blog 14

Overall, I enjoyed hearing most of the speeches because I learned many valid points on topics that I didn't even know existed. Yes, I had viewpoints right off the bat when someone mentioned their topic, but after hearing speeches, my opinions shifted just a bit or did completely. One speech that stood out to me was Grant's. I've heard before that people thought college athletes should be paid, but I never really thought deeply about the controversy. Because Grant had experienced being an athlete first semester, he knew all the details about what it is like and the benefits that are included. A college athlete gets plenty free benefits from food to text books (and others I cannot remember). When Grant explained what it was like, I realized that it would not be fair if they got paid on top of having all those benefits. Also, when Grant brought up the point that college athletes should be proud and feel privileged to play for their school, I really started to agree with him. Paying college athletes could ruin the passion and hard work that already takes place. Also, the point that their are so many other individuals who work as hard as they can to just attend a certain college. Athletes are on scholarships so they should appreciate the fact that they don't have to scramble as much for tuition. 

Post 15

Summer is definitely my favorite time of the year so by saying I am excited for summer is a definite understatement. If you don't like summer you need to reevaluate your life in my opinion. This summer is going to be a huge change for me because it is the first summer that I'm not going to be spending it at home but I will be staying in Iowa City. Its going to be weird but I am really looking forward to a new experience. My living situation is probably different than most because instead of living in at home with parents or living in an apartment downtown Iowa City, I am living in a fraternity house with 20 other guys. Living in a fraternity house has definitely been one of the most interesting/fun/frustrating/dirty/sleep depriving yet best experience that I have ever done, and I don't expect that to be any different this summer. Our house is located on the river so I expect my days to be consisting of waking up, going to work, and rushing home to play sand volleyball with the guys. Living at home is great but the way that I look at it is, yes my house may be a little messy and we may stay up a little too late and make a little bit too much noise... it happens. But when in my lifetime am I ever going to be able to live with 20 of my closest friends in the world under one roof? Probably never. I am excited for the warm weather, the Dave Matthews Concert I am going to see and numerous trips to Chicago I am going to make. Its going to be a great summer regardless. But when it comes down to it the thing that I am most excited for this summer is to simply be around my friends. Some of my best memories of college haven't been getting an A in a class, or going to Iowa football games, or even going downtown on a Friday night. Some of my best memories have come around a campfire in the backyard of our house talking and laughing while we watch the water in the river flow by. I am excited for the friendships that I know are going to be strengthened this summer all because we live under the same leaky roof and I couldn't be more excited.

Post #15

For an enigma such as myself, my summer plans must be as vague and mysterious as my true personality is. This summer is going to be a summer where I will try to save up the cash so that I can have one of those summers, the ones you hear about in the movies where a group of friends sneak out to go on some wild adventure in the Carribbean. I plan on working at probably the single most Iowan place in the entirety of this state. I will be working in a cornfield. Pollenating plants. The single most Iowan job out there, getting paid to work in a cornfield. But while I'm turning into a true Iowan, I'm planning on visiting Chicago and also spending some quality time with my grandmother, who came all the way to Iowa from her little apartment along the beach in India. (And before anyone asks, no, I don't get why she'd like to visit Iowa either). Hopefully, I can figure a way out of Iowa some time this summer.

Post 14

If there was one speech that from the very start got me sitting up in my seat where I felt that I needed to see where she was going with this has got to be Milicas. She definitely took a very taboo topic and made it conversational to where I was very compelled with her argument and viewpoints. The topic of porn and the sex industry is a very touchy one in our society which in almost all circles of society is almost always immediately torn as being a disgusting and disgraceful industry. Having my own viewpoints on the subject matter before Milica gave her speech, I was somewhat more opened to the subject matter. Did she change my view points completely? No and I will probably have my own. But did she open me up? Absolutely, and given the subject matter a very tough task to do. Most argue that the most degrading thing that a woman can do is have sex for money and having a very compelling argument that it is in fact the opposite was a very interesting view point.

Post #15

My summer plans are pretty boring compared to others. I will not be traveling, sitting on the beach, or doing very fun things. Instead, I will be taking two different summer classes, through Kirkwood community college. I am taking Spanish and calculus so that I can get them out of the way. I feel like everyone else is be going to enjoy their summers while I will be stuck in a boring classroom learning the different conjugations of the word “to be”, and they will be soaking up the sun. I’m trying not to sound like I am complaining too much, because I think it’s great that I am getting some classes done and out of the way. I just wish that I didn’t have them for a total of four hours a day, 5 days a week for a month.

            After those classes get done, I will definitely be by a pool the rest of the summer. Hopefully one month of summer can get relaxed enough to be ready to go back to school in August, but who ever really wants to go back to school? Atleast I will be headed to Colorado for a family wedding at the end of July so that I can have a little bit of a vacation. Those are my summer plans, so the first month will be pretty boring but after that, I will make sure to have as much fun as I can until it starts up again!

