Thursday, March 31, 2011
Writing My Heart Out Without Seeing What I'm typing...Just A Black Screen and Words That Should Not Have Been Said
There are so many instances that I said or wrote something and regretted it later. The moments that stand out in my mind that I have said or written something I wish I hadn't are all due to me trusting people with personal information or feelings when I should have known better and just kept them to myself. People like to pretend though, having false pretenses about their intentions and friendships. You would think that someone you have known since you were six years old was someone that you could trust, but no. They didn't care about me or my feelings they just wanted to something good to talk about and use me like a gossip story like they did with everyone else they knew. So I regret telling them anything, and that's a lot. It's not like I said something mean to someone by accident or wish my Mom didn't overhear something I said. I wish that I can take back the truth I unleashed to those I saw as friends and I wish that I hadn't just let them know these things without being the slightest bit reluctant. But as much as I regret saying those things and sharing words that should have just been kept private, I can't help but think that I did myself a favor. How else would I have learned that certain people were not to be trusted? I would be stuck in the same rut that I was one year ago and so, although a part of me regrets those words, a part of me is thankful to myself for taking a situation that is quite unfortunate and seeing the positive influence it has had and will have on my life. So I went through some rough things like loosing close friends and finding out that they were not really being a friend. I think that it was worth my regret to be able to move forward to better things and people in my life.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
How does this electronic space refashion its predecessor? How does it claim to improve on print's ability to make our thoughts visible and to constitute the lines of communication for our society?
Digital writing and mediums such as Microsoft word and apple's equivalent, pages changes the actual space that is being written in. When these processors were first invented, it was amazing that you could grab certain text and copy and paste it other places or rearrange the order of your words, sentences, and even full paragraphs. It improves the organization of our thoughts because we are able to go back and perfect the way our words come together to express whatever we are trying to communicate through the writing. This creates a better way of communication through writing within our society.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Bolter Ch. 2
In chapter 2, Bolter focuses on defining technology and writing together. He wanted to make sure it was understood that writing is always changing but that there are underlying things about writing that technology could never really change. No matter what decade it is, "The writer always needs a surface on which to make his or her marks and a tool with which to make them, and these materials become part of the contemporary definition of writing"(Bolter 15,16). Bolter makes it clear that writing has developed throughout history through different means of technology from a printing press or Linotype machine to electric presses and computers. He explains how it requires different skills to writing with quill and parchment than to writing with a printing press than to write with a computer. Yet he finds a way to bring them together by claiming that, "all writing entails method, the intention of the writer [is] to arrange verbal ideas in a space for later examination by a reader"(16).
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sample S refute
Cliche images do not control the viewer's thoughts, but help lead them through the argument that is being stated. There is alway more than one way to send a message through an image so relying on a cliche visual is a conscious decision made by the author. I see it as the easy way out, the most reliable images are ones that you know a majority of your viewers will recognize and relate to what you are trying to say instead of loosing your main points. Whether an argument is simple or complicated does not matter in deciding to use cliche images. Hope can be expressed in an endless amount of ways and the choice to use an image such as a rainbow is an artistic opinion that clearly works because when the author thought of how to express hope after destruction of rain, they thought of a rainbow. The probability that your viewer will also make that connection is very high because it is something that everyone is aware of and it seems like it was the only positive image in the production according to the way the author talked about rain and destruction.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Ink-shedding on "Stitch Bitch"
"Hypertext blurs the distinction between subject and object, matter and the absence of matter."
Hypertext enables a reader to interpret the meaning of the text they are reading, whichever way they would like causing a "blur" in the actual meaning of the text. Because of this, the reader has more control over what they are reading. They get to choose the meaning of the text and with hypertext it becomes difficult to distinguish between what the author is saying and what they are referencing. Through hypertext, different ideas can be brought together, crossing certain lines that were once looked down upon if crossed, therefore causing a blur between the subject of the text and the objective of the text.
