Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Top Ten Reads for 2012
Listed here will be ten books that I would like to read this coming year. The Titles are not listed in any particular order.
#1 Our Culture, Whats Left Of It: The Mandarins and the Masses
#3 The Color Purple
#4 Shadow and Act
#8 The Book Of Awesome
#10 Murder Inc.: The Story Of the Syndicate
#1 Our Culture, Whats Left Of It: The Mandarins and the Masses
- Theodore Dalrymple
- 2005
- 360
This book title I found on the internet. I think the book will be interesting because it is a commentary on our society. The book is lengthy, but its also very modern so it might not be that bad to tackle.
#2 Pride and Prejudice
- Jane Austin
- 1813
- 448
This is a pretty cliche book to want to read, but I'm a college bound high school student so this book wouldn't hurt to have under my belt. I enjoyed the movie, so I'll enjoy the book.
#3 The Color Purple
- Alice Walker
- 1982
- 272
This is a book I've always wanted to read, but I've never got around to it because of my procrastination problem. I mainly want to read it just so I can say, "The book is WAAAY better than the movie." The book isn't too bad in length, and it was written in the 80's, so the difficulty level shouldn't be bad. I can handle it.
#4 Shadow and Act
- Ralph Ellison
- 1964
- 317
I mainly want to read this because I read Invisible Man and I loved it. I know this will be a doozy, because I had to do a lot of re-reading in Invisible Man, but I'm sure I'll enjoy this book. Ellison has a very sophisticated style of writing, so if I read sophisticated writing I will then become sophisticated.
#5 The Portrait of A Lady
- Henry James
- 1881
- 656
This was a title I found while looking up a page number for one of the other books on this list. The title caught my eye because I'm on this quest to being a sophisticated lady, so I thought reading this book would help me reach my goal. Turns out the book is a typical romance novel. Of course, I'm down to read it because everyone knows Wendy Miya loves romance. The length of the book is ridiculous, and it was written in 1881! We'll see if I make it through all of the pages.
#6 Cry, The Beloved Country- Alan Paton
- 1948
- 329
As, I'm typing this reflection that I want to read a lot of books because I've seen the movie. Anyway, I'm interested in this book because it is set in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I was born. That is basically it, the story is very sad and I like a good cry every now and again. The length isn't too bad, and I'm sure the writing style is not the worst I've seen. I'm always prepared with the Dictionary app if worst comes to worst.
#7 A Shore Thing- Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
- 2010
- 304
I want to read this book, because I know it will be a critically acclaimed literary classic. All sarcasm aside, I actually love snooki and I'm sure I'll get a good chuckle out of this book. Its light, not too long and I KNOW its not a difficult read.
#8 The Book Of Awesome
- Neil Pasricha
- 2011
- 402
This book is another book that is gonna be really easy and quick to read. I'll enjoy because I love books like this one. Basically, I love lists.
#9 Kardashian Konfidential
- Kourtney, Khloe, Kim Kardashian
- 2010
- 256
Not only am I interested in deep topics, but I'm interested in the shallowest of topics as well. For exampe, I love the Kardashians and everything about their lives. I'm shocked I haven't read this book yet. It'll be a quick easy read, so my classy lady books won't feel lonely.
#10 Murder Inc.: The Story Of the Syndicate
- Burton B. Turkus and Sid Feder
- 1951
- 512 pages
Murder Inc: The Story of the Syndicate(1951) by Burton B. turkus and Sid Feder is one of the titles I found while trolling the Internet for book titles. After growing up watching mob movies, I have developed a slight obsession with organized crime. This book seems like it would indulge my obsession, so why not read it. The number of pages scares me, but If the book is good it shouldn't matter. I also enjoy old-school phrases which, according to my research the book is full of.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Fitzgerald's hopeless and reminiscent tone shows how he feels about how people treat the things they love and want the most.
Fitzgerald says "and as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes..." The word moon makes the reader think of the night and the word night is usually correlated with struggles and obstacles. Then the section that says "inessential houses began to melt away" those houses are being compared to the struggles in the night, so when they "melt away" it is like the struggles are melting away. Then later it says "I became aware of the old island" this is like when people have a dream there will always be obstacles in the way and so those obstacles make the dreamer lose sight of that dream. Fitzgerald is saying that we need to let the world be still, like the shore that night, and let the obstacles "melt away" so people can focus on their dream, which at that time, and still today, was the American Dream.
