My thoughts on Writing...

I always thought writing was easy. Whatever was inside of my head I put on to paper and that was my writing for the day. I also enjoyed writing; writing what I felt inside and being able to express it was good for me. It was not until this class I realized writing is so much more than “just writing”. The majority of the writing I have been doing was in reflective form. I would write what I thought and felt, and I thought that’s all there was to writing. Taking this course however led me to see the different aspects and styles of writing and showed me what true writing is all about.

One of the new styles of writing I encountered through the course was the observational writing. As I wrote the work, I often caught myself making remarks and opinions on the concert. I found out that it was actually difficult for me to write a straight observational paper. My simple mindset on writing led me to believe it was all about self-expression; yet this observational essay was all about thorough examination. I was bewildered! Even as I wrote, my head was telling me to write just on observation, but my heart wanted to reflect and comment. A similar happening occurred with the rhetoric essay as well. Taking on the professor’s advice to choose a topic of some interest, I chose to write on a picture regarding Columbine. Once again, my heart chose to reflect and express on the picture when I should’ve been analyzing the different styles. In honesty, my first rhetoric essay I had to throw away in whole because it was all reflective and none rhetoric. I even considered doing another media; something less interesting so that I wouldn’t be as tempted to turn the paper into a reflective essay (Even towards the end of the essay, I ened on a reflective note "'Disregarding how the collage was made and how it was effective seems to be put aside within the simplicity of the message:Where have all the Children gone! Across our land – COLUMBINE AND ALL THE OTHERS LOST'"). As people say ‘old habits die hard’, I still caught myself even towards the end of the course often reflecting on everything, but this eye opening experience to new styles of writing truly gave me new insight to what writing was capable of. Not only were we able to express what we thought, through writing we were able to break down anything to its purest, simplest form. From there we were able to analyze, evaluate and assess on the topic from the basics of the basics. Writing wasn’t a tool for expression; writing was a tool to open up eyes and ears to new gateways of thought.

As difficult for me as it was for me to make this transition (a new change in writing), I can’t help but think how precious this opportunity has been for me. As business major and a current banker, I am led to many situations where I have to write. If something goes wrong within the branch, I have to either correct the matter, or write a nice little letter explaining why it went wrong. I always knew that my reflective form of writing was going to run into its limit. Simply writing what I felt on a situation was not going to take me far when it’s an issue dealing with money. This English course gave me the tool to fix this problem. Now I was able to write with these different strategies in mind. I found the letters that I write more professional and much more persuasive than how it had been before.

This new sense of writing would not have been possible without the help from my peers and my professor. Because of my tendency to write reflections, what I considered rhetorical or observational was often reflective. I wouldn’t find out how confused I was, until I peer reviewed other’s work. Out of everything in this course, the most valuable tool of ‘learning to write’ was to work with other peers. Each writer has their strengths and weaknesses. People usually discover their strengths with ease, but their weaknesses are rarely found. Working with other writers allowed all of us to compare and improve. More than once, I found work that was very different with mine. From there, the two of us were able to progress as better writers by seeing what the other person does and how they do it. Even from this point, working with the professor gave us even more room to grow. As novice writers, we would run into walls and hit our limits on whatever we write. The professor for this course read our work before submission and showed us how to improve. Getting help from peers and the professor alike; there was no way I couldn’t improve as a writer.

All in all, this English course was very worthwhile. I discovered a new writer within and I’m very satisfied with the result. I hope to continue to strive as a writer. I’m always going to write throughout my life whether it’s my major or not. Why not write well when you have to write anyway?

The Rhetoric of Columbine

Amidst the sense of security and calm within the U.S., many were shocked by events that occurred at Virginia Tech and Columbine. Fingers were being pointed on why a tragedy such as this came to place; easy access to guns, ostracism at school, lack of prayer in school, etc. Yet, before anything, this picture speaks to America on what we felt the most; sorrow of the loss of precious lives and the pain that followed it.

The picture is of powerful image; smiling faces of those who have died, people in mourning, and a flower to perhaps give the sense of fragility of life. The pictures utilize ‘pathos’ to speak a message out to the audience and the text above the picture supports that message by speaking out in the same fashion. Each face in the picture is shown smiling happily. To know that lives of those smiling faces were taken away on an unsuspecting day really stirs in our hearts great emotions of grief, pain, and sorrow. Within the layout of the collage, we are also able to observe a few strategies that were used to heighten the message. One of the strategies is the compare-contrast. The collage is put together into one big picture, but within the pictures, we are able to discover that it’s divided roughly in two. The bottom portion of the picture shows the smiling faces of victims, while the top portion shows of people mourning, SWAT officers with guns drawn, and flowers and letters written to those who’ve lost. The bottom portion speaks to us in a manner where had the tragedy not happened, those smiles on the victims would have continued. But, because of the occurrence of the tragedy, the smiles of those victims were replaced by great pain and suffering. In a similar fashion, the picture depicts a strategy of Cause and Effect. Because of the shootings, lives were changed from smiling faces to crying tears. In either way, these strategies heavily supports the ‘pathos’ message of the pain in losing those close to you.

