America as a Melting Pot

In many ways America is still the melting pot that it has been since its existence. For many people who are foreign to America want to come here in search of the American dream. This creates a flood of people from all around the world traveling and moving to America. With this manny different cultures are here and these cultures begin to spread and mesh together. Creating influences on music, movies, and all of popular culture as a whole. America is the most diverse country in the nation because of all the immigration. Manny of the immigrants become Americanized once they get here. They become interested in the popular culture of American and leave some of the values of their old country behind. The American trends are starting to spread across the world, influencing even more people to come to America. Now that some immigration is starting to get out of control regulations and restrictions are being put in place to limit some of it. Over immigration from one country wouldn't work and would bring down the melting pot type of society that has been created in America. With this the border between Mexico and America has been strictly enforced to try to prevent illegal immigration. Many people don't want all the illegal immigration that is going on and are doing everything they can to prevent it.

Identity, Society, and Culture

Many of us in America may take the way we live for granted, with the easy access to technology, reliable transportation, and just living the American dream. For many Americans this still may not be true, but these people still lead better lives than many people around the world, such as people living in third-world countries. As Americans we may categorize people we see from where the come from in the world, rather than actually getting to know that person. People see the skin color of a person, or the origin of their family and begin to make judgments and think about the stereotypes that are related to this individual. Also we don't see a society that is any different that the one we live in. People believe that if it is not the American society, then it is not right. This also happens when Americans encounter different cultures. They may not believe that some of the customs that this unknown culture preforms is not right and from then on out, put down that culture for just one difference. This may not be the case from some people, but for many it is. Some people are open minded about what they encounter in the world and want to learn more about what they have discovered. These people think of the world as a place to learn and want to explore as much of it as they can. To me that would be the best way to live.

Organizing

When writing a research paper you have a great amount of information that needs to be picked through and analyzed in order to make a strong argument. The best way to find the best information and make connections with random facts is to organize. You can either choose to make a visual diagram of the information that you have or you can make an outline, summarizing your whole paper. The visual flow chart is a great way to see how your paper is going to line up and where you need to start. You are able to make connections and group all the random information into different groups of bubbles, that can later be turned into paragraphs. An outline works pretty much the same way, just without a visual chart to go by, but small points and details about main ideas. With these different types of organization you need to spotlight exactly what it is that you are arguing. Start off with the question you are trying to answer or the problem that is going to be discussed. In the outline, the sources need to be integrated, in order to remember where you got the information from. If there are direct quotations used in the paper these need to be noted and cited. With an outline set up you will be able to write the paper much easier because now there is a guideline to follow. Outlines are very useful, and are defiantly recommended when writing a long research paper.
                                     -Cody

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

Steroid use in today's sports has become a huge problem, with more and more athletes faltering under the pressure and giving in to steroid use. In the Bigger, Stronger, Faster poster many famous athletes are shown without revealing their faces, but showing their uncharacteristically huge muscles. These athletes have become icons in their sports, but now that the public has finally found out that these athletes have used steroids they are losing their public appeal. These steroid using famous athletes are putting pressure on young athletes to become big and strong, convincing them to also use steroids to get attention from colleges or even major league sports teams. The steroid usage was at an all time high in the nineteen eighties when many olympic athletes were doping up along with many baseball and football players. Also steroid  use became a huge problem with distance athletes, such as cross country skiers-runners, triathletes, and many swimmers and cyclist. The poster depicts how this craze is really taking off in the United States, because of the American flag in the background. These drugs were made for people that actually needed the boost in muscle growth like aids patients and people who suffer from muscular dystrophy. Now these athletes have found ways to abuse them and become super humans, and there needs to be a stop put to this.
                                   -Cody

