The pitch of the piece is that this so called “orthodoxy of friendship” is a lie, or more so a stretch from the truth and far from the reality between the black race and the white race. The piece is reacting to the relationship between black and white people. It is reacting to how movies portray a friendship theme among black and white people, when in his mind is just not so. The moment of the piece takes place in the present. It does make references to past history. It was written because of the tension between African Americans and Caucasians that has gone on throughout history and is still present today.
He uses a pattern of repetition when he gives numerous examples of movies that portray friendship or a connection between whites and blacks. He also uses the word friendship frequently; because of the repetition of this word it is significant. It is obvious to anyone that this article is about friendship among blacks and whites. A probable strand would be, “commercials, news features, TV specials, and films.” These relate because they include the media in which they believe racial harmony exists. One quote that can sum up the part about how movies portray the “orthodoxy of friendship” is, “The good news at the movies obscures the bad news in the streets… The movies reflect the larger dynamic of wish and dream.” He refers to the past, and how that today Americans are forgetting the past of blacks, such as slavery and the civil rights movement and that it has no affect on the present.
Thinking implications, I believe that one thing DeMott is trying to say is that white Americans and African Americans are beginning to forget how different they are from each other. He lists some statistics on the 2nd page that evidently separate whites from blacks. These statistics are very important details in the article. They are significant because they address some of the differences between blacks and whites that many people are now disregarding. He also believes that people believe this “orthodoxy of friendship” myth so they feel less guilty for being racist or being bias. He thinks people assume they can make up for the past (even with un-involvement) by becoming friends with black people. To prove hatred has diminished they will carry out this friendship theory to clear their guilty conscience.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
What You Eat
The only implication I can think of is if you do something or cause something it is your responsibility to fix it or deal with it. I think it is worried about how we do not always think of the consequences when we do something wrong or consequential.
Something I noticed is that the mother is missing completely out of the story. I kind of think if she were in the story she would teach the young boy a different way to deal with his problem of killing animals for sport. But, the mother was nowhere to be found. Instead you hade your psychopathic father who “took things a few steps too far.” I noticed that not until the end did they tell us that the father was an alcoholic. They left that out at the beginning of the story. Now I know I am probably about the put in an more of an emotion than an analysis but this man was mentally ill which then made his son somewhat mentally ill. I do not quite understand why near the end the son would stand naked in the road with a knife and fork. I picked up that he wanted his father to hit him with the car, kill him and have to eat him. If that is so, the boy is just as crazy as his father. I never caught the reason why they spent so much time digging trenches. They may have said but I do not remember why exactly.
I honestly cannot figure what this story is really trying to suggest.
Something I noticed is that the mother is missing completely out of the story. I kind of think if she were in the story she would teach the young boy a different way to deal with his problem of killing animals for sport. But, the mother was nowhere to be found. Instead you hade your psychopathic father who “took things a few steps too far.” I noticed that not until the end did they tell us that the father was an alcoholic. They left that out at the beginning of the story. Now I know I am probably about the put in an more of an emotion than an analysis but this man was mentally ill which then made his son somewhat mentally ill. I do not quite understand why near the end the son would stand naked in the road with a knife and fork. I picked up that he wanted his father to hit him with the car, kill him and have to eat him. If that is so, the boy is just as crazy as his father. I never caught the reason why they spent so much time digging trenches. They may have said but I do not remember why exactly.
I honestly cannot figure what this story is really trying to suggest.
Monday, January 26, 2009
ex 2.4
Ex 2.4
1. Less and less sidewalks are being seen. This may actually refer to sidewalks themselves or that it might stand as a metaphor. In the past it was common to see sidewalks everywhere and sidewalks stood for a more involved community. If you think about the olden days people walked more than they do now, they were involved more with their neighbors, so in respect sidewalks were more important then than they are now. As a metaphor, maybe it is suggesting that we have lost our sense of involvement in the community.
Because cars have taken over the world what need is there for sidewalks? And even with gym equipment, you can get exercise inside, you do not have to go outside anymore if you choose.
If a developer wants sidewalks then they have to be placed in the residential landscape. Often, however some developers will add sidewalks for looks mainly. So the neighborhood looks like a safe and involved community. Here again comes maybe a possible metaphor.
