As we have talked about in class, the world is depending more on technology than ever before. However, some say that we depend too much on objects such as cell phones. This weekend I have lost my phone and have never felt so lost. I did not realize how much I depended on my cell phone until I have spent one weekend without it.
I am not able to make or receive calls or emails. This makes it near impossible to complete certain tasks such as group projects. I can not even imagine how hard it would be to be without something as simple as a cell phone for more than a few days.
I never understood why some individuals claim that citizens depend too much on technology. Now that I have been though this I can easily agree with the statement. If you ever run into a person who does not agree that we depend too much on technology then just ask them to go a few days without a phone.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Intramural Game
This week was a very busy week for me. Not only did I have a lot of school work that needed to be done, but I also had a intramural basketball game. This was a very important game to our team. It was only the second game of the season, however, we knew that this team was going to be very important for us to win to insure a spot in the championship.
The game got off to a good start with both teams playing very well. However, about half way through the first half our team began to get tired and ware down. The opposing team had a few more players than ours, which allowed them to substitute more often. In only a few minutes the other team was up by ten. We knew we had to do something fast in an attempt to stay in the game. After a much needed time out, we began to play better until the first half ended. We went into halftime losing by nine.
Going out into the second half our team felt strong and confident about what we needed to do to win the game. However, this went away very fast and our team began to fall apart. We were all very tired and just let the game slip away from us. In the end our team was making bad decisions and trying anything we could for a last effort. As time ran out we were losing by eight and accepted the defeat. Our team was upset about the loss but more upset that we did not play our best.
The game got off to a good start with both teams playing very well. However, about half way through the first half our team began to get tired and ware down. The opposing team had a few more players than ours, which allowed them to substitute more often. In only a few minutes the other team was up by ten. We knew we had to do something fast in an attempt to stay in the game. After a much needed time out, we began to play better until the first half ended. We went into halftime losing by nine.
Going out into the second half our team felt strong and confident about what we needed to do to win the game. However, this went away very fast and our team began to fall apart. We were all very tired and just let the game slip away from us. In the end our team was making bad decisions and trying anything we could for a last effort. As time ran out we were losing by eight and accepted the defeat. Our team was upset about the loss but more upset that we did not play our best.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Concealed Weapon's Course
This weekend I drove back home in order to take a class that will allow me to obtain my concealed weapons permit once I turn twenty-one. For a state to allow you to receive this honor, you must first check to see what requirements are needed to begin the application. In South Carolina, you must first take a course that will last at least 8 hours. During this course you are taught everything that you need to know to be able to carry a concealed weapon. After the lesson, you are to take a state required test and must make at least eighty percent on it. Once all of this is done you are required to shoot a series of different shots in order to prove that you are responsible enough and safe enough to be trusted with a firearm. Once you have passed both tests you are finger printed and required to send off personal information to the state to apply for the permit and have a background check done. If everything goes well you will be granted the permit.
As I was driving back I was worried that I may not be able to pass the required tests. I took the course with my dad, mom, and multiple other family friends. After seeing how nervous everyone else was, I could tell I was not alone. As the course began I was learning new information in almost every sentence from the instructors. I think of myself as a very avid shooter and had no idea that I would learn as much information as I did. This course not only taught me new gun safety practices but also ways to protect myself. Even if I was not going to carry a concealed weapon, I would suggest this course to others in order to make them more aware. The most outstanding statistic that I learned is that in today's society, there is now a growing concern of needing concealed weapons in a Church or other place of worship. We were informed of multiple instances where a Church was attacked by armed men who could have been stopped if a member had been armed. Law says that one may not carry a concealed weapon in a Church unless there is written consent from the head of the church.
I highly believe in carrying concealed weapons as long as it is treated properly and only used as a last resort. As stated by my instructor, criminals are already in the wrong and therefore do not care about an extra charge for carrying a gun, so why disarm safe, innocent, law abiding citizens?