Note Taking

Everyone has takes notes when they are writing a research paper, in order to get the full affect from their research. When i am researching a topic for a paper i will take notes on note cards so i can easily organize my thoughts into categories. Once i have completed my research i usually have some type of system i will categorize my cards in, such as color coating. To prevent myself from mistakingly plagiarizing someone else's writing i will take the note and either put it in quotes so i can cite the original author in my paper, or summarized what i read or got out of the whole piece. This helps me get the general idea of what i read about but not taking the author's words and just spinning them. In-text citations come in handy when writing a paper because you can use someone else's thought to strengthen your argument, and not steal it from them. This gives them full credit and also gives the reader another source for further reading if they are interested. By using MLA format and citing all of the sources used in the paper is also another great way of preventing yourself from plagiarism. I tend to do as much as i can to prevent myself from accidentally plagiarizing someone else's work. Good note taking is the key to do a proficient job when writing an argumentative paper.
                                          -Cody

Arguments

To form a strong argument you have to, order your facts in a convincing way, to make a valid point. Not only does this have to be convincing to the reader, but you have to present your information in a sophisticated way. This will convince the reader to side with you, the writer, and you will have a successful argument. In the two interviews there are two different strategies used in order to gain the sides of the readers. In the first, Terence Smith, has interviewed many people on how the coverage of war has changed by becoming more high tech. He interviews people on how the reporting of was used to be, and how it has changed. What we actually see on TV or in your local newspaper is not actually the whole story with the war. The army can not take the risk of getting compromised therefore locations and live reporting are prohibited for the most part. This different arrangement of where the information comes from makes Smith's argument more effective. Next the interview with George Ritzer uses a different approach to capture the readers. Ritzer uses his knowledge and many facts to make a crucial argument. There are different ways to gain respect from your readers to understand your argument and these two interviews are examples.
                                          -Cody

Stereotypes

Many people create stereotypes as they come in contact with more and more people, especially about sports. In high schools people that play sports may be characterized as the dumb jocks and just don't know what they are talking about. In the book, the stereotypes about NBA basketball players are analyzed. Most people may associate basketball with African American culture or the hip-hop culture. This can be seen in many magazines that are about basketball. SLAM magazine is a perfect example of this. While this magazine's sole purpose is to dive deeper into the would of basketball around the country and around the globe, many of the advertisements are for hip-hop artist or clothing brands that are aimed toward an African American customer. This creates stereotypes for the occasional reader that may just want to read the magazine to learn about what is going on in the world of basketball. They begin to see these advertisements and link basketball to the hip-hop culture. Many other magazines are examples of this too. Usually any magazine that you pick up today is about one certain hobby or idea. Within each of these periodicals, the advertisements are aimed to the avid reader, and because of this, occasional readers create these stereotypes that no one likes.

Research

We all have an assignment one day that requires us to do a little research. The first thing you have to is visualize your what you are researching. You can look at this, as if it were an ice burg, small on top, but having a large mass beneath the surface. There may be a small amount of material with the topic of what your research paper will be about, but once you dive into the books you will find a large amount of information. If you are having trouble finding material to research, try developing different search terms. Make these terms more sophisticated or "scholarly" to pinpoint exactly what your topic is about. Also, you have to separate your primary sources from your primary sources. A majority of the information and what you write the paper about should make use of the primary sources and the secondary sources should be used as reinforcement to the argument you are making. Primary sources should include government spreadsheets all the way to rare books. A secondary source could very well be a news article that just so happens to be the same subject as the research paper. These sources need to be evaluated very carefully to gather information. Field research is also a good source of information and can also be included into the paper. Finally these sources need to be categorized into a bibliography to finalize everything and this also cites the sources that were used in the writing process.
                                              -Cody

