Salad Bowl

America is called the melting pot because there are people from everywhere around the world, they have different cultures, different customs, but when they come to America, they are one, one nation. However, America is not a melting pot, it is a salad bowl. A melting pot implies that although we have many different people from many different cultures here in America, they have all adapted to our culture. This however, is simply not true. We have people come here from different cultures but they retain their own cultures and let them flourish here in America. We have things such as China town and little Italy. I myself have a strong Persian influence and grew up surrounded by a Persian culture. I went to a Farsi school when I was little, my family would always shop in local Persian markets, and I was surrounded by Persian kids as a child. America is amazing because you can be American and Chinese here. Or American and Indian, or German, or even Persian and it would be normal. But in other countries such as India or Germany, or Iran the population is mostly one people and one culture. That’s why America is the most unique country at the least.

One Race, One People

I have many different identities in the world. I’m a student, I’m a part of the youth of America, I’m a son and a brother, and I’m a minority. I affect the culture as part of the youth the greatest simply because our voice in society tends to be the loudest. However, my role is to improve our society to the best of my ability not just for my peers and community, but for myself as well. Putting identity aside, we all have the same role in society; to improve humanity and progress as a race. It’s hard to keep that in mind when we identify ourselves as different groups of people, whether it’s based off our skin color, ethnicity, or what we believe, we’re simply getting in our own way. One of my dreams is to see us all working together to advance humanity. We’re all the same, we all want the best for ourselves and our families, we all have hopes and dreams but we seem determined to kill the hopes and dreams of our fellow man. We’re digging our own graves by doing so. It’s becoming apparent that we will face a problem that affects all of us equally, whether that be global warming or something else, but I can promise you that the day will come when the only way to survive is by working together as one race. I just hope we can overcome our differences by then.

Outlines

The outline example in the text was very useful. I liked how everything was broken down, not only in simple bullets, but separated into different sub-topics and with full sentences under each of them. It truly does give an outline of the actual paper and I believe it will help considerably in writing the actual paper. Doing an outline this way helps avoid procrastination because I basically had to write most of my essay simply for the outline. It was a good step before having to put everything together and writing a rough draft. I did my outline a little differently than the example in the text did. I had a subtopic, then I gave my first point along with one or two pieces of evidence, then I usually gave a second point in my essay followed by another two pieces of evidence. I believe that this method will make it easier for the Assertion, Evidence, and then Analysis form that I’m trying to follow for this paper. All in all, this outline was benefit me greatly and I will follow it closely when writing my first draft.

Notes and Plagerism

When I take notes, I usually try to only write down the important things. Anything the professor puts on the board usually goes down in my notes. Along with anything that the professor repeats constantly. Every now and then, they will tell you specifically that you will need to know something or something will pop up on the test and obviously it’s a good idea to write that down. I also use things such as stars, side notes saying If something is important, and underlining. Although many people sometimes use different colors or another tool to go the extra mile, I believe that such things are a waste of time. It takes up time and effort and is completely un-necessary. Notes should be a simple summary of a lecture or a class. It’s also important to avoid plagiarism at all costs. If nothing else, plagiarism can get you into serious trouble. Some schools even have a no tolerance policy in where they will expel a student if they are caught plagiarizing even once. It’s simply not ethical to plagiarize. Think of it this way; if you wrote a paper that you worked hard on and were proud to call yours, would you appreciate someone else using it and calling it their own?

Interviews

The second interview is clearly much more organized than the first. It’s a simple question and answer but its works. After reading the first interview, I was actually unclear of what I was reading. There were many different people being introduced and it was more of a discussion than anything else. The second interview is also more organized by the way the people answer the questions. In the first interview, the man asking the questions, Terrence Smith, simply says a general statement and the rest of the people comment of what he said. In the second interview, the reporter asks George Ritzer a question, and George Ritzer gives his answer. Then they move on. That simple. I believe that this method of interview is much more efficient than the first one. It’s more organized and that makes all the difference. If I had to choose a way to interview someone, I would definitely choose the second method and I think the person I was interviewing would prefer it as well.