Hypertext enables a reader to interpret the meaning of the text they are reading, whichever way they would like causing a "blur" in the actual meaning of the text. Because of this, the reader has more control over what they are reading. They get to choose the meaning of the text and with hypertext it becomes difficult to distinguish between what the author is saying and what they are referencing. Through hypertext, different ideas can be brought together, crossing certain lines that were once looked down upon if crossed, therefore causing a blur between the subject of the text and the objective of the text.
Reading Quiz on Wednesday: Prepare 6 - 10 bullet points on Bolter, ch. 1 for use in planning a prezi. You might want to familiarize yourself further with prezi at prezi.com.
- text mediums have been changing since the stone age
- all kinds of communication are becoming digital and rely on computers
- writing for digital mediums may result in careless writing
- we as authors and readers still turn to books to find the most powerful and respected texts
- the late age of print is a transformation of the way we feel and use technology --> books and other printed texts in the late age of print are still common and enjoyable but they have a rival in the electronic world
- electronic writing is similar to printing as far as mechanically and accuracy are concerned, similar to handwriting because it is natural and evolutionary, and similar to hieroglyphics and picture writing because has a wide range visually
Monday, March 21, 2011
Bolter Ch.1
Most of what Bolter had to say about the evolution of print is pretty obviously known. Like Bolter explained, the way text has been communicated throughout history has constantly changed from writing on stones to writing with ink on animal hyde to paper. Books were an innovation of their own time and, "Now, however, the distinction between lasting texts and pragmatic communication has broken down, and all kinds of communication are being digitized" (Bolter 2).
Abnormal discourse can be productive because it is helping ideas be developed. Personally, when I'm given no direction whatsoever it is much more difficult for me to write something or come up with an idea or even just focus on doing an assignment than it is if I had some structure and direction. Guidelines help narrow the thinking process down. Otherwise I think too greatly, and have more difficulty creating something of substance. It's more productive to have some direction and goal in mind so abnormal discourse is definitely productive. Looking at this in connection to other points Bolter made, I see that abnormal discourse could possibly come in handy when dealing with the medium that you are writing with. Bolter talks about how, "The shift to the computer may make writing more flexible, but it also threatens the definition of good writing and careful reading that have developed in association with the technique of printing" (Bolter 4).
Abnormal discourse can be productive because it is helping ideas be developed. Personally, when I'm given no direction whatsoever it is much more difficult for me to write something or come up with an idea or even just focus on doing an assignment than it is if I had some structure and direction. Guidelines help narrow the thinking process down. Otherwise I think too greatly, and have more difficulty creating something of substance. It's more productive to have some direction and goal in mind so abnormal discourse is definitely productive. Looking at this in connection to other points Bolter made, I see that abnormal discourse could possibly come in handy when dealing with the medium that you are writing with. Bolter talks about how, "The shift to the computer may make writing more flexible, but it also threatens the definition of good writing and careful reading that have developed in association with the technique of printing" (Bolter 4).
Friday, March 11, 2011
Stitch Bitch Response
BANISHED BODY
"It's not what we wish it were."
I'm easily confused by this writing style because the author contradicts what they're saying constantly to prove their arguments. What I took away from this section was that "the body" is something that we wish we could control but in reality have little control over it. It's constantly changing and it is in between being an object and a thought. The author refers to it as "the monkey in the middle" and that makes me envision a struggle between becoming a solid object or becoming a lucid thought. It is easily influenced by what surrounds it and comes in the form of a story or in smell and sight along with happiness and pain.
"It's not what it says it is."
Why does reality conquer over fiction? That doesn't seem right. Reality is a type of fiction. It shouldn't overpower it. Fiction can be many different categories and they each have their own standards and laws.