Avatars

Many people create avatars in the virtual online world to show how they want to be are sides of their personality that they may not show in public. These people spend much of their life playing as these virtual characters and leave the real world behind. In a way this is beneficial, especially for people like Jason Rowe who, unlike an average person, cannot walk or even use his hands. This allows Jason to live as normal of a life as he possibly can. He is able to express his personality though means of his avatar and people will get to know who he really is and not judging him by his appearance. Avatars can be used in the classroom of today, especially with today's technology, as a way for students to express themselves. Students will be able to express their beliefs or ideas to a whole array of people without actually getting judged because the avatars would be online. With the avatars being on the internet there is no way of actually knowing who goes with what avatar. This can stir up ideas that may have never been brought up without the students having their own virtual character. Everyone has played video games once in their lifetime and has been able to play as their very own virtual avatar. Many people have played the game Sims, which is a game where you can actually create a whole virtual family. Almost every game made nowadays allows the player to create or customize their very own player. So everyone has had their taste of an avatar.
                                               -Cody

Facebook vs. Myspace

Whenever I think about the differences between MySpace and Facebook, I think about the age differences in the people that use the two different social network sites. To me MySpace would be for the younger crowd of teenagers because of the fact that you can add "bling" to your page. Myspace is just a place to go to make a webpage solely directed to you and your interest. While Facebook is for people who just want to socialize with their peers or maybe state an opinion that they want the rest of the world to know. There is less customization on a Facebook page, which i happen to like better. In this essay the author is right in their analyses of how MySpace is greatly influenced by the Hip-Hop genre of music. The younger generation of teenagers are influenced by the pop culture that's around them more than anything else. This is why MySpace attracts the younger crowd more so than adults or even an older generation of teenagers. Facebook is a cleaner more refined social network that is solely in place for people to get their ideas and opinions out there in the world. The only way to actually express yourself on Facebook is through the pictures that you post or actually stating what you have to think. To me that is why Facebook is a better social networking site and is why I have one.

College Writing

Whenever i thought about school work in college I always knew there were going to be some kind of papers or research papers I would have to write along the way. When i found out that i was going to have to take English 103 I figured there was going to be some writing involved, i hoped there wasn't going to be any, but pretty much knew there was going to be some. So for this assignment i wasn't shocked or anything i just didn't really want to do it. It turned out to be pretty interesting because it showed me how much information you can really get from just one political cartoon. I had always noticed the cartoons in newspapers and had analyzed them in some classes, but not to much extent. Therefore this assignment wasn't too bad after I got started.
                                        -Cody

Dove Real Beauty Campaign

To me I think that Orbach's view on how women stress on how the way they loo because of beauty ads is right. Most of the ads that we see today and are trying to sell something to women try to make the consumer or audience think that if they don't have this certain product then they won't be beautiful like everyone else. These ads display overly skinny models posing in suggestive ways that are intended to catch peoples' eyes. The Dove Real Beauty Campaign shows women and girls that they don't have to be like these models to be beautiful. To actually be pretty or beautiful means being true to yourself and not caring what other people around you think. This campaign targets the ads that are lowering the self-esteems of many young girls and even aging women and tries to show these girls other ways to be beautiful. I believe that Orbach did the right thing by teaming up with dove and leading the campaign. She brought to the table many skills that greatly helped this program get started and rollin towards the success that it is today. It has made many other companies join in and promote the same type of real beauty that Dove was after when they got started.
                                   - Cody

Photos

I come from a family that loves there photographs, especially that act of catching that "Kodak Moment," as Lenore Skenazy describes. With that said I can agree when the writers in the book say people only display the pictures that they want other people to see. Everyone has that photo album of pictures from when they were younger, and they don't want anyone to see. If we show these pictures to a friend we nine times out of ten pick the picture of us hoisting the trophy in the air rather than the picture of you after a messy spaghetti dinner. Those pictures that may be the most embarrassing ones are the true "Kodak Moments" that show real accounts of what has happened in your life or little imperfections that only make us human. For some reason my family just loves to capture these moments when you are least expecting it or maybe an embarrassing moment when you are trying to shovel that last chip in your mouth, especially with the invention of digital cameras.  With the digital camera you are able to take as many pictures as you want and then pick and choose the best of all the photos. These digital cameras may be great in the way we can easily manage and delete the one-thousend pictures you have from last months trip to Italy, but it takes away from the surprise and risk of a conventional camera. Nowadays we want to view our lives as perfect, with the use of photography.

