In Class: Whatever I Want

So I had a pretty great break. I ate a lot of good food and enjoyed a break from homework. I'm so excited for Christmas break and then Summer is going to be the best. My favorite part of my Thanksgiving feasts was actually the mashed potatoes. I grew up in Idaho and used to have real mashed potatoes all the time, but ever since I've moved here, for some reason I've only had the little potato pearls that you put in water. Those things are disgusting and I was really really excited to see real mashed potatoes on the table at Thanksgiving. Sometimes I have to laugh at the things that I get excited about.

Over the break I also bought a TV. I have been looking for a good TV at a great price for a long time but I could never bring myself to actually spend the money until my parents called me on the morning of Black Friday and said "We're giving you money for TV for Christmas so go buy one!" I was really excited and my new TV is awesome.

Unit Three Proposal

Unit Three Proposal

We have chosen to address the topic of music piracy. We would like to enter this conversation because music piracy has recently become more prevalent than ever. With websites offering free music at the click of a mouse, it is easier and more affordable to download illegal songs than it is to obtain the music legally.

It is necessary that we spread awareness of the consequences associated with music piracy. Although there are positive aspects to free music downloads such as exposure, copyright infringement is punishable offense. It is common that students are unaware of the consequences that can range from lawsuits to large fines of millions of dollars.

Our audience will be traditional students currently enrolled in Texas Christian University, usually between the ages of 17 and 25. These students tend to be more thrifty than others because of the high cost of education. Students are often the most common offenders of these copyright laws. Most students own a laptop and have access to the internet making it easy to download illegally.

Ideas for genres/mediums:
- Daily Skiff Article
- Poster (mainly visual)
- Song

Unit 3 Proposal

Unit III Proposal

Our chosen issue is oversleeping. Studies say that more than 8 hours of sleep per evening is "oversleeping". Many college students complain of not getting enought sleep, but really they are not using their time effectively. They tend to overcompensate after pulling an all nighter, rather than arranging their time appropriately. This sleeping habit can be dangerous to their health, causing physical and mental trauma.

If you sleep too much it affects your productivity, health and overall well-being. Developing good sleeping habits is important, especially during the college years. The benefits of getting an appropriate amount of sleep outweighs the costs. In our project we will address these issues and promote the idea that getting 8 hours of sleep or more is overrated. 

Our audience will be traditional full-time students currently enrolled in Texas Christian University (taking 15 or more hours per semester), usually between the ages of 17 and 25. These students are busy and balance academics, a social life, and often a job as well. Sleep becomes less and less of a priority. 

Ideas for geners/mediums:
Textual- Article in the Daily Skiff
Video- TCU News Now- segment
Visual- Pillow Case, Eye mask with holes in the eyes = sleep related items that are not condusive to sleep

In Class: I Did the Reading Before Class and Made Notes.

The reading for today discussed visual arguments. The book talked about the debate between Nixon and Kennedy and the effect that being able to see the candidates had on the election. It discussed how visuals are shaped to meet the purpose of the author. When analyzing visuals you would look at the following elements:

• Authors'Creators
• Medium
• Viewers/Readers
• Content and Purpose
• Design

And when using visual arguments the following should be considered:

• Arguments based on Character
• Look for images that reinforce your character
• Consider how design reflects your character (font, size, color, etc.)
• Follow required design conventions
• Arguments based on fact and reason
• Organize info visually
• Use visuals to convey data efficiently
• Follow professional guidelines
• Check for copyrighted material
• Arguments that appeal to emotion
• Appreciate emotional power of images
• Appreciate the emotional power of color

I will apply this knowledge by following the outlined steps for all our visuals. I'll consider everything from color to the organization of each visual to ensure that it helps support my argument.

Also, for my own reference, I made three comments on my peers' blogs today.

