Blog 10/12

The poem written by Rodney Jones is trying to teach readers that writing possesses no limits, yet it is very difficult to write something the same way as you see it. Words are just words and cannot put the exact emotion or feeling that the writer intended into the minds of his readers. This is where the use of an image might be more useful. Images let the reader write their own words and make their own thoughts on the image. Although writers have access to infinite words (the ocean) and they may just choose a certain few (the coconut rum) to write down it is near impossible to describe what exactly he sees to readers. Writing "technically" has no limits and word choice has no boundaries, yet, somehow, writing is still limited.

Blog 11/12

Yes, all these projects are writing in some way. Thoughts and words are forming in our minds, but we are all reading a different story. Since our minds are all unique and work differently, we will all have different words and thoughts in our minds when viewing the four-letter word projects. However, it is quite possible for us all to feel the same emotions- maybe just not to the same extent. Emotions are not caused by a single word in our head, they are caused by the sum of word that are thought out in our head. If you think of it in terms of children walking to school, every kid takes a different path to arrive at the same end conclusion, the school. Our minds work the same, we all have different stories and words fluttering through our minds but we all usually end up at the same end conclusion about the project. Images are all compositions in their own way but they are just written by different authors, us

Blog 6/12

Microblogging is the thing to do as of late. Usually when you meet someone and find out they don't have a twitter it comes as a surprise. Like this cartoon exemplifies, without "followers" in the twitter world, tweets are meaningless. This is not to say that everything you say on twitter is directed towards all of the people that follow you, rather you tweet certain things in essence to make yourself happier by getting retweeted, tweeted back, or simply by making people laugh with a brief and quirky sentence. Really, these social media sites are uplifting to many as they make social connections possible that would not have been available otherwise. It's a way to stay connected and surely every time you're notified on these sites it's like a mini reward. Everybody likes to know that people are thinking of them and these sites make it easy to share these thoughts.

Blog 5/12

The rhetoric of a poet and that of a president are very different. A president is biased. He believes in his own views and is not very accepting to ideas of others, such as that of other parties. A president speaks to convince people on himself and ideas that he creates with his group of people. He will put down the ideas of other parties in order to make himself look better. In public however, they disguise their voice to be more the voice of the people and look like they are trying to fit their needs. They have a voice of power when they speak with their party and a voice that they use to speak in front of people, a more comforting, receptive way a speaking. 
A poet speaks from their own point of view as well, but is able to see the logic in all sides of the situation. President's are more "My way or the highway" in terms of how they view situations. Poet's can speak from many views but they are all vastly different and make sense in many ways. Poet's can speak differently, depending on their audience but most of the time what they say is still the same. They don't usually change their identity for a different audience. 

Blog 4/12

"But flexibility is something that requires work if it is to be maintained. Recently my double voice has deserted me for a single one, reflecting the smaller world into which my work has led me... This voice I picked up along the way is longer an exotic garment I put on like college gown whenever I choose- now it is my only voice, whether I want it or not. I regret it; I should have kept both voices alive in my mouth. They were both a part of me. But how the culture warns against it!"

Questions:
1. Do everyone have two voices?
2. Do the "two voices" reflect their personality (two-faced)?
3. Is one voice kind of a "fake voice"?
4. After getting used to using this "fake voice" do we adjust to this and not reveal our true selves?
5. Why can't we always just be ourselves, are not good enough to show our true selves?
6. It seems society has done this to us, we are two different people around co-workers and family. If we were our true selves all the time would it do us favors or bring us down?

Blog 9/12

When I wear text on my clothing, I am usually not conscious of it. In the mornings, I don't plan who I am going to try to entertain with my text, I just put clothing on because it was the first thing I pulled from my closet. Most clothing comes with brands and labels that I don't even seem to notice when I wear. For instance, most days I get ready in the dark because my roommate is still asleep and I don't even really know what I am picking out! Lots of my clothing is put on due to mere convenience and immediacy.