As I was driving back I was worried that I may not be able to pass the required tests. I took the course with my dad, mom, and multiple other family friends. After seeing how nervous everyone else was, I could tell I was not alone. As the course began I was learning new information in almost every sentence from the instructors. I think of myself as a very avid shooter and had no idea that I would learn as much information as I did. This course not only taught me new gun safety practices but also ways to protect myself. Even if I was not going to carry a concealed weapon, I would suggest this course to others in order to make them more aware. The most outstanding statistic that I learned is that in today's society, there is now a growing concern of needing concealed weapons in a Church or other place of worship. We were informed of multiple instances where a Church was attacked by armed men who could have been stopped if a member had been armed. Law says that one may not carry a concealed weapon in a Church unless there is written consent from the head of the church.
I highly believe in carrying concealed weapons as long as it is treated properly and only used as a last resort. As stated by my instructor, criminals are already in the wrong and therefore do not care about an extra charge for carrying a gun, so why disarm safe, innocent, law abiding citizens?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Works Cited
Sarah McLachlan Animal Cruelty Viedo. Perf. Sarah Mclachlan. Youtube. 04 Feb. 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc.
Trendy. "Last Request From a Smoker." 07 June 2008. 26 January 2009 http://www.trendite.net/2008/06/07/last-request-from-a-smoker-please-dont-smoke/.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Animal Cruelty
Animal cruelty is a very big problem in today’s society that is very often overlooked. This particular video that Sarah McLachlan did on animal cruelty for the BCSPCA and the picture of the elderly man in the hospital both are great examples of persuasion because they use elements of visual rhetoric. Visual rhetoric is the process of using persuasion through the use of logos, pathos, and ethos which can be conveyed by images or text, or a combination between the two, all used to persuade an audience. The commercial uses a lot of pathos through the use of images of animals in need. Seeing the animals in that condition sparks a lot of pathos in the audience. The music emphasizes the pathos too. The picture also uses pathos because there is an old man who is in critical condition because of smoking, and he is holding up a non-smoking sign. The commercial and the picture are great examples of visual rhetoric because they use examples of ethos, logos, and especially pathos to persuade the audience to stop smoking, or donate money for an animal in need.
Ethos is defined as showing a moral character and is also known as relating to ethics. It may be hard to single out examples of ethos in this commercial; however, there are plenty of them. The major example is that the commercial shows animals in a cruel condition, and it is against most humans’ ethics to commit any act of cruelty to animals. Some people think of their animals as just an object and feel that they can do whatever they please to their pets. However, in the United States this is considered a crime and can result in severe penalties, such as costly fines and time in jail depending on how severe the abuse is and in what state the abuse occurs. Throughout the entire video the viewer watches many different photos of injured or abandoned animals, which serves to appeal to the audience’s ethics.
The next component that both the commercial and the photo do a good job of displaying is by showing logos. Logos is defined as appealing to knowledge/reason, which they are able to accomplish in both. The biggest example of this is during the ad, in which statistics come up throughout the commercial that tell sad facts about animals that are mistreated. This results in people learning about what really is going on with animal abuse. It also gives them multiple reasons why they should be donating to the BCSPCA organization to help in the effort to save these helpless animals that are being abused every day. An example of logos in the photo is the fact that if a smoker sees what can happen as a result of his actions if he keeps smoking, simply be looking at the old man in bad condition.
Finally, the commercials’ greatest strengths is their ability to appeal to people’s pathos. If a commercial can bring emotion to the audience then it can be a very effective commercial. A commercial’s goal for a nonprofit organization is usually to get its viewers to donate money to them, and focusing on their emotion is a great way to accomplish this. The major ways that Sarah McLachlan’s commercial brings out emotion is through the decision of the photos and videos used, the music played, and even the tone of Sarah as she speaks. The photos and videos that are used are all different pictures of animals that all seem to either be sad or look as if they have been abused. This is a great idea by the producers of this ad because many people in the United States have at least one animal and can therefore feel a connection with these animals. The music played during this video also has a big impact on the viewer’s emotion because it is a very slow paced sad song that fits with the video very well. When Sarah McLachlan begins to speak she insures that she speaks with a very soft and caring voice. This makes the audience feel comfortable and open to what she has to say.