In Class: What I Learned From The Reading

Well, I did read last night, but to be honest it wasn't for this class. It wasn't even for school. I read my scriptures for a few minutes last night before I went to bed and I learned about a guy named Abinadi. Abinadi lived in ancient America somewhere and was telling a wicked group of rulers about all the things they were doing wrong and how God could not support their people because they were not obeying the commandments. To make a long story short, Abinadi was burned at the stake because the wicked rulers hated what he told them so much. After his death everything he prophesied actually happened and the people were in all kinds of trouble. From this I learned that obeying the commandments is important if we want to be happy. I also learned that we should listen to our leaders.

It has nothing to do with this class at all, but I believe I answered the question posed to us of  "What did you learn from your reading last night?"

Axel Hawker: Captain of Computers

I've always thought the title "Captain" was cool. I've probably thought that because I think pirates are cool and the leader of a group of pirates is the captain. I also like to set up all kinds of online collaboration for group projects because I'm a busy guy and don't always have the time to physically meet somewhere. In my search for better ways to not have meetings I've developed a love for all the cool stuff you can do online and with computers. I also like alliteration, just throwing that in there.
Because of these likes my job title is Captain of Computers. My job entails anything that specifically involves a computer such as online collaboration, editing photos or video, publishing to YouTube, or just whatever the team needs me to do. With my help we are going to be a super-efficient team that produces amazing work. My really cool teammates are Remley Johnson and Erica Torgerson.

In Class: Ideal Group Work Situation

In the perfect world of group work I'd be in a group of people that all loved to take assignments, do them, and then follow-up with the group. We'd all have Gmail accounts and we could collaborate on things without necessarily being in the same place or even at the same time. We'd all be respectful in a general sense but more specifically we would respect each others time. Everyone would also be a willing, compromising, supporting participant in whatever we were doing.

Starting the Draft

Evaluate state of argument in America

Commonalities

 All my primary sources:

 - are from the web

 - target people who are familiar with android

 - target people who are interested in phones

 - target the kind of people with smartphones

 - are probably written by males

 - are pretty short - for business owners/young people

 - have less pathos than ethos or logos

 

Differences:

 - media

 - formality

 - method of publication

 - scope of audience (narrow-broad)

 - sponsorship

 - tone

 - positivity

In Class: Reflection on Primary Source Hunt

Finding my primary sources was really easy, I planned it that way and it worked. What made the difference for me was the process. I suppose that most people picked their subject and then looked for primary sources. The problem with this method is that once you've chosen your subject you're stuck and if you can't find any good primary sources it's just too bad. I made it easy on myself by finding my sources before I picked a topic. Before I was committed to anything I made sure I had at least 3 great primary sources to work with. It took a tiny bit more effort up front but it's made the rest of the deal a breeze.
Another key factor was picking something that I really like. If I had decided my original sources weren't good enough or I needed more I would've known exactly where to go. Plus, I like thinking about this stuff in my spare time, making the homework more bearable.
The last key to success was picking something with a specific date that was highly documented on the web, I could punch the date and topic into Google and find all sorts of great stuff.

Unit 2 Topic

My topic is the release of Google's Android-powered phone, the Nexus One. I expect to find sources on this, mainly online from sites created by Google themselves and Forums. I also expect to incorporate something from T-mobile Inc. which is the network the Nexus was made for.

I chose this topic because it's something I like. I think Android is a really cool operating system for phones. I also work for T-mobile so I've heard a lot about the Nexus even though it was not sold in our stores. I also love Google and think they're a great company. I have an android phone myself and I look forward to researching this more and seeing if the arguments made at the release of the Nexus One were effective.

In Class: First Paragraph

I walk into the lobby just outside the sanctuary and I immediately feel like I need to be reverent. For some reason the room feels a little different than the outside or even the other rooms in the church and I'm excited to see what kind of arguments would make me feel like that. I sit down at the nearest bench and start taking a good look around. The floor is a red tile with the occasional white symbol unfamiliar to me. The walls are mostly white with an occasional light blue accent wall. The ceiling is just white square tiles. The most prominent feature I notice is the pictures on the walls, some of them are very interesting and at first I have a hard time detecting any sort of a theme. There are pictures from all different time periods and cultures. The pictures are in all kinds of different styles and made from all different kinds of paints. As I look a little closer I notice that most of the pictures are of one man. In some he is hanging dead on a wooden cross, on others he appears to be addressing a group of people and in still others he is just a child.