Reality thinks it "includes" fiction, that fictional works are embedded in reality. It's the boast of a bully. But just "Every fictional world competes with the real one to some extent, but hypertext gives us the chance to sneak up on reality from inside fiction." It can be subtle by including links to non-fictional works which makes hypertext fiction create a separate text of reality in a fictional world. Reality relies on the feeling of security, like home. But as the author argues, "By writing we test the seams, pick out the stitches, trying to stretch the gaps between things to slip out through them into some uncharted space, or to let something spring up in the real that we don't already know, something unfamiliar, not part of the family, a changeling" so writers try to take reality and stretch it, distort it slightly to fit their needs and create realities that we may have never experienced but could encounter some day.
"It's not what we wish it were."
I'm easily confused by this writing style because the author contradicts what they're saying constantly to prove their arguments. What I took away from this section was that "the body" is something that we wish we could control but in reality have little control over it. It's constantly changing and it is in between being an object and a thought. The author refers to it as "the monkey in the middle" and that makes me envision a struggle between becoming a solid object or becoming a lucid thought. It is easily influenced by what surrounds it and comes in the form of a story or in smell and sight along with happiness and pain.
"Its face is a collage of stories, borrowed images, superstitions, fantasies. We have no idea what it "really" looks like." This section ends by using the metaphor of a body-bag and how, like most junkyards, it holds the garbage, the stories, that will never be told.
REALITY FICTION
"It's not what it says it is."
Why does reality conquer over fiction? That doesn't seem right. Reality is a type of fiction. It shouldn't overpower it. Fiction can be many different categories and they each have their own standards and laws.
Reality thinks it "includes" fiction, that fictional works are embedded in reality. It's the boast of a bully. But just "Every fictional world competes with the real one to some extent, but hypertext gives us the chance to sneak up on reality from inside fiction." It can be subtle by including links to non-fictional works which makes hypertext fiction create a separate text of reality in a fictional world. Reality relies on the feeling of security, like home. But as the author argues, "By writing we test the seams, pick out the stitches, trying to stretch the gaps between things to slip out through them into some uncharted space, or to let something spring up in the real that we don't already know, something unfamiliar, not part of the family, a changeling" so writers try to take reality and stretch it, distort it slightly to fit their needs and create realities that we may have never experienced but could encounter some day.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Four Letter Word Project
I keep getting and error when uploading. putting it on vimeo.
I wish I had more time to do this.
http://vimeo.com/20836198
I wish I had more time to do this.
http://vimeo.com/20836198
For my visual four letter word argument, I chose the word risk. I wanted to start with images that showed literal meaning of risk and then transition into more specific examples that would support my argument: To achieve something great, you need to take a risk. I used a variety of examples to prove my claim such as: being a performer whether a dancer or a musician, or putting your heart on the line, more specifically proposing to someone, or choosing the right path to take to reach your goals. Images were grouped into categories of ways risk ends positively. Risking your life, risking your heart, risking your career, risking your art, and even risking your mind.
I used Final-Cut Pro to edit it.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Taylor Mali
Blog this: How does the form of the poem affect your apprehension and appreciation for it?
I watched the video that was all graphic design and animated text over the audio of Taylor Mali reading the poem. So when I watched the video of him actually performing it, I did not get the same impact. It was more effective for me to see the words while he was saying them. The animated text took initiative to help tell the story within the poem and was designed appropriately to exaggerate and push forward Mali's points. One part sticks out in my mind. When he asks "Where are the limbs at which we once walked" small foot-print like images surround the words that now resemble branches of a tree and the foot-prints look like leaves and as Mali speaks the words "chopped down" the tree is hit by the word chopped and falls to it's side. Creating visuals through text is an art form that I value because it is difficult but it can create such great meaning.
I watched the video that was all graphic design and animated text over the audio of Taylor Mali reading the poem. So when I watched the video of him actually performing it, I did not get the same impact. It was more effective for me to see the words while he was saying them. The animated text took initiative to help tell the story within the poem and was designed appropriately to exaggerate and push forward Mali's points. One part sticks out in my mind. When he asks "Where are the limbs at which we once walked" small foot-print like images surround the words that now resemble branches of a tree and the foot-prints look like leaves and as Mali speaks the words "chopped down" the tree is hit by the word chopped and falls to it's side. Creating visuals through text is an art form that I value because it is difficult but it can create such great meaning.
