reflection

This past semester has taught me tons about taking my writing to the next level. Through various example essays and movies, I learned about effectively expressing myself through writing. The blogs were also an effective way of doing this. By being forced to write about anything, I was able to broaden my horizons and write about anything and everything. I was also able to read other’s blogs and not only read about interesting news but analyze the way they wrote and apply some of those things to my own writing. This introduced new ways of writing and gave me new things to write about. I think that the ability to write from different perspectives about various subjects was one of the most valuable things I learned this semester. We wrote about a variety of topics, forcing me to find new and interesting ways to write. Student examples and various papers that we read also helped me discover new ways to write. When we analyzed each part of ever paper as a class, I learned how to structure my paper in a way that was both informative and interesting. From the first paper, I learned the importance of hooking the reader through effective use of the first paragraph. Even the movies helped as I was able to analyze the way that the director formatted and arranged the movie. With all of this information and tools, I was able to become a much more proficient writer over the course of a semester.

Privacy?

This article discusses how government wiretapping can spread to all sorts of internet communication, even all instant messenger conversations and emails. ISPs are now forced to report virtually all information. This is part of the CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act), which congress passed way back in 1994. This doesn’t mean that you are being watched, but that you are susceptible to being watched. It is currently in the House right now. I personally feel that this is a complete breach of privacy, which is a basic human right. Although it can be instituted with good intentions, I feel that no one has the right to monitor what anyone does. People are supposed to have the inherent right to privacy, and I feel that the government is trying to take this away. I don’t make bombs over the internet or things like that, but I feel this is wrong. Like the article says “Write to your Congressman”.

American disgrace

Did anyone watch American Idol this past night? I did. I watched the show a few seasons back, but really hadn’t followed the show much this season. It just didn’t seem to have the same appeal as it did before. And I think this is one of the major problems with reality shows – the problem of too much similarity. Although not entirely the same, people go through the same steps and trials in order to become an American Idol. However, this is not what fascinated me about the show last night.
I sat at home watching the finale with my father over dinner last night. He did not follow the show much either, but we were interested in seeing who the big winner would be. During the two hour episode, they would have small awards that would be given out to previous contestants. These awards were given to people who were deemed to be the worst of all the auditions. Some of the auditions such as the lady who won the first award seemed completely staged. I honestly have a hard time believing that someone could be so jaded and oblivious that she would do what she did. It seemed as if she wanted to be the next William Hung. Now, I am not saying that she purposely portrayed herself as a fool, but she sure seemed like it. She wore a bright yellow outfit that made her look as if she were big bird. The entire award ceremony seemed as if it were an attempt at bringing back viewers to a show that had lost its luster over the past season. The show had its lowest ratings ever, and this seemed as if it were a low class attempt to draw back viewers by trashing others. Television is at its worst when it trashes innocent people, which is what it seems American Idol has come to. It went as far as awarding two friends the award for best duo. These friends were not exactly the best looking or greatest of singers, but genuine and good hearted people.

Wii

Nintendo plans on selling 35 million Wii consoles by 2012. That’s astounding considering most people had cast it off for the better graphics of the XBOX 360 and Playstation3. This has caused production for the Wii to go up. The Wii has currently sold much more consoles than the XBOX 360 and Playstation3 combined for a total of 360,000 units. I feel that this is a powerful statement that gameplay and content is much more important than graphics and visuals. Just look at how hard it is to buy a Wii compared to the PS3 and 460. If game play is what one is looking for, then the Wii wins by a longshot with classic Nintendo titles such as Mario, Zelda, and Samus. “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” is a testament to the Wii’s success. Its perfect ratings in nearly all gaming magazines shows how careful depth and organization of game play beats graphics every time. It is very rare for any game to achieve a perfect rating. Plus, the Wii is designed to reach out to gamers of all ages. It has even become a staple in retirement homes, adding excitement and fun with each swing of the bat or bowl down the lane. I personally own a Wii and love it. Even the simplistic “Wii Sports” that comes with the game extremely addicting and a joy to play at all times. With its innovative style, it is easy to see why Nintendo is still number one.

