America: A Salad Bowl

America has always been known for its cultural diversity and I feel that's exactly what it means when you call it a salad bowl. America is like a salad because you've taken so much diversity and crammed it into one spot and everything in it is different. There are many different cultures, religions, races, genders, and other diversities to make up the ingredients of this salad. One large problem America has is illegal immigration. America has had the re-occuring problem of having refugees from southern countries, such as Mexico, Guatemala, etc. etc., and have tried to contain and stop it with little avail. Millions of immigrants are able to pass through the border each year and make it to "freedom". Although we have a border patrol, it cannot stop everything that tries to make it into the country. Another part is the immigrants of which whom cross over by water, which is much harder to regulate. Summing this up, we have a large mixture of new ingredients being poured into our bowl each day, and although each ingredient may be very different, they all come together to make a salad which can coexist and thrive.

Position in life and its effect on perception

The way you perceive identity, society, and culture is affected by your position in the world or "class". When you are born, you inherit the class of your family and your family basically decides who you are until you are old enough to change your class yourself. You are raised by your family so you think like your family. Poorer and middle class families tend to base life off of hard work and getting by through their own efforts. They also tend to put down upper classes and the rich. Being born into a richer family means that usually less work is involved and they look down on lower class family. In society, the middle class is always busy and the rich are viewed as being leisurely. No matter what your position in life is, you tend to build that up behind you as your identity. You become proud of what you are and if you move up a class, you become even more appreciative and it is more respectful in the eyes of others. Dropping a class is sometimes viewed as a lack of determination and hard work. In society, the poorer seem to feel that the government is out to get them because everything seems unfair. For upper classes, society is a much easier place to live in because you are looked up to. These views are all opinionated and change from person to person.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

The poster Bigger, Stronger, Faster on page 433 is describing the abuse of steroids in our sports/fame/everyday world. One of the quotes on the poster is "Is it still cheating if everyone's doing it?" I feel that all of these role models are giving the wrong impression to people to look up to them and want to be like them. They are also giving their sports and peers a bad name. Some of the people depicted are Hulk Hogan, a pro baseball player from San Francisco, a ballerina, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone as rocky, and an olympic runner. These have been known to be some of Americas everyday heroes for some people and they are giving the idea that they can only be good with the use of steroids. It's also giving younger generations and upcoming professionals the idea that it is ok to use steroids because everyone else is, and their idols and heroes got away with it. It shows they 6 characters standing atop a mountain of anabolic steroids, with an epic style background and lighting, also they are flying a huge American flag in the background to show this is what has become of America's professionals. Like its saying you can't be great unless you cheat and its ok because "everyone else is doing it." It also puts people in check to see if they're going to follow the ways of others or stay within their own personal boundaries and preferences.

Taking Notes and Staying Out of Trouble

Plagiarism is using someone else's thought or idea and claiming it as your own. Plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional. Being effective in note-taking means that you are skilled at taking in information and being able to write it down as your own, while at the same time respecting other people's ideas and writings. When I take notes, I always cite the information if it is a direct quote or if i pull the main idea out of someone else's work. Every time i find an idea of another researcher or author that i like, i write his information down after the information that i pulled from the document is taken. Also, i try to put it in my own style of writing or wording to where the ideas are similar, but its from my own creativity or thought, not from the original script. I feel that at sometimes, plagiarism for some people can be hard to avoid because most of the time it is unintentional and they didn't realize they were doing it. Another effective way to avoid it is to cite the article/author first, and then, if you find any direct quotes or ideas, mark them with a sign, such as quotations or stars. But also know that when you put into a work, you must cite each quote to respect the text.

Interviews

In interviews, every person has a different way of expressing their opinions, feelings, and stories when confronted with a question. In the book, it describes the coverage of war by reporters and what happened with them. I like this interview because it showed that the media even though they may or may not be on scene, they don't get the real picture. "And what we are seeing is not the war in Iraq; what we're seeing are slices of the war in Iraq" says Donald Rumsfeld. It talks about how we only see a particularized perspective  that the reporter can capture at that specific moment, but its just a piece, and "totality of that is what the war is about" not just the small frames we see. It also talks about how they are trying to embed reporters in the military, to get better coverage and show what is really happening. There were pitfalls though, such as during bombings and such, satellite phones used by reporters weren't allowed. Also, many were expelled by the countries authorities. What these interviews show is that unless you are in the military, and involved in the war, you won't know the real perspective.