Monday, March 7, 2011
"The Problem of Describing Trees"
"And the tree danced. No.
The tree capitalized.
No. There are limits to saying,
In language, what the tree did."
It is very obvious that Robert Hass, the writer of this poem, finds it difficult to write what he saw from the tree's action in reality. He doesn't see how he could possibly describe the tree in a significant way. He says the tree danced and right away I see a trees branches swaying in the wind, slightly melodically, with a certain rhythm to it. But right away Hass takes it back and replaces danced with capitalized. This is so strange to me. Why would he use capitalized to describe the tree? Is the tree risking something to gain an advantage? Is the wind causing the tree to risk it's life because it is so windy that the tree could fall down or lose branches? Maybe that's it, and maybe the positive thing that the tree gained was the beauty of it's leaves glistening in the sun because of the wind. But no, it doesn't make sense because it doesn't justify what the tree is doing and that's his point exactly.
The tree capitalized.
No. There are limits to saying,
In language, what the tree did."
It is very obvious that Robert Hass, the writer of this poem, finds it difficult to write what he saw from the tree's action in reality. He doesn't see how he could possibly describe the tree in a significant way. He says the tree danced and right away I see a trees branches swaying in the wind, slightly melodically, with a certain rhythm to it. But right away Hass takes it back and replaces danced with capitalized. This is so strange to me. Why would he use capitalized to describe the tree? Is the tree risking something to gain an advantage? Is the wind causing the tree to risk it's life because it is so windy that the tree could fall down or lose branches? Maybe that's it, and maybe the positive thing that the tree gained was the beauty of it's leaves glistening in the sun because of the wind. But no, it doesn't make sense because it doesn't justify what the tree is doing and that's his point exactly.
Monday, February 28, 2011
3 images from a painful glimpse into my writing process - chel white
The heart and knives were very memorable. The image of just his heart pounding had an intense feeling attached to it, but then a circle of knives started to surround the heart with a stabbing sensation. It showed his personal pain and gave a way for the viewer to connect to the piece. So what if it's cliche.
The baby clowns in the mirror are burning in my eyes. Clowns automatically scare me so to have the author's head replaced with many different miserable clowns, baby clowns as a matter of fact, in a mirror, scares me to death and will probably haunt my dreams.
The fingers doing jumping jacks was a great visual accompaniment to White talking about actual jumping jacks. The metaphor of the hands doing laborious physical activity fits perfectly with describing writing. Whether you're actually writing with a pen and paper or typing, your fingers are doing all the work.
what's the difference between Chel White and billy collins presentations on what writing is like
Chel White has a more negative view of writing that will lead to positive outcomes. White is not afraid to go into the dirty details of the writing process and how it affects him.
http://www.lumeneclipse.com/gallery/14/white/
The baby clowns in the mirror are burning in my eyes. Clowns automatically scare me so to have the author's head replaced with many different miserable clowns, baby clowns as a matter of fact, in a mirror, scares me to death and will probably haunt my dreams.
The fingers doing jumping jacks was a great visual accompaniment to White talking about actual jumping jacks. The metaphor of the hands doing laborious physical activity fits perfectly with describing writing. Whether you're actually writing with a pen and paper or typing, your fingers are doing all the work.
what's the difference between Chel White and billy collins presentations on what writing is like
Chel White has a more negative view of writing that will lead to positive outcomes. White is not afraid to go into the dirty details of the writing process and how it affects him.
http://www.lumeneclipse.com/gallery/14/white/
A sentence starts out like...
a seed on the ground, but not one that has been carefully planted. Instead. one that has been blown to the ground by the wind and just hopes to be picked up by the Earth's arms and formed into a full blown flower. It has no control of where it will end up but wants to be meaningful and beautiful. If the seed becomes a planted idea and continues to grow, it may need to overcome storms and squirrels who try to stop its development. Turning into a flower will be the seeds end of the journey until another seed from the flower falls off and starts its own journey to be significant.