I feel that this video used emotion the majority of the time to get its point across for many reasons. It is understood that animals, although they are not humans, should be treated like humans and not just an item. People who feel that they can do what ever they want to their “pets” should not be owners of any animals and should be prosecuted if found guilty of animal abuse. My family has always had many animals including many horses, a few dogs, cats, and even others such as our goat. As time has gone on, we have tried our best to make these animals feel comfortable and live a long and healthy life. Whenever we encounter an animal that is in need we do what we can to help it if at all possible. A few years ago, my father ran across a horse that was being kept in a very dreadful living environment with no grass and a very scarce water supply. After much communication with the owner my dad finally convinced him to sell the horse to us. A few weeks later the horse’s spirits were up and he was looking much better than he had before.
Not everyone has the resources to tend to helpless animals in a hands on way, so I feel that this is another reason Sarah McLachlan’s video is persuading others to at least donate money that will go towards an animal in need. Persuasion is sometimes a tough act in life to succeed in, however, when there is a problem as horrific as this case with animal cruelty, then it is much easier to give to a charity. When this video first came out there was much talk between people saying that when ever it came on they would have to turn the channel because it was too sad to watch or even listen to. This shows that the producers did an excellent job of accomplishing their goal.
The next image is one of a man in a hospital bed holding a do not smoke sign. When I first found this photo it really meant a lot to me. When I was very young, my grandfather was an avid smoker and began to have very bad health. After years of smoking it had caught up to him and put him in the hospital. While in the hospital his heart actually stopped due to the smoking, however, the doctors were able to revive him. After this eye opening experience my grandfather was able to quit smoking after the doctors told him if he continued to smoke he would live half of a year at the most.
Overall, this picture exhibits a great power of persuasion to not smoke. It uses pathos and logos to help get its point across by relating to the viewers’ emotion and knowledge. This elderly man asked to have his picture taken like this before he died in hopes to help save other people’s lives by persuading them not to make the mistake that he did. If a smoker sees this photo and sees what the outcome could be then it should show them what could happen and help persuade them to stop smoking.
In conclusion visual rhetoric plays a huge role in any type of visual and in this case, in commercials. Without this, visual images would not be able to “communicate” with the viewers in the way that they are intended to. Sarah McLachlan’s video does a great job of using visual rhetoric to help strengthen the attempt by the BCSPCA to persuade its viewers to donate to their organization. At the same time the photo of the smoker also does an excellent job at showing a traumatic experience that a smoker could end up in if smoking is continued. As I stated earlier, it is a tough task to persuade an audience to change their minds or to perform a certain task but including ethos, logos, and pathos in your argument makes the power of persuasion a lot more effective.
Ethos is defined as showing a moral character and is also known as relating to ethics. It may be hard to single out examples of ethos in this commercial; however, there are plenty of them. The major example is that the commercial shows animals in a cruel condition, and it is against most humans’ ethics to commit any act of cruelty to animals. Some people think of their animals as just an object and feel that they can do whatever they please to their pets. However, in the United States this is considered a crime and can result in severe penalties, such as costly fines and time in jail depending on how severe the abuse is and in what state the abuse occurs. Throughout the entire video the viewer watches many different photos of injured or abandoned animals, which serves to appeal to the audience’s ethics.
