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America is doing all they can!

One thing in this essay brought up a memory that I had from my missionary expereince in Oregon. The part of the essay where it says, "Indeed, by chronicling the past and present crimes of America, they (critics) hope to extract apologies and financial reparations out of Americans." Now I know that ALL Americans haven't exactly been the best throughout its existance but come on, something that happened over two hundred years ago should already be water under the bridge! So to get to what I am talking about. First of all I have no prejudice toward these people in any way. While I was in Oregon I met a lady who had some Native American heritage. Because of this she was getting money as a "reparation" for what had happened to the Native Americans so long ago as the US came in and started taking away their land. The amount that she was receiving on a bad month was about $9,000. Thats a bad month!?! She did not work and neither did her live in boyfriend of ten years. Every time we would go over to her house she would complain to us about how the US was wrong and how her people suffered for the wrongs of the Americans and how they weren't doing anything about it. Every year her daughter had a birthday she would throw the biggest party in town and rent bounce houses, Ponies for pony rides, massive decorations and a gift for each kid that came to the party, and Video recorder men to film the whole event and put together a video. She said to me that the government was going to pay for her daughters schooling too because of their heritage. Now like I said I don't dislike these people but when she is benefiting from something that didn't even happen to her and for her to complain that Americans are wrong and not doing anything to make things right? Give me a break! I don't have anyone paying for my school just because I was born white, I'm not receiving $9000 plus just for sitting on my butt all day. I didn't get massive birthday party for me with everything I wanted. No one has given me a new Home, new computer and Giant Flat Screen TV. I'm sorry but I don't think that is right that she should be complaining and I also think that the thing that happened to the Natives so long ago was a horrible thing, but doesn't matter any more because it happened not in this generation of time!
Personally I am glad that I haven't had everything handed to me. I am not lazy. I know how to do things instead of sit around and complain all day. I think it is horrible that the government has and is still giving to Natives for so long because it has just caused them to learn nothing except to sit around and drink. (not all natives of course) They have learned to be professional beggars of money. I'm not saying giving to them in the first place was wrong, but after the first two or three generations that had to deal with their land being taken from them the "poor me" fund should have stopped.

Dealing with Quotation Marks

So I have the problem of not knowing where to punctate before and after Quotation Marks. So for example; if I were writing my paper I do something like this: According to so and so he says "facts and information and statistics." and continues by saying "more facts and other mumbo-jumbo." What is up with these "officials".
Something like that. Anyhow, It is time to find out what I do wrong. HERE we find 7 Rules! Why do there have to be so many rules!?! So rule #1 tells me that the last quotation I did should have the period on the inside like this: "officials." I don't know why but it just is that way. Same with Commas. Rule 2 explains that ? can fall outside the quotation marks if it is not related to the quotation. Again don't know why. HERE shares how to use a comma before a quotation and when not to use a comma. Soooooooooo Confusing!!!

Modes of Writing

The mode I beleive I will be writing in is Proposition and opposition mode. This mode focuses on one specific topic and gives two opposing views points sharing for example, why something could be good and why something could be bad. Then shares with the reader the authors thoughts on which they side thier opinion agrees with.

A Second mode that I could write in is exemplification mode. In this mode it relates to the readers examples about a topic to bring the specific audience closer to the subject by sharing examples that they might relate to. Examples can also be used to make something that seems foggy to be clear.

Sources for the Research paper.

Anderson, Craig A., Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, L. Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth.” American Psychological Society. 4 (2003): 81-110

Anderson, Craig A., Bushman, Brad J. “Media Violence and the American Public.” American Psychologist. 56 (2001): 477-489

Kirsh, Steven J., Mounts, Jeffrey R. W. "Violent Video Game Play Impacts Facial Emotion Recognition". Aggressive Behavior 33 (2007): 353-358.

Gup, Ted. “’Media’ Means So Much, It Means Nothing.” Chronicle of Higher Education. 48 (2001): 1p

Gadow, Kenneth D., Sprafkin, Joyce. “Television "Violence" and Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders” Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders. 1 (1993) p54

"Facts and TV Statistics: "It's Just Harmless Entertainment" Oh really?." Parentstv.org 20 Mar 2009 .

"Why Study Media?." MediaBC 20 Mar 2009 .

"The Good Things About Television." Media Awareness Network 20 Mar 2009 .

"The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity." The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation February 2004 1-12.

"Does Watching Television Really Affect Cognitive Development in Young Children?." Knowlege@SMU June 04, 2008 20 Mar 2009 .

I Before E right?