We are also able to discover in the collage that each victim is also made very visible to utilize the ‘ethos’ connection with the audience. Advertisements by big companies such as Nike or Gatorade use big time celebrities like Michael Jordan or Carmelo Anthony to sell their product. However, to utilize a character, one does not have to be a known face to have its affect. This collage is one of the cases where a sense of ‘ethos’ is brought to play without celebrities. Within a mix of other pictures and messages, we see clearly in the collage faces of those who had died in Columbine. While every other picture is hidden or less emphasized, each picture of a face is made focus of the whole collage. This delivers a message to the audience of how each life lost is care for genuinely. As is delivering a positive public image for a corporation becoming an ‘ethos’ method, so is this, a collage delivering an empathetic image to America as an ‘ethos’ method as well. It adds a perspective to the audience as a character.

However, all these strategies and methods become useless unless the audience knows what happened in Columbine. Without proper background knowledge of what happened and who had died, these smiling faces and those mourning above it can even seem confusing. The collage is embedded in cultural resonance based on U.S. culture, and makes the message of the collage not as effective as possible. For example, in some cultures of the world, it is improper to show pictures of those who have already passes away. In other countries, flowers of a certain type or color (like the sunflower on the frame for example) carry specific meanings and should not be used. Yet, because this tragedy that is background to the message is really pertained to the U.S. culture, the matter of efficiency should not be considered. This did happen in U.S., and the audience that is most affected by this message would be those within the U.S. anyway.

The physical layout of the collage is positioned well. A flower (Regardless of what message it can hold out of cultural resonance) is in fade on the center of the collage. Above the fade are pictures of faces of the victims as well as the pictures of those who are hurting after the lost. While the picture sizes of the victims are relatively small, so are pictures of everything else. This balanced symmetry in sense delivers a message that those who were killed are being remembered, while those who are mourning are thought of just as much. The coloring of the collage is relatively dull, to add emphasis to the pain. A bright, light color may have not been appropriate for this subject; people suffering from the loss of life is not a joyous occasion. In understanding to that, it appears that the face pictures were chosen to be presented in black and white and other dull colors. The border is bright however; it is covered by flowers and laced in gold. Perhaps a message that despite life moving on (represented by bright colors), scars from the tragedy are always remembered (represented by the dull colors within). In any retrospect, the two differences create contrasts which accentuate each other; the pictures in black and white seem more dull, while the borders of the collage seems light.

This collage in its rhetoric voice speaks to our society to remember what’s really important; precious lives of precious people taken away. Disregarding how the collage was made and how it was effective seems to be put aside within the simplicity of the message:
Where have all the Children gone! Across our land – COLUMBINE AND ALL THE OTHERS LOST

THE COLUMBINE FLOWER



Work Cited

Watson, Justin. MARTYRS OF COLUMBINE: faith and the politics of tragedy.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2002

A Korean American

I came to the United States when I was 9 years old. Leaving all my friends back home in Korea and coming to a new place with a new school, new surroundings, and new people; I was lost. Because the school I started in was situated in a relatively a “white” neighborhood, I felt alone. Perhaps it was because I was young, but within a year, I found myself adjusting relatively well. I met new friends and began to enjoy this place. This place was now home for me. Yet, I always had to ask myself many times; am I Korean or American? My friends around me had blue eyes and blonde hair, but I had brown eyes and black hair. Their eyes were big but mine were stretched. I spoke English as a second language; English is what they spoke since birth. At home I spoke Korean and ate Korean food, but outside I spoke English and ate hotdogs and pizza. Identity was not clear and I didn’t know who I was. Slowly, I felt as if I was pushed out to a place of no belonging. I was too Korean outside of my home, and in my home, I was too American. My English was too broken to be called American, and what I enjoyed to eat was too American for me to be Korean.

It was a few years later that I found my identity. Another Korean student had moved out to our school. He was straight from Korea and was lost just as I was when I first came. When the teachers reached out to him and was rejected by the language barrier, they called me over to help assimilate this poor child into the American society. We began to talk in Korea and he dearly held on to me until he became comfortable with his new home. I then realized how versatile and hybrid I was as a Korean American. I was blessed with two homes, two languages and two cultures, and I was ready to grab a hold of gifts both societies had to offer. I was able to reach out to both societies and offer them a hand. Knowing two much-different cultures allowed me to become a better person. To see in two different perspectives allowed me to develop into a character that TWO cultures can appreciate. I embrace both cultures and I thank God for allowing me to become a Korean American.