In the twenties, when this book was written, the was a small sexual revolution. People were more open about the topic of sex. Fitzgerald used that new openness, when he correlates seeing the new world from the shore to seeing a breast. He is saying that seeing the new world puts the same gleam or sparkle in a man's eye as seeing a breast.
Humans are always looking in the past, but want a great future. He says that "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. " Then he says " So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." both of these quotes talk about a humans struggle between the future and the past. The second quote is a metaphor that compares people to boats going against a current. People are always trying to move to the future but the past keeps pulling them back.
In this passage Fitzgerald is basically saying that humans are always striving and dreaming and hoping for a better future ,and that they should not lose sight of their dreams and hopes just because a few obstacles get in their way. We have to "beat" on and not let the "current" of life push us back.
Fitzgerald says "and as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes..." The word moon makes the reader think of the night and the word night is usually correlated with struggles and obstacles. Then the section that says "inessential houses began to melt away" those houses are being compared to the struggles in the night, so when they "melt away" it is like the struggles are melting away. Then later it says "I became aware of the old island" this is like when people have a dream there will always be obstacles in the way and so those obstacles make the dreamer lose sight of that dream. Fitzgerald is saying that we need to let the world be still, like the shore that night, and let the obstacles "melt away" so people can focus on their dream, which at that time, and still today, was the American Dream.
In the twenties, when this book was written, the was a small sexual revolution. People were more open about the topic of sex. Fitzgerald used that new openness, when he correlates seeing the new world from the shore to seeing a breast. He is saying that seeing the new world puts the same gleam or sparkle in a man's eye as seeing a breast.
Humans are always looking in the past, but want a great future. He says that "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. " Then he says " So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." both of these quotes talk about a humans struggle between the future and the past. The second quote is a metaphor that compares people to boats going against a current. People are always trying to move to the future but the past keeps pulling them back.
In this passage Fitzgerald is basically saying that humans are always striving and dreaming and hoping for a better future ,and that they should not lose sight of their dreams and hopes just because a few obstacles get in their way. We have to "beat" on and not let the "current" of life push us back.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
3rd 9weeks reading list
I have read 3 books, the equivalent of 6 books
Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison
Copper Sun- Sharon Draper
The V Club- Kate Brian
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is about a girl named Amari who becomes a slave. She lives in a village in Africa but is kidnapped by people who seem like friends and her and many other young people are transported to America to be slaves. She meets a girl and they work together to find their freedom. I liked this book because it really shows how slavery was, even though the book is fictional it is very accurate.
Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison
Copper Sun- Sharon Draper
The V Club- Kate Brian
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is about a girl named Amari who becomes a slave. She lives in a village in Africa but is kidnapped by people who seem like friends and her and many other young people are transported to America to be slaves. She meets a girl and they work together to find their freedom. I liked this book because it really shows how slavery was, even though the book is fictional it is very accurate.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Web. 01 Mar. 2011.
This is an ad I saw at the movie theater. What was funny was that I saw it after I complained about how expensive concessions were on top of the outrageous ticket prices. It really is a good deal if you are like me and don't like to spend one thousand dollars at the movies.
When I first saw the add I got really excited because I thought that concession prices were finally dropping. I suddenly realized it said stimulus Tuesday, and that these prices were only valid on Tuesday's. Now, in the summer a movie on a Tuesday night is okay, but during the school year no one's parents allows them to go to the movie theater on a Tuesday.
This move by the theater was pretty good. They realized that if they lowered concession prices on a Tuesday night that they would get more customers and the revenue wouldn't suffer because they would gain more people and make up for the price drop because before the discount there were less people coming.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Be A Child Star?? I Wish!