Crayons Response.. Blog 7/12

Writing with crayons reminds everyone of children and creativity. It is hard to have grown up never having used a crayon as a child. When we were young and presented with the gift of a crayon and blank paper, what to draw was never a question. As we become older, we lose sense of imagination and are worried for being judged on by other people. The writer is less creative with crayon because it is difficult to write and she chooses not to draw or take advantage of the new medium. Linear pen and pencil writing has been drilled into our minds for so many years now that she is finding it difficult to stray away from the "expected" writing style and rediscover her sense of creativity. The writer is not at all influenced by the crayon, in fact I believe she had limited her writing because of the difficulty of using the crayon.

A Dozen By a Dozen... Blog 12/12

Hello, writers.

Here is my advice to you. 

When you write, you always want to speak the truth and believe in what you are writing. Be proud of the words you are spewing out on paper and support your own ideas. As Ron Koertge encourages, "Laugh so loud everybody in the world frowns and says, SHH". He wants writers to not be afraid of what others think and to do what they believe. Life's too short to sin into the shadows of society. Write what you believe in and go against the grain if needed. If people frown at you or say something, just brush it off and continue to write. There is no right or wrong in writing. Every writer has their own style, like a writing swag. No one will write the same, because no one thinks the same. WE ARE ALL UNIQUE. Of course some writing is better than others, but it is all still just words on a piece of paper after all, right?

A Dozen By a Dozen... Blog 3/12

What I really think about the writing space that twitter affords is very different. Twitter has created it's own universe full of hash-tags and abbreviations that only "tweeters" will be able to understand. Language becomes informal and short fragments of sentences. Tweets are thoughts that simply pop into our minds and that eventually weasel their way to the internet. Some are funny and people are entertained by them and others should have maybe been kept to ourselves and not published for the world to see. Due to the fact that our society "hides" behind computer screens, tweets are ways of getting to know someone without ever having met them. You know what they think about other people and things going on in ou world. Communication behind a computer screen wasn't intended by our generation but it just evolved and happened because of our technology. Facebook and Twitter are like digital conversations between people where we interpret personality and gain knowledge.

Dozen By a Dozen... Blog 2/12

Portable writing serves to describe you without needing to say anything out loud. Without ever having met someone, you are able to pick up on a part of their personality just with their choice of clothing! If someone has a "Go Canucks" shirt on, it suddenly becomes apparent that they are a hockey fan and most likely a sports fan as well. We are proud of our interests and what we do. People love to wear shirts with their beliefs or value shining through on them because it is a way to show your pride. A man with long hair and a rock and roll t-shirt is most likely a music fan and he is proud to be advertising his favorite band for everyone to see. Words on clothing is a way of how you view yourself. It is the way you would like to describe yourself as to people who have never met you. Appearance is the biggest form on non-verbal communication and it helps shape our initial impression of a person.

The Problem of Describing Trees... Blog 1/12

Robert Hass from The New Yorker, is trying to argue that there are not enough words to describe what the tree is doing. He claims it's that he just can't seem to describe the trees actions, but it is not just the tree, in fact it is everything we try to describe in life. Words place a concrete limit on things and what they are doing. The author might have one vision in his mind that he wants to project to his readers but he can't due to the limits of language. Words can be interpreted in so many different ways and even with the perfect word choice to describe this tree, it is quite possible that the readers will never share the same vision as the writer. Word choice is so crucial because readers cannot see what he sees, it can only be done through the medium of writing, but for Hass, he feels that there are no perfect words to describe what his tree is doing.

Poetry is something that can warp your mind and ways of thinking. The poet is clearly in a state of mind when he is writing his work and his sole wish is for his audience to embark on this journey with him. He wants the readers to feel his writing and to have the same images dancing in their minds too. Language is his only hope to transfer the energy and spirit to his writers, but unfortunately writing can limit a writer. A good writer is able to put his exact feelings and emotions on paper. When he says "Dance with me" he is demonstrating how he wants to bring the readers on his journey and into his unique headspace.

