Grammar Post!

This weeks confusing grammar post for me was on in text citation, or citing a large paragraph within a piece of writing. After reading a few articles of "Rereading America" I have learned the proper way to cite a paragraph within a piece of writing. For example I did not know you had to single space a large paragraph you use, indent the entire piece on the left side, and you don't have to surround the entire quote with quotations. I found a good example for block quotations at this link <http://library.spokanefalls.edu/guides/quotingMLAstyle.stm>

two ways to hurt a woman post

Jean kilbourne's two ways to hurt a woman is an extreme look into how the media so strongly affects our subconcious through the subliminal imaging of women being sexualized,abused,and characterized as sex objects.some may say that kilbourne wildly takes the subject matter out of portion but I have to agree with due to the fact that this issue is so blatantly overlooked and bipassed in our male dominant culture.I believe that those who deny that our society has evolved to disrespect and chastize women due to advertisement are simply blind.our culture refuses to admit how strongly we are influenced by what we see everyday because we know we are obsessed with entertainment, and what sells almost every imaginal product on the market?sex does! That's why car companies, fashion industries,and even food products sell themselves because human beings are obsessed with sex! What's sad as kilbourne points out, is that our generations and those to come do not perceive sex as it should be. Instead of an intimate connection between two, we are teaching our children that its ok to sleep around, mistreat our partners even abuse them.the problem lies with the marketing companies-what new shocking tactic will be used to sell their product?

killer culture blog

killer culture by david kupelian is an extreme example of what some see our culture coming to. I know we would all like to think that we are not as doomed as this article tells us we are, but we must realize how much the media affects us. I think it is important to a few extreme writers like kupelian to show us reality as it is. It is easyfor americans to forget how much time they spend watching tv a day-8 hours on average and we are exposed to so much imagery and stimulus during that time.the most interesting aspect I found in this article was that kupelian demonstrated that mtv virtually mirrors what average teenagers do and entice them into topping the last trend. There is no limit or grotesqe level that a teenager might go to in modern day america. There are certainly exceptions to the rule as always but the majority of american teens are turning into followers who have no self reservation.

Grammar Post 2

This weeks confusing grammar issue for me is when and when not to capitalize certain titles. For example, While I was writing my paper on my political cartoons, I noticed the grammar checker corrected me several times when typing "Middle East", or "United States". What's confusing to me is that when you're referring to the geographical location of the middle east do you have to capitalize it like you would the United States? Apparentely so! The reasoning behind the answer is pretty simple, but somewhere along the first grade I never applied locations as person, places, or things, in other words NOUNS! Maybe it's my hair color getting in the way again, but anyways, I found this cool website called writers block that reiterated what I should have learned in elementary school! So the moral of the story is, when referring to a location as a title, you must capitalize it even if it is not the name of a specific country!! Here's the link to the website <http://www.writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipmar98.htm>

framing class blog

Speaking of hedonistic consumerism I just happen to be typing this blog from my new blackberry!after reading diana kendalls framing class,I feel especially guilty buying a somewhatpricey and uneccessary piece of electronic equipment.kendall so eloquently hightlights an issue that our country has been shying away from-excessive consumerism.for example, when I purchased this very phone I am blogging from, I immediately felt this wave of satisfaction because we have been brainwashed to associate expensive purchases with status quo.in my heart I know that by having nice things like well off people does not make me a better person it is merely a materialistic persona.luckily I am able to admit this about myself-it is the first step to recovery right? I really appreciated the examples kendall uses including paris hiltons the simple life to illustrate how the upper class mocks the middle class while we financially support it. If I could add anything to kendalls writings it would be the irony that for all the money and status celebrities,athletes, and models make the middle and lower class virtually funds all of it.

Serving in Florida blog

"Serving in Florida" by Barbara Ehrenreich really hit home for me because I have over 5 years of experience working in the food/restaraunt industry. Although Ehenreich's venture from being a journalist to a waitress and housekeeper differs to citizens that rely on minimum wage jobs, her writing certainly illustrates the hardships of making ends meet. Many people who work in such conditions as restaraunts, motels, or shops understand the fast paced, messy, chaotic nature of it all. I loved how Ehrenreich went into detail with descriptions of food and messes in the kitchen, the way her clothes smelled after coming home, taking advil every few hours, and quickly changing clothes imbetween jobs. Most people would not imagine the sweat, tears, and blood that go into working a job like this. It was a little bit frustrating to see Ehrenreich's view of the type of people that work in this environment, because she usually is the one looking in. Although there are many theives, drug addicts, and irresponsible people working in the restaraunts and motels we consume, there are also crooks that pose as CEO's, politicians, and business people. That's the only disagreement I had with this writing is that Ehrenreich subtly downcast the "type" of people that work in restaraunts, motels, and retail. I did however, appreciate that Ehrenreich took her job seriously by offering herself to the experience of being a waitress and housekeeper.

