blogfolio

Falon Barker

11/30/2011

Blogfolio

            Creating an interesting blog for me was not an easy feat. Before creating this blog for English Composition one, I had never blogged a day in my life. There were some challenges to creating this blog. Along with the challenges there were also things that came easy to me while in the process of creating the blog.

            During the process of creating this blog I had some challenges. One of these was figuring out how to embed videos into my blog. One assignment we had was to post two videos of speeches that we would later write an essay about. I had an extremely hard time trying to figure out how to post these videos to my blog. I did not figure out how to do so in time for the blog due date but recently I did finally figure out how to embed videos into my blog. Another difficulty I had was formatting of the text in the blog. Originally when I would make a post I would type it in word and then just past it to the blog and be done with it. After looking back at the blog and seeing how it did not format correctly, for example having awkward spacing, I learned that I had to work with the text a little before posting.

            Another thing I had to work with was the way in which my blog looked. This came easy for me. This was easy because I like things to be simple, therefore I did not want my blog to be very elaborate. Figuring out the color scheme, banner, and background was fun and easy for me because it made the blog more personal instead of it just being an assignment.

            Although my blog in personalized now, in the beginning it was not. When my blog first started it was basically blank, only having a white background with black text. There were not pictures. Now I have a banner with water colors and a picture of the beach at dusk. Not only has the visual aspect of my blog changed but also my writing. The quality of my writing has improved and that is made clear by comparing earlier post to recent ones. An example of this improvement is the “Mid-semester self assessment”, compared to “Theme analysis”.

            A blog containing a self assessment and theme analysis, or a blog in general may not seem relevant to a career in nursing but in all actuality, it is. Having a blog as a nurse can be extremely helpful in relieving stress caused by working in an atmosphere surrounded by sickness and death. In a blog one can be anyone in which they chose and say anything with no repercussions, one can be completely anonymous. This is helpful in maintain his/her sanity.

Art Blog

This painting conveys a message of mysticism in the night sky. It also gives off an idea of imperfection in nature and life. The buildings are almost straight which implies that even though humans aim for perfection, they will never succeed because nature will not allow it. All of the colors seem to just blend together showing harmony in nature.
Van Gogh is the speaker of the Painting and he is delivering a message of imperfection in the world and that that imperfection works together seamlessly. He is delivering this message to anyone who will listen. Van Gogh relies heavily on pathos in his painting. He draws on the emotions of people striveing for perfection and cannot reach it. He also relates to people who just need an escape from hetic life. Logos and ethos are not used very much because at this point in time Van Gogh was not yet famous so he had no ethos and he is speaking from the heart and uses abstract ideas so therefore logos are not used other then stating that humans are not perfect.
The memory used is what the night sky truly looks like. The night sky does not literally look this way but he invents this image in the way that he sees it. He arranges the painting to look like the night landscape of the Netherlands. It does this in a flowing style, everything seems to seamlessly fit together and belong. His message of imperfection is delivered in the form of a painting.

Works Cited essay 3

Davis, Linsey, and Elicia Dover (@EliciaDover). “Ground Zero Mosque Opponents, Supporters Turn Out to Demonstrate – ABC News.” ABCNews.com: Daily News, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts – ABC News. ABC News. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

“Edwards v. Aguillard – Religious Freedom Page.” The Religious FreedomPage. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Roland, John. “Bill of Rights.” Constitution.org. Constition Society, 24 Dec. 2000. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Summaries

Article one – Bill of Rights – The First amendment in the Bill of Rights states that there shall be no law prohibiting the practice of any religion. It also states that congresses cannot eastablish a national religion and require all to practice it. The freedom of speech and print is also established in this amendment. This implies that no one shall be jailed for printing any religious texts or speaking of their religion in public.

Article two- Ground Zero Mosque Opponents, Supporters Turn Out to Demonstrate- Park 51 is the proposed building site of a community center and Mosque only a few blocks away from ground zero in New York. Some Americans are outraged at the proposed site exclaiming that it is an insult to the victims and family of victims of the attack. Proponents of the Mosque argue that there is no insult to the victims because Muslims also died and were affected by the events that played out on September 11th 2001. Both sides of the fence insist on standing their ground.

