The End

My favorite assignment was the work we did involving 12 Angry Men. I thoroughly enjoyed that movie and analyzing aspects about it. Least favorite thing was the LRO...I know it's required, but it's still lame.

With out a doubt the blog more than covered the use of technology in this course. And the War and Rhetoric assignment took it to the next level. Chatting with students from ours and other classes allowed us to view more opinions than a group discussion in class would allow.

I think going over the songs in class was helpful in more ways than one. For starters, I hadn't listened to any of the songs, so it makes the words come alive. It was also interesting to see so many views people have on such a massive subject. Each one is so unique. It was a good assignment.

Mediation Paper topics

1. Pros and Cons of Drilling in the ANWAR
2. Who is a better superhero, Batman vs. Superman
3. Should kids go to school later in the day?

these are just a few topics. if you think one of these is good, let me know. if not, ill think of some more.

1 Content Boy

I thoroughly enjoyed "12 Angry Men." It's safe to say I haven't watched too many black and white movies, ergo I am not too familiar with names or faces of actors. So for me it was a treat to see "new" faces.
Also I enjoyed the stance the movie took on the court case movie. Seeing the jury deliberate behind the scenes was especially interesting. In most court case movies or shows today, we only see the court room half of the case, but we can't forget that so much goes on behind closed doors. It was behind these closed doors that we got to see the process of the jury analyzing all the angles of the case, going over all the witness' testimonies, and even reenacting things they thought might have happened. However, if it hadn't been for jury member number 8 (Henry Fonda), all of this might not have happened. The haste of the other 11 jury members to reach a decision caused them to over look a lot of key details that would save a young boys life. Lucky for the boy though, Fonda was able to critically analyze the case and convince the other 11 men to change their verdict.

Evaluation: All I can say is that I will keep doing what I'm doing and continue to give my best effort. I have enjoyed this class thus far and look forward to a fun second half of the semester.

Midterm Grade estimate (student): A+
Blogs: Completed all of them. “Extremely unique and funny blogs.:
Participiation: Check “and then some.”
Papers: Completed all.
Teacher Comments and Grade Expectations: “Your gifr for qrguing and rhetoric is obvious from your performance in class – from the debate to the VBW paper – KUDOS. It’s a treat to have you in class.
Midterm Grade (teacher): A+

English 103 is centered around 5 key goals. The first being, the ability to use rhetoric and think critically. I believe I have shown this since class first began in January when we first started having writing assignments. As stated in Erin’s evaluation “[my] gifts, for arguing and rhetoric [are] obvious from [my] performance in class.” In our research papers, I think I put forth the utmost effort in both thinking critically and covering all the angles of the report. Lastly, I believe that during the debate I demonstrated how I am able to use rhetoric effectively as well as think critically about any topic, even lakes. The second goal of English 103 is Information Design and Technology. The only thing we have accomplished in this category thus far would be the online blogging journal. Erin asked us to make posts online pertaining to various things we had been doing in class at the time, ideas, or suggestions. I tried to make my blogs both informative and humorous as possible because with so many students writing monotonous blogs, it is only fair Erin get a break. She even stated in her evaluation, “extremely unique and funny blogs.” The next goal pertains to research. This was largely centered around the Community Based Writing Assignment. I believe I exhibited excellent skills in research during this project by helping the group attain poll numbers and create questions for our interview. Also, I did research on my own to find out certain aspects of the dining service which might not be revealed in a poll or an interview. Collaboration was the forth goal set down by this class. Here again the Community Based Writing Assignment comes into play. In this project, it was imperative to work with the other members of our group to help coordinate a plan and come up with ways to analyze what we found out in hopes that we could help the community, which I think I accomplished. Also, the debate would have never been successful had we not worked together and met as one to come up with arguments against the opposing team. I was extremely honored when my team wanted me to be the spokes person and leader for the team. In both situations I believe I showed the use of collaboration with other people in hopes that we would reach a common goal. Finally, the Lab that accompanies this class has a huge impact on the overall success of this class. Much like in this English section, I have done all the necessary work and exhibited the 4 qualities I have previously talked about. I know that I have done just as well in the lab as I have done here. I agree with the grade given by Erin and think I deserve an A+.