I Just Wanna be Average post

I really really enjoyed the style and format in which Mike Rose writes his piece, " I Just Wanna Be Average". As Mike points out, when a fellow classmate of his bluntly states he wants to average, it is sometimes easy to feel that way in today's society because of the tremendous amount of pressure put on us. I like the way that Rose illustrates his main idea through telling a story of his childhood and high school experience. It's interesting to watch Rose grow as a student and writer all because of the influence of his teacher Jack MacFarland. I always find it inspiring to hear about teachers like Mr. MacFarland in the school system, because it proves that there are still educators out there that teach because their passion is to inspire young minds. As a student, more often than not we are given teachers that do not truly love their job and put quality time into their teaching style. From the sound of the writing, MacFarland inspired students to love and appreciate their individual mind, and pursue their passion whatever it may have been. I believe Rose's objective in this writing was to show that it is not that hard to draw the attention of secondary aged students, and turn them into successful independent thinkers. I can also appreciate the fact that Mr. Macfarland took Rose and some of his other literary friends under his wing by exposing them to other cultures, arts, and philosophies. It is crucial to generations ahead of us that we introduce them to other forms of thinking than is provided in the public school systems.

Against School blog

John Taylor Gatto's writing, "Against School" is a reminder of other great writings such as 1984, a great reminder of a dystopian future. What was fascinating about his article on the problems with our world's education system is that he came from a view that many people refuse to even talk or thing about. I think it is very bold and at times dramatic how Gatto parallels our education system to that of our downfall. I thoroughly appreciate it when a great writer is open to write about subjects that are socially "unacceptable" because we all need opposite insight from time to time. There are moments throughout every one of my days where I question why I am performing things because that's what I'm supposed to do. It is quite humbling as Gatto points out that we learn many of these routines from our twelve year education plan. I am glad however that Gatto points out that education if very important, when it is learned in an original and independent environment. Is it possible that from the time public education was born, that our government has planned to "reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry"? It makes sense that powerful government forces would want a race of dependent and disciplined human beings that did not know how to group together and rebel. From my standpoint, I believe the government has the desire to control every aspect of our country to a point. I have also observed the media controls us just as much or more because of the desire for control and money. Human beings have created this situation not soley to manipulate and control one another, but mostly because we always want more. We want to be better at technology, science, or business; and we control this by advertising our product. Lastly, I enjoy the point where Gatto urges parents to teach their own to be leaders and adventurers instead of employees and consumers.

Grammar Post 1

The grammar issue that I will discuss this week has to do with not using "I" or "me" terms in our writings in class. It's a rule that I've been familiar with since high school english, but I find it sometimes difficult not to include myself and my personal opinions in my papers. It is sometimes difficult for amateur writers to exclude themselves from conversation in our writing because we are so used to talking in this manner. The correct grammar or guideline in our writings should be to make a firm statement without backing it up with our personal take. I'm starting to realize that in making a firm statement as if it is a fact allows the reader to believe the context of your writing more easily. I found an interesting webpage about using firmer statements instead of "I" or "me" to use a more active voice in your writing. The website is http://www.dailywritingtips.com/active-voice/

Michael Moore's "Idiot Nation"

Surprisingly, Michael Moore's "Idiot Nation" had a completely different flavor than the majority of Moore's writing. Although his piece was extremely biased and left wing, Moore offered a much more constructive solution to our country's lack of intelligence. Moore's statistic of 200 millions idiots in the United States as compared to eighty million intelligent citizen was a curious number. I wonder how he retreived these statistics?! Anyways, Moore grabs the reader's attention by including you as one of the eight million intelligent souls.
The statistics of games, averages, and various professional athletes added a unique element to Moore's writing. I enjoyed how Moore illustrated that although these statistics seemed irrelevant, they provided entertainment and interest to its most devoted followers. And although sports and professional events may seem unimportant to some, they are meaningful and inspiring to others. It took me by surprise that Moore aknowledges stereotyped meatheads, jocks, and testosterone loaded bruisers may be intelligent, worthwhile human beings.
The most interesting point in Moore's writing is when he challenges the government and media to make politics as interesting to people as professional sports are. Because our country is so consumed with loud, bright, active entertainment, it makes sense that we restart our minds with fascinating and worthwhile entertainment. If we continue to feed our minds with thoughtless media and entertainment, we will soon forget how to use our intelligent brains. I also like that Moore ends with an eye catching statistic that the average American spends 1, 460 hours watching television and a mere 99 hours reading. Just some food for thought.