Another implication may be that because this world is overpopulating there is hardly any room for buildings, houses, and roads, much less sidewalks.
8. Grocery stores and shopping malls rarely have clocks because they want you to lose track of time. With a clock to look at you can keep track of the time. When you lose track of time they hope that you will buy more.
If you lose track of time at the grocery store, you are there longer, if you are spending more time there than planned eventually the food will look more attracting because you will be hungry. And usually when people are hungry, everything looks good, and when everything looks good people will buy more.
As for shopping malls, if you lose track of time you could easily spend the whole day inside and with being in the mall for a longer amount of time, you are more tempted to buy. Power of suggestion.
An idea that is hidden is one that needs to be found. An idea that is implied is there, and its kind of like a hint on the page. An implication is not openly seen or visible. They are not hidden but they are not spelled out in front of you either. I think that several people would have the same implications I had on #1, #8. Everyone has been in the grocery store, lost track of time, gotten hungry, and bought half of the grocery store. People have also been in malls, lost track of time and spent virtually the whole day there.
1. Less and less sidewalks are being seen. This may actually refer to sidewalks themselves or that it might stand as a metaphor. In the past it was common to see sidewalks everywhere and sidewalks stood for a more involved community. If you think about the olden days people walked more than they do now, they were involved more with their neighbors, so in respect sidewalks were more important then than they are now. As a metaphor, maybe it is suggesting that we have lost our sense of involvement in the community.
Because cars have taken over the world what need is there for sidewalks? And even with gym equipment, you can get exercise inside, you do not have to go outside anymore if you choose.
If a developer wants sidewalks then they have to be placed in the residential landscape. Often, however some developers will add sidewalks for looks mainly. So the neighborhood looks like a safe and involved community. Here again comes maybe a possible metaphor.
Another implication may be that because this world is overpopulating there is hardly any room for buildings, houses, and roads, much less sidewalks.
8. Grocery stores and shopping malls rarely have clocks because they want you to lose track of time. With a clock to look at you can keep track of the time. When you lose track of time they hope that you will buy more.
If you lose track of time at the grocery store, you are there longer, if you are spending more time there than planned eventually the food will look more attracting because you will be hungry. And usually when people are hungry, everything looks good, and when everything looks good people will buy more.
As for shopping malls, if you lose track of time you could easily spend the whole day inside and with being in the mall for a longer amount of time, you are more tempted to buy. Power of suggestion.
An idea that is hidden is one that needs to be found. An idea that is implied is there, and its kind of like a hint on the page. An implication is not openly seen or visible. They are not hidden but they are not spelled out in front of you either. I think that several people would have the same implications I had on #1, #8. Everyone has been in the grocery store, lost track of time, gotten hungry, and bought half of the grocery store. People have also been in malls, lost track of time and spent virtually the whole day there.
Queena Stovall
Analysis on Queena Stovall Exhibit (Using The Method)
I plan to focus on “Folk Art” in this analysis. First I will start with what exactly is Folk Art? Folk Art depicts a broad range of objects that exhibit’s artistic traditions and traditional social values of a variety of social groups. Folk Art is normally made by people who lack or have little academic artistic training nor have a deep desire to imitate “fine art” or use specific region’s our countries techniques and styles.
When looking at her collection of paintings I noticed something very peculiar. Most of her artwork had a brief description beside the piece. I read over several and noticed that all the pieces related to her life, were about her life, the people in her life, etc. except for one piece. The piece was titled, “Lawdy, Lawdy, What’ll I do?” This painting was based on a newspaper article and in the paper was a picture of a burning house. All of Stovall’s works except for this one are based on her life. So why did she create a painting out of the norm that did not directly relate to her life? Was there maybe a connection only she knew or some kind of significance? That is one thing I am sure we may never know. One other unusual thing is that most of her work is a little off proportion. Folk Art was defined as made by people who didn’t have a proper artistic training, and Stovall had no proper training.
Looking at her paintings I noticed numerous exact repetitions. Most all of her paintings included run down barns, fields, people, lumber, farm animals, dogs and trees. The most important in my mind are the people. Every single painting included people, people that she knew.