Playing Against Stereotypes

This chapter talks about the media messages about sports and how athletes become victims of race and gender stereotyping in everyday life. I liked the opening article because it talked about a male tennis coach that judged a group of teenage girl that they wouldn't be very good. But, to his surprise, when they played, they turned into Serena Williams which was a metaphor that they were actually very skilled, but because they were young girls, they were not good. It also talks about handicapped athletes. Such as the one doing the high jump with a prosthetic leg. Surprisingly he does amazing which is ironic. Another judgement in the media is race. The stereotype is that black athletes have made the once all white sports- basketball and football theirs, and left the white athletes behind. There is also the stereotype of the black athletes that they are clowning, smack talkers. But this is definitely not the full case. I enjoyed this  article because it shows true views and stereotypes about people who do things they love. But the truth is anyone can be as equally skilled, it just takes practice.

Process Paper

http://www.deerhuntingwisconsin.com/controversial-deer-hunting-laws
-this website will be used because it shows many controversial laws in other states as well as sc.

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regulations.html
-i will be using this site to find the exact laws and regulations from the primary source

http://www.scducks.com/forum/index.php
-i will use this site because i want field research and other actual hunters' views on what should and shouldn't be. along with their personal opinions.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/
- this is a great website for hunting information and other articles.

Chapter 5 blog

 Chapter 5 talks about research, development, and citing your research. When researching, one effective way to research is the iceberg of research. Your main topic is a small part, where under that lies a great amount of info to be uncovered and researched. I like the visual because it gave an image with it that shows its metaphor as a research tool. I learned that primary sources were original texts and secondary sources were commentary on the main material. I learned how to make a preliminary bibliography and this will help for our assignment in our research paper. I liked reading this chapter because i can refer back to it for help while writing my research paper. It gives a lot of strong tips and advice on how to cite and find useful sources for your paper. It also tells how to evaluate your sources and find which ones are helping and which would lead you astray. The dialogue of sources is going to help because it will help me to sort through and organize my sources faster so I can revert back to certain information or facts that i may need. I also learned about the annotated bibliography that came with visual images to make your paper stronger.

Virtual Avatars

The virtual world has been a place for people of all types, shapes, and sizes to immerse themselves into. The gaming life lets any person be whoever they want to be. They can choose to be a complete alter ego, or make their own new parallel life outside of their own. I feel the reason having avatars and playing computer games is because it is so customizable, you can start fresh and be whoever you want to be. You have complete freedom to create your own story or even a way to portray yourself as you actually are. All of the avatars, no matter what game or character, is in a way a piece of the creators personality. Whether it's what they wish they could be, or how they see themselves. Avatars can also be an exact portrait in the game in which you play. This is why avatars are utilized so much because they are so open to customization. The alter ego is a great way that avatars are used. A disabled person can become the most able being in any game or digital life replica. They can escape from the difficulties of their real life and live a freer, less stressful one in the virtual world. There will always be a connection between the idea of a whole new and different, more adventurous life than the real one we live in.

Women's Health

This whole debate about women's health and what's offensive to women and what causes obesity in women is stupid to me. Yes some people have eating problems, yes some have low self esteem, and yes advertising the "ideal" woman hurts many female's self image. But i feel that the obesity itself is not the problem, its the confidence. Some people are shunned for weight or their size but i feel if you have confidence in yourself that backs it up then you are just as equal. Its when your self esteem is low and you hate yourself is when the obesity becomes a problem. Women have had this issue with their body forever and problem lies with themselves not offensive advertising. They take it to heart then it in turn ruins their confidence but you have to find your own "inner beauty" and confidence to make yourself proud. The main thing is you be you, and be proud of it. Don't say you want to be skinny but not change anything and just complain about it. If you really wanted to change you would get up and do something about it. I feel it's usually just a guilt trip to get surrounding people to feel sorry about the person, and it is that person's way of getting love. It's not worth it, be proud of yourself, and if you're not proud of something, change it.

Snapshots of the Ordinary

Part of being an American is being in pictures, taking pictures, or just having anything to do with photography. It's great because you don't have to be a professional to do it, any jabroni can pick up a camera of any kind and enjoy his own work or enjoy the hobby of taking photos. The magic behind the snapshot is that "they help us understand who we were and who we are." For example, just about every piece of technology today has something to do with pictures or cameras. Whether it's the cameras on phones, the cameras on laptops, the editing on the laptops of the photos, and just the need of and everyday camera carried in a purse or pocket. Snapshots create a story and they all have meaning, no matter how abstract or random they are. Snapshots are a huge part of social interaction in society, such as the uploading and tagging of random snapshots on someone's Facebook or Myspace. The possibilities are endless and that's why they are such a big part of everyday life. They are able to create the "Kodak Moment" that everyone looks for, which is a photo that significantly describes a cherished moment that one can reflect on. Sometimes these moments are even caught by accident and that is why the Snapshot is so important today.

