Visual Advertisement

above is the visual advertisement i chose for the assignment. It is an absolut alcohol ad that portrays times square in new york as being filled with art, unlike its usual state of being overrun by advertisements and billboards. Times square is also one of the busiest and most congested areas of new york and the advertisement shows it as being farely sparse, with barely any cars and only a handful of people. the advertisement reads "In an Absolut world." trying to convey that life is like that, less stressful, more beautiful, more, less congested and more easy going when you, the viewer of the advertisement drinks absolut vodka. When i see the advertisement i am first directed to the center of it and identify where the place is. I realize its time square and next i am directed to read the words "in an absolut world" and see the image of the vodka bottle. After that i am directed to look at the details of this ad and realize why the picture portrays an absolut world. I am sort of encouraged to read more of why absolut vodka makes the world more artsy, but at the same time i feel as though the asvertisement speaks for itself and needs no further explanation. But if there were and explanation to the advertisement i would be encouraged to read it. (

There was no link or further information with this advertisement...)

outline

so my topic for our upcoming and final essay revolves around the issue of college students drinking and driving in the town of wilmington. I am going to propose a solution to this idea and my solution is going to be that UNCW start running a shuttle service with the wave during weekend nights to help prevent teen drinking and driving. My research will include actual student polls, statistics, same problem and solution of another school (proving that it is effective), and research on why we dont already have this or if it has been suggested before. my outline goes something like this:
I. University Students Drinking & Driving in Wilmington, NC
      A. Intro
            1.introduce problem
            2.introduce solution
            3. state 3+ supporting facts that would help my solution
                 a. other schools have it & it works
                 b. poll of students to see if they would use it, testing its actual estimated impact
                 c. ?? tbd
      B.  Other schools have it & it works
            1. list schools : NCSU, ECU, etc.
            2. statistics of those schools, dui tickets before & after bus system est.
            3. compare thier dui's to wilmingtons
      C. poll students
            1. conduct actual student poll if they would use it, state results
            2. ask students also the reasons they have drinken & driven before
      D. NOT SURE YET
            **maybe research on why we dont have one?
      E. Conclusion
            1. restate 3 supporting arguments
            2. prove the solution would work & state the positive impact

To Infinity & Beyond...

To infinity and beyond!...um, yeah, outer space. I am very interested in outer space and the science that helps explain things that correspond with our Earth. However, I don’t think we should fund as much money into it as we have been. Of course, like in wall-e, space could be the new frontier if our Earth gets over polluted or we run out of natural resources, but shouldn’t we focus on trying to maintain those resources or finding alternative sources? I feel like focusing on space is jumping the gun. After all, we are currently spending millions on creating state-of-the-art rockets and sending people to space in those rockets all to collect a few rock samples and microbes. In my opinion, we should be using a lot of that money to get ourselves out of debt or to help end a crisis like poverty or hunger or to be used toward programs that can help develop alternative fuel sources or expand the prevalence of solar powered homes and buildings. I do not doubt for one second that space exploration is important or even necessary to some means, but I believe the amount of energy and money allotted toward the program is a bit overwhelming. Yes, we’ve made some great discoveries in the last few years regarding that Pluto is not truly a planet and there in fact was water on mars once, but can’t we let other countries focus on this. Its not as though they are going to keep the information top secret. In the long run I think America has made space exploration more of a competition rather than a new frontier for pure science.

Essay numero tres

So for our third essay we have to write about a controversial topic. Something debatable. Something we can pick a side and argue for or against that side and then for or against another side. I definitely think i will like writing this essay instead of the rhetorical analysis papers we have been focusing on. After some careful consideration and Google-ing a list of "debatable topics" I have decided that the topic for my paper will be about religion, specifically about Christianity being based upon astrology. Being a person with more of a 'scientific' belief system, this topic struck a particular interest with me. Living in the bible belt I always get a sense of disapproval when i tell anyone I am weary if i believe in God or not. I would love to do some further research on this to solidify my own beliefs and be able to back up why i think that way. I realize that it is an extremely touchy subject for many. But hey, you want a debatable topic; i'll give you a debatable topic! I have a lot of faith (ha, faith, ironic) in this topic and I think that I could find a lot of evidence and scientific research and sources to support my essay/paper with.