Loneliness

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a well known theory of basic needs for a human being. The philosopher lists the needs in order from greatest to the least, starting from the need of food, breathe, and sleep, to confidence and respect by others. Because we are living to survive, the first needs that a human seeks for is what keeps them alive. Basic needs such as food, sleep, breathing and shelter are first sought after. As soon as those needs are met, Maslow tells us that humans seek for Belonging and Friendship. When we are situated and secured, we have a need to share that with someone that we care for. When those needs are not met, people were seen getting sick; physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

In our society here in the United States, we are given plenty of room to express our identity and our character. Yet, being accepted for what you express is a whole different matter. There is a cultural trend that the majority of the people of society follow, and if someone does not go along with that, they are outcast and ostracized. That person is left out and forced to deal with loneliness by themselves just because they are different. Looking back into the Columbine incident and the Virginia Tech incident, it is sad and disappointing to see how this individualist discrimination caused such a horrible event to occur. Both events involved lack of friendship and belonging; a common need of a human being. Perhaps this world can take a different direction if this is just recognized. There is no need to love and suck up to everyone; people can have their differences. But, only when we can accept others despite differences…

Don't just talk, but walk...

A Column Regarding Christianity in America

As a Christian, one of the responsibilities given to us is to evangelize and let people know about God. Out of the many that we talk with, there are those that do not believe in anything at all; they are referred to as aetheists. They believe that there was no God, and they felt that no higher being is ever there. When they were asked why they did not believe, or want to believe, their responses were ironically similar. One of the common answers was that the churchgoers now, do not seem any different from anyone else. In fact, many people thought that Christians seemed to be people of worse quality (character and personality), people who suffer more (materialistically as well as in general), and people of extreme hypocricy. When I heard this response, immediately I was overwhelmed with guilt. I fit into that exact description of "Christian". There are many ways attempted to deliver a message of God: mass media like radio broadcasting, speaking out on the streets, attempting miracles on TV shows... But I realized, all that is meaningless when a person calling themselves Christians, when I, do not walk what we preach. If we don't live by what we say, who's going to believe that there's any good in that? First thing that came to my mind when hearing that response is, "I need to go to English class! Just because I'm tired is not an excuse to miss class!!" Walking what we're talking is what I need to do.

Absolut Impotence

The first thing that came to my mind is Absolut comic. The ad cleverly uses a quote from Shakespeare of how “Drink provokes the desire but takes away the performance.” The crumpled bottle relating to impotence allows the viewer to not understand the spoof ad mentally, but visually as well. It applies many rhetoric strategies to not only show negatives to drinking to the viewer, but does it in a manner where the viewer will remember. One, the ad uses strategies that implies persuasion in a ‘logos’ logical fashion. Drinking surely does create less performance when consumed, but no one take it to heart. When we are able to visually see a crumpled bottle, we are able to understand on a visual note. We are also able to see the ad speaking to us on an emotional ‘ethos’ note as well. We are all familiar with the advertisement showing the Absolut Vodka bottle. Majority of the commercials for this product features scenes and images of enjoyment and excitement. The irony in this parody creates an emotional touch that is so contradictory to the original, that it creates a humorous note. This laughter influences and persuades us on an emotional note. While the ad seems merely humorous, the message within seems to have a harder punch. Drinking is always what our society considers a good social event. Yet, hidden within, are possible outcomes of many negatives. We know that drinking can lead to addiction, abuse, death (drinking and driving) and impotence as well. Yet, the way these negatives are delivered never sticks to us; it’s always on a long boring column, or never emphasized too well. Yet, this ad that we are so familiar to was twisted in a contradicting way, and it reaches to us the way that the original ad reached to us. The influence of this new ad seems more influential than any other way it was proposed before.

Sex Appeal: The ups and downs

Sex appeal is one of the best tools when it comes to marketing. Not only does it capture attention, it fools the viewer to think that they want to buy the product. When in reality, the feeling of need comes from the sexual arousal, rather than the actual product. Many products are marketed in this fashion, especially clothing apparel and outer garnishments. One of the companies that use this method is Calvin Klein. Often, their models are shown advertising their body more than the actual product, yet the effectiveness of the commercials is unrivaled by any other way to show off their product. For example, the model shown within this writing is Christy Turlington. Many of her pictures are nothing but black and whites of her in a sexy undergarment. Yet, when you see her shoots, you automatically can think CK. Even without the text, you are able to see a picture and think CK. Even for those who do not know of CK, the ad using sex appeal captures their attention, and makes sure that they’ll remember their company. As far as the effectiveness goes for this style of ad, it is more than good. However, this ad is questionable when it comes to the matter of appropriateness. This advertisement is seen by viewers of all ages; from the responsible adult, to the growing up pre-teen. When such material is shown, it may give a “negative” influence to a young adult. Identity is an issue being developed for a teen. If an ad such as this becomes the ideal model of beauty, this concept can lead the teen into a wrong direction. Although there isn’t much ‘pathos’ in the actual picture, the effect it may have on its viewers can surely be emotional. Perhaps too emotional…

