The rolling Ball Magazine

Sorry but the movie thing would not work on my blog so i am just putting the u-tube link so you can watch the video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIs6OiocZA0

Opinion Retaliation!

America the Beautiful: What we're fighting for, by Dinesh D' Souza was a very intriguing read. First of all, when the author states that America and Americans are better than everyone else It brought up a couple issues for me. I guess going along the lines of the cultural relativity, we can not judge our country against other third world countries. The reason being is that we have stepped on enough toes to get to the place where we are. Where on the other side, the third world country as been the one who did not act to conquer and in turn, has not been able to achieve the same kind of spot light as America has. Secondly, when he talks about killing two hundred civilians in a hospital and it being not that bad  compared to other countries. In my book, that is still considered murdering the innocent. And say we hold ourselves at a high moral standard? What I am saying is no moral law has stated that you may justify our evil acts by comparing yourselves with other evils. 

Conversely, this does not put me against america, I just do not believe that such absolute statements should be made about a imperfect country. The part where I can agree, is that American is a place where a lot good is held. The mentality is to help more than we hurt, and that is a value strongly held. However, even with so much good intention, it can be corrupt by only a few who hold political power. And that is where I really believe that we are no better than any other country trying to protect its own. 

America the Beautiful: what are we fighting for by 

who vs. that

A grammatical problem that was hard to notice was when I would say "that" for "who" or "who" for "that." It is a sneaky little error and catches me a lot of the time. Anyways I looked it up and found a website that helped me remember the difference.

The rule is that when you are talking about a person you say "who" and when you are talking about a object you say "that". I know it seems pretty obvious, when you are flowing with a sentence you tend to overlook such a small error.
For example: "You know bob, he is the guy that sold me his car." See it is pretty are to spot because it sounds good in the sentence. However, instead of say "that" it should say "You know Bob, he is the guy who sold me his car.

Anyways, if you want more information or examples on this error go to http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/who-versus-that.aspx

20 Questions

My topic is on the economy so I am just going to to some specific questions on a variety of issues with the economy.
1. Is capitalism effective?
2. Is obama's stimulus plan really working to stimulate the economy?
3. How bad is housing?
4. What was the primary causes of a recession?
5. Will banks revive?
6.How has the U.S. economy affected the rest of the world?
7. what is the social reaction of a population during a economic recession?
8. How will renewable energy affect the future economy?
9.How does ones education level effect his economic situation?
10. Can we maintain a substantial development with in environmental means?
11. What are some of the misconceptions and unfairness in the current model for global trading?
12.How does military spending affect the economy?
13. Is this economic crisis signaling the decline of US's superpower status?
14.How free is free trade?
15. causes of poverty?
16. How is debt/poverty and the environment related?
17. How has past president dealt with the economy?
18.Does G8 have to much power?
19.Under what circumstances is government regulation in the interests of established companies?
20. what is the importance of free trade?

Subliminal Persuasion

"For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must balance the perspective we gain from the media with our own lived experiences and use a wider sociological lens to look at what is going on around us everyday life. "- Diana Kendall

In both "Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption" by Diana Kendall and "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence" by Jean Kilbourne send out the message that media is subconsciously shaping our realities. Whether it be violence towards women or the gap between classes, the media is manipulating our very views on life. For example, on the "reality" TV show Real World you are able to see this manipulation first hand. First observing the people that are placed on the show is primarily white good looking people with one or two ones of ethnicity. I believe this kind of simple placing reflects what the media has been teaching us all our lives, which is that Caucasian race is superior to any other race. Even though as history goes on we find out how wrong that belief is, the media continues to instill this message into our heads.

However, this is not the only thing being put in our heads by media either. The media has a way of appealing to our senses and getting their message to stick. For instance, when they put on a beer commerical with 3 very attractive women half naked at the will of a man, it puts that image in our head subconsciously the way women should be viewed as. Also, by appealing to men sex drive this acts as a huge reinforcement and incentive to believe this way.

Now you ask why does the media try so hard to force these advertisements in your minds and give us incentives to believe a certain way? The answer is profit, when their is a consistent belief held, the easier it is to persuade that person to act a certain way or buy certain things. So next time you are watching a commerical about a product or an idea, think to yourself is there a subliminal message behind this?