Skipping briefly to repetitions of similar kinds and details. Many of the pieces portrayed movement. I think this was used to depict life in a more realistic way. Life is constantly changing and is constantly busy. The repetition of people working or working around something I think shows the importance of not just every day life, but that work played a major role during that time (and even today is still does). I saw people cooking at fires, shucking corn, toiling the ground, preparing picked crop, gathering wood, etc. All of these actions are jobs and tasks they had to complete. One definition for Folk Art is that it portrays traditional social values. I believe that one social value was the importance of hard labor. In those times they did not have appliances that did most of the work, they had to do all their work by hand. Labor depicts real life. I saw two or three paintings contained religious themes. They were kind of hidden in the background compared to the other objects and themes in the painting. In one there is a board that states, “The Lord Will Provide”, in another painting the family is gathered around reading the bible, and saying their prayers.
I located many details that suggested “binary oppositions”. The main in reference to her style was that many objects in the paintings either had intent detail or no detail at all. One painting I looked at had a plain tree while the chickens, the people, and some objects had great detail. Why did she choose to detail some things and not detail others? I believe it was to show importance, relevance, or significance. Maybe what was not painted in great detail was only implied that it was there but really had nothing to do with the theme or importance of the painting. What I do not understand is why some of the things she detailed (like chickens for example) in most people’s opinions does not seem to have any significance. Maybe what she detailed was based on familiarity, and what she lacked to detail was based on unfamiliarity. I did notice that she never lacked to detail the people in her paintings. And we are sure that these people had some importance in her life or else she wouldn’t have painted them. Although most of the paintings included movement there were however some stillness. The stillness was mainly portraying people who were sitting in a chair or laying on a bed, not doing any work as movement suggests. Another is the suggestion of death vs. life. Some times the trees and grass looked healthy and alive, while other times the trees and grass/crops looked dead. It would be easy to understand that with life there is always death because in itself death is a part of life. Other opposite binaries are: Caucasian race/ African race, color/no color, happy emotions/sad emotions, religious themes/secular themes.
The main anomaly I located was the painting about the fire which I mentioned earlier. It would make sense because that painting was the one painting that seemed to not represent an event that happened in her life. It was instead something she read out of a newspaper.
Major Discoveries:
1. The use or lack of detail to represent importance, relevance, or familiarity.
2. Movement is portraying life because life is always moving and changing.
3. The persons in her paintings are people she knew.
4. Folk Art is a depiction of real life.
I plan to focus on “Folk Art” in this analysis. First I will start with what exactly is Folk Art? Folk Art depicts a broad range of objects that exhibit’s artistic traditions and traditional social values of a variety of social groups. Folk Art is normally made by people who lack or have little academic artistic training nor have a deep desire to imitate “fine art” or use specific region’s our countries techniques and styles.
When looking at her collection of paintings I noticed something very peculiar. Most of her artwork had a brief description beside the piece. I read over several and noticed that all the pieces related to her life, were about her life, the people in her life, etc. except for one piece. The piece was titled, “Lawdy, Lawdy, What’ll I do?” This painting was based on a newspaper article and in the paper was a picture of a burning house. All of Stovall’s works except for this one are based on her life. So why did she create a painting out of the norm that did not directly relate to her life? Was there maybe a connection only she knew or some kind of significance? That is one thing I am sure we may never know. One other unusual thing is that most of her work is a little off proportion. Folk Art was defined as made by people who didn’t have a proper artistic training, and Stovall had no proper training.
Looking at her paintings I noticed numerous exact repetitions. Most all of her paintings included run down barns, fields, people, lumber, farm animals, dogs and trees. The most important in my mind are the people. Every single painting included people, people that she knew.
Skipping briefly to repetitions of similar kinds and details. Many of the pieces portrayed movement. I think this was used to depict life in a more realistic way. Life is constantly changing and is constantly busy. The repetition of people working or working around something I think shows the importance of not just every day life, but that work played a major role during that time (and even today is still does). I saw people cooking at fires, shucking corn, toiling the ground, preparing picked crop, gathering wood, etc. All of these actions are jobs and tasks they had to complete. One definition for Folk Art is that it portrays traditional social values. I believe that one social value was the importance of hard labor. In those times they did not have appliances that did most of the work, they had to do all their work by hand. Labor depicts real life. I saw two or three paintings contained religious themes. They were kind of hidden in the background compared to the other objects and themes in the painting. In one there is a board that states, “The Lord Will Provide”, in another painting the family is gathered around reading the bible, and saying their prayers.