essay 2 topic

So we have to choose 2 different types of media that both convey the same message, then analyze them and decide which one conveys the message better and why, then of course support our decision. I have a few ideas. Idea 1) I am going to compare the movie "500 Days of Summer" with the song by Dave Matthews Band called "Stay or Leave." Idea 2) I am going to compare the MTV show "The Buried Life" with the song "Last Ones Standing" by Example. Idea 3) to be determined... Basically I know one of my media forms is definitely going to be a song, and the other will be a TV show or a movie. I just can't think of many TV shows or movies off the top of my head this moment. Maybe tonight ill look through my DVDs or flip through the TV channels to get some ideas flowing. Once i find a show/movie i would like to use, i can easily find a song to go with it that expresses the same theme or motif. The only difficulty I am having is once i think of a TV show, i immediately think of the theme song and it is hard to get away from that. And when it comes to movies, i can only seem to think of the soundtrack to that movie...Oh well, i'll keep brainstorming.

In my opinion, Facebook has both its pros and cons. The upside of facebook is that it is a great way to keep in touch with people who live somewhere else, invite people and send out information about events,  and a good way for companies to advertise and gain customers. However, Facebook is what a lot of people say as very “addictive.” Some of the cons of facebook are that it is decreasing our interpersonal and social skills with one another. It is also causing grades to drop and work ethic to decrease because people will wander onto facebook when they should be doing other things. Its also allowing for more bullying between people and even can get a little creepy by the fact that you can find out information about other people and somewhat ‘stalk’ them via their facebook. I am a fan of facebook and in no way do I think they should get rid of it. But I do think facebook goes a little far when there are games you can play and virtual gifts you can give and things like that. Facebook was created to be a social networking site, not a place for people to get lost in their computer for hours on end. I personally have a few friends that love overseas, and without facebook I would not be able to keep in touch with them. But for the people who use it all day, every day, it’s a problem. I just think the main issue is that facebook is taking place of face-to-face social life, besides that, I’m all for it.

Essay Topic for Rhetorical Essay

I am going to do my Rhetorical Analysis Essay on a current event, Hurricane Earl. I am going to choose one of the few articles I found online (links at the bottom of this entry). They are mostly informational and include persuasive and convincing elements from what I've scanned so far. They are aimed toward the general public, focusing on the residents living on the East Coast of the US that are expected to be hit by the hurricane. The arguments are supported by media such as graphs, satellite images, and photos.

/http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/09/02/hurricane-earl-nears-peak-power-menaces-long-island/
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/2010-09-02-hurricane-earl_N.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/31/AR2010083102645.html?hpid=topnews

Rhetorical Analysis on Blog

One of the blogs I read was "Ramblin' Rround: An adventure or two" which you can find here:

http://jessnbrian.blogspot.com/

written by friends of mine, Jess & Brian

They're blog is an informal record of their day to day adventures overseas and what they encounter along thier travels. The purpose of this blog is to inform the reader, be it family, friends, or anyone, what they two of them are doing, where they are, and describing each place they visit. Parts of thier blog are used to persuade the reader to visit the location in which they're at or to convince the reader that where they are is a (insert adjective here) kind of place. Some of the appeals and techniques this blog uses are emotional and informational. They include facts about the locations they travel to but also the emotions that they endure in each place. For example, They write about how they are excited to begin teaching classes. The writers seem very trustworthy and believable because they are in the location in which they are telling about, giving them knowledge and first hand experience. There are all sorts of different contexts in this blog including social, historical, cultural, and psychological. The argument the writers are making is supported by photos of events and places. I really like this blog too because the language that is used is made to seem like you would be having a conversation with these people and as though they are talking directly to you, telling you a story, which makes the blog more interesting and less intimidating to read and follow.