K, So when I start typing a paper I have this horrible problem. Well, It's a problem because it is an exception to the rule of the I before E rule. When I go to type about someone and a possion belonging to them I type this: "They brought thier tent with them on the camping trip." Looks right, right? Wrong it should be, "They brought their tent with them..." why? I thought I was supposed to come before E except after C, like this: Believe, achieve, receive, relieve. Well, this is not true. There are a lot of exceptions to this rule. almost as many that do follow the rule. Check out Wikipedia.

Let's play 50 questions.

1. Who started the Television?
2. How many Television programs are on TV?
3. How long does the average person watch tv a day?
4. How old can a child get addicted to TV?
5. How many swearwords are used in an average 30 min program?
6. How many swearwords do kids hear a day from media?
7. when was the first swearword said on public tv?
8. why do people want to use swearwords on TV?
9. what kind of shows do people watch on TV?
10. Has anyone died from watching TV to long?
11. Has anyone died from playing Video games to long?
12. How many hours a day do people play Video games?
13. What do profesionals say about playing video games to long?
14. How has media influenced the average household?
15. How did people live without TV?
16. Do some people still live without TV?
17. Do people have a TV but not have streamed Programing?
18. How has TV been a help to us today?
19. how much learning does people get from watching TV?
20. How much Learning happens when people play Video Games?
21. Could Society function without TV?
22. What did kids used to do for fun before TV?
23. Has society become more paranoid from watching TV?
24. Do kids have more friends today than they did before TV?
25. How has TV affected the health of kids and people?
26. How has internet affected the postal system?
27. what were the perposes of the internet being created?
28. What kind of people funded the internet?
29. How high has crime jumped since the internet?
30. How high has the crime jumped since TV?
31. Does media inspire crime?
32. How many TV Shows have been made?
33. How many movies have been made since the start of movies?
34. What was the first movie ever made?
35. Should there be a ban on certain programs on TV?
36. Should stations have at least one educational program?
37. What would happen if all the TV Stations were neutalized?
38. How could media be reduced in peoples lives?
39. What could people learn in the time that people spend on tv each week?
40. How many books could be read by the average person each year with the time spent watching TV?
41. What should the job of the media be?
42. Do you lose more weight sleeping or watching TV?
43. Is watching TV really bad for your eyes?
44. Should news stop focusing on the bad stuff and start publishing positive stories?
45. Could uplifting stories, movie, and TV Shows reduce Crime?
46. How much money does a TV Station make?
47. What is the salary of a movie star compared to the average person.
48. Can I be done?
49. Does TV have an effect on how long you live?
50. Has TV made the US more prosperous?
51. Has TV Caused the US to go into debt?

Whats the "-" for?

So what the heck is the - (dash) for? Well, I guess it does a good job of separating a thought that is kind of related, almost like the parenthasis. For example: Jack, you are too overbearing - stop being overbearing! Thats is about the onlything I can think of... SOOOOO.... To the Web. HERE is the Page. Short and Sweet. Says about the same thing in so many words. Time for bed now.

Breather Assignment: Santa Fe by Alen Menkin from the Movie Newsies

So that's what they call a family,
Mother, daughter, father, son,
Guess that everything you heard about is true.

So you aint got any family

Well, who said you needed one?

Aint'cha glad, nobody's waitin' up for you.

When I dream, on my own,

I'm alone but I aint lonely.

For a dreamer nights the only time of day

When the city's finally sleepin'

All my thoughts begin to stray.

And I'm on the train thats bound for Santa Fe.

And I'm free, like the wind,
like I'm gonna live forever.

It's a feelin' time can never take away.

All I needs a few more dollars

and I'm out of here to stay.

Dreams come true, yes they do

in Santa Fe.

Where does it say you've got ta live and Die here

Where does it say a guy can't catch a break

Breakin' your back for someone elses sake.

If the life don't seem to suit ya'

How 'bout a change of scene.

Far from the lousey headlines and the deadlines in between.

Santa Fe, are you there?

Do you swear you won't forget me.

If I found you would you let me come and stay.

I aint gettin' any younger

So before my dyin' day

I want space, not just air

let 'em laugh in my face I don't care

Save a place, I'll be there...

So thats what they call a family

Aint'cha glad you aint that way

Aint'cha glad you got a dream called

Santa Fe.