Analysis of the Picture: Emptiness

The picture is well taken despite bad lighting and stale background. The picture was taken within a fog, which would create stale and bland coloring of the picture. The photographer actually used that as a theme of the picture, creating a sense of being lost visually as well as rhetorically. The focus of the picture, the woman, stands out well with her black dressing manner. Against the pale background and stale grass, she makes the viewers focus on her, making it obvious she is the focus. The proportion of the woman versus the background is also very good. It is close enough for the viewer to observe some type of emotion from the facial expression, but far enough to create a sense of void within the picture. We are able to tell that she is looking and calling out for something (most likely a dog, looking at the leash in her hand), and the spacing with the woman and everything else is very well proportioned. Also, making the woman placed at the far right of the picture makes the background seem much wider. As far as the message goes, the picture speaks in regards to wanting to find something. Whether it’s a dog or a meaningful relationship, the focus of the picture is definitely searching out for something in desperation. No time in our lives are we able to think that we are complete. We always seem to lack something, and it creates emptiness inside. This picture persuades us to reflect on ourselves once again; to once again evaluate what we have and do not have.

Reflecting on the picture

A dog is a man’s best friend. This is a saying we know too well. There has been countless stories of the loyalty these animals possess. From saving their owner from a burning house, to risking their lives to protect their human friends, dogs have been the loyal companion of mankind far back into the history books. This picture shows a woman holding a leash, looking for her pet in desperation. It makes one question, “why did she lose her dog?” As a dog owner, you give your dog some freedom, and it may run off; yet, you should have no need to call for it desperately. Calling for it once should retrieve the dog without too much trouble. Although no judgment can be made by simple visuals, the fact that this lady made this dog run away makes me question her character and personality. Also, the weather seems horrible; if the picture was taken at a park, we should have been able to observe others present within this picture. Yet, she seems to be the only one out there. Looking into her dressing style, the weather also seems chilly. Why is she out there? Of course, if the dog needs a walk, it’s understandable, but if she’s a type of owner where the dog would run away from her, most probably she made no consideration of that sort. The lady simply looks as if she needs more help than retrieving her dog. Maybe she needs psychological treatment.

Observing of the picture

Within a fog, we are able to see a woman in her thirties crying out into the mist. Holding a leash in her hand, it appears that she has lost perhaps a dog. Dressed in black pants overlapped with a black overcoat, she appears very warm. Although she is dressed for the cold, looking at the grass (which appears still fairly green) we are able to assume the time of the year is still summer, if not fall. It is too foggy to determine the time of day because of the fog, but we are able to assume that it is still daylight because the picture was captured with decent lighting. In the background of this picture, we see faintly some trees and bushes. The trees still have their leaves and green color. Although the grass is too well-groomed to look like in the wilderness, nowhere in this picture are we able to see a bench, a sidewalk, nor any other people; it appears that this photo was either not taken at a park, or with excellent timing, made the viewer assume it was out somewhere in the wilderness. A detail that strongly convinces a reader to believe this WAS at a park, is the fact that to the left of the woman in the picture, there are marks of some sort on the grass. Although very faint, the grass is shown with marks from a wheel of some sort. The marks are too thin and faint to be any large vehicle; it seems to belong to maybe a bicycle or a lawn mower.

Drinking: The good, the bad, the ugly

As I walked in to the huge party and see my friend “Johnny”, I can once again see what a popular guy he is. Surrounded by people I don’t know, he seemed to have made the party. He didn’t seem to realize I came, so I walked up to him to say hello. “David! Glad you’re here!” He starts to introduce me to those around him, and we exchange hands and waves. It is surprising to see how one person seems to know so many people, and how appealing a person can be. He gestures me to follow, so that we can take shots (Despite the fact that I tell him I can’t drink, he is not fazed and offers nonetheless). I followed him anyway, and as we walk through the party, almost everyone in the party seemed to know who Johnny was. After swimming through the crowd, we arrived at a table, which was already occupied by a few already drunk as well as an empty flask of Crown Royal. Opening another flask of the terrible toxin, Johnny pours me a shot as he introduced me to the group of very tipsy people. There were three people who were present; one guy who had his head down on the table, breathing as if he was snoring, another guy who kept going to the restroom to throw up (who had more shots once he came back), and one other guy who just kept talking as if he hadn’t spoken for years. When I asked the talkative guy how many shots they each had to drink, he replied with a sly, reddened face, “Eight or nine I think. Dude I’m so drunk ha ha ha…” In my opinion, it looked like they had about twenty. Each of these guys were very well-groomed. They all wore nice dress pants and shirts from Banana Republic or something of that nature, but their composure was a mess. They slurred words and their breath stunk of alcohol. And, to my discomfort, my friend Johnny was the same mess after about an hour. The cool, laid back Johnny was no more, and only thing left in his place was a speech slurring throw up mess. On the surface, this scene first seemed to be of great excitement. People laughing, dancing, meeting new people, it appeared like a good social gathering. But, venturing into each individual, alcohol and its consumption seemed to be more of a torment than an enjoyment. Majority of the people were seen losing control and self-image. The faces of those drinking it made it appear that alcohol consumption was more of a torture than anything else, and those who had consumed it looked very ill.

