Nice job with your blogs. I appreciate your feedback about helping quieter students feel comfortable about speaking because my outgoing style can sometimes intimidate quieter students. Strong insight/passion/argument in the t-shirt blog. Original CD ideas that touch on issues that would educate as well as engage the public.

Blog # 12 - An Ideal University

Ideally, a perfect university should consist of a great cafeteria. The kitchen should be comprised of state-of-the-art cooking equipment, 5-star chefs, open-hearted employees, and affordable prices. Next, an ideal university should have extremely ambitious professors that have a strong desire to share their knowledge. Professors should go out of their way to get students more involved without forcing public speaking presentations, and by engaging their classroom into a conversation by creating a relaxed environment that is not intimidating to the introverted students. Furthermore, a model university needs to have superb athletic facilities. Gymnasiums, pools, fields, and courts, should all be regularly maintained and operated by friendly, fit athletes willing to train the needy. Lastly, a prime university must have significant job opportunities. Jobs must be readily available to those about to receive their degree, and it is crucial for these jobs to give a student an opportunity to further excel in his or her career. These are just a few great ways to establish a perfect university where students can enjoy themselves, get a phenomenal education, and delight in great, cheap food.

Blog #10

1. After considering the arguments, how do you respond to the visual and textual rhetoric of these shirts? Does one shirt elicit a different reaction from you than the other? Do you see the images as a parody? How does your exposure, participation, or lack of participation in a spiritual faith influence your answer? Explain.

These shirts seem like a desperate, pathetic attempt for Christian teenagers to display their religious affiliation in a “trendy” way. Both of the shirts are lame and disrespect the sacred religion and other religions as well. Portraying a holly prophet in a sweatshirt with a peace-sign is not humorous and indeed offends many people. Being a devout Muslim, I am offended by these shirts because Jesus is also an important holly figure in the religion of Islam.

2. Use one of Paul Mitchell's quotes to refute his argument.

When Paul Mitchell is discussing the band “U2”, he states “wearing their t-shirt was an obvious way to make a Christian statement.” He is stating how he wanted to display his religious affiliation at a rock concert. This completely disagrees with his whole argument of outwardly communicating Christianity through love and not with material items.

3. If the t-shirts only contained the text, how would that impact the rhetorical effect? Would that change the way you react to the shirts?

If the t-shirts contained only text there would be less of a rhetorical effect leading to less of a controversy. The idea of portraying a prophet in a “humorous” way is offensive. In addition, the idea of being “trendy” and stating “Jesus is my homeboy”, which is the equivalent of calling Jesus a good friend, is not so controversial and should be generally accepted.

4. How do you interpret the rhetorical message about Jesus in each t-shirt? Consider how you interpreted the comics and ads in the beginning of the term as a model for how to respond to this question. For the shirt on the left consider halo, facial expression, color of the shirt, and positioning of Jesus in relationship to the text. For the shirt on the right, consider the attire and physical gestures. For both shirts, consider color scheming and font style.

The first t-shirt is displaying Jesus as somewhat of a teenager. The peace-sign and the open mouth suggest a young, playful gesture. In comparison to the other t-shirt, Jesus looks serious and more “realistic” in theory. The quotation “Jesus is my homeboy” ads “humor” to the t-shirt which contradicts the somber image behind it.

Blog # 8

Step 1: Invent your tunesFor this blog assignment, you will design a CD and invent 5 original song titles that will appear on it. These song titles should take a stance on any topic you'd like, from personal to international. Just keep in mind that they should specifically convey your stance and you should make up the titles from your imagination. These could develop into essay topics. Each song should represent a different topic or issue that interests you. After the song title, explain what argumentative issues the song is addressing and what genre of music it will be. Consider logos, ethos, and pathos and how different music genres use these elements. For example, how would a country song and a rap song differ in dealing with domestic violence?For example, if you disagree with capital punishment, an entry might look like this:Song title: "When Justice reVOLTs"Genre: RapExplanation: This song explores the injustices of capital punishment, particularly towards minorities. The song will have sound bytes of interviews with men who were wrongfully placed on death row, underscored by explicit lyrics that compare and contrast the unfair treatment of minorities accused of crimes as opposed to caucasians exonerated for crimes. Socio-economic factors are also addressed.

1) Title: “Ghettos of Senegal”
Genre: Hip-Hop
Explanation: Song discusses troubles and violence in the country Senegal. The artist talks about political corruption, immigration, and slavery.

2) Title: “I’m at War”
Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
Explanation: Song talks about interracial marriages and relationships, and the difficulties that are included with them. Song includes two people from different backgrounds struggling to be together.

3) Title: “No 9 to 5”
Genre: Hip-Hop
Explanation: Song involves the hardships of a typical 9 to 5 job, and the stress that is involved. The song discusses things that 9 to 5-ers go through such as rush-hour, other obligations, achieving higher job positions, etc.

4) Title: “Say Something”
Genre: Hip-Hop
Explanation: Talks about the problem of our minorities and youths not being heard. Complains about how the voices of the under-privileged, and under-aged are not typically considered, which leads to violence and troubles among children.

5) “Spend all of my Money”
Genre: Hip-Hop
Explanation: Song discusses the problem of people lavishly spending their money on things they can’t afford, and eventually regretting it. Song specifically talks about over-charged credit cards, and exceeding credit limits.

Step 2: Write the LyricsAfter you are finished with the list, choose one song that you feel most passionate about, and expand it. Write a short paragraph of lyrics that best captures the stance and tone of the song. (The lyrics can be from any section of your song.) Tell me what the video of the song would portray.