We all know who Will Smith is. Yes, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. Well he's moved past those days and has a had a few kids. His son, Jayden, has starred in a few movies, But I wanna focus on little Willow who has just recently hit the scene. Some of you guys might have heard her little tune "Whip My Hair." She is a very talented little girl and a little bit too mature. Recently I went I was reading through some blogs that I regularly visit and I came across an article about little Willow Smith. The article was about an interview she had, and she said that "people are relying on her." After I read the whole article and the opinions Miss Jia gave I agreed with her.
Should Children be allowed to become Stars?
This is a hard question to answer, because when you child has that much talent you want their talent to be brodcasted to the world. The thing that made me think about this issue is that she felt like people were relying on her, and like Miss Jia brought up is she feeling pressured to become a star? I think that if a child wants to be "famous" then they should be allowed to pursue their dreams. Then again we've all heard the stories about child stars like Gary Coleman, Drew Barrymore and many other adults who were once child stars. We've heard about their problems and how their lives were not normal and how they felt like they weren't children. It is a very hard thing to think about because of the high percentage of tragic stories, but I still think that if the child wants to pursue their dream then they should be able to.
Should Children be allowed to become Stars?
This is a hard question to answer, because when you child has that much talent you want their talent to be brodcasted to the world. The thing that made me think about this issue is that she felt like people were relying on her, and like Miss Jia brought up is she feeling pressured to become a star? I think that if a child wants to be "famous" then they should be allowed to pursue their dreams. Then again we've all heard the stories about child stars like Gary Coleman, Drew Barrymore and many other adults who were once child stars. We've heard about their problems and how their lives were not normal and how they felt like they weren't children. It is a very hard thing to think about because of the high percentage of tragic stories, but I still think that if the child wants to pursue their dream then they should be able to.
Monday, November 29, 2010
12 Sentence Story
I was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the table, left hand loosely gripping the remote, right hand holding a water bottle. It was a normal summer day; nothing major would happen that day. Nicky and Leo, my cousin and her fiance, pulled up to my driveway. She was under stress, he was over the limit, and I was into my shows. Leo decided to leave. Bad idea. He thought that it was okay to drive and that even though he had a few drinks that day and that nothing bad would happen. Well, he crashed into my mom's car, and my mom's car crashed into the outside storage. In his eyes, I saw fear. What would my parents do when they saw what he did? Would they kill him, or beat him, or merely make him pay? My parents did not give a proper reaction, I was the one given a lecture--this was not a normal summer day.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Yes, another facebook post.
Recently here at the school, there was a group of students who were called to the office for a facebook status that was posted. This really upset the whole school, because they felt like the school shouldn't have control over what is said on facebook. I was one of those students that felt the school shouldn't punish students for what they say on facebook. Then I hear about people who are fired from their jobs and don't get into colleges because of what is on their facebook profiles, and I just feel outraged!
I came across this article Facebook, freedom and thin-skinned bosses and the author, Barry Bruce, tell his opinion on people getting fired for their facebook posts. In this article I actually learned about freedom of speech and what it actually protects us from.
In the article a teacher was fired because she had some pictures of her drinking alcohol while she was in Europe. I felt like this was a ridiculous dismissal because the lady was an adult not doing anything illegal. Granted she is a teacher and might have students who are friends with her, but outside of school, she isn't a teacher she is a regular human being who shouldn't be held at a different standard.
Don't get me wrong and think that I'm saying that it's good to bash your employer or school on social networking sites, I'm just saying that those are two separate entities that should never cross.
I really agreed with Bruce's statement about "...Holding a job should not require giving up your right to an expressive private life..." People should be able to express themselves freely without fear of "what the boss will say". Isn't that why we created social networking sites so we could be able to express ourselves with our friends freely?
I came across this article Facebook, freedom and thin-skinned bosses and the author, Barry Bruce, tell his opinion on people getting fired for their facebook posts. In this article I actually learned about freedom of speech and what it actually protects us from.
In the article a teacher was fired because she had some pictures of her drinking alcohol while she was in Europe. I felt like this was a ridiculous dismissal because the lady was an adult not doing anything illegal. Granted she is a teacher and might have students who are friends with her, but outside of school, she isn't a teacher she is a regular human being who shouldn't be held at a different standard.