Stereotypes

Chinua Achebe once said “The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it's this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this”. After reading these two sections together, I realized how much I stereotype when before I thought I could proudly say I didn’t. I watch a lot of sports and to be honest, I think that most of the star athletes are black, many of the white ones aren’t so great, and the only good quarter backs are the white one. I’m ashamed to admit how stereotypical that is but it’s what I’ve been thinking. I know I’m not ethnocentric and back home, I had friends of all races and the only way I judged them was based off their character. However, when it comes to people I don’t know, like athletes, it’s simply easier to stereotype. I know that almost all stereotypes, including my own, are not true. Michel Vick is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. Steve Nash is one of the best point guards in the history of the league. Wes Welker is simply put an amazing wide receiver. It’s easy to stereotype, but we must strive to keep an open mind and judge people only on themselves.

Research Scources

When writing a research topic, there’s more to research than simply finding a topic. You have to read through a bunch of books, websites, and articles. You might have to watch some films, conduct some interviews, and take some surveys. When you decide to begin a research paper, you must become a semi-expert on you topic if you want to write a good paper.  After you begin your research, you must find primary and secondary resources for your argument. After that, you have to evaluate just how good your sources are. For example, when coming across websites, it’s best to find out about the author or publisher of the source. When coming up with a survey, you must: target your population, develop questions, prepare, make contact, record and document, and conduct a follow-up. It is also a good idea to take notes as you read through your sources. After you find all your sources, you can create a dialogue of your source and must write an annotated bibliography. To create a dialogue of sources, you must: identify the key players, create a cast of character’s list, draft the script, consider what your sources would say to each other, and don’t just play the “objective” moderator.

The Importance of Avatars

The role of avatars has a far greater impact and use then to just look cool; they allow their creators the chance to be anyone or anything they set their mind to. Not only that, but avatars also allow people to be judged based off their personality and merit alone. Currently, avatars are mostly used in online gaming websites. Millions of people log on and become someone or something completely different and live their virtual life. Some become mythical creatures and fight monsters in battles and wars while others simply become a different looking person or even switch genders and just live out a separate life in a virtual world. Although most of this seems quite amazing, many people have become addicted to being able to just completely switching lives by logging into an account. They spend more time in their virtual worlds than they do in the real world and I believe that is unhealthy. Another negative of having this power to become anyone or anything you want is that the people that spend most of their lives in the virtual world develop self-esteem issues. They spend much of their time usually as someone they wish they could be and because it is artificially created, they avatar is usually close to perfect; especially since the creator customizes them to what they believe is perfect. I’m not saying that everyone who plays online games is a basement nerd that doesn’t leave their mother’s basement, I’m just saying that this “hobby” can take over a person’s life just as much as a drug can and it is clearly unhealthy.

Social Media Addiction

I myself am and addicted user. It consumes hours of my life without my will. I've have not been able to function without out it since my freshman. I cannot ever go more than a couple days without it. I am 100% addicted to Facebook. Whether I am looking at new photos, or checking out the link or video that my friend posted on my wall, or even if it's to check if the cute girl in my math class is single yet, Facebook has become part of my life. Unlike many others, I do not believe there is anything wrong with enjoying the perks of Facebook. I believe that it’s everyone’s personal CNN news center, except instead of learning about what’s going on in the world, you’re learning about everything that’s going on with your friend’s world. Many people use it to stalk friends of friends and a lot of creepy guys go on to stalk photos of girls from a Saturday night party. However, just like the article mentioned, Facebook is also used by employers, internships, and schools to see the person you really are when you let your hair down. Either way, Facebook is not a problem, it’s a simple tool that can be used in many different ways.

Ad Assignment

The paper assigned isn't bad. I usually see an advertisement every day so after being taught how to analyze it and see how many different types of ads there are, I see ads differently and can see through their smoke and mirrors.

Realistic Photograpy

Although Mike Brodie’s (better known as the “Polaroid Kidd) pictures are usually posed, they are never manufactured or set up to display something that doesn’t represent reality. Brodie left his home when he was 18 and he chose to “jump rails” which many would never consider. Brodie travels around the country photographing what he likes to call "travel culture", which includes: “train-hoppers, vagabonds, squatters and hobos”. The “Polaroid Kidd” got his name because he simply uses a Polaroid to capture all his memories, encounters, and experiences. Most modern day photographers use expensive cameras, photo techniques, or Photoshop to manufacture the “perfect picture”. Personally, I like Mike Brodie’s style and photographs because they’re natural. Simply by not altering the picture, I know that there’s more truth to the image than what has unfortunately become the norm for other photographers. Not only is Brodie’s style unique, but his photographs are of his specific lifestyle living with other members that are a part of his “travel culture”. Brodie has already gained much attention and hopefully other photographers will adopt his geniality.