In Class: Workshop Feelings

I've been in a few English classes where we would all bring our papers and exchange them with other people so that we could get feedback. Generally, I dislike this practice, but i have to admit it can be helpful sometimes. In the past it's been slightly on the negative side because the students I was grouped with were not the brightest crayons in the box. I usually had such a hard time deciphering their spelling errors that I couldn't even begin to comment on their structure and whether or not things make sense. I also disliked it because the feedback I received was useless. Most people would just say, "It sounds good."

In Class: Reflections on Comments

Based on great peer comments I got the following ideas:

• The different cultures in the pictures is part of a more modern view of accepting everyone.
• I need to explain that there are two rooms.
• I need to attend a worship session and observe there
• Care for the blind is an appeal to ethos and pathos.
• Talk more about belief and faith and how that is represented in the church as a rhetorical appeal.
• I may want to look into explaining the outside of the church
• Is it just for show?
• I need to clarify my "pictures of men" statement to "pictures of a man" or simply be more specific and say it's Jesus.
• Is there anything to appeal to the church's warmth and inviting-ness outside? On the inside?

In Class: Observing the Observing Process

When I was observing my space I saw everything in a lot more detail than what I expected. I would notice things like the design of frames or the pattern of tiles on the floor. If I had not been going to the University Christian Church (UCC) to observe I would probably have not consciously noticed those things. My eyes still would've taken the information in and it would still have some effect on my feelings or my thoughts but it would not have been on the forefront of my mind.

Even though I noticed more than I otherwise would have, I would say that I saw the kinds of things that I expected to see. For example there were lots of pictures of a man dying on a cross. It was clean and well organized. It also had a lot of symbols and pictures that were particular to its culture.

Ethos Pathos Logos At Church

In this week's posting I'm discussing the arguments of ethos pathos and logos that are made by the University Christian Church.

Ethos
Just as a quick recap, an appeal to logos is an appeal to credibility or character. It includes things like diplomas awards and medals, but there are a lot of other ways to appeal to credibility. Let's take a look at how the University Christian Church pulls it off. I stayed mainly in the sanctuary and the lobby just outside of the sanctuary. In this area the floor is tiled very nicely, the furniture is all wood of the best quality and all the pictures are framed in ornate frames with gold prevailing as the dominant color. This atmosphere gives you the impression that you're in a place that's successful, the stuff around you is expensive and you realize that whoever runs the church must be pretty credible to have that kind of support.The pictures inside the frames are all of Christ or at least biblical stories and they are from all time periods and cultures. This is an appeal to ethos because you think, "Well, if they have pictures from all these places they must have studied them and therefore they must really know their stuff."  Inside the sanctuary there are huge pillars, enough seats for maybe a million people and all kinds of crazy symbols and words that make a very strong appeal to anyone who is able to decipher them.

Pathos
An appeal to pathos is an appeal to emotion. The lighting in the lobby is dimmer than usual and that immediately invokes a sense of reverence and quietness. No one that I encountered in the lobby or the sanctuary ever spoke loudly or harshly. A quiet reverence always prevailed. Also the pictures are mostly of Christ as he is dying, which is definitely designed to invoke emotion. To someone who doesn't understand the Christ story it would probably be an emotion of disgust' while those who are familiar with and believe the story will experience an emotion more along the lines of gratitude.

Logos
When you make an appeal to logos you're appealing to someone's logic. In the lobby of the University Christian Church there is a TV that is hung from the ceiling that is constantly flashing appeals to logos. Some of the more notable ones are ads explaining their charitable causes. You would obviously want to attend attend a church that had plenty of charitable endeavors, that's just common sense. Also, next to all the pictures is a little framed caption that has the date, artist and title of the piece, an appeal to logos because of the dates. One last appeal to logos is on the number of seats available in the sanctuary. It is simply logical that if that many people go to church there every week it must be a pretty good church.