Bad decisions in consuming can have a horrific consequence. In the United States, the legal age to drink is 21. Although the limit seems to set a sense of curiosity and ‘taboo’ which invokes a minor to drink earlier, this age limit I believe, was set at this number for a reason. A person is allowed to drive a vehicle that moves at a high velocity at age 16. A person is allowed to enlist into the army and learn to be a soldier of war at 18. After that, a person is allowed to drink at the late age of 21. We wonder of why responsibility followed in this sequence; a person allowed to learn a skill that can kill is learnt before allowing the person to drink a beverage from barley; the reason I think this is set up this way, is because alcohol IS that dangerous, and it requires a person to be more mature before allowing its consumption.

Not only is drinking harmful to the consumer, it’s just as dangerous for those around the consumer. Studies show that drunk driving is a leading cause of death, binge drinking can lead to liver failure and weakened heart, and that abuse of many sorts often trace back to the substance alcohol. Also, many families are broken up because of wrongful alcohol consumption. Alcohol just seems like a portal for crime and sin for a person to walk through.

The problem is, is that everyone already is aware of the consequences of alcohol. Yet, people continue to drink anyway. At the party, I was able to see a girl, who obviously was not of legal age to drink. I asked if she liked the taste of alcohol, and she gave me a stern ‘no’. I asked her if she enjoyed throwing up, and she looked at as if I was stupid. When I asked her why she drank alcohol, she told me that it allowed her to have fun and to forget her problems in life. People often first taste alcohol with curiosity, but continue to drink it for other reasons than taste. They force their bodies to drink the toxin in order to cover for a different pain or suffering. Some people drink it to have the approval of those around them, some people drink it to use it as an excuse to lose control, and some people drink it to forget terrible pains within them. The TV commercials we see from alcohol companies like Henessy or Bacardi advertise drink-free driving and safety within alcohol consumption. Yet, before that message is delivered, scenes of people at clubs and parties are shown having a good time thanks to the alcohol. This lures many people to think that alcohol can truly bring them happiness and comfort within their distressed lives. In reality however, the emotional pain inside does not go away and people are left lost. To add on to the disappointment, the girls at these types of events are never really hot as they appear on TV, the setting of clubs and parties are not as crisp or friendly, and alcohol sure does not taste as good as it looks.

Drinking itself is not bad. But, it can lead a person to abuse its substance and create a gateway to lots of pain, physical and emotional. The victims of alcohol, who had lost their health or family due to it are asked upon their decision in drinking, no single person will reply positively on alcohol. The true identity to what alcohol can do is never discovered until it is too late; hopefully people will realize that and alcohol will not be abused once again.

FYI
For treatment of alcohol abuse, please visit the Alcohol Anonymous Website

Ends justify the means? Means justify the ends?

A simple question: "If a loved one is dying from hunger, is it ok to steal food?"

This is a very delicate question. Imagine a person that you love deeply is suffering from hunger. Because you don't have money, you cannot buy food. Now you're in a dilemma; to watch your loved one die, or to commit a crime and steal food. What should you do?

When a large group was asked, many people replied that IT IS OK to steal food. Their justification were something like these: "A life versus food. What is more important? Of course, a life." "If you love someone, you should be able to anything for them, especially to save their life." "Stealing a piece of bread or something like that won't make a difference. It's just food."

I asked myself what the world would be like if everyone lived by this philosophy. A person stealing a piece of bread, when another person steals the bread from that same person who stole the bread just 3 minutes ago... Society would be in a chaos and common order would lose its place. Often people seem to neglect that when they do something like this for their loved one, they are hurting someone else's loved one. What if, the question asked was not regarding food, but regarding a medicine? "If a loved one is dying from hunger, is it ok to steal medicine?" If you steal medicine, the medicine that may be going to another person is not available. Your loved one may have survived, but because you stole that medicine, another person's loved one died.

Within the innocence of the answers to the question, I found purity and greediness at the same time. People are willing to commit crimes for who they love, yet at the same time, harm another that they do not know. It seems like poverty is the real crime, but deep within the honesty of this question, I seem to find the true image of a human being; that humans, who themselves consider to be so high and mighty, are really weak imperfect animals.