I located many details that suggested “binary oppositions”. The main in reference to her style was that many objects in the paintings either had intent detail or no detail at all. One painting I looked at had a plain tree while the chickens, the people, and some objects had great detail. Why did she choose to detail some things and not detail others? I believe it was to show importance, relevance, or significance. Maybe what was not painted in great detail was only implied that it was there but really had nothing to do with the theme or importance of the painting. What I do not understand is why some of the things she detailed (like chickens for example) in most people’s opinions does not seem to have any significance. Maybe what she detailed was based on familiarity, and what she lacked to detail was based on unfamiliarity. I did notice that she never lacked to detail the people in her paintings. And we are sure that these people had some importance in her life or else she wouldn’t have painted them. Although most of the paintings included movement there were however some stillness. The stillness was mainly portraying people who were sitting in a chair or laying on a bed, not doing any work as movement suggests. Another is the suggestion of death vs. life. Some times the trees and grass looked healthy and alive, while other times the trees and grass/crops looked dead. It would be easy to understand that with life there is always death because in itself death is a part of life. Other opposite binaries are: Caucasian race/ African race, color/no color, happy emotions/sad emotions, religious themes/secular themes.
The main anomaly I located was the painting about the fire which I mentioned earlier. It would make sense because that painting was the one painting that seemed to not represent an event that happened in her life. It was instead something she read out of a newspaper.
Major Discoveries:
1. The use or lack of detail to represent importance, relevance, or familiarity.
2. Movement is portraying life because life is always moving and changing.
3. The persons in her paintings are people she knew.
4. Folk Art is a depiction of real life.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Speech by Bush: Applying The Method
The Method Exercise
Repeated words:
Evil x3
Strong x2
Patterns of repetition (Do not know if this is significant
“Foundations of our biggest buildings, foundation of America.”
“Acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”
“With the daring, with the caring”
“For all (those who grieve), for (the children whose worlds have shattered), for all (whose sense of safety and security has been threatened).
“our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom”
Strands:
“Secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.”
“Disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger.”
“Evil--the very worst of human nature.”
“Condolences and assistance”
“justice, peace, good, just”
“Safety and security”
“The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them.”
Opposite Binaries:
“In airplanes, in offices”
Evacuated/reopened in the sentence: “Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening.”
Anomalies:
“Airplanes flying into buildings”
“Huge--huge structures collapsing”
This speech is obviously about the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The repetition of evil is important in this speech because what took place, the murder of innocent people was indeed evil. Strong is repeated twice in the speech. One time referring to our country and the other referring to our financial institutions. I believe strong is an important word in this speech, even though it was only mentioned twice. It is showing to the reader that despite this tragedy our nation has faced we as a country and people are strong.
There were other repetitions but not what “The Method” includes. Bush states some repetitions that begin with a word or two words but end in something else. I cannot think of the correct term but it is similar to “I have a dream” speech by MLKJR. He repeats, “I have a dream” but changes what ends the sentence. Bush does the same thing. A main one being, “For all (those who grieve), for (the children whose worlds have shattered), for all (whose sense of safety and security has been threatened).” I am not really sure why he repeats “for” and follows it with groups of people or emotions. I know that some people use this strategy to make their speech flow smoothly. This could also be classified as a strand as well because the people are connected because they are the ones we should be praying for. He says a few more of these type of first word repetitions throughout his speech. I do not know if this is relevant or not. In my opinion it is done for movement throughout the piece.
The two most significant strands I view as most important are “Secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.” and “The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them.” I chose “secretaries…” because it lists all the people who were affected by this action against America. The range was from military to working class to mothers and fathers and friends. Not just one group of people were affected, with Bush stranding these classifications together it shows us that every type of person was a victim. It wasn’t just the military or world leaders, but people that we might otherwise objectify. The grouping of these words are important also because it unites all of us. It didn’t matter what status, or what race, following the events of 9/11 our country tried to unite.