Don't get me wrong and think that I'm saying that it's good to bash your employer or school on social networking sites, I'm just saying that those are two separate entities that should never cross.
I really agreed with Bruce's statement about "...Holding a job should not require giving up your right to an expressive private life..." People should be able to express themselves freely without fear of "what the boss will say". Isn't that why we created social networking sites so we could be able to express ourselves with our friends freely?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Books I plan on Reading
The first book I want to read this quarter is The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. I want to read this book because my dad recommended it to me, and it talks about how to get started in doing whatever I might want to begin, and I have some things I want to start.
I also want to finish the Hunger Games series. I read the first book in ninth grade, but two years and many books later, I haven't gotten to reading the next books. The first one was so good, I actually might reread it and then read the other ones.
I also want to read pride and prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite movies ever, and I always like to read the books of movies. I like to see the differences and give my mental critiques.
I also want to finish the Hunger Games series. I read the first book in ninth grade, but two years and many books later, I haven't gotten to reading the next books. The first one was so good, I actually might reread it and then read the other ones.
I also want to read pride and prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite movies ever, and I always like to read the books of movies. I like to see the differences and give my mental critiques.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Annotated Reading Log 2nd nine weeks
Dark Visions
Smith, L. J. Dark Visions. New York: Simon Pulse, 2009. Print.
752 pages
In this book there is a girl who has psychic abilities and she is sent to Zetes institute where her and a few other kids are being studied and taught to control their powers. Turns out that the owner of the institute, Mr. Zetes, is evil and has a different plan for the students. They run away and try to find magic to defeat him. Meanwhile Kait the main character is having a love triangle with two of the guys. They end up defeating Mr. Zetes in the end and Kait ends up falling for Gabriel, the bad boy. Of course. This book was cool because it was three books in one and it very entertaining. It was a typical predicting storyline, but it was really good just to see how the storyline played out.
The Art of The Start
Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start: the Time-tested, Battle-hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. New York: Portfolio, 2004. Print.
226 pages
This book is a guide book into starting anything that a person might wanna do. It mostly geared toward new entrepreneurs. The tips in this book will help people start and maintain a successful business or whatever someone might want to start.
To Die For: The Shocking True Story Of Serial Killer Of Dana Sue Gray
Braidhill, Kathy. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.
320 pages
This book is about a woman who kills kills old women and steals their money to support her lavish lifestyle. The book is really slow to get into at first, but later it gets more interesting. The author didn't really talk much about the Law portion of the book. The book really wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I wouldn't recommend it, but I do recommend reading crime books especially if you are CSI fan.
Smith, L. J. Dark Visions. New York: Simon Pulse, 2009. Print.
752 pages
In this book there is a girl who has psychic abilities and she is sent to Zetes institute where her and a few other kids are being studied and taught to control their powers. Turns out that the owner of the institute, Mr. Zetes, is evil and has a different plan for the students. They run away and try to find magic to defeat him. Meanwhile Kait the main character is having a love triangle with two of the guys. They end up defeating Mr. Zetes in the end and Kait ends up falling for Gabriel, the bad boy. Of course. This book was cool because it was three books in one and it very entertaining. It was a typical predicting storyline, but it was really good just to see how the storyline played out.
The Art of The Start
Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start: the Time-tested, Battle-hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. New York: Portfolio, 2004. Print.
226 pages
This book is a guide book into starting anything that a person might wanna do. It mostly geared toward new entrepreneurs. The tips in this book will help people start and maintain a successful business or whatever someone might want to start.
To Die For: The Shocking True Story Of Serial Killer Of Dana Sue Gray
Braidhill, Kathy. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.
320 pages
This book is about a woman who kills kills old women and steals their money to support her lavish lifestyle. The book is really slow to get into at first, but later it gets more interesting. The author didn't really talk much about the Law portion of the book. The book really wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I wouldn't recommend it, but I do recommend reading crime books especially if you are CSI fan.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Reading Reflection
This nine weeks was very busy. Band, clubs, and other classes took up so much time, that reading feel on the back burner, but in the end I completed the six book requirement. I was very pleased with that.