sentence = traveler
you can't see where you're going
order in which the meaning is presented. syntax
a seed on the ground, but not one that has been carefully planted. Instead. one that has been blown to the ground by the wind and just hopes to be picked up by the Earth's arms and formed into a full blown flower. It has no control of where it will end up but wants to be meaningful and beautiful. If the seed becomes a planted idea and continues to grow, it may need to overcome storms and squirrels who try to stop its development. Turning into a flower will be the seeds end of the journey until another seed from the flower falls off and starts its own journey to be significant.
sentence = traveler
you can't see where you're going
order in which the meaning is presented. syntax
freewrite
I don't necessarily think it's strange that cell phones have been turned into a primary usage for text messaging and emails. The primary function of a cell phone may be to make calls but everyone wants their phones to be capable of everything imaginable. Text messaging has become a new form of communication that in some situations, is superior to calls. In certain emergencies text messages are discrete enough to contact someone if you are in trouble. On a less serious note, most conversations are not worth the call. The meaningless "hey" "hey what's up" "how are you" "i'm good, what about you" conversations would just take up valuable phone minutes and money.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
3 Questions From Everyone's Blogs
1. Why can't we both be the bread and the knife?
I think this is a wonderful question. It's so simple but when you think about the answer, that's when things get complicated. "You are the bread and the knife" Billy Collins reassures that he is not the bread and the knife. Why not? Why is not one person the bread and one person the knife? How can one person be both the bread and the knife that cuts it? To me that's exclaiming that the "lover" in the poem is their own worst enemy and overall, seems like an insult. That would explain why Billy is so concerned with making sure you know he is not the bread and the knife, as if he is above and superior to that metaphor. It almost gives off a selfish vibe to Billy Collins, like he does not want to share his metaphors.
2. Do you feel that cliche metaphors are ineffective at conveying strong meaning?
This is interesting because it is quite clear that Billy Collins thinks that cliche metaphors are useless in describing love, but I disagree. Love is something so broad and unexplainable that no one has the right to say what is and isn't true about it. Metaphors describing love are probably one of the most used things in the English language. Love has been compared to a vast majority of different feelings, objects, and events ranging from war to butterflies so who is to say that cliche metaphors don't work in describing love? I think that anything can convey a strong meaning if you truly believe it.
3. Were you trying to gain a positive, or negative response from the audience?
I think that Billy Collins was trying to just get any reaction he could from his audience. Love is always going to be a controversial topic so by choosing to talk about love in a sarcastic manner, Billy unleashed many possibilities for positive and negative reactions. I personally, respond both positively and negatively. I agree that it seems nonsensical to describe love with such meaningless words, but at the same time, there are no other words that better describe what love is.
I think this is a wonderful question. It's so simple but when you think about the answer, that's when things get complicated. "You are the bread and the knife" Billy Collins reassures that he is not the bread and the knife. Why not? Why is not one person the bread and one person the knife? How can one person be both the bread and the knife that cuts it? To me that's exclaiming that the "lover" in the poem is their own worst enemy and overall, seems like an insult. That would explain why Billy is so concerned with making sure you know he is not the bread and the knife, as if he is above and superior to that metaphor. It almost gives off a selfish vibe to Billy Collins, like he does not want to share his metaphors.
2. Do you feel that cliche metaphors are ineffective at conveying strong meaning?
This is interesting because it is quite clear that Billy Collins thinks that cliche metaphors are useless in describing love, but I disagree. Love is something so broad and unexplainable that no one has the right to say what is and isn't true about it. Metaphors describing love are probably one of the most used things in the English language. Love has been compared to a vast majority of different feelings, objects, and events ranging from war to butterflies so who is to say that cliche metaphors don't work in describing love? I think that anything can convey a strong meaning if you truly believe it.