“The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them” is intriguing because Bush is saying that we are not going to make any distinction between the two. They will be treated as one. At this crisis someone involved slightly is just as guilty as the ones who were piloting the plane when it crashed into the Twin Towers and Pentagon. I believe that anyone aiding these terrorists should be considered just as guilty as the terrorist himself. I find that statement to be very powerful because it shows the seriousness of this event and how everyone, even those who harbor will be brought to justice.
The two opposite binaries were, “In airplanes, in offices”, evacuated/reopened in the sentence: “Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening.” Deaths occurred in airplanes and in offices. Usually you think of either one place or the other but not both. Its showing a huge contrast that is very much so for the events on 9/11. It is not very often that you hear of people dying in buildings and airplanes at the same exact time, same incident. This contrast also signifies how much of a surprise this was to America and even the World. As for “evacuated/reopened”, I think this is showing that our world was turned upside down, however life goes on and you can’t let an event no matter how big prevent you from moving on. And we have moved on. I see “evacuated/reopened” as kind of a metaphor for what I just stated. The world did stop for a while, but it eventually had to continue going on, in this example the government had to continue governing, and our economy needs to continue for our country to survive.
The speech also contained anomalies that when I read in the book said that not all writings would include anomalies. The two anomalies are, “Airplanes flying into buildings”, and “huge--huge structures collapsing”. These two events do not fit into everyday normal life. These could also been seen as a strand since airplanes into buildings is a unnatural disaster and structures collapsing is just as unnatural.
Repeated words:
Evil x3
Strong x2
Patterns of repetition (Do not know if this is significant
“Foundations of our biggest buildings, foundation of America.”
“Acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”
“With the daring, with the caring”
“For all (those who grieve), for (the children whose worlds have shattered), for all (whose sense of safety and security has been threatened).
“our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom”
Strands:
“Secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.”
“Disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger.”
“Evil--the very worst of human nature.”
“Condolences and assistance”
“justice, peace, good, just”
“Safety and security”
“The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them.”
Opposite Binaries:
“In airplanes, in offices”
Evacuated/reopened in the sentence: “Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening.”
Anomalies:
“Airplanes flying into buildings”
“Huge--huge structures collapsing”
This speech is obviously about the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The repetition of evil is important in this speech because what took place, the murder of innocent people was indeed evil. Strong is repeated twice in the speech. One time referring to our country and the other referring to our financial institutions. I believe strong is an important word in this speech, even though it was only mentioned twice. It is showing to the reader that despite this tragedy our nation has faced we as a country and people are strong.
There were other repetitions but not what “The Method” includes. Bush states some repetitions that begin with a word or two words but end in something else. I cannot think of the correct term but it is similar to “I have a dream” speech by MLKJR. He repeats, “I have a dream” but changes what ends the sentence. Bush does the same thing. A main one being, “For all (those who grieve), for (the children whose worlds have shattered), for all (whose sense of safety and security has been threatened).” I am not really sure why he repeats “for” and follows it with groups of people or emotions. I know that some people use this strategy to make their speech flow smoothly. This could also be classified as a strand as well because the people are connected because they are the ones we should be praying for. He says a few more of these type of first word repetitions throughout his speech. I do not know if this is relevant or not. In my opinion it is done for movement throughout the piece.
The two most significant strands I view as most important are “Secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.” and “The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them.” I chose “secretaries…” because it lists all the people who were affected by this action against America. The range was from military to working class to mothers and fathers and friends. Not just one group of people were affected, with Bush stranding these classifications together it shows us that every type of person was a victim. It wasn’t just the military or world leaders, but people that we might otherwise objectify. The grouping of these words are important also because it unites all of us. It didn’t matter what status, or what race, following the events of 9/11 our country tried to unite.
“The terrorists who committed these act and those who harbor them” is intriguing because Bush is saying that we are not going to make any distinction between the two. They will be treated as one. At this crisis someone involved slightly is just as guilty as the ones who were piloting the plane when it crashed into the Twin Towers and Pentagon. I believe that anyone aiding these terrorists should be considered just as guilty as the terrorist himself. I find that statement to be very powerful because it shows the seriousness of this event and how everyone, even those who harbor will be brought to justice.