*THE TITLE OF THIS POST WAS CENSORED. WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE*

Let me start by saying that I love Family Guy. Having two days of class devoted to watching both Family Guy and Robot Chicken was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoy watching both satires and parodies and think that you couldn't have made better choices. The Family Guy episode addressed such a great issue. Why do we need to focus on making everyone happy when that is clearly impossible. It's not like Family Guy singles anyone one person out and continually mocks them, instead they make fun of almost everyone and every walk of life. Everyone has flaws and it's impossible to make everyone happy. So to them I say, "Get over it! Stop being offended over the dumbest things!" Unfortunately in our oh-so politically correct world, we can't exactly say the things that we want or the things that everyone is thinking. However, this is just me venting on something that almost definitely won't change. I could be wrong and I could be the only one who thinks like this, but I doubt it. Oh well.

Debate-etabeD

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun during the debate. When my group members asked me to be the spokes person, I was honestly quite flattered. I see myself as a goofy person who just wants to have fun and make people laugh while doing it, so for them to choose me made me very happy. I figured if they wanted me to be the first and last speaker, I would try to make them laugh as well as throw some big words around. Which I do believe I did. Overall, I think our group just had a lot of fun with the project. Personally, I have never been in a debate situation before so doing this activity was fun and exciting. The groups main goal was just to present our key ideas and not worry too much on winning. However, it was nice when we did in fact win.

Battle Royale

Superman vs. Batman

Superphrase

Without a doubt, I would love to play a game of Catchphrase with the man of steel himself, Superman. Superman is pretty much my favorite super hero of all time and I think it would make my universe if I could play a game of Catchphrase with him. Superman may be an alien from another world, but since he has been here, he has developed an unrivaled love for humanity rivaled by no one else. The fact that he dedicates his life to protecting people is quite noble. This endless toil to keep humans safe is precisely the reason I believe he deserves a short break with a quick game of Catchphrase. You may be asking yourself, "what's so special about Catchphrase?" I can simply reply, "it's my favorite game of all time." What's not to like? You can play with 2 people or a whole group of friends, it can be played anywhere at anytime, and the rules are quite simple to understand and pick up. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master (although that is the Othello board game tag line, I still think it's fitting.)

Your a delivery guy...you don't even work here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCsLITgWzTI

This commercial was paid for by careerbuilder.com.

Of all the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl, this was my favorite. I thought it was so funny watching grown men dressed up in office supply armor outfits duke it out in the middle of the jungle. Seeing them with binders on their heads and computer parts all over their body was so humorous. And the idea that grown men would be fighting for a promotion in the middle of the forest looking so ridiculous was absurdly hilarious. Also, for a commercial, the camera shots were very cinematic. With a shaky, unsure nature, the camera man was able to make it seem like this was actually an intense battle that was happening in the middle of the woods. I thoroughly enjoyed this commercial along with the beard comb over, but that's another blog I suppose. Let me know which was your favorite.

Persuasion

I am here to talk to you about seeing the movie Happy Feet. I know what your thinking, talking penguins, CGI animation for kids, and a less than believable plot line; this movie is not for me. But to that I say rubbish! This movie is for kids, adults, and yes even college students. Not only did this movie have hip up beat music featuring popular bands such as The Beatles and Queen, but it also has the classic hero’s journey. A young emperor penguin sets out on a quest to see why there has been a fish shortage for the past few years. On his journey, he meets five smaller penguins and a wise guru penguin who help him in his journey. With his new friends, he travels across the Antarctic to solve the mystery of the lack of fish. With all of these key features in one movie, it’s hard to say no to such a wonderful film. Hopefully, after reading this blog, you will seriously consider seeing the movie Happy Feet.

Day 1 - Jan. 17th - Blogging Expedition Begins

Today is the first day I have been faced with the challenge of posting a "blog." Although the idea is alien to me, I intend to explore the possibilities fully in hopes that this small assignment might even turn into a hobby of sorts. The layout seems some what similar to Microsoft Word, one might even describe it as a pseudo Word of sorts. I am quite sure, however, that this tool will help pass the times on the grueling mountain of English 103. I doubt not that, much like Facebook and other online "blogging sites," I too will be able to defeat the seemingly unconquerable feet that is Blogger. With provisions set, equipment ready, and computer in hand, I maintain a positive outlook as I begin this years English quest.

-Stephen