will hold peoples attention very well

-       The hook for the audience is that there will not be much talking but a lot of the information will be presented.

-       The most effective appeal will be a combination of logic and emotion.

-       I feel like the best argument will be to define the history of communication

-       We will probably end it with our final video

 

Multimedia assignment

For this assignment our group has decided to use the topic of communication. The main things we are going to focus on is the explosion of social networking sites along with the increased use of cell phones and text messaging. We are going to present our information in many different ways. One thing that we want to do is make a website for the project. On this website we are going to post two video that we make along with some facts about how technology has advanced over the last decade.

Historical Photo

This photo was taken right after the Soviets had taken Berlin to end the war in Germany. The image shows clearly that the Soviets are the victors and that the German empire has been defeated. The thing that is the most striking about this photograph is that the soldier holding the flag is at the highest point of the building, I feel like this conveys power and is very defiant. The many buildings that are below this soldier imply the height is great. This also says that he wants the whole world to know about the surrender of the Germans. This photo is defiantly a powerful image that shows the power of the situation at hand.

Its Tournament Time!

It’s Tournament Time!

 

            When it comes to sports there are some very entertaining and exciting events. A few of these could be The Masters, The BCS Bowls, Wimbledon, The World Series, and the Kentucky Derby. All of these events are amazing and produce much excitement among the fans of their respected sports. However, one time a year in the month of March there is a tournament that is held which dwarfs all the other events listed above. This tournament is a sacred thing to the heart of the serious sports fan. Businesses have reported that during the time of this event, sick days skyrocket and productivity drops as fast as a plane with no wings. It’s a time where brackets are formed and money is laid to bet, a time where school colors are displayed proudly, and best friends become brief enemies. By now I am certain that if you just know what a basketball looks like than you know what I am talking about. It’s the NCAA Tournament, and in the words to come I will talk about this remarkable tournament and examine the things that make it special in the hearts of so many.

            First I will start simple and explain the straightforward concept of the tournament for those who might have been tragically deprived from this essential knowledge. The tournament fields 65 division one college basketball teams from around the country. There are two ways to make it to the “big dance” you can either win your conference tournament or you can have a good enough regular season record to receive an at large bid. The teams are then put into four mini brackets of 16 teams where they are seeded according to their regular season performance. The teams then compete to win their 16-team division so that they can make it all the way to the final four, then ultimately to the championship.  

There are many things that make this tournament special. It could be the fact that every division one team has a chance to win it all, no matter how bad their season has been, or it could be the upsets that motivate and inspire us, maybe its that this time gives us a chance to let go and cheer as if we were kids. Now for you true sports fans that are reading this article and thinking to yourself that you already know this information I am going to reach my hand into the NCAA tournament attic and bring back some of those memories that have thrilled us in the years past. It is these moments that have made the tournament what it is today. To start we can look at 1999 first round show down of the 14 seed Weber State Wildcats and the universally despised 3 seed, North Carolina Tar heels. North Carolina had not lost in the first round in 20 years while Weber State had not made the dance in 5 years. Even though every critic said they would not have a chance, the Wildcats put in the earplugs and went out and shocked the world that night by playing giant slayer. Next we can look at 11 seed George Mason’s miracle final four run in which they pulled off upset after upset all the way Indianapolis. How can we forget the accomplishments of Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats two years ago? Who would have thought that a six foot three inch sophomore that all the big schools turned away could lead a scrappy Davidson team to the elite eight. These are just a few of the many moments that have made us scream, laugh, cheer, and at times even cry.

In a few weeks this tournament will begin again and I’m sure as in years past there will be heartbreak, upsets, buzzard beaters, unforgettable performances, and triumphs. So I encourage you to cherish every second of this truly incredible event because this one shining moment only shows its face for a few weeks in March every year. So go ahead, let the madness begin! 

