Satire and Parody

I was absent the day that you showed Robot Chicken, but Family Guy was very entertaining. I think it is hilarious to see someone turn real life situtations that people stress over everyday into comical events that make everyone laugh. I don't always get the jokes but it is still really entertaining to watch these and see how they flip things around to lighten the mood. However, I do feel that sometimes satire and parody are taken a little too far. This show was funny though and I enjoyed learning about satire ad parody in a new and fun way!

Midterm Analysis and Evaluation

b1.
Throughout this semester, English 103 has taken many approaches to helping me learn how to argue. I feel that we have touched upon the five course strands and that they have really helped me understand argumentative rhetoric.
With everything we do, research is involved. I have used various types of research with every work that we have been assigned. For the Community Based Writing Assignment, we were required to have four sources. My sources were two websites, a poll, and an interview. I consider all four of these sources to be research and were very helpful in my work. Using polls and interviews as sources taught me to think outside of the box and that you don’t always have to use books and written information as research. Another type of research that has been a huge part of my learning experience was observation. I used observation in the Shakespeare Review and the Art Opinion Piece by going to a play in the Brooks Center and Lee Art Gallery and use what we saw to write an opinion paper.
A huge part of this class is based on collaboration. For the first few weeks, we were in groups constantly and were required to work together to complete assignments. This taught me a lot because we were required to work together and use teamwork to succeed. Also, during the debate we were divided up into teams and hearing everyone’s point of view on the subject of text messaging vs. phone calls was really helpful in making our argument. Another part of collaboration I feel is being able to communicate with the teacher and I feel that Erin has a lot of feedback to offer and has really helped me understand what to improve on and how. I plan on using this feedback to my advantage over the course of the rest of the semester and really improving my work.
As far as critical and rhetorical thinking are concerned, I have always struggled. This class is helping me see how to be more involved with thinking and ways to improve. I feel that I did really well on the Art Opinion Piece by interpreting what I felt the artwork had to say and by putting my thoughts into words. Erin also had positive feedback for this and helped me to see that critical thinking isn’t as hard as it may seem, it is simply putting your complex thoughts and ideas into words so that others can understand your viewpoints and where you are coming from.
The blogspots have been an awesome part of expressing ourselves though information and technology. I love doing the blogs because it allows us as students to share information about ourselves with Erin, information that we otherwise probably wouldn’t have the chance to discuss in class.
Lab has also been a very important part of this class because it allows us extra time to go over and have a better understanding of material we are covering in class. We haven’t gotten any assignments back in lab yet but I really feel that I am doing well in there and that it will help me succeed in class.

c1.
Evaluation: I feel that the grades and feedback I have received are pretty accurate when looking back over my works and considering what I could have done differently. I would like to be able to take the comments and grades Erin has given me and use them to improve my work over the course of the rest of the semester. I will work harder to use more explanation in my writings. Overall, I feel that the grade I received on my midterm assessment reflects the works that I have done and my overall effort.
Midterm Grade estimate (student): A-

Analyzing the Debate

There were a lot of things we could have done differently when debating on Wednesday. First, there were times when I would get frustrated because a group member wasn't talking about what they should and making points that were important. We also should have taken more time to research points we had and make them sound more believable. I think the outcome was correct though. I was on the text messaging side and we only lost by three points and if you think about it, talking really is the better choice most of the time. I do believe my team worked well together, but I think we probably should have concentrated more on what was important to present and maybe done some research.

Possible Debate Subject

Text Messaging vs. Phone Calls

Playing Baseball with Andruw Jones

If I could play any game with anyone in the world it would be to play baseball with Andruw Jones. My daddy was a center fielder in high school and college so baseball has always been a huge part of my life. As a child, we would go to Atlanta many times a year to watch the Braves play. Andruw Jones was always my favorite because he, like my daddy, was the center fielder! As I got older and started writing papers in school and researching, I always wanted to learn more about Andruw and how he became so good at what he loved. He was almost always the topic of my research paper and the more I learned about him, the more I liked and respected him. If I could spend a day and play baseball with him, I would ask him about his life in the Netherlands as a boy and about his love for baseball. I also think it would be a lot of fun to play a game with someone who is SO good.

Nintendo Wii

In this commercial, they are advertising for the new Nintendo Wii. They do this by demonstrating the very many different uses for the game station by showing it in many different places with various types of people. I think they do a good job because it really does interest you in the product and helps let you know what it is and how it works. They also start the commerical off in a very serious mood that helps grab your attention and stay focused on the product. The commercial is effective because it helps you see the many different types of games and how anyone can have fun doing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5cPVP_llfo

One Tree Hill

The thing I want to recommend most to you is the TV show, One Tree Hill. I have been watching OTH since the first season and it is now in the fourth. It is a great TV show to watch anytime, something you can never get bored with. There are always lessons to be learned and this show helps me to understand life a little better sometimes and see things that I normaly wouldn't. It also helps me appreciate life because like most TV shows, One Tree Hill is full of drama and people with lives much worse than ours. If you don't watch it already I recommend OTH on Wednesday nights at 9:00 on the CW. It will really help you view life from a different perspective!