My Four Letter Word Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7aVWfBLm5c

or if the link doesn't work: (typical technology..) Here's the video.

Girl & Boy

Girl: chick, lady. sheila, lass, woman, doll

Boy: dude, bro, man, boytoy, monsieur, gent, homie

Can images do what words do?

Both of these things are so different that they are difficult to compare. Images put a vivid picture in a viewers mind and it leaves you something to remember. Words can't be remembered as easy but they are more powerful. Words can deliver indirect meanings and can reveal opinions of the writer. Words give us an inside look at what exactly the writer is thinking. Adjective and verbs can bring writing to life in the way pictures can. Description is able to put words into action the in the same way an image can, this is why words are more versatile than images.

Reading Garret's Essay..

1. The paper is arguing the good and the bad parts about Home
2. The underlying premise for this argument is: Home is like a pendulum that has its upsides and downsides
3. Three rhetorical moves:
a) Relates well to his audience: college age students living away from home.
b) Gives examples and scenarios that many people are able to relate to and agree with.
c) Good writing organization and clear. Interesting words and adjectives that "spice up" the writing.
Successful because: It kept me (the reader) interested the whole time and I wanted to keep reading to learn more about his home and his opinions.
I recommend that you try: more creative verbs and sentence structure.

Bog this: First thoughts

I've been thinking about my own draft for project 3, and I have to tell you that it is a masterpiece in the making. It is far from being perfect and needs lots of editing and further review from my peers. There are lots of good ideas that could be easily built into great paragraphs, but just need to be nourished into their full potential. The topic is a great topic and lots of good topics to write about.

Blog this: responding to a short video

This is relevant because we are currently examining writing mediums and the evolution of print text technology. The young girl who we are assuming cannot read or write yet shows us that technology is easier for her to manage than opening a book. She is able to manoever her way through an Ipad and figure out its functions than turn a page in a book. Children learn by example and it is proof that she is surrounded by a technological age and that digital technology is the direction in which writing is heading. The maker of the video uses a child to draw viewers and to indirectly show the viewers how easy digital technology is to use and the future that it is heading. The young girl is the future and it is looking like digital technology is her preferred medium rather than print text.

A sentence starts out like....

A sentence starts out like a subway ride. It has to be clear and state its purpose for a reader (passenger) to jump on. It requires connecting words, like train stations, to make sense and to help get people to where they need to be. Some people jump off it things get to complicated or they have already reached their destination. Passengers on the sentence train always look forward to the end of the ride and are anxious to find out how things end. The ride gets interesting and spices up with action words like verb and the use of descriptive adjectives. Adjectives provide the entertainment in the same way that people watching makes the train ride fun.  Sentences end at the appropriate time and don't keep passengers on too long or boot them off too early. Sentences get people where they need to be to help connect the bigger picture of a paragraph or a story.

What's your relationship to the reader?

The people who often understand my writing are the readers who tend to share some similarities with me, while understanding my purpose. When the readers read my work, they feel a connection to what I have written and my opinions because they think in the same way. Readers who do not share the same views are often entertained by the piece of writing but do not share the same bond that others readers can have because the lack the connection. Readers feel comfort in situations where they share the same knowledge or opinion and appreciate writers who share the same thoughts. They just seem to "get it" and they understand my style of writing and my purpose. It's like going on a blind date, you will most likely get along the best with the person you find most in common with and make that special connection of familiarity and comfort.

Closer to home

It is possible that this hot place is like home. The hot days do arrive in the Okanagan Valley desert in British Columbia, Canada. During the summer the hot sun pours down from the sky and scorches all unprotected ghostly pale skin in sight. The nature is just as raw and beautiful and both places attract tourist from all sorts of different countries. People are self-sufficient and know how to work hard to earn a certain desired object. People from both places are happy and bright smiles.