The two opposite binaries were, “In airplanes, in offices”, evacuated/reopened in the sentence: “Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening.” Deaths occurred in airplanes and in offices. Usually you think of either one place or the other but not both. Its showing a huge contrast that is very much so for the events on 9/11. It is not very often that you hear of people dying in buildings and airplanes at the same exact time, same incident. This contrast also signifies how much of a surprise this was to America and even the World. As for “evacuated/reopened”, I think this is showing that our world was turned upside down, however life goes on and you can’t let an event no matter how big prevent you from moving on. And we have moved on. I see “evacuated/reopened” as kind of a metaphor for what I just stated. The world did stop for a while, but it eventually had to continue going on, in this example the government had to continue governing, and our economy needs to continue for our country to survive.
The speech also contained anomalies that when I read in the book said that not all writings would include anomalies. The two anomalies are, “Airplanes flying into buildings”, and “huge--huge structures collapsing”. These two events do not fit into everyday normal life. These could also been seen as a strand since airplanes into buildings is a unnatural disaster and structures collapsing is just as unnatural.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Cell Phones
I was sitting in class the other day trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying when I saw someone pull out their cell phone, secretly of course, or so they thought. They pulled it out flipped the phone open and began pressing some buttons. I assumed checking their text messages. Then they began to type for a longer amount of time and faster. I have a cell phone and I use text so it was easy to see that they were obviously text messaging. After about 1 minute of texting they close their phone. A few minutes later I notice the girl take the phone out and look at something, but she does not start typing anything. This I assume is she is checking if anyone has replied. She closes the phone again. Probably about 45 seconds later she flips open the phone again and begins to type this time. She closes it again, then about 50 sec later she opens it up and begins scanning through it she isnt typing or checking for messages. She does this for almost 2 minutes then closes the phone. She repeats what I started with severa times. After about 20 minutes of this I was fed up with monoriting this girl monitor her cell phone. I admit that I have texted in class before but it was mainly to tell the person I was in class and would text that person later, and I didn't want to make them think I was ignoring them. I can remember numerous occasions when I ran into people texting in class. and what is funny is that I know the teacher knew but they didn't say anything. I do not know why, but maybe it will reflect in their grade. If the teacher did not notice they must have been blind. Sometimes they would say something if they saw.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jan 22nd
I am honestly feeling a little confused about assignment 1.6 in the book. I tried to sit in a social gathering place and write down what I see and hear yet leave out any reactions. I have posted two accounts, but to me they seem to be missing something. Like skill maybe. I tried to do what the assignment said, but I still feel uneasy about it. I do not quite understand what the assignment and Chidsey want. I am just glad that no one else has to see my horrible retelling of events besides the teacher. I can admit I am lost.
I read pg 26-34 last night and then pg 109-120. It struck me that this book actually recommended something other than what we were taught in high school about thesis statements. It actually made me feel better because I could never do it the way they taught me in high school. They do push you to find a thesis statement pronto, and that it needs to be asserted into a one sentence claim. I could never accomplish that aspect either. I like the idea of a thesis "Trail" because it makes much more sense.
I try to use words like interesting, strange, significant when describing something rather than the judgement reflex words. I did not know that these words could be used as prompts for analyzing something. When I think about it it definetly works.
How to read: Words matter was very helpful. I often read something and have no earthly idea what in the world the writer is trying to convey. The three components may benefit understanding these pieces difficult to understand. My problem, is even with the three components I am still confused about certain peices.
Lastly, after reading the cell phone article, I highlighted several points that made sense to me and seemed correct in Rosen's point of view. Here is the list:
1. Connection has served as a potent sign of power over a long amount of time.
2. Cell phones offer convience to people.
3. "The percieved need for a technological safety device can encourage distinctly irrattional behavior and create new anxieties."
4. "We have become thigmophilic with our technology."
5. Technology has led to more invasion of privacy (including camera phones).
6. "Cell phone technology itself has disrupted our ability to insist on the enforcement of social rules."
7. We use cell phones to show those around us our status in the world.
8. "Cell phones give all of us the unusual ability to similate an entourage."
9. "Like a security blanket, which is also visible to observers, cell phones provide the "publicization' of emotional fulfillment."