Song # 1
“Ghettos of Senegal”
Lyrics:
(Small Portion of Song)

I’ve seen kids with automatic weapons waiting for the war to get on that side, and I know about being born in America to avoid immigration. So what you know about the Goree Island, where all the slaves were shipped from?

Step 3: Title your Grammy-winning CD Give your entire CD a title. Try to convey a strong stance, attitude, or mood.

“Neglected Troubles”

Step 4: Design the coverDesign your CD cover. You may either describe the cover in detail (color, visual image, photos, text, layout) or actually design your CD cover by using any image that intrigues you - perhaps an ad or a painting. A personal photo is also fine. Feel free to be creative. You do not have to bring in a hard copy of the design to class. Just describe what it would look like on your blog, or provide a visual on the blog.


The front cover will have a big picture of a minority, preferably black, because it will draw the most attention. The black male will be in a white room sitting at a table alone. The man will have his elbows on the table, with his head facing down, and he will be looking down and have both of his hands on his head implying that he is fed up, tired, and unsatisfied.

Blog #4

In your blog, discuss your reaction to this video. What does this video fail to address, and what weak arguments could occur as a result? As participants in the video suggest, do you agree that steroids can be used responsibly?

This video fails to address that steroids are illegal and harmful. Just because a few users of steroids have not seen any of the horrid side affects that are caused by the artificial increase of testosterone, does not mean steroids are harmless. The use of steroids also brings up the controversy of unfair competition because steroids have different effects and benefits for each person depending on genetics, etc. Steroids cannot be used responsibly because as a user experiences the benefits of the drug, he/she becomes addicted and dependent, and is less likely to refrain from usage. Even if steroids were as harmless as this video makes them sound, it is still against the law to use, buy, or sell them and therefore it should not be done.

2. Athletes and SteroidsOne concern is that steroid use constitutes cheating and thus violates the integrity of sports. Another concern is that steroid use increases health risks such as hair loss, mood swings, high blood pressure, and the potential for long-term medical problems.Texas State Senate Bill 8 recently mandated a steroid testing program for a random selection of local high school athletes. Please review the following website, which explains this UIL Anabolic Steroid Testing Program:http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/health/steroid_information.htmlReferencing Dr. John Hoberman's book, Testosterone Dreams: Rejuvenation, Aphrodisia, Doping, Steven Shapin explains, "Hoberman maintains that steroid use is the natural consequence of the hyper-competitiveness and performance anxiety of our entire culture" (333). Shapin concludes that "steroids are the spectator goods we demand," yet he also asserts that this deduction is oversimplified (333-334).In your blog, based on the information I have provided you, what are your reactions to steroid use and steroid testing? Should there be different standards for professional athletes vs. high school athletes? How about different steroid use standards for different sports?

The procedure for steroid testing among high school students and professional athletes seems effective. The percentage of active steroid users is very low and makes steroid usage seem like a small problem. The standards for steroid testing should conform to everybody, and should not fluctuate with age, gender, etc. Steroids have typically the same ultimate effect on everybody, increased strength, so it should not matter what sport is being practiced.


As Hoberman suggests, do you think steroid use is an expected manifestation our culture's demand to be the best rather than merely do our best? Are we creating a double standard that forces athletes to measure up? Explain your reasoning. If you have any personal experiences with this issue, feel free to add these as well!

Steroid use is the outcome of increased pressure and athletes to perform better. Records are constantly being broken, and sports are becoming more competitive. We are not creating a “double standard” because it is an athlete’s choice to take steroids and we, as an audience, are not forcing nor encouraging the use of these drugs. In fact, many of us look down upon professional athletes who turn to artificial strength to gain a competitive edge.

Paraphrasing Practice

Direct quotations should not be used excessively throughout a research paper. An exceptional research paper, according to James D. Lester, contains less than 10% of direct quotations. It is highly recommended to summarize and write down learned material in your own words rather than jotting down information verbatim.

Blog #4 Action Figures

1. Summarize the argument for each article. Be sure to use your own words, recognizing that merely changing sentence structure or only changing a few words would constitute plagiarism.

The argument presented in the first article is that action figures have changed over the past 30 year by exhibiting unrealistic male physiques, and becoming more and more muscular over time. The author is attempting to establish a relationship between male body image disorders and different messages culture (action figures) sends us over time about the ideal physique. The second article states that attempting to create any type of relationship between action figures and the increased use of steroids among men with a negative image is completely ludicrous.

2. Analyze the tone of both articles, discussing how the presentation style and language effectively or ineffectively presents the authors' arguments. Use direct examples from both articles to support your point. Based on this analysis, what audience would you choose for each article?

The tone in the first article is more serious and informative. The article’s purpose is to inform through the use of “logos”, by retrieving information through various sources and citing them throughout the article. The audience of this article is most likely someone of higher power, with the ability and power to stop the production of “steroid-action-figures”. The tone of the second article is slightly satirical, and somewhat humorous. When the author says “We stopped playing with toys before grade school”, and then continues to say “Well, most of us, anyway”, this is displaying some kind of a cocky-humor. The audience of this second article is most likely everyday people, with no substantial power, and who purchase these action figures.

3. What is your reaction to the assertions in the articles? Consider how cultural expectations for your gender influenced your response, as well as how your personal experience factors. For example, did you have a favorite action figure or doll? Why was it your favorite? Did your parents deny you certain types of toys because they were too violent, too masculine, or too feminine? If so, how did that affect you?

The first article is ridiculous. Kids usually stop playing with toys during grade school, and eventually forget all about them. It is silly to say that more muscular toys are encouraging the use of steroids. I agree with the second article when it states that professional wrestlers are most likely the cause of increased steroid use, because it involves real people, and men of all ages watch professional wrestling.