The only thing I wish I could have done better was the Journaling and filling out the reading log. Journaling especially, because it was so hard to get into the habit of inking my thinking. This next quarter will be better, because I'm in the habit and I understand how to do it.
I also realized that I read to much "candy" books so, this year I have challenged my self to read more "vegetable" books. Reading more difficult books will make me a stronger reader, which will benefit me in the long run.
The only thing I wish I could have done better was the Journaling and filling out the reading log. Journaling especially, because it was so hard to get into the habit of inking my thinking. This next quarter will be better, because I'm in the habit and I understand how to do it.
I also realized that I read to much "candy" books so, this year I have challenged my self to read more "vegetable" books. Reading more difficult books will make me a stronger reader, which will benefit me in the long run.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Socratic Seminar Reflection
When I first learned that our class would be having a Socratic seminar, I was a bit apprehensive about how it would actually go, would it turn into a heated debate, or would it be long awkward silences. When the seminar began, I realized that it wasn't going as I thought, it was actually civil.
My performance was not as I expected. Usually I dominate the conversation, but in the seminar I was dominated because of interruptions, but I digress. The seminar did deepen my understanding of the novel. It also posed a lot more questions about our society and if we[our society] are heading to a society like the one in Brave New World. The seminar also showed me the different views people had, on the same topic. For example, Andrea interpreted Henry Ford as God because he basically "created" the Brave New World society just as God Created us. While Nelson and I viewed him as a figure they[ Brave New World people] looked up to because of his scientific advances and they were a scientific society.
My favorite part of the Socratic discussion was the evaluation period after each discussion. I feel like the conversation became deeper with the whole class involved, and it was easier to share opinions because the pressure was taken off.
This exercise turned out to be really fun and thought- provoking! I would not mind having these seminars more frequently! If I had a "do-over" then I would be more aggressive in getting in the conversation.
My performance was not as I expected. Usually I dominate the conversation, but in the seminar I was dominated because of interruptions, but I digress. The seminar did deepen my understanding of the novel. It also posed a lot more questions about our society and if we[our society] are heading to a society like the one in Brave New World. The seminar also showed me the different views people had, on the same topic. For example, Andrea interpreted Henry Ford as God because he basically "created" the Brave New World society just as God Created us. While Nelson and I viewed him as a figure they[ Brave New World people] looked up to because of his scientific advances and they were a scientific society.
My favorite part of the Socratic discussion was the evaluation period after each discussion. I feel like the conversation became deeper with the whole class involved, and it was easier to share opinions because the pressure was taken off.
This exercise turned out to be really fun and thought- provoking! I would not mind having these seminars more frequently! If I had a "do-over" then I would be more aggressive in getting in the conversation.
ANNOTATED READING LIST
Postman, Neil. Amusing ourselves to death: public discourse in the age of show business. New York: Penguin Books, 1986.
Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death delivers an amusing critique on our society's addiction to television. In the book Postman says that America is heading towards a society like BNW. He says that Americans were more intelligent before the influence of television. He also points out that our society has become too focused on "show business", which I totally agree because we [Americans] put people in show business on such high pedestals. Religion is one of the things that is negatively affected by television because of all the television church services. Basically, Postman is saying that television has changed the way we think, talk ,and act and that is not a good thing because we don't want to end up like the people in Huxley's BNW. (163)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave new world. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Huxley's Brave New World predicts a future that is very scary. This Book Is set in a time in the future, where everyone is exactly the same. From Birth the people are manipulated to be exactly how society wants them to be. They use different tactics to make the people how they want them to be. For example they genetically modify children and they use hypnopaedia so they end how society wants them to be. In every bunch there are always a few bad apples. For example, Bernard Marx is a strange young fellow compared to the other alphas. He doesn't think or act like them. One day Bernard and his lady friend, Lenina, go to a savage reservation and find a savage who's mother is from the BNW society. Bernard takes him back and life is never the same again. The savage comes to the BNW society and does not know how to react to all the immoral acts done by the BNW society. He realizes that in the BNW society there are no morals or individualism and that is something he doesn't handle well. Huxley used a very interesting writing style, he told different stories at one time, it was confusing, but made me a stronger reader. This book also opened my eyes to how morals and individualism is very important. I also asked the question is stability worth giving up individualism?? (268)
Bray, Libba. The Sweet Far Thing. New York: Delacorte, 2007. Print.