Now we would consciously weigh very few of these things in our minds if we were trying to decide whether or not this is the place we wanted to attend church. Most of these appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos happen subconsciously and instantly. We would usually just walk away from a place like this feeling impressed not really able to explain why. After spending hours observing this place I have realized that there is a lot more that goes into designing that good feeling than I ever knew.

In Class: Logos Artifact

Today for my logos artifact I brought a stock quote. The book talks about number as being an argument that can mean two totally different things depending on the interpretation of the writer. I think a stock quote is a perfect example of this because it really is simply a positive or negative number that is left completely open to interpretation. If you are a business owner you hope that this little number will persuade people to give you money by buying that stock. If you're an investor you decide whether to spend your money by trying to figure out whether or not this number will get larger.

Whatever the number is there will invariably be a variety of opinions about it. Possibly even articles written or hours spent researching the meaning behind this little number.

Unit 1: My Public Space

I spent a lot of time exploring campus, trying to find something that would be interesting to me and to you, my reader. I wanted something that was close to campus and something that other students may be able to relate to. I wanted something that I knew a little bit about but something that was still distant enough for me to remain objective. I also needed something that would easily fit into the assignment.

I finally decided on a place that can seem a little strange to some, but also feel like home to others. I found a place that makes some people comfortable, yet can make us all a little bit uncomfortable to talk about. I found a place that is tied directly to emotion, whether that emotion be good or bad is up to them. I found a place that has a strong connection to a gigantic cultural framework that is extremely complex and sometimes very confusing, but supposedly so simple a child could understand it.

The place I chose is right next to campus and a building that I walk by every day. I chose the University Christian Church. I know that this public space will have its challenges but it will be fun to see the difference between the weekend and weekday crowd and I think I will have so many people and things to observe that my pencil just might catch my field notes on fire. I found a place that I'm excited about and I look forward to moving forward with this project.

In Class: Ethos Artifact.

Ethos is an appeal to character. An ethos artifact would therefore enhance or degrade someone's credibility thereby affecting the way people listen to their argument. I brought, as my ethos artifact, a picture of my wife playing a Steinway & Sons grand piano. By seeing this picture you instantly assume things about her character. You assume she plays the piano. You assume she's pretty good when you see that it's a grand piano and then you assume she's really good because it's not just any grand piano it's a Steinway.

My wife is truly a great piano player, but she's also a piano teacher and she would use a picture such as this one in any sort of advertising she did so that her students (or their parents) would know that she is a really great pianist and those looking for their children to be great pianists would hire her. My wife eventually wants two grand pianos in her studio because she says that's when you are seen as more than just an average neighborhood teacher and people realize you're serious.

In Class: Pathos and My Essay

If I can understand Pathos I'd be able to understand another's worship site better. I would use my excellent understanding of Pathos to figure out what kind of people went there and when. If the pictures or music or space usage or even lighting seemed to appeal to happiness and excitement I might guess that youth would be apt to visit. If there wasn't as much lighting or there were only pictures of sad things I would be able to guess that there was an older, more traditional crowd that thrived there.

In Class: Pathos Artifact

My artifact is a song. It might end up as two songs. One of them is called "Hey (I Love You)" and it's by Michael Franti & Spearhead. It's a great little jam and there's no way that you could listen to it and be grumpy. It's got a great beat and is arranged in such a way that you want to get up and dance to it. This song represents Pathos as an appeal to emotions of happiness and love.

The other song is called "Reinventing Your Exit" and it's by a band called Underoath. This song has a little more of a hard-rock feel and a singer that does a little screaming. This song talks about a break-up and from the sound of it he's a little frustrated. This song represents Pathos as an appeal to the emotions of Anger and Frustration.

Either way, I chose music because it has a particularly strong effect on emotion and to me it's surprising how a slight change in background music can make a movie more intense, a commercial more convincing, or even life just generally more exciting.