My note taking style

There are many ways to take notes and record your observations. The way I usually do it is I start by writing the notes down on paper then going back and typing them on my computer. I feel this helps me because I am able to see the notes twice, once when I write them and once when I type them. 

Observations About "Thank You for Smoking"

We only got to see the first half of this movie in class but I was still able to see many things in the movie that relate to argumentative writing. The movie is all about a man whose job is to try to convince people to smoke. This may sound ridicules but the way he argues and bargains actually sways people to his side. I was able to see augmentative speeches and writing first hand. It was interesting to see how the character could change people opinions of a subject that can be quite sticky. I just hope that when it comes to my argumentative paper I can be as convincing as the character in the movie.

Class Observation from class 2/10/09

There was not really a debate in class today but so I will talk about the upcoming presentation that we will give in groups of two on Thursday. Im am looking forward to working with another classmate on this presentation. I feel like it will stretch me in many ways and help me become more comfortable in front of people. I have been working on a Power Point presentation that will go along with a handout that me and my partner made. I think that our presentation, which is on commas, will be interesting because we are using both good old handout but also cutting edge technology.

Possible Research Topics

There are many things that I would enjoy doing  a research paper on. Some topics that interest me are, the debt of this country, how different religions are similar, how money effects people, and how marketing companys are effected during a recession. All these topics interest me and I look forward to expanding on one of these topics in the upcoming research paper. 

Research Papers

     In the past when it comes to research papers I have always googled my topic and tried to get as much information on my subject as I could that way. I also would occasionally go the library to do some research if I had time. However, now that I am in college I realize that it will take a lot more than just googling my subject. Not only do I have many different resources that are through the school but the papers require a good bit more effort to make them good. One resource that I look forward to using on my upcoming research paper is the website, Lexisnexis. My teacher told us about this website and I feel that this resource will really benefit me in my papers. I think that I will have better content as well as more information to present. I just hope that with all the available resources that I have in college I can make my paper flow in a simple to read way.

Mash-up Observation

     To me it was very interesting to read both the articles on "mash-up" artists and there songs. It was a interesting concept that was neat to hear about.

      I think there are two clear sides to the argument about weather mash-ups should be legal or they should not be allowed. In my opinion both sides have legitimate arguments. On one hand I think that they should be allowed because if they were not we would not be able to hear the music from people like Brian Burton who give unique spins to our favorite songs. It can be really neat to hear a fresh mix of or top songs. This is the upside to mash-ups; the down side is that in many cases it is illegal. This was seen when the beetles sued a DJ when he made a mash-up of one of their songs. We must have laws that respect artists work because they are the ones that came up with the track in the first place. I know that if i worked relentlessly on something then saw that somebody had taken my masterpiece and changed it slightly to sell for profit I would be irate. 

     The thing that we need to understand is that there are two sides to this argument and that we need to find a balance between the original artists and the creative DJs that change these songs around.

Thesis Statement Observations

Thesis Statement 

My visual rhetoric paper is going to be about a Nike ad. The photo is very simple but implies that to be the best at a sport you must have a determination and a work ethic that does not take breaks, no matter what. In this paper I look to play off Nikes theme “Just do it.”

1. Write down your observations.

The first impression I get when I look at the Nike advertisement that I will be writing about is that it is kinda of a grimy photo with no demonstrative colors. I think that this implies hardness and work; this ties right into what the picture is trying to imply. It says that in order to become good at a sport you have to really assert your self and work hard. 

 

2. Observations for preliminary thesis statement.

I think that my thesis statement does a good job tying in the ad and telling what it is all about in a simple way. My thesis statement is clear and tells just what is going on in the ad.

3. Ask Questions to refine your statement.

One question that can be asked is in the ad is if the photo of the swimmer was not as close would it help to imply the task at hand for the swimmer.

4. Then I polished my thesis statement to get my final draft which is displayed above.

Rhetoric Assignment Photo

 This is the photo ad that I have decided to write my visual rhetoric assignment on. I feel like there is a lot of things to point out in this fairly simple image. My main point will be to incorporate Nikes slogan, Just Do It, by analyzing the image.