3. Were you trying to gain a positive, or negative response from the audience?
I think that Billy Collins was trying to just get any reaction he could from his audience. Love is always going to be a controversial topic so by choosing to talk about love in a sarcastic manner, Billy unleashed many possibilities for positive and negative reactions. I personally, respond both positively and negatively. I agree that it seems nonsensical to describe love with such meaningless words, but at the same time, there are no other words that better describe what love is.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Six reasons why this paper’s argument MOVES me to think in new ways about its object and its subject.
It Gives You Wings
1. "Our nation dances to the beat of a fast drum." This metaphor creates astonishing imagery and makes me want to know what they're going to be talking about.
2. Relaying the significance of their arguments back to their first claim. Example :"red bull drinker can charge through life. it is an embodiment of power, strength and domination - characteristics appropriate for a country considered the strongest in the world."
3. Relating argument to instances people will be able to relate to(needing energy for busy lives)
4. Using questions to connect with the reader.
5. Personal statements supporting arguments.
6. Lots of examples with descriptions explaining an argument.
Apple's iPod: I've Got the World on a String (Shaped Earphone Chord)
1. "the iPod has become a cultural icon, itself symbolic of the desire to have the world at one's fingertips in a world of media oversaturation" Great claim and interesting point makes me want to continue reading.
2. Specific examples create great imagery.
3. "slimmer than a deck of cards" Nice metaphor
4. Future predictions are interesting.
5. broad to specific intro works
6. being able to create personal media is a great point that seems to be pushed aside most of the time.
It Gives You Wings
1. "Our nation dances to the beat of a fast drum." This metaphor creates astonishing imagery and makes me want to know what they're going to be talking about.
2. Relaying the significance of their arguments back to their first claim. Example :"red bull drinker can charge through life. it is an embodiment of power, strength and domination - characteristics appropriate for a country considered the strongest in the world."
3. Relating argument to instances people will be able to relate to(needing energy for busy lives)
4. Using questions to connect with the reader.
5. Personal statements supporting arguments.
6. Lots of examples with descriptions explaining an argument.
Apple's iPod: I've Got the World on a String (Shaped Earphone Chord)
1. "the iPod has become a cultural icon, itself symbolic of the desire to have the world at one's fingertips in a world of media oversaturation" Great claim and interesting point makes me want to continue reading.
2. Specific examples create great imagery.
3. "slimmer than a deck of cards" Nice metaphor
4. Future predictions are interesting.
5. broad to specific intro works
6. being able to create personal media is a great point that seems to be pushed aside most of the time.
Six reasons why I am inert and UNMOVED by this paper’s argument.
It Gives You Wings
1. 2nd paragraph is very assertively written to the point that it becomes repetitive and difficult to concentrate on anything but the words Red Bull. It takes away from the arguments within the paragraph.
2. Obviously stating the meaning behind Red Bull's slogan makes me disinterested.
3. Reasons of support for the "american's are stressed" argument seem too narrow. It can be expanded to a bigger picture of life, not just work and family. Life is stressful, and limited examples lead the reader to think those are the only causes of stress.
4. The door close argument can be great but is a little confusing. Needs a little more explanation to relate back to the fact that red bull creates instantaneous results like we want.
5. Personal experiences are packed into one paragraph.
6. The last sentence of the essay is the start to a great conclusion but the rest of the paragraph lacks significance because you are just restating things you've already said instead of expanding your argument to a greater thought.
It Gives You Wings
1. 2nd paragraph is very assertively written to the point that it becomes repetitive and difficult to concentrate on anything but the words Red Bull. It takes away from the arguments within the paragraph.
2. Obviously stating the meaning behind Red Bull's slogan makes me disinterested.
3. Reasons of support for the "american's are stressed" argument seem too narrow. It can be expanded to a bigger picture of life, not just work and family. Life is stressful, and limited examples lead the reader to think those are the only causes of stress.
4. The door close argument can be great but is a little confusing. Needs a little more explanation to relate back to the fact that red bull creates instantaneous results like we want.