When I was asked this question, I for one said "No, I would not steal." I later got into a huge fight with my girlfriend, who happened to be with me at the time. Life is hard...

The blog If:book is an online page with many writers and many topics. From short posts on strange punctuation marks in France to predictions of the future of Times, this blog is free to many opinions and comments. The layout of If:book is simple; On the pages, writings posted by the members are placed on the main page of the blog. Running on the right of those posts are links to other blog users, recent comments and previous posts. As far as form, this site has it laid out almost too simple. You cannot find any eye-catching glamour in this site nor any ads that you might be interested in. As far as appeal, this blog has it horrible. In this rushed society, such a website of words usually only has one shot to grab the audiences’ attention. If they miss it, they usually don’t have another chance. Yet, although this blog does not have any flashy appeal, the website worked. This blog was one of the top blogs for 2006; what makes one wonder is HOW they did it. What made this blog one of the top blogs, I think, is the content of the blog. To the simple eye, the things discussed are somewhat dull. In my opinion, it is boring. The latest posts talk about network labor and copyright issues online to problems with a new service in Yahoo!. This does not concern myself, nor does it affect the way I live life. And speaking for the common public, we can care less to what happens to a multi-billion dollar business (unless you work for Yahoo! I guess…). Looking deeply into the writing however, I realized this blog had a great medium to the news of society. Often when you go into a news media, such as TIME or Yahoo! News, we are able to find the spotlight incidents. Yet, because it’s from NEWS, they are obligated to deliver the unbiased, ‘as is’ news. Sometimes, it is good to hear a voice that expresses an opinion. The writers and bloggers of IF:book does that. They have simple posts of news from different news sources. From that, they talk and debate on the material of that news. Also, on this blog, many writers freely post their opinions that talks from the simple American man’s point of view. News often escalates the material that they talk of on a national level, or a huge corporate level. For example, the incident with Enron and the insider trading. Sure, the cameras focused on the CEOs and FEOs, and what they did as horrible crimes. But, few pictures were taken of the typical family that was devastated by this incident. Sometimes, we need to see news on a smaller scale; If:book allows users to do so. Some posts don’t make sense, and some posts just seem pointless. But, as always, it’s good to find a place to communicate of news on a simple sense. Whether you want to gripe and complain, or just simply see what others have to say.

The concept of the site is a bit too big for me to incorporate into. However, the content reaches out to me. What I want to post on my blog is not of something that I'm mandated to do, such as an English assignment. Whatever I write about, the writing goal I am aiming for is writing that speaks out to the reader as just another person with something to say.

Aware VS Aurori Police Department

A person was taken into custody by the Aurori Police today as a witness as well as a suspect of murder. The photo above was found on a homepage of Joshua Aware; a photo of what seems to be a gruesome headless body. Local authorities noticing the photo as a snapshot from a camera, found it as a probable cause to place Mr. Aware under arrest with suspicion until this case is solved. Tracing to the time registered on the photo (2003/08/20), authorities found no reports of death in their records. After further research, this photo was claimed false to a picture of a murder; the photo was simply within an illusion. The head actually did not belong to the body, but was a head of another person. On the seat were two people, and one of them had laid their head back to the seat and was not visible from the camera’s angle. The other person had laid their head on the legs as a pillow, thus creating an illusion of a headless body. For being placed under custody “without probable cause”, Mr. Joshua Aware is suing the Aurori Police Department for parking ticket-exemption for life. The court is under arbitration and the judgment is yet to be made.

A Metal Concert

A metal concert is not something easily described; the air is thick with heat and full with the smell of people. To the right, a person was being carried by others to who knows where. All around people were pushing and shoving, looking as if they are in dire need of shelter. It was a dog eat dog world, and at this time and place, it seemed as if common order was gone. High intensity filled up, and people were lost with no sense of time; adrenaline was running through everyone as far as eyes can see. As a roaring sound and a loud screech filled the ears, everyone threw themselves up. In front of the concert was where all this took place; what the people called a ‘mosh’ pit. The sound of electric guitar screeching, the bass and drums thumping, and a synthesizer ringing through all the power other instruments combined to play, the metal concert by ‘Slayers’ was not a place to simply mess with.

At the Fillmore, many gathered from all around to see the band ‘Slayers’ perform. An old bearded guy with a big belly was seen talking to a bald guy with tattoos everywhere and earrings the size of a golf ball. Behind them was a dorky looking man who’s name I later found out was Stan. “I got so much crap to do at work tomorrow” said Stan, a banker. “But shit, when am I going to see this band perform here again you know? I just left everything at the office. I’m gonna be busy tomorrow ha ha ha.” As Stan talked to me, I couldn’t help but notice his apparel. Beige khakis, a red polo shirt, with a nameless baseball cap; the word ‘banker’ couldn’t be spelled any other way. I began to wonder and worry a little bit for Stan. He was a tall lanky man who seemed a little far from fighting; and unfortunately, his dressing style seemed to call out for a beating from the angry looking tattooed guy four feet away. Noticing the tattooed guy, I tried to make my way towards him to start a conversation. As I squeezed myself toward him shouts went out into the air and it stopped me in my tracks. The main band ‘Slayers’ had come one to perform. This relieved me a little, because the man I wanted to talk to was very intimidating. He did have some scars on his body and hands; who is to say he doesn’t like Asian kids asking about his music?