Selecting my Visual Rhetoric Image

This blog is just to post the answers to the questions asked on page 21 of our writing textbook to analyze the picture we have selected for our visual rhetoric assignment.

1. The short video I selected does try to persuade the audience by asking "is it in you". This could imply that in order to succeed in sports you need there product.

2. In the short commercial there were many different images to analyze. One example was that they showed three different athletes in clutch situations. 

3. I think that the author intended for the audience to feel like they needed the product when that saw the commercial because it showed three celebrities drinking gatoraide

4. I think that this commercial did a good job of convincing people to buy this product but didn't do it in a obvious way. 

Privacy when it come to Technology

     I just read a article on eef.com that talked about how technology is a great thing in modern society however the more technology grows the more our privacy is put in jeopardy. The article talked about how cell phones are such a necessity these days and that every one seems to have one. The only problem with this is that it is not very difficult to invade someone privacy when it comes to cell phones. It also mentioned that text messages can become accessible by third party people. The main point was made was that we need to determine where we draw the line on what is privacy when it come to cell phones. I agree with this article in the way that there should be laws protecting peoples cell phone privacy unless the person is suspected by the government as a threat to our nation. I just hope that as technology progresses we can distinguish what is proper and right when it comes to privacy. 

Different Views on Copyright Laws

     I just read two very interesting articles with contrasting views on the laws of copyright. Both articles were very interesting and produced valid reasoning for their points of view. After I had finished reading the articles I could not take a side for either one because I felt like both of them were sound arguments.

     The first one I read was about was from the point of view that copyright laws are essential to protect the producers of the information. He brought up a great viewpoint and talked about an animated Disney film that had taken four years to produce because so much new technology and been invented just for the one film to be produced. He also went into depth about how when the film was being created massive amounts of information had to be compacted and condensed on many separate computers just so that all the time and effort could be saved. He said all this to say that even though millions of dollars had been put into the project along with countless man hours it could all be undone if just one copy of the movie was prematurely copied and put on the internet. Not only would the Disney company lose money because people would be able to access the movie for free via the internet the anticipation and eagerness for people to see the movie would be dimmed because it could be freely accessed through the internet. This argument had many valid points and showed how copyright laws were essential to protect peoples ideas, money, and work.

     The second article did not completely disagree with the fact that copyright was needed but rather put a different spin on the subject. The man point of view from the writer of the second article was that for people to continue to invent and  develop new ideas they would need free access to works from the past. One quote the author repeated multiple times was, "Creativity and innovation always build on the past." I thought that this quote put a lot of things in perspective; one thing I think you can get out of it is that in order for people to evolve and come up with new ideas they would need access to prior works so that they could learn from previous works and ideas. In some ways this outlook is good because one can not truly know where he are going until they have seen where they have been. 

     To conclude I think it is fair to say that copyright laws are essential to society but can sometimes hinder creativity because information is not always easily accessible to people. 

Persuasive Advertisements

I have never realized how much information is thrust upon us every day; even just walking to class there is constantly information in front of us. Today when I walked to class I tried to notice all the information that was in my short path. I saw everything from ads for Chinese restaurants to fliers on school events. However as I started thinking about all the ads I had seen that day I noticed that I had never been conscious of them before. This could only tell me that either the ads were not as effective as the they should have been or I had been totally oblivious of them. One kind of rhetoric I noticed was specific context rhetoric. I could see this kind of rhetoric the most in the fliers for student activities and events. Specific context rhetoric focus on a certain groups of people by advertising what the might be interested in. This was defiantly seen in the school fliers because they main recipient for the information was the college students that walked past them every day. To conclude I would like to say that it was really neat to see all the advertisements and information in our world. Even on a short walk I was able to notice many fliers and ads.