Run on sentences!

I will admit it, I am a run on sentence junkie. Starting with one thought and ending in a completely different thought, I go on and on. This is why I have looked up the rule so I can fix my little problem.

Run-on sentences are two sentences end to end, often with a comma in between. But commas don't join sentences! To join two sentences you must have a word such as "and", 'but", "or", 'yet "or "because".

RIGHT We have received your order. We will despatch the plants this afternoon.
RIGHT We have received your order, and we will despatch the plants this afternoon.
WRONG We have received your order, we will despatch the plants this afternoon.

To find where you need a period or a comma, read your own writing aloud, exaggerating the pauses. Ask a colleague for help, if necessary.

For more information go to http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/138/5/

Hard work

George Jean Nathan once said "A life spent in constant labor is a life wasted, save a man be such a fool as to regard a fulsome obituary notice as ample reward." What I got from this reading is a lot of people think that they don't have to go to college they can just work and save money. When in reality that might work for a summer or so but when they get older and the work becomes a routine they start to realize that maybe just working was not the best choice.

When I was in high school, I worked a 6.25 wage and was fine because I did not have many expenses. However, if I was to work that job now when I am paying for college I would be working everyday all day. Luckily, I decided to put some work in to my future and find a job I both liked and could get paid decent. This job was being a hiking guide at green valley spa, where I make ten dollars an hour just to hike on the weekends. I truly think that many people believe that they are bound to a future in poverty because of maybe the life style they grew up in or the lack of effort they are willing to put into it. When the truth is that everyone has the ability to become and do what they want, it just requires a little work and passion to complete it.

In answering the question "how does this reading make you feel as a college student?" I respond saying that as a college student I feel that my work will help me have a better life. That way when I am thirty I will not be in a dead in job, waiting for the day to end. Conversely, college is not the only way to accomplish this task. Many people do not even go to college and start their own business doing something they love. This means that yes, more times than not people who go to college have a better lifestyle, but if you are willing to put the same effort into a your passion it can equally be affective. Moreover, the main point is not to settle for the easy way out because eventually it will constrain you.

Pronoun error

My problem with grammar today is pronouns. I never really thought about this to much but when I referred to "their" instead of his or her, I was marked wrong on my paper.

So here is the rule, in order for a pronoun to be correct the noun must match in number.
For example,

• Pronoun error: Everyone needs to bring their own canteen.

• Correction: Everyone needs to bring his or her own canteen.

Even though everyone seems plural it is actually singular. So if the noun is singular than the pronoun must be singular as well, therefore making it "his or her own canteen", not "their own canteen."
For more information go to http://college.cengage.com/devenglish/fawcett/evergreen/7e/students/grammar_errors.html

Open for Interpretation

My impression on the first poem was a mislead one. I was expecting it to down right rag on money because it talked about having to fork it over or watch it burn holes through you pocket. However, I realized after reading the rest of it, that the meaning of the poem is that money is not good or bad it is just how we use it that can be considered good or bad. In the next poem it sends out a similar message of how you view something is what changes the meaning of it.

I believe this relates to art because art is open for the interpretation. The artist my have an intended meaning but when another person looks at it they will see a whole different meaning because of where they have come from and how they view things. I myself do abstract art, and when I will show it to about 10 different people, they will all come up with something different. This is fun for me because when they come up with an interpretation I can usually get a good idea of how they view the world or how their personality is like.

Now relating to politics, I believe this goes along with the first poem really well because many people have firm beliefs on politics, whether it is really good or really bad. pointing out that politics itself is not bad or good, it is how it is viewed that makes it good or bad. This makes me think of the current election, when ever I bring up President Obama i always get a polar opposite opinions. This just means that again we all come from different back grounds and value different things. If in reality one thing itself was bad or good, then we would all agree right?

Something I would like to bring up that relates to this topic is culture. Yesterday I learned in my sociology class that biologically race does not exist, it is all with our own culture beliefs. As a matter of fact, we are the closest related species. For example a fruit fly from another fruit fly biologically can be as different from an chimpanzee to human child are. This all just brings me to the point that many things that have believed to be a certain way my not be that way at all and can change from person to person .