The next component that both the commercial and the photo do a good job of displaying is by showing logos. Logos is defined as appealing to knowledge/reason, which they are able to accomplish in both. The biggest example of this is during the ad, in which statistics come up throughout the commercial that tell sad facts about animals that are mistreated. This results in people learning about what really is going on with animal abuse. It also gives them multiple reasons why they should be donating to the BCSPCA organization to help in the effort to save these helpless animals that are being abused every day. An example of logos in the photo is the fact that if a smoker sees what can happen as a result of his actions if he keeps smoking, simply be looking at the old man in bad condition.
Finally, the commercials’ greatest strengths is their ability to appeal to people’s pathos. If a commercial can bring emotion to the audience then it can be a very effective commercial. A commercial’s goal for a nonprofit organization is usually to get its viewers to donate money to them, and focusing on their emotion is a great way to accomplish this. The major ways that Sarah McLachlan’s commercial brings out emotion is through the decision of the photos and videos used, the music played, and even the tone of Sarah as she speaks. The photos and videos that are used are all different pictures of animals that all seem to either be sad or look as if they have been abused. This is a great idea by the producers of this ad because many people in the United States have at least one animal and can therefore feel a connection with these animals. The music played during this video also has a big impact on the viewer’s emotion because it is a very slow paced sad song that fits with the video very well. When Sarah McLachlan begins to speak she insures that she speaks with a very soft and caring voice. This makes the audience feel comfortable and open to what she has to say.
I feel that this video used emotion the majority of the time to get its point across for many reasons. It is understood that animals, although they are not humans, should be treated like humans and not just an item. People who feel that they can do what ever they want to their “pets” should not be owners of any animals and should be prosecuted if found guilty of animal abuse. My family has always had many animals including many horses, a few dogs, cats, and even others such as our goat. As time has gone on, we have tried our best to make these animals feel comfortable and live a long and healthy life. Whenever we encounter an animal that is in need we do what we can to help it if at all possible. A few years ago, my father ran across a horse that was being kept in a very dreadful living environment with no grass and a very scarce water supply. After much communication with the owner my dad finally convinced him to sell the horse to us. A few weeks later the horse’s spirits were up and he was looking much better than he had before.
Not everyone has the resources to tend to helpless animals in a hands on way, so I feel that this is another reason Sarah McLachlan’s video is persuading others to at least donate money that will go towards an animal in need. Persuasion is sometimes a tough act in life to succeed in, however, when there is a problem as horrific as this case with animal cruelty, then it is much easier to give to a charity. When this video first came out there was much talk between people saying that when ever it came on they would have to turn the channel because it was too sad to watch or even listen to. This shows that the producers did an excellent job of accomplishing their goal.
The next image is one of a man in a hospital bed holding a do not smoke sign. When I first found this photo it really meant a lot to me. When I was very young, my grandfather was an avid smoker and began to have very bad health. After years of smoking it had caught up to him and put him in the hospital. While in the hospital his heart actually stopped due to the smoking, however, the doctors were able to revive him. After this eye opening experience my grandfather was able to quit smoking after the doctors told him if he continued to smoke he would live half of a year at the most.
Overall, this picture exhibits a great power of persuasion to not smoke. It uses pathos and logos to help get its point across by relating to the viewers’ emotion and knowledge. This elderly man asked to have his picture taken like this before he died in hopes to help save other people’s lives by persuading them not to make the mistake that he did. If a smoker sees this photo and sees what the outcome could be then it should show them what could happen and help persuade them to stop smoking.
In conclusion visual rhetoric plays a huge role in any type of visual and in this case, in commercials. Without this, visual images would not be able to “communicate” with the viewers in the way that they are intended to. Sarah McLachlan’s video does a great job of using visual rhetoric to help strengthen the attempt by the BCSPCA to persuade its viewers to donate to their organization. At the same time the photo of the smoker also does an excellent job at showing a traumatic experience that a smoker could end up in if smoking is continued. As I stated earlier, it is a tough task to persuade an audience to change their minds or to perform a certain task but including ethos, logos, and pathos in your argument makes the power of persuasion a lot more effective.
Monday, January 26, 2009
This photo shows logos because it applies to a person's knowledge to see what smoking can do to a person.