10. Cell phones may be the key to our purpose and status symbol and without it we are lost.
There are many more statements that caught my attention. I liked what the sociologist Goffman had to say. It is strange that he spoke of this kind of thing before cell phones were even made. I think if he could have lived today he would have much more to say about cell phones affect on society.
The comparison of cell phone users to smokers I found absolutely hilarious. It would be even more hilarious if it were to actually happen. Time will surely tell.
I read pg 26-34 last night and then pg 109-120. It struck me that this book actually recommended something other than what we were taught in high school about thesis statements. It actually made me feel better because I could never do it the way they taught me in high school. They do push you to find a thesis statement pronto, and that it needs to be asserted into a one sentence claim. I could never accomplish that aspect either. I like the idea of a thesis "Trail" because it makes much more sense.
I try to use words like interesting, strange, significant when describing something rather than the judgement reflex words. I did not know that these words could be used as prompts for analyzing something. When I think about it it definetly works.
How to read: Words matter was very helpful. I often read something and have no earthly idea what in the world the writer is trying to convey. The three components may benefit understanding these pieces difficult to understand. My problem, is even with the three components I am still confused about certain peices.
Lastly, after reading the cell phone article, I highlighted several points that made sense to me and seemed correct in Rosen's point of view. Here is the list:
1. Connection has served as a potent sign of power over a long amount of time.
2. Cell phones offer convience to people.
3. "The percieved need for a technological safety device can encourage distinctly irrattional behavior and create new anxieties."
4. "We have become thigmophilic with our technology."
5. Technology has led to more invasion of privacy (including camera phones).
6. "Cell phone technology itself has disrupted our ability to insist on the enforcement of social rules."
7. We use cell phones to show those around us our status in the world.
8. "Cell phones give all of us the unusual ability to similate an entourage."
9. "Like a security blanket, which is also visible to observers, cell phones provide the "publicization' of emotional fulfillment."
10. Cell phones may be the key to our purpose and status symbol and without it we are lost.
There are many more statements that caught my attention. I liked what the sociologist Goffman had to say. It is strange that he spoke of this kind of thing before cell phones were even made. I think if he could have lived today he would have much more to say about cell phones affect on society.
The comparison of cell phone users to smokers I found absolutely hilarious. It would be even more hilarious if it were to actually happen. Time will surely tell.
Observation on Thursday 22nd
Earlier today I was sitting outside the classroom waiting for my class to start when I over heard a conversation between two students. Most of it was difficult to pick up.
Al stands against the wall in his black leather coat, denim blue jeans, and brown boating shoes glances over at the girl against the other side of the wall searching in her pink book bag. "Are you glad you received the email from Bruce?" said Al to Tara. She nodded, "He says I would make a good CL, he keeps asking me but I do not have time because I am in field hockey," rolling her eyes. Then while digging through her pink book bag for a second time Al commented that if you are a CL you get paid. Tara sighed saying that she wouldn’t have any idea how to deal with that or what to even show people. Al seeing Tara was uninterested changed the topic. “So, what class do you have next?” “Second part of English composition, and I have two more to take.” Out of the blue Al bluntly states that he likes to learn. He glances at the Citograph he holds loosely in his left hand. His hands are thin and pale while his knuckles are white. “My longest day of the week is today, I have 6 hours worth of classes, unfortunately” she utters not looking toward his direction. The discussion of optometry arises, Al and Tara talk about the many aspects of being an Optometrist. Al asks her, eye brows raised, what her major is. She immediately tells him nursing. Jokingly, he tells her that she will most likely be here until she is 30. She laughs as they both glance at their watch. Saying their goodbyes, they walk away in opposite directions.