The Sweet Far Thing is set during Victorian times at Spence Girl's Academy. I felt like the characters in this book were too modern for the time the book was set in. Gemma Doyle is the main character and she is the protector of the magic. Her friends Felicity and Ann also use the magic because Gemma has the power to give them some. She also has a beautiful romance with a boy named Kartik that has an unfortunate ending. The girls are about to be debuted into society, and so they are getting ready for that in the day, but at night they are getting ready to fight a war that is brewing in the realms. This book was a long read, but it wasn't very challenging so I recommend it for anyone looking for a pleasure read. I also recommend the first two in the trilogy.(816)
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Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death delivers an amusing critique on our society's addiction to television. In the book Postman says that America is heading towards a society like BNW. He says that Americans were more intelligent before the influence of television. He also points out that our society has become too focused on "show business", which I totally agree because we [Americans] put people in show business on such high pedestals. Religion is one of the things that is negatively affected by television because of all the television church services. Basically, Postman is saying that television has changed the way we think, talk ,and act and that is not a good thing because we don't want to end up like the people in Huxley's BNW. (163)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave new world. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Huxley's Brave New World predicts a future that is very scary. This Book Is set in a time in the future, where everyone is exactly the same. From Birth the people are manipulated to be exactly how society wants them to be. They use different tactics to make the people how they want them to be. For example they genetically modify children and they use hypnopaedia so they end how society wants them to be. In every bunch there are always a few bad apples. For example, Bernard Marx is a strange young fellow compared to the other alphas. He doesn't think or act like them. One day Bernard and his lady friend, Lenina, go to a savage reservation and find a savage who's mother is from the BNW society. Bernard takes him back and life is never the same again. The savage comes to the BNW society and does not know how to react to all the immoral acts done by the BNW society. He realizes that in the BNW society there are no morals or individualism and that is something he doesn't handle well. Huxley used a very interesting writing style, he told different stories at one time, it was confusing, but made me a stronger reader. This book also opened my eyes to how morals and individualism is very important. I also asked the question is stability worth giving up individualism?? (268)
Bray, Libba. The Sweet Far Thing. New York: Delacorte, 2007. Print.
The Sweet Far Thing is set during Victorian times at Spence Girl's Academy. I felt like the characters in this book were too modern for the time the book was set in. Gemma Doyle is the main character and she is the protector of the magic. Her friends Felicity and Ann also use the magic because Gemma has the power to give them some. She also has a beautiful romance with a boy named Kartik that has an unfortunate ending. The girls are about to be debuted into society, and so they are getting ready for that in the day, but at night they are getting ready to fight a war that is brewing in the realms. This book was a long read, but it wasn't very challenging so I recommend it for anyone looking for a pleasure read. I also recommend the first two in the trilogy.(816)
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Analysis of Abundance
Pink observes that our society has become more and more obsessed with "stuff" and beauty. "For most of history, our lives were defined by scarcity. Today the defining feature of social , economic, and cultural life in much of the world is abundance." He compares yesterday's society and today's society saying that in modern times people are defined by their "stuff" whereas back then people were just trying to get their basic needs met. Pink also comments that "For business, it is no longer enough to create a product that is reasonably priced and adequately functional. It must be beautiful, unique, and meaningful." This goes to show that not only do we want "stuff" but we want it to be aesthetically pleasing and easy on the wallet! Pink then talks about PetSmart about how "on average sells $15,000 worth of merchandise a day for non humans." Not only do we (the humans) want to look good, but want our pets( the animals) to look good too, so we are willing to spend thousands of dollars to make fluffy look pristine as well. With all this obsession with beauty and objects, we should as ourselves this question, Am I truly happy?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Analysis Of An Anti-Smoking Ad
Persuasion is a huge industry in our society better known as the advertising business. Aristotle a great philosopher in history gave the art of persuasion three categories ethos, pathos, and logos. The three categories have to do with three different methods of persuasion used in advertisement. In this anti-smoking ad the advertisers used ethos, pathos, and logos to try and persuade the public not to smoke.