9/2/11

For this reading assignment we had to read about how to write a good paper and how to go about doing your research in order to create an affective argument. First and foremost when writing a paper is creating a strong introduction that will intrigue the reader to continue reading. Maybe start off with a question to get the reader thinking about the subject at hand or an interesting fact that the typical person may not know. Once you have revealed the topic and compelled the reader to keep on reading you have to bring you topic into focus. The reading assignment showed some interesting ways to organize your research, making it easier when introducing and narrowing your topic down, rather than having to write about a very vague subject where it would be difficult to make an affective argument. I was also introduced a new way of planning my research paper out, which was to actually planning it out by the use of a freewrite that can help create a hypothesis and show me what the meat of my paper will be about. By writing a hypothesis I am able to show the reader my argument that I am attempting to prove. Finally the last step in developing my paper is to write a research proposal, which is like a detailed agenda on how to complete that paper and make an affective argument. To me what i read was interesting and should help me when i'm trying to create my research paper.
                                 - Cody

8/31/11

In advertisement one of the largest selling points is sex. Any advertisement that has some form of sex appeal catches the customer's eye more than just an average ad. The companies that mainly use sex appeal are the companies trying to sell something to men. Much like a beer company, which nine times out of ten has a strikingly beautiful woman either as a spokesperson for the commercial of playing the part of a bartender serving that particular beer. This advertisement is a great example of how long the use of sex appeal has been around in the advertising business. The ad is an example of Kairos because this ad was used in a time when this sort of picture with the headline saying "Spread Your Legs," was extremely racy and out of the ordinary. This would defiantly catch the reader's attention while they were browsing through that magazine. Pathos would also be an advertising strategy that is used in this particular ad because it suggest that if you buy this car then you will appear sexier and be able to get the more attractive women in the back of your car. To me this ad is just a great example of how the sex appeal advertising strategy is so timeless and will always get the consumer's attention.

When I look at this political cartoon I can relate to it because of the high cost of tuition for college. The cartoon show how the first day of college for the student he checks his facebook, much like I did, and it shows the parents looking at the tuition bill with a shocked look on their faces. The headline is also clever saying "checking your facebook," and "facing you checkbook." To me this political cartoon is showing how students can take their education for granted. College is a privilege, not a right. So this cartoon makes me stop and think that I need to take college serious and not take it for granted. A crucial point is brought up in this cartoon. Which is that college tuition is only going to keep getting more and more expensive. With the cost growing, a college education is becoming out of reach for some people. The students face in the cartoon says it all. He has a smile on his face while his parents have a stressed look on their face, showing that he doesn't fully realize the impact a college tuition has on his parents finances. As for me, I don't want to take college for granted and hopefully make it out with a degree.
 http://www.cagle.com/news/CollegeCosts11/2.asp
                                              -Cody

8/25/11

Rhetoric is used everywhere, whether it's a giant billboard advertising a new product or a simple label on a soda can. Companies use rhetoric to persuade the customer to doing what the company wants them to. Many of the items that you come across on a daily basis involve some use of rhetoric. Coke cans, bulletin boards, flyers and signs are just some of the many. When I walk to class I see that many of the sororities and fraternities wear their Greek letters to show for whomever they may support. They try to show the rest of the university that they are the best in campus and want people to pledge to either their sorority or fraternity. I also see many of the clubs and organizations have tables set up along the way to my class. They try to heavily persuade me to join their club mainly with rhetoric usage. The clubs and organizations use large signs with lots of quotes and pictures on them telling what the benefits are and also what I will be doing to help out someone or something such as the community. Rhetoric can sometimes be very useful to me if I were trying to decide something. As if I wanted to join a club, but didn't really know which one to choose. The club members and their use of rhetoric will help me decide on the best club or organization for me.
                                      - Cody