Al stands against the wall in his black leather coat, denim blue jeans, and brown boating shoes glances over at the girl against the other side of the wall searching in her pink book bag. "Are you glad you received the email from Bruce?" said Al to Tara. She nodded, "He says I would make a good CL, he keeps asking me but I do not have time because I am in field hockey," rolling her eyes. Then while digging through her pink book bag for a second time Al commented that if you are a CL you get paid. Tara sighed saying that she wouldn’t have any idea how to deal with that or what to even show people. Al seeing Tara was uninterested changed the topic. “So, what class do you have next?” “Second part of English composition, and I have two more to take.” Out of the blue Al bluntly states that he likes to learn. He glances at the Citograph he holds loosely in his left hand. His hands are thin and pale while his knuckles are white. “My longest day of the week is today, I have 6 hours worth of classes, unfortunately” she utters not looking toward his direction. The discussion of optometry arises, Al and Tara talk about the many aspects of being an Optometrist. Al asks her, eye brows raised, what her major is. She immediately tells him nursing. Jokingly, he tells her that she will most likely be here until she is 30. She laughs as they both glance at their watch. Saying their goodbyes, they walk away in opposite directions.
Observation on Wed 21st.
Yesterday I chose to sit in one of the chairs at Donald's Bagel's in Schewel Hall and try to pick up any conversations. I started several but only one account had enough information to write about. The other accounts were either blurred or did not have a sufficient amount of information.
In this account there are three women talking behind the Bagel counter. One is a young girl and the other two are middle aged ladies. What I have is not all correct because at times I heard only little bits and pieces, but most of it is true.
The bridesmaids are in Richmond this weekend said the to-be-married woman with her hair braided in pig tails. She explained how she had already picked out a dress to the woman in blue. Her hand movements suggested where the dress was cut. Her fingers showed that the dress was draped off the shoulder, cut just above the bust. "I don't want a jungle green next to a sea green" she said exasperated. The woman wearing blue jeans and a white sweatshirt commented that indeed the bridesmaids needed to match each other. They young woman began to become frantic that her wedding would be a disaster because her husband was trying to make some of the plans. "But his plans are only sabotage" says the woman, her face crumpled in a look of disarray. She wants his involvement with the wedding plans but her fiance is assassinating the wedding plans in the meantime. The lady in blue replies, "The bride needs to make the plans because the book will be in the house for years." The young lady's voice trembled when she said she wanted to make her wedding look good. "Yes, because you will have pictures to show to friends forever," stated the lady in blue jeans, nodding. Just as soon as she made her remark to her soon-to-be-married friend someone entered the line to order a bagel thus ending the conversation.
In this account there are three women talking behind the Bagel counter. One is a young girl and the other two are middle aged ladies. What I have is not all correct because at times I heard only little bits and pieces, but most of it is true.
The bridesmaids are in Richmond this weekend said the to-be-married woman with her hair braided in pig tails. She explained how she had already picked out a dress to the woman in blue. Her hand movements suggested where the dress was cut. Her fingers showed that the dress was draped off the shoulder, cut just above the bust. "I don't want a jungle green next to a sea green" she said exasperated. The woman wearing blue jeans and a white sweatshirt commented that indeed the bridesmaids needed to match each other. They young woman began to become frantic that her wedding would be a disaster because her husband was trying to make some of the plans. "But his plans are only sabotage" says the woman, her face crumpled in a look of disarray. She wants his involvement with the wedding plans but her fiance is assassinating the wedding plans in the meantime. The lady in blue replies, "The bride needs to make the plans because the book will be in the house for years." The young lady's voice trembled when she said she wanted to make her wedding look good. "Yes, because you will have pictures to show to friends forever," stated the lady in blue jeans, nodding. Just as soon as she made her remark to her soon-to-be-married friend someone entered the line to order a bagel thus ending the conversation.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jan 21st
I completed my first assigned reading yesterday from Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser. I benefited from several topics mentioned in the reading. I know in class we did not really discuss free writing. But I have found in the past for this to be helpful for me. The forms of free writing seemed to be good advice for people who have trouble thinking of something to write about, and sometimes in the process thinking too hard on it. And oddly enough one of them was journal entry or blogging like we are required to do this semester. The counterproductive habits of mind intrigued me mainly because I like psychology and I see a major connection. The main being that we humans have habits of thinking in certain ways, and that many times these ways of thinking are flawed. Just as generalizing, over personalizing, and opinion vs. ideas are all flaws in thinking that we are prone to do when trying to think analytically. The Idea section was very helpful. I liked the way the author gave a list of what an idea is and where it can be found. My favorite possible definition was: "An idea may be the discovery of a question where there seemed not to be one".
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