A Photos Purpose

Ansel Adams once said "you don't take a photograph, you make it". This photo was taken during the Vancouver riots that occurred this past summer. The photograph is called the "The Riot Kiss" simply because in the picture, amid the riot that is surrounding them, it seems that a couple is passionately kissing in the middle of the street. This picture got huge international media attention because it was so inspiring. After the picture had circulated the media and the riots were over, people were curious to know who the couple was exactly. After much investigation, the media found the couple and interviewed them. It turns out that “the couple” wasn’t a couple after all. The woman was hurt and the man in the photograph was simply assisting her and making sure that she was safe. Another photograph of “the couple” taken seconds after the first one was later revealed but this time from an aerial view.    

These series of photos prove what Ansel Adams said is true. The situation of the man in the photo being a Good Samaritan was there; however, the photographer took a good photo and manipulated the shot to make it a great photo. In doing so, the audience who looked at the photo lost part of the truth in the process. Photos can be powerful, and it’s up to the photographer to handle that responsibility.   

I Want More Time

The commercial that I found inspired me in a multitude of different ways. It’s a moving ad because it mainly uses pathos and appeals to a person’s emotions. The commercial is starts off with a father as the narrator describing his relationship with his son. As the speaker is talking, the audience sees that the relationship between the father and son is not strong. It begins with the father taking the son to school on his first day and simply handing the son his bag without hugging him or reassuring him that everything will be ok like most parents do. Then we move on to the father trying to teach the son how to ride a bike and when the son falls the father simply tells the son to be a man and get up. Later the father and son have diner and are in the car together and in both situations neither of them are talking indicating that the relationship is not a close/open one. Later on, the son is now a teenager and is interested in music and playing the guitar. He witnesses other parents supporting their kids and he feels even more alone. The next scene the son gets into a fight with his father and the father ends up kicking him out of his home. The son and father go on their separate ways and the son eventually becomes famous enough to hold concerts and the father shows his remorse. While the father is thinking about his son in the car, he gets hit by a truck and a flashback of all the scenes are shown except with the being supportive and having a good relationship with his son. This commercial is very thought provoking and can hit home with a lot of people who’ve not only had bad relationships with their parents or children, but with anyone in general. Everyone lives with at least a few regrets and many of us would love to have more time or an opportunity to relive some experiences. The commercial really hit home with me and it used pathos to really capture the audience’s attention.

Political Cartoon

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After looking through many different political cartoons, I finally found one that really interested me. It used limited verbal rhetoric and focused mainly on the visuals. The picture is a spin-off of the famous wooden horse used in the Trojan War. On the side of the Trojan horse, the words “Health-Care Reform” are written. However, the wooden horse is open and men in black suits are walking out and on all their briefcases the acronym IRS is written. Universal health care was a huge debate over this past year but it did eventually get passed through congress after dozens of revisions. The cartoon artist obviously disagrees with having universal health care getting passed because he believes that this is simply a way that the IRS is going to tax the people. In a way, I agree with the author that health care being passed isn’t a good thing for our country but for different reasons. I have family in Canada and they say their universal health care system is awful. My aunt is also a doctor and she believes that this is simply going to hurt the general population’s ability to get their medical needs taken care of. The author doesn’t focus too much on using pathos and ethos, but focus’ on using logos to get us to agree with him. He’s using a historical reference and also saying that the IRS can tax us more to pay for universal health care which is true. Either way, this cartoon is a good one to look at.

Tigers everywhere

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Wherever I go I can't help but see a tiger; whether it's on a t-shirt, a statue, or a tiger paw, they're everywhere. I’m from D.C. and it’s significantly bigger than Clemson. The school pride down here is unparalleled to anything from back home, even though the suburbs that I come from  is a community similar to this one. I have to have dozens of shirts that have my high school name on them, whether it is from football, lacrosse, or just a general shirt. Our football team went 8-2 this year and we set a record for the biggest turnaround ever in our district; we gained the loyalty of what had to be a couple thousand fans, but that school pride still can’t match the one found here. Granted that that was high school and this is college, but even other colleges in my area such as UVA and Virginia tech don’t have the same amount of school pride as Clemson does. Clemson has thousands of alumni, tigers are everywhere, most of the people living in the surrounding area went to Clemson, and the entire town is in support of this school. Even though the amount of orange and purple I see can sometimes get obnoxious, I’m falling in love with the college town feel and the sense of a strong, close-knitted community that I’ve found here. I’m happy to call this my new home and proud to be a tiger.