Ethos means that the advertisement is trying to gain credibility. For example in this advertisement, they have a note from the surgeon general. Having a note from, a creditable source, makes this advertisement more believable to the public.
Pathos means that the advertisement is using emotional appeal to persuade the public. For example in this advertisement. Having the casket, shows people that they can die from cigarettes. The casket can also make people remember loved ones who have died from cigarettes. Death is a good way to make people emotional and dissuade them from smoking cigarettes. Another smart way the advertisers used pathos is when they say, "New crush-proof box." That was smart because the advertisers used a joke to lure the public in, so after the public chuckles they could get the deeper meaning in the picture.
Logos is when they use logic to persuade the public. For example in this advertisement they used the amount of tar, nicotine, and other poisonous ingredients to show the public what exactly they would be putting in their body, if they smoked cigarettes. This method would help dissuade the public of smoking because it would show them that logically it would not be wise to smoke.
In conclusion, If your goal is to master the art of persuasion then, learn to use these three methods.
Ethos means that the advertisement is trying to gain credibility. For example in this advertisement, they have a note from the surgeon general. Having a note from, a creditable source, makes this advertisement more believable to the public.
Pathos means that the advertisement is using emotional appeal to persuade the public. For example in this advertisement. Having the casket, shows people that they can die from cigarettes. The casket can also make people remember loved ones who have died from cigarettes. Death is a good way to make people emotional and dissuade them from smoking cigarettes. Another smart way the advertisers used pathos is when they say, "New crush-proof box." That was smart because the advertisers used a joke to lure the public in, so after the public chuckles they could get the deeper meaning in the picture.
Logos is when they use logic to persuade the public. For example in this advertisement they used the amount of tar, nicotine, and other poisonous ingredients to show the public what exactly they would be putting in their body, if they smoked cigarettes. This method would help dissuade the public of smoking because it would show them that logically it would not be wise to smoke.
In conclusion, If your goal is to master the art of persuasion then, learn to use these three methods.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Scandal In The Shampoo Industry!
I was reading this article about shampoo. The writer said that we were all wasting our money, buying all of the nutrient rich shampoos. I was immediately lured in, because I use Garneir Nutriesse, and that brand always talks about how it is rich in nutrients.
The writer says that the nutrients end up down the drain, just like our hard earned dollars. As I was reading, I asked myself "How does this happen?" As if she was in my head, the writer answers by saying the the shampoo molecules are too large to penetrate the tiny follicles where our hair grows.
While reading this article, I was just blown away because all these years I thought that getting nutrient rich shampoo would make my hair glorious, but actually I was just wasting my mother's money.
Then I continued reading, waiting for her to sell me some miracle shampoo that actually works, and what did she do? She starts advertise a miracle shampoo. I chuckle quietly to myself, because I saw that advertisement coming.
What I learned from this article is that I should ditch my shampoo and use the one the author advertised beautifully. The crazy thing is, I secretly want to try the miracle shampoo, but it is still relatively new and it is hard to come by.
The writer says that the nutrients end up down the drain, just like our hard earned dollars. As I was reading, I asked myself "How does this happen?" As if she was in my head, the writer answers by saying the the shampoo molecules are too large to penetrate the tiny follicles where our hair grows.
While reading this article, I was just blown away because all these years I thought that getting nutrient rich shampoo would make my hair glorious, but actually I was just wasting my mother's money.
Then I continued reading, waiting for her to sell me some miracle shampoo that actually works, and what did she do? She starts advertise a miracle shampoo. I chuckle quietly to myself, because I saw that advertisement coming.
What I learned from this article is that I should ditch my shampoo and use the one the author advertised beautifully. The crazy thing is, I secretly want to try the miracle shampoo, but it is still relatively new and it is hard to come by.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Is Facebook Ruining Friendship As We Know It?
The text I chose to read was an article I found in the Arkansas Weekly called the The Facebook Dilemma by Archie Lewellen.