I feel that this photo applies to pathos because it causes you to feel a emotion of sorrow and pain for the starving people in the world.
I feel that this photo shows ethos because these kids are using their time to help victims which is applying to their ethics.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A.2.
A.2- Student’s personal reflection on his/her own development as it relates to the course strands.
• My history with technology – early experiences, etc.
My history with technology has not always been too great. My family never got a computer until my older sister finally had to have one to do school work. Once we finally got one, it was very slow and my sisters and I had to teach ourselves about it.
• My experiences in past English courses. Did I like them or not?
My experiences in past English courses are getting better and better each year. I never really liked English, mainly due to the literature part of it. However, once I began to take time and focus on writing papers, I began to expand my vocabulary and become a better writer.
• Arguing: am I good at it?
I have always enjoyed arguing due to me being the only boy and the middle child at that. I always had to defend myself when ever my two sisters ganged up on me and tried to get me into trouble. Most of my lifetime I was able to give good enough reasons to my parents for what I had done to get out of any punishments.
• What is my writing process: Do I start early or wait until the last minuet? What is helpful in getting me started with a writing assignment?
For most of my assignments I tend to wait until the last minute. However, if the assignment is a very big assignment then I like to at least begin it ahead of time, then finish my work a few days early and use the extra days to read over it and fix any mistakes.
• Technology: What do I use in my daily life?
Normally, during a single day in my life I only use my computer to do school work and get on Facebook. I try to do as much physical activity as possible and stay outside as much as possible.
• Research: How do I use my time while doing research?
When doing research, I mainly try to do it on the internet. However when the assignment requires me to do research from books and other very creditable sources then I tend to begin in the library and work from there.
• Collaboration: How do I manage working with a partner or multiple people?
I love being assigned group work because it allows for me to combine my strengths with another person’s strengths. This is good because as long as you don’t get a slacking group member then it usually allows for a better grade.
• MyCompLab: How do I feel about the whole MyCompLab process from what I know about it as of now?
I don’t really know much about the whole process of this, but I feel that it may help us learn a little if I use it accurately
• My history with technology – early experiences, etc.
My history with technology has not always been too great. My family never got a computer until my older sister finally had to have one to do school work. Once we finally got one, it was very slow and my sisters and I had to teach ourselves about it.
• My experiences in past English courses. Did I like them or not?
My experiences in past English courses are getting better and better each year. I never really liked English, mainly due to the literature part of it. However, once I began to take time and focus on writing papers, I began to expand my vocabulary and become a better writer.
• Arguing: am I good at it?
I have always enjoyed arguing due to me being the only boy and the middle child at that. I always had to defend myself when ever my two sisters ganged up on me and tried to get me into trouble. Most of my lifetime I was able to give good enough reasons to my parents for what I had done to get out of any punishments.
• What is my writing process: Do I start early or wait until the last minuet? What is helpful in getting me started with a writing assignment?
For most of my assignments I tend to wait until the last minute. However, if the assignment is a very big assignment then I like to at least begin it ahead of time, then finish my work a few days early and use the extra days to read over it and fix any mistakes.
• Technology: What do I use in my daily life?
Normally, during a single day in my life I only use my computer to do school work and get on Facebook. I try to do as much physical activity as possible and stay outside as much as possible.
• Research: How do I use my time while doing research?
When doing research, I mainly try to do it on the internet. However when the assignment requires me to do research from books and other very creditable sources then I tend to begin in the library and work from there.
• Collaboration: How do I manage working with a partner or multiple people?
I love being assigned group work because it allows for me to combine my strengths with another person’s strengths. This is good because as long as you don’t get a slacking group member then it usually allows for a better grade.
• MyCompLab: How do I feel about the whole MyCompLab process from what I know about it as of now?
I don’t really know much about the whole process of this, but I feel that it may help us learn a little if I use it accurately
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