As the music started playing, I realized what I had worried about for Stan, and what I thought of on the guy with tattoos was meaningless. Everyone in the audience came together as one. As the lead singer yelled out something (something I couldn’t make out), Stan, as well as the scary tattoo guy, yelled some lyric in unison; as one. No matter what song was played, no matter what drinks they have had, no matter what the guy next to me smelled like, it just didn’t seem matter. I began to move away from the front to avoid the moshing. Something that I wanted to avoid for that night, a mosh pit is not a place for the weak hearted. As the intensity of the music grew, audience members in the front began to truly feel the music. They were feeling not only with their ears and senses, but expressing it with their body. As they began to run around in a circle, each of them threw themselves unto another, smacking and ramming and beating each other to the beat of the music. In one incident, I saw a bleach blonde girl, probably no more than 5’ 2” get knocked to the floor by another scary looking man, whom what I thought was a giant. She flew to the floor, and disappeared in the pack of people stampeding by the stage. Luckily she wasn’t hurt, because as soon as she was knocked down, she was seen right back up to do the same thing that got her almost killed. The music itself had little musical melody. The lead vocal basically yelled throughout the whole three-four songs that they sang. The drummer seemed like he was hitting whatever was in front of him (sometimes himself as well, it looked like), and the guitarist did more head-banging than looking at his guitar. The music bumped very loud and my heart seemed to have paused beating. The combination of the music, the yelling of the crowd, and the running of the mosh pit deafened ears and stopped time. There was no beginning or was there an ending; everything was always at a climax, and the music seemed to go on. Words were futile; only by movements was someone able to have any form of communication. Once again, I have to emphasize; a metal concert was not something to simply mess with.

At the end of the night, I met up with my friend Tyler, who had also been moshing up in front. He is another big guy, with tattoos on his body and a piercing on his bottom lip. For that reason, I wasn’t worried, but more amused when he told me what had happened to him. “Yea, I got bit in the back of the head and punched in the jaw, but that’s moshing you know? It was good. The band kicked ass and the cats by me were hardcore.” By the way, I happened to see the person that bit him in the head; he got pushed and ran his open mouth to Tyler’s unfortunate head. It was Stan.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SLAYER

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Love from Russia

I have always been a church goer. Since birth, my mother took me to a church every Sunday. Yet, I always questioned the authencity of what a Christian is. Why they live in that fashion, and why they move the way they do; I decided for my observational essay to inquire about Christianity. At my church, we have an assistant pastor, Rev. Huh. Every Sunday, he comes to church, leads the beginning portion of our service, and sits down and listens to the sermon like everyone else in the congregation. After service, he would drink coffee and eat with us, and afterwards, he would go home. Yet, within what I knew from him, he had a strange aura about him; he seemed different. Naturally I picked Rev. Huh; he made it easy for me to choose my subject. I found out first that he had experience as a missionary in Russia, and he told us a story about what made him who he is now. The story started off in the summer of ’96, in a small town near the capital Moscow. Reverend Huh has been the preacher of a small church and was doing what he had to do, when shocking news came to him. Four of his church members, all teenagers, had been killed. A single mother family, with four boys was a member of his church. The mother had met a man out of town, and fell in love. Believing in love, she gave the man one of the two keys to their house and invited him to come anytime. Two weeks later, this man came to her house when she had gone to work; not for love, but to rob their house. The man was a scam artist and used the name of love to make a way for crime. Coming to their house, he found the four boys passed out after they had drunk lots of alcohol. Not concerned, the man continued to steal items out of the house, when one of the boys had woken up. Still drunk and dazed, the boy did have enough common sense to realize what this man had been doing. Afraid that these boys would break his cover, the man killed each boy, one by one. Afterwards, he had taken the stuff out of the house (which officials later found being one TV, a necklace and a bit of cash), and had run away to the airport. Upon hearing of this disaster, my pastor had cried and cried and hated himself for not being able to talk to them more regarding God and salvation. During this interview, as I saw my pastor tell me this story and of how he felt, I saw in his eyes a passion and love for the work he does at church. Although I myself have a lot of questions and curiosity regarding God, seeing someone so pained over a group of boys that he barely knew, and seeing the passion for God, I started to ask myself what God was all about. What is God, that made Rev. Huh go out to Russia and live there as a missionary for six years? He spoke no Russian, he had no benefit from going, and yet, he went because “God told him to go". His years there had been rough. Each little thing he had to do, from going to the restroom or taking a shower, or sleeping in a warm room, each little thing was always uncomfortable to do and inconvenient to him. Yet, he was there for six years to live as a missionary. I wasn’t able to find the answer through the short time we had for the observational essay, but somewhere in his being, I saw a love for the love he does. It amazed me.