In the beginning of the article he talks about the nineties and the huge technological boom during that decade. He also talks about how during our lifetime we have went through a wide spectrum of technology. For example, most people my age have gone from a Walkman portable CD player to an apple iPod touch.
He then begins to talk about all the ways people nowadays can communicate. We have several ways to keep in touch aside from cell phones, like Twitter, Myspace and the most popular Facebook.
Then he begins to get into the issue of Facebook, which is that we are using it to socialize then actually seeing people and hanging out with them. He talks about that we can go for weeks without speaking to our friends because we know exactly what the other i doing. I can relate to this, because I talk to my friends on Facebook all the time and days will go by of not actually seeing them.
He brings up that Facebook is not ruining the term best friends, but it is redefining it. I agree instead of only interacting with our friends when we are with them, we can actually be interacting with them twenty-four seven hours a day!
At the end of the article he says is Facebook good or bad. His response is that it is both good and bad. I agree with him that Facebook is good and bad. It’s good because it keep you connected, but then its also bad because you can forget to actually go outside and be with your friends.
In the beginning of the article he talks about the nineties and the huge technological boom during that decade. He also talks about how during our lifetime we have went through a wide spectrum of technology. For example, most people my age have gone from a Walkman portable CD player to an apple iPod touch.
He then begins to talk about all the ways people nowadays can communicate. We have several ways to keep in touch aside from cell phones, like Twitter, Myspace and the most popular Facebook.
Then he begins to get into the issue of Facebook, which is that we are using it to socialize then actually seeing people and hanging out with them. He talks about that we can go for weeks without speaking to our friends because we know exactly what the other i doing. I can relate to this, because I talk to my friends on Facebook all the time and days will go by of not actually seeing them.
He brings up that Facebook is not ruining the term best friends, but it is redefining it. I agree instead of only interacting with our friends when we are with them, we can actually be interacting with them twenty-four seven hours a day!
At the end of the article he says is Facebook good or bad. His response is that it is both good and bad. I agree with him that Facebook is good and bad. It’s good because it keep you connected, but then its also bad because you can forget to actually go outside and be with your friends.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
"If You're Out There"
The text I chose to read, was a song by one of my favorite singers,John Legend. It's called If "If You're Out There". This song is one of those songs that touch your heart and make you smile.
"The future started yesterday and we're already late." I think that this part of the song means that we should have already started working on a brighter future, but we are just living in the present.
In the chorus he says "If you're out there, sing along with me" He later says " If you're out there, tomorrow's starting now" This part means that If anyone wants to make the world a better place then stand up and do something, and that we can't wait, that we have to start now.
"No more broken promises. No more call to war. Unless it's love and peace, that we're really fighting for. We can destroy hunger. We can conquer hate. Put down the arms and raise your voice. We're joining hands today." This part tells us[the human race] all the things that we can do if we work together to achieve them.
The rest of the songs talk about we can do anything together and that we have to start now.
The singer John Legend is a huge humanitarian, he just won a huge award for his work overseas to gain peace, end hunger, and end poverty. This song is just another way he is pleading with the rest of us to take action and start solving global problems.
This song touched my heart and made want to start helping the world. I can't go to the poverty stricken areas, but I do donate money to an organization that helps, and yes it is legitimate.
"The future started yesterday and we're already late." I think that this part of the song means that we should have already started working on a brighter future, but we are just living in the present.
In the chorus he says "If you're out there, sing along with me" He later says " If you're out there, tomorrow's starting now" This part means that If anyone wants to make the world a better place then stand up and do something, and that we can't wait, that we have to start now.
"No more broken promises. No more call to war. Unless it's love and peace, that we're really fighting for. We can destroy hunger. We can conquer hate. Put down the arms and raise your voice. We're joining hands today." This part tells us[the human race] all the things that we can do if we work together to achieve them.
The rest of the songs talk about we can do anything together and that we have to start now.
The singer John Legend is a huge humanitarian, he just won a huge award for his work overseas to gain peace, end hunger, and end poverty. This song is just another way he is pleading with the rest of us to take action and start solving global problems.
This song touched my heart and made want to start helping the world. I can't go to the poverty stricken areas, but I do donate money to an organization that helps, and yes it is legitimate.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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