"No Place Like Home"

1)  David Guterson says "Green Valley is as much a verb as it is a noun.  He means that while Green Valley is a place (noun), it is also active and full of life (verb).  Guterson says, "people in golf outfits on the clubhouse veranda were eating three-cheese omelets and strawberry waffles and looking out over the palm trees and fairways, talking business and reading Sunday newspapers (183).  This shows how busy Green Valley is and how it can be considered a verb.  "There are to be no exterior speakers, horns, whistles, or bells" (187).  This is an example of residents being prohibited from certain things.

2)  Guterson's tone is very descriptive.  He uses a lot of detail and facts when referring to Green Valley.  His style reminds me of 1984. Guterson says "Still, many reside in this corporate domain, driven here by isatiable fears" (189).  This is an example of his detailed tone.

3) I disagree with Guterson that suburbs aren't safe, but solely from my own experiences.  I have lived in 3 different houses all of which a suburb and a gated community.  I always felt safe and protected and surrounded by other families that felt the same way.

When I picture home, I always think of Christmas time. My family is very close and spends a lot of time together especially during the holidays. The best memories I have are decorating the outside of the house with garland, wreaths and ribbons and decorating the Christmas tree that shows in the front window. Everytime I think of what my house looks like during the holidays I think of so many memories. Attempting to sled in my backyard with barely any snow, picking out a new ornament with my brother each year for the tree, driving around looking at lights, and eating my moms amazing food at the dining room table that we only use during that time of year. I think of how blessed and lucky I am to have such great Christmas's and to have such a wonderful family.

If I woke up male...

If one morning I woke up male, after crying and wanting to die...I would do things that normally I wouldn't be able to do. Mostly, play sports. No offense to girls, but we all suck at sports. Even if you think your good, your not. The only sports that people typically care about are men's sports. I would play something like rugby or football just for the fact that as a girl I cant and if I were a boy I probably wouldn't suck at it. Boys are also typically better at math and science then girls and I suck at math so I would probably do as much homework as possible because I would be better at it. I would also talk to all of my guy friends and get to know them as a guy. Guys are always different around girls than they are with their guy friends so I would want to know how they really act and what they really think of things that they wouldn't normally tell me.

Rhetoric Scavenger Hunt

The audience for this piece of visual text are the students and faculty of the University of Tennessee.  The text is attempting to persuade the audience to contribute to the campus in helping the environment.  The text uses ethos and pathos in an indirect way.  The ethos comes from the sign saying UT on it, which shows that she school put up the sign and is reliable.  Pathos is used because it makes a personal connection with students by the saying "Make orange green".  Students can connect to the text because of the strong school pride they have.  I definitely think this text is rhetorically effective because it is colorful and really makes the viewer think about its purpose.  Using school pride to persuade its readers is a good rhetorical strategy.

Letter

Dear Courtney,
I thought I would write to you and tell you about my weekend since they are now typically spent apart from each other. Friday I had classes all day but it was alright because I knew that night would be fun. Brett's fraternatity Phi Sig had their pledge party. It was themed "share a suit". The boys wore their blazers without shirts underneath and boxers. Their dates, including me, had to wear the boys button down shirt and tie. It was hilarious until we left and went to eat on the strip and people thought we were insane. As you know, me and Brett came home Saturday morning and saw you and Wyatt! I still think the Wyatt having a girlfriend at Western thing is weird, just not used to it I guess. I was so mad that he left without saying anything. I feel like even though we hung out we barely got to talk. It's weird to go from seeing each other almost 24 hours a day everyday to rarely even talking. It was awesome seeing you but I just wish you would transfer here! When Brett and I got back on Monday I was absolutely exhausted considering I drove the whole way again. Brett had his pledge meeting where basically the brothers just yelled and made the pledge class clean their house. The game was Monday night and as you probably know we lost and it sucked. Everyone is still mad and i'm pretty sure at some point in time our kicker is going to get his ass kicked. Anyways, I miss you and the Ravenwood crew so much! I hope to come to Western soon and see you!
XOXO,
Kasey



Dear Grandma,
I miss you all so much! School is going great. I love my classes and I joined a sorority- Pi Beta Phi. This weekend I went home to see Mom and Dad and my friends from highschool. To be honest I wished I had stayed here. Justin was in Knoxville for Boomsday which is a fireworks celebration for Labor Day. I was upset I didn't get to see him, but we had lunch when I got back in town. I hope to come to Florida to see ya'll soon as long as you don't hold any grudges when we beat ya'll. If you ever want to come up for a football game, let me know! I know you and grandad would have a lot of fun.
XOXO,
Kasey

Your brain on drugs

First Video Observations

• Curt
• uses more pathos
• No strong use of ethos or logos
• does its job (makes you think)
  

Second Video Observations

• Uses a celebrity
• Relates to young people
• Uses strong ethos and pathos
• Dramatic effect

Compare: The videos are similar in the fact that they both use dramatic effect.  Both are straight and to the point.  Both videos make the viewer think about the topic and relate to the audience.  Both videos share the same purpose which is to relay information about the effect of drug use to a young audience. Both PSA's effectively do their job.

Contrast:  The videos differ in the fact that more dramatic effect is used in the second video.  The use of a celebrity appeals to a younger audience and establishes ethos.  She uses pathos by suggesting that drug use hurts the people around you and not just yourself.  The first video doesn't show an actor or any person which is good and bad. It makes the viewer focus on the issue at hand rather than the spokesperson, but it also makes it harder for viewers to relate.

Observing and Infering: Olympic closing ceremony

Observations:

• bright colors
• excitment
• cheering
• fun
• active 

Inferences:

• Looking to have fun
• happy
• entertaining

I feel inspired by the image and excitment. It makes the viewer wish they were there to participate in the festivities.  I don't know exactly what is going on in the picture but that is more appealing.  The woman in the picture looks as though theyre cheering for the men and very excited for them.  I think most people would feel a sense of excitment when looking at this picture.  The colors is the reason I wrote about this picture, it was eye catching and interesting.