Jesus camp

Although I tried to stay impartial during the movie “Jesus Camp”, I think that I ended up holding some bias. Although I did not agree with much of what these people argued, I felt that I understood their background and where they were coming from. One of the things that I did not agree with at all was the statement made by Becky Fisher, who compared her Evangelical students to that of radical muslims – that they should be willing to die for Christ. Although such firm belief may be admirable, one should not willingly put oneself at risk, which radical muslims often do. They often kill others and themselves with the hopes of being a martyr. When has killing others ever been accepted in any religion? It seems that this is what Fisher and her staff were promoting at this camp. Young children are like blank slates that take in what they hear. If they are fed with such radical ideals, then what Fisher is creating is a new era of martyrs no different than that of radical muslims who kill others.
The film did demonize Evangelicals as radicals. However, I believe (or I sure hope so) that this represented a small number of the evangelical community, and that most other Evangelicals are more moderate than the faculty and students at this camp.
Another issue with this certain group of Evangelicals was that they felt a need to join together the church and state. Through history, we see that secular governments are what work best, not influenced by the powers of god. Rational judgment should be used to make important political choices, not the divine power of God.

txt msg

Have you seen the new AT&T cell phone commercial? Where a mother and daughter fight over the cell phone bill using cell phone acronyms? I think it’s horrible. The commercial is extremely pointless and furthermore is quite annoying. Having someone talk using text lingo confused me and made me think. I don’t particularly like having to work to understand commercials. But worse than the commercial are the implications that cell phone lingo has on the English language. Through messaging tools such as cell phone texting, instant messaging, and email, people have begun to adopt shortcuts to the way they write. Although initially harmless, I feel that these shortcuts are needless and have escalated to the point that they make no sense. An example is the commercial. You could turn virtually anything you desired into an acronym, making it impossible to understand what you were trying to say. I text my friends and use instant messaging, and it really isn’t that much of a hassle to type out a few more letters. What’s the point in shortening words such as “Bye”, when they are already so short? Worse, texting is leading to a new age of broken English that stresses getting one’s message out rather than saying it properly and fully. For example, “Hey, go mall”, screams improper English that can only hurt kids when they have to write a thesis paper. Not that I don’t occasionally use such language, but I try to make a conscious effort to limit myself. I don’t see this new fad going away anytime soon, so perhaps I should try to look into what some of the more complex lingo means.

Bear or Human?

The movie “Grizzly Man” raised some very thought-provoking questions about the life of Timothy Treadwell. The director, Werner Herzog does a great job of staying neutral in a movie that I felt would be hard to stay neutral in. Instead of taking the obvious “Timothy was a nutcase and menace to society” route, he spent much time focusing on the positives, and had people seriously consider the validity of Timothy’s mission. In an attempt to fully understand the motives of an individual such as Timothy, it is important to take into account both sides of the argument. He even goes as far as praising Treadwell as a good filmmaker. Some of the questions that I felt were brought up were: Is there a line between man and nature? Did Treadwell relate better with bears than with humans?
I feel that we are essentially a part of nature, at least to a certain extent. We ultimately are the product of nature and therefore I believe that although humans aren’t exactly able to adapt to nature now, we are a part of it. Through the efforts of becoming modern and such, we have broken away from nature. And I think for the most part, Treadwell felt a deeper connection with nature than humans. From his childhood, it was obvious that he didn’t exactly fit in. As a result, he probably turned to bears and wildlife as an alternative. In this way, I feel that Treadwell did relate better with bears and felt as if he understood them. Through his interactions with the bears, it was apparent that he felt a certain closeness to them that he really didn’t possess with humans. Herzog did a good job of portraying this in a way that did not alienate the audience against him, but often sympathized with his cause.