Past, Present and Future

Some problem I have recently encountered is when to speak in the past tense and when to speak in the present tense. For example today I was reviewing a sentence in my rhetoric analysis and I was told to put it in the present tense because I am referring to a document. Well I questioned this rule and decided to look it up.

So here is the rule, use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or habitual actions, and to discuss your own ideas or those expressed by an author in a particular work. Also use present tense to describe action in a literary work, movie, or other fictional narrative. Occasionally, for dramatic effect, you may wish to narrate an event in present tense as though it were happening now. If you do, use present tense consistently throughout the narrative, making shifts only where appropriate.

For more information go to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_tensec.html

Grammar trouble in writing center

Today I went to the writing center to review my rhetoric analysis. It was a very beneficial time, but I realized some common grammar mistakes I repeatedly do. The most frequent mistake I do is not using a common after a introductory clause.

The rule to this grammar correction is that introductory clauses are dependent clauses that provide background information or "set the stage" for the main part of the sentence, the independent clause. For example,

• If they want to win, athletes must exercise every day. (introductory dependent clause, main clause)
• Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey. (introductory dependent clause, main clause)

All introductory clauses begin with adverbs like after, although, as, because, before, if, since, though, until, when, etc.

For more information go to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaint.html

"Just you wait intil your in college"

Rosy red cheeks and the sound of out of breathe kids fills the classroom. "Alright kids recess is over time to work on your country reports." said Mr. Price, as a collective moan is given. We all begin to work on our reports gathering glue, scissors and pencils. Mr. Price strolls the class room to make sure everyone is on task, or needs help. Many hands raise and he quickly attends the students,"What can i help you with?" he looks down at billy with deep blue eyes. "I really don't think I can do this Mr. Price I cant figure out how to start my paper," billy says hoping for mercy. "Well how about a fact or statistic about the population?"
" Argh! but that means more work in research!"
"Billy how are you suppose to learn if you don't work? and besides you are in elementary school how do you think it will be when your in college?"
Billy shamefully looks back down and begins scribbling at his paper.

Mr. Price was my 5th and 6th grade teacher and was the best teacher I have yet. At times I would not like the way he made us do so much work in comparison to the other fifth and sixth grade classes. However, I am so grateful for it now, because I have not only learned about the concepts of school but I have a awesome study and work habit. This to me has benefited me not only in school but in work as well. He really cared about his students, therefore he made us work for everything we got.

"I have a average dream!!!"

According to Dictionary.com the word average refers to being typical, common, and ordinary. Now seeing the definition,the question is, why do we want to be average? Is it because we want to blend in and not be seen? or perhaps is it a small whisper that tells you this is all you got ? The individuals reason are a mystery to me and probably always will be because I really don't think anyone really knows the answer to this question.

In the story "I just wanna be average", Micheal Rose talks of his high school days as a undereducated teenager. In his story his entrance exams are mixed up with another student and is put into the below average classes. Already having to suffer school as it is he is left to deal with incompetent teachers for the exception of one, and classes that did not challenge his potential. Life was hard for rose. Yet, because of a teachers influence he was able to turn all of his negative experiences as his drive for ambition. The moral to this story suggests that it is easy to average, but it is hard to except and act with your full potential.

Even though the school systems need to be updated and have competent teachers placed in them. We are the deciders of our future and if we just settle and let our schools become who we are, then we are no better than the school itself. This average mentality needs to be changed and we need to remember that we are the ones who will represent our generation, therefore average is not going to cut it we need to go far and beyond average.

Who vs. Whom

A grammar error I have never understood was the who vs. whom. It always confused me, making me think that whom is past tense and who is present. So to solve the problem I looked at a website called grammar girl, which gave me a simple way to remember it.

Who is the subject of the sentence and Whom is the object of the sentence, meaning that who is the doer and whom is the one being something done to. Additionally, you can remember it by asking the question would it be him or he. So if you were to ask "who(or whom) do i love?" you would answer "I love him," therefore making it whom. Then vice-versa, if you were trying ask "who(or whom) stepped on squiggley?" you would say "he stepped on squiggley," therefore making it who.

For more information on Who vs. Whom go to http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/who-versus-whom.aspx

Knowledge by the bulk

Albert Einstein once said that, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." In response to Micheal Moore's writing Idiot Nation, even though poorly supported, Moore has made valid points regarding today's education. Ones that I saw particularly was the ones talking about how low education has been on the governments priority list. Teachers need to be paid better and kids need to be taught to think for themselves not regurgitate information.