5. Personal experiences are packed into one paragraph.
6. The last sentence of the essay is the start to a great conclusion but the rest of the paragraph lacks significance because you are just restating things you've already said instead of expanding your argument to a greater thought.
Apple's iPod: I've Got the World on a String (Shaped Earphone Chord)
1. Starting off with facts instead of your own words claiming your argument doesn't motivate me to read on.
2. Tendency to list.
3. Supportive arguments to initial claim are not very clear.
4. word choice weakens arguments for example, hipness, cool, indie..the mass use of words in air quotes becomes in-affective because it is being over-used.
5. Conclusion starts off stating another argument and is over a page long...
6. Needs to be brought full circle back to original claim.
Response to Will's essay formatting arguments
"Paper specificities are based off societal norms."
Yes I agree that MLA and APA formats are based off specifications that society has decided are appropriate.
"Color is seen as setting certain moods"
Brightly colored texts would create inferences that they are being used to label something or categorize the text. That is the first thing I would think if I saw different colored text in an essay.
"When writing a serious paper, the reader? should not see what the writer is feeling by visuals, instead, the writer should paint a picture with words the more professional a paper looks, the easier it is to follow."
Yes I agree that MLA and APA formats are based off specifications that society has decided are appropriate.
"Color is seen as setting certain moods"
Brightly colored texts would create inferences that they are being used to label something or categorize the text. That is the first thing I would think if I saw different colored text in an essay.
"When writing a serious paper, the reader? should not see what the writer is feeling by visuals, instead, the writer should paint a picture with words the more professional a paper looks, the easier it is to follow."
Focussing on the imagery that is being created within the words is important. Visuals need to be created in the mind, not directly through visual representations of colors.
We have good reasons for making certain choices about the medium we use for our writing. We don't want to fail papers for stupid reasons such as formatting. Most professors won't accept papers that are not standard MLA or APA formats. I have more important things to do than rebel against formatting. Formats exist for organization purposes. MLA and APA are for essays but every kind of writing has a different format. In TV/Film alone, there are multiple formats of scriptwriting, each of them having a different use or purpose. It all comes down to organization and writing language.
We have good reasons for making certain choices about the medium we use for our writing. We don't want to fail papers for stupid reasons such as formatting. Most professors won't accept papers that are not standard MLA or APA formats. I have more important things to do than rebel against formatting. Formats exist for organization purposes. MLA and APA are for essays but every kind of writing has a different format. In TV/Film alone, there are multiple formats of scriptwriting, each of them having a different use or purpose. It all comes down to organization and writing language.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Blog post #2
In "Litany," Billy Collins avails of a series of metaphors for a lover to communicate to his beloved. However, many of these deliberately fail, stray off topic, or seem lunatic. Write six questions (the right questions, of course) that you have for Collins about his poem and his rhetorical strategy.
In "Litany," Billy Collins avails of a series of metaphors for a lover to communicate to his beloved. However, many of these deliberately fail, stray off topic, or seem lunatic. Write six questions (the right questions, of course) that you have for Collins about his poem and his rhetorical strategy.
What made you think you could make another poet's poem better?
Why did you only rewrite the first two lines of the poem?
What comparisons would you think would be appropriate to describe love?
Why is "the bread and the knife the crystal goblet and the wine" used? Is it referring to a religious matter?
Did you just look at all of the objects and things of nature around you and compare them to love to prove a point?
Why do you think the original author chose these specific comparisons? "you are the dew on the morning grass and the burning wheel of the sun"
Thursday, February 17, 2011
In your ideal communicative situation, how would you best present your argument?
The best way I can express ideas is through digital media so I would create a digital short, or a commercial representing my argument about iPods and society. I would only need about 2 or 3 minutes to visually argue my point that iPods are a great example of how humans rely on technology. I think that "A day in the life" narrative that used some of Apple's advertising techniques while visually showing how our society depends on iPods is the best way to get my argument across.
I picture a person waking up to alarm clock that is an iPod in an iHome playing music.