Post #13

Throughout this whole semester we have read a very wide array of literature. From an arguably too descriptive of a book that tended to put haunting images of animal cruelty into our minds to a somewhat boring cut and dry book of the shallows to the comic like style of maus. All of these book are very different in nature but all of which are definitely tied to one element of writing which is to gain resonance with an audience of readers. Reading Maus was interesting for me. I have read books on the Holocaust before and I have read graphic novels before but not one that uses such a real life and traumatic event personified by animals. It was a very interesting take, indeed. Some of it I liked and some I found less appealing for a few reasons. In my opinion, it lacked credibility with me. I kept having to remind myself that this is an actual true story of a catastrophic event of arguably the worst crime on humanity in history. Even though I wasnt a huge fan of Eating Animals, I felt that I had more of a connection with his writing because he allowed his words put an image in my mind instead of the author trying to do that on his own. I am not a vegan by any means because of the book but it definitely allowed me to make more of a connection. With all three of these novels they all had something in common in that they would try making a personal connection by sharing why writing this is important to them. With Maus he kept reverting back to present time or different situations with his father which backed up his story when his father was in the concentration camps. With Eating Animals he went to life experience of eating meet which was then reinforced with facts and different stories backing up his beliefs. In addition, Carr did the same with talking about his own personal experience and opinion on technology and used that to back up his facts and logistics trying to make a more stronger argument that he felt would resonate with his readers.

Blog Post #14

I thought that the speeches this week went really well and everyone did a great job presenting their arguments. They all had really good controversial topics that aren’t constantly talked about today. I think that Kellen’s speech over how punishment or reinforcement can affect a child’s life in school and other aspects was an interesting topic. Most of us don’t usually think about how our parents raised us or punished us has effected our learning. He even took it a step further by talking about how the lecture-based classes should let us decide if we should come to class or not. They should not be taking away points where we don’t even do anything in class. He also brought up the point that sometimes having to attend these classes doesn’t affect our grades at all. Like he is still getting an A in both classes, where one he goes to lecture, yet the other he doesn’t go and it does not affect him.  I also liked how he made it relevant to our lives. He did not talk about how punishing a child could have on their older adult life but their young adult life and schooling. It made me listen more because I knew the information had to do with me and where I am at in my life. He also talked about his personal experience which made me think that he knew what he was talking about when presenting the information.

Extra Post 15

My summer will be unbelievably boring (as usual). Literally the only thing I have to look forward to this summer is moving into my new apartments that will be newly built when I move in! Other than that I get to sit around my current apartment doing nothing but sitting around streaming and playing video games the whole time. I don't think much more really needs saying. It will be a very uneventful summer.

Post 14

One of the topics I found most interesting, especially given we got to hear both sides throughout all the speeches, was that of paying student athletes. This has never been a topic I have been ever anywhere near involved in or affected by, but both Austin and Grant posed very valid points for both sides and I really couldn't decide which side was right or even which I would align myself with. These are the kinds of arguments that actually get me thinking and I enjoy that. It's too easy to just have an easy decision and let that be it. I like my opinions and thoughts being challenged and I love to be made to think about things. So Austin and Grant, thank you for making solid arguments.

post 12

I think the part in the first part of the novel when the author uses the most pathos is during the separate excerpt of a previous comic the author made about his mother. I think it's importance can be argued just because the author felt the need to add it to the book rather than just mentioning it. I think it gives an insight to the internal struggles of the author as well as the conflicts he has had to face concerning his father and the death of his mother. I also think the style in which it is written is signifiant because he doesn't use mice anymore instead the comic looks more realistic and abstract. For me the emotions were strongly conveyed during this portion of the novel.

Post #11

This is the second time that I have read The Shallows for a class and it was interesting to see the different perspectives that I recalled from each class. Both classes had kind of the same view about it (that his views are old fashion dated and unrealistic) but it was interesting to see how much more critical this class was to my previous class. Thinking back to the first time I read this book I think it was a little more received by that class because of the audience in the class. I was a sophomore at the time and I was one of the youngest people in the class as a opposed to a mom and numerous seniors who were my class mates. Growing up with older parents in a more traditional house I still do hold on to the ideals that Carr holds so deep to his heart in which he tries to convey in his writing probably more than a lot of people do. I see multiple aspects in which the internet has shaped my thinking and the thinking of my peers whether that is through my writing, thinking, social behavior etc. I accept that the internet is indeed doing something to our brains. Is that something bad necessarily? I'm not sure yet, but it definitely is apparent that there are things in this culture that we value more than past which Carr argues. One thing that I found very interesting about the reaction from this class, who have grown up in this digital age than my first, is being adamant that every knew generation has experienced change with every new technological innovation that has been implemented into our culture. Instead of fighting this movement and looking at it as all of the evil in the world, we should instead embrace this movement as a new cultural movement that is pushing our society towards greater and better. Like I said I understand where Carr is coming from because his thoughts are some of the very values that I hold, but instead of condoning the internet we are simply more careful of how we use it not letting it affect the way we think by combining the good of the old and the good of the new.