Possible ads.

A Photo is Worth More Than Just a Picture

Like the article states, when a house burns down, the main three things people wish to save are family, pets, and family photos and pictures. Patrick Cox does a great job of pulling the audience in using everyday examples and commonalities as Americans. He describes photos almost as their own parallel universe and how people are drawn to them and become connected. I feel that he was very accurate in his observations, because pictures and photos are such a big part of our lives today. Whether its just a "good picture" or a place, or even a picture that recreates the memory of that point in time. The connections between people and pictures are unbelievably strong and Cox portrays this strength as the willingness to go into a fire just to save a few sentimental photos. Relating back to myself, I cherish many of my own photos, some only mattering to me, and I know I would do a lot to save them. Pictures are their own database for memories and its easier to relate to these memories with access to a photo that was taken at that time. Trying to recall on a sentimental moment is harder to draw out than it is when you have a frozen moment in time that helps portray your memory or sentimentalism. I know now, that many years from now I'll be able to appreciate all of my old photos and will be more than happy to describe the memory to anyone.

An Ad With a Strong Effectiveness

http://youtu.be/jlXRengzZoc


This is a Nike ad using two of the biggest names in Professional football today. This influential commercial gives two stories of how two great athletes, LaDanian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu and how they grew up using Nike. The push that Nike was striving for to the athletic audience was that they became who they were because of Nike and that it made them superior to everyone else on the field. The main quote in the commercial is to "leave nothing behind" and in every scene, even as babies, it shows how the two went all out in everything they did. They put everything on the table to put them where they are and they did it while wearing or using Nike. This propaganda is very strong to a younger audience or rising athletes who look up to these two men as heroes or as role models. It also shows how in every situation,even as toddlers and babies, the Nike-wear almost gave them "foresights" into the future of their potential. Whether it was jumping clear over obstacles, or running over opponents, or dodging into class, Nike was there to help them get where they are now. This effect has been used by the biggest names in athletic wear today, such as Under Armour or Reebok. These companies are known because of the way they advertise and how they target the right audiences. They spend a lot of money on advertising and that is why they are the biggest known names on the market today. This Nike commercial is just one of the very many tools to get people to buy their products to become the "Superior"- Nike athlete.

Ad analyzation

This ad is describing the push and want of the new immigration law in Alabama and how they are going extreme with it. It uses heavy rhetoric and symbolism to depict an image of cruelty and harshness of this law. To sum it up, it is saying that Alabama's new law is symbolized by the Holocaust and how the Jews were sent to concentration camps. In this situation, the immigrants are wanted to be submitted to punishment. The audience of this image recognizes the symbolism of Nazism and how harsh it is. The law states that if there is any suspicion of being illegal, the person has to submit all identification and proof of citizen upon request if stopped for any reason. Also, companies have to prove all workers citizenship and if caught without it, the company's business license can be suspended or revoked. Anyone harboring illegals may also be arrested. Schools in the state must prove all of the students' citizenship upon request. This pre-Civil Rights Era style law will recreate more stereotyping and prejudice and is not fair to those who aren't breaking the law. It is obviously less severe than the Holocaust itself but the metaphor of how immigrants along with others have to submit all rights to authority if only accused or stopped for any reason. This shows how Alabama is cracking down on immigration. This controversial law has caused and uprising of many hispanic and south-of-the-USA countries are going to court for this. The rhetoric in this cartoon is against the law and its main purpose is to show how cruel it is.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric- in other words, persuasion, or propaganda to give a biased view on an object, belief, society etc. Rhetoric is seen everywhere, in our everyday lives. People use it to create their own personal images, to try and impress others, such as the use of facebook or the way they dress, act, or look. Companies have been using it forever to advertise their products to gain consumers and grasp audiences. Literally everything contains rhetoric. Politics heavily use it to implement beliefs on social problems in their posters, images, news, anything. But the main thing that gives the strongest vibe of rhetorical use to myself is political cartoon propaganda. The images are always completely biased and show the sides of a social topic. Such as the one above, its an image of the Muslim Muhammed who is drawn with a bomb for a hat. It is trying to describe the fact that all muslims are "bombing terrorists and we should fear all of them. The artist was trying to create this fear in a sense to keep the nations prejudiced and for us to stay on the defensive. I feel that this is pushing the stereotypical limit and could be offensive to many. That is also the other thing with rhetoric though, it can offend many and is someone the purpose and use of it. You can't escape it anywhere and could use anything as an example of it.