Statis Quo

The two readings this week were Serving in Florida by Ehrenreich and Framing Class by Kendall. In Serving in Florida, The author writes in a first person perspective telling us about her experience working as a low class citizen in some diners and hotel. In Framing Class the author takes a research perspective of analyzing the medias influence in framing the social classes in the US.
In Serving in Florida the author trys this experiment it seems to see if she can actually live as a low class citizen. She tells her story very well expressing the harsh environment in which she ends up working with a managment making the waitresses go there whole shift without even a break. The waitresses try and help each other out by covering for them if they have to excersise their personal privilages that have been taken away from them so they don't get caught. She finds herself seeming to change while working there over the weeks. In one example she said she usually has courage to stand up for something she beleives in but ends up not because of her experiance there at the diners. Near the end she ends up just walking out of the diner as the horrible days she keeps having their stacks up and thinks she has failed in her experiment. There is a lot that can be learned from this as the managment tends to take advatage of their employees you can tell that the management is hard nosed and doesn't care for the employees but only about then next dollar that comes in. In her situation it seems obvious that that is just a horrible place to be employed. Her portrayal of the low class laborers of our society is very effective of what the low class has to endure.
In Framing Class, the author uses a lot of logos in the paper giving a very good description of each class of people and then how the media portrays them. Several things stuck out to me in this essay. One was the fact that the overall reason why we know about a difference in class is because of the media. The fact that media sees the public as their product they do all they can to just get the viewers attention so they can sell to the public even if the shows they portray the class in are skewed and biased. The reason why media shows the rich in such a spotlight is because it is the rich people who are running the media and they need to keep their "Status Quo" So they hardly want to dirty their image.

When is it appropriate to use Parenthesis in your work?

Ok, the question is already established so lets find out. Here is what I think, say you are going along and writing your book, paper, essay, or what not and you want to add a little side note, "I stepped back from the door once I burned my hand on the door knob (I assumed that there was a fire on the other side)." k, Maybe not the best example. I imagine you would use the parenthisis marks to add a thought to what has already been said. They will also be used if you are referencing someone elses work, (Shamo, 8).
To the Net. I think THIS PAGE says most of what I wanted to get out of it. Short and simple.

Roots of Debate and Hope of Dialog

In this essay by Tannen she talks about how our society has basically been raised to argue a point because it is "...so easy to do" and gives good reasons why this might not always be the best method for a lot of people while it may be good for others, and gives so great ideas about how to look at things in a different perspective.
The big problem with debate it is pretty much the easy way out as Tannen looks at it. If two people or groups just get up and argue, there are only opinions being put out, and trying to out do the other person or group with no real learning going on. The first thing people want to do is prove that they are right and show them why it is that way. This may show the other why it is that way but it doesn't allow them to come to that conclusion for themself. It is kind of like the addage, "give a man a fish you feed him for a day, Teach him how to fish feed him for a lifetime." If the debaters are both stubborn and refuse to learn from the other then I go to this quote "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." It is more important to help students and others to think analyze and learn rather than to just have as many get involved in a debate as possible.
On way Tannon mentions is to follow the method Proffesor Peter Elbow uses, read or listen as if you beleive and then see where it takes you. Instead of pointing out all the negative things look for positive things to focus on. You don't have to agree with everything to do this. Doing this Tannon says will make the critique look smarter. For example you can see in a research report showing some sort of problem and that has been worked out to a solution. You may not agree with the solution but can notice that the start or middle of the process that was worked out is very good and on the right track up to a point of some kind. Then expand and build from that point on. In short I would echo what was said by the man who attended the human development seminar "I don't have to make others wrong to prove that I'm right."
I feel Tannen uses a lot of good ethos in this paper to prove her point without saying one way is wrong or "making others wrong." Her ideas don't really go into that argumentitive stage she talks about but takes the reader into the idea helping them really think about this essay.

Preposition at the end of a Sentence

So this one time I heard that there was this major english buff or something and he would always correct peoples grammer, even the smallest things that you said wrong. Now admit it, most of us really hate those kind of people because it drives us crazy to have our thought inturpted when the meaning of what we are saying is clear even if we said something incorrect.
So here's the question, this guy said that you should never end your sentance with the word "at". Such as "Where are you at?" or "where do you play at?" So comes the next part of our journey, To the source of all currently known knowlege, The NET! HERE Is a guy who is against it and has two articles saying why it isn't wrong to end with a preposition and uses a few sources as to why the "Rule" is Wrong. HERE Is another explaination which makes a lot more sense. She does call the "Rule" a "Myth" But makes the point that, If the preposition isn't needed and the sentence still makes sense then leave off the preposition, So Going back to my examples "Where are you at?" Really should be changed because it still makes sense to say "Where are you?" But it isn't entirely wrong to end with a preposition, for example "Who were you with?" or "What did you step on?" it just doesn't make sense to leave those words off, or to have them in a different place in the sentece just because it is a rule. "With whom were you?" "On what did you step?" just doesn't sound right and no one talks like that.