post 11

To be completely honest there wasn't a single aspect of Carr's argument that I agreed with mostly because I didn't feel that there was a concrete argument. Most of Carr's "points" were simply historical facts and he didn't really have much to add after that. I was disappointed because after reading the first chapter where Carr incorporated personal anecdotes i assumed that this would be the case for the rest of the novel and was disappointed when it was not. I found myself without the motivation to even finish the chapters because i felt that i could have gotten the same information out of an encyclopedia if i really wanted to know that much. I overall did not enjoy the book but for rhetorical purposed i understand why it was discussed in the class.

post 10

The last time i got really immersed in a book it was My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I had previously read other Picoult books and found that I really enjoyed her style of writing and I remember my mom recommending that i read it. I remember starting to read it before a vacation when there was lots of free time at the airport, on the plane, and in the car afterwards. I believe this made it easier to focus all my energy on the book and therefore gave me a more enjoyable experience with the book. Also, i found myself being able to be emotionally connected to the characters because the young female character was around my age and she had a similar family dynamic to mine. I really enjoyed the voice of the author and it was very easy to connect to the topics of the book.

post 9

I think the most compelling argument Carr makes in the first four chapters of the book is that the internet is shortening our attention spans and making it harder to concentrate on large amounts of information at a time. I think Carr is also trying to argue that the way in which we process information is changing as technology finds itself more and more prevalent in today's society. "My mind isn't going-so far as i can tell-but it's changing. I'm not thinking the way i used to think" (Carr 5). I think this statement really sums up Carr's argument as a whole. He is clearly trying to say that as this generation becomes more influenced by a culture based on technology and has a large amount of information at our fingertips, we will have a harder time processing information through other modes such as books and magazines. it is clear that because of the influx in computer based information sources that people are more likely to skim through books rather than actually read them cover to cover because that's what we are used to doing on websites.

Post #10

I am not the biggest reader in the world. In fact, I am probably the mold of person in society that Carr wrote The Shallows around because there have been few books that have ever had the ability to really allow me to keep vigorously flipping through the pages. The one book though that really sticks out in my mind that I got fully immersed in was the autobiography of baseball star Josh Hamilton. At the time I was in high school and was obsessed with baseball. Josh Hamilton had just emerged into the MLB after being picked first overall in the MLB draft and since had fallen from baseball because of a drug addiction. After being in an out of rehab, Hamilton made his way to the MLB and in his first season back became on the most dominate players in baseball. I had known a little bit about his story but I got this book because of how intrigued I was with him as a person. I believe that I finished this book in about two days because I couldn't put it down. Reflecting on my history of reading I think this book had such an impact on me because through the media whether that was ESPN, the new, magazines, etc. I felt that I sort of knew Josh Hamilton and by reading his whole story I was able to connect with him because it felt that I was reading the come back story of a friend that I knew. I really thrive off of real life connection and I feel that reading biographies and true stories have a way bigger impact on my reading than reading a novel because of the fact that I can connect to the real life character.

Post #9

In the first chapter of The Shallows, Carr tries to not necessarily get us off of the internet bandwagon, but simply to have us take a step back to question the effects it is having on our brains. Right off the bat you can tell that he has a really old school approach to our ever changing technological society in which we are gearing more towards digital reading instead of the traditional literary mind set. He talks about how with this new digital age we are in we have become scattered brained, distracted, and hurried. He stresses that we are dumbing down as a society, instead of becoming more intellectual in our reading and writing we are progressively become more and more superficial. Carr, looking more at the past, is still holding onto this literary mind set of the renaissance in which he feels that the print age encouraged calm focused deep reading that in turn really cultivated our imagination and cultivated our ability to become more intellectual.

Blog Post 12

In the first volume of Maus, the moment that Jews were deported from their hometown to the camps after Germans occupied Poland leave me a deep impression. When Art mentioned that Anja’s grandparents were sent into camps and Vladek’s father, sister, and his sister’s children are all deported to the camps, very strong emotions of desperation and hopeless are full of the pictures and words. Although Vladek and Anja escaped from sending to camps, the separation with their family members and their first son, Richieu, were a more terrible mental hurt, especially for Anja. Since Anja committed with suicide when Art was young, Art didn’t give a clear characteristics for his mother. However, Art expressed that he really wanted to know more about her mother from his father, including her mother’s past and the truth what caused her death. So, within this moment, Art descripted his mother’s experience and mental conditions indirectly. At the same time, Art’s brother, Richieu, who was poisoned by Anja’s sister is also a character in background, like Anja. Richieu’s tragedy was always a shadow in the all story. He never existed in Art’s life actually, but he always affected Art’s childhood. And a lot of Vladek’s emotions were expressed by his missing of Richieu. I even feel that the second half of Vladek’s life is just for recalling Richieu.