Article three – Edward vs. Aguillard – Parents of students in public schools in Louisiana, state that a law requiring the theory of evolution be taught in accordance with creationism violates the establishment clause. That law is the Creationism Act. The court ruled in favor of the parents. The court stated that requiring evolution to be taught with creationism did not have a secular purpose. The court also stated that The Lemon test must be used to gauge the constitutionality of the Creationism Act.

Questions

1. Does freedom of Religion truly exist in America for all religions and in every situation?
2. What is true freedom of religion
3. Could true freedom of religion cause internal destruction? And is it always a good thing?
4. Should there be laws implemented or repealed to make true freedom of religion possible?

Mid-Semester Self Assessment

My blog has some strengths and some weaknesses. I am more accomplished in some categories then I am in others. Over all I need to improve on all categories: timeliness, thoroughness, deoth, clarity, creativity, audience, development, and portfolio.
Timeliness is one of my strongest points. I turn all my blogs in, and they are always on time. I would give myself a grade of A for timeliness. I also do fairly well in thoroughness. I address each aspect of the assignment. An example of this would be the voice assignment. I addressed part one and two of the assignment and completed the multiple items included in each part. In thoroughness I would give myself a B.
Concerning the issue of depth I address all aspects of the assignment to the minimum requirement and for that I earn a C. I show great depth in the peer review analysis. I explain in a great extent what my peer could do to improve his paper. For clarity I give myself a C because there are some issues with my posts but they are not significant. An example of a very clear post is my dialogue between Romeo and Juliette; there are no errors in this section.
As far as creativity I give myself a B. I see my bog as being creative in the ideas that I choose to address. I also think it is creative to and risky to keep things simple and have the reader still be interested. I good example of my creativity is when I chose the two speeches for essay 2. For audience I give myself an A because I am consistently addressing the same audience, my peers. This is evident in my peer review and also in the voice post.
For development I receive a D, this is because my blog has not changed very much from the first day I started it. A good example of development is adding the picture heading and changing the title of my blog. I would like to revise my secret language to be added to the portfolio.

Essay 3

For essay 3 I would like to discuss freedom of religion in government establishments and how it is not always honored.

My Secret Lanuage

In my life I have but only two languages. One of which is my formal language which is formally structured. I use this language wile at school and when speaking with authority figures. The other language, my secretive language is one that I use during everyday life. The reason I have two languages is because I am forced to have more than one.
I am forced to have more than one language. The language I am forced to utilize is my formal language. It is how I communicate with authority and how I interact with people at school. The only reason this language of mine is in use is out of necessity. If I were to use my secret language I would be seen as uneducated and improper.
My secret language is what I use in everyday life. Some may see it as uneducated or improper but I see it as being beautiful. It is raw and uncensored, honest. My language is simple to understand and makes it easier for others to see who I truly am without covering up who I am with “pretty words”.
The “pretty words” are fake and sugar coated. With my secret language I can be real and blut about what I think and how I feel. This is why I prefer not have my formal language at all, because it masks the truth with a pretty bow instead of showing the true meaning.

voice

Part one

The papers I have been
asked to write in college are very similar to the ones in which I was asked to
write in high school. In both levels of education I was asked to write
analytical and persuasive essays. The only difference is that is college the
grading is much stricter. I feel that my professors have high expectations for
my diction and tone. My professors expect me to use words that are appropriate
for a professional paper. An example would be replacing the word “good” with
“well” when describing how one is doing. As far as tone is concerned I believe
my professors expect me to have a tone appropriate for the essay or paper
assigned.

There are a few
differences in writing a blog and writing an essay. An essay is more formal
than a blog. Another difference is the length of both the blog and an essay. A
blog may be a couple of paragraphs at most where as in an essay the length can
be several pages long. I personally feel most conferrable writing a text
message. This is because the only people I will be texting are people that I am
friends with and that truly understand who I am. When I am writing for English
101 I completely change the way I communicate. When I am speaking to my friends
I sound like I have no formal education and this is by choice. When I write for
English I am required to sound educated.

Part two

Rewritten
paragraph

Even
if there has been people writing strictly formally in the past, now writers are
more able to express themselves in academic writing. To make it in college you can’t
just write formal papers and you can’t just forget your own way of talking. Writing
in college depends on how it’s structured but it also depends on your own
dialect. This causes English to change over time and causes writers to get better.