Gatto - Against School

In this essay, Gatto, being a 30 year teacher giving him some ethos, uses a lot of Logos rhetoric to communicate that the school system is possibly flawed. He uses and asks a lot of questions that try and drag you into some pathos in this essay, these questions ask things like "Do we really need School" and "Could it be that our schools are designed to make sure not one of them ever really grows up?" These questions make you look into your own feelings and thoughts causing this pathos type rhetoric. His purpose seems to be mixed, by degrading schools and teachers and the school system while at the same time telling them that they can do a better job of teaching so that kids can, instead of being conformist or programed laborers, they can be leaders. I agree that we can always find better ways of doing things and kind of agree that sometimes the kids are babied throughout school and school has become a place where they have to practically have cushions on every wall so no one gets hurt, (mentally, emotionally, or physically). Of course there needs to be some saftey precations. However, I grew up doing drama and the state competitions we cancelled and changed into a state festival because everyone needed to be a winner and no one would get there feelings hurt if they didn't make it to the medal rounds. What then becomes the point of trying hard in making your piece the best if you don't get some sort of satisfaction of knowing you worked hard to become the best. why try harder if you aren't going to get anything out of it even if you aren't the best, there can still be improvement. Part of the message in this essay is that kids don't want to work hard because they don't get much out of it. They all have to do the same things and become what the teachers want them to be and not what they can be.

What is the Full Blown Colon Used for in Grammer?

So that is the question for the day. I don't think I have ever actually used the : in something I have written before. The latest uses of the colon include things like this though. :o) :D :b :X :p
:0( :^) and so on. HERE is a good link that describes how to use it effectively, It doesn't seem like there are many uses for it besides these and making creative faces out of them.

Idiot Nation

In this Essay by Michael Moore we are given many examples from the other as to why our education is in shambles by using lots of sarcasm and a little bit of crude humor mixed with facts. He makes many points that I do agree on such as the fact the teachers do get paid to little and that the corporations are abusing the use of advertising to schools to the point of making it so that they are just interested in having all the students spend their money on their products and are not worried that the companies are taking away true learning with their bombardment of advertising. Also the fact that Libraries are going down all over the US is a big problem. K so first, I had many great teachers in my school who did their best to try and teach me even though they may have thought that they had a crappy job because of the amount of money paid to them was minuscule, so the fact that all these rules about education come up with by politicians and state governments are causing education to dwindle is concerning to me.
Points I don't agree with Mr. Moore on are the points he makes in telling the students to be disruptive every chance they get. Even if it is a law that kids can request a school day off for the state fair doesn't mean that you should just because you can and want to. That right there is being idiotic, by ditching knowledge just to go and play. Also telling the kids to act out is ridiculous. Rules are there for a purpose and not just so a teacher or principal can be a "dictator" over his army of 1000 kids. Schools should be a place of learning and should be a safe place where offensive things should be left out side the school and not welcomed in. I don't want my kids to walk into a school and have my kid be embarrassed by having a teacher hand out a condom and tell them it is ok to go and have sex. Heck if they do that why don't they just let guys and girls in High school share a locker room so that they can practice. This to me is offensive and such sacred things that should be kept private should stay that way and not flaunted around vulgarly in all the schools so the kids will know about it. Those things should be taught in a better way and by someone more trusted. Wearing disrespectful clothing should also be monitored as the learning environment is a place of learning and upliftment and not to offend and destroy. Media itself does a good enough job and turning all the teens minds into vulgar chatterboxes and corrupt minds.

How many times?

So here is a question. How many times do you actually push space after each sentence. Are you supposed to space twice after each sentence or just once, or does it even really matter? I thought about this because someone in my previous English class said I needed to have a second space after the sentences, I never did it but I think it is time to find out. HERE the opinion of the writer is that only one space should be used. HERE, the writer says there are exceptions to the rule but for the most part just use one. Reason: two spaces were used in the days of Typewriters so that readers could distinguish between two sentences more easily.

The Dreaded ";"

Why in the world do we have a Semi-colon? For the most part I don't know how to use it and think it is unnecissary. Well It definately helps for when you are listing people and their profession like, "This is Mike Marigold, the butler; Janice Jory, the maid; and Mr. Body, the owner. You are I think you are supposed to use it when combining like ideas, too. Such as, "Bill is going to the store; however, he has to do his homework first. HERE Gives a good example of these things.