When I saw what teachers make on an average compared to a congressmen, it really shocked me. Teachers are the primary source of where we gain our knowledge from and with out them we would be still in the stone age. Teachers dedicate so much of their time and effort for us kids and the only reason why there is so many unqualified teachers is because we refuse to believe that maybe education has something to do with a better future.

With saying that, the system at which students learn from is inefficient to the future demands and needs to be upgraded to the modern days. In which, hands on education is being taught so that the student may experience what they are learning, instead of absorbing information from outdated text books. The learned behavior students are being taught is that it is better to be a robot than a person cause that is what is is going to get you success.

However, in regards to the recent transition in office, the call for change in education may have arrived. Some examples from Obama's education plan is to reform no child left behind, work to recruit more qualified teachers, and give a 4,000 dollar tax credit to full time college students. This to me says that if these policies are established then, maybe we are moving towards our intended goal.

Family Boundries

In the reading Changing American Families, Judy Alutte depicts how family structure can vary according to social class, race, and gender. In this depiction, I found it interesting that she not only used examples from authors that would support her points but also used controversial text such as the Moynihan report to let us see that many people have this perspective on the structure of the family. As an academic writing, this was definitely not a page turner but it did make a point in helping the reader see how many factors can affect the way a family can be ran.

In more detail on the Moynihan report, my initial reaction to this essay was that is was based on ignorance and lacked support from other sources beyond the authors perspective. I also saw that this essay conveyed the essence of the times where women were inferior to men. So when suggested that men should be put back in "their place" only made sense according to the times. However, this does not necessarily mean it should be justified because if looked from current times I would say that this essay is incredibly flawed. Some flaws that are mentioned is if black women were so dominate and powerful to cause such a strain in the African American society than they you would see more black women in congress and see black women earning more than white men.

In addition, more research was done on low-income black neighborhoods by Carol Stack and found that the structure in the families were very well organized being based on both kin and non-kin parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents to help each other out when responsibilities became to heavy for one. This structure may be looked on by those in middle-class nuclear families as disorganized and the wrong way to go about having a family, but in the perspective of these families this is very functional.

In my opinion, I believe this kind of mentality plays a huge role in America's society today. For example, the controversial issue of gay marriage is considered the destruction of the meaning of marriage, and it is if you only see if from that perspective. conversely, if it is decided to step out side of our beliefs and try to understand the other side we will see that not everyone fits under the same standard because we emulate the essence of diversity.

Comma Splice That!

I have a problem with comma splices. I have always thought that as long as they are relating to the same thought they just need a common in-between them. However, I learned that they have to relate, but needs to have a coordinating conjunction such as; and, so, or, but, and yet. For example, a comma splice would look like this:
I woke up late this morning, I did not have enough time for breakfast.

The correction version would look like this:
I woke up late this morning, so I did not have enough time for breakfast.

Another way you could make this sentence work is if you add a subordinate:
Because I woke up late this morning, I did not have enough time for breakfast.

If you want more information on Comma splices go to
http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduleCS_FS.htm

"Dont Just Do Something, Sit There!"

What I liked about this cartoon was how it showed the little guys asking for help, but the one that can help is using the "Don't just doing something, sit there" technique. This also showed the interpreted reaction that the country saw from president bush when we this economical crisis was underway,which was clam and non- responsive.

In detail, if you look at the cartoon you can tell that the artist is trying to put President Bush in a negative light because he is sitting in his airplane just watching the people of his country slowly getting sucked into this economic meltdown. In addition, he also points out that this is not the big corporations that need help but the little guys which President Bush doesn't seem very interested in helping.

Big Goverment Vs. Big Business

This cartoon pointed out a very good point because in the beginning all of the big companies where complaining that their should be no regulation on free trade or on other affairs of business, but now that they are going bankrupt they want a hand out from the government. Also, even though the business is becoming more and more inferior they keep saying the same thing until they are utterly helpless. This show that that either the big business were being ignorant to what was going on, or in the end they knew that what ever happened they could be saved by the government.

Some of the details that I picked up from this cartoon was the way they depicted the big business as fat, middle aged, and irrational. This shows that the message that the artist is trying to convey is that the big business are oblivious to their situation because of their greed and that their true character resembles that of a helpless child.