Although
writers have been producing formal work in past, in present time’s academic writing
is not as dependent on a formal structure and format. To become a successful academic
writer one must not rely completely on formal structure and format but
contribute one’s own voice to the writing. A well written paper does not solely
rely on formal presentation but also on personal experience from the writer on
how to communicate. When a writer combines these two it leads to a change in
the English language and the writer will become a superior writer.

Although
academic writers have been writing in a formal manner for a long time, things
are beginning to change. Academic writing is no longer solely dependent on
formal language but on everyday language as well. To be a successful academic writer
one must combine the formal language with one’s own voice. When a writer successfully
does this they produce wondrous writings. This also leads to a change in what
we know as the English language overtime and also helps the writer become an
even better writer.

I believe that Chast is
responding to the formal ideal of the story of Romeo and Juliette. I believe
that she is saying that the same love story can exist today as it did back
then. The English language has changed, not the idea behind the stories. I
agree with this position because what was relevant in 1684 can also be relevant
in 2012. Most people do not believe that Shakespeare is important but that is
only because they do not truly understand what he is saying because the language
has changed so much.

Romeo
and Juliette

Romeo – Juliette, are
you available?

Juliette – yes Romeo,
would you like to speak with me?

Romeo – yes I wanted to
speak to you about me day today, school was wretched.

Juliette – someone told
me that Wylander became upset with you. Is that correct?

Romeo – yes he was
because I used purple ink on my science exam. When he becomes angry like that
he looks like jimmy cricket.

Juliette – you made me
laugh Romeo.

Romeo – will you be
attending Nick’s party?

Juliette – I am afraid
not, I am grounded.

Romeo – and why are you
grounded?

Juliette – because I am
failing my Spanish course and my professor called my parents. I also wanted to
inform you of my parents dislike for you.

Romeo – My mother and
father feel the same for you as well.

Juliette – I have to be
going now, my father is on his way.

Romeo – I love you and I
will see you tomorrow.

Juliette – I love you
too goodbye.

https://falonbarkerblogfolio.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=24

I am assuming that by having
an academic discussion such as this, that the two are educated and attend the
same school. I am also under the assumption that they are older lovers. They are
older because they do not speak at if they are 17 also neither one seems to
care for or to be seeking the approval of each other by their parents. They are
lovers because they speak of loving one another.

Speeches

All throughout history there have been revolutionaries and revolutionary ideas. I
chose these two speeches, one orthodox and the other not so much, to show that,
though times have changed and so has the delivery of the message, the message
has remained the same.  Both speakers are
unhappy with their government and both are calling their fellow countrymen to
action attempting to have them feel as they do about the issue. But have done
so in completely different ways. The genre is political revolution.

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In this speech, Patrick Henry is the speaker. His message is
that of anger towards the king of Great Britain because of the unfair treatment
to the colonists. He is also speaking about the fact they have tried everything
to make this unfair treatment subside and the only thing left to do is fight for their freedom and if they do not fight they will always be subjects of the tyrant king.  Henry is expressing this to the local law makers of Virginia. Henry, and many others of this time period, 1775, was outraged and extremely frustrated with the unfair treatment of the colonist at the hands of their King. Patrick Henry was a Lawyer that wanted freedom for the colonies from Great Britain. He is not only speaking to the House of Burgesses, but also to the fellow citizens to rise up and fight for freedom. He implies in his speech that if they do not act now they will be subjected to the rule of an unfair king forever, which is worse then death is Henry’s opinion.Henry relies mostly on ethos and pathos to prove his point. He is a strong figure among the community so this builds his ethos. He speaks of freedom and how the colonists have been treated so horribly by the king to show pathos. The outcome of his speech is the passing of a revolutionary to send Virginia troops to the revolutionary war.

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This speech or song is written by the members of the band Living Colour. The message is that of anti-government and anti-political leader. The
band is speaking to the citizens of the world. In the 1980’s many of liberal American youth were upset with the current
government in America and around the world. The direct message of this song is one of hatred towards political figures. The implied message is one of dislike of all forms of government.  They are attempting to persuade the youth of the world to rise up and rebel against political leaders and their governments. The speaker relies of pathos by using images of distrust in the political system which is shared by many peoplearound the world. The outcome is more youth rebellion against governmental establishment.