Judy Root Aulette reading

The first thing that caught my interest in Judy Root Aulette's essay "From Changing Families" was that it examined the relationship between the classes in today's society. It is not commonly brought to our attention that certain classes of people interact with other classes of the same society. For example, wealthier people tend belong to private schools, socialize in the same country clubs, and live in the same neighborhoods. On the other end, it was observed by Aulette that many impoverished black families tend to fall in the same lifestyle generation after generation due to black fathers being unable to support and control their family.
Aulette intelligently attributes the lack of opportunity and education in many black cities to the downfall of the African-American society. Other issues such as racism and unequal opportunity made it equally hard for African-Americans to work their way into society over the years. Another view into the African-American culture is that both the man and woman in a relationship share equal power over the family.
In today's society, we still see some of these issues rise in social circles, the educational atmosphere, and in politics. I firmly believe that our stereotypes between races is a result of the racism and unequality from our country's origins and a lack of resources and proper education. We can only improve these statistics by seeing our cultures as equals to one another. Providing the same opportunities to people all over the world and considering them as intellectual as our own can only change our relationships for the better.

Stephanie Coontz reading

Reading Stephanie Coontz's essay, "What we Really Miss About the 1950's" was an interesting look back at how different America's social and economic views were compared to today's generation. I thought it was an interesting point Coontz made that the traditional male/female role in the household was an adaptation to America's early industrial age. The bread winner and homemaker roles made a lot more sense when everyone was trying to acheive the American dream. Interestingly, Coontz points out that these roles from child to student to consumer was actually detrimental to the idea of a stable and economic household.
In response to the idea of a perfect family unit, Coontz makes the point that this idea of the American dream indirectly caused such problems as the the Great Depression and the rest of the world's view of our country. I find it peculiar that we read this author's particular view when our country is going through a similar economic struggle as it did in the 1940's- 1950's. I think Coontz makes a valid point when stating that the problem of divorced families does not lie in the marriage itself, but the arguments between family members. I also admire Coontz for encouraging family members to embrace step family members instead of condeming them.
Other issues such as the growing independence of women, post-war interaction between the government and the country, and unethical tax cuts further damaged the following generation of youth. In response, the American family adapted by having a later marriage, fewer children, and two job relationship. Although these drastic changes took a toll on the 1950's economy, it changed our country into what it is today.

Hellllooooo, my name is Lindsey

Good afternoon to you all,
Starting a fresh new class has always been an exciting experience for me because I love to meet new people. It really is interesting to think that for the next, oh, two months we'll be spending a quality amount of time together both in class and chatting on blogger. This is actually a new experience for me, so if I'm doing anything "electronically" incorrect, please don't hesitate to bring it to my attention. You'd think I would know more about computers and such seeing how I am a part of the oober smart electronic generation, but it is all relatively new to me, so please I beg of you, hold my hand!! Haha, getting back to point I guess this is the part of my blog where I begin to tell you all a little bit about myself. My full name is Lindsey Sage Eberhard, I grew up in various towns of southern Utah- Cedar City, Hurricane, Toquerville, and last but certainly not least, Springdale/Zion National Park. When people ask where I grew up, I always tell them the most about Springdale. If you don't know of Springdale, it's a small hippie/tourist town at the entrance of Zion National Park. If you've never been there, you're simply crazy because it is one of the most beautiful places I've been to in the world, and it's our own backyard! I grew up hiking, swimming in rivers, climbing and repelling, taking pictures, riverrunning, raising wild animals, and just anything concerning mother nature you can imagine. I now know how lucky I was to grow up in a place many people travel across the world to experience. I will always call this area my home, and I love it. As for what I enjoy doing in the real world, I have always known I wanted to work in the health field. I am currently in school for nursing, and will eventually apply for Physicians Assistant or Nurse Practitioner school. I've already had several joyous experiences working as a CNA at a nursing home in the alzheimers/dimentia unit, an Urgent Care clinic in Salt Lake City, and I am now currently working at a youth treatment center as a medical technician. You see, I love school but most of the life lessons I have learned have been at these jobs. Some of my hobbies include soccer-I am currently playing with an all hispanic mens soccer team, I love to swim, fish, hike, mountain biking, I love to eat and cook but that doesn't mean I'm good at it YET, I love to watch movies, travel, but deep at heart I love to make people laugh. I guess I should have been a comedian. I could go on and on about myself, but I am honestly not that narcissistic (please don't dock me for spelling or grammar Chelsi)!!! Well, I hope to get to know you all in this class, until then, this is Lindsey and that's the way the cookie crumbles :)