When to use apostrophes

For the most part apostrophes are pretty easy for me. It is when you get into the all complicated stuff like when you are talking about "Back in the 1950's" or "the 50's" I don't know if it is supposed to be 50s or 50's. Or when you are talking about your Father-in-law's remote, or is it your Father's-in-law remote. Then if you pluralize it and say each of my Fathers-in-law's coats, or is it Fathers'-in-law coats, or Fathers-in-laws' coat. HERE shows that it is possible if you would like to put the 1950's but also you can put an apostrophe at the start to show an ommission of "19" in 1950 by putting '50. HERE has a good example of the Father-in-law question.

Looking For Work and What we Really Miss About The 1950's

In these two essays the authors look at the family life around the 1950's. In Looking For Work, the author tries to have his family dress and look like those he sees on tv. He also explains what his childhood was like even though his family wasn't like those families on tv. Near the end his brother tells him that he can't hang with him and so he goes and starts looking for work in a happy atitude.
In What We Really Miss About the 1950's the Author explains why a lot of people feel nostalgia about the 1950's using facts, comparing other eras, looking at the political scene, economic scene, and media scene.

In Looking For Work I feel the author did a great job of using description to paint the scene of his childhood which really draws in the reader into the setting he was in. You could get the general mood of how he felt all the time and that in spite of his wanting his family to change and be different he really did enjoy his life as a child. The intro was great as it just hooked you from the start by putting you into the middle of the story like it was the pensive out of Harry Potter and you just jumped into someones thoughts.
In What we Really Miss About the 1950's the author didn't have to good of a hooking intro which made it really hard to focus on what she was writting about and what was so important about it. She used a lot of statistics throughout her peice and I feel almost to many numbers and facts were thrown at me to keep anything strait between the different decades that were talked about. Although all the facts did help to point to the fact that there were things that were better in the 1950's than in any other time, but also showed that it didn't just stop with the 50's but that it continued on into the 60's but people associate it with the 50's because that is when the good stuff started to happen.

From these two essays you could say that these authors are showing why people long for the "Good ole' days." It seems that people as they grow up and older most of them always look back to their child hood and how simple it was and enjoyable it was. This could be what these authors are driving at.

These two peices do challenge the ideals of the 1950's of what a family should have been like, mostly they understand that families weren't at all like the tv shows of the time which is what a lot of people associate with the 50's. A lot of the younger generation which have no clue about what went on the 50's only have those old tv shows as their example of it and the essays shed the light that that isn't what it was like. People even today want to structure their families after the perfect families of the tv 50's and wish that their families were perfect, although it is a long way off of that.

I think it is interesting how in Looking For Work, the author could maintain a happy go lucky attitude even though things weren't going the way he would have liked them to go, whereas today if things aren't right then we get mad, even, or revenge, for the most part. The two essays showed how in the 50's the neighborhoods were more of a community and they enjoyed one another where as today we would just rather have people stick to their own business and not have them bother us.

My Political Cartoons

When to put a Comma

I actually do have troubles with Commas. I don't really know when it is necessary to add a comma. For the most part I don't have trouble with the comma splices, I just like to add to many commas, because I think it might need one, then when I get my paper back I have all these marks that mean take away the commas. HERE is a good place that gives 3 good myths about when to place a comma.

Rereading America

Alright, so this is the first blog. Well, I read the intro to the textbook, which I will be studying for the next 3 months, Rereading America: Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths. This section talked about how it was going to challenge the views of people who would read this text on many different subjects by looking at issues from different perspectives. It's stated purpose is to bring about critical thinking and spark controversy and conversation.

After reading this I have been asked What does it mean to you to be an American Citizen? As stated in the book a lot of people when asked this question only think of "America" as the U.S. This thinking reminds me of an experiance I had crossing back into the U.S. after visiting Mexico with my family. We pulled up to the boarder patrol and the gaurd asked, "What country are you from." my sister replied, "America" The gaurd asked her again, and again until finally she realized that she was from the United States. To be American to me means that we live in a land that has been perserved for a special purpose, to be free from tyrany and oppression. To live a life where we can live how we want under organized rules to keep order. We can freely express our own opinion and not suffer for it.

Another question, how might this text challenge or complicate your opinions? I feel this text will probably have different outlooks on some of the ideas I have grown up believing. I imagine it will have a lot of things that might shed light on some idea while others I will probably find in my own life to be false and absolutely wrong. I realize that I have a lot of preconcived notions that can change, for example, before I served a mission for my church I thought that all people who smoked were bad people because they were destroying their bodies and causeing harm to others. After I got to Oregon on my mission I had to go into many houses that people smoked. After the first one of these I realized that these people are good and want to do good but have made some wrong choices in their lives that left them under addictive control. Other ideas and preconceived notions that might come up I will keep my own opinion, most likely if the text says being gay is ok, I won't believe it.