The Cruel Semi Colons.....

To start, semi colons have never made sense to me. I have tried to never use them and I have tried to overuse them, but in the end I have never understood the rule that goes along with the placing of semi colons. The reason I can not understand it is because it is not an absolute rule and it can vary from situation to situation.

Through some research, I have discovered the correct usage of a semicolon. The two main usages are separating elements (when a comma is insufficient or unclear) and linking elements (without a conjunction or sentence separation). For example,Dan has decided to be a vegetarian; therefore, he chose the vegetable dish on the flight to India. A semicolon was used here because a period would leave it uncompleted, and a comma could result in a comma splice; therefore you use a semi colon to connect two independent clauses. The second usage is when linking elements that may be a contrast,addition,cause,affect between two fairly short clauses. For example,the Smiths went up north for their vacation; the Johnsons went down south for theirs. This exemplifies a contrast between two short clauses that would be incomplete with a period and informal with a comma.

To learn more about this rule go to http://www.whitesmoke.com/punctuation-semicolon.html#sep

Golly... What Happened To The Good Old Days?

In response to the readings, I found it interesting to compare the two authors perspectives in which one showed their message through the eyes of a naive child making the reader use interpretative skills, while the other author expressed them through statistics and facts in which lets the reader see it in a more literal sense. Spite their differences, both of these authors broadcast a similar message of how the the "American Dream" is somehow skewed.

In the first story a young boy tries to imitate the perfect family that he sees on television. On the surface this issue seems to be innocent but in reality the television is sending subliminal messages about women, race, and family. In turn the boy tries to change his family to the family on the television, believing that by doing this his problems will be solved. He also believes that by going out and finding work around the neighborhood he will become rich, this can relate to immigrants coming into the country because to them this country is the land of opportunity and when they come here they will be able have a better life. However, they find that they come to low quality jobs that make them work long hours for low pay.

In the next story, the author uses the literal information to back up the statement that the 1950s were not everything we once thought it to be. It really surprised me to find out that the amount of sexual activity among teenagers were slightly higher in the 1950's than it is now in days, therefore showing that even though the surface picture looked perfect the underlying issues were still the same and could not be ignored. It was also eye opening to realize that the reason divorce rates doubled in towards the 1970s was because before then women were held in a marriage due to lack of income, but when they were able to go out and gain independence through jobs they realized they did not have stay in the bad marriages that a lot of them were in.

In relation in today, we may see due to our beliefs something on a petastool, however when you look beyond the surface you see many deep issues that may be just as oppressive or destructive as some issues found in the 1950's. I believe going back to the first post that it is important to question even things that seem to be with out flaw because you never know what you will find.

The American Paradox

In response to the introduction of Rereading America, I believe an American citizen is one who has chosen to see themselves as fitting the standards and expectations of the American society. In addition, the understanding that I have come to see through my environment is that a American citizen is someone who is patriotic and supports everything that this country has come to be. A obvious example is the president of the United States, Barak Obama. The reason I think he is the epitome of an American citizen is because he is educated, financially successful, patriotic, family oriented, and obviously supports what the country has come to be. More importantly, he has defined himself as an American citizen because he has chosen to live by the standards of society, or in other words the "American Dream" by going through traditional education so he may find a successful job, which leads to being financially successful. Therefore, an American citizen is not a specific class, race or gender it is anyone who has reached the expectations that American society has set.

Conversely, this text complicates this idea of the American citizen because they put in perspective what some people from south and central America believe, because after all America is not only limited to the United states. However, because the United States has endorsed the idea that United states is "America," many people believe that no other place should be granted the recognition to be called America because there are in someway inferior. Collectively, this cultural belief is the basis of our patriotism and for us to follow along with this idea is to say that the country that stands for equality is contradicting itself.

In all, this text is meant to question what we view as common sense or obvious so that we may become critical thinkers. This is important in our lives because it strengthens our ability to be creative and think out side of the box, so in return we will have more genuine intelligence and get more out of our learning instead of just absorbing knowledge. Also, this skill is not only important for us individually it is important for our generation because with so much technology it is becoming easier and easier to forget the true meaning of knowledge and what lies beneath the obvious.