Following links for info on: Christian Mission Movements, Christianity in Russia, History of Christianity

Music from the Soul

Music is a big part of society in the world we live in today. It characterizes a person to who they are, and we often are able to tell how a person is based on the type of music that they familiarize themselves with. From oldies to death metal, each music genre is independent of one another. And, in the variety types of music we have in this time of age, anyone can find a genre that they can personally relate to. The world of music has evolved into an incredible method of self-reflection and self-expression. In this modern culture however, music is very limited on HOW it is performed. Certain instruments accompany the music almost all the time; bass, drum, guitar, synthesizer, etc. It always follows a specific rhythm, and the beat is always consistent. Often musicians try to escape from this repetition, but certain properties of music cannot be changed. The dilemma we are left with then, is, “are we doomed for the same over and over again?!” Thankfully, we find in a few artists, a sound that seems unique and touching to the soul. Between two of the same artists, even if they are in the same genre, we find one that sounds “better”. What makes this happen, I believe, is not how the song is played instrumentally, but how it’s played from the soul. Although music is limited to how it’s played, certain songs have a bigger influence, and they touch our hearts. The Youtube link posted is one of those pieces. A song performed by an instrument that we think is fitting only for country/folk music, this person plays a song with a ukulele with strange energy. In simplicity, this person might be playing the ukulele on Youtube just to show off his musical talent. Perhaps this person made this clip to just impress a girl (or a guy, depending on how he flies). Whatever his intentions may have been, what is important is how he influenced his audience. Thanks to the media, we are able to find music very easily these days. We turn on our TV and flip our channel to MTV or BET (maybe for some of us, UNIVISION). The problem that we run into in this method is that we rarely get to see the unpublicized artists. Generally, the musicians and artists that we see on TV are of those who have been recognized by the public. Because of that reason, however, the media that we see does not allow us to see the artists hidden. This clip from Youtube, makes that change. This guy is not known by the public, but we see him now, playing his music. It’s good to see a person as regular as you or me being able to express his music in a broader range of media. In my previous post, I commented on how great Youtube is; once again, from seeing this clip, I stand firm in my belief.

GREATEST MEDIUM: YOUTUBE.COM

A person is born with a need of relationship. This person seeks to express their thoughts and to hear others thoughts. We call this person an artist. As an artist, one can express what they feel in many different ways. Through art and music, through voice, through language; for an artist to speak their mind, possibility is limitless. What confines an artist to expression is actually the receiving end of the audience. A human being only has five ways to information: scent, sight, touch, hearing, and taste. Within those senses, an artist speaks their mind. To engage the audience to the fullest, the artist struggles to arouse as many senses as they can, and as much as they can. This has been the struggle for artists since the beginning of history; the struggle to engage the audience to the fullest, while being allowed to speak their mind as freely as they want to.
Now, in this modern age, one still wrestles with this struggle, but there are many tools now available to heighten the influence on the power of voice. Such would be a little website called youtube.com. A simple internet site, this place allows one to record clips of all quality, size and shape. It speaks to the audience that tingles their senses; sound and noise play as a clip rolls through images to create a live movie. This website helps the artist to engage its audience; while the traditional paper/print layout only shows so much, this website can help anyone to speak by adding sound, and movement.
Also because of its simplicity, the audience members are not limited to a certain group. This site can appeal to so many people; any person who can see, click, and view is reeled in to this site. This website interests so many different types of people. Whether there is a person looking to find a clip of a funny moment, a fight, a random self documentary, a missed TV show, or even a strange portion of a strange movie we never heard of, they are all logged into this site as one audience. This website is not limited by time or place; while some written documents are outdated by different episodes in time, this website changes with history. Because youtube.com is not mandated by a type of genre or material, it allows any type of writer/artist and any type of audience to be a member of this expressive website.
Youtube.com is perhaps the greatest medium for an “expressed” and an “expressed audience” to connect. Only other thing perhaps youtube.com can work on is working on the senses ‘touch’ and ‘taste’. With all the money the founders made, they should reward their members by giving them computers that allow us to taste and touch the material that we see. Although impossible at this time in era, as technology evolves with time, maybe one day the makers of Youtube.com will be nice enough to give us something like that. That would be pretty tyte. They should also provide emotional influence by giving the audience members cash.

www.youtube.com

ps I apologize for the last portion of my post. I’m tired..

GROSS BUT RESPECTABLE

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