You see them leaving the house holding their iPod and putting their headphones in as they leave the house and start their run. A different song plays while they run.
Cut to: person putting iPod in speakers and turning on music. This is either in a neutral room or they bring it to the bathroom while they shower so they can sing along in the shower. The song changes again.
Cut to: person dressed and ready for work, getting in their car. They plug in their iPod and a different song starts to play as they drive away.
While at work - think of a workplace that they'd use their ipod for something, maybe they connect it to a computer/projector or speakers or something during a presentation
Other ideas:
I love the idea of using the iPod speakers to "John Cusack" someone's window serenading them with the iPod's music. Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes needs to be playing.
During each scene I see a flash in the middle of the iPod "look" with the bright colored background, black silhouette and white iPod.
The song can either change every scene, or it can be one song that adjusts to the certain scene's feel.
I picture a person waking up to alarm clock that is an iPod in an iHome playing music.
You see them leaving the house holding their iPod and putting their headphones in as they leave the house and start their run. A different song plays while they run.
Cut to: person putting iPod in speakers and turning on music. This is either in a neutral room or they bring it to the bathroom while they shower so they can sing along in the shower. The song changes again.
Cut to: person dressed and ready for work, getting in their car. They plug in their iPod and a different song starts to play as they drive away.
While at work - think of a workplace that they'd use their ipod for something, maybe they connect it to a computer/projector or speakers or something during a presentation
Other ideas:
I love the idea of using the iPod speakers to "John Cusack" someone's window serenading them with the iPod's music. Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes needs to be playing.
During each scene I see a flash in the middle of the iPod "look" with the bright colored background, black silhouette and white iPod.
The song can either change every scene, or it can be one song that adjusts to the certain scene's feel.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Kuakas
When a writer starts a piece of work with a first person narrative storyline, I find it difficult to stop reading. It is such a personal way to begin a story that the reader gets pulled into the writing. Don Stap definitely takes advantage of this strategy in, "Flight of the Kuaka," beginning in the midst of Wetlands in New Zealand. I felt as if I was there with him, up to my own knees in mud and overwhelmed by whatever was going to happen with these birds. As Stap goes on, he introduces more characters into the picture and it becomes more clear that they are studying the flight patterns of bar-tailed godwit, which apparently looks like this:
For some reason, I thought the godwit would be more colorful, probably because of the colorful descriptions Stap offers. Even though he is constantly giving facts and scientific information about godwits, particularly the one they tracked, E7, he carefully places these statistics and observations within the story. I absorb the information better because it's being presented to me in the form of a story. It's easier to remember details like the godwit consumes as much food as it possibly can before it migrates on what is known to be, "the longest nonstop migratory flight for any bird" because as far as they know, it doesn't stop to eat, drink, or sleep during the eight days of it's journey(108). I didn't just push these numbers and facts aside like I normally would because Stap found a way to give these words actual meaning.
Along with his storytelling strategies, his words are descriptive and metaphoric, creating beautiful imagery. Right from the beginning, he gives us pictures like, "Having given up all pretense of grace, I wave my arms about with each step, as if I'm on a tightrope."(106). It's impossible to not see him in the middle of the wetlands, struggling to balance as he treks through the mud and tries to avoid manure. Being able to tell as story in a way that the reader can actually picture what's going on the way the author wants them to, is a difficult task. However, I think that Stap does an outstanding job of getting the interest and attention of the reader and telling us a story through his words.
Along with his storytelling strategies, his words are descriptive and metaphoric, creating beautiful imagery. Right from the beginning, he gives us pictures like, "Having given up all pretense of grace, I wave my arms about with each step, as if I'm on a tightrope."(106). It's impossible to not see him in the middle of the wetlands, struggling to balance as he treks through the mud and tries to avoid manure. Being able to tell as story in a way that the reader can actually picture what's going on the way the author wants them to, is a difficult task. However, I think that Stap does an outstanding job of getting the interest